JP2594318B2 - Ceiling-mounted air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an in-ceiling type air conditioner, and more particularly to a control of a blown air amount according to a blow angle of the air conditioner.

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional technique will be described with reference to FIGS. Reference numeral 1 denotes an indoor unit of a ceiling-embedded air conditioner, which is fixed to a ceiling wall 2 with fixing bolts 3, and the lower surface of the indoor unit 1 is opened substantially on the same plane as the ceiling 4. The indoor unit 1 is composed of an outer shell 5 and a lower grill 6, inside which indoor heat exchangers 7a and 7b of the cooling system are installed, and a blower 8 is installed so as to be able to exchange heat with each of them. .

A rectangular inlet 10 is provided at the center of the lower grill 6, and blow grills 11a and 11b are provided around the inlet 10. Approximately half of the air blown out from the blower 8 is
After passing through, it passes through the outlet grill 11a and blows obliquely downward and forward. The remaining air blown from the blower 8 passes through the heat exchanger 7b, passes through the blow grill 11b, and blows obliquely downward and forward.

In addition, movable louvers 12a and 12b are installed to control the direction of each blown air. Further, a remote control type temperature setting means 100 is provided so that the user can set an arbitrary room temperature. Inside the suction port 10, a suction temperature sensor 13 is fixedly installed, which measures the suction temperature and detects a temperature difference from the set temperature by the temperature setting means 100, turns the cooling system on and off, and substantially sets the inside of the room. It is kept uniform.

The operation of the conventional ceiling-embedded air conditioner thus configured will be described.

In general, the ceiling-mounted air conditioner is often installed on the ceiling of an office, a store, or a living room, and controls the temperature of the room 14.

The room 14 includes a ceiling 4, side walls 15, 16 and a floor 17. The space enclosed by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 8 is the living area, and ASHRAE's STANDARD defines a space that is 1800 mm or less in height and 600 mm or more from the side wall as the living area. In other words, humans are generally defined as living in this residential area.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 8, the stream of the blown air blows the air warmed by the heat exchangers 7a and 7b (cooled at the time of cooling) from the blow grills 11a and 11b downward. After the interior of the room 14 is heated (cooled) so as to draw a large arc in the area, the air is sucked from the central suction port 10 of the indoor unit 1. At this time, the blown airflows a and b have substantially the same blown air volume and blowout direction, and the streamlines of the airflows a and b draw substantially the same arc.

The temperature of the air sucked in this way is determined by the suction temperature sensor.
By detecting the temperature at 13, the outlet air temperature is adjusted, and the average temperature in the living area of the room 14 is maintained substantially at the set temperature.

Problems to be solved by the invention The ceiling of a store, office, or living room is 2.5 to 3 mm from the floor
When the indoor unit is installed at this position, the temperature of the air blown from the indoor unit is sent into the living area to maintain a good temperature distribution. There must be. For this reason, the person near the bottom of the outlet may be discomforted by the blown wind hitting the head or face, or may experience a sensation of cold,
There was a problem that a high-level comfortable space could not be provided.

In addition, especially during heating, due to the effect of the specific weight of air, high-temperature air stagnates near the ceiling, which wastes heat near the ceiling above the living area, which is the range of human activity. There was a problem that the heating was bad and the running cost was high.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a ceiling-embedded air conditioner capable of preventing discomfort caused by wind and obtaining a good indoor temperature distribution.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve this object, the ceiling-embedded air conditioner of the present invention has an outlet capable of blowing air along a ceiling surface provided in the vicinity of the ceiling surface, and a blowing air volume. Blow air volume setting means for setting, a blow angle switching means for controlling a blow angle, a blow angle determining means for determining a blow angle from a ceiling, and a blow air flow switch for switching a blow air volume based on an output signal of the blow angle determining means. And means,
When the blowout angle is substantially horizontal to the ceiling, regardless of the setting of the blowout airflow rate setting means, the airflow is controlled to be larger than when the blowout angle from the ceiling is large.

Operation With this configuration, when the room temperature is not stable as in the early stage of operation, the blowing angle is set to the obliquely downward direction by the blowing angle switching means, and the warm air is directly injected into the living area with the air flow rate set by the blowing air flow rate setting means. (Cold air) to warm up (cool) quickly.

Then, when the room temperature is stabilized, the blowing angle is switched by the blowing angle switching means so as to be substantially horizontal with the ceiling. At this time, it is determined by the blow angle determination means that the air becomes substantially horizontal blow, and this signal is sent to the blow air flow rate switching means to increase the air flow more than at the time of the oblique downward blow regardless of the setting of the blow air flow setting means. Control.

As a result, the warm air (cold air) blown almost horizontally from the ceiling from the outlet near the ceiling surface flows along the ceiling → sidewall → floor surface, generating large circulation and entering the indoor unit suction port. Inhaled.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The description of the same components as the conventional one is omitted,
Only the differences will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. 50a,
50b is an outlet provided near the four ceilings and capable of blowing air along the four ceilings.
b is formed. 18 is a blowing air volume setting means,
Set the air volume to strong, medium, or weak. 19 is a room temperature setting means. Reference numeral 20 denotes a blow-off air temperature detecting means provided in the blow-out grill 11b, and detects a temperature of air blown into the chamber 14. The temperature signal detected in this manner is transmitted to the control device 21.
Send to The control device 21 includes a heat load amount calculating unit 22, an outlet air temperature change rate measuring unit 23, an outlet angle determining unit 24, an outlet angle unloading unit 25a, 25b, an outlet air amount switching determining unit 29, and an outlet air amount switching unit 30. It is configured. The thermal load calculating means 22 calculates the thermal load based on the temperature signals from the blown air temperature detecting means 20 and the indoor temperature setting means 19. The blow-out air temperature change rate measuring means 23 measures the blow-out air temperature change rate based on the temperature signal from the blow-out air temperature detecting means 20.

The blowout angle determination unit 24 is a heat load amount calculation unit.
Based on the output signals of the blowout air temperature change rate measuring means 22 and 22, it is determined whether the blowout angle is a blowout angle substantially horizontal to the ceiling 4 or an obliquely downward blowout angle to the floor 17. . The blowing angle switching means 25a, 25b
The angle of the louvers 12a, 12b is changed based on the blow angle setting signal sent from the blow angle determining means 24. The blow-out air volume switching determining unit 29 switches the air flow based on the output signal of the blow-out angle determining unit 24, depending on whether the blow-out angle is substantially horizontal to the ceiling 4 or the blow-down air blows downward to the floor surface 17. It is to judge. The blowing air volume switching means 30 is based on a blowing air volume switching signal sent from the blowing degree wind switching determining means 29,
The number of rotations of the blower 8 is changed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the blowing angle switching means 25a
Is a configuration in which a male screw of a drive shaft 28a of a louver is screwed into a female screw of a motor shaft 26a having a female screw at a distal end portion. The blower air volume switching means 30 is configured to change the operating torque of the fan motor 32 by the rotation speed switching device 31 to change the rotation speed of the blower 8.

Next, the operation of the ceiling-mounted air conditioner configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

After the person using the chamber 14 turns on the power of the air conditioner 1, the desired air volume (strong, medium, weak) is set in step 33, and the desired room temperature _Tset is _set in step 34, Start operation of the air conditioner.

Further, for detecting the air temperature T ₀ blowout early by the air temperature detecting means 20 blow provided at a substantially central portion of the grille 11b blow step 35. Then, when the elapsed time that has been set in advance theta, detects air temperature T ₁ of the blowout by the air temperature detecting means 20 blowing again (step 36).

In step 37, the air temperatures T ₁ blowout, to calculate the thermal load quantity [Delta] T _l from both the set temperature T _set by the following equation.

ΔT _l = T ₁ −T _set and a heat load ΔT _l calculated as a preset reference heat load Δt _l (here, temporarily set to Δt _l = 20 ° C.)
Compare with Here, the heat load ΔT _l is the reference heat load Δt _l
= 20 ° C. is greater than if the difference that is blowing air temperature T ₁ of the set temperature T _set large, that is, when the indoor temperature is far from the set temperature advances to the side of NO at step 38, step 41 Is determined to increase the angle of the louvers 12a and 12b from the ceiling surface, and in step 42, the air blows obliquely downward. Further, based on the output signal of step 41, the air volume (any of strong, medium, or weak) set by the blow air volume setting means 18 in step 43 is determined.
Sets the rotation speed of the blower 8.

On the other hand, blowing when the difference [Delta] T _l between the air temperature T ₁ of the set temperature T _set is smaller than the reference heat load Delta] t _l = 20 ° C., the step
At 38 proceed to the YES side. Then, in step 39, the blow-out air temperature change rate ΔT is calculated from the initial blow-out air temperature T ₀ and the blow-out air temperature T ₁ after a predetermined time θ by the following equation.

ΔT = | T ₀ −T ₁ | / θ Then, in step 40, the preset reference temperature change rate Δt (here, supposed to be 0.2 ° C./min) is compared with the blowout air temperature change rate ΔT. Here, when the blowout air temperature change rate ΔT is larger than the reference temperature change rate Δt, that is, when the temperature of the chamber 14 greatly changes as in the start-up operation, and in the transitional operation period, the process proceeds to the NO side, and the process proceeds to step NO. At 41, it is determined that the angle of the louvers 12a, 12b from the ceiling surface is increased, and at step 42, the louvers 12a, 12b are driven by the blow-off angle switching means 25a, 25b to make a diagonally downward blow state. Further, the output signal of step 41 is used to determine whether the blow-off air volume is set by the blow-off air volume setting means 18 in step 43 (strong, medium, or weak). Is set. As a result, at the time of start-up operation such as at the beginning of operation start, or at the time of operation under a high load where the difference between the outside air temperature and the room temperature is very large, the angles of the louvers 12a and 12b are set to be large, as shown in FIG. It is possible to blow the temperature-controlled air directly into the living area at the air volume (any of strong, medium, or weak) set by the blow air volume setting means 18;
The living area can be quickly brought close to the set temperature.

When the temperature of the chamber 14 approaches approximately the set temperature thermal load [Delta] T _l and the supply air temperature change rate [Delta] T becomes gradually smaller, the heat load [Delta] T _l is smaller than the reference heat load Delta] t _l,
The blowout air temperature change rate ΔT is smaller than the reference temperature change rate Δt. As a result, the process proceeds to YES in step 40,
In step 45, it is determined that the angles of the louvers 12a and 12b are reduced. Then, the process proceeds to step 46, in which the louvers 12a, 12b are driven by the blowing angle switching means 25a, 25b, and the blowing direction is set to be substantially horizontal with the ceiling surface. Also, based on the output signal of step 45, regardless of the setting of the blowing air volume setting means 18 in step 47, the air volume is determined to be larger than in the case of oblique downward blowing, and in step 48, the blower 8 Is set. For this reason, warm air (cool air) blown substantially horizontally from the ceiling 4 from the outlets 50a and 50b near the ceiling 4 surface flows along the ceiling 4 as shown in FIG. Hit the top. Then, the hit flow changes to a downward flow, and flows downward along the side walls 15 and 16. Then, after reaching the floor surface 17, the air is sucked from the suction port 10 of the indoor unit 1 while spreading on the floor surface 17, and large circulation is generated in the entire room 14. Therefore, strong wind does not occur in the living area, and soft temperature control can be performed from the outer shell close to the wall of the room 14.

According to the above embodiment, when the heat load is large, or when the blowout air temperature change rate is large, that is, in the initial stage of operation start, the blowout direction is directed obliquely downward,
The temperature-controlled air is directly blown into the living area and controlled so that the desired temperature is quickly reached.

On the other hand, the temperature of the chamber 14 approaches the set temperature, and the heat load ΔT _l
When both the blowout air temperature change rate ΔT and the reference value are smaller than the reference value, the blowout direction is made substantially horizontal to the ceiling 4, the blowout air volume is increased, and the blowout is performed along the ceiling surface. Since the blown air has a large air volume and flows along the ceiling surface, the wind speed is unlikely to decrease, and after reaching the upper ends of the side walls 15 and 16 along the ceiling surface, it flows downward along the side walls 15 and 16. The air is sucked into the suction port 10 of the indoor unit 1 through the floor surface 17. As a result, a large circulation is generated in the chamber 14 along the wall surface. In other words, when the temperature of the room 14 reaches a substantially stable temperature, the blowout is set near the ceiling outside the living area, and the living area is temperature-controlled from the outer shell. Therefore, strong wind does not reach the living area, and discomfort caused by the wind is eliminated. In addition, since the flow is along the wall, the air flow is hard to be decelerated and the circulation is reliably performed, so that a more uniform temperature distribution in the room can be achieved.

In particular, during heating, high-temperature air was likely to stay near the ceiling 4 and wasted much above the head. Such high-temperature air is blown off by a horizontal flow with a large air volume,
Since it is transported into the residential area, efficient heating is possible.

In this embodiment, the driving of the louvers 12a and 12b is performed by the motor 26.
Although the louvers 12a and 12b are driven using a shape memory alloy or the like, the louvers 12a and 12b can be driven using a shape memory alloy or the like.

Effect of the Invention As described above, the present invention provides an outlet capable of blowing air along a ceiling surface provided in the vicinity of a ceiling surface, a blowing air volume setting means for setting a blowing air volume, and a blowing angle for controlling a blowing angle. By providing a switching means, a blowing angle determining means for determining a blowing angle from the ceiling, and a blowing air amount switching means for switching the blowing air amount based on an output signal of the blowing angle determining means, when the indoor temperature is stable, The blow angle is made substantially horizontal with the ceiling, and the blow air amount is controlled to be larger than that at the time of the oblique downward blow, regardless of the blow amount set by the blow air amount setting means.

Thereby, when the blowing angle is almost horizontal with the ceiling,
The blown hot air (cool air) hardly decelerates due to the flow along the ceiling surface and the large amount of air, so that circulation is generated in the entire room and the indoor temperature distribution can be significantly improved.

In addition, since the blowing airflow does not directly hit a person in the living area, it is possible to prevent discomfort due to the airflow.

Thus, an embedded ceiling air conditioner capable of forming a comfortable space is provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of the present embodiment, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a program for switching a blowing angle and a blowing air volume, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the indoor airflow during the start-up operation;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the indoor airflow during stable operation (at the time of horizontal blowing), FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the conventional air conditioner, FIG. 7 is a central cross-sectional view of the air conditioner, and FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the indoor airflow in the prior art example. 18: blowing air volume setting means, 24: blowing angle determining means, 25a, 25b ... blowing angle switching means, 30 ... blowing air volume switching means, 50a, 50b ... blowing ports.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An air outlet provided near a ceiling surface capable of blowing air along a ceiling surface, an air flow amount setting means for setting an air flow amount, an air angle switching means for controlling an air blowing angle, A blow angle determining means for determining a blow angle of the air, and a blow air amount switching means for switching a blow air amount based on an output signal of the blow angle determining means, and when the blow angle is substantially horizontal to the ceiling, the blow air amount setting means. Regardless of the setting, the air conditioner embedded in the ceiling is controlled so that the air volume is larger than when the air outlet angle from the ceiling is large.