JP7325617B2 - Air conditioner management device and air conditioner management method - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to management of air conditioners.

One of the methods of air conditioners is the convection air conditioning method. In the convection air conditioning system, an air conditioner sucks in air from inside or outside the room and controls the temperature of the sucked air. Then, the air conditioner blows out the temperature-controlled air into the indoor space, thereby adjusting the temperature and humidity of the air in the indoor space.

In the case of the convection air conditioning system, if the air (cold air or warm air) after temperature control hits people in the indoor space directly, people will feel discomfort due to cold air or warm air, and comfort will decrease. .

On the other hand, there is a technique of setting a lower limit value and an upper limit value on the temperature of air blown out from an air conditioner (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 5054935

In the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1, when the blown air temperature is lower than the lower limit during cooling and dehumidification operation, the cooling capacity of the air conditioner is limited regardless of whether cold air hits people. As a result, the air temperature and humidity of the entire indoor space rises. Further, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the blown air temperature exceeds the upper limit value during the heating and humidifying operation, the heating capacity of the air conditioner is limited regardless of whether or not the warm air hits the person. As a result, the temperature and humidity of the air in the entire indoor space are lowered.

As described above, in the technique of Patent Document 1, the air conditioning capability of the air conditioner is limited regardless of whether or not there is an air conditioning object (for example, a person) at the destination of the blown air from the air conditioner. . For this reason, in the technique of Patent Document 1, the air conditioning capacity is limited even when there is no need to limit the air conditioning capacity because there is no air conditioning object at the blowing destination of the blown air, and the overall comfort of the indoor space is improved. There is a problem that sexuality is impaired.

The main object of the present disclosure is to solve such problems. More specifically, the main object of the present disclosure is to achieve both the comfort of the air conditioning object existing at the blowing destination of the blown air and the overall comfort of the indoor space.

The air conditioner management device according to the present disclosure includes
a temperature determination unit that determines whether or not the blown air temperature, which is the temperature of the blown air from the air conditioner, exceeds a threshold value;
an object determination unit that determines whether an air-conditioning object exists at a destination of the blown air;
and a capacity control unit that limits the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner when the temperature of the blown air exceeds the threshold and the object of the air conditioning exists at the destination of the blown air.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to achieve both the comfort of the air-conditioned object existing at the blowing destination of the blown air and the comfort of the entire indoor space.

1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an air conditioning system according to Embodiment 1; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of air conditioners according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of an air conditioner management device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a functional configuration example of an air conditioner management device according to Embodiment 1; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a refrigerant circuit according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an outside air processing unit according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a blowout destination area according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a blowout destination area according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the air conditioner management device during cooling and dehumidifying operation according to Embodiment 1; 4 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the air conditioner management device during heating/humidifying operation according to Embodiment 1; 4 shows an example of a blowout destination area management table according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4 shows an example of a temperature management table according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an air conditioning capacity management table according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the air conditioner management device during cooling and dehumidifying operation according to Embodiment 2; FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a blowout destination area according to the third embodiment; FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a blowout destination area according to the third embodiment; FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the air conditioner management device during cooling and dehumidifying operation according to Embodiment 3; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a blowout destination area management table according to the third embodiment; FIG.

Embodiment 1.
Throughout the specification and drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same or corresponding parts.

*** Configuration description ***
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of an air conditioning system according to this embodiment.
The air conditioning system according to the present embodiment includes an outdoor unit 10 , an outside air processing unit 20 , a human position detection device 60 and an air conditioner management device 100 . The combination of the outdoor unit 10 and the outdoor air processing unit 20 is also called an air conditioner.
A space to be air-conditioned by the outdoor unit 10 and the outdoor air processing unit 20 is called an indoor space.

The outdoor unit 10 and the outdoor air processing unit 20 are connected by a refrigerant pipe 30 .
The outdoor air processing unit 20 is connected to the outdoor space by a duct 40 . The outdoor air processing unit 20 takes in outdoor air and blows out indoor air through a duct 40 . Also, the outside air processing unit 20 is connected to the indoor space by a duct 40 . The outdoor air processing unit 20 blows out outdoor air through the outlet 41 and takes in indoor air through the inlet 42 . In addition, a blown air temperature measuring device 50 and an indoor air humidity measuring device 51 are installed in the outside air processing unit 20 .
A human position detection device 60 is installed in the indoor space.

The blown air temperature measuring device 50 measures the blown air temperature. The blown air temperature is the temperature of the blown air blown out from the outside air processing unit 20 .
The indoor air humidity measuring device 51 measures the indoor air humidity. The indoor air humidity is the humidity of the air in the indoor space.

In FIG. 1 , a blown air temperature measuring device 50 and an indoor air humidity measuring device 51 are installed inside the outside air processing unit 20 . However, the blown air temperature measuring device 50 may be installed at the blower outlet 41 . Also, the indoor air humidity measuring device 51 may be installed at the suction port 42 or at a position where it is important to adjust the humidity in the indoor space (near a person's location, etc.).

The human position detection device 60 detects the position of a person who is an object of air conditioning by the air conditioner. The human position detection device 60 is, for example, a human sensor.

The air conditioner management device 100 manages air conditioners. In this embodiment, the air conditioner management device 100 manages the outside air processing unit 20 .
The operation performed by the air conditioner management device 100 corresponds to the air conditioner management method.

In this embodiment, the indoor space is air-conditioned using a plurality of outdoor air processing units 20 .
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the outdoor air processing units 20A to 20F are used to air-condition the indoor space. Hereinafter, the outside air processing units 20A to 20F are collectively referred to as the outside air processing unit 20 when there is no need to distinguish them.
The outdoor air processing units 20A-C are connected to the outdoor unit 10X. On the other hand, the outdoor air processing units 20D-F are connected to the outdoor unit 10Y.
Also, the outlet 41 of the outside air processing unit 20A is referred to as an outlet 41A. The air outlet 41 of the outside air processing unit 20B is referred to as an air outlet 41B. The air outlets 41 of the outside air processing units 20C-F are similarly denoted as air outlets 41C-41F.
In FIG. 2, the air conditioner management device 100 is not connected to all of the outside air processing units 20, but this is for reasons of drawing, and the air conditioner management device 100 is connected to all of the outside air processing units 20. and manages all the outside air processing units 20 .

FIG. 3 shows a hardware configuration example of the air conditioner management device 100 according to this embodiment.

Air conditioner management device 100 according to the present embodiment is a computer.
The air conditioner management device 100 includes a processor 901, a main storage device 902, an auxiliary storage device 903, and a communication device 904 as hardware.
In addition, as will be described later, the air conditioner management apparatus 100 has, as a functional configuration, a blown air temperature acquisition unit 101, a temperature limit value acquisition unit 102, a temperature determination unit 103, an object detection result acquisition unit 104, an object determination unit 105, and A capability control unit 106 is provided.
The auxiliary storage device 903 stores a program that implements the functions of the blown air temperature acquisition unit 101, the temperature limit value acquisition unit 102, the temperature determination unit 103, the object detection result acquisition unit 104, the object determination unit 105, and the capacity control unit 106. It is
These programs are loaded from the auxiliary storage device 903 to the main storage device 902 . Then, the processor 901 executes these programs to control the operations of the blown air temperature acquisition unit 101, the temperature limit value acquisition unit 102, the temperature determination unit 103, the object detection result acquisition unit 104, the object determination unit 105, and the capacity control unit 106. conduct.
In FIG. 3, the processor 901 executes a program that implements the functions of the blown air temperature acquisition unit 101, the temperature limit value acquisition unit 102, the temperature determination unit 103, the object detection result acquisition unit 104, the object determination unit 105, and the capacity control unit 106. Schematically represents the state of

FIG. 4 shows a functional configuration example of the air conditioner management device 100. As shown in FIG.

The blown air temperature acquisition unit 101 acquires the blown air temperature measured by the indoor air humidity measuring device 51 from the indoor air humidity measuring device 51 . Then, the blown air temperature acquisition unit 101 notifies the temperature determination unit 103 of the acquired blown air temperature.

A temperature limit acquisition unit 102 acquires a blown air temperature limit. The blowing air temperature limit value is a limit value of the blowing air temperature and is a threshold value. When the outside air processing unit 20 is performing the cooling and dehumidifying operation, the blown air temperature limit value is the lower limit value of the blown air temperature. Hereinafter, the lower limit of the blown air temperature will be referred to as the lower limit of temperature. When the outside air processing unit 20 is performing the heating and humidifying operation, the blown air temperature limit value is the upper limit value of the blown air temperature. Hereinafter, the upper limit value of the blown air temperature will be referred to as the temperature upper limit value.
The temperature limit value acquisition unit 102 notifies the temperature determination unit 103 of the acquired blown air temperature limit value.

The temperature determination unit 103 determines whether or not the blown air temperature exceeds the blown air temperature limit value. That is, when the outside air processing unit 20 is performing the cooling and dehumidifying operation, the temperature determination unit 103 determines whether or not the blown air temperature is below the temperature lower limit. On the other hand, when the outside air processing unit 20 is performing the heating and humidifying operation, the temperature determination unit 103 determines whether or not the blown air temperature exceeds the temperature upper limit.
Then, the temperature determination unit 103 notifies the object determination unit 105 and the capacity control unit 106 of the determination result.

The object detection result acquisition unit 104 acquires the human position detection result from the human position detection device 60 as an object detection result. In the present embodiment, the object of air conditioning is a person, so the temperature determination unit 103 acquires the detection result of the position of the person from the human position detection device 60 as the object detection result. When the object of air conditioning is an animal, the temperature determination unit 103 acquires the detection result of the position of the animal from the human position detection device 60 or other sensors. An example in which the object of air conditioning is a person will be described below.
The object detection result acquisition unit 104 notifies the object determination unit 105 of the object detection result.

The object determination unit 105 determines whether or not there is a person at the destination of the blown air based on the object detection result notified from the object detection result acquisition unit 104 .
It is assumed that the object determination unit 105 stores the area of the blowing destination of the blown air (hereinafter referred to as the blowing destination area) for each outside air processing unit 20 . The object determining unit 105 determines that there is a person at the blowing destination of the blown air when the blowing destination area and the position of the person indicated by the object detection result match.
The object determination unit 105 notifies the ability control unit 106 of the determination result.

When the temperature determining unit 103 determines that the temperature of the blown air exceeds the blown air temperature limit value and the object determining unit 105 determines that a person is present at the destination of the blown air, the capacity control unit 106 adjusts the air Limit the air conditioning capacity of the conditioner. Specifically, capacity control section 106 outputs a control signal for limiting the air conditioning capacity to outside air processing unit 20 .

When the air conditioner is performing cooling and dehumidifying operation, if the temperature of the air being blown out is lower than the lower temperature limit and there is a person at the destination of the air being blown, the discharged air (cold air) that is cooler than the lower temperature limit will hit the person. . In this case, there is a high possibility that people will feel discomfort due to the cold wind. Therefore, capacity control unit 106 limits the cooling and dehumidifying capacity of the air conditioner so that the blown air temperature does not exceed the temperature lower limit value, thereby reducing discomfort caused by cold air.
Also, when the air conditioner is performing heating/humidifying operation, if the temperature of the discharged air is higher than the upper temperature limit and there is a person at the destination of the discharged air, the discharged air (warm air) is warmer than the upper temperature limit. corresponds to a person. In this case, there is a high possibility that people will feel discomfort due to the warm air. Therefore, capacity control unit 106 limits the heating and humidifying capacity of the air conditioner so that the blown air temperature does not exceed the temperature upper limit value, thereby reducing discomfort caused by warm air.

Note that when the object determination unit 105 determines that there is no person at the blowing destination of the blown air, the capacity control unit 106 does not limit the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner. At this time, if the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner has already been limited, the capacity control unit 106 cancels the limitation of the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner. Further, when the temperature determining unit 103 determines that the blown air temperature does not exceed the blown air temperature limit value, if the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner is already limited, the capacity control unit 106 Release the restriction on the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of a refrigerant circuit according to this embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 5 , the outdoor unit 10 has a compressor 11 , a four-way valve 12 , an outdoor heat exchanger 13 and an outdoor unit fan 14 . The outside air processing unit 20 also has an expansion valve 21 and an outside air processing heat exchanger 22 .

A refrigerant circuit is configured by annularly connecting the compressor 11, the four-way valve 12, the outdoor heat exchanger 13, the expansion valve 21, and the outside air processing heat exchanger 22 with a refrigerant pipe 30. FIG.

The compressor 11 compresses low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant into high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant. The compressor 11 is driven by, for example, an inverter, and its capacity (amount of refrigerant discharged per unit time) is controlled.
The four-way valve 12 switches the refrigerant flow according to the operation mode of the air conditioner, for example, the cooling/dehumidifying operation or the heating/humidifying operation.
The outdoor heat exchanger 13 exchanges heat between the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant circuit and the outdoor air.
An outdoor unit fan 14 is adjacent to the outdoor heat exchanger 13 . The outdoor unit fan 14 blows air to the outdoor heat exchanger 13 . By controlling the number of revolutions of the outdoor unit fan 14, the amount of air blown can be adjusted.
The expansion valve 21 is configured by a valve whose degree of opening can be variably controlled, such as an electronic expansion valve. By controlling the degree of opening of the expansion valve 21, the amount of pressure reduction of the refrigerant is controlled.
The outside air processing heat exchanger 22 exchanges heat between the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant circuit and the air taken in from the outside.
By controlling the number of revolutions of the fan of the air supply blower 24 shown in FIG. 6, the amount of air blown to the outside air processing heat exchanger 22 can be adjusted.

FIG. 6 shows a configuration example of the outside air processing unit 20. As shown in FIG.
The outside air processing unit 20 includes an outside air processing heat exchanger 22, a total heat exchanger 23, a supply air blower 24 for supplying outdoor air to the indoor space, and an exhaust air blower for discharging the indoor air to the outside. 25, a humidifying device 26, a blown air temperature measuring device 50, and an indoor air humidity measuring device 51 are mounted.

During the cooling and dehumidifying operation, the outside air taken into the outside air processing unit 20 is heat-exchanged with the room air taken in by the total heat exchanger 23 . After the heat exchange, the air is temperature-controlled by the outside air processing heat exchanger 22 and then blown out into the indoor space (solid arrow). During the heating and humidifying operation, the air is humidified by the humidifying device 26 and blown into the indoor space. The indoor air taken in is heat-exchanged with the outside air in the total heat exchanger 23, and the air after the heat exchange is blown out to the outdoor space (broken line arrow).

***Description of operation***
An operation example of the air conditioner management device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described below.

As a premise, it is assumed that a blowout destination area is set for each outside air processing unit 20 shown in FIG. For example, as indicated by the dashed lines in FIG. 7, the indoor space may be evenly divided according to the number and positions of the outlets 41 to set the outlet areas.
Alternatively, the range to which the air blown from the outlet 41 hits is measured in advance using a wind speed sensor or the like, or estimated by simulation or the like, and the range obtained by measurement or estimation is defined as the blowout destination area. can be set to In this case, for example, a range indicated by a rectangle in FIG. 8 is obtained as the blowing destination area.
Note that the blowing destination area is also simply referred to as an area.

It is assumed that the object determination unit 105 holds, for example, a blowout destination area management table shown in FIG. 11 .
The object determination unit 105 manages the position coordinates of the blowing destination area for each outside air processing unit 20 in the blowing destination area management table of FIG. 11 . The blow destination area management table in FIG. 11 shows the X and Y coordinates of four points in the blow destination area (rectangle).

It is also assumed that the temperature lower limit value is set in advance for each outside air processing unit 20 or each outlet 41 .
The same temperature lower limit value may be uniformly set for all the outside air processing units 20 , or different temperature lower limit values may be set for each outside air processing unit 20 . Also, the lower temperature limit can be changed by the user of the air conditioner management device 100 . For example, the user of the air conditioner management device 100 can change the lower temperature limit while the air conditioner management device 100 is operating.

Similarly, it is assumed that the temperature upper limit value is set in advance for each outside air processing unit 20 or each outlet 41 .
The same temperature upper limit value may be uniformly set for all the outside air processing units 20 , or different temperature upper limit values may be set for each outside air processing unit 20 . Also, the upper temperature limit can be changed by the user of the air conditioner management device 100 . For example, the user of the air conditioner management device 100 can change the upper temperature limit while the air conditioner management device 100 is operating.

When the temperature lower limit value and the temperature upper limit value are different for each outside air processing unit 20 , the temperature limit value acquisition unit 102 acquires the temperature lower limit value or the temperature upper limit value from each outside air processing unit 20 .
The temperature determination unit 103 manages the temperature lower limit value or the temperature upper limit value for each outside air processing unit 20 acquired by the temperature limit value acquisition unit 102, for example, using a temperature management table shown in FIG.
In the temperature management table of FIG. 12, the temperature lower limit value is managed for each outside air processing unit 20 . When the heating/humidifying operation is performed, a temperature management table is used in which the temperature upper limit value is described.

Further, it is assumed that the capacity control unit 106 holds an air conditioning capacity management table shown in FIG. 13, for example.
Using the air conditioning capacity management table of FIG. 13, the capacity control unit 106 manages whether or not the air conditioning capacity of each outside air processing unit 20 is limited.

Based on the above, an operation example of the air conditioner management device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG.
FIG. 9 shows an operation example of the air conditioner management device 100 when the air conditioner performs the cooling and dehumidifying operation.
FIG. 10 shows an operation example of the air conditioner management device 100 when the air conditioner performs the heating and humidifying operation.

First, with reference to FIG. 9, an operation example of the air conditioner management device 100 when the air conditioner performs the cooling and dehumidifying operation will be described.
Note that FIG. 9 shows an operation example of the air conditioner management device 100 for one set of the outside air processing unit 20 and the outlet 41 . As shown in FIG. 2 , when there are a plurality of pairs of the outside air processing unit 20 and the outlet 41, the air conditioner management device 100 performs the flow shown in FIG. 9 for each pair of the outside air processing unit 20 and the outlet 41. to implement.

First, in step S<b>901 , the temperature limit acquisition unit 102 acquires the temperature lower limit from the outside air processing unit 20 . The temperature limit value acquisition unit 102 notifies the temperature determination unit 103 of the acquired temperature lower limit value. The temperature determination unit 103 sets the notified lower temperature limit value in the temperature management table of FIG. 12 .

Next, in step S<b>902 , the blown air temperature acquisition unit 101 acquires the blown air temperature of the outside air processing unit 20 from the blown air temperature measuring device 50 . Blown air temperature acquiring unit 101 notifies temperature determination unit 103 of the acquired blowing air temperature.

Next, in step S903, the temperature determination unit 103 determines whether or not the blown air temperature is below the temperature lower limit. More specifically, the temperature determination unit 103 compares the blown air temperature notified from the blown air temperature acquisition unit 101 and the lower temperature limit value of the relevant outside air processing unit 20 in the temperature management table of FIG. 12 .
Then, the temperature determination unit 103 notifies the object determination unit 105 and the capacity control unit 106 of the determination result.

When the temperature determining unit 103 determines that the blown air temperature is lower than the temperature lower limit value (YES in step S903), the object determining unit 105 determines whether there is a person in the blowing destination area of the outside air processing unit 20 in step S904. determines whether or not there is
Specifically, the object determination unit 105 determines that the location of the person indicated in the object detection result acquired by the object detection result acquisition unit 104 is the corresponding external air processing unit 20 in the blowout destination area management table of FIG. It is determined whether or not it is included in the coordinate range of the destination area. It is assumed that the object detection result acquisition unit 104 periodically acquires the object detection result from the human position detection device 60 independently of the flow of FIG. 9 and notifies the object determination unit 105 of the object detection result.
The object determination unit 105 notifies the ability control unit 106 of the determination result.

On the other hand, if the temperature determination unit 103 determines that the blown air temperature is not below the temperature lower limit (NO in step S903), the process proceeds to step S906.

When the object determination unit 105 determines that there is a person in the blowing destination area of the outside air processing unit 20 (YES in step S904), in step S905, the capacity control unit 106 controls the blowing air temperature to be equal to or higher than the lower temperature limit. limit the air conditioning capacity of the outside air treatment unit 20 to . For example, the capacity control unit 106 limits the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing unit 20 by adjusting the degree of opening of the expansion valve, adjusting the frequency of the compressor, adjusting the air volume of the fan, and the like. More specifically, capacity control unit 106 limits the air conditioning capacity by lowering the degree of opening of the expansion valve, lowering the frequency of the compressor, increasing the air volume of the fan, or a combination thereof. The capacity control unit 106 outputs to the outside air processing unit 20 a control signal for the degree of opening of the expansion valve, a control signal for the frequency of the compressor, and a control signal for the air volume of the fan.
Note that the method of limiting the air conditioning capacity by the capacity control unit 106 is not limited to these methods.

On the other hand, when the object determination unit 105 determines that there is no person in the blowing destination area of the outside air processing unit 20 (NO in step S904), or the temperature determination unit 103 determines that the temperature of the blown air is not lower than the temperature lower limit value. If yes (NO in step S903), in step S906, the capacity control unit 106 determines whether or not the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing unit 20 has already been limited. Specifically, the capacity control unit 106 refers to the air conditioning capacity management table of FIG. 13 to determine whether or not the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing unit 20 has already been limited.
If the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing unit 20 has already been limited (YES in step S906), the capacity control section 106 cancels the limitation of the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing unit 20 in step S907. For example, the capacity control unit 106 returns the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing unit 20 to the level before the limitation by readjusting the degree of opening of the expansion valve, readjusting the frequency of the compressor, and readjusting the air volume of the fan. The capacity control unit 106 outputs to the outside air processing unit 20 a control signal for the degree of opening of the expansion valve, a control signal for the frequency of the compressor, and a control signal for the air volume of the fan.

If the air conditioning capability of the outside air processing unit 20 is not limited (NO in step S906), the process returns to step S902.

When the operation of the outside air processing unit 20 ends (YES in step S908), the air conditioner management device 100 ends the processing for the outside air processing unit 20.
On the other hand, if the outside air processing unit 20 continues to operate (NO in step S908), the process returns to step S902.

The operation of the air conditioner management device 100 during the heating and humidifying operation shown in FIG. 10 is basically the same as the operation shown in FIG.
The operations in FIG. 10 are the same as those in FIG. 9, except that the temperature upper limit is acquired in step S1001 and the blown air temperature is compared with the temperature upper limit in step S1003. That is, steps S1002 and steps S1004 to S1008 are the same as steps S902 and steps S904 to S908 in FIG.

***Description of the effect of the embodiment***
In the present embodiment, the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner is limited when the blown air temperature exceeds the blown air temperature limit value and there is an air conditioning object at the blowing destination of the blown air. Therefore, when there is a person at the blowing destination of the cool air or warm air, it is possible to avoid discomfort due to the cold air or warm air hitting the person. In addition, when there is no one at the destination of the cold air or warm air, the air conditioning ability is maintained, so the comfort of the entire indoor space can be maintained. As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to achieve both the comfort of the person at the blowing destination of the blown air and the comfort of the entire indoor space.

Embodiment 2.
In this embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.
Matters not described below are the same as those in the first embodiment.

In the present embodiment, when the air conditioning capacity of any one of the plurality of air conditioners is limited, capacity control unit 106 controls the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner whose air conditioning capacity is limited. To increase the air conditioning capacity of an air conditioner other than a certain limited air conditioner. That is, in the present embodiment, capacity control unit 106 increases the air conditioning capacity of air conditioners other than the limited air conditioners to complement the limited air conditioning capacity of the limited air conditioners.

For example, when the temperature of the air blown from the air outlet 41A shown in FIG. 8 is lower than the temperature lower limit value and there are people in the air outlet area A, the capacity control unit 106 limits the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing unit 20A. . In this case, the outside air processing unit 20A corresponds to the limited air conditioner. Due to the limitation of the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing unit 20A, the temperature of the blowing destination area A and its surroundings rises. In order to suppress this temperature rise, the capacity control unit 106 increases the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing unit 20 near the outside air processing unit 20A if there are no people in the blowing destination area near the blowing destination area A. For example, assume that there are no people in blow-out areas B, D, and E, which are blow-out areas near blow-out area A. In this case, the capacity control section 106 increases the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing units 20B, 20D and 20E. As a result, the temperature of the blowout destination area A and its surroundings can be brought to the same level as the temperature of other parts of the indoor space.
For example, the capacity control unit 106 acquires the temperatures of the blowing destination areas A, B, D and E. Then, the capacity control unit 106 increases the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing units 20B, 20D and 20E so that the temperature of the blowing destination area A becomes the same as the temperature of the blowing destination areas B, D and E.
In addition, the capacity control section 106 may increase the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing units 20B, 20D and 20E in order to adjust the humidity in the blowout destination area A and its surroundings. That is, the capacity control unit 106 acquires the humidity of the blowing destination areas A, B, D and E. Then, the capacity control unit 106 increases the air conditioning capacity of the external air processing units 20B, 20D and 20E so that the humidity in the blowout destination area A becomes the same as the humidity in the blowout destination areas B, D and E.

FIG. 14 shows an operation example of the air conditioner management device 100 according to the present embodiment during the cooling and dehumidifying operation. An example in which the air conditioner management device 100 performs processing on the outside air processing unit 20B will be described below.

In FIG. 14, steps S901 to S908 are the same as those shown in FIG. 9, so description thereof will be omitted.
If the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing unit 20B is not limited in step S906, the capacity control unit 106 determines whether the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing unit 20 near the outside air processing unit 20B is limited in step S909. determine whether or not Specifically, the capacity control unit 106 refers to the air conditioning capacity management table of FIG. 13 to determine whether or not the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing unit 20 near the outside air processing unit 20B is restricted. In the example of FIG. 13, the air conditioning capability of the outside air processing unit 20A near the outside air processing unit 20B is restricted.
Therefore, in step S910, capacity control section 106 increases the air conditioning capacity of outside air processing unit 20B.
For example, the capacity control unit 106 increases the opening degree of the expansion valve, increases the frequency of the compressor, decreases the air volume of the fan, or increases the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing unit 20B by a combination thereof.

The capacity control unit 106 performs similar processing to the outside air processing unit 20D and the outside air processing unit 20E, thereby improving the temperature and humidity of the blowing destination area A by increasing the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing units 20B, D and E. can do.

Note that the operation of the air conditioner management apparatus 100 during heating and humidification can be realized by adding steps S909 and S910 to FIG.

In this embodiment, the air conditioning capacity of air conditioners other than the limited air conditioner is increased to complement the limited air conditioning capacity of the limited air conditioner. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, even if the air conditioning capacity of an air conditioner is limited, it is possible to keep the temperature and humidity of the blowing destination area comfortable by increasing the air conditioning capacity of other air conditioners. can.

Embodiment 3.
In this embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.
Matters not described below are the same as those in the first embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the air outlet 41 is provided with a mechanism capable of adjusting the wind direction. Further, in the present embodiment, the outside air processing unit 20 can change the blowing direction of the blown air according to an instruction from the air conditioner management device 100 . Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the blower outlet 41A is provided with three blowout directions, and therefore the blower outlet 41A has three blowout destination areas. Specifically, the blowout port 41A has a blowout destination area 501, a blowout destination area 502, and a blowout destination area 503. As shown in FIG. Note that FIG. 15 shows a state in which the outlet 41A and the blowout destination areas 501 to 503 are viewed from the horizontal direction. FIG. 16 shows a state in which the outlet 41A and the blowout destination areas 501 to 503 are viewed from the vertical direction.
In addition, in advance, the range where the blowing direction is switched and the blown air from the blowing port 41A hits is measured using a wind speed sensor or the like, or estimated by simulation etc., and obtained by measurement or estimation The range may be set to the blowout destination areas 501-503.
15 and 16 show an example of the blowout destination area of the blowout port 41A, but other blowout ports 41 also have the same blowout destination area configuration.

FIGS. 15 and 16 show examples of blow-out destination areas obtained when the blow-out direction is switched to the vertical direction. Instead of this, the blowing destination area obtained when the blowing direction is switched to the horizontal direction may be used. In addition, although the examples of FIGS. 15 and 16 show three blowout destination areas corresponding to three blowout directions, more blowout destination areas may be provided by providing more blowout directions. Also, in FIGS. 15 and 16, there is no overlap between the blowout destination areas 501 to 503, but there may be overlap between the blowout destination areas.

FIG. 17 shows an operation example of the air conditioner management device 100 according to the present embodiment during the cooling and dehumidifying operation. An example in which the air conditioner management device 100 performs processing for the outside air processing unit 20A and the outlet 41A will be described below.

In FIG. 17, steps S901 to S903 are the same as those shown in FIG. 9, so description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, in step S904, the object determination unit 105 determines whether or not there is a person in any of the blowout destination areas 501 to 503 of the blowout port 41A.
In this embodiment, it is assumed that the object determination unit 105 holds a blowout destination area management table shown in FIG. The object determination unit 105 determines whether the location of the person indicated in the object detection result acquired by the object detection result acquisition unit 104 is the coordinates of any one of the blowout destination areas 501 to 503 shown in the blowout destination area management table of FIG. Determine whether or not it is included in the range. Further, when the object determination unit 105 determines that a person exists in any of the blowout destination areas 501 to 503 of the blowout port 41A, in step S911, the blowout destination area where no person exists (hereinafter referred to as an unmanned area) is determine whether there is If there is an unmanned area, the object determination unit 105 notifies the ability control unit 106 of the unmanned area. For example, if there are people in the destination areas 501 and 502 but no people in the destination area 503, the object determination unit 105 determines that there are people in the destination areas 501 and 502. However, it notifies the ability control unit 106 that there is no person in the blow destination area 503 .

If there is no uninhabited area in step S911, the process proceeds to step S905. That is, in the present embodiment, if the blown air temperature is lower than the temperature lower limit and there is a person in one of the blowing destination areas, the capacity control unit 106 changes the blowing direction of the blown air to the direction where there is no person. limit the air conditioning capacity of the outside air processing unit 20A when it is not possible.
Note that the processing itself of step S905 is the same as that shown in FIG. 9, and thus the description thereof is omitted.
Further, since the processing after step S906 is the same as that shown in FIG. 9, the description is omitted.

On the other hand, if there is an unmanned area in step S911, in step S912 the capacity control unit 106 determines to change the blowing direction to the direction of the unmanned area. In other words, if the blown air temperature is lower than the temperature lower limit value and there are people in one of the blowing destination areas, but the blowing direction of the blown air can be changed to the direction where there are no people, the capacity control unit 106 , to change the blowing direction of the blowing air to the direction where no one is present without limiting the air conditioning capability of the outside air processing unit 20A.
In the above-described example, since the blowout destination area 503 is an unmanned area, the capacity control unit 106 determines to switch the blowout destination of the air blown from the blowout port 41A to the blowout destination area 503 . Then, capacity control section 106 outputs a control signal for switching the blowing destination to blowing destination area 503 to outside air processing unit 20A.
It should be noted that if the blowout destination of the blowout port 41A is already the blowout destination area 503, the capacity control unit 106 does not output the control signal.
After that, the processing after step S906 is performed.

The operation of the air conditioner management device 100 during heating and humidification can be realized by adding steps S911 and S912 to FIG.

As described above, in the present embodiment, if the air blowing direction can be switched to avoid cold air or hot air blowing on people, the blowing direction is only changed, and the air conditioning capacity is not limited. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the chances of limiting the air-conditioning ability, and it is possible to keep the temperature and humidity of the indoor space comfortable.

Although the first to third embodiments have been described above, two or more of these embodiments may be combined for implementation.
Alternatively, one of these embodiments may be partially implemented.
Alternatively, two or more of these embodiments may be partially combined for implementation.
Also, the configurations and procedures described in these embodiments may be changed as necessary.

Also, in the above description, a configuration including an outside air processing unit has been described as an example of an air conditioner, but the air conditioner is not limited to a configuration including an outside air processing unit. For example, the air conditioner may be an internal air conditioner that draws indoor air and adjusts the temperature.

***Description of hardware configuration***
Finally, a supplementary description of the hardware configuration of the air conditioner management device 100 will be given.
A processor 901 shown in FIG. 3 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) that performs processing.
The processor 901 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or the like.
The main memory device 902 shown in FIG. 3 is a RAM (Random Access Memory).
The auxiliary storage device 903 shown in FIG. 3 is a ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or the like.
The communication device 904 shown in FIG. 3 is an electronic circuit that performs data communication processing.
The communication device 904 is, for example, a communication chip or a NIC (Network Interface Card).

The auxiliary storage device 903 also stores an OS (Operating System).
At least part of the OS is executed by the processor 901 .
While the processor 901 executes at least part of the OS, the functions of the blown air temperature acquisition unit 101, the temperature limit value acquisition unit 102, the temperature determination unit 103, the object detection result acquisition unit 104, the object determination unit 105, and the capacity control unit 106 Run a program that implements
Task management, memory management, file management, communication control, and the like are performed by the processor 901 executing the OS.
Information, data, signal values, and information indicating the processing results of the blown air temperature acquisition unit 101, the temperature limit value acquisition unit 102, the temperature determination unit 103, the object detection result acquisition unit 104, the object determination unit 105, and the capacity control unit 106 At least one of the variable values is stored in at least one of the main memory device 902, the auxiliary memory device 903, the registers in the processor 901, and the cache memory.
Further, the program that realizes the functions of the blown air temperature acquisition unit 101, the temperature limit value acquisition unit 102, the temperature determination unit 103, the object detection result acquisition unit 104, the object determination unit 105, and the capacity control unit 106 can be a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, , an optical disc, a compact disc, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disc, a DVD, or other portable recording medium. A portable record that stores a program that implements the functions of the blown air temperature acquisition unit 101, the temperature limit value acquisition unit 102, the temperature determination unit 103, the object detection result acquisition unit 104, the object determination unit 105, and the capacity control unit 106. The medium may be commercially distributed.

Further, the "parts" of the blown air temperature acquisition unit 101, the temperature limit value acquisition unit 102, the temperature determination unit 103, the object detection result acquisition unit 104, the object determination unit 105, and the capacity control unit 106 are replaced with "circuits" or "processes." Alternatively, it may be read as "procedure" or "processing".
Also, the air conditioner management device 100 may be realized by a processing circuit. The processing circuits are, for example, logic ICs (Integrated Circuits), GAs (Gate Arrays), ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), and FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays).
In this case, the blown air temperature acquisition unit 101, the temperature limit value acquisition unit 102, the temperature determination unit 103, the object detection result acquisition unit 104, the object determination unit 105, and the capacity control unit 106 are each realized as part of the processing circuit. be.
In this specification, the general concept of processors and processing circuits is referred to as "processing circuitry."
Thus, processors and processing circuitry are each examples of "processing circuitry."

10 outdoor unit, 11 compressor, 12 four-way valve, 13 outdoor heat exchanger, 14 outdoor unit fan, 20 outdoor air processing unit, 21 expansion valve, 22 outdoor air processing heat exchanger, 23 total heat exchanger, 24 air supply blower Means 25 Exhaust air blower 26 Humidification device 30 Refrigerant pipe 40 Duct 41 Air outlet 42 Suction port 50 Blown air temperature measurement device 51 Indoor air humidity measurement device 60 Human position detection device 100 Air conditioner machine management device 101 blow-out air temperature acquisition unit 102 temperature limit value acquisition unit 103 temperature determination unit 104 object detection result acquisition unit 105 object determination unit 106 capacity control unit 501 blow-out area 502 blow-out area, 503 blowing destination area, 901 processor, 902 main storage device, 903 auxiliary storage device, 904 communication device.

Claims (7)

a temperature determination unit that determines whether or not the blown air temperature, which is the temperature of the blown air from the air conditioner, exceeds a threshold value;
an object determination unit that determines whether an air-conditioning object exists at a destination of the blown air;
The temperature of the blown air exceeds the threshold value, the air conditioning object exists at the blowing destination of the blown air, and the blowing direction of the blown air cannot be changed to a direction in which the air conditioning object does not exist. In the case, limiting the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner ,
The temperature of the blown air exceeds the threshold value, the object of the air conditioning exists at the blowing destination of the blown air, and the blowing direction of the blown air can be changed to a direction in which the object of the air conditioning does not exist. and a capacity control unit for changing the blowing direction of the blown air to a direction in which the air conditioning object does not exist without limiting the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner. The ability control unit
The air conditioner management device according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner is restricted so that the blown air temperature does not exceed the threshold value. The ability control unit
2. When the air conditioning object does not exist at the blowing destination of the blown air and the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner is already limited, the limitation of the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner is released. The air conditioner management device according to . The ability control unit
2. The air according to claim 1, wherein when the blown air temperature does not exceed the threshold value and the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner is already limited, the restriction on the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner is released. Harmony machine management device. The air conditioner management device is
Manage multiple air conditioners
The ability control unit
When the air conditioning capacity of any one of the plurality of air conditioners is limited, the air conditioners other than the limited air conditioner that limits the air conditioning capacity The air conditioner management device according to claim 1, which increases air conditioning capacity. The ability control unit
6. The air conditioner management device according to claim 5, wherein the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioners other than the limited air conditioner is increased to compensate for the limited air conditioning capacity of the limited air conditioner. The computer determines whether the blown air temperature, which is the temperature of the blown air from the air conditioner, exceeds the threshold,
The computer determines whether or not there is an air-conditioning object at the destination of the blown air,
The temperature of the blown air exceeds the threshold value, the air conditioning object exists at the blowing destination of the blown air, and the blowing direction of the blown air cannot be changed to a direction in which the air conditioning object does not exist. when the computer limits the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner ,
The temperature of the blown air exceeds the threshold value, the object of the air conditioning exists at the blowing destination of the blown air, and the blowing direction of the blown air can be changed to a direction in which the object of the air conditioning does not exist. In this case, an air conditioner management method in which the computer changes the blowing direction of the blown air to a direction in which the air conditioning object does not exist without limiting the air conditioning capability of the air conditioner.

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