JPS63143445A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically change the direction of a discharge air flow and to improve the air conditioning comfortableness of the air conditioner by providing control means controlling the deflection angle of a horizontal deflecting plate in accordance with the detection position of a user from a person detection means. CONSTITUTION:In a computing device 30, a horizontal distance l from the wall surface where an air conditioner main body 1 is installed to a user is computed based on distance data of a ultrasonic sensor 11 at that time and detection angle data from a motor controller 31 controlling step motors 14 and 15 for scanning detection regions of respective sensors 14 and 15, and the result of the computation is inputted to a controller 32 as user's body position data. In the controller 32 which is used as control means for controlling the discharge direction of the air flow determines the flap deflection angle from the user's body position data, and outputs the thus obtained flap deflection angle to a stepping motor controller 38. A horizontal flap 6 and a perpendicular flap 7 are changed and set to deflection angles by stepping motors 20, 21 and 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly to an air conditioner that can automatically change the direction of blowing air to improve air conditioning comfort.

(Prior art) When cooling a room using an air conditioner installed high on the wall of the room, the blowing direction from the air conditioner body is horizontal and the cold air is blown overhead. This prevents the user from feeling uncomfortable due to direct blowing of the wind, and allows the entire room to be cooled appropriately by convection.

By the way, there are also uses by users who want to receive cold air directly on their body when they come back from a bath or outside, and in such cases, the blowing direction can be varied up and down. It is necessary to manually operate the horizontal deflection plate of the apparatus, and such operations are troublesome in devices installed at high places.

Therefore, in the device disclosed in JP-A-61-122449, a variable deflection plate is provided, and an operation switch for the variable deflection plate is provided in a remote control operation box, so that the blowing air can be changed at hand. I have to.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, even if you have the operating switch at hand as described above, press the switch for an appropriate amount of time until the angle of the deflection plate is changed so that the cold air actually hits your body. The user has to keep going, or if he feels that he has gone too far, he needs to operate a switch in the opposite direction, which does not provide operability that satisfies the user. Moreover, when the user moves, the above operations are required again, and therefore sufficient comfort cannot be provided.

This invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and its purpose is to improve the operability and comfort of the user during switching operation in which the blowing air is directly applied to the human body as described above. Our objective is to provide an air conditioner that can improve the

(Means for solving the problem) Therefore, the air conditioner of this invention has the following features as shown in FIG.
An air conditioner comprising a blower fan 3 and a horizontal deflection plate 6 for changing the horizontal blowing direction of air blown from the blower fan 3, and further detects the position of a person in a room. A direct blow operation switch 2 is provided with a detection means 16 and is configured to switch the blowing air so as to directly hit the human body.
5 is operated, the control means 32 controls the deflection angle of the horizontal deflection plate 6 in accordance with the position detected by the person detection means 16.

(Function) In the air conditioner having the above configuration, when the direct blow operation switch 25 is turned ON, the horizontal deflection plate 6 is deflected by the control means 32 according to the detected position of a person in the room by the person detection means 16. Corners are automatically changed and set.

(Example) Next, regarding a specific example of the air conditioner of this invention,
This will be explained in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the air conditioner body 1, which is installed at a high place on a wall. An indoor heat exchanger 2 and a blower fan 3 are arranged inside the main body 1, and indoor air is sucked in through a suction grill 4 formed on the front surface of the main body 1.
Cold air or hot air at a predetermined temperature is blown out from a blow-off grille 5 formed at the lower part of the front side. A horizontal deflection plate, that is, a horizontal flap 6, and a vertical direction deflection plate, that is, a vertical flap 7, are arranged on the above-mentioned blowout grille 5 for controlling the direction of the blowing air. As shown in FIG. 3, each of these flaps 6.7 has a horizontal flap 6 connected to a first stepper motor 20, and a vertical flap 7 connected to a second stepper motor 7a on the left side of the center in the figure. 21, and the right vertical flap 7
b are respectively connected to the third step motor 22 via a link mechanism, and each of the step motors 20.
The direction of the air blown from the main body 1 can be set to any desired direction by changing the direction of each of the flaps 6.7 by controlling the rotations of 21 and 22.

As shown in FIG. 2, a human detection sensor 10 and an ultrasonic sensor 1 are provided at one side end of the upper front side of the main body l.
1, and a human body position detection device 16 serving as a human detection means is attached.

The human detection sensor 10 is composed of a pyroelectric infrared sensor, and receives infrared rays equivalent to body temperature emitted from a human body, and when the intensity changes within a preset detection area. It is designed to respond to
Thereby, the presence of a person within the detection area can be detected.

On the other hand, the ultrasonic sensor 11 has an ultrasonic transmitter/receiver, and emits ultrasonic waves in the direction of approximately the center of the detection area of the human detection sensor 10, and the reflected waves reflected by objects in that direction return. The distance from the ultrasonic sensor 11 to the object is detected based on the time it takes for the object to arrive.

FIG. 4 shows the structure of the human body position detection device 16. As shown in the figure, the sensor box 12 containing the human detection sensor 10 and the ultrasonic sensor 11 can be controlled to rotate vertically and horizontally by two step motors 14 and 15 for scanning the detection area. It is configured as follows.

Next, the detection of the human body position when the air conditioner main body 1 equipped with the human body position detection device 16 as described above is installed at a high place on a wall as shown in FIG. 5, for example, will be explained. The detection direction of the human detection sensor 10 is sequentially changed by driving each of the stationary robots 14 and 15 to move and scan the detection area on the floor surface of the room. When there is a person in the room as shown in FIG. 5, when the head of the human body enters the detection area of the human detection sensor 10 during the scanning process, the human detection sensor 10 senses the human body. A detection signal is generated. At this time, each steering/knob motor 14.15
The horizontal angle θ1 of the detection direction is determined by the rotation control angle of
Vertical angles θ2 are given, and these directional angles θ1 and θ2 are stored as detected direction information. Also,
At this time, the ultrasonic sensor 11 detects the distance li to the person's head! IL is also required at the same time. Furthermore, the above θl, θ2
, L, for example, the horizontal distance l from the wall where the air conditioner body 1 is installed to the person's position is 1 mL, -c
It can be easily obtained by calculating osθl ecosθ2.

The above explanation is for the case where a person's head is detected, but even when the human detection sensor 10 senses bare feet, the calculation result of the distance l from the wall surface to the person's position is given as the same value as above, and therefore To accurately obtain positional information of a person on a floor surface without depending on the person's standing position or assets as the positional information of the feet.

Next, based on the detection results of the human body position detection device 16,
A description will be given of control of direct blow operation in which air is directly applied to the human body during cooling operation.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are control block diagrams and flowcharts. In FIG. 6, when the ON operation signal of the direct blow operation switch 25 attached to the air conditioner main body 1 or the remote control operation switch box (not shown) is input to the control device 32, the human body position The operation of ejecting the detection device 16 is started. When a detection signal of a human body in the room is input from the human detection sensor 10 to the position information calculation device 30, the calculation device 30 calculates the distance information of the ultrasonic sensor 11 at that time and the detection signal of each of the above-mentioned sensors 10.11. Based on the detected angle information from the motor control device 31 that controls the area scanning step motors 14 and 15, the horizontal distance l from the wall surface on which the air conditioner main body 1 is installed to the person is calculated. , is input to the control device 32 as human body position information. The control device 32, which is a means for controlling the blowing direction of the blowing air, determines a flap deflection angle from the human body position information, and determines the flap deflection angle from the step motor control device 3.
Output to 8. Then, the horizontal flap 6 and the vertical flap 7 are changed and set to the above deflection angle by the step motors 20, 21, 22. The control device 32 has a timer 39.
is connected, and the above direct blow operation control is performed when the timer 39, which starts timing operation when the 0Nti operation signal is input from the direct blow operation switch 25, reaches a preset time T. , it is configured to end automatically. Next, regarding the above control, the seventh
This will be explained in detail based on the flowchart in the figure.

When the cooling operation is started, initial settings are first made for each flap 6.7 (step Sl). In this initial setting, the vertical flaps 7 are arranged so that the air conditioner body 1
Installations are sometimes made with preset deflection angles. On the other hand, the horizontal flap 6 is set at a horizontal position, that is, at a deflection angle of O°. As a result, the blown air is blown out overhead, and the setting is made for normal cooling operation in which the blown air does not directly hit people.

After the above initial setting, the process moves to step S2, and it is determined whether or not there is an ON operation signal from the direct blow operation switch 25. O
If there is no N signal, the process returns from step S2 to Sl, and steps 31 to S2 are repeated, and each of the above-mentioned flaps 6.
While maintaining the deflection angle of 7, the direct blow operation switch 25
Continues to wait for input of ON operation signal from. If the ON operation signal is manually input, step S2
Then, the process moves to S3, and the timer (1), which has been set to an appropriate time, starts counting time. Next, in step S4, the human body position detection operation by the human body position detection device 16 described above, that is, the scanning step motor 14.15 is driven to start indoor scanning of the detection area of the human detection sensor IO,
If the scanning continues and a human body detection signal is generated,
The horizontal angle θ1 and vertical angle θ2 of the detection direction are detected from the rotation control angles of the respective scanning step motors 14 and 15 at that time, and the distance fiL between the ultrasonic sensor 11 and the person is also detected. Then, as described above, the horizontal distance l between the wall surface on which the air conditioner main body 1 is installed and the person is calculated from θ11θ2. Next is the above! , θ1, and θ2, in step S5, the blown air is directed to the vertical flap 7 so that it converges on the human body position based on the above β and θ1, so as to effectively provide a direct blow effect. The respective deflection angles of the left and right flaps 7a and 7b are determined, and the tilted deflection angle of the horizontal flap 6 is determined based on the above-mentioned θ2. Then, each flap 6.7 is changed and set in step S6 according to the determined value.

Next, in step S7, the time t measured by the timer is determined, and if the set time T has not been reached, the process returns to step S4 again, and the control based on the above human body position detection information is performed to determine the time measured by the timer in step S7. This continues until t reaches the set time T, and during this time, new human body positions are detected one after another, and each flap 6.7 is changed according to the detected position. Therefore, for example, even when a person moves within a room, the air is blown out to follow the movement of the person.

Note that if it is determined in step S7 that the set time T has elapsed, the human body position detection operation is stopped and the timer is reset in step S8, and then the process returns to step S1 and each flap 6.7 is set to the initial setting value. The normal cooling operation is resumed, and at the same time, the air conditioner waits for input of the next ON operation signal of the direct blow operation switch 25 in step S2.

As explained above, in the air conditioner of this invention,
During direct blow air conditioning operation, the position of the human body is detected, and the air direction is set according to the detected position. Switching to direct blow air conditioning operation can be done with a single touch, and the blow direction follows the movement of the person. Since it is controlled, it is possible to improve operability and comfort.

Note that the above embodiments do not limit this invention, and various changes can be made within the scope of this invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the human detection sensor 10 and the ultrasonic sensor 11 are provided as the human detection means 16, and an indoor scanning mechanism for the detection area is added to them. It is also possible to detect the position of the human body by dividing the area and attaching a plurality of infrared sensors corresponding to each divided area. Further, in the above embodiment, the vertical flap 7 is also configured to be automatically variable, but the present invention can also be applied to an apparatus in which an automatic deflection mechanism is provided only on the horizontal flap side.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a timer is provided that starts counting when the direct blow operation switch 25 is turned ON, and the configuration is such that the normal cooling operation is automatically resumed after the set time has elapsed. It may be configured with a switch and linked to the operation of the switch. In addition, the above embodiment described direct blow air conditioning operation during cooling operation, but
By applying the present invention to heating operation, comfort during heating can be improved.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, in the air conditioner of the present invention, after turning on the direct blow operation switch, the blow direction is automatically changed, and even when the user moves indoors. Since the blowout air can be changed in accordance with the detection position that changes with the movement, it is possible to continue to provide a warm air effect or a cold air effect, so that the N production efficiency and comfort are improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 7 show examples of the air conditioner of the present invention. Figure 1 is a functional system diagram, Figure 2 is a side view of the air conditioner body, and Figure 3 is a horizontal flap and a vertical flap. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the human body position detection device, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of position detection by the human body position detection device,
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the operation control system, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the control method. 3...Blower fan, 6...Horizontal flap, 16...
・Human body position detection device (person detection means), 25... Direct blow operation switch, 32... Control device (control means) 6 Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An air conditioner comprising a blower fan (3) and a horizontal deflection plate (6) for changing the horizontal blowing direction of air blown from the blower fan (3), the air conditioner further comprising: a blower fan (3); A person detection means (16) for detecting the position of the person is provided, and when a direct blow operation switch (25) for switching the blown air to directly hit the human body is operated, the person detection means (16) detects the position of the person. control means (32) for controlling the deflection angle of the horizontal deflection plate (6) according to the detected position of the person;
).