Air conditioner, method for controlling outdoor units thereof, and central control system having the same

摘要

Disclosed are an air conditioner, a method for controlling outdoor units thereof, and a central control system having the same. A mode conversion unit such as a boot loader is provided to perform a mode conversion between a driving control mode and an upgrade mode in a software manner, without requiring a user's visit to the site. This may allow an outdoor unit control program to be remotely upgraded. In the present disclosure, the air conditioner may return to a previous mode or previous program in the occurrence of an error on an upgrade signal or upgrade program.

主权项

1. An air conditioner, comprising:
a plurality of indoor units configured to perform an air conditioning operation; one or more outdoor units driven by a control program, and configured to drive the indoor units based on the control program; and a gateway connected to an external central control server through a network, and connected to the outdoor unit through a dedicated line; wherein the gateway is configured to control the central control server to directly control the outdoor unit and the indoor units, or configured to control the outdoor unit and the indoor units according to a control algorithm thereof, wherein the outdoor unit is connected to the central control server through the gateway, and is configured to receive an upgrade signal and an upgrade control program from the central control server or the gateway, and includes a mode conversion unit configured to select a mode between a driving control mode for driving the outdoor unit and the indoor units by execution of the control program, and an upgrade mode for upgrading the control program, wherein the mode conversion unit is configured to check a mode to be executed by the outdoor unit once power has been supplied to the outdoor unit and to set the outdoor unit to the upgrade mode when an upgrade signal has been received at the time of an initial driving or re-driving of the outdoor unit, and to set the outdoor unit to the driving control mode when no upgrade signal has been received, wherein the mode conversion unit is configured to determine an error of the upgrade signal, and to maintain the outdoor unit in the driving control mode in the occurrence of the error of the upgrade signal, and configured to generate a response signal with respect to the upgrade signal, wherein the central control server or the gateway, determines that the error has occurred on the upgrade signal, if no response signal has been received, and re-sends the upgrade signal to the outdoor unit.