Milestone-Proposal:Inverter-driven residential air conditioner 1981: Difference between revisions

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|section is taking responsibility for plaque=Yes
|section is taking responsibility for plaque=Yes
|a11=Yes
|a11=Yes
|a1=Inverter-driven residential air conditioner
|a3=1980-1981
|IEEE units paying={{IEEE Organizational Unit Paying}}
|a1=Inverter Air Conditioner Split Type, 1980-1981
|IEEE units arranging={{IEEE Organizational Unit Arranging}}
|plaque citation=Toshiba developed and mass-produced the world first inverter split air conditioners for commercial and residential applications in 1980 and 1981, respectively. Downsized and robust inverters using power electronics technologies allowed variable-speed control of the compressor for optimized air-conditioning operations with significantly improved comfort and energy efficiency. The inverter air conditioner has witnessed its rising penetration across the world.
|IEEE sections monitoring={{IEEE Section Monitoring}}
|a2b=IEEE NAGOYA SECTION
|Milestone proposers={{Milestone proposer}}{{Milestone proposer}}
|IEEE units paying={{IEEE Organizational Unit Paying
|Unit=IEEE NAGOYA SECTION
|Senior officer name=Jun Sato
|Senior officer email=junsato@nitech.ac.jp
}}
|IEEE units arranging={{IEEE Organizational Unit Arranging
|Unit=IEEE NAGOYA SECTION
|Senior officer name=Jun Sato
|Senior officer email=junsato@nitech.ac.jp
}}
|IEEE sections monitoring={{IEEE Section Monitoring
|Section=IEEE NAGOYA SECTION
|Section chair name=Naohiro Hozumi
|Section chair email=milestone@ieee-nagoya.org
}}
|Milestone proposers={{Milestone proposer
|Proposer name=Shingo Naito
|Proposer email=shingo.naitou@glb.toshiba.co.jp
}}{{Milestone proposer
|Proposer name=Hidetoshi Kanazawa
|Proposer email=hidetoshi1.kanazawa@toshiba.co.jp
}}
|a2a=336 Tadehara, Fuji-Shi, Shizuoka-Ken, 416-8521 Japan, GPS; 35.147448, 138.663803
|a7=Fuji Operations of Toshiba Carrier Corporation, is the intended site of the milestone plaque, as it is where the world first inverter air conditioner was developed and manufactured and is the ultimate choice for the plaque to be displayed.
|a8=Yes; the original buildings in which development and manufacturing were performed for the achievement are extant.
|mounting details=The plaque is to be displayed together with the actual product of the achievement in the “history section” of our internal exhibition place called the “AIRS”, situated on the third floor of one of the buildings at Fuji Operations, the intended plaque site.
|a9=Fuji Operations has its security control office at the entrance of the campus and has its security personnel to manage the access record to the campus. The exhibition place is publicly accessible with a prior appointment. (Contact: AIRS, Fuji Operations, Toshiba Carrier Corporation; Phone: +81 545 62 5555)
|a10=Toshiba Carrier Corporation.
|a4=The achievement is about the world first inverter split air conditioners developed and commercialized by Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co., Ltd. or Toshiba, as known as Toshiba Carrier Corporation today. Toshiba manufactured 100 units and 10,997 units for commercial and residential use, respectively, during the first year after the product launch in Japan in 1980 and 1981, respectively.
The use of inverter has allowed an optimal control over the rotation speed of the compressor used for the inverter air conditioner according to the load required.
With its significant benefits to humanity, including improved comfort and energy efficiency, the achievement led to a remarkable evolution in the air conditioning technological history. The technologies used for the achievement, including drive control and downsizing, were also instrumental in promoting innovation of other various inverter-driven home appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines.
The inverter air conditioner, whose origin is Japan, is nowadays widely used throughout the world and is considered to have become the global standard of air conditioners.
|a6=There are three major technical obstacles that needed to be overcome:
 
(i) Breaks and wears caused in compressors and cycle parts such as valves due to the change in compressor operation from a fixed speed to variable speeds.
(ii) Decrease in the oil level in the compressor as a part of the refrigeration cycle and vibration of the pipes resulting from variable speed operation
(iii) Development of the drive circuit for inverter’s power transistor and the microprocessor-controlled sinusoidal pulse with modulation
 
Through the efforts of engineers at Toshiba to overcome these obstacles with their technical expertise, assure reliability through technology development, and also attain downsizing and lower costs, the achievement was accomplished in a successful manner.
|a5=Some attempts were made in around 1980 to adopt inverter technologies in the social infrastructure field such as train systems for variable speed drive motor control and chiller systems, in which chilled water is created, as seen in the case developed in 1977 by York, which retrofitted an external inverter unit for chiller units already in operation.
 
The achievement by Toshiba (i.e. inverter air conditioner split type) is a totally different system from the chiller system in terms of the product categories in the following points:
 
(i) The split inverter air conditioning system consists of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit; heat transfer between the indoor unit and outdoor unit is made through refrigerant for cooling and heating operations.
(ii) Toshiba’s inverter unit mounted inside the air conditioner is significantly smaller than York’s inverter unit installed on the floor separately from the chiller unit.
|references=File name; #0 List of IEEE Milestone proposal support materials.pdf
Summery; List of IEEE Milestone proposal support materials
 
File name; #1_ The Journal of the IEEJ, Vol 129-2.pdf
Summery; Toshiba launched its inverter air conditioners for commercial use and residential use in December 1980 and December 1981, respectively.
 
File name; #2_ "REFRIGERATION", June 1981 Vol. 56, No. 644.pdf
Summery; Toshiba is the first manufacturer that achieved the development and commercialization of a commercial air conditioner serving both cooling and heating purposes with a built-in unit of inverter and a variable-speed compressor (Custom Air Conditioner RAV-46HT), resulting in a significant improvement in energy efficiency and comfort.
 
File name; #3_ Contract DE-AC06-76RLO 1830 / US Department of Energy.pdf
Summery; Benefits of Capacity Modulation on Seasonal Efficiency for Heat Pumps, Impact of foreign competition,  Overview, First Inverter-driven Heat Pump, Conclusions
 
File name; #4_ Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News.pdf
Summery; Cost of controls and the development time required have eliminated it from further consideration in this study, although the costs are dropping rapidly with new technology with may make this approach more viable in the near future.
 
File name; #5_ Toshiba Review Vol. 36, No. 9.pdf
Summery; In recent years, the industry has come to make efforts to develop compressors and air conditioners driven by inverters. Taking the lead in the world, Toshiba has succeeded in practicalizing this type of air conditioners(RAV-46HT); the new products have been put on sale since last December.
 
File name; #6_ Toshiba Review Vol. 37, No. 7.pdf
Summery; A new type of airconditioner incorporating a variable-capacity-control inverter to improve energy saving and comfort has been developed as a pioneer for domestic use.
 
File name; #7_ World AC Market & Inverter Ratio.pdf
Summery; World AC Market & Inverter Ratio
|supporting materials=File name; RAS-225PKHV.jpg
Summery; Photo of World First Inverter Air conditioner Split type for Residential use
 
File name; RAS-225PKHV Inverter.jpg
Summery; Photo of Inverter Unit
|submitted=No
|submitted=No
}}
}}

Revision as of 01:13, 28 December 2019


To see comments, or add a comment to this discussion, click here.

Docket #:2019-06

This Proposal has been approved, and is now a Milestone


To the proposer’s knowledge, is this achievement subject to litigation? No

Is the achievement you are proposing more than 25 years old? Yes

Is the achievement you are proposing within IEEE’s designated fields as defined by IEEE Bylaw I-104.11, namely: Engineering, Computer Sciences and Information Technology, Physical Sciences, Biological and Medical Sciences, Mathematics, Technical Communications, Education, Management, and Law and Policy. Yes

Did the achievement provide a meaningful benefit for humanity? Yes

Was it of at least regional importance? Yes

Has an IEEE Organizational Unit agreed to pay for the milestone plaque(s)? Yes

Has an IEEE Organizational Unit agreed to arrange the dedication ceremony? Yes

Has the IEEE Section in which the milestone is located agreed to take responsibility for the plaque after it is dedicated? Yes

Has the owner of the site agreed to have it designated as an IEEE Milestone? Yes


Year or range of years in which the achievement occurred:

1980-1981

Title of the proposed milestone:

Inverter Air Conditioner Split Type, 1980-1981

Plaque citation summarizing the achievement and its significance:

Toshiba developed and mass-produced the world first inverter split air conditioners for commercial and residential applications in 1980 and 1981, respectively. Downsized and robust inverters using power electronics technologies allowed variable-speed control of the compressor for optimized air-conditioning operations with significantly improved comfort and energy efficiency. The inverter air conditioner has witnessed its rising penetration across the world.

200-250 word abstract describing the significance of the technical achievement being proposed, the person(s) involved, historical context, humanitarian and social impact, as well as any possible controversies the advocate might need to review.


IEEE technical societies and technical councils within whose fields of interest the Milestone proposal resides.


In what IEEE section(s) does it reside?

IEEE NAGOYA SECTION

IEEE Organizational Unit(s) which have agreed to sponsor the Milestone:

IEEE Organizational Unit(s) paying for milestone plaque(s):

Unit: IEEE NAGOYA SECTION
Senior Officer Name: Jun Sato

IEEE Organizational Unit(s) arranging the dedication ceremony:

Unit: IEEE NAGOYA SECTION
Senior Officer Name: Jun Sato

IEEE section(s) monitoring the plaque(s):

IEEE Section: IEEE NAGOYA SECTION
IEEE Section Chair name: Naohiro Hozumi

Milestone proposer(s):

Proposer name: Shingo Naito
Proposer email: Proposer's email masked to public

Proposer name: Hidetoshi Kanazawa
Proposer email: Proposer's email masked to public

Please note: your email address and contact information will be masked on the website for privacy reasons. Only IEEE History Center Staff will be able to view the email address.

Street address(es) and GPS coordinates in decimal form of the intended milestone plaque site(s):

336 Tadehara, Fuji-Shi, Shizuoka-Ken, 416-8521 Japan, GPS; 35.147448, 138.663803

Describe briefly the intended site(s) of the milestone plaque(s). The intended site(s) must have a direct connection with the achievement (e.g. where developed, invented, tested, demonstrated, installed, or operated, etc.). A museum where a device or example of the technology is displayed, or the university where the inventor studied, are not, in themselves, sufficient connection for a milestone plaque.

Please give the address(es) of the plaque site(s) (GPS coordinates if you have them). Also please give the details of the mounting, i.e. on the outside of the building, in the ground floor entrance hall, on a plinth on the grounds, etc. If visitors to the plaque site will need to go through security, or make an appointment, please give the contact information visitors will need. Fuji Operations of Toshiba Carrier Corporation, is the intended site of the milestone plaque, as it is where the world first inverter air conditioner was developed and manufactured and is the ultimate choice for the plaque to be displayed.

Are the original buildings extant?

Yes; the original buildings in which development and manufacturing were performed for the achievement are extant.

Details of the plaque mounting:

The plaque is to be displayed together with the actual product of the achievement in the “history section” of our internal exhibition place called the “AIRS”, situated on the third floor of one of the buildings at Fuji Operations, the intended plaque site.

How is the site protected/secured, and in what ways is it accessible to the public?

Fuji Operations has its security control office at the entrance of the campus and has its security personnel to manage the access record to the campus. The exhibition place is publicly accessible with a prior appointment. (Contact: AIRS, Fuji Operations, Toshiba Carrier Corporation; Phone: +81 545 62 5555)

Who is the present owner of the site(s)?

Toshiba Carrier Corporation.

What is the historical significance of the work (its technological, scientific, or social importance)? If personal names are included in citation, include justification here. (see section 6 of Milestone Guidelines)

The achievement is about the world first inverter split air conditioners developed and commercialized by Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co., Ltd. or Toshiba, as known as Toshiba Carrier Corporation today. Toshiba manufactured 100 units and 10,997 units for commercial and residential use, respectively, during the first year after the product launch in Japan in 1980 and 1981, respectively. The use of inverter has allowed an optimal control over the rotation speed of the compressor used for the inverter air conditioner according to the load required. With its significant benefits to humanity, including improved comfort and energy efficiency, the achievement led to a remarkable evolution in the air conditioning technological history. The technologies used for the achievement, including drive control and downsizing, were also instrumental in promoting innovation of other various inverter-driven home appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines. The inverter air conditioner, whose origin is Japan, is nowadays widely used throughout the world and is considered to have become the global standard of air conditioners.

What obstacles (technical, political, geographic) needed to be overcome?

There are three major technical obstacles that needed to be overcome:

(i) Breaks and wears caused in compressors and cycle parts such as valves due to the change in compressor operation from a fixed speed to variable speeds. (ii) Decrease in the oil level in the compressor as a part of the refrigeration cycle and vibration of the pipes resulting from variable speed operation (iii) Development of the drive circuit for inverter’s power transistor and the microprocessor-controlled sinusoidal pulse with modulation

Through the efforts of engineers at Toshiba to overcome these obstacles with their technical expertise, assure reliability through technology development, and also attain downsizing and lower costs, the achievement was accomplished in a successful manner.

What features set this work apart from similar achievements?

Some attempts were made in around 1980 to adopt inverter technologies in the social infrastructure field such as train systems for variable speed drive motor control and chiller systems, in which chilled water is created, as seen in the case developed in 1977 by York, which retrofitted an external inverter unit for chiller units already in operation.

The achievement by Toshiba (i.e. inverter air conditioner split type) is a totally different system from the chiller system in terms of the product categories in the following points:

(i) The split inverter air conditioning system consists of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit; heat transfer between the indoor unit and outdoor unit is made through refrigerant for cooling and heating operations. (ii) Toshiba’s inverter unit mounted inside the air conditioner is significantly smaller than York’s inverter unit installed on the floor separately from the chiller unit.

Supporting texts and citations to establish the dates, location, and importance of the achievement: Minimum of five (5), but as many as needed to support the milestone, such as patents, contemporary newspaper articles, journal articles, or chapters in scholarly books. 'Scholarly' is defined as peer-reviewed, with references, and published. You must supply the texts or excerpts themselves, not just the references. At least one of the references must be from a scholarly book or journal article. All supporting materials must be in English, or accompanied by an English translation.

File name; #0 List of IEEE Milestone proposal support materials.pdf Summery; List of IEEE Milestone proposal support materials

File name; #1_ The Journal of the IEEJ, Vol 129-2.pdf Summery; Toshiba launched its inverter air conditioners for commercial use and residential use in December 1980 and December 1981, respectively.

File name; #2_ "REFRIGERATION", June 1981 Vol. 56, No. 644.pdf Summery; Toshiba is the first manufacturer that achieved the development and commercialization of a commercial air conditioner serving both cooling and heating purposes with a built-in unit of inverter and a variable-speed compressor (Custom Air Conditioner RAV-46HT), resulting in a significant improvement in energy efficiency and comfort.

File name; #3_ Contract DE-AC06-76RLO 1830 / US Department of Energy.pdf Summery; Benefits of Capacity Modulation on Seasonal Efficiency for Heat Pumps, Impact of foreign competition, Overview, First Inverter-driven Heat Pump, Conclusions

File name; #4_ Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News.pdf Summery; Cost of controls and the development time required have eliminated it from further consideration in this study, although the costs are dropping rapidly with new technology with may make this approach more viable in the near future.

File name; #5_ Toshiba Review Vol. 36, No. 9.pdf Summery; In recent years, the industry has come to make efforts to develop compressors and air conditioners driven by inverters. Taking the lead in the world, Toshiba has succeeded in practicalizing this type of air conditioners(RAV-46HT); the new products have been put on sale since last December.

File name; #6_ Toshiba Review Vol. 37, No. 7.pdf Summery; A new type of airconditioner incorporating a variable-capacity-control inverter to improve energy saving and comfort has been developed as a pioneer for domestic use.

File name; #7_ World AC Market & Inverter Ratio.pdf Summery; World AC Market & Inverter Ratio

Supporting materials (supported formats: GIF, JPEG, PNG, PDF, DOC): All supporting materials must be in English, or if not in English, accompanied by an English translation. You must supply the texts or excerpts themselves, not just the references. For documents that are copyright-encumbered, or which you do not have rights to post, email the documents themselves to ieee-history@ieee.org. Please see the Milestone Program Guidelines for more information.

File name; RAS-225PKHV.jpg Summery; Photo of World First Inverter Air conditioner Split type for Residential use

File name; RAS-225PKHV Inverter.jpg Summery; Photo of Inverter Unit

Please email a jpeg or PDF a letter in English, or with English translation, from the site owner(s) giving permission to place IEEE milestone plaque on the property, and a letter (or forwarded email) from the appropriate Section Chair supporting the Milestone application to ieee-history@ieee.org with the subject line "Attention: Milestone Administrator." Note that there are multiple texts of the letter depending on whether an IEEE organizational unit other than the section will be paying for the plaque(s).

Please recommend reviewers by emailing their names and email addresses to ieee-history@ieee.org. Please include the docket number and brief title of your proposal in the subject line of all emails.