Multi-connected air conditioning system and mode correction method thereof

Abstract

The invention provides a multi-connected air conditioning system and a mode correction method thereof. The mode correction method of the multi-connected air conditioning system comprises the following steps that S1, the operation mode of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit which are turned on for the first time is recorded as a first operation mode; s2, the operation mode of the subsequently-opened indoor unit is obtained to serve as a second operation mode; and S3, whether the first operation mode and the second operation mode are the same or not is judged, and on the basis of the judgment result, the indoor temperature and the set temperature, the operation modes of part of the indoor unit and the outdoor unit are changed. By adopting a mode comparison mode, automatic detection of mode conflicts is realized; in addition, automatic mode selection in mode conflict is realized by combining mode selection of room temperature and set temperature; besides, automatic range adjustment is carried out according to the selected operation mode, automatic solution of mode conflicts is realized, labor cost and time cost are reduced, and problems are solved more efficiently, simply and intelligently.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of household appliances, and particularly to a multi-connected air conditioning system and a method for correcting its mode. Background Art

[0002] Air conditioning systems are widely used in social life. Conventional air conditioning systems have various operating modes such as refrigeration, heating, dehumidification, and ventilation. For the sake of efficiency and intelligence, multi-connected air conditioning systems have emerged. A multi-connected air conditioning system, commonly known as "one outdoor unit serving multiple indoor units", is characterized in that one outdoor unit is connected to multiple indoor units through pipelines, and each indoor unit can operate independently, stop, or even be grouped or centrally controlled. However, because the outlet air temperatures of the air-conditioned rooms in the refrigeration and heating modes are very different, if the mode is set incorrectly, it will affect the user experience.

[0003] The current situation of mode conflicts is mainly manifested as the system cannot operate normally when the modes set in different rooms or areas are inconsistent. Specifically, when a certain room in a multi-connected unit system is set to the refrigeration mode while another room is set to the heating mode, the system will give a "mode conflict" prompt, resulting in the air conditioner not working properly because a multi-connected unit system usually only supports one operating mode. In addition, sometimes the settings may be changed accidentally by touching the mode key, resulting in mode conflicts.

[0004] Mode conflicts will cause the air conditioning system to fail to operate normally, specifically manifested as the system reporting an error or failing to start. For example, when the first indoor unit operates in the "refrigeration (including dehumidification)" mode, subsequent indoor units in the heating mode will give a mode conflict prompt, resulting in the system not working properly. In addition, mode conflicts will also affect the refrigeration or heating effect of the air conditioner and reduce the user experience.

[0005] The current solution is to check the mode settings of each room and adjust them to the same mode (such as all set to refrigeration or heating), so that the system can operate normally. However, this method is time-consuming and laborious, especially when the number of indoor units is large. In addition, in scenarios that pay attention to privacy (such as hotels, etc.), the practice of checking each room one by one is likely to bring a bad experience to users and reduce user satisfaction. Therefore, an effective and simple method for resolving mode conflicts is needed. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Aiming at the deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention provides a multi-connected air conditioning system and a method for correcting its mode, which solve the problem of the lack of an effective and simple method for resolving mode conflicts in the prior art.

[0007] In a first aspect, according to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for correcting the operation mode of a multi-connected air-conditioning system, including the following steps: S1. Record the operation modes of the first-opened indoor unit and outdoor unit as the first operation mode; S2. Obtain the operation mode of the subsequently opened indoor unit as the second operation mode; S3. Determine whether the first operation mode and the second operation mode are the same, and based on the determination result, indoor temperature, and set temperature, change the operation modes of some of the indoor units and the outdoor unit.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the operation modes include heating and cooling.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the first operation mode and the second operation mode are the same, do not change the operation modes of any of the indoor units and the outdoor unit.

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present invention, based on the determination result, indoor temperature, and set temperature, changing the operation modes of some of the indoor units and the outdoor unit is as follows: when the first operation mode and the second operation mode are different, select the correct operation mode based on the magnitudes of the indoor temperature and the set temperature, and change the first operation mode or the second operation mode to the correct operation mode.

[0011] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the indoor temperature is greater than the set temperature, the correct operation mode is cooling.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the indoor temperature is less than the set temperature, the correct operation mode is heating.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the first operation mode is the correct operation mode, set the subsequently opened indoor units to the correct operation mode.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the second operation mode is the correct operation mode, set the first-opened indoor unit and the outdoor unit to the correct operation mode.

[0015] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the conflicting modes cannot be corrected, further judgment and correction are made based on the ambient temperature and the indoor temperature setting.

[0016] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the ambient temperature is greater than the indoor temperature, the correct operation mode is cooling.

[0017] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the ambient temperature is less than the indoor temperature, the correct operation mode is heating.

[0018] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the first operation mode is the correct operation mode, set the subsequently opened indoor units to the correct operation mode.

[0019] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the second operating mode is the correct operating mode, the first-opened indoor unit and outdoor unit are set to the correct operating mode.

[0020] In a second aspect, according to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a multi-connected air conditioning system, including: a single outdoor unit for heat exchange between indoors and outdoors; a plurality of indoor units arranged in a plurality of rooms and set by separate controllers for interaction with users; and a master controller for controlling the single outdoor unit and the plurality of indoor units, and performing mode error correction by using the mode correction method of a multi-connected air conditioning system as described in the first aspect.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: by adopting a mode comparison method, automatic detection of mode conflicts is achieved; in addition, automatic mode selection in mode conflicts is realized by combining the mode selection of room temperature and set temperature; furthermore, by combining automatic range adjustment according to the selected operating mode, automatic resolution of mode conflicts is achieved, reducing labor costs and time costs, and solving problems more efficiently, simply and intelligently. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 It is a schematic flowchart of the mode correction method of the multi-connected air conditioning system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the composition of the multi-connected air conditioning system according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0024] Before proceeding with the following detailed description, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document. The terms "coupled," "connected," and their derivatives refer to any direct or indirect communication or connection between two or more elements, regardless of whether those elements are in physical contact with each other. The terms "transmit," "receive," and "communicate," and their derivatives, encompass both direct and indirect communication. The terms "comprise" and "include," and their derivatives, mean including but not limited to. The term "or" is inclusive, meaning and / or. The phrase "associated with," and its derivatives, means including, included within, interconnected, containing, contained within, connected or connected to, coupled or coupled to, communicating with, cooperating with, interlacing, juxtaposed, adjacent, bound or bound to, having, having an attribute, having a relationship or having a relationship with, and so on. The term "controller" refers to any device, system, or portion thereof that controls at least one operation. Such a controller can be implemented in hardware, or in a combination of hardware and software and / or firmware. The functions associated with any particular controller can be centralized or distributed, whether local or remote. The phrase "at least one," when used in conjunction with a list of items, means that different combinations of one or more of the listed items can be used, and it may only be necessary to have one item in the list. For example, "at least one of A, B, C" includes any one of the following combinations: A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, A and B and C.

[0025] Definitions of other specific words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document. Those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that, in many instances, if not most instances, such definitions apply to both the prior and future use of the words and phrases so defined.

[0026] In this patent document, the application combinations of modules and the hierarchical division of sub-modules are only for illustration purposes. Without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, the application combinations of modules and the hierarchical division of sub-modules can have different forms.

[0027] To better understand the present invention, the prior art will be reviewed first.

[0028] Generally speaking, for multi-split air conditioners, the first unit to be turned on takes precedence. If there is a conflict between the mode of the later turned-on unit and the previous mode, a "mode conflict" will be reported. For example, in winter, the heating mode is normally to be turned on. If someone accidentally turns on the cooling or dehumidifying mode, all the indoor units of the heating mode turned on later will report "mode conflict". However, in this case, in winter, if the first indoor unit operates in the "cooling (including dehumidifying)" mode, and subsequent indoor units in this system select the heating mode to start up, a mode conflict prompt will appear; similarly, the same is true when the heating mode is turned on first and then the cooling mode.

[0029] In some multi-connected air-conditioning systems, the mode priority is the master-slave mode. That is, in a set of outdoor unit systems, one indoor unit must be set as the master indoor unit, and the rest of the indoor units are slave indoor units. The system mode is based on the operating mode of the master indoor unit. For example, when the operating mode of the master indoor unit is set to the cooling mode, the operating mode of the slave indoor units also synchronously switches to the cooling mode following the master indoor unit's operating mode. Among them, the operating mode of the master indoor unit can be set to any mode (including the automatic mode), and the slave indoor units cannot be set to a mode that conflicts with the master indoor unit's mode (that is, when the master indoor unit is in the cooling mode, the slave indoor units can only be set to the cooling mode). If the operating mode of the slave indoor units conflicts with the operating mode of the master indoor unit (that is, the indoor units under the same outdoor unit cannot be both in the cooling and heating modes), the operating mode of the slave indoor units synchronously converts to the same mode as the master indoor unit's operating mode. However, in this case, if the master indoor unit's mode is set incorrectly, the entire system will not work properly. This highly depends on the correctness of the master indoor unit's mode setting. Therefore, the flexibility of the entire system is poor.

[0030] As can be seen from the above and as described in the background art, in the prior art, there is a lack of an effective and simple method for resolving mode conflicts and enabling the system to operate automatically and properly. To address the above problems, as Figure 1 shown, according to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for correcting the mode of a multi-connected air-conditioning system is provided, including the following steps: S1, record the operating modes of the first-opened indoor unit and outdoor unit as the first operating mode; S2, obtain the operating mode of the subsequently opened indoor unit as the second operating mode; S3, determine whether the first operating mode and the second operating mode are the same, and based on the determination result, indoor temperature, and set temperature, change the operating modes of some indoor units and outdoor units. By adopting the method of mode comparison, automatic detection of mode conflicts is achieved; in addition, through the mode selection combined with the indoor temperature and set temperature, automatic mode selection in mode conflicts is realized; furthermore, by automatically adjusting the range according to the selected operating mode, automatic resolution of mode conflicts is achieved, reducing labor costs and time costs, and more efficiently, simply, and intelligently solving the problem.

[0031] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the operating modes include heating and cooling. A refrigerator is a device that reduces the temperature of an object through a specific refrigeration cycle. Its working principle mainly relies on the cyclic flow of a refrigerant among components such as an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser, and an expansion valve to achieve heat absorption and discharge. In the cooling mode, the refrigerator absorbs the heat of the object to be cooled through the evaporator and then discharges the heat to the external environment through the condenser. The heating function provides heat to an object in a certain way to increase its temperature. This is essentially contradictory to the cooling function. If the heating and cooling functions are turned on simultaneously, the refrigerant cycle inside the refrigerator will be severely disturbed, resulting in the device being unable to operate normally. In addition, turning on both functions simultaneously will also cause energy waste and reduce the energy efficiency ratio of the device.

[0032] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the first operating mode is the same as the second operating mode, the operating modes of any indoor unit and outdoor unit are not changed. In this corresponding situation, the settings of each indoor unit are reasonable and correct, so the access of an error correction mechanism is not required yet. This situation is generally the most common one. For example, it is set to cooling in summer or heating in winter.

[0033] To determine the correctness of the two conflicting modes, according to an embodiment of the present invention, based on the judgment result, the indoor temperature, and the set temperature, change the operating modes of some indoor units and outdoor units to: when the first operating mode is different from the second operating mode, select the correct operating mode based on the magnitudes of the indoor temperature and the set temperature, and change the first operating mode or the second operating mode to the correct operating mode. The indoor temperature combined with the set temperature can be used as a good reference because generally, the user's setting of the air conditioner is based on the feeling of the indoor temperature, and generally the set temperature will not be incorrect. Even if the operating mode is set incorrectly, because the set temperature often requires the user to adjust it multiple times using the remote control. Therefore, these two temperatures can objectively reflect the air conditioner operating mode that the user really wants. For example, according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the indoor temperature is greater than the set temperature, the correct operating mode is cooling. Generally, this applies to the situation in summer. In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the indoor temperature is less than the set temperature, the correct operating mode is heating. And this applies to the situation in winter.

[0034] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the first operating mode is the correct operating mode, set the subsequently turned-on indoor units to the correct operating mode. For example, when the first turned-on indoor unit and outdoor unit are set to cooling (in the case of summer), the subsequently turned-on indoor units are set to heating. At this time, by comparing the indoor temperature of 30 degrees with the set temperature of 23 degrees, since 30 degrees is greater than 23 degrees, it can be known that the correct operating mode of the air conditioner should be cooling, so the heating mode is incorrect. Therefore, the mode of the subsequently turned-on indoor units should be set to cooling.

[0035] Similarly, according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the second operating mode is the correct operating mode, the first-opened indoor unit and outdoor unit are set to the correct operating mode. Taking a similar example (summer) as an illustration, when the first-started indoor unit and outdoor unit are set to heating, the subsequently opened indoor units are set to cooling. At this time, by comparing the indoor temperature of 30 degrees with the set temperature of 23 degrees, since 30 degrees is greater than 23 degrees, it can be known that the correct operating mode of the air conditioner should be cooling, so the heating mode is incorrect. Therefore, the modes of the first-started indoor unit and outdoor unit should be set to cooling.

[0036] In addition, in order to further ensure the correctness of mode correction, the correct mode determination can be further dependent on the ambient temperature because the ambient temperature is objective and to a certain extent indicates the mode in which the air conditioner should operate. According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the conflicting modes cannot be corrected, the mode is further judged and corrected based on the ambient temperature and the indoor temperature setting. That is to say, the mode judgment can be made more objectively by comparing the ambient temperature and the indoor temperature. According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the ambient temperature is greater than the indoor temperature, the correct operating mode is cooling. When the ambient temperature is greater than the indoor temperature, it means that the current season should also be summer, so cooling should be carried out. Similarly, according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the ambient temperature is less than the indoor temperature, the correct operating mode is heating. When the ambient temperature is less than the indoor temperature, it means that it is probably winter at this time, so heating is required.

[0037] Similarly, after determining the correct operating mode, corresponding actions need to be taken for specific components. According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the first operating mode is the correct operating mode, the subsequently opened indoor units are set to the correct operating mode. However, according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the second operating mode is the correct operating mode, the first-opened indoor unit and outdoor unit are set to the correct operating mode.

[0038] As Figure 2 shown, according to another embodiment of the present invention, a multi-connected air-conditioning system is provided, including: a single outdoor unit for heat exchange between indoor and outdoor; a plurality of indoor units arranged in a plurality of rooms and set by separate controllers for interaction with users; a master controller for controlling the single outdoor unit and the plurality of indoor units, and performing mode error correction by using the mode correction method of a multi-connected air-conditioning system as described above.

[0039] The present invention may be a system, a method, and / or a computer program product. The computer program product may include a computer-readable storage medium having thereon computer-readable program instructions for causing a processor to implement various aspects of the present invention.

[0040] A computer-readable storage medium can be a tangible device that holds and stores instructions for use by an instruction execution device. A computer-readable storage medium may include, for example, but is not limited to, an electrical storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable storage medium include: a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as a punched card or raised structures in grooves having instructions stored thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0041] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. The above description is exemplary, not exhaustive, and is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations are obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art in the technical field without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The selection of the terms used herein is intended to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application, or the improvement of the technology in the market, or to enable other ordinary skill in the art in the technical field to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A mode correction method for a multi-connected air conditioning system, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1, recording the operation mode of the indoor unit and the outdoor unit turned on for the first time as the first operation mode; S2, obtaining the operation mode of the subsequently turned-on indoor unit as the second operation mode; S3. Determine whether the first operation mode and the second operation mode are the same, and change the operation modes of some indoor and outdoor units based on the determination result, the indoor temperature and the set temperature.

2. A mode correction method for a multi-connected air conditioning system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The operation modes include heating and cooling.

3. A mode correction method for a multi-connected air conditioning system as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that: When the first operation mode and the second operation mode are the same, the operation mode of any indoor unit and outdoor unit is not changed.

4. A mode correction method for a multi-connected air conditioning system as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that: Based on the judgment results, indoor temperature and set temperature, the operation modes of some indoor and outdoor units are changed as follows: When the first operation mode and the second operation mode are different, a correct operation mode is selected based on the indoor temperature and the set temperature, and the first operation mode or the second operation mode is changed to the correct operation mode.

5. A mode correction method for a multi-connected air conditioning system as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that: When the indoor temperature is greater than the set temperature, the correct operating mode is cooling.

6. A mode correction method for a multi-connected air conditioning system as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that: When the indoor temperature is lower than the set temperature, the correct operating mode is heating.

7. A mode correction method for a multi-connected air conditioning system as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that: When the first operation mode is the correct operation mode, the subsequently turned-on indoor unit is set to the correct operation mode.

8. A mode correction method for a multi-connected air conditioning system as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that: When the second operation mode is the correct operation mode, the indoor unit and the outdoor unit turned on for the first time are set to the correct operation mode.

9. A mode correction method for a multi-connected air conditioning system as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that: When the conflicting mode cannot be corrected, the mode is further determined and corrected based on the ambient temperature and indoor temperature settings.

10. A mode correction method for a multi-connected air conditioning system according to claim 9, characterized in that: When the ambient temperature is greater than the indoor temperature, the correct operating mode is cooling.

11. A mode correction method for a multi-connected air conditioning system as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that: When the ambient temperature is lower than the indoor temperature, the correct operating mode is heating.

12. A mode correction method for a multi-connected air conditioning system as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that: When the first operation mode is the correct operation mode, the subsequently turned-on indoor unit is set to the correct operation mode.

13. A mode correction method for a multi-connected air conditioning system as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that: When the second operation mode is the correct operation mode, the indoor unit and the outdoor unit turned on for the first time are set to the correct operation mode.

14. A multi-connected air conditioning system, characterized in that: include: A single outdoor unit for indoor and outdoor heat exchange; Multiple indoor units are set up in multiple rooms and are configured with separate controllers for interaction with users; A master controller is used to control the single outdoor unit and the multiple indoor units, and to correct mode errors using a mode correction method for a multi-split air conditioning system as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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