KR20040100278A - Multi-compressor for air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for controlling multi compressors for an air conditioner is provided to control simultaneous or single operation mode of the compressors properly to reduce power consumption and keep a pleasant room temperature without deviation. CONSTITUTION: A method for controlling multi compressors for an air conditioner includes the steps of determining initial operation states of the multi compressors and room loads according to correlation between atmospheric temperature and predetermined reference temperature section(S1-S4). The multi compressors are driven simultaneously on the basis of the determined room load. If operation times of the simultaneously operating multi compressors become decreased, one of the compressors having a relatively large capacity is driven alone(S8). If the operation time of the compressor driven alone becomes decreased, operation of the compressor is stopped and one of the compressors having a relatively small capacity is driven alone(S9,S10).

Description

Multi compressor control method for air conditioner {Multi-compressor for air conditioner}

The present invention relates to a multi-compressor control method for an air conditioner, and more particularly, by appropriately controlling the simultaneous operation and the single operation state of the multi-compressor to reduce the unnecessary power consumption and maintain the room at a comfortable temperature without deviation. It relates to a multi-compressor control method for an air conditioner.

As is well known, the air conditioner is classified into a wall-mounted air conditioner and a stand-type air conditioner according to an installation method, and according to the structure, an air conditioner is divided into an integrated air conditioner provided with an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, and a separate air conditioner that separates an indoor unit and an outdoor unit separately.

Among these air conditioners, a diagram of an air conditioner in which the indoor unit and the outdoor unit are separately separated from the stand-type air conditioner, and a view related to the refrigeration cycle is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown, a typical air conditioner is composed of an outdoor unit 20 installed outdoors, and an indoor unit 10 connected to the outdoor unit 20 by a refrigerant pipe 19 and disposed indoors to cool indoor air. .

The outdoor unit 20 has an exterior and an outdoor casing 21 having a through portion 21a formed on a plate surface, a compressor 22 provided in the outdoor casing 21 for compressing a refrigerant, and condensing the compressed refrigerant. And a cooling fan (not shown) for cooling the high heat generated by the compressor 22 and the first heat exchanger 23.

The indoor unit 10 has an outer casing 11 having a predetermined device component mounted therein, the front of which is opened, and a front cover 12 coupled to the front of the outer casing 11.

An inlet 13 for sucking air in the room is formed in the lower region of the front cover 12, and an outlet for discharging heat exchanged cold air in the upper region of the front cover 12 opposite to the inlet 13. 14) is formed.

Further, an operation panel 15 is provided between the suction port 13 and the discharge port 14 for operating and stopping the air conditioner, the strength and blowing direction of the heat exchanged air, and the operation of the discharge port shutter (not shown).

In the outer casing 11 of the indoor unit 10, as shown in FIG. 2, a second heat exchanger 16 is provided for contacting and exchanging heat with the sucked air.

The second heat exchanger 16 is inclined obliquely to increase the contact area with air.

Although not shown in the upper portion of the second heat exchanger 16, a blower that is sucked into the outer casing 11 through the inlet 13 and guides the heat exchanged by the second heat exchanger 16 upwards. It is prepared.

At this time, the blower is employed as a cross-flow fan rather than an axial flow type that is employed as a conventional fan, and is mounted by a predetermined fan casing.

Thus, when the hot air in the room is introduced into the outer casing 11 through the inlet 13 during the operation of the compressor 22, the introduced air is transferred to the second heat exchanger 16 to be heat exchanged, The heat-exchanged cold air is discharged back into the room through the discharge port 14 so that the temperature of the room may be lowered.

In the case of such an air conditioner, since the single compressor 22 is driven while being turned on and off, the compressor 22 is not only burned out easily but also by the repeated on / off operation of the compressor 22. The power consumption is increased while the heat exchange efficiency is disadvantageous.

Therefore, in addition to this type of air conditioner, a multi-compressor (not shown) may be employed to control the multi-compressor appropriately to suppress the hunting shape that may appear in the air conditioner, to reduce the cost, and to increase the heat exchange efficiency. The applicant has filed a patent application (patent application No. 2003-18681, filed on March 26, 2003).

The gist of the previously filed technology is that the simultaneous operation, the alternating operation and the single operation are selected based on the tendency according to the time difference when the multi-compressor is operated so that the air conditioner can be efficiently operated.

However, insisting on only the above-described method, for example, after the first compressor and the second compressor having a smaller capacity compared to the first compressor to operate simultaneously, the first and second compressors alternately Even if it goes to the operating stage, the first and second compressors continue to start once.

Then, the operation of the first compressor having a relatively large capacity is stopped and only the second compressor is operated under constant conditions, and the independent operation of only the second compressor is performed after the constant alternating operation condition is satisfied.

In this case, despite the alternating operation step, the first and second compressors are operated at the same time, resulting in a loss of power consumption.

Therefore, after the simultaneous operation of the multi-compressor is completed, it is necessary to develop a technology that can selectively operate the multi-compressor to reduce the consumption of unnecessary power consumption and maintain the room at a comfortable temperature without deviation.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to control the simultaneous and single operation state of the multi-compressor appropriately to reduce the consumption of unnecessary power consumption, while keeping the room comfortable without temperature. It is to provide a multi-compressor control method for an air conditioner to be maintained as.

1 is a perspective view of a conventional air conditioner,

2 is a view schematically showing a refrigeration cycle employed in the air conditioner shown in FIG.

3 is a view schematically showing a refrigeration cycle for an air conditioner according to the present invention;

4 is a control algorithm of a multi-compressor according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10: indoor unit 11: outer casing

12: front cover 13: inlet

14 discharge port 15 operation panel

16: second heat exchanger 20: outdoor unit

22a, 22b: first and second compressors 23: first heat exchanger

The present invention for achieving the above object comprises the steps of determining the initial starting state and the indoor load of the multi-compressor according to the mutual relationship between the outdoor temperature and the predetermined reference temperature section; Simultaneously operating the multi-compressors based on the determined indoor load; Driving only one of the compressors having a larger capacity when the operation time of the multi-compressors simultaneously running decreases; It is achieved by providing a multi-compressor control method for an air conditioner comprising the step of stopping the operation and the sole operation of the relatively small compressor when the operating time of the compressor running alone appears to decrease.

Here, when only one compressor of the multi-compressors runs alone, if the operation time does not tend to decrease, the feedback is fed back to a higher level.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the same reference numerals will be given to the same components as those of FIGS. 1 and 2 described above.

3 is a view schematically showing a refrigeration cycle for an air conditioner according to the present invention, showing a state in which the first compressor 22a and the second compressor 22b are disclosed.

For reference, in the above description of FIG. 2, reference numeral 22 is merely referred to as a compressor, but in the description of the present embodiment, it will be described as a first compressor 22a.

The multi-compressor will be described as two first and second compressors.

As shown in FIG. 3, the air conditioner according to the present invention is connected to the outdoor unit 20 by the outdoor unit 20 installed outdoors and the refrigerant pipe 19 and disposed indoors, as in the conventional art, to provide indoor air. It consists of the indoor unit 10 to cool.

In the outdoor unit 20, multi-type first and second compressors 22a and 22b for compressing a refrigerant are provided, and the compressed refrigerant is condensed around the first and second compressors 22a and 22b. The first heat exchanger 23 is mounted.

As in the present invention, when the multi-type first and second compressors 22a and 22b are present, the first and second compressors 22a and 22b may employ the same capacities or different capacities. In the following description, it is assumed that the capacity of the second compressor 22b is relatively smaller than that of the first compressor 22a.

The indoor unit 10 is provided with a second heat exchanger 16 which is inclined obliquely to increase the contact area with the sucked air and heat exchanges with the sucked air.

The second heat exchanger 16, the first heat exchanger 23, and the first and second compressors 22a and 22b are connected to each other to form a refrigeration cycle.

The control method for a multi-compressor for an air conditioner according to the present invention includes determining an initial starting state and an indoor load of the first and second compressors 22a and 22b according to a mutual relationship between an outdoor temperature and a predetermined reference temperature section. When the first and second compressors 22a and 22b are operated simultaneously based on the indoor load, and the operating time of the first and second compressors 22a and 22b which are simultaneously operated tends to decrease. The step of driving only the first compressor 22a having a large capacity alone, and when the operation time of the first compressor 22a tends to decrease, the operation of the first compressor 22a is stopped and the second relatively smaller capacity is used. Comprising a step of operating the compressor (22b) alone.

If the operation time of the second compressor 22b alone does not show a tendency to decrease, the process goes to a higher stage, where the first compressor 22a, which is an upper stage, also tends to decrease. If it is not shown, the feedback back to the simultaneous operation of the first and second compressors (22a, 22b).

Then, the multi-compressor control method according to the present invention will be described by way of example with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 4, T _O denotes an outdoor temperature, ΔT denotes a difference between an indoor temperature and a desired temperature, and T _{n (A + B)} denotes a simultaneous operation time of the first and second compressors 22a and 22b, t _{n ( A)} is the operating time of the first compressor 22a, t _sum1 is the sum of t _{n (A → B)} , t _{n (B)} is the operating time of the second compressor 22b, and t _sum2 is t _{n (B)} Represents the sum of.

First, during the cooling operation, the outdoor temperature is determined, and it is determined whether the outdoor temperature is within a predetermined reference temperature section (for example, more than 10 ° C and less than 35 ° C) (S1).

If the outdoor temperature is below the minimum temperature (10 ° C.) (S2), the first and second compressors 22a and 22b cannot be operated (S2 ').

However, if the outdoor temperature is above the maximum temperature (35 DEG C) (S3), the first and second compressors 22a and 22b are operated simultaneously (S3 '), and the indoor temperature is "desired temperature -1 DEG C (this is desired). Means a temperature less than 1 ° C.), and the first and second compressors 22a and 22b are reset to the initial stage.

If the outdoor temperature is within a predetermined reference temperature range (eg, more than 10 ° C and less than 35 ° C), whether the difference between the room temperature and the desired temperature is above the predetermined reference temperature value (eg, 2 ° C) or not. Determine the indoor load according to (S4).

If the difference between the room temperature and the desired temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference temperature value (2 ° C), both the first and second compressors 22a and 22b simultaneously operate until the room temperature reaches the desired temperature -1 ° C. .

If the room temperature reaches the " desirable temperature -1 deg. C ", the first and second compressors 22a and 22b are stopped and the first operating time of the first and second compressors 22a and 22b is stored ( S5).

At this time, when the first operation time of the stored first and second compressors 22a and 22b takes more than a predetermined reference time (for example, 15 minutes) (S6), the process proceeds to step S7, and if not, to step S15. Enter.

In step S7, the simultaneous operation time of the first and second compressors 22a and 22b is measured in proportion to a predetermined number of times (S7 ', S7 "), and the simultaneous operation of the first and second compressors 22a and 22b is performed. If the time tends to decrease, it is switched to the single operation stage of the first compressor 22a (S8), otherwise, the simultaneous operation time of the first and second compressors 22a and 22b is proportional to a certain number of times ( S7 ', S7 ") continue the measurement step.

In a state in which the first compressor 22a operates alone, when the operating time of the first compressor 22a tends to decrease (S9), the operation of the first compressor 22a is stopped and the capacity is relatively small. The second compressor 22b enters into a single operation (S10).

However, in step S9, not only does the driving time of the first compressor 22a not decrease, but the sum of t _{n (A → B)} is a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes) or t _{n ( When} the state of _{A → B} occurs continuously (for example, two or more times) (S12), the single compressor 22a is kept in a single operation state.

In the state where the second compressor 22b operates alone, when the operating time of the second compressor 22b, that is _, the sum of t _{n (B)} takes more than a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes) (S11), The feedback is fed back to the single compressor operation stage of the first compressor 22a or fed back to the initial stage.

However, if the operation time of the second compressor 22b, that is _, the sum of t _{n (B)} does not take longer than a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes), the independent operation of the second compressor 22b is maintained.

In step S4, if the first operation time of the first and second compressors 22a and 22b stored once (S13) is less than a predetermined reference time (for example, 15 minutes) (S14), the process proceeds to step S15. do.

If the operating time of the first and second compressors 22a and 22b tends to decrease in the step S15 in which the first and second compressors 22a and 22b are simultaneously operated (S15), the first compressor 22a is used. In step S8, otherwise, the step of measuring the simultaneous operation time of the first and second compressors 22a and 22b in proportion to a predetermined number of times (S15 ', S15 ") is continued. .

As described above, according to the present invention, after the simultaneous operation of the first and second compressors 22a and 22b is completed based on the tendency of the operation time to be shortened, the first and second compressors 22a and 22b have a larger first capacity. After the compressor 22a is operated alone, the second compressor 22b enters into the single operation state, thereby reducing the unnecessary power consumption and maintaining the room at a comfortable temperature without deviation.

In the above-described embodiment, the multi-compressor is described as the first and second compressors 22a and 22b, but the idea of the present invention may be sufficiently applied to an air conditioner in which three or more compressors may be employed.

In the above-described embodiment, an air conditioner in which the indoor unit and the outdoor unit are separately separated from the stand type air conditioner has been described as an example.

However, the idea of the present invention may be sufficiently applied to a multi-air conditioner system in which a separate or integrated indoor unit (not shown) is provided in several rooms such as an office and drives them into one outdoor unit 20 having a plurality of compressors.

As described above, according to the present invention, by appropriately controlling the simultaneous operation and the single operation state of the multi-compressor, it is possible to reduce the consumption of unnecessary power consumption and to keep the room at a comfortable temperature without deviation.

Claims (2)

Determining an initial starting state and an indoor load of the multi-compressor according to the mutual relationship between the outdoor temperature and the predetermined reference temperature section; Simultaneously operating the multi-compressors based on the determined indoor load; Driving only one of the compressors having a larger capacity when the operation time of the multi-compressors simultaneously running decreases; The method of controlling a multi-compressor for an air conditioner comprising the step of stopping the operation and solely operating a compressor having a relatively small capacity when the operation time of the compressor being operated alone decreases. The method of claim 1, The control method of the multi-compressor for the air conditioner, characterized in that when only one of the multi-compressor, the single operation alone, if the operation time does not tend to decrease the feedback to the upper stage.