Air-conditioning system, controller for air-conditioning apparatus, and control method for air-conditioning apparatus

Abstract

An air-conditioning system includes an air-conditioning apparatus including indoor units, temperature detectors each of which detects a temperature of an associated one of zones into which an air-conditioning target space is divided in association with positions of the indoor units, a human detection sensor which detects whether each of the zones is a human presence zone where a person or persons are present or a human absence zone where no person is present, and a controller that causes the indoor unit in the human presence zone to perform cooling/heating operation, thereby causing a temperature detected by the temperature detector in the human presence zone to reach a set temperature. The controller causes the indoor unit in the human absence zone to perform air-sending operation, and determines the volume of air from the indoor unit in the human absence zone based on that in the human presence zone.

1 . An air-conditioning system comprising:
 an air-conditioning apparatus including a plurality of indoor units each configured to condition air in an air-conditioning target space;   a plurality of temperature sensors each configured to detect a temperature of an associated one of a plurality of zones into which the air-conditioning target space is divided in association with positions of the plurality of indoor units;   a human detection sensor configured to detect whether each of the plurality of zones is a human presence zone where a person or persons are present or a human absence zone where no person is present; and   a controller configured to cause, in the human presence zone detected by the human detection sensor, the indoor unit in the detected human presence zone to perform cooling operation or heating operation, thereby causing a temperature detected by an associated one of the temperature sensors to reach a set temperature,   wherein the controller is configured to:   cause the indoor unit in the human absence zone detected by the human detection sensor to perform air-sending operation, and determine a volume of air from the indoor unit in the detected human absence zone based on a volume of air from the indoor unit in the human presence zone; and   cause the volume of air from the indoor unit in the human absence zone to be larger than the volume of air from the indoor unit in the human presence zone.   
     
     
         2 . The air-conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to determine, when a plurality of the human presence zones are present, the volume of air from the indoor unit in the human absence zone based on the volume of air from the indoor unit in one of the human presence zones that is the closest to the human absence zone. 
     
     
         3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . The air-conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein the human detection sensor includes an infrared sensor. 
     
     
         5 . A controller for an air-conditioning apparatus, which is connected to the air-conditioning apparatus, a plurality of temperature sensors, and a human detection sensor, the air-conditioning apparatus including a plurality of indoor units each configured to condition air in an air-conditioning target space, the plurality of temperature sensors each being configured to detect a temperature of an associated one of a plurality of zones into which the air-conditioning target space is divided in association with positions of the plurality of indoor units, the human detection sensor being configured to detect whether a person or persons are present or no person is present in each of the plurality of zones or not,
 wherein the controller is configured to:   cause the indoor unit in one of the plurality of zones that is detected by the human detection sensor as a human presence zone where a person or persons are present to perform cooling operation or heating operation, thereby causing a temperature detected by the temperature sensor in the human presence zone to reach a set temperature;   cause the indoor unit in one of the plurality of zones that is detected by the human detection sensor as a human absence zone where no person is present to perform air-sending operation, and determine a volume of air from the indoor unit in the human absence zone based on a volume of air from the indoor unit in the human presence zone; and   cause the volume of air from the indoor unit in the human absence zone to be larger than the volume of air from the indoor unit in the human presence zone.   
     
     
         6 . The controller of  claim 5 , wherein the controller is configured to determine, when a plurality of the human presence zones are present, determine the volume of air from the indoor unit in the human absence zone based on the volume of air from the indoor unit in one of the human presence zones that is the closest to the human absence zone. 
     
     
         7 . (canceled) 
     
     
         8 . The controller of  claim 5 , wherein the controller is configured to increase the volume of air from the indoor unit in the human absence zone, depending on a distance between the indoor unit in the human absence zone and the indoor unit in the human presence zone. 
     
     
         9 . The controller of  claim 5 , wherein
 the indoor unit in the human absence zone has a plurality of air outlets, and   the controller is configured to close at least one of the plurality of air outlets that is relatively remote from the indoor unit in the human presence zone.   
     
     
         10 . The controller of  claim 5 , wherein the controller is configured to determine a depression angle of an airflow direction louver at an air outlet of the indoor unit in the human absence zone, based on a depression angle of an airflow direction louver at an air outlet of the indoor unit in the human presence zone adjacent to the human absence zone. 
     
     
         11 . The controller of  claim 5 , wherein the controller is configured to control an operating frequency of each of a compressor and an outdoor fan that are included in the air-conditioning apparatus to cause a temperature detected by the temperature sensor in the human presence zone to fall within a predetermined range with reference to the set temperature. 
     
     
         12 . A method of controlling, using a controller, an air-conditioning apparatus including a plurality of indoor units each configured to condition air in an air-conditioning target space, the controller being connected to the air-conditioning apparatus, a plurality of temperature sensors, and a human detection sensor, the plurality of temperature sensors each being configured to detect a temperature of an associated one of a plurality of zones into which the air-conditioning target space is divided in association with positions of the plurality of indoor units, the human detection sensor being configured to detect whether a person or persons are present or no person is present in each of the plurality of zones, the method comprising:
 causing the indoor unit in one of the plurality of zones that is detected by the human detection sensor as a human presence zone where a person or persons are present to perform cooling operation or heating operation, thereby causing a temperature detected by the temperature sensor in the detected human presence zone to reach a set temperature; and   causing the indoor unit in one of the plurality of zones that is detected by the human detection sensor as a human absence zone where no person is present to perform air-sending operation, and determining a volume of air from the indoor unit in the detected human absence zone based on a volume of air from the indoor unit in the human presence zone,   wherein in the determining the volume of air from the indoor unit in the human absence zone based on the volume of air from the indoor unit in the human presence zone, the volume of air from the indoor unit in the human absence zone is caused to be larger than the volume of air from the indoor unit in the human presence zone.