KR100200785B1 - Sterilization control method of airconditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an air conditioner sterilization control method for operating a heating cycle for the purpose of sterilization of the indoor unit during the summer cooling operation of the air conditioner.

As described above, in the present invention, an air conditioner having a cooling / heating cycle including a compressor, a condenser, a capillary tube, an evaporator, a four-way valve, and a refrigerant pipe connecting them in series, wherein the air conditioning includes sterilizing heating for a predetermined time during the cooling operation. The present invention relates to a method for controlling sterilization, in which germs parasitic to the indoor heat exchanger are naturally removed during sterilization heating, thereby achieving comfortable cooling in the room and keeping indoor air clean.

Description

Sterilization Control Method of Air Conditioner

The present invention relates to a sterilization control method of an air conditioner, and more particularly, air conditioning for evaporating condensate and condensate of an indoor heat exchanger using heat radiation in a heating cycle of condensate generated in an indoor heat exchanger during a summer cooling cycle operation. The present invention relates to a sterilization control method.

In general, the heat pump type air conditioner is to reverse the principle of the refrigeration cycle that absorbs the heat of the indoor air and discharges it to the outside to absorb heat from the outside to radiate heat into the room.

1 is a general heat pump type cooling / heating cycle diagram illustrating a cooling cycle as follows. The compressor 10 sucks the gas refrigerant evaporated from the indoor heat exchanger 60 and compresses the gas refrigerant into a state in which it can be easily liquefied by air at room temperature to produce a high temperature and high pressure gas refrigerant to the outdoor heat exchanger 30, and The heat exchanger 30 is heat exchanged by air at room temperature to create a high pressure liquid refrigerant. At this time, the outdoor fan 40 blows the surrounding air heat exchanged by the outdoor heat exchanger 30 out of the cooling cycle. The high pressure liquid refrigerant circulated in the outdoor heat exchanger 30 is converted into a low pressure, low temperature liquid refrigerant by resistance while passing through the thin capillary tube 50 and enters the indoor heat exchanger 60. In the indoor heat exchanger (60), a low temperature, low pressure liquid refrigerant absorbs heat from the surroundings and converts it into a gas refrigerant. The indoor fan (70) blows the heat exchanged air from the indoor heat exchanger (60) into the room. As a result, cooling is achieved. The gaseous refrigerant is sucked back into the compressor 10 to perform continuous repetitive motion.

The following is a description of the heating cycle. The heating cycle is to reversely circulate the refrigerant flow in the cooling cycle. That is, the gas refrigerant converted into high temperature and high pressure in the compressor 10 is sent from the four-way valve 20 to the indoor heat exchanger 60, and the indoor heat exchanger exchanges heat with ambient air to create a high pressure liquid refrigerant. To the capillary tube 50. At this time, the indoor fan 40 performs a heating function by blowing heat-exchanged air into the room. The four-way valve 20 is a valve for switching the cooling / heating cycle, when the power is supplied to the solenoid coil, the magnet is operated by the coil magnetic field to drive the valve. Thus, the cooling and dehumidification is turned off and the heating is turned on to control the flow of the refrigerant.

When the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 60 is lower than the dew point temperature of the indoor air during the operation of the cooling cycle, condensation occurs on the surface of the indoor heat exchanger 60, resulting in condensed water on the surface of the indoor heat exchanger 60. This condensate falls into a catchment section (not shown) and is drained out. After the cooling operation, condensation is stopped on the surface of the indoor heat exchanger 60, and condensate is bound. Therefore, the indoor heat exchanger provides a humid place to the bacteria in the air, and due to the parasitics of the bacteria, there is a fear that odor may occur due to fermentation or decay.

In addition, if the indoor heat exchanger is dried by the air and starts cooling operation again, the bacteria inhabiting the surface of the indoor heat exchanger may float in the air by the discharge of the indoor fan, and may become a hospital if inhaled through the respiratory system of the human body. have. For this reason, there was a problem of contamination of indoor air by odor and bacteria. Therefore, the conventional method of sterilizing air conditioners to remove bacteria and odors has been to use an indirect method to suppress the growth of bacteria by employing an antibacterial filter, but this is affected by the durability of the antibacterial filter and also direct sterilization of bacteria. And there was a problem that can not satisfy the fundamental bacterial parasitic inhibition conditions.

The technical problem of the present invention is to sterilize an indoor heat exchanger by using a heating cycle. That is, by using a four-way valve to switch the refrigerant flow during the cooling cycle, by using heat emitted from the indoor heat exchanger, the indoor heat exchange during cooling operation. This is to keep the indoor air discharged during cooling by drying and sterilizing the humid environment of the air.

1 is a cooling / heating cycle diagram of a typical heat pump type air conditioner,

2 is a sterilization heating cycle diagram of an air conditioner according to the present invention;

3 is an air conditioner sterilization control block diagram of an embodiment according to the present invention;

Figure 4 is a flow diagram of the air conditioner sterilization control of one embodiment according to the present invention.

5 is an air conditioner sterilization control block diagram of another embodiment according to the present invention;

6 is a flow chart of the air conditioner sterilization control of another embodiment according to the present invention.

* Description of Signs of Main Parts of Drawings *

10: compressor 20: four-way valve 30: outdoor heat exchanger

40: outdoor fan 50: capillary tube 60: indoor heat exchanger

70: indoor fan

The configuration of the present invention includes a compressor for sucking and compressing a refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger for exchanging the refrigerant compressed by the compressor with outside air, a pressure reducer for reducing the refrigerant heat exchanged in the outdoor heat exchanger, and a pressure reduced by the capillary tube. An indoor heat exchanger for evaporating refrigerant to exchange heat with indoor air, an indoor fan for discharging air heat-exchanged with the indoor heat exchanger to a harmonized space, a discharge port for directing the discharged air into the room, and a refrigerant compressed by the compressor. In an air conditioner including a four-way valve to switch the flow to form a cooling / heating cycle, and a control unit for controlling the four-way valve, the indoor heat exchange during the sterilization heating conditions by turning on the four-way valve by the control of the control unit during the cooling operation Sterilizing heating in the air, and after the sterilization heating conditions elapsed by controlling the four-way valve Program by a step of stopping the heating sterilization.

With reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a sterilization heating cycle diagram of an air conditioner according to the present invention, the compressor 10 for compressing a refrigerant at high temperature and high pressure, and the compressor 10 by switching the flow of gas refrigerant at high temperature and high pressure by heating The four-way valve 20 constituting the cycle, the indoor heat exchanger 60 sterilizing and dissipating heat by the heating cycle by switching the four-way valve 20, and the indoor heat exchanger 60 utilize heat radiation by high temperature gas refrigerant. By evaporating and sterilizing the condensed water generated on the outer wall of the indoor heat exchanger 60 when the cooling cycle is operated, the comfort of the air conditioner can be increased. An indoor fan that stops to reduce heat exchange between the indoor heat exchanger 60 and ambient air, and a louver that closes the discharge port to block the air heated by the indoor heat exchanger 60 from leaking into the cooling space. O). Therefore, it is possible to effectively increase the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger can maximize the sterilization effect. The gas refrigerant passing through the indoor heat exchanger 60 maintains a medium temperature and low pressure gas state while being circulated through the narrow copper tube of the capillary tube 50 and flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 30. In the outdoor heat exchanger (30), the medium-temperature gas refrigerant exchanges heat with the outdoor atmosphere by the outdoor fan (40), and the temperature is reduced again to flow into the compressor (10) in a gas state, and the compressor (10) circulates the refrigerant. .

3 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the air conditioning equipment sterilization control method according to the present invention, the configuration is the power supply voltage unit 200 for applying power to the control unit 100, sterilization heating for applying sterilization heating time to the control unit Time control unit 300, display unit 400 to display the operation during sterilization operation, compressor drive unit 500 for driving the compressor 10 during sterilization heating, four-way valve drive unit 600 for switching the cooling cycle to heating cycle, sterilization Indoor fan driving unit 800 to stop the fan 70 during operation, louver driving unit 700 to close and open the louver in order to block the heat of the heat exchanger 60 to the heat dissipation into the room, the drive unit is supplied with power The control unit 100 to control them.

4 is a flow chart of a preferred embodiment of the present invention and will be described with reference to it. First, when the cooling operation is selected and the power is applied, the air conditioner starts the operation. That is, a four-way valve for switching the flow of the refrigerant changed to high temperature and high pressure in the compressor 10 under the control of the control unit and the starting step 1a of the compressor 10 to compress the refrigerant to high temperature and high pressure. 20 is turned on (2a), when the four-way valve 20 is turned on, the indoor fan 70 is stopped and the heating operation (3a, 4a), and the indoor heat exchanger 60 in steps 3a, 4a In order to block the discharge of heat into the room, the indoor fan 70 is stopped, and the heat exchange with the ambient air is reduced in the indoor heat exchanger 60 due to the stop of the indoor fan 70, and the indoor heat exchange during the heating operation. The heat dissipation of the machine 60 can be maintained at a high temperature, so that the outer wall of the indoor heat exchanger 60 can be sterilized at high temperature. At this time, since the louver 90 for controlling the wind direction of the air discharged from the air conditioner is in a closed state, the ambient air warmed by the indoor heat exchanger 60 can be prevented from leaking into the cooling space, so that the sterilization effect can be further increased. do. Then, comparing the heating operation time of step 4a and the heating preset time input to the control unit 100 in advance (5a), and if the set time has passed, turning off the four-way valve 20 to switch the flow of the refrigerant (7a) If the set time has not elapsed, the heating operation is continued. The set time is the heat dissipation in the indoor heat exchanger (60) to activate the water molecule movement of the condensate water to reduce the cohesive force on the outer wall of the indoor heat exchanger (60) so that the water droplets flow well to drain to the water collecting part (90) To promote Then, the heating operation is performed for 1 to 3 minutes at a time of evaporation and sterilization as high heat (90 ° C. or more). When the heating preset time has passed in step 5a, the louver driver 600 is driven by the control of the controller 100 to open the louver 90, and to turn off the four-way valve 20 (6a, 7a), and in step 7a. When the four-way valve 20 is turned off, the flow of the refrigerant is switched to perform the cooling operation (step 8a). And, when the cooling operation of the air conditioner stops the step (9a), and if the stop signal of the air conditioner in step 9a, the step of stopping the indoor fan 70 and closing the louver 90 (10a, 11a) ) And the cooling operation is continued unless it is a stop signal of the air conditioner in step 9a.

When the louver 90 of step 11a is closed, the step 12a in which the four-way valve 20 is turned on to switch the flow of the refrigerant to create a heating cycle, and the heating operation is performed by turning on the four-way valve 20 in step 12a. (Step 13a). At this time, the indoor heat exchanger 60 heats up and sterilizes the outer wall of the indoor heat exchanger 60 as the heat radiation. Comparing the heating operation time of step 13a with the heating preset time pre-input to the control unit 100 and the air conditioning if the heating operation time has passed the heating preset time previously input to the control unit 100 in step 14a. If the heating operation time in step (15a) and the step 14a does not pass the heating preset time of the control unit 100 in the step of shutting off the power is performed to perform the heating operation.

5 is a block diagram of another embodiment of the air conditioner sterilization control method according to the present invention, in which the sterilization heating time adjusting unit 300 is replaced with the temperature sensing unit 300 ', and the temperature sensing unit 300' is indoors. By sensing the temperature of the heat exchanger 60 and sending a detection signal to the control unit 100, the control unit 100 is compared with the pre-input temperature to control the four-way valve 20. Except for the above-mentioned matters, the same as in the embodiment block diagram is made.

6 is a flow chart of another embodiment according to FIG. 5 to compare whether the input temperature value of the temperature sensing unit 300 'of the indoor heat exchanger 60 is greater than or equal to the temperature value previously input to the control unit 100 during the sterilization heating operation. Step 5a 'can be carried out satisfactorily and is carried out in the same manner as the flowchart of one embodiment except for the above.

As described in detail above, according to the sterilization control method of the air conditioner according to the present invention is switched to heating operation after the start of the cooling operation and the end of the cooling operation to heat the heat in the indoor heat exchanger to sterilize at a high temperature (90 ℃ or more). Therefore, due to this action, the bacteria of the indoor heat exchanger are naturally removed to provide a comfortable cooling in the room and keep the indoor air clean.

The present invention is to sterilize the indoor heat exchanger using a heating cycle during the cooling operation in summer, by switching to the heating operation after the start of the cooling operation and the end of the cooling operation to radiate heat from the indoor heat exchanger to condense water molecules of the indoor heat exchanger. It actively promotes drainage to the collecting section by reducing stress on the outer wall of the indoor heat exchanger, and evaporates and sterilizes the outer wall of the indoor heat exchanger with high heat (90 ° C. or higher). Therefore, the bacteria of the indoor heat exchanger are naturally removed by such an action, thereby providing a comfortable cooling in the room and keeping the indoor air clean.

Claims (5)

A compressor for sucking and compressing a refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger for exchanging the refrigerant compressed by the compressor with an outside air, a condenser for condensing the refrigerant heat exchanged in the outdoor heat exchanger, and evaporating the condensed refrigerant to exchange heat with indoor air. The indoor heat exchanger, an indoor fan for discharging air exchanged with the indoor heat exchanger, a discharge port for guiding the discharged air into the room, and the refrigerant from the compressor to the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger. In the air conditioner having a four-way valve constituting a cooling / heating cycle, the step of operating the four-way valve 20 to switch the flow of the refrigerant to the indoor heat exchanger 70 during the cooling operation, the four-way valve (20) Sterilization control of the air conditioner, characterized in that it comprises the step of heating the sterilization in the indoor heat exchanger 70) Law. The sterilization control method of an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the sterilization heating is performed at the time of applying a cooling operation signal and at the time of applying a cooling operation stop signal. The method of claim 1, wherein the sterilization control method of the air conditioner comprising the step of stopping the indoor fan (70) and closing the discharge port during the sterilization heating. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sterilization heating is performed for 1 minute to 3 minutes. The air conditioning according to claim 1, wherein the sterilization heating is performed until the measured temperature value of the temperature sensing member 300 'installed in the indoor heat exchanger reaches between 95 ° C and 105 ° C. Sterilization control method.