Air Conditioner and Method for Controlling Same

This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/KR2024/003319 designating the United States, filed on Mar. 15, 2024, in the Korean Intellectual Property Receiving Office and claiming priority to Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2023-0054740, filed on Apr. 26, 2023, and 10-2023-0077759, filed on Jun. 16, 2023, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

The disclosure relates to an air conditioner and a method for controlling the same, and for example, to an air conditioner capable of checking whether a window is closed based on a rear temperature, and a method for controlling the same.

An air conditioner is a device for cooling or heating air using a refrigeration cycle and discharging cooled or heated air to adjust an indoor temperature.

Various types of air conditioners may be provided depending on an arrangement type of components, and a window-type air conditioner, which is easily installed, has also recently been used.

The window-type air conditioner may be installed on a window frame, and the window-type air conditioner may be installed on the inside of an external window to enable the window installed on the window frame to be closed or opened depending on an outdoor temperature (or season). Even if the window-type air conditioner is installed on the window frame, a user may selectively close or open the external window.

However, heat exchange with outdoor air is required for an operation of the air conditioner. Accordingly, if the air conditioner is operated while the external window is closed or not sufficiently opened, its cooling performance may be reduced.

Therefore, the recent window-type air conditioner requires a method for determining whether the window of the window frame on which the air conditioner is installed is closed or opened.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide an air conditioner capable of determining whether a window is closed based on a rear temperature, and a method for controlling the same.

According to an example embodiment of the present disclosure, provided is an air conditioner including: an exhaust port disposed at a rear side of the air conditioner; a fan configured to dissipate heat generated in a heat exchanger to the exhaust port; a temperature sensor disposed at the rear side of the air conditioner and configured to detect a rear temperature of the air conditioner; at least one memory storing at least one instruction; and at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry, individually and/or collectively, configured to operate based on the at least one instruction, wherein at least one processor is configured to cause the air conditioner to: control the fan to dissipate heat generated in the heat exchanger based on a cooling operation mode being set, and determine whether to terminate an operation in the cooling operation mode based on temperature change information generated based on temperature information detected by the temperature sensor at a specified time interval.

At least one processor, individually and/or collectively, may be configured to cause the air conditioner to: store a first temperature detected by the temperature sensor in the memory based on an operation execution command for the cooling operation mode being input, and generate the temperature change information based on a second temperature detected by the temperature sensor after a specified time.

At least one processor, individually and/or collectively, may be configured to calculate the temperature change information based on a difference value between the first temperature and the second temperature, or calculate a temperature increase rate at each specified time unit as the temperature change information.

At least one processor, individually and/or collectively, may be configured to generate the temperature change information based on the temperature information detected by the temperature sensor in a specified cycle after the specified time.

The specified cycle may range from five to thirty seconds.

At least one processor, individually and/or collectively, may be configured to determine termination of the operation in the cooling operation mode based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor being at or above a specified reference temperature for a specified time or more.

The air conditioner may further include a communication device comprising communication circuitry configured to receive outdoor weather information, wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, may be configured to set the reference temperature based on the outdoor weather information.

The air conditioner may further include a pipe temperature sensor configured to detect a compressor pipe temperature, wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, may be configured to determine the termination of the operation in the cooling operation mode based on the generated temperature change information based on the temperature detected by the pipe temperature sensor being at or above a specified temperature.

The air conditioner may further include an intake disposed at the rear side of the air conditioner, wherein the temperature sensor may be disposed in a middle region between the intake and the exhaust port, in upper regions of the intake and the exhaust port.

The air conditioner may further include a display, wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, may be configured to cause the electronic device to: control the display to display error information based on the operation in the cooling operation mode being terminated based on the temperature change information.

The air conditioner may further include a communication device comprising communication circuitry configured to communicate with a user terminal device, wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, may be configured to control the communication device to transmit error information to the user terminal device based on the operation in the cooling operation mode being terminated based on the temperature change information.

According to an example embodiment of the present disclosure, provided is a method for controlling an air conditioner, the method including: controlling a fan to dissipate heat generated in a heat exchanger to an exhaust port based on a cooling operation mode being set; detecting a temperature by a temperature sensor disposed at a rear side of the air conditioner at a specified time interval; and terminating an operation in the cooling operation mode based on temperature change information generated based on temperature information detected at the specified time interval.

In the detecting, a first temperature detected by the temperature sensor may be stored in a memory based on an operation execution command for the cooling operation mode being input, and the temperature change information may be generated based on a second temperature detected by the temperature sensor after a specified time.

In the detecting, the temperature change information may be calculated based on a difference value between the first temperature and the second temperature, or a temperature increase rate at each specified time unit may be calculated as the temperature change information.

In the detecting, the temperature change information may be generated based on the temperature information detected by the temperature sensor in a specified cycle after a specified time.

In the terminating, termination of the operation in the cooling operation mode may be determined based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor being at or above a specified reference temperature for a specified time or more.

The method may further include: receiving outdoor weather information; and setting the reference temperature based on the outdoor weather information.

The method may further include detecting a compressor pipe temperature, wherein in the terminating, the termination of the operation in the cooling operation mode may be determined based on the generated temperature change information based on the compressor the pipe temperature being at or above a specified temperature.

The method may further include displaying error information based on the operation in the cooling operation mode being terminated based on the temperature change information.

According to an example embodiment of the present disclosure, provided is a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium including a program which, when executed by at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry, individually and/or collectively, of an air conditioner, causes the air conditioner to perform a method for controlling an air conditioner, wherein the method includes: controlling a fan to dissipate heat generated in a heat exchanger to an exhaust port based on a cooling operation mode being set, detecting a temperature by a temperature sensor disposed at a rear side of the air conditioner at a specified time interval, and terminating an operation in the cooling operation mode based on temperature change information generated based on temperature information detected at the specified time interval.

It should be understood that various example embodiments of the present disclosure and terms used herein are not intended to limit technical features described in the present disclosure, and rather are intended to include various modifications, equivalents, and substitutions of the corresponding embodiments.

Throughout the accompanying drawings, similar components are denoted by similar reference numerals.

A singular noun corresponding to an item is intended to include one or more of the items unless a relevant context clearly indicates otherwise.

In the present disclosure, an expression such as “A or B”, “at least one of A and B”, “at least one of A or B”, “A, B, or C”, “at least one of A, B, and C”, “at least one of A, B, or C”, or the like may include any one of the items listed together or all possible combinations thereof.

A term “and/or” includes a combination of a plurality of related items or any one of the plurality of related items.

Terms such as “first”, “second”, or the like may be used simply to distinguish one element and another element from each other, and do not limit the corresponding components in any other respect (e.g., importance or order).

In case that a component (for example, a first component) is mentioned to be “coupled with/to” or “connected to” another component (for example, a second component) with or without terms “operatively or communicatively”, it should be understood that the component may be directly coupled to another component (e.g., in a wired manner), in a wireless manner, or through a third component).

It should be further understood that terms “include”, “have” or the like, used in the disclosure specify the presence of features, numerals, steps, operations, components, parts mentioned in the disclosure or combinations thereof, and do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numerals, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

In that a component is referred to as being “connected”, “coupled”, “supported”, or “in contact” with another component, it includes not only a case where the components are directly connected, coupled, supported, or in contact with each other, but also a case where the components are indirectly connected, coupled, supported, or in contact with each other through a third component.

In case that a component is referred to be disposed “on” another component, it includes not only a case where the component is in contact with another component, but also a case where still another component is interposed between the two components.

In addition, terms such as “fore end”, “front end”, “rear end”, “upper portion”, “lower portion”, “upper end”, and “lower end” used in the present disclosure are defined based on the drawings. The shapes and positions of respective components are not limited by these terms.

In addition, a temperature used in the present disclosure is described assuming a temperature in Celsius. However, a temperature value may be used in Fahrenheit in implementation.

An air conditioner according to various example embodiments may refer, for example, to a device that performs functions such as air purification, ventilation, humidity adjustment, cooling, and heating in an air-conditioned space (hereinafter referred to as “indoor”), and indicates a device having at least one of these functions.

Terms used in disclosure may be interpreted as having the same meanings as meanings generally known to those skilled in the art unless defined otherwise.

Hereinafter, an air conditioner according to various example of the present disclosure is described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

is a diagram illustrating an example refrigerant circuit of the air conditioner according to various embodiments.

A cooling devicemay include a refrigerant circuit that circulates a refrigerant. The refrigerant may be circulated along the refrigerant circuit and may absorb or release heat during a state change (e.g., a state change from gas to liquid or vice versa). The refrigerant circuit may be referred to as a heat pump device.

To induce the state change of the refrigerant, the refrigerant circuit may include a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve, and an outdoor heat exchanger.

The compressormay compress the refrigerant in a gaseous state to create a high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant. The high-temperature/high-pressure gaseous refrigerant discharged from the compressormay be introduced into the outdoor heat exchanger.

At least one sensor for measuring an operation state of the compressormay be provided on a side of the compressor. For example, the sensor may be a compressor pipe temperature sensor. The compressor pipe temperature sensormay be a temperature sensor that is attached to a pipe region through which the compressordischarges the refrigerant and measures a temperature at a discharge region of the compressor. The temperature measured by the pipe temperature sensormay be referred to as a pipe temperature and may also be referred to as a discharge temperature of the compressor.

The outdoor heat exchangermay perform heat exchange between the refrigerant and outdoor air by utilizing a phase change (e.g., evaporation or condensation) of the refrigerant. For example, the refrigerant may release heat to outdoor air while the refrigerant condenses in the outdoor heat exchanger, and the refrigerant may absorb heat from outdoor air while the refrigerant flowing in the outdoor heat exchanger evaporates.

An outdoor fanmay be provided near the outdoor heat exchanger. The outdoor fanmay blow outdoor air to the outdoor heat exchangerto promote the heat exchange between the refrigerant and outdoor air.