KR102137460B1 - Operating method of Air-conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

Method of operating the air conditioner according to an aspect of the present invention, when the update menu item is selected, the step of displaying a list of units that the wired remote control can access, any one of the units included in the list is selected When there is, the step of transmitting information about the selected unit to the server by the wired remote control, the step of receiving the update information for the unit of the same unit and the selected unit and the selected unit from the server, the wired remote control, and the selected unit received by the wired remote control And displaying update information for units of the same product family as the selected unit.

Description

{Operating method of Air-conditioner}

The present invention relates to an air conditioner and a method for operating the air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner and a method for operating the air conditioner that can conveniently control units using a wired remote control installed in correspondence with the indoor unit.

The air conditioner is installed to provide a more comfortable indoor environment to human beings by discharging cold and warm air into the room to create a comfortable indoor environment, adjusting the indoor temperature, and purifying the indoor air. In general, an air conditioner includes an indoor unit installed inside a heat exchanger, and an outdoor unit configured with a compressor and a heat exchanger to supply refrigerant to the indoor unit.

The air conditioner is separated and controlled by an indoor unit composed of a heat exchanger and an outdoor unit composed of a compressor and a heat exchanger, and the outdoor unit and the indoor unit are connected to a refrigerant pipe, so that the refrigerant compressed from the compressor of the outdoor unit is supplied to the heat exchanger of the indoor unit through the refrigerant pipe. The refrigerant exchanged in the heat exchanger of the indoor unit flows back into the compressor of the outdoor unit through the refrigerant pipe. Accordingly, the indoor unit discharges cold and hot air into the room through heat exchange using a refrigerant.

Units such as outdoor units and indoor units in an air conditioner are interconnected in units of buildings or small groups to transmit and receive data, and to monitor and control the status of each unit through the transmitted and received data.

In general, the indoor unit is configured to transmit data to the outdoor unit, and the outdoor unit receives data of the indoor unit to transmit the data of the indoor unit to the central controller.

Meanwhile, a wired remote control is connected to each indoor unit, and a user can control a specific indoor unit by operating the wired remote control.

For example, in the prior art (Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2008-0094278, published date October 23, 2008), a button unit for instructing the operation of the air conditioner, a display showing the operation status of the air conditioner A wired remote controller for an air conditioner is proposed, which includes a rotary switch for setting a reservation operation time of the air conditioner.

In the case of such a conventional wired remote control, it is limited to monitoring and control of the status of one connected indoor unit, and thus, the function expandability is limited because the wired remote control does not become a communication unit as a single unit.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner and a method of operating the same to improve ease of use by conveniently checking whether or not various units in the air conditioner need to be updated with any one wired remote control.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner and an operation method thereof that can improve ease of use by updating several units at once.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner having a communication structure that has advantages in terms of communication performance and expandability at low cost, and a method of operating the same.

In order to achieve the above or other object, the operation method of the air conditioner according to an aspect of the present invention includes: when an update menu item is selected, displaying a list of units that the wired remote controller can access, the units included in the list When any one of the units is selected, the wired remote control transmits information about the selected unit to the server, the wired remote control receives update information for the selected unit and the selected unit and units of the same product family from the server, and , Displaying update information for the selected unit received by the wired remote controller and a unit of the same product family as the selected unit.

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to improve ease of use by conveniently checking whether or not various units in the air conditioner need to be updated by any one wired remote controller.

In addition, according to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to improve ease of use by updating several units at once.

Further, according to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, a communication structure having advantages in terms of communication performance and scalability can be implemented at low cost.

Meanwhile, various other effects will be disclosed directly or implicitly in a detailed description according to an embodiment of the present invention to be described later.

1 is a view illustrating the configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a schematic view of the outdoor unit and the indoor unit of FIG. 1.
3 is a diagram illustrating a communication structure of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 and 5 are diagrams illustrating a data structure used for communication between units in an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a block diagram schematically showing a control configuration of a wired remote control according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 to 11 are views referred to for explanation related to an operation method of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and can be modified in various forms.

In the drawings, in order to clearly and briefly describe the present invention, illustration of parts irrelevant to the description is omitted, and the same reference numerals are used for the same or extremely similar parts throughout the specification.

On the other hand, the suffixes "module" and "part" for the components used in the following description are given simply by considering the ease of writing the present specification, and do not impart a particularly important meaning or role in itself. Therefore, the "module" and the "unit" may be used interchangeably.

Further, in the present specification, terms such as first and second may be used to describe various elements, but these elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another.

1 is a view illustrating the configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the air conditioner 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a plurality of units. For example, the air conditioner 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes indoor units 31 to 35, outdoor units 21 and 22 connected to the indoor units 31 to 35, and indoor units 31 To 35) may include a remote control (41 to 45) connected to each. In addition, the air conditioner 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a central controller 10 for controlling the plurality of indoor units 31 to 35 and the outdoor units 21 and 22.

The central controller 10 is connected to the plurality of indoor units 31 to 36 and the plurality of outdoor units 21 and 22 to monitor and control its operation. At this time, the central controller 10 may be connected to a plurality of indoor units to perform operation setting, lock setting, schedule control, group control, and the like for the indoor unit.

The air conditioner may be any of a stand type air conditioner, a wall-mounted air conditioner, and a ceiling type air conditioner, but for convenience of description, the ceiling type air conditioner will be described as an example. In addition, the air conditioner may further include at least one of a ventilation device, an air cleaning device, a humidifying device, and a heater, and may operate in conjunction with the operation of the indoor unit and the outdoor unit.

The outdoor units 21 and 22 are a compressor (not shown) that receives and compresses refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger (not shown) that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and outdoor air, and an accumulator that extracts gas refrigerant from the supplied refrigerant and supplies it to the compressor. (Not shown) and a four-way valve (not shown) for selecting a flow path of the refrigerant according to the heating operation. In addition, it may further include a plurality of sensors, valves and oil recovery.

The outdoor units 21 and 22 operate a compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger provided to compress or heat exchange the refrigerant according to the setting to supply the refrigerant to the indoor units 31 to 35.

The outdoor units 21 and 22 are driven by the request of the central controller 10 or the indoor units 31 to 35, and as the cooling/heating capacity varies depending on the indoor units being driven, the number of outdoor units and the compressor installed in the outdoor unit The number of operations is variable.

At this time, the outdoor units 21 and 22 are described on the basis of supplying refrigerant to each of the outdoor units and the connected indoor units, but the plurality of outdoor units are connected to each other according to the connection structure of the outdoor unit and the indoor unit, and the refrigerant to the plurality of indoor units You can also supply

The indoor units (31 to 35) are connected to any one of the plurality of outdoor units (21, 22), and are supplied with a refrigerant to discharge cold air into the room. The indoor units 31 to 35 include an indoor heat exchanger (not shown), an indoor fan (not shown), an expansion valve (not shown) for expanding the supplied refrigerant, and a plurality of sensors (not shown).

At this time, the outdoor units 21 and 22 and the indoor units 31 to 35 are connected by a communication line to transmit and receive mutual data, and the outdoor unit and the indoor unit are connected by a separate communication line to the central controller 10 to control the central controller 10. It works.

The remote controllers 41 to 45 are respectively connected to the indoor unit, input a user's control command into the indoor unit, and receive and display status information of the indoor unit. At this time, the remote control communicates by wire or wireless depending on the connection type with the indoor unit, and in some cases, a single remote control unit is connected to a plurality of indoor units, so that settings of the plurality of indoor units may be changed through a single remote control input.

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment, the remote controllers 41 to 45 may include various sensors such as a temperature sensor.

2 is a schematic view of the outdoor unit and the indoor unit of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the air conditioner 50 is largely divided into an indoor unit 31 and an outdoor unit 21.

The indoor unit 31 is disposed indoors to perform an air-conditioning/heating function, and an indoor fan 109a and an indoor fan 109a disposed on one side of the indoor heat exchanger 108 to promote heat dissipation of the refrigerant. And an indoor blower 109 made of an electric motor 109b for rotating the fan 109a.

At least one indoor heat exchanger 108 may be installed. The compressor 102 may be at least one of an inverter compressor and a constant speed compressor.

In addition, the air conditioner 50 may be configured with a cooler that cools the room, or may be configured with a heat pump that cools or heats the room.

The outdoor unit 21 includes a compressor 102 serving to compress the refrigerant, an electric motor 102b for driving the compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger 104 serving to dissipate the compressed refrigerant, and outdoor The outdoor fan 105, which is disposed on one side of the heat exchanger 104 to promote heat dissipation of the refrigerant, and the outdoor blower 105 composed of an electric fan 105b that rotates the outdoor fan 105a, and expansion to expand condensed refrigerant. Mechanism 106, a cooling/heating switching valve 110 for changing the flow path of the compressed refrigerant, and an accumulator 103 for temporarily storing the vaporized refrigerant to remove moisture and foreign substances, and then supplying the refrigerant at a constant pressure to the compressor. And the like.

Meanwhile, although the indoor unit 31 and the outdoor unit 21 are each shown in FIG. 2, the driving device of the air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto, and the multi-type having a plurality of indoor units and outdoor units Of course, it can be applied to an air conditioner, an air conditioner having one indoor unit and a plurality of outdoor units.

3 is a diagram illustrating a communication structure of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention may include at least one outdoor unit and a plurality of indoor units connected to the outdoor unit by refrigerant pipes, and a plurality of wired remote controllers respectively connected to the plurality of indoor units. In addition, the outdoor unit and the indoor units may be connected by a wired communication line.

Referring to the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the first outdoor units 23a may be connected to a plurality of indoor units 36a, 37a, and 38a by wired communication lines 1 to communicate with each other.

Depending on the embodiment, the first outdoor unit 23a and the first to third indoor units 36a, 37a, and 38a may be connected by a wired serial communication line 1.

On the other hand, the air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a plurality of wired remote controllers 46a, 47 and 48 connected to each individual indoor unit wired among the plurality of indoor units 36a, 37a and 38a. have.

For example, a first wired remote controller 46a is connected to the first indoor unit 36a, a second wired remote controller 47 is connected to the second indoor unit 37a, and a third wire is connected to the third indoor unit 38a. The remote control 48 can be connected.

The plurality of wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 may control a connected indoor unit by transmitting a predetermined signal to the connected indoor units 36a, 37a, and 38a, respectively. Further, the plurality of wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 may receive status information from the indoor units 36a, 37a, and 38a, respectively.

Although FIG. 3 shows an example in which all indoor units 36a, 37a, and 38a are connected to wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48, as described with reference to FIG. 1, some indoor units may be configured to be controlled by a wireless remote controller. have.

Meanwhile, the outdoor unit 23a and the plurality of indoor units 36a, 37a, and 38a may each include communication units 23b, 36b, 37b, and 38b, or may be connected to communication units 23b, 36b, 37b, and 38b. . The communication units 23b, 36b, 37b, and 38b may be built in each unit or may be installed outside the unit.

Meanwhile, the outdoor unit 23a and the plurality of indoor units 36a, 37a, and 38a may include communication units 23b, 36b, 37b, and 38b using RS-485 communication standards, respectively. In this case, the communication units 23b, 36b, 37b, and 38b may include a communication module supporting RS-485 communication standards or may be a 485 modem.

Meanwhile, the communication units 23b, 36b, 37b, and 38b can transmit and receive data packets according to the RS-485 communication standard. For example, the communication unit 23b of the outdoor unit 23a, the first indoor unit corresponding to the generated data packet according to the control of the control unit (not shown) of the outdoor unit 23a, according to the RS-485 communication standard It can be transmitted to the communication unit 36b of (36a). Further, the communication unit 36b of the first indoor unit 36a may process the received data packet and transmit it to a control unit (not shown) of the first indoor unit 36a.

The RS-485 communication standard is a serial communication protocol standard standard supporting a home network, and a plurality of transmitting and receiving nodes may be connected to one serial communication line 1. In this case, a plurality of transmitting and receiving nodes may perform multi-party data transmission and reception on the same communication line.

The outdoor unit 23a and the plurality of indoor units 36a, 37a, and 38a can transmit and receive data with each other through RS-485 communication, and the outdoor unit 23a includes the plurality of indoor units 36a, 37a, and 38a. ) Can be monitored. In addition, the outdoor unit 23a and the plurality of indoor units 36a, 37a, and 38a may transmit and receive control signals to each other.

Conventional air conditioners transmit and receive data at a fixed communication speed and data structure. When the amount of data increases, there is a limitation in scalability as well as a problem in compatibility. In addition, there is a problem in that response time is delayed and network efficiency is deteriorated due to a fixed speed and data structure.

For example, conventional air conditioners generally use only the RS-485 protocol format, which is based on a fixed-size page. For example, the wired remote controller used a protocol with a connected indoor unit and a fixed size of 13 bytes.

When communicating using a protocol of a fixed size as described above, it is difficult to add or expand new functions and delay communication speeds at the present time when functions are complicated and diversified. Particularly, it was difficult to expand the wired remote control other than the (Local) area communication with the connected individual indoor units.

Therefore, the present invention can use a signal according to the TLV (Type Length Value) protocol in which the data size of the wired remote controller is variable in communication with other units.

For example, the first wired remote controller 46a among the plurality of wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 includes indoor units other than the corresponding first indoor unit 36a among the plurality of indoor units 36a, 37a, and 38a. Signals according to the Type Length Value (TLV) protocol may be transmitted and received through the 37a and 38a and the serial communication line 1.

In addition, as in the past, the first wired remote controller 46a can perform local area communication with the corresponding first indoor unit 36a. Even in this case, the first wired remote controller 46a and the first indoor unit 36a can transmit and receive signals having a data structure according to the TLV (Type Length Value) protocol.

4 and 5 are diagrams illustrating a data structure used for communication between units in an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, units such as a wired remote controller use a data link layer method, which is a second layer, among OSI hierarchies, and data packets used for communication include an address data area and message data. ) Area, cyclic redundancy check (CRC) area for error detection (CRC16). For example, CRC for error detection may be processed as 16-Bit. CRC checksum is used for error detection, but this is not limited, and other error detection methods may be used.

The address data area is composed of an address length including address length information and an address including an address of a sender and an address of a recipient.

The message data area is composed of an application ID, a message type, a sequence number, data length, and data.

At this time, the data Data may have a data structure according to the TLV (Type Length Value) protocol. The TLV protocol is a communication standard that concisely and efficiently expresses complex data into three structured field elements, namely, Type, Length, and Value.

For example, the data Data may be composed of a type field, a length field, and a value field.

In addition, the data (Data) has a size of 0 to 255 bytes (byte), the size of the data value can be changed, the data length can be changed to represent the size of the variable data value.

5 is a diagram illustrating examples of a data area.

As shown in FIG. 5, the data field may be composed of a type, a length, and a data value.

The type is an identifier for information to be included in the data value, the length is the size of the data value, and the data value is actually transmitted information. At this time, the type (Type) is 10bits, the length is 2bits, and the size of the data value varies depending on the type and length.

Event information to be actually delivered is transmitted through a data field by varying the data value according to the type, and the size of the information to be transmitted is variably transmitted.

For example, when the type is 1, the operation mode, and when the type is 2, information about compressor on-off may be transmitted. In addition, when the data length is displayed as 0, 1, 2, or 3 according to the size of information, 4 bits (a), 8 bits (b), 16 bits (c), and 24 bits (d) can be represented, respectively. . The length of information that can be sent as a data value varies depending on the length.

Referring to (a) of FIG. 5, in the basic structure of a data packet, a data type (Length) of data type (Type) occupies a size of 10 bits (bit), and a data length (Len) indicating a size of data value (2) is 2 bits (bit). ). The size of the data value basically occupies the size of 4 bits.

Referring to (b), (c), and (d) of FIG. 5, the size of the data value may be expanded in units of 8 bits according to the type. The length Len indicates the size of a variable data value.

Accordingly, it is possible to perform communication at a higher communication speed than conventional outdoor units and indoor units always transmit and receive data of a fixed size. In addition, since the size of data is expandable, it is easy to add new functions to data packets.

Accordingly, the wired remote controller according to the present invention transmits and receives data to and from an indoor device connected by wire directly, and can control indoor devices connected by wire, as well as TLV communication, participate in communication between indoor units and outdoor units, and communication with other indoor units. Can.

Accordingly, the present invention applies a communication structure capable of monitoring and controlling a remote communication area between a wired remote controller, a plurality of indoor units, and an outdoor unit, as well as a conventional wired remote controller and local area communication between indoor units and connected units. It can provide a synchronization function to control the.

Meanwhile, in this specification, the wired remote controller and the indoor unit connected one-to-one are defined as a local area, and areas other than the local area are defined as a remote communication area.

Therefore, the serial communication line 1 may also be referred to as a remote communication line.

According to the present invention, through a remote communication that transmits and receives a signal having a data structure according to the TLV (Type Length Value) protocol, the wired remote control can exchange communication with other indoor units, wired remote controllers, and outdoor units, and various functions can be applied. A built-in environment is established, and the basic wired remote control that was possible only with the existing physical installation can be solved by communication.

In addition, the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, 48 according to the present invention can communicate with other indoor units in the remote area through the communication units 36b, 37b, 38b of the indoor units 36a, 37a, 38a in the local area. Can. For example, the first wired remote control 36a may communicate with the communication units 37b and 38b of other indoor units 37a and 38a through the communication unit 36b of the first indoor unit 36a.

In addition, the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, 48 according to the present invention communicate with the outdoor unit 23a in the remote area through the communication units 36b, 37b, 38b of the indoor units 36a, 37a, 38a in the local area. can do.

That is, the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, 48 according to the present invention are connected to the serial communication line 1 through the communication units 36b, 37b, 38b of the indoor units 36a, 37a, 38a in the local area. And a signal having a data structure according to the TLV protocol.

In addition, by using the existing 485 modem (23b, 36b, 37b, 38b) and the serial communication line (1), it is possible to implement a communication structure having an advantage in terms of communication performance and scalability at a low cost, without additional cost input.

According to the present invention, a control environment for other units in a remote area can be built with any one wired remote control, and various functions can be applied and extended in the future.

For example, it is possible to transmit and receive signals to and from the remote control area in addition to the local control communication protocol with the existing indoor unit of the wired remote control, and to implement group control and remote individual control functions that were possible only with the existing physical installation. have.

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the communication unit 250 of the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 may further include a Wi-Fi communication module, and be connected to a server or a mobile terminal through Wi-Fi communication. Can. For example, among the plurality of wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48, the first wired remote controllers 46a, 46b include a Wi-Fi communication module 46b, such as a server 310 or a mobile terminal 320. To communicate with.

In addition, an air conditioner, a server, and/or a mobile terminal capable of being connected and communicating and operating with a signal may be referred to as an air conditioner system. For example, the air conditioner system may include an air conditioner 50 and a server 310 and/or mobile terminal 320.

On the other hand, the first wired remote control 46a, TLV through the serial communication line 1 and the indoor units (37a, 38a) other than the corresponding first indoor unit (36a) of the plurality of indoor units (36a, 37a, 38a) Signals according to the protocol can be transmitted and received.

On the other hand, in FIG. 3, the first wired remote controllers 46a and 46b are shown as being divided into the first wired remote controller 46a and the Wi-Fi communication module 46b. However, when not required in this specification, the Wi-Fi communication module 46b is used. It is not explained separately.

In some cases, the communication unit 250 of the first wired remote control 46a may be provided with a Wi-Fi communication module 46b therein or may be connected to and communicate with an external Wi-Fi communication module 46b. have.

In the case of the conventional wired remote control communication, there is a limit in diversifying functions by performing control in conjunction with only the indoor unit directly connected.

According to the present invention, the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 can communicate and control units in the air conditioner through TLV communication. In addition, various functions can be provided by communicating with and interoperating with external devices through Wi-Fi communication, thereby providing a higher level of determinism.

For example, by interworking the wired remote control (46a, 47, 48) with the server 310 or the mobile terminal 320 via Wi-Fi communication, through a variety of databases, functions and mobile terminal 320 using the server 310 It can provide remote control.

For example, the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 can receive various information from the server 310 through Wi-Fi communication, build a database using the server 310, user-customized functions, automatic updates, and the server 310 ) And various additional functions such as interlocking services with other devices are available.

In addition, the wired remote control (46a, 47, 48) and the mobile terminal 320 is interlocked through Wi-Fi communication, it is possible to monitor and control the unit through the mobile terminal 320, the wired remote control (46a, 47, 48) It is possible to provide various additional functions beyond the limits of input/output means and system resources.

The wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 receive signals from the server 310 or the mobile terminal 320 through Wi-Fi communication, and transmit control signals to each unit through TLV communication according to the received signals. have.

Further, the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 may receive status information from each unit through TLV communication and transmit status information of units to the server 310 or the mobile terminal 320 through Wi-Fi communication. .

Meanwhile, the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 may be linked to the server 310 or the mobile terminal 320 according to the user input.

Hereinafter, an example in which the first wired remote controller 46a among the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 is interlocked with the server 310 or the mobile terminal 320 through the Wi-Fi communication module 46b will be described.

When the first wired remote control 46 is connected to a wired communication with the first indoor unit 36a, through the Wi-Fi communication, the application interlocking menu interworking with the mobile terminal 320 and the Wi-Fi communication, the server 310 A server interlocking menu interlocked with may be displayed on the display unit 230.

If the application interlocking menu is selected, the first wired remote controller 46 may perform Wi-Fi pairing with the mobile terminal 320.

After pairing, the first wired remote controller 46 is interlocked with the mobile terminal 320 to control the first indoor unit 36a based on a signal received from the mobile terminal 320. Local control may be performed, or remote control that controls indoor units 37a and 38a other than the first indoor unit 36a may be performed.

Depending on the embodiment, the interworking of the first wired remote control 46 and the mobile terminal 320 may include interworking with the server 310. For example, the first wired remote controller 46 may be interlocked with the mobile terminal 320 through the server 310.

In this case, the first wired remote control 46 may also be interlocked with the server 310 and perform the local control or the remote control based on a signal received from the server 310.

On the other hand, when the server interlocking menu is selected, the first wired remote controller 46 is interlocked with the server 310 and receives the signals received from the plurality of indoor units 36a, 37a, and 38a. Can be delivered to.

In addition, the first wired remote control 46 controls the first indoor unit 36a based on a signal received from the server 310 or indoor units 37a and 38a other than the first indoor unit 36a. ) Can be controlled.

6 is a block diagram schematically showing a control configuration of a wired remote control according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 6, the wired remote control according to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 210 for controlling the overall operation, the operation unit 220 for receiving a user input, a display unit 230, a predetermined screen is displayed, the predetermined It may include a memory 240 for storing data, a communication unit 250 having one or more communication modules.

The operation unit 220 includes at least one input means such as a button, a switch, and a touch input means. For example, the operation unit 220 may be provided with a power key, a menu input key, an operation setting key, a temperature control key, an air volume key, a lock key, and the like. When a user command or predetermined data is input in response to the manipulation of the input means, the manipulation unit 220 may transmit the input data to the control unit 210.

The display 230 may output a menu screen for controlling the unit, and output at least one of letters, numbers, and images for the operation setting or operation state of the unit.

In addition, the display unit 230 outputs a user command input through the operation unit 220 on the screen, or a predetermined screen corresponding to the input user command is output, thereby setting operation and operation of the air conditioner. , It can display information about the abnormality.

The memory 240 stores a software program of a wired remote control, control data for controlling the operation of the unit, communication data for setting an address or group for communicating with other units, and data transmitted and received through the communication unit 250.

The memory 240 may be various storage devices such as ROM, RAM, EPROM, flash drive, and hard drive in hardware.

The data unit 120 includes basic data for the unit, control data for controlling operation of the unit, data input/output,

The communication unit 250, including one or more communication modules, may transmit and receive data between different units. For example, the communication unit 250 may communicate with other units using signals according to the TLV protocol.

The controller 210 may process input/output data and control data transmission/reception between units through the communication unit 250.

3 and 6, the wired remote controller according to the present invention may be connected to the corresponding indoor unit by wire, and transmit a predetermined signal to the connected indoor unit. Also, the wired remote controller may receive status information and the like from the connected indoor unit.

For example, the first wired remote controller 46a may perform local area communication with the corresponding first indoor unit 36a. According to an embodiment, the first wired remote controller 46a and the first indoor unit 36a may transmit and receive a signal having a data structure according to a TLV (Type Length Value) protocol.

In addition, according to the present invention, the wired remote controller may use a signal according to a TLV (Type Length Value) protocol in which data size is variable in communication with other units in a remote area.

For example, the first wired remote controller 46a among the plurality of wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 includes indoor units other than the corresponding first indoor unit 36a among the plurality of indoor units 36a, 37a, and 38a. Signals according to the Type Length Value (TLV) protocol may be transmitted and received through the 37a and 38a and the serial communication line 1.

In this case, the control unit 210 of the first wired remote controller 46a may generate a control signal for controlling the second indoor unit 37a among the indoor units 37a and 38a other than the first indoor unit 36a. have.

Under the control of the control unit 210, the communication unit 250 may transmit the generated control signal to the second indoor unit 37a using the TLV protocol. That is, the communication unit 250 may transmit a signal having the data structure of the TLV protocol to the second indoor unit 37a.

In addition, the control unit 210 controls the display unit 230 to display status information based on the received signal when the communication unit 250 receives a signal including status information from the second indoor unit 37a. can do.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first wired remote control 46a may include a signal including data including status information from at least one of the indoor units 37a and 38a other than the first indoor unit 36a. It may include a communication unit 250 for receiving using the TLV protocol and a display unit 230 for displaying status information based on the received signal.

On the other hand, the display unit 230 of the first wired remote control 46a, in a remote (remote) communication mode that can control the indoor units (37a, 38a) other than the first indoor unit (36a), controllable indoor units The list can be displayed.

In addition, the first wired remote control 46a may transmit a request signal according to the TLV protocol to indoor units 37a and 38a other than the first indoor unit 36a through the communication unit 250 and transmit a response signal. I can receive it.

The control unit 240 may control the communication unit 250 to broadcast a request signal according to the TLV protocol a predetermined number of times through the serial communication line 1.

The control unit 240 of the first wired remote control 46a may be controlled to enter the remote communication mode by being communicatively connected to indoor units that have transmitted a response signal.

Meanwhile, the units according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a communication unit using an RS-485 communication standard. The outdoor unit 23a and the plurality of indoor units 36a, 37a, and 38a may include communication units 23b, 36b, 37b, and 38b using RS-485 communication standards, respectively. In this case, the communication units 23b, 36b, 37b, and 38b may include a communication module supporting RS-485 communication standards or may be a 485 modem.

Meanwhile, the communication units 23b, 36b, 37b, and 38b can transmit and receive data packets according to the RS-485 communication standard. Also, the communication units 23b, 36b, 37b, and 38b can transmit and receive data packets having a data structure according to the TLV protocol according to the RS-485 communication standard.

In addition, the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, 48 according to the present invention can communicate with other indoor units in the remote area through the communication units 36b, 37b, 38b of the indoor units 36a, 37a, 38a in the local area. Can. For example, the first wired remote control 36a may communicate with the communication units 37b and 38b of other indoor units 37a and 38a through the communication unit 36b of the first indoor unit 36a.

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the communication unit 250 of the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 may further include a Wi-Fi communication module, and through the Wi-Fi communication, the server 310 or the mobile terminal It can be connected to the communication with 320.

For example, the communication unit 250 of the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 communicates with the plurality of indoor units through signals according to the TLV protocol, and the server 310 or mobile terminal through the Wi-Fi communication. It can communicate with (320).

In some cases, the communication unit 250 may be provided with a Wi-Fi communication module therein, or may be connected to and communicate with an external Wi-Fi communication module.

In addition, the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 communicate with the server 310 or the mobile terminal 320 through Wi-Fi communication, and may be interlocked to provide various additional functions.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 8 to 11 are referenced to a description related to an operation method of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention 7 to 11 are views referred to in the description of the operation method of the air conditioner operating in conjunction with the server.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 are signals other than directly connected indoor unit units and signals according to a TLV (Type Length Value) protocol through a serial communication line. It can transmit and receive, and communicate with the server 310 and the mobile terminal 320 through Wi-Fi communication.

Any one of the wired remote controls 46a, 47, and 48 may be linked to the server 310 and/or the mobile terminal 320. For example, among the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48, the first wired remote controller 46a may be linked to the server 310 and/or the mobile terminal 320 through the Wi-Fi communication module 46b. In addition, when setting the application linkage or server linkage mode of the wired remote control, it is possible to perform server linkage additional function control. A server interlocking additional function control menu screen including a menu item that can be provided in connection with a predetermined server may be displayed on any one of the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48.

Upon completion of the linkage setting, the linked wired remote controller 46a may display a user interface screen related to the server linkage additional function, and the user may select a server linkage additional function control menu in the user interface screen (S710).

When the user selects the server interlocking additional function control menu (S710), the first wired remote control 46a may display a server interlocking additional function control menu screen.

Alternatively, as the linkage setting is completed, the first wired remote controller 46a may display a server linkage additional function control menu screen.

Depending on the embodiment, screens that can be provided by the wired remote controller 46a, such as a server interlocking additional function control menu screen, may be provided through the mobile terminal 320 interlocked with any one wired remote controller 46a.

Hereinafter, a case in which the first wired remote controller 46a provides various screens in connection with the server 310 and/or the mobile terminal 320 will be described as an example.

Meanwhile, the server interlocking additional function control menu screen may include a menu item for an additional function that the air conditioner 50 can provide in conjunction with the server 310.

For example, the server interlocking additional function control menu screen includes an accessory interlocking monitoring menu item corresponding to an accessory interlocking monitoring function capable of confirming information on an accessory unit that can operate in conjunction with a predetermined unit, and a predetermined unit It may include an update menu item to check the update information and perform the update.

On the other hand, when an update menu item included in the server interlocking additional function control menu screen is selected by the user (S720), a list of units accessible by the wired remote controller 46a may be displayed (S730).

The server interlocking additional function control menu of the wired remote control 46a is selected (S710), and when the update menu is selected (S720), a list of control units accessible by the wired remote control 36a may be synchronized and displayed. For example, the control unit list may be a list of outdoor unit units, other wired remote controllers, and indoor unit units that can be controlled by the wired remote controller 36a.

In addition, the control unit list may include software (SW) checksum information of the units and part number information.

The list includes unit product checksum information for determining whether or not an update target is compared to product line information of units accessible by the wired remote control, unit software part number information that is an identification number of software, and software checksum information of the server 310. It may include.

The unit software part number information includes the part number of the software, and the part number can indicate what the corresponding software is.

The server 310 may store final checksum information for each software and manage the checksum information based on the checksum information.

The unit software checksum information may be used to determine whether the file stored in the server I310 is the same version of the file through comparison with the checksum information of the final version of the corresponding software stored in the server 310.

Meanwhile, the control unit list may include product information such as product line information and communication addresses of units. The product family information may include name information and/or classification information of the product family in which the unit is included. The list may further include unique communication address information of units that the wired remote control can access.

According to an embodiment, when the update menu is selected by the user (S720), the wired remote controller 46a may request product information from units and receive product information from the units.

Alternatively, when the update menu is selected by the user (S720), the wired remote controller 46a may request product information of units from the server and receive product information of units from the server.

Meanwhile, the user may select at least one unit to check update-related information among units included in the list.

8 and 9 show an example of a control target unit list displayed when a server interlocking additional function control menu selection of a wired remote control and a product update menu item are selected.

Referring to FIG. 8, the control target unit list 800 includes product family information 801 of units accessible by the wired remote controller, communication address information 802, unit software checksum information 803, and unit software part number information. 804 and the like.

Referring to FIG. 8, the control target unit list 800 includes first unit information 811 including information items corresponding to the first unit, and second unit information 812 including information items corresponding to the second unit. ), and third unit information 813 including information items corresponding to the third unit.

According to an embodiment, each unit information 811, 812, 813 may further include a check item for selecting a corresponding unit.

Meanwhile, the user may select at least one unit among the units included in the list (S740).

Referring to FIG. 9, a user selects a unit by checking a check item 811 for one of the units included in the list 800 and pressing an update confirmation menu item 820 It can be (S740).

When the unit is selected, the wired remote controller 36a may transmit information on the selected unit to the server 310.

The server 310 may determine whether there is update information of the corresponding unit product based on the information on the selected unit (S750).

When the user selects the control unit to be updated and selects the update confirmation menu (S740), the wired remote control 36a transmits software checksum information and part number (P.no) information of the selected control unit to the server 310 for updating. Whether it can be checked (S750)

Referring to FIG. 10, the wired remote controller 36a may transmit current information 1010 of the selected product, such as software checksum information and part number (P.no) information of the corresponding selection control unit, to the server 310.

In addition, the server 310 may compare the received current information 1010 of the selected product with the pre-stored registration information 1020. For example, the server 310 may compare checksum information of software having the same part number information in the pre-stored registration information 1020 and the current information 1010 of the selected product.

If the checksum information does not match, the server 310 may determine that the update is necessary if the checksum information does not match.

If there is an update, the wired remote controller 36a may download update information and activate an update selection/progress menu (S760). In this case, the update selection/progress menu synchronizes the update selection menu items in other cases, even if the product having the same software part number (P.no) of the same product family as the selected unit is compared to the checksum of the downloaded information. I can do it.

Meanwhile, when an update is not required, a message indicating the final version may be output (S790).

If there is update information for the selected unit (S750), the server 310 may transmit update information for the selected unit and units of the same product family as the selected unit and the wired remote controller 36a.

In addition, the server 310 may also determine update information for units of the same product family as the selected unit (S750), and transmit the related information to the wired remote controller 36a for the unit having the update information.

Accordingly, the wired remote control 36a may receive update information for the selected unit and units of the same product family as the selected unit from the server 310, and is the same as the received selected unit and the selected unit It is possible to display update information for units of the product family (S760).

The air conditioner 50 may include a plurality of units of the same product family. For example, an indoor unit of the same model and a plurality of wired remote controllers of the same model may be included. In addition, units of the same product family often use the same version of software.

Therefore, units of the same product group are often updated with the same update file. At least units of the same model can be updated with the same update file, and even units of different models can be updated with the same update file with respect to common modules and functions.

According to the present invention, even if a user checks update information for only a specific unit, it is possible to improve usability by actively providing update information for units of the same product family.

Meanwhile, when one or more update targets of update information for the selected unit and units of the same product family as the selected unit are selected, an update of the selected update target unit may be performed (S770). In addition, it is possible to simultaneously update the selected unit and a plurality of units of the selected unit and units of the same product family. That is, the update can be performed by selecting individually and all units capable of being updated.

Since the checksum information is different in the example of FIG. 10, it may be determined that an update is necessary. In this case, as shown in FIG. 11, the wired remote controller 36a may display the update information screen 1100 after receiving the related information.

Referring to FIG. 11, the update information screen 1100 is an item of information on units, such as product line information 1101, communication address information 1102, unit software checksum information 1103, unit software part number information 1104, and the like. It may include.

In addition, on the update information screen 1100, selection items 1111 and 1121 and update progress items 1140 that can select the first unit 1110 and the second unit 1120 as update targets, respectively, may be activated and output. have.

After the user selects at least one of the selection items 1111 and 1121, the user may press the update progress item 1140 to proceed with the update.

On the other hand, the update information screen 1100 of FIG. 11 may be displayed smoothly while some items are added and replaced in the control target unit list 800 of FIGS. 8 and 9.

Upon completion of the update, the wired remote controller 36a may update the control unit information list and output an update completion message (S780). Upon completion of the update, the wired remote controller 36a may update the checksum information in the control unit information list with the output of the update completion message and end the update operation.

Meanwhile, when one or more update targets of update information for the selected unit and units of the same product family as the selected unit are selected, the wired remote controller 36a may transmit the selected update target information to the server 310. . Here, the information on the selected unit may include the unit software part number information and the unit software checksum information.

According to an embodiment, the server 310 may communicate directly with the selected update target unit to deliver an update file and perform an update of the selected update target unit (S770).

In this case, the wired remote controller 36a may receive update completion information from the server 310 and display update completion information (S780).

Alternatively, the wired remote controller 36a may perform an update of the selected update target unit by receiving an update file from the server 310 and transmitting the update file to the selected update target unit (S770).

In this case, the wired remote controller 36a may receive update completion information from the selected update target and display update completion information (S780).

Accordingly, the user can confirm whether the update has been completed.

On the other hand, it is more effective to use a signal according to the TLV (Type Length Value) protocol, which can easily vary the length of the signal data for transmission and reception of the update file. The update file has a larger capacity than a normal signal such as a signal including status information and a control signal. Therefore, it may be more preferable to use TLV (Type Length Value) communication for transmission of the update file. Accordingly, a signal according to the Type Length Value (TLV) protocol used by the units for communication may be changed to have a longer length when transmitting an update file than a length when transmitting data including various information.

In the past, updating using a fixed-length data of 20 bytes took a long time. However, according to the present invention, by utilizing the advantage of easy to change the data length of the TLV communication, it is possible to transmit data long when updating, and data that is usually short.

If there is no update information for the selected unit (S750), the server 310 may receive a response signal including the content that there is no update information or the content that the current version is the final version with the wired remote control 36a. .

Even in this case, the server 310 may also determine update information for units of the same product family as the selected unit (S750), and transmit the related information to the wired remote controller 36a for the unit with the update information. .

Meanwhile, the wired remote controller 36a may output a message indicating that the selected unit is using the software of the last updated version (S790).

Accordingly, the user can confirm that there is no need to update the selected unit and/or units of the same product line as the selected unit.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, individual and total software (SW) updates of units connected to a wired remote control without physical equipment and dismantling of units in an air conditioner are possible.

In addition, if an update of the product software is required or a quality response is made, the software can be quickly and remotely updated without a separate service visit.

12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11, wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 according to an embodiment of the present invention include units other than the indoor units directly connected to them, and through a serial communication line, TLV (Type) Length Value) Signals according to the protocol can be transmitted and received.

Further, the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 may communicate with the server 310, the mobile terminal 320, and the like through Wi-Fi communication.

For example, a predetermined wired remote controller 46a among the wired remote controllers 46a, 47, and 48 may be linked to the server 310 and/or the mobile terminal 320 through the Wi-Fi communication module 46b. In addition, when setting the application linkage or server linkage mode of the wired remote control, it is possible to perform server linkage additional function control.

In accordance with the interworking with the server 310, the wired remote controller 46a may display a user interface screen related to the server interlocking additional function. For example, the wired remote controller 46a may display a server interlocking additional function control menu screen (S1210).

Meanwhile, the server interlocking additional function control menu screen may include a menu item for an additional function that the air conditioner 50 can provide in conjunction with the server 310.

For example, the server interlocking additional function control menu screen includes an accessory interlocking monitoring menu item corresponding to an accessory interlocking monitoring function capable of confirming information on an accessory unit that can operate in conjunction with a predetermined unit, and a predetermined unit It may include an update menu item to check the update information and perform the update.

On the other hand, when an update menu item included in the server interlocking additional function control menu screen is selected by the user (S1220), a list of unit information accessible by the wired remote controller 46a may be displayed (S1225).

Here, the unit information list is a list of control units that can be accessed by the wired remote controller 36a described above, and may be a list of outdoor unit units, other wired remote controllers, and indoor unit units that can be controlled by the wired remote controller 36a.

The list includes unit product checksum information for determining whether or not an update target is compared to product line information of units accessible by the wired remote control, unit software part number information that is an identification number of software, and software checksum information of the server 310. It may include. The list may further include unique communication address information of units that the wired remote control can access.

The server 310 may store final checksum information for each software and manage the checksum information based on the checksum information.

The unit software checksum information may be used to determine whether the file stored in the server I310 is the same version of the file through comparison with the checksum information of the final version of the corresponding software stored in the server 310.

Meanwhile, the user may select at least one unit among the units included in the list (S1230).

When the unit is selected (S1230), the wired remote controller 36a may transmit information on the selected unit to the server 310 (S1235). Here, the information on the selected unit may include software checksum information and part number (P.no) information of the corresponding selection control unit.

Meanwhile, the server 310 may determine whether there is update information of the corresponding unit product based on the information on the selected unit.

In addition, the server 310 may compare information on the selected unit and pre-stored registration information. For example, the server 310 may compare the received information with checksum information of software having the same part number information in pre-stored registration information.

If the checksum information does not match, the server 310 may determine that the update is necessary if the checksum information does not match.

The wired remote control 36a may receive update information based on the determination result from the server 310 (S1240).

If there is update information for the selected unit, the wired remote controller 36a may receive update information for the selected unit and units of the same product family as the selected unit from the server 310.

If there is no update information for the selected unit, the wired remote controller 36a may receive, from the server 310, update information including a message indicating that the final update version is not required.

The wired remote control 36a may receive update information for the selected unit and units of the same product family as the selected unit from the server 310 (S1240), and the received selected unit and the selected unit It is possible to display update information for units of the same product family (S1250).

Meanwhile, when one or more update targets of update information for the selected unit and units of the same product family as the selected unit are selected (S1255), an update of the selected update target unit may be performed (S1260).

According to an embodiment, when an update target is selected (S1255), the wired remote controller 36a may transmit information (update target information) of the selected update target unit to the server 310 (S1260).

In this case, the server 310 may directly communicate with an update target unit according to the received update target information, deliver an update file, and perform an update of the selected update target unit.

After the update is completed, the server 310 may transmit update completion information to the wired remote controller 36a.

Accordingly, the wired remote controller 36a may receive update completion information from the server 310 (S1270) and display update completion information (S1280).

Alternatively, the wired remote controller 36a may perform an update of the selected update target unit by receiving the update file from the server 310 and transmitting the update file to the selected update target unit.

In this case, the wired remote controller 36a may receive update completion information from the selected update target (S1270) and display update completion information (S1280).

Accordingly, the user can check whether the update has been completed.

On the other hand, it is more effective to use a signal according to the TLV (Type Length Value) protocol, which can easily vary the length of the signal data, for transmission and reception of the update file. The update file has a larger capacity than a normal signal such as a signal including status information and a control signal. Therefore, it may be more preferable to use TLV (Type Length Value) communication for transmission of the update file. Accordingly, a signal according to the Type Length Value (TLV) protocol used by the units for communication may be changed to have a longer length when transmitting an update file than a length when transmitting data including various information.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a wired remote control can receive various information from a server through Wi-Fi communication, and control using a mobile terminal is possible. Accordingly, it is possible to diversify and upgrade the functions and services that can be provided.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, in a one-to-one communication between an existing wired remote controller and an indoor unit, communication between any one wired remote controller and all units in the air conditioner is possible, and using Wi-Fi communication, between the wired remote controller and the server Communication is also possible. Therefore, the communication and control area can be expanded, and multiple update functions of the control units can be provided.

In addition, without disassembly and physical equipment of the product, multiple software updates of units such as interlocked indoor units, other wired remote controls, and outdoor units are possible through one wired remote control. In particular, even a unit such as a wired remote control, which has been cumbersome and inconvenient to update, can easily use the latest function after software update.

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to improve ease of use by conveniently checking whether or not various units in the air conditioner need to be updated by any one wired remote controller.

In addition, according to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to improve ease of use by updating several units at once.

Further, according to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, a communication structure having advantages in terms of communication performance and scalability can be implemented at low cost.

The air conditioner according to the present invention is not limited to the configuration and method of the above-described embodiments, and the above embodiments are selectively combined with all or part of each embodiment so that various modifications can be made. It may be configured.

On the other hand, the operation method of the air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to implement the processor-readable code on a recording medium readable by the processor. The processor-readable recording medium includes all types of recording devices in which data that can be read by the processor are stored. Examples of the recording medium that can be read by the processor include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage device, etc., and include those implemented in the form of carrier waves such as transmission through the Internet. . In addition, the processor-readable recording medium may be distributed over a networked computer system so that the processor-readable code is stored and executed in a distributed manner.

In addition, although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and the technical field to which the present invention pertains without departing from the gist of the present invention claimed in the claims. In addition, various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art, and these modifications should not be individually understood from the technical idea or prospect of the present invention.

23a: outdoor unit
36a, 37a, 38a: indoor unit
46a, 47, 48: wired remote control

Claims (9)

Displaying a server interlocking additional function control menu screen including a menu item that can be provided in conjunction with a predetermined server on any one of the wired remote controllers;
Displaying a list of units accessible by the wired remote control when an update menu item included in the server interlocking additional function control menu screen is selected;
When any one of the units included in the list is selected, the wired remote control transmitting information on the selected unit to a server;
The wired remote control receiving update information on the selected unit and units of the same product family as the selected unit from the server; And,
Includes; the wired remote control displaying the update information for the received unit and the selected unit and the unit of the same product family;
The wired remote control,
It operates in a local communication mode capable of controlling a directly connected indoor unit and a remote communication mode capable of controlling indoor units other than the directly connected indoor unit, and in the remote communication mode, the directly connected indoor unit Method of operating the air conditioner, characterized in that for transmitting and receiving a signal in accordance with the TLV (Type Length Value) protocol, through the communication unit, the serial communication line, the communication unit of the directly connected indoor unit. According to claim 1,
Further comprising the step of transmitting the selected update target information to the server, when one or more update targets of the selected unit and the update information for the selected unit and units of the same product family are selected. How it works. According to claim 2,
The wired remote control receiving update completion information from the server;
And displaying, by the wired remote controller, the update completion information. According to claim 2,
The wired remote control receiving an update file from the server;
The wired remote control transmitting the update file to the selected update target;
The wired remote control receiving update completion information from the selected update target;
And displaying, by the wired remote controller, the update completion information. delete According to claim 1,
The signal according to the TLV (Type Length Value) protocol, the operation method of the air conditioner characterized in that the length when transmitting the update file is longer than the length when transmitting data including various information. According to claim 1,
The list includes unit software checksum information for determining whether or not an update target is compared to product family information of units accessible by the wired remote controller, unit software part number information that is an identification number of software, and software checksum information of a server. Method of operation of the air conditioner, characterized in that. The method of claim 7,
The list, the method of operating the air conditioner further comprises a unique communication address information of the units that the wired remote control can access. The method of claim 7,
The information on the selected unit, the operation method of the air conditioner, characterized in that it includes the unit software part number information and the unit software checksum information.

Images