JP7640446B2 - Air conditioners - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioner capable of performing a dehumidification operation to dehumidify the room.

Conventionally, this type of device would cool a low-temperature refrigerant by passing it through an evaporator, and then operate a blower fan to blow air to the evaporator, causing condensation water to adhere to the evaporator and dehumidifying the room. If the temperature detected by the room temperature sensor during dehumidification operation drops below a specified temperature, the compressor and blower fan would be temporarily stopped and the device would enter a temporary pause state, and the dehumidification operation would continue to prevent the room from becoming too cold. (For example, Patent Document 1)

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-39938

However, in this conventional system, the compressor and blower fan are temporarily stopped during dehumidification operation, and then the compressor and blower fan are driven when the value detected by the room temperature sensor reaches or exceeds the temperature at which dehumidification operation is restarted. However, if the room temperature sensor is installed in a position where cold air accumulates near the bottom of the evaporator, the value detected by the room temperature sensor may not reach or exceed the temperature at which dehumidification operation is restarted due to the influence of the cold air accumulated by the evaporator, even if the indoor temperature rises, and dehumidification operation may not be performed for a long period of time, so there is room for improvement.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the air conditioner according to the present invention comprises, as set forth in claim 1, a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor, a condenser, a pressure reducing device, and an evaporator are connected by refrigerant piping so that a refrigerant flows;
a blower fan that draws air from an inlet and blows it out from an outlet through the evaporator;
A heat exchange temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the evaporator;
a room temperature sensor located between the air inlet and the evaporator , below the evaporator and below a lower end of the air outlet, for detecting a room temperature;
a control unit that drives the compressor and the blower fan only until a temporary stop condition is satisfied, and then stops the compressor and the blower fan, and when it is determined that a detection value by the room temperature sensor is higher than a set temperature, controls a dehumidification operation to resume the driving of the compressor and the blower fan,
The control unit stops driving the compressor and the blower fan, determines that the detection value of the room temperature sensor is below the set temperature, and drives only the blower fan when it determines that the detection value of the room temperature sensor is below the detection value of the heat exchanger temperature sensor.

In addition, in claim 2, the control unit stops driving the compressor and the blower fan during the dehumidification operation, determines that the detection value of the room temperature sensor is equal to or lower than the set temperature, determines that the detection value of the room temperature sensor is equal to or lower than the detection value of the heat exchanger temperature sensor, drives only the blower fan, and then resumes driving the compressor and the blower fan if it determines that the detection value of the room temperature sensor is higher than the set temperature.

According to this invention, even if cold air accumulates around the room temperature sensor, the compressor and blower fan do not stop for a long time after the dehumidification operation is temporarily stopped, and the dehumidification operation can be resumed at the appropriate time.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the air conditioner according to the embodiment. FIG. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a refrigeration cycle according to the embodiment; FIG. 2 is a schematic functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the embodiment. A flowchart illustrating the operation during dehumidification operation of the embodiment.

One embodiment of the air conditioner according to the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. In this embodiment, the air conditioner according to the present invention will be described as being applied to a window air conditioner 1 that can be fixed to a window and is capable of dehumidification operation that uses a vapor compression refrigeration cycle to condense moisture contained in the air for dehumidification.

Figure 1 is a front view of the window air conditioner 1 in this embodiment.

Figure 2 is a left side cross-sectional view of this embodiment.

Figure 3 is a plan view cross-sectional view of this embodiment.

Figure 4 is a diagram explaining the refrigeration cycle of this embodiment.

Figure 5 is a schematic functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of this embodiment.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a housing that constitutes the exterior of the window air conditioner 1, and reference numeral 11 denotes a front panel that constitutes the front side of the housing 10. The housing 10 is fixed so as to be fitted into a window frame, with the front panel 11 side positioned indoors and the rear panel 20 side positioned outdoors. The front panel 11 is equipped with an indoor air inlet 12 that draws in indoor air, an indoor air outlet 13 that blows out the air drawn in by the indoor air inlet 12, an operation unit 14 having multiple switches that allow the user to give instructions such as starting operation and changing the set temperature, an air inlet 15 that supplies outdoor air into the room, and an exhaust port 16 that exhausts indoor air to the outside.

The operation unit 14 is equipped with at least an operation switch 14a that can be operated to start and stop operation, and an operation changeover switch 14b that can be operated to switch between cooling operation and dehumidification operation. The details of the cooling operation and dehumidification operation will be described later.

20 is a rear panel that constitutes the rear side of the housing 10. The rear panel 20 is equipped with an exterior intake port 21 that draws in exterior air, an exterior outlet port 22 that blows out the air drawn in by the exterior intake port 21, an intake air inlet 23 through which the exterior air supplied to the intake port 15 flows in, and an exhaust outlet port 24 through which the indoor air that has passed through the exhaust port 16 is exhausted.

The air intake port 15 and the air intake inlet 23 are connected by an air intake passage 62, and the air exhaust port 16 and the air exhaust outlet 24 are connected by an exhaust passage 63. An air intake fan (not shown) is provided in the air intake passage 62, and an exhaust fan (not shown) is provided in the exhaust passage 63.

30 is an indoor ventilation chamber located behind the front panel 11 and formed inside the housing 10. The indoor side air blowing chamber 30 is provided with: an indoor fan 31 as an air blowing fan that blows indoor air sucked in from the indoor air inlet 12 through an evaporator 33 and blows it out from the indoor air outlet 13; an indoor motor 32 that drives the indoor fan 31 at a predetermined rotation speed; an evaporator 33 composed of a plurality of fins, a plurality of heat transfer tubes parallel to the left and right direction that penetrate the plurality of fins, and a hairpin section connecting the left and right ends of each heat transfer tube, through which a low-temperature refrigerant flows inside the heat transfer tube and the hairpin section; a heat exchanger temperature sensor 34 that constitutes the evaporator 33 and abuts against the surface of the heat transfer tube located near the refrigerant outlet; a room temperature sensor 35 that is installed in a fixed frame (not shown) that is part of the front panel between the indoor air inlet 12 and the evaporator 33 and detects the temperature of the indoor air blown by the indoor fan 31; a filter 36 that is attached to the rear side of the indoor air inlet 12 and collects dust contained in the sucked air; and an indoor ventilation passage 37 through which the indoor air passes when the indoor fan 31 is driven.

As shown in FIG. 1, the room temperature sensor 35 is located below the lower end L of the indoor air outlet 13, which is a predetermined range corresponding to the evaporator 33. When the compressor 51 switches from the ON state to the OFF state, and the indoor motor 42 stops driving and the indoor fan 31 stops blowing air, cold air is less likely to leak through the indoor air outlet 13 in the range below the lower end L of the indoor air outlet 13 in the indoor ventilation passage 37, and cold air is also less likely to leak through the indoor air inlet 12 due to the filter 36 being installed. Therefore, cold air accumulates below the lower end L of the indoor air outlet 13, and the room temperature sensor 35 is affected by the cold air accumulation.

40 is an outdoor air blowing chamber located in front of the rear panel 20 and formed inside the housing 10. Inside the outdoor air blowing chamber 40 are an outdoor fan 41 that blows outdoor air drawn in from the outdoor suction port 21 through a condenser 43 and then out of the outdoor air outlet 22, an outdoor motor 42 that drives the outdoor fan at a predetermined rotation speed, a condenser 43 in which a high-temperature refrigerant flows through a heat transfer tube that passes through multiple fins, and an outdoor ventilation passage 44 through which the outdoor air passes when the outdoor fan 41 is driven.

50 is a machine room 50 located below the indoor air blower chamber 30. Inside the machine room 50, there is a compressor 51 that can be switched between ON/OFF states to compress the refrigerant to a high temperature and high pressure state, and a capillary tube 52 as a pressure reducing device that reduces the pressure of the refrigerant to a low temperature and low pressure state. The compressor 51, the condenser 43, the capillary tube 52, and the evaporator 33 are connected in sequence by refrigerant piping 53 to form a refrigeration cycle 54 in which the refrigerant can circulate. Furthermore, inside the machine room 50, there is a control unit 55 equipped with a switch circuit and the like on a control board, and the control unit 55 controls each actuator such as the compressor 51 to operate in a predetermined manner based on instructions from the operation unit 14.

Inside the housing 10, the indoor air blowing chamber 30 and the outdoor air blowing chamber 40 are separated by a partition wall 60, so that the indoor air and the outdoor air do not mix.

The indoor air blower chamber 30 and the machine room 50 are separated by upper and lower partition plates 61, and the indoor motor 32 and drain pan (not shown) are fixed onto the upper and lower partition plates 61.

Next, we will explain the operation during cooling operation in this embodiment.

When the user operates the operation switch 14a on the operation unit 14 and sets the cooling operation with the operation changeover switch 14b, the control unit 55 switches the compressor 51 to the ON state and operates the indoor motor 32 and the outdoor motor 42 so that the indoor fan 31 and the outdoor fan 41 are driven at a predetermined rotation speed. As a result, the refrigerant circulates in the refrigeration cycle 54 in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 4, so that low-temperature refrigerant flows in the evaporator 33 and high-temperature refrigerant flows in the condenser 43. The indoor air sucked in from the indoor suction port 12 is cooled by the evaporator 33 and blown into the room by the indoor outlet 13, thereby enabling cooling of the room. In addition, the outdoor air sucked in from the outdoor suction port 21 is heated by the condenser 43 and blown outside by the outdoor outlet 22, thereby cooling the refrigerant flowing in the condenser 43 and increasing the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle 54.

Next, the operation during dehumidification in this embodiment will be explained with reference to the flowchart in Figure 6.

When the user operates the operation switch 14a on the operation unit 14 and sets the dehumidification operation with the operation changeover switch 14b, the control unit 55 switches the compressor 51 to the ON state and drives the indoor motor 32 and the outdoor motor 42 so that the indoor fan 31 and the outdoor fan 41 operate at a predetermined rotation speed, and the refrigerant flows through the refrigeration cycle 54 in the same direction as during cooling operation. When indoor air passes through the evaporator 33 in a low-temperature state, moisture in the indoor air condenses on the surface of the evaporator 33, making it possible to dehumidify the room. The control unit 55 counts the elapsed time of the dehumidification operation at the same time as the start of the dehumidification operation.

After the dehumidification operation starts, the control unit 55 judges whether the count time from the start of the dehumidification operation has reached 10 minutes, which satisfies the temporary suspension condition (step S101). If the count time has reached 10 minutes, the control unit 55 determines that the temporary suspension condition has been met, switches the compressor 51 to the OFF state, stops the driving of the indoor motor 32 and the outdoor motor 42, stops the air blowing by the indoor fan 31 and the outdoor fan 41, and starts counting the suspension time (step S102). The dehumidification operation is temporarily stopped to prevent the room from being excessively cooled and the room temperature from dropping by continuing the dehumidification operation. If the control unit 55 judges in step S101 that the count time from the start of the dehumidification operation has not reached 10 minutes, it continues the dehumidification operation and repeats the judgment of step S101.

When the processing of step S102 is completed, the control unit 55 judges whether the counted stop time has reached the restart judgment time of 5 minutes (step S103), and if it judges that the stop time has reached 5 minutes, compares the detection value detected by the room temperature sensor 35 with the set temperature and judges whether the detection value detected by the room temperature sensor 35 is higher than the set temperature (step S104). If the control unit 55 judges in step S103 that the stop time has not reached 5 minutes, it repeats the judgment of step S103. Note that the set temperature here may be either one that can be set by the user at the operation unit 14 or one that is stored in advance as a unique value, and is not limited to one that can be set to an arbitrary value by the user.

If the control unit 55 determines in step S104 that the detected temperature value detected by the room temperature sensor 35 is higher than the set temperature, the control unit 55 switches the compressor 51 to the ON state, and operates the indoor fan 31 and the outdoor fan 41 by driving the indoor motor 32 and the outdoor motor 42 at a predetermined rotation speed, thereby restarting the dehumidification operation (step S105). After restarting the dehumidification operation, the control unit 55 starts counting the elapsed time from the restart point. When the processing of step S105 is completed, the control unit 55 determines whether an operation stop instruction has been issued, such as by operating the operation switch 14a on the operation unit 14 (step S106), and if it determines that an operation stop instruction has been issued, the control unit 55 switches the compressor 51 to the OFF state, stops driving the indoor motor 32 and the outdoor motor 42, stops the blowing of air by the indoor fan 31 and the outdoor fan 41, and stops the dehumidification operation, thereby ending the operation. If the control unit 55 determines in step S106 that an instruction to stop operation has not been issued, it repeats the determination in step S101.

If the control unit 55 determines in step S104 that the detected value of the room temperature sensor 35 is equal to or lower than the set temperature (No in step S104), it compares the detected value of the room temperature sensor 35 with the detected value of the heat exchanger temperature sensor 34 and determines whether the detected value of the room temperature sensor 35 is equal to or lower than the detected value of the heat exchanger temperature sensor 34 (step S107). If the control unit 55 determines in step S107 that the detected value of the room temperature sensor 35 is equal to or lower than the detected value of the heat exchanger temperature sensor 34, it drives only the indoor motor 32 while keeping the compressor 51 in the OFF state, and performs a cold air removal operation by operating the indoor fan 31 at a predetermined rotation speed (for example, the minimum rotation speed) (step S108). If the control unit 55 determines in step S107 that the detected value of the room temperature sensor 35 is higher than the detected value of the heat exchanger temperature sensor 34, it repeats the determination in step S104.

When the control unit 55 determines that the cold air removal operation of step S108 has been performed for a predetermined time (e.g., 1 minute), it repeats the determination of step S104.

In step S107, the system determines whether or not to perform the cold air removal operation by judging whether the detection value of the room temperature sensor 35 is lower than the detection value of the heat exchanger temperature sensor 34. If the detection value of the room temperature sensor 35 is lower than the detection value of the heat exchanger temperature sensor 34, which is the temperature of the evaporator 33, which was in a low temperature state when low-temperature refrigerant was flowing before the dehumidification operation was temporarily stopped, there is a high possibility that cold air has accumulated below the evaporator 33. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether cold air has accumulated near the room temperature sensor 35 using simple means.

By performing the cold air removal operation in step S108 and operating the indoor fan 31, the cold air that has accumulated near the bottom of the evaporator 33 can be blown away, and the room temperature can be accurately detected by the room temperature sensor 35. This makes it possible to prevent a situation in which, when the restart determination time arrives in step S103, the room temperature is higher than the set temperature and the dehumidification operation needs to be restarted, but the detection value of the room temperature sensor 35 continues to be lower than the set temperature due to the accumulation of cold air, and the dehumidification operation does not resume.

In addition, the cold air removal operation is performed and the indoor fan 31 is operated only when the detection value of the room temperature sensor 35 is lower than the detection value of the heat exchanger temperature sensor 34 and there is a high possibility that cold air has accumulated. If the indoor fan 31 is operated when the dehumidification operation is temporarily stopped, high humidity air near the evaporator 33 is blown into the room, and the indoor humidity increases due to moisture return. Since the cold air removal operation is performed and the indoor fan 31 is operated only when there is a high possibility that cold air has accumulated near the room temperature sensor 35, it is possible to suppress an increase in indoor humidity due to moisture return when the dehumidification operation is temporarily stopped.

Next, we will explain the effects of the present invention.

When the temporary stop condition is met during dehumidification operation, the control unit 55 switches the compressor 51 to the OFF state, stops driving the indoor motor 32 and the outdoor motor 42, stops the operation of the indoor fan 31 and the outdoor fan 41, and then determines that the detection value of the room temperature sensor 35 is equal to or lower than the set temperature. If it determines that the detection value of the room temperature sensor 35 is equal to or lower than the detection value of the heat exchanger temperature sensor 34, it drives only the indoor motor 32 and operates the indoor fan 31. When the dehumidification operation is temporarily stopped, cold air accumulates near the room temperature sensor 35, making it impossible to detect an accurate detection value, and it is possible to prevent a situation in which the dehumidification operation is not resumed for a long time. In addition, the indoor fan 31 operates only when there is a high possibility that cold air has accumulated near the room temperature sensor 35, so that an increase in indoor humidity due to moisture return can be suppressed. This improves the user's usability.

In addition, when the temporary stop condition is met during dehumidification operation, the control unit 55 switches the compressor 51 to the OFF state, stops the driving of the indoor motor 32 and the outdoor motor 42, stops the operation of the indoor fan 31 and the outdoor fan 41, and then determines that the detection value of the room temperature sensor 35 is below the set temperature. If the detection value of the room temperature sensor 35 is below the detection value of the heat exchanger temperature sensor 34, then drives only the indoor motor 32 to operate the indoor fan 31. If the detection value of the room temperature sensor 35 is higher than the set temperature, then switches the compressor 51 to the ON state, resumes the driving of the indoor motor 32 and the outdoor motor 42, and operates the indoor fan 31 and the outdoor fan 41. This can prevent a situation in which the dehumidification operation is not resumed for a long time, improving the user's experience.

In this embodiment, the establishment of the temporary stop condition during dehumidification operation is determined by whether the count time from the start of dehumidification operation has reached 10 minutes, but this is not limited to this. For example, if the detection value of the room temperature sensor 35 falls below the set temperature after the start of dehumidification operation, the temporary stop condition is deemed to be established, and the compressor 51 is switched to the OFF state, the indoor motor 32 and the outdoor motor 42 are stopped, and the operation of the indoor fan 31 and the outdoor fan 41 is stopped, resulting in a temporary operation state. This makes it possible to prevent a situation in which the room becomes too cold due to the dehumidification operation continuing even when the room temperature falls below the set temperature, resulting in a decrease in the user's comfort.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims.

For example, the time from the start of the dehumidification operation to pausing (10 minutes), the time from the start of the pause to the decision to resume (5 minutes), and the time for driving the indoor fan 31 in the cold air removal operation (1 minute) can be changed as appropriate and are not limited to the times in this embodiment.

12 Indoor air inlet 13 Indoor air outlet 31 Indoor fan (blower fan)
33 Evaporator 34 Heat exchanger temperature sensor 35 Room temperature sensor 43 Condenser 51 Compressor 52 Capillary tube (pressure reducing device)
53 Refrigerant piping 54 Refrigeration cycle 55 Control unit

Claims (2)

A refrigeration cycle in which a compressor, a condenser, a pressure reducing device, and an evaporator are connected by refrigerant piping so that the refrigerant flows;
a blower fan that draws air from an inlet and blows it out from an outlet through the evaporator;
A heat exchange temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the evaporator;
a room temperature sensor located between the air inlet and the evaporator , below the evaporator and below a lower end of the air outlet, for detecting a room temperature;
a control unit that drives the compressor and the blower fan only until a temporary stop condition is satisfied, and then stops the compressor and the blower fan, and when it is determined that a detection value by the room temperature sensor is higher than a set temperature, controls a dehumidification operation to resume the driving of the compressor and the blower fan,
The control unit stops driving the compressor and the blower fan, determines that the detection value of the room temperature sensor is below the set temperature, and drives only the blower fan when it determines that the detection value of the room temperature sensor is below the detection value of the heat exchanger temperature sensor. The air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit stops driving the compressor and the blower fan during the dehumidification operation, determines that the detection value of the room temperature sensor is equal to or lower than the set temperature, determines that the detection value of the room temperature sensor is equal to or lower than the detection value of the heat exchanger temperature sensor, drives only the blower fan, and then resumes driving the compressor and the blower fan when it determines that the detection value of the room temperature sensor is higher than the set temperature.

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