JP4879854B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention generally relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly to an air conditioner including a wind direction changing device at an outlet.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an air conditioner having a wind direction deflecting plate as a wind direction changing device at an air outlet provided in an indoor unit main body is known.

  For example, an air conditioner described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-139379 (patent document 1) allows warm air or cold air to reach every corner of the air-conditioned room and uniformly conditioned the air-conditioned room. Of the two upper and lower horizontal flaps as the wind direction deflecting plate, the lower horizontal flap is configured to be able to swing in a range narrower than the swing range of the upper horizontal flap.

In addition, for example, the air conditioner described in Japanese Patent No. 3784753 (Patent Document 2) is used for operation during cooling and heating in order to expand the air blowable area in the left-right direction and improve the comfort of the room. It is described that the wind direction is controlled separately. In this air conditioner, when the deflection angle of the right and left wind direction deflecting plates is larger than a predetermined value, the upper and lower air direction deflecting plates are controlled downward during cooling, the upper and lower air direction deflecting plates are controlled upward during heating, and the left and right wind directions during cooling. The change angle of the deflection plate is controlled to be reduced, and during heating, the deflection angle of the left and right wind direction deflection plates is controlled to be enlarged.
JP 2003-139379 A Japanese Patent No. 3784753

  By the way, in this kind of air conditioner, the wind direction should be determined based on the relationship between the installation position of the air conditioner in the indoor space and the position of the resident.

  Therefore, in order to determine which position in the three-dimensional indoor space to blow from the outlet of the air conditioner and blow it in the direction desired by the occupant, the right and left wind direction deflecting plates and the up and down wind direction deflecting plates It is necessary to control the deflection angles in combination.

  Particularly in the heating operation, since the temperature of the blown air is high, it has buoyancy due to a temperature difference from room temperature. For this reason, it is necessary to blow the blown air toward the floor near the feet of the resident. When it is desired to blow air to a resident in a place within a large angle range in the left and right direction, it is necessary to increase the deflection angle of the left and right wind direction deflecting plate. At this time, if the up / down wind direction deflecting plate is controlled to deflect upward, the warm air cannot be sent to the feet. As a result, the warm air hits the upper part of the occupant, resulting in discomfort to the occupant.

  On the other hand, in the cooling operation, since the temperature of the blown air is lower than the room temperature, the blown air has a downward tendency. For this reason, it is necessary to blow the blown air toward the horizontal direction or the vicinity of the ceiling. However, if you want to blow air to a resident who is in a large angle range in the left and right direction, control the upper and lower wind direction deflection plates to be forced downward when the deflection angle of the left and right wind direction deflection plates is increased. When this happens, the resident may feel cold because the cold wind directly hits the resident.

  In addition, the most downward direction of the up / down air direction deflecting plate that can be set during the cooling operation is set to be lower than the most up direction of the up / down air direction deflecting plate that can be set during the heating operation. Since it is set in this way, the deflection angle ranges of the upper and lower wind direction deflecting plates during the cooling operation and the heating operation partially overlap each other. Therefore, like the air conditioner described in Japanese Patent No. 3784753 (Patent Document 2), when the deflection angle of the left and right wind direction deflecting plates is larger than a predetermined value, the up and down wind direction deflecting plates are in the downward direction during the cooling operation. Even if it is set in the upward direction at the time of heating operation, the deflection angle range of the upper and lower wind direction deflecting plates cannot always be distinguished so that appropriate air can be blown according to the cooling operation or the heating operation. . In addition, as in the air conditioner described in Japanese Patent No. 3784753 (Patent Document 2), when the deflection angle of the left and right wind direction deflecting plates is reduced and controlled during the cooling operation than during the heating operation, the left and right direction is increased near the air conditioner. When it is desired to send cold air to a person on one side, the deflection angle of the right and left wind direction deflecting plates is limited, so that there is a problem that it is not possible to send air to a person near the air conditioner.

  Then, the objective of this invention is providing the air conditioner which can blow in an appropriate direction in consideration of indoor solid space and a resident's position.

  An air conditioner according to the present invention includes an indoor unit having an air outlet that blows out air wind, an up-and-down air direction deflecting plate that is provided at the air outlet and deflects the air wind blown from the air outlet in the vertical direction, and an air outlet. Left and right wind direction deflecting plates that deflect the air wind blown from the outlet in the left and right direction, up and down wind direction changing drive unit that changes the deflection angle of the up and down wind direction deflecting plate, and left and right wind direction change that changes the deflection angle of the left and right wind direction deflecting plate The larger the angle between the drive unit and the vertical wind direction deflecting plate is in the vertical downward direction, the smaller the change range of the deflection angle of the left and right wind direction deflecting plate is, and the smaller the angle between the vertical wind direction deflecting plate is in the vertical downward direction is. A control unit is provided that associates and controls the vertical wind direction change drive unit and the left and right wind direction change drive unit so as to increase the change range of the deflection angle of the left and right wind direction deflection plates.

  In the air conditioner of the present invention configured as described above, during cooling operation, when the angle formed by the vertical wind direction deflecting plate with the vertical downward direction is relatively large, that is, the vertical wind direction deflecting plate is set relatively upward. Since the change range of the deflection angle of the right and left wind direction deflecting plates can be reduced, the cool air can be blown along the ceiling of the room in a relatively narrow range in the left and right direction. In this case, by cooling the entire room with cold air, for example, a person located on one side in the left-right direction with respect to the air conditioner in the room can obtain a cooling feeling without directly feeling cold air on the body. .

  On the other hand, during the cooling operation, when the angle between the vertical wind direction deflecting plate and the vertical downward direction is relatively small, that is, when the vertical wind direction deflecting plate is set relatively downward, the deflection of the left and right wind direction deflecting plate is Since the angle change range can be increased, the cool air can be blown to a relatively wide range in the left-right direction in the vicinity of the air conditioner. In this case, for example, when a person is in the vicinity of the air conditioner, for example, when he / she goes up after taking a bath or returning from a hot outdoor room, he / she can feel cold air directly in the body in a relatively wide range in the left / right direction. Directional blast can be changed.

  On the other hand, during the heating operation, when the angle between the vertical wind direction deflecting plate and the vertical downward direction is relatively large, that is, when the vertical wind direction deflecting plate is set relatively upward, the deflection angle of the left and right wind direction deflecting plate is changed. Since the range can be reduced, warm air can be blown to a relatively narrow range in the left-right direction in the upper space of the room. In this case, the whole room can be warmed by warm air.

  On the other hand, during the heating operation, when the angle between the vertical wind direction deflecting plate and the vertical downward direction is relatively small, that is, when the vertical wind direction deflecting plate is set relatively downward, the deflection of the left and right wind direction deflecting plate is Since the angle change range can be increased, the warm air can be blown to a relatively wide range in the left-right direction in the vicinity of the air conditioner. In this case, the warm air can be blown near the feet of a person located near the air conditioner in a relatively wide range in the left and right direction, and the left and right blow is changed so that the warm air can be directly felt by the body. be able to.

  Thus, according to the air conditioner of the present invention, the left and right wind directions and the up and down wind directions can be controlled in cooperation, and in each operation mode during cooling operation and heating operation, the indoor three-dimensional space and the occupant position Can be blown in an appropriate direction.

  In addition, if the left and right wind directions are greatly deflected, the resistance of the air flow increases, so that the air volume decreases and the performance of the air conditioner may decrease, or the protection device may easily work. In the air conditioner of the present invention, the deflection range of the left and right wind directions can be limited according to the deflection of the up and down wind direction, so that the deflection angle of the left and right wind directions is increased more than necessary, that is, the left and right wind direction deflection plates are more than necessary. Can be prevented.

The air conditioner of the present invention includes a remote operation means provided at a position separated from the indoor unit in order to perform an operation of the indoor unit, and the remote operation means has a vertical air direction of air blown from the outlet. An up / down air direction changeover switch for instructing setting within a predetermined number of steps, and a left / right air direction changeover switch for instructing setting of the left and right air directions of the air blown from the outlet within a predetermined number of steps are provided. As the up / down wind direction setting instruction by the up / down air direction selector switch goes upward, the up / down wind direction setting instruction by the up / down air direction selector switch becomes downward so that the number of steps of the left / right wind direction setting instruction by the left / right wind direction selector switch decreases. In order to increase the number of steps for setting the left / right wind direction using the left / right wind direction selector switch, the vertical wind direction change drive unit and the left / right wind direction change drive unit are related. Only in that control.

  By doing this, the range of the number of steps that can be instructed to set the left and right wind direction is different between the case where the vertical wind direction is set to the upward stage and the case where it is set to the downward stage. By setting the up and down wind direction and the left and right wind direction using the remote operation means, it is possible to select the optimum number of air direction setting steps during cooling operation and heating operation, and to obtain comfortable ventilation for the residents be able to.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the change range of the deflection angle of the left and right wind direction deflecting plates is reduced when the upper and lower wind direction deflecting plates are upward, and is increased when the upper and lower wind direction deflecting plates are downward. It is possible to suppress tilting more than necessary, to reduce the decrease in the capacity of the air conditioner, and to take appropriate directions in consideration of the interior space and occupant position during cooling operation and heating operation. An air conditioner capable of blowing air can be provided.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an indoor unit of a separate type air conditioner as one embodiment of the present invention, in particular, a cross-sectional view showing the structure around the outlet, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the indoor unit in FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the indoor unit of FIG. 1 as viewed from obliquely below, with the open cover opened.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, in the indoor unit 1 as an indoor unit, an air inlet 3 is formed on the upper surface of the casing 2, and an air outlet 4 is formed on the lower front surface of the casing 2. An internal air passage extending from the suction port 3 to the blowout port 4 is formed in the casing 2. A heat exchanger 5 and an indoor fan 6 are disposed in the internal air passage.

  The internal air passage passes through the filter 20 after passing the indoor air sucked from the suction port 3 on the upper surface of the casing 2, exchanges heat with the heat exchanger 5, and cools or warm air from the outlet 4 by the indoor fan 6. It is an air passage for releasing inside. In this internal air passage, an ion generator 45 is provided in the vicinity of the air outlet 4 so that positive and negative ions are released in the vicinity of the air outlet 4 and the positive and negative sterilizing ions are released into the room together with the air that is blown out. be able to.

  The indoor fan 6 is a crossflow fan, and the axial direction of the rotation axis is the left-right direction. The indoor fan 6 is disposed closer to the outlet 4 than the heat exchanger 5 in the internal air passage.

  The blower outlet 4 is provided with a wind direction changing device including a vertical louver 7 as a left and right wind direction deflecting plate and horizontal louvers 8a and 8b as vertical wind direction deflecting plates. By this wind direction changing device, the direction of the wind blown out from the air outlet 4 can be changed in the left-right direction or the up-down direction.

  FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the wind direction changing device provided around the outlet of the indoor unit shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the horizontal louver 8a for deflecting the vertical wind direction, one end of the first rotation shaft 9a (FIG. 1) is connected to a stepping motor 10a for driving the horizontal louver as the vertical wind direction changing drive unit. . The lateral louver 8b is also connected to the lateral louver driving stepping motor 10b at one end of the second rotating shaft 9b (FIG. 1). Then, the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b that are directly connected to the lateral louver driving stepping motors 10a and 10b are rotated, so that the vertical wind direction of the blown-out wind is a predetermined number of setting instruction steps, As an example, it is set at the stage of “diagonally upward”, “horizontal”, “diagonally below”, “downward”, and “directly below”. Moreover, the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b can be rotated in the direction in which the blower outlet 4 is closed.

  On the other hand, in the vertical louver 7 for deflecting left and right wind directions, gears 11a and 11b are respectively attached to specific vertical louvers 7a and 7b. These gears 11a and 11b mesh with the gears 13a and 13b of the vertical louver driving stepping motors 12a and 12b as the left and right wind direction changing drive units, respectively, and the rotational driving of the stepping motor is performed in the horizontal direction of the vertical louver 7a or 7b. It is transmitted as a turning motion. The vertical louver 7a or 7b is connected to another vertical louver by a connecting plate 14a or 14b, and the rotation operation of the vertical louver 7a or 7b in the left-right direction is the rotation operation of the other vertical louvers in the same direction. . When the connected vertical louver 7a or 7b is rotated, the right and left wind directions of the blown-out wind are the number of steps of a predetermined setting instruction, for example, “left”, “oblique left”, “front”, “oblique right” And “Right” stage. Further, the connected vertical louvers 7a or 7b can be rotated so as to "swing" in the left-right direction.

  As described above, the wind direction changing device includes a louver drive unit having a known structure including a stepping motor and a transmission gear mechanism.

  The horizontal louver driving stepping motors 10a and 10b and the vertical louver driving stepping motors 12a and 12b are respectively controlled by the control unit 110 (FIG. 8) of the indoor unit 1 including a microcomputer housed in the casing 2. The deflection angle of each wind direction is determined by a microcomputer.

  Further, an operation display unit 40 and a receiving unit 41 are disposed and provided on the upper front surface of the casing 2.

  In the operation display unit 40, the LED displays the operation status of the sterilization ions and the degree of indoor air contamination. In addition, the set temperature and the outdoor temperature are displayed on the operation display unit 40. The receiving unit 41 receives an infrared signal from the remote controller 50 (FIG. 5).

  FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the external appearance of a remote controller provided with various command switches. (A) shows the entire remote controller, (B) shows a switch arranged inside the remote controller, and (C) shows a display portion of the remote controller. Show.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the remote controller 50 as a remote driving operation means outputs a remote control signal by an infrared signal. An operation mode switch 51 is disposed on the outer surface of the remote controller 50. When the lid 55 of the remote controller 50 is opened, a lid internal operation unit 56 is provided. The lid internal operation unit 56 includes an up / down air direction changeover switch 52 and a left / right wind direction. A changeover switch 53 is arranged and provided. The operation mode switch 51 is provided with “cooling”, “heating”, “automatic”, and “dehumidification” operation mode switches.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of the indoor unit viewed from the side when the indoor unit is installed indoors, and FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view of the indoor unit viewed from above when the indoor unit is installed indoors. . FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a control-related configuration of the air conditioner as one embodiment of the present invention.

  In the up / down air direction changeover switch 52 shown in FIG. 5 (B), the up / down air direction setting is sequentially switched every time the switch is pressed. As shown in FIG. “P1,” “horizontal” P2 (H), “obliquely downward” P3, “downwardly” P4, and “directly downward” P5 (V) can be sequentially switched to six vertical wind direction settings. This is merely an example, and more detailed vertical wind direction settings (for example, 10 patterns) may be made.

  The left / right wind direction changeover switch 53 shown in FIG. 5B switches the left / right airflow direction setting each time the switch is pressed, and the “front” F (C) as shown in FIG. , “Diagonal left” L1, “left” L2, “diagonal right” R1, “right” R2, and “swing” can be sequentially switched to six left and right wind direction settings. This is merely an example, and more detailed left and right wind direction settings (for example, 10 patterns) may be made.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the operation signals from the up / down wind direction changeover switch 52 and the left / right wind direction changeover switch 53 of the remote controller 50 are input to the control unit 58 on the remote control 50 side formed of a microcomputer, and the control unit 58 performs predetermined arithmetic processing. Then, the control signal is transmitted to the reception unit 120 of the indoor unit 100 through the transmission unit 57. The transmitted control signal is input to the control unit 110 on the indoor unit 100 side. The control unit 110 performs predetermined arithmetic processing, and then deflects the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b as the vertical wind direction deflecting plates constituting the wind direction changing device. Vertical wind direction change drive unit 130 (horizontal louver drive stepping motors 10a, 10b) that changes the angle and left and right wind direction change drive unit 140 (vertical louver drive stepping) that changes the deflection angle of the vertical louver 7 as a left and right wind direction deflection plate Motors 12a, 12b).

  In addition, the remote controller 50 is provided with a display unit 54 that displays the operating state, and the set wind direction, temperature display, and the like are displayed on the display unit 54. FIG. 5C shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 54 in the cooling operation mode, and the up / down air direction setting display 54a shows that “diagonally up” P1 is selected, The wind direction setting display 54b indicates that “left” L2 is selected.

  The air conditioner as one embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above. In summary, the air conditioner of the present invention is provided in the indoor unit 100 (indoor unit 1) having the air outlet 4 for blowing out air wind, and the air wind blown out from the air outlet 4 in the vertical direction. The horizontal louvers 8a and 8b as the vertical wind direction deflecting plates to be made, the vertical louver 7 as the left and right wind direction deflecting plates which are provided in the air outlet 4 and deflect the air wind blown from the air outlet 4 in the left and right directions, and the vertical air direction deflecting plate Vertical wind direction change drive unit 130 (stepping motors 10a and 10b for driving the horizontal louver) that changes the deflection angle, and left and right wind direction change drive unit 140 (stepping motors 12a and 12b for driving the vertical louver drive) that change the deflection angle of the left and right wind direction deflection plates. ) And a control unit 110. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 110 increases the angle (θ) between the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b and the vertical downward direction V (for example, the angle between the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b and the vertical downward direction V is θ2). 7 so that the change range of the deflection angle (θr) of the vertical louver 7 is reduced as shown in FIG. 7 (for example, the deflection angle with respect to the front direction C of the indoor unit 100 is θr2 (lateral louver 8a). , 8b is smaller than θr1 (when the angle formed by the vertical downward direction V is θ2) (so that the angle formed by the horizontal louvers 8a, 8b is the vertical downward direction V is θ1)) and shown in FIG. As described above, the smaller the angle (θ) that the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b make with the vertical downward direction V (for example, when the angle that the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b make with the vertical downward direction V is θ2 smaller than θ1), 7 In order to increase the change range of the deflection angle (θr) (for example, the deflection angle with respect to the front direction C of the indoor unit 100 is larger than θr1 (when the angle between the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b and the vertical downward direction V is θ1)). The vertical wind direction change drive unit 130 and the left and right wind direction change drive unit 140 are associated with each other and controlled so as to be θr2 (when the angle between the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b and the vertical downward direction V is θ2).

  In the air conditioner of the present invention configured as described above, during cooling operation, when the angle between the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b and the vertical downward direction V is relatively large, that is, the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b are relatively When set upward, for example, in the direction of P1 shown in FIG. 6, the change range of the deflection angle of the vertical louver 7 can be made small, for example, the change range up to the direction of L1 or R1 shown in FIG. Therefore, the cool air can be blown along a ceiling of the room to a relatively narrow range in the left-right direction. In this case, by cooling the entire room with cold air, for example, a person located on one side in the left-right direction with respect to the air conditioner in the room can obtain a cooling feeling without directly feeling cold air on the body. .

  On the other hand, during the cooling operation, when the angle between the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b and the vertical downward direction V is relatively small, that is, the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b are relatively downward, for example, the direction of P4 shown in FIG. 7, the change range of the deflection angle of the vertical louver 7 can be increased, for example, to the change range up to the direction L2 or R2 shown in FIG. The air can be blown over a relatively wide range of directions. In this case, for example, when a person is in the vicinity of the air conditioner, for example, when he / she goes up after taking a bath or returning from a hot outdoor room, he / she can feel cold air directly in the body in a relatively wide range in the left / right direction. Directional blast can be changed.

  On the other hand, during the heating operation, when the angle between the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b and the vertical downward direction V is relatively large, that is, the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b are set relatively upward, for example, in the direction P2 shown in FIG. The range of change of the deflection angle of the vertical louver 7 can be made small, for example, the range of change up to the direction of L1 or R1 shown in FIG. The air can be blown to a narrow range. In this case, the whole room can be warmed by warm air.

  On the other hand, during the heating operation, when the angle between the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b and the vertical downward direction V is relatively small, that is, the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b are relatively downward, for example, the direction of P5 shown in FIG. 7, the change range of the deflection angle of the vertical louver 7 can be increased, for example, to the change range up to the direction L2 or R2 shown in FIG. The air can be blown over a relatively wide range of directions. In this case, the warm air can be blown near the feet of a person located near the air conditioner in a relatively wide range in the left and right direction, and the left and right blow is changed so that the warm air can be directly felt by the body. be able to.

  Thus, according to the air conditioner of the present invention, the left and right wind directions and the up and down wind directions can be controlled in cooperation, and in each operation mode during cooling operation and heating operation, the indoor three-dimensional space and the occupant position Can be blown in an appropriate direction.

  In addition, if the left and right wind directions are greatly deflected, the resistance of the air flow increases, so that the air volume decreases and the performance of the air conditioner may decrease, or the protection device may easily work. In the air conditioner of the present invention, the deflection range of the left and right wind directions can be limited according to the deflection of the up and down wind direction, so that the deflection angle of the left and right wind direction is increased more than necessary, that is, the vertical louver 7 is unnecessarily large. Inclination can be prevented.

  The air conditioner of the present invention includes a remote controller 50 as a remote operation operating means provided at a position separated from the indoor unit 100 in order to perform an operation operation of the indoor unit. An up / down air direction switch 52 for setting and instructing the up / down air direction within a predetermined number of steps, and a left / right air direction switch 53 for setting and instructing the left and right air directions of the air blown from the outlet 4 within a predetermined number of steps; The controller 110 switches the up / down wind direction so that the number of steps for setting the left / right wind direction by the left / right wind direction switch 53 decreases as the up / down wind direction setting instruction by the up / down wind direction switch 52 becomes an upward stage. As the up / down wind direction setting instruction by the switch 52 is in the downward direction, the number of steps of the left / right air direction setting instruction by the left / right air direction changeover switch 53 increases. In so that it is possible to control in association with vertical airflow direction changing driving unit 130 and the left and right wind direction changing driver 140.

  By doing this, the range of the number of steps that can be instructed to set the left and right wind direction is different between the case where the vertical wind direction is set to the upward stage and the case where it is set to the downward stage. By setting the up / down air direction and the left / right air direction using the remote controller 50, it is possible to select the optimum number of air direction setting steps during cooling operation and heating operation, and to obtain comfortable ventilation for the occupants. it can.

  By using the air conditioner of the present invention configured as described above, when a resident is in a room and wants to blow air toward that person, depending on whether the resident is far away from or near the indoor unit 100, Up / down wind direction setting and left / right wind direction setting can be made different.

  For example, although the preferred direction of the up-and-down airflow direction differs between heating operation and cooling operation, in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, when a person is away from the indoor unit 100 and is at a far wall, a straight line connecting the person and the indoor unit 100 is The formed angles (α and β) are both small, for example α1 and β1. Conversely, when there is a person near the wall near the indoor unit 100, the angles (α and β) formed by the straight line connecting the person and the indoor unit 100 become larger, for example, α2 and β2.

  In the air conditioner of the present invention, by setting the up and down wind direction and the left and right wind direction according to the angle formed by the straight line connecting the position of the resident and the indoor unit, an appropriate wind direction is set according to the position of the resident. Can be set.

  In other words, the air conditioner of the present invention receives a wind direction setting command in the left and right direction from the left and right wind direction changeover switch 53 of the remote controller 50 so that an appropriate wind direction can be set according to the position of the resident. When the wind direction is deviated from the forward direction (direction F in FIG. 7), the relationship with the vertical wind direction setting is grasped, and the wind direction in the left-right direction is closer to the upward direction. This feature is characterized in that the deflection of the airflow is restricted to a small extent, and the deflection of the airflow direction in the left-right direction is allowed larger as the airflow direction in the up-down direction is closer to the downward direction, so that the blown air can be easily delivered into the living space in the lower part of the room.

  In the air conditioner according to the present invention, the deflection range of the left and right wind directions (inclination range of the vertical louver 7 as the left and right wind direction deflecting plate) is different between the upward wind direction and the downward wind direction. As the horizontal direction of the wind blown from the outlet 4 of the installed indoor unit 1, the optimum number of wind direction setting steps can be selected in each of the heating operation mode and the cooling operation mode.

  Specifically, when the indoor unit is installed on the upper wall of the room, the cooling air blown out from the outlet during the cooling operation has a property that the specific gravity drops and the cooling air is blown to the upper part of the indoor space. It is comfortable to cool the room from the top. In this case, since the occupants who are located on the floor are indirectly cooled in the entire room, it is not necessary to deflect a large wind direction in the left-right direction.

  Of course, a method is also conceivable in which the vertical wind direction is upward and the horizontal wind direction is deflected over a wide range. However, if the deflection of the wind direction in the left-right direction is increased, the airflow resistance is increased and the air volume is decreased, so that the cooling capacity is reduced, the airflow is disturbed in the cooling operation, and dew condensation around the outlet 4 occurs. There is a bug. For this reason, unless there is a special need, it is preferable that the deflection angle of the wind direction in the left-right direction is small.

  However, when the resident is taking a bath or returning from the hot outdoors to the room, the body temperature has risen, so there may be a case where it is desired to hit the cold air directly. In this case, since the wind direction in the up and down direction needs to be directed slightly downward to blow the resident's body, it is desirable that the deflection angle of the wind direction in the left and right direction can be changed within a slightly wide range.

  On the other hand, during the heating operation, since warm air has a property of rising, it is preferable to blow air toward the floor. However, when the indoor unit is installed on the upper wall of the room, it is necessary to adjust the wind direction to blow air near the occupants' feet, and the wind direction in the left-right direction must be able to be deflected in a wide range. For this reason, in order to make the occupants comfortable indirectly by blowing air to the upper space of the room and heating the whole room, the deflection range of the wind direction in the left and right direction may be narrow, but the wind direction in the up and down direction may be reduced. It is necessary to widen the deflection range of the wind direction in the left-right direction in order to blow down directly to the resident, or to blow near the resident's feet for comfortable heating.

  However, if the wind direction in the vertical direction is too downward for the person who is far away from the indoor unit, or if the wind direction in the left and right direction is excessively deflected, the warm air cannot be sent to the feet. Only the upper part rises in temperature and becomes uncomfortable. Further, by greatly deflecting the wind direction in the up-down direction and the wind direction in the left-right direction, the blowing resistance is increased, so that the air volume is lowered and the performance of the air conditioner may be lowered.

  Next, in consideration of the various viewpoints described above, an example of a specific driving operation using the air conditioner of the present invention will be described.

  When the vertical air direction “automatic” is selected using the up / down air direction changeover switch 52 of the remote controller 50 during the cooling operation, immediately after the operation is started, the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b are rotated in a direction to open the air as shown in FIG. First, the living space is cooled by blowing air obliquely downward P3. After that, when a certain time (about 10 minutes) elapses or when the room temperature reaches the set temperature, the horizontal louvers 8a and 8b are rotated obliquely upward, and the wind direction is directed obliquely upward to P1. Ventilate along the ceiling. As a result, it is possible to obtain a comfortable airflow that does not feel a quick cool air feeling at the beginning of operation and a cool air after stabilization.

  During this time, for example, the left / right wind direction setting by the remote controller 50 is set to “left” L2, the left / right wind direction selector switch 53 is not operated, and the display unit 54 of the remote controller 50 does not change. However, when the vertical wind direction is diagonally downward P3, the actual vertical louver 7 rotates greatly and deflects to the left so that the angle formed with the direction of the front direction C is large, and the vertical wind direction is diagonally upward. In the direction of P1, the actual vertical louver 7 rotates slightly and deflects to the left so that the angle formed with the front direction C becomes small.

  On the other hand, when a person located on the left side of the living space wants to continuously apply cold air to the body from the beginning of driving, the vertical wind direction setting switch 52 of the remote controller 50 is used to set the vertical wind direction to “downward” P4. By selecting the left and right wind direction selector switch 53 of the remote controller 50 and setting the left and right wind direction setting to “left” L2, the cool air can be sent diagonally downward to the left, and the cool air can be directly felt. . For those who do not want to feel cool air, if the left and right wind direction setting is left “L2”, and the vertical wind direction setting is “diagonally up” P1, the actual vertical louver 7 will automatically "Rotate to position L1." This is because the change range of the deflection angle is smaller in L1 than in L2. In this way, the cool air is blown along the ceiling of the room to a relatively narrow range (in the embodiment, the range from L1 to R1), and the whole room is cooled, so that the cool air is not directly felt on the body. A cooling feeling can be obtained.

  During heating operation, when the up / down air direction selector switch 52 of the remote controller 50 is used to select the up / down air direction “automatic”, the left and right sides of the heat exchanger 5 are not blown in the direction toward the resident until the temperature of the heat exchanger 5 rises. The direction of the wind direction is set to an obliquely upward direction P1 shown in FIG. And if the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 5 rises, the horizontal louver 8a will be rotated downward and the space of the upper part of the blower outlet 4 and the horizontal louver 8a will be interrupted | blocked. The horizontal louver 8b is inverted to open a large space below the horizontal louver 8b, and the air is blown through the path with a low blowing resistance with the air direction from the outlet 4 facing downward.

  Thereby, the floor surface in the vicinity of the indoor unit 100 is heated. When a certain period of time has passed or when the room temperature reaches the set temperature, first, the horizontal louver 8b is rotated in a slightly opening direction so as to warm the floor of the entire room, and the vertical wind direction is changed from the aforementioned position. Change it slightly upward.

  After a certain period of time, this time, the horizontal louver 8b is rotated in the closing direction, and the airflow is performed so that the occupant does not feel the airflow with the vertical wind direction directed in the direction of P5 immediately below in FIG.

  When a resident who is away from the indoor unit 100 wants to get warm air in the vicinity of his / her feet, the vertical wind direction can be set using the up / down air direction switch 52 of the remote controller 50 depending on the positional relationship between the indoor unit 100 and the person. “Diagonally downward” P3 and “downwardly” P4 can be selected.

  When “oblique up” P1, “horizontal” P2, or “oblique down” P3 is selected as the setting of the wind direction in the vertical direction, it is determined that there is a resident at a position away from the indoor unit 100, and the horizontal direction The setting of the wind direction is limited to the range of “oblique left” L1 to “oblique right” R1 using the left / right air direction changeover switch 52 of the remote controller 50, and the inclination movement range (deflection angle range) of the vertical louver 7 becomes small. When “downward” P4 or “just below” P5 is selected as the setting of the wind direction in the vertical direction, it is determined that there is a resident in a position close to the indoor unit 100, and the setting of the wind direction in the horizontal direction is It can be performed within the range of “Left” L2 to “Right” R2 by using the left / right wind direction changeover switch 52, and the inclination movement range (deflection angle range) of the vertical louver 7 becomes large. Can send air.

  Of course, it is also effective to change only the deflection angle of the actual wind direction in the left-right direction by setting the wind direction in the up-down direction with the same setting of the wind direction in the left-right direction by the remote controller 50.

  As described above, during the heating operation, the warm air blown from the air conditioner is blown toward the person's feet, so that the feet become warm and comfortable. On the other hand, even if the resident is at a certain distance from the wall of the room, depending on whether the resident is far away from the indoor unit or near the indoor unit, When the resident is far away from the indoor unit, the deflection angle can be reduced, and when the resident is near the indoor unit, the deflection angle can be increased. In other words, in order to send warm air to the feet of residents who are far away from the indoor unit and close to the wall of the room, the vertical wind direction is slightly higher than the direct downward direction and the deflection angle is increased slightly upward. Is slightly deflected from the front of the indoor unit. Conversely, for people near the wall near the indoor unit, send warm air to the feet of the residents by greatly deflecting the wind direction in the left-right direction and directing the wind direction in the up-down direction directly downward. Can do.

  As described above, the range of the deflection angle of the wind direction in the horizontal direction is limited according to the deflection angle of the wind direction in the vertical direction, and the variable range of the deflection angle of the wind direction in the horizontal direction is limited when the deflection of the wind direction in the vertical direction is upward. When the vertical wind direction deflection is in the downward direction, by increasing the variable range of the horizontal wind direction deflection angle, the relationship between the vertical wind direction and the left and right wind direction according to the occupant's position can be obtained. In order to blow air to people who are far away from the indoor unit, the wind direction is swung too much in the right and left direction more than necessary, and the capacity of the air conditioner is not reduced. It is possible to realize the setting of the optimum wind direction according to various operation modes without causing a person who cannot blow near the person.

  The embodiment disclosed above should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above embodiments but by the scope of claims, and includes all modifications and variations within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims.

It is sectional drawing which shows the indoor unit of the separate type | mold air conditioner as one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the indoor unit of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance which looked up the indoor unit of FIG. 1 from diagonally downward. It is a disassembled perspective view which decomposes | disassembles the wind direction change apparatus provided in the blower outlet periphery of the indoor unit of FIG. 1, and shows the schematic structure. It is a top view which shows the external appearance of the remote control provided with various command switches. It is the schematic side view which looked at the room from the side when an indoor unit was installed indoors. It is the schematic top view which looked at the room | chamber interior when installing an indoor unit indoors. It is a block diagram which shows the control relevant structure of the air conditioner as one embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  1: Indoor unit, 4: Air outlet, 7: Vertical louver, 8a, 8b: Horizontal louver, 50: Remote control, 52: Up / down air direction changeover switch, 53: Left / right air direction changeover switch, 100: Indoor unit, 130: Up / down air direction change Drive unit, 140: left and right wind direction change drive unit, 110: control unit,

Claims (1)

An indoor unit having an air outlet for blowing out air wind;
An up-and-down air direction deflecting plate that is provided at the air outlet and deflects the air wind blown from the air outlet in the vertical direction;
A right and left wind direction deflecting plate that is provided at the outlet and deflects the air wind blown from the outlet in the left and right direction;
An up / down air direction changing drive unit for changing a deflection angle of the up / down air direction deflecting plate;
A left / right wind direction changing drive unit for changing a deflection angle of the left / right wind direction deflecting plate;
The larger the angle the vertical wind direction deflecting plate makes with the vertical downward direction, the smaller the change range of the deflection angle of the left and right wind direction deflecting plate, and the smaller the angle the vertical wind direction deflecting plate makes with the vertical downward direction, A control unit that controls the upper and lower wind direction change drive units and the left and right wind direction change drive units in association with each other so as to increase the change range of the deflection angle of the left and right wind direction deflection plates ;
Remote operation operation means provided at a position separated from the indoor unit in order to perform the operation of the indoor unit,
The remote operation means includes an up / down air direction changeover switch for setting and instructing an up / down air direction of the air wind blown from the air outlet within a predetermined number of steps, and a left / right air direction of the air air blown from the air outlet at a predetermined step. Left and right wind direction changeover switch to instruct the setting within the range of numbers,
The controller controls the up / down wind direction switching switch so that the number of steps of the left / right wind direction setting instruction by the left / right wind direction switching switch decreases as the up / down wind direction setting instruction by the up / down wind direction switching switch goes upward. The up and down wind direction change drive unit and the left and right wind direction change drive unit are controlled in association with each other so that the number of steps of setting the left and right wind direction by the left and right wind direction changeover switch increases as the wind direction setting instruction becomes a downward step . Air conditioner.

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