Air conditioner

Abstract

An air conditioner 100 comprises: a refrigeration cycle 200 in which a compressor 11, an indoor heat exchanger 12, an expansion valve 13, and an outdoor heat exchanger 14 are connected by refrigerant piping; a determination unit 20 that determines an operation frequency of the compressor 11 corresponding to a combination of a heat load and a thermal capacity of a space to be air-conditioned; and a control unit 30 that causes the compressor 11 to operate at the operation frequency determined by the determination unit 20. The determination unit 20 is characterized by obtaining a correction coefficient corresponding to the heat load and the thermal capacity and determining as the operation frequency of the compressor 11 an operation frequency obtained by correcting an initial operation frequency stored in the control unit 30 using the obtained correction coefficient.

Description

air conditioner

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an air conditioner.

[0002] When an air conditioner is operating in heating mode, as the compressor's operating frequency increases, the heat exchange rate in the indoor unit's heat exchanger increases, resulting in a higher temperature of the air blown out from the indoor unit. Furthermore, when the compressor's operating frequency is fixed during heating mode, a high outdoor temperature increases the heat exchange rate in the outdoor unit's heat exchanger, resulting in a higher temperature of the air blown out from the indoor unit. On the other hand, a low outdoor temperature decreases the heat exchange rate in the outdoor unit's heat exchanger, resulting in a lower temperature of the air blown out from the indoor unit. Therefore, when an air conditioner starts heating mode with a fixed compressor operating frequency, excessive heating capacity may be generated when the outdoor temperature is high, resulting in an unnecessarily high temperature of the air blown out from the indoor unit. This may result in a significant change in indoor temperature, resulting in a loss of comfort. Furthermore, when the outdoor temperature is low, insufficient heating capacity may be generated when the temperature of the air blown out from the indoor unit does not rise quickly, resulting in a loss of rapid indoor heating performance. For this reason, in the air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1, if the outside air temperature is higher than a reference temperature when heating operation starts, the operating frequency of the compressor when heating operation starts, i.e., the initial operating frequency, is corrected to be lower to prevent excessive heating capacity and prevent large changes in the room temperature, and if the outside air temperature is lower than the reference temperature when heating operation starts, the initial operating frequency is corrected to be higher to prevent insufficient heating capacity and prevent a loss of quick heating performance.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 08-219530

[0004] The thermal load of a room, etc., conditioned by an air conditioner, varies depending on, for example, heat transferred between outdoor air and indoor air through walls, windows, etc., heat due to sunlight entering the room through windows, etc., heat generated by people, fixtures, lighting, etc., and heat due to the heat contained in outdoor air drawn into the room through drafts or ventilation openings. When the indoor thermal load is high, the amount of heat supplied per unit time from the indoor unit required to maintain the room at the desired temperature is large, so if the amount of heat supplied from the indoor unit is small, it becomes difficult to maintain the room at the desired temperature stably. On the other hand, when the indoor thermal load is low, even though the amount of heat supplied per unit time from the indoor unit required to maintain the room at the desired temperature is not large, if the amount of heat supplied from the indoor unit is large, the temperature fluctuations in the room will be large. Furthermore, the thermal capacity of the room varies depending on, for example, the materials constituting the room or the furniture installed therein. When the indoor heat capacity is large, a large amount of heat is required to reach the desired indoor temperature. Therefore, if the indoor unit supplies a small amount of heat, it takes a long time to reach the desired indoor temperature. On the other hand, when the indoor heat capacity is small, even though the amount of heat required to reach the desired indoor temperature is not large, if the indoor unit supplies a large amount of heat, the indoor temperature will fluctuate significantly. Thus, the appropriate amount of heat required to reach the desired indoor temperature varies depending on the indoor heat load and heat capacity. As in the air conditioner of Patent Document 1, correcting the initial compressor frequency based on the temperature difference between the outdoor air temperature and the reference outdoor air temperature means correcting the initial operating frequency of the compressor based on the outdoor air temperature, which is one indicator of the thermal load. However, this does not address the possibility of insufficient or excessive air conditioning capacity for both the indoor heat load and heat capacity, and therefore fails to provide air conditioning capacity that is appropriate for the indoor heat load and heat capacity.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an air conditioner that can demonstrate air conditioning capabilities that are adapted to the thermal load and heat capacity in the room.

[0006] The air conditioner of the present disclosure comprises a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve, and an outdoor heat exchanger are connected by refrigerant piping, a determination unit that determines the operating frequency of the compressor corresponding to the combination of the heat load and heat capacity of the space to be air-conditioned, and a control unit that operates the compressor at the operating frequency determined by the determination unit.

[0007] The air conditioner of the present disclosure is equipped with a determination unit that determines the operating frequency of the compressor corresponding to the combination of thermal load and thermal capacity corresponding to the space to be air-conditioned, and a control unit that operates the compressor at the operating frequency determined by the determination unit.Therefore, the compressor is operated at an operating frequency that is suited to the thermal load and thermal capacity in the room, and air conditioning capacity that is suited to the thermal load and thermal capacity in the room can be achieved.

[0008] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram that schematically shows a building in which an air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 is installed. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram that schematically shows the configuration of an air conditioner according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram that schematically shows the flow of refrigerant during operation of an air conditioner according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation control operation during cooling operation of an air conditioner according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of determining the operating frequency of a compressor corresponding to a combination of thermal load and thermal capacity during cooling operation in an air conditioner according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a data table showing the operating frequency of a compressor corresponding to a combination of thermal load and thermal capacity during heating operation in an air conditioner according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of determining the operating frequency of a compressor corresponding to a combination of thermal load and thermal capacity during cooling operation in an air conditioner according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of determining the operating frequency of a compressor corresponding to a combination of thermal load and thermal capacity during heating operation in an air conditioner according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of determining the operating frequency of a compressor corresponding to a combination of thermal load and thermal capacity during heating operation in an air conditioner according to Embodiment 3. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of determining the operating frequency of the compressor corresponding to the combination of the thermal load and the thermal capacity during heating operation in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 3. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation control operation during cooling operation in the air conditioner according to Embodiment 4.

[0009] Embodiment 1. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a building in which an air conditioner 100 according to embodiment 1 is installed. The air conditioner 100 adjusts the temperature of a room 1, which is a space to be air-conditioned in the building, to a desired temperature. The air conditioner 100 includes an indoor unit 200b installed in the room 1 and an outdoor unit 200a installed in an outdoor room 2 separated from the room 1 by a wall 3. The wall 3 is provided with a window 4 and a ventilation opening 8, a light 7 is installed in the ceiling, and the room 1 is equipped with fixtures 6 such as a PC, furniture 9, and the like, and people 5 enter and exit the room 1. In such a building, the temperature of the air in the room 1 fluctuates due to factors such as heat transferred between the air in the outdoor room 2 and the air in the room 1 via the wall 3, window 4, etc.; heat due to sunlight entering the room 1 through the window 4; heat generated by the fixtures 6 such as a PC, the light 7, people 5, etc.; and heat due to heat retained in the air from the outdoor room 2 taken into the room 1 through drafts or the ventilation opening 8. The air conditioner 100 according to the first embodiment adjusts or maintains the temperature in the room 1, which is subject to such temperature fluctuation factors, at a desired temperature.

[0010] 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioner 100 according to Embodiment 1. This air conditioner 100 is designed to exhibit air conditioning capacity adapted to the thermal load and thermal capacity of a room 1, which is a space to be air-conditioned in a building or the like, and to this end is equipped with a determination unit 20 that determines the operating frequency of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of the thermal load and thermal capacity of the room 1, and a control unit 30 that operates the compressor 11 at the operating frequency determined by the determination unit 20. The detailed configuration will be described below.

[0011] As shown in Figure 2, the air conditioner 100 according to this embodiment includes an indoor unit 200b having an indoor heat exchanger 14 and installed in the room 1, which is the space to be air-conditioned in a building or the like, and an outdoor unit 200a having a compressor 11, an outdoor heat exchanger 12, an expansion valve 13, and a four-way valve 15 and installed in the outdoor 2. The compressor 11, the outdoor heat exchanger 12, the expansion valve 13, the indoor heat exchanger 14, and the four-way valve 15 are connected by refrigerant piping to form a refrigeration cycle 200. The air conditioner 100 further includes a determination unit 20 that determines the operating frequency of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of thermal load and thermal capacity in the room 1, a control unit 30 that operates the compressor 11 at the operating frequency determined by the determination unit 20, and a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller) 40 that allows a user to set operating information for the air conditioner 100 and displays operating information for the air conditioner 100. The decision unit 20, the control unit 30, and the remote control 40 are provided in the indoor unit 200b.

[0012] The refrigerant circulating through the refrigerant pipe of the refrigeration cycle 200 is a non-flammable refrigerant or a flammable refrigerant. An example of a non-flammable refrigerant is R410A. An example of a flammable refrigerant is a slightly flammable refrigerant such as R32, a flammable refrigerant such as R152a, or a highly flammable refrigerant such as propane.

[0013] The compressor 11 draws in and compresses a refrigerant. The compressor 11 is operated by the control unit 30 at the operating frequency determined by the determination unit 20. The outdoor heat exchanger 12 exchanges heat between the refrigerant circulating through the refrigerant piping and the air in the outdoor space 2. The indoor heat exchanger 14 exchanges heat between the refrigerant circulating through the refrigerant piping and the air in the room 1. The expansion valve 13 expands and reduces the pressure of the refrigerant and is implemented, for example, by an electronic expansion valve, and its opening degree is controlled by a control signal received from the control unit 30. The four-way valve 15 switches between cooling operation and heating operation by switching the direction of circulation of the refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle 200 depending on the setting of the air conditioner 100 operating information received from the control unit 30.

[0014] The outdoor unit 200a is equipped with an outdoor blower fan (not shown). The outdoor blower fan draws air from the outdoors 2 into the outdoor unit 200a and discharges the air that has exchanged heat with the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 12 to the outside of the outdoor unit 200a. The outdoor unit 200a is also equipped with a location information acquisition unit (not shown) that acquires location information of the air conditioner 100. For example, the location information is acquired using a GPS (Global Positioning System) or the like. The location information acquisition unit may be provided in the indoor unit 200b as long as it can communicate with the determination unit 20 via a wired or wireless connection, or may be located in a remote location as long as it is connected via a network (not shown).

[0015] The indoor unit 200b is equipped with an indoor blower fan (not shown). The indoor blower fan draws air from the room 1 into the indoor unit 200b and blows the air that has exchanged heat with the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchanger 14 out of the indoor unit 200b into the room 1. The indoor unit 200b also is equipped with a flap (not shown) and a louver (not shown). The flap changes the direction of the air blown out from the indoor unit 200b vertically by controlling its angle in the vertical direction, and the louver changes the direction of the air blown out from the indoor unit 200b horizontally by controlling its angle in the horizontal direction.

[0016] The determination unit 20, the control unit 30, and the remote control 40 each include a microcomputer having a memory and a processor, and are configured to enable two-way communication via wire or wireless. Here, the thermal load corresponding to the room 1, which is the space to be air-conditioned, comprehensively indicates the amount of heat that moves between the air in the room 1 and the air in the outside room 2 through the walls 3, windows 4, etc., the heat caused by sunlight entering the room 1 through the windows 4, etc., the heat generated by people 5, fixtures 6, lighting 7, etc., the heat caused by the heat retained in the air from the outside room 2 that is taken into the room 1 through drafts or ventilation openings 8, the floor height of the room 1, the area of ​​the windows 4 installed in the room 1, etc., and the amount of heat that enters and leaves the room 1, or the amount of heat generated in the room 1. The amount of heat transferred between the outdoor air 2 and the indoor air 1 through the walls 3, windows 4, etc. is due to, for example, the outdoor air temperature; the amount of heat caused by sunlight entering the indoor air 1 through the windows 4, etc. is due to, for example, the amount of solar radiation; the amount of heat generated by people 5, fixtures 6, lighting 7, etc. is due to, for example, the indoor temperature; and the amount of heat retained in the outdoor air 2 taken into the indoor air 1 through drafts or ventilation openings 8 is due to, for example, the drafts or air volume through the ventilation openings 8. The heat capacity corresponding to the indoor air 1, which is the target space for air conditioning, is due to, for example, the volume of the indoor air 1, the components constituting the indoor air 1, the furniture 9 installed in the indoor air 1, or the number of windows 4 installed in the indoor air 1, and indicates the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of the components constituting the target space by 1 degree. Heat load information and heat capacity information, which indicate the heat load and heat capacity, respectively, are input by the user or installer via the remote control 40 into a memory unit (not shown) provided in the control unit 30.

[0017] The control unit 30 controls the operation of the devices constituting the refrigeration cycle 200, such as controlling the compressor 11 to operate at the operating frequency determined by the determination unit 20 and controlling the switching of the four-way valve 15 based on the operation information of the air conditioner 100 input from the remote control 40. The control unit 30 controls the indoor blower fan, flaps, and louvers so that the air volume of the indoor blower fan and the angles of the flaps and louvers are determined based on the information input via the remote control 40. The control unit 30 also includes a memory unit (not shown) and a timer unit (not shown). The memory unit stores heat load information and heat capacity information input by a user or an installer via the remote control 40. The timer unit has a function of acquiring current time information and date information and a function of measuring time. The memory unit stores initial operation information of the air conditioner 100 installed in the room 1 at the intended location at the time of mass production shipment of the air conditioner 100. For example, if the assumed location is Tokyo, an average room 1 in Tokyo where the air conditioner 100 is installed is assumed, and the initial operation information includes the operating frequency of the compressor 11 when the air conditioner 100 starts cooling or heating operation in the room 1 (hereinafter referred to as the initial operating frequency), the air volume (hereinafter referred to as the initial air volume) and air direction (hereinafter referred to as the initial air direction) of the indoor unit 200b when the air conditioner 100 performs cooling operation in the assumed room 1 (hereinafter referred to as the reference outdoor temperature during cooling operation), the reference outdoor temperature when the air conditioner 100 performs heating operation in the assumed room 1 (hereinafter referred to as the reference outdoor temperature during heating operation), the assumed volume of the room 1 (hereinafter referred to as the assumed volume), the assumed heat load of the room 1 (hereinafter referred to as the initial heat load), and the assumed heat capacity of the room 1 (hereinafter referred to as the initial heat capacity). Note that the assumed location does not have to be Tokyo. The storage unit also stores a data table indicating the operating frequency of the compressor 11 corresponding to a combination of the thermal load and thermal capacity in the room 1, and the determination unit 20 uses the data table stored in the storage unit to determine the operating frequency of the compressor 11. The control unit 30 is configured to be connected to an external server or the like via a network and to acquire various information.

[0018] The remote control 40 receives operation information for the air conditioner 100 input by the user and outputs the input operation information to the determination unit 20 and the control unit 30. The operation information for the air conditioner 100 is, for example, instruction information for the operation mode such as cooling operation, heating operation, or dehumidification operation, information instructing the set temperature of the room 1, the set air volume blown out from the indoor unit 200b, etc. If the remote control 40 has such functions, it may be configured as a device dedicated to the air conditioner 100, or may be configured as software running on a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, or as a user interface function added to part of a device such as a smart speaker or television. There may be multiple remote controls 40.

[0019] In addition, the decision unit 20 and the control unit 30 may be provided in the outdoor unit 200a as long as they can communicate with the equipment that constitutes the refrigeration cycle 200 for operation control via wired or wireless communication, or they may be located in a remote location as long as they are connected via a network.

[0020] Next, the operation of the air conditioner 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the flow of refrigerant during operation of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 3, solid arrows indicate the flow of refrigerant during cooling operation, and dotted arrows indicate the flow of refrigerant during heating operation. During cooling operation, the refrigerant circulates in the following order: compressor 11, four-way valve 15, outdoor heat exchanger 12, expansion valve 13, indoor heat exchanger 14, four-way valve 15, and compressor 11. During cooling operation, the outdoor heat exchanger 12 functions as a condenser, and the indoor heat exchanger 14 functions as an evaporator. During heating operation, the refrigerant circulates in the following order: compressor 11, four-way valve 15, indoor heat exchanger 14, expansion valve 13, outdoor heat exchanger 12, four-way valve 15, and compressor 11. During heating operation, the indoor heat exchanger 14 functions as a condenser, and the outdoor heat exchanger 12 functions as an evaporator.

[0021] The following describes the operation of the air conditioner 100. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation control of the air conditioner 100 during cooling operation.

[0022] When the air conditioner 100 is powered on, in step S1, the control unit 30 determines whether or not an instruction to start cooling operation has been received from the user via the remote control 40. If an instruction to start cooling operation has not been received, step S1 is repeated until an instruction to start cooling operation is received, and if an instruction to start cooling operation has been received, the process proceeds to step S2.

[0023] In step S2, the control unit 30 sets the operating frequency of the compressor 11 to an initial operating frequency, and the airflow rate and airflow direction of the indoor unit 200b to an initial airflow rate and initial airflow direction, respectively, and starts timing using the timer unit (timer start). The set initial operating frequency, initial airflow rate, and initial airflow direction are stored in the memory unit. The initial operating frequency, initial airflow rate, and initial airflow direction may be set to predetermined initial values, or may be the values ​​at the end of the previous use.

[0024] Next, in step S3, the control unit 30 determines whether operation information has been received from the user via the remote control 40. If operation information has been received, in step S4, the control unit 30 sets the airflow volume and airflow direction of the indoor unit 200b to the airflow volume and airflow direction indicated in the received operation information. Note that the operation information sent via the remote control 40 is not limited to the airflow volume and airflow direction. After the airflow volume and airflow direction have been set in step S4, or if it is determined in step S4 that no operation information has been received, the process proceeds to step S5, where the control unit 30 controls the rotation speed of the indoor blower fan to a rotation speed that will result in the airflow volume set in step S2 or step S4, controls the angles of the flaps and louvers to angles that will result in the airflow direction set in step S2 or step S4, and controls the operating frequency of the compressor 11 to the initial operating frequency or the operating frequency Ft that will be reset later, thereby performing cooling operation.

[0025] Next, in step S6, the control unit 30 determines whether an instruction to end the cooling operation has been received from the user via the remote control 40. If an instruction to end the cooling operation has been received, the control unit 30 ends the cooling operation in step S7, and proceeds to step S1 to wait for the next instruction to start the cooling operation. If an instruction to end the cooling operation has not been received in step S6, the control unit 30 proceeds to step S8.

[0026] In step S8, the control unit 30 determines whether the time measured by the timer unit has exceeded a certain period of time. If the certain period of time has passed, the process proceeds to step S9. After the determination unit 20 and the control unit 30 perform process A to determine the operating frequency Ft (hereinafter referred to as Ft) of the compressor 11, the process resets the timer unit (timer reset) in step S10 and restarts the timer, returning to step S3. If it is determined in step S8 that the certain period of time has not passed, steps S9 and S10 are skipped and the process returns to step S3. In step S3, as described above, the process waits for reception of operation information from the remote control 40, and the airflow rate and air direction of the indoor unit 200b are reset each time the operation information is received, thereby continuing the cooling operation. The certain period of time used to determine whether the timer unit has measured the certain period of time in step S8 may be appropriately determined based on experiments, simulations, or the like, according to an appropriate cycle for performing process A.

[0027] In this way, after the operation starts in step S1, steps S3 to S5 and steps S8 to S10 are repeated until an instruction to end the cooling operation is received in step S6, and the air volume, air direction, and operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 of the indoor unit 200b are changed as appropriate while the cooling operation is performed.

[0028] Here, a description will be given of process A for determining the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11, which is performed by the determination unit 20 and the control unit 30 in step S9. Process A is a process for determining and setting the operating frequency Ft used to operate the compressor 11, i.e., the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of the thermal load and the thermal capacity in the room 1. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the determination unit 20 and the control unit 30 for determining the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of the thermal load and the thermal capacity.

[0029] Here, an overview of the operation for determining the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 in accordance with the thermal load and thermal capacity will be described. In this embodiment, the thermal load is the outdoor air temperature, and the thermal capacity is the volume of the room 1. When the air conditioner 100 performs cooling operation, the initial thermal load corresponds to the reference outdoor air temperature Tbc (hereinafter referred to as Tbc) during cooling operation stored in the memory unit as initial operation information, and the current thermal load in the room 1 (hereinafter referred to as the current thermal load) corresponds to the outdoor air temperature Tt (hereinafter referred to as the current outdoor air temperature Tt or Tt) at the location where the air conditioner 100 is installed, acquired by a location information acquisition unit provided in the outdoor unit 200a. The current outdoor air temperature Tt may be measured by a temperature sensor (not shown) installed in the outdoor unit 200a of the air conditioner 100, or may be acquired from an external server via a network. As described above, the absolute value |ΔT| (hereinafter referred to as |ΔT|) of the outdoor air temperature difference ΔT (hereinafter referred to as ΔT) obtained by subtracting the cooling operation reference outdoor air temperature Tbc from the current outdoor air temperature Tt can be used as an index representing the difference between the initial thermal load and the current thermal load. Therefore, the control unit 30 determines whether to change the operating frequency of the compressor 11 from the initial operating frequency based on the absolute value |ΔT|, thereby determining the operating frequency of the compressor 11 that is suited to the thermal load in the room 1. Specifically, if the absolute value |ΔT| is smaller than a threshold value Tc (hereinafter referred to as Tc) for determining whether to change the operating frequency of the compressor 11 from the initial operating frequency, the current room 1 is equivalent to the situation of the room 1 at the assumed location, so the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is not changed from the initial operating frequency. On the other hand, if the absolute value |ΔT| is greater than the threshold value Tc, the current room 1 is not equivalent to the situation of the room 1 at the assumed location, so the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is changed from the initial operating frequency.Furthermore, when changing the operating frequency of the compressor 11 from the initial operating frequency, if the air conditioning apparatus 100 is performing cooling operation and the current outdoor air temperature Tt is higher than the reference outdoor air temperature Tbc during cooling operation (ΔT>0), that is, if the current thermal load is greater than the initial thermal load, the current cooling load of the room 1 is greater than the expected cooling load of the room 1, and therefore, by controlling the operating frequency of the compressor 11 to be higher than the initial operating frequency, the control unit 30 can reduce the thermal load of the room 1. In contrast, the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner 100 is prevented from becoming insufficient. On the other hand, if the current outdoor air temperature Tt is lower than the reference outdoor air temperature Tbc during cooling operation (ΔT<0), that is, if the current thermal load is smaller than the initial thermal load, the current cooling load in the room 1 is smaller than the expected cooling load in the room 1. Therefore, by controlling the operating frequency of the compressor 11 to be lower than the initial operating frequency, the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner 100 is prevented from becoming excessive relative to the thermal load in the room 1. Here, the determination unit 20 determines a correction coefficient α (hereinafter referred to as α) to determine how much to change the operating frequency of the compressor 11 from the initial operating frequency. The correction coefficient α is a coefficient for adjusting the operating frequency of the compressor 11 in accordance with the thermal load of the room 1 in which the air conditioner 100 is installed. By multiplying the operating frequency by the correction coefficient α, the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is corrected in accordance with the thermal load of the room 1. When the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is not changed from the initial operating frequency, the correction coefficient α is determined to be a correction coefficient α0 (hereinafter referred to as α0), when the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is to be increased from the initial operating frequency, the correction coefficient α is determined to be a correction coefficient α1 (hereinafter referred to as α1) greater than α0, and when the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is to be decreased from the initial operating frequency, the correction coefficient α is determined to be a correction coefficient α2 (hereinafter referred to as α2) smaller than α0. Note that α0 is 1, α2 < α0 (= 1) < α1, and these α0, α1, and α2 are stored in advance in a storage unit.

[0030] Next, the initial heat capacity corresponds to the assumed volume Vb (hereinafter referred to as Vb) stored in the memory unit as initial operating information, and the heat capacity of the current room 1 (hereinafter referred to as the current heat capacity) corresponds to the volume Vt of the current room 1 (hereinafter referred to as the current volume Tt or Vt) stored in the memory unit. From the above, the absolute value |ΔV| (hereinafter referred to as |ΔV|) of the volume difference ΔV (hereinafter referred to as ΔV) obtained by subtracting the assumed volume Vb from the current volume Vt can be used as an index representing the difference between the initial heat capacity and the current heat capacity. Therefore, the control unit 30 can determine the operating frequency of the compressor 11 adapted to the heat capacity of the room 1 by determining whether to change the operating frequency of the compressor 11 from the initial operating frequency in accordance with the absolute value |ΔV|. Specifically, if the absolute value |ΔV| is smaller than a threshold value Vc (hereinafter referred to as Vc) for determining whether to change the operating frequency of the compressor 11 from the initial operating frequency, the current volume Vt is equivalent to the estimated volume Vb, so the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is not changed from the initial operating frequency, and if the absolute value |ΔV| is larger than the threshold value Vc, the current volume Vt is not equivalent to the estimated volume Vb, so the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is changed from the initial operating frequency. Furthermore, when changing the operating frequency of the compressor 11 from the initial operating frequency, if the current volume Vt is greater than the estimated volume Vb (ΔV>0), that is, the current heat capacity is greater than the initial heat capacity, while the air conditioning apparatus 100 is performing cooling operation, the control unit 30 controls the operating frequency of the compressor 11 to be greater than the initial operating frequency, thereby preventing the air conditioning apparatus 100 from having an insufficient air conditioning capacity relative to the heat capacity of the room 1. On the other hand, if the current volume Vt is smaller than the estimated volume Vb (ΔV<0), that is, the current heat capacity is smaller than the initial heat capacity, the control unit 30 controls the operating frequency of the compressor 11 to be less than the initial operating frequency, thereby preventing the air conditioning apparatus 100 from having an excessive air conditioning capacity relative to the heat capacity of the room 1. Here, the determination unit 20 determines a correction coefficient β (hereinafter referred to as β) to determine how much to change the operating frequency of the compressor 11 from the initial operating frequency.The correction coefficient β is a coefficient for adjusting the operating frequency of the compressor 11 in accordance with the thermal capacity of the room 1 in which the air conditioner 100 is installed. By multiplying the operating frequency by the correction coefficient β, the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is corrected in accordance with the thermal capacity of the room 1. If the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is not changed from the initial operating frequency, the correction coefficient β is set to a correction coefficient β0 (hereinafter referred to as β0). If the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is to be increased from the initial operating frequency, the correction coefficient β is set to a correction coefficient β1 (hereinafter referred to as β1) greater than β0. If the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is to be decreased from the initial operating frequency, the correction coefficient β is set to a correction coefficient β2 (hereinafter referred to as β2) less than β0. Note that β0 is 1, β2 < β0 (= 1) < β1, and these β0, β1, and β2 are pre-stored in a memory unit.

[0031] As described above, by determining the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 in accordance with the thermal load and heat capacity, the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioning apparatus 100 can be adapted to correspond to the current situation, and process A for determining the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 in accordance with this thermal load and heat capacity is performed in step S9 of Figure 4.

[0032] 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of process A executed by the determination unit 20 and the control unit 30. When process A starts, first, in step S101, the determination unit 20 acquires the reference outdoor air temperature during cooling operation Tbc stored in the storage unit as initial operation information, acquires the current outdoor air temperature Tt at the position of the room 1 where the air conditioner 100 is installed, acquired by a position information acquisition unit provided in the outdoor unit 200a, from an external server via the network, and calculates the outdoor air temperature difference ΔT obtained by subtracting the reference outdoor air temperature during cooling operation Tbc from the current outdoor air temperature Tt and its absolute value |ΔT|.

[0033] Then, the determination unit 20 determines whether |ΔT|<Tc in step S102, and if |ΔT|<Tc, determines the correction coefficient α to be α0 in step S103. If |ΔT|<Tc is not true in step S102, the determination unit 20 determines whether ΔT>0 in step S104, and if ΔT>0 is true, determines the correction coefficient α to be α1 in step S105, and if ΔT>0 is not true, determines the correction coefficient α to be α2 in step S106. After the correction coefficient α is determined in any of step S103, step S105, or step S106, the process proceeds to step S107.

[0034] Next, in step S107, the determination unit 20 acquires the estimated volume Vb stored in the memory unit as initial operating information and the current volume Vt imported into the memory unit, and calculates the volume difference ΔV and the absolute value |ΔV| from the acquired estimated volume Vb and current volume Vt.

[0035] The determination unit 20 determines whether |ΔV|<Vc in step S108, and if |ΔV|<Vc, determines the correction coefficient β to be a correction coefficient β0 in step S109. If |ΔV|<Vc is not true in step S108, the determination unit 20 determines whether ΔV>0 in step S110, and if ΔV>0 is true, determines the correction coefficient β to be a correction coefficient β1 in step S111, and if ΔV>0 is not true, determines the correction coefficient β to be a correction coefficient β2 in step S112. After the correction coefficient β is determined in any of step S109, step S111, or step S112, the process proceeds to step S113.

[0036] In step S113, the determination unit 20 determines the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of the correction coefficient α determined in any one of steps S103, S105, or S106 and the correction coefficient β determined in any one of steps S109, S111, or S112, using the data table shown in FIG. 6 . The data table shown in FIG. 6 is stored in advance in a storage unit, and the determination unit 20 refers to this data table to determine the operating frequency Ft(α, β) corresponding to the correction coefficient α and the correction coefficient β. An example of calculating Ft(α, β) is to multiply the initial operating frequency Ft by α and β. Then, in step S114, the control unit 30 sets the operating frequency Ft determined by the determination unit 20 in step S113 as the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11, stores the set operating frequency Ft in the storage unit, and ends process A.

[0037] As described above, step S9 of Fig. 4 and process A of Fig. 5 determine the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of the thermal load obtained from the reference outdoor air temperature Tbc during cooling operation and the current outdoor air temperature Tt, and the thermal capacity obtained from the estimated volume Vb and the current volume Vt, and in step S5 of Fig. 4, the control unit 30 operates the compressor 11 at the operating frequency Ft determined by the determination unit 20 in process A and stored in the memory unit. In this way, the operating frequency Ft is appropriately changed to an operating frequency suited to the thermal load and thermal capacity in the room 1, and the compressor 11 is operated at that operating frequency to perform cooling operation, so that the air conditioner 100 can demonstrate an air conditioning capacity suited to the thermal load and thermal capacity in the room 1.

[0038] The above describes an overview of the operation control when the air conditioner 100 is performing cooling operation and an overview of the operation for determining the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 in process A. Below, an overview of the operation control when the air conditioner 100 is performing heating operation and an overview of the operation for determining the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 in process A will be described. The operation of the operation control when the air conditioner 100 is performing heating operation is the same as the flowchart shown in FIG. 4. When the air conditioner 100 is performing heating operation, the initial thermal load corresponds to the heating operation reference outdoor air temperature Tbh (hereinafter referred to as Tbh) stored in the memory unit as initial operation information, and the current thermal load corresponds to the current outdoor air temperature Tt. Depending on the outdoor air temperature difference ΔT obtained by subtracting the heating operation reference outdoor air temperature Tbh from the current outdoor air temperature Tt, the control unit 30 controls the operating frequency of the compressor 11 to be higher or lower than the initial operating frequency. Specifically, when the air conditioning device 100 is performing heating operation, if the current outdoor air temperature Tt is lower than the reference outdoor air temperature Tbh during heating operation (ΔT<0), in other words, if the current thermal load is greater than the initial thermal load, the current heating load for the room 1 is greater than the assumed heating load for the room 1, so the control unit 30 determines the correction coefficient α to be α1 and controls the operating frequency of the compressor 11 to be greater than the initial operating frequency, thereby adjusting the air conditioning device 10 for the thermal load for the room 1. 0 prevents the air conditioning capacity of room 1 from becoming insufficient. On the other hand, if the current outdoor air temperature Tt is higher than the reference outdoor air temperature Tbh during heating operation (ΔT>0), that is, if the current heating load is smaller than the initial heating load, the current heating load for room 1 is greater than the assumed heating load for room 1. Therefore, the correction coefficient α is set to α2 and control is performed to make the operating frequency of the compressor 11 lower than the initial operating frequency, thereby preventing the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner 100 from becoming excessive relative to the heat load for room 1. Next, process A when the air conditioner 100 is performing heating operation will be described using FIG. 7. The operation of process A when the air conditioner 100 is performing heating operation is the same as the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, but the operation of comparing the current heating load for room 1 with the assumed heating load for room 1 in step S1104 of FIG. 7 differs from step S104 of FIG. 5.When process A starts, first, in step S1101, the determination unit 20 acquires the heating operation reference outdoor air temperature Tbh stored in the memory unit as initial operation information, acquires the current outdoor air temperature Tt at the position of the room 1 where the air conditioner 100 is installed, acquired by a position information acquisition unit provided in the outdoor unit 200a, from an external server via the network, and calculates the outdoor air temperature difference ΔT obtained by subtracting the heating operation reference outdoor air temperature Tbh from the current outdoor air temperature Tt and its absolute value |ΔT|. Then, in step S1102, the determination unit 20 determines whether |ΔT|<Tc, and if |ΔT|<Tc, determines the correction coefficient α to be α0 in step S1103. Furthermore, if |ΔT|<Tc is not true in step S1102, the determination unit 20 determines whether ΔT<0 in step S1104. If ΔT<0, the determination unit 20 determines the correction coefficient α to be α1 in step S1105. If ΔT<0 is not true, the determination unit 20 determines the correction coefficient α to be α2 in step S1106. The subsequent steps S1107 to S1114 are similar to steps S107 to S114 described with reference to FIG. 5. As described above, the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of the thermal load and the thermal capacity is determined by step S9 of FIG. 4 and process A of FIG. 5, and in step S5 of FIG. 4, the control unit 30 operates the compressor 11 at the operating frequency Ft determined by the determination unit 20 in process A and stored in the storage unit. In this way, the operating frequency Ft is appropriately changed to an operating frequency that is adapted to the thermal load and heat capacity in the room 1, and the compressor 11 is operated at that operating frequency to perform heating operation, so that the air conditioner 100 can exert air conditioning capabilities that are adapted to the thermal load and heat capacity in the room 1.

[0039] Embodiment 2. In the first embodiment, a case was described in which the correction coefficient α was determined using the cooling operation reference outdoor air temperature Tbc and the current outdoor air temperature Tt to correspond to the current thermal load in the room 1. However, in the second embodiment, a case will be described in which the correction coefficient α is determined using the difference between the expected amount of solar radiation incident on the room 1 and the current amount of solar radiation incident on the room 1 to correspond to the current thermal load in the room 1. In this embodiment, the thermal load is the amount of solar radiation, and the thermal capacity is the volume of the room 1.

[0040] When the air conditioner 100 is performing cooling operation, the initial thermal load corresponds to the assumed amount of solar radiation Rbc incident on the room 1 (hereinafter referred to as the cooling operation reference solar radiation Rbc, or Rbc) stored in the memory as initial operation information, and the current thermal load corresponds to the amount of solar radiation Rt incident on the room 1 currently (hereinafter referred to as the current solar radiation Rt, or Rt) measured by a solar radiation measurement sensor (not shown) provided in the indoor unit 200b. As described above, the absolute value |ΔR| (hereinafter referred to as |ΔR|) of the solar radiation difference ΔR (hereinafter referred to as ΔR) obtained by subtracting the cooling operation reference solar radiation Rbc from the current solar radiation Rt can be used as an index representing the difference between the initial thermal load and the current thermal load. Therefore, the control unit 30 can determine whether to change the operating frequency of the compressor 11 from the initial operating frequency in accordance with the absolute value |ΔR|, thereby determining the operating frequency of the compressor 11 adapted to the thermal load in the room 1. Specifically, if the absolute value |ΔR| is smaller than a threshold value Rc (hereinafter referred to as Rc) for determining that the operating frequency of the compressor 11 should be changed from the initial operating frequency, the determination unit 20 determines the correction coefficient α to be the correction coefficient α0 (=1) (hereinafter referred to as α0) so that the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is not changed from the initial operating frequency, since the current state of the room 1 is equivalent to the state of the room 1 at the assumed location. On the other hand, if the absolute value |ΔR| is larger than the threshold value Rc, the current state of the room 1 is not equivalent to the state of the room 1 at the assumed location, so the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is changed from the initial operating frequency. If the current solar radiation Rt is higher than the reference solar radiation Rbc during cooling operation (ΔR>0), in other words, if the current thermal load is greater than the initial thermal load, then the current cooling load in room 1 is greater than the expected cooling load in room 1, so the correction coefficient α is set to α1, which is greater than α0 (=1), and control is performed to make the operating frequency of the compressor 11 higher than the initial operating frequency, thereby preventing the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioning device 100 from being insufficient for the thermal load in room 1.Furthermore, if the current solar radiation Rt is lower than the reference solar radiation Rbc during cooling operation (ΔR<0), in other words, if the current thermal load is smaller than the initial thermal load, then the current cooling load in room 1 is smaller than the expected cooling load in room 1, and therefore the correction coefficient α is set to α2, which is smaller than α0 (=1), and control is performed to make the operating frequency of the compressor 11 lower than the initial operating frequency, thereby preventing the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner 100 from becoming excessive relative to the thermal load in room 1. Note that α0 is 1, α2 < α0 (=1) < α1, and these α0, α1, and α2 are stored in advance in the memory unit.

[0041] Next, the operation of the process A in step S9 in FIG. 4, which is executed by the determination unit 20 and the control unit 30 in the air conditioner 100 of the second embodiment, will be described with reference to FIG.

[0042] The configuration of the air conditioner 100 of the second embodiment is the same as that described in the first embodiment, and the operation control during cooling operation is also the same as that shown in the flowchart of Fig. 4. However, the air conditioner 100 of the second embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in process A in step S9 of Fig. 4, i.e., the operation of determining the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 in accordance with the combination of the thermal load and the thermal capacity.

[0043] When process A starts, first, in step S201, the determination unit 20 acquires the reference solar radiation amount Rbc for cooling operation stored in the memory unit as the initial operation, and the current solar radiation amount Rt measured by the solar radiation measurement sensor provided in the indoor unit 200b, and calculates the solar radiation difference ΔR obtained by subtracting the reference solar radiation amount Rbc for cooling operation from the current solar radiation amount Rt, and its absolute value |ΔR|. Note that the solar radiation measurement sensor may be provided in the lighting 7 or furniture installed in the room 1, instead of the indoor unit 200b. Furthermore, the method of acquiring information related to the amount of solar radiation is not limited to measurement by the solar radiation measurement sensor, and information related to the amount of solar radiation may also be acquired, for example, from an external weather information supply server via a network.

[0044] Then, in step S202, the determination unit 20 determines whether |ΔR|<Rc, and if |ΔR|<Rc, determines the correction coefficient α to be α0 in step S203. If |ΔR|<Rc is not true in step S202, the determination unit 20 determines whether ΔR>0 is true in step S204, and if ΔR>0 is true, determines the correction coefficient α to be α1 in step S205, and if ΔR>0 is not true, determines the correction coefficient α to be α2 in step S206. After the correction coefficient α is determined in any of step S203, step S205, or step S206, the process proceeds to step S207. The following steps S207 to S214 are similar to steps S107 to S114 described with reference to FIG. 5 .

[0045] As described above, step S9 of Fig. 4 and process A of Fig. 5 determine the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of the thermal load obtained from the cooling operation reference solar radiation Rbc and the current solar radiation Rt, and the thermal capacity obtained from the estimated volume Vb and the current volume Vt, and in step S5 of Fig. 4, the control unit 30 operates the compressor 11 at the operating frequency Ft determined by the determination unit 20 in process A and stored in the memory unit. In this way, the operating frequency Ft is appropriately changed to an operating frequency adapted to the thermal load and thermal capacity in the room 1, and the compressor 11 is operated at that operating frequency to perform cooling operation, so that the air conditioner 100 can demonstrate air conditioning capacity adapted to the thermal load and thermal capacity in the room 1.

[0046] The above has described process A when the air conditioner 100 is performing cooling operation. Below, an overview of the operation for determining the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 when the air conditioner 100 is performing heating operation will be described. When the air conditioner 100 is performing heating operation, the initial thermal load corresponds to the heating operation reference solar radiation Rbh (hereinafter referred to as Rbh) stored in the memory unit as the initial operation, and the current thermal load corresponds to the current solar radiation Rt. Depending on the magnitude of the solar radiation difference ΔR obtained by subtracting the heating operation reference solar radiation Rbh from the solar radiation Rt, the control unit 30 controls the operating frequency of the compressor 11 to be higher or lower than the initial operating frequency. Specifically, when the air conditioning device 100 is performing heating operation, if the current solar radiation amount Rt is lower than the heating operation reference solar radiation amount Rbh (ΔR<0), in other words, if the current thermal load is greater than the initial thermal load, the current heating load of the room 1 is greater than the assumed heating load of the room 1, so the control unit 30 determines the correction coefficient α to be α1 and controls the operating frequency of the compressor 11 to be greater than the initial operating frequency, thereby adjusting the air conditioning device 10 for the thermal load of the room 1. 0 prevents the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner 100 from becoming insufficient. On the other hand, if the current solar radiation Rt is higher than the reference solar radiation Rbh during heating operation (ΔR>0), that is, if the current thermal load is smaller than the initial thermal load, the current heating load for room 1 is smaller than the assumed heating load for room 1. Therefore, the correction coefficient α is set to α2 and control is performed to make the operating frequency of the compressor 11 lower than the initial operating frequency, thereby preventing the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner 100 from becoming excessive relative to the thermal load for room 1. Next, process A when the air conditioner 100 is performing heating operation will be described using FIG. 9. The operation of process A when the air conditioner 100 is performing heating operation is the same as the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, but the operation of comparing the current heating load for room 1 with the assumed heating load for room 1 in step S1204 of FIG. 9 differs from step S204 of FIG. 8.When process A starts, first, in step S1201, the determination unit 20 acquires the heating operation reference solar radiation amount Rbh stored in the memory unit as the initial operation and the current solar radiation amount Rt incident on the room 1 in the current state measured by the solar radiation amount measurement sensor provided in the indoor unit 200b, and calculates the solar radiation difference ΔR obtained by subtracting the heating operation reference solar radiation amount Rbh from the current solar radiation amount Rt and its absolute value |ΔR|. Then, in step S1202, the determination unit 20 determines whether |ΔR|<Rc, and if |ΔR|<Rc, determines the correction coefficient α to be α0 in step S1203. Furthermore, if |ΔR|<Rc is not true in step S1202, the determination unit 20 determines whether ΔR<0 in step S1204, and if ΔR<0, determines the correction coefficient α to be α1 in step S1205, and if ΔR<0 is not true, determines the correction coefficient α to be α2 in step S1206. The subsequent steps S1207 to S1214 are similar to steps S107 to S114 described with reference to FIG.

[0047] As described above, the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of thermal load and thermal capacity is determined by step S9 in Fig. 4 and process A in Fig. 5 , and in step S5 in Fig. 4 , the control unit 30 operates the compressor 11 at the operating frequency Ft determined by the determination unit 20 in process A and stored in the memory unit. In this way, the operating frequency Ft is appropriately changed to an operating frequency suited to the thermal load and thermal capacity in the room 1, and the compressor 11 is operated at that operating frequency to perform heating operation, so that the air conditioner 100 can demonstrate air conditioning capacity suited to the thermal load and thermal capacity in the room 1.

[0048] Embodiment 3. In the first embodiment, a case was described in which the correction coefficient β was determined using the assumed volume Vb and the current volume Vt as a coefficient corresponding to the heat capacity of the current room 1, but in the third embodiment, a case will be described in which the correction coefficient β is determined using the difference between the assumed specific heat capacity of the members constituting the room 1 and the specific heat capacity of the members constituting the current room 1 as a coefficient corresponding to the heat capacity of the current room 1. In this embodiment, the thermal load is the outside air temperature, and the heat capacity is the specific heat capacity of the members constituting the room 1.

[0049] When the air conditioner 100 is performing cooling operation, the initial heat capacity corresponds to the specific heat capacity Cb of the components constituting the assumed indoor space 1 (hereinafter referred to as assumed component specific heat capacity Cb or Cb) stored in the memory unit as the initial operation, and the current heat capacity corresponds to the specific heat capacity Ct of the components constituting the current indoor space 1 (hereinafter referred to as current specific heat capacity Ct or Ct) stored in the memory unit. As described above, the absolute value |ΔC| (hereinafter referred to as |ΔC|) of the specific heat capacity difference ΔC (hereinafter referred to as ΔC) obtained by subtracting the assumed component specific heat capacity Cb from the current specific heat capacity Ct can be used as an index representing the difference between the initial heat capacity and the current heat capacity. Therefore, the control unit 30 can determine the operating frequency of the compressor 11 adapted to the heat capacity in the indoor space 1 by determining whether to change the operating frequency of the compressor 11 from the initial operating frequency based on the absolute value |ΔC|. Specifically, if the absolute value |ΔC| is smaller than a threshold value Cc (hereinafter referred to as Cc) for determining that the operating frequency of the compressor 11 should be changed from the initial operating frequency, the determination unit 20 determines the correction coefficient β to be the correction coefficient β0 (=1) (hereinafter referred to as β0) so as not to change the operating frequency of the compressor 11 from the initial operating frequency, since the current state of the room 1 is equivalent to the condition of the room 1 at the assumed location. On the other hand, if the absolute value |ΔC| is larger than the threshold value Cc, the current state of the room 1 is not equivalent to the condition of the room 1 at the assumed location, so the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is changed from the initial operating frequency. If the current specific heat capacity Ct is higher than the assumed component specific heat capacity Cb (ΔC > 0), that is, if the current heat capacity is greater than the initial heat capacity, the correction coefficient β is set to β1, which is greater than β0 (= 1), and the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is controlled to be greater than the initial operating frequency, thereby preventing the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioning device 100 from being insufficient for the heat capacity of the room 1. Furthermore, if the current specific heat capacity Ct is lower than the assumed component specific heat capacity Cb (ΔC < 0), that is, if the current heat capacity is smaller than the initial heat capacity, the correction coefficient β is set to β2, which is less than β0 (= 1), and the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is controlled to be less than the initial operating frequency, thereby preventing the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioning device 100 from being excessive for the heat capacity of the room 1.Note that β0 is 1, β2<β0 (=1)<β1, and these β0, β1, and β2 are stored in advance in a storage unit.

[0050] Next, the operation of the process A in step S9 in FIG. 4, which is executed by the determination unit 20 and the control unit 30 in the air conditioner 100 of the third embodiment, will be described with reference to FIG.

[0051] The configuration of the air conditioner 100 of embodiment 3 is the same as that described in embodiment 1, and the operation control during cooling operation is also the same as the flowchart shown in Fig. 4. However, the air conditioner 100 of embodiment 3 differs from embodiment 1 in process A in step S9 of Fig. 4, i.e., the operation of determining the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 in accordance with the combination of thermal load and thermal capacity.

[0052] In the process A shown in FIG. 10, steps S301 to S306 are the same as steps S101 to S106 described with reference to FIG.

[0053] In step S307, the determination unit 20 acquires from an external server via the network the specific heat capacity Cb of the components constituting the assumed indoor room 1, which is stored in the memory unit as the initial operation, and the current specific heat capacity Ct of the components constituting the current indoor room 1, which is loaded into the memory unit, and calculates the specific heat capacity difference ΔC obtained by subtracting the assumed component specific heat capacity Cb from the current specific heat capacity Ct, and its absolute value |ΔC|. Note that the current specific heat capacity Ct of the components constituting the current indoor room 1 may be obtained via a network or the like based on the information of the components constituting the current indoor room 1 loaded into the memory unit.

[0054] Then, in step S308, the determination unit 20 determines whether |ΔC|<Cc. If |ΔC|<Cc, the determination unit 20 determines the correction coefficient β to be a correction coefficient β0 in step S309. If |ΔC|<Cc is not true in step S308, the determination unit 20 determines whether ΔC>0 is true in step S310. If ΔC>0 is true, the determination unit 20 determines the correction coefficient β to be a correction coefficient β1 in step S311. If ΔC>0 is not true, the determination unit 20 determines the correction coefficient β to be a correction coefficient β2 in step S312. After the correction coefficient β is determined in step S300, step S311, or step S312, the process proceeds to step S313. The following steps S313 to S314 are similar to steps S113 to S114 described with reference to FIG. 5 .

[0055] 4 and process A in FIG. 5 , the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 is determined corresponding to the combination of the thermal load obtained from the reference outdoor air temperature Tbc during cooling operation and the current outdoor air temperature Tt, and the thermal capacity obtained from the assumed component specific heat capacity Cb and the current specific heat capacity Ct. In step S5 in FIG. 4 , the control unit 30 operates the compressor 11 at the operating frequency Ft determined by the determination unit 20 in process A and stored in the memory unit. In this way, the operating frequency Ft is appropriately changed to an operating frequency suited to the thermal load and thermal capacity in the room 1, and the compressor 11 is operated at that operating frequency to perform cooling operation. Therefore, the air conditioner 100 can exert an air conditioning capacity suited to the thermal load and thermal capacity in the room 1.

[0056] The above describes process A when the air conditioner 100 is performing cooling operation. Below, an overview of the operation for determining the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 when the air conditioner 100 is performing heating operation will be described using the flowchart in FIG. 11 . *In FIG. 11 , steps S1301 to S1306, which are the operation for determining the correction coefficient α using the thermal load when the air conditioner 100 is performing heating operation, are similar to steps S1101 to S1106, which are the operation for determining the correction coefficient α when the air conditioner 100 is performing heating operation and described in FIG. 7 in Embodiment 1. Furthermore, as described above, the thermal capacity of the room 1 depends on, for example, the volume of the room 1, the thermal capacities of the components constituting the room 1, the furniture 9 installed in the room 1, or the number of windows 4 installed in the room 1, and is not dependent on the operating mode, such as cooling operation or heating operation. Therefore, steps S1307 to S1314, which are the operation for determining the correction coefficient β using the thermal capacity, are similar to steps S307 to S314, which are the operation for determining the correction coefficient β, described in FIG. 10 . As described above, the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of thermal load and thermal capacity is determined by step S9 in Fig. 4 and process A in Fig. 5 , and in step S5 in Fig. 4 , the control unit 30 operates the compressor 11 at the operating frequency Ft determined by the determination unit 20 in process A and stored in the memory unit. In this way, the operating frequency Ft is appropriately changed to an operating frequency suited to the thermal load and thermal capacity in the room 1, and the compressor 11 is operated at that operating frequency to perform heating operation, so that the air conditioner 100 can demonstrate air conditioning capacity suited to the thermal load and thermal capacity in the room 1.

[0057] In the process A, the combination of the flow for determining the correction coefficient α and the flow for determining the correction coefficient β is not limited to the examples shown in the first to third embodiments.

[0058] Embodiment 4. In the above-described embodiments 1 to 3, the compressor 11 is operated for a certain period of time at the initial operating frequency stored in the storage unit, and then the compressor 11 is operated at the operating frequency Ft determined in process A to perform cooling operation. However, the operating frequency when starting the compressor 11 to start the cooling operation (hereinafter referred to as the startup operating frequency) and the operating frequency Ft after operating for a certain period of time at the startup operating frequency may each be determined in process A performed in different steps. With reference to FIG. 12 , the operation of the air conditioner 100 when the startup operating frequency Fs (hereinafter referred to as Fs) and the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 are each determined in process A performed in different steps will be described.

[0059] When the air conditioner 100 is powered on, in step S21, the control unit 30 determines whether or not an instruction to start cooling operation has been received from the user via the remote control 40. If an instruction to start cooling operation has not been received, step S21 is repeated until an instruction to start cooling operation is received, and if an instruction to start cooling operation has been received, the process proceeds to step S22.

[0060] In step S22, the control unit 30 determines whether operation information has been received from the user via the remote control 40. If operation information has been received, in step S23, the control unit 30 controls the rotation speed of the indoor blower fan to a rotation speed that will result in the airflow volume indicated in the received operation information, and sets the angles of the flaps and louvers to angles that will result in the airflow direction indicated in the received operation information. Note that the operation information sent via the remote control 40 is not limited to airflow volume and airflow direction. Also, if it is determined in step S22 that operation information has not been received, the control unit 30 proceeds to step S24, where the control unit 30 controls the rotation speed of the indoor blower fan to a rotation speed that will result in an initial airflow volume, and sets the angles of the flaps and louvers to angles that will result in the initial airflow direction. Note that the initial airflow volume and initial airflow direction may be set to predetermined initial values, or may be the values ​​at the end of the previous use.

[0061] Next, in step S25, process A is performed by the determination unit 20 and the control unit 30 to determine the startup operation frequency Fs of the compressor 11. This process A is the same as the process A described in embodiments 1 to 3. After step S25, the process proceeds to step S26, where the timer unit starts measuring time (timer start).

[0062] Next, in step S27, the control unit 30 sets the startup operating frequency of the compressor 1 to the startup operating frequency Fs determined in step S25, and performs cooling operation with the air volume and air direction set in step S23 or step S24.

[0063] Next, in step S28, the control unit 30 determines whether an instruction to end the cooling operation has been received from the user via the remote control 40. If an instruction to end the cooling operation has been received, the control unit 30 ends the cooling operation in step S29, and proceeds to step S21 to wait for the next instruction to start the cooling operation. If an instruction to end the cooling operation has not been received in step S28, the control unit 30 proceeds to step S30.

[0064] In step S30, the control unit 30 determines whether operation information has been received from the user via the remote control 40. If operation information has been received, in step S31, the control unit 30 controls the rotation speed of the indoor blower fan to a rotation speed that will provide the airflow indicated in the received operation information, sets the angles of the flaps and louvers to angles that will provide the airflow direction indicated in the received operation information, and proceeds to step S32. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S30 that operation information has not been received, the control unit 30 proceeds to step S32.

[0065] In step S32, the control unit 30 determines whether the time measured by the timer unit has elapsed a certain period of time. If the certain period of time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S33. After performing process A, in which the determination unit 20 and the control unit 30 determine the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11, the process resets the timer unit's time measurement (timer reset) in step S34 and restarts time measurement, and the process returns to step S27. If it is determined in step S32 that the certain period of time has not elapsed, steps S33 and S34 are skipped and the process returns to step S27. In step S27, as described above, the process waits for reception of operation information from the remote control 40, and the airflow rate and air direction of the indoor unit 200b are reset each time the operation information is received, thereby continuing the cooling operation. The certain period of time used to determine whether the timer unit has measured the certain period of time in step S32 may be appropriately determined based on an appropriate period for performing process A, such as through experiments or simulations.

[0066] In this way, after the operation starts in step S21, steps S27 and S30 to S34 are repeated until an instruction to end the cooling operation is received in step S28, and the air volume, air direction, and operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 of the indoor unit 200b are changed as appropriate while the cooling operation is performed.

[0067] 12 , in step S25, the determination unit 20 determines the startup operating frequency Fs of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of the thermal load and thermal capacity of the room 1 before the cooling operation is started, and the control unit 30 starts the cooling operation by operating the compressor 11 at the startup operating frequency Fs stored in the memory unit. In step S33, the determination unit 20 determines the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 corresponding to the current combination of the thermal load and thermal capacity of the room 1, and the control unit 30 operates the compressor 11 at the operating frequency Ft stored in the memory unit. In this way, the compressor 11 is started at the startup operating frequency adapted to the thermal load and thermal capacity of the room 1 before the cooling operation is started to start the cooling operation, the operating frequency Ft is appropriately changed to the operating frequency adapted to the thermal load and thermal capacity of the room 1, and the compressor 11 is operated at that operating frequency to perform the cooling operation. Therefore, the air conditioner 100 can exert an air conditioning capacity adapted to the thermal load and thermal capacity of the room 1.

[0068] In the flowchart shown in FIG. 12, the process A executed in step S25 and the process A executed in step S33 may be the same process or different processes, and in these processes A, the combination of the flow for determining the correction coefficient α using the thermal load and the flow for determining the correction coefficient β using the thermal capacity is not limited to the examples shown in embodiments 1 to 3.

[0069] The timing for performing process A is not limited to the examples shown in FIGS. 4 to 12 , and process A may be performed independently at regular time intervals or at time intervals determined appropriately through experiments or simulations, and the determined Ft of compressor 11 may be reflected in the cooling operation.

[0070] In the process A shown in Figures 4 to 12, the operating frequency of the compressor 11 is controlled to the operating frequency Ft corresponding to the combination of the thermal load and thermal capacity in the room 1. However, the opening of the expansion valve 13 may be controlled together with the operating frequency of the compressor 11 to correspond to the determined operating frequency Ft. In the process A shown in Figures 4 to 12, if the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of the correction coefficient α determined using the thermal load and the correction coefficient β determined using the thermal capacity is greater than the initial operating frequency, the opening of the expansion valve 13 is increased above the initial value. If the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of the correction coefficient α determined using the thermal load and the correction coefficient β determined using the thermal capacity is less than the initial operating frequency, the opening of the expansion valve 13 is decreased below the initial value. Similarly, the opening of the expansion valve 13 may be controlled together with the startup operating frequency of the compressor 11 to correspond to the determined startup operating frequency Fs. 12 , if the startup operating frequency Fs of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of the correction coefficient α determined using the thermal load and the correction coefficient β determined using the thermal capacity is greater than the initial operating frequency, the opening of the expansion valve 13 is increased compared to the initial value, and if the startup operating frequency Fs of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of the correction coefficient α determined using the thermal load and the correction coefficient β determined using the thermal capacity is less than the initial operating frequency, the opening of the expansion valve 13 is decreased compared to the initial value. By controlling the opening of the expansion valve 13 together with the operating frequency of the compressor 11, the evaporator outlet superheat degree can be controlled in accordance with the refrigerant circulation flow rate, thereby preventing a decrease in the heat transfer performance of the evaporator or preventing a malfunction of the compressor 11 due to liquid backflow.

[0071] The thermal load used in determining the correction coefficient α is not limited to the information shown in embodiments 1 to 3 as long as it is information indicating the thermal load, and the thermal capacity used in determining the correction coefficient β is not limited to the examples shown in embodiments 1 to 3, and other information may be used. For example, the control unit 30 may obtain thermal load information, thermal capacity information, or operating information obtained by an air conditioner of the same model as the air conditioner 100 but installed in a room other than room 1 from an external server via a network, and use this information to determine the operating frequency of the compressor 11.

[0072] Furthermore, in the first to third embodiments, the thermal load used to determine the correction coefficient α is any one of pieces of information indicating the thermal load. However, a combination of multiple pieces of information indicating the thermal load may be used to determine the correction coefficient α. For example, the correction coefficient α may be determined by combining information on the outdoor air temperature and information on the amount of solar radiation. Similarly, in the first to third embodiments, the thermal capacity used to determine the correction coefficient β is any one of pieces of information indicating the thermal capacity. However, a combination of multiple pieces of information indicating the thermal capacity may be used to determine the correction coefficient β. For example, the correction coefficient β may be determined by combining information on the volume of the room 1 and information on the specific heat capacity of the components constituting the room 1. The number of pieces of information indicating the thermal load used to determine the correction coefficient α and the number of pieces of information indicating the thermal capacity used to determine the correction coefficient β may be determined appropriately based on experiments, simulations, or the like, depending on the appropriate circumstances for performing the process A.

[0073] Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the values ​​of the correction coefficient α determined in accordance with the thermal load and the correction coefficient β determined in accordance with the thermal capacity are stored in a memory unit, and the determination unit 20 determines the correction coefficient corresponding to the thermal load by referring to the memory unit. However, the method of determining the correction coefficients is not limited to this, and for example, each correction coefficient may be calculated and determined in accordance with the thermal load and the thermal capacity using a calculation formula or the like stored in advance in the determination unit 20 or the memory unit.

[0074] In addition, in each of the above embodiments, the determination unit 20 determines the operating frequency of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of the thermal load and the thermal capacity by determining a correction coefficient α corresponding to the thermal load and a correction coefficient β corresponding to the thermal capacity, and then using a data table to determine the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of the correction coefficient α and the correction coefficient β. However, the method for determining the operating frequency of the compressor corresponding to the combination of the thermal load and the thermal capacity is not limited to this. For example, instead of determining the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 by obtaining two correction coefficients, the operating frequency Ft of the compressor 11 corresponding to the combination of the thermal load and the thermal capacity may be determined by obtaining a coefficient corresponding to the combination of the thermal load and the thermal capacity and multiplying the operating frequency Ft by this coefficient.

[0075] Various aspects of the present disclosure are summarized below as appendices.

[0076] (Supplementary Note 1) An air conditioner comprising: a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve, and an outdoor heat exchanger are connected by refrigerant piping; a determination unit that determines an operating frequency of the compressor corresponding to a combination of thermal load and thermal capacity of a space to be air-conditioned; and a control unit that operates the compressor at the operating frequency determined by the determination unit. (Supplementary Note 2) The air conditioner described in Supplementary Note 1, characterized in that the determination unit determines a correction coefficient corresponding to the thermal load and the thermal capacity, and determines an operating frequency obtained by correcting an initial operating frequency stored in the control unit by the determined correction coefficient as the operating frequency of the compressor. (Supplementary Note 3) The thermal load is defined by any of information indicating the heat transferred between the air in the air-conditioned space and the air outside the air-conditioned space via a wall or a window, or information indicating the heat caused by sunlight entering the air-conditioned space via the window, or information indicating the heat generated by people, fixtures, or lighting present in the air-conditioned space, or information indicating the heat caused by the heat held in the air outside the air-conditioned space that is taken into the air-conditioned space via a draft or a ventilation opening, or information indicating the floor height of the air-conditioned space, or information indicating the area of ​​the window installed in the air-conditioned space; and the thermal capacity is defined by any of information indicating the volume of the air-conditioned space, or information indicating the components that make up the air-conditioned space, or information indicating the furniture installed in the air-conditioned space, or information indicating the number of windows installed in the air-conditioned space. The air conditioner described in Appendix 2, wherein the determination unit determines a first correction coefficient using any one or more pieces of information defining the thermal load, determines a second correction coefficient using any one or more pieces of information attributable to the thermal capacity, and defines the correction coefficient as the pair of the determined first correction coefficient and the determined second correction coefficient.(Supplementary Note 4) The air conditioner described in Supplementary Note 3, wherein the determination unit determines the first correction coefficient to be a third correction coefficient when the operating frequency is to be increased compared to the initial operating frequency using information defining the thermal load, and determines the first correction coefficient to be a fourth correction coefficient when the operating frequency is to be decreased compared to the initial operating frequency; the determination unit determines the second correction coefficient to be a fifth correction coefficient when the operating frequency is to be increased compared to the initial operating frequency using information defining the thermal capacity, and determines the second correction coefficient to be a sixth correction coefficient when the operating frequency is to be decreased compared to the initial operating frequency; the third correction coefficient is greater than the fourth correction coefficient, and the fifth correction coefficient is greater than the sixth correction coefficient. (Supplementary Note 5) The air conditioner according to Supplementary Note 4, wherein the determination unit determines, as the operating frequency of the compressor, an operating frequency obtained by correcting the initial operating frequency stored in the control unit using either the third or fourth correction coefficient determined using information defining the thermal load, and either the fifth or sixth correction coefficient determined using information defining the thermal capacity. (Supplementary Note 6) The air conditioner according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 5, wherein the control unit sets the operating frequency determined by the determination unit as the operating frequency when starting the compressor to start operation of the air conditioner. (Supplementary Note 7) The air conditioner according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 6, wherein the determination unit determines an aperture of the expansion valve corresponding to the operating frequency of the compressor, and the control unit operates the expansion valve at the aperture determined by the determination unit.

[0077] 100 Air conditioner, 200 Refrigeration cycle, 200a Outdoor unit, 200b Indoor unit, 1 Indoor, 2 Outdoor, 3 Wall, 4 Window, 5 Person, 6 Fixtures, 7 Lighting, 8 Ventilation opening, 9 Furniture, 11 Compressor, 12 Outdoor heat exchanger, 13 Expansion valve, 14 Indoor heat exchanger, 15 Four-way valve, 20 Decision unit, 30 Control unit, 40 Remote control

Claims

1. An air conditioner comprising: a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve, and an outdoor heat exchanger are connected by refrigerant piping; a determination unit that determines the operating frequency of the compressor corresponding to the combination of the heat load and heat capacity of the space to be air-conditioned; and a control unit that operates the compressor at the operating frequency determined by the determination unit.

2. The air conditioner described in claim 1, characterized in that the determination unit calculates a correction coefficient corresponding to the thermal load and the thermal capacity, and determines the operating frequency of the compressor as an operating frequency obtained by correcting the initial operating frequency stored in the control unit with the calculated correction coefficient.

3. The thermal load is defined by any of information indicating the heat transferred between the air in the air-conditioned space and the air outside the air-conditioned space through a wall or window, or information indicating the heat caused by sunlight entering the air-conditioned space through the window, or information indicating the heat generated by people, fixtures, or lighting in the air-conditioned space, or information indicating the heat caused by the heat held in the air outside the air-conditioned space that is taken into the air-conditioned space through a draft or ventilation opening, or information indicating the floor height of the air-conditioned space, or information indicating the area of ​​the windows installed in the air-conditioned space; and the thermal capacity is defined by any of information indicating the volume of the air-conditioned space, or information indicating the components that make up the air-conditioned space, or information indicating the furniture installed in the air-conditioned space, or information indicating the number of windows installed in the air-conditioned space. The air conditioner of claim 2, wherein the determination unit determines a first correction coefficient using any one or more pieces of information defining the thermal load, determines a second correction coefficient using any one or more pieces of information attributable to the thermal capacity, and sets the determined pair of the first correction coefficient and the second correction coefficient as the correction coefficient.

4. The air conditioner described in claim 3, wherein the determination unit determines the first correction coefficient to be the third correction coefficient when the operating frequency is increased compared to the initial operating frequency using information defining the thermal load, and determines the first correction coefficient to be the fourth correction coefficient when the operating frequency is decreased compared to the initial operating frequency; the determination unit determines the second correction coefficient to be the fifth correction coefficient when the operating frequency is increased compared to the initial operating frequency using information defining the thermal capacity, and determines the second correction coefficient to be the sixth correction coefficient when the operating frequency is decreased compared to the initial operating frequency; the third correction coefficient is greater than the fourth correction coefficient, and the fifth correction coefficient is greater than the sixth correction coefficient.

5. The air conditioner described in claim 4, characterized in that the determination unit determines, as the operating frequency of the compressor, an operating frequency obtained by correcting the initial operating frequency stored in the control unit using either the third correction coefficient or the fourth correction coefficient determined using information defining the thermal load, and either the fifth correction coefficient or the sixth correction coefficient determined using information defining the thermal capacity.

6. An air conditioner as described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the control unit sets the operating frequency at which the compressor is started to start the air conditioner's operation to the operating frequency determined by the determination unit.

7. An air conditioner as described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the determination unit determines the opening degree of the expansion valve corresponding to the operating frequency of the compressor, and the control unit operates the expansion valve at the opening degree determined by the determination unit.

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