JP3094590B2 - 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 for controlling indoor temperature, air volume and direction to enhance the comfort of humans in the room. The present invention relates to a control device of an air conditioner that is adapted to automatically perform a comfortable air conditioning operation in a mounted air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when controlling the indoor temperature with an air conditioner, in the case of heating, for example, control to shift the set temperature of the air conditioner higher for a certain period of time in order to improve the rising characteristics of the indoor temperature, or to control the outdoor temperature Similarly, a control method of shifting the set temperature higher for a certain period of time at the time of decrease has been used. For example, "In order to quickly raise the room temperature during heating, the room target set temperature is set to be lower than the user's set temperature until the room temperature becomes higher than the user's set temperature set by the remote controller or the operation panel. The temperature of the air conditioner was controlled in such a way as to set it higher. In addition, the control that treats the predicted number of votes (PMV) calculated based on the indoor environment and the state of the human, and the standard new effective temperature (SET) that predicts the physiological state and sensation of the human as evaluation indexes for controlling the air conditioner. Methods have been used.

[0003]

However, in the conventional control device described above, the air conditioning load of the room where the air conditioner is installed is large or small, for example, "When the load is too small, the room temperature becomes higher than the target. It takes too long for the room temperature to reach the target temperature if the load is too high or the load is too high. " (SE
In order to treat T) as an evaluation index for controlling the air conditioner, for example, for example, "At the time of heating, the set temperature is set to a higher temperature until a certain time after the operation of the air conditioner is started, and the room is heated at a stretch. After that, when the room warms up, the set temperature will be changed slightly lower for economical driving. "
As a result of not being able to reflect the personal preference of the method of use, there has been a problem that the user must set the operation means and the like one by one.

The present invention is intended to solve such a conventional problem, and automatically selects an air-conditioning mode suitable for a room environment and personal preference, automatically changes a set temperature, and easily sets the air-conditioning mode. An object of the present invention is to provide a control device for an air conditioner which can be performed and can be released from troublesome setting of operation means and the like by a user.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an indoor temperature detecting means for detecting an indoor temperature of an air conditioner, an outdoor temperature detecting means for detecting an outdoor temperature, and an air conditioner. Set temperature detecting means for detecting the set temperature of the air conditioner, operating means capable of indicating the user's sensation in the indoor environment in at least two categories of cold or hot, and detecting the elapsed time from the start of operation of the air conditioner Operating time detecting means, a season judging means for judging a season from the outdoor temperature, a recording means for recording an output value from each of the means, and an input of a user's intention display which is an output value from the recording means. Operation determining means for determining the presence or absence, and when it is determined that the user's intention is input by the operation determining means, the room temperature, the outdoor temperature, and the air conditioner, which are output values from the respective means, Means for learning the operation content from the constant temperature and the user's intention display and the elapsed time and season from the start of operation of the air conditioner, and means for estimating the operation content by referring to the results obtained from each of the means, Control signal generating means for generating a control signal for controlling the air conditioner based on a signal output from the means for estimating the operation content, and an indoor temperature signal by an indoor temperature detecting means for detecting an indoor temperature; At the time of operation start by the outdoor temperature signal by the outdoor temperature detection means for detecting the temperature, a mode determination means for selecting a cooling operation, a dehumidification operation or a heating operation, and an initial set temperature determination means for determining a set temperature at the start of the operation. A set temperature changing means for changing a set temperature change value between heating and cooling (dehumidification) by a signal from the user's intention indicating operation means is provided.
The cooling operation is performed by the mode determination means.
(Or dehumidification operation) and the mode changes to heating operation
And a four-way valve switching detection means.
Set temperature slide hand to slide the set temperature to a certain temperature
A step is provided .

[0006]

In the present invention, the season judging means judges the season based on the outdoor temperature at a certain time estimated by the optical sensor.

[0008]

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided an indoor temperature and an outdoor temperature which are output values from the indoor and outdoor temperature detecting means, a set temperature which is an output value from the set temperature detecting means, and
Learn the user's operation content from the user's bodily sensation, which is the output value from the operating means, the elapsed operating time of the air conditioner, which is the output value from the operating time detecting means, and the season, which is the output value from the season judging means. In addition, by estimating the operation based on the results obtained from each means, it automatically selects the air-conditioning mode that matches the room environment, personal preference, season and time, and automatically sets the temperature. Can be changed and easily performed.

[0010] Further, the present invention provides a mode determining means,
When the mode is changed from the cooling operation (or the dehumidifying operation) to the heating operation, the set temperature slide unit has an operation of sliding the set temperature by a certain temperature.

Further, according to the present invention, the season judging means judges the season based on the outdoor temperature at a certain time estimated by the optical sensor, so that the air conditioner can more accurately match the environment of the room, personal preference, and season and time. Driving can be performed automatically and easily.

Further, according to the present invention, the season judging means judges the season by a calendar function, thereby automatically and easily performing the air-conditioning operation according to the room environment, personal preference, season and time. be able to.

[0013]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a control device for an air conditioner according to one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 11 is an indoor temperature detecting means, 111 is an indoor temperature signal,
12 is an outdoor temperature detecting means, 121 and 122 are a cooling operation, a dehumidifying operation or a heating operation determined by the mode determining means 10 based on the outdoor temperature signal, the indoor temperature signal 111 and the outdoor temperature signal 122, and the initial set temperature determination of 01 is performed. The set temperature at the start of operation is determined by the means. 13
Is a set temperature detecting means for detecting the determined set temperature,
131 is a set temperature signal, 14 is an operation means for inputting a user's intention display such as a remote control or an operation panel, 141 is a signal value such as a bodily sensation input by the user at the operation means 14, and 142 is a user value at the operation means 14. Is an input generation signal generated when the input is input, 15 is an operation time detecting means for detecting a time from when the operation of the air conditioner 22 is started to when the input generation signal 142 is received, 151 is an operation elapsed time signal, 16 Is a season judging means for judging a season from the outdoor temperature signal 122, 161 is a season signal outputted by the season judging means 16, 17 is an indoor temperature signal 111, an outdoor temperature signal 121, a set temperature signal 131, a user's bodily sensation and the like. Signal 141, operation elapsed time signal 151, and season signal 161
171 is a storage signal output by the storage means, 18 is operation determining means for determining whether or not a user's intention display has been input from the storage signal 171, and 181 is storage when there is a user input Signals 171 and 182 are stored signals 171 and 19 when there is no user input, operation content learning means, 191 is a reference information value obtained by the operation content learning means, 20 is operation content estimation means, 201 is operation content estimation Reference numeral 21 denotes a control signal generation unit that generates a control signal for controlling the air conditioner 22 based on the estimated operation content 201, 211 denotes a control signal, and 22 denotes an air conditioner.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below. The indoor temperature detecting means 11, for example, a suction temperature sensor, and the outdoor temperature detecting means 12, for example, an outside air temperature sensor, are provided in the air conditioner 22. When the indoor temperature signal 111 is output from the indoor temperature detecting means 11 and the outdoor temperature signal 121 is output from the outdoor temperature detecting means 12, the mode determining means 10 determines a cooling operation, a dehumidifying operation or a heating operation. Further, the set temperature at the start of the operation is determined by the initial set temperature determining means 01. Further, the indoor and outdoor temperatures and the like are output to the storage unit 17. From the set temperature detecting means 13, the set temperature signal 131 at that time is stored in the storage means, and from the operating means 14, the signal value 14 of the user's sensation such as hot or cold is input.
1 is output to the storage means by distinguishing between the heating operation and the cooling (dehumidification) operation, and an input generation signal 142 generated when the user's intention is input is output to the operation time detection means 15.
The operation time detection means 15 outputs the elapsed time from the start of operation of the air conditioner 22 to the reception of the input generation signal 142 to the storage means 17 as the operation time elapse signal 151. For example, the season judging means 16 outputs “outdoor temperature signal 1
22, when it is less than t1 degree, it is midwinter, when it is t1 degree or more and less than t2 degree, it is around winter, when it is t2 degree or more and less than t3 degree, it is around summer, t
When the temperature is 3 degrees or more, it is midsummer. "
And outputs a seasonal signal 161 such as midwinter, around winter, around summer, midsummer, etc. to the storage means. Storage means 17
Are the signals 111, 121, 131, 141, 15 outputted from the means 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.
1 and 161 are stored every N seconds and when a user's intention, such as hot or cold, which is the user's bodily sensation is input by the operation means 14, and is output to the operation determination means 18 as a storage signal 171. The operation determining means 18 determines whether or not an input of a user's intention display has been made by the operating means 14, and if there is an input, the set temperature changing means 10 according to the heating or cooling (dehumidifying) operation.
1 is reflected on the operation content estimating means 20 and the storage signal 171 is output to the operation content estimating means 20 as 181. When there is no input, the storage signal 171 is output as 182 to the operation content estimating means 20.

The operation content learning means 19 includes the operation determining means 1
8 as a teacher signal, for example,
"What is the season, how many minutes after the start of the operation of the air conditioner, how many times the indoor temperature, the outdoor temperature and the set temperature are, how was the user's experience?" learn. After the learning is completed, the teacher signal is output to the operation content estimating means 20 as the reference information value 191.

On the other hand, the operation content estimating unit 20 that has received the signal 182 output from the operation determining unit 18 uses the reference information value 191 output from the operation content learning unit 19 to determine, for example, “What is the season, How many minutes after the start of the operation of the air conditioner, how many times are the indoor temperature, the outdoor temperature, and the set temperature, so what is the user's bodily sensation, and raise the set temperature several times? " This is estimated and output to the control signal generation means 21 as the operation content estimated value 201.
The control signal generation means 21 controls the air conditioner 22 based on the operation content estimation value 201, for example, by generating a control signal 211 such as "raise the set temperature by one degree" or "do nothing".

Next, the operation content learning means 19 will be described with reference to FIG.
Will be described in detail. In FIG. 2, 23 is an input signal receiving unit, and 24 is a reference information generating unit. Reference numeral 25 denotes a reference information unit which stores the reference information generated by the reference information generation unit and outputs the reference information to the operation content estimating means. The operation of the above configuration will be described below. 230
Is an input signal when the user inputs an intention display, which is the season, the elapsed operation time, the indoor temperature, the outdoor temperature, the set temperature, and the sensation of hot, cold, etc., and is input to the input signal receiving unit 23. In the input signal receiving section 23, the input signal 230
Is output to the reference information generation unit 24 as an input vector 231. In the reference information generation unit 24, the input vector 231
Is used as a teacher signal for each season (hot / cold) categories (events), driving elapsed time, indoor temperature, outdoor temperature,
The reference information 241 including the set temperature is generated and output to the reference information unit 25. In the reference information section 25, the reference information 241
Are classified into a plurality of blocks for each season of the reference information value 241 and stored. The reference information 241 stored for each season is output to the operation content estimating means 20 in FIG. 1 as a reference information value 251.

Next, the operation content estimating means 20 will be described with reference to FIG.
Will be described in detail. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 31 denotes an input signal receiving unit, and 32 denotes a reference information unit. 33 is a distance calculation unit, and 34 is an operation content estimation unit. The operation of the above configuration will be described below. 3
Reference numeral 10 denotes an input signal, which represents the season, the elapsed operation time, the indoor temperature, the outdoor temperature, the set temperature, and the sensation such as hot or cold, and is input to the input signal receiving unit 310. Input signal receiving unit 31
Then, the input signal 310 is output to the distance calculation unit 33 as the input vector 311. The distance calculation unit 33 calculates the distance between the input vector 311 and each reference information of the reference information unit 32 for each category classified by season. For example, the distance (dAj) between the input vector 311 and the reference information is obtained by the following equation (1). The distance (dAj) between the input vector 311 and each reference information of the reference information section 32 is output to the operation content estimation section 34 as a distance signal 331. The operation content estimating unit 34 determines the condition of the following expression (2) for each category of the season (dAj) for each category, and when the condition is satisfied, for example, the distance (dAj) is obtained by the distance calculating unit 33 in the current input vector 311. As a result of the operation content estimating unit 34 determining the distance signal 331 to the obtained reference information for each season, when the condition of the following expression (2) is satisfied for the “cold” category, “when the set temperature is 2 during heating, When the condition of the following expression (2) is satisfied for the category of “increase the temperature” or “hot” category, an operation content estimation value 341 of “decrease the set temperature by 1 degree during cooling (dehumidification)” is output. If the condition of the following equation (2) is not satisfied, an operation content estimation value 341 of “do nothing” is output.

DAj = Σ (xi−Raji) ² (1) dAj: distance from j-th reference information xi: i-th input vector Raji: i-th input vector of j-th reference information dDj ≧ dAj dDj: distance from a predetermined j-th reference information As described above, according to the first embodiment, by learning and estimating the operation contents of the user, for example, "What is the season, air When minutes have passed since the operation of the harmonic machine started,
Since the indoor temperature, the outdoor temperature, and the set temperature are the same, what is the user's bodily sensation? "
As described above, the air-conditioning operation according to the room environment, personal preference, season and time can be automatically and easily performed, and the troublesome setting of the operation means and the like by the user can be relieved.

A second embodiment will be described. In FIG. 4, when the mode is changed from the cooling operation (or the dehumidifying operation) to the heating operation by the mode determining means 10, a four-way valve switching detecting means 51 is provided, and the four-way valve switching detecting signal 511 is provided.
Slides the set temperature. A set temperature slide means 61 is provided to perform control. That is, in order to prevent re-evaporation and discomfort by switching the wet indoor heat exchanger to the heating operation during cooling, the operation is delayed by sliding the compressor so as to lower the set temperature in order to prevent discomfort.

Next, the details of the season judging means according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 41 is an optical sensor, 42 is a time estimating unit, and 43 is a season judging unit. The operation of the above configuration will be described below. The optical sensor 41 is provided in an outdoor unit of the air conditioner, and has the outdoor brightness 4 determined by the optical sensor 41.
11 is output to the time estimating unit 42. The time estimation unit 42 determines from the outdoor brightness 411 that, for example, “the outdoor brightness is less than x1, night; if x1 or more and less than x2, morning or evening; evening,
Time signals 421 such as day and night are output to the season judging unit 43. Further, an outdoor temperature signal 121 which is an output value from the outdoor temperature detecting means 12 in FIG. The season determining unit 43 determines the season from the outdoor brightness 411 and the outdoor temperature signal 121. For example, it is determined that “the outdoor temperature of 35 degrees in the daytime is midsummer” and the season signal 43
Outputs 1.

As described above, according to the third embodiment,
By accurately judging the season using the optical sensor, learning and estimating the operation content of the user for each season, for example, `` What is the season and how many minutes after the operation of the air conditioner started? The room temperature, the outdoor temperature, and the set temperature are different, so what is the user's bodily sensation, so how many times should the set temperature be raised? " It is possible to automatically and easily perform the air-conditioning operation according to the time, and it is possible to release the troublesome setting of the operation means and the like by the user.

Next, the details of the season judging means according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described. When the season judging means 16 in FIG. 1 has a calendar function for outputting a signal about a month, a day, and the like, the calendar information is output to the storage means 17 as a season signal 161.

As described above, according to the third embodiment,
The season judging means having a calendar function judges the season more accurately, and learns and guesses the user's operation contents according to the season. Minutes later,
Since the indoor temperature, the outdoor temperature, and the set temperature are the same, what is the user's bodily sensation? "
In this way, it is possible to automatically and easily perform air-conditioning operation according to the room environment, personal preference, season and time, and to release the troublesome setting of user's operation means etc. Can be.

[0025]

As is apparent from the above embodiment, the mode is determined by the indoor temperature and the outdoor temperature which are the output values from the indoor and outdoor temperature detecting means according to the first aspect of the present invention, and the initial set temperature is determined. , A set temperature which is an output value from the set temperature detecting means, a user's bodily sensation which is an output value from the operating means, and an operation elapsed time of the air conditioner which is an output value from the operating time detecting means and a season judging means. By learning the user's operation content from the season, which is the output value from the system, and estimating the operation content based on the results obtained from each means, it is possible to adjust the room environment, personal preference, season and time. The selected air-conditioning mode can be automatically selected, the set temperature can be automatically changed and the operation can be easily performed, and the troublesome setting of the operation means and the like by the user can be relieved.

In addition, the present invention provides a method of “hot” for a user's intention.
Or, for the operation of “cold”, for example, the set temperature is changed by 2 ° C. during heating, and during the cooling (dehumidification) operation, the setting is changed by heating and cooling (dehumidification) operation so as to change the set temperature by 1 ° C. By changing the amount of temperature change, it is possible to perform control that is close to human comfort.

Further, according to the present invention, when the set temperature changes due to the operation of the remote controller or learning, the mode is determined not in accordance with the fixed mode determination value but in accordance with the change in the set temperature. That is, when the set temperature is increased in the heating mode, the indoor temperature value at which the mode is switched to the cooling or dehumidification mode also increases, and the heating operation can be continued. In this way, by the mode judgment that was able to cope with cold and hot weather according to the taste of the person,
It always achieves comfortable air conditioning.

Further, according to the present invention, once the mode is switched from the cooling mode to the heating mode and the compressor is operated as it is, water adhering to the indoor heat exchanger re-evaporates and becomes uncomfortable. When the switch to is performed, the air conditioner detects this, slides the set temperature, provides an air blowing mode in the middle, and prevents re-evaporation of the indoor heat exchanger, thereby always achieving comfortable air conditioning. Things.

Further, according to the present invention, the season judging means judges the season based on the outdoor temperature at a certain time estimated by the optical sensor, so that the air conditioner suitable for the environment of the room, personal preference, season and time can be more accurately obtained. Driving can be performed automatically and easily, and the user can be free from troublesome setting of operation means and the like.

[0030]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an operation content learning unit in the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of operation content estimating means in the apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of mode determination according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration of a season judging means according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 01 Initial setting temperature determining means 10 Mode determining means 11 Indoor temperature detecting means 12 Outdoor temperature detecting means 13 Set temperature detecting means 14 Operating means 15 Operating time detecting means 16 Season determining means 17 Storage means 18 Operation determining means 19 Operation learning means 20 Operation content estimation unit 21 Control signal generation unit 22 Air conditioner 23 Input signal reception unit 24 Reference information generation unit 25 Reference information unit 31 Input signal reception unit 32 Reference information unit 33 Distance calculation unit 34 Operation content estimation unit 41 Optical sensor 42 Time Estimating part 43 Season determining part 51 Four-way valve switching detecting means 61 Set temperature sliding means

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An indoor temperature detecting means for detecting an indoor temperature of an air conditioner, an outdoor temperature detecting means for detecting an outdoor temperature, a set temperature detecting means for detecting a set temperature of the air conditioner, and a user. Means for displaying intention in at least two categories of cold or hot in the indoor environment of the air conditioner, operation time detecting means for detecting an elapsed time from the start of operation of the air conditioner, and season determination for judging season from outdoor temperature Means, recording means for recording an output value from each of the means, operation determining means for determining whether or not a user's intention display, which is an output value from the recording means, has been input; When it is determined that the intention indication of the air conditioner has been input, the output values from the respective means are the indoor temperature, the outdoor temperature, the set temperature of the air conditioner, the user's intention indication, and the operation start of the air conditioner. Means for learning the operation content from the elapsed time and season, means for estimating the operation content by referring to the result obtained from each of the means, and signal output from the means for estimating the operation content based on Control signal generating means for generating a control signal for controlling the air conditioner, at the start of operation by an indoor temperature signal by an indoor temperature detecting means for detecting an indoor temperature and an outdoor temperature signal by an outdoor temperature detecting means for detecting an outdoor temperature , Cooling operation, dehumidification operation, or
A mode determining means for selecting a heating operation, and an initial set temperature determining means for determining a set temperature at the start of the operation, wherein a signal from an operation means for indicating a user's intention is set at the heating and cooling (dehumidifying) temperature. A set temperature changing means for changing the change value of the air conditioner;
Mode changes from operation (or dehumidification operation) to heating operation
A four-way valve switching detection means,
The set temperature slides to slide the set temperature by a certain temperature.
A control device for an air conditioner , characterized in that the control device is provided. 2. The control device for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the season judging means judges the season based on the outdoor temperature at a certain time estimated by the optical sensor .