JP6896041B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioner.

When the air conditioner performs a cooling operation or a dehumidifying operation (hereinafter, also referred to as a cooling operation), the moisture in the air condenses inside the indoor unit due to cooling, and the inside of the indoor unit tends to have high humidity. In a high humidity environment, fungi such as molds are likely to grow, and these molds may cause a foul odor from the indoor unit or cause allergies when released from the air outlet of the indoor unit. ..

It is known that the growth of mold can be suppressed by warming the space to 40 ° C. or higher and holding it for a certain period of time. For this reason, an air conditioner has been developed that suppresses the growth of mold by performing a heating operation after a cooling operation or a dehumidifying operation.

As an example of such a technique, Patent Document 1 describes a blower operation, a heating operation, and the blower operation in which the compressor is stopped and only the blower fan is operated for a predetermined time as a mold prevention operation after performing a cooling operation or a dehumidification operation. The operation is performed in the order of operation, dehumidification operation, and the ventilation operation, and the heating operation as a part of the mold prevention operation is approximately the room temperature obtained by adding a predetermined temperature to the room temperature immediately before the heating operation. Air conditioners that keep them consistent are disclosed.

Patent No. 46333353

However, in Patent Document 1, the compressor operated in the heating operation during the mold prevention operation is controlled based on the indoor heat exchanger temperature measured by the indoor pipe temperature sensor (indoor heat exchanger temperature sensor), and is predetermined. It is stated that it will continue to operate until time elapses.

Although it is the room temperature that directly affects the comfort and discomfort of the user, the air conditioner of Patent Document 1 keeps raising the room temperature by maintaining the indoor heat exchanger at a high temperature. This problem becomes more pronounced when the air-conditioned space where the air conditioner is installed is small.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation.
That is, it is an object of the present invention to make the heating operation performed after the end of the cooling operation or the dehumidifying operation more appropriate, and to prevent or reduce the discomfort of the user due to the heating operation.

To solve the above problem
The air conditioner of the present invention
Indoor heat exchanger and
With an indoor blower fan,
Equipped with a vertical wind direction plate,
After the dehumidification operation or cooling operation is completed, the heating operation is executed,
In the heating operation, the upper and lower wind direction plates are opened, and the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger is raised to 40 ° C. or higher while driving the indoor blower fan.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent or reduce the discomfort of the user due to the heating operation by making the heating operation performed after the end of the cooling operation or the dehumidifying operation more appropriate.

It is a front view of the indoor unit, the outdoor unit, and the remote control provided in the air conditioner which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is an elevation view which removed the front panel of the indoor unit provided in the air conditioner which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a vertical sectional view of the indoor unit provided in the air conditioner which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the refrigerant circuit of the air conditioner which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram of the air conditioner which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the mold suppression operation executed by the control part of the air conditioner which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a time chart which shows the mold suppression operation performed by the control part of the air conditioner which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows the influence which the operation of a blower fan at the time of a heating operation has on the temperature of an indoor heat exchanger. It is a time chart which shows the mold suppression operation performed by the control part of the air conditioner which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the mold suppression operation executed by the control part of the air conditioner which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

The air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below. It should be noted that each figure is merely schematically shown to the extent that the present invention can be fully understood. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated examples.

<< First Embodiment >>
<Composition of air conditioner>
FIG. 1 is a front view of the indoor unit 10, the outdoor unit 30, and the remote controller 40 included in the air conditioner 100 according to the first embodiment.
The air conditioner 100 is a device that performs air conditioning by circulating a refrigerant in a refrigeration cycle (heat pump cycle). As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner 100 includes an indoor unit 10 installed indoors, an outdoor unit 30 installed outdoors, and a remote controller 40 operated by a user.

The indoor unit 10 includes a remote controller transmission / reception unit 11 and an indoor temperature sensor 24a.

The indoor temperature sensor 24a is, for example, a sensor installed at the illustrated position inside the housing of the indoor unit 10 and detects the indoor temperature based on the temperature of the air sucked into the indoor unit 10. The detailed position of the indoor temperature sensor 24a and the like will be described later in FIG.

The remote control transmission / reception unit 11 transmits / receives a predetermined signal to / from the remote control 40 by infrared communication or the like. For example, the remote controller transmission / reception unit 11 receives signals such as an operation / stop command, a change in the set temperature, a change in the operation mode, and a timer setting from the remote controller 40. Further, the remote controller transmission / reception unit 11 transmits the detected value of the room temperature and the like to the remote controller 40.

Although omitted in FIG. 1, the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 30 are connected via a refrigerant pipe and also via a communication line.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the indoor unit 10 with the front panel 17 (see FIG. 3) removed.
The indoor unit 10 includes a filter 16 in addition to the remote controller transmission / reception unit 11 (see FIG. 1) described above. The filter 16 removes dust from the air taken into the indoor unit 10.
The indoor temperature sensor 24a is installed on the air suction side of the filter 16. By installing the room temperature sensor 24a in such a position, when the temperature of the room heat exchanger 12 (see FIG. 3) is raised as described later, the heat from the room heat exchanger 12 (see FIG. 3) is increased. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of an error in the detection of room temperature due to the influence of radiation.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the indoor unit 10.
The indoor unit 10 includes the remote controller transmission / reception unit 11 (see FIG. 1), the filter 16, the indoor heat exchanger 12, the drain pan 13, the blower fan 14, the housing base 15, and the front panel 17. The left and right wind direction plates 18 and the up and down wind direction plates 19 are provided.

The indoor heat exchanger 12 is a heat exchanger in which heat exchange is performed between the refrigerant passing through the heat transfer tube 12g and the indoor air.
The drain pan 13 receives the water dripping from the indoor heat exchanger 12, and is arranged below the indoor heat exchanger 12. The water that has fallen into the drain pan 13 is discharged to the outside via a drain hose (not shown).

The blower fan 14 is, for example, a cylindrical cross-flow fan, and is driven by a blower fan motor 14a (see FIG. 5).
The housing base 15 is a housing in which devices such as the indoor heat exchanger 12 and the blower fan 14 are installed.

The filter 16 is installed on the upper side and the front side of the indoor heat exchanger 12 (see FIG. 3). The front panel 17 is a panel installed so as to cover the filter 16 on the front side, and is rotatable forward with the lower end as an axis. The front panel 17 may not rotate.

The left-right wind direction plate 18 is a plate-shaped member that adjusts the flow direction of the air blown toward the room in the left-right direction. The left and right wind direction plates 18 are arranged on the downstream side of the blower fan 14, and are rotated in the left and right directions by the left and right wind direction plate motors 21 (see FIG. 5).

The vertical wind direction plate 19 is a plate-shaped member that adjusts the flow direction of the air blown out toward the room in the vertical direction. The vertical wind direction plate 19 is arranged on the downstream side of the blower fan 14, and is rotated in the vertical direction by the vertical wind direction plate motor 22 (see FIG. 5).

Then, the air sucked through the air suction port h1 exchanges heat with the refrigerant flowing through the heat transfer tube 12g, and the heat exchanged air is guided to the blowout air passage h2. The air flowing through the blowout air passage h2 is guided in a predetermined direction by the left and right wind direction plates 18 and the upper and lower wind direction plates 19, and is further blown into the room through the air outlet h3.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a refrigerant circuit Q of the air conditioner 100.
The solid line arrow in FIG. 4 indicates the flow of the refrigerant during the heating operation.

Further, the broken line arrow in FIG. 4 indicates the flow of the refrigerant during the cooling operation.

As shown in FIG. 4, the outdoor unit 30 includes a compressor 31, an outdoor heat exchanger 32, an outdoor fan 33, an outdoor expansion valve 34 (first expansion valve), and a four-way valve 35. ..

The compressor 31 is a device that compresses a low-temperature low-pressure gas refrigerant by driving the compressor motor 31a and discharges it as a high-temperature high-pressure gas refrigerant.
The outdoor heat exchanger 32 is a heat exchanger in which heat exchange is performed between the refrigerant passing through the heat transfer tube (not shown) and the outside air sent from the outdoor fan 33.

The outdoor fan 33 is a fan that sends outside air to the outdoor heat exchanger 32 by driving the outdoor fan motor 33a, and is installed in the vicinity of the outdoor heat exchanger 32.
The outdoor expansion valve 34 has a function of reducing the pressure of the refrigerant condensed by the "condenser" (one of the outdoor heat exchanger 32 and the indoor heat exchanger 12). The refrigerant decompressed by the outdoor expansion valve 34 is guided to the "evaporator" (the other of the outdoor heat exchanger 32 and the indoor heat exchanger 12).

The four-way valve 35 is a valve that switches the flow path of the refrigerant according to the operation mode of the air conditioner 100. That is, during the cooling operation (see the broken line arrow), the compressor 31, the outdoor heat exchanger 32 (condenser), the outdoor expansion valve 34, and the indoor heat exchanger 12 (evaporator) pass through the four-way valve 35. In the refrigerant circuit Q which is sequentially connected in an annular shape, the refrigerant circulates in the refrigeration cycle.

During the heating operation (see the solid line arrow), the compressor 31, the indoor heat exchanger 12 (condenser), the outdoor expansion valve 34, and the outdoor heat exchanger 32 (evaporator) pass through the four-way valve 35. In the refrigerant circuit Q which is sequentially connected in an annular shape, the refrigerant circulates in the refrigeration cycle.
That is, in the refrigerant circuit Q in which the refrigerant circulates in the refrigeration cycle through the compressor 31, the "condenser", the outdoor expansion valve 34, and the "evaporator" in that order, the above-mentioned "condenser" and "evaporator" One is the outdoor heat exchanger 32 and the other is the indoor heat exchanger 12.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the air conditioner 100.
The indoor unit 10 shown in FIG. 5 includes an environment detection unit 24 and an indoor control circuit 25 in addition to the above-described configuration.

The environment detection unit 24 has a function of detecting the indoor state and the state of the equipment of the indoor unit 10, and is the indoor temperature sensor 24a, the humidity sensor 24b, and the indoor heat exchanger temperature sensor shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. It is equipped with 24c.
As described above, the indoor temperature sensor 24a is a sensor that detects the indoor temperature, and is located at a position where the influence of heat radiation from the indoor heat exchanger 12 is difficult to reach, that is, on the air suction side of the filter 16 (see FIG. 3). It is installed in.

The humidity sensor 24b is a sensor that detects the humidity of the air in the room, and is installed at a predetermined position of the indoor unit 10.
The indoor heat exchanger temperature sensor 24c is a sensor that detects the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 12 (see FIG. 3), and is installed in the indoor heat exchanger 12.

The detected values of the indoor temperature sensor 24a, the humidity sensor 24b, and the indoor heat exchanger temperature sensor 24c are output to the indoor control circuit 25.
Although not shown, the indoor control circuit 25 includes electronic circuits such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and various interfaces. Then, the program stored in the ROM is read out and expanded in the RAM, and the CPU executes various processes.

The indoor control circuit 25 includes a storage unit 25a and an indoor control unit 25b.
In addition to the predetermined program, the storage unit 25a stores the detection result of the environment detection unit 24, the data received via the remote controller transmission / reception unit 11, and the like.

The indoor control unit 25b executes a predetermined control based on the data stored in the storage unit 25a. The process executed by the indoor control unit 25b will be described later.
The outdoor unit 30 includes an outdoor temperature sensor 36 and an outdoor control circuit 37 in addition to the above-described configuration.

The outdoor temperature sensor 36 is a sensor that detects the outdoor temperature (outside air temperature), and is installed at a predetermined position of the outdoor unit 30. Although omitted in FIG. 5, the outdoor unit 30 also includes sensors for detecting the suction temperature, discharge temperature, discharge pressure, and the like of the compressor 31 (see FIG. 3). The detected value of each sensor including the outdoor temperature sensor 36 is output to the outdoor control circuit 37.

Although not shown, the outdoor control circuit 37 includes electronic circuits such as a CPU, ROM, RAM, and various interfaces, and is connected to the indoor control circuit 25 via a communication line. As shown in FIG. 5, the outdoor control circuit 37 includes a storage unit 37a and an outdoor control unit 37b.

In addition to the predetermined program, the storage unit 37a stores the detection values of each sensor including the outdoor temperature sensor 36.
The outdoor control unit 37b controls the compressor motor 31a, the outdoor fan motor 33a, the outdoor expansion valve 34, and the like based on the data stored in the storage unit 37a. Hereinafter, the indoor control circuit 25 and the outdoor control circuit 37 are referred to as “control unit K”.

<Mold control operation method>
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a mold suppression operation executed by the control unit K of the air conditioner 100 (see FIGS. 4 and 5 as appropriate). It is assumed that the cooling operation and the like have been performed until the "start of the mold suppression operation" in FIG. First, it is desirable that the control unit K performs the first blower operation in which only the blower fan 14 is operated (step S101).

The reason for performing the first ventilation operation is as follows. When the cooling operation or the like that has been performed until the "start of the mold suppression operation" is stopped and the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 12 is raised by the heating operation (S103), the control unit K is in the opposite direction to that during the cooling operation or the like. The four-way valve 35 is controlled so that the refrigerant flows into the air. Here, if the direction in which the refrigerant flows is suddenly changed, the compressor 31 may be overloaded, which may lead to instability of the refrigeration cycle. Further, it is more excellent in energy efficiency to raise the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 12 after it is brought close to room temperature than to raise the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 12 immediately after being cooled by the cooling operation or the like.
For the above reasons, in the present embodiment, the first blower operation is performed in order to stabilize the refrigeration cycle and bring the indoor heat exchanger 12 closer to room temperature. The first blower operation ends after the first predetermined time has elapsed from the start and the scheduled end time of the first blower operation has been reached (step S102: Yes). The first predetermined time shall be appropriately set according to the specifications of the air conditioner 100.

After the first blower operation, the control unit K starts the heating operation (step S103). In the heating operation, the control unit K raises the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 12 to a temperature of 40 ° C. or higher. In order to set the indoor heat exchanger 12 to such a temperature, it is desirable that the discharge temperature of the compressor 31 in the heating operation during the mold suppression operation is higher than the discharge temperature of the compressor 31 in the normal heating operation. By setting the discharge temperature of the compressor 31 in the heating operation in this way, the growth of molds can be effectively suppressed. The control unit K controls the rotation of the compressor 31 so as to maintain the indoor heat exchanger 12 at this temperature.
If the room temperature does not rise above the predetermined temperature (step S104: No), the control unit K reaches the scheduled heating end time after a predetermined time has elapsed from the stop of the cooling operation or the like (step S105: No). Yes), stop the heating operation.

The scheduled heating end time is when a predetermined time has elapsed from the stop of the cooling operation or the like, that is, the predetermined time in the present embodiment is the total of the operation time of the first blower operation and the heating operation during the mold suppression operation. Is. The predetermined time is also appropriately set according to the specifications of the air conditioner 100, but the heating operation time within the predetermined time can be, for example, 10 minutes or more. After the heating operation is stopped (step S105: Yes), the control unit K starts the second ventilation operation (step S107).

However, when the room in which the indoor unit 10 is installed is small, the room temperature may rise excessively even if the compressor 31 is rotated to maintain the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 12. .. Therefore, when the room temperature reaches a predetermined temperature (step S104: Yes), the control unit K stops the heating operation in the middle even before the scheduled heating end time. The predetermined temperature is a temperature at which the user in the room begins to feel uncomfortable. As the predetermined temperature, the factory setting may be used, or the setting input by the user by the remote controller 40 may be used. By stopping the heating operation in the middle in this way, it is possible to suppress the growth of mold in the indoor unit 10 by the heating operation and also reduce the discomfort of the user.

When the heating operation is stopped in the middle, it is desirable that the control unit K starts the second ventilation operation before the scheduled heating end time. (Step S106). The reason why the second blast operation is started before the scheduled heating end time is that it is desirable to perform the second blast operation longer by the amount that the heating operation for a predetermined time could not be performed due to the excessive rise in the room temperature. .. That is, the operation time of the second blower operation (step S106) when the heating operation during the mold suppression operation is stopped before the scheduled heating end time is the second when the heating operation is stopped at the scheduled heating end time. 2 It is desirable to make it longer than the operation time of the ventilation operation (step S107). By performing the ventilation operation instead of the heating operation (heating alternative ventilation) in this way, the heating operation is shortened from the time that should be originally performed, and even if the heating operation is stopped in the middle, the indoor heat exchanger 12 is reduced by the shortened amount. It is possible to sufficiently dry the mold and suppress the growth of mold.

After the heating operation, if the temperature of the air inside the indoor unit 10 rises during the heating operation and the air is not circulated while maintaining the state where the saturated water vapor amount has increased, the absolute humidity inside the indoor unit 10 is due to the remaining moisture. Is in a rising state. If the temperature inside the indoor unit 10 is lowered without circulating the air inside the indoor unit 10 in a state where the absolute humidity is raised, the relative humidity inside the indoor unit 10 will rise. By performing the second ventilation operation, the temperature inside the indoor unit 10 is lowered without increasing the relative humidity inside the indoor unit 10 while circulating the air inside the indoor unit 10, and the inside of the indoor unit 10 is dried. Can be done. The second blower operation also contributes to the stabilization of the refrigeration cycle. This will be described later in FIG.

The second blower operation ends after the second predetermined time has elapsed from the start and the scheduled end time of the second blower operation has been reached (step S108: Yes). The second predetermined time can be appropriately set according to the specifications of the air conditioner 100 to such an extent that the inside of the indoor unit 10 can be sufficiently dried and the refrigeration cycle can be stabilized, and can be set to, for example, about 15 minutes. ..

FIG. 7 is a time chart showing a mold suppression operation executed by the control unit K of the air conditioner 100. FIG. 7 shows a normal system in which the air-conditioned space is sufficiently wide and the room temperature does not rise above a predetermined temperature due to the heating operation during the mold suppression operation.
The horizontal axis of FIG. 7 indicates the time, and the vertical axis represents the room temperature acquired by the indoor temperature sensor 24a from above, ON / OFF of the compressor 31, full opening / control of the expansion valve (outdoor expansion valve 34), and upper and lower blades (upper and lower blades). It shows the opening / closing of the vertical wind direction plate 19) and the switching of ON / OFF of the blower fan 14.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, the cooling operation is performed until time t1, the compressor 31 is driven, and the outdoor expansion valve 34 is controlled. At time t1 to the scheduled end time t2 of the first blower operation, the blower 1 operation (first blower operation) is performed, the compressor 31 is stopped, the outdoor expansion valve 34 is fully opened, and the blower fan 14 is driven. ing. (Step S101 in FIG. 6).

The first blower operation is stopped at the scheduled end time t2 of the first blower operation. The heating operation is performed at the scheduled end time t2 of the first blower operation 2 to the scheduled end time t3 of the heating, the compressor 31 is driven, and the outdoor expansion valve 34 is controlled (step S103 in FIG. 6).
The heating operation is stopped at the scheduled heating end time t3. At this time, it is desirable that the compressor 31 is decelerated and stopped. When the heating operation is stopped, the compressor 31 becomes high pressure with the high temperature refrigerant. If the high-pressure compressor 31 is suddenly stopped, a large vibration is generated, which may damage not only the compressor 31 but also the pipes connected to the compressor 31. By decelerating and stopping the compressor 31, the compressor 31 and peripheral devices connected to the compressor 31 can be protected.

Further, after the heating operation is stopped, it is desirable to open the outdoor expansion valve 34, which has been controlled and throttled during the heating operation. The reason for this is as follows. That is, at the end of the heating operation, the indoor heat exchanger 12 and the like in the indoor unit are heated to a high temperature by the heated refrigerant. If left as it is, the temperature of the air-conditioned space will rise due to the heat of the indoor heat exchanger 12 and the like even after the heating operation is completed. Therefore, by opening the expansion valve after the heating operation is completed, the indoor heat exchanger 12 and the like are cooled by the cold heat of the outdoor heat exchanger 32, and after the heating operation is completed, the heat of the indoor heat exchanger 12 and the like is used to cool the air-conditioned space. It is possible to suppress the temperature rise.

Further, it is desirable that the blower fan 14 continues to rotate even after the compressor 31 is stopped, and the blower 2 operation (second blower operation) is performed at the scheduled heating end time t3 to the second scheduled end blower operation end time t4. This is done (step S107 in FIG. 6). Even after the compressor 31 is stopped in this way, the blower fan 14 continues to rotate, so that the indoor heat exchanger 12, which has a high pressure as described above, exchanges heat and causes unevenness of the refrigerant. The break-in and refrigeration cycle can be stabilized.

It is desirable that the vertical wind direction plate 19 is open while the blower fan 14 is rotating. By opening the vertical wind direction plate 19, the air is sucked in and blown out smoothly by the blower fan 14. Therefore, during the cooling operation, the room air can be sufficiently convected to quickly cool the room. During the first blower operation, the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 12 can be quickly brought close to room temperature. During the second ventilation operation, in the indoor unit 10 in which the temperature rises and the absolute humidity rises due to the heating operation, the temperature inside the indoor unit 10 is lowered without raising the relative humidity inside the indoor unit 10. , The inside of the indoor unit 10 can be dried.

However, in the second blowing operation performed after the heating operation, warm air may be blown out, so it is desirable that the opening degree of the vertical wind direction plate 19 is smaller than that in the first blowing operation. However, the opening degree of the vertical wind direction plate 19 may be about the same as that during the first blowing operation, as long as it does not cause discomfort to the user. Further, the angle of the vertical wind direction plate 19 in the second blowing operation is preferably an angle that does not blow warm air to the user, and can be set upward from the horizontal, for example.

As described above, in the present embodiment, all the operations are moved up and down during a series of mold suppression operations, that is, during the time t1 from the start of the first blower operation to the end of the second blower operation and the scheduled end time t4 of the second blower operation. The wind direction plate 19 is opened and the blower fan 14 is driven. The reason why the heating operation during the mold suppression operation is performed by opening the vertical wind direction plate 19 and driving the blower fan 14 will be described in FIG. 8 below.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing the effect of the operation of the blower fan 14 on the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 12 during the heating operation. The vertical axis shows the temperature and the horizontal axis shows the heating operation time.
The solid line graph shows the time transition of the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 12 when the heating operation is performed while the blower fan 14 is operated (driven). The graph of the thick broken line shows the time transition of the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 12 when the heating operation is performed with the blower fan 14 stopped. The thin broken line indicates the target temperature (predetermined temperature) of the indoor heat exchanger 12 in the heating operation during the mold suppression operation.

At first glance, it is considered that the room temperature rise due to the heating operation can be suppressed by stopping the blower fan 14 and performing the heating operation during the mold suppression operation. However, as shown by the thick broken line in FIG. 8, if the heating operation is performed with the blower fan 14 stopped, the indoor heat exchanger 12 does not exchange heat, so that the pressure in the indoor heat exchanger 12 is excessive. It rises and the temperature also rises excessively with respect to the target temperature.

What is required to control mold is not to overheat the indoor heat exchanger 12, but to maintain the indoor heat exchanger 12 at a constant temperature. If the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 12 rises excessively above the target temperature in a short time, it is not only unnecessary for suppressing mold, but also causes an excessive rise in room temperature.

From the above, it is desirable that the heating operation in the mold suppression operation is performed by rotating the blower fan 14. By rotating the blower fan 14 to perform the heating operation, it is possible to suppress overheating of the indoor heat exchanger 12 and an increase in room temperature. It is desirable to drive the blower fan 14 at a low speed in order to suppress the convection of air in the room during the heating operation. At this time, it is desirable that the vertical wind direction plate 19 is opened and the opening degree thereof is set to be equal to or less than that during the second ventilation operation. However, the opening degree of the vertical wind direction plate 19 may be about the same as that during the second blower operation as long as it does not cause discomfort to the user. By opening the vertical wind direction plate 19 with the opening degree set to be equal to or less than that during the second blowing operation, it is possible to suppress the convection of air in the room while rotating the blowing fan 14. Further, the angle of the vertical wind direction plate 19 is preferably an angle that does not blow warm air to the user, and can be set upward from the horizontal, for example.

It is desirable to open the vertical wind direction plate 19 as described above, but this is just a measure for rotating the blower fan 14 and causing the indoor heat exchanger 12 to exchange heat. Depending on the degree of the gap provided in the housing of the indoor unit 10, the heating operation during the appropriate mold suppression operation may be performed by rotating the blower fan 14 with the vertical wind direction plate 19 closed.

By opening the vertical air direction plate 19 and rotating the blower fan 14 to perform the heating operation, heat exchange is appropriately performed by the indoor heat exchanger 12, and the indoor heat exchanger 12 is not excessively heated, but is predetermined. The target temperature can be maintained for a certain period of time. In this way, mold can be effectively suppressed without raising the room temperature excessively.

FIG. 9 is a time chart showing a mold suppression operation executed by the control unit K of the air conditioner 100. FIG. 9 shows an abnormal system in which the air-conditioned space is narrow and the room temperature has risen above a predetermined temperature due to the heating operation during the mold suppression operation.

The horizontal axis of FIG. 9 shows the time, and the vertical axis shows the room temperature acquired by the indoor temperature sensor 24a from the top, ON / OFF of the compressor 31, full opening / control of the expansion valve (outdoor expansion valve 34), and upper and lower blades (upper and lower blades). It shows the opening / closing of the vertical wind direction plate 19) and the switching of ON / OFF of the blower fan 14.

In the example shown in FIG. 9, the cooling operation is performed until time t1, the compressor 31 is driven, and the outdoor expansion valve 34 is controlled.
At the time t1 to the scheduled end time t2 of the first blower operation, the blower 1 operation (first blower operation) is performed, the compressor 31 is stopped, and the outdoor expansion valve 34 is fully opened. (Step S101 in FIG. 6).

The first blower operation is stopped at the scheduled end time t2 of the first blower operation. The heating operation is performed at the scheduled end time t2 to time t2a of the first blower operation, the compressor 31 is driven, and the outdoor expansion valve 34 is controlled (step S103 in FIG. 6).
At the time t2a, the room temperature measured by the indoor temperature sensor 24a exceeds the limit (predetermined temperature or higher) (step S104: Yes in FIG. 6), and the heating operation is stopped. From the time t2a to the scheduled end time t4 of the second blower operation, the blower 2 operation (second blower operation) is performed (step S106 in FIG. 6). Of the second blast operations, the operation between the time t2a and the scheduled heating end time t3 is the heating alternative blast described with reference to FIG. During the second blower operation, the compressor 31 is stopped and the outdoor expansion valve 34 is fully opened.

During a series of mold suppression operations, that is, during times t1 to t4 from the start of the first blower operation to the end of the second blower operation, the vertical wind direction plate 19 is always open and the blower fan 14 is always driven.

<< Second Embodiment >>

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a mold suppression operation executed by the control unit K of the air conditioner 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention (see FIGS. 4 and 5 as appropriate). The contents common to the first embodiment will be omitted as appropriate.
The first ventilation operation of steps S101 to S102 is the same as that of the first embodiment (see FIG. 6).

After the first blower operation, the control unit K starts the heating operation (step S203). At this time, in the present embodiment, the control unit K acquires and stores the room temperature at the start of heating by the indoor temperature sensor 24a.
In the heating operation, the control unit K raises the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 12 to a temperature of 40 ° C. or higher. The control unit K controls the rotation of the compressor 31 so as to maintain the indoor heat exchanger 12 at this temperature, until the difference between the room temperature and the room temperature at the start of heating acquired in step S203 reaches a predetermined value. If the room temperature does not rise (step S204: No), the heating operation is stopped when a predetermined time elapses from the stop of the cooling operation or the like and the scheduled heating end time is reached (step S105: Yes).

Even before the scheduled heating end time, the control unit K heats the room temperature when the difference between the room temperature and the room temperature at the start of heating acquired in step S203 reaches a predetermined value (step S204: Yes). Stop the operation in the middle. The predetermined value is a temperature difference to the extent that the user in the room begins to feel uncomfortable. As the predetermined value (predetermined temperature difference), the setting at the time of shipment may be used, or the setting input by the user by the remote controller 40 may be used.
The second blowing operation of steps S106 to S108 is the same as that of the first embodiment (see FIG. 6).

In each embodiment, the configuration for controlling the heating operation during the mold suppression operation using the room temperature measured by the room temperature sensor 24a has been described, but it is transmitted from the remote control 40 for controlling the heating operation. Room temperature may also be used.

Further, in each embodiment, the configuration in which the indoor unit 10 (see FIG. 3) and the outdoor unit 30 (see FIG. 3) are provided one by one has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, a plurality of indoor units connected in parallel may be provided, or a plurality of outdoor units connected in parallel may be provided.

In addition, each embodiment is described in detail in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and is not necessarily limited to the one including all the configurations described. Further, it is possible to add / delete / replace a part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

In addition, the above-mentioned mechanism and configuration show what is considered necessary for explanation, and do not necessarily show all the mechanisms and configurations in the product.

100 Air conditioner 10 Indoor unit 12 Indoor heat exchanger (evaporator / condenser)
14 Blower fan 18 Left and right wind direction plate 19 Vertical wind direction plate 24a Indoor temperature sensor 30 Outdoor unit 31 Compressor 31a Compressor motor (compressor motor)
32 Outdoor heat exchanger (condenser / evaporator)
33 Outdoor fan 34 Outdoor expansion valve (first expansion valve)
35 Four-way valve 40 Remote control K Control unit Q Refrigerant circuit

Claims (4)

Indoor heat exchanger and
With an indoor blower fan,
Equipped with a vertical wind direction plate,
After the end of the dehumidifying operation or the cooling operation , following the first blowing operation for driving the indoor blower fan, until the first predetermined time elapses from the end of the dehumidifying operation or the cooling operation, or the room temperature is a predetermined temperature. Run the heating operation until you reach
In the heating operation, the upper and lower wind direction plates are opened, and the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger is raised to 40 ° C. or higher while driving the indoor blower fan .
Following the heating operation, the upper and lower wind direction plates are opened, and the second blower operation for driving the indoor blower fan is executed for a second predetermined time.
If the room temperature reaches the predetermined temperature before the first predetermined time elapses, the second blowing operation is executed longer than the second predetermined time.
Air conditioner. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the angle of the vertical wind direction plate in the heating operation is upward from horizontal. Opening of the vertical airflow direction plate before Symbol heating operation, characterized in that said at most the degree of opening of the vertical airflow direction plate in the second blowing operation, the air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2. The air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the opening degree of the vertical wind direction plate in the second blowing operation is smaller than the opening degree in the first blowing operation.

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