Indoor unit of air-conditioning apparatus

• US 9,895,039 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2013
• Issued: 02/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hail, Joseph J
• Assistant Examiner(s): TAYLOR, JON S
• Application Number:
  US13/951,530
• Publication Number:
  US 20140041145A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,670 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2894 Details related to signal transmission in suction cleaners
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 1/0011 characterised by air outlets
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 1/0057 mounted in or on a wall
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/79 for controlling the direction of the supplied air
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2221/18 combined with domestic apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 49/00 Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/40 Vacuum or mangetic

Abstract

An air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit that includes a controller is described. In an automatic cleaning mode, when having determined on the basis of an image captured by an imaging device that there is no person in a room, the controller causes air to be blown for a predetermined time to a stationary three-dimensional object identified using the image captured by the imaging device. After the predetermined time has elapsed, the controller causes air blowing to the stationary three-dimensional object to be stopped, and issues an operation instruction for an autonomous vacuum cleaner to clean and move in the room.

Claims

1. An air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit comprising:

a body disposed on an inside wall of a room, the body having an air inlet and an air outlet that form an air path;

an air-sending device configured to suck indoor air through the air inlet, and further configured to send the indoor air through the air path leading to the air outlet;

a heat exchanger, disposed in the air path, configured to execute part of a refrigeration cycle;

a blowing direction control device, disposed in the air outlet, configured to control a blowing direction of air conditioned by the heat exchanger;

an imaging device configured to capture an image of an inside of the room; and

a controller with a processor, the processor being programmed to;

control the air-sending device, the heat exchanger, and the blowing direction control device based on the image captured by the imaging device;

in an automatic cleaning mode, control an autonomous vacuum cleaner based on the image captured by the imaging device; and

in the automatic cleaning mode;

when having determined on the basis of the image captured by the imaging device that there is no person in the room, control the air-sending device and the blowing direction control device to blow the indoor air to a stationary three-dimensional object for a predetermined time, the stationary three-dimensional object being identified based on the image captured by the imaging device, and

after the predetermined time elapses, control the air-sending device to stop blowing air, and cause the controller to issue an operation instruction for the autonomous vacuum cleaner to clean and move,

wherein the processor of the controller is further programmed to;

control the heat exchanger to suspend the refrigeration cycle before controlling the air-sending device, and

control the blowing direction control device to blow the indoor air to the stationary three-dimensional object for the predetermined time.

2. The air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit of claim 1,

wherein when having determined that a person has entered the room during air blow to a stationary three-dimensional object in the automatic cleaning mode after a determination based on an image captured by the imaging device that there is no person in the room, the controller interrupts the air blow to the stationary three-dimensional object and, after that, when having determined again that there is no person in the room, restarts the air blow to the stationary three-dimensional object, and

wherein when having issued an operation instruction for the autonomous vacuum cleaner to clean and move in response to a determination that there is no person in the room, the determination being made after the air blow is stopped, and then having determined that a person has entered the room, the controller issues a stop instruction for the autonomous vacuum cleaner to stop cleaning and moving and, after that, when having determined that there is again no person in the room, issues another operation instruction for the autonomous vacuum cleaner to again clean and move.

3. The air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit of claim 1,

wherein the processor of the controller is further programmed to:

analyze multiple images captured by the imaging device to identify an area in which a person is often present, and

cause the controller to issue an operation instruction to the autonomous vacuum cleaner to increase a suction rate in the area in which a person is often present than that in other areas.

4. The air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit of claim 1, further comprising

an infrared sensor configured to detect an infrared radiation in the room,

wherein the processor of the controller is further programmed to:

control an autonomous vacuum cleaner based on information about a temperature measured by the infrared sensor, and

in an automatic cleaning mode;

calculate a degree of activity of a person in the room based on the temperature measured by the infrared sensor,

cause the controller to issue a stop instruction to the autonomous vacuum cleaner when the calculated degree of activity is less than or equal to a reference degree of activity, and

cause the controller to issue an operation instruction to the autonomous vacuum cleaner when the calculated degree of activity exceeds the reference degree of activity.

5. The air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit of claim 1,

wherein the automatic cleaning mode is set each time an accumulated operation time obtained by accumulating operation time of the refrigeration cycle reaches a reference accumulated operation time.

6. The air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit of claim 1,

wherein the automatic cleaning mode is set by a user.

7. The air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit of claim 1,

wherein the autonomous vacuum cleaner includes

a dust capturing unit that captures dust based on an operation instruction from the controller, and

a traveling unit that autonomously travels based on an operation instruction from the controller.

8. The air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit of claim 1,

wherein the processor of the controller is further programmed to, during the predetermined time, control the air-sending device to interrupt blowing the indoor air to the stationary three-dimensional object multiple times.

9. The air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit of claim 1,

wherein the controller issues an operation instruction to the autonomous vacuum cleaner to increase a suction rate in an area near or surrounding the stationary three-dimensional object than that in other areas.

10. The air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit of claim 1,

wherein the air-sending device includes the air path extending from the air inlet to the air outlet and an inverse air path extending from the air outlet to the air inlet, and

wherein the processor of the controller is further programmed to control the air sending device to blow indoor air passing through the inverse air path to a ceiling of the room before, during, or after the predetermined time during which the sending device blows the indoor air to the stationary three-dimensional object.

11. An air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit comprising:

a body disposed on an inside wall of a room, the body having an air inlet and an air outlet that form an air path;

an air-sending device configured to suck indoor air through the air inlet, and further configured to send the indoor air through the air path leading to the air outlet;

a heat exchanger, disposed in the air path, configured to execute part of a refrigeration cycle;

a blowing direction control device, disposed in the air outlet, configured to control a blowing direction of air conditioned by the heat exchanger;

an imaging device configured to capture an image of an inside of the room; and

a controller with a processor, the processor being programmed to;

control the air-sending device, the heat exchanger, and the blowing direction control device based on the image captured by the imaging device;

in an automatic cleaning mode, control an autonomous vacuum cleaner based on the image captured by the imaging device; and

in the automatic cleaning mode;

when having determined on the basis of the image captured by the imaging device that there is no person in the room, control the air-sending device and the blowing direction control device to blow the indoor air to a stationary three-dimensional object for a predetermined time, the stationary three-dimensional object being identified based on the image captured by the imaging device, and

after the predetermined time elapses, control the air-sending device to stop blowing air, and cause the controller to issue an operation instruction for the autonomous vacuum cleaner to clean and move,

wherein the processor of the controller is further programmed to, during the predetermined time, control the air-sending device to interrupt blowing the indoor air to the stationary three-dimensional object multiple times.

12. The air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit of claim 11,

wherein the controller issues an operation instruction to the autonomous vacuum cleaner to increase a suction rate in an area near or surrounding the stationary three-dimensional object than that in other areas.

13. The air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit of claim 11,

wherein the air-sending device includes the air path extending from the air inlet to the air outlet and an inverse air path extending from the air outlet to the air inlet, and

wherein the processor of the controller is further programmed to control the air sending device to blow indoor air passing through the inverse air path to a ceiling of the room before, during, or after the predetermined time during which the sending device blows the indoor air to the stationary three-dimensional object.

14. The air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit of claim 11,

wherein the automatic cleaning mode is set each time an accumulated operation time obtained by accumulating operation time of the refrigeration cycle reaches a reference accumulated operation time.

15. The air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit of claim 11,

wherein the automatic cleaning mode is set by a user.

16. The air-conditioning apparatus indoor unit of claim 11,

wherein the autonomous vacuum cleaner includes

a dust capturing unit that captures dust based on an operation instruction from the controller, and

a traveling unit that autonomously travels based on an operation instruction from the controller.