JP2015158353A - air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control an operation in accordance with an environmental condition and thus enhance energy saving performance.SOLUTION: An air conditioner includes control means 7 for controlling dehumidification means 5, air blowing means 2 and wind direction variable means 1 on the basis of a detection result from temperature detection means 3, humidity detection means 4 or an infrared ray sensor 6. When an operation is started, before a dehumidification operation is performed by operating the dehumidification means 5, the control means 7 operates only the air blowing means 2 to start an air blowing operation and detects a maximum value of humidity detected by the humidity detection means 4 within a predetermined time. After the predetermined time for detecting the maximum value of the humidity has passed, the controls means 7 determines remaining time for the air blowing operation on the basis of the detected maximum value of the humidity, and orients the wind direction variable means 1 in a direction of an object to be dried so that air blown out from the air blowing means 2 hits the object to be dried of which arrangement position is identified based on a detection result from the infrared ray sensor 6.

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner that dehumidifies indoor moisture, and more particularly to an air conditioner having a function of drying laundry that is to be dried in a room.

  Conventionally, the control means compares the temperature detection result by the infrared detection means and the indoor atmosphere temperature detection result by the temperature detection means, thereby recognizing a decrease in sensible heat due to evaporation of moisture absorbed by the dry matter. There is an air conditioner that determines the location of a temperature distribution lower than the room temperature due to a decrease in sensible heat as an arrangement range of an object to be dried (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-240100 A (FIGS. 3 to 5)

  However, in the above-described conventional air conditioner, since the dehumidifying operation is controlled based on the detected temperature, the dehumidifying operation is performed and wasteful dehumidifying operation is performed even under environmental conditions where the humidity is low and the clothes are easily dried. There was a problem of ending up.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that controls operation according to environmental conditions and has improved energy saving performance.

  In order to solve the above problems, dehumidifying means for removing moisture contained in the air, and air blowing means for sucking indoor air and blowing dry air obtained by passing through the dehumidifying means to the room The air direction variable means that can change the wind direction of the dry air, the infrared sensor that is attached to the air direction variable means and detects the surface temperature of the object to be dried within the range that the air direction variable means can blow, and the humidity in the room Control means for controlling the dehumidifying means, the air blowing means, and the airflow direction changing means based on the detection results of the temperature detecting means for detecting the indoor temperature, the temperature detecting means, the humidity detecting means, or the infrared sensor. The control means operates the dehumidifying means when the operation is started and starts the air blowing operation by operating only the air blowing means before performing the dehumidifying operation, and detects the humidity detected by the humidity detecting means within a predetermined time. After a predetermined time for detecting the maximum value of this humidity has elapsed, the remaining air blowing operation time is determined based on the detected maximum value of humidity, and the placement position is determined by the detection result of the infrared sensor. The air direction varying means is configured to face the direction of the object to be dried so that the air blown from the blower means hits the object to be dried.

According to the present invention, when it is determined from the detection result of the environmental condition that the material to be dried is dry even if using air blowing, the air blowing operation is performed in the first half of the clothes drying operation, and the dehumidifying operation is finished in the latter half of the operation. Thereby, power consumption can be suppressed compared with the clothes drying operation by normal dehumidification operation.
In addition, since the remaining time for the air blowing operation is determined based on the detected maximum value of the indoor air humidity, it is possible to perform efficient air blowing control suitable for the situation of the indoor air humidity.
In addition, when it is determined that the conditions cannot be sufficiently dried by blowing, the operation is terminated so that the object to be dried does not become undried regardless of the environmental conditions by controlling to move to the dehumidifying operation without performing the blowing operation. Sometimes the material to be dried can be dried.

The external appearance perspective view which shows the air conditioner which concerns on embodiment. The schematic block diagram which shows the inside of the air conditioner which concerns on embodiment. The schematic perspective view which expands and shows the wind direction change means of FIG. The conceptual diagram which shows the detection range of the infrared sensor of the air conditioner which concerns on embodiment. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the clothing drying mode of the air conditioner which concerns on embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an air conditioner according to an embodiment. Drawing 2 is a schematic structure figure showing the inside of the air harmony machine concerning an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing the wind direction changing means of FIG. 1 in an enlarged manner. Drawing 4 is a key map showing the detection range of the infrared sensor of the air harmony machine concerning an embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner according to the present embodiment includes an air conditioner casing 100 configured to be capable of self-supporting, and a suction port 101 for taking in indoor air A into the air conditioner casing 100. The water storage tank 102 stores water removed from the air taken into the suction port 101, and the exhaust port 103 discharges the dry air B from which water has been removed from the air conditioner housing 100 to the room. .

The exhaust port 103 is provided with a wind direction varying means 1 capable of varying the wind direction of the dry air B. The wind direction varying means 1 is composed of a vertical louver 1a that varies the wind direction in the vertical direction and a horizontal louver 1b that varies the wind direction in the horizontal direction.
The water storage tank 102 is detachably attached to the air conditioner housing 100.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2, a blower fan that generates a series of air currents inside the air conditioner housing 100, which sucks indoor air A from the suction port 101 and discharges dry air B from the exhaust port 103. 2 (air blowing means), a fan motor 2a for rotating the air blowing fan 2, a temperature sensor 3 (temperature detecting means) for detecting the temperature of the indoor air A sucked from the suction port 101, and the humidity of the indoor air A are detected. A humidity sensor 4 (humidity detection means), a dehumidifying means 5 that removes moisture contained in the room air A to generate dry air B, a longitudinal variable motor 1c that varies the longitudinal louver 1a in the vertical direction, A lateral variable motor 1d that varies the horizontal louver 1b in the horizontal direction, an infrared sensor 6 that is a surface temperature detection means, a display unit (not shown) that displays various information, and a control circuit 7 Control means) is provided.

  These various sensors are connected to the control circuit 7 so that detection signals can be input to the control circuit 7. Further, the dehumidifying means 5, the display unit, and various motors are connected to the control circuit 7 so as to be controllable by the control means based on user operation inputs and input values of various sensors.

Next, the dehumidifying means 5 only needs to be able to remove moisture in the air and condense it. For example, as a most general one, a heat pump circuit is configured to condense moisture in the air in an evaporator. And a desiccant method in which moisture in the air removed by the adsorbent is condensed by a heat exchanger.
The water removed from the room air A by the dehumidifying means 5 is stored in the water storage tank 102 as condensed water C.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the vertical louver 1 a has a rectangular opening extending in the width direction of the air conditioner casing 100, and is vertical with the rotation axis of the vertical variable motor 1 c described above as a substantially axis. It is configured to be variable in direction.
The horizontal louvers 1b are arranged at equal intervals in the vertical louver 1a, and are pivotally supported so as to be variable in the horizontal direction on the side opposite to the opening of the vertical louver 1a. It is configured to work together.

The infrared sensor 6 is attached to one surface of a substantially central lateral louver 1b disposed in the longitudinal louver 1a.
As a result, the detection range of the surface temperature of the object to be dried by the infrared sensor 6 becomes substantially the same as the direction of the dry air B that is varied by the wind direction varying means 1. That is, the infrared sensor 6 can detect the surface temperature of the entire region within the range in which the wind direction varying means 1 can blow.

Next, for example, an infrared sensor 6 using a thermoelectromotive force effect is used, and an infrared absorption film 6a that receives thermal radiation (infrared rays) emitted from the surface of a predetermined region and the temperature of the infrared absorption film 6a. And a thermistor 6b for detecting (see FIGS. 2 and 3).
The infrared sensor 6 has a difference between the temperature of the heat-sensitive part of the infrared absorption film 6a that rises in temperature by absorbing thermal radiation (hot contact) and the temperature of the infrared absorption film 6a detected by the thermistor 6b (cold contact). Is converted into an electric signal such as a voltage and input to a control circuit 7 to be described later. The surface temperature of the predetermined region can be determined from the magnitude of this electrical signal.

Here, a method for detecting the surface temperature of the predetermined region will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the entire area that can be detected by the infrared sensor 6 is the entire scanning range 200, the entire scanning range 200 is a planar area that extends in the horizontal direction (horizontal direction) and the vertical direction (vertical direction). It becomes.
The infrared sensor 6 is controlled so as to detect the surface temperature for each of the divided areas 201 divided into a plurality of areas in the entire scanning range 200 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. Thereby, a detailed temperature map can be created for a wide range of regions.

Next, when the control circuit 7 detects that the dehumidifying mode is selected from the switch operation of the operation unit (not shown), the wind direction varying means 1 is set so that the indoor humidity becomes the optimum humidity. Is driven so that air can be blown from the exhaust port 103, the fan motor 2a is driven to rotate the blower fan 2, and the dehumidifying means 5 is driven.
Further, the control circuit 7 drives the longitudinal direction variable motor 1c and the lateral direction variable motor 1d of the wind direction varying means 1 so that the air is blown in the direction of the desired area in the room. As a result, the indoor air A is taken into the air conditioner casing 100 from the suction port 101, and the indoor temperature and humidity are detected by the temperature sensor 3 and the humidity sensor 4, respectively, and then dehumidified by the dehumidifying means 5. It becomes dry air B and is blown out into the room from the exhaust port 103.

Further, when the control circuit 7 detects the start of the operation in the drying mode of the laundry to be dried, as described above, the control circuit 7 drives the air direction varying means 1 so that air can be blown from the exhaust port 103, and the fan motor 2a is turned on. The air blower fan 2 is driven to rotate, and the dehumidifying means 5 is driven.
Thereafter, the control circuit 7 reads the indoor humidity from the indoor air A taken into the air conditioner casing 100 via the humidity sensor 4 and determines whether the humidity is higher than a predetermined humidity.

When the indoor humidity is higher than the predetermined humidity, the control circuit 7 controls the fan motor 2a and the wind direction varying means 1 so that the dehumidifying capacity of the dehumidifying means 5 is maximized until the indoor humidity reaches the predetermined humidity.
And when the indoor humidity falls to the predetermined humidity by the control, the control circuit 7 specifies the arrangement range of the laundry using the infrared sensor 6, and the vertical direction variable motor so that the dry air B hits the range. 1c and the horizontal variable motor 1d are controlled, and the vertical louver 1a and the horizontal louver 1b are directed toward the laundry. The predetermined humidity is a humidity set in advance according to the room temperature, and is set in the control circuit 7 as data.

Next, the operation of the control circuit 7 and each part when the so-called “clothing drying eco-drying mode” is performed, in which the drying object is dried by combining the dehumidifying operation and the air blowing operation only according to the detection result of the environmental condition. Will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation in the drying mode of the air conditioner according to the embodiment. The operation of the “normal dehumidifying operation” has been described above and will be omitted.

When the control circuit 7 of the air conditioner detects that the clothes drying eco-drying mode has been selected and starts driving, it starts measuring the total driving time T1 from the start of driving (S0) and the wind direction varying means 1 Is driven to allow air to be blown from the exhaust port 103, and the fan motor 2a is driven to rotate the blower fan 2 to start blowing (S1). In this stage, the dehumidifying operation is not performed.
At this time, the control circuit 7 causes the wet clothing to be lower than the ambient temperature due to the evaporation of moisture by receiving the air. By detecting the position where this temperature is low with the infrared sensor 6, the range where the clothes which are to-be-dried objects are located is detected (S2).

Next, the process of measuring the temperature RT and humidity RH1 of the indoor air A is entered.
First, the control circuit 7 starts a timer that measures a predetermined time α (time limit) for detecting the temperature RT and the humidity RH1 (S3). And the temperature RT and the humidity RH1 are detected by the temperature sensor 3 and the humidity sensor 4, respectively, from the indoor air A sucked into the air conditioner housing 100 from the suction port 101 by the blower fan 2 (S4).
The predetermined time α is, for example, a reference time used for determining the blowing time Ts by calculation in consideration of the humidity condition and the temperature condition for determining the blowing time.

Next, the control circuit 7 reads the detected humidity RH1 of the indoor air A and compares it with a predetermined humidity. The predetermined humidity is when, for example, a high humidity of 80% or more is detected.
When the humidity RH1 is lower than the predetermined humidity, the process proceeds to S6, and when the humidity RH1 is higher than the predetermined humidity, the process proceeds to S11 and the dehumidifying operation is started (S5).
Next, the control circuit 7 reads the detected temperature RT of the indoor air A and compares it with a predetermined temperature. The predetermined temperature is when, for example, a state of 15 ° C. or lower is detected.
When the temperature RT is higher than the predetermined temperature, the process proceeds to S7, and when the temperature RT is lower than the predetermined temperature, the process proceeds to S11 to start the dehumidifying operation (S6).

The state of the indoor air A in the case of shifting from S6 to S7 is a state where the humidity is low and the temperature is relatively high. Therefore, it can be said that the wet clothes are easily dried.
Moreover, the state which transfers to S11 in S5 and S6 is the conditions which cannot fully dry with ventilation. That is, it is a judgment for performing control so that the object to be dried does not become undried by directly shifting to the dehumidifying operation without performing the blowing operation.

Next, when the humidity RH1 is lower than the predetermined humidity and the temperature RT is higher than the predetermined temperature, the control circuit 7 executes control to detect the maximum value RHM of the humidity within the predetermined time α, and proceeds to S8 ( S7). When the maximum humidity value RHM within the predetermined time α is detected, the control circuit 7 proceeds to S9. When the maximum humidity value RHM is not detected, the control circuit 7 proceeds to S3 (S8).
Here, the detection method of the maximum humidity value RHM is that the highest humidity among the humidity values RH1 detected within the predetermined time α may be the maximum humidity value RHM, and when the humidity RH1 changes from rising to falling. The humidity may be the maximum humidity value RHM.

Next, the control circuit 7 calculates the remaining blowing time Ts based on the detected maximum value RHM of humidity, and proceeds to S10 (S9). Here, the blowing time Ts is set longer as the maximum humidity value RHM is larger. Thereby, even if humidity is high, the time of a dehumidification operation can be shortened and the energy saving effect can be acquired more.
Then, the control circuit 7 continues the air blowing operation for the remaining air blowing time Ts set as described above, and then shifts to S11 and ends the operation of only air blowing (S10).

Next, the control circuit 7 starts the dehumidifying operation and proceeds to S12, operates the blower fan 2 and the dehumidifying means 5, starts measurement of the dehumidifying operation time T2 from the start of the dehumidifying operation, and proceeds to S13 ( S12).
Accordingly, the room air A is taken into the air conditioner casing 100 from the suction port 101 by the rotation of the blower fan 2, and the dry air B continues to be blown out from the exhaust port 103. At this time, the control circuit 7 reads the room temperature detected by the temperature sensor 3 and continues reading the room humidity detected by the humidity sensor 4.

  Next, the control circuit 7 determines whether or not the dehumidifying operation time T2 from the start of the dehumidifying operation has passed 30 minutes, and when the dehumidifying operation time T2 exceeds 30 minutes, the process proceeds to S14 (S13).

Next, the control circuit 7 determines whether or not the humidity RH1 of the indoor air A is 50% or less (S14). If the humidity RH1 of the room air A is 50% or less, the process proceeds to S15, and if the humidity RH1 of the room air A exceeds 50%, the process proceeds to S19.
In S19, the control circuit 7 determines whether or not the total operation time T1 from the start of operation exceeds 12 hours, which is a predetermined operation time limit (limit time). When the total operation time T1 does not exceed 12 hours, the process proceeds to S14, and when the total operation time T1 exceeds 12 hours, the process proceeds to S21 and the forced termination process is performed.

Next, the control circuit 7 calculates the remaining time TL of the dehumidifying operation from the dehumidifying operation time T2 from the start of the dehumidifying operation and the temperature RT of the room air A (S15), and then proceeds to S16 to display the remaining time TL on the display unit. Display and shift to S17.
Next, the control circuit 7 determines whether or not the humidity RH1 of the room air A is 50% or less (S17). When the humidity RH1 of the indoor air A is 50% or less, the process proceeds to S18, and after performing an additional dehumidifying operation, the operation is terminated. When the humidity RH1 of the indoor air A exceeds 50%, the process proceeds to S20.
Then, in S20, the control circuit 7 determines whether or not the total operation time T1 from the start of operation exceeds 12 hours, which is a predetermined operation time limit (limit time). When the total operation time T1 does not exceed 12 hours, the process proceeds to S16, and when the total operation time T1 exceeds 12 hours, the process proceeds to S21 and the forced termination process is performed.

By operating each part by the control circuit 7 as described above, the operation is performed by combining only the air blowing operation before the dehumidifying operation. Therefore, it is possible to perform the drying operation of the clothes to be dried while suppressing power consumption. It becomes possible.
In particular, when it is determined from the detection result of the environmental conditions that the material to be dried is dry even if using air blowing, the air blowing operation is performed in the first half of the clothes drying operation, and the dehumidifying operation is finished in the latter half of the operation. Thereby, power consumption can be suppressed compared with the clothes drying operation by normal dehumidification operation.

In addition, when the temperature and humidity of the indoor air are detected and it is determined that the condition cannot be sufficiently dried by blowing (S5, S6), the operation of stopping only the blowing and stopping the dehumidifying operation is performed. Regardless of the conditions, the object to be dried can be dried at the end of operation so that the object to be dried does not become undried.
In addition, since the time for the air blowing operation is determined based on the humidity of the room air, it is possible to perform efficient air flow control suitable for the situation of the humidity of the room air.

  The numerical values used as the reference for control used in the above embodiments are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described numerical values. Moreover, you may comprise the numerical value used as these references | standards so that a setting change is possible suitably according to the environment which uses an air conditioner, or a user's liking.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wind direction variable means, 1a Longitudinal louver, 1b Lateral louver, 1c Longitudinal variable motor, 1d Lateral variable motor, 2 Blower fan (blower means), 2a Fan motor, 3 Temperature sensor (temperature detection means), 4 Humidity Sensor (humidity detection means), 5 dehumidification means, 6 infrared sensor, 6a infrared absorption film, 6b thermistor, 7 control circuit (control means), 100 air conditioner casing, 101 suction port, 102 water storage tank, 103 exhaust port, 200 full scanning range, 201 divided area, A room air, B dry air.

Claims (4)

Dehumidifying means for removing moisture contained in the air;
Air blowing means for sucking indoor air and blowing dry air obtained by passing through the dehumidifying means;
A wind direction changing means capable of changing the wind direction of the dry air;
An infrared sensor that is attached to the wind direction varying means and detects the surface temperature of an object to be dried within a range in which the wind direction varying means can blow;
Humidity detection means for detecting indoor humidity;
Temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature in the room;
Control means for controlling the dehumidifying means, the air blowing means, and the wind direction varying means based on the detection result of the temperature detecting means, the humidity detecting means, or the infrared sensor,
When the operation is started, the control means starts the air blowing operation by operating only the air blowing means before operating the dehumidifying means to perform the dehumidifying operation, and is detected by the humidity detecting means within a predetermined time. After a predetermined time for detecting the maximum humidity value is detected, the remaining air blowing operation time is determined based on the detected maximum humidity value, and the detection result of the infrared sensor An air conditioner characterized in that the air direction varying means is directed in the direction of the object to be dried so that the air blown from the blower means hits the object to be dried whose arrangement position is specified by the above.   The control means performs the air blowing operation and determines whether the detected humidity of the indoor air detected by the humidity detecting means is lower than a predetermined humidity. If the humidity of the indoor air is higher than the predetermined humidity, The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the dehumidifying operation is started immediately.   The control means performs the air blowing operation and determines whether the detected temperature of the indoor air detected by the temperature detecting means is lower than a predetermined temperature. If the temperature of the indoor air is lower than the predetermined temperature, The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the dehumidifying operation is started immediately.   2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the control unit sets the remaining blowing operation time determined based on the maximum value of the humidity as the maximum value of the humidity increases.

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