KR20090047228A - Air conditioning system - Google Patents

Abstract

The air conditioning system of the present invention includes an air conditioner and a remote control device for controlling the operation of the air conditioner through data communication with the air conditioner, wherein the remote control device sends a self-diagnosis control signal to the air conditioner. The air conditioner generates self-diagnosis data in response to the self-diagnosis control signal and returns the data to the remote control device. The remote control device diagnoses whether the air conditioner is in normal operation based on the self-diagnosis data. do. Therefore, the present invention can automatically diagnose whether the air conditioner is normally operated remotely, without the installer or the user directly moving to the indoor unit or the outdoor unit and monitoring the operating state of the indoor unit and the outdoor unit. Convenience and work efficiency are increased.

Description

Air conditioning system

The present invention relates to an air conditioning system, and more particularly, to an air conditioning system capable of diagnosing normal operation of an air conditioner remotely.

In general, the multi-type air conditioner includes an indoor unit installed in each of several rooms, and includes an outdoor unit connected to the indoor units. This multi-type air conditioner connects a plurality of indoor units to one outdoor unit in parallel and controls each room where indoor units are installed through a remote control device through a communication line. Maximum care must be taken when wiring and building piping. After the multi-type air conditioner is initially installed, an installer or a user performs a trial run to determine whether the multi-type air conditioner is normally installed.

By the way, in the air conditioning system according to the prior art, the installer or the user directly enters the interior of the building for commissioning to operate the indoor unit to check the operating state of the indoor unit, and then go back to the place where the outdoor unit is installed and examine the operation of the outdoor unit, or the installer or The user should directly connect the dedicated controller to the outdoor unit to monitor the operating status of the indoor unit and outdoor unit. Therefore, the installer or the user must directly move to the indoor unit or the outdoor unit to monitor the operation state of the indoor unit and outdoor unit, there is a problem that the installer hassle and inconvenience.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioning system that can remotely diagnose whether the air conditioner normally operates.

The air conditioner system of the present invention includes an air conditioner and a remote control device for controlling the operation of the air conditioner through data communication with the air conditioner, wherein the remote control device includes a self-diagnosis control signal to the air conditioner. And the air conditioner generates self-diagnostic data in response to the self-diagnosis control signal and returns to the remote control device. The remote control device determines whether the air conditioner is normally operated based on the self-diagnosis data. Diagnosis can be made. In this case, the self-diagnosis control signal may include a test run command signal, and the self-test data may be test run data generated by performing a test run in response to the test run command signal in the air conditioner.

In the present invention, the remote control device includes a diagnostic program for diagnosing normal operation of the air conditioner and a database storing normal operation data, wherein the diagnostic program includes the self-diagnosis data transmitted from the air conditioner. It is possible to diagnose the normal operation of the air conditioner by determining whether the data meets the normal operation data.

In the present invention, the remote control device includes a plurality of input keys for inputting a signal for controlling the operation of the air conditioner, the remote control device uses at least one input key of the plurality of input keys The self-diagnosis control signal can be input.

In the present invention, further comprising a user terminal remotely connected to the remote control device, the remote control device may transmit a self-diagnosis control signal to the air conditioner based on a control signal input through the user terminal. have.

In the air conditioning system according to the present invention, since the installer or the user does not need to directly move to the indoor unit or the outdoor unit to monitor the operating state of the indoor unit and the outdoor unit, it is possible to automatically diagnose whether the air conditioner is normally operated remotely, The convenience of the installer or user and the efficiency of the work are increased.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a configuration of the remote control device 110 and the air conditioner 140 shown in FIG. A block diagram showing the flow of control signals.

Referring to FIG. 1, the air conditioning system 100 includes an air conditioner 140, local controllers 150, and a remote controller 110. The air conditioner 140 includes a plurality of indoor units 130 and an outdoor unit 120. The indoor units 130 are disposed in the indoor spaces, respectively, and the outdoor unit 120 is disposed in the outdoor spaces. The indoor units 130 and the outdoor unit 120 are communicatively connected to each other through the first network 161. In addition, the outdoor units 120 are communicatively connected to each other through the second network 162. RS-485 communication is performed on the first network 161, and RS-485 communication is performed on the second network 162. However, the present invention is not limited to the above communication method.

Referring to FIG. 1, each local control device 150 is disposed in each indoor space, and each local control device 150 communicates with the indoor unit 130 disposed in the indoor space of the air conditioner 140. Manipulate driving information. Each local controller 150 includes a plurality of driving operation keys (not shown), and the user controls the operation of the air conditioner 140 by operating the plurality of driving operation keys (not shown). In addition, each local controller 150 further includes a display panel (not shown) for displaying operation information of the air conditioner 140. The local controller 150 and the indoor unit 130 communicate using wired or wireless, and the local controller 150 may be a general wired remote controller or a wireless remote controller.

Referring to FIG. 1, the remote controller 110 is communicatively connected with the air conditioner 140 and the second network 162, and is independently of the local controllers 150. To control. In addition, the remote controller 110 may control setting information of the local controller 150, and may limit some or all of the manipulation functions of the local controller 150.

Referring to FIG. 2, the remote controller 110 includes an input unit 111, a display unit 113, a database 112, a communication module 115, and a controller 114.

The communication module 115 of the remote control device controls the operation of the air conditioner 140 through data communication with the communication module 124 of FIG. 3 provided in the outdoor unit 120 of the air conditioner 140. The signal may be transmitted or operation information of the air conditioner may be received.

The database 112 stores a diagnostic program and normal operation data for diagnosing whether the air conditioner 140 is in normal operation.

The controller 114 transmits a self-diagnosis control signal to the air conditioner 140 based on the control signal input from the input unit 111. Here, the self-diagnosis control signal is a command for generating data regarding whether the air conditioner 140 is operating normally among various control signals for controlling the operation of the air conditioner 140. In this case, the self-diagnosis control signal may include a test run command signal. In general, the trial run operates the indoor units 120 connected to the outdoor unit 130 to determine whether the construction of communication lines and piping between the outdoor unit 120 and the indoor unit 130 is normal when the air conditioner 140 is initially installed. In order to determine whether the cooling / heating functions of the indoor units 130 operate normally, the test operation is not limited to operating the air conditioner 140 at the time of initial installation of the air conditioner 140, and air conditioning is performed. When the air conditioner 140 is turned on after repairing a fault of the air conditioner 140 or when the air conditioner 140 is turned on after being turned off for a long time, The concept also includes a case where the conditioner 140 is driven.

Therefore, when the air conditioner 140 receives the test run command signal from the remote control device 110, the air conditioner 140 performs the test run in response to the test run command signal, and after performing the test run, generates the test run data to generate the remote control device ( Reply 110). Here, the self-diagnosis data is trial run data generated after performing trial run.

On the other hand, as a prerequisite for performing a trial run, first, the indoor unit address should be assigned to each indoor unit 130 of the air conditioner 140. When performing the trial run, it is necessary to grasp the number of indoor units 130 currently installed, and to recognize each indoor unit in the remote control unit in order to perform data communication between the remote control unit 110 and each indoor unit 130. Because. Since the indoor unit addresses have different values, the remote controller 110 may communicate with the indoor units 130 using the indoor unit address.

In order to assign an indoor unit address to each indoor unit 130, an installer or a user may move directly to a place where each indoor unit 130 is installed, and set an address with a wired remote controller 150 connected to the indoor unit 130. . However, there is a hassle that the installer or the user needs to move directly. The indoor unit address of the present invention uses an outdoor unit equipped with an automatic address setting function to increase user convenience.

3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the outdoor unit shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 3, the outdoor unit 120 includes an outdoor unit database 123 in which address data of the indoor unit 130 is stored, a communication module 124 connected to the indoor unit 130 to transmit and receive data, and a remote control. Outdoor unit microcomputer 121 for automatically assigning the address of the indoor unit 130 at the request of the control unit 114 of the device 110. The outdoor unit database 123 stores an indoor unit address connected to the outdoor unit 120, and stores an automatic address setting program for allocating an address of the indoor unit 130. The outdoor unit microcomputer 121 includes an automatic address setting unit 122 that allocates an address of the indoor unit 130 connected to the outdoor unit 120. The control unit 114 of the remote control device 110 transmits a request signal for automatically assigning the address of the indoor unit 130 to the outdoor unit 120, and the automatic address setting unit 122 receives the request signal, The automatic address setting program stored in the outdoor unit database 123 is operated to allocate an address value for each indoor unit 130 connected to the outdoor unit 120. For example, when the sixteen indoor units 130 are connected to the outdoor unit 120, the automatic address setting unit 122 has 'indoor 1 (IDU1)' and 'indoor 2 (IDU2)' for each indoor unit 130. The address values for the indoor unit 130 are sequentially assigned, such as 'IDU16'. The outdoor unit microcomputer 121 stores address data of the indoor unit 130 allocated through the automatic address setting unit 122 in the outdoor unit database 123 and transmits the data to each indoor unit 130. In addition, the outdoor unit microcomputer 121 transmits the stored address data of each indoor unit 130 to the remote controller 110 according to a request of the controller 114 of the remote controller 110. The address data of each indoor unit 130 is stored in at least one of the outdoor unit database 123 or the database 112 of the remote control device. In the remote controller 110, the user directly inputs the indoor unit address in the form of text on the screen of the display unit 113 based on the address data of the indoor unit 130 received from the outdoor unit 120, or inputs the control unit 114 to the controller 114. The indoor unit address may be automatically entered. As a precondition for performing a trial run, after the indoor unit address is assigned to each indoor unit 130 of the air conditioner 140, the remote controller 110 transmits a trial run command signal to the air conditioner 140. And, the air conditioner 140 is to perform a trial run.

On the other hand, the input unit 111 of the remote control device 110 receives a control signal for controlling the operation of the air conditioner 140 by the user. The input unit 111 may include a plurality of input keys (not shown) to receive the control signal, or may have a touch panel structure. Here, the self-diagnostic control signal is input using at least one of the plurality of input keys (not shown). That is, by providing at least one of a plurality of input keys (not shown) which are frequently used to control the operation of the air conditioner without having a separate function key to input the self-diagnosis control signal, It is possible to reduce the space for function keys and increase the utilization of existing input keys.

The display unit 113 converts a control signal input to the controller 114 through the input unit 111 or an output signal of the controller 114 into an image signal for display on the screen. Operation information is displayed on the screen of the display unit 113, and the display unit 113 has a structure of an LCD panel. In the display unit 113, a graphical user display (GUI) screen is implemented. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a general UI screen may be implemented on the display 113.

The diagnostic program stored in the database 112 determines whether the self-diagnosis data transmitted from the air conditioner 140 corresponds to the normal operation data stored in the database 112.

When the self-diagnosis data is returned to the remote control device 110, the control unit 114 executes a diagnostic program stored in the database 112, and checks whether the self-diagnosis data corresponds to the normal operation data previously stored in the database 112. To judge. That is, the database 112 makes a table of operating values when the air conditioner 140 is normally operated, for example, data of sensing devices such as various sensors, stores them as normal operation data, and controls the controller ( 114 compares the operation data obtained through the sensing devices of the air conditioner 120, that is, the self-diagnosis data with the normal operation data, and determines whether the self-diagnosis data falls within the range of the normal operation data.

Meanwhile, a method of generating self-diagnosis data in response to the self-diagnosis control signal in the air conditioner 140 will be described.

When the air conditioner 140 receives the self-diagnosis control signal, the air conditioner 140 generates operation data, that is, self-diagnosis data using sensing devices such as various sensors. The sensing device is a device for detecting the normal operation of the air conditioner 140, the indoor unit detecting unit 135 for detecting the normal operation of the indoor unit 130 or an outdoor unit for detecting the normal operation of the outdoor unit. The detector 125 is included.

The indoor unit detecting unit 135 is a temperature sensor provided on one side of the indoor unit 130, the self-diagnosis data includes a temperature value detected by the temperature sensor. Specifically, the temperature sensor is a refrigerant pipe (not shown) between the indoor heat exchanger (not shown) and the outdoor unit 120 of the indoor unit 130 or the refrigerant pipe (not shown) of the indoor heat exchanger or the indoor heat exchanger and the indoor expansion valve. It is installed to detect the temperature of at least one side of the refrigerant pipe (not shown) between. If the indoor unit 130 is normally installed, the refrigerant passing through the indoor unit 130 has a temperature range of a predetermined range. If the indoor unit 130 is out of the predetermined range of temperature values, it is determined that the indoor unit 130 is not normally installed. Can be. Therefore, when each of the indoor unit 130 has a self-diagnosis, incorrect wiring or incorrect wiring, the temperature value detected by the temperature sensor 125 of the indoor unit 130 is out of the predetermined temperature range. It can be judged that the operation is not normal. Here, the temperature value range of the predetermined range may be set to the temperature value of the first set range, the temperature value of the first set range is included in the normal operation data stored in the database 112 of the remote control device 110. .

The air conditioner 140 uses the temperature value detected by the temperature sensor as self-diagnosis data and returns it to the remote controller 110. The controller 114 of the remote controller 110 executes a diagnostic program stored in the database 112 to compare the temperature value with the normal operation data stored in the database 112 so that the temperature value is within the first setting range. If the temperature value is out of the first setting range, it is determined that the operation of the air conditioner 140 is abnormal.

In response to the self-diagnosis control signal in the air conditioner 140, the outdoor unit detecting unit 125 may be used as another method of generating the self-diagnosis data. The outdoor unit detecting unit 125 includes a temperature sensor and a pressure sensor provided at one side of a compressor (not shown) of the outdoor unit 120. Specifically, when the compressor (not shown) is a constant speed compressor, if the constant speed compressor is normally installed, the refrigerant passing through the constant speed compressor has a temperature range of a predetermined range and a pressure range of a predetermined range. If it is out of the temperature value range or the predetermined pressure value range, the constant speed compressor is not normally installed. Here, the temperature value range of the predetermined range may be the temperature value range of the second setting range, the pressure value range of the predetermined range may be set to the pressure value range of the third setting range, and the temperature value and the first value of the second setting range may be set. The pressure value of the 3 setting range is included in the normal operation data stored in the database 112 of the remote control device 110.

The air conditioner 140 uses the temperature value and the pressure value detected by the temperature sensor and the pressure sensor as self-diagnosis data, and returns it to the remote control device 110. The control unit 114 of the remote control device 110 executes a diagnostic program stored in the database 112, and compares the temperature value and the pressure value with normal operation data stored in the database 112, so that the temperature value is If the pressure does not belong to the second setting range or the pressure does not belong to the third setting range, it is determined that the operation of the air conditioner 140 is abnormal.

In another way of generating self-diagnosis data in response to the self-diagnosis control signal in the air conditioner 140, the outdoor unit detecting unit 125 uses a temperature sensor provided at the discharge side of the compressor (not shown) of the outdoor unit 120. It may also include. Specifically, the compressor is a constant speed compressor, and senses the temperature of the refrigerant discharged from the constant speed compressor for a set time (for example, 3 minutes). That is, the self-diagnosis data includes a change value of the discharge temperature detected by the temperature sensor, and the normal operation data includes a change value range of the discharge temperature in a predetermined range. Comparing the change value of the discharge temperature detected by the temperature sensor with the change value of the discharge temperature of the predetermined range during the set time, if the change in the discharge temperature is more than the change value of the discharge temperature of the predetermined range, it is determined that the constant speed compressor is normal, Otherwise, it is determined that an error of the constant speed compressor, that is, the operation of the air conditioner 140 is abnormal.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a self-diagnosis flow of the air conditioning system 100 shown in FIG. 1.

First, the remote control device 110 transmits a request signal for allocating the indoor unit address of each indoor unit 130 to the outdoor unit 120 (step S10). In response to the request signal, the automatic address setting unit 122 of the outdoor unit 120 operates an automatic address setting program stored in the outdoor unit database 123 to obtain an address value for each indoor unit 130 connected to the outdoor unit 120. Assign (step S20). When the indoor unit address is assigned to each indoor unit 130, the indoor unit address is stored in the database 112 or the outdoor unit database 123 of the remote control device 110.

The remote controller 110 inputs a self-diagnosis control signal using at least one of the plurality of input keys. The self-diagnosis control signal is a test run command signal, and the test run command signal is transmitted to the air conditioner 140 through the communication module 115.

When the test run command signal is transmitted, the air conditioner 140 generates self-diagnosis data (step S30). The self-diagnosis data is commissioning data, and the method for generating the commissioning data is as described above. When the test run data is transmitted from the air conditioner 140, the remote controller 110 executes a diagnostic program stored in the database 112, and determines whether the test run data conforms to the normal run data to the air conditioner 140. Diagnose normal operation of the (S40 step). When the diagnosis is completed, the controller 114 converts the normal operation of the air conditioner 140 into an image signal and outputs it to the display unit 113 (step S50).

The air conditioning system of the present invention can be implemented in various embodiments. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning system according to another embodiment of the present invention. The following description will focus on differences from the above-described embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5, the air conditioning system 200 includes an air conditioner 240, a local controller 250, and a remote controller 210. In each air conditioner 240, the indoor units 230 and the outdoor unit 220 are communicatively connected to each other through the first network 261. In addition, the outdoor units 220 are communicatively connected to each other through the second network 262. Each local controller 250 is disposed in each indoor space, and each local controller 250 communicates with the indoor unit 230 disposed in the indoor space to manipulate driving information of the air conditioner 240.

Referring to FIG. 5, the user terminal 300 accesses the remote control apparatus 210 through the third network 263, and the third network 263 is an internet network. The user terminal 300 is a device that can be connected to a web server, and includes a computer, a PDA, a mobile phone, and the like. That is, the remote control device 210 of the present invention may have a web server function, and may be connected to the remote control device 210 using the user terminal 300 to remotely control the air conditioner 240. have. At this time, when accessing the web to the remote control device through the user terminal 300, the communication between the remote control device 210 and the user terminal 300 can be maintained or blocked.

The self-diagnosis control signal transmitted from the remote controller 210 to the air conditioner 240 is generated based on the control signal input through the user terminal 300. Accordingly, since the self-diagnosis control signal can be transmitted to the remote control device 210 using the user terminal 300, the user can access the web to the remote control device 210 in exceptional circumstances such as not only limited space but also outdoors or on the move. Therefore, since the self-diagnosis control signal can be transmitted to the air conditioner 240, there is an advantage in that user's space and time convenience are increased.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, this is merely exemplary, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

The present invention does not need to move the indoor unit or outdoor unit directly to the installer or the user to monitor the operating state of the indoor unit and outdoor unit, it is possible to automatically diagnose whether the normal operation of the air conditioner remotely, it is used in the air conditioning system Can be.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the remote controller and the air conditioner shown in FIG. 1 and the flow of control signals.

3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the outdoor unit shown in FIG.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a self-diagnosis flow of the air conditioning system 100 shown in FIG. 1.

5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

<Brief description of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100,200: air conditioning system 110,210: remote control device

120,220: outdoor unit 125,225: outdoor unit detection unit

130,230 indoor unit 135,235 indoor unit detection unit

140,240: air conditioner 150,250: local controller

300: user terminal

Claims (9)

An air conditioner; Remote control device for controlling the operation of the air conditioner through the data communication with the air conditioner, The remote control device transmits a self-diagnosis control signal to the air conditioner, The air conditioner generates self-diagnostic data in response to the self-diagnosis control signal and returns to the remote controller, The remote control device is an air conditioning system for diagnosing normal operation of an air conditioner based on the self-diagnosis data. The method according to claim 1, The self-diagnosis control signal includes a test run command signal, The self-diagnosis data is air conditioning system which is a test run data generated by performing a test run in response to the test run command signal in the air conditioner. The method according to claim 2, The air conditioner includes a plurality of indoor units and at least one outdoor unit connected to the plurality of indoor units to allocate indoor unit addresses to the plurality of indoor units, respectively. And the remote controller transmits a request signal for allocating the indoor unit address of each indoor unit to the outdoor unit, and when the indoor unit address data is received from the outdoor unit, transmits a commissioning command signal to the air conditioner. The method according to claim 1, The remote control device includes a plurality of input keys for inputting a signal for controlling the operation of the air conditioner, And the remote control apparatus inputs the self-diagnosis control signal using at least one of the plurality of input keys. The method according to claim 1, The remote control device includes a diagnostic program for diagnosing normal operation of the air conditioner and a database storing normal operation data. And the diagnosis program diagnoses whether the air conditioner is normally operated by determining whether the self-diagnosis data transmitted from the air conditioner matches the normal operation data. The method according to claim 5, The air conditioner includes at least one indoor unit and a temperature sensor provided at one side of the indoor unit to detect whether the indoor unit is normally operated. The self-diagnosis data includes a temperature value detected by the temperature sensor, and the normal operation data includes a temperature value range of a first setting range. The method according to claim 5, The air conditioner includes at least one outdoor unit and a temperature sensor and a pressure sensor provided at one side of the compressor of the outdoor unit to detect whether the outdoor unit is normally operated. The self-diagnosis data includes a temperature value and a pressure value detected by the temperature sensor and the pressure sensor, and the normal operation data includes a temperature value range of a second setting range and a pressure value range of a third setting range. Harmony system. The method according to claim 5, The air conditioner includes at least one outdoor unit and a temperature sensor provided at the discharge side of the compressor of the outdoor unit to detect whether the outdoor unit is normally operated. The self-diagnosis data includes a change value of the discharge temperature detected by the temperature sensor during the set time, and the normal operation data includes a change value range of the discharge temperature in a predetermined range, and sensed by the temperature sensor during the set time. And the air conditioner determines that the air conditioner is operating normally when the change value of the discharge temperature is greater than the change value of the discharge temperature in the predetermined range. The method according to claim 1, Further comprising a user terminal remotely connected to the remote control device, And the remote controller transmits a self-diagnosis control signal to the air conditioner based on a control signal input through the user terminal.

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