US 4,307,576 A · Air conditioning system having a plurality of indoor units

Abstract

An air conditioning system comprises an outdoor unit and a plurality of indoor units, a plurality of delivery conduits for supplying working fluid from a variable capacity energy source located in the outdoor unit to the indoor units, and a plurality of control valves respectively provided in the delivery conduits. A temperature sensor and a reference temperature setting device are provided for each room for transmitting corresponding temperature data to a central control unit. The central control unit detects whether the sensed temperature of each room is increasing or decreasing as a function of time and whether the sensed temperature is above or below a predetermined temperature associated with a value established by the reference setting device. Based upon these data the central control unit provides a control signal for closing the valve to divert a certain amount of the total supply energy to other rooms. Another control signal is generated to increase the total amount of supply energy when the temperature level and its gradient of each room indicate a shortage of the total supply energy and to decrease the total amount when a total energy supply excess is indicated.

Claims27

Dependent claims

An air conditioning system comprising:

a variable capacity energy source for providing working fluid at variable energy levels in response to a signal applied thereto;
a plurality of delivery means for delivery of said working fluid to separate spaces for air conditioning the respective spaces;
working fluid control means provided in said delivery means for controlling the amount of working fluid supplied therethrough in response to a signal applied thereto;
a plurality of temperature setting devices for setting reference temperatures respectively for said spaces;
a plurality of temperature detectors for measuring the temperature of the respective spaces;
and
a central control unit including means for setting a plurality of temperature zones in response to said reference temperatures respectively for said spaces, means for detecting to which one of said temperature zones each of said measured temperatures belongs, means for detecting the temperature gradient of each of said measured temperatures, and means for generating a control signal based on said detected temperature gradient and said detected temperature zone and applying said control signal to one or both of said working fluid control means and said energy source.

4 more elements

A method for controlling an air conditioning system having a plurality of indoor units supplied with working fluid through respective delivery passages from a variable capacity energy source for air conditioning a plurality of rooms, each of said passages including a control valve for regulating the amount of fluid passing therethrough, comprising the steps of:

(1) measuring the temperature of each of said rooms;
(2) generating a data representing each of the measured temperatures;
(3) storing each said temperature data in a memory;
(4) comparing the most recent temperature data of each room with the temperature data previously stored in each said memory;
(5) if said most recent data is greater in value than said compared stored data, checking to see if both of said data are greater in value than a predetermined data representing a predetermined temperature;
(6) storing a data "1" or "0" if both of said data are greater than said predetermined data or not, respectively;
(7) if said most recent data is not greater than said stored data, checking to see if both of said data are smaller in value than said predetermined data;
(8) storing a data "1" or "0" if both of said data are smaller than said predetermined data or not, respectively;
(9) updating each said previously stored temperature data with each said most recent temperature data;
(10) repeating steps (1) to (9) until said steps (1) to (9) are processed with respect to the temperatures of all of said rooms;
(11) checking to see if there is present a said data "1" stored in step (6);
(12) if said data "1" is present in step (11), checking to see if there is present a said data "1" stored in step (8);
and
(13) generating a valve control signal if said data "1" is present in step (12) for closing the one of said valves which is associated with the last-mentioned data "1".

11 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Air conditioning system having a plurality of indoor units

Life of this patent

Air conditioning system having a plurality of indoor units

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims27