Air conditioner and method for controlling the same

Abstract

An air conditioner is provided. The air conditioner includes a housing, a discharge cover configured to cover a discharge hole formed on an upper part of the housing, and including a cover opening through which air is discharged, a rotation transmission part coupled to the discharge cover and configured to rotate the discharge cover, a cover rotation motor configured to rotate the rotation transmission part in a first direction or a second direction opposite to the first direction, a fan case equipped with a discharge fan configured to move air toward the discharge hole and the cover opening, a magnet provided at a position of the rotation transmission part, a first sensor disposed at a first position of the fan case and configured to detect the magnet, a second sensor disposed at a second position of the fan case and configured to detect the magnet, the second position being spaced apart from the first position, memory storing one or more computer programs, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the cover rotation motor, the first sensor, the second sensor, and the memory, wherein the one or more computer programs include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the air conditioner to move the rotation transmission part, via the cover rotation motor, to a reference position based on a power off condition of the air conditioner being satisfied, and determine whether to stop an operation of the cover rotation motor based on whether the magnet is detected by the first sensor or the second sensor.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An air conditioner, comprising:
 a housing;   a discharge cover configured to cover a discharge hole formed on an upper part of the housing, and including a cover opening through which air is discharged;   a rotation transmission part coupled to the discharge cover and configured to rotate the discharge cover;   a cover rotation motor configured to rotate the rotation transmission part in a first direction or a second direction opposite to the first direction;   a fan case equipped with a discharge fan configured to move air toward the discharge hole and the cover opening;   a magnet provided at a position of the rotation transmission part;   a first sensor disposed at a first position of the fan case and configured to detect the magnet;   a second sensor disposed at a second position of the fan case and configured to detect the magnet, the second position being spaced apart from the first position;   memory storing one or more computer programs; and   one or more processors communicatively coupled to the cover rotation motor, the first sensor, the second sensor, and the memory,   wherein the one or more computer programs include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the air conditioner to:
 move the rotation transmission part, via the cover rotation motor, to a reference position based on a power off condition of the air conditioner being satisfied, and 
 determine whether to stop an operation of the cover rotation motor based on whether the magnet is detected by the first sensor or the second sensor. 
   
     
     
         2 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the air conditioner to stop the operation of the cover rotation motor based on the magnet being detected by the first sensor. 
     
     
         3 . The air conditioner of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the air conditioner to:
 control the cover rotation motor to rotate the rotation transmission part in the first direction based on the power off condition of the air conditioner being satisfied, and   control the cover rotation motor to rotate the rotation transmission part in the second direction based on the magnet being detected by the second sensor.   
     
     
         4 . The air conditioner of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a third sensor disposed at a third position of the fan case and configured to detect the magnet, the third position being spaced apart from the first position and the second position,   wherein the one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the air conditioner to:
 control the cover rotation motor to rotate the rotation transmission part in the first direction based on the power off condition of the air conditioner being satisfied, and 
 control the cover rotation motor to continuously rotate the rotation transmission part in the first direction based on the magnet being detected by the third sensor. 
   
     
     
         5 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the magnet is provided on an outer circumference of the rotation transmission part having a circular shape,   wherein the first sensor and the second sensor are disposed on the fan case to face the magnet moved by rotation of the rotation transmission part, and   wherein the first position and the second position have a defined angle based on a center of the fan case.   
     
     
         6 . The air conditioner of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 a third sensor disposed at a third position of the fan case and configured to detect the magnet, the third position being spaced apart from the first position and the second position,   wherein a first angle between the first position and the second position, a second angle between the second position and the third position, and a third angle between the third position and the first position are equal based on the center of the fan case.   
     
     
         7 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the air conditioner to determine that the power off condition is satisfied based on obtaining a power off command through a user interface or a user device. 
     
     
         8 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the air conditioner to determine that the power off condition is satisfied based on an elapse of an operation time which is set through a user interface or a user device. 
     
     
         9 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 , wherein the cover rotation motor includes a step motor. 
     
     
         10 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 , further comprising a cover lift motor configured to move the discharge cover between a lower position and an upper position along a third direction, the third direction being perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction. 
     
     
         11 . The air conditioner of  claim 10 , wherein the cover lift motor and the cover rotation motor are fixed to a base of the housing. 
     
     
         12 . A method for controlling an air conditioner comprising a discharge hole formed on an upper part of a housing, a discharge cover configured to cover the discharge hole and including a cover opening through which air is discharged, a fan case equipped with a discharge fan configured to move air toward the discharge hole and the cover opening, and a processor, the method comprising:
 identifying, by the processor, whether a power off condition of the air conditioner is satisfied;   controlling a cover rotation motor to rotate a rotation transmission part coupled to the discharge cover so as to move the rotation transmission part to a reference position based on the power off condition of the air conditioner being satisfied;   identifying whether a magnet provided at a position of the rotation transmission part is detected by a first sensor disposed at a first position of the fan case or a second sensor disposed at a second position of the fan case, the second position being spaced apart from the first position; and   determining whether to stop an operation of the cover rotation motor based on whether the magnet is detected by the first sensor or the second sensor.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the determining of whether to stop the operation of the cover rotation motor comprises stopping the operation of the cover rotation motor based on the magnet being detected by the first sensor. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the controlling of the cover rotation motor comprises:
 controlling the cover rotation motor to rotate the rotation transmission part in a first direction based on the power off condition of the air conditioner being satisfied; and   controlling the cover rotation motor to rotate the rotation transmission part in a second direction based on the magnet being detected by the second sensor.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the air conditioner further comprises a third sensor disposed at a third position of the fan case and configured to detect the magnet, the third position being spaced apart from the first position and the second position, and
 wherein the controlling of the cover rotation motor comprises:
 controlling the cover rotation motor to rotate the rotation transmission part in a first direction based on the power off condition of the air conditioner being satisfied, and 
 controlling the cover rotation motor to continuously rotate the rotation transmission part in the first direction based on the magnet being detected by the third sensor. 
   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the identifying of whether the power off condition is satisfied comprises determining that the power off condition is satisfied based on obtaining a power off command through a user interface or a user device. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the identifying of whether the power off condition is satisfied comprises determining that the power off condition is satisfied based on an elapse of an operation time which is set through a user interface or a user device. 
     
     
         18 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing one or more computer programs including computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an air conditioner individually or collectively, cause the air conditioner to perform operations, the operations comprising:
 identifying, by the processor, whether a power off condition of the air conditioner is satisfied;   rotating, via a cover rotation motor, a rotation transmission part coupled to a discharge cover so as to move the rotation transmission part to a reference position based on the power off condition of the air conditioner being satisfied;   identifying whether a magnet provided at a position of the rotation transmission part is detected by a first sensor disposed at a first position of a fan case or a second sensor disposed at a second position of the fan case, the second position being spaced apart from the first position; and   determining whether to stop an operation of the cover rotation motor based on whether the magnet is detected by the first sensor or the second sensor.   
     
     
         19 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of  claim 18 , the operations further comprising:
 stopping the operation of the cover rotation motor based on the magnet being detected by the first sensor;   rotating, via the cover rotation motor, the rotation transmission part in a first direction based on the power off condition of the air conditioner being satisfied; and   rotating, via the cover rotation motor, the rotation transmission part in a second direction based on the magnet being detected by the second sensor.