Patent Application
20250137671
The disclosure relates to an air conditioner that may improve a performance of a defrosting operation, and a method for controlling the same.
An air conditioner is an apparatus for conditioning air in indoor space by using transfer of heat produced from evaporation and condensation of a refrigerant to cool or heat the air and release the cooled or heated air. The air conditioner may circulate the refrigerant through a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger and an outdoor heat exchanger during a cooling operation or a heating operation, and cool or heat the indoor space by releasing the air that has exchanged heat in the indoor heat exchanger into the indoor space.
When the heating operation is performed under a cold and humid external environment, frost may form on the outdoor heat exchanger included in the outdoor unit. With the frosted heat exchanger, heating capacity deteriorates, leading to a decrease in product reliability. To remove the frost formed on the outdoor heat exchanger, the heating operation may be temporarily stopped and then a defrosting operation may be performed. Despite the defrosting operation, however, it may happen that the ice stuck on the outdoor heat exchanger is not completely removed.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the disclosure.
Aspects of the disclosure are to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to provide an air conditioner that actively controls an expansion valve during a defrosting operation to prevent incomplete defrosting and damage to a compressor, and a method for controlling the same.
Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments.
In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, an air conditioner is provided. The air conditioner includes an indoor unit including an expansion valve and an indoor heat exchanger, a compressor configured to supply a refrigerant to the indoor unit, a compressor inlet pressure sensor configured to detect a compressor inlet pressure corresponding to a pressure of the refrigerant flowing into the compressor from an accumulator, memory storing one or more computer programs, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the compressor inlet pressure sensor and the memory, wherein the one or more computer programs include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the air conditioner to adjust an opening degree of the expansion valve of the indoor unit based on the compressor inlet pressure during a defrosting operation.
The one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the air conditioner to adjust the opening degree of the expansion valve to allow the compressor inlet pressure to be maintained within a defined pressure range.
The one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the air conditioner to increase the opening degree of the expansion valve based on the compressor inlet pressure becoming less than a defined lower limit, and decrease the opening degree of the expansion valve based on the compressor inlet pressure becoming greater than a defined upper limit.
The one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the air conditioner to stepwise reduce the opening degree of the expansion valve to a defined reference opening degree in response to entering the defrosting operation, and then adjust the opening degree of the expansion valve based on the compressor inlet pressure.
The air conditioner further includes a compressor outlet temperature sensor configured to detect a discharge temperature of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor, wherein the one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the air conditioner to decrease a frequency of the compressor while increasing the opening degree of the expansion valve, based on the discharge temperature of the refrigerant becoming higher than a defined first threshold temperature during the defrosting operation.
The one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the air conditioner to terminate the defrosting operation based on the discharge temperature of the refrigerant becoming higher than a second threshold temperature higher than the first threshold temperature.
The air conditioner further includes a compressor outlet pressure sensor configured to detect a compressor outlet pressure corresponding to a pressure of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor, wherein the controller is configured to determine a discharge superheat of the compressor based on the discharge temperature of the refrigerant and a condensation temperature converted from the compressor outlet pressure, and terminate the defrosting operation based on the discharge superheat of the compressor becoming less than a defined threshold value.
The one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the air conditioner to control the compressor inlet pressure sensor to detect the compressor inlet pressure at defined detection periods.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a method for controlling an air conditioner including an indoor unit including an expansion valve and a compressor configured to supply a refrigerant to the indoor unit is provided. The method includes detecting a compressor inlet pressure corresponding to a pressure of the refrigerant flowing into the compressor from an accumulator during a defrosting operation, and adjusting an opening degree of the expansion valve of the indoor unit based on the compressor inlet pressure.
The opening degree of the expansion valve is adjusted to allow the compressor inlet pressure to be maintained within a defined pressure range.
The adjusting of the opening degree of the expansion valve includes increasing the opening degree of the expansion valve based on the compressor inlet pressure becoming less than a defined lower limit, and decreasing the opening degree of the expansion valve based on the compressor inlet pressure becoming greater than a defined upper limit.
The adjusting of the opening degree of the expansion valve is performed based on the compressor inlet pressure, after stepwise reducing the opening degree of the expansion valve to a defined reference opening degree in response to entering the defrosting operation.
The method further includes detecting a discharge temperature of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor during the defrosting operation, wherein the adjusting of the opening degree of the expansion valve includes decreasing a frequency of the compressor while increasing the opening degree of the expansion valve, based on the discharge temperature of the refrigerant becoming higher than a defined first threshold temperature.
The defrosting operation is terminated based on the discharge temperature of the refrigerant becoming higher than a second threshold temperature higher than the first threshold temperature.
The method further includes detecting a compressor outlet pressure corresponding to a pressure of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor, and determining a discharge superheat of the compressor based on the discharge temperature of the refrigerant and a condensation temperature converted from the compressor outlet pressure, wherein the defrosting operation is terminated based on the discharge superheat of the compressor becoming less than a defined threshold value.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by an air conditioner comprising an indoor unit including an expansion valve and a compressor configured to supply a refrigerant to the indoor unit, cause an air conditioner to perform operations are provided. The operations include detecting a compressor inlet pressure corresponding to a pressure of the refrigerant flowing into the compressor from an accumulator during a defrosting operation, and adjusting an opening degree of the expansion valve of the indoor unit based on the compressor inlet pressure.
The compressor inlet pressure is detected at defined detection periods.
An air conditioner and a method for controlling the same actively control an expansion valve during a defrosting operation to prevent incomplete defrosting and damage to a compressor. The air conditioner and the method for controlling the same quickly determine the amount of refrigerant circulation by using a compressor inlet pressure, and thus quickly adjust an opening degree of the expansion valve. By appropriately adjusting the amount of refrigerant circulation through rapid active control of the expansion valve during a defrosting operation, a defrosting performance is enhanced and product reliability is improved.
Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses various embodiments of the disclosure.
The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain embodiments of the disclosure will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The same reference numerals are used to represent the same elements throughout the drawings.
The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.
The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected to” another element, it may be directly or indirectly connected to the other element, wherein the indirect connection includes “connection via a wireless communication network”.
In addition, terms used herein are for the purpose of describing the embodiments and are not intended to restrict and/or to limit the disclosure. The singular expressions herein may include plural expressions, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The terms “comprises”, “includes” and “has” are intended to indicate that there are features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, and do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, parts, or combinations thereof.
In addition, it will be understood that, although the terms first, second, or the like, may be used herein to describe various components, these components should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another. For example, without departing from the technical spirit or essential features of the disclosure, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and also a second element may be referred to as a first element.
In addition, the terms, such as “˜part”, “˜device”, “˜block”, “˜member”, “˜module”, and the like may refer to a unit for processing at least one function or act. For example, the terms may refer to at least process processed by at least one hardware, such as field-programmable gate array (FPGA)/application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), software stored in memories, or processors.
Reference numerals used for method steps are just used for convenience of description, but not to limit an order of the steps. Thus, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the written order may be practiced otherwise.
It should be appreciated that the blocks in each flowchart and combinations of the flowcharts may be performed by one or more computer programs which include computer-executable instructions. The entirety of the one or more computer programs may be stored in a single memory device or the one or more computer programs may be divided with different portions stored in different multiple memory devices.
Any of the functions or operations described herein can be processed by one processor or a combination of processors. The one processor or the combination of processors is circuitry performing processing and includes circuitry like an application processor (AP, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)), a communication processor (CP, e.g., a modem), a graphical processing unit (GPU), a neural processing unit (NPU) (e.g., an artificial intelligence (AI) chip), a wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) chip, a Bluetooth™ chip, a global positioning system (GPS) chip, a near field communication (NFC) chip, connectivity chips, a sensor controller, a touch controller, a finger-print sensor controller, a display drive integrated circuit (IC), an audio CODEC chip, a universal serial bus (USB) controller, a camera controller, an image processing IC, a microprocessor unit (MPU), a system on chip (SoC), an IC, or the like.
Hereinafter, embodiments according to the disclosure are described with reference to accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The outdoor unit 1a and the indoor unit 1b are connected through external pipes P1 and P2. A refrigerant may circulate through the outdoor unit 1a, the external pipes P1 and P2 and the indoor unit 1b. One end of the external pipe P1 or P2 may be connected to a piping valve arranged on one side of the outdoor unit 1a. Furthermore, the external pipe P1 or P2 may be connected to the outdoor unit 1a and a refrigerant pipe arranged inside the indoor unit 1b.
The outdoor unit 1a may include a cabinet 10 forming an exterior, a fan cover 20 for covering the top of the cabinet 10, and an outdoor fan 150 arranged in the cabinet 10. The cabinet 10 may form four sides of the outdoor unit 1a. Although two outdoor fans 150 are illustrated, the disclosure is not limited thereto. The outdoor fan 150 may be arranged in an upper portion in the cabinet 10. Furthermore, an outdoor heat exchanger 130 may be arranged in the cabinet 10.
A fan guard 22 may be arranged on the fan cover 20 to release air and protect the outdoor fan 150. The fan cover 20 may include a discharge port corresponding to the shape of the outdoor fan 150. The fan guard 22 may cover the discharge port of the fan cover 20 and may have the form of a grill or mesh. By operation of the outdoor fan 150, outside air may pass through the inside of the cabinet 10 of the outdoor unit 1a and may then be discharged from the cabinet 10. The air flowing by the operation of the outdoor fan 150 may be discharged from the outdoor unit 1a through the fan guard 22.
Although it is described in
Referring to
The air conditioner 1 may include a liquid pipe P1 connecting the outdoor unit 1a and the indoor unit 1b and serving as a passage through which liquid refrigerant flows, and a gas pipe P2 through which gaseous refrigerant flows. The liquid pipe P1 and the gas pipe P2 may extend to the inside the outdoor unit 1a and the indoor unit 1b.
During a cooling operation, the refrigerant may release heat from the outdoor heat exchanger 130 and absorb heat from an indoor heat exchanger 230. For example, during a cooling operation, the refrigerant compressed in the compressor 110 may be first supplied to the outdoor heat exchanger 130 through a four-way valve 120 and then to the indoor heat exchanger 230 through an expansion valve 220. During a cooling operation, the outdoor heat exchanger 130 may operate as a condenser that condenses the refrigerant, and the indoor heat exchanger 230 may operate as an evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant.
During a cooling operation, the high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant discharged from the compressor 110 moves to the outdoor heat exchanger 130. The liquid or near-liquid refrigerant condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger 130 is expanded and decompressed in the expansion valve 220. Two-phase refrigerant that has passed through the expansion valve 220 moves to the indoor heat exchanger 230. The refrigerant flowing into the indoor heat exchanger 230 exchanges heat with air and evaporates. Accordingly, a temperature of the heat-exchanged air decreases and cold air is discharged to the outside of the indoor unit 1b.
During a heating operation, the refrigerant may release heat from the indoor heat exchanger 230 and absorb heat from the outdoor heat exchanger 130. For example, during a heating operation, the refrigerant compressed in the compressor 110 may be first supplied to the indoor heat exchanger 230 through the four-way valve 120 and then to the outdoor heat exchanger 130. In this case, the indoor heat exchanger 230 may operate as a condenser that condenses the refrigerant, and the outdoor heat exchanger 130 may operate as an evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant.
During a heating operation, the high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant discharged from the compressor 110 moves to the indoor heat exchanger 230. The high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant passing through the indoor heat exchanger 230 exchanges heat with low-temperature and dry air. The refrigerant is condensed into a liquid or near-liquid refrigerant and releases heat, and as the air absorbs the heat, warm air is discharged to the outside of the indoor unit 1b.
The outdoor unit 1a includes the compressor 110 compressing the refrigerant, the outdoor heat exchanger 130 performing heat exchange between outdoor air and the refrigerant, the four-way valve 120 guiding the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 110 to the outdoor heat exchanger 130 or the indoor heat exchanger 230 based on cooling operation or heating operation, and an accumulator 160 preventing unevaporated liquid refrigerant from flowing into the compressor 110.
The compressor 40 may operate with electric energy provided from an external power source. The compressor 40 includes a compressor motor (not shown) and compresses a gaseous refrigerant of low pressure into high pressure by using the rotational force of the compressor motor. A frequency of the compressor 40 may be changed to correspond to a capacity required by the indoor unit 1b. The compressor 40 may be an inverter air compressor, a positive displacement compressor or a dynamic compressor, and various types of compressors that may be considered by a designer may be used.
The four-way valve 120 may change a moving direction of the high temperature and high pressure gaseous refrigerant discharged from the compressor 40. During a cooling operation, the four-way valve 120 is controlled to guide the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 40 to the upper portion of the outdoor heat exchanger 130. During a heating operation, the four-way valve 120 is controlled to guide the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 40 to the indoor unit 1b.
The outdoor heat exchanger 130 may serve as a condenser that condenses the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 110 during a cooling operation, and may serve as an evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant decompressed in the indoor unit 1b during a heating operation. The outdoor heat exchanger 130 may include an outdoor heat exchanger refrigerant pipe (not shown) through which the refrigerant passes, and an outdoor heat exchanger cooling fin (not shown) to increase a surface area in contact with outdoor air. An increase in the contact surface area between the outdoor heat exchanger refrigerant pipe (not shown) and outdoor air may improve a heat exchange efficiency between the refrigerant and outdoor air.
The outdoor fan 150 may be positioned around the outdoor heat exchanger 130 to flow outdoor air to the outdoor heat exchanger 130. The outdoor fan 150 may blow outdoor air before heat exchange to the outdoor heat exchanger 130 while simultaneously blowing the heat-exchanged air outdoors. The outdoor fan 150 may disperse heat released by liquefaction of refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 130 by discharging air around the outdoor heat exchanger 130 to the outside.
The accumulator 160 may store liquid refrigerant and vaporize the stored liquid refrigerant. The accumulator 160 may prevent the liquid refrigerant from flowing into the compressor 110. However, in a case where the amount of refrigerant circulation is excessive, the vaporization of the liquid refrigerant by the accumulator 160 may not be performed properly. In this case, the liquid refrigerant may flow into the compressor 110, and the compressor 110 may be damaged.
The outdoor unit 1a may include an outdoor temperature sensor 171 for detecting an outdoor temperature. An outdoor heat exchanger temperature sensor 172 for detecting a temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger 130 may be disposed on at least one side of the outdoor heat exchanger 130. The outdoor temperature sensor 171 and the outdoor heat exchanger temperature sensor 172 may be implemented as at least one of a bimetal thermometer, a thermistor thermometer, or an infrared thermometer.
Based on a cooling operation in which the refrigerant flows from the compressor 110 to the outdoor heat exchanger 130, the outdoor heat exchanger temperature sensor 172 may be disposed on the outlet side of the outdoor heat exchanger 130 from which the refrigerant flows out. Accordingly, the outdoor heat exchanger temperature sensor 172 may be referred to as an ‘outdoor heat exchanger outlet temperature sensor’. Although not illustrated, a temperature sensor (not shown) may also be provided on the inlet side of the outdoor heat exchanger 130, which may be referred to as an ‘outdoor heat exchanger inlet temperature sensor’. In other words, a temperature sensor may be disposed at each of the inlet and outlet of the outdoor heat exchanger 130. The outdoor heat exchanger temperature sensor 172 may be installed around the inlet and/or outlet of the outdoor heat exchanger 130, or may be installed to contact the refrigerant pipe connected to the inlet and/or outlet of the outdoor heat exchanger 130.
During a heating operation, a circulation direction of the refrigerant is reversed, and thus the inlet of the outdoor heat exchanger 130 where the refrigerant flows in and the outlet of the outdoor heat exchanger 130 where the refrigerant flows out may be defined in reverse. However, for convenience of description, the inlet and outlet of the outdoor heat exchanger 130 may be described based on a cooling operation.
A compressor outlet temperature sensor 173 may be disposed at the outlet of the compressor 110. The compressor outlet temperature sensor 173 may detect a discharge temperature of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 110. The discharge temperature of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 110 may be referred to as a compressor discharge temperature or a compressor outlet temperature.
A compressor inlet pressure sensor 174 may be disposed at the inlet of the compressor 110. The compressor inlet pressure sensor 174 may detect a pressure of the refrigerant flowing into the compressor 110 from the accumulator 160. The pressure of the refrigerant flowing into the inlet of the compressor 110 may be referred to as a compressor inlet pressure.
In addition, a compressor outlet pressure sensor 175 may be disposed at the outlet of the compressor 110. The compressor outlet pressure sensor 175 may detect a pressure of the refrigerant discharged through the outlet of the compressor 110. The pressure of the refrigerant discharged through the outlet of the compressor 110 may be referred to as a compressor outlet pressure.
The indoor unit 1b may include the expansion valve 220, the indoor heat exchanger 230, and an indoor fan 250. The indoor heat exchanger 230 performs heat exchange between indoor air and the refrigerant. The indoor fan 250 may cause indoor air to flow to the indoor heat exchanger 230. A plurality of indoor fans 250 may be provided.
The expansion valve 220 may expand the refrigerant in a high-temperature and high-pressure liquid state and discharge a mixture of gaseous and liquid refrigerants of low temperature and low pressure. The expansion valve 220 may adjust the amount of refrigerant supplied to the indoor heat exchanger 230. The expansion valve 220 decompresses the refrigerant by using throttling actions. Throttling actions refer to a reduction in pressure of the refrigerant when the refrigerant passes through a narrow flow path even without heat exchange with the outside.
The expansion valve 220 may be an electronic expansion valve (EEV) capable of controlling an opening degree. For example, the expansion valve 220 may be a thermoelectric electronic expansion valve that uses deformation of a bimetal, a thermostatic electronic expansion valve that uses volumetric expansion by heating enclosed wax, a pulse width modulation type electronic expansion valve for opening or closing a solenoid valve according to a pulse signal, or a step motor type electronic expansion valve that uses a motor to open or close the valve.
The expansion valve 220 is exemplified as being included in the indoor unit 1b, but the expansion valve 220 may also be included in the outdoor unit 1a. In addition, the expansion valve 220 may be included in both the outdoor unit 1a and the indoor unit 1b. For example, the expansion valve 220 may be provided in the liquid pipe P1, which is a pipe forming a refrigerant flow path between the outdoor heat exchanger 130 and the indoor heat exchanger 230.
The indoor heat exchanger 230 may serve as an evaporator that evaporates low-pressure liquid refrigerant during a cooling operation, and may serve as a condenser that condenses high-pressure gaseous refrigerant during a heating operation. Like the outdoor heat exchanger 130 of the outdoor unit 1a, the indoor heat exchanger 230 includes an indoor heat exchanger refrigerant pipe (not shown) through which the refrigerant passes, and an indoor heat exchanger cooling fin (not shown) for improving a heat exchange efficiency between the refrigerant and indoor air.
The indoor fan 250 may be positioned around the indoor heat exchanger 230 to blow indoor air to the indoor heat exchanger 230. The indoor heat exchanger 230 may perform heat exchange with indoor air. The indoor fan 250 may blow indoor air before heat exchange to the indoor heat exchanger 230 while simultaneously blowing the heat-exchanged air into the indoor space.
Indoor heat exchanger temperature sensors 211 and 212 may be provided on both sides (inlet and outlet) of the indoor heat exchanger 230 to detect a temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 230. The indoor heat exchanger temperature sensors 211 and 212 may be installed around the inlet and/or outlet of the indoor heat exchanger 230, or may be installed to contact the refrigerant pipe connected to the inlet and/or outlet of the indoor heat exchanger 230.
The indoor heat exchanger temperature sensors 211 and 212 may include the indoor heat exchanger inlet temperature sensor 211 and the indoor heat exchanger outlet temperature sensor 212. The indoor heat exchanger inlet temperature sensor 211 may detect an inlet temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 230, and the indoor heat exchanger outlet temperature sensor 212 may detect an outlet temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 230. The inlet of the indoor heat exchanger 230 into which the refrigerant flows and the outlet of the indoor heat exchanger 230 from which the refrigerant flows out may be defined oppositely in cooling operation and heating operation. However, for convenience of description, the inlet and outlet of the indoor heat exchanger 230 may be described based on a cooling operation.
In addition, an indoor temperature sensor 213 may be disposed in the indoor unit 1b to detect an indoor temperature. The indoor heat exchanger temperature sensors 211 and 212 and the indoor temperature sensor 213 may be implemented as at least one of a bimetallic thermometer, a thermistor thermometer, or an infrared thermometer.
In addition, the air conditioner 1 may include various temperature sensors.
Referring to
The first controller 190 may be electrically connected to components of the outdoor unit 1a and may control the operation of each component. For example, the first controller 190 may adjust a frequency of the compressor 110 and control the four-way valve 120 to allow a circulation direction of refrigerant to be switched. The first controller 190 may control a rotation speed of the outdoor fan 150. The rotation speed of the outdoor fan 150 may be controlled according to an outdoor temperature. In addition, the first controller 190 may generate a control signal to control an opening degree of the expansion valve 220 of the indoor unit 1b.
Under the control of the first controller 190, the refrigerant may circulate along a refrigerant circulation flow path including the compressor 110, the four-way valve 120, the outdoor heat exchanger 130, the expansion valve 220, and the indoor heat exchanger 230. The compressor 110 may compress a gaseous refrigerant and discharge a high-temperature/high-pressure gaseous refrigerant. In addition, the compressor 110 may not operate in a blowing operation that does not require cooling or heating.
The four-way valve 120 may switch the circulation direction of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 110 under the control of the first controller 190. The four-way valve 120 guides the refrigerant compressed in the compressor 110 to the outdoor heat exchanger 130 during a cooling operation, and guides the refrigerant compressed in the compressor 110 to the indoor heat exchanger 230 during a heating operation.
The outdoor temperature sensor 171 may transmit an electrical signal corresponding to a detected outdoor temperature to the first controller 190. The outdoor heat exchanger temperature sensor 172 may transmit an electrical signal corresponding to a detected inlet temperature and/or a detected outlet temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger to the first controller 190.
The compressor outlet temperature sensor 173 may transmit an electrical signal corresponding to a compressor discharge temperature to the first controller 190. The compressor inlet pressure sensor 174 may transmit an electrical signal corresponding to a compressor inlet pressure to the first controller 190. The compressor outlet pressure sensor 175 may transmit an electrical signal corresponding to a compressor outlet pressure to the first controller 190.
The first communication interface 180 may communicate with the indoor unit 1b. The first communication interface 180 of the outdoor unit 1a may transmit a control signal transmitted from the first controller 190 to the indoor unit 1b, or may transmit a control signal transmitted from the indoor unit 1b to the first controller 190. In other words, the outdoor unit 1a and the indoor unit 1b may perform bi-directional communication. The outdoor unit 1a and the indoor unit 1b may transmit or receive various signals during operation.
The first memory 192 may record/store various information required for operation of the air conditioner 1. The first memory 192 may store instructions, applications, data, and/or programs required for operation of the air conditioner 1. For example, the first memory 192 may store programs for cooling operation, heating operation, and defrosting operation of the air conditioner 1.
The first memory 192 may include volatile memory, such as static random access memory (S-RAM), dynamic random access memory (D-RAM) for temporarily storing data. In addition, the first memory 192 may include non-volatile memory, such as read only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), and the like, for long term data storage.
The first processor 191 may generate a control signal for controlling an operation of the air conditioner 1 based on the instructions, applications, and data stored in the first memory 192. The first processor 191 may include a logic circuit and an arithmetic circuit in hardware. The first processor 191 may process data according to the programs and/or instructions provided from the first memory 192, and generate a control signal according the processing result. The first memory 192 and the first processor 191 may be implemented as a single control circuit or a plurality of circuits.
Some of the components of the outdoor unit 1a illustrated may be omitted, or other components may be added in addition to the illustrated components of the outdoor unit 1a. For example, the outdoor unit 1a may further include a control panel. The control panel may be provided in the cabinet 10 of the outdoor unit 1a. The control panel may obtain a user input related to the operation of the air conditioner 1, and may output information about the operation of the air conditioner 1. The control panel may transmit an electrical signal (voltage or current) corresponding to the user input to the first controller 190. The first controller 190 may control the operation of the air conditioner 1 based on the electrical signal transmitted from the control panel. The control panel may include buttons and a display.
Referring to
The indoor heat exchanger inlet temperature sensor 211 may transmit an electrical signal corresponding to a detected inlet temperature to the second processor 271. The indoor heat exchanger outlet temperature sensor 212 may transmit an electrical signal corresponding to a detected outlet temperature to the second processor 271. The indoor temperature sensor 213 may transmit an electrical signal corresponding to a detected indoor temperature to the second processor 271.
The expansion valve 220 may decompress the refrigerant. In addition, the expansion valve 220 may also control the amount of refrigerant supplied so that sufficient heat exchange may be performed in the outdoor heat exchanger 130 or the indoor heat exchanger 230. The expansion valve 220 decompresses the refrigerant using a throttling action of the refrigerant in which a pressure of the refrigerant decreases as the refrigerant passes through a narrow flow path.
The second communication interface 260 may communicate with the outdoor unit 1a. The second communication interface 260 of the indoor unit 1b may transmit a control signal transmitted from the second controller 270 to the outdoor unit 1a, or may transmit a control signal transmitted from the outdoor unit 1a to the second controller 270. For example, a control signal to control an opening degree of the expansion valve 220 may be transmitted from the outdoor unit 1a to the indoor unit 1b. The second controller 270 may adjust the opening degree of the expansion valve 220 based on the signal transmitted from the first controller 190 of the outdoor unit 1a.
In addition, the second communication interface 260 may communicate with an access point (AP, not shown) provided separately in an air conditioning space, and may be connected to a network through the access point. The second communication interface 260 may communicate with a user terminal device (e.g., a smartphone) through the access point. The second communication interface 260 may receive information about the user terminal device connected to the access point, and may transmit the information about the user terminal device to the second controller 270. Thus, a user may remotely control the air conditioner 1.
The second memory 272 may record/store various information required for operation of the air conditioner 1. The second memory 272 may store instructions, applications, data, and/or programs required for operation of the air conditioner 1. For example, the second memory 272 may store programs for cooling operation, heating operation, and defrosting operation of the air conditioner 1. The second memory 272 may include volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory like the first memory 192.
The second processor 271 may generate a control signal for controlling an operation of the air conditioner 1 based on the instructions, applications, and data stored in the second memory 272. The second processor 271 may include a logic circuit and an arithmetic circuit in hardware. The second processor 271 may process data according to the programs and/or instructions provided from the second memory 272, and generate a control signal according the processing result. The second memory 272 and the second processor 271 may be implemented as a single control circuit or a plurality of circuits.
Some of the components of the indoor unit 1b illustrated may be omitted, or other components may be added in addition to the illustrated components of the indoor unit 1b. For example, the indoor unit 1b may further include a control panel. The control panel may obtain a user input related to the operation of the air conditioner 1, and may output information about the operation of the air conditioner 1.
As described in
The disclosed air conditioner 1 may perform both cooling and heating operations. However, during a heating operation, there may be cases where the outdoor heat exchanger 130 freezes and may not operate normally. A defrosting operation is performed in the event of frost/ice on the outdoor heat exchanger 130 during a heating operation. In other words, in a case where a heating performance deteriorates due to frost formation on the outdoor heat exchanger 130, the defrosting operation is performed to remove the frost/ice.
The controller 190 of the outdoor unit 1a may perform the defrosting operation based on a temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger 130 being lower than a defined reference temperature. The controller 190 may temporarily stop the heating operation to perform the defrosting operation. To perform the defrosting operation, the controller 190 may temporarily stop the operation of the compressor 110 and control the four-way valve 120 to change a circulation direction of the refrigerant. When the compressor 110 is operated again, the refrigerant flows from the compressor 110 to the outdoor heat exchanger 130. At the start of the defrosting operation, an opening state of the expansion valve 220 may be in a maximum opening state. The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant introduced into the outdoor heat exchanger 130 releases heat from the outdoor heat exchanger 130. The released heat may remove the frost formed on a surface of the outdoor heat exchanger 130.
However, the defrosting operation may not be performed normally. In other words, there may be cases where the defrosting operation is performed incompletely. For example, in a case where the amount of refrigerant circulation is excessive during the defrosting operation and liquid refrigerant flows into the compressor 110, the defrosting operation may be forcibly stopped to prevent damage to the compressor 110.
There may also be cases where the defrosting operation is not performed normally due to installation conditions of the air conditioner 1. For example, in a case where the length of the pipes P1 and P2 connected between the outdoor unit 1a and the indoor unit 1b is extremely long (e.g., a case where the length of the pipes is 100 meters or more), the refrigerant circulation may not be smooth.
In addition, in a case where a vertical distance between an installation location of the outdoor unit 1a and an installation location of the indoor unit 1b is large, the refrigerant circulation may not be smoothly performed. For example, in a case where the outdoor unit 1a is installed on the ground level and the indoor unit 1b is installed on a high floor of a building, the refrigerant discharged from the outdoor unit 1a may not reach the indoor unit 1b, resulting in insufficient refrigerant circulation and causing incomplete defrosting.
The disclosed air conditioner 1 may appropriately adjust the amount of refrigerant circulation through active control of the expansion valve 220 during the defrosting operation, thereby preventing incomplete defrosting and damage to the compressor.
Referring to
The detection period may be set differently depending on the installation conditions of the air conditioner 1. For example, the longer the pipe length, the shorter the detection period may be set. The longer the vertical distance between a location of the outdoor unit 1a and a location of the indoor unit 1b, the shorter the detection period may be set. By frequently measuring the compressor inlet pressure, the amount of refrigerant circulation may be quickly determined.
The first controller 190 of the outdoor unit 1a may adjust an opening degree of the expansion valve 220 of the indoor unit 1b based on the compressor inlet pressure during the defrosting operation. The first controller 190 may adjust the opening degree of the expansion valve 220 to allow the compressor inlet pressure to be maintained within a defined pressure range in operation 502. For example, the first controller 190 may increase the opening degree of the expansion valve 220 based on the compressor inlet pressure becoming less than a defined lower limit. In addition, the first controller 190 may decrease the opening degree of the expansion valve 220 based on the compressor inlet pressure becoming greater than a defined upper limit.
A control signal of the expansion valve 220 generated by the first controller 190 of the outdoor unit 1a may be transmitted to the second controller 270 of the indoor unit 1b, and the second controller 270 may control the expansion valve 220 in response to receiving the control signal.
The disclosed air conditioner 1 may detect the compressor inlet pressure during the defrosting operation to quickly and accurately determine the amount of refrigerant circulation, thereby quickly adjusting the opening degree of the expansion valve 220.
The opening degree of the expansion valve 220 may also be adjusted based on a decrease in a discharge superheat of the compressor 110. However, the decrease in the discharge superheat of the compressor 110 indicates that the liquid refrigerant has been introduced into the compressor 110. Accordingly, adjusting the opening degree of the expansion valve 220 according to the discharge superheat of the compressor 110 may not be effective in preventing damage to the compressor 110. The disclosed air conditioner 1 may control the expansion valve 220 according to the compressor inlet pressure detected by the compressor inlet pressure sensor 174, thereby more effectively preventing damage to the compressor 110 and also more effectively preventing incomplete defrosting.
The first controller 190 may terminate the defrosting operation based on a termination condition of the defrosting operation being satisfied in operation 503. The termination condition of the defrosting operation may include a completion condition of the defrosting operation or a compressor protection condition.
For example, the first controller 190 may determine that the defrosting operation is completed when a defined reference defrosting time has elapsed, and may terminate the defrosting operation. In addition, the first controller 190 may determine that the defrosting operation is completed when a temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger 130 reaches a defined normal temperature, and may terminate the defrosting operation.
The first controller 190 may adjust a frequency of the compressor 110 or forcibly terminate the defrosting operation according to the compressor protection condition. The compressor protection condition refers to a condition related to a failure or damage of the compressor 110. The compressor protection condition may include a compressor outlet temperature (a discharge temperature of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor) exceeding a defined threshold temperature.
In addition, the compressor protection condition may include a discharge superheat of the compressor 110 being less than a defined threshold value. The discharge superheat of the compressor 110 may be determined based on a condensation temperature corresponding to a compressor outlet pressure and the compressor outlet temperature. The discharge superheat may be calculated as a difference between the compressor outlet temperature and the condensation temperature corresponding to the compressor outlet pressure. Data on the condensation temperature corresponding to the compressor outlet pressure may be stored in advance in the memory 192.
In response to the compressor protection condition being satisfied, the controller 190 may reduce the frequency of the compressor 110 or may stop the operation of the compressor 110. The defrosting operation may be performed again after the compressor protection according to the compressor protection condition is released.
Referring to
Thereafter, the first controller 190 may perform the opening adjustment of the expansion valve 220 based on a compressor inlet pressure detected by the compressor inlet pressure sensor 174. The first controller 190 may identify whether the compressor inlet pressure falls within a defined pressure range. The first controller 190 may identify whether the compressor inlet pressure is less than a defined lower limit. In addition, the first controller 190 may identify whether the compressor inlet pressure is greater than a defined upper limit.
The first controller 190 may increase the opening degree of the expansion valve 220 based on the compressor inlet pressure becoming less than the defined lower limit in operations 603 and 604. In addition, the first controller 190 may decrease the opening degree of the expansion valve 220 based on the compressor inlet pressure becoming greater than the defined upper limit in operations 605 and 602. In a case where the compressor inlet pressure is within the defined pressure range, the first controller 190 may determine to maintain the opening degree of the expansion valve 220 of the indoor unit 1b in operation 606.
As such, the disclosed air conditioner 1 may control the opening degree of the expansion valve 220 to allow the compressor inlet pressure to be maintained within the defined pressure range during the defrosting operation, thereby preventing damage to the compressor 110 due to an excessive amount of refrigerant circulation and preventing incomplete defrosting due to an insufficient amount of refrigerant circulation.
The first controller 190 of the air conditioner 1 may terminate the defrosting operation based on the completion of the defrosting in operations 607 and 608. For example, the first controller 190 may determine that the defrosting operation is completed when a defined reference defrosting time has elapsed after the start of the defrosting operation or when a temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger 130 reaches a defined normal temperature. As the defrosting operation is completed, a heating operation may be performed again.
Referring to
In a case where the opening degree of the expansion valve 220 decreases in operation 602, the amount of refrigerant circulation decreases, and thus the amount of liquid refrigerant flowing into the accumulator 160 decreases and the compressor outlet temperature increases. In a case where the compressor outlet temperature becomes greater than or equal to a predetermined temperature, the reliability of the compressor 110 may decrease. The disclosed air conditioner 1 may perform compressor protection control by monitoring the compressor outlet temperature during the defrosting operation.
The first controller 190 of the air conditioner 1 may decrease a frequency of the compressor 110 while increasing the opening degree of the expansion valve 220, based on a discharge temperature (i.e., the compressor outlet temperature) of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 110 becoming higher than a defined first threshold temperature during the defrosting operation in operations 701 and 703. When the opening degree of the expansion valve 220 is increased and the frequency of the compressor 110 is decreased, the compressor outlet temperature may be decreased.
The first controller 190 may terminate the defrosting operation based on the discharge temperature (i.e., the compressor outlet temperature) of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 110 becoming higher than a second threshold temperature which is higher than the first threshold temperature during the defrosting operation in operations 702 and 608. For example, in a case where the compressor outlet temperature is higher than the second threshold temperature, the operation of the compressor 110 may be stopped.
Referring to
The air conditioner 1 increases the opening degree of the expansion valve 220 based on the compressor inlet pressure becoming less than a defined lower limit Ps1. The compressor inlet pressure detected at a time t1 may be less than the lower limit Ps1. As the opening degree of the expansion valve 220 increases from the time t1, the amount of refrigerant circulation increases and the compressor inlet pressure also increases.
In addition, the air conditioner 1 reduces the opening degree of the expansion valve 220 based on the compressor inlet pressure becoming greater than a defined upper limit Ps2. The compressor inlet pressure detected at a time t2 may be greater than the upper limit Ps2. As the opening degree of the expansion valve 220 decreases from the time t2, the amount of refrigerant circulation decreases and the compressor inlet pressure decreases again.
Referring to
When the opening degree of the expansion valve 220 decreases again from a time t4, the compressor outlet temperature increases again. The air conditioner 1 may terminate the defrosting operation based on the compressor outlet temperature becoming higher than a second threshold temperature To2 that is higher than the first threshold temperature. The compressor outlet temperature detected at a time t5 may be higher than the second threshold temperature To2. The first controller 190 may stop the operation of the compressor 110 at the time t5 and terminate the defrosting operation.
The disclosed air conditioner and the method for controlling the same may prevent incomplete defrosting and damage to the compressor by actively controlling the expansion valve during the defrosting operation. The disclosed air conditioner and the method for controlling the same may quickly determine the amount of the refrigerant circulation using the compressor inlet pressure, and quickly adjust the opening degree of the expansion valve. By appropriately adjusting the amount of the refrigerant circulation through rapid active control of the expansion valve during the defrosting operation, a defrosting performance may be enhanced and product reliability may be improved.
Meanwhile, the disclosed embodiments may be embodied in the form of a recording medium storing instructions executable by a computer. The instructions may be stored in the form of program code and, when executed by a processor, may generate a program module to perform the operations of the disclosed embodiments.
The machine-readable recording medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Here, when a storage medium is referred to as “non-transitory,” it may be understood that the storage medium is tangible and does not include a signal (electromagnetic waves), but rather that data is semi-permanently or temporarily stored in the storage medium. For example, a “non-transitory storage medium” may include a buffer in which data is temporarily stored.
The methods according to the various embodiments disclosed herein may be provided in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded between a seller and a buyer as a product. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or may be distributed through an application store (e.g., Play Store™) online. In the case of online distribution, at least a portion of the computer program product may be stored at least semi-permanently or may be temporarily generated in a storage medium, such as memory of a server of a manufacturer, a server of an application store, or a relay server.
It will be appreciated that various embodiments of the disclosure according to the claims and description in the specification can be realized in the form of hardware, software or a combination of hardware and software.
Any such software may be stored in non-transitory computer readable storage media. The non-transitory computer readable storage media store one or more computer programs (software modules), the one or more computer programs include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform a method of the disclosure.
Any such software may be stored in the form of volatile or non-volatile storage, such as, for example, a storage device like read only memory (ROM), whether erasable or rewritable or not, or in the form of memory, such as, for example, random access memory (RAM), memory chips, device or integrated circuits or on an optically or magnetically readable medium, such as, for example, a compact disk (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), magnetic disk or magnetic tape or the like. It will be appreciated that the storage devices are various embodiments of non-transitory machine-readable storage that are suitable for storing a computer program or computer programs comprising instructions that, when executed, implement various embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly, various embodiments provide a program comprising code for implementing apparatus or a method as claimed in any one of the claims of this specification and a non-transitory machine-readable storage storing such a program.
While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2022-0104010 | Aug 2022 | KR | national |
This application is a continuation application, claiming priority under 35 U.S.C. § 365(c), of an International application No. PCT/KR2023/008597, filed on Jun. 21, 2023, which is based on and claims the benefit of a Korean patent application number 10-2022-0104010, filed on Aug. 19, 2022, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/KR2023/008597 | Jun 2023 | WO |
| Child | 19009256 | US |
