Air conditioner and method of controlling the same

• US 10,465,936 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2018
• Issued: 11/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoon, Pilhyun, Sa, Yongcheol, Song, Chiwoo
• Primary Examiner(s): Ciric, Ljiljana V.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cox, Alexis K
• Application Number:
  US15/901,689
• Publication Number:
  US 20180180317A1
• Time in Patent Office: 622 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/41 Defrosting; Preventing freezing
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/42 of outdoor units
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/64 using pre-stored data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/70 Control systems characterised by their outputs; Constructional details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/83 by controlling the supply of heat-exchange fluids to heat-exchangers
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/00 Control inputs relating to air properties
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/10 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/12 of the outside air
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/20 Humidity
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/22 of the outside air
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/40 Pressure, e.g. wind pressure
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2140/12 Heat-exchange fluid pressure
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 49/02 for compression type machines, plants or systems
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 49/022 Compressor control arrangements

Abstract

A method of controlling an air conditioner, including inputting, by an operation command input part, an operation command for the air conditioner through which a refrigerating cycle circulates; sensing, by an outside temperature sensor, an outside temperature; sensing, by an outside humidity recognition part, an outside humidity; sensing, by a low pressure sensor, a low pressure of the refrigerating cycle; recognizing, by a controller, information about the outside temperature, the outside humidity, and the low pressure; entering, by the controller, a changing mode in which a first target high pressure of the refrigerating cycle is changed when the low pressure is less than a first reference low pressure; and changing, by the controller, an operation frequency of a compressor of the air conditioner in response to a range of the low pressure when the changing mode is performed.

Claims

1. A method of controlling an air conditioner, comprising:

inputting, by an operation command input part, an operation command for the air conditioner through which a refrigerating cycle circulates;

sensing, by an outside temperature sensor, an outside temperature;

sensing, by an outside humidity recognition part, an outside humidity;

sensing, by a low pressure sensor, a low pressure of the refrigerating cycle;

recognizing, by a main controller, information about the outside temperature, the outside humidity, and the low pressure of the refrigeration cycle;

entering, by the main controller, a changing mode in which a first target high pressure of the refrigerating cycle is changed when it is recognized that the low pressure of the refrigerating cycle is less than a first reference low pressure; and

changing, as part of the changing mode of the main controller, an operation frequency of a compressor of the air conditioner in response to a range of the low pressure of the refrigerating cycle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the main controller enters a normal mode in which the first target high pressure of the refrigerating cycle of the compressor is maintained when it is recognized that the low pressure of the refrigerating cycle is greater than the first reference low pressure.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the changing, by the main controller, an operation frequency of a compressor of the air conditioner comprises:

changing the first target high pressure to a second target high pressure which is lower than the first target high pressure when the low pressure of the refrigerating cycle is less than a second reference low pressure; and

decreasing the operation frequency of the compressor,

wherein the second reference low pressure is less than the reference low pressure.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the changing, by the main controller, an operation frequency of a compressor of the air conditioner comprises:

changing the first target high pressure to a third target high pressure which is greater than the first target high pressure when the low pressure of the refrigerating cycle is greater than a third reference low pressure; and

increasing the operation frequency of the compressor,

wherein the second reference low pressure is greater than the first reference low pressure.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

controlling, by the main controller, the operation frequency of the compressor based on information mapped to change an increase rate of the operation frequency of the compressor in response to the outside humidity,

wherein the information mapped is stored in a memory part of the air conditioner.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein when it is recognized that the outside humidity is less than a first predetermined outside humidity, the increase rate of the operation frequency is controlled, by the main controller, to be maintained at a first rate until the operation frequency is equal to a predetermined frequency after starting of the compressor;

when it is recognized that the outside humidity is greater than a second predetermined outside humidity, the increase rate of the operation frequency is controlled, by the controller, to be maintained at a second rate until the operation frequency is equal to the predetermined frequency after the starting of the compressor; and

when it is recognized that the outside humidity is greater than or equal to the first predetermined outside humidity and is less than or equal to the second predetermined outside humidity, the increase rate of the operation frequency is controlled, by the main controller, to be decreased in response to the increase of the outside humidity.