JP6274179B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner.

  Conventionally, an air conditioner includes an indoor unit and a remote controller that communicates with the indoor unit (see, for example, JP 2000-324565 A (Patent Document 1)).

  When receiving the self-diagnosis start signal from the remote controller, the indoor unit performs a self-diagnosis and then returns a signal indicating the result of the diagnosis to the remote controller. Thereby, the result of the self-diagnosis of the indoor unit is displayed on the display unit of the remote controller so that the state of the indoor unit can be confirmed.

JP 2000-324565 A

  However, in the conventional air conditioner, for example, when the remote control cannot properly transmit a self-diagnosis start signal due to a failure, a signal indicating the result of diagnosis is not transmitted from the indoor unit, or the signal becomes inaccurate. Or In this case, there is a problem that it is difficult to determine which of the indoor unit and the remote controller is out of order.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that can easily determine which side of an indoor unit or a remote controller has a failure when a failure occurs.

In order to solve the above problems, the air conditioner of the present invention is
An air conditioning body,
A remote control for communicating with the air conditioning body,
At least one of the air conditioning body and remote control
A casing,
A signal generator for generating a fault diagnosis signal;
A transmitter for wirelessly transmitting the failure diagnosis signal to the outside of the casing ;
A receiver,
A state determination unit,
The state determination unit receives a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal when the transmission unit wirelessly transmits the failure diagnosis signal generated by the signal generation unit to the outside of the casing. Then, while the states of the signal generator, transmitter, and receiver are determined to be normal, if the receiver does not receive a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal, the signal generator, transmitter, and receiver It is characterized by determining the state as abnormal.

  According to the above configuration, the failure diagnosis signal is transmitted toward, for example, the reflection unit that can reflect the failure diagnosis signal. At this time, if the state of the signal generator, transmitter, and receiver is normal, the receiver can receive a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal. On the other hand, if the states of the signal generator, transmitter, and receiver are abnormal, the receiver cannot receive a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal.

  Therefore, since at least one of the air conditioning main body and the remote control has the state determination unit, a failure of at least one of the air conditioning main body and the remote control can be detected.

  That is, when the air conditioner of the present invention fails, it can easily determine which side of the air conditioning main body or the remote control has the cause of the failure.

In the air conditioner of one embodiment,
The failure diagnosis signal is a dedicated signal for diagnosing a failure of the air conditioning body or the remote controller.

  According to the above embodiment, even if a failure diagnosis signal is transmitted from one of the air conditioning body and the remote control to the other of the air conditioning body and the remote control, the failure diagnosis signal is a dedicated signal. And the other of the remote controllers can be prevented from malfunctioning.

  Even if the failure diagnosis signal is transmitted to another device, the failure diagnosis signal is a dedicated signal, so that it is possible to prevent other devices from malfunctioning.

In the air conditioner of one embodiment,
The transmitter has a continuous transmission mode in which the failure diagnosis signal generated by the signal generator is transmitted a plurality of times at a preset time interval.
At least one of the air conditioning body and the remote control is
When the transmission unit is in a continuous transmission mode, when the reception unit receives a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal generated by the signal generation unit, a first notification that informs the user of the reception of this signal. A notification unit;
When the transmission unit is in a continuous transmission mode, when the reception unit receives a signal that does not match the failure diagnosis signal generated by the signal generation unit, a second notification that informs the user of reception of this signal is performed. And a notification unit.

  According to the embodiment, even if the reflection unit reflects the failure diagnosis signal to reception, the reception unit may not be able to receive a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal due to the influence of ambient light, for example. In this case, the transmission unit is set to the continuous transmission mode, and the failure diagnosis signal is transmitted to the transmission unit a plurality of times at preset time intervals. Thus, the notification of the first and second notification units in the state affected by the disturbance light and the notification of the first and second notification units in the state not affected by the disturbance light are compared, and the disturbance light Can be confirmed.

In the air conditioner of one embodiment,
At least one of the air conditioning main body and the remote control has a detachable shielding part at least partially disposed between the transmission part and the reception part.

  According to the embodiment, when the signal other than the failure diagnosis signal is transmitted to the transmission unit, the reception unit can prevent the signal other than the failure diagnosis signal from being received by the reception unit.

  Further, when the shielding unit is removed, a failure diagnosis signal can be transmitted from the transmission unit to the reception unit without using the reflection unit.

  As is apparent from the above, the present invention can provide an air conditioner that can easily determine which side of the air conditioning main body or the remote controller has the failure when the failure occurs.

It is a perspective view of the indoor unit and remote control of the air conditioner of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the remote control of the said air conditioner. It is a flowchart for demonstrating control at the time of diagnosing the failure of the said remote control. It is a block diagram of the modification of the said remote control. It is a block diagram of the indoor unit of the air conditioner of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating control when diagnosing the failure of the said indoor unit.

  Hereinafter, the air conditioner of this invention is demonstrated in detail by embodiment of illustration.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an indoor unit 1 and a remote controller 2 of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

  The air conditioner includes an indoor unit 1 that is attached to an indoor wall surface, and a remote controller 2 that performs wireless communication with the indoor unit 1. The indoor unit 1 is an example of an air conditioning main body.

  A casing 10, an operation switch 11, a receiving unit 14, and an operation LED (light emitting diode) 15 as an example of first and second notification units are provided on the front surface of the indoor unit 1. The receiving unit 14 includes, for example, an infrared light receiving element, and infrared communication is performed between the indoor unit 1 and the remote controller 2. Further, the operation switch 11 and the operation LED 15 are located in the vicinity of the receiving unit 14. If the operation switch 11 is pressed, the indoor unit 1 can be operated or stopped without operating the remote controller 2. Further, the operation LED 15 is lit while the indoor unit 1 is in operation.

  On the upper surface of the remote controller 2, an operation button group 21 including a plurality of operation buttons and a display unit 25 for displaying the type of operation, set temperature, and the like are provided. The user can set the temperature and time of the cooling operation and the heating operation, for example, by operating the operation button group 21. In addition, a failure diagnosis of the remote controller 2 can be performed by operating the operation button group 21.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the remote controller 2.

  The remote controller 2 includes an operation button group 21, a control device 22, a transmission unit 23 having, for example, an infrared light emitting element, a receiving unit 24 having, for example, an infrared light receiving element, and a display unit 25.

  The control device 22 includes a microcomputer, an input / output circuit, and the like, and controls the transmission unit 23, the reception unit 24, the display unit 25, and the like based on signals from the operation button group 21.

The control device 22 includes a failure diagnosis signal generation unit 22a and a failure diagnosis unit 22b, each of which includes software. The failure diagnosis signal generator 22a is an example of a signal generator. The failure diagnosis unit 22b is an example of a state determination unit.
The failure diagnosis signal generation unit 22a generates a failure diagnosis signal for diagnosing a failure of the remote controller 2 when a specific operation button in the operation button group 21 is pressed for a long time. At this time, even if the failure diagnosis signal is transmitted to the indoor unit 1, the indoor unit 1 does not operate or stop. Even if the failure diagnosis signal is transmitted to another device (for example, a television), the other device does not react. That is, the failure diagnosis signal is a dedicated signal for diagnosing a failure of the remote controller 2.

  When the transmission unit 23 transmits the failure diagnosis signal and the reception unit 24 receives a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal, the failure diagnosis unit 22b receives the failure diagnosis signal generation unit 22a, the transmission unit 23, and The state of the receiving unit 24 is determined to be normal. On the other hand, if the receiving unit 24 does not receive a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal when the transmission unit 23 transmits the failure diagnosis signal, the failure diagnosis unit 22b, the failure diagnosis signal generation unit 22a, and the transmission unit 23 and the state of the receiving unit 24 are determined to be abnormal.

  The display unit 25 is composed of, for example, a monochrome liquid crystal display unit, and displays the determination result (normal or abnormal) by the failure diagnosis unit 22b with numbers and characters.

  In the air conditioner having the above-described configuration, when diagnosing a failure of the remote controller 2, the transmitter 23 is directed to a reflector (for example, a mirror) 51 that can reflect the failure diagnosis signal, and a specific one of the operation buttons 21 is selected. Press and hold the operation button. At this time, if the state of the failure diagnosis signal generator 22a, the transmitter 23, and the receiver 24 is normal, the failure diagnosis signal is reflected by the reflector 51, and the receiver 24 receives the failure diagnosis signal. Can be received. On the other hand, if the states of the failure diagnosis signal generation unit 22a, the transmission unit 23, and the reception unit 24 are abnormal, the reception unit 24 cannot receive a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal.

Therefore, when the air conditioner fails, it can be confirmed whether or not the cause of the failure is in the remote controller 2 based on the determination of the failure diagnosis unit 22b.
If it can be confirmed that the cause of the failure is not in the remote controller 2, it can be estimated that the cause of the failure is in the indoor unit 1.

  Further, since the failure diagnosis signal is a dedicated signal for failure diagnosis of the remote controller 2, it is possible to prevent the indoor unit 1 and other devices from moving unintentionally.

  Hereinafter, control when diagnosing a failure of the remote controller 2 will be described using the flowchart of FIG.

  When the control is started, first, in step S1, it is determined whether or not a specific operation button in the operation button group 21 has been pressed for a long time. This step S1 is repeated until it is determined that a specific operation button in the operation button group 21 has been pressed for a long time. That is, if it is not determined in step S1 that a specific operation button in the operation button group 21 has been pressed for a long time, the process cannot proceed to the next step S2.

  Next, in step S2, a failure diagnosis signal for diagnosing a failure of the remote controller 2 is transmitted to the transmitter 23.

  Next, in step S3, it is determined whether the receiving unit 24 has received a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal. If it is determined in step S3 that the receiving unit 24 has received a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal, the control is terminated through step S4. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3 that the receiving unit 24 has not received a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal, the control is terminated through step S5.

  In step S4, for example, the characters “Transmission / reception OK” are displayed on the display unit 25 of the remote controller 4.

  In step S5, for example, the characters “transmission / reception NG” are displayed on the display unit 25 of the remote controller 4.

  Thus, it can be easily confirmed on the display of the remote controller 4 whether or not the receiving unit 24 has received a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal.

  In the first embodiment, the failure diagnosis signal is composed of infrared rays, but may be composed of light other than infrared rays, for example.

  In the first embodiment, the failure diagnosis signal is reflected by the reflector 51, but may be reflected by hand. That is, as long as the failure diagnosis signal can be reflected, it may be used instead of the reflection plate 51.

  In the first embodiment, the failure diagnosis signal is transmitted from the transmission unit 23 toward the reflector 51. However, the failure diagnosis signal is transmitted from the transmission unit 23 toward the reception unit 14 of the indoor unit 1. Also good. In this case, when the reception unit 14 of the indoor unit 1 receives the failure diagnosis signal, the failure diagnosis signal may be transmitted from a transmission unit (not shown) of the indoor unit 1. Then, when the receiving unit 24 of the remote controller 2 receives a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal, the state of the location related to the generation and transmission / reception of the signals of the indoor unit 1 and the remote controller 2 may be determined to be normal. On the other hand, if the receiving unit 24 of the remote controller 2 does not receive a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal, it is determined that the state of at least a part of the indoor unit 1 and the remote controller 2 relating to signal generation and transmission / reception is abnormal. Also good.

  In the first embodiment, when the receiving unit 24 receives a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal, the characters “transmission / reception OK” are displayed on the display unit 25 of the remote controller 4. Sound may be output from a speaker of the remote controller 2.

  In the first embodiment, when the reception unit 24 receives a signal that does not match the failure diagnosis signal, the characters “transmission / reception NG” are displayed on the display unit 25 of the remote controller 4. Sound may be output from a speaker of the remote controller 2.

  In the first embodiment, the remote controller 2 may include a detachable shielding unit disposed between the transmission unit 23 and the reception unit 24.

  That is, a modification of the first embodiment may be a remote controller 102 as shown in FIG. In this remote control 102, since there is a shielding plate 61 as an example of a shielding unit between the transmission unit 23 and the receiving unit 24, it is the shielding plate 61 that signals other than failure diagnosis signals are received by the receiving unit 24. Can be prevented.

  Further, when the shielding plate 61 is removed from the remote controller 102, a failure diagnosis signal can be transmitted from the transmitting unit 23 to the receiving unit 24 without using the shielding plate 61.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the indoor unit 201 included in the air conditioner according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 and 4 are assigned to the same components as those in FIGS. 1 and 4.

  The indoor unit 201 includes an operation switch 11, a control device 212, a transmission unit 213 having, for example, an infrared light emitting element, a reception unit 14, and an operation LED 15.

  The control device 212 includes a microcomputer, an input / output circuit, and the like, and controls the transmission unit 213, the reception unit 14, the operation LED 15, and the like based on a signal from the operation switch 11.

  The control device 212 includes a failure diagnosis signal generation unit 212a and a failure diagnosis unit 212b, each of which includes software. The failure diagnosis signal generator 212a is an example of a signal generator. The failure diagnosis unit 212b is an example of a state determination unit.

  The failure diagnosis signal generation unit 212a generates a failure diagnosis signal for diagnosing a failure of the indoor unit 201 when the operation switch 11 is repeatedly hit a predetermined number of times. Even if this failure diagnosis signal is transmitted to the indoor unit 201, the indoor unit 201 does not operate or stop. Even if the failure diagnosis signal is transmitted to another device (for example, a television), the other device does not react. That is, the failure diagnosis signal is a dedicated signal for diagnosing a failure of the indoor unit 201.

  When the transmission unit 213 transmits the failure diagnosis signal and the reception unit 14 receives a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal, the failure diagnosis unit 212b receives the failure diagnosis signal generation unit 212a, the transmission unit 213, and The state of the receiving unit 14 is determined to be normal. On the other hand, when the transmission unit 213 transmits the failure diagnosis signal, the failure diagnosis unit 212b receives the failure diagnosis signal generation unit 212a and the transmission unit if the reception unit 14 does not receive a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal. The state of 213 and the receiving part 14 is determined as abnormal.

  The transmitter 213 is provided in the vicinity of the receiver 14. The transmission unit 213 has a continuous transmission mode in which the failure diagnosis signal generated by the failure diagnosis signal generation unit 212a is transmitted a plurality of times at preset time intervals.

  When the transmission unit 213 is in the continuous transmission mode, the operation LED 15 changes its emission color in accordance with the signal received by the reception unit 14. More specifically, when the receiving unit 14 receives a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal, the operation LED 15 lights in green. On the other hand, when the receiving unit 14 receives a signal that does not match the failure diagnosis signal, the operation LED 15 is lit red.

  In the air conditioner having the above configuration, when diagnosing a failure of the indoor unit 201, the operation switch 11 is repeatedly hit a plurality of times in a state where, for example, the reflection plate 51 capable of reflecting the failure diagnosis signal is opposed to the transmission unit 213. . At this time, if the state of the failure diagnosis signal generation unit 212a, the transmission unit 213, and the reception unit 14 is normal, the failure diagnosis signal is reflected by the reflector 51, and the reception unit 14 receives the failure diagnosis signal. Can be received. On the other hand, if the states of the failure diagnosis signal generation unit 212a, the transmission unit 213, and the reception unit 14 are abnormal, the reception unit 14 cannot receive a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal.

  Therefore, when the air conditioner fails, it can be confirmed whether the cause of the failure is the indoor unit 201 based on the determination of the failure diagnosis unit 212b.

  Further, when it can be confirmed that the cause of the failure is not in the indoor unit 201, it can be estimated that the cause of the failure is in the remote controller 2.

  Further, since the failure diagnosis signal is a dedicated signal for failure diagnosis of the indoor unit 201, it is possible to prevent the remote controller 2 and other devices from moving unintentionally.

  By the way, if the reflector 51 is located away from the transmission unit 213, the failure diagnosis signal may be affected by, for example, disturbance light even if the transmission unit 213 transmits the failure diagnosis signal correctly. is there. In this case, the receiving unit 14 cannot receive a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal, and the operation LED 15 is lit red.

  Therefore, when the operation LED 15 is lit red, the transmitter 213 and the receiver 14 are covered by hand so that the failure diagnosis signal is not affected by ambient light. As a result, if the operation LED 15 is lit in green, it can be determined that the red operation of the previous operation LED 15 was caused by ambient light. On the other hand, if the operation LED 15 is lit red again, it can be determined that the previous operation LED 15 is not lit red due to ambient light. That is, it can be determined that the states of the failure diagnosis signal generation unit 212a, the transmission unit 213, and the reception unit 14 are abnormal.

  Therefore, it can be confirmed that the indoor unit 201 cannot normally wirelessly communicate with the remote controller 2 due to the influence of ambient light.

  Hereinafter, control when diagnosing a failure of the indoor unit 201 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 6. Note that the above control is started in response to turning on the power to the indoor unit 201. Here, turning on the power to the indoor unit 201 means inserting a power plug (not shown) of the indoor unit 201 into an outlet.

  When the control is started, first, in step S11, it is determined whether or not a preset time (for example, 15 minutes) has elapsed since the indoor unit 201 was turned on. If it is determined in step S11 that a preset time has not elapsed since the indoor unit 201 was turned on, the process proceeds to the next step S12. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S11 that a preset time has elapsed since the indoor unit 201 was turned on, the control is terminated. At this time, if the transmission unit 213 is in the continuous transmission mode, the continuous transmission mode is canceled.

  Next, in step S12, it is determined whether or not the operation switch 11 has been repeatedly hit a plurality of times (for example, five times). If it is determined in step S12 that the operation switch 11 has been repeatedly hit several times, the process proceeds to the next step S13. On the other hand, step S12 returns to step S11, if it determines with the driving | operation switch 11 not having been repeated several times.

  Next, in step S13, the transmission of the failure diagnosis signal generated by the failure diagnosis signal generation unit 212a is repeated at intervals (for example, intervals of 1.5 seconds). That is, the transmission unit 213 is set to the continuous transmission mode.

  Next, in step S14, it is determined whether the receiving unit 14 has received a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal. If it is determined in step S14 that the receiving unit 14 has received a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal, the operation LED 15 is lit in green in step S15, and then the process returns to step S12. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S14 that the receiving unit 14 has received a signal that does not match the failure diagnosis signal, the operation LED 15 is lit red in step S16, and then the process returns to step S12.

  As described above, since the diagnosis of the failure of the indoor unit 201 can be performed only for a preset time after the indoor unit 201 is turned on, the transmission unit 213 is inadvertently set to the continuous transmission mode. Can be prevented.

  In the second embodiment, the signal received by the receiving unit 14 can be confirmed based on the emission color of the operation LED 15, but may be confirmed based on the blinking pattern of the operation LED 15.

  In the said 2nd Embodiment, the outdoor unit 1 may have 1 or 2 LED for confirming the signal which the receiving part 14 received separately from driving | operation LED15.

  In the second embodiment, the signal received by the receiving unit 14 can be visually confirmed, but may be visually confirmed. Specifically, sound for notifying the signal received by the receiving unit 14 may be output from a speaker.

  Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described, the present invention is not limited to the first and second embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. For example, a modification of the first embodiment may be applied to the second embodiment. That is, the indoor unit 201 of the second embodiment may include the shielding plate 61.

  Further, the transmission unit 23 of the first embodiment may have the continuous transmission mode of the second embodiment. More specifically, the transmission unit 23 of the remote controller 2 according to the first embodiment has a continuous transmission mode in which the failure diagnosis signal generated by the failure diagnosis signal generation unit 22a is transmitted a plurality of times at a preset time interval. You may do it. In this case, the display unit 25 of the remote controller 2 may be controlled based on whether or not the receiving unit 24 of the remote controller 2 has received a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal. That is, you may use the display part 25 of the remote control 2 as an example of a 1st, 2nd alerting | reporting part.

  In addition, the present invention may be applied to an air purifier including an air purifier main body as an example of an air conditioning main body and a remote controller that communicates with the air purifier main body.

1,201 Indoor unit 2,102 Remote control 10 Casing 11 Operation switch 14,24 Receiver 15 Operation LED
22,212 Control device 22a, 212a Signal generation unit for failure diagnosis 22b, 212b Failure diagnosis unit 25 Display unit 61 Shield plate

Claims (4)

An air conditioning body (201);
A remote controller (2,102) for communicating with the air conditioning body (201),
At least one of the air conditioning body (201) and the remote control (2,102)
A casing (10);
A signal generator (22a, 212a) for generating a fault diagnosis signal;
A transmitter (23, 213) for wirelessly transmitting the failure diagnosis signal to the outside of the casing (10) ;
A receiver (14, 24);
A state determination unit (22b, 212b),
In the state determination unit (22b, 212b), the transmission unit (23, 213) wirelessly transmits the failure diagnosis signal generated by the signal generation unit (22a, 212a ) to the outside of the casing (10). When the receiving unit (14, 24) receives a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal, the signal generating unit (22a, 212a), the transmitting unit (23, 213), and the receiving unit (14, 24). If the reception unit (14, 24) does not receive a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal, the signal generation unit (22a, 212a), the transmission unit (23, 213), and An air conditioner characterized in that the state of the receiver (14, 24) is determined to be abnormal. In the air conditioner according to claim 1,
The air conditioner characterized in that the failure diagnosis signal is a dedicated signal for diagnosing a failure of the air conditioning body (201) or the remote controller (2,102). In the air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2,
The transmitter (23, 213) has a continuous transmission mode in which the failure diagnosis signal generated by the signal generator (22a, 212a) is transmitted a plurality of times at a preset time interval,
At least one of the air conditioning body (201) and the remote control (2,102)
When the transmission unit (23, 213) is in the continuous transmission mode, the reception unit (14, 24) is a signal that matches the failure diagnosis signal generated by the signal generation unit (22a, 212a). The first notification unit (15, 25) for notifying the user of reception of this signal,
When the transmission unit (213) is in the continuous transmission mode, when the reception unit (14) receives a signal that does not match the failure diagnosis signal generated by the signal generation unit (212a), this signal An air conditioner comprising: a second notification unit (15, 25) for notifying the user of reception of In the air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
At least one of the air conditioning main body (201) and the remote control (102) has a removable shielding part (61) at least partially disposed between the transmission part (23, 213) and the reception part (14, 24). The air conditioner characterized by having.

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