JPH11337153A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress short circuit where the air blown out along the ceiling face is sucked again into a suction opening by directing an upper air outlet substantially in the horizontal direction and a lower air outlet substantially downward. SOLUTION: After lower horizontal louvers 22a, 22b are fully closed by stopping the driving of a lower crossflow fan 13, upper horizontal louvers 21a, 21b are set slightly upward and an upper crossflow fan 12 is driven. Consequently, air flows through a suction grill 25 into an indoor unit 1 and heat is exchanged with high temperature refrigerant in an indoor heat exchanger 23. The heat exchanged air is blown obliquely upward from an upper air outlet 16 to flow along the ceiling face. After reaching the wall face opposite the ceiling face 3, the air flows along the floor face to reach the suction opening of the indoor unit 1. Since the indoor heat exchanger 23 is disposed while inclining against the vertical direction, short circuit where the blown out air is sucked again into the suction opening can be suppressed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an air conditioner,
The present invention relates to an air conditioner that can contribute to the elimination of a sense of airflow during stable heating or cooling operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, JP-A-9-303844 discloses that
There is disclosed a means for eliminating a feeling of airflow when a heating operation is stable in a wall-mounted air conditioner provided with an air outlet below the air inlet of an indoor unit. That is, when the heating operation is started, the horizontal louver as the blowing direction changing means of the air blowing port is blown directly downward or obliquely downward, and the room is quickly heated so as to approach the target temperature in a short time.

When the temperature in the room approaches the target temperature and the heating operation is stabilized, the horizontal louver is turned obliquely upward and hot air is blown out along the ceiling surface. The blown hot air reaches the opposing wall surface along the ceiling surface, descends along the wall surface, subsequently flows along the floor surface, and reaches the air inlet of the air conditioner. Thereby, the blown hot air does not directly hit the occupants, and it is possible to prevent discomfort due to airflow. In addition, by generating circulation in the entire room, a space having a small vertical temperature difference can be provided.

[0004] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-178344 discloses that an upper air outlet and a lower air outlet are provided above and below, respectively, with respect to an air inlet of an indoor unit, and a floor or wall is provided. In an air conditioner installed at an intermediate position in the height direction, means for solving the feeling of airflow when heating or cooling operation is stable is disclosed. This is because when the heating (cooling) operation is started, the horizontal louver of the upper outlet and the horizontal louver of the lower outlet are fully opened, and hot air (cold air) is blown out from both outlets to reach the target temperature in a short time. Heat the room quickly to get closer.

When the temperature in the room approaches the target temperature and the heating (cooling) operation is stabilized, the horizontal louvers of the lower outlets are fully closed, the horizontal louvers of the upper outlets are vertically upward and vertically upward. Blows out hot air (cold air). The hot air (cold air) blows up along the wall surface to the ceiling, then reaches the opposing wall surface along the ceiling surface, descends along this wall surface, and then flows along the floor surface , To the inlet of the air conditioner. Thereby, the blown out hot air (cold air) does not directly hit the occupants, and it is possible to prevent discomfort due to airflow. In addition, by generating circulation in the entire room, a space having a small vertical temperature difference can be provided.

[0006]

The above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 9-30384
In the wall-mounted air conditioner disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4, the horizontal louver of the air outlet of the indoor unit was inclined obliquely upward when the heating operation was stable, so that a part of the blown hot air was located above the outlet. There has been a problem that the air is immediately sucked into the located suction port again, that is, a so-called short circuit easily occurs. In addition, since air containing a portion of high-temperature hot air immediately after the blowing is sucked, the temperature of the air that exchanges heat with the refrigerant increases in the indoor heat exchanger that functions as a condenser during the heating operation. There is a problem that the condensation temperature of the refrigerant also increases, the coefficient of performance of the refrigeration cycle decreases, and the power consumption of the air conditioner increases.

Further, the air conditioner disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-178344 is limited to an installation location at an intermediate position in the height direction of a floor or a wall. There was a problem that it could not be installed on a wall close to the ceiling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an air conditioner that can be installed on a wall near a ceiling, which eliminates a sense of airflow when heating or cooling operation is stable. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that suppresses a short circuit in which the blown air is immediately sucked into the suction port again when blowing the air along the ceiling surface.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, an air conditioner according to the present invention comprises an upper air outlet and a lower air outlet above and below an air inlet of an indoor unit, respectively. An air conditioner provided with an air outlet is characterized in that the upper air outlet blows air substantially horizontally and the lower air outlet blows air substantially downward.

[0010] Further, the indoor heat exchanger is characterized by being arranged inclined with respect to the vertical direction.

Further, the ratio of the air volume at the upper air outlet to the air volume at the lower air outlet is changed depending on the operating conditions.

[0012]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention, showing an operation when a heating operation is started. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the control device of the air conditioner of FIG. 1, mainly showing the indoor side. FIG. 3 shows an airflow in the room when the heating operation is started in the indoor unit in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 shows the operation of the indoor unit shown in FIG. 1 when the heating operation is stable. FIG. 5 shows the airflow in the room when the heating operation is stable in the indoor unit of FIG. 4.

In FIG. 1, 1 is an indoor unit, 2 is a wall, 3 is a ceiling, and the indoor unit 1 is installed on a wall 2 near the ceiling 3. 11 is a fan casing, 12 is an upper cross-flow fan, 13 is a lower cross-flow fan, 14 is an upper fan nose,
15 is a lower fan nose. The upper flow fan 12 and the lower flow fan 13 are independently driven by the motors 61, 6 respectively.
2 (see FIG. 2). Fan casing 1
The upper fan nose 1 and the upper fan nose 14 form an upper outlet port 16 and are configured to blow in a substantially horizontal direction. The fan casing 11 and the lower fan nose 15 form a lower outlet 17 and are configured to blow out substantially downward.

Upper outlet 16 and lower outlet 17
Are provided with rotatable upper horizontal louvers 21a and 21b and lower horizontal louvers 22a and 22b capable of changing the blowing direction and completely closing the blowing ports. (See FIG. 2).

Reference numeral 23 denotes an indoor heat exchanger, which is arranged to be inclined with respect to the vertical direction. Reference numeral 24 denotes a water tray for receiving condensed water during cooling. Reference numeral 25 denotes a suction grill which forms a suction port. The indoor unit 1 has a configuration in which outlets 16 and 17 are provided above and below the inlet of the inlet grill 25. Reference numeral 26 denotes an indoor temperature sensor for detecting the air temperature in the room. The arrow 30a indicates the direction of the once-through fan, the arrow 31 indicates the air suction direction, and the arrow 32a indicates the air blowout direction.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the control device of the air conditioner, mainly showing the indoor side. Indoor controller 51
A remote controller 60 for setting a target temperature of the room and starting and stopping the heating or cooling operation, an outdoor controller 52 for receiving a signal from the indoor temperature sensor 26 and controlling a compressor (not shown); While transmitting and receiving signals,
It controls an upper once-through fan drive motor 61, a lower once-through fan drive motor 62, an upper horizontal louver drive motor 63, and a lower horizontal louver drive motor 64.

The operation of the air conditioner configured as described above during the heating operation will be described. When the target temperature of the room is set by the remote controller 60 and the heating operation is started,
The heating operation is started. At this time, the indoor side control device 51 controls the lower horizontal louvers 22a and 22b by the motor 64 so as to be inclined downward from the fully closed state as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the upper horizontal louvers 21a,
21b is maintained in a fully closed state.

Next, of the two cross-flow fans, only the lower cross-flow fan 13 is driven by the motor 62. As a result, the air flows through the indoor unit 1 through the suction grill 25.
And exchanges heat with the high-temperature refrigerant flowing inside the heat exchanger in the indoor heat exchanger 23. The air whose temperature has increased due to the heat exchange is blown obliquely downward from the lower blowout port 17, and the warm air spreads on the floor surface.

FIG. 3 shows the state of the air flow in the room at this time. Reference numeral 4 denotes a floor, and 5 denotes a wall facing the wall 2 on which the indoor unit 1 is installed. The dotted arrow 33a indicates the direction of the airflow. Floor 4
The warm air blown out flows along the floor surface to the opposing wall surface 5, then rises along the opposing wall surface 5, and then flows along the ceiling surface 3 to the inlet of the indoor unit 1. Flows.
In this way, the interior of the room can be quickly heated by causing the high-temperature hot air immediately after the blowing to reach the floor surface.

The operation when the room temperature detected by the room temperature sensor 26 approaches within 1 ° C. of the target temperature will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows the operation of the indoor unit 1 when the heating operation is stable. Here, arrow 30b indicates the direction of the once-through fan, arrow 32b indicates the direction of air blowing, and other symbols are the same as those in FIG. At this time, the indoor side control device 51 stops the drive motor 62 of the lower cross-flow fan 13 and drives the lower horizontal louvers 22a, 22b to the drive motor 6
4 to make a fully closed state. Next, the upper horizontal louver 2
The drive motor 63 is used to set 1 a and 21 b to be somewhat obliquely upward, and the upper through-flow fan 12 is driven by the drive motor 61.

Thus, through the suction grill 25,
The air flows into the indoor unit 1 and exchanges heat with the high-temperature refrigerant flowing inside the heat exchanger in the indoor heat exchanger 23. The air whose temperature has risen due to heat exchange flows from the upper outlet 16 to
It is blown diagonally upward and flows along the ceiling surface.

FIG. 5 shows the state of the air flow in the room at this time. The dotted arrow 33b indicates the direction of the airflow. The blown hot air reaches the opposing wall surface 5 along the ceiling surface 3, then descends along the wall surface 5, flows along the floor surface 4, and reaches the inlet of the indoor unit 1. Thereby, the blown hot air does not directly hit the occupants, and it is possible to prevent discomfort due to airflow. In addition, by generating circulation in the entire room, a space having a small vertical temperature difference can be provided.

Further, since the indoor heat exchanger 23 is disposed inclined with respect to the vertical direction, the air blowing direction 32a and the air suction direction 31 at the time of starting the heating operation do not intersect in the room (see FIG. 1). In addition, since the air blowing direction 32b and the air suction direction 31 at the time of stable heating operation do not intersect in the room (see FIG. 4), the short circuit in which the blown air is immediately sucked into the suction port again is suppressed. be able to. Note that the indoor heat exchanger may be constituted by a bent heat exchanger, and a part thereof may be arranged to be inclined with respect to the vertical direction.

The above operation is for the heating operation.
Even when the cooling operation is selected, the same operation is performed by replacing the heating with the cooling air and the hot air with the cold air.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention, showing an operation at the time of starting a heating operation. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the control device of the air conditioner of FIG. 6, mainly showing the indoor side. FIG. 8 shows the operation of the indoor unit in FIG. 6 when the heating operation is stable.

In FIG. 6, 101 is an indoor unit, 102 is a fan casing, 103 is a reversible rotary through-flow fan, 10
4 is an upper fan nose and 105 is a lower fan nose. The reversible rotating once-through fan 103 is driven to rotate reversibly by a drive motor 65 (see FIG. 7). The arrow 30c indicates the direction of the once-through fan rotation (forward rotation). Other symbols are the same as those in FIG. The lower fan nose 105 functions as a fan nose during normal rotation of the once-through fan 103 (in the direction of the arrow 30c), and the air is blown out to the lower outlet 17. Further, the upper fan nose 104 functions as a fan nose when the once-through fan 103 rotates in the reverse direction (see FIG. 8), so that air is sent to the upper outlet 16.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the control device of the present air conditioner, mainly showing the indoor side. Indoor controller 51
A remote controller 60 for setting a target temperature of the room and starting and stopping the heating or cooling operation, an outdoor controller 52 for receiving a signal from the indoor temperature sensor 26 and controlling a compressor (not shown); While transmitting and receiving signals,
It controls a reversible rotating once-through fan drive motor 65, an upper horizontal louver drive motor 63, and a lower horizontal louver drive motor 64.

The operation of the air conditioner configured as described above during the heating operation will be described. When the target temperature of the room is set by the remote controller 60 and the heating operation is started,
The heating operation is started. At this time, the indoor side control device 51 controls the lower horizontal louvers 22a and 22b by the motor 64 so as to be inclined downward from the fully closed state as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the upper horizontal louvers 21a,
21b is maintained in a fully closed state.

Next, the reversible rotary through-flow fan 103 is driven by the motor 65 in the direction of the arrow 30c. Thereby, the air flows into the indoor unit 101 via the suction grill 25, and exchanges heat with the high-temperature refrigerant flowing inside the heat exchanger in the indoor heat exchanger 23. The air whose temperature has increased due to the heat exchange is blown obliquely downward from the lower blowout port 17, and the warm air spreads on the floor surface.

The state of the airflow in the room when the heating operation is started is the same as that described in the first embodiment (see FIG. 3). In this way, the interior of the room can be quickly heated by causing the high-temperature hot air immediately after the blowing to reach the floor surface.

The operation when the room temperature detected by the room temperature sensor 26 approaches within 1 ° C. of the target temperature will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 shows the operation of the indoor unit 101 when the heating operation is stable. Here, the arrow 30d indicates the once-through fan rotation direction (reverse rotation), and the other symbols are the same as those in FIG. At this time, the indoor side control device 51 temporarily stops the drive motor 65 of the reversible rotating once-through fan 103,
The lower horizontal louvers 22a, 22b are fully closed using the drive motor 64. Next, the upper horizontal louvers 21a, 2
1b is set somewhat obliquely upward using the drive motor 63, and the reversible rotary cross-flow fan 103 is driven by the drive motor 65 in the direction of the reverse arrow 30d.

Thus, through the suction grill 25,
The air flows into the indoor unit 1 and exchanges heat with the high-temperature refrigerant flowing inside the heat exchanger in the indoor heat exchanger 23. The air whose temperature has risen due to heat exchange flows from the upper outlet 16 to
It is blown diagonally upward and flows along the ceiling surface.

The state of the airflow in the room when the heating operation is stable is the same as that described in the first embodiment (FIG. 5).
reference). Thereby, the blown hot air does not directly hit the occupants, and it is possible to prevent discomfort due to airflow. In addition, by generating circulation in the entire room, a space having a small vertical temperature difference can be provided.

Further, since the indoor heat exchanger 23 is arranged inclined with respect to the vertical direction, the air blowing direction 32a and the air suction direction 31 at the time of starting the heating operation do not intersect in the room (see FIG. 6). In addition, since the air blowing direction 32b and the air suction direction 31 during the stable heating operation do not intersect in the room (see FIG. 8), the short circuit in which the blown air is immediately sucked into the suction port again is suppressed. be able to.

In the air conditioner of the present embodiment, the first
Since the two through-flow fans are replaced by one reversible rotary through-flow fan, the number of parts can be reduced.

The above operation is for the heating operation.
Even when the cooling operation is selected, the same operation is performed by replacing the heating with the cooling air and the hot air with the cold air.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a control device of an air conditioner according to a third embodiment of the present invention, mainly showing an indoor side. The configuration of the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present invention is the same as that of FIG.

In FIG. 9, reference numeral 71 denotes an upper-side outlet prohibition switch during the heating operation, 72 denotes a lower-side outlet prohibition switch during the cooling operation, and 73 denotes a floor surface temperature sensor for detecting the radiation temperature of the floor surface. However, the floor surface temperature sensor 73 is not shown in the indoor unit of FIG. The upper blow-out inhibition switch 71 during the heating operation has no wall on the facing surface of the indoor unit,
When the distance to the opposing wall is long and warm air can be blown out along the ceiling surface, the entire room using the opposing wall surface cannot be circulated and the floor surface cannot be warmed. , Set by the resident.

When this switch 71 is set, warm air is always blown from the lower outlet 17 regardless of when the heating operation is started and when the heating operation is stable. In the cooling operation, when the cool air is blown out along the ceiling surface, even if there is no opposing wall surface, the cool air comes down due to the density difference, so that the entire room can be air-conditioned.

The lower blow prohibition switch 72 during the cooling operation is set by the occupant when it is desired to avoid airflow from the start of the cooling operation. When this switch 72 is set, cold air is always blown from the upper outlet 16 regardless of whether the cooling operation is started or the cooling operation is stable.

The floor surface temperature sensor 73 detects when the heating operation is stable.
The floor temperature when the hot air is blown from the upper outlet 16 is detected. The indoor control device 51 calculates the target temperature of the floor surface from the target temperature of the room set by the remote controller 60, and when the floor surface temperature falls below the target value, the entire room is warmed by circulation in the upward blowing. Is determined, the drive motors 61, 62 for the upper and lower cross-flow fans and the drive motors 63, 64 for the upper and lower horizontal louvers are controlled to switch from upper blow to lower blow.

As described above, in the air conditioner of the present embodiment, the first
Compared to the embodiment, the upper and lower outlets are selectively used in accordance with the conditions of the place where the indoor unit is installed, so that more comfortable air conditioning can be provided.

In the first and third embodiments, when blowing air, one of the upper and lower outlets is used. However, both air outlets are used by using both outlets in accordance with room conditions. You may. Further, the ratio of the air volume between the upper and lower outlets may be changed. For example, when starting up the heating or cooling operation, the air volume at the lower outlet is made larger than the air volume at the upper air outlet, and when heating or cooling operation is stable, the air volume at the upper air outlet is made larger than the air volume at the lower air outlet.

[0048]

As described in detail above, an air conditioner that can be installed on a wall close to the ceiling and blows air along the ceiling surface to eliminate a feeling of airflow when heating or cooling operation is stable. It is possible to provide an air conditioner that suppresses a short circuit in which the blown air is immediately sucked into the suction port again when the air is blown out.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control device of the air conditioner of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an airflow in the room when the heating operation is started in the indoor unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the operation of the indoor unit shown in FIG. 1 when the heating operation is stable.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing airflow in the room when the heating operation is stable in the indoor unit of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a control device of the air conditioner of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the operation of the indoor unit shown in FIG. 6 when the heating operation is stable.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a control device for an air conditioner according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 101: indoor unit, 11, 102: fan casing, 12: upper cross-flow fan, 13: lower cross-flow fan, 1
4, 104: Upper fan nose, 15, 105: Lower fan nose, 21a, 21b: Upper horizontal louver, 22
a, 22b: lower horizontal louver, 23: indoor heat exchanger, 1
03 ... Reversible rotating once-through fan.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An air conditioner having an upper air outlet and a lower air outlet above and below an air inlet of an indoor unit, respectively, wherein the upper air outlet is substantially horizontal. An air conditioner characterized in that the lower air outlet is configured to blow air substantially downward.