Multi-umit air conditioner and control method

Abstract

Multi-unit air conditioner and method for controlling the same, the multi-unit air conditioner including a plurality of outdoor heat exchangers, a plurality of outdoor fans for cooling the outdoor heat exchangers, and control means for controlling rotation speeds of the outdoor fans, to control a gas / liquid refrigerant mixing ratio introduced into the gas-liquid separator through the outdoor heat exchangers, thereby optimizing the mixing ratio of the refrigerant introduced to a gas-liquid separator proper to an operation condition, for improving an air conditioning efficiency. The control means include a temperature sensor for measuring a temperature of refrigerant introduced from the outdoor heat exchangers into the gas-liquid separator, and a microcomputer for comparing a refrigerant temperature measured with the temperature sensor and a preset refrigerant temperature, to detect a refrigerant mixing ratio at the outdoor unit piping system, and controlling rotation speeds of the outdoor fans so that detected refrigerant mixing ratios are the same with refrigerant mixing ratios preset to be proper to operation conditions, respectively.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority from Korean Application No. P2002-32899 filed on June 12, 2002, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. technical field [0002] The invention relates to a multi-unit air conditioner and a control method thereof. Background technique [0003] Generally, an air conditioner is a device used to cool or heat spaces, such as living spaces, restaurants, and offices. Currently, in order to efficiently cool or heat a space divided into a plurality of rooms, multi-unit air conditioners have been continuously developed. A multi-unit air conditioner usually has an outdoor unit and multiple indoor units, each of which is connected to the outdoor unit and installed indoors to cool or heat the room in one of the cooling or heating modes run. [0004] However, even if some rooms require heating and other rooms require cooling in the divided space, the multi-unit air conditioner can only operate in a uniform cooling mode or heati...

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Problems solved by technology

[0004] However, even if some rooms require heating and other rooms require cooling in the divided space, the multi-unit air conditioner can only operate in a unified cooling mode or heating mode, and the multi-unit air conditioner suffers from the inability to properly meet the requirements. Aspect restrictions

[0005] For example, even in buildings where the temperature of the rooms varies by location or time of day, rooms on the north side of the building require heating, and rooms on the south side of the building are exposed to the sun and require cooling. Multi-unit air conditioners that operate in single mode are unsolvable

[0006] In addition, buildings equipped with computer rooms require cooling not only in summer but also in winter to solve the heat load problem of computer-related equipment, and the multi-unit air conditioners of the prior art cannot adequately solve this requirement

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