Air conditioning system and method for controlling the same

Abstract

A an air conditioning system and a method for controlling the same are disclosed which are capable of achieving linked operations of a plurality of cooling/heating devices and a plurality of ventilation systems. The air conditioning system includes a plurality of cooling/heating devices each including at least one indoor unit, and an outdoor unit connected to the indoor unit such that they communicate with each other, to enable the outdoor unit to control the indoor unit, a plurality of ventilation systems each including at least one ventilation unit, and a controller connected to the ventilation unit such that they communicate with each other, to enable the controller to control the ventilation unit, and a central control unit connected to the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems such that they communicate with each other, to control linked operations of the cooling/heating devices and ventilation systems. The air conditioning system can achieve central control of the linked operations of the cooling/heating devices and ventilation systems, to enhance the quality of indoor air, and thus, to maximize the air conditioning efficiency of the air conditioning system.

1 . An air conditioning system comprising: 
 at least one cooling/heating device respectively installed in at least one zone, and adapted to perform a cooling/heating function for the at least one zone;    at least one ventilation system respectively installed in the at least one zone, and adapted to perform a ventilation function for the at least one zone; and    a central control unit connected to the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system, and adapted to control the cooling/heating function and the ventilation function in a linked state on a zone basis through sharing of information with the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system.    
   
   
       2 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the cooling/heating device of each zone includes: 
 at least one indoor unit; and    an outdoor unit connected to the at least one indoor unit via a power line functioning as a communication line such that the outdoor unit controls operations of the at least one indoor unit.    
   
   
       3 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the cooling/heating device of each zone includes: 
 at least one indoor unit; and    an outdoor unit connected to the at least one indoor unit via a power line functioning as a communication line such that the outdoor unit controls operations of the at least one indoor unit,    wherein the outdoor unit communicates with the central control unit, to control the at least one indoor unit in accordance with a control signal from the central control unit.    
   
   
       4 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the ventilation system of each zone includes: 
 at least one ventilation unit; and    a controller connected to the at least one indoor unit via a power line functioning as a communication line such that the controller controls operations of the at least one ventilation unit.    
   
   
       5 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the ventilation system of each zone includes: 
 at least one ventilation unit; and    a controller connected to the at least one indoor unit via a power line functioning as a communication line such that the controller controls operations of the at least one ventilation unit.    wherein the controller communicates with the central control unit, to control the at least one ventilation unit in accordance with a control signal from the central control unit.    
   
   
       6 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the central control unit is connected with the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system via a network communication line such that the central control unit performs data transmission and reception with the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system.  
   
   
       7 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the central control unit includes: 
 a simple central controller connected to the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system via a network communication line, and adapted to control operations of the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system in a linked state on a zone basis.    
   
   
       8 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the central control unit includes: 
 a power integrating system for integrating electric power consumed by the at least one cooling/heating device and electric power consumed by the at least one ventilation system; and    a simple central controller connected to the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system via a network communication line, and adapted to control operations of the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system in a linked state on a zone basis, and to control the consumption of electric power of the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system, based on the electric power integrated by the power integrating system.    
   
   
       9 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the central control unit includes: 
 a high-grade central controller operatively connected to the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system via a communication network, and adapted to remote-control operations of the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system on a zone basis; and    a gateway for connecting the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system to the high-grade central controller via the communication network.    
   
   
       10 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the central control unit includes: 
 a power integrating system for integrating electric power consumed by the at least one cooling/heating device and electric power consumed by the at least one ventilation system;    a high-grade central controller operatively connected to the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system via a communication network, and adapted to remote-control operations of the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system on a zone basis, and to control the consumption of electric power of the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system, based on the electric power integrated by the power integrating system; and    a gateway for connecting the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system to the high-grade central controller via the communication network.    
   
   
       11 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 9 , wherein the communication network is an Ethernet.  
   
   
       12 . An air conditioning system comprising: 
 cooling/heating devices respectively installed in different zones, and adapted to perform a cooling/heating function for the zones, the cooling/heating devices being divided into at least one group;    ventilation systems respectively installed in the zones, and adapted to perform a ventilation function for the zones, each of the ventilation systems being designated by the same group as an associated one of the cooling/heating devices; and    a central control unit connected to the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems, and adapted to control the cooling/heating function and the ventilation function in a linked state on a group basis through sharing of information with the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems.    
   
   
       13 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 12 , wherein each of the cooling/heating devices of each group includes: 
 at least one indoor unit designated by the same group; and    an outdoor unit connected to the at least one indoor unit via a power line functioning as a communication line such that the outdoor unit controls operations of the at least one indoor unit.    
   
   
       14 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 12 , wherein each of the cooling/heating devices of each group includes: 
 at least one indoor unit designated by the same group; and    an outdoor unit connected to the at least one indoor unit via a power line functioning as a communication line such that the outdoor unit controls operations of the at least one indoor unit,    wherein the outdoor unit communicates with the central control unit, to control the at least one indoor unit of the same group in accordance with a control signal from the central control unit.    
   
   
       15 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 12 , wherein each of the ventilation systems of each group includes: 
 at least one ventilation unit designated by the same group; and    a controller connected to the at least one indoor unit via a power line functioning as a communication line such that the controller controls operations of the at least one ventilation unit.    
   
   
       16 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 12 , wherein each of the ventilation systems of each group includes: 
 at least one ventilation unit; and    a controller connected to the at least one indoor unit via a power line functioning as a communication line such that the controller controls operations of the at least one ventilation unit.    wherein the controller communicates with the central control unit, to control the at least one ventilation unit of the same group in accordance with a control signal from the central control unit.    
   
   
       17 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 12 , wherein the central control unit is connected with the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems via a network communication line such that the central control unit performs data transmission and reception with the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems.  
   
   
       18 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 12 , wherein the central control unit includes: 
 a simple central controller connected to the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems via a network communication line, and adapted to control operations of the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems in a linked state on a group basis.    
   
   
       19 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 12 , wherein the central control unit includes: 
 a power integrating system for integrating electric power consumed by the cooling/heating device and electric power consumed by the ventilation system; and    a simple central controller connected to the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems via a network communication line, and adapted to control operations of the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems in a linked state on a group basis, and to control the consumption of electric power of the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems, based on the electric power integrated by the power integrating system.    
   
   
       20 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 12 , wherein the central control unit includes: 
 a high-grade central controller operatively connected to the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems via a communication network, and adapted to remote-control operations of the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems on a group basis; and    a gateway for connecting the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems to the high-grade central controller via the communication network.    
   
   
       21 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 12 , wherein the central control unit includes: 
 a power integrating system for integrating electric power consumed by the cooling/heating devices and electric power consumed by the ventilation systems;    a high-grade central controller operatively connected to the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems via a communication network, and adapted to remote-control operations of the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems on a group basis, and to control the consumption of electric power of the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems, based on the electric power integrated by the power integrating system; and    a gateway for connecting the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems to the high-grade central controller via the communication network.    
   
   
       22 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 20 , wherein the communication network is an Ethernet.  
   
   
       23 . A method for controlling an air conditioning system including at least one cooling/heating device respectively installed in at least one zone, at least one ventilation system respectively installed in the at least one zone, and a central control unit connected to the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system such that the central control unit performs data transmission and reception with the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system, comprising the steps of: 
 (a) enabling the central control unit to share information with the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system through data communication of the central control unit with the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system, and setting operation conditions of the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system on a zone basis by the central control unit, based on the shared information; and    (b) controlling operations of the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system in a linked state on a zone basis in accordance with the operation conditions set by the central control unit.    
   
   
       24 . The method according to  claim 23 , wherein the data communication of the central control unit with the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system at the step (a) is carried out between the central control unit and the at least one cooling/heating device and between the central control unit and the at least one ventilation system in accordance with a communication protocol associated with a network communication line connecting the central control unit to the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system.  
   
   
       25 . The method according to  claim 23 , wherein the data communication of the central control unit with the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system at the step (a) is carried out between the central control unit and the at least one cooling/heating device and between the central control unit and the at least one ventilation system in accordance with a communication protocol associated with a communication network connecting the central control unit to the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system.  
   
   
       26 . The method according to  claim 23 , wherein the step of setting the operation conditions of the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system on a zone basis at the step (a) comprises the steps of: 
 receiving information about an outdoor temperature and information about an indoor temperature from the cooling/heating device of each zone; and    determining a wind mode of the cooling/heating device and a wind mode of the ventilation system associated with the cooling/heating device on a zone basis, taking into consideration the received information.    
   
   
       27 . The method according to  claim 23 , wherein the step of controlling linked operations of the cooling/heating device and ventilation system of each zone at the step (b) comprises the steps of: 
 receiving, by the cooling/heating device and the ventilation system, associated ones of the operation conditions set by the central control unit, respectively;    recognizing, by the cooling/heating device and the ventilation system, the operation conditions associated with by the cooling/heating device and the ventilation system, respectively; and    controlling the cooling/heating function of the cooling/heating device and the ventilation function of the ventilation system in accordance with the recognized operation conditions, respectively.    
   
   
       28 . The method according to  claim 23 , further comprising the step of: 
 (c) calculating, by the central control unit, integrated electric power consumed by the at least one cooling/heating device and the at least one ventilation system, and controlling power consumption of the at least one cooling/heating device and power consumption of the at least one ventilation system, based on the calculated integrated electric power.    
   
   
       29 . A method for controlling an air conditioning system including cooling/heating devices respectively installed in different zones, and divided into at least one group, ventilation systems respectively installed in the zones, each of the ventilation systems being designated by the same group as an associated one of the cooling/heating devices, a central control unit connected to the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems such that the central control unit performs data transmission and reception with the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems, comprising the steps of: 
 (a) enabling the central control unit to share information with the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems through data communication of the central control unit with the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems, and setting operation conditions of the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems on a group basis by the central control unit, based on the shared information; and    (b) controlling operations of the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems in a linked state on a group basis in accordance with the operation conditions set by the central control unit.    
   
   
       30 . The method according to  claim 29 , wherein the data communication of the central control unit with the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems at the step (a) is carried out between the central control unit and the cooling/heating devices and between the central control unit and the ventilation systems in accordance with a communication protocol associated with a network communication line connecting the central control unit to the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems.  
   
   
       31 . The method according to  claim 29 , wherein the data communication of the central control unit with the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems at the step (a) is carried out between the central control unit and the cooling/heating devices and between the central control unit and the ventilation systems in accordance with a communication protocol associated with a communication network connecting the central control unit to the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems.  
   
   
       32 . The method according to  claim 29 , wherein the step of setting the operation conditions of the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems on a group basis at the step (a) comprises the steps of: 
 receiving information about an outdoor temperature and information about an indoor temperature from each cooling/heating device of each group; and    determining a wind mode of the cooling/heating device and a wind mode of the ventilation system associated with the cooling/heating device on a group basis, taking into consideration the received information.    
   
   
       33 . The method according to  claim 29 , wherein the step of controlling linked operations of the cooling/heating devices and ventilation systems of each group at the step (b) comprises the steps of: 
 receiving, by the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems, associated ones of the operation conditions set by the central control unit, respectively;    recognizing, by the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems, the operation conditions associated with by the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems, respectively; and    controlling the cooling/heating functions of the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation functions of the ventilation systems in accordance with the recognized operation conditions, respectively.    
   
   
       34 . The method according to  claim 29 , further comprising the step of: 
 (c) calculating, by the central control unit, integrated electric power consumed by the cooling/heating devices and the ventilation systems, and controlling power consumption of the cooling/heating devices and power consumption of the ventilation systems, based on the calculated integrated electric power.