Outdoor unit of air conditioner and control method for outdoor unit of air conditioner

Abstract

An outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present disclosure comprises: a housing having an opening; a blower fan having rotating blades that are arranged opposite from the opening inside the housing, the blower fan blowing outside air to a heat exchanger; a bell mouth that surrounds at least a portion of the rotating blades around the rotation axis of the rotating blades; a timer unit that acquires the current time; and a control unit that causes the rotating blades to rotate on the basis of the current time acquired by the timer unit having reached a start time while the air conditioner is stopped.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an outdoor unit of an air conditioner and a method for controlling an outdoor unit of an air conditioner. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, in cold regions, snow may accumulate in the movable area of ​​the blower fan in the outdoor unit of the air conditioner, and ice generated by snowfall or rainfall may grow into icicles along the bell mouth and come into contact with the outdoor fan. In this case, the rotation of the blower fan may be restricted. Furthermore, the blower fan may be damaged. To address such problems, an air conditioner as described in Patent Document 1 has been known. This air conditioner rotates the outdoor unit fan motor at regular time intervals when the outdoor air temperature is equal to or lower than a set temperature and the outdoor unit is stopped. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 06-026697 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the air conditioner described in Patent Document 1 repeatedly operates to rotate the outdoor unit fan motor unless the outdoor temperature rises above the set temperature. Also, the air conditioner described in Patent Document 1 will erroneously detect that the outdoor temperature is below the set temperature if there is snow or icicles on the outdoor air temperature sensor, even if the outdoor temperature actually rises above the set temperature, and will repeatedly rotate the outdoor unit fan motor.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the problems described above, and aims to provide an outdoor unit of an air conditioner that is capable of reducing the power required to prevent the rotation of the blower fan from being restricted by icicles or the like, and a control method for an outdoor unit of an air conditioner. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to a first aspect is an outdoor unit of an air conditioner, comprising: a housing having an opening; a blower fan having a rotor arranged facing the opening inside the housing and blowing outside air to a heat exchanger; a bellmouth surrounding at least a portion of the rotor around the rotation axis of the rotor; a timing unit that acquires a current time; and a control unit that rotates the rotor based on the current time acquired by the timing unit reaching a start-up time while the air conditioner is stopped. The fan includes a motor that rotates the rotor, a fan control unit that controls the motor, and a detection unit that detects the rotation speed of the motor, and the control unit issues a command specifying the rotation speed of the motor to the fan control unit, and when the rotation speed of the motor detected by the detection unit is smaller than the rotation speed specified by the command, increases the rotation speed specified by the command in a stepwise manner. . The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to a first aspect is an outdoor unit of an air conditioner, comprising: a housing having an opening; a blower fan having a rotor arranged facing the opening inside the housing and blowing outside air to a heat exchanger; a bellmouth surrounding at least a portion of the rotor around the rotation axis of the rotor; a timing unit that acquires a current time; and a control unit that rotates the rotor based on the current time acquired by the timing unit reaching a start-up time while the air conditioner is stopped. An installation area acquisition unit that identifies an area in which the outdoor unit is installed, and the control unit sets the start time based on the area. .

[0007] A control method for an outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to a second aspect includes: a housing having an opening; a blower fan having a rotor disposed inside the housing facing the opening, the blower fan blowing outside air to a heat exchanger; a bellmouth surrounding at least a portion of the rotor around a rotation axis of the rotor; a motor that rotates the rotor, a fan control unit that controls the motor, and a detection unit that detects the number of rotations of the motor; A method for controlling an outdoor unit of an air conditioner comprising: acquiring a current time; and, based on the fact that the current time reaches a start time while the air conditioner is stopped, A command designating a rotation speed of the motor is given to the fan control unit; Rotating the rotor, When the rotation speed of the motor detected by the detection unit is smaller than the rotation speed specified by the command, the rotation speed specified by the command is increased stepwise. A method for controlling an outdoor unit of an air conditioner. A control method for an outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to a second aspect is a control method for an outdoor unit of an air conditioner including a housing having an opening, a blower fan having a rotor disposed inside the housing facing the opening and blowing outside air to a heat exchanger, and a bellmouth surrounding at least a portion of the rotor around a rotation axis of the rotor, Identifying an area in which the outdoor unit is installed, and setting a start time based on the area; The current time is acquired, and while the air conditioner is stopped, the current time The above The rotor is rotated based on the arrival of the start time. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the power required to prevent the rotation of a blower fan from being restricted by icicles or the like. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a functional configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a lockup prevention operation of the outdoor unit in the embodiment. [Diagram 5] 6 is a flowchart showing another example of the restraint prevention operation of the outdoor unit in the embodiment. [Figure 6] 6 is a flowchart showing another example of the restraint prevention operation of the outdoor unit in the embodiment. [Figure 7] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of driving a blower fan in a restraint prevention operation according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiment, and can be changed as desired within the scope of the technical idea of ​​the present disclosure. In addition, in the following drawings, the scale and number of each structure may be different from the scale and number of the actual structure in order to make each configuration easier to understand.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show an X-axis, a Y-axis, and a Z-axis. The X-axis shows the front-rear direction of the outdoor unit. The Y-axis shows the width direction of the outdoor unit perpendicular to the front-rear direction. The Z-axis shows the vertical direction. The front-rear direction, width direction, and vertical direction are perpendicular to each other. The side (+X side) of the front-rear direction to which the X-axis arrow points is the front side of the outdoor unit, and the side (-X side) opposite to the side to which the X-axis arrow points is the rear side of the outdoor unit in the front-rear direction. The width direction is the left-right direction of the outdoor unit. The side (+Y side) of the width direction to which the Y-axis arrow points is the left side of the outdoor unit, and the side (-Y side) opposite to the side to which the Y-axis arrow points is the right side of the outdoor unit in the width direction. In the following description, the side in the width direction toward which the Y-axis arrow points (+Y side), i.e., the left side, is referred to as "one side in the width direction," and the side opposite to the side toward which the Y-axis arrow points (-Y side) is referred to as "the other side in the width direction." The side in the vertical direction toward which the Z-axis arrow points (+Z side) is the upper side, and the side opposite to the side toward which the Z-axis arrow points (-Z side) is the lower side.

[0012] The air conditioner 1 of the embodiment includes, for example, an outdoor unit 100, an indoor unit 200, and a circulation path section 300. The outdoor unit 100 is disposed outdoors. The indoor unit 200 is disposed indoors. The outdoor unit 100 and the indoor unit 200 are connected to each other by the circulation path section 300 through which a refrigerant circulates.

[0013] The air conditioner 1 adjusts the temperature of the indoor air by exchanging heat between the refrigerant flowing in the circulation path section 300 and the air in the room where the indoor unit 200 is placed. The refrigerant is, for example, a fluorine-based refrigerant or a hydrocarbon-based refrigerant having a low global warming potential (GWP).

[0014] The outdoor unit 100 has a housing 100a, a blower fan 110, a bell mouth 112, a compressor 120, a heat exchanger 130, and a control unit 140. As shown in FIG. 2, an opening 100b is formed on the +X side of the housing 100a. The opening 100b is covered with a fan grill 100c having a large number of ventilation holes. The housing 100a accommodates the compressor 120, the heat exchanger 130, the blower fan 110, the bell mouth 112, the control unit 140, and the like. The compressor 120 and the heat exchanger 130 are connected by a portion of the circulation path section 300 located inside the housing 100a.

[0015] The indoor unit 200 includes, for example, a heat exchanger 210, a blower fan 220, and a control unit 230. The heat exchanger 210, the blower fan 220, and the control unit 230 are housed inside the indoor unit 200. The air conditioner 1 is capable of a cooling operation for cooling the air in the room in which the indoor unit 200 is located, and a heating operation for heating the air in the room in which the indoor unit 200 is located.

[0016] When the air conditioner 1 is operated in cooling mode, the refrigerant flowing through the circulation path portion 300 circulates through the compressor 120, the heat exchanger 130 of the outdoor unit 100, and the heat exchanger 210 of the indoor unit 200, in that order, before returning to the compressor 120. In the cooling mode, the heat exchanger 130 in the outdoor unit 100 functions as a condenser, and the heat exchanger 210 in the indoor unit 200 functions as an evaporator.

[0017] When the air conditioner 1 is operated in the heating mode, the refrigerant flowing through the circulation path section 300 circulates through the compressor 120, the heat exchanger 210 of the indoor unit 200, and the heat exchanger 130 of the outdoor unit 100 in this order, returning to the compressor 120. The control section 140 operates both the blower fan 110 and the heat exchanger 130. The outdoor unit 100 performs heating operation by changing low-temperature, low-pressure gas refrigerant into high-temperature, high-pressure gas refrigerant and sending it to the indoor unit 200, and heating the indoor air. In the room, the high-temperature, high-pressure gas refrigerant is cooled by the indoor air and becomes a low-temperature liquid refrigerant. The control section 140 changes the liquid refrigerant into a low-temperature, low-pressure two-phase refrigerant by adjusting the valve opening of a pressure reducing device (not shown), and causes it to flow into the heat exchanger 130. The control section 140 operates the blower fan 110 to promote heat exchange between the outdoor air and the refrigerant in the heat exchanger 130. This causes the two-phase refrigerant to be heated by the outdoor air and turned into a low-temperature, low-pressure gas refrigerant. The gas refrigerant returns to the compressor 120, and the refrigerant becomes usable for heating again. In addition, since the blower fan 110 is operating during the heating mode, the blower fan 110 will not freeze and become stuck even if the outdoor temperature is low.

[0018] The control unit 140 stops the compressor 120 while the heating mode is stopped, since there is no need to send refrigerant to the indoor unit 200. The control unit 140 also stops the operation of the blower fan 110, since there is no need to exchange heat between the outdoor air and the heat exchanger 130. If snowfall or the like occurs while the blower fan 110 is stopped, snow may accumulate in the range of motion of the blower fan 110, and ice generated by snowfall or rain may grow into icicles along the bell mouth 112, restricting the rotation of the blower fan 110. Therefore, the control unit 140 performs a restriction prevention operation to prevent snow from accumulating in the range of motion of the blower fan 110.

[0019] The outdoor unit 100 will be described in more detail below with reference to Fig. 2. The housing 100a of the outdoor unit 100 is a substantially rectangular box shape. The housing 100a has an opening 100b. The opening 100b is provided on the front side (+X side) of the housing 100a. The opening 100b is a circular hole centered on the rotation axis AX of the blower fan 110.

[0020] The housing 100a accommodates a heat exchanger 130 and a blower fan 110. The heat exchanger 130 is substantially L-shaped when viewed vertically. The heat exchanger 130 has a first portion 132 extending in the width direction, and a second portion 134 extending forward (+X direction) from an end portion on the other width direction side (-Y side) of the first portion 132. Although not shown, the compressor 120 and the control unit 140 are accommodated on one width direction side (+Y side) in FIG. 2.

[0021] The blower fan 110 is a propeller fan. The blower fan 110 is located in front of the heat exchanger 130 (+X side). More specifically, the blower fan 110 is located in front of the first part 132 of the heat exchanger 130 and on one side in the width direction (+Y side) of the second part 134. The blower fan 110 has a motor 110a, a rotation detector 110b, and a rotor 110c. The motor 110a has a shaft 110d that protrudes forward. The rotor 110c is fixed to the front end of the shaft 110d. The rotation detector 110b is disposed close to the motor 110a to detect the rotation of the motor 110a. The rotation detector 110b outputs a signal based on the rotation of the motor 110a.

[0022] The rotor 110c is rotated around a rotation axis AX by the motor 110a. The rotation axis AX is a virtual axis extending in the front-rear direction (X-axis direction). That is, in the embodiment, the axial direction of the rotation axis AX is the front-rear direction. In the following description, the radial direction centered on the rotation axis AX is simply referred to as the "radial direction", and the circumferential direction around the rotation axis AX is simply referred to as the "circumferential direction".

[0023] The rotor 110c is disposed facing the opening 100b inside the housing 100a. When viewed from the front (+X direction), the rotor 110c is entirely located inside the inner edge of the opening 100b. The rotor 110c is located behind the opening 100b (-X direction). The rotor 110c has a base 110e fixed to the shaft 110d of the motor 110a and a plurality of blades 110f protruding radially outward from the base 110e. The plurality of blades 110f are disposed along the circumferential direction. In the embodiment, three blades 110f are provided. When the rotor 110c rotates, air is sucked into the housing 100a from an air intake port (not shown) provided on the rear surface of the housing 100a. The air drawn into the housing 100a by the rotor 110c passes through the heat exchanger 130 and the rotor 110c, and is blown out through the opening 100b to the front of the housing 100a.

[0024] The outdoor unit 100 further has a bellmouth 112. The bellmouth 112 is a member that guides air blown forward (in the +X direction) from the blower fan 110. The bellmouth 112 is also called a shroud. The bellmouth 112 is attached to the inner wall of the housing 100a. The bellmouth 112 is an annular member that surrounds at least a portion of the rotor 110c around the rotation axis AX of the rotor 110c. In the embodiment, the bellmouth 112 surrounds the front portion of the rotor 110c around the rotation axis AX. The rear portion of the rotor 110c protrudes rearward (in the -X direction) beyond the bellmouth 112.

[0025] A gap is provided between the bell mouth 112 and the rotor 110c in the radial direction. In the embodiment, the gap is referred to as a fan gap G. The fan gap G is a gap between the inner circumferential surface of the bell mouth 112 and the radial outer edge portion 110g of the blade portion 110f in the radial direction. The pressure on the downstream side of the rotor 110c that sends air, i.e., the front side (+X side), is higher than the pressure on the upstream side of the rotor 110c, i.e., the rear side (-X side). Therefore, a part of the air that passes through the rotor 110c from the rear side to the front side flows from the front side where the pressure is high to the rear side where the pressure is low through the gap between the bell mouth 112 and the rotor 110c, i.e., the fan gap G. Therefore, the air sent by the blower fan 110 may leak to the rear side through the fan gap G, and the blowing amount of the blower fan 110 may decrease. Therefore, from the viewpoint of improving the blowing efficiency of the blower fan 110, it is preferable to make the fan gap G smaller.

[0026] The outdoor unit 100 further includes a temperature sensor box 150. An outside air temperature sensor 152 (described later) for detecting the outside air temperature of the outdoor unit 100 is provided inside the temperature sensor box 150. The temperature sensor box 150 is provided, for example, on the rear surface (-X direction) of the outdoor unit 100.

[0027] 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the functional configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment. The indoor unit 200 includes, for example, a blower fan 220, a fan control unit 222, and a control unit 230. The control unit 230 receives commands corresponding to user operations from a remote control 400, and outputs the received commands to the control unit 140. The control unit 230 also outputs information acquired from a mobile communication terminal 500 and commands corresponding to user operations from the remote control 400 to the control unit 140. The control unit 230 issues commands to the fan control unit 222 in the cooling mode and the heating mode to operate the blower fan 220.

[0028] The outdoor unit 100 includes, for example, a blower fan 110, a fan control unit 114, a compressor 120, a control unit 140, an installation area acquisition unit 142, a clock unit 144, and a determination unit 146. The control unit 140 is connected to the fan control unit 114, the compressor 120, the installation area acquisition unit 142, the clock unit 144, and the determination unit 146 via signal lines, and controls each of the connected units. The functional units including the fan control unit 114, the control unit 140, the installation area acquisition unit 142, the clock unit 144, and the determination unit 146 are realized by a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program stored in a program memory. Software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware is written as a program, and the program is stored in the program memory. In addition, some or all of the functional units may be realized by hardware such as a Large Scale Integration (LSI), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware. The memory is realized by a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), a flash memory, an Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), or an Electrically Erasable and Programmable ROM (EEPROM).

[0029] The fan control unit 114 controls the operation of the blower fan 110 under the control of the control unit 140. The fan control unit 114 controls the start and stop of the supply of voltage for driving the motor 110a. A signal indicating a target rotation speed is supplied from the control unit 140 to the fan control unit 114. The fan control unit 114 controls the voltage value applied to the motor 110a so that the actual rotation speed of the motor 110a based on the signal output from the rotation detection unit 110b becomes the target rotation speed.

[0030] The air conditioner 1 includes a remote control 400. The remote control 400 is an example of a remote control unit that issues a command to the control unit 230 of the indoor unit 200 in response to receiving an operation related to the operation of the air conditioner 1. The clock unit 144 acquires the current time from the remote control 400 via the control unit 230. The control unit 230 has a function of a communication unit that communicates with the remote control 400 and a communication terminal such as a mobile communication terminal 500. The control unit 230 is realized by, for example, a processor such as a CPU executing a program stored in a program memory, similar to the control unit 140. The clock unit 144 acquires current time information from the control unit 230. In the embodiment, the clock unit 144 may acquire current time information using either the remote control 400 or the mobile communication terminal 500. The clock unit 144 adjusts the time using the acquired current time information and keeps time.

[0031] The control unit 140 controls the operation of the blower fan 110 and the compressor 120 based on commands acquired from the control unit 230. Furthermore, the control unit 140 performs an operation to prevent the blower fan 110 from being constrained by the bellmouth 112 (hereinafter referred to as a constraining prevention operation). The constraining prevention operation includes an operation to rotate the rotor 110c based on the fact that the current time acquired by the timing unit 144 has reached a predetermined start time while the air conditioner 1 is stopped. The predetermined start time may be one time or multiple times.

[0032] The control unit 140 may acquire information indicating the predetermined start-up time from the remote control 400. For example, a user or an installer operates the remote control 400 to specify the predetermined start-up time, and the remote control 400 supplies information indicating the predetermined start-up time to the control unit 140 of the outdoor unit 100 via the indoor unit 200. The control unit 140 may acquire information indicating the predetermined start-up time from the mobile communication terminal 500. For example, when a user registers the air conditioner 1, the mobile communication terminal 500 acquires information indicating the predetermined start-up time from a cloud or the like, and the mobile communication terminal 500 supplies information indicating the predetermined start-up time to the control unit 140 of the outdoor unit 100 via the indoor unit 200.

[0033] The installation area acquisition unit 142 acquires information that identifies the installation area of ​​the air conditioner 1. The information that identifies the installation area is information that identifies the area in which the air conditioner 1 is installed, and may be, for example, latitude and longitude information of the air conditioner 1. The installation area acquisition unit 142 acquires location information of the mobile communication terminal 500 via the control unit 230, and identifies the area based on the location information of the mobile communication terminal 500. The control unit 140 automatically sets a predetermined start-up time based on the area identified by the installation area acquisition unit 142.

[0034] The air conditioner 1 may include an outside air temperature sensor 152 that acquires the outside air temperature. The determination unit 146 determines to rotate the rotor 110c when the operation mode before the air conditioner 1 is stopped is the heating mode and the outside air temperature acquired by the outside air temperature sensor 152 is lower than a predetermined threshold value.

[0035] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the outdoor unit's lock prevention operation in the embodiment. First, the control unit 140 determines whether the compressor 120 is stopped (step S100). If the compressor 120 is not stopped (step S100: NO), the control unit 140 repeats the process of step S100.

[0036] When the compressor 120 is stopped (step S100: YES), the determination unit 146 determines whether the outside air temperature is equal to or lower than the threshold value T0 and the operation mode immediately before the compressor 120 is stopped is the heating mode (step S102). When the control unit 140 determines that the outside air temperature is equal to or lower than the threshold value T0 and the operation mode immediately before the compressor 120 is stopped is the heating mode (step S102: YES), the control unit 140 proceeds to step S104, and when not (step S102: NO), the control unit 140 returns to step S100.

[0037] In step S104, the control unit 140 determines whether the current time has reached a predetermined start time tx. The start time tx is one of a plurality of start times (t1, t2, ...). The plurality of start times includes three start times, for example, start time t1 is 10 p.m., start time t2 is 1 a.m., and start time t3 is 4 a.m. If the current time has not reached the predetermined start time tx (step S104: NO), the control unit 140 returns the process to step S100. If the current time has reached the predetermined start time tx (step S104: YES), the control unit 140 starts restraint prevention operation (step S106).

[0038] Next, the control unit 140 determines whether there is a wake-up time following the fixed wake-up time tx determined in step S104 (step S108). The next wake-up time is the wake-up time that is closest to the wake-up time being processed among the wake-up times following the wake-up time being processed. If there is no next wake-up time (step S108: NO), the control unit 140 ends the processing of this flowchart. If there is a next wake-up time (step S108: YES), the control unit 140 designates the next wake-up time as the process target and repeats the processing from step S100 onwards.

[0039] As described above, according to the outdoor unit 100 of the embodiment, even if there is snow or icicles between the blower fan 110 and the bellmouth 112, it is possible to prevent the rotation of the blower fan 110 from being restricted. Furthermore, according to the outdoor unit 100, the blower fan 110 is rotated only when the current time reaches a predetermined start time, so that it is possible to prevent the blower fan 110 from being rotated repeatedly. As a result, the outdoor unit 100 can reduce power consumption.

[0040] Furthermore, according to the outdoor unit 100 of the embodiment, when the operating mode immediately after stopping the air conditioner 1 is the heating mode and the outdoor air temperature acquired by the outdoor air temperature sensor 152 is lower than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the blower fan 110 should be rotated. As a result, according to the outdoor unit 100, it is possible to perform the binding prevention operation only when there is a possibility that the blower fan 110 may be bound by accumulated snow or icicles, and it is possible to further reduce power consumption.

[0041] Furthermore, according to the outdoor unit 100 of the embodiment, a plurality of predetermined start times can be set. As a result, according to the outdoor unit 100, it is possible to determine whether or not to perform the restraint prevention operation at each of the plurality of set times.

[0042] 5 is a flowchart showing another example of the outdoor unit's lock prevention operation in the embodiment. First, the control unit 140 determines whether the compressor 120 is stopped (step S200). If the compressor 120 is not stopped (step S200: NO), the control unit 140 repeats the process of step S200.

[0043] If the compressor 120 is stopped (step S200: YES), the control unit 140 determines whether the current time has passed a timing (tx-τ1) that is τ1 before the start time tx (step S202). τ1 is, for example, 10 minutes. If the current time has passed tx-τ1 (step S202: YES), the control unit 140 proceeds to step S204, and if not (step S202: NO), the control unit 140 returns to step S200.

[0044] In step S204, the control unit 140 detects that the outside air temperature is equal to or lower than the threshold value T0 continuously for τ2, and determines whether the operation mode immediately before the shutdown was the heating mode. τ2 is, for example, one minute. That is, the control unit 140 determines whether the outside air temperature is equal to or lower than the threshold value T0 continuously for one minute during the 10 minutes (period of τ1) prior to the start-up time tx. If the control unit 140 detects that the outside air temperature is equal to or lower than the threshold value T0 continuously for τ2, and determines that the operation mode immediately before the shutdown was the heating mode (step S204: YES), the process proceeds to step S206; otherwise (step S204: NO), the process returns to step S200.

[0045] In step S206, the control unit 140 determines whether the current time has reached the predetermined start time tx. If the current time has not reached the predetermined start time tx (step S206: NO), the control unit 140 returns the process to step S200. If the current time has reached the predetermined start time tx (step S206: YES), the control unit 140 starts the restraint prevention operation (step S208).

[0046] Next, the control unit 140 determines whether there is a wake-up time following the wake-up time tx determined in step S206 (step S210). If there is no next wake-up time (step S210: NO), the control unit 140 ends the process of this flowchart. If there is a next wake-up time (step S210: YES), the control unit 140 specifies the next wake-up time and repeats the processes from step S200 onwards.

[0047] As described above, according to the outdoor unit 100 of the embodiment, even if there is snow or icicles between the blower fan 110 and the bellmouth 112, for example, it is possible to prevent the rotation of the blower fan 110 from being restricted. Moreover, according to the outdoor unit 100, the blower fan 110 is rotated only when the current time reaches the start time, so that the required power can be suppressed. Furthermore, according to the outdoor unit 100, it is determined that a state in which the outside air temperature is equal to or lower than the threshold value T0 has been detected continuously for τ2 before the start time, so that it is possible to avoid starting the restriction prevention operation when the outside air temperature temporarily becomes equal to or lower than the threshold value T0 at the start time.

[0048] 6 is a flow chart showing another example of the restraint prevention operation of the outdoor unit in the embodiment. First, the control unit 140 judges whether or not the current time has reached any one of the multiple start times tx (step S300). If the current time has not reached any one of the multiple start times tx (step S300: NO), the control unit 140 repeats the process. If the current time has reached any one of the multiple start times tx (step S300: YES), the control unit 140 advances the process to step S302.

[0049] In step S302, the control unit 140 determines whether a period of τ4 has elapsed since the compressor 120 stopped. τ4 is, for example, one hour. If the period of τ4 has elapsed since the compressor 120 stopped (step S302: YES), the control unit 140 proceeds to step S304, and if not (step S302: NO), the control unit 140 proceeds to step S312.

[0050] In step S304, the determination unit 146 determines whether the accumulated time from the time the compressor 120 was stopped until the outside air temperature became equal to or lower than the threshold value T0 has reached τ5 and the operation mode immediately before the compressor 120 was stopped was the heating mode (step S304). τ5 is, for example, 30 minutes. If the control unit 140 determines that the accumulated time from the time the compressor 120 was stopped until the outside air temperature became equal to or lower than the threshold value T0 has reached τ5 and the operation mode immediately before the compressor 120 was stopped was the heating mode (step S304: YES), the control unit 140 proceeds to step S308, and otherwise (step S304: NO), the control unit 140 proceeds to step S312. In step S308, the control unit 140 starts the restraint prevention operation.

[0051] Next, the control unit 140 determines whether there is a wake-up time following the wake-up time tx determined in step S300 (step S310). If there is no next wake-up time (step S310: NO), the control unit 140 ends the process of this flowchart. If there is a next wake-up time (step S310: YES), the control unit 140 specifies the next wake-up time and repeats the processes from step S300 onwards.

[0052] As described above, according to the outdoor unit 100 of the embodiment, the restraint prevention operation is started based on the accumulated time during which the outdoor air temperature is equal to or lower than the threshold value T0 during the elapsed time τ4 from the time the compressor 120 was stopped. As a result, according to the outdoor unit 100, it is possible to suppress the rotation of the blower fan 110 when the accumulated time during which the outdoor air temperature is equal to or lower than the threshold value T0 is shorter than τ5.

[0053] 7 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of driving the blower fan in the lock prevention operation of the embodiment. First, the control unit 140 sets the target rotation speed of the blower fan 110 to N1 (step S400). The control unit 140 gives a command to the fan control unit 114 to set the target rotation speed of the blower fan 110 to N1. The fan control unit 114 controls the voltage applied to the motor 110a of the blower fan 110 so that the rotation speed of the blower fan 110 becomes N1. N1 is, for example, 200 rpm.

[0054] Next, the control unit 140 judges whether the actual rotation speed of the blower fan 110 is higher than N0 (step S402). N0 is a rotation speed lower than N1, for example, 50 rpm. If the actual rotation speed of the blower fan 110 is not higher than N0 (step S402: NO), the control unit 140 notifies the abnormality, cancels the currently set start time (step S418), and ends the process of this flowchart. The operation of notifying the abnormality may be, for example, an operation of turning on a display indicator (not shown), an operation of notifying the remote control 400 or the mobile communication terminal 500 that the blower fan 110 may be restrained by snow accumulation or icicles, or an operation of notifying the cloud or the like via the mobile communication terminal 500 that the blower fan 110 may be restrained by snow accumulation or icicles.

[0055] If the actual rotation speed of the blower fan 110 is higher than N0 (step S402: YES), the control unit 140 judges whether the actual rotation speed of the blower fan 110 is lower than N1 (step S404). If the actual rotation speed of the blower fan 110 is not lower than N1 (step S404: NO), the control unit 140 operates the blower fan 110 for τ0 (step S416). τ0 is, for example, 15 minutes. If the actual rotation speed of the blower fan 110 is lower than N1 (step S404: YES), the control unit 140 sets the target rotation speed of the blower fan 110 to N2 (step S406). N2 is a rotation speed higher than N1, for example, 500 rpm. The control unit 140 gives a command to the fan control unit 114 to set the target rotation speed of the blower fan 110 to N2. The fan control unit 114 controls the voltage applied to the motor 110a of the blower fan 110 so that the rotation speed of the blower fan 110 becomes N2.

[0056] The control unit 140 judges whether the actual rotation speed of the blower fan 110 is lower than N2 (step S408). If the actual rotation speed of the blower fan 110 is not lower than N2 (step S408: NO), the control unit 140 operates the blower fan 110 for τ0 (step S416). If the actual rotation speed of the blower fan 110 is lower than N2 (step S408: YES), the control unit 140 sets the target rotation speed of the blower fan 110 to N3 (step S410). N3 is a rotation speed higher than N2, for example, 700 rpm. The control unit 140 gives a command to the fan control unit 114 to set the target rotation speed of the blower fan 110 to N3. The fan control unit 114 controls the voltage applied to the motor 110a of the blower fan 110 so that the rotation speed of the blower fan 110 becomes N3.

[0057] Next, the control unit 140 determines whether or not the next wake-up time has been set (step S412). If the next wake-up time has been set (step S412: NO), the control unit 140 ends the process of this flowchart. If the next wake-up time has not been set (step S412: YES), the control unit 140 sets the next wake-up time to a timing (tx+τ3) τ3 hours after the wake-up time tx (step S414), and proceeds to step S416. As a result, the control unit 140 adds the new wake-up time in addition to the predetermined wake-up time.

[0058] As described above, the outdoor unit 100 includes the motor 110a that rotates the rotor 110c, the fan control unit 114 that controls the motor 110a, and the rotation detection unit 110b that detects the rotation speed of the motor 110a. The control unit 140 issues a command specifying the rotation speed of the motor 110a to the fan control unit 114, and when the rotation speed of the motor 110a detected by the rotation detection unit 110b is smaller than the rotation speed specified by the command value, the rotation speed specified by the command can be increased in stages. For example, when the amount of snow accumulated at the opening 100b of the outdoor unit 100 increases due to snow accumulation, the air passage including the fan gap G becomes narrow, and the rotation speed of the blower fan 110 decreases. In contrast, the outdoor unit 100 increases the target rotation speed in stages even if the rotation speed of the blower fan 110 decreases, so that the target rotation speed can be prevented from increasing when there is little snow accumulation or icicles, and the power required to release the constraint of the blower fan 110 can be reduced. Furthermore, according to the outdoor unit 100, when there is a lot of accumulated snow or icicles, the target rotation speed can be increased, thereby improving the snow removal effect according to the degree of accumulation of snow, etc.

[0059] As described above, the outdoor unit 100 of the air conditioner of the embodiment comprises a housing 100a having an opening 100b, a blower fan 110 having rotors 110c arranged opposite the opening 100b inside the housing 100a and blowing outside air to the heat exchanger 130, a bellmouth 112 surrounding at least a portion of the rotor 110c around the rotation axis of the rotor 110c, a timing unit 144 that acquires the current time, and a control unit 140 that rotates the rotor 110c based on the current time reaching a predetermined start-up time while the air conditioner 1 is stopped. According to the embodiment, a control method for an outdoor unit 100 of an air conditioner 1 including a housing 100a having an opening 100b, a blower fan 110 having a rotor 110c arranged inside the housing 100a facing the opening 100b and blowing outside air to a heat exchanger 130, and a bellmouth 112 surrounding at least a part of the rotor 110c around the rotation axis of the rotor 110c, can be realized, in which the current time is acquired, and while the air conditioner 1 is stopped, the outdoor unit control method rotates the rotor 110c based on the current time reaching a predetermined start time. According to such an outdoor unit 100 and control method, the rotor 110c is rotated based on the current time reaching the predetermined start time, so that the power required to prevent the rotation of the blower fan from being restricted by icicles or the like can be suppressed.

[0060] Although the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to the above embodiment, and includes designs within the scope of the present disclosure. The configurations described in the above embodiment can be arbitrarily combined. For example, the above embodiment describes an example of a configuration in which one outdoor unit 100 is equipped with one blower fan 110, but the number of blower fans 110 is not limited to one, and may be, for example, two, or three or more. The blowing direction of the blower fan 110 in the embodiment is not limited to blowing horizontally from the front, and may be, for example, blowing vertically from the top surface of the outdoor unit 100. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] Reference Signs List 1: Air conditioner, 100: Outdoor unit, 100a: Housing, 100b: Opening, 100c: Fan grill, 110: Blower fan, 110a: Motor, 110b: Rotation detector, 110c: Rotor, 110d: Shaft, 110e: Base, 110f: Blade, 110g: Radial outer edge, 112: Bell mouth, 114: Fan control section, 120: Compressor, 130: Heat exchanger, 132...first section, 134...second section, 140...control section, 142...installation area acquisition section, 144...timekeeping section, 146...determination section, 150...temperature sensor box, 152...outdoor air temperature sensor, 200...indoor unit, 210...heat exchanger, 220...blower fan, 222...fan control section, 230...control section, 300...circulation path section, 400...remote control, 500...mobile communication terminal

Claims

1. An outdoor unit of an air conditioner, A housing having an opening; a blower fan having a rotor disposed inside the housing so as to face the opening and configured to blow outside air to the heat exchanger; A bell mouth that surrounds at least a portion of the rotor blade around a rotation axis of the rotor blade; A clock unit for acquiring the current time; a control unit that rotates the rotor blades based on the current time acquired by the timing unit reaching a start time while the air conditioner is stopped; The fan includes a motor that rotates the rotor, a fan control unit that controls the motor, and a detection unit that detects the number of rotations of the motor, The control unit gives a command specifying the rotation speed of the motor to the fan control unit, and when the rotation speed of the motor detected by the detection unit is lower than the rotation speed specified by the command, the rotation speed specified by the command is gradually increased.

2. An outdoor unit of an air conditioner, A housing having an opening; a blower fan having a rotor disposed inside the housing so as to face the opening and configured to blow outside air to the heat exchanger; A bell mouth that surrounds at least a portion of the rotor blade around a rotation axis of the rotor blade; A clock unit for acquiring the current time; a control unit that rotates the rotor blades based on the current time acquired by the timing unit reaching a start time while the air conditioner is stopped; an installation area acquisition unit for identifying an area in which the outdoor unit is installed, The control unit sets the start-up time based on the region.

3. An outside air temperature sensor for acquiring an outside air temperature; a determination unit that determines to rotate the rotor when an operation mode before the air conditioner is stopped is a heating mode and an outside air temperature acquired by the outside air temperature sensor is lower than a threshold value; The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, comprising:

4. The air conditioner includes a remote control unit that issues a command to the air conditioner in response to receiving an operation related to an operation of the air conditioner, The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein the timekeeping unit acquires a current time from the remote control unit.

5. The air conditioner includes a communication unit that communicates with a communication terminal, The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein the timekeeping unit acquires a current time from the communication unit.

6. The air conditioner includes a communication unit that communicates with a communication terminal, The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 2 , wherein the installation area acquisition unit identifies the area based on location information of the communication terminal.

7. The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit sets a plurality of the start-up times.

8. A control method for an outdoor unit of an air conditioner including a housing having an opening, a blower fan having a rotor disposed inside the housing facing the opening and blowing outside air to a heat exchanger, a bell mouth surrounding at least a portion of the rotor around a rotation axis of the rotor, a motor rotating the rotor, a fan control unit controlling the motor, and a detection unit detecting a rotation speed of the motor, comprising: Get the current time, while the air conditioner is stopped, a command specifying a rotation speed of the motor is given to the fan control unit based on the fact that the current time has reached a start time, causing the rotor to rotate; and when the rotation speed of the motor detected by the detection unit is smaller than the rotation speed specified by the command, the rotation speed specified by the command is increased in a stepwise manner. A method for controlling an outdoor unit of an air conditioner.

9. A method for controlling an outdoor unit of an air conditioner including a housing having an opening, a blower fan having a rotor disposed inside the housing facing the opening and blowing outside air to a heat exchanger, and a bellmouth surrounding at least a portion of the rotor around a rotation axis of the rotor, comprising: Identifying the area in which the outdoor unit is installed; Setting a start time based on said region; Get the current time, rotating the rotor based on the fact that the current time has reached the start time while the air conditioner is stopped; A method for controlling an outdoor unit of an air conditioner.

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