JPH03177740A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform proper control of capacity of a blower by a method wherein a difference between air duct resistance of one duct and that of other duct is previously detected, and through indirect estimation of an airflow of each terminal airflow control unit, a difference between a set airflow and a blast pressure and the degree of opening and closing of a damper are determined. CONSTITUTION:During a trial operation mode, a damper control means 20 controls such that the degree of opening and closing of one damper 9 at a time is changed and the other is fully closed. In this case, a blast amount of a blower 5 is measured by an airflow measuring means 21, and the difference in a blast pressure of the outlet and inlet of an indoor machine 2 produced by blast is measured by a pressure differ ence measuring means 22. From airflow information and information on a blast press difference, an airflow computing means 23 computes a relation therebetween to form a table. As noted above, a difference in air duct resistance of each branch duct 7 is previously detected and through indirect estimation of an air flow of each terminal airflow control unit, the degree of opening and closing, proper to a demand airflow, of the damper 9 is determined. During an actual operation mode, through proper control of the degree of opening and closing of the blower 5 and the damper 9 based on above information, cold air or hot air in an amount suitable to each room 1 to be air-conditioned can be stable fed.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] This invention relates to a duct type air conditioner that employs a variable air volume control system that can independently adjust the room temperature of each room, and in particular, relates to a duct type air conditioner that uses a variable air volume control system that can independently adjust the room temperature of each room. The present invention relates to an air conditioner that detects a difference and estimates the air volume of a terminal duct.

[Prior Art] Some conventional variable air volume control type air conditioners use a blower to distribute and supply cold or warm air to each room via a duct. However, the branch ducts that branch into each room usually have different lengths from the branch point to each room, and the air blowing resistance of each of these branch ducts is different. In addition, defects in duct installation work,
For example, the air blowing resistance of each duct is affected by deformation such as distortion of the tact cross-sectional shape, or by the presence of foreign matter in the duct.

In such a situation, especially in the latter case, if the drive of the blower is controlled by detecting the pressure at the common blowing air path, that is, the root of the duct, the difference in pressure loss on the downstream side will be ignored. , it is not possible to precisely control the air blowing in each room, or even to control the room temperature.

In the conventional example shown below, the pressure at the base of the duct before air is blown into each room is detected to control the drive of the blower.

As a specific example representative of these conventional examples, Figure 2 and 1 are described on page 41 of Chapter 2 Air Conditioning Systems of the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Handbook (New Edition/4th Edition Applied Edition) published by the Japan Refrigeration Association.
0(a), and the operation of the conventional example will be explained.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional air conditioner described in the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Handbook.

In the figure, (1) is an air-conditioned room that is subject to air conditioning, and this figure shows a case of four rooms. (2) is an indoor unit that is installed in the ceiling of the air-conditioned room (1) and functions as a source of cold or hot air; (3) is an air filter that purifies the air by removing dust, etc. from the air. , (4) is a heat exchanger that cools or heats air, and (5) is a blower that blows cold or hot air. This indoor unit (2) is composed of an air filter (3), a heat exchanger (4), and a blower (5). (6) is the main duct that communicates with the air outlet of the indoor unit (2), (7) is the branch duct that branches from this main duct (6) according to the number of each air-conditioned room (1), (8)
is a diaphragm-type ventilation adjustment unit (9) that is attached to each branch duct (7) and adjusts the amount of air sent to each air-conditioned room (1);
(10) is a damper that is rotatably installed in this aperture-type air blow adjustment unit (8), and (10) is a duct (7).
The air outlet (11) is located at the bottom of the door of the conditioned room (1), and (12) is the inlet located on the ceiling of the hallway outside the conditioned room (1). The provided ceiling suction port (13) is a suction duct that communicates the ceiling suction port (12) with the suction port of the indoor unit (2). (14) is a room thermostat installed in each air-conditioned room (1) for setting and detecting the room temperature, and (15) is a temperature detector that detects the temperature of air blown from the blower (5) in the main duct (6). , (16)
is a pressure detector that detects the wind pressure from the blower (5) in the main duct (6), and (17) is a heat exchanger (
This is a heat source device such as a heat pump that is connected to the heat exchanger (4) and controls the heat conversion operation in the heat exchanger (4).

A conventional duct-type air conditioner for central cooling and heating is configured as described above, and the air cooled or heated by the heat exchanger (4) is converted into cold or warm air by the blower (5) through the ducts (6) and /or a concentrated air blowing means that distributes and blows air into each of the plurality of air-conditioned rooms (1) via a branch duct (7);
and a diaphragm-type air blow adjustment unit that is attached to each of the branch ducts (7) and is an air blow adjustment means that adjusts the amount of cold air or warm air blown to each of the air-conditioned rooms (1) by opening and closing the damper (9). 8).

Next, the operation of the conventional air conditioner configured as described above will be explained.

First, the opening degree of the damper (9) of the aperture-type ventilation adjustment unit (8) is determined according to the temperature difference between the set temperature set by the user, etc. on each room thermostat (14) and the detected current actual room temperature. Adjust each to the desired position. The pressure inside the main duct (6) also changes depending on the opening degree of the damper (9). This change in pressure is detected by a pressure detector (16),
The air blowing capacity of the air blower (5) is adjusted so that the preset pressure is achieved. In addition, as the air flow rate changes, the air temperature at the outlet side of the heat exchanger (4) also changes, so the temperature detector (15) detects this change and adjusts the heat source device ( 17) Control the ability of

Through this series of controls, an appropriate amount of air at an approximately constant temperature is blown out from the air outlet (10) into the air-conditioned room (1). That is, the air is blown out at an amount depending on the magnitude of the heat load in each air-conditioned room (1). In addition, air-conditioned rooms (1
) The air that has been conditioned in the interior of
) and returns to the indoor unit (2) again. Then, the same flow is repeated again according to the above operation.

As mentioned above, in a duct type central cooling/heating air conditioner that uses a conventional diaphragm-type air blow adjustment unit (8), Optimum values for the air temperature and air pressure angle are determined, and the capacities of the heat source device (17) and the air blower (5) are appropriately controlled so that these values remain approximately constant.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional air conditioner as described above, the amount of air blown by the blower (5) is controlled using the pressure change in the main duct (6) during air blowing as a control index. Ta.

However, when controlling the air capacity of the blower (5) using the root pressure as a control index to keep the root pressure of the main duct (6) constant, each branch duct has different air resistance. The amount of air passing through each air-conditioned room (1
) could not maintain an appropriate air flow rate.

In addition, if there is an airflow obstruction in the branch duct due to a defect in the duct installation work, for example, deformation such as distortion of the cross-sectional shape of the duct, or the presence of foreign matter in the duct, etc., each air-conditioned room (1) It has been particularly difficult to maintain an appropriate amount of air supplied to the

Note that a device that does not use pressure changes in the main duct (6) as a control index as described above was disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 47497/1983. This is a blower (5) that has the terminal air volume control unit of each outlet function as a wind speed sensor.
It was intended to control the following. In this device, when the damper (9) is fully opened and the ventilation adjustment unit with the most unfavorable ventilation condition emits an output below the set air volume,
The amount of air blown by the blower (5) is increased based on this output, and the blower (5) is always controlled to the minimum necessary capacity.

However, although the technique disclosed in the above-mentioned publication can obtain an appropriate air volume at each outlet, each terminal air volume control unit, etc. is large-scale and extremely expensive due to the presence of a wind speed sensor. Usually, this type of air conditioner has about 5 to 15 terminals, and the price range is extremely important.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner that can appropriately control the capacity of a blower using a simple configuration and means.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The air conditioner according to the present invention converts air cooled or heated by the heat exchanger (4) into cold or warm air by the blower (5) through the main duct (6) and the branch ducts ( 7) for distributing and blowing air into each of the plurality of air-conditioned rooms (1);
1) a blowing adjustment means for adjusting the amount of cold air or hot air blown to the air blower by opening and closing a damper (9); and a blowing adjustment means for adjusting the opening and closing degree of the damper (9) of the blowing adjusting means for each unit during the test run mode. damper control means (20) for changing the air flow while fully opening the others; and air flow measuring means (21) for detecting the air flow from the blower (5) with an air flow detector (19) and measuring the actual air flow. , a pressure difference measuring means (22) for detecting the pressure difference between the outlet air pressure of the concentrated air blowing means and the artificial air pressure with a pressure difference detector (18), and measuring the air blowing pressure difference with respect to the actual duct system; Using the respective outputs of the measuring means (22), the air volume measuring means (21), and the damper control means (20), the correlation between the passing air volume of each of the air blow adjusting means, the opening/closing degree of the damper (9), and the blow pressure difference is calculated. It is equipped with an air volume calculation means (23) that calculates the air flow resistance in each duct, detects the difference in air path resistance of each duct in advance, and indirectly estimates and sets the air volume of each terminal air volume control unit. The difference in blowing pressure with respect to the air volume and the degree of opening and closing of the damper (9) are determined.

[Function] In the air conditioner of the present invention, in the test run mode, the damper control means (20) controls the damper (20) of the air blow adjustment means.
9), while changing the degree of opening and closing for each unit, and leaving the others fully open, and measuring the air volume of the fan (5) at this time using the air volume detector (
1), and the pressure difference between the outlet air pressure and the inlet air pressure of the concentrated air blowing means is measured by the pressure difference measuring means (22) using the pressure difference detector (18). Then, the air volume calculation means (23) calculates the opening/closing information of the damper (9) by the damper control means (20), the air volume information from the air volume measuring means (21), and the blowing pressure difference information from the pressure difference measuring means (22). Each relationship is calculated and tabulated or formulated. This series of operations is performed as many times as there are airflow adjustment means, and in order to blow a predetermined amount of air to each branch duct (7), etc., it is necessary to control the airflow pressure difference and the opening/closing degree of the damper (9) of the airflow adjustment means. Sequentially accumulates information about the vehicle. On the other hand, in the actual operation mode, the degree of opening and closing of the blower and the damper (9) of the blow adjustment means is controlled as appropriate based on the above information, and each air-conditioned room (1) is
An appropriate amount of cold air or warm air is appropriately supplied according to the set air volume.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the entire system of an air conditioner which is an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, in the figure, (2), (4
) to (7), (9), and (16) are the same or equivalent to the components of the conventional example, so redundant explanation will be omitted here. Also, in this air conditioner, like the conventional example, air is cooled or heated by a heat exchanger (4), and then cooled or warmed by a blower (5) and sent to a duct (6).
and a concentrated air blowing means for distributing and blowing air into each of the plurality of air-conditioned rooms (1) via the technical duct (7), and a concentrated air blowing means that is attached to each of the branch ducts (7) and blows air to each of the air-conditioned rooms (1). It has an air blow adjustment means that adjusts the amount of cold air or hot air that is blown by opening and closing a damper (9).

Since the normal operation control operation based on the operation mode of this air conditioner is well known, here, the trial operation mode of this air conditioner will be explained.

In Fig. 1, (18) is an indoor unit (2) consisting of a heat exchanger (4) and a blower (5) that function as a concentrated air blower.
) is a pressure difference detector that detects the pressure difference between the outlet air pressure and the inlet air pressure, and (19) is an air volume detector installed at the root of the main duct (6), which detects the air volume blown by the blower (5). Detect.

(20) is a damper control means that controls the opening degree of the damper (9) of each air blow adjustment means. A drive mechanism (not shown) that individually opens and closes each damper (9) is connected to this damper (9), and each drive mechanism operates according to an opening signal from the damper control means (20). to control the opening degree of the corresponding damper (9). (21) is an air volume measuring means that measures the actual air volume based on the detection signal of the air volume detector (19). (22) is a pressure difference measuring means for measuring the actual air blowing pressure difference based on the detection signal of the pressure difference detector (18). (23) is the pressure difference measuring means (22)
This is an air volume calculation means that calculates the relationship between the air flow rate of the air blow adjustment means, the degree of opening/closing of the damper (9), and the air blow pressure difference based on the outputs of the air flow measurement means (21) and the damper control means (20). This air volume calculation means (23) is connected to the air volume measurement means (21).
), the measured pressure difference output from the pressure difference measuring means (22), and the damper opening information output from the damper control means (20) are used to calculate and evaluate the relationship between them, and tabulate or By formulating this, the air blowing resistance in each duct is calculated.

Here, an example of the function and operation of the air volume calculation means (23) of the air conditioner configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is an air blowing characteristic diagram showing the relationship between air volume and air blowing pressure difference of an air blower used in an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In Figure 2, the vertical axis is the indoor unit (2) caused by the blower (5).
) The blowing pressure difference P1 determined from the pressure difference between the outlet air pressure and the artificial air pressure of It is a resistance curve showing ventilation resistance. The parameters indicated by broken lines are the opening degrees of each damper (9). Note that the solid line air blowing characteristic curve indicates the case where the rotational speed of the blower (5) is fixed at a predetermined rotational speed. Further, the resistance curve showing the air blowing resistance of the branch duct (7) etc. changes as shown in the figure depending on the opening degree of the damper (9).

By using this characteristic diagram, the opening degree of the damper (9) of the predetermined negative air blow adjustment means of the above embodiment is sequentially changed over several stages. At this time, other dampers (9
) is fully closed. Each air volume QiL at this time, Q1
2. Qi3 and the air blowing pressure difference PL corresponding to this air volume,
P2. By measuring Pa, the correlation between the blowing pressure difference P, the air volume Q1, and the opening degree DI of the damper (9) becomes clear.

Therefore, if the opening degree of the predetermined - damper (9) is DI and the other dampers (9) are fully closed, if the air volume is QIL and the air blowing pressure difference is PL, then point 1 is This is the intersection of the air characteristic quantity line and the resistance curve of the air blower (5).

In other words, this PL is the indoor unit (2) by the blower (5).
is the pressure difference between the outlet air pressure and the inlet air pressure, and
This Pl is equal to the air blowing resistance of the duct line including the damper (9) when the air volume is Q11.

According to this way of thinking, the air blowing resistance of the duct line can be determined more accurately than the idea of simply finding the air blowing resistance based on the pressure inside the duct. This is because when the pressure inside the duct is used, the pressure on the suction side is not evaluated, and the air blowing resistance of the duct line is simply determined from the pressure on the outlet side.

Perform the same operation as above on the damper (9) of each other ventilation adjustment means.
By also doing this, it is possible to tabulate or formulate the relationship between the blowing pressure difference P, the air volume Q1, and the damper opening degree D1 for each blowing route.

Then, by using the tabulated or formulated results, each air volume Q can be calculated, assuming that the air blow pressure difference P and the opening degree D1 of the damper (9) of each air blow adjustment means are known. Alternatively, by setting the amount of air passing through each ventilation adjustment means in advance, it is possible to calculate the opening degree D1 of the damper (9) of each ventilation adjustment means when the ventilation pressure difference P of the indoor unit (2) occurs. .

Therefore, if an air conditioner is configured using the air volume calculation means (23) etc. as described above, accurate air blow control for each room, which has been required in the past, can be achieved by adjusting the opening degree of each damper (9) and The air capacity of the blower (5) can be controlled using the air volume as a control index. In addition, the Special Public Service of 1986-
There is no need to provide an air volume detection sensor function or the like for each air blow adjustment means as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 47497.

Next, the operation of the air conditioner of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a control operation in a test run mode of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that this control operation uses a microcomputer and calls this routine by selecting the test run mode, but a description of this control circuit will be omitted here.

By setting the operation mode of the air conditioner to the test run mode, operation control is performed according to the following routine.

First, in step S1, it is determined whether the operation mode is in the test run mode. If the test run mode is not in effect, the series of control operations described below will not be performed. If it is in the test run mode, the operation of the heat source device (not shown in this embodiment) is stopped in step S2, and the blower (not shown in the figure) is stopped in step S3.
5) Start operation. Then, in step S4, the damper (9) of the air blow adjustment means connected to the main duct (6)
In step S5, the first (I=1) damper (9) is set to the initial opening degree, and the remaining dampers (9) are set to the initial opening degree.
) is fully opened. Opening/closing control of this damper (9) is performed by a damper control means (20). Then, in step S6, the actual amount of air blown by the blower (5) at this time is measured by the airflow detector (one) and the airflow measuring means (21), and in step S7, the indoor unit ( 2) The difference in blowing pressure is detected by the pressure difference detector (18)
and the pressure difference measuring means (22).

Subsequently, in step S8, the damper (9) (I-
It is determined whether the opening degree of 1) should be the next set opening degree.

If the next set opening degree is to be used, the opening degree of the damper (9) (I=1) is changed to the next set opening degree in step S9, and the process returns to step S6 and the operations in step S6 and step S7 are performed. Do this. The degree of opening may be changed depending on the type of the damper (9), but normally, the degree of opening may be changed in two to three levels.

Note that in this case as well, the other dampers (9) remain fully open. The operations from step S6 to step S9 are as follows:
This is repeated until the opening degree of the damper (9) reaches a predetermined set opening degree. On the other hand, in step S8 damper (9) (1=
If the opening degree of 1) should not be set to the next set opening degree, that is,
In this case, the opening degree of the damper (9) has reached a predetermined set opening degree, and in step 810, the damper (9) that has reached the above set opening degree is the Nth damper (9).
Determine whether or not. If it is not yet the Nth number, I=1+1 in step S11, and the process returns to step S5 to repeat the above operation. Therefore, the above operation is performed sequentially for all dampers (9) from I=1 to I=N, and is repeated N times in total. If it is confirmed in step S10 that I=Nth damper (9), then in step S12 the opening degree, air flow rate, and air blowing pressure of each damper (9) obtained through the above series of operations are determined. These relationships are calculated from each difference data and are tabulated or formulated for each air blow adjustment means. This calculation operation is performed by the air volume calculation means (23).

Next, each damper created in the above table or formulation (
9) The actual control operation of the damper (9) and the blower (5), which is performed using the relationship between the opening degree, the air blowing amount, and the air blowing pressure difference, will be briefly explained according to the flowchart in Fig. 4. do. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the control operation of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, when this routine is called in step S12, in step 821, for each ventilation adjustment means, the air volume, damper opening degree, and Using the relationship between the air blowing pressure differences, the required air blowing pressure difference Pi when the damper opening degree is fully opened is calculated for any required air blowing amount requested by each air blowing adjustment means. Next, in step S22, the maximum value P 1ta of the required air blow pressure difference Pl of each air blow adjustment means is determined.
Select ax. In step 323, for each air blow adjustment means, each damper opening degree that provides each set air volume when the air blow pressure difference Pi is Plmax is determined from the above relationship.

At this time, in step S21, the required air blowing pressure difference PI is determined as P
Naturally, the opening degree of the damper (9) of the ventilation adjustment means, which was Imax, becomes fully open. Then, in step S24, the damper opening degree obtained in step S23 is instructed to each ventilation adjustment means, and the damper (9) is operated. After this, Ste.
At knob S25, the blower (5) is controlled so that the sum of the required airflow rates for each of the airflow adjustment means and the airflow rate measured by the airflow measurement means are equal.

Then, the sum of the required airflow volumes and the actual airflow volume are made equal.

By performing such a control operation, for example, it is possible to more easily perform air blow control that minimizes the conveying power, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-47497 mentioned as a reference to the conventional example. realizable.

As mentioned above, in this embodiment, when in test run mode,
The damper control means (20) is a damper (9) as an air blow adjustment means.
Control is performed to change the degree of opening and closing of the opening and closing of each opening and closing, and to keep the others fully open. The amount of air blown by the blower (5) at this time is measured by the air amount measuring means (21) via the air amount detector (one). Also, the difference in air pressure of the indoor unit (2) caused by the air blowing from the blower (5) at this time is detected by the pressure difference detector (18).
) is measured by the pressure difference measuring means (22).

Then, the damper (
The air volume calculation means (23) calculates each of these relationships from the opening/closing information of 9), the air volume information from the air volume measuring means (21), and the information on the air pressure difference from the pressure difference measuring means (22), and creates a table or formula. do. This series of operations is performed by the number of air blow adjustment means, and in order to blow a predetermined amount of air to each branch duct (7), etc., how to control the air blow pressure difference and the opening/closing degree of the damper (9) of the air blow adjustment means. Information on what should be done is accumulated sequentially. In this way, the difference in air path resistance of each duct is detected in advance, the air volume of each terminal air volume control unit is indirectly estimated, and the appropriate damper (9) is installed for the required air volume.
Find the degree of opening and closing.

Then, in the actual operation mode, each air-conditioned room (1) is
can stably supply an appropriate amount of cold or hot air to the

Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to very easily distribute the appropriate air volume and reduce the conveying power according to the air blowing resistance of each duct, and the air volume supplied to each air-conditioned room (1) can be maintained appropriately. . Moreover, these controls can be performed with a simple configuration without using a special terminal air volume control unit having a wind speed sensor function. As a result, an inexpensive configuration allows
Efficient air blowing operation can be achieved.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the air conditioner of the present invention, in the trial operation mode, the damper opening/closing information by the damper control means, the air volume information by the air volume measuring means, and the information on the blowing pressure difference by the pressure difference measuring means. The air volume calculation means calculates each of these relationships and creates a table or formula, thereby detecting the difference in air path resistance of each duct in advance, and indirectly estimating the air volume of each terminal air volume control unit. It is possible to determine the appropriate degree of opening and closing of the damper for the required air volume.

Then, in the actual operation mode, based on the above information, the degree of opening and closing of the blower and the damper of the blow adjustment means is controlled appropriately, and the appropriate air volume is distributed and conveyed according to the blow resistance of each duct. It is possible to reduce power,
The amount of air supplied to each air-conditioned room can be maintained appropriately, and these controls can be performed with a simple configuration without using a special terminal air amount control unit, so an economical and efficient air blowing operation can be realized.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the entire system of an air conditioner which is an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a relationship between the air volume and the blowing pressure difference of the blower used in the air conditioner which is an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of control operation in the test run mode of an air conditioner which is an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a control operation of an air conditioner which is an embodiment of the present invention. A flowchart showing an example, and FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional air conditioner. In the figure, 1: air-conditioned room 5: blower 7: branch duct 16: pressure detector 19: air volume detector 21: air volume measurement means 23: air volume calculation means. In the drawings, the same reference numerals and the same symbols indicate the same or equivalent parts. Heat Exchanger Main Duct Damper Pressure Difference Detector Damper Control Means Pressure Difference Measuring Means 8 0 2 Figure 2 Qi

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] Centralized air blowing means for distributing and blowing air heat exchanged in a heat exchanger to each of a plurality of air-conditioned rooms via a duct and a branch duct using a blower; An air blow adjustment means that adjusts the amount of cold air or warm air blown to each air-conditioned room by opening and closing a damper; and a damper of the air blow adjustment means that changes the degree of opening and closing for each unit when in a test run mode. damper control means that completely closes the other; air flow measuring means that detects the air flow from the blower with an air flow detector and measures the actual air flow; and the pressure between the outlet air pressure and the inlet air pressure of the concentrated air blower. a pressure difference measuring means for detecting the difference with a pressure difference detector and measuring the difference in blowing pressure with respect to the actual duct system; and a pressure difference measuring means for measuring the difference in blowing pressure with respect to the actual duct system; 1. An air conditioner comprising an air volume calculating means for calculating the correlation between the passing air volume, the degree of opening/closing of the damper, and the air blow pressure difference, and calculating the air blow resistance in each duct.