WO2017158862A1

WO2017158862A1 - Air conditioner and air conditioner control method

Info

Publication number: WO2017158862A1
Application number: PCT/JP2016/073488
Authority: WO
Inventors: 充邦吉田; 博紀南條
Original assignee: シャープ株式会社
Priority date: 2016-03-16
Filing date: 2016-08-09
Publication date: 2017-09-21
Also published as: JP6620048B2; CN108779933A; CN108779933B; JP2017166754A

Abstract

The purpose of the invention is to prevent stopping automatic operation without understanding the purpose of the automatic operation and the reason for starting the operation. An air conditioner (1) comprises an information presentation unit (106) that presents a user with automatic operation information that indicates a purpose for the automatic operation and/or a reason for starting the operation when an operation stop instruction is received during automatic operation, and an operation control unit (105) that continues automatic operation without responding to the operation stop instruction.

Description

Air conditioner and control method of air conditioner

The present invention relates to an air conditioner that starts automatic operation when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

An air conditioner that starts automatic operation when a predetermined condition is satisfied is known as a prior art. For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a technique for preventing heat stroke and the like by automatically performing a cooling operation when the indoor temperature and humidity are in a high temperature zone.

Japanese Patent Publication “Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-217532 (published on Oct. 24, 2013)” Japanese Patent Publication “Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-217534 (published Oct. 24, 2013)”

Here, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the cooling operation is automatically started without the user's operation, the user may not know why the air conditioner has started the operation. In particular, when a user who is different from the user set to perform automatic driving is in the air-conditioned space, the user often does not know the reason for starting driving.

For this reason, there is a problem that the user stops automatic driving without knowing the purpose of automatic driving and the reason for starting, and the purpose of automatic driving (prevention of heat stroke in the example of Patent Document 1) may not be achieved. there were. Such a problem is not limited to automatic driving for preventing heat stroke, and is a problem that occurs when all types of automatic driving are performed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to prevent the automatic operation from being stopped and the purpose of the automatic operation from being not achieved without knowing the purpose and the start reason of the automatic operation. It is to realize an air conditioner that can.

In order to solve the above problems, an air conditioner according to the present invention is an air conditioner that detects that a predetermined condition is satisfied and starts automatic operation, and receives an operation stop instruction during automatic operation. The information presenting unit presenting automatic driving information indicating at least one of the purpose and the reason for starting the automatic driving, and the automatic driving without responding to the driving stop instruction triggered by the presentation of the automatic driving information. And an operation control unit that continues the operation.

Further, an air conditioner control method according to an aspect of the present invention is an air conditioner control method for detecting that a predetermined condition is satisfied and starting an automatic operation in order to solve the above-described problem. And receiving the operation stop instruction during the automatic operation, and presenting the automatic operation information indicating at least one of the purpose and the start reason of the automatic operation, and the operation stop that triggered the presentation of the automatic operation information. A notification step of continuing the automatic driving without responding to the instruction.

According to each aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent the automatic operation from being stopped due to the automatic operation being stopped without knowing the purpose and the reason for the automatic operation.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the principal part structure of the air conditioner which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of operation | movement of the said air conditioner. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process which the said air conditioner performs when some input operation is performed during the driving | operation of the said air conditioner. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process which the said air conditioner performs when the driving | operation switching instruction | indication is performed during automatic driving | operation. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the process which the said air conditioner performs, when alerting | reporting is started at the time of an automatic driving | operation start, and the restriction | limiting period is provided in the alerting | reporting period. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of operation | movement of the air conditioner which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process which the said air conditioner performs. It is a figure explaining the driving | operation for suppressing the proliferation of the microbe inside the said air conditioner. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of operation | movement of the air conditioner which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process which the said air conditioner performs.

Embodiment 1
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

〔Overview〕
First, the outline | summary of the air conditioner 1 of this embodiment is demonstrated based on FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of the operation of the air conditioner 1. Hereinafter, an indoor unit portion of an air conditioner including an indoor unit and an outdoor unit will be described as the air conditioner 1. That is, although not shown in the figure, the air conditioner 1 is connected to an outdoor unit, and performs cooling and heating in cooperation with the outdoor unit.

The air conditioner 1 of (a) in the figure detects that a predetermined environmental condition has been reached and performs automatic operation. More specifically, the air conditioner 1 detects that the temperature / humidity condition has a high risk of heat stroke, and automatically performs a cooling operation (or a dehumidifying operation). Although details will be described later, the air conditioner 1 automatically detects that the temperature / humidity conditions that mold fungi easily grow or the temperature / humidity conditions that viruses tend to survive are detected. It also has a function of performing ion generation operation.

Here, in the example of (a) in the figure, the user is going to stop the operation of the air conditioner 1 with the remote controller (remote control device) 3. Specifically, the user presses the operation button 310 that instructs the air conditioner 1 to stop operation among the operation buttons 310 to 316 provided on the remote controller 3. The operation button 311 is a button for executing an ion generation operation (details will be described later), 312 is a cooling operation, 313 is a dehumidifying operation, and 314 is a heating operation. An operation button 315 is a button for increasing the set temperature, and 316 is a button for decreasing the set temperature.

Here, the air conditioner 1 continues the automatic operation as shown in (b) of the figure even though the operation button 310 for instructing the operation stop is pressed. Then, a message indicating the reason why the automatic operation is being performed (in the example shown in the figure, “Cooling operation is being performed for heat stroke measures”) is displayed on the display unit 30 of the remote controller 3. Note that the content of the message to be displayed depends on the content of the automatic operation. For example, when ion generation operation is executed as automatic operation, “Ion generation operation is performed because of the environment where mold tends to multiply” and “Ion generation operation is performed because of the temperature and humidity environment where viruses are likely to survive. A message such as “I am going” is displayed.

Thus, when the air conditioner 1 starts automatic operation at its own discretion, even if a stop instruction is issued during the automatic operation, the air conditioner 1 continues the automatic operation without responding to the instruction. Instead, the air conditioner 1 outputs automatic operation information such as the above message indicating the purpose and reason for starting automatic operation to the user's own device or a peripheral device (remote control 3 in the example shown in the figure). To inform. Thereby, since the purpose and start reason of automatic driving are not known, even if the user gives an operation stop instruction, the automatic driving is not stopped.

If the user wants to stop the driving after confirming the driving reason, the user may press the operation button 310 for instructing the driving again. Thereby, an automatic driving | operation can be stopped.

[Main part configuration]
Next, the principal part structure of the air conditioner 1 is demonstrated based on FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a main configuration of the air conditioner 1. As illustrated, the air conditioner 1 is configured to be able to communicate with a remote controller 3 and a terminal device (output device) 5. In the figure, components not directly related to the present invention, for example, outdoor units, heat exchangers of the air conditioner 1, remote control 3, and communication units and control units of the terminal device 5 are not shown. .

The remote controller 3 is a device for remotely operating the air conditioner 1, and includes a display unit 30, an input unit 31, and an audio output unit 32. The display unit 30 is a device that displays information. In addition to displaying the set temperature and the like, as described with reference to FIG. 2, automatic operation information is also displayed. The input unit 31 receives an input operation on the remote controller 3, that is, an input operation for remotely operating the air conditioner 1, and the operation buttons 310 to 316 shown in FIG. 2 are components of the input unit 31. . The sound output unit 32 outputs sound, and the automatic driving information can be output from the sound output unit 32.

The terminal device 5 is a device that can communicate with the air conditioner 1 and includes a display / input unit 50 and an audio output unit 51. Since the terminal device 5 has a communication function with the air conditioner 1, the terminal device 5 has a function of generating a control command for the air conditioner 1 and is used as a remote operation device of the air conditioner 1. You can also

The display / input unit 50 has a function of displaying information and a function of accepting a user input operation to the terminal device 5, and may be a touch panel, for example. Of course, the terminal device 5 may include a display unit and an input unit separately instead of the display / input unit 50. The sound output unit 51 outputs sound. The air conditioner 1 can transmit instructions to the terminal device 5 and output automatic driving information from the display / input unit 50 or the voice output unit 51 of the terminal device 5. The terminal device 5 may be a device having only a function of outputting automatic driving information, or may be a device having other functions. For example, a portable information terminal such as a smartphone can be used as the terminal device 5. In this case, the user of the air conditioner 1 registers the device ID or the like of the desired terminal device 5 in the air conditioner 1 in advance so that information can be transmitted from the air conditioner 1 to the terminal device 5.

The air conditioner 1 includes a control unit 10 that controls each unit of the air conditioner 1 and a storage unit 11 that stores various data used by the air conditioner 1. The air conditioner 1 includes a temperature detector 12, a humidity detector 13, an input unit 14, a remote control communication unit 15, a wireless LAN communication unit 16, an ion generation unit 17, an outdoor unit communication unit 18, a blower fan 19, and a display unit. 20 and an audio output unit 21.

The temperature detector 12 detects the temperature of the air-conditioned space, and the humidity detector 13 detects the humidity of the air-conditioned space. During air conditioning and dehumidifying operation, the operation is controlled based on these detection results. Further, when the operation is stopped, it is determined whether or not to start the automatic operation based on these detection results.

The input unit 14 receives a user input operation on the air conditioner 1 and outputs it to the control unit 10. FIG. 2 shows an example in which the operation stop operation is performed from the remote controller 3, but it is also possible to perform the operation stop operation at the input unit 14, and in this case as well, as in the example of FIG. Automatic driving information indicating information is output.

The remote control communication unit 15 is for communicating with the remote control 3. As in the example of FIG. 2, when information is output to the remote controller 3 by control from the air conditioner 1, the remote controller communication unit 15 that can perform bidirectional communication is used. If it is not necessary to output information to the remote control 3, the remote control communication unit 15 for unidirectional communication may be used.

The wireless LAN communication unit 16 is for the air conditioner 1 to communicate with the terminal device 5. The air conditioner 1 only needs to be able to communicate with the terminal device 5, and the communication is not limited to that via a wireless LAN. Further, when the terminal device 5 does not need to be a target for outputting the automatic driving information (when the output from the main body of the remote controller 3 or the air conditioner 1 is sufficient), the wireless LAN communication unit 16 may be omitted. Good.

The ion generation unit 17 generates ions having a fungus growth inhibitory action in the air. The ions to be generated are not limited as long as they have at least an effect of inhibiting the growth of bacteria, and for example, positive and negative ions may be generated by plasma discharge.

Specifically, the ion generator 17 includes a positive discharge electrode and a negative discharge electrode, and applies a voltage having an AC waveform or an impulse waveform to these electrodes. Thereby, in the positive discharge electrode, hydrogen ions due to corona discharge are combined with moisture in the air, and positive ions mainly composed of H ⁺ (H ₂ O) m are generated. In the negative discharge electrode, oxygen ions generated by corona discharge are combined with moisture in the air to generate negative ions mainly composed of O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) n. Note that m and n are arbitrary natural numbers.

The positive and negative ions generated in this manner aggregate on the surface of airborne bacteria and odor components and surround them. Then, as shown in the following formulas (1) to (3), active species [· OH] (hydroxyl radical) and H ₂ O ₂ (hydrogen peroxide) are aggregated and formed on the surface of microorganisms or the like by collision. And destroy floating bacteria and odor components. These active species also destroy viruses and the like. Here, m ′ and n ′ are arbitrary natural numbers.
H ⁺ (H ₂ O) m + O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) n → OH + _1/2 O ₂ + (m + n) H ₂ O (1)
^{_{^{H + (H 2 O) m}}} + H + (H 2 O) m '+ O 2 - (H 2 O) n + O 2 - (H 2 O) n'
→ 2.OH + O ₂ + (m + m ′ + n + n ′) H ₂ O (2)
^{_{^{H + (H 2 O) m}}} + H + (H 2 O) m '+ O 2 - (H 2 O) n + O 2 - (H 2 O) n'
→ H ₂ O ₂ + O ₂ + (m + m ′ + n + n ′) H ₂ O (3)
The outdoor unit communication unit 18 is for communicating with an outdoor unit (not shown), and the control unit 10 controls the operation of the outdoor unit via the outdoor unit communication unit 18. The blower fan 19 sends airflow to the air-conditioned space.

The above-described ion generation operation is an operation in which ions are placed on an air current and sent to an air-conditioned space by driving the blower fan 19 while generating ions in the ion generation unit 17. The ion generation operation can be executed as an automatic operation or can be executed by a user operation.

As described above, the ions generated by the ion generator 17 have the action of destroying airborne bacteria, odor components, viruses, and the like. It can be carried out. The ions generated by the ion generator 17 may have at least one of a fungus growth inhibitory action and a virus survival inhibitory action.

Also, instead of generating positive and negative ions, only negative ions may be generated. Further, in the present invention, the ions include charged fine particle water. In this case, the ion generation part 17 produces | generates the charged fine particle water containing a radical component with an electrostatic atomizer. More specifically, the discharge electrode provided in the electrostatic atomizer is cooled by a Peltier element to generate condensed water on the surface of the discharge electrode, and then a negative high voltage is applied to the discharge electrode, thereby causing condensation. Generate charged fine particle water from water. When generating charged fine particle water, negative ions are also generated from the discharge electrode and released into the air.

The display unit 20 displays information according to the control of the control unit 10. The display unit 20 may display information depending on its lighting state, such as an LED light emitting unit, or may display information using characters or images, such as a liquid crystal display device. Good. The sound output unit 21 outputs sound according to the control of the control unit 10.

Further, the control unit 10 includes a fungus growth condition determination unit 100, a high temperature condition determination unit 101, an input reception unit 102, a remote control communication control unit 103, a wireless LAN communication control unit 104, an operation control unit 105, and an information presentation unit 106. include.

The fungus growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether or not a predetermined fungus growth condition is satisfied (whether or not an environment in which bacteria are likely to grow in the air-conditioned space or the air conditioner 1). The bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 may perform determination based only on the humidity detected by the humidity detector 13, or based on both the temperature detected by the temperature detector 12 and the humidity detected by the humidity detector 13. A determination may be made. For example, the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 may determine that the bacteria growth condition is satisfied if the humidity detected by the humidity detector 13 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, or the temperature detected by the temperature detector 12 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. If the humidity detected by the humidity detector 13 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, it may be determined that the bacteria growth condition is satisfied. Note that the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 may determine whether or not the temperature and humidity conditions at which the virus is likely to survive are satisfied.

The high temperature condition determination unit 101 determines whether or not a preset high temperature condition is satisfied. The high temperature condition determination unit 101 may perform determination based only on the temperature detected by the temperature detector 12, or may determine based on both the temperature detected by the temperature detector 12 and the humidity detected by the humidity detector 13. May be performed. For example, the high temperature condition determination unit 101 may determine that the high temperature condition is satisfied if the temperature detected by the temperature detector 12 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, or the temperature detected by the temperature detector 12 is equal to or higher than the predetermined value. If the humidity detected by the humidity detector 13 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, it may be determined that the high temperature condition is satisfied.

The input reception unit 102 transmits the content of the input operation received by the input unit 14 to the operation control unit 105. The remote control communication control unit 103 controls communication with the remote control 3 via the remote control communication unit 15. Specifically, the remote control communication control unit 103 transmits the contents of the input operation received by the remote control communication unit 15 to the operation control unit 105 and transmits a notification execution instruction to the remote control 3 according to the control of the information presentation unit 106. To do. The wireless LAN communication control unit 104 controls communication with the terminal device 5 via the wireless LAN communication unit 16. Specifically, the wireless LAN communication control unit 104 transmits the content of the input operation received by the wireless LAN communication unit 16 to the operation control unit 105 and instructs the remote control 3 to execute notification according to the control of the information presentation unit 106. Send.

The operation control unit 105 performs control related to the operation operation of the air conditioner 1, specifically, various operation start, control during operation, operation stop, and the like. The operation performed by the operation control unit 105 can be broadly classified into a normal operation executed in accordance with a user operation and an automatic operation executed based on the judgment of the air conditioner 1. One of the features of the operation control unit 105 is that when the user gives an instruction to stop operation during automatic operation, the automatic operation is continued without responding to the operation stop instruction, and the operation stop instruction is issued again. The point is to stop the automatic operation when it breaks.

In the present embodiment, the operation control unit 105 executes automatic operation when the bacteria growth condition is satisfied and when the high temperature condition is satisfied. Specifically, the operation control unit 105 performs the ion generation operation as an automatic operation when the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines that the bacteria growth condition is satisfied. In addition, when the high temperature condition determination unit 101 determines that the high temperature condition is satisfied, the cooling operation or the dehumidifying operation is performed as the automatic operation.

When the bacteria growth conditions and high temperature conditions are satisfied, instead of performing automatic operation, the user is notified that the bacteria growth conditions and high temperature conditions are satisfied, the necessity of automatic operation, etc. Execution such as operation and dehumidification operation may be promoted. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which a user can switch between the operation mode which performs automatic driving | running | working when a predetermined condition is satisfy | filled, and the operation mode which performs the alert | report which encourages driving | operation without performing automatic driving | operation.

When the information presentation unit 106 receives an operation stop instruction during the automatic operation, the information presentation unit 106 presents the automatic operation information indicating at least one of the purpose and the start reason of the automatic operation to the user of the air conditioner 1. Moreover, the information presentation part 106 presents the said user with the driving | operation switching information which alert | reports driving | operation switching, when the driving | operation switching instruction | indication is received during automatic driving | operation.

[Flow of processing (control method of air conditioner)]
Next, the flow of processing executed by the air conditioner 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed when any input operation is performed during the operation of the air conditioner 1.

The operation control unit 105 determines whether or not the input operation is an instruction to stop the operation when any input operation is performed on the air conditioner 1 (S101, reception step). The operation stop instruction may be given via the input unit 14 or may be given from the remote controller 3 or the terminal device 5. If it is determined that there is no operation stop instruction (FALSE in S101), the illustrated flow ends. On the other hand, when it is determined that an operation stop instruction has been issued (TRUE in S101), the operation control unit 105 determines whether automatic operation is being performed (S102).

If it is determined in S102 that automatic operation is not being performed, that is, normal operation such as air conditioning or dehumidification is being performed (FALSE in S102), the operation control unit 105 stops operation (S105), and the illustrated flow ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that automatic driving is being performed (TRUE in S102), the operation control unit 105 determines whether it is a first stop instruction (S103).

When it is determined in S103 that it is the first stop instruction (TRUE in S103), the operation control unit 105 continues automatic driving, and the information presenting unit 106 notifies the user of the driving reason (S104, notification step), thereby The illustrated flow ends. On the other hand, when it is determined that the instruction is to stop for the second time or later (FALSE in S103), the operation control unit 105 stops the operation (S105), and the illustrated flow ends.

In the process of S104, the user may be notified by outputting automatic operation information to at least one of the air conditioner 1, the remote controller 3, and the terminal device 5. Further, the output mode is not limited as long as it allows the user to recognize the automatic driving information, and may be display output, audio output, or a combination thereof. Good. And when outputting to a plurality of devices, or when outputting in a plurality of modes, the automatic driving information to be output to each device and the automatic driving information to be output in each mode may be the same or different. Good. For example, an outline of the reason for automatic driving (message indicating that automatic driving is being performed to prevent heat stroke, etc.) is output by voice, and details of the reason (current temperature and humidity, scheduled duration of automatic driving, etc.) ) May be displayed and output. As a result, the user can quickly recognize the outline by voice, and the detailed information can be confirmed carefully by display.

Further, in the process of S103, when the user performs the operation stop operation twice in succession, before the notification of S104 ends or before the user recognizes the notified content, There is a possibility of being stopped. For this reason, in S103, even if it is the second or later operation stop instruction, if it is before the display of the driving reason, it is determined to be TRUE, and the second or subsequent driving stop instruction is received during or after the display of the driving reason. May be determined to be FALSE. Similarly, if a second or subsequent operation stop instruction is received during or after the sound output of the driving reason, it is determined as FALSE, and even if the second or subsequent driving stop instruction is output, the sound of the driving reason is not output. May be determined as TRUE.

[Processing when instructions other than shutdown are issued]
Next, a flow of processing when an instruction other than operation stop, specifically, an instruction for switching operation is accepted during automatic operation will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process (an air conditioner control method) executed by the air conditioner 1 when an operation switching instruction is issued during automatic operation.

First, the operation control unit 105 starts automatic operation (S131). In addition, if the opportunity of performing the process of S131 is satisfactory for the bacteria growth condition, the ion generation operation is started, and if the high temperature condition is satisfied, the cooling operation or the dehumidifying operation is started. Next, the operation control unit 105 determines whether or not an operation stop instruction has been received (S132, reception step). Here, if it is determined that it has not been accepted (FALSE in S132), the illustrated flow ends. If it is determined that it has been accepted (TRUE in S132), the process proceeds to S133.

In S133, the operation control unit 105 determines whether or not it is a first stop instruction, and when it is determined that it is not the first stop instruction (FALSE in S133), the operation control unit 105 stops the automatic operation (S139). ), The illustrated flow ends. On the other hand, when it determines with it being the first stop instruction | indication (it is TRUE at S133), the driving | operation control part 105 continues automatic driving | operation, and the information presentation part 106 alert | reports a driving reason to a user (S134, alerting | reporting step). These processes are the same as in the example of FIG.

Here, in the example of FIG. 4, during the automatic operation, the operation control unit 105 determines whether or not there is an instruction to start another type of operation, that is, an operation switching instruction (S135). For example, when the automatic operation being performed is an ion generation operation, it is determined that an operation switching instruction has been issued when an instruction to start an air conditioning operation such as a cooling operation, a heating operation, or a dehumidifying operation is performed. Similarly, when the automatic operation being performed is a cooling operation, it is determined that an operation switching instruction has been issued when a start instruction such as a dehumidifying operation is performed. Note that the same type of operation start instruction may also be determined as an operation switching instruction. For example, when a cooling operation is being performed as an automatic operation and a cooling operation start instruction is received, it may be determined that an instruction to switch to a cooling operation as a normal operation executed according to a user operation is received. This is because the automatic operation and the normal operation have different stop conditions (the automatic operation automatically stops when the conditions are no longer satisfied).

If it is determined that there is no operation switching instruction (FALSE in S135), the process returns to S132. On the other hand, if it is determined that there has been a driving switching instruction (TRUE in S135), the information presenting unit 106 ends the driving reason notification started in S134, and the driving control unit 105 stops automatic driving (S136).

Then, the operation control unit 105 starts another type of operation, that is, an operation instructed to switch (S137), and the information presentation unit 106 notifies the user that the operation has been switched (S138), thereby This flow ends. The operation switching notification may be performed in such a manner that the user can recognize that the operation switching has been performed, and can be performed in the same manner as the operation reason notification. For example, operation switching information indicating the end of automatic operation and the start of operation after switching, such as “end automatic operation and start heating operation”, is provided for the air conditioner 1, the remote controller 3, and the terminal device 5. At least one of them may be output. Moreover, the output aspect of driving | operation switching information is not specifically limited, For example, a display output may be sufficient, an audio | voice output may be sufficient, and both may be used together. And when making it output to a some aspect or a some output device, the content of each output may be the same and may differ.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which an operation switching instruction is given after the driving reason notification start (S134), but also when an operation switching instruction is given before the driving reason notification. The processes of S135 to S138 in the example of FIG. 4 are performed. However, in this case, since the driving reason is not notified, the process of ending the driving reason notification is omitted in S136, and only the automatic driving is stopped.

[Limitation on duration of notification]
Limits may be provided for the duration of the notification that presents the automatic driving information. Moreover, the opportunity of presentation of automatic driving information is not restricted to the driving | operation stop instruction | indication like the above-mentioned example, For example, you may show by having started automatic driving | operation. These examples will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of processing (control method of the air conditioner) when notification is started at the start of automatic operation and a restriction is provided on the duration of the notification.

First, the operation control unit 105 starts automatic operation (S151). Note that the process of S151 is the same as the process of S131 of FIG. 4 and starts an ion generation operation, a cooling operation, or the like according to the satisfied conditions. Moreover, the information presentation part 106 alert | reports to a user the driving reason of automatic driving | operation (S152). Specifically, the information presentation unit 106 displays the automatic driving information on at least one of the display unit 20 of the air conditioner 1, the display unit 30 of the remote controller 3, and the display / input unit 50 of the terminal device 5 (or The reason for driving is notified. Thus, when it is set as the structure which alert | reports a driving | running reason by the start of automatic driving | operation, a user can confirm the reason of automatic driving | operation, without operating the air conditioner 1 via the remote control 3 or the terminal device 5. There is an advantage.

Next, the operation control unit 105 determines whether or not an operation stop instruction has been received (S153). Here, when it is determined that it has been accepted (TRUE in S153), the operation control unit 105 stops the automatic operation, and the information presenting unit 106 ends the operation reason notification, that is, the display of the automatic operation information. Thereby, the illustrated process ends.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the operation stop instruction has not been received (S153: FALSE), the operation control unit 105 continues automatic operation, and the information presenting unit 106 starts notification in S152, and then a predetermined time has elapsed. It is determined whether or not (S155). If it is determined that the time has not elapsed (FALSE in S155), the process returns to S153. On the other hand, when it determines with having passed (it is TRUE in S155), the information presentation part 106 complete | finishes the alerting | reporting of a driving reason, ie, the display of automatic driving | operation information (S156). Thus, in the example of FIG. 5, the duration of the notification is limited to a predetermined time. Thereby, since the display time of automatic driving information can be shortened, the electric power consumption concerning a display can be suppressed. In particular, when automatic driving information is displayed on a battery-driven device such as the remote controller 3 or the terminal device 5, it is preferable because consumption of these batteries can be suppressed. The predetermined time is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, 1 minute.

Thereafter, the information presenting unit 106 enters a standby state for an operation stop instruction (S157, reception step). When the operation stop instruction is received (TRUE in S157), the operation control unit 105 resumes the operation reason notification, and the operation control unit 105 continues the automatic operation without responding to the operation stop instruction (S158, Notification step). As described above, in the example of FIG. 5, when the operation stop instruction is given after the notification is completed, the operation reason notification is resumed and the automatic operation is continued. Thereby, when a user other than the user who has received the notification of the driving reason in S152 gives an instruction to stop driving, the other user can be made to recognize the reason for the automatic driving and the other user However, it is possible to prevent the automatic driving from being stopped without knowing the reason for the automatic driving.

After restarting the driving reason notification, the process returns to S153. Therefore, if the stop instruction is not issued within a predetermined time after restarting the driving reason notification (FALSE in S153, TRUE in S155), the driving reason notification is ended again (S156). On the other hand, if the stop instruction is given within a predetermined time after resuming the driving reason notification (TRUE in S153), the automatic driving is stopped (S154).

In addition, although the example which complete | finishes alerting | reporting after predetermined time from alerting | reporting start was shown in FIG. 5, when the alerting | reporting of the operation reason was started on the occasion of the start of automatic driving | operation, the alerting | reporting of the reason of driving was started by another opportunity In this case, the notification may be terminated after a predetermined time from the start of notification. In the above description, the example in which the automatic driving information is continuously displayed for a predetermined time from the start of the notification has been described. However, the automatic driving information may be displayed intermittently (for example, every few seconds). Moreover, although the example which displays automatic driving | operation information was demonstrated above, you may output by audio | voice. In this case, the automatic driving information may be intermittently output for a predetermined time from the start of notification, and the audio output may be terminated when the predetermined time has elapsed.

Further, in FIG. 5, after starting the automatic operation, the operation reason notification is started, but the operation reason notification may be started simultaneously with the start of the automatic operation, or after the execution of the automatic operation is determined, The notification of the driving reason may be started before the automatic driving is started.

[Embodiment 2]
The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which the user is prompted to perform an ion generation operation without performing an automatic operation when an environmental condition (bacterial growth condition) in which mold and bacteria are likely to be generated and propagated. In addition, you may perform the process which accelerates | stimulates ion generation driving | operation, when it becomes an environmental condition where a virus tends to survive. Moreover, the air conditioner 1 of this embodiment can also perform an automatic driving | operation (ion generation | occurrence | production driving | operation) when it becomes bacteria growth conditions by switching operation mode. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those described in the embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

〔Overview〕
First, the outline | summary of the air conditioner 1 of this embodiment is demonstrated based on FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an outline of the operation of the air conditioner 1. As shown to (a) of the figure, the air conditioner 1 is in a high-temperature and high-humidity state at least one of the air-conditioned space and its own machine during operation stop (the fungus growth condition is Is satisfied).

And as shown to (b) of the figure, the air conditioner 1 performs alerting | reporting which encourages execution of an ion generation driving | operation. More specifically, the air conditioner 1 outputs a voice message prompting execution of the ion generation operation, and the remote controller 3 displays and outputs a message indicating the ion generation operation start method. Accordingly, it is possible to make the user recognize that it is preferable to perform the ion generation operation, and to quickly start the ion generation operation using the remote controller 3. By starting the ion generation operation, generation and growth of mold and fungi and virus survival in at least one of the air-conditioned space and the air conditioner 1 can be suppressed, and a clean environment can be maintained. can do.

[Flow of processing (control method of air conditioner)]
Next, the flow of processing executed by the air conditioner 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by the air conditioner 1. First, the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether or not the operation is stopped (S201). If the operation is in operation (FALSE in S201), the illustrated process ends.

On the other hand, if the operation is stopped (S201: TRUE), the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether the humidity value output by the humidity detector 13 is equal to or higher than H% (S202). In addition, the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether or not the temperature value output by the temperature detector 12 is equal to or higher than T ° C. (S203). In addition, what is necessary is just to set the value of H to the lower limit of the humidity from which a microbe tends to grow, for example, 70 is good. Similarly, the value of T may be set to the lower limit value of the temperature at which the bacteria easily grow, and may be set to 20, for example.

If it is determined as TRUE in both S202 and S203, the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines that the bacteria growth conditions are satisfied, and notifies the information presentation unit 106 and the operation control unit 105 to that effect. Receiving this notification, the information presenting unit 106 presents the ion generation operation recommendation information to the user, and performs a notification prompting the execution of the ion generation operation (S204).

The notification mode may be any type that allows the user to recognize that the user is prompted to perform the ion generation operation. For example, when the air conditioner 1 is provided with a light emitting unit (for example, an LED light emitting unit) indicating an ion generation operation, the above notification may be performed by turning on or blinking the light emitting unit. In this case, causing the light emitting unit to emit light corresponds to displaying the ion generation operation recommendation information. Further, similarly to the notification of the reason for operation in the first embodiment, a message (ion generation operation recommendation information) prompting the execution of the ion generation operation to at least one of the air conditioner 1, the remote controller 3, and the terminal device 5 is displayed and output. You may output by audio | voice output or both. In addition, when making it output to several aspects or several output apparatuses, the content of each output may be the same and may differ.

Next, the operation control unit 105 determines whether or not an instruction to start the ion generation operation has been received (S205). Here, when it is determined that an instruction to start the ion generation operation has not been received (FALSE in S205), the operation control unit 105 starts supplying ions into the indoor unit, that is, inside the air conditioner 1 (S209). . That is, the air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment supplies ions to the inside of the air conditioner 1 while performing notification that prompts the execution of the ion generation operation.

Specifically, the operation control unit 105 generates ions inside the air conditioner 1 by rotating the blower fan 19 in a direction opposite to the direction of blowing air to the air-conditioned space while generating ions in the ion generation unit 17. To supply ions. Thereby, even if it is a period until a user gives a start instruction | indication of an ion generation driving | operation, or the case where the start instruction | indication of an ion generation driving | operation is not performed, the proliferation of the microbe inside the air conditioner 1 can be suppressed.

After starting the supply of ions to the inside of the air conditioner 1, the illustrated process is temporarily terminated, and then the process of S201 is started again. In this case, the ion generation operation for the inside of the air conditioner 1 is being performed, but since this operation is different from the normal ion generation operation for releasing ions to the air-conditioned space, the operation is stopped in S201 (TRUE). judge.

In subsequent S202, the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether or not the humidity is H% or higher. Here, when it is determined that the humidity is less than H% (FALSE in S202), the information presenting unit 106 stops the notification for prompting the ion generation operation (S207). In addition, the operation control unit 105 stops the ion supply by the ion generation unit 17 (S208), and also stops the driving of the blower fan 19 to end the ion generation operation, whereby the illustrated process ends.

When it is determined in S202 that the humidity is equal to or higher than H% (TRUE in S202), the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether the temperature is equal to or higher than T ° C (S203). The process proceeds to S207 described above. On the other hand, if the temperature is equal to or higher than T ° C., the notification by the information presentation unit 106 is continued (S204), and whether or not there is an instruction to start the ion generation operation is confirmed in S205.

Here, when it is determined that the instruction to start the ion generation operation has not been received (FALSE in S205), the process proceeds to S209, and the ion generation operation for the inside of the air conditioner 1 is continued. Note that an upper limit may be provided for the duration of the ion generation operation for the inside of the air conditioner 1, and the operation may be stopped when the ion generation operation is continued for 60 minutes, for example.

On the other hand, when it is determined that an instruction to start the ion generation operation has been received (TRUE in S205), the operation control unit 105 ends the operation of supplying ions into the air conditioner 1, and enters the air-conditioned space. Release of ions is started (S206). Specifically, the operation control unit 105 reverses the rotation direction of the blower fan 19 and discharges the ions generated by the ion generation unit 17 to the air-conditioned space by the airflow generated by the blower fan 19. That is, the operation control unit 105 starts a normal ion generation operation, and the process shown in FIG.

In addition, the mode of the operation (operation started in S209) for suppressing the growth of bacteria inside the air conditioner 1 is not limited to the above example. For example, by performing a short circuit operation in which the air flow blown from the blower fan 19 is sucked into the air conditioner 1 from the heat exchanger while generating ions in the ion generating unit 17, the ions are introduced into the air conditioner 1. May be supplied.

Here, the operation for suppressing the growth of bacteria inside the air conditioner 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an operation for suppressing the growth of bacteria inside the air conditioner 1. In the figure, the airflow is indicated by arrows. As shown in the figure, a blower fan 19 and an ion generator 17 are disposed inside the air conditioner 1, and a heat exchanger 22 is disposed so as to surround the blower fan 19. In addition, an airflow panel 23 that covers the air outlet is provided at the air outlet from the air conditioner 1.

As shown in FIG. 8A, while the ions are generated from the ion generator 17, the air blower fan 19 is reversely rotated while the air outlet panel is closed by the air flow panel 23, thereby surrounding the heat exchanger 22. The airflow can be circulated through the air conditioner 1 to diffuse the ions inside the air conditioner 1.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, the air flow generated by the blower fan 19 is moved from the outlet to the outside of the air conditioner 1 by switching the blower fan 19 to forward rotation and opening the airflow panel 23. Flow out. Thereby, ions can be diffused in the air-conditioned space (corresponding to the process of S206).

And (c) of the figure shows an example of the above-mentioned short circuit operation. As shown in the figure, the degree of opening of the airflow panel 23 is made smaller than in the case of FIG. 5B so that the airflow generated by the blower fan 19 rises along the outer surface of the air conditioner 1. I have to. That is, when short circuit operation is performed, the operation control unit 105 controls the degree of opening of the airflow panel 23. As a result, the air flow rising along the outer surface of the air conditioner 1 is sucked into the air conditioner 1 from above the heat exchanger 22, so that ions can be diffused inside the air conditioner 1. .

Note that after the start of the ion generation operation, the same processing as in the first embodiment may be performed. That is, when an operation for instructing the operation stop is performed after the ion generation operation is started, the reason for starting the ion generation operation may be notified and the ion generation operation may be continued. And when operation which instruct | indicates a driving | operation stop is performed after alerting | reporting, you may stop an ion generation driving | operation.

However, in this embodiment, since the user instructs the start of the ion generation operation, if there is a stop instruction immediately after the start of the ion generation operation, there is a high possibility that the instruction is from the user. Therefore, when a stop instruction is given until a predetermined time (for example, 10 minutes) has elapsed after the start of the ion generation operation, the ion generation operation may be stopped. And when operation which instruct | indicates operation stop is performed after the said predetermined time passes, the reason which started ion generation operation may be alert | reported and ion generation operation may be continued. Thereby, it is possible to prevent a user other than the user who started the ion generation operation from stopping the automatic operation without knowing the reason for the automatic operation.

In the above example, an example is described in which both the temperature and humidity values are used as the bacteria growth conditions. However, only the humidity value may be used as the bacteria growth conditions. In this case, for example, if the detected humidity value is 70% or more, it may be determined that the bacteria growth condition is satisfied regardless of the temperature condition. In addition, since the humidity at which bacteria are likely to survive differs depending on the temperature, it is determined whether the environment is likely to survive at each temperature using a table corresponding to the humidity at which bacteria are likely to survive at each temperature. It may be. In this way, it is possible to determine an environment in which bacteria are more likely to survive.

In the above example, the processing when the bacteria growth conditions are satisfied is shown. However, the same processing as described above may be performed when the conditions under which the virus is likely to survive are satisfied. In this case, in S202 and S203, it is determined whether or not a condition that the virus can easily survive is satisfied. Since viruses tend to survive at low temperatures and dryness, for example, whether or not the humidity is H% or less is determined in S202, and whether or not the temperature is T ° C or less is determined in S203. In this case, H may be 50, for example, and T may be 20, for example. Also, because the humidity at which viruses tend to survive differs depending on the temperature, use a table that maps the humidity at which viruses tend to survive at each temperature to determine whether the environment is likely to survive at each temperature. It may be. In this way, it is possible to determine the environment in which the virus is likely to survive more finely. This makes it possible to appropriately perform ion generation operation in the winter season when viruses such as influenza are prevalent, and to create an indoor environment in which the user is less likely to be infected with such viruses.

[Embodiment 3]
Another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, an example in which an ion generation operation is performed as an automatic operation when the bacteria growth conditions are satisfied will be described. As in the second embodiment, the ion generation operation may be performed as an automatic operation when the conditions under which the virus is likely to survive are satisfied. In addition, the air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment performs an operation mode switching to notify that the ion generation operation is promoted without performing the automatic operation when the bacteria growth condition or the condition that the virus is likely to survive is satisfied. It is also possible to do so. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those described in the embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

〔Overview〕
First, the outline | summary of the air conditioner 1 of this embodiment is demonstrated based on FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an outline of the operation of the air conditioner 1. As shown to (a) of the figure, the air conditioner 1 is in a high-temperature and high-humidity state at least one of the air-conditioned space and its own machine during operation stop (the fungus growth condition is Is satisfied).

And as shown to (b) of the figure, the air conditioner 1 alert | reports that the ion generation operation is started. More specifically, the air conditioner 1 outputs a voice message indicating that the ion generation operation is started and the reason for the start, and the terminal device 5 starts the ion generation operation in the living air conditioner, that is, the air conditioner 1. A message to that effect is displayed and output.

This allows a user who is near the air conditioner 1 (who can hear the sound output from the air conditioner 1) to recognize that the ion generation operation is started and the reason. Moreover, if it is the user who has the terminal device 5, even if it is not near the air conditioner 1, it can be made to recognize that the ion generating operation is started in the air conditioner 1, and the reason. .

Furthermore, in the air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment, the ion generation operation is executed as an automatic operation (executed without user operation). Therefore, the user can suppress the generation / growth of mold and bacteria in the air-conditioned space without performing any operation, and can maintain a clean environment.

Also, the ion generation operation executed as an automatic operation does not involve a cycle operation that operates the compressor of the outdoor unit. For this reason, power consumption is very small compared with operation | movement, such as air conditioning which operates the compressor of an outdoor unit. Therefore, the amount of power consumption is not significantly increased by automatic operation.

[Flow of processing (control method of air conditioner)]
Next, the flow of processing executed by the air conditioner 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by the air conditioner 1. First, the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether or not the normal operation is being performed (S301). If the normal operation is being performed (TRUE in S301), the illustrated process ends.

On the other hand, if the operation is stopped or automatic operation is being performed (FALSE in S301), the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether the humidity value output by the humidity detector 13 is equal to or higher than H%. (S302). In addition, the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether or not the temperature value output by the temperature detector 12 is equal to or higher than T ° C. (S303).

If it is determined to be TRUE in both S302 and S303, the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines that the bacteria growth conditions are satisfied, and notifies the information presentation unit 106 and the operation control unit 105 to that effect. The information presenting unit 106 that has received this notification determines whether or not automatic operation (specifically, ion generation operation) is stopped (S304).

Here, when it is determined that it is being executed (FALSE in S304), the operation control unit 105 continues the ion generation operation (S306), and the illustrated process ends. On the other hand, when it determines with stopping (S304TRUE), the information presentation part 106 alert | reports to a user that an ion generation driving | operation is started (S305), and the operation control part 105 starts an ion generation driving | operation (S306).

The mode of notification in S305 may be any as long as the user can recognize that the ion generation operation is started. For example, when the air conditioner 1 is provided with a light emitting unit (for example, an LED light emitting unit) indicating the start of the ion generation operation, the above notification may be performed by turning on or blinking the light emitting unit. Similarly to the notification of the operation reason of the first embodiment, a message indicating the start of the ion generation operation is output to at least one of the air conditioner 1, the remote controller 3, and the terminal device 5 by display output, sound output, or both. You may let them. In addition, when making it output to several aspects or several output apparatuses, the content of each output may be the same and may differ.

After starting the ion generation operation, the illustrated process is temporarily terminated, and then the process of S301 is started again. In this case, since the ion generation operation is being performed as the automatic operation, it is determined as FALSE in S301. In subsequent S302, the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether the humidity is equal to or higher than H%. Here, when it is determined that the humidity is less than H% (FALSE in S302), the operation control unit 105 stops the ion supply by the ion generation unit 17 and also stops the driving of the blower fan 19. The ion generation operation is stopped (S307). As a result, the illustrated process ends.

When it is determined in S302 that the humidity is equal to or higher than H% (TRUE in S302), the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether the temperature is equal to or higher than T ° C (S303). The process proceeds to S307 described above. On the other hand, if the temperature is equal to or higher than T ° C., the process proceeds to S304, and it is determined as TRUE in S304. In continuing S305, the information presentation part 106 may alert | report that the ion generation driving | operation has started, or the driving | running start reason, and if already alert | reported, you may abbreviate | omit notification. Then, the operation control unit 105 continues the ion generation operation.

In the above example, an example has been described in which both the temperature and humidity values are used as the bacteria growth condition. However, only the humidity value may be used as the bacteria growth condition. In the above example, the ion generation operation is started in S306 after S305 for informing the start of the ion generation operation. However, the processing in S305 and the processing in S306 may be performed simultaneously, or the processing in S306 is performed. You may go first. In addition to this, for example, in S305 for notifying the start of the ion generation operation, if the ion generation operation is unnecessary, a notification is made to prompt the user to stop the operation, and if there is no stop operation within a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute). , A configuration for proceeding to the processing of S306 may be adopted.

Further, after the start of the ion generation operation, the same processing as in the first embodiment may be performed. That is, when an operation for instructing the operation stop is performed after the ion generation operation is started, the reason for starting the ion generation operation may be notified and the ion generation operation may be continued. And when operation which instruct | indicates a driving | operation stop is performed after alerting | reporting, you may stop an ion generation driving | operation.

However, in this embodiment, since the notification is made at the start of the ion generation operation, if there is a stop instruction immediately after the start of the ion generation operation, the user who gives the instruction receives the notification of the start of the ion generation operation. There is a high possibility. Therefore, when a stop instruction is given until a predetermined time (for example, 10 minutes) has elapsed after the start of the ion generation operation, the ion generation operation may be stopped. And when operation which instruct | indicates operation stop is performed after the said predetermined time passes, the reason which started ion generation operation may be alert | reported and ion generation operation may be continued. In this case, during the predetermined time, the display indicating that the ion generation operation has started may be continued.

[Modification]
In each of the above embodiments, as an example of the automatic operation, the ion generation operation when the bacteria growth condition is satisfied and the cooling operation or the dehumidification operation when the high temperature condition is satisfied are described. And the content is not limited to these examples. For example, when the humidity is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the dehumidifying operation may be performed as an automatic operation. Further, when the bacteria growth conditions are satisfied, dehumidifying operation or cooling operation may be performed while generating ions. In this case, the power consumption is larger than that of the above-described ion generation operation, but it becomes possible to quickly eliminate the bacteria growth conditions. In addition, for example, when the air conditioner 1 has a humidification function, the humidification operation may be performed as an automatic operation when the drying condition (for example, the humidity is equal to or less than a predetermined value).

Moreover, the air conditioner 1 may be provided with a function for detecting the presence / absence of the user in the air-conditioned space, and it may be determined whether or not the automatic operation is necessary depending on the presence / absence of the user. May be executed.

[Example of software implementation]
The control block (especially the control unit 10) of the air conditioner 1 may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit). It may be realized by.

In the latter case, the air conditioner 1 includes a CPU that executes instructions of a program that is software for realizing each function, and a ROM (Read Memory) in which the program and various data are recorded so as to be readable by the computer (or CPU). Alternatively, a storage device (these are referred to as “recording media”), a RAM (Random Access Memory) for expanding the program, and the like are provided. And the objective of this invention is achieved when a computer (or CPU) reads the said program from the said recording medium and runs it. As the recording medium, a “non-temporary tangible medium” such as a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like can be used. The program may be supplied to the computer via an arbitrary transmission medium (such as a communication network or a broadcast wave) that can transmit the program. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

[Summary]
An air conditioner according to aspect 1 of the present invention is an air conditioner 1 that detects that a predetermined condition is satisfied and starts automatic operation, and when an operation stop instruction is received during automatic operation, The information presenting unit 106 presenting automatic driving information indicating at least one of the purpose and the reason for starting automatic driving, and the automatic driving is continued without responding to the driving stop instruction triggered by the presentation of the automatic driving information. The operation control unit 105 is provided.

According to the above configuration, when an operation stop instruction is received during automatic operation, automatic operation information indicating at least one of the purpose and start reason of the automatic operation is presented. Therefore, the user recognizes at least one of the purpose of automatic driving that the user tried to stop and the reason for starting, and the anxiety and annoyance caused by the start of the automatic driving when the user is not performing the operation. Can be reduced. Further, according to the above configuration, since the automatic operation is continued without responding to the operation stop instruction that triggered the presentation of the automatic operation information, the purpose of the automatic operation and the reason for the start are not known. Even if you do, automatic operation will not be stopped.

In other words, according to the above configuration, the user can recognize the purpose and reason for starting automatic driving, and the automatic driving is stopped without knowing the purpose and reason for starting automatic driving, thereby achieving the purpose of automatic driving. There is an effect that can be prevented from being lost.

The air conditioner according to aspect 2 of the present invention is the air conditioner according to aspect 1, wherein the operation control unit ends the period during which the automatic operation information is being presented by the information presentation unit and the presentation of the automatic operation information. The automatic operation may be stopped when an operation stop instruction is received again during at least one of the periods until the predetermined time elapses.

Here, if it is a period during which the automatic driving information is being presented or a period from when the presentation of the automatic driving information is completed until a predetermined time elapses, the user recognizes the purpose and reason for starting automatic driving by the above presentation. It is thought that. That is, there is a high possibility that the operation stop instruction in each of the above periods is made after recognizing the purpose and reason for starting automatic operation.

Therefore, according to the above configuration, the operation stop instruction is issued again during at least one of the period during which the automatic driving information is being presented and the period after the presentation of the automatic driving information has ended. When it is accepted, automatic operation is stopped. Therefore, after recognizing the purpose of automatic driving and the reason for starting, while preventing the automatic driving from being stopped without knowing the purpose of automatic driving and the reason for starting, the air conditioner follows the operation stop instruction. By not having it, it is possible to prevent the user from feeling troublesome.

In the air conditioner according to aspect 3 of the present invention, in the above aspect 1 or 2, the information presentation unit communicates with the air conditioner, the air conditioner remote control device (remote control 3), and the air conditioner. The automatic driving information may be displayed and displayed on at least one of the possible predetermined output devices (terminal device 5).

According to the above configuration, the automatic operation information is displayed and presented on at least one of the air conditioner, the remote control device, and the predetermined output device that can communicate with the air conditioner. Therefore, it is possible to make the user who sees the display of at least one of the air conditioner, the remote control device, and the output device recognize the purpose and reason for starting automatic driving.

The air conditioner according to aspect 4 of the present invention is the air conditioner according to any one of the aspects 1 to 3, wherein the information presentation unit can communicate with the air conditioner, the remote control device for the air conditioner, and the air conditioner. The automatic driving information may be output as audio and presented to at least one of the predetermined output devices.

According to the above configuration, the automatic operation information is voice-outputted and presented to at least one of the air conditioner, the remote control device, and the predetermined output device that can communicate with the air conditioner. Therefore, it is possible to make the user who has heard the audio output of at least one of the air conditioner, the remote control device, and the output device recognize the purpose and reason for starting automatic driving.

The air conditioner according to aspect 5 of the present invention is the air conditioner according to any one of the aspects 1 to 4, wherein the operation control unit stops the automatic operation when an operation switching instruction is received during automatic operation, It is good also as a structure which switches driving | operation.

According to the above configuration, when an operation switching instruction is received during automatic operation, automatic operation is stopped and operation is switched. Therefore, unlike the case where the operation stop instruction is issued during the automatic operation, the operation is switched according to the user's instruction, so that the user is not stressed. The operation to be switched may be an operation executed based on a user instruction, and may be, for example, a cooling operation, a heating operation, or a dehumidifying operation.

In the air conditioner according to aspect 6 of the present invention, in the aspect 5, the information presentation unit presents operation switching information for informing operation switching when an operation switching instruction is received during automatic operation. It is good.

According to the above configuration, when the operation start instruction is received, the operation switching information for informing the operation switching is presented. Therefore, it is possible to make the user recognize that automatic driving has been performed and that switching of driving has been performed as instructed.

The air conditioner according to aspect 7 of the present invention is the air conditioner according to any one of the aspects 1 to 6, wherein the information presentation unit starts the presentation of the automatic driving information and does not give an instruction to stop driving within a predetermined time. The present invention may be configured to end the presentation of the automatic driving information.

According to the above configuration, after starting the presentation of the automatic driving information, if there is no instruction to stop driving within a predetermined time, the presentation of the automatic driving information is terminated. Therefore, the purpose and start reason of the automatic driving are recognized based on the presented automatic driving information, and there is no waste of continuously presenting the automatic driving information to the user who does not intend to stop the automatic driving. . For example, when the automatic driving information is presented by outputting to a device driven by a battery such as a remote controller or a terminal device, it is possible to prevent the batteries of these devices from being wasted.

In the air conditioner according to aspect 8 of the present invention, in the aspect 7, when the operation stop instruction is received after the presentation of the automatic operation information is completed, the operation control unit continues the automatic operation, and the information The presenting unit may be configured to resume presenting the automatic driving information.

Here, as in the above aspect 7, when there is no operation stop instruction within a predetermined time and the presentation of the automatic operation information is terminated, the automatic operation is performed and the automatic operation information is not presented. . For this reason, there is a possibility that another user different from the user who has previously issued the operation stop instruction may perform the operation stop operation without knowing the purpose of the automatic operation or the reason for starting.

Therefore, according to the above configuration, when the stop instruction of the automatic driving is received after the presentation of the automatic driving information is completed, the automatic driving is continued and the presentation of the automatic driving information is resumed. Thereby, it is possible to cause other users to recognize the purpose and the reason for starting the automatic driving, and it is possible to prevent the automatic driving from being stopped without recognizing the purpose and the starting reason.

The air conditioner according to aspect 9 of the present invention is the air conditioner according to any one of the aspects 1 to 8, wherein the information presentation unit starts presenting the automatic driving information when automatic driving is started, and then If there is no instruction to stop driving within the time, the presentation of the automatic driving information is terminated, and when the driving stop instruction is received after the completion of the presentation of the automatic driving information, the information presentation unit presents the automatic driving information. The operation control unit may resume the automatic operation without responding to the operation stop instruction.

According to the above configuration, the automatic driving information is presented when automatic driving is started. Therefore, the user can recognize the purpose and the reason for starting the automatic driving after the start of the automatic driving without issuing the operation stop instruction.

In addition, according to the above configuration, the automatic driving information presentation ends if there is no instruction to stop the driving within a predetermined time, so that the automatic driving information is not continuously presented unnecessarily. Furthermore, according to said structure, when driving | operation stop instruction | indication is received after completion | finish of presentation of automatic driving | operation information, presentation of automatic driving | operation information is restarted and automatic driving | operation is continued. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user who notices that the automatic driving is being performed after the completion of the presentation of the automatic driving information from stopping the automatic driving without knowing the purpose and the start reason of the automatic driving. .

By the way, due to the influence of the season and the weather, the environment inside the room and the air conditioner may become an environment where fungi such as molds are likely to grow. If left in such an environmental condition, there is a problem that the bacteria grow and bacteria and spores diffuse into the room during operation of the air conditioner, thereby deteriorating the indoor sanitary environment. Moreover, there exists a problem that it becomes easy to be infected with viruses, such as influenza, in the low temperature dry environment where a virus tends to survive.

Here, Patent Document 2 mentioned above discloses a technique for preventing heat stroke and the like by automatically notifying the user to start operation when the room temperature and humidity are in a high temperature zone. However, the operation for preventing heat stroke is a cooling operation or the like, and it is difficult to prevent the growth of bacteria and the infection with viruses in such an operation. The invention according to aspect 10 has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an air conditioner that can prevent the growth of bacteria and infection with viruses.

The air conditioner according to the tenth aspect of the present invention is the ion generator 17 according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, wherein the ion generating unit 17 generates in the air ions having at least one of a fungus growth inhibitory action and a virus survival inhibitory action. The information presenting unit includes ion generation operation recommendation information that prompts the start of an ion generation operation for blowing air while generating ions in the ion generation unit when it is detected that a predetermined environmental condition has been reached. It is good also as a composition to present.

According to the above configuration, the ion generation operation recommendation information that prompts the start of the ion generation operation is presented when the predetermined environmental condition is detected. Therefore, the user can recognize that it is a desirable environmental condition to perform the ion generation operation, and the ion generation operation can be executed at the user's intention, thereby preventing the growth of bacteria. In addition, this allows the air-conditioned space to be kept clean.

Note that the predetermined environmental condition may be determined according to the action of ions to be generated. For example, when the ions to be generated have a fungus growth-inhibiting action, the above-mentioned predetermined environmental condition may be an environmental condition in which the fungus is likely to grow. Similarly, when the ions to be generated have an activity of suppressing the survival of the virus of the bacterium, the environmental conditions in which the virus can easily survive may be set as the predetermined environmental conditions, and both of these functions are provided. In some cases, both of the above environmental conditions may be set as the predetermined environmental conditions.

The air conditioner according to aspect 11 of the present invention is the air conditioner according to aspect 10, wherein the operation control unit generates ions in the ion generation unit while presenting the ion generation operation recommendation information, and air currents in the air-conditioned space. It is good also as a structure which supplies ion to the inside of the said air conditioner by reversely rotating the ventilation fan which sends out.

According to the above configuration, the ions are supplied to the inside of the air conditioner by rotating the blower fan 19 in reverse while generating ions during presentation of the ion generation operation recommendation information. Therefore, even when the user is not aware of the recommended ion generation operation recommendation information or when the user is not in the air-conditioned space, the inside of the air conditioner can prevent the growth of bacteria, thereby reducing the air-conditioned space. It can be kept clean. Moreover, when the ion to generate | occur | produces has the survival inhibitory effect of a virus, survival of a virus can be prevented.

The air conditioner according to aspect 12 of the present invention is the air conditioner according to aspect 10, in which the operation control unit causes the ion generation unit to release ions while presenting the ion generation operation recommendation information, and the air flow in the air-conditioned space. It is good also as a structure which supplies ion to the inside of the said air conditioner by performing the short circuit operation | movement which suck | inhales the airflow which blown out from the ventilation fan 19 which sends out the inside of the said air conditioner.

According to said structure, since ion is supplied to the inside of an air conditioner by performing short circuit operation | movement, releasing ion during presentation of ion generation operation recommendation information, there exists an effect similar to the said aspect 11. FIG. .

The air conditioner according to aspect 13 of the present invention is the operation according to

aspect

11 or 12, wherein the operation control unit supplies ions into the air conditioner when receiving an instruction to start the ion generation operation. It is good also as a structure which complete | finishes and starts discharge | release of the ion to an air-conditioned space.

According to the above configuration, when an instruction to start the ion generation operation is received, the operation of supplying ions to the inside of the air conditioner is terminated, and the release of ions to the air-conditioned space is started. Therefore, the proliferation of bacteria in the air-conditioned space can be prevented, and thereby the air-conditioned space can be kept clean. Moreover, when the ion to generate | occur | produces has the effect | action which destroys a virus, survival of the virus in an air-conditioned space can also be prevented.

As described above, due to the influence of the season and weather, the environment inside the room and the air conditioner may become an environment in which fungi such as mold easily grow. If left in such an environmental condition, there is a problem that the bacteria grow and bacteria and spores diffuse into the room during operation of the air conditioner, thereby deteriorating the indoor sanitary environment. Moreover, there exists a problem that it becomes easy to be infected with viruses, such as influenza, in the low temperature dry environment where a virus tends to survive.

Here, Patent Document 1 mentioned above discloses a technique for preventing heat stroke and the like by automatically performing a cooling operation when the indoor temperature and humidity are in a high temperature zone. However, since the cooling operation is an operation accompanied by a cycle operation for operating the compressor of the outdoor unit, the power consumption is high, and therefore, the electric power charge due to the automatic operation may be high. Further, as described above, since viruses tend to survive at low temperatures, cooling operation does not prevent infection with viruses. The invention according to the fourteenth aspect has been made in view of the above-described problems, and the object thereof is air conditioning that can prevent the growth of bacteria and infection with viruses with low power consumption compared to cooling operation. Is to provide a machine.

The air conditioner according to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention is the ion generator 17 according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, wherein the ion generating unit 17 generates in the air ions having at least one of a fungus growth inhibitory action and a virus survival inhibitory action. The automatic operation is an ion generation operation in which ions generated by the ion generation unit are released into the air-conditioned space by blowing air, and the information presentation unit is (1) a predetermined environmental condition Is detected, before the ion generation operation is started, (2) when the ion generation operation is started, and (3) after the ion generation operation is started, the ion generation operation starts. It is good also as a structure which shows the information which shows.

According to the above configuration, it is detected that the predetermined environmental condition has been reached, and an ion generation operation is started in which ions generated in the ion generation unit are released into the air-conditioned space by blowing air. Since the power required to generate ions and blow air is significantly lower than that of cooling operation, the above configuration suppresses the growth of bacteria and the survival of viruses with lower power consumption than that of cooling operation. There is an effect that can be. Moreover, according to said structure, since the information which shows having started the ion generation driving | operation is shown, a user can be made to recognize that the ion generation driving | operation started.

The air conditioner control method according to aspect 15 of the present invention is a control method of the air conditioner 1 that detects that a predetermined condition is satisfied and starts automatic operation, and issues an operation stop instruction during automatic operation. The accepting step (S101) to be accepted and automatic driving information indicating at least one of the purpose and the reason for starting automatic driving are presented, and the automatic driving information is displayed without responding to the driving stop instruction triggered by the presentation of the automatic driving information. A notification step (S104) for continuing the operation. According to this aspect, there exists an effect similar to the said aspect 1. FIG.

The control part of the air conditioner according to each aspect of the present invention may be realized by a computer. In this case, the air conditioner is operated by operating the computer as each part (software element) included in the air conditioner. A control program for an air conditioner that realizes the control unit in a computer and a computer-readable recording medium on which the control program is recorded also fall within the scope of the present invention.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, a new technical feature can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in each embodiment.

1 Air conditioner 3 Remote control (remote control device)
5 Terminal device (output device)
17 Ion generator 19 Blower fan 105 Operation controller 106 Information presentation unit

Claims

An air conditioner that detects that a predetermined condition is satisfied and starts automatic operation,
An information presentation unit for presenting automatic driving information indicating at least one of the purpose and the reason for starting automatic driving when an operation stop instruction is received during automatic driving;
An air conditioner comprising: an operation control unit that continues the automatic operation without responding to the operation stop instruction that is an opportunity for presenting the automatic operation information.
The operation control unit again in at least one of a period during which the automatic driving information is being presented by the information presenting unit and a period until a predetermined time elapses after the presentation of the automatic driving information ends. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the automatic operation is stopped when an operation stop instruction is received.
The information presenting unit displays and presents the automatic operation information on at least one of the air conditioner, the remote control device for the air conditioner, and a predetermined output device capable of communicating with the air conditioner. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that
The information presentation unit outputs the automatic operation information by voice output to at least one of the air conditioner, the remote control device of the air conditioner, and a predetermined output device capable of communicating with the air conditioner. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein:
The said operation control part stops the said automatic driving | operation and performs driving | operation switching, when the switching instruction | indication of driving | operation is received during automatic driving | operation. Air conditioner.
6. The air conditioner according to claim 5, wherein the information presentation unit presents operation switching information for notifying operation switching when an operation switching instruction is received during automatic operation.
7. The information presentation unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the information presentation unit terminates the presentation of the automatic driving information if there is no instruction to stop driving within a predetermined time after the presentation of the automatic driving information is started. The air conditioner of Claim 1.
When the operation stop instruction is received after the presentation of the automatic driving information is completed, the operation control unit continues the automatic driving, and the information presentation unit resumes the presentation of the automatic driving information. The air conditioner according to claim 7.
The information presentation unit starts presentation of the automatic driving information triggered by the start of automatic driving, and then ends the presentation of the automatic driving information unless there is an instruction to stop driving within a predetermined time,
When receiving an operation stop instruction after the end of the presentation of the automatic operation information, the information presentation unit resumes the presentation of the automatic operation information, and the operation control unit performs the automatic operation without responding to the operation stop instruction. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the air conditioner is continued.
An ion generator that generates in the air ions having at least one of a fungal growth inhibitory action and a virus survival inhibitory action;
The information presenting section presents ion generation operation recommendation information that prompts the start of an ion generation operation for blowing air while generating ions in the ion generation section when it is detected that a predetermined environmental condition is achieved. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein:
While the ion generation operation recommendation information is being presented, the operation control unit generates an ion in the ion generation unit and reversely rotates a blower fan that sends an air flow to the air-conditioned space. The air conditioner according to claim 10, wherein ions are supplied to the air conditioner.
The operation control unit sucks the airflow blown out from the blower fan that sends the airflow into the air-conditioned space while releasing the ions to the air-conditioned space while presenting the ion generation operation recommendation information. The air conditioner according to claim 10, wherein ions are supplied into the air conditioner by performing a short circuit operation.
When the operation control unit receives an instruction to start the ion generation operation, the operation control unit ends the operation of supplying ions into the air conditioner and starts releasing ions into the air-conditioned space. The air conditioner according to claim 11 or 12.
An ion generator that generates in the air ions having at least one of a fungal growth inhibitory action and a virus survival inhibitory action;
The automatic operation is an ion generation operation in which ions generated in the ion generation unit are released into the air-conditioned space by blowing air,
The information presenting unit (1) after detecting that the predetermined environmental conditions are met, before starting the ion generation operation, (2) at the start of the ion generation operation, and (3) the ion generation The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein information indicating the start of the ion generation operation is presented at any timing after the operation is started.
A control method for an air conditioner that detects that a predetermined condition is satisfied and starts automatic operation,
An accepting step for accepting an operation stop instruction during automatic operation;
Informing step of presenting automatic driving information indicating at least one of the purpose and start reason of automatic driving and continuing the automatic driving without responding to the driving stop instruction triggered by the presentation of the automatic driving information; The control method of the air conditioner characterized by including.