Air conditioner and control method thereof

Abstract

An air conditioner and a control method thereof are disclosed. The air conditioner includes a distance detection unit which detects a distance to an obstacle in an indoor space, a temperature detection unit which detects a space temperature of the indoor space, a rotation unit which rotates the distance detection unit and the temperature detection unit, and a controller which controls to detect distance information and temperature information according to space regions obtained by dividing the indoor space into a plurality of regions in a rotation direction while the distance detection unit and the temperature detection unit are rotated, to sequentially store the distance information and temperature information according to the space regions,; and to determine whether there is a human body in a corresponding space region and a position of the human body based on a variation in the stored distance information and temperature information. Accordingly, it is possible to quickly and accurately distinguish an object from a human body, and also possible to quickly and accurately determine even a hardly moving body, thereby improving pleasantness of a human body by concentrating or removing cool air or warm air to or from the human body according to a user's preference.

Description

[0001] Related Application Cross Reference [0002] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2007-0041206 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Apr. 27, 2007, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. technical field [0003] The present invention relates to an air conditioner and a control method thereof, and more specifically, the present invention relates to an air conditioner capable of detecting whether a human body exists in an indoor space and a control method thereof. Background technique [0004] In general, an air conditioner is a device that cools or heats the surrounding environment using heat absorption and heat generation performed when circulating coolant evaporates or liquefies in a refrigeration cycle where compressors, four-way valves, outdoor heat exchangers , the outdoor expansion unit, the indoor expansion unit and the indoor heat exchanger are connected to each other through the coolant ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0007] However, since the determination of whether an obstacle is an object or a human body is based only on the distance change, it is difficult to distinguish an object from a human body when the human body hardly moves (e.g., sleeps)

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