Air conditioner and method of controlling the same

Abstract

An air conditioner and a method of controlling the same, which is capable of minimizing power consumed in an indoor unit and an outdoor unit by cutting off external power supplied to the outdoor unit in a standby mode when it is determined that the air conditioner has a standby operation condition. When a standby operation state is switched to a normal operation state, power is supplied from an indoor power supply unit to an outdoor power supply unit via a communication line to perform an initial operation of an outdoor unit of the air conditioner. Accordingly, external power supplied to the outdoor control board is completely cut off in the standby operation state and only an indoor unit is in a standby state, thereby minimizing standby power consumed in the air conditioner.

1 . An air conditioner including an indoor unit having an indoor power supply unit and an indoor communication unit and an outdoor unit having an outdoor power supply unit and an outdoor communication unit, and the indoor power supply unit and the outdoor power supply unit being connected to an external power supply unit to supply driving power thereto, the air conditioner comprising:
 a plurality of switches to connect a communication line to at least one of the indoor power supply unit and the indoor communication unit and at least one of the outdoor power supply unit and the outdoor communication unit to establish a path between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit;   a power cut-off unit to connect or disconnect the external power supply unit and at least one of the indoor unit and outdoor unit; and   a control unit to determine whether the air conditioner has a standby operation condition and to control the plurality of switches and the power cut-off unit according to a result of the determination.   
   
   
       2 . The air conditioner according to  claim 1 , wherein the control unit determines that the air conditioner has the standby operation condition, when at least one of a stop signal of the indoor unit is input, a stop signal of the outdoor unit is input and an operation signal is not input during a setting time after at least one of the stop signals is input. 
   
   
       3 . The air conditioner according to  claim 1 , wherein the control unit controls the power cut-off unit to disconnect the external power supply unit from the outdoor unit when the air conditioner has the standby operation condition. 
   
   
       4 . The air conditioner according to  claim 3 ,
 wherein the power cut-off unit having an on position and an off position is provided in a power supply line to connect the external power supply unit and the outdoor power supply unit; and   wherein the power cut-off unit includes at least one of a relay, a semiconductor circuit and a bimetal switch.   
   
   
       5 . The air conditioner according to  claim 3 , wherein the control unit controls the plurality of switches to connect the communication line between the indoor power supply unit and the outdoor power supply unit to allow power to be supplied from the indoor power supply unit to the outdoor power supply unit, when an operation signal is input after the external power supply unit is disconnected from the outdoor unit. 
   
   
       6 . The air conditioner according to  claim 5 , wherein each of the plurality of switches includes at least one of a relay, a semiconductor and a bimetal switch. 
   
   
       7 . The air conditioner according to  claim 6 , wherein at least one of the plurality of switches are provided in the outdoor unit and the other of the plurality of switches are provided in the indoor unit. 
   
   
       8 . The air conditioner according to  claim 7 ,
 wherein the at least one of the plurality of switches includes a plurality of a first set of contacts, at least one of the plurality of the first set of contacts is connected to the outdoor power supply unit and at least one of the other of the plurality of the first set of contacts is connected to the outdoor communication unit; and   wherein at least the other of the plurality of switches includes a plurality of a second set of contacts, at least one of the plurality of the second set of contacts is connected to the indoor power supply unit and at least one of the other of the plurality of the second set of contacts is connected to the indoor communication unit.   
   
   
       9 . The air conditioner according to  claim 5 , wherein the control unit controls the plurality of switches to connect the communication line to the outdoor power supply unit before the operation signal is input. 
   
   
       10 . The air conditioner according to  claim 5 , wherein the control unit controls the power cut-off unit to connect the external power supply unit to the outdoor power supply unit, when the power is supplied from the indoor power supply unit to the outdoor power supply unit. 
   
   
       11 . The air conditioner according to  claim 10 ,
 wherein the power cut-off unit having an on position and an off position is provided in a power supply line to connect the external power supply unit and the outdoor power supply unit; and   wherein the power cut-off unit includes at least one of a relay, a semiconductor circuit and a bimetal switch.   
   
   
       12 . The air conditioner according to  claim 10  wherein the control unit controls the plurality of switches to connect the communication line between the indoor communication unit and the outdoor communication unit to allow communication between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit to be performed, when the external power supply unit is connected to the outdoor unit. 
   
   
       13 . A method of controlling an air conditioner which includes an indoor unit having an indoor power supply unit and an indoor communication unit and an outdoor unit having an outdoor power supply unit and an outdoor communication unit, the indoor power supply unit and the outdoor power supply unit being connected to an external power supply unit to supply driving power thereto, the method comprising:
 determining whether the air conditioner has a standby operation condition   controlling the external power supply unit to be connected to or disconnected from the outdoor power supply unit according to a result of the determining operation; and   controlling a communication line to be connected to at least one of the indoor power supply unit and the indoor communication unit and at least one of the outdoor power supply unit and the outdoor communication unit to establish a path between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit according to the result of the determining operation.   
   
   
       14 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the determining operation comprises determining that the air conditioner has the standby operation condition, when at least one of a stop signal of the indoor unit is input, a stop signal of the outdoor unit is input and an operation signal is not input during a setting time after at least one of the stop signals is input. 
   
   
       15 . The method according to  claim 14 , wherein the controlling the external power supply operation comprises disconnecting the external power supply unit from the outdoor unit when the air conditioner has the standby operation condition. 
   
   
       16 . The method according to  claim 15 , further comprising controlling the communication line to be connected between the indoor power supply unit and the outdoor power supply unit to supply power from the indoor power supply unit to the outdoor power supply unit, when an operation signal is input after the external power supply unit is disconnected from the outdoor unit in the controlling the external power supply operation. 
   
   
       17 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein in the controlling the communication line to be connected between the indoor power supply unit and the outdoor power supply unit operation, the communication line is connected to the outdoor power supply unit before the operation signal is input. 
   
   
       18 . The method according to  claim 17 , further comprising controlling connecting the external power supply unit to the outdoor power supply unit, when the power is supplied from the indoor power supply unit to the outdoor power supply unit in the controlling the communication line to be connected between the indoor power supply unit and the outdoor power supply unit operation. 
   
   
       19 . The method according to  claim 18 , further comprising connecting the communication line between the indoor communication unit and the outdoor communication unit to establish communication between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit, when the external power supply unit is connected to the outdoor power supply unit in the controlling connecting the external power supply unit to the outdoor power supply unit operation. 
   
   
       20 . An air conditioner usable with an external power supply unit, the air conditioner comprising:
 an indoor unit;   an outdoor unit;   a power cut-off unit disposed between the outdoor unit and the external power supply unit to selectively connect and disconnect the outdoor unit and the external power supply; and   a control unit disposed in at least one of the indoor unit and the outdoor unit to communicate with the power cut-off unit to place the air conditioner in one of a normal operation state and a standby operation state;   wherein the power cut-off unit disconnects the external power supply unit from the outdoor unit to prevent power from being supplied to the outdoor unit in response to a communication from the control unit to place the air conditioner in the standby operation state.   
   
   
       21 . The air conditioner according to  claim 20 , further comprising:
 a communication line; and   wherein the indoor unit further comprises an indoor power supply unit, an indoor communication unit and an indoor switch, the indoor switch to selectively connect a first end of the communication line to one of the indoor power supply unit and the indoor communication unit; and   wherein the outdoor unit further comprises an outdoor power supply unit, an outdoor communication unit and an outdoor switch, the outdoor switch to selectively connect a second end of the communication line to at least one of the outdoor power supply unit and the outdoor communication unit;   wherein the outdoor switch connects the communication line to the outdoor power supply unit in response to the communication from the control unit to place the air conditioner in the standby operation state.   
   
   
       22 . The air conditioner according to  claim 21 , wherein the control unit is an outdoor control unit. 
   
   
       23 . The air conditioner according to  claim 22 , further comprising an indoor control unit disposed in the indoor unit; and
 wherein the indoor switch connects the communication line to the indoor communication unit in response to a communication from the indoor control unit to place the air conditioner in the standby operation state.