KR20040065009A - Air-conditioning system controlled by telephone - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A telephone control air conditioner system is provided to remotely control a plurality of air conditioners at low cost, and secure the reliability of transmitting and receiving signals by self-processing parallel control of receiving modules embedded in plural air conditioners. CONSTITUTION: Plural air conditioners(100) are installed in rooms respectively for executing air conditioning. Receiving modules(200) are installed at plural air conditioners respectively, and are connected with a telephone network to control operations of plural air conditioners by transmitting a control command received through the telephone network. A transmitter(300) receives the control command based on a control protocol to partially or entirely control the air conditioners, and transmits the control command through the telephone network.

Description

Air-conditioning system controlled by telephone}

The present invention relates to a telephone control air conditioner system, and more particularly, to define a control protocol for inputting and confirming a control command so that various functions of the air conditioner can be performed through a telephone or a computer device. The present invention relates to a telephone control air conditioner system capable of determining whether or not a computer device and transmitting a control result response signal in a manner suitable for the device.

Hereinafter, an air conditioner control system using a telephone network of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In general, an air conditioner is composed of an outdoor unit and an indoor unit, and the refrigerant circulating in the outdoor unit and the indoor unit forms a cooling cycle of compression, condensation, expansion, and evaporation, such that the indoor air is cooled. On the contrary, as the heating cycle is formed, the function of the air conditioner is gradually expanded to perform the cooling / heating function of the indoor air regardless of the season, such as the development of a heat pump type air conditioner that performs the heating function of the room. Accordingly, the number and spread of the air conditioners are gradually increasing, such as air conditioners are individually installed in each office or room in a building.

Recently developed home network system connects a plurality of home appliances through a network network built in a building, and uses a home appliance that is in charge of a server function as a home server or another home appliance connected to the network using a dedicated home server. Central control of the instrument. In addition, as a remote controller connects to the home server through an external internet network, a control command can be input to home appliances in a building or the state information of the home appliances can be grasped.

However, such a home network system requires a high-speed Internet network and a prerequisite that a network such as a LAN network must be separately installed in a home or a building, and thus requires a high cost for initial construction. There is a limitation that can not be directly applied to large buildings or apartments.

In order to overcome this limitation, a system for controlling an air conditioner using an existing public switched telephone network has been developed. The conventional telephone control air conditioner system is illustrated in FIG. 1.

As the air conditioner (AC) is connected to the telephone terminal, the remote controller operates the telephone (T) to make a phone call in the building or home where the air conditioner is installed and inputs a control command, and the control command establishes a public switched telephone network (TN). It is then sent to the air conditioner. However, since the telephone T includes a total of twelve button portions consisting of a number button of 0 to 9 and a special character button of * and #, the controller operates only the button portion of the telephone T to turn on / off or the like. There is a disadvantage that detailed control is impossible because only a limited control command can be input. Accordingly, since the various functions of the air conditioner cannot be controlled using the phone T, there is a disadvantage in that the use is inconvenient and the use range is limited.

In addition, since a single air conditioner (AC) is conventionally connected to one telephone number, there is a problem in that a plurality of air conditioners installed in each room of a home using one telephone number cannot be controlled by operating a remote telephone.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the object of which is to input a control command for controlling various functions to some or all of the air conditioner to be controlled by operating a computer device accessible to a telephone or telephone network Provides a protocol for controlling the air conditioner so that the control status data of the air conditioner is externally output as a voice signal or a video signal according to the type of the device in which the control command is input. To provide an air conditioning system.

1 is a conventional telephone control air conditioning system,

2 is a block diagram of a telephone control air conditioner system of the present invention;

3 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the telephone control air conditioner system of the present invention;

4 is an internal configuration diagram of a receiving module of the telephone control air conditioner system of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols on main parts of the drawings>

100: a plurality of air conditioning 200: receiving module unit

300: transmitter 310: telephone

320: computer device 210: data receiving unit

220: packet generation unit 230: ID determination unit

240: air conditioner interface unit

According to a feature of the telephone control air conditioner system according to the present invention for solving the above problems, a plurality of air conditioners (100) installed in each room to perform air conditioning and connected to the telephone network to control commands transmitted through the telephone network Receive module unit 200 embedded in each of the plurality of air conditioners to control operation according to transmission to the plurality of air conditioners, and a control command based on a control protocol based on a control protocol such that some of the plurality of air conditioners are selected or all controlled. And, it characterized in that it comprises a transmitter 300 for transmitting the control command over the telephone network.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 2 is a configuration diagram of the telephone control air conditioner system of the present invention.

The present invention is an invention for controlling a plurality of air conditioners installed in a building through a telephone network, the plurality of air conditioners 100 installed in each room for air conditioning through the telephone line as it is physically connected to one telephone line, that is, one telephone line Control commands can be received and different unique IDs can be assigned for each air conditioner classification. Since the telephone line terminal is connected to a public switched telephone network (PSTN), the remote controller operates the telephone 310 or the computer device 320 to make a call to the telephone number and to control the unique air conditioner (AC). Control command can be entered by specifying ID.

The telephone network (TN) is a telephone network for a general subscribing telephone service that provides voice and data exchange services to a plurality of subscribers through an exchange office, and the local switch is switched several times depending on the telephone number dialed by the caller. Dial the phone number to the phone.

A control command based on a control protocol is input so that some of the plurality of air conditioners 100 are selected or fully controlled, and the transmitter 300 for transmitting the control command through the telephone network is a telephone 310 or a computer device. The phone 310 includes a plurality of buttons for generating a dual tone multi-frequency signal, and the remote controller may input a control command of the air conditioner as the plurality of buttons are operated.

The computer device 320 is a device having a built-in modem that can be connected to the telephone network (TN), and may be configured as a general personal computer, a notebook computer, a PDA, etc., and inputs a control command of the plurality of air conditioners 100. A control program implemented with a user environment interface (GUI) for outputting status information of the plurality of air conditioners is embedded.

Since the control command input through the transmitter 300 is based on a control protocol including transmitter identification information, operation / stop selection, operation mode selection, temperature setting, and unique ID data of the air conditioner to be controlled, various functions of the air conditioner are included. Can be controlled.

Table 1 shows control protocols input through the telephone, and Table 2 shows control protocols input through the computer equipment.

Application example 0 8 0 One 8 One division Transmitter Classification Information Run / Stop Selection Car mode selection Temperature setting Temperature setting Unique ID meaning Phone: 0 Operation: 8 Stop: 9 Cooling: 0 Dehumidification: 1 Blow: 2 Automatic: 3 Heating: 4 12-digit temperature Day temperature Specify the air conditioner you want to control

7 6 5 4 3 2 One 0 1 Byte Transmitter Classification Information Air Conditioner Unique ID 2 Byte Run / Stop Air volume (weak / medium / strong / automatic) Operation mode (cooling / dehumidifying / blowing / heating / automatic) lock action 3 Byte Wind Direction (Auto / Normal) X X X Set temperature (0 ~ 15) 4 Byte Indoor set temperature (0 ~ 60) 5 Byte Error code 6 Byte Checksum

Referring to Table 1, when controlling an air conditioner by operating a telephone, the protocol for controlling a telephone consists of 6 digits, the first digit confirms that the transmitter is a telephone. After confirmation of the transmitter, the air conditioner determines the response method so that the control result is automatically answered by the voice signal.

The second digit selects the run / stop function of the air conditioner, and the third digit selects the operation mode of the air conditioner.

The fourth and fifth digits represent the desired temperature of the air conditioner, which is an example of setting a range of approximately 15 to 30 degrees. The sixth digit is for specifying a unique ID given to each air conditioner when a plurality of air conditioners are installed. Through the telephone control protocol, it is possible to control various functions such as the operation mode, the set temperature, the selection of the air conditioner to be controlled, as well as the operation / stop of the air conditioner from a remote location.

When controlling the air conditioner by operating a computer device with reference to Table 2, the protocol for computer control will be described as follows.

The computer control protocol consists of six bytes, the first four bits confirming that the transmitter is a computer. After confirmation of the transmitter, the air conditioner transmits control result data to be displayed. The next 4 bits represent the unique ID of the air conditioner to be controlled.

The second byte indicates the operation status, air volume, operation mode, lock and operation status of the product.

The third byte indicates the wind direction and set temperature, and the fourth byte indicates the current room temperature.

The fifth byte is an error code, and the last byte is a checksum byte to finally check whether there is an error on the entire data.

High frequency generation (Hz) 1209 1336 1447 1633 Low frequency generation (Hz) 697 One 2 3 A 770 4 5 6 B 852 7 8 9 C 941 * 0 # D

Table 3 shows the Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF), which is a unique tone generated by pressing the number buttons on the phone. The DTMF tones consist of a combination of four frequencies from the high frequency group and four frequencies from the low frequency group. However, the actual telephone is composed of 12 buttons as shown in Table 3, and four tones corresponding to A, B, C, and D among DTMF arrays cannot be generated. Therefore, the computer device 320 can distinguish whether the transmitter is a phone or a computer device by embedding the tones of A, B, C, and D in the transmitter classification information.

As such, the transmitter identification information is embedded in the first bit of the unit control command packet when the transmitter 300 is the telephone 310, and when the transmitter 300 is the computer device 320, the character is represented. The receiving module unit 200 of the air conditioner receiving the unit control command packet by being embedded in the first bit of the unit control command packet can identify the transmitting side as it checks the tone embedded in the transmitter identification information.

The receiving module unit 200 receives a control command embedded in each of the plurality of air conditioners 100 and transmitted through the telephone network TN, and transmits the control command to the plurality of air conditioners. Therefore, the receiving module unit 200 is set to recognize a unique ID given to distinguish each of the air conditioners. In addition, the receiving module unit 200 receives the state information of the air conditioner operationally controlled according to the control command from the air conditioner (AC) and transmits it to the transmitter (300).

Referring to the steps of controlling a plurality of air conditioners connected to one telephone number by using the telephone control air conditioner system of the present invention configured as described above. For this purpose, referring to Figure 3, will be described by arbitrarily five air conditioners as an example.

When the control command ID # 0 for controlling the air conditioner whose ID is 0 is unit control command data, the size of the total control commands ID # 0 to ID # 4 transmitted to the plurality of air conditioners is the unit control command data. Has a data size multiplied by the number of air conditioners to be controlled.

When the control command is transmitted from the transmitter 300 to control the plurality of air conditioners as described above, the control command is sequentially transmitted through the telephone network TN, and the receiving module unit 200 receives the control command. After that, it is divided into 6 bytes and divided into 5 unit control command data having each ID. Since the first byte of each of the divided six bytes of data contains transmitter identification information, the reception module 200 determines whether the transmitter 300 is a phone 310 or the computer device 320 through the transmitter identification information. Identify and recognize unique ID of air conditioner.

If the unique ID included in the unit control command data and the unique ID recognized by the receiving module unit 200 correspond to each other, the unit control command data is transmitted to the air conditioner AC to operate the air conditioner according to a control command. , The remaining unit control command data is discarded.

To this end, the receiving module unit 200 is a unit corresponding to each air conditioner and the data receiving unit 210 for continuously receiving the control command transmitted through the telephone network (TN), and the entire control command received from the data receiving unit Packet generation unit 220 for generating one or more unit control command packets by dividing the control command data, and ID identification for discriminating transmitter identification information and a unique ID embedded in the one or more unit control command packets generated by the packet generation unit. The controller 230 selects a unit control command packet in which the unique ID set internally and the unique ID determined by the ID determination unit match, and transmits the unit control command packet to the air conditioner so that the control operation is performed. It is configured to include an air conditioner interface unit 240 for deleting the control command packet. The configuration of the receiving module unit 200 is illustrated in FIG. 4.

The telephone control air conditioner system of the present invention configured as described above is economical because it does not need to install a separate network because it uses a telephone network constructed in a building, and inputs a control command to a remote air conditioner using a telephone or a computer device in parallel. In addition, according to the type of the transmitter for inputting the control command, the result of the control operation of the air conditioner is externally output as a voice signal or a video signal to provide user convenience, and a receiver module built in each of the plurality of air conditioners Since the parallel control can be processed, the reliability of signal transmission and reception is guaranteed.

Claims (10)

A plurality of air conditioners installed in each room to perform air conditioning, and a reception module unit embedded in each of the plurality of air conditioners so as to be controlled in operation by transmitting control commands transmitted through the telephone network to the plurality of air conditioners connected to a telephone network; ; And a transmitter for inputting a control command based on a control protocol so that some of the plurality of air conditioners are selected or fully controlled, and including a transmitter for transmitting the control command through the telephone network. The method of claim 1, Each of the plurality of air conditioners can be distinguished from each other by being given a unique ID, And the receiving module unit is set to recognize a unique ID given to the corresponding air conditioner. The method of claim 2, The control command is a telephone control air conditioner system comprising a unique ID of the air conditioner to be controlled, transmitter identification information, operation / stop selection, operation mode selection, temperature setting and control. The method of claim 1, The transmitter is a telephone control air conditioning system, characterized in that consisting of a computer device connected to the modem for transmitting and receiving signals over a telephone or telephone network consisting of a plurality of buttons for generating a dual tone multi-frequency signal. The method of claim 4, wherein The computer device is a telephone control air conditioning system, it characterized in that the control program implemented as a user environment interface capable of monitoring the status of the plurality of air conditioners and input control commands. The method of claim 1, And the receiving module unit is configured to receive state information of the air conditioner, which is operation controlled according to the control command, from the air conditioner and transmit the state information to the transmitter. The method of claim 3, wherein The control command is composed of unit control command data for controlling one air conditioner and a data size multiplied by the number of air conditioners to be controlled. And the control command is sequentially transmitted through the telephone network. The method of claim 6, The receiving module unit includes a data receiving unit for continuously receiving a control command transmitted through the telephone network; A packet generation unit generating a unit control command packet by dividing the control command received by the data receiving unit into unit control command data corresponding to each air conditioner; An identification unit for discriminating transmitter identification information and a unique ID embedded in the unit control command packet generated by the packet generation unit; And an air conditioner interface unit for transmitting the unit control command packet to an air conditioner so that a control operation is performed according to a unit control command packet in which the unique ID set internally and the unique ID determined by the ID determination unit match. Telephone control air conditioning system. The method of claim 8, The transmitter identification information is configured to embed a number in the first bit of the unit control command packet when the transmitter is a telephone, and embed a character in the first bit of the unit control command packet when the transmitter is a computer device. Featuring a telephone controlled air conditioning system. The method of claim 9, According to the transmitter identification information, if the transmitter is a telephone, the status information of the air conditioner is output as an audio signal through an automatic response signal (ARS). If the transmitter is a computer device, the status information of the air conditioner is output as a display signal Telephone control air conditioning system, characterized in that configured to.