KR20090041601A

KR20090041601A - A device for remotely controlling an air conditioner

Info

Publication number: KR20090041601A
Application number: KR20070107208A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 신준
Original assignee: 엘지전자 주식회사
Priority date: 2007-10-24
Filing date: 2007-10-24
Publication date: 2009-04-29

Abstract

A remote control equipment of an air conditioner is provided to efficiently control indoor units by is manually input by a user or automatically by a controller. A remote control equipment of an air conditioner comprises a display unit and a controller. The display unit indicates: a first object corresponding to an internal feature of a building partitioning a plurality of room; and a second object corresponding to a plurality of indoor units. The controller implements the first object and the second object on a screen(195) of the display unit. The first and the second object are implemented in order to be corresponded to the location of each indoor unit installed at each room. The second object includes image information(192) corresponding to the each indoor unit and indoor unit information(192a) able to be input corresponding to the each indoor unit.

Description

A device for remotely controlling an air conditioner

The present invention relates to a remote control device for an air conditioner, and more particularly, to a remote control device for an air conditioner that can control indoor units easily by inputting arrangement information of indoor units.

The multi-type air conditioner includes a plurality of indoor units, each of which is installed in rooms. The central controller sets driving conditions of the plurality of indoor units and monitors driving information of the plurality of indoor units.

However, since the addresses or numbers of the indoor units are simply listed in order on the screen of the central controller, the user may not know the actual installation position of the indoor units clearly, and the address of the indoor units or the room in which the indoor units are installed ( It is difficult to input the names of the rooms, which makes it difficult to control the indoor units.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a remote control device for an air conditioner that can control indoor units easily by inputting arrangement information of indoor units.

The remote control apparatus of the air conditioner of the present invention includes a display unit for displaying a first object corresponding to an interior shape of a building partitioning a plurality of rooms and a second object corresponding to each of the plurality of indoor units. And a controller configured to implement the first object and the second object on a screen of the display unit so that each indoor unit corresponds to a position where the indoor units are installed in the respective rooms, wherein the second object is an image corresponding to each indoor unit. (image) information and inputtable indoor unit information corresponding to each indoor unit. In this case, the first object includes an image corresponding to the floor plan of the building.

In the present invention, the indoor unit information includes the address of each indoor unit or the name of the room in which the indoor unit is installed, and the name of each indoor unit address or the room in which the indoor unit is installed is based on a user's input signal. It can be entered directly in the form of). In this case, the air conditioner includes at least one outdoor unit connected to the plurality of indoor units to allocate an indoor unit address to each of the plurality of indoor units, and the control unit requests to allocate the indoor unit addresses of the respective indoor units. The signal may be transmitted to the outdoor unit, and the user may directly input the indoor unit address on the screen of the display unit based on the indoor unit address data received from the outdoor unit. Alternatively, the controller transmits a request signal for allocating the indoor unit addresses of the indoor units to the outdoor unit, and automatically transmits each indoor unit address in the form of text on the second object based on the indoor unit address data received from the outdoor unit. Can be entered. Alternatively, the controller transmits a request signal for allocating indoor unit addresses of each indoor unit to the outdoor unit, generates a third object corresponding to the indoor unit address data received from the outdoor unit, and displays the third object on the display unit, and inputs a user's input. The indoor unit information may be input by moving the position of the third object to the position of the second object by an event based on the signal.

In the remote control apparatus of the air conditioner according to the present invention, the user may input the arrangement information of the indoor units, or the arrangement information of the indoor units can be automatically input by the control unit. Therefore, the user can visually easily control the indoor units in consideration of the building structure or the building environment.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning system 100 including a remote control device 115 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a remote control device shown in FIG. A block diagram illustrating the configuration of 115 is shown.

Referring to FIG. 1, the air conditioning system 100 includes an air conditioner 140, local controllers 110, and a remote controller 115. The air conditioner 140 includes a plurality of indoor units 130 and an outdoor unit 120, but the configuration of the air conditioner 140 is not limited thereto. The air conditioner 140 may include a plurality of indoor units and a plurality of outdoor units.

Referring to FIG. 1, the indoor units 130 include a first indoor room ID1, a second indoor room ID2, a third indoor room ID3, ..., and an Nth indoor room IDn. The first room (ID1), the second room (ID2), the third room (ID3), ..., the Nth room (IDn) are the first room (R1), the second room (R2), and the third room, respectively. It is arrange | positioned at R3, ..., Nth room Rn. Hereinafter, the term indoor unit 130 is used as a concept representing one indoor unit among the first indoor room ID1, the second indoor room ID2, the third indoor room ID3, and the Nth indoor room IDn. The term indoor units 130 is used as a concept including the entirety of the first indoor room ID1, the second indoor room ID2, the third indoor room ID3, ..., the Nth indoor room IDn. In addition, the term room R is used as a concept representing one of the first room (R1), the second room (R2), the third room (R3), ..., N-th room (Rn), The expression rooms R is used as a concept including the entirety of the first room R1, the second room R2, the third room R3, ..., the Nth room Rn.

The indoor unit address is assigned to the first indoor unit ID1, the second indoor room ID2, the third indoor room ID3, ..., and the Nth indoor room IDn. Since the indoor unit addresses have different values from each other, the remote controller 115 communicates with the indoor units 130 using the indoor unit address. 3 shows a table showing the correlation between indoor units 130, indoor unit addresses, and room names. For example, the fourth indoor ID4 is installed in the fourth room R4 and has an indoor unit address of "4". The name of the fourth room R4 is "A-4".

The indoor units 130 and the outdoor unit 120 are communicatively connected to each other through the first network 161. In addition, the remote control device 115 and the outdoor unit 120 are connected to each other via a second network 162. RS-485 communication is performed on the first network 161, and RS-485 communication is performed on the second network 162. However, the present invention is not limited to the above communication method.

The first local control device C1, the second local control device C2, the third local control device C3, ..., the Nth local control device Cn are the first room R1 and the second, respectively. Located in room R2, third room R3, ..., Nth room Rn, the first room ID1, the second room ID2, the third room ID3, respectively. . The wired or wireless communication with the N-th indoor unit IDn controls the operation of the air conditioner 140. That is, the local controllers 110 manipulate the setting of the plurality of operating variables of the air conditioner 140, respectively. Operating variables include set room temperature, set wind direction, set air conditioning mode, set wind direction. Each of the local controllers 110 has input keys (not shown) for driving operation of the user, and the user inputs the setting values of the operating parameters of the air conditioner 140 using the input keys (not shown).

The remote controller 115 controls the air conditioner 140 independently of the first local controller C1 to the N th local controller Cn. Referring to FIG. 2, the remote controller 115 includes a controller 180, a database 160, an input unit 150, and a display unit 170. The input unit 150 receives driving operation information of a user and includes a plurality of input keys (not shown). The user inputs operation settings of the air conditioner 140 using input keys (not shown). However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the input unit 150 may have an input structure of a touch panel.

The controller 180 implements a screen of the display 170. Operation information is displayed on the screen of the display unit 170, and the display unit 170 has a structure of an LCD panel. The display unit 170 implements a graphical user display (GUI) screen. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a general UI screen may be implemented on the display unit.

Database 160 stores a correlation of indoor units 130, indoor unit addresses, and room names shown in FIG. In addition, the database 160 stores the first object and the second object, and the controller 180 extracts the first object and the second object from the database 160 and implements them on the screen 195 of the display unit. Here, the first object is in the interior shape of the building partitioning the plurality of rooms, that is, the first room (R1), the second room (R2), the third room (R3), ..., the N-th room (Rn) Image information including a corresponding image. The internal shape does not need to include all the internal structures of the building, but merely indicates the layout structure and the location information of the rooms (R). Therefore, the controller 180 can determine the arrangement positions of the first room R1, the second room R2, the third room R3, and the Nth room Rn on the screen 195 of the display unit. have.

The second object is screen information including images corresponding to the plurality of indoor units 130, respectively. Image information corresponding to each indoor unit 130 and each room indoor unit 130 correspond to the second object. Contains indoor unit information.

4 is a diagram illustrating a first object and a second object on a screen 195 of the display unit of the remote control apparatus 115 shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 4, an image 191 is shown that corresponds to the floor plan of the building, and the first object includes the image 191. The arrangement structure of the rooms R can be described by at least one top view. If the building has a multi-story structure, the plan view image may correspond to the plan view of one floor of the multi-story. In addition, even when the building has a single-story structure, the plan view image may be a plan view corresponding to a partial area of the building. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the first object implemented on the screen of the display unit may correspond to an image representing a three-dimensional structure of a building.

The controller 180 receives the first object previously stored in the database 160 and implements it on the screen 195 of the display unit. That is, the database 160 stores a first object including an image 191 corresponding to the floor plan of the building, and the controller 180 receives the image data corresponding to the first object and receives the image data. By implementing on the screen 195 of the display unit, an image 191 corresponding to the floor plan of the building is displayed.

Meanwhile, in another embodiment in which the first object is implemented on the screen 195 of the display unit, the first object may be implemented by the controller 180 in a state of being stored in the database 160, but may be implemented by the user. 1 An object may be created. In detail, the display unit 170 may include a menu tool for generating an image corresponding to the floor plan of the building, and the user may generate the first object using the menu tool. FIG. 5 illustrates a screen 195 of a display unit of a remote control apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the remote control apparatus illustrated in FIG. 4. Here, the GUI screen is implemented in the display unit 170. Referring to FIG. 5, a user creates a first object on the other side of the screen 195 of the display unit by using the menu tool 177 displayed on one side of the screen 195 of the display unit. Therefore, when the arrangement structure of the rooms of the building is changed, the user may easily generate the first object 191 to easily display the arrangement structure of the rooms R on the screen 195 of the display unit. When the first object is generated, the generated first object includes the layout structure and the location information of the rooms R, and stores the location information of the rooms R in the database 160. Therefore, the controller 180 ) May determine the arrangement positions of the first room R1, the second room R2, the third room R3, and the Nth room Rn on the screen 195 of the display unit.

4, a second object corresponds to each indoor unit 130, and the second object includes an image 192 corresponding to each indoor unit 130. An image 192 corresponding to each indoor unit 130 is stored in the database 160, and the controller 180 receives the image data corresponding to the second object and transmits the image data to the screen 195 of the display unit. Can be implemented. The positions where the second objects are displayed on the screen 195 of the display unit correspond to the positions where the corresponding room R is displayed. The controller 180 corresponds to a specific indoor unit to the specific room R, and displays an image of the specific indoor unit at the location of the specific room using the location information of the specific room corresponding to the specific indoor unit. For example, the image 192 of the first room ID1 is displayed at the position of the first room R1, and the image 192 of the second room ID2 is displayed at the position of the second room R2. do.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating that indoor unit information 192a is input to a screen of the display unit illustrated in FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 6, the second object includes indoor unit information 192a corresponding to each indoor unit 130, in addition to image information corresponding to each of the indoor units 130. Here, the indoor unit information 192a includes an address of each indoor unit 130 or a name of a room where each indoor unit 130 is installed. FIG. 6 shows that names (A1, A2 ,,,,,, A12) 192a are input to a room where each indoor unit 130 is installed among indoor unit information. Here, the indoor unit information 192a may be input by an input signal by the user or by the controller 180.

The user may directly input the indoor unit information 192a in the form of text. When the indoor unit information 192a is a name of a room where each indoor unit 130 is installed, the user may directly input the name of the room in the form of text. Since the first object includes the layout structure and the location information of the rooms R, the controller 180 may display the first room R1, the second room R2, and the third room R3 on the screen 195 of the display unit. ), The arrangement position of the N-th room Rn can be grasped. Therefore, since the user can know the arrangement structure and the position information of the rooms R based on the first object, the user can input the names A1, A2, ,, and A12 of the rooms in order.

When the indoor unit information 192a is an address of each indoor unit 130, in order for the user to directly input each indoor unit 130 through the screen 195 of the display unit, the user knows the address set in each indoor unit 130 in advance. There is a need. In general, in order to set an indoor unit address in each indoor unit 130, a user may directly move to a place where each indoor unit is installed, and set an address with a wired remote controller connected to the indoor unit 130. However, since the user has to move directly, the indoor unit address of the present invention uses an outdoor unit 120 equipped with an automatic address setting function to increase user convenience. First, the outdoor unit 120 may set an indoor unit address in each indoor unit 130. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the outdoor unit shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 7, the outdoor unit 120 includes an outdoor unit database 123 storing address data of the indoor unit 130, a communication module 124 connected to the indoor unit 130 to transmit and receive data, and a remote control device ( An outdoor unit microcomputer 121 for automatically allocating an address of the indoor unit 130 according to a request of the controller 180 of 115. The outdoor unit database 123 stores an indoor unit address connected to the outdoor unit 120, and stores an automatic address setting program for allocating an address of the indoor unit 130. The outdoor unit microcomputer 121 includes an automatic address setting unit 122 that allocates an address of the indoor unit 130 connected to the outdoor unit 120. The controller 180 of the remote controller 115 transmits a request signal for automatically assigning an address of the indoor unit 130 to the outdoor unit 120, and the automatic address setting unit 122 receives the request signal. The automatic address setting program stored in the outdoor unit database 123 is operated to allocate an address value for each indoor unit 130 connected to the outdoor unit 120. For example, when the sixteen indoor units 130 are connected to the outdoor unit 120, the automatic address setting unit 122 has 'indoor 1 (IDU1)' and 'indoor 2 (IDU2)' for each indoor unit 130. The address values for the indoor unit 130 are sequentially assigned, such as 'IDU16'. Referring to the table shown in FIG. 3, an address value for the indoor unit 130 may be sequentially input to each indoor unit 130 such as '1', '2', and 'N'. The outdoor unit microcomputer 121 stores address data of the indoor unit 130 allocated through the automatic address setting unit 122 in the outdoor unit database 123 and transmits the data to each indoor unit 130. In addition, the outdoor unit microcomputer 121 transmits the stored address data of each indoor unit 130 to the remote controller 115 according to a request of the controller 180 of the remote controller 115. The address data of each indoor unit 130 is stored in the database 160. The user may directly input the indoor unit address in the form of text on the screen 195 of the display unit based on the address data of the indoor unit 130 received from the outdoor unit 120.

Although the indoor unit address may be directly input by the user, the indoor unit address may be automatically input by the controller 180. The controller 180 may automatically input each indoor unit address in the form of text on the second object based on the address data of the indoor unit 130 received from the outdoor unit 120 and stored in the database 160.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a screen 195 of a display unit of a remote control apparatus according to another modified example of the remote control apparatus 115 illustrated in FIG. 4, and FIG. 9 is a position of a part of the third object illustrated in FIG. 8. Is a diagram showing a changed state. Referring to FIG. 8, the controller 180 of the remote controller generates a third object corresponding to the address data of the indoor unit 130 received from the outdoor unit, and displays the first area P1 of the screen 195 of the display unit. Display on. The third object includes indoor unit information corresponding to the indoor units 130 that are communicatively connected to the remote control device. Here, the third object is an icon 193, and the indoor unit information is an address of each indoor unit 130. The controller 180 of the remote controller includes a first object 191 corresponding to an internal shape of a building partitioning the rooms R in the second area P2 of the screen 195 of the display unit, and each indoor unit 130. Displays a second object 192 corresponding to). At this time, indoor unit information is input to the second object by moving the position of the third object to the position of the second object by an event based on a user input signal.

Referring to FIG. 9, a user selects a specific icon 193, which is a third object of the first area P1, drags to a position where the rooms R are arranged, and then drops the specific icon 193 to remove the specific icon 193. Can be nested on two objects. Therefore, the user can easily input the indoor unit information of the indoor units 130, the user's operation convenience is improved. In addition, the user may store the first object 191, the second object 192, and the third object 193 in the database 160 of the remote controller.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, this is merely exemplary, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

The present invention can be used in the remote control device of the air conditioner, the user inputs the arrangement information of the indoor units, or the arrangement information of the indoor units are automatically input by the control unit.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning system including a remote control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the remote control apparatus shown in FIG.

3 is a table showing the correlation between indoor units, indoor unit addresses, and names of rooms.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a first object and a second object on a screen of a display unit of the remote controller shown in FIG. 1.

5 is a diagram illustrating a screen of a display unit of a remote control apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the remote control apparatus illustrated in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating that indoor unit information is input to a screen of the display unit illustrated in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the outdoor unit shown in FIG. 1.

8 is a diagram illustrating a screen of a display unit of a remote control apparatus according to another modified example of the remote control apparatus shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state where a part of the third object illustrated in FIG. 8 is changed.

100: air conditioning system 115: remote control device

120: outdoor unit 130: indoor unit

140: air conditioner 150: input unit

160: database 170: display unit

180: control unit 195: screen of the display unit

Claims

In the remote control device of the air conditioner including a plurality of indoor units,

A display unit configured to display a first object corresponding to an interior shape of a building partitioning a plurality of rooms and a second object corresponding to each of the plurality of indoor units;

And a controller configured to implement the first object and the second object on a screen of the display unit so that the indoor units correspond to positions installed in the rooms.

And the second object includes image information corresponding to each indoor unit and inputtable indoor unit information corresponding to each indoor unit.

The method according to claim 1,

And the first object comprises an image corresponding to the floor plan of the building.

The method according to claim 2,

Further comprising a database for storing the first object and the second object,

The control unit is a remote control device of the air conditioner for receiving the first object previously stored in the database to implement on the screen of the display unit.

The method according to claim 2,

The display unit includes a menu tool for generating an image corresponding to the floor plan of the building,

A user of the remote control device of the air conditioner, the user can create the first object using the menu tool.

The method according to claim 1,

The indoor unit information includes the address of each indoor unit or the name of a room in which each indoor unit is installed,

The remote control apparatus of the air conditioner according to the input signal of the user, the indoor unit address or the name of the room in which the indoor unit is installed can be directly input in the form of text.

The method according to claim 5,

The air conditioner includes at least one outdoor unit connected to the plurality of indoor units to allocate an indoor unit address to the plurality of indoor units, respectively.

The control unit transmits a request signal for allocating the indoor unit address of each indoor unit to the outdoor unit,

And a user may directly input the indoor unit address on a screen of the display unit based on the indoor unit address data received from the outdoor unit.

The method according to claim 1,

The controller transmits a request signal for allocating the indoor unit addresses of the indoor units to the outdoor unit, and automatically transmits each indoor unit address in the form of text on the second object based on the indoor unit address data received from the outdoor unit. Remote control device of the input air conditioner.

The method according to claim 1,

The controller transmits a request signal for allocating indoor unit addresses of the indoor units to the outdoor unit, generates a third object corresponding to the indoor unit address data received from the outdoor unit, and displays the third object on the display unit.

And the indoor unit information is inputted by moving the position of the third object to the position of the second object by an event based on a user input signal.

The method according to claim 8,

And the event is to drag the third object to the second object on the display screen and drop it at the position of the second object.