KR20090114206A - Air conditioner and controlling method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An air-conditioner and a control method thereof is provided to obtain an image of the whole indoors through images obtained by photographing the indoors at various angles as rotating an image photographing means. CONSTITUTION: An air-conditioner and a control method thereof comprises an image photographing unit(110), a rotating unit(155), a rotation control unit(150), and a controller(140). The image photographing unit photographs the indoor image through at least one image photographing means having a standard lens. The rotating unit includes a rotatable motor. The rotation axis of the motor is fixed to the image photographing unit. The rotation control unit sends a control signal for rotating the motor at a predetermined angle. The controller senses the position of a person in a room from image data of the whole indoors.

Description

Air conditioner and controlling method

The present invention relates to an air conditioner and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to an air conditioner and a control method for acquiring an indoor image from an image photographed through an image photographing means having a standard lens.

In general, an air conditioner is a home appliance for maintaining indoor air in a state most suitable for use and purpose. For example, in summer, the room is cooled to a cool state, in winter, the room is heated to a warm state, and also the humidity of the room, and the air in the room to a clean state of clean. As life convenience products such as air conditioners are gradually expanded and used, consumers are demanding high energy use efficiency, performance improvement and convenience products.

Such an air conditioner includes a separate air conditioner in which an indoor unit and an outdoor unit are separately separated, an integrated air conditioner in which the indoor unit and the outdoor unit are combined into one device, a wall-mounted air conditioner and a frame type air conditioner configured to be mounted on a wall, and a living room. A slim air conditioner configured to stand, a single air conditioner configured to be used in a small place such as a house, and a large air capacity configured to be used in a company or a restaurant. It is divided into an air conditioner and a multi type air conditioner having a capacity capable of sufficiently driving a plurality of indoor units.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner and a method of controlling the same, by which an image photographing means having a standard lens is rotated at a predetermined angle and an indoor image is obtained.

An air conditioner according to the present invention for achieving the above object is provided with an image capturing unit for capturing an indoor image through at least one image capturing means having a standard lens, a rotatable motor, wherein the rotating shaft of the motor is A rotating unit fixedly connected to an image photographing unit, a rotation control unit for issuing a control signal to rotate the motor at a predetermined angle, and the image photographing unit rotates according to a rotation operation of the motor, and the entire room from at least one captured image And a control unit for acquiring image data of the and changing the operation setting by detecting the location of the occupants from the image data of the entire room.

On the other hand, the control method of the air conditioner according to the present invention for achieving the above object, the step of photographing the indoor image through at least one image pickup means having a standard lens, the at least one image pickup means Rotating at an angle, acquiring image data of the entire room from the at least one image captured by the image photographing unit, and sensing the position of the occupants from the image data of the whole room to variably control the operation setting Includes steps.

According to the present invention, there is a cost saving effect by acquiring an indoor image through an image capturing means having a standard lens, and at least one image photographed by rotating the image capturing means and capturing an indoor image at different angles. It is possible to obtain a full indoor image.

An embodiment of the air conditioner and control method thereof according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view when the air conditioner according to the first embodiment of the present invention is stopped, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view when the air conditioner shown in FIG. 1 is in operation.

1 and 2, the air conditioner of the present invention is provided with air inlets 4 and 6 through which air in the room is sucked, and air sucked through the air inlets 4 and 6. Air discharge ports 8 and 10 through which air-conditioned air, such as heated, cooled, or purified, are discharged inside the main body 2 are formed.

The main body 2 may be applied to any case such as a stand-type air conditioner, a wall-mounted air conditioner, or a ceiling-type air conditioner, but will be described below by taking a stand-type air conditioner as an example. Hereinafter, the main body 2 has air inlets 4 and 6 formed at a lower portion thereof, and air discharge holes 8 and 10 formed at an upper portion thereof. And a flow path through which air is discharged through the air discharge portions 8 and 10.

The body 2 includes a base 12, a cabinet 20, and a lower and upper panel (not shown).

The base 12 forms an outer appearance of the bottom of the main body 2 and supports the cabinet 20 and the lower panel.

The cabinet 20 forms the exterior of the rear part of the main body 2 and is installed to be located above the rear part of the base 12.

The lower panel consists of a left lower panel (not shown) with a left air inlet 4 and a right lower panel (not shown) with a right air inlet 6.

The lower left panel is disposed to be disposed on the front left side of the base 12, which is the lower front position of the cabinet 20, and the left air inlet 4 is formed to be open in the left and right directions or open in the left front direction.

The lower right panel is installed to be disposed on the right side of the front part of the base 12, which is the lower front position of the cabinet 20, and the right air inlet 8 is formed to be open in the left and right directions or open in the right front direction.

The upper panel is disposed in the upper front of the cabinet 20, and the left air discharge port 8 is formed in the left discharge part (not shown) in the left and right directions or is formed in the left front direction. Here, the left discharge part is formed to be recessed inwardly of the main body 2 so that the left wind direction adjusting part 24 protruding from the left vane 22 is inserted and received when the left vane 22 is closed.

In addition, the upper panel has a right discharge part (not shown), and the right air discharge port 10 is formed in the right discharge part in the left and right directions or is formed in the right front direction. Here, the right discharge part is formed to be recessed inwardly of the main body 2 so that the right wind direction adjusting unit 28 protruding from the right vane 26 is inserted and received when the right vane 26 is closed.

In addition, the front panel 30 is connected to the front of the main body 2 to be rotated to the center to one side of the left and right. The front panel 30 forms a front side appearance of the air conditioner, and may be fixedly mounted to at least one of the base 12 and the lower left panel, the lower right panel and the upper panel, and Of course, it is also possible to be rotatably connected to at least one of the left and right sides of the base 12 and the left lower panel, the right lower panel and the upper panel to open and close the space between the right lower panel.

And inside the main body 2, a blower (not shown) for generating a blowing force to suck the air in the room to the inside of the main body 2 to be discharged to the outside of the main body 2, and the air blown from the blower refrigerant And a heat exchanger (not shown) to heat exchange with.

On the other hand, the main body 2 is provided with vanes 22 and 26 for guiding air while opening and closing at least one of the air intake ports 4 and 6 and the air discharge ports 8 and 10. Hereinafter, the vanes 22 and 26 simultaneously open and close the air intake ports 4 and 6 and the air discharge ports 8 and 10 together to guide both the intake air and the discharge air, and are formed to be long in the vertical direction as a whole.

The main body 2 is formed with a discharge port unit 40 having an air discharge port 42 formed therein, and the discharge port unit 40 is lifted above the main body 2 at the inner upper portion of the main body 2 and the main body from above the main body 2. It has a discharge part structure descending inward of (2).

Here, the main body 2 has an opening surface whose entire upper surface is opened in the up and down direction, or an opening is formed in the upper surface and is opened in the upper and lower direction, and the discharge port unit 40 is configured to open the opening surface or the opening of the main body 2. Driven up and down.

The main body 2 is equipped with an image capturing unit 110 on the upper portion of the discharge port unit 40, to shoot the indoor image at regular intervals during the operation of the air conditioner. At this time, the lower end of the image capturing unit 110 is provided with a rotating unit 155 for rotating the image capturing unit 110 by a predetermined angle according to the control command.

As described above, the image capturing unit 110 is formed on the upper portion of the discharge port unit 40. However, the image capturing unit 110 is not limited thereto.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the indoor unit includes an image photographing unit 110, an image processing unit 120, a data unit 130, a rotation controller 150, a rotating unit 155, an input unit 160, an output unit 170, and an indoor unit. The fan 180, the indoor heat exchanger 190, the wind direction controller 200, and an indoor unit controller 120 that controls signal input and output for each of the above components and controls the operation thereof.

The data unit 130 stores data such as control data used for indoor unit operation, screen configuration data output through the output unit 170, and sound effect data. In addition, the image signal photographed by the image capturing unit 110 may be temporarily stored before being transmitted to the image processing unit 120.

The input unit 160 includes at least one data input means through a pressing operation or a touch, and applies the input data to the controller 140. The input unit 160 receives a user command and setting data according to the operation of the indoor unit, receives a driving command, or an operation stop command of the indoor unit, and applies it to the controller 140.

The output unit 170 includes display means capable of outputting letters, numbers, and symbol images, and displays an operating state of the indoor unit on the screen. In this case, the output unit 170 may further include a speaker or a lamp, and outputs a warning sound or an effect sound according to the operating state, or outputs the operating state of the indoor unit by turning on or flashing the lamp.

In addition, the output unit 170 may output a screen and a control menu for inputting a user command through display means according to a control command of the controller 140, and predetermined data is received from the image processor 120. This can be displayed on the screen.

The indoor fan 180 is a device for discharging the cold and hot air generated by the indoor heat exchanger 190 to the room, and is provided on one side of the indoor heat exchanger 190. At this time, the indoor fan 180 is connected to the motor, rotates by the rotational force of the motor to generate wind. The indoor fan 180 is a means for controlling the amount of air discharged into the room because the amount of air discharged into the room is variable according to the rotational speed of the motor. The indoor heat exchanger 190 heats the surrounding air by evaporating or condensing the refrigerant supplied from the outdoor unit, thereby generating cold or warm air.

The indoor fan 180 and the indoor heat exchanger 190 are operated by the control command of the control unit 140, and at this time, the control command of the control unit 140 is changed according to the operation setting set in the indoor unit.

On the other hand, the wind direction control unit 200 is a device for adjusting the direction of the air discharged from the discharge port to the room, is provided in the case of the indoor unit, so that the discharged air is changed up, down, left and right when opening the discharge port.

The image capturing unit 110 captures an indoor image through at least one image capturing means having a standard lens. At this time, the at least one image photographing means is disposed on any one of the up, down, left, and right sides of the indoor unit.

The image processor 120 processes the image signal photographed in real time by the image capturing unit 120 as a signal group in a readable state so that the image processor 120 is applied to the controller 140. In this case, the image signal processed by the image processor 120 may be transmitted in real time or at a predetermined time period, which may vary according to a setting.

In addition, the controller 140 reads data received from the image processor 120 to change an operation setting such as a set temperature, air volume, wind direction, or controls the indoor unit to be operated or stopped. At this time, the control unit 120 controls the indoor fan 180, the indoor heat exchanger 190, the wind direction control unit 200, etc. according to the changed operation settings, so that the indoor unit is operated or stopped.

On the other hand, the rotation unit 155 for rotating the image taking unit 110 at a predetermined angle and the rotation control unit 150 for commanding a control command for controlling the operation of the rotating unit 155 further includes. Here, the rotating unit 155 is provided with a rotatable motor, and when the control signal is issued from the rotation control unit 150 to control the operation of the rotating motor to rotate the rotation axis at a predetermined angle. In this case, the other end of the rotating shaft is connected to the image capturing unit 110 and the image capturing unit 110 is rotated at a predetermined angle as the rotating shaft is rotated. In addition, the rotation control unit 150 issues a control signal for controlling the operation of the rotation unit 155 according to the control command of the control unit 140.

Therefore, the image capturing unit 110 rotates at a predetermined angle and photographs the indoor image by the rotation operation of the rotating unit 155, and the controller controls the image capturing image data while the image capturing unit 110 rotates at the predetermined angle. Is received from the processing unit 120.

In this case, the controller 140 obtains image data of the entire room from the at least one captured image and detects the location of the occupant based on the image data of the entire room. In addition, the controller 140 controls the operation setting according to the detected position of the occupant.

4 and 5 are views for explaining the configuration of the image capturing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, Figure 4 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the image capturing unit. Referring to FIG. 4, a plurality of image capturing units 110 may be provided. In FIG. 4, two image capturing units are provided, that is, a first image capturing unit and a second image capturing unit are provided. Explain. In this case, the first image capturing unit and the second image capturing unit respectively convert the light incident through the standard lenses 111 and 112 and the standard lenses 111 and 112 into electrical image signals. It includes. Here, the standard lenses 111 and 112 are lenses whose degree of view does not exceed 88 degrees, and preferably have an angle of view of about 40 to 70 degrees. In addition, as the image sensors 113 and 114, a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) and a charge coupled device (CCD) may be used.

The image processor 120 receives and processes the image signals photographed through the first image capture unit and the second image capture unit, and applies the processed image signals to the controller 140.

5 is an exemplary view illustrating an operation of rotating the image capturing unit by the rotating unit, (a) is a view showing a state in which the rotating unit is connected to the image capturing unit, (b) is a state in which the image capturing unit rotates according to the operation of the rotating unit. Is a diagram showing.

Referring to FIG. 5A, the image capturing unit 110 includes a first image capturing unit and a second image capturing unit, respectively, for capturing an indoor image, and the first image capturing unit and the second image capturing unit are standard. The lenses 111 and 112 are arranged outside the main body of the image capturing unit 110, and the image capturing unit 110 is viewed from the front. In this case, the standard lenses 111 and 112 may be formed on the main body surface of the image capturing unit or may protrude from the main body surface. In addition, a rotation shaft of the rotating unit 155 is connected to one side of the main body of the image capturing unit, and the rotating shaft rotates at a predetermined angle as the rotating motor of the rotating unit 155 operates.

5 (b) shows a view of the upper side of (a), and as the rotating shaft rotates at a predetermined angle, it can be seen that the main body of the image capturing unit 110 rotates together with the rotating shaft.

6 and 7 illustrate an exemplary operation diagram of an air conditioner according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and will be described with reference to an example in which an angle of view of a standard lens is 55 degrees.

First, Figure 6 shows an image screen shot through the image pickup unit of the air conditioner. Referring to FIG. 6, 'A2' represents an image screen using a conventional general lens, that is, an 88 degree angle of view lens, and 'A1' represents an image screen using a standard lens, that is, a 55 degree angle of view lens according to the present invention. It is shown.

In other words, conventionally, to capture an indoor image, the indoor image is photographed using a lens having a wide angle of view, that is, an 88 degree angle of view, such as 'A2'. However, in view of the fact that a wide field of view lens is expensive, an image is captured using a narrower field of view lens, that is, a 55 degree field of view lens. Of course, since the indoor image cannot be captured at this time, the entire body of the image can be obtained by at least two image capturing by rotating the main body of the image capturing unit 110 at a predetermined angle. In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the view angle of the lens is 55 degrees, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. It is also possible to apply a lens having an angle of view less than or equal to that.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a range photographed using the 55 degree angle of view lens of FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 7, since the standard lens of the image capturing unit 110 has a 55 degree angle of view, the image capturing unit 110 is 55 from 'P1' in the direction in which the object 1 (D1) is placed relative to the air conditioner. The indoor image is taken within the 'P2' range, which is a position rotated by an angle.

At this time, the controller 140 applies a control command to the rotation controller 150 to rotate the rotation unit 155 by a predetermined angle in the 'P3' direction, so that the image capturing unit 110 is also rotated in the 'P3' direction, the initial shooting It is possible to shoot indoor images that are not within the range of 'P2' to 'P3'.

Accordingly, the controller 140 may acquire the entire indoor image from the image captured by the image capturing unit 110 being rotated at a predetermined angle. In this case, as the rotating unit 155 is rotated at predetermined time intervals, the image capturing unit 110 photographs the indoor image rotated at predetermined time intervals.

Looking at the operation of the present invention configured as described above are as follows.

8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation flow of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, at least one image capturing means including a standard lens captures an indoor image within a predetermined range according to an angle of view of the standard lens (S100). In this case, the captured indoor image is processed by the image processor 120, and the controller acquires the first image thereby (S110).

The control unit 140 issues a control command to the rotation control unit 150 after the first image acquisition, the rotation control unit 150 is rotated by the rotation unit 155 at a predetermined angle, accordingly the image pickup means is also rotated at a predetermined angle. (S120). In addition, the image photographing means photographs the indoor image at the rotated position (S130), and the controller 140 acquires the second image photographed at this time (S140).

Accordingly, the controller 140 obtains an image of the entire room based on the first image and the second image (S150), and detects the location of the occupant from the acquired indoor image (S160). If it is detected that the location of the occupant is changed from the existing position (S170), the controller 140 changes the operation setting of the air conditioner according to the location of the occupant (S180) and the air according to the variable operation setting. The harmonic operation is performed (S190).

On the other hand, if the occupant is the same as the existing location to repeat the process of 'S120' to S'S150 '.

Although the air conditioner according to the present invention has been described with reference to the illustrated drawings, the present invention is not limited by the embodiments and drawings disclosed herein, and the technical idea of the present invention is within the scope of protection to those skilled in the art. It can be easily applied by.

1 and 2 are perspective views showing an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a block diagram referred to explain the configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a view referred to for explaining the configuration of the sensor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention,

5 is a reference to the operation description of the air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, and

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

<Explanation of symbols on main parts of the drawings>

110: sensor unit 112: camera

114: distance measuring sensor 115: first body

116: second body 117: rotation axis

120: control unit 130: drive unit

140: memory

Claims (11)

An image capturing unit capturing an indoor image through at least one image capturing means having a standard lens; A rotating unit having a rotatable motor, the rotating shaft of the motor being fixedly connected to the image capturing unit; A rotation controller which issues a control signal to rotate the motor at a predetermined angle; And According to the rotation operation of the motor, the image photographing unit rotates and acquires image data of the entire room from the at least one image captured, and detects the location of the occupants from the image data of the entire room to change the operation setting. An air conditioner comprising a control unit. The method of claim 1, And said standard lens is a lens whose degree of view does not exceed 88 degrees. The method of claim 1, The standard lens is a lens having an angle of view of about 40 to 70 degrees. The method of claim 1, The rotation controller is an air conditioner that issues a control signal for rotating the motor of the rotating unit in real time or at predetermined time intervals. The method of claim 4, wherein The image capturing unit, the air conditioner for capturing the indoor image in the position rotated every time the motor rotation of the rotating unit. The method of claim 1, The controller is configured to read image data photographed at predetermined time intervals through the camera, detect an object to be moved, and determine an occupant. The method of claim 1, The control unit controls the operation setting of at least one of the wind speed, the air volume, and the set temperature when the occupant is detected, and if the occupant does not exist, the air conditioner to change the operation or stop the operation so as to be operated in a blowing mode or a power saving mode. . Photographing an indoor image through at least one image photographing means having a standard lens; Rotating the at least one image photographing means at a predetermined angle; Obtaining image data of the entire room from the at least one image photographed by the image photographing unit rotatingly moving; And And controlling the operation setting by sensing the location of the occupants from the image data of the entire room. The method of claim 8, And rotating the image capturing means at a predetermined angle is performed periodically at regular time intervals. The method of claim 8, wherein in the variable control of the operation setting, The control method of the air conditioner to change the setting or stop the operation to operate in the blowing mode or the power saving mode, if the occupant is not present. The method of claim 8, And comparing the images photographed at predetermined time intervals by the at least one image photographing means. The control method of the air conditioner for detecting the moving object according to the comparison result of the photographed image to determine the occupant.

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