Air conditioner
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air conditioners face challenges in reducing power consumption and improving comfort, particularly due to uneven temperature distribution and increased power usage when restarting the compressor during circulator operations.
Innovation Solution
The air conditioner incorporates an indoor unit with a housing, indoor fan, indoor heat exchanger, vertical wind blade, temperature sensor, and controller. The controller executes a heating operation by adjusting the angle of the vertical wind blade and discharging warmed air, and a circulation operation by reducing and then increasing the indoor air flow to improve air distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If the circulator operation is performed by moving air accumulating near the ceiling to the floor, then temperature distribution is improved, but power consumption increases due to compressor restart
Solution Approach 1:
The air flow direction is changed to forward (horizontal) before increasing the air flow amount, preparing the airflow path in advance to enable efficient circulation without requiring compressor restart, thus reducing power consumption while achieving temperature distribution improvement
Solution Approach 2:
The circulation operation is executed periodically during heating operation when the room temperature reaches the set temperature, creating periodic airflow cycles that maintain temperature distribution without continuous high-power operation
2Productivity
If the indoor air flow amount is increased continuously, then air circulation efficiency is improved, but comfort deteriorates due to cold air blow
Solution Approach 1:
The air flow direction is changed to forward (horizontal) in advance before increasing the air flow amount, preparing the airflow path to guide air smoothly through the room, thereby maintaining circulation efficiency while preventing direct cold air blow to occupants
Solution Approach 2:
The air flow direction and amount are dynamically adjusted in sequence - first changing direction to forward, then increasing amount - allowing the system to adapt airflow characteristics to balance circulation efficiency and comfort requirements
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration reduces power consumption by optimizing air circulation during heating operations and improves comfort by ensuring even temperature distribution throughout the indoor space.
Implementation Method 1
an indoor heat exchanger, disposed in a path of the indoor air flow in the housing
Implementation Method 2
an indoor fan disposed in the housing and generating an indoor air flow
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
In an air conditioner of the present disclosure, a vertical wind blade is disposed at an outlet port of an indoor unit, and sets an angle in the vertical direction of an indoor air flow from the outlet port to an arbitrary angle between downward and forward. A controller executes a heating operation of controlling the vertical wind blade, and discharging the indoor air flow warmed by an indoor heat exchanger from the outlet port. The controller executes a circulation operation of circulating indoor air by the indoor air flow when room temperature is not lower than a set temperature during the heating operation. The circulation operation includes reducing the amount of the indoor air flow and changing the angle in the vertical direction of the indoor air flow to forward during a first time period, and increasing the amount of the indoor air flow after changing the angle in the vertical direction of the indoor air flow to forward.