JP7585795B2 - Air Conditioning System - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioning system, and in particular to an air conditioning system that efficiently adjusts the temperature in areas indoors where people are present.

Task-ambient air conditioning is a method of air conditioning that divides a room into an area where people are present (task area) and another area (ambient area) and focuses on cooling and heating the task area.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an air conditioning system in which multiple indoor units each having a human detection sensor that detects whether or not a person is present and a temperature sensor that detects the temperature are connected to each other for communication, and when the human detection sensor detects the presence of a person, the system performs cooling or heating operation so that the temperature detected by the temperature sensor becomes a preset temperature, and also performs fan operation on an indoor unit that does not detect the presence of a person and is located next to the indoor unit that detected the presence of a person.

JP 2017-083084 A

According to the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, by linking an indoor unit that detects the presence of a person with an adjacent indoor unit that does not detect the presence of a person and operating to blow air, it is possible to prevent air that has been temperature-adjusted by cooling/heating operation from flowing into air-conditioned areas where the presence of a person is not detected, and to efficiently adjust the temperature only in air-conditioned areas where people are present, thereby improving energy efficiency and comfort.

However, the technology of Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration the leakage of heat from the task area to the ambient area. Therefore, in the technology of Patent Document 1, if a temperature fluctuation occurs in the task area due to such heat leakage, it becomes difficult to maintain comfort unless the set temperature is changed. On the other hand, if the set temperature is significantly increased or decreased in order to maintain comfort in the task area, it becomes difficult to achieve energy conservation, and there is room for improvement in this regard.

The present invention was made in consideration of these points, and its purpose is to provide technology that can achieve both comfort and energy savings in an air conditioning system that performs task/ambient air conditioning.

To achieve the above objective, the air conditioning system of the present invention controls the air conditioner based on the amount of heat leaking from the task area where cooling or heating operation is performed to the adjacent ambient area.

Specifically, the present invention is directed to an air conditioning system that performs indoor air conditioning for each of a number of divided areas that are virtually divided horizontally within the room.

The air conditioning system includes air conditioners having cooling, heating and blowing functions provided in each of the divided areas; human detection means provided in each of the divided areas for detecting the presence of a person in each of the divided areas; a control device that causes an air conditioner in a task area in which the presence of a person is detected by the human detection means to perform a cooling or heating operation so that the temperature of the task area reaches a set temperature, and causes an air conditioner in an ambient area adjacent to the task area and in which the presence of a person is not detected by the human detection means to perform a blowing operation so as to form an air curtain that prevents air from flowing out from the task area to the ambient area; and heat leakage detection means provided near the boundaries of the plurality of divided areas, respectively, for detecting the transfer of heat between adjacent divided areas. The control device is configured to control the air conditioner in the task area and/or the air conditioner in the ambient area based on the detection result of the heat leak detection means so that the amount of heat leaking from the task area is below a predetermined standard value , and the heat leak detection means is characterized in that it comprises a ceiling-nearby heat leak detection means consisting of a ceiling first sensor provided on the ceiling near the boundary on one side of the adjacent divided areas and a ceiling second sensor provided on the ceiling near the boundary on the other side of the adjacent divided areas, and a floor-nearby heat leak detection means consisting of a floor first sensor provided on the floor near the boundary on one side of the adjacent divided areas and a floor second sensor provided on the floor near the boundary on the other side of the adjacent divided areas .

With this configuration, the control device causes the air conditioner in the task area where the presence of a person is detected by the human detection means to perform cooling or heating operation, and causes the air conditioner in the ambient area adjacent to the task area where the presence of a person is not detected by the human detection means to perform fan operation to form an air curtain that prevents air from flowing out from the task area to the ambient area, thereby allowing efficient temperature control in the task area.

Moreover, based on the detection results of the heat leakage detection means that detects the transfer of heat between the task area and the ambient area, the control device controls, for example, the set temperature, air volume, wind direction, etc. of the air conditioner in the task area, and/or the air volume and wind direction, etc. of the air conditioner in the ambient area so that the amount of heat leaking from the task area is below a predetermined reference value, thereby minimizing the amount of heat leaking from the task area to the ambient area and maintaining comfort in the task area. In this way, temperature fluctuations in the task area can be suppressed without significantly raising or lowering the set temperature, thereby achieving energy savings.

As described above, the air conditioning system of the present invention can achieve both comfort and energy conservation.

1 is a diagram illustrating an air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a control concept in an air conditioning system. 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining an example of control of an air curtain. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of control by the air conditioning system. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of a change in heat leakage amount over time. 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining a method for calculating the amount of heat leakage according to the first modified example; 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining a method for calculating the amount of heat leakage according to Modification 2;

The following describes how to implement the present invention with reference to the drawings.

-Air conditioning system-
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of an air conditioning system 1 according to the present embodiment. The air conditioning system 1 performs air conditioning of a room 3 partitioned by a ceiling 5 and a floor 7 for each of a plurality of divided areas 3A, 3B, and 3C obtained by virtually dividing the room 3 in the horizontal direction. More specifically, the air conditioning system 1 performs task-ambient air conditioning, which is an air conditioning method that divides the room 3 into a divided area (task area) 3B where a person P exists and other divided areas (ambient areas) 3A and 3C, and intensively cools and heats the task area 3B. Note that the divided areas 3A, 3B, and 3C are not physically divided by, for example, a partition or a wall, but are "virtually" divided by air curtains 9A and 9C, which will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 1, this air conditioning system 1 includes air conditioners 21, 22, 23 provided in each divided area 3A, 3B, 3C, human presence sensors 31, 32, 33 provided in each divided area 3A, 3B, 3C, heat leak detection sensors 41, 42, 43, 44 provided near the boundaries between the divided areas 3A, 3B, 3C, and a control device 10 that controls each air conditioner 21, 22, 23.

Each of the air conditioners 21, 22, and 23 has a cooling function, a heating function, and a blowing function. More specifically, each of the air conditioners 21, 22, and 23 is configured to be able to adjust the blowing temperature, blowing volume, and wind direction (the angle at which the air is blown out). For example, the air conditioners 21, 22, and 23 suck in air from the room 3, expel only the heat in the air from the outdoor unit (not shown) using a refrigerant, and return only the cold air from which the heat has been expelled by the refrigerant to the room 3, thereby cooling the room 3 to a preset temperature (cooling function). In addition, the air conditioners 21, 22, and 23 are able to heat the room 3 to a set temperature by removing heat from the outside air with the outdoor unit and flowing the air that has been warmed when the heat is released using an evaporator (not shown) into the room (heating function). Furthermore, the air conditioners 21, 22, and 23 can also simply generate wind by drawing in air through a filter (not shown) and expelling it into the room 3 without passing it through a refrigerant or evaporator (fan function).

As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioners 21, 22, and 23 are each connected to the control device 10 via a wired or wireless communication line 11, and each adjusts the air temperature, air volume, and air direction according to commands output from the control device 10 to perform cooling, heating, or air blowing functions separately from each other. Therefore, in the air conditioning system 1 of this embodiment, it is possible, for example, to have the air conditioner 22 perform heating operation while the air conditioners 21 and 23 perform air blowing operation.

The human presence sensors (human detection means) 31, 32, 33 are configured to detect the presence of a person P in the divided areas 3A, 3B, 3C, respectively, using infrared rays, ultrasonic waves, visible light, a combination of infrared rays and ultrasonic waves, etc. As shown in FIG. 1, the human presence sensors 31, 32, 33 are each connected to the control device 10 via a wired or wireless communication line 13, and output the detection results to the control device 10. For example, in FIG. 1, the human presence sensor 32 detects the presence of a person P in the divided area 3B, and outputs the detection results to the control device 10, while the human presence sensors 31, 33 detect the absence of a person P in the divided areas 3A, 3C, respectively, and output these detection results to the control device 10. As a result, the control device 10 recognizes the divided area 3B as a task area where intensive heating and cooling should be performed, while recognizing the divided areas 3A, 3C as ambient areas where heating and cooling are not performed.

The heat leak detection sensors (heat leak detection means) 41, 42, 43, and 44 detect the transfer of heat between adjacent divided areas 3A, 3B, and 3C, and each is composed of a pair of sensors 41A, 41B, 42B, 42C, 43A, 43B, 44B, and 44C.

More specifically, the heat leak detection sensor 41 is composed of a first sensor 41B provided on the divided area 3B side and a second sensor 41A provided on the divided area 3A side near the boundary between the divided areas 3A and 3B on the ceiling 5, and detects the movement of heat (heat leak) between the divided areas 3B and 3A near the ceiling 5. The heat leak detection sensor 42 is composed of a first sensor 42B provided on the divided area 3B side and a second sensor 42C provided on the divided area 3C side near the boundary between the divided areas 3B and 3C on the ceiling 5, and detects heat leak between the divided areas 3B and 3C near the ceiling 5. Furthermore, the heat leak detection sensor 43 is composed of a first sensor 43B provided on the divided area 3B side and a second sensor 43A provided on the divided area 3A side near the boundary between the divided areas 3A and 3B on the floor 7, and detects heat leak between the divided areas 3B and 3A near the floor 7. The heat leak detection sensor 44 is composed of a first sensor 44B provided on the side of the divided area 3B near the boundary between the divided areas 3B and 3C on the floor 7, and a second sensor 44C provided on the side of the divided area 3C, and detects heat leaks between the divided areas 3B and 3C near the floor 7. The heat leak detection sensors 41, 42, 43, and 44 are each connected to the control device 10 via a wired or wireless communication line 15, as shown in FIG. 1.

The first sensors 41B, 42B, 43B, 44B and the second sensors 41A, 42C, 43A, 44C may be temperature sensors or heat flow sensors that generate an electrical signal proportional to the amount of heat applied to the surface of the sensor (penetrating the sensor from the front to the back) per unit time.

When the first sensors 41B, 42B, 43B, 44B and the second sensors 41A, 42C, 43A, 44C are temperature sensors, the temperatures T1 detected by the first sensors 41B, 42B, 43B, 44B and the temperatures T2 detected by the second sensors 41A, 42C, 43A, 44C are output to the control device 10 via the communication lines 15.

In contrast, when the first sensors 41B, 42B, 43B, 44B and the second sensors 41A, 42C, 43A, 44C are heat flow sensors, the amount of heat Q1 per unit time detected by the first sensors 41B, 42B, 43B, 44B and the amount of heat Q2 per unit time detected by the second sensors 41A, 42C, 43A, 44C are output to the control device 10 via the communication line 15.

The control device 10 is configured to cause the air conditioners 21, 22, 23 of the task areas 3A, 3B, 3C in which the presence of a person P is detected by the motion sensors 31, 32, 33 to perform cooling or heating operations so that the task areas reach a preset temperature, and to cause the air conditioners 21, 22, 23 of the ambient areas 3A, 3B, 3C adjacent to the task areas and in which the presence of a person P is not detected by the motion sensors 31, 32, 33 to perform blowing operations to form air curtains 9A, 9C that prevent air from flowing out of the task areas into the ambient areas.

In the example of FIG. 1, the control device 10 causes the air conditioner 22 to perform cooling or heating operation so that the divided area 3B, where the presence of person P is detected by the human presence sensors 31, 32, 33, reaches the set temperature, and causes the air conditioners 21, 23 in the divided areas 3A, 3C adjacent to the divided area 3B and where the presence of person P is not detected by the human presence sensors 31, 33, to perform blowing operation so as to form air curtains 9A, 9C that prevent air from flowing out from the divided area 3B into the divided areas 3A, 3C.

Furthermore, the control device 10 is configured to control the air conditioners 21, 22, 23 in the task area and/or the ambient area based on the detection results of the heat leak detection sensors 41, 42, 43, 44 so that the amount of heat leaking from the task area is equal to or less than a predetermined reference value PV. More specifically, the control device 10 is configured to calculate the amount of heat leakage based on the detection results of the heat leak detection sensors 41, 42, 43, 44, and if the calculated amount of heat leakage exceeds the predetermined reference value PV, adjust the air temperature, volume, and direction of the air conditioners in the task area and/or adjust the volume and direction of the air conditioners in the ambient area so that the amount of heat leakage is equal to or less than the predetermined reference value PV.

Figure 2 is a diagram that illustrates the control concept in the air conditioning system 1. When the divided area 3B is the task area and the divided area 3C is the ambient area, as shown in Figure 2(a), if (temperature T1 (amount of heat Q1) detected by the first sensor 44B - temperature T2 (amount of heat Q2) detected by the second sensor 44C) ≧ predetermined temperature difference TP (predetermined heat difference QP), the control device 10 determines that no heat leakage is occurring from the divided area 3B to the divided area 3C (the amount of heat leakage is equal to or less than a predetermined reference value PV). In this case, the control device 10 causes the air conditioner 22 to continue cooling or heating operation and the air conditioner 23 to continue blowing air in order to maintain the current state.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 2(b), if (temperature T1 (amount of heat Q1) detected by first sensor 44B - temperature T2 (amount of heat Q2) detected by second sensor 44C) is less than the predetermined temperature difference TP (predetermined heat difference QP), the air in divided area 3C is cooled (or heated) by the cold air (or hot air) leaking from divided area 3B, reducing the difference between the two, so that the control device 10 determines that heat leakage from divided area 3B to divided area 3C is occurring (the amount of heat leakage exceeds the predetermined reference value PV). In this case, as shown in FIG. 2(c), the control device 10 executes control so that the amount of heat leaking from divided area 3B to divided area 3C is equal to or less than the predetermined reference value PV by changing the air volume and direction of air conditioner 23 or by changing the air temperature, volume, and direction of air conditioner 22 in order to strengthen the sealing effect of air curtain 9C.

Figure 3 is a diagram that illustrates an example of control of the air curtains 9A and 9C. For example, as shown in Figure 3(a), the control device 10 may be configured to execute control such that, if the amount of heat leakage is large, the air curtain airflow (airflow amount for forming the air curtains 9A and 9C) is increased, whereas, if the amount of heat leakage is small, the air curtain airflow is decreased. Also, for example, as shown in Figure 3(b), the control device 10 may be configured to change the air curtain airflow direction (direction of the air for forming the air curtains 9A and 9C) depending on the amount of heat leakage. The control examples shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(b) may be stored in the control device 10 as a map, for example.

- Control flow -
Next, an example of control by the air conditioning system 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 4. Note that this flowchart is based on the premise that a divided area adjacent to a divided area to be controlled (hereinafter also referred to as a "target divided area") is an ambient area in which the presence of a person P is not detected by the human presence sensors 31, 32, and 33.

First, in step S1, the control device 10 determines whether or not a person P is present in the target divided area based on the detection results of the human presence sensors 31, 32, and 33. If the determination in step S1 is NO, that is, if a person P is not present in the target divided area, the process proceeds to step S2, where the control device 10 issues a command to the air conditioners 21, 22, and 23 in the target divided area to operate the heating and cooling at low power, and then proceeds to step S3. In step S3, if the air conditioners 21, 22, and 23 in the ambient area are operating in a fan operation, the control device 10 stops the fan operation of the air conditioners 21, 22, and 23 in the ambient area, and then ENDs.

On the other hand, if the determination in step S1 is YES, that is, if a person P is present in the target divided area, the process proceeds to step S4. In the next step S4, the control device 10 starts the air conditioners 21, 22, and 23 in the target divided area to start heating/cooling operation so that the temperature of the target divided area becomes the set temperature, and then the process proceeds to step S5. In the next step S5, the control device 10 starts the air conditioners 21, 22, and 23 in the ambient area to start blowing operation so as to form an air curtain that prevents air from flowing out of the target divided area into the ambient area, and then the process proceeds to step S6.

In the next step S6, the heat leak detection sensors 41, 42, 43, and 44 detect the temperature (or amount of heat) of the target division area and the ambient area, and then the process proceeds to step S7. In the next step S7, the control device 10 calculates the amount of heat leak based on the detection results of the heat leak detection sensors 41, 42, 43, and 44, and then the process proceeds to step S8.

In the next step S8, the control device 10 determines whether the amount of heat leakage calculated in step S7 is equal to or less than a predetermined reference value PV. If the determination in step S8 is YES, i.e., if the amount of heat leakage is equal to or less than the predetermined reference value PV, the process ends.

On the other hand, if the determination in step S8 is NO, the process proceeds to step S9, where the control device 10 generates a control signal based on the control examples shown in Fig. 3(a) and Fig. 3(b) that are mapped and stored, and outputs the control signal to the air conditioners 21, 22, and 23 in the ambient area. In the next step S10, the air conditioners 21, 22, and 23 in the ambient area control the air curtains according to the control signal from the control device 10, and then the process ends.

Figure 5 is a diagram that illustrates an example of the change over time in the amount of heat leakage. By repeating the control shown in the flowchart of Figure 4 to a certain extent, the amount of heat leakage saturates to a relatively low value over time, as shown in Figure 5 (see the dashed line in Figure 5). Therefore, rather than repeating the control shown in the flowchart while person P is present in the target divided area, the control device 10 may be configured to operate the air conditioners 21, 22, and 23 in the ambient area at the lowest power after the amount of heat leakage saturates.

(Variation 1)
This modification differs from the above embodiment in that a heat leak detection sensor is configured by one heat flow sensor. In the following, for convenience, it is assumed that the divided area 3B is a task area and the divided area 3C is an ambient area, and the description will be centered on the differences from the above embodiment.

Figure 6 is a diagram that illustrates a method for calculating the amount of heat leakage according to this modified example. As shown in Figure 6, in this modified example, only the heat flow sensor 50 provided on the side of divided area 3C, which is the ambient area, near the boundary between divided areas 3B and 3C on floor 7 is used as the heat leakage detection sensor.

As shown in FIG. 6(a), if the cold or hot air coming out of the air conditioner 22 in the divided area 3B, which is the task area, is enclosed within the divided area 3B by the air curtain 9C formed by the air conditioner 23 in the divided area 3C, which is the ambient area (hereinafter also referred to as the "enclosed state"), the cold or hot air should not flow from the divided area 3B to the divided area 3C. Therefore, if the divided area 3B, which is the task area, is in an enclosed state, there is no heat flow passing through the heat flow sensor 50 from the front to the back, and the detection value of the heat flow sensor 50 should be approximately 0.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6(b), when heat leakage occurs and cold or hot air flows from divided area 3B to divided area 3C (hereinafter referred to as "heat leakage state"), the heat flow caused by the cold or hot air passes through heat flow sensor 50 from front to back as shown by the white arrow in FIG. 6(b), and an electrical signal proportional to the amount of heat per unit time is output. Thus, since the detection value of heat flow sensor 50 in the heat leakage state is proportional to the amount of heat leakage, and since the detection value of heat flow sensor 50 in the sealed state is ≒ 0, it can be considered that the detection value of heat flow sensor 50 in the heat leakage state is ≒ the amount of heat leakage.

Therefore, in this modified example, if the detection value of the heat flow sensor 50 (≒ heat leakage amount) exceeds a predetermined reference value PV, the control device 10 is configured to adjust the air conditioner's airflow temperature, air volume, and air direction in the task area, and/or adjust the air conditioner's air volume and air direction in the ambient area, so that the detection value of the heat flow sensor 50 becomes equal to or less than the predetermined reference value PV.

(Variation 2)
This modified example differs from the above embodiment in that a heat leak detection sensor is configured by one temperature sensor. In the following, for convenience, it is assumed that the divided area 3B is a task area and the divided area 3C is an ambient area, and the explanation will be centered on the points that are different from the above embodiment.

Figure 7 is a diagram that illustrates a method for calculating the amount of heat leakage according to this modified example. As shown in Figure 7, in this modified example, only the temperature sensor 60 installed on the side of divided area 3C, which is the ambient area, near the boundary between divided areas 3B and 3C on the floor 7 is used as the heat leakage detection sensor.

As shown in FIG. 7(a), if divided area 3B, which is the task area, is in an enclosed state, the temperature sensor 60 will not be affected by the cold or hot air coming from the air conditioner 22, and the detection value of the temperature sensor 60 should be approximately the set temperature of the air conditioner 23 in divided area 3C, which is the ambient area (hereinafter also referred to as the "ambient air conditioning set temperature").

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7(b), in a heat leakage state, the temperature sensor 60 is affected by the cold and hot air coming from the air conditioner 22, and the detection value of the temperature sensor 60 is not equal to the ambient air conditioning set temperature. Thus, since the detection value of the temperature sensor 60 in the sealed state is not equal to the ambient air conditioning set temperature, it can be considered that (detection value of the temperature sensor 60 - ambient air conditioning set temperature) is not equal to the amount of heat leakage.

Therefore, in this modified example, the control device 10 is configured to adjust the air conditioner's blowing temperature, air volume, and wind direction in the task area and/or adjust the air conditioner's blowing volume and wind direction in the ambient area if (detection value of temperature sensor 60 - ambient air conditioning set temperature) exceeds a predetermined reference value PV, so that (detection value of temperature sensor 60 - ambient air conditioning set temperature) becomes equal to or less than the predetermined reference value PV.

As described above, according to variants 1 and 2, it is possible to achieve both comfort and energy savings with a simple configuration using a single heat flow sensor 50 and a temperature sensor 60, rather than a pair of sensors.

Other Embodiments
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and can be embodied in various other forms without departing from the spirit or main characteristics thereof.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a case where the room 3 is virtually divided into three parts, but the present invention is not limited to this and may be applied to a case where the room 3 is virtually divided into four or more parts.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the room 3 is virtually divided in one direction, but this is not limiting, and the room 3 may be virtually divided in two directions that are perpendicular to each other in a plane.

As such, the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative in all respects and should not be interpreted in a limiting manner. Furthermore, all modifications and variations that fall within the scope of the claims are within the scope of the present invention.

The present invention makes it possible to achieve both comfort and energy savings, making it extremely useful when applied to air conditioning systems that perform task and ambient air conditioning.

1 Air conditioning system 3 Indoor 3A, 3C Divided area (ambient area)
3B Divided area (task area)
9A, 9C Air curtain 10 Control device 21, 22, 23 Air conditioner 31, 32, 33 Human presence sensor (human detection means)
41, 42, 43, 44 Heat leak detection sensor (heat leak detection means)
50 Heat flow sensor (heat leak detection means)
60 Temperature sensor (heat leak detection means)
P Person PV Predetermined standard value

Claims (1)

An air conditioning system that performs air conditioning in a room for each of a plurality of divided areas obtained by virtually dividing the room in a horizontal direction,
an air conditioner having cooling, heating and ventilation functions provided in each of the divided areas;
a person detection means provided in each divided area for detecting the presence of a person in the divided area;
a control device that causes an air conditioner in a task area, among the divided areas, in which the presence of a person is detected by the human detection means to perform a cooling or heating operation so that the temperature of the task area is set to a set temperature, and causes an air conditioner in an ambient area, among the divided areas, adjacent to the task area and in which the presence of a person is not detected by the human detection means, to perform a blowing operation so as to form an air curtain that prevents air from flowing out from the task area into the ambient area;
a heat leakage detection means provided near the boundaries of each of the plurality of divided regions and configured to detect a transfer of heat between adjacent divided regions;
the control device is configured to control an air conditioner in the task area and/or an air conditioner in the ambient area based on a detection result of the heat leakage detection means so that an amount of heat leaking from the task area is equal to or less than a predetermined reference value ;
The heat leakage detection means is
a ceiling vicinity heat leakage detection means including a ceiling first sensor provided on a ceiling near the boundary on one side of the adjacent divided areas and a ceiling second sensor provided on a ceiling near the boundary on the other side of the adjacent divided areas;
an air conditioning system comprising a floor-near heat leak detection means configured with a first floor sensor provided on a floor near the boundary on one side of the adjacent divided areas, and a second floor sensor provided on a floor near the boundary on the other side of the adjacent divided areas .

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