Air conditioner
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional air conditioners face issues with insufficient information exchange between the air conditioner body and remote controller, leading to inaccurate display of operation time and power consumption for both air-conditioning and maintenance operations, and difficulties in recognizing the actual direction of the louver during automatic operation modes.
Innovation Solution
The air conditioner system employs bidirectional communication between the air conditioner body and remote controller, using RF modules for data exchange, and includes a calculator to calculate and display operation time and power consumption for both air-conditioning and maintenance operations, while also recognizing and displaying the actual louver direction through RF module standby management and MPU board functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the air conditioner body automatically performs maintenance operations (drying operation and filter cleaning) separately from user stop operation, then the maintenance function is improved, but the accuracy of operation time and power consumption notification deteriorates because these maintenance times and consumptions are not displayed to the user
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments operation information into two distinct categories: air-conditioning operation information and maintenance operation information. The notification unit separately notifies users of air-conditioning operation time and power consumption, as well as maintenance operation time and power consumption. This segmentation allows both types of information to be presented clearly without confusion, resolving the contradiction between providing maintenance functionality and maintaining information accuracy.
2Loss of information
If the remote controller is in reception standby state continuously to receive operation information, then the information exchange is improved, but the battery consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action by having the remote controller enter reception standby state only at specific intervals rather than continuously. The controller periodically checks for operation information from the air conditioner body, transmits control signals, and receives notifications. This periodic reception standby approach ensures necessary information exchange while significantly reducing battery consumption compared to continuous standby mode.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the louver direction is automatically changed during automatic operation mode or dew-drop control operation, then the air flow control function is improved, but the accuracy of louver direction display deteriorates because the displayed direction does not match the actual direction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by having the air conditioner body transmit actual louver direction information to the remote controller via bidirectional communication. The notification unit notifies the user of the actual louver direction based on information received from the air conditioner body, not just the direction commanded by the remote controller. This feedback mechanism ensures the displayed direction accurately reflects the actual louver position, even when automatic adjustments occur.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An air conditioner includes an air conditioner body (2) and a remote controller (1) that controls the operation of the air conditioner body (2). The air conditioner body (2) includes a body receiver (21) that receives a control signal for controlling the operation from the remote controller (1), and a body transmitter (21) that transmits operation information for the air conditioner body (2) to the remote controller (1). The remote controller (1) includes a remote-controller transmitter (11) that transmits the control signal for controlling the operation to the air conditioner body (2), a remote-controller receiver (11) that receives the operation information transmitted from the air conditioner body (2), and a power-saving standby unit (14a) that sets the remote-controller receiver (11) as a reception standby state when a request signal to request operation information is transmitted from the remote controller (1) to the air conditioner body (2) at predetermined time interval, and that releases the reception standby state after a given time has passed.