JP5300793B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner that controls an outdoor unit in accordance with, for example, the number of indoor persons detected by an infrared sensor.

  In a conventional air conditioner, when the air conditioner is automatically turned on by a timer or preset schedule data, a human body is detected by a radiation sensor provided in the indoor unit. The air conditioning capacity is saved in an efficient area, and the room temperature is controlled so that it gradually reaches the set temperature (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-292724 (4th page)

  In the conventional air conditioner, while it is detected that there is no human body, for example, the operation frequency of the compressor is set to a high operation efficiency state such as 60 Hz, but the operation control according to the number of people is not performed. It was.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides an air conditioner that controls the operation of a compressor according to the presence or absence of a person in a room where the indoor unit is installed and the number of persons. Objective.

The air conditioner according to the present invention receives an outdoor unit having a compressor, an indoor unit connected to the outdoor unit through an extension pipe, a human sensor, a remote controller, and a human body detection command from the remote controller. Occasionally, a human sensor is activated to generate a two-dimensional indoor image based on the detection information of the human sensor, and the pixels are grouped from the difference between the two-dimensional image and the previously stored background image. When the average temperature of the cut image is within a predetermined threshold range, it is determined whether or not a human body exists based on the number of pixels of the cut image. The indoor control unit that calculates the operating frequency based on the determined number of persons and the outdoor control unit that controls the compressor based on the operating frequency calculated by the indoor control unit , the operating frequency is , Indoor The higher the existing number of people increases.

In the present invention, a two-dimensional indoor image is generated based on the detection information of the human sensor, and image grouping is performed by grouping pixels from the difference between the two-dimensional image and the previously stored background image. Then, when the average temperature of the cut image is within a predetermined threshold range, it is determined whether or not a human body exists from the number of pixels of the cut image, and this is performed for each cut image to determine the number of people. The driving frequency is calculated based on the determined number of persons, and the driving frequency is increased as the number of persons existing in the room increases. This makes it possible to provide the necessary air conditioning capacity faster than when the operating frequency of the compressor is controlled based on temperature information. Can be solved quickly and energy saving can be realized.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the whole structure of the air conditioner which shows embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the indoor unit of the air conditioner which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which cut | disconnects and shows the side surface of the indoor unit of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the example of installation of the indoor unit of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the air conditioner which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a correlation diagram of the operating frequency of the compressor to request | require and the number of detection in embodiment of this invention. It is a correlation diagram of the maximum operating frequency of the number of detected persons and the requested compressor in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. Sectional drawing which cuts and shows the side surface of 2 indoor units, FIG. 4 is a perspective view which shows the example of installation of the indoor unit of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner in Embodiment 1 includes an indoor unit X, an outdoor unit Y, a remote controller Z, a liquid extension pipe A and a gas extension pipe B that connect the indoor unit X and the outdoor unit Y. And a communication line C wired between the remote controller Z and the indoor control unit X1 of the indoor unit X and between the indoor control unit X1 and the outdoor control unit Y1 of the outdoor unit Y, and a human sensor, for example, infrared It is comprised with the sensor 5 (refer FIG. 2). The indoor unit X described above is mainly embedded in, for example, a ceiling in a building (see FIG. 4). Although the remote control Z and the indoor control unit X1 are connected by the communication line C, information may be transmitted and received by wireless communication during that time. As will be described later, the infrared sensor 5 is provided on the decorative panel 2 of the indoor unit X.

  When an operation command (cooling operation, heating operation, dehumidifying operation, etc.) is received from the remote controller Z, the indoor control unit X1 transmits the operation command to the outdoor control unit Y1 of the outdoor unit Y and a fan motor described later. 6 is driven based on the operation command. In addition, the indoor control unit X1 activates the infrared sensor 5 when a human body detection command from the remote controller Z, for example, a start of initial operation after installation of the air conditioner or a command to acquire a background image of the room is received. Then, an indoor thermal image is generated based on the detection information of the infrared sensor 5, and the thermal image is stored as a background image.

  Further, the indoor control unit X1 activates the infrared sensor 5 and receives the detection information of the infrared sensor 5 when a human body detection command, for example, a command to start an energy saving operation is received from the remote controller Z after acquiring the background image. Based on this, an indoor thermal image is generated. Then, the indoor control unit X1 determines whether or not a human body exists by comparing the thermal image with a previously stored indoor background image, and determines the number of persons when the human body is present. The operating frequency of the compressor of the outdoor unit Y is calculated based on the information. The determination of the number of human bodies and the calculation of the driving frequency will be described in detail when the operation is described.

  When the operation command from the remote controller Z is received via the indoor control unit X1, the outdoor control unit Y1 controls the compressor at the operation frequency corresponding to the operation command, and the operation frequency calculated by the indoor control unit X1 Is received, the compressor is controlled based on the operating frequency. That is, the rotational speed of the compressor increases as the operating frequency increases, and the rotational speed of the compressor decreases as the operating frequency decreases. The outdoor unit Y described above is provided with a heat exchanger, an expansion valve and the like in addition to the above-described compressor.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the exterior of the indoor unit X is a box-shaped cabinet 1, a quadrilateral decorative panel 2 provided at the lower part of the cabinet 1, and a quadrilateral suction provided in the center of the decorative panel 2. It comprises a mouth 3b, four rectangular air outlets 3a provided in the decorative panel 2 so as to surround the air inlet 3b, and a wind direction flap 4 provided in the air outlet 3a for changing the air direction in the vertical direction. ing. An infrared sensor 5 is attached to one lower surface of the decorative panel 2.

  In the cabinet 1 of the indoor unit X, as shown in FIG. 3, a fan motor 6 installed at the center of the top surface of the cabinet 1 with the load shaft facing downward, and a turbo attached to the load shaft of the fan motor 6 The heat exchanger 8 disposed so as to surround the fan 7, the turbo fan 7, the inner cover 9 disposed so as to surround the heat exchanger 8, and the heat exchanger 8 installed at the lower part of the heat exchanger 8 during heat exchange A drain pan 10 that receives the generated condensed water and a temperature sensor 13 that detects the temperature of the air sucked from the suction port 3b are provided. The inner cover 9 described above is to insulate the air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger 8 and the outside of the machine, and the heat exchanger 8 and the drain pan 10 constitute an air path on the outer periphery of the heat exchanger 8. doing. The air passage communicates with the air outlet 3a. In the lower part of the drain pan 10, an opening communicating with the suction port of the turbofan 7 is provided.

  The suction port 3b of the decorative panel 2 is provided with an air filter 11 that prevents dust and the like from entering the machine, and a grill 12 that supports the air filter 11 and functions as a blindfold. Further, a bell mouth 14 for smoothly introducing the sucked air into the turbo fan 7 is provided between the air filter 11 and the turbo fan 7.

  The aforementioned infrared sensor 5 is composed of multiple eyes or a plurality of infrared sensors, and is installed in the sensor case 5b. The sensor case 5b is housed in a substantially conical housing 5a whose outer shape is formed at one corner of the decorative panel 2, and is attached to a vertical axis of the motor 5c so as to be rotated 360 degrees. The infrared sensor 5 is composed of a plurality of detection units, and the detection units are exposed from a hole 5d provided in the convex portion of the housing 5a, and are arranged in parallel to the normal line of the circle of the hole 5d.

Next, the operation based on the human body detection of the infrared sensor 5 in the air conditioner configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, description is abbreviate | omitted about the basic operation | movement of an air conditioner.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A is a flowchart for acquiring a background image of the room in which the indoor unit X is installed. FIG. 5B is a diagram of detecting the number of persons existing in the same room and the compressor corresponding to the number of persons. It is a flowchart which shows calculation of an operating frequency.

  When the indoor control unit X1 detects the start of the initial operation from the switch operation of the remote controller Z (S1), the infrared sensor 5 is rotated 360 degrees at a speed of about once in a few minutes to a few seconds by the motor driving force (S2). At this time, the indoor control unit X1 generates a two-dimensional thermal image based on the detection information (indoor information) of the infrared sensor 5 obtained from the locus axis by rotation and the axis in the arrangement direction of the infrared sensor 5 (S3), This is stored as a background image (S4). The acquisition of the background image may be either during operation or stop of the air conditioner.

  When the indoor control unit X1 detects the start of energy saving operation from the switch operation of the remote controller Z after acquiring the background image (S11), as described above, the infrared sensor 5 is rotated once (S12), and the infrared sensor 5 obtained at this time is detected. A two-dimensional thermal image is generated based on the detected information (S13). Then, the indoor control unit X1 takes a difference between the two-dimensional thermal image and the previously stored background image (S14), and performs pixel grouping based on the difference to separate an image that is assumed to be an object (S15). .

  The indoor control unit X1 determines whether the average temperature T of the cut image is equal to or higher than the threshold Ta and lower than the threshold Tb (S16). When the average temperature T is not within the range, it is determined that there is no human body in the room, and it is determined whether there is a next grouping (S19). Further, when the average temperature T is equal to or higher than the threshold Ta and equal to or lower than the threshold Tb, the indoor control unit X1 determines whether or not the number of pixels in the portion is equal to or higher than the threshold Sa (S17). When the number of pixels is less than the threshold value Sa, the indoor control unit X1 determines that there is no human body in the room, and determines whether there is another grouping as described above (S19). When it is determined that the number of pixels is equal to or greater than the threshold value Sa, the indoor control unit X1 determines that there is a human body in the room (S18), and determines whether there is a next grouping (S19).

  The indoor control unit X1 repeats the above-described operation when there is a next grouping (S16 to S19), and performs this operation until there is no next grouping. The indoor control unit X1 determines the number of persons from the human body confirmed when the operation is repeated (S20). And the indoor control part X1 calculates the operating frequency Hzm of the compressor requested | required of the outdoor unit Y by the formula predetermined by the number of people (S21), and uses the communication frequency C for the operating frequency Hzm to the outdoor control part Y1. (S22), and the compressor of the outdoor unit Y is operated at the operating frequency Hzm (S23).

  As described above, in the embodiment, when the start of the energy saving operation is detected, the infrared sensor 5 is activated, a thermal image is generated based on the detection information of the infrared sensor 5, and the thermal image and the previously stored background image and To determine whether or not a human body exists. When a human body exists, the number of persons is determined, an operating frequency is calculated based on information on the determination result, and the compressor is controlled by the operating frequency. This makes it possible to provide the necessary air conditioning capacity faster than when the operating frequency of the compressor is controlled based on temperature information. Can be solved quickly and energy saving can be realized.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the operating frequency of the compressor is determined according to the number of people present in the room, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the number of persons is divided into three stages of 0, 1 to 10, 10 or more, and the maximum value of the operating frequency of the compressor in each case is determined in advance, and the infrared sensor 5 The maximum frequency value may be determined by specifying any one of the three levels from the number of human bodies based on the detection, and the compressor of the outdoor unit Y may be operated at the maximum frequency value.

  In order to save energy, the following contents will be implemented in parallel. After detecting the number of persons in the target room using the infrared sensor, the set temperature of the remote control Z is changed according to the number of persons. For example, assume that the user has set the set temperature to 27 ° C. during cooling. Next, the number of persons in the target indoor space is detected using the infrared sensor 5. If the number is 0, the temperature is increased by 2 ° C., if the number is 10 to 10, the temperature is increased by 1 ° C. Is transmitted to the outdoor control unit Y1 of the outdoor unit Y via the communication line C. This mode is valid only when the user selects the energy saving operation on the remote control Z.

X indoor unit, X1 indoor control unit, Y outdoor unit, Y1 outdoor control unit, Z remote controller,
A liquid extension pipe, B gas extension pipe, C communication line, 1 cabinet, 2 decorative panel,
3a Air outlet, 3b Air inlet, 4 Wind direction flap, 5 Infrared sensor, 5a housing, 5b Sensor case, 5c motor, 5d Housing hole, 6 Fan motor, 7 Turbo fan, 8 Heat exchanger, 9 Inner cover, 10 Drain Bread,
11 Air filter, 12 Grill, 13 Temperature sensor, 14 Bell mouth.

Claims (5)

An outdoor unit having a compressor;
An indoor unit connected to the outdoor unit via an extension pipe;
With human sensor,
A remote control,
The human sensor is activated when a human body detection command is received from the remote controller, and a two-dimensional image of the room is generated based on the detection information of the human sensor , and the two-dimensional image is stored in advance. If the image is segmented by grouping pixels from the difference from the background image, and the average temperature of the segmented image is within a predetermined threshold range, whether there is a human body from the number of pixels in the segmented image Determine whether or not, determine the number of people by performing this for each image that has been cut, and an indoor control unit that calculates the operating frequency based on the determined number of people ,
An outdoor control unit that controls the compressor based on the operating frequency calculated by the indoor control unit ,
The air conditioner is characterized in that the operating frequency increases as the number of people present in the room increases . The indoor control unit activates the human sensor when a command from the remote controller is acquisition of a background image of the room, generates an indoor image based on detection information of the human sensor, The air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein the air conditioner is stored as a background image. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the indoor control unit changes a room temperature set by the remote controller according to a determined number of people . The indoor control unit, an air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that changing the maximum operating frequency of the compressor according to the determined number of people. The motion sensors are air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a camera array or a plurality of infrared sensors.

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