Method of managing air conditioner and air conditioner

Abstract

A method of managing an air conditioner for performing a cooling operation and a dry operation includes receiving a user command to set at least one of a target operation time of a fan of the air conditioner and a target rotation speed of the fan to control the dry operation; and performing the dry operation by operating the fan at the set target rotation speed of the fan according to the user command for the set target operation time of the fan according to the user command.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of managing an air conditioner for performing a cooling operation and a dry operation, the method comprising:
 receiving a user command to set at least one of a target operation time of a fan of the air conditioner and a target rotation speed of the fan to control the dry operation; and   performing the dry operation by operating the fan at the set target rotation speed of the fan according to the received user command for the set target operation time of the fan according to the received user command.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing an interface for changing settings of the dry operation,   wherein the interface comprises an interface element for setting a noise level of the dry operation.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the receiving of the user command to set the target rotation speed further comprises
 receiving the user command to set the noise level of the dry operation through the interface element; and   setting the target rotation speed based on the noise level of the dry operation set according to the received user command.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining a minimum operation time of the fan for the dry operation based on the set target rotation speed according to the received user command; and   limiting a settable range of the target operation time to prevent the target operation time from being shorter than the determined minimum operation time.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 outputting a visual element indicating the minimum operation time.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 providing a visual element indicating that the range of the target operation time is limited, in response to receiving a user command to reduce the target operation time to be shorter than the determined minimum operation time.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining the target rotation speed based on the set target operation time according to the received user command; and   providing a visual element indicating the determined target rotation speed.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the providing of the visual element indicating the determined target rotation speed comprises
 providing a visual element indicating a noise level corresponding to the determined target rotation speed.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining cleaning efficiency of the dry operation based on the set target operation time and the set target rotation speed according to the received user command; and   providing a visual element indicating the cleaning efficiency.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining a recommended dry time for the dry operation based on average operation time information of the air conditioner, and temperature information and humidity information of surrounding air of the air conditioner; and   providing a visual element indicating the determined recommended dry time.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a selection command which selects a mode of the dry operation to be a user setting mode or an automatic mode;   in response to the user setting mode being selected for the mode of the dry operation, performing the dry operation by operating the fan at the set target rotation speed of the fan according to the user command for the set target operation time of the fan according to the user command; and   in response to the automatic mode being selected for the mode of the dry operation, performing the dry operation based on the target operation time and the target rotation speed automatically determined based on an operation time of the air conditioner, and temperature and humidity of surrounding air of the air conditioner.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 performing the dry operation in response to the cooling operation being terminated.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving of the user command comprises
 receiving, by the air conditioner, the user command through a user interface device of the air conditioner.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving of the user command comprises
 receiving, by a user device, the user command through a user interface device of the user device;   transmitting, by the user device, the user command to the air conditioner; and   receiving, by the air conditioner, the user command from the user device.   
     
     
         15 . An air conditioner comprising:
 a main body including an outlet;   a heat exchanger;   a compressor configured to compress a refrigerant supplied from the heat exchanger;   a fan configured to blow air which has exchanged heat in the heat exchanger to the outlet; and   a controller configured to control the compressor and the fan to perform a cooling operation and a dry operation,   wherein the controller is configured to
 receive a user command to set at least one of a target operation time of the fan and a target rotation speed of the fan to control the dry operation; and 
 perform the dry operation by operating the fan at the set target rotation speed of the fan according to the received user command for the set target operation time of the fan according to the received user command. 
   
     
     
         16 . The air conditioner of  claim 15 , further comprising an interface through which the user command is received and settings of the dry operation is changeable. 
     
     
         17 . The air conditioner of  claim 16 , wherein the controller is configured to determine a minimum operation time of the fan for the dry operation based on the set target rotation speed set according to the received user command; and to limit a settable range of the target operation time to prevent the target operation time from being shorter than the determined minimum operation time. 
     
     
         18 . The air conditioner of  claim 16 , wherein the user command includes a dry operation mode and the dry operation mode has a user setting mode or an automatic mode for the dry operation,
 in response to receiving the user command including the dry operation mode as the user setting mode, performing the dry operation by operating the fan at the set target rotation speed of the fan and the set target operation time of the fan; and   in response to receiving the user command including the dry operation mode as the automatic mode, performing the dry operation based on the target operation time and the target rotation speed automatically determined based on an operation time of the air conditioner, and temperature and humidity of surrounding air of the air conditioner.