JPS6233239A - Control system for air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To promote the saving of energy and enhance comfort during sleeping, by providing a decision means for lapse of time which makes shift temperatures in sleep-mode and lapse of time differ from those of previous time respectively and a shift temperature generating means. CONSTITUTION:When a sleep-mode switch 1 is made ON, a time measuring means 3 measures lapse of time of sleep-mode (tn) and transmits it as a signal to a decision means for lapse of time 5. Upon receipt of sleep-mode switch-ON signal and lapse-of-time signal, the decision means for lapse of time 5 at first outputs the first command signal of shift temperature S1. Thereafter, every time the lapse of time reaches predetermined time t1, t2-, command signals of shift temperatures S2, S3-, are outputted. Upon receipt of these command signals, a shift temperature generating means 6 outputs shift temperature (SIGMASn) to a comparative operational means 10. Then, each shift temperature is compared with differences between room temperatures and set temperatures, whereupon compressor 12 is driven with the reault that room temperatures are controlled in response to shift temperatures.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control device for an air conditioner that controls an operating mode (sleep mode) during sleep.

Conventional technology Conventionally, control devices for sleep mode include those that only perform a fixed temperature shift when the sleep mode is entered, those that perform a temperature shift after a predetermined period of time, or a combination of this time and temperature shift in several stages. There were things like that. A conventional example in which several stages of time and temperature shifts are combined will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a conventional example, and FIG. 7 shows changes in room temperature during sleep mode using this conventional example control device.

As shown in Fig. 6, conventional methods include input detection means for detecting that the sleep mode has been entered, unit time measurement means for measuring the elapsed sleep time in predetermined units, and the same shift temperature in multiple stages for each unit time. It is composed of a unit shift temperature generation means for generating a transfer, a temperature difference detection means for detecting the entire temperature difference from the room temperature and the set temperature, and a comparison calculation means for comparing and calculating the shift temperature and the temperature difference. First, by turning on the sleep switch, the input detection means detects that the sleep mode has been entered. Then, a time measurement start signal is transmitted from the input detection means to the unit time measurement means, and a predetermined unit time elapsed signal is output. In response to this elapsed signal, the unit shift temperature generating means adds and outputs the same shift temperature needle each time. A comparison operation is performed in response to a temperature difference signal from a temperature difference detection means that detects a temperature difference between the room temperature and the set temperature, and this shift signal, and a compressor drive signal is output from the comparison operation means.

This drive signal is also transmitted to the compressor drive means, and the compressor is driven. (In the figure, arrows indicate the direction of signal flow.) As a result, the room temperature is controlled so that the temperature is shifted by the same amount every unit time when the sleep mode is entered. This situation is shown in FIG. 7 as a timing chart using heating operation as an example. As shown in the figure, in the conventional sleep mode, the room temperature is lowered gradually and at regular intervals based on the above-described configuration using the multi-stage Kff in order to save energy without sacrificing comfort for the user.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention According to the above-mentioned conventional technology, the user's comfort while sleeping and energy saving should be satisfied at the same time. However, since the changes occur every fixed period of time, there is no consideration given to the depth of a person's sleep and the elapsed time it takes for the body to become accustomed to changes in room temperature, which can lead to problems such as waking up due to changes in room temperature when the change time is short. was there. Moreover, as greater energy savings are sought, the shift temperature must be generated gradually and in multiple stages in consideration of comfort, and the number of component parts increases.

This becomes more noticeable as the basic operating mode of the air conditioner changes from cooling, dehumidifying, and heating to the amount and direction of temperature shift (increasing or decreasing the room temperature).

Therefore, the present invention solves such conventional problems, improves energy saving by obtaining a final shift temperature larger than the conventional shift temperature, and at the same time reduces the time span for changing the shift temperature by the amount of shift temperature. The purpose is to improve the comfort during sleeping by changing it according to the situation, and to provide this with a small number of components.

Means for solving the problem In order to make the shift temperature and elapsed time in the sleep mode different from the previous one, elapsed time judgment means,
A shift temperature generating means is provided.

Operation When the sleep mode is set by the input detection means, the first temperature shift (Sl) is output from the shift temperature generation means through the elapsed time judgment means, and at the same time, the elapsed time (Sl) of the first time in the sleep mode is output. tl) is measured by a time measuring means. Next, the elapsed time is constantly monitored by the elapsed time measuring means, and when the elapsed time corresponding to this shift temperature is reached, the second@th shift temperature (S2) is instructed to be output, and the second @th shift temperature (S2) is instructed to be output. The elapsed time is the new time (
t2). Thereafter, the above cycle is repeated as necessary so that the shift temperature (Sn) and elapsed time (tn) are always larger than the previous one.

Each generated shift temperature is compared with the temperature difference between the room temperature and the set temperature to drive the compressor, and as a result, the room temperature is controlled in accordance with the shift temperature. As described above, according to the effects of the present invention, the room temperature is initially controlled by a small shift amount for a comparatively short time, and then maintained for a longer time by a larger shift amount.

Embodiment Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below using FIGS. 1 to 5.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the invention. 1 is a sleep mode switch, 2 is an input detection means for the sleep mode switch, 3 is a time measurement means for measuring the elapsed time in the sleep mode, 4 is an oscillator for measuring time, and 5 is a process for determining the shift temperature fkwo from the elapsed time. Time judgment means, 6 is a shift temperature generation means that outputs shift humidity, 7 is a room temperature sensor such as a thermistor that detects the room temperature, 8 is a set temperature controller such as a variable resistor that sets the set temperature, 9 is the room temperature and setting Temperature difference detection means for detecting the difference in temperature from the temperature; 1o is a ratio calculation means for determining compressor drive from the difference in temperature and shift temperature; 11
1 represents a compressor driving means for driving the compressor, and 12 represents the compressor.

The present invention will be described in detail below using this block diagram.

When the sleep mode switch 1 is pressed, the input detection means 2 detects this and sets the operation mode of the air conditioner to the sleep mode.The time measurement means 3 and the elapsed time judgment means S
A sleep mode switch ON signal is transmitted to each of them.

The time measuring means a measures the elapsed time in the sleep mode using the oscillator 4, and transmits it to the elapsed time determining means 5 as a signal. Upon receiving the sleep mode switch ON signal and the elapsed time signal, the elapsed time determining means 5 first converts the first shift temperature (Sl) command signal into the shift temperature generating means 6.
Output to. When this elapsed time reaches a predetermined time (tl), a second shift temperature (S2) command signal is similarly output to the shift temperature generation means 6. The second elapsed time is determined at a predetermined time (t2), which is different from the previous time, and when the time reaches the predetermined time, the third shift temperature (S
3) A command signal is output. In this way, the n-th shift temperature (Sn) command signal is output from the elapsed time determining means, and upon receiving this, the shift temperature generation means 6 outputs a shift temperature (Σsn) signal to the comparison calculation means 1°. . The room temperature is detected by the room temperature sensor 7, and outputted to the comparison calculation means 10 as a temperature difference signal between the temperature set by the set temperature regulator 8 and the temperature difference detection means 9. The comparison calculation means 10 receives the temperature difference signal and the shift temperature signal, and as a result, the room temperature is automatically shifted by the shift temperature (ΣSn) from the temperature set by the user with the temperature controller 8. A thermostat signal is output to the compressor driving means 11 in this manner. The compressor driving means 11 receives this and drives the compressor 12.

Note that descriptions of parts that are not directly relevant to the gist of the present invention, such as the entire refrigeration cycle other than the compressor 12, the air conditioner main body, and the power supply circuit part of the control device, will be omitted.

Also, after detecting the room temperature, adjusting the set temperature, and automatically correcting the set temperature, that is, the shift temperature (Sn) signal, the room temperature? The configuration for operating and controlling the temperature to a predetermined temperature is also performed using a thermostat or the like, and uses a known technique. The explanation in this example is the gist of the present invention,
Elapsed time (1n) according to shift temperature (Sn)'
I will mainly explain how to output it.

As stated in the above description of FIG. 1, according to the present invention,
When the user selects the sleep mode, the room temperature is operated by the first shift temperature (Sl), and the elapsed time (tl) is
) after which the next shift temperature (s2) is operated by the official. Thereafter, for the nth time, the shift temperature (Sn) is changed to each elapsed time (1
n) are added afterwards, and these are done automatically. At the same time, the elapsed time judgment means 5 determines that both the shift temperature and the elapsed time are always larger than the previous time (S
n>5n-1 and tn>'n-1) Automatically change the judgment.

Next, using FIGS. 2 and 3, an example of the temperature shift operation three times during heating operation according to the present invention will be explained using a single-chip microcomputer. An applied example will be explained in detail below.

FIG. 2 is an electronic circuit diagram, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart.

In Figure 2, 13 is a single-chip microcomputer, 14
is a comparator, 15 is an inverter, 16 is a relay, 1
7 represents a power supply, and R1 to R6 represent resistances, respectively. The function of the single-chip microcomputer 13 (D) will be explained with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

First, when the sleep mode switch 1 is pressed in a state that is not in the sleep mode, this is detected through ports AO and A1i, and the sleep mode is then turned on and the first shift temperature (Sl) is output. This is done by connecting GNIlff: through resistor R3ft port A2. Next, time measurement is started and it is checked whether a predetermined time (tl) has elapsed, and if it has not elapsed, the process ends.

Here, the potential at point A is lower than the original potential created by the resistors R1 and R2 because the resistor R3'(f") is only set to the GND potential. In other words, this decrease is the first shift temperature ( This point A potential is compared with the potential corresponding to the difference temperature generated by the room temperature sensor 7 and the room temperature controller 8 by the comparator 14, and the result is ported to the single-chip microcomputer 13 to determine which one is higher. The single-chip microcomputer 13 uses this to inform the user of the room temperature through the room temperature controller 8.
The shift temperature (sl) is lower than the set temperature set using
A compressor operation drive signal is outputted to port 86 and transmitted to the inverter 15 so that the output voltage becomes lower than that of the compressor. The signal amplified by the inverter 15 causes the relay 16 to operate, causing the compressor 12 connected to the power source 17 to operate and stop. As a result, the room temperature is controlled so that it becomes the set temperature minus the shift temperature, and this is a technique that has conventionally been carried out using a single-chip microcomputer. In this embodiment, the oscillator 4 is a clock source for the basic operation of the single-chip microcomputer 130, and is also used to count the elapsed time in the sleep mode. There are various ways to measure time.

As described above, the first shift temperature (Sl) is maintained for the elapsed time (tl). Next, the elapsed time (tl)
After that, the second shift temperature (S2) is output. This is done by setting the resistor R4 to the GND potential through A3, and as before, the potential at point A is further lowered, and as a result, the room temperature is lower than the set temperature by the first shift temperature (Sl) + the second shift temperature (
It is controlled so that it becomes stable when it drops by S2). Time was measured the second time as well, and this time the elapsed time (t2)'t
-Measure the elapsed time (t2) as described above.
After that, the third shift temperature (S3) is Po) A4, resistance R
5, and the room temperature is controlled so as to become stable at a point lower than the set temperature by the sum of the first to third shift temperatures (Σn=?Sn). Note that the resistor R6 is a hysteresis resistor provided so that the room temperature is stabilized within a predetermined temperature.

In the present invention, tn>tn-1 and Sn>5n-
1, but in this embodiment, the former corresponds to the time measurement and judgment points in the single-chip microcomputer 13, and the latter corresponds to the point A potential using the resistors R1 to R5,
Although this has been realized by making the results compatible, it may also be realized by applying other electronic circuits, and the present invention cannot be avoided in this case either.

FIG. 4 shows a graph of the A-point potential of this embodiment versus the elapsed time in the sleep mode example.

In FIG. 4, as explained above, the n-th shift temperature and elapsed time are shown as the A point potential.

That is, for example, the second shift temperature (S2) and the elapsed time (t2) become larger than the first shift temperature (Sl) and the elapsed time (tl), respectively. This potential is applied to point A in FIG. 2 over time, and as a result, the room temperature is controlled in accordance with the gist of the present invention.

The state in which the room temperature is controlled according to this embodiment is shown in FIG. 5, after the sleep switch 1 is pressed, the set temperature is increased by the S1 temperature until 11 hours have elapsed, and the set temperature is maintained by the S1 temperature until t2 hours have elapsed. In comparison, the room temperature is controlled at a point where the temperature is lowered by S2 temperature, and finally it is stabilized at a set temperature of -31-82-93.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, when the user presses the sleep mode switch and goes to bed, the room temperature is lowered slightly at first, and since the room temperature change is small in this case, the user's body quickly gets used to it. Next, lower the room temperature by a larger amount than the previous time.

This time there will be a little more room temperature change, so my body won't get used to it right away, so I'll give it more time than last time. Since you will eventually get used to this change, you can make the next temperature shift even larger, which is what I am doing. In this example,
In the sleep mode during heating operation, this is automatically realized by taking into account the fact that the larger the amount of room temperature change, the longer it takes for people to get used to it.

In addition, a power saving effect of 81+s2+s3 is finally obtained, and as mentioned above, in the conventional technology, the amount of one shift and the elapsed time are the same, so in order to obtain the same power saving effect as in this embodiment, As a result, multiple operations or parts were required, which was impractical.

According to this embodiment, comfort and energy saving in the sleep mode can be obtained at the same time with a small number of configurations and parts. In order to simplify the explanation, only the heating operation was discussed in this embodiment, but the same applies to the cooling or dehumidifying operation.
It is only necessary to make the shift amount higher than the set temperature, and the elapsed time can also be measured in proportion to the shift amount, and the technology for realizing it can be easily deduced from this example. Although the explanation is omitted, this case does not depart from the spirit of the present invention.

For reference, the shift temperature and elapsed time carried out by the present applicant according to the present invention are shown below together with a conventional example.

Table 1 Table 2 Table 1 shows the conventional example, and Table 2 shows the example according to the present invention, which differs from the description of the above-mentioned embodiment in that the number of temperature shifts is two. As shown in this table, the present invention is useful no matter how many times it is applied; in this case, the power equivalent to 1 d, g is saved when cooling and dehumidifying, and the power equivalent to 3 dsg is saved when heating. There is no loss of comfort.

As described in detail, since the present invention has a simple configuration, it may be combined with a shut-off timer that automatically stops the operation of the air conditioner after a certain period of time, or it may be combined with other sleep mode controls (e.g., automatically It may also be combined with a mode in which the indoor air volume is set to a light breeze operation, but these cases also do not depart from the gist of the present invention.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, in the sleep mode, it is possible to obtain an unprecedented large power saving effect without sacrificing comfort by using a small number of configurations and parts, and moreover, it is possible to achieve an unprecedented power saving effect in conjunction with other sleep controls. It is easy to combine, is not only beneficial to the user, but also has high utility value industrially, and is a great effect of the invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the control device for an air conditioner according to the present invention as a function realizing means, and FIG. 2 is an electronic circuit diagram of the device.
Figure 3 is a flowchart of the device, Figure 4 is a timing diagram of shift temperature equivalent voltage of the device, Figure 5 is a timing diagram of room temperature changes by the device, and Figure 6 is conventional air conditioner control. FIG. 7, a block diagram showing the apparatus, is a timing diagram of changes in room temperature of the apparatus. 2... Input detection means, 3... Time measurement means, 5... Elapsed time judgment means, 6... Shift temperature generation means, 9... Difference Temperature detection means, 1o.comparison calculation means, 11.compressor drive means. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person 2nd
Figure 3〉 5 East- Ward

Claims (1)

[Claims] An input detection means for setting the sleep mode, a time measurement means for measuring the elapsed time in the sleep mode, and an elapsed time determination means for determining the elapsed time for the nth time in the sleep mode;
Sleep mode A shift temperature generation means for generating the n-th shift temperature, a temperature difference detection means for detecting the temperature difference between the room temperature and the set temperature, and a comparison for comparing signals from the shift temperature generation means and the temperature difference detection means. The calculation means calculates that the shift temperature (S_n) after a predetermined sleep mode elapsed time is larger than the shift temperature (S_n_-_1) ([S_
n/S_n_-_1]>1), and the elapsed time (t_n) until the shift temperature changes is the previous time (t_n_-_1).
) is longer than ([t_n/t_n_-_1]>
1) A control device for an air conditioner, comprising a compressor driving means for driving a compressor.