JP6509423B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner provided with a clothes drying mode.

  Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the air conditioner provided with the clothes drying mode efficiently dries by checking the dryness of the laundry with an infrared sensor, and automatically stops the operation.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2010-112604

  However, the conventional air conditioner has a problem that a manual operation is required when starting operation in the clothes drying mode.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is an object of the present invention to obtain an air conditioner that can automatically start the operation in the clothes drying mode.

In order to solve the problems described above and to achieve the object, the present invention provides an infrared sensor capable of detecting temperature without contact, thermal image data obtained from the temperature detection result of the infrared sensor, and a temperature detection result of the infrared sensor And a storage unit configured to store laundry drying position data indicating a laundry drying position , which is set based on the above . The present invention creates difference data indicating temperature differences based on two consecutive thermal image data, and determines that the laundry has been dried by comparing the difference data with the laundry drying position data, A control unit is provided to start the operation in the clothes drying mode based on the result of the determination.

  The air conditioner according to the present invention has an effect of being able to automatically start the operation in the clothes drying mode.

The perspective view seen from the right front of the air conditioner concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention The perspective view seen from the lower right side of the air conditioner concerning Embodiment 1 The longitudinal cross-sectional view which followed the III-III line in FIG. 1 of the air conditioner concerning Embodiment 1 A diagram showing a configuration of a control system of an air conditioner according to Embodiment 1. The figure which shows each light distribution view angle of the infrared sensor of the air conditioner concerning Embodiment 1, and a light receiving element. FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a housing that accommodates the infrared sensor of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1; The perspective view of the infrared sensor vicinity of the air conditioner concerning Embodiment 1 The figure which shows the vertical light distribution view angle in the longitudinal cross section of the infrared sensor of the air conditioner concerning Embodiment 1 Conceptual diagram of thermal image data captured by the infrared sensor of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment A conceptual diagram of difference data representing new and old differences of thermal image data captured by the infrared sensor of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1. Flow chart showing the flow of the operation of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment A conceptual diagram showing superposition of a range in which a temperature change in new and old differences of thermal image data taken in by an infrared sensor of an air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 is detected. The figure which shows the structure which implement | achieved the function of the control part of the air conditioner concerning Embodiment 1 or Embodiment 2 by hardware. The figure which shows the structure which implement | achieved the function of the control part of the air conditioner concerning Embodiment 1 by software.

  Hereinafter, an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. The present invention is not limited by the embodiment.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention as viewed from the right front side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 as viewed from the lower right side. Although FIG.1 and FIG.2 is an external appearance perspective view of the air conditioner 100, both viewpoints are different. Further, FIG. 1 illustrates a state in which the upper and lower flaps 43 are closed, whereas FIG. 2 illustrates a state in which the upper and lower flaps 43 are open and the left and right flaps 44 are visible.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner 100 has a box-like indoor unit case 40. The indoor unit case 40 has a suction port 41 formed on its upper surface for sucking room air.

  Further, in the indoor unit casing 40, the blowout port 42 is formed at the lower front. The conditioned air blown out from the blowout port 42 is referred to as blowout wind. The air outlet 42 is provided with upper and lower flaps 43 and left and right flaps 44 for controlling the wind direction of the blowing air. The upper and lower flaps 43 control the upward and downward wind direction of the blowing air, and the left and right flaps 44 control the left and right wind direction of the blowing air.

  The indoor unit housing 40 is provided with an infrared sensor 3 which can detect the temperature in a noncontact manner at a lower part of the front surface and above the air outlet 42. The infrared sensor 3 is attached downward so as to have a depression angle of the angle α.

  The depression angle is an angle formed by the central axis of the infrared sensor 3 and the vertical line. In other words, the infrared sensor 3 is mounted downward at an angle α with respect to the vertical line. One example of the angle α is 24.5 degrees, but is not limited to this angle.

  FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view along line III-III in FIG. 1 of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the air conditioner 100 includes a blower 45 therein, and the heat exchanger 46 is disposed so as to surround the blower 45. The heat exchanger 46 has a front upper heat exchanger 46a, a front lower heat exchanger 46b, and a back heat exchanger 46c. The front lower heat exchanger 46 b and the rear heat exchanger 46 c are disposed such that the distance between the blower 45 and the fan 45 is increased.

  The heat exchanger 46 is connected to a compressor mounted on an outdoor unit (not shown) to form a refrigeration cycle. The heat exchanger 46 operates as an evaporator during the cooling operation and as a condenser during the heating operation.

  Indoor air is drawn in from the suction port 41 by the blower 45, heat exchange is performed with the refrigerant of the refrigeration cycle by the heat exchanger 46, and the conditioned air passes through the blower 45 and is blown out into the room through the blower 45.

  At the outlet 42, the wind direction in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction is controlled by the upper and lower flaps 43 and the left and right flaps 44. In FIG. 3, the angle of the upper and lower flaps 43 is an angle at which the blowing air is horizontal.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment. The air conditioner 100 includes a control unit 30 that controls the infrared sensor 3, the stepping motor 6, the upper and lower flaps 43, the left and right flaps 44 and the blower 45, and a storage unit 31 in which the thermal image data 20 and the laundry drying position data 21 are stored. And. The control unit 30 is a microcontroller whose operation is programmed. Although a nonvolatile semiconductor memory can be applied to the storage unit 31, the present invention is not limited to this. The thermal image data 20 and the laundry drying position data 21 will be described later.

  Next, the infrared sensor 3 will be described using FIGS. 5 to 8. FIG. 5 is a view showing each light distribution viewing angle of the infrared sensor and the light receiving element of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the infrared sensor 3 has a plurality of light receiving elements arranged in a line in the longitudinal direction inside the metal can 1. As an example, there are eight light receiving elements. The flat surface of the end of the metal can 1 is provided with a lens window for passing infrared rays through eight light receiving elements. Here, the light distribution viewing angle 2 of the light receiving element is 7 degrees in the vertical direction and 8 degrees in the horizontal direction. Although the numerical values of the light distribution viewing angle 2 of the light receiving element mentioned here are 7 degrees in the vertical direction and 8 degrees in the horizontal direction, the numerical values are not limited to these numerical values.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a housing for housing the infrared sensor of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment. The infrared sensor 3 shown in FIG. 5 is housed in the housing 5 as shown in FIG. A stepping motor 6 for driving the infrared sensor 3 is provided above the housing 5. The infrared sensor 3 is attached to the air conditioner 100 by fixing the attachment portion 7 integral with the housing 5 to the lower front of the air conditioner 100.

  When the infrared sensor 3 is attached to the air conditioner 100, the stepping motor 6 and the housing 5 are vertical. The infrared sensor 3 is attached to the inside of the housing 5 downward at a depression angle of the angle α.

  The stepping motor 6 rotates the infrared sensor 3 about an axis in the arrangement direction of the light receiving elements constituting the infrared sensor 3.

  The basic operation of the infrared sensor 3 will be described below. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the infrared sensor and the vicinity thereof of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment. The left-right direction in the following description means right and left as viewed from the infrared sensor 3. The infrared sensor 3 is rotationally driven within a predetermined angle range in the left-right direction by the stepping motor 6. The light distribution view angle shown in the lower part of FIG. 7 is the left end part through the state in which the light distribution view angle shown in the middle part of FIG. Rotate to the position of. When the light distribution view angle comes to the left end, it is reversed and rotates in the opposite direction, and the light distribution view angle shown in the upper part of FIG. 7 passes through the state where the light distribution view angle shown in the middle of FIG. Until it is positioned at the right end. The infrared sensor 3 repeats the above operation. That is, the infrared sensor 3 detects the temperature of the temperature detection target while scanning the temperature detection target range of the room to the left and right.

  Here, a method of acquiring thermal image data 20 of a room wall and floor by the infrared sensor 3 will be described. When acquiring thermal image data 20 of a room wall and floor, the control unit 30 rotates the infrared sensor 3 in the left and right direction by the stepping motor 6, and temporarily stops the rotation of the infrared sensor 3 for a predetermined time at each set angle. Let Here, an example of the set angle can be 1.6 degrees. Moreover, 0.1 second to 0.2 second can be mentioned as an example of time to which rotation of the infrared sensor 3 is temporarily stopped. However, the setting angle and the time for temporarily stopping the rotation of the infrared sensor 3 are not limited to these values.

  While temporarily stopping the rotation of the infrared sensor 3, the control unit 30 takes in the detection results of the plurality of light receiving elements as thermal image data 20.

  After the end of loading of the detection result of the infrared sensor 3, the control unit 30 drives the stepping motor 6 again to rotate the infrared sensor 3 and suspend the rotation of the infrared sensor 3 as described above. The detection results of the plurality of light receiving elements of the infrared sensor 3 are taken.

  The above operation is repeated, and the control unit 30 creates thermal image data 20 in the detection area based on the detection result of the infrared sensor 3.

  In the case where the infrared sensor 3 is stopped at 94 points for every rotation angle of 1.6 degrees of the stepping motor 6 and the thermal image data 20 is taken in, the rotation range of the infrared sensor 3 in the left-right direction is 150.4 degrees. In addition, the number of places which takes in the detection result of the infrared sensor 3 is not limited to the above-mentioned 94 places.

  FIG. 8 is a view showing a vertical light distribution viewing angle in a vertical cross section of the infrared sensor of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 shows the vertical light distribution viewing angle in the vertical cross section of the infrared sensor 3 in which a plurality of light receiving elements are arranged in a line in the vertical direction with the air conditioner 100 installed at a height of 1800 mm from the floor of the room. It shows. As shown in FIG. 8, the vertical light distribution viewing angle of one light receiving element is 7 degrees. However, the height at which the air conditioner 100 is installed is not limited to 1800 mm from the floor surface. Further, the vertical light distribution viewing angle of the light receiving element is not limited to 7 degrees.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the angle of the region not entering the vertical vision region of the infrared sensor 3 based on the wall to which the air conditioner 100 is attached, in other words, the infrared rays from the wall to which the air conditioner 100 is attached. The vertical angle to the field of view of the sensor 3 is 37.5 degrees. If the depression angle of the infrared sensor 3 is 0 degrees, this angle is subtracted from 90 degrees by multiplying the number of light receiving elements below horizontal by the vertical light distribution viewing angle of one light receiving element. It will be 62 degrees. Here, since the depression angle of the infrared sensor 3 is 24.5 degrees, the angle from the wall to which the air conditioner 100 is attached in the region not entering the vertical vision region of the infrared sensor 3 is 62 degrees-24.5 degrees = It is 37.5 degrees.

  FIG. 9 is a conceptual view of thermal image data taken in by the infrared sensor of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment. The infrared sensor 3 vertically arrayed in eight elements is rotated in the lateral direction by the stepping motor 6 and detected at 94 locations, so that thermal image data 20 composed of a temperature detection result by the infrared sensor 3 for 8 vertical × 94 horizontal You can get

  FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram of difference data representing new and old differences of thermal image data taken in by the infrared sensor of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment. The difference data 22 is obtained by comparing the thermal image data 20 captured by the infrared sensor 3 with the previous thermal image data 20 and representing the temperature difference in numerical values. In FIG. 10, the numerical values in the difference data 22 indicate the temperature difference with the immediately preceding thermal image data 20. The control unit 30 detects the temperature difference between the two old and new thermal image data 20 and creates difference data 22 to detect the movement of a person or a thing in the room. That is, the control unit 30 creates difference data 22 indicating a temperature difference based on two consecutive thermal image data 20.

  Next, a method of detecting wet laundry will be described. Since the wet laundry has a temperature lower than the room temperature due to the decrease in sensible heat due to water evaporation, the control unit 30 detects the appearance of a low temperature mass and recognizes the detected mass as a wet laundry Do. That is, the control unit 30 collates the difference data 22 with the laundry drying position data 21 to determine that the laundry is dried.

  In this manner, the control unit 30 detects that the user has dried the wet laundry in front of the air conditioner 100, and automatically starts the operation in the clothes drying mode. That is, the control unit 30 starts the operation in the clothes drying mode based on the result of the determination as to whether the laundry is dried.

  However, if the lumps having a temperature lower than the room temperature are merely determined as the laundry, there is a possibility that the air conditioner 100 may start the operation by mistake recognition. For this reason, the following judgment is added to the operation of the control unit 30 in consideration of the fact that the place to dry laundry in the room of a general household is generally the same place.

  With wet laundry set in front of the air conditioner 100, sensing the room using the infrared sensor 3 with the input from the remote controller or main unit switch (not shown) as a trigger. The storage unit 31 stores laundry drying position data 21 in which a mass having a temperature lower than room temperature is set as the laundry drying position. That is, the air conditioner 100 stores the laundry drying position data 21 in the storage unit 31 using a user operation as a trigger.

  FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the flow of the operation of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment. The flowchart illustrated in FIG. 11 is an operation when the air conditioner 100 is in the standby state, and is not executed when the air conditioner 100 is activated including the operation in the clothes drying mode. In step S <b> 1, the control unit 30 performs sensing by the infrared sensor 3 and acquires the thermal image data 20. In step S <b> 2, the control unit 30 stores the thermal image data 20 in the storage unit 31. In step S <b> 3, the control unit 30 determines whether the previous thermal image data 20 is stored in the storage unit 31. If the previous thermal image data 20 is not stored in the storage unit 31, that is, if it is the first sensing, the determination in step S3 is No, and the process returns to step S1. On the other hand, if the previous thermal image data 20 is stored in the storage unit 31, that is, if it is the second or subsequent sensing, the result of step S3 is Yes, and the process proceeds to step S4.

  In step S4, the control unit 30 creates difference data 22. In step S5, the control unit 30 reads the laundry drying position data 21 from the storage unit 31. In step S6, the control unit 30 collates the difference data 22 with the laundry drying position data 21 to determine whether the laundry drying position matches the area where the temperature change is detected. When the dry position of the laundry and the area in which the temperature change is detected do not match, the result of step S6 is No, and the process returns to step S1. If the dry position of the laundry matches the area in which the temperature change is detected, the result of step S6 is Yes, and the process proceeds to step S7.

  In step S7, the control unit 30 activates the air conditioner 100 in the clothes drying mode.

  By performing the above control, the air conditioner 100 according to the first embodiment detects that the wet laundry has been pulled in front of the air conditioner 100 by the infrared sensor 3 and automatically dries the clothes. Start driving in mode.

  FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing superposition of a range in which a temperature change in new and old differences of thermal image data taken in by an infrared sensor of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 is detected. In FIG. 12, the colored portion of the laundry drying position data 21 is the laundry drying position registered in the storage unit 31, that is, the registration area. When the registered laundry drying position and the area in which the temperature change is detected coincide with each other, the control unit 30 determines that the laundry is dried and activates the air conditioner 100 in the clothes drying mode. That is, the control unit 30 starts the air conditioner 100 in the clothes drying mode when the registration area matches the area in which the temperature conversion is detected.

  The amount of laundry varies from day to day, and the location of laundry laundry does not always match completely each time, so the ratio of pixels where the location of laundry laundry registered and the area where temperature change is detected matches If the threshold value is set somewhat looser, such as 60% or more, it can be determined with high accuracy.

  As described above, by considering the place in the laundry detection determination, it is possible to accurately detect that the wet laundry has been dried and to accurately activate the air conditioner 100 in the clothes drying mode.

  When washing with warm water such as the remaining bath water, the temperature of the wet laundry may be higher than room temperature. Even in such a case, by comparing the drying position of the laundry with the area where the temperature is higher than the room temperature, the laundry is accurately detected, and the air conditioner 100 is activated in the clothes drying mode. It can be done.

Second Embodiment
When the clothes drying mode is used for the first time, the air conditioner according to the second embodiment of the present invention determines that a lump having a temperature lower than room temperature is laundry, and stores laundry drying position data 21 in the storage unit 31. Do.

  In the first embodiment, the laundry drying position data 21 needs to be registered in advance by the user operation on the remote controller or the main body switch. However, in the second embodiment, the laundry drying is performed without making the user aware of the registration work. Position data 21 can be registered. Therefore, the air conditioner according to the second embodiment is more convenient than the air conditioner according to the first embodiment.

  In the above-described first embodiment or second embodiment, the function of control unit 30 shown in FIG. 4 is realized by a processing circuit. That is, the control unit 30 collates the difference data 22 and the laundry drying position data 21 with the process of creating the difference data 22 indicating the temperature difference based on the two consecutive thermal image data 20 and the laundry. And a processing circuit for performing a process of determining that the laundry has been dried and a process of starting the operation in the clothes drying mode based on the result of the determination of whether the laundry has been dried. The processing circuit may be dedicated hardware or an arithmetic device that executes a program stored in the storage device.

Where the processing circuit is dedicated hardware, the processing circuit may be a single circuit, a complex circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or a combination thereof. Is the case. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration in which the function of the control unit of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 or Embodiment 2 is realized by hardware. In the processing circuit 19, the process of creating the difference data 22 indicating the temperature difference based on the two consecutive thermal image data 20 and the comparison of the difference data 22 with the laundry drying position data 21 allow the laundry to be processed. A logic circuit 19a is incorporated to realize the process of determining that the laundry has been dried and the process of starting the operation in the clothes drying mode based on the result of the determination of whether the laundry has been dried. It should be noted that the laundry is dried by processing the difference data 22 indicating the temperature difference based on the two consecutive thermal image data 20 and comparing the difference data 22 with the laundry drying position data 21. And the process of starting the operation in the clothes drying mode based on the result of the determination as to whether or not the laundry is dried may be realized by separate processing circuits 19 .

When the processing circuit 19 is an arithmetic device, processing for creating difference data 22 indicating temperature differences based on two consecutive thermal image data 20 and collating the difference data 22 with the laundry drying position data 21, The process of determining that the laundry has been dried and the process of activating the operation in the clothes drying mode based on the result of determining whether the laundry has been dried are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. Ru.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a configuration in which the function of the control unit of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 is realized by software. The processing circuit 19 includes an arithmetic unit 191 that executes the program 19 b, a random access memory 192 that the arithmetic unit 191 uses for a work area, and a storage unit 193 that stores the program 19 b. Arithmetic device 191 develops program 19 b stored in storage device 193 on random access memory 192 and executes it to create difference data 22 indicating temperature difference based on two consecutive thermal image data 20. The operation is started in the clothes drying mode on the basis of the processing and the processing of judging that the laundry is dried by checking the difference data 22 and the laundry drying position data 21 and the judgment of whether the laundry is dried or not. Processing is realized. The software or firmware is written in a programming language and stored in the storage device 193. The processing circuit 19 realizes each processing by reading and executing the program 19 b stored in the storage device 193. That is, when executed by the processing circuit 19, the control unit 30 generates a difference data 22 indicating a temperature difference based on two consecutive thermal image data 20, and the difference data 22 and the laundry drying position data. As a result, the step of judging that the laundry has been dried and the step of starting the operation in the clothes drying mode are executed based on the result of the judgment of whether the laundry has been dried. And a storage device 193 for storing the program 19b. Also, it can be said that the program 19b causes the computer to execute the above-described procedure and method.

It should be noted that the laundry is dried by processing the difference data 22 indicating the temperature difference based on the two consecutive thermal image data 20 and comparing the difference data 22 with the laundry drying position data 21. In the process of determining the condition and the process of starting the operation in the clothes drying mode based on the result of the determination as to whether the laundry is dried, a part is realized by dedicated hardware and a part is realized by software or firmware. You may For example, the process of creating difference data 22 indicating the temperature difference based on two consecutive thermal image data 20 and comparing the difference data 22 with the laundry drying position data 21 to dry the laundry for a process for determining is implemented to function in processing circuit 19 by dedicated hardware, laundry Hosah the determination of whether the processing circuitry 19 is a storage device for processing for starting the operation in clothes drying mode based on the results The function can be realized by reading and executing the program 19b stored in 193.

  Thus, the processing circuit 19 can implement the above-described functions by hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

  In the above description, the infrared sensor 3 in which a plurality of light receiving elements are arranged in a line in the vertical direction is rotated by the stepping motor 6 to generate the thermal image data 20. It is also possible to obtain the thermal image data 20 without rotating the infrared sensor 3 by using it.

  The configuration shown in the above embodiment shows an example of the contents of the present invention, and can be combined with another known technique, and one of the configurations is possible within the scope of the present invention. Parts can be omitted or changed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 metal can, 2 light distribution view angle, 3 infrared sensor, 5 housing | casings, 6 stepping motor, 7 mounting part, 19 processing circuit, 19a logic circuit, 19b program, 20 thermal image data, 21 laundry drying position data, 22 difference Data, 30 control unit, 31 storage unit, 40 indoor unit casing, 41 suction port, 42 air outlet, 43 upper and lower flaps, 44 left and right flaps, 45 blower, 46 heat exchanger, 46a front upper heat exchanger, 46b front lower Heat exchanger, 46c Rear heat exchanger, 100 air conditioner, 191 arithmetic unit, 192 random access memory, 193 storage unit.

Claims (3)

An infrared sensor that can detect temperature without contact
A storage unit storing thermal image data obtained from the temperature detection result of the infrared sensor, and laundry drying position data indicating the drying position of the laundry set based on the temperature detection result of the infrared sensor ;
Based on the two consecutive thermal image data, difference data indicating a temperature difference is created, and the difference data is compared with the laundry drying position data to determine that the laundry has been dried, An air conditioner comprising a control unit for starting operation in a clothes drying mode based on the result of judgment.   The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the laundry drying position data is stored in the storage unit using a user operation as a trigger.   The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stores the laundry drying position data in the storage unit when the control unit is operated in a clothes drying mode for the first time.