AIR CONDITIONER

Abstract

 An air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes an indoor unit, and an outdoor unit connected to the indoor unit through a refrigerant pipe, wherein the outdoor unit includes a noise sensor configured to acquire a noise signal, and a processor configured to separate an external noise signal, generated by an external noise source, and an internal noise signal generated by operation of the outdoor unit, from the acquired noise signal and to estimate a noise level at a predetermined location based on the separated signals, wherein the outdoor unit is configured to control an operation performance level based on the estimated noise level.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the invention

[0001] The following description relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly to an air conditioner capable of performing low noise control.

2. Description of the Related Art

[0002] An air conditioner is installed to provide a comfortable indoor environment to humans by discharging cool or hot air to a room to adjust an indoor temperature and by purifying indoor air to create a pleasant indoor environment. The air conditioner generally includes an indoor unit including a heat exchanger and installed in a room, and an outdoor unit including a compressor, a heat exchanger, etc. and configured to supply a refrigerant to the indoor unit.

[0003] In the air conditioner, the indoor unit including the heat exchanger is separately controlled from the outdoor unit including the compressor, the heat exchanger, etc., in which the outdoor unit and the indoor unit are connected by a refrigerant pipe, such that the refrigerant compressed by the compressor of the outdoor unit is supplied to the heat exchanger of the indoor unit through the refrigerant pipe, and the refrigerant heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger of the indoor unit flows back into the compressor of the outdoor unit through the refrigerant pipe. Accordingly, the indoor unit may discharge cool or hot air into a room via heat exchange with the refrigerant.

[0004] When the air conditioner is activated, the outdoor unit generates noise, and the noise of the outdoor unit mainly occurs in the compressor and a fan. As the outdoor unit is installed outside the room, the noise generated by the outdoor unit is transmitted to the surrounding space. Accordingly, if the outdoor unit generates a loud noise, this may cause discomfort to people nearby.

[0005] Meanwhile, apparatuses and methods for noise reduction have been proposed in various fields to resolve the discomfort caused by noise.

[0006] For example, Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-2015-0088169 (prior art) proposes an apparatus and method for controlling noise and inducing noise attenuation, by causing a noise source to directly recognize noise generated by the noise source itself, and inducing the noise source itself to attenuate the noise.

[0007] However, the apparatus disclosed in the prior art has a problem in that when noise is detected from the noise source, warning is given to the noise source using various methods, such as sounds, texts, images, etc., in order to induce noise reduction, but if the noise source fails to recognize the warning or ignores the warning, the noise may continue.

SUMMARY

[0008] It is an objective of the present disclosure to solve the above and other problems.

[0009] It is another objective of the present disclosure to provide an air conditioner capable of performing low noise control while minimizing performance degradation.

[0010] It is yet another objective of the present disclosure to provide an air conditioner capable of controlling operation performance according to external noise and environmental noise regulations.

[0011] It is yet another objective of the present disclosure to provide an air conditioner capable of autonomously controlling operation performance based on noise at a specific location.

[0012] It is yet another objective of the present disclosure to provide an air conditioner capable of setting the location of a sound receiver and minimizing performance degradation while meeting noise restrictions at the set location of the sound receiver.

[0013] In order to achieve the above and other objectives, an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may perform low noise control by reflecting a noise level at a specific location, thereby minimizing performance degradation when performing the low noise control.

[0014] At least one or more of these objectives are solved by the features of the independent claim.

[0015] In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the above and other objectives can be accomplished by providing an air conditioner including an indoor unit, and an outdoor unit connected to the indoor unit through a refrigerant pipe, wherein the outdoor unit includes a noise sensor configured to acquire a noise signal, and a processor configured to separate an external noise signal, generated by an external noise source, and an internal noise signal generated by operation of the outdoor unit, from the acquired noise signal and to estimate a noise level at a predetermined location based on the separated signals.

[0016] The outdoor unit may be configured to control an operation performance level based on the estimated noise level.

[0017] The outdoor unit may be configured to control the operation performance level based on the estimated noise level and/or a noise regulation level corresponding to a current location and/or time of the outdoor unit.

[0018] In response to an external noise component generated by the external noise source, among the estimated noise levels, being larger than the noise regulation level corresponding to the current location and/or time of the outdoor unit, the outdoor unit may be configured to control the operation performance level so that an internal noise component among the estimated noise levels may be smaller than the external noise component generated by the external noise source.

[0019] In response to an external noise component generated by the external noise source, among the estimated noise levels, being smaller than the noise regulation level corresponding to the current location and/or time of the outdoor unit, the outdoor unit may be configured to control the operation performance level so that an internal noise component among the estimated noise levels may be smaller than a difference between the noise regulation level and the external noise component generated by the external noise source.

[0020] The outdoor unit may further include a storage configured to store the noise regulation level corresponding to the current location and time of the outdoor unit.

[0021] The processor may be configured to decompose a spectrum of the acquired noise signal by using Non-Negative Matrix Factorization (NMF), and to separate the external noise signal and the internal noise signal, e.g. based thereon.

[0022] The processor may be configured to determine levels of at least one of or of each of the external noise signal and the internal noise signal.

[0023] The predetermined specific location may be a position spaced apart by a predetermined distance from the outdoor unit.

[0024] The predetermined specific location may be a specific position input in advance.

[0025] The outdoor unit may further include a body sensor, wherein the predetermined specific location may be a position at which a sound receiver is located closest to the outdoor unit, among locations of the sound receiver detected by the body sensor.

[0026] The processor may be configured to perform reinforcement learning that includes state, action, and reward, based on in-situ data collected by sensors in a place where the outdoor unit and the indoor unit are installed.

[0027] The state may be based on at least one of indoor temperature, indoor humidity, outdoor temperature, outdoor humidity, and a set temperature, and the noise signal acquired by the noise sensor.

[0028] The action may be based on controlling of the compressor and the fan of the outdoor unit.

[0029] The reward may be determined based on noise in a next state resulting from controlling the compressor and the fan of the outdoor unit.

[0030] The processor may be provided in the outdoor unit.

[0031] The processor may be connected to a controller of the outdoor unit.

[0032] The processor and the noise sensor may be mounted on a same printed circuit board.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0033] According to at least one of the embodiments of the present disclosure, low noise control may be performed while minimizing performance degradation.

[0034] In addition, according to at least one of the embodiments of the present disclosure, operation performance may be controlled according to external noise and environmental noise regulations.

[0035] In addition, according to at least one of the embodiments of the present disclosure, operation performance may be autonomously controlled based on noise at a specific location.

[0036] In addition, according to at least one of the embodiments of the present disclosure, less time and data throughput are required for automatically determining the installation space of indoor units.

[0037] In addition, according to at least one of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the location of a sound receiver may be set, and performance degradation may be minimized while meeting noise restrictions at the set location of the sound receiver.

[0038] Various other effects will be directly or suggestively disclosed in the following detailed description of embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] 

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an outdoor unit and an indoor unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating reinforcement learning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram referred to in the description of a processor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the effect of outdoor unit noise on a sound receiver depending on environmental noise.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 8 to 13 are diagrams referred to in the description of processing a noise signal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 14 and 15 are diagrams referred to in the description of low noise control according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments and may be modified in various forms.

[0041] In the drawings, in order to clearly and briefly describe embodiments of the present disclosure, the illustration of parts irrelevant to the description is omitted, and the same reference numerals are used for the same or extremely similar parts throughout the specification.

[0042] Hereinafter, the suffixes "module" and "unit" of elements herein are used for convenience of description and thus may be used interchangeably and do not have any distinguishable meanings or functions. Thus, the terms "module" and "unit" may be interchangeably used.

[0043] It will be understood that, although the terms "first", "second", etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element.

[0044] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0045] Referring to FIG. 1, an air conditioner 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one outdoor unit 21 and at least one indoor unit 31 connected to the outdoor unit 21. Each of a plurality of indoor units 31 may be connected to the outdoor unit 21 through a refrigerant pipe. The plurality of indoor units 31 may be connected to any one outdoor unit 21, and the number of indoor units 31 connected to one outdoor unit 21 is not limited to the drawings.

[0046] The indoor unit 31 may be at least one of a stand-type indoor unit 31a, a wall-mounted indoor unit 31b, and a ceiling-mounted indoor unit 31c.

[0047] The one outdoor unit 21 may be connected to various types of indoor units 31a, 31b, and 31c. Obviously, the one outdoor unit 21 may also be connected to a plurality of indoor units of the same type. For example, the outdoor unit 21 may be connected to a plurality of ceiling-mounted indoor units 31c.

[0048] Meanwhile, the air conditioner 100 may further include at least one of a ventilator, an air cleaner, a humidifier, and a heater, and may operate in conjunction with operations of the indoor unit 31 and the outdoor unit 21.

[0049] The outdoor unit 21 may include a compressor (not shown) configured to receive a refrigerant and compress the received refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger (not shown) configured to exchange heat between the refrigerant and outside air, an accumulator (not shown) configured to extract a gaseous refrigerant from a supplied refrigerant and supply the refrigerant to the compressor, and a four-way valve (not shown) configured to select a flow path of the refrigerant based on a heating operation. In addition, the outdoor unit 21 may further include a plurality of sensors, a valve, an oil collector, and the like.

[0050] The outdoor unit 21 may operate the compressor and the outdoor heat exchanger included herein to compress the refrigerant or perform heat exchange based on set conditions and to supply the compressed or heat-exchanged refrigerant to the indoor unit 31. The outdoor unit 21 may be driven upon demand by a central controller (not shown) or the indoor unit 31. In this case, as a cooling/heating capacity of the air conditioner 100 varies in response to the indoor unit 31 being driven, the number of driven outdoor units and the number of driven compressors installed in outdoor units may also be changed.

[0051] In this case, the outdoor unit 21 may supply the compressed refrigerant to the indoor unit 31 connected thereto.

[0052] The indoor unit 31 may receive the refrigerant from the outdoor unit 21 and discharge cool or hot air into a room. The indoor unit 31 may include an indoor heat exchanger (not shown), an indoor fan (not shown), an expansion valve (not shown) that expands the refrigerant, and a plurality of sensors (not shown).

[0053] In this case, the outdoor unit 21 and the indoor unit 31 may be connected to each other via a communication line to exchange data with each other. The outdoor unit 21 and the indoor unit 31 may be connected to the central controller by wire or wirelessly to operate under the control of the central controller.

[0054] A remote controller 41 may be connected to the indoor unit 31 to transmit a user's control command to the indoor unit 31 and to receive and display state information of the indoor unit 21. In this case, the remote controller 41a, 41b, 41c may communicate with the indoor unit 31 in a wired or wireless manner depending on the type of connection with the indoor unit 31.

[0055] Meanwhile, the air conditioner 100 may further include at least one sensor (not shown) capable of detecting a state of indoor air. For example, the air conditioner 100 may further include a temperature sensor for sensing indoor temperature, a humidity sensor for sensing indoor humidity, a barometric pressure sensor for sensing atmospheric pressure, a sensor for measuring the amount of dust in the indoor air, etc., and may also include a sensor capable of collecting various data, such as the temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, amount of dust in the air, and the like.

[0056] Meanwhile, the air conditioner 100 may communicate with an external device 10, such as a server, a central controller, etc., and may exchange data with each other.

[0057] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an outdoor unit and an indoor unit of FIG. 1.

[0058] Referring to FIG. 2, the air conditioner 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be divided into the outdoor unit 21 and the indoor unit 31. The air conditioner 100 may include a plurality of indoor units 31a, 31b, and 31c.

[0059] The outdoor unit 21 may include a compressor 110 configured to compress a refrigerant, a compressor motor (not shown) configured to drive the compressor 110, an outdoor heat exchanger 120 configured to dissipate heat from the compressed refrigerant, an accumulator 130 configured to temporarily store the vaporized refrigerant to remove moisture and foreign substances from the refrigerant and then supply the refrigerant of constant pressure to the compressor, a cooling/heating switching valve 140 configured to change a flow path of the compressed refrigerant, an oil separator 150, an outdoor blower 160 that includes an outdoor fan 161, provided at one side of the outdoor heat exchanger 120 to accelerate heat dissipation of the refrigerant, and a motor 162 configured to rotate the outdoor fan 161, and at least one expansion device (e.g., Electronic expansion valves (EEV)) configured to expand the condensed refrigerant, and the like.

[0060] More specifically, the outdoor unit 21 may include a gas pipe service valve 113 connected to a gas pipe 182 and a liquid pipe service valve 114 connected to the liquid pipe 112. The gas pipe service valve 113 and the liquid pipe service valve 114 may be connected to the indoor unit 31 and may circulate the refrigerant of the outdoor unit 21.

[0061] At least one of an inverter compressor and a fixed-speed compressor may be used as the compressor 110. High-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 110 may flow to the oil separator 150 through a discharge-side pipe 151 of the compressor 110.

[0062] The outdoor unit 21 may include a first oil collecting pipe 131 connecting a lower side of the accumulator 130 and a suction-side pipe 135 of the compressor 110. An oil return valve 132 for regulating a flow of oil may be disposed in the first oil collecting pipe 131.

[0063] The outdoor unit 21 may include a second oil collecting pipe 152 through which oil flows from the oil separator 150 to the compressor 110. A check valve 153 for restricting oil to flow to one side may be disposed in the second oil collecting pipe 152.

[0064] Refrigerant discharged from the oil separator 150 may flow to the cooling/heating switching valve 140 through a refrigerant discharge pipe 181.

[0065] The outdoor heat exchanger 120 may exchange heat between outdoor air and the refrigerant, and a plurality of outdoor heat exchangers 122 and 124 may be provided in some embodiments. The outdoor heat exchanger 120 may operate as a condenser during a cooling operation and as an evaporator during a heating operation.

[0066] A variable path valve 186 may be interposed between a first outdoor heat exchanger 122 and a variable path pipe 185. When the variable path valve 186 is opened, refrigerant flowing in the first outdoor heat exchanger 122 passes through the variable path valve 186, the variable path pipe 185, and the check valve 187 to the cooling/heating switching valve 140. When the variable path valve 186 is closed, refrigerant flowing in the first outdoor heat exchanger 122 during a cooling operation may flow to a first heat exchanger-expansion valve connecting pipe 123, and refrigerant flowing through the first heat exchanger-expansion valve connecting pipe 123 may flow to the first outdoor heat exchanger 122.

[0067] The outdoor expansion valve 170 may expand refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger 120 during a heating operation, and may allow the refrigerant to pass therethrough, without expanding the refrigerant, during a cooling operation. An electronic expansion valve (EEV) capable of regulating an opening value in accordance with an input signal may be used as the outdoor expansion valve 170.

[0068] The outdoor expansion valve 170 may include a first outdoor expansion valve 172 for expanding the refrigerant flowing into the first outdoor heat exchanger 122, and a second outdoor expansion valve 174 for expanding the refrigerant flowing into the second outdoor heat exchanger 124.

[0069] The first outdoor heat exchanger 122 may be connected to the cooling/heating switching valve 140 through a heat exchanger-switching valve connecting pipe 183a. The first outdoor heat exchanger 122 may be connected to the outdoor expansion valve 170 through the first heat exchanger-expansion valve connecting pipe 123.

[0070] The second outdoor heat exchanger 124 may be connected to the second outdoor expansion valve 174 through a second heat exchanger-expansion valve connecting pipe 125.

[0071] The first outdoor expansion valve 172 may be interposed between the first heat exchanger-expansion valve connecting pipe 123 and a supercooling liquid pipe 112'. The second outdoor expansion valve 174 may be interposed between the second heat exchanger-expansion valve connecting pipe 125 and the supercooling liquid pipe 112'.

[0072] The outdoor unit 21 may further include a hot gas unit 190 for bypassing refrigerant, which is to be supplied to the outdoor heat exchanger 120, to the indoor unit 31 during a heating operation. The hot gas unit 90 may include hot gas bypass pipes 191 and 192 for bypassing refrigerant, and hot gas valves 193 and 194. In this case, a first hot gas valve 193 and a second hot gas valve 194 may be selectively operated. For example, only the first hot gas valve 193 may be opened or closed, or only the second hot gas valve 194 may be opened or closed. Meanwhile, in this embodiment, a combination valve 195 for combining the first hot gas bypass pipe 191 and the second hot gas bypass pipe 192 may be disposed.

[0073] The outdoor unit 21 may further include a supercooling unit 200 disposed in the liquid pipe 112. The supercooling unit 200 may include a supercooling heat exchanger 201, a supercooling bypass pipe 202 bypassed in the liquid pipe 112 and connected to the supercooling heat exchanger 201, a first supercooling expansion valve 203 disposed in the supercooling bypass pipe 202 and selectively expanding refrigerant flowing therein, a supercooling-compressor connecting pipe 204 connecting the supercooling heat exchanger 201 and the compressor 110, a second supercooling expansion valve 205 disposed in the supercooling-compressor connecting pipe 204 and selectively expanding refrigerant flowing therein, an accumulator bypass pipe 206 connecting the accumulator 130 and the supercooling-compressor connecting pipe 204, and/or a supercooling bypass valve 107 for controlling refrigerant flowing in the accumulator bypass pipe 206.

[0074] The outdoor unit 21 may further include a receiver 210 disposed in the liquid pipe 112. The receiver 210 may store a liquid refrigerant in order to control an amount of circulating refrigerant. The receiver 210 may store the liquid refrigerant separately from liquid refrigerant being stored in the accumulator 30. For example, when the amount of the circulating refrigerant is insufficient, the receiver 210 may supply the refrigerant to the accumulator 130, and when the amount of the circulating refrigerant is large, the receiver 210 may collect and store the refrigerant.

[0075] The receiver 210 may include a receiver tank 211 for storing refrigerant, and receiver valves 213 and 215 for regulating a flow of refrigerant.

[0076] A first receiver connecting pipe 112 may connect the receiver tank 211 and the supercooling liquid pipe 112' to each other. A first receiver valve 213 for regulating a flow of refrigerant may be disposed in the first receiver connecting pipe 112.

[0077] A second receiver connecting pipe 114 may connect the receiver tank 211 and the accumulator 130 to each other. A second receiver valve 215 for regulating a flow of refrigerant may be disposed in the second receiver connecting pipe 114.

[0078] The indoor units 31a to 31c may include indoor heat exchangers 33a to 33c each disposed indoors to perform a cooling or heating function, indoor expansion valves 35a to 35c each for expanding refrigerant to be supplied, indoor blowers (not shown) each including an indoor fan (not shown) disposed on one side of each of the indoor heat exchangers 33a to 33c to facilitate heat dissipation of the refrigerant and an indoor fan motor (not shown) for rotating the indoor fan, a plurality of sensors (not shown), and the like. At least one of the indoor heat exchangers 33a to 33c may be installed in each of the indoor units 31a to 31c.

[0079] The air conditioner 100 may include a gas pipe connecting pipe 241 connecting the gas pipe service valve 113 and a first distributor 242, and a liquid pipe connecting pipe 251 connecting the liquid pipe service valve 114 and a second distributor 252.

[0080] The first distributor 245 may be connected to the indoor heat exchangers 33a to 33c through first to third gas branch pipes 243, 244, and 245. The second distributor 252 may be connected to the indoor heat exchangers 33a to 33c through the first to third liquid branch pipes 253, 254, and 255.

[0081] The air conditioner 100 may be configured as an air cooler to cool an indoor space or may be configured as a heat pump to cool or heat the indoor space.

[0082] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0083] Referring to FIG. 3, the air conditioner 100 may include a communication unit 310, a sensor unit 320, a storage 330, a compressor driver 340, a fan driver 350, an output unit 360, a controller 370, and an input unit 380. The air conditioner 100 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may further include various components not illustrated in FIG. 3.

[0084] The communication unit 310 may include at least one communication module. The communication unit 310 may be provided in each of an outdoor unit 21 and an indoor unit 31, and the outdoor unit 21 and the indoor unit 31 may exchange data with each other. For example, a method of communication between the outdoor unit 21 and the indoor unit 31 may include wireless communication, such as a Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Beacon, and Zigbee, as well as communication using a power line, serial communication (e.g., RS-485 communication) and wired communication through a refrigerant pipe, and the like.

[0085] Meanwhile, the communication unit 310 may transmit and receive data to and from an external device. For example, the communication unit 310 may establish a wireless communication channel with an external device (e.g., a mobile terminal), and may transmit and receive data about the state of each component provided in the air conditioner 100, the occurrence of an error, and the like. The communication unit 310 may connect to a server, which is connected to an external network, to transmit and receive data.

[0086] The sensor unit 320 may include a plurality of sensors to acquire a variety of information. The sensor unit 320 may include a plurality of sensors for sensing an operation state of the outdoor unit 21 and the indoor units 31a to 31c.

[0087] The sensor unit 320 may transmit data about detection values, detected by the plurality of sensors, to the controller 370. For example, the sensor unit 320 may include a heat exchanger temperature sensor (not shown) for detecting temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger 120 and/or the indoor heat exchanger 33, a pressure sensor (not shown) for detecting pressure of a refrigerant flowing through each pipe of the air conditioner 100, a pipe temperature sensor (not shown) for detecting temperature of the refrigerant flowing through each pipe of the air conditioner 100, an indoor temperature sensor (not shown) for detecting indoor temperature, an outdoor temperature sensor (not shown) for detecting outdoor temperature, an indoor humidity sensor (not shown) for detecting indoor humidity, and the like.

[0088] The storage 330 may store a program for processing and controlling each signal in the controller 370, and may store a signal-processed voice or data signal. For example, the storage 330 may store application programs designed to perform various tasks that can be processed by the controller 370, and may selectively select some of the stored application programs in response to a request from the controller 370. The programs and the like stored in the storage 330 are not particularly limited as long as they can be executed by the controller 370.

[0089] Although it is illustrated in the embodiment that the storage 330 of FIG. 3 is provided separately from the controller 370, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the storage 330 may be included in the controller 370.

[0090] The storage 330 may store data related to each component provided in the air conditioner 100. For example, the storage 330 may store data about detection values detected by a plurality of sensors provided in the sensor unit 320. For example, the storage 330 may store data about an operating frequency of the compressor 110, pressure of a refrigerant flowing into the compressor 110 (hereinafter referred to as "compressor low pressure"), pressure of a refrigerant discharged from the compressor 110 (hereinafter referred to as "compressor high pressure"), and the like. For example, the storage 330 may store data about the RPM of the fan 351, an opening degree of each electronic expansion valve (EEV), a degree of superheating of each EVV, a degree of subcooling of each EVV, and the like.

[0091] The compressor driver 340 may drive the compressor 110. For example, the compressor driver 340 may include a rectifier (not shown) for rectifying AC power into DC power and outputting the DC power, a dc terminal capacitor for storing a pulsating voltage from the rectifier, an inverter (not shown) including a plurality of switching elements to convert smoothed DC power into three-phase AC power of a predetermined frequency and output the three-phase AC power, and/or a compressor motor (not shown) for driving the compressor 110 based on the three-phase AC power output from the inverter.

[0092] The compressor driver 340 may change the operating frequency of the compressor 110 under the control of the controller 370. For example, under the control of the controller 370, the compressor driver 340 may change the operating frequency of the compressor 110 by changing a frequency of the three-phase AC power output to the compressor motor.

[0093] The fan driver 350 may drive the fan 351 provided in the air conditioner 100. For example, the fan driver 350 may drive the outdoor fan 161 and/or an indoor fan (not shown). For example, the fan driver 350 may include a rectifier (not shown) for rectifying AC power into DC power and outputting the rectified DC power, a dc terminal capacitor for storing a pulsating voltage from the rectifier, an inverter (not shown) including a plurality of switching elements to convert smoothed DC power into three-phase AC power of a predetermined frequency and output the three-phase AC power, and/or a motor for driving a fan based on the three-phase AC power output from the inverter.

[0094] Meanwhile, the fan driver 350 may separately include components for driving the outdoor fan 161 and the indoor fan.

[0095] The fan driver 350 may change the RPM of the fan 351 under the control of the controller 370. For example, the fan driver 350 may change the RPM of the outdoor fan 161 by changing a frequency of the three-phase AC power output to the outdoor fan motor, under the control of the controller 370. For example, the fan driver 350 may change the RPM of the indoor fan by changing a frequency of the three-phase AC power output to the indoor fan motor, under the control of the controller 370.

[0096] The output unit 360 may include a display device, such as a display (not shown), a light emitting diode (LED), etc., and may display an operation state of the air conditioner 100, occurrence of an error, through the display device, and the like.

[0097] The output unit 360 may include an audio device, such as a speaker, a buzzer, etc., and may output a sound effect corresponding to an operation state of the air conditioner 100 through an audio device and output a predetermined warning sound in the event of an error.

[0098] The input unit 380 may include at least one of a button, a switch, or a touch input means. When a user command or predetermined data corresponding to the operation of an input means is input to the input unit 380, the input unit 380 may provide the input data to the controller 370. The outdoor unit may include, for example, a power key, a trial run key, and an address setting key. The indoor unit may include, for example, a power key, a menu input key, an operation setting key, a temperature control key, a wind direction key, and a lock key.

[0099] The controller 370 may be connected to each component provided in the air conditioner 100 and may control the overall operation of each component. The controller 370 may exchange data with each component provided in the air conditioner 100. The controller 370 may be provided in at least one of the indoor unit 31 and/or the central controller as well as the outdoor unit 21. For example, each of the outdoor unit 21, the indoor unit 31, and the central controller may include the controller 370 for controlling operations.

[0100] The controller 370 may include at least one processor. Here, the processor may be a general processor such as a central processing unit (CPU). Obviously, the processor may be a dedicated device such as an ASIC or other hardware-based processor.

[0101] The controller 370 may generate a learning model by learning data related to each component provided in the air conditioner 100, through machine learning such as deep learning and the like. The controller 370 may control each component included in the air conditioner 100 by using data related to each component included in the air conditioner 100 and a pre-trained learning model.

[0102] Machine learning refers to technology that allows computers to learn from data without a logic directly instructed by a user, and to solve a problem on their own.

[0103] Deep learning is a method of teaching a computer a human way of thinking based on artificial neural networks (ANN) and the like, that is, an artificial intelligence technology that allows computers to learn on their own like humans. The ANN may be implemented in the form of software or in the form of hardware such as a chip. For example, the ANN may include various types of algorithms, such as a deep neural network (DNN), a convolutional neural network (CNN), a recurrent neural network (RNN), a deep belief network (DBN), etc.

[0104] The storage 330 may store data obtained from each component provided in the air conditioner 100, data for training the ANN, and the like. For example, the storage 330 may store a database including data about each component provided in the air conditioner 100 for training the ANN, weights and biases included in the structure of the ANN, and the like.

[0105] Meanwhile, the controller 370 may be connected to an artificial intelligence (AI) engine 500 (see FIG. 4) configured to output at least one determination result by using an artificial neural network, and may exchange data with the AI engine 500. For example, the controller 370 may train the AI engine 500 based on sensing data of the sensor unit 320. In addition, the controller 370 may input predetermined data to the AI engine 500, and may receive a result value (determination result, classification result).

[0106] Alternatively, the controller 370 may include an AI engine 500 configured to output at least one determination result by using an artificial neural network.

[0107] The AI engine 500 may include one or more processors.

[0108] The AI engine 500 may include a data acquirer (not shown), a model trainer (not shown), and/or a result calculator (not shown). The data acquirer may acquire data on each component provided in the air conditioner 100 and determine input data to be learned among the acquired data. The model trainer may generate a learning model by learning the input data. The model trainer may update a pre-generated learning model based on data on each component provided in the air conditioner 100. The result calculator may calculate result data corresponding to input data by using the input data and the pre-trained learning model, among the data on each component provided in the air conditioner 100.

[0109] The controller 370 may perform training (in-situ training) of an operation data estimation model based on the ANN, by using in-situ operation data collected by the sensor unit 320 during operation in a place where the outdoor unit 21 and the indoor unit 31 are installed.

[0110] After the in-situ training, the controller 370 may determine an abnormal state during operation of the air conditioner 100, based on the current operation data measured by the sensor unit 320 and the trained operation data estimation model.

[0111] The air conditioner system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include sensors for measuring an operation state of the system, and the AI engine 500 capable of in-situ training or updating of the operation data estimation model by using the system operation data measured by the sensors, and configured to control the operation of the system. A basic AI model is further trained by reflecting an onsite situation, such that a site-specific model may be generated.

[0112] FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating reinforcement learning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0113] Referring to FIG. 4, the air conditioner 100 may include a processor 500 for determining noise. The processor 500 may perform reinforcement learning.

[0114] The processor 500 may include an AI model that is trained with in-situ operation data collected by the sensor unit 320 during operation in a place where the outdoor unit 21 and the plurality of indoor units 31 are installed.

[0115] The sensor unit 320 may include a noise sensor 520 (see FIG. 5).

[0116] The sensor unit 320 may include at least one of an indoor temperature sensor, an indoor humidity sensor, an outdoor temperature sensor, an outdoor humidity sensor, and a pipe temperature sensor. The indoor temperature sensor, indoor humidity sensor, outdoor temperature sensor, outdoor humidity sensor, and pipe temperature sensor may be provided separately for each indoor unit 31.

[0117] The processor 500 may be an AI processor including an AI model. The AI model may be an artificial neural network pre-trained with normal data collected previously, and may be trained based on the in-situ operation data collected by the sensor unit during operation in a place where the outdoor unit 21 and the indoor unit 31 are installed. The processor 500 may perform training periodically or in response to a user command or the occurrence of a predetermined event.

[0118] The processor 500 may be the AI engine 500 described above. The processor 500 may be at least one (e.g., AI controller 501 of FIG. 5) of the processors included in the AI engine 500.

[0119] The AI engine 500 may include an AI model pre-trained with the normal state operation data collected previously. The AI engine 500 may perform in-situ training of the operation data AI model which is pre-trained, by using the collected in-situ data.

[0120] The processor 500 may perform reinforcement learning including state, action, and reward. The processor 500 may analyze the noise signal acquired by the noise sensor, and may output an analysis result to the controller 370.

[0121] The processor 500 may perform reinforcement learning based on data collected from each indoor unit by the sensor unit 320 in a place where the indoor unit 31 is installed.

[0122] The processor 500 may be provided in the outdoor unit 21.

[0123] The processor 500 may be connected to the controller 370 of the outdoor unit 21. In the case where a plurality of outdoor units 21 are installed, the processor 500 that performs reinforcement learning may be the processor 500 connected to the controller 370 of any one outdoor unit 21, among the plurality of outdoor units 21.

[0124] Alternatively, the processor 500 may be provided in the controller 370 of the outdoor unit 21. In the case where a plurality of outdoor units 21 are installed, the processor 500 that performs reinforcement learning may be the processor 500 connected to the controller 370 of any one outdoor unit 21, among the plurality of outdoor units 21.

[0125] The processor 500 receives sensor information of the outdoor unit 21. Each indoor unit 31 is connected to the processor 500 through the outdoor unit 21, and the processor 500 collects sensor information of the indoor unit 31 through the outdoor unit 21.

[0126] In the case where a series of outdoor units 21 are installed, the processor 500 connected to a main outdoor unit is used (e.g., N indoor units: N outdoor units: one processor).

[0127] The reinforcement learning may include state (st), action (ac), and reward (rt). The processor 500 may perform reinforcement learning based on data collected by the sensors of the sensor unit 320 in an environment 400 where the outdoor unit 21 and the indoor unit 31 are installed.

[0128] In addition, the processor 500 may process the noise signal, and may determine noise included in the noise signal.

[0129] For example, the processor 500 may recognize the acquired noise signal by separating external noise and internal noise. Further, the processor 500 may estimate an external noise level and an internal noise level at a specific location spaced by a predetermined distance from the outdoor unit 21.

[0130] The reinforcement learning may be Q-Learning. The Q-Learning is a reinforcement learning algorithm including environment, agent, state, action, and reward.

[0131] The agent air conditioner 100 takes an action based on a policy in the current state and moves to a next state. The processor 500 learns by taking an action and recognizing a state in the environment of an installation site.

[0132] The processor 500 receives a reward (Q-value) for the action taken by the agent air conditioner 100. The goal of the processor 500 is to maximize a reward for an action. The processor 500 is trained to choose an action that maximizes its reward.

[0133] The state may be based on at least one of the indoor temperature, indoor humidity, outdoor temperature, outdoor humidity, and a set temperature, and the noise signal (current noise, ambient noise) acquired by the noise sensor.

[0134] The action may be based on controlling of the compressor 110 and the fan 351 of the outdoor unit 21. In addition, the action may include controlling at least one of a target refrigerant temperature, air volume, the compressor 110, the fan 351, and the valve.

[0135] The reward may be determined based on noise in the next state resulting from controlling the compressor 110 and the fan 351 of the outdoor unit 21. The reward may include at least one of efficiency, comfort, and outdoor unit noise level.

[0136] The processor 500 may receive sensing data of the noise sensor 520 through the controller 370.

[0137] The processor 500 may be connected to the noise sensor 520 to receive the sensing data of the noise sensor 520.

[0138] In some embodiments, the processor 500 and the noise sensor 520 may be mounted on the same printed circuit board.

[0139] FIG. 5 is a diagram referred to in the description of a processor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0140] Referring to FIG. 5, the AI engine 500 may include a noise sensor 520. In addition, the AI engine 500 may include an AI controller 510 configured to perform learning and inference. The AI controller 510 may perform reinforcement learning and AI related control.

[0141] The noise sensor 520, such as a microphone MIC, may be installed in the outdoor unit controller 370 or the AI engine 500 connected to the outdoor unit controller 370. Accordingly, the AI engine 500 may directly read the noise signal. A filter for preventing accumulation of dust may be installed at a front end of the noise sensor 520.

[0142] The controller 370 may perform a low noise operation by reducing the operating frequency of the compressor 110 and Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) of the fan 350. In addition, the controller 370 may perform a low noise operation by turning off some indoor unit or reducing the air volume thereof.

[0143] In the present disclosure, adaptive noise control may be performed for extending the noise control operation range and improving the cooling/heating performance in consideration of the load.

[0144] The controller 370 may perform a low noise operation by controlling the fan 350 and the compressor 110 in consideration of an installation environment based on the recognized ambient noise.

[0145] With environmental noise regulations worldwide becoming stricter, many techniques have been proposed for controlling operation performance to reduce noise, generated when the air conditioner is in operation, depending on circumstances. In addition, the noise regulations may be set on an hourly basis, and particularly, strict regulations are provided during night hours. Accordingly, operation of the compressor 110 and the fan 161, which are the sources of outdoor unit noise, may be limited during night hours.

[0146] For example, night-time low noise control operation may be performed to control noise, generated by the outdoor unit 21, to be lower than a noise set value based on a specific location (10m) during the nighttime. During development of the product, noise generated by the operation of the compressor 110 and the fan 161 is measured for each condition to define a noise level for each condition, and a required noise level is determined such that a combination of operations (RPM of the fan motor/frequency of the compressor) corresponding to each noise level may be set as a noise limit for each noise control.

[0147] Such low-noise control operation is performed using one set threshold value, such that required capacity may be insufficient. In addition, the existing low-noise control is difficult to respond to noise regulations that are becoming subdivided. Regulations vary on an hourly basis, such as nighttime and daytime, as well as day off, break time, meal time, dawn, commuting time, etc., such that the existing control operation is difficult to respond to the current stricter regulations.

[0148] The existing low-noise control operation provides noise restrictions at a standard location, rather than the location of a sound receiver.

[0149] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the effect of outdoor unit noise on a sound receiver depending on environmental noise.

[0150] Referring to (a) of FIG. 6, in an environment in which there is only the outdoor unit 21, the sound receiver may feel that the outdoor unit noise is loud.

[0151] Referring to (b) of FIG. 6, in an environment in which there are other environmental noise sources in addition to the outdoor unit 21, the sound receiver may not feel the outdoor unit noise even at the same location.

[0152] The existing low-noise control operation provides noise restrictions at a standard location, rather than the location of a sound receiver. An installer of the air conditioner 100 calculates a noise limit for the standard location by inversely calculating the noise regulations and a distance between the outdoor unit and the sound receiver, and sets a noise control value of the outdoor unit according to the calculated value. Accordingly, it is difficult to set the value and a calculation error may occur. Further, the existing low-noise control has a problem in that even when the noise effect of the installed outdoor unit is small since the sound receiver is located in a noisy place such as the roadside and the like, feedback on the noise at the location of the sound receiver is not provided, such that the operational restriction of the outdoor unit may not be released, resulting in cooling/heating performance degradation.

[0153] The present disclosure proposes an air conditioner capable of minimizing product performance degradation while meeting noise/noise regulations at the location of a sound receiver. In the present disclosure, the sound receiver location may be set and input or may be estimated. Alternatively, the sound receiver location may be set based on human bodies detected near the outdoor unit 21.

[0154] The outdoor unit 21 may autonomously control operation performance by detecting ambient environmental noise. The outdoor unit 21 may learn logic for noise control and/or operation performance using machine learning. The outdoor unit 21 may control the operation performance level based on the ambient environmental noise, noise regulations on a regional basis for each region in which the outdoor unit is installed, and noise regulations on an hourly basis.

[0155] The processor 500 may synchronize the current time by using the directly-connected Internet or communication with another equipment (remote controller 41, controller 370, and central controller), and the like.

[0156] The processor 500 may store the noise regulations on a daily and hourly basis in a non-volatile memory or in the storage 330 and may use the stored regulations. In addition, in the event of revision of the noise regulations or change in the noise regulations due to relocation of the outdoor unit, the processor 500 may update the regulations on site or remotely via communication.

[0157] The processor 500 may determine noise by recording a noise (sound) signal, which is too short for humans to understand, and analyzing its frequency.

[0158] For example, the processor 500 may analyze the spectrum by reading the noise signal, acquired by the noise sensor 520, at the interval of 0.5 seconds or 1 second.

[0159] The processor 500 may separate an external noise signal, generated by the external noise source, and an internal noise signal generated by the operation of the outdoor unit 21, from the noise signal acquired by the noise sensor 520 and may estimate a noise level at a predetermined location (e.g., sound receiver location) based on the separated signals. The outdoor unit 21 may control an operation performance level based on the estimated noise level.

[0160] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0161] Referring to FIG. 7, the noise sensor 520 first acquires a noise signal (S710). The noise sensor 520 is installed in the outdoor unit 21 to measure noise in a place where the outdoor unit 21 is installed.

[0162] The noise signal acquired by the noise sensor 520 may include an external noise signal, generated by the external noise source, and an internal noise signal generated by the operation of the outdoor unit 21.

[0163] The processor 500 may separate the external noise signal, generated by the external noise source, and the internal noise signal generated by the operation of the outdoor unit 21, from the noise signal acquired by the noise sensor 520 (S720).

[0164] FIGS. 8 to 13 are diagrams referred to in the description of processing a noise signal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0165] FIG. 8 illustrates measured noise data acquired by the noise sensor 520.

[0166] The processor 500 may decompose a spectrum of the acquired noise signal by using Non-Negative Matrix Factorization (NMF), and may separate the external noise signal, generated by the external noise source, and the internal noise signal generated by the operation of the outdoor unit 21.

[0167] The NMF method is a method used to decompose a non-negative matrix by the product of a non-negative matrix W and a non-negative matrix H.

[0168] Referring to FIG. 9, the measured noise data is processed by applying Fourier transform (e.g., Short-time Fourier transform (STFT)), and is decomposed into a noise feature matrix W and a noise expression matrix H.

[0169] Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, the outdoor unit noise feature matrix and the outdoor unit noise expression matrix may be generated by separating the noise spectrum when there is no external noise. In the case where there is no external noise, the noise of the outdoor unit 21 itself is a feature and may be stored as internal noise data in the storage 330.

[0170] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a separated internal noise signal generated using the matrix data of FIG. 10.

[0171] Referring to FIGS. 9 and 12, an external noise feature matrix and an external noise expression matrix are noises occurring in addition to the noise of the outdoor unit 21, and the external noise may be generated by inverse transform.

[0172] FIG. 13 illustrates a separated external noise signal generated using the matrix data of FIG. 12.

[0173] The processor 500 may estimate a noise level at a predetermined location (e.g., sound receiver location) based on the separated signals (S740). The processor 500 may determine the magnitude or level of each of the external noise signal and the internal noise signal based on the separated signals (S730).

[0174] Upon determining the level of each noise signal (S730), the processor 500 may estimate a noise level at a predetermined location (e.g., sound receiver location) (S740).

[0175] The predetermined specific location may be a position spaced apart by a predetermined distance from the outdoor unit 21. Information about the predetermined specific location may be information about the distance spaced from the outdoor unit 21.

[0176] The predetermined specific location may be a specific position input in advance via the communication unit 310 or the input unit 380. An operator that installs the air conditioner 100 may input, through the communication unit 310 or the input unit 380, a position at which the sound receiver may be located closest to the installation site of the outdoor unit 21.

[0177] In some embodiments, the sensor unit 320 may further include a body sensor to detect the human body near the outdoor unit 21. In this case, the predetermined specific location may be a position at which the sound receiver may be located closest to the outdoor unit 21, among the locations of the sound receiver detected by the body sensor.

[0178] The processor 500 may estimate noise at the sound receiver location by using sound receiver location information based on the separated noise signals.

[0179] The processor 500 may include logic for separating the external noise signal and the internal noise signal and may separate the noise generated by the outdoor unit itself from noise transmitted from the outside (S730) to estimate the level of each of the noise signals (S740). That is, the processor 500 estimates the noise at the sound receiver location by separating noise values acquired by the noise sensor 520.

[0180] Then, the outdoor unit 21 may control an operation performance level based on the estimated levels of the noise signals (S750). The processor 500 and the controller 370 may perform adaptive noise control by reflecting the external noise (S750).

[0181] For example, based on the estimated levels of the noise signals, the outdoor unit 21 may control the operating frequency of the compressor 110 and/or the RPM of the fan 161 which are the main causes of noise.

[0182] The outdoor unit 21 may control the operation performance level based on the estimated levels of the noise signals and a regulation noise level corresponding to the current location and time of the outdoor unit.

[0183] Information related to the regulation noise level may be received through the communication unit 310 or the input unit 380 and may be stored in the storage 330. The storage unit 330 may store the regulation noise level corresponding to the current location and time of the outdoor unit 21.

[0184] If environmental noise is loud, no noise or small noise is heard from the product at the sound receiver location, such that the outdoor unit 21 may operate while minimizing performance degradation to achieve an input cooling/heating target temperature.

[0185] Alternatively, if environmental noise is small, it is highly likely that the product noise is easily heard at the sound receiver location, such that the outdoor unit 21 may operate with limited performance compared to the maximum performance, thereby reducing noise generated by the operation of the product.

[0186] In this disclosure, by controlling noise actually felt by a sound receiver at the actual location of the sound receiver, it is possible to respond to noise regulations that change on a daily/weekly/hourly basis, compared to the existing night noise control operation.

[0187] Further, in the present disclosure, performance degradation may be reduced as the environmental noise increases, compared to a fixed noise control operation.

[0188] In the case where an external noise component generated by the external noise source, among the estimated noise levels, is larger than the noise regulation level corresponding to the current location and time of the outdoor unit, the outdoor unit 21 may control the operation performance level so that an internal noise component among the estimated noise levels is smaller than the external noise component generated by the external noise source.

[0189] In the case where the external noise component generated by the external noise source, among the estimated noise levels, is smaller than the noise regulation level corresponding to the current location and time of the outdoor unit, the outdoor unit 21 may control the operation performance level so that an internal noise component among the estimated noise levels is smaller than a smaller than a difference between the noise regulation level and the external noise component generated by the external noise source.

[0190] FIGS. 14 and 15 are diagrams referred to in the description of low noise control according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0191] Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, internal noise generated by the operation of the outdoor unit 21 is emitted to the outside. The internal noise generated due to the operation of the outdoor unit 21 appears as an outdoor unit noise component Bo.

[0192] In addition, the environmental noise generated outside the outdoor unit enters the outdoor unit 21. An environmental noise component Ax is a signal component attenuated with distance between an environmental noise source and the outdoor unit 21.

[0193] The noise detected by the noise sensor 520 of the outdoor unit 21 may be a sum of the outdoor unit noise component Bo and the environmental noise component Ax.

[0194] The noise at the sound receiver location may be a sum of the outdoor unit noise Bx, attenuated with distance, and the environmental noise Ao at the sound receiver location.

[0195] The processor 500 may determine the sound receiver location based on information input by an installer or user or information detected by the sensor unit 320. The processor 500 may determine at least the distance between the sound receiver and the outdoor unit 21 based on the information input by an installer or user or the information detected by the sensor unit 320.

[0196] The processor 500 may perform adaptive noise control by considering the current noise and a noise regulation value L at the sound receiver location. In addition, the processor 500 may transmit a noise recognition result to the controller 370, and the controller 370 may perform adaptive noise control by considering the current noise and the noise regulation value L at the sound receiver location.

[0197] The processor 500 and/or the controller 370 may set an acceptable threshold for the noise B0 of the outdoor unit based on the environmental noise Ao estimated at the sound receiver location, the emitted noise Bx of the outdoor unit that is predicted at the sound receiver location, and a currently acceptable noise value L at the sound receiver location.

[0198] If the noise at the sound receiver location is loud, e.g., if the noise value Ao at the sound receiver location is greater than the noise regulation value L, the emitted noise Bx of the outdoor unit may be controlled to be smaller than the environmental noise Ao at the sound receiver location.

[0199] The emitted noise Bx of the outdoor unit is proportional to the operation performance of the outdoor unit 21. Accordingly, reducing the emitted noise Bx of the outdoor unit to a lower level means performing a limited operation.

[0200] Meanwhile, in order to prevent the emitted noise Bx of the outdoor unit from being heard by the sound receiver, the emitted noise Bx of the outdoor unit needs to be sufficiently lower than the environmental noise Ao at the sound receiver location. For example, the noise Bx may be controlled to be lower by 3 dB than the environmental noise Ao.

[0201] In the case where the noise at the sound receiver location is small, e.g., if the noise value Ao at the sound receiver location is smaller than the noise regulation value L, or if the noise value Ao at the sound receiver location is smaller than or equal to the noise regulation value L, the emitted noise Bx of the outdoor unit may be controlled to be lower than a difference L - Ao between the noise regulation value L and the environmental noise Ao at the sound receiver location.

[0202] The processor 500 and/or the controller 370 may control the noise generated by the outdoor unit 21 not to exceed an optimal operation control value and the acceptable noise threshold calculated as described above, thereby providing an optimal operation for the sound receiver and a user.

[0203] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a result of low-noise control according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The noise regulation is generally provided on an hourly basis, such that the noise threshold calculation and noise control may be set to be performed once an hour, and a minimum control threshold may be set to five minutes or more for system stability.

[0204] The processor 500 and/or the controller 370 may set the acceptable noise threshold and perform variable control operation by checking the ambient noise every hour. The processor 500 and/or the controller 370 may maximize performance without exceeding the acceptable noise threshold. As the environmental noise increases, the acceptable noise threshold is set to a higher value, and performance degradation is minimized.

[0205] 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.

Claims

1. An air conditioner comprising:

an indoor unit (31); and

an outdoor unit (21) connected to the indoor unit (31) through a refrigerant pipe,

wherein the outdoor unit (21) comprises a noise sensor (520) configured to acquire a noise signal, and a processor (500) configured to separate an external noise signal, generated by an external noise source, and an internal noise signal generated by operation of the outdoor unit (21), from the acquired noise signal and to estimate a noise level at a predetermined location based on the separated signals,

wherein the outdoor unit (21) is configured to control an operation performance level based on the estimated noise level.

2. The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein the outdoor unit (21) is configured to control the operation performance level based on the estimated noise level and a noise regulation level corresponding to a current location and time of the outdoor unit (21).

3. The air conditioner of claim 2, wherein in response to an external noise component generated by the external noise source, among the estimated noise levels, being larger than the noise regulation level corresponding to the current location and time of the outdoor unit (21), the outdoor unit (21) is configured to control the operation performance level so that an internal noise component among the estimated noise levels is smaller than the external noise component generated by the external noise source.

4. The air conditioner of claim 2 or 3, wherein in response to an external noise component generated by the external noise source, among the estimated noise levels, being smaller than the noise regulation level corresponding to the current location and time of the outdoor unit (21), the outdoor unit (21) is configured to control the operation performance level so that an internal noise component among the estimated noise levels is smaller than a difference between the noise regulation level and the external noise component generated by the external noise source.

5. The air conditioner of claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the outdoor unit (21) further comprises a storage configured to store the noise regulation level corresponding to the current location and time of the outdoor unit (21).

6. The air conditioner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the processor (500) is configured to decompose a spectrum of the acquired noise signal by using Non-Negative Matrix Factorization (NMF), and to separate the external noise signal and the internal noise signal.

7. The air conditioner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the processor (500) is configured to determine levels of each of the external noise signal and the internal noise signal.

8. The air conditioner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the predetermined specific location is a position spaced apart by a predetermined distance from the outdoor unit (21).

9. The air conditioner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the predetermined specific location is a specific position input in advance.

10. The air conditioner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the outdoor unit (21) further comprises a body sensor,
wherein the predetermined specific location is a position at which a sound receiver is located closest to the outdoor unit (21), among locations of the sound receiver detected by the body sensor.

11. The air conditioner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the processor (500) is configured to perform reinforcement learning that includes state, action, and reward, based on in-situ data collected by sensors in a place where the outdoor unit (21) and the indoor unit (31) are installed.

12. The air conditioner of claim 11, wherein the state is based on at least one of indoor temperature, indoor humidity, outdoor temperature, outdoor humidity, and a set temperature, and the noise signal acquired by the noise sensor (520).

13. The air conditioner of claim 11 or 12, wherein the action is based on controlling of the compressor and the fan of the outdoor unit (21), and the reward is determined based on noise in a next state resulting from controlling the compressor and the fan of the outdoor unit (21).

14. The air conditioner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the processor (500) is provided in the outdoor unit (21) or is connected to a controller of the outdoor unit (21).

15. The air conditioner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the processor (500) and the noise sensor (520) are mounted on a same printed circuit board.

Amended claims

Amended claims in accordance with Rule 137(2) EPC.

1. An air conditioner comprising:

an indoor unit (31); and

an outdoor unit (21) connected to the indoor unit (31) through a refrigerant pipe,

wherein the outdoor unit (21) comprises a noise sensor (520) configured to acquire a noise signal, and a processor (500) configured to separate an external noise signal, generated by an external noise source, and an internal noise signal generated by operation of the outdoor unit (21), from the acquired noise signal and to estimate a noise level at a predetermined location based on the separated signals,

wherein the outdoor unit (21) is configured to control an operation performance level based on the estimated noise level;

characterized in that:
the processor (500) is configured to decompose a spectrum of the acquired noise signal by using Non-Negative Matrix Factorization (NMF), and to separate the external noise signal and the internal noise signal.

2. The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein the outdoor unit (21) is configured to control the operation performance level based on the estimated noise level and a noise regulation level corresponding to a current location and time of the outdoor unit (21).

3. The air conditioner of claim 2, wherein in response to an external noise component generated by the external noise source, among the estimated noise levels, being larger than the noise regulation level corresponding to the current location and time of the outdoor unit (21), the outdoor unit (21) is configured to control the operation performance level so that an internal noise component among the estimated noise levels is smaller than the external noise component generated by the external noise source.

4. The air conditioner of claim 2 or 3, wherein in response to an external noise component generated by the external noise source, among the estimated noise levels, being smaller than the noise regulation level corresponding to the current location and time of the outdoor unit (21), the outdoor unit (21) is configured to control the operation performance level so that an internal noise component among the estimated noise levels is smaller than a difference between the noise regulation level and the external noise component generated by the external noise source.

5. The air conditioner of claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the outdoor unit (21) further comprises a storage configured to store the noise regulation level corresponding to the current location and time of the outdoor unit (21).

6. The air conditioner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the processor (500) is configured to determine levels of each of the external noise signal and the internal noise signal.

7. The air conditioner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the predetermined specific location is a position spaced apart by a predetermined distance from the outdoor unit (21).

8. The air conditioner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the predetermined specific location is a specific position input in advance.

9. The air conditioner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the outdoor unit (21) further comprises a body sensor,
wherein the predetermined specific location is a position at which a sound receiver is located closest to the outdoor unit (21), among locations of the sound receiver detected by the body sensor.

10. The air conditioner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the processor (500) is configured to perform reinforcement learning that includes state, action, and reward, based on in-situ data collected by sensors in a place where the outdoor unit (21) and the indoor unit (31) are installed.

11. The air conditioner of claim 10, wherein the state is based on at least one of indoor temperature, indoor humidity, outdoor temperature, outdoor humidity, and a set temperature, and the noise signal acquired by the noise sensor (520).

12. The air conditioner of claim 10 or 11, wherein the action is based on controlling of the compressor and the fan of the outdoor unit (21), and the reward is determined based on noise in a next state resulting from controlling the compressor and the fan of the outdoor unit (21).

13. The air conditioner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the processor (500) is provided in the outdoor unit (21) or is connected to a controller of the outdoor unit (21).

14. The air conditioner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the processor (500) and the noise sensor (520) are mounted on a same printed circuit board.

Drawing