JP4178097B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly to control of a wind direction plate during heating operation.

  In Patent Document 1, when hot air obtained in a refrigeration cycle is blown into a room, the warm air is blown down until the temperature difference between the set temperature and the room temperature reaches a predetermined temperature. Is a diagonally lower balloon.

In patent document 2, when the comfort level of living space is more than a predetermined value, warm air is blown out toward the ceiling.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-52443 (refer to the effect of the invention of the specification) Japanese Patent No. 3446478 (see specification 0008)

  However, in the air conditioner described in Patent Document 1, when the temperature difference between the set temperature and the room temperature reaches a predetermined temperature, the warm air is blown obliquely downward. There was a possibility that the user would feel uncomfortable when performing a heating operation for a long time.

  Moreover, in the air conditioner described in Patent Document 2, when the comfort level of the living space is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the warm air is blown out toward the ceiling, so that the upper part of the room is warm, The lower part may become cold, and there is a risk that the user may feel cold when sitting.

  The objective of this invention is providing the air conditioner which solves such a conventional subject and can perform the heating operation for a long time, without giving a user discomfort.

In order to achieve the above object, in the air conditioner according to the present invention, in order to set the switching timing of the blowing direction of the warm air to the optimum timing, the room temperature detecting means for detecting the room temperature, and the wind direction of the blowing wind And a control unit that controls the wind direction of the wind direction plate, and the control unit is configured so that a temperature difference between a set temperature and the room temperature reaches a first predetermined temperature difference, and more than that. Provided with a timer that counts the elapsed time to reach a small second predetermined temperature difference, and calculates the interval time until the wind direction plate is changed from obliquely downward to substantially downward during heating operation based on the elapsed time Then, until the temperature difference reaches the second predetermined temperature difference, the wind direction plate is inclined downward and the warm air is blown obliquely downward, and the temperature difference reaches the second predetermined temperature difference. After the interval Until the time elapses, the wind direction plate is inclined obliquely downward and the warm air is blown obliquely downward, and when the interval time has elapsed, the wind direction plate is substantially directed downward and the warm air is blown substantially downward. It is characterized by controlling.

  According to the above configuration, the wind direction switching timing is changed depending on the elapsed time until the second predetermined temperature difference is reached, so that the wind direction can be switched after the wall or floor has warmed up to some extent, and the air blows out almost directly after the wind direction switching. The warm air temperature is less likely to be taken away by the walls and floor, and the feet can be sufficiently warmed without giving the user a feeling of cooling.

The control includes: a room temperature detection unit that detects a room temperature; an outside air temperature detection unit that detects an outside air temperature; a wind direction plate that changes a wind direction of the blown wind; and a control unit that controls a wind direction of the wind direction plate. The unit includes a timer that counts an elapsed time from when the temperature difference between the set temperature and the indoor temperature reaches the first predetermined temperature difference until reaching a second predetermined temperature difference smaller than the first predetermined temperature difference, and heating operation Sometimes, an interval time until the wind direction plate is changed from the obliquely downward direction to the substantially downward direction is calculated based on the elapsed time and the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature detecting means, and the temperature difference is calculated as the second difference. Until the predetermined temperature difference is reached, the wind direction plate is inclined downward and the warm air is blown obliquely downward . After the temperature difference reaches the second predetermined temperature difference, the interval time elapses. Wind direction plate And obliquely downward, blowing hot air obliquely downward, and the wind direction plate and the interval time has passed substantially directly below direction can be controlled to blow warm air in a substantially directly below direction.

  In the above configuration, the elapsed time until reaching the second predetermined temperature and the outside air temperature are adopted as parameters for estimating the wind direction switching timing. By blowing the wind diagonally downward, it is possible to estimate an interval time that is closer to the time it takes for not only the substantially central region of the room but also the surrounding walls and floor of the room to warm up.

  In addition, the control unit can also adjust the direction of the wind direction plate in a direction substantially directly below. Thereby, it can suppress that the blown-out wind hits an obstacle and a cold air dim is generated between the obstacle and the floor. In addition, such adjustment of the direction of the wind direction plate substantially directly below can be easily performed by a remote control device.

As described above, according to the present invention, until the temperature difference between the set temperature and the room temperature reaches a predetermined temperature at the beginning of the heating operation, the air direction is blown to the substantially central portion of the room, and the temperature difference reaches the predetermined temperature. After that, since it blows out along the floor from the wall, the comfort can be improved even when heating operation is performed for a long time. At this time, since the wind direction switching timing is changed according to the elapsed time until the second predetermined temperature difference is reached, the wind direction can be switched after the wall or floor is warmed to some extent, and the temperature blown out directly below the wind direction switching. The temperature of the wind is less likely to be taken away by walls and floors, and the feet can be sufficiently warmed without giving the user a feeling of cooling.

An embodiment of an air conditioner of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is an external view of an indoor unit 1 of a separate type air conditioner , FIG. 2 (a) is a side sectional view of the indoor unit with the wind direction plate directed obliquely downward, and (b) is in the state of FIG. 1 (a). FIG . 3A is a side cross-sectional view of the indoor unit with the wind direction plate directed substantially directly below, and FIG . 3B shows the hot air blowing direction in the state of FIG. FIG.

The indoor unit 1 is connected to an outdoor unit (not shown) installed outside the room, and is attached to a height of the indoor wall 7 as shown in FIG. The wind direction plate 2-A and the wind direction plate 2-B are rotatably supported around the shaft 9.

  Further, the indoor unit 1 includes a heat exchanger 4 and an indoor fan 5 as a blowing means, and air sucked from the suction port 3 by the indoor fan 5 passes through the heat exchanger 4 and flows from the blowout port 6 to the wind direction plate. It blows out along the direction of 2-A and the wind direction board 2-B. By changing the direction of the wind direction plate 2-A and the wind direction plate 2-B, the direction of the wind blown from the indoor unit can be changed.

The control part 10 which controls the wind direction of the wind direction board 2-A and the wind direction board 2-B is comprised from the common microcomputer provided with ROM, RAM, and CPU inside. As shown in FIG. 4 , on the input side of the control unit, temperature setting means 11 provided in the indoor unit and its remote operation device (remote control) to set the room temperature, and the indoor unit and its remote operation device (remote control). ) And a wind direction plate driving unit 13 such as a stepping motor for driving the wind direction plate is connected to the output side. Further, a timer 14 that counts elapsed time is connected to the control unit 10.

  The motor shaft of the wind direction plate drive unit 13 is connected to the shafts 9 of the wind direction plates 2-A and 2-B so that the wind direction plate can be rotated.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4 , the control unit 10 sets the temperature difference between the set temperature set by the temperature setting unit 11 and the room temperature detected by the room temperature detection unit 12 to a first predetermined temperature difference (for example, 4 ° C.). A timer 14 that counts an elapsed time from reaching the second predetermined temperature difference (for example, 0.67 ° C.) smaller than that to reach the airflow direction plate 2-B from the obliquely downward direction during heating operation. An interval time until the temperature is changed to the downward direction is calculated based on the elapsed time, and until the temperature difference reaches the second predetermined temperature difference, the wind direction plate is inclined downward and the warm air is inclined downward. the blow, after further the temperature difference reaches the second predetermined temperature difference, until the time interval has elapsed, the position of FIG. 2 (a), i.e., the wind direction plate 2-a, 2-B Diagonally down and warm air down diagonally Blow, when the interval time has elapsed, the position of FIG. 3 (a), i.e., to control warm air in the substantially directly below direction the wind direction plate 2-B as blown substantially directly below direction.

Then, the control unit 10 changes the wind direction plate from the obliquely downward direction to the substantially downward direction from the elapsed time after reaching the first predetermined temperature difference until reaching the second predetermined temperature difference smaller than that. Table A as shown in FIG. 5 is stored in the memory in order to calculate the interval time until. The left column of FIG. 5 shows elapsed time, and the right column shows interval time .

In the above configuration, when the heating operation is started, the indoor unit 1 moves the wind direction plate 2-A and the wind direction plate 2-B in the position shown in FIG. To do. The warm air at this time is blown out as shown in FIG. 2 (b) to warm the entire room.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of wind direction plate control in the present embodiment. In S10, it is checked whether the temperature difference between the set temperature and the room temperature is equal to or less than a first predetermined temperature difference (4 ° C. in the present embodiment). If the temperature difference is greater than the first predetermined temperature difference direction of the wind direction plate 2-A and louver 2-B maintains the obliquely downward direction as shown in FIG. 2 (a).

If the temperature difference is equal to or lower than the first predetermined temperature, it is checked in S20 whether the elapsed time timer 14 is counting. If the elapsed time timer-14 is not counting, the elapsed time timer is counted in S21. Start. In S30, it is checked whether the temperature difference between the set temperature and the room temperature is equal to or lower than a second predetermined temperature (0.67 ° C. in the present embodiment). If the temperature difference is greater than the second predetermined temperature difference, the orientation of the louver 2-A and louver 2-B maintains the obliquely downward direction as shown in FIG. 2 (a). If the temperature difference is equal to or smaller than the second predetermined temperature, the direction of the wind direction plate 2-B is changed from the diagonally downward direction to the substantially downward direction from the table A shown in FIG. 5 based on the count value of the elapsed time timer in S40 . Select the interval time until.

For example, if the count value of the elapsed time timer-14 = 18, that is, if the elapsed time is 18 minutes, 40 minutes is selected as the interval time. In S50, it is checked whether the interval time has elapsed. Until the interval time elapses, the direction of the wind direction plate 2-B is maintained obliquely downward as shown in FIG. 3A, and when the time elapses, the direction of the wind direction plate 2-B is changed as shown in FIG. Change from diagonally downward to approximately downward.

When performing the heating operation, even if the room temperature approaches the set temperature, the temperatures of the walls 7 and the floor 8 may not reach the set temperature. Such a problem occurs when the wall 7 or the floor 8 is cold in winter. Therefore, assuming that the room temperature approaches the set temperature, the direction of the wind direction plate 2-B is immediately made to be almost directly below, and the warm air is blown out along the wall 7 as shown in FIG. Even if it flows, the temperature of the warm air is lost to the walls 7 and the floor 8, and the feet cannot be sufficiently warmed up, which may give the user a feeling of cooling. The time required for the room temperature to reach the second predetermined temperature difference from the first predetermined temperature difference differs depending on how the walls 7 and the floor 8 are cooled.

  Therefore, by measuring the elapsed time until the room temperature reaches the second predetermined temperature difference from the first predetermined temperature difference, the wall 7 and the floor 8 are heated after the indoor temperature reaches the second predetermined temperature difference. Guess the interval time.

  As described above, after the indoor temperature reaches the second predetermined temperature difference, the temperature of the blown hot air is changed to the wall 7 or the floor 8 by changing the direction of the wind direction plate to substantially right after the interval time has elapsed. It becomes difficult to be taken away and the feet can be sufficiently warmed without giving the user a feeling of cooling.

< Second Embodiment>
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 and FIGS. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7 , the control unit 10 determines that the temperature difference between the set temperature set by the temperature setting unit 11 and the room temperature detected by the room temperature detection unit 12 is a first predetermined temperature difference (for example, 4C) and a timer 14 that counts the elapsed time from reaching the second predetermined temperature difference (for example, 0.67 ° C) smaller than that to the wind direction plate 2-B. An interval time until it is changed from a downward direction to a substantially downward direction is calculated based on the elapsed time and, for example, an outside air temperature detected by an outside air temperature detecting means 15 (thermistor) provided in an outdoor unit, and the temperature difference is calculated. After the second predetermined temperature difference is reached, until the interval time elapses, the wind direction plates 2-A and 2-B are set obliquely downward, hot air is blown obliquely downward, and the interval time is reached. Elapse The wind direction plate 2-B in the substantially directly below direction is controlled to blow warm air in a substantially directly below direction.

Then, the control unit 10 changes the wind direction plate from the obliquely downward direction to the substantially downward direction from the elapsed time after reaching the first predetermined temperature difference until reaching the second predetermined temperature difference smaller than that. Table B as shown in FIG. 8 is stored in the memory in order to calculate the interval time until. The elapsed time is shown outside the left column of FIG. 8 , the outside air temperature is shown outside the bottom column, and the interval time is shown in the column surrounded by ruled lines. Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

In the above configuration, when the indoor unit 1 starts the heating operation, the indoor unit 1 moves the wind direction plate 2-A and the wind direction plate 2-B to the position shown in FIG. To. The warm air at this time is blown out as shown in FIG. 2 (b) to warm the entire room.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of wind direction plate control in the present embodiment. In S10, it is checked whether the temperature difference between the set temperature and the room temperature is equal to or less than a first predetermined temperature difference (4 ° C. in the present embodiment). If the temperature difference is larger than the first predetermined temperature difference, the directions of the wind direction plate 2-A and the wind direction plate 2-B are maintained obliquely downward as shown in FIG. If the temperature difference is not more than the first predetermined temperature difference, it is checked in S20 whether the elapsed time timer-14 is counting. If the elapsed time timer-14 is not counting, the elapsed time timer 14 is checked in S21. Start counting.

In S30, it is checked whether the temperature difference between the set temperature and the room temperature is equal to or smaller than a second predetermined temperature difference (0.67 ° C. in the present embodiment). If the temperature difference is greater than the second predetermined temperature difference direction of the wind direction plate 2-A and louver 2-B maintains the obliquely downward direction as shown in FIG. 2 (a). If the temperature difference is less than or equal to the second predetermined temperature difference, the outside air temperature detecting means 15 confirms the outside air temperature in S40.

In S50, based on the count value of the elapsed time timer -14 and the outside air temperature, an interval time until the direction of the wind direction plate 2-B from the table B is changed from obliquely downward to substantially directly downward is selected. For example, if the count value of the elapsed time timer-14 = 18 (elapsed time is 18 minutes) and the outside air temperature = 7 ° C., the interval time is selected as 35 minutes. In S60, it is checked whether the interval time has elapsed. Until the interval time elapses, the direction of the wind direction plate 2-B is maintained obliquely downward as shown in FIG. 2A, and when the time elapses, the direction of the wind direction plate 2-B is changed as shown in FIG. Change from diagonally downward to approximately downward.

  In the present embodiment, after the room temperature reaches the second predetermined temperature difference based on the elapsed time until the room temperature reaches the second predetermined temperature difference from the first predetermined temperature difference and the outside air temperature, the wall 7 or The interval time until the floor 8 is warmed is estimated.

  Thus, by using both parameters of elapsed time and outside air temperature, it becomes possible to estimate an interval time closer to the time it takes for the wall 7 and the floor 8 to warm up, giving the user a cool feeling. The effect of sufficiently warming the feet is improved.

< Third Embodiment>
The third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 15. FIG. 10 is a side sectional view of the vicinity of the outlet of the indoor unit 1. FIG. 11 is a front view of a remote control device 16 for remotely controlling the indoor unit 1.

  The remote control device 16 is provided with a large number of various buttons for operating the indoor unit 1 to perform various functions. Among these buttons, there are up and down wind direction buttons 17 for operating the direction of the wind direction plate. Each time the up / down wind direction button 17 is pressed, the positions of the wind direction plate 2-A and the wind direction plate 2-B can be changed. It can be changed to “directly downward”.

By using the up / down wind direction button 17, the position of the wind direction plate 2-B in the downward direction can be adjusted. In the present embodiment, the position of the wind direction plate 2-B in the downward direction can be adjusted among the three positions (a), (b), and (c) as shown in FIG. If necessary, there may be four stages or any number of stages.

  The control unit 10 that adjusts the direction directly below the wind direction plate 2-B inputs a signal from the wind direction button 17 of the remote control device (remote control) and controls the wind direction plate driving unit 13, and directly below the wind direction plate 2-B. The direction of the direction can be adjusted.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for adjusting the position of the wind direction plate 2-B in the downward direction. The indoor unit 1 confirms whether the up / down wind direction button 17 has been continuously pressed for 5 seconds or more in S10. If the button is not kept pressed, this flow is terminated without doing anything. If the button is kept pressed, the process proceeds to S20 to check whether the current position of the wind direction plate 2-B is the position shown in FIG . If it is the position of (a), the position of the wind direction board 2-B will be changed to (c) in S30. If not the position of (a), at S40, the check whether the current position of the louver 2-B is the position of FIG. 10 (b). If it is the position of (b), the position of the wind direction board 2-B will be changed to (a) in S50. If it is not the position of (b), since the current position of the wind direction plate 2-B is (c), the position of the wind direction plate 2-B is changed to (b).

Usually, the wind direction board 2-B exists in the position of (c) in the figure. At this time, when there is some obstacle 18 (for example, furniture, TV, etc.) near just below the indoor unit 1, the warm air blown from the indoor unit 1 almost directly flows as shown in FIG. Cold air damage 19 may occur between the obstacle 18 and the floor 8. When the user goes to the vicinity of such a cold air dome 19, the user feels cold and may get uncomfortable.

In this case, the position directly below direction of the wind direction plate 2-B blowing warm air to avoid the obstacle 18 as shown in FIG. 14 by adjusting as described above, that the cold air reservoir 19 is generated Can be prevented.

  Further, by using the remote control device 16, even if there is an obstacle, the position in the direction directly below the wind direction plate 2-B can be easily adjusted, and even if the room is redesigned, the state of the obstacle at that time is restored. It can be adjusted and convenient.

  In each of the above embodiments, there are two wind direction plates, and there is only one wind direction plate that is directed substantially downward. However, the number of wind direction plates may be any number, and any number of wind direction plates that are directed substantially downward. It may be a sheet. Furthermore, the air conditioner itself is not limited to the wall-mounted type, and may be a ceiling-suspended type air conditioner, a built-in type type, or the like as long as the air conditioner is installed at a high place.

  Further, the above embodiment is merely an example, and a specific configuration of the indoor unit, a flowchart procedure, an interval time setting unit, a first predetermined temperature difference, a second predetermined temperature difference, and the like are also limited to the present embodiment. Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above and may be changed as appropriate within the scope of the present invention.

Indoor unit external view in the separate type air conditioner showing the first embodiment of the present invention (A) is side surface sectional drawing of the indoor unit which orient | assigned the wind direction board to diagonally downward, (b) is a figure which shows the warm air blowing direction in the state of the same figure (a) (A) is side surface sectional drawing of the indoor unit which faced the wind direction board substantially right below, (b) is a figure which shows the warm air blowing direction in the state of the same figure (a) A control block diagram of the wind direction plate of the present invention Table showing the relationship between elapsed time and interval time stored in the memory of the control unit Flow chart of wind direction plate control Control block diagram of wind direction plate showing the second embodiment of the present invention Table showing the relationship between elapsed time and interval time stored in the memory of the control unit Flow chart of wind direction plate control in the second embodiment Side surface sectional drawing of the blower outlet vicinity of the indoor unit which shows the 3rd Embodiment of this invention Front view of a remote control device (remote control) showing a third embodiment of the present invention Flow chart of wind direction plate control showing the third embodiment Flow diagram of warm air when there is an obstacle directly under the indoor unit in the third embodiment Flow diagram of hot air when the blowout direction is changed when there is an obstacle directly under the third embodiment The figure which shows the blowing direction of a warm air when changing the direction of the wind direction board in 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Indoor unit 2-A Wind direction board 2-B Wind direction board 3 Suction inlet 4 Heat exchanger 5 Indoor fan 6 Outlet 7 Wall 8 Floor 10 Control part 11 Temperature setting means 12 Room temperature detection means 13 Wind direction board drive part 14 Timer 15 Outside Air temperature detection means 16 Remote control device 17 Up / down air direction button 18 Obstacle 19 Cold air damage

Claims (4)

Room temperature detecting means for detecting the room temperature, a wind direction plate for changing the wind direction of the blown wind, and a control unit for controlling the wind direction of the wind direction plate,
The control unit includes a timer that counts an elapsed time from when the temperature difference between the set temperature and the room temperature reaches the first predetermined temperature difference until reaching a second predetermined temperature difference smaller than that, During the heating operation, an interval time until the wind direction plate is changed from obliquely downward to substantially directly downward is calculated based on the elapsed time, and the wind direction is increased until the temperature difference reaches the second predetermined temperature difference. With the plate inclined downward, warm air is blown diagonally downward , and after the temperature difference reaches the second predetermined temperature difference, the wind direction plate is inclined downward until the interval time elapses. An air conditioner characterized in that hot air is blown obliquely downward, and when the interval time elapses, control is performed so that the wind direction plate is substantially downward and warm air is blown substantially downward. Room temperature detecting means for detecting the room temperature, outside air temperature detecting means for detecting the outside air temperature, a wind direction plate for changing the wind direction of the blown wind, and a control unit for controlling the wind direction of the wind direction plate,
The control unit includes a timer that counts an elapsed time from when the temperature difference between the set temperature and the room temperature reaches the first predetermined temperature difference until reaching a second predetermined temperature difference smaller than that, During heating operation, an interval time until the wind direction plate is changed from obliquely downward to substantially downward is calculated based on the elapsed time and the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature detecting means, and the temperature difference is Until the predetermined temperature difference of 2 is reached, the airflow is blown diagonally downward with the wind direction plate inclined downward, and the interval time elapses after the temperature difference reaches the second predetermined temperature difference. Until, the wind direction plate is set obliquely downward and the warm air is blown obliquely downward, and when the interval time elapses, the wind direction plate is set substantially downward and the warm air is blown substantially downward. thing Air conditioner which is characterized. 3. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is capable of adjusting a direction of the wind direction plate in a direction substantially directly below. 4. The air conditioner according to claim 3 , wherein the control unit is capable of adjusting a direction of the wind direction plate substantially directly below by a signal from the remote operation control device.

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