WO2016157479A1

WO2016157479A1 - Air conditioner

Info

Publication number: WO2016157479A1
Application number: PCT/JP2015/060389
Authority: WO
Inventors: 啓邦大内
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2015-04-01
Filing date: 2015-04-01
Publication date: 2016-10-06
Also published as: JPWO2016157479A1

Abstract

An air conditioner 1 equipped with an indoor unit 2 and a controller 3. The controller 3 is equipped with: a display unit 4 capable of displaying the airflow in a two-dimensional or a three-dimensional manner; an operation unit 5 for performing display operations with respect to the display unit 4; a controller communication unit 6a for sending and receiving operation content to and from the operation unit 5; and a storage unit 7 capable of storing multiple airflow patterns arbitrarily set by a user. Furthermore, the indoor unit 2 is equipped with: an indoor unit communication unit 6b for sending and receiving with respect to the controller communication unit 6a of the controller 3; and an air-conditioning control unit 8. This configuration makes it possible for the user to display and set airflow patterns in the air conditioner 1 in a detailed manner, thereby enabling optimal air-conditioning settings in accordance with the indoor environment.

Description

Air conditioner

The present invention relates to an air conditioner provided with a display unit.

Conventionally, an air conditioner has many types of airflow patterns, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, and one airflow pattern is selected and controlled using a controller. Patent Document 2 discloses a technique in which an image captured by an indoor unit and indoor airflow information are combined and displayed as image information on a controller.

JP 2010-48493 A JP 2011-257071 A

However, the air conditioner in Patent Document 1 described above displays an airflow pattern based on a dot picture on the display screen so that the selected airflow pattern can be grasped. However, with the advancement of technology, the types of airflow patterns have increased, and the display using the dot picture described has become a limit for displaying various airflow patterns.

Also, the air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 2 can capture indoor images and synthesize and display temperature information and airflow control information. However, the displayed airflow control information is only the direction and strength, and it is difficult to display various airflow patterns in a comprehensive manner.

Therefore, there is no way to grasp the details of the airflow pattern with a controller or the like, and there is a problem that the user may not be able to select a more preferable airflow pattern according to the indoor environment from various airflow patterns. It was.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to obtain an air conditioner capable of selecting a more preferable airflow pattern according to the indoor environment from various airflow patterns.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an air conditioner according to the present invention includes a display unit capable of displaying an airflow in two or three dimensions, an operation unit that performs a display operation on the display unit, A communication unit that transmits and receives operation contents from the operation unit and a storage unit that can store a plurality of airflow patterns arbitrarily set by the user are provided.

According to the present invention, the effect that the user can select a more preferable airflow pattern according to the indoor environment is achieved.

System configuration diagram of an air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 Schematic showing the appearance of the indoor unit in Embodiment 1 Schematic diagram showing the appearance of the controller in the first embodiment The image figure which shows the display and change of the airflow pattern of the air conditioner in Embodiment 1 The image figure which shows the setting operation of the height and distance direction of an airflow pattern in the touchscreen type display part of the controller in Embodiment 1 The image figure which shows the setting operation of the width direction of an airflow pattern in the touchscreen type display part of the controller in Embodiment 1. The image figure of the memory | storage part which memorize | stores the airflow pattern of the air conditioner in Embodiment 1, and the display part to display The flowchart which shows the airflow control operation of the controller in Embodiment 1. System configuration diagram of an air conditioner according to Embodiment 2 The flowchart which shows the airflow control operation | movement of the controller in Embodiment 2.

Hereinafter, an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an air conditioner 1 according to the first embodiment. The air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment includes an indoor unit 2 and a controller 3. The controller 3 includes a display unit 4 capable of displaying an airflow in two or three dimensions, an operation unit 5 that performs a display operation on the display unit 4, a controller side communication unit 6a that transmits and receives operation contents from the operation unit 5, And a storage unit 7 capable of storing a plurality of airflow patterns arbitrarily set by the user. The indoor unit 2 includes an indoor unit side communication unit 6b that performs transmission and reception with the controller side communication unit 6a of the controller 3, and an air conditioning control unit 8. The display unit 4 is configured to display the airflow setting contents two-dimensionally or three-dimensionally and to express the “direction”, “strength”, “width”, and “number of airflows” of the balloon. Although not shown, the air conditioner 1 includes an outdoor unit, and the outdoor unit is connected to the indoor unit 2 through a refrigerant pipe.

The airflow pattern set in the operation unit 5 or the storage unit 7 of the controller 3 is displayed on the display unit 4, and the setting is completed after the user is made aware of the setting information. The airflow pattern is transmitted from the controller side communication unit 6a of the controller 3 to the indoor unit side communication unit 6b of the indoor unit 2, and reflected by performing an airflow direction operation in the air conditioning control unit 8. The display unit 4 can realize the content of the operation on the airflow pattern based on the operation of the operation unit 5.

The controller-side communication unit 6a and the indoor unit-side communication unit 6b only need to be able to transmit and receive information between the indoor unit 2 and the controller 3, and may be wired or wireless. In addition, the communication standard is not limited, and all the airflow pattern information can be transmitted and received, such as a wire or optical fiber for wired communication, a wireless LAN for wireless communication, and a short-range communication method including a method called BLUETOOTH (registered trademark). Any communication method may be used.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of the indoor unit 2 in the first embodiment. The indoor unit side communication part 6b which communicates with the controller 3, the

flaps

9a and 9b which operate a wind direction, and the fin 10 which similarly operates the wind direction are provided. Reflection of the airflow pattern by the air conditioning control unit 8 is realized by adjusting the angles of the

flaps

9 a and 9 b and the fins 10.

FIG. 3 is an external view of the controller 3, and the display unit 4 is composed of an organic EL display and serves as a touch panel 52. The operation unit 5 includes a keyboard 51 for performing input by key operation, a touch panel 52, and operation buttons 53 for assisting input of the touch panel 52. In addition, the antenna 60 which comprises the controller side communication part 6a is installed in the upper right.

FIG. 4 is an image diagram showing the display and change of the airflow pattern of the air conditioner in the first embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a touch panel type display unit of the controller in the first embodiment, showing the height and distance direction of the airflow pattern. FIG. 6 is an image diagram showing the setting operation in the width direction of the airflow pattern.

The airflow pattern of the air conditioner 1 is displayed so that the height, distance, and width direction can be seen visually. As a display method, a three-dimensional display is preferable, but as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a method of displaying in a three-dimensional manner by displaying a plurality of two-dimensional displays may be used. Further, in order to express the strength of the airflow, an additional expression method such as increasing or increasing the size of the arrow at the end portion may be used.

Furthermore, it is desirable that the display colors be color-coded. For example, a warm color system is used for heating, and a cold color system is used for cooling. However, since color display is expensive, monochrome display may be used.

It should be noted that the strength of the airflow can be expressed by adding gradation to both color display and monochrome display, and the airflow pattern can be made easier to understand.

As an example of the setting change, the air flow operation screen shown in FIG. 4 is displayed, the setting method is set as the detailed setting, and the side view 11a is selected. The screen is switched to display a screen as seen from the side of the airflow pattern of the air conditioner 1 as shown in FIG. 5 so that the height of the airflow or the distance that the airflow reaches can be changed. As an example of the setting method, when operating the width on the screen of the touch panel, the airflow pattern A ₀ to be modified, for example, touching with one finger, and slide up and down direction while touched when setting the height direction, the distance When changing, slide it to the left or right.

In this embodiment, the air flow pattern A ₀ of FIG touched with one finger, to change the height and width, for example, lowering the height, performs an operation to change a wider airflow pattern B. As an operation method for the change, the controller 3 is preferably a touch panel type screen operation. However, instead of the touch panel 52, a keyboard 51 and operation buttons 53 that can be operated up and down and left and right like a cross key are provided in the controller 3 for operation. . As another operation method for changing, in addition to the touch panel 52, a keyboard 51 and operation buttons 53 that can be operated up and down and left and right like an auxiliary key are provided in the controller 3 for auxiliary operation. Only the up / down operation key or the left / right operation key, or a key that can be operated up / down / left / right such as a cross key and a determination key may be provided in the controller 3 for operation. As a setting method at that time, it is only necessary to switch the selection by pressing a key instead of selecting by touching, and to complete the setting with the enter key. The specifications of the controller 3 are the same not only when the side direction is changed but also in all other operations.

When the setting operation is finished in the side view 11a shown in FIG. 5, the setting operation is advanced to the air flow operation screen while the setting is maintained, and the setting operation in the rear view 11b is performed by completing or resetting the setting. By selecting the rear view 11b, a screen in which the air flow patterns C ₁ and C ₂ of the air conditioner 1 shown in FIG. 6 are viewed from the rear direction is displayed, and the width direction of the air flow is changed. As for the setting method, when operating the width on the same touch panel screen, touch the displayed airflow pattern with one finger, for example, and widen or narrow the left and right of the airflow with one finger while touching it. Or adjust the width of the airflow part touched. By adjusting the width only partly, it is possible to realize an air flow that increases in width as the distance from the air conditioner 1 or an air flow that decreases in width, and an air flow of a constant width can be realized by making the entire width uniform. Further, when changing the number of airflows, for example, the number of airflows is touched with two fingers, and the number of airflows is changed to two by expanding the left and right, or the number of the airflows is decreased by one. When the setting operation in the rear view 11b is also completed, the process proceeds to the airflow operation screen again while maintaining the setting, and the setting of the airflow pattern is changed by confirming the airflow pattern and completing the setting.

In the operation of FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, the strength of the airflow may be changed. If the screen is a touch panel type, a selection method using multiple taps is used. For example, there are methods in which tapping is repeated twice and the strength of the airflow is changed stepwise, or the strength is changed according to the number of taps. Specifically, when the current setting is weak when the strength is weak, medium, or strong, the former is set to double with a tap twice, the second is set to be strong with two taps, and the latter is tapped twice. It is possible to express such that the actual control is realized by the operation by determining a rule such as “weak”, “3 taps”, “4” taps, and “strong”.

∙ With regard to the setting range when changing the setting, touch panel type can be touched and set operation freely. Therefore, values that can be set are subdivided in order to set values that are as close as possible to the touch location. In other words, if the finger is traced, the setting method is such that the airflow follows the trajectory. However, since it is difficult to realize a non-touch panel type screen when the processing load is large, a method of dividing possible values into several patterns in advance may be used. In other words, the setting method is such that the pattern closest to the touched location is set as a set value or is set to change stepwise by key operation.

FIG. 7 is an image diagram for storing and displaying the airflow pattern of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

When the simple setting is selected in the setting method, the setting information stored in the storage unit 7 is selected and the airflow pattern is changed. Here, when there are three preset airflow patterns, setting 1, setting 2, and setting 3, the selection frequency of the user is set 1: setting low, setting 2: high, setting 3: medium. In the simple setting, it is necessary for the user to select the setting that the user wants to use. Therefore, the display method on the display unit 4 is sorted by the selection frequency, and the operation is made simpler by setting the frequently used setting to a position where it can be easily selected. And In the example shown in FIG. 7, in the display unit 4, since the uppermost portion indicated by bold letters is the initial position of the selection cursor, the frequently used setting 2 is brought to the uppermost portion. Here, in the case of a touch panel type screen, the sort position is not limited so as to always bring it to the top in consideration of the difference in the operation method depending on the operation screen such that the middle is easier to select. The purpose is to arrange items with high selection frequency in positions that are easy for the user to select. Note that the sorting based on the selection frequency need not be limited to only the storage unit 7 and may be performed anywhere as long as the change operation is performed.

The control pattern set in the storage unit 7 may or may not be stored in advance from the initial state of the product. In addition, when storing new settings according to the user, select whether to store the settings when they are set in the detailed settings and completed on the airflow operation screen. Any method may be used, such as providing a memory button in the screen, or providing a dedicated memory button if it is a non-touch panel type.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the airflow control operation of the controller 3 in the first embodiment. When the operation is started in step S100 and an operation switch (not shown) is pressed, the operation is started in step S101. In order to change the airflow pattern of the indoor unit 2 that is in operation, a determination step S102 is first performed to determine whether or not airflow control is to be performed. As a method, a setting operation button is provided on the controller 3, or a setting operation button is displayed on the touch panel 52 of the operation unit 5 of the controller 3. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4, an airflow pattern display portion that is originally simply displayed is touched.

If it is determined in step S102 that it is determined whether or not airflow control is to be performed, step S103 is performed in which an overall view of the airflow operation screen is displayed. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the currently set airflow pattern is displayed on the display unit 4 as an airflow operation screen. In the setting change determination step S104, the user is made aware of the current setting and whether or not a setting change is necessary. If it is changed, in the setting method determination step S105, it is determined whether or not the setting method is a detailed setting. To start the setting operation.

The setting operation includes two steps: a detailed setting step S106 for fine adjustment by the user, and a simple setting step S107 for calling a prestored setting. If YES is determined in the setting method determination step S105 and the detailed setting is selected, a setting operation is performed in the detailed setting step S106. After that, in order to make the user understand the changed setting contents, step S108 for displaying the entire view of the airflow operation screen is performed. Here again, the air flow operation screen as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed, and it is determined whether or not the setting is changed in step S110. If it is determined in step S110 that the setting is changed, the resetting operation is completed if the setting is completed, so that the setting information is transmitted from the controller side communication unit 6a to the indoor unit side communication unit 6b. Change the pattern.

In the setting method determination step S105, it is determined that the setting is not a detailed setting, that is, NO, and if the simple setting step S107 is selected, the setting operation is performed, and then the air flow operation screen is displayed to allow the user to grasp the changed setting contents. Step S109 for displaying the overall view is performed. Here again, the air flow operation screen as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed again, and it is determined whether or not the setting is changed in step S111. If it is determined that the setting is changed in the determination step S111, a re-setting operation is performed. If it is determined that there is no setting change, the setting information is completed from the controller-side communication unit 6a. 6b is sent to change the airflow pattern.

And a series of operations are completed. This is the completion step, that is, the end step S112. Prior to the end step S112, the controller side communication unit 6a performs the setting change transmission step S120 of the air conditioning control unit 8 to the indoor unit side communication unit 6b.

As described above, according to the air conditioner of the first embodiment, the air conditioning pattern controlled by the air conditioner can be grasped in detail and the setting can be changed. Can be set.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of the air conditioner according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an air flow control operation of the air conditioner according to the second embodiment. As in the first embodiment, the air conditioner 1 in the second embodiment includes an indoor unit 2 and a controller 3. The difference from the air conditioner 1 of the first embodiment is that the operation of the operation unit 5 or the storage unit 7S is reflected not only on the display unit 4 but also directly on the controller side communication unit 6a. . The controller 3 includes a display unit 4, an operation unit 5, a controller side communication unit 6a, and a storage unit 7S. On the other hand, the indoor unit 2 includes an indoor unit side communication unit 6 b and an air conditioning control unit 8.

In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the airflow pattern change is transmitted to the indoor unit 2 as soon as the user confirms and completes the operation content. In the second embodiment, the airflow pattern change is shown in FIG. 9. As described above, the display of the operation content on the display unit 4 and the communication with the indoor unit 2 are performed in parallel.

The difference between the air conditioner of Embodiment 2 shown in FIG. 9 and the air conditioner of Embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In FIG. 1, the timing transmitted from the controller side communication unit 6a to the indoor unit side communication unit 6b is before the “end” at the end of the flowchart, whereas in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. It is transmitted at the time of “setting step S106” or “selection step S107 from setting memory” or “airflow operation screen_overall view display step S108” and “airflow operation screen_overall view display step S109” thereafter.

For example, referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 10, the “detailed setting step S106” and the “selection step S107 from setting storage” of the first embodiment shown in FIG. “Setting change transmission and detailed setting step S106S of the air conditioning control unit” and “selection step S107S from setting change transmission and setting storage of the air conditioning control unit” are set, and the detailed setting is displayed on the display unit 4 of the setting of the air conditioning control unit 8 Accordingly, the setting content is transmitted from the controller side communication unit 6a to the indoor unit side communication unit 6b, and the setting of the air conditioning control unit 8 is updated. Therefore, in the “airflow operation screen_overall view display step S108S” and “airflow operation screen_overall view display step S109S” of Embodiment 2, the airflow pattern is changed while the operation content is reflected in the indoor unit 2 by the above operation. It will be. Therefore, the user can feel the change of setting with the skin and change the airflow pattern while confirming the comfort. However, since disadvantages such as a complicated process and a large process load are conceivable, it is preferable to use properly depending on the control method of the air conditioner 1 described in the first embodiment.

The configuration described in the above embodiment shows an example of the content of the present invention, and can be combined with another known technique, and a part of the configuration can be used without departing from the gist of the present invention. Can be omitted or changed.

1 air conditioner, 2 indoor unit, 3 controller, 4 display unit, 5 operation unit, 6a controller side communication unit, 6b indoor unit side communication unit, 7 storage unit, 8 air conditioning control unit, 9a, 9b flap, 10 fin, 11a side view, 11b rear view, 51 keyboard, 52 touch panel, 53 operation buttons, 60 antennas.

Claims

A display unit capable of displaying a two-dimensional or three-dimensional airflow;
An operation unit for performing a display operation on the display unit;
A communication unit that transmits and receives operation content from the operation unit;
An air conditioner comprising: a storage unit capable of storing a plurality of airflow patterns arbitrarily set by a user.
The operation unit can control the blowing width of the airflow or the method of squeezing the airflow,
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the display unit can realize the content of the operation on the airflow pattern based on an operation of the operation unit.
The operation unit is capable of controlling the number of airflow blowouts,
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the display unit can realize the content of the operation on the airflow pattern based on an operation of the operation unit.
The operation unit can control the blowing direction or strength of the airflow,
The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the display unit can be realized on the air flow pattern based on an operation of the operation unit.
The operation unit is capable of controlling the height of the air current blowout,
The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the display unit can be realized on the airflow pattern based on an operation of the operation unit.
The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the display unit can realize the content of the operation on the air flow pattern based on an operation of the operation unit.
The storage unit can sort the setting items according to usage frequency,
The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the display unit can display the setting item at a position that is easy for a user to select.
The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the display unit is capable of showing the selected setting contents at the time of a selection operation when selecting stored setting information.