Outdoor unit of air conditioner, and control method therefor

Abstract

An air conditioner is disclosed. The air conditioner comprises: a compressor; a fan motor; a temperature sensor; a communication interface comprising communication circuitry; and one or more processors, comprising processing circuitry, individually and/or collectively, configured to: control the compressor based on operation frequency information when the operation frequency information of the compressor is received from an indoor unit of the air conditioner through the communication interface, identifying a driving frequency corresponding to the operation frequency of the compressor and the outdoor temperature received from the temperature sensor, and controlling the fan motor at the identified driving frequency.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An indoor unit of an air conditioner comprising:
 a compressor;   a fan motor;   a temperature sensor;   a communication interface comprising communication circuitry; and   at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry, individually and/or collectively, configured to:   based on receiving operation frequency information of the compressor from an indoor unit of an air conditioner through the communication interface, control the compressor based on the operation frequency information,   identify a driving frequency corresponding to the operation frequency of the compressor and an outdoor temperature received from the temperature sensor, and   control the fan motor at the identified driving frequency.   
     
     
         2 . The indoor unit of the air conditioner of  claim 1 ,
 wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to:   identify an operation frequency of the compressor while the compressor is controlled according to the operation frequency information, and   identify the driving frequency corresponding to the identified operation frequency and the outdoor temperature received from the temperature sensor.   
     
     
         3 . The indoor unit of the air conditioner of  claim 2 ,
 wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to:   control the fan motor at the identified driving frequency during a specified time,   re-identify the operation frequency of the compressor after the specified time passes, and   re-identify the driving frequency corresponding to the re-identified operation frequency and the outdoor temperature re-received from the temperature sensor.   
     
     
         4 . The indoor unit of the air conditioner of  claim 1 ,
 wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to:   control the fan motor at the identified driving frequency during a specified time, and   identify an operation frequency corresponding to the operation frequency information re-received from the indoor unit and a driving frequency corresponding to the outdoor temperature re-received from the temperature sensor after the specified time passes.   
     
     
         5 . The indoor unit of the air conditioner of  claim 1 ,
 wherein at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to:   during a specified time after an instruction for turning on the outdoor unit is received, control the fan motor at a specified driving frequency, and   identify the driving frequency corresponding to the operation frequency and the outdoor temperature after the specified time passes.   
     
     
         6 . The indoor unit of the air conditioner of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 memory storing information on the driving frequency that increases in stages in proportion to at least one of the operation frequency or the outdoor temperature.   
     
     
         7 . The indoor unit of the air conditioner of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the fan motor comprises a DC motor wherein the driving frequency is variable.   
     
     
         8 . The indoor unit of the air conditioner of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the communication interface is configured to perform one-way communication from the indoor unit to the outdoor unit.   
     
     
         9 . A method of controlling an air conditioner, the method comprising:
 based on receiving operation frequency information of a compressor from an indoor unit of the air conditioner, controlling the compressor based on the operation frequency information;   identifying a driving frequency of an outdoor unit fan corresponding to the operation frequency of the compressor and an outdoor temperature; and   controlling an outdoor unit fan motor at the identified driving frequency.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 ,
 wherein the identifying the driving frequency comprises:   identifying an operation frequency of the compressor while the compressor is controlled according to the operation frequency information; and   identifying the driving frequency corresponding to the identified operation frequency and the outdoor temperature.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 ,
 wherein the controlling the outdoor unit fan motor comprises:   controlling the outdoor unit fan motor at the identified driving frequency during a specified time, and   the method further comprises:   re-identifying the operation frequency of the compressor after the specified time passes; and   re-identifying the driving frequency corresponding to the re-identified operation frequency and the outdoor temperature re-received from a temperature sensor.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 ,
 wherein the controlling the outdoor unit fan motor comprises:   controlling the outdoor unit fan motor at the identified driving frequency during a specified time, and   the method further comprises:   re-identifying an operation frequency corresponding to the operation frequency information re-received from the indoor unit and a driving frequency corresponding to the outdoor temperature re-received from the temperature sensor after the specified time passes.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 ,
 wherein the method further comprises:   during a specified time after an instruction for turning on the outdoor unit is received, controlling the outdoor unit fan motor at a specified driving frequency, and   the identifying the driving frequency comprises:   identifying the driving frequency corresponding to the operation frequency and the outdoor temperature after the specified time passes.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 ,
 wherein the outdoor unit comprises:   information on the driving frequency that increases in stages in proportion to at least one of the operation frequency or the outdoor temperature stored in a memory.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 ,
 wherein the outdoor unit fan motor comprises a DC motor wherein the driving frequency is variable.   
     
     
         16 . A non-transitory computer readable medium, having instructions stored therein, which when executed by a processor of an air conditioner, cause the processor to execute a method comprising:
 based on receiving operation frequency information of a compressor from an indoor unit of the air conditioner, controlling the compressor based on the operation frequency information;   identifying a driving frequency of an outdoor unit fan corresponding to the operation frequency of the compressor and an outdoor temperature; and   controlling an outdoor unit fan motor at the identified driving frequency.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer readable medium as claimed in  claim 16 , wherein the identifying the driving frequency comprises:
 identifying an operation frequency of the compressor while the compressor is controlled according to the operation frequency information; and   identifying the driving frequency corresponding to the identified operation frequency and the outdoor temperature.   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer readable medium as claimed in  claim 17 ,
 wherein the controlling the outdoor unit fan motor comprises:   controlling the outdoor unit fan motor at the identified driving frequency during a specified time, and   the method further comprises:   re-identifying the operation frequency of the compressor after the specified time passes; and   re-identifying the driving frequency corresponding to the re-identified operation frequency and the outdoor temperature re-received from a temperature sensor.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable medium as claimed in  claim 16 ,
 wherein the controlling the outdoor unit fan motor comprises:   controlling the outdoor unit fan motor at the identified driving frequency during a specified time, and   the method further comprises:   re-identifying an operation frequency corresponding to the operation frequency information re-received from the indoor unit and a driving frequency corresponding to the outdoor temperature re-received from the temperature sensor after the specified time passes.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable medium as claimed in  claim 16 ,
 wherein the method further comprises:   during a specified time after an instruction for turning on the outdoor unit is received, controlling the outdoor unit fan motor at a specified driving frequency, and   the identifying the driving frequency comprises:   identifying the driving frequency corresponding to the operation frequency and the outdoor temperature after the specified time passes.