JPH05296549A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To assure a comfortable heated space by a method wherein an air flow direction sensing means is installed at a wall surface except walls of a room having an indoor device, and the indoor device is controlled in response to an air flowing direction which is different in view of thermal insulation of an air conditioned spacing and a shape or a size of the room. CONSTITUTION:An indoor device 1 is comprised of a heat exchanger having refrigerant flowed therein and an indoor blower for blowing air to the heat exchanger. In this case, an air flow direction sensing means 2 is fixed to at least one wall surface except the wall surface having the indoor device 1 fixed in a room to be air conditioned. An amount of blowing air of the indoor device 1 is controlled in response to an air flowing direction detected by the air flow direction sensing means 2. With such an arrangement, during the heating operation, an air blowing capability and an air blowing direction of the indoor device 1 are controlled in response to the air flowing direction which is different from the shape or size of the room and thermal insulating characteristics of the spacing to be air conditioned, thereby the comfortable air heated spacing can be assured.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner for controlling air flow.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional air conditioner will be described with reference to FIGS.

7 and 8 are a cycle diagram and a configuration diagram of an air conditioner. As shown in the figure, the air conditioner includes a compressor 26, a four-way valve 30, an indoor heat exchanger 21,
The expansion valve 29 and the outdoor heat exchanger 27 constitute a closed cycle, and the compressor 26 can be variably controlled in frequency by an inverter drive circuit 31. Also,
The indoor heat exchanger 21 and the outdoor heat exchanger 27 are provided with an indoor blower 22 and an outdoor blower 28, respectively, and an outlet 25 is provided with a louver 23 that changes the direction of the blown air. Switching at the time of air conditioning is done by the four-way valve 30,
The pressure reducing action is performed by the expansion valve 29. Further, in order to detect the indoor temperature, the indoor heat exchanger 21 is usually provided with an indoor temperature detecting means 24. The refrigerant flows through the heat transfer pipe 31, which is one of the constituent elements of the indoor heat exchanger 21 and the outdoor heat exchanger 27.

The heat of condensation of the refrigerant gas compressed by the compressor 26 and the heat of vaporization of the refrigerant expanded to a low temperature and low pressure by the expansion valve 29 are used for heating and cooling. When performing the heating operation, the four-way valve 30 is switched as shown by the solid line in the figure. The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant gas discharged from the compressor 26 flows through the heat transfer pipe 31 and is sent to the indoor heat exchanger 21 that functions as a condenser during heating operation to be condensed. At this time, warm air is blown into the room by the indoor blower 21. The air blowing direction is determined by detecting the temperature of the indoor air sucked from the suction port 34 by the indoor temperature detecting means 24 provided near the indoor heat exchanger 21, and according to the detected indoor temperature, It can be changed by the louver 23. Then, the refrigerant expanded by the expansion valve 29 to the low temperature and low pressure state is evaporated in the outdoor heat exchanger 27 by absorbing heat from the outside air, and then sucked into the compressor 26. In order to improve the efficiency of the heat pump, the temperature of the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchanger 21 is lowered so that the outdoor heat exchanger 2
The evaporation temperature of the refrigerant in 7 is increased to reduce the pressure difference before and after the compressor 26. That is, the indoor unit 40 and the outdoor unit 5
With 0, it is sufficient to increase the air flow rate.

However, when the amount of air blown from the indoor unit 40 is increased during the heating operation, the heating capacity is increased, but the temperature of the blown air is lowered, so that a large amount of low-temperature air hits the skin and the comfort during heating is reduced. There is.

Further, FIG. 9 is a timing chart showing the blow control during heating of the conventional air conditioner. For this reason, in the conventional air conditioner indoor unit 40, as shown in the figure, the amount of air blown out is increased in order to enhance the heating capacity at the time of heating start-up, and the wind is directed downward so that the occupants are not exposed to low-temperature and high-speed air blown out. When the indoor temperature detected by the indoor temperature detecting means 24 approaches the set temperature set by the remote controller, the rotation speed of the compressor 26 is reduced, the heating capacity is reduced, and the air flow rate of the indoor unit 40 is reduced. The high-temperature and low-speed warm air is blown in front of the indoor unit 40. For this reason, the occupant can obtain a high feeling of heating without impairing the comfort during heating. In some cases, as shown in FIG. 10, control is performed to narrow the gap between the louvers 23 and increase the wind speed at the time of small air volume to increase the reaching distance of warm air.

However, in the above-described conventional air conditioner, the indoor air conditioner heating / cooling state is analogized based on the intake air temperature of the indoor unit 40 or the air temperature obtained by the air temperature detecting means provided in the remote controller, The operation control of 40 and the outdoor unit 50 was carried out. Therefore, in a slender room or a room with poor heat insulation, the temperature distribution in the room becomes poor, and the air temperature around the indoor unit 40 of the air conditioner is high. Has been set to a small value, which causes a discomfort to the user.

[0008]

As described above, in the conventional air conditioner, since the air blown from the indoor unit during the heating operation is in a short circuit state, the temperature of the entire room cannot be detected and only the area around the indoor unit can be detected. It was detecting the air temperature. For this reason, there is a drawback in that the entire room is not heated and the user feels uncomfortable. Then, this invention eliminates the said fault and aims at providing a comfortable heating operation.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, an air conditioner of the present invention comprises a heat exchanger through which a refrigerant flows,
An indoor blower that ventilates air through the heat exchanger, an indoor unit including the indoor blower and the heat exchanger, an air flow direction detection means provided on at least one wall surface other than the indoor unit mounting wall surface, and the air flow. And a control means for controlling the air flow rate according to the direction of the air flow detected by the direction detection means. Further, the control means is characterized by performing control for changing a blowing direction according to the direction of the air flow detected by the air flow direction detection means.

[0010]

With this structure, the airflow direction and the airflow direction can be changed according to the direction of the airflow detected by the airflow direction detection means, so that it can be comfortably used even in a slender room or a room with poor heat insulation. It is possible to continue a smooth heating operation.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a room configuration of an indoor unit 1 and an air flow direction detecting means 2 mounted on a wall surface opposite to the wall surface on which the indoor unit 1 is mounted. The indoor unit 1 sucks the indoor air from the suction port 24 by the indoor blower 22, and the sucked air is heat-exchanged by passing through the heat exchanger 21 including the heat transfer pipe 31 in which the refrigerant flows, and then the blow-out port. The air after the heat exchange is blown from 25. The blowing direction is provided near the outlet 25 and can be changed by the louver 23.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the structure of the air flow direction detecting means 2 provided on the wall opposite to the wall on which the indoor unit 1 is mounted. In the figure, the air flow direction detecting means 2 is composed of a cover 5, a transmitting element 6 and a detecting element 7. Explaining the constituent elements, a detection element 7 is provided inside the cover 5 having a vertical space so as to detect the vertical airflow direction. Further, the cover 5 is provided with a transmitting element 6 that transmits the result of detecting the air flow direction by the detecting element 7.
The detection element 7 for detecting the air flow direction, which is attached so as to project from the wall surface, detects the air flow direction by the direction of the strain received by the air flow. Then, the transmission element 6 sends a signal such as + and-or High and Low to the indoor unit 1 based on the detection result that the strain directions of the detection element 7 are upward and downward. As the transmitting means, for example, an infrared sensor or the like is used.

3 (a) and 3 (b) show a room with good heat insulation and a room with bad heat insulation. It is the figure which showed the flow pattern of the airflow in the room in the case of operating an air conditioning apparatus on the same blowing condition in the room with good heat insulation and the room with bad heat insulation with the arrow. In the figure, in the case of room (a) with good heat insulation,
Since the difference between the temperature near the floor of the room and the temperature near the ceiling of the room is small, the air flows to the vicinity of the wall surface where the indoor unit is installed in the room. In the case of the room (b) having poor heat insulation, heat escapes to the outside, so that the temperature difference between the floor and the ceiling of the room is larger than that in the case of good heat insulation. For this reason, the air flow does not reach the indoor unit installation wall surface of the room, and the air flow rises near the center of the room. Then, as shown in FIG. 3B, air flows on the indoor unit side of the room and the indoor unit mounting-to-wall surface side.

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of a control example having the above-mentioned configuration. In the figure, first, the heating operation is started (step 11), and when the heating operation is started, the direction of the louver 23 is turned downward (step 12).
Then, it is checked by the airflow direction detecting means 2 whether the airflow direction is downward (step 13), and the result of the check is determined as the indoor unit 1
A signal is sent to the receiving element (not shown) provided in the above by the transmitting element 6 using an infrared sensor. When the indoor unit 1 receives the signal that the air flow direction is downward, the direction of the louver 23 is turned downward (step 14). Then, at the same time as increasing the blowing amount, the blowout area reduction louver 23 is controlled (step 15). Step 15 is repeated until the set temperature is reached (step 16). When the indoor unit 1 receives the signal from the transmission element 6 of the air flow direction detection means 2 that the air flow direction is upward, the set temperature is reached (step 1).
The louver 23 direction is continued downward (step 17) until 8).

In the heating operation of the air conditioner of the present invention, the warm air is usually set to blow out vertically downward from the indoor unit 1. This is to prevent the warm air blown from the indoor unit 1 from directly hitting the user's skin to make the air flow bothersome and to prevent the user from feeling chilly due to the air flow, thereby improving comfort. When the user issues a request to change the set temperature with the remote controller so as to increase the indoor temperature, the direction of the airflow detected by the airflow direction detection means 2 installed on the opposite wall surface of the installation wall surface of the indoor unit 1 ( (See Figure 8)
Controls as follows.

As shown in FIG. 3A, when the airflow on the opposite wall faces upward, the warm air blown out from the indoor unit 1 warms the entire living space, and therefore the blowing direction is downward. Then, the rotation speed of the compressor of the outdoor unit is increased so as to increase the blowing temperature while maintaining the air volume. Also,
When the airflow on the opposite wall faces downward as shown in FIG. 3B, the warm air blown out from the indoor unit 1 rises under the influence of buoyancy near the center of the room because the wind speed is low. ,
The entire living space is not sufficiently heated. Therefore, the blowing direction is set slightly horizontal to increase the blowing wind speed.

In order to increase the blowing air velocity, it is conceivable to reduce the blowing area and increase the number of rotations of the indoor blower 22 in the conventional air conditioner.
When the blowing air velocity suddenly increases, the blowing temperature may decrease and the user may feel chilly. In order not to feel chilly, the operating frequency of the compressor 26 of the outdoor unit is increased to raise the blowing temperature a little and then the time is delayed to control the blowing velocity of the indoor unit 1. And
When the indoor temperature reaches the set temperature, the air blow direction of the indoor unit 1 is set downward and the operation is performed.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the position of the optimum air flow direction detecting means 2 with respect to the mounting position of the indoor unit 1 indoors. In the figure, the indoor unit 1b installed near the center of the upper part of the wall and the indoor units 1a and 1c installed near the center of the upper part of the wall rather to the left and right. The air flow direction detecting means 2 corresponding to the indoor unit 1b is provided near the center of the upper part of the opposite wall surface. The airflow direction detecting means 2 for the indoor units 1a and 1c is the airflow direction detecting means 2a to 2c at the same height as the indoor units 1a to 1c on the wall surface on the extension line connecting the indoor units 1a to 1c and the central portion of the room. 2c is provided. Then, the air is blown toward the airflow direction detecting means 2a to 2c by setting the blowing direction of the indoor units 1a to 1c by the louver 23 to the left and right, that is, toward the center of the room.

As described above, by installing the indoor units 1a to 1c and the airflow direction detecting means 2a to 2c, the direction of the airflow coming to the opposite wall surface is detected through the vicinity of the center of the room where the user is most likely. be able to.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart of an embodiment of the air conditioner of the present invention. (1) is a case where the air flow direction is upward, and (2) is a case where the air flow direction is downward. As shown in the figure, when the blowout temperature reaches a predetermined temperature, the air flow rate, the louver direction, and the compressor rotation speed are controlled depending on whether the airflow direction is upward or downward.

Further, in the present invention, only making the entire room comfortable has been described, but when there is only one user near the center of a large room, it is not necessary to set a comfortable air conditioning environment up to the surrounding wall surface. In this case, by operating the air conditioner without using the airflow direction detection means 2 on the opposite wall, it is possible to make the vicinity of the center of the room comfortable.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention,
During heating operation, the air blowing capacity and the air blowing direction are controlled according to the heat insulation of the air-conditioned space and the direction of air flow that differs depending on the shape and size of the room, providing a comfortable heating space for the entire room to residents. It becomes possible to do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an installation example of an indoor unit and an airflow direction detection unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an airflow direction detection means in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a flow pattern of an indoor air flow due to heat insulation of a room.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flowchart of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the correspondence between the installation positions of the indoor unit and the airflow direction detection means in the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing air blowing control during heating of the indoor unit of the air conditioner of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cycle diagram of a conventional air conditioner.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of an indoor unit of a conventional air conditioner.

FIG. 9 is a timing chart showing a ventilation control during heating of the indoor unit of the conventional air conditioner.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of louver control of an indoor unit of a conventional indoor air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Indoor unit, 2 ... Air flow direction detecting means, 5 ... Cover, 6 ...
Transmitting element, 7 ... Detection element.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A heat exchanger through which a refrigerant flows, an indoor blower that ventilates air through the heat exchanger, an indoor unit including the indoor blower and the heat exchanger, and at least one other than the indoor unit mounting wall surface. According to the air flow direction detection means provided on one wall surface and the direction of the air flow detected by this air flow direction detection means,
An air conditioner comprising: a control unit that controls an air flow rate. 2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the control means includes a control means for controlling a blowing direction according to the direction of the air flow detected by the air flow direction detecting means.