JP7377333B2 - air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioner.

In general, air conditioners have been proposed that are capable of performing air conditioning control according to the preferences of the user of the air conditioner. For example, an air conditioner has been proposed that identifies the user based on image information obtained by imaging the user of the air conditioner, and changes the air conditioning settings to the air conditioning settings that are stored and associated with that user. (For example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-220612

However, with the conventional technology, it is difficult to perform air conditioning control for a specific location other than a person.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that facilitates air conditioning control for a specific location other than a person.

The air conditioner of the present invention includes an indoor unit that includes a fan, a wind direction control section that controls the direction of airflow generated by the fan, and a main control section that controls the operation of the wind direction control section, and a light emitting section that emits light. and an operation terminal that operates the operation of the indoor unit using the light emitted from the light emitting section, the main control section having a memory, and the main control section controlling the operation of the indoor unit using the light emitted from the light emitting section. A light emitting position, which is the position of the light emitting unit when the unit emits light, is recorded in the memory as a control target position of the air conditioning control, and the control target position is the position of the air conditioning control in the room in cooperation with the air conditioner. When the control target position is at least one of a ventilation fan, a dehumidifier, and an air cleaner that improve efficiency, and the control target position is at least one of the ventilation fan and dehumidifier, the main control unit The main control unit controls the operation of the wind direction control unit so as not to blow air toward the target position, and when the control target position is the position of the air cleaner, the main control unit controls the operation of the wind direction control unit so as not to blow air toward the target position. The operation of the wind direction control unit is controlled so as to perform the following.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an air conditioner that facilitates air conditioning control for a specific location other than a person.

1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of an indoor unit. (a) and (b) are diagrams showing an example of the hardware configuration of a main control unit. FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of an operating terminal. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation (specifically, location registration processing) of an air conditioner. It is a figure showing an example of an image acquired by an image sensor part.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of an air conditioner 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The air conditioner 1 includes an indoor unit 100 and an operation terminal 200 that operates the indoor unit 100. The air conditioner 1 may further include an outdoor unit connected to the indoor unit 100.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the indoor unit 100.
The indoor unit 100 includes a fan 101 , a wind direction control section 102 , an image sensor section 103 , a light receiving section 104 , a functional section 105 , a communication section 106 , and a main control section 107 .

Fan 101 generates airflow. For example, the fan 101 is rotated by a motor provided in the indoor unit 100 to generate airflow.

The wind direction control section 102 has a flap 102a and a louver 102b. The wind direction control unit 102 controls the direction of the airflow generated by the fan 101.

The flap 102a controls the direction of the airflow from the indoor unit 100 in the vertical direction. For example, when the air conditioning control is to blow air toward the light emitting position, which is the position of the light emitting unit 201 when the light emitting unit 201 emits light, the flap 102a is set such that the airflow from the indoor unit 100 is directed toward the light emitting position. Operate. On the other hand, when the air conditioning control is to blow air in a direction other than the light emitting position, the flap 102a operates so that the airflow from the indoor unit 100 is directed in a direction other than the light emitting position.

The louver 102b controls the direction of airflow from the indoor unit 100 in the lateral direction. For example, when the air conditioning control is to blow air toward the light emitting position, the louver 102b operates so that the airflow from the indoor unit 100 is directed toward the light emitting position. On the other hand, when the air conditioning control is to blow air in a direction other than the light emitting position, the louver 102b operates so that the airflow from the indoor unit 100 is directed in a direction other than the light emitting position.

The image sensor unit 103 includes, for example, a plurality of image sensors. The image sensor unit 103 is a device that detects images, such as a thermal image sensor or a camera. The image sensor unit 103 may be a device that obtains temperature distribution in a control range of air conditioning control.

The light receiving unit 104 detects a signal transmitted from the operating terminal 200. The light receiving unit 104 is, for example, a sensor that detects a signal transmitted from the operating terminal 200.

The signal transmitted from operation terminal 200 is, for example, an infrared signal. In this case, the light receiving section 104 is an infrared sensor.

The functional unit 105 controls the operation mode of the indoor unit 100. The operation mode is, for example, heating operation, cooling operation, dehumidification operation, or ventilation operation.

The communication unit 106 receives the signal transferred from the light receiving unit 104. For example, the communication unit 106 transfers the signal transferred from the light receiving unit 104 to the main control unit 107 as a control signal.

The main control unit 107 controls the fan 101 , the wind direction control unit 102 , the image sensor unit 103 , the light receiving unit 104 , the functional unit 105 , and the communication unit 106 . Main control unit 107 may have a memory in which information (for example, information indicating the position of operation terminal 200) is stored. For example, the main control unit 107 controls the operation of the wind direction control unit 102.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing examples of the hardware configuration of the main control unit 107.

The main control unit 107 includes, for example, a processor 107a and a memory 107b. The processor 107a is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes a program stored in the memory 107b. In this case, the functions of the main control unit 107 are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. Software and firmware can be stored in memory 107b as programs.

The memory 107b is a computer-readable recording medium, and includes, for example, volatile memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory), nonvolatile memory, or a combination of volatile memory and nonvolatile memory. It is.

The main control unit 107 may be configured with a processing circuit 107c as dedicated hardware such as a single circuit or a composite circuit. In this case, the functions of the main control section 107 are realized by the processing circuit 107c.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the operating terminal 200.
The operation terminal 200 includes a light emitting section 201 that emits light, a display section 202, an operation section 203, a communication section 204, and a control section 205 (also referred to as a terminal control section). The operating terminal 200 is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, or a remote controller. The operating terminal 200 operates the operation of the indoor unit 100 using light emitted from the light emitting section 201.

The light emitting unit 201 is a light source that emits light. The light emitting unit 201 converts a control instruction from a user into a signal such as an infrared signal, and outputs the converted signal to the indoor unit 100. However, a light source that emits light other than infrared light may be used as the light emitting unit 201.

The display unit 202 displays the setting states of the air conditioner 1, such as the set temperature, set humidity, air volume, wind direction, and operation mode. The display unit 202 is, for example, a liquid crystal screen.

Instructions such as starting or stopping the air conditioner 1, setting temperature, air volume, wind direction, operation mode, and location registration processing are input into the operation unit 203 by the user. The operation unit 203 is, for example, a push button or a touch panel. The user of the air conditioner 1 uses the operation unit 203 to transmit control instructions to the air conditioner 1.

The communication unit 204 transfers a signal (for example, a user's control instruction) transmitted from the control unit 205 to the light emitting unit 201.

The control unit 205 controls the light emitting unit 201, the display unit 202, the operation unit 203, and the communication unit 204. For example, the control unit 205 transmits a control instruction input by the user from the operation unit 203 to the communication unit 204. Similarly to the main control unit 107, the hardware configuration shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B can be applied to the control unit 205 as well.

Next, a description will be given of a position registration process which is a process of registering a control target position in the indoor unit 100. The control target position is a position as a control target of air conditioning control. For example, the control target position is a specific position other than a person.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation (specifically, location registration processing) of the air conditioner 1.
In step S1, when the user operates the operating terminal 200, the state of the operating terminal 200 shifts to a position registration processing state.

In step S2, the user uses the operating terminal 200 to send an instruction to the indoor unit 100 to start the location registration process. Specifically, when the user operates the operating terminal 200, the light emitting unit 201 emits light, and a signal for starting the location registration process (referred to as a start signal) is transmitted from the operating terminal 200 to the indoor unit 100 (specifically, is transmitted toward the light receiving section 104).

The light emitted from the light emitting unit 201 (for example, infrared light) may include a control instruction other than the start signal, for example, a control instruction for selecting a driving mode.

When the light emitting section 201 emits light, it is desirable that the light emitting section 201 is directed toward the indoor unit 100. The light emitting unit 201 lights up or blinks during a predetermined period.

In step S3, the start signal input to the light receiving section 104 is input to the main control section 107 through the communication section 106.

In step S4, the main control unit 107 controls the image sensor unit 103 so that the image sensor unit 103 detects the position of the operating terminal 200. The image sensor unit 103 detects an image in front of the indoor unit 100. Specifically, image sensors arranged in the vertical direction simultaneously scan in the vertical direction. Therefore, by continuously scanning in the lateral direction, an image in front of the indoor unit 100 is detected. However, the image detection method is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the image sensor unit 103 may detect an image in front of the indoor unit 100 by simultaneously scanning in the vertical and horizontal directions.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an image acquired by the image sensor unit 103.
The image sensor section 103 detects the light emitted from the light emitting section 201 (for example, the light 201a shown in FIG. 6) when the light emitting section 201 emits light. Specifically, while the light emitting unit 201 is emitting light, the image sensor unit 103 scans the front of the indoor unit 100 and acquires an image (i.e., image data) as shown in FIG. 6 .

When the light emission from the light emitting unit 201 is blinking, the image sensor unit 103 may acquire two or more images. When the light emission from the light emitting unit 201 is blinking, the position of the light emitting unit 201 (that is, the light emitting position) when the light emitting unit 201 emits light can be specified with high accuracy.

When the scanning of the image sensor unit 103 is completed, the image (ie, image data) acquired by the image sensor unit 103 is transmitted to the main control unit 107 (step S5).

In step S6, the main control unit 107 identifies the position of the operation terminal 200 using the light emission position detected by the image sensor unit 103. Specifically, the main control unit 107 acquires an image (i.e., image data) from the image sensor unit 103, and determines the position of the light from the light emitting unit 201 in the image (i.e., the position of the light 201a shown in FIG. 6). position). Thereby, the position of the operation terminal 200 (specifically, the light emitting unit 201) is detected. In steps S5 to S6, the image sensor unit 103 may detect the position of the light from the light emitting unit 201, and the image sensor unit 103 may transmit position information indicating the position of the light to the main control unit 107.

In step S7, the main control unit 107 determines whether the position of the light from the light emitting unit 201 within the image has been detected.

If the main control unit 107 is able to detect the position of the light from the light emitting unit 201 within the image (Yes in step S7), the process proceeds to step S8.

If the main control unit 107 cannot detect the position of the light from the light emitting unit 201 within the image (No in step S7), the position registration process ends. In this case, the user may perform the location registration process again from step S1.

In step S8, the main control unit 107 registers the position of the light from the light emitting unit 201 detected in step S7 (ie, the light emitting position) as the position to be controlled for air conditioning control. For example, the main control unit 107 records the light emission position in the memory as a control target position for air conditioning control. In this case, the memory is, for example, the memory 107b shown in FIG.

In step S9, the user uses the operating terminal 200 to send to the indoor unit 100 a control instruction for air conditioning control for the light position registered in step S8.

A control instruction (also referred to as function assignment) for air conditioning control is, for example, whether to blow air toward a position to be controlled or to blow air in a direction other than the position to be controlled. The control instructions for air conditioning control may be settings of the air conditioner 1 such as target temperature, target humidity, air volume, air direction, or operation mode.

When a plurality of control target positions are registered in the indoor unit 100, a control instruction for each control target position is transmitted to the indoor unit 100. As a result, control details are assigned to each control target position registered in the indoor unit 100. The plurality of control target positions are, for example, positions of devices described later.

A control instruction for air conditioning control input to the light receiving unit 104 is input to the main control unit 107 through the communication unit 106. Control instructions for air conditioning control are recorded in the memory of the main control unit 107 (for example, the memory 107b shown in FIG. 3).

In step S10, the main control unit 107 performs control based on the control instruction input to the indoor unit 100 from the operating terminal 200 (i.e., user instruction) or the content recorded in the memory of the main control unit 107 (e.g., light emitting position). Then, the operation of the wind direction control unit 102 is controlled to perform air conditioning control for the control target position registered in step S8. The wind direction control unit 102 performs air conditioning control on a light emitting position, which is the position of the light emitting unit 201 when the light emitting unit 201 emits light.

The air conditioning control is, for example, control to blow air toward a light emitting position registered as a control target position or control to blow air toward a direction other than the light emitting position. For example, the main control section 107 controls the direction of the airflow from the wind direction control section 102 by changing the direction of the flap 102a and the louver 102b. Furthermore, the main control section 107 controls the settings of the air conditioner 1 by controlling the functional section 105 according to the control instructions.

After the process in step S10, the user may further execute the process in step S1 again. Thereby, one or more control target positions can be registered in the indoor unit 100.

For example, the user performs the process from step S1 described above again at a position that the user wants to register as a control target position. Thereby, various control target positions can be registered in the indoor unit 100.

The control target position is, for example, the position of a device. The equipment is, for example, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a ventilation fan, an electric fan, a dehumidifier, or an air cleaner. By setting the positions of these devices in the air conditioner 1 as control target positions, the air conditioner 1 can perform air conditioning control in cooperation with these devices.

When the control target position is the temperature sensor position, air conditioning control is control that adjusts the temperature at the light emitting position as the control target position. In this case, the indoor unit 100 adjusts the temperature of the airflow at the control target position preferentially over other positions so that the temperature at the control target position approaches the target temperature.

When the control target position is the position of the humidity sensor, air conditioning control is control that adjusts the humidity at the light emitting position as the control target position. In this case, the indoor unit 100 adjusts the humidity of the airflow at the control target position more preferentially than at other positions so that the humidity at the control target position approaches the target humidity.

When the control target position is the position of the ventilation fan, the air conditioning control is control to blow air in a direction other than the light emitting position. That is, the wind direction control unit 102 is controlled so as not to blow air toward the ventilation fan. This can prevent the airflow from the indoor unit 100 from directly flowing into the ventilation fan, and can prevent the efficient ventilation by the ventilation fan from being inhibited.

When the control target position is the position of the electric fan, the air conditioning control is control for blowing air toward the light emitting position. That is, the wind direction control unit 102 is controlled to blow air toward the electric fan. By directing the airflow from the indoor unit 100 toward the electric fan, the amount of indoor air circulated by the electric fan can be improved.

When the control target position is the dehumidifier position, the air conditioning control is control to blow air in a direction other than the light emitting position. That is, the wind direction control unit 102 is controlled so as not to blow air toward the dehumidifier. Thereby, the efficiency of the dehumidifier can be increased, and indoor dehumidification can be efficiently performed using the dehumidifying functions of the air conditioner 1 and the dehumidifier.

When the control target position is the position of the air cleaner, the air conditioning control is control for blowing air toward the light emitting position. That is, the wind direction control unit 102 is controlled to blow air toward the air cleaner. By directing the airflow from the indoor unit 100 toward the air cleaner, indoor air is efficiently collected into the air cleaner. Thereby, the efficiency of the air purifier (ie, the amount of indoor air purification) can be improved.

As described above, by registering the positions of various devices in the air conditioner 1 as control target positions, the functions of each device can be fully demonstrated. This makes it possible to improve the efficiency of indoor air conditioning control in cooperation with various devices.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the user can easily instruct the air conditioner 1 about the position to be controlled for air conditioning control by operating the operating terminal 200. Since the user performs the above-described position registration process at a position to be registered as a control target position, the user can intuitively instruct the air conditioner 1 as to an area to be exposed to wind or an area not to be exposed to wind.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide an air conditioner 1 that facilitates air conditioning control for a specific location other than a person.

Furthermore, by operating the operating terminal 200, the user can easily instruct the air conditioner 1 to select a device that performs air conditioning control in cooperation with the air conditioner 1. For example, by registering the temperature sensor position or the humidity sensor position in the indoor unit 100 as the control target position, temperature control or humidity control at the control target position can be performed preferentially.

1 air conditioner, 100 indoor unit, 101 fan, 102 wind direction control section, 102a flap, 102b louver, 103 image sensor section, 104 light receiving section, 105 functional section, 106 communication section, 107 main control section, 200 operation terminal, 201 light emitting unit, 201a light, 202 display unit, 203 operation unit, 204 communication unit, 205 control unit.

Claims (6)

an indoor unit including a fan, a wind direction control section that controls the direction of airflow generated by the fan, and a main control section that controls the operation of the wind direction control section;
An air conditioner comprising: a light emitting part that emits light; and an operation terminal that operates the indoor unit using light emitted from the light emitting part,
The main control unit has a memory,
The main control unit records a light emitting position, which is a position of the light emitting unit when the light emitting unit emits light, in the memory as a control target position of air conditioning control,
The control target position is the position of at least one of a ventilation fan, a dehumidifier, and an air cleaner that cooperate with the air conditioner to improve the efficiency of the air conditioning control indoors,
When the control target position is at least one of the ventilation fan and the dehumidifier, the main control unit controls the operation of the wind direction control unit so as not to blow air toward the control target position,
When the control target position is the position of the air cleaner, the main control unit controls the operation of the wind direction control unit to blow air toward the control target position.
Air conditioner. The wind direction control unit has a louver that controls the direction of horizontal airflow from the indoor unit,
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the louver operates so that airflow from the indoor unit is directed toward the light emitting position or a direction other than the light emitting position. The wind direction control unit has a flap that controls the direction of vertical airflow from the indoor unit,
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the flap operates so that the airflow from the indoor unit is directed toward the light emitting position or other than the light emitting position. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the indoor unit includes an image sensor section that detects light emission from the light emitting section when the light emitting section emits light. The air conditioner according to claim 4, wherein the main control unit specifies the position of the operation terminal using the light emission position detected by the image sensor unit. The air conditioner according to claim 5, wherein the main control section controls the operation of the wind direction control section based on the light emitting position recorded in the memory.

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