JPH10185283A - Control method of air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To keep the lowest allowable environment without performing operations other than required ones, and further reduce power consumption even after interruption of the operation with a cut timer for an air conditioner, etc. SOLUTION: When an operation is interrupted with an off timer (good-night timer) of an air conditioner, a room temperature detection part 13b corrects a present room temperature set value in response to fresh air temperature detected by a fresh air temperature detection part 11a and adjusts room temperature in conformity with a new room temperature set value. In this case, a compressor on/off judgement part 11c judges on/off, and a compressor off ratio calculation part 11d calculates an off ratio, these results being transferred to an indoor machine control part 13 with a transfer part 11e. When the off ratio becomes a predetermined value or more, a power relay for supplying an AC power supply to an outdoor machine control part 11 is made off, and simultaneously an indoor fan is interrupted with a timer counter part 13a being started to judge whether or not the room temperature after the timer elapses the predetermined time reaches a predetermined value. When the room temperature does not reach the predetermined value, the operation is again started for processing, while when it reaches the predetermined value, the power relay is made on.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for controlling the room temperature of an air conditioner, and more particularly, to controlling the room temperature even when the operation is stopped, for example, after the time-out of a turn-off timer (night timer) to maintain the environment. The present invention relates to a method for controlling an air conditioner that suppresses power consumption.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art This type of air conditioner circulates refrigerant obtained in a refrigeration cycle to an indoor heat exchanger, and blows out cold or hot air exchanged in the indoor heat exchanger into a room by an indoor fan. Control room temperature.

[0003] The control device of this air conditioner has, for example, the structure shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the indoor unit control unit 1 sends a command (heating or cooling or the like) for operating the compressor 3 to the outdoor unit control unit 4 in accordance with the operation of the remote control 2. In addition, the indoor fan is controlled to rotate in accordance with the set air volume of the remote controller 2, and the operating frequency code of the compressor 3 according to the temperature detected by the room temperature sensor unit 5 and the temperature difference between the set temperature of the remote controller 2 and the outdoor unit control unit 4. Send.

The outdoor unit controller 4 operates the compressor 3 in accordance with a command (operating frequency code, etc.) from the indoor unit controller 1, and a predetermined refrigerant obtained by the compressor 3 is sent to the indoor heat exchanger. Circulated. As described above, the predetermined refrigerant is circulated through the indoor heat exchanger and the rotation of the indoor fan is controlled, so that desired cold air or hot air is blown into the room, and the indoor environment is kept comfortable.

When the room is emptied for a short period of time, for example, when the room returns in a short time, it is sometimes desired to keep the room temperature to some extent. That is, the room temperature rises and falls due to the outside air temperature and the like even in a short time, and when returning, the user feels uncomfortable. Therefore, when going out for a short time, the set temperature of the remote controller 2 may be changed to the highest (or lowest) without stopping the operation of the air conditioner, that is, the room may be maintained in a certain environment. .

On the other hand, when a good night timer (cutting timer setting section of the remote controller 2) is set, the operation of the air conditioner is stopped at the set time. As described above, since the operation is stopped at a predetermined time, it is convenient and economical at bedtime.

[0007]

In the control method of the air conditioner, when the set temperature is set to the highest (or the lowest) when the user goes out, and the operation is performed, the room temperature is kept close to the set temperature. As shown by the dashed line 5, the compressor is operated at low frequency, or the on / off operation is performed as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. However, both have the drawback that the cumulative operating time of the compressor increases, and even when the compressor is turned off (when the operation is stopped), power is supplied to the inverter unit of the compressor, so that power consumption increases.

On the other hand, if the turn-off timer (night timer) of the remote controller 2 is set, the room temperature control stops after the time of the turn-off timer elapses. Is awkward, resulting in a problem of discomfort and awakening. Therefore, a method is conceivable in which the compressor is operated at a low frequency even after the time-out of the sleep timer. However, the user has a strong feeling of using the air conditioner. In other words, considering the economy, not only is it difficult to use the air conditioner, but also there is a drawback that power consumption increases as described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to eliminate unnecessary operation (power supply other than necessary) to maintain the indoor environment even when operation is stopped, and to reduce power consumption. It is an object of the present invention to provide a control method of an air conditioner, which is capable of reducing the temperature and keeping the indoor environment to a minimum.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a method for controlling an air conditioner for turning on and off a compressor so that at least room temperature can be maintained at a room temperature set value. It has automatic on / off setting means for performing a predetermined room temperature control while the operation of the air conditioner is stopped, and when the automatic on / off setting means is set, when the air conditioner is stopped, the outside air temperature is reduced. The current room temperature set value is corrected accordingly, and the room temperature is controlled according to the corrected set value, while the off ratio of the compressor is calculated, and when the off ratio exceeds a predetermined value, the air conditioner of the air conditioner is The operation is stopped, and the room temperature is detected at predetermined time intervals, and when the detected room temperature has reached a predetermined value, the control of the room temperature is restarted.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling an air conditioner for turning on and off a compressor so that at least a room temperature can be maintained at a room temperature set value. It has an automatic on / off setting means, and when the automatic on / off setting means is set, when the air conditioner is stopped, the current room temperature set value is corrected according to the outside air temperature, and the corrected While controlling the room temperature according to the set value, the off-ratio of the compressor is calculated, and when the off-ratio exceeds a predetermined value, a power relay for supplying AC power to at least the outdoor unit of the air conditioner is provided. The operation of the outdoor unit is stopped as off, and the room temperature is detected at predetermined time intervals. When the detected room temperature reaches the predetermined value, the power relay is turned on to turn off the room temperature control. It is characterized in that so as to resume the roll.

In this case, it is preferable that the fan of the indoor unit of the air conditioner is stopped when the power relay is turned off.

When the power relay is turned off and the room temperature is detected every predetermined time, the fan of the indoor unit may be turned on for a predetermined time.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted. In the air conditioner control method according to the present invention, when the automatic on / off setting unit provided on the remote controller is operated, the air conditioner is operated according to the room temperature set value taking into account the correction value corresponding to the outside air temperature during normal operation stop of the air conditioner. And calculate the off ratio of the compressor, stop the operation when the off ratio exceeds a predetermined value, detect the room temperature at predetermined time intervals, and when the detected room temperature reaches the predetermined value, Start driving.

For this purpose, the remote controller 1 of this air conditioner
0 has an automatic on / off setting unit 10a. The outdoor unit control unit 11 detects an outside air temperature based on a detection signal from the outside air temperature sensor unit 12a, an inverter unit (compressor drive circuit) 11b that drives the compressor 3 by an operation frequency code, and an inverter. An on / off ratio determining unit 11c for determining whether the compressor 3 is on or off based on a drive signal of the unit 11b; an off ratio calculating unit 11d for calculating an off ratio of the compressor 3; A transfer unit 1 that transfers the OFF determination and the OFF ratio to the indoor unit control unit 13
1e.

The indoor unit control section 13 includes a timer counter 13a for measuring a predetermined time, a room temperature detection section 13b for detecting a room temperature by a detection signal of the room temperature sensor section 5 at every predetermined time of the timer counter 13a, When the setting unit 10a is operated, a new room temperature set value is determined by adding a correction value corresponding to the outside air temperature to the current room temperature set value, and the room temperature control is performed according to the new room temperature set value. When the detected room temperature becomes equal to or more than a predetermined value, the operation is stopped, and when the detected room temperature becomes equal to or more than the set value, the room temperature control section 13d is provided.

The remote controller 10 has the function of the remote controller 2 shown in FIG. 4, and the outdoor unit controller 11 has the function of the outdoor unit controller 4 (including the thermo on / off operation of the compressor 3) shown in FIG. The indoor unit control unit 13 has the function of the indoor unit control unit 1 shown in FIG.

Next, a control method applied to the air conditioner having the above configuration will be described with reference to a schematic time chart of FIG. 2 and a flowchart of FIG. FIG. 2 illustrates the case of the cooling operation.

First, while the user of the air conditioner stops the operation with the remote control 10 in order to go out for a short time,
While the automatic on / off setting unit 10a is set or the sleep timer (sleep timer) is set for going to bed, the automatic on / off setting unit 10a is set, and the sleep timer times out and the operation is stopped. Shall be.

Then, according to the setting of the automatic on / off setting unit 10a, the indoor unit control unit 13 transmits the automatic on / off setting information to the outdoor unit control unit 11, and the outdoor unit 11 detects the outside air temperature and detects the outdoor air temperature. 13 is transmitted. When the cut-off timer is set, the above-described processing is executed after the time-out of the cut-off timer.

The indoor unit control unit 13 determines a new room temperature set value by adding the correction value corresponding to the outside air temperature from the outdoor unit control unit 11 to the current room temperature set value (the value set by the remote controller 10). Then, a frequency code for operating the compressor 3 and the like are transmitted to the outdoor unit controller 11 in accordance with the determined room temperature set value (step ST1). The outdoor unit control unit 11 performs room temperature control (including thermo-on and off operations) according to the frequency code and the new room temperature set value (step ST).
2). In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, thermo-on and thermo-off are performed at the compressor on point and the compressor off point. The compressor ON point and the compressor OFF point are set based on the new room temperature set value in order to perform room temperature control for maintaining the room temperature at the new room temperature set value.

Subsequently, in the room temperature control, the compressor 3
Is turned off (thermo-off) (step ST3), the off ratio of the compressor 3 is calculated (step ST4), and it is determined whether or not this off ratio is equal to or more than a predetermined value (for example, 80%) (step ST5). When the off ratio is not equal to or more than the predetermined value, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, if it is about 60%, the process returns to step ST2 and repeats the above-described processing. That is, the room temperature is not stable near the new room temperature set value, and when the operation is stopped, the comfort is rapidly impaired.

When the OFF ratio is equal to or more than the predetermined value (80%), the process proceeds from step ST5 to ST6, where the room temperature is stabilized around the new room temperature set value, and the environment is maintained at a certain room temperature. Turn off the power relay and stop the fan of the indoor unit. Since this power relay is for transmitting AC power from the indoor unit to the outdoor unit, the outdoor unit is completely stopped, there is no power supply to the inverter unit 11b, and the fan is stopped on the indoor unit side. Therefore, the power consumption becomes almost zero.

Subsequently, a timer counter for a predetermined time is started (step ST7). When the predetermined time has elapsed (see FIG. 2), the process proceeds from step ST8 to ST9, where the indoor fan is turned on for 30 seconds to detect the room temperature. (Step ST10).

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the room temperature after the lapse of the predetermined time is near the new room temperature set value (step ST11). Returning to ST7, the above-described processing is repeated (see FIG. 2). That is, the room temperature has not changed so much, and the indoor environment has not deteriorated so much.

However, if the detected room temperature is significantly different from the new room temperature set value, the process returns to step ST1 and repeats the above-described processing. That is, the room temperature greatly fluctuates due to the outside air temperature or the like, and the indoor environment cannot be maintained to some extent.

As described above, even when the operation of the air conditioner is stopped, the correction value corresponding to the outside air temperature is added to the room temperature set value of the remote controller by the setting of the automatic on / off setting section 10a of the remote controller 10, and for example, the air conditioner is cooled. In the case of operation, a value higher than the room temperature setting value is set as a new room temperature setting value.In the case of heating operation, a value lower than the room temperature setting value is set as a new room temperature setting value, and room temperature control is performed according to the new setting value. While the compressor 3
The thermo-off ratio is calculated, and when the thermo-off ratio becomes a predetermined value or more, the AC power to the outdoor unit is shut off,
And stop the indoor fan.

Therefore, the indoor environment can be maintained to some extent, that is, the minimum environment can be maintained, and the discomfort upon returning home can be reduced. This eliminates the need for operation (unnecessary energization other than when necessary), and achieves low power consumption.

[0029]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the control method of the air conditioner, there is provided an automatic on / off setting means for controlling a predetermined room temperature when the operation of the air conditioner is stopped, When the automatic on / off setting means is set, when the air conditioner is stopped, the current room temperature set value is corrected according to the outside air temperature, and while controlling the room temperature according to the corrected set value, The off ratio of the compressor is calculated, and when the off ratio becomes equal to or more than a predetermined value, the operation of the air conditioner is stopped, and the room temperature is detected every predetermined time, and the detected room temperature has reached the predetermined value. Sometimes, the control of the room temperature was restarted, so that unnecessary operations were not performed to maintain the indoor environment even when the operation was stopped, thereby reducing power consumption and minimizing the indoor environment. There is an effect that it is possible to be maintained.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic on / off setting means for controlling a predetermined room temperature while the operation of the air conditioner is stopped. When the conditioner is stopped, the current room temperature set value is corrected according to the outside air temperature, and the room temperature is controlled according to the corrected set value, while the off ratio of the compressor is calculated, and the off ratio is calculated. When it becomes a predetermined value or more, at least the power relay for supplying AC power to the outdoor unit of the air conditioner is turned off and the operation of the outdoor unit is stopped, and the room temperature is detected every predetermined time,
When the detected room temperature has reached a predetermined value, the power relay is turned on and the control of the room temperature is restarted, so that even when operation is stopped, power is not supplied except when necessary to maintain the indoor environment. In addition, since the supply of AC power to the outdoor unit is stopped, power consumption can be reduced, and the indoor environment can be maintained to a minimum.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the fan of the indoor unit is stopped when the power relay is turned off in the second aspect.
There is an effect that power consumption can be further improved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the power relay is turned off, and when the room temperature is detected every predetermined time, the fan of the indoor unit is turned on for a predetermined time. In addition to the effect, there is an effect that the room temperature can be detected more accurately, and the room temperature can be controlled accurately.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, to which a control method of an air conditioner is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic time chart illustrating the operation of the control device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart illustrating the operation of the control device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a conventional control device for an air conditioner.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining the operation of the control device shown in FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,13 Indoor unit control unit 2,10 Remote control 3 Compressor 4,11 Outdoor unit control unit 5 Room temperature detection unit 10a Automatic on / off setting unit 11a Outside air temperature detection unit 11b Inverter unit 11c Compressor on / off determination unit 11d Compressor off determination Unit 11e Transfer unit 12 Outside air temperature sensor unit 13a Timer counter unit 13b Room temperature detection unit 13c Room temperature adjustment unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A method of controlling an air conditioner for turning on and off a compressor so that at least a room temperature can be maintained at a set value of a room temperature, wherein an automatic control for performing a predetermined room temperature control while the operation of the air conditioner is stopped. When the automatic on / off setting means is set, when the air conditioner is stopped, the current room temperature set value is corrected according to the outside air temperature, and the corrected setting is provided. While controlling the room temperature according to the value, the off ratio of the compressor is calculated, when the off ratio becomes a predetermined value or more, the operation of the air conditioner is stopped, and the room temperature is detected every predetermined time, The method of controlling an air conditioner, wherein the control of the room temperature is restarted when the detected room temperature has reached a predetermined value. 2. A method of controlling an air conditioner for turning on and off a compressor so that at least a room temperature can be maintained at a set value of a room temperature, wherein an automatic control for controlling a predetermined room temperature while the operation of the air conditioner is stopped is provided. When the automatic on / off setting means is set, when the air conditioner is stopped, the current room temperature set value is corrected according to the outside air temperature, and the corrected setting is provided. While controlling the room temperature according to the value, the off ratio of the compressor is calculated, and when the off ratio becomes a predetermined value or more, at least the power relay for supplying AC power to the outdoor unit of the air conditioner is turned off. As a result, the operation of the outdoor unit is stopped, and the room temperature is detected every predetermined time, and when the detected room temperature has reached a predetermined value, the power relay is turned on to control the room temperature. A method for controlling an air conditioner, wherein the control is restarted. 3. The control method for an air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the fan of the indoor unit of the air conditioner is stopped when the power relay is turned off. 4. The control method for an air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the power relay is turned off, and when the room temperature is detected every predetermined time, the fan of the indoor unit is turned on for a predetermined time.