KR100896283B1 - Air Conditioner And Control Method For The Same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an air conditioner and a control method thereof.

The present invention comprises the steps of assigning a unique number to each indoor unit; Setting a respective operating signal frequency to each electromagnetic expansion valve of each indoor unit; Sending an operation signal to an electronic expansion valve of any one indoor unit; Sensing vibration of the air conditioner; And comparing whether the sensed frequency of the vibration corresponds to the operation signal frequency of the electronic expansion valve of the indoor unit to which the operation signal is sent.

According to the present invention, even when the outdoor temperature is not good, such as winter, when the outdoor temperature is too low, it is possible to detect whether the wiring is incorrect.

Air conditioner, Fault connection, electronic expansion valve, LEV

Description

Air Conditioner and Control Method {Air Conditioner And Control Method For The Same}

1 is a view showing a connection relationship between an outdoor unit and an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an essential part of the air conditioner of FIG. 1; FIG. And

3 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of the air conditioner of FIG. 1.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: outdoor unit 20: outdoor unit

15: refrigerant pipe 17: communication line

30: electronic expansion valve 40: sensor

50: control unit S10: address assignment step

S20: Frequency setting step S30: Operation signal step

S40: vibration detection step S50: frequency comparison step

S60: incorrect wiring determination step

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to an air conditioner capable of detecting a wrong wiring and a control method thereof.

In general, the air conditioner is a device that can adjust the temperature, humidity and cleanliness of the air to create a comfortable indoor environment. Such an air conditioner may be classified into a separate type in which a compressor and a condenser are made into an outdoor unit, and an electronic expansion valve and an evaporator are separated into an indoor unit, and an integrated type having both these indoor units and an outdoor unit in a single case.

Among them, a separate type air conditioner for manufacturing an indoor unit and an outdoor unit indoors and an outdoor unit outdoors is widely used. Recently, a separate air conditioner has been developed into a multi-type that can connect a plurality of indoor units to one outdoor unit or a plurality of indoor units to a plurality of outdoor units.

Such a multi-type air conditioner can reduce the number of outdoor units because a plurality of indoor units can share a single outdoor unit, thereby reducing power consumption and installation space.

On the other hand, the multi-type air conditioner is installed to separate the outdoor unit and the indoor unit in different places, and then connecting them by a refrigerant pipe and a communication line is performed.

When the installation work for connecting the outdoor unit and the indoor unit is completed, an address step of assigning a number to each indoor unit is performed through the control unit of the multi-type air conditioner. The address step is performed by transmitting and receiving an electrical signal between the microcomputer of the outdoor unit and the microcomputer of the indoor unit through a communication line connected between the outdoor unit and the indoor unit. When the address step is performed, the controller can easily control the respective indoor units by securing the number of each indoor unit.

However, due to the mistake of the installer during the installation work for connecting the refrigerant pipe and the communication line, the wrong wiring may occur incorrectly. In this case, even if an address step is performed and a number is given to each indoor unit, a control signal sent from the control unit to the indoor unit is transmitted to another indoor unit other than the intended indoor unit, so that the desired indoor unit cannot be controlled correctly. Therefore, after the above Address step, a miswiring detection step of detecting a miswiring is performed.

In general, the fault detection step is performed by sequentially commissioning each indoor unit number, that is, by operating a compressor to perform cooling and heating operations for the air conditioner, and to measure the presence or absence of temperature change in the refrigerant pipe connected to the indoor unit which has been commissioned. Judgment is made.

That is, if the temperature of the refrigerant pipe with respect to the indoor unit that has been commissioned changes, that is, rises earlier than the initial stage, the communication line and the refrigerant pipe are judged to be properly connected, and if there is no temperature change of the refrigerant pipe of the indoor unit that has been commissioned, the misconnection You will be judged.

However, the above-described incorrect wiring detection method has a limitation as follows because it uses a temperature change tendency of the refrigerant pipe generated at this time by performing a trial run after installing the air conditioner.

First, when the ambient temperature is not good, such as winter, when the outdoor temperature is too low, a false wiring detection failure appears.

Secondly, when the refrigerant leaks into the connected refrigerant pipe, it is impossible to detect whether the wiring is incorrect.

Third, there is a problem in that unnecessary power is consumed in determining the miswiring that is not used for air conditioning because the compressor of the outdoor unit having a large power consumption must be operated for the trial run.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner and a control method thereof capable of detecting a miswiring irrespective of ambient temperature conditions.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner and a control method thereof capable of detecting an incorrect wiring while reducing unnecessary power consumption.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises the steps of sending an operation signal to the electronic expansion valve of the indoor unit; And sensing whether the electronic expansion valve is operated.

Here, the operation of the electromagnetic expansion valve can be determined by detecting the presence or absence of vibration caused by the operation of the electromagnetic expansion valve.

On the other hand, if the electromagnetic expansion valve does not operate may further comprise the step of determining that the wiring is incorrect.

In addition, the present invention comprises the steps of sending a signal to the electronic expansion valve of the indoor unit to operate at a predetermined operating signal frequency; Sensing vibration of the air conditioner; And comparing the detected frequency of the vibration with the operating signal frequency sent to the electronic expansion valve.

Here, the method may further include setting a respective operation signal frequency to each of the electromagnetic expansion valves of the plurality of indoor units, and comparing the frequency of the vibration with the operation signal frequency may include: And comparing the operation signal frequency set in the electronic expansion valve of the indoor unit.

In addition, the present invention comprises the steps of assigning a unique number to each indoor unit; Setting a respective operating signal frequency to each electromagnetic expansion valve of each indoor unit; Sending an operation signal to an electronic expansion valve of any one indoor unit; Sensing vibration of the air conditioner; And comparing whether the sensed frequency of the vibration corresponds to the operation signal frequency of the electronic expansion valve of the indoor unit to which the operation signal is sent.

And if the frequency of the vibration detected as a result of the comparison does not correspond to the operation signal frequency, determining that the wiring is miswired.

The above steps can be performed without driving the compressor.

The vibration can be detected through a sensor installed in the refrigerant pipe.

In addition, the present invention is an indoor unit having an electronic expansion valve; A sensor for detecting vibration; And it provides an air conditioner comprising a control unit for sending an operation signal to operate the electromagnetic expansion valve at a predetermined operating signal frequency, and comparing the frequency of the vibration sensed by the sensor with the operating signal frequency.

Herein, the controller may detect whether the wiring is incorrect by operating the electromagnetic expansion valve without driving the compressor.

The sensor may be installed in the refrigerant pipe.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention that can specifically realize the above object will be described.

The air conditioner of the present invention may be interconnected while being located in a place where a plurality of outdoor units and a plurality of indoor units are separated from each other, but for convenience of description, a plurality of indoor units will be described with reference to one outdoor unit.

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a connection relationship between an outdoor unit and an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an essential part of the air conditioner of FIG. 1.

1 is a diagram illustrating a normal connection state. As in the present embodiment, an air conditioner may include one outdoor unit 10 connected to a plurality of indoor units 20 and 1 to n. In this case, the outdoor unit 10 and the indoor unit 20 are not only connected to the refrigerant pipe 15, but also the communication line 17 is connected for mutual communication between the outdoor unit 10 and the indoor unit 20.

Here, the communication line 17 may be a communication cable or a wire used for power line communication. When the number of the indoor units 20 to be connected to the outdoor unit 10 is small, the communication line 17 is connected between the outdoor unit 10 and the indoor unit 20 in a state in which a single pipe is bundled with the refrigerant pipe 15. Is usually installed. However, in the multi-type air conditioner to which the plurality of outdoor units 10 and the plurality of indoor units 20 are connected, the communication line 17 may be installed separately from the refrigerant pipe 15 because the communication line 17 is complicated. Can be. During this installation process, a miswiring may occur in which a communication line 17 to be correctly connected to each indoor unit 20 from the outdoor unit 10 is inconsistent.

On the other hand, in order to detect such a miswiring, in the embodiment of the present invention to send an operation signal to the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 installed in the indoor unit 20, so as to use a method for detecting the operation of the electromagnetic expansion valve (30). The air conditioner is composed.

When the operation of the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 is detected through this, the installer can determine that the wiring is properly made, and if the operation of the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 is not detected, the installer can determine that the wiring is incorrect.

Here, as shown in Figure 2, the sensor 40 for detecting the operation signal of the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 is installed so that it can easily detect whether the operation of the electromagnetic expansion valve 30. And each indoor unit 20 equipped with the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 is controlled by the controller 50.

The electronic expansion valve 30 is installed in the indoor unit 20, and can control the flow rate of the refrigerant to control the degree of superheat at the outlet of the evaporator (not shown). As the electromagnetic expansion valve 30, a linear expansion valve (LEV) may be used. For reference, the linear expansion valve is known to be effective in preventing the refrigerant expansion from being excessively increased from the refrigerant pipe so as not to reduce the heat exchanger efficiency.

This electromagnetic expansion valve 30 may be actuated by applying an actuation signal at a predetermined actuation signal frequency. In addition, the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 may operate without driving a compressor (not shown), and vibration may occur during operation.

The sensor 40 serves to detect vibration caused by the operation of the electromagnetic expansion valve 30. At this time, the vibration of the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 can be measured at various places. That is, the vibration generated from the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 can be detected in various places of the air conditioner such as the indoor unit 20 and the outdoor unit 10 and the refrigerant pipe 15 connected thereto.

In the present embodiment, such a sensor 40 is installed in the refrigerant pipe 15. Since the coolant pipe 15 is a portion connecting the outdoor unit 10 and the indoor unit 20, if the coolant pipe 15 is correctly installed in the indoor unit 20 which has sent an operation signal, the sensor 40 installed in the coolant pipe 15 is provided. ) Can effectively detect the vibration. Therefore, when the vibration of the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 of the indoor unit 20 which sent the operation signal command is detected by the sensor 40 installed in the refrigerant pipe 15, the connection of the communication line 17 and the refrigerant pipe 15 is lost. You can judge that it is correct.

As the sensor 40, for example, a piezoelectric element may be used. Piezoelectric elements are known as elements in which electricity is generated when pressure is applied, or vice versa, a physical shape change occurs by an electrical signal. Therefore, when the piezoelectric element is used as the sensor 40, the vibration sensed by the sensor 40 may be converted into an electric signal according to the operation of the electromagnetic expansion valve 30.

The sensor 40 is not limited to the piezoelectric element and may be any sensor that can generate an electrical signal during vibration.

When the electrical signal sensed by the sensor 40 is transmitted to the controller 50, the controller 50 can more effectively determine whether the wiring is incorrect through the response signal of the sensor 40.

The controller 50 assigns a number to each indoor unit 20, and the indoor unit 20 information such as which indoor unit 20 is given an ON or OFF signal, and a target set temperature. It serves to control. The controller 50 may be installed in the outdoor unit 10 or the indoor unit 20 to control the microcomputer (Micom, not shown) of the outdoor unit 10 and the microcomputer (not shown) of the indoor unit 20. In addition, any one of the microcomputers may be designed to perform the role of the controller 50, and the controller 50 may be a control device provided separately from the outdoor unit 10 and the indoor unit 20.

Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the controller 50 may exchange signals with the indoor unit 20 and the sensor 40 as described above. And the controller 50 sends an operation signal to operate the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 at a predetermined operation signal frequency. Subsequently, the controller 50 compares the frequency of the vibration sensed by the sensor 40 with the operating frequency.

At this time, the controller 50 determines that the operating signal frequency corresponds to the frequency of the detected vibration as a normal wiring, and if the operating signal frequency and the frequency of the detected vibration do not correspond to the wrong wiring.

As such, the controller 50 may operate the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 without driving the compressor to detect wiring, that is, incorrect wiring of the communication line 17 and the refrigerant pipe 15.

Hereinafter, a control method of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of the air conditioner of FIG. 1.

As shown in the drawing, when the installation work for connecting the refrigerant pipe 15 and the communication line 17 to the plurality of outdoor units 10 and the plurality of indoor units 20 positioned to be separated at different places is completed, the control unit ( 50 performs an address assignment step of assigning a unique number to each indoor unit 20 (S10).

The addressing step S10 is performed by transmitting and receiving an electrical signal through a communication line 17 connected between the outdoor unit 10 and the indoor unit 20. Accordingly, the controller 50 can control the indoor unit 20 of the desired number by securing the number of each indoor unit 20.

If a number is assigned to each indoor unit 20, a frequency setting step (S20) of setting the respective operation signal frequency to the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 of each numbered indoor unit 20 is performed. In this step, the operation signal frequency is set so that the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 of each indoor unit 20 having a unique number is operated by different frequencies.

For example, the operation signal frequency of each electromagnetic expansion valve 30 of the indoor unit 21 and the second indoor unit 22 is set differently. Therefore, the indoor unit 1 and the second indoor unit 22 can be controlled to operate only when receiving the operation signal frequency of the command corresponding to their operation signal frequency.

When the operation signal frequency is set in this way, an operation signal step of sending an operation signal to the electronic expansion valve 30 of any one indoor unit 20 is optionally performed (S30). For example, this step is to send an operation signal corresponding to the operation signal frequency of the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 corresponding to the indoor unit 21 set in the previous step to operate the indoor unit 1.

When the operation signal is sent (S30), the vibration detection step (S40) for detecting the vibration according to the operation of the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 is performed.

As described above, when the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 is operated, vibration is generated, so that the sensor 40 installed in the refrigerant pipe 15 can detect the vibration. Therefore, the vibration of the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 of the indoor unit 20 which sent the operation signal command can be detected by the sensor 40 installed in the refrigerant pipe 15 connected correctly to the indoor unit 20.

In the case of an air conditioner provided with only one indoor unit 20, the installer may directly determine whether the wiring is incorrect or not according to the presence or absence of vibration detection. That is, if vibration is detected, the installer can determine that the wiring is properly made, and if vibration is not detected, it can be judged as an incorrect wiring or disconnection. In this way, if it is determined that the wiring is incorrect, the installer checks the wiring again and then determines whether the wiring is incorrect through the above method.

However, in the case of the air conditioner equipped with a plurality of indoor units 20, the frequency comparison step (S50) is performed. In this step, it is compared whether the frequency of the detected vibration corresponds to the operating signal frequency of the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 of the indoor unit 20 to which the operating signal is sent.

Subsequently, an incorrect wiring determination step (S60) is performed to determine the incorrect wiring through the frequency comparison step (S50). Here, if the operation signal frequency corresponds to the frequency of the detected vibration from the previous step, the control unit 50 determines that it is a normal wiring, and if the frequency of the operating signal frequency and the sensed vibration does not correspond to the incorrect wiring.

Of course, the incorrect wiring determination step may not be automatically performed by the controller 50 and may be determined by the installer based on the frequency comparison result.

As such, the air conditioner is configured to determine an incorrect wiring by sending an operation signal to the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 of each indoor unit 20 through a series of steps and detecting whether the electromagnetic expansion valve 30 is operated. Can be controlled.

In addition, when the power is applied to the air conditioner to drive the compressor it is known that the power consumption is very large. In this aspect, even if the power is applied, the controller 50 can be controlled to determine the incorrect wiring without driving the compressor, so the method is efficient in terms of power consumption.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and those skilled in the art can make modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and such modifications will belong to the scope of the present invention.

The effects of the air conditioner and the control method according to the present invention described above are as follows.

First, even when the outdoor temperature is not good, such as winter when the outdoor temperature is too low, it is possible to accurately detect whether the wiring is incorrect.

Second, since the misalignment can be detected by vibration of the air conditioner separately from whether the refrigerant tube is damaged, the misdetection efficiency is higher than that of the conventional art.

Third, since the air conditioner can be controlled to detect whether there is a heating wire without operating the compressor of the outdoor unit having a large power consumption, unnecessary power consumption can be reduced.

Claims (12)

delete delete delete delete delete Setting a respective operating signal frequency to each electromagnetic expansion valve of each indoor unit; Sending an operation signal to an electronic expansion valve of any one indoor unit; Sensing vibration of an air conditioner according to operation of the electronic expansion valve with a sensor; Comparing the sensed frequency of the vibration to an operating signal frequency of the electronic expansion valve of the indoor unit to which the operating signal is sent; and And determining that the indoor unit is incorrectly connected if the frequency of the detected vibration does not correspond to the operating signal frequency. The method of claim 6, And assigning a unique number to each indoor unit before setting each operating signal frequency to each electromagnetic expansion valve of each indoor unit. The method according to claim 6 or 7, And said steps are performed without driving a compressor. The method according to claim 6 or 7, The vibration control method of the air conditioner, characterized in that for sensing through the sensor installed in the refrigerant pipe. A plurality of indoor units each having an electronic expansion valve; A sensor for detecting a vibration caused by the operation of the electromagnetic expansion valve; And And a control unit which transmits an operation signal to operate the electromagnetic expansion valve at a predetermined operation signal frequency, and compares the frequency of the vibration detected by the sensor with the operation signal frequency to determine whether a wiring is wrong for each indoor unit. Air conditioner. The method of claim 10, The control unit operates the electromagnetic expansion valve without driving the compressor to detect whether the wiring is incorrect. The method of claim 10 or 11, And the sensor is installed in the refrigerant pipe.

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