JP6692134B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner that performs air conditioning.

Conventionally, in this type of air conditioner, thermal image data of an air-conditioned room is acquired by an infrared sensor, and air conditioning is performed based on this thermal image data.
For example, in Patent Document 1, an indoor unit is provided with an obstacle sensor for detecting an obstacle to blow air and a human body detecting means for detecting a human body, and an obstacle from the ceiling and a direction in which a person is present are detected to detect an obstacle. It is practiced to avoid objects and blow air in the direction of people.

JP 2012-102924 A

By the way, in Patent Document 1, since the air is blown in the direction in which the person is present while avoiding the direction in which the obstacle exists, the conditioned air constantly hits the person when the person remains in the same place for a long time, which is uncomfortable. There is a problem that you feel it.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that can provide a comfortable temperature environment even when air-conditioning a room with an obstacle.

In order to solve the above problems, an air conditioner of the present invention is installed in an indoor unit main body, a human body detecting means for detecting the position of a person, and a falling wall installed in the indoor unit main body and suspended from a ceiling. In the case where the person is located closer to the indoor unit body than the obstacle during the cooling operation, the obstacle detecting means for detecting the position of the obstacle consisting of , the conditioned air is blown toward the obstacle by upper and lower air direction changing means, on the other hand, if the person is located far from the indoor unit main body than the obstacle, the obstacle conditioned air Control means for controlling the direction of the vertical wind direction changing means so as to blow air below the lower end of the article.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a comfortable temperature environment even when air-conditioning a room with an obstacle.

1 is a front view of an indoor unit, an outdoor unit, and a remote controller included in an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an indoor unit included in the air conditioner in a stopped state. It is a functional block diagram of the equipment with which an indoor unit is provided. It is explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship of a light emitting diode and an imaging camera, (a) is a front view, (b) is a top view, (c) is a left side view. 1 is an enlarged view of a portion K in FIG. 1, (a) is an explanatory view showing a state in which the visible light cut filter is moving, and (b) is a state in which the visible light cut filter is arranged in front of the image pickup means. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship of the obstacle from a ceiling, and a person in the air-conditioning room in which an indoor unit is installed, (a) represents the case where a person is closer to an indoor unit than the obstacle from a ceiling, (b) Indicates that a person is farther from the indoor unit than an obstacle from the ceiling. It is explanatory drawing which imitated the indoor image which the imaging means imaged the inside of an air-conditioned room. It is explanatory drawing which shows the ventilation direction of an indoor unit, (a) represents the case where a person is closer to an indoor unit than the obstacle from a ceiling, (b) is the case where a person is farther from an indoor unit than the obstacle from a ceiling. Is represented. It is a flow chart about detection of a floor plan of an air-conditioning room. It is a flow chart about detection of an obstacle from the ceiling of an air-conditioning room. It is a flowchart regarding the detection of the person who is in the air-conditioned room. It is a flowchart regarding the determination of which of a person in the air-conditioned room and an obstacle from the ceiling is closer to the indoor unit. It is explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship of the obstacle from a ceiling, and a person in the air-conditioning room of another aspect in which an indoor unit is installed. It is explanatory drawing which imitated the indoor image which the imaging means imaged the inside of the air conditioned room of another aspect. It is a flowchart regarding the detection of the obstacle from the ceiling of the air conditioning room of another aspect.

  An embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the overall configuration of the air conditioner will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a front view of an indoor unit, an outdoor unit, and a remote controller included in the air conditioner according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an indoor unit included in the air conditioner in a stopped state, and FIG. It is a functional block diagram of the equipment with which an indoor unit is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner S adjusts a room to a comfortable temperature and humidity, and includes an indoor unit 100 installed indoors, an outdoor unit 200 installed outdoors, and an air conditioner S. The remote controller 300 for setting the operation mode of No. 1 and the connection pipe (not shown) that connects the indoor unit 100 and the outdoor unit.

  The outdoor unit 200 includes a compressor, an outdoor fan, an outdoor heat exchanger, and the like, which are not shown. The compressor and the outdoor heat exchanger of the outdoor unit 200 are connected to the indoor heat exchanger 11 of the indoor unit 100, which will be described later, by connection pipes, and constitute a refrigeration cycle by circulating a refrigerant.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the indoor unit 100 is a wall-mounted indoor unit installed near the ceiling on the wall surface. As shown in FIG. 2, in the indoor unit 100, a box-shaped indoor unit body 100a has a suction port h1 for taking indoor air into the interior and a vent port h2 for blowing conditioned air into the room. Note that FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show a state (operation stop state) in which the blower opening h2 is closed. Further, the indoor unit 100 includes an indoor heat exchanger 11, an indoor fan 12, a dew receiving component 10, a left / right airflow direction plate 18, and a vertical airflow direction plate (upward / downward airflow direction changing means) 19 in an indoor unit body 100a. I have it. Then, the indoor air is sucked into the indoor unit 100 from the suction port h1 by the indoor fan 12, and when passing through the indoor heat exchanger 11, the temperature and the humidity are adjusted to become the conditioned air, and the air is blown from the blower port h2. It is blown indoors.

The suction port h1 is composed of an upper suction port h1 that is opened at the upper portion of the indoor unit body 100a and a front suction port h1 that is opened at the front surface of the indoor unit body 100a. An air filter 16 is installed at each of the upper suction port h1 and the front suction port h1. Then, the air filter 16 removes dust in the indoor air sucked into the indoor unit 100. A front panel 17 is installed at the suction port h1 on the front side.
The front panel 17 is configured so that its upper end side swings around its lower end. The front panel 17 is controlled so that the front suction port h1 is closed when the air conditioner S is stopped and the front suction port h1 is opened when the air conditioner S is stopped. Thereby, the opening area of the suction port h1 is widened and the suction resistance of the indoor air is reduced without impairing the appearance of the indoor unit 100.
The blower port h2 is opened in the lower surface portion of the indoor unit main body 100a so as to cross the blower path SA obliquely, and the conditioned air is blown into the room through the blower port h2.
The indoor heat exchanger 11 has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and the U-shaped bottom portion is located in the upper front side and the U-shaped opening portion is located in the lower rear side. It is installed along.

The indoor fan 12 is a cross-flow fan type cylindrical fan, and is arranged in the U-shape of the indoor heat exchanger 11.
The dew receiving component 10 has a V-shaped groove shape and is installed below the indoor heat exchanger 11. The dew receiving component 10 collects the condensed water condensed in the indoor heat exchanger 11 in the V-shaped groove and discharges it outside during the cooling operation or the dehumidifying operation. Further, the dew receiving component 10 forms an air blowing path SA that guides the conditioned air that has exited the indoor fan 12 to the air blowing port h2 by the outer peripheral surface 10a and the housing base 15 that is installed in the indoor unit body 100a. ing.
Further, on the front surface of the dew receiving component 10, a remote controller transmitting / receiving unit 13, an image pickup unit 14, an environment detecting unit 41, and a light emitting unit 61, which will be described later, are installed so as to face the room. And the control means 3 which controls operation | movement of these each apparatus is installed in the indoor unit main body 100a.

  The left and right air flow direction plates 18 are composed of, for example, a plurality of flat plates having the same shape, and are installed so as to be swingable in the left and right direction while being evenly spaced in the width direction in the air flow path SA and vertically cutting the air flow path SA in the vertical direction. Has been done. A left / right airflow direction plate motor 52 is connected to the left / right airflow direction plate 18, and the left / right airflow direction plate motor 52 swings at the set angle according to an operation mode or an instruction from a remote controller. Move.

  The vertical airflow direction plate 19 is made of a single plate-like member capable of closing the airflow port h2 when the operation is stopped, and the airflow port h2 located on the downstream side of the horizontal airflow direction plate 18 is horizontally (left and right width direction). ), And is swingable in the vertical direction. The lower surface 19a of the vertical wind direction plate 19 constitutes the outer shape of the bottom of the indoor unit main body 100a when the operation is stopped. The vertical airflow direction plate 19 is supported by the indoor unit main body 100a via a plurality of vertical hinge portions (not shown) protrudingly provided on the upper surface 19b of the upstream end portion, and the downstream end with the vertical hinge portion as the center. The part swings up and down. A vertical airflow direction plate motor 53 is connected to the vertical airflow direction plate 19, and the vertical airflow direction motor 53 opens and closes the air outlet h2 in accordance with an operation mode, an instruction from a remote controller, and the like. The plate 19 is swung at a set angle.

  The remote control transmission / reception unit 13 includes a remote control light receiving element 13a (see FIG. 4) and has a function of transmitting / receiving a signal to / from the remote control 300. For example, the remote controller 300 transmits signals to the indoor unit 100 such as a run / stop command, a change in set temperature, a timer setting, and a change in operating mode. Further, the detected values of the room temperature and humidity are transmitted from the indoor unit 100 to the remote controller 300 and displayed on the remote controller 300.

  The remote control light receiving element 13a has sensitivity in the near infrared band (900 nm to 980 nm) and detects an optical signal in the near infrared band emitted by the remote controller 300.

  The image pickup means 14 picks up an image of the air-conditioned room A1, and includes an optical lens 14a, an image pickup element body 14b, an A / D converter 14c, and a digital signal processing section 14d, as shown in FIG. There is. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the image pickup means 14 is disposed between the front panel 17 of the indoor unit main body 100a and the vertical wind direction plate 19 in a state in which the rotary shaft is oriented downward by a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal direction. It is installed rotatably in the left-right direction via 14e. Then, the image pickup means 14 can appropriately pick up an image in every corner of the room of the air-conditioned room A1 (see FIG. 6) by rotating downward with a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal direction. The installation position and angle of the image pickup means 14 are appropriately set according to the specifications and uses of the air conditioner S, the size of the air conditioning room A1, and the like. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the image pickup means 14 incorporates a movable visible light cut filter 20 and a light emitting means 61.

The visible light cut filter 20 is installed on the front side of the image pickup means 14 via a disk-shaped installation member Q (see FIG. 2) axially supported by the rotary shaft 14e (see FIG. 4), It is rotated as necessary to cover the front surface of the image pickup means 14 and block light in the visible light band incident on the image pickup means 14. The visible light cut filter 20 is rotated by a filter moving motor 21, and the filter moving motor 21 is driven by an instruction from the drive control means 313.
The optical lens 14a is a lens for adjusting the imaging range (angle of view) and focus of the imaging means 14.
The imaging element body 14b is a group of light receiving elements that generate captured image information by photoelectrically converting light that is incident through the optical lens 14a. A CCD sensor (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS sensor (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) can be used as the image pickup device body 14b. Further, the imaging element body 14b is set to sense light in a wavelength band of visible light and a partial wavelength band (for example, 380 nm to 1000 nm) of the wavelength band of near infrared rays.

The A / D converter 14c has a function of converting an analog signal input from the imaging element body 14b into a digital signal.
The digital signal processing unit 14d has a function of correcting the image brightness and color tone of the image information input from the A / D converter 14c.

  The light emitting means 61 is composed of a plurality of light emitting diodes 62 in which the wavelength of emitted light is set in the near infrared band (900 nm to 980 nm) centered around 940 nm. The light emitting means 61 is electrically connected to the image capturing means 14 as a light source when the image capturing means 14 captures an infrared image.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the light emitting diodes 62 as the light emitting means 61 are installed so that their optical axes (irradiation directions) L are along the determined direction. For example, three directions, diagonal right, front, and diagonal left are set in the horizontal direction (horizontal direction), and two directions, horizontal and diagonal downward, are set in the vertical direction. The axis L is set in six directions (diagonal right / horizontal direction, diagonal right / diagonal downward direction, front / horizontal direction, front / diagonal downward direction, diagonal left / horizontal direction, diagonal left / diagonal downward direction). The horizontal and downward slant angles are set to various angles according to the shape and size of the room where the indoor unit 100 is installed. That is, the light emitting diode 62 is installed such that the optical axis L is horizontal or downward. The light emitting diode 62 with the optical axis L installed obliquely downward illuminates the feet and floor direction of the person in the room, and the light emitting diode 62 with the optical axis L installed horizontally extends to the upper part of the room. Illuminate.

  The light emitting means 61 includes a plurality of light emitting diodes 62 for one optical axis L. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, two light emitting diodes 62 whose optical axis L is set to the front / horizontal direction and two light emitting diodes 62 whose optical axis L is set to the front / diagonal downward direction are installed. There is. Further, three light emitting diodes 62 having the optical axis L set to the diagonal right / diagonal downward direction and three light emitting diodes 62 having the optical axis L set to the diagonal left / diagonal downward direction are installed.

  When a plurality of light-emitting diodes whose optical axes L face the same direction are arranged like the light-emitting diodes 62 whose optical axis L is set in the front / horizontal direction, one of the light-emitting diodes 62 is in the visible light band. The light emitting diode 62 of the other side may be a combination of different diodes that emit the light of the near infrared band. By combining in this way, when detecting the floor plan of the air conditioning room A1 described later, when the inside of the air conditioning room A1 is dim and it is difficult to image in the visible light band, the light emitting diode 62 in the visible light band is turned on. Then, control for shooting may be performed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control means 3 includes a camera microcomputer 31 and a main microcomputer 32.
The camera microcomputer 31 includes a storage unit 311, an image processing unit 312, and a drive control unit 313.
The storage unit 311 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which a control program for the image processing unit 312 and the drive control unit 313 is stored, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) in which the control program is expanded.
The image processing unit 312 includes an obstacle detection unit 312a, a floor plan detection unit 312b, and a human body detection unit 312c.
The obstacle detection means 312a detects an obstacle in the air-conditioned room A1 based on the captured image information input from the imaging means 14 (that is, measures the size of the obstacle from the ceiling and the distance to the obstacle). It has a function.
The floor plan detecting means 312b has a function of detecting the floor plan of the air-conditioned room A1.

The human body detecting means 312c has a function of detecting a person present in the air-conditioned room A1 based on the imaged image information taken by the imaging means 14 in the visible light band. The human body detecting means 312c extracts the head, chest, arms, legs, etc. of the human body based on the above-mentioned image information, and calculates the position of the person based on the positional relationship between the extracted respective parts.
The processing results of the obstacle detection means 312a, the floor plan detection means 312b, and the human body detection means 312c are output to the main microcomputer 32.
It should be noted that the obstacle detection unit 312a and the floor plan detection unit 312b derive the positional relationship between the indoor unit and the obstacle, and the positional relationship between the indoor unit and the person is derived from the processing result of the human body detection unit 312c. As shown in, the positional relationship between the obstacle detecting means and the person can be derived.

  The drive control unit 313 has a function of controlling the filter moving motor 21 according to the processing content performed by the image processing unit 312. For example, when the obstacle detection unit 312a detects an obstacle in the air-conditioned room A1, the drive control unit 313 drives the filter moving motor 21 to move the visible light cut filter 20 to the front side of the image pickup unit 14. .. Further, when the floor plan detection means 312b detects the floor plan of the air-conditioned room A1 and when the human body detection means 312c detects the human body, the drive control means 313 causes the image pickup means 14 to be exposed. The motor 21 is driven to retract the visible light cut filter 20 from the front of the image pickup means 14.

The environment detection unit 41 includes a thermal image acquisition unit 41a and an illuminance detection unit 41b.
The thermal image acquisition unit 41 a acquires thermal image information indicating the temperature distribution of the air-conditioned room A <b> 1, and is installed in the housing base 15. The thermal image acquisition unit 41a includes a plurality of image pickup devices (not shown) that photoelectrically convert far infrared rays radiated from the wall surface, windows, and the like of the air conditioning room A1.
The illuminance detector 41b is a sensor that detects the illuminance of the air-conditioned room A1, and is installed on the housing base 15. The detection values of the thermal image acquisition unit 41a and the illuminance detection unit 41b are output to the main microcomputer 32, respectively.

  The main microcomputer 32 includes a storage unit 321, an arithmetic processing unit 322, and a drive control unit 323. Although not shown, the storage unit 321 includes a ROM in which the programs of the arithmetic processing unit 322 and the drive control unit 323 are stored, and a RAM in which the above-mentioned programs are expanded.

  The arithmetic processing means 322 is based on the signal received by the remote controller transmitting / receiving section 13, the processing result of the image processing means 312, and the detection result of the environment detecting means 41, and the rotation speed command value of the fan motor 51 and the left / right wind direction. It has a function of calculating rotation angle command values of the plate motor 52 and the vertical wind direction plate motor 53. The arithmetic processing means 322 also has a function of exchanging information for driving a compressor (not shown) and an outdoor fan with a microcomputer (not shown) of the outdoor unit 200.

Next, referring to FIG. 6 to FIG. 8, a rectangular air-conditioning room A1 in which the vicinity of the ceiling of the air-conditioning room is partitioned into two by an obstacle formed by a descending wall WD hanging from the ceiling so as to cross the air-conditioning room is formed. A ventilation mode when a person is present in the room will be described according to the procedure of the flowcharts of FIGS. 9 to 12.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between an obstacle from the ceiling and a person in the air-conditioning room A1 in which the indoor unit is installed. FIG. 6A shows a case where the person is closer to the indoor unit than the obstacle from the ceiling. , (B) represent the case where the person is farther from the indoor unit than the obstacle from the ceiling. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram simulating an indoor image taken by the imaging means. 8A and 8B are explanatory views showing the blowing direction of the indoor unit. FIG. 8A shows a case where a person is closer to the indoor unit than an obstacle from the ceiling, and FIG. 8B is an indoor unit than a person from the ceiling. It represents the case far from.

First, the floor plan of the air conditioning room A1 is detected.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart regarding detection of the floor plan of the air conditioning room A1.
In step S101, the control unit 3 causes the drive control unit 313 (see FIG. 3) to drive the filter moving motor 21 to move the visible light cut filter 20 and expose the image pickup unit 14.

In step S102, the control unit 3 detects the floor plan of the air-conditioned room A1 by the floor plan detection unit 312b (see FIG. 3) from the image information captured by the image capturing unit 14.
For example, on the image shown in FIG. 7, the control means 3 determines the boundary line between the wall W and the wall W, the wall W and the floor F, and the wall W and the ceiling T based on the difference in the brightness of each wall W and the floor F. G1, G2, G3 and the lower edge G of the falling wall WD are detected. The way in which sunlight shines in and the way light hits the illumination differ from wall to wall, and the way in which the light reflects is also different, so the walls W and floor F are captured with different brightness in the captured image. Thereby, the boundary lines G and G1 to G3 can be detected. Further, when the control means 3 detects the boundary lines G, G1 to G3, the control means 3 also specifies an intersection H where the boundary lines G, G1 to G3 intersect.

  In step S103, the control means 3 stores the detection result of step S102 in the storage means 311 (see FIG. 3), and ends the processing (END).

Next, the falling wall WD hanging from the ceiling is detected.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart regarding the detection of an obstacle from the ceiling. In addition, at the time of "START" in FIG. 10, it is assumed that the detection result of the floor plan of the air-conditioned room is stored in the storage unit 311 (see FIG. 3).

  In step S201, the control unit 3 drives the filter moving motor 21 (see FIG. 3) to move the visible light cut filter 20 to a position covering the front surface of the image pickup unit 14.

  In step S202, image information (first image) captured without causing the light emitting means 61 to emit light is acquired.

In step S203, image information (second image) captured while the light emitting means 61 is emitting light is acquired.
The photocurrent generated in each image sensor 14b is converted into a digital signal in the A / D converter 14c (see FIG. 3), and this digital signal is detected by the digital signal processing unit 14d (see FIG. 3) as an obstacle. It is output to the means 312a.

In step S204, the control means 3 calculates the brightness difference from the image information acquired in step S202 and step S203 by the obstacle detection means 312a, and extracts the difference image.
Note that it is desirable that the frame rate and the exposure time are the same so that the brightness does not change depending on the parameter of the image capturing unit in the captured image acquisition in step S202 and step S203.

  In step S205, the control unit 3 sets the brightness difference threshold B by the obstacle detection unit 312a. The brightness difference threshold B is a threshold serving as a determination reference for extracting a region having a large brightness difference in step S204. For example, when there are obstacles from the back wall of the air-conditioning room A1 and the ceiling in the foreground, the obstacles from the ceiling in the foreground reflect more light of the light emitting means 61, and thus the brightness is higher. The difference becomes high.

In step S206, the control unit 3 causes the obstacle detection unit 312a to perform filtering based on the feature amount. In this embodiment, a position filter based on position and a shape filter based on shape are set.
The position filter utilizes the fact that it is close to the ceiling surface, which is a feature of obstacles from the ceiling, and performs the detection processing only in the area near the ceiling in the image.
The shape filter is limited to a shape that is connected from the ceiling surface and a shape that is substantially parallel to the ceiling surface and the floor surface, and identifies an obstacle from the ceiling.

  In step S207, the control unit 3 calculates the position of the obstacle from the ceiling together with the floor plan information of the air-conditioned room A1 detected by the floor plan detection unit 312b. The distance between the indoor unit and the obstacle from the ceiling is calculated by the value of the brightness difference. For example, when the obstacle from the ceiling is close to the indoor unit, the light amount of the light emitting means 61 reaches a large amount and the light amount of the reflected light is also large, so that the brightness difference becomes larger, and conversely, the obstacle from the ceiling is indoors. When it is far from the machine, the light amount of the light emitting means 61 is hard to reach, and the difference in luminance is small.

  In step S208, the control unit 3 stores in the storage unit 311 (see FIG. 3) the position information of the obstacle from the ceiling calculated in step S207, the size of each part, and the like.

Next, the person present in the air-conditioned room A1 is detected.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart regarding detection of a person who is in the air-conditioned room A1.

  In step S401, the control unit 3 causes the drive control unit 313 (see FIG. 3) to drive the filter moving motor 21 to move the visible light cut filter 20 and expose the image pickup unit 14.

In step S402, the control means 3 extracts the person present in the air-conditioned room A1 from the image information captured by the image capturing means 14 in step S403.
For example, it is determined whether or not the person is a person based on the shapes of the head and shoulders.

In step S404, the control unit 3 captures an image from the indoor unit 100 based on the correlation between the average size and shape of the head and shoulders in the image and the distance from the indoor unit 100 based on the image information. Calculate the distance to the person.
For example, if the head in the image information is larger than the averaged size of the head located at a predetermined distance from the indoor unit 100, it is determined that there is a person closer than the predetermined distance, and The distance is calculated from the difference in size.

  In step S405, the control unit 3 stores the detection result of step S404 in the storage unit 311 (see FIG. 3), and ends the process (END).

Next, the positional relationship between the falling wall WD and the person in the air-conditioned room A1 is determined, and the blowing direction is changed according to the operation mode.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart regarding determination of which of a person in the air-conditioned room and an obstacle from the ceiling is closer to the indoor unit.

  In step S501, the control means 3 calls the information of the down wall which is an obstacle and the information of the person present in the room, and confirms the current operation mode in step S502.

In step S503, the control means 3 compares the distance from the indoor unit 100 to the falling wall WD with the distance from the indoor unit 100 to the person present in the room.
As shown in FIG. 6A, when the person M1 is located closer to the indoor unit 100 than the down wall WD, in step S504, air is blown in the direction set for each operation mode.
For example, during the cooling operation, the direction of the vertical wind direction plate 19 is adjusted so that the downstream end of the vertical wind direction plate 21 faces the horizontal direction, and as shown in FIG. In order to prevent the person M1 from directly hitting, the conditioned air is directed toward the falling wall WD and blown in the horizontal direction (front). In addition, during the heating operation, the direction of the vertical wind direction plate 19 is adjusted so that the downstream end of the vertical wind direction plate 21 faces the floor surface closer to the indoor unit 100 than the person, and the warm air is directed toward the human body. Blow toward your feet.
As shown in FIG. 6B, when the person M2 is located farther from the indoor unit 100 than the descending wall WD, in step S505, air is blown in the direction set for each operation mode.
For example, during the cooling operation, the direction of the vertical airflow direction plate 19 is adjusted so that the downstream end of the vertical airflow direction plate 21 faces downward from the lower end portion of the falling wall WD, and as shown in FIG. As shown in the drawing, the conditioned air is blown downward and is blown in an obliquely downward direction so that the cold air can reach a distant place. Further, also during the heating operation, similarly, the conditioned air is directed downward to the bottom of the wall WD and is blown obliquely downward.

Next, as shown in FIG. 13, when the down wall (obstacle) WDa hanging from the ceiling is provided along the right wall (horizontal wall) WS orthogonal to the down wall WA on which the indoor unit 100 is installed. A method of detecting the falling wall WDa of No. 5 will be described according to the procedure of the flowchart of FIG.
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between an obstacle from the ceiling and a person in the air-conditioned room A2 in which the indoor unit is installed. FIG. 14 is a three-dimensional explanatory diagram that imitates an image obtained by imaging the interior of the room by rotating the imaging means 14 to the right.
In the floor plan of the air conditioning room A2, the falling wall WDa from the ceiling is formed on the wall surface of the right wall WS that is orthogonal to the falling wall WA where the indoor unit 100 is installed and forms an L shape, along the wall surface. It is hung from.

  In step S301, the control unit 3 causes the drive control unit 313 (see FIG. 3) to drive the filter moving motor 21 to move the visible light cut filter 20 and expose the image pickup unit 14.

  In step S302, the control unit 3 extracts the down wall WDa from the image information captured by the image capturing unit 14 in step S303. Further, the boundary lines G1, G2, G3 between the wall W and the wall W, the wall W and the floor F, the right wall WS and the ceiling T, and the lower edge Ga of the falling wall WD are detected from the captured image information, and the lower edge Ga is detected. The angle X formed by the horizontal auxiliary line (horizontal line, alternate long and short dash line) is calculated.

In step S304, the control means 3 calculates the distance from the indoor unit 100 to the falling wall WDa based on the calculated angle X. In the present embodiment, in the captured image, the angle X formed by the falling wall WDa and the horizontal auxiliary line is closer to the indoor unit, the angle becomes closer to the horizontal, and the further it is, the larger the angle of inclination becomes, and thus the distance is calculated. Is calculated.
When the floor plan is detected, it may be combined with the acquired boundary line information. By combining them, the angle X becomes clear, so that the accuracy of the distance from the indoor unit 100 to the falling wall WDa can be increased.

  In step S305, the control unit 3 stores the detection result of step S304 in the storage unit 311 (see FIG. 3), and ends the process (END).

  In the present embodiment, a detection method for obtaining the distance to the obstacle by the brightness difference and a detection method for obtaining the distance to the down wall WDa from the angle X formed by the lower edge Ga of the down wall WDa and the horizontal auxiliary line. In order to make the description easy to understand, the two types of air-conditioning rooms A1 and A2 are illustrated and described in separate flowcharts, but these detection methods may be continuously (combined) executed. Then, by continuously executing the calculation, it becomes possible to calculate the distance for a more complicated air-conditioning room or a down wall having a complicated shape.

  Further, since the frequency of changes in the floor plan and the positions of obstacles in the air-conditioning room A1 is smaller than the positions of the persons M1 to M4 who are in the air-conditioning room A1, the floor-planning detection and the detection of the falling wall WD are not performed. The position of the persons M1 to M4 may be detected at any time, although it may be about once at the start. Then, the information of the falling wall WD is stored in the storage unit 311 and the load of the microcomputer is reduced by calling the information of the falling wall WD every time the positional relationship with the persons M1 to M4 in the room is detected. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the power consumption while improving the processing speed.

  In this embodiment, the brightness difference and the angle of the boundary line are used to detect the falling wall WD, but the present invention is not limited to these methods. For example, the time until the optical signal or the sound wave signal transmitted from the indoor unit 100 is reflected and returned is measured, and the distance from the indoor unit 100 to the falling wall WD is determined based on the length of the measured time. You may use the method of calculating.

  As described above, in the air conditioner S according to the present embodiment, the control unit 3 detects the positions of the person and the falling wall WD, and determines whether the person is closer to the indoor unit body 100a than the falling wall WD or is farther from the indoor unit body 100a. By adjusting the direction of the up-down airflow direction plate 19 and changing the air blowing direction, it is possible to provide a comfortable temperature environment to a person who is in the room with the falling wall WD.

  Further, in the cooling operation state, when the person is closer to the indoor unit body 100a than the lower wall WD, the control means 3 controls the vertical wind direction plate so that the downstream end of the vertical wind direction plate 21 faces the horizontal direction. When the direction of 19 is adjusted and the air is blown toward the horizontal direction (obstacle, falling wall), and the person is farther from the indoor unit main body 100a than the falling wall WD, the downstream end of the vertical wind direction plate 21 is , The person stays in the same place for a long time by adjusting the direction of the vertical wind direction plate 19 so as to face downward from the lower end of the falling wall WD and blowing the air downward from the lower end of the falling wall WD. Even in this case, the conditioned air (cold air) does not continue to hit the person, and a comfortable temperature environment can be provided.

  The boundary between the ceiling and the falling wall WD can be made clear by including the detection range of the obstacle detection means 312a above the horizontal direction. As a result, the accuracy of calculating the distance from the indoor unit main body 100a to the falling wall WD is increased, and the positional relationship with a person becomes accurate, so that a more comfortable temperature environment can be provided.

  By comparing the first image and the second image, external factors such as solar radiation are eliminated, and the down wall WD can be determined only by the light emission of the light emitting means 61, so that the down wall WD determination accuracy can be improved. .. Thereby, a more comfortable temperature environment can be provided.

  By capturing the second image by using the light in the infrared band, not the visible light band, the person in the room does not notice the light emission of the light emitting means 61. As a result, it is possible to determine the falling wall WD with high accuracy without making the person feel uncomfortable, and it is possible to provide a more comfortable temperature environment.

  The control unit 3 calculates the distance between the indoor unit 100 and the falling wall WDa from the angle X formed by the lower edge Ga of the falling wall WDa and the horizontal auxiliary line in the captured image, so that the indoor unit Even when the falling wall WD is set at a place other than the front of 100, the positional relationship between the falling wall WDa and the persons M3 and M4 present in the room can be calculated. As a result, a comfortable temperature environment can be provided to the air-conditioned room with various floor plans.

  The obstacle detection means 312a compares the first image and the second image and calculates the distance to the falling wall WD according to the light amount of the reflected light, so that the structure of the entire device can be lowered with high accuracy. The distance of the wall WD can be calculated.

  By securing the required amount of light with the plurality of light emitting diodes 62, it is not necessary to newly develop a large amount of light emitting diode 62, and the required amount of light can be realized at low cost.

S Air conditioner 100a Indoor unit main body 3 Control means 14 Imaging means 19 Vertical wind direction changing means 61 Light emitting means 62 Light emitting diode 312a Obstacle detecting means 312c Human body detecting means A1, A2 Air conditioning room WD, WDa Obstacles (falling wall)
M1 to M4 people

Claims (8)

A human body detection unit that is installed in the indoor unit body and detects the position of a person,
Obstacle detecting means installed in the indoor unit main body and configured to detect the position of an obstacle, which is a descending wall suspended from the ceiling,
Up / down wind direction changing means for changing the blowing direction,
During the cooling operation, when the person is positioned in a location close to the indoor unit main body than the obstacle, the conditioned air is blown toward the obstacle by upper and lower air direction changing means, whereas, the people When located at a location farther from the indoor unit body than the obstacle, control means for controlling the direction of the vertical wind direction changing means so as to blow the conditioned air below the lower end of the obstacle,
An air conditioner comprising:   The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the obstacle detecting unit detects a range including an area above the horizontal direction. The obstacle detection means,
An image pickup means installed in the indoor unit main body so that an image of the air-conditioned room in which the indoor unit main body is installed can be taken;
A light emitting means installed near the image pickup means so as to emit light toward the room;
Equipped with
A first image captured by the image capturing unit without causing the light emitting unit to emit light;
The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the obstacle is detected by comparing the second image captured by the image capturing unit with the light emitting unit emitting light. The imaging unit has a light receiving element having a sensitivity in at least an infrared band,
The air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the light emitting means comprises a light emitting diode that emits light in an infrared band. The obstacle detection means,
The air conditioner according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the first image and the second image are compared with each other, and the distance to the obstacle is calculated based on the amount of reflected light. The control means is
The distance between the indoor unit main body and the obstacle is calculated from the angle formed by the edge of the obstacle and the horizontal line in the captured image. Air conditioner. The light emitting means is
The air conditioner according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of the light emitting diodes are provided for one optical axis. A human body detecting unit installed in the indoor unit main body for detecting the position of a person; and an obstacle detecting unit installed in the indoor unit main body for detecting the position of an obstacle;
Up / down wind direction changing means for changing the blowing direction,
The direction of the vertical wind direction changing means when the person is located closer to the indoor unit body than the obstacle, and the direction when the person is located farther from the indoor unit body than the obstacle. e Bei and control means for the orientation of the vertical airflow direction change means is controlled to be different,
The obstacle detection means,
An image pickup means installed in the indoor unit main body so that an image of the air-conditioned room in which the indoor unit main body is installed can be taken;
A light emitting means installed near the image pickup means so as to emit light toward the room;
Equipped with
A first image captured by the image capturing unit without causing the light emitting unit to emit light;
By comparing the second image captured by the image capturing unit with the light emitting unit emitting light, the obstacle is detected ,
The control means is
From the edge and the angle between the horizontal lines of the obstacle in the captured the image, air conditioner characterized by calculating the distance between the indoor unit main body and the obstacle.

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