CN108779933B

CN108779933B - Air conditioner and control method for air conditioner

Info

Publication number: CN108779933B
Application number: CN201680051351.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吉田充邦; 南条博纪
Original assignee: Sharp Corp
Current assignee: Sharp Corp
Priority date: 2016-03-16
Filing date: 2016-08-09
Publication date: 2021-07-27
Anticipated expiration: 2036-08-09
Also published as: JP6620048B2; CN108779933A; WO2017158862A1; JP2017166754A

Abstract

The invention aims to prevent automatic operation from stopping when the purpose or starting reason of the automatic operation is not known. An air conditioner (1) is provided with: an information presentation unit (106) that presents, to a user, automatic operation information indicating at least one of a purpose and a reason for starting the automatic operation when an operation stop instruction is received during the automatic operation; and an operation control unit (105) that continues automatic operation without following the operation stop instruction.

Description

Air conditioner and control method for air conditioner

Technical Field

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

Background

As a conventional technique, there is known an air conditioner which starts an automatic operation when a predetermined condition is satisfied. For example, the following patent document 1 discloses the following technique: when the indoor temperature and humidity are in a high temperature region, the cooling operation is automatically performed, thereby preventing heatstroke and the like.

Documents of the prior art

[ patent document ]

[ patent document 1] Japanese laid-open patent publication No. JP-A2013-217532 (published 10/24/2013) "

[ patent document 2] Japanese laid-open patent publication No. JP-A2013-217534 (published 10/24/2013) "

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem to be solved by the invention

Here, in the technique of patent document 1, since the cooling operation can be automatically started without a user operation, the user may not know why the air conditioner is started. In particular, when a user other than the user who sets the automatic operation is in the space conditioned by the air conditioner, the user does not know the reason for starting the operation in many cases.

Therefore, if the purpose or the reason for starting the automatic operation is not known, the user may stop the automatic operation and the purpose of the automatic operation cannot be achieved (in the example of patent document 1, heatstroke prevention). In addition, the problem is not limited to the automatic operation for preventing the heatstroke, but is all kinds of problems occurring when the automatic operation is performed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner capable of preventing the automatic operation from being stopped without knowing the purpose or the reason for starting the automatic operation and preventing the automatic operation from being disabled.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve the above problem, an air conditioner according to the present invention is an air conditioner that starts an automatic operation after detecting that a predetermined condition is satisfied, the air conditioner including: an information presentation unit that presents automatic operation information indicating at least one of a purpose and a reason for starting the automatic operation when an operation stop instruction is received during the automatic operation; and an operation control unit that continues the automatic operation without following the operation stop instruction as a presentation trigger of the automatic operation information.

In order to solve the above-described problem, a method of controlling an air conditioner according to an aspect of the present invention is a method of controlling an air conditioner that starts an automatic operation after detecting that a predetermined condition is satisfied, the method including: a receiving step of receiving an operation stop instruction during automatic operation; and a notification step of presenting automatic operation information indicating at least one of a purpose and a reason for starting automatic operation, and continuing the automatic operation without following the operation stop instruction as a trigger for presentation of the automatic operation information.

Effects of the invention

According to the aspects of the present invention, the automatic operation can be prevented from being stopped without knowing the purpose or the reason for starting the automatic operation, and the purpose of the automatic operation cannot be achieved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a main part structure of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of the operation of the air conditioner.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the air conditioner when an input operation is performed during operation of the air conditioner.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the air conditioner when an instruction to switch the operation is given during the automatic operation.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow executed by the air conditioner when a notification is started at the start of the automatic operation and a limit is set to the duration of the notification.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an outline of an operation of an air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the air conditioner.

Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating an operation for suppressing the proliferation of bacteria inside the air conditioner.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an outline of an operation of an air conditioner in the third embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the air conditioner.

Detailed Description

[ first embodiment ]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to fig. 1 to 5.

[ summary ]

First, an outline of the air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of the operation of the air conditioner 1. In the following, 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 fig. 2, 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 shown in fig. 2(a) is automatically operated after detecting that a predetermined environmental condition is reached. Specifically, the air conditioner 1 automatically performs the cooling operation (or the dehumidifying operation) after detecting a temperature/humidity condition in which the risk of heatstroke is high. As will be described in detail later, the air conditioner 1 also has a function of automatically performing an ion generating operation after detecting that a temperature/humidity condition in which mold is likely to grow or a temperature/humidity condition in which virus is likely to live is reached.

Here, in the example of fig. 2(a), the user intends to stop the operation of the air conditioner 1 by using the remote controller (remote operation device) 3. Specifically, the user presses an operation button 310 that instructs the air conditioner 1 to stop operating, among operation buttons 310 to 316 provided on the remote controller 3. The operation button 311 is a button for performing an ion generating operation (details will be described later), the operation button 312 is a button for performing a cooling operation, the operation button 313 is a button for performing a dehumidifying operation, and the operation button 314 is a button for performing a heating operation. The operation button 315 is a button for raising the set temperature, and the operation button 316 is a button for lowering the set temperature.

Here, although the operation button 310 for instructing the stop of the operation is pressed, the air conditioner 1 continues the automatic operation as shown in fig. 2 (b). Then, a message indicating the reason for performing the automatic operation (in the illustrated example, "cooling operation for preventing heatstroke") is displayed on the display unit 30 of the remote controller 3. The contents of the displayed message depend on the contents of the automatic operation. For example, when the ion generating operation is performed as the automatic operation, a message of "performing the ion generating operation because of an environment in which mold is likely to grow" or "performing the ion generating operation because of a temperature and humidity environment in which viruses are likely to live" is displayed.

In this way, when the air conditioner 1 starts the automatic operation based on the determination of the air conditioner itself, even if the stop instruction is given during the automatic operation, the automatic operation is not continued in accordance with the instruction. Instead, the air conditioner 1 outputs automatic operation information such as the message indicating the purpose or the reason for starting the automatic operation to the local device or a peripheral device (the remote controller 3 in the illustrated example) and notifies the user of the information. Thus, even when the operation stop instruction is given for the purpose or the reason for starting the automatic operation, the automatic operation is not stopped.

In addition, when the operation is to be stopped after the reason for the operation is confirmed, the user may press the operation button 310 for instructing the stop of the operation again. This can stop the automatic operation.

[ Main part Structure ]

Next, the main structure of the air conditioner 1 will be described with reference to fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a main part structure of an air conditioner 1. As shown in the drawing, the air conditioner 1 is configured to be communicable with a remote controller 3 and a terminal device (output device) 5. In fig. 1, components not directly related to the present invention, such as the outdoor unit, the heat exchanger of the air conditioner 1, the communication unit and the control unit of the remote controller 3 and 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 for displaying information, and displays automatic operation information in addition to the set temperature and the like, as described with reference to fig. 2. The input unit 31 receives an input operation to 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 audio output unit 32 outputs audio, and the automatic operation information can be output from the audio 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 function of communicating with the air conditioner 1, the terminal device 5 may be used as a remote operation device of the air conditioner 1 by having a function of generating a control command of the air conditioner 1.

The display/input unit 50 has a function of displaying information and a function of receiving an input operation of the terminal device 5 by a user, and may be, for example, a touch panel. Of course, the terminal device 5 may have a display unit and an input unit separately instead of the display/input unit 50. The audio output section 51 outputs audio. The air conditioner 1 can transmit an instruction to the terminal device 5 and output the automatic operation information from the display/input unit 50 or the audio output unit 51 of the terminal device 5. The terminal device 5 may have only a function of outputting the automatic operation information, or may have another function. For example, a portable information terminal such as a smartphone may be used as the terminal device 5. In this case, the user of the air conditioner 1 registers the device ID of the terminal device 5 and the like required in advance in the air conditioner 1 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 collectively controls each unit of the air conditioner 1, and a storage unit 11 that stores various data to be used by the air conditioner 1. The air conditioner 1 further 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, an air blowing fan 19, a display unit 20, and an audio output unit 21.

The temperature detector 12 detects the temperature of the space conditioned by the air conditioner, and the humidity detector 13 detects the humidity of the space conditioned by the air conditioner. During the cooling/heating operation or the dehumidifying operation, the operation is controlled based on these detection results. When the operation is stopped, it is determined whether or not to start the automatic operation based on the detection results.

The input unit 14 receives an input operation of the air conditioner 1 from a user and outputs the input operation to the control unit 10. Fig. 2 shows an example in which the operation stop operation is performed by the remote controller 3, but the operation stop operation may be performed by the input unit 14, and in this case, the automatic operation information showing the automatic operation information is also output as in the example of fig. 2.

The remote control communication unit 15 is used for communication with the remote controller 3. As shown in fig. 2, when information is output to the remote controller 3 by control from the air conditioner 1, a remote control communication unit 15 capable of bidirectional communication is used. In addition, the remote control communication unit 15 for one-way communication may be used if it is not necessary to output information to the remote controller 3.

The wireless LAN communication unit 16 is used to communicate the air conditioner 1 with the terminal device 5. The air conditioner 1 may communicate with the terminal device 5, and the communication is not limited to the wireless LAN. In addition, the wireless LAN communication unit 16 may be omitted when the terminal device 5 is not required to be the target of outputting the automatic operation information (when the output of the remote controller 3 or the main body of the air conditioner 1 is sufficient).

The ion generating unit 17 generates ions having an effect of inhibiting the growth of bacteria in the air. The generated ions may have at least a growth inhibitory effect on bacteria, and positive and negative ions may be generated by plasma discharge, for example.

Specifically, the ion generating unit 17 has a positive discharge electrode and a negative discharge electrode, and applies a voltage having an ac waveform or a pulse waveform to these electrodes. Thus, hydrogen ions obtained by corona discharge are combined with moisture in the air at the positive discharge electrode to generate H⁺(H₂O) m is a dominant positive ion. In addition, at the negative discharge electrode, obtained by corona dischargeOxygen ions of (2) are combined with moisture in the air to generate O₂ ^-(H₂O) n is a negative ion. In addition, m and n are any natural numbers.

The positive and negative ions generated in this manner condense on the surface of suspended bacteria or odorous components in the air to surround them. Further, [. OH ] belonging to the active species is condensed and generated on the surface of the microorganism or the like by collision as shown in the following formulas (1) to (3)](hydroxy radical) or H₂O₂(hydrogen peroxide) to destroy suspended bacteria or odorous components. In addition, these active species also destroy viruses and the like. Here, m 'and n' are arbitrary natural numbers.

H⁺(H₂O)m+O₂ ^-(H₂O)n→·OH+1/2O₂+(m+n)H₂O···(1)

H⁺(H₂O)m+H⁺(H₂O)m’+O₂ ^-(H₂O)n+O₂ ^-(H₂O)n’→2·OH+O₂+(m+m'+n+n')H₂O···(2)

H⁺(H₂O)m+H⁺(H₂O)m’+O₂ ^-(H₂O)n+O₂ ^-(H₂O)n’

→H₂O₂+O₂+(m+m'+n+n')H₂O···(3)

The outdoor unit communication unit 18 communicates with an outdoor unit, not shown, and the control unit 10 controls the operation of the outdoor unit through the outdoor unit communication unit 18. The blower fan 19 sends an air flow to a space to be conditioned by the air conditioner.

In the ion generating operation, the air blowing fan 19 is driven while the ion generating unit 17 generates ions, and thereby the ions are sent out to the space conditioned by the air conditioner along with the air flow. The ion generating operation may be performed as an automatic operation or may be performed by a user operation.

As described above, since the ions generated by the ion generating unit 17 have an action of destroying suspended bacteria, odorous components, viruses, and the like, the ions can be used to deodorize, sterilize, and/or detoxify the space conditioned by the air conditioner. The ions generated by the ion generator 17 may have at least one of a function of inhibiting bacterial growth and a function of inhibiting viral survival.

Instead of generating positive and negative ions, only negative ions may be generated. In the present invention, it is assumed that the ions further contain charged fine particulate water. In this case, the ion generating unit 17 generates charged fine particulate water containing a radical component by an electrostatic atomization device. More specifically, after a discharge electrode provided in the electrostatic atomization device is cooled by the peltier element to generate condensed water on the surface of the discharge electrode, a negative high voltage is applied to the discharge electrode, and thereby charged fine particulate water is generated from the condensed water. When the charged corpuscle water is generated, 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 by the lighting state of the LED light emitting unit, or by characters or images, as in a liquid crystal display device. The audio output unit 21 outputs audio in accordance with the control of the control unit 10.

The control unit 10 includes a bacteria 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.

The bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether or not a predetermined bacteria growth condition (whether or not the space conditioned by the air conditioner or the inside of the air conditioner 1 is an environment in which bacteria easily grow) is satisfied. The bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 may perform the determination only based on the humidity detected by the humidity detector 13, or may perform the determination based on both the temperature detected by the temperature detector 12 and the humidity detected by the humidity detector 13. For example, the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 may determine that the bacteria growth condition is satisfied when the humidity detected by the humidity detector 13 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, or may determine that the bacteria growth condition is satisfied when the temperature detected by the temperature detector 12 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value and the humidity detected by the humidity detector 13 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 may determine whether or not at least one of the temperature and humidity at which the virus is easily survived is 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 the determination only based on the temperature detected by the temperature detector 12, or may perform the determination based on both the temperature detected by the temperature detector 12 and the humidity detected by the humidity detector 13. For example, the high temperature condition determination unit 101 may determine that the high temperature condition is satisfied when the temperature detected by the temperature detector 12 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, or may determine that the high temperature condition is satisfied when the temperature detected by the temperature detector 12 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value and the humidity detected by the humidity detector 13 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

The input receiving 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 controller 3 by 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 an execution instruction of notification to the remote controller 3 in accordance with the control of the information presentation unit 106. 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 contents of the input operation received by the wireless LAN communication unit 16 to the operation control unit 105, and transmits an execution instruction of notification to the remote controller 3 in accordance with the control of the information presentation unit 106.

The operation control unit 105 performs control related to the operation of the air conditioner 1, specifically, control for starting various operations, control during operation, and control for stopping operation. The operation performed by the operation control unit 105 can be roughly classified into a normal operation performed in accordance with a user operation and an automatic operation performed in accordance with a determination of the air conditioner 1. Further, one feature of the operation control unit 105 is that, during the automatic operation, when the user gives an operation stop instruction, the automatic operation is not continued in accordance with the operation stop instruction, and when the operation stop instruction is given again, the automatic operation is stopped.

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

Further, when the bacteria growth condition or the high temperature condition is satisfied, instead of performing the automatic operation, the user may be notified of the fact that the bacteria growth condition or the high temperature condition is satisfied or the necessity of the automatic operation is required, and the ion generating operation, the cooling operation, the dehumidifying operation, or the like may be urged to be performed. In addition, the user may be configured to switch between two operation modes, that is, an operation mode in which the automatic operation is performed when a predetermined condition is satisfied, and an operation mode in which a notification prompting the operation is issued without performing the automatic operation.

When receiving the operation stop instruction during the automatic operation, the information presentation unit 106 presents automatic operation information indicating at least one of the purpose and the reason for starting the automatic operation to the user of the air conditioner 1. When receiving an operation switching instruction during the automatic operation, the information presentation unit 106 presents operation switching information for notifying the user of switching operation.

[ Process (control method of air conditioner) flow ]

Next, a flow of processing performed by the air conditioner 1 will be described with reference to fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed when a certain input operation is performed during operation of the air conditioner 1.

When a certain input operation is performed on the air conditioner 1, the operation control unit 105 determines whether the input operation is an operation stop instruction (S101, reception step). The operation stop instruction may be performed by the input unit 14, or may be performed by the remote controller 3 or the terminal device 5. Here, when it is determined that there is no operation stop instruction (no in S101), the illustrated flow ends. On the other hand, when determining that the operation stop instruction has been given (yes in S101), the operation control unit 105 determines whether or not the automatic operation is in progress (S102).

When it is determined in S102 that the operation is not in the automatic operation, that is, the normal operation such as cooling, heating, or dehumidification (no in S102), the operation control unit 105 stops the operation (S105), and the illustrated flow ends. On the other hand, when it is determined that the automatic operation is in progress (yes in S102), the operation control unit 105 determines whether or not the first stop instruction is issued (S103).

When it is determined in S103 that the instruction to stop the operation is the first time (yes in S103), the operation control unit 105 continues the automatic operation, and the information presentation unit 106 notifies the user of the reason for the operation (S104, notification step), whereby the illustrated flow ends. On the other hand, when it is determined that the instruction is a second or subsequent stop instruction (no in S103), the operation control unit 105 stops the operation (S105), and the illustrated flow ends.

In the processing of S104, it is sufficient to output the automatic operation information to at least one of the air-conditioning apparatus 1, the remote controller 3, and the terminal device 5 to notify the user. The output mode may be a display output, an audio output, or a combination of both outputs, as long as the user can know the automatic operation information. Further, when the information is output to a plurality of devices or output in a plurality of manners, the automatic operation information output to each device or the automatic operation information output in each manner may be the same or different. For example, a summary of the reason for the automatic operation (a message indicating that the automatic operation is in progress for preventing heatstroke) may be output as audio, and details of the reason for the output (information indicating the current temperature or humidity, the predetermined duration of the automatic operation, and the like) may be displayed. Thereby, the user can be made quickly aware of the summary through audio and can carefully confirm the detailed information through display.

In the processing of S103, when the user performs the operation stop operation twice in succession, the operation may be stopped before the notification of S104 is completed or before the user knows the content of the notification. Therefore, in S103, even if the operation stop instruction for the second time or later is given, it may be determined as yes before the operation reason is displayed, and it may be determined as no when the operation stop instruction for the second time or later is received during or after the display of the operation reason. Similarly, the determination may be no when the second or subsequent operation stop instruction is received during or after the audio output of the operation reason, and the determination may be yes even when the second or subsequent operation stop instruction is received before the audio output of the operation reason.

[ treatment when an instruction other than stop of operation is given ]

Next, a process flow when an instruction other than the operation stop, specifically, an instruction to switch the operation is received during the automatic operation will be described with reference to fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing (a control method of the air conditioner) executed by the air conditioner 1 when an instruction to switch the operation is given during the automatic operation.

First, the operation control unit 105 starts the automatic operation (S131). The process of S131 is performed when the bacteria growth condition is satisfied, and when 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 is received (S132, receiving step). Here, when it is determined that the reception is not accepted (no in S132), the illustrated flow ends, and when it is determined that the reception is accepted (yes in S132), the process proceeds to S133.

In S133, the operation control unit 105 determines whether or not the first stop instruction is issued, and if it is determined that the first stop instruction is not issued (no in S133), the operation control unit 105 stops the automatic operation (S139), and the illustrated flow ends. On the other hand, when it is determined that the instruction is the first stop instruction (yes in S133), the operation control unit 105 continues the automatic operation, and the information presentation unit 106 notifies the user of the reason for the operation (S134, notification step). These processes are the same as the example of fig. 3.

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 instruction to switch the operation (S135). For example, when the automatic operation being executed is an ion generation operation, when an instruction to start an air conditioner operation such as a cooling operation, a heating operation, or a dehumidifying operation is given, it is determined that the operation is an instruction to switch the operation. Similarly, when the automatic operation being executed is the cooling operation, if a start instruction such as the dehumidification operation is given, it is determined that the operation is the switching instruction. Further, the start instruction of the same type of operation may be determined as the operation switching instruction. For example, when the cooling operation is performed as the automatic operation, when the start instruction of the cooling operation is received, it may be determined that the instruction to switch to the cooling operation performed as the normal operation by the user operation is received. This is because the automatic operation differs from the normal operation in terms of stop conditions (automatic stop when the automatic operation does not satisfy the conditions).

When it is determined that there is no instruction to switch the operation (no in S135), the process returns to S132. On the other hand, when it is determined that there is an instruction to switch the operation (yes in S135), the information presentation unit 106 ends the notification of the operation reason started in S134, and the operation control unit 105 stops the automatic operation (S136).

Then, the operation control unit 105 starts the operation of the other type, that is, the operation instructed to be switched (S137), and the information presentation unit 106 notifies the user of the switching of the operation (S138), thereby ending the illustrated flow. The notification of the switching of the operation may be a notification that the user is aware that the operation has been switched, and may be the same as the notification of the reason for the operation. For example, operation switching information indicating the end of the automatic operation and the start of the switched operation, such as "end the automatic operation and start the heating operation", may be output to at least one of the air conditioner 1, the remote controller 3, and the terminal device 5. The output mode of the operation switching information is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, display output, audio output, or a combination of both. When the output is to be output to a plurality of systems or a plurality of output devices, the content of each output may be the same or different.

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

[ limitation of duration of Notification ]

A limit may be set to the duration of the notification in which the automatic operation information is presented. The prompt of the automatic operation information is not limited to the operation stop instruction in the above-described example, and may be a prompt that initiates the automatic operation. These examples are illustrated with respect to fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of processing (a control method of an air conditioner) when an automatic operation start notification is started and a limit is set on a duration of the notification.

First, the operation control unit 105 starts the automatic operation (S151). The process of S151 is similar to the process of S131 in fig. 4, and the ion generating operation, the cooling operation, and the like are started in accordance with the satisfied conditions. The information presentation unit 106 also notifies the user of the reason for the automatic operation (S152). Specifically, the information presentation unit 106 displays the automatic operation 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 displays 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), thereby notifying the reason for the operation. In this way, when the reason for the operation is notified when the start of the automatic operation is triggered, there is an advantage that the user can confirm the reason for the automatic operation without operating the air conditioner 1 by the remote controller 3 or the terminal device 5.

Next, the operation control unit 105 determines whether or not an operation stop instruction is received (S153). Here, when it is determined that the automatic operation is accepted (yes in S153), the operation control unit 105 stops the automatic operation, and the information presentation unit 106 terminates the notification of the operation reason, that is, the display of the automatic operation information. This ends the illustrated processing.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the operation stop instruction has not been received (no in S153), the operation control unit 105 continues the automatic operation, and the information presentation unit 106 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed after the start of the notification in S152 (S155). Here, if it is determined that the predetermined time has not elapsed (no in S155), the process returns to S153. On the other hand, when it is determined that the predetermined time has elapsed (yes in S155), the information presentation unit 106 terminates the notification of the operation reason, that is, the display of the automatic operation information (S156). As such, in the example of fig. 5, the duration of the notification is limited to a prescribed time. Thus, the display time of the automatic operation information can be shortened, and the amount of electricity used for display can be suppressed. In particular, when the automatic operation information is displayed on a device driven by a battery, such as the remote controller 3 or the terminal device 5, it is preferable to suppress the consumption of the battery. The predetermined time is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, 1 minute.

Thereafter, the information presentation unit 106 waits for the reception of the operation stop instruction (S157, reception step). When the operation stop instruction is received (yes in S157), the operation control unit 105 notifies the operation reason again, and the operation control unit 105 continues the automatic operation without responding to the operation stop instruction (S158, notification step). In the example of fig. 5, when the operation stop instruction is given after the end of the notification, the operation reason is notified again, and the automatic operation is continued. Thus, when an operation stop instruction is given by a user other than the user who has received the notification of the operation reason in S152, the user can be made aware of the reason for the automatic operation, and the user can be prevented from stopping the automatic operation without knowing the reason for the automatic operation.

After the operation reason is notified again, the process returns to S153. Accordingly, if the stop instruction is not given within the predetermined time after the operation reason is notified again (no in S153, yes in S155), the notification of the operation reason is ended again (S156). On the other hand, when the stop instruction is given within the predetermined time after the operation reason is notified again (yes in S153), the automatic operation is stopped (S154).

Fig. 5 shows an example in which the notification is ended after the predetermined time from the start of the notification when the notification of the reason for operation is started with the start of the automatic operation as a trigger, but the notification may be ended after the predetermined time from the start of the notification when the reason for operation is started with another trigger. In the above, the example in which the automatic operation information is continuously displayed from the start of the notification to the predetermined time has been described, but the automatic operation information may be displayed intermittently (for example, every several seconds). Further, the example of displaying the automatic operation information has been described above, but audio output may also be performed. In this case, the automatic operation information may be outputted intermittently in audio form for a predetermined time period from the start of the notification, and the audio output may be terminated when the predetermined time period has elapsed.

In fig. 5, the notification of the operation reason is started after the start of the automatic operation, but the notification of the operation reason may be started simultaneously with the start of the automatic operation, or may be started after the execution of the automatic operation is determined and before the start of the automatic operation.

[ second embodiment ]

Other embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to fig. 6 to 8. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which, in an environmental condition (bacteria growth condition) in which mold or bacteria are likely to be produced and grown, the user is urged to perform the ion generating operation without performing the automatic operation. In addition, the treatment for promoting the operation of generating ions may be performed under an environmental condition in which viruses are easily survived. The air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment may be automatically operated under the bacteria growth condition (ion generation operation) by switching the operation mode. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those described in the above embodiments are given the same reference numerals, and explanations thereof are omitted.

[ summary ]

First, an outline of the air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an outline of the operation of the air conditioner 1. As shown in fig. 6(a), the air conditioner 1 detects that at least one of the space conditioned by the air conditioner and the inside of the air conditioner is in a high-temperature and high-humidity state (bacteria growth conditions are satisfied) while the operation is stopped.

As shown in fig. 6(b), the air conditioner 1 notifies that the ion generating operation is to be executed. More specifically, the air conditioner 1 outputs a message prompting execution of the ion generating operation in audio, and the remote controller 3 displays and outputs a message indicating a method of starting the ion generating operation. This makes it possible for the user to know that the ion generating operation is currently preferred, and to quickly start the ion generating operation using the remote controller 3. Further, by starting the ion generating operation, the generation and proliferation of mold or bacteria and the survival of viruses in at least one of the space conditioned by the air conditioner and the inside of the air conditioner 1 can be suppressed, and a clean environment can be maintained.

[ flow of processing (control method of air conditioner) ]

Next, a flow of processing performed by the air conditioner 1 will be described with reference to fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the air conditioner 1. First, the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether or not the operation is stopped (S201), and if the operation is stopped (no in S201), the illustrated processing is ended.

On the other hand, if the operation is stopped (yes in S201), the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether or not the humidity value output from the humidity detector 13 is H% or more (S202). The bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether or not the value of the temperature output from the temperature detector 12 is T ℃ or higher (S203). The value of H may be set to a lower limit of humidity at which bacteria easily proliferate, and may be, for example, 70. Similarly, the value of T may be set to a lower limit of the temperature at which bacteria easily grow, and may be, for example, 20.

When both of S202 and S203 determine yes, the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines that the bacteria growth condition is satisfied, and notifies the information presentation unit 106 and the operation control unit 105 of the determination. The information presentation unit 106 that has received the notification presents ion generation operation recommendation information to the user, and notifies the user of urging execution of the ion generation operation (S204).

The notification may be made by a method that allows the user to know that the ion generating operation is being urged. For example, when a light emitting unit (for example, an LED light emitting unit) indicating an ion generating operation is provided in the air conditioner 1, the above-described notification may be performed by lighting or lighting off the light emitting unit. In this case, emitting light from the light emitting section corresponds to displaying ion generation operation recommendation information. In addition, similarly to the notification of the operation reason of the first embodiment, a message (ion generation operation recommendation information) prompting execution of the ion generation operation may be output to at least one of the air conditioner 1, the remote controller 3, and the terminal device 5 by a display output, an audio output, or both of them. In the case of outputting to a plurality of systems or a plurality of output devices, the contents of the outputs may be the same or different.

Next, the operation control unit 105 determines whether or not an instruction to start the ion generating operation is received (S205). When it is determined that the instruction to start the ion generating operation is not received (no in S205), the operation control unit 105 starts ion supply to the inside of the indoor unit, that is, the inside of 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 notifying the execution of the ion generating operation.

Specifically, the operation control unit 105 causes the ion generating unit 17 to generate ions and causes the blower fan 19 to rotate in a direction opposite to that in the case of blowing air into the space to be conditioned by the air conditioner, thereby supplying ions into the air conditioner 1. This can suppress the growth of bacteria in the air conditioner 1 even in a period before the user instructs the start of the ion generating operation or in a case where the user does not instruct the start of the ion generating operation.

When the ion supply into the air conditioner 1 is started, the illustrated processing is once ended, and then the processing of S201 is started again. In this case, although the operation is in the ion generating operation for the inside of the air conditioner 1, the operation is different from the normal ion generating operation for releasing ions into the space to be conditioned by the air conditioner, and therefore it is determined in S201 that the operation is stopped (yes).

Then, in subsequent S202, the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether or not the humidity is H% or more. When it is determined that the humidity has not reached H% (no in S202), the information presentation unit 106 stops the notification of the ion generation promotion operation (S207). The operation control unit 105 stops the ion supply of the ion generating unit 17 (S208), and also stops the driving of the blower fan 19 to end the ion generating operation, thereby ending the illustrated processing.

When the humidity is determined to be H% or more in S202 (yes in S202), the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether or not the temperature is T ℃ or more (S203), and if T ℃ is not reached, the process proceeds to S207 described above. On the other hand, if the temperature is T ° or higher, the notification by the information presentation unit 106 is continued (S204), and the presence or absence of an instruction to start the ion generating operation is confirmed in S205.

Here, when it is determined that the instruction to start the ion generating operation is not received (no in S205), the process proceeds to S209, and the ion generating operation for the inside of the air conditioner 1 is continued. Further, the upper limit may be set to the duration of the ion generating operation in the air conditioner 1, or the operation may be stopped at a time point lasting, for example, 60 minutes.

On the other hand, when determining that the instruction to start the ion generating operation has been received (yes in S205), the operation control unit 105 ends the operation of supplying ions into the air conditioner 1 and starts releasing ions into the space conditioned by the air conditioner (S206). Specifically, the operation control unit 105 reverses the rotation direction of the blower fan 19, and discharges the ions generated by the ion generating unit 17 into the space conditioned by the air conditioner by the airflow generated by the blower fan 19. That is, the operation control unit 105 starts the normal ion generating operation, and the illustrated processing is thereby ended.

The manner of the operation (operation started in S209) for suppressing the proliferation of bacteria inside the air-conditioning apparatus 1 is not limited to the above-described example. For example, the ions may be supplied into the air-conditioning apparatus 1 by performing a short-circuit operation in which the ions are generated by the ion generating unit 17 and the airflow blown out by the blower fan 19 is sucked into the air-conditioning apparatus 1 from the heat exchanger.

Here, an operation for suppressing the growth of bacteria inside the air-conditioning apparatus 1 will be described with reference to fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating an operation for suppressing the proliferation of bacteria inside the air-conditioning apparatus 1. In fig. 8, the air flow is indicated by arrows. As shown in the drawing, the air-sending fan 19 and the ion generating unit 17 are disposed inside the air-conditioning apparatus 1, and the heat exchanger 22 is disposed so as to surround the air-sending fan 19. Further, an airflow panel 23 is provided at an outlet of the airflow from the air conditioner 1 so as to cover the outlet.

As shown in fig. 8(a), by generating ions from the ion generating unit 17 and rotating the blower fan 19 in the reverse direction with the outlet port closed by the airflow panel 23, the airflow can be circulated around the heat exchanger 22 and the ions can be diffused into the air conditioner 1.

On the other hand, as shown in fig. 8(b), the airflow panel 23 is opened by switching the blower fan 19 to the normal rotation, and the airflow generated by the blower fan 19 is caused to flow out from the outlet port to the outside of the air conditioner 1. This allows ions to diffuse into the space conditioned by the air conditioner (corresponding to the processing at S206).

Fig. 8(c) shows an example of the short-circuit operation described above. As shown in the figure, the opening degree of the airflow panel 23 is made smaller than that of fig. 8(b), and the airflow generated by the blower fan 19 rises along the outer surface of the air conditioner 1. That is, when the short-circuit operation is performed, the operation control unit 105 controls the opening degree of the airflow panel 23. Accordingly, 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, and therefore ions can be diffused in the air conditioner 1.

After the ion generating operation is started, the same process as in the first embodiment may be performed. That is, when an operation for instructing the stop of the operation is performed after the start of the ion generating operation, the reason for starting the ion generating operation may be notified to continue the ion generating operation. Further, the ion generating operation may be stopped when an operation for instructing the operation stop is performed again after the notification.

However, in the present embodiment, since the user instructs the start of the ion generating operation, when there is a stop instruction immediately after the start of the ion generating operation, the instruction is highly likely to be given from the user. Therefore, the ion generating operation may be stopped when a stop instruction is given until a predetermined time (for example, 10 minutes) elapses after the ion generating operation is started. Further, when an operation for instructing the stop of the operation is performed after the predetermined time has elapsed, the reason for starting the ion generation operation may be notified to continue the ion generation operation. This prevents the automatic operation from being stopped by a user other than the user who started the ion generating operation without knowing the reason for the automatic operation.

In the above-described example, the two values of the temperature and the humidity have been described as the bacteria growth conditions, but only the value of the humidity 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. Further, since the humidity at which bacteria easily live differs for each temperature, it is also possible to determine whether or not the bacteria easily live in each temperature using a table of the humidity at which bacteria easily live for each temperature. Thus, the environment in which bacteria easily survive can be judged more precisely.

In the above examples, the treatment when the condition for growing bacteria is satisfied is shown, but the same treatment as above may be performed when the condition for easily surviving viruses is satisfied. In this case, in S202 and S203, it is determined whether or not the condition for easy survival of the virus is satisfied. Since viruses are likely to survive under low-temperature and dry conditions, it is sufficient to determine whether the humidity is H% or less in S202 and whether the temperature is T ℃ or less in S203, for example. In this case, H may be 50, for example, and T may be 20, for example. Since the humidity at which the virus is likely to live differs for each temperature, whether the environment at which the virus is likely to live is determined for each temperature using a table of the humidity at which the virus is likely to live for each temperature. Thus, the environment in which the virus is easily survived can be determined more precisely. Thus, in winter when viruses such as influenza are likely to be spread, the ion generating operation can be appropriately performed, and an indoor environment in which the user is less likely to be infected with such viruses is formed.

[ third embodiment ]

Another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 9 to 10. In the present embodiment, an example in which the ion generating operation is performed as the automatic operation when the bacteria growth condition is satisfied will be described. Further, as in the second embodiment, when the condition that viruses are easy to live is satisfied, the ion generating operation may be performed as the automatic operation. Further, the air-conditioning apparatus 1 of the present embodiment may be configured to notify the operation for promoting ion generation without performing the automatic operation when the operation mode is switched and the bacteria growth condition or the condition for facilitating virus survival is satisfied. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those described in the above embodiments are given the same reference numerals, and explanations thereof are omitted.

[ summary ]

First, an outline of the air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an outline of the operation of the air conditioner 1. As shown in fig. 9(a), the air conditioner 1 detects that at least one of the space conditioned by the air conditioner and the inside of the air conditioner is in a high-temperature and high-humidity state (bacteria growth conditions are satisfied) while the operation is stopped.

As shown in fig. 9(b), the air conditioner 1 notifies that the ion generating operation is started. More specifically, the air conditioner 1 outputs a message indicating the start of the ion generating operation and the reason for the start of the ion generating operation in audio, and the terminal device 5 displays and outputs a message indicating the start of the ion generating operation in the air conditioner 1 in the living room.

This makes it possible to make the user in the vicinity of the air conditioner 1 (i.e., the user can hear the audio output from the air conditioner 1) aware of the start of the ion generating operation and the reason for the start. Further, as long as the user carries the terminal device 5, the user can know the reason why the air conditioner 1 has started the ion generating operation even if the user is not near the air conditioner 1.

In the air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment, the ion generating operation is performed as an automatic operation (not performed by a user operation). Therefore, the user can suppress the generation and proliferation of mold and bacteria in the space conditioned by the air conditioner without performing any operation, and a clean environment can be maintained.

The ion generating operation performed as the automatic operation is not accompanied by a periodic operation in which the compressor of the outdoor unit is operated. Therefore, the power consumption is very low compared to the operation such as cooling and heating for operating the compressor of the outdoor unit. Therefore, the power consumption does not increase significantly due to the automatic operation.

[ flow of processing (control method of air conditioner) ]

Next, a flow of processing performed by the air conditioner 1 will be described with reference to fig. 10. Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the air conditioner 1. First, the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether or not the operation is in the normal operation (S301), and if the operation is in the normal operation (yes in S301), the illustrated processing is ended.

On the other hand, if the operation is stopped or the automatic operation is being performed (no in S301), the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether or not the humidity value output from the humidity detector 13 is equal to or higher than H% (S302). The bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether or not the value of the temperature output from the temperature detector 12 is T ℃ or higher (S303).

When both of S302 and S303 determine yes, the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines that the bacteria growth condition is satisfied, and notifies the information presentation unit 106 and the operation control unit 105 of the determination. The information presentation unit 106 that has received the notification determines whether or not the automatic operation (specifically, the ion generating operation) is stopped (S304).

When it is determined that the ion generation operation is being executed (no in S304), the operation control unit 105 continues the ion generation operation (S306), and the illustrated processing ends. On the other hand, when it is determined that the operation is stopped (yes in S304), the information presentation unit 106 notifies the user of the start of the ion generation operation (S305), and the operation control unit 105 starts the ion generation operation (S306).

The notification in S305 may be performed in such a manner that the user can know that the ion generating operation has started. For example, when a light emitting unit (for example, an LED light emitting unit) indicating the start of the ion generating operation is provided in the air conditioner 1, the above-described notification may be performed by turning on or off the light emitting unit. In addition, similarly to the notification of the operation reason of the first embodiment, a message indicating the start of the ion generating operation may be output to at least one of the air conditioner 1, the remote controller 3, and the terminal device 5 by a display output, an audio output, or both of them. In the case of outputting to a plurality of systems or a plurality of output devices, the contents of the outputs may be the same or different.

After the ion generating operation is started, the illustrated processing is once ended, and then the processing of S301 is started again. In this case, since the ion generating operation as the automatic operation is in progress, the determination in S301 is no. Then, in the subsequent step S302, the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether or not the humidity is H% or more. When determining that the humidity has not reached H% (no in S302), the operation control unit 105 stops the ion supply to the ion generating unit 17 and also stops the driving of the blower fan 19 to stop the ion generating operation (S307). This ends the illustrated processing.

When the humidity is determined to be H% or more in S302 (yes in S302), the bacteria growth condition determination unit 100 determines whether or not the temperature is T ℃ or more (S303), and if not, the process proceeds to S307 described above. On the other hand, if the temperature is T ° or higher, the process proceeds to S304, and it is determined yes in S304. In subsequent S305, the information presentation unit 106 may notify that the ion generation operation is being started or the reason for the start of the operation, and may omit the notification after the notification. Then, the operation control unit 105 continues the ion generating operation.

In the above-described example, the two values of the temperature and the humidity are described as the bacteria growth conditions, but only the value of the humidity may be used as the bacteria growth conditions. In the above-described example, the ion generating operation is started in S306 after S305 in which the start of the ion generating operation is notified, but the processing in S305 and the processing in S306 may be performed simultaneously, or the processing in S306 may be performed first. In S305, for example, which notifies the start of the ion generating operation, the following configuration may be adopted: when the ion generating operation is not necessary, a notification is issued to urge the stop operation, and if the stop operation is not performed within a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute), the process proceeds to S306.

After the ion generation operation is started, the same process as in the first embodiment may be performed. That is, when an operation for instructing the stop of the operation is performed after the start of the ion generating operation, the reason for starting the ion generating operation may be notified to continue the ion generating operation. Further, the ion generating operation may be stopped when an operation for instructing the operation stop is performed again after the notification.

However, in the present embodiment, since the notification is made when the ion generating operation is started, when the stop instruction is given immediately after the start of the ion generating operation, there is a high possibility that the user who has given the instruction receives the notification of the start of the ion generating operation. Therefore, the ion generating operation may be stopped when a stop instruction is given until a predetermined time (for example, 10 minutes) elapses after the ion generating operation is started. Further, when an operation for instructing the stop of the operation is performed after the predetermined time has elapsed, the reason for starting the ion generating operation may be notified to continue the ion generating operation. In this case, the display indicating that the ion generating operation has been started may be continued for the predetermined time.

[ modified examples ]

In the above embodiments, the ion generating operation when the bacteria growth condition is satisfied, and the cooling operation or the dehumidifying operation when the high temperature condition is satisfied are described as examples of the automatic operation, but the trigger and the contents of the automatic operation are not limited to these examples. For example, when the humidity is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the dehumidification operation may be performed as the automatic operation. When the bacteria growth condition is satisfied, the dehumidification operation or the cooling operation may be performed while generating ions. In this case, the power consumption is increased as compared with the ion generation operation described above, but the bacteria growth condition can be promptly resolved. For example, when the air conditioner 1 has a humidifying function, the humidifying operation may be performed as an automatic operation in the case of a dry condition (for example, humidity is equal to or lower than a predetermined value).

Further, the air conditioner 1 has a function of detecting the presence or absence of a user in the space conditioned by the air conditioner, and thus, whether or not to execute the automatic operation can be determined according to the presence or absence of the user, and the automatic operation whose contents correspond to the presence or absence of the user can be executed.

[ implementation example of application software ]

The control block (particularly, the control Unit 10) of the air conditioner 1 may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed on an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or may be realized by software using a Central Processing Unit (CPU).

In the latter case, the air conditioner 1 includes a CPU that executes instructions of a program that is software for realizing each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a storage device (these are referred to as a "storage medium") that stores the program and various data so that the computer (or the CPU) can Read the program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that expands the program, and the like. The object of the present invention can be achieved by reading the program from the storage medium and executing the program by a computer (or CPU). As the storage medium, a "non-transitory 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 through an arbitrary transmission medium (a communication network, a broadcast wave, or the like) through which the program can be transmitted. The present invention can also be realized as a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, the program being embodied by electronic transmission.

[ conclusion ]

An air conditioner 1 according to an aspect of the present invention is an air conditioner 1 that starts an automatic operation upon detecting that a predetermined condition is satisfied, and the air conditioner includes: an information presentation unit 106 that presents automatic operation information indicating at least one of a purpose and a reason for starting the automatic operation when an operation stop instruction is received during the automatic operation; and a control unit 105 that continues the automatic operation without following the operation stop instruction as a presentation trigger of the automatic operation information.

According to the above configuration, when the operation stop instruction is received during the automatic operation, the automatic operation information indicating at least one of the purpose and the reason for starting the automatic operation is presented. Therefore, the user can be made aware of at least one of the purpose and the reason for starting the automatic operation that the user is about to stop, and the sense of uneasiness and trouble caused by the user not performing the operation but starting the automatic operation can be reduced. Further, according to the above configuration, since the automatic operation is not continued in accordance with the operation stop instruction as the presentation trigger of the automatic operation information, the automatic operation is not stopped even if the operation stop instruction is given because the purpose or the reason for starting the automatic operation is unknown.

That is, according to the above configuration, the following effects are provided: the user can be made aware of the purpose or reason for starting the automatic operation, and the automatic operation can be prevented from being stopped and failing to be performed without being aware of the purpose or reason for starting the automatic operation.

In the air conditioner according to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the operation control unit may be configured to stop the automatic operation when an operation stop instruction is received again during at least one of a period during which the information presentation unit presents the automatic operation information and a period until a predetermined time elapses after the presentation of the automatic operation information is completed.

It is considered that the user can know the purpose or the reason for starting the automatic operation based on the presentation as long as the user is in the middle of the presentation of the automatic operation information or until a predetermined time elapses after the presentation of the automatic operation information is finished. That is, there is a high possibility that the operation stop instruction in each period is given after the purpose or the reason for starting the automatic operation is known.

Therefore, according to the above configuration, when the operation stop instruction is received again during at least one of the period during which the automatic operation information is being presented and the period until the predetermined time elapses after the presentation of the automatic operation information is ended, the automatic operation is stopped. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the automatic operation from being stopped in a state where the purpose or the reason for starting the automatic operation is unknown, and it is possible to prevent the user from being annoyed by the fact that the air conditioner is not operated in accordance with the operation stop instruction after the purpose or the reason for starting the automatic operation is known.

In the air conditioner according to the third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the information presentation unit may be configured to display and present the automatic operation information on at least one of the air conditioner, a remote control device (remote controller 3) of the air conditioner, and a predetermined output device (terminal device 5) that can communicate with the air conditioner.

According to the above configuration, the automatic operation information is displayed and presented on at least one of the air conditioner, the remote operation device, and a predetermined output device that can communicate with the air conditioner. Therefore, the user who sees the display on at least one of the air conditioner, the remote operation device, and the output device can be made aware of the purpose of the automatic operation or the reason for the start of the automatic operation.

An air conditioner according to a fourth aspect of the present invention may be configured such that, in any one of the first to third aspects, the information presentation unit outputs the automatic operation information audio to at least one of the air conditioner, a remote operation device of the air conditioner, and a predetermined output device that can communicate with the air conditioner, and presents the automatic operation information audio.

According to the above configuration, the automatic operation information can be presented by audio output to at least one of the air conditioner, the remote operation device, and a predetermined output device that can communicate with the air conditioner. Therefore, the user who hears the audio output of at least one of the air conditioner, the remote operation device, and the output device can be made aware of the purpose of the automatic operation or the reason for the start of the automatic operation.

In the air conditioner according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the operation control unit may stop the automatic operation and perform the operation switching when an operation switching instruction is received during the automatic operation.

According to the above configuration, when an operation switching instruction is received during the automatic operation, the automatic operation is stopped and the operation is switched. Therefore, unlike the case where the operation stop instruction is given during the automatic operation, the operation is switched according to the instruction of the user, and therefore, the user is not given a bad feeling. The operation to be switched may be performed in response to a user instruction, and may be, for example, a cooling operation, a heating operation, or a dehumidifying operation.

In the air conditioner according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect, the information presentation unit may be configured to present operation switching information for notifying the operation switching when an operation switching instruction is received during the automatic operation.

According to the above configuration, when the operation start instruction is received, operation switching information for notifying the operation switching is presented. Therefore, the user can be made aware of the switching between the automatic operation and the operation in accordance with the instruction.

In the air conditioner according to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to sixth aspects, the information presentation unit may be configured to end the presentation of the automatic operation information if an operation stop instruction is not given within a predetermined time after the start of the presentation of the automatic operation information.

According to the above configuration, after the presentation of the automatic operation information is started, if the operation stop instruction is not given for a predetermined time, the presentation of the automatic operation information is terminated. Therefore, the automatic operation information is not presented uselessly, and the user who knows the purpose or the reason for starting the automatic operation based on the presented automatic operation information and does not have the intention of stopping the automatic operation is known. For example, when the automatic operation information is output to a battery-driven device such as a remote controller or a terminal device and presented, the battery of the device can be prevented from being unnecessarily consumed.

In the air conditioner according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, in the seventh aspect, when an operation stop instruction is received after the presentation of the automatic operation information is finished, the operation control unit may continue the automatic operation, and the information presentation unit may restart the presentation of the automatic operation information.

Here, as described in the seventh aspect, when the operation stop instruction is not given for the predetermined time and the presentation of the automatic operation information is ended, the automatic operation is performed and the automatic operation information is not presented. Therefore, there is a possibility that a user other than the user who has performed the operation stop instruction first may perform the operation stop operation without knowing the purpose or the reason for starting the automatic operation.

Therefore, according to the above configuration, when the automatic operation stop instruction is received after the presentation of the automatic operation information is completed, the automatic operation is continued and the presentation of the automatic operation information is restarted. This makes it possible to make other users aware of the purpose or reason for starting the automatic operation, and prevent the automatic operation from being stopped without knowing the purpose or reason for starting the automatic operation.

In the air conditioner according to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in any one aspect of the first to eighth aspects, the information presentation unit may start presenting the automatic operation information when an automatic operation has started, end presenting the automatic operation information when an operation stop instruction is not given for a predetermined time thereafter, and when an operation stop instruction is received after the presentation of the automatic operation information is ended, the information presentation unit may restart presenting the automatic operation information, and the operation control unit may continue the automatic operation without the operation stop instruction.

According to the above configuration, the automatic operation information is presented on the occasion of the start of the automatic operation. Therefore, even if the operation stop instruction is not given, the user can know the purpose or the reason of starting the automatic operation after the automatic operation is started.

Further, according to the above configuration, since the presentation of the automatic operation information is terminated if the operation stop instruction is not given for the predetermined time, the presentation of the automatic operation information is not continued uselessly. Further, according to the above configuration, when the operation stop instruction is received after the presentation of the automatic operation information is completed, the presentation of the automatic operation information is restarted to continue the automatic operation. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the automatic operation from being stopped when the user who is paying attention to the automatic operation does not know the purpose or the reason for starting the automatic operation after the presentation of the automatic operation information is finished.

However, depending on the season, weather, and the like, the environment inside a room or an air conditioner may be an environment in which bacteria such as mold easily grow. When the air conditioner is placed in such an environmental state, bacteria proliferate, and bacterial cells or spores diffuse indoors when the air conditioner is operated, which causes a problem that the sanitary environment in the room deteriorates. Further, there is a problem that the virus is susceptible to infection with a virus such as influenza in a low-temperature and dry environment where the virus is easily survived.

Here, patent document 2 above discloses the following technique: when the indoor temperature and humidity are in a high temperature region, a notification is automatically issued to urge the start of operation, thereby preventing heatstroke and the like. However, the operation performed to prevent heatstroke is cooling operation or the like, and it is difficult to prevent bacterial growth or virus infection in such operation. The invention of the tenth aspect is made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an air conditioner capable of preventing bacterial growth or virus infection.

An air conditioner according to a tenth aspect of the present invention may be configured to include, in any one of the first to ninth aspects, an ion generating unit 17 configured to generate ions having at least one of a bacterial growth inhibitory action and a viral survival inhibitory action in air, wherein the information presenting unit presents ion generation operation recommendation information for prompting a start of an ion generation operation in which air is blown while generating ions, when it is detected that a predetermined environmental condition is reached.

According to the above configuration, when it is detected that the predetermined environmental condition is reached, ion generation operation recommendation information prompting the start of the ion generation operation is presented. Therefore, the user is made aware of the ideal environmental condition for performing the ion generating operation, and the ion generating operation is performed as intended by the user, thereby providing an effect of preventing the proliferation of bacteria. Further, this ensures the cleanliness of the space conditioned by the air conditioner.

The predetermined environmental conditions may be set according to the action of the generated ions. For example, when the generated ions have a growth inhibition effect of bacteria, the predetermined environmental condition may be an environmental condition under which bacteria easily grow. Similarly, in the case where the generated ions have the inhibitory effect on the survival of the virus of the bacteria, the environmental condition under which the virus is easily survived may be the predetermined environmental condition, and in the case where the generated ions have both effects, the environmental conditions may be the predetermined environmental condition.

In the air conditioner according to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the tenth aspect, the operation control unit may be configured to cause the ion generating unit to generate ions and to rotate a blower fan that sends an air flow to a space to be conditioned by the air conditioner in a reverse direction to supply the ions to the inside of the air conditioner, in the presentation of the ion generation operation recommendation information.

According to the above configuration, in the presentation of the ion generation operation recommendation information, ions are generated and the blower fan 19 is rotated in the reverse direction to supply ions into the air conditioner. Therefore, even when the user does not notice the suggested ion generation operation recommendation information or when the user is not in the space conditioned by the air conditioner, the proliferation of bacteria in the air conditioner can be prevented, and thus the space conditioned by the air conditioner can be kept clean. Further, when the generated ions have a virus survival inhibitory activity, the virus can be prevented from living.

In the air conditioner according to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the tenth aspect, the operation control unit may cause the ion generating unit to release ions and perform a short-circuit operation of sucking an air flow blown out from the blower fan 19 that sends the air flow to the space to be conditioned by the air conditioner into the air conditioner, in the presentation of the ion generation operation recommendation information, thereby supplying ions to the inside of the air conditioner.

According to the above configuration, since the ions are supplied to the inside of the air conditioner by releasing the ions and performing the short-circuit operation in the presentation of the ion generation operation recommendation information, the same effect as that of the above-described mode eleventh is obtained.

In the air conditioner according to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the eleventh or twelfth aspect, the operation control unit may be configured to, when receiving the instruction to start the ion generating operation, end an operation of supplying ions into the air conditioner, and start releasing ions into the space conditioned by the air conditioner.

According to the above configuration, when an instruction to start the ion generating operation is received, the operation of supplying ions into the air conditioner is terminated, and the release of ions into the space conditioned by the air conditioner is started. Therefore, the proliferation of bacteria in the space conditioned by the air conditioner can be prevented, and thus, the cleanness of the space conditioned by the air conditioner can be ensured. Further, when the generated ions have a virus destruction effect, the existence of viruses in the space conditioned by the air conditioner can be prevented.

As described above, the environment inside a room or an air conditioner may be an environment in which bacteria such as mold easily grow depending on the season, weather, and the like. When the air conditioner is placed in such an environmental state, bacteria proliferate, and bacterial cells or spores diffuse indoors when the air conditioner is operated, which causes a problem that the sanitary environment in the room deteriorates. Further, there is a problem that the virus is susceptible to infection with a virus such as influenza in a low-temperature and dry environment where the virus is easily survived.

Here, patent document 1 above discloses the following technique: when the indoor temperature and humidity are in a high temperature region, the cooling operation is automatically performed, thereby preventing heatstroke and the like. However, since the cooling operation involves a periodic operation in which the compressor of the outdoor unit is operated, the power consumption is high, and therefore, the electric power cost required for the automatic operation may be high. Further, as described above, since viruses easily survive at low temperatures, the cooling operation cannot prevent infection by viruses. The present invention in the fourteenth aspect is made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an air conditioner capable of preventing proliferation of bacteria and infection of viruses with lower power consumption than in a cooling operation.

An air conditioner according to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention may be configured to, in any one of the first to ninth aspects, include an ion generating unit 17, the ion generating unit 17 being configured to generate ions having at least one of a bacterial growth inhibitory action and a viral survival inhibitory action in air, wherein the automatic operation is an ion generating operation for releasing ions generated by the ion generating unit into a space to be conditioned by the air conditioner by blowing air, and wherein the information presentation unit presents information indicating start of the ion generating operation at any one of three timings, namely (1) after detection that a predetermined environmental condition is reached and before the start of the ion generating operation, (2) at the start of the ion generating operation, and (3) after the start of the ion generating operation.

According to the above configuration, when it is detected that the predetermined environmental condition is met, the ion generating operation for releasing the ions generated by the ion generating unit into the space conditioned by the air conditioner by the air blowing is started. Since the electric power required for ion generation or air blowing is significantly reduced as compared with the cooling operation, the above configuration has the following effects: the proliferation of bacteria or the survival of viruses can be suppressed at a lower power consumption than in the case of the cooling operation. Further, according to the above configuration, since information indicating that the ion generating operation has been started is presented, the user can be made aware that the ion generating operation has been started.

A control method for an air conditioner according to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention is a control method for an air conditioner 1 that starts an automatic operation after detecting that a predetermined condition is satisfied, the method including: a receiving step (S101) for receiving an operation stop instruction during automatic operation; and a notification step (S104) for presenting automatic operation information indicating at least one of a purpose and a reason for starting automatic operation, and continuing the automatic operation without following the operation stop instruction as a trigger for presenting the automatic operation information. According to this embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

In this case, a control program of the air conditioner in which the control unit of the air conditioner is realized by the computer by operating the computer as each unit (software element) included in the air conditioner, and a computer-readable storage medium storing the program also belong to the scope of the present invention.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments also belong to the technical scope of the present invention. Further, by combining the technical means disclosed in the respective embodiments, new technical features can be formed.

Description of the symbols

1 air conditioner

3 remote controller (remote control device)

5 terminal device (output device)

17 ion generating part

19 blowing fan

105 operation control part

106 information presentation unit

Claims

1. An air conditioner which starts an automatic operation upon detection of satisfaction of a predetermined condition, comprising:

an information presentation unit that presents automatic operation information indicating at least one of a purpose and a reason for starting the automatic operation when an operation stop instruction is received during the automatic operation; and

an operation control unit that continues the automatic operation without following the operation stop instruction as a presentation trigger of the automatic operation information;

the operation control unit stops the automatic operation when an operation stop instruction is received again during at least one of a period during which the information presentation unit presents the automatic operation information and a period until a predetermined time elapses after the presentation of the automatic operation information is completed; and is

The operation control unit automatically stops the automatic operation based on a stop condition.

2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that:

the information presentation unit displays the automatic operation information on at least one of the air conditioner, a remote operation device of the air conditioner, and a predetermined output device that can communicate with the air conditioner to present the information.

3. The air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that:

the information presentation unit presents the automatic operation information by audio-outputting the automatic operation information to at least one of the air conditioner, a remote operation device of the air conditioner, and a predetermined output device communicable with the air conditioner.

4. The air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that:

the operation control unit stops the automatic operation and switches the operation when receiving an operation switching instruction during the automatic operation.

5. The air conditioner according to claim 4, characterized in that:

the information presentation unit presents operation switching information for notifying operation switching when an operation switching instruction is received during automatic operation.

6. The air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that:

the information presentation unit ends presentation of the automatic operation information if an operation stop instruction is not given within a predetermined time after presentation of the automatic operation information is started.

7. The air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that:

the information presentation unit starts presenting the automatic operation information when the start of the automatic operation is triggered, and ends presentation of the automatic operation information when no operation stop instruction is given within a predetermined time thereafter,

when an operation stop instruction is received after the presentation of the automatic operation information is completed, the information presentation unit presents the automatic operation information again, and the operation control unit continues the automatic operation without following the operation stop instruction.

8. The air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that:

has an ion generating part for generating ions having at least one of a function of inhibiting the growth of bacteria and a function of inhibiting the survival of viruses in the air,

the information presentation unit presents ion generation operation recommendation information that prompts start of an ion generation operation that generates ions and blows air while the ion generation unit generates ions, when it is detected that a predetermined environmental condition is reached.

9. The air conditioner according to claim 8, characterized in that:

the operation control unit causes the ion generation unit to generate ions and causes an air blowing fan that sends an air flow to a space to be conditioned by an air conditioner to rotate in a reverse direction in presentation of the ion generation operation recommendation information, thereby supplying ions to the inside of the air conditioner.

10. The air conditioner according to claim 8, characterized in that:

the operation control unit supplies ions to the inside of the air conditioner by causing the ion generating unit to release ions and performing a short-circuit operation in which an air flow blown from an air blowing fan that sends an air flow to a space to be conditioned by the air conditioner is sucked into the air conditioner, in the presentation of the ion generation operation recommendation information.

11. The air conditioner according to claim 9, characterized in that:

the operation control unit terminates the supply of ions into the air conditioner and starts the release of ions into the space conditioned by the air conditioner, when receiving the instruction to start the ion generating operation.

12. The air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that:

the automatic operation is an ion generating operation for releasing ions generated by the ion generating unit into a space conditioned by an air conditioner by air blowing,

the information presentation unit presents information indicating the start of the ion generating operation at any of three timings, namely (1) after detection that a predetermined environmental condition is reached and before the start of the ion generating operation, (2) when the ion generating operation is started, and (3) after the start of the ion generating operation.

13. A method for controlling an air conditioner that starts an automatic operation after detecting that a predetermined condition is satisfied, the method comprising:

a receiving step of receiving an operation stop instruction during automatic operation;

a notification step of presenting automatic operation information indicating at least one of a purpose and a reason for starting automatic operation, and continuing the automatic operation without following the operation stop instruction as a trigger for presentation of the automatic operation information;

stopping the automatic operation when an operation stop instruction is received again during at least one of a period during which the automatic operation information is presented in the notifying step and a period until a predetermined time elapses after the presentation of the automatic operation information is completed; and

and automatically stopping the automatic operation based on a stop condition.