JP3522076B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a room temperature control technique for cooling and dehumidifying (drying) an air conditioner having a plurality of indoor heat exchangers, and more particularly, by changing the capacity of the indoor heat exchanger, The present invention relates to an air conditioner that lowers relative humidity in a room to suppress discomfort.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air conditioner of this type is, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, a compressor 1, a four-way valve 2, a two-pass indoor heat exchanger 3, an outdoor heat exchanger 4, and a capillary tube. It has a refrigeration cycle consisting of 5 grades.

During heating operation, the four-way valve 2 is switched to circulate the refrigerant in accordance with the solid line arrow in FIG.
The indoor fan is controlled to rotate according to the set air volume of the remote controller, and the hot air that has been heat-exchanged by the indoor heat exchanger (condenser) 3 is blown out into the room while the difference between the indoor temperature and the set temperature of the remote controller is set. The compressor 1 is operated at a predetermined operating frequency to control the room temperature. During cooling operation, the refrigerant by switching the four-way valve 2 along with the circulating accordance broken line arrows in FIG. 6, and controls the rotation of the indoor fan according to a remote control of the set air volume, etc., the indoor heat exchanger (evaporator) 3 While the cold air having undergone heat exchange is blown out into the room, the compressor 1 is operated at a predetermined operation frequency according to the difference between the room temperature and the set temperature of the remote controller to control the room temperature.

The two-pass indoor heat exchanger 3 uses two refrigerants.
It is divided into systems and has a wide surface area, for example, a lambda type, which allows the indoor unit to be made into a compact, and secures a wide suction area to obtain a richer air volume, that is, a powerful It can blow air, and can quickly create a comfortable environment in the room.

[0005]

By the way, in the air conditioner, if the cooling / dehumidifying (dry) operation is selected, the indoor humidity can be lowered. In the dehumidifying operation (dry operation), a weak cooling operation is performed (so-called simple cooling operation is performed).

However, when the cooling / dehumidifying operation is selected, if the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 3 does not reach the dew point temperature, only the room temperature decreases, the relative humidity in the room rises, and discomfort is given. There was an occasion. That is, the rate of change in latent heat is smaller than the rate of change in sensible heat by the indoor heat exchanger 3, that is, only sensible heat is exerted, and relative humidity increases as the room temperature decreases, so that chilliness is felt sensibly. Because you will feel it. In addition, during dehumidifying operation, the room temperature slowly decreases, and it takes time to reach the set temperature, so that the decrease in relative humidity during that time is small and comfort for a long time is impaired.

For example, if the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 3 has not reached the dew point temperature, the room temperature will drop, as shown in FIG. 7, but the room relative temperature will fall within a predetermined time A from the start of the cooling / dehumidifying operation. Although the humidity rapidly rises and then the room temperature decreases, the relative humidity decreases only a little because the dehumidification rate is low. Further, when the room temperature is near the set temperature, in the room temperature control of the cooling / dehumidifying operation, the operating frequency of the compressor 1 is set to a low frequency (to reduce the sensible heat change and the latent heat change).
Room temperature can be maintained at the set temperature, but the dehumidification rate becomes lower, resulting in an increase in relative humidity. In particular, when the difference between the room temperature and the set temperature is small, for example, the set temperature is 27 ° C. with respect to the room temperature of 30 ° C. or the set temperature is 24 ° C. with respect to the room temperature of 26 ° C. (during rainy season or long rain in autumn) , The relative humidity increases remarkably. That is, as described above, the room temperature immediately becomes the set temperature, and the operating frequency of the compressor 1 becomes a low frequency.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to reduce the relative humidity in the room during cooling / dehumidifying (dry) operation to suppress discomfort, and to improve a comfortable environment. It is to provide an air conditioner capable of

[0009]

To SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention, the indoor heat exchanger included in the refrigeration cycle and multiple path structure, circulates coolant to the indoor heat exchanger performed at room temperature control, the air conditioner controls the room temperature to a set temperature, among the plurality of paths, a valve provided in at least one path, the cooling and dehumidifying of the air conditioner (dry) operation, the room temperature is the Predetermined value for set temperature
When the value is equal to or greater than the value (correction set temperature)
With the valve open, keep the room temperature below the corrected set temperature.
When it is low, the valve is closed to increase the capacity of the indoor heat exchanger.
The feature is that it is reduced .

Further , in order to achieve the above object, a claim
The invention of No. 2 provides an indoor heat exchanger included in a refrigeration cycle
It has a pass structure, and the refrigerant is circulated through the indoor heat exchanger to control the room temperature.
Air conditioning that controls the room temperature to a set temperature
Machine, cooling / removing one of the two passes
A valve is provided on the refrigerant input side during the wet (dry) operation, and during the cooling / dehumidifying (dry) operation of the air conditioner, the room temperature is equal to or higher than the value obtained by adding a predetermined value to the set temperature (corrected set temperature). Sometimes, the valve is opened, and when the room temperature is lower than the correction set temperature, the valve is closed to reduce the capacity of the indoor heat exchanger.

[0011]

In this case, after closing the valve, it is preferable to open the valve when the room temperature is equal to or higher than a value obtained by adding a predetermined value to the corrected set temperature. Further, the valve may be a solenoid valve or an expansion valve, and the solenoid valve or the expansion valve may be controlled by the control means of the air conditioner.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the same parts as those in FIG. 6 and the corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals, and the duplicated description will be omitted.

1 and 2, the air conditioner of the present invention is provided with a solenoid valve (valve) 10 on the refrigerant input side of one path side 3b of an indoor heat exchanger 3 having a two-pass structure, for cooling and dehumidifying. During the (dry) operation, the solenoid valve 10 is controlled to open / close according to the room temperature and the set temperature.

When the room temperature is equal to or higher than the value obtained by adding a predetermined value to the set temperature of the remote controller 11 (corrected set temperature), the solenoid valve 10 is opened to perform the operation of giving priority to sensible heat change, and the room temperature is lower than the corrected set temperature. Occasionally, the solenoid valve 10 is closed to circulate the refrigerant only in the one-pass side 3a of the indoor heat exchanger 3,
The capacity of the indoor heat exchanger 3 is reduced, that is, the low-pressure side is lowered to perform the latent heat change priority operation. It should be noted that in sensible heat change priority operation, a slightly stronger operation than the conventional cooling / dehumidifying (dry) operation may be performed, and in latent heat change priority operation, a slightly weaker operation than the conventional cooling / dehumidifying operation may be performed. Good.

The solenoid valve 10 is, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a refrigerant input side (cooling / dehumidification) of one path ( shaded dashed white circle shown in the figure) 3b of the lambda type indoor heat exchanger 3. Although it is arranged on the refrigerant input side during operation), the solenoid valve 10 may be arranged in consideration of the shape of the indoor heat exchanger 3 and the dehumidifying effect. Further, this air conditioner has an indoor unit control unit 12 and an outdoor unit control unit 13 of the control means, and the indoor unit control unit 11 and the outdoor unit control unit 12 output signals necessary for the operation (for example, a set temperature of a remote controller). And operating temperature of the compressor 1 according to the temperature difference between the room temperature and the room temperature, and the like, the function of transmitting and receiving the operation stop, the refrigerant discharge temperature, etc.) is provided. Room temperature control)
I do.

The indoor unit controller 12 detects the room temperature by the detection signal from the room temperature sensor 14 and detects the room temperature 12a.
And a set temperature detecting / storing unit 12b that detects and stores a set temperature by a remote control signal from the remote controller 11, a set temperature correction unit 12c that adds a predetermined value to the set temperature, and an electromagnetic wave based on the detected room temperature and the corrected set temperature. An arithmetic unit 12d that determines the opening / closing of the valve 10 and an electromagnetic valve driving unit 12e that drives the electromagnetic valve 10 according to the determination of opening / closing are provided.

Next, the operation of the control device for the air conditioner having the above construction will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 4 and the graph of FIG. Fig. 4 shows cooling and dehumidification (dry).
This is a description of the case of driving.

First, when the cooling / dehumidifying (dry) operation is performed by the remote controller 11, the indoor unit controller 12 opens the electromagnetic valve 10 to start the cooling / dehumidifying operation, and at the same time, set the temperature Ts set by the remote controller 11. (Eg 24
(° C) is read (step ST1), and this set temperature Ts
To the corrected set temperature ts
While calculating (25 ° C.) (step ST2), room temperature T
r (for example, 26 ° C.) is detected (step ST3).

Then, it is judged whether or not the room temperature Tr is lower than the correction set temperature ts (step ST4), and when the room temperature Tr is equal to or higher than the correction set temperature ts, the solenoid valve 10 is left open, that is, the room The operation of the sensible heat change priority is executed without changing the capacity of the heat exchanger 3 (step ST
5). That is, the room temperature is controlled so that the room temperature approaches the set temperature as quickly as possible.

By operating the sensible heat with priority, the room temperature Tr
Rapidly decreases, and the room temperature Tr reaches the correction set temperature ts in a short time. Therefore, in the meantime,
Although the relative humidity in the room rises, the room temperature is short, and the latent heat change priority operation to be described later is immediately performed, so that the increase in the relative humidity is suppressed to a small level (see the broken line curve in FIG. 5). That is, the relative humidity does not immediately after the start of the cooling / dehumidifying (dry) operation but rises with time, and the corrected set temperature ts is higher than the set temperature Ts.

When the room temperature Tr reaches the corrected set temperature ts,
From step ST4 to ST6, the solenoid valve 10 is closed,
Indoor heat exchanger 3 using only one pass of indoor heat exchanger 3
Reduce the volume, thereby it is possible to lower the temperature of the low-pressure side, the result dehumidification rate is increased, it is possible to reduce the relative humidity rapidly (see dashed line arrow x in FIG. 5). Moreover, not performed path-side 3 b in the heat exchanger of the indoor heat exchanger 3, since this is heat-exchanged without air also blown out becomes smaller decrease in room temperature Tr (see dashed line curve of FIG. 5), whereby Can also lower the relative humidity.

As described above, by switching from the sensible heat change priority operation to the latent heat change priority operation, the relative humidity in the room is rapidly decreased and the decrease in the room temperature Tr is reduced. Can be reduced and comfort is not impaired.

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the room temperature Tr is equal to or higher than the correction set temperature ts + a predetermined value (for example, 2 ° C.) a (step ST7). That is, the room temperature Tr may exceed the correction set temperature ts due to disturbance or the like, and this deteriorates comfort. Room temperature Tr is corrected set temperature ts
If it is not equal to or greater than the + predetermined value b, the process returns to step ST4 and the above steps are repeated, that is, the electromagnetic valve 10 is kept closed and the latent heat change priority operation continues.

When the room temperature Tr reaches the set temperature Ts, the operating frequency of the compressor 1 is set to a low frequency as in the conventional case by the room temperature control, but the capacity of the indoor heat exchanger 3 is already reduced. The latent heat change is not so small, that is, the dehumidification rate is not significantly decreased, so that the relative humidity is not increased, no discomfort is felt, and comfort is not impaired.

By the way, when the room temperature Tr becomes equal to or higher than the correction set temperature ts + the predetermined value b due to disturbance or the like, the solenoid valve 1
0 is opened and the capacity is returned to the original value by using 2 passes of the indoor heat exchanger 3 (step ST). That is, an increase in the room temperature Tr causes discomfort and impairs comfort,
Further, the room temperature Tr may further rise when the electromagnetic valve 10 is kept closed. Then, the process returns to step ST1 again, and the steps described above are repeated. That is, as described above, the sensible heat change priority operation is performed to lower the room temperature Tr, and when the room temperature Tr decreases, the latent heat change priority operation is switched to.

The predetermined values a and b may be changed according to the room temperature Tr and the set temperature Ts. In this case, for example, the larger the difference between the room temperature Tr and the set temperature Ts, the larger the predetermined values a and b are. The solenoid valve 1
An expansion valve may be used instead of zero. In this case, the expansion valve is controlled to open and close. The electromagnetic valve 10 may be disposed on the refrigerant input side of the path side 3a of the broken line circles in FIG. When the indoor heat exchanger 3 has a structure with more than two paths, valves may be arranged on the refrigerant input sides of two or more paths and each valve may be controlled. In this case, each valve is controlled to be opened and closed simultaneously, or each valve is controlled to be opened and closed arbitrarily.

[0028]

As described in the foregoing, according to the present invention 請 Motomeko 1, a valve is provided in at least one pass of the multiple pass of the indoor heat exchanger, cooling and dehumidifying of the air conditioner (dry) operation
Sometimes, the room temperature is the value obtained by adding a predetermined value to the set temperature (correction setting
Temperature) or higher, the valve is opened and the chamber
When the temperature is lower than the corrected set temperature, close the valve.
Since the capacity of the indoor heat exchanger has been reduced,
Even if the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger has not reached dew condensation,
Reduce the capacity of the indoor heat exchanger before the temperature reaches the set temperature.
Increase the dehumidification rate by operating with priority on latent heat change
It is possible to suppress the rise in relative humidity at room temperature, and
Even if the room temperature reaches the set temperature, the dehumidification rate
It does not become too low, the rise in relative humidity can be suppressed, and
You can reduce the feeling of chills and improve comfort.
This has the effect of improving the quality.

[0029] According to the invention of claim 2, the indoor heat exchange
Install a valve on the refrigerant input side of one of the two paths of the converter
At room temperature during air-conditioning cooling / dehumidifying (dry) operation
Is a value obtained by adding a predetermined value to the set temperature (corrected set temperature)
When it is above, the sensible heat is changed with the valve opened.
If priority operation is performed and the room temperature is lower than the correction set temperature,
First, close the valve to reduce the capacity of the indoor heat exchanger.
However, since the operation is prioritized to change the latent heat,
Even if the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger has not reached dew condensation, the room temperature
Latent heat change from sensible heat priority operation before reaching set temperature
Can be switched to priority operation and indoor heat exchange
Since the capacity of the chamber can be reduced by half, the dehumidification rate
Can be controlled to prevent the rise in room temperature relative humidity.
Even if the room temperature has reached the set temperature.
The humidity rate is not so low that the increase in relative humidity is suppressed.
It is possible to reduce sensational chills etc.
And has the effect of improving comfort, and
Only one needs to be added, and the cost is low.
The effect is that

Further, according to the invention of claim 3, claim 1
Or after closing the valve in 2
When the temperature is equal to or greater than the positive set temperature plus the specified value,
Since the valve is opened, the effect of claim 1 or 2 can be obtained.
In addition, even if the room temperature rises due to disturbance, etc.
It is possible to reduce the discomfort. It
Further, according to the invention of claim 4, according to claim 1 or 2,
The valve is a solenoid valve or an expansion valve.
Or control the expansion valve by the control means of the air conditioner.
Therefore, in addition to the effect of claim 1 or 2,
Or, only the expansion valve needs to be installed, which is not so costly.
There is an effect that it does not have to be up.

[0031]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a control device for an air conditioner, which describes an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a refrigeration cycle of the air conditioner of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side sectional view illustrating an indoor unit of the air conditioner of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart illustrating the operation of the control device shown in FIG.

5 is a schematic graph illustrating the operation of the control device shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a refrigeration cycle of a conventional air conditioner.

FIG. 7 is a schematic graph illustrating the operation of a conventional air conditioner control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 compressor 3 Indoor heat exchanger 10 Solenoid valve 11 remote control 12a Room temperature detector 12b Set temperature detector 12c Set temperature correction unit 12d arithmetic unit 12e Solenoid valve drive 13 Outdoor unit controller 14 Room temperature sensor a, b predetermined value Tr room temperature Ts set temperature ts Correction set temperature

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-7-332736 (JP, A) JP-A-10-197194 (JP, A) JP-A-8-105646 (JP, A) JP-A-6-42796 (JP , A) JP-A-8-68568 (JP, A) JP-A-3-164666 (JP, A) Actual development 61-74071 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB) Name) F24F 11/02 102

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An air conditioner in which an indoor heat exchanger included in a refrigeration cycle has a multi-pass structure, a refrigerant is circulated through the indoor heat exchanger to control room temperature, and the room temperature is controlled to a set temperature. of path, a valve is provided in at least one path, the cooling and dehumidifying of the air conditioner (dry) operation, the chamber
The temperature is a value obtained by adding a predetermined value to the set temperature (corrected set temperature
The valve is opened when
If the room temperature is lower than the corrected set temperature, close the valve.
An air conditioner characterized by reducing the capacity of the indoor heat exchanger . Wherein the indoor heat exchanger included in the refrigeration cycle and two-pass structure, performed at room temperature controlled by circulating refrigerant into the indoor heat exchanger, the air conditioner controls the room temperature to the set temperature, the 2 Cooling / dehumidifying (drying) one of the paths
A valve is provided on the refrigerant input side during operation, and the air conditioner is
The room temperature is set to the above value during the cooling and dehumidifying (dry) operation
It is equal to or higher than the value obtained by adding a predetermined value to the temperature (correction set temperature).
Sometimes the valve is opened and the room temperature
When the temperature is lower than the set temperature, the valve is closed to
An air conditioner characterized by reducing the capacity of the converter. 3. After the valve is closed, the room temperature is corrected by the correction.
If the temperature is equal to or higher than the set temperature plus a predetermined value,
The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the valve is opened.
Machine. 4. The valve is a solenoid valve or an expansion valve,
The solenoid valve or the expansion valve is controlled by the air conditioner control means.
The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, which is controlled.
Machine.