Air Conditioner for Improving Cooling Performance and Control Method Thereof

This application is a continuation application, claiming priority under 35 U.S.C. § 365 (c), of an International application No. PCT/KR2025/005054, filed on Apr. 14, 2025, which is based on and claims the benefit of a Korean patent application number 10-2024-0083039, filed on Jun. 25, 2024, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

The disclosure relates to an air conditioner and a control method thereof. More particularly, the disclosure relates to an air conditioner for improving cooling performance, a method of controlling the air conditioner, and a computer-readable recording medium having stored therein a computer program for performing the method of controlling the air conditioner.

An air conditioning system is capable of regulating the conditions of air, such as the temperature, humidity, and dust concentration of an indoor space where a user resides.

The air conditioning system may control a compressor therein to compress a refrigerant at a high temperature and high pressure. The refrigerant compressed at the high temperature and high pressure circulates through a refrigeration cycle within the air conditioning system and absorbs heat via a heat exchanger located in an indoor unit, thereby cooling the air around the heat exchanger.

An inverter-type air conditioner may include a power module for changing a frequency of a compressor according to circumstances. The power module may include elements that are more susceptible to heat than other components of the air conditioner. When an outside air temperature increases, the temperature of the power module in an outdoor unit may increase. The power module may have a higher risk of burn-out damage due to high temperatures.

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 and a control method thereof.

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 a compressor, a power module configured to drive the compressor, a power module temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the power module, memory storing one or more computer programs, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the compressor, the power module, the power module temperature 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 determine whether a current of the compressor corresponding to a target frequency of the compressor is greater than or equal to an upper limit current corresponding to an outside air temperature, and based on determining that the current of the compressor is greater than or equal to the upper limit current corresponding to the outside air temperature, when the outside air temperature is lower than a reference temperature, limit a current being applied to the compressor to less than the upper limit current corresponding to the outside air temperature, and when the outside air temperature is higher than or equal to the reference temperature, increase the current being applied to the compressor to greater than or equal to the upper limit current based on the detected temperature of the power module.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a method of controlling an air conditioner for improving cooling performance is provided. The method includes detecting, by the air conditioner, a temperature of a power module, determining, by the air conditioner, whether a current of the compressor corresponding to a target frequency of the compressor is greater than or equal to an upper limit current corresponding to an outside air temperature, and based on determining that the current of the compressor is greater than or equal to the upper limit current corresponding to the outside air temperature when the outside air temperature is lower than a reference temperature, limiting, by the air conditioner, the current being applied to the compressor to less than the upper limit current corresponding to the outside air temperature, and when the outside air temperature is higher than or equal to the reference temperature increasing, by the air conditioner, the current being applied to the compressor to greater than or equal to the upper limit current based on the detected temperature of the power module.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing one or more computer programs including computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an air conditioner for improving cooling performance individually or collectively, cause the air conditioner to perform operations are provided. The operations include detecting, by the air conditioner, a temperature of a power module, determining, by the air conditioner, whether a current of a compressor corresponding to a target frequency of the compressor is greater than or equal to an upper limit current corresponding to an outside air temperature, and based on determining that the current of the compressor is greater than or equal to the upper limit current corresponding to the outside air temperature, when the outside air temperature is lower than a reference temperature, limiting, by the air conditioner, a current being applied to the compressor to less than the upper limit current corresponding to the outside air temperature, and when the outside air temperature is higher than or equal to the reference temperature, increasing, by the air conditioner, the current being applied to the compressor to greater than or equal to the upper limit current based on the detected temperature of the power module.

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 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.

Throughout the disclosure, the expression “at least one of a, b or c” indicates only a, only b, only c, both a and b, both a and c, both b and c, all of a, b, and c, or variations thereof.

An embodiment of the disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings so that the embodiment may be easily implemented by one of ordinary skill in the art. However, the disclosure may be implemented in different forms and should not be construed as being limited to embodiments set forth herein. Furthermore, parts not related to descriptions of the disclosure are omitted to clearly explain the disclosure in the drawings, and like reference numerals denote like elements throughout.

As the terms used herein, general terms that are currently widely used are selected by taking functions in the disclosure into account, but the terms may refer to various other terms according to an intention of one of ordinary skill in the art, precedent cases, advent of new technologies, or the like. Thus, the terms used herein should be defined not by simple appellations thereof but based on the meaning of the terms together with the overall description of the disclosure.

Furthermore, although the terms including an ordinal number, such as “first”, “second”, or the like, may be used herein to describe various elements or components, these elements or components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are only used to distinguish one element or component from another element or component.

In addition, the terms used herein are only used to describe particular embodiments of the disclosure, and are not intended to limit the disclosure. Furthermore, throughout the specification, when a part is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another part, it will be understood that the part may be directly connected to or electrically coupled to the other part with one or more intervening elements therebetween. Throughout the disclosure, when a part “includes” or “comprises” an element, unless there is a particular description contrary thereto, it is understood that the part may further include other elements, not excluding the other elements.

Expressions, such as “in some embodiments of the disclosure” or “in an embodiment of the disclosure” described in various parts of this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment(s) of the disclosure.

An embodiment of the disclosure is to provide an air conditioner and a control method thereof for improving cooling performance.

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.

illustrates a method, performed by an air conditioner of applying a current to a compressor based on a temperature of a power module, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to, an air conditionermay increase a current to greater than or equal to an upper limit current corresponding to an outside air temperature based on the temperature of the power module.

The power module may be a module for applying a current to the compressor. The power module may change a frequency of the compressor by changing the current being applied to the compressor according to a control signal. The power module may include, for example, an intelligent power module (IPM). The IPM may include a power device, such as an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) or a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). The power module may have a higher risk of burn-out damage due to high temperatures than other components.

The air conditionermay obtain an upper limit current corresponding to an outside air temperature. The air conditionermay detect an outside air temperature and perform a cooling operation below an upper limit current corresponding to the detected outside air temperature.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, an upper limit current corresponding to an outside air temperature may be a maximum value of a current at which the air conditioneris operable at a predetermined efficiency under a predetermined condition corresponding to one outside air temperature, or a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined margin value from the maximum value.

The predetermined condition may be the worst condition under which an outdoor unit may be placed at the one outside air temperature.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the worst condition may be a maximum value of a temperature range of the power module at one outside air temperature. For example, the power module may have a temperature of 35° C. to 65° C. when the outside air temperature is 35° C. Accordingly, an upper limit current value when the outside air temperature is 35° C. may be a maximum value of a current at which the air conditioneris operable at the predetermined efficiency when the power module is 65° C., or a value obtained by subtracting the predetermined margin value from the maximum value.

As the outside air temperature rises, a temperature range of the power module inside the outdoor unit located outdoors also rises. Accordingly, as the outside air temperature increases, a maximum value of the current at which the air conditioneris operable at predetermined efficiency may decrease.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the worst condition may include, but is not limited to, a type of an indoor unit in addition to the temperature of the power module. For example, when the outdoor unit has a capacity of 10 kilowatts (KW), the types of indoor units that are connectable to the outdoor unit may be a 10 KW ceiling-mounted 4-way indoor unit, a 10 KW 1-way indoor unit, a 10 KW wall-mounted indoor unit, and a 10 KW floor-mounted indoor unit. When a maximum value of the current at which the air conditioneris operable at the predetermined efficiency is lowest when the floor-mounted 10 KW indoor unit is connected to the outdoor unit, an upper limit current corresponding to the outside air temperature of 35° C. may be a maximum value of the current at which the air conditioneris operable at the predetermined efficiency when the temperature of the power module is 64° C. and the floor-mounted 10 KW indoor unit is connected to the outdoor unit, or a value obtained by subtracting the predetermined margin value from the maximum value.

The predetermined efficiency may be 100% of the rated nominal performance of the air conditioner, and may be 95% or 110% thereof, but is not limited thereto.

Because an upper limit current corresponding to an outside air temperature is based on a current value under the worst condition at the corresponding outside air temperature and is a current value obtained by subtracting a safety margin value from the current value under the worst condition, a maximum current value at which the air conditioneris to be driven at the predetermined efficiency when actually driven may be greater than or equal to the upper limit current. For example, when the temperature of the power module is 45° C. while the air conditioneris driven at the outside air temperature of 35° C., a maximum current value at which the air conditionermay actually be driven at the predetermined efficiency is higher than the upper limit current, which is the maximum current value when the power module is 65° C. In addition, because there are various types of indoor units, a maximum current value at which the air conditionermay be driven at a predetermined efficiency may be different depending on a type of indoor unit connected to the outdoor unit.

Referring to, the air conditionermay increase the current to greater than or equal to the upper limit current based on an actual temperature of the power module.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, when the current being applied to the compressor exceeds the upper limit current corresponding to the outside air temperature, the air conditionermay not limit the current to less than the upper limit current but may calculate a target currentthat is greater than or equal to the upper limit current based on the actual temperature of the power module. The air conditionermay increase the current up to the calculated target current.

Accordingly, when a current limit is excessively applied even though the actual temperature of the power module is low when the outside air temperature is high, the air conditionermay output higher cooling performance by increasing the current to greater than or equal to the upper limit current according to the actual temperature of the power module.

Referring to, the air conditionermay calculate the target currentsuch that the higher the temperature of the power module, the less the amount of increase in current from the upper limit current. The air conditionermay apply the calculated target currentto the compressor. Because the temperature of the power module may increase as the current being applied to the power module increases, the higher the temperature of the power module, the lower the amount of increase in the current, and thus, the power module may be prevented from burning out due to high temperatures.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the air conditionermay calculate the target currentby further taking into account an indoor air volume as well as the upper limit current and the temperature of the power module. Because a user tends to set the indoor air volume higher when he or she does not feel cool, the air conditionermay calculate the target currentsuch that the higher the indoor air volume set in the air conditioner, the greater the amount of increase in current from the upper limit current.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the air conditionermay determine the target currentto be applied to the compressor based on the outside air temperature as well as the upper limit current corresponding to the outside air temperature, the temperature of the power module, and the indoor air volume set in the air conditioner.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the air conditionermay increase the current to greater than or equal to the upper limit current only when the outside air temperature is higher than or equal to a reference temperature. The reference temperature may be predetermined and stored in the air conditioner. When the outside air temperature is lower than the reference temperature, when the current being applied to the compressor exceeds an upper limit current, the air conditionermay limit the current to below the upper limit current.

Accordingly, by increasing the current to greater than or equal to the upper limit current only in a high-temperature interval that is an interval of temperatures higher than or equal to the reference temperature, the cooling efficiency may not be reduced due to overcooling in a non-high-temperature interval.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, when the outside air temperature is higher than or equal to the reference temperature and a revolutions per minute (RPM) of an outdoor fan of the air conditionerhas a predetermined maximum value, the air conditionermay increase the current being applied to the compressor to greater than or equal to an upper limit current corresponding to the outside air temperature.

is a block diagram of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to, the air conditionermay include a processor, memory, a power module temperature sensor, a power module, and a compressor.

The processormay generally control all operations of the air conditioner. The processormay execute programs stored in the memoryto control the power module temperature sensor, the power module, and the compressor.

The memorystores various pieces of information, data, instructions, programs, or the like, necessary for the operations of the air conditioner. The memorymay include at least one of volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof.

The memorymay store information about an upper limit current according to an outside air temperature. The memorymay store coefficient information for determining a target current to be applied to the compressorbased on an upper limit current corresponding to an outside air temperature and a temperature of the power module. The memorymay store coefficient information for determining a target current to be applied to the compressorbased on at least one of an indoor air volume set in the air conditioneror the outside air temperature in addition to the upper limit current corresponding to the outside air temperature and the temperature of the power module.