JP2016161254A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To bring alarm sound to more proper sound volume.SOLUTION: An indoor unit 11 for performing air-conditioning of the indoors includes: a voice guide output part 22 for outputting a voice guide to the indoors; a clock part 13 for acquiring time; a rotational frequency detection circuit 15 for detecting the rotational frequency N of a blower fan 14 in the indoor unit 11; and a human detection sensor 16 for detecting presence/absence of the movement of a person indoors. Then, according to the time, the rotational frequency N and the presence/absence of the movement of a person, the sound volume of the voice guide is changed. That is, when the time is in a night time zone, the sound volume of the voice guide becomes smaller than in the time other than the night time zone. Also, the lower the rotational frequency N, the smaller the sound volume of the voice guide. Also, when there is no movement of a person, the sound volume of the voice guide becomes smaller than the time when there is the movement of a person.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner.

The notification sound of the room air conditioner is generally output according to the volume set by the user with the remote control.
On the other hand, some car navigation systems, portable stereos, and the like adjust the output volume according to the ambient noise volume. Some telephones change the volume of a ringing tone according to the surrounding noise and time zone when an incoming call is received, as in the prior art described in Patent Document 1.

JP-A-5-56113

Even in a room air conditioner, it is conceivable to adjust the volume of the notification sound according to the noise in the room and the time zone, but it is not always the optimal volume and may give the user a sense of incongruity. For example, even when the user is taking a nap or going to bed, if the rotation speed of the blower fan is high and the driving noise is high, the notification sound may increase.
The subject of this invention is making a notification sound into a more suitable volume.

  An air conditioner according to an aspect of the present invention includes an indoor unit that performs indoor air conditioning, a notification sound output unit that outputs a notification sound to the room, a time acquisition unit that acquires time, and a blower fan in the indoor unit. Rotation number detection unit for detecting the rotation number, human detection unit for detecting presence or absence of movement of a person in the room, time acquired by the time acquisition unit, rotation number detected by the rotation number detection unit, and detection by the human detection unit And a volume control unit that changes the volume of the notification sound according to the presence or absence of the movement of the person.

  According to the present invention, the notification sound in the room is set to a more appropriate volume by changing the volume of the notification sound according to these three conditions, the time, the rotational speed of the blower fan, and the presence or absence of human movement. be able to.

It is a block diagram which shows a system configuration. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a volume control process. It is a flowchart which shows an example of A process. It is a flowchart which shows an example of B process. It is a flowchart which shows an example of C process. It is the table | surface which summarized the response | compatibility of volume control.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Each drawing is schematic and may be different from the actual one. Further, the following embodiments exemplify apparatuses and methods for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the configuration is not specified as follows. That is, the technical idea of the present invention can be variously modified within the technical scope described in the claims.

"Constitution"
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration.
This embodiment mainly assumes a room air conditioner for general households as an air conditioner. The indoor unit 11 of the air conditioner harmonizes indoor air with predetermined setting conditions by cooling, heating, dehumidifying or humidifying. The indoor unit 11 includes a control unit 12, a clock unit 13, a blower fan 14, a rotation speed detection circuit 15, a human sensor 16, and a speaker 17.

A clock unit 13 having an internal clock acquires the current time and outputs it to the control unit 12. The clock unit 13 corrects the time of the internal clock so as to synchronize with the time of the remote controller when wireless communication is performed between the indoor unit 11 and the remote controller (not shown).
The blower fan 14 is driven by a motor (not shown) and sends wind into the room by rotation.
The rotation speed detection circuit 15 detects the rotation speed N of the blower fan 14. The rotation speed detection circuit 15 converts the change in the magnetic field accompanying the rotation of the motor into a pulse signal and outputs it to the control unit 12. The control unit 12 obtains the rotation speed N [rpm] from the input pulse signal.

The human sensor 16 detects the presence or absence of a human body or a person in the room. The human sensor 16 is composed of, for example, an infrared sensor, and detects the presence / absence of an object that emits heat (infrared rays) equal to or greater than a threshold and the presence / absence of movement of the object based on a change in the amount of infrared rays within a predetermined detection area. The detection signal is output to the control unit 12. Even if an object that generates heat equal to or higher than the threshold value is detected, for example, when there is no movement for 10 minutes, the detection signal is canceled. The control unit 12 determines whether or not a human body or a person is moving according to the input detection signal.
The control unit 12 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer, and inputs signals from the clock unit 13, the rotation speed detection circuit 15, and the human sensor 16 and drives the speaker 17.

The control unit 12 includes a voice guidance generation unit 21, a voice guidance output unit 22 including a speaker 17, and a volume control unit 23.
First, the voice guidance generation unit 21 generates voice guidance data when the user operates the remote control. For example, voice guidance data that informs the operation content, set temperature, etc., such as “start operation at 28 ° C. cooling”, “set to swing up / down”, etc. is generated. In addition, the voice guidance data is generated spontaneously when a predetermined condition is satisfied even without remote control operation. For example, when the operation is stopped by the timer function, voice guidance data to that effect is generated. In addition, voice guidance data that prompts to stop the operation when the outside air temperature falls below the set temperature during the cooling operation is generated. Also, voice guidance data that prompts the start of the cooling operation is generated when the room temperature exceeds a predetermined upper limit value. Furthermore, when starting the defrosting operation, voice guidance data indicating that is generated.

The voice guidance output unit 22 outputs the voice guidance data generated by the voice guidance generation unit 21 to the speaker 17 and drives the speaker 17 to output a notification sound (notifies voice guidance).
The volume control unit 23 can perform a volume control process, which will be described later, and change the volume of the voice guidance step by step. Here, the volume of the voice guidance that is output when a predetermined condition is satisfied regardless of the remote control operation is changed, and the voice guidance that is output when the remote control is operated follows the volume set by the user with the remote control. Shall. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and the volume of voice guidance that is output when the remote controller is operated can be changed.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the volume control process.
In step S101, it is determined whether or not the human sensor 16 has detected the presence or absence of a human body or a person's movement in the room. When the sensor detects (S101-Yes), the process proceeds to step S102, and when not detected (S101-No), the process proceeds to step S105.

  In step S102, it is determined whether or not the time is a night zone. Here, the night zone is, for example, a time zone from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am. When the time is in the nighttime zone (S102-Yes), the process proceeds to step S103, and the process returns to a predetermined main program after executing the A process of FIG. On the other hand, when the time is not a night time zone (S102-No), the process proceeds to step S104, and after a B process of FIG. The non-night time zone is a time zone from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm.

  In step S105, it is determined whether or not the time is a night zone. When the time is the nighttime zone (S105-Yes), the process proceeds to step S106, and after performing the C process of FIG. 5 described later, the process returns to the predetermined main program. On the other hand, when the time is not a night time zone (S105-No), the process proceeds to step S107, and after executing the A process of FIG. 3 described later, the process returns to a predetermined main program.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the A process.
In step S111, it is determined whether or not the rotational speed N is lower than a predetermined threshold value N1. Here, the threshold value N1 is a value of about 800 rpm, for example. In the case of a room air conditioner for general households, the blower fan 14 rotates in the range of 500 to 1500 rpm. Therefore, a rotation range lower than 800 rpm can be said to be a low-speed rotation range. Therefore, when the rotation speed N is lower than the threshold value N1, it is determined that the blower fan 14 is in the low speed rotation range (S111-Yes), and the process proceeds to step S112. On the other hand, when the rotation speed N is equal to or greater than the threshold value N1, it is determined that the blower fan 14 is rotating in a rotation range higher than the low-speed rotation range (S111-No), and the process proceeds to step S113.

In step S112, the volume of the voice guidance is reduced by one level from the set value, and then the process returns to the predetermined main program. Here, the set value is a volume set by the user with the remote control.
In step S113, it is determined whether the rotation speed N is lower than a predetermined threshold value N2. Here, the threshold value N2 is a value of about 1100 rpm, for example. As described above, in the case of a general room air conditioner, since the blower fan 14 rotates in a range of about 500 to 1500 rpm, the rotation range of 800 to 1100 rpm can be said to be a medium speed rotation range. A rotation region exceeding 1100 rpm can be said to be a high-speed rotation region. Therefore, when the rotation speed N is lower than the threshold value N2, it is determined that the blower fan 14 is in the medium speed rotation range (S113-Yes), and the process proceeds to step S114. On the other hand, when the rotational speed N is equal to or greater than the threshold value N2, it is determined that the blower fan 14 is rotating in a rotational range higher than the medium speed rotational range, that is, in the high speed rotational range (S113-No). Transition.
In step S114, the volume of the voice guidance is returned to the predetermined main program while maintaining the set value.
In step S115, the volume of the voice guidance is increased by one level from the set value, and then the process returns to the predetermined main program.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the B process.
In step S121, it is determined whether or not the rotation speed N is lower than a predetermined threshold value N1. When the rotation speed N is lower than the threshold value N1, it is determined that the blower fan 14 is in the low-speed rotation range (S121—Yes), and the process proceeds to step S122. On the other hand, when the rotation speed N is equal to or greater than the threshold value N1, it is determined that the blower fan 14 exceeds the low speed rotation range (S121—No), and the process proceeds to step S123.

In step S122, the volume of the voice guidance is returned to the predetermined main program while maintaining the set value.
In step S123, it is determined whether or not the rotational speed N is lower than a predetermined threshold value N2. When the rotation speed N is lower than the threshold value N2, it is determined that the blower fan 14 is in the medium speed rotation range (S123-Yes), and the process proceeds to step S124. On the other hand, when the rotation speed N is greater than or equal to the threshold value N2, it is determined that the blower fan 14 is rotating in a rotation range higher than the medium speed rotation range, that is, in the high speed rotation range (S123-No). Transition.
In step S124, the volume of the voice guidance is increased by one level from the set value, and then the process returns to the predetermined main program.
In step S125, the volume of the voice guidance is increased by two steps from the set value, and then the process returns to the predetermined main program.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the C process.
In step S131, it is determined whether the rotation speed N is lower than a predetermined threshold value N1. When the rotation speed N is lower than the threshold value N1, it is determined that the blower fan 14 is in the low speed rotation range (S131-Yes), and the process proceeds to step S132. On the other hand, when the rotation speed N is equal to or greater than the threshold N1, it is determined that the blower fan 14 exceeds the low speed rotation range (S131—No), and the process proceeds to step S133.

In step S132, the volume of the voice guidance is reduced by two steps from the set value, and then the process returns to the predetermined main program.
In step S133, it is determined whether or not the rotational speed N is lower than a predetermined threshold value N2. When the rotation speed N is lower than the threshold value N2, it is determined that the blower fan 14 is in the medium speed rotation range (S133-Yes), and the process proceeds to step S134. On the other hand, when the rotational speed N is equal to or greater than the threshold value N2, it is determined that the blower fan 14 is rotating in a rotational range higher than the medium speed rotational range, that is, in the high speed rotational range (S131-No). Transition.
In step S134, the volume of the voice guidance is reduced by one level from the set value, and then the process returns to the predetermined main program.
In step S135, the sound guidance volume is returned to a predetermined main program while maintaining the set value.

FIG. 6 is a table summarizing the volume control processing.
That is, when the time is in the night zone, the volume of the voice guidance is set lower than when the time is outside the night zone. Further, the lower the rotation speed N of the blower fan 14, the smaller the sound guidance volume. Further, when the human motion is not detected by the human sensor 16, the volume of the voice guidance is made smaller than when the human motion is detected.

In addition, although the rotation speed N of the ventilation fan 14 is detected by the rotation speed detection circuit 15, it is not limited to this, You may use the rotation speed command value with respect to a motor.
Moreover, although the rotation speed N of the ventilation fan 14 is divided into three stages, a low speed rotation area, a medium speed rotation area, and a high speed rotation area, it is not limited to this. For example, it may be divided into only two stages of a low speed rotation area and a high speed rotation area, or may be divided into four or more stages.
Similarly, although the time is divided into the night zone and the other two stages, it is not limited to this and may be divided into three or more stages. For example, midnight to 2:00 am is added as a midnight band, and 10:00 pm to 6:00 am except for the midnight band is a night band. The volume may be reduced.

<Action>
Next, the operation will be described.
In this embodiment, the volume of the voice guidance is changed according to the time, the rotational speed N of the blower fan 14, the presence or absence of human movement, and these three conditions.
First, when the time is in the nighttime zone, the volume of the voice guidance is set lower than when it is outside the nighttime zone. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the voice guidance from becoming larger than necessary in the nighttime when the surrounding noise is small. On the other hand, during the daytime when the surrounding noise becomes louder, it is easier to hear the voice guidance by setting the necessary and sufficient volume. In addition, the time can be easily detected by using the clock unit 13.

  Further, the lower the rotation speed N of the blower fan 14, the smaller the sound guidance volume. Thereby, it can suppress that a voice guidance becomes loud more than necessary in the situation where a driving | running sound becomes small. Among the operating sounds generated by the indoor unit 11, noise accompanying rotation of the blower fan 14 is the largest factor, so that the volume of the voice guidance is adjusted according to the rotation speed N, so that the volume can be set to an appropriate volume. it can. On the other hand, in a situation where the driving sound is loud, making the necessary and sufficient volume makes it easier to hear voice guidance. Further, by using the rotation speed detection circuit 15, the rotation speed N of the blower fan 14 can be easily detected.

Further, when the human motion is not detected by the human sensor 16, the volume of the voice guidance is made smaller than when the human motion is detected. Thereby, for example, when the user is taking a nap or going to bed, it is possible to suppress the voice guidance from becoming larger than necessary. On the other hand, when detecting the movement of a person, making the necessary and sufficient volume makes it easier to hear voice guidance. As described above, since the room air conditioner is used for general homes, the situation of the user is diversified. However, by detecting the presence or absence of the movement of the person, the sound volume suitable for the situation of the user can be obtained. Further, by using the human sensor 16, it is possible to easily detect the presence or absence of human movement.
Thus, by changing the volume of the voice guidance according to the time, the number of rotations of the blower fan 14, the presence or absence of human movement, and these three conditions, the voice guidance in the room is made to have a more appropriate volume. Can do. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user from feeling uncomfortable, and convenience is improved.

<Modification>
In the above-described embodiment, the volume of a person's movement is changed in two stages whether or not there is a movement, but is not limited to this. That is, in a situation where the user is actively moving, it is desirable to increase the volume of the voice guidance. Conversely, in a situation where the user is spending quietly, it is desirable to reduce the volume of the voice guidance. Therefore, even when a human motion is detected by the human sensor 16, the volume of the voice guidance may be decreased as the frequency is lower. For example, the number of times human motion is detected by the human sensor 16 per unit time (for example, one minute) is detected, and the volume of voice guidance is reduced as the number of detections decreases.
In this way, by changing the volume in multiple stages according to the frequency at which a person's movement is detected, a more appropriate volume can be set according to the user's situation.

《Correspondence relationship》
In the above embodiment, the voice guidance output unit 22 corresponds to a “notification sound output unit”. The clock unit 13 corresponds to a “time acquisition unit”. The rotation speed detection circuit 15 corresponds to a “rotation speed detection unit”. The human sensor 16 corresponds to a “human detection unit”.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to a limited number of embodiments, the scope of rights is not limited thereto, and modifications of the embodiments based on the above disclosure are obvious to those skilled in the art.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Indoor unit 12 Control unit 13 Clock part 14 Blower fan 15 Rotation speed detection circuit 16 Human sensor 17 Speaker 21 Voice guidance production | generation part 22 Voice guidance output part 23 Volume control part

Claims (4)

An indoor unit that performs indoor air conditioning;
A notification sound output unit for outputting a notification sound in the room;
A time acquisition unit for acquiring time from an internal clock;
A rotational speed detector for detecting the rotational speed of the blower fan in the indoor unit;
A human detection unit for detecting presence or absence of movement of a person in the room;
A volume control unit that changes the volume of the notification sound according to the time acquired by the time acquisition unit, the number of rotations detected by the rotation number detection unit, and the presence or absence of a human motion detected by the person detection unit; An air conditioner comprising: The volume control unit
2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein when the time acquired by the time acquisition unit is a predetermined nighttime zone, the volume of the notification sound is made smaller than when the time is other than the nighttime zone. Machine. The volume control unit
The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the volume of the notification sound is reduced as the rotational speed detected by the rotational speed detection unit is lower. The volume control unit
The volume of the notification sound is reduced when the human motion is not detected by the human detection unit, compared to when the human motion is detected. Air conditioner as described in.

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