JP6221580B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner that controls airflows blown from a plurality of air outlets.

A conventional air conditioner blows air that has passed through a heat exchanger that is long in the left-right direction by a cross-flow fan, and changes the wind direction up, down, left and right, and a vertical air direction plate, a left-right wind direction plate, Is provided.

Some recent air conditioners have a plurality of air outlets. For example, the main exhaust port portion that blows air into the room from the air conditioner housing portion and the sub exhaust port portion are provided, and the main exhaust port portion is provided with a main air flow control means that creates an air-conditioned air flow suitable for air conditioning. A secondary airflow control means that generates a dust-collecting airflow for collecting dust in the air at the unit is provided to generate an air-conditioning airflow and a dust-collecting airflow at the same time, and simultaneously adjust the room temperature and clean the air Is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-164271 A

In the air conditioner of Patent Document 1, the main airflow control means at the main exhaust port portion generates an air-conditioning airflow suitable for air conditioning, and the subairflow control means at the sub exhaust port portion collects dust for collecting dust in the air. An air flow is generated. This dust-collected airflow can change the amount of air flow depending on the number of rotations of the fan that blows air, so that the current value consumed on the indoor unit side fluctuates.

In general, air conditioners vary in power consumption according to their operating capacity, so the AC power supply voltage and current consumption to be used are set according to the operating capacity of each individual air conditioner, and the power plugs and cords to be used are based on that. select. Usually, the power plug and cord used in the air conditioner have a power voltage of 100 volts or 200 volts and a maximum current capacity of 15 amperes or 20 amperes. Therefore, no matter how large the operating capacity of the air conditioner is, it is necessary to prevent the consumption current of the air conditioner from exceeding this maximum current capacity (upper limit current value). For this purpose, the compressor or the like on the outdoor unit side is operated within the range of the remaining current value (current limit value) excluding the maximum current value consumed on the indoor unit side of the air conditioner from the upper limit current value. Yes. Here, if the current limit value is set on the assumption that the auxiliary airflow control means operates at the maximum, for example, the compressor may have an excessive current limit value even though the auxiliary airflow control means is stopped. There is a problem that the operation capacity of the air conditioner cannot be increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and in an air conditioner that controls air conditioning by combining different airflows blown from a plurality of outlets using a plurality of fans, while preventing overcurrent, An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that can increase the operation capacity by allowing the current not consumed on the indoor unit side to be used for the operation on the outdoor unit side according to the operation status of a specific fan. And

In order to solve the above-described problems, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention blows indoor air that does not pass through a main fan that blows indoor air that has passed through a heat exchanger, and air that does not pass through the heat exchanger. An air conditioner including an indoor unit having a sub fan and an outdoor unit having a compressor capable of controlling the rotation speed, the indoor unit control unit controlling at least the rotation speed of the sub fan in the indoor unit A current detection unit that detects at least a current value consumed by the outdoor unit, and a current value detected by the current detection unit, wherein the current value is determined by the rotation speed of the sub fan. An outdoor unit control unit that controls the number of revolutions of the compressor so as not to exceed a current limit value of the outdoor unit set accordingly, and the indoor unit control unit or the outdoor unit control unit includes the sub fan The chamber for the number of rotations of Comprising a table that defines the current limit of the machine, the indoor control unit or the outdoor unit control unit when the rotation speed of change of the sub fan is instructed, current of the outdoor unit in accordance with the table characterized by setting a limit value.

By using the above means, according to the air conditioner of the present invention, by adjusting the current limit value of the outdoor unit according to the rotation speed of the sub fan that blows indoor air that does not pass through the heat exchanger, The operating capability of the air conditioner can be increased without causing an overcurrent.

It is an external appearance perspective view of the indoor unit by this invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the indoor unit by this invention, and an outdoor unit. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the control system of the air conditioner by this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the consumption current value table of the indoor unit according to the side fan rotation speed by this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the process which concerns on the electric current limit value of the indoor unit control part by this invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail as examples based on the attached drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an indoor unit according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the indoor unit and the outdoor unit.

As shown in FIG. 1, the indoor unit 20 of an air conditioner includes a main unit 263 and a left fan unit 261 and a right fan unit 262 on both sides thereof. The main unit 263 of the indoor unit 20 includes a main housing 27. In the main housing 27, the exterior panel 29 covers the housing body 28. A central outlet 30 is formed in the housing body 28. A suction port (not shown) is formed in the upper part of the exterior panel 29. The central outlet 30 opens downward. Such a housing body 28 can be fixed to, for example, an indoor wall surface. In that case, the front end 30a of the center blower outlet 30 is arrange | positioned in the upper position compared with the rear end 30b. As a result, the central outlet 30 is formed in a front-up posture at a predetermined inclination angle α. With such an action of the inclination angle α, the airflow can be blown not only downward from the central blower outlet 30 toward the floor surface but also in parallel (horizontal direction) to the floor surface.

The central air outlet 30 is provided with a pair of front and rear wind direction plates 31a and 31b as main wind direction changing means. The up-and-down wind direction plates 31a and 31b can rotate around the horizontal axes 32a and 32b, respectively. Depending on the rotation, the vertical airflow direction plates 31a and 31b can open and close the central outlet 30.

In addition, a left fan unit 261 and a right fan unit 262 are individually disposed on both side surfaces of the housing body 28. That is, the left fan unit 261 and the right fan unit 262 are disposed outside the side wall of the housing body 28. The left fan unit 261 includes a left side fan casing 331. The left side fan casing 331 is provided with a left outlet 341, and as a side wind direction changing means, a left and right wind direction plate 341a that changes the wind direction of the side fan to the left and right. Is arranged. The right fan unit 262 includes a right side fan housing 332. The right side fan housing 332 is provided with a right outlet 342, and a left and right wind direction plate 342a serving as a side wind direction changing unit is disposed. The left blower outlet 341 and the right blower outlet 342 are rotated around the horizontal axis 35 by a driving mechanism (not shown), so that the wind direction of the side fan can be changed up and down as side wind direction changing means. The horizontal axis lines 32a and 32b and the horizontal axis line 35 extend in parallel with each other as shown in FIG. Side suction ports 37 are formed on the side surfaces of the left side fan housing 331 and the right side fan housing 332, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1, the side suction port 37 collects, for example, slit-like small openings. Further, the side panel 36 covers the left side fan casing 331 and the right side fan casing 332 so as not to hinder the suction of air into the side surface inlet 37 and the rotation of the side fan casing.

The air conditioner according to the present embodiment includes a remote controller 10 that can perform a driving operation remotely from the above-described indoor unit 20 by wireless two-way communication.

The indoor unit 20 and the outdoor unit 40 of the air conditioner according to the present embodiment are configured as shown in FIG. An indoor heat exchanger 264 and a main fan 265 are incorporated in the main body unit 263 of the indoor unit 20 described above. The main fan 265 is a cross flow fan, and generates an air flow by rotation. Room air is sucked into the main unit 263 by the action of the main fan 265. The sucked room air passes through the indoor heat exchanger 264 and exchanges heat with the refrigerant, thereby generating cold air or warm air. The cold or warm airflow after passing through the indoor heat exchanger 264 is blown out from the central outlet 30 of the main unit 263 to become a main fan airflow 301. Further, the flow rate of the airflow passing through the indoor heat exchanger 264 is adjusted by the rotation speed of the main fan 265.

As shown in FIG. 2, the refrigeration circuit 41 of the outdoor unit 40 includes a four-way valve 42, a compressor 43, an outdoor heat exchanger 44, an outdoor fan 44a, an expansion valve 45, a refrigerant pipe 50, and the like. For example, when the cooling operation is set in the refrigeration circuit 41, the four-way valve 42 connects the second port 42b and the third port 42c to each other, and connects the first port 42a and the fourth port 42d to each other. Thereby, the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant is supplied to the outdoor heat exchanger 44 from the discharge pipe 43 b of the compressor 43. The refrigerant flows through the outdoor heat exchanger 44, the expansion valve 45, and the indoor heat exchanger 264 in order. In the outdoor heat exchanger 44, the heat energy of the refrigerant is released to the outside air. The refrigerant is decompressed to a low pressure by the expansion valve 45 and absorbs heat from the surrounding air in the indoor heat exchanger 264. The cold air thus generated is blown out into the indoor space by the function of the main fan 265. The refrigerant that has absorbed heat by the indoor heat exchanger 264 is returned to the compressor 43 via the four-way valve 42.

When the heating operation is set in the refrigeration circuit 41, the four-way valve 42 connects the second port 42b and the fourth port 42d to each other, and connects the first port 42a and the third port 42c to each other. Thereby, the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant is supplied from the discharge pipe 43 b of the compressor 43 to the indoor heat exchanger 264. The refrigerant flows through the indoor heat exchanger 264, the expansion valve 45, and the outdoor heat exchanger 44 in order. In the indoor heat exchanger 264, the heat energy of the refrigerant is released to the surrounding air, and warm air is generated. Warm air is blown into the indoor space by the action of the main fan 265. The refrigerant is decompressed to a low pressure by the expansion valve 45 and absorbs heat from the surrounding air in the outdoor heat exchanger 44. Thereafter, the refrigerant is returned to the compressor 43.

Further, the left fan unit 261 and the right fan unit 262 of the air conditioner according to the present embodiment are provided independently of the main body unit 263, and the side fans 266 (see FIG. Sub-fan) and the left air outlet 341 and the right air outlet 342 in FIG. 1 for blowing out the airflow sent from the side fan 266, respectively, and rotated around the horizontal axis 35 by the driving mechanism described in FIG. The left and right wind direction plates 341a and 342a of the outlet 341 and the right outlet 342 can individually control the air direction and the amount of air blown from each outlet. The left side fan airflow 3411 and the right side fan airflow 3421 blown out from the left outlet 341 and the right outlet 342 are airflows in which the room air sucked from the side suction ports 37 is blown out as it is.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the control system of the air conditioner according to the present invention. The air conditioner according to the present embodiment includes an indoor unit 20, an outdoor unit 40, and a remote controller 10, as shown in FIG.

The indoor unit 20 includes an indoor unit power supply unit 24 that converts an AC voltage supplied from the AC power supply 80 into a DC power supply voltage used by the indoor unit 20, a main unit 263 including a main fan 265, a side fan 266, an outdoor unit An indoor unit communication unit 22 that communicates information related to air conditioning operation control with the unit 40, a remote control transmission / reception unit 25 that performs bidirectional communication with the remote control 10, a program for controlling the indoor unit 20, and a current limit value, A storage unit 23 that stores a consumption current value table of the indoor unit according to the side fan rotation speed, which will be described later, and an indoor unit control unit 21 that controls each part of the indoor unit are provided. The indoor unit power supply unit 24 branches the supplied AC voltage and supplies it to the rectifier circuit 494 of the outdoor unit 40 via the power supply lines 61 and 62.

The outdoor unit 40 also converts the AC voltage supplied from the compressor 43 and the indoor unit power supply unit 24 through the power lines 61 and 62 into a power supply voltage used by the outdoor unit 40 such as the compressor 43. An outdoor unit communication unit 47 that communicates information related to air conditioning operation control between the unit 49 and the indoor control unit 21 of the indoor unit 20 via the indoor unit communication unit 22, and a memory that stores a program for controlling the outdoor unit 40 A unit 48 and an outdoor unit control unit 46 that controls each unit of the outdoor unit. The outdoor unit power supply unit 49 includes an inverter 491, a smoothing capacitor 492, a current detection unit 493 as a current detection unit, and a rectifier circuit 494.

The rectifier circuit 494 is a circuit that rectifies an AC voltage supplied from the AC power supply 80 on the indoor unit 20 side and outputs the rectified voltage as a DC voltage, and includes a bridge diode or the like. The pulsating voltage rectified by the rectifier circuit 494 is smoothed by the smoothing capacitor 492 to become a DC voltage.

The inverter 491 is a circuit that converts a DC voltage rectified by the rectifier circuit 494 and smoothed by the smoothing capacitor 492 to an AC voltage again, and drives a motor (not shown) (such as a brushless DC motor) provided in the compressor 43. And a plurality of switching elements such as power transistors and a plurality of flyback diodes for protecting the switching elements.

The current detection unit 493 is provided between the smoothing capacitor 492 and the inverter 491 in order to detect the current consumed by the compressor 43 that requires the most power in the outdoor unit 40. The current detection unit 493 detects the voltage value at both ends of an internal current detection resistor (not shown), and outputs the detected voltage value to the outdoor unit control unit 46. When detecting the current consumption of the entire outdoor unit, a current detection element such as a CT (Current Transformer) may be inserted into the power supply line 61 on the input side of the rectifier circuit 494 for detection.

  The outdoor unit control unit 46 monitors the input current value detected by the current detection unit 493 so as not to exceed a later-described current limit value, and controls the rotation speed of the compressor 43 via the inverter 491. Further, the outdoor unit control unit 46 communicates operation information related to air conditioning control with the indoor unit control unit 21 of the indoor unit 20 via the signal line 60 and the indoor unit communication unit 22 from the outdoor unit communication unit 47. Further, the outdoor unit control unit 46 controls the opening / closing control of the four-way valve 42 and the expansion valve 45 shown in FIG. 2 and the outdoor fan 44a.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a consumption current value table of the indoor unit according to the side fan rotation speed according to the present invention. In this table, the indoor unit control unit 21 refers to the current value consumed by the indoor unit 20 in accordance with the rotational speed of the side fan 266, and calculates a current limit value instructing the outdoor unit 40 from the referenced current value. And is stored in advance in the storage unit 23 and referred to whenever a new operation instruction is given to the side fan 266.

The items in the current consumption value table are “left side” of 1600 rpm to 0 rpm instructed to the fan motor for each air volume setting (for example, strong wind, weak wind, breeze, silence, stop, etc.) to the left fan unit 261 on the vertical axis. The fan motor rotational speed "and the" right side fan motor rotational speed "of 1600 rpm to 0 rpm instructed to the fan motor every time the air volume is set to the right fan unit 262 are stored on the horizontal axis.

In addition, the current value consumed by the indoor unit 20 according to the combination of the left and right side fan motor rotational speeds is stored at the position where the rows and columns of the left and right side fan motor rotational speeds on the vertical and horizontal axes intersect. Yes. In addition, although an upper limit electric current value changes with air conditioners with a model, the value of the table of FIG. 4 has shown an example of the model whose upper limit electric current value is 15.0A.

For example, when the indoor unit control unit 21 receives an operation from the remote controller 10 to set the left fan unit 261 to a strong wind and the right fan unit 262 to a weak wind, the vertical axis corresponding to the strong wind from the table of FIG. The current consumption value 1.45A of the indoor unit 20 stored at a position where the left side fan motor rotation speed 1600 rpm of the left side fan motor rotation speed 1600 rpm and the right side fan motor rotation speed 1300 rpm of the horizontal axis corresponding to the weak wind intersect is referred to. And the value 13.55A which reduced the consumption current value 1.45A of the indoor unit 20 referred from the upper limit electric current value 15.0A of the said air conditioner is calculated, and the indoor unit communication part 22 is used as a current limiting value of the outdoor unit 40. Is transmitted to the outdoor unit 40.

Further, for example, when the indoor unit control unit 21 receives an operation from the remote controller 10 to set the left fan unit 261 from strong wind to light wind and the right fan unit 262 from light wind to stop, from the table of FIG. The consumption current value 1.15A of the indoor unit 20 stored at the position where the left side fan motor rotation speed 1000 rpm on the vertical axis corresponding to the breeze and the right side fan motor rotation speed 0 rpm on the horizontal axis corresponding to the stop intersect. refer. Then, a value 13.85A obtained by subtracting the referenced current consumption value 1.15A of the indoor unit 20 from the upper limit current value 15.0A of the air conditioner is calculated, and indoor unit communication is performed as a new current limit value of the outdoor unit 40. It transmits to the outdoor unit 40 via the unit 22.

Note that the table described with reference to FIG. 4 may be stored in advance in the storage unit 48 of the outdoor unit 40. The table value may be a current limit value of the outdoor unit 40 calculated in advance using the current consumption value and the upper limit current value of the air conditioner instead of the current consumption value of the indoor unit 20. Further, the outdoor unit control unit 46 may refer to the table and calculate the current limit value.

By using the table described in FIG. 4, the air conditioner according to the present embodiment prevents the occurrence of overcurrent, and the current that is not consumed on the indoor unit side according to the rotational speed of each side fan. It becomes possible to increase the operation capacity of the air conditioner by making the minute available for operation on the outdoor unit side.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining processing related to the current limit value of the indoor unit control unit 21 according to the present invention. As a precondition for starting the process, for example, an instruction to start the operation of the air conditioner is received from the remote controller 10 or the like. Further, ST described in the flowchart of FIG. 5 represents a step, and the number following this represents a step number.

When the operation of the air conditioner is started, the indoor unit control unit 21 checks whether there is an instruction to change the rotational speed of the side fan, for example, by operating the remote controller 10 (ST1). If there is no instruction to change the rotational speed (ST1-No), it is confirmed whether there is an instruction to stop the operation, for example, by operating the remote controller 10 (ST2). If there is an instruction to stop operation (ST2-Yes), the process is terminated. On the other hand, when there is no operation stop instruction (ST2-No), the process returns to ST1.

Note that the air conditioner gives an instruction to change the rotation speed of the side fan according to the air-conditioning operation state when automatic is selected for the air volume setting of the side fan. In addition, from the start of operation until the instruction to change the rotational speed of the side fan is received, the operation is performed at the rotational speed of the side fan and the current limit value of the outdoor unit 40 during the previous operation.

In ST1, when there is an instruction to change the rotational speed of the side fan (ST1-Yes), the indoor unit control unit 21 refers to the consumption current value table described in FIG. The current limit value instructed to the outdoor unit 40 is calculated from the number (ST3). Subsequently, it is confirmed whether or not the calculated current limit value is the same as the current current limit value (ST4). When the current limit values are different (ST4-No), it is confirmed whether or not the calculated current limit value is lower than the current current limit value (ST5). If the calculated current limit value is low (ST5-Yes), the current limit value calculated via the indoor unit communication unit 22 is transmitted to the outdoor unit 40 (ST6). Subsequently, the rotational speed of the side fan is changed in accordance with an instruction for changing the rotational speed (ST7). Then, the process returns to ST1.

In ST4, when the calculated current limit value is the same as the current current limit value (ST4-Yes), the indoor unit control unit 21 proceeds to ST7. In ST5, when the calculated current limit value is higher than the current current limit value (ST5-No), the rotational speed of the side fan is changed in accordance with an instruction to change the rotational speed (ST8). Subsequently, the current limit value calculated via the indoor unit communication unit 22 is transmitted to the outdoor unit 40 (ST9). Then, the process returns to ST1.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Remote control 20 Indoor unit 21 Indoor unit control part 22 Indoor unit communication part 23 Memory | storage part 24 Indoor unit power supply part 25 Remote control transmission / reception part 27 Main housing 28 Case main body 29 Exterior panel 30 Central blower outlet 301 Main fan airflow 30a Front end 30b Rear End 31a, 31b Vertical wind direction plate 32a, 32b, 35 Horizontal axis 36 Side panel 37 Side suction port 40 Outdoor unit 41 Refrigeration circuit 42 Four-way valve 42a First port 42b Second port 42c Third port 42d Fourth port 43 Compressor 43a 43b Discharge pipe 44 Outdoor heat exchanger 44a Outdoor fan 45 Expansion valve 46 Outdoor unit control unit 47 Outdoor unit communication unit 48 Storage unit 49 Outdoor unit power supply unit 50 Refrigerant pipe 60 Signal line 61, 62 Power supply line 80 AC power supply 261 Left fan Unit 262 Right fan unit 263 Main unit 264 rooms Heat exchanger 265 main fan 266 side fan (sub Fan)
331 Left side fan housing 332 Right side fan housing 341 Left air outlet 341a Left and right wind direction plate 342 Right air outlet 342a Left and right air direction plate 491 Inverter 492 Smoothing capacitor 493 Current detection unit 494 Rectifier circuit 3411 Left side fan air flow 3421 Right side fan air flow

Claims (1)

An indoor unit having a main fan that blows indoor air that has passed through the heat exchanger, a sub fan that blows indoor air that does not pass through the heat exchanger, and an outdoor unit that has a compressor whose rotation speed can be controlled Air conditioner,
The indoor unit includes an indoor unit control unit that controls at least the rotation speed of the sub fan,
A current detection unit that detects at least a current value consumed by the outdoor unit and a current value detected by the current detection unit are monitored in the outdoor unit, and the current value is set according to the rotation speed of the sub fan. An outdoor unit control unit that controls the rotational speed of the compressor so as not to exceed the current limit value of the outdoor unit,
The indoor unit control unit or the outdoor unit control unit includes a table that defines a current limit value of the outdoor unit with respect to the rotation speed of the sub fan,
The indoor control unit or the outdoor unit control unit when the rotation speed of change of the sub fan is instructed, the air, characterized in that to set the current limit value of the outdoor unit in accordance with the table Harmony machine.

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