KR20200121684A - Air conditioner and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an air conditioner capable of controlling a step motor according to various errors related to the step motor and a control method thereof. An air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: at least one step motor related to opening and closing of a discharge port; an indoor fan motor to rotate an indoor fan; an indoor fan motor drive unit that drives the indoor fan motor; and a control unit, wherein the control unit controls the rotation angle of at least one step motor to be changed, determines whether an error related to at least one step motor has occurred based on the control result, and stops controlling the step motor related to the error among the at least one step motor when an error has occurred. Accordingly, the air conditioner can determine whether various errors related to the step motor in which the operating state is not fed back have occurred, and stop the control of the step motor and maintain the operation of the air conditioner when the smooth operation of the air conditioner is difficult or impossible due to an error related to the step motor. Also, other various embodiments are possible.

Description

Air conditioner and its control method {AIR CONDITIONER AND METHOD THEREOF}

The present invention relates to an air conditioner and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to an air conditioner including a step motor associated with opening and closing of a discharge port, and a control method thereof.

The air conditioner is installed to provide a more comfortable indoor environment to humans by controlling the indoor temperature by discharging cold and hot air into the room, and purifying the indoor air in order to create a pleasant indoor environment. In general, an air conditioner includes an indoor unit configured as a heat exchanger and installed indoors, and an outdoor unit configured with a compressor and a heat exchanger to supply refrigerant to the indoor unit.

The air conditioner is operated for cooling or heating according to the flow of the refrigerant. During cooling operation, high-temperature, high-pressure liquid refrigerant is supplied from the outdoor unit's compressor through the outdoor unit's heat exchanger to the indoor unit, and the refrigerant expands and vaporizes in the indoor unit's heat exchanger to lower the temperature of the surrounding air, and the indoor unit fan rotates. As a result, cold air is discharged into the room. During heating operation, high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant is supplied to the indoor unit from the compressor of the outdoor unit, and the air warmed by the energy released by the heat exchanger of the indoor unit liquefies the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant into the room according to the operation of the indoor unit fan. Is discharged.

A typical air conditioner has a vane or louver capable of opening and closing the discharge port, as in the prior art 1 (Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2015-0102202), and the operation of a step motor that can change the opening angle of the vane or louver. By controlling, it is possible to adjust the discharge direction of air.

On the other hand, conventionally, even when the operation state of the step motor is not fed back to the control unit of the air conditioner, an error related to the step motor occurs and the operation of the air conditioner is not smooth or impossible, the cause is an error related to the step motor. There is a problem that it is difficult to accurately determine whether or not.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner capable of controlling a step motor according to the occurrence of various errors related to the step motor and a control method thereof, which can check the state of a step motor whose operation state is not fed back. have.

In order to achieve the above object, the air conditioner according to various embodiments of the present invention can control the operation of the step motor in which the operation state is not fed back, and the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor and/or the system of the air conditioner It can be determined whether or not an error related to the step motor has occurred based on whether or not the reset has occurred.

In order to achieve the above object, an air conditioner according to various embodiments of the present invention includes at least one step motor related to opening and closing of a discharge port, an indoor fan motor for rotating an indoor fan, an indoor fan motor driving unit for driving the indoor fan motor, and Including a control unit, the control unit controls the rotation angle of at least one step motor to be changed, based on the control result, determines whether an error related to at least one step motor has occurred, and if an error occurs, at least It is possible to stop control of a step motor related to the error among one step motor.

In order to achieve the above object, a control method of an air conditioner according to various embodiments of the present disclosure includes an operation of controlling the rotation angle of at least one step motor related to opening and closing of a discharge port to change, based on a result of the control, The operation of determining whether an error related to the at least one step motor has occurred, and when an error occurs, stopping control of the step motor related to the error among the at least one step motor may be included.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to determine whether various errors related to a step motor whose operation state is not fed back occur, and when smooth operation of the air conditioner is difficult or impossible due to an error related to the step motor, the step By stopping control of the motor, the operation of the air conditioner can be maintained.

In addition, according to various embodiments of the present invention, a message about the occurrence of an error related to the step motor can be output so that the user can immediately recognize the occurrence of an error related to the step motor, and through the message You can induce the user to manually manipulate the vanes or louvers until the error is resolved.

In addition, according to various embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to effectively determine whether an error related to the stepper motor has occurred using existing configurations provided in the air conditioner without adding a new configuration, so that the reliability of the performance of the air conditioner And it can secure price competitiveness.

In addition, according to various embodiments of the present invention, when the air conditioner includes a plurality of step motors, it is possible to accurately determine the step motor with an error among the plurality of step motors, and selectively only the operation of the step motor with the error. You can stop.

1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a schematic diagram of an outdoor unit and an indoor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a block diagram of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is an internal block diagram of a control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5A and 5B are flowcharts illustrating a method of controlling an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, in order to clearly and briefly describe the present invention, the illustration of parts not related to the description is omitted, and the same reference numerals are used for identical or extremely similar parts throughout the specification.

The suffixes "module" and "unit" for the constituent elements used in the following description are given in consideration of only the ease of writing in the present specification, and do not impart a particularly important meaning or role by themselves. Therefore, the "module" and "unit" may be used interchangeably with each other.

In the present application, terms such as "comprises" or "have" are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, but one or more other features. It is to be understood that the presence or additional possibility of additions or numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof, is not preliminarily excluded.

In addition, in this specification, terms such as first and second may be used to describe various elements, but these elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another.

1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, an air conditioner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include an outdoor unit 21 and at least one indoor unit 31 connected to the outdoor unit 21. The indoor unit 31 may be connected to the outdoor unit 21 in plural, and the number thereof is not limited to the drawings.

The indoor unit 31 may include at least one of, for example, a stand type indoor unit 31a, a wall-mounted indoor unit 31b, and a ceiling type indoor unit 31c.

Meanwhile, the air conditioner 100 may further include at least one of, for example, a ventilation device, an air cleaning device, a humidifier, and a heater, and operates in conjunction with the operation of the indoor unit 31 and the outdoor unit 21 can do.

The outdoor unit 21 includes, for example, a compressor (not shown) that receives and compresses a refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger (not shown) that heats the refrigerant with outdoor air, and extracts gaseous refrigerant from the supplied refrigerant to a compressor. It may include a supply accumulator (not shown) and a four-way valve (not shown) for selecting a flow path of the refrigerant according to the heating operation. In addition, the outdoor unit 21 may further include, for example, a plurality of sensors, valves, and oil recovery devices.

The outdoor unit 21 may supply the refrigerant to the indoor unit 31 by compressing or exchanging heat according to a setting by operating a compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger provided, for example. The outdoor unit 21 may be driven by, for example, a remote controller (not shown) or a demand of the indoor unit 31. In this case, as the cooling/heating capacity is varied in response to the driven indoor unit 31, the number of operation of the outdoor unit and the number of operation of the compressor installed in the outdoor unit may be varied.

In this case, the outdoor unit 21 may supply the compressed refrigerant to the connected indoor unit 31.

The indoor unit 31 may receive, for example, a refrigerant from the outdoor unit 21 and discharge hot and cold air into the room. The indoor unit 31 may include, for example, an indoor heat exchanger (not shown), an indoor unit fan (not shown), an expansion valve (not shown) for expanding the supplied refrigerant, and a plurality of sensors (not shown). have.

At this time, the outdoor unit 21 and the indoor unit 31 may be connected by, for example, a communication line to transmit and receive data, and the outdoor unit 21 and the indoor unit 31 may be connected to a remote controller (not shown) by wire or wirelessly. It may be connected and operated under the control of a remote controller (not shown).

The remote control 41 may be connected to, for example, the indoor unit 31, transmit a user's control command to the indoor unit 31, and receive and display status information of the indoor unit 31. At this time, the remote control 41 may communicate by wire or wirelessly according to a connection type with the indoor unit 31.

Meanwhile, the air conditioner 100 may further include at least one sensor (not shown) capable of detecting a state of indoor air, for example. For example, the air conditioner 100 may further include a temperature sensor that detects indoor temperature, a humidity sensor that detects indoor humidity, an atmospheric pressure sensor that detects indoor air pressure, and a sensor that measures the amount of dust in the indoor air. In addition, a sensor capable of collecting various data such as temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, and the amount of dust in the air may be included.

2 is a schematic diagram of an outdoor unit and an indoor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed descriptions of contents overlapping with those described in FIG. 1 will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 2, the air conditioner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be largely divided into an indoor unit 31 and an outdoor unit 21.

The outdoor unit 21 includes, for example, a compressor 102b serving to compress a refrigerant, a compressor motor 102b driving the compressor 102b, and an outdoor heat exchanger serving to dissipate the compressed refrigerant. An outdoor blower 105 composed of a device 104, an outdoor fan 105a disposed on one side of the outdoor heat exchanger 104 to promote heat dissipation of refrigerant, and an electric motor 105b rotating the outdoor fan 105a, , An expansion mechanism 106 for expanding the condensed refrigerant, a cooling/heating switching valve 110 for changing the flow path of the compressed refrigerant, and a refrigerant having a constant pressure after removing moisture and foreign substances by temporarily storing the gasified refrigerant. It may include an accumulator 103 supplied to the compressor.

The indoor unit 31 includes, for example, an indoor heat exchanger 108 disposed indoors to perform a cooling/heating function, and an indoor fan disposed at one side of the indoor heat exchanger 108 to promote heat dissipation of a refrigerant. It may include an indoor blower 109 including an indoor fan motor 109b for rotating the indoor fan 109a and the indoor fan 109a.

At least one indoor heat exchanger 108 may be installed, for example. As the compressor 102, at least one of an inverter compressor and a constant speed compressor may be used, for example.

In addition, the air conditioner 100 may be configured with a cooler that cools the room, for example, or may be configured with a heat pump that cools or heats the room.

3 is a block diagram of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the air conditioner 100 includes, for example, an indoor fan motor 109b, an indoor fan motor driving unit 310 that drives the indoor fan motor 109b, a stepper motor 320, and a memory ( 330), an output unit 340 and/or a control unit 350 may be included.

The indoor fan motor 109b may rotate the indoor fan 109a provided in the indoor unit 31, for example.

The indoor fan motor 109b may be, for example, a brushless direct current (BLDC) motor. BLDC motors consist of, for example, a rotor made of a permanent magnet and a stator made of a winding, by the relationship between the permanent magnet rotor and the magnetic field generated from the current applied winding, Electrical energy can be converted into mechanical energy by rotating the rotor. In the present invention, it is described that the indoor fan motor 109b is a BLDC motor, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and a surface-mounted permanent-magnet synchronous motor (SMPMSM), embedded permanent magnet It may also include a synchronous motor (Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor; IPMSM), a reluctance motor (SynRM), or the like.

The indoor fan motor 109b may be, for example, a single-phase BLDC motor or a three-phase BLDC motor.

For example, when the indoor fan motor 109b is a single-phase BLDC motor, the indoor fan motor 109b may change the rotation speed according to the speed control voltage Vsp transmitted from the controller 350. Here, the speed control voltage Vsp may mean, for example, a DC voltage of a predetermined size that controls the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor 109b. As the size of the speed control voltage Vsp increases, the indoor fan The rotational speed of the motor 109b can be increased. Meanwhile, the speed control voltage Vsp may be, for example, a DC voltage of a predetermined size output from the indoor fan motor driving unit 310 under control of the control unit 350.

For example, when the indoor fan motor 109b is a three-phase BLDC motor, the indoor fan motor 109b applies a three-phase AC power having a predetermined frequency to the coils of the stators of each phase (a, b, c phase). As a result, the rotor can rotate, and the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor 109b can increase as the frequency of the three-phase AC power increases.

On the other hand, the indoor fan motor 109b may be provided with a sensing element for detecting the position of the rotor, such as a hall sensor, or a sensorless type without a sensing element. It could be a motor. A signal related to the position of the rotor detected through the sensing element may be input to the control unit 350 as, for example, a discrete signal in the form of a pulse.

The indoor fan motor driving unit 310 may drive the indoor fan motor 109b, for example.

The indoor fan motor driving unit 310 may include, for example, a rectifier (not shown) for rectifying and outputting AC power to a DC power and/or a dc terminal capacitor (not shown) for storing a pulsating voltage output from the rectifier. I can.

The indoor fan motor driving unit 310 includes, for example, an inverter (not shown) that includes a plurality of switching elements and converts and outputs smoothed DC power into AC power of a predetermined frequency through on/off operations of the switching elements. ) May be further provided.

The indoor fan motor driving unit 310 may change the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor 109b, for example, under the control of the control unit 350.

For example, when the indoor fan motor 109b is a single-phase BLDC motor, the indoor fan motor driving unit 310 changes the size of the speed control voltage Vsp according to the control of the control unit 350, and thus the indoor fan motor ( 109b) rotation speed can be changed.

For example, when the indoor fan motor 109b is a three-phase BLDC motor, the indoor fan motor driving unit 310 changes the frequency of the three-phase AC power output from the inverter under the control of the controller 350, The rotation speed of the fan motor 109b can be changed.

The step motor 320 may be, for example, a motor capable of rotating by a predetermined angle under the control of the controller 350.

The step motor 320, for example, rotates by a certain angle when the excitation state of the coil winding is changed by a pulse signal input from the control unit 350, and when the excitation state does not change, a certain position It may mean a motor that maintains and stops.

The step motor 320 may include, for example, a plurality of coil windings and a plurality of switching elements corresponding to each of the plurality of coil windings. At this time, current may selectively flow through the plurality of coil windings by pulse signals input to each of the switching elements, and thus the torque and rotation angle of the step motor 320 may be changed.

The step motor 320 may be connected to, for example, a vane (not shown) or a louver (not shown) provided in the indoor unit 31 to open and close the discharge port, and rotate the vane or louver.

For example, when the operation of the air conditioner 100 is started, the step motor 320 may rotate from a minimum angle at which the discharge port is closed to a maximum angle at which the discharge port is opened to the maximum, and the step motor 320 The vane or louver can rotate depending on the rotation.

The memory 330 may store various data for the overall operation of the air conditioner 100, such as, for example, a program for processing or controlling the controller 350.

The memory 330 may store data for the step motor 320, for example. In this case, when the air conditioner 100 includes a plurality of step motors 320, the memory 330 may separate and store data for each of the plurality of step motors 320.

The memory 330 may store, for example, data on the rotation angle of the step motor 320. For example, the memory 330 may store data about a pulse signal that rotates the step motor 320 according to a predetermined rotation angle.

The memory 330 may store, for example, data on the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor 109b.

The memory 330 may store, for example, data on a motor speed control variable that determines the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor 109b. Here, the motor speed control variable may be, for example, a speed control voltage (Vsp) when the indoor fan motor 109b is a single-phase BLDC motor, and when the indoor fan motor 109b is a three-phase BLDC motor, the indoor The three-phase output voltage command value (v ^* a, v ^* b, v ^* c in Fig. 4) that determines the frequency of the three-phase AC power output to the fan motor 109b and/or the d-axis, q-axis voltage command value (Fig. 4 of v ^* _d and v ^* _q ), which will be described later with reference to FIG. 4.

The output unit 340 may include, for example, a display, a display device such as a light emitting diode (LED), and displays an operating state of the air conditioner 100, an operation state related to an error occurrence, etc. can do.

The output unit 340 may include, for example, an audio device such as a speaker or a buzzer, and may output sound effects for the operating state of the air conditioner 100, and may output a predetermined warning sound when an error occurs. I can.

The control unit 350 may be connected to each component provided in the air conditioner 100, for example. The control unit 350, for example, may transmit and receive signals to and from each component provided in the air conditioner 100, and control the overall operation of each component. The control unit 350 may be provided in at least one of the outdoor unit 21, the indoor unit 31, and/or a remote controller (not shown), for example.

The control unit 350 may control the operation of the indoor fan motor 109b, for example.

For example, when the indoor fan motor 109b is a single-phase BLDC motor, the controller 350 may output the speed control voltage Vsp to the indoor fan motor 109b, and the magnitude of the speed control voltage Vsp By changing the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor 109b can be changed. Meanwhile, the control unit 350 may control the speed control voltage Vsp from the indoor fan motor driving unit 310 to be output to the indoor fan motor 109b, or output from the indoor fan motor driving unit 310 It is also possible to change the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor 109b by controlling the size of the speed control voltage Vsp to be changed.

For example, when the indoor fan motor 109b is a three-phase BLDC motor, the control unit 350 transmits a switching signal for controlling the switching operation of the inverter provided in the indoor fan motor driving unit 310 to the indoor fan motor driving unit ( 310) can be printed. Here, the switching signal may be, for example, a pulse width modulation (PWM) control signal having a predetermined duty cycle and frequency.

At this time, the control unit 350 controls the frequency of the AC power output from the indoor fan motor driving unit 310 to be changed through, for example, a switching signal output to the indoor fan motor driving unit 310, It is also possible to change the rotational speed of (109b).

The control unit 350 may calculate, for example, the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor 109b.

For example, the control unit 350 may receive a signal related to the position of the rotor from a sensing element provided in the indoor fan motor 109b, and based on the received signal, the indoor fan motor 109b rotates. You can calculate the speed.

For example, the control unit 350 may calculate the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor 109b based on the current flowing between the indoor fan motor driving unit 310 and the indoor fan motor 109b.

At this time, the air conditioner 100 may further include, for example, an output current detector (not shown) for detecting a current flowing between the indoor fan motor driving unit 310 and the indoor fan motor 109b.

The output current detection unit may include, for example, three resistance elements, and a phase current (ia, ib, ic) that is an output current flowing through the indoor fan motor 109b through the three resistance elements. Can be detected. The detected output currents (ia, ib, ic) may be input to the control unit 350, for example, and are switched to control the switching operation of the inverter based on the detected output currents (ia, ib, ic). A signal can be generated.

Meanwhile, the memory 330 may store, for example, data on the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor 109b calculated through a sensing element provided in the indoor fan motor 109b, or the indoor fan motor driving unit 310 ) And the indoor fan motor 109b may store data on the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor 109b calculated through the current flowing between them.

Meanwhile, the controller 350 may determine a motor speed control variable based on, for example, the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor 109b. The control unit 350, for example, can check whether the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor 109b reaches the target rotational speed, and so that the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor 109b reaches the target rotational speed, the motor Speed control variable can be changed.

For example, when the indoor fan motor 109b is a single-phase BLDC motor, the control unit 350, when the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor 109b is slower than the target rotational speed, the speed control voltage corresponding to the motor speed control variable By changing the size of (Vsp), it is possible to control the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor 109b to reach the target rotational speed.

For example, when the indoor fan motor 109b is a three-phase BLDC motor, the control unit 350, when the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor 109b is slower than the target rotation speed, the three-phase motor speed control variable By changing the output voltage command value (v ^* a, v ^* b, v ^* c in Fig. 4), it is possible to control the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor 109b to reach the target rotational speed. Please refer to 4 for explanation.

4 is an internal block diagram of a control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the control unit 350 includes an axis conversion unit 410, a speed calculation unit 420, a current command generation unit 430, a voltage command generation unit 440, an axis conversion unit 450, and/ Alternatively, a switching control signal output unit 460 may be included.

The axis conversion unit 410 may receive, for example, the three-phase output currents ia, ib, and ic detected by the output current detection unit and convert them into two-phase currents iα, iβ of the stationary coordinate system.

Meanwhile, the axis conversion unit 410 may convert, for example, the two-phase currents iα and iβ of the stationary coordinate system into the two-phase currents id and iq of the rotation coordinate system.

)와 연산된 속도(

)를 출력할 수 있다.The speed calculation unit 420 is based on, for example, the two-phase currents iα, iβ of the stationary coordinate system axis-changed in the axis conversion unit 410, and the calculated position (

) And calculated speed (

) Can be printed.

)와 속도 지령치(

^* _r)에 기초하여, 전류 지령치(i^* _q)를 생성할 수 있다. 예를 들어, 전류 지령 생성부(430)는, 연산 속도(

)와 속도 지령치(

^* _r)의 차이에 기초하여, PI 제어기(435)에서 PI 제어를 수행하며, 전류 지령치(i^* _q)를 생성할 수 있다. 도면에서는, 전류 지령치로, q축 전류 지령치(i^* _q)를 도시하나, 본 발명이 이에 한정되는 것은 아니며, d축 전류 지령치(i^* _d)를 함께 생성할 수도 있다. 한편, d축 전류 지령치(i^* _d)의 값은 0으로 설정될 수도 있다. On the other hand, the current command generation unit 430, for example, the calculation speed (

) And speed setpoint (

Based on ^* _r ), the current command value (i ^* _q ) can be generated. For example, the current command generation unit 430, the calculation speed (

) And speed setpoint (

Based on the difference between ^* _r ), PI control is performed in the PI controller 435 and a current command value (i ^* _q ) can be generated. In the drawings, the q-axis current command value (i ^* _q ) is shown as the current command value, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the d-axis current command value (i ^* _d ) may be generated together. Meanwhile, the value of the d-axis current command value (i ^* _d ) may be set to 0.

Meanwhile, the current command generation unit 430 may further include, for example, a limiter (not shown) that limits the level so that the current command value i ^* _q does not exceed the allowable range.

The voltage command generation unit 440 includes, for example, d-axis and q-axis currents (i _d , i _q ) converted from the axis conversion unit to a two-phase rotational coordinate system, and current in the current command generation unit 430 Based on the command values (i ^* _d and i ^* _q ), the d-axis and q-axis voltage command values (v ^* _d and v ^* _q ) can be generated. For example, the voltage command generation unit 440 performs PI control in the PI controller 444 based on the difference between the q-axis current (i _q ) and the q-axis current command value (i ^* _q ), and q It is possible to generate the axis voltage command value (v ^* _q ). Further, the voltage command generation unit 440 performs PI control in the PI controller 448 based on, for example, a difference between the d-axis current (i _d ) and the d-axis current command value (i ^* _d ), and , d-axis voltage command value (v ^* _d ) can be generated. Meanwhile, the voltage command generation unit 440 may further include, for example, a limiter that limits the level of the d-axis and q-axis voltage command values (v ^* _d , v ^* _q ) to not exceed the allowable range. .

Meanwhile, the generated d-axis and q-axis voltage command values (v ^* _d , v ^* _q ) may be input to, for example, the axis conversion unit 450.

)와, d축, q축 전압 지령치(v^* _d, v^* _q)를 입력받아, 축변환을 수행할 수 있다.The axis conversion unit 450 is, for example, a position calculated by the speed calculation unit 420 (

), and d-axis and q-axis voltage command values (v ^* _d , v ^* _q ), and axis transformation can be performed.

)가 사용될 수 있다.First, the axis conversion unit 450 may perform transformation from a two-phase rotation coordinate system to a two-phase stationary coordinate system. At this time, the position calculated by the speed calculating unit 420 (

) Can be used.

In addition, the axis conversion unit 450 may perform conversion from a 2-phase stationary coordinate system to a 3-phase stationary coordinate system. Through this conversion, the axis conversion unit 450 may output a three-phase output voltage command value (v ^* a, v ^* b, v ^* c).

The switching control signal output unit 460 is, for example, based on a three-phase output voltage command value (v ^* a, v ^* b, v ^* c), according to the pulse width modulation method, the switching operation of the inverter 315 It is possible to generate and output a switching signal for controlling

Meanwhile, the control unit 350 may open/close the discharge port provided in the indoor unit 31 by controlling the operation of the step motor 320, for example. The control unit 350, for example, may control the operation of the step motor 320 to change the opening angle of the vane and/or louver, and adjust the amount of air discharged.

The control unit 350, for example, outputs a pulse signal to a plurality of switching elements corresponding to each of the plurality of coil windings so that current selectively flows through the plurality of coil windings of the step motor 320, and the step motor ( The torque and rotation angle of 321) can be controlled to be changed.

The control unit 350 may determine whether an error related to the step motor 320 has occurred, for example. In this case, when the air conditioner 100 includes a plurality of step motors 320, the control unit 350 may determine whether an error has occurred in each of the plurality of step motors 320.

For example, when the operation of the air conditioner 100 is started, the control unit 350 rotates the step motor 320 from the minimum angle at which the discharge port is closed to the maximum angle at which the discharge port is opened to the maximum, It may be determined whether an error related to 320 occurs.

For example, when the operation mode of the air conditioner 100 is an error detection mode, the control unit 350 controls the operation of the step motor 320 to determine whether an error related to the step motor 320 has occurred. can do. At this time, the operation mode of the air conditioner 100 may be changed to an error detection mode when an error occurs during operation of the air conditioner 100, for example, or a user command received through the remote control 41 It may be changed according to the requirements.

The control unit 350 may determine whether an error related to the rotation angle of the step motor 320 has occurred, for example.

For example, at the same target rotation speed of the indoor fan motor 109b, the control unit 350 includes a motor speed control variable corresponding to the first rotation angle (eg, 72°) of the step motor 320 and a step The motor speed control variable corresponding to the second rotation angle (eg, 16°) of the motor 320 can be compared, and it is possible to determine whether an error related to the rotation angle of the step motor 320 has occurred based on the comparison result. have.

At this time, a motor speed control variable corresponding to the first rotation angle (eg, 72°) of the step motor 320 and a motor speed control variable corresponding to the second rotation angle (eg, 16°) of the step motor 320 When the difference of is less than a predetermined reference, the control unit 350 may determine that an error related to the rotation angle of the step motor 320 has occurred.

The controller 350 may determine whether an error related to a system reset of the air conditioner 100 has occurred, for example. Here, in the reset of the system of the air conditioner 100, for example, when an abnormality occurs in the operation of the configuration provided in the air conditioner 100, an overvoltage is generated in the configuration provided in the air conditioner 100. When it is applied or when it is determined that an overcurrent is flowing, it may mean that the system of the air conditioner 100 is reset, and at this time, the control unit 350 may also be reset.

For example, as at least one of the plurality of coil windings provided in the step motor 320 is short-circuited, when a current greater than a predetermined standard flows through the step motor 320, the system of the air conditioner 100 may be reset. I can.

The control unit 350, for example, when the system of the air conditioner 100 is reset while controlling the operation of the step motor 320, the air conditioner 100 while controlling the operation of the step motor 320 The number of times the system of) is reset can be calculated, and when the number of times the system is reset is greater than or equal to a predetermined reference number, it may be determined that an error related to the system reset of the air conditioner 100 has occurred.

When an error related to the step motor 320 occurs, for example, the control unit 350 may stop controlling the step motor 320 related to the error. At this time, when the air conditioner 100 is provided with a plurality of step motors 320, the control unit 350 can selectively stop only control of at least one of the plurality of step motors 320 related to an error. have.

When an error related to the step motor 320 occurs, for example, the control unit 350 may output a message regarding the error through the output unit 340. In this case, when the air conditioner 100 includes a plurality of step motors 320, the controller 350 may output a message for at least one of the plurality of step motors 320 related to an error.

For example, the controller 350 may display a message related to an error related to the step motor 320 through the display, or may output a warning sound related to the error through an audio device.

5A and 5B are flowcharts illustrating a method of controlling an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5A, in operation S501, the air conditioner 100 may rotate at least one step motor 320 such that all discharge ports of the indoor unit 31 are closed.

The air conditioner 100 may select any one of the at least one step motor 320 in operation S502. For example, the air conditioner 100 may select any one of the at least one step motor 320 according to a preset order.

In operation S503, the air conditioner 100 rotates at least one step motor 320 selected in operation S502 (hereinafter, referred to as the first step motor) according to a first rotation angle (eg, 72°). I can make it.

When the air conditioner 100 rotates according to a first rotation angle (eg, 72°) in operation S504, whether the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor 109b reaches the target rotation speed. You can check. At this time, the air conditioner 100 may determine the motor speed control variable when the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor 109b reaches the target rotation speed as a first motor speed control variable corresponding to the first rotation angle. have.

The air conditioner 100 may rotate the first stepper motor according to a second rotation angle (eg, 16°) in operation S505. At this time, the air conditioner 100 controls the indoor fan motor 109b to rotate at a lower rotational speed than the target rotational speed, and then rotates the first stepper motor at a second rotational angle (eg, 16°). You can also rotate according to.

When the air conditioner 100 rotates according to a second rotation angle (eg, 16°) in operation S506, whether the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor 109b reaches the target rotation speed again. You can check whether or not. At this time, the air conditioner 100 determines a motor speed control variable when the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor 109b re-reachs the target rotation speed as a second motor speed control variable corresponding to the second rotation angle. I can.

The air conditioner 100 may compare the first motor speed control variable and the second motor speed control variable in operation S507, and whether the difference between the first motor speed control variable and the second motor speed control variable is more than a predetermined standard. I can confirm.

When the difference between the first motor speed control variable and the second motor speed control variable is greater than or equal to a predetermined standard, the air conditioner 100 may determine that an error related to the rotation angle of the first step motor has not occurred.

Meanwhile, in operation S508, when the difference between the first motor speed control variable and the second motor speed control variable is less than a predetermined standard, the air conditioner 100 determines that an error related to the rotation angle of the first step motor has occurred. And it can be determined that the first step motor is defective.

In operation S509, the air conditioner 100 may check whether all errors related to the rotation angle have occurred for each of the at least one step motor 320, and the step motor 320 not determining whether an error has occurred. ), it can branch to operation S501.

Meanwhile, in operation S510, when determining whether an error related to the rotation angle has occurred for all of the at least one step motor 320, the air conditioner 100 may output a message regarding the error.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the air conditioner 100 may select any one of at least one step motor 320 in operation S521. For example, the air conditioner 100 may select any one of at least one step motor 320 according to a preset order.

In operation S522, the air conditioner 100 may control one of the at least one step motor 320 selected in operation S521 (hereinafter, referred to as a first step motor) to rotate. For example, the control unit 350 provided in the air conditioner 100 outputs a pulse signal to a plurality of switching elements corresponding to each of a plurality of coil windings provided in the first step motor, and the step motor 321 The rotation angle of can be controlled to change.

In operation S523, the air conditioner 100 may check whether the system of the air conditioner 100 is reset while controlling the operation of the first stepper motor. For example, the air conditioner 100 may check whether the operation of controlling the rotation of the first stepper motor has been performed before the system of the air conditioner 100 is reset.

In operation S524, when the system of the air conditioner 100 is reset while controlling the operation of the first step motor, the air conditioner 100 may check whether the reset number is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference number.

When the number of times the system of the air conditioner 100 is reset is less than a predetermined reference number, the air conditioner 100 may branch to operation S522 and rotate the first step motor again.

In operation S525, when the number of times the system of the air conditioner 100 is reset is greater than or equal to a predetermined reference number, the air conditioner 100 may reset the system of the air conditioner 100 in relation to the first stepper motor. It can be determined that a related error has occurred, and it can be determined that the first step motor is defective.

On the other hand, the air conditioner 100, when the system of the air conditioner 100 is not reset while controlling the operation of the first step motor, in relation to the first step motor, the system of the air conditioner 100 It can be determined that an error related to the reset of has not occurred.

In operation S526, the air conditioner 100 can check whether all errors related to the reset of the system of the air conditioner 100 have been determined for each of the at least one step motor 320, and whether an error has occurred. If there is a step motor 320 that has not determined the value, it may branch to operation S521.

On the other hand, the air conditioner 100, in operation S527, when it is determined whether an error related to the reset of the system of the air conditioner 100 has occurred for all of the at least one step motor 320, a message about the error Can be printed.

As described above, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to effectively determine whether various errors related to the step motor 320 in which the operating state is not fed back have occurred.

In addition, when an error related to the step motor 320 occurs, control of the step motor 320 is stopped, thereby maintaining the operation of the air conditioner 100, as well as outputting a message about the error. It is possible to induce a user to manually manipulate the vanes or louvers provided in the air conditioner 100 until the error related to the motor 320 is resolved.

The accompanying drawings are only for making it easier to understand the embodiments disclosed in the present specification, and the technical idea disclosed in the present specification is not limited by the accompanying drawings, and all changes and equivalents included in the spirit and scope of the present invention It should be understood to include water or substitutes.

Likewise, while depicting the actions in the drawings in a specific order, it should not be understood that such actions should be performed in that particular order or sequential order shown, or that all illustrated actions should be performed in order to obtain a desired result. . In certain cases, multitasking and parallel processing can be advantageous.

In addition, although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and the technical field to which the present invention belongs without departing from the gist of the present invention claimed in the claims. In addition, various modifications are possible by those of ordinary skill in the art, and these modifications should not be individually understood from the technical spirit or prospect of the present invention.

Claims (14)

At least one step motor associated with opening and closing of the discharge port;
An indoor fan motor that rotates the indoor fan;
An indoor fan motor driving unit for driving the indoor fan motor; And
Including a control unit,
The control unit,
Controlling the rotation angle of the at least one step motor to be changed,
Based on the result of the control, it is determined whether an error related to the at least one step motor has occurred,
When the error occurs, control of the step motor related to the error among the at least one step motor is stopped. The method of claim 1,
The above error is:
An air conditioner, characterized in that it is any one of a first error related to a rotation angle of the at least one step motor and a rotation speed of the indoor fan motor, and a second error related to a reset of the system of the air conditioner. . The method of claim 2,
The control unit,
When the number of the at least one step motor is plural, the occurrence of the error is determined for each of the plurality of step motors. The method of claim 3,
Further comprising an output unit having at least one of a display device and an audio device,
The control unit,
When the error occurs, the air conditioner, characterized in that to output a message about the error through the output unit. The method of claim 4,
The control unit,
Controlling the operation of the at least one step motor so that all of the discharge ports are closed,
Controlling a first step motor of the at least one step motor to rotate according to a first rotation angle,
Change a motor speed control variable that determines the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor so that the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor reaches a predetermined speed,
When the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor reaches the predetermined speed, a first motor speed control variable corresponding to the first rotational angle is determined. The method of claim 5,
The control unit,
Controlling the first step motor to rotate according to a second rotation angle,
Change the motor speed control variable so that the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor reaches the predetermined speed again,
When the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor reaches the predetermined speed, a second motor speed control variable corresponding to the second rotation angle is determined, and
And determining whether or not a first error related to the first stepper motor has occurred, based on a result of comparing the first motor speed control variable and the second motor speed control variable. The method of claim 4,
The control unit,
Checking whether the system is reset while controlling the operation of the first step motor among the at least one step motor,
Calculates the number of times the system is reset while controlling the operation of the first stepper motor,
And determining whether a second error related to the first stepper motor has occurred based on the calculated number of times. In the control method of the air conditioner,
Controlling the rotation angle of at least one step motor related to opening and closing of the discharge port to be changed;
Determining whether an error related to the at least one step motor has occurred based on the result of the control; And
And when the error occurs, stopping control of the step motor related to the error among the at least one step motor. The method of claim 8,
The above error is:
An air conditioner, characterized in that it is any one of a first error related to a rotation angle of the at least one step motor and a rotation speed of the indoor fan motor, and a second error related to a reset of the system of the air conditioner. Control method. The method of claim 9,
The operation of determining whether the error has occurred,
When the number of the at least one step motor is plural, whether or not the error has occurred is determined for each of the plurality of step motors. The method of claim 10,
When the error occurs, the control method of the air conditioner further comprising an operation of outputting a message about the error through an output unit provided in the air conditioner. The method of claim 11,
The operation of determining whether the error has occurred,
Controlling an operation of the at least one step motor so that all of the discharge ports are closed;
Controlling a first step motor of the at least one step motor to rotate according to a first rotation angle;
Changing a motor speed control variable that determines the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor so that the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor provided in the air conditioner reaches a predetermined speed; And
And determining a first motor speed control variable corresponding to the first rotation angle when the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor reaches the predetermined speed. The method of claim 12,
The operation of determining whether the error has occurred,
Controlling the first step motor to rotate according to a second rotation angle;
Changing the motor speed control variable so that the rotational speed of the indoor fan motor reaches the predetermined speed again;
Determining a second motor speed control variable corresponding to the second rotation angle when the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor reaches the predetermined speed; And
And determining whether or not a first error related to the first stepper motor has occurred, based on a result of comparing the first motor speed control variable and the second motor speed control variable. Control method The method of claim 11,
The operation of determining whether the error has occurred,
Checking whether the system is reset while controlling an operation of a first step motor among the at least one step motor;
Calculating the number of times the system is reset while controlling the operation of the first stepper motor; And
And determining whether a second error related to the first step motor has occurred based on the calculated number of times.

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