WO2023007624A1 - Climatiseur, système de climatisation et système de ventilation d'air - Google Patents

Climatiseur, système de climatisation et système de ventilation d'air Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2023007624A1
WO2023007624A1 PCT/JP2021/027939 JP2021027939W WO2023007624A1 WO 2023007624 A1 WO2023007624 A1 WO 2023007624A1 JP 2021027939 W JP2021027939 W JP 2021027939W WO 2023007624 A1 WO2023007624 A1 WO 2023007624A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
air
indoor
distance
unit
dense area
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/JP2021/027939
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English (en)
Japanese (ja)
Inventor
春実 山口
慎一 伊藤
Original Assignee
三菱電機株式会社
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
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Application filed by 三菱電機株式会社 filed Critical 三菱電機株式会社
Priority to PCT/JP2021/027939 priority Critical patent/WO2023007624A1/fr
Priority to JP2023537824A priority patent/JPWO2023007624A1/ja
Publication of WO2023007624A1 publication Critical patent/WO2023007624A1/fr

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    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
    • F24F—AIR-CONDITIONING; AIR-HUMIDIFICATION; VENTILATION; USE OF AIR CURRENTS FOR SCREENING
    • F24F11/00—Control or safety arrangements
    • F24F11/62—Control or safety arrangements characterised by the type of control or by internal processing, e.g. using fuzzy logic, adaptive control or estimation of values
    • F24F11/63—Electronic processing
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
    • F24F—AIR-CONDITIONING; AIR-HUMIDIFICATION; VENTILATION; USE OF AIR CURRENTS FOR SCREENING
    • F24F11/00—Control or safety arrangements
    • F24F11/70—Control systems characterised by their outputs; Constructional details thereof
    • F24F11/72—Control systems characterised by their outputs; Constructional details thereof for controlling the supply of treated air, e.g. its pressure
    • F24F11/74—Control systems characterised by their outputs; Constructional details thereof for controlling the supply of treated air, e.g. its pressure for controlling air flow rate or air velocity
    • F24F11/77—Control systems characterised by their outputs; Constructional details thereof for controlling the supply of treated air, e.g. its pressure for controlling air flow rate or air velocity by controlling the speed of ventilators
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
    • F24F—AIR-CONDITIONING; AIR-HUMIDIFICATION; VENTILATION; USE OF AIR CURRENTS FOR SCREENING
    • F24F11/00—Control or safety arrangements
    • F24F11/70—Control systems characterised by their outputs; Constructional details thereof
    • F24F11/72—Control systems characterised by their outputs; Constructional details thereof for controlling the supply of treated air, e.g. its pressure
    • F24F11/79—Control systems characterised by their outputs; Constructional details thereof for controlling the supply of treated air, e.g. its pressure for controlling the direction of the supplied air
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
    • F24F—AIR-CONDITIONING; AIR-HUMIDIFICATION; VENTILATION; USE OF AIR CURRENTS FOR SCREENING
    • F24F2110/00—Control inputs relating to air properties
    • F24F2110/50—Air quality properties
    • F24F2110/65—Concentration of specific substances or contaminants
    • F24F2110/70—Carbon dioxide
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
    • F24F—AIR-CONDITIONING; AIR-HUMIDIFICATION; VENTILATION; USE OF AIR CURRENTS FOR SCREENING
    • F24F2120/00—Control inputs relating to users or occupants
    • F24F2120/10—Occupancy
    • F24F2120/12—Position of occupants

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to an air conditioner, an air conditioning system, and an air ventilation system that automatically change the blowing direction of an indoor unit for infectious disease countermeasures.
  • One way to use air conditioners as a countermeasure against infectious diseases is to blow air toward people who are suspected of being infected.
  • an air conditioner that detects the body temperature of a person in the room and blows air toward the person in the room when the person's body temperature is higher than a preset standard temperature range has been proposed. (See Patent Document 1, for example).
  • Patent Document 1 is intended to maintain the comfort of both users who are sensitive to heat and users who are sensitive to cold, and is not intended to be used as a countermeasure against infectious diseases. It has not been.
  • Another way to use air conditioners as a countermeasure against infectious diseases is to blow air indoors to disperse locally increased droplet concentrations near infected people.
  • an air conditioner has been proposed that blows air between two people in a room in advance to prevent infection (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
  • a control unit selects an airflow control plate corresponding to a position between two people present in a room from among a plurality of airflow control plates, so that an airflow flows between the two people. to control.
  • it is possible to generate air currents from top to bottom between infected and non-infected people, so the high-concentration virus released by infected people can be quickly spread, reducing the risk of infection. can be made
  • Patent Document 1 when the body temperature of a person in the room is higher than the preset standard temperature range, air is blown toward the person in the room.
  • Patent Document 2 when there are two people in the room, control is performed so that an air current in a direction from top to bottom flows between the two people.
  • Patent Document 2 does not detect the distance between two people in the room, nor measure the elapsed time while the two people are in the room. Therefore, for example, when the distance between two people in the room is sufficient, and when there are only two people in the room temporarily, it is erroneously determined to be in a dense state, and unnecessary There is a problem that air is blown to the In that case, air is blown unintentionally by a person (user) in the room, which may make the person in the room feel uncomfortable.
  • the present disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and it is possible to detect dense areas with a high risk of infection and maintain human comfort while coping with infectious disease countermeasures for the dense areas.
  • the object is to propose possible air conditioners, air conditioning systems, and air ventilation systems.
  • An air conditioner includes an indoor unit installed in an indoor space to be air-conditioned, an outdoor unit installed outside the indoor space and connected to the indoor unit via a refrigerant pipe, and at least the A control unit that controls the operation of the indoor unit and a time measurement unit that measures time.
  • an air inlet provided in the housing for blowing the air from the housing toward the indoor space; and an air outlet provided in the air outlet for controlling the direction of the air blown out from the air outlet.
  • the control unit controls, when the indoor unit is operating normally, When it is determined that there are two or more human bodies in the indoor space and that the distance between the human bodies is a first distance or less based on the detection result of the human detection unit determining whether or not the first state has continued for a first time or longer based on the time measured by the time measuring unit, and determining whether the first state has continued for the first time or longer; Sometimes, it is determined that a dense area has occurred in the indoor space, the wind direction of the wind direction control plate is changed to face the dense area, and air is blown from the air outlet toward the dense area. be.
  • a dense area with a high infection risk is detected, and human comfort is maintained while taking measures against infectious diseases for the dense area. can be achieved.
  • FIG. 2 is a refrigerant circuit diagram showing the configuration of a refrigeration cycle in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1.
  • FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1.
  • FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of left and right wind direction plates provided in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1;
  • 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1.
  • FIG. 4 is a diagram showing coordinates assigned to a thermal image of an indoor space to be air-conditioned, which is acquired by a human detection unit provided in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1.
  • FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the state of the room as seen from the human detection unit provided in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1;
  • FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a first state in which two bodies extracted in a thermal image are close to each other in the left-right direction in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1;
  • FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a first state when two bodies extracted in a thermal image are close to each other in the depth direction in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1;
  • 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of prioritizing dense areas in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1.
  • FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a case where two bodies extracted in a thermal image are close to each other in the horizontal direction in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1;
  • FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a case where two objects extracted from a thermal image in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 are close to each other in the depth direction;
  • 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of prioritizing dense areas in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1.
  • FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to Embodiment 2;
  • FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of prioritizing dense areas in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 2;
  • FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the configuration of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to Embodiment 3;
  • FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the configuration of an air conditioning system according to Embodiment 4;
  • 14 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing of an air conditioning system according to Embodiment 4.
  • FIG. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the configuration of an air conditioning system according to Embodiment 5;
  • FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the configuration of an air ventilation system according to Embodiment 6;
  • FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the configuration of an air conditioning system according to Embodiment 7;
  • FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a communication system in an air conditioning system according to Embodiment 7;
  • Embodiment 1 is a refrigerant circuit diagram showing the configuration of a refrigeration cycle in an air conditioner according to Embodiment 1.
  • the air conditioner 200 includes an indoor unit 100 and an outdoor unit 101 .
  • the indoor unit 100 and the outdoor unit 101 are connected via refrigerant pipes 102 .
  • the outdoor unit 101 is provided with a compressor 1 , a four-way valve 2 , an outdoor heat exchanger 3 , an outdoor fan 4 and an expansion device 5 .
  • the indoor unit 100 is provided with an indoor heat exchanger 6 and an indoor fan 7 .
  • the air conditioner 200 is also provided with a control unit 15 that controls the overall operation of the air conditioner 200 .
  • the control unit 15 controls operations of the indoor unit 100 and the outdoor unit 101 .
  • the controller 15 may be arranged in either the indoor unit 100 or the outdoor unit 101 . Further, as shown in FIG. 1 , the controller 15 may be divided into an indoor controller 15 a provided in the indoor unit 100 and an outdoor controller 15 b provided in the outdoor unit 101 . In this case, the indoor control unit 15a and the outdoor control unit 15b are communicably connected and exchange data with each other. Furthermore, at least part of the control unit 15 may be configured from the cloud 15c. That is, the control unit 15 may include the cloud 15c. In that case, the air conditioner 200 has the communication part 22, for example. The communication unit 22 is arranged inside the housing of the indoor unit 100, inside the housing of the outdoor unit 101, or in an indoor space.
  • the communication unit 22 has a communication device such as a router, and is connected to the cloud 15c via a communication network 70 such as the Internet.
  • the indoor control unit 15a and the outdoor control unit 15b are communicably connected to the cloud 15c via the communication unit 22, and transmit and receive data between them.
  • the communication unit 22 transmits data necessary for calculating the control content from the indoor control unit 15a and the outdoor control unit 15b to the cloud 15c (for example, the number of people, the coordinates of people , duration, operating conditions such as suction temperature, etc.) are transferred.
  • the “controller 15” includes at least one of the indoor controller 15a, the outdoor controller 15b, and the cloud 15c.
  • the control described as performed by the indoor control unit 15a may be performed instead by the outdoor control unit 15b or the cloud 15c.
  • the compressor 1 sucks the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant pipe 102 from the suction port.
  • the compressor 1 compresses the sucked refrigerant and discharges it to the refrigerant pipe 102 from the discharge port.
  • Compressor 1 is an inverter compressor, for example.
  • the operating frequency may be arbitrarily changed by an inverter circuit or the like to change the refrigerant discharge capacity per unit time. In that case, the operation of the inverter circuit is controlled by the controller 15 .
  • Refrigerant discharged from the compressor 1 flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 3 or the indoor heat exchanger 6 via the four-way valve 2 .
  • the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and the indoor heat exchanger 6 exchange heat between the refrigerant flowing inside and the air.
  • the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and the indoor heat exchanger 6 are, for example, fin-and-tube heat exchangers.
  • the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and the indoor heat exchanger 6 have a plurality of heat transfer tubes through which refrigerant flows, and fins installed between the heat transfer tubes.
  • the outdoor heat exchanger 3 functions as a condenser during cooling operation, and condenses and liquefies the refrigerant.
  • the outdoor heat exchanger 3 functions as an evaporator during heating operation and evaporates the refrigerant.
  • the indoor heat exchanger 6 functions as an evaporator during cooling operation and evaporates the refrigerant.
  • the indoor heat exchanger 6 functions as a condenser during heating operation, and condenses and liquefies the refrigerant.
  • the outdoor fan 4 has a fan motor 4a and blades 4b.
  • the indoor fan 7 has a fan motor 7a and blades 7b.
  • the outdoor fan 4 blows air to the outdoor heat exchanger 3
  • the indoor fan 7 blows air to the indoor heat exchanger 6 .
  • the rotational speeds of the outdoor fan 4 and the indoor fan 7 are controlled by the controller 15 .
  • the four-way valve 2 is configured to switch between the cooling operation for cooling the indoor unit 100 side and the heating operation for heating the indoor unit 100 side. Switching of the four-way valve 2 is controlled by the controller 15 .
  • the four-way valve 2 is a channel switching device that switches the flow of refrigerant between cooling operation and heating operation. In the case of cooling operation, the four-way valve 2 is in the state indicated by the solid line in FIG. 1 and the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 1 flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 3 . At this time, the outdoor heat exchanger 3 acts as a condenser, and the indoor heat exchanger 6 acts as an evaporator.
  • the four-way valve 2 is in the state indicated by the dashed line, and the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 1 flows into the indoor heat exchanger 6 .
  • the outdoor heat exchanger 3 acts as an evaporator
  • the indoor heat exchanger 6 acts as a condenser.
  • the expansion device 5 is a decompression device that decompresses and expands the refrigerant, and is composed of an expansion valve such as an electronic expansion valve such as LEV (Linear Expansion Valve).
  • LEV Linear Expansion Valve
  • the degree of opening is adjusted based on instructions from the control section 15 .
  • the expansion device 5 is provided between the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and the indoor heat exchanger 6 .
  • the compressor 1, the four-way valve 2, the outdoor heat exchanger 3, the expansion device 5, and the indoor heat exchanger 6 are connected by refrigerant pipes 102 to form a refrigerant circuit.
  • the control unit 15 controls the overall operation of the air conditioner 200.
  • the control unit 15 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer.
  • Embodiment 1 the case where the control unit 15 is composed of the indoor control unit 15a installed in the indoor unit 100 and the outdoor control unit 15b installed in the outdoor unit 101 is taken as an example.
  • the indoor controller 15 a controls the overall operation of the indoor unit 100 .
  • the outdoor control unit 15b controls the overall operation of the outdoor unit 101.
  • the indoor control unit 15a and the outdoor control unit 15b are communicably connected and exchange data with each other.
  • the outdoor control unit 15b may control the operation of the outdoor unit 101 and the indoor unit 100, or the indoor control unit 15a may control the operation of the outdoor unit 101 and the indoor unit 100. may be controlled.
  • the control unit 15 may include the cloud 15c. In that case, the cloud 15c controls at least a part of the control of the operation of the indoor unit 100 and the control of the operation of the outdoor unit 101 .
  • At least one of the indoor control unit 15a and the outdoor control unit 15b has a storage unit (not shown).
  • the storage unit is composed of memory.
  • the indoor control unit 15a and the outdoor control unit 15b are each composed of a processing circuit.
  • the processing circuitry consists of dedicated hardware or a processor.
  • Dedicated hardware is, for example, ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).
  • the processor executes programs stored in memory.
  • Memory is non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), or disk such as magnetic disk, flexible disk, optical disk, etc. be.
  • the air conditioner 200 is provided with a sensor group consisting of a plurality of sensors. Each sensor included in the sensor group will be described below.
  • the discharge temperature sensor 8 is provided on the discharge port side of the compressor 1 .
  • a discharge temperature sensor 8 detects the temperature of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 1 .
  • the outdoor heat exchanger 3 is provided with a cooling inlet temperature sensor 9, an intermediate temperature sensor 10, and a cooling outlet temperature sensor 11.
  • the cooling inlet temperature sensor 9 is provided at the refrigerant inlet through which refrigerant flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 3 during cooling operation.
  • the cooling inlet temperature sensor 9 detects the temperature of the refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger 3 during cooling operation.
  • the cooling outlet temperature sensor 11 is provided at a refrigerant outlet through which refrigerant flows out from the outdoor heat exchanger 3 during cooling operation.
  • the cooling outlet temperature sensor 11 detects the temperature of the refrigerant flowing out from the outdoor heat exchanger 3 during cooling operation.
  • the intermediate temperature sensor 10 is provided between the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet during cooling operation.
  • the intermediate temperature sensor 10 is provided, for example, in a heat transfer tube provided substantially in the center of the outdoor heat exchanger 3 .
  • Intermediate temperature sensor 10 detects the saturation temperature of the refrigerant flowing inside outdoor heat exchanger 3 .
  • the indoor heat exchanger 6 is provided with a cooling inlet temperature sensor 12 , an intermediate temperature sensor 13 , and a cooling outlet temperature sensor 14 .
  • the cooling inlet temperature sensor 12 is provided at the refrigerant inlet through which the refrigerant flows into the indoor heat exchanger 6 during cooling operation.
  • the cooling inlet temperature sensor 12 detects the temperature of the refrigerant flowing into the indoor heat exchanger 6 during cooling operation.
  • the cooling outlet temperature sensor 14 is provided at the refrigerant outlet through which the refrigerant flows out from the indoor heat exchanger 6 during cooling operation. Cooling outlet temperature sensor 14 detects the temperature of the refrigerant flowing out from indoor heat exchanger 6 during cooling operation.
  • the intermediate temperature sensor 13 is provided between the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet during cooling operation.
  • the intermediate temperature sensor 13 is provided, for example, in a heat transfer tube provided substantially in the center of the indoor heat exchanger 6 .
  • Intermediate temperature sensor 13 detects the saturation temperature of the refrigerant flowing inside indoor heat exchanger 6 .
  • the indoor unit 100 of the air conditioner 200 is further provided with a human detection unit 16 (see FIG. 2), a display unit 18 (see FIG. 2), and a suction temperature sensor 21 (see FIG. 2), which will be described later.
  • a human detection unit 16 see FIG. 2
  • a display unit 18 see FIG. 2
  • a suction temperature sensor 21 see FIG. 2
  • ⁇ Indoor unit 100> 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1.
  • FIG. 2 for the sake of explanation, part of the configuration is transparent and indicated by broken lines.
  • the air conditioner 200 according to Embodiment 1 is a wall-mounted air conditioner in which the indoor unit 100 is installed on the wall 201 of the indoor space.
  • the width direction of the indoor unit 100 is the x direction
  • the depth direction of the indoor unit 100 is the y direction.
  • the x-direction and the y-direction are orthogonal to each other.
  • a direction orthogonal to the x-direction and the y-direction is defined as the z-direction.
  • the z direction is the vertical direction of the indoor unit 100 .
  • the z-direction is, for example, the vertical direction.
  • the "left” or “left” refers to what can be seen on the left
  • the "right” or “right” refers to what can be seen on the right. ”.
  • the indoor unit 100 is installed in an indoor space to be air-conditioned.
  • the indoor unit 100 is installed on the wall 201 of the indoor space.
  • the indoor unit 100 includes an air outlet 19, an air inlet 20, an indoor heat exchanger 6 (not shown in FIG. 2, see FIG. 1) provided between the air outlet 19 and the air inlet 20, and an indoor fan 7. and have Further, the indoor unit 100 includes a wind direction control plate 31 provided at the air outlet 19, a human detection unit 16, an indoor control unit 15a for controlling the orientation of the wind direction control plate 31, and a time measurement unit 26.
  • the indoor unit 100 includes an infrared transmitter/receiver 17 , a display 18 , and an intake temperature sensor 21 .
  • the indoor unit 100 has a housing 100a that constitutes the outer shell of the indoor unit 100.
  • the housing 100a has a rectangular box shape.
  • the housing 100a has a front panel 100a-1, a top panel 100a-2, a bottom panel 100a-3, left and right side panels 100a-4, and a rear panel 100a-5.
  • the front panel 100a-1 and the rear panel 100a-5 are arranged to face each other.
  • the top panel 100a-2 and the bottom panel 100a-3 are arranged to face each other.
  • the left and right side panels 100a-4 are arranged to face each other.
  • the air outlet 19 is provided in the lower part of the housing 100a of the indoor unit 100, as shown in FIG.
  • the outlet 19 is provided, for example, on the front panel 100a-1. Alternatively, the outlet 19 may be provided at the boundary between the front panel 100a-1 and the bottom panel 100a-3.
  • the air outlet 19 blows out the conditioned air heat-exchanged in the indoor heat exchanger 6 toward the indoor space.
  • the outlet 19 is divided into left and right.
  • the left outlet 19 is referred to as the outlet (left) 19a
  • the right outlet 19 is referred to as the outlet (right) 19b.
  • the suction port 20 is provided on the top panel 100a-2 of the housing 100a of the indoor unit 100. As shown in FIG. The suction port 20 draws indoor air into the housing 100 a of the indoor unit 100 . The sucked indoor air is sent to the indoor heat exchanger 6 by the indoor fan 7 .
  • the indoor fan 7 forms an air passage from the inlet 20 to the outlet 19 . Air is blown toward the indoor heat exchanger 6 by the indoor fan 7 , and heat exchange between the air and the refrigerant is performed in the indoor heat exchanger 6 .
  • the indoor fan 7 is, for example, a cross-flow fan such as a cross-flow fan.
  • the indoor heat exchanger 6 exchanges heat between the air blown by the indoor fan 7 and the refrigerant flowing inside.
  • the wind direction control plate 31 is provided at the outlet 19 .
  • the wind direction control plate 31 has a vertical wind direction plate 32 for adjusting the vertical wind direction and a horizontal wind direction plate 33 for adjusting the horizontal wind direction.
  • the vertical wind direction plate 32 is a wind direction plate for adjusting the vertical wind direction, as described above.
  • the vertical wind direction plate 32 is composed of a front flap 32a, front flaps 32b and 32c, and rear flaps 32d and 32e.
  • the front flap 32a is arranged at the highest position in the z-direction and at the frontmost position in the y-direction.
  • the rear flaps 32d and 32e are arranged at the lowest position in the z-direction and at the rearmost position in the y-direction.
  • Front flaps 32b and 32c are positioned in the z-direction between front flap 32a and rear flaps 32d and 32e, and in the y-direction between front flap 32a and rear flaps 32d and 32e.
  • the front flap 32a is an elongated plate member extending in the x direction.
  • the front flap 32a has a rotation center extending in the x-direction, and is installed so as to be vertically rotatable with respect to the housing 100a of the indoor unit 100.
  • the front flap 32 a also functions as an opening/closing door for the blower outlet 19 .
  • the front flap 32a opens the outlet 19 when the air conditioner 200 starts operating, and closes the outlet 19 when the air conditioner 200 stops operating.
  • the front flaps 32b and 32c are provided closer to the inside of the housing 100a than the front flap 32a. Front flaps 32b and 32c are exposed to the outside when front flap 32a is open, and are housed inside housing 100a when air conditioner 200 is not in operation.
  • the front flaps 32b and 32c are split left and right.
  • the left front flap is referred to as front flap (left) 32b
  • the right front flap is referred to as front flap (right) 32c.
  • the front flap (left) 32b and the front flap (right) 32c have rotation centers extending in the x direction, and are installed to be vertically rotatable with respect to the housing 100a of the indoor unit 100. As shown in FIG.
  • the rear flaps 32d and 32e are provided closer to the inside of the housing 100a than the front flaps 32b and 32c. Rear flaps 32d and 32e are exposed to the outside when front flap 32a is open, and are housed inside housing 100a when air conditioner 200 is not in operation.
  • the rear flaps 32d and 32e are split left and right.
  • the left rear flap is called rear flap (left) 32d
  • the right rear flap is called rear flap (right) 32e.
  • the rear flap (left) 32d and the rear flap (right) 32e have rotation centers extending in the x-direction, and are installed to be vertically rotatable with respect to the housing 100a of the indoor unit 100. As shown in FIG.
  • the rotation axis of the front flap 32a, the rotation axis of the front flap (left) 32b and the front flap (right) 32c, and the rotation axis of the rear flap (left) 32d and the rear flap (right) 32e are each connected to a link. They are linked by a function or gear mechanism and are rotated by a common drive motor (not shown). Moreover, not limited to this case, the front flap 32a, the front flap (left) 32b, the front flap (right) 32c, the rear flap (left) 32d, and the rear flap (right) 32e are each driven by separate drive motors. It may rotate. In either case, the drive motor is driven under the control of the indoor controller 15a. In either case, the front flap 32a, the front flap (left) 32b, the front flap (right) 32c, the rear flap (left) 32d, and the rear flap (right) 32e are individually and independently rotated.
  • the left/right wind direction plate 33 is a wind direction plate for adjusting the left/right wind direction, as described above.
  • FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the left/right wind direction plate provided in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1.
  • FIG. The left/right air deflector 33 is composed of a left/right air deflector group (left) 33L and a left/right air deflector group (right) 33R.
  • the left and right wind direction plate group (left) 33L is composed of a plurality of vanes 33a, 33b, . . . , 33g.
  • the left and right wind direction plate group (right) 33R is composed of a plurality of vanes 33h, 33i, . . . , 33n.
  • the left and right wind direction plate group (left) 33L and the left connecting rod 24L form a link mechanism
  • the left and right wind direction plate group (right) 33R and the right connecting rod 24R form a link mechanism
  • a right driving motor 25 is connected to the right connecting rod 24R
  • a left driving motor (not shown) is connected to the left connecting rod 24L.
  • the form of the left/right wind direction plate 33 is not limited to that shown in FIGS.
  • the number of vanes 33a to 33n constituting the left/right wind direction plate 33 may be any number.
  • the left and right wind direction plates 33 may be divided into three or more groups, each group may be rotatably joined to a connecting rod, and each connecting rod may be moved independently in parallel.
  • the human detection unit 16 is a sensor that detects a person present in the indoor space.
  • the human detection unit 16 is, for example, an infrared sensor, but is not limited to that, and may be a CCD camera, a human sensor, or the like.
  • the human detection part 16 is an infrared sensor is mentioned as an example, and it demonstrates.
  • the human detection unit 16 is arranged to protrude downward in the z-direction from the lower panel 100a-3 of the indoor unit 100. As shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 2, the human detection unit 16 is arranged side by side with the air outlet 19, but the position of the human detection unit 16 is not particularly limited.
  • the human detection unit 16 may be arranged, for example, in the central portion of the front panel 100a-1 in the x direction.
  • the human detection unit 16 measures the temperature of the object without contact.
  • the human detection unit 16 has a cylindrical shape.
  • the human detection unit 16 includes a plurality of sensor elements and a movable mechanism that rotates the sensor elements.
  • the sensor element is, for example, an infrared light receiving element.
  • the movable mechanism is, for example, a motor, and moves the directions of the plurality of sensor elements in the horizontal direction. A plurality of sensor elements are moved by a movable mechanism, scan the indoor space to be air-conditioned, and acquire temperature information of the indoor space. Thereby, the human detection unit 16 acquires a thermal image of the indoor space.
  • the acquired thermal image is transmitted to the indoor controller 15a.
  • the indoor control unit 15a extracts persons present in the room from the thermal image data.
  • the human detection unit 16 acquires thermal images at regular time intervals. In Embodiment 1, the human detection unit 16 acquires thermal images at intervals of 10 seconds, for example.
  • the time measurement unit 26 constitutes a timer that measures time.
  • the time measurement unit 26 measures the time intervals at which the human detection unit 16 acquires thermal images.
  • the human detection unit 16 acquires thermal images at regular time intervals based on the signal from the time measurement unit 26 .
  • the time measuring unit 26 measures the elapsed time during which the person in the room is in the room according to a command from the indoor controller 15a.
  • the time measurement unit 26 may have a counter circuit that counts the number of times the human detection unit 16 acquires thermal images. A case where the time measuring unit 26 is composed of a timer and a counter circuit will be described below as an example.
  • the time measurement unit 26 measures the time interval at which the human detection unit 16 acquires a thermal image with a timer, and each time the human detection unit 16 acquires a thermal image, the value of the counter managed by the counter circuit is changed. Add +1.
  • the indoor control unit 15a can detect the elapsed time during which the person in the room has been in the room based on the value of the counter of the time measuring unit 26 .
  • Embodiment 1 explained that the indoor unit 100 is provided with the time measurement part 26, it is not limited to that case. That is, the time measurement unit 26 may be provided in the outdoor control unit 15b or the cloud 15c.
  • the indoor controller 15 a controls the overall operation of the indoor unit 100 . Further, the indoor control unit 15a detects a person present in the room based on the thermal image data acquired by the human detection unit 16. FIG. When there are two or more people in the room, the indoor control unit 15a detects the distance L between those people in the room. Furthermore, the indoor control unit 15a detects that the detected distance L is within a preset first distance LA and that state continues for a preset first time or more, and the indoor space It is determined that a "dense area" has occurred. In this case, the indoor control unit 15a controls the direction of the airflow direction control plate 31 to start the air blowing to the "dense area".
  • the indoor control unit 15a forcibly blows air to the "dense area" regardless of the user's instruction when the "dense area" occurs in the room.
  • Part of the determination and calculation performed by the indoor controller 15a may be performed by the cloud 15c or the outdoor controller 15b.
  • the infrared transmitter/receiver 17 performs infrared communication with the remote controller 40 . That is, the infrared transmitter/receiver 17 receives signals from the remote controller 40 and transmits signals to the remote controller 40 .
  • the remote controller 40 is input by the user to set wind direction, wind speed, and the like. When the air conditioner 200 is in normal operation, operation is performed with wind direction and wind speed based on settings input by the user to the remote controller 40 .
  • the display unit 18 is provided with an operation lamp 18a, an infection prevention ventilation lamp 18b, a speaker 18c, and the like. However, the infection prevention blower lamp 18b and the speaker 18c are not necessarily provided, and may be provided as necessary.
  • the display unit 18 is provided on the front panel 100a-1 of the housing 100a of the indoor unit 100. As shown in FIG.
  • the operation lamp 18a is lit when the air conditioner 200 is in the ON state, and is extinguished when the air conditioner 200 is in the OFF state.
  • the infection prevention air blowing lamp 18b and the speaker 18c constitute a notification unit that notifies the user that air blowing to the "dense area" will start.
  • the infection prevention fan lamp 18b lights up to notify the user that the fan will start.
  • the infection prevention air blowing lamp 18b is lit before air blowing to the "dense area" is started under the control of the indoor controller 15a.
  • the speaker 18c notifies the user that ventilation will start by emitting a voice message. That is, the speaker 18c emits a voice message before air blowing to the "dense area” is started under the control of the indoor control unit 15a.
  • both or one of lighting of the infection prevention fan lamp 18b and voice message from the speaker 18c is performed. After the notification, when a preset time elapses (for example, 5 seconds), air blowing to the "dense area" is started.
  • the user can notify in advance that the normal operation of the air conditioner 200 is temporarily suspended and the air blowing to the "dense area" is started by turning on the infection prevention air blowing lamp 18b or by a voice message from the speaker 18c. can grasp. As a result, it is possible to avoid the user's suspicion caused by blowing air in a wind direction unintended by the user.
  • the method of notifying the user of the start of air blowing is not limited to these methods. A method of notifying the user will be described later.
  • the suction temperature sensor 21 is provided on the top panel 100a-2 of the indoor unit 100. As shown in FIG. The suction temperature sensor 21 is arranged in the vicinity of the suction port 20 and detects the temperature of the indoor air sucked into the suction port 20 .
  • FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1.
  • FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1.
  • normal operation operation is performed with the wind direction and wind speed based on the settings designated by the user with the remote controller 40 .
  • the human detection unit 16 acquires a thermal image of the indoor space at regular time intervals while the air conditioner 200 is in normal operation.
  • the indoor control unit 15a determines that "a dense area has occurred" in the indoor space.
  • a "dense area” is an area where a plurality of human bodies are gathered within a first distance LA and this state continues for a first time or longer, as described below.
  • Two or more human bodies are detected in the indoor space based on the thermal image acquired by the human detection unit 16 (see step S3 in FIG. 4), and (2) the distance L between the human bodies is within the first distance LA (see step S3 in FIG. 4), and (3) The state of (2) above continues for the first time or longer (see step S5 in FIG. 4).
  • the indoor control unit 15a adjusts the wind direction of the air conditioner 200 to forcibly blow air toward the dense area regardless of the user's instruction. make changes. That is, the indoor control unit 15a changes the wind direction from the normal operation based on the user's setting to the wind direction toward the dense area.
  • the indoor controller 15a sets the wind direction as follows, depending on the distance L between the human bodies.
  • the second distance LB is a smaller value than the first distance LA.
  • the horizontal wind direction of the wind direction control plate 31 is set toward the center point P of the coordinates of the dense area (see step S11 in FIG. 4).
  • the horizontal direction includes the left-right direction and the depth direction.
  • the distance L satisfies LB ⁇ L ⁇ LA
  • the wind direction of the indoor unit 100 is set to swing so that the air blows between the human bodies (see step S19 in FIG. 4).
  • the indoor control unit 15a stops blowing air to the dense area when the dense state of the "dense area" is eliminated. That is, when the distance L between the human bodies becomes greater than the first distance LA, the indoor control unit 15a stops blowing air to the dense area and returns the operating state of the air conditioner 200 to normal operation. (See step S18 in FIG. 4). That is, the indoor controller 15a returns the wind direction of the indoor unit 100 to the wind direction of normal operation based on the user's setting.
  • the indoor control unit 15a sets the priority so that the shorter the distance L between the human bodies, the higher the priority of the dense areas. is determined, and the dense area with the highest priority is preferentially blown (see steps S7 to S9 in FIG. 4).
  • step S1 the air conditioner 200 is in normal operation.
  • step S2 the human detection unit 16 acquires a thermal image of the indoor space.
  • the thermal image is image-processed by the indoor controller 15a.
  • the indoor control unit 15a extracts a human body present in the room from thermal image data obtained by image processing, and obtains the coordinates of the human body.
  • the thermal image is acquired, for example, every 10 seconds.
  • the timing for acquiring the first thermal image is when 10 seconds have passed since the air conditioner 200 was turned on.
  • step S3 the indoor control unit 15a determines whether there are two or more human bodies extracted from the thermal image data and whether there is another human body within a specific coordinate range A centered on one human body. determine whether By doing so, it is possible to determine whether the distance between the human bodies is appropriately maintained without directly measuring the distance between the human bodies.
  • the processing of step S3 will be specifically described below.
  • the coordinate range in the thermal image is the division of the thermal image into multiple sections.
  • An example is shown in FIG.
  • FIG. 5 is a diagram showing coordinates given to a thermal image of an indoor space to be air-conditioned, which is acquired by the human detection unit provided in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1.
  • FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the state of the room seen from the human detector provided in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG.
  • the indoor space photographed by the human detection unit 16 looks like FIG. That is, on the thermal image captured by the human detection unit 16, there is a feature that the apparent distance becomes shorter as it goes to the left and right outside and as it goes up. Therefore, while taking into account the characteristics, lines of sections are drawn on the thermal image. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the lines of the section become narrower as they go outward on the left and right and as they go up.
  • the division lines in FIG. 5 divide the space in the depth direction and the left-right direction, respectively, and are drawn so as to divide the floor surface into squares.
  • coordinate range B is a range including one partition.
  • the coordinate range A is a range including two partitions. Therefore, the coordinate range A is larger than the coordinate range B.
  • Embodiment 1 by preparing a plurality of types of partition sizes, such as coordinate range A and coordinate range B, it is possible to easily rank the priority of the dense state in step S8, which will be described later. .
  • the width of one section forming the coordinate range A is, for example, 2 m in actual distance.
  • the width of one section forming the coordinate range A will be referred to as a first distance LA.
  • the width of one section forming the coordinate range B is, for example, 1 m in actual distance.
  • the width of one section forming the coordinate range B will be referred to as a second distance LB.
  • the reason why the actual distance of the first distance LA is set to 2 m is that droplets are said to travel a maximum distance of about 2 m during conversation, and the risk of droplet infection increases if the distance is shorter.
  • step S3 the indoor control unit 15a uses the coordinate range A to make a determination. That is, in step S3, the indoor controller 15a first extracts the human body from the thermal image data. Next, the indoor controller 15a determines whether or not there are two or more extracted human bodies. When two or more human bodies are extracted, the indoor control unit 15a determines whether or not there is another human body within the coordinate range A centered on one human body. Specifically, based on the coordinates of the human body extracted from the thermal image data, the indoor control unit 15a determines whether another human body exists within a coordinate range A centered on the coordinates of the position of one human body. judge. Thereby, the indoor controller 15a determines whether the distance L between the two human bodies is equal to or less than the first distance LA.
  • first state in which the distance L between the two human bodies is equal to or less than the first distance LA is called "first state”.
  • FIG. 7 and 8 show an example of determination in step S3.
  • FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a first state in which two objects extracted in a thermal image are close to each other in the horizontal direction in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1.
  • FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a first state in which two bodies extracted in a thermal image are close to each other in the depth direction in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1.
  • FIG. In both cases of FIGS. 7 and 8, the distance L between the two human bodies 60 is less than or equal to the first distance LA.
  • step S3 it is thus determined whether or not the distance L between the two human bodies 60 is in the first state of being equal to or less than the first distance LA.
  • the indoor control unit 15a grasps the coordinates of the position of the human body 60 at one place on the human body 60, which is the position of the feet of the human body 60 in this example.
  • step S4 If the indoor control unit 15a determines in step S3 that there are two or more human bodies 60 and that the distance L between the human bodies 60 is the first distance LA or less, step S4 proceed to Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S16.
  • step S4 the value of the counter of the time measuring unit 26 is incremented by +1. After that, the process proceeds to step S5.
  • step S16 the counter of the time measurement unit 26 is reset.
  • step S17 the indoor control unit 15a confirms whether the current state of the air conditioner 200 is normal operation. After changing to normal operation in step S18, the process returns to step S2.
  • the value of the counter counted by the time measuring unit 26 is for determining whether or not the first state in which the distance L between the human bodies 60 is equal to or less than the first distance LA has continued for a certain period of time. be.
  • this fixed time is referred to as the first time.
  • the first time is, for example, 30 seconds.
  • the indoor control unit 15a uses the fact that the thermal image is acquired by the human detection unit 16 at regular time intervals (for example, 10-second intervals) to continuously detect the distance between the human body 60 and the human body 60 a plurality of times. When it is confirmed that the distance L is equal to or less than the first distance LA, it is determined that "dense area occurs".
  • the first time period is set to 30 seconds, and when the first state in which the distance L between the human bodies 60 is equal to or less than the first distance LA continues for 30 seconds or more, the indoor control unit 15a determines that "a dense area has occurred".
  • the human detection unit 16 acquires thermal images at intervals of 10 seconds, if the value of the counter is 3 or more, 30 seconds have passed and it is determined that "a dense area has occurred.”
  • the duration of the first state can be grasped using the value of the counter of the time measurement unit 26 .
  • step S5 the indoor control unit 15a determines whether the value of the counter counted by the time measuring unit 26 is 3 or more. If the counter value is 3 or more, the process proceeds to step S6, while if the counter value is less than 3, the process returns to step S2.
  • step S6 the indoor control unit 15a notifies the person in the room (human body 60) that there is a change in the operation method of the air conditioner 200. Since it is determined in step S5 that "a dense area has occurred", the air conditioner 200 blows air to the generated dense area. Therefore, the person in the room is notified in advance that air blowing to the dense area will start.
  • the infection prevention blower lamp 18b of the display unit 18 installed on the front panel 100a-1 of the indoor unit 100 of the air conditioner 200 may be turned on.
  • the notification may be made by generating a voice message from the speaker 18c of the display unit 18.
  • FIG. Alternatively, the notification may be made using the application software of the portable terminal 50 (see FIG. 2) carried by the person in the room.
  • the mobile terminal 50 is, for example, a smart phone.
  • the mobile terminal 50 is a terminal registered in advance in the indoor control unit 15a.
  • a text message may be displayed on the display screen of the remote controller 40 (see FIG. 2). In this way, by notifying the person in the room in advance that there is a change in the operation method of the air conditioner 200, the operation of the air conditioner 200 that is not intended by the person in the room is started. can avoid suspicion.
  • step S7 the indoor control unit 15a measures the number of generated dense areas based on the thermal image data, and determines whether or not the number of dense areas is two or more. As a result of determination, if the number of dense areas is one, the process proceeds to step S10. On the other hand, if the number of dense areas is 2 or more, the process proceeds to step S8.
  • step S8 the indoor controller 15a obtains the distance L between the human bodies 60 for each dense area based on the thermal image data.
  • the indoor control unit 15a sets the priority for each dense area such that the smaller the distance L, the higher the priority. Description will be made with reference to FIG.
  • FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of prioritizing dense areas in the air conditioner according to the first embodiment.
  • two dense areas are generated.
  • the distance L between the human bodies 60 is less than or equal to the first distance LA (that is, less than or equal to 2 m) and greater than the second distance LB.
  • the distance L between the human bodies 60 is less than or equal to the second distance LB (that is, less than or equal to 1 m). Therefore, the distance L between the human bodies 60 is smaller in the second dense area R2 than in the first dense area R1.
  • the indoor control unit 15a sets the priority of the second dense area R2 to "priority 1" and sets the priority of the first dense area R1 to "priority 2". Priority 1 is higher than priority 2.
  • step S9 the indoor control unit 15a selects the dense area with the highest priority from among the multiple dense areas based on the priority set in step S8.
  • the second dense area R2 is selected because the priority of the second dense area R2 is higher than the priority of the first dense area R1.
  • the operation method of the air conditioner 200 is changed for the second dense area R2 with priority 1.
  • FIG. As a result, situations with a higher infection risk can be dealt with preferentially.
  • step S10 the indoor control unit 15a determines whether or not there is another human body 60 within the coordinate range B centered on one human body 60 existing in the second dense area R2 based on the thermal image data. do. That is, it is determined whether the distance L between the two human bodies 60 is less than or equal to the second distance LB. If the distance L between the two human bodies 60 is equal to or less than the second distance LB, the process proceeds to step S11. On the other hand, if the distance L between the two human bodies 60 is greater than the second distance LB, the process proceeds to step S19.
  • FIG. 10 and 11 show an example of determination in step S10.
  • FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a case where two objects extracted from a thermal image in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 are close to each other in the horizontal direction.
  • FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a case where two objects extracted from a thermal image in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 are close to each other in the depth direction.
  • the distance L between the two human bodies 60 is less than or equal to the second distance LB. Therefore, in both cases of FIGS. 10 and 11, the process proceeds to step S11.
  • the indoor control unit 15a determines the wind direction of the air conditioner 200 toward the center of the second dense area R2. That is, the indoor control unit 15a sets the horizontal direction of the wind direction of the wind direction control plate 31 in the direction toward the coordinates of the central point P in the horizontal direction of the dense area.
  • the horizontal direction includes the depth direction and the horizontal direction. Description will be made with reference to FIG.
  • two human bodies 60 are present.
  • a center point O is the center point on the floor surface of the two human bodies 60 .
  • a straight line that passes through the center point O and is perpendicular to the floor is defined as a perpendicular line T.
  • the center point P of the second dense area R2 in the horizontal direction is an arbitrary position on the vertical line T.
  • the central point P may be located at any position on the perpendicular T, but more preferably, the central point P on the perpendicular T is set at the height of the face of the human body 60 . That is, the indoor control unit 15a sets the vertical direction of the wind direction of the wind direction control plate 31 in the direction toward the height of the face of the human body 60 in the height direction of the dense area.
  • step S19 the indoor control unit 15a determines the wind direction of the air conditioner 200 to swing. Also in this case, as in step S11, the wind direction is determined so that the air can be blown to the height of the face of the human body 60 existing in the second dense area R2. As a result, the blown air swings between the human body 60 and the human body 60 . After that, the process proceeds to step S12.
  • step S19 is performed when the distance L between the two human bodies 60 is equal to or less than the first distance LA and greater than the second distance LB. Therefore, since the distance L between the human bodies 60 is relatively large here, the direction of the wind is determined so that the airflow passes between the two and swings between them. If the distance between the human bodies 60 is large to some extent, even if air is blown between the human bodies 60, there is a possibility that the effect of viral diffusion cannot be sufficiently exhibited. Therefore, by blowing air by swinging, it is possible to blow air in a wider range than when the air direction is fixed. As a result, even when the distance between the human bodies 60 is relatively large, the wind direction can be periodically brought closer to the human body 60 by the swing motion. Therefore, the droplet concentration can be dispersed at an early stage by blowing air onto the droplets immediately after coming out of the mouth. Thereby, the effect by ventilation can be exhibited.
  • step S12 if the air conditioner 200 is thermo-on, the indoor controller 15a outputs an instruction to the outdoor controller 15b to reduce the frequency of the compressor 1 from the current value.
  • “thermo-on” is a state in which the temperature of the indoor space (room temperature) has not reached the set temperature of the air conditioner 200 and the compressor 1 of the outdoor unit 101 is operating.
  • the outdoor controller 15b reduces the frequency of the compressor 1 in response to the instruction. By doing so, it is possible to reduce discomfort due to direct contact with dry air during heating operation and cold air during cooling operation.
  • the reachable distance of the airflow of the air conditioner 200 can be extended, the airflow can be delivered to a farther place, and the handling range can be expanded.
  • the reason why the reaching distance of the airflow is extended will be explained below.
  • the frequency of compressor 1 is lowered, the air conditioning capacity of air conditioner 200 is lowered.
  • the temperature of the air blown out from the air conditioner 200 becomes slightly higher, and the density difference between the indoor air and the blown air becomes smaller.
  • the density difference between the indoor air and the blown air becomes smaller, the downdraft becomes weaker, and the reach of the airdraft extends accordingly.
  • the temperature of the air blown out from the air conditioner 200 is slightly lowered, and the difference in density between the indoor air and the blown air is reduced.
  • the warm blown-out air rises and becomes an ascending air current, so the horizontal reaching distance of the air current becomes short.
  • the density difference between the indoor air and the blown air becomes smaller, the rising air current becomes weaker, and the horizontal reaching distance of the air current increases accordingly.
  • the degree of frequency reduction of the compressor 1 in step S12 is preferably about 10%, for example. This is because if the frequency is lowered too much, the temperature of the air will be difficult to be adjusted by the air conditioner 200, and the people in the room may feel uncomfortable in terms of the thermal environment.
  • step S13 the indoor control unit 15a performs jet flow calculation for determining the wind speed of the air conditioner 200.
  • the jet calculation will be described below.
  • the indoor control unit 15a performs jet flow calculation in order to derive the wind speed required to deliver the airflow of the air conditioner 200 to the second dense area R2.
  • the indoor control unit 15a first estimates the distance L2 (see FIG. 18) between the center point P of the second dense area R2 and the indoor unit 100 from the coordinates on the thermal image. to find the estimated value of the distance L2.
  • the indoor control unit 15a calculates the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner 200 from the operating state data such as the frequency of the compressor 1 and the suction temperature of the compressor 1, and calculates the suction temperature (room temperature) and the current air volume. Based on, the outlet temperature is estimated to obtain an estimated value of the outlet temperature.
  • the indoor control unit 15a calculates the jet flow based on the estimated value of the blowout temperature, the current air volume, the current room temperature, the area (dimension) of the blowout port 19, and the wind direction determined in step S11 or step S19. , to calculate the reach of the airflow.
  • step S14 the indoor control unit 15a calculates a combination of wind speed and wind direction based on the wind direction determined in step S11 or step S19 and the result of the jet flow calculation performed in step S13. That is, the indoor control unit 15a uses the wind speed and the wind direction as parameters to calculate a combination of the wind speed and the wind direction so that the arrival point of the airflow is the center point P of the second dense area R2.
  • step S15 the indoor control unit 15a changes the orientation of the up/down wind direction plate 32 and the left/right wind direction plate 33 so that the wind direction determined in step S14 is achieved. Further, the indoor control unit 15a changes the wind speed of the air conditioner 200 so as to achieve the wind speed determined in step S14. After that, the indoor control unit 15a blows air to the second dense area R2.
  • the above is the flow from determination of occurrence of a dense area to change of the operation method of the air conditioner 200 in the air conditioner 200 according to Embodiment 1. After that, at the next thermal image acquisition timing, the occurrence of the dense area is determined based on the latest thermal image data. That is, the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 4 is performed again.
  • steps S16 to S18 the change in the operation method of the air conditioner 200 is canceled, the operation is returned to normal operation, and the counter value of the time measurement unit 26 is also reset.
  • the priority ranking processing in step S8 of FIG. is set high. At this time, if the distance L is the same in two or more dense areas, the priority may be set higher for the dense area where the number of human bodies 60 is larger.
  • FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of prioritizing dense areas in the air conditioner according to the first embodiment.
  • two dense areas are generated.
  • the distance L between the human bodies 60 is less than or equal to the second distance LB (that is, 1 m or less), and similarly in the fourth dense area R4.
  • the distance L between the human bodies 60 is less than or equal to the second distance LB (that is, less than or equal to 1 m). Therefore, the distance L between the human body 60 and the human body 60 is the same between the third dense area R3 and the fourth dense area R4.
  • the number of people in the third dense area R3 is 3, and the number of people in the fourth dense area R4 is 2. That is, the number of people in the third dense area R3 is larger than that in the fourth dense area R4.
  • the indoor control unit 15a sets the priority of the third dense area R3 to "priority 1" and sets the priority of the fourth dense area R4 to "priority 2". In this manner, when two or more dense areas have the same distance L, the indoor control unit 15a sets a higher priority for a dense area with a larger number of human bodies 60 . As a result, situations with a higher infection risk can be dealt with preferentially.
  • the flowchart of FIG. 4 is described as the operation when the air conditioner 200 is in the thermo-on state.
  • the occurrence of the dense area may also be determined while the operation of the air conditioner 200 is stopped and while the thermostat is off.
  • the flowchart in this case is obtained by deleting steps S1, S12, S17, and S18 from the flowchart of FIG. 4, so illustration is omitted.
  • thermo off means that the temperature of the indoor space (room temperature) reaches the set temperature of the air conditioner 200, the compressor 1 of the outdoor unit 101 stops operating, and the indoor unit 100 only blows air. It is in a state of doing.
  • the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and the indoor heat exchanger 6 do not exchange heat.
  • the human detection unit 16 acquires thermal images at regular time intervals even when the operation of the air conditioner 200 is stopped and the thermostat is off.
  • the indoor control unit 15a determines whether a dense area occurs based on the thermal image. When it is determined that a dense area is generated, the indoor control unit 15a starts the operation of the air conditioner 200 if the operation is stopped, and blows air to the dense area. Details are basically the same as steps S2 to S11 and steps S13 to S16 in FIG. However, in this case, the compressor 1 is stopped and the indoor heat exchanger 6 does not exchange heat.
  • the risk of infection is high for 24 hours even during an intermediate period (such as spring or autumn) when the air conditioner 200 is stopped and even during thermo-off when the air conditioner 200 finishes temperature control. Able to detect and react to conditions.
  • the indoor control unit 15a (1) Detect two or more human bodies in an indoor space based on the thermal image acquired by the human detection unit 16, and (2) a first state in which the distance L between the human bodies is within the first distance LA, and (3) When the first state of (2) above continues for a first period of time or more, It is determined that "a dense area has occurred". In this case, the indoor control unit 15a forcibly blows air toward the dense area, regardless of the user's instruction.
  • the air conditioner 200 when the distance L between the human bodies 60 becomes larger than the first distance LA in the dense area, the air conditioner 200 Air blowing from the indoor unit 100 to the dense area is stopped, and the air conditioner 200 is returned to normal operation. In this way, when the dense state of the area that was once a dense area is released and the infection risk is no longer high, the ventilation to the vicinity of the people in the room is stopped. As a result, it is possible to avoid giving the occupants of the room an unnecessarily unpleasant feeling due to direct wind from the indoor unit 100 .
  • Patent Document 2 when two or more dense areas are generated, the smaller the distance L between the human bodies 60 and the larger the number of the human bodies 60, the higher the priority. Priority is set for each dense area so that As a result, situations with a higher infection risk can be dealt with preferentially.
  • Patent Document 2 described above does not describe a method for selecting two persons from among three or more persons in the room. Therefore, in Patent Document 2, it is not possible to prioritize situations where the risk of infection is higher, and even if air is blown, the effect cannot be exhibited and it may not be effective in preventing droplet infection.
  • the high-priority dense area is prioritized for air blowing, so that the state of high infection risk can be quickly dealt with. It is possible to efficiently prevent droplet infection.
  • Embodiment 1 even when the air conditioner 200 is stopped or the thermostat is off, the human detection unit 16 acquires thermal images at regular time intervals for 24 hours to determine whether a dense area has occurred. Even when the air conditioner 200 is stopped or the thermostat is off, a state of high infection risk occurs. Therefore, by monitoring 24 hours a day, it is possible to quickly detect and deal with the high risk of infection.
  • Embodiment 2 ⁇ Configuration of air conditioner 200> 13 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 2.
  • FIG. 13 the indoor unit 100 of the air conditioner 200 according to Embodiment 2 includes a window detector 24 . Since other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted here.
  • the window detection unit 24 detects the position of a window 28 (see FIG. 6) provided with respect to the indoor space and the open/closed state of the window 28 .
  • the window detection unit 24 is composed of, for example, a distance sensor such as an ultrasonic sensor.
  • a case where the window detection unit 24 is composed of an ultrasonic sensor will be described as an example.
  • the window detection unit 24 converts the electric signal into an ultrasonic wave under the control of the indoor control unit 15a, and outputs the ultrasonic wave as a transmission wave toward the indoor space including the object.
  • the object is the window 28 .
  • the window detection unit 24 receives the reflected wave reflected by the object and converts the reflected wave into an electric signal.
  • the window detection unit 24 detects the position of the window 28 provided on the wall 201 of the indoor space and the open/closed state of the window 28 based on the electric signal.
  • the transmission wave is reflected by the window frame and the window glass.
  • the window detection unit 24 can detect the open/closed state of the window 28 .
  • the position of the window 28 may be detected as follows. The temperature of the wall 201 and the temperature of the window 28 in the indoor space differ depending on the difference in material, the amount of solar radiation, and the like.
  • the indoor control unit 15a can distinguish between the wall 201 and the window 28 based on the thermal image data, the position of the window 28 may be detected from the thermal image data. Also in this case, detection of the open/closed state of the window 28 is performed by the window detection unit 24 as described above.
  • a flow chart showing the flow of the processing of the air conditioner 200 according to Embodiment 2 is basically the same as the flow chart of FIG. 4, so the illustration is omitted.
  • a different point from the flowchart of FIG. 4 is the process of step S9.
  • step S8 the indoor control unit 15a obtains the distance L between the human bodies 60 for each dense area based on the thermal image data.
  • the indoor control unit 15a sets the priority for each dense area such that the smaller the distance L, the higher the priority.
  • the open/close state of the window 28 is taken into consideration when selecting the dense area with the highest priority from among the multiple dense areas in the next step S9.
  • step S9 the indoor control unit 15a checks the position of the window 28 based on the detection result of the window detection unit 24, and determines whether the window 28 is opened or closed. If the window 28 is in the closed state, the processing in step S9 is the same as in the first embodiment, so the description is omitted. On the other hand, when the window 28 is open, the following processing is performed. In step S9, if the window 28 is open, the indoor control unit 15a calculates the distance LW between the open window 28 and the dense area for each dense area using the thermal image data and the window detection unit 24. It is calculated based on the detection result.
  • the indoor control unit 15a excludes the dense area and selects the dense area. That is, if there is a dense area where the distance LW is within the second distance LB, the indoor control unit 15a excludes the dense area regardless of the priority of the dense area. Then, the indoor control unit 15a selects the dense area with the highest priority from the remaining dense areas. Description will be made with reference to FIG.
  • FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of prioritizing dense areas in the air conditioner according to the second embodiment.
  • three dense areas are generated.
  • the distance between the human body 60 and the human body 60 is both less than or equal to the second distance LB (that is, less than or equal to 1 m). Therefore, in step S8, "priority 1" is set for both the fifth dense area R5 and the sixth dense area R6.
  • the distance L between the human bodies 60 is less than or equal to the first distance LA (that is, less than or equal to 2 m) and greater than the second distance LB. Therefore, in step S8, "priority 2" is set for the seventh dense area R7.
  • the window 28 is in an open state.
  • the indoor control unit 15a obtains the distance LW between each dense area and the window 28.
  • the distance LW is defined as the horizontal distance between the window 28 and the human body 60 closest to the window 28 in the dense area. Therefore, the indoor controller 15a first obtains the distance LW between the fifth dense area R5 and the window 28. FIG. The distance LW is less than or equal to the second distance LB. Therefore, the indoor control unit 15a excludes the fifth dense area R5. Similarly, the indoor controller 15a obtains the distance LW between the sixth dense area R6 and the window . The distance LW is greater than the second distance LB. Therefore, the indoor controller 15a does not exclude the sixth dense area R6.
  • the indoor controller 15a obtains the distance LW between the seventh dense area R7 and the window .
  • the distance LW is greater than the second distance LB. Therefore, the indoor controller 15a does not exclude the seventh dense area R7.
  • the indoor control unit 15a selects the sixth dense area R6, which is the highest priority dense area, from among the dense areas that have not been excluded.
  • the indoor control unit 15a when it is determined that there are a plurality of dense areas on the thermal image and it is detected that there is an open window 28, the indoor control unit 15a gives high priority to , and a dense area away from the window 28 .
  • the indoor control The unit 15a excludes the dense area with priority 1.
  • the dense area with the priority 2 is selected. An area is selected in step S9.
  • the air conditioner 200 according to Embodiment 2 basically has the same configuration as that of Embodiment 1, the same effects as those of Embodiment 1 can be obtained. That is, in the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, air is blown to the dense area when a dense area occurs in the indoor space and this state continues for a certain period of time or longer. As a result, the increased droplet concentration can be dispersed, and the risk of infection due to droplet infection can be reduced.
  • the air conditioner 200 has the window detector 24 .
  • the window detection unit 24 detects the position of the window 28 and the open/close state of the window 28 .
  • the window 28 is open and the distance LW from the window 28 is equal to or less than the second distance LB, there is no need to blow air to the dense area. Even if there is, do not blow air to the dense area.
  • the distance LW from the window 28 is greater than the second distance LB, air is blown to the dense area with the highest priority among those dense areas.
  • Embodiment 3. is a plan view showing the configuration of the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 3.
  • FIG. FIG. 15 shows the state of looking up at the ceiling from the floor of the indoor space.
  • an indoor unit 100A of an air conditioner 200 according to Embodiment 3 is a ceiling-embedded four-way cassette air conditioner.
  • the indoor unit 100A is attached to the indoor ceiling of an office, a restaurant, or the like. Also, the indoor unit 100A can be applied as an indoor unit for a vehicle air conditioner.
  • the indoor unit 100 is a wall-mounted indoor unit
  • the indoor unit 100A is a ceiling-embedded indoor unit. It is a machine. Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted here. In the following description, only points different from the first embodiment will be described.
  • the air conditioner 200 according to Embodiment 3 is a ceiling-embedded four-way cassette air conditioner in which the indoor unit 100A is installed on the indoor ceiling 201A.
  • the width direction of the indoor unit 100A is the x direction
  • the depth direction of the indoor unit 100A is the y direction.
  • the x-direction and the y-direction are orthogonal to each other.
  • the indoor unit 100A has a rectangular shape in plan view.
  • the indoor unit 100A includes four outlets 19A, one inlet 20A, an indoor heat exchanger 6 (see FIG. 1) provided between the outlet 19A and the inlet 20A, and an indoor fan 7 (see FIG. 1). 1) and.
  • the four outlets 19A are arranged along the outer periphery of the indoor unit 100A.
  • Each outlet 19A has an elongated rectangular shape.
  • the four outlets 19A are arranged such that the longitudinal directions of two adjacent outlets 19A are perpendicular to each other. That is, the four outlets 19A are arranged along the circumferential direction so as to form a rectangular shape in plan view. Therefore, the directions of the air blown from the four outlets 19A are set in four directions.
  • the indoor unit 100A has a wind direction control plate 31A provided at the outlet 19A, and a human detector 16. As shown in FIG.
  • the indoor unit 100A also includes an indoor control unit 15a (see FIG. 1) that controls the direction of the wind direction control plate 31A, a time measurement unit 26 (see FIG. 1), and a display unit 18. Furthermore, the indoor unit 100A has an infrared transmitting/receiving section (not shown) that communicates with a remote controller, if necessary.
  • the wind direction control plate 31A has a vertical wind direction plate 32A for adjusting the vertical wind direction and a horizontal wind direction plate 33A for adjusting the horizontal wind direction.
  • the left-right direction here means the longitudinal direction (width direction) of each outlet 19A.
  • the vertical wind direction plate 32A functions in the same manner as the front flap 32a shown in the first embodiment.
  • the left/right air deflector 33A is composed of a plurality of vanes 33Aa similarly to the left/right air deflector 33 shown in the first embodiment, and functions similarly to the left/right air deflector 33 shown in the first embodiment.
  • the indoor unit 100A is provided with a suction port 20A in the central portion. Further, four outlets 19A are provided along the outer periphery of the inlet 20A. The wind direction control plates 31A provided at the respective outlets 19 operate independently.
  • the display unit 18 is the same as the display unit 18 shown in Embodiment 1, the same reference numerals are used here, and the explanation is omitted.
  • Embodiment 3 The operation of the air conditioner 200 according to Embodiment 3 is basically the same as that of Embodiment 1.
  • a different point from Embodiment 1 is that, in Embodiment 3, it is possible to simultaneously blow air in different directions from four outlets 19A. Therefore, in the third embodiment, even when four dense areas are generated in the indoor space, it is possible to blow air to these dense areas at the same time. Therefore, in the third embodiment, at step S9 in the flowchart of FIG. 4, the indoor control unit 15a can select four dense areas in descending order of priority.
  • the indoor control unit 15a sets the wind direction and wind speed for the four selected dense areas, and blows air.
  • Embodiment 3 since the indoor unit 100A has four air outlets 19A, air can be blown in a maximum of four directions at the same time.
  • the wind direction from each outlet 19A is set independently of each other by the up/down wind direction plate 32 and the left/right wind direction plate 33A. Also, the wind direction from each outlet 19A can be set to swing.
  • the third embodiment if the number of dense areas is within the number of air outlets 19A, a plurality of dense areas can be dealt with simultaneously.
  • the outlets 19A that are close to the dense area are selected.
  • the air outlet 19A which does not deal with dense areas, is subjected to wind direction control in normal operation. As a result, even when a plurality of dense areas are generated, it is possible to select a plurality of dense areas in descending order of priority and blow air by giving priority to them.
  • the air conditioner 200 according to Embodiment 3 basically has the same configuration as that of Embodiment 1, the same effects as those of Embodiment 1 can be obtained. That is, in the third embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, if a dense area occurs in the indoor space and this state continues for a certain period of time or longer, air is blown to the dense area. As a result, the increased droplet concentration can be dispersed, and the risk of infection due to droplet infection can be reduced.
  • the indoor unit 100A has four air outlets 19A, and can blow air in four directions at the same time.
  • the wind direction from each outlet 19A is set independently of each other by the up/down wind direction plate 32 and the left/right wind direction plate 33A.
  • the third embodiment if the number of dense areas is within the number of air outlets 19A, a plurality of dense areas can be dealt with simultaneously. Therefore, even if multiple dense areas are occurring, multiple dense areas are selected in order of priority and air is blown with priority on them, so it is possible to quickly deal with the situation with a high infection risk. , can efficiently prevent droplet infection.
  • the air outlet 19 is also divided into left and right, and the wind direction from the air outlet (left) 19a and the air outlet (right) 19b is determined by the up-down wind direction plate 32 and the left-right direction plate 33. are set independently of each other by Therefore, it is possible to simultaneously blow air to two dense areas.
  • Embodiment 3 since the number of air outlets 19 is four, air can be blown to four dense areas at the same time, which is more convenient.
  • the wind direction is controlled in normal operation at the outlet 19 that does not blow air to the dense area.
  • Embodiments 1 and 2 when air is blown from one outlet to a dense area, the ratio of the number of outlets for infection control and the number of outlets for normal operation is 1:1. Become.
  • Embodiment 3 when air is blown from one air outlet to a dense area, the ratio of the number of air outlets for infection control and the number of air outlets for normal operation is 1:3. In this case, since there is little influence of deterioration in comfort due to ventilation for infection control, maintenance of comfort in the indoor space is ensured. Therefore, it can be said that the third embodiment is more likely to maintain the comfort of the indoor space than the first and second embodiments.
  • Embodiment 4 describes an air conditioning system 300 including the air conditioner 200 shown in Embodiments 1 to 3.
  • FIG. 16 is a plan view showing the configuration of an air conditioning system according to Embodiment 4.
  • FIG. 16 shows the state of the indoor space seen from the ceiling.
  • FIG. 16 shows a case where the air conditioning system 300 includes the air conditioner 200 shown in the first embodiment.
  • the air conditioning system 300 may include the air conditioner 200 shown in the second or third embodiment.
  • an air conditioning system 300 includes the air conditioner 200 shown in Embodiment 1 and an environment sensor 301.
  • Environment sensor 301 is communicably connected to controller 15 of air conditioner 200 .
  • a detection result of the environment sensor 301 is transmitted to the control unit 15 by wireless communication or wired communication. That is, the detection result of the environment sensor 301 is transmitted to the indoor controller 15a, the outdoor controller 15b, or the cloud 15c.
  • the indoor control unit 15a receives the detection result of the environment sensor 301 and determines whether or not a dense area occurs in the indoor space will be described below as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. The determination may be made by the outdoor controller 15b or the cloud 15c.
  • the environment sensor 301 is installed in the indoor space and detects the environmental state of the indoor space.
  • the environment sensor 301 is, for example, a speech recognition device that detects voices produced by the human body. In that case, the environment sensor 301 can distinguish between human voice and other sounds. In that case, the environment sensor 301 can also detect the loudness of the voice, that is, the sound pressure level of the voice.
  • the environment sensor 301 detects a person's voice, detects the sound pressure level of the voice, and outputs the result to the indoor controller 15a.
  • the indoor controller 15a determines whether the sound pressure level of the human voice detected by the environment sensor 301 is equal to or higher than the first threshold.
  • the sound pressure level of a person's speech during a conversation is about 50-60 dB. Therefore, the first threshold is set to 50 dB, for example. It should be noted that the first threshold is not limited to 50 dB, and can be set to any value according to the room environment or the type of language.
  • the indoor control unit 15a determines that a dense area has occurred in the indoor space.
  • three environmental sensors 301 are installed in the indoor space. It is desirable that a plurality of environmental sensors 301 be installed separately from each other so that human voices can be detected in a plurality of areas of the indoor space.
  • three environmental sensors 301 are installed at the corners of the indoor space.
  • the environment sensor 301 is not installed at the corner of the indoor space closest to the indoor unit 100, but the environment sensor 301 may be installed at that corner as well.
  • the number of environment sensors 301 is not limited to these examples, and can be set arbitrarily.
  • the environment sensor 301 only needs to be able to detect that people are talking, so it may be, for example, a CO 2 sensor that detects carbon dioxide.
  • the environment sensor 301 detects the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air around the environment sensor 301 and outputs the detection result to the indoor controller 15a.
  • the indoor controller 15a determines whether the concentration of carbon dioxide detected by the environment sensor 301 is equal to or higher than the first threshold.
  • the first threshold value is set, for example, to a value larger than the standard value of carbon dioxide in a general indoor space where no human body exists.
  • the indoor control unit 15a determines that a dense area has occurred in the indoor space.
  • FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing of the air conditioning system according to Embodiment 4.
  • step S31 is provided in FIG. 17 instead of steps S4 and S5 of FIG.
  • step S16 of FIG. 4 is deleted. Therefore, in FIG. 17, when the result of determination in step S3 is "No", the process proceeds to step S17 without performing the process of step S16. Since other processes are the same as those in FIG. 4, the same reference numerals are given and the description thereof is omitted here.
  • the first embodiment in the processing of steps S3 to S5, it is determined whether or not the number of human bodies 60 is two or more, and whether or not the distance L between the human bodies 60 is less than or equal to the first distance LA. and determining whether the state has continued for a first period of time or longer. That is, in the first embodiment, in the processes of steps S4 and S5, using the value of the counter managed by the time measurement unit 26, the first state determined in step S3 is changed to the preset first state. It is determined whether or not it has continued for a period of time or longer.
  • the fourth embodiment it is not determined whether the first state has continued for the first period of time or longer, which was performed in steps S4 and S5 of the first embodiment. That is, in the fourth embodiment, in step S3, as in the first embodiment, it is determined whether or not the number of human bodies 60 is two or more, and the distance L between the human bodies 60 is the first distance. It is determined whether or not it is equal to or less than LA. Then, in the fourth embodiment, without using the time measuring unit 26, in step S31, it is determined whether or not the detection result of the environment sensor 301 is equal to or greater than the first threshold. A detailed description is given below.
  • the indoor control unit 15a does not determine whether the first state has continued for the first time or longer. The reason is that even if the first state does not continue for the first time or longer, the risk of infection due to droplets increases when people are having a conversation. That is, irrespective of whether or not the first state has continued for the first time or more, if it is detected that people are having a conversation in step S31, there is no problem even if it is determined that "a dense area has occurred.” no. Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, in step S3, the indoor control unit 15a determines whether or not there are two or more human bodies extracted from the thermal image data, and the distance L between the two human bodies 60 is set to the first distance. It is not necessary to determine whether or not LA is lower than or equal to LA and determine whether or not the first state has continued for the first period of time or longer, which was performed in steps S4 and S5.
  • step S31 the indoor control unit 15a determines whether the detection result of the environment sensor 301 is equal to or greater than the first threshold. If the detection result is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the process proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if not, the process returns to step S2.
  • the air conditioning system 300 according to Embodiment 4 has the air conditioner 200 according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 3. Therefore, an effect similar to that of the air conditioner 200 of any one of Embodiments 1 to 3 can be obtained.
  • the air conditioning system 300 according to Embodiment 4 has an environment sensor 301 .
  • the indoor controller 15a determines that a "dense area” has occurred. That is, according to the air conditioning system 300 according to Embodiment 4, when the indoor control unit 15a determines that the following conditions (1), (2) and (3) are satisfied, the "dense area occurrence”.
  • (1) Two or more human bodies are detected in the indoor space based on the thermal image acquired by the human detection unit 16, and (2) the distance L between the human bodies is within the first distance LA, and (3)
  • the detection result of the environment sensor 301 is greater than or equal to the first threshold.
  • the indoor control unit 15a forcibly blows air toward the dense area regardless of the user's instruction.
  • the fourth embodiment it may be determined whether the first state has continued for the first time or longer, as in steps S4 and S5 of the first embodiment. In that case, it is possible to reject the case where a person temporarily approaches, so that the accuracy in determining the occurrence of a dense area is further improved.
  • Embodiment 5 describes an air conditioning system 400 including the air conditioner 200 shown in Embodiments 1 to 3.
  • FIG. 18 is a plan view showing the configuration of an air conditioning system according to Embodiment 5.
  • FIG. 18 shows the state of the indoor space seen from the ceiling.
  • FIG. 18 shows a case where an air conditioning system 400 includes the air conditioner 200 shown in the first embodiment.
  • the air conditioning system 400 may include the air conditioner 200 shown in the second or third embodiment.
  • an air conditioning system 400 includes the air conditioner 200 shown in Embodiment 1 and a blower 401 .
  • blower 401 blows air toward the center point P of the dense area.
  • the blower 401 blows the dense area by swinging.
  • Air blower 401 is, for example, a portable circulator.
  • the blower 401 may be a fixed circulator.
  • blower 401 may be an air cleaner or dehumidifier.
  • the blower 401 blows air to an indoor region where the air from the indoor unit 100 does not reach. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 18 , it is desirable to arrange it at the farthest position from the indoor unit 100 in the indoor space. Note that the operation of the blower 401 is controlled by the control unit 15 .
  • the operation of the blower 401 is controlled by the indoor controller 15a, the outdoor controller 15b, or the cloud 15c.
  • the indoor control unit 15a controls the operation of the blower 401 will be described below as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this.
  • the indoor control unit 15a determines whether or not the air from the indoor unit 100 of the air conditioner reaches the dense area. Specifically, in step S14 of FIG. 4, the indoor controller 15a obtains the distance L2 between the center point P of the dense area and the indoor unit 100 based on the coordinates of the dense area on the thermal image. Then, the indoor control unit 15a determines whether or not the air blown from the indoor unit 100 reaches the center point P of the dense area based on the jet flow calculation. When the indoor controller 15a determines that the air blown from the indoor unit 100 does not reach the center point P, the indoor controller 15a outputs an operation start instruction to the fan 401 .
  • Fan 401 receives the instruction and starts operating fan 401 .
  • the fan 401 receives the instruction from the indoor control unit 15a and changes the wind direction of the fan 401 toward the center point P of the dense area.
  • the blower 401 blows air to the central point P of the dense area with the direction of the air fixed, or generates an airflow that swings between the human bodies 60 in the dense area, according to the instruction from the indoor control unit 15a.
  • the use of the air blower 401 widens the area where the air can be blown.
  • step S11 If the wind direction is set to be fixed in step S11, the indoor control unit 15a outputs to the blower 401 an instruction to blow air to the center point P of the dense area. On the other hand, if the wind direction is set to swing in step S19, the indoor control unit 15a outputs an instruction to swing to the blower 401 .
  • step S18 the indoor controller 15a outputs an instruction to the blower 401 to return the operating state to normal operation.
  • Fan 401 receives the instruction and restores the operating state of fan 401 . That is, if the state before blowing air to the dense area was the operation stop, the operation of the blower 401 is stopped. Also, if the state before blowing air to the dense area was in operation, the blower 401 restores the setting of the wind direction to the original setting.
  • Embodiment 5 when the dense state of the "dense area" is released, the operating state of the blower 401 is also returned to the state before the change. Thus, when the dense state is canceled and the risk of infection is no longer high, the blowing of air to the vicinity of the person is stopped, thereby preventing the direct wind from giving more than necessary discomfort.
  • the air conditioning system 400 of the fifth embodiment may further include the environment sensor 301 shown in the fourth embodiment.
  • the cooperation between the air conditioner 200 and the blower 401 allows the blower 401 to blow air even in an area where the air cannot be blown by the air conditioner 200 alone. can send. Therefore, the area that can be dealt with can be made wider than in the first embodiment.
  • Embodiment 6 describes an air ventilation system 500 including the air conditioner 200 shown in Embodiments 1 to 3.
  • FIG. 19 is a plan view showing the configuration of an air ventilation system according to Embodiment 6.
  • FIG. 19 shows the state of the indoor space as seen from the ceiling.
  • FIG. 19 shows a case where air ventilation system 500 includes air conditioner 200 shown in the first embodiment.
  • air ventilation system 500 may include air conditioner 200 shown in the second or third embodiment.
  • an air ventilation system 500 includes the air conditioner 200 shown in Embodiment 1 and a ventilation fan 501. Further, in Embodiment 6, one or more natural air supply ports 502 are provided for the indoor space. The number of natural air supply ports 502 is not particularly limited, and any number of natural air supply ports 502 may be provided.
  • the ventilation fan 501 ventilates the indoor space where the "dense area" occurs by the indoor control unit 15a.
  • the ventilation fan 501 performs, for example, third-class ventilation.
  • the third-class ventilation is a ventilation method in which exhaust is forcibly performed mechanically (ventilator fan 501) and air supply is left to nature. Compared to first-class ventilation in which air is supplied and exhausted mechanically, third-class ventilation can reduce initial costs and running costs.
  • Blower 401 is desirably arranged at the farthest position from indoor unit 100, as shown in FIG. Note that the operation of the ventilation fan 501 is controlled by the control unit 15 .
  • the operation of the ventilation fan 501 is controlled by the indoor controller 15a, the outdoor controller 15b, or the cloud 15c.
  • the indoor control unit 15a controls the operation of the ventilation fan 501 will be described below as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this.
  • the natural air supply port 502 is provided, for example, in the wall 201 forming the indoor space.
  • the natural air supply port 502 is normally closed.
  • the switching operation of the open/closed state of the natural air supply port 502 is controlled by the indoor controller 15a.
  • the natural air supply port 502 is opened at the same time as the operation of the ventilation fan 501 is started.
  • the natural air supply port 502 takes in air from the outside of the indoor space toward the indoor space when in the open state. The air naturally flows from the outside toward the indoor space through the natural air supply port 502 under the influence of the airflow generated by the ventilation fan 501, and is not forcibly supplied to the indoor space.
  • the indoor control unit 15a when it is determined in step S5 of FIG. 4 that "a dense area has occurred" in the indoor space, the indoor control unit 15a outputs an instruction to start the operation of the ventilation fan 501.
  • the timing of outputting the instruction to start driving is preferably after execution of the "user notification" in step S6 of FIG. 4, but may be performed at any timing between steps S6 to S15.
  • the indoor control unit 15a at the timing of step S15, the indoor control unit 15a outputs an instruction to start the operation to the ventilation fan 501.
  • the indoor control unit 15a opens the natural air supply port 502 at the same time as outputting the operation start instruction.
  • the ventilation fan 501 receives the instruction from the indoor control unit 15a and starts operating the ventilation fan 501. Alternatively, if the ventilation fan 501 is already operating, the ventilation fan 501 increases the air volume. By doing this, "ventilation”, which is said to be effective as an infectious disease countermeasure, can be implemented when the risk of infection is high, so infection prevention measures can be taken more effectively at the appropriate time. can.
  • step S18 the indoor control unit 15a outputs an instruction to the ventilation fan 501 to change the operating state to normal operation.
  • the indoor control unit 15a changes the opening/closing state of the natural air supply port 502 to the normal operation state.
  • the ventilation fan 501 receives the instruction and returns the operating state of the ventilation fan 501 to normal operation. In other words, if the state before blowing air to the dense area was stopped, the ventilation fan 501 is stopped. At the same time, the natural air supply port 502 is closed. Also, if the state before blowing air to the dense area was in operation, the ventilation fan 501 restores the air volume setting to the original setting. In this case, the natural air inlet 502 remains open.
  • Embodiment 6 when the dense state of the "dense area" is released, the operating state of the ventilation fan 501 is also returned to the state before the change. As a result, deterioration of comfort due to ventilation and an increase in air-conditioning load are suppressed more than necessary.
  • Embodiment 7 describes an air conditioning system 600 including the air conditioner 200 shown in Embodiments 1 to 3.
  • FIG. 20 is a plan view showing the configuration of an air conditioning system according to Embodiment 7.
  • FIG. 20 shows the state of the indoor space seen from the ceiling.
  • FIG. 20 shows a case where an air conditioning system 600 includes the air conditioner 200 shown in any one of the first to third embodiments.
  • the operation of the air conditioner 200 is controlled by the general control unit 150 , so the air conditioner 200 does not have the control unit 15 . Therefore, in order to distinguish from the air conditioners 200 of Embodiments 1 to 3, the air conditioner 200 of Embodiment 7 will be referred to as air conditioner 200A.
  • FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the communication system in the air conditioning system according to Embodiment 7. As shown in FIG.
  • an air conditioning system 600 includes an air conditioner 200A, an environment sensor 301 shown in Embodiment 4, a fan 401 shown in Embodiment 5, and The ventilation fan 501 shown in the form 6 and the natural air supply port 502 are provided.
  • the integrated control unit 150 of the air conditioning system 600 can communicate with the air conditioner 200A, the environment sensor 301, the blower 401, the ventilation fan 501, and the natural air supply port 502 via the communication system 601. It is connected to the.
  • the communication in this case may be wired communication, wireless communication, or may include both wired communication and wireless communication.
  • the communication system 601 may include a communication network such as the Internet, or a cloud.
  • the integrated control unit 150 is connected to the plurality of air conditioners 200A, the plurality of environment sensors 301, the plurality of blowers 401, the plurality of ventilation fans 501, and the plurality of natural air supply ports 502 by wire or wirelessly. .
  • the overall control unit 150 acquires operation information and sensor information from these devices, processes the data, and feeds back operation commands to those devices.
  • the operation of the overall control unit 150 is basically the same as that of the indoor control unit 15a of the control unit 15 of the air conditioner 200 shown in the first to sixth embodiments.
  • a point different from the indoor control unit 15a is that the integrated control unit 150 controls the operations of the plurality of air conditioners 200A.
  • These air conditioners 200A may be installed in the same indoor space, or may be installed separately in different indoor spaces.
  • the environment sensor 301, the blower 401, the ventilation fan 501, and the natural air supply port 502 may be installed in the same indoor space, or may be installed separately in different indoor spaces. may have been
  • the overall control unit 150 determines whether or not a dense area occurs in the indoor space based on the thermal image acquired by the human detection unit 16 provided in the air conditioner 200A. If a dense area has occurred, overall control unit 150 outputs an instruction to start blowing air to air conditioner 200A so as to blow air toward the dense area. Details of the operation for blowing air may be performed in the same manner as in any one of Embodiments 1 to 3, so description thereof will be omitted here.
  • the overall control unit 150 determines whether or not a dense area has occurred in the indoor space. If a dense area has occurred, overall control unit 150 outputs an instruction to start blowing air to air conditioner 200A so as to blow air toward the dense area.
  • the details of the operation for blowing the air may be performed in the same manner as in the fourth embodiment, so description thereof will be omitted here.
  • the integrated control unit 150 instructs the air blower 401 to start operation when it is determined that the air blown from the air conditioner 200A does not reach the dense area. to output
  • the blower 401 receives an instruction from the integrated control unit 150 and starts operating.
  • the details of the operation of the blower 401 when blowing the air may be performed in the same manner as in the fifth embodiment, so the description thereof is omitted here.
  • the integrated control unit 150 outputs an operation start instruction to the ventilation fan 501 when air blowing by the air conditioner 200A is started. Simultaneously with the output of the instruction, the integrated control unit 150 opens the natural air supply port 502 .
  • the ventilation fan 501 receives an instruction from the integrated control unit 150 and starts operating. The details of the operation for performing the ventilation may be performed in the same manner as in Embodiment 6, so the description thereof will be omitted here.
  • Embodiment 7 when the dense state of the area that was the "dense area" is released, the overall control unit 150 controls the air conditioner 200A, the fan 401, the ventilation fan 501, and the natural air supply port. The state of 502 is returned to the state before the change. This prevents a decrease in comfort and an increase in the air-conditioning load due to air blowing and ventilation from occurring more than necessary.
  • Cooling inlet temperature sensor 10 Intermediate temperature sensor 11
  • Cooling outlet temperature sensor 12 Cooling inlet temperature sensor 13
  • Cooling outlet temperature sensor 15 Control unit 15a Indoor control unit 15b Outdoor Control unit, 15c Cloud, 16 Human detection unit, 17 Infrared transmission/reception unit, 18 Display unit, 18a Operation lamp, 18b Infection prevention ventilation lamp, 18c Speaker, 19 Air outlet, 19a Air outlet (left), 19b Air outlet (right) , 19A blowout port, 20 suction port, 20A suction port, 21 suction temperature sensor, 22 communication unit, 24 window detection unit, 24L left connecting rod, 24R right connecting rod, 25 right drive motor, 26 time measurement unit, 28 window, 31 Wind direction control plate, 31A Wind direction control plate, 32 Vertical wind direction plate, 32A Vertical wind direction plate, 32a Front flap, 32

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
  • Fuzzy Systems (AREA)
  • Mathematical Physics (AREA)
  • Air Conditioning Control Device (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un climatiseur qui comprend : une unité intérieure installée dans un espace intérieur à climatiser ; une unité extérieure installée à l'extérieur de l'espace intérieur et raccordée à l'unité intérieure par l'intermédiaire d'une tuyauterie de fluide frigorigène ; un dispositif de commande qui effectue au moins une commande opérationnelle de l'unité intérieure ; et une unité de mesure de temps qui mesure le temps. L'unité intérieure comprend une enceinte, un orifice d'entrée situé dans l'enceinte et destiné à aspirer de l'air dans l'enceinte depuis l'espace intérieur, un orifice de sortie situé dans l'enceinte et destiné à souffler de l'air hors de l'enceinte vers l'espace intérieur, une plaque de commande de direction d'air disposée sur l'orifice de sortie et destinée à commander la direction d'air de l'air soufflé hors de l'orifice de sortie, et une unité de détection humaine disposée dans l'enceinte et destinée à détecter un corps humain présent dans l'espace intérieur. Dans un cas où, lorsque l'unité intérieure fonctionne normalement, le dispositif de commande détermine, sur la base du résultat de détection de l'unité de détection humaine, un premier état dans lequel au moins deux corps humains sont présents dans l'espace intérieur et la distance entre les corps humains n'est pas supérieure à une première distance, le dispositif de commande détermine, sur la base d'une période de temps mesurée par l'unité de mesure de temps, si le premier état s'est poursuivi pendant au moins une première période de temps. Si le premier état s'est poursuivi pendant au moins la première période de temps, le dispositif de commande détermine qu'une zone peuplée est apparue dans l'espace intérieur, et change la direction d'air de la plaque de commande de direction d'air pour la diriger vers la zone peuplée de telle sorte que l'air est soufflé vers la zone peuplée par l'orifice de sortie.
PCT/JP2021/027939 2021-07-28 2021-07-28 Climatiseur, système de climatisation et système de ventilation d'air WO2023007624A1 (fr)

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PCT/JP2021/027939 WO2023007624A1 (fr) 2021-07-28 2021-07-28 Climatiseur, système de climatisation et système de ventilation d'air
JP2023537824A JPWO2023007624A1 (fr) 2021-07-28 2021-07-28

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP4296588A1 (fr) 2022-06-23 2023-12-27 Innoair OÜ Unité de ventilation et procédé de ventilation autonome utilisant l'unité de ventilation

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2014206339A (ja) * 2013-04-15 2014-10-30 三菱電機株式会社 空気調和機の室内機
WO2019142647A1 (fr) * 2018-01-22 2019-07-25 パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社 Système, dispositif et procédé de commande d'environnement spatial
WO2020039818A1 (fr) * 2018-08-24 2020-02-27 パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社 Système de nettoyage d'espace et procédé de nettoyage d'espace
WO2020044826A1 (fr) * 2018-08-30 2020-03-05 パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社 Système de commande de plage de dispersion de gouttelettes et procédé de commande de plage de dispersion de gouttelettes
KR102231505B1 (ko) * 2020-06-19 2021-03-24 김인근 열차 역사 내 감염병 의심자의 격리 시스템

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2014206339A (ja) * 2013-04-15 2014-10-30 三菱電機株式会社 空気調和機の室内機
WO2019142647A1 (fr) * 2018-01-22 2019-07-25 パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社 Système, dispositif et procédé de commande d'environnement spatial
WO2020039818A1 (fr) * 2018-08-24 2020-02-27 パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社 Système de nettoyage d'espace et procédé de nettoyage d'espace
WO2020044826A1 (fr) * 2018-08-30 2020-03-05 パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社 Système de commande de plage de dispersion de gouttelettes et procédé de commande de plage de dispersion de gouttelettes
KR102231505B1 (ko) * 2020-06-19 2021-03-24 김인근 열차 역사 내 감염병 의심자의 격리 시스템

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP4296588A1 (fr) 2022-06-23 2023-12-27 Innoair OÜ Unité de ventilation et procédé de ventilation autonome utilisant l'unité de ventilation

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