AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM

[0001] This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0094995, filed in Korea on Jul. 25, 2014, whose entire disclosure is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] 1. Field

[0003] An air conditioning system is disclosed herein.

[0004] 2. Background

[0005] An air conditioning system is a device that controls indoor air and cools, heats, dehumidifies, humidifies, or ventilates indoor air. Generally, the air conditioning system includes a heat pump which increases the heat from a low temperature to a high temperature. The heat pump is widely known to cool or heat indoor air by circulating a refrigerant between indoor and outdoor using a compressor, and passing the refrigerant through a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator during the refrigerant circulating process to exchange heat with surrounding air.

[0006] In a building having a plurality of rooms, individual air conditioning systems may be provided for the rooms or air for conditioning may be supplied to the plurality of rooms from a common air handling unit through at least one duct. When the common air handling unit is used like the latter, a plurality of outdoor units including a driving source (for example, a compressor) of the heat pump may be provided in accordance with the number of rooms which are air handling targets.

[0007] The air handling unit is configured by several devices, such as a blower fan that blows air into the duct, a motor that drives the blower fan, a heat exchanger that serves as a condenser or an evaporator, an expansion valve, and a damper that adjusts an opening degree of the duct, and the air conditioning system includes a controller that controls the above described devices and an interface unit that functions as an input unit or an output unit of the controller and displays operation states of the devices to a user, and provides an interface for receiving a control command for the devices.

[0008] The air handling unit may have different configurations of the devices depending on a handling load or an installation condition, such as an air handling function to be provided. For example, when the number of rooms being conditioned is large, that is, the air handling load is large, more blower fans and motors may be provided as compared with a small air handling load. Further, when a function to supply mixed air in which return air discharged from the indoor space and outdoor air flowing from the outdoors are mixed at a target ratio is provided in addition to a function to simply supply outdoor air to the indoor space, dampers that adjust inflow rates of the outdoor air and the return air and a discharging rate of the mixed air may be further provided. When the configurations of the devices vary depending on the installation condition, a configuration of the controller or the interface needs to be changed. However, in the air conditioning system of the related art, it is difficult to change the configuration of the controller or the interface unit. Further, when the configurations of the devices are changed, it is difficult to reflect the changed configurations so that commonality of the controller or the interface unit is lowered.

[0026] Advantages, features and methods for achieving those of embodiments may become apparent upon referring to embodiments described later in detail together with attached drawings. However, embodiments are not limited to the embodiments disclosed hereinafter, but may be embodied in different modes. The embodiments are provided for perfection of disclosure and informing a scope to persons skilled in this field of art. The same reference numbers may refer to the same elements throughout the specification.

[0027] FIGS. 1 to 3 are schematic diagrams illustrating a configuration of an air conditioning system according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a control relationship between main components of an air conditioning system according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a connection relationship between main components of an air conditioning system according to an embodiment.

[0028] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, the air conditioning system may include an air handling unit or air handler 1, an outdoor unit or device 2, a central controller 4, and an interface unit or interface 5. The air handling unit 1 may supply air to an indoor space to condition indoor air. The air handling unit 1 may be configured by devices, such as a blower fan that blows air through at least one duct 3 (3a, 3b and 3c) (see FIG. 2) that communicates with the indoor space, a motor that drives the blower fan, a heat exchanger that adjusts a temperature of air which is supplied to the indoor space, and a supply air damper that adjusts an inflow rate of supply air SA, which is supplied to the indoor space through the duct 3.

[0029] The air handling unit 1 may supply not only outdoor air OA but also return air RA, which may circulate in the indoor space and return to the indoor space, and discharge the outdoor air and/or the return air, which may flow in the indoor space, to the outdoors. The air handling unit 1 may include a return air damper that adjusts an inflow rate of the return air RA and an exhaust air damper that adjusts a flow rate of exhaust air EA, which may be discharged to the outdoors, and/or a mixture damper that adjusts a mixture ratio of the return air RA and the exhaust air EA, which may be mixed and supplied to the indoor space.

[0030] The air handling unit 1 may include a plurality of devices which are involved to handle or condition the indoor air. These devices may include a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a fan motor, a flow sensor, a pressure sensor, a differential pressure sensor, a differential pressure switch, a valve, a damper, a smoke sensing sensor, and a heater, for example, and these configurations or components may interwork or communicate with each other under control of the central controller 4 to condition the indoor air. These configurations or components will be described in more detail hereinafter.

[0031] The outdoor unit 2 may supply a heat source of a heat pump to the air handling unit 1. Hereinafter, as an example of the heat source, a refrigerant which passes through a heat exchanger in accordance with a temperature of surrounding air to change a phase, may be used. However, the outdoor unit 2 is not limited thereto but may be configured by an air cooling type or water cooling type electric heat pump (EHP) or gas heat pump (GHP).

[0032] The outdoor unit 2 may include a compressor that compresses the refrigerant to discharge a high pressure gaseous refrigerant, an accumulator that divides a gaseous refrigerant and a liquid refrigerant from the refrigerant to prevent the liquid refrigerant which is not vaporized, from flowing into the compressor, an oil separator that collects oil from the refrigerant discharged from the compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger that condenses or evaporates the refrigerant by heat exchange with the outdoor air, an outdoor unit fan that blows the air into the outdoor heat exchanger or discharges the heat-exchanged air to the outdoors in order to smoothly perform the heat exchange of the outdoor heat exchanger, a four way valve that changes a flow channel of the refrigerant in accordance with a driving mode of the outdoor unit, a pressure sensor that measures a pressure, a temperature sensor that measures a temperature, and a controller that controls an operation of the outdoor unit and communicates with the other components, for example. The outdoor unit 2 may further include a plurality of sensors, valves, and super-cooling devices, for example.

[0033] The central controller 4 may control an entire operation of the air conditioning system, and more specifically, may control devices which configure or form the air handling unit 1. The central controller 4 may control not only driving of the air handling unit 1, but also a flow rate of the air which circulates in order to handle or condition the indoor air. The central controller 4 may include input/output units or devices 120a and 120b that provide input/output ports to input/output electric signals between the devices which configure the air handling unit 1, and a control unit or controller 110 that controls the devices which configure the air handling unit 1. The control unit 110 may interwork or communicate with the interface unit 5, which will be described hereinafter, to control the devices (hereinafter, referred to as “air handling unit configuring devices”), which configure or form the air handling unit 1. The input/output units 120a and 120b may include analog input/output (AI/AO) ports, or digital input/output (DI/DO) ports as the input/output ports, for example. The control unit 110 may include a recording unit or storage, such as a RAM or a magnetic recording device, which records or stores information on the devices which configure the air handling unit. In the recording unit, information not only on the devices which are currently installed in the air handling unit 1, but also devices which will be installed therein, may be recorded.

[0034] Devices may interwork or communicate with each other under the control of the control unit 110 to condition the indoor air. For example, the air handling unit 1 may include a supply air temperature sensor that senses a temperature of supply air and a supply air damper that controls a flow rate of the supply air. In this case, the control unit 110 may adjust an opening degree of the damper based on the temperature sensed by the supply air temperature sensor.

[0035] The central controller 4 may control the outdoor unit 2. The central controller 4 may include communication units or devices 130a and 130b that communicate with the outdoor unit 2. A plurality of communication units 130a and 130b may be provided in accordance with the number of outdoor units 2. The communication units 130a and 130b may be modularized, and when the outdoor unit 2 is added or moved, the communication units may be added or removed. The communication units 130a and 130b may transmit signals which reflect a driving state of the outdoor unit 2 to the control unit 110, and the control unit 110 may control the outdoor unit 2 and/or the air handling unit 1 based on the signals. Further, the control unit 110 may directly control the outdoor unit 2 without using the communication units 130a and 130b, and in this case, the control unit 110 may directly communicate with the outdoor unit 2 to control an air handling amount. For example, the control unit 110 may control the outdoor unit to be additionally driven, or some of the outdoor units which are being driven to be stopped in accordance with the air handling load.

[0036] Communication between the outdoor unit 2 and the communication units 130a and 130b and/or communication between the outdoor unit 2 and the control unit 110 may be wired or wireless communication. For example, the communication units 130a and 130b may provide a wired/wireless RS485 adaptor which employs a serial communication method and is remotely controlled.

[0037] Units which configure or form the central controller 4 may communicate with each other. For example, these units may perform RS485 communication based on Modbus protocol. Further, the communication may be performed not only between the units which configure or form the central controller 4, but also devices which configure or form the central controller 4 and the air handling unit 1 or between the devices which configure or form the air handling unit 1. Reference symbols L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, and L7 represented in FIG. 1 denote channels through which communication between the devices may be performed, and the communication method may be wired communication or wireless communication. In this embodiment, the communication is performed by the RS485 method, but embodiments are not limited thereto.

[0038] The interface unit 5 may provide an interface (user interface) to control the air handling unit 1. The control unit 110 may control the devices which configure the air handling unit 1 in accordance with a setting input through the interface.

[0039] The interface unit 5 may be provided in or at a location spaced apart from the air handling unit 1. The interface unit 5 may be movable, and the movability of the interface unit 5 may be implemented not only by wirelessly communicating with the air handling unit 1 but also by sufficiently securing a length of a communication line even when the interface unit 5 is connected to the air handling unit 1 through wired communication.

[0040] The devices which configure the air handling unit 1 may communicate with the interface unit 5 and/or the central controller 4 through the input/output ports of the input/output units 120, and thus, when the devices which configure the air handling unit 1 are changed, the interface unit 5 and/or the central controller 4 may recognize which devices presently configure or form the air handling unit 1. The interface unit 5 may reconfigure the interface in accordance with the configurations of the devices which are recognized through the input/output unit 120.

[0041] The interface unit 5 may display a driving state of the air handling unit 1 and the outdoor unit 2 through an interface and provide a control menu. The information which is input through the control menu may be transmitted to the control unit 110 through the communication line between units, and the control unit 110 may control the devices which configure the air handling unit 1 based on the transmitted information. The interface unit 5 may provide or include a graphical user interface (GUI).

[0042] In some exemplary embodiments, the air conditioning system may further include an outdoor unit controller or outdoor device controller 6 that controls the outdoor unit 2, and a local controller 9, which may be provided in each room or indoor space in which air conditioning is performed to display an air handling state and receive an air handling setting for each room from the user.

[0043] The outdoor unit controller 6 may totally control or control all of the outdoor units 2a, 2b and 2c. The outdoor unit controller 6 may be connected to communicate with the central controller 4, and control driving of the outdoor units in accordance with the setting transmitted from the central controller 4 and transmit information on the driving state of the outdoor units to the central controller 4. Separately from the central controller 4, a command for driving control of the outdoor units may be directly input through the outdoor unit controller 6.

[0044] A remote controller 7 may be provided in or at a location spaced apart from the air handling unit 1 to control an entire operation of the air conditioning system. The remote controller 7 may be connected to communicate with the outdoor unit controller 6 to transmit a command for controlling the outdoor units.

[0045] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the air conditioning system may include several air handling units 1 (1a to 1c) in accordance with an air handling load, such as a size or a scale of a building, and may also include a plurality of outdoor units or devices 2a, 2b, and 2c.

[0046] The air handling unit 1 may supply air to the indoor space through the duct 3. An indoor temperature of each room may be measured by a temperature sensor which may be provided in the room, and the indoor temperature measured as described above may be displayed through the local controller 9. An adjusting unit or adjuster that adjusts a direction of discharged air and an amount of discharged air may be provided at an end of the duct 3, that is, a discharging port that discharges the air to the indoor space.

[0047] The central controller 4 may be connected to communicate with the outdoor unit controller 6 and the remote controller 7 to interwork or communicate with each other based on information which is exchanged therebetween. The central controller 4 may exchange information with the outdoor unit controller 6, the remote controller 7, and/or local controller 9, control to output the information through the interface unit 5, and transmit an appropriate control command to the outdoor unit controller 6, the remote controller 7 and/or the local controller 9 in accordance with the setting which is input through the interface unit 5.

[0048] Referring to FIG. 3, the air handling unit 1 may include a supply air unit or device 11 that supplies air to the indoor space through the duct 3 (3a, 3b, 3c of FIG. 2), a return air unit or device 12 into which the return air discharged from the indoor space may flow, an exhaust air unit or device 13 that discharges the return air which flows into the return air unit 12 to the outdoors, an outdoor air unit or device 14 into which the outdoor air may flow, a heat exchanging unit or device 16 that exchanges heat between the return air which is flowing through the return air unit 14 and/or the outdoor air which is flowing through the outdoor air unit 14 and the heat source (hereinafter, referred to as a “refrigerant”). An air mixing unit or device 15 may be configured by the exhaust air unit 13 and the outdoor air unit 14 and adjust a mixing ratio of the return air and the outdoor air which are supplied to the heat exchanging unit 16. Hereinafter, air which is transferred from the air mixing unit 15 to the heat exchanging unit 16 may be referred to as mixed air.

[0049] A return air damper 54 that adjusts a flow rate of the return air which is flowing into the return air unit 12, an exhaust air damper 52 that adjusts a flow rate of the exhaust air discharged from the exhaust air unit 13, an outdoor air damper 51 that adjusts a flow rate of the outdoor air which is flowing into the outdoor air unit 14, a mixture damper 53 that adjusts a flow rate transferred from the exhaust air unit 13 to the outdoor air unit 14, and a supply air damper 55 that adjusts a flow rate of the supply air which is supplied to the duct 3 may be provided. These dampers may include a vane that adjusts an opening degree of a flow channel through which the air flows in accordance with a rotation angle and a damper actuator that operates the vane.

[0050] The control unit 110 may control the opening degree of the dampers to adjust a mixing ratio of the outdoor air and the return air. The damper actuator may operate under control of the control unit 110 to control the rotation angle of the vane. For example, when the supply air, which is formed of mixed air with the return air and the outdoor air at a ratio of 7:3, is formed, the control unit 10 may adjust the opening degree of the exhaust air damper 52 to discharge 30% of the return air which is flowing into the return air unit 12 to the outside and adjusts the opening degree of the outside air damper 51 to allow the outdoor air to flow into the outdoor air unit 14 as much as the discharged flow rate. In this case, the mixture damper 53 may be completely open.

[0051] When the return air which is flowing into the return air unit 12 is completely discharged to the outdoors in accordance with the opening degree of the dampers, and the supply air is formed only by the outdoor air flowing into the outdoor air unit 14, it is said that all outdoor air is supplied. In some embodiments, the air handling unit 1 may be configured without having the return air unit 12 and the exhaust air unit 13, and in this case, a 100% outdoor air is supplied indoors.

[0052] The return air unit 12, the exhaust air unit 13, the outdoor air unit 14, the heat exchanging unit 16, and the supply air unit 11 may be modularized, and in this case, diversity may be applied to the configuration of the devices by adding and removing each unit. For example, when the indoor air handling is performed only using 100% outdoor air, as described above, the air handling unit 1 may be configured without having the return air unit 12 and the exhaust air unit 13 and the units may be added or removed in accordance with a required air handling quantity. Further, according to a structure in which each unit is modularized, units may be delivered in a dissembled state to a field at which the air handling unit 1 is provided and an assembling process of the units may be also promptly and simply performed at the field.

[0053] The air handling unit 1 may include a blower that forms a flow of air from the return air unit 12 to the supply air unit 11. The blower may include fans 56 and 58, and fan motors 57 and 59 that rotate the fans 56 and 58, respectively. The fans 56 and 58 may be specifically provided in the supply air unit 11 and the return air unit 12, respectively. As a driver 140 of the fan motors 57 and 59, an inverter drive that controls a rotation speed of the motors 57 and 59 may be provided. One unit that configures or forms the air handling unit 1, for example, the supply air unit 11, may include a plurality of blowers. The blowers may be modularized, and in this case, the blowers may be added or removed in accordance with a required air blowing amount. The heat exchanging unit 16 may include a heat exchanger 60 that changes a phase of the refrigerant by exchanging heat with mixed air supplied from the air mixing unit 15 or the 100% outdoor air. The heat exchanger 60 may serve as an evaporator in a case of a cooling operation and serve as a condenser in a case of a heating operation. Further, the heat exchanging unit 16 may include an expansion valve 61 that expands the refrigerant. During the cooling operation, high temperature and high pressure compressed refrigerant which is transferred from the outdoor unit 2 may be transferred to the heat exchanger 60 through the expansion valve 61. A plurality of expansion valves 61 may be provided in accordance with the configuration of the outdoor unit 2.

[0054] The devices (hereinafter, referred to as “air handling unit configuring devices”) which configure or form the air handling unit 1, such as damper(s) 180, fan motor(s) 160, and expansion valve(s) 170 may be controlled by the central controller 4.

[0055] When the heat exchanging unit 15 includes a chiller that uses water as a heat source, the air handling unit 1 may include a valve that adjusts a flow rate of hot water which is supplied to the chiller, a valve that adjusts a flow rate of hot water which is discharged from the chiller, a valve that adjusts a flow rate of cold water which is supplied to the chiller, and a valve that adjusts a flow rate of cold water which is discharged from the chiller. Further, the air handling unit 1 may include a filter that filtrates the air, a pre-heater that heats the supply air to pre-heat the indoor space in advance until the air conditioning system is stabilized, a humidifier that humidifies the supply air, and a humidifier valve that adjusts a humidifying amount of the humidifier.

[0056] The air handling unit configuring devices may include at least one sensor 150. The sensor 150 may be configured by a supply air flow rate sensor that senses a flow rate of the supply air, a return air flow rate sensor that senses a flow rate of the return air, a CO2 sensor that senses a concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air, a smog sensor that detects smog in the air, a positive pressure sensor that senses a positive pressure of air current which becomes a base to control an air volume, and a differential pressure sensor that senses a differential pressure of the air before and after passing through the filter.

[0057] The central controller 4 may include the input/output units 120a and 120b to which the air handling unit configuring devices may be connected. Electric signals may be input and output between the input/output units 120a and 120b and the air handling unit configuring devices. The input/output units 120a and 120b may include a plurality of input/output ports which may be allocated to the air handling unit configuring devices to input/output the signal. The plurality of input/output ports may be configured by an analog port (AI/AO port), through which an analog signal may be input/output, a digital port (DI/DO port) which inputs and outputs a digital signal, or a combination thereof. A plurality of input/output units may be provided in accordance with the number of devices which configure the air handling unit, and the input/output units 120a and 120b may be provided to be modularized to be added or removed. The input/output ports may be provided by the control unit 110, and in this case, the control unit 110 may receive information from the air handling unit configuring devices through the input/output port provided therein without using the input/output unit.

[0058] The interface unit 5 may configure the interface based on the air handling unit configuring devices which may be allocated to the input/output ports. For example, when the exhaust air damper 13 is provided in the air handling unit 1, any one of the input/output ports may be allocated to the exhaust air damper 13, and the interface unit 5 may provide an interface including a menu that adjusts the opening degree of the exhaust air damper 13.

[0059] The interface unit 5 may reconfigure an interface in accordance with a change in the configuration of the air handling unit configuring devices. For example, when the fan motor is added or changed, a menu for controlling the fan motor may be changed on the interface. The reconfiguration of the interface may include not only the change of the control menu, which has been previously provided, but also addition of a control menu for an added air handling unit configuring device or inactivation or removal of the control menu of a removed air handling unit configuring device.

[0060] The interface may be reconfigured based on the information of the air handling unit configuring devices which is recorded in the recording unit of the control unit 110. When a new device is added to the air handling unit 1, the interface unit 5 may obtain information on the added device from the recording unit and reconfigure the interface based on the information obtained as described above. For example, when a function of mixing the outdoor air and the return air and devices related therewith are added to the air handling unit 1, which originally included only an air supplying function, so that a mixture damper 53 is additionally provided, the interface unit 5 may obtain information on the mixture damper 53 from the recording unit and generate a control menu for controlling the mixture damper 53 based thereon.

[0061] The interface unit 5 may display a driving state of the air handling unit 1 in accordance with a signal input through the input/output port. The interface unit 5 may include a predetermined input unit or input, such as an interface button, a switch, or a touch pad and a displaying unit or display that provides a screen on which numbers, characters, special characters, or images may be output. The interface unit 5 may be provided as a touch screen in which an input unit and an output unit form a layered structure.

[0062] As illustrated in FIG. 6A, the control unit 110 may receive information which is measured by the sensor 150 of the air handling unit 1 through the input/output port provided therein, for example, information for activating or stopping of the fan motor, a current driving mode (cooling/heating/humidifying/ventilating mode) of the air handling unit 1, smoke sensing, a measurement value of the differential pressure sensor, or emergency stop, information for checking a driving state of the air handling unit 1, and a signal for a level (alarm level 1, alarm level 2, and alarm level 3) of an alarm when an abnormal situation occurs. Such information may be received through a digital input/output port.

[0063] The control unit 110 may receive a return air temperature, a return air humidity, a supply air temperature, a supply air humidity, an outdoor air temperature, or an outdoor air humidity which may be sensed by the sensors and receive a signal which may be output from fan motors of blowing devices which may be provided for return air and supply air (a return air fan signal, a supply air fan signal), respectively. The control unit 110 may receive information through the input/output unit 120. According to this embodiment, the first input/output unit 120a may receive a temperature (mix temperature) of the mixed air, a flow rate of the supply air, a flow rate of the return air, operation information (a cold water valve (in)) of a valve that adjusts inflow of cold water, operation information (a hot water valve (in)) of a valve that adjusts inflow of hot water, operation information (a cold water valve (out)) of a valve that adjusts a flow rate of discharged cold water, operation information (a hot water valve (out)) of a valve that adjusts a flow rate of discharged hot water, whether to set a freezing protection function, and operation information of a humidifier valve. Further, the second input/output unit 120b may receive information from the CO2 sensor, the differential pressure sensor, the outdoor air damper, the exhaust air damper, the mixture damper, the positive pressure sensor, and the pre-heaters, for example. Reference symbols L11, L12 and L13 represented in FIG. 6 denote channels through which communication between the devices may be performed.

[0064] FIG. 6B illustrates configurations of a return air blower module 140a that blows the return air and a supply air blower module 140b that blows the supply air. Each blower module may be configured by a plurality of blowers and each blower may be configured by fan motors 143a, 143b, 143c, and 143d and drivers 142a, 142b, 142c, and 142d that control a speed of the fan motors, respectively. Further, each blower module may include noise filters 141a and 141b that remove noise from power supplied from the fan motors which configure the module.

[0065] FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a menu structure of an interface unit or interface according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 7, the interface unit 5 may display information received from the central controller 4 and a control menu for controlling the air handling unit 1 and/or the outdoor unit 2 on a screen and transmit information input through the control menu to the central controller 4.

[0066] The interface unit 5 may provide a login menu 201, and in this case, a user, a manger, or an installer may log in. Displayed screen configurations and provided menus may be different for every user, manager, and installer. Therefore, control authority for the air handling unit 1 and the outdoor unit 2 may also be differently set in accordance with a log-in party.

[0067] A driving menu 202 that controls the driving of the air handling unit 1 may be provided through the interface. The driving menu 202 may relate to driving (start driving), stop (stop driving), heating, cooling, blowing, outdoor air cooling, dehumidifying, and optional driving and may be configured to immediately set a driving mode when a corresponding key is selected. Further, the logged-in screen may include menu items such as main, home, schedule, history, and setting, for example.

[0068] The home menu may be configured by a monitoring menu for the air handling unit 1 and the outdoor unit 2. The home menu may include sub menus for a system view, a detail view, and a state for the outdoor unit, for example. The system view may provide a monitoring menu for the air handling unit 1, the detail view may display detail information on an operating state of the air handling unit 1, and the outdoor unit 2 may be monitored through the state of the outdoor unit 2.

[0069] The schedule menu may be a menu item for setting a driving schedule of the air handling unit 1. The schedule menu may include a weekly schedule menu as a sub menu, and when the weekly schedule menu is selected, a weekly schedule editing screen may be separately provided.

[0070] When the history menu is selected, a control history or an error occurring history for another controller or unit, which is connected to the air handling unit 1, the outdoor unit 2, and/or the central controller 4 may be displayed.

[0071] The setting menu may provide a menu for inputting and testing information on the air handling unit configuring device in order to control the driving of the air handling unit 1. As a submenu of the setting menu, manager setting, product information, and service setting may be provided, for example. The manager setting may include submenus of manager settings 1, 2, and 3 as setting menus for controlling the air handling unit 1 by the manager, and model information or version information for the air handling unit 1 and the interface unit 5 may be displayed as the product information. Further, the service setting menu may provide a submenu that inputs a reference value or a reference control value for the device which is actually provided in the air handling unit 1 under an authority of an installer as service settings 1 to 5. In this case, in the interface unit 5, when the user logs-in in accordance with the login authority, only the home menu may be displayed among the main menus (A) to display monitoring information for the air handling unit 1 and/or the outdoor unit 2.

[0072] When the manager logs in, the interface unit 5 may display four main menus of home, schedule, history, and setting on the screen (B), for example. However, all the sub menus for home, schedule, and history may be displayed, but only the manager setting and the product information may be displayed among the setting menus, and the service setting may not be displayed. Therefore, when the manager logs in, not only basic monitoring, but also setting input, history, and schedule for control may be managed.

[0073] When the installer logs in, all menus including the service setting of the setting menu may be displayed (C) and may be set. When the air handling unit 1 is initially installed, a setting value of a device (air handling unit configuring device) which is installed in the air handling unit 1, for example, a sensor, a valve, or a damper may be input, and more particularly, a sensing range or sensitivity of the installed sensor may be input and the function may be turned on/off in accordance with whether to install the carbon dioxide sensor. The setting may not be changed after the initial setting, so that the setting may be displayed only when the installer logs in. When the configuration of the air handling unit is changed or a module is added, the setting may be newly generated for the changed configuration through the installer log-in.

[0074] The menu screens will be described hereinafter with reference to the drawings.

[0075] FIGS. 8A-8B are exemplary views to explain a login method of an interface unit according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 8, the interface unit 5 may display a login menu 204 on a screen 210.

[0076] In the login menu 204, as illustrated in FIG. 8A, a manager key 205 and a user key 206 may be displayed in accordance with login authorities. When any one of them is selected, as illustrated in FIG. 8B, a password input window 208 may be displayed on the screen 210 as a popup menu. In the password input window 208, a plurality of keys and an input section, in which a selected key may be displayed. When a confirm key is selected after inputting the password, the password may be compared with previously stored authentication information. When authentication is successful, the monitoring menu of FIG. 9, which will be described hereinafter, may be displayed on the screen 210. When authentication fails, for example, the password is not correct or a user has an authority which is different from the selected authority, a guiding message may be output to re-input the password together with a guide in accordance with the incorrect password. Further, a separate warning message may be output. In this case, in FIG. 8A, when login keys for the manager or the user are displayed or a specific area of the login screen 204 is selected (207) or when a specific area is touched for a predetermined time or longer, a password input window for installer login may be displayed.

[0077] As described above, a menu to be displayed may be differently output in accordance with an authority of any one of an installer, a manager, and a user, which may be used to log in, and a setting authority may also be different.

[0078] FIGS. 9 to 12 are exemplary views illustrating an embodiment of a monitoring screen of an interface unit of an air conditioning system according to an embodiment. Hereinafter, monitoring screens will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The interface unit 5 according to embodiments may reconfigure the interface in accordance with the air handling unit configuring devices which are recognized through the input/output unit 120.

[0079] The interface may be reconfigured by generating a control menu for an added device when a device is added to the air handling unit 1 or inactivating or removing a control menu for a removed device when a device is removed from the air handling unit 1. Hereinafter, embodied aspects of the implementable interface in accordance with the configuration of the devices provided in the air handling unit 1 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0080] FIG. 9 illustrates a monitoring screen, which represents a state of the air conditioning system. Referring to FIG. 9, information which is received to the central controller 4 may be stored in a memory (not illustrated) in the control unit 110 of the central controller 4. The control unit 110 may transmit the stored information to the interface unit 5, and the interface unit 5 may analyze information received from the central controller 4 to display a monitoring screen for the air handling unit 1 on the screen 210, as illustrated in FIG. 9.

[0081] The interface unit 5 may analyze the information received from the central controller 4 to display a graphic based monitoring screen. An actually measured information value may be displayed on the screen 210 in accordance with information measured by the air handling unit configuring devices, temperature, humidity, a state of the valve, and information on an activating state, for example. For example, a supply air temperature and an intake temperature may be represented by numerical values. The information value may be represented by at least one of a character, a number, a special symbol, or a combination thereof, for example. Further, an image and/or an icon, which represents the air handling unit configuring devices, may be displayed through the screen 210.

[0082] An operating state of the air handling unit configuring device may be displayed on the screen 210 as an icon or an image. For example, a supply air fan and/or a return air fan may be normally driven, a dynamic image of a rotating fan may be displayed and when the fan is abnormally driven, an image of a stopped fan may be displayed with a different color from that of the fan which is normally driven. For example, the fan may be displayed with a red color or displayed with a separate warning notice.

[0083] In the monitoring screen, an upper driving menu 220 and a lower main menu 290 may be displayed, and a main screen may be displayed at a center of the screen 210. In the monitoring state, a monitoring menu 230 may be displayed on the main screen. In this case, any one of the upper driving menu 220 or the lower main menu 290 may be selected, and thus, information corresponding thereto may be displayed on the main screen. In this case, a selected key from the driving menu 220 and the main menu 290 may be displayed to be different from the other key. For example, when a home key 291 is selected and a drive key 222 and a heating key 224 are selected, the main screen according to the selection may be displayed and the home key and the heating key may be displayed to have different colors and letter sizes from other keys, so that it is noticed that the keys are currently selected.

[0084] In the upper driving menu 220, user information 211 regarding a user currently connected, a power key 221, the drive key 222, a stop key 223, the heating key 224, a cooling key 225, a blowing key 226, an outdoor air cooling key 227, a dehumidifying key 228, and an additional function key 229 may be displayed. Information on a user who logs into the interface unit 5 may be displayed as the user information 211, and for example, may be divided by an installer, a manager, and a user. A name to be displayed may be changeable, and the name may be displayed by a separate ID or an icon. When the power key 221 is a login key and when the power key 221 is selected in a logged in state, information on a user who is currently connected may be logged out. When the power key 221 is selected in the logged out state, a login menu may be displayed on the main screen at the center or a new window may be created to display the login menu.

[0085] The drive key 222 and the stop key 223 may be key buttons for a driving state and when the drive key 222 is selected, the air handling unit 1 may start driving and when the stop key 223 is selected, the driving air handling unit 1 may stop driving. When the air handling unit 1 is stopped, the drive key 222 may be activated and only when the air handling unit 1 is driven, the stop key 223 may be activated. When the drive key 222 is selected, the interface unit 5 may transmit a control signal in accordance with the key to the central controller 4, and the central controller 4 may control the air handling unit corresponding to the control signal.

[0086] The heating key 224, the cooling key 225, the blowing key 226, the outdoor air cooling key 227, and the dehumidifying key 228 may be keys for driving modes and set the air handling unit 1 to be driven in a heating mode, a cooling mode, a blowing mode, an outdoor air cooling mode, and a dehumidifying mode, for example.

[0087] For example, when the cooling key 225 is selected, the air handling unit 1 may be driven in a cooling mode. When the cooling key 225 is selected, a signal indicating that the cooling mode is set may be transmitted to the central controller 4, and the central controller 4 may control the air handling unit 1 to be driven in the cooling mode. The interface unit 5 may display that the cooling operation is performed through the screen. For example, when the cooling key 225 is selected while being driven in the heating mode, the interface unit 5 may reconfigure the screen on which the cooling mode is previously displayed to display the heating mode. Further, the interface unit 5 may activate or inactivate a specific key in accordance with provided air handling unit devices to be displayed. For example, when a humidifier is not provided in the air handling unit 1, the humidifier key 228 may be inactivated.

[0088] The additional function key 229 may be a menu for setting additional functions of the air handling unit 1, such as humidification or automatic ventilation, and provide selectable menus in accordance with a device which is provided in the air handling unit 1 in order to implement the additional function. For example, when humidifying, automatic ventilating, and humidifying and automatic ventilating functions are provided by the provided air handling unit configuring devices, the menu may be changed in the order of humidification, automatic ventilation, and humidification and automatic ventilation, and not-used in accordance with a number of times of selecting the additional function key 229.

[0089] When the humidifying function is not provided in the air handling unit 1, that is, the humidifier is not provided in the air handling unit 1, the humidification menu may not be selected. Further, when the carbon dioxide sensor is not provided in the air handling unit 1, the automatic ventilation menu may be inactivated, so that the automatic ventilation menu may not be selected. The activation/inactivation of the menu may be automatically performed when the air handling unit configuring device is connected or disconnected to or from the input/output port provided in the input/output unit 120 and/or the control unit 110.

[0090] In the lower main menu 290, the home key 291, a schedule key 292, a history key 293, and a setting key 294 may be displayed, and a date and day of the week key 295 and a time key 296 may be displayed at one or a right side. The home key 291 may display the home screen on the main screen, and the monitoring menu 230 for the driving state of the air handling unit 1 and the outdoor unit 2 may be displayed as the home screen.

[0091] The schedule key 292 may set a driving schedule for the air handling unit 1, and the history key 292 may display a driving history and an error history of the air handling unit 1. The setting key 294 may display a setting menu for controlling the air handling unit 1 on the main screen. Further, the setting key 294 may display a menu for setting an operation of the interface unit 5 on the main screen. For example, a setting, such as screen brightness, may be changed.

[0092] When the date and day of the week key 295 or the time key 296 is selected, a menu for changing a time of the system may be displayed.

[0093] A plurality of tabs 231, 232, and 233 may be displayed on the main screen in accordance with the displayed information, so that the information may be changed and displayed corresponding to the selected tab. The monitoring menu 230 may be displayed to be divided into three tabs of a system view tab 231, a detail view tab 232, and an outdoor unit state tab 233. The system view tab 231 may be basically selected when the home key 291 is selected, to be displayed on the main screen and display the operating state of the air handling unit 1 of the monitoring menu 230 in real time.

[0094] A flow of air may be displayed on the monitoring menu 230 by arrows and return air 237, exhaust air 235, outdoor air 236, and supply air 238 may be displayed in accordance with intake and discharge of air in accordance with the flow of the air. Further, devices which are individually provided, such as a damper, a valve, a sensor, and a filter, may be displayed by images or icons, and information values thereof may be displayed on the screen 210.

[0095] In this case, the image or the icon for each device may be displayed to correspond to the device which is actually provided and disposed on the screen so as to correspond to an actual position. Further, in a case of a moving device, an image or an icon may be displayed to vary corresponding to the moving device to indicate a movement of the device, and when an error occurs, a separate alarm may be output and an image or an icon in accordance with the error may be additionally displayed on the screen 210 or displayed with a changed color.

[0096] A smoke sensor may be provided at a side into which the return air 237 flows, so that a smoke icon 247 corresponding thereto may be displayed, images for a concentrate sensor 248, a humidity sensor 249, and a temperature sensor 250 may be displayed, and 1000 ppm, 80%, and 25.5 degrees (a rotation angle of a vane which configures a damper) may be displayed as information values. In this case, the smoke sensing may be displayed when smoke which is generated due to a fire being sensed by the smoke sensor or displayed with different colors to indicate whether to sense the smoke has been sensed. The concentration sensor may determine whether to automatically ventilate the indoor space in accordance with a concentration of carbon dioxide in the return air which circulates in the indoor space and returns by measuring the concentration of carbon dioxide and a degree of the outdoor air and the exhaust air may be correspondingly determined.

[0097] The return air fan 246 may be displayed and an operation state icon 251 for every return air fan may be displayed above the return air fan 246. When the return air fan 246 is configured by a plurality of fans, for example, six fans, the fans may be divided to be denoted by F1 to F6, and a state of each fan may be displayed as drive, stop, and error by different colors of green, white, or red in accordance with the operation state.

[0098] An exhaust air damper 239 (52) may be displayed at a side of the exhaust air 235 and when a part of the return air is discharged, an opening degree amount 252 of the exhaust air damper may be displayed at a side of the return air 235. Further, an outdoor air damper 240 (51) may be displayed at the side of the outdoor air 236 and an opening degree amount 255 of the outdoor air damper 240, which adjusts an inflow outdoor air, may be displayed. A temperature 253 and a humidity 254 for flowing outdoor air may be displayed at the side of the outdoor air 236. The temperature sensor and the humidity sensor at the side of outdoor air may be provided outside of the outdoor air damper 240 to measure an outside temperature and an outside humidity. Therefore, even in a state in which the outdoor air damper 240 is closed, the outside temperature and the outside humidity may be measured.

[0099] When the opening degree amount of the exhaust air damper 239 (52) is zero, it means that the exhaust air damper is closed and 100% of return air is supplied as a supply air. In this case, the opening degree of the exhaust air damper interworks with the outdoor air damper 240 (51), so that the opening degree of the outdoor air damper is also zero.

[0100] The mixture damper 241 (53) may be displayed between the exhaust air and the outdoor air, and an opening degree amount 256 thereof may be displayed. In this case, the opening degree amount of the damper may be represented by a rotation angle of the vane, and when the rotation angle is zero degree, the damper may be closed. Further, when the rotation angle is 90 degrees, the damper may be open at maximum. As the exhaust air is 0%, the outdoor air is 0%, and the return air is 100%, the damper may be open at maximum to 90 degrees.

[0101] A temperature sensor 258 that measures a temperature of the mixed air in which the return air and the outdoor air are mixed may be displayed between the mixture damper 241 and the outdoor air damper 240. In this case, heat exchangers 243 and 244, which may be provided between an outdoor air or mixed air side and a supply air side may be displayed, and a filter 242 that removes foreign substances in air which is flowing in the heat exchanger may be displayed. In this case, pressure sensors may be provided at both sides of the filter 242, and a pressure 257 of the air which flows into the heat exchanger through the filter 242 may be displayed.

[0102] It may be determined whether filter cleaning is required in accordance with a filter cleaning cycle or an information value of a filter differential pressure sensor which may be installed in the filter 242, and a filter icon 259 which represents a cleaning timing may be displayed.

[0103] A pressure sensor 263, a humidity sensor 262, and a temperature sensor 261 may be displayed at a side of the supply air 238, and a supply air fan 245 may be displayed. An operation state of the supply air fan 245 may be denoted by F1 to F6 in accordance with a number of provided fans and an operating state of each fan may be represented.

[0104] Each fan and damper which may be displayed on the monitoring menu 230 may be displayed by an image that moves in accordance with a driving state, and each sensor may represent whether it normally operates in accordance with a color or a displayed information value. Further, a warning icon may be displayed.

[0105] FIG. 10 is an exemplary view illustrating display of detail information among the monitoring menus on the interface unit. As illustrated in FIG. 10, when a detail view tab 232 is selected, detail information on temperature and humidity 271, a locked state 272, a damper opening degree 273, and a fan driving state 274 may be displayed in the monitoring menu 30, for example. That is, the detail information may be detail information on the operating state of the air handling unit of the system view tab 231 described above.

[0106] Temperatures and humidifies for the return air, the supply air, the outdoor air, and the mixed air may be displayed by numerical values, and the locked state in accordance with the control mode may be represented by an icon. Further, damper opening degree amounts of the outdoor air, the exhaust air, and the mixed air may be displayed. The damper opening degree amount may be zero degree in a closed state and 90 degrees in a maximum opening state. Further, fan driving states 274 of the return air fan and the supply air fan may be displayed. In this case, it may be displayed whether to turn on/off the fan or whether an error has occurred.

[0107] FIG. 11 is an exemplary view illustrating an outdoor unit state among the monitoring menus displayed on the interface unit. As illustrated in FIG. 11, state information on a heat source, specifically, the outdoor unit 2, which is connected to the air handling unit 1, may be displayed in the monitoring menu 230. The state information of the outdoor unit 2, which is connected to the air handling unit 1, may be displayed for every outdoor unit (281 to 286), and an address for communication with the outdoor unit, any one operation state of drive, stop, and error, and whether to perform a defrosting operation may be displayed.

[0108] In accordance with the number of connected outdoor units 2, a plurality of pages may be provided and displayed. When the heat source is not the outdoor unit, for example, when the heat source is a boiler or a cooling tower, information thereon may be displayed.

[0109] FIG. 12 is an exemplary view of a menu screen which is differently displayed in accordance with a login authority of the interface unit and illustrates a monitoring menu screen which is differently configured when an installer logs in, in the monitoring menu screen which is displayed when the detail view tab of FIG. 10 described above is selected. As illustrated in FIG. 12, when the installer logs in and the detail view tab 232 is selected, in the monitoring menu 230, a detail view menu having a screen configuration which is different from the detail view tab 232 may be displayed when the manager logs in, as described above.

[0110] When the installer logs in, the temperature/humidity 271, the lock state 272, and the damper opening degree 273 may be displayed to be the same as the monitoring menu when the manager logs in, but the fan driving state 275 may be displayed to be different from the case when the manager logs in. Not only the fan on/off state, but also a driving frequency 276 of the fan may be displayed on the menu screen of the detail view tab in accordance with the login of the installer. In this case, the return air fan and the supply air fan may each be configured by a plurality of fans and operate at different frequencies.

[0111] FIG. 13 is an exemplary view illustrating an idle screen of an interface unit according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 13, when there is no input for a predetermine time or longer, the interface unit 5 may display an idle screen 212. When there is no separate input in a state in which the monitoring screen 210 is output, the interface unit 5 may switch the screen 210 into the idle screen 212 to display the idle screen, and in this case, brief information on the air handling unit 1 may be displayed on the idle screen 212.

[0112] On the idle screen 212, information on a driving state 213, a driving mode 214, an additional driving 215, and a current temperature 216 may be displayed as information. Each information may be displayed by an image, an icon, a number, or a character, or a combination thereof, for example. The driving state may indicate whether to be driven, and as a driving mode, information on driving mode which is currently set, among the driving modes, such as heating, cooling, blowing, dehumidifying, and outdoor air cooling, may be displayed and a set additional driving may be displayed, and the return air temperature may be displayed as a current temperature. In this case, when the reference for the indoor temperature is a return air temperature, the return air temperature may be displayed, and when the supply air temperature is a room temperature, the supply air temperature may be displayed.

[0113] FIGS. 14A to 16 are exemplary views to explain a manager setting menu of an interface unit according to an embodiment. FIG. 14A is an example of a menu screen of a first manager setting tab, and FIG. 14B is an example of a menu screen when a control reference of the first manager setting tab is set to be a supply air.

[0114] When a setting key 294 is selected from the main menu, as illustrated in FIG. 14A, the setting menu 310 may be displayed. The setting menu 310 may include submenus of manager setting 311, product information 312, and system setting 313. In this case, the manager setting 311 may be a menu for controlling an operation of the air handling unit 1, and the product information 312 may be model information on the air handling unit 1 or the interface unit 5 or version information of a control program, and the system setting 313 may be to set installation information for the air handling unit 1.

[0115] In the manager setting 311, a menu for the manager setting may be divided into a plurality of tabs to be displayed as first to third manager setting tabs 314 to 316. As each tab is selected, a menu screen corresponding thereto may be displayed to input the setting, thereby controlling the air handling unit 1 for every function. A basic operation for the air handling unit 1 may be set through the operating menu 220 in an upper portion.

[0116] When the first manager setting tab 314 is selected, a menu screen, which may be configured as or include menu items, such as a control reference 321 for a room temperature for controlling the air handling unit 1, a cooling temperature and humidity 322, a heating temperature and humidity 323, an air volume setting 324, a damper opening degree 325, a cooling damper opening degree 326, a heating damper opening degree 327, and a blowing damper opening degree 328, for example, to input information, may be displayed. As the control reference 321, one of the return air or the supply air may be selected as the room temperature, which becomes a reference for temperature control. When the return air temperature is selected, a temperature of the return air, which circulates in the indoor space and returns may be measured to control the temperature, and when the supply air temperature is selected, a temperature of the supply air, which is supplied to the indoor space may be maintained to be a set temperature. When the control reference is set, a reference for the temperature may be changed from the monitoring menu of the detail view described above to be displayed.

[0117] The cooling temperature and humidity 322 and the heating temperature and humidity 323 may be target temperature and humidity when it is driven in the cooling mode and the heating mode. The temperature may be input in a unit of 0.1° C. and an input temperature may be limited. For example, a cooling temperature which is lower than 18° C. may not be input and a heating temperature which exceeds 30° C. may not be input. This may vary depending on the setting. The air volume may be set for an air volume of the air handling unit 1 and may be set to be any one of strong, medium, and weak, for example.

[0118] A damper opening degree 325 may be selected from automatic setting and manual setting to control the damper opening degree, and when the automatic setting is set, the damper opening degree may be automatically changed. A cooling damper opening degree 326, a heating damper opening degree 327, and a blowing damper opening degree 328 may set opening degrees of an outdoor air damper, an exhaust air damper, and a mixture damper when it is driven in a cooling mode, a heating mode, and a blowing mode. When the damper opening degree 325 is manual setting, the damper opening degree may be determined in accordance with the set opening degree, and when the damper opening degree is automatic setting, the damper opening degree may vary depending on the driving state or indoor environment change based on the set opening degree. In this case, when the opening angle is zero degree, the damper may be in a closed state and when the opening angle is 90 degrees, the damper may be open to the maximum. The outdoor air damper, the exhaust damper, and the mixture damper may interwork with each other to determine the opening angle. As the air flows from the outside as much as the amount discharged from the air handling unit 1, so that the amount of the exhaust air may be the same as an amount of the outdoor air, opening angles of the outdoor air damper and the exhaust air damper may be set to be the same and a sum of the mixed air and the outdoor air may be 100, so that a sum of the opening angles of the outdoor air damper and the mixture damper may also be 90 degrees.

[0119] As described above, when a setting value for the menu item of the first manager setting tab 314 is input, the interface unit 5 may store the set information and transmit the set information to the control unit 110 of the central controller 4. The control unit 110 of the central controller 4, which may receive the information, may change the setting in accordance with the received information and control the air handling unit to be driven based on the changed information. When the return air temperature sensor or the temperature and humidity sensor is not provided, the supply air temperature may be an initial value as a temperature reference and when a setting value for an item in which the sensor is not provided is input, the interface unit 5 may output a warning through the screen.

[0120] As illustrated in FIG. 14B, when the control reference 321 is set to the supply air in the menu screen of the first manager setting tab 314, the central controller 4 may control the temperature of the air handling unit based on the supply air temperature. When the control reference is set to the supply air, the control reference 321, a cooling temperature and humidity 331, a heating temperature and humidity 332, the air volume setting 324, the damper opening degree 325, the cooling damper opening degree 326, the heating damper opening degree 327, and the blowing damper opening degree 328 may be displayed on the menu screen which may be displayed when the first manager setting tab 314 is selected, and the cooling temperature and humidity 322 and the heating temperature and humidity 323 may be displayed differently from the case when the control reference is a return air.

[0121] The cooling temperature and humidity 331 and the heating temperature and humidity 332 may additionally set a control range for a temperature to input a target temperature and humidity when it is driven in the cooling mode and the heating mode. When the target temperature in the cooling mode is 18 degrees and an allowable range when the installer logs in is set to be 2 degrees, for example, 16 degrees to 20 degrees obtained by adding or subtracting 2 degrees to or from 18 degrees becomes control ranges for the target temperature. The control range may be set in the unit of 1 degree.

[0122] FIG. 15 is a view illustrating an example of a menu screen of a second manager setting tab. As illustrated in FIG. 15, when a second manager setting tab 315 is selected from the manager setting menu 311, a menu screen, which may be configured by or include menu items of a type 335 of an air handling unit (AHU), a heat exchanging method 336 of the air handling unit, and an applied sensor 337, may be displayed.

[0123] Any one of a 100% outdoor air unit and an air handling unit may be selected as the type 335 of the air handling unit. The type of air handling unit may be an air handling unit when the air handling unit 1 supplies the supply air to the indoor space with the mixed air of the outdoor air and the return air, and may be a 100% outdoor air unit when the supply air is supplied only by the outdoor air without the return air. That is, when the air handling unit is configured or formed by the supply air unit, the heat exchanging unit, the outdoor air unit, and the exhaust air unit without having the return air unit, the air handling unit may be the 100% outdoor air unit. Further, even though the return air unit is provided, when the supply air is supplied only by the outdoor air by opening the outdoor air damper by 100% at maximum, the air handling unit may be set to be the 100% outdoor air unit.

[0124] The heat exchanging method 336 of the air handling unit may be divided into a case when a fan is provided to heat-exchange the refrigerant and a case when the heat is exchanged by circulating water to set the heat exchanging methods 339a and 339b for cooling and heating to be an air cooling type or water cooling type and set to be “not used”. As a heat exchanging method, a heat exchanging method which coincides with a method which is actually provided in the air handling unit 1 needs to be set. The case of “not used” may be the outdoor air cooling which does not perform the heat exchange and performs the cooling only with the outdoor air. The heat exchanging method may be displayed to be selected by a drop-down menu method.

[0125] The applied sensor 337 may be set for a sensor which is provided in the air handling unit 1. That is, a type of sensor which is actually provided may be set. In this case, the control menu which controls the air handling unit 1 may be changed in accordance with a setting state of the applied sensor 337.

[0126] The applied sensor 337 may be divided into a necessary sensor and an optional sensor. A return air sensor and a supply air sensor may be provided as the necessary sensor, and types 338a and 338b of the sensors provided may be set. Any one of the temperature and humidity sensor or the temperature sensor may be set as the return air sensor, and the supply air sensor and the selection menu may be displayed by a drop-down menu method. The temperature and humidity sensor may measure a temperature and a humidity.

[0127] An outdoor air temperature and humidity sensor, a mixed air temperature sensor, a carbon dioxide sensor, a filter differential pressure sensor, a supply air positive pressure sensor, a return air flow sensor, and a supply air flow sensor may be set as the optional sensor. In the case of the carbon dioxide sensor, a reference value for determining a contamination degree may be input, and in the filter differential pressure sensor, a reference pressure for outputting an error or a warning may be input.

[0128] In the applied sensor 337, when a sensor which is not provided in the air handling unit 1 is selected, information corresponding thereto is not input. Further, even though the sensor is provided in the air handling unit, when the sensor is not set, an error does not occurred but the control related with the sensor may not be used. For example, when the carbon dioxide (CO2) sensor is not set, an icon for CO2 may be removed from the monitoring screen and a related control menu may be inactivated or the corresponding item may not be selected.

[0129] FIG. 16 is a view illustrating an example of a menu screen of a third manager setting tab. As illustrated in FIG. 16, when a third manager setting tab 316 is selected from the manager setting menu 311, a menu screen, which may be configured by or include a temperature and humidity mode setting 341, a language setting 343, a touch coordinate correction 345, a password change 344, and a software (SW) upgrade 346, may be displayed. In the temperature and humidity mode setting 341, a control mode related with the temperature and the humidity may be set, and the control mode may set any one of local and remote schedules, and when the remote mode is set, any one of a contact point or a mode bus may be set. Each item may be displayed by a drop-down menu.

[0130] In the language setting 343, a language which is displayed for an entire menu which is displayed in the interface unit 5 may be changed. When a setting key is selected, an available language list may be displayed. In the password change 344, a password which is input to login in the interface unit 5 may be changed. Only a password having a logged-in authority may be changed. That is, the manager may not change the password of the user or the installer. In the touch coordinate correction 345, when the interface unit 5 is configured by a touch screen or includes an input unit, such as a touch pad, information may be input in accordance with the touched position, that is, a key which is disposed in the touched position may be selected. However, when the key does not coincide with the touched position, that is, an A area is touched, but a B area is selected, inconsistency may be corrected by the coordinate correction. In the software upgrade 346, a program for monitoring or control, including the menu screen which is displayed in the interface unit 5 may be downloaded and updated from an external program providing server. In some cases, the updating program may be received through the controller or directly connected to be downloaded.

[0131] FIG. 17 is an exemplary view illustrating a product information screen of an interface unit according to an embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 17, when the product information 312 is selected, version information 351 of a program which is currently installed in the interface unit 5 and a driving time 352 of the air handling unit may be displayed. In the manager setting menu described above, when the program is updated by upgrading the software, the version information which is displayed in the product information may also be changed to be displayed as a version of an updated program.

[0132] The driving time 352 may be information received through the central controller 4 to represent a total time at or during which the air handling unit 1 is driven. When an initialization key 353 is selected, an accumulated driving time may be initialized to be zero and then counted again from zero. In this case, initialization of the accumulated driving time may be selected only when the log-in is performed as an installer. When there is a need to newly count the time similarly to the case when the configuration of the air handling unit 1 is changed, if the installer logs in, the accumulated driving time may be initialized. When a user logs in as a manager, the version information and the driving time may be displayed, but the initialization key may be inactivated so as not to be selected or displayed.

[0133] FIGS. 18 to 22 are exemplary views to explain a system setting menu of an interface unit according to an embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 18, when a first system setting tab 361 is selected from the system setting 313 of the interface unit 5, an additional function 371 for the air handling unit 1, a warming time 373, and a smoke control mode 374 may be displayed on the menu screen.

[0134] The additional function 371 may be selected from damper feedback, a cooling humidifier function, a humidifier, a preheat coil, and outdoor unit sequential control, for example. When the additional function is selected, a driving mode may be set for the selected additional function by the additional driving key 229 of the driving menu 220. The damper feedback relates to whether to receive a feedback signal from the damper and a feedback signal for an opening degree of the damper may be transmitted to the central controller 4 and displayed on the monitoring screen of the interface unit 5. The cooling and humidifying function is available when a humidifier is available and a dehumidification effect is provided at the time of cooling, so that humidification may be additionally performed if necessary. The preheat coil may select any one of an electric heater, hot water, or steam as a type of a heat source, for example. A type of the preheat coil may be set to be the same as the device provided in the air handling unit 1.

[0135] The cooling and humidifying and the humidifier among the additional functions may be set when a humidifier is provided in the air handling unit 1, and the preheat coil may be set when a device which supplies a heat source, such as a heater or a boiler, for example, is provided in the air handling unit 1. When a function which is not provided in the air handling unit 1 is selected, the central controller 4 incurs an error and the interface unit 5 outputs the error on the screen.

[0136] The warming time 373 sets a preparation time because when the air handling unit 1 is driven, the set driving may be performed as soon as the driving starts so that the indoor temperature is not controlled, and provided devices including the outdoor unit require a time to prepare the driving. In this case, during the warming time, when the air handling unit 1 controls a damper and controls a heat source to start and prepare driving of the devices in accordance with the set driving mode to be in a main driving available state, the air handling unit 1 may start the set operation. In this case, even though a condition to start the main driving is not satisfied, when the warming time has passed, the central controller 4 may control the air handling unit 1 to be operated in accordance with the driving setting. That is, the warming time may be a maximum allowed time for warming up and prevent the main driving from being delayed so as not to maintain the warming up driving for a long time.

[0137] In the smoke control mode 374, a smoke control mode setting 375 may be allowed depending on whether to install a smoke sensor. In some cases, when a fire signal is input from a smoke sensing device of a building controller, the smoke control mode may be set. In the smoke control mode 374, damper setting 376 and fan operation setting 377 may be performed. In the damper setting 376, opening angles of an outdoor air damper, an exhaust air damper, and a mixture damper may be set and a frequency for rotating operation of the return air fan and the supply air fan may be set in the fan operation setting 377.

[0138] When the smoke control mode is set and smoke is sensed by the smoke sensor or a fire signal is received, the central controller 4 may set an opening degree of the damper of the air handling unit 1 in accordance with the damper setting 376. In the case of fire, operation of the outdoor unit may stop and the air handling unit 1 may also stop a series of operations including the heat exchange but the damper may operate with a predetermined opening degree in accordance with the smoke control mode setting. Further, the central controller 4 may operate the return air fan and the supply air fan at a predetermined frequency in accordance with the fan operation setting 377.

[0139] As illustrated in FIG. 19, among the system setting menu 313 of the interface unit, when the second system setting tab 362 is selected, a menu screen configured by or including a sensor range 378 and a heat source securing temperature range 379 may be displayed. The sensor range 378 may set a sensible range value for a plurality of sensors which is provided in the air handling unit 1 in accordance with characteristic of the provided sensors. As a sensible minimum value and maximum value of the sensor are input, even though a specific sensor model is not provided, various models may be selectively provided in the air handling unit 1.

[0140] The sensor range may be set for the return air temperature sensor, the outdoor air temperature sensor, the filter differential pressure sensor, the return air flow sensor, the carbon dioxide sensor, the supply air temperature sensor, the mixed air temperature sensor, the supply air positive pressure sensor, and the supply air flow sensor, and the sensor range may not be input for any sensor which is not provided. When the sensor range for the provided sensor is not input and the sensor is set to be provided, an initial value of the sensor may be automatically set.

[0141] In the heat source securing temperature range 379, a minimum value and a maximum value of a securable temperature for the cooling heat source and the heating heat source may be set when the temperature of the air handling unit 1 is controlled. The minimum value and the maximum value of the heat source securing temperature may become a reference to determine to additionally drive the outdoor unit and reduce the number of driven outdoor units when the number of outdoor units is controlled. For example, when the temperature is equal to or higher than the maximum value of the supply air temperature cooling heat source securing temperature during the cooling driving, the outdoor unit may be additionally driven and when the temperature is equal to or lower than the minimum value, the number of driven outdoor units may be reduced. Further, even though the number of outdoor units is not controlled in accordance with the heat source securing temperature, the room temperature may be controlled not to be out of the range of the maximum value and the minimum value of the heat source securing temperature. That is, the heat source securing temperature range 379 may be a controllable temperature range when the temperature is controlled.

[0142] As illustrated in FIG. 20, when a third system setting tab 363 is selected, a menu screen, which may be configured by or include a central control address 381, a number of fans 383, and a fan driving reference 379 at a time of a defrosting operation, may be displayed. The central control address 381 may set an address of the air handling unit 1 to be controlled. In this case, the address setting method may be a method of displaying an address and may be set by any one of a decimal number or a hexadecimal number.

[0143] The number of fans 383 may set a number of installed return air fans, and supply air fans and 1, 2, 4, and 6 fans may be set. As the fan driving reference 379 at the time of a defrosting operation, a temperature at which the fan operation may stop at the time of a defrosting operation and a temperature value at which the operation starts may be input. For example, at the time of a defrosting operation, when the supply air temperature is equal to or higher than 25 degrees, operation of the fan may stop and when a piping temperature is equal to or higher than 30 degrees, the fan may operate.

[0144] As illustrated in FIG. 21, when a fourth system setting tab 364 is selected, a menu screen, which may be configured by or include an inverter fan control reference 387, a positive pressure control 388, and an inverter frequency 389, may be displayed on the screen. The inverter fan control reference 387 may set to control an inverter fan based on an air volume or a positive pressure. It may be determined whether to control the inverter fan based on a designated frequency in accordance with strong, medium, and weak air volume settings, for example, or control the inverter fan based on the positive pressure in accordance with the pressure in the air handling unit 1. In the positive pressure control 388, when the inverter fan control reference is set based on a positive pressure, a positive pressure based control cycle and a pressure value which becomes a control reference in accordance with the control cycle may be set.

[0145] As the inverter frequency 389, when the inverter fan is controlled based on the air volume, an operating frequency of the inverter fan may be set for the supply air and the return air in accordance with strong wind, medium wind, and weak wind, for example. In this case, even though the strong wind is set in accordance with the setting, an actual amount of wind may be different in accordance with the frequency setting. The wind may be changed into strong, medium, or weak wind to be set in accordance with an environment in which the air handling unit is provided.

[0146] As illustrated in FIG. 22, when a fifth system setting tab 365 is selected, a menu screen, which may be configured by or include an inverter fan control reference 391 in a test driving situation, a fan control 392, a damper control 393, a humidification valve 394 when the valve is controlled, a heater valve 395, and a freezing protection contact point 396, may be displayed. When test driving is performed, the inverter fan control reference 391 may set whether to control the inverter fan based on air volume or positive pressure when the inverter fan is controlled in order to check operation of the inverter.

[0147] When the test driving is performed, the fan control 392 may input driving frequencies to the supply air fan and the return air fan to check operations of the supply air fan and the return air fan. In this case, when the frequency is input and application keys 397a and 397b are selected, the fan for which the application key is selected may operate. When the supply air fan operates, an operation state of the supply fan may be displayed in the monitoring menu or the detail view described above, and the operation frequency of the supply air fan may be displayed when the installer logs in. The installer may check whether the supply air fan operates at the input frequency when the test driving is performed.

[0148] In the damper control 393, when opening angles for the outdoor air damper, the exhaust air damper, and the mixture damper are input and application keys 397d to 397e are selected, the opening degree of the damper of the air handling unit 1 may be changed. In this case, the interface unit 5 may transmit information to the control unit 110 of the central controller 4, and the control unit 110 may transmit the control signal to the input/output unit 120 to control the damper.

[0149] In the valve control, when humidifiers are provided, test driving may be performed by selecting a DC signal and a contact point signal for the humidification valve 394 by application keys 397f and 397g, and test driving may be performed by selecting a DC signal and a contact point signal for the heater valve 395 by application keys 397h and 397i. Further, the contact point signal may be selected by the application key 397i to check whether to perform the operation for the freeze protection.

[0150] In the case of test driving, the plurality of application keys 397a to 397j may be provided to perform test driving for individual devices. In this case, test driving may be performed for one device whose application key is selected, but the test driving may not be simultaneously performed on a plurality of devices.

[0151] The system setting menu may be displayed when the installer logs in so as to be used for test driving to check whether to input information corresponding to a device provided in the air handling unit 1 in an installation step and whether to perform a normal operation after installation. When the manager logs in, basically, the system setting 313 may not be displayed. However, if necessary, new information may not be input and a previous setting may not be edited, but predetermined setting information may be displayed to be read.

[0152] FIGS. 23A-23B to 24A-24B are exemplary views to explain a schedule setting menu of an interface unit according to an embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 23A, when a schedule key 292 is selected, a schedule setting menu 410 may be displayed on the screen 210. The schedule setting menu 410 may input, add, or change a driving schedule of the air handling unit 1.

[0153] In the schedule setting menu 410, a previously set schedule list 414 may be displayed, and a schedule key for individual schedules and an editing key 416 for the schedules may be provided. The schedule setting menu 410 may include a schedule selection 411 to select any one of currently applied schedules, a selected schedule driving setting 412, or an application key 413. In the schedule mode, the driving setting 412 may be displayed to be applied to the schedule, but when the air handling unit 1 is locally or remotely controlled, the driving setting may be displayed to be unused. The application key 413 may apply a setting to the changed schedule or a selected schedule in the schedule setting menu 410. In this case, when any one schedule is selected in the schedule list 414, for example, when schedule 1 (415) is selected, as illustrated in FIG. 23B, schedule information 417 which is set for schedule 1 may be displayed. In the schedule information, schedules in accordance with a time for every day of the week may be displayed.

[0154] In the meantime, when an editing key 416 is selected in FIG. 23A, an editing screen for the schedule may be displayed. In this case, an editing key 416 for the schedule 1 (415) is selected, a schedule editing menu for the schedule 1 may be displayed and when an editing key of schedule 2 may be selected, an editing menu for the schedule 2 is displayed.

[0155] As illustrated in FIG. 24A, in the schedule editing menu 418, a schedule pattern in accordance with a time for every day of the week for the schedule 1 selected may be displayed and the schedule editing key 419 may be displayed. When the schedule editing key 419 is selected, new schedule may be added to the schedule 1 or the predetermined schedule may be corrected or removed.

[0156] When the schedule editing key 419 is selected, as illustrated in FIG. 24B, the editing menu 420 may be displayed. In the editing menu 420, day selection 421, which may select a day of the week to be edited, may be displayed as a drop down menu, and a schedule pattern 422 for the selected day of the week may be displayed. When the day of the week is changed, the schedule pattern 422 may be correspondingly changed to be displayed.

[0157] When any one of time basis schedule pattern items which are displayed in the schedule pattern 422 is selected, a driving start time 423 and a driving stop time 424 therefore may be input and when the correction key is selected, the time schedule pattern may be changed. In this case, when the deletion key is selected, the corresponding time schedule pattern may be deleted. Further, when an additional key is selected after inputting the driving start time and driving stop time without selecting the predetermined schedule, new schedule pattern may be additionally input. Changed information in accordance with addition, correction, and deletion of the pattern item may be displayed in the schedule pattern 422. When a storing key is selected, the changed schedule pattern may be stored, and when the previous menu is selected, the changed schedule pattern may move to the schedule editing menu 418 illustrated in FIG. 24A.

[0158] FIG. 25 is an exemplary view illustrating an embodiment of a screen on which history information of an interface unit of an air conditioning system according to an embodiment is displayed. As illustrated in FIG. 25, among the main menu, when a history key 293 is selected, error information 430 for the air handling unit 1 may be displayed.

[0159] The interface unit 5 may receive and store error information occurring in the air handling unit 1 from the central control unit 4 and display the error information 430 based on the stored error information. In this case, the interface unit 5 may output a warning for occurrence of error of the air handling unit 1.

[0160] A number may be assigned to the error information 430 in accordance with an order of error occurrence and a date and a time when the error occurs may be displayed, and a code for the error and information on a device in which the error occurs may be displayed. Further, a code number or a message related with the error may be displayed.

[0161] When a refresh key 432 is selected, error information 430 which is updated based on the newly received information may be displayed. When new error information is received, if the refresh key 432 is selected, new error information may be added to the error information 430.

[0162] When delete all 431 is selected, all information in the error information may be deleted and initialized. Errors occurring before performing delete all 431 may be accumulated and stored as a list and held for a predetermined period.

[0163] FIG. 26 is an exemplary view illustrating an embodiment of a screen on which a warning is output when an error of an interface unit of an air conditioning system according to an embodiment occurs. As illustrated in FIG. 26, when an error occurs in the air handling unit 1, the interface unit 5 may output a notice message 433 corresponding to error information which is received from the central controller 4. In the notice message 433, a date and time 435 when the error occurs, an error code 434, and an error message 436 for an error code may be displayed.

[0164] Therefore, an air conditioning system according to embodiments disclosed herein may include an air handling unit that adjusts the return air, the exhaust air, the outdoor air, and the supply air to circulate the indoor air and adjusts the temperature to control the room temperature to simultaneously control the temperature and ventilation while increasing heat efficiency, and a controller that controls the air handling unit to control driving while monitoring an operation state of the air handling unit through a detachable interface unit or interface, which may be an input/output device of the controller, thereby performing easy management. The air conditioning system according to embodiments disclosed herein may easily reconfigure the interface which is provided through the interface unit even though a configuration of the air handling unit varies in accordance with installation conditions, so that generality and expandability for various requirements, such as expansion, change, or simplification of the system, may be improved.

[0165] The interface unit may function as a dedicated controller for the completely installed air handling unit, but may not be limited only to controlling air handling unit configuring devices which are already installed, and has a generality to correspond to the changed device configuration. That is, a high degree of freedom for the interface configuration is assigned to the interface unit, and no physical structure change is necessary to control the changed configurations, even though the configuration of the air handling unit is changed, so that commonality and generality of components may be improved.

[0166] Embodiments disclosed herein provide an air conditioning system which may easily reconfigure an interface that is provided through an interface unit even when a configuration of an air handling unit varies depending on an installation condition, so that generality for various requirements, such as extension, modification, or simplification of the system may be improved.

[0167] Embodiments disclosed herein provide an air conditioning system that may include an air handling unit or air handler that handles or conditions indoor air; an interface unit or interface that provides an interface to control the air handling unit; and a central controller that includes an input/output unit or device that provides an input/output port through which an electric signal may be input and output between devices configuring the air handling unit and a control unit or controller that interworks or communicates with the interface unit to control the devices configuring the air handling unit, in which the interface unit may configure the interface based on configuration of the devices configuring the air handling unit recognized through the input/output unit and the interface may be reconfigured in accordance with change of the devices configuring the air handling unit.

[0168] Embodiments disclosed herein provide an air conditioning system that may include an air handling unit or air handler that handles or conditions indoor air; an interface unit or interface that provides an interface to control the air handling unit; and a central controller that includes an input/output unit or device that provides an input/output port through which an electric signal may be input and output between devices configuring the air handling unit and a control unit or controller that interworks with or communicates the interface unit to control the devices configuring the air handling unit, in which the interface unit may configure the interface based on configuration of the devices configuring the air handling unit recognized through the input/output unit and the interface may be reconfigured in accordance with change of the devices configuring the air handling unit. The interface unit may generate a control menu for an added device when a device is added to the air handling unit. The interface unit may inactivate or remove a control menu for a removed device when a device is removed from the air handling unit.

[0169] The interface unit may display a driving state of the air handling module in accordance with a signal value which is input through the input/output unit. A plurality of input/output units may be provided, and the plurality of input/output units may communicate with the control unit through serial communication.

[0170] An analog signal may be input/output through the input/output terminal. A digital signal may be input/output through the input/output terminal.

[0171] The air handling module may include a fan motor, and a driver that drives the fan motor in accordance with a control signal which is applied from the control unit. The interface unit may be provided in or at a location spaced apart from the air handling unit. The interface unit may be movable.

[0172] The control unit may include a recording unit or storage that records or stores information on devices configuring the air handling unit, and when a new device is added to the air handling unit, the interface unit may obtain information on the added device from the recording unit and reconfigure the interface in accordance with the obtained information.

[0173] The air handling unit may include at least one of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a fan motor, a low rate sensing sensor, a pressure sensor, a differential pressure sensor, a different pressure switch, a valve, a damper, a smoke sensing sensor, or a heater.

[0174] Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the purview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.

[0175] Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.