KR20120065661A - Air conditioning system and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An air conditioner and a controlling method thereof are provided to minimize energy consumption being wasted and inconvenience of persons inside an air conditioning space by recognizing persons inside an air conditioning space and controlling an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to a recognition result. CONSTITUTION: An air conditioner comprises a plurality of interior units, wireless communication modules a body sensing sensor, and a controller. The wireless communication modules are mounted in each indoor unit. The body sensing sensor is mounted in the indoor unit. The controller comprises the wireless communication model of the indoor unit and wireless communication model of the same kind. The controller receives information sensed by the body sensing sensor through the wireless communication module. The controller transmits control signals of the each indoor unit through the wireless communication module to the each indoor unit so that an operating temperature of one or more indoor unit closed to a body sensed by the body sensing sensor is maintained to be different from the operating temperature of other indoor unit.

Description

Air Conditioning System and Control Method of Air Conditioning System {AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF}

The present invention relates to an air conditioner and a control method of the air conditioner. More specifically, the present invention relates to an air conditioner and a method of controlling the air conditioner, which can minimize energy waste and minimize power costs.

The air conditioner refers to a device for cooling, heating, ventilating or purifying indoor air. In particular, the air conditioner for cooling or heating indoor air may be configured as an indoor unit and an outdoor unit. In recent years, the air conditioner used in recent years does not correspond to the indoor unit and the outdoor unit one-to-one, and a plurality of indoor units are often connected to one outdoor unit.

In the case of an office building, one air conditioning space often exceeds the air conditioning capacity of one indoor unit, and a plurality of indoor units are often provided in one air conditioning space.

When a plurality of indoor units are provided in one air conditioning space, and only a few people are active inside the air conditioning space, when the whole air conditioning space is cooled or heated at the same operating temperature, the energy consumption is large and the electricity bill is variable. In the case of a power grid, unnecessary waste of power cost may be generated.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner and a method of controlling the air conditioner, which can minimize unnecessary waste of power and minimize the inconvenience of those who work in the air conditioning space.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a plurality of indoor units mounted in a predetermined air conditioning space, a wireless communication module mounted on each indoor unit, a human body sensor mounted on each indoor unit, and the same type as the wireless communication module of the indoor unit. A wireless communication module, receiving information detected by the human body sensing sensor through the wireless communication module, and operating temperatures of at least one indoor unit different from the human body detected by the human body sensing sensor, and operating temperatures of which are different from each other. It provides an air conditioning apparatus including a controller for transmitting a control signal of each indoor unit to each indoor unit through the wireless communication module so as to be maintained differently.

In this case, the control of the operating temperature of each indoor unit may be performed by adjusting the flow rate of the refrigerant supplied to each indoor unit.

In addition, when the indoor unit cools the air conditioning space, the operating temperature of at least one indoor unit in close proximity to the human body detected by the human body sensor is lower than the operating temperature of the other indoor unit, when the indoor unit heats the air conditioning space The operating temperature of at least one indoor unit in close proximity to the human body detected by the human body detecting sensor may be higher than that of other indoor units.

When the human body is detected by the human body sensor of at least one of the indoor units, the indoor unit may be controlled at an operating temperature based on a user input or a basic setting.

Here, when the human body is detected by the human body sensor of the plurality of indoor units of the indoor unit, the operating temperature of the plurality of indoor units can be controlled by the operating temperature by the user input or the default setting alternately at a predetermined time interval.

In this case, when the air conditioning space is cooled or heated, the indoor unit is operated by the user input or the basic setting among the indoor units in which the human body is detected by the human body sensor is controlled by the operating temperature by the user input or the basic setting. It may be controlled to be operated at an operating temperature higher than or lower than the temperature.

The controller receives information related to power rates from a consumer-side energy management device constituting an intelligent power grid, and the controller inputs a user input or a basic operating temperature of the entire indoor unit in a section in which the received power rates are larger than a predetermined rate. The operating temperature can be controlled higher or lower than the set temperature.

In this case, when a human body is detected by the human body sensor of at least one of the indoor units, the indoor unit may be controlled to an operating temperature by a user input or a basic setting.

In addition, the controller receives information related to the power bill from the consumer-side energy management device constituting the intelligent power grid, the controller is a user input or basic setting the operating temperature of the indoor unit in a section in which the received power bill is greater than the predetermined fee It can be controlled to operate at a lower or higher operating temperature than the operating temperature.

The controller receives information related to power rates from a consumer-side energy management device constituting an intelligent power grid, and when the received power rate is lower than a predetermined rate, the controller receives a total of operating temperatures based on user input or basic settings. The indoor unit can be controlled to operate the indoor unit.

In addition, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a control method of an air conditioner having a plurality of indoor units installed in a predetermined air conditioning space, the initial operation step of operating a plurality of indoor units at a reference temperature, the human body in the air conditioning space It provides a control method of the air conditioner comprising a; human body detection step for detecting the existence and differential air conditioning step of controlling the operating temperature of the specific indoor unit different from the operating temperature of the remaining indoor unit according to the detection result of the human body detection step.

In addition, the reference temperature of the initial operation step may be higher or lower than the operating temperature by the user input or the basic setting.

Here, the method may further include inquiring whether the power rate peak period is through the intelligent power grid before the initial operation step.

In this case, in the differential air conditioning step, the operating temperature of the indoor unit equipped with the human body detecting sensor for detecting the human body may be controlled to be higher or lower than the operating temperature of other indoor units.

In addition, the operating temperature of the indoor unit equipped with a human body detecting sensor detecting the human body in the differential air conditioning step may be an operating temperature input by the user.

According to the control method of the air conditioner and the air conditioner according to the present invention, it is possible to minimize the waste of power consumption by recognizing the person active in the air conditioning space, and controlling the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the recognition result. .

Further, according to the control method of the air conditioner and the air conditioner according to the present invention, in spite of saving the power consumed by the control method of the air conditioner and the air conditioner, to minimize the inconvenience of people living in the air conditioning space can do.

In addition, according to the control method of the air conditioner and the air conditioner according to the present invention, it is possible to minimize the power cost in the intelligent power grid.

1 shows an example of an air conditioner constituting an air conditioner according to the present invention.
2 shows an example of an operating state of the air conditioner according to the present invention.
3 shows another example of an operating state of the air conditioner according to the present invention.
4 and 5 show another example of an operating state of the air conditioner according to the present invention.
6 is a schematic diagram of a so-called 'smart grid' which is an intelligent or next generation grid.
7 is a schematic diagram showing a power supply network system in a home, which is a major consumer of an intelligent power grid.
8 is a block diagram of a block diagram of an example of a control method of an air conditioner according to the present invention.
9 is a graph of power rates in a situation in which power rates vary with time.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to this, the terms or words used in this specification and claims should not be interpreted in a conventional or dictionary sense, and the inventors will appropriately define the concept of terms in order to best describe their invention. It should be interpreted as meaning and concept corresponding to the technical idea of the present invention based on the principle that it can. Therefore, the embodiments described in the specification and the drawings shown in the drawings are only the most preferred embodiment of the present invention and do not represent all of the technical idea of the present invention, various modifications that can be replaced at the time of the present application It should be understood that there may be equivalents and variations.

1 shows an example of an air conditioner constituting an air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 1A illustrates an example of a stand type air conditioner including an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, and FIG. 1B illustrates an example of a ceiling type air conditioner including one outdoor unit and a plurality of indoor units.

The air conditioner 1000 ′ shown in FIG. 1A includes an outdoor unit 300 ′ and one indoor unit 200 ′ connected to the outdoor unit 300 ′. At this time, the indoor unit 200 'and the outdoor unit 300' may be connected to the refrigerant pipe to cool or heat the room by blowing air cooled or heated from the indoor unit 200 'according to the circulation of the refrigerant.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 1 (a), one indoor unit may be provided for cooling or heating one air conditioning space.

Each outdoor unit and indoor unit may be matched one-to-one, but recently, in a multi-air conditioner, a plurality of indoor units are often provided in one outdoor unit.

As shown in FIG. 1 (b), the air conditioner 1000 provided in an office building or the like may include a plurality of indoor units 200 in one outdoor unit 300. That is, the number of indoor units may vary according to the capacity or number of compressors of the outdoor unit 300. In the case of a large building, a plurality of outdoor units may be provided, and each of the indoor units 200 may be connected to each other. 200a to 200i) may be operated independently.

In addition to the indoor units 200a to 200i and the outdoor unit 300, the air conditioner used for a large building may further include a unit such as a ventilation unit, an air cleaning unit, a humidification unit, a dehumidification unit, and a heater. In addition, the air conditioner may be operated in conjunction with the lighting unit, the alarm unit is connected to each other in the controller.

The indoor units 200a to 200i are disposed indoors to rotate an indoor heat exchanger (not shown), a blower fan (not shown), and a blower fan to perform a cooling / heating function in the room by heat exchange between indoor air and a refrigerant. It may include a motor and the like, and may include a plurality of sensors (not shown), a controller for controlling the operation of the indoor unit, and the like.

And, the indoor units (200a to 200i) of the air conditioner according to the present invention includes a discharge port for discharging the heat exchanged air, the discharge port is provided with a wind direction control means for controlling the direction of the discharged air opening and closing the discharge port. The indoor units 200a to 200i adjust the amount of air by controlling the rotation speed of the indoor unit fan to control the sucked air and the discharged air. In addition, the indoor units 200a to 200i may further include a human body detecting sensor as a human body detecting means for detecting a human body existing in the indoor space.

Each indoor unit constituting each air conditioner may be provided with at least one vane for guiding air while opening and closing at least one of air inlets such as an air inlet, a left outlet, a right outlet, and an upper outlet. The vane may be mounted to open and close the air inlet and the air outlet, and guide the directions of the intake air and the discharge air.

The outdoor unit 300 connected to the indoor unit 200 may operate in a cooling mode or a heating mode in response to a request of the connected indoor unit or an external control signal, and may supply refrigerant to a plurality of indoor units.

The outdoor unit 300 is disposed on one side of the compressor that serves to compress the refrigerant, the compressor motor for driving the compressor, the outdoor heat exchanger that serves to radiate the compressed refrigerant, the outdoor heat exchanger to promote the heat radiation of the refrigerant An outdoor blower consisting of an outdoor fan and an electric motor that rotates the outdoor fan, an expansion device for expanding the condensed refrigerant, a cooling / heating switching valve for changing the flow of the compressed refrigerant, and a vaporized refrigerant for a while to remove moisture and foreign matter. It may include an accumulator for supplying a refrigerant of a constant pressure to the compressor. The outdoor unit may further include a plurality of sensors, valves, subcooling devices, and the like, and a description thereof will be omitted below.

In FIG. 1B, nine indoor units 200a to 200i are provided in one outdoor unit 300, but the number of indoor units connected to the outdoor unit 300 may vary according to the compressor capacity of the outdoor unit 300. The number of outdoor units may vary according to the size of the building or the number of air conditioning spaces.

The plurality of indoor units may be installed in separate air conditioning spaces, and may cool or heat one large air conditioning space at the same time.

The air conditioner according to the present invention includes a plurality of indoor units 200 mounted in a predetermined air conditioning space, a wireless communication module mounted in each indoor unit 200, and a human body sensor 210 mounted in each indoor unit. And a wireless communication module of the same type as the wireless communication module of the indoor unit, receiving information detected by the human body sensor through the wireless communication module, and at least one close to the human body detected by the human body sensor. The controller 400 may transmit a control signal of each indoor unit to each indoor unit through the wireless communication module so that the operating temperature of the indoor unit is maintained different from the operating temperature of other indoor units.

Here, the wireless communication module may be a Zigbee communication module.

ZigBee communication standard is a wireless technology standard based on IEEE 802.15.4 (PHY, MAC). Unlike other wireless communication methods such as Bluetooth, ZigBee is relatively inexpensive, has a low data transfer rate, low power consumption, Optimized for secure networking.

That is, when the power consumption is less than the other type of wireless communication module and the size of the communication target data is small, it can be used as an efficient communication means.

Each of the controller and the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present invention may be provided with a Zigbee communication module, the information detected by the human body sensor provided in the indoor unit may be transmitted to the controller 400 through a wireless communication module. The controller 400 may control each indoor unit by transmitting a control signal of the indoor unit 200 to a wireless communication module of the indoor unit 200 through a wireless communication module based on the transmitted information. . The specific control method will be described later.

The human body sensor may be an infrared sensor. An infrared sensor means a sensor that detects a physical quantity or a chemical quantity such as temperature, pressure, and radiation intensity by using infrared rays and converts it into an electrical quantity capable of signal processing. Although it is used for crime prevention and fire detection, etc., it is recently adopted to home appliances to detect the position of the human body.

The indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present invention may include at least one or more human body detecting sensors. The reason why each indoor unit is provided with a human body sensor is to detect a human body operating in the air conditioning space and to minimize power waste in the air conditioning process when a plurality of indoor units are installed in one large air conditioning space. A detailed description thereof will be described later.

2 shows an example of an operating state of the air conditioner according to the present invention. 2 illustrates a configuration diagram of an air conditioner when a plurality of indoor units are installed in one air conditioning space.

That is, in the embodiment shown in Figure 2, a case in which a total of nine indoor units (200a to 200i) is provided in one air conditioning space (A). Here, one air conditioning space A is divided into a total of nine air conditioning regions A1 to A9.

Each of the air conditioning areas A1 to A9 mainly refers to an area to be cooled or air-conditioned by an indoor unit provided in the air conditioning area.

Of course, the specific air conditioning area may be air-conditioned by an indoor unit installed in an air conditioning area other than the corresponding air conditioning area, but mainly may be air-conditioned by an indoor unit installed in the corresponding air conditioning area.

As described above, each indoor unit 200a to 200i is provided with human body detection sensors 210a to 210i, respectively. Therefore, the presence or absence of a human body in each air conditioning region can be detected.

Of course, one human body may be simultaneously detected by the human body sensors 210a to 210i provided in the plurality of indoor units. That is, when the human body is active near the boundary of each air conditioning region, the human body sensor of the different indoor unit provided in each air conditioning region can simultaneously detect the human body.

Therefore, the position of the human body in the air conditioning space can be roughly grasped by the human body sensors 210a to 210i, and the number of people active in the air conditioning space can also be roughly grasped.

The controller 400 constituting the air conditioning system according to the present invention has an operating temperature of at least one indoor unit in proximity to the human body detected by the human body detecting sensors 210a to 210i, unlike an operating temperature of another indoor unit. Each indoor unit can be controlled to be maintained.

Accordingly, the controller 400 wirelessly controls the control signal of each indoor unit such that the operating temperature of at least one indoor unit in proximity to the human body sensed by the human body sensors 210a to 210i is kept different from the operating temperature of other indoor units. Each indoor unit can be controlled by transmitting to each indoor unit through the communication module.

And, the indoor unit constituting the air conditioner according to the present invention can be operated at an operating temperature different from the operating temperature determined by the user's input. If a person operating in an air conditioning space operates a suspended air conditioner, unless the number of people inside the air conditioning space is active enough, operate the operating temperature of all indoor units at the operating temperature determined by the user's intention. May be a waste of power.

In particular, if the power cost is changed by time under the intelligent power grid described later, even if the user sets the operating temperature of all the indoor units to a specific temperature at the power cost peak time when the power cost reaches the highest value, this does not affect the user's feeling of heat or cold. The psychological desire to resolve quickly is reflected, but this can lead to a waste of power.

As shown in FIG. 2, the air conditioning space A may be partitioned into a total of nine air conditioning regions A1 to A9, and one indoor unit may be mounted in each air conditioning region A1 to A9. When the operation signal of the air conditioner is input through the controller, the controller is a wireless communication module of the controller such that the operating temperature of the indoor unit (200a to 200i) is different from the operating temperature of the user input or the default setting Through the indoor unit control signal can be transmitted to the wireless communication module of the indoor unit.

Therefore, even if the user sets the operating temperatures of all the indoor units 200a to 200i to the second temperature T2 at the beginning of the operation of the air conditioner, the controller sets the initial operating temperatures of all the indoor units 200a to 200i to the first temperature. T1, T1? T2).

For example, when the air conditioner cools the room, the second temperature T2 may be 20 degrees Celsius, and the first temperature T1 may be 25 degrees Celsius higher than the second temperature T2. . If the air conditioner heats the room, the second temperature T2 may be 25 degrees Celsius, and the first temperature T1 may be 20 degrees Celsius lower than the second temperature T2.

That is, the second temperature T2 is a temperature at which the user's desire to adjust the temperature is reflected, and the first temperature T1 is a temperature at which the actual air conditioner is operated in consideration of power consumption.

In summary, when the indoor unit cools the air conditioning space, the operating temperature of at least one indoor unit in proximity to the human body detected by the human body sensor is lower than the operating temperature of other indoor units, and the indoor unit heats the air conditioning space. In this case, the operating temperature of at least one indoor unit in proximity to the human body sensed by the human body sensor may be higher than the operating temperature of the other indoor unit.

The state shown in FIG. 2 is a state in which the human body sensor provided in each indoor unit does not detect the human body entering the air conditioning space.

Therefore, the controller may be operated at a first temperature T1 in which each operating temperature is lower than an operating temperature determined by a user input or a basic setting and takes into account power consumption.

3 shows another example of an operating state of the air conditioner according to the present invention. Descriptions duplicated with the description with reference to FIG. 2 will be omitted.

3 illustrates a state in which the user enters into the air conditioning space. That is, when the user enters the fifth air conditioning area A5, the human body sensor 210e of the fifth indoor unit 200e mounted in the fifth air conditioning area A5 may detect the human body. When the information sensed by the human body sensor is transmitted to the wireless communication module of the controller through the wireless communication module provided in the fifth indoor unit 200e, the controller is an air conditioning area corresponding to the detected human body. The control signal may be transmitted such that the operating temperature of the fifth indoor unit 200e in the air conditioning area A5 becomes the second temperature T2 according to the user's input or basic setting.

As described in the description with reference to FIG. 2, the controller of the air conditioner according to the present invention controls the operation temperature of at least one indoor unit in proximity to the human body detected by the human body sensor to be kept different from the operating temperature of other indoor units. can do. In addition, in consideration of energy waste, the controller transmits the indoor unit control signal to the wireless communication module of the indoor unit through the wireless communication module of the controller such that the operating temperature of the indoor unit becomes an operating temperature lower than the operating temperature by user input or basic setting. Can transmit

Therefore, in the initial operation of the air conditioner in FIG. 2, the user sets the operating temperatures of all indoor units of the air conditioner to the second temperature T2, but the controller has a first temperature which is an operating temperature lower than the operating temperature set by the user. 2, the indoor unit can be controlled as illustrated in FIG. 2, and when a human body is detected in the air conditioning area by the human body sensor of the indoor units 200a to 200i provided in each of the air conditioning areas A1 to A9. The controller may control an operating temperature of a corresponding indoor unit equipped with a human body detecting sensor for detecting a human body to a second operating temperature T2 set by a user.

That is, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, the user has set the operating temperature of all the indoor unit to the second operating temperature (T2) through the controller, the controller is higher than the operating temperature by the user setting once (cooling) When the indoor units are controlled by the first operating temperature (T1), which is a low (heating) operating temperature, and the human body is detected in a specific air conditioning area, the operating temperature of the indoor unit installed in the air conditioning area where the human body is detected is set to the operating temperature set by the user. 2 Controlled by operating temperature (T2) to meet user's needs and minimize energy waste.

The control of the operating temperature of the indoor unit can be controlled by adjusting the flow rate of the refrigerant supplied to the indoor unit from the outdoor unit when the operating air volume is constant. Therefore, it can be controlled by the opening degree control of the refrigerant control valve for controlling the amount of the refrigerant supplied to the indoor unit.

That is, when only a few people are operating in a large air conditioning space, it is a waste of power to operate all the air conditioners at the operating temperature according to the user's setting. Therefore, the air conditioning area where the user is active and the air conditioning area is concentrated By cooperating with the user, the haptic performance of the user can meet the needs of the user.

4 and 5 show another example of an operating state of the air conditioner according to the present invention. Descriptions duplicated with the description with reference to FIG. 2 will be omitted.

4 and 5 illustrate an operating state of the indoor unit of the air conditioner in a state where the same human body is simultaneously detected by a human body sensor provided in the plurality of indoor units, unlike the operating state illustrated in FIG. 3.

That is, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the human body is formed at a boundary between the fifth air conditioning area A5 and the sixth air conditioning area A6 among the plurality of air conditioning areas A1 to A9 constituting one air conditioning space. In this activity, the human body detecting sensors 210e and 210f respectively provided in the fifth indoor unit 200e and the sixth indoor unit 200f may simultaneously detect a human body.

When the same human body is detected by the human body detecting sensors 210e and 210f of the plurality of indoor units, the fifth indoor unit 200e and the sixth indoor unit 200f which are indoor units equipped with the human body detecting sensor detecting the human body operate the user's initial setting. The second temperature T2 may be operated at a temperature.

In addition, the operating state shown in Figure 5 is the fifth indoor unit (200e) and the indoor unit is equipped with a human body detection sensor for detecting the human body when the same human body is detected by the body detection sensors (210e, 210f) of the plurality of indoor units The six indoor units 200f may be alternately operated at the second operating temperature T2 at predetermined time intervals.

Accordingly, in FIG. 5A, the indoor units except for the fifth indoor unit 200e are operated at the first temperature T1, and the fifth indoor unit 200e is operated for a predetermined time at the second temperature T2. In 5 (b), the indoor units except for the sixth indoor unit 200f may be operated at the first temperature T1, and the sixth indoor unit 200f may be operated for a predetermined time at the second temperature T2. By this method, the position of the position of the human body sensed by the human body sensor can be compensated to some extent.

 As described above, the indoor unit constituting the air conditioner according to the present invention can be operated at an operating temperature higher (cooling) or lower (heating) than the operating temperature determined by the user's input for efficient use of power, The operating temperature of the indoor unit mounted in the air conditioning space may be set differently according to the detection result of the human body sensor provided in the indoor unit.

As described above, the reason for controlling the air conditioner differently from the user's input or the basic setting is to minimize the power consumption and to reduce the power bill by the efficient use of power at the peak time of the power bill in the intelligent power grid.

6 is a schematic diagram of a so-called 'smart grid' which is an intelligent or next generation grid. Referring to FIG. 6, the intelligent power grid may include a power plant that generates power through thermal power generation, nuclear power generation, or hydroelectric power generation, a solar power plant using solar or wind power belonging to renewable energy, and a wind power plant.

The thermal power plant, nuclear power plant or hydroelectric power plant may send power to a power plant through a transmission line, and the power plant may supply electricity to a substation and a storage device. In addition, the electricity produced in photovoltaic power plants and wind power plants can be supplied to substations. On the other hand, the electricity transmitted to the substation can be distributed to the office or each home via the power storage device.

On the other hand, in the case of adopting a home electric power network (HAN, home area network (described in detail in FIG. 2)), even in a normal home is installed in a self-solar power generation facility of the general home, or a PHEV (plug in hybrid electric vehicle) The fuel cell can supply its own electricity and the extra electricity can be sold back to the outside. In addition, the office or home may be provided with a so-called 'smart measuring device' that can grasp the power and electricity bills used in each demand in real time. Through the smart measurement device, the user can recognize the amount of electricity and the electricity bill currently used, and can devise a method of reducing the power consumption or the electricity bill according to the situation.

On the other hand, demand sources using the power plants, power stations, storage devices and power described above in the intelligent power grid are capable of bidirectional communication. Therefore, apart from allowing the customer to receive electricity unilaterally, the situation of the customer can be notified to the storage device, the power station, and the power plant so that electricity can be produced and distributed according to the situation of the customer. Therefore, in the intelligent power grid, demand-side energy management system (EMS), which is responsible for real-time power management and real-time prediction of power consumption, and an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), which measures power consumption in real time in need. The energy management device and the measurement device may be configured as separate devices, or may be configured to perform the functions of both devices in one device.

Instrumentation under the intelligent power grid is a foundation technology to integrate consumers based on the 'open architecture', allowing consumers to use electricity efficiently, and power suppliers to detect system problems and operate the system efficiently. Provide the ability to Here, unlike the general communication network, 'open architecture' refers to a standard that allows all electric appliances to be connected to each other regardless of the manufacturer of the home appliance in the intelligent power grid system.

Thus, the instrumentation used in the intelligent grid enables a consumer friendly efficiency concept such as "Prices to Devices". That is, real-time price information of the electric power market may be transmitted through an energy management device (EMS) installed in each home, and the energy management device (EMS) may control and communicate with home appliances provided in each home.

Of course, the demand-side energy management device (EMS) may directly control each home appliance, or may provide only information related to electricity bills for each appliance. In the latter case, the controller of each electrical appliance may control each electrical appliance according to the provided fee information.

The present invention will be described later in detail, but relates to an air conditioner and a control method thereof, the controller of the air conditioner may be controlled by the energy management device.

In this case, the controller of the air conditioner may be connected to the demand side energy management device of the intelligent power grid and controlled by the energy management device.

The controller and the energy management device of the air conditioner may be connected by wire or wirelessly.

Accordingly, the user can save power and energy by recognizing the power information of each home appliance by the demand-side energy management device (EMS) and performing power information processing such as the amount of power consumption or the setting of the electric charge limit based on this. . The central energy management device (Central EMS) to process the information collected by the local energy management device (Local EMS) in two-way communication with the demand-side energy management device (EMS).

In addition, since the real-time communication about the power information between the power supplier and the consumer in the intelligent power grid is possible, the response of various consumers according to the power supply, that is, "real-time grid response" is possible. For example, when the price of power varies according to time zones, or when the price of power varies according to a power supply company, the time and amount of use of power by a prisoner may vary accordingly. In addition, the power supplier may adjust the power price or adjust the amount of power supply according to the response of the consumer.

7 is a schematic diagram showing a power supply network system 10 in a home, which is a major consumer of an intelligent power grid.

Referring to FIG. 7, the power supply network system 10 may include a measuring device 20, or a smart meter, which may measure power and / or electricity rates supplied to each home in real time, and the measuring device 20. And an energy management device 30 (demand-side energy management device) connected to a plurality of home appliances such as the home appliance 100 and controlling their operations. On the other hand, each household's electricity bill is charged at an hourly rate, and the hourly electricity bill is expensive in a time period (power peak period) where the power consumption is rapidly increased, and at the same time as a late night time with relatively low power consumption, Fees can be cheaper. The peak rate of power rates is not fixed and may vary from day to day according to the power reserve rate of the power provider.

The demand-side energy management device 30 is connected to electricity such as a refrigerator 101, a washing machine and a dryer 102, an indoor unit 200 of an air conditioner, a TV 105 or a cooking appliance 104 through a home network. It can be connected to the product, communicate with them bidirectionally, and monitor the operation information of each home appliance and control each home appliance at the same time.

That is, as described above, the energy management device 30 may transmit only information on an electric charge or the like to the controller of the electrical appliance, or directly control each electrical appliance.

That is, each household electrical appliance may determine the control method at the peak time of the electricity rate by using the power information provided, or the demand-side energy management device may directly control each household appliance by using the electricity rate information.

Communication inside the home can be via wireless or wired, such as PLC (power line communication). In addition, each electrical appliance may also be arranged to be connected to other electrical appliances to enable communication.

The wireless communication method inside the home may be Zigbee wireless communication.

The controller 400 and the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present invention described above are provided with wireless communication modules, respectively, so that the wireless communication is possible. Thus, the demand-side energy management device 30 of the air conditioner according to the present invention The controller 300 may be connected wirelessly or wired to provide information related to a power bill, or may provide a control signal of an air conditioner.

The demand-side energy management device 30 and the controller 400 of the air conditioner may also be configured to communicate wirelessly by adopting a Zigbee type wireless communication module.

Therefore, the air conditioner according to the present invention can operate normally at the intended operating temperature according to the user's input or basic setting during normal operation, but if the information related to the electric charge can be received from the intelligent power grid, the electric charge In a section in which the predetermined amount is larger than the predetermined amount, that is, the peak rate section, the operating temperature of the air conditioner may be set differently from the user's input or basic setting.

Of course, the control method of the air conditioner according to the present invention can be used to minimize the waste of power, and to minimize the power cost irrespective of the intelligent power grid.

That is, the air conditioner may be configured to operate in the saving mode at the discretion of the manager of the air conditioner, and under the intelligent power grid, the air conditioner may be selectively controlled only in a peak section of a predetermined power rate under the aforementioned method. .

8 is a block diagram of a block diagram of an example of a control method of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

The control method of the air conditioner according to the present invention is a control method of an air conditioner having a plurality of indoor units installed in a predetermined air conditioning space, the initial operation step of operating a plurality of indoor units at a reference operating temperature (S300), the air conditioning space A human body detecting step (S400) for detecting the presence of the human body within, and the differential air conditioning step (S500) for differentially controlling the operating temperature of some indoor units according to the detection result of the human body detection step (S400).

The reference operating temperature of the initial operating step (S300) may be a higher (cooling) or lower (heating) temperature than the user's input or the basic operating temperature. As described above, even when the user operates the air conditioner to operate at the reference operating temperature through the controller, the controller operates as the reference operating temperature at a temperature higher (cooling) or lower (heating) than the reference operating temperature. Can be controlled.

And, the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present invention may be provided with a human body sensor, respectively, the control method of the air conditioner according to the present invention using the human body sensor in the air conditioning space, more specifically to configure the air conditioning space A human body detecting step of detecting a human body in each air conditioning area (S400) may further include a differential air conditioning step of differentially controlling the operating temperature of some indoor units based on the information detected in the human body detecting step (S400). ) May be included.

The differential air conditioning step (S500) is a control step of controlling the operating temperature of the indoor unit near the detected human body to be larger by using the human body information detected by the human body sensor.

Therefore, it is possible to control the indoor unit near the human body sensed by a temperature higher or lower than the reference operating temperature, for example, an operating temperature input by a user or an operating temperature based on a basic setting.

This differential coordination step may be performed on the premise of an intelligent power grid.

Therefore, before the initial air conditioning step, the step of inquiring whether or not the power bill peak section from the demand-side energy management device of the intelligent power grid may be performed (S100), if it is determined that the power bill peak section (S200), the initial operation step ( S300), the human body detecting step (S400) and the differential air conditioning step (S500) can be performed sequentially, in the case of a power bill peak interval, the general operating step of controlling each indoor unit by the user input or the default setting operating temperature It may be set to control the indoor unit (S300 ').

Therefore, the controller 400 is the initial operation step (S300) of each indoor unit at the user input or the default setting operating temperature according to the control method of the air conditioner according to the present invention according to the setting according to the user's request or power fee, Control the air conditioner sequentially so that the human body detection step (S400) and the differential air conditioning step (S500) are performed sequentially, or control each indoor unit so that the operating temperature set according to the user's input or basic setting is accurately reflected (S300 '). ) can do.

9 is a graph of power rates in a situation in which power rates vary with time. A significant increase in power usage per day would be around 1 pm to 3 pm. At this time, the power reserve rate will decrease sharply, and the electricity charge per unit power will increase greatly.

Therefore, when the predetermined power rate is the boundary power fee of the 1 pm to 3 pm section, the 1 pm to 3 pm section is defined as the peak rate section (B section).

Therefore, the air conditioner can be controlled in the power rate peak section (section B) according to the control method of the air conditioner described above. Specifically, the operating temperature of the air conditioner can be controlled differently from the user's input or the basic setting, and the human body sensor in the indoor unit detects the active human body in the air conditioning space, minimizing power consumption and Discomfort can be minimized.

In addition, the control method of the air conditioner related to the power saving mode may be performed independently of the intelligent power grid.

In addition, in section A and section C, except for the peak charge section (B section), the burden of power charge is small, so each indoor unit is controlled in the normal operation mode to accurately reflect the operating temperature set according to the user's input or basic setting. You may.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. . It is therefore to be understood that the modified embodiments are included in the technical scope of the present invention if they basically include elements of the claims of the present invention.

200: indoor unit
300: outdoor unit
400: controller

Claims (15)

A plurality of indoor units mounted in a predetermined air conditioning space;
A wireless communication module mounted to each indoor unit;
A human body sensor mounted on each indoor unit; And,
At least one indoor unit provided with a wireless communication module of the same type as the wireless communication module of the indoor unit, receiving information detected by the human body sensor through the wireless communication module, and in proximity to the human body detected by the human body sensor. And a controller for transmitting a control signal of each indoor unit to each indoor unit through the wireless communication module so that the operating temperature of the indoor unit is different from that of other indoor units. The method of claim 1,
Air conditioning apparatus, characterized in that the control of the operating temperature of each indoor unit is performed by adjusting the flow rate of the refrigerant supplied to each indoor unit. The method of claim 1,
When the indoor unit cools the air conditioning space, the operating temperature of at least one indoor unit in proximity to the human body detected by the human body sensor is lower than the operating temperature of the other indoor unit, when the indoor unit heats the air conditioning space, And an operating temperature of at least one indoor unit in proximity to the human body detected by the human body detecting sensor is higher than that of other indoor units. The method of claim 1,
When the human body is detected by the human body sensor of at least one indoor unit of the indoor unit, the indoor unit is characterized in that it is controlled by the operating temperature according to the user input or basic settings. The method of claim 1,
When the human body is detected by the human body sensor of the plurality of indoor units of the indoor unit, the operating temperature of the plurality of indoor unit is controlled by the operating temperature by the user input or the default setting alternately at a predetermined time interval . The method of claim 5,
When the air conditioning space is cooled or heated, the indoor unit other than the indoor unit which is controlled by the operating temperature by the user input or the basic setting among the indoor units in which the human body is detected by the human body sensor is higher than the operating temperature by the user input or the basic setting. Air conditioning apparatus characterized in that it is controlled to operate at an operating temperature or a low operating temperature. The method of claim 1,
The controller receives information related to power rates from the energy management device of the consumer side constituting the intelligent power grid, and the controller sets the operating temperature of the entire indoor unit to a user input or basic setting in a section in which the received power rates are larger than a predetermined rate. Air conditioning apparatus, characterized in that for controlling the operating temperature higher or lower than the operating temperature. The method of claim 7, wherein
When the human body is detected by the human body sensor of at least one indoor unit of the indoor unit, the indoor unit is characterized in that it is controlled by the operating temperature according to the user input or basic settings. The method of claim 8,
The controller receives information related to a power bill from a consumer-side energy management device constituting an intelligent power grid, and the controller receives an operating temperature of the indoor unit based on a user input or a basic setting in a section in which the received power bill is greater than a predetermined fee. An air conditioner, characterized in that controlled to be operated at an operating temperature lower or higher than the operating temperature. The method of claim 8,
The controller receives information related to the power bill from the energy management device of the consumer side constituting the intelligent power grid. When the received power bill is lower than the predetermined fee, the controller receives the entire indoor unit at an operating temperature based on a user input or a basic setting. An air conditioner, characterized in that for controlling the indoor unit to operate. In the control method of the air conditioner installed a plurality of indoor units in a predetermined air conditioning space,
An initial operation step of operating the plurality of indoor units at a reference temperature;
Human body detecting step of detecting the presence of the human body in the air conditioning space; And,
And a differential air conditioning step of controlling an operating temperature of a specific indoor unit differently from an operating temperature of the remaining indoor units according to a detection result of the human body detecting step. The method of claim 11,
The reference temperature of the initial operation step is a control method of the air conditioner, characterized in that higher or lower than the operating temperature by the user input or basic settings. The method of claim 11,
And inquiring whether the peak charge period is a power rate through the intelligent power grid before the initial operation step. The method of claim 11,
The differential air conditioning step is a control method of the air conditioner, characterized in that the operating temperature of the indoor unit equipped with a human body sensor for detecting a human body is controlled to be higher or lower than the operating temperature of other indoor units. The method of claim 14,
The control method of the air conditioner, characterized in that the operating temperature of the indoor unit equipped with a human body detecting sensor for detecting a human body in the differential air conditioning step is the operating temperature input by the user.

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