JPH04106347A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable always keeping the atmosphere comfortable by providing a means for changing the target temperature corresponding to a set temperature for bringing the temperature of the room to a desirable point and a means for changing the number of revolutions of an indoor fan according to the detected temperature of the room. CONSTITUTION:When the temperature of the room has fallen already of falls below (a set temperature + 0.25 deg.C) at the start 'SAWAYAKA' operation, the control of an indoor fan 15 shifts from weak wind to breeze. This shift prevents the room air from giving a chilly feel as its temperature falls close to the set point. The start is ended when the temperature of the room has reached a target temperature (= the set temperature) and a timer 12 has finished counting a preset time T. With the target temperature altered to (the set temperature + 0.25 deg.C) the operation shifts to a post-start routine. The increase in the target temperature causes the temperature of the room to rise, but since it is only by 0.25 deg.C that the target temperature has been increased, the compressor 16 keeps running although the rotation is at low speed and the temperature of the room, restrained from a rapid rise, increase slowly. The control of the indoor fan 15 shifts from breeze to light wind so as to free the people from a feeling of discomfort due to the rise in the temperature of the room.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an air conditioner that provides a comfortable feeling in a living space such as a room.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, when it comes to air conditioners, if it's cold indoors, you can turn them down.
In addition to the original function of cooling the room when it's hot, it is also necessary to have a function that provides a more comfortable indoor environment, and various methods have been proposed for this purpose.

As an example, the air conditioning method disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-48222 generates wind in a room where the wind direction and wind force change irregularly with a frequency distribution similar to that of a natural breeze. With this, it is possible to obtain a comfortable indoor environment that is close to nature.

As another example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-56805, the feeling of comfort is improved by irregularly changing physical quantities as stimuli such as heat generation, temperature, and air volume by stoves, air conditioners, electric fans, etc. A physical quantity control device is disclosed. Here, a specific example is given of an electric stove, in which the amount of heat generated and its duration change irregularly, and there are multiple ways of changing, and the user can select one of them. .

Another example is to periodically change the room temperature based on the temperature set by the user, and at the same time change the direction of the airflow blown from the indoor fan so that the air sometimes hits the occupants of the room. Air conditioners designed to create a sense of comfort are also proposed (for example, ``Okiten'' (
Dempa Shimbunsha) April 1990 issue p. 202).

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, each of the above conventional techniques has the following problems.

In the conventional technology described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-48222, the wind direction and speed are changed irregularly to obtain a natural wind-like effect. This is an important element for obtaining the same, and no consideration has been given to this point.

In other words, in such conventional technology, the room temperature is considered to be kept constant, but in such a case, even if the room feels comfortable in a certain wind direction and wind speed, the feeling of comfort is lost when the wind direction and speed change. However, it is not always possible to feel comfortable.

In the technology described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-56805, when an air conditioner performs cooling operation, the temperature of the space (i.e. room temperature)
It is possible to change the However, in the case of cooling operation, a feeling of comfort is obtained when the room temperature falls, but a feeling of comfort is not obtained when the room temperature rises, and in fact, a feeling of discomfort may occur. Therefore, even with this prior art, a comfortable feeling cannot always be obtained.

In the conventional technology published in the above newspaper, in the case of cooling operation, when lowering the room temperature, the temperature is lowered quickly with high capacity, and when the room temperature is raised, it is raised slowly with low capacity, and the direction of the air at the outlet is changed, so that the outlet temperature is lowered. When the temperature is high, the downward blowing time is lengthened to shorten the time that the air is in contact with people, and when the blowing temperature is low, the downward blowing time is shortened and the time that it is in contact with people is longer.

However, according to such conventional technology, during high-capacity operation, depending on the target load such as the size of the room, the room temperature may drop too much or the room temperature may drop rapidly, and the user may feel chilly. It doesn't always feel comfortable.

Further, even if the wind direction is changed, this wind direction angle is set in advance, and depending on the occupant's position in the room, the airflow may not hit the occupant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that solves these problems and allows a user to always feel comfortable.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides means for changing a target temperature with respect to a set temperature to obtain a desired room temperature;
and means for changing the rotation speed of the indoor fan in accordance with the detected room temperature.

[For production]

Above 1. With the second means, the room temperature and the speed of the airflow from the indoor fan can be changed over time.

In cooling operation, as explained earlier, when the room temperature falls, comfort is felt and the room temperature rises.

Sometimes the feeling of comfort disappears and discomfort occurs. For this reason, simply changing the room temperature only provides a sense of comfort intermittently, but cannot sustain the sense of comfort.

Therefore, in the present invention, the wind speed of the airflow from the indoor fan is changed according to the room temperature, and the loss of comfort caused by the rise in the room temperature is compensated for by increasing the wind speed. According to this, it is also possible to prevent chills caused by strong airflow when the room temperature drops by reducing the wind speed.

〔Example〕

First, an outline of the air conditioning method for maintaining a feeling of comfort according to the present invention will be explained.

According to conventional air conditioners, for example, in the case of cooling, the ninth
As shown in Figure 9(a), when the speed of the airflow from the air conditioner is kept constant and the desired room temperature is set by the user, the indoor temperature decreases as shown in Figure 9(b). Once the set temperature is reached, the room temperature is maintained at the set temperature from then on. However, according to this type of air conditioning method, as shown in Figure 9 (C), the air conditioner starts up and starts cooling, and as the room temperature drops, the feeling of comfort increases and the room temperature reaches the set temperature. When this temperature is reached, the feeling of comfort is at its highest, but if the room temperature is maintained at the set temperature from then on, the feeling of comfort gradually fades until it reaches a state where it does not feel either uncomfortable or comfortable. According to experiments, this state was reached approximately 60 minutes after feeling the most comfortable.

By the way, experiments have shown that in the case of air conditioning, people feel more comfortable when the temperature drops. In addition, in the case of air conditioning, people feel uncomfortable when the temperature rises, but even in such cases, if the rate of rise in temperature is slow and the amount of rise is small, air conditioning It was found that by increasing the speed (wind speed) of the airflow from the aircraft to the occupants, the occupants felt as if they were being blown by a gentle breeze, eliminating discomfort and, in fact, providing a sense of comfort.

From this, the present invention, as shown in Fig. 10),
The room temperature was made to alternately fall and rise within a narrow temperature range that included the set temperature, and the wind speed was increased during periods when the temperature rise caused discomfort, as shown in Figure 10 (al). According to this, as shown in FIG. 1O(C), the air conditioner starts cooling and a comfortable feeling is obtained, and the same comfortable feeling continues thereafter.

According to experiments, the upper and lower ranges of room temperature are within ±1 of the set temperature.
It has been found that it is appropriate to set the temperature at 0.degree.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention, in which 1 is the main body of the air conditioner, 2 is a remote control device (hereinafter referred to as remote control), 10 is a control unit, and 1 is a 1 is a calculation unit, 2 is a timer, 13 is a room temperature detection unit, 14 is a reception unit, 15 is an indoor fan, 16 is a compressor, 1
7 is a wind direction motor, 21 is a control section, 22 is a main operation switch, 23 is a soft button, 24 is a wind direction button, and 25 is a transmitting section.

In the figure, when the main operation switch 22 of the remote controller 2 is operated, the control section 21 generates a power control signal in response to the operation, and causes the transmitting section 25 to transmit the signal. In the main body 1, the receiving section 14 receives this power control signal and turns on or off the power of the main body 1 in response to the received power control signal. In other words, remote control 2
Each time the main operation switch 22 is operated, the power to the main body 1 is turned on and off alternately. When the power is turned on in the main body 1, the indoor fan 15 and the compressor 16 are started, and the control unit 10
The indoor fan 5 and the compressor 16 are controlled so that the room temperature is maintained at the set temperature while taking in the detection information from the room temperature detection section 13.

Although not shown, the remote controller 2 is also provided with a temperature setting means, and when the remote controller 2 is operated to set a desired temperature, the controller 21 sends a set temperature signal from the transmitter 25 to the main body 1, and the main body 1 controls the temperature. The unit 10 controls the indoor fan 15 and compressor 16 to bring the indoor temperature to this set temperature.

Further, when the wind direction button 24 is operated with the remote control 2, the control section 21 causes the transmitting section 25 to transmit a wind direction signal in response. In the main body l, when the receiving unit 14 receives this wind direction signal, the control unit lO controls the wind direction motor 17 accordingly, thereby controlling the direction (wind direction) of the airflow blown out from the main body l by the indoor fan 15. Can be changed repeatedly.

Note that if the wind direction button 24 is operated on the remote control 2 while the wind direction motor 17 is operating on the main body 1, the wind direction motor 17 will stop.

Furthermore, when the flexible button 23 is operated with the remote control 2, the control unit 21 generates a flexible signal in response, and when the main unit 1 receives this flexible signal, the transmitting unit 25 transmits it. In response to this, timer 1 of control unit 10
2 is activated, and the calculation unit 11 activates the timer 12 and the room temperature detection unit 13.
The indoor fan 15 and compressor 16 are controlled using the output 1 set temperature, etc., and the operation (hereinafter referred to as
(referred to as "responsible driving").

In addition, while driving slowly, press the gentle button 2 on the remote control 2.
If you operate 3, the slow driving will stop.

Here, according to FIG. 2, the control section 21 in the remote control 2
We will summarize the operation of .

When the control unit 21 receives an input while waiting for an input (step S2°), this input is sent to the main operation step 22 and the fast button 23. It is determined which of the wind direction buttons 24 the air is coming from (step S2). When this input is from the main operation switch 22, tBI! turns on the power of the main body 1 with the previous operation of the main operation switch 22! 111I
II! In step S, it is determined whether a signal (operating signal) is generated. ), if an operation signal has been generated, generate a power control signal (stop signal) to turn off the power to the main body 1 (step 523), and if a stop signal has been generated, generate an operation signal (step 5zn) -Then, the transmitter 25 transmits the power control signal (step s2).

If the input is from the wind direction button 24 (step S
z+), generates a wind direction signal (step S is) and transmits it from the transmitter 25 (step 5!?), and when the input is from the quiet button 23 (step S
1) Generate a slow signal (step S) and transmit it from the transmitter 25 (step S).

Note that the same applies to temperature settings, etc., and explanations thereof will be omitted.

Next, according to FIG. 3, the control section 1 of the main body l in FIG.
The control operations of 0 will be summarized and explained.

When the control unit IO is in the reception waiting state and receives a received signal (step Ss), the control unit IO determines whether the received signal is an operation signal, a stop signal, or another signal (step 53I). ), when the received signal is an operating signal, the indoor fan 5 and compressor 16 are activated as described above.
is operated to start operation (step 5sz), and when the received signal is a stop signal, indoor fan 15 and compressor 16 are stopped to stop operation (step S4).

When the received signal is other than a running signal or a stop signal, determine whether it is a wind direction signal or a wind direction signal.
(Step 533).

When the received signal is a smooth signal, if the slow operation explained in FIG. 10 is currently being performed (step S, 4), this slow operation is stopped (step 5).
ss), if the wind direction motor 17 is currently in operation, the wind direction motor 17 is started if the wind direction motor 17 is currently operating. (Step S3?) and stop it (Step S3*), and if the wind direction motor 17 is currently stopped, operate it (Step 521
).

In addition, in the above description of FIG. 3, description of other operations such as temperature setting has been omitted.

Furthermore, the main body 1 is also provided with operating members such as a main operating switch, a soft button, and a wind direction button, and it goes without saying that by operating these, the operations shown in Fig. 3 are performed. .

By the way, the feature of this embodiment is the smooth operation executed at step 83 in FIG. This will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8. However, FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing the temporal flow of the smooth operation, FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of the smooth operation routine (step 836) in FIG. 3, and FIG.
Temperature achievement routine in the figure (step Ss1.5s
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the details of step S83.s), and FIG.
, ), and FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing details of the indoor fan control routine (step S) in FIGS. 6 and 7.
FIG.

As mentioned above, when the speed control button 2 of the remote control 2 is not being operated on the main body 1 (Fig. 1),
(FIG. 1), a smooth operation routine (step S3 in FIG. 3) shown in detail in FIG. 5 is executed. This gentle operation is performed in step S shown in FIG. ~
A series of operations of SSa is defined as one cycle, and this cycle is repeated until the flexible button 23 (FIG. 1) is operated next.

In addition, when driving in a relaxed manner, as explained earlier, in order to maintain a sense of comfort for humans, it is recommended that the change in room temperature be ±1°C of the set temperature and the range of change should be approximately 2°C. For this reason, it is effective to set the range of change in the room temperature detected by the room temperature detection unit 13 (FIG. 1) in the air conditioner body l to about 0.5° C., with the set temperature as the lower limit. In the operation description below,
The width of this change is set to 0.5°C.

First, when the smooth operation routine is entered and the operation is started, step S in FIG. 5 sets the set temperature determined by the user as the target temperature. ), the temperature attainment routine (step S s+) is entered.

In this routine, as shown in FIG. 6, first, the timer 12 (FIG. 1) starts operating in step S. ), the room temperature is detected by the room temperature detection unit 13 (step 5o
l) - Then, compression @ 16 (first
(Fig. 4) is driven (step 5iz) - At the start of slow operation (to), as shown in Fig. 4 (al), the detected temperature (-set temperature) shown by the solid line Since the temperature (indicated by the broken line, hereinafter simply referred to as room temperature) is sufficiently high, the compression a
The rotational speed of IS is sufficiently high, and due to the cooling effect, the speed shown in Figure 4 (
As shown in a), the room temperature drops rapidly.

In FIG. 6, when the compressor 16 is driven in step S1, a control routine for the indoor fan 15 (step S) is then entered.

In this control routine, as shown in FIG. 8, first, the room temperature is detected by the room temperature detection section 13 (FIG. 1) (step S), and whether or not the room temperature is below (set temperature + 0.25°C) is determined. is determined (step S□).

In this case, as shown in FIG. 4(a), since this is the start of the most gentle operation, the room temperature>(set temperature + 0.2
Next, it is determined whether the room temperature is higher than (set temperature 0.5°C) (step S).

In this case, as shown in Fig. 4(a), since the room temperature is ≧ (set temperature + 0.5°C), the indoor fan 15 (Fig. 1) is controlled to generate a weak wind (Fig. 4). (C)).

The above is the control of the indoor fan 5 at the start of the smooth operation, and the process then proceeds to step sba in FIG. 6.

This step si4 consists of room temperature and target temperature (=set temperature)
When the room temperature reaches this target temperature, the process returns to step S1. That is, the series of operations in step S&I""S63 is repeated until the room temperature reaches the target temperature.

By the way, at the start of such a gentle operation, the room temperature drops, and when the room temperature falls below (set temperature + 0.25°C) (time t1 in FIG. 4), in step S&3, the step in FIG. ” By s r * S @ 4,
As shown in FIG. 4 (C1), the indoor fan 15 is controlled to switch from a weak breeze to a gentle breeze. This can prevent the feeling of chilliness when the room temperature drops to near the set temperature.

Further, as the room temperature approaches the target temperature, which is the set temperature, due to the operation of step Sbz in FIG. 6, the rotational speed of the compressor 6 also decreases (FIG. 4(b)).

In FIG. 6, when the room temperature reaches the target temperature (=set temperature) (step 564), the timer 12 (first
If the measurement time in Fig. 4 has passed the preset time T (for example, 5 minutes) (step 5O5), the process moves to step SSZ in Fig. 5 and the starting operation ends (time tz in Fig. 4). ).

When the starting operation is completed as described above, the target temperature is set to (set temperature + 0.25°C) as shown in FIG. Step 5sj).

When entering this time attainment routine, in FIG. 7, first, the timer 12 (FIG. 1) starts measuring time in step S. ), the room temperature is detected by the room temperature detection unit 13 (
Step Sy+) - and target temperature (general constant temperature +0
．． The compressor 16 is controlled to rotate at a rotational speed corresponding to the difference between the temperature (25°C) and the room temperature (step 5yz) - In other words, the room temperature rises by increasing the target temperature, but this target temperature Since the temperature has been increased by only 0.25° C., the rotational speed of the compressor 16 is low, but the rotational state is maintained, and a rapid rise in room temperature is suppressed and the temperature rises slowly.

This eliminates discomfort caused by a rise in room temperature.

Furthermore, the indoor fan 15 shown in detail in FIG.
Control is performed (step St), and the above steps SKI to S1. The series of operations is repeated until the time measured by the timer 12 reaches a preset time T (for example, 5 minutes) (steps S, . . . ).

However, this time achievement routine (step S in Fig. 5)
During step s), the indoor fan 15 is sending a breeze as shown in FIG. 4(C), and step S? in FIG. 4, as shown in Figure 8, the room temperature is (set temperature + 0.5
As long as the temperature does not exceed ℃), a light breeze will continue to be blown. However, as mentioned above, since the room temperature is set to rise slowly, by the time the measurement time by the timer 12 reaches the set time T (step S t-), the room temperature will be (set temperature +
0.5℃).

When the time measured by the timer 12 reaches the set time T (time T in FIG. 4) during execution of the time achievement routine (step 553, FIG. 7), this routine ends and the target temperature becomes (set temperature + 0. 5°C) (step 5s in Figure 5).
a) Temperature Achievement Routine (Step Sss in Figure 5)
).

This routine also consists of a series of operations shown in FIG. 6, and is repeated until the room temperature reaches the target temperature (general constant temperature +0.5° C.). Then, the room temperature is (set temperature + 0.5℃),
That is, when the target temperature in this case is reached (time T4 in FIG. 4), the indoor fan 15 control routine (step S,
), step S in FIG. , So, the indoor fan 15 switches from a gentle breeze to a weak breeze to eliminate the discomfort caused by the rise in room temperature.

In addition, in FIG. 6, when the room temperature reaches the target temperature (step S), and if the time measured by the timer 12 has elapsed for the set time (step 8ths), the temperature attainment routine (step S) in FIG. ss) ends. That is, the temperature attainment routine of step SSS is provided until the room temperature reaches the target temperature (=set temperature + 0.5°C), but before the timer 12's measurement time reaches the set time T, the room temperature reaches this target temperature. When the temperature reaches T, the temperature attainment routine of step SS5 is terminated after waiting for this measured time to reach the set time T. This is to prevent room temperature changes and changes in airflow speed from accelerating beyond a certain level during gentle operation.

In FIG. 5, when the temperature achievement routine of step SSS is completed as described above (time t4 in FIG. 4), the target temperature is lowered again to (set temperature + 0.25°C) (step SS&), Proceed to the next time achievement routine (step 557).

This routine also consists of the series of operations shown in FIG. In this case, the target temperature was lowered from (set temperature + 0.5°C) to (set temperature + 0.25°C) (time t in Figure 4).
4) As shown in Fig. 4(b), the rotation speed of the compressor 16 is increased to enhance the cooling effect, and as shown in Fig. 4(a), the room temperature decreases (Fig. 7). Step S7□
). Then, at time t5 in FIG. 4, when the time measured by the timer 12 reaches the set time T (step 574 in FIG.
), the time achievement routine of step SS4 in FIG. 5 is completed, and step S is passed through step S□. Return to This step S. Then, the target temperature becomes the set temperature again, and the process proceeds to step SS+, which consists of a series of operations shown in FIG.

During the execution of the time achievement routine in steps S and 7 in FIG. 5, or the temperature achievement routine in step SS+, that is, during the period when the room temperature reaches the set temperature from time t4 in FIG. 4, the room temperature is always (room temperature + 0.25 ℃), but at that point (time ta in FIG. 4), step sks in FIG.
Or Step S in Figure 7, Step S in Figure 8 in 3
□, 3.4 switches the indoor fan 15 from a weak breeze to a gentle breeze so that the feeling of chilliness caused by a drop in room temperature is lost.

Here, to summarize the above, time 1t to time 1 in FIG. are the operation periods of steps S sz and S Sol in FIG. 5, and times t and t4 in FIG.
s4. The operation period from time t4 to time t in FIG. 4 is the operation period from step S sa to step S57 in FIG. 5, and from time t5 to t6 in FIG.
This is the operation period of the SSI, and is the time L in FIG. 4 explained earlier.
When the starting operations up to step 2 are completed, the above series of operations are repeated until the slow button 23 in FIG. 1 is operated and a stop command is issued (step S2 in FIG. 5). You can continue driving.

The smooth operation is performed as described above, but it is also possible to operate the wind direction motor 17 during the smooth operation and change the wind direction at the same time.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the room temperature is raised or lowered, and a weak wind is sent when the room temperature rises, and a light breeze is sent when the room temperature falls, so that a comfortable feeling can be obtained when the room temperature falls, and The discomfort that occurs when the room temperature rises is eliminated by a gentle breeze, and the chilliness is also eliminated by switching from a gentle breeze to a light breeze when the room temperature drops, allowing the user to maintain a comfortable feeling at all times.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the air conditioner according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the remote control device in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is the entire main body of the air conditioner in Fig. 1. 4 is a timing chart showing the smooth operation of the air conditioner main body, FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the smooth operation routine in FIG. 3 in detail, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a specific example of the temperature achievement routine in FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a specific example of the time achievement routine in FIG. 5, and FIG. 8 is the indoor fan control routine in FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a specific example of the cooling operation in a conventional air conditioner and its effects, and FIG. FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Air conditioner main body, 2... Remote control device, 10... Control part, 11... Calculation part, 12...
...Timer, 13...Room temperature detection unit, 14...Receiving unit, 15...Indoor fan, Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Darkness (minutes)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A room temperature detection unit that detects room temperature, an indoor fan that sends airflow into the room, and a device that sets the temperature of the airflow according to a predetermined target temperature and brings the room temperature to the target temperature. an air conditioner comprising: a first means for changing the target temperature with respect to a set temperature for obtaining a desired room temperature; An air conditioner characterized in that it is provided with a second means for changing the rotation speed, and repeatedly changes the room temperature and the wind speed of the airflow from the indoor fan over time. 2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the change in the target temperature by the first means is an alternating repetition of a step-like rise and a step-like fall. 3. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the range of change in the target temperature is narrower than the range of change in indoor temperature due to the airflow from the indoor fan. 4. The air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the range of change in the indoor temperature is about 2°C, while the range of change in the target temperature is about 0.5°C. 5. In claim 2, 3 or 4, when the target temperature is a lower limit value or an upper limit value, the first means:
The target temperature is changed stepwise after waiting for the room temperature to reach the room temperature detected by the room temperature detection section, and when the target temperature is not a lower limit value or an upper limit value, the target temperature is changed over a preset time period. An air conditioner characterized by changing the 6. In claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, the second
When the room temperature detected by the room temperature detection section becomes higher than a first predetermined value, the wind speed of the air flow is increased, and the room temperature detected by the room temperature detection section is higher than the first predetermined value. An air conditioner characterized in that the wind speed of the airflow is reduced when the speed becomes lower than a second predetermined low value.