JP6926933B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioner having a plurality of indoor units.

An air conditioner has been proposed in which a person existing in an air-conditioned space such as a room in which an indoor unit is installed is detected by using a person detection sensor such as an infrared sensor, and the detection result is used to perform fine air-conditioning operation. For example, the air conditioner described in Patent Document 1 is provided with an indoor unit and a person detection sensor in each room of a house, and when a person detection sensor detects the absence of a user in a certain room, the presence of the user is detected in this room. The air-conditioning capacity exhibited by the indoor unit is lower than when the user is in the room (for example, the set temperature is raised by 1 ° C to 3 ° C during cooling operation, and the set temperature is raised by 1 ° C during heating operation. It is described that the temperature is lowered by ~ 3 ° C.). In this way, the energy saving performance of the air conditioner is improved by automatically reducing the air conditioning capacity when the user is absent.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-6644

However, in the air conditioner described in Patent Document 1, it is not assumed that the user will be absent for a long time. If the user is absent for a long time, there is a problem that the operation of the indoor unit in the absence of the user is wasted even though the operation is performed with a low air-conditioning capacity, and the energy saving performance is lowered.

As a method of solving the above problems, as soon as the absence of the user is detected, the operation of the indoor unit in the room where the user is absent is stopped, or a predetermined short time after the detection of the absence ( For example, it is conceivable that the indoor unit is stopped after operating with a low air conditioning capacity for 10 minutes). However, the user may leave the room for a short time because he / she goes to the bathroom or goes out to the balcony. In this case, if the absence of the user is detected and the indoor unit is stopped immediately, when the user returns to the room and resumes the operation of the indoor unit, the operation is continued with a low air conditioning capacity. It takes time for the room temperature to reach the set temperature, which may impair the comfort of the user.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner capable of achieving both energy saving and user comfort.

In order to solve the above problems, the air conditioner of the present invention detects the presence or absence of an outdoor unit, a plurality of indoor units, and a person in a room provided in each indoor unit in which the indoor unit is installed. It has a person detecting means for controlling an outdoor unit and a control means for controlling a plurality of indoor units by using the detection result of each person detecting means. The control means detects that there is a room in which a person is absent from the state in which a person is present by the person detecting means of the indoor unit installed in the room, and then the person detecting means of another indoor unit. When an increase in the number of people is detected, the indoor unit installed in the room where the person was absent is operated with a lower air-conditioning capacity than when the person was present in the room. do. In addition, the control means detects that there is a room in which a person is absent from the state in which the person is present by the person detection means of the indoor unit installed in the room, and then the person in another indoor unit. When the detection means does not detect the increase in the number of people, the indoor unit installed in the room where the number of people is absent is stopped after the low-capacity operation is performed for a predetermined time.

The air conditioner of the present invention configured as described above has a low capacity of the indoor unit installed in the room where the indoor unit is absent, based on the detection result of the increase or decrease of the number of people in each room where the indoor unit is installed. The operation is started, or the operation is stopped after the low-capacity operation is performed for a predetermined time. As a result, both energy saving and user comfort can be achieved at the same time.

It is explanatory drawing of the air conditioner which is an embodiment of this invention, (A) is a refrigerant circuit diagram, (B) is a block diagram of an outdoor unit control means. It is a sketch of the room in which each indoor unit of the air conditioner is installed, and explains the entry and exit of people A to C in each room. The operating state table according to the embodiment of the present invention is represented, (A) is an operating state table in the case of the movement pattern P1, and (B) is an operating state table in the case of the moving pattern P2. It is a sketch of the room in which each indoor unit of an air conditioner is installed in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As an embodiment, an air conditioner in which three indoor units are connected in parallel to one outdoor unit by a refrigerant pipe and all the indoor units can be simultaneously cooled or heated will be described as an example. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the air conditioner 1 in the present embodiment includes one outdoor unit 2 having three liquid side closing valves 27a to 27c and three gas side closing valves 28a to 28c. Each of the three indoor units 5a to 5c has a liquid pipe connecting portion and a gas pipe connecting portion.

The liquid pipe connecting portion 52a of the indoor unit 5a and the liquid side closing valve 27a of the outdoor unit 2 are connected by a liquid pipe 8a. Further, the liquid pipe connecting portion 52b of the indoor unit 5b and the liquid side closing valve 27b of the outdoor unit 2 are connected by a liquid pipe 8b. Then, the liquid pipe connecting portion 52c of the indoor unit 5c and the liquid side closing valve 27c of the outdoor unit 2 are connected by the liquid pipe 8c.

The gas pipe connecting portion 53a of the indoor unit 5a and the gas side closing valve 28a of the outdoor unit 2 are connected by a gas pipe 9a. Further, the gas pipe connecting portion 53b of the indoor unit 5b and the gas side closing valve 28b of the outdoor unit 2 are connected by a gas pipe 9b. Then, the gas pipe connecting portion 53c of the indoor unit 5c and the gas side closing valve 28c of the outdoor unit 2 are connected by the gas pipe 9c.

As described above, the outdoor unit 2 and the indoor units 5a to 5c are connected by the liquid pipes 8a to 8c and the gas pipes 9a to 9c, respectively, to form the refrigerant circuit 10 of the air conditioner 1.

<Structure of outdoor unit 2>
The outdoor unit 2 includes a compressor 21, a four-way valve 22, an outdoor heat exchanger 23, three expansion valves 24a to 24c, an accumulator 25, an outdoor fan 26, and the above-mentioned three liquid-side closing valves. It includes 27a to 27c, three gas-side closing valves 28a to 28c, and an outdoor unit control means 200. Then, each of these devices except the outdoor fan 26 and the outdoor unit control means 200 is connected to each other by the refrigerant pipes described in detail below to form the outdoor unit refrigerant circuit 20 forming a part of the refrigerant circuit 10. There is.

The compressor 21 is a variable capacity compressor whose operating capacity can be changed by being driven by a motor (not shown) whose rotation speed is controlled by an inverter. The refrigerant discharge port of the compressor 21 and the port a of the four-way valve 22 are connected by a discharge pipe 41. Further, the refrigerant suction side of the compressor 21 and the refrigerant outflow side of the accumulator 25 are connected by a suction pipe 42.

The four-way valve 22 is a valve for switching the flow direction of the refrigerant, and includes four ports a, b, c, and d. As described above, the port a and the refrigerant discharge port of the compressor 21 are connected by a discharge pipe 41. One of the refrigerant inlets and outlets of the port b and the outdoor heat exchanger 23 is connected by a refrigerant pipe 43. The port c and the refrigerant inflow side of the accumulator 25 are connected by a refrigerant pipe 46. Then, one end of the outdoor unit gas pipe 45 is connected to the port d.

One ends of each of the three outdoor unit gas branch pipes 45a to 45c are connected to the other end of the outdoor unit gas pipe 45. The other end of the outdoor unit gas branch pipe 45a is connected to the gas side closing valve 28a. The other end of the outdoor unit gas branch pipe 45b is connected to the gas side closing valve 28b. The other end of the outdoor unit gas branch pipe 45c is connected to the gas side closing valve 28c.

The outdoor heat exchanger 23 exchanges heat between the outside air taken into the outdoor unit 2 and the refrigerant from a suction port (not shown) by the rotation of the outdoor fan 26. As described above, one refrigerant inlet / outlet of the outdoor heat exchanger 23 and the port b of the four-way valve 22 are connected by a refrigerant pipe 43. Further, one end of the outdoor unit liquid pipe 44 is connected to the other refrigerant inlet / outlet of the outdoor heat exchanger 23. The outdoor heat exchanger 23 functions as a condenser when the refrigerant circuit 10 is in the cooling cycle, and functions as an evaporator when the refrigerant circuit 10 is in the heating cycle.

One ends of each of the three outdoor unit liquid branch pipes 44a to 44c are connected to the other end of the outdoor unit liquid pipe 44. The other end of the outdoor unit liquid branch pipe 44a is connected to the liquid side closing valve 27a. The other end of the outdoor unit liquid branch pipe 44b is connected to the liquid side closing valve 27b. The other end of the outdoor unit liquid branch pipe 44c is connected to the liquid side closing valve 27c.

Each of the three expansion valves 24a to 24c is an electronic expansion valve driven by a pulse motor (not shown), and the opening degree is adjusted by the number of pulses given to the pulse motor. The expansion valve 24a is provided in the outdoor unit liquid branch tube 44a. The expansion valve 24b is provided in the outdoor unit liquid branch tube 44b. The expansion valve 24c is provided in the outdoor unit liquid branch tube 44c. By adjusting the opening degrees of the expansion valves 24a to 24c, the amount of refrigerant flowing through the indoor units 5a to 5c is adjusted.

As described above, in the accumulator 25, the refrigerant inflow side of the accumulator 25 and the port c of the four-way valve 22 are connected by a refrigerant pipe 46. Further, the refrigerant outflow side of the accumulator 25 and the refrigerant suction port of the compressor 21 are connected by a suction pipe 42. The accumulator 25 separates the inflowing refrigerant into a gas refrigerant and a liquid refrigerant, and causes the compressor 21 to suck only the gas refrigerant through the suction pipe 42.

The outdoor fan 26 is a propeller fan made of a resin material arranged in the vicinity of the outdoor heat exchanger 23. When the outdoor fan 26 is rotated by a fan motor (not shown), the outside air is taken into the outdoor unit 2 from a suction port (not shown) provided in the outdoor unit 2 and exchanged with the refrigerant flowing through the outdoor heat exchanger 23. It is discharged to the outside of the outdoor unit 2 from an outlet (not shown) provided in the outdoor unit 2.

In addition to the configuration described above, the outdoor unit 2 is provided with various sensors. As shown in FIG. 1A, the discharge pipe 41 has a high pressure sensor 31 that detects the pressure of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 21 and a discharge temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 21. 33 is provided.

In the vicinity of the refrigerant inflow side of the accumulator 25 in the refrigerant pipe 46, a low pressure sensor 32 that detects the pressure of the refrigerant sucked into the compressor 21 and a suction temperature sensor 34 that detects the temperature of the refrigerant sucked into the compressor 21 Is provided.

In the vicinity of the outdoor heat exchanger 23 in the outdoor unit liquid pipe 44, the temperature of the refrigerant flowing out from the outdoor heat exchanger 23 when the outdoor heat exchanger 23 functions as a condenser, or the outdoor heat exchanger 23 evaporates. A refrigerant temperature sensor 35 that detects the temperature of the refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger 23 when functioning as a container is provided. Further, an outside air temperature sensor 38 for detecting the temperature of the outside air flowing into the inside of the outdoor unit 2, that is, the outside air temperature is provided in the vicinity of the suction port (not shown) of the outdoor unit 2.

A liquid-side temperature sensor 36a for detecting the temperature of the refrigerant flowing through the outdoor unit liquid-splitting pipe 44a is provided between the expansion valve 24a and the liquid-side closing valve 27a in the outdoor unit liquid-dividing pipe 44a. A liquid-side temperature sensor 36b for detecting the temperature of the refrigerant flowing through the outdoor unit liquid-splitting pipe 44b is provided between the expansion valve 24b and the liquid-side closing valve 27b in the outdoor unit liquid-dividing pipe 44b. A liquid side temperature sensor 36c for detecting the temperature of the refrigerant flowing through the outdoor unit liquid branch 44c is provided between the expansion valve 24c and the liquid side closing valve 27c in the outdoor unit liquid branch 44c.

The outdoor unit gas branch 45a is provided with a gas side temperature sensor 37a that detects the temperature of the refrigerant flowing through the outdoor unit gas branch 45a. The outdoor unit gas branch 45b is provided with a gas side temperature sensor 37b that detects the temperature of the refrigerant flowing through the outdoor unit gas branch 45b. The outdoor unit gas branch 45c is provided with a gas side temperature sensor 37c that detects the temperature of the refrigerant flowing through the outdoor unit gas branch 45c.

Further, the outdoor unit 2 is provided with the outdoor unit control means 200, which is the control means of the present invention. The outdoor unit control means 200 is mounted on a control board housed in an electrical component box (not shown) of the outdoor unit 2, and as shown in FIG. 1B, the CPU 210, the storage unit 220, and the communication unit 230 , The sensor input unit 240 is provided.

The storage unit 220 is composed of, for example, a flash memory, and has a detection value corresponding to a control program of the outdoor unit 2 and detection signals from various sensors, a driving state of the compressor 21 and the outdoor fan 26, an indoor unit 5a and an indoor unit. The operation information (operation / stop information, information on the operation state such as cooling / heating, set temperature information, etc.) transmitted from 5b and 5c is stored. The communication unit 230 is an interface that is connected to the indoor units 5a to 5c by a communication line 250 and communicates with the indoor units 5a to 5c. The sensor input unit 240 captures the detection results of the various sensors of the outdoor unit 2 and outputs them to the CPU 210.

The CPU 210 periodically (for example, every 30 seconds) captures the detection values of various sensors via the sensor input unit 240, and a signal including operation information transmitted from the indoor units 5a to 5c informs the communication unit 230. Entered via. The CPU 210 adjusts the opening degree of the expansion valves 24a to 24c and controls the drive of the compressor 21 and the outdoor fan 26 based on the various input information.

<Structure of indoor units 5a to 5c>
Next, the indoor units 5a to 5c will be described. In the air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment, the indoor units 5a to 5c are installed in the house 300 shown in FIG. The house 300 is, for example, a room in a condominium, and has a living room 310, a bedroom 320, a children's room 330, a kitchen 340, a toilet 350, a laundry room 360, a bath 370, a balcony 380, and an entrance / exit of the house 300. The entrance 390 is provided. The indoor unit 5a is installed in the living room 310, the indoor unit 5b is installed in the bedroom 320, and the indoor unit 5c is installed in the children's room 330. The outdoor unit 2 is installed in either the balcony 380 or the corridor (not shown) facing the entrance 390.

Since the indoor unit 5a is installed in the living room 310, which is the largest in the house 300, it has a larger air conditioning capacity than the other indoor units 5b and 5c. Further, the indoor units 5b and 5c have the same air-conditioning capacity because the bedroom 320 and the children's room 330 in which they are installed have substantially the same size. In the following description, the living room 310, the bedroom 320, and the children's room 330 may be referred to as air-conditioned spaces.

The indoor units 5a to 5c include indoor heat exchangers 51a to 51c, liquid pipe connecting portions 52a to 52c, gas pipe connecting portions 53a to 53c, and indoor fans 54a to 54c. Then, these constituent devices except for the indoor fans 54a to 54c are connected to each other by the refrigerant pipes described in detail below to form the indoor unit refrigerant circuits 50a to 50c forming a part of the refrigerant circuit 10.

Since the indoor units 5a to 5c all have the same configuration except for the above-mentioned air conditioning capacity, each configuration will be described only for the indoor unit 5a in the following description, and each configuration of the indoor units 5b and 5c will be described. Is omitted. In FIG. 1A, the numbers assigned to each component of the indoor unit 5a are changed from a to b or c, respectively, and the indoor unit 5b corresponding to each component of the indoor unit 5a. It becomes each constituent device of 5c.

The indoor heat exchanger 51a exchanges heat between the refrigerant and the indoor air taken into the indoor unit 5a from a suction port (not shown) provided in the indoor unit 5a by rotating the indoor fan 54a. One of the refrigerant inlets / outlets of the indoor heat exchanger 51a and the liquid pipe connecting portion 52a are connected by the indoor unit liquid pipe 71a. The other refrigerant inlet / outlet of the indoor heat exchanger 51a and the gas pipe connecting portion 53a are connected by the indoor unit gas pipe 72a. Each refrigerant pipe is welded to the liquid pipe connecting portion 52a and the gas pipe connecting portion 53a, or is connected by using a flare nut or the like.

The indoor heat exchanger 51a functions as an evaporator when the indoor unit 5a performs a cooling operation, and functions as a condenser when the indoor unit 5a performs a heating operation.

The indoor fan 54a is a cross-flow fan made of a resin material arranged in the vicinity of the indoor heat exchanger 51a. When the indoor fan 54a is rotated by a fan motor (not shown), the indoor unit 5a is provided with indoor air that is taken into the indoor unit 5a from a suction port (not shown) and exchanged heat with the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchanger 51a. It is supplied indoors from an air outlet (not shown).

In addition to the configuration described above, an indoor temperature sensor 61a for detecting the temperature of the indoor air flowing into the indoor unit 5a, that is, the indoor temperature is provided in the vicinity of the suction port (not shown) of the indoor unit 5a. Further, a human detection sensor 62a, which is the human detection means of the present invention, is provided on the front surface of the housing (not shown) of the indoor unit 5a. The person detection sensor 62a is, for example, a thermopile, and by detecting infrared rays radiated from the body surface of a user (for example, person A described later) existing in the living room 310, the presence or absence of a person in the living room 310 or a person If exists, the number of people is detected. The human detection sensor 62a may be a camera using an image sensor such as a CCD.

<Operation of refrigerant circuit 10>
Next, the flow of the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit 10 and the operation of each part when the air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment performs the air conditioning operation will be described with reference to FIG. 1 (A). In the following description, first, a case where the indoor units 5a to 5c perform a cooling operation will be described. The solid arrow in FIG. 1A indicates the flow of the refrigerant during the cooling operation in the refrigerant circuit 10. Next, a case where the indoor units 5a to 5c perform the heating operation will be described. The broken line arrow in FIG. 1A indicates the flow of the refrigerant during the heating operation in the refrigerant circuit 10.

<Cooling operation>
When the air conditioner 1 performs the cooling operation, the four-way valve 22 is in the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 (A). That is, the port a and the port b of the four-way valve 22 are switched so as to communicate with each other, and the port c and the port d are switched so as to communicate with each other. As a result, the refrigerant circuit 10 is in a state where the refrigerant flows in the direction indicated by the solid line arrow in FIG. 1 (A), the outdoor heat exchanger 23 functions as a condenser, and the indoor heat exchangers 51a to 51c serve as evaporators, respectively. It becomes a functioning cooling cycle.

When the compressor 21 is started while the refrigerant circuit 10 is in the cooling cycle, the high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 21 flows from the discharge pipe 41 to the four-way valve 22, and from the four-way valve 22 to the refrigerant pipe 43. And flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 23. The refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger 23 exchanges heat with the outside air taken into the outdoor unit 2 by the rotation of the outdoor fan 26 and condenses.

The refrigerant flowing out from the outdoor heat exchanger 23 to the outdoor unit liquid pipe 44 is diverted to the outdoor unit liquid branch pipes 44a to 44c. The refrigerant flowing into the outdoor unit liquid dividing pipe 44a passes through the expansion valve 24a having an opening degree corresponding to the cooling capacity required by the indoor unit 5a, and flows into the liquid pipe 8a via the closing valve 27a. The refrigerant flowing into the outdoor unit liquid dividing pipe 44b passes through the expansion valve 24b having an opening degree corresponding to the cooling capacity required by the indoor unit 5b, and flows into the liquid pipe 8b via the closing valve 27b. The refrigerant that has flowed into the outdoor unit liquid branch pipe 44c passes through the expansion valve 24c, which has an opening degree corresponding to the cooling capacity required by the indoor unit 5c, and flows into the liquid pipe 8c via the closing valve 27c.

The refrigerant flowing through the liquid pipe 8a flows into the indoor unit 5a via the liquid pipe connecting portion 52a. The refrigerant flowing through the liquid pipe 8b flows into the indoor unit 5b via the liquid pipe connecting portion 52b. The refrigerant flowing through the liquid pipe 8c flows into the indoor unit 5c via the liquid pipe connecting portion 52c.

The refrigerant that has flowed into the indoor unit 5a flows through the indoor unit liquid pipe 71a and flows into the indoor heat exchanger 51a. The refrigerant flowing into the indoor heat exchanger 51a exchanges heat with the indoor air taken into the indoor unit 5a by the rotation of the indoor fan 54a and evaporates. Further, the refrigerant that has flowed into the indoor unit 5b flows through the indoor unit liquid pipe 71b and flows into the indoor heat exchanger 51b. The refrigerant flowing into the indoor heat exchanger 51b exchanges heat with the indoor air taken into the indoor unit 5b by the rotation of the indoor fan 54b and evaporates. Further, the refrigerant that has flowed into the indoor unit 5c flows through the indoor unit liquid pipe 71c and flows into the indoor heat exchanger 51c. The refrigerant flowing into the indoor heat exchanger 51c exchanges heat with the indoor air taken into the indoor unit 5c by the rotation of the indoor fan 54c and evaporates.

As described above, the indoor heat exchangers 51a to 51c each function as an evaporator, and the indoor air that has exchanged heat with the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchangers 51a to 51c comes from the outlets of the indoor units 5a to 5c (not shown). By blowing out into the room, the living room 310, the bedroom 320, and the children's room 330 in which the indoor units 5a to 5c are installed are cooled.

The refrigerant flowing out of the indoor heat exchanger 51a flows through the indoor unit gas pipe 72a and flows out to the gas pipe 9a via the gas pipe connecting portion 53a. The refrigerant flowing through the gas pipe 9a flows into the outdoor unit 2 through the gas side closing valve 28a, and flows into the outdoor unit gas branch pipe 45a from the gas side closing valve 28a. Further, the refrigerant flowing out from the indoor heat exchanger 51b flows through the indoor unit gas pipe 72b and flows out to the gas pipe 9b via the gas pipe connecting portion 53b. The refrigerant flowing through the gas pipe 9b flows into the outdoor unit 2 through the gas side closing valve 28b, and flows into the outdoor unit gas branch pipe 45b from the gas side closing valve 28b. Further, the refrigerant flowing out from the indoor heat exchanger 51c flows through the indoor unit gas pipe 72c and flows out to the gas pipe 9c via the gas pipe connecting portion 53c. The refrigerant flowing through the gas pipe 9c flows into the outdoor unit 2 through the gas side closing valve 28c, and flows into the outdoor unit gas branch pipe 45c from the gas side closing valve 28c.

The refrigerant flowing through the outdoor unit gas branch pipes 45a to 45c merges at the outdoor unit gas pipe 45. The refrigerant flowing through the outdoor unit gas pipe 45 flows in the order of the four-way valve 22, the refrigerant pipe 46, the accumulator 28, and the suction pipe 42, is sucked into the compressor 21, and is compressed again.

<Heating operation>
When the air conditioner 1 performs the heating operation, the four-way valve 22 is in the state shown by the broken line in FIG. 1 (A). That is, the port a and the port d of the four-way valve 22 are switched so as to communicate with each other, and the port b and the port c are switched so as to communicate with each other. As a result, the refrigerant circuit 10 is in a state where the refrigerant flows in the direction indicated by the broken line arrow in FIG. 1 (A), the outdoor heat exchanger 23 functions as an evaporator, and the indoor heat exchangers 51a to 51c serve as condensers, respectively. It becomes a functioning heating cycle.

When the compressor 21 is started while the refrigerant circuit 10 is in the heating cycle, the high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 21 flows from the discharge pipe 41 to the four-way valve 22, and the outdoor unit gas pipe from the four-way valve 22. It flows to 45 and is divided into outdoor unit gas branch pipes 45a to 45c. The refrigerant diverted into the outdoor unit gas branch pipes 45a to 45c flows into the gas pipes 9a to 9c via the gas side closing valves 28a to 28c.

The refrigerant flowing through the gas pipe 9a flows into the indoor unit 5a via the gas pipe connecting portion 53a of the indoor unit 5a. The refrigerant that has flowed into the indoor unit 5a flows through the indoor unit gas pipe 72a and flows into the indoor heat exchanger 51a, and is condensed by exchanging heat with the indoor air taken into the indoor unit 5a by the rotation of the indoor fan 54a. do. Further, the refrigerant flowing through the gas pipe 9b flows into the indoor unit 5b via the gas pipe connecting portion 53b of the indoor unit 5b. The refrigerant that has flowed into the indoor unit 5b flows through the indoor unit gas pipe 72b and flows into the indoor heat exchanger 51b, and is condensed by exchanging heat with the indoor air taken into the indoor unit 5b by the rotation of the indoor fan 54b. do. Then, the refrigerant flowing through the gas pipe 9c flows into the indoor unit 5c via the gas pipe connecting portion 53c of the indoor unit 5c. The refrigerant that has flowed into the indoor unit 5c flows through the indoor unit gas pipe 72c and flows into the indoor heat exchanger 51c, and is condensed by exchanging heat with the indoor air taken into the indoor unit 5c by the rotation of the indoor fan 54c. do.

As described above, the indoor heat exchangers 51a to 51c each function as a condenser, and the indoor air that has exchanged heat with the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchangers 51a to 51c comes from the outlets of the indoor units 5a to 5c (not shown). By blowing out into the room, the living room 310, the bedroom 320, and the children's room 330 in which the indoor units 5a to 5c are installed are heated.

The refrigerant flowing out of the indoor heat exchanger 51a flows through the indoor unit liquid pipe 71a and flows out to the liquid pipe 8a via the liquid pipe connecting portion 52a. The refrigerant flowing through the liquid pipe 8a flows into the outdoor unit 2 through the liquid side closing valve 27a, and flows into the outdoor unit liquid dividing pipe 44a from the liquid side closing valve 27a. The refrigerant flowing into the outdoor unit liquid branch pipe 44a passes through the expansion valve 24a having an opening degree corresponding to the heating capacity required by the indoor unit 5a, and flows into the outdoor unit liquid pipe 44.

The refrigerant flowing out of the indoor heat exchanger 51b flows through the indoor unit liquid pipe 71b and flows out to the liquid pipe 8b via the liquid pipe connecting portion 52b. The refrigerant flowing through the liquid pipe 8b flows into the outdoor unit 2 through the liquid side closing valve 27b, and flows into the outdoor unit liquid dividing pipe 44b from the liquid side closing valve 27b. The refrigerant flowing into the outdoor unit liquid branch pipe 44b passes through the expansion valve 24b having an opening degree corresponding to the heating capacity required by the indoor unit 5b, and flows into the outdoor unit liquid pipe 44.

The refrigerant flowing out of the indoor heat exchanger 51c flows through the indoor unit liquid pipe 71c and flows out to the liquid pipe 8c via the liquid pipe connecting portion 52c. The refrigerant flowing through the liquid pipe 8c flows into the outdoor unit 2 through the liquid side closing valve 27c, and flows into the outdoor unit liquid branch 44c from the liquid side closing valve 27c. The refrigerant that has flowed into the outdoor unit liquid pipe 44c passes through the expansion valve 24c, which has an opening degree corresponding to the heating capacity required by the indoor unit 5c, and flows into the outdoor unit liquid pipe 44.

The refrigerant that has flowed into the outdoor unit liquid pipe 44 from each of the outdoor unit liquid branch pipes 44a to 44c flows through the outdoor unit liquid pipe 44 and flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 23. The refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger 23 evaporates by exchanging heat with the outside air taken into the outdoor unit 2 by the rotation of the outdoor fan 26. The refrigerant flowing out from the outdoor heat exchanger 23 to the refrigerant pipe 43 flows in the order of the four-way valve 22, the refrigerant pipe 46, the accumulator 28, and the suction pipe 42, is sucked into the compressor 21, and is compressed again.

<About low-capacity driving>
Next, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, low-capacity operation performed by an indoor unit installed in a room in which a person is absent will be described. Here, the low-capacity operation means an operation in which the air-conditioning capacity exerted by the indoor unit installed in the room where the person is absent is lower than that when the person is present. In low-capacity operation, for example, when the air conditioner 1 is performing cooling operation, the set temperature after the person is absent is set to 1 ° C to 3 ° C from the set temperature when the person is present. Raise (hereinafter referred to as low-capacity cooling operation). Further, when the air conditioner 1 is in the heating operation, the set temperature after the person is absent is lowered by 1 ° C. to 3 ° C. from the set temperature when the person is present (hereinafter, Described as low-capacity heating operation).

In the following description, as shown in FIG. 2, three people A, B, and C live in the house 300, and any one of the rooms in the house 300 in which the indoor units 5a to 5c are installed. The movement pattern P1 is when a person in the room moves to another room, and the movement pattern P2 is when a person in any of the rooms in which the indoor units 5a to 5c are installed out of the house 300 goes out from the house 300. The method of low-capacity operation in each pattern will be described. Specifically, as the movement pattern P1, a case where the person A who was in the living room 310 moves to the bedroom 320 will be taken as an example. Further, as the movement pattern P2, a case where the person A who was in the living room 310 goes out from the house 300 will be taken as an example. In the following description, the case where the air conditioner 1 is performing the cooling operation is taken as an example, and the low capacity operation in this case is the low capacity cooling operation.

<In the case of movement pattern P1>
In the case of the movement pattern P1, in the house 300 before the person A moves to the bedroom 320, the living room 310 has the person A, the bedroom 320 has the person B, and the children's room 330 has the person C. At this time, the person detection sensor 62a provided in the indoor unit 5a installed in the living room 310 detects that there is one person in the living room 310. Further, the person detection sensor 62b provided in the indoor unit 5b installed in the bedroom 320 detects that there is one person in the bedroom 320. Then, the person detection sensor 62c provided in the indoor unit 5c installed in the child room 330 detects that there is one person in the child room 330. Further, the indoor units 5a to 5c are performing cooling operation, and the set temperatures desired by the persons A to C are set in the indoor units 5a to 5c installed in the room in which they are located.

In the house 300 described above, when the person A moves from the living room 310 to the bedroom 320, the person detection sensor 62a provided in the indoor unit 5a installed in the living room 310 detects that there is no person in the living room 310. .. On the other hand, the person detection sensor 62b provided in the indoor unit 5b installed in the bedroom 320 detects that there are two people in the bedroom 320. Since no people come and go in the children's room 330, the person detection sensor 62c provided in the indoor unit 5c installed in the children's room 330 has the same number of people in the children's room 330 as before the person A moved. It is detected that there is one person.

As described above, when the person A moves from the living room 310 to the bedroom 320, the indoor unit 5a installed in the living room 310 in which the person A is absent operates the cooling operation when the person A is in the living room 310. The set temperature is changed to a temperature higher than the set temperature by a predetermined temperature (1 ° C to 3 ° C), and the cooling operation is switched to the low-capacity cooling operation. When the indoor unit 5a is performing the low-capacity cooling operation in the living room 310, a person A or another person enters the living room 310, and the presence of a person in the living room 310 is detected by the person provided in the indoor unit 5a. When the sensor 62a detects it, the set temperature is returned to the original temperature (the set temperature when the person A was present), and the low-capacity cooling operation is returned to the cooling operation when the person A is in the living room 310.

The number of people in each room in the house 300 before the movement of the person A and after the movement of the person A when the movement pattern P1 described above occurs (hereinafter referred to as the number of people in the room). The operating state (cooling or low-capacity cooling) of the indoor units 5a to 5c and the set temperature of the indoor units 5a to 5c are set as the operating state table 400a shown in FIG. It is stored in the storage unit 220.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the operating state table 400a corresponds to each of the living room 310, the bedroom 320, and the children's room 330 before the person A moves (in the operating state table 400a, "the person A's" The number of people in the room, the operating state, and the set temperature, and the number of people in the room, the operating state, after the person A has moved (described as "after the movement of the person A" in the operating state table 400a), And the set temperature is stored.

Specifically, the CPU 210 of the outdoor unit control means 200 detects that the person A is present before the person A moves, that is, when the person detection sensor 62a of the indoor unit 5a of the living room 310 detects the presence of the person A. The number of people in each room detected by the person detection sensors 62a to 62c of 5a to 5c is captured via the communication unit 230, and the number of people in the room captured is stored as the number of people in each room "before the movement of people". do. Further, the CPU 210 captures signals including the operation mode (cooling / heating) instructed by the persons A to C to the indoor units 5a to 5c and the operation / stop of the indoor units 5a to 5c via the communication unit 230. The information contained in the captured signal is stored as the operating state of each room "before the movement of a person". Further, the CPU 210 takes in the set temperature set by each of the people A to C in the indoor units 5a to 5c via the communication unit 230, and sets the taken-in set temperature as the set temperature of each room "before the movement of the person". Remember.

In the present embodiment, as an example, the number of people in each room "before the movement of person A" on the operation state table 400a is "1 person", the operation state of each room is all "cooling", the living room 310 and the bedroom. The set temperature of 320 is 26 ° C., and the set temperature of the children's room 330 is 27 ° C.

When the person detection sensor 62a of the indoor unit 5a of the living room 310 detects that the person A has disappeared from the state before the movement, the CPU 210 of the outdoor unit control means 200 determines the person detection sensor of the indoor unit 5a of the living room 310. A predetermined time (for example, 1 minute) after the 62a detects that the person A has disappeared, the communication unit 230 determines the number of people in each room detected by the person detection sensors 62a to 62c of the indoor units 5a to 5c. The number of people in each room is stored as the number of people in each room "after the movement of people". Further, the CPU 210 instructs the indoor unit 5a installed in the living room 310 in which the person A is absent via the communication unit 230 to switch to the low-capacity operation, and is set to "before the person moves". Of the operating states of each room, the operating state of the living room 310 is defined as "low capacity operation". The indoor unit 5a, which has been instructed by the outdoor unit 2 to switch to low-capacity operation, changes the set temperature from the temperature at which the person A was present. Then, the CPU 210 captures the set temperature when the indoor unit 5a performs low-capacity operation via the communication unit 230, and stores the captured set temperature as the set temperature of the living room 310.

The movement pattern P1 of the present embodiment is a case where the person A moves from the living room 310 to the bedroom 320, and the number of people in the living room 310 "after the movement of the person A" on the operating state table 400a is "person A". The number of people in the bedroom 320 increased from "1 person" in the case of "before the move of person A" to "0 people", and increased from "1 person" in the case of "before the move of person A" to "2 people". ". Further, the operating state of the living room 310 is changed from "cooling" in the case of "before the movement of person A" to "low capacity cooling". Then, as an example, the set temperature of the living room 310 is increased by 2 ° C. from "26 ° C." in the case of "before the movement of the person A" to "28 ° C.".

The CPU 210 recognizes that the person A has moved from the living room 310 to the bedroom 320 by using the detection result of the person detection sensor 62a of the indoor unit 5a and the detection result of the person detection sensor 62b of the indoor unit 5b. Specifically, the CPU 210 has no people in the living room 310 due to the detection result of the person detection sensor 62a of the indoor unit 5a, and the number of people in the bedroom 320 is from one person according to the detection result of the person detection sensor 62b of the indoor unit 5b. Recognizing that the number has increased to two, it is recognized that person A has moved from the living room 310 to the bedroom 320 based on these.

In this way, when the person A moves inside the house 300, it can be determined that the person A is in the bedroom 320 only temporarily and does not return to the living room 310 for a long time. The CPU 210 is an indoor unit 5a installed in the living room 310, and is a cooling operation in which the set temperature is set to a temperature 2 ° C. higher than the set temperature during the cooling operation that was performed when the person A was in the living room 310. The number of revolutions of the compressor 21 is reduced so that the low-capacity cooling operation is performed.

The CPU 210 continues the low-capacity cooling operation in the indoor unit 5a until the person detection sensor 62a of the indoor unit 5a detects that the person A has returned to the living room 310 or a person other than the person A has entered the living room 310. do. Then, if the person detection sensor 62a of the indoor unit 5a detects that the person A has returned to the living room 310 or a person other than the person A has entered the living room 310, the operation of the indoor unit 5a is performed in the living room 310. The number of revolutions of the compressor 21 is increased so that the set temperature of the above returns to the set temperature when the person A is not in the living room 310.

As described above, in the case of the movement pattern P1, the indoor unit 5a of the living room 310 performs the low-capacity cooling operation to reduce the power consumption of the air conditioner 1. In addition, by continuing the low-capacity cooling operation until the person re-exists, when the person re-exists and the set temperature is returned to the temperature at which the person was present, the person enters the living room 310. Since the rise in room temperature is small as compared with the case where the cooling operation is stopped while the person is absent, the room temperature of the living room 310 reaches the set temperature earlier, and it is possible to prevent a person from feeling uncomfortable.

<In the case of movement pattern P2>
In the case of the movement pattern P2, the presence / absence of a person in each room of the house 300 before the person A goes out, the operating state of the indoor units 5a to 5c, and the set temperature are "before the movement of the person A" in the case of the movement pattern P1. Since it is the same as the above, the description thereof will be omitted. When the person A goes out of the house 300 through the entrance 390, the person detection sensor 62a provided in the indoor unit 5a installed in the living room 310 detects that there is no person in the living room 310. On the other hand, in the bedroom 320 and the children's room 330, the person detection sensor 62a of the indoor unit 5a of the living room 310 is provided in the indoor unit 5b installed in the bedroom 320 a predetermined time after detecting that the person A has disappeared. The person detection sensor 62b and the person detection sensor 62c installed in the indoor unit 5c installed in the children's room 330 detect that there is one person in each room, which is the same as before the person A went out. That is, it is detected that there is no entry or exit of people in the bedroom 320 or the children's room 330.

As described above, when the person A goes out, the indoor unit 5a installed in the living room 310 in which the person A is absent is switched to the low-capacity cooling operation in which the set temperature is raised. Then, when it is possible to detect that the person A has gone out, the indoor unit 5a stops the low-capacity cooling operation when a predetermined time, for example, 30 minutes has elapsed from the transition to the low-capacity cooling operation. However, if a person A or another person enters the living room 310 during the low-capacity cooling operation, and the person detection sensor 62a provided in the indoor unit 5a detects the entry of the person into the living room 310, The set temperature is returned to the original temperature (the set temperature when the person A was present), and the low-capacity cooling operation is returned to the cooling operation when the person A is in the living room 310.

The number of people in each room in the house 300 before and after the person A goes out and the operating state of the indoor units 5a to 5c when the movement pattern P2 described above occurs. The set temperatures of the indoor units 5a to 5c are stored in the storage unit 220 of the outdoor unit control means 200 of the outdoor unit 2 in the form of the operating state table 400b shown in FIG. 3 (B).

As shown in FIG. 3 (B), the operating state table 400b also corresponds to each of the living room 310, the bedroom 320, and the children's room 330 in the same manner as the operating state table 400a shown in FIG. 3 (A). Before going out (in the operating state table 400b, it is described as "before going out of person A"), the number of people in the room, the operating state, and the set temperature, and after the person A goes out (in the operating state table 400b, "person A's" The number of people in the room, the operating status, and the set temperature are stored.

Specifically, the CPU 210 of the outdoor unit control means 200 detects that the person A is present before the person A goes out, that is, when the person detection sensor 62a of the indoor unit 5a of the living room 310 detects the presence of the person A. The number of people in each room detected by the person detection sensors 62a to 62c of 5a to 5c is captured via the communication unit 230, and the number of people in the room captured is stored as the number of people in each room "before going out". do. Further, the CPU 210 captures signals including the operation mode (cooling / heating) instructed by the persons A to C to the indoor units 5a to 5c and the operation / stop of the indoor units 5a to 5c via the communication unit 230. The information contained in the captured signal is stored as the operating state of each room "before a person goes out". Further, the CPU 210 takes in the set temperature set by each of the persons A to C in the indoor units 5a to 5c via the communication unit 230, and sets the taken in set temperature as the set temperature of each room "before going out of the person". Remember.

In the present embodiment, as an example, the number of people in each room "before going out of person A" in the operation state table 400b, the operation state of each room, and the set temperature of each room are set in the "operation state table 400a". It is the same as "before the movement of person A".

When the person detection sensor 62a of the indoor unit 5a of the living room 310 detects that the person A has disappeared from the state before going out, the CPU 210 of the outdoor unit control means 200 determines the person detection sensor of the indoor unit 5a of the living room 310. A predetermined time after the 62a detects that the person A has disappeared, the number of people in each room detected by the person detection sensors 62a to 62c of the indoor units 5a to 5c is captured and captured via the communication unit 230. The number of people in the room is stored as the number of people in each room "after the person goes out". Further, the CPU 210 is a communication unit so as to switch the indoor unit 5a installed in the living room 310 in which the person A is absent to the low-capacity operation, perform the low-capacity operation for a predetermined time, and then stop the indoor unit 5a. In addition to instructing via 230, the operating state of the living room 310 among the operating states of each room set to "before going out of a person" is set to "stop after low-capacity driving". The indoor unit 5a, which has been instructed by the outdoor unit 2 to stop after the low-capacity operation, stops the operation after changing the set temperature from the temperature at which the person A was present and performing the operation for a predetermined time. Then, the CPU 210 captures the set temperature when the indoor unit 5a performs low-capacity operation via the communication unit 230, and stores the captured set temperature as the set temperature of the living room 310.

In the movement pattern P2 of the embodiment, since the person A goes out of the living room 310, the number of people in the living room 310 "after the person A goes out" on the operating state table 400a is "before the person A goes out". In the case of, it decreases from "1 person" to "0 person". Further, the operating state of the living room 310 is changed from "cooling" in the case of "before going out of person A" to "stop after low capacity cooling". Then, as an example, the set temperature of the living room 310 is raised from "26 ° C." in the case of "before going out of person A" to "28 ° C.".

The CPU 210 indicates that the person A has gone out of the living room 310, the detection result of the person detection sensor 62a of the indoor unit 5a, the detection result of the person detection sensor 62b of the indoor unit 5b, and the person detection sensor 62c of the indoor unit 5c. Recognize using each of the detection results of. Specifically, the CPU 210 detects that there are no people in the living room 310 and that there is no person A in the living room 310 based on the detection result of the person detection sensor 62a of the indoor unit 5a, and the indoor unit 5b after a predetermined time has passed. Based on the fact that the number of people in the bedroom 320 does not change due to the detection result of the person detection sensor 62b and that the number of people in the bedroom 320 does not change due to the detection result of the person detection sensor 62c of the indoor unit 5c, the person A lives in the living room. Recognize that you have gone out of 310.

In this way, when the person A goes out of the house 300, the CPU 210 determines that the person A does not return to the living room 310 for a long time. The CPU 210 is an indoor unit 5a installed in the living room 310, and has a low capacity of cooling operation in which the set temperature is set to a temperature 2 ° C. higher than the set temperature during the cooling operation performed when the person A was in the living room 310. The rotation speed of the compressor 21 is reduced so that the cooling operation is performed. Then, the CPU 210 stops the indoor unit 5a when a predetermined time elapses after shifting to the low-capacity cooling operation.

As described above, in the case of the movement pattern P2, the low-capacity cooling operation is stopped after the low-capacity cooling operation is performed for a predetermined time in the indoor unit 5a of the living room 310. As a result, it is possible to prevent the indoor unit 5a from being unnecessarily operated in the living room 310 where a person is likely to be absent for a long time, so that the power consumption of the air conditioner 1 can be reduced and the air conditioner 1 can be reduced. Energy saving is improved.

In the case of the movement pattern P2, the indoor unit 5a of the living room 310 in which the person A is absent is not stopped immediately, but is stopped after the low-capacity cooling operation is performed for a predetermined time for the following reasons.

When person A leaves the living room 310, the number of people is increased by each of the person detection sensor 62b of the indoor unit 5b installed in the bedroom 320 and the person detection sensor 62c of the indoor unit 5c installed in the children's room 330. If it is not detected, there is a possibility that the person A has temporarily moved to a place where the person in the house 300 cannot be detected, for example, a bath 370 or a balcony 380, other than going out of the person A.

If the person A moves to a place where the person in the house 300 cannot be detected, there is a high possibility that the person A will return to the living room 310 in a relatively short time. In such a case, if the indoor unit 5a of the living room 310 in which the person A is absent is immediately stopped, the room temperature rises significantly. Therefore, when the person A returns to the living room 310, the indoor unit 5a is restarted. It takes time to reach the set temperature at room temperature, which may impair human comfort.

In order to solve the above problems, in the air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment, the indoor unit 5a of the living room 310 in which the person A is absent in the case of the movement pattern P2 is not immediately stopped, and the low-capacity cooling operation is performed. After a predetermined time, the indoor unit 5a is stopped. As a result, when the person A returns to the living room 310 or another person enters the living room 310 during the low-capacity cooling operation, the operation of the indoor unit 5a is changed from the low-capacity cooling operation to the cooling when the person A is in the living room 310. When the operation is returned to the operation, the time for the room temperature to reach the set temperature is shortened as compared with the case where the cooling operation is restarted from the state where the operation of the indoor unit 5a is stopped, so that the risk of impairing human comfort can be reduced. Further, when the person A goes out and does not return for a long time, the indoor unit 5a is stopped after performing the low-capacity cooling operation for a predetermined time, so that the energy saving property is not impaired.

In the embodiment described above, the case where the air conditioner 1 is performing the cooling operation and the low capacity operation is performed as an example has been described, but the case where the air conditioner 1 is performing the heating operation is used. However, by performing low-capacity operation as in cooling operation, it is possible to perform operation that achieves both energy saving and comfort. The low-capacity operation in this case is a low-capacity heating operation, and a temperature 1 ° C. to 3 ° C. lower than the set temperature during the heating operation when the person A is in the living room 310 may be set as the set temperature for the low-capacity heating operation.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The difference from the first embodiment is that, as shown in FIG. 4, the house 300 in the second embodiment is provided with a passage sensor 80, which is a passage detection means of the present invention, at the entrance 390. Since the configuration of the air conditioner 1 and the house 300 and the low-capacity operation are the same as those of the first embodiment except that the passage sensor 80 is provided, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The passage sensor 80 is, for example, a thermopile, and detects a person passing through the entrance 390 when a person enters or exits the house 300 through the entrance 390. The passage sensor 80 is connected to the CPU 210 via a communication line and a communication unit 230 (not shown), and the CPU 210 can capture the result each time the passage sensor 80 detects the passage of a person. The passage sensor 80 may be a camera using an image sensor such as a CCD. Further, the passage sensor 80 and the CPU 210 may be connected via a communication means (not shown) provided in the house 300, or the result detected by the passage sensor 80 may be wirelessly transmitted to the CPU 210. good.

In the movement pattern P2 of the first embodiment, the CPU 210 indicates that the person A has gone out of the living room 310 by the person detection sensor 62a of the indoor unit 5a, the person detection sensor 62b of the indoor unit 5b, and the indoor unit 5c. It was recognized by using the increase / decrease of the number of people in each room detected by each of the person detection sensors 62c. Then, when the CPU 210 recognizes that the person A has gone out of the living room 310, the indoor unit 5a has been stopped after performing the low-capacity cooling operation for a predetermined time.

The reason why the low-capacity cooling operation is stopped after being performed for a predetermined time is as follows. As described above, when the person A goes out of the living room 310 and the person is absent in the living room 310, the person A goes out, and the person A temporarily stays in the bath 370 or the balcony 380 where the presence or absence of the person cannot be detected. It is conceivable that it has moved. Then, in the air conditioner 1 of the first embodiment, when the person A is absent in the living room 310, the person A goes out, or the person A cannot detect the presence or absence of the person in the house 300. I can't tell if it's moving temporarily. That is, in consideration of the possibility that the person A is temporarily moving to a place where the presence or absence of the person in the house 300 cannot be detected, the person A returns to the living room 310 without immediately stopping the indoor unit 5a, or other. In order to ensure the comfort when a person comes in, the low-capacity cooling operation is performed for a predetermined time and then stopped.

On the other hand, in the air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment, in the case of the movement pattern P2, the CPU 210 uses each of the detection results of the human detection sensors 62a to 62c of the indoor units 5a to 5c and the detection results of the passage sensor 80. Therefore, it can be determined more accurately than in the first embodiment whether the person A who was in the living room 310 went out or moved to a place where the presence or absence of the person in the house 300 cannot be detected.

Specifically, after the CPU 210 detects that the person A has disappeared from the living room 310 by the person detection sensor 62a of the indoor unit 5a installed in the living room 310, the increase in the number of people is detected in the bedroom 320 or the children's room 330. If the passage sensor 80 detects the passage of a person at the entrance 390, it can be determined that the person A has gone out. In this case, even if the person A is absent from the living room 310 and the indoor unit 5a is switched from the cooling operation to the low-capacity cooling operation, the CPU 210 detects the passage of a person at the entrance 390 by the passage sensor 80. 5a can be stopped. Therefore, energy saving can be improved as compared with the case of the movement pattern P2 of the first embodiment.

On the other hand, after the CPU 210 detects that the person A has disappeared from the living room 310 by the person detection sensor 62a of the indoor unit 5a installed in the living room 310, the increase in the number of people is detected in the bedroom 320 or the children's room 330. If the passage sensor 80 does not detect the passage of a person at the entrance 390, it can be determined that the person A has temporarily moved to a place where the presence or absence of a person in the house 300 cannot be detected. In this case, the CPU 210 switches the indoor unit 5a from the cooling operation to the low-capacity cooling operation when the person A is absent from the living room 310, and continues this low-capacity cooling operation for a predetermined time. Then, when the person A returns to the living room 310 or another person enters the living room 310 during the low-capacity cooling operation, the time for the room temperature to reach the set temperature is shortened by returning from the low-capacity cooling operation to the cooling operation. Therefore, the risk of impairing human comfort can be reduced.

In the first embodiment and the second embodiment described above, the case where the control means of the present invention is the outdoor unit control means 200 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the control means may be provided in any of the indoor units 5a to 5c, and the control means may be provided in an external device such as a remote controller that remotely controls the air conditioner 1. You may be. However, if the control means is provided in the indoor units 5a to 5c or an external device, the indoor units 5a to 5c or the external device are provided when switching from the normal air-conditioning operation to the low-capacity operation in a room where no one is present. The control means issues an instruction to the outdoor unit control means 200 to reduce the rotation speed of the compressor 21, and the outdoor unit control means 200 that receives this instruction reduces the rotation speed of the compressor 21.

1 Air conditioner 2 Outdoor unit 5a to 5c Indoor unit 62a to 62c Human detection sensor 80 Passing sensor 200 Outdoor unit control unit 210 CPU
220 Storage unit 230 Communication unit 250 Communication line 300 Housing 310 Living room 320 Bedroom 330 Children's room 390 Entrance 400a Operating status table: In case of movement pattern P1 400b Operating status table: In case of movement pattern P2

Claims (3)

Using the outdoor unit, a plurality of indoor units, a person detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a person in the room in which each indoor unit is installed, and the detection result of each person detecting means. An air conditioner having control means for controlling the outdoor unit and the plurality of indoor units.
The control means
After detecting that there is a room where a person is absent from the state where a person is present by the person detection means of the indoor unit installed in the room, the number of people increases by the person detection means of another indoor unit. When is detected, the indoor unit installed in the room where the person is absent is set to low-capacity operation in which the air-conditioning capacity is lower than the air-conditioning capacity when the person was present in the room.
After detecting that there is a room where a person is absent from the state where a person is present by the person detection means of the indoor unit installed in the room, the number of people increases by the person detection means of another indoor unit. If the above is not detected, the indoor unit installed in the room where a person is absent is stopped after the low-capacity operation is performed for a predetermined time.
An air conditioner characterized by that. At the entrance / exit of the house including the room in which each indoor unit is installed, a passage detecting means for detecting a person passing through the entrance / exit is provided.
When the control means is performing the low-capacity operation with an indoor unit installed in the room where a person is absent, and the passage detecting means detects the passage of a person at the doorway, the control means said. Stop low-capacity operation,
The air conditioner according to claim 1. The control means is a person detecting means of the indoor unit installed in the room where a person is absent when the low-capacity operation is performed by the indoor unit installed in the room where a person is absent. When it is detected that a person has entered the room, the indoor unit is operated by returning from the low-capacity operation to the air-conditioning capacity when the person was present in the room.
The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the air conditioner is characterized by the above.

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