JP6520226B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner.

The notification sound of the room air conditioner is generally output in accordance with the volume set by the user with the remote control.
On the other hand, in car navigation systems, portable stereos and the like, there are some which adjust the volume to be output according to the noise volume of the surroundings. Further, as in the prior art described in Patent Document 1, in the telephone, there is one that changes the volume of the ringing tone according to the ambient noise and the time zone when there is an incoming call.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 5-56113

In the room air conditioner as well, it is conceivable to adjust the volume of the notification sound according to the noise and time zone of the room, but it is not always the optimum volume and there is a possibility of giving the user a sense of discomfort. For example, even when the user is sleeping or going to bed, if the number of rotations of the blower fan is high and the operation sound is large, the notification sound may be large.
An object of the present invention is to make the notification sound more appropriate.

  An air conditioner according to one aspect of the present invention includes an indoor unit that performs indoor air conditioning, a notification sound output unit that outputs a notification sound indoors, a time acquisition unit that acquires time, and a blower fan in the indoor unit. A rotation speed detection unit that detects the rotation speed, a human detection unit that detects the presence or absence of human movement in the room, a time acquired by the time acquisition unit, a rotation speed detected by the rotation speed detection unit, and a detection by the human detection unit And a volume control unit configured to change the volume of the notification sound according to the presence or absence of movement of the selected person.

  According to the present invention, the volume of the notification sound is changed according to the time, the number of rotation of the blower fan, the presence or absence of movement of a person, and the three conditions to make the notification sound in the room more appropriate. be able to.

It is a block diagram showing a system configuration. It is a flow chart which shows an example of volume control processing. It is a flowchart which shows an example of A process. It is a flowchart which shows an example of B process. It is a flowchart which shows an example of C process. It is a table which summarized the correspondence of volume control.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. Each drawing is schematic and may be different from the actual one. In addition, the following embodiments illustrate apparatuses and methods for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the configuration is not specified to the following. That is, the technical idea of the present invention can be variously modified within the technical scope described in the claims.

"Constitution"
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration.
This embodiment assumes a room air conditioner mainly for general household use as an air conditioner. The indoor unit 11 of the air conditioner harmonizes the indoor air with predetermined setting conditions by cooling, heating, dehumidifying or humidifying, and the like. The indoor unit 11 includes a control unit 12, a clock unit 13, a blower fan 14, a rotational speed detection circuit 15, a human sensor 16, and a speaker 17.

The clock unit 13 having an internal clock obtains the current time and outputs the current time to the control unit 12. When the wireless communication between the indoor unit 11 and the remote controller (not shown) is performed, the clock unit 13 corrects the time of the internal clock so as to be synchronized with the time of the remote controller.
The blower fan 14 is driven by a motor (not shown), and blows air indoors by rotation.
The rotation speed detection circuit 15 detects the rotation speed N of the blower fan 14. The rotation number detection circuit 15 converts a change in the magnetic field accompanying the rotation of the motor into a pulse signal and outputs the pulse signal to the control unit 12. The control unit 12 obtains the rotational speed N [rpm] from the input pulse signal.

The human sensor 16 detects the presence or absence of movement of a human body or a person in a room. The human sensor 16 is, for example, an infrared sensor, and detects the presence or absence of an object emitting heat (infrared) above a threshold and the presence or absence of movement of the object based on a change in infrared amount in a predetermined detection area. , And outputs the detection signal to the control unit 12. In addition, even if it detects the object which emits the heat more than a threshold value, for example, when there is no movement for 10 minutes, a detection signal is cancelled | released. The control unit 12 determines the presence or absence of the movement of the human body or the person in accordance with the input detection signal.
The control unit 12 includes, for example, a microcomputer, receives signals from the clock unit 13, the rotation speed detection circuit 15, and the human sensor 16, and drives the speaker 17.

The control unit 12 includes a voice guidance generation unit 21, a voice guidance output unit 22 including a speaker 17, and a volume control unit 23.
The voice guidance generation unit 21 first generates voice guidance data when the user operates the remote control. For example, voice guidance data is generated to notify the operation content, the set temperature, and the like, such as “start operation at 28 ° C. for cooling” and “set to the upper and lower swing”. In addition, voice guidance data is generated voluntarily when predetermined conditions are satisfied without remote control operation. For example, when the operation is stopped by the timer function, voice guidance data to that effect is generated. In addition, when the outside air temperature falls below the set temperature during the cooling operation, voice guidance data is generated that urges the operation to stop. Further, when the room temperature exceeds a predetermined upper limit value, voice guidance data for prompting the start of the cooling operation is generated. Furthermore, when the defrosting operation is started, voice guidance data indicating that is generated.

The voice guidance output unit 22 outputs the voice guidance data generated by the voice guidance generation unit 21 to the speaker 17 and also drives the speaker 17 to output a notification sound (inform voice guidance).
The volume control unit 23 executes volume control processing to be described later, and can change the volume of the voice guidance stepwise. Here, with regard to the voice guidance output when the predetermined condition is satisfied regardless of the remote control operation, the volume is changed, and the voice guidance output when the remote control is operated follows the volume set by the user with the remote control It shall be. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and the volume can be changed also for the voice guidance output when the remote control is operated.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the volume control process.
In step S101, it is determined whether the human sensor 16 has detected the presence or absence of movement of a human body or a person in the room. When a sensor detects (S101-Yes), it transfers to step S102, and when not detecting (S101-No), it transfers to step S105.

  In step S102, it is determined whether the time is a night zone. Here, the night zone is, for example, a time zone from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM. When the time is a nighttime zone (S102-Yes), the process proceeds to step S103, and after the process A of FIG. 3 described later is executed, the process returns to the predetermined main program. On the other hand, when the time is not a night zone (S102-No), the process proceeds to step S104, and after performing a process B of FIG. 4 described later, the process returns to a predetermined main program. The non-night time zone is a time zone from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm.

  In step S105, it is determined whether the time is a night zone. When the time is a nighttime zone (S105-Yes), the process proceeds to step S106, and after performing a process C of FIG. 5 described later, the process returns to a predetermined main program. On the other hand, when the time is not in the nighttime zone (S105-No), the process proceeds to step S107, and after the process A in FIG. 3 described later is executed, the process returns to the predetermined main program.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the process A.
In step S111, it is determined whether the number of revolutions N is lower than a predetermined threshold N1. Here, the threshold N1 is, for example, a value of about 800 rpm. In the case of a room air conditioner for general household use, since the blower fan 14 rotates in the range of 500 to 1,500 rpm, a rotation range lower than 800 rpm can be said to be a low speed rotation range. Thus, when the rotation speed N is lower than the threshold value N1, it is determined that the blower fan 14 is in the low speed rotation range (S111-Yes), and the process proceeds to step S112. On the other hand, when the rotation speed N is equal to or more than the threshold value N1, it is determined that the blower fan 14 is rotating in a rotation range higher than the low speed rotation range (S111-No), and the process proceeds to step S113.

In step S112, the volume of the voice guidance is reduced by one step from the set value, and then the process returns to the predetermined main program. Here, the setting value is the volume set by the user with the remote control.
In step S113, it is determined whether the number of revolutions N is lower than a predetermined threshold N2. Here, the threshold N2 is, for example, a value of about 1100 rpm. As described above, in the case of a room air conditioner for general household use, the blower fan 14 rotates in the range of about 500 to 1,500 rpm, so the rotation range of 800 to 1,100 rpm can be said to be a medium speed rotation range. Further, a rotation range exceeding 1100 rpm can be said to be a high-speed rotation range. Therefore, when the number of revolutions N is lower than the threshold value N2, it is determined that the blower fan 14 is in the middle speed range (S113-Yes), and the process proceeds to step S114. On the other hand, when the rotation speed N is equal to or more than the threshold value N2, the blower fan 14 is rotating in a rotation range higher than the medium-speed rotation range, that is, it is determined to be in the high-speed rotation range (S113-No). Transition.
In step S114, the volume of the voice guidance is returned to the predetermined main program while being maintained at the set value.
In step S115, the volume of the voice guidance is increased by one step above the set value, and then the process returns to the predetermined main program.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the B process.
In step S121, it is determined whether the number of revolutions N is lower than a predetermined threshold N1. When the rotation speed N is lower than the threshold value N1, it is determined that the blower fan 14 is in the low speed rotation range (S121-Yes), and the process proceeds to step S122. On the other hand, when the rotation speed N is equal to or more than the threshold value N1, it is determined that the blower fan 14 exceeds the low speed rotation range (S121-No), and the process proceeds to step S123.

In step S122, the volume of the voice guidance is restored to the predetermined main program while being maintained at the set value.
In step S123, it is determined whether the number of revolutions N is lower than a predetermined threshold N2. When the number of revolutions N is lower than the threshold value N2, it is determined that the blower fan 14 is in the middle speed range (S123-Yes), and the process proceeds to step S124. On the other hand, when the rotational speed N is equal to or higher than the threshold value N2, the blower fan 14 is rotating in a rotation range higher than the medium-speed rotation range, that is, it is determined to be in the high speed rotation range (S123-No). Transition.
In step S124, the volume of the voice guidance is increased by one step above the set value, and then the process returns to the predetermined main program.
In step S125, the volume of the voice guidance is increased by two steps above the set value, and then the process returns to the predetermined main program.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the C processing.
In step S131, it is determined whether the number of revolutions N is lower than a predetermined threshold N1. When the rotation speed N is lower than the threshold value N1, it is determined that the blower fan 14 is in the low speed rotation range (S131-Yes), and the process proceeds to step S132. On the other hand, when the rotation speed N is equal to or more than the threshold value N1, it is determined that the blower fan 14 exceeds the low speed rotation range (S131-No), and the process proceeds to step S133.

In step S132, the volume of the voice guidance is reduced by two steps below the set value, and then the process returns to the predetermined main program.
In step S133, it is determined whether the number of revolutions N is lower than a predetermined threshold N2. When the rotation speed N is lower than the threshold value N2, it is determined that the blower fan 14 is in the medium speed rotation range (S133-Yes), and the process proceeds to step S134. On the other hand, when the rotational speed N is equal to or higher than the threshold value N2, the blower fan 14 is rotating in a rotation range higher than the medium-speed rotation range, that is, it is determined to be in the high speed rotation range (S131-No) and the step S135 Transition.
In step S134, the volume of the voice guidance is reduced by one step from the set value, and then the process returns to the predetermined main program.
In step S135, the volume of the voice guidance is restored to the predetermined main program while being maintained at the set value.

FIG. 6 is a table summarizing processing of volume control.
That is, when the time is in the nighttime zone, the volume of the voice guidance is made smaller than in the case other than the nighttime zone. Further, as the rotational speed N of the blower fan 14 is lower, the volume of the voice guidance is reduced. Further, when the motion of the person is not detected by the human sensor 16, the volume of the voice guidance is made smaller than that when the motion of the person is detected.

In addition, although the rotation speed N of the ventilation fan 14 is detected by the rotation speed detection circuit 15, it is not limited to this, You may use the rotation speed command value with respect to a motor.
Moreover, although rotation speed N of the ventilation fan 14 is divided into three steps, a low speed rotation area, a medium speed rotation area, and a high speed rotation area, it is not limited to this. For example, it may be divided into only two steps of the low speed rotation region and the high speed rotation region, or divided into four or more steps.
Similarly, although the time is divided into the night zone and the other two stages, it is not limited to this, and may be divided into three or more stages. For example, 0:00 am to 2:00 am is added as a late night zone, and 10:00 pm to 6:00 am excluding this late night zone is regarded as a night zone, and in the late night zone, more voice guidance is provided than in the night zone. The volume may be reduced.

<< Operation >>
Next, the operation will be described.
In this embodiment, the volume of the voice guidance is changed according to the time, the number of rotations N of the blower fan 14, the presence or absence of movement of a person, and these three conditions.
First, when the time is in the nighttime zone, the volume of the voice guidance is made smaller than in the case other than the nighttime zone. As a result, it can be suppressed that the voice guidance becomes larger than necessary in the nighttime zone where the ambient noise is reduced. On the other hand, by setting the volume to a necessary and sufficient level during the daytime when ambient noise increases, it becomes easy to hear voice guidance. Also, by using the clock unit 13, the time can be easily detected.

  Further, as the rotational speed N of the blower fan 14 is lower, the volume of the voice guidance is reduced. As a result, in a situation where the driving noise is small, it is possible to suppress the voice guidance from becoming larger than necessary. Among the operation sounds emitted by the indoor unit 11, the noise associated with the rotation of the blower fan 14 is the largest factor, so by adjusting the volume of the voice guidance according to the rotational speed N, it is possible to obtain an appropriate volume. it can. On the other hand, in a situation where the driving noise increases, it is easy to hear the voice guidance by setting the necessary and sufficient volume. Further, by using the rotation number detection circuit 15, the rotation number N of the blower fan 14 can be easily detected.

Further, when the motion of the person is not detected by the human sensor 16, the volume of the voice guidance is made smaller than that when the motion of the person is detected. Thereby, for example, when the user sleeps or goes to bed, it can be suppressed that the voice guidance becomes larger than necessary. On the other hand, when detecting the movement of a person, it is easy to hear the voice guidance by setting the volume to a necessary and sufficient level. As described above, since the room air conditioner for general home use, the situation of the user is diverse, but by detecting the presence or absence of the movement of the person, it is possible to make the volume suitable for the situation of the user. In addition, by using the human sensor 16, the presence or absence of movement of a person can be easily detected.
As described above, the volume of the voice guidance is changed according to the time, the number of rotations of the blower fan 14, the presence or absence of movement of the person, and the three conditions to make the voice guidance in the room more appropriate. Can. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the user from feeling discomfort and improve the convenience.

<< Modification >>
In the above embodiment, with regard to the movement of a person, the volume is changed in two steps of whether or not there is movement, but it is not limited to this. That is, in a situation where the user is actively moving, it is desirable to increase the volume of the voice guidance, and conversely, in a situation where the user is spending quietly, it is desirable to reduce the volume of the voice guidance. Therefore, even when the motion of the person is detected by the human sensor 16, the volume of the voice guidance may be reduced as the frequency is lower. For example, the number of times a human motion sensor 16 detects a motion of a person per unit time (for example, one minute) is detected, and the volume of voice guidance is reduced as the number of times of detection is lower.
As described above, by changing the volume in multiple stages according to the frequency of detecting the movement of a person, the volume can be made more appropriate according to the situation of the user.

<< Correspondence relationship >>
In the above embodiment, the voice guidance output unit 22 corresponds to the "announcement sound output unit". Also, the clock unit 13 corresponds to the "time acquisition unit". Further, the rotation speed detection circuit 15 corresponds to the "rotation speed detection unit". Further, the human sensor 16 corresponds to the "human detector".
Although the foregoing has been described with reference to a limited number of embodiments, the scope of rights is not limited to them, and modifications of the embodiments based on the above disclosure are obvious to those skilled in the art.

11 indoor unit 12 control unit 13 clock unit 14 air blower fan 15 rotation number detection circuit 16 human sensor 17 speaker 21 voice guidance generation unit 22 voice guidance output unit 23 volume control unit

Claims (3)

An indoor unit that performs indoor air conditioning,
A notification sound output unit that outputs a notification sound into the room;
A time acquisition unit that acquires time from an internal clock;
A rotation number detection unit that detects the rotation number of the blower fan in the indoor unit;
A human detection unit that detects the presence or absence of movement of a person in the room;
The volume of the notification sound is changed according to three conditions including the time acquired by the time acquisition unit, the number of rotations detected by the rotation number detection unit, and the presence or absence of movement of a person detected by the person detection unit. And a volume control unit,
The volume control unit
An air conditioner characterized in that the volume of the notification sound is made smaller when the movement of the person is not detected by the person detection unit than when the movement of the person is detected. The volume control unit
The air conditioning according to claim 1, wherein when the time acquired by the time acquisition unit is a predetermined nighttime zone, the volume of the notification sound is made smaller than when it is other than the nighttime zone. Machine. The volume control unit
The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the volume of the notification sound is decreased as the rotation speed detected by the rotation speed detection unit is lower.

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