Granted Patent B2

US 12,435,898 · App. 17/984,672 · Granted Oct 7, 2025

Inventors: Rupu Huang (Guangdong, CN); Yanpo Shao (Guangdong, CN); Lei Cao (Guangdong, CN)

Assignee: GD MIDEA AIR-CONDITIONING EQUIPMENT CO., LTD.

F24F11/64F24F1/0071F24F3/16F24F11/67F24F11/83

Abstract

Claims (28)

1. A method for sterilizing an air conditioner, comprising:

receiving a sterilization instruction;

acquiring an outdoor ambient temperature;

determining whether the outdoor ambient temperature is lower than a cold temperature threshold; and

in response to determining that the outdoor ambient temperature is lower than the cold temperature threshold:

detecting a temperature of an indoor heat exchanger in a heating mode;

determining whether the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger is lower than a preset sterilization temperature; and

in response to determining that the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger is lower than the preset sterilization temperature, starting an enhanced vapor injection (EVI) circulation to increase the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger to be higher than the preset sterilization temperature.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the starting the EVI circulation to increase the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger to be higher than the preset sterilization temperature comprises controlling a solenoid valve at an air supply port to open to perform the EVI circulation.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein before the acquiring the outdoor ambient temperature, the method further comprises:

controlling a four-way valve to change over a direction to enter the heating mode according to the sterilization instruction, and

controlling a solenoid valve at an air supply port to remain closed.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the starting the EVI circulation to increase the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger to be higher than the preset sterilization temperature comprises:

in response to determining that the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger is lower than the preset sterilization temperature, acquiring a temperature change rate of the indoor heat exchanger and determining whether the temperature change rate of the indoor heat exchanger is lower than a preset rate; and

in response to determining that the temperature change rate of the indoor heat exchanger is lower than the preset rate, controlling a solenoid valve at an air supply port to open to perform the EVI circulation.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein after the receiving the sterilization instruction and the detecting the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger in the heating mode, the method further comprises:

in response to determining that the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger is not lower than the preset sterilization temperature, controlling a solenoid valve at an air supply port to close and adjusting a control parameter of the air conditioner to stabilize the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein after the controlling the solenoid valve at the air supply port to close and adjusting the control parameter of the air conditioner to stabilize the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger, the method further comprises:

receiving a sterilization end instruction triggered by a user; and

stopping adjusting the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the adjusting the control parameter of the air conditioner to stabilize the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger comprises:

adjusting at least one of a fan speed or an operating frequency of a compressor to stabilize the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger.

8. An air conditioner comprising:

a memory,

a processor, and

a program for sterilizing an air conditioner stored in the memory and executable by the processor,

wherein when the program is executed by the processor, the method of claim 1 is implemented for sterilizing the air conditioner.

9. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein a program for sterilizing an air conditioner is stored in the computer-readable storage medium, when the program is executed by a processor, the method of claim 1 is implemented for sterilizing the air conditioner.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (40)