JPH0581808B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) This invention relates to an air conditioner, and includes:
In particular, the present invention relates to an air conditioner that can provide comfortable air conditioning conditions in people's positions.

(Prior Art) As a specific example of an air conditioner that aims to provide comfortable air conditioning conditions in a person's position, there is an air conditioner described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 101735/1983. can. Figures 12 and 13
The figure shows an explanatory diagram. In Figure 12, 5
1 is an air conditioner main body, and 52 is a remote control for remotely controlling the air conditioner main body 51. Room temperature sensors 53 and 54 are attached to the air conditioner main body 51 and the remote controller 52, respectively. Further, the remote controller 52 is provided with a person presence identification device 55 that identifies whether or not there is a person within a certain range from the remote controller 52. Further, the remote control 52 is provided with a transmitting section 56 for transmitting an identification signal from the presence/absence identification device 55, and the air conditioner main body 51 is provided with a receiving section 57 for receiving the identification signal. When there is a person within the above-mentioned certain range from the position of the remote control 52, a person presence signal from the person presence identification device 55 is transmitted from the transmitter 56, and the air conditioner receives the person presence signal at the receiver 57. Main body 5
Based on the signal from the control unit 1, the air conditioner main body 5
This will control the operation of 1. In addition, when there is no person within the above-mentioned certain range, the air conditioner main body 51
The operation of the air conditioner main body 51 is controlled based on the room temperature sensor 54 provided in the air conditioner.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) In the above air conditioner, when a person is within the above-mentioned certain range, the room temperature at the position of the remote control 52 is calculated based on the assumption that the person is near the remote control 52. By controlling the air conditioner, it aims to make the air conditioning conditions comfortable at the person's location. As shown in FIG. 13, when a person is near the remote controller 52 (point A), it can be said that the comfortable air conditioning condition at the location of the remote controller 52 is approximately the comfortable air conditioning condition at the person's location. However, when a person is away from the remote controller 52 (point B), the comfortable air conditioning condition at the location of the remote controller 52 cannot be said to be the same as the comfortable air conditioning condition at the person's location. In this way, air conditioning control that attempts to improve air conditioning comfort at the remote controller 52 position by assuming that the remote controller 52 position is the same as the person's position has a problem in that it may not be possible to obtain a comfortable air conditioning condition.

The first invention has been made in order to eliminate the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and its purpose is to provide an air conditioner that can improve air conditioning comfort in the position of a person.

The second invention has also been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and its purpose is to provide an air conditioner that can improve air conditioning comfort at each person's position when there are multiple people in the room. Our goal is to provide the following.

(Means for Solving the Problems) Therefore, the air conditioner of the first invention is an air conditioner comprising an air conditioner main body 1 and a remote control 2 for remotely controlling the air conditioner main body 1. air conditioning status information detection means 17 for detecting air conditioning status information at the position of the remote controller 2;
Human position detection means 11 for detecting the position of a person
, a remote control position detection means 12 that detects the position of the remote control 2 in the room, and the air conditioning status information from the position of the person detected by the person position detection means 11 and the position of the remote control 2 detected by the remote control position detection means 12. A correction calculation means 26 for correcting the air conditioning state information detected by the detection means 17 to air conditioning state information at the person's position, and a comparison for comparing the air conditioning state information obtained by the correction calculation means 26 with setting control information. A means 27 and a control means 29 for controlling the operation of the air conditioner main body 1 according to the comparison result of the comparison means 27 are provided.

In the air conditioner of the second invention, the air conditioner is composed of an air conditioner body 1 and a remote control 2 for remote control of the air conditioner body 1, and the air conditioner status information at the position of the remote controller 2 is transmitted. an air conditioning state information detection means 17 for detecting; a person position detection means 11 for detecting the position of a person; a number of people detection means 40 for detecting the number of people detected by the person position detection means 11; Person reference position determination means 30 for determining a person reference position from the position of each person detected by the person position detection means 11 when the number of people detected by the number of people detection means 40 is plural.
, the remote control position detection means 12 detects the position of the remote control 2 in the room, the person reference position determined by the person reference position determining means 30, and the position of the remote control 2 detected by the remote control position detection means 12, and the air conditioning state is determined from the position of the remote control 2 detected by the remote control position detection means 12. A correction calculation means 26 for correcting the air conditioning state information detected by the information detection means 17 to air conditioning state information at the human reference position, and comparing the air conditioning state information obtained by the correction calculation means 26 with setting control information. A comparison means 27 and a control means 29 for controlling the operation of the air conditioner main body 1 according to the comparison result of the comparison means 27 are provided.

(Function) In the air conditioner of the first invention having the above configuration,
While the air conditioner is operating, the air conditioning status information at the location of the remote controller 2 is calculated from the location information of the person in the room and the location information of the remote controller 2 to the air conditioning status information at the person's location, and this information is used for setting control. The operation of the air conditioner is controlled by comparing the information.

In the air conditioner of the second invention having the above configuration,
While the air conditioner is operating, air conditioning status information at the position of the remote controller 2 is converted into air conditioning status information at the person's reference position from the person reference position information determined from the positions of multiple people in the room and the position information of the remote controller 2. This information is calculated and compared with set control information to control the operation of the air conditioner.

(Embodiments) Next, specific embodiments of the air conditioner of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, an embodiment of the first invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 6. In FIG. 3, 1 is the air conditioner main body, and 2 is a remote control for remotely controlling the air conditioner main body 1. In FIG. Remote control 2 has
A detection sensor 3 is attached to detect air conditioning conditions such as room temperature and wind speed at the position of the remote controller 2. On the other hand, the air conditioner body 1 has a detection sensor 3
A receiving section 4 is provided to receive an output signal from the. The reception signal received by the reception unit 4 is calculated into air conditioning status information at the position of the remote controller 2, as will be described later.

FIG. 4 shows a side view of the air conditioner body 1 installed on a wall. An indoor heat exchanger 5 and a blower fan 6 are disposed inside the air conditioner main body 1, and the blower fan 6 is configured so that its rotation speed can be automatically controlled. On the front side of the air conditioner main body 1, an indoor heat exchanger 5 is provided to transfer the indoor air.
Suction grill 7 for suction to pass through
However, at the lower part of the front side, a blowout grille 8 is provided for blowing out the conditioned cold air or hot air that has passed through the indoor heat exchanger 5. The outlet grille 8 has a horizontal deflection plate (hereinafter referred to as a horizontal flap) 9 for controlling the direction of the outlet air.
and a vertical deflection plate (hereinafter referred to as a vertical flap) 10. Each of these flaps 9, 10 is constructed so that its deflection angle can be automatically controlled by a step motor (not shown). A person position detection device 11 and a remote control position detection device 12 are arranged in parallel on one side of the upper front side of the air conditioner main body 1 (see FIG. 5).

The person position detection device 11 has a person detection sensor 13 and an ultrasonic sensor 14 that detects the distance to the person,
On the other hand, the remote control position detection device 12 has a remote control detection sensor 15 and an ultrasonic sensor 16 that detects the distance to the remote control 2. Human detection sensor 13
The remote control detection sensor 15 is composed of a pyroelectric infrared sensor, and the human detection sensor 13 receives infrared rays equivalent to body temperature emitted from the human body,
Regarding 5, for example, when receiving infrared rays of a predetermined temperature emitted from a heating unit (not shown) attached to the remote control 2, the system responds when the intensity of the infrared rays changes within a preset detection area. The presence of a person and the remote control 2 within the detection area can be detected. On the other hand, the ultrasonic sensors 14 and 16 each have an ultrasonic transmitter/receiver, and transmit ultrasonic waves approximately toward the center of the detection area of the human detection sensor 13 and approximately the center of the detection area of the remote control detection sensor 15, respectively. The time it takes for the reflected wave to return after being emitted and reflected by an object in that direction, i.e. a person and the remote control 2.
It is configured to detect the distance from the ultrasonic sensors 14, 16 to the object. FIG. 5 shows the configurations of the human position detecting device 11 and the remote control position detecting device 12. Person position detection device 1
1, the human detection sensor 13 and the ultrasonic sensor 14 are built into a sensor box 18.
This sensor box 18 is constructed so that it can be rotated vertically and horizontally by two step motors 19 and 20 for scanning the detection area. On the other hand, the remote control position detecting device 12 is similarly constructed so that the rotation of a sensor box 21 containing a remote control detection sensor 15 and an ultrasonic sensor 16 can be controlled by two step motors 22 and 23 for scanning. There is. The difference between the human position detection device 11 and the remote control position detection device 12 is that the detection wavelengths detected by the human detection sensor 13 and the remote control detection sensor 15, which are composed of pyroelectric infrared sensors, are different.

Next, when the air conditioner main body 1 equipped with the above-mentioned person position detection device 11 and remote control position detection device 12 is installed at a high place on a wall, for example, as shown in FIG. Detection of the position of , and detection of the position of the remote control 2 will be explained. Step motors 19, 20 and 22, 23 of the human position detection device 11 and the remote control position detection device 12, respectively.
is driven to sequentially change the detection directions of the human detection sensor 13 and the remote control detection sensor 15 to move and scan the detection area in the room. In the above scanning process, for example, when a person's head is detected by the human detection sensor 1
When the vehicle enters the detection area No. 3, the human detection sensor 13 is sensitive and a human detection signal is generated. At this time, the horizontal and vertical angles 〓1, 〓2 of the detection direction are given by the rotation control angles of the respective step motors 19, 20, respectively, and these directional angles 〓1, 〓2 are stored as detection direction information. do. Furthermore, at this time, the distance L1 to the person's head is also determined by the ultrasonic sensor 14 at the same time.

Based on the above 〓1, 〓2, and L1, for example, the horizontal distance l1 from the wall where the air conditioner body 1 is installed to the person's position can be calculated as l1=L1・cos〓1・cos〓2 easily found. The above explanation is for the case where a human head is detected, but the human detection sensor 13
Even in the case where L1 is sensitive to bare feet, the calculation result of the distance l1 from the wall surface to the person's position is given as the same value as above, and therefore, the person's position information is L1, L1, regardless of the person's head or bare feet. With 〓1 and 〓2, it is possible to accurately obtain the position information of a person.

On the other hand, when the remote control 2 enters the detection area during the scanning process, the remote control detection sensor 15 senses,
A remote control detection signal is generated. The rotation control angles of the step motors 22 and 23 at this time give the horizontal and vertical angles 〓3 and 〓4 of the detection direction, respectively, and the angles 〓3 and 〓4 of these directions are stored as detection direction signals. Furthermore, at this time, the distance L2 from the ultrasonic sensor 16 to the remote control 2 where the ultrasonic waves are generated is also determined at the same time.

Based on the above 〓3, 〓4, and L2, for example, the horizontal distance l2 from the wall surface where the air conditioner body 1 is installed to the position of the remote control 2 can be calculated by calculating l2=L2・cos〓3・cos〓4. can be easily determined. Therefore, even if the remote control 2 is located at a high place or a low place, L
2, 〓3, and 〓4, the position information of the remote controller 2 can be obtained accurately.

FIG. 1 shows a functional block diagram of the air conditioner. In the figure, a detection sensor receiving section 4 receives an output signal from a detection sensor 3 of a remote controller 2. The calculation means 24 performs calculation processing on the output signal to obtain air conditioning status information at the position of the remote controller 2. In this case, the detection sensor receiving section 4 and the calculating means 24 constitute the air conditioning state information detecting means 17. On the other hand, the remote control position detection device 12 and the person position detection device 11 respectively detect the positions of the remote control 2 and the person (L2, 〓3, 〓4 and L1,
1, 2) are detected and stored as remote control position information and person position information. The calculation means 25 calculates the remote control position information and the person position information to obtain relative position information of the person with respect to the position of the remote control 2. The correction calculation means 26 processes the air conditioning status information at the position of the remote controller 2 and the relative position information of the person, and corrects the air conditioning status information at the position of the remote controller 2 to the air conditioning status information at the person's position.
In this correction calculation process, air conditioning condition distributions such as room temperature distribution and wind speed distribution under predetermined operating conditions are stored in advance for a plurality of conditions, and the air conditioning condition distribution is calculated based on air conditioning information detected by the remote controller 2 under specific conditions. This is corrected, and the air conditioning condition at the person's location is predicted based on this and the person's location information. The comparison means 27 compares the air conditioning state information at the person's position with the setting control information set in the control value setting section 28. The control means 29 inputs control signals to the motor of the blower fan 6 and the step motors of the horizontal and vertical flaps 9 and 10 based on the comparison result, thereby controlling the blower fan 6 and the horizontal and vertical flaps 9 and 10.

Here, the calculation means 24, calculation means 25,
Correction calculation means 26, comparison means 27, control means 29
Since these are processed by the microcomputer 49, the operation for air conditioning will be explained below based on the flowchart shown in FIG. In the figure, when air conditioning operation starts, step S1
, the air conditioning status information at the position of the remote controller 2 is calculated and obtained. Next, in step S2, it is determined whether a person has been detected by the person detection sensor 13, which is sequentially scanning the room by driving the scanning step motors 19, 20 of the person position detection device 11. When a person is detected in step S2, the position of the person is detected in step S3. That is, the horizontal and vertical angles 1 and 2 in the detection direction are detected from the rotation control angles of the scanning step motors 19 and 29 when detecting a person, respectively, and the ultrasonic sensor 14
The distance L1 between the person and the person is detected. Thereafter, in step S4, the position of the remote controller 2 is detected.
That is, the horizontal and vertical angles 3 and 4 in the detection direction are detected from the rotation control angles of the scanning step motors 22 and 23 at the time of remote control detection, respectively, and the ultrasonic sensor 16 and The distance L2 between the controller 2 and the remote controller 2 is detected. In step S5, the steps S1, S3,
Based on the air conditioning status information, person position information, and remote control position information obtained in step S4, the air conditioning status information is corrected to air conditioning status information at the person's position. Then, in step S6, the air conditioning state information at the person's position is compared with the setting control information, and in step S7, control values for the respective motors of the blower fan 6 and flaps 9 and 10 are determined based on the comparison result in step S6. Next, in step S8, step S7
The blower fan 6 and the flaps 9 and 10 are controlled based on the control value at. And again step S1
Return to and repeat the steps above. If no person is detected in step S2, the process goes directly from step S2 to step S6.
The air conditioning status information at the remote control position is compared with the setting control information.

As explained above, in the above embodiment,
When the remote control 2 or a person moves indoors, control follows the movement of the person and the movement of the remote control 2 to improve air conditioning comfort at the person's position, making the air conditioning even more comfortable at the person's position. Enables improved air conditioning.

7 to 11 show embodiments of the second invention. FIG. 7 shows a functional block diagram thereof, and this block diagram differs from FIG. 1 in that a number of people detecting means 40 and a person reference position determining means 30 are provided. The number of people detection means 40 detects the number of people from the person position information detected by the person position detection means 13. Further, the person reference position determination means 30 determines a person reference position, which is an average position that can provide air conditioning comfort to each person, from the person position information when there is a plurality of people. . This decision is made as follows. As shown in Figures 9 to 11, the room is divided into multiple areas, and based on the relative positional relationship of each area where people are detected, locations that can provide comfort to each person (areas marked with ★) is set in advance, and the reference position of the person is determined, that is, calculated, for the person present at that location, or assuming that the person is present. Figures 9 a to e show the person reference positions when the room is divided into six parts and the positions of two people are detected, and Figures 10 a to e show the person reference positions when the positions of three people are detected. There is.
When the positions of 4 to 5 people are detected, the position where many people are gathered is used as the reference position of the person, and if there are people in the entire area or no one is present, the position shown in Figure 11 is used. The indicated position is set as the person's reference position. Note that other parts are the same as those in FIG. 1, so the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

Here, the number of people detection means 40, person reference position determination means 30, calculation means 24, calculation means 25, correction calculation means 26, comparison means 27, and control means 29 are processed by the microcomputer 49a, so the air conditioning The operation when performing this will be explained based on the flowchart shown in FIG. In the figure, when air conditioning operation starts, step S1
, the air conditioning status information at the remote control position is calculated and determined. Further, in step S2, the position of the remote controller 2 is detected, and in step S3, the position of the person is detected. Then step
In S4, the number of people is detected from the position of the person detected in step S3, and in step S5, the number of people is determined. That is, when there is a plurality of people, a person reference position is determined from the position of each person in step S6. And in step S7,
Based on the air conditioning status information, human reference position information, and remote control position information obtained in steps S1, S6, and S2, the air conditioning status information is corrected to air conditioning status information at the human reference position. Then step
In step S8, the air conditioning status information at the human reference position is compared with the set control information, and in step S9, control values for each motor of the blower fan 6, flaps 9, and 10 are determined based on the comparison result in step S8. In S10, step S9
The blower fan 6 and the flaps 9 and 10 are controlled based on the control value at. And again step S1
Return to and repeat the steps above. Note that if the number of people detected in step S5 is 1,
In step S11, the air conditioning status information at the remote control position in step S1 is corrected to the air conditioning status information at the person's position, and the process moves to step S8. On the other hand, if the number of people is 0 in step S5, then in step S12 the person reference position when there is no person in the room is determined, and the process goes to step S7 to obtain air conditioning status information at that person reference position.

Regarding the embodiment of the second invention, the same parts as in the first invention are indicated by the same reference numerals.

As explained above, in the above embodiment, even when there are multiple people in the room, it is possible to provide improved air conditioning comfort at the average position of each person. Furthermore, even when each person or the remote controller 2 moves around the room, the air conditioning control is performed following the movement of each person and the movement of the remote controller 2, so that air conditioning comfort is further improved.

(Effect of the invention) As described above, in the air conditioner of the first invention, the operation of the air conditioner is controlled based on the air conditioning status information at the location of the person in the room. It is possible to improve the air conditioning comfort at the location.

In the air conditioner of the second invention, when there are multiple people in the room, the operation of the air conditioner is controlled based on air conditioning status information at a person reference position, which is the average position of each person. Therefore, air conditioning comfort at each person's location can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of an embodiment of the first invention, FIG. 2 is a control flowchart of FIG. 1, and FIG.
The figure is an indoor layout of the above embodiment, FIG. 4 is a side view of the air conditioner body shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of the human position detection device and remote control detection device shown in FIG. 3. , FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an indoor room explaining the position detection of a person and a remote control by each device shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is a control block diagram of an embodiment of the second invention, and FIG. Control flowchart, No. 9
Figures a to e, Figures 10 a to e, and Figure 11 are schematic interior plan views showing the human reference position in the above embodiment of the second invention, respectively, and Figures 12 and 13 are illustrations of a conventional air conditioner. It is a diagram. 1...Air conditioner body, 2...Remote control, 3...
...Detection sensor, 11...Person position detection device (person position detection means), 12...Remote control position detection device (remote control position detection means), 17...Air conditioning state information detection means, 26...Correction calculation means, 27... ... Comparison means, 29 ... Control means, 30 ... Person reference position determination means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An air conditioner comprising an air conditioner main body 1 and a remote control 2 for remotely controlling the air conditioner main body 1, wherein the air conditioner is configured to detect air conditioning status information at the position of the remote control 2. air conditioning status information detection means 17, person position detection means 11 for detecting the position of a person, remote control position detection means 12 for detecting the position of the remote control 2 in the room, and a person detected by the person position detection means 11. correction calculating means 26 for correcting the air conditioning state information detected by the air conditioning state information detecting means 17 to the air conditioning state information at the person's position from the position of the remote controller 2 detected by the remote controller position detecting means 12 and the position of the remote controller 2; , a comparison means 27 for comparing the air conditioning state information obtained by the correction calculation means 26 with the setting control information, and a control means for controlling the operation of the air conditioner body 1 according to the comparison result of the comparison means 27. An air conditioner characterized by being provided with 29. 2. An air conditioner consisting of an air conditioner body 1 and a remote control 2 for remotely controlling the air conditioner body 1, and an air conditioning status information detection means for detecting air conditioning status information at the position of the remote controller 2. 17, a person position detection means 11 for detecting the position of a person, a number of people detection means 40 for detecting the number of people detected by the person position detection means 11, and a person detected by the number of people detection means 40. a person reference position determination means 30 for determining a person reference position from the position of each person detected by the person position detection means 11 when there is a plurality of persons; and a remote control position detection means for detecting the position of the remote control 2 in the room. The air conditioning state information detected by the air conditioning state information detecting means 17 is determined from the human reference position determined by the human reference position determining means 30 and the position of the remote controller 2 detected by the remote controller position detecting means 12. correction calculation means 26 for performing correction calculations on the air conditioning state information;
A comparison means 27 for comparing the air conditioning state information obtained by the correction calculation means 26 with the setting control information, and a control means 29 for controlling the operation of the air conditioner main body 1 according to the comparison result of the comparison means 27. An air conditioner characterized by being provided with.