JP7546798B2 - Air conditioners - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to an air conditioner that performs air conditioning operation.

Traditionally, air conditioners have been used to bring the indoor temperature closer to a set temperature set by the user.

In recent years, air conditioning systems equipped with wireless LAN (Local Area Network) access points have been proposed to improve user convenience.

Patent Document 1 discloses an air conditioning system that detects the position of a user in a room based on the strength of radio waves received from the user's terminal by multiple access points installed in each air-conditioned area of the room. The air-conditioning system disclosed in Patent Document 1 estimates the heat load of each air-conditioned area in the room based on the detection result of the user's position, and adjusts the supply air volume of each air-conditioned area to cover the total heat load.

JP 2011-112322 A

The air conditioning system disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 is started by a user operation or a timer. Also, although there is no specific description of how to stop the air conditioning system, it is thought that it is stopped by a user operation or a timer, just as when it was started. Therefore, the air conditioning system according to Patent Document 1 sometimes continued to operate even when there was no user in the room.

The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to obtain an air conditioner that will not continue to operate when there is no user in the room.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objectives, the air conditioner according to the present disclosure comprises an outdoor unit that generates conditioned air, and a plurality of indoor units equipped with an air conditioning operation unit that uses the conditioned air to condition the space to be air-conditioned. The indoor units form a wireless communication area that includes the space to be air-conditioned, and comprise a wireless access point unit that performs wireless communication with terminals within the wireless communication area, and a control unit that determines whether or not there is a terminal within the wireless communication area based on a signal received by the wireless access point unit, and drives the air conditioning operation unit if there is a terminal within the wireless communication area, and stops the air conditioning operation unit if there is no terminal within the wireless communication area.

The air conditioner disclosed herein has the advantage that it will not continue to operate if there is no user in the room.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which an air conditioner according to the first embodiment and a terminal are performing wireless communication; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a modified example of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of association between the positions of terminals in an air conditioner according to the first embodiment and the blowing direction of conditioned air. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of association between the positions of terminals in an air conditioner according to the first embodiment and the blowing direction of conditioned air. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a setting request for the temperature and blowing direction of conditioned air of an air conditioner according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which a plurality of users are present within a wireless communication area of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the selection contents of a plurality of users within a wireless communication range of an air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 and an example of the blowing direction of conditioned air. A flowchart showing the flow of the operation for setting the blowing direction of conditioned air of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of the selection contents of a plurality of users within the wireless communication range of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment and the blowing direction of the conditioned air. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of the selection contents of a plurality of users within the wireless communication range of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment and the blowing direction of the conditioned air. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of the selection contents of a plurality of users within the wireless communication range of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment and the blowing direction of the conditioned air. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to a second embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a control unit of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment and a second embodiment.

Below, the air conditioner relating to the embodiment is described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1.
Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioner according to embodiment 1. The air conditioner 100 includes a plurality of indoor units 10 installed inside a room 50 which is a space to be air-conditioned, a remote controller 30 connected to the indoor units 10, and an outdoor unit 20 installed outdoors and generating conditioned air. The air conditioner 100 performs air conditioning operation to bring the temperature of the room 50 close to a set temperature set by the user.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to embodiment 1. The indoor unit 10 has a control unit 11, an air conditioning operation unit 12, a wireless access point unit 13, and a communication unit 14. The indoor unit 10 is connected to the Internet via an in-facility LAN 70. The communication unit 14 performs processing to send and receive data via the in-facility LAN 70. Note that while Figure 2 shows the configuration of only one of the two indoor units 10, the other indoor unit 10 has a similar configuration. Furthermore, the number of indoor units 10 connected to the in-facility LAN 70 is not limited to two.

The air conditioning operation unit 12 performs air conditioning of the room 50, which is the space to be air-conditioned, using conditioned air conditioned in the outdoor unit 20. The air conditioning operation unit 12 includes a blower 121 that blows the conditioned air into the room 50, and an up-down air direction louver 122 and a left-right air direction louver 123 that change the blowing direction of the conditioned air.

The wireless access point unit 13 forms a wireless communication area 40 including a room 50, which is a space to be air-conditioned, and performs wireless communication with a terminal 90 in the wireless communication area 40. The wireless access point unit 13 mediates the terminal 90's access to the Internet. The wireless communication area 40 includes a room 50, which is a space to be air-conditioned, and the terminal 90 in the room 50 can perform wireless communication with the wireless access point unit 13. Note that even if the terminal 90 is outside the room 50, the terminal 90 in the wireless communication area 40 can perform wireless communication with the wireless access point unit 13. For example, the hallway 60 outside the room 50 is outside the area to be air-conditioned, but is within the wireless communication area 40, so the terminal 90 in the hallway 60 can perform wireless communication with the wireless access point unit 13.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing a state in which an air conditioner and a terminal according to embodiment 1 are performing wireless communication. A terminal 90 held by a user within the wireless communication area 40 can use the wireless communication function to perform wireless communication with the wireless access point unit 13 and access the Internet.

The wireless access point unit 13 accepts wireless communication from a terminal 90 within the wireless communication area 40 regardless of whether air conditioning operation is in progress or not.

If the terminal 90 is present within the wireless communication area 40, the control unit 11 drives the air conditioning operation unit 12 to perform air conditioning operation, and if the terminal 90 is not present within the wireless communication area 40, the control unit 11 stops the air conditioning operation unit 12. For example, when the wireless access point unit 13 starts wireless communication with the terminal 90, the control unit 11 drives the air conditioning operation unit 12 to start air conditioning operation. If there is at least one terminal 90 in wireless communication with the wireless access point unit 13 within the wireless communication area 40, the control unit 11 continues air conditioning operation, and if there is no terminal 90 in wireless communication with the wireless access point unit 13 within the wireless communication area 40, the control unit 11 stops air conditioning operation. Since the room 50, which is the space to be air-conditioned, is included in the wireless communication area 40, if there is no terminal 90 within the wireless communication area 40, there is no terminal 90 within the space to be air-conditioned. In addition, the control unit 11 switches the blowing direction of the airflow by controlling the up-down air direction louvers 122 and the left-right air direction louvers 123.

By stopping the air conditioning operation when there is no terminal 90 in wireless communication with the wireless access point unit 13 within the wireless communication area 40, it is possible to prevent air conditioning operation from being performed even when no one is present in the space to be air-conditioned.

The control unit 11 may determine whether to turn on or off the air conditioning operation based on the strength of the radio waves received from the terminal 90 in wireless communication with the wireless access point unit 13. The control unit 11 constantly measures the strength of the radio waves received from the terminal 90 in wireless communication with the wireless access point unit 13, and starts the air conditioning operation if there is a terminal 90 in wireless communication with the wireless access point unit 13 whose strength of the received radio waves exceeds the operation start threshold. On the other hand, even if there is a terminal 90 in wireless communication with the wireless access point unit 13, the air conditioning operation is stopped when the strength of all the received radio waves becomes less than the operation stop threshold. In this way, the control unit 11 drives the air conditioning operation unit 12 if the strength of the radio waves received by the wireless access point unit 13 from the terminal 90 exceeds the operation start threshold, and stops the air conditioning operation unit 12 if the strength of the radio waves received by the wireless access point unit 13 from the terminal 90 is less than the operation stop threshold.

Whether or not to turn on/off the air conditioning operation based on the presence or absence of a terminal 90 in wireless communication with the wireless access point unit 13, or to turn on/off the air conditioning operation based on the result of comparing the strength of the received radio waves with a threshold value, can be set by operation from the remote controller 30. In other words, the control unit 11 turns on/off the start of the air conditioning operation based on the presence or absence of a terminal 90 in wireless communication with the wireless access point unit 13, or the result of comparing the strength of the received radio waves with a threshold value, only when the setting to turn on/off the air conditioning operation based on the presence or absence of a terminal 90 in wireless communication with the wireless access point unit 13, or to turn on/off the air conditioning operation based on the result of comparing the strength of the received radio waves with a threshold value has been set.

When the terminal 90 is located in a location where the wireless communication areas 40 of the wireless access point units 13 of multiple indoor units 10 overlap, the wireless access point unit 13 with the strongest radio wave received from the terminal 90 mediates the terminal 90's access to the Internet. Figure 4 is a diagram showing a modified example of an air conditioner according to embodiment 1. The air conditioner 100 has three indoor units 10, and an indoor unit 10 is also installed in the hallway 60. When the user is in the room 50, the wireless access point unit 13 of the indoor unit 10 installed in the room 50 mediates the terminal 90's access to the Internet. When the user leaves the room and goes out to the hallway 60, the access point mediating the terminal 90's access to the Internet is switched to the wireless access point unit 13 of the indoor unit 10 installed in the hallway 60.

The control unit 11 also identifies the position of the terminal 90 based on the strength of the radio waves received by the wireless access point unit 13 of each indoor unit 10 from the terminal 90. That is, the strength of the radio waves received by the wireless access point unit 13 of each indoor unit 10 from the terminal 90 is determined depending on the distance between the indoor unit 10 and the terminal 90, so that the control units 11 of each indoor unit 10 exchange information on the strength of the radio waves received from the wireless access point unit 13 with each other, and the control unit 11 can identify the position of the terminal 90 by multilateral positioning or multi-angle positioning. In addition, by providing the wireless access point unit 13 with multiple antennas, it is possible to improve the measurement accuracy of the distance to the terminal 90 to be located and the direction in which the terminal 90 is located. The control unit 11 performs a process of associating the position of the terminal 90 identified based on the strength of the radio waves with the blowing direction of the conditioned air.

5 and 6 are diagrams showing an example of the correspondence between the position of the terminal of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment and the blowing direction of the conditioned air. The wind direction level indicates the blowing direction that the indoor unit 10 can switch by the up-down wind direction louver 122 and the left-right wind direction louver 123. The control unit 11 corresponds the direction closest to the direction in which the terminal 90 is located, among wind direction levels 1 to 5, to the blowing direction of the conditioned air. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the position of the terminal 90 identified based on the strength of the radio waves received from the terminal 90 is in a direction corresponding to wind direction level 4 of the up-down wind direction. Therefore, the control unit 11 corresponds the position of the user to the direction of wind direction level 4 of the up-down wind direction. Also, in the example shown in FIG. 6, the position of the terminal 90 identified based on the strength of the radio waves received from the terminal 90 is in a direction corresponding to wind direction level 2 of the left-right wind direction. Therefore, the control unit 11 corresponds the position of the user to the direction of wind direction level 2 of the left-right wind direction.

A user can use application software installed on the terminal 90 to send a setting request for the temperature and blowing direction of the conditioned air from the terminal 90 to the air conditioner 100. Here, the setting request for the temperature and blowing direction of the conditioned air of the air conditioner 100 will be described using an example in which the air conditioner 100 is performing cooling operation. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a setting request for the temperature and blowing direction of the conditioned air of the air conditioner according to embodiment 1. From the application software, one of three options, "hot," "normal," and "cold," can be selected. When "hot" is selected, the blowing direction of the conditioned air is directed toward the user in both the up-down and left-right wind directions, and the temperature of the conditioned air being blown out is set 2°C lower. When "cold" is selected, the blowing direction of the conditioned air is directed toward the user in both the up-down and left-right wind directions, and the temperature of the conditioned air being blown out is set 2°C higher. When "normal" is selected, the blowing direction and temperature of the conditioned air are maintained. In other words, when the user selects one of “hot,” “normal,” or “cold” using application software installed on the terminal 90, a request to set the temperature and blowing direction of the conditioned air is sent from the terminal 90 to the air conditioner 100.

When multiple users are present within the wireless communication area 40, the control unit 11 sets the temperature and blowing direction of the conditioned air based on the setting request sent from each user's terminal 90.

The control unit 11 sets the temperature of the conditioned air according to the content of the option selected by the most users. That is, if the number of users who select "hot" is more than the number of users who select "cold" by even one, the control unit 11 lowers the temperature of the conditioned air to be blown out by 2°C. Also, if the number of users who select "cold" is more than the number of users who select "hot" by even one, the control unit 11 raises the temperature of the conditioned air to be blown out by 2°C. If the number of users who select "hot" is the same as the number of users who select "cold", the control unit 11 does not change the temperature of the conditioned air to be blown out. Note that here, if the number of users who select "hot" is more than the number of users who select "cold", the temperature of the conditioned air is raised by 2°C, and if the number of users who select "cold" is more than the number of users who select "hot", the temperature of the conditioned air is lowered by 2°C, but the amount of change in the temperature of the conditioned air is not limited to ±2°C.

An example of setting the blowing direction of conditioned air when there are multiple users within the wireless communication area 40 is described below. Figure 8 is a diagram showing a state in which there are multiple users within the wireless communication area of an air conditioner according to embodiment 1. Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of the selection contents of multiple users within the wireless communication area of an air conditioner according to embodiment 1 and the blowing direction of conditioned air. User A is in a position where the left-right wind direction is at wind direction level 2, and user B is in a position where the left-right wind direction is at wind direction level 4. User A has selected "cold", and user B has selected "hot". Note that, to simplify the explanation, it is assumed here that no change is made to the up-down wind direction of the blowing direction of conditioned air.

Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of the operation of setting the blowing direction of conditioned air of the air conditioner according to embodiment 1. The control unit 11 judges the user who is in that direction and the option selected by the user, starting from wind direction level 1. In step S1, the control unit 11 judges whether or not there is a user who selected "cold". If there is a user who selected "cold", the result is Yes in step S1, and the control unit 11 advances the process to step S2. If there is no user who selected "cold", the result is No in step S1, and the control unit 11 advances the process to step S3. In step S2, the control unit 11 sets the weight of the wind direction level currently being judged to 0. In step S3, the control unit 11 sets the weight of the wind direction level currently being judged to 1. In step S4, the control unit 11 judges whether or not there is a user who selected "hot". If there is a user who selected "hot", the result is Yes in step S4, and the control unit 11 advances the process to step S5. If no user has selected "hot", the result in step S4 is No, and the control unit 11 advances the process to step S6. In step S5, the control unit 11 increases the weight of the currently determined wind direction level by one.

The control unit 11 sets the above weights for each wind direction level from wind direction level 1 to wind direction level 5. Here, the weighting for wind direction level 2, where there are users who have selected "cold", is set to 0. The weighting for wind direction level 1, wind direction level 3, and wind direction level 5, where there are no users who have selected "cold", is set to 1. The weighting for wind direction level 4, where there are no users who have selected "cold" and where there are users who have selected "hot", is set to 2.

In step S6, the control unit 11 determines whether there is a wind direction level for which a weight has not been set. If there is a wind direction level for which a weight has not been set, the result is Yes in step S6, and the control unit 11 performs the process of step S1 for the wind direction level for which a weight has not been set. When the weight setting for all wind direction levels is completed, the result is No in step S6, and the control unit 11 proceeds to the process of step S7. In step S7, the control unit 11 increases the weight of the wind direction level for which there is no user who selected "cold" and for which at least one of the two adjacent wind direction levels does not have a wind direction level with a weight of 0 by 1. Here, there is no increase in the weight of wind direction level 2 for which there is a user who selected "cold". In addition, there is no increase in the weight of wind direction level 1 and wind direction level 3 for which at least one of the two adjacent wind direction levels has a wind direction level with a weight of 0. The weight of wind direction level 4 and wind direction level 5 for which there is no user who selected "cold" and for which neither of the two adjacent wind direction levels has a wind direction level with a weight of 0 is increased by 1. Therefore, at the end of step S7, the weight of wind direction level 1 will be set to 1, the weight of wind direction level 2 will be set to 0, the weight of wind direction level 3 will be set to 1, the weight of wind direction level 4 will be set to 3, and the weight of wind direction level 5 will be set to 2.

In step S8, the control unit 11 determines the wind direction level with the highest weight as the blowing direction of the conditioned air, and sets the blowing direction of the conditioned air. Here, wind direction level 4 with the highest weight is set as the blowing direction of the conditioned air. The ☆ mark in the results column in Figure 9 indicates that it is set as the blowing direction of the conditioned air. Note that if there are multiple wind direction levels with the highest weight, the wind direction level with the smaller wind direction level number is given priority when determining the blowing direction of the conditioned air. Note that if there are multiple wind direction levels with the highest weight, which wind direction level is given priority can be set arbitrarily.

In the above explanation, the weight due to there being no terminal 90 that has sent a setting request to increase the conditioned air temperature, the weight due to the presence of a terminal 90 that has sent a setting request to decrease the conditioned air temperature, and the weight due to there being no terminal 90 in the vicinity that has sent a setting request to increase the conditioned air temperature were all 1, but these weights can be set to any value.

Figure 11 is a diagram showing another example of the selections made by multiple users within the wireless communication range of an air conditioner according to embodiment 1 and the direction in which conditioned air is blown out. User A is in the direction of left/right wind direction level 1, users B and C are in the direction of left/right wind direction level 4, and user D is in the direction of left/right wind direction level 5. Users A, C, and D have selected "cold," and user B has selected "hot."

In the processing of steps S1 to S6, the weighting of wind direction level 1, wind direction level 4, and wind direction level 5, where there are users who selected "cold", is set to 0. In addition, the weighting of wind direction level 2 and wind direction level 3, where there are no users who selected "cold", is set to 1.

In the processing of step S7, the weights of wind direction level 2, wind direction level 3, wind direction level 4 and wind direction level 5, which have a wind direction level with a weight of 0 on at least one of their adjacent sides, are not increased, and the weight of wind direction level 1, which has no wind direction level with a weight of 0 on either side, is increased by 1. Thus, at the end of step S7, the weight of wind direction level 1 is set to 1, the weight of wind direction level 2 is set to 1, the weight of wind direction level 3 is set to 1, the weight of wind direction level 4 is set to 0 and the weight of wind direction level 5 is set to 0. Since there are multiple wind direction levels with the highest weights, in the processing of step S8, wind direction level 1, which has the smallest wind direction level number among the direction levels with a weight of 1, is determined as the blowing direction of the conditioned air.

Figure 12 is a diagram showing another example of the selections made by multiple users within the wireless communication range of an air conditioner according to embodiment 1 and the direction in which conditioned air is blown out. User A is in the direction of wind direction level 1 for the left-right wind direction, user B is in the direction of wind direction level 4 for the left-right wind direction, and user C is in the direction of wind direction level 5 for the left-right wind direction. Users A and C have selected "cold," and user B has selected "hot."

In the processing of steps S1 to S6, wind direction level 1 and wind direction level 5, where there are users who selected "cold", are set to a weight of 0. Wind direction level 2 and wind direction level 3, where there are no users who selected "cold", are set to a weight of 1. Wind direction level 4, where there are no users who selected "cold" and there are users who selected "hot", is set to a weight of 2.

In the processing of step S7, there is no increase in the weighting of wind direction level 1 and wind direction level 5, where there is a user who selected "cold". There is no increase in weighting of wind direction level 2 and wind direction level 4, where at least one of the neighbors has a wind direction level with a weight of 0. On the other hand, the weighting of wind direction level 3, where there is no user who selected "cold" and neither of the neighbors has a wind direction level with a weight of 0, increases by 1. Therefore, at the end of step S7, the weighting of wind direction level 1 is set to 0, the weighting of wind direction level 2 is set to 1, the weighting of wind direction level 3 is set to 2, the weighting of wind direction level 4 is set to 2, and the weighting of wind direction level 5 is set to 0. Since there are multiple wind direction levels with the highest weighting, in the processing of step S8, wind direction level 3, which has the smallest wind direction level number among the wind direction levels with a weighting of 2, is determined as the blowing direction of the conditioned air.

Figure 13 is a diagram showing another example of the selections made by multiple users within the wireless communication range of an air conditioner according to embodiment 1 and the direction in which conditioned air is blown out. User A is in the direction of wind direction level 2 for the left-right wind direction, and user B is in the direction of wind direction level 3 for the left-right wind direction. User A and user B have selected "cold."

In the processing of steps S1 to S6, the weighting of wind direction level 2 and wind direction level 3, where there are users who selected "cold", is set to 0. In addition, the weighting of wind direction level 1, wind direction level 4, and wind direction level 5, where there are no users who selected "cold", is set to 1.

In the processing of step S7, there is no increase in weight for wind direction level 2 and wind direction level 3, where there is a user who has selected "cold". There is no increase in weight for wind direction level 1 and wind direction level 4, where at least one of the neighbors has a wind direction level with a weight of 0. On the other hand, the weight of wind direction level 5, where there is no user who has selected "cold" and neither of the neighbors has a wind direction level with a weight of 0, is increased by 1. Thus, at the end of step S7, the weight of wind direction level 1 is set to 1, the weight of wind direction level 2 to 0, the weight of wind direction level 3 to 0, the weight of wind direction level 4 to 1, and the weight of wind direction level 5 to 2. In the processing of step S8, wind direction level 5, which has the greatest weight, is determined as the blowing direction of the conditioned air.

In this way, when the control unit 11 receives setting requests from multiple terminals 90, it decides by majority vote whether to increase or decrease the temperature of the conditioned air, weighting the directions in which there is no terminal 90 that has sent a setting request to increase the conditioned air temperature, the directions in which there is a terminal 90 that has sent a setting request to decrease the conditioned air temperature, and the directions in which there is no terminal 90 nearby that has sent a setting request to increase the conditioned air temperature, and determines the direction with the greatest weight as the direction in which the conditioned air will be blown out.

The above explanation was about determining the direction in which conditioned air is blown out for left and right wind directions, but the same procedure can also be used to determine the direction in which up and down wind directions are blown out.

The control unit 11 determines the set temperature and the blowing direction of the conditioned air when a setting request is sent from any user using application software. However, since there is a possibility that multiple users will be performing operations, the set temperature and the blowing direction of the conditioned air are determined a certain amount of time after the first setting request is received. After determining the set temperature and the blowing direction of the conditioned air, the control unit 11 also allows a certain amount of time to pass before performing the process of determining the set temperature and the blowing direction of the conditioned air again. As a result, after determining the set temperature and the blowing direction of the conditioned air, air conditioning operation is performed under the determined conditions for a certain amount of time, which prevents the air conditioning operation conditions from being changed frequently and making it difficult to understand comfortable conditions.

In addition, if the indoor unit 10 is equipped with multiple conditioned air outlets, the blowing direction of the conditioned air blown out from each conditioned air outlet is determined by the above-mentioned processing.

In the air conditioner 100 according to the first embodiment, the indoor unit 10 can wirelessly communicate with the user's terminal 90 to identify the user's current location, and therefore can perform air conditioning operation according to the user's physical condition based on a setting request transmitted by the user's input operation. Therefore, the air conditioner 100 according to the first embodiment can perform air conditioning operation under conditions that are comfortable for the user, which is difficult to achieve with automatic operation.

Embodiment 2.
Fig. 14 is a diagram showing the configuration of an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to embodiment 2. The indoor unit 10 of the air conditioner 100 according to embodiment 2 is equipped with a mobile phone network communication unit 15 that connects to a mobile phone network and performs wireless communication. The indoor unit 10 is connected to the Internet via the mobile phone network by the mobile phone network communication unit 15. In other words, the air conditioner 100 according to embodiment 2 differs from the air conditioner 100 according to embodiment 1 in that the indoor unit 10 is connected to the Internet via the mobile phone network rather than the in-facility LAN 70.

The air conditioner 100 according to the second embodiment does not need to connect the indoor unit 10 to the facility LAN 70, so there are fewer restrictions on where the indoor unit 10 can be installed. The air conditioner 100 according to the second embodiment, like the air conditioner 100 according to the first embodiment, can perform air conditioning operation under conditions that are comfortable for the user.

Next, the hardware configuration of the control unit 11 of the air conditioner 100 according to the above-mentioned embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 will be described. Figure 15 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the control unit of the air conditioner according to embodiment 1 and embodiment 2. Figure 15 shows the hardware configuration when the function of the control unit 11 is realized by using hardware that executes a program.

The control unit 11 has a processor 81 that executes various processes, a memory 82 that is an internal memory, and a storage device 83 that stores information. The processor 81 reads out a program stored in the storage device 83 into the memory 82 and executes it. By executing the program stored in the storage device 83, the processor 81 identifies the position of the terminal 90 based on radio waves received by the wireless access point unit 13. By executing the program stored in the storage device 83, the processor 81 also stops the air conditioning operation unit 12 when there is no terminal 90 within the wireless communication area 40. By executing the program stored in the storage device 83, the processor 81 also sets the temperature and blowing direction of the conditioned air based on a setting request received from the terminal 90.

The configurations shown in the above embodiments are merely examples of the content, and may be combined with other known technologies, and parts of the configurations may be omitted or modified without departing from the gist of the invention.

10 Indoor unit, 11 Control unit, 12 Air conditioning operation unit, 13 Wireless access point unit, 14 Communication unit, 15 Mobile phone network communication unit, 20 Outdoor unit, 30 Remote controller, 40 Wireless communication area, 50 Room, 60 Corridor, 70 In-facility LAN, 81 Processor, 82 Memory, 83 Storage device, 90 Terminal, 100 Air conditioner, 121 Blower, 122 Up/down air direction louvers, 123 Left/right air direction louvers.

Claims (2)

The system comprises an outdoor unit that generates conditioned air, and a plurality of indoor units that are equipped with an air conditioning operation unit that uses the conditioned air to condition an air-conditioned space,
The indoor unit includes:
a wireless access point unit that forms a wireless communication area including the space to be air-conditioned and wirelessly communicates with a terminal within the wireless communication area;
a control unit that determines whether or not the terminal is present within the wireless communication area based on a signal received by the wireless access point unit, and drives the air conditioning operation unit if the terminal is present within the wireless communication area, and stops the air conditioning operation unit if the terminal is not present within the wireless communication area ,
The air conditioning operation unit is provided with a louver for changing the blowing direction of the conditioned air,
The control unit identifies the position of the terminal within the wireless communication area based on the strength of the radio waves received by the wireless access point unit, changes the orientation of the louvers based on the identified position of the terminal, sets the temperature and blowing direction of the conditioned air based on the setting request received from the terminal, and if setting requests are received from a plurality of the terminals, decides by majority vote whether to raise or lower the temperature of the conditioned air, weighting the directions in which there is no terminal that has sent the setting request to raise the conditioned air temperature, the directions in which there is a terminal that has sent the setting request to lower the conditioned air temperature, and the directions in which there is no terminal nearby that has sent the setting request to raise the conditioned air temperature, and determines the direction with the greatest weight as the blowing direction of the conditioned air . The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the control unit drives the air conditioning operation unit if the strength of the radio waves received by the wireless access point unit from the terminal exceeds an operation start threshold, and stops the air conditioning operation unit if the strength of the radio waves received by the wireless access point unit from the terminal is less than an operation stop threshold.

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