JP2017072323A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve both improvement in rise performance of a cooling operation and dew condensation prevention, in an air conditioner which includes a preheat function.SOLUTION: An air conditioner includes: storage means for dividing a weak cooling operation permission time zone provided in one day into a plurality of predetermined time zones, and for storing the number of operation start times for each predetermined time zone in the past predetermined period; determination means for determining whether or not the number of operation start times for each predetermined time zone has exceeded a predetermined threshold value in storage information stored in the storage means; control means for performing a weak cooling operation on the basis of the determination result of the determination means; and relative humidity detection means for detecting relative humidity indoors. By changing the operation time of the weak cooling operation according to the relative humidity detected by the relative humidity detection means, cool air can be blown out in a short time when starting a cooling operation and also, dripping of dew from an indoor unit can be prevented.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner that can blow out cool air in a short time at the start of a cooling operation and can prevent dripping of dew from an indoor unit.

  Some conventional air conditioners have a preheating function that warms the compressor or the like in advance before the start of the heating operation, thereby speeding up the start of the heating operation. In addition, there is one that learns and determines the time to start the preheating operation from the start time of the past heating operation (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-5-1855

In the conventional air conditioner, the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger is often almost the same as the room temperature during operation stop. Therefore, particularly when the indoor fan is operated at the start of the cooling operation, uncooled air is blown out and the user feels uncomfortable.

  On the other hand, a preliminary operation is performed in advance before the start of the heating operation, and the time until the hot air blows out is shortened by maintaining the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger at a predetermined temperature or higher.

  However, the air conditioner described in this publication is configured to reduce the time until hot air blows out at the start of heating operation, and is configured to reduce the time until cool air blows out at the start of cooling operation However, if it is operated at high humidity, there is a problem that condensation occurs on the indoor unit due to cold air, and this dew may drop.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described conventional problems, and it is possible to blow out cool air in a short time even at the start of cooling operation and to prevent dripping of dew from the indoor unit.

  A storage device that stores the number of operation start times for each predetermined time period in a past predetermined period and divides the low-cooling operation permission time period provided in one day into a plurality of predetermined time periods, and is stored in the storage unit Determination means for determining whether or not the number of operation start times for each predetermined time period in the stored information exceeds a predetermined threshold; control means for performing a low-cooling operation based on a determination result of the determination means; And a relative humidity detecting means for detecting humidity, and the cold air is blown out in a short time at the start of the cooling operation by changing the operation time of the low-cooling operation according to the relative humidity detected by the relative humidity detection means. Moreover, dripping of dew from the indoor unit can be prevented.

  The air conditioner of the present invention can blow out cool air in a short time when the cooling operation is started, and can prevent dripping of dew from the indoor unit.

External appearance perspective view and principal part block diagram of indoor unit in Embodiment 1 Refrigeration cycle configuration schematic diagram of the air conditioner in the first embodiment Block diagram illustrating the configuration of a control system in the first embodiment Control flowchart for determining the time for performing the low-temperature operation in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing explaining the example of determination of the time which performs weak-cooling operation in this Embodiment 1.

  The air conditioner according to the first aspect of the present invention divides the low-cooling operation permission time zone provided in one day into a plurality of predetermined time zones, and stores the operation start count for each predetermined time zone in a past predetermined period. A storage unit; a determination unit that determines whether or not the number of operation starts for each predetermined time period in the stored information stored in the storage unit exceeds a predetermined threshold; and a weak cooling function based on a determination result of the determination unit A control means for operating and a relative humidity detecting means for detecting the relative humidity in the room, and changing the operation time of the low-temperature operation according to the relative humidity detected by the relative humidity detection means. is there.

  With this configuration, it is possible to perform low-cooling operation in advance according to the time zone often used by the user, and to blow out cold air in a short time at the start of cooling operation, and the time for low-temperature operation according to the relative humidity in the room The dripping of the dew from the indoor unit can be prevented by changing.

  An air conditioner according to a second aspect of the invention is provided with an indoor temperature detecting means for detecting an indoor temperature, and stops the low-temperature operation when the indoor temperature is detected to be equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature during the operation of the low-temperature operation. is there.

  By making this configuration, the living space is not cooled more than necessary, so that comfort is not impaired.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view and main part configuration diagram of an indoor unit according to Embodiment 1, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a refrigeration cycle of an air conditioner. In the first embodiment, the air conditioner includes an indoor unit 1 and an outdoor unit 2, which are connected by a connection pipe 3 and a communication line 4. The connection pipe 3 supplies and transports the refrigerant, and the communication line 4 supplies and transports control data to the indoor unit 1 and the outdoor unit 2, respectively. The air conditioner also includes a remote controller 5 for a user to operate the air conditioner.

  The indoor unit 1 includes an indoor heat exchanger 104 that exchanges heat between indoor air and a refrigerant, and an indoor fan 105 that promotes heat exchange in the indoor heat exchanger 104 and blows air into the room. Moreover, the room temperature sensor 106 which is a room temperature detection means which detects room temperature (room temperature) is provided. Moreover, the relative humidity sensor 123 which is an indoor relative humidity detection means which detects indoor relative humidity is provided.

  The outdoor unit 2 includes an outdoor heat exchanger 107 that exchanges heat between the outdoor air and the refrigerant, an outdoor fan 108 that promotes heat exchange in the outdoor heat exchanger 107 and blows air, and compresses the refrigerant and discharges high-temperature refrigerant. A compressor 16 for switching, a four-way valve 110 for switching the flow path of the refrigerant, and a pressure reducing device 111 for depressurizing the refrigerant.

  And at the time of air_conditionaing | cooling operation, the refrigerating cycle is comprised so that a refrigerant | coolant may flow in order of the compressor 16, the four-way valve 110, the outdoor heat exchanger 107, the decompression device 111, the indoor heat exchanger 104, the four-way valve 110, and the compressor 16. During the heating operation, the refrigerant flow path is reversed by switching the four-way valve 110.

Further, a front panel 1 is opened on the front side of the indoor unit 1 during air conditioning operation and closed when the air conditioning operation is stopped.
20, an air outlet 121 for blowing air into the room, upper and lower blades 122 for changing the wind direction of the air from the air outlet 121 up and down, and left and right blades (not shown) for changing the wind direction of the air from the air outlet 121 to the left and right ).

  The configuration of the control system in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The indoor unit 1 includes an indoor control unit 9 for controlling an indoor fan 105 and the like provided in the indoor unit 1. The indoor control unit 9 includes an operation counter 10 (storage means in the present invention), a time memorization unit 11, and a transmission / reception device 12 connected to the outdoor unit 2 via the communication line 4. Further, in the indoor control unit 9, determination means for determining whether or not the number of operation starts for each predetermined time period in the storage information stored by the operation counter 10 exceeds a predetermined threshold, and the determination result of the determination means Based on this, there is provided usage prediction means for performing usage prediction in a future preheating operation permission time zone.

  The outdoor unit 2 includes an outdoor control unit 13 for controlling the compressor 16 and the outdoor fan 108 provided in the outdoor unit 2. The outdoor control unit 13 includes a transmission / reception device 14 connected to the indoor unit 1 via the communication line 4 and a compressor drive circuit 15 that controls the operation of the compressor 16.

  The remote controller 5 includes a setting button 6 for inputting start / stop of the operation of the air conditioner, a change in setting, and a transmission unit 7 for transmitting an operation signal to the indoor unit 1 by infrared rays or the like.

  When the user operates the setting button 6 provided on the remote controller 5 and determines the operation or setting to be performed, the remote controller 5 receives input information from the setting button 6 from the transmission unit 7 to the reception unit provided in the indoor unit 1. 8 to send. The information received by the receiving unit 8 is sent to the indoor control unit 9, and the indoor control unit 9 performs processing according to the information.

  The operation counter 10 can count the number of cooling operations (total number of operations) in all of the weak-cooling operation permission time zones within the learning range, and the number of cooling operations (section operations times) in a certain time section within the learning range. it can. Here, the learning range is a predetermined period in the past, specifically, the range from the installation of the air conditioner to the current time, or the cooling operation stored in the operation counter 10 for some reason such as a power failure. This is the range from the reset count to the current time.

  In the present embodiment, the weakly cold operation permission time zone is set to 7 hours from 12:00 to 19:00. And the cold-cooling operation permission time zone is divided into a plurality of predetermined time zones. Specifically, the weak-cooling operation permission time zone is divided every 30 minutes to provide 14 time intervals. In addition, the length of the low-cooling operation permission time zone, the length of the predetermined time zone, and the number of sections can be appropriately changed without being limited thereto.

  The time memorization unit 11 can remember the current time information and is used for counting the number of cooling operations by the operation counter 10. In the present embodiment, the initial time information is set by the user using the remote controller 5, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the time information may be set by obtaining information from the outside by a communication function using a wireless LAN. .

  By the way, in the air conditioner configured as described above, the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 104 is often substantially the same as the room temperature during operation stop. Therefore, especially when the indoor fan 105 is operated at the start of the cooling operation, uncooled air is blown out, and the user feels uncomfortable.

Therefore, before the cooling operation is started, the indoor heat exchanger 104 can be cooled by performing the cooling operation at a low frequency in advance, and the time until the cold air is blown out can be shortened to improve user comfort. .

  Such a preheating operation at a low frequency for cooling the indoor heat exchanger 104 is also called a weak cooling operation. However, performing the low-temperature operation causes the compressor 16 to be driven, so that useless power is consumed and energy saving performance is lost.

  Therefore, it is possible to improve the comfort without losing energy-saving performance by predicting the time when the cold-cooling operation will be performed in advance and performing the cold-cooling operation according to that time. It is necessary to determine the optimal time for performing the cold operation.

  FIG. 4 is a control flowchart for determining the time for performing the low-cooling operation, which is performed by the determination unit and the use prediction unit.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of determining the time for performing the low-temperature operation.

  First, in step 31, the determination unit determines a high usage frequency section in which the cooling operation is started in the past learning range from among a plurality of 14 time sections that are a plurality of predetermined time zones. The operation counter 10 calculates a value obtained by dividing the number of section operations in each of the 14 sections by the total number of operations, and when the value exceeds the threshold, it is considered that the time period during which the user frequently starts the cooling operation. Let it be a high usage frequency section.

  Here, it is desirable to set the threshold in consideration of how often the cooling operation is frequently started. For example, in this embodiment, the threshold value is 0.2. The reason for this will be described below.

  The time when we want to improve comfort by performing lightly cold operation is from daytime to evening, taking into account the desire that the user wants to hit the cold wind when going home or after bathing on a hot day it is conceivable that.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the time zone in which comfort is to be improved is from 12: 00 to 19: 00, and the low-cooling operation permission time zone is 7 from 12: 00 to 19: 00. Set with time.

  And a general user often takes a different life cycle on weekdays and holidays in one week. Considering the difference in the life cycle between weekdays and holidays, assuming that one week is five days on weekdays and two days on holidays, setting the frequency of use to the extent that two or more days of the week start cooling operation as a threshold, Weak cooling operation is not carried out according to the cycle. On the other hand, if the usage frequency of starting cooling operation is set as a threshold for less than one day in a week, it is difficult to say that it is a time to frequently start operation, and many times are high usage frequency It becomes a section, and there is a risk that energy-saving performance deteriorates. For this reason, in this embodiment, the threshold value is a numerical value of 1/7 or more and less than 2/7 so that a time zone used with a frequency of 1 day or more and less than 2 days in a week becomes a high use frequency section. Is set to 0.2.

  The threshold is preferably set as described above, but is not limited to this, and may be set to 0.3 in anticipation that the number of times of driving increases only in a certain section. It may be 0.1. Moreover, although the value which remove | divided each area operation frequency by the total operation frequency was used in this Embodiment, it is not limited to this, You may use the operation frequency of each area.

Next, in step 32, the use predicting means determines whether or not there is a high use frequency section in the low-cooling operation permission time zone, and if it exists, proceeds to step 33. In step 33, the time for performing the low-temperature operation is determined from the high usage frequency section.

  First, in the low-cooling operation permission time zone, the highest usage frequency section with the earliest time is set as a reference section, and its start time (for example, 17:00 in the section 17: 0 to 17:30) is set as a reference time. The period from 30 minutes before to 90 minutes is set as the low-cooling operation time (for example, 16:30 to 18:30 when 17:00 is the reference time). In the present embodiment, the low-cooling operation time is determined as described above, but the present invention is not limited to this.

Until the cold-cooling operation end time 18:30 is reached, the cold-cooling operation is continued unless the user instructs the cooling operation. This is because it is assumed that the user does not always give a cooling operation instruction when the light cooling operation start time is 17:00. In order to improve the convenience for the user, even if the cooling operation is instructed within a predetermined range, the cool air is blown out immediately when the cooling operation is started.

Here, the prevention of condensation during the cooling pre-operation will be described. When the indoor relative humidity is high, such as when it rains or when the laundry is being dried in the room, dew is deposited on the indoor unit, and when the dew grows and drip, this dew forms furniture and electrical appliances below the indoor unit. In order to soil or damage the carpet or the like, the low-cooling operation time is changed by the humidity detected by the relative humidity sensor 123 that detects the relative humidity in the room in step 34. For example, in this embodiment, if a relative humidity of 70% or less is detected, the low-cooling operation is 90 minutes in step 35, and if a relative humidity of 70% or more is detected, the low-cooling operation is set to 60 minutes. Thus, dripping of dew from the indoor unit 1 can be prevented by controlling the operation time of the low-cooling operation according to the indoor relative humidity. Needless to say, the value of 70% relative humidity and the value of the low-cooling operation time (90 minutes, 30 minutes) can be changed as appropriate. In addition, in a highly airtight and highly insulated house, the room temperature of the room may gradually decrease during the low-cooling operation. For this reason, when the indoor temperature sensor 106 that detects the room temperature in step 37 detects that the room temperature is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature during the low-temperature operation, the low-temperature operation is stopped. For example, in the present embodiment, when the indoor temperature is detected to be 27 ° C. or lower, the low-cooling operation is stopped, so that the comfort is not impaired. Since the indoor heat exchanger 104 is cold without performing the cold operation, when the user gives an instruction for the cooling operation, the cold air is blown out immediately, so that the user's dissatisfaction with not being blown out can be reduced. it can. Needless to say, the value of the room temperature 27 ° C. can be changed as appropriate.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to blow cool air in a short time at the start of the cooling operation by performing the low-cooling operation according to the use frequency of the user, and to prevent the dew from dropping from the indoor unit. Therefore, it can be applied not only to air conditioners with small capacities for individuals but also to large air conditioners for business use.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Indoor unit 2 Outdoor unit 3 Connection piping 4 Communication line 5 Remote control 6 Setting button 7 Transmitting part 8 Receiving part 9 Indoor control part 10 Operation counter 11 Time memorizing part 12 Transmitting / receiving apparatus 13 Outdoor control part 14 Transmitting / receiving apparatus 15 Compressor drive circuit 16 Compressor 104 Indoor heat exchanger 105 Indoor fan 106 Indoor temperature sensor 107 Outdoor heat exchanger 108 Outdoor fan 110 Four-way valve 111 Pressure reducing device 120 Front panel 121 Outlet 122 Upper and lower blades 123 Relative humidity sensor

Claims (2)

A storage device that stores the number of operation start times for each predetermined time period in a past predetermined period and divides the low-cooling operation permission time period provided in one day into a plurality of predetermined time periods, and is stored in the storage unit Determination means for determining whether or not the number of operation start times for each predetermined time period in the stored information exceeds a predetermined threshold; control means for performing a low-cooling operation based on a determination result of the determination means; An air conditioner comprising: a relative humidity detecting unit that detects humidity; and changing an operation time of the low-cooling operation according to the relative humidity detected by the relative humidity detection unit. 2. The air according to claim 1, further comprising an indoor temperature detection unit configured to detect an indoor temperature, wherein when the indoor temperature is detected to be equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature during the low-cooling operation, the low-cooling operation is stopped. Harmony machine.

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