Fault diagnosis method for an air conditioner appliance

Abstract

An air conditioner unit may include a refrigeration loop, a compressor operably coupled to the refrigeration loop for circulating a flow of refrigerant, and an indoor fan configured for urging a flow of discharge air through an indoor heat exchanger and out a discharge vent. A controller is configured to initiate an air conditioning cycle, determine that the air conditioning cycle has failed, prompt a user to confirm that all external sources of air are blocked, receive user confirmation that all external sources of air are blocked, determine that the air conditioning cycle is still failing after receiving the user confirmation, and identify a fault with the air conditioner unit.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An air conditioner unit comprising:
 a refrigeration loop comprising an outdoor heat exchanger and an indoor heat exchanger;   a compressor operably coupled to the refrigeration loop and being configured to urge a flow of refrigerant through the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger;   an indoor fan configured for urging a flow of discharge air through the indoor heat exchanger and out a discharge vent; and   a controller operably coupled to the compressor and the indoor fan, the controller being configured to:
 initiate an air conditioning cycle; 
 determine that the air conditioning cycle has failed; 
 prompt a user to confirm that all external sources of air are blocked; 
 receive user confirmation that all external sources of air are blocked; 
 determine that the air conditioning cycle is still failing after receiving the user confirmation; and 
 identify a fault with the air conditioner unit. 
   
     
     
         2 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 1 , wherein determining that the air conditioning cycle has failed comprises:
 determining that a measured temperature has not reached a target temperature within a predetermined air conditioning time.   
     
     
         3 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 2 , wherein the predetermined air conditioning time is between about 30 minutes and 2 hours. 
     
     
         4 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 2 , wherein the predetermined air conditioning time is 1 hour. 
     
     
         5 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 1 , wherein determining that the air conditioning cycle has failed comprises:
 determining that an air conditioning rate falls below a predetermined rate threshold.   
     
     
         6 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 1 , wherein determining that the air conditioning cycle has failed comprises:
 implementing a plurality of consecutive air conditioning cycles; and   determining that a measured temperature does not reach a target temperature in any of the consecutive air conditioning cycles.   
     
     
         7 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 6 , wherein the plurality of consecutive air conditioning cycles comprises between 7 and 10 cycles. 
     
     
         8 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a user interface panel, wherein the user is prompted and the user confirmation is received through the user interface panel.   
     
     
         9 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 1 , wherein the air conditioner unit is in operative communication with a remote device through an external network, and wherein the user is prompted and the user confirmation is received through the remote device. 
     
     
         10 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 advise the user to request a service visit or perform maintenance on the air conditioner unit upon identifying the fault with the air conditioner unit.   
     
     
         11 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 1 , wherein the air conditioner unit is in operative communication with a remote server through an external network, and wherein identifying the fault with the air conditioner unit comprises:
 transmitting performance data of the air conditioner unit during the air conditioning cycle that has failed to the remote server; and   receiving a fault notification from the remote server.   
     
     
         12 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 11 , wherein the remote server stores historical data related to operation of the air conditioner unit. 
     
     
         13 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 11 , wherein the remote server stores an artificial intelligence model for analyzing the performance data and identifying the fault. 
     
     
         14 . A method of diagnosing faults in an air conditioner unit, the method comprising:
 initiating an air conditioning cycle;   determining that the air conditioning cycle has failed;   prompting a user to confirm that all external sources of air are blocked;   receiving user confirmation that all external sources of air are blocked;   determining that the air conditioning cycle is still failing after receiving the user confirmation; and   identifying a fault with the air conditioner unit.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein determining that the air conditioning cycle has failed comprises:
 determining that a measured temperature has not reached a target temperature within a predetermined air conditioning time.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein determining that the air conditioning cycle has failed comprises:
 determining that an air conditioning rate falls below a predetermined rate threshold.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein determining that the air conditioning cycle has failed comprises:
 implementing a plurality of consecutive air conditioning cycles; and   determining that a measured temperature does not reach a target temperature in any of the consecutive air conditioning cycles.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the air conditioner unit is in operative communication with a remote device through an external network, and wherein the user is prompted and the user confirmation is received through the remote device. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 advising the user to request a service visit or perform maintenance on the air conditioner unit upon identifying the fault with the air conditioner unit.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the air conditioner unit is in operative communication with a remote server through an external network, and wherein identifying the fault with the air conditioner unit comprises:
 transmitting performance data of the air conditioner unit during the air conditioning cycle that has failed to the remote server; and   receiving a fault notification from the remote server.