KR20100039214A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An air conditioner is provided to automatically perform an operation mode or an energy saving mode by estimating an area in which persons exist. CONSTITUTION: An air conditioner comprises a housing, a heat-exchanger, a fan, left and right wind plates, top and bottom wind plates, and an infrared rays sensor. The infrared rays sensor has a human body sensor(140c) which uses an infrared sensor, and estimates whether persons exist or not by dividing an indoor space into multiple areas. The air conditioner determines the malfunction of the human body sensor.

Description

Air Conditioner {AIR CONDITIONER}

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an air conditioner equipped with an infrared sensor, and more particularly, to an improvement in a human body detecting function.

An air conditioner circulates indoor air to a heat exchanger, adjusts it by a heating, cooling, dehumidification function, etc., and blows it into an indoor air conditioner. At this time, if the air-conditioned airflow can be sent to the location of the occupants, the occupants do not have to perform cumbersome operations, and the satisfaction of the occupants increases, and only the surroundings of the occupants are comfortable, so that the energy saving of the air conditioners can be achieved. .

As one of them, an infrared sensor is installed in the air conditioner to detect the position of the occupant, and to increase or decrease the wind direction, the air volume, the cooling heating ability, etc. according to the position of the occupant, and various designs are concentrated to realize this. It is becoming. As a prior art of this kind, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 06-241526 is known.

Patent document 1 describes the air conditioner which prevents abnormal air conditioning control by determining the fault of the said sensor according to the abnormality of the information of the sensor which detects the radiation temperature distribution in a room, and the information about a person.

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 06-241526

At present, domestic air conditioners are required to consider the environment, and resource saving and energy saving are strongly demanded. In addition, the appearance is also important, and there is a demand for a product that does not disturb the indoor atmosphere when not in use.

The technique has been realized by various methods, but no method of identifying a failure of the infrared sensor is established.

Patent Literature 1 uses a sensor that detects radiation temperature distribution and information on a person, and determines that a failure occurs when the radiation temperature distribution detects information that is extremely out of the actual temperature range. However, there is no mention of the determination of the failure of the detection portion of the information about the person.

As described above, the method for determining the failure of the human body detection sensor is not clear, and development of the technology is required.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner, which makes it possible to perform failure determination of a human body detection sensor without error.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet, a heat exchanger disposed in the housing, a blower fan that sucks indoor air from the air inlet, and blows out from the air outlet after passing through the heat exchanger. And an infrared detection plate having left and right wind direction plates installed in the blowing fan path of the blower fan, upper and lower wind direction plates, and a human body detection sensor using a pyroelectric infrared sensor, and dividing the room into a plurality of areas to estimate the presence of occupants. An air conditioner equipped with an apparatus, comprising means for forcibly generating a signal of the human body detection sensor, and is achieved by determining a failure of the human body detection sensor.

This is based on the fact that the input to the arithmetic control unit of the digital signal is fixed at the Hi level when there are no occupants, and that the input of the digital signal changes to Hi · Lo when there is an occupant. If the level or Lo level is continuously detected, it is highly likely to be a failure, but if there is no occupant, the level is fixed as described above, which may lead to a misjudgement. Therefore, if the wind direction plate swings within the detection range of the infrared sensor, a state in which a person is artificially created, this movement is detected by the infrared sensor, the presence of a person is determined by the human detection sensor, and there are no occupants This problem was solved by distinguishing between the case of a failure of a human body detection sensor.

In the air conditioner according to claim 2, in the air conditioner according to claim 1, the human side is detected in the detection range of the human body detection sensor by swinging the left and right wind direction plates or the vertical wind direction plate within the detection range of the human body detection sensor. The failure of the human body detection sensor is discriminated by distinguishing between the case where it does not exist and the failure of the human body detection sensor.

According to claim 1, the fault detection of the human body detection sensor is performed without error, and in the case of a fault, maintenance is performed quickly, without loss of comfort, the area where a person is located is estimated, and comfort driving and energy are automatically performed according to the condition of the occupant. Save money.

According to claim 2, regardless of the presence or absence of the occupants, without failing to detect the failure detection of the human body detection sensor without loss of comfort, the area of the person is distinguished, and according to the state of the occupants automatically Energy-saving driving

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the Example of this invention is described using drawing. The same code | symbol in a figure represents the same thing or an equivalent.

First, the whole structure of an air conditioner is demonstrated using FIGS. 1 is a configuration diagram of an air conditioner of an embodiment. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the indoor unit of the air conditioner. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the outdoor unit of the air conditioner. 4 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of the air conditioner, (a) is a flow direction of the refrigerant during the cooling and dehumidification operation, and (b) is a flow direction of the refrigerant during the heating operation.

The air conditioner 1 connects the indoor unit 2 and the outdoor unit 6 with the connection pipe 8, and air-conditions the room. The indoor unit (2) has an indoor heat exchanger (33) at the center of the housing base (21), and an indoor blowing fan of a cross-flow fan type of approximately the same length as the width of the heat exchanger (33) downstream of the heat exchanger (33). 311 is arrange | positioned, the dew support plate 35, etc. are provided, these are covered with the decorative frame 23, and the front panel 25 is provided in the front surface of the decorative frame 23. As shown in FIG. The decorative frame 23 is provided with an air inlet 27 for sucking indoor air and an air blower outlet 29 for blowing air in which temperature and humidity are adjusted. An indoor blower fan 311 is installed downstream of the air flow of the indoor heat exchanger 33. When the indoor blower fan 311 rotates, the indoor heat exchanger 33 is released from the air inlet 27 in which the indoor air is formed in the indoor unit 2. ), Flows through the indoor blowing fan 311 to the blowing air passage 290 having a width substantially equal to the length of the indoor blowing fan 311, and the left and right wind direction plates 295 disposed in the middle of the blowing air passage 290 are left and right of the airflow. Direction is deflected, and the up-down direction of airflow is deflected by the up-and-down wind direction plates 291 and 292 arrange | positioned at the blower outlet 29, and it blows off into a room.

The housing base 21 has an indoor blowing fan 311, a filter 231, 231 ′, an indoor heat exchanger 33, a dew support plate 35, upper and lower wind direction plates 291, 292, and left and right wind direction plates 295. Basic internal structures, such as the back and the like, are installed in the housing 20 including the housing base 21, the decorative frame 23, and the front panel 25 to constitute the indoor unit 2. .

The outdoor unit 6 is equipped with a compressor 75, an outdoor heat exchanger 73, and the like on the base 61, covered with an outer box 62, and flows outdoor air to the outdoor heat exchanger 73 with the outdoor blower 63. Heat exchanges with the refrigerant flowing inside, and blows it out of the device through the blower cover 635.

In the cooling and dehumidification operation, as shown in FIG. 4A, the refrigerant is supplied to the compressor 75, the refrigerant flow path switching valve 72, the outdoor heat exchanger 73, the air conditioning throttle device 74, and the dehumidification heater 332. , The dehumidifying throttle device 34, the dehumidifying cooler 333, and the refrigerant flow path switching valve 72 flow in order to return to the compressor 75, and the air-conditioning throttle device 74 and the dehumidifying throttle device in accordance with the cooling / dehumidifying operation ( 34 is appropriately throttled or opened to control the refrigerant, and the compressor 75, the outdoor blower 63, and the indoor blower fan 311 are operated at appropriate rotational speeds to perform well-known cooling and dehumidification operations.

In the heating operation, as shown in FIG. 4B, the refrigerant flow path switching valve 72 is switched to flow the refrigerant in the reverse direction, and similarly known heating operation is performed.

In addition, a display device 397 for displaying driving conditions and a light receiving unit 396 for receiving an infrared operation signal from a separate remote controller 5 are disposed on one lower side of the front panel 25.

The air blower outlet 29 formed in the lower surface of the decorative frame 23 is arrange | positioned adjacent to the division part with the front panel 25, and is communicated with the blowing air flow path 290 of an inner side. The two up-and-down wind direction plates 291 and 292 are comprised so that the blowing air path 290 may be substantially concealed in a closed state, and it will have a large curved surface continuous to the bottom face of the indoor unit 2. These up-and-down wind direction plates 291 and 292 use the rotating shaft provided in both ends as a support point, and according to the instruction | command from the remote controller 5, the drive motor rotates the required angle at the time of the operation of the air conditioner 1, The air jet port 29 is opened and maintained in that state. At the time of stopping operation of the air conditioner 1, these up-and-down wind direction plates 291 and 292 are controlled to close the air blowing port 29. As shown in FIG.

The left and right wind direction plates 295 are rotated by the drive motor with the rotational shaft provided at the lower end as a support point, and are rotated and maintained in accordance with the instructions from the remote controller 5. As a result, the blowing air is blown off in the desired directions on the left and right sides. In addition, by instructing the remote controller 5, the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 and 292 and the left and right wind direction plates 295 are periodically shaken during operation of the air conditioner 1, and are periodically ejected to a wide range of indoors. You can also send air.

The movable panel 251 is rotated by a drive motor with the rotational shaft provided in the lower part as a support point, and is comprised so that the front side air intake part 230 'may be opened at the time of the operation of the air conditioner 1. Thereby, indoor air is sucked into the indoor unit 2 from the front side air intake 230 'at the time of operation. When the air conditioner 1 is stopped, the front side air intake 230 'is controlled to close.

The indoor unit 2 is provided with a control board in the electrical equipment box inside, and a microcomputer is installed in this control board. This microcomputer receives signals from various sensors, such as an indoor temperature sensor and an indoor humidity sensor, and receives the operation signal from the remote controller 5 via the light receiving part 396. The microcomputer controls the indoor blower fan 311, the movable panel drive motor, the up and down wind direction drive motor, the left and right wind direction drive motor, and the like based on these signals, and is in charge of communication with the outdoor unit 6, thereby controlling the indoor unit. (2) is collectively controlled.

The filters 231 and 231 'are for removing dust contained in sucked indoor air and are arranged to cover the suction side of the indoor heat exchanger 33. The dew receiving plate 35 is disposed below the lower ends of the front and rear sides of the indoor heat exchanger 33 and is provided to receive condensed water generated in the indoor heat exchanger 33 during the cooling operation or the dehumidification operation. The condensate collected and discharged is discharged to the outside through the drain pipe 37.

Next, the up-and-down wind direction plate is demonstrated using FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the indoor unit during cooling and dehumidification operation. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the indoor unit during heating operation.

The upper and lower wind direction plates are constituted by the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 and the lower upper and lower wind direction plates 292 as described above. In this specification, since the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 are mainly described, the upper and lower wind direction plates will be described in the case of simply describing the upper and lower wind direction plates, and the lower and upper wind direction plates will be described when the upper and lower wind direction plates are described. .

The up-and-down wind direction plate 291 is provided to the horizontal width edge part of the upper part of the air blower opening 29, and is blown up by blown air by a up-down wind direction plate drive motor (not shown), or horizontal blow-out.

At the time of stopping operation without using the air conditioner, the upper and lower wind direction plates 291, the lower and upper wind direction plates 292, and the movable panel 251 are controlled to close the air jet port 29 by a control device as shown in FIG. 2. do. As a result, the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 are rotated and stored at a position in front of the upper enlarged portion 290e of the jet air passage 290, and shield the air passage upper enlarged portion 290e and the lower upper and lower wind direction plates 292. The outlet 29 is closed in cooperation with.

The infrared ray detection apparatus 14 mentioned later is provided in the substantially center of this air passage upper expansion part 290e.

At this time, since the upper and lower wind direction plate 291 is located at the intersection of the front surface and the bottom surface of the air conditioner, the outer wind direction surface 291a, which becomes the outer surface, is smooth and has a large curvature to match the shape of the air conditioner. Let's do it. By doing in this way, the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 and the lower upper and lower wind direction plates 292 are the wind direction surface used as an outer surface, and the external shape from the front surface of an air conditioner to a bottom surface can be formed continuously smoothly.

For this reason, when the air conditioner is not used, the infrared detector 14, which may be referred to as the eye of the air conditioner, is also covered by the upper and lower wind direction plates 291, and the appearance of the air conditioner is smooth, without unnecessary irregularities. It becomes a harmonious shape and does not disturb the atmosphere of the room.

When cooling the air conditioner, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 and the lower upper and lower wind plates 292 are in an approximately parallel posture or horizontal with the upper wall 290a and the lower wall 290b of the jet air passage 290. It is used as a direction. In addition, when the blown-out cold wind directly touches the occupants, causing discomfort, the direction of the upper and lower wind direction plates is appropriately changed to a remote controller to keep the surroundings of the occupants at a comfortable temperature and humidity.

When very weak cooling or heating operation is performed, the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 are slightly upward as shown in FIG. 20, and the lower upper and lower wind direction plates 292 are almost closed as shown by the broken lines, and the ejection air path 290 is performed. Blowing airflow flows to the upper expansion part 290e extended to the upper direction installed downstream of (). Thereby, a part of blown air becomes very weak wind, and it spreads lightly through the upward expansion part 290e indoors, and performs weak cooling or heating.

In addition, by using the upward expansion portion 290e, a short circuit operation for immediately inhaling the blown-out wind from the suction port 27 is carried out, whereby air conditioners such as drying operation of the heat exchanger and deodorization operation in the air conditioner are performed. It is also possible to perform maintenance operation.

When heating the air conditioner, the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 and 292 are used in a substantially vertical posture as shown in FIG. 6. By doing in this way, the warm air which flows through the blowing air path 290 is blown downward from an air conditioner, reaches near a floor surface, it warms near a foot, and makes a room a comfortable environment.

Next, the outline of the infrared sensor in which the air conditioner of this invention is mounted is demonstrated using FIGS. 7 is an external perspective view of the indoor unit. 8 is an external perspective view of the upper and lower wind direction plates of the indoor unit opened. 9 is a configuration diagram of an infrared detection device built in an indoor unit. 10 is a layout of Fresnel lens of the detection device. It is a detection range figure of a detection apparatus. It is an external view of a detection apparatus, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a side view, (d) is an installation state side view. It is a detection zone figure by a detection apparatus. It is a circuit block diagram of a detection apparatus.

In general, when the human body detecting device is installed in the air conditioner, its main purpose is to perform energy saving operation or stop the air conditioner when there are no occupants, or to send wind toward the lesser ones when there are few occupants. This saves energy while avoiding cumbersome operations involving human movement.

In order to realize this, a plurality of human body detection sensors using pyroelectric infrared sensors or the like are attached to each other to divide the interior into a plurality of areas, and to detect where the occupants are located when viewed from the air conditioner. In this case, provision is made so that the detection zones of the human body detection sensor overlap each other so that a non-detection area does not occur between the detection zones of the human body detection sensor.

At this time, when the only human body detection sensor reacts, it can be seen that there is a person in the detection zone of the human body detection sensor.However, when a plurality of infrared sensors with overlapping detection zones react, the human body concentrates on the overlapping area. Cases, a case where people are distributed in mutually exclusive areas, a case where people are distributed in the overlapping area and one exclusive area, and a case where people are distributed in the overlapping area and both exclusive areas, In order to distinguish these areas, increasing the number of sensors and providing other types of sensors to compensate for the lack of capability of each other are performed.

In the embodiment, as shown in Fig. 8, the infrared detector 14 is provided at the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the above-described blowing air passage upper expansion portion 290e, and when stopped, by the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 as shown in Fig. 7. It was shielded from the room, so as not to give a sense of discomfort to the room.

As shown in FIG. 9, the infrared detection device 14 mounts the infrared sensor 410 on the substrate 416 via the pedestal 415 to cover the Fresnel lens 417, and arranges it to the left and right. It is configured as shown in FIG.

The infrared sensor 410 has a smooth light receiving surface 411, and a direction opposite to the light receiving surface 411 becomes the main detection direction, and a central axis 412 facing the main detection direction from the center of the light receiving surface 411. Is the direction in which the detection sensitivity is the best, and the good detection range of the detection sensitivity is expanded around it.

The left and right infrared sensors 410a and 410c are mounted by the pedestals 415 so that the directions of the central axis 412 are different, and the main detection directions thereof are also different. In addition, by mounting the infrared detection device 14 with an incidence as shown in FIG. 12 (d), most of the indoor floor surface can be contained in the field of view.

The Fresnel lens 417 is shaped like a hemispherical surface as shown in Fig. 10, the hemispherical surface is divided into a plurality of segments, and in each segment, infrared rays from a specific direction in the room are centered on the hemispherical surface. A small Fresnel lens is formed to collect, and the light receiving surface 411 of the infrared sensor 410 is arranged in the center of the hemispherical surface.

When the small Fresnel lens focuses the infrared rays on a surface parallel to the floor near the height of the face at the time of sitting, the detection spot is distributed as shown in FIG. In and out, the infrared sensor 410 detects this. In the embodiment, the size of one detection spot at a position 6m away from the infrared sensor 410 is assumed to be used indoors of the home approximately equal to the size of the human body (width 0.3 to 0.5m, height 1.6 to 1.8m). Set to terminate.

In the embodiment, a pyroelectric infrared sensor is used as the infrared sensor 410. The infrared detection device 14 includes a left human body detection sensor 140a, a right human body detection sensor 140c, and an operation control unit 132, as shown in FIG. 14, and includes left and right human body detection sensors 140a and 140c. Is an infrared sensor 410a, 410c, an amplifier 130 that amplifies the output of the infrared sensors 410a, 410c, a comparator 131 for converting the output into a digital signal, the above-described pedestal 415, and a Fresnel lens. 417 and the like.

In general, when a person wakes up, he cannot stop physiologically continuously, and he is moving part of his body such as hands, feet and face consciously or unconsciously for several minutes.

The infrared sensors 410a and 410c detect this movement and output a signal. The outputs from the infrared sensors 410a and 410c are converted into a form suitable for the processing in the arithmetic control unit 132 by the human body detecting sensor 140, and are read by the arithmetic control unit 132, depending on the result of the arithmetic processing. Control of the ability, wind direction, and the like is performed.

As described above, when the infrared detection device 14 is configured, the analog signal accompanying the presence of the environment, the human body, and the human body is output from the pyroelectric infrared sensors 410a and 410c, and the amplifier 130 amplifies it. The comparator 131 removes a minute signal or noise, converts the signal into a digital signal, inputs it to a read port of the arithmetic control unit 132, and performs arithmetic processing on the arithmetic control unit 132. As a result, air conditioned by the indoor blower fan 311 is blown to the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 and 292 and the left and right wind direction plates 295 to the area determined to be present by the human body. .

Next, a change in the signal from the infrared sensor 410 due to the movement of a person in the room will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 to 17. It is a figure which shows the motion when a person enters the room indoor. 16 is a waveform output of the infrared detection device in the case of FIG. 15, (a) an analog waveform of the left infrared sensor output, (b) a digital waveform of the left human body sensor output, (c) an analog of the right infrared sensor output. The waveform (d) is a digital waveform of the right human body sensor output. It is a detection area division figure of a detection apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 15, when the person 907 enters the chamber 902 from the position P and moves to the position S via the positions Q and R, the infrared detector 14. IR sensor 410a outputs an analog signal as shown in FIG. When the absolute value of the analog output exceeds a certain level, the analog output is processed by the amplifier 130, the comparator 131, and the like so as to output an active pulse (Lo pulse in the embodiment). The same digital waveform is converted into the operation control unit 132. The digital waveform is read out in the operation control unit 132 at regular intervals, and the number of times the activity pulse is detected is counted. When the number of times of detection for a predetermined time is greater than or equal to the re-threshold value that a person is present, for example, when there is a person at positions Q and R, the arithmetic control unit 132 indicates that the left human body detection sensor 140a has detected a person. To judge. Similarly, the infrared sensor 410c and the right human body detecting sensor 140c also output signals as shown in (c) and (d) of FIG. 16, and similarly, when there is a person at the positions R and S, for example, the operation control unit. 132 determines that the right human body detection sensor 140c has detected a person.

As described above, when there are no occupants, the digital output is fixed to Hi and continues to be output. When a person is active within the detection areas of the human body detection sensors 140a and 140c, the infrared sensor 410a is entered every time the person enters the above-described detection spot. 410c, a positive analog signal is outputted, and digital signals mixed with Hi and Lo are output from the human body detection sensors 140a and 140c.

In the above description, it is described that it is determined that there is a person every time the person moves, but in the embodiment, since the predetermined time is 30 seconds, it is not judged that there is a person by only a few seconds between the entrance and the movement. For example, the response to the natural movement after a person stops moving determines the trend. In this way, by appropriately selecting the predetermined time, it is judged that there is a person when simply passing through, and the possibility of unnecessary control can be greatly reduced. In addition, by using two infrared sensors 410, the area where only the left human body detection sensor 140a is detected, the area where only the right human body detection sensor 140c is detected, and the left and right human body detection sensors 140a and 140c are detected. It can be divided into three areas of detection.

In the embodiment, the activity pulse is a Lo pulse. On the contrary, the output of the human body detection sensor 140 when the person is absent in the room is Lo, and the output when the person is active is Hi. It goes without saying that the number of times of detecting the activity pulses may be counted.

In order to simplify the detection zone by installing the infrared detection device 14 in the indoor unit 2, it is lowered to the height of the floor surface as shown in Fig. 17, and as described above, the interior of the left and right human body detection sensors 140a, The detection areas 610A and 610C that 140c detects alone and the detection areas 610AC that the left and right human body detection sensors 140a and 140c overlap each other are detected.

When only the left human body detection sensor 140a is detected, the human body exists in the detection area 610A, and when only the right human body detection sensor 140c is detected, the human body exists in the detection area 610C, and the left human body is detected. When both the detection sensor 140a and the right human body detection sensor 140c detect, it is estimated that a human body exists in detection area 610AC or detection area 610A and detection area 610C.

Here, the configuration of the region will be described with reference to FIG. 18. 18 is an explanatory diagram of an area, (a) is an area of a sum of A and C, (b) is an area of an exclusive sum of A and C, (c) is an area of difference except A to C, and (d) is from C The area of the difference except A, (e) is the area of the product of A and C.

In an embodiment, the area | region which presumes that a person exists from the output of the human body detection sensor 140 is comprised by the sum, the exclusive sum, the difference, or the product of the detection zones of the left and right human body detection sensors 140a, 140c. When the detection zone A of the left human body detection sensor 140a is denoted by symbol A and the detection zone C of the right human body detection sensor 140c is denoted by symbol C as shown in FIG. The sum of the exclusion zones and zones (C) is the exclusion of the diagonal line, zone (A) and zone (C) in Fig. 18A, and the diagonal line, zone (A) and zone (C) in Fig. 18B The difference between the diagonal line, the zone (C) and the zone (A) of FIG. 18 (c) is the product of the diagonal line, the zone (A) and the zone (C) of FIG. e) is defined as the diagonal line. Such a definition can be easily deduced from the grouping and is easy to understand.

Next, the division of the indoor area of the vertical direction by the up-and-down wind direction plate is demonstrated using FIGS. 19-22. It is explanatory drawing which distinguishes a detection area with a vertical wind direction plate. 20 is a distant area detection state diagram by the vertical wind direction plate. 21 is a diagram showing an intermediate region detection state by the vertical wind direction plate. Fig. 22 is a state diagram of near region detection by the vertical wind direction plate.

In the embodiment, in addition to the above-described division of the detection areas of the room in the left and right directions of the air conditioner, the detection areas are also divided using the up-down wind direction plates 291 also for the indoors in the depth direction of the air conditioner. As described above, the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 have an effect of inducing the jet airflow to the upper enlarged portion 290e which is extended upward, which is provided downstream of the jet air passage 290. When detecting the presence or absence of the occupants, the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 are rotated to a position that partially blocks the field of view of the infrared sensor 410, and is stopped. As for the position which stops the upper and lower wind direction plates 291, as shown in FIG. The upper and lower wind direction plate positions 491i, 491j, 491k, and 491m are referred to.

In the upper and lower wind direction plate position 491i, the entire field of view of the infrared sensor 410 is covered by the upper and lower wind direction plates 291, and it is not possible to detect the presence of occupants. In the upper and lower wind direction plate positions 491j, only the detection range 591j is detectable in the field of view of the infrared sensor 410, and only the detection range 591k is detectable in the upper and lower wind direction plate positions 491k. In the upper and lower wind direction plate positions 491m, the detection range (591m = entire field of view) can be detected.

When the position of the occupant is to be detected using the upper and lower wind direction plates 291, first, the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 are stopped at the upper and lower wind direction plates 491j as shown in FIG. 410) detects the presence of occupants. At this time, if the occupant is detected, it can be seen that the occupant is in the detection range 591j.

Next, as shown in Fig. 21, the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 are stopped at the upper and lower wind direction plates 491k, and the infrared sensor 410 detects the presence of occupants. If the occupant is detected at this time, the occupant can be seen that it is in the detection range 591k including the detection range 591j. Further, when no person is detected in the detection range 591j in the previous detection operation, it is determined that there is a person in the range except the detection range 591j from the detection range 591k.

Next, as shown in FIG. 22, the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 are stopped at the upper and lower wind direction plate positions 491m, and the infrared sensor 410 detects the presence of occupants. If the occupant is detected at this time, the occupant can be seen that it is in the detection range 591m including the detection range 591k. In addition, when a person is not detected in the detection range 591k in the previous detection operation, it is determined that there is a person in the range except the detection range 591k from the detection range 591m.

Next, the method of estimating the presence area of the depth direction from the presence or absence of the occupant detected by the human body detection sensor 140 is demonstrated using FIGS. 23-25. Fig. 23 is a diagram illustrating the detection area in the perspective direction by the vertical wind direction plate seen from the vertical plane. 24 is a diagram showing a detection area division of the bottom surface by the vertical wind direction plate. Fig. 25 is a diagram illustrating detection area detection by the left and right infrared sensors and the upper and lower wind direction plates.

When the results obtained by the above three detection operations correspond to the division of the depth direction in the chamber when viewed from the air conditioner, the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 are placed at the upper and lower wind direction plates 491j as shown in FIG. In the case of stopping and detecting the presence of occupants, the visual field of the human body detection sensor 140 is limited to the detection range 591j, so that the occupants of the detection area 691J are detected.

In addition, when the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 are stopped at the upper and lower wind direction plate positions 491k to detect the presence of occupants, the visual field of the human body detection sensor 140 extends to the detection range 591k, so that the detection area is The occupants of (691J, 691K) are detected.

In addition, when the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 are stopped at the upper and lower wind direction plate positions 491m to detect the presence of occupants, the visual field of the human body detection sensor 140 is not completely blocked, and the detection range is 591m. Since it expands, the occupants of all detection areas 691J, 691K, and 691M are detected.

When the above-described detection area is seen in the expansion from the bottom surface, as shown in FIG. 24, the detection area can be divided in the depth direction of the room.

As described above, the interior is divided into left and right directions using the plurality of human body detection sensors 140a and 140c illustrated in FIG. 11, and the interior is divided into front and rear directions by using the upper and lower wind direction plates 291. As shown in FIG. 25, the room is divided into 9 areas of the cross detection areas 710JA to 710MC from front to back and to the left and right to know the direction in which the occupants are located and the depth range thereof, so that the air conditioner can be properly controlled. have.

In addition, in the above description, for the sake of simplicity, the boundary of the detection area is placed at a position where the boundary of the detection range reaches the bottom surface, but in practice, the human body detection sensor 140 has a face or nape that is easy to detect. The boundary line of the detection area is not strictly determined by the difference between the position of the position, the person standing up, sitting on a chair, sitting on the floor, sleeping or the like. However, it is possible to distinguish between whether the person is far from the room, in the middle, or near, and the air conditioner range of the air conditioner also has an extension around the intended place. Sufficient effects can also be obtained with air conditioning according to the same classification.

In this way, the presence or absence of a person is estimated and the wind is directed to or avoided in the area to automatically carry out a comfortable operation or an energy saving operation.

However, when this human body detection sensor fails and does not work, as described above, the digital output is fixed to Hi or Lo and continuously output. In addition, even when the human body detection sensors 140a and 140c are normal, when there are no occupants, the digital output is continuously Hi, and it is not discriminated whether the human body detection sensors 140a and 140c are normal or broken. .

Even in such a case, the present invention provides a method for simply distinguishing whether the human body detection sensors 140a and 140c are normal.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, this invention is demonstrated. The human body detecting sensor alternates between Hi and Lo as shown in Figs. 16B and 16D in a room as shown in Fig. 15 where a normal person enters and leaves the calculation control unit 132 of Fig. 14. It outputs a digital waveform that is in low frequency, but in the case of a fault, it becomes a continuous output fixed at Hi or Lo. In the case of a non-connected connector, it is also fixed to Hi.

Therefore, the calculation control part 132 of FIG. 14 WHEREIN: When it detects Hi and Lo for a certain time continuously, it determines whether the human body detection sensors 140a and 140c are faulty. At this time, even if a person is absent, since the output of the infrared sensors 410a and 410c disappears, the output of the human body detection sensors 140a and 140c may occur when the Hi level is continuous for a predetermined time or more, and thus the human body detection sensor 140a. , 140c) is normal or abnormal. Therefore, in order to distinguish between the presence and the failure of a person, the upper and lower wind direction plates 291 are placed in front of the human body detection sensors 140a and 140c so as to cause a reaction as in the case of the presence or absence of a person. Stop in the position of rocking and shielding. Thereby, the human body detection sensors 140a and 140c react spontaneously, and it is possible to distinguish whether the human body detection sensors 140a and 140c are normal or malfunction from the result. Also, when the human body detection sensors 140a and 140c continuously output Lo for a predetermined time, no matter how many occupants, as described above, if the human body detection sensors 140a and 140c are normal, the signals are mixed with Hi and Lo. The continuous state of can be easily determined to be a failure of the human body detecting sensors 140a and 140c. In this way, proper control of the air conditioner can be realized by detecting failure of the human body detection sensors 140a and 140c and avoiding false detection.

In this way, by quickly detecting and maintaining the failures of the human body detection sensors 140a and 140c, the human body detection sensors 140a and 140c always operate normally, and the air conditioner is appropriately controlled according to the installation environment or the user's intention, The air conditioner is energy saving or satisfactory.

Further, it is confirmed that the input of the human body detection sensor is fixed for a certain time, and the failure detection of the human body detection sensor is performed.

As a result, the failure of the sensor is judged for a certain period of time, so that the product is not used in a state of failure for a long time, and the comfort zone is automatically distinguished according to the condition of the occupants without distinguishing the area where the person is. Energy-saving driving

As mentioned above, according to the air conditioner of Claim 1, the housing which has an air intake port and an air blower outlet, the heat exchanger arrange | positioned in the said housing, and suctions indoor air from the said air intake port, after passing through the heat exchanger, the said air blower outlet It has a blower fan blown out from the air, the left and right wind direction plates installed in the blower fan path of the blower fan, the up and down wind direction plate, and a human body detecting sensor using an infrared sensor, and the room is divided into a plurality of areas to estimate the presence of occupants. In the air conditioner provided with an infrared detection apparatus, it is provided with the means for forcibly generating the signal of the said human body detection sensor, and determines the failure of the said human body detection sensor.

This makes it possible to clarify the presence or absence of the human body detecting sensor by making a state in which a human being is detected in a detection zone of the infrared sensor and a state without a person, and comparing it with the output of the human body detecting sensor at that time.

For this reason, failure determination of the human body detection sensor is performed without error, and in the case of a failure, maintenance is performed quickly so that the comfort zone and energy saving operation are automatically estimated according to the condition of the occupants without losing comfort. It is possible to provide an air conditioner.

Moreover, according to the air conditioner of Claim 2, in the air conditioner of Claim 1, a person in the detection range of the said human body detection sensor is made by rocking the said left-right wind direction plate or the said up-and-down wind direction plate within the detection range of the said human body detection sensor. The difference between the case where there is no presence and the case of the failure of the human body detection sensor is discriminated and the failure of the human body detection sensor is determined.

This makes it possible to easily check the failure of the human body detecting sensor by rotating the already provided up and down wind direction plate, and to perform the failure determination of the human body detecting sensor without increasing the production cost, and to immediately maintain the function provided. Can be surely exhibited, and the user's satisfaction can be satisfied.

For this reason, regardless of the presence or absence of occupants, the malfunction detection of the human body detection sensor is performed without erroneous detection. Therefore, comfort and energy-saving operation are automatically distinguished according to the occupant state without losing comfort. It is possible to provide an air conditioner.

1 is a configuration diagram of an air conditioner of an embodiment.

2 is a cross-sectional view of an indoor unit of the air conditioner.

3 is a sectional view of an outdoor unit of the air conditioner.

4 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of the air conditioner.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the indoor unit during cooling and dehumidification operation.

6 is a cross-sectional view of the indoor unit during heating operation.

7 is an external perspective view of the indoor unit.

8 is an external perspective view of the upper and lower wind direction plates of the indoor unit opened;

9 is a block diagram of an infrared detection device built in the indoor unit.

10 is a layout of Fresnel lens of the detection device.

11 is a detection range diagram of the detection device.

12 is an external view of the detection device.

13 is a detection zone diagram by the detection device.

14 is a circuit configuration diagram of the detection device.

Fig. 15 is a diagram illustrating a movement when a person enters a room indoors.

16 is a waveform output of the infrared detection device in the case of FIG.

Fig. 17 is a detection area division diagram of the detection device.

18 is an explanatory diagram of an area;

Fig. 19 is an explanatory diagram for classifying detection areas with the upper and lower wind direction plates.

20 is a distant area detection state diagram by the vertical wind direction plate.

21 is an intermediate region detection state diagram by the vertical wind direction plate.

Fig. 22 is a diagram showing a near region detection state by the vertical wind direction plate.

Fig. 23 is a perspective view of the detection area in the perspective direction by the vertical wind direction plate seen from the vertical plane;

Fig. 24 is a diagram showing detection areas of the bottom surface of the upper and lower wind direction plates.

Fig. 25 is a diagram illustrating detection area detection by the left and right infrared sensors and the upper and lower wind direction plates.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: air conditioner

2: indoor unit

5: remote controller

6: outdoor unit

8: connection piping

10: control unit

14: infrared detection device

20: housing

21: housing base

23: decorative frame

25: front panel

27: air intake

29 air outlet

33: indoor heat exchanger

34: dehumidifying throttle device

35: dew tray

37: drain piping

61: base

62: outer box

63: outdoor blower

72: refrigerant flow path switching valve

73: outdoor heat exchanger

74: air conditioning throttle device

75: compressor

130: amplifier

131: comparator

132: operation control unit

140: human body detection sensor

140a: Left human body detection sensor

140c: Right human body detection sensor

190: up and down wind direction control unit

191: upper and lower wind direction plate motor

192: upper and lower wind direction plate motor

194: left and right wind direction plate control unit

195: left and right wind direction plate motor

230, 230 ': air intake

231, 231 ': filter

251: Movable Panel

290: blow-out cooker

290a: upper wall of the blower

290b: blowout air passage bottom wall

290e: enlarged portion above the blower

291: upper and lower wind direction plate

292: upper and lower wind direction plate

295: left and right wind direction plate

311: indoor blowing fan

332: dehumidification heater

333: dehumidification cooler

396: light receiver

397: display device

410: Infrared Sensor

410a to 410c: infrared sensor a to c

411: light receiving surface

412: central axis

415: pedestal

416: Substrate

417 Fresnel Lens

491i to 491m: upper and lower wind direction plate positions i to m

510a to 510c: detection range a to c

591j to 591m: Detection range j to m

610A: detection area A

610AC: detection area AC

610C: detection area C

635 blower cover

691J-691M: detection area J-M

710JA to 710MC: cross detection area JA to MC

902: thread

907 people

A to C: regions A to C

P to S: human position P to S

Claims (2)

A housing having an air intake port and an air outlet port, a heat exchanger disposed in the housing, a blower fan that sucks indoor air from the air intake port, passes through the heat exchanger and ejects from the air outlet port, and a blower fan of the blower fan The air conditioner having a left and right wind direction plate, a vertical wind direction plate, and a human body detecting sensor using an infrared sensor, and an infrared detecting device for dividing an interior into a plurality of areas and estimating the presence of occupants. And a means for forcibly generating a signal of a detection sensor to determine a failure of said human detection sensor. The case in which no person exists in the detection range of the human body detection sensor and the failure of the human body detection sensor according to claim 1, wherein the left and right wind direction plates or the up and down wind direction plates are oscillated within the detection range of the human body detection sensor. The air conditioner which discriminates in the case of and determines the fault of the said human body detection sensor.

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