JP3848786B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an air conditioner that air-conditions a large room such as an office building.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an air conditioner 100 that air-conditions a room 101 such as an office building, a large-scale store, or an office divides the room 101 into a plurality of control regions 102A, 102B, 102C,. The air outlets 104A, 104B, 104C,... Having the dampers 103A, 103B, 103C,... Are individually installed in the control areas 102A, 102B, 102C, and the control device 105 is installed in the room 101. The control areas 102A, 102B, 102C,... Are discriminated into a presence control area x where a person exists and an absence control area y where a person does not exist by using an imaging device 106 such as a camera. However, by controlling each of the dampers 103A, 103B, 103C,..., For example, one so-called central type air conditioner 1 installed in the room 101. Air conditioning is performed by appropriately changing the amount of air supplied from the air outlets 104A, 104B, 104C... Of the air supplied from 7 according to the manned control area x and the absence control area y. is doing.
[0003]
Thus, in the room 101, a large amount of air conditioned from the air conditioner 107 is blown into the occupant control area x to ensure comfort, and the absence of the air conditioner 107 in the absence control area y. A small amount of air is blown out or stopped to realize energy saving.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the air conditioning apparatus 100, even if it is desired to perform air conditioning only in the occupant control region x, if the air suction port 108 of the air conditioner 107 is open to the absent control region y, The suction air flows from the manned control region x to the air suction port 108 as shown by the arrow S, and as a result, air conditioning over a wide range is performed, and the efficiency is lowered.
[0005]
In this case, in order to improve the air conditioning efficiency, it is necessary to connect the air conditioner 107 to each control region 102A, 102B, 102C... And install an air suction port. Cost.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and provides an air conditioner that can efficiently air-condition a large room with a low-cost and simple structure and realize energy saving. It is in.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the room is divided into a plurality of control areas, air conditioning equipment is individually installed in each control area, and the human body detecting means installed in the room determines whether or not a person is present in the control area. The control device distinguishes the control area into a presence control area where a person exists and an absence control area where a person does not exist based on information from the human body detection means. In an air conditioner that performs air conditioning suitable for a region using the air conditioner, the air conditioner is an indoor unit connected to an outdoor unit via a refrigerant pipe, and the control device includes: For the absence control region including the absence control region adjacent to the manned control region by controlling the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through each indoor unit , the indoor target temperature is set to a predetermined value at which the person shows discomfort, About the above resident control area , While increasing the air discharge velocity from the indoor unit corresponding to the standing human control region to an acceptable limit value, the indoor target temperature than the comfort temperature set rather low temperature, the standing human control region, the absence Air conditioning suitable for the control area is implemented.
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the human body detecting means is an image processing device and an image processing control for determining the presence / absence of a person in each control region by processing a signal from the imaging device. And the imaging device is individually installed in each control area.
[0011]
The invention described in claim 1 has the following action.
[0012]
Since the control device controls the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through each indoor unit individually installed in a plurality of control areas and performs air conditioning suitable for the presence control area or the absence control area, the air in the absence control area By suppressing the harmony ability more than the air harmony ability in the occupant control area, for example, a wide space can be efficiently air conditioned and energy saving can be realized.
[0013]
Moreover, the air-conditioning apparatus installed in each control area is an air outlet part, and the prior art which implement | achieves the air conditioning of each control area | region by controlling the amount of air-conditioned air supplied to this air outlet part In this case, in order to realize air conditioning in each control region satisfactorily, it is necessary to provide an air suction port in addition to an air outlet in each control region, resulting in a complicated structure and increased cost. . In contrast, in the present invention, indoor units connected to outdoor units and refrigerant pipes are individually installed in each control region in the room, and air conditioning in each control region is performed by controlling the amount of refrigerant flowing through each indoor unit. Since each indoor unit sucks and blows out air in each control area, it is not necessary to provide a separate air outlet in each control area, so that the room can be efficiently air-conditioned with a low-cost and simple structure.
[0014]
The invention according to claim 2 has the following effects.
[0015]
Since the imaging device is individually installed in each control area, it is possible to accurately determine the presence or absence of a person in each control area.
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0021]
FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention.
[0022]
The air conditioner 10 shown in FIG. 1 is for air-conditioning a large room 11 such as an office building, a large-scale store, or an office. The room 11 is used for relatively small control areas 12A, 12B, and 12C. The air conditioning is performed for each of the control areas 12A, 12B, 12C,.
[0023]
That is, the air conditioner 10 is, for example, an air conditioner including a single outdoor unit 13 that includes a compressor, a four-way valve, a heat exchanger, a fan, and the like, and a heat exchanger, a refrigerant flow rate adjustment valve, a fan, and the like. A plurality of indoor units 14A, 14B, 14C,..., An imaging device 15 and an image processing control device 16 as human body detection means, and a centralized control device 17 as a control device.
[0024]
In the room 11, indoor units 14A, 14B, 14C,... Are individually installed, for example, on the ceiling of each control area 12A, 12B, 12C,. It is connected to the outdoor unit 13. These indoor units 14A, 14B, 14C... Are small capacity indoor units having, for example, 2 horsepower (cooling and heating capacities of 5.6 kw and 6.3 kw, respectively) or less. Further, in these indoor units 14A, 14B, 14C..., The flow rate of the refrigerant flowing from the outdoor unit 13 through the refrigerant pipe 18 is adjusted by changing the opening of the refrigerant flow rate adjustment valve, and the rotation amount of an indoor fan (not shown) is adjusted. Are adjusted to control the room temperature of each of the control areas 12A, 12B, 12C... And perform air conditioning in these control areas 12A, 12B, 12C.
[0025]
The imaging device 15 is, for example, an infrared video device, a digital still camera, a visible image camera, or the like, and is individually installed in each control region 12A, 12B, 12C,. As shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, one imaging device 15 may be installed in each of the control columns 12A, 12B, 12C... A total of two units, one in the vertical direction of 11 and one in the horizontal direction, may be installed. Further, the image processing control device 16 takes in and processes the image signal from the imaging device 15, determines the presence / absence of a person in each of the control areas 12 </ b> A, 12 </ b> B, 12 </ b> C, and transmits the information to the centralized control device 17. .
[0026]
The centralized control device 17 is connected to the image processing control device 16 via a communication line 19, and further uses the communication line 20 via an interface 21, a relay relay base 22 and an external contact input / output terminal (not shown). Are connected to the unit 13 and the indoor units 14A, 14B, 14C. Then, the centralized control device 17 passes the communication line 19 and the communication line 20 and changes the control areas 12A, 12B, 12C... Based on the information from the image processing control apparatus 16 to the resident control area X ( 2) and the absence control area Y where no person exists (shown in FIG. 2 as a halftone display and white display) and are adapted to the presence control area X and the absence control area Y. The air conditioning which was done is implemented using indoor unit 14A, 14B, 14C ....
[0027]
That is, the centralized control device 17 sets the indoor target temperature to a comfortable temperature (for example, 24 to 26 ° C. during cooling operation) for the occupant control region X, and corresponds to the outdoor unit 13 and the occupant control region X. The operation of the indoor units 14A, 14B, 14C... Is performed, and for the absence control region Y, the operation of the corresponding indoor units 14A, 14B, 14C... Is stopped, or the indoor unit 14A corresponding to the manned control region X. , 14B, 14C...
[0028]
As a method for suppressing the driving ability, there are methods such as relaxation of the indoor target temperature, relaxation of the blown air temperature, and shortening of the operation (thermo ON) time. The relaxation of the indoor target temperature relaxes the indoor target temperature in the absence control region Y compared to the indoor target temperature in the manned control region X (set to 1 to 3 ° C. higher during cooling operation and 1 to 3 ° C. during heating operation). Set it low). The above-described relaxation of the blown air temperature is performed by narrowing the refrigerant flow rate adjustment valves of the indoor units 14A, 14B, 14C... Corresponding to the absent control region Y, and the blown air temperature in the absent control region Y is the blown air temperature in the manned control region X. Compared to the above, it is relaxed (set to 1 to 5 ° C. higher during cooling operation and 1 to 5 ° C. lower during heating operation). Moreover, the shortening of the operation time is performed by the central control device 17 forcing the indoor units 14A, 14B, 14C,... Corresponding to the absence control region Y to thermo-ON / OFF, and the indoor units corresponding to the absence control region Y. The thermo-ON time per unit time of 14A, 14B, 14C... Is an operation rate of about 20 to 80% of the thermo-ON time per unit time of the indoor units 14A, 14B, 14C. It is a method to do.
[0029]
Further, the centralized control device 17 is configured so that the absence control region Y is a region near the occupant control region X, that is, the absence control region Z adjacent to the occupant control region X (shown by the network display in FIG. 2), or The absence control area adjacent to the outside of the absence control area Z adjacent to the presence control area X can be operated with an air conditioning capability different from that of the other absence control areas Y. For example, the centralized control device 17 implements a method such as relaxation of the indoor target temperature, relaxation of the blown air temperature, and shortening of the operation (thermo ON) time to operate the unattended control region Z adjacent to the occupant control region X. The ability is set to be lower than that of the occupant control region X, and in some cases, the absence control region adjacent to the outside of the vacant control region Z adjacent to the occupant control region X is also determined by the same method. The driving ability is set lower than the driving ability of the absence control area Z adjacent to the person control area X, and the operation of the other absence control area Y is stopped.
[0030]
Further, the centralized control device 17 sets the air blowing speed blown out from the indoor units 14A, 14B, 14C,... In the range of 28 ° C., the indoor airflow is increased to or near 0.8 m / s) to increase the wind speed in the vicinity of the human (for example, 0.5 to 0.8 m / s), and the room in the manned control region X It is also possible to perform air conditioning by setting the target temperature to be higher (26 to 28 ° C.) than the comfortable temperature (24 to 26 ° C.).
[0031]
Next, a specific example of air conditioning in the room 11 by the central control device 17 will be shown.
[0032]
When the office is air-cooled, if the air conditioning is performed only in the occupant control area X when there are many people coming and going like weekdays, it may cause discomfort to the entering and exiting people. In the absence control region Y including the absence control region Z adjacent to the occupant control region X, the indoor target temperature is set to the indoor target temperature (28 ° C.) at which the person shows discomfort, and energy saving operation is performed. As for the occupant control area X, while increasing the air blowing speed from the indoor units 14A, 14B, 14C... Corresponding to the occupant control area X to an allowable limit value (0.8 m / s), The target temperature is set to a temperature (26 ° C.) lower than the comfortable temperature, and driving for ensuring comfort and energy saving is performed.
[0033]
In a holiday office, people do not frequently enter and exit, so the indoor units 14A, 14B, 14C, etc. corresponding to the absence control area Y (including the absence control area Z adjacent to the presence control area X) are operated. Is stopped, and only the occupant control area X is set to a comfortable indoor target temperature (24 to 26 ° C.), and the occupant control area X is air-conditioned in a spot manner to save energy.
[0034]
Therefore, according to the air conditioning apparatus 10 of the above embodiment, the following effects (1) to (5) are achieved.
[0035]
(1) The centralized control device 17 controls the flow rate of refrigerant flowing through each of the indoor units 14A, 14B, 14C... Individually installed in the plurality of control areas 12A, 12B, 12C. Since air conditioning suitable for the control area Y is performed, the air conditioning capacity of the absent control area Y is suppressed more than the air conditioning capacity of the manned control area X. , Energy saving can be realized.
[0036]
(2) As shown in FIG. 3, air conditioners installed in the control areas 102A, 102B, 102C,... Are air outlets 104A, 104B, 104C,. In the case of the conventional air conditioning apparatus 100 that realizes air conditioning in each of the control regions 102A, 102B, 102C... By controlling the amount of air conditioned to be supplied to the control regions 102A, 102B, 102C. In order to realize the air conditioning of ... well, it is necessary to provide the air inlets 108 in addition to the air outlets 104A, 104B, 104C ... in each control region 102A, 102B, 102C ... The cost will increase.
[0037]
On the other hand, in the air conditioner 10 of the present embodiment, the indoor units 14A, 14B, 14C... Connected to the outdoor units 13 and the refrigerant pipes 18 are individually connected to the control regions 12A, 12B, 12C. The air conditioning of each control area 12A, 12B, 12C ... is performed by controlling the amount of refrigerant flowing through each indoor unit 14A, 14B, 14C ..., and each indoor unit 14A, 14B, 14C ... Since the air of 12B, 12C... Is taken in and blown out, it is not necessary to separately provide an air suction port in each control region 12A, 12B, 12C..., And the room can be efficiently air-conditioned with a low cost and simple structure.
[0038]
(3) Since the imaging device 15 is individually installed in each of the control areas 12A, 12B, 12C..., It is possible to accurately determine the presence or absence of a person in each of the control areas 12A, 12B, 12C.
[0039]
{Circle around (4)} The central control device 17 has the air conditioning capability of the absence control area Y (particularly, the absence control area Z adjacent to the occupant control area X) in the vicinity of the occupant control area X. Because it is possible to control with different abilities, for example, the air conditioning capability of the absence control area Y (particularly the absence control area Z adjacent to the occupant control area X) near the occupant control area X can be controlled. When it is intense, control close to the air conditioning capacity of the occupant control area X, and when there are few people entering and exiting the room 11, by controlling with the same air conditioning capacity as the other absence control area Y, Air conditioning in the room 11 can be implemented more efficiently, and energy saving can be further promoted.
[0040]
(5) During cooling operation, in the manned control region X, the air blowing speed blown out from the indoor units 14A, 14B, 14C,... Since the temperature is set higher than the room temperature (26 ° C.), energy saving can be further promoted while ensuring the comfort of the occupant control region X.
[0041]
As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on one Embodiment, this invention is not limited to this.
[0042]
【The invention's effect】
The room is divided into a plurality of control areas, and indoor units are individually installed in each control area, and the control device determines the control area based on information from the human body detection means, the human presence control area, and the human By distinguishing from the absence control area that does not exist, air conditioning that is suitable for these occupant control areas and absence control areas is performed by controlling the flow rate of refrigerant flowing from the outdoor unit to the indoor unit. Air conditioning can be efficiently performed with a low cost and simple structure, and energy saving can be realized.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing a partitioning situation and the like in the room of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a system diagram showing a conventional air conditioner.
4 is a plan view schematically showing the compartmentalization situation and the like in the room of FIG. 3. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Air conditioning apparatus 11 Indoor 12A Control area 12B Control area 12C Control area 13 Outdoor unit 14A Indoor unit 14B Indoor unit 14C Indoor unit 15 Imaging device 16 Image processing control device 17 Centralized control device X Unmanned control region Y Unattended control region Z Present Absence control area adjacent to human control area X

Claims (2)

The room is divided into multiple control areas, and air conditioning equipment is individually installed in each control area.
The human body detection means installed in the room determines the presence or absence of a person in the control area,
The control device distinguishes the control area into a resident control area where a person exists and an absent control area where a person does not exist based on information from the human body detection means. In an air conditioner that performs air conditioning conforming to the above air conditioning equipment,
The air conditioner is an indoor unit connected to the outdoor unit via a refrigerant pipe,
The control device controls the flow rate of refrigerant flowing through each indoor unit,
For the absent control area including the absent control area adjacent to the attendance control area, the indoor target temperature is set to a predetermined value at which a person exhibits discomfort, and for the attendance control area, this attendance control is performed. The indoor target temperature is set to a lower temperature than the comfortable temperature while increasing the air blowing speed from the indoor unit corresponding to the area to the allowable limit value, and adapted to the manned control area and the absence control area. An air conditioner that performs air conditioning.   The human body detection means includes an imaging device and an image processing control device that processes a signal from the imaging device to determine the presence or absence of a person in each control region, and the imaging device is individually installed in each control region. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

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