KR20080077454A - An air conditioner and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An air conditioner and a method for manufacturing the same are provided to perform precise installation work by diagnosing installation circumstance and operation conditions using power consumption information of a fan motor in installation of an outdoor unit. An air conditioner comprises a fan motor(28) adjusting flow rate of wind of an outdoor unit(10), a current detecting unit of detecting operating current of the fan motor, a voltage detecting unit detecting power voltage of the fan motor, and a control unit. Power consumption of the fan motor is detected by multiplying the power voltage by the operating current. Installation circumstance is diagnosed based on the detected power consumption. If power consumption by RPM relative to reference power consumption is deviated from a predetermined range, it is determined that the installation circumstance of the outdoor unit is inappropriate.

Description

Air conditioner and control method

1 is a cross-sectional view of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner to which the present invention is applied.

2 is a fan motor control configuration diagram of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is an operation flowchart for a control method for diagnosing the installation environment of the outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present invention;

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a fan motor speed according to a load change during operation of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

10: outdoor unit 20: suction port

22 discharge port 24 heat exchanger

28: fan motor 40: control unit

42: drive IC 44: power IC

46: rotation signal detector 48: voltage detector

50: current detection unit 54: display unit

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner for diagnosing an outdoor unit installation environment using fan motor operation information, and compensating and controlling the rotational speed of a fan motor according to a change in external operating conditions and a control method thereof. .

In general, an air conditioner is a device used for cooling or heating a room, and a conventional refrigeration cycle in which refrigerant is circulated between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit is applied to absorb ambient heat when the liquid refrigerant evaporates. The cooling or heating operation is performed by the characteristic of releasing heat when liquefied. Fans are installed in outdoor units and indoor units to help absorb and dissipate heat, and fan motors are used to control the air volume of the fans.

Among them, the fan motor installed in the outdoor unit helps the heat exchange operation to help the heat dissipation during the cooling operation and promote the absorption of the heat during the heating operation. Was guided to the discharge port guide to be discharged to the outside. These outdoor unit fan motors are installed in variously modified forms according to the specifications of the product shipped. If the outdoor unit installation environment is poor (for example, an improper guide is applied to the discharge port, a sealed installation place, and the suction port is in close contact with the wall) Since the flow of air for heat exchange is disturbed, the heat exchange efficiency is lowered, and it is difficult to secure the air volume of the fan motor required to maintain the driving performance.

Therefore, the present invention is to solve the above conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to use the power consumption information of the operation of the fan motor when the outdoor unit is installed to diagnose the outdoor unit installation environment and operating conditions more accurate installation work is possible. An air conditioner and a control method thereof are provided.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner capable of compensating operation of a fan motor with a required air volume by controlling a rotational speed of a fan motor by grasping a load variation state caused by a change in operating conditions when an outdoor unit is operated, and a control method thereof. have.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention, an air conditioner having a fan motor for controlling the air volume of the outdoor unit, the current detecting unit for detecting the operating current of the fan motor; A voltage detector detecting a power supply voltage of the fan motor; And a control unit measuring power consumption of the fan motor by a product of the detected power supply voltage and an operating current, and diagnosing an installation environment of the outdoor unit based on the measured power consumption information.

The control unit may measure power consumption for each rotational speed of the fan motor, and compare the measured power consumption for each rotational speed with a predetermined reference power consumption for each rotational speed so that the measured value of power consumption for each rotational speed compared to the reference power consumption is in the first range. In case of deviation, the outdoor unit installation environment is determined to be inappropriate.

The controller may determine that the outdoor unit installation environment is suitable when the measured power consumption rate for each rotation number relative to the reference power consumption is within the first range.

In addition, the first range is about 20% or more.

In addition, the present invention further includes a display unit for displaying a diagnosis result of the installation environment of the outdoor unit.

In addition, the controller checks a load variation state caused by a change in external driving conditions when the outdoor unit is operated, and compensates the rotation speed of the fan motor with the air volume required by the outdoor unit based on the power consumption information when the load variation occurs. It is characterized by controlling.

In addition, the controller checks whether a load variation occurs while driving the fan motor at a set rotation speed, and measures actual driving power consumption when the load variation occurs, and compares the measured driving power consumption with a predetermined reference power consumption. When the operation power consumption compared to the reference power consumption is within the second range, the rotation speed of the fan motor is characterized by compensating control with a predetermined amount of wind.

The controller may adjust the rotation speed of the fan motor to a set rotation speed when the driving power consumption is out of the second range compared to the reference power consumption.

In addition, the second range is about 10% or more.

In addition, the present invention provides a control method of an air conditioner having a fan motor for controlling the air volume of the outdoor unit, when the outdoor unit is installed, the fan motor is operated at a rotational speed per step, and the fan motor at a rotational speed per step Detects the operating current and the power supply voltage of the fan motor while operating the motor, and measures the power consumption by the rotational speed of the fan motor by the product of the detected power supply voltage and the operation current, and the power consumption by the measured rotational power and by the predetermined rotational speed. It is characterized by comparing the reference power consumption and diagnosing the installation environment of the outdoor unit according to the comparison result.

In addition, diagnosing the installation environment of the outdoor unit may include determining whether the power consumption measurement value for each rotational number relative to the reference power consumption is in the first range, and determining that the outdoor unit installation environment is inappropriate when the outdoor unit is out of the first range. If it is within 1 range, it is determined that the outdoor unit installation environment is suitable.

In addition, the present invention provides a control method of an air conditioner having a fan motor for controlling the air volume of the outdoor unit, the fan motor is operated at a set rotational speed, the fan motor is operated at a set rotational speed during the operation of the outdoor unit Check whether load fluctuation occurred while the load fluctuation occurred, and measure the actual operating power consumption by detecting the operating current and power supply voltage of the fan motor and comparing the measured operating power consumption with a predetermined reference power consumption. The rotation speed of the fan motor is compensated and controlled by the amount of air required by the outdoor unit according to the comparison result.

The controlling of the rotational speed of the fan motor may include determining whether the driving power consumption is in a second range compared to a reference power consumption, and if the driving speed is within the second range, compensating control of the rotational speed of the fan motor with a predetermined amount of wind. When the second range is out of range, the rotation speed of the fan motor is adjusted to a set rotation speed.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a cross-sectional view of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, the inside of the outdoor unit 10 of the air conditioner is defined by a diaphragm 18, in which a machine room 14 in which a compressor 12 is installed, and a heat exchange chamber 16 in which heat exchange is performed through circulation of air. On the rear and side of the outdoor unit 10, an inlet 20 is formed to allow external air to flow into the heat exchange chamber 16, and an outlet through which the air passing through the heat exchange chamber 16 is discharged to the front of the outdoor unit 10. (22) is formed.

The heat exchanger 24 is installed in the heat exchange chamber 16 so as to be adjacent to the inlet 20 of the rear and side surfaces, and a fan 26 for forcibly blowing air through the heat exchanger 24 to the discharge port 22 is provided. After the fan motor 28 for rotating the fan 26 is installed and the air introduced through the inlet 20 of the rear and side surfaces of the outdoor unit 10 is heat-exchanged while passing through the heat exchanger 24. Discharge through the discharge port 22.

2 is a configuration diagram of a fan motor control of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 40 for controlling the overall operation of the outdoor unit 10, and the fan motor in accordance with the control signal of the control unit 40 The drive IC 42 outputs a speed control signal to the power IC 44 that sequentially supplies power to the fan motor 28 for speed control of the 28, and the speed control signal of the drive IC 42. Accordingly, a power IC 44 which is composed of switching elements so that the fan motor 28 rotates is sequentially turned on and off, and a frequency generator pulse (FG) rotation signal generated in the form of a pulse generated when the fan motor 28 rotates. A rotating signal detecting unit 46 for detecting, a voltage detecting unit 48 for detecting a DC power supply voltage applied to the power IC 44, and a current detecting unit 50 for detecting a driving current flowing through the fan motor 28; And the operation of the diagnosis signal and the air conditioner for diagnosing the installation environment of the outdoor unit 10. It includes an input unit 52 for inputting a stop signal, and a display unit 54 for displaying the result of the installation environment diagnosis of the outdoor unit 10.

The controller 40 measures the actual power consumption according to the operation of the fan motor 28 by multiplying the power supply voltage detected by the voltage detector 48 and the operating current detected by the current detector 50, and measuring the measurement. The installed environment and the operating conditions of the outdoor unit 10 are diagnosed by using the consumed power information. When the outdoor unit 10 is operated, the load variation according to the change of the external operating conditions is checked to determine the rotation speed of the fan motor 28. The outdoor unit 10 is controlled to compensate for the required air volume.

In more detail, the control unit 40 rotates the fan motor 28 by a predetermined step (1 to 5 steps) when the signal is input for diagnosing the installation environment of the outdoor unit 10 (for example, 1 step). Is 200rpm) for a certain period of time to measure the power consumption of each revolution, and compare the measured power consumption with the predetermined reference power consumption by the number of revolutions measured power consumption per revolutions compared to the reference power consumption in the first range ( If the difference is greater than about 20%), it is diagnosed that the installation environment and the operating conditions of the outdoor unit 10 are unsuitable, and the diagnosis result is provided through the display unit 54.

In addition, the controller 40 checks the load variation caused by external operation conditions (heat exchanger freezing, clogging of inlet foreign matter, discharge outlet backwind, etc.) during the operation of the outdoor unit 10. When the measured power consumption is out of the second range (about 10%) of the predetermined reference power consumption, the rotation speed of the fan motor 28 is controlled to control the rotation speed of the fan motor 28. After the adjustment, the power consumption is measured again to adjust the rotational speed of the fan motor 28 until the measured power consumption falls within a predetermined range (about 10%) of the reference power consumption. Allow the fan motor 28 to compensate.

In addition, the controller 40 outputs the voltage level of the desired control signal to the drive IC 42 as a voltage level proportional to the number of rotations applied to the fan motor 28 for speed control of the fan motor 28. By controlling the rotation speed of the fan motor 28.

The drive IC 42 varies the rotational speed of the fan motor 28 by turning on or off the power IC 44 so that corresponding power is transmitted to the fan motor 28.

The rotation signal detector 46 detects the rotational speed of the fan motor 28, and detects the position of the rotor through a hall sensor used to detect the position of the fan motor 28. The rotational speed of the rotor is detected based on the positional information of the rotor of the fan motor 28.

The voltage detector 48 connects the voltage divider in series to the DC link voltage pattern and inputs a voltage value of the input level of the controller 40 through a photo coupler or the like.

The current detector 50 detects a current flowing in the fan motor 28 as a voltage level through a resistor connected in series to the GND pattern of the power source of the fan motor 28 and inputs it to the controller 40.

The display unit 54 illuminates a yellow or red LED when the installation environment and operation conditions of the outdoor unit 10 are unsuitable, and turns on a green or blue LED when the installation environment and operation conditions of the outdoor unit 10 are suitable. Configure.

On the other hand, the fan motor 28 uses a brushless DC motor (BLDC motor) to change the rotational speed and increase the rotational efficiency.

Hereinafter, the operation process and the effect of the air conditioner and the fan motor control method configured as described above will be described.

3 is an operation flowchart of a control method for diagnosing the installation environment of the outdoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present invention.

In the test operation operation after installation of the outdoor unit 10, when the user inputs a diagnostic signal for diagnosing the installation environment of the outdoor unit 10 through the input unit 52 (S100), the controller 40 sets the fan motor 28 in a predetermined step. The vehicle is operated for a predetermined time at stars (1 to 5 steps) rotation speed (for example, 1 step is 200 rpm) (S102).

At this time, the controller 40 detects the operating current flowing in the fan motor 40 through the current detector 50, and detects the DC power voltage applied to the power IC 44 through the voltage detector 48 to supply power. The power consumption at each rotational speed according to the operation of the fan motor 28 is measured by multiplying the driving current with each other (S104).

Accordingly, the controller 40 compares the measured power consumption for each rotational speed with a predetermined power consumption for each rotational speed (S106), and the measured power consumption for each rotational speed compared to the reference power consumption differs by at least a first range (about 20%). J determines whether or not (S108).

When the measured power consumption value per revolution compared to the reference power consumption does not differ by more than the first range (about 20%), the controller 40 diagnoses that the installation environment and the operating conditions of the outdoor unit 10 are suitable, and displays the display unit 54. The green or blue LED is turned on to provide a diagnosis result that the outdoor unit 10 is installed and the operating conditions are suitable (S110).

On the other hand, when the result of the determination of S108, the power consumption value measured by the number of revolutions compared to the reference power consumption is more than the first range (about 20%) or more, the controller 40 is not suitable for the installation environment and the operating conditions of the outdoor unit 10. And the yellow or red LED is turned on through the display unit 54 to provide a diagnosis result that the installation environment and the operating conditions of the outdoor unit 10 is inappropriate (S112).

Next, a method of compensating the rotation speed of the fan motor 28 by a predetermined amount of air by checking a load variation caused by a change in external operating conditions when the outdoor unit 10 of the air conditioner is operated will be described.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a fan motor speed according to a load change when an outdoor unit is operated in an air conditioner according to the present invention.

First, when a user inputs an air conditioner operation signal through the input unit 52, the controller 40 determines whether the outdoor unit 10 is operated (S200), and sets the fan motor 28 when the outdoor unit 10 is operated. The speed control signal for operating at the rotational speed is output to the drive IC 42.

Accordingly, the drive IC 42 turns the power IC 44 on or off according to the speed control signal of the controller 40 to drive the fan motor 28 at a set rotation speed (S202).

While the fan motor 28 is operated at a set rotation speed, when the outdoor unit 10 operating conditions are changed (freezing of the heat exchanger, clogging of the inlet foreign matter, discharge vent backwind, etc.), load fluctuation occurs. It detects by the rotation speed change or voltage change of (28).

When a load change occurs due to a change in operating conditions of the outdoor unit 10 (S204), the controller 40 detects the rotation speed of the fan motor 28 in operation through the rotation signal detector 46 (S206). In operation S208, it is determined whether the detected rotational speed of the fan motor 28 is equal to the set rotational speed of the fan motor 28 and the set rotational speed.

As a result of the determination in S208, when the operating speed and the set speed of the fan motor 28 are not the same, the controller 40 adjusts the voltage level of the speed control signal output to the drive IC 42 (S210). 28) After adjusting the rotation speed (S212) it is fed back to the S206 to proceed to the subsequent operation.

On the other hand, when the determination result of the step S208, when the operating speed and the set rotational speed of the fan motor 28 is the same, the control unit 40 detects the operating current flowing through the fan motor 40 through the current detection unit 50, the voltage detection unit The DC power supply voltage applied to the power IC 44 is detected through the reference numeral 48 (S214), and the actual power consumption according to the operation of the fan motor 28 is measured by the product of the power supply voltage and the operating current (S216).

Therefore, the controller 40 compares the measured driving power consumption with a predetermined reference power consumption (S218), and determines whether the driving power consumption compared to the reference power consumption is within a second range (about 10%) (S220). .

As a result of the determination in S220, when the driving power consumption is not within the second range (about 10%) compared to the reference power consumption, the controller 40 adjusts the voltage level of the speed control signal output to the drive IC 42. (S222) After adjusting the rotation speed of the fan motor 28 (S224) is fed back to the S214 to proceed to the subsequent operation.

On the other hand, as a result of the determination of S220, when the driving power consumption compared to the reference power consumption is within the second range (about 10%), the controller 40 determines the required air volume of the outdoor unit 10 considering the external driving conditions as the satisfying range. By operating the fan motor 28 at a predetermined constant air volume compensation control rotation speed (S226).

As described above, according to the air conditioner and the fan motor control method according to the present invention, the installation operation is more accurate by diagnosing the installation environment and operating conditions of the outdoor unit using the power consumption information of the fan motor when the outdoor unit is installed. In addition, it is possible to compensate the fan motor with the required air volume by checking the load fluctuation due to the change of the external operating conditions and controlling the rotation speed of the fan motor.

It is expected that the installation environment will be restricted and the outlet part will be installed in accordance with the tightening regulations on outdoor unit installation conditions to protect the rights of pedestrians in the future.Therefore, various quality problems such as underoperating performance, cooling and heating efficiency, and durability are expected to occur. However, the present invention can implement a continuous operating state monitoring function using the actual operating parameter (power consumption) information of the outdoor unit fan motor even during operation with a precautionary measure through the diagnosis function of the suitability at the installation stage to solve this problem.

In addition, by developing an installation environment diagnosis technology that can be provided by the product itself for air-conditioning and air conditioners that have a large impact on operation reliability and performance, it is possible to improve quality indicators due to installation errors and to comply with product-specific installation standards. In addition to the manual, the operating parameters obtained in the actual installation environment provide the criteria for judgment, enabling more realistic and accurate installation work.

In addition, by implementing control technology that can optimally maintain product performance in conjunction with changes in operating conditions, fan motors that operate independently from changes in external operating conditions due to control operations limited to fan motor speed feedback information during operation after product installation. By improving the uniformity of control, it is possible to control to adapt the change of external operating conditions to appropriately implement the required air volume of the set, and the ultimate product performance, efficiency and reliability are expected to be secured. It is possible to implement the installation suitability determination and operation status monitoring function of outdoor unit products through the installation environment suitability diagnosis technology even in the case of single-phase induction motor without a separate control circuit. Particularly, in case of single-phase induction motor, the protection function is applied only through the temperature protection part of the motor itself without a separate protection circuit, so that the wrong product installation and overload operation conditions have a high probability of occurrence of PL such as motor burnout and smoke generation, or the present invention. In this case, it will be useful to prevent quality accidents of fan motors applied to outdoor units.

Claims (15)

In the air conditioner with a fan motor to control the air volume of the outdoor unit, A current detector for detecting an operating current of the fan motor; A voltage detector detecting a power supply voltage of the fan motor; And A control unit measuring power consumption of the fan motor by a product of a detected power supply voltage and an operating current, and diagnosing an installation environment of the outdoor unit based on the measured power consumption information; Air Conditioner Included. The method of claim 1, The control unit operates the fan motor at revolutions of each step to measure power consumption for each revolution of the fan motor, compares the measured power consumption with the predetermined power consumption by the predetermined number of revolutions, and compares the power consumption with the reference power consumption. And determining that the outdoor unit installation environment is not suitable when the measured power consumption value is outside the first range. The method of claim 2, And the control unit determines that the outdoor unit installation environment is suitable when the measured power consumption rate per revolution to the reference power consumption is within a first range. The method of claim 3, wherein And said first range is at least about 20%. The method of claim 3, wherein Air conditioner further comprises a display unit for displaying a diagnosis result of the installation environment of the outdoor unit. The method of claim 1, The controller checks a load variation state caused by a change in an external operation condition when the outdoor unit is operated, and compensates the rotation speed of the fan motor with the air volume required by the outdoor unit based on the power consumption information when the load variation occurs. Air conditioner, characterized in that. The method of claim 6, The controller checks whether a load variation occurs while operating the fan motor at a set rotation speed, and measures actual driving power consumption when the load variation occurs, and compares the measured driving power consumption with a predetermined reference power consumption. And controlling the rotational speed of the fan motor with a predetermined amount of air when the operating power consumption is within a second range compared to the power consumption. The method of claim 6, And the controller adjusts the rotation speed of the fan motor to a set rotation speed when the operation power consumption is out of the second range relative to the reference power consumption. The method of claim 8, And said second range is at least about 10%. In the control method of the air conditioner with a fan motor for adjusting the air volume of the outdoor unit, When the outdoor unit is installed, the fan motor is operated at a rotational speed per step, While operating the fan motor at a step-by-step speed, the operating current and power supply voltage of the fan motor are detected, Measure the power consumption by the number of revolutions of the fan motor by the product of the detected power supply voltage and the operating current, And comparing the measured power consumption for each rotational speed with a predetermined power consumption for each rotational speed, and diagnosing the installation environment of the outdoor unit according to the comparison result. The method of claim 10, Diagnosing the installation environment of the outdoor unit, If it is out of the first range, it is judged that the outdoor unit installation environment is inadequate when it is out of the first range, and if it is within the first range, the outdoor unit installation environment is suitable. The control method of the air conditioner characterized by the above-mentioned. The method of claim 11, And wherein the first range is at least about 20%. In the control method of the air conditioner with a fan motor for adjusting the air volume of the outdoor unit, When the outdoor unit is operated, the fan motor is driven at a set speed, It is checked whether a load change occurs while driving the fan motor at a set rotation speed. When the load fluctuation occurs, the actual operating power consumption is measured by detecting the operating current and power supply voltage of the fan motor, And controlling the rotation speed of the fan motor with the amount of air required by the outdoor unit according to the comparison result by comparing the measured operating power consumption with a predetermined reference power consumption. The method of claim 13, Compensating and controlling the rotation speed of the fan motor, It is determined whether the driving power consumption is in the second range compared to the reference power consumption, and the rotation speed of the fan motor is compensated and controlled by a predetermined amount of air when it is within the second range, and the rotation speed of the fan motor is out of the second range. The control method of the air conditioner, characterized in that for adjusting the set speed. The method of claim 14, And wherein said second range is at least about 10%.

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