JP3369337B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide air conditioning equipment which can maintain a dwelling space in a room R comfortable during heating. CONSTITUTION: When a radiation mode is set during a heating operation, it is judged whether or not the temperature Tf detected by a floor surface temperature sensor 20 reaches a set value Tx. When the detected temperature Tf reaches the set value Tx, a louver 18 is set a position in the roughly horizontal direction of blowing while the amount of air of a room fan 17 is reduced to perform a radiation heating from the surfaces of the ceiling.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ceiling-embedded air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a ceiling-embedded air conditioner that is embedded in a ceiling surface of a room, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 211522/1990, the direction in which air is blown into the room is from below to a substantially horizontal range. There is a louver that can be variably set and that automatically switches the position of the hot air blowing direction during heating to diagonally downward or substantially horizontal.

For example, at the start of the heating operation, it is preferable to blow warm air obliquely downward in order to quickly warm the room. When the room is warm, it is desirable to switch the blowing direction of the warm air from diagonally below to substantially horizontal in order to prevent the warm air from directly hitting the resident's body.

[0004]

FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 show the indoor conditions caused by the heating operation of the air conditioner described above. FIG. 7 shows the wind flow, and FIG. 8 shows the temperature distribution.
The room R is surrounded by a ceiling surface 1, a floor surface 2, and a wall surface 3, and an indoor unit 4 of an air conditioner is embedded in the ceiling surface 1. The indoor unit 4 has an air outlet on the lower surface thereof, and the louver 5 is provided there. The louver 5 variably sets the blowing direction of the air into the room R in a substantially horizontal range from below, and is set at a substantially horizontal blowing direction position in the drawing.

The problem here is that the warm air blown from the indoor unit 4 in a substantially horizontal direction hits the wall surface 3 along the ceiling surface 1 and flows downward from there along the wall surface 3. Is. Due to this flow, the warm air layer under the ceiling surface 1 becomes thick and greatly enters the living space (the height from the floor is 1.8 m or less), and the living space becomes unnecessarily hot. Moreover, because of the wind speed, the discomfort felt by the residents is considerably great. The present invention takes the above circumstances into consideration, and provides an empty space that can maintain a comfortable indoor living space.
The purpose is to provide an air conditioner .

[0006]

An air conditioner according to a first aspect of the present invention sucks indoor air by operating a fan and blows the sucked air into a room through a heat exchanger.
A louver that variably sets the direction of air blown into the room from below in a substantially horizontal range, an indoor temperature sensor that detects the temperature Ta of the intake air, and a floor temperature sensor that detects the temperature Tf of the floor of the room. The heat exchanger functions as a condenser, and the louver is set at the lower position in the blowout direction to perform a heating operation to blow out warm air toward the floor of the room. When the radiation mode is set during execution of heating operation, the means for controlling the operating capacity by the detected temperature Ta and the set temperature Tsc, and the detected temperature Tf of the floor temperature sensor
Means for determining whether or not has reached the set value Tx, and if the detected temperature Tf has reached the set value Tx in this determination, the louver is set to a substantially horizontal blowing direction position and the air volume of the fan is reduced. Along with the operating capacity, the room temperature
From the control by the detection temperature Ta of the sensor and the set temperature Tsc to the floor
Control by detected temperature Tf of surface temperature sensor and set temperature Tfs
A radiation mode control means for switching, the detection of the floor surface temperature sensor
When controlling the operating capacity by the known temperature Tf and the set temperature Tfs
The set temperature Tfs is based on the detected temperature Tf at the time of the judgment
And means to determine .

[0007]

[0008]

In addition to the structure of the first invention , the air conditioner of the second invention lowers the detected temperature Tf over a predetermined temperature when controlling the operating ability by the detected temperature Tf of the floor temperature sensor and the set temperature Tfs. Then, a means for increasing the air volume of the fan is provided.

In addition to the configuration of the second invention , the air conditioner of the third invention lowers the detected temperature Tf over a predetermined temperature when controlling the operating capacity by the detected temperature Tf of the floor temperature sensor and the set temperature Tfs. Then, a means for switching the louver from the substantially horizontal position to the downward blowing direction position and for increasing the air volume of the fan is provided.

[0011]

[0012]

In the air conditioner of the first aspect of the invention, during the heating operation, the heat exchanger functions as a condenser, and the louver is set at the lower position in the blowing direction to blow warm air toward the floor of the room. . Then, the driving ability is controlled by the detected temperature Ta of the indoor temperature sensor and the set temperature Tsc. When the radiation mode is set during the heating operation, it is determined whether the temperature Tf detected by the floor temperature sensor has reached the set value Tx. If the detected temperature Tf has reached the set value Tx in this determination,
The louver is set to a position that is substantially horizontal in the blowing direction to reduce the air flow of the fan and to control the operating capacity of the room temperature sensor.
From the sensor detection temperature Ta and the set temperature Tsc to the floor surface
For control by the detected temperature Tf of the temperature sensor and the set temperature Tfs
Switch. Set the temperature detected by the floor temperature sensor Tf and
When controlling the operating capacity by temperature Tfs, set temperature T
fs is determined based on the detected temperature Tf at the time of the determination.

[0013]

[0014]

In the air conditioner of the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the operation of the first aspect of the invention , the detected temperature Tf is set to a predetermined value when controlling the driving ability by the detected temperature Tf of the floor temperature sensor and the set temperature Tfs. When the temperature is lowered above the temperature, the air volume of the fan is increased.

In the air conditioner of the third aspect of the invention, in addition to the operation of the second aspect of the invention , the detected temperature Tf is set to a predetermined value when controlling the driving ability based on the detected temperature Tf of the floor temperature sensor and the set temperature Tfs. When the louver is lowered above the temperature, the louver is switched from the substantially horizontal position to the lower position in the blowing direction to increase the air volume of the fan.

[0017]

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 2, the ceiling surface 1 of the room R
The indoor unit 10 is embedded in the. This indoor unit 1
0 is a suction port 11 and a blowout port 1 on the lower surface facing the room R.
2, the heat insulating material 13 provided in the unit forms an air passage 14 from the suction port 11 to the air outlet 12.

An indoor temperature sensor 15, an indoor heat exchanger 16, and an indoor fan 17 are provided in the ventilation passage 14.
That is, when the indoor fan 17 rotates, the air in the room R is sucked into the unit through the suction port 11 and passes through the indoor heat exchanger 16 while touching the indoor temperature sensor 15, as shown by the white arrow in the figure. The air that has passed through the indoor heat exchanger 16 passes through the indoor fan 17 and is blown into the room R from the air outlet 12. The indoor temperature sensor 15 is provided with a louver 18 at the air outlet 12 that detects the temperature Ta of the air sucked from the suction port 11. The louver 18 variably sets the blowing direction of the air into the room from the lower side in a substantially horizontal range. When the louver 18 is not in operation, the louver 18 is rotated to the state shown by the solid line in the drawing to close the air outlet 12 and start the operation. The air outlet 12 is opened by rotating to the state shown by the broken line in the figure. The rotation angle of the louver 18 depends on the outlet 12
Is 0 degrees when closed, 20 degrees when it is almost horizontal, and 90 degrees just below.

The lower surface of the indoor unit 10 has a suction port 1
1 and the air outlet 12 at a position between the sensor mounting groove 1
9 is formed. The radiation temperature sensor 2 is placed in the groove 19.
0 is provided. The radiation temperature sensor 20 takes in the heat radiated from the floor surface 2 of the room R and detects the temperature Tf of the floor surface 2.

A control unit 30 is provided in the heat insulating material 13. The control unit 30 performs overall control of the air conditioner. The structure of the refrigeration cycle and the control circuit is shown in FIG.

A four-way valve 22 is provided at the discharge port of the variable capacity compressor 21.
One end of the outdoor heat exchanger 23 is connected via. One end of the indoor heat exchanger 16 is connected to the other end of the outdoor heat exchanger 23 via an expansion valve 24. The other end of the indoor heat exchanger 16 is connected to the suction port of the compressor 21 via the four-way valve 22.

During the cooling operation, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 21 flows in the direction of the solid arrow in the figure, and the outdoor heat exchanger 23 functions as a condenser and the indoor heat exchanger 16 functions as an evaporator. During the heating operation, the four-way valve 22 is switched so that the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 21 flows in the direction of the broken line arrow in the figure.
The indoor heat exchanger 16 functions as a condenser, and the outdoor heat exchanger 23 functions as an evaporator.

An outdoor fan 25 is provided near the outdoor heat exchanger 23.
Is provided. The outdoor fan 25 supplies outside air to the outdoor heat exchanger 23. The outdoor temperature sensor 26 is provided in the flow path of the outside air.
Is provided.

An indoor temperature sensor 15, an indoor fan motor 17M, a louver motor 18M, a radiation temperature sensor 20, a four-way valve 22, an outdoor fan motor 25M, an outdoor temperature sensor 26, a light receiving section 31, and an inverter circuit 33 are connected to the control section 30. It

The speed of the indoor fan motor 17M can be adjusted. The light receiving unit 31 receives light emitted from a remote control type operation device (hereinafter, abbreviated as a remote controller) 32.

The inverter circuit 33 includes a commercial AC power source 34.
Is rectified, converted into an alternating current having a frequency according to a command from the control unit 30, and output. This output is supplied to the compressor 21 as driving power. That is, by controlling the output frequency F of the inverter circuit 33, the capacity (rotation speed) of the compressor 21 changes.

The control unit 30 mainly includes the following functional means. [1] Means for setting the louver 18 at a position obliquely downward in the air-blowing direction to blow hot air toward the floor of the room during the heating operation.

[2] A means for controlling the operating capacity (the output frequency F of the inverter circuit 21) according to the difference between the detected temperature Ta of the indoor temperature sensor 15 and the set temperature Tsc during the heating operation. [3] A means for determining whether or not the temperature Tf detected by the floor surface temperature sensor 20 has reached the set value Tx when the radiation mode is set by the remote controller 32 during the heating operation.

[4] If the detected temperature Tf reaches the set value Tx in this determination, the louver 18 is set substantially horizontal (20 degrees).
Is set to the position of the indoor temperature sensor 15 while reducing the air flow rate of the indoor fan 17
Means for switching from control according to the difference between the detected temperature Ta and the set temperature Tsc to control according to the difference between the detected temperature Tf of the floor temperature sensor 20 and the set temperature Tfs.

[5] A means for determining the set temperature Tfs on the basis of the detected temperature Tf at the time of the above determination when controlling the driving ability according to the difference between the detected temperature Tf and the set temperature Tfs. [6] When the operating temperature is controlled according to the difference between the detected temperature Tf and the set temperature Tfs, if the detected temperature Tf falls below a predetermined temperature, the louver 18 is switched from a substantially horizontal position to an obliquely downward position in the blowing direction, and the interior Means for increasing the air volume of the fan 17.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Remote control 32
When the heating mode is set in and the operation start is instructed,
The compressor 21 is activated, the indoor heat exchanger 16 functions as a condenser, and heating operation is started. At this time, the output frequency F of the inverter circuit 21 is controlled according to the difference between the detected temperature Ta of the indoor temperature sensor 15 and the set temperature Tsc, and the operating capacity of the compressor 21 is set to the optimum capacity corresponding to the air conditioning load. It

The set temperature Tsc is a value obtained by adding a correction value ΔT (heating + 3K) to the set temperature Ts set by the remote controller 32.
At the start of heating, as shown in FIG. 3, the louver 18 is set at a position obliquely downward in the blowing direction, and hot air is blown from the outlet 12 of the indoor unit 10 toward the floor surface 2 of the room R. The warm air hitting the floor surface 2 is circulated in the room R and is eventually sucked into the suction port 11 of the indoor unit 10.

By blowing the warm air obliquely downward in this way, the room R can be quickly warmed. In other words, the heating rises quickly. However, if the heating continues as it is, as described above with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the warm air layer under the ceiling surface 1 becomes thick and the heating space largely enters the living space (the height from the floor surface is 1.8 m or less). , Living space gets hotter than necessary. Moreover, because of the wind speed, the discomfort felt by the residents is considerably great.

The resident who feels uncomfortable may set the radiation mode with the remote controller 32. When the radiation mode is set by the remote controller 32, the temperature Tf of the floor surface 2 changes to the floor temperature sensor 20.
Is detected, and it is determined whether the detected temperature Tf has reached the set value Tx.

In this judgment, the detected temperature Tf is the set value T
If it reaches x, the detected temperature Tf at that time is held in the memory in the control unit 30 as Tf0, and the louver 18 is set to a substantially horizontal (20 degree) blowout direction position as shown in FIG. It Furthermore, the amount of radiant air is set. The setting of the radiant air volume is to reduce the air volume of the indoor fan 17 to a smaller air volume than that during normal heating control.

As described above, the warm air is blown out in a substantially horizontal direction, and the radiant heating with a reduced air volume is performed, so that a warm air layer which is not so thick is formed under the ceiling surface 1 as shown in FIG. The ceiling surface 1 is warmed by this warm air layer, and the radiant heat from the ceiling surface 1 heats the room R moderately. In particular, by reducing the air volume, the warm air blown from the indoor unit 10 does not hit the wall surface 3 along the ceiling surface 1 and flow downward from there along the wall surface 3.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7 of the conventional example, the warm air layer does not greatly enter the living space (the height from the floor is 1.8 m or less), so that the living space becomes hotter than necessary. It can be avoided and the hot air will not hit the residents.

In this case, the set temperature Tsc (= Ts + ΔT)
Is shifted up by 6K, and a new set temperature Tsc (= Ts +
ΔT + 6K) is set. The capacity of the compressor 21 is controlled according to the difference between the new set temperature Tsc and the detected temperature Ta of the indoor temperature sensor 15.

In this way, by increasing the set temperature Tsc by 6K, the capacity of the compressor 21 is increased and the ceiling surface 1 is warmed in a short time, and the radiant heat from the ceiling surface 1 can be quickly extracted.

Thereafter, when the detected temperature Ta of the indoor temperature sensor 15 rises to be equal to or higher than the set temperature Tsc, the set temperature Tfs (= Tf0 + ΔTfso + ΔTfse) is determined based on the temperature Tf0 held at the time of the above judgment.

ΔTfso is a correction value determined by the temperature (outside air temperature) To detected by the outside air temperature sensor 26. For example, if To is less than 0 ° C, ΔTfso = + 1K, To is 0
When the temperature is above ℃ and below 5 ℃, ΔTfso = 0K, To is
When the temperature is above 5 ℃ and below 10 ℃ ΔTfso = -1K, To
ΔTfso = -2K is determined when is above 10 ° C.

ΔTfse is a correction value input by the resident operating the set temperature of the remote controller 32. The detection temperature Tf of the radiation temperature sensor 20 is taken in every fixed time, for example, every one minute, and the detected temperature Tf and the set temperature Tfs determined above are taken.
The capacity of the compressor 21 is controlled according to the difference between

The living space becomes a comfortable space by controlling the capacity of the compressor 21 while actually detecting the temperature Tf of the floor surface 2 in contact with the resident. In particular, the set temperature Tfs is not fixed but is determined based on the floor surface temperature Tf at the time of switching to the radiation mode control, so that the floor surface temperature Tf fluctuates greatly by entering the radiation mode control. The defect is avoided. For example, the resident does not feel cold as soon as he / she enters the radiation mode control, and thus the temperature shift operation of the remote controller 32 by the resident becomes unnecessary.

During execution of the radiation mode control, the temperature T detected by the radiation temperature sensor 20 is detected by opening or closing the door or window of the room.
f may drop over a certain temperature. At this time, the residents feel cold.

When the detected temperature Tf falls below the (set temperature Tfs-2K), the radiation mode control is returned to the normal heating operation control. That is, the louver 18 is switched from the substantially horizontal position to the position in the outlet direction obliquely downward to increase the air volume of the indoor fan 17, and the capacity of the compressor 21 is controlled by the detected temperature Ta of the indoor temperature sensor 15 and the set temperature Tsc.

By returning to the normal heating operation control in this way, the time when the resident feels cold can be shortened as much as possible. It should be noted that it is possible to shorten the time when the resident feels cold by only increasing the air volume of the indoor fan 17 without returning to the normal heating operation control. In this case, when the detected temperature Tf starts to rise, the air volume of the indoor fan 17 may be reduced and the original radiation mode control may be resumed.

When the radiation mode release command is input from the remote controller 32, the radiation mode control is returned to the normal heating operation control. By the way, in the above embodiment, the temperature T detected by the radiation temperature sensor 20 at the time when the radiation mode command is input.
Although f and the set value Tx are compared, it is determined whether or not the radiant heating is performed according to the comparison result, but it is determined whether or not the heating operation has reached the stable range at the time when the radiation mode command is input, Whether or not to perform radiant heating may be determined according to the determination result. The stable region of the heating operation means a state in which a predetermined time has elapsed since the heating operation was started and the room R is sufficiently warmed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the radiation temperature sensor 2
Although 0 is used, radiant heating can be performed without using the radiant temperature sensor 20. That is, in the normal heating operation control, the capacity control is performed by the room temperature Ta and the set temperature Tsc, but in the radiation mode, the temperature Tscf higher than the set temperature Tsc by a predetermined value is used, and the room temperature Ta and the set temperature Tsc are used.
The ability is controlled by f.

[0050]

As described above , according to the present invention,
An air conditioner that can maintain a comfortable indoor living space
Can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a refrigeration cycle and a control circuit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of an indoor unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the blowing of warm air at the start of heating in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing hot air blowing during radiant heating in the same embodiment.

6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the warm air layer and the living space in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing hot air blowing during conventional radiant heating.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a relationship between a warm air layer and a living space in FIG. 7.

[Explanation of symbols]

R ... Indoor, 1 ... Ceiling surface, 2 ... Floor surface, 3 ... Wall surface, 10 ... Indoor unit, 11 ... Suction port, 12 ... Air outlet, 13 ... Heat insulating material, 14 ... Ventilation path, 15 ... Indoor temperature sensor, 16 ... indoor heat exchanger, 17 ... indoor fan, 18 ... louver, 20 ... radiation temperature sensor, 30 ... control unit, 33 ... inverter circuit.

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-6-66445 (JP, A) JP-A-2-171539 (JP, A) JP-A-6-109312 (JP, A) JP-A-1-203837 (JP , A) JP-A-5-223332 (JP, A) JP-A-5-203223 (JP, A) JP-A-1-302059 (JP, A) Actual development Sho-61-127339 (JP, U) (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F24F 11/02 102

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. In an air conditioner that sucks indoor air by operating a fan and blows the sucked air into a room through a heat exchanger, the direction in which the air is blown into the room can be varied from below in a substantially horizontal range. A louver to be set, an indoor temperature sensor that detects the temperature Ta of the intake air, a floor surface temperature sensor that detects the temperature Tf of the indoor floor surface, the heat exchanger functioning as a condenser, and the louver A means for performing a heating operation in which the hot air is blown toward the floor of the room by setting the position in the lower blowing direction, and during the heating operation, the operating capacity is controlled by the temperature Ta detected by the indoor temperature sensor and the set temperature Tsc. Means for determining whether the temperature Tf detected by the floor temperature sensor has reached a set value Tx when the radiation mode is set during the heating operation, and the temperature Tf set in this determination. value If it reaches Tx, the louver is set to a substantially horizontal position in the blowing direction, the air volume of the fan is reduced, and the operation is performed.
Capacity control is set to the temperature Ta detected by the indoor temperature sensor.
From the control by the temperature Tsc, the temperature detected by the floor temperature sensor
The radiation mode control means for switching the control to Tf and the set temperature Tfs, and the detection temperature Tf of the floor temperature sensor and the set temperature Tfs.
When setting the temperature Tfs at the time of judgment,
An air conditioner characterized by comprising: means for determining based on the detected temperature Tf . 2. The air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein when the operating temperature is controlled by the detected temperature Tf of the floor temperature sensor and the set temperature Tfs, the detected temperature Tf falls below a predetermined temperature, An air conditioner provided with means for increasing the air volume. 3. The air conditioner according to claim 2 , wherein, when the operating capacity is controlled by the detected temperature Tf of the floor temperature sensor and the set temperature Tfs, when the detected temperature Tf falls below a predetermined temperature, the louver is turned off. An air conditioner comprising means for switching from a substantially horizontal position to a lower position in the blowing direction and for increasing the air volume of the fan.