JP3746434B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner capable of a timer operation that automatically starts operation based on a preset time.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Some conventional air conditioners installed in homes or offices are capable of so-called timer operation in which operation is automatically started or stopped based on a preset time. And various techniques are conventionally disclosed regarding such timer operation.
[0003]
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-47727 discloses a timer operating device for an air conditioner that improves the operability of equipment. When setting the timer operation time, an operation start time that is a time at which the operation should be started and an operation stop time that is the time at which the operation should be stopped can be input to the timer operation device. According to this timer operation device, even if the same time is set as the operation start time and the operation stop time, the timer operation is executed when the operation is only started or stopped by the timer operation.
[0004]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-347970 discloses a home network system capable of storing setting data of various devices for each user for a plurality of users. In such a home network system, when a set time and a set temperature at which the temperatures are to be harmonized are input to the air conditioner, the air conditioner is automatically operated a predetermined time (30 minutes) before the set time. Is started.
[0005]
That is, in the conventional timer operation of the air conditioner, when trying to automatically start the operation of the air conditioner (execution of “on” timer operation), at the input time or the input time The air conditioner was started to operate a certain time before.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional air conditioner, it is difficult to harmonize the air at the input time without wasting energy, even if the “ON” timer operation is performed. If the operation is started at the input time as in JP-A-10-47727, it is impossible to harmonize the air with the input temperature at the input time, and JP-A-2000-347970. If the operation is started a certain time before the input time as in the gazette, air is often harmonized to the temperature input much before the input time, resulting in wasted energy. The latter prior art will be described more specifically with reference to FIG.
[0007]
FIG. 9 shows the indoor temperature (room temperature) at which the air conditioner harmonizes air and the power consumption of the air conditioner with respect to the passage of time when the “ON” timer operation is performed in the conventional air conditioner. It is a figure which shows a change. In addition, in FIG. 9, the air_conditionaing | cooling operation is illustrated, the change of room temperature is shown upwards, and the change of electric energy consumption is each shown by the broken line below.
[0008]
First, at the time (T0) of “timer setting reception”, a set time that is a time at which the temperature should be harmonized is input. Then, the operation of the air conditioner is started at the time of “operation start” (T10) a predetermined time before the set time. When the operation of the air conditioner is started, the room temperature gradually decreases from the first H11, and the power consumption gradually increases. Before the set time (T11), the room temperature reaches H12, which is the set temperature. Even after that, since the operation of the air conditioner is continued to keep the room temperature at H12 until the set time, the power consumption also continuously increases.
[0009]
In the example shown in FIG. 9, the “certain time” is set sufficiently long so that the air is reliably harmonized at the set temperature at the set time.
[0010]
Therefore, in the prior art as shown in FIG. 9, since air is harmonized at the set temperature sufficiently earlier than the set time in many cases, the air is first conditioned at the set temperature (T11 in FIG. 9). To), energy for maintaining the room temperature at the set temperature is wasted until the set time.
[0011]
The present invention has been conceived in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that can harmonize air at an input time without wasting energy.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In an air conditioner according to an aspect of the present invention, a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of a target area that harmonizes air, a set time that is a time when the air should be harmonized, and the air are harmonized. The relationship between the input unit for inputting the set temperature that is the power temperature, the length of time for outputting air to harmonize the air, and the amount of change in the temperature of the target region , the set time, and the set temperature The output start time, which is the output start time at which the set temperature is reached at the set time, is determined based on the storage unit, the storage content of the storage unit, and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor. And a determination unit.
[0013]
According to the present invention, since the output start time is determined by the determination unit, the operation of the air conditioner can be started so as to reach the set temperature at the set time during the timer operation.
[0014]
Thereby, in the timer operation by the air conditioner, it is possible to reach the set temperature at the set time while eliminating waste of energy that keeps the air at the set temperature long before the set time.
[0015]
The air conditioner of the present invention further includes an output unit that outputs air in order to harmonize air, a control unit that controls output of the output unit, and a relationship specifying unit that specifies the relationship, The control unit stores the set time and the set temperature in the storage unit, and each time, as a test operation, causes the output unit to output air for a predetermined time, and causes the temperature sensor to output the predetermined time. The temperature before and after the output is detected, and the relationship specifying unit specifies the relationship based on the predetermined time in the test operation and a temperature difference before and after the output for the predetermined time.
Thereby, the relationship between the length of time for outputting air to harmonize air and the amount of change in temperature according to the location where the air conditioner is to harmonize air can be obtained. That is, in the air conditioner, it is possible to determine the operation start time and the determination output that are more appropriate for the location where the air conditioner is to harmonize the air.
[0017]
Moreover, in the air conditioner of this invention, it is preferable that the said memory | storage part receives the input of the said setting time and the said setting temperature from a predetermined | prescribed input device via a network.
[0018]
Thereby, the instruction | indication about a timer driving | operation can be sent to an air conditioner via a network.
[0022]
In the air conditioner of the present invention, the control unit causes the output unit and the temperature sensor to execute the test operation only when the relationship is not stored in the storage unit, and the relationship specifying unit It is preferable that the relationship is specified only when the control unit executes the test operation.
[0023]
Thereby, in the air conditioner, the energy consumption by the test operation can be minimized.
[0024]
In the air conditioner of the present invention, the storage unit receives an input of information for correcting the relationship via a network, and the determination unit corrects the relationship based on the information to be corrected, Preferably, the determination is made.
[0025]
Thereby, the output start time determined in the air conditioner can be made more in line with the actual situation.
[0026]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiment, only the timer operation for cooling will be described as an example of the timer operation of the air conditioner, but the control in the air conditioner of the present invention is not limited to this. The timer operation in the air conditioner of the present invention can be similarly applied to the timer operation for heating.
[0027]
[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the air conditioner mainly includes a main body 1 and a remote controller 2 that can transmit a signal from a location away from the main body 1. The main body 1 is composed of a central processing unit (CPU), a read-only memory (ROM), and the like, and controls the overall operation of the main body 1 and setting signal detection for receiving signals transmitted from the remote controller 2 Unit 13, output unit 14 that outputs air (cold air), room temperature sensor unit 15 that detects the temperature of the room in which the air conditioner harmonizes air, timer unit 16 that has a time measuring function, And a memory unit 17 for holding the information.
[0028]
In the air conditioner of the present embodiment, a set time and a set temperature are transmitted from the remote controller 2 to the main body 1 for so-called timer operation. The set time and set temperature are information that is input by the air conditioner to harmonize air at the temperature at the time.
[0029]
The set time and set temperature transmitted from the remote controller 2 are received by the setting signal detection unit 13 and then processed by the control unit 11.
[0030]
Hereinafter, an operation start time determination process executed when a set time and a set temperature are transmitted to the main body 1 for timer operation in the air conditioner will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the operation start time determination process. In addition, this process determines the operation start time of the air conditioner so that the air is conditioned at the set temperature at the set time.
[0031]
First, after receiving the set time (A) and the set temperature (B) in S1, these are stored in the memory unit 17.
[0032]
Next, in S2, the timer unit 16 is activated to start the time measuring operation.
Next, in S3, the heat load estimation operation (test operation) is started. The thermal load estimation operation refers to outputting cold air to the output unit 14 for a predetermined time with a predetermined output. The predetermined time is counted by the timer unit 16.
[0033]
Next, in S4, the amount of change in room temperature before and after the heat load estimation operation in S3 is acquired.
Next, in S5, a thermal load (C) is calculated as a result of the thermal load estimation operation. The thermal load is the relationship between the operation time, the operation output, and the amount of change in room temperature in the operation of outputting cold air. Specifically, for example, when the air conditioner can be operated with “strong”, “medium”, and “weak” outputs, and the room temperature has decreased by 2 ° C. as a result of operation with “medium” outputs for 4 minutes. The heat load at the output of “medium” is calculated as “−0.5 ° C./min”.
[0034]
When the operation output is single in the air conditioner, the heat load is the relationship between the operation time and the amount of change in room temperature in the operation of outputting cold air.
[0035]
Next, in S6, the thermal load calculated in S5 is stored in the memory unit 17 together with the corresponding output magnitude.
[0036]
Next, in S7, in order to harmonize the air to the set temperature (B) at the set time (A) from the room temperature at that time detected by the above-described (A) to (C) and the room temperature sensor unit 15. The time when the operation of the air conditioner should start (operation start time) and the magnitude of the output when starting the operation are determined.
[0037]
The determination of the operation start time will be described more specifically. For example, the difference between the set temperature (B) and the current room temperature is 10 ° C., and the thermal load at the output of “medium” is “−0.5 ° C./min. ”, The operation start time is determined to be 20 minutes before the set time (A). In the air conditioner, when the output level of the output unit 14 is constant, the determination of the output level in S7 is omitted.
[0038]
Here, changes in the room temperature and the power consumption of the air conditioner over time when the timer operation is executed in the air conditioner of the present embodiment will be further described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the change with respect to time at room temperature is shown in the upper part, and the change with respect to time in the power consumption is shown with a solid line in the lower part. Moreover, in FIG. 3, each value in the prior art shown in FIG. 9 is further shown with the broken line.
[0039]
First, when the set time and set temperature are received in S1 (T0), immediately after or after the elapse of a specific time, the heat load estimation operation of S3 is started (T1 to T2). As a result, during the period of time T1 to T2, the room temperature gradually decreases from the first H11, and the power consumption gradually increases.
[0040]
In the heat load estimation operation, T3 is determined as the operation start time. And operation is stopped during the period of time T2-T3. During this time, the room temperature once lowered from H11 rises again.
[0041]
When the time reaches T3, the main operation (operation corresponding to the timer operation with respect to the heat load estimation operation) is started. Thus, the room temperature reaches H12 for the first time at the set time.
[0042]
The solid line (this embodiment) and the broken line (prior art) in FIG. 3 are compared.
The operation that starts at time T1, that is, the operation sufficiently before the set time is an operation that lowers the room temperature to the set temperature H12 in the past in the conventional technique, whereas in this embodiment, the heat load is reduced. It is limited to the minimum necessary operation (heat load estimation operation). Thereby, in this Embodiment, the useless driving | operation (T2-T3) can be abbreviate | omitted until the driving | operation start time after thermal load estimation driving | operation is complete | finished. From this, compared with the prior art shown with the broken line, in this Embodiment, the power consumption of the air conditioner by the set time can be suppressed.
[0045]
[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the air conditioner according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, elements similar to those of the air conditioner of FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0046]
In the air conditioner of the present embodiment, the main body 1 further includes a signal conversion unit 18 and a communication control unit 19. Thereby, the main body 1 can receive information from the mobile information terminal 4 such as a mobile phone or a personal computer via the network 3 such as the Internet network. Specifically, when information about the set time and set temperature is transmitted from the portable information terminal 4 to the network 3, the information is received by the communication control unit 19 via the network 3. Then, the communication control unit 19 transfers the received information to the signal conversion unit 18. In response to this, the signal conversion unit 18 converts the information into a format that can be recognized by the control unit 11 and transmits the information to the control unit 11.
[0047]
Thereby, in the air conditioner of this Embodiment, the driving | operation start time determination process demonstrated using FIG. 2 according to the setting time and setting temperature which the portable information terminal 4 transmitted via the network 3 can be performed. In the present embodiment, portable information terminal 4 may be replaced with an information terminal that can be connected to network 3 but does not have portability.
[0048]
[Third embodiment]
FIG. 5 is a control block diagram of the air conditioner according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, elements similar to those of the air conditioner of FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0049]
In the air conditioner of the present embodiment, the communication control unit 19 of the main body 1 can communicate with the server 5 via the network 3. The server 5 can be a World-Wide Web (WWW) server when the network 3 is an Internet network. And the main body 1 can acquire the correction value with respect to the thermal load demonstrated in 1st Embodiment from the server 5. FIG. Below, with reference to FIG. 6, the operation time determination process which the air conditioner of this Embodiment performs is demonstrated.
[0050]
This correction value corresponds to the set time, for example. Specifically, it is determined according to the relationship between the time when the thermal load is calculated and the set time. For example, the temperature may be relatively different between daytime and nighttime. In such a case, when the heat load is calculated in the daytime for the timer operation whose set time is nighttime, it is assumed that the absolute value of the heat load becomes larger than the actual operation. In order to avoid such a situation, a correction value is provided.
[0051]
In the operation time determination process of the present embodiment, the same processes as S1 to S6 (see FIG. 2) of the operation time determination process of the first embodiment are performed in S31 to S36.
[0052]
Thereafter, a correction value (D) for the thermal load (C) is acquired from the server 5 via the network 3 in S37. Specifically, in S37, first, the control unit 11 transmits a signal (correction value request signal) for requesting a correction value (D) to the signal conversion unit 18. The signal conversion unit 18 converts this signal into a signal conforming to the protocol of the network 3 and transmits the signal to the communication control unit 19. The communication control unit 19 transmits the signal transmitted from the signal conversion unit 18 to the server 5 via the network 3. In the server 5, when the correction value request signal is received from the control unit 11 through the signal conversion unit 18 and the communication control unit 19, the correction value corresponding to the calculated time and the set time (A) of the thermal load (C). (D) is transmitted to the control unit 11. The control unit 11 stores the acquired correction value (D) in the memory unit 17.
[0053]
In S38, the operation start time and output are determined based on (A) to (D) and the room temperature at that time. In the process in S38, for example, after correcting the thermal load (C) based on the correction value (D), as in S7 (see FIG. 2) of the operation start time determination process of the first embodiment, The operation start time and output are determined.
[0054]
[Fourth embodiment]
In FIG. 7, the flowchart of the operation start time determination process performed in the air conditioner of this invention is shown.
[0055]
In the present embodiment, the set time (A) and the set temperature (B) are received and stored in S41, similarly to the processing of S1 to S2 in FIG.
[0056]
Then, in S43, it is determined whether or not the thermal load (C) is stored in the memory unit 17. If the thermal load (C) is not stored, such as when the thermal load estimation operation has never been performed, the thermal load (C) is calculated and stored in S44 to S47, and then S48 is executed. The process is transferred to. In addition, the processing content of S44-S47 is the same as the processing content of S3-S6 of FIG. On the other hand, if the thermal load (C) has already been stored, for example, as calculated in the previous timer operation, the process proceeds directly to S48.
[0057]
In S48, the operation start time and output are determined in the same manner as in S7 of FIG.
[0058]
As described above, in the operation time determination process, the heat load estimation operation is not performed every time the timer operation is performed by using the previously used heat load (C). The power consumption of the harmonic machine can be suppressed.
[0059]
In such a case, it is preferable that the thermal load (C) is corrected when the main operation is started.
[0060]
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of the on-timer operation process executed by the air conditioner when the main operation is started in FIG.
[0061]
If it is determined in S51 that the current time is the operation start time, the main operation is started in S52.
[0062]
In step S53, the amount of change in room temperature in a predetermined time from the start of the main operation is acquired.
In S54, the thermal load (E) is calculated based on the change in room temperature obtained in S53.
[0063]
In S55, the thermal load (E) calculated in S54 is compared with the thermal load (C) used in S48 for calculating the operation start time. And when these are the same, a process is complete | finished as it is. On the other hand, if they are not the same, in S56, the output of the output unit 14 is corrected according to the difference between them, and in S57, the thermal load (E) is replaced with the memory unit in place of the thermal load (C). 17 and the process is terminated.
[0064]
Each embodiment disclosed this time must be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims. In addition, each embodiment may be applied alone or in combination.
[0065]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, since the operation start time is determined so that the set temperature is reached at the set time, the operation of the air conditioner is started so that the room temperature reaches the set temperature at the set time during the timer operation. Can be made. Thereby, in the timer operation by the air conditioner, it is possible to harmonize the air at the set temperature at the set time while eliminating waste of energy that keeps the air at the set temperature long before the set time.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of operation start time determination processing executed in the air conditioner of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing temporal changes in room temperature and power consumption when timer operation is performed in the air conditioner of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of an air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a control block diagram of an air conditioner according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart of an operation start time determination process executed in the air conditioner of FIG.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an operation start time determination process executed in the air conditioner according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an on-timer operation process executed in the air conditioner according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing temporal changes in room temperature and power consumption in a conventional air conditioner.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air conditioner, 2 Remote controller, 3 Network, 4 Portable information terminal, 5 Server, 11 Control part, 12 Thermal load estimation part, 13 Setting signal detection part, 14 Output part, 15 Room temperature sensor part, 16 Timer part, 17 Memory unit, 18 signal conversion unit, 19 communication control unit.

Claims (4)

A temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the target area that harmonizes the air;
An input unit for inputting a set time which is a time at which the air should be conditioned and a set temperature which is a temperature at which the air should be conditioned;
A storage unit that stores the length of time for outputting air to harmonize air, the relationship between the amount of change in temperature of the target region , the set time, and the set temperature;
A determination unit that determines an output start time that is an output start time at which the set temperature is reached at the set time based on the storage content of the storage unit and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor ;
An output unit for outputting air to harmonize the air;
A control unit for controlling the output of the output unit;
A relationship identifying unit that identifies the relationship,
The control unit stores the set time and the set temperature in the storage unit, and each time, as a test operation, causes the output unit to output air for a predetermined time and causes the temperature sensor to output the predetermined time. Detect the temperature before and after the output of
The said relationship specific | specification part is an air conditioner which specifies the said relationship based on the temperature difference before and after the said predetermined time in the said test driving | operation and the output of the said predetermined time . The control unit causes the output unit and the temperature sensor to execute the test operation only when the relationship is not stored in the storage unit,
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the relationship specifying unit specifies the relationship only when the control unit causes the test operation to be executed.   The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the storage unit receives input of the set time and the set temperature from a predetermined input device via a network. The storage unit receives input of information for correcting the relationship via a network,
The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the determination unit performs the determination after correcting the relationship based on the information to be corrected.

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