JP2018146209A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner capable of accurately detecting a body temperature of a person existing in an air-conditioned space, and enabling air-conditioning operation along a sensible temperature of a user based on the body temperature.SOLUTION: A CPU 110 is configured to, when starting air-conditioning operation, using a captured room temperature Ti as a first temperature and a captured ambient temperature Ta as a second temperature, determine whether a selection condition A is established. The CPU 110 is configured to, when the selection condition A is not established, using a captured setting temperature Ts, room temperature Ti and ambient temperature Ta, determine whether a selection condition B is established. The CPU 110 is configured to, when any of the selection condition A and the selection condition B is established, determine a reference temperature Tc as the room temperature Ti, while the CPU 110 is configured to, when both of the selection condition A and the selection condition B are established, define the reference temperature Tc as the ambient temperature Ta.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner.

  There has been proposed an air conditioner that detects a person existing in an air-conditioned space such as a room where an indoor unit is installed, using a human detection sensor such as an infrared sensor, and performs a detailed air-conditioning operation using the detected result. For example, the air conditioner described in Patent Document 1 includes an infrared sensor in a wall-mounted indoor unit, and scans the air-conditioned space with the infrared sensor to detect infrared radiation emitted from the surface of an object such as a person existing in the air-conditioned space. To do.

  And since the temperature of the object surface obtained based on the detection result of the infrared rays radiated from the object surface is added to the air conditioning control, the air conditioning operation can be performed in accordance with the user's sensible temperature, for example, The comfort of the user can be improved by directing the wind direction or increasing the air volume to the user whose body surface temperature is high during the cooling operation.

  By the way, a thermopile type radiation temperature sensor may be used as the human detection sensor described above. This radiation temperature sensor has an infrared absorber that receives infrared rays, a hot junction that is one end of a thermocouple and disposed near the infrared absorber, and an infrared absorber that is the other end of the thermocouple and is compared to the hot junction. A cold junction part disposed at a location distant from the part, and an ambient temperature sensor disposed in the vicinity of the cold junction part to detect the ambient temperature of the radiation temperature sensor. The infrared absorber, the thermocouple including the hot junction and the cold junction, and the ambient temperature sensor are mounted on a single substrate. A motor shaft of a stepping motor is attached to this substrate, and a radiation temperature sensor is rotated by the stepping motor, thereby detecting infrared rays radiated from the human body surface existing in the conditioned space by scanning the conditioned space.

  In the radiation temperature sensor as described above, infrared rays absorbed by the infrared ray absorbing portion are converted into heat, and a temperature difference is generated between the hot junction portion and the cold junction portion. A potential difference corresponding to the temperature difference is generated between the hot junction and the cold junction by the action of the thermocouple. Usually, the radiation temperature sensor takes this potential difference and converts it into a temperature difference. The temperature detected by the ambient temperature sensor is used as a reference temperature (also called the cold junction temperature), and the temperature difference obtained from the potential difference is calculated as the reference temperature. In addition, the surface temperature of the person existing in the air-conditioned space is obtained.

JP, 2006-38153, A

  As described above, the radiation temperature sensor detects the body surface temperature of a person existing in the air-conditioned space by adding the temperature difference obtained from the potential difference to the reference temperature detected by the ambient temperature sensor. For this reason, if the ambient temperature detected by the ambient temperature sensor is different from the actual ambient temperature of the radiation temperature sensor due to some disturbance, that is, different from the actual ambient temperature of the person in the air-conditioned space, The body surface temperature cannot be detected accurately. For this reason, even if it performed the air-conditioning operation using the temperature detected with the radiation temperature sensor, there existed a problem that the air-conditioning operation along a user's sensible temperature could not be performed. Disturbances include, for example, a heating element such as an oil stove or a tabletop stove disposed below the radiation temperature sensor, direct sunlight that is inserted into the room from a window, warm or cold radiation from the wall surface of the room, It affects the ambient temperature of the radiation temperature sensor, such as heat radiated from an electrical component box or the like stored inside the body.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, and accurately detects the body surface temperature of a person existing in an air-conditioned space, and uses this to perform air conditioning operation in accordance with the user's perceived temperature. The purpose is to provide a machine.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the air conditioner of the present invention includes a housing having a suction port and an outlet, an indoor unit having an indoor fan, and a first temperature that is a temperature of an air-conditioned space in which the indoor unit is installed. A first temperature sensor for detecting the temperature, a radiation temperature sensor for absorbing infrared rays emitted from a detection target existing in the air-conditioned space and outputting temperature information, and a control means for controlling the indoor fan. Then, the control means uses the first temperature as a reference temperature, and detects the radiation temperature of the detection object using the reference temperature and temperature information.

  According to the air conditioner of the present invention configured as described above, the body surface temperature of a person existing in the conditioned space can be accurately detected, and the air conditioning operation can be performed in accordance with the user's sensible temperature.

It is explanatory drawing of the air conditioner in embodiment of this invention, (A) is a refrigerant circuit figure, (B) is a block diagram of an indoor unit control means and a radiation temperature sensor. It is explanatory drawing of the radiation temperature sensor in embodiment of this invention, (A) and (B) are figures explaining arrangement | positioning of the radiation temperature sensor in an indoor unit, (C) shows the scanning range of a radiation temperature sensor. FIG. It is a temperature selection table in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process in the indoor unit control means in embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As an embodiment, an air conditioner in which an outdoor unit and an indoor unit are connected by two refrigerant pipes will be described as an example. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1A, an air conditioner 1 according to this embodiment includes an outdoor unit 2 installed outdoors, and an indoor unit installed indoors and connected to the outdoor unit 2 with a liquid pipe 4 and a gas pipe 5. Machine 3 is provided. Specifically, the liquid pipe 4 has one end connected to the closing valve 25 of the outdoor unit 2 and the other end connected to the liquid pipe connecting portion 33 of the indoor unit 3. The gas pipe 5 has one end connected to the closing valve 26 of the outdoor unit 2 and the other end connected to the gas pipe connecting portion 34 of the indoor unit 3. The refrigerant circuit 10 of the air conditioner 1 is configured as described above.
<Configuration of outdoor unit>

  First, the outdoor unit 2 will be described. The outdoor unit 2 is connected to a compressor 21, a four-way valve 22, an outdoor heat exchanger 23, an outdoor fan 24, a closing valve 25 to which one end of the liquid pipe 4 is connected, and one end of the gas pipe 5. A closing valve 26 and an expansion valve 27 are provided. And these each apparatus except the outdoor fan 24 is mutually connected by each refrigerant | coolant piping explained in full detail below, and the outdoor unit refrigerant circuit 10a which makes a part of the refrigerant circuit 10 is comprised.

  The compressor 21 is a variable capacity compressor capable of changing the operating capacity by controlling the rotation speed by an inverter (not shown). The refrigerant discharge side of the compressor 21 is connected to the port a of the four-way valve 22 by a discharge pipe 61. The refrigerant suction side of the compressor 21 is connected to the port c of the four-way valve 22 by a suction pipe 66.

  The four-way valve 22 is a valve for switching the direction in which the refrigerant flows, and includes four ports a, b, c, and d. The port a is connected to the refrigerant discharge side of the compressor 21 by the discharge pipe 61 as described above. The port b is connected to one refrigerant inlet / outlet of the outdoor heat exchanger 23 by a refrigerant pipe 62. The port c is connected to the refrigerant suction side of the compressor 21 by the suction pipe 66 as described above. The port d is connected to the shutoff valve 26 and the outdoor unit gas pipe 64.

  The outdoor heat exchanger 23 exchanges heat between the refrigerant and the outside air taken into the outdoor unit 2 by the rotation of the outdoor fan 24 described later. As described above, one refrigerant inlet / outlet of the outdoor heat exchanger 23 is connected to the port b of the four-way valve 22 by the refrigerant pipe 62, and the other refrigerant inlet / outlet is connected to the closing valve 25 by the outdoor unit liquid pipe 63.

  The expansion valve 27 is an electronic expansion valve, for example, and is provided in the outdoor unit liquid pipe 63. The opening amount of the expansion valve 27 is adjusted so that the amount of refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger 23 or the amount of refrigerant flowing out of the outdoor heat exchanger 23 is adjusted.

  The outdoor fan 24 is formed of a resin material and is disposed in the vicinity of the outdoor heat exchanger 23. The outdoor fan 24 is rotated by a fan motor (not shown) to take outside air into the outdoor unit 2 from a suction port (not shown) of the outdoor unit 2, and the outdoor air exchanged heat with the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 23. It discharges from the blower outlet which is not illustrated to the exterior of outdoor unit 2.

  In addition to the configuration described above, the outdoor unit 2 is provided with various sensors. The discharge pipe 61 is provided with a high pressure sensor 71 that detects the pressure of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 21 and a discharge temperature sensor 73 that detects the temperature of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 21. The suction pipe 66 is provided with a low pressure sensor 72 that detects the pressure of the refrigerant sucked into the compressor 21 and a suction temperature sensor 74 that detects the temperature of the refrigerant sucked into the compressor 21.

Between the outdoor heat exchanger 23 and the expansion valve 27 in the outdoor unit liquid pipe 63, a heat exchange temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the refrigerant flowing out of the outdoor heat exchanger 23 or flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger 23. 75 is provided. An outdoor air temperature sensor 76 that detects the temperature of the outside air flowing into the outdoor unit 2, that is, the outside air temperature, is provided in the vicinity of a suction port (not shown) of the outdoor unit 2.
<Configuration of indoor unit>

  Next, the indoor unit 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 1A, the indoor unit 3 includes an indoor heat exchanger 31, an indoor fan 32, a liquid pipe connection portion 33 to which the other end of the liquid pipe 4 is connected, and the other end of the gas pipe 5. Are connected to each other. And these each apparatus except the indoor fan 32 is mutually connected by each refrigerant | coolant piping explained in full detail below, and the indoor unit refrigerant circuit 10b which makes a part of refrigerant circuit 10 is comprised.

  Each device constituting the indoor unit 3 described above is stored in a housing 30a shown in FIG. The housing 30a is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape using a resin material. The housing 30a is provided on a top plate 30f of the housing 30a shown in FIG. 2C, and a suction port 30e that takes air into the housing 30a, and a front plate 30b of the housing 30a shown in FIG. The air outlet 30c is provided below the air outlet 30b and blows air out from the housing 30a. And the indoor heat exchanger 23 and the indoor fan 24 are arrange | positioned in the order which goes to the inside of the housing | casing 30a from the suction inlet 30e to the blower outlet 30c. This indoor unit 3 is installed on the wall surface of a room 200 (corresponding to the air-conditioned space of the present invention) shown in FIG.

The indoor heat exchanger 31 exchanges heat between indoor air taken into the indoor unit 3 from the suction port 30e of the indoor unit 3 by rotation of the refrigerant and the indoor fan 32 described later. As shown, one refrigerant inlet / outlet is connected to the liquid pipe connecting portion 33 by an indoor unit liquid pipe 67, and the other refrigerant inlet / outlet is connected to the gas pipe connecting portion 34 by an indoor unit gas pipe 68. The indoor heat exchanger 31 functions as an evaporator when the indoor unit 3 performs a cooling operation, and functions as a condenser when the indoor unit 3 performs a heating operation.
In addition, in the liquid pipe connection part 33 and the gas pipe connection part 34, each refrigerant | coolant piping is connected by welding, a flare nut, etc.

  The indoor fan 32 is formed of a resin material and is disposed in the vicinity of the indoor heat exchanger 31. The indoor fan 31 is rotated by a fan motor (not shown), thereby taking in indoor air from the suction port 30e of the indoor unit 3 into the housing 30a of the indoor unit 3, and exchanging heat with the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchanger 31. Is blown into the room through the outlet 30c. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the air outlet 30c is provided with a vertical air direction plate 30d that rotates up and down to deflect the air blown from the air outlet 30c up and down. Yes. Moreover, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, in the back (upper side of the housing | casing 30a) from the up-and-down wind direction board 30d in the blower outlet 30c, in order to deflect the air which blows off from the blower outlet 30c to right and left, the right and left A wind direction plate is provided. These upper and lower wind direction plates 30d and left and right wind direction plates are the wind direction plates of the present invention.

  In addition to the configuration described above, the indoor unit 3 is provided with various sensors. The indoor unit liquid pipe 67 is provided with a liquid side temperature sensor 77 that detects the temperature of the refrigerant flowing into or out of the indoor heat exchanger 31. The indoor unit gas pipe 68 is provided with a gas side temperature sensor 78 that detects the temperature of the refrigerant flowing out of the indoor heat exchanger 31 or flowing into the indoor heat exchanger 31. As shown in FIG. 2, the suction port 30e of the indoor unit 3 is provided with a suction temperature sensor 79 that is a first temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the indoor air flowing into the indoor unit 3, that is, the room temperature. ing.

  And as shown to FIG. 2 (A), the radiation temperature sensor 80 is arrange | positioned beside the blower outlet 30c in the front plate 30b of the housing | casing 30a of the indoor unit 3. As shown in FIG. The radiation temperature sensor 80 includes a rectangular substrate 84, an infrared absorber 81 mounted on the substrate 84, and an ambient temperature sensor 82 that is a second temperature sensor. The substrate 84 is fixed to a motor shaft 83 of a stepping motor (not shown) housed in the housing 30a of the indoor unit 3, and the radiation temperature sensor 80 is rotated left and right by the stepping motor, so that FIG. As shown in C), the room 200 in which the indoor unit 3 is installed is scanned at a viewing angle R (for example, 120 °). Thereby, infrared rays emitted from a person (corresponding to a detection object of the present invention, which may be referred to as a user hereinafter) existing in the scanning range 300 of the room 200 are detected.

  The infrared absorption unit 81 is an infrared array sensor, for example, and absorbs infrared rays radiated from the surface of a human body existing in the scanning range 300 of the room 200. The ambient temperature sensor 82 is a thermistor, for example, and detects the ambient temperature of the radiation temperature sensor 80. Although illustration is omitted, a thermocouple is mounted on the substrate 84, and one end portion of the thermocouple is disposed in the vicinity of the infrared absorbing portion 81 to become a hot junction portion, and the other end portion of the thermocouple. Is arranged in the vicinity of the ambient temperature sensor 82 to form a cold junction. The operation principle of the radiation temperature sensor 80 will be described later.

  The indoor unit 3 includes an indoor unit control means 100. The indoor unit control means 100 is mounted on a control board stored in an electrical component box (not shown) arranged inside the housing 30a of the indoor unit 3. As shown in FIG. 1B, the indoor unit control means 100 includes a CPU 110, a storage unit 120, a communication unit 130, and a sensor input unit 140.

  The storage unit 120 includes a ROM and a RAM, and stores a control program for the indoor unit 3, detection values corresponding to detection signals from various sensors, a control state of the indoor fan 32, and the like. The communication unit 130 is an interface for performing communication with an outdoor unit control unit (not shown) of the outdoor unit 2. The sensor input unit 140 captures detection results from various sensors of the indoor unit 3 and outputs them to the CPU 110.

CPU110 takes in the detection result in each sensor of indoor unit 3 mentioned above via sensor input part 140. FIG. In addition, the CPU 110 takes in a signal related to control transmitted from the outdoor unit 2 or a remote controller (not shown) via the communication unit 130. In addition, the CPU 110 performs drive control of the indoor fan 32 based on the acquired detection result and control signal.
<Operation of air conditioner>

Next, the flow of the refrigerant and the operation of each part in the refrigerant circuit 10 during the air conditioning operation of the air conditioner 1 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, the case where the indoor unit 3 performs the cooling operation will be described first, and then the case where the indoor unit 3 performs the heating operation will be described. In FIG. 1A, the solid line arrows indicate the refrigerant flow during the cooling operation, and the broken line arrows indicate the refrigerant flow during the heating operation.
<Cooling operation>

  When the indoor unit 3 performs the cooling operation, as shown in FIG. 1A, the four-way valve 22 is in a state indicated by a solid line, that is, the port a and the port b of the four-way valve 22 communicate with each other, and the port c And the port d are switched. Thereby, a refrigerant | coolant circulates in the direction shown as a solid line arrow in the refrigerant circuit 10, the outdoor heat exchanger 23 functions as a condenser, and the indoor heat exchanger 31 functions as an evaporator.

  The high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 21 flows through the discharge pipe 61 and flows into the four-way valve 22, flows from the four-way valve 22 through the refrigerant pipe 62, and flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 23. The refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger 23 is condensed by exchanging heat with the outside air taken into the outdoor unit 2 by the rotation of the outdoor fan 24. The refrigerant flowing out of the outdoor heat exchanger 23 into the outdoor unit liquid pipe 63 is decompressed when passing through the expansion valve 27 and flows into the liquid pipe 4 through the closing valve 25.

  The refrigerant flowing through the liquid pipe 4 and flowing into the indoor unit 3 through the liquid side connection portion 33 flows through the indoor unit liquid pipe 67 and flows into the indoor heat exchanger 31. It evaporates by exchanging heat with the indoor air taken in. In this way, the indoor heat exchanger 31 functions as an evaporator, and the indoor air that has exchanged heat with the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchanger 31 is blown into the room from a blower outlet (not shown), so that the indoor unit 3 is installed. The room is cooled.

The refrigerant flowing out of the indoor heat exchanger 31 flows through the indoor unit gas pipe 68 and flows into the gas pipe 5 through the gas side connection portion 34. The refrigerant flowing through the gas pipe 5 and flowing into the outdoor unit 2 through the closing valve 26 sequentially flows through the outdoor unit gas pipe 64, the four-way valve 22, and the suction pipe 66, and is sucked into the compressor 21 and compressed again.
<Heating operation>

  When the indoor unit 3 performs the heating operation, as shown in FIG. 1A, the four-way valve 22 is in a state indicated by a broken line, that is, the port a and the port d of the four-way valve 22 communicate with each other, and the port b And the port c are switched. Thereby, a refrigerant | coolant circulates in the direction shown with a broken-line arrow in the refrigerant circuit 10, the outdoor heat exchanger 23 functions as an evaporator, and the indoor heat exchanger 31 functions as a condenser.

  The high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 21 flows through the discharge pipe 61 and flows into the four-way valve 22, flows from the four-way valve 22 through the outdoor unit gas pipe 64, and flows into the gas pipe 5 through the closing valve 26. The refrigerant flowing through the gas pipe 5 flows into the indoor unit 3 through the gas pipe connection part 34.

  The refrigerant flowing into the indoor unit 3 flows through the indoor unit gas pipe 68 and flows into the indoor heat exchanger 31, and condenses by exchanging heat with the indoor air taken into the indoor unit 3 by the rotation of the indoor fan 32. . As described above, the indoor heat exchanger 31 functions as a condenser, and the indoor air that has exchanged heat with the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchanger 31 is blown into the room from a blower outlet (not shown), so that the indoor unit 3 is installed. The heated room is heated.

  The refrigerant flowing out of the indoor heat exchanger 31 flows through the indoor unit liquid pipe 67 and flows into the liquid pipe 4 through the liquid pipe connecting portion 33. The refrigerant flowing through the liquid pipe 4 and flowing into the outdoor unit 2 through the closing valve 25 is decompressed when flowing through the outdoor unit liquid pipe 63 and passing through the expansion valve 27.

The refrigerant that has flowed into the outdoor heat exchanger 23 through the expansion valve 27 evaporates by exchanging heat with the outside air taken into the outdoor unit 2 by the rotation of the outdoor fan 24. The refrigerant that has flowed out of the outdoor heat exchanger 23 into the refrigerant pipe 62 flows through the four-way valve 22 and the suction pipe 66, is sucked into the compressor 21, and is compressed again.
<Air conditioning control using the detection result of the radiation temperature sensor>

  When the air conditioner 1 performs the cooling operation and the heating operation described above, the detection result of the radiation temperature sensor 80 is used as follows. When the air conditioning operation is started in the indoor unit 3, the CPU 110 of the indoor unit control means 100 rotates the radiation temperature sensor 80 to scan the scanning range 300 of the room 200, and determines the body surface temperature of the person existing in the scanning range 300. Detect. Specifically, infrared rays emitted from the human body surface are absorbed by the infrared absorbing unit 81.

  By absorbing the infrared rays by the infrared absorbing portion 81, the temperature of the hot junction portion arranged in the vicinity of the infrared absorbing portion 81 rises, and a potential difference is generated between the hot junction portion and the cold junction portion due to the action of the thermocouple. To do. This potential difference is taken into the CPU 110 of the indoor unit control means 100 via the sensor input unit 140. In FIG. 1B, the potential difference generated between the hot junction part and the cold junction part is output from the infrared absorption part 81 as temperature information.

  On the other hand, the ambient temperature sensor 82 of the radiation temperature sensor 80 detects the ambient temperature of the radiation temperature sensor 80. The ambient temperature detected by the ambient temperature sensor 82 is taken into the CPU 110 of the indoor unit control means 100 via the sensor input unit 140. The CPU 110 detects the human body surface temperature by converting the captured potential difference (temperature information) into a temperature difference and adding the temperature difference converted from the potential difference to the captured ambient temperature.

CPU110 adjusts the direction and intensity | strength of the conditioned air which blows off from the blower outlet 30c using the detected human body surface temperature. For example, if the set temperature during cooling operation is 27 ° C. and the body surface temperature detected at this time is 35 ° C., the CPU 110 rotates the up / down wind direction plate 30d or a left / right wind direction plate (not shown) to Air-conditioning air is blown in the direction of the air flow: strong, and if the human body surface temperature falls to 33 ° C, the air volume is increased to weaker, so that the cooling operation according to the user's perceived temperature is performed. Do.
<Improvement of detection accuracy of radiation temperature sensor>

  Incidentally, as described above, in the indoor unit 3, the CPU 110 of the indoor unit control means 100 obtains the ambient temperature detected by the ambient temperature sensor 82 of the radiation temperature sensor 80 from the potential difference between the hot junction part and the cold junction part. By adding the temperature difference, the body surface temperature of the person existing in the scanning range 300 of the room 200 is detected. Therefore, if the ambient temperature detected by the ambient temperature sensor 82 is different from the actual ambient temperature of the radiation temperature sensor 80 due to some disturbance, that is, different from the room temperature of the room 200, the human body surface temperature is accurately set. It cannot be detected.

  When the human body surface temperature cannot be accurately detected as described above, there is a problem that even if the air conditioning operation is performed using the detected human body surface temperature, the air conditioning operation cannot be performed in accordance with the user's perceived temperature. It was. The disturbance is, for example, a heating element such as an oil stove or a tabletop stove disposed below the radiation temperature sensor 80, direct sunlight inserted into the room 200 from a window, etc., thermal radiation or cold radiation from the wall surface of the room 200, This affects the ambient temperature of the radiation temperature sensor 80 such as heat radiated from an electrical component box (not shown) stored in the housing 30a of the indoor unit 3.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the temperature selection table 400 shown in FIG. 3 is used to add the temperature difference obtained from the potential difference when detecting the human body surface temperature (corresponding to the reference temperature of the present invention. Room temperature (corresponding to the first temperature of the present invention; hereinafter referred to as the first temperature) or radiation temperature sensor detected by the suction temperature sensor 79 of the indoor unit 3 One of the ambient temperatures of the radiation temperature sensor 80 detected by the 80 ambient temperature sensors 82 (corresponding to the second temperature of the present invention, hereinafter may be referred to as the second temperature) is selected.

  The temperature selection table 400 is preliminarily tested and stored in the storage unit 120 of the indoor unit control means 100. In the temperature selection table 400, the selection conditions A to C are determined and the reference temperature to be selected. Specifically, the selection condition A is the difference between the temperature difference between the two first temperatures detected after a predetermined time and the temperature difference between the two first temperatures detected after a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes). The absolute value of the difference (in FIG. 3, described as | first temperature difference−second temperature difference |) is not less than a first predetermined value (unit: ° C., for example, 2 ° C.), and the reference temperature selected at this time is The first temperature (= the room temperature of the room 200 detected by the suction temperature sensor 79).

  Since the first temperature difference or the second temperature difference is a temperature difference between two temperatures detected with a predetermined time as described above, the first temperature difference or the second temperature is a unit time (here, The degree of increase (during heating operation) or decrease (during cooling operation) during a predetermined time (5 minutes) is shown. That is, the selection condition A is a condition that corresponds to a period from when the indoor unit 3 starts the heating operation or the cooling operation until the set temperature is reached, that is, when the room temperature is rising or falling. is there.

  When the room temperature rises during the heating operation, or when the room temperature decreases during the cooling operation, or when there is no disturbance to the radiation temperature sensor 80, the first temperature difference and the second temperature difference are substantially the same. The absolute value of the difference is less than the first predetermined value. On the other hand, when there is a disturbance to the radiation temperature sensor 80, the difference between the first temperature difference and the second temperature difference becomes large, and the absolute value of the difference between the two becomes equal to or greater than the first predetermined value. For example, when a heating element is present below the radiation temperature sensor 80, the second temperature difference is larger than the first temperature difference during the heating operation, and the second temperature difference is larger than the first temperature difference during the cooling operation. The temperature difference is smaller.

  When the absolute value of the difference between the two is equal to or greater than the first predetermined value, the difference between the room temperature of the room 200 and the ambient temperature detected by the ambient temperature sensor 82 is large, and the ambient temperature detected by the ambient temperature sensor 82, that is, the second temperature is When the human body surface temperature is obtained as the reference temperature, it is detected higher or lower than the actual body surface temperature. Therefore, when the selection condition A is satisfied, that is, when the absolute value of the difference between the first temperature difference and the second temperature difference is not less than the first predetermined value, the first temperature, that is, the suction temperature sensor 79 is used as the reference temperature. The room temperature to be detected is selected.

  Next, the selection condition B is that when the temperature difference obtained by subtracting the set temperature from the first temperature is 0 ° C. ± 1 ° C., the absolute value of the temperature difference obtained by subtracting the set temperature from the second temperature is a second predetermined value ( Unit: ° C., for example, 2 ° C.) or higher, and the reference temperature selected at this time is also the same first temperature as when selection condition A is satisfied. That the temperature difference obtained by subtracting the set temperature from the first temperature is 0 ° C. ± 1 ° C. means that the room temperature is almost the same as the set temperature after a lapse of time from the start of the heating operation or the cooling operation in the indoor unit 3. It shows that it became. That is, the selection condition B is a condition that is applicable after the indoor unit 3 starts the heating operation or the cooling operation and the room temperature reaches the set temperature.

  When the temperature difference obtained by subtracting the set temperature from the first temperature after the heating operation or the cooling operation is 0 ° C. ± 1 ° C., and there is no disturbance to the radiation temperature sensor 80, the set temperature is changed from the second temperature. The absolute value of the reduced temperature difference is less than the second predetermined value, that is, the temperature difference between the second temperature and the set temperature is also 0 ° C. ± 1 ° C. On the other hand, when there is a disturbance to the radiation temperature sensor 80, for example, when the heating element mentioned in the description of the selection condition A exists below the radiation temperature sensor 80, the absolute value of the temperature difference obtained by subtracting the set temperature from the second temperature. The value is equal to or greater than the second predetermined value.

  In such a state, the difference between the room temperature of the room 200 and the ambient temperature detected by the ambient temperature sensor 82 is large. When the ambient temperature detected by the ambient temperature sensor 82, that is, the second temperature is used as a reference temperature, the human body surface temperature is obtained. Detects higher or lower than the actual body surface temperature. Therefore, when the selection condition B is satisfied, that is, when the temperature difference obtained by subtracting the set temperature from the first temperature becomes 0 ° C. ± 1 ° C., the absolute value of the temperature difference obtained by subtracting the set temperature from the second temperature Is equal to or higher than the second predetermined value, the first temperature, that is, the room temperature detected by the suction temperature sensor 79 is selected as the reference temperature.

  The selection condition C corresponds to the case where the above-described selection condition A or selection condition B is not satisfied, that is, when there is no disturbance to the radiation temperature sensor 80. In this case, the reference temperature As the second temperature, that is, the ambient temperature of the radiation temperature sensor 80 detected by the ambient temperature sensor 82 is selected.

  When the selection condition C is satisfied, it is considered that the first temperature and the second temperature are substantially the same temperature. Therefore, even when the selection condition C is satisfied, the first temperature is selected as the reference temperature. Good. However, since the suction temperature sensor 79 that detects the first temperature, that is, the room temperature, is disposed inside the casing 30a of the indoor unit 3 (in the vicinity of the suction port 30e) as described above, when the selection condition C is satisfied, The second temperature is considered to be closer to the temperature around the person in the room 200. Therefore, when the selection condition C is satisfied, it is desirable to select the second temperature as the reference temperature.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the first predetermined value in the selection condition A and the second predetermined value in the selection condition B are the same value (both given values are 2 ° C.), but the first predetermined value and the second predetermined value are the same. The value may be a different value as long as it can be determined that there is a disturbance to the radiation temperature sensor 80.

As described above, when detecting the body surface temperature of a person existing in the room 200 using the radiation temperature sensor 80, which of the selection conditions A to C listed in the temperature selection table 400 is met. Judgment is made, and either the first temperature or the second temperature defined in the corresponding condition is set as the reference temperature. Thereby, even when the second temperature detected by the ambient temperature sensor 82 is affected by disturbance, the human body surface temperature can be accurately detected, and the detected body surface temperature is used to follow the user's body temperature. Air conditioning operation is possible.
<Flow of processing related to temperature detection by radiation temperature sensor>

  Next, when the air conditioner 1 of this embodiment performs temperature detection using the radiation temperature sensor 80 during the air conditioning operation, the reference temperature Tc is set to the room temperature Ti (first temperature) with reference to FIGS. Alternatively, control related to processing for determining which of ambient temperature Ta (second temperature) is to be described will be described. FIG. 4 shows the flow of processing performed by the CPU 110 of the indoor unit control means 100 when executing control related to temperature detection using the radiation temperature sensor 80. In FIG. 4, ST represents a process step, and the number following this represents a step number. In FIG. 4, the processing related to the present invention is mainly described. Other processing, for example, control of the air conditioner 1 such as control related to the pressure and temperature of the refrigerant circuit 10 mainly performed by the outdoor unit 2 is performed. Description of processing related to general control is omitted.

  In the following description, the set temperature determined by the user during air conditioning operation is Ts (unit: ° C.), the room temperature of the room 200 detected by the suction temperature sensor 79 is detected by Ti (unit: ° C.), and the ambient temperature sensor 82 is detected. The ambient temperature of the radiation temperature sensor 80 is Ta (unit: ° C), the reference temperature is Tc (unit: ° C), the human body surface temperature detected by the radiation temperature sensor 80 is Tt (unit: ° C), A potential difference appearing at the contact portion is assumed to be ΔV (unit: V).

  If there is an air conditioning operation start instruction from the user, CPU 110 takes in set temperature Ts, room temperature Ti, ambient temperature Ta, and potential difference ΔV (ST1). The CPU 110 takes in the set temperature Ts set by the user by operating the remote controller or the like via the communication unit 130. Further, the CPU 110 takes in the room temperature Ti detected by the suction temperature sensor 79 via the sensor input unit 140. Furthermore, the CPU 110 takes in the potential difference ΔV and the ambient temperature Ta detected by the ambient temperature sensor 82 from the infrared absorption unit 81 of the radiation temperature sensor 80 via the sensor input unit 140. In addition, each detected value except set temperature Ts is taken in every predetermined time (for example, every 30 seconds), and is memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 120 in time series.

  Next, CPU 110 determines whether or not selection condition A is satisfied (ST2). Specifically, the CPU 110 captures, for example, the most recently captured temperature and the predetermined time (5 minutes) before the room temperature Ti that is the first temperature captured in ST1 and the ambient temperature Ta that is the second temperature. The first temperature difference and the second temperature difference are calculated by reading out the respective temperatures, calculating the first temperature difference and the second temperature difference, which are the temperature differences, and referring to the temperature selection table 400. It is determined whether or not | ≧ 2 ° C. (= first predetermined value).

  If selection condition A is satisfied (ST2-Yes), CPU 110 advances the process to ST5. If the selection condition A is not satisfied (ST2-No), the CPU 110 determines whether the selection condition B is satisfied (ST3). Specifically, the CPU 110 compares the temperature difference between the set temperature Ts captured in ST1 and the first room temperature Ti, which is the most recently captured first temperature, and the ambient temperature Ta, which is the second temperature, which is most recently captured. When the temperature difference is calculated and the first temperature−the set temperature = 0 ° C. ± 1 ° C. described in the selection condition B, is | the second temperature−the set temperature | ≧ 2 ° C. (= the second predetermined value)? Judge whether or not.

  If the selection condition B is not satisfied (ST3-No), the CPU 110 sets the reference temperature Tc to the ambient temperature Ta that is the second temperature (ST4). On the other hand, if the selection condition A is satisfied in ST2, or if the selection condition B is satisfied in ST3 (ST3-Yes), the CPU 110 sets the reference temperature Tc to the room temperature Ti that is the first temperature (ST5).

  The CPU 110 that has completed the processing of ST4 or ST5 uses the reference temperature Tc determined in ST4 or ST5 and the potential difference ΔV acquired in ST1 to determine the human body surface temperature Tt detected by the radiation temperature sensor 80 (ST6). . As described above, the CPU 110 uses the body surface temperature Tt obtained in ST6 for air conditioning control in a process different from that in FIG.

  Next, CPU 110 determines whether or not there is a driving end instruction from the user (ST7). If there is an operation stop instruction (ST7-Yes), the CPU 110 ends the control related to temperature detection by the radiation temperature sensor 80. If there is no operation stop instruction (ST7-Yes), CPU 110 returns the process to ST1, and repeats the processes of ST1 to ST7 until there is an operation end instruction.

  As described above, when the air conditioner 1 of the present invention detects the body surface temperature of a person existing in the room 200 using the radiation temperature sensor 80, the selection condition A listed in the temperature selection table 400 is selected. It is determined which of -C corresponds, and either the first temperature or the second temperature defined in the corresponding condition is set as the reference temperature. Thereby, even when the second temperature detected by the ambient temperature sensor 82 is affected by disturbance, the human body surface temperature can be accurately detected, and the detected body surface temperature is used to follow the user's body temperature. Air conditioning operation is possible.

  In the embodiment described above, the suction temperature sensor 79 is used as the sensor for detecting the first temperature, and the room temperature Ti that is the first temperature is detected by the suction temperature sensor 79. However, the first temperature is detected. You may provide the sensor to perform separately from the indoor unit 3. FIG. For example, when a remote controller (remote controller) that remotely controls the indoor unit 3 includes a remote controller temperature sensor that detects the ambient temperature of the remote controller, the remote controller degree sensor is a sensor that detects the first temperature, and is detected by the remote controller temperature sensor. It is determined whether or not the selection condition A or B is satisfied with the ambient temperature of the remote control as the first temperature, and when the selection condition A or B is satisfied, the ambient temperature of the remote control detected by the remote control temperature sensor is used as the reference temperature Tc. It may be used.

  Usually, since the remote control is often arranged near the user, such as the user's hand, the ambient temperature of the remote control detected by the remote control temperature sensor provided in the remote control is compared with the first temperature detected by the suction temperature sensor 79. Therefore, it is considered that it is closer to the ambient temperature of the place where the user exists. Therefore, when the ambient temperature sensor 82 of the radiation temperature sensor 80 is affected by disturbance, if the ambient temperature of the remote control detected by the remote control temperature sensor provided in the remote control is set as the reference temperature Tc, a more accurate human The body surface temperature Tt can be detected.

  In the embodiment described above, the case where the person is present in the scanning range 300 of the room 200 as the detection target has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the detection target may be a pet kept in the room 200, the floor of the room 200, or the like. For example, when the air conditioner 1 is performing the heating operation, the air conditioning control may be performed so that the warm air is blown toward a place where the floor temperature is lower than the room temperature.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air conditioner 2 Outdoor unit 3 Indoor unit 10 Refrigerant circuit 30c Outlet 32 Indoor fan 79 Suction temperature sensor (1st temperature sensor)
80 Radiation temperature sensor 81 Infrared absorbing part 82 Ambient temperature sensor (second temperature sensor)
100 Indoor unit controller 110 CPU
120 storage unit 130 communication unit 140 sensor input unit 200 room 300 scanning range 400 temperature selection table Ti room temperature (first temperature)
Ta Ambient temperature (second temperature)
Ts Set temperature Tc Reference temperature Tt Human body surface temperature ΔV Potential difference

Claims (4)

An indoor unit having a housing having a suction port and an air outlet and an indoor fan, a first temperature sensor that detects a first temperature that is a temperature of an air-conditioned space in which the indoor unit is installed, and a detection that exists in the air-conditioned space An air conditioner having a radiation temperature sensor that absorbs infrared rays emitted from an object and outputs temperature information, and a control unit that controls the indoor fan,
The control means includes
The first temperature is a reference temperature, and the radiation temperature of the detection object is detected using the reference temperature and the temperature information.
An air conditioner characterized by that. The radiation temperature sensor has a second temperature sensor that detects a second temperature that is an ambient temperature of the radiation temperature sensor,
The control means includes
The difference between the first temperature difference that is the temperature difference between the two first temperatures detected after a predetermined time and the second temperature difference that is the temperature difference between the two second temperatures detected after the predetermined time is the first difference. When the selection condition A is equal to or greater than 1 predetermined value, or the temperature difference between the first temperature and the set temperature requested by the user is within a predetermined range, the temperature difference between the second temperature and the set temperature is equal to or greater than the second predetermined value. When any one of the selection conditions B is satisfied, the first temperature is set as the reference temperature,
When neither the selection condition A nor the selection condition B is satisfied, the second temperature is set as the reference temperature.
The air conditioner according to claim 1. The first temperature sensor is a suction temperature sensor that detects a temperature of air flowing into the indoor unit from the suction port.
The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the above. A remote controller for operating the indoor unit;
The first temperature sensor is a remote control temperature sensor that detects an ambient temperature of the remote controller.
The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the above.

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