Patent Grant
11959658
The present disclosure relates to the field of air conditioning technologies, and more particularly to a control method for an air-conditioner indoor unit.
When an air-conditioner indoor unit performs a windless cooling, the condensate water may be formed on an air deflector, and the condensate water may drop to the floor, so that a security risk exists, which may lead to complains from users. In the related art, the condensation phenomenon generally can be reduced by increasing a temperature of an air outlet of the air-conditioner indoor unit or reducing a rotation speed of a wind wheel, but this will cause a poor cooling performance of the air-conditioner indoor unit and hence affect the user's experience.
The aim of the present disclosure is to solve at least one problem in the related art. For this, the present disclosure provides a control method for an air-conditioner indoor unit, which can achieve an air output with a windless or wind-free feeling of the air-conditioner indoor unit without sacrificing a cooling capacity of an air conditioner, and also avoids the condensate water on an air deflector from dropping to the ground.
The present disclosure further provides a control method for an air-conditioner indoor unit, which avoids disassembling the air-conditioner indoor unit when removing the dust from the air deflector, and allows it to be unnecessary to remove the dust from the air deflector manually, thus improving the use experience of the user.
In the control method for the air-conditioner indoor unit according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the air-conditioner indoor unit includes a housing, a drain pan, an air deflector, a movable cover plate, and a sweeping strip, the housing has an air outlet, the air deflector is rotatably arranged at the air outlet, the air deflector is provided with micro holes, the movable cover plate is movably arranged at a front side of the housing to open or close the air outlet, the sweeping strip is attached to the movable cover plate and configured to sweep a condensate water on the air deflector, the drain pan is arranged at a bottom of the air outlet and configured to receive the condensate water from the air deflector, and an orthographic projection of the air deflector on the drain pan is located in the drain pan in a windless or wind-free feeling mode. The control method includes: S10: starting the windless or wind-free feeling mode by the air-conditioner indoor unit; S20: when the air-conditioner indoor unit receives an instruction of ending the windless or wind-free feeling mode, controlling the movable cover plate to move back and forth between closing the air outlet and opening the air outlet for n times, so as to drive the sweeping strip to move to sweep the condensate water on a surface of the air deflector, wherein n>0; and S30: ending the windless or wind-free feeling mode.
In the control method for the air-conditioner indoor unit according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, when receiving the instruction of ending the windless or wind-free feeling mode, the air condition indoor unit controls the movable cover plate to move back and forth between closing the air outlet and opening the air outlet for n times, so as to drive the sweeping strip to move to sweep the condensate water on the surface of the air deflector, thereby realizing the air output with the windless or wind-free feeling of the air condition indoor unit without sacrificing the cooling capacity of the air conditioner, and avoiding the condensate water on the air deflector from dropping to the ground.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, n satisfies: 1≤n≤3.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the air deflector includes a plurality of sub air deflectors, and the plurality of sub air deflectors are arranged at the air outlet and spaced apart from one another.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the sweeping strip is a flexible member.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the sweeping strip is a rubber member or a silica gel member.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, two movable cover plates and two sweeping strips are provided, the two movable cover plates are in a one-to-one correspondence with the two sweeping strips, and the two movable cover plates are spaced apart from each other in a left-right direction.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a rear surface of the movable cover plate is provided with a reinforcing rib, and the sweeping strip is attached to the reinforcing rib.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, one end of the sweeping strip is snap-engaged with the reinforcing rib and the other end of the sweeping strip extends rearwards.
In some optional embodiments of the present disclosure, the reinforcing rib is provided with a catching groove, and the one end of the sweeping strip is provided with an engaging portion fitted with the catching groove.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, opposite inner side walls of an opening end of the catching groove are provided with turnups extending in a direction of approaching each other, and the engaging portion has step surfaces fitted with the turnups.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the air-conditioner indoor unit includes an air-deflector motor configured to drive the air deflector to rotate, and step S20 includes: S21: when the air-conditioner indoor unit receives the instruction of ending the windless or wind-free feeling mode, controlling the air-deflector motor to generate a motor stalling; S22: controlling the movable cover plate to move back and forth between closing the air outlet and opening the air outlet for n times, so as to drive the sweeping strip to move to sweep the condensate water on the surface of the deflector.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the orthographic projection of the air deflector on the drain pan is located in the drain pan, a maximum rotation angle of the air deflector is α0, and step S20 includes: S21: when the air-conditioner indoor unit receives the instruction of ending the windless or wind-free feeling mode, ending the windless or wind-free feeling mode and controlling the air deflector to rotate back and forth between α1 and α2 for m times, wherein 0°≤α1<α2≤α0; S22: entering the windless or wind-free feeling mode and controlling the movable cover plate to move back and forth between closing the air outlet and opening the air outlet for n times, so as to drive the sweeping strip to move to sweep the condensate water on the surface of the air deflector.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, m satisfies: 2≤m≤5.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, α0 satisfies: α0≤20°.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, α1=0°, α2=α0.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, α1 satisfies: 0°≤α1≤5°.
In the control method for the air-conditioner indoor unit according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the air-conditioner indoor unit includes a housing, a wind wheel, an air deflector, a movable cover plate, and a sweeping strip, the housing has an air outlet, the air deflector is rotatably arranged at the air outlet, the movable cover plate is movably arranged at a front side of the housing to open or close the air outlet, and the sweeping strip is attached to the movable cover plate and configured to sweep dust on the air deflector. The control method includes: A10: starting a function of cleaning the air deflector; A20: controlling the air deflector to rotate to close the air outlet; A30: controlling the movable cover plate to move, so as to drive the sweeping strip to move to sweep the dust on a surface of the air deflector; A40: ending the function of cleaning the air deflector.
In the control method for the air-conditioner indoor unit according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, by controlling the movable cover plate to move, so as to drive the sweeping strip to move to sweep the dust on the surface of the air deflector, the air-conditioner indoor unit can be prevented from being disassembled when the dust is to be removed from the air deflector, and it is not necessary to remove the dust from the air deflector manually, thus improving the use experience of the user.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, between step A10 and step A20, the control method further includes: A11: controlling the air deflector to rotate to a predetermined angle λ so as to partly open the air outlet and controlling a rotation speed of the wind wheel to increase by F r/min, wherein F>0.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, between step A11 and step A20, the control method further includes: A12: after t min, controlling the rotation speed of the wind wheel to reduce by X r/min, wherein X≥F, t>0.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, at S12, after t min, the rotation speed of the wind wheel is controlled to reduce to a lowest rotation speed.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, 5≤t≤25.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, 25≤F≤70.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, 45°≤λ≤90°.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, at step A30, the movable cover plate is controlled to move back and forth between opening the air outlet and closing the air outlet for k times, k>0.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when an instruction of turning on the air-conditioner indoor unit is received, the function of cleaning the air deflector is started.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when an instruction of turning off the air-conditioner indoor unit is received, the function of cleaning the air deflector is first started to clean the air deflector, and the air-conditioner indoor unit is turned off after the function of cleaning the air deflector is ended.
Additional aspects and advantages of embodiments of present disclosure will be given in part in the following descriptions, become apparent in part from the following descriptions, or be learned from the practice of the embodiments of the present disclosure.
These above and/or additional aspects and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following descriptions made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below, and the examples of the embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings. The same or similar elements and the elements having same or similar functions are denoted by like reference numerals throughout the description. The embodiments described herein with reference to the drawings are illustrative and used to generally understand the present disclosure. The embodiments shall not be constructed to limit the present disclosure.
An air-conditioner indoor unit 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to
As illustrated
The movable cover plate 2 is movably arranged at a front side of the housing 1 to open or close the air outlet 12. The sweeping strip 3 is attached to the movable cover plate 2 and configured to sweep condensate water and/or dust on the air deflector 5, and the drain pan 7 is arranged at a bottom of the air outlet 12 to receive the condensate water of the air deflector 5. In a windless or wind-free feeling mode, an orthographic projection of the air deflector 5 on the drain pan 7 is located in the drain pan 7 (for example, as illustrated in
It should be noted that when a user faces towards the air-conditioner indoor unit 100, a direction of the user's head is up, a direction of the user's foot is down, a direction of the user's left side is left, a direction of the user's right side is right, a direction of the indoor unit proximal of the user's chest is front, and a direction facing away from or distal of the user's chest is back.
For example, as illustrated in
Specifically, as illustrated in
Further, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
In actual researches, the inventors have discovered that, due to a structural limitation of the drain pan 7, the air deflector 5 closes the air outlet 12 in the windless or wind-free feeling mode, the orthographic projection of the air deflector 5 on the drain pan 7 is located in the drain pan 7, and the condensate water on a front surface of the air deflector 5 can flow downwardly along the air deflector 5 into the drain pan 7. However, when the air deflector 5 opens the air outlet 12 to output the air into a room (for example, as illustrated in
For this, the inventors have creatively proposed that before the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 ends the windless or wind-free feeling mode, the sweeping strip 3 to the movable cover plate 2 may be first used to sweep the condensate water on the air deflector 5 into the drain pan 7, such that when the air deflector 5 opens the air outlet 12 to output the air into the room, the condensate water on the air deflector 5 will not drop to the ground.
Specifically, when the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 normally operates (for example, cooling), as illustrated in
As illustrated in
At step S10, the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 starts the windless or wind-free feeling mode. For example, a windless-feeling-mode key may be arranged on a remote controller matched with the air-conditioner indoor unit 100, and the user may press the windless-feeling-mode key to start the windless feeling mode.
At step S20, when receiving an instruction of ending the windless or wind-free feeling mode, the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 controls the movable cover plate 2 to move back and forth between closing the air outlet 12 and opening the air outlet 12 (the movable cover plate 2 is moved from a position in
At step S30, the windless or wind-free feeling mode is ended. For example, when the movable cover plate 2 reaches the position where the air outlet 12 is opened, the air deflector 5 at least partly opens the air outlet 12 to output the air to the indoor environment, and the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 ends the windless or wind-free feeling mode.
Therefore, when receiving the instruction of ending the windless feeling mode, the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 controls the movable cover plate 2 to move back and forth between closing the air outlet 12 and opening the air outlet 12 for n times, so as to drive the sweeping strip 3 to move to sweep the condensate water on the surface of the air deflector 5, such that the air output with the windless feeling of the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 can be realized without sacrificing a cooling capacity of the air conditioner, and the condensate water on the air deflector 5 can be prevented from dropping to the ground.
In the control method of the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, when receiving the instruction of ending the windless feeling mode, the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 controls the movable cover plate 2 to move back and forth between closing the air outlet 12 and opening the air outlet 12 for n times, so as to drive the sweeping strip 3 to move to sweep the condensate water on the surface of the air deflector 5, such that the air output with the windless feeling of the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 can be realized without sacrificing the cooling capacity of the air conditioner, and the condensate water on the air deflector 5 can be prevented from dropping to the ground.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
At step S21, when receiving the instruction of ending the windless feeling mode, the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 controls an air-deflector motor to generate a motor stalling.
At step S22, the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 controls the movable cover plate 2 to move back and forth between closing the air outlet 12 and opening the air outlet 12 (for example, the movable cover plate 2 moves from the position in
It should be understood that, first at step S21, when receiving the instruction of ending the windless feeling mode, the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 controls the air-deflector motor to generate the motor stalling so as to drive the air deflector 5 to vibrate, such that the condensate water on the air deflector 5 drops into the drain pan 7 under the action of the vibration of the air deflector 5 and the gravity of the condensate water, and next at step S22, the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 controls the movable cover plate 2 to move back and forth between closing the air outlet 12 and opening the air outlet 12 for n times, so as to drive the sweeping strip 3 to move to sweep the condensate water on the surface of the air deflector 5, which helps to fully sweep the condensate water on the surface of the air deflector 5 when the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 ends the windless feeling mode, thereby avoiding the condensate water on the air deflector 5 from dropping to the ground, and hence improving the use experience of the user.
As illustrated in
At step S21, when receiving the instruction of ending the windless feeling mode, the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 ends the windless feeling mode and controls the air deflector 5 to rotate back and forth between α1 and α2 form times, in which 0°≤α1≤α2≤α0.
It should be understood that the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 may receive the instruction of ending the windless feeling mode in the following two conditions. For example, the windless-feeling-mode ending key may be arranged on the remote controller matched with the air-conditioner indoor unit 100, the user may press the windless-feeling-mode ending key to send the instruction of ending the windless feeling mode, and the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 receives the instruction of ending the windless feeling mode to perform step S21 and subsequent step S22. As another example, according to the temperature of the indoor environment, the humidity of the indoor environment, or the operation time of the windless feeling mode, the control device of the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 judges whether to send the instruction of ending the windless feeling mode to the air-conditioner indoor unit 100. When the environment temperature, the humidity of the indoor environment, or the operation time of the windless feeling mode reaches the predetermined value, the control device sends the instruction of ending the windless feeling mode, and the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 receives the instruction of ending the windless feeling mode to perform step S21 and subsequent step S22.
At step S22, the windless feeling mode is entered and the movable cover plate 2 is controlled to move back and forth between closing the air outlet 12 and opening the air outlet 12 for n times, so as to drive the sweeping strip 3 to move to sweep the condensate water on the surface of the air deflector 5, and in this process, the sweeping strip 3 contacts with the air deflector 5 to sweep the condensate water on the air deflector 5 into the drain pan 7.
It should be understood that, at step S21, when receiving the instruction of ending the windless feeling mode, the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 controls the air deflector 5 to rotate back and forth between α1 and α2 for m times, such that the condensate water on the air deflector 5 drops into the drain pan 7 under the action of a power generated by a rotation speed of the air deflector 5 and the gravity of the condensate water, and at step S22, the windless feeling mode is entered, that is, the air deflector 5 closes the air outlet 12, and then the movable cover plate 2 is controlled to move back and forth between closing the air outlet 12 and opening the air outlet 12 for n times, so as to drive the sweeping strip 3 to move to sweep the condensate water on the surface of the air deflector 5. Therefore, the air output with the windless feeling of the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 can be realized without sacrificing the cooling capacity of the air conditioner, and it is possible to fully sweep the condensate water on the surface of the air deflector 5 when the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 ends the windless feeling mode, so as to prevent the condensate water on the air deflector 5 from dropping to the ground, thus improving the use experience of the user.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
At step A10, a function of cleaning the air deflector 5 is turned on. For example, a cleaning function key may be arranged on the remote controller matched with the air-conditioner indoor unit 100, and the user may press the cleaning function key to turn on the function of cleaning the air deflector 5.
At step A20, the air deflector 5 is controlled to rotate to close the air outlet 12 (for example, a position of the air deflector as illustrated in
At step A30, the movable cover plate 2 is controlled to move, so as to drive the sweeping strip 3 to move to sweep the dust on the surface of the air deflector 5. For example, when the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 is in a power-on state, the movable cover plate 2 opens the air outlet 12, the movable cover plate 2 may be controlled to move to close the air outlet 12, and then to move again to open the air outlet 12 (the movable cover plate moves from the position in
At step A40, the function of cleaning the air deflector 5 is ended. Therefore, by controlling the movable cover plate 2 to move so as to control the sweeping strip 3 to move, the dust on the surface of the air deflector 5 can be swept, such that the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 is prevented from being disassembled when the dust is to be removed from the air deflector 5, and it is not necessary to remove the dust from the air deflector 5 manually, thus improving the use experience of the user.
In the control method of the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, by controlling the movable cover plate 2 to move so as to drive the sweeping strip 3 to move to sweep the dust on the surface of the air deflector 5, the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 is prevented from being disassembled when the dust is to be removed from the air deflector 5, and it is not necessary to remove the dust from the air deflector 5 manually, thus improving the use experience of the user.
As illustrated in
Optionally, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
Optionally, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
Optionally, 45°≤λ≤90°. Therefore, the amount of the air output of the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 at step A11 can be ensured, thereby ensuring that part of the dust attached on the air deflector 5 can be blown away by the airflow flowing from the air duct 11 to the air outlet 12.
As illustrated in
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when an instruction of turning on the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 is received, the function of cleaning the air deflector 5 is started. Therefore, when the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 is turned on, the dust removing of the air deflector 5 can be realized, such that the user does not need to deliberately start the function of cleaning the air deflector 5, which facilitates to keep the air deflector 5 clean during a long-term operation of the air-conditioner indoor unit 100. For example, when the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 is powered off, the movable cover plate 2 closes the air outlet 12, and the air deflector 5 is in the position where the air deflector 5 closes the air outlet 12. When the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 is powered on, the movable cover plate 2 moves to the position where the movable cover plate 2 opens the air outlet 12. In this process, the movable cover plate 2 drives the sweeping strip 3 to move to sweep the dust on the surface of the air deflector 5, and then the function of cleaning the air deflector 5 is ended. Finally, the air deflector 5 is rotated to the predetermined angle λ. The airflow in the air duct 11 after exchanging heat with the indoor heat exchanger 6 is blown to the indoor space to adjust the temperature of the indoor environment.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when an instruction of turning off the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 is received, the function of cleaning the air deflector 5 is first started to clean the air deflector 5, and then the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 is turned off after the function of cleaning the air deflector 5 is ended. Therefore, when the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 is to be turned off, the dust removing of the air deflector 5 can be realized, such that the user does not need to deliberately start the function of cleaning the air deflector 5, which facilitates to keep the air deflector 5 clean during a long-term operation of the air-conditioner indoor unit 100. For example, when receiving the instruction of turning off the air-conditioner indoor unit 100, the control device of the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 first controls the wind wheel to stop rotating, and then the air-conditioner indoor unit 100 starts the function of cleaning the air deflector 5. The air deflector 5 closes the air outlet 12, and then the movable cover plate 2 moves from the position where the movable cover plate 2 opens the air outlet 12 to the position where the movable cover plate 2 closes the air outlet 12. In this process, the movable cover plate 2 drives the sweeping strip 3 to move to sweep the dust on the surface of the air deflector 5, and finally the function of cleaning the air deflector 5 is ended.
In the description of the present disclosure, reference throughout this specification to “an embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “an exemplary embodiment”, “an example,” “a specific example,” or “some examples” means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. In the specification, the appearances of the above-mentioned terms are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.
Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, it shall be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, alternatives, and variations can be made in the embodiments without departing from principles and purposes of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by claims or their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201811161669.3 | Sep 2018 | CN | national |
| 201811163007.X | Sep 2018 | CN | national |
| 201811163019.2 | Sep 2018 | CN | national |
| 201811163053.X | Sep 2018 | CN | national |
The present application is a continuation application of PCT International Application No. PCT/CN2019/084281, filed on Apr. 25, 2019, which claims priority to and benefits of Chinese Patent Applications No. 201811161669.3, 201811163053.X, 201811163007.X, and 201811163019.2, filed on Sep. 30, 2018, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. No new matter has been introduced.
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| 20200166223 | Zhu | May 2020 | A1 |
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| International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Jun. 26, 2019 received in International Application No. PCT/CN2019/084281 together with an English language translation. |
| First Office Action dated Jul. 15, 2019 received in Chinese Patent Application No. CN 201811163053.X together with an English language translation. |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20210215380 A1 | Jul 2021 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/CN2019/084281 | Apr 2019 | US |
| Child | 17215459 | US |
