The present invention relates to a duct-type air conditioning system that supplies conditioned air to a plurality air-conditioned spaces by a duct connected to an air conditioner.
In a conventional duct-type air conditioning system described in Patent Literature 1, a total required air volume of the entire system is decided by a variable air volume (VAV) control unit and control of a damper opening degree and control of the number of revolutions of an air blower are executed, in order to maintain the room temperature in the air-conditioned spaces at a set temperature. In Patent Literature 1, an air volume is finely adjusted based on the damper opening degree and a change amount of the total required air volume.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H8-28941
However, the VAV control unit used in Patent Literature 1 has a complicated configuration such that information required for air conditioning control, such as excess and deficiency information of static pressure and damper opening degree information, are acquired and the pieces of information are fed back to the control of the air conditioner. Therefore, the system becomes expensive as a whole and the system is not easy to be widely used in general houses. Further, in the conventional technique described in Patent Literature 1, an air volume is adjusted by a damper opening degree, and thus it is required that a damper to be used can finely control the opening degree. Accordingly, the cost of the entire system increases.
The present invention has been achieved in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a duct-type air conditioning system that can realize air volume control corresponding to the environment in a plurality air-conditioned spaces, with an inexpensive configuration.
According to an aspect of the present invention in order to solve the above mentioned problems and achieve the purpose, there is provided a duct-type air conditioning system including: an air conditioner; a plurality of dampers respectively provided in a plurality of ducts provided corresponding to a plurality air-conditioned spaces, to which conditioned air from the air conditioner is supplied, to bring an air trunk in each of the ducts into an opened state or closed state individually; a plurality of outlets respectively provided at ends of the ducts; and a control device that controls the air conditioner and the dampers, wherein the control device includes a controlled air-volume calculation unit that, when the air conditioner performs automatic air volume adjustment, calculates a controlled air volume of an indoor unit constituting the air conditioner, on the basis of: an opening ratio, which is a ratio of sum of numbers or areas of opened outlets provided in the duct having the damper in an opened state with respect to sum of numbers or areas of the outlets respectively provided in the air-conditioned spaces; and a temperature difference between a target temperature of the air-conditioned space and a temperature measured in the air-conditioned space where the opened outlet is present.
The duct-type air conditioning system according to the present invention can realize air volume control corresponding to the environment in a plurality air-conditioned spaces, with an inexpensive configuration.
Exemplary embodiments of a duct-type air conditioning system according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments.
The control device 4, the indoor unit 2, the outdoor unit 3, the controller 6, and the dampers 9-1, 9-2, . . . , and 9-n are connected by the control line 5, and the dampers 9-1, 9-2, . . . , and 9-n are individually controlled to an opened state or a closed state by the control device 4. When the dampers 9-1, 9-2, . . . , and 9-n are in an opened state, conditioned air is supplied to the air-conditioned spaces 10-1, 10-2, . . . , and 10-n, and when the dampers 9-1, 9-2, . . . , and 9-n are in a closed state, supply of the conditioned air to the air-conditioned spaces 10-1, 10-2, . . . , and 10-n is stopped.
The controller 6 has a thermistor 11 that measures the room temperature of the air-conditioned space 10-1, and information of the measured room temperature is transmitted to the control device 4 via the control line 5. Further, the controller 6 performs various settings for controlling air conditioning in the air-conditioned spaces 10-1, 10-2, . . . , and 10-n. The contents of the various settings are, for example, setting of the number of outlets 8-1, 8-2, . . . , and 8-n respectively provided in the air-conditioned spaces 10-1, 10-2, . . . , and 10-n, setting of a target temperature in the air-conditioned spaces, and air volume automatic/manual setting indicating whether the air volume of the indoor unit 2 is adjusted automatically or manually. When these settings are performed by the controller 6, the number-of-outlets information a representing the number of outlets 8-1, 8-2, . . . , and 8-n, target temperature information b, and air-volume automatic/manual setting information c representing the result of air-volume automatic/manual setting are generated, and these pieces of information are transmitted from the controller 6 to the control device 4, together with room temperature information d detected by the thermistor 11. In the following descriptions, these pieces of information are referred to as “controller output information 6a”. The contents to be set by the controller 6 are not limited to the setting contents described above.
The indoor unit 2 has a function of gradually changing a discharge amount of conditioned air by gradually changing the number of revolutions of an indoor unit fan (not illustrated), and the indoor unit 2 manages air-volume variable speed information e representing the variable speeds of the discharged air volume. The air-volume variable speed information e is information set in the indoor unit 2 beforehand at the time of, for example, factory shipment of the indoor unit 2. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that indoor-unit output information 2a including the air-volume variable speed information e is transmitted from the indoor unit 2 to the control device 4, so that the air-volume variable speed information e is managed by the control device 4. A specific example of the air-volume variable speed information e is described later.
In the examples of
The control device 4 includes an information reception unit 40 that receives the controller output information 6a from the controller 6 and the indoor-unit output information 2a from the indoor unit 2, and a storage unit 41 that stores therein the number-of-outlets information a, the target temperature information b, the air-volume automatic/manual setting information c, and the room temperature information d included in the controller output information 6a, as well as the air-volume variable speed information e included in the indoor-unit output information 2a, and damper opened/closed state information f managed by the damper control function (not illustrated) and representing the opened/closed state of the dampers 9-1, 9-2, and 9-3. The control device 4 also includes an outlet sum calculation unit 43 that calculates the sum of the outlets 8-1, 8-2, and 8-3 based on the number-of-outlets information a, an opened-outlet sum calculation unit 44 that calculates the sum of opened outlets provided in the duct having a damper in an opened state, of the outlets 8-1, 8-2, and 8-3, based on the number-of-outlets information a and the damper opened/closed state information f, an opening ratio calculation unit 45, and a temperature-difference calculation unit 46 that calculates a temperature difference between the target temperature and the room temperature based on the target temperature information b and the room temperature information d. Further, the control device 4 includes an air-volume setting determination unit 42 that determines whether it is set to perform air volume adjustment automatically or manually based on the air-volume automatic/manual setting information c, a controlled air volume table 47 in which the air volume variable speeds, the opening ratio, the temperature difference, and the controlled air volume are associated with each other, and a controlled air-volume decision unit 48 that decides and outputs the controlled air volume 48a by collating the temperature difference calculated by the temperature-difference calculation unit 46, the opening ratio calculated by the opening ratio calculation unit 45, and the air volume variable speeds stored in the storage unit 41 with the controlled air volume table 47, when it is determined that air volume adjustment is performed automatically.
The opening ratio calculation unit 45 calculates the degree of conditioned air supplied to the air-conditioned spaces 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3, that is, the opening ratio, being the ratio of the sum of opened outlets to the sum of outlets, by using the sum of outlets calculated by the outlet sum calculation unit 43 and the sum of opened outlets calculated by the opened-outlet sum calculation unit 44. In the example of
The temperature-difference calculation unit 46 calculates the temperature difference, taking into consideration whether the indoor unit 2 is performing a cooling operation or heating operation. For example, when the indoor unit 2 is performing a cooling operation, the temperature-difference calculation unit 46 calculates the temperature difference according to an equation (1), and when the indoor unit 2 is performing a heating operation, the temperature-difference calculation unit 46 calculates the temperature difference according to an equation (2).
Temperature difference=room temperature−target temperature (1)
Temperature difference=target temperature−room temperature (2)
For example, in the case where the air volume variable speeds acquired from the air-volume variable speed information e are five, the opening ratio calculated by the opening ratio calculation unit 45 is from equal to or higher than 40% to lower than 60%, and the temperature difference calculated by the temperature-difference calculation unit 46 is equal to or higher than 6° C., the controlled air-volume decision unit 48 decides the controlled air volume 48a corresponding to “very strong” indicated by (1) in
An operation of the control device is described below.
If it is determined that the automatic air volume adjustment is not being set (NO at Step S1), the controller 6 transmits an air volume set by a user to the indoor unit 2 (Step S6).
In the duct-type air conditioning system 1 according to the first embodiment, by focusing on the damper opened/closed state and the number of outlets, such control can be realized that the air volume is increased when the number of opened outlets is large or the temperature difference is large, and the air volume is decreased when the number of opened outlets is small or the temperature difference is small, while using the damper controlled to the opened state or closed state. Therefore, a damper whose opening degree can be controlled finely and a VAV control unit for acquiring excess and deficiency information of static pressure and an opening degree of the damper do not need to be used, and a user can establish a duct-type air conditioning system at a low cost.
In the duct-type air conditioning system 1 according to the first embodiment, the controlled air volume 48a is decided by using the room temperature information d from the thermistor 11. However, in the duct-type air conditioning system 1A, the controlled air volume 48a is decided by using the temperatures detected in the air-conditioned spaces in which the damper is in an opened state. For example, in the case where only the dampers 9-1 and 9-2 in the air-conditioned spaces 10-1 and 10-2 illustrated in
It is assumed that an air-conditioned space having a large number of outlets has a large area and is difficult to be air-conditioned. In a duct-type air conditioning system 1B, temperature weighting based on the number of outlets in a plurality air-conditioned spaces is performed by using a plurality of temperatures detected in the air-conditioned spaces in which the damper is in an opened state. As a weighting method, the number of outlets and the weighted average of the room temperature are used. For example, in the duct-type air conditioning system 1A in
Weighted average temperature=(30×5+25×1)/6=29.2° C. (3)
For example, when it is supposed that the air volume variable speeds are five, the opening ratio is 50%, the target temperature is 25° C., and the indoor unit 2 is performing a cooling operation, the temperature calculated by the average-temperature calculation unit 49 of the controlled air-volume calculation unit 410 illustrated in
In the first and second embodiments, the example of calculating the opening ratio by using the sum of outlets and the sum of opened outlets has been described. However, the opening ratio can be obtained by using the sum of outlet areas and the sum of opened outlet areas, taking into consideration a case where respective sectional areas of the outlets are different.
As described above, the duct-type air conditioning systems 1 and 1A according to the first and second embodiments include the air conditioner, the dampers respectively provided in the ducts provided corresponding to the air-conditioned spaces, to which conditioned air from the air conditioner is supplied, to bring the air trunk in each of the ducts into an opened state or closed state individually, the outlets respectively provided at the ends of the ducts, and the control device that controls the air conditioner and the dampers. The control device includes the controlled air-volume calculation unit 400 that decides the controlled air volume for controlling the air volume of the indoor unit constituting the air conditioner, based on the opening ratio, which is the ratio of the sum of numbers or areas of the opened outlets provided in the duct having a damper in an opened state with respect to the sum of numbers or areas of the outlets respectively provided in the air-conditioned spaces, and a temperature difference between the target temperature of the air-conditioned space and the temperature measured in the air-conditioned space where the opened outlet is present, when the air conditioner performs automatic air volume adjustment. Due to this configuration, the air volume control can be executed without using a damper whose opening degree can be controlled finely and a VAV control unit for acquiring excess and deficiency information of static pressure and an opening degree of the damper, and a user can establish a duct-type air conditioning system at a low cost. Further, according to the duct-type air conditioning systems 1 and 1A, because a VAV control unit does not need to be used, the volume of the constituent components can be reduced. Further, the damper only needs to perform an opening or closing operation, and thus the device configuration is simplified and a long life of the device can be realized.
The controlled air-volume calculation unit 410 according to the second embodiment uses a temperature difference between the target temperature and the average value of the temperatures measured in the air-conditioned spaces where the opened outlet is present. Due to this configuration, temperature variation in the air-conditioned spaces can be reduced.
The controlled air-volume calculation unit 420 according to the second embodiment uses a temperature difference between the target temperature and the weighted average temperature obtained by weighted averaging of the temperatures measured in the air-conditioned spaces where the opened outlet is present, by the number of opened outlets. Due to this configuration, the room temperature of the air-conditioned space that is difficult to be air-conditioned can be approximated to the target temperature more quickly.
The configurations of the above embodiments are only an example of the contents of the present invention. The configurations can be combined with other well-known techniques, and can be modified or a part the configuration can be omitted without departing from the scope of the invention.
1, 1A duct-type air conditioning system, 2 indoor unit, 2a indoor-unit output information, 3 outdoor unit, 4 control device, 5 control line, 6 controller, 6a controller output information, 7 duct, 7-1, 7-2, 7-3, 7-n duct bifurcation area, 8-1, 8-2, 8-3, 8-n outlet, 9-1, 9-2, 9-3, 9-n dumper, 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-n air-conditioned space, 11, 11-1, 11-2, 11-n thermistor, 11a room temperature information, 12 control line, 40, 40A information reception unit, 41, 41A storage unit, 42 air-volume setting determination unit, 43 outlet sum calculation unit, 44 opened-outlet sum calculation unit, opening ratio calculation unit, 46, 46A, 46B temperature-difference calculation unit, 47 controlled air volume table, 48 controlled air-volume decision unit, 48a controlled air volume, 49 average-temperature calculation unit, 50 weighted-average temperature calculation unit, 400, 410, 420 controlled air-volume calculation unit.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2014/080647 | 11/19/2014 | WO | 00 |