JP2010078254A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner improved in warm air reaching performance, which provides immediately feeling of warmth in starting a heating operation. <P>SOLUTION: This air conditioner 1 includes: upper and lower outlets 41, 45 separated from each other in the vertical direction to supply the conditioned air supplied through an indoor heat exchanger 17 by a turbofan 19 indoors; and a control section 23 for controlling the operation. The control section 23 has a heating startup operation mode 79 applied in starting the heating operation to supply the conditioned air only from the lower outlet 45 for a prescribed time when an air volume is automatically set, and the wind direction is determined so that the air is supplied from both of the upper outlet 41 and the lower outlet 45. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an air conditioner that includes an upper air outlet and a lower air outlet that are spaced apart in the vertical direction in order to blow air that has been conditioned into a room is known. This is often used particularly in floor-standing indoor units.
In this air conditioner, only one or both of the upper air outlet and the lower air outlet can be used at the same time, and can be opened and closed so as to exhibit the optimum effect during cooling operation or heating operation. Be controlled. For example, at the time of heating operation, by opening only the lower air outlet, warmed conditioned air is supplied downward in the room, so that the heating feeling can be improved.

In the air conditioner, the user can instruct the set temperature, air volume, outlet selection, etc., but the user instructs the room temperature to be determined as the set temperature, and the air conditioning operation is a control provided in the air conditioner. In other words, it is common to rely on automatic driving.
When the user activates the air conditioner, the user is required to obtain a cooling feeling or a heating feeling as soon as possible. In order to respond to this, the air conditioner is devised in various ways.
For example, in Patent Document 1, when it is desired to quickly obtain a feeling of heating, such as at the start of heating operation, the air blowing amount is increased and the upper air outlet and the lower air outlet are opened, and the upper air outlet and the lower air outlet are opened. A large amount of conditioned air is provided to the room from both outlets.

JP 2007-198641 A

By the way, in what supplies warm air from both an upper blower outlet and a lower blower outlet as shown in patent document 1, since the warm air from an upper blower soars upwards, it is pulled by this and a lower blower outlet The warm air from there tends to soar upward. Moreover, the air volume of the warm air blown out from the lower outlet is restricted.
For this reason, the reachability of the warm air is lowered, in particular, the reachability of the warm air to the feet is lowered, so that it is not always possible to satisfy the user's request to immediately obtain a feeling of heating.

  In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an air-conditioning apparatus that can improve the reachability of hot air and quickly obtain a feeling of heating at the start of heating operation.

In order to solve the above problems, the air conditioning apparatus of the present invention employs the following means.
That is, the air conditioner according to the present invention blows the conditioned air supplied through the indoor heat exchanger by the blower into the room, the upper air outlet and the lower air outlet arranged in the vertical direction, and the operation A control unit that controls the air conditioner, wherein the control unit is turned on when the heating operation is started, the air volume is automatically set, and the wind direction is the upper air outlet and the lower air outlet. A heating start-up operation mode in which the conditioned air is blown out only from the lower outlet for a predetermined time when it is set to blow out from both outlets is provided.

According to the present invention, when the heating operation is started when the air volume is automatically set and the air direction is set to be blown from both the upper air outlet and the lower air outlet, the control unit The operation mode is entered, and conditioned air, that is, warm air is blown out only from the lower outlet for a predetermined time.
In this way, the conditioned air distributed to the upper outlet and the lower outlet is blown out only from the lower outlet, so that the conditioned air blown out from the lower outlet can be increased even if some of the conditioned air stays inside. it can. Moreover, since it is not influenced by the rise of the conditioned air due to the blowout from the upper blowout port, the rise of the conditioned air blown out from the lower blowout port can be suppressed. Therefore, the reachability of the conditioned air, that is, the warm air is improved and can be made to reach far. In particular, the reachability of warm air to the feet is improved.
In addition, when the air is blown out only from the lower outlet, the entire air volume is slightly reduced as compared to the case where the conditioned air is blown out from the upper outlet and the lower outlet. The temperature rises.
As described above, in the heating start-up operation mode, the conditioned air having a high temperature can be made to reach far away, so that it is possible to satisfy the user's request to quickly obtain a feeling of heating.
The predetermined time is, for example, a time that allows a user in an air-conditioned space such as a room to obtain a feeling of heating, and is, for example, 10 minutes to 30 minutes.
In addition, when in the heating start-up operation mode, the wind direction is different from the setting of the upper outlet and the lower outlet, and there is a possibility that the user will mistake the failure. Alternatively, a high power lamp may be turned on or blinked.

  Moreover, the air conditioning apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that the heating start-up operation mode increases the air blowing speed of the blower.

Thus, since the heating start-up operation mode increases the air blowing speed of the blower, the air volume and the air speed of the conditioned air blown out from the lower outlet can be increased.
Thereby, since a larger amount of conditioned air can be made to reach farther, it is possible to satisfy the user's request to obtain a feeling of heating as soon as possible.

  Furthermore, the air conditioning apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that the heating start-up operation mode is terminated without waiting for the elapse of the predetermined time when the setting of the air volume or the wind direction is changed.

When the air volume is changed from automatic, for example, when the air volume is changed to strong, medium, or weak, it is determined that the user is seeking the air volume of that intensity and the heating start-up operation mode is terminated.
When the wind direction is set as the upper outlet, the user determines that he does not want to blow out the conditioned air from the lower outlet and ends the heating start-up operation mode.
In this way, the user's needs are given the highest priority, so that the user's satisfaction can be improved.

  In addition, the air conditioner of the present invention includes intake air temperature detection means for detecting the indoor air temperature sucked into the indoor heat exchanger and inputting the detected temperature into the control unit, and the heating start-up operation mode includes: When the air temperature approaches the set heating set temperature, the process is terminated without waiting for the predetermined time to elapse.

  When the indoor air temperature sucked into the indoor heat exchanger detected by the intake air temperature detecting means approaches the heating set temperature, it is determined that a feeling of heating is obtained, and the heating start-up operation mode is terminated.

  The air conditioner of the present invention further includes an indoor heat exchanger temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger and inputting the detected temperature to the control unit, and the heating start-up operation mode is the indoor heat exchange air If the temperature does not exceed a predetermined temperature, it is not implemented.

  When the temperature of the indoor heat exchange air detected by the indoor heat exchanger temperature detecting means does not exceed the predetermined temperature, the conditioned air having a low temperature is blown out, so that a feeling of heating cannot be obtained. For this reason, in such a case, the heating start-up operation mode gives the user unpleasant feeling, so it was decided not to implement it.

  According to the present invention, when the heating operation is started, the control unit is supplied with conditioned air when the air volume is automatically set and the air direction is set to be blown from both the upper outlet and the lower outlet. A heating start-up operation mode that blows out only from the lower outlet for a predetermined time is provided, so the reach of hot air is improved, it can reach far, and the user's request to get a feeling of heating as soon as possible Can be satisfied.

Hereinafter, an air conditioner 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This air conditioner 1 is an example of a floor-standing air conditioner that blows out vertically in two directions.
FIG. 1 shows a refrigerant cycle diagram of the air conditioner 1.
The air conditioner 1 includes an outdoor unit 3 and an indoor unit 5.

  The outdoor unit 3 includes an inverter-driven compressor 7 that compresses the refrigerant, a four-way switching valve 9 that switches the refrigerant circulation direction, an outdoor heat exchanger 11 that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and the outdoor air, and a refrigerant throttling mechanism. And an outdoor air fan 15 that introduces outdoor air and allows the outdoor heat exchanger 11 to pass therethrough.

The indoor unit 5 has an indoor heat exchanger 17 that receives the supply of refrigerant from the outdoor unit 3, and air-conditioned air that has introduced air from the room and has exchanged heat with the refrigerant when the air passes through the indoor heat exchanger 17. And a turbo fan (blower) 19 as an indoor air fan for blowing out the air.
The indoor heat exchanger 17 is, for example, a plate fin tube type.
The compressor 7, the four-way valve 9, the outdoor heat exchanger 11 and the expansion valve 13 in the outdoor unit 3 form a refrigeration cycle by being connected to the indoor heat exchanger 17 in the indoor unit 5 and the refrigerant pipe 21. ing.

The indoor unit 5 is provided with a control unit 23 that controls the operation of the air conditioner 1.
The indoor unit 5 includes an indoor air temperature sensor (intake air temperature detecting means) 25 that detects the air temperature of the indoor air introduced from the room, and an indoor heat exchanger temperature sensor (indoor heat) that detects the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 17. Exchanger temperature detecting means) 27.
The temperature of the indoor air detected by the indoor air temperature sensor 25 and the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 17 detected by the indoor heat exchanger temperature sensor 27 are input to the control unit 23.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the indoor unit 5. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the indoor unit 5.
The indoor unit 5 is a floor-standing type of up-and-down two-way blowing type, and includes a horizontally long and substantially rectangular parallelepiped casing 35 constituted by a base 31 and a front panel 33.
On the front surface of the front panel 33, two suction ports 37 for sucking indoor air are opened apart in the vertical direction. A suction grill 39 is provided at the suction port 37.

At the corner portion from the front surface of the front panel 4 to the top, an upper air outlet 41 is opened horizontally in the width direction. The upper outlet 41 can be opened and closed by a horizontal louver 43 that is rotatably installed in the opening.
A lower outlet 45 is horizontally opened in the width direction at the lower part of the front panel 4. The lower outlet 45 can be opened and closed by a horizontal louver 47 that is rotatably installed in the opening.

In the casing 35, an air filter 49 is detachably disposed behind the suction grill 39, and the indoor heat exchanger 17 is fixedly installed behind the air filter 49.
A drain pan 51 is disposed at the lower part of the indoor heat exchanger 17, receives drain water that is condensed and falls on the surface of the indoor heat exchanger 17 during cooling and dehumidifying operations, and is connected to the outside via a drain hose (not shown). It is set as the structure discharged | emitted.

Behind the indoor heat exchanger 17 (on the downstream side in the air flow direction), a bell mouth 53 for guiding the air flowing through the indoor heat exchanger 17 to the turbo fan 19 installed on the downstream side is disposed. Yes.
In the central portion of the bell mouth 53, a suction port 55 having a circular bell shape facing the turbo fan 19 is provided. A turbo fan 19 is installed downstream of the bell mouth 53 so as to face the suction port 55.

The turbo fan 19 includes a main plate 57, a shroud 59, and a plurality of blades 61. The central portion of the main plate 57 is fixed to the tip of the rotary shaft 65 of the motor 63 fixedly installed on the base 31, so that the main plate 57 is rotationally driven around the horizontal axis via the motor 63.
The conditioned air blown out in the radial direction through the turbo fan 19 is blown out from the outer periphery of the turbo fan 19 at an angle outward from the tangential direction.

An air guide path 67 is formed between the base 31 and the bell mouth 53 for guiding the conditioned air blown from the turbo fan 19 to the upper outlet 41.
An air guide path 69 is formed between the base 31 and the bell mouth 53 to guide the conditioned air blown out from the turbo fan 19 to the lower air outlet 45.
The base 31 corresponding to the air guide paths 67 and 69 is integrally formed with nose portions 71 and 73 for guiding the conditioned air blown out from the turbo fan 19.

A plurality of vertical louvers 75 are connected to each other along the longitudinal direction of the upper air outlet 41 and are installed in the upper air guide path 67 so as to be rotatable around the vertical axis.
A plurality of vertical louvers 77 are connected to each other along the longitudinal direction of the lower air outlet 45 and are installed in the lower air guide path 69 so as to be rotatable around the vertical axis.

The control unit 23 receives detection values input from various sensors and various settings instructed by the user, outputs a control signal based on a predetermined program, and controls the operation of the air conditioner 1.
For example, the control unit 23 turns the compressor 7 on and off, the number of rotations, the flow switching of the four-way valve 9, the on / off and the number of rotations of the turbo fan 19 and the outdoor fan 15, the upper outlet 41 and the lower outlet 45. Control the opening and closing of the.

  The control unit 23 was turned on when the heating operation was started, and was blown out from the turbo fan 19 when the air volume was automatically set and the air direction was set to be blown out from both the upper and lower outlets. A heating start-up operation mode 79 is provided in which the conditioned air is blown into the room only from the lower outlet for a predetermined time.

In the air conditioner 1 configured as described above, the refrigerant circulation directions during the cooling operation and the heating operation are as follows.
During the cooling operation, the refrigerant circulates in the direction indicated by the solid arrow in FIG. As a result, the outdoor heat exchanger 11 functions as a radiator (evaporator), and the indoor heat exchanger 17 functions as a heat absorber (condenser), so that the indoor air passing through the indoor heat exchanger 17 becomes refrigerant. Air-conditioned air that has absorbed heat and has a reduced temperature is blown out into the room.
During the heating operation, the refrigerant circulates in the direction indicated by the dashed arrow in the figure. As a result, since the indoor heat exchanger 17 functions as a radiator (evaporator) and the outdoor heat exchanger 11 functions as a heat absorber (condenser), the indoor air passing through the indoor heat exchanger 17 Air-conditioned air that has risen in temperature due to heat dissipation is blown out into the room.

The blowout of conditioned air by the turbo fan 19 in the indoor unit 5 is performed as follows.
When the turbo fan 19 is rotated, indoor air is sucked into the casing 35 from the suction port 37 via the suction grill 39.
After the dust is removed by the air filter 49, this air is cooled or heated by heat exchange with the refrigerant in the process of passing through the indoor heat exchanger 49 to be conditioned air.
The conditioned air is guided by the bell mouth 53 and is sucked into the turbo fan 19 from the bell-shaped suction port 55 to be pressurized.

The conditioned air boosted by the turbo fan 19 is blown out from the outer peripheral portion of the turbo fan 19 at an angle outward from the tangential direction.
The conditioned air is guided by the nose parts 71 and 73, guided to the upper air outlet 41 and / or the lower air outlet 45 through the air guide paths 67 and 69, and blown into the room for cooling or heating. Provided.
The blowout of the conditioned air into the room is selectively blown out from either or both of the upper blower outlet 41 and the lower blower outlet 45 in accordance with the set blowout mode.

Next, the operation in the heating start-up operation mode 79 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the heating start-up operation mode 79.
The user inputs various settings such as the set temperature SP, the air volume, and the wind direction, and the heating operation is started (step S1).
For example, when the air volume is specifically instructed as “strong”, “medium”, or “weak”, the controller 23 instructs “automatic” in which an optimum air volume is set based on information from various sensors. There is a case.
As for the wind direction, both the upper air outlet 41 and the lower air outlet 45 (upper and lower air outlets) or one of them is instructed.

The control unit 23 determines whether or not the start condition of the heating start-up operation mode 79 is satisfied (step S2).
The starting conditions are that the air volume is “automatic” and that the wind direction is up and down.
When this start condition is not satisfied (NO), the control unit 23 cancels the heating start-up operation mode 79 (step S10).

When this start condition is satisfied (YES), the control unit 23 determines whether the detected temperature Th2 of the indoor heat exchanger 17 detected by the indoor heat exchanger temperature sensor 27 is higher than a predetermined temperature Sh2 (step S3). .
The predetermined temperature Sh2 is the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 17 that is necessary for the conditioned air that has passed through the indoor heat exchanger 17 to reach a desired temperature, and is, for example, 28 ° C.
When the detected temperature Th <b> 2 is lower than the predetermined temperature Sh <b> 2 (NO), the control unit 23 defers operation in the heating start-up operation mode 79.

Thereby, since low-temperature conditioned air is not blown out, it is possible to prevent the user from feeling uncomfortable by the operation in the heating start-up operation mode 79.
For example, when the controller 23 is operated by the warm-up timer in the warm-up (reserved operation) mode, the control unit 23 suspends the operation in the heating start-up operation mode 79, and performs heating as necessary after the set time of the warm-up timer has elapsed. You may make it perform the driving | operation by the starting operation mode 79. FIG.

When the detected temperature Th2 is lower than the predetermined temperature Sh2 (NO), the control unit 23 starts operation in the heating start-up operation mode 79 (step S4).
That is, FIG. 2 shows a state in which both the upper air outlet 41 and the lower air outlet 45 are opened by the setting of the upper and lower air outlets. From this state, the horizontal louver 43 is rotated and the upper air outlet 41 is moved. close. As a result, the conditioned air is blown out only from the lower outlet 45.
Further, the rotational speed of the turbo fan 19 is increased.

In this way, since the conditioned air distributed to the upper blower outlet 41 and the lower blower outlet 45 is blown out only from the lower blower outlet 45, even if a part of the conditioned air stays inside, the air conditioning blown out from the lower blower outlet 45. The air can be increased.
Further, since the conditioned air blown from the lower outlet 45 is not affected by the rise of the conditioned air caused by the blowout from the upper outlet 41, the rise of the conditioned air blown from the lower outlet 45 can be suppressed. .
Therefore, the reachability of the conditioned air, that is, the warm air is improved and can be made to reach far. In particular, the reachability of warm air to the feet is improved.

Further, when the air is blown out only from the lower air outlet 41, the entire air volume is slightly reduced as compared to the case where the conditioned air is blown out from the upper air outlet 41 and the lower air outlet 45. The temperature of the conditioned air becomes high.
As described above, when the operation in the heating start-up operation mode 79 is performed, the conditioned air having a high temperature can reach a distant place, so that the user's request to quickly obtain a feeling of heating can be satisfied.

  In addition, when the operation is started in the heating start-up operation mode 79, the wind direction is different from the setting of the upper air outlet 41 and the lower air outlet 45, and the user may misunderstand it as a malfunction. In order to do this, for example, an indication that rapid heating is being performed may be displayed, or a high-power lamp may be turned on or blinked.

In the operation in the heating start-up operation mode 79, the air blowing speed of the turbo fan 19 is increased, so that the air volume and the air speed of the conditioned air blown out from the lower outlet can be increased.
Thereby, since a larger amount of conditioned air can be made to reach farther, it is possible to satisfy the user's request to obtain a feeling of heating as soon as possible.

  When the control unit 23 enters the operation in the heating start-up operation mode 79, each determination of step S5 to step S9 is performed in sequence or randomly, and the heating start-up operation mode 79 is canceled by independent determination in each step. Determine whether.

  That is, in step S5, it is determined whether or not the indoor operation mode is heating. When the indoor operation mode is other than heating (NO), the precondition of heating operation is eliminated, and the heating start-up operation mode 79 is canceled.

In step S6, it is determined whether or not the difference between the room air temperature Th1 introduced from the room detected by the room air temperature sensor 25 and the set temperature SP is within 2 ° C. (the set temperature SP is higher). When the room air temperature Th1 falls within the range (YES), it is determined that a feeling of heating is obtained, and the heating start-up operation mode 79 is canceled.
In addition, 2 degreeC is an illustration which shows that indoor air temperature Th1 has approached preset temperature SP, and is not limited to this, For example, it selects according to a condition in the range of -1 degreeC-3 degreeC.

In step S7, it is determined whether or not the air volume is automatic. If it is not automatic (NO), the heating start-up operation mode 79 is canceled.
This is to change the air volume from automatic, for example, when it is set to strong, medium or weak, the user determines that he is seeking the air volume of that strength and ends the heating operation start-up mode 79. .

In step S8, it is determined whether or not it is an instruction that the wind direction is up, that is, an instruction that blows conditioned air from only the upper outlet 41. If the wind direction is up (YES), the heating start-up operation mode 79 is canceled. .
This means that when the wind direction is set to up, the user determines that he does not want to blow out the conditioned air from the lower outlet 45 and ends the heating operation startup mode 79.
As in step S7 and step S8, the user's needs are given the highest priority, so that the user's satisfaction can be improved.

In step S9, it is determined whether 20 minutes (predetermined time) have elapsed since the start of the operation in the heating start-up operation mode 79. When 20 minutes have elapsed (YES), it is determined that a sufficient feeling of heating has been obtained, and the heating start-up operation mode 79 is canceled.
In addition, 20 minutes as the predetermined time is exemplified as a time at which a user in an air-conditioned space such as a room can get a feeling of heating, and for example, in a range of 10 minutes to 30 minutes depending on the situation. Selected.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the scope of the invention.
For example, the effects of the present invention can be achieved even if steps S5 to S8 are not necessarily used as the determination conditions for canceling the heating start-up operation mode 79. Therefore, these are selected as needed.

It is a refrigerant cycle figure of the air harmony device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the indoor unit concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the indoor unit concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the heating start-up operation mode concerning one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air conditioning apparatus 17 Indoor heat exchanger 19 Turbo fan 23 Control part 41 Upper blower outlet 45 Lower blower outlet 79 Heating start-up operation mode

Claims (5)

An upper air outlet and a lower air outlet, which are separately arranged in the vertical direction, blown out the conditioned air supplied through the indoor heat exchanger by the blower into the room,
A control unit for controlling the operation;
An air conditioner comprising:
When the heating operation is started, the control unit is supplied with the conditioned air when the air volume is automatically set and the air direction is set to be blown out from both the upper air outlet and the lower air outlet. An air conditioner having a heating start-up operation mode in which the air is blown out only from the lower outlet for a period of time.   The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating start-up operation mode increases a blowing speed of the blower.   The air conditioning according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heating start-up operation mode is ended without waiting for the elapse of the predetermined time when the setting of the air volume or the wind direction is changed. apparatus. Intake air temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the indoor air sucked into the indoor heat exchanger and inputting the detected temperature into the control unit,
4. The heating start-up operation mode is terminated without waiting for the predetermined time to elapse when the air temperature approaches a set heating set temperature. The air conditioning apparatus described in 1. An indoor heat exchanger temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger and inputting it to the control unit;
The air conditioning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the heating start-up operation mode is disabled when the temperature of the indoor heat exchange air does not exceed a predetermined temperature. .

Images