KR20090131158A - Air Conditioner and Control Method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An air-conditioner and the control method are provided to prevent frequent switching of a four-way valve to cooling or heating operation by deciding switching of the four-way valve by comparing an external air temperature with a preset temperature according to a cooling mode or a heating mode. CONSTITUTION: The control method of the air-conditioner comprises the steps of: measuring an external air temperature about a previous operation state(S102); judging whether the previous operation state is a cooling mode or a heating mode(S104); comparing the external air temperature and a first preset temperature if it is the cooling mode(S106), and comparing the external air temperature and a second preset temperature if it is the heating mode(S108); and switching or maintaining the four-way valve according to a comparison result(S110).

Description

Air conditioner and its control method

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to an air conditioner and a control method for easily switching four-way valves.

In general, an air conditioner is a home appliance for maintaining indoor air in a state most suitable for use and purpose. For example, in summer, the room is cooled to a cool state, in winter, the room is heated to a warm state, and also the humidity of the room, and the air in the room to a clean state of clean. As life convenience products such as air conditioners are gradually expanded and used, consumers are demanding high energy use efficiency, performance improvement and convenience products.

Such an air conditioner includes a separate air conditioner in which an indoor unit and an outdoor unit are separately separated, an integrated air conditioner in which the indoor unit and the outdoor unit are combined into one device, a wall-mounted air conditioner and a frame type air conditioner configured to be mounted on a wall, and a living room. A slim air conditioner configured to stand, a single air conditioner configured to be used in a small place such as a home, and a large air capacity composed of a very large capacity for use in a company or a restaurant. The air conditioner is divided into a multi-type air conditioner having a capacity capable of sufficiently driving a plurality of indoor units.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner and a control method thereof, in which a four-way valve is easily switched.

The air conditioner of the present invention is operated in the first and second modes to determine the four-way valve for changing the direction of the flow path of the refrigerant, a measuring unit including at least one sensor for measuring the outside air temperature and determine whether the previous operating state is the cooling mode or the heating mode. And a control unit for controlling to switch or maintain the four-way valve by comparing the outside air temperature with the first set temperature in the cooling mode and comparing the outside air temperature with the second set temperature in the heating mode.

In addition, the air conditioner control method of the present invention comprises the steps of measuring the outside air temperature for the previous operating state, determining whether the previous operating state is the cooling mode or heating mode, if the cooling mode the outside air temperature and the first set temperature And comparing the external air temperature with the second set temperature in the heating mode, and switching or maintaining the four-way valve according to the comparison result.

The air conditioner and the control method of the present invention determine whether the previous operation state is the cooling mode or the heating mode, and after comparing the ambient temperature and the set temperature according to the determination result, respectively, by determining whether to switch or maintain the four-way valve, Alternatively, there is an effect of preventing frequent switching of the four-way valve and poor switching of the four-way valve for heating operation, and improving stability of the operation cycle and cooling and heating speeds.

An air conditioner and a control method thereof according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view of a building equipped with a multi-type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Here, although the air conditioner has been described as a multi-type air conditioner, a single air conditioner is also possible, but is not limited thereto.

1, the multi-type air conditioner according to the present invention is connected to at least one indoor unit (11, 12, 13, 14), the indoor unit (11, 12, 13, 14) installed in the room and a compressor (not shown) And at least one outdoor unit 21 including a heat exchanger (not shown).

The outdoor unit 21 and the indoor units 11, 12, 13, 14 are connected through a refrigerant pipe P, and are cooled or heated according to the flow of the refrigerant between the outdoor unit 21 and the indoor units 11, 12, 13, 14. Will drive.

In this case, the multi-type air conditioner may further include a central controller (not shown) connected to the outdoor unit 21 and the indoor units 11, 12, 13, and 14 to monitor and control an operating state.

In addition, a distributor (not shown) may be included between the outdoor unit 21 and the indoor units 11, 12, 13, and 14.

The indoor units 11, 12, 13, 14 and the outdoor unit 21 transmit and receive mutual control commands and data according to a predetermined communication method.

Here, at least one indoor unit (11, 12, 13, 14) may be provided in one room, the outdoor unit 21 is driven by the request of at least one of the indoor unit (11, 12, 13, 14). . When a plurality of indoor units are provided in one room, the plurality of indoor units installed in one room may be group controlled or individually controlled through the central controller.

Here, the number of the outdoor unit 21 may vary depending on the cooling and heating capacity according to the number of the indoor units (11, 12, 13, 14) and the capacity of the compressor.

2 is a perspective view showing a multi-type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 briefly illustrates and describes the multi-type air conditioner described in FIG. 1, but is not limited thereto.

Referring to FIG. 2, the multi-type air conditioner of the present invention includes at least one indoor unit 100, 105, 109, and an outdoor unit 125 connected to at least one indoor unit 100, 105, 109.

Although an outdoor unit has been described in an embodiment of the present invention, at least one outdoor unit may be used.

Here, the at least one indoor unit (100, 105, 109) and the outdoor unit 125 is connected via a refrigerant pipe (not shown), the outdoor unit 125 is at least one of the at least one indoor unit (100, 105, 109) Driven by the demand of the, as the cooling and heating capacity required in the at least one indoor unit (100, 105, 109) increases the number of operating units of the outdoor unit 125 and the number of operating units of the compressor 112 installed in the outdoor unit 125 Is increased. Although the compressor 112 is shown as one, at least one compressor may be used.

Here, at least one indoor unit (100, 105, 109) is an indoor heat exchanger (102) for heat exchange between the refrigerant and the indoor air, and an indoor fan (103) installed near the indoor heat exchanger (102) for circulating indoor air; , An indoor electromagnetic expansion valve 104 for expanding the refrigerant flowing into the indoor heat exchanger 120 when cooling.

The outdoor unit 125 includes an accumulator (not shown) for extracting only gas refrigerant among refrigerants supplied from the at least one indoor unit (100, 105, 109), and a compressor for receiving and compressing the gas refrigerant extracted from the accumulator (not shown). And a four-way valve 110 connected to the compressor 112 to select a flow path of the compressed refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger 120 to heat-exchange the outdoor air with the refrigerant supplied from the four-way valve 110. It is installed near the heat exchanger 102 and includes an outdoor fan 122 for circulating outdoor air.

The four-way valve 110 is switched to the first mode such that the refrigerant is introduced into the indoor heat exchanger 120 when the operating state is the cooling mode, and is switched to the second mode so that the refrigerant is introduced into the compressor 112 when the heating mode is in the cooling mode.

Here, the outdoor unit 124 includes at least one of an inverter compressor and a constant speed compressor, wherein the inverter compressor is a compressor that can vary the compression capacity of the refrigerant, the constant speed compressor is a compressor having a constant compression capacity of the refrigerant.

On the other hand, an oil separator (not shown) is installed in the pipe connecting the compressor 112 and the four-way valve 110, the oil separator may be connected to the suction side of the compressor (112).

The refrigerant pipe guiding the refrigerant discharged from the outdoor heat exchanger (120) to the indoor heat exchanger (102) moves to the outdoor electromagnetic expansion valves (lev, 124) for expanding the refrigerant upon heating and to the indoor heat exchanger (102) for cooling. A supercooling device (not shown) for cooling the refrigerant to be used and a liquid injection device (not shown) for lowering the temperature of the compressor 112 are provided.

Here, the outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve 124 is fully open during cooling to allow the refrigerant condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger 120 to pass through without expansion, but when heated, it is opened to a predetermined size and condensed in the indoor heat exchanger 102. Before expanding to the outdoor heat exchanger (120) to the liquid in the spray state.

In addition, the indoor electromagnetic expansion valve 104 and the outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve 120 includes a step motor (not shown) therein.

3 is a control block diagram illustrating a multi-type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the multi-type air conditioner includes a four-way valve driving unit 200 and an inside of an outdoor heat exchanger 120 operating the four-way valve 110 in a first mode or a second mode according to a heating mode or a cooling mode. The temperature measuring unit 220 installed outside to measure the outside temperature and the one of the first and second set temperature compared to the outside temperature according to the heating or cooling mode to determine whether the mode switching of the four-way valve 110 It includes a control unit 240 for controlling the four-way valve driving unit 200.

The temperature measuring unit 220 includes at least one sensor.

Here, the four-way valve 110 is converted to the first mode according to the cooling mode, and to the second mode according to the heating mode to change the flow path of the refrigerant.

When the at least one indoor unit 100, 105, 109 is powered off, the controller 240 determines whether the previous operation state is a heating mode or a cooling mode.

If the previous operation state is the cooling mode, the control unit 240 receives the outside air temperature from the temperature measuring unit 220 and controls to switch or maintain the four-way valve 110 to the four-way valve driving unit 200.

At this time, the controller 240 determines whether to switch or maintain the four-way valve 110 by comparing the first set temperature and the outside air temperature.

Here, the controller 240 switches the four-way valve 110 from the first mode to the second mode when the outside air temperature is lower than the first set temperature, and the four-way valve 110 when the outside air temperature is higher than the first set temperature. To control the four-way valve control unit 200 to maintain.

In addition, when the previous operation state is the heating mode, the controller 240 determines whether to switch or maintain the four-way valve 110 by comparing the outside air temperature with the second set temperature.

Therefore, the controller 240 switches the four-way valve 110 from the second mode to the first mode when the outside air pollution is higher than the second set temperature, and when the lower air temperature is lower than the second set temperature, the four-way valve 110. The four-way valve control unit 200 is controlled to maintain the second mode.

Here, the first and second set temperatures may be changed according to the date, season, and climate, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a multi-type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, when the at least one indoor unit 100, 105, 109 is powered off during operation (S100), the multi-type air conditioner measures the outside air temperature (S102).

That is, the controller 240 receives the outside air temperature measured by the temperature measuring unit 220 when the at least one indoor unit 100, 105, 109 is powered off.

It is determined whether the previous operation state of the at least one indoor unit (100, 105, 109) is the cooling mode or the heating mode (S104).

That is, the controller 240 determines whether the previous operation state of the at least one indoor unit 100, 105, 109 is turned off during operation in one of the cooling mode or the heating mode.

As a result of the determination, in the cooling mode, the outside air temperature is compared with the first set temperature (S106), and in the heating mode, the outside air temperature and the second set temperature are compared (S108).

That is, the controller 240 compares one of the first and second set temperatures with the outside air temperature according to the previous operation state.

After one of the steps (S106) or (S108), the four-way valve is switched or maintained according to the comparison result (S110).

First, the four-way valve 110 is converted to the first mode according to the cooling mode, and to the second mode according to the heating mode to change the flow path of the refrigerant.

Herein, when the previous operation state is the cooling mode, the controller 240 switches the four-way valve 110 from the first mode to the second mode when the outside temperature is lower than the first set temperature. When the temperature is higher than the first set temperature, the four-way valve control unit 200 is controlled to maintain the four-way valve 110.

In addition, the controller 240 switches the four-way valve 110 from the second mode to the first mode when the outside air error is higher than the second set temperature, and when the lower air temperature is lower than the second set temperature, the four-way valve 110. The four-way valve control unit 200 is controlled to maintain the second mode.

The air conditioner and the control method according to the present invention compares the temperature of one of the first and second set temperatures with the air temperature according to the cooling mode or the heating mode to switch or maintain the four-way valve, and thus There is an advantage that it is possible to prevent switching, improve the poor switching and improve the stability of the cycle and the heating rate.

Although the air conditioner of the present invention has been described as a multi-type air conditioner, a single air conditioner may be possible.

Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can make various changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It will be appreciated that modifications or variations may be made. Accordingly, modifications to future embodiments of the present invention will not depart from the technology of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view of a building equipped with a multi-type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a perspective view showing a multi-type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a control block diagram illustrating a multi-type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a multi-type air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (7)

Measuring the outside temperature for a previous operating state; Determining whether the previous operation state is a cooling mode or a heating mode; Comparing the outside air temperature with a first set temperature in the cooling mode, and comparing the outside air temperature with a second set temperature in the heating mode; And And controlling or holding the four-way valve according to the comparison result. The method of claim 1, wherein the outside temperature is, The control method of the air conditioner, characterized in that measured through at least one sensor installed inside or outside the outdoor heat exchanger. The method of claim 1, The four-way valve is switched to the first mode according to the cooling mode, to the second mode according to the heating mode to change the flow path of the refrigerant, The comparing step, The four-way valve is switched from the first mode to the second mode when the outside temperature is lower than the first set temperature, and the four-way valve is maintained in the first mode when the outside temperature is higher than the first set temperature. Control method of air conditioner The method of claim 3, wherein the comparing step, The four-way valve is switched from the second mode to the first mode when the outside temperature is higher than the second set temperature, and the four-way valve is maintained in the second mode when the outside temperature is lower than the second set temperature. Air conditioner control method. Four-way valve to operate in the first and second modes to change the flow direction of the refrigerant; A temperature measuring unit including at least one sensor measuring outside temperature; And It is determined whether a previous operation state is a cooling mode or a heating mode, and in the cooling mode, the outside air temperature is compared with the first set temperature, and in the heating mode, the outside air temperature and the second setting temperature are compared to switch the four-way valve or An air conditioner comprising a control unit for controlling to maintain. The method of claim 5, wherein The four-way valve is switched to the first mode according to the cooling mode, to the second mode according to the heating mode to change the flow path of the refrigerant, The control unit, In the cooling mode, when the outside air temperature is lower than the first set temperature, the four-way valve is switched from the first mode to the second mode. When the outside temperature is higher than the first set temperature, the four-way valve is switched to the first mode. Air conditioner, characterized in that to maintain. The method of claim 6, wherein the control unit, In the heating mode, the four-way valve is switched from the second mode to the first mode when the outside air temperature is higher than the second set temperature, and when the lower temperature is lower than the second set temperature, the four-way valve is switched to the second mode. Air conditioner, characterized in that to maintain.

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