Patent Application
20200025405
The present subject matter relates generally to air conditioning appliances, and more particularly to air conditioner units and methods for varying the personality settings on a control board thereof.
Air conditioner units are conventionally utilized to adjust the temperature within structures such as dwellings and office buildings. In particular, one-unit type room air conditioner units may be utilized to adjust the temperature in, for example, a single room or group of rooms of a structure. A typical one-unit type air conditioner or air conditioning appliance includes an indoor portion and an outdoor portion. The indoor portion is generally located indoors, and the outdoor portion is generally located outdoors. Accordingly, the air conditioner unit generally extends through, for example, a wall of the structure. Generally, a fan may be operable to rotate to motivate air through the indoor portion. Another fan may be operable to rotate to motivate air through the outdoor portion. A sealed cooling system including a compressor is generally housed within the air conditioner unit to treat (e.g., cool or heat) air as it is circulated through, for example, the indoor portion of the air conditioner unit. One or more control boards are typically provided to direct the operation of various elements of the particular air conditioner unit.
Although certain elements are common to most air conditioner units, many elements and features can vary between different models (e.g., based on the desired cooling/heating capacity or features of a particular model of air conditioner unit). As an example, some air conditioner units may be operable in a heat pump mode, wherein the sealed cooling system is configured to selectively heat air within the indoor portion. As another example, some air conditioner units may provide heating elements configured to heat air within the indoor portion independently of the sealed cooling system. The operation or functionality of even the common elements (e.g., fans) shared by multiple models of air conditioner units may be affected by the presence or operation of the varied elements. In order to address such variations, the control board of a given model of air conditioner unit is generally programmed with a specific personality (e.g., relating to heat pump capable operation vs. non-heat pump capable operation) that is tailored to that same model of air conditioner unit.
In some instances, it may be necessary to replace the control board of a particular air conditioner unit. For example, it is possible that the original (e.g., factory-installed) control board may be damaged or broken after the air conditioner unit is mounted or installed within a dwelling or office building. In response, a repairman or service professional will often remove the damaged or broken control board and install a new replacement control board (i.e., substitute control board). Since a service professional is likely to encounter numerous different models of air conditioner units, a single substitute control board may include multiple different personalities (e.g., discrete personalities that correspond to different models of air conditioner units). During installation of the new replacement control board, the service professional will generally select a specific personality according to which model of air conditioner unit the control board in being installed into.
Although it may be desirable to have multiple different personalities on a single substitute control board, this presents some difficulties. For instance, the service professional is typically being relied upon to know the exact model into which the substitute control board is being installed. Moreover, the service professional is typically being relied upon to choose the correct personality. If the service professional is incorrect in either instance, the air conditioner unit may fail to operate as intended. In extreme cases, the air conditioner unit may even become further damaged. Specialized tools that the service professional utilizes to select a specific personality may also add to these difficulties. In particular, additional tools may be damaged themselves or simply be cumbersome and difficult to use.
As a result, there is a need for improved air conditioner units or methods to address one or more of the above identified issues.
Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
In one exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, a method of operating and air conditioner unit is provided. The method may include activating a substitute control board within the air conditioner unit; detecting one or more sensors from voltage signals received from a predetermined plurality of potential sensors; selecting an operating personality from a plurality of preset personalities based on the one or more detected sensors; and directing rotation of one or more fans within the air conditioner unit according to the selected operating personality.
In another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner appliance is provided. The air conditioner appliance may include a housing, an outdoor heat exchanger, an indoor heat exchanger, a bulkhead, an outdoor fan, an indoor fan, one or more sensors, and a substitute control board. The housing may define an outdoor portion and an indoor portion. The outdoor heat exchanger may be disposed in the outdoor portion. The indoor heat exchanger may be disposed in the indoor portion. The bulkhead may be disposed between the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger along a transverse direction. The bulkhead may define the indoor portion and the outdoor portion. The outdoor fan may be disposed in the outdoor portion to direct an airflow across the outdoor heat exchanger. The indoor fan may be disposed in the indoor portion to direct an airflow across the indoor heat exchanger. The one or more sensors may be mounted within the housing. The substitute control board may be operably coupled to the outdoor fan, the indoor fan, and the one or more sensors. The substitute control board may be configured to initiate a service operation. The service operation may include activating the substitute control board, detecting the one or more sensors from voltage signals received from a predetermined plurality of potential sensors, selecting an operating personality from a plurality of preset personalities based on the one or more detected sensors, and directing rotation of the indoor fan and the outdoor fan according to the selected operating personality.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures.
Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
The terms “includes” and “including” are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.” Similarly, the term “or” is generally intended to be inclusive (i.e., “A or B” is intended to mean “A or B or both”). The phrase “in one embodiment,” does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although it may. The terms “first,” “second,” and “third” may be used interchangeably to distinguish one component from another and are not intended to signify location or importance of the individual components. The terms “upstream” and “downstream” refer to the relative flow direction with respect to fluid flow in a fluid pathway. For example, “upstream” refers to the flow direction from which the fluid flows, and “downstream” refers to the flow direction to which the fluid flows.
Referring now to the figures, in
As will be described herein, certain exemplary embodiments of unit 10 include elements or features that are absent from other exemplary embodiments of unit 10. In other words, multiple discrete models of air conditioner unit are provided as unique exemplary embodiments. One exemplary embodiment may be described herein as a heat pump unit (e.g., configured to operate a sealed refrigeration system alternately in a cooling cycle and a heating cycle). Another exemplary embodiment may be described herein as an A/C exclusive unit (e.g., configured to operate a sealed cooling system exclusively in cooling cycle). An additional or alternative embodiment may be described herein as a low voltage unit (e.g., configured to operate at a relatively low voltage, such as 230 V). Yet another additional or alternative embodiment may be described herein as a high voltage unit (e.g., configured to operate at a relatively high voltage, such as 265 V). Except as otherwise indicated, or described exclusively in regard to one of the above-identified embodiments, it is generally understood the elements of unit 10 described below are common to each of the discrete identified embodiments of unit 10.
Generally, a housing 20 of the unit 10 contains various other components of the unit 10. Housing 20 may include, for example, a rear grill 22 and a room front 24 that may be spaced apart along the transverse direction T by a wall sleeve 26. The rear grill 22 may be part of the outdoor portion 14, while the room front 24 is part of the indoor portion 12. Components of the outdoor portion 14, such as an outdoor heat exchanger 30, outdoor fan 33 (
Referring now also to
Outdoor and indoor heat exchangers 30, 40 may be components of a thermodynamic assembly (i.e., sealed system), which may be operated as a refrigeration assembly (and thus perform a refrigeration cycle) and, in the case of the heat pump unit embodiment, a heat pump (and thus perform a heat pump cycle). Thus, as is understood, exemplary heat pump unit embodiments may be selectively operated perform a refrigeration cycle at certain instances (e.g., while in a cooling mode) and a heat pump cycle at other instances (e.g., while in a heating mode). By contrast, exemplary A/C exclusive unit embodiments may be unable to perform a heat pump cycle (e.g., while in the heating mode), but still perform a refrigeration cycle (e.g., while in a cooling mode).
In optional embodiments, such as exemplary heat pump unit embodiments, the sealed system includes a reversible refrigerant valve 110 (
The assembly may, for example, further include compressor 32 and an expansion valve, both of which may be in fluid communication with the heat exchangers 30, 40 to flow refrigerant therethrough, as is generally understood. Optionally, the compressor 32 may be a variable speed compressor or, alternatively, a single speed compressor. When the assembly is operating in a cooling mode, and thus performs a refrigeration cycle, the indoor heat exchanger 40 acts as an evaporator and the outdoor heat exchanger 30 acts as a condenser. In heat pump unit embodiments, when the assembly is operating in a heating mode, and thus performs a heat pump cycle, the indoor heat exchanger 40 acts as a condenser and the outdoor heat exchanger 30 acts as an evaporator. The outdoor and indoor heat exchangers 30, 40 may each include coils 31, 41, as illustrated, through which a refrigerant may flow for heat exchange purposes, as is generally understood.
Bulkhead 46 may include various peripheral surfaces that define an interior 50 thereof. For example, and additionally referring to
Bulkhead 46 may additionally extend between a top end 61 and a bottom end 63 along vertical axis V. Upper portion 60 may, for example, include top end 61, while lower portion 62 may, for example, include bottom end 63.
Bulkhead 46 may additionally include, for example, an air diverter 68, which may extend between the sidewalls 52, 54 along the lateral direction L and through which air may flow.
In exemplary embodiments, blower fan 42 may be a tangential fan. Alternatively, however, any suitable fan type may be utilized. Blower fan 42 may include a blade assembly 70 and a motor 72. The blade assembly 70, which may include one or more blades disposed within a fan housing 74, may be disposed at least partially within the interior 50 of the bulkhead 46, such as within the upper portion 60. As shown, blade assembly 70 may for example extend along the lateral direction L between the first sidewall 52 and the second sidewall 54. The motor 72 may be connected to the blade assembly 70, such as through the housing 74 to the blades via a shaft. Operation of the motor 72 may rotate the blades, thus generally operating the blower fan 42. Further, in exemplary embodiments, motor 72 may be disposed exterior to the bulkhead 46. Accordingly, the shaft may for example extend through one of the sidewalls 52, 54 to connect the motor 72 and blade assembly 70.
In exemplary embodiments, heating unit 44 includes one or more heater banks 80. Each heater bank 80 may be operated as desired to produce heat. In some embodiments, three heater banks 80 may be utilized, as shown. Alternatively, however, any suitable number of heater banks 80 may be utilized. Each heater bank 80 may further include at least one heater coil or coil pass 82, such as in exemplary embodiments two heater coils or coil passes 82. Alternatively, other suitable heating elements may be utilized. As is understood, each heater coil pass 82 may be provided as a resistive heating element configured to generate heat in response to resistance to an electrical current flowed therethrough.
The operation of air conditioner unit 10 including compressor 32 (and thus the sealed system generally) blower fan 42, fan 33, heating unit 44, and other suitable components may be controlled by a control board or controller 85. Controller 85 may be in communication (via for example a suitable wired or wireless connection) to such components of the air conditioner unit 10. By way of example, the controller 85 may include a memory and one or more processing devices such as microprocessors, CPUs or the like, such as general or special purpose microprocessors operable to execute programming instructions or micro-control code associated with operation of unit 10. The memory may be a separate component from the processor or may be included onboard within the processor. The memory may represent random access memory such as DRAM, or read only memory such as ROM or FLASH.
Generally, the processor executes programming instructions stored in memory. For instance, a set of programming instructions may correspond to a specific personality stored in memory. In some embodiments, multiple discrete preset personalities (e.g., programming instructions) corresponding different models for embodiments of the unit 10 are stored in memory. For example, the controller 85 may be a substitute control board configured to automatically (e.g., without direct input or selections from the user or service professional) select or initiate one of the plurality of preset personalities as the operating personality for the unit 10 based on one or more detected signals. Each of the plurality of preset personalities may direct certain elements to operate uniquely (e.g., in response to user selection or mode). For instance, each personality may include different settings for rotation speed of the fans 33, 42 or, in the case of a variable speed compressor, compressor 32. Thus, the rotation speed of the fans 33, 42 or compressor 32 may be determined, at least in part, by the one of the preset personality settings that is selected as the operating personality setting. For instance, rotation speeds of fans 33, 42 may generally be programmed as higher values (e.g., for any given setting of unit 10) in a high voltage unit embodiment than in a low voltage unit embodiment. Since certain exemplary embodiments include features not found in other exemplary embodiments (e.g., a reversible refrigerant valve 110 provided in the exemplary heat pump unit embodiments, but not A/C exclusive unit embodiments), directing operation of this features may be determined by the one of the preset personality settings that is selected as the operating personality setting. In some embodiments, the plurality of preset personalities includes a heat pump personality, an A/C exclusive personality, a low voltage personality, or a high voltage personality.
Unit 10 may additionally include a control panel 87 and one or more user inputs 89, which may be included in control panel 87. The user inputs 89 may be in communication with the controller 85. A user of the unit 10 may interact with the user inputs 89 to operate the unit 10, and user commands may be transmitted between the user inputs 89 and controller 85 to facilitate operation of the unit 10 based on such user commands. A display 88 may additionally be provided in the control panel 87, and may be in communication with the controller 85. Display 88 may, for example be a touchscreen or other text-readable display screen, or alternatively may simply be a light that can be activated and deactivated as required to provide an indication of, for example, an event or setting for the unit 10.
Referring now to
First indoor temperature sensor 92 may be disposed proximate the indoor heat exchanger 40 (such as relative to the second indoor temperature sensor 94). For example, in some embodiments, first indoor temperature sensor 92 may be in contact with the indoor heat exchanger 40, such as with a coil 41 thereof. The first indoor temperature sensor 92 may be configured to detect a temperature for the indoor heat exchanger 40. Second indoor temperature sensor 94 may be spaced from the indoor heat exchanger 40, such as in the transverse direction T. For example, the second indoor temperature sensor 94 may be in contact with the room front 24, as illustrated in
Referring especially to
First outdoor temperature sensor 132 may be disposed proximate the outdoor heat exchanger 30 (such as relative to the second outdoor temperature sensor 134). For example, in some embodiments, first outdoor temperature sensor 132 may be in contact with the outdoor heat exchanger 30, such as with a coil 31 (
Referring now to
As illustrated, at 610, the method 600 includes activating a substitute control board within an air conditioner unit. Such activation may take place after the previous or original control board has been replaced and the substitute control board has been installed within the air conditioner unit (e.g., by service professional). Activation may include supplying power to the substitute control board along with the rest of the air conditioner unit (e.g., from a municipal power source or grid). In some such embodiments, 610 follows activating (i.e., turning on) the air conditioner unit.
At 620, the method 600 includes detecting one or more sensors from voltage signals from a predetermined plurality of potential sensors. In other words, one or more voltage signals from sensors within the air conditioner unit are supplied to the substitute control board. The sensors correspond to the predetermined plurality of potential or possible sensors. The substitute control board may be preconfigured to detect each of the predetermined plurality of potential sensors. However, the sensors of particular air conditioner unit (e.g., model of air conditioner unit) into which the substitute control board is installed may include less than all of the predetermined plurality of potential sensors. For example, as described above, discrete or unique temperature sensors may be provided within different exemplary models and embodiments of air conditioner unit. Some models of air conditioner units may include a greater number of sensors of the plurality of predetermined sensors, while other models of air conditioner units may include a few number of sensors of the plurality of predetermined sensors.
In certain embodiments, each sensor of the predetermined plurality of potential sensors is a temperature sensor. Alternatively, however, other sensors may be provided and detected by the substitute control board. In some embodiments, the predetermined plurality of potential sensors includes an indoor ambient temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature for air entering the indoor portion, and an indoor refrigerant temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature for the indoor heat exchanger. In additional or alternative embodiments, the predetermined plurality of potential sensors includes an indoor outlet temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature for air exiting the indoor portion, an outdoor ambient temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature for air entering the outdoor portion, and an outdoor ambient temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature for air entering the outdoor portion. In further additional or alternative embodiments, the predetermined plurality of potential sensors includes an indoor outlet temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature for air exiting the indoor portion or an outdoor ambient temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature for air entering the outdoor portion. In yet further additional or alternative embodiments, the predetermined plurality of potential sensors includes an outdoor refrigerant temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature for the outdoor heat exchanger.
At 630, the method 600 includes selecting an operating personality from a plurality of preset personalities based on the one or more detected sensors. As is understood, the operating personality may be considered the personality or programmed instructions that an air conditioner unit actually executes. The specific preset personality that is to become the operating personality is selected in response to which sensors of the predetermined plurality of sensors are detected at 620. The plurality preset personalities may include a heat pump personality, an A/C exclusive personality, a low voltage personality, or a high voltage personality. Each of the plurality preset personalities may include one or more unique settings directions for operation of the air conditioner appliance (e.g., to account for the unique features or capabilities of certain models of air conditioner units).
In exemplary embodiments wherein detecting an indoor outlet temperature sensor is included with or as a result of 620, 630 includes selecting a high voltage personality in response to detecting the indoor outlet temperature sensor. In exemplary embodiments wherein detecting an outdoor ambient temperature sensor is included with or as the result of 620, 630 includes includes selecting a heat pump personality in response to detecting the outdoor ambient temperature sensor. In exemplary embodiments wherein detecting an outdoor refrigerant temperature sensor is included with or as a result of 620, 630 includes selecting a heat pump personality in response to detecting the outdoor refrigerant temperature sensor.
At 640, the method 600 includes directing rotation of one or more fans (e.g., the indoor fan or the outdoor fan) within the air conditioner unit according to the selected operating personality. As described above, the rotation speed of one or more of the indoor fan or the outdoor fan may vary according to which preset personality is selected as the operating personality. Thus, rotation and rotation speeds of the fan may vary in response to 620 and 630.
In optional embodiments, rotation speed of the compressor may also vary according to which preset personality is selected as the operating personality. In some such embodiments, 640 includes directing a speed of a refrigerant compressor according to the selected operating personality at 630. In additional or alternative embodiments, the positioning of a reversible refrigerant may only be possible or vary in certain exemplary embodiments of the air conditioner unit. Thus, 40 may further include directing a reversible refrigerant valve according to the selected operating personality.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
