KR20190061865A - Air conditioner system's central control apparatus and method for update software thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a central control device of an air conditioning system and a software update method thereof. A central control device for controlling at least one indoor unit and an outdoor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a kernel, a boot loader, and application software, A part having a higher update frequency than a predetermined reference value among the plurality of parts may be divided into a plurality of parts.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a central control device for an air conditioning system,

The present invention relates to a central control device of an air conditioning system and a software update method thereof.

The air conditioning system is a system for keeping the air in a predetermined space in a most suitable state according to the purpose of use. Generally, the air conditioning system includes a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and an evaporator, and a refrigerant cycle for compressing, condensing, expanding, and evaporating the refrigerant is driven to cool or heat the predetermined space.

At this time, the predetermined space may be variously proposed according to the place where the air conditioning system is used. For example, when the air conditioning system is used in a home or an office, the predetermined space may be a house or an indoor space of a building. In addition, when the air conditioning system is used in an automobile, the predetermined space may be a boarding space on which a person is boarded.

The air conditioning system may further include an indoor unit disposed in the predetermined space, an outdoor unit connected to the indoor unit, and a central control unit controlling the indoor unit and the outdoor unit. The central control unit is provided with various control structures, and each structure needs to be updated according to the development of technology.

The prior art information related to these technologies is as follows.

(1) First Prior Art: Registration No. 10-0622816 (registered on Sep. 04, 2006), system software update method and system of mobile terminal device

The first prior art document relates to a system software update of a mobile terminal device. In the first prior art document, the system software is divided and stored in a storage device divided into a plurality of zones, and software requiring updating is evacuated to an unused area to update.

The first preceding document simply divides one part into a plurality of spaces and stores the updated software in the same space. Accordingly, there is a problem that unnecessary time is required.

In addition, in the first prior art, there is a problem that there is no countermeasure against recovery when the update is not normally performed. Particularly, when the update is not normally performed, there is a problem that much time and effort are required to reinstall the software.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a central control device for an air conditioning system having a multiplexed and redundant configuration and a software updating method thereof.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a central control device of an air conditioning system and a software updating method thereof, which are provided with countermeasures against the case where updating is not normally performed.

A central control device for controlling at least one indoor unit and an outdoor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a kernel, a boot loader, and application software, A part having a higher update frequency than a predetermined reference value among the plurality of parts may be divided into a plurality of parts.

The same software can be stored in each of a plurality of areas of each part.

Different versions of software may be stored in a plurality of areas of each part.

An update temporary area in which update data is downloaded, and the boot loader may update at least one of the plurality of parts corresponding to the updater data.

The boot loader may update any one of the plurality of areas if a part divided into a plurality of areas corresponds to the updater data.

The boot loader may update another one of the plurality of areas when the update of any one of the plurality of areas is not normally performed.

The boot loader can boot by selecting any one of a plurality of areas of each part.

The boot loader may include a partition management table in which an area used among a plurality of areas of each part is stored.

The application software is divided into a first part and a second part having a frequency of updating less than a predetermined reference value and a third part and a fourth part having a higher update occurrence frequency than a predetermined reference value, And the kernel may be divided into a first area and a second area, respectively.

The third part may have an update frequency higher than that of the fourth part.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for updating software in a central control apparatus, comprising the steps of: downloading update data to an update temporary area; determining whether the update data corresponds to a part of application software divided into a plurality of parts If the part is application software divided into a plurality of areas, it is possible to determine which area of the plurality of areas corresponds to which area, and update the corresponding area of the corresponding part.

It is possible to determine which area of the plurality of areas corresponds to which of the plurality of areas is to be updated through the stored partition management table.

If the update is not normally performed, the update may be performed to another area among the plurality of areas of the corresponding part.

If the update is normally performed in another area of the corresponding part, the corresponding area of the corresponding part can be restored through another area of the corresponding part.

If the update is normally performed, the update data downloaded to the update temporary area may be deleted and the update may be completed.

According to the present invention, the configuration of the central control unit is diversified and duplicated and divided into various areas, and the manager can update only the part that needs to be updated, thereby reducing the time required for the update.

In particular, there is an advantage in that the software can be effectively managed by separating the software with a low update frequency and the software with a high update frequency.

Further, there is an advantage that software having a high frequency of update can be divided into a plurality of areas and can be easily restored when an update fails.

In addition, various versions of software can be stored in each area, so that it can be used for selection as needed.

Further, the update step can be easily grasped through the partition management table showing the used part area, and unnecessary waste of time can be reduced by updating the updated part again.

1 is a view illustrating an air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view illustrating a central control device of an air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram illustrating a partition management table of an air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram illustrating a software update method of a central control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a method of recovering from software update failure of a central control unit connected in FIG.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. It should be noted that, in adding reference numerals to the constituent elements of the drawings, the same constituent elements are denoted by the same reference symbols as possible even if they are shown in different drawings. In the following description of the embodiments of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the difference that the embodiments of the present invention are not conclusive.

In describing the components of the embodiment of the present invention, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), and (b) may be used. These terms are intended to distinguish the constituent elements from other constituent elements, and the terms do not limit the nature, order or order of the constituent elements. When a component is described as being "connected", "coupled", or "connected" to another component, the component may be directly connected or connected to the other component, Quot; may be " connected, " " coupled, " or " connected. &Quot;

1 is a view illustrating an air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1, the air conditioning system of the present invention includes a central control apparatus (C), at least one outdoor unit (O), and at least one indoor unit (I) do.

The central control unit (C) may be provided to control the at least one outdoor unit (O) and the at least one indoor unit (I). The central control unit C may be connected to a server or a portable terminal.

Thus, the user can control the operation of the at least one outdoor unit O and the at least one indoor unit I through the central control unit C or the device connected to the central control unit C. Also, it is possible to monitor the operation states of the at least one outdoor unit (O) and the at least one indoor unit (I).

The central control unit (C) is communicably connected to the at least one outdoor unit (O). That is, the central control unit C may transmit a control command to the at least one outdoor unit O or may transmit and receive predetermined information.

The at least one outdoor unit O may include at least one outdoor unit. In FIG. 1, for example, two outdoor units are illustrated. The outdoor units may have different shapes and may be disposed at different places.

The plurality of indoor units (I) can be communicably connected to the outdoor units (O). In addition, the plurality of indoor units (I) can form one refrigerant cycle with each outdoor unit (O). That is, the outdoor unit (O) and the plurality of indoor units (I) are connected through a refrigerant pipe, and can constitute one refrigerant cycle.

In FIG. 1, for convenience of description, six indoor units I connected to the outdoor units O1 are shown. Each indoor unit (I) is shown as a ceiling-type air conditioner. The indoor unit I may be provided in various numbers and shapes.

A compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger may be disposed in the outdoor unit (O). The compressor and the outdoor heat exchanger may be provided in a plurality of ways and may be provided in various shapes.

The outdoor unit (O) is generally disposed in an outdoor space to exchange heat between the outdoor heat exchanger and outdoor air. Accordingly, the outdoor unit O may be provided with a suction port and a discharge port through which outdoor air passes, and a blowing fan for forced convection of the air.

Also, the outdoor unit (O) may be provided with a distributor for distributing and flowing the refrigerant to the plurality of indoor units (I). The refrigerant distributed through the distributor flows through the plurality of indoor units I to the outdoor unit O and circulates the indoor unit I and the outdoor unit O. [

Thus, the central control unit C controls the outdoor unit O and the indoor unit I having various numbers and various shapes. Accordingly, the central control device C may be provided to have various control configurations. Hereinafter, the configuration of the central control device C will be described in detail.

2 is a view illustrating a central control device of an air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the central control device C according to the present invention includes a plurality of parts physically separated from each other. In particular, the central control unit C may be provided as a Linux Embedded system.

The plurality of parts can be largely classified into application software, a kernel 20, and a boot loader 10. This can be understood as being generally categorized in the Linux embedded system.

At this time, the application software of the central control device C according to the idea of the present invention is divided into a plurality of parts according to purposes and characteristics. FIG. 2 illustrates a case where the first part 30, the second part 40, the third part 50 and the fourth part 60 are exemplarily divided. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the application software is divided into four as shown in FIG. 2, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Such a classification can be classified according to the purpose and characteristics of the software. In addition, the update frequency of each software differs according to the purpose and feature. That is, the application software may be divided into a plurality of parts according to the update occurrence frequency. At this time, the update occurrence frequency can be understood as a probability or a possibility that an update occurs within a predetermined time.

In detail, the update frequency of the first part 30 and the second part 40 may be very low. That is, the possibility that the update is likely to occur within a predetermined time is very low, and may correspond to a configuration in which there is no need for updating.

For example, in the first part 30, setting information is stored, and in the second part 40, predetermined data may be stored. That is, the first part 30 and the second part 40 have a structure corresponding to the data area, and there is little need for updating.

The third part 50 and the fourth part 60 may have a predetermined update frequency. That is, the possibility that an update occurs within a predetermined time may correspond to a configuration having a certain level or more. In addition, the third part 50 may be more likely to generate an update within a predetermined time than the fourth part 60, that is, the occurrence frequency may be higher.

For example, the third part 50 may store software that is continuously being developed. Accordingly, the possibility of change can be updated with a high probability within a predetermined time.

Meanwhile, the software developed already in the fourth part 60 can be stored. Accordingly, it is possible to update the probability of change to a relatively low probability within a predetermined time.

Thus, the application software can be classified into a plurality of parts. In addition, the central control unit C is provided with an update temporary area 70 where update data is downloaded. The update temporary area 70 may be understood as a configuration for storing predetermined data when an update occurs.

At this time, each configuration of the central control device C according to the present invention may be divided into a plurality of areas. In particular, the configuration in which the update occurrence frequency is higher than a predetermined reference value is constituted by a plurality of areas. At this time, a plurality of areas means areas physically separated from each other.

It can be understood that the separation of the area is prepared for the case where the update can not be normally performed. Thus, a configuration in which no update occurs or occurs with a very low probability does not separate into a plurality of regions.

2, the third part 50, the fourth part 60 and the kernel 20 are constituted by the first areas 52, 62, 22 and the second areas 54, 64, . Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the configuration is described as being composed of two areas as shown in FIG. 2, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

As described above, in the first part 30 and the second part 40, almost no update occurs, and the update temporary area 70 does not need to be updated to the temporary storage space used at the time of updating . In addition, since the boot loader 10 is difficult to be provided in a plurality of areas, the boot loader 10 is provided as one unit.

The first region 52, 62, 22 and the second region 54, 64, 24 of the third part 50, the fourth part 60, and the kernel 20 are separated It can be understood that the central control device C shown in Fig. 2 is provided in a total of ten configurations.

At this time, the first area 52, 62, 22 and the second area 54, 64, 24 of the third part 50, the fourth part 60, Is stored. That is, the same software is stored in the first area 52 and the second area 54 of the third part 50.

At this time, the first area 52, 62, 22 and the second area 54, 64, 24 of the third part 50, the fourth part 60, Software can be stored.

For example, an initial version of the software may be stored in the first area 52, 62, or 22, and a latest version of the software may be stored in the second area 54, 64, or 24.

The latest version of the software is stored in the first area 52, 62 and 22, and the previous version, that is, the previous version, of the software is stored in the second area 54, have. That is, the first areas 52, 62, and 22 may be updated in a predetermined manner, and the second areas 52, 62, and 22 may not be updated.

This can be set differently for each area. For example, in the third part 50, the first area 52 is the latest version and the second area 54 is the previous version, and the fourth part 60 is the same as the first part 62, And the second area 64 may be the latest version.

In the third part 50, the fourth part 60 and the first area 52, 62, 22 and the second area 54, 64, 24 of the kernel 20, Software can be stored. This can be understood as an update occurring sequentially in each area, at which time different versions of the software are stored.

Since different versions of software may exist in each area, the boot loader 10 stores a partition management table for determining which area to use. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to the partition management table shown in FIG.

3 is a diagram illustrating a partition management table of an air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Fig. 3, the partition management table shows areas to be classified and used in each configuration and area. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, it is described as shown in FIG. 3, but it is not limited thereto.

In addition, whether the first part 30 and the second part 40 are not divided is displayed. Referring to FIG. 3, the second part 40 is indicated as being used.

The first area 52 of the third part 50, the second area 64 of the fourth part 60 and the first area 22 of the kernel 20 are displayed . At this time, another area of the boot loader 10 can be selected as needed.

At this time, the latest version of software may be stored in the used area. Also, if necessary, a region in which a previous version of software is stored can be used. That is, you can select and use the desired version of the software as needed.

Hereinafter, a software update method of the central control apparatus will be described with reference to the partition management table of FIG.

4 is a diagram illustrating a software update method of a central control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Fig. 4, an update is performed (S10). It can be understood that an update alarm is generated and the execution of the update is selected or performed automatically. Then, predetermined update data is downloaded to the update temporary area 70 (S20).

Thereafter, a reboot is performed, and the boot loader 10 confirms the data stored in the update temporary area 70. In detail, the name of the update data and the checksum are checked to confirm the part to be updated (S30). For example, if the update data relates to the third part 50, the third part 50 is identified as an update target part.

Then, the area of the part is confirmed through the partition management table (S40). For example, in the case where the partition management table is provided as shown in FIG. 3, it can be seen that the first area 52 is displayed in the third part 50, which is the corresponding part. Accordingly, the first area 52 of the third part 50 is identified as the update target area.

Then, the corresponding area of the relevant part is updated (S50). That is, the update of the first area 52 of the third part 50 is performed. At this time, if there are a plurality of areas to be updated, they are sequentially updated. For example, in the order described in the partition management table.

Thereafter, when the update is completed, it is checked whether or not the update has been normally performed (S60). If the update is normally performed, the update data downloaded to the update temporary area 70 is deleted (S70), and the update is completed (S80).

On the other hand, the update may not normally be performed. This will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a method of recovering from software update failure of a central control unit connected in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, if the update is not normally performed, the update step is confirmed through the part management table (S61). If there is one area to be updated, the update step can be understood as a single step.

On the other hand, when there are a plurality of areas to be updated, the update may be performed in a plurality of steps. As described above, the updates are sequentially performed and can be understood as a plurality of steps.

For example, the third part 50, the fourth part 60, and the kernel 20 are areas to be updated, and update is performed in the order of description of the partition management table shown in FIG. Accordingly, the update of the third part 50 may be classified as the first step, the update of the fourth part 60 may be classified as the second step, and the update of the kernel 20 may be classified as the third step .

At this time, whether or not the update has been normally performed can be confirmed each time each step is completed. Therefore, when there are a plurality of areas to be updated, the corresponding area update (S50) and the update normal execution confirmation (S60) of the corresponding part shown in FIG. 4 may be repeated a plurality of times.

For example, if the update of the third part 50 is normally performed, the update of the fourth part 60 is performed. Also, the update of the fourth part 60 may be performed and the update of the kernel 20 may be performed. At this time, if the update of the fourth part 60 is not normally performed, the updating step corresponds to the second step.

That is, through the partition management table, it is possible to check which part is not normally updated. At this time, since the third part 50 has already been normally updated, the update may not be performed again.

Then, the area of the part is changed in the partition management table (S62). For example, when the update step is confirmed as the second step, the corresponding part corresponds to the fourth part 60, as in the example described above. As shown in FIG. 3, the display is changed from the second region 64 selected in the fourth part 60 to the first region 62.

Then, the changed area of the part is updated (S63). That is, the first area 62 of the fourth part 60 is updated. It is then determined whether the update has been performed normally (S64), the update data is deleted in the update temporary area 70 (S70) and the update is completed (S80) as shown in FIG.

At this time, if the update has not been normally performed, the step S65 of restoring the update failure region is further included. The restoration can be performed by replicating the area in which the update is normally performed, or the like.

Hereinafter, for ease of understanding, the steps of FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 together with FIG. 3 will be summarized together with an example.

When a predetermined update is performed (S10), predetermined update data is downloaded to the update temporary area 70 (S20) and the update target part is confirmed (S30). At this time, it is assumed that the part to be updated is the third part 50, the fourth part 60, and the kernel 20.

The third part 50 and the kernel 20 correspond to the first area 52 and the second area 64 and the fourth part 60 corresponds to the second area 64 . In turn, the update is performed in the corresponding area of the part (S50).

Accordingly, the update of the first area 52 of the third part 50 is performed and it is confirmed whether the update is normally performed (S60). If performed normally, the update of the second area 64 of the fourth part 60 is performed. At this time, it is assumed that the updating of the third part 50 is normally performed but the updating of the fourth part 60 is not normally performed.

Accordingly, the updating step corresponds to the second step, and confirms that the updating of the fourth part 60 is not normally performed. Then, the update is performed in the first area 62 of the fourth part 60.

If the update of the fourth part 60 is normally performed, the kernel 20 is updated. If the fourth part 60 is normally executed, the update data is deleted (S70) and the update is completed (S80).

When the predetermined update is performed as described above, the third part 50, the fourth part 60, and the first areas 52, 62, and 22 of the kernel 20 are displayed in the partition management table. In the third part 50, the fourth part 60 and the first area 52, 62, and 22 of the kernel 20, the latest version is updated.

On the other hand, the third part 50 and the second areas 54 and 24 of the kernel 20, which have not been updated, may correspond to the previous versions. In addition, files that can not be used in the second area 64 of the fourth part 60 for which the update has failed can be stored.

Accordingly, the first areas 52, 62, and 22, which are updated in the third part 50, the fourth part 60, and the second areas 54, 64, and 24 of the kernel 20, Can be replicated and stored. Accordingly, the first area 52, 62, 22 and the second area 54, 64, 24 of the third part 50, the fourth part 60, Is stored.

It is also possible to perform a predetermined update on the third part 50 and the second areas 54 and 24 of the kernel 20, which have not been updated. Alternatively, the previous version may be stored in the second part 54, 24 of the third part 50 and the kernel 20.

With such a configuration, the administrator can update only the part that needs to be updated, and the time required for updating can be reduced. In addition, various versions of software can be used as needed, and restoration is easy when an update fails.

Claims (15)

A central control device for controlling at least one indoor unit and an outdoor unit,
Kernel;
Bootloader; And
Application software, < RTI ID = 0.0 >
The application software is divided into a plurality of parts according to the update occurrence frequency,
Wherein the part having a higher update occurrence frequency than a predetermined reference value among the plurality of parts is divided into a plurality of areas. The method according to claim 1,
And the same software is stored in a plurality of areas of each part. 3. The method of claim 2,
And a plurality of different versions of software are stored in a plurality of areas of each part. The method according to claim 1,
An update temporary area in which the update data is downloaded is further included,
Wherein the boot loader updates at least one of the plurality of parts corresponding to the updater data. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the boot loader updates any one of the plurality of areas when the part divided into the plurality of areas corresponds to the updater data. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the boot loader updates another one of the plurality of areas when the update of any one of the plurality of areas is not normally performed. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the boot loader selects one of a plurality of areas of each part to boot. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the boot loader includes a partition management table in which an area used among a plurality of areas of each part is stored. The method according to claim 1,
The application software
A first part and a second part having an update occurrence frequency lower than a predetermined reference value; And
A third part and a fourth part having a frequency of update occurrence higher than a predetermined reference value,
Wherein the third part, the fourth part, and the kernel are divided into a first area and a second area, respectively. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the third part has a higher update occurrence frequency than the fourth part. Download the update data to the update temporary area,
Determining whether the update data corresponds to which part of the application software divided into a plurality of parts according to the update occurrence frequency,
Determining which area of the plurality of areas corresponds to application software having the part divided into a plurality of areas,
And updating the corresponding area of the corresponding part. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the central control unit determines whether an area of the plurality of areas corresponds to an area of the plurality of areas through a stored partition management table. 12. The method of claim 11,
If the update is not normally performed, updating the software update area to another one of the plurality of areas of the corresponding part. 14. The method of claim 13,
And if the update is normally performed in another area of the corresponding part, restoring the corresponding area of the corresponding part through another area of the corresponding part. The method as claimed in claim 11 or 14,
And if the update is normally performed, deleting the update data downloaded to the update temporary area and completing the update.

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