JP2019070518A - Indoor unit and air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

When an HFO refrigerant leaks into the internal space of an indoor unit, the leaked HFO refrigerant is incombustible in the internal space. A heat exchanger that exchanges heat with an HFO refrigerant, a gas sensor that detects leakage of the HFO refrigerant to an internal space S3 in which the heat exchanger 11 is disposed, and air that has undergone heat exchange with the heat exchanger 11. When the gas sensor detects the leakage of the HFO refrigerant, the ultraviolet ray emitted from the ultraviolet ray irradiating device 16 is emitted from the ultraviolet ray irradiating device 16 to the indoor space S1. A control unit that controls to start irradiation of the indoor unit 10. [Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an indoor unit including a heat exchanger that performs heat exchange with HFO refrigerant, an air conditioner including the same, and a control method of the indoor unit.

Although R410A refrigerant is widely used as a refrigerant of an air conditioning apparatus which performs indoor air conditioning, it is regarded as a problem that a global warming potential (GWP: Global-Warming Potential) is high.
So, in recent years, use of the HFO refrigerant (hydro fluoro olefin refrigerant; For example, HFO-1234yf refrigerant (GWP = 4)) etc. whose global warming potential is lower than R410A refrigerant (GWP = 2090) is started.
HFO refrigerants are advantageous in that their global warming potential is sufficiently lower than that of R410A refrigerants, but their refrigerants are flammable (slightly flammable) and require careful attention to handling. .

  In Patent Document 1, in a refrigerant processing apparatus for processing a refrigerant introduced from a refrigeration cycle apparatus, ultraviolet irradiation is performed on tetrafluoropropene (HFO-1234), which is a type of HFO refrigerant, to cut double bonds of carbon molecules. And making it non-combustible is disclosed.

JP, 2009-297341, A

BACKGROUND ART As an example of a refrigeration cycle apparatus, an air conditioner in which a refrigerant circuit is formed by an indoor unit and an outdoor unit is known. When the HFO refrigerant leaks in the heat exchanger of the indoor unit, the refrigerant may leak into the room.
However, Patent Document 1 only discloses that the HFO refrigerant is incombustible in the refrigerant processing apparatus introduced from the refrigeration cycle apparatus, and a problem in the case where the flammable refrigerant leaks from the heat exchanger of the indoor unit Could not solve.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is an indoor unit capable of making the leaked HFO refrigerant noncombustible in the inner space when the HFO refrigerant leaks to the inner space of the indoor unit. It is an object of the present invention to provide a unit, an air conditioner and a control method of an indoor unit.

In order to solve the above-mentioned subject, the indoor unit of the present invention adopts the following means.
An indoor unit according to one aspect of the present invention includes a heat exchanger that performs heat exchange with HFO refrigerant, a detection unit that detects leakage of the HFO refrigerant to an internal space in which the heat exchanger is disposed, and the heat The air blower for blowing the air heat-exchanged by the exchanger from the air outlet to the indoor space, the ultraviolet light irradiation unit for irradiating the ultraviolet light in the internal space, and the detection unit detects the leakage of the HFO refrigerant; And a control unit configured to control to start irradiation of ultraviolet light by the ultraviolet light irradiation unit.

According to the indoor unit unit according to one aspect of the present invention, when the HFO refrigerant leaks from the heat exchanger to the internal space, the detection unit detects the leakage of the HFO refrigerant, and the control unit irradiates the ultraviolet light by the ultraviolet light irradiation unit. Control to start. By starting the irradiation of the ultraviolet light in the internal space in response to the leakage of the HFO refrigerant, the HFO refrigerant leaked into the internal space can be quickly made incombustible.
In addition, when the leakage of the HFO refrigerant is not detected, the ultraviolet light is not irradiated, so the power consumption can be reduced as compared with the case where the ultraviolet light is constantly irradiated.

In the indoor unit according to one aspect of the present invention, the control unit may control to decrease the air flow rate of the air blowing unit when the detection unit detects a leak of the HFO refrigerant.
By doing so, the residence time of the HFO refrigerant in the internal space can be extended, and the HFO refrigerant blown into the indoor space can be more reliably incombustible.

In the indoor unit according to one aspect of the present invention, the ultraviolet irradiation unit may be disposed at the air outlet and may irradiate the HFO refrigerant which is blown to the indoor space from the air outlet.
In this way, it is possible to reliably irradiate the HFO refrigerant blown into the indoor space from the air outlet with ultraviolet light, and to more reliably burn off the HFO refrigerant.

The indoor unit unit according to one aspect of the present invention includes a wind direction adjusting member that adjusts the direction of the air blown from the air blowing port, and the control unit detects that the detecting unit leaks the HFO refrigerant. In some cases, the direction of the air direction adjusting member may be controlled to close the air outlet.
In this way, when the flammable HFO refrigerant leaks into the internal space of the indoor unit, it is possible to prevent the HFO refrigerant from leaking from the internal space to the indoor space through the air outlet.

In the indoor unit according to one aspect of the present invention, the heat exchanger includes a first surface to which air taken in from the indoor space flows in, and a second surface to which air heat-exchanged with the HFO refrigerant flows out. The ultraviolet irradiator may be disposed on the second surface of the heat exchanger and may irradiate the HFO refrigerant flowing out of the second surface.
In this way, the HFO refrigerant mixed with the air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger can be reliably irradiated with ultraviolet light, and the HFO refrigerant can be more reliably incombustible.

An air conditioner according to one aspect of the present invention includes the indoor unit unit according to any one of the above, and an outdoor unit unit that forms a refrigerant circuit in which the HFO refrigerant circulates with the indoor unit unit.
By doing this, it is possible to provide an air conditioner capable of making the leaked HFO refrigerant noncombustible in the inner space when the HFO refrigerant leaks into the inner space of the indoor unit.

  A control method of an indoor unit according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a heat exchanger that performs heat exchange with an HFO refrigerant; and an ultraviolet irradiation unit that irradiates ultraviolet light in an internal space in which the heat exchanger is disposed. A control method of a unit, wherein detection of detecting the leakage of the HFO refrigerant into the internal space, and when the detection detects the leakage of the HFO refrigerant, the irradiation of ultraviolet light by the ultraviolet irradiation unit is started. Control step to control.

According to the control method of the indoor unit according to one aspect of the present invention, when the HFO refrigerant leaks from the heat exchanger to the internal space, the leakage of the HFO refrigerant is detected in the detection step, and the control step generates ultraviolet light by the ultraviolet irradiation unit. Control to start the irradiation of By starting the irradiation of the ultraviolet light in the internal space in response to the leakage of the HFO refrigerant, the HFO refrigerant leaked into the internal space can be quickly made incombustible.
In addition, when the leakage of the HFO refrigerant is not detected, the ultraviolet light is not irradiated, so the power consumption can be reduced as compared with the case where the ultraviolet light is constantly irradiated.

  According to the present invention, when the HFO refrigerant leaks into the internal space of the indoor unit, the indoor unit, the air conditioner, and the control method of the indoor unit can make the leaked HFO refrigerant noncombustible in the internal space. Can be provided.

It is a front view which shows the air conditioning apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a front view of the indoor unit shown in FIG. It is an AA arrow longitudinal cross-sectional view of the indoor unit shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the air conditioning apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process which the control part of the indoor unit of 1st Embodiment performs. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the indoor unit unit of 2nd Embodiment. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the modification of an indoor unit. It is a flowchart which shows the process which the control part of the indoor unit unit of 2nd Embodiment performs.

First Embodiment
Hereinafter, an air conditioner 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner 100 of the present embodiment includes an indoor unit unit 10 for cooling or heating the indoor space S1, an outdoor unit unit 20 disposed in the outdoor space S2, and an indoor unit unit 10 The outdoor unit unit 20 is connected to form a pair of refrigerant pipes 30 forming a refrigerant circuit in which the refrigerant circulates.
As shown in FIG. 1, the indoor space S1 is a space separated from the outdoor space S2 by the wall surface W.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the indoor unit 10 includes the heat exchanger 11, the gas sensor 12 (detection unit), the control unit 13, the flap 15 (wind direction adjustment member), and the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 (ultraviolet irradiation unit) And The heat exchanger 11, the gas sensor 12 (detection unit), the control unit 13, and the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 are accommodated in an internal space S <b> 3 formed by the housing 10 b of the indoor unit 10.

The heat exchanger 11 is a device that performs heat exchange between the air guided from the indoor space S1 to the internal space S3 of the indoor unit 10 and the refrigerant. The heat exchanger 11 of this embodiment performs heat exchange using an HFO refrigerant (hydrofluoroolefin refrigerant) whose global warming potential is sufficiently lower than that of the R410A refrigerant.
The heat exchanger 11 of the present embodiment is a plate fin tube type heat exchanger. As shown in FIG. 2, in the heat exchanger 11, a plurality of metal plates 11a are arranged in parallel with each other, and the refrigerant piping 11b is in contact with the plates 11a in the through holes formed in each plate 11a. It is inserted in.

One end of the refrigerant pipe 11b is connected to one of the pair of refrigerant pipes 30, and the other end is connected to the other end of the pair of refrigerant pipes 30, thereby forming a refrigerant circuit.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the indoor unit 10 shown in FIG. 1, and shows a state in which a part of the housing 10b on the front side of the indoor unit 10 is omitted to make the inside visible.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the refrigerant pipe 11 b is formed with a plurality of bend portions 11 c for switching the flow direction of the refrigerant by 180 °. The bend portion 11c is formed, for example, by connecting both ends of a U-shaped refrigerant pipe to ends of a pair of refrigerant pipes formed in a straight line. Therefore, in the bend portion 11c, leakage of the refrigerant from the refrigerant pipe 11b is more likely to occur than at other places.

  In the present embodiment, an HFO refrigerant (hydrofluoroolefin refrigerant; for example, HFO-1234yf refrigerant (GWP = 4)) having a global warming potential lower than that of the R410A refrigerant (GWP = 2090) is used. Since the HFO refrigerant is a flammable (slightly flammable) refrigerant, it needs to be carefully handled.

  The gas sensor 12 is a sensor that detects the leakage of the HFO refrigerant from the refrigerant pipe 11b of the heat exchanger 11 to the internal space S3. The gas sensor 12 can detect the main component of the HFO refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant pipe 11b. When the gas sensor 12 detects the leakage of the HFO refrigerant from the refrigerant pipe 11b to the internal space S3, the gas sensor 12 transmits a detection signal indicating that to the control unit 13 via the signal line.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the gas sensor 12 is attached in the vicinity of the bend portion 11 c of the refrigerant pipe 11 b. This is to enable early detection of the leakage of the HFO refrigerant from the bend portion 11c, in which the leakage of the HFO refrigerant from the refrigerant piping 11b is more likely to occur than at other places.

The control unit 13 is disposed in the internal space S3 of the indoor unit 10 and controls the respective units of the indoor unit 10.
As shown in the configuration diagram of FIG. 4, the control unit 13 is connected to the control unit 21 of the outdoor unit unit 20 via the signal line 40.

  The flap 15 is a plate-like member which adjusts the direction of the up-down direction of the air which blows off from the ventilation opening 10a of the indoor unit 10. The flap 15 is driven by a drive motor 17 (see FIG. 4) controlled by the control unit 13 to adjust the inclination in the vertical direction.

The ultraviolet irradiation device 16 is a device that irradiates ultraviolet light in the internal space S3. As shown in FIG. 1, the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 has a shape extending in the horizontal direction, and is disposed in the internal space S3 of the indoor unit 10.
The ultraviolet irradiation device 16 can be, for example, a device in which a plurality of light emitting elements such as an LED for emitting ultraviolet light are horizontally spaced. In addition, the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 can be a device that performs surface irradiation in the whole extending in the horizontal direction.

As shown in FIG. 3 (sectional view taken along the line AA of the indoor unit 10 shown in FIG. 2), the housing 10b of the indoor unit 10 guides the air flow passage 10c for guiding the HFO refrigerant leaked to the air outlet 10a. It is formed.
The heat exchangers 11 disposed above the internal space S3 are attached to the support members 10d, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 is disposed at the air outlet 10a, and irradiates the HFO refrigerant blown from the air outlet 10a to the indoor space S1. The ultraviolet irradiation device 16 is attached to each of the housing 10 b disposed on the upper side of the air flow path 10 c and the housing 10 b disposed on the lower side of the air flow path 10 c.

The ultraviolet irradiation device 16 disposed on the upper side of the air flow passage 10c irradiates ultraviolet light obliquely downward as shown by the arrow in FIG. 3 to make the HFO refrigerant passing through the air flow passage 10c noncombustible.
Further, the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 disposed on the lower side of the air flow passage 10c irradiates ultraviolet light obliquely upward as shown by the arrow in FIG. 3 to make the HFO refrigerant passing through the air flow passage 10c incombustible Let

  In FIG. 3, the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 is attached to each of the housing 10b disposed on the upper side of the air flow path 10c and the housing 10b disposed on the lower side of the air flow path 10c. However, other aspects may be possible. For example, only one of the housing 10b disposed on the upper side of the air flow path 10c and the housing 10b disposed on the lower side of the air flow path 10c may be attached.

As shown in FIG. 3, the indoor unit 10 has an indoor fan 14 (a blower) for blowing the air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger 11 from the blower opening 10 a to the indoor space S1.
Under control of the control signal transmitted from the control unit 13, the indoor fan 14 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3 to blow the air in the internal space S3 toward the air outlet 10a.

Next, the process which the control part 13 of the indoor unit 10 performs is demonstrated using FIG. 4 and FIG.
As shown in the configuration diagram of FIG. 4, the control unit 13 of the indoor unit 10 includes a gas sensor 12, an indoor fan 14, an ultraviolet irradiation device 16, and a drive motor 17 for driving the flap 15 and an internal signal line. It is connected. Further, the control unit 13 is connected to the control unit 21 of the outdoor unit unit 20 via the signal line 40.

Each process shown in FIG. 5 below is a process in which a CPU of the control unit 13 of the indoor unit 10 reads and executes a control program stored in a storage unit such as a ROM.
Hereinafter, each process shown in FIG. 5 will be described.

In step S501, the control unit 13 monitors a signal output from the gas sensor 12 and determines whether the gas sensor 12 has detected the leakage of the HFO refrigerant into the internal space S3.
If the controller 13 determines YES in step S501, the process proceeds to step S502. If the controller 13 determines NO, the controller 13 executes the process of step S501 again.

  In step S502, the control unit 13 transmits a control signal to the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 to start irradiation of ultraviolet light by the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 in order to make the HFO refrigerant leaked to the internal space S3 incombustible.

  In step S <b> 503, the control unit 13 transmits a control signal to the indoor fan 14 to reduce the amount of air blown by the indoor fan 14. The reduction of the air flow length prolongs the residence time of the HFO refrigerant in the internal space S3. Therefore, as compared with the case where the air flow rate is not reduced, the irradiation time of the ultraviolet light to the HFO refrigerant becomes longer, and the HFO refrigerant can be more surely incombustible.

  In each process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 13 controls the drive motor 17 so that the flap 15 is at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. Specifically, the control unit 13 controls the drive motor 17 so that the flap 15 does not close the air outlet 10a.

  Therefore, the HFO refrigerant leaked to the internal space S3 passes from the internal space S3 to the air flow path 10c and is led from the air outlet 10a to the indoor space S1. The HFO refrigerant flows into the indoor space S1, but is made incombustible by the irradiation of the ultraviolet light by the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 disposed at the air outlet 10a.

In step S504, the control unit 13 monitors a signal output from the gas sensor 12 and determines whether the gas sensor 12 has detected a leak of the HFO refrigerant.
The control unit 13 proceeds the process to step S505 when determining NO in step S504, and executes the process of step S504 again when determining YES.

In step S505, the control unit 13 transmits the control signal to the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 to stop the irradiation of the ultraviolet light by the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 because the leakage of the HFO refrigerant to the internal space S3 is not detected by the gas sensor 12. Let
As described above, the irradiation of the ultraviolet light by the ultraviolet light irradiation device 16 is performed only when the gas sensor 12 detects the leakage of the HFO refrigerant to the internal space S3. Therefore, power consumption required for the irradiation of the ultraviolet light can be reduced as compared with the case where the ultraviolet light is constantly irradiated.

  In step S506, the control unit 13 transmits a control signal to the indoor fan 14 to increase the amount of air blown by the indoor fan 14 because the gas sensor 12 no longer detects leakage of the HFO refrigerant to the internal space S3.

  As described above, when the gas sensor 12 detects the leakage of the HFO refrigerant to the internal space S3, the control unit 13 of the indoor unit unit 10 can irradiate the HFO refrigerant with ultraviolet light to make it non-combustible.

The operation and effect of the air conditioner 100 of the present embodiment described above will be described.
According to the indoor unit unit 10 of the air conditioner 100 of the present embodiment, when the HFO refrigerant leaks from the heat exchanger 11 to the internal space S3, the gas sensor 12 detects the leakage of the HFO refrigerant, and the control unit 13 emits ultraviolet light. It is controlled to start the irradiation of the ultraviolet light by the device 16. By starting the irradiation of the ultraviolet light in the internal space S3 in response to the leakage of the HFO refrigerant, the HFO refrigerant leaked to the internal space S3 can be quickly made incombustible.
In addition, when the leakage of the HFO refrigerant is not detected, the ultraviolet light is not irradiated, so the power consumption can be reduced as compared with the case where the ultraviolet light is constantly irradiated.

In the indoor unit unit 10 of the present embodiment, the control unit 13 controls the air flow rate of the indoor fan 14 to be reduced when the gas sensor 12 detects the leakage of the HFO refrigerant.
By doing this, the residence time of the HFO refrigerant in the internal space S3 can be extended, and the HFO refrigerant blown to the indoor space S1 can be more reliably incombustible.

In the indoor unit unit 10 of the present embodiment, the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 is disposed at the air outlet 10a and irradiates the HFO refrigerant which is blown to the indoor space S1 from the air outlet 10a.
In this way, the HFO refrigerant blown from the air outlet 10a to the indoor space S1 can be reliably irradiated with ultraviolet light, and the HFO refrigerant can be more reliably incombustible.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The second embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment and is assumed to be the same as the first embodiment except in the case specifically described below.

  The indoor unit 10 according to the first embodiment does not close the air outlet 10a when the gas sensor 12 detects the leakage of the HFO refrigerant, and the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 disposed in the air outlet 10a makes the room from the air outlet 10a. The HFO refrigerant blown into the space S1 is made incombustible.

  On the other hand, when the gas sensor 12 detects the leakage of the HFO refrigerant, the indoor unit 10 'of the present embodiment closes the air outlet 10a and makes the HFO refrigerant non-combustible in the internal space S3.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the indoor unit 10 ′ at a position indicated by an arrow AA in FIG.
In the first embodiment, the ultraviolet irradiation devices 16 are disposed on the upper side and the lower side of the air flow path 10c. On the other hand, the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 of the present embodiment is attached to the heat exchanger 11.

  Similar to the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 shown in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment, each of the plurality of ultraviolet irradiation devices 16 shown in FIG. 6 has a shape extending in the horizontal direction, and is used in the internal space S3 of the indoor unit 10 ′. It is arranged.

As shown in FIG. 6, the heat exchanger 11 has a first surface 11d into which the air taken in from the indoor space S1 flows, and a second surface 11e from which the air heat-exchanged with the HFO refrigerant flows out.
Four ultraviolet irradiation devices 16 are attached to the second surface 11 e of each heat exchanger 11 so as to irradiate ultraviolet light in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 6.
The direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 6 is the direction in which the HFO refrigerant flowing out of the second surface 11 e of the heat exchanger 11 is irradiated.

In addition, although FIG. 6 attaches four ultraviolet irradiation devices 16 to the 2nd surface 11e of each heat exchanger 11, respectively, another aspect may be sufficient.
For example, four UV irradiation devices 16 may be attached to any one of the three heat exchangers 11 shown in FIG. Also, for example, four UV irradiation devices 16 may be attached to any two of the three heat exchangers 11, respectively. Further, for example, the number of ultraviolet irradiation devices 16 attached to the second surface 11 e of each heat exchanger 11 may be an arbitrary number of one or more.

  When the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 is attached to the second surface 11 e of the heat exchanger 11, the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 can be an obstacle that impedes the flow of air in the heat exchanger 11. Therefore, it is desirable to set the position and the number of the ultraviolet irradiation devices 16 to be appropriate positions and the number in consideration of the heat exchange performance of the heat exchanger 11.

  In FIG. 6, the second surface 11e of the heat exchanger 11 is at a position corresponding to the position where the refrigerant pipe 11b is disposed (the downstream position in the air flow direction). By doing this, the flowability of the air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger 11 can be enhanced as compared with the case where the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 is attached at a position not corresponding to the position where the refrigerant pipe 11b is disposed.

  Moreover, in FIG. 6, although the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 shall be attached to the 2nd surface 11e of the heat exchanger 11, another aspect may be sufficient. For example, as in the indoor unit 10 ′ ′ of the modification of FIG. 7, the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 may be attached to the lower surface of the support member 10 d to which the heat exchanger 11 disposed above the internal space S3 is attached. .

Next, the process which control part 13 of indoor unit unit 10 'of this embodiment performs is demonstrated using FIG.
In step S801, the control unit 13 monitors a signal output from the gas sensor 12, and determines whether the gas sensor 12 has detected the leakage of the HFO refrigerant into the internal space S3.
If the control unit 13 determines YES in step S801, the process proceeds to step S802. If the control unit 13 determines NO, the control unit 13 executes the process of step S801 again.

  In step S802, the control unit 13 transmits a control signal to the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 to start irradiation of ultraviolet light by the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 in order to make the HFO refrigerant leaked to the internal space S3 incombustible.

In step S803, the control unit 13 transmits a control signal to the drive motor 17, and the drive motor 17 turns the flap 15 in such a position as shown by the solid line in FIGS. Control.
By closing the blower opening 10a, it is suppressed that the HFO refrigerant is blown by the indoor fan 14 and guided from the blower opening 10a to the indoor space S1. Therefore, it is suppressed that the flammable HFO refrigerant is introduced into the indoor space S1 without being incombustible.

  The HFO refrigerant is circulated in the internal space S3 by blowing the HFO refrigerant by the indoor fan 14 in a state where the air outlet 10a is closed. Then, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the ultraviolet rays are irradiated from the second surface 11 e of the heat exchanger 11 toward the indoor fan 14, whereby the HFO refrigerant circulating in the internal space S 3 is made incombustible.

In step S804, the control unit 13 monitors a signal output from the gas sensor 12 and determines whether the gas sensor 12 has detected a leak of the HFO refrigerant.
The control unit 13 proceeds the process to step S805 if determined as NO in step S804, and executes the process of step S804 again if determined as YES.

In step S805, the control unit 13 transmits the control signal to the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 to stop the irradiation of the ultraviolet light by the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 since the leakage of the HFO refrigerant to the internal space S3 is not detected by the gas sensor 12. Let
As described above, the irradiation of the ultraviolet light by the ultraviolet light irradiation device 16 is performed only when the gas sensor 12 detects the leakage of the HFO refrigerant to the internal space S3. Therefore, power consumption required for the irradiation of the ultraviolet light can be reduced as compared with the case where the ultraviolet light is constantly irradiated.

Further, in step S806, the control unit 13 transmits a control signal to the drive motor 17 to drive the direction of the flap 15 to a position where the air outlet 10a is opened (a position shown by a broken line in FIGS. The motor 17 controls.
As described above, when the gas sensor 12 detects the leakage of the HFO refrigerant to the internal space S3, the control unit 13 of the indoor unit unit 10 can irradiate the HFO refrigerant with ultraviolet light to make it non-combustible.

As described above, the indoor unit unit 10 according to the present embodiment includes the flap 15 for adjusting the direction of the air blown from the air outlet 10a, and the control unit 13 detects the leak of the HFO refrigerant by the gas sensor 12 The direction of the flap 15 is controlled to close the air outlet 10a.
In this way, when the flammable HFO refrigerant leaks to the internal space S3 of the indoor unit 10, the HFO refrigerant is prevented from leaking from the internal space S3 to the indoor space S1 via the air outlet 10a. can do.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, in the heat exchanger 11 of the present embodiment, the first surface 11d into which the air taken in from the indoor space S1 flows in, and the second surface 11e from which the air heat-exchanged with the HFO refrigerant flows out. And the ultraviolet irradiation device 16 is disposed on the second surface 11 e of the heat exchanger 11 and irradiates the HFO refrigerant flowing out of the second surface 11 e.
In this way, the HFO refrigerant mixed with the air heat-exchanged in the heat exchanger 11 can be reliably irradiated with ultraviolet light, and the HFO refrigerant can be more reliably incombustible.

Other Embodiments
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the scope of the invention.
For example, although the indoor unit described above is installed on a wall surface, a ceiling embedded type or a ceiling suspended type may be adopted.

10, 10 ', 10 "indoor unit 10a air outlet 10b housing 10c air flow path 11 heat exchanger 11a plate 11b refrigerant piping 11c bend portion 11d first surface 11e second surface 12 gas sensor (detection unit)
13 Control unit 14 Indoor fan (blower unit)
15 flap (wind direction adjustment member)
16 UV Irradiator (UV Irradiator)
17 drive motor 20 outdoor unit unit 21 control unit 30 refrigerant piping 40 signal line 100 air conditioner S1 indoor space S2 outdoor space S3 internal space W wall surface

The present invention relates to an air conditioner location having the indoor unit and it comprises a heat exchanger for exchanging heat with HFO refrigerant.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is an indoor unit capable of making the leaked HFO refrigerant noncombustible in the inner space when the HFO refrigerant leaks to the inner space of the indoor unit. and to provide a unit and air conditioner location.

In order to solve the above-mentioned subject, the indoor unit of the present invention adopts the following means.
The indoor unit unit according to one aspect of the present invention is disposed in the inner space, a housing having an air outlet, a detection unit that detects leakage of HFo refrigerant to the inner space formed by the housing , and An ultraviolet irradiation unit for irradiating ultraviolet light; an air blowing unit for blowing air in the internal space from the air blowing opening to an indoor space; and a control unit for controlling the ultraviolet irradiation unit based on the detection result of the detection unit. the control unit, the detection detecting unit leakage of the HFO refrigerant Then, that controls the ultraviolet irradiation unit to start irradiation of ultraviolet.

In an indoor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit may control the blower to the detecting section decreases the detection result the air volume leakage of the HFO refrigerant.
By doing so, the residence time of the HFO refrigerant in the internal space can be extended, and the HFO refrigerant blown into the indoor space can be more reliably incombustible.

According to the present invention, it is possible to HFO refrigerant when leaked into the internal space of the indoor unit, to provide an indoor unit and an air conditioner location capable of non-flammable in the internal space of HFO refrigerant has leaked .

Claims (7)

A heat exchanger that exchanges heat with the HFO refrigerant,
A detection unit that detects the leakage of the HFO refrigerant into the internal space in which the heat exchanger is disposed;
An air blower for blowing the air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger from the air outlet to the indoor space;
An ultraviolet irradiation unit that irradiates ultraviolet light in the internal space;
An indoor unit unit comprising: a control unit that controls the ultraviolet irradiation unit to start irradiation of ultraviolet light when the detection unit detects a leak of the HFO refrigerant.   The indoor unit unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the amount of air blown from the air blowing unit to decrease when the detecting unit detects the leakage of the HFO refrigerant.   The indoor unit unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the ultraviolet irradiation unit is disposed at the air blowing port and irradiates the HFO refrigerant blown from the air blowing port to the indoor space. It has a wind direction adjusting member for adjusting the direction of the air sent from the air outlet,
The indoor unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the direction of the wind direction adjusting member so as to close the air blowing port when the detection unit detects the leakage of the HFO refrigerant. The heat exchanger has a first surface into which the air taken in from the indoor space flows, and a second surface from which the air heat-exchanged with the HFO refrigerant flows out.
The indoor unit unit according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the ultraviolet irradiation unit is disposed on the second surface of the heat exchanger, and irradiates the HFO refrigerant flowing out of the second surface. The indoor unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5;
An outdoor unit unit that forms a refrigerant circuit in which the HFO refrigerant circulates together with the indoor unit unit. A control method of an indoor unit comprising: a heat exchanger that performs heat exchange with an HFO refrigerant; and an ultraviolet irradiation unit that irradiates ultraviolet light in an internal space in which the heat exchanger is disposed,
Detecting a leak of the HFO refrigerant into the internal space;
A control step of controlling to start irradiation of ultraviolet rays by the ultraviolet irradiation unit when the detection step detects leakage of the HFO refrigerant.

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