EP2137466B1

EP2137466B1 - Pipe probing method for air conditioner

Info

Publication number: EP2137466B1
Application number: EP07833593.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ki-Baik Kwon; Il-Nahm Hwang; Jin-Ha Choi
Original assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Current assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2007-03-16
Filing date: 2007-10-25
Publication date: 2017-06-07
Anticipated expiration: 2027-10-25
Also published as: EP2137466A4; KR100861598B1; KR20080084433A; EP2137466A1; ES2637162T3; WO2008114919A1

Description

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a method for probing pipes of an air conditioner.

Background Art

Generally, an air conditioner heats and cools an indoor space by circulating a refrigerant.
The air conditioner is classified into a single type air conditioner and a multi type air conditioner in accordance with the number of indoor units connected to each other. The single-type air conditioner has one outdoor unit and one indoor unit connected to the outdoor unit. The multi-type air conditioner has a plurality of indoor units connected to an outdoor unit.
The multi-type air conditioner includes a dispenser for dispensing the refrigerant to the plurality of indoor units. When there are many interconnected air conditioners in the multi type air conditioner, a plurality of dispensers may be provided. At this point, each of the dispensers has a plurality of valves and a pipe is connected to each of the valves. The indoor unit is connected to each pipe.
Further, the multi type air conditioner is classified into a switched air conditioner and a synchronous air conditioner in accordance with a refrigerant flow method. In the switched air conditioner, the indoor unit is switched from a cooling mode operation to a heating mode operation or vice versa. In the synchronous air conditioner, some of the indoor units operate with the heating mode and others operate with the cooling mode.
After the air conditioner is installed on a building, a test run is performed before performing a normal operation. In the test run, a pipe probing run for probing pipes connected to respective indoor units is performed. By performing the pipe probing run, it becomes possible to individually control the indoor units.
A pipe probing method of a multi-type air conditioner of a related art has following problems.
The multi-type air conditioner performs the pipe probing for the indoor units one by one by controlling valves that are arranged on one pipe. Therefore, when there are many interconnected indoor units, the probing time increases significantly. Furthermore, after the pipe probing is completed for one indoor unit, the refrigerant cycle should be stopped for a predetermined time so that a temperature of the indoor unit that is probed can be almost same as that of other indoor units. Therefore, the overall pipe probing time further increases. This causes the increase of the overall test run time of the air conditioner.
JP 8 221 0739 A relates to a motor-operated expansion valve control device for an air-conditioner comprising indoor piping temperatures sensors which detect a piping temperature and are arranged to a respective piping of indoor units, an electronic control unit to compute and process signals from the indoor piping temperature sensor and an expansion valve control means to receive a signal from the electronic control unit.
JP 3 236 553 relates to a multi control part when a check signal is received, an outdoor air temperature is detected, and when an outdoor air temperature exceeds a set value, a cooling operation mode command and a given frequency operation command are transmitted to an outdoor control part.
JP 7 129 838 A relates to a temperature sensor which is arranged near an inlet port of a refrigerant heat exchanger of each of indoor devices

Disclosure of Invention

The invention is defined by the independent claims. Dependent claims refer to preferred embodiments.
Embodiments provide a method for probing pipes of an air conditioner, which can reduce a time for probing the pipes connected to respective indoor units.
In one embodiment, a pipe probing method for an air conditioner includes: probing indoor unit groups, to which respective dispensers are connected, by operating the indoor unit groups connected to the respective dispensers one by one and detecting the indoor unit group that is operating; and probing pipes of the dispensers, to which respective the indoor units are connected, by operating the indoor units of each indoor unit group one by one and detecting the indoor units that are operating.
In the probing of the indoor unit groups and/or the probing of the pipes, a temperature variation of the indoor units may be detected.
In the probing of the indoor unit groups and/or the probing of the pipes, a pressure variation of the indoor units may be detected.
In the probing of the indoor unit groups and/or the probing of the pipes, the indoor units may operate with a heating or cooling mode.
After the probing of the indoor unit groups is finished, the indoor unit group that is operating may operate with an opposite mode for a predetermined time.
After the probing of the indoor units is finished, the indoor units that are operating may operate with an opposite mode for a predetermined time.
In another embodiment, a pipe probing method for an air conditioner includes:

probing indoor unit groups, to which respective dispensers are connected, by stopping the indoor unit groups connected to the respective dispensers one by one and detecting the indoor unit group that is stopped; and probing pipes of the dispensers, to which respective the indoor units are connected, by stopping the indoor units of each indoor unit group one by one and detecting the indoor units that are stopped.

The pipe probing method may further include operating all of the indoor unit groups between the probing of the indoor unit groups and the probing of the indoor units.
In the probing of the indoor unit groups and/or the probing of the pipes, a temperature variation of the indoor units may be detected.
In the probing of the indoor unit groups and/or the probing of the pipes, a pressure variation of the indoor units may be detected.
In the probing of the indoor unit groups, after the probing of the indoor unit group that is stopped is completed, the stopped indoor unit group may operate again.
The stopped indoor unit group may operate with a same mode as other indoor unit groups.
In still another embodiment, a pipe probing method includes: probing indoor unit groups connected to respective dispenser; and pipe-probing indoor units of each indoor unit group one by one.
According to the embodiments, since the indoor units are classified into a plurality of groups and the indoor units of each group are simultaneously probed one by one after the pipe probing is sequentially performed by the groups, the pipe probing time can be significantly reduced. Especially, the more the number of the indoor units interconnected, the higher the pipe probing time reducing effect.
The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a pipe probing method for an air conditioner according to a first embodiment.
Fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a process for probing indoor unit groups connected to respective dispensers in the pipe probing method of Fig. 1.
Figs. 3 and 4 are block diagrams illustrating a process for individually probing indoor units connected to respective dispensers in the pipe probing method of Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a pipe probing method for an air conditioner according to a second embodiment.
Fig. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a process for probing indoor unit groups connected to respective dispensers in the pipe probing method of Fig. 5.
Figs. 7 and 8 are block diagrams illustrating a process for individually probing indoor units connected to respective dispensers in the pipe probing method of Fig. 5.

Preferred Modes

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a pipe probing method for an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to Fig. 1, an air conditioner includes one or more outdoor units each having one or more compressors (not shown) and one or more outdoor heat exchangers (not shown). A control unit (not shown) is provided in the outdoor unit 10.
A plurality of dispensers 20 and 30 are connected to the outdoor unit 10 by pipes. At this point, when the air conditioner is a switched air conditioner, the pipes may include high pressure pipes along witch a compressed refrigerant flows and low pressure pipes along which an expanded refrigerant flows. When the air conditioner is a synchronous air conditioner, the pipes may include high pressure pipes along which a compressed refrigerant flows, liquid pipes along which a condensed refrigerant flows, and low pressure pipes along which an expanded refrigerant flows.
A plurality of valves 21, 22, and 23 (31, 32, and 33) are arranged on each of the dispensers 20 and 30. Pipes are connected to the respective valves 21, 22, 23, 31, 32, and 33. The structure of the pipes and valves may vary in accordance with whether the air conditioner is a switched or synchronous air conditioner. Therefore, the valves and pipes for introducing and discharging the refrigerant into and from the indoor units 51, 52, 53, 61, 62, and 63 are schematically illustrated in Fig. 1.
Indoor unit groups 50 and 60 are connected to the respective dispensers 20 and 30. Each of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 includes the plurality of indoor units 51, 52, and 53 (61, 62, and 63).
Detecting units 51a, 52a, 53a, 61a, 62a, and 63a are provided on the respective indoor units 51, 52, 53, 61, 62, and 63. The detecting units 51a, 52a, 53a, 61a, 62a, and 63a may be temperature sensors or pressure sensors. The following with describe a case where the detecting units 51a, 52a, 53a, 61a, 62a, and 63a are the temperature sensors.
Further, the valves 21, 22, 23, 31, 32, and 33 of the dispensers 20 and 30, and the temperature sensors 51a, 52a, 53a, 61a, 62a, and 63a are connected to the control unit through a wire or wireless comnunication.
In the air conditioner, the pipes extend from the respective dispensers 20 and 30 and the indoor units 51, 52, 53, 61, 62, and 63 are connected to the respective pipes. Therefore, a pipe probing process for probing the pipes connected to the respective indoor units is performed before the air conditioner operates normally.
The following will describe a pipe probing method of the above-described air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
Information on the valves 21, 22, 23, 31, 32, and 33 arranged on the dispensers 20 and 30 is transmitted to and stored in the control unit by the communication. That is, the control unit stores information on valves to which the dispensers 20 and 30 are connected. The control unit closes all of the valves 21, 22, 23, 31, 32, and 33 arranged on the dispensers 20 and 30.
In the pipe probing method of this embodiment, a group probing process for probing indoor unit groups to which the dispensers are connected is performed. Next, an individual probing process for simultaneously probing pipes of the dispensers, to which the indoor units in each of the groups 50 and 60 are connected, one by one is performed.
The following will describe the group probing process.
Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a pipe probing method for an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to Fig. 1, all of the valves 21, 22, and 23 of the first dispenser 20 are opened to supply the refrigerant only to the first indoor unit group 50 connected to the first dispenser 20. At this point, the valves of other dispensers except for the first dispenser 20 are closed.
The first indoor unit group 50 connected to the first dispenser 20 may operate with a cooling or heating mode. At this point, the temperature sensors 51a, 52a, and 53a arranged in the first indoor unit group 50 transmit information on a temperature variation of the first indoor unit group 50 to the control unit by the comnunication. Then, the control unit stores on the information on an indoor unit group to which the first dispenser 20 is connected. As described above, the first indoor unit group 50 connected to the first dispenser 20 is probed.
Next, by controlling the valves 21, 22, and 23 arranged in the first dispenser 20, the first indoor unit group 50 that is pipe-probed operates for a predetermined time with an opposite mode to that when the pipe-probing is being performed so that a temperature of the first indoor unit group 50 becomes identical to that of the indoor unit group 60 that is not pipe-probed. That is, if the first indoor unit group 50 operated with the heating mode during the pipe-probing, the first indoor unit group 50 operates with the cooling mode after the pipe-probing is finished.
Further, after the pipe-probing of the first indoor unit group 50 is finished, all of the valves 21, 22, and 23 of the first dispenser 20 may be closed. Therefore, the first indoor unit group 50 may have a predetermined truce period for which the temperature of the first indoor unit group 50 becomes similar to those of other indoor unit groups that are not pipe-probed.
Meanwhile, when the pressure sensors are provided as the detecting units of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 and all of the valves 21, 22, and 23 arranged in the first dispenser 20 are opened, the refrigerant is introduced into the first indoor unit group 50. At this point, the pressure sensors detect a pressure variation and transmit the information on the pressure variation to the control unit by the comnunication. As described above, by detecting the pressure variation, a dispenser to which the first indoor unit group 50 is connected can be probed.
Fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a process for probing indoor unit groups connected to respective dispensers in the pipe probing method of Fig. 1.
Referring to Fig. 2, all of the valves 31, 32, and 33 of the second dispenser 30 are opened by the control unit to supply the refrigerant only to the second indoor unit group 60 connected to the second dispenser 30. At this point, the valves of other dispensers except for the second dispenser 30 are closed.
The second indoor unit group 60 connected to the second dispenser 30 may operate with a cooling or heating mode. At this point, the temperature sensors 61a, 62a, and 63a arranged in the second indoor unit group 60 transmit information on a temperature variation of the second indoor unit group 60 to the control unit by the comnunication. Then, the control unit stores on the information on an indoor unit group to which the second dispenser 30 is connected. As described above, the second indoor unit group 60 connected to the second dispenser 30 is probed.
Next, by controlling the valves 31, 32, and 33 arranged in the second dispenser 30, the second indoor unit group 60 that is pipe-probed operates for a predetermined time with an opposite mode to that when the pipe-probing is being performed so that a temperature of the second indoor unit group 60 becomes similar to those of other indoor unit groups. That is, if the second indoor unit group 60 operated with the heating mode during the pipe-probing, the second indoor unit group 60 operates with the cooling mode after the pipe-probing is finished.
Further, after the pipe-probing of the second indoor unit group 60 is finished, all of the valves 31, 32, and 33 of the second dispenser 30 may be closed. Therefore, the second indoor unit group 60 may have a predetermined truce period for which the temperature of the second indoor unit group 60 becomes similar to that of the indoor unit group 60 that is not pipe-probed.
Meanwhile, when the pressure sensors are provided as the detecting units of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 and all of the valves 31, 32, and 33 arranged in the second dispenser 30 are opened, the refrigerant is introduced into the second indoor unit group 60. At this point, the pressure sensors detect a pressure variation and transmit the information on the pressure variation to the control unit by the communication. As described above, by detecting the pressure variation, a dispenser to which the second indoor unit group 50 is connected can be probed.
As described above, the pipe probing is performed by the number of the dispensers 20 and 30. Therefore, indoor groups to which the dispensers 20 and 30 are connected can be probed. Further, the control unit stores information on indoor groups to which the dispensers 20 and 30 are connected.
The following will describe the individual probing process of the pipe probing method.
Figs. 3 and 4 are block diagrams illustrating a process for individually probing indoor units connected to respective dispensers in the pipe probing method of Fig. 1.
Referring to Fig. 3, the indoor units 51, 52, and 53 (61, 62, and 63) of each of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 are sequentially operated one by one.
At this point, among the valves 21, 22, and 23 (31, 32, and 33) arranged in each of the dispensers 20 and 30, only the valve 21 (31) is opened so that the refrigerant is supplied only to the first indoor unit 51 (61) of each of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60. The first indoor unit 51, 61 of the indoor unit group 50, 60 operates with the heating or cooling mode. At this point, the temperature sensor 51a, 61a arranged in the first indoor unit 51, 61 of the indoor unit group 50, 60 transmits information on a temperature variation to the control unit. The control unit probes pipes of the dispensers 20 and 30, to which the first indoor units 51 and 61 of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 are connected.
Meanwhile, when the pressure sensors are arranged in the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 and the valves 21 and 31 disposed in the dispensers 20 and 30 are opened, the refrigerant is introduced into the first indoor units 51 and 61 of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60. At this point, the pressure sensors detect a pressure variation and transmit the information on the pressure variation to the control unit. The control unit stores the information on pipes of the dispensers 20 and 30, to which the first indoor units 51 and 61 are connected.
Next, by controlling the valves 21 and 31 disposed in the dispensers 20 and 30, the first indoor units 51 and 61 of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60, which are pipe-probed, operate for a predetermined time with an opposite mode to that when the pipe-probing is being performed so that temperatures of the first indoor units 51 and 61 of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 become similar to those of other indoor units that are not pipe-probed.
Further, after the pipe-probing of the first indoor units 51 and 52 in the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 is finished, all of the valves 21, 22, 23, 31, 32, and 33 of the dispensers 20 and 30 may be closed. Therefore, the first indoor units 51 and 61 may have a predetermined truce period for which the temperatures of the first indoor units 51 and 61 become similar to those of other indoor units that are not pipe-probed.
Referring to Fig. 4, among the valves 21, 22, and 23 (31, 32, and 33) arranged in each of the dispensers 20 and 30, only the valve 22 (32) is opened so that the refrigerant is supplied only to the second indoor unit 52 (62) of each of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60. The second indoor unit 52, 62 of the indoor unit group 50, 60 operates with the heating or cooling mode. At this point, the temperature sensor 52a, 62a arranged in the second indoor unit 52, 62 of the indoor unit group 50, 60 transmits information on a temperature variation to the control unit. The control unit probes pipes of the dispensers 20 and 30, to which the second indoor units 51 and 61 of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 are connected.
Meanwhile, when the pressure sensors are arranged in the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 and the valves 21 and 31 disposed in the dispensers 20 and 30 are opened, the refrigerant is introduced into the second indoor units 52 and 62 of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60. At this point, the pressure sensors detect a pressure variation and transmit the information on the pressure variation to the control unit. The control unit stores the information on pipes of the dispensers 20 and 30, to which the second indoor units 52 and 62 are connected.
Next, by controlling the valves 22 and 32 disposed in the dispensers 20 and 30, the second indoor units 52 and 62 of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60, which are pipe-probed, operate for a predetermined time with an opposite mode to that when the pipe-probing is being performed so that temperatures of the second indoor units 52 and 62 of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 become similar to those of other indoor units that are not pipe-probed.
Further, after the pipe-probing of the first indoor units 51 and 52 in the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 is finished, all of the valves 21, 22, 23, 31, 32, and 33 of the dispensers 20 and 30 may be closed. Therefore, the second indoor units 52 and 62 may have a predetermined truce period for which the temperatures of the first indoor units 51 and 61 become similar to those of other indoor units that are not pipe-probed.
As described above, the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 that are respectively connected to the dispensers 20 and 30 are sequentially pipe-probed, after which the indoor units 51, 52, and 53 (61, 62, and 63) of each of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60) are simultaneously pipe-probed one by one by the number of the dispensers 20 and 30. Therefore, the pipe probing time can be significantly reduced as compared with the related art where all of the pipes are probed one by one without being grouped. Especially, the more the number of the indoor units interconnected, the higher the pipe probing time reducing effect.
The following will describe a pipe probing method according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
The pipe probing method of the second embodiment is substantially identical to that of the first embodiment from the point that the individual probing process is performed after the group probing process is performed. However, a feature of the second embodiment is that the pipe probing is performed while sequentially stopping the indoor groups 50 and 60 one by one in the individual probing process.
First, the group probing process will be described hereinafter.
Fig. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a pipe probing method for an air conditioner according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a process for probing indoor unit groups connected to respective dispensers in the pipe probing method of Fig. 5.
Referring to Fig. 5, all of indoor groups 50 and 60 connected to respective dispensers 20 and 30 operate. At this point, all of valves 21, 22, 23, 31, 32, and 33 disposed in the dispensers 20 and 30 are opened to operate the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 with a heating or cooling mode. Further, temperature sensors 51a, 52a, 53a, 61a, 62a, and 63a disposed in the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 detects temperatures of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 and transmit the same to the control unit.
Referring to Fig. 6, the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 are sequentially stopped one by one. At this point, the valves 21, 22, and 23 of the first dispenser 20 are closed while the valves 31, 32, and 33 of the second dispenser 30 are opened.
The temperature sensors 51a, 52a, and 53a disposed in the first indoor unit group 50 transmit information on the temperature variation of the first indoor unit group 50. Then, the control unit stores the information on an indoor group to which the first dispenser 20 is connected. As described above, it is probed that the first indoor unit group 50 is connected to the first dispenser 20.
Next, by opening all of the valves 21, 22, and 23 disposed in the first dispenser 20, the first indoor unit group 50 that is pipe-probed operates for a predetermined time with a same mode as that of other indoor unit groups that are not pipe-probed so that a temperature of the first indoor unit group 50 becomes identical to that of the indoor unit group 60 that is not pipe-probed. That is, if the first indoor unit group 50 operated with the heating mode during the pipe-probing, the first indoor unit group 50 operates with the cooling mode after the pipe-probing is finished.
Meanwhile, when the pressure sensors are provided as the detecting units of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60, the pressure sensor of the first indoor unit group 50 detects a pressure variation and transmits the information on the pressure variation to the control unit by the comnunication. As described above, by detecting the pressure variation, a dispenser to which the first indoor unit group 50 is connected can be probed.
Next, the valves 31, 32, and 33 disposed in the second dispenser 30 are closed so that the refrigerant cannot be introduced into the second indoor unit group 60 while the valves 21, 22, and 23 disposed in the dispenser 20 are opened.
The temperature sensors 61a, 62a, and 63a disposed in the second indoor unit group 60 transmit information on the temperature variation of the second indoor unit group 60.
Next, by opening all of the valves 31, 32, and 33 disposed in the second dispenser 30, the second indoor unit group 60 that is pipe-probed operates for a predetermined time with a same mode as that of other indoor unit groups that are not pipe-probed so that a temperature of the second indoor unit group 60 becomes similar to that of the indoor unit group 60 that is not pipe-probed. That is, if the second indoor unit group 60 operated with the heating mode during the pipe-probing, the second indoor unit group 60 operates with the cooling mode after the pipe-probing is finished.
Meanwhile, when the pressure sensors are disposed in the indoor unit groups 50 and 60, the pressure sensor of the second indoor unit group 60 detects a pressure variation and transmits the information on the pressure variation to the control unit by the communication.
As described above, the pipe probing is performed by the number of the dispensers 20 and 30. Therefore, indoor groups to which the dispensers 20 and 30 are connected can be probed. Further, the control unit stores information on indoor groups to which the dispensers 20 and 30 are connected.
The following will describe the individual probing process of the pipe probing method.
Figs. 7 and 8 are block diagrams illustrating a process for individually probing indoor units connected to respective dispensers in the pipe probing method of Fig. 5.
The indoor units 51, 52, and 53 (61, 62, and 63) of each of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 are sequentially stopped or operated one by one. The pipe probing process that is performed while sequentially operating the indoor units of each of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 is already described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4. Therefore, the following will describe a pipe probing process that is performed while sequentially stopping the indoor units of each of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60.
Referring to Fig. 7, among the valves 21, 22, and 23 (31, 32, and 33) arranged in each of the dispensers 20 and 30, only the valve 21 (31) is closed so that the refrigerant is not supplied to the first indoor unit 51 (61) of each of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60. The first indoor unit 51, 61 of the indoor unit group 50, 60 operates with the heating or cooling mode. At this point, the temperature sensor 51a, 61a arranged in the first indoor unit 51, 61 of the indoor unit group 50, 60 transmits information on a temperature variation to the control unit. The control unit probes pipes of the dispensers 20 and 30, to which the first indoor units 51 and 61 of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 are connected.
Meanwhile, when the pressure sensors are arranged in the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 and the valves 21 and 31 disposed in the dispensers 20 and 30 are opened, the refrigerant is introduced into the first indoor units 51 and 61 of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60. At this point, the pressure sensors detect a pressure variation and transmit the information on the pressure variation to the control unit. The control unit stores the information on pipes of the dispensers 20 and 30, to which the first indoor units 51 and 61 are connected.
Next, by controlling the valves 21 and 31 disposed in the dispensers 20 and 30, the first indoor units 51 and 61 of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60, which are pipe-probed, operate for a predetermined time with a same mode as that when the pipe-probing is being performed so that temperatures of the first indoor units 51 and 61 of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 become similar to those of other indoor units that are not pipe-probed.
Referring to Fig. 8, among the valves 21, 22, and 23 (31, 32, and 33) arranged in each of the dispensers 20 and 30, only the valve 22 (32) is closed so that the refrigerant is not supplied to the second indoor unit 52 (62) of each of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60. The second indoor unit 52, 62 of the indoor unit group 50, 60 operates with the heating or cooling mode. At this point, the temperature sensor 52a, 62a arranged in the second indoor unit 52, 62 of the indoor unit group 50, 60 transmits information on a temperature variation to the control unit. The control unit probes pipes of the dispensers 20 and 30, to which the second indoor units 51 and 61 of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 are connected.
Meanwhile, when the pressure sensors are arranged in the indoor unit groups 50 and 60, the pressure sensors disposed in the second indoor units 52 and 62 of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 detect a pressure variation and transmit the information on the pressure variation to the control unit. The control unit stores the information on pipes of the dispensers 20 and 30, to which the second indoor units 52 and 62 are connected.
Next, by controlling the valves 22 and 32 disposed in the dispensers 20 and 30, the second indoor units 52 and 62 of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60, which are pipe-probed, operate for a predetermined time with a same mode as that when the pipe-probing is being performed so that temperatures of the second indoor units 52 and 62 of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 become similar to those of other indoor units that are not pipe-probed.
As described above, the indoor unit groups 50 and 60 that are respectively connected to the dispensers 20 and 30 are sequentially pipe-probed, after which the indoor units 51, 52, and 53 (61, 62, and 63) of each of the indoor unit groups 50 and 60) are simultaneously pipe-probed one by one by the number of the dispensers 20 and 30. Therefore, the pipe probing time can be significantly reduced as compared with the related art where all of the pipes are probed one by one without being grouped. Especially, the more the number of the indoor units interconnected, the higher the pipe probing time reducing effect.
Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the scope of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Industrial Applicability

Since the present invention can reduce the pipe probing time taken for probing pipes to which the indoor units are connected. The industrial applicability is very high.

Claims

A pipe probing method for an air conditioner, the air conditioner including a plurality of dispensers (20, 30) and a plurality of indoor unit groups (50, 60) connected to each of the dispensers (20, 30), comprising:
probing the indoor unit groups (50, 60), to which respective dispensers (20, 30) are connected, by operating the indoor unit groups (50, 60) connected to the respective dispensers (20, 30) one by one and detecting the indoor unit group (50, 60) that is operating, wherein the indoor unit groups (50, 60) include a plurality of indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63), respectively and a plurality of valves (21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33) are arranged on each of the dispensers (20, 30) to flow a refrigerant into and from the indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63); and

probing pipes of the dispensers (20, 30), to which respective the indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) are connected, by operating the indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) of each indoor unit group (50, 60) one by one and detecting the indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) that are operating,

characterized in that first valves (21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33) of one dispenser (20, 30) are opened to operate a first indoor unit group (50, 60) and second valves (21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33) of the other dispensers (20, 30) are closed not to operate the other indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) when probing indoor unit groups (50, 60), and

wherein one valve (21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33) of the first valves (21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33) is opened to operate one indoor unit (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) of the first indoor unit group (50, 60) and the other valves (21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33) of the first valves (21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33) are closed not to operate the other indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) of the first indoor unit group (50, 60) when probing pipes of the dispensers (20, 30).
The pipe probing method according to claim 1, wherein, in the probing of the indoor unit groups (50, 60) and/or the probing of the pipes, a temperature variation of the indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) is detected.
The pipe probing method according to claim 1, wherein, in the probing of the indoor unit groups (50, 60) and/or the probing of the pipes, a pressure variation of the indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) is detected.
The pipe probing method according to claim 1, wherein, in the probing of the indoor unit groups (50, 60) and/or the probing of the pipes, the indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) operate with a heating or cooling mode.
The pipe probing method according to claim 4, wherein, after the probing of the indoor unit groups (50, 60) is finished, the indoor unit group (50, 60) that is operating operate with an opposite mode for a predetermined time.
The pipe probing method according to claim 4, wherein, after the probing of the indoor units (50, 60) is finished, the indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) that are operating operate with an opposite mode for a predetermined time.
A pipe probing method for an air conditioner, the air conditioner including a plurality of dispensers (20, 30) and a plurality of indoor unit groups (50, 60) connected to each of the dispensers (20, 30), comprising:
operating all of the indoor unit groups (50, 60), by opening all of valves (21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33) disposed on the dispensers (20, 30);

probing the indoor unit groups (50, 60), to which respective dispensers (20, 30) are connected, by stopping the indoor unit groups (50, 60) connected to the respective dispensers (20, 30) one by one and detecting the indoor unit group (50, 60) that is stopped, wherein the indoor unit groups (50, 60) include a plurality of indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63), respectively and a plurality of valves (21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33) are arranged on each of the dispensers (20, 30) to flow a refrigerant into and from the indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63); and

probing pipes of the dispensers (20, 30), to which respective the indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) are connected, by stopping the indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) of each indoor unit group (50, 60) one by one and detecting the indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) that are stopped, characterized in that first valves (21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33) of one dispenser (20, 30) are closed not to operate a first indoor unit group (50, 60) and second valves (21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33) of the other dispensers (20, 30) are opened to operate the other indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) when probing indoor unit groups (50, 60), and

wherein one valve (21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33) of the first valves (21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33) is closed not to operate one indoor unit (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) of the first indoor unit group (50, 60) and the other valves (21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33) of the first valves (21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33) are opened to operate the other indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) of the first indoor unit group (50, 60) when probing pipes of the dispensers (20, 30).
The pipe probing method according to claim 7, further comprising operating all of the indoor unit groups (50, 60) between the probing of the indoor unit groups (50, 60) and the probing of the indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63).
The pipe probing method according to claim 7, wherein, in the probing of the indoor unit groups (50, 60) and/or the probing of the pipes, a temperature variation of the indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) is detected.
The pipe probing method according to claim 7, wherein, in the probing of the indoor unit groups (50, 60) and/or the probing of the pipes, a pressure variation of the indoor units (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63) is detected.
The pipe probing method according to claim 7, wherein, in the probing of the indoor unit groups (50, 60), after the probing of the indoor unit group (50, 60) that is stopped is completed, the stopped indoor unit group (50, 60) operates again.
The pipe probing method according to claim 8, wherein the stopped indoor unit group (50, 60) operates with a same mode as other indoor unit groups (50, 60).