JPH03195833A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the quality of air in air conditioning by imparting a ventilation mechanism with two switchable functions; ventilation function to lead outdoor air into a room and circulation function to circulate room air through an air conditioner. CONSTITUTION:A room unit 7 consists of a room unit body 8 housing a room side heat exchanger and a ventilation box 9 having a ventilation mechanism 10. The body 8 and box 9 are arranged side by side. A guide 13 is provided at a room air blow-off port 12 which opens in the upper surface of the box 9. A mouth 15 to be inserted into an outdoor communication port 14 is projected on the rear side of the box 9, and a damper 16 is arranged inside of the mouth 15. When the room air is ventilated, the mouth 15 is opened, and when the room air is circulated or the air conditioner is OFF, the mouth 15 is closed. A filter arranged within the mouth 15 works to clean outdoor air in order to constantly supply clean air into the room R to be air-conditioned. A room air suction port 17 is provided in the lower surface of the box 9, and a damper 18 is in the port 17. The dampers 18 and 16 are communicated to each other, and the room air suction port 17 is closed at the time of ventilation and opened at the time of circulation.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an air conditioner that is composed of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, and that the indoor unit is equipped with a ventilation mechanism. In particular, the present invention relates to improvements in the above-mentioned ventilation mechanism.

(Prior Art) Air conditioners, which are often used especially for general household use, are configured separately into an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, and are installed in an air-conditioned room to minimize the space required.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned indoor unit equipped with a ventilation mechanism is also used. The above-mentioned ventilation mechanism includes a blower disposed within a housing, an indoor air outlet on the upper surface side of the housing, and an eyepiece that is inserted into an outside air communication opening provided in a wall that partitions the air-conditioned room and the outside. It is installed protrudingly. A damper is provided inside the eye so that it can be opened and closed, and when the ventilation switch is turned on, the blower is driven and the damper is opened to introduce outside air into the room.

Such a ventilation mechanism functions separately or in conjunction with the air conditioning function of the indoor unit, and performs a so-called ventilation function that introduces fresh external air into the air-conditioned room. In addition,
Although there are some cases in which a total heat exchanger is placed inside the eye to perform total heat exchange ventilation, the heat exchange efficiency is still low.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Recently, there has been a tendency to question the quality of the indoor environment and empty purchases. In other words, conditions are required such that the air conditioning effect is uniform in each part of the air-conditioned room, there is no fluctuation in air conditioning efficiency, and the noise level is low.

Particularly, in order to satisfy the demand for low noise, general air conditioners have improved the shape and structure of the indoor blower fan and lowered its rotation speed. From this,
The amount of heat exchange air blown is reduced, and warm air tends to accumulate in the ceiling, especially during heating operation, making it impossible to achieve an efficient heating effect.

Even if an air conditioner is equipped with the above-mentioned ventilation mechanism, if the ventilation function is performed, the heating efficiency will decrease, and even if it is equipped with a total heat exchanger, the efficiency is low, so similar problems can occur. be. Such a problem occurs not only during heating operation but also during cooling operation, and a decrease in blank purchases during air conditioning operation including these has become a problem.

The present invention has been made with attention to the above circumstances, and its purpose is to add a new circulator function to an indoor unit equipped with a ventilation mechanism, and to make it possible to switch between the ventilation function and the ventilation function as necessary. Another object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that can improve air conditioning during air conditioning operation.

[Structure of the Invention (Means and Effects for Solving the Problems) The present invention is composed of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, and the indoor unit is provided with an air blower and an indoor air outlet, and an external communication device that is opened and closed by a damper. The air conditioner is equipped with a ventilation mechanism that communicates with a vent, and the ventilation mechanism is provided with an indoor suction port and a damper that opens and closes the indoor suction port in conjunction with a damper that opens and closes the external communication port. , as necessary, switching between the ventilation function that sucks outside air through the external communication port and guides it indoors through the indoor air outlet, and the circulator function that sucks indoor air through the indoor air intake port and blows it back into the room from the indoor air outlet for circulation. This air conditioner is characterized by making it possible to

In other words, the present invention can switch between the ventilation function that introduces fresh outside air into the air-conditioned room and the circulator function that circulates indoor air as it is.For example, by switching to the circulator function during heating operation, the flow of warm air can be reduced. It comes on smoothly and evenly.

(Example) Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a refrigeration cycle circuit of an air conditioner, which will be described later. This is a very common heat pump type refrigeration cycle that can be switched between cooling operation and heating operation. 1 is a compressor,
2 is a four-way valve, 3 is an outdoor heat exchanger, 4 is a pressure reducing valve, and 5 is an indoor heat exchanger, and these are successively communicated via a refrigerant pipe P. The compressor 1, the four-way valve 2, the outdoor heat exchanger 3, and the pressure reducing valve 4 are unitized and housed in the outdoor unit 6, and the indoor heat exchanger 5 is housed in the indoor unit 7.

A ventilation mechanism 10, which will be described later, is attached to the indoor unit 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, the indoor unit 7 is connected to an air conditioned room R.
It is attached to the upper part of the wall, and has an air conditioning effect as shown by the large arrow in the figure, a circulator effect as shown by the small arrow, and a ventilation effect as shown by the two-dot chain arrow.

As shown in FIG. 3, the indoor unit 7 includes an indoor unit main body 8 that houses the indoor heat exchanger and an indoor blower (not shown here), and a ventilation casing equipped with a ventilation mechanism (not shown here) to be described later. It is formed by placing body 9 in parallel.

The ventilation mechanism unit 10 is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. That is, a relatively small-sized blower 11, which is, for example, an eccentric multi-blade fan, is arranged inside the ventilation c-body 9. The indoor air outlet 12 of the blower 11 opens on the upper surface of the housing 9 . The indoor air outlet 12 is provided with a guide 13 that sets the air outlet direction. A housing 15 is projectingly provided on the back side of the housing 9 to be inserted into an external communication port 14 provided in a wall surface Ra that partitions the air-conditioned room R from the outside. Inside this housing 15, a damper 16 is provided.
is provided so that it can be opened and closed freely, and the housing 15 is opened and closed during ventilation.
The housing 15 is connected to a drive mechanism (not shown) so as to open the housing 15 and close the housing 15 when the circulator is in operation or stopped. Alternatively, the opening and closing operations may be performed manually. Furthermore, by providing a filter (not shown) in the casing 15, clean external air can always be taken into the air-conditioned room R.

Further, an indoor suction port 17 is opened on the lower surface of the housing 9, and a damper] 8 is provided in the indoor suction port 17 so as to be openable and closable. This damper 18 is connected to the damper 16 inside the housing 15 and interlocks so as to act in the opposite direction. That is, the indoor suction port 17 is closed during ventilation, and at least the indoor suction port 1 is closed during the circulator action.
7 is now open. Or open it manually.
) operations may be performed.

Thus, during heating operation, warm air is blown out toward the floor of the air-conditioned room R in the indoor unit main body 8. At this time,
To achieve low noise, the blowing force of the blower is weak, and if warm air accumulates near the ceiling, the ventilation mechanism 10 is activated to function as a circulator. In other words, indoor suction port 1
7 and damper 1 on the external communication port 14 side.
6 is closed and this blower 11 is driven. Air conditioned room R
Air inside the room is sucked in through the indoor suction port 17 and blown out into the room again through the indoor blow-off port 12. Then, the yarn is sucked into the indoor suction port 17 again, and the circulator function of circulating through the yarn path described above is activated. The warm air accumulated near the ceiling is guided to every corner of the air-conditioned room R, thereby further improving heating efficiency.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, it is preferable to control the ventilation mechanism 10 according to the temperature difference between the set temperature Ts for the indoor unit main body 7 and the actual indoor temperature Ta of the air-conditioned room R. That is, when the temperature difference is large, such as during startup, the ventilation fan (blower 1) is stopped. The blower on the side of the indoor unit main body 7 is driven to produce the maximum amount of air. Naturally, the room temperature of the air-conditioned room R rises and gradually approaches the set temperature. Along with this, the blower on the indoor unit main body 7 side is controlled to gradually reduce the amount of air blown.

When the indoor temperature Ta becomes approximately the same as the set temperature Ts,
The amount of air blown by the blower on the indoor unit main body 7 side is reduced to the minimum, and the ventilation fan is driven to start the circulator function described above.

In this way, warm air does not accumulate in a part of the air-conditioned room R, and a more uniform temperature distribution can be obtained, improving comfort.

The above-described control can be performed not only during heating operation but also during cooling operation to obtain exactly the same effect.

Similarly, in order to ventilate the air-conditioned room R regardless of whether it is during heating operation or cooling operation, the ventilation function of the ventilation mechanism 10 may be activated.

Fresh outside air is introduced into the room, providing efficient ventilation as before.

Note that the circulator function and the ventilation function are not necessarily limited to operating at opposite timings, but may be operated at the same time, in which case the effects of both can be obtained at the same time.

Further, in the above embodiment, control is performed by detecting the indoor temperature, but the invention is not limited to this.
For example, an oxygen sensor may be provided, and the ventilation function may be controlled based on the output of this oxygen sensor.

To explain, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, sampling ventilation is performed during a sampling interval time t1 arbitrarily set on a timer when starting the ventilation function. The sensor output Vs is read at time (1, -15) immediately before the end of the sampling interval time t1. Then, when the sampling interval time t has elapsed, the actual ventilation action is started. Initially, the drive time t2 of this ventilation is set arbitrarily, and the sensor output VS2 is read at the time (t2-ts) immediately before the end of the drive time t2. Next, sampling ventilation is performed again during the arbitrarily set sampling interval time t1, but since the initial ventilation time t2 is arbitrarily set, ventilation is often insufficient (such as when the oxygen concentration is low). As a result, the sensor output W tends to decrease.Or, contrary to the diagram, the sensor output W may increase.In any case, at the time (t, -ts) immediately before the end of the sampling interval time t1, , read the sensor output Vs again,
Remember. Then, when this time t ends, the actual ventilation action begins. Immediately before the predetermined time t2 elapses after starting ventilation (t2-ts), the sensor output Vs
Read and store 2.

The previously stored sensor output Vsl and the newly stored sensor output vS2 are compared, and an output change rate ΔV (for example, V s 2 /V s ,1) is calculated.

Here, if there is no difference in oxygen concentration between outside air and indoors, Δ■
−〇, and the ventilation is ended when the ventilation time t2 has elapsed.

If the oxygen concentration inside the room is higher than the outside air, the output change rate ΔV
>0, and the ventilation time is set according to that value. This is T1 shown in the same figure again.

In the end, the newly set ventilation time t3=t2+”r,
When t1 has elapsed, the sampling interval time t1 is resumed.
sampling ventilation and the time just before its end (t, -t
Thereafter, the ventilation control is performed as described above, such as reading and storing the sensor output Vs1 in step s).

FIG. 8 shows an example of setting the ventilation time according to the sensor output of the oxygen sensor. FIG. 9 shows a flow chart of ventilation control incorporating the settings.

In this way, sampling ventilation is performed at regular intervals and the ventilation time is controlled by the rate of change in the sensor output of the oxygen sensor, so that there is no mismatch between the ventilation setting level and the actual operating level due to changes in the oxygen sensor over time. When indoor air pollution starts to increase, ventilation is reliably started, and the set time is changed each time to achieve complete ventilation, making it possible for the ventilation function to operate appropriately and increase reliability. improves.

Note that any oxygen sensor may be used as long as it outputs some kind of output depending on the oxygen concentration, and the sensor's output change rate, ventilation time settings, etc.
Various settings can be made depending on the sensor or purpose.

In other words, conventionally, there is a method of controlling based on the absolute level of the sensor output, but with this method, due to changes in the sensor output over time, ventilation may end when there is still dirt in the room, or conversely, ventilation may continue even though there is no dirt. I sometimes drive. There is also a method of controlling based on the rate of change in sensor output, but this method has the disadvantage that if the rate of increase in indoor dirt is very slow, ventilation will not start even if the absolute level of dirt becomes high. . However, if the above-mentioned control is performed, a highly reliable ventilation function that eliminates all the conventional problems can be obtained.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to switch between the ventilation function and the circulator function as needed, thereby improving air conditioning operation. play.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram of a refrigeration cycle of an air conditioner, Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram explaining the installation and operation of an indoor unit, and Fig. 3 is an indoor unit equipped with a ventilation mechanism. Front view of Uni-Soto, Figure 4 is a vertical front view of the ventilation mechanism,
Figure 5 is a longitudinal side view of the ventilation mechanism, Figure 6 is a diagram explaining the control of air conditioning and ventilation functions in response to temperature changes, Figure 7 is a diagram explaining ventilation control using an oxygen sensor, and Figure 8 is a diagram showing changes in the sensor output. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the ventilation control. 7...Indoor unit, 6...Outdoor unit, 11.
...Blower, 12...Indoor air outlet, 16...Dan, <, 14...External communication port, 10...Ventilation mechanism, 1
7...Indoor suction port, 18...Damper◎

Claims (1)

[Claims] The air conditioner is composed of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, and the indoor unit is equipped with a blower and an indoor air outlet, and a ventilation mechanism that communicates with an external communication port that is opened and closed by a damper, and the ventilation mechanism includes: An indoor suction port is provided, and a damper is provided that opens and closes the indoor suction port in conjunction with a damper that opens and closes the external communication port, and as necessary, external air is sucked in from the external communication port and guided into the room from the indoor air outlet. An air conditioner characterized in that it is possible to switch between a ventilation function and a circulator function, which sucks indoor air from an indoor suction port and blows and circulates it indoors again from an indoor air outlet.