Patent Application
20190368767
The present invention relates to an air conditioner which performs air conditioning.
In electrical appliances, relay circuits are used to drive other circuits. In an air conditioner as well, a relay circuit is used to perform switching between a state of supplying power to an outdoor unit and a state of not supplying power to the outdoor unit. Conventionally, a technique has been proposed in which in order to drive a relay circuit at low power consumption and to suppress an increase in temperature of the relay circuit, a direct-current voltage equal to or higher than an operating voltage is applied to a relay coil at a start of an ON state of a contact, and after a certain time has elapsed, a direct-current voltage lower than the operating voltage and equal to or higher than a retention voltage is applied to the relay coil (see, for example, Patent Literature 1). In addition, a technique has been proposed in which even in a case where an actuator is driven when a voltage applied to a relay coil is a retention voltage and thereby the retention voltage decreases, a contact is not interrupted (see, for example, Patent Literature 2).
However, in the above-described conventional techniques, in a case where a voltage of an alternating-current power supply is reduced by, for example, a momentary power failure when the voltage applied to the relay coil is the retention voltage, the voltage applied to the relay coil also decreases accordingly. Consequently, the contact is interrupted. When the contact is interrupted, a user needs to set an operation of the air conditioner to an OFF state and then to set the operation of the air conditioner to an ON state.
The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner capable of resuming operation without requiring operation by a user and without notifying the user of an abnormality even in a case where the abnormality occurs in an outdoor unit when a voltage applied to a relay coil is a retention voltage and thereby a contact is interrupted.
In order to solve the above problem and achieve the object, an air conditioner according to the present invention includes an indoor unit, an outdoor unit, a relay circuit including a contact and a relay coil, a control unit which causes a first voltage equal to or higher than an operating voltage for turning ON the contact or a second voltage lower than the operating voltage and equal to or higher than a retention voltage for retaining a state in which the contact is ON to be applied to the relay coil, and an abnormality detection unit to, when an abnormality occurs in the outdoor unit, detect occurrence of the abnormality in the outdoor unit. The indoor unit includes a notification unit to, when the abnormality detection unit detects that an abnormality has occurred in the outdoor unit, notify that the abnormality has occurred in the outdoor unit. One end portion of two end portions of the contact is connected to an alternating-current power supply and another end portion of the two end portions of the contact is connected to the outdoor unit. One end portion of two end portions of the relay coil is connected to a power supply for driving the relay circuit. The control unit causes the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil at a start of an ON state of the contact, causes the second voltage to be applied to the relay coil after the contact is turned ON, and causes the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil during a period from detection of occurrence of the abnormality to notification of the occurrence of the abnormality by the notification unit when the abnormality detection unit detects that the abnormality has occurred.
The air conditioner according to the present invention has an effect of resuming operation without requiring operation by a user and without notifying the user of an abnormality even in a case where the abnormality occurs in an outdoor unit when a voltage applied to a relay coil is a retention voltage and thereby a contact is interrupted.
Hereinafter, an air conditioner according to each embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The invention is not limited to the embodiments.
The indoor unit 2 includes a control unit 21, which causes a first voltage or a second voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b. The first voltage is equal to or higher than an operating voltage to turn ON the contact 4a. The second voltage is lower than the operating voltage and equal to or higher than a retention voltage for retaining the state in which the contact 4a is ON. The first voltage and the second voltage are direct-current voltages. The control unit 21 includes a first control port 21A to which the first transistor 5 is connected and a second control port 21B to which the second transistor 7 is connected. The indoor unit 2 further includes an abnormality detection unit 22 and a notification unit 23.
One end portion 4p of two end portions 4p and 4q of the contact 4a included in the relay circuit 4 is connected to an alternating-current power supply 10. The other end portion 4q of the two end portions 4p and 4q of the contact 4a is connected to the outdoor unit 3. One end portion 4x of two end portions 4x and 4y of the relay coil 4b included in the relay circuit 4 is connected to a power supply 11 for driving the relay circuit 4. A voltage of the power supply 11 for driving the relay circuit 4 is affected by a voltage of the alternating-current power supply 10. The other end portion 4y of the two end portions 4x and 4y of the relay coil 4b is connected to the first transistor 5 and the resistor 6.
A base 5B of the first transistor 5 is connected to the first control port 21A of the control unit 21, an emitter 5E of the first transistor 5 is grounded, and a collector 5C of the first transistor 5 is connected to the other end portion 4y of the relay coil 4b. The first transistor 5 performs switching between an ON state in which the first voltage is applied to the relay coil 4b and an OFF state in which the first voltage is not applied to the relay coil 4b.
A base 7B of the second transistor 7 is connected to the second control port 21B of the control unit 21, an emitter 7E of the second transistor 7 is grounded, and a collector 7C of the second transistor 7 is connected to one of two end portions of the resistor 6. The other of the two end portions of the resistor 6 is connected to the relay coil 4b. In order to suppress power consumption, the resistor 6 limits a current flowing through the relay coil 4b. The second transistor 7 performs switching between an ON state in which the second voltage is applied to the relay coil 4b and an OFF state in which the second voltage is not applied to the relay coil 4b.
The control unit 21 causes the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b at a start of an ON state of the contact 4a and causes the second voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b after the contact 4a is turned ON. In addition, the control unit 21 causes the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b at a predetermined constant period. For example, the control unit 21 causes not the second voltage but the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b at the predetermined constant period.
Next, control performed by the control unit 21 will be described.
In a 0-th period, both the first control port 21A and the second control port 21B are OFF. Therefore, the driving voltage is not applied to the relay coil 4b. Accordingly, the relay coil 4b does not consume power. The contact 4a is OFF.
In a first period following the 0-th period, the control unit 21 turns ON both the first control port 21A and the second control port 21B. When the first control port 21A is switched from OFF to ON, the first voltage is applied to the relay coil 4b. Therefore, the contact 4a is turned ON, and alternating-current power from the alternating-current power supply 10 is supplied to the outdoor unit 3. In the first period, since the first voltage higher than the second voltage is applied to the relay coil 4b as described above, the power consumption of the relay coil 4b is relatively large.
In a second period following the first period, the control unit 21 turns OFF the first control port 21A and maintains the ON state of the second control port 21B. Since the second control port 21B is ON, the second voltage is applied to the relay coil 4b, the ON state of the contact 4a is maintained, and the alternating-current power from the alternating-current power supply 10 is supplied to the outdoor unit 3. In the second period, since the second voltage lower than the first voltage is applied to the relay coil 4b as described above, the power consumption of the relay coil 4b is relatively small. That is, the power consumption of the relay coil 4b in the second period is smaller than the power consumption of the relay coil 4b in the first period.
In a third period following the second period, the control unit 21 maintains the control performed in the second period described above. That is, in the third period, the control unit 21 maintains the state in which the first control port 21A is OFF and the second control port 21B is ON. Since the second control port 21B is ON, the second voltage is applied to the relay coil 4b, the ON state of the contact 4a is maintained, and the alternating-current power from the alternating-current power supply 10 is supplied to the outdoor unit 3. In the third period, since the second voltage lower than the first voltage is applied to the relay coil 4b as described above, the power consumption of the relay coil 4b is relatively small.
In a fourth period following the third period, the control unit 21 maintains the ON state of the second control port 21B, and turns ON the first control port 21A. The fourth period is one of periods during which the control unit 21 causes the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b at the predetermined constant period. When the first control port 21A is switched from OFF to ON, the first voltage higher than the second voltage is applied to the relay coil 4b.
Since the first voltage is applied to the relay coil 4b, the ON state of the contact 4a is maintained, and the alternating-current power from the alternating-current power supply 10 is supplied to the outdoor unit 3. In the fourth period, since the first voltage higher than the second voltage is applied to the relay coil 4b as described above, the power consumption of the relay coil 4b is relatively large. That is, the power consumption of the relay coil 4b in the fourth period is larger than the power consumption of the relay coil 4b in the second period and the third period.
In a fifth period following the fourth period, similarly to the second period, the control unit 21 turns OFF the first control port 21A and maintains the ON state of the second control port 21B. Since the second control port 21B is ON, the second voltage is applied to the relay coil 4b, the ON state of the contact 4a is maintained, and the alternating-current power from the alternating-current power supply 10 is supplied to the outdoor unit 3. In the fifth period, since the second voltage lower than the first voltage is applied to the relay coil 4b, the power consumption of the relay coil 4b is relatively small. That is, the power consumption of the relay coil 4b in the fifth period is smaller than the power consumption of the relay coil 4b in the fourth period.
As described with reference to
Next, an effect obtained by the control performed by the control unit 21 described with reference to
When a momentary power failure occurs in the second period, only the voltage lower than the second voltage is applied to the relay coil 4b in the third period under the influence of the momentary power failure. Therefore, the contact 4a is turned OFF. If the contact 4a continues to be OFF, the alternating-current power from the alternating-current power supply 10 is not supplied to the outdoor unit 3 even if the momentary power failure is restored, the operation of the outdoor unit 3 continues to be stopped, and the function of the air conditioner 1 is not exerted.
However, as described with reference to
As described with reference to
In addition, the control unit 21 does not continue to cause the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b after the contact 4a is turned ON, but causes the second voltage lower than the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b. Therefore, the power consumption of the relay coil 4b when the control unit 21 performs the above-described control is smaller than the power consumption of the relay coil 4b when the first voltage is continuously applied to the relay coil 4b. That is, the air conditioner 1 can suppress the power consumption of the relay coil 4b.
The indoor unit 2 includes the abnormality detection unit 22 and the notification unit 23 as described above. When an abnormality occurs in the outdoor unit 3, the abnormality detection unit 22 detects occurrence of the abnormality in the outdoor unit 3. The notification unit 23 notifies that the abnormality has occurred in the outdoor unit 3 when the abnormality detection unit 22 detects that the abnormality has occurred in the outdoor unit 3. The control unit 21 causes not the second voltage but the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b during a period from the detection of the occurrence of the abnormality to the notification of the occurrence of the abnormality by the notification unit 23 when the abnormality detection unit 22 detects that the abnormality has occurred in the outdoor unit 3. An example of the abnormality is that supply of the alternating-current power to the outdoor unit 3 is stopped by the momentary power failure.
That is, the control unit 21 causes the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b at the start of the ON state of the contact 4a, and causes the second voltage lower than the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b after the contact 4a is turned ON. In addition, the control unit 21 causes the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b during the period from the detection of the occurrence of the abnormality to the notification of the occurrence of the abnormality by the notification unit 23 when the abnormality detection unit 22 detects that the abnormality has occurred in the outdoor unit 3. For example, the control unit 21 causes not the second voltage but the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b during the period from the detection of the occurrence of the abnormality to the notification of the occurrence of the abnormality by the notification unit 23 when the abnormality detection unit 22 detects that the abnormality has occurred in the outdoor unit 3.
When an abnormality occurs in the outdoor unit 3, the notification unit 23 does not notify the occurrence of the abnormality in the outdoor unit 3 immediately after the abnormality occurs in the outdoor unit 3. The notification unit 23 notifies that the abnormality has occurred in the outdoor unit 3 after confirming that the abnormality occurring in the outdoor unit 3 has continued for a predetermined period. An example of the predetermined period is three minutes. As described above, the control unit 21 causes the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b during a period from the detection of the occurrence of the abnormality to a time at which the predetermined period elapses when the abnormality detection unit 22 detects that the abnormality has occurred in the outdoor unit 3. For example, the control unit 21 causes the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b after two minutes and 30 seconds have elapsed from the detection of the occurrence of the abnormality.
By the control unit 21 performing the above-described control, even if an abnormality occurs in the outdoor unit 3, for example, due to occurrence of a momentary power failure, the contact 4a is turned ON before the notification unit 23 notifies that the abnormality has occurred in the outdoor unit 3, the alternating-current power from the alternating-current power supply 10 is supplied to the outdoor unit 3, and the outdoor unit 3 can resume operation. That is, even in a case where the abnormality occurs in the outdoor unit 3 when the voltage applied to the relay coil 4b is the retention voltage and thereby the contact 4a is interrupted, the air conditioner 1 can resume operation without requiring operation by the user, and without notifying the user of the abnormality. Besides, even if an abnormality occurs in the outdoor unit 3, the user can enjoy a function of the air conditioner 1 without being conscious of the abnormality.
The abnormality detection unit 22 further has a function of detecting occurrence of an abnormality in communication between the indoor unit 2 and the outdoor unit 3 when the abnormality occurs in the communication. The control unit 21 causes the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b when the abnormality detection unit 22 detects that an abnormality has occurred in communication. That is, the control unit 21 causes the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b at the start of the ON state of the contact 4a, and causes the second voltage lower than the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b after the contact 4a is turned ON. In addition, the control unit 21 causes the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b when the abnormality detection unit 22 detects that the abnormality has occurred in the communication. For example, the control unit 21 causes not the second voltage but the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b when the abnormality detection unit 22 detects that the abnormality has occurred in the communication.
For example, when the momentary power failure occurs and the contact 4a is turned OFF, the operation of the outdoor unit 3 is stopped. When the operation of the outdoor unit 3 is stopped, an abnormality occurs in the communication between the indoor unit 2 and the outdoor unit 3, and the abnormality detection unit 22 detects occurrence of the abnormality in the communication between the indoor unit 2 and the outdoor unit 3. When the abnormality detection unit 22 detects that the abnormality has occurred in the communication, the control unit 21 causes the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b.
By the control unit 21 performing the above-described control, even if an abnormality occurs in communication between the indoor unit 2 and the outdoor unit 3, for example, due to occurrence of a momentary power failure, the first voltage is applied to the relay coil 4b when the abnormality detection unit 22 detects that the abnormality has occurred in the communication, the contact 4a is turned ON, the alternating-current power from the alternating-current power supply 10 is supplied to the outdoor unit 3, and the outdoor unit 3 resumes operation. That is, even in a case where the abnormality occurs in the communication between the indoor unit 2 and the outdoor unit 3 when the voltage applied to the relay coil 4b is the retention voltage and thereby the contact 4a is interrupted, the air conditioner 1 can resume operation without requiring operation by the user, and without causing the user to be conscious of the abnormality.
One or both of the control unit 21 and the abnormality detection unit 22 may be provided outside the indoor unit 2.
The processing circuit 41 is dedicated hardware. The processing circuit 41 is, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or a combination thereof. A part of the control unit 21, the abnormality detection unit 22, and the notification unit 23 may be dedicated hardware separate from the remainder.
In the case where at least a part of the functions of the control unit 21, the abnormality detection unit 22, and the notification unit 23 is achieved by the processor 52, the part of the functions is achieved by a combination of the processor 52 and software, firmware, or software and firmware. The software or the firmware is described as a program and stored in the memory 51. By reading and executing the program stored in the memory 51, the processor 52 achieves at least a part of the functions of the control unit 21, the abnormality detection unit 22, and the notification unit 23.
That is, when at least a part of the functions of the control unit 21, the abnormality detection unit 22, and the notification unit 23 is achieved by the processor 52, the air conditioner 1 includes the memory 51 for storing a program with which a step is executed as a result, the step being executed by at least a part of the control unit 21, the abnormality detection unit 22, and the notification unit 23. It can be said that the program stored in the memory 51 causes a computer to execute a procedure or method executed by at least a part of the control unit 21, the abnormality detection unit 22, and the notification unit 23.
The memory 51 is, for example, a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), a flash memory, an Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), or an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disc, a mini disk, or a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD).
Regarding a plurality of functions of the control unit 21, the abnormality detection unit 22, and the notification unit 23, a part of the functions may be achieved by dedicated hardware and the remainder of the functions may be achieved by software or firmware. Thus, the functions of the control unit 21, the abnormality detection unit 22, and the notification unit 23 can be achieved by hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.
The indoor unit 2A includes a control unit 21C instead of the control unit 21 included in the indoor unit 2. The control unit 21C includes the first control port 21A and the second control port 21B. The air conditioner 1A further includes the outdoor unit 3, the relay circuit 4, the first transistor 5, the resistor 6, and the second transistor 7 included in the air conditioner 1 according to the first embodiment. The control unit 21C causes the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b at a start of an ON state of the contact 4a and causes the second voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b after the contact 4a is turned ON. In addition, when the monitoring unit 24 monitors that the voltage of the alternating-current power supply 10 is lower than a predetermined value, the control unit 21C causes the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b.
Next, control performed by the control unit 21C will be described.
As is apparent from a comparison between
When the voltage of the alternating-current power supply 10 becomes lower than the predetermined value, only the voltage lower than the second voltage is applied to the relay coil 4b in a fourth period. Therefore, the contact 4a is turned OFF. When the contact 4a is turned OFF, the alternating-current power from the alternating-current power supply 10 is not supplied to the outdoor unit 3, and operation of the outdoor unit 3 is stopped.
Since the monitoring unit 24 monitors that the voltage of the alternating-current power supply 10 is equal to or higher than the predetermined value in the fifth period, the control unit 21C maintains the ON state of the second control port 21B, and turns ON the first control port 21A. When the first control port 21A is switched from OFF to ON, the first voltage is applied to the relay coil 4b, and the contact 4a is turned ON. The supply of the alternating-current power from the alternating-current power supply 10 to the outdoor unit 3 is resumed, and the outdoor unit 3 resumes operation.
In a sixth period, the control unit 21C maintains the ON state of the second control port 21B, and turns OFF the first control port 21A. By the control unit 21C turning OFF the first control port 21A, the power consumption of the relay coil 4b decreases.
As described above, the control unit 21C causes the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b at the start of the ON state of the contact 4a and causes the second voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b after the contact 4a is turned ON. In addition, when the monitoring unit 24 monitors that the voltage of the alternating-current power supply 10 is lower than the predetermined value, the control unit 21C causes the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b. For example, when the monitoring unit 24 monitors that the voltage of the alternating-current power supply 10 is lower than the predetermined value, the control unit 21C causes not the second voltage but the first voltage to be applied to the relay coil 4b. That is, even if the voltage of the alternating-current power supply 10 becomes lower than the predetermined value and the contact 4a is turned OFF, the air conditioner 1A turns ON the contact 4a when the voltage of the alternating-current power supply 10 becomes equal to or higher than the predetermined value, and can resume operation without requiring operation by a user. In addition, the air conditioner 1A can reduce the power consumption of the relay coil 4b.
One or both of the control unit 21C and the monitoring unit 24 may be provided outside the indoor unit 2A.
At least a part of the constituent elements constituting the control unit 21C and the monitoring unit 24 may be achieved by a processing circuit equivalent to the processing circuit 41 described with reference to
The configuration described in each embodiment above indicates one example of the content of the present invention and can be combined with other known technology, and a part thereof can be omitted or modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.
This application is a U.S. national stage application of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2017/005771 filed on Feb. 16, 2017, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2017/005771 | 2/16/2017 | WO | 00 |
