JPH06123473A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Structure] In an air conditioner in which an air conditioner and a heat exchange ventilator work together, forced ventilation in the heat exchange ventilator is prohibited at the beginning of temperature adjustment by the air conditioner. .
The fan is kept stopped at the beginning of the operation, but when the gas concentration in the room becomes high, the fan is driven to perform ventilation. [Effect] The load at the beginning of operation of the air conditioner can be reduced. The rise time of temperature can be shortened. Ventilate as conditions change to maintain comfort.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner for performing indoor air conditioning, and a heat exchange ventilator for performing ventilation while exchanging heat between indoor exhaust air and outdoor air supply. The present invention relates to an air conditioner equipped with.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to reduce the energy of air conditioning and to provide a comfortable air conditioning, the air supply fan introduces air from the outside to the room and the exhaust fan exhausts the air from the room to the outdoors. A heat exchange ventilator is used in which heat exchange is performed between the exhaust gas and the exhaust gas, and the supply air with a reduced temperature difference is introduced into the room. In such a heat exchange ventilator, a heat exchange ventilation mode for performing heat exchange ventilation,
The thing which can select the normal ventilation mode which ventilates without such heat exchange is also provided.

Further, the heat exchange ventilator may be used together with an air conditioner for cooling and heating indoors and dehumidifying, and a technique for operating the heat exchange ventilator in conjunction with the air conditioner has been conventionally known. There is. By the way, in an office building, for example, about 30 minutes before the worker comes to work, heating or cooling is started to adjust the temperature of the indoor space, and at the time when the worker comes to work. A comfortable room temperature is generally used (hereinafter, such temperature adjustment is referred to as "preheating" or "precooling"). In the technology proposed to link an air conditioner and a heat exchange ventilator, which has been proposed in the past, the heat exchange ventilator performs heat exchange when heating or cooling is performed by the air conditioner in order to reduce the load of air conditioning. It is common to operate in ventilation mode.
Therefore, during the preheating and precooling described above, the air supply fan and the exhaust fan are driven to perform forced ventilation in the heat exchange ventilation mode.

[0004]

However, when there is no person in the room, the air in the room does not usually become dirty.
It is considered that forced ventilation is not necessary so much. At the beginning of air conditioning, the temperature of the indoor air is often far from the temperature set by the air conditioner, and the air supply fan and exhaust fan are driven to force the air during preheating and precooling. Ventilation on the contrary increases the load on the air conditioner, while preheating and
There is also a problem that the precooling rising time (the time required for the room temperature to reach the set temperature) becomes long.

Therefore, after the temperature of the air conditioner has started to be adjusted, the air supply fan and the exhaust fan are kept in a stopped state in a period before a predetermined time elapses. An air conditioner has been proposed in which the load is reduced, the rise time of air conditioning is shortened, and the energy of air conditioning is reduced (Japanese Patent Application No. 3-143349).

However, the following new problems are expected in this air conditioner. That is, for example,
Even before the office time, a large number of workers may suddenly come to the office and the room air may get dirty, but nevertheless, if the air supply fan or exhaust fan is stopped, However, there is a possibility that the environment may be deteriorated such as lack of oxygen. Further, when a toilet or the like is used, odor may flow into the room and cause discomfort. As described above, depending on the situation, it is possible that a malfunction occurs by stopping the fan.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to reduce the load on the air conditioner at the initial stage of temperature adjustment and to shorten the air conditioning start-up time.
An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner capable of reducing energy for air conditioning and capable of responding to a ventilation request in response to changes in the situation even at the initial stage of the start.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, an air conditioner according to a first aspect of the present invention provides an air supply fan for introducing outside air into the room as air supply and an indoor air as exhaust air. A heat exchange ventilator having an exhaust fan for exhausting air into the room, a heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the supply air and the exhaust air, an air conditioner for performing temperature control to bring the room temperature close to a set temperature, and this air When the harmony machine adjusts the temperature,
In an air conditioner provided with a control means for driving the air supply fan and the exhaust fan of the heat exchange ventilator, a ventilation request determination means for determining whether or not indoor ventilation is required,
After the temperature of the air conditioner has started to be adjusted, before the predetermined time elapses, the ventilation state in the room is maintained by the stopped state holding means for holding the air supply fan and the exhaust fan in the stopped state and the ventilation request determination means. When it is determined to be necessary, a holding release means for releasing the holding state of the air supply fan and the exhaust fan by the stopped state holding means is included.

Further, in the air conditioner according to a second aspect of the present invention, the ventilation request determination means makes a determination based on a detection signal from a gas sensor that detects the concentration of harmful gas in the room. . Further, in the air conditioner according to a third aspect of the present invention, the ventilation request determination means makes a determination based on a signal from a person detection sensor that detects the presence of a person in the room.

[0010]

According to the structure of the invention according to claim 1, after the air conditioner starts the temperature control and before the elapse of a predetermined time, the stop state holding means causes the air supply fan and the exhaust fan to operate. Since forced ventilation is prohibited, the load on the air conditioner in the initial stage of temperature adjustment start can be reduced, and the rise time until the room temperature rises to the set temperature can be shortened. In addition, even when the air supply fan and the exhaust fan are stopped by the stop state holding unit, if the ventilation request determining unit determines that ventilation is required, the hold releasing unit can hold the stopped state. It is released and ventilation is implemented depending on the situation.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the gas sensor detects that a person has entered the room and the air is dirty, and the necessity of ventilation is determined based on the detection signal, and ventilation is required. In this case, the stopped state is released even when the air supply fan and the exhaust fan are stopped by the stopped state holding means. According to the configuration of the invention according to claim 3, the presence of a person in the room is detected by the person detection sensor, the necessity of ventilation is determined based on this detection signal, and when ventilation is necessary, the stop state is determined. Even when the air supply fan and the exhaust fan are stopped by the holding means, the stopped state is released. If a person detection sensor arranged in the toilet is applied, it is possible to prevent the inflow of odor from the toilet.

[0012]

Embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings showing embodiments. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a simplified internal configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this air conditioner, the room 1 is ventilated by the heat exchange ventilator 2, and the temperature and humidity in the room 1 are adjusted by the air conditioner 5 having the indoor unit 3 and the outdoor unit 4. is there. The air in the room 1 is introduced into the heat exchange ventilator 2 through the duct 8 from the exhaust port 7a formed in the cover plate 7 provided on the ceiling 6, and the exhaust fan 1 through the internal heat exchanger 9.
It is exhausted from 0 through the duct 11 to the outside through the vent cap 12. On the other hand, outside air from the outside is guided from the vent cap 13 to the inside of the heat exchange ventilator 2 via the duct 14, and from the air supply fan 15 to the duct 16 via the heat exchanger 9.
After that, air is further supplied into the chamber 1 from an air supply port 17a formed in the cover plate 17 provided on the ceiling 6.

The indoor unit 3 of the air conditioner 5 includes a heat exchanger 20 in which a refrigerant is circulated between the indoor unit 3 and the outdoor unit 4. The air in the room that has been returned to the space on one side of the heat exchanger 20 from the suction port 21 of the cover plate 26 by the circulation fan 22 is
After being heated or cooled by the heat exchanger 20, the air is blown into the chamber 1 through the air outlet 23 formed in the face plate 26.
The temperature of the intake air from the intake port 21 is detected by the room temperature sensor Th1 including a thermistor or the like.

An electric equipment box 32 of the indoor unit 2 is provided at a proper place in the room 1.
A remote control unit 30 for controlling the operations of the air conditioner 5 and the heat exchange ventilator 2 is installed. A so-called weekly timer 37 is connected to the remote control unit 30. This weekly timer 3
In 7, for example, a time at which the air conditioner 5 is operated or stopped can be input in advance on a weekly basis. In a general usage mode of the air conditioner 5 in an office building or the like, preheating or precooling for heating or cooling the room 1 to adjust the temperature in the room 1 is performed before, for example, about 30 minutes before the employee arrives at the office. This preheating / precooling is achieved by setting an appropriate operation start time in the weekly timer 37.

The electrical equipment box 31 of the indoor unit 3 and the electrical equipment box 32 of the heat exchange ventilator 2 are connected via a monitor line 33. The operation of the heat exchange ventilator 2 is controlled based on the monitor information from the monitor line 33. Further, the electrical equipment box 31 of the indoor unit 3 and the electrical equipment box 34 of the outdoor unit 4 are connected to each other via a line 35.
The signal for controlling the operation of the outdoor unit 4 and the signal corresponding to the output of the outside air temperature sensor Th2 provided in the outdoor unit 4 for detecting the outside air temperature are exchanged.

The electric equipment box 32 of the heat exchange ventilator 2 is provided with forced ventilation by the air supply fan 15 and the exhaust fan 10.
A predetermined time t1 from the start of operation of the air conditioner 5 (for example, 30
A delay switch (not shown) is provided for prohibiting over the period (minutes). Reference numeral 57 denotes a remote control unit for operating the heat exchange ventilator 2, which allows the heat exchange ventilator 2 to operate independently and control its operation even when the air conditioner 5 is not operated. It is like this.

The detailed construction of the heat exchange ventilator 2 is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The outside air from the duct 14 circulates along the path 82 from the air supply path 81 to the air supply fan 15 through the heat exchanger 9 and from the air supply fan 15 to the duct 4.
1 to the room. The air from the chamber 1 via the duct 8 circulates along either of the paths 86 and 87 depending on the position of the damper 85 which is driven by the damper motor DM and the connecting rod 83 and rotated in the direction of the arrow 84. That is, when the damper 85 is in the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, the air from the duct 8 flows through the heat exchanger 9 along the path 86 from the exhaust path 88 to the exhaust fan 10. On the other hand, when the damper 85 is in the position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 4, the damper 85 flows through the bypass passage 90, which bypasses the heat exchanger 9, along the route 87 from the exhaust passage 88 to the exhaust fan 10. Th
Reference numeral 3 is an outside air temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the outside air from the duct 14, and Th4 is a room temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the indoor air from the duct 8.

In the heat exchange ventilator 2 having such a structure, the damper 85 switches the flow path of the indoor air to perform ventilation while exchanging heat between the outside air and the indoor air in the heat exchanger 9. It is possible to switch between the ventilation mode and the normal ventilation mode in which the room air exhausted from the room 1 bypasses the heat exchanger 9 and ventilation is performed without heat exchange. The normal ventilation mode is selected, for example, when the outside air is directly supplied to the room 1 to perform so-called outside air cooling or outside air heating in an intermediate period such as spring or autumn.

Referring to FIG. 6, at a predetermined position in the chamber 1,
A carbon dioxide sensor 100 as a gas sensor is attached. In addition, in the toilet 1a provided in the room 1,
A human detection sensor 200 including an infrared sensor or the like is installed. Detection signals from the carbon dioxide sensor 100 and the human detection sensor 200 are transmitted to a control circuit 65 of the heat exchange ventilator 2 which will be described later, and the control circuit 65 notifies the person when the gas concentration exceeds a predetermined amount or to the toilet 1a. When an intrusion is detected, ventilation is performed and the supply air volume is increased.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the above air conditioner. Heat exchange ventilator 2 and indoor unit 3
Perform transmission of signals via their own transmission circuits 51 and 52, and the indoor unit 3 and outdoor unit 4 exchange control signals and the like via their respective transmission circuits 53 and 54. The exchange of signals between the indoor unit 3 and the remote control unit 30 is achieved via the transmission circuits 55 and 56.

The remote control unit 30 includes a switch 60 for setting operation modes such as operation / stop of the air conditioner 5, cooling operation, heating operation, dry operation, and air blowing operation, temperature setting, and air volume setting. A signal from the switch 60 is input to a control circuit 61 configured by an encoder, a control signal corresponding to the switch operated by the control circuit 61 is created, and the transmission circuit 56 transmits the control signal.

On the other hand, the indoor unit 3 includes the remote control unit 3
0, signals from the outdoor unit 4 and the heat exchange ventilator 2 are input, and a control circuit 6 that gives various control signals to these
Equipped with 2. A drive circuit 63 for driving the motor M3 of the circulation fan 22 is still connected to the control circuit 62,
The above room temperature sensor Th1 (see FIG. 3) is connected.

The heat exchange ventilator 2 is provided with a control circuit 65. The control circuit 62 of the indoor unit 3 supplies monitor information such as the operating state of the air conditioner 5 to the control circuit 65 via the transmission circuits 52, 52 and the monitor line 33. This monitor information is information indicating whether the air conditioner 5 is in an operating state or a stopped state, and information indicating whether the operating mode of the air conditioner 5 is a heating, cooling, blowing, or dry operating mode. It includes set temperature set from the remote control unit 30, room temperature detected by the room temperature sensor Th1, and temperature information indicating the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor Th2 of the outdoor unit 4.

The above-mentioned outside air temperature sensor Th3 and room temperature sensor Th4 (see FIG. 4) are connected to the control circuit 65 of the heat exchange ventilator 2. Further, a drive circuit 66 for driving the respective motors M1 and M2 of the air supply fan 15 and the exhaust fan 10 and the damper motor DM for driving the damper 85 is connected. The outdoor unit 4 includes a control circuit 70 that receives a control signal from the indoor unit 3 and gives various signals to the indoor unit 3. This control circuit 70
Is a control signal to a drive circuit 71 that drives a motor M4 that drives a fan for exchanging heat between the outside air and the refrigerant, a motor M5 that drives the compressor, and a four-way switching valve EV that switches the flow direction of the refrigerant. give. In addition, the outside air temperature sensor T
The temperature information corresponding to the output of h2 is transmitted by the transmission circuits 54 and 53.
To the control circuit 62 of the indoor unit 3 via.

When the air conditioner 5 is in operation,
The heat exchange ventilator 2 operates in conjunction with the air conditioner 5 based on the above monitor information provided from the indoor unit 3. In the present embodiment, in order to reduce the load of air conditioning during preheating / precooling realized by setting the operation start time of the air conditioner 5 in the weekly timer 37, at the beginning of operation of the air conditioner 5, The control shown in FIG. 1 is performed by the control circuit 65 of the heat exchange ventilator 2.

In the heat exchange ventilator 2, the air supply fan 15 and the exhaust fan 10 are not driven immediately after the power is turned on, but they are driven after a certain process. In step s1, the necessity of preheating / precooling is determined according to the flow described later. When preheating / precooling is not required, the air supply fan 15 and the exhaust fan 10 are driven (step s2), and when the carbon dioxide sensor 100 detects carbon dioxide at a predetermined concentration or higher in step s3, each fan 15 is driven. The taps of 10 are set to M (medium air volume) (step s4), and when the concentration is less than the predetermined concentration, they are set to L (low air volume) (step s5). Next, in step s6, it is determined whether or not there is a supercharging (fresh-up) request based on the detection signal from the human detection sensor 200 in the toilet 1a. If there is a fresh-up request, only the air supply is set to 1 The tap is raised (step s7).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step s1 that preheating / precooling is necessary, the process proceeds to step s8. The process after step s8 is for preheating / precooling while keeping the fan stopped for a certain time t1.
Even during this preheating / precooling, the preheating / precooling state is canceled when the carbon dioxide concentration becomes high or when a fresh-up request is made. That is, when it is determined in step s8 that the carbon dioxide concentration is equal to or higher than the predetermined value, preheating / precooling is released, and the process proceeds to step s5, where the tap of the fan is set to L. Further, even if the carbon dioxide concentration is less than the predetermined value, if the fresh-up request is confirmed in step s9, the air supply fan 15
Is set to M and the tap of the exhaust fan 10 is set to L (step s10). If the carbon dioxide concentration is low and there is no request for fresh up,
Each fan is stopped (step s11), and the process proceeds to step s12, and the drive of the fans is on standby until a predetermined time t1 (for example, 30 minutes) elapses.

Next, the preheating in the above step s1
The determination as to whether or not to perform precooling will be described with reference to the detailed flowchart of FIG. When the power is turned on,
At step n1, the monitor information is referred to wait for the air conditioner 5 to be in the operating state. When the air conditioner 5 is in the operating state, the operation mode of the air conditioner 5 is determined from the above monitor information in step n2. If it is determined to be the cooling mode or the heating mode, step n3
The process moves to step S2, and if not, the process proceeds to step s2 in FIG. 1 on the assumption that preheating / precooling is not performed. In step n3,
The control circuit 65 checks the state of the above-mentioned delay switch (not shown) provided in the electrical equipment box 32 of the heat exchange ventilator 2. If the delay switch is off, preheating / precooling is not performed and the process proceeds to step s2 in FIG.

If the above-mentioned delay switch is turned on to prohibit the ventilation at the beginning of the start of the heating or cooling operation by the air conditioner 5, step n4
At, it is determined based on the monitor information from the indoor unit 3 of the air conditioner 5 whether the operation mode of the heat exchange ventilator 2 should be the heat exchange ventilation mode or the normal ventilation mode. This determination is performed based on the room temperature TRA detected by the room temperature sensor Th1 of the indoor unit 3 and the outside air temperature TOA detected by the outside air temperature sensor Th2 of the outdoor unit 4. When the heating operation is performed in the air conditioner 5, for example, when the room temperature TRA is higher than the outside air temperature TOA, it is determined that the heat exchange ventilation mode should be set. Further, the room temperature TRA is the outside temperature T
When it is lower than OA, it is determined that the normal ventilation mode should be performed in which the outside air is heated so that the temperature of the room is increased by directly introducing the outside air into the room. On the other hand, the air conditioner 5
If the room temperature TRA is lower than the outside air temperature TOA when the cooling operation is being performed in the above, it is determined that the heat exchange ventilation mode should be set. In addition, room temperature TRA is outside temperature TOA
When it is higher than the above, it is determined that the normal ventilation mode should be performed in which the outside air is cooled to achieve the drop in room temperature by directly guiding the outside air into the room. Before the air supply fan 15 and the exhaust fan 10 are driven, the outside air or the indoor air is not guided to the sensors Th3 and Th4 on the heat exchange ventilator 2 side. Room temperature cannot be detected. Therefore, step n4
Then, the ventilation mode is determined based on the monitor information.

At step n5, it is judged if the judgment result at step n4 is the normal ventilation mode. Then, in the normal ventilation mode, preheating / precooling is not performed and the process proceeds to step s2 in FIG. On the other hand, when it is determined that the heat exchange ventilation mode should be set, it is determined that preheating / precooling is performed, and the process proceeds to step s8 in FIG.

Due to such processing, the forced heat exchange ventilation is not performed during the initial preheating / precooling period when the operation of the air conditioner 5 is started. Can be reduced. That is, during the preheating / precooling period, since there are usually no people in the chamber 1, the air in the chamber 1 will not be contaminated even without active ventilation. For this reason, in the embodiment, at the beginning of the operation of the air conditioner 5, the air supply fan 15 and the exhaust fan 10 are held in a stopped state for a predetermined time t1, and forced ventilation is prohibited. That is, the load on the harmony machine 5 is reduced.

If, by any chance, forced ventilation is prohibited, a person may enter the room 1 and the air in the room 1 may become dirty, or a person may enter the toilet and supercharge. When a request is made, ventilation is performed to prevent oxygen shortage in the room and odor inflow from the toilet, which does not impair the health and refreshing feeling of the occupants. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the control circuit 65 of the heat exchange ventilator 2 is
In the above, in the initial stage of starting the operation of the air conditioner 5, it is determined whether the air supply fan 15 and the exhaust fan 10 should be operated / stopped. However, the control circuit 62 of the indoor unit 3 makes such a determination. A command indicating whether to operate the air supply fan 15 and the exhaust fan 10 may be given to the heat exchange ventilator 2.

Further, in the above embodiment, the heat exchange ventilator 2
Although a remote control unit 57 for individually controlling each is provided, without providing such a remote control unit 57,
The operation of the heat exchange ventilator 2 may be integrally controlled by the remote control unit 30 on the air conditioner 5 side. Further, in the above embodiment, by setting the delay switch,
At the beginning of the operation of the air conditioner 5, whether or not to prohibit the air supply fan 15 and the exhaust fan 10 for a predetermined time is selected. However, such a delay switch is not provided, and the predetermined time t1 is set. The forced ventilation may be prohibited. Further, a changeover switch for changing and setting the above predetermined time, for example, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 60 minutes or the like may be provided.
In this way, the prohibition time of forced ventilation can be appropriately selected according to the preference of the user and the size of the room to be air-conditioned.

In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of the present invention.

[0035]

As described above, according to the air conditioner of the first aspect, the forced ventilation by the air supply fan and the exhaust fan is prohibited during the initial period when the air conditioner starts temperature adjustment. Therefore, the load on the air conditioner at the beginning of the temperature adjustment can be reduced, and the rise time until the room temperature rises to the set temperature can be shortened. Moreover, even when the air supply fan and the exhaust fan are stopped in the initial period, the ventilation is performed when it is determined that the ventilation is necessary. Since measures are taken according to the situation, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of oxygen deficiency in the room.

According to the air conditioner of the second aspect, even when ventilation is stopped at the beginning of operation of the air conditioner,
Ventilation is implemented when people enter the room and the air becomes dirty. According to the air conditioner of the third aspect, even when the ventilation is stopped at the beginning of the operation of the air conditioner, the ventilation is performed when a person enters the room. If a person detection sensor arranged in the toilet is applied, it is possible to prevent the inflow of odor from the toilet.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart for explaining a control operation of a heat exchange ventilator performed in an initial period of operation start of an air conditioner in an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing in detail the preheating / precooling determination step in the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a simplified cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the air conditioner.

FIG. 4 is a simplified cross-sectional view showing an internal configuration of a heat exchange ventilator.

FIG. 5 is a simplified cross-sectional view showing an internal configuration of a heat exchange ventilator.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of a chamber showing an arrangement state of an air conditioner and each sensor.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Heat exchange ventilator 5 Air conditioner 9 Heat exchanger 10 Exhaust fan 15 Air supply fan 65 Control circuit 100 Carbon dioxide sensor 200 Human detection sensor

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A supply fan (15) for introducing outside air into the room as supply air, an exhaust fan (10) for discharging indoor air as exhaust air to the outside, and heat between the supply air and the exhaust air. A heat exchange ventilator (2) having a heat exchanger (9) for exchanging, an air conditioner (5) for controlling the temperature to bring the room temperature close to a set temperature, and this air conditioner (5) When making adjustments, the air supply fan (15) and exhaust fan (1) of the heat exchange ventilator (2)
In the air conditioner equipped with the control means (65) for driving (0), the ventilation request determination means (6
5) and a stop state in which the air supply fan (15) and the exhaust fan (10) are kept in a stopped state in a period before the predetermined time elapses after the air conditioner (5) starts temperature adjustment. Holding means (6
5) and when it is determined by the ventilation request determination means that ventilation in the room is required, the air supply fan is stopped by the stopped state maintaining means.
An air conditioner comprising: (15) and holding release means (65) for releasing holding of the exhaust fan (10) in a stopped state. 2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the ventilation request judging means makes a judgment based on a detection signal from a gas sensor (100) for detecting the concentration of harmful gas in the room. 3. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the ventilation request judging means makes a judgment based on a signal from a person detecting sensor (200) for detecting the presence of a person in the room.