Indoor AC Leak Sensor Disconnection Indication by LED
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional air conditioners with floor-standing indoor units prioritize displaying refrigerant leakage information over communication and disconnection issues, leading to service technicians addressing only refrigerant leakage, resulting in additional measures needed for disconnection problems after the fact.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a luminous unit that changes its illuminated state to indicate signal transmission path disconnections between the refrigerant sensor and control board, allowing technicians to identify disconnection issues without relying on remote controller displays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If refrigerant leakage information is displayed with higher priority on the remote controller, then refrigerant leakage detection is improved, but disconnection problem detection deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The display information is segmented into two independent channels: the remote controller displays high-priority refrigerant leakage information, while the indoor unit's luminous unit displays disconnection problem information. This segmentation allows both types of information to be displayed simultaneously without interfering with each other, resolving the contradiction between prioritizing refrigerant leakage detection and maintaining disconnection problem detection capability
Solution Approach 2:
The luminous unit acts as an intermediary display device that provides additional information about signal line disconnection problems. While the remote controller handles refrigerant leakage alerts, the luminous unit supplements this by indicating disconnection status through different illumination patterns, ensuring neither type of problem information is lost
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the remote controller displays only refrigerant leakage information, then refrigerant safety is improved, but service technician workability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The notification system is segmented into two functions: the remote controller maintains its specialized role for refrigerant safety alerts, while the luminous unit on the indoor unit handles equipment status information including disconnection problems. This segmentation allows service technicians to quickly identify equipment issues without compromising refrigerant safety warnings
Solution Approach 2:
The luminous unit provides self-service diagnostic information directly at the air conditioner unit, allowing service technicians to immediately identify disconnection problems without needing to interpret remote controller displays or perform additional diagnostic steps, thereby improving workability
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration improves workability by enabling simultaneous addressing of refrigerant leakage and disconnection problems without impairing the measures for flammable refrigerant leakage detection.
Implementation Method 1
a refrigerant sensor that detects a leakage of a refrigerant leaked from the floor-standing indoor unit
Implementation Method 2
a luminous unit to change between a first illuminated state indicating that a signal transmission path transmitting the detection signal to the control board is disconnected, and a second illuminated state indicating that the signal transmission path is not disconnected
Data Source
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AI summary
An air conditioner includes: a floor-standing indoor unit; a control board (9) that controls the floor-standing indoor unit; a refrigerant sensor (7) that is installed in the floor-standing indoor unit and outputs a detection signal (71) with a duty ratio varied in accordance with the concentration of a refrigerant detected; and an LED (302) as a luminous unit that is installed in the floor-standing indoor unit and changes between a first illuminated state indicating that a signal transmission path transmitting the detection signal (71) to the control board (9) is disconnected, and a second illuminated state indicating that the signal transmission path is not disconnected.