JPWO2019097625A1 - Indoor unit and air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

The indoor unit includes an indoor unit main body having a plurality of outlets, and a control device that identifies and controls the plurality of outlets, and the control device includes a communication unit that communicates with the indoor unit main body and the mobile terminal, and a plurality of communication units. When the storage unit that stores a plurality of outlet identifiers assigned to each of the outlets and the correspondence information of the azimuth angle and the outlet identifier with respect to the reference azimuth from the mobile terminal in the communication unit, the reference specified by the correspondence information. And a controller that estimates the azimuth angle of the other air outlet based on the azimuth angle of the air outlet and the positional relationship with the other air outlet.

Description

  The present invention relates to an indoor unit having a plurality of outlets and an air conditioner having an indoor unit and an outdoor unit.

  As an example of a conventional air conditioner, an air conditioner having an indoor unit provided with blowout ports in four directions is disclosed (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). The air conditioner of Patent Document 1 is provided with identification displays of different shapes at four corners of the lower surface of the corners of the decorative panel of the air conditioner, and the pattern of the makeup panel including the identification display is provided on the display unit of the remote controller. Is displayed. The user operates the remote controller to change the setting for each outlet by associating the four identification displays displayed on the makeup panel with the four identification displays displayed on the display unit of the remote controller. You can

  In an air conditioner having blowout ports in four directions, another air conditioner in which a user specifies and controls one blowout port out of four blowout ports is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 2). The air conditioner of Patent Document 2 has an imaging device that captures an entire area in which air is sent from an indoor unit, a wireless remote controller that allows a user to change the angle of the wind direction plate of the outlet, and a signal that is output from the wireless remote controller. And a control device. When the wireless detection unit detects a signal from the wireless remote controller, the control device identifies the area in which the user operating the wireless remote controller is located based on the data of the image captured by the imaging device, and the balloon corresponding to the identified area. Change the angle of the mouth wind vane.

Japanese Patent No. 5431289 JP, 2005-183964, A

  In the air conditioner of Patent Document 1, when the remote controller is installed at a place distant from the air conditioner, the user may associate the air outlet desired to operate with the air outlet displayed on the remote controller. Have difficulty. After memorizing the positions of the four identification displays displayed on the makeup panel of the air conditioner, the user moves to the place where the remote controller is installed and remembers the position of the air outlet that he / she wants to operate, while remembering the position of the remote controller. Have to operate.

  In the air conditioner of Patent Document 2, the control device needs to analyze the data of the image captured by the imaging device to identify the user who is facing the indoor unit. Therefore, when a plurality of persons are facing their indoor units, it is difficult for the control device to identify which of the plurality of persons has operated the wireless remote controller, and it is difficult to identify the person other than the operation target. There is a risk of selecting the outlet. In this case, the user needs to redo the operation of the wireless remote controller.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a user can use a mobile terminal to control one of a plurality of outlets by a simple operation. Machine and air conditioner.

  An indoor unit according to the present invention includes an indoor unit body having a plurality of outlets, and a control device that specifies and controls the plurality of outlets, and the control device includes the indoor unit body and a mobile terminal. A communication unit that communicates with the storage unit, a storage unit that stores a plurality of outlet identifiers assigned to each of the plurality of outlets, and a correspondence between the azimuth angle from the mobile terminal to the reference azimuth and the outlet identifier in the communication unit. When the information is received, the control unit estimates the azimuth angle of the other outlet based on the azimuth angle of the reference outlet specified by the correspondence information and the positional relationship with the other outlet. .

  An air conditioner according to the present invention includes a plurality of the indoor units and an outdoor unit that is connected to the plurality of the indoor units by a refrigerant circuit, and the storage unit is a plurality of units allocated to the plurality of the indoor units. The indoor unit identifier is stored, and the control unit, in association with the plurality of indoor units, sets the indoor unit identifier to the information of the azimuth angle and the outlet identifier for each of the plurality of outlets. It is included in the azimuth information.

  According to the present invention, since the indoor unit estimates the azimuth angle of the other air outlet from the azimuth angle of the reference air outlet, if the information of the azimuth angle is acquired from the mobile terminal, the azimuth angle of the plurality of air outlets can be calculated. The corresponding outlet can be specified as the control target. Therefore, even if the user does not specify the outlet to be controlled, the mobile terminal measures the azimuth angle toward the outlet to be controlled, and the measurement result is transmitted to the indoor unit. Can be controlled.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the air conditioner containing the indoor unit of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a refrigerant circuit diagram of the air conditioner shown in FIG. It is an external appearance perspective view of the indoor unit shown in FIG. It is a top view when the indoor unit shown in FIG. 3 is seen from the lower surface side. It is a block diagram which shows the control apparatus of the air conditioner shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 1. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure in which the remote controller shown in FIG. 5 registers the position of the outlet of the indoor unit corresponding to the mobile terminal. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between a balloon and a mobile terminal when a user registers orientation information corresponding to the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 6. FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an azimuth angle estimated by the mobile terminal in the positional relationship shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an operation image example for registering the position of the air outlet of the indoor unit corresponding to the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an operation image example for registering the position of the air outlet of the indoor unit corresponding to the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an operation image example for registering the position of the air outlet of the indoor unit corresponding to the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an operation image example for registering the position of the air outlet of the indoor unit corresponding to the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of azimuth angles of four outlets in the indoor unit shown in FIG. 4. It is a figure which shows another example of the azimuth angle of four blowing ports in the indoor unit shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an operation image for a user to operate the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 6 to change the direction of the vane of the outlet. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an operation image for a user to operate the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 6 to change the direction of the vane of the outlet. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an operation image for a user to operate the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 6 to change the direction of the vane of the outlet. It is a figure which shows another example of an operation image when a user operates the portable terminal shown in FIG. 6 and changes the direction of the vane of an outlet. In Embodiment 2, it is a figure which shows an example of the result which the portable terminal of one model among three types of models measured the direction of four outlets. In Embodiment 2, it is a figure which shows an example of the result which the mobile terminal of another model among three types of models measured the direction of four blowing ports. In Embodiment 2, it is a figure which shows an example of the result which the portable terminal of the remaining model among three types of models measured the direction of four outlets. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the air conditioner of Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows one structural example of the portable terminal used for operation of the air conditioner in Embodiment 4 of this invention.

Embodiment 1.
The configuration of the air conditioner to which the indoor unit of the first embodiment is applied will be described. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an air conditioner including an indoor unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The air conditioner 1 includes an outdoor unit 2, an indoor unit 3, and a remote controller 4. The outdoor unit 2 and the indoor unit 3 are connected by a refrigerant circuit 8. The remote controller 4, the outdoor unit 2 and the indoor unit 3 are communicatively connected by a communication cable 9.

  The mobile terminal 5 is an information processing terminal used by the user of the air conditioner 1. The mobile terminal 5 is connected to the remote controller 4 by wireless communication. The mobile terminal 5 is connected to the network 6. A server device 7 is connected to the network 6. The network 6 is, for example, the Internet.

  FIG. 2 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of the air conditioner shown in FIG. 1. The outdoor unit 2 includes a compressor 21 that compresses and discharges the refrigerant, a four-way valve 22 that switches the flow path of the refrigerant, a heat source side heat exchanger 23, an expansion valve 24, and a control device 25. The controller 25 controls the compressor 21, the four-way valve 22 and the expansion valve 24. The indoor unit 3 includes a load side heat exchanger 31, an indoor fan 32, an indoor air temperature sensor 39, and a control device 35. The control device 35 controls the indoor fan 32. The compressor 21, the four-way valve 22, the heat source side heat exchanger 23, the expansion valve 24 and the load side heat exchanger 31 are connected by a refrigerant pipe, and the refrigerant circuit 8 in which the refrigerant circulates is configured.

  The compressor 21 is an inverter type compressor whose capacity can be changed. The four-way valve 22 switches the direction in which the refrigerant flows in accordance with either the heating operation mode or the cooling operation mode. The heat source side heat exchanger 23 is a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and the outdoor air. The expansion valve 24 decompresses and expands the refrigerant. The expansion valve 24 is, for example, an electronic expansion valve. The load side heat exchanger 31 is a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and the indoor air. The indoor fan 32 supplies indoor air to the load side heat exchanger 31. The indoor air temperature sensor 39 measures the temperature of the indoor air and outputs the measured value to the control device 35.

  Although not shown in FIG. 2, a fan that supplies outdoor air to the heat source side heat exchanger 23 may be provided in the outdoor unit 2. A temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the refrigerant may be provided in the heat source side heat exchanger 23 and the load side heat exchanger 31. In this case, the controller 25 may control the degree of supercooling and the degree of superheat using the temperatures measured by these temperature sensors.

  FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the indoor unit shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows a case where the indoor unit 3 is a four-way ceiling cassette type indoor unit. The indoor unit 3 has a rectangular parallelepiped casing. The lower surface 38 of the indoor unit 3 is exposed from the ceiling to the indoor side. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the indoor unit shown in FIG. 3 as viewed from the lower surface side.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the shape of the lower surface 38 of the indoor unit 3 is rectangular. The lower surface 38 is provided with four outlets 12a to 12d and an inlet 13. The suction port 13 is provided at the center of the lower surface 38. The suction port 13 is provided with a lattice-shaped frame, but the frame is not shown in the figure. Outlet ports 12 a to 12 d are arranged outside the suction port 13 along the four sides of the outer circumference of the suction port 13.

  Vanes 14a to 14d for controlling the wind direction are provided at the outlets 12a to 12d. The outlet 12a is provided with a vane 14a, and the outlet 12b is provided with a vane 14b. The blowout port 12c is provided with a vane 14c, and the blowout port 12d is provided with a vane 14d.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control device of the air conditioner shown in FIG. The remote controller 4 is for the user to operate the operation of the air conditioner 1. As shown in FIG. 5, the remote controller 4 is communicatively connected to the control device 35 and the control device 25. The remote controller 4 includes a storage unit 41, a communication unit 42, a wireless communication unit 43, a display unit 44, a control unit 46, and an operation unit 47. The control unit 46 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory (not shown). The control unit 46 is configured in the remote controller 4 by the CPU executing the program stored in the memory.

  The storage unit 41 stores information related to the device, including the product model name and the manufacturing number of the air conditioner 1. The storage unit 41 stores the outlet identifiers F1 to F4 of the outlets 12a to 12d. The outlet identifiers F1 to F4 are different identifiers for the outlets 12a to 12d. The storage unit 41 stores a registration program for registering the outlets 12a to 12d and the outlet identifiers F1 to F4 in association with each other. The storage unit 41 stores the positional relationship between the outlets 12a to 12d. The positional relationship stored in the storage unit 41 is, for example, in the order of outlets 12a → 12b → 12d → 12c at 90 ° center angles along the circumference of a circle whose center axis is the center of the lower surface 38 of the indoor unit 3. It is the information that is placed in. The center of the lower surface 38 of the indoor unit 3 is, for example, the center of gravity of the lower surface 38 of the suction port 13.

  The communication unit 42 communicates with the control device and the control device 25 according to the determined communication protocol. The wireless communication unit 43 communicates with the mobile terminal 5 by a short-range wireless communication system. The short-distance wireless communication system is, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark). The display unit 44 displays the operating state of the air conditioner 1. The display unit 44 is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The operation unit 47 is an interface through which the user of the air conditioner 1 inputs an instruction.

  The control unit 46 causes the display unit 44 to display the operating state of the air conditioner 1. The control unit 46 transmits the instruction information input via the operation unit 47 to the control device 35. As the instruction information input via the operation unit 47, for example, there is information on one of the heating operation mode and the cooling operation mode and the set temperature in the room. The control unit 46 transmits the operation information received from the mobile terminal 5 via the wireless communication unit 43 to the control device 35. The operation information received from the mobile terminal 5 includes, for example, information on the air volumes of the four outlets 12a to 12d and the directions of the vanes 14a to 14d. The control unit 46 executes the registration program, and registers the information of the azimuth angle and the outlet identifier in the storage unit 41 for the outlets 12a to 12d in accordance with the determined procedure.

  The control device 35 is a device that controls devices provided in the indoor unit 3. The control device 35 is, for example, a microcomputer. The control device 35 includes a storage unit 33, a communication unit 34, a communication unit 36, and a control unit 37. The control unit 37 has a CPU and a memory (not shown). The control unit 37 is configured in the control device 35 by the CPU executing the program stored in the memory.

  The storage unit 33 stores information regarding control of the refrigerant device including the indoor fan 32. The communication unit 34 communicates with the remote controller 4 according to the determined communication protocol. The communication unit 36 communicates with the control device 25 according to the determined communication protocol. The communication unit 34 and the communication unit 36 may be integrally configured. The control unit 37 transmits the instruction information and the operation information received from the remote controller 4 and the measurement value received from the indoor air temperature sensor 39 to the control device 25 via the communication unit 36. When the instruction information and the operation information received from the remote controller 4 are information related to the control of the device of the indoor unit 3, the control unit 37 controls the device based on the received instruction information and the operation information. For example, the control unit 37 controls the direction of the vanes 14a to 14d according to the operation information. The control unit 37 controls the rotation frequency of the indoor fan 32 according to the control signal received from the control device 25.

  The control device 25 is a device that controls the refrigeration cycle of the refrigerant circuit 8 as well as the devices provided in the outdoor unit 2. The control device 25 is, for example, a microcomputer. The control device 25 includes a storage unit 26, a communication unit 27, and a control unit 28. The control unit 28 has a CPU and a memory (not shown). The control unit 28 is configured in the control device 25 by the CPU executing the program stored in the memory.

  The storage unit 26 stores information regarding the control of the refrigerant device including the compressor 21, the four-way valve 22, and the expansion valve 24. The communication unit 27 communicates with the control device 35 according to the determined communication protocol. When the control unit 28 receives the operation information, the instruction information, and the value of the indoor temperature from the control device 35, the control unit 28 generates a control signal for controlling the refrigeration cycle based on the received information. The control unit 28 generates a control signal for operating the device provided in the indoor unit 3 based on the instruction information and the operation information received from the control device 35. The control unit 28 controls the compressor 21, the four-way valve 22 and the expansion valve 24 according to the generated control signal. The control unit 28 transmits the information on the operation mode and the control signal to the control device 35.

  In the first embodiment, the remote controller 4 and the control devices 25 and 35 are described as separate configurations, but the remote controller 4 and the control devices 25 and 35 may be integrated. The integrated control device may be provided in any of the indoor unit 3, the outdoor unit 2, and the remote controller 4.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the mobile terminal shown in FIG. The mobile terminal 5 is, for example, a smartphone. The mobile terminal 5 includes a storage unit 51, a communication unit 52, a wireless communication unit 53, a display unit 54, a geomagnetic sensor 55, a control unit 56, and an operation unit 57. The control unit 56 has a CPU and a memory (not shown). The control unit 56 is configured in the mobile terminal 5 by the CPU executing the program stored in the memory.

  The storage unit 51 stores an air conditioning management program for a user to operate the air conditioner 1. The user operates the mobile terminal 5 to download the air conditioning management program to the mobile terminal 5 from the server device 7 that provides the air conditioning management program. The storage unit 51 stores the model information of the mobile terminal 5. The communication unit 52 communicates with the network 6 according to a communication protocol such as IP (Internet Protocol). The wireless communication unit 53 wirelessly communicates with the remote controller 4. The wireless communication unit 53 communicates with the remote controller 4 by a short-range wireless communication system. The short-distance wireless communication system is, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark). The display unit 54 is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The geomagnetic sensor 55 detects a reference azimuth among the azimuths on the earth. The reference azimuth is, for example, the north azimuth. The operation unit 57 is, for example, a touch panel.

  When the instruction to execute the air-conditioning management program is input, the control unit 56 reads the air-conditioning management program from the storage unit 51 to a memory (not shown), and executes the process according to the air-conditioning management program. The control unit 56 calculates the azimuth angle θ of the mobile terminal 5 based on the reference azimuth N detected by the geomagnetic sensor 55 according to the air conditioning management program, and stores it in the storage unit 51. When the instruction to specify the outlet is input, the control unit 56 transmits the correspondence information between the outlet identifier of the specified outlet and the azimuth angle stored in the storage unit 51 to the remote controller 4.

  Note that the wireless communication means of the wireless communication units 43 and 53 is not limited to the short-range wireless communication system, and may be a communication means that performs via an access point of a wireless LAN (Local Area Network).

  Next, a procedure in which the remote controller 4 registers the azimuth estimated by the mobile terminal 5 based on the geomagnetism and the outlets 12a to 12d of the indoor unit 3 in association with each other will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure in which the remote controller shown in FIG. 5 registers the position of the outlet of the indoor unit corresponding to the mobile terminal. The control unit 46 of the remote controller 4 receives from the mobile terminal 5 the correspondence information between the azimuth angle of any one of the outlets 12a to 12d and the outlet identifier (step ST1).

  The control unit 46 refers to the outlet identifiers F1 to F4 stored in the storage unit 41 and identifies the outlet identifier that matches the outlet identifier received from the mobile terminal 5. The control unit 46 associates the reference outlet with the azimuth angle received from the mobile terminal 5 with the outlet provided with the identified outlet identifier as the reference outlet (step ST2). After that, the control unit 46 estimates the azimuth angles of the other three outlets based on the azimuth angle of the reference outlet and the positional relationship between the other three outlets (step ST3). And the control part 46 produces | generates the azimuth | direction information which combined the blower outlet identifier and azimuth for each blower outlet 12a-12d (step ST4). The control unit 46 stores the generated azimuth information in the storage unit 41 (step ST5).

  Here, the procedure in which the user operates the mobile terminal 5 to register the direction information in the remote controller 4 will be described in detail. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the outlet and the mobile terminal when the user registers the orientation information corresponding to the mobile terminal shown in FIG. FIG. 8 shows a case where the room to be air-conditioned is viewed from the side. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an azimuth angle estimated by the mobile terminal in the positional relationship shown in FIG. 10 to 13 are diagrams showing examples of operation images for registering the position of the air outlet of the indoor unit corresponding to the mobile terminal shown in FIG. Here, among the outlets 12a to 12d shown in FIG. 4, the outlet desired to be operated by the user is the outlet 12a.

  When the user operates the operation unit 57 of the mobile terminal 5 to cause the control unit 56 to execute the air conditioning management program, the control unit 56 causes the display unit 54 to display the initial image 60 shown in FIG. 10. In the initial image 60, a button 81 selected when the user operates the air conditioner 1 and a button 82 selected when setting the air conditioner 1 so that the user can operate the air conditioner 1 are displayed.

  When the user selects the management setting button 82 via the operation unit 57 while looking at the initial image 60 shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 56 displays the registration item image 65 on the display unit 54. In the registration item image 65, the button 83 selected when registering the user information, the button 84 selected when registering the position of the balloon, and the button 84 selected when setting other items. A button 85 and a button 86 for returning to the initial image 60 are displayed.

  When the user selects the outlet 84 position registration button 84 via the operation unit 57 while looking at the registration item image 65 shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 56 displays the orientation measurement image 66 shown in FIG. 11 on the display unit 54. Display it. In the azimuth measurement image 66, a button 87 selected when the mobile terminal 5 estimates the azimuth and a button 88 for returning to the registration item image 65 are displayed.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the user stands diagonally below the outlet 12a so that the outlet 12a can be seen, and faces the outlet 12a. Then, the user holds the mobile terminal 5 with the orientation measurement image 66 shown in FIG. 11 being displayed on the mobile terminal 5. As shown in FIG. 8, the user holds the mobile terminal 5 so that the display surface of the display unit 54 is substantially horizontal. In FIG. 8, the mobile terminal 5 is located farther from the suction port 13 in the Y-axis arrow direction.

  When the user selects the measurement button 87 via the operation unit 57 in the state shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 56 specifies the reference azimuth N detected by the geomagnetic sensor 55. Subsequently, the control unit 56 calculates the azimuth angle θ from the reference azimuth N shown in FIG. 9 to the direction Az of the mobile terminal 5. The direction Az is the direction in which the lower side of the display unit 54 faces when the user holds the mobile terminal 5 so that the display surface of the display unit 54 is substantially horizontal. After calculating the azimuth angle θ, the control unit 56 stores the calculated azimuth angle θ in the storage unit 51.

  Subsequently, the control unit 56 causes the display unit 54 to display the position confirmation image 61 shown in FIG. In the position confirmation image 61, a schematic diagram of the indoor unit 3 showing four outlets to which the outlet identifiers F1 to F4 are assigned is displayed. The four buttons 71 on which the outlet identifiers F1 to F4 are displayed are buttons for selecting an outlet. FIG. 12 shows a diagram in which the blowout port identifiers F1 to F4 are assigned to the four blowout ports for simplification of description, but if the user can distinguish the blowout ports, different blowout ports will be different. It may be a display. For example, the numbers 1 to 4 may be simply displayed on the four balloons displayed by the display unit 54.

  At this stage, the user does not yet know which of the outlet identifiers F1 to F4 the outlet 12a facing the user corresponds to. Therefore, the user arbitrarily selects one button 71 from the four buttons 71 indicated by the position confirmation image 61. For example, the user selects the button 71 on which the outlet identifier F1 is displayed in the position confirmation image 61 via the operation unit 57.

  When the button 71 that displays the outlet identifier F1 is selected, the control unit 56 causes the display unit 54 to display the wind direction operation image 62 shown in FIG. The wind direction operation image 62 is an image for operating the vane of the outlet of the outlet identifier F1. In the wind direction operation image 62, wind direction change buttons 72a and 72b, a setting button 73 selected when registering the position of the air outlet, and a button 74 for returning to the position confirmation image 61 are displayed. The wind direction change button 72a is a button for moving the vane upward by a predetermined angle. The wind direction change button 72b is a button for moving the vane downward by a predetermined angle.

  The user attempts an operation of selecting the wind direction change button 72a or 72b via the operation unit 57. By this operation, the control unit 56 transmits operation information including the operation content of the vane and the outlet identifier F1 to the remote controller 4. When the remote controller 4 receives the operation information from the mobile terminal 5, the control unit 46 transfers the operation information to the control device 35 of the indoor unit 3. When the control device 35 receives the operation information from the remote controller 4, the control unit 37 operates the vane 14a of the outlet 12a specified by the outlet identifier F1 according to the operation information. In this way, the vane 14a of the outlet 12a operates.

  When confirming that the vane 14a of the air outlet 12a facing the user has operated, the user selects the setting button 73 shown in FIG. 13 via the operation unit 57. When the setting button 73 is selected, the control unit 56 reads the azimuth angle θ stored in the storage unit 51 from the storage unit 51, and transmits the correspondence information between the azimuth angle θ and the outlet identifier F1 to the remote controller 4. Note that, when the user attempts the operation of selecting the wind direction changing button 72a or 72b shown in FIG. 13, if a vane with an outlet different from the outlet facing the user operates, the user returns to the position confirmation image 61, You can start again from the operation of selecting the balloon.

  When the remote controller 4 receives the correspondence information from the mobile terminal 5, the control unit 46 stores the correspondence information in the storage unit 41. Subsequently, the control unit 46 identifies the outlet 12a as the reference outlet, and based on the azimuth angle of the reference outlet and the positional relationship between the other three outlets, the azimuth angles of the other three outlets. To calculate. This calculation will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the azimuth angles of the four outlets in the indoor unit shown in FIG. A circle 100 shown in FIG. 14 is a line indicating an azimuth angle with the center of the lower surface 38 of the indoor unit 3 as the central axis. The azimuth angle is represented by a central angle counterclockwise from the reference azimuth N with the center of the circle 100 as the central axis. The central angle of the reference azimuth N is 0 °. The four intersections of the two straight broken lines and the circle 100 indicate the actual azimuth angles of the outlets 12a to 12d.

  In FIG. 14, the circle on the circle 100 indicates the azimuth calculated by the mobile terminal 5 based on the geomagnetism, and the square on the circle 100 indicates the azimuth calculated by the remote controller 4 based on the azimuth of the reference outlet. Indicates a corner. For example, when the control unit 46 receives the correspondence information between the azimuth angle θ = 70 ° and the outlet identifier F1 from the mobile terminal 5, the azimuth angle of the outlet 12b corresponding to the outlet identifier F2 is 70 ° + 90 ° = Calculate 160 °. Further, the control unit 46 calculates 160 ° + 90 ° = 250 ° as the azimuth angle of the outlet 12d corresponding to the outlet identifier F4. The control unit 46 calculates 250 ° + 90 ° = 340 ° as the azimuth angle of the outlet 12c corresponding to the outlet identifier F3. In this way, the control unit 46 estimates the azimuth angles of the other three outlets based on the azimuth angles of the reference outlets.

  In FIG. 14, a point Pa on the circle 100 indicates the azimuth of the reference outlet 12a, and a point Pb indicates the azimuth of the outlet 12b. The point Pd indicates the azimuth angle of the outlet 12d, and the point Pc indicates the azimuth angle of the outlet 12c. When estimating the azimuth angle of each outlet as described with reference to FIG. 14, the control unit 46 obtains the azimuth information including the information of the azimuth angle and the outlet identifier for each of the four outlets 12a to 12d. create. Then, the control unit 46 stores the created azimuth information in the storage unit 41.

  Here, it will be described that the point Pa indicating the azimuth calculated by the mobile terminal 5 with respect to the outlet 12a does not coincide with the intersection of the broken line and the circle 100. The reason why the azimuth angle calculated by the mobile terminal 5 does not match the actual azimuth angle is considered to be the azimuth measurement performance of the mobile terminal 5 and the influence of the structure of the building in which the indoor unit 3 is installed. The azimuth measuring method of the mobile terminal 5 differs depending on the manufacturer and model of the mobile terminal 5. For example, a high-priced mobile terminal may use a highly accurate azimuth measuring method, and a low-priced mobile terminal may use a low-accuracy azimuth measuring method.

  On the other hand, even with the same type of mobile terminal 5, the difference in the structure of the building, such as whether or not a steel frame is used in the building, affects the azimuth measurement. This is because geomagnetism is affected by a material that is easily magnetized, such as iron. Therefore, even in the same building, it is conceivable that the difference in the position of the indoor unit in the building has a different influence on the direction measurement. For example, the azimuth measured by the indoor unit on the side different from the wall in which the steel frame is used and the azimuth measured by the indoor unit far from the wall are different.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14, the azimuth calculated by the mobile terminal 5 with respect to the outlet 12a may not match the actual azimuth. Here, a case will be described in which the mobile terminal 5 estimates not only the azimuth angle of the reference air outlet but also the azimuth angle of the relative air outlet relative to the reference air outlet, for the directions of other air outlets.

  In this case, the user performs the azimuth registration according to the procedure described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 13 for the balloon 12a, and then performs the procedure described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 13 for the balloon 12d. Go and register the bearing. The portable terminal 5 stores the measured azimuth and the outlet identifier F4 as a pair in the storage unit 51 for the outlet 12d as a relative outlet.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another example of the azimuth angles of the four outlets in the indoor unit shown in FIG. FIG. 15 shows a case where the outlet 12a is the reference outlet and the outlet 12d is a relative outlet. The point Pa indicates the azimuth angle of the outlet 12a, and the point Pd indicates the azimuth angle of the outlet 12b. The azimuth angle of the point Pa is 70 ° and the azimuth angle of the point Pd is 190 °. In the example shown in FIG. 15, due to the azimuth measuring performance of the mobile terminal 5 and the influence of the structure of the building, the measured azimuth angle of the outlet 12d is deviated from the actual azimuth angle by 30 ° or more in the clockwise direction. There is. The mobile terminal 5 transmits the correspondence information between the outlet identifier F1 and the azimuth angle = 70 ° and the relative azimuth information including the outlet identifier F4 and the azimuth angle = 190 ° to the remote controller 4.

  The control unit 46 of the remote controller 4 estimates the azimuth angles of the other two outlets 12b and 12c using the correspondence information and the relative azimuth information. Specifically, the control unit 46 calculates the azimuth angle of the outlet 12b as (190 ° -70 °) / 2 + 70 ° = 130 °. Further, the control unit 46 calculates the azimuth angle of the outlet 12c as {(360 ° -190 °) + 70 °} / 2 + 190 ° = 310 °. In FIG. 15, a point Pb indicates the azimuth of the outlet 12b, and a point Pc indicates the azimuth of the outlet 12c.

  FIG. 15 shows a case where the control unit 46 divides all the azimuths into four areas based on the estimated azimuth angles for the four outlets 12a to 12d. The solid line shown in FIG. 15 is a boundary line that divides the range of the azimuth angles of the adjacent outlets. The azimuth angle of the boundary line DL1 is 110 °, and the azimuth angle of the boundary line DL2 is 150 °. The azimuth angle of the boundary line DL3 is 270 °, and the azimuth angle of the boundary line DL4 is 350 °.

  An example of a method of calculating the boundary lines DL1 to DL4 shown in FIG. 15 will be described. The control unit 46 calculates the positions of the boundary lines DL1 to DL4 based on the azimuth angles of the four points Pa to Pd. For example, the control unit 46 determines the boundary lines DL1 and DL2 based on the azimuth angles of the points Pa, Pb, and Pd as follows. The control unit 46 divides the range of azimuth angles between the points Pa and Pd into three equal parts corresponding to the three outlets 12a, 12b, and 12d. Since the range of the azimuth angle sandwiched between the points Pa and Pd is 120 °, the control unit 46 sets the azimuth angle position obtained by adding 30 ° to the azimuth angle 70 ° of the point Pa as the boundary line DL1. Further, the control unit 46 sets the position of the azimuth angle obtained by adding 30 ° to the azimuth angle 110 ° of the boundary line DL1 as the boundary line DL2. In this way, the control unit 46 determines the other boundary lines DL3 and DL4 based on the azimuth angles of the points Pa to Pd. The method of dividing the range of azimuth angles described here is an example, and the method of division is not limited to the method described here.

  Further, the control unit 46 may include the range of azimuth angles corresponding to the outlets of the outlets 12a to 12d estimated as shown in FIG. 15 in the orientation information. For example, the control unit 46 assigns the area sandwiched between the boundary line DL4 and the boundary line DL1 to the range of the azimuth angle of the outlet 12a. Further, the control unit 46 assigns the area sandwiched between the boundary line DL1 and the boundary line DL2 to the range of the azimuth angle of the outlet 12b. The control unit 46 assigns the area sandwiched between the boundary line DL2 and the boundary line DL3 to the range of the azimuth angle of the outlet 12d. The control unit 46 allocates the area sandwiched between the boundary line DL3 and the boundary line DL4 to the azimuth range of the outlet 12c. The control unit 46 registers the information on the range of the azimuth angles assigned in this way in association with the outlets 12a to 12d, by including the information in the azimuth information. Regarding the azimuth angle received from the mobile terminal 5, the positional relationship between the outlets 12a to 12d is corrected to the positional relationship shown in FIG.

  Next, a procedure in which the user operates the mobile terminal 5 to control the air volume and the air direction of any of the outlets 12a to 12d of the indoor unit 3 will be described. Here, a case where the user changes the direction of the vane 14a of the outlet 12a will be described. It is assumed that the azimuth information has information on the range of azimuth angles shown in FIG. 16 to 18 are diagrams showing operation image examples for the user to operate the portable terminal shown in FIG. 6 to change the direction of the vane of the outlet.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the user holds the mobile terminal 5 while standing facing the outlet 12a whose vane 14a is to be changed in direction. Subsequently, when the user operates the operation unit 57 of the mobile terminal 5 to cause the control unit 56 to execute the air conditioning management program, the control unit 56 causes the display unit 54 to display the initial image 60 shown in FIG. 10. When the user selects the operation button 81 of the air conditioner through the operation unit 57 while looking at the initial image 60 shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 56 displays the control item image 67 shown in FIG. 16 on the display unit 54. Let

  The control item image 67 includes a button 91 selected when setting the operation mode, a button 92 selected when setting the temperature and humidity, and a button 93 selected when changing the wind direction and air volume. Is displayed. Further, in the control item image 67, a button 94 selected when changing the other controlled objects and a button 95 for returning to the initial image 60 are displayed.

  When the user selects the wind direction and air volume control button 93 via the operation unit 57 while looking at the control item image 67 shown in FIG. 16, the control unit 56 displays the outlet control image 68 shown in FIG. 17 on the display unit 54. To display. On the outlet control image 68, a button 96 selected when changing the vane direction, a button 97 selected when changing the air volume, and a button 98 for returning to the control item image 67 are displayed. ing.

  When the user selects the wind direction control button 96 via the operation unit 57 while looking at the air outlet control image 68 shown in FIG. 17, the control unit 56 displays the wind direction operation image 64 shown in FIG. 18 on the display unit 54. Let The wind direction operation image 64 displays the same buttons as the wind direction operation image 62 described with reference to FIG. 13. The user selects the wind direction change button 72a or 72b via the operation unit 57.

  By this operation, the control unit 56 calculates the azimuth angle of the mobile terminal 5 based on the reference azimuth N detected by the geomagnetic sensor 55. Then, the control unit 56 transmits the operation information including the calculated azimuth and the operation content of the vane to the remote controller 4. When the remote controller 4 receives the operation information from the mobile terminal 5, the control unit 46 reads the azimuth angle from the operation information. Then, the control unit 46 refers to the azimuth information, and specifies the range in which the azimuth angle read from the operation information corresponds among the four ranges of the azimuth angle shown in FIG. In this case, the control unit 46 determines that the azimuth angle falls within the azimuth angle range of the outlet 12a.

  Then, the control unit 46 rewrites the azimuth angle included in the operation information to the outlet identifier F1 of the outlet 12a and transmits the operation information to the control device 35 of the indoor unit 3. When the control device 35 receives the control signal from the remote controller 4, the control unit 37 operates the vane 14a of the outlet 12a specified by the outlet identifier F1 according to the operation information. In this way, the vane 14a of the outlet 12a operates.

  Here, the case where the azimuth information has information on the range of the azimuth angle as shown in FIG. 15 has been described, but the control unit 46 may estimate the outlet from the azimuth angle included in the operation information. For example, in the case shown in FIG. 14, the control unit 46 may estimate the range of the azimuth angles of 45 ° on both sides as the range of the outlets 12a to 12d with reference to the points Pa to Pd. Here, when the azimuth ranges of two adjacent outlets overlap, the overlapping range may be equally divided into two adjacent outlets. In the case of the outlets 12a and 12b in FIG. 15, this case will be described. The overlapping range of the outlets 12a and 12b is 30 °. If the range of 30 ° is equally divided into two outlets 12a and 12b, a boundary line DL1 is set between the point Pa and the point Pb at an azimuth angle of 100 °.

  Here, the advantage in the case where the control unit 46 calculates the azimuth angles of the other two outlets out of the four outlets 12a to 12d of the indoor unit 3 based on the azimuth angles of the two opposing outlets. , And FIG. 15 will be described in comparison. For the sake of explanation, in the circle shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a point Pk is attached to the azimuth angle = 160 °, and the point Pk is indicated by a triangle mark.

  When the azimuth information shown in FIG. 14 is used, the control unit 46 specifies the azimuth angle range of the outlets 12a to 12d within a range of 45 ° on both sides with each point Pa to Pd as a reference. Further, when using the azimuth information shown in FIG. 15, the control unit 46 specifies the azimuth angle range of the outlets 12a to 12d in four areas divided by the four boundary lines DL1 to DL4. To do.

  The user holds the portable terminal 5 as shown in FIG. 8 and operates the operation unit 57 to change the direction of the vane 14d of the outlet 12d. At this time, the control unit 56 measures azimuth angle = 160 ° and transmits operation information including the azimuth angle to the remote controller 4. The control unit 46 of the remote controller 4 reads out the azimuth angle from the operation information, and estimates which range of the outlet the read azimuth angle belongs to. When using the azimuth information shown in FIG. 14, the control unit 46 specifies the balloon specified by the user as the balloon 12b. On the other hand, when using the azimuth information shown in FIG. 15, the control unit 46 specifies the balloon 12 specified by the user as the balloon 12d. The outlet estimated by the control unit 46 has different results between the case of FIG. 14 and the case of FIG. When the direction information shown in FIG. 15 is used, a balloon closer to the balloon desired by the user is selected.

  As described above, the control unit 46 uses not only the azimuth angle measured at one air outlet but also the azimuth angle measured at the air outlet that is opposite to the air outlet and the azimuth ranges of the four air outlets. By estimating, it is possible to reduce the error in selecting the air outlet due to the error in the direction measurement.

  Note that the control unit 46 of the remote controller 4 may not only store the azimuth information in the storage unit 41, but may also transmit the azimuth information to the mobile terminal 5 and register the azimuth information in the storage unit 51 of the mobile terminal 5. Good. In this case, the control unit 56 of the portable terminal 5 can identify the outlet identifier of the outlet from the measured azimuth angle by referring to the azimuth information when the user notifies the remote controller 4 of the outlet whose wind direction is desired to be controlled. Therefore, the control unit 56 may transmit the operation information including the specified outlet identifier of the outlet to the remote controller 4.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram showing another operation image example when the user operates the portable terminal shown in FIG. 6 to change the direction of the vane of the outlet. When the user selects the wind direction control button 96 after the display unit 54 displays the outlet control image 68 shown in FIG. 17, the controller 56 displays the outlet confirmation image 63 shown in FIG. 19 on the display 54. Let This allows the user to recognize that the outlet in which he or she intends to change the direction of the vane is the outlet specified by F1. After that, the control unit 56 causes the display unit 54 to display the wind direction operation image 62 shown in FIG. When the user selects the wind direction change button 72a or 72b via the operation unit 57, the control unit 56 transmits operation information including the outlet identifier F1 and the operation content of the vane to the remote controller 4. In this case, the control unit 56 does not need the operation of measuring the azimuth angle. Therefore, the time from when the user selects the wind direction change button to when the mobile terminal 5 transmits the operation information to the remote controller 4 is shortened, and the user's instruction is reflected in the operation of the vane 14a more smoothly.

  Furthermore, the mobile terminal 5 may register the azimuth information received from the remote controller 4 in the server device 7. If the server device 7 makes the azimuth information accessible to anyone, another user who uses the same indoor unit 3 can operate his / her mobile terminal to download the azimuth information from the server device 7 to the mobile terminal. You can In this case, the user does not need to operate his / her mobile terminal and perform the operation of registering the position according to the procedure shown in FIGS. However, it is desirable that the mobile terminal that downloads the azimuth information from the server device 7 has the same azimuth measurement performance as the azimuth measurement performance of the mobile terminal that has registered the azimuth information in the server device 7.

  In the first embodiment, the case where the indoor unit 3 has four outlets has been described, but the number of outlets is not limited to four. For example, the number of outlets may be two. Further, although the case where the remote controller 4 executes the procedure shown in FIG. 7 has been described in the first embodiment, the mobile terminal 5 may generate the azimuth information by the procedure shown in FIG. 7. In this case, the mobile terminal 5 may transmit the azimuth information to the remote controller 4 in order to register the generated azimuth information in the remote controller 4.

  In addition, although the case where the number of the mobile terminals 5 is one is described in the first embodiment, when there are a plurality of users who use the air conditioner 1, the azimuth information is obtained for each of the plurality of mobile terminals used by the plurality of users. You may register. In this case, the remote controller 4 may register a different identifier for each mobile terminal in the azimuth information. The identifier registered together with the azimuth information is not limited to a terminal identifier that differs for each mobile terminal, but may be a user identifier that differs for each user. Furthermore, the reference azimuth N is not limited to the case where it is detected by the geomagnetic sensor 55. The reference azimuth N may be calculated by a positioning method using GPS (Global Positioning System).

  When the indoor unit 3 according to the first embodiment receives the correspondence information between the azimuth angle with respect to the reference azimuth and the outlet identifier from the mobile terminal 5, the indoor unit 3 determines the azimuth angle of the reference outlet specified by the correspondence information and other outlets. The azimuth angles of the other outlets are estimated based on the positional relationship of

  According to the present invention, the indoor unit 3 estimates the azimuth angles of the other air outlets with reference to the azimuth angle of one air outlet specified by the air outlet identifier. Therefore, when the indoor unit 3 acquires the azimuth angle information from the mobile terminal 5, the air outlet corresponding to the azimuth angle can be specified as the control target among the plurality of air outlets. Even if the user does not specify the outlet to be controlled, the portable terminal 5 is made to measure the azimuth angle toward the outlet to be controlled, and the measurement result is transmitted to the indoor unit 3. The wind direction and volume can be controlled.

  In the air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1, many users associate the identification display displayed on the decorative panel with the identification display displayed on the remote controller when operating the air conditioner for the first time. May not be understood immediately. On the other hand, in the indoor unit 3 according to the first embodiment, the user has only to operate the terminal by pointing the mobile terminal 5 at the outlet to be controlled, and does not need to operate and specify the remote controller.

Embodiment 2.
In the second embodiment, the azimuth information is registered corresponding to the model of the mobile terminal 5. In the second embodiment, detailed description of the same configuration as the configuration described in the first embodiment will be omitted.

  As described in the first embodiment, an error occurs between the azimuth measured by the mobile terminal 5 and the actual azimuth, not only due to the influence of the structure of the building, but also due to the azimuth measurement performance of the mobile terminal 5. The higher the azimuth measurement performance, the smaller the error. Azimuth measurements were performed on different types of mobile terminals. Here, actual measurement results are shown for three types of mobile terminals.

  20 to 22 are diagrams showing the results obtained by measuring the orientations of the four outlets of the indoor unit by the three mobile terminals of different models in the second embodiment. 20 to 22 show azimuth angles with the center of the lower surface 38 of the indoor unit 3 as the central axis, as in FIG. 14 described in the first embodiment. Here, in order to distinguish the three types of mobile terminals, the three mobile terminals are referred to as mobile terminals A to C. The measurement results shown in FIGS. 20 to 22 are obtained by measuring the same indoor unit installed in the same room. If the actual azimuth of the outlet 12a is 60 °, the azimuth of the outlet 12b is 150 °, the azimuth of the outlet 12d is 240 °, and the azimuth of the outlet 12c is 330 °.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a result obtained by measuring the orientations of four outlets by a mobile terminal of one model out of three models in the second embodiment. The result shown in FIG. 20 shows the result measured by the mobile terminal A. The circles indicated by the points Pa1 to Pd1 indicate the azimuth angles measured by the mobile terminal A for the outlets 12a to 12d. The azimuth angle of the point Pa1 is 57 °, and the azimuth angle of the point Pb1 is 145 °. The azimuth angle of the point Pd1 is 234 °, and the azimuth angle of the point Pc1 is 323 °.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a result obtained by measuring the orientations of four outlets by a mobile terminal of another model among the three models in the second embodiment. The result shown in FIG. 21 shows the result measured by the mobile terminal B. The circles indicated by the points Pa2 to Pd2 indicate the azimuth angles measured by the mobile terminal B for the outlets 12a to 12d. The azimuth angle of the point Pa2 is 69 °, and the azimuth angle of the point Pb2 is 135 °. The azimuth angle of the point Pd2 is 187 °, and the azimuth angle of the point Pc2 is 285 °.

  FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a result obtained by measuring the orientations of four outlets by the mobile terminals of the remaining models of the three models in the second embodiment. The results shown in FIG. 22 show the results measured by the mobile terminal C. The circles indicated by the points Pa3 to Pd3 indicate the azimuth angles measured by the mobile terminal C for the outlets 12a to 12d. The azimuth angle of the point Pa3 is 53 °, and the azimuth angle of the point Pb3 is 91 °. The azimuth angle of the point Pd3 is 191 °, and the azimuth angle of the point Pc3 is 293 °.

  20 to 22, focusing on the outlet 12a, the azimuth angle measured by the mobile terminal A is 57 °, but the azimuth angle measured by the mobile terminal B is 69 °, and the mobile terminal C is The measured azimuth angle is 53 °. As described above, since the azimuth measurement performances of the mobile terminals A to C are different, not only there is an error with respect to the actual azimuth, but also a difference in azimuth occurs between the terminals. Therefore, even if the remote controller 4 generates and registers the azimuth information based on the azimuth angle measured by one mobile terminal, the other mobile terminals may not be able to use the registered azimuth information as it is. .

  Since it may be difficult for a plurality of mobile terminals of different models to confirm the same outlet, in the second embodiment, the remote controller 4 stores the model information in the azimuth information in the storage unit 41. . Specifically, in step ST1 shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 56 of the mobile terminal 5 transmits the model information of the mobile terminal 5 to the remote controller 4 together with the azimuth angle of the reference outlet and the outlet identifier. The control unit 46 of the remote controller 4 estimates the azimuth angles of the other air outlets using the azimuth angle of the reference air outlet and the air outlet identifier, and then stores the azimuth information in the storage unit 41 in association with the model information.

  Further, when the user notifies the remote controller 4 of the outlet for which the wind direction is desired to be controlled, the control unit 56 of the mobile terminal 5 includes the model information in the operation information and transmits it to the remote controller 4. The control unit 46 of the remote controller 4 reads the model information from the operation information, specifies the azimuth information to be referred to from the azimuth information that is stored in the storage unit 41 and is different for each model, and determines the azimuth angle or blowing angle included in the operation information. The exit identifier can identify the outlet to be controlled by the orientation information. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the indoor unit 3 from selecting an incorrect outlet as a control target due to an azimuth measurement error that differs depending on the model of the mobile terminal.

  Further, in this case, when another user uses the indoor unit 3, the mobile terminal 5 may be operated to establish a communication connection with the remote controller 4, and the azimuth information may be downloaded from the remote controller 4 to the mobile terminal 5. When the mobile terminal used by the user is of the same model as the mobile terminal whose azimuth information has already been registered, the user does not need to perform the work of registering the position of the balloon. As a result, the load on the user is reduced.

  Further, the mobile terminal 5 may register the azimuth information including the model information of its own terminal in the server device 7. When the user is using a mobile terminal of the same model as the mobile terminal whose azimuth information has already been registered for the indoor unit 3 to be used, the user operates the mobile terminal to download the azimuth information from the server device 7 to the mobile terminal. do it. Even in this case, the effect of reducing the load on the user can be obtained.

  The indoor unit 3 according to the second embodiment registers azimuth information together with model information of the mobile terminal 5. According to the second embodiment, it is possible to prevent the air conditioner 1 from selecting the wrong outlet as the control target due to the azimuth measurement error that differs depending on the model of the mobile terminal.

Embodiment 3.
In the third embodiment, the air conditioner has a plurality of indoor units and the indoor unit to be controlled by the user can be specified by using different indoor unit identifiers for each indoor unit. In the third embodiment, detailed description of the same configurations as the configurations described in the first and second embodiments will be omitted.

  The configuration of the air conditioner of the third embodiment will be described. FIG. 23: is a figure which shows the structural example of the air conditioner of Embodiment 3 of this invention. The air conditioner 1a according to the third embodiment includes an outdoor unit 2 and indoor units 3a and 3b. The indoor units 3a and 3b have the same configuration as the indoor unit 3 described in the first and second embodiments. The outdoor unit 2, the indoor units 3a and 3b, and the remote controller are communicatively connected to each other via a communication cable 9.

  In the indoor units 3a and 3b, different machine numbers are set for the indoor units 3a and 3b so that the remote controller 4 and the control device 25 can distinguish the indoor units. This machine number serves as an indoor unit identifier of the indoor units 3a and 3b in the air conditioner 1a. The unit number is set, for example, by a DIP switch provided in the indoor units 3a and 3b. When the worker installs the air conditioner 1a, he or she operates the DIP switches of the indoor units 3a and 3b to set different unit numbers for the indoor units 3a and 3b. When the operator starts the air conditioner 1a, the information of the machine number set by the dip switch is notified from the indoor units 3a and 3b to the remote controller 4 and the control device 25 via the communication cable 9. The storage unit 26 and the storage unit 41 store the machine number in association with the indoor units 3a and 3b. In the following description, the indoor unit 3a has a unit number of 1 and the indoor unit 3b has a unit number of 2.

  Although not shown in FIG. 23, the indoor units 3a and 3b are provided with a display that allows the user to visually distinguish the indoor units 3a and 3b. For example, a seal with the machine number is attached to the lower surfaces 38 of the indoor units 3a and 3b. The device number display means is not limited to a sticker, and may be another means such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode).

  Next, with respect to the indoor unit designated by the user, refer to FIGS. 7 and 10 to 13 for the procedure of registering the remote controller 4 by associating the azimuth angle measured by the mobile terminal 5 with the outlets 12a to 12d. And explain. Here, a case where the user specifies the indoor unit 3a will be described.

  When the user selects the balloon opening position registration button 84 from the registration item image 65 shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 56 causes the display unit 54 to display a machine selection image (not shown). The user sees the sticker attached to the lower surface 38 of the indoor unit 3a and recognizes that the indoor unit 3a he / she wants to operate is the first unit. Then, when the user inputs the machine number of the indoor unit 3a via the operation unit 57 while looking at the machine selection image, the control unit 56 stores the information of the first machine in the storage unit 51. Thereafter, control unit 56 measures the azimuth angle as in the first embodiment, and then operates according to the procedure described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13. When the setting button 73 shown in FIG. 13 is selected, the control unit 56 sends the information of the first car to the remote controller 4 together with the azimuth angle of the reference outlet and the outlet identifier in step ST1 shown in FIG. . The control unit 46 of the remote controller 4 estimates the azimuth angles of the other air outlets using the azimuth angle of the reference air outlet and the air outlet identifier, and then stores the azimuth information in the storage unit 41 in association with the machine number ( Steps ST2 to ST5 shown in FIG. 7).

  Next, a procedure in which the user operates the mobile terminal 5 to change the direction of the vane 14a of the outlet 12a of the outlets 12a to 12d of the indoor unit 3a will be described with reference to FIGS. .

  When the user selects the wind direction and air volume control button 93 from the registration item image 65 shown in FIG. 16, the control unit 56 causes the display unit 54 to display a machine selection image (not shown). When the user inputs the machine number of the indoor unit 3a via the operation unit 57 while looking at the machine selection image, the control unit 56 stores the information of the first machine in the storage unit 51. After that, the control unit 56 operates according to the procedure described with reference to FIGS. 17 to 18 as in the first embodiment. When the wind direction changing button 72a or 72b shown in FIG. 18 is selected, the control unit 56 measures the azimuth angle as described in the first embodiment and then includes the azimuth angle, the machine number, and the operation content of the vane. The operation information is transmitted to the remote controller 4.

  Upon receiving the operation information from the mobile terminal 5, the control unit 46 of the remote controller 4 reads the machine number from the operation information, and specifies the azimuth information to be referenced from the azimuth information that is stored in the storage unit 41 and is different for each machine number. To do. Subsequently, the control unit 46 identifies the outlet of the control target by the azimuth information by the azimuth angle or the outlet identifier included in the operation information. In this way, the control unit 46 can specify the indoor unit 3a and the outlet 12a that the user wants to operate and operate the vane 14a.

  Although the case has been described where the machine number that allows the user to visually distinguish the indoor units 3a and 3b also serves as the indoor unit identifier, the indoor unit identifier is different from the machine number that the user can easily distinguish. Good. For example, the indoor unit identifier may be a different manufacturing number for each indoor unit 3a and 3b. In this case, the storage unit 41 of the remote controller 4 stores the indoor unit identifiers and the machine numbers of the indoor units 3a and 3b in association with each other. When the control unit 46 reads the machine number from the information received from the mobile terminal 5, the control unit 46 can identify the indoor unit identifier corresponding to the read machine number by referring to the information stored in the storage unit 41. The user does not need to read the manufacturing number of the indoor unit when operating the blowout port of the indoor unit, and only needs to specify the simple machine number displayed on the indoor unit, so the burden on the operation does not increase.

  The air conditioner 1a according to the third embodiment registers the azimuth information together with the indoor unit identifier. According to the third embodiment, even if the air conditioner 1a includes the plurality of indoor units 3a and 3b, it is possible to more reliably specify the indoor unit of the outlet that the user wants to operate.

Fourth Embodiment
In the fourth embodiment, the air conditioner has a plurality of indoor units, and the indoor unit to be controlled by the user can be specified by using the position information indicating the geographical position. The position information is, for example, information represented by latitude and longitude. In the fourth embodiment, detailed description of the same configurations as those described in the first to third embodiments will be omitted.

  The air conditioner of the fourth embodiment has the same configuration as the air conditioner 1a described in the third embodiment. The mobile terminal according to the fourth embodiment has a different configuration from the mobile terminal 5 described in the first to third embodiments. FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a mobile terminal used for operating the air conditioner according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

  The mobile terminal 5a shown in FIG. 24 has a configuration in which a GPS antenna 58 is added, as compared with the mobile terminal 5 shown in FIG. The GPS antenna 58 receives a GPS signal for positioning from a satellite (not shown). The storage unit 51 stores a map whose geographical position can be specified by latitude and longitude. When measuring the azimuth, the control unit 56 receives three or more GPS signals from a plurality of artificial satellites via the GPS antenna 58 and performs two-dimensional positioning using the received three or more GPS signals. , The position information of the mobile terminal 5 is calculated. The control unit 56 transmits the position information to the remote controller 4 together with the azimuth angle.

  The operation of the air conditioner 1a according to the fourth embodiment will be described. In the fourth embodiment, when the remote controller 4 registers the azimuth information, the remote controller 4 includes the position information in the azimuth information corresponding to the indoor units 3a and 3b. Specifically, in step ST1 shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 56 of the mobile terminal 5 transmits the position information of the indoor unit to the remote controller 4 together with the azimuth angle of the reference outlet and the outlet identifier. The control unit 46 of the remote controller 4 estimates the azimuth angle of the other outlet using the azimuth angle of the reference outlet and the outlet identifier, and then stores the azimuth information in the storage unit 41 in association with the position information.

  In addition, when the user notifies the remote controller 4 of the outlet for which the wind direction is desired to be controlled, the control unit 56 of the mobile terminal 5 provides the remote controller 4 with the operation information including the azimuth angle or the outlet identifier and the indoor unit position information. Send. Here, the case where the user specifies the outlet 12a of the indoor unit 3a will be described. The control unit 46 of the remote controller 4 reads the position information from the operation information, and refers to the azimuth information stored in the storage unit 41 in association with the position information. Then, when the control unit 46 identifies the indoor unit 3a with the azimuth information including the position information closest to the position information included in the operation information, the control unit 46 determines the azimuth angle or the outlet identifier included in the operation information in the specified indoor unit 3a. The outlet 12a to be controlled is specified. In this way, even if the user does not specify the machine number of the indoor unit 3a, the control unit 46 can specify the indoor unit 3a and the outlet 12a that the user wants to operate and operate the vane 14a.

  The position information is not limited to the information represented by latitude and longitude. The position information may include height information from the ground in addition to latitude and longitude. In this case, the mobile terminal 5 performs three-dimensional positioning using four or more GPS signals, and calculates the position information of its own terminal. Even in a building having a plurality of floors with different heights, the air conditioner 1a can distinguish the indoor units for each floor, specify the indoor unit that the user wants to operate, and control the outlet.

  The air conditioner 1a according to the fourth embodiment registers azimuth information together with position information of indoor units. According to the fourth embodiment, even if the user does not specify the unit number of the indoor unit that the user wants to operate, the air conditioner 1a allows the plurality of indoor units 3a and 3b to blow out the outlet of the indoor unit that the user wants to operate. It can be specified with certainty. As a result, the user can more easily operate the vane of the blowout port of the indoor unit closest to him.

  1, 1a Air conditioner, 2 Outdoor unit, 3, 3a, 3b Indoor unit, 4 Remote controller, 5, 5a Mobile terminal, 6 Network, 7 Server device, 8 Refrigerant circuit, 9 Communication cable, 12a-12d Outlet port, 13 inlets, 14a to 14d vanes, 21 compressor, 22 four-way valve, 23 heat source side heat exchanger, 24 expansion valve, 25 control device, 26 storage unit, 27 communication unit, 28 control unit, 31 load side heat exchanger , 32 indoor fan, 33 storage unit, 34 communication unit, 35 control device, 36 communication unit, 37 control unit, 38 lower surface, 39 indoor air temperature sensor, 41 storage unit, 42 communication unit, 43 wireless communication unit, 44 display unit , 46 control unit, 47 operation unit, 51 storage unit, 52 communication unit, 53 wireless communication unit, 54 display unit, 55 geomagnetic sensor, 56 control unit, 57 operation unit, 58 GPS antenna, 60 initial image, 61 position confirmation image, 62 wind direction operation image, 63 air outlet confirmation image, 64 wind direction operation image, 65 registration item image, 66 direction measurement image, 67 control item image, 68 balloon Mouth control image, 71 button, 72a wind direction change button, 72b wind direction change button, 73 setting button, 74, 81-88, 91-98 button, 100 yen, DL1-DL4 boundary line, N reference direction.

Claims (12)

An indoor unit body having a plurality of outlets,
A control device for specifying and controlling the plurality of outlets,
The control device is
A communication unit that communicates with the indoor unit body and the mobile terminal;
A storage unit that stores a plurality of outlet identifiers assigned to each of the plurality of outlets,
When the communication unit receives the correspondence information between the azimuth angle with respect to the reference azimuth and the outlet identifier from the mobile terminal, based on the azimuth angle of the reference outlet specified by the correspondence information and the positional relationship with other outlets. And a control unit that estimates the azimuth angle of another outlet,
Indoor unit having. The indoor unit body includes four outlets as the plurality of outlets,
The control unit is
When the information about the azimuth estimated from the geomagnetism and the outlet identifier is received from the mobile terminal for the relative outlet opposite to the reference outlet, the two azimuths of the reference outlet and the relative outlet are determined. The indoor unit according to claim 1, wherein the azimuth angles of the other two outlets are estimated by using the indoor units. The control unit is
The indoor unit according to claim 1, wherein azimuth information including a combination of the azimuth angle and the air outlet identifier is created for each of the plurality of air outlets and is stored in the storage unit. The control unit is
The indoor unit according to claim 3, wherein the azimuth information is transmitted to the mobile terminal in order to register the created azimuth information in the mobile terminal. The control unit is
5. When transmitting the azimuth information to the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal transmits the azimuth information to the mobile terminal in order to register the azimuth information in a server device connected via a network. Indoor unit. The control unit is
The indoor unit according to claim 3, wherein when receiving the model information of the mobile terminal when receiving the correspondence information from the mobile terminal, the received model information is included in the azimuth information. The control unit is
7. When the operation information including the azimuth angle is received from the mobile terminal, the azimuth information is referred to, the outlet is estimated from the azimuth angle included in the operation information, and the estimated outlet is controlled. The indoor unit according to any one of items. The control unit is
The room according to claim 4, wherein when the operation information including the outlet identifier is received from the mobile terminal, the orientation information is referred to, and the outlet specified by the outlet identifier included in the operation information is controlled. Machine. A plurality of the indoor units according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
An outdoor unit connected to the plurality of indoor units by a refrigerant circuit,
Have
The storage unit stores a plurality of indoor unit identifiers assigned to the plurality of indoor units,
The control unit is
Corresponding to the plurality of indoor units, the indoor unit identifier is included in the azimuth information that is a combination of the information of the azimuth angle and the outlet identifier for each of the plurality of outlets,
Air conditioner. The control unit is
When the operation information including the azimuth angle and the indoor unit identifier is received from the mobile terminal, the azimuth included in the operation information is referred in the indoor unit identified by the indoor unit identifier included in the operation information with reference to the azimuth information. The air conditioner according to claim 9, which controls an outlet estimated by a corner. A plurality of the indoor units according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
An outdoor unit connected to the plurality of indoor units by a refrigerant circuit,
Have
The control unit is
When receiving the correspondence information from the mobile terminal and receiving position information indicating the geographical position of the indoor unit from the mobile terminal, the position information corresponding to the indoor unit, for each of the plurality of outlets. Included in the azimuth information that is a combination of the information of the azimuth and the outlet identifier,
Air conditioner. The control unit is
When the operation information including the position information indicating the geographical position and the azimuth angle is received from the mobile terminal, the azimuth information is referred to and identified by the azimuth information including the position information closest to the position information included in the operation information. The air conditioner according to claim 11, wherein in the indoor unit, the air outlet estimated by the azimuth included in the operation information is controlled.

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