JP6667232B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly to a control technique of an air conditioner provided with a mechanism for cleaning a filter that collects dust from air drawn in by an indoor unit.

  An indoor unit of an air conditioner that adjusts indoor temperature, humidity, air cleanliness, and the like includes a filter. The filter provided in the indoor unit collects dust from the air sucked by the indoor unit and prevents the dust from adhering to the indoor heat exchanger and the indoor fan. This filter is also important for keeping the interior of the indoor unit clean and for maintaining the cleanliness of the air blown into the room.

  If the dust collected on the filter of the indoor unit accumulates on the filter, the filter clogs the filter and reduces the flow rate of the air taken in by the indoor unit, thereby lowering the performance of the air conditioner. Further, there is a possibility that the cleanliness of the air blown into the room cannot be maintained.

  Therefore, in recent years, an air conditioner that includes a cleaning mechanism that automatically cleans a filter of an indoor unit and cleans the filter at a predetermined timing has been known. As an air conditioner having such an automatic cleaning function, Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a filter cleaning device that moves a filter with respect to a rotating brush constituting the cleaning mechanism and scrapes dust collected by the filter. An air conditioner equipped with a device has been proposed. Patent Documents 2 and 3 below propose air conditioners configured to remove dust from a filter while moving a cleaning unit with respect to the filter.

JP 2014-70884 A (released on April 21, 2014) JP 2010-19551 A (released on January 28, 2010) JP 2013-53846 A (released on March 21, 2013) JP-A-5-196288 (published Aug. 08, 1993) JP 2004-36967 A (released on February 05, 2004)

  In an air conditioner to which the filter cleaning device described in Patent Literature 1 is applied, a filter that covers an indoor heat exchanger during normal operation of air conditioning (operation such as heating, cooling, and air cleaning) is automatically cleaned. When it moves, the indoor heat exchanger is exposed. If normal operation of air conditioning is performed in this exposed state, dust will directly adhere to the interior of an indoor unit such as an indoor heat exchanger. Therefore, in the air conditioner to which the filter cleaning device described in Patent Literature 1 is applied, control for stopping the normal operation of air conditioning is performed when the filter is automatically cleaned.

  Further, in the types of Patent Documents 2 and 3, the indoor heat exchanger is not exposed during automatic cleaning. However, when normal operation of air conditioning is performed during automatic cleaning, dust is attracted to the filter. It is difficult to remove. Therefore, similarly, in the types of Patent Documents 2 and 3, when automatic cleaning of the filter is started, control for stopping the normal operation of air conditioning is performed.

  However, if the rotation of the indoor fan is appropriately controlled instead of simply stopping the normal operation of air conditioning when cleaning the filter, the filter can be more efficiently cleaned.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to send air to an indoor heat exchanger even during a period when a filter is being cleaned, and to perform heat exchange in the indoor heat exchanger. It is an object of the present invention to realize an air conditioner and the like that can prevent dust from entering the interior of an indoor unit from an air intake port while maintaining the air conditioner.

In order to solve the above problems, an air conditioner according to one embodiment of the present invention is an air conditioner including an indoor unit including an indoor fan and an indoor heat exchanger, and an outdoor unit including an outdoor heat exchanger. A filter for collecting dust in the air sucked from the air suction port, an automatic cleaning mechanism for automatically removing dust collected by the filter, and a rotation control unit for controlling rotation of the indoor fan. and a control unit including, the indoor fan is rotatable air sucked from the air inlet forward blown out from the air outlet, and in the opposite direction is a positive direction and the opposite direction, the rotation The control unit controls the automatic cleaning mechanism to perform the cooling operation, or the heating operation and the defrosting operation during the heating operation, or the normal operation such as the dehumidification operation or the air cleaning operation, while continuing the normal operation such as the air cleaning operation. Is Cleaning the target area is a region on the serial filter during a period in which to clean, the indoor fan is rotated in the reverse direction, the air sucked from the air outlet blows from the air inlet.

  According to one embodiment of the present invention, while the filter is being cleaned, the indoor fan is rotated in the reverse direction, so that air is sent to the indoor heat exchanger and heat exchange in the indoor heat exchanger is continued. In addition, it is possible to prevent dust from entering the indoor unit from the air inlet.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the principal part of the indoor unit of the air conditioner which concerns on this invention in side surface cross section. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the indoor unit of an air conditioner, (a) is the perspective view which looked at the indoor unit from the lower part, (b) is a front view. It is the schematic diagram which showed an example of the refrigerating cycle of the air conditioner about (a) at the time of heating operation, and (b) at the time of cooling operation. It is a functional block diagram showing roughly composition of a control system of an air conditioner provided with a filter unit which has an automatic cleaning function. 5 is a time chart illustrating an example of a procedure of cleaning control performed by the control unit illustrated in FIG. 4. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process when the control unit illustrated in FIG. 4 executes a procedure of the cleaning control illustrated in FIG. 5 is a time chart illustrating another example of the procedure of the cleaning control performed by the control unit illustrated in FIG. 4. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process when the control unit illustrated in FIG. 4 executes a procedure of the cleaning control illustrated in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows another structure of the principal part of the indoor unit of the air conditioner which concerns on this invention in side surface cross section.

[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

(External configuration of air conditioner)
First, the appearance of the indoor unit 10 of the air conditioner 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating an appearance of the indoor unit 10 of the air conditioner 1, wherein FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the indoor unit 10 as viewed from below, and FIG. 2B is a front view. The air conditioner 1 corresponds to the separated indoor unit 10 in which the outdoor unit 30 is separately provided, and belongs to a wall-mounted type as shown in FIG. Note that the air conditioner 1 may be a ceiling-installed type, a floor-standing type, or an indoor-only type having no outdoor unit 30.

  The indoor unit 10 of the air conditioner 1 includes an open panel 2, an air inlet 3, an air flow panel 4, and an outlet 8 (see FIG. 1) as outer components. As shown in FIG. 2 (b), when the air conditioner 1 installed on the wall surface is viewed from the front, the ceiling side is the upper side, the floor side is the lower side, and the left-right direction is the longitudinal direction of the air conditioner 1. The vertical direction crosses the longitudinal direction crosswise. In the following description, the directions of up, down, up, down, and longitudinal have the meanings defined above. As shown in FIG. 2B, the air inlet 3 is formed in a lattice shape on the upper surface of the air conditioner 1, for example. The general opening shape of the entire air suction port 3 is an elongated rectangular shape along the above-described longitudinal direction. The open panel 2 and the airflow panel 4 are supported by the cabinet 7 of the air conditioner 1 so as to be openable and closable.

  An input unit 52 (such as a light receiving unit (not shown)) that receives a light beam such as an infrared ray emitted from a remote controller that receives an operation instruction from the user, and a voice input unit such as a microphone that receives an instruction sound from the user. 4 (see FIG. 4) may be provided on the front of the cabinet 7. Also, a display unit (notification unit) (not shown) for notifying the user of various information, a lamp (notification unit) (not shown), and a sound output unit 57 (notification unit, FIG. ) May be provided on the front of the cabinet 7.

(Main configuration of air conditioner 1)
Next, a configuration of a main part of the indoor unit 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a main part of an indoor unit 10 of an air conditioner 1 according to the present invention in a side cross section. As shown in FIG. 1, an indoor unit 10 of the air conditioner 1 is disposed in a cabinet 7 having openings such as an air inlet 3 and the outlet 8 and an outlet 8, and is blown out from the outlet 8. An airflow panel 4, a filter 11, a retraction mechanism 12, a cleaning mechanism 20, an indoor heat exchanger 5, and an indoor fan 6 for adjusting the direction of the airflow.

  The indoor fan 6 may be, for example, a cross flow fan (also called a line flow fan). The indoor fan 6 is rotatable in a forward direction in which the air sucked in from the air inlet 3 is blown out from the outlet 8 and in a reverse direction opposite to the forward direction.

  The filter 11 collects dust in the air sucked from the air inlet 3 of the air conditioner 1 (see FIG. 2B). The cleaning mechanism 20 is a mechanism for removing dust attached to the filter 11, and includes, but is not limited to, a rotating brush 21 and a dust box 22. For example, the rotating brush 21 contacts the filter 11 while rotating, and scrapes dust adhering to the filter 11, and the scraped dust is collected in the dust box 22.

  The cleaning mechanism 20 receives an instruction from the control unit 50 (see FIG. 4) of the air conditioner 1, and at least one cleaning target area constituting a plurality of divided areas of the filter 11 among the filters 11 (cleaning target areas). , The operation is started during the air conditioning operation, and the filter 11 is cleaned. Here, the cleaning target area is an area on the filter 11 to be cleaned by the cleaning mechanism 20.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 1, when the cleaning mechanism 20 is fixed near the retraction mechanism 12, the filter 11 that has covered the indoor heat exchanger 5 is cleaned before being housed in the retraction mechanism 12. The area in contact with the rotating brush 21 of 20 is the area to be cleaned. The area to be cleaned may be the entire filter 11 or a part of the filter 11.

  That is, in the indoor heat exchanger 5 of the air conditioner 1 shown in FIG. 1, the filter 11 covering the indoor heat exchanger 5 moves while the cleaning mechanism 20 is cleaning the area to be cleaned ( For example, the filter 11 is retracted into the retracting mechanism 12), and the indoor heat exchanger 5 is exposed.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the air conditioner 1 further includes an outdoor unit 30 (see FIG. 3) including an outdoor heat exchanger 37, and connects between the indoor heat exchanger 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 37. It has a refrigeration cycle in which the refrigerant circulates.

(Refrigeration cycle of air conditioner 1)
Next, a refrigeration cycle of the air conditioner 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the refrigeration cycle of the air conditioner 1 during (a) a heating operation and (b) a cooling operation. In FIG. 3, the high temperature of the refrigerant is indicated by a thick line, and the low temperature of the refrigerant is indicated by a thin line. In the air conditioner 1, the refrigerant pipe 40 is connected to the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 30 so that the refrigerant circulates between the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 30. In the following description, the air conditioner 1 having both a cooling function and a heating function will be described as an example. However, the air conditioner 1 is not limited to this, and may be any air conditioner 1 that uses a refrigerant compression process by the compressor 33. For example, the air conditioner 1 may have only a heating function or only a cooling function, or may have a dehumidifying function or an air cleaning function, or both of these functions, in addition to the cooling function and the heating function. Good.

  The refrigeration cycle of the air conditioner 1 includes a compressor 33 that changes the rotation speed and discharges after condensing the refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger 37 that performs heat exchange between the refrigerant and outdoor air, a refrigerant and an indoor air. An indoor heat exchanger 5 that exchanges heat with the air, an outdoor fan 36 that blows air to the outdoor heat exchanger 37, and an indoor fan 6 that blows air to the indoor heat exchanger 5 are provided.

  When the indoor fan 6 rotates in a positive direction around an axis parallel to the longitudinal direction, the indoor fan 6 draws indoor air from the air intake port 3 and creates an airflow that blows out from the outlet 8 into the room. The air flow passes through a path that sequentially follows the air inlet 3, the top and front surfaces of the filter 11, the indoor heat exchanger 5, the indoor fan 6, and the outlet 8. When the indoor fan 6 passes the indoor air sucked from the air suction port 3 provided in the indoor unit 10 through the indoor heat exchanger 5, heat exchange is performed between the refrigerant and the indoor air. The heat-exchanged air is blown into the room by an indoor fan 6 from an air outlet 8 provided in the indoor unit 10. By controlling the number of revolutions of the indoor fan 6 per unit time (hereinafter, referred to as “the number of revolutions of the indoor fan”), the amount of air blown into the room from the outlet 8 can be adjusted.

  On the other hand, when the indoor fan 6 rotates around the axis parallel to the longitudinal direction in the opposite direction, which is the direction opposite to the forward direction, the indoor air is mainly sucked from the outlet 8 and the air inlet 3 And, an airflow is blown out from the front of the cabinet 7 into the room. This airflow passes through a path that sequentially follows the outlet 8, the indoor fan 6, the indoor heat exchanger 5, the top and front surfaces of the filter 11, and the air inlet 3. The strength of the airflow generated around the number of rotations when the indoor fan 6 is rotated in the reverse direction is generally weaker than the amount of airflow generated around the number of rotations when the indoor fan 6 is rotated in the forward direction. This is due to the blade structure of the indoor fan 6.

  The air conditioner 1 controls a refrigeration cycle to perform an air conditioning operation such as a cooling function and a heating function. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3A, during the heating operation, the refrigerant is “compressor 33 → four-way valve 38 → three-way valve 41 → indoor heat exchanger 5 → two-way valve 42 → expansion valve. 39 → the outdoor heat exchanger 37 → the four-way valve 38 → the compressor 33, and during the cooling operation, the “compressor 33 → the four-way valve 38 → the outdoor heat exchanger 37 → the expansion valve 39 → the two-way valve 42 → The circulation is performed in the order of the indoor heat exchanger 5 → the three-way valve 41 → the four-way valve 38 → the compressor 33 ”.

  The state of the refrigerant circulating in the refrigeration cycle during the heating operation will be described below. The refrigerant in the high temperature and high pressure state compressed by the compressor 33 is deprived of heat by the indoor air by the driving of the indoor fan 6 in the indoor heat exchanger 5 and condensed. The high-temperature refrigerant condensed in the indoor heat exchanger 5 is decompressed and expanded by the expansion valve 39 to be in a low-temperature and low-pressure state, and is sent to the outdoor heat exchanger 37. The refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger 37 is evaporated while absorbing heat from the outdoor air by the driving of the outdoor fan 36, becomes a low-temperature refrigerant (gas state), and returns to the compressor 33. The air that has undergone heat exchange in the indoor heat exchanger 5 is discharged into the room, thereby heating the room. That is, in the refrigeration cycle during the heating operation, the outdoor heat exchanger 37 functions as an evaporator, and the indoor heat exchanger 5 functions as a condenser.

  Detailed description of the refrigeration cycle during the cooling operation will be omitted. In the refrigeration cycle during the cooling operation, the refrigerant is circulated in a direction opposite to that during the heating operation, the indoor heat exchanger 5 functions as an evaporator, and the outdoor heat exchanger 37 functions as a condenser. The air that has undergone heat exchange in the indoor heat exchanger 5 is discharged into the room, thereby cooling the room.

  The air conditioner 1 includes a refrigerant pipe 40 that connects the expansion valve 39 and the outdoor heat exchanger 37, and a flow path that connects the compressor 33, and allows the refrigerant to pass through the flow path (open state) or An electromagnetic valve 35 (also called a capillary tube) that can take two states of shutting off (closed state). The solenoid valve 35 is a member for adjusting the temperature and pressure of the refrigerant by restricting the flow of the refrigerant. By opening the solenoid valve 35, the refrigerant can be quickly brought to a low-temperature and low-pressure state. That is, by opening the electromagnetic valve 35 during the heating operation ((a) in FIG. 3), a part of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 33 is changed to “the compressor 33 → the electromagnetic valve 35 → the outdoor heat exchanger 37 → the four-way”. The valve 38 can be circulated (guided) to the compressor 33 ". Thereby, the condensation pressure of the compressor 33 can be reduced.

(Configuration of control system of air conditioner)
FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a control system of the air conditioner 1. Various operations of the air conditioner 1 are controlled by the control unit 50. The control unit 50 includes a retracting mechanism 12, a cleaning mechanism 20, an indoor fan 6, an airflow panel 4, a memory 51, an input unit 52, an air conditioning unit 53, a timer unit 54, an indoor heat exchanger temperature sensor 55, and an outdoor heat exchanger temperature. The controlled elements of the sensor 56 and the audio output unit 57 are connected via a bus.

  The control unit 50 includes a fan rotation control unit 501 (rotation control unit). The fan rotation control unit 501 controls the direction and speed of rotation of the indoor fan 6 and the timing of starting and stopping the rotation. That is, the fan rotation control unit 501 may rotate the indoor fan 6 in the reverse direction while the cleaning mechanism 20 is cleaning the area to be cleaned of the filter 11. Alternatively, the fan rotation control unit 501 may rotate the indoor fan 6 in the reverse direction or the forward direction when the cleaning mechanism 20 is cleaning the filter 11 in synchronization with the start of the defrosting operation.

  The input unit 52 may include a communication unit (not shown) that communicates with a remote controller that gives various instructions to the air conditioner 1 by a user. More specific controlled elements in the air-conditioning unit 53 include a driving unit of the airflow panel 4 and a driving unit of the indoor fan 6 of the air conditioner 1, and a configuration provided in the outdoor unit 30, that is, the compressor 33, The valve and the outdoor fan 36 are included.

  The indoor heat exchanger temperature sensor 55 is a temperature sensor provided in the indoor unit 10 and monitoring the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 5. The outdoor heat exchanger temperature sensor 56 is a temperature sensor provided in the outdoor unit 30 and monitoring the temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger 37.

  When the power of the air conditioner 1 is turned on, the control unit 50 controls the operations of the driving units and the controlled elements by reading a control program and set values of various operations from the memory 51.

  The procedure for controlling the rotation of the indoor fan 6 when the control unit 50 performs the cleaning of the filter 11 will be described later using a specific example.

(Rotation control of indoor fan when air conditioner 1 cleans filter 11)
Next, the rotation control of the indoor fan when the air conditioner 1 cleans the filter 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a time chart showing an example of a procedure of the cleaning control performed by the control unit 50 shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process when the control unit 50 illustrated in FIG. 4 executes the procedure of the cleaning control illustrated in FIG.

  Here, the case where the filter 11 is cleaned during the heating operation will be described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the same applies to the case where the filter 11 is cleaned during a normal operation such as a cooling operation or an air cleaning operation.

  The air conditioner 1 starts the heating operation in response to a user's operation being received or a preset time being a trigger (time point A in FIG. 5A) (step 11; Abbreviated as S11). The control unit 50 receives information on the accumulated operation time X from the timer unit 54. Here, the “integrated operation time X” is the total time during which the air conditioning operation has been performed, starting from the date and time when the filter cleaning was last performed. Further, the memory 51 stores a threshold value Y (time for defining a filter cleaning cycle) of the integrated operation time at which the filter cleaning should be performed. Therefore, the control unit 50 compares the integrated operation time X received from the timer unit 54 with the threshold Y read from the memory 51, and determines whether the integrated operation time X exceeds the threshold Y (S12). Note that the control unit 50 may periodically perform this determination every time a predetermined time elapses.

  When the cumulative operation time X exceeds the threshold Y (Yes in S12), the control unit 50 instructs the cleaning mechanism 20 and the retraction mechanism 12 to start cleaning the filter 11 while continuing the heating operation. (Time B in FIG. 5A) (S13). While the cleaning mechanism 20 is cleaning the filter 11, the fan rotation control unit 501 rotates the indoor fan 6 in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation (forward rotation) during the heating operation (reverse rotation) (S14). . The timing at which the indoor fan 6 starts to reversely rotate may be the same as when the cleaning mechanism 20 starts cleaning the filter 11, may be before a certain time, or may be after a certain time. .

  Note that the control unit 50 may stop the heating operation in conjunction with the cleaning operation of the filter 11. In this case, when the cleaning of the filter 11 is started, audio data notifying the user of the start may be read out from the memory 51 and output from the audio output unit 57. Thereby, when the heating operation is interrupted, it is possible to prevent the user from thinking that the air conditioner has failed.

  When the indoor fan 6 is rotating in the reverse direction, the control unit 50 may control the airflow panel 4 to open. If the airflow panel 4 is controlled to be opened, the amount of air drawn into the indoor unit 10 from the outlet 8 can be increased when the indoor fan is rotated in the reverse direction. For this reason, more air is sent to the indoor heat exchanger 5, and the heat exchange in the indoor heat exchanger 5 is continued, and the dust is more effectively prevented from entering the interior of the indoor unit 10 from the air intake port 3 or the like. Can be avoided. In addition, since the airflow generated by the reverse rotation of the indoor fan 6 flows in a direction that does not draw the dust to the filter 11, the dust attached to the filter 11 can be easily removed.

  When the cleaning of the filter 11 by the cleaning mechanism 20 is completed (S15), the fan rotation control unit 501 switches the indoor fan 6 from the reverse rotation to the forward rotation (time point C in FIG. 5A). If the heating operation has been interrupted, control unit 50 restarts the heating operation at time point C.

  As a trigger for executing S12, for example, when the control unit 50 outputs a control signal indicating a change in temperature or air volume, the control unit 50 changes the operation mode such as from the cooling mode to the dehumidification mode. May be output, when the user sets a timer, or the like. That is, the fact that some signal is input / output in the control unit 50 can be used as a trigger for executing S12.

  Thus, the air conditioner 1 rotates the indoor fan 6 in the reverse direction while the cleaning mechanism 20 is cleaning the area to be cleaned of the filter 11. Thereby, even while the filter 11 is being cleaned, the air can be continuously sent to the indoor heat exchanger 5. Therefore, normal operation such as cooling, heating or dehumidification can be continued. Also, it is possible to prevent dust from entering the interior of the indoor unit from the air intake port. In addition, dust is not attracted to the filter as compared with a case where the filter is cleaned while the air conditioner is performing a normal operation while rotating the indoor fan in the forward direction, so that the dust is easily removed.

  Note that the fan rotation control unit 501 selects a mode in which the rotation of the indoor fan 6 is stopped in addition to a mode in which the rotation of the indoor fan 6 is reversely rotated while the cleaning mechanism 20 is cleaning the filter 11. It may be configured to be possible.

  FIG. 5B illustrates a cleaning control performed by the control unit 50 including the fan rotation control unit 501 that can stop or reverse the rotation of the indoor fan 6 during the cleaning of the filter 11. 6 is a time chart showing an example of rotation control of the indoor fan 6 in FIG.

  In the air conditioner 1 that has been performing the heating operation from time A, the cleaning mechanism 20 starts cleaning the filter 11 at time D. While the filter 11 is being retracted into the retracting mechanism 12 (time E to time F), the indoor heat exchanger 5 is exposed. Thereafter, the filter 11 is pulled out from the retraction mechanism 12, and the cleaning of the filter 11 ends at a time point G.

  Therefore, as shown in the time chart of FIG. 5B, the fan rotation control unit 501 determines that the indoor heat exchanger 5 is exposed during the period from the time point D to the time point G when the filter 11 is being cleaned. The indoor fan 6 is reversely rotated only from the time point E to the time point F in the state. On the other hand, when the indoor heat exchanger 5 is covered with the filter 11 and there is no possibility that dust adheres to the indoor heat exchanger 5, the indoor fan 6 is stopped at the time points D to E and the time points F to G. I have. That is, the fan rotation control unit 501 selects the mode in which the rotation of the indoor fan 6 is stopped.

  As described above, during the period in which the filter is being cleaned, if the indoor fan 6 does not need to be rotated in the reverse direction, or if the operation is inappropriate, the rotation stop mode is selected. Is also good.

  In the case of FIG. 5A, the indoor fan is operated from the time when the control unit 50 instructs the cleaning mechanism 20 to clean the filter 11 at the time point B until the time when the filter 11 starts moving by the retraction mechanism 12. The rotation of the indoor fan 6 may be stopped, assuming that the operation state does not require the rotation of the indoor fan 6 in the reverse direction.

  In order to determine whether the indoor heat exchanger 5 is covered or exposed by the filter 11, the control unit 50 detects the length of the retracted filter 11 (not shown). ) May be arranged in the retraction mechanism 12. When the length detected by this sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold, it can be determined that the indoor heat exchanger 5 has been exposed.

[Embodiment 2]
Another embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as the members described in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

  The air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment uses a period during which the air conditioner 1 is performing defrosting of the outdoor heat exchanger 37, in addition to a case where the filter 11 is cleaned during execution of the normal operation. Clean the filter 11. Thereby, the number of times (frequency) of cleaning the filter can be increased as compared with the related art. Therefore, clogging of the filter can be reduced, and power consumption can be reduced.

(Rotation control of the indoor fan when the air conditioner 1 cleans the filter 11 at the time of the defrosting operation)
Hereinafter, rotation control of the indoor fan 6 when the air conditioner 1 cleans the filter 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 is a time chart illustrating an example of a procedure of the cleaning control performed by the control unit 50 illustrated in FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process when the control unit 50 illustrated in FIG. 4 executes the procedure of the cleaning control illustrated in FIG. Here, the case where the period for performing the cleaning of the filter 11 is longer than the period for the defrosting operation will be described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the length of each period may be appropriately adjusted. I just need.

  The air conditioner 1 starts the heating operation triggered by a user's operation being received or a preset time being reached (time A in FIG. 7A) (S21).

  When the control unit 50 determines the temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger 37 obtained through the outdoor heat exchanger temperature sensor 56 and detects frost on the outdoor heat exchanger 37 (S22), the control unit 50 Then, the heating operation is interrupted and switched to the defrosting operation (S23). The detection of frost formation on the outdoor heat exchanger 37 is not limited to this, but can be performed, for example, by making the following determination. The control unit 50 detects that the temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger 37 is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature (for example, −5 ° C.) or is lower than a predetermined temperature (for example, −5 ° C.) for a predetermined time (for example, 1 hour). Is detected, it is determined that frost formation on the outdoor heat exchanger 37 has been detected.

  Note that when the defrosting operation is started, the control unit 50 may read out audio data notifying the user of the start of the defrosting operation from the memory 51 and output the audio data from the audio output unit 57. Thereby, when the heating operation is interrupted, it is possible to prevent the user from thinking that the air conditioner has failed.

  The control unit 50 controls the refrigeration cycle to switch the flow of the refrigerant in the same direction as in the cooling operation, thereby performing defrosting. Thereby, the temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger 37 can be raised and the attached frost can be melted. On the other hand, the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 5 will decrease.

  When the control unit 50 switches to the defrosting operation in S23, the control unit 50 instructs the cleaning mechanism 20 and the retraction mechanism 12 to start cleaning the filter 11 (see FIG. 7A). Time point K) (S24). Here, the case where the defrosting operation and the cleaning of the filter 11 are started at the same time at the time K is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the cleaning of the filter 11 may be started after a while after the defrosting operation is started.

  Next, while the cleaning mechanism 20 is performing the cleaning of the filter 11, the fan rotation control unit 501 rotates the indoor fan 6 in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation (forward rotation) during the heating operation (reverse rotation). (S25).

  When the indoor fan 6 is rotating in the reverse direction, the control unit 50 may control the airflow panel 4 to open. When the indoor fan 6 is rotated in the opposite direction, air is sucked into the indoor unit 10 from the outlet 8. By opening the airflow panel 4, the amount of air taken in from the outlet 8 can be increased, so that the amount of heat exchange in the indoor heat exchanger 5 can be increased, and the heat exchange efficiency can be increased. Therefore, the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 5 whose temperature has decreased during the defrosting operation can be quickly increased, and the restart of the heating operation can be accelerated.

  When detecting that the temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger 37 has become higher than the predetermined temperature, the controller 50 terminates the defrosting operation (time point L in FIG. 7A) (S26). At this point L, the cleaning of the filter 11 has not been completed.

  Next, when the cleaning of the filter 11 is completed in S27 (time M in FIG. 7A), the control unit 50 refers to the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 5 measured by the indoor heat exchanger temperature sensor 55. . When it is detected that the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 5 has risen to a predetermined temperature (for example, 10 ° C.) or higher (Yes in S29), the interrupted heating operation is restarted (in FIG. 7A). Time point M) (S30). At this time, the fan rotation control unit 501 switches the indoor fan 6 from the reverse rotation to the normal rotation.

  In the above example, the air flow panel is provided from the time when the air conditioner 1 finishes defrosting the outdoor heat exchanger 37 to the time when the heating operation is restarted (time L to time M in FIG. 7A). 4, the fan rotation control unit 501 continues to rotate the indoor fan 6 in the reverse direction. However, the rotation control of the indoor fan 6 is not limited to this, and for example, the following control is also possible.

  As shown in (c) of FIG. 7, a period from the time when the air conditioner 1 ends the defrosting of the outdoor heat exchanger 37 to the time when the heating operation is restarted (from time L to time M in (c) of FIG. 7). ), The airflow panel 4 is closed, and the fan rotation control unit 501 may rotate the indoor fan 6 in the forward direction at a lower speed than during the heating operation or at the same speed as during the heating operation. When the indoor fan 6 is rotated in the forward direction at a lower speed than during the heating operation, dust on the filter 11 is blown into the room when the air flows backward from the air inlet 3 with the airflow panel 4 closed. Can be avoided. By rotating the indoor fan 6 in the forward direction, an air flow is generated in the indoor unit 10, so that the amount of heat exchange in the indoor heat exchanger 5 can be increased and the heat exchange efficiency can be increased. At this time, since the airflow panel 4 is closed, before the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 5 whose temperature has decreased during the defrosting operation increases, it is possible to suppress the cool air from flowing out of the outlet 8 into the room. . However, it is desirable to make the rotation speed of the indoor fan 6 in the forward direction from the time point L to the time point M slower than during the heating operation. By making the rotation speed of the indoor fan 6 slower than during the heating operation, it is possible to suppress the amount of cool air flowing into the room from the air inlet 3.

  In addition to the above, as shown in FIG. 7B, a period from when the air conditioner 1 completes defrosting the outdoor heat exchanger 37 to when the heating operation is restarted (see FIG. 7B). From time point L to time point M), the airflow panel 4 may be closed, and the fan rotation control unit 501 may stop the indoor fan 6.

[Embodiment 3]
The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIG. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as the members described in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

(Main configuration of air conditioner 1a)
The main configuration of the air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing another configuration of a main part of the indoor unit 10a of the air conditioner 1a according to the present invention in a side cross section.

  The indoor unit 10 shown in FIG. 9 includes a filter 11 having a surplus area 11B (filter, cleaning target area) in addition to the normal area 11A (filter, cleaning target area). The normal region 11A is a region that is developed at the dust collection position during the air-conditioning operation, and the surplus region 11B is a remaining region other than the normal region 11A. During normal operation of air conditioning, the surplus area 11B is stored in the retraction mechanism 12B. The normal area 11A and the surplus area 11B are vertically continuous, and there is no distinction in configuration. Each of the normal area 11A and the surplus area 11B has a length in the vertical direction that can sufficiently cover the indoor heat exchanger 5 arranged from above the indoor fan 6 to the front. Therefore, the filter 11 of the present embodiment is a filter configured to be longer in the vertical direction than the conventional filter 11 in which the filter is not moved.

  While the normal area 11A is being cleaned, even if the normal area 11A is pulled into the drawing mechanism 12A, the surplus area 11B is drawn from the drawing mechanism 12A. Covered by

  In the indoor unit 10a having such a configuration, the indoor fan 6 is rotated reversely while the normal area 11A is being cleaned while performing the normal operation of air conditioning. In this case, dust is not attracted to the filter 11 as described above, as compared with the case where the indoor fan 6 is rotated forward while the normal area 11A is being cleaned while performing the normal operation of air conditioning. It is easier to remove dust.

  On the other hand, in the indoor unit 10a having such a configuration, the cleaning operation for the surplus area 11B may be performed about once or twice a year. This is because only a small amount of dust adheres to the surplus area 11B that is developed at the dust collection position only during the cleaning operation of the normal area 11A, as compared with the normal area 11A that is constantly developed at the dust collection position. In addition, since the frequency of the cleaning operation for the surplus area 11B is low, the cleaning operation for the surplus area 11B can be performed following the air conditioning operation stop or during the period after the operation stop, and the driving sound at that time is reduced. The comfort of the air conditioner does not have to be reduced.

  However, when cleaning the surplus area 11B, the indoor heat exchanger 5 is exposed as in the case of the filter 11 of FIG. Therefore, even while the surplus area 11B is being cleaned, the indoor fan can be rotated in the reverse direction to prevent dust from adhering to the indoor heat exchanger 5.

[Summary]
The air conditioner 1 according to the first aspect of the present invention is an air conditioner including the indoor units 10 and 10a including the indoor fan 6 and the indoor heat exchanger 5, and the outdoor unit 30 including the outdoor heat exchanger 37. A filter (filter 11, normal area 11A, surplus area 11B) for collecting dust in the air sucked from air suction port 3, cleaning mechanism 20 for removing dust collected by the filter, A rotation control unit (fan rotation control unit 501) for controlling the rotation of the fan, wherein the indoor fan blows air taken in from the air suction port from an air outlet and a direction opposite to the forward direction. The rotation control unit may rotate the indoor fan during the period in which the cleaning mechanism is cleaning the area to be cleaned, which is the area of the filter to be cleaned. It is rotated in the direction.

  According to the above configuration, the indoor fan is rotated in the reverse direction during a period in which the area to be cleaned, which is the area of the filter to be cleaned, is being cleaned. Thus, it is possible to keep sending air to the indoor heat exchanger even while the filter is being cleaned. Therefore, normal operation such as cooling, heating or dehumidification can be continued. Further, when the normal heating operation is restarted after performing the defrosting operation during the heating operation period, heat exchange in the indoor heat exchanger can be promoted, and the restart of the heating operation can be expedited. Further, it is possible to prevent dust from entering the indoor unit from the air inlet. In addition, dust is not attracted to the filter as compared with a case where the filter is cleaned while the air conditioner is performing a normal operation while rotating the indoor fan in the forward direction, so that the dust is easily removed.

  In the air conditioner 1 according to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the filter covering the indoor heat exchanger moves while the cleaning mechanism is cleaning the cleaning target area. The indoor heat exchanger may be exposed.

  This allows the indoor fan to rotate in the opposite direction even if the filter covering the indoor heat exchanger moves during the period of cleaning the filter and the indoor heat exchanger is exposed. In addition, it is possible to prevent dust from entering the indoor unit from the air suction port and attaching to the indoor heat exchanger.

  In the air conditioner according to aspect 3 of the present invention, in the aspect 1 or 2, the rotation control unit stops the rotation of the indoor fan during a period in which the cleaning mechanism is cleaning the cleaning target area. The mode to be performed may be selectable.

  For example, if the indoor heat exchanger is covered with the filter and is not exposed when cleaning the filter, there is no possibility that dust will adhere to the indoor heat exchanger even if the indoor fan is stopped. Therefore, during the period when the filter is being cleaned, if the indoor fan does not need to be rotated in the reverse direction, or if the operation is inappropriate, the mode for stopping the rotation may be selected. .

  An air conditioner according to an aspect 4 of the present invention is the air conditioner according to any one of the aspects 1 to 3, wherein the cleaning mechanism is configured to perform the defrosting of the outdoor heat exchanger while the air conditioner is performing the defrosting of the outdoor heat exchanger. It may be configured to clean the area.

  During the defrosting operation, the air conditioner stops the normal heating operation. According to the above configuration, while the air conditioner is performing defrosting of the outdoor heat exchanger, the cleaning target area that is an area on the filter is cleaned. Thereby, the number of times (frequency) of cleaning the filter can be increased as compared with the related art. Therefore, clogging of the filter can be reduced, and power consumption can be reduced.

  An air conditioner according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the air conditioner according to the fourth aspect, wherein the air outlet is provided with an airflow panel for adjusting a direction of an airflow to be blown, and the air conditioner is provided with an outdoor heat exchanger. The air conditioner may be configured to open the airflow panel when the rotation control unit rotates the indoor fan in the reverse direction during a period in which defrosting is being performed.

  According to the above configuration, the air conditioner opens the airflow panel when rotating the indoor fan in the reverse direction while the outdoor heat exchanger is performing defrosting. When the indoor fan is rotated in the opposite direction, air is sucked into the indoor unit from the outlet. By opening the airflow panel, the amount of air taken in from the outlet can be increased, so that the amount of heat exchange in the indoor heat exchanger can be increased and the heat exchange efficiency can be increased. Therefore, the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger whose temperature has decreased during the defrosting operation can be quickly increased, and the restart of the heating operation can be expedited.

  The air conditioner according to an aspect 6 of the present invention is the air conditioner according to the aspect 4, wherein the air conditioner is the same as the air conditioner until the heating operation is restarted after the air conditioner finishes defrosting the outdoor heat exchanger. The airflow panel may be closed, and the rotation control unit may continue to rotate the indoor fan in the opposite direction.

  According to the above configuration, the indoor fan continues to rotate in the reverse direction with the airflow panel closed from the time the defrosting of the outdoor heat exchanger ends to the time the heating operation is restarted. By rotating the indoor fan in the reverse direction, an air flow is generated in the indoor unit, the amount of heat exchange in the indoor heat exchanger is increased, and the heat exchange efficiency can be increased. In addition, by closing the airflow panel, it is possible to suppress the cool wind from flowing into the room from the outlet before the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger whose temperature has decreased during the defrosting operation increases.

  The air conditioner according to an aspect 7 of the present invention is the air conditioner according to the above aspect 4, wherein the air conditioner is the same as the air conditioner until the heating operation is resumed after the air conditioner finishes defrosting the outdoor heat exchanger. The airflow panel may be closed, and the rotation control unit may rotate the indoor fan in a forward direction.

  According to the above configuration, the indoor fan is rotated in the forward direction with the airflow panel closed between the time when the defrosting of the outdoor heat exchanger is completed and the time when the heating operation is restarted. By rotating the indoor fan in the forward direction, an air flow is generated in the indoor unit, the amount of heat exchange in the indoor heat exchanger is increased, and the heat exchange efficiency can be increased. Since the airflow panel is closed, it is possible to suppress the cool air from flowing out of the air outlet into the room before the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger whose temperature has decreased during the defrosting operation increases.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, new technical features can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in each embodiment.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 air conditioner 3 air inlet 4 airflow panel 5 indoor heat exchanger 6 indoor fan 8 outlet 10, 10a indoor unit 11 filter (area to be cleaned)
11A Normal area (filter, area to be cleaned)
11B Surplus area (filter, area to be cleaned)
Reference Signs List 20 cleaning mechanism 30 outdoor unit 37 outdoor heat exchanger 501 fan rotation control unit (rotation control unit)

Claims (4)

An indoor unit including an indoor fan and an indoor heat exchanger, and an air conditioner including an outdoor unit including an outdoor heat exchanger,
A filter for collecting dust in the air sucked from the air inlet;
An automatic cleaning mechanism that automatically removes dust collected by the filter,
A control unit including a rotation control unit that controls the rotation of the indoor fan,
The indoor fan is rotatable in a forward direction in which air sucked from the air suction port is blown out from an outlet, and in a reverse direction that is a direction opposite to the forward direction,
The rotation control unit includes:
The filter to be cleaned by the automatic cleaning mechanism while the control unit continues a normal operation such as a cooling operation, or a heating operation and a defrosting operation during the heating operation, or a dehumidifying operation, or an air cleaning operation. During the period of cleaning the upper cleaning area,
An air conditioner characterized in that by rotating the indoor fan in the reverse direction , air is sucked in from the outlet and is blown out from the air inlet . During the period in which the automatic cleaning mechanism is cleaning the area to be cleaned, the filter covering the indoor heat exchanger moves to expose the indoor heat exchanger. Item 1. The air conditioner according to Item 1. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rotation control unit is capable of selecting a mode for stopping rotation of the indoor fan during a period in which the automatic cleaning mechanism is cleaning the cleaning target area. The air conditioner as described. An airflow panel for adjusting the direction of the airflow to be blown is arranged at the outlet.
During the period when the air conditioner is performing defrosting of the outdoor heat exchanger, when the rotation control unit reversely rotates the rotation of the indoor fan, the air conditioner opens the airflow panel. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein

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