MXPA98009186A - Methods and apparatus for controlling an air inlet close of an air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an air conditioner, comprising: a housing that forms an air inlet for the admission of air from an enclosure and an air outlet for discharging the air back into the enclosure, an electrical dust collector disposed between the air inlet and the air outlet to remove dust from the air, a heat exchanger arranged between the dust collector and the air outlet to change the air temperature, a fan to suck air into the air inlet and to discharge the air through the air outlet, a heater disposed between the electric dust collector and the air outlet to heat the air, a control mechanism to energize the electric heater when the electric dust collector and fan are energized, for heating the clean air, and a closing mechanism for opening and closing the air inlet, comprising: a plurality of vertically adjacent inlet grilles; For moving between open and closed positions, the inlet grilles form respective air openings when in their open positions, the electric dust collector arranged to communicate with a first plurality of inlet grids and not with a second plurality of inlet grids. inlet, and a mechanism for moving the grids in order to open only the first plurality of inlet grids when the electric dust collector is energized

Description

METHODS AND APPLIANCES FOR CONTROLLING AN ENTRY CLOSURE OF PE ON ACTION NPECONEPOR PE AIR ANI? KUENTES OF THE INVENTION 1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an air conditioner with an auxiliary electric heater for discharging hot air and an electric dust collector for purifying ambient air. 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREVIOUS TECHNIQUE A general air conditioner includes a heating apparatus for supplying hot air when heating cold ambient air, and a cooling apparatus for supplying cold air when cooling hot ambient air. In addition, a heating and cooling apparatus of an air conditioner is also sold for a dual function of heating and cooling operations which includes the function of air purification for cleaning the contaminated ambient air. Figures 1-5B illustrate a unit for indoor use of a conventional heating and cooling apparatus (generally referred to as an air conditioner). As shown in Figure 1, the indoor use unit (1) is provided with a suction inlet (3) in the lower front portion thereof for admitting ambient air and with a discharge outlet (7) in the portion upper front thereof for discharging the air subjected to heat exchange, that is, the heated or cooled air, which is sucked through the suction inlet (3). In addition, placed through the discharge outlet (7) are both or horizontal (11) and at the same time (11) vertical pallets (9) to control respectively the vertical and horizontal directions of the air discharged in the interior, through them . A cover member (13) is joined to form an "external appearance of the interior unit (1) and to protect the interior parts of the interior unit (1). An operating part (15) (control panel) is also placed on the inner portion of the cover member (13) to control the total operating modes (automatic, cooling, dehumidifying, ventilating, heating, etc.) of the air conditioner. air, to start or stop an operation thereof and to adjust the amount and direction of air discharged through the discharge outlet (7). A suction inlet opening and a closing means (100) for opening the suction inlet (3) are provided for easily sucking ambient air therethrough while the air conditioner is in operation, and for closing the inlet ( 3) of suction to prevent dust, foreign material and the like from being induced and to have a better appearance while the air conditioner is kept in a standby state of operation. As shown in Figure 2, there is provided an electric dust collector (17) placed on the inner bottom side of the suction inlet opening and a closure means (100), the dust collector (17) is integrated with an electrifying part for decomposing and ionizing dust particles in the ambient air by using high voltage and a dust collection part to attract the ionized powder particles on a dust collection plate of an opposite electrical charge. In addition, odors are removed from the air. In addition, an internal heat exchanger (19) is placed which conducts refrigerant downstream of the collector (17) of electric powder for heat exchange in cold or hot air of the ambient air sucked through the suction inlet (3) by means of the evaporative latent heat of the cooler.

An internal fan (23) is placed on the heat interleaver (19) and rotated by an indoor fan motor (21) to suck ambient air through the suction inlet (3) and to discharge through the outlet (7) of discharging the air subjected to a heat exchanger in the heat exchanger (19). A duct member (25) encompasses the interior fan (23) to guide the flow of air sucked through the suction inlet (3) and discharged through the discharge outlet (7). As shown in figures 3 and 4, the opening of the suction inlet and the closure means (100) includes a pair of lattice vertical frames (110) designed for easy attachment and detachment, a pair of guide members (120) on the inside sides of the frames ( 110), a horizontal frame member (130) interconnecting the upper ends of the lattice side frames (110) to maintain a space therebetween, a drive means (140) positioned between the lower ends of the members ( 120) to maintain the space between the guide members (120) and to be driven by the power supply, a pair of members (150) slidable on the end sides of the respective guide members (120) to be lifted or depressed with respect to the guide members (120) by the drive means (140), a plurality of suction grids (160) hinged to the inner sides of the respective guide members (120) to rotate vertically about the horizontal axis 1 for opening or closing the suction inlet (3), in response to lifting or abatement of the slidable member (150), and a plurality of auxiliary sliding members (170) movable vertically with respect to the members (150) ) slidable against a spring displacement means.

The guide members (120) include a pair of vertical filter guide rails (121) on the inner rear ends thereof to allow a filter member (19) to be installed. A plurality of circular articulated holes (122) are formed in the guide members (120) to rotatably mount articulated mounting axes (162) positioned at both ends of the suction grilles (160). A plurality of guide grooves (123) are formed in the guide members (120) to slidably receive bolts (161) of the suction grids (160) to guide a rotary movement of the lattices (160) and to adjust a distance of effective career for them. In addition, the drive means (140) includes an engine (141) positioned on the inner underside of one of the guide members (120) and a rotatable shaft (143) installed between the lower ends of the guide members (120) for transmission of the driving force of the motor (141). ) to the pinions (142) mounted on the respective guide members (120). The pine nuts (142) are fixed at the respective ends of the rotating shaft (143). Each member (150) slidable comprises: a rack (151) bottom toothing to change the rotational movement of the pinion (142) to a rectilinear movement of the slidable member. A plurality of drive grooves (152) which are formed in the sliding members (150) at predetermined vertical intervals correspond to the guide grooves (123). The pins (162) of the lattice (161) extend into the respective driving grooves (152) and are displaced therein to rotate the lattices. A guide portion (153) is formed on the upper outer side of each slidable member to allow the slidable member (170) to rise higher than the upper end of the slidable member (150) by means of spring travel means or to descend as low as the upper end of the member (150) slidable by a compression spring. In addition, latching jaws (151a) protrude from both ends of each rack (151) to prevent the respective pinion (142) from separating when the slidable member (150) performs a vertical rectilinear movement. Each suction grating (160) includes a pair of shafts (162) projecting from opposite ends thereof to be rotatably mounted in the hinge holes (122) formed in the guide members (120) and a pair of bolts (161) which are inserted into the slots (152) of the members (150) slidable after passing through the guide slots (123) of the guide members (120). The axes (162) are shorter than the pins (161) to facilitate the operation of the sliding members (150). In the air conditioner having dual functions of heating and cooling operations, one of the pinions (142) is rotated directly by the motor (141) and the other pinion (142) is rotated by the rotating shaft (143) if you press the appropriate operation button on the control panel or a remote controller. The pinions (142) lower the sliding members (150). When sliding members (150) are slid, slots (152) in sliding members (150) simultaneously move downward and pass through guide grooves (123) to move the pins (161) of the lattices ( 160) of suction. Therefore, the suction grids (160) are rotated about the articulated axes (162) to open the inlet (3), as shown in Figure 5A. It causes the lattices to reach their open (or closed) state simultaneously. At this time, detection switches are activated (not shown) placed in predetermined positions to inform of the open condition of the input (3), whereby the motor (141) is stopped and the electric dust collector (17) is actuated. At the same time, the internal fan motor (21) is activated to rotate the indoor fan (23). If the indoor fan (23) is activated, the dust floating in the ambient air is sucked through the suction inlet (3) to the indoor unit (1), where the dust decomposes into minute particles and ionizes with a positive electric charge that is attracted to the dust collection plate (not shown) for disposal. Then, the purified air is guided upwards to be discharged in the interior through the discharge outlet (7) whereby the air cleaning operation is completed. If the shut-off operation button is pressed during the air cleaning operation, the electric dust collector (17) and the indoor fan motor (21) are stopped simultaneously. The motor (141) is driven in reverse to lift the sliding members (150). At the same time, the slots (152) of the slidable members (150) push up the pins (161) of the suction grilles (160) to close the suction inlet (3), as shown in Figure 5B. At this time, if a predetermined time elapses (ie, data collected experimentally for a period of time that begins when the opening detection switches of the suction inlet and the termination when the suction inlet is closed, which is approximately 9.5 seconds) conclude that the suction inlet is closed and the motor (141) is stopped, so that it returns to the state of operation waiting for the air conditioner. If a button is pressed to stop the hot air cleaning operation with the operation button of the air conditioner kept on, then the electric dust collector (17) is turned off to return to an operating mode of the air conditioner that It is presented before the start of the hot air cleaning operation. However, there is a problem in a conventional air conditioner in which the electric dust collector (17) is located behind only a suction inlet portion (3) (eg, behind three lower lattices), so that the ambient air sucked through the suction grids placed above the dust collector (17) is not purified, thus decreasing the efficiency of the dust collector in the air conditioner. There is another problem in the conventional air conditioner, where when the air cleaning operation is performed on cold days in winter, the cold air is discharged which generates an unpleasant feeling to the user and therefore the user does not want to take of the air cleaning operation during cold days.

Brief description of the invention This invention is presented to solve the aforementioned problems and it is an object of the present invention to provide a suction inlet control method and apparatus for an air conditioner which prevents cold air from being discharged into the interior and which allows All the suctioned cold air passes through the electric dust collector in order to improve the air cleaning efficiency.

One aspect of the invention involves an air conditioner comprising a housing that forms an air inlet to admit air from a room or from the environment, and an air outlet to discharge air back into the room. An electric dust collector is placed between the air inlet and the air outlet to remove air dust. A heat exchanger is placed between the electric dust collector and the air outlet to change the air temperature. A fan is provided to suck air into the air inlet and discharge the air through the air outlet. An electric heater is placed between the electric dust collector and the air outlet to heat the air. A control mechanism is provided to energize the electric heater when the fan and the air cleaner are energized, to heat the cleaned air. In another aspect of the invention, a closing mechanism for opening and closing the air inlet is provided. That mechanism comprises a plurality of adjacent entrance grilles vertically positioned to move between the open and closed positions. The entry lattices of the respective air openings when they are in their open portions. The electric dust collector is positioned to communicate with a first plurality of inlet lattices, and not with a second plurality of inlet lattices. A lattice movement mechanism is provided to open only the lattices associated with the first plurality of inlet lattices when the air cleaner is energized. Another aspect of the invention relates to a method for operating such an air conditioner wherein the electric heater is energized when the fan and the air cleaner are energized, to heat the cleaned air. A further aspect of the invention relates to a method for operating such an air conditioner wherein only the first plurality of inlet lattices are opened when the air cleaner is energized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a full understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a conventional air conditioner, - the Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the conventional air conditioner of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an exploded rear perspective view of an air inlet opening and a closing mechanism, and an electric dust collector, according to the conventional air conditioner; Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 with parts thereof assembled; Figures 5A and 5B schematically illustrate, respectively, the open and closed states of the entry closing lattices, taken along line A-A in Figure 1; Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view for illustrating an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to the present invention; Figure 7 is a control block diagram for illustrating a suction inlet control apparatus of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figures 8A and 8B are detailed circuit diagrams for the means for opening and closing the suction inlet, according to the present invention; Figures 9A and 9B are flow charts for illustrating the operational procedures of the suction inlet control method according to the present invention; Figure 10A is a schematic view of the air intake gratings in a fully open state; Figure 10B is a view similar to that of Figure 10A with the lattices located only in the front part of the air cleaner, which are open; Figure 10C is a view similar to that of Figure 10A with all the trellises in a closed state; and Figure 11 is a side view of a sliding lattice closure member showing how the lattices are closed, in accordance with the invention.

DESCRIPTION DFT * t.t. & r > I HAVE A MODE £ BEEERIPA PE THE INVENTION A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Through the drawings, like reference numbers and symbols are used for designation of equal or equivalent parts or portions for purposes of simplicity or illustration and explanation, and redundant references will be omitted. As shown in figure 6, a heater is mounted (27) electric on the indoor fan (23) to heat the room air cleaner by the electric dust collector (17). As shown in Figures 7 and 8, a power source means (200) is applied to convert a commercial AC voltage supplied from the AC power terminal to a predetermined DC voltage. An operating manipulation means (202) comprising a plurality of selection buttons for all modes of operation (automatic, cooling, dehumidifying, ventilating, heating and the like), for adjusting an amount (strong air, weak air or mild air) ) of the air discharged through the discharge outlets (7), and the desired room temperature, wherein the operation handling means (202) comprises the operation part (15) placed in the control panel of the unit ( 1), and a part (203) that receives the remotely controlled signal to receive an ultraviolet signal transmitted from a remote controller (not shown). A control means (204) is a microcomputer for initializing the operation of the air conditioner by receiving the direct current voltage supplied from the power source means (200) and, additionally, for controlling all the operations of the air conditioner. air according to the operation signals from the operating manipulation means (202). During the hot air cleaning operation using the electric heater (27) and the electric dust collector (17), the control means (204) reduces a suction area of the suction inlet (3) (see Figure 10B) and counts the time when the motor (141) is activated to control the closure of the lattices (160) of suction. A preferred way of doing this involves a particular relationship shape between the slots (152A, B) formed in the slidable members (150), as shown in Figure 11. As in the arrangement described above of the prior art, the lattices (160) have bolts (161) which extend into the respective driving grooves (152) of the sliding members. When the sliding members move vertically, the bolts are driven by the lateral edges of the slots so that they are displaced, whereby the lattices are rotated to the open or closed positions, based on whether the sliding members are raised or killed. In the prior art, the slots (152) are identical, so that all the lattices (160) reach their open or closed state simultaneously. However, the slots of the sliding members (150) of the present invention are positioned so that it is possible for the lattices (160E, 160F, 160G), located at the front of the dust collector (17) to open, while that the remaining lattices (160A-D) remain closed, in order to obtain the cleaning of all the incoming air. To obtain this, the grooves (152A) associated with the upper part of the four lattices (160A-D) are formed identically, and the grooves (152B) associated with the three lower lattices (160E-G) also conform identically to each other , but differently compared to the slots (152A) higher. These forms result in the four upper lattices being rotated to their closed states before their three lower lattices (160E-G) begin to rotate outward from their open states. That is, when all of the lattices (160A, 160B) are in an open state, and the sliding members (150) are driven upward, the bolts travel a distance TI. The bolts (161A) of the upper lattices (160A-D) in this manner move completely through the inclined portions IA of the respective slots. This results in a closure of the upper trellises. However, the pins (161B) of the lower lattices (160E-G) only reach the entrances of the inclined portions IB of their respective slots (152B), so that they are still open. Generally, it requires approximately 5.5 seconds for this to occur, so that it is only necessary to operate the engine for 5.5 seconds in order to ensure that only the lattices (160E-G) remain open. It may be desired to close all the lattices and then the motor is operated for a longer period, which causes the bolts (161A, B) to travel a distance T2. During this movement, the bolts (161A) of the upper lattices (160A-D) only move within the vertical portions of their respective grooves and do not rotate, while the bolts (161B) of the lower lattices (160E-G) they move in the inclined portions IB and are rotated to close. An ambient temperature detecting means (206) adjusts the ambient temperature (Tr) to the temperature (Ts) which adjusts a user by operation of a manipulation means (202) in order to carry out the simultaneous operations of suction and discharge of air in the air conditioner when detecting a temperature (Tr) of the ambient air suctioned through the suction inlet (3). The suction inlet opening and the closure means (208) control the operation of the motor (141) upon receipt of a control signal sent from the control means (204) and to move the suction grids (160) to open and closing the suction inlet (3) if a signal (start or stop) of operation is provided by the user operation manipulation means (202). The opening and closing drive means (208) of the suction inlet comprises an inverter IC (209) for reversing a high level of the opening or closing control signal output from the output terminals (Pl and P2) of the control means (204), a relay (RYl) driven by direct current voltage (12V) generated from the medium (200) power source to allow the motor (141) Suction input rotates in a forward direction when transmitting a low level of an aperture control signal transformed by inverter IC (309), and another relay (RY2) activated by direct current voltage output (12V) of the power source means (200) for rotating the suction inlet motor (141) in a reverse direction when transmitting a low level of closure control signal.

The suction inlet opening detection means (210) differentiates whether the suction grids (160) have opened the suction inlet (3) according to the position of the slidable members (150) and provides a signal to the medium ( 204) of control. The heater activation means (212) energizes the electric heater (27) in response to a control signal from the control means (204) to heat the ambient air cleaned by the electric dust collectors (17). The compressor drive means (214) receives a control signal to drive the compressor (215), the signal generated by the control means (204), according to the difference with the ambient temperature (Ts) established with the medium (202) of orientation manipulation and ambient temperature (Tr) detected by the ambient temperature detection means (206). The external fan motor drive means (216) controls the rotational frequency of an outdoor fan motor (217) of an outdoor heat exchanger to drive the outdoor fan in response to a control signal and which is generated from the control means (204) according to the difference between the preset ambient temperature (Ts) and the detected ambient temperature (Tr). The internal fan motor drive means (218) controls the rotational frequency of the indoor fan motor (21) to drive the indoor fan (23) in response to a control signal which is generated from the medium (204) of control, according to the difference between the preset ambient temperature (Ts) and the detected ambient temperature (Tr), whereby interior ambient air is circulated through the unit 1. In addition, the collector drive means (220) powder energizes the dust collector (17) to decompose and ionize dust particles contained in the ambient air sucked through the suction inlet (3), and to collect electrically charged dust particles, in response to the control signal sent from the control means (204). The display means (222) receives a control signal generated from the control means (204) in response to a key input signal from the operation manipulation means (202) such as automatic, cooling, dehumidification, fan, heating , etc., of the ambient temperature and the current time. Next, a suction inlet control apparatus and the method for it are described. Figures 9A and 9B are flow charts for illustrating the operating procedures of the suction inlet control apparatus of an air conditioner in accordance with the present invention, and the reference symbol S in the drawings refers to the steps of method. First, when power is applied to the air conditioner, the power source means (200) serves to convert the commercial alternating current voltage supplied from an alternating current owner's terminal to a predetermined direct current voltage necessary to activate the air conditioner and subsequently transmits the same to the respective driving circuit and to the control means (204). In the SI stage, the direct current voltage output from the power source means (200) is received by the control means (204) to initialize the air conditioner. At this time, a user can push an operation button with the operation manipulation means (202) to select hot air cleaning, air conditioner operating mode, to adjust the ambient temperature (Ts) to the desired one and to setting an amount of air, whereby an operation start signal and other operation selection signals (hereinafter referred to as an operation signal) are sent to the control means (204). In step S2, the control means (104) discriminates if a signal for a hot air cleaning operation is input from the operation manipulation means (202). If an operation signal for the hot air cleaning operation is not input to the control means (204) (in case of NO), the flow proceeds to step S21 where a compressor operating frequency (215) is determined. according to the difference between the preset ambient temperature (Ts) and the detected ambient temperature (Tr) to carry out a cooling or heating operation. Then, the flow returns to step S2 and the operations subsequent to step S2 are repeated while the air conditioner performs the heating operation. As a result of the discrimination of step S2, if the air conditioner is adjusted in the hot air cleaning operation mode (in the case of SI), the flow proceeds to step S3 to determine if the air conditioner is already is operating If the air conditioner is not ready in operation (in case of NO), the flow proceeds to step S4 where the control means (204) sends a high level of a control signal through the output terminal Pl to the suction inlet opening, and to the closing drive means (208) to thereby open the closed suction inlet (3). Therefore, the high level of the control signal for opening the suction inlet (3) is inverted at a low level of the control signal through the IC inverter (209). The direct current voltage (12V) outside the power source means (200) drives the relay (RYl) to close the contact point (RYlc) thereof. If the contact point (RYlc) is closed, the alternating current voltage output of the terminal (201) of alternating current energy is transmitted to the rotor (141a) of the motor (141) to drive the motor in a forward direction and to simultaneously rotate the pinions (142) . The rotating pinions (142) lower the racks (151) located on the lower ends of both sliding members (150). When the sliding members (150) are lowered, the holes (152) of slots placed in the sliding members (150) move simultaneously downwards towards the pins (161) bottom of the suction inlet grilles or the doors (160), whereby the suction grilles (160) open the suction inlet (3) as it rotates around the holes (122) forming in the members ( 120) of guidance. Therefore, the suction inlet (3) is opened as shown in Figure 10 (A). In step S5, the suction inlet detection means (201) detects the depressed position of the slidable members (150). The control means (204) receives a signal detected by the suction inlet detection means (210) to determine if the suction grids (160) are open. If the suction grids (160) are not open (in the case of NO), the flow returns to step S4 to continuously drive the engine 141 until the suction grids (160) are opened. As a result of the differentiation in step S5, if the suction lattices are opened (in the case of SI), the flow proceeds to step S6 where the opening of the suction inlet and the drive means (208) closing stops the operation of the motor (141) according to the lower level of the opening, the control signal from the output terminal (Pl) of the control means (204). If the suction grids (160) are opened, the flow proceeds to step S7 where the indoor fan motor drive means (218) activates the indoor fan (23) at the predetermined rotation frequency in response to a signal of the control means (204). In step S8, the control means (204) transmits the high level of the control signal through the output terminal (P2) to the suction inlet opening and the closure means (208) to properly adjust the suction inlet (3) for the hot air cleaning operation by closing only the lattices (160A-D) which are placed above the electric dust collector (17). Accordingly, the high level of the control signal, from the output terminal (P2) is inverted to a low level of the signal by the inverter IC (209). The direct current voltage (12V) of the medium (200) of the power source activates the relay (RY2) to close the contact point (RY2c) of the relay (RY2). If the contact point (RY2c) is closed, the alternating current voltage output of the AC power terminal (201) is transmitted to the rotor (141b) of the motor (141) to drive the motor and to simultaneously rotate the motor. the pine nuts (142). The rotating pinions (142) lift the racks (151) and the sliding members (150). As the slidable membranes (150) ascend, the upper lattices (160A-D) begin to close before the lower lattices (160E-G) begin to close, as explained hereinabove. In step S9, the timer embedded in the medium (204) control counts the elapsed time of operation of the engine (141) and determines whether the elapsed time exceeds a predetermined reference time TI (i.e., the experimentally collected data for the period of time necessary to close the four lattices ( 160A-D) higher, is approximately 5.5 seconds). If the counted elapsed time has not passed, the reference time (Ti) (in case of NO), the flow returns to step S8. As a result of the differentiation in step S9, if the elapsed time counted to past the reference time (TI) (in case of SI), it is determined that the four upper suction lattices (160A-D) are closed and that the three lower lattices (160E-G) open. Therefore, the flow proceeds to step S10 where the opening and closing drive means (208) of the suction inlet stops the motor (141) according to the low level of the closing control signal from the terminal (P2) output of the control means (204).

The flow advances to the Sil stage to carry out the hot air cleaning operation mode. At this time, the control means (204) transmits control signals to the medium (220) of dust collector drive and heater drive means (212) to energize the electric dust collector (17) and electric heater (27). Once the dust collector (17) and the heater (27) are energized, the flow proceeds to step S12 where the dust contained in the ambient air is sucked through the lower portion of the inlet (3) of suction and decomposes into fine particles and ionizes to present an electrical charge. The ionized powder particles adhere to the dust collection plate (not shown) that has an opposite electrical charge as the aroma contained in the ambient air is removed simultaneously. Then, the cleaned air is guided upwards to be discharged through the discharge outlets (7) to heat the room with clean air. In step S13, the control means (204) determines whether the hot air cleaning operation mode has been turned off in the operation manipulation means (202). If the hot air cleaning operation has not been turned off (in case of NO), the flow returns to step S12 to continuously carry out the hot air cleaning operation and repeats the steps subsequent to step S12.

As a result of the differentiation in step S13, if the hot air cleaning operation mode is turned off (in case of SI), the flow proceeds to step S14 wherein the medium (204) control transmits control signals to the dust collector drive means (220) and the heater drive means (212) to de-energize the electric dust collectors (17) and the electric heater (27). Therefore, the dust collector drive means (220) deactivates the energy voltage transmitted to the dust collector (17) to shut off the dust collector (17) and the medium (212) The heater drive stops the electric heater (27), according to the control of the control means (204). In step S15, the control means (204) determines whether an operation detection signal has been generated by the user to stop the operation of the air coioner. If an operation stop signal has been generated with the operation button, the flow proceeds to step S16 where the control means (204) sends a control signal to the drive means (218) of the indoor fan motor for stopping the internal fan motor (21). Accordingly, the internal fan motor drive means (218) stops the operation of the indoor fan motor (21). In step S17, the control means (204) transmits a high level of the control signal through the output terminal (P2) to the input means (208) of *** intake, suction to close completely the suction inlet (3). Accordingly, the high level of the control signal from the output terminal (P2) is inverted at a low level of the signal by means of the IC inverter (209). The direct current voltage (12V) of the medium (200) of the power source drives the relay (RY2) to close the contact point (RY2c) of the relay (RY2). If the contact point (RY2c) is closed, the alternating current voltage output from the AC power terminal (201) is transmitted to the rotor (141b) of the motor (141) to drive the motor in a reverse direction and to simultaneously rotate the pinions (142) to lift the zippers (151) and sliding members (150). When the sliding members (150) are lifted, the suction inlet (3) is closed, as shown in Figure 10 (C). In step S18, the timer embedded in the control means (204) counts the elapsed time to determine if the elapsed time exceeds a reference time (T2) (i.e., the data collected experimentally for the time period to close all the suction lattices after the hot air cleaning operation, approximately 4 seconds). If the counted elapsed time has not passed the predetermined time (T2) (in case of NO), the flow returns to step S17 where the motor (141) is continuously driven.

As a result of the discrimination in step S18, if the counted elapsed time has passed the predetermined time (T2) (in case of SI), it is satisfied that all the suction lattices (160) are closed. Therefore, the flow proceeds to step S19, wherein the opening and closing drive means (208) of the suction inlet stops the motor (141) according to the low level of the closing control signal from the output terminal (P2) of the control means (204). Accordingly, in step S20, the control means (204) maintains the air conditioner in the standby operation state until the operation signal is reintroduced by the operation manipulation means (202), and repeated the operations subsequent to stage S2. On the other hand, as a result of the differentiation in step S15, if an operation stopping signal has not been generated to stop the operation (in case of NO), the flow proceeds to step S30 where the means (204) The control device transmits a high level of the control signal through the output terminal (Pl) to the suction inlet opening and closing means (208) to open the suction inlet. Therefore, a high level of the 1-aperture control signal generated from the output terminal (Pl) of the control means (204) is inverted at a low level thereof, through the inverter IC (209). The relay (RYl) is activated by direct current voltage (12V) transmitted from the power source means (200) in order to close the contact point (RYlc) of the relay (RYl). If the contact point (RYlc) of the relay (RYl) is closed, the alternating current voltage output from the AC power terminal (201) is transmitted to the motor (141a) of the motor (141) to drive in a forward direction and to simultaneously rotate the pinions (142) to fold down the sliding members (150). When the sliding members (150) are folded down, the suction inlet (3) is opened, as shown in Figure 10 (A). In step S31, the suction inlet detection means (210) detects the position of the slidable members (150) to determine if the suction grids (160) are open. If the suction grids (160) are not open (in the case of NO), the flow returns to step S30 to continuously drive the motor (141) until the suction grids (160) are opened. As a result of the differentiation in step S31, if the suction grids (160) are open (in the case of SI), the flow proceeds to step S32 where the opening and closing drive means (208) the suction inlet stops the motor (141) according to the low level of the opening control signal output from the output terminal (Pl) of the control means (204) to thereby complete the opening of the lattices (160) suction.

If the suction grids (160) are open, in step S33 the control means (204) returns to an operation mode before the hot air cleaning operation mode and the operations subsequent to the step S32 are repeated. In addition, as a result of the differentiation in the stage S3, if the previous operation mode is set in the air conditioner (in case of SI), the subsequent operations are performed in step S2. Therefore, the advantages are brought about by the suction inlet control apparatus and method of the present invention so that when the electric dust collector is operated to discharge purified air, the suction inlets which are not communicated With the dust collector they close to cause all the ambient air suctioned to move through the electric dust collector, in order to improve the air cleaning and the efficiency of the air conditioner. In addition, during the hot air cleaning operation, an electric heater is activated to heat the cleaned air, so that cold air is prevented from entering the room. Although the present invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be appreciated by those familiar with the art that additions, deletions, modifications and substitutions not specifically described may be made, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, such as it is defined in the appended claims.

Claims (8)

1. An air conditioner, characterized in that it comprises: a housing forming an air inlet for admitting air from a room and an air outlet for discharging the air back to the room; an electric dust collector placed between the air inlet and the air outlet to remove dust from the air; a heat exchanger placed between the dust collector and the air outlet to change the air temperature; a fan to suck air into the air inlet and to discharge the air through the air outlet; an electric heater placed between the electric dust collector and the air outlet to heat the air; and a control mechanism to energize the electric heater when the fan and the electric dust collector are energized, to heat the cleaned air.

2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that it further includes a closing mechanism for opening and closing the air inlet, comprising a plurality of adjacent entrance grilles vertically placed to be moved between open and closed positions, the lattices inlet form respective air openings when in the open positions, the electric dust collector positioned to communicate with a first plurality of entry lattices and not with a second plurality of entry lattices, and a mechanism for moving the lattice, to open only the first plurality of inlet lattices when the electric dust collector is energized.

3. The air conditioner according to claim 2, characterized in that the first plurality of lattices is placed below the second plurality.

4. The air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that the electric heater is placed between the heat exchanger and the air outlet.

5. An air conditioner, characterized in that it comprises: a housing forming an air inlet for admitting air from a room and an air outlet for discharging air back into the room; an electric dust collector placed between the air inlet and the air outlet to remove air dust; a heat exchanger placed between the dust collector and the air outlet to change the air temperature; a fan to suck air into the air inlet and discharge the air through the air outlet; a closing mechanism for opening and closing the air inlet, comprising a plurality of vertically adjacent inlet lattices positioned to be moved between the open and closed positions, the inlet lattices forming respective openings of air when in their open positions; the electric dust collector is positioned to communicate with a first plurality of inlet lattices and not with a second plurality of inlet lattices, and a mechanism for moving lattices, to open only the first plurality of inlet lattices when the collector is energized electric dust

6. A method for operating an air conditioner, characterized in that it comprises a housing forming an air inlet for admitting air from a room, and an air outlet for discharging the air back to the room; an electric dust collector placed between the air inlet and the air outlet to remove dust from the air; a heat exchanger placed between the electric dust collector and the air outlet to change the air temperature; a fan to suck air into the air inlet and discharge the air through the air outlet; and an electric heater placed between the electric dust collector and the air outlet to heat the air; the method is characterized in that it comprises the step of energizing the electric heater when the fan and the electric dust collector are energized, to heat the cleaned air.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that the air conditioner further includes a closing mechanism for opening and closing the air inlet, comprising a plurality of adjacent entrance grilles vertically placed to be moved between the open and closed positions. , the entrance lattices form respective air openings when they are in their open positions, the electric dust collector is positioned to communicate with a first plurality of entrance lattices, and not with a second plurality of entrance lattices, the method is characterized because it also includes the step of opening only the first plurality of lattices when the air cleaner is energized.

8. A method for operating an air conditioner comprising a housing forming an air inlet for admitting air from a room, and an air outlet for discharging the air back to the room; an electric dust collector placed between the air inlet and the air outlet to remove dust from the air; a heat exchanger placed between the electric dust collector and the air outlet to change the air temperature; a fan to suck air into the air inlet and discharge the air through the air outlet; a closing mechanism for opening and closing the air inlet, comprising a plurality of adjacent entrance grilles vertically positioned to be moved between the open and closed positions, the grilles form respective air openings when in their open positions; the electric dust collector is positioned to communicate in a first plurality of input lattices and not with a second plurality of input lattices, the method is characterized in that it comprises the step of opening only the first plurality of lattices when the cleaner is energized. air.