JP3075022B2 - Control device for air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control device for an air conditioner having an indoor heat exchanger and a fan and installed at two places in a room.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an air conditioner having a plurality of indoor units, for example, an air conditioner as shown in FIG. 4 is known.
(Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-35712). This air conditioner has indoor units A, B, and C installed one by one in three rooms,
It comprises one outdoor unit O for circulating and supplying the refrigerant to these indoor units. The outdoor unit O is connected to a compressor 31 having an accumulator 36, a four-way switching valve 32, an outdoor heat exchanger 33, an expansion valve 34 having a check valve connected in parallel, and a liquid receiver 35 through a refrigerant pipe 37.
At the same time, and 3
An electromagnetic valve 44 is connected to each branch pipe 38 branching into a four-way switching valve 3.
An electromagnetic valve 45 is interposed in each of the branch pipes 39 branching into three of the gas pipes coming out of 2. Also, each indoor unit A, B, C
An indoor heat exchanger 41 and an expansion valve 42 connected to the liquid pipe side of the indoor heat exchanger 41 by connecting a check valve in parallel are connected to the corresponding electromagnetic valves 44 and 45 of the outdoor unit O, respectively. They are connected by pipes 40 and 43.

In the air conditioner, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 31 is circulated as indicated by solid arrows in the figure, and the liquid refrigerant condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger 33 is evaporated in each indoor heat exchanger 41. A cooling operation is performed, and conversely, the air is circulated as indicated by a dashed arrow in the figure and condensed in each indoor heat exchanger 41 to perform a heating operation. The difference between this air conditioner and the normal one is that indoor units A and B such as living rooms with high occupancy frequency are provided by an electric circuit (not shown) composed of operation switches and relays of the indoor units A, B and C. While air conditioning can always be performed, the remaining indoor unit C cannot be operated when both the indoor units A and B are operating, and can be operated only when at least one of the indoor units A and B is stopped. Another advantage is that the capacity of the outdoor unit is reduced to improve the economy. By the way, the above-mentioned conventional indoor units are installed in a Japanese room having a relatively low ceiling height, such as 6, 8, 10 tatami mats, each having a capacity corresponding to the floor area, similarly to a normal indoor unit. It is a prerequisite and is not made on the assumption that two units will be installed in one room.

[0004]

However, in Europe and the United States, there are many rooms with high ceilings and large floor areas that are not subdivided into small rooms, and the air conditioning of these large rooms requires one large-capacity indoor unit. Even if installed, proper and comfortable cooling and heating, especially comfortable heating, cannot be performed unless room air is circulated very much. Therefore, as a countermeasure, two indoor units with medium capacity are installed, for example, on the upper wall and on the floor, and for example, during heating, the set temperature of the indoor unit on the floor is set higher than that of the indoor unit on the upper wall. Can be set to However, even if such measures are taken, the warm air rises in a room with a high ceiling and stagnates in the upper part, so that it is difficult to raise the room temperature uniformly and quickly, and the heating efficiency is reduced. There is. Further, when the refrigerant is supplied from a single common outdoor unit to the two indoor units, one indoor unit impairs the comfortable control of the other indoor unit or adversely affects both, and both indoor units are adversely affected. There is a problem that the unit repeatedly starts and stops irregularly, and the stopping time of both indoor units increases.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a control unit for blowing one of the air conditioners based on temperature information of each indoor area where two air conditioners perform cooling and heating. An object of the present invention is to provide a control device of an air conditioner that can uniformly, quickly and efficiently perform air conditioning in a room.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an air conditioner control device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a first device installed at a predetermined place in a room as illustrated in FIGS. In the second air conditioners A and B, a first temperature sensor 23 for detecting a temperature in a first region where air conditioning is performed by the first air conditioner A, and an air conditioner by the second air conditioner B A second temperature sensor 24 for detecting the temperature of the second region where the harmony is performed, and the first and second temperature sensors 23,
D | | 24 difference in temperature to be detected, it is determined whether the a predetermined value D ₀ or more (S5), when it is determined that the affirmative, the one of the temperature sensor side of the air conditioner is in more advanced air The air conditioner further includes a control unit that performs an air-conditioning operation of the air conditioner on the other temperature sensor side while performing the air blowing operation of the air conditioner.

The control device for an air conditioner according to a second aspect of the present invention includes the first air conditioner A and the second air conditioner,
Are installed at the upper part of the room, the first temperature sensor 23 is provided at the lower part of the room, and the second temperature sensor 24 is provided at the upper part of the room. Further, claim 3
The control device of the air conditioner controls the control unit 25 to determine whether the difference between the temperature detected by the first temperature sensor 23 and the set temperature of the first air conditioner A is within a predetermined value. or was determined (S4), only when it is determined that the affirmative, the first, the difference between the temperature of the second temperature sensor 23, 24 detects | D | is determined whether a predetermined value D ₀ or more I try to make it.

[0008]

In the control device according to the first aspect, the first temperature sensor detects a temperature in a first area where air conditioning is performed by the first air conditioner, and the second temperature sensor detects the temperature of the first area.
4 detects the temperature of the second region where the air conditioning is performed by the second air conditioner B. The control unit 25 calculates the difference | D | between the temperatures detected by the first and second temperature sensors 23 and 24.
Is greater than or equal to a predetermined value D ₀ (S5). Then, when it is determined to be positive, the air conditioner on the one temperature sensor side where the air conditioning is further advanced performs the blowing operation, while the air conditioner on the other temperature sensor side performs the air conditioning operation. In the control device according to claim 2, the first temperature sensor 23 includes:
The temperature in the lower part of the room that is air-conditioned by the first air conditioner A is detected, and the second temperature sensor 24 detects the temperature in the upper part of the room that is air-conditioned by the second air conditioner B. Therefore, at the time of the heating operation, the second air conditioner B in the upper part of the room, in which the air conditioning is advanced by the rise of the warm air, performs the air blowing operation. It is heated to, the blowing operation, the temperature difference | continued until less than a predetermined value D ₀ | D. Further, during the cooling operation, the first air conditioner A in the lower part of the room, in which the air conditioning is performed by the descent of the cool air, performs the blowing operation, whereby the cool air stagnant in the lower part of the room spreads over the entire room and the room is quickly and rapidly. uniformly is cooling, the blowing operation, the temperature difference | continued until less than a predetermined value D ₀ | D.

In the control device according to the third aspect, the control unit 25 determines that a difference between the temperature in the lower part of the room detected by the first temperature sensor 23 and the set temperature of the first air conditioner A is within a predetermined value. (S4), and when it is determined that the lower part of the room has approached the set temperature, the temperature of the lower part of the room which is further air-conditioned by the air conditioner A detected by the first temperature sensor 23 is determined. Then, it is determined whether or not the difference between the temperature detected by the second temperature sensor 24 and the temperature in the upper part of the room air-conditioned by the air conditioner B is equal to or more than a predetermined value (S5). Then, when it is determined to be positive, one of the air conditioners, which has advanced air conditioning, performs the blowing operation, and the other air conditioner performs the air conditioning operation. Therefore, similarly to the above, during the heating operation, the warm air stagnated in the upper part of the room spreads throughout the room by the blowing operation of the second air conditioner B in the upper part of the room, and the room is quickly and uniformly heated, and the cooling operation is performed. At times, the cold air stagnated in the lower part of the room spreads over the entire room by the blowing operation of the first air conditioner A in the lower part of the room, and the room is quickly and uniformly cooled. In addition, only when the detected temperature in the lower part of the room where a person is active approaches the set temperature of the first air conditioner A in the lower part of the room, the air conditioner in which the air conditioning is progressing performs the blowing operation, By blowing air at a more appropriate time, the room can be cooled and heated more uniformly and more effectively.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the air conditioner according to claim 3 of the present invention in which two indoor units are installed in one room. This air conditioner includes indoor units A and B installed on the floor surface and upper wall surface of the same room R (see FIG. 2), respectively, and one outdoor unit for circulating and supplying refrigerant to these indoor units A and B. Consists of O. The outdoor unit O includes an outdoor heat exchanger 3 having a compressor 1 having an accumulator 6, a four-way switching valve 2 and a fan 4.
Of the liquid pipe 7 connected to one end of the outdoor heat exchanger 3 via a shut-off valve 8 while sequentially connecting the
It branches into two branch pipes 9 and 10 having capillary tubes 11 and 11 as an expansion mechanism, and electromagnetic valves 12a and 12b as liquid on-off valves are provided at their distal ends, respectively.
a, 12b are connected by a capillary tube 11, while a gas pipe 13 provided with a shut-off valve 14 coming out of the four-way switching valve 2 is branched into two branch pipes 15, 16 to form a branch pipe on the indoor unit B side. A solenoid valve 17 as a gas on-off valve in which a check valve 18 is connected in parallel to 16 is provided. In addition, each indoor unit A, B
Are connected to the corresponding branch pipes 9, 15; 10, 16 of the outdoor unit O via the communication pipes 19a, 19a '; 19b, 19b', respectively, and the fans 21a, 21b;
Remote controller with operation switch and room temperature setting device
(Hereinafter, abbreviated as “remote control”).

As shown in FIG. 2, a first temperature sensor 23 for detecting the temperature in the lower part of the room, which is mainly air-conditioned by the indoor unit A on the floor, and an indoor unit B in the upper part on the wall, as shown in FIG. A second temperature sensor 24 is provided for detecting the temperature of the upper part of the room that is mainly air-conditioned, and based on the detection signals from these temperature sensors 23 and 24, any one of the indoor units A and B is operated to blow air. And a control unit 25 for controlling the solenoid valves 12a and 17 and the fans 21a and 21b as described later.

When the microcomputers of the indoor units A and B receive an ON signal from the operation switch of one of the remote controllers 22a and 22b (see S1 in FIG. 3), the control unit 25 controls the two indoor units A and B. B, both the solenoid valve (gas on-off valve) 17 and the solenoid valves (liquid on-off valves) 12a, 12b are opened, and the fans 21a,
21b are started together to start the cooling or heating operation by the two units, and the detection signals from the first and second temperature sensors 23 and 24 are received (see S2 in FIG. 2). Is determined to be in a range of a predetermined width (± 3 ° C. in this example) above and below the set temperature of the indoor unit A on the floor (see S2 to S4). If it is determined that the affirmation, as measured temperature of the room bottom is close to the set temperature, and yet the first, the absolute value of the difference between the temperature of the second temperature sensor 23, 24 detects | D | is, the predetermined value D ₀ or more (See S5), if not, it is determined that the difference between the measured temperature and the set temperature is large, and the cooling or heating operation by the two units is continued (see S6).

Further, the control unit 25 includes the two temperature sensors 2
The absolute value of the difference between the detected temperature of 3, 24 | D | is, when determined that the predetermined value D ₀ or more, cooling, determines another heating operation (see the S7), in the case of cooling operation, a low position that is the floor Indoor unit A
The solenoid valve (liquid on-off valve) 12a
Is closed, and the indoor unit A is switched to the blowing operation (S
9), in the case of the heating operation, the solenoid valve (gas on / off valve) 17 is closed while the fan 21b of the indoor unit B at the high position, that is, the upper part of the wall is operated, and the indoor unit B is switched to the blowing operation (see FIG. 9). See S8). Then, at the time of cooling, the cool air stagnated at the lower part of the room spreads to the upper part by the blowing operation of the indoor unit A on the floor, and at the time of heating, the warm air stagnated at the upper part of the room becomes lower by the blowing operation of the indoor unit B at the upper part of the wall. As a result, the room is quickly and uniformly cooled and heated. As a result, the difference between the detected temperature of the first temperature sensor 23 and the set temperature becomes ± 3 ° C. or more (see S4), or the temperature of both temperature sensors 23 and 24 is increased. the absolute value of the difference between the detected temperature | D | is equal to or less than the predetermined value D _0, 2 indoor units a, B are both cold, (see the S6) is the heating operation, reaches room temperature quickly set temperature It is.

The two indoor units A and B having the above configuration are controlled as follows in accordance with the flowchart of FIG. First, in the heating operation in which the four-way switching valve 2 of FIG. 1 is switched to the passage side indicated by the solid line in the figure, in step S1, the microcomputers of the indoor units A and B are operated by one of the remote controllers 22a and 22b. When the control unit 25 receives the ON signal from the operation switch of the indoor units A and B, the control unit 25 receives the ON signal via the microcomputer.
17 and the solenoid valves (liquid on-off valves) 12a and 12b are both opened,
The fans 21a and 21b are started together, and the compressor 1 and the fan 4 of the outdoor unit O are started. Then, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 1 circulates in the refrigerant circuit of FIG. 1 as shown by the solid line arrows, condenses in the indoor heat exchangers 20a and 20b, evaporates in the outdoor heat exchanger 3, and The heating operation by the indoor units A and B starts.

The controller 25 receives the detection signals from the first and second temperature sensors 23 and 24 in step S2, and in steps S3 and S4, the temperature represented by the detection signal from the first temperature sensor 23 It is determined whether or not the temperature is within a range of −3 ° C. below the set temperature of the indoor unit A on the surface. And if it is determined to be affirmative, it is assumed that the measured temperature in the lower part of the room approaches the set temperature,
Proceeding to step S5, the first and second temperature sensors 23, 24
It is determined whether or not the absolute value | D | of the difference between the detected temperatures is equal to or greater than a predetermined value D ₀ , while if not, it is determined that the difference between the measured temperature and the set temperature is large, and the process proceeds to step S6 The heating operation by the two indoor units A and B is continued. When the heating operation by the two indoor units A and B is continued for a predetermined time from the start of the operation, the warmed air rises to the upper part of the room, so that the warm air accumulates in the upper region as shown by the solid line in FIG. As a result, the low and high position temperature sensors 23, 24
Since the absolute value | D | of the difference between the detected temperatures becomes larger than the predetermined value D ₀ , the control unit 25 determines in the affirmative in step S5 and proceeds to step S7, in which the control unit 25 determines that the heating operation is performed. Proceed to step S8. Then, the control unit 25 determines in step S
8, the fan 21b of the indoor unit B at the high position, that is, the upper part of the wall surface
, While the solenoid valve (gas on-off valve) 17 is closed,
The indoor unit B is switched to the blowing operation.

Thus, the warm air stagnated in the upper part of the room spreads to the area indicated by the broken line in the lower part of the room as shown by the broken line arrow in FIG.
The entire room is quickly and uniformly heated. As a result, the first
The detected temperature of the temperature sensor 23 falls within the range of −3 ° C. below the set temperature, and the result in step S4 is affirmative, or the absolute value | D | of the difference between the detected temperatures of the two temperature sensors 23 and 24 is a predetermined value. Is less than D ₀ , and | D | <D ₀ in step S5. In step S6, the process proceeds to step S6, where the two indoor units A,
B is again operated for heating again, and the room temperature quickly approaches the set temperature.

Next, even in the cooling operation in which the four-way switching valve 2 of FIG. 1 is switched to the passage side indicated by the broken line in the figure, the refrigerant evaporates in the indoor heat exchangers 20a and 20b, and the indoor R is reduced. The point at which cooling is performed, the point at which it is determined whether or not the temperature detected by the first temperature sensor 23 in step S4 is within a range of + 3 ° C. above the set temperature of the indoor unit A on the floor; , B, the same processing or operation as in steps S1 to S7 described above is performed, except that the cool air accumulates in the lower part of the room and stagnates. Then, in step S7, it is determined that the cooling operation is performed, and the process proceeds to step S9. In this step S9, the control unit 25
While operating the fan 21a of the indoor unit A at the low position, that is, the floor surface, the solenoid valve (liquid on / off valve) 12a is closed, and the indoor unit A
Is switched to the blow operation. Thus, the cold air stagnated in the lower part of the room spreads to the upper part of the room by the blowing operation of the indoor unit A on the floor, and the entire room is quickly and uniformly cooled. As a result, the detected temperature of the low position temperature sensor 23 falls within the range of + 3 ° C. above the set temperature, and is affirmed in step S4, or the absolute value | D | of the difference between the detected temperatures of the two temperature sensors 23 and 24. _Becomes less than the predetermined value D ₀ , and step S
In step 5, it is determined that | D | <D _0, and the process proceeds to step S6, where the two indoor units A and B are both cooled again, and the room temperature quickly approaches the set temperature.

As described above, in the above embodiment, the difference between the detected temperature of the first temperature sensor 23 and the set temperature of the indoor unit A on the floor is within a predetermined value, and the first and second temperature sensors 23, 24
When the absolute value | D | of the detected temperature difference is equal to or greater than a predetermined value D ₀ ,
During the cooling operation, the indoor unit A at the low position is blown, and the indoor unit B at the high position is blown during the heating operation.
Even in a large room with a high ceiling in Europe and the United States, the temperature of the entire room can be uniformly and quickly brought close to the set temperature,
Cooling and heating can be performed with high efficiency. Further, even when the refrigerant is supplied to both indoor units A and B by the single outdoor unit O, the ventilation operation is inserted as appropriate, so that one indoor unit impedes the comfortable control of the other indoor unit, , The indoor units do not repeatedly start and stop irregularly, and the stoppage time of both indoor units does not increase, so that the versatility and sales channels of the indoor units can be expanded. In the above embodiment, the air conditioning is performed only when the difference between the temperature detected by the first temperature sensor 23 provided in the lower part of the room where the person is active and the set temperature of the indoor unit A on the floor is within a predetermined value. Blow the indoor unit that is going ahead,
Since the appropriate indoor unit is operated to blow air at a more appropriate time, uniform cooling and heating of the room can be realized more effectively.

It should be noted that the determination in step S4 of FIG. 3 of the above embodiment is omitted, and the first and second embodiments are defined as in claim 1.
If the absolute value of the difference between the temperatures detected by the temperature sensors is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, one of the air conditioners whose air conditioning is in progress can be operated for air blowing. It is needless to say that the same effect as described above is achieved by the above. In the above embodiment, the two indoor units A and B to which the refrigerant is supplied from one outdoor unit O are installed in one room. However, for example, a wind fan or the like in which the outdoor unit and the indoor unit are integrated is provided. Two units can be provided in one room and controlled in the same manner as described above. Further, the first and second air conditioners of the present invention are not limited to the floor-standing type and the wall-mounted type of the above embodiment,
For example, a ceiling embedded type or a floor embedded type may be used. In addition, even if the first and second air conditioners are of a type for both cooling and heating,
A cooling-only type may be used.

[0020]

As is apparent from the above description, claim 1
The first air conditioner control device controls the first and second air conditioners installed at predetermined locations in a room, and the first and second air conditioners are air-conditioned by the first and second air conditioners. 2
While the first and second temperature sensors for detecting the temperatures of the regions are provided, the control unit determines whether the difference between the detected temperatures of the first and second temperature sensors is equal to or more than a predetermined value, and determines affirmative. When air conditioning is performed, the air conditioner on one temperature sensor side where air conditioning is more advanced is operated for air blowing, and the air conditioner on the other temperature sensor side is operated for air conditioning. The temperature can be approached to the set temperature uniformly, quickly and efficiently, and in the case of a single outdoor unit, irregular start and stop of both indoor units and increase in stop time can be prevented, and the versatility of indoor units can be expanded. be able to. In the control device for an air conditioner according to a second aspect, the first and second air conditioners are installed in a lower part of the room and an upper part of the room, respectively. Since each is provided in the upper part, the room can be appropriately cooled and heated. Furthermore,
The control device for an air conditioner according to claim 3, when the control unit determines that the difference between the temperature detected by the first temperature sensor and the set temperature of the first air conditioner is within a predetermined value, The above temperature judgment of the temperature difference detected by both temperature sensors is performed.
In addition to the above-described effects, by performing the blowing operation at a more appropriate time, uniform air conditioning in the room can be more effectively realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a refrigerant circuit diagram showing an air conditioner having two indoor units provided with a control device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state of a blowing operation during heating by the two indoor units.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of control of two indoor units by the control device.

FIG. 4 is a refrigerant circuit diagram showing a conventional air conditioner having a plurality of indoor units.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Compressor, 2 ... Four-way switching valve, 3 ... Outdoor heat exchanger, 4 ...
Fan, 7 ... liquid pipe, 9, 10, 15, 16 ... branch pipe, 11 ...
Capillary tubes, 12a, 12b: solenoid valves (liquid on / off valves), 13: gas pipes, 17: solenoid valves (gas on / off valves), 20
a, 20b ... indoor heat exchanger, 21a, 21b ... fan, 22a,
22b: remote control, 23: low position temperature sensor, 24: high position temperature sensor, 25: control unit, A, B: indoor unit on floor and upper wall, O: outdoor unit, R: indoor.

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first and a second device installed at a predetermined place in a room.
A first temperature sensor (23) for detecting a temperature in a first area where air conditioning is performed by the first air conditioner (A). ), A second temperature sensor (24) for detecting a temperature in a second area where air conditioning is performed by the second air conditioner (B), and the first and second temperature sensors (23, 24). It is determined whether or not the detected temperature difference (| D |) is equal to or more than a predetermined value (D ₀ ) (S
5) When the determination is affirmative, the control unit performs the air-conditioning operation of the air conditioner of the one temperature sensor side while performing the air-conditioning operation of the air conditioner of the one temperature sensor side where the air conditioning is further advanced. 25) A control device for an air conditioner, comprising: 2. The first air conditioner (A) is installed in the lower part of the room, the second air conditioner (B) is installed in the upper part of the room, and the first temperature sensor (23) is At the bottom of the room,
The control device for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the second temperature sensors (24) are provided respectively in an upper part of the room. 3. The control unit (25) determines whether a difference between a temperature detected by the first temperature sensor (23) and a set temperature of the first air conditioner (A) is within a predetermined value. Judge (S
4) Only when the judgment is affirmative, the difference (| D |) between the temperatures detected by the first and second temperature sensors (23, 24) becomes a predetermined value (D
₀ ) The control device for an air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein it is determined whether or not the above is satisfied.