KR20230097921A - Air conditioner and method for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An air conditioner capable of adding an automatic drying function and a drying reservation function through software upgrade of a home appliance and a control method thereof are disclosed. The air conditioner downloads and stores program data including an automatic drying function and a drying reservation function from the server, and upgrades the program data when an upgrade trigger occurs. do

Description

Air conditioner and its control method {AIR CONDITIONER AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to home appliances, and more particularly, to an air conditioner and a control method thereof.

Home appliances, such as home appliances and electronic products, are placed and operated in various environments, and a change may occur in the structure or components of the product based on the time of product shipment. For example, after a product is shipped and sold, there may be a demand to upgrade functions or add functions.

By the way, in most cases, home appliances update their firmware to solve product errors after product sales, and in order to upgrade by adding new features that respond to various needs of consumers after product shipment, purchase a product with added features again. Therefore, it was not possible to provide additional functions of home appliances according to changes in consumer lifestyle or technological development.

In addition, in order to manage various home appliances connected to the Internet, there is a demand for the development of a technology that enables a user to easily check functions that can be updated or upgraded, request an upgrade, and check the status or result of the upgrade.

On the other hand, the air conditioner is a device for maintaining the environment of a predetermined space in a pleasant state. The air conditioner may provide a cooling function, a heating function, a purification function, and the like to realize environmental conditions selected by a user. With this air conditioner, temperature, humidity, purification and airflow distribution in the space can be controlled.

While the air conditioner is operated in a cooling mode, since heat exchange occurs between indoor air and a refrigerant in an indoor heat exchanger provided in the indoor unit, the surface of the indoor heat exchanger is exposed to condensate due to heat exchange. At this time, the moisture remaining on the surface of the indoor heat exchanger causes various dusts, germs, molds and odors.

Thereafter, when the air conditioner is operated, various dust, germs, mold, and odor generated on the surface of the indoor heat exchanger are discharged into a predetermined space, thereby deteriorating the indoor environment. Therefore, after the air conditioner is driven in the cooling mode, drying the surface of the indoor heat exchanger is absolutely necessary for indoor hygiene.

A technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an air conditioner capable of adding an automatic drying function and a drying reservation function through software upgrade of a home appliance and a control method thereof.

A technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an air conditioner capable of reserving an operation time of a drying mode by preset drying setting and a control method thereof.

A technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an air conditioner capable of automatically adjusting a drying time and an air volume in a drying mode operation with an automatic drying function, and a control method thereof.

The objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects and advantages of the present invention not mentioned above can be understood by the following description and will be more clearly understood by the examples of the present invention. It will also be readily apparent that the objects and advantages of the present invention may be realized by means of the instrumentalities and combinations indicated in the claims.

An air conditioner and a control method thereof according to an embodiment add an automatic drying function and a drying reservation function through software upgrade of a home appliance.

Specifically, program data including an automatic drying function and a drying reservation function are downloaded and stored from the server, and when an upgrade trigger occurs, the program data is upgraded.

Also, an air conditioner and a control method thereof according to an embodiment reserve an operation time of a drying mode as a reservation drying setting.

Specifically, when the drying time is reserved in the drying reservation function, the drying mode is performed at the drying time.

Also, an air conditioner and a control method thereof according to an embodiment automatically adjust a drying time and an air volume when operating in a drying mode with an automatic drying function.

Specifically, when performing the automatic drying function, the air volume and driving time for the drying mode are automatically set according to the humidity of the indoor space measured through the sensor.

The air conditioner according to an embodiment downloads and stores program data including an automatic drying function and a drying reservation function from a server, upgrades the program data when an upgrade trigger occurs, and when a drying time is reserved in the drying reservation function Drying mode is carried out at the drying time.

In an embodiment, when the automatic drying function or the drying reservation function is performed, the air volume and driving time for the drying mode are automatically set according to the humidity of the indoor space measured by the sensor.

A method of controlling an air conditioner according to an embodiment includes downloading and storing program data including an automatic drying function and a drying reservation function from a server, upgrading program data when an upgrade trigger occurs, and scheduling drying. When the drying time is reserved in the function, the drying mode is performed at the drying time.

An air conditioner and a control method thereof according to an embodiment may add an automatic drying function and a drying reservation function through a software upgrade of a home appliance.

In addition, the air conditioner and its control method according to an embodiment can automatically set a drying time and an air volume according to a use environment when operating in a drying mode with an automatic drying function, thereby increasing user convenience.

In addition, the air conditioner and the control method thereof according to an embodiment can reserve the operation time of the drying mode to a time desired by the user by preset drying setting, thereby providing freedom from odors generated while the heat exchanger is drying. .

In addition, the air conditioner and its control method according to an embodiment perform the drying mode by automatically adjusting the air volume and drying time for the drying mode according to humidity, so that the effectiveness of the drying mode can be improved.

In addition to the effects described above, specific effects of the present invention will be described together while explaining specific details for carrying out the present invention.

1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a system for upgrading a home appliance according to an embodiment.
2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a system for upgrading a home appliance according to an embodiment in detail.
3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a management server for upgrading a home appliance according to an embodiment.
4 is an operation flow chart illustrating an operation of a management server according to an exemplary embodiment.
5 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of an upgradable home appliance according to an exemplary embodiment.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for upgrading a home appliance according to an embodiment.
7 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a home appliance in which a plurality of upgradable home appliances are separately installed, according to an embodiment.
8 is a diagram for explaining an overall operation of a method of upgrading a home appliance according to an embodiment.
9 and 10 are diagrams showing an upgrade process in a user terminal according to an embodiment.
11 is a diagram showing a process of setting an added function in a user terminal according to an embodiment.
12 is a flowchart of an air conditioner and a control method thereof according to an exemplary embodiment.
13 is a flowchart of an air conditioner and a control method thereof according to another embodiment.

The above objects, means and effects will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and accordingly, those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs will be able to easily implement the technical spirit of the present invention. In describing the present invention, if it is determined that the detailed description of the known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same or similar components.

Hereinafter, a system and method for upgrading a home appliance according to some embodiments will be described. In addition, an air conditioner capable of adding an automatic drying function and a drying reservation function through software upgrade of home appliances and a control method thereof will be described.

In the specification, updating of a home appliance may be defined as a process of updating software installed in the home appliance. The software may include firmware for operation of a control unit or a microcomputer of a home appliance and content programs executed on the firmware. For example, the content program may be a program for setting a background screen of the display unit of the air conditioner, a program for setting an automatic drying function and a drying reservation function of the air conditioner, and the like.

In the specification, updating of a home appliance may be defined as including a download and upgrade process. Here, downloading may be defined as a process of downloading software to be recorded in a home appliance. Upgrading may be defined as a process of writing downloaded software to a control unit or a microcomputer of a home appliance.

In the specification, upgrade progress or firmware over the air (FOTA) progress may be defined as a process of upgrading downloaded software to a home appliance, that is, a process of recording a program in a control unit or microcomputer of the home appliance.

In the specification, when a home appliance is in operation or when a product is in operation may be defined as an operating state in which the home appliance performs a unique function. For example, the operating state of performing the intrinsic function of the home appliance may be a state of performing an air conditioning function of an air conditioner, an air cleaning function of an air purifier, a washing function of a washing machine, and a drying function of a dryer.

In the specification, the communication unit may perform functions such as data transmission/reception, downloaded software storage, software upgrade schedule setting, and upgrade reservation time tracking.

In the specification, the controller of the home appliance may be defined as a controller that performs a unique function of the home appliance. For example, the controller may perform an air conditioning function of an air conditioner, an air cleaning function of an air purifier, a washing function of a washing machine, a drying function of a dryer, and the like.

In the specification, the drying mode of the air conditioner may be defined as an operation of drying the surface of the indoor heat exchanger.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an upgrading system for a home appliance according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a system according to an embodiment may include a management server 100 and a plurality of user devices 210 , 220 , 230 , and 240 .

The management server 100 may store information about home appliances to be upgraded and information about home appliances possessed by each user.

Information on home appliances may include program data of the latest version of the home appliance. For example, the information on home appliances is at least one of identification information of the home appliance, program data for each previous version of the home appliance, and delta data derived according to a result of comparing the program data of each of the previous versions with the program data of the latest version. may contain more than

Here, the program data is data related to the operation of the home appliance, and refers to data capable of improving the function of the home appliance or adding new functions to the home appliance. For example, when the home appliance is an air conditioner, the program data may be data for improving a program for adjusting one or more of air volume, wind direction, and room temperature, improving an image displayed through a display module, or creating a new It may be data for displaying an image or data related to a voice guided through a voice guidance module.

The information about the home appliance possessed by each user may include user identification information and identification information of the home appliance associated with the user identification information.

The management server 100 may determine whether to upgrade the home appliance and an upgrade method based on information about the home appliance. A specific method for this will be described later.

In addition, the management server 100 may transmit data for upgrading functions of each of the user devices 210 , 220 , 230 , and 240 (hereinafter referred to as upgrade data). The upgrade data may include program data or delta data of the latest version of the home appliance.

Data transmitted by the management server 100 may also include a command set to be executed by each of the user devices 210 , 220 , 230 , and 240 . The management server 100 may determine the type or transmission time of upgrade data according to the above-described upgrade status and upgrade method.

Each of the plurality of user devices 210, 220, 230, and 240 may include at least one or more home appliances. Here, home appliances include various types of home appliances such as air conditioners, air purifiers, refrigerators, washing machines, clothes management devices, and water purifiers, mobile devices such as smartphones, and various types of electronic devices included in automobiles (for example, It may include various types of devices, such as a device provided for autonomous driving or a device for controlling the operation of a vehicle, etc.).

Also, each of the plurality of user devices 210, 220, 230, and 240 may include at least one user terminal. Each of the one or more home appliances may update program data in response to a file (ie, a file including delta data or a command set) received from the management server 100 .

2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a system for upgrading a home appliance according to an embodiment in detail.

Referring to FIG. 2 , a system according to an embodiment includes a management server 100, an access point 300, a plurality of home appliances 410, 420, 430, 440, 500, and 600, and a user terminal 700. can include

Each of the plurality of user devices 210, 220, 230, and 240 in FIG. 1 includes an access point 300, a plurality of home appliances 410, 420, 430, 440, 500, and 600, and a user terminal 700. It may include at least one or more of them.

Functions of the management server 100 may be the same as those described in FIG. 1 .

The access point 300 may serve as a relay between the management server 100 and the home appliances 410 , 420 , 500 , and 600 . The access point 300 may be a Wi-Fi router.

Each of the plurality of home appliances 410, 420, 430, 440, 500, and 600 may perform a unique function according to the execution of a corresponding program.

The home appliances 410, 420, 430, and 440 may be home appliances in which a plurality of devices are separately installed and connected to each other for a predetermined function. For example, the 1-1 home appliance 410, the 1-2 home appliance 420, and the 1-3 home appliance 430 control any one of indoor temperature, humidity, and air quality. It is the indoor unit of the air conditioner, and the 1st-4th home appliance 440 may be the outdoor unit of the air conditioner connected to the indoor units. Air quality may include the concentration of fine dust or chemicals that cause odors.

In addition, the 1-1 home appliance 410 and the 1-2 home appliance 420 may include a communication module (eg, a Wi-Fi module) capable of accessing the access point 300 . In addition, the 1-1 home appliance 410, the 1-2 home appliance 420, the 1-3 home appliance 430, and the 1-4 home appliance 440 are communication modules capable of communicating with each other. can include

Each of the 1-1 home appliance 410, 1-2 home appliance 420, and 1-3 home appliance 430 determines the temperature, humidity, and concentration of the indoor air according to the execution of the corresponding program. At least one or more can be adjusted. The 1-4 home appliance 440 may control the operation of at least one of a compressor and a fan according to execution of a corresponding program.

Each of the second home appliance 500 and the third home appliance 600 may be a home appliance that operates independently. For example, each of the second home appliance 500 and the third home appliance 600 may be one of various home appliances such as an air purifier, a washing machine, a clothes care machine, and a refrigerator. Each of the second home appliance 500 and the third home appliance 600 may include a communication module (eg, a Wi-Fi module).

The user terminal 700 may be a mobile terminal of a user who owns a plurality of home appliances 410 , 420 , 430 , 440 , 500 , and 600 .

Depending on the embodiment, the access point 300 may be excluded. In this case, each of the home appliances 410, 420, 500, and 600 may access the management server 100 through an Internet network or the like. In this case, each of the home appliances 410, 420, 500, and 600 may access the management server 100 by wire or wirelessly.

Also, although not shown, the user device may further include a remote control capable of controlling each of the plurality of home appliances 410, 420, 430, 440, 500, and 600. The remote controller may transmit/receive data with each of the home appliances controlled by the remote control in a short-distance wireless communication method. For example, the remote controller may transmit/receive data with the home appliances it controls using a Bluetooth method. According to an embodiment, not only the plurality of home appliances 410, 420, 430, 440, 500, and 600, but also remote controllers or other devices connected thereto may be upgraded.

For example, a user may remotely control a home appliance (eg, an air conditioner) installed in a home or check an operating state of a home appliance in real time using the user terminal 700 (eg, a mobile terminal or a tablet). .

The user executes an application for managing the home appliance installed in the user terminal 700, inputs a control command for the home appliance, or requests information related to the operating state of the home appliance. The user terminal 700 transmits a control command to the management server 100 or requests transmission of information about a home appliance according to a user's request.

Home appliances are equipped with a display for displaying information and a communication device having a communication function.

The management server 100 communicates with home appliances through a router installed in the home. The management server 100 transfers a control command input by a user to a home appliance through a router, or requests the home appliance to transmit information related to an operating state of the home appliance. The home appliance is controlled according to a control command input by a user or transmits information related to an operating state of the home appliance to the management server 100 through a router.

The management server 100 transmits the received information related to the operating state of the home appliance to the user terminal 700 . Through this process, the user can remotely control the home appliance using the user terminal 700 or inquire information related to the operating state of the home appliance in real time.

The management server 100 communicates with home appliances through a router installed in the home. The management server 100 transfers a control command input by a user to a home appliance through a router, or requests the home appliance to transmit information related to an operating state of the home appliance. The home appliance is controlled according to a control command input by a user or transmits information related to an operating state of the home appliance to the management server 100 through a router.

When a user requests an upgrade of software or firmware installed in the home appliance through an application installed in the user terminal 700, the management server 100 transmits the new software or firmware to the home appliance. The user may set elements and functions for software or firmware upgrade of the home appliance or check the software or firmware upgrade state of the home appliance through an application installed in the user terminal 700 .

In addition, the home appliance may periodically transmit information on software installed in the home appliance to the management server 100 through a router. Also, the home appliance may transmit software information of a separate home appliance connected to the home appliance by wire or wirelessly, for example, an indoor unit, an outdoor unit, and a remote controller. A communication method between a home appliance and the management server 100 may be different from a communication method between a home appliance and a separate home appliance.

In addition, when a software update is required for a separate home appliance connected to the home appliance by wire or wirelessly, the home appliance transmits the software received from the management server 100 to the corresponding home appliance, or uses a broadcasting method to send a plurality of separate home appliances. of household appliances.

The software information transmitted to the management server 100 may include a user ID, model name, serial number, software version, software content, user settings, product storage capacity information, and the like.

The management server 100 may compare software information of a home appliance transmitted through a user ID, model name, serial number, etc. with software information registered in the home appliance management server 100 from the transmitted software information.

According to the comparison result, the management server 100 selects either a general update or an automatic update method as the software update or update method of the home appliance, or either a general update or an automatic update through the model name and serial number of the home appliance. method can be chosen.

For example, when the management server 100 selects the general update method, and if software installed in the home appliance needs to be updated or updated, the management server 100 sends the user terminal 700 or the home appliance software update or update information. can transmit.

When receiving software update or update information from the electronic device management server, the user terminal 700 or the home appliance may display the software update or update information on the display.

When there is a software update or update request from the user, the management server 100 generates delta data containing only the difference between the software installed in the home appliance and the software to be updated, and transmits or updates the data to the home appliance through a router along with a command. The entire software to be used can be transferred to the home appliance.

The home appliance may update or update the software of the home appliance based on the transmitted update software.

In addition, when the management server 100 selects the automatic update method, the management server 100 generates delta data containing only the difference between the software installed in the home appliance and the software to be updated, and the home appliance through a router along with a command. The entire software to be transferred or updated to the appliance can be transferred to the appliance.

The home appliance or user terminal 700 may display software update or update information on the display when software to be updated is downloaded to the home appliance.

When a software update or an update request is received from the home appliance or the user terminal 700, the home appliance may update or update the software of the home appliance based on the transmitted update software.

The management server 100 may switch to normal update when the storage capacity of the home appliance is insufficient or the automatic update fails even though the automatic update method is selected.

3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a management server 100 for upgrading a home appliance according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the management server 100 may include a control unit 110, a communication unit 810, and a storage unit 130.

The control unit 110 may transmit program data stored in the storage unit 130 . At this time, the program data transmitted by the control unit 110 may be program data of the latest version. For example, the control unit 110 generates delta data for each home appliance based on the data stored in the storage unit 130, and sends the delta to the home appliance (410, 420, 500, 600 in FIG. 2) through the communication unit 810. Data can also be transmitted.

When transmitting program data or delta data, the control unit 110 may also transmit a command set to be executed by the control unit of the home appliance (410, 420, 500, 600 in FIG. 2).

The controller 110 may determine whether to upgrade the home appliance and an upgrade method based on information about the home appliance.

The controller 110 may include at least one processing unit or memory. Here, the processing unit may include, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphic processing unit (GPU), a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and the like, It can have multiple cores. The memory may be volatile memory (eg, RAM, etc.), non-volatile memory (eg, ROM, flash memory, etc.), or a combination thereof.

The communication unit 810 may transmit a signal to the outside under the control of the control unit 110 . Also, the communication unit 810 may receive a signal from the outside and output the received signal to the control unit 110 . The communication unit 810 may transmit and receive signals by wire or wirelessly. Communication unit 810 may include a modem, network interface card (NIC), integrated network interface, radio frequency transmitter/receiver, infrared port, USB connection, or other interface for communication with other computing devices.

The storage unit 130 may store data received through the communication unit 810 under the control of the controller 110 and may store data processed by the controller 110 . For example, the storage unit 130 includes user identification information, identification information of a home appliance associated with the user identification information, program data for each version of the home appliance, and program data of previous versions and program data of the latest version. At least one or more of the delta data derived according to the comparison result may be stored.

4 is an operation flowchart for explaining the operation of the management server 100 according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4 , first, the management server 100 may receive product information from a home appliance (step S11). Product information may include at least one or more of user identification information, identification information of a home appliance, and a current program version of the home appliance.

Next, the management server 100 may determine whether to upgrade or upgrade based on product information (step S12).

For example, the management server 100 may check the user's authority or the service being used by using the user's identification information, and determine whether or not to upgrade accordingly. Alternatively, the management server 100 may determine whether or not to upgrade based on the identification information of the home appliance. Alternatively, the management server 100 may determine whether or not to upgrade depending on whether the current program version of the home appliance is the latest version.

In addition, the management server 100 may determine an upgrade method based on at least one of a function to be upgraded, a capacity of upgrade data, a format of the upgrade data, an expected transmission time of the upgrade data, and identification information of the home appliance. For example, the management server 100 may determine an appropriate upgrade method according to functions to be upgraded.

For example, the management server 100 may compare the capacity of the upgrade data with at least one reference capacity, and determine an upgrade method according to the result. Alternatively, the management server 100 may determine an upgrade method according to whether the upgrade data includes a command. Alternatively, the management server 100 may determine the type of the home appliance or the connection state of the communication unit of the home appliance using identification information of the home appliance, and determine an upgrade method based on the result. Alternatively, the management server 100 may determine a transmission time required to transmit the upgrade data based on the capacity of the upgrade data and the identification information of the home appliance, and determine an upgrade method based on the result.

According to one embodiment, the upgrade method includes a general upgrade method in which all data including a program to perform a function to be upgraded is transmitted to the home appliance and the home appliance is upgraded based on the entire transmitted data, delta data is transmitted, Includes a delta upgrade method in which the home appliance is upgraded based on the transmitted delta data, and an automatic upgrade method in which the upgrade data is transmitted to the home appliance before receiving the user's acceptance of the upgrade and then the home appliance is upgraded according to the user's acceptance of the upgrade. can do.

According to the normal upgrade method and the delta upgrade method, the management server 100 may transmit upgrade data after receiving the user's acceptance of the upgrade. In addition, according to the general upgrade method and the delta upgrade method, upgrade data may be transmitted to a home appliance (more specifically, a function module of the home appliance) in a state in which the intrinsic operation of the home appliance is stopped.

In this specification, the intrinsic operation of the home appliance means an operation for the home appliance to perform its original function. For example, in the case of an air conditioner, an operation of controlling a compressor or a fan to perform cooling or heating may be an inherent operation. In the case of a washing machine, an operation of controlling a motor or a valve to wash laundry may be an inherent operation. In the case of a refrigerator, an operation of controlling a compressor or a fan to adjust or maintain the internal temperature may be an intrinsic operation.

According to the automatic upgrade scheme, upgrade data can be transmitted to a home appliance (more specifically, a function module of the home appliance) regardless of whether the home appliance's intrinsic operation is stopped. That is, according to the automatic upgrade method, some or all of the upgrade data may be downloaded to the home appliance while the home appliance performs its own operation. For example, the upgrade data may be downloaded to a storage unit within a communication unit of the home appliance.

When the capacity of the upgrade data is equal to or greater than the first reference capacity, the management server 100 may determine an automatic upgrade method as an upgrade method. Alternatively, if the capacity of the upgrade data is less than the first reference capacity, the management server 100 may determine the upgrade method as a delta upgrade method.

Alternatively, the management server 100 may determine an upgrade method as a general upgrade method when the capacity of the upgrade data is less than the second reference capacity smaller than the first reference capacity. The first reference capacity may be 1 Mbyte. The second reference capacity may be 128 kbytes. This is because, when the capacity of the upgrade data is equal to or greater than the first reference capacity, it takes a lot of time to transmit the data even if the delta upgrade method is used. In addition, if the capacity of the upgrade data is less than the second reference capacity, it does not take much time to transmit the data even if the delta upgrade method is not used.

Alternatively, the management server 100 may determine an automatic upgrade method as an upgrade method when the expected transmission time of the upgrade data is greater than or equal to the first reference time. Alternatively, the management server 100 may determine a delta upgrade method as an upgrade method when the expected transmission time of the upgrade data is less than the first reference time. Alternatively, the management server 100 may determine the upgrade method as a general upgrade method when the expected transmission time of the upgrade data is less than the second reference time shorter than the first reference time. The first reference time may be 20 minutes. The second reference dose may be 2 minutes.

Alternatively, the management server 100 may determine an upgrade method as a general upgrade method or a delta upgrade method when the traffic of a communication line of a home appliance to be upgraded or a function module of the home appliance is equal to or greater than a reference ratio to the capacity of the communication line. . Alternatively, the management server 100 may determine an upgrade method using an automatic upgrade method when the traffic of a communication line of a home appliance to be upgraded or a function module of the home appliance is less than a reference ratio to the capacity of the communication line. This is because it takes a lot of time to transmit the upgrade data even if the automatic upgrade method is used when traffic on the communication line is usually high.

Alternatively, the management server 100 may determine an automatic upgrade method as an upgrade method when the upgrade data does not include a command. The management server 100 may determine an upgrade method by complexly considering two or more of the various determination criteria described above.

Next, the management server 100 may provide upgrade information to the home appliance or user terminal 700 and receive upgrade acceptance from the home appliance or user terminal 700 (step S13). In addition, the management server 100 may transmit upgrade data to the home appliance (step S14).

The order of steps S13 and S14 may be changed. That is, as described above, the management server 100 may perform step S14 after performing step S13 when upgrading according to the normal upgrade method or the delta upgrade method. Alternatively, when upgrading according to the automatic upgrade method, the management server 100 may perform step S14 and then step S13.

Then, the management server 100 may request the home appliance to perform an upgrade operation.

5 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of an upgradable home appliance 800 according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the home appliance 800 may include a communication unit 810, a control unit 820, and a third storage unit 830. The communication unit 810 may include a storage unit 811, a transmission/reception unit 812, and a communication control unit, and the control unit 820 includes a processing unit 821, a first storage unit 822, and a second storage unit ( 823) may be included. Each of the home appliances 410 , 420 , 500 , and 600 of FIG. 2 may include the configuration shown in FIG. 4 . Also, a home appliance according to an embodiment may not include some of the first storage unit 822 , the second storage unit 823 , and the third storage unit 830 .

The communication unit 810 may receive data from the management server (100 in FIG. 1 or 2) and transmit the received data to the control unit 820. The data received from the management server (100 in FIG. 1 or 2) may include at least one of program data, delta data described above, and commands executed by the control unit 820. The communication unit 810 may include a radio frequency transmitter/receiver, an infrared port, a USB connection, or other interface. For example, the communication unit 160 may include a short-range communication module for transmitting and receiving signals according to a communication standard such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

The storage unit 811 may store data received from the management server (100 in FIG. 1 or 2). The storage unit 811 may be a non-volatile memory. For example, the storage unit 811 may be a flash memory.

The transceiver 812 may transmit data stored in the storage 811 to the controller 820 .

The communication control unit may control the transceiver 812 and the storage unit 811 . The communication control unit may correspond to a microcomputer for controlling communication. The communication controller may operate based on firmware.

The communication control unit may store data received from the transmission/reception unit 812, particularly software data, in the storage unit 811. Also, the communication control unit may transmit the software data stored in the storage unit 811 to the main control unit, for example, the processing unit 821 through a local bus.

The communication control unit may track and trigger the upgrade reservation time, and when triggering occurs, upgrade or delay the reservation time according to the operating state of the main control unit, and may synchronize the reservation time with the server 100.

The controller 820 may control the home appliance to perform a specific function by storing a program for implementing functions of the home appliance and executing a predetermined function by executing the stored program. Also, the controller 820 may update a stored program based on data received from the communication unit 810 .

The processing unit 821 may include a central processing unit (CPU), a graphic processing unit (GPU), a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and the like, and may include a plurality of can have a core.

The first storage unit 822 may be a non-volatile memory. For example, the first storage unit 822 may be a flash memory. The first storage unit 822 may store the program.

The second storage unit 823 may be a volatile memory. For example, the second storage unit 823 may be RAM. The second storage unit 823 may load some of the program data stored in the first storage unit 822, and program data stored in the second storage unit 823 may be stored in a specific area of the first storage unit 822. can be lighted

The third storage unit 830 may be a non-volatile memory. The third storage unit may be one of flash memory, magnetic storage, and optical storage. Programs for performing functions of the home appliance may be stored in the third storage unit 830 .

6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for upgrading a home appliance according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the home appliance 800 and the management server 100 perform a pre-process to upgrade to a program of a home appliance having a new function (S21).

The home appliance 800 and the management server 100 may be connected to enable mutual communication, and upgrade-related information may be stored in the storage unit 130 of the management server 100, including an upgrade cycle, an upgrade reservation, and the like. An upgrade schedule may be set. In addition, the upgrade schedule may include a notification schedule for notifying the user after the upgrade so that he/she can be aware of it.

In addition, a program file or data file (upgrade file) for upgrading the home appliance 800 is registered in the management server 100 . When an administrator uploads an upgrade file to the management server 100, the upgrade file is stored in the storage unit 130. When an upgrade file is a data file, the manager may set whether automatic download, which will be described later, is possible when the upgrade file is uploaded to the management server 100 .

In addition, the management server 100 and the home appliance 800 communicate with each other to determine the version of the program or data installed in the home appliance 800 and the version of the upgrade file (program file or data file) registered in the management server 100 The management server or the home appliance 800 may recognize that an upgrade of the home appliance 800 is required due to differences in the above.

The upgrade file registered in the management server 100 can upgrade only one target of a plurality of home appliances (410, 420, 430, 440, 500, 600), or a plurality of home appliances (410, 420, 430, 440). , 500, 600), for example, all of the 1-1 home appliance 410, the 1-2 home appliance 420, and the 1-3 home appliance 430 that are indoor units of the air conditioner. can be upgraded Accordingly, a home appliance 800 upgraded below means one or more home appliances 800 to which an upgrade file can be applied among a plurality of home appliances 410 , 420 , 430 , 440 , 500 , and 600 .

As a final pre-process, the management server 100 confirms the user's consent to the download of the program file and the upgrade of the home appliance 800 . The management server 100 checks whether the user agrees to upgrade the program through the user terminal 700 or the home appliance 800 . If the user's consent to upgrade the program is not entered into the user terminal 700 or the home appliance 800, the steps to be described later are not executed.

When the user agrees to upgrade the program, the management server 100 and the home appliance 800 initiate download of a program file among upgrade files (S22). The control unit 110 of the management server 100 transmits program files stored in the storage unit 130 through the communication unit 810 .

The communication unit 810 of the home appliance 800 receives the program file, and the first storage unit 822, the second storage unit 823 or the third storage unit 830 of the home appliance 800 stores the received program. file can be saved. Hereinafter, the storage units 822 , 823 , and 830 in which program files are stored refer to the first storage unit 822 , the second storage unit 823 , or the third storage unit 830 .

The home appliance 800 notifies the management server 100 that the download is complete when the program file reception is complete. The controller 820 of the home appliance 800 checks the checksum of the program file stored in the storage units 822, 823, and 830, confirms that the download has been completed, and sends a download completion message to the management server 100 through the communication unit 810. send

When the program file download is completed, the home appliance 800 performs a program upgrade (S23). The controller 820 of the home appliance 800 installs program files stored in the storage units 822 , 823 , and 830 to upgrade the programs stored in the storage units 822 , 823 , and 830 . The controller 820 of the home appliance 800 changes the version of the program to the version of the installed program file, stores it in the storage units 822, 823, and 830, and transfers the program to the management server 100 through the communication unit 810. Device information including version information can be transmitted.

The control unit 820 of the home appliance 800 implements a new function added by program upgrade and provides information about the new function added to the management server 100 through the communication unit 810 . The management server 100 provides information on new functions added to the user terminal 700 .

The user terminal 700 receives user settings for the added function (S24). The user terminal 700 displays a new function added to the home appliance 800 from the management server 100 and provides a setting screen for the function. A user sets a new function through the user terminal 700 . For example, when a function is added so that the voice guidance voice of the home appliance 800 can be selected as female or male instead of only female, the user can set the voice guidance voice as male. A detailed description thereof will be described later with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 . The user terminal 700 transmits user settings for functions to the management server 100 .

The management server 100 and the home appliance 800 initiate download of a data file corresponding to a user's setting among upgrade files (S25). In the above example, when the user sets the voice guidance voice to male, the control unit 110 of the management server 100 sends a data file corresponding to a male voice among data files to the storage unit 130 through the communication unit 810. transmit The communication unit 810 of the home appliance 800 receives the data file selected according to the user's setting, and the first storage unit 822, the second storage unit 823 or the third storage unit (823) of the home appliance 800 ( 830) may store the received data file.

The home appliance 800 notifies the management server 100 that the download has been completed when the data file reception is complete. The control unit 820 of the home appliance 800 checks the checksum of the data file stored in the storage units 822, 823, and 830, confirms that the download has been completed, and sends a download completion message to the management server 100 through the communication unit 810. send When the data file download is completed, the management server 100 confirms the user's consent to the data upgrade of the home appliance 800 by the downloaded data file.

The management server 100 checks whether the user agrees to upgrade data through the user terminal 700 or the home appliance 800 . Depending on the embodiment, the user terminal 700 or the home appliance 800 may automatically upgrade data, which will be described later, without receiving consent from the user for the data upgrade.

The home appliance 800 performs data upgrade (S26). The controller 820 of the home appliance 800 upgrades the data stored in the storage units 822 , 823 , and 830 by installing data files stored in the storage units 822 , 823 , and 830 . The controller 820 of the home appliance 800 may change and install only the memory addresses of data files stored in the storage units 822, 823, and 830. The controller 820 of the home appliance 800 preserves data irrelevant to the user's setting and adds data selected according to the user's setting, or deletes data irrelevant to the user's setting and only selects data according to the user's setting. can be installed

The controller 820 of the home appliance 800 changes the version of the data to the version of the installed data file, stores the data in the storage units 822, 823, and 830, and transfers the data to the management server 100 through the communication unit 810. Device information including version information can be transmitted.

In the process of downloading (S22) and upgrading (S23) program files for adding new functions in the above process, and downloading (S25) and upgrading (S26) of data files selected according to the user's settings for the added functions, The order of receiving the consent of the user is different.

In the case of a program file, the user's consent for program upgrade is first input, and when the user's consent is input, the program file is downloaded (S22) and upgraded (S23).

In the case of a data file, after the data file for data upgrade is downloaded (S25), the user's consent to the data upgrade is input, and when the user's consent is entered, the data file is upgraded (S26).

According to the embodiment or setting, if the data file selected according to the user's setting is data that did not exist according to the newly added function, the data file can be downloaded (S25) and upgraded (S26) without the consent of the user.

7 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a home appliance in which a plurality of upgradeable home appliances are separately installed, according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7 , the 1-1 home appliance 410, the 1-2 home appliance 420, and the 1-3 home appliance 430 are indoor units of an air conditioner, and the 1-4 home appliance 440 may be an outdoor unit of an air conditioner. In addition, the 1-1 home appliance 410 and the 1-2 home appliance 420 may access the management server 100 through the access point 300 or the Internet network.

The 1-1 home appliance 410 may include a first communication unit 411, a main control unit 412, and a second communication unit 413. Depending on the embodiment, the 1-1 home appliance 410 may further include at least one of a display module 414, a voice guidance module 415, and a sensor unit 416.

The first communication unit 411 may receive data from the management server 100 and transmit the received data to the main control unit 412 . The first communication unit 411 may have the same configuration as the communication unit 810 of FIG. 5 and perform the same functions.

The main controller 412 may receive data from the first communication unit 411 and transmit the received data to the second communication unit 413 . When the data received from the first communication unit 411 is data used in the display module 414 or the voice guidance module 415, the main controller 412 transmits the data to the display module 414 or the voice guidance module 415. can also be sent to The main controller 412 may have the same configuration as the controller 820 of FIG. 5 and perform the same functions.

The second communication unit 413 may transmit/receive data with at least one of the 1-2nd home appliance 420, the 1-3rd home appliance 430, and the 1-4th home appliance 440.

For example, the second communication unit 413 may transmit and receive data in an asynchronous serial communication method. The second communication unit 413 may implement hardware of the home appliance more simply by using an asynchronous serial communication method. In addition, the second communication unit 413 may transmit and receive data at a rate of 4800 bps to 4 Mbps. Preferably, the second communication unit 413 may transmit and receive data at a speed of 9600 bps.

The home appliance 410 may be an indoor unit of an air conditioner, and the first to fourth home appliances 440 may be an outdoor unit of the air conditioner.

Considering the distance between the indoor unit of the air conditioner and the outdoor unit of the air conditioner in a general installation environment and the surrounding environment, communication reliability can be secured and the transmission speed can be increased at the same time by having the communication speed. For example, the second communication unit 413 may include a universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART) and may transmit/receive data using an RS485 communication method. The second communication unit 413 may include a storage unit capable of storing data.

The display module 414 may visually display various information for user's convenience. For example, the display module 414 may display at least one of information related to the operation of the home appliance, information related to the state of the home appliance, and other living information.

The display module 414 may operate under the control of the main controller 412 or may include a separate display controller. Predetermined data may be transmitted from the management server to drive the display module 414 . The display module 414 may receive the data through the main controller 412 .

The voice guidance module 415 may indicate various information by sound for user's convenience. Similar to the display module 414, the voice guidance module 415 may also display at least one or more of information related to the operation of the home appliance, information related to the state of the home appliance, and other life information through sound.

The voice guidance module 415 may operate under the control of the main controller 412 or may include a separate voice controller. Predetermined data may be transmitted from the management server to drive the voice guidance module 415 . The voice guidance module 415 may receive the data through the main controller 412 .

The sensor unit 416 may obtain information related to the operation of the home appliance. For example, when the home appliance is an air conditioner, the sensor unit 416 may detect at least one of the room temperature, the temperature of air discharged from the air conditioner, the room humidity, and the temperature or pressure of the circulating refrigerant. can When the home appliance is an air purifier, the sensor unit 416 may detect at least one of indoor temperature, humidity, and air quality. The sensor unit 416 may include one or more sensors.

The 1-2 home appliance 420 may have substantially the same configuration as the 1-1 home appliance 410 . That is, each of the first communication unit 421, the main control unit 422, the second communication unit 423, the display module 424, the voice guidance module 425, and the sensor unit 426 is the first communication unit 411, Each of the main control unit 412, the second communication unit 413, the display module 414, the voice guidance module 415, and the sensor unit 416 may be substantially the same.

The 1-3 home appliance 430 may be substantially the same as the 1-1 home appliance, except that it does not include a first communication unit. That is, the main control unit 432, the second communication unit 433, the display module 434, the voice guidance module 435, and the sensor unit 436 are respectively the main control unit 412, the second communication unit 413, and the display module. 414, the voice guidance module 415, and the sensor unit 416 may be substantially the same as each other.

Each of the main control unit 442 and the second communication unit 443 of the 1-4th home appliance 440 is substantially compatible with each of the main control unit 412 and the second communication unit 413 of the 1-1 home appliance 410. can be the same The first-fourth home appliance 440 may be an outdoor unit of an air conditioner. In this case, the 1-4 home appliances 440 may further include a compressor 444 and a fan 445.

The main controller 442 may control the compressor 444 or the fan 445 by using a program included in the data received from the 1-1 home appliance 410 . Home appliances 1-4 440 may also include a sensor unit 446 that obtains information related to the operation of the home appliance. When the 1-4 home appliance 440 is an outdoor unit of an air conditioner, the sensor unit 446 may sense at least one of pressure or temperature of the refrigerant, outdoor temperature, and outdoor humidity. The sensor unit 446 may include one or more sensors.

8 is a diagram for explaining an overall operation of a method of upgrading a home appliance according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8 , a method of upgrading a home appliance according to an embodiment may be applied when an upgrade is performed according to the above-described general upgrade method or delta upgrade method.

First, the communication unit 810 may request information (product information) on the home appliance from the control unit 820 (step S101).

Product information may be identification information of a home appliance. Identification information of the home appliance may include at least one of a serial number and a model name of the home appliance. In step S101, the management server 100 requests information about the home appliance from the communication unit 810, and in response to this, the communication unit 810 may request information about the home appliance from the controller 820.

Next, in response to the product information request, the controller 820 may return information about the home appliance (eg, identification information of the home appliance) to the communication unit 810 (step S102).

Next, the communication unit 810 may request information about whether the home appliance has details to be upgraded from the management server 100 (step S103). At this time, the communication unit 810 may transmit information about the home appliance (identification information of the home appliance) to the management server 100 .

Also, the communication unit 810 may additionally transmit user information to the management server 100 . The communication unit 810 may transmit and receive data through a relay when transmitting and receiving data with the management server 100 . The repeater may be the access point of FIG. 2 .

Next, the management server 100 may return upgrade information to the communication unit 810 (step S104).

The upgrade information may include at least one of information on whether or not there is a detail to be upgraded for the home appliance identified based on the information on the home appliance and information on items or contents to be upgraded.

The management server 100 may determine whether to upgrade the home appliance. Also, the management server 100 may determine an upgrade method. For example, the management server 100 may determine an item to be upgraded and determine an upgrade method accordingly. The upgrade scheme may include full upgrade, differential upgrade, and background upgrade.

Also, the management server 100 may provide the upgrade information to the user terminal 700 (step S105). The management server 100 may retrieve information about a user of the home appliance using information stored in the storage unit ( 130 in FIG. 3 ) or may receive user information from the communication unit 810 .

Next, when the user accepts the upgrade using the user terminal 700, information about the upgrade acceptance may be transmitted from the user terminal 700 to the management server 100 (step S106).

Instead of accepting the upgrade using the user terminal 700, the user may accept the upgrade using the input/output device of the home appliance.

In response to the user's acceptance of the upgrade, the management server 100 may request the start of the upgrade to the communication unit 810 (step S107). In this step, the management server 100 may determine an upgrade method. The decision on the upgrade method will be easily understood by referring to the description of step S104.

The communication unit 810 may request file transmission in response to the upgrade start request of the management server 100 (step S108).

The management server 100 may transmit a file including data for upgrading the home appliance to the communication unit 810 in response to the file transmission request of the communication unit 810 (step S109). Data for upgrade may include at least one or more of program data, delta data, and/or instruction set of the latest version.

The communication unit 810 and the control unit 820 may update the program of the home appliance using the file received from the management server 100 (step S110).

When the upgrade is completed, the communication unit 810 may return upgrade completion to the management server 100 (step S111).

The management server 100 may provide information related to upgrade completion to the user terminal in response to the upgrade completion reply received from the communication unit 810 (step S112).

9 and 10 are diagrams showing an upgrade process in a user terminal according to an embodiment.

9(a) is an exemplary view showing a pop-up indicating that the user terminal 700 is ready to upgrade the home appliance 800 . 9(b) is an exemplary view in which the user terminal 700 displays information about upgrading the home appliance 800. (c) of FIG. 9 is an exemplary view showing a screen on which the user terminal 700 inputs consent for the upgrade of the home appliance 800. 10 is an exemplary view showing that the user terminal 700 is upgrading the home appliance 800 in progress. In addition, FIG. 10 is an exemplary view in which the user terminal 700 indicates that the upgrade of the home appliance 800 is complete.

Referring to (a) of FIG. 9 , the user terminal 700 may display a pop-up 711 notifying that an upgrade of at least one home appliance 800 in the home is possible. The management server 100 transmits upgrade information including an upgrade possibility notification, a type and description of a function implemented by the upgrade, to the user terminal 700 (S11 and S105). When upgrade information is received, the user terminal 700 may display a pop-up 711 through an application (eg, LG ThinQ application).

Referring to (b) of FIG. 9 , the user terminal 700 may display types and descriptions of functions implemented by upgrade among upgrade information on an application screen. The application may display a screen 721 for selecting the type, description, and function of the upgrade function of the home appliance 800 and a button 722 requesting an upgrade of the selected function.

Referring to (c) of FIG. 9 , the user terminal 700 displays a pop-up 731 asking whether to upgrade at least one function of the home appliance 800 and a button 732 for entering the upgrade agreement on the application screen. can do. When the user selects the upgrade agreement button 732, the program file is downloaded (S12, S109).

Referring to FIG. 10 , the user terminal 700 displays a screen 741 indicating that the home appliance 800 is being upgraded on an application screen. When the screen 741 indicating that the home appliance 800 is being upgraded is displayed, download is performed (S12, S109) or upgrade is performed (S13, S110).

Referring to FIG. 10, the user terminal 700 includes a screen 751 indicating that the home appliance 800 has been upgraded on an application screen, and a button 752 for reviewing and setting new functions added through the upgrade, and , it is omitted and a button 753 for completion is displayed (S112).

11 is a diagram showing a process of setting an added function in a user terminal according to an embodiment.

11 is an exemplary view in which the user terminal 700 displays new functions added according to the upgrade of the home appliance 800 .

Referring to FIG. 11 , the user terminal 700 may display a screen 761 displaying types and descriptions of new functions added by upgrading and a button 762 for setting selected functions.

The user terminal 700 may display a screen displaying items that can be set in the selected function and a button for completing setting after selecting a settable item. The user can select a desired item from the configurable items and input the settings for the function by pressing the Done button.

For example, when the home appliance is an air conditioner, the user terminal 700 may display a screen for setting an automatic drying function and a drying reservation function of the air conditioner, and the user selects an automatic drying function or drying function from settable items. You can select a reservation function or enter a set value.

For example, if the home appliance is an air purifier, a setting screen according to each purification mode such as a concentrated cleaning mode, a direct cleaning mode, and a space cleaning mode of the air purifier may be displayed, and the user may set the cleaning mode or You can select a clean reservation function or enter a set value.

12 is a flowchart of an air conditioner and a control method thereof according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 12 , the home appliance 800 may be exemplified as an air conditioner, and the air conditioner may download a program including an automatic drying function and a drying reservation function from the server 100 . The home appliance 800 can be upgraded with the downloaded program.

For example, a user may select a home appliance through an application installed in the user terminal 700, and the application may generate a download pop-up when there is a program with new functions added to the corresponding home appliance.

The user may select download through a pop-up of the application, and the application may provide an upgrade reservation pop-up.

The user can select an upgrade method from the reservation pop-up. In one example, a user may choose to automatically upgrade after download. Alternatively, the user can choose to specify an upgrade start time.

At this time, the application may provide a dialog for selecting a time, and the user may select a time through this. Alternatively, the user may choose to be notified when the download is complete.

The application of the user terminal 700 may provide the upgrade method selected by the user to the management server 100 .

The management server 100 may transmit the upgrade method selected by the user to the communication unit 810 of the home appliance 800 . The communication unit 810 may perform functions such as transmitting and receiving data, storing downloaded programs, setting program upgrade schedules, and tracking upgrade reservation times.

The communication unit 810 of the home appliance 800 may update and set a download schedule, and may trigger a schedule alarm.

The communication unit 810 of the home appliance 800 may provide the set reservation porta information to the management server 100 . For example, the reservation porta information may include updated reservation information for program upgrade between the home appliance 800 and the management server 100 .

In addition, when an upgrade trigger occurs at the request of a user, the communication unit 810 of the home appliance 800 communicates with the processing unit 821 to determine the state of the home appliance 800 .

The communication unit 810 may perform an upgrade when the state of the home appliance 800 is in an upgradeable state, and may delay an upgrade time when the state of the home appliance 800 is not in an upgradeable state.

The communication unit 810 may notify the user terminal 700 that the upgrade is in progress when the upgrade is in progress, and may notify the user terminal 700 that the upgrade is postponed when the upgrade is postponed.

The communication unit 810 may determine the state of the home appliance based on whether or not the home appliance has a problem, whether the home appliance is operating, and the like, and can upgrade the downloaded program when the home appliance does not have a problem and is not in operation.

The communication unit 810 may automatically postpone an upgrade when there is a problem or is in operation, and may request a user to turn on the home appliance when the home appliance is powered off.

In addition, the communication unit 810 of the home appliance 800 may trigger an upgrade according to a set reservation schedule when there is an upgrade reservation setting. The communication unit 810 may determine the state of the home appliance when an upgrade trigger occurs.

For example, when determining the state of the home appliance, the communication unit 810 may determine whether program download has been completed, determine whether there is an error in the home appliance, and determine whether the home appliance is in operation. .

The communication unit 810 may proceed with the upgrade when the download is completed, there is no product error, and the product is not in operation. The communication unit 810 may postpone upgrade when download is not completed, when there is a product error, or when the product is in operation.

For example, the communication unit 810 may delay the upgrade time by a preset predetermined time upon postponement of the upgrade, and may synchronize mutual reservation schedules by providing the changed reservation schedule to the management server 100 .

Then, the communication unit 810 generates an upgrade trigger at the changed reservation time, performs an operation of determining the state of the home appliance again, and may progress or postpone the upgrade according to the state of the home appliance.

The home appliance 800 may set the drying reservation time when the user inputs the drying reservation time through the application of the user terminal 700 or the display module of the product (S31).

The home appliance 800 may select a quiet mode or a fast mode as a drying mode (S32).

When the drying reservation time is reached (S33), the home appliance 800 may perform drying with an air volume and a drying time corresponding to the quiet mode or fast mode (S34).

For example, the user may reserve a drying time (eg, 1:00 to 2:00 pm) of the air conditioner through a reservation drying function through an application installed in the user terminal 700 .

The drying function of the air conditioner is automatically performed for the time specified by the user.

The user may select a drying mode (quiet mode, fast mode) through an application installed in the user terminal 700 .

In the quiet mode, the air volume of the air conditioner can be set to very low or minimum and the dry mode operating time can be increased to reduce the noise generated during drying.

In the fast mode, drying may be performed within a short time by setting the air volume of the air conditioner to be very high or maximum and reducing the drying mode operating time.

The first software installed in the air conditioner before the upgrade may be software that performs a drying mode for a predetermined time when the cooling operation is stopped.

According to the user's software update request, the air conditioner may update or update the first software to the second software, and the second software may perform a drying mode at a reserved time or select a quiet drying mode or a quick drying mode according to the user's request. It may be the software that does it.

13 is a flowchart of an air conditioner and a control method thereof according to another embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 13 , the home appliance 800 performs an automatic drying function when the cooling of the air conditioner ends or performs a reservation drying function at a scheduled drying time (S41).

At this time, the home appliance 800 senses the humidity of the indoor space for a certain time through a sensor (S42).

The home appliance 800 automatically sets the air volume and drying time according to the humidity (S43), and performs a drying mode with the automatically set air volume and drying time (S44).

For example, when the automatic drying function performed when the operation of the air conditioner is completed or the scheduled drying function is performed, the drying time or air volume may be differently controlled according to the humidity of the indoor space measured through the humidity sensor installed in the air conditioner.

When the humidity of the indoor space is equal to or less than a predetermined reference value, the drying time may be set shorter than the reference time (eg, 60 minutes) or the air volume may be set less than the reference air volume.

Conversely, when the humidity of the indoor space exceeds a predetermined reference value, the drying time may be set longer than the reference time (eg, 60 minutes) or the air volume may be set higher than the reference air volume.

When the automatic drying function is performed, the air volume may vary according to the time period during which drying is performed. For example, the air volume may decrease at night and increase during the day.

The air conditioner according to the embodiment downloads and stores program data including an automatic drying function and a drying reservation function from the server 100, upgrades the program data when an upgrade trigger occurs, and reduces the drying time in the drying reservation function. When scheduled, the drying mode is performed at the drying time.

The air conditioner sets the air volume and operation time for the drying mode according to the user's input in the drying reservation function.

The air conditioner sets the drying mode to the first drying mode or the second drying mode according to the user's input in the drying reservation function. The first drying mode is set to a minimum air volume and a first driving time longer than the reference time, and the second drying mode is set to a maximum air volume and a second driving time shorter than the reference time.

The air conditioner performs a drying mode by receiving settings for a drying reservation function or an automatic drying function from the user terminal through an application installed in the user terminal.

When the air conditioner performs the automatic drying function or the drying reservation function, the air volume and operation time for the drying mode are automatically set according to the humidity of the indoor space measured through the sensor.

When the humidity is less than the reference value, the air conditioner sets the operating time shorter than the reference time and sets the air volume less than the reference air volume.

When the humidity is equal to or greater than the reference value, the air conditioner sets the driving time to be longer than the reference time and sets the air volume to be greater than the reference air volume.

The air conditioner includes a communication unit 810 that communicates with the server 100 and the user terminal 700 and stores program data, and a controller 820 that controls unique functions of the air conditioner. The communication unit 810 performs an upgrade according to the operating state of the control unit 820 when an upgrade trigger occurs.

The communication unit 800 generates an upgrade trigger according to a request of a user terminal or a preset reservation schedule.

The communication unit 800 performs an upgrade after the operation ends when the controller 820 is in an operating state in which the control unit 820 controls the unique function of the air conditioner when an upgrade trigger occurs according to a request of the user terminal 700 .

When the upgrade trigger occurs according to the reservation schedule, the communication unit 800 delays the upgrade reservation time by a preset time when the controller 820 is in an operating state of controlling the unique function of the air conditioner, and the server 100 for the reservation time ) synchronized with

An air conditioner control method according to an embodiment includes downloading and storing program data including an automatic drying function and a drying reservation function from a server 100, upgrading the program data when an upgrade trigger occurs, and performing a drying mode at the drying time when the drying time is reserved in the drying reservation function.

As described above, the air conditioner and the control method thereof according to an embodiment may add an automatic drying function and a drying reservation function through software upgrade of the home appliance.

In addition, the air conditioner and its control method according to an embodiment can automatically set a drying time and an air volume according to a use environment when operating in a drying mode with an automatic drying function, thereby increasing user convenience.

In addition, the air conditioner and the control method thereof according to an embodiment can reserve the operation time of the drying mode to a time desired by the user by preset drying setting, thereby providing freedom from odors generated while the heat exchanger is drying. .

In addition, the air conditioner and its control method according to an embodiment perform the drying mode by automatically adjusting the air volume and drying time for the drying mode according to humidity, so that the effectiveness of the drying mode can be improved.

Meanwhile, the air conditioner and the control method thereof according to the embodiment stop the driving of the compressor and the indoor fan when receiving an end command while driving the compressor and the indoor fan in the cooling mode, and based on the driving period of the cooling mode A drying mode for drying the indoor heat exchanger may be entered. For example, the drying mode may be performed when it is necessary to dry the condensate generated on the surface of the indoor heat exchanger according to the driving period of the cooling mode.

Also, the air conditioner and the control method thereof according to the embodiment may terminate the drying mode based on the humidity of the indoor space and the humidity of the discharged air flow after driving the indoor fan during the drying period corresponding to the drying mode. For example, the drying mode may be terminated after verifying that the surface of the indoor heat exchanger is completely dried using the humidity of the indoor space and the humidity of the discharged airflow.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to the drawings illustrated, but the present invention is not limited by the embodiments and drawings disclosed in this specification, and various modifications are made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. It is obvious that variations can be made. In addition, although the operational effects according to the configuration of the present invention have not been explicitly described and described while describing the embodiments of the present invention, it is natural that the effects predictable by the corresponding configuration should also be recognized.

100: management server 110: control unit
120: communication unit 130: storage unit
300: access point 700: user terminal
410, 420, 430, 440, 500, 600, 800: home appliances
810: communication unit 811: storage unit
812: transmission and reception unit 820: control unit
821: processing unit 822: first storage unit
823: second storage unit 840: third storage unit

Claims (20)

Program data including an automatic drying function and drying reservation function is downloaded and stored from the server, and when an upgrade trigger occurs, the program data is upgraded,
When a drying time is reserved in the drying reservation function, the air conditioner performs a drying mode at the drying time. According to claim 1,
In the drying reservation function, the air conditioner sets an air volume and a driving time for the drying mode according to a user's input. According to claim 1,
In the drying reservation function, the air conditioner sets the drying mode to a first drying mode or a second drying mode according to a user's input. According to claim 3,
The first drying mode is set to a minimum air volume and a first driving time longer than the reference time, and the second drying mode is set to a maximum air volume and a second driving time shorter than the reference time. According to claim 1,
The air conditioner performs the drying mode by receiving settings for the drying reservation function or the automatic drying function from the user terminal through an application installed in the user terminal. According to claim 1,
An air conditioner that automatically sets an air volume and an operating time for the drying mode according to the humidity of the indoor space measured through a sensor when the automatic drying function or the drying reservation function is performed. According to claim 6,
When the humidity is equal to or less than the reference value, the air conditioner sets the driving time to be shorter than the reference time and sets the air volume to be less than the reference air volume. According to claim 6,
When the humidity is equal to or greater than the reference value, the driving time is set to be longer than the reference time, and the air volume is set to be greater than the reference air volume. According to claim 1,
a communication unit that communicates with the server and a user terminal and stores the program data; and
A control unit for controlling a unique function of the air conditioner;
The air conditioner, wherein the communication unit performs an upgrade according to an operating state of the control unit when the upgrade trigger occurs. According to claim 9,
The communication unit generates the upgrade trigger according to a request of the user terminal or a preset reservation schedule. According to claim 10,
The air conditioner, wherein the communication unit performs an upgrade after the operation ends when the control unit is in an operating state in which the control unit controls a unique function of the air conditioner when the upgrade trigger occurs according to a request of the user terminal. According to claim 10,
The communication unit, when the upgrade trigger occurs according to the reservation schedule, delays the upgrade reservation time by a preset time when the control unit is in an operating state of controlling the unique function of the air conditioner, and communicates with the server for the reservation time. synchronized, air conditioner. downloading and storing program data including an automatic drying function and a drying reservation function from a server;
upgrading to the program data when an upgrade trigger occurs; and
and performing a drying mode at the drying time when a drying time is reserved in the drying reservation function. According to claim 13,
The air conditioner control method of claim 1 , further comprising setting an air volume and an operating time for the drying mode according to a user's input in the drying reservation function. According to claim 13,
The drying reservation function further includes setting the drying mode to a first drying mode or a second drying mode according to a user's input, wherein the first drying mode includes a minimum air volume and a first driving time longer than a reference time. and set to the maximum air volume in the second drying mode and a second driving time shorter than the reference time. According to claim 13,
The method of controlling an air conditioner further comprising automatically setting an air volume and an operating time for the drying mode according to the humidity of the indoor space measured by a sensor when the automatic drying function or the drying reservation function is performed. 17. The method of claim 16,
When the humidity is equal to or less than the reference value, the driving time is set shorter than the reference time, and the air volume is set to be less than the reference air volume. 17. The method of claim 16,
When the humidity is equal to or greater than the reference value, the driving time is set to be longer than the reference time, and the air volume is set to be greater than the reference air volume. According to claim 13,
The steps to proceed with the upgrade are:
Generating the upgrade trigger according to a request of a user terminal or a preset reservation schedule; and
and performing an upgrade according to an operating state of the air conditioner when the upgrade trigger occurs. According to claim 19,
performing the upgrade after the operation ends when the air conditioner is in an operating state when the upgrade is performed according to a request of the user terminal; and
When performing the upgrade according to the reservation schedule, when the air conditioner is in an operating state, delaying an upgrade reservation time by a preset time, and synchronizing the reservation time with the server. Air conditioner control method.

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