KR20150044306A - Air conditioner and method - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention relates to an air conditioner that interconnects, operates, controls and manages a plurality of air conditioning units regardless of manufacturer, and an operation method for the same. The invention connects a compatible general-purpose controller to interconnect multiple units, that are made by different manufactures and have a different communication method and enable communication with each other, integrated control and management of the multiple units regardless of manufactures in order to improve compatibility and scalability of the multiple units. The invention also improves usability as an existing air conditioning unit can be used.

Description

[0001] Air conditioner and method [0002]

The present invention relates to an air conditioner and a method of operating the same, and more particularly, to an air conditioner and an operation method thereof, in which a plurality of units are interconnected and controllable regardless of a manufacturer.

The air conditioner is installed to provide a comfortable indoor environment for humans by discharging cold air to the room to adjust the room temperature and purify the room air to create a pleasant indoor environment. Generally, the air conditioner includes an indoor unit which is constituted by a heat exchanger and installed in a room, and an outdoor unit which is constituted by a compressor, a heat exchanger and the like and supplies the refrigerant to the indoor unit.

Such an air conditioner is controlled by being separated and controlled by an indoor unit constituted by a heat exchanger, an outdoor unit constituted by a compressor, a heat exchanger and the like, and operated by controlling a power source supplied to a compressor or a heat exchanger. Also, at least one indoor unit may be connected to the outdoor unit, and the air conditioner is operated in the cooling or heating mode by supplying the refrigerant to the indoor unit according to the requested operation state.

When the liquid refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure is supplied from the compressor of the outdoor unit to the indoor unit through the heat exchanger of the outdoor unit during the cooling operation, the refrigerant expands and vaporizes in the heat exchanger of the indoor unit, When the temperature of the air is lowered and the indoor fan is rotated, the cool air is discharged into the room. When the gas refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure is supplied from the compressor of the outdoor unit to the indoor unit during the heating operation, the gas refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure is liquefied in the heat exchanger of the indoor unit The air warmed by the released energy is discharged to the room according to the operation of the indoor fan.

Such an air conditioner is difficult to be compatible due to different data transmission methods and signaling schemes according to the manufacturer. Therefore, when an air conditioner is installed and another manufacturer's product is further connected, there is a problem in communication or a separate controller There was a difficulty to install. Further, only individual control of a plurality of units is possible, but there is a limitation in integrating and controlling them.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner and a method of operating the same in which a plurality of air conditioner units are connected to each other to operate and control the air conditioner units regardless of the manufacturer.

An air conditioner according to the present invention includes: a first group including an outdoor unit and an indoor unit; A second group including an outdoor unit and an indoor unit different from the first group; A remote controller for integrating and controlling the first group and the second group using the same communication method as the first group; And a general controller coupled to the second group for controlling the second group to operate according to a control signal of the remote controller.

An operation method of an air conditioner according to the present invention includes: a general-purpose controller searching for a switch setting; Setting a dedicated mode or a general-purpose mode corresponding to a set value of the switch; And controlling the operation of the connected unit by transmitting a signal to the contact control port in response to a control signal received from the remote controller when the universal mode is set; .

The air conditioner and the method of operating the same according to the present invention as described above can mutually communicate a plurality of units of different manufacturers and communicating methods by connecting compatible universal controllers to thereby enable a plurality of units By integrating, controlling, and managing the units, the compatibility and determinability of the devices are improved and the existing products can be used as they are, thereby greatly improving the user's convenience.

1 is a view showing a configuration of an air conditioner according to the present invention.
2 is a diagram for explaining a connection between a unit of an air conditioner and a general-purpose controller according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a connection between a unit of an air conditioner and a general control period according to the present invention.
4 is a flowchart showing a communication setting method between the air conditioner units of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention and the manner of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. To fully disclose the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

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

1 is a view showing a configuration of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

1, the air conditioner includes a remote controller 10, a plurality of outdoor units 21, 22, 61 and 63, a plurality of indoor units 31 to 36, 63, 64 and 65, a plurality of remote controllers 41 To 46), and a plurality of general purpose controllers 50.

The first group 80 includes the first and second outdoor units 21 and 22, the first to sixth indoor units 31 to 36 and the first to sixth remote controllers 41 to 46. At this time, the first group 80 uses the same communication method as the remote controller 10.

The second group 60 includes an eleventh outdoor unit 61, a twelfth outdoor unit 63 and eleventh to thirteenth indoor units 62, 64 and 65. At this time, the outdoor units and the indoor units in the second group may be different manufacturers, respectively, but the communication methods are mutually compatible units.

Here, the first group 80 and the second group 60 are different manufacturers or air conditioner units having different communication methods.

On the other hand, the third group 50 is constituted by the first and second universal controllers 51 and 52. The general-purpose controller 50 may be different from the manufacturer of the remote controller, but the communication methods are the same or are scalable.

The remote controller 10 monitors and controls the operation states of a plurality of indoor units and outdoor units included in the first and second groups 80 and 60. At this time, the remote controller 10 can communicate with the outdoor unit and the indoor unit of the first group 80 on a unit-by-unit basis.

On the other hand, the remote controller 10 can not directly communicate with the second group 60 because the communication method is different from that of the second group 60, and through the third group of universal controllers 50 connected to the second group, .

The first and second universal controllers (51, 52) are connected to the remote controller (10) through a communication line to transmit data for the indoor units and the outdoor units of the second group to the remote controller, Or to the indoor unit. The first general-purpose controller 51 is connected to and communicates with the eleventh outdoor unit 61 and the eleventh indoor unit 62 is controlled by the eleventh outdoor unit 61. The second universal controller 52 is connected to the twelfth outdoor unit 63 to transmit the data received from the remote controller 10 and the data of the twelfth and thirteenth indoor units 64 and 65 from the twelfth outdoor unit 63 And transmits it to the remote controller 10.

At this time, the outdoor unit and the indoor unit are connected to the refrigerant pipe, and the cold air is discharged from the indoor unit to the indoor unit according to the circulation of the refrigerant, and the indoor units can be connected to the outdoor unit in plural. The plurality of indoor units and the outdoor units are connected to each other through a refrigerant pipe, and can be connected to a communication line to transmit / receive control commands according to a predetermined communication method.

The air conditioner may further include units such as a ventilation unit, an air purifying unit, a humidifying unit, a dehumidifying unit, and a heater in addition to the indoor unit and the outdoor unit, but a description thereof will be omitted below.

The indoor unit includes an expansion valve (not shown) for expanding the refrigerant supplied from the outdoor unit connected to the indoor unit, an indoor heat exchanger for exchanging heat of the refrigerant, an indoor fan (not shown) for introducing indoor air into the indoor heat exchanger and exposing the heat- ), A plurality of sensors (not shown), and control means (not shown) for controlling the operation of the indoor unit. The indoor unit (20) includes a discharge port for discharging the heat-exchanged air, and the discharge port is provided with a wind direction adjusting means for closing the discharge port and controlling the direction of the discharged air. The indoor unit controls the rotational speed of the indoor unit fan to control the air sucked and the air to be discharged, thereby regulating the air volume. The indoor unit may further include human body sensing means for sensing a human body present in the indoor space as the case may be. The indoor unit 20 may further include an output unit for displaying an operation status and setting information of the indoor unit, and an input unit for inputting setting data.

The indoor unit main body is connected to the remote controller in a wired or wireless manner so that the operation is set according to the data input from the remote controller and the operation status can be displayed through the remote controller.

The outdoor unit includes at least one compressor (not shown) for compressing the refrigerant introduced therein to discharge high-pressure gas refrigerant, an accumulator (not shown) for separating the gas refrigerant and the liquid refrigerant from the refrigerant, An oil separator for recovering oil from the refrigerant discharged from the compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger (not shown) for condensing or evaporating the refrigerant by heat exchange with the outside air, an outdoor heat exchanger (Not shown) for introducing air into the heat exchanger and discharging the heat-exchanged air to the outside, a four-way valve (not shown) for changing the flow path of the refrigerant according to the operation mode of the outdoor unit, at least one pressure sensor Not shown), at least one temperature sensor (not shown) for measuring the temperature, a controller for controlling the operation of the outdoor unit and performing communication with other units Air includes compositions. The outdoor unit further includes a plurality of sensors, valves, supercooling units and the like, and a description thereof will be omitted below.

The air conditioner of the present invention can be applied to any of a stand-type air conditioner, a wall-mounted air conditioner, a ceiling-type air conditioner, etc. The air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention is a ceiling- But the form thereof is not limited to the drawings.

2 is a diagram for explaining a connection between a unit of an air conditioner and a general-purpose controller according to the present invention.

2, the general-purpose controller 50 is connected to the first communication line L1 via the first communication port 101 and the remote controller 10. At this time, RS485 communication method is used.

 Further, the general-purpose controller is connected to the plurality of units 30 of the first group 80 via the second communication line L2 by using the second communication port 102. [ At this time, the universal controller and the first group of units 30 perform TTL communication.

Accordingly, the general-purpose controller 50, the remote controller 10, and the plurality of units 30 of the first group 80 are connected to each other through a communication line.

Further, the general-purpose controller 50 further includes a switch 103 and eleventh to fifteenth ports 111 to 115.

The switch 103 sets the communication mode for the 11th to 15th ports 111 to 115. [ When the switch 103 is set to HIGH, the dedicated communication mode of the remote controller 10 and the first group 80 is set and control for the second group is disabled.

When the switch 103 is set to LOW, a universal communication mode capable of being negotiable with the remote controller 10 and the first group 80 as well as the air conditioner units of the other communication methods, i.e., the second group is set.

The eleventh to fifteenth ports 111 to 115 are usable when the switch 103 is set to the general-purpose communication mode.

The eleventh port (R) 111 is a port for power, the twelfth port 112 (C) is a common port, the thirteenth port (Y) 113 is a port for the compressor, ) 114 is a port for fan (FAN) connection, using contact communication.

The 11th and 12th ports 111 and 112 are connected to the 24V power supply 90, respectively.

The eleventh port 111 is connected to the power source 90 via the fifth communication line L5 and the twelfth port 112 is connected to the power source 90 through the fourth communication line L4, (60a, 60b, 60c) provided in the unit of the relay 60, respectively.

The thirteenth port 113 is connected to the first relay 60a at one end different from the twelfth port 112. The fourteen port 114 is connected to the second relay 60b and the fifteenth port 115 Is connected to the third relay 60c.

A compressor is connected to the first relay 60a and a fan FAN is connected to the second relay 60b and the third relay 60c is used for temperature control or contact control for other components than the compressor and the fan . The third relay 60c is operated by the fifteenth port 115 so that the connected equipment operates according to the control signal.

The compressor and the fan of the second group 60 can be controlled according to signals transmitted to the respective ports of the general-purpose controller 50. It is also possible to control the configuration other than the compressor or the fan by transmitting a predetermined control signal. For example, temperature setting or air volume setting is possible.

A control unit (not shown) of the general-purpose controller 50 sets a mode in which the general-purpose controller 50 operates as a dedicated controller or a general-purpose controller according to the setting of the switch 103. As described above, when the dedicated mode is set, communication with the remote controller 10 is possible, but communication with the connected second group 60 becomes impossible. On the other hand, when the universal mode is set, not only the second group but also the remote controller 10 can be communicated.

When the general-purpose mode is set, the control unit of the general-purpose controller 50 controls the compressor for the units in the second group by transmitting signals through the provided ports in response to the data received from the remote controller 10, Respectively.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing an embodiment of connection of a unit of the air conditioner and a temperature control period according to the present invention.

When controlling a fan (FAN) for a specific unit in the second group, the control can be performed using the eleventh to fifteenth ports 111 to 115 of the general-purpose controller 50 as shown in FIG.

A fan FAN is connected to the second relay 60b provided in the second group of units and the fan control is performed through the fourteenth port 114 so that the fourteenth port connected to the second relay 60b The second relay 60b is turned on by internally short-circuiting L6 in the universal controller 50 and the twelfth port 112 serving as a common line to the fan FAN 69).

If the compressor is controlled, the first relay 60a can be controlled through the twelfth port 112 and the thirteenth port 113 in the same manner.

4 is a flowchart showing a communication setting method between the air conditioner units of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the general-purpose controller 50 searches for a switch setting and a port (S310).

The controller determines whether the set value of the switch 103 is HIGH (S320).

At this time, if the set value is high, the control unit sets the dedicated mode (S350). If the set value is low, the general mode is set (S330).

In the universal mode, the universal controller controls the second group 60 by communicating with the remote controller 10 and the first group 80 as well as with the units of the second group 60.

On the other hand, when the dedicated mode is set, the general-purpose controller 50 operates as a dedicated controller so that communication with the second group 60 becomes impossible, and communication with the remote controller 10 or the first group 80 becomes possible.

In the universal mode, the control unit controls the operation of the compressor or the fan with respect to the unit of the second group 60 connected, corresponding to the control command of the remote controller 10. [ The eleventh outdoor unit 61 of the second group operates by driving the compressor according to the control signal of the general-purpose controller 50, and the eleventh indoor unit 62 connected thereto is also operated.

Therefore, the present invention can confirm the power consumption of each indoor unit through the remote controller and control the power consumption of the indoor unit in the remote controller through the eco mode setting.

The present invention is not necessarily limited to these embodiments, as all the constituent elements constituting the embodiment of the present invention have been described as being combined or combined in one operation. Within the scope of the present invention, depending on the embodiment, all of the components may operate selectively in combination with one or more.

All of the components may be implemented as one independent hardware, but a part or all of the components may be selectively combined to provide a computer having a program module that performs some or all of the functions combined in one or a plurality of hardware May be implemented as a program.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention.

10: remote controller 21, 22, 61, 63: outdoor unit
31 to 36, 62, 64, 65: indoor units 41 to 46:
50, 51, 52: general purpose controller
60: second group 80: first group
101, 102: communication port 103: switch
111 to 115:

Claims (14)

A first group including an outdoor unit and an indoor unit;
A second group including an outdoor unit and an indoor unit different from the first group;
A remote controller for integrating and controlling the first group and the second group using the same communication method as the first group; And
And a general controller connected to the second group for controlling the second group to operate according to a control signal of the remote controller. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the universal controller includes a communication port connected to the remote controller and the first group, and a contact control port for controlling the second group. 3. The method of claim 2,
The general purpose controller further comprises a switch for setting an operation mode,
When the switch is set to the general-purpose mode, activates the dedicated port to control the second group in response to the control signal of the remote controller,
And disables the dedicated port and communicates with the remote controller and the first group when the switch is set to the dedicated mode. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the universal controller controls the compressor or the fan for any one of the devices connected to the second group in accordance with the control signal of the remote controller via the contact control port and transmits the control signal Air conditioner. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the universal controller includes first to fifth ports which are the contact control ports, the first to fifth ports are connected to a power source to supply operation supply, or a plurality And a signal for contact control is transmitted to the air conditioner. 6. The method of claim 5,
The universal controller may be configured such that the first port is connected to a power source,
The second port is connected to first to third relays provided in any one of the devices of the second group as a common port,
The third port being connected to the first relay to control the compressor,
The fourth port is connected to the second relay to control a fan (FAN)
And the fifth port is connected to the third relay and transmits a control signal according to the contact control to the third relay. The method according to claim 6,
The general-
And the second port is internally connected to the third port to turn on the first relay so that the compressor operates. The method according to claim 6,
The general-
And the second port is internally connected to the fourth port to turn on the second relay so that the fan operates. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein at least one of the first group, the second group, the manufacturer, and the communication method is different from each other and thus communication is not possible between the first group and the second group. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the universal controller transmits and receives data to and from the first group of units via the RS 485 communication method, and transmits data by contact control communication with the second group through a TTL communication method. Harmonics. The general purpose controller searching for a switch setting;
Setting a dedicated mode or a general-purpose mode corresponding to a set value of the switch; And
Controlling the operation of the connected unit by transmitting a signal to the contact control port in response to a control signal received from the remote controller when the universal mode is set; ≪ / RTI > 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein when the dedicated mode is set according to the switch setting value, the contact control port is deactivated, and when the general mode is set, the contact control port is activated. 12. The method of claim 11,
When the dedicated mode is set, the universal controller communicates with the remote controller and the first group of units connected to the communication port,
Wherein when the universal mode is set, the universal controller communicates with the remote controller and the first group of units and controls a second group different from the first group connected through the contact control port. Operating method of the harmonics. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein at least two ports of the contact control ports are interconnected to control a compressor or a fan of a second group of devices connected to the two ports when the universal mode is set.

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