Air conditioner

Abstract

The invention discloses an air conditioner and a control method thereof.The air conditioner comprises a machine shell, a refrigerant circulation loop, an indoor unit, an outdoor unit, a wire controller and a WiFi module, and the WiFi module is integrated in the wire controller and connected with the wire controller through a serial port; the WiFi module is configured to send an instruction for reading an equipment address to the indoor unit through the wire controller after the WiFi module is powered on, and stop sending the instruction for reading the equipment address until the wire controller receives a state data packet sent by the indoor unit; address information returned by the indoor unit is received through the wire controller; the control instruction or the state query instruction is sent to the indoor unit through the wire controller, and the state information of the indoor unit is displayed after the state data packet returned by the indoor unit is received, so that communication nodes of the wire controller for controlling networking can be shortened, the wire controller can be controlled by the WiFi module, OTA upgrading is supported, the cost of setting an independent WiFi module is reduced, and the user experience is improved. And meanwhile, interfaces of the indoor unit are reduced, so that the cost of the air conditioner is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of air conditioners, and in particular to an air conditioner. Background Art

[0002] When smart homes first became popular, the common practice of air conditioner manufacturers was to install a separate WiFi module on the indoor unit of the air conditioner so that the WiFi module could directly control the indoor unit of the air conditioner. At this time, users need to install two wired controllers, the WiFi module and the wired controller, at the same time, and need to use the air conditioner indoor unit program to handle the logical conflicts between the commands issued by different controllers, which not only increases the cost of product development and manufacturing, but also reduces the compatibility of the system. For indoor units of air conditioners without OTA functions, the functions of new air conditioner optional accessories cannot be used by upgrading the indoor unit program, resulting in the inability to take advantage of the upgraded versions of mobile phone APP and WiFi modules. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner.

[0004] The present invention proposes an air conditioner, comprising: a refrigerant circulation loop, wherein the refrigerant performs a refrigeration cycle in a loop composed of a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator, wherein one of the condenser and the evaporator is an outdoor heat exchanger and the other is an indoor heat exchanger; an indoor unit, wherein the indoor unit comprises the indoor heat exchanger, and is used to perform heat exchange between the refrigerant and the indoor air; an outdoor unit, wherein the outdoor unit comprises the compressor and the outdoor heat exchanger, and is used to perform heat exchange between the refrigerant and the outdoor air; and a wire controller, which is connected to the indoor unit via a wire controller interface and is used to respond to user operation instructions and control the indoor unit. control; a WiFi module, integrated in the wire controller, connected to the wire controller through a serial port; the WiFi module is configured as follows: after power-on, the WiFi module sends a command for reading a device address to the indoor unit through the wire controller, until the wire controller receives a status data packet sent by the indoor unit, and then stops sending the command for reading the device address; receives address information returned by the indoor unit through the wire controller; sends a control command or a status query command to the indoor unit through the wire controller, and displays status information of the indoor unit after receiving the status data packet returned by the indoor unit.

[0005] In addition, the air conditioner can be controlled by a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone through the cloud, and the following additional technical features can also be provided:

[0006] Furthermore, the air conditioner also includes: an air conditioning option part, which is connected to the wire controller and the indoor unit respectively, and is used to forward communication instructions between the wire controller and the indoor unit.

[0007] Furthermore, after receiving the address information returned by the indoor unit through the wired controller, the WiFi module is further configured to: obtain device information of the air conditioner optional parts.

[0008] Further, the indoor unit is configured as follows: after the indoor unit is powered on, the indoor unit determines whether the air-conditioning optional component is connected to the air-conditioner; when it is determined that the air-conditioning optional component is connected to the air-conditioner, the indoor unit sends a handshake instruction to the air-conditioning optional component, and after successfully shaking hands with the air-conditioning optional component, the indoor unit sends a handshake instruction to the wire controller to shake hands with the wire controller; or, when it is determined that the air-conditioning optional component is not connected to the air-conditioner, the indoor unit directly sends a handshake instruction to the wire controller to shake hands with the wire controller; after the indoor unit successfully shakes hands with the wire controller, the indoor unit sends the status data packet to the wire controller every first preset time.

[0009] Furthermore, when sending a status data packet to the wire controller, the indoor unit is configured to: determine whether the air-conditioning option is connected to the air conditioner; when it is determined that the air-conditioning option is connected to the air conditioner, send the status data packet to the air-conditioning option; when it is determined that the air-conditioning option is not connected to the air conditioner, directly send the status data packet to the wire controller.

[0010] Furthermore, the air conditioning optional component is configured to: after receiving the status data packet sent by the indoor unit, add its own status information to the status data packet and send it to the wire controller.

[0011] Furthermore, the air conditioning optional component is also configured to: after receiving the control instruction sent by the wire controller, determine whether the control instruction is a control instruction sent to itself; if it is determined that the control instruction is a control instruction sent to itself, execute the control instruction and no longer forward the control instruction; if it is determined that the control instruction is not a control instruction sent to itself, do not execute the control instruction, and forward the control instruction to the indoor unit.

[0012] Furthermore, the wire controller is configured to issue a communication failure prompt message if the status data packet sent by the indoor unit or the air-conditioning optional component is not correctly received within a second preset time.

[0013] Furthermore, the wire controller is configured to: when receiving the status data packet sent by the indoor unit or the air-conditioning optional component, forward the control instruction or the status query instruction sent by the WiFi module to the indoor unit after a third preset time.

[0014] Furthermore, after stopping sending the instruction for reading the device address, the WiFi module is further configured to: receive a network configuration instruction through the wired controller to connect to the network.

[0015] According to an air conditioner of an embodiment of the present invention, the air conditioner includes: a refrigerant circulation loop, an indoor unit, an outdoor unit, a wired controller and a WiFi module. The refrigerant circulation loop allows the refrigerant to perform a refrigeration cycle in a loop composed of a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve and an evaporator. One of the condenser and the evaporator is an outdoor heat exchanger, and the other is an indoor heat exchanger. The indoor unit includes an indoor heat exchanger for heat exchange between the refrigerant and the indoor air. The outdoor unit includes a compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger for heat exchange between the refrigerant and the outdoor air. The wired controller is connected to the indoor unit through a wired controller interface, and is used to respond to user operation instructions and control the indoor unit. The WiFi module is integrated in the wired controller and connected to the wired controller through a serial port. The WiFi module is configured as follows: the WiFi module is on the After power-on, the wire controller sends a command for reading the device address to the indoor unit until the wire controller receives the status data packet sent by the indoor unit, and then stops sending the command for reading the device address; receives the address information returned by the indoor unit through the wire controller; sends a control command or a status query command to the indoor unit through the wire controller, and displays the status information of the indoor unit after receiving the status data packet returned by the indoor unit. This can shorten the communication nodes of the wire controller to control the network, so that the wire controller can be controlled by the WiFi module, support OTA upgrades, reduce the cost of setting up an independent WiFi module, and reduce the interface of the indoor unit to reduce the cost of the air conditioner.

[0016] Additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be given in part in the following description and in part will be obvious from the following description, or will be learned through practice of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and easily understood from the description of the embodiments in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0018] Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 is a structural schematic diagram of an air conditioner according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3is a communication timing diagram of a wire controller according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the communication timing between various air-conditioning components according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 5 is a flow chart of handshake between an indoor unit and a wire controller according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 6 is a flow chart of an indoor unit sending a status data packet to a wire controller according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 7 is a flow chart of configuring an air conditioner option according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 8 The present invention is a communication timing diagram of an air-conditioning optional component executing a control instruction according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0028] The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0029] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0030] The air conditioner of the present invention performs a refrigeration cycle of the air conditioner by using a compressor, a condenser, an electronic expansion valve and an evaporator. The refrigeration cycle includes a series of processes involving compression, condensation, expansion and evaporation, and supplies refrigerant to the conditioned and heat-exchanged air.

[0031] The compressor compresses the refrigerant gas at high temperature and high pressure and discharges the compressed refrigerant gas. The discharged refrigerant gas flows into the condenser. The condenser condenses the compressed refrigerant into liquid phase, and the heat is released to the surrounding environment through the condensation process.

[0032] The electronic expansion valve expands the high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant condensed in the condenser into a low-pressure liquid refrigerant. The evaporator evaporates the refrigerant expanded in the electronic expansion valve and returns the refrigerant gas in a low-temperature and low-pressure state to the compressor. The evaporator can achieve a cooling effect by utilizing the latent heat of evaporation of the refrigerant to exchange heat with the material to be cooled. In the entire cycle, the air conditioner can adjust the temperature of the indoor space.

[0033] The outdoor unit of the air conditioner refers to the part of the refrigeration cycle including the compressor and the outdoor heat exchanger, the indoor unit of the air conditioner includes the indoor heat exchanger, and the electronic expansion valve can be provided in the indoor unit or the outdoor unit. The outdoor unit of the air conditioner also includes an outdoor blower and an outdoor fan, wherein the outdoor blower is used to drive the outdoor fan to rotate, and the outdoor fan is used to drive the outdoor air to pass through the outdoor heat exchanger so that the refrigerant and the outdoor air are heat exchanged. The indoor unit of the air conditioner also includes an indoor blower and an indoor fan, wherein the indoor blower is used to drive the indoor fan to rotate, and the indoor fan is used to drive the indoor air to pass through the indoor heat exchanger so that the refrigerant and the indoor air are heat exchanged.

[0034] The indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger function as a condenser or an evaporator. When the indoor heat exchanger functions as a condenser, the air conditioner functions as a heater in a heating mode, and when the indoor heat exchanger functions as an evaporator, the air conditioner functions as a cooler in a cooling mode.

[0035] Reference below Figure 1-Figure 8 An air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention is described.

[0036] Figure 1FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 As shown, an air conditioner 10 includes: a refrigerant circulation loop 11, an indoor unit 12, an outdoor unit 13, a wired controller 14 and a WiFi module 15; wherein the refrigerant circulation loop 11 allows the refrigerant to perform a refrigeration cycle in a loop composed of a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve and an evaporator, and one of the condenser and the evaporator is an outdoor heat exchanger and the other is an indoor heat exchanger; the indoor unit 12 includes an indoor heat exchanger for performing heat exchange between the refrigerant and the indoor air; the outdoor unit 13 includes a compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger for performing heat exchange between the refrigerant and the outdoor air; the wired controller 14 is connected to the indoor unit 12 through a wired controller interface and is used to respond to user operation instructions , to control the indoor unit 12; the WiFi module 15 is integrated in the wire controller 14 and connected to the wire controller 14 through the serial port; the WiFi module 15 is configured as follows: after the WiFi module 15 is powered on, it sends a command for reading the device address to the indoor unit 12 through the wire controller 14, until the wire controller 14 receives the status data packet sent by the indoor unit 12, and then stops sending the command for reading the device address; receives the address information returned by the indoor unit 12 through the wire controller 14; sends a control command or a status query command to the indoor unit 12 through the wire controller 14, and displays the status information of the indoor unit 12 after receiving the status data packet returned by the indoor unit 12.

[0037] Specifically, a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone can send a control instruction or a status query instruction to the WiFi module 15 through the cloud. The control instruction is used to control the operating status of the air conditioner 10, and the status query instruction is used to obtain the operating status information of the air conditioner 10. Therefore, after being powered on, the WiFi module 15 of the embodiment of the present invention needs to first send an instruction to read the device address to the indoor unit 12 through the wire controller 14, and after obtaining the address of the indoor unit 12, communicate with the indoor unit 12 through the address of the indoor unit 12. That is, after being powered on, the WiFi module 15 is initialized first to obtain the device address of the indoor unit 12. In a specific embodiment, Figure 1As shown, the WiFi module 15 is integrated in the wire controller 14, and the WiFi module 15 is connected to the wire controller 14 through a serial port. The WiFi module 15 is the host, and the wire controller 14 is the slave. When the WiFi module 15 sends an instruction to read the device address to the indoor unit 12, it is forwarded through the wire controller 14. Specifically, the wire controller 14 is connected to the indoor unit 12 through a wire controller interface, and the wire controller 14 and the indoor unit main control board communicate in a current loop. During communication, the indoor unit 12 is the host, and the wire controller 14 is the slave. Therefore, the wire controller 14 can forward the instruction to read the device address sent by the WiFi module 15 only after receiving the status data packet sent by the indoor unit 12. Before the wire controller 14 receives the status data packet sent by the indoor unit 12, the WiFi module 15 needs to continuously send instructions to read the device address. It should be noted that the indoor unit 12 and the WiFi module 15, as hosts of their respective communication lines, actively send data after power-on. The indoor unit 12 sends a handshake instruction, and after successfully handshaking with the wire controller 14, sends a status data packet to the wire controller 14, so that after the wire controller 14 receives the status data packet sent by the indoor unit 12, the indoor unit 12 processes the device address reading instruction forwarded by the wire controller 14; after the WiFi module 15 is powered on, it sends a device address reading instruction to the indoor unit 12 through the wire controller 14.

[0038] Further, after receiving the device address reading instruction forwarded by the wire controller 14, the indoor unit 12 returns the address information of the indoor unit 12 to the WiFi module 15 through the wire controller 14. Afterwards, the WiFi module 15 can send a control instruction or a status query instruction to the indoor unit 12 through the wire controller 14, and after receiving the status data packet returned by the indoor unit 12, display the status information of the indoor unit 12. It can be understood that the status information of the indoor unit 12 includes the operation mode, wind speed, cooling or heating temperature, etc. of the air conditioner 10. The WiFi module 15 can display the status information of the indoor unit 12 on a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone through the cloud.

[0039] In a specific embodiment, the indoor unit 12 sends a status data packet to the wire controller 14. After receiving the status data packet of the indoor unit 12, the wire controller 14 starts to process the instruction sent by the WiFi module 15. The instruction is, for example, an instruction to read the device address. After reading the device address instruction, the wire controller 14 packages the device address instruction into a data packet of the wire controller protocol standard, and sends an address query request to the indoor unit 12. After receiving the request, the indoor unit 12 sends the address data of the indoor unit 12 to the wire controller 14. The wire controller 14 packages the address data of the indoor unit 12 into a data packet of the WiFi protocol format and sends it to the WiFi module 15. The WiFi module 15 determines that the type of the household appliance is the air conditioner 10 according to the address data of the indoor unit 12, and sends a control instruction or a status query instruction to the indoor unit 12 through the wire controller 14.

[0040] Therefore, the embodiment of the present invention integrates the WiFi module into the wire controller, and the control instructions or status query instructions issued by the WiFi module are received by the wire controller and forwarded to the indoor unit, which can shorten the communication nodes of the wire controller 14 controlling the network, so that the wire controller can be controlled by the WiFi module 15, support OTA (Over The Air, air download technology) upgrade, and reduce the cost of setting up an independent WiFi module, while reducing the interface of the indoor unit to reduce the cost of the air conditioner.

[0041] In one embodiment of the present invention, the air conditioner further includes: an air conditioner option component, which is connected to the wire controller and the indoor unit respectively, and is used to forward communication instructions between the wire controller and the indoor unit.

[0042] Specifically, the air conditioner optional parts 22 include but are not limited to a zone controller and a 3D panel. The zone controller is used to send air from the air conditioner outlet to different areas and adjust the air volume of each outlet; the 3D panel is used to adjust the wind direction of the air duct outlet. Figure 2 As shown, the air conditioning option 22 is located between the indoor unit 12 and the wire controller 14. The air conditioning option 22 and the wire controller 14 communicate through a current loop. During the communication process, the air conditioning option 22 is the host, the wire controller 14 is the slave, and the communication protocol between the air conditioning option 22 and the wire controller 14 is a standard wire controller protocol; the indoor unit 12 and the air conditioning option 22 communicate through a current loop. During the communication process, the indoor unit 12 is the host, and the air conditioning option 22 is the slave. When the indoor unit 12 and the wire controller 14 transmit communication instructions, they need to be forwarded through the air conditioning option 22. It can be understood that the communication instructions between the wire controller 14 and the indoor unit 12 include but are not limited to control instructions or status query instructions, and the control instructions or status query instructions correspond to different data packet types.

[0043] In a specific embodiment, the air conditioning option is, for example, a zone controller. Figure 3As shown in the figure, the positive level indicates the data sent by the host, and the negative level indicates the data replied by the slave. When the partition controller communicates with the indoor unit, it acts as a slave, and when the partition controller communicates with the wire controller, it acts as a host. The indoor unit sends basic data to the wire controller every 1s. The basic data includes a status data packet, which is used to indicate the operating status of the indoor unit. In this process, the indoor unit first sends the basic data to the partition controller, and the partition controller forwards the basic data to the wire controller. After the wire controller receives the basic data, it displays the operating status of the air conditioner in real time. At the same time, the wire controller has a control instruction sent to the indoor unit. After the wire controller receives the basic data, it sends the control instruction to the indoor unit through the partition controller after a delay of 300ms. After the indoor unit receives the control instruction, it replies to the wire controller through the partition controller. It should be noted that there are three control sources for the control instructions sent by the wire controller. The first source is the key operation of the wire controller itself, the second source is the wire controller forwarding the instruction of the WiFi module after receiving the control or query instruction of the WiFi module, and the third source is the wire controller forwarding the remote control signal after receiving the remote control instruction. The wire controller only sends one data packet in one communication cycle. When a communication cycle comes, if there are control command requests from the WiFi module, remote control or wire controller at the same time, the command from the WiFi module will be forwarded first, and then the command from the remote control will be forwarded after the next sending cycle, and finally its own operation command will be sent. The command sent after the indoor unit finally responds, that is, the control command corresponding to the button control of the wire controller itself, has the highest priority.

[0044] It should be noted that the communication line of the wire controller in the above embodiment is one or two layers, the first layer is the indoor unit-zone controller / 3D panel, the second layer is the zone controller / 3D panel-wire controller, and it can also be increased to three layers. Due to the forwarding mechanism, too many layers will cause transmission delay.

[0045] In one embodiment of the present invention, after receiving the address information returned by the indoor unit through the wired controller, the WiFi module is further configured to: obtain device information of the air conditioner optional parts.

[0046] Specifically, the air conditioning option is, for example, a zone controller, such as Figure 4As shown, after receiving the address information returned by the indoor unit, the wire controller forwards the address information to the WiFi module. The WiFi module determines that the type of home appliance is an air conditioner based on the address information, and sends a device information read instruction to the indoor unit. Specifically, the WiFi module first sends the device information read instruction to the wire controller, and the wire controller then forwards the device information read instruction to the indoor unit through the partition controller. After the indoor unit receives the device information read instruction, it replies with the device information to the partition controller. The partition controller adds its own device information based on the device information replied by the indoor unit and sends it to the wire controller. The wire controller sends the device information to the WiFi module. Based on this, the WiFi module determines the device information of the air conditioner indoor unit and the partition controller, and then sends a control or status query instruction to the air conditioner or air conditioner optional parts. Specifically, the device information includes but is not limited to whether the air conditioner has a fresh air system.

[0047] In one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 5 As shown, the indoor unit is configured as follows: after the indoor unit is powered on, it determines whether the air-conditioning optional accessories are connected to the air-conditioner; when it is determined that the air-conditioning optional accessories are connected to the air-conditioner, a handshake instruction is sent to the air-conditioning optional accessories, and after the handshake with the air-conditioning optional accessories is successful, a handshake instruction is sent to the wire controller to shake hands with the wire controller; or, when it is determined that the air-conditioning optional accessories are not connected to the air-conditioner, a handshake instruction is directly sent to the wire controller to shake hands with the wire controller; after the indoor unit successfully shakes hands with the wire controller, a status data packet is sent to the wire controller every first preset time.

[0048] Specifically, as mentioned above, after the indoor unit is powered on, it will actively send a handshake instruction to the wire controller. Only after the handshake is successful can it send a status data packet to the wire controller. If the air conditioner option is not connected to the air conditioner, a handshake instruction is directly sent to the wire controller to shake hands with the wire controller. If the air conditioner option is connected to the air conditioner, the indoor unit will first shake hands with the air conditioner option, and after the handshake is successful, the air conditioner option will send a handshake instruction to the wire controller to shake hands with the wire controller. In a specific embodiment, the air conditioner option is, for example, a partition controller. When the partition controller is connected to the air conditioner, Figure 4 As shown, after the indoor unit 12 is powered on, when it sends a handshake instruction to the partition controller, the indoor unit 12 acts as the host and the partition controller acts as the slave. After the partition controller recognizes the handshake instruction format sent by the indoor unit 12, it actively shakes hands with the indoor unit 12, and after the handshake is successful, it sends a handshake instruction to the wire controller 14. After the wire controller 14 successfully shakes hands with the partition controller, the indoor unit 12 sends a status data packet to the wire controller 14 every first preset time, for example 1 second, so that the wire controller 14 displays the operating status of the air conditioner in real time.

[0049] In one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 6As shown, when sending a status data packet to the wire controller, the indoor unit is configured to: determine whether the air-conditioning option is connected to the air conditioner; when it is determined that the air-conditioning option is connected to the air conditioner, send a status data packet to the air-conditioning option; when it is determined that the air-conditioning option is not connected to the air conditioner, directly send a status data packet to the wire controller.

[0050] Specifically, when the indoor unit responds to the status query instruction of the wire controller and sends a status data packet to the wire controller, if an air-conditioning option is connected to the air conditioner, the status data packet is first sent to the air-conditioning option. After receiving the status data packet sent by the indoor unit, the air-conditioning option adds its own status information to the status data packet and sends it to the wire controller, so that the wire controller can display the operating status information of the indoor unit and the air-conditioning option in real time. If the air-conditioning option is not connected to the air conditioner, the status data packet is directly sent to the wire controller, so that the wire controller can display the operating status information of the indoor unit in real time.

[0051] Furthermore, after receiving the status data packet sent by the indoor unit, the wired controller can also send the status data packet to the WiFi module. The WiFi module displays the status information of the indoor unit on a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone through the cloud, so that the user can view the status information of the indoor unit anytime and anywhere.

[0052] In one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 7 As shown, the air conditioning optional component is also configured to: after receiving the control command sent by the wire controller, determine whether the control command is a control command sent to itself; if it is determined that the control command is a control command sent to itself, execute the control command and no longer forward the control command; if it is determined that the control command is not a control command sent to itself, do not execute the control command and forward the control command to the indoor unit.

[0053] In a specific embodiment, Figure 8 As shown, the air conditioning optional part is, for example, a partition controller. In the figure, the positive level indicates the data sent by the host, and the negative level indicates the data replied by the slave. The partition controller acts as a slave when communicating with the indoor unit, and acts as a host when communicating with the wire controller. The indoor unit sends basic data to the wire controller every 1 second. After receiving the basic data, the wire controller sends a control instruction to the partition controller. After receiving the control instruction sent by the wire controller, the partition controller determines that the control instruction is a control instruction sent to itself, then executes the control instruction, and responds to the status, and no longer forwards the control instruction to achieve control of the air conditioning optional part. It should be noted that the indoor unit and the air conditioning optional part correspond to different data packet types respectively. The air conditioning optional part determines whether the control instruction is sent to itself or the indoor unit according to the data packet type, so that the control instruction from the wire controller can be correctly allocated to the air conditioning optional part or the indoor unit.

[0054] In one embodiment of the present invention, the wired controller is configured to issue a communication failure prompt message if the status data packet sent by the indoor unit or the air conditioner optional component is not correctly received within the second preset time.

[0055] Specifically, as mentioned above, when the air conditioner optional part is connected to the air conditioner, the status information of the indoor unit and the air conditioner optional part will be sent to the wire controller every first preset time. In a specific embodiment, if the status data packet sent by the indoor unit or the air conditioner optional part is not correctly received within the second preset time, such as 10 seconds, a prompt message of communication failure is issued, such as: "Sending communication failure, please check in time".

[0056] In one embodiment of the present invention, the wired controller is configured to: when receiving a status data packet sent by the indoor unit or the air conditioning option, forward the control instruction or status query instruction sent by the WiFi module to the indoor unit after a third preset time.

[0057] Specifically, the status data packet includes the type of the indoor unit. When the wire controller receives the status data packet sent by the indoor unit or the air conditioner optional parts, it determines whether the indoor unit accepts WiFi command control. If the indoor unit does not support WiFi command control, the wire controller does not forward the WiFi command. At this time, the wire controller only parses and responds to basic WiFi control (such as power on / off, mode, temperature and wind speed control). If the indoor unit supports WiFi command control, it forwards the control command or status query command sent by the WiFi module to the indoor unit after the third preset time. Exemplarily, the third preset time is 300ms.

[0058] In one embodiment of the present invention, after stopping sending the instruction to read the device address, the WiFi module is further configured to: receive a network configuration instruction through a wired controller to connect to the network.

[0059] Specifically, after receiving the key operation, the wired controller adds a network configuration mark on the display screen of the wired controller when forwarding the WiFi information replied by the communication host of the wired controller, and instructs the WiFi module to configure the network. In other embodiments, the remote control command system can also be used to connect to the network. Specifically, when the indoor unit receives and judges the remote control command, and replies to the WiFi command forwarded by the communication slave of the wired controller, the network configuration mark is added, so that the wired controller forwards it to the WiFi module and instructs the WiFi module to configure the network. After the WiFi module is connected to the network, the mobile terminal such as a mobile phone can send control instructions or status query instructions to the WiFi module through the cloud, and after sending the status data packet to the WiFi module, the WiFi module can display the status information of the indoor unit on the mobile terminal such as a mobile phone through the cloud, so that the user can control the air conditioner anytime and anywhere through the mobile terminal and view the status information of the indoor unit.

[0060] According to an air conditioner of an embodiment of the present invention, the air conditioner includes: a refrigerant circulation loop, an indoor unit, an outdoor unit, a wired controller and a WiFi module. The refrigerant circulation loop allows the refrigerant to perform a refrigeration cycle in a loop composed of a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve and an evaporator. One of the condenser and the evaporator is an outdoor heat exchanger, and the other is an indoor heat exchanger. The indoor unit includes an indoor heat exchanger for heat exchange between the refrigerant and the indoor air. The outdoor unit includes a compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger for heat exchange between the refrigerant and the outdoor air. The wired controller is connected to the indoor unit through a wired controller interface, and is used to respond to user operation instructions and control the indoor unit. The WiFi module is integrated in the wired controller and connected to the wired controller through a serial port. The WiFi module is configured as follows: the WiFi module is on the After power-on, the wire controller sends a command for reading the device address to the indoor unit until the wire controller receives the status data packet sent by the indoor unit, and then stops sending the command for reading the device address; receives the address information returned by the indoor unit through the wire controller; sends a control command or a status query command to the indoor unit through the wire controller, and displays the status information of the indoor unit after receiving the status data packet returned by the indoor unit. This can shorten the communication nodes of the wire controller to control the network, so that the wire controller can be controlled by the WiFi module, support OTA upgrades, reduce the cost of setting up an independent WiFi module, and reduce the interface of the indoor unit to reduce the cost of the air conditioner.

[0061] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "illustrative embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples" means that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example.

[0062] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and that the scope of the present invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An air conditioner, characterized in that: include: A refrigerant circulation loop, wherein the refrigerant performs a refrigeration cycle in a loop consisting of a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator, wherein one of the condenser and the evaporator is an outdoor heat exchanger and the other is an indoor heat exchanger; An indoor unit, the indoor unit comprising the indoor heat exchanger, configured to perform heat exchange between the refrigerant and indoor air; an outdoor unit, the outdoor unit comprising the compressor and the outdoor heat exchanger, and configured to perform heat exchange between the refrigerant and outdoor air; A wired controller connected to the indoor unit via a wired controller interface, and used to respond to a user's operation instruction to control the indoor unit; A WiFi module is integrated in the wire controller and connected to the wire controller via a serial port; The WiFi module is configured to: after the WiFi module is powered on, send a command for reading the device address to the indoor unit through the wire controller, until the wire controller receives a status data packet sent by the indoor unit, and then stops sending the command for reading the device address; Receiving the address information returned by the indoor unit through the wired controller; A control instruction or a status query instruction is sent to the indoor unit through the wire controller, and after receiving a status data packet returned by the indoor unit, the status information of the indoor unit is displayed.

2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: An air conditioning optional part, wherein the air conditioning optional part is connected to the wire controller and the indoor unit respectively, and the air conditioning optional part is used to forward communication instructions between the wire controller and the indoor unit.

3. The air conditioner according to claim 2, characterized in that: After receiving the address information returned by the indoor unit through the wired controller, the WiFi module is further configured to: Get the device information of the air conditioner option.

4. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that: The indoor unit is configured as: After the indoor unit is powered on, determining whether the air conditioner optional part is connected to the air conditioner; When it is determined that the air conditioner optional part is connected to the air conditioner, a handshake instruction is sent to the air conditioner optional part, and after the handshake with the air conditioner optional part is successfully completed, a handshake instruction is sent to the wire controller to perform a handshake with the wire controller; or, When it is determined that the air conditioner optional part is not connected to the air conditioner, directly sending a handshake instruction to the wire controller to shake hands with the wire controller; After the indoor unit and the wire controller have successfully handshaked, the status data packet is sent to the wire controller at a first preset time interval.

5. The air conditioner according to claim 4, characterized in that: When sending a status data packet to the wired controller, the indoor unit is configured as follows: determining whether the air conditioner optional part is connected to the air conditioner; When it is determined that the air conditioner optional component is connected to the air conditioner, sending the status data packet to the air conditioner optional component; When it is determined that the air conditioner optional component is not connected to the air conditioner, the status data packet is directly sent to the wire controller.

6. The air conditioner according to claim 5, characterized in that: The air conditioning option is configured as: After receiving the status data packet sent by the indoor unit, the status information of the indoor unit is added to the status data packet and sent to the wire controller.

7. The air conditioner according to claim 5, characterized in that: The air conditioning option is also configured as: After receiving the control instruction sent by the wire controller, determining whether the control instruction is a control instruction sent to itself; If it is determined that the control instruction is a control instruction sent to itself, the control instruction is executed and the control instruction is no longer forwarded; If it is determined that the control instruction is not a control instruction sent to itself, the control instruction is not executed, and the control instruction is forwarded to the indoor unit.

8. The air conditioner according to claim 6, characterized in that: The wire controller is configured as follows: If the status data packet sent by the indoor unit or the air-conditioning optional component is not correctly received within the second preset time, a prompt message of a communication failure is issued.

9. The air conditioner according to claim 6, characterized in that: The wire controller is configured as follows: When the status data packet sent by the indoor unit or the air conditioning optional component is received, the control instruction or the status query instruction sent by the WiFi module to the indoor unit is forwarded after a third preset time.

10. The air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that: After stopping sending the instruction for reading the device address, the WiFi module is further configured to: The network configuration instruction is received through the wire controller to connect to the network.

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