Air conditioning system

Abstract

To provide a technique that can reduce an effect on a living room even if a refrigerant has leaked.SOLUTION: An indoor machine is installed in an air conditioning room independent of a living room. A refrigerant concentration sensor detects the concentration of a refrigerant contained in air conditioning room air that is air in the air conditioning room. A branch chamber branches an air conditioning air passage from the air conditioning room, into a conveyance air passage for conveying the air conditioning room air to the living room, and an exhaust air passage for exhausting the air conditioning room air to the outdoors. A branch control unit 220 controls the branch chamber on the basis of the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an air conditioning system that controls the air conditioning of a living room by an air conditioner installed in an air conditioning room independent of the living room.

Background Art

[0002] When a flammable refrigerant leaks from an air conditioner (air conditioner), accurate detection is required. For example, the refrigerant is detected at the air outlet of the indoor unit (air conditioner), and the refrigerant is also detected on the floor surface below the indoor unit. When the gas amount of the refrigerant at the air outlet and the gas amount of the refrigerant on the floor surface exceed the specified amount, the occurrence of refrigerant leakage is warned (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a building-wide air conditioning system, an air conditioner is installed in an air conditioning room independent of the living room to be air-conditioned, and the air in the air conditioning room, that is, the air conditioning room air, is air-conditioned by the air conditioner. The air conditioning room air is conveyed to the living room through a conveying air duct. Generally, since the air conditioning room is narrower than the living room, when the refrigerant leaks from the air conditioner, the concentration of the refrigerant contained in the air conditioning room air becomes higher than the concentration when the refrigerant leaks from the air conditioner installed in the living room.

[0005] Therefore, the present disclosure solves the above problems and aims to provide a technique for reducing the influence on the living room even when the refrigerant leaks.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, an air conditioning system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes an air conditioner installed in an air conditioning room independent of a living room, a refrigerant concentration sensor that detects the concentration of a refrigerant contained in air conditioning room air, which is the air in the air conditioning room, a branch chamber that branches an air conditioning air duct from the air conditioning room into a conveyance air duct for conveying the air conditioning room air to the living room and an exhaust air duct for exhausting the air conditioning room air to the outside, and a branch control unit that controls the branch chamber based on the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor.

[0007] In addition, any combination of the above components, and those obtained by converting the expressions of the present disclosure among a method, an apparatus, a system, a recording medium, a computer program, etc. are also effective as aspects of the present disclosure.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, even when the refrigerant leaks, the influence on the living room can be reduced.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Before specifically describing embodiments of the present disclosure, an overview of the embodiments will be described. This embodiment relates to an air conditioning system that is provided in a facility such as a house and performs whole-building air conditioning for the facility. In the air conditioning system, an air conditioner (indoor unit) is installed in an air conditioning room separate from the living room to be air conditioned, and the air conditioning room is air conditioned by the indoor unit. The air conditioning room and the living room are connected by a duct, and the air in the air conditioning room (hereinafter referred to as "air conditioning room air") is conveyed to the living room through the duct, whereby the living room is air conditioned. When the refrigerant leaks from such an indoor unit, the refrigerant is contained in the air conditioning room air. As described above, generally, the air conditioning room is smaller than the living room, so the concentration of the refrigerant contained in the air conditioning room air becomes higher than the concentration when the refrigerant leaks from the air conditioner installed in the living room.

[0011] In such an air conditioning system, it is required to accurately determine that the refrigerant is leaking and to reduce the impact on the living room even when the refrigerant leaks. The air conditioning system according to this embodiment periodically stops the blower for conveying the air conditioning room air to the living room in order to accurately determine that the refrigerant is leaking, and detects the concentration of the refrigerant during that time. Since such a concentration of the refrigerant is the concentration of the refrigerant in a state where the air conditioning room air stays in the air conditioning room, the accuracy of the concentration detection is improved. When it is determined that the refrigerant is leaking based on the accurately detected concentration, the accuracy of the determination is improved. Further, the air conditioning system according to this embodiment discharges the air conditioning room air to the outside of the facility without conveying it to the living room in order to reduce the impact on the living room even when the refrigerant leaks.

[0012] The embodiments described below all show preferred specific examples of the present disclosure. Therefore, the numerical values, shapes, materials, components, arrangement positions and connection forms of the components shown in the following embodiments, as well as the steps (processes) and the order of the steps, etc. are just examples and not intended to limit the present disclosure. Therefore, among the components in the following embodiments, the components not described in the independent claims indicating the highest-level concept of the present disclosure are described as arbitrary components. Also, in each figure, the same reference numerals are given to substantially the same configurations, and duplicate explanations are omitted or simplified. Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described in the order of (1) overall configuration, (2) determination of whether there is leakage, (3) damper control, and (4) modification examples.

[0013] (1) Overall configuration FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the air conditioning system 1000. The air conditioning system 1000 is installed in a house, and the house includes a first living room 10a, a second living room 10b, and an air conditioning room 20, which are collectively referred to as a living room 10. The number of living rooms 10 in the house is not limited to "2". The living room 10 is a space to be air-conditioned, and the air conditioning room 20 is a space independent of the living room 10.

[0014] The first conveyance duct 150a, which is collectively referred to as the outside air introduction duct 102, the exhaust duct 106, the air conditioning duct 130, and the conveyance duct 150, the second conveyance duct 150b, the air conditioning exhaust duct 154, the first circulation duct 162a, which is collectively referred to as the circulation duct 162, the second circulation duct 162b, the circulation duct 164, and the first exhaust duct 172a, which is collectively referred to as the exhaust duct 172, and the second exhaust duct 172b are pipes for transporting air, that is, air passages.

[0015] An outside air inlet 100 is installed on the outer wall of the house. An outside air introduction duct 102 extends from the outside air inlet 100 toward the inside of the house. The outside air introduction duct 102 is connected to a ventilation device 104. An outside air introduction fan (not shown) is installed in the ventilation device 104. By the rotation of the outside air introduction fan, air (outside air) is taken in from the outside air inlet 100, and the air flows into the ventilation device 104 through the outside air introduction duct 102. The outside air introduction duct 102 further extends from the ventilation device 104 and is connected to a circulation duct 164, allowing the air from the ventilation device 104 to flow into the circulation duct 164.

[0016] An exhaust duct 106 is also connected to the ventilation device 104. The exhaust duct 106 is connected to a first exhaust duct 172a extending from the first living room 10a and a second exhaust duct 172b extending from the second living room 10b, and extends toward the outer wall of the house via the ventilation device 104. The first exhaust duct 172a is also connected to a first suction port 170a installed in the first living room 10a, and the second exhaust duct 172b is also connected to a second suction port 170b installed in the second living room 10b. Further, the exhaust duct 106 is also connected to an exhaust port 108 installed on the outer wall of the house.

[0017] An exhaust fan (not shown) is installed in the ventilation device 104. Due to the rotation of the exhaust fan, air is taken in from the first air inlet 170a, and the air flows into the ventilation device 104 through the first exhaust duct 172a and the exhaust duct 106. Also, due to the rotation of the exhaust fan, air is taken in from the second air inlet 170b, and the air flows into the ventilation device 104 through the second exhaust duct 172b and the exhaust duct 106. Further, the air (exhaust air) is discharged from the exhaust port 108 through the exhaust duct 106. In this way, the first exhaust duct 172a, the second exhaust duct 172b, and the exhaust duct 106 gather the air from the first living room 10a and the second living room 10b, and discharge the air outdoors from one exhaust port 108. As a result, the ventilation device 104 ventilates the first living room 10a and the second living room 10b, which are different from each other, and the air inside and outside the living room 10 is exchanged. Heat exchange may be performed between the air (outdoor air) taken in from the outdoor air inlet 100 and the air (exhaust air) taken in from the living room 10 in the ventilation device 104.

[0018] Inside the house, a first circulation duct 162a, a second circulation duct 162b, a circulation duct 164 extending from each living room 10 to the air-conditioning room 20, an air-conditioning duct 130, a first conveyance duct 150a, and a second conveyance duct 150b extending from the air-conditioning room 20 to each living room 10 are installed. The first circulation duct 162a, the second circulation duct 162b, and the circulation duct 164 are also called return air ducts, and the air-conditioning duct 130, the first conveyance duct 150a, and the second conveyance duct 150b are also called supply air ducts. The air passages connecting these ducts are configured in a loop.

[0019] The circulation duct 164 is connected to a first circulation duct 162a extending from the first living room 10a, a second circulation duct 162b extending from the second living room 10b, and an outdoor air introduction duct 102. The first circulation duct 162a is also connected to a first circulation port 160a installed in the first living room 10a, and the second circulation duct 162b is also connected to a first circulation port 160b installed in the second living room 10b. In the circulation duct 164, the air from the first circulation duct 162a, the air from the second circulation duct 162b, and the air from the outdoor air introduction duct 102 are mixed. The mixed air goes toward the air-conditioning room 20.

[0020] The air-conditioning duct 130 extending from the air-conditioned room 20 is connected to the branch chamber 140, and the first transport duct 150a, the second transport duct 150b, and the air-conditioning exhaust duct 154 are connected to the branch chamber 140. The first transport duct 150a is also connected to the first air outlet 152a installed in the first living room 10a, and the second transport duct 150b is also connected to the second air outlet 152b installed in the second living room 10b. Further, the air-conditioning exhaust duct 154 is also connected to the air-conditioning exhaust port 156 provided on the outer wall of the house. The operation of the branch chamber 140 and the air flow through the branch chamber 140 will be described later.

[0021] In the air-conditioned room 20, a humidifier 120, an indoor unit 122, a blower 126, and a refrigerant concentration sensor 128 are installed. Air from the circulation duct 164 flows into the air-conditioned room 20. The air flowing into the air-conditioned room 20 (the air inside the air-conditioned room 20) corresponds to the aforementioned "air-conditioned room air". The humidifier 120 humidifies or dehumidifies the air-conditioned room air. The indoor unit 122 (air conditioner) is connected to the outdoor unit 124 installed outside the facility and cools or heats the air-conditioned room air. The blower 126 blows the air-conditioned room air from the air-conditioned room 20 to the air-conditioning duct 130.

[0022] The humidifier 120, the indoor unit 122, and the blower 126 are provided with a wireless communication function or a wired communication function and are capable of communicating with the control device 200. The humidifier 120, the indoor unit 122, and the blower 126 receive instructions from the control device 200 for humidification or dehumidification in the humidifier 120, cooling or heating in the indoor unit 122, and blowing in the blower 126. The humidifier 120, the indoor unit 122, and the blower 126 operate according to the instructions received from the control device 200.

[0023] The refrigerant concentration sensor 128 detects the concentration of the refrigerant contained in the air-conditioned room air, which is the air in the air-conditioned room 20. Since a known technique may be used for detecting the concentration of the refrigerant in the refrigerant concentration sensor 128, the description thereof is omitted here. The refrigerant concentration sensor 128 has a wireless communication function or a wired communication function and is communicable with the control device 200. The refrigerant concentration sensor 128 transmits the value of the refrigerant concentration to the control device 200.

[0024] The air-conditioned room 20 may be provided with a filter. The filter is, for example, a HEPA filter (High Efficiency Particulate Air). The HEPA filter is an air filter that removes dust, dirt, etc. from the air-conditioned room air and outputs the cleaned air-conditioned room air. The cleaned air-conditioned room air is blown by the blower 126.

[0025] The branch chamber 140 branches the air duct 130 from the air-conditioned room 20 into a first conveyance duct 150a, a second conveyance duct 150b, and an air-conditioning exhaust duct 154. The conveyance duct 150 is an air passage for conveying the air-conditioned room air to the living room 10, and the air-conditioning exhaust duct 154 is an air passage for exhausting the air-conditioned room air outdoors.

[0026] The branch chamber 140 includes a first conveyance air volume adjustment damper 142a, a second conveyance air volume adjustment damper 142b, and an exhaust air volume adjustment damper 144, which are collectively referred to as a conveyance air volume adjustment damper 142. The first conveyance air volume adjustment damper 142a is provided at a portion branched into the first conveyance duct 150a in the branch chamber 140 and can open and close the first conveyance duct 150a. The second conveyance air volume adjustment damper 142b is provided at a portion branched into the second conveyance duct 150b in the branch chamber 140 and can open and close the second conveyance duct 150b. The exhaust air volume adjustment damper 144 is provided at a portion branched into the air-conditioning exhaust duct 154 in the branch chamber 140 and can open and close the air-conditioning exhaust duct 154.

[0027] The branch chamber 140 is equipped with a wireless communication function or a wired communication function and can communicate with the control device 200. The branch chamber 140 receives instructions from the control device 200 for opening and closing each of the first supply air volume adjustment damper 142a, the second supply air volume adjustment damper 142b, and the exhaust air volume adjustment damper 144. The branch chamber 140 opens and closes each of the first supply air volume adjustment damper 142a, the second supply air volume adjustment damper 142b, and the exhaust air volume adjustment damper 144 according to the received opening and closing instructions.

[0028] The first supply air volume adjustment damper 142a adjusts the amount of conditioned air transported from the first supply duct 150a to the first living room 10a by opening and closing. The second supply air volume adjustment damper 142b adjusts the amount of conditioned air transported from the second supply duct 150b to the second living room 10b by opening and closing. The exhaust air volume adjustment damper 144 adjusts the amount of conditioned air exhausted from the air-conditioning exhaust duct 154 to the outdoors by opening and closing. When the air-conditioning system 1000 performs whole-building air-conditioning, the first supply air volume adjustment damper 142a and the second supply air volume adjustment damper 142b are opened, and the exhaust air volume adjustment damper 144 is closed.

[0029] The control device 200 is a system controller that controls the entire air-conditioning system 1000. The control device 200 is equipped with a wireless communication function or a wired communication function and can communicate with the humidifier 120, the indoor unit 122, the blower 126, the refrigerant concentration sensor 128, and the branch chamber 140. The control device 200 performs the determination of (2) whether there is a leak, which will be described later, and (3) damper control. In FIG. 1, the control device 200 is installed in the first living room 10a, but it is not limited thereto.

[0030] (2) Determination of whether there is a leak As described above, when the air conditioning system 1000 performs whole-building air conditioning, the first conveyance air volume adjustment damper 142a and the second conveyance air volume adjustment damper 142b are opened, and the exhaust air volume adjustment damper 144 is closed. Therefore, the air conditioning room air in the air conditioning room 20 is blown out to the first living room 10a and the second living room 10b through the air conditioning duct 130, the branch chamber 140, the first conveyance duct 150a, and the second conveyance duct 150b. The air in the first living room 10a and the second living room 10b is discharged outside the facility through the first exhaust duct 172a, the second exhaust duct 172b, and the exhaust duct 106. Also, the air in the first living room 10a and the second living room 10b is returned to the air conditioning room 20 through the first circulation duct 162a, the second circulation duct 162b, and the circulation duct 164. At that time, outside air flows into the circulation duct 164 through the outside air introduction duct 102.

[0031] By circulating the air in this way, air enters and exits the air conditioning room 20. That is, the air conditioning room air does not continue to stay in the air conditioning room 20 and is constantly replaced. Therefore, even if the refrigerant leaks from the indoor unit 122 and is contained in the air conditioning room air, the air conditioning room air containing the refrigerant is also replaced. In such a situation, the refrigerant concentration sensor 128 cannot accurately detect the concentration of the refrigerant contained in the air conditioning room air. As a result, the determination accuracy of refrigerant leakage also decreases.

[0032] To suppress the decrease in the determination accuracy of refrigerant leakage, the control device 200 executes the following process. FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the control device 200. The control device 200 includes a cycle setting unit 210, a state change unit 212, a concentration increase amount calculation unit 214, a refrigerant concentration storage unit 216, a leakage determination unit 218, a branch control unit 220, and an abnormality notification unit 222. As the states of the air conditioning system 1000, a first state and a second state different from each other are defined. The first state is a state in which the air conditioning room air is conveyed to the living room 10, for example, a state in which the blower 126 is operated. On the other hand, the second state is a state in which the air entering and leaving the air conditioning room 20 is less than that in the first state, for example, a state in which the blower 126 is stopped.

[0033] The period for switching between these first state and second state is set in the period setting unit 210. Here, the period refers to the timing when repeatedly switching between the first state and the second state. The state change unit 212 switches between the first state and the second state based on the period set in the period setting unit 210. FIGS. 3(a)-(b) show an overview of the operation of the state change unit 212. As shown in FIG. 3(a), the first state over the first period 400 and the second state over the second period 402 are alternately switched. Here, the first period 400 is longer than the second period 402. Here, consider the case where the state of the air conditioning system 1000 is switched between the first state and the second state once a day. In this case, for example, the 23 hours from 0:00 to 23:00 are set as the first state, and the 1 hour from 23:00 to 24:00 is set as the second state. Here, 23 hours corresponds to the first period 400, and 1 hour corresponds to the second period 402. If the first period 400 is longer than the second period 402, the lengths of the first period 400 and the second period 402 may be freely set. However, in order to detect refrigerant leakage at an early stage, it is preferable to set the state of the air conditioning system 1000 to be switched between the first state and the second state at least once a day. FIG. 3(b) will be described later, and return to FIG. 2.

[0034] In the first state, the state change unit 212 transmits an operation instruction to the blower 126, and the blower 126 operates when it receives the operation instruction. Further, the state change unit 212 outputs state information indicating that it is the first state to the concentration increase amount calculation unit 214, the refrigerant concentration storage unit 216, and the leakage determination unit 218. On the other hand, in the second state, the state change unit 212 transmits a stop instruction to the blower 126, and the blower 126 stops when it receives the stop instruction. Further, the state change unit 212 outputs state information indicating that it is the second state to the concentration increase amount calculation unit 214, the refrigerant concentration storage unit 216, and the leakage determination unit 218.

[0035] When the state information received by the refrigerant concentration storage unit 216 changes from the first state to the second state, that is, at the time of transition from the first state to the second state, the refrigerant concentration storage unit 216 stores the concentration of the refrigerant received from the refrigerant concentration sensor 128 (hereinafter referred to as "initial concentration").

[0036] In the second state, the leakage determination unit 218 acquires the initial concentration stored in the refrigerant concentration storage unit 216. Also, at the timing of the end of the second state, the leakage determination unit 218 receives the concentration of the refrigerant from the refrigerant concentration sensor 128. The leakage determination unit 218 calculates the difference between the initial concentration and the received refrigerant concentration, and if the difference is equal to or greater than the threshold value, determines that the refrigerant is leaking. When the difference is equal to or greater than the threshold value, it corresponds to the case where the received refrigerant concentration is equal to or greater than the threshold value.

[0037] On the other hand, in the second state, if the difference is less than the threshold value, the leakage determination unit 218 determines that the refrigerant is not leaking. When the difference is less than the threshold value, it corresponds to the case where the received refrigerant concentration is less than the threshold value. That is, the leakage determination unit 218 determines whether the refrigerant is leaking in the second state. The leakage determination unit 218 outputs the determination result to the branch control unit 220 and the abnormality notification unit 222.

[0038] The processing of the branch control unit 220 that receives the determination result will be described later. The abnormality notification unit 222 receives the determination result from the leakage determination unit 218. When the determination result indicates refrigerant leakage, the abnormality notification unit 222 notifies the terminal device 300 of the refrigerant leakage (abnormality) by wireless communication. The terminal device 300 is a wireless device owned by the user in the living room 10, for example, a smartphone. When the terminal device 300 receives the notification of the refrigerant leakage (abnormality) from the control device 200, it outputs the notification of the refrigerant leakage (abnormality) to the display. The terminal device 300 may output the notification of the refrigerant leakage (abnormality) by voice.

[0039] When the state information received from the state change unit 212 is in the second state, the concentration increase calculation unit 214 receives the concentration of the refrigerant from the refrigerant concentration sensor 128. The concentration increase calculation unit 214 calculates the increase amount of the concentration of the refrigerant that has increased over a predetermined time in the second state. The predetermined time is a period shorter than the second period 402 in FIG. 3(a). For example, when the state information received from the state change unit 212 changes from the first state to the second state (hereinafter referred to as "the first timing"), the concentration increase calculation unit 214 calculates the increase amount of the concentration of the refrigerant at the second timing after a predetermined time has elapsed from the first timing with respect to the concentration of the refrigerant at the first timing. The concentration increase calculation unit 214 outputs the increase amount to the state change unit 212. The state change unit 212 receives the increase amount of the concentration of the refrigerant calculated by the concentration increase calculation unit 214 in the second state. When the increase amount of the concentration of the refrigerant is less than the specified value, the state change unit 212 determines to switch from the second state to the first state. In other words, it switches from the second state to the first state regardless of the period set by the period setting unit 210.

[0040] In FIG. 3(b), after the first state continues over the first period 400, the state change unit 212 switches the first state to the second state. At the timing when the second state has elapsed for only the third period 404, since the increase amount of the concentration of the refrigerant is less than the specified value, the state change unit 212 switches the second state to the first state. The third period 404 is a period shorter than the second period 402 and equal to or longer than the predetermined time. Return to FIG. 2.

[0041] (3) Damper control Here, the processing of the branch control unit 220 that has received the determination result will be described. The branch control unit 220 in FIG. 2 receives the determination result from the leakage determination unit 218. When the determination result does not indicate refrigerant leakage, that is, when the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor 128 is less than the threshold value, the branch control unit 220 closes the exhaust air volume adjustment damper 144 and opens the first conveyance air volume adjustment damper 142a and the second conveyance air volume adjustment damper 142b. As a result, the conditioned air in the air conditioning chamber 20 is conveyed from the first conveyance duct 150a to the first living room 10a and from the second conveyance duct 150b to the second living room 10b via the branch chamber 140. As a result, the air circulates in a loop within the facility.

[0042] On the other hand, when the determination result indicates refrigerant leakage, that is, when the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor 128 is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the branch control unit 220 closes the first conveyance air volume adjustment damper 142a and the second conveyance air volume adjustment damper 142b and opens the exhaust air volume adjustment damper 144. As a result, the conditioned air in the air conditioning chamber 20 is exhausted to the outside from the air conditioning exhaust duct 154 via the branch chamber 140. As a result, the conditioned air containing the leaked refrigerant is exhausted. In this way, the branch control unit 220 controls the branch chamber 140 based on the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor 128.

[0043] As described above, when the determination result indicates refrigerant leakage, the abnormality notification unit 222 notifies the terminal device 300 of the refrigerant leakage (abnormality). When the terminal device 300 receives the notification of the refrigerant leakage (abnormality), it outputs the notification of the refrigerant leakage (abnormality). On the other hand, when the terminal device 300 receives the notification of the refrigerant leakage (abnormality), it outputs a notification to the display indicating that the conditioned air in the air conditioning chamber is to be exhausted to the outside. The terminal device 300 may also output a voice notification indicating that the conditioned air in the air conditioning chamber is to be exhausted to the outside.

[0044] The subject of the device, system, or method in the present disclosure includes a computer. By executing a program on this computer, the functions of the subject of the device, system, or method in the present disclosure are realized. The computer mainly includes a processor that operates according to the program as its hardware configuration. The type of the processor is not limited as long as it can realize functions by executing the program. The processor is composed of one or more electronic circuits including a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) or LSI (Large Scale Integration). The plurality of electronic circuits may be integrated on one chip or provided on a plurality of chips. The plurality of chips may be aggregated into one device or provided in a plurality of devices. The program is recorded on a non-transitory recording medium such as a computer-readable ROM, optical disk, or hard disk drive. The program may be stored in the recording medium in advance or supplied to the recording medium via a wide area communication network including the Internet or the like.

[0045] The operation of the air conditioning system 1000 with the above configuration will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure by the control device 200. The control device 200 starts the whole-building air conditioning operation in the first state (S10). The state change unit 212 shifts to the second state and stops the blower 126 (S12). The refrigerant concentration storage unit 216 stores the refrigerant concentration X at the time of shifting to the second state (S14). The concentration increase amount calculation unit 214 calculates the increase amount Z of the refrigerant concentration over a predetermined time (S16). If the increase amount Z is not less than the specified value (N in S18), the leakage determination unit 218 acquires the refrigerant concentration Y in the second state (S20).

[0046] When the concentration Y - concentration X is equal to or greater than the threshold value (Y in S22), the leakage determination unit 218 determines the leakage of the refrigerant, and the branch control unit 220 fully closes the conveyance air volume adjustment damper 142 and adjusts the opening degree of the exhaust air volume adjustment damper 144 (S24). The abnormality notification unit 222 notifies the start of exhaust to the terminal device 300 (S26). When the increase amount Z is less than the specified value (Y in S18), or when the concentration Y - concentration X is not equal to or greater than the threshold value (N in S22), the branch control unit 220 fully closes the exhaust air volume adjustment damper 144 and adjusts the opening degree of the conveyance air volume adjustment damper 142 (S28). The state change unit 212 returns to the first state and operates the blower 126 (S30).

[0047] (4) Modification example FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the air conditioning system 1000. The air conditioning system 1000 has a different shape of the air conditioning exhaust duct 154 compared to the air conditioning system 1000 in FIG. 1. The air conditioning exhaust duct 154 extends from the branch chamber 140 to the ventilation device 104. Further, the air conditioning exhaust duct 154 is connected to the exhaust duct 106 in the branch chamber 140. As a result, the air conditioning exhaust duct 154 communicates the branch chamber 140 and the ventilation device 104. The ventilation device 104 exhausts the room air, which is the air in the room 10, from the exhaust port 108. Also, when the refrigerant leaks, the ventilation device 104 exhausts the air in the air-conditioned room from the ventilation device 104 together with the room air. When the refrigerant leaks, it corresponds to the case where the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor 128 is equal to or greater than the threshold value. Other operations are the same as before.

[0048] According to the present embodiment, the first state in which the air in the air-conditioned room is conveyed to the room 10 and the second state in which the air flow in and out of the air-conditioned room 20 is less than that in the first state are switched, and the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor 128 in the second state is acquired to determine whether the refrigerant is leaking. Therefore, the determination accuracy can be improved. Also, since the blower 126 is operated in the first state and stopped in the second state, the air flow in and out of the air-conditioned room 20 can be adjusted. Further, since the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor 128 at the time of transition from the first state to the second state is stored and the stored concentration of the refrigerant is used for the determination, the determination accuracy can be improved.

[0049] In addition, based on the period set by the period setting unit 210, the first state and the second state are switched, and it is determined whether the refrigerant is leaking in the second state, so it is possible to periodically determine whether the refrigerant is leaking. Further, when the increase amount of the concentration of the refrigerant increased over a predetermined time in the second state is less than a specified value, the first state is switched even in the second state, so the period of the second state can be shortened. By shortening the period of the second state, the conveyance of the air-conditioned room air to the living room can be restarted earlier and the comfort of the user can be maintained. Further, when it is determined that the refrigerant is leaking, an abnormality is notified to the terminal device 300, so that the user of the living room 10 can be informed of the abnormality.

[0050] In addition, based on the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor 128, the branch chamber 140 is controlled to select the conveyance duct 150 or the air-conditioning exhaust duct 154, so that the influence on the living room 10 can be reduced even when the refrigerant leaks. Further, when the concentration of the refrigerant is less than the threshold value, the air-conditioned room air is conveyed from the conveyance duct 150 to the living room 10, and when the concentration of the refrigerant is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the air-conditioned room air is exhausted from the air-conditioning exhaust duct 154 to the outside, so that the influence on the living room 10 can be reduced even when the refrigerant leaks.

[0051] In addition, since the conveyance duct 150 or the air-conditioning exhaust duct 154 is selected by the conveyance air volume adjustment damper 142 and the exhaust air volume adjustment damper 144, the blowing destination of the air-conditioned room air can be surely changed. In addition, since the air-conditioning exhaust duct 154 communicates the branch chamber 140 and the ventilation device 104, the air-conditioned room air can be exhausted from the exhaust port 108. Further, when it is determined that the refrigerant is leaking, the terminal device 300 is notified that the air-conditioned room air is exhausted to the outside, so that the user of the living room 10 can be informed of the abnormality in the exhaust of the air-conditioned room air.

[0052] The outline of one aspect of the present disclosure is as follows. (Item 1-1) An air conditioning system (1000) that conveys the air in an air-conditioned room (20), which is independent of a living room (10), to the living room (10), an air conditioner (122) installed in the air-conditioned room (20), a refrigerant concentration sensor (128) that detects the concentration of the refrigerant contained in the air in the air-conditioned room, a state change unit (212) that switches between a first state in which the air in the air-conditioned room is conveyed to the living room (10) and a second state in which there is less air inflow and outflow to the air-conditioned room (20) than in the first state, a leakage determination unit (218) that acquires the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor (128) in the second state and determines whether the refrigerant is leaking, and an air conditioning system (1000) comprising the above.

[0053] (Item 1-2) The air conditioning system (1000) according to Item 1-1, further comprising a blower (126) that blows the air in the air-conditioned room from the air-conditioned room (20) to the living room (10), wherein the state change unit (212) operates the blower (126) in the first state, and stops the blower (126) in the second state.

[0054] (Item 1-3) The air conditioning system (1000) according to Item 1-1, further comprising a refrigerant concentration storage unit (216) that stores the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor (128) when shifting from the first state to the second state, wherein the leakage determination unit (218) determines that the refrigerant is leaking when the difference between the concentration of the refrigerant stored in the refrigerant concentration storage unit (216) and the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor (128) in the second state is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

[0055] (Item 1-4) The air conditioning system (1000) according to Item 1-1, further comprising a cycle setting unit (210) that sets a cycle for switching between the first state and the second state, wherein the state change unit (212) switch between the first state and the second state based on the cycle set by the cycle setting unit (210), the leakage determination unit (218) is configured to determine whether the refrigerant is leaking in the second state, for the air conditioning system (1000) according to item 1-1.

[0056] (Item 1-5) further comprising a concentration increase amount calculation unit (214) for calculating an increase amount of the concentration of the refrigerant increased over a predetermined time in the second state, the state change unit (212) is configured to switch to the first state even in the second state when the increase amount of the concentration of the refrigerant calculated by the concentration increase amount calculation unit (214) is less than a specified value, for the air conditioning system (1000) according to item 1-4.

[0057] (Item 1-6) further comprising an abnormality notification unit (222) for notifying an abnormality to a terminal device (300) held by a user in the living room (10) when it is determined in the leakage determination unit (218) that the refrigerant is leaking, for the air conditioning system (1000) according to item 1-1.

[0058] (Item 2-1) an air conditioner (122) installed in an air conditioning room (20) independent of the living room (10), a refrigerant concentration sensor (128) for detecting the concentration of the refrigerant contained in the air conditioning room air, which is the air in the air conditioning room (20), a branch chamber (140) for branching the air conditioning air duct (300) from the air conditioning room (20) into a conveyance air duct (150) for conveying the air conditioning room air to the living room (10) and an exhaust air duct (154) for exhausting the air conditioning room air to the outside, a branch control unit (220) for controlling the branch chamber (140) based on the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor (128), and an air conditioning system (1000) comprising the above.

[0059] (Item 2-2) The branch control unit (220) When the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor (128) is less than the threshold value, the branch chamber (140) conveys the air in the air-conditioning chamber from the conveying air duct (150) to the living room (10). When the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor (128) is greater than or equal to the threshold value, the branch chamber (140) exhausts the air in the air-conditioning chamber from the exhaust air duct (154) to the outside. The air-conditioning system (1000) according to item 2-1.

[0060] (Item 2-3) The branch chamber (140) A conveying air volume adjustment damper (142) for adjusting the amount of the air in the air-conditioning chamber conveyed from the conveying air duct (150) to the living room (10), An exhaust air volume adjustment damper (144) for adjusting the amount of the air in the air-conditioning chamber exhausted from the exhaust air duct (154) to the outside, and The branch control unit (220) When the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor (128) is less than the threshold value, the exhaust air volume adjustment damper (144) is closed and the conveying air volume adjustment damper (142) is opened to convey the air in the air-conditioning chamber to the living room (10). When the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor (128) is greater than or equal to the threshold value, the conveying air volume adjustment damper (142) is closed and the exhaust air volume adjustment damper (144) is opened to exhaust the air in the air-conditioning chamber to the outside. The air-conditioning system (1000) according to item 2-2.

[0061] (Item 2-4) Further comprising a ventilation device (104) for exhausting the air in the living room (10), The exhaust air duct (154) communicates the branch chamber (140) and the ventilation device (104), The ventilation device (104) The air conditioning system (1000) according to item 2-2, wherein when the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor (128) is equal to or higher than a threshold value, the air in the air-conditioned room is exhausted together with the room air.

[0062] (Item 2-5) The air conditioning system (1000) further includes an abnormality notification unit (222) that notifies an abnormality to a terminal device (300) held by a user of the room (10). The abnormality notification unit (222) The air conditioning system (1000) according to item 2-2, wherein when the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor (128) is equal to or higher than a threshold value, the terminal device (300) is notified that the air in the air-conditioned room is exhausted outdoors.

[0063] As described above, the present disclosure has been described based on the embodiments. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments at all, and it can be easily inferred that various improvements and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0064] 10 Room, 20 Air-conditioned room, 100 Outdoor air inlet, 102 Outdoor air introduction duct, 104 Ventilator, 106 Exhaust duct, 108 Exhaust port, 120 Humidifier, 122 Indoor unit, 124 Outdoor unit, 126 Blower, 128 Refrigerant concentration sensor, 130 Air conditioning duct, 140 Branch chamber, 142 Conveying air volume adjustment damper, 144 Exhaust air volume adjustment damper, 150 Conveying duct, 152 Air outlet, 154 Air conditioning exhaust duct, 156 Air conditioning exhaust port, 160 Circulation port, 162, 164 Circulation duct, 170 Suction port, 172 Exhaust duct, 200 Control device, 210 Period setting unit, 212 State change unit, 214 Concentration increase amount calculation unit, 216 Refrigerant concentration storage unit, 218 Leakage determination unit, 220 Branch control unit, 222 Abnormality notification unit, 300 Terminal device, 400 First period, 402 Second period, 404 Third period, 1000 Air conditioning system.

Claims

1. An air conditioner installed in an air-conditioned room independent of a living room, a refrigerant concentration sensor for detecting the concentration of refrigerant contained in the air-conditioned room air, which is the air in the air-conditioned room, a branch chamber for branching an air-conditioning air duct from the air-conditioned room into a conveyance air duct for conveying the air-conditioned room air to the living room and an exhaust air duct for exhausting the air-conditioned room air to the outside, a branch control unit for controlling the branch chamber based on the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor, An air-conditioning system comprising the above.

2. The branch control unit when the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor is less than a threshold value, conveys the air-conditioned room air from the branch chamber through the conveyance air duct to the living room, when the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor is equal to or greater than the threshold value, exhausts the air-conditioned room air from the branch chamber through the exhaust air duct to the outside. The air-conditioning system according to Claim 1.

3. The branch chamber is provided with a conveyance air volume adjustment damper for adjusting the amount of the air-conditioned room air conveyed from the conveyance air duct to the living room, and an exhaust air volume adjustment damper for adjusting the amount of the air-conditioned room air exhausted from the exhaust air duct to the outside. The branch control unit when the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor is less than a threshold value, conveys the air-conditioned room air to the living room with the exhaust air volume adjustment damper in a closed state and the conveyance air volume adjustment damper in an open state, when the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor is equal to or greater than the threshold value, exhausts the air-conditioned room air to the outside with the conveyance air volume adjustment damper in a closed state and the exhaust air volume adjustment damper in an open state. The air-conditioning system according to Claim 2.

4. further comprises a ventilation device for exhausting the living room air, which is the air in the living room, the exhaust air duct communicates the branch chamber and the ventilation device, the ventilation device when the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor is equal to or greater than the threshold value, exhausts the air-conditioned room air together with the living room air. The air-conditioning system according to Claim 2.

5. further comprises an abnormality notification unit for notifying an abnormality to a terminal device held by a user in the living room, the abnormality notification unit when the concentration of the refrigerant detected by the refrigerant concentration sensor is equal to or greater than the threshold value, notifies the terminal device that the air-conditioned room air is exhausted to the outside. The air-conditioning system according to Claim 2.

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