KR20120098196A - Air conditioner and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An air conditioner and a control method thereof are provided to effectively control the air conditioner while a plurality of outdoor units is controlled by a contact controller. CONSTITUTION: An air conditioner comprises a plurality of indoor units(30), a plurality of outdoor units(20), a remote controller(10), and a contact controller(100). The outdoor units are connected to the indoor units. The remote controller controls the indoor units, and the outdoor units. The contact controller is connected to the outdoor units, and links the remote controller and the outdoor unit by communicating with the remote controller. The contact controller controls the outdoor units by generating a control command corresponding to data from the remote controller, and transmits the data on the outdoor units to the remoter controller. [Reference numerals] (101,102,103) Contact controller; (51,52,53) Contact switch

Description

Air conditioner and control method

The present invention relates to an air conditioner and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to an air conditioner for controlling a compressor capacity of an outdoor unit using a contact controller.

The air conditioner is installed to provide a more comfortable indoor environment for humans by discharging cold air into the room to adjust the indoor temperature and purifying the indoor air to create a comfortable indoor environment. In general, an air conditioner includes an indoor unit which is configured as a heat exchanger and installed indoors, and an outdoor unit which is configured as a compressor and a heat exchanger and supplies refrigerant to the indoor unit.

The air conditioner is separated and controlled by an indoor unit composed of a heat exchanger and an outdoor unit composed of a compressor and a heat exchanger, and is operated by controlling power supplied to a compressor or a heat exchanger. In addition, the air conditioner may be connected to at least one indoor unit to the outdoor unit, the refrigerant is supplied to the indoor unit according to the requested operating state, the operation is operated in the cooling or heating mode.

Such an air conditioner may be connected to a remote controller to control a plurality of indoor units and outdoor units.

However, it is difficult to add and install a remote controller in a state where indoor unit and outdoor unit units are already installed, and the remote controller includes various functions and may target a plurality of units, which may be expensive.

Therefore, there is a need for a method for controlling indoor units and outdoor units that are already installed, or for more easily controlling the indoor units.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner for controlling the operation of an outdoor unit and a control method thereof by connecting a contact controller to an outdoor unit of an air conditioner, and connecting an outdoor unit and a remote controller through a contact controller.

An air conditioner according to the present invention includes a plurality of indoor units and an outdoor unit connected to the plurality of indoor units; A remote controller for controlling the indoor unit and the outdoor unit; And connected to the outdoor unit, interconnecting the remote controller and the outdoor unit through communication with the remote controller, generating a control command corresponding to data received from the remote controller to control the outdoor unit, And a contact controller for transmitting data to the remote controller.

In addition, the control method of the air conditioner of the present invention comprises the steps of collecting the address information of the outdoor unit by a contact controller connected to at least one outdoor unit; Transmitting address information of the outdoor unit to a remote controller connected through a communication line; Analyzing the data received from the remote controller and determining the outdoor unit to be controlled according to the address information; And generating a control command according to the received data and transmitting the control command to the control target outdoor unit to control the outdoor unit operation.

The air conditioner and the control method according to the present invention configured as described above are connected to a contact controller to an outdoor unit, and a controller connected to the contact controller controls the plurality of outdoor units through the contact controller, thereby controlling the remote controller and the unit through the contact controller. It is possible to control the operation of the unit by using the remote controller for the unit that cannot be directly connected or difficult to connect to the remote controller by connecting to the remote controller, and the compressor capacity of the outdoor unit can be controlled from the remote controller, thereby making the operation of the air conditioner easier. Can be controlled effectively.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an air conditioner to which a contact controller is connected according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a diagram illustrating a data flow between a contact controller, a remote controller, and an outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a contact controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart referred to for describing a method of operating a contact controller for a remote controller and an outdoor unit connected through a contact controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for controlling an outdoor unit of a contact controller using a remote controller in an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an air conditioner to which a contact controller is connected according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner according to the present invention includes a plurality of indoor units 30 (31 to 39), a plurality of outdoor units 20 (21 to 23) and outdoor units 20 connected to the plurality of indoor units. It includes a plurality of contact controller 100 (101 to 103) connected.

In addition, a controller 10 connected to the plurality of contact controllers 100 and inputting a predetermined signal for controlling the outdoor unit, contact switches 50 and 51 to 53 connected to the contact controller 100 and inputting a contact signal. It includes.

The air conditioner may be any one of a stand type air conditioner, a wall type air conditioner, and a ceiling type air conditioner, but for convenience of description, a ceiling type air conditioner will be described as an example. The air conditioner may further include at least one of a ventilator, an air cleaner, a humidifier, and a heater to operate in conjunction with the operation of the indoor unit and the outdoor unit.

The outdoor unit 20 includes a compressor (not shown) for receiving and compressing a refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger (not shown) for exchanging refrigerant and outdoor air, and an accumulator for extracting a gas refrigerant from the supplied refrigerant and supplying it to the compressor (not shown). And a four-way valve (not shown) for selecting a flow path of the refrigerant according to the heating operation. In addition, although a plurality of sensors, valves and oil recovery device, etc. are further included, the description of the configuration will be omitted below.

The outdoor unit 20 supplies a refrigerant to the indoor unit 30 by compressing or heat-exchanging the refrigerant according to a setting by operating a compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger. The outdoor unit 20 is driven by the request of the contact controller 100, the controller 10, or the indoor unit 30, and as the air / heating capacity is changed in response to the driven indoor unit, the number of operation of the outdoor unit and the compressor installed in the outdoor unit The number of operation of is variable.

In this case, the outdoor unit 20 will be described based on supplying refrigerant to the indoor units to which the plurality of outdoor units are respectively connected, but a plurality of outdoor units may be connected to each other according to the connection structure of the outdoor unit and the indoor unit to supply the refrigerant to the indoor units. have.

The indoor unit 30 is connected to any one of the plurality of outdoor units 21 to 23, and receives coolant from the outdoor unit 20 to discharge cold air. The indoor unit 30 includes an indoor heat exchanger (not shown), an indoor unit fan (not shown), an expansion valve (not shown) in which the refrigerant supplied is expanded, and a plurality of sensors (not shown).

In this case, the outdoor unit 20 and the indoor unit 30 are connected to each other by a communication line to transmit and receive data, and the outdoor unit 20 is connected to the contact controller 100 by a separate communication line to operate under the control of the contact controller 100. do.

In addition, at least one indoor unit of the plurality of indoor units 31 to 39 may be set as the master indoor unit, and the remaining slave indoor units other than the master indoor unit operate according to the setting of the master indoor unit.

The contact controller 100 controls the compressor capacity and the driving of the plurality of outdoor units 20 in response to the contact signal input from the contact switch 50 and the control signal input from the connected remote controller 10.

The contact controller 100 enables the compressor capacity control of the outdoor unit in the remote controller 10 by relaying the connection between the remote controller and the outdoor unit, so that the plurality of outdoor units 11 to 13 operate at a specified operation rate.

The first contact controller 101 is connected to the first outdoor unit 21, the second contact controller 102 is connected to the second outdoor unit 22, and the third contact controller 103 is the third outdoor unit 23. Connected with. At this time, it is preferable that one contact controller is connected one to one to one outdoor unit, but a plurality of outdoor units can be connected to one contact controller.

The contact controller 100 controls the capacity of the inverter compressor provided in the outdoor unit when the outdoor unit is individually connected to the indoor unit, and controls the capacity of the two compressors when the inverter compressor and the constant speed compressor are provided. On the other hand, the contact controller 100 may control the total capacity according to the operation for the plurality of compressors provided in the plurality of outdoor units when the plurality of outdoor units are interconnected to supply the refrigerant to the plurality of indoor units.

The contact switch 50 is connected to the contact controller 100 and inputs a predetermined contact signal to the contact controller 100 according to an operation of a switch provided therein. When the plurality of switches are set to a specific value by rotation or pressure, the contact switch 50 inputs a contact signal according thereto.

The remote controller 10 is connected to a plurality of indoor units 30 by a communication line (not shown) to control the operation of each indoor unit and set an operation schedule. The remote controller 10 may individually control a plurality of indoor units or form a group for a predetermined indoor unit to control operations by group.

In addition, the remote controller 10 is connected to the contact controller 100, and controls the outdoor unit 20 connected to the contact controller through the contact controller 100.

The remote controller 10 transmits a control signal for controlling the operation of the outdoor unit 20 to the contact controller 100, and the contact controller 100 transmits a control command corresponding to the input control signal to the connected outdoor unit 20. do.

At this time, the remote controller 10 transmits a control signal to the contact controller 100 to control at least one of the operation (on / off), the mode and the wind speed with respect to the outdoor unit 20, and also to set the compressor capacity of the outdoor unit. do.

When the contact controller 100 performs compressor capacity control on the plurality of outdoor units 20 in response to a control signal input from the remote controller 10, the outdoor unit 20 drives the compressor with a specified capacity and accordingly, The coolant is supplied to the indoor unit 30 to discharge cold air into the room.

At this time, both the remote controller 10 and the first to third contact controllers 100 control the operation of the outdoor unit as a controller, the remote controller 10 operates as a master controller, the first to third contact controllers 100 operates as a slave controller. Accordingly, in controlling the outdoor unit, the control command of the remote controller 10 is given priority.

The first to third contact controllers 101 to 103 are connected to the remote controller 10 through the first communication line L1 to receive a control signal from the remote controller 10, and the plurality of outdoor units to the second communication line L2. 21 and 23 are each individually connected. In addition, the plurality of outdoor units 20 are each connected to the plurality of indoor units by a third communication line L3 to transmit and receive data with each other. The contact switch 50 is connected to the contact terminal of the contact controller 100.

In this case, each device connected through the first to third communication lines L1 to L3 transmits and receives data in different communication methods according to a connection method or a communication module provided, but may communicate using the same communication method in some cases. . In addition to the wired communication using a communication line, it is possible to communicate with each other by a wireless communication method.

Accordingly, the contact controller 100 can control the compressor capacity of the connected outdoor unit according to the control signal of the remote controller 10 or the contact signal of the contact switch 50, thereby controlling the operation rate of the outdoor unit, and accordingly, to the indoor unit. It controls the air discharged.

The contact controller 100 controls ON / OFF control, cooling mode, heating mode, blowing mode setting, and compressor capacity according to the input contact signal or control signal for the plurality of outdoor units 21 to 23. Can be set.

In addition, the contact point controller 100 includes a conversion means according to a plurality of communication methods or protocols to enable data transmission and reception between communication using different communication methods or different protocols, and converts the transmitted and received data to each designated device. To be transmitted.

2 is a diagram illustrating a data flow between a contact controller, a remote controller, and an outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The remote controller 10 is connected to the contact controller 100 to transmit a control signal including control data for the outdoor unit to the contact controller, and is also connected to a plurality of indoor units to control the operation of the indoor unit 30.

The remote controller 10 is directly connected to the indoor unit by a communication line to control the operation, but the outdoor unit is connected through the contact controller to control the compressor capacity of the outdoor unit by the relay of the contact controller 100. The outdoor unit and the indoor unit are each connected by a communication line and a refrigerant pipe.

At this time, when the operation of the indoor unit 30 is set by the remote controller 10, the outdoor unit 20 drives the compressor at the request of the indoor unit 30 to supply the refrigerant to the indoor unit, according to the control signal of the remote controller When the outdoor unit is controlled by the contact controller 100, the outdoor unit operates at the designated compressor capacity.

The remote controller 10 controls the indoor temperature, the room temperature, the air volume, the wind direction, the lock setting and the operation schedule, and whether the compressor is driven through the contact controller 100 with respect to the outdoor unit, whether the outdoor unit is operated and the capacity of the compressor. To control.

In addition, the remote controller 10 may control the operation rate through any one of the indoor unit control and the outdoor unit control, and the indoor unit within the designated compressor capacity range even during the compressor capacity control of the outdoor unit through the contact controller 100. Temperature, air volume, wind direction and schedule control are available.

The contact controller 100 provides a predetermined mode according to controlling the outdoor unit 20 while simultaneously relaying data so that the remote controller 10 and the outdoor unit 20 are connected to each other. The outdoor unit capacity value can be set in multiple stages. .

In addition, the contact controller 100 may recognize the outdoor unit to which the remote controller 10 is connected by using the address of the contact controller 100 with respect to the outdoor unit whose address cannot be set.

The contact controller 100 inputs a control command to the outdoor unit 20 in response to a contact signal input from the connected contact switch 50 or a control signal including control data input from the remote controller 10.

At this time, the contact controller 100 selectively receives any one of a contact signal of the contact switch 50 and a control signal of the remote controller 10 according to the switch setting provided to control the outdoor unit. In the contact control mode, the outdoor unit is controlled according to the contact signal of the contact switch, and in the control signal mode, the outdoor unit is controlled in response to the control signal of the remote controller 10.

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a contact controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the contact controller 100 includes an input unit 120, a display unit 160, a data unit 170, a remote controller communication unit 150, an outdoor unit communication unit 140, a contact signal input unit 130, And a control unit (not shown) for controlling the overall operation of the contact controller 100.

The input unit 120 sets an operation mode of the contact controller 100 and sets an address used when communicating with the outdoor unit. The input unit 120 includes a setting switch 121 and an address setting switch 122. The setting switch 121 and the address setting switch 122 may include at least one of a rotary switch, a rotary switch, and a step switch.

The setting switch 121 sets an operation mode according to the contact controller 110 to control the outdoor unit 20 according to the setting value. The setting switch 121 controls the outdoor unit 20 according to a signal input through the contact signal input unit 130 or ignores the input contact signal, and according to a signal input through the remote controller communication unit 150, the outdoor unit 20. Set whether to control).

For example, it may be set to the contact control mode to control the outdoor unit according to the contact signal value of the contact signal input unit 130 according to the setting value of the setting switch 121, and the contact signal input unit 130 may be set for other setting values. Ignoring the contact signal input through, it can be set to control the outdoor unit according to the control signal received through the remote controller communication unit 150.

In addition, the setting switch 121 sets the cooling / heating mode of the outdoor unit 20 in controlling the outdoor unit of the contact controller 100, and sets the contact controller 100 as a master or slave controller. When the remote controller 10 and the contact controller 100 are connected, when the remote controller 10 is set as a master, the contact controller 100 is set as a slave.

The address setting switch 122 sets the address of the contact controller 100 according to the set value. In this case, at least one address setting switch 122 may be provided.

The address value set by the address setting switch 122 is used as the address of the contact controller when the contact controller 100 communicates with the outdoor unit, the remote controller 10 or another device. In addition, it can be used as a temporary address for the device that can not set the address among the devices connected through the contact controller 100.

The display unit 160 displays the operation, the set mode, the connection state, and the outdoor unit control state of the contact controller 100. At this time, the display unit 160 includes a plurality of lamps, and displays the operation state of the contact controller according to the emission color of the lamp and whether the lamp is turned on. In some cases, the display unit 160 may be provided with a display device that displays numbers or letters.

The data unit 170 stores operation data for setting the operation of the contact controller or control data for controlling the outdoor unit according to the setting values of the input unit 120, that is, the setting switch 121 and the address setting switch 122.

In addition, the data unit 170 stores the address of the contact controller set by the address setting switch 122 and stores the address of the outdoor unit 20 received from the outdoor unit 20, the remote controller communication unit 150 or the outdoor unit communication unit Data transmitted and received through the 140 is stored.

The remote controller communication unit 150 is connected to the remote controller 10 and the first communication line L1 under the control of the controller 110 to receive a control signal from the remote controller 10 and to respond to the received control signal. Alternatively, the operation data of the outdoor unit is transmitted.

At this time, the remote controller communication unit 150 may communicate with the remote controller 10 by using any one of Ethernet, LAN, power line communication, wireless LAN communication method, communication module provided in the remote controller 10 in some cases. Corresponding to the communication method of the outdoor unit and the indoor unit can correspond to the communication method.

The outdoor unit communication unit 140 is connected to the outdoor unit 20 through the second communication line L2, transmits a control command of the contact controller 100 to the outdoor unit 20, and receives operation data from the outdoor unit. The outdoor unit communication unit 140 may perform TTL communication with the connected outdoor unit 20 according to the connection distance with the contact controller 100.

The contact signal input unit 130 is connected to the contact switch 50 including a first input terminal (A) 131 and a second input terminal (B). The contact signal input unit 130 includes a plurality of contact terminals, receives a contact signal input through the contact terminal, and applies the contact signal to the controller 110. The contact switch 50 is connected to the contact signal input unit 130, and a contact signal according to the operation of the contact switch 50 is input.

The contact signal input unit 130 is connected to the contact switch 50 through the first input terminal (A) 131, and a controller (not shown) for inputting another analog signal through the second input terminal (B) 132. Can be connected. At this time, the signal input through the first input terminal (A) and the second input terminal (B) is ignored according to the setting value of the setting switch 121 or selectively receives any one.

The contact signal input unit 130 is applied with 0 or 1 for each terminal provided at each input terminal, and inputs a 4-digit contact signal to the controller 110. The controller 110 sets an output value for outdoor unit control according to each signal value of the contact signal together with the setting value of the setting switch 121 and transmits the outdoor unit to the outdoor unit during the contact control.

In order to control the outdoor unit, the control unit 110 inputs from the contact switch 50 according to the setting of the input unit 120, that is, the mode according to the setting value of the setting switch 121 and the address value of the address setting switch 122. The outdoor unit 20 connected through the outdoor unit communication unit 140 is controlled based on any one of a contact signal or a control signal received from the remote controller communication unit 150.

For example, the controller 110 may set the compressor capacity of the outdoor unit 20 from 0% to 100% according to the control signal received through the remote controller communication unit 150.

In addition, the controller 110 may set an operation stop of the outdoor unit and an operation stop of the compressor according to a control signal received through the remote controller communication unit 150.

Remote controller input value  Output value (packet) Outdoor unit compressor capacity (%) 0 0 No control One One 100 2 2 90 3 3 80 4 4 70 5 5 60 6 6 50 7 7 45 8 8 40 9 9 Compressor off 10 10 ALL OFF

For example, as shown in Table 1, the control unit 110 generates a control command output value corresponding to the input value of the control signal received from the remote controller 10 and outputs the outdoor unit communication unit 140. The controller 110 may control the compressor capacity of the outdoor unit in steps of 40% to 100% in a predetermined unit when the minimum operation rate is 40%, and does not control the compressor capacity or stops the compressor by operation. Control to stop operation. At this time, the numerical value may be changed according to the capacity and the minimum operation rate of the compressor, the inverter compressor provided in the outdoor unit.

The controller 110 does not control the outdoor unit according to the control signal of the remote controller 10, the output value to the outdoor unit is 0, the output value 9 when the compressor is stopped, the outdoor unit operation stops 10, and the output value according to the compressor capacity control of the outdoor unit. Is 1 to 8, the minimum value is set to 8, the maximum capacity of the compressor to set the output value to 1 and transmits a control command to the outdoor unit through the outdoor unit communication unit 140.

 In addition, the control unit 110 transmits a control command of a specified output value for locking the outdoor unit's heating / cooling / blowing mode and stopping the outdoor unit operation according to the setting value of the setting switch 121 to the outdoor unit through the outdoor unit communication unit 140. do.

 When the controller 110 is connected to the outdoor unit 20 through the outdoor unit communication unit 140, the controller 110 requests an address from the outdoor unit. When the address is received from the outdoor unit 20 through the outdoor unit communication unit 140, the controller 110 transmits the address to the data unit 170. Save it.

In addition, when the controller 110 is connected to the remote controller 10 through the remote controller communication unit 150, the controller 110 transmits the address of the contact controller 10 and the address of the connected outdoor unit 20 to the remote controller 10. In some cases, the address of the contact controller may be allocated from the remote controller 10.

In this case, if the address received from the connected outdoor unit 20 is a basic value, the controller 110 may transmit the address of the contact controller 10 as the address of the outdoor unit to the remote controller 10.

That is, even if there are a plurality of outdoor units having a default value as an address, the remote controller 10 can distinguish each outdoor unit because it uses the address of the contact controller 100.

For example, even if the address values of the first outdoor unit 21 and the second outdoor unit 23 of FIG. 1 are the same as the default values of FF or there is no address setting function, the first outdoor unit 21 connected to the first outdoor unit 21 may be used. When the address value of the first contact controller 101 is 01 and the address value of the second contact controller 102 connected to the second outdoor unit 22 is 03, the first and second contact controllers 101 and 102 are contact controllers. The address is transmitted to the remote controller 10 so as to be distinguishable.

4 is a flowchart referred to for describing a method of operating a contact controller for a remote controller and an outdoor unit connected through a contact controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the contact controller 100 is connected to the remote controller 10 to control the outdoor unit 20, the controller 110 initializes the setting at operation start (S310).

The control unit 110 receives the setting value of the setting switch 121 and the address setting switch 122, the input unit 120 sets the operation mode and the address of the contact controller (S320).

In addition, the controller 110 lights the lamp of the display unit 170 indicating that the contact controller 100 is operating and that the outdoor unit can be controlled (S330). For example, after turning on all the lamps provided in the display unit 170, the lamp is turned off and then the power lamp is turned on to indicate that the contact controller is in operation.

The controller 110 sets the communication terminals of the remote controller communication unit 150 and the outdoor unit communication unit 140 in a reception mode (S340) to receive information of the remote controller 10 or the outdoor unit 20.

Meanwhile, at this time, when the contact control mode is set by the setting switch 121, the outdoor unit 20 may be controlled by receiving the contact signal of the contact switch 50 connected through the contact signal input unit 130.

When data is received from one of the communication terminals of the remote controller communication unit 150 or the outdoor unit communication unit 140 set to the reception mode, the controller 110 processes the received data.

At this time, when the outdoor unit communication time (S350), the control unit 110 releases the reception mode of the communication terminal and transmits data to the outdoor unit 20 through the outdoor unit communication unit 140 (S360). If there is a control command for the outdoor unit stored in the data unit 170, the controller 110 transmits the control command to the outdoor unit 20.

Meanwhile, when data is received from the outdoor unit 20 through the outdoor unit communication unit 140 (S370), the outdoor unit communication unit 140 inputs data of the outdoor unit 20 to the controller 110, and the controller 110 receives the received data. Process the data (S380).

At this time, the controller 110 transmits a response signal to the data of the outdoor unit 20, analyzes the data of the received outdoor unit 20, and processes the operation data of the outdoor unit. In addition, the controller 110 stores the operation data in the data unit 170.

When the data of the remote controller 10 is received through the remote controller communication unit 150 (S390), the controller 110 analyzes the data received from the remote controller 10 and stores the data in the data unit 170 (S400). The outdoor unit 20 is controlled in response to the control signal included in the received data (S410).

The controller 110 generates a control command by designating an output value corresponding to the control signal of the received data, and transmits the generated control command to the outdoor unit 20 through the outdoor unit communication unit 140 to control the outdoor unit.

The controller 110 transmits a response signal according to data reception and outdoor unit control to the remote controller 10 (S420). In addition, when communicating with the remote controller, the controller 110 transmits the operation data of the outdoor unit 20 stored in the data unit 170 to the remote controller 10.

On the other hand, when the contact signal is input through the contact signal input unit 130, according to the setting value of the setting switch 121, or ignores the contact signal or transmits a control command to the outdoor unit in response to the contact signal to control the outdoor unit (S440). ).

The controller 110 periodically communicates with the outdoor unit 20 at an outdoor unit communication time to receive and store operation data of the outdoor unit, and transmits the stored operation data to the remote controller 10 when communicating with the remote controller 10.

At other times, the communication terminal is set to the reception mode to receive data and perform an operation corresponding to the received data.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for controlling an outdoor unit of a contact controller using a remote controller in an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the outdoor unit is connected to the communication terminal of the outdoor unit communication unit 140 of the contact controller 100 by a communication line (S450), the controller 110 inputs a signal according to the outdoor unit connection to the control unit 110.

The control unit 110 recognizes the outdoor unit 20 according to the input signal, and requests the address to the outdoor unit 20 (S460).

In this case, when the control signal for the outdoor unit is received from the remote controller 10 or another device or a plurality of outdoor units are connected, the controller 110 uses the address of the outdoor unit to recognize the outdoor unit.

According to the request of the contact controller 100, the connected outdoor unit 20 transmits the set address to the contact controller 100, and the contact controller 100 receives the address from the outdoor unit 20 by the outdoor unit communication unit 140. 110) (S470).

The controller 110 determines whether the connected outdoor unit is an addressable outdoor unit or an impossible outdoor unit according to the received address value. In this case, when the address value received from the outdoor unit is a default value, the controller 110 determines that the outdoor unit is an address that cannot be set. The recognized value as the address of the outdoor unit. For example, if the address value is the default value of FF, it may be determined that the outdoor unit that can not be set is an addressable outdoor unit. At this time, the default value and the address value are only examples, and can be changed according to a setting.

For the addressable outdoor unit, the controller 110 transmits the received address of the outdoor unit through the remote controller communication unit 150 (S490). On the other hand, the control unit 110 transmits the address of the contact controller 100 set by the address setting switch 122 to the remote controller 10 as the address of the outdoor unit for the outdoor unit that cannot be set (S500).

After the controller 110 transmits and registers the address of the connected outdoor unit to the remote controller 10 and receives data from the remote controller 10 (S510), the controller 110 checks the outdoor unit to be controlled according to the address information included in the data. (S520).

For example, when the address of the data destination is the address of the contact controller, it is determined that the outdoor unit that cannot be set is the outdoor unit to be controlled, and when the address is a predetermined address value, the outdoor unit corresponding to the outdoor unit is determined to be the outdoor unit to be controlled.

The controller 110 generates a control command of an output value corresponding to the data received from the remote controller 10, and transmits a control command to the control target outdoor unit (S530) to control the operation of the outdoor unit.

Therefore, the air conditioner is not only connected to the outdoor unit and the remote controller through the contact controller, but also can be controlled by being connected to the remote controller through the contact controller even for an outdoor unit that cannot set the address for the central control to be used for the central control by the remote controller. .

Accordingly, the remote controller can control the compressor capacity with respect to the outdoor unit connected through the contact controller, thereby controlling not only a plurality of indoor units but also outdoor units, and controlling the operation rate of the entire air conditioner. have.

As described above, the air conditioner and the control method according to the present invention have been described with reference to the illustrated drawings, but the present invention is not limited by the embodiments and drawings disclosed herein, and the application is within the scope of the technical idea. Can be.

10: remote controller 50: contact switch
20, 21 to 23: outdoor unit 30, 31 to 39: indoor unit
100: contact controller
110: control unit 120: input unit
130: contact signal input unit 140: outdoor unit communication unit
150: remote controller communication unit

Claims (10)

A plurality of indoor units and an outdoor unit connected to the plurality of indoor units;
A remote controller for controlling the indoor unit and the outdoor unit; And
Connected to the outdoor unit, interconnecting the remote controller and the outdoor unit through communication with the remote controller, generating a control command corresponding to data received from the remote controller to control the outdoor unit, and data for the outdoor unit; Air conditioner comprising a contact controller for transmitting to the remote controller. The method of claim 1,
And the contact controller receives address information of the connected outdoor unit, transmits the address information to the remote controller, and determines the control target outdoor unit in response to the address information included in the data received from the remote controller. The method of claim 2,
And the contact controller transmits the address to the remote controller in place of the address of the contact controller when there is an outdoor unit that cannot be set among the outdoor units. The method of claim 1,
And the contact controller controls the compressor capacity of the outdoor unit in a stepwise manner in response to the data received from the remote controller. The method of claim 1,
The contact controller receives the data by setting the communication terminal of the communication unit connected to the outdoor unit or the remote controller in a reception mode,
And a control command corresponding to a switch setting or a control command corresponding to the received data of the remote controller when the outdoor unit communication time at a predetermined time period is reached, to the outdoor unit. The method of claim 1,
And the remote controller stores address information of the outdoor unit received from the contact controller, and transmits a control signal for controlling a predetermined outdoor unit according to the address information to the contact controller. Collecting, by the contact controller connected to at least one outdoor unit, address information of the outdoor unit;
Transmitting address information of the outdoor unit to a remote controller connected through a communication line;
Analyzing the data received from the remote controller and determining the outdoor unit to be controlled according to the address information; And
Generating a control command according to the received data and transmitting the control command to the control target outdoor unit to control the operation of the outdoor unit. The method of claim 7, wherein
The control method of the air conditioner, characterized in that for controlling the capacity of the compressor included in the outdoor unit to be controlled in response to the received data. The method of claim 7, wherein
And transmitting an own address of the contact controller to the remote controller in place of address information of the outdoor unit, which cannot be set if there is an outdoor unit that cannot be set among the outdoor units. The method of claim 9,
If the address information included in the data received from the remote controller is the address of the contact controller, the control method of the air conditioner, characterized in that for controlling the operation by transmitting a control command to the outdoor unit that can not set the address.

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