CA1169653A - Airconditioner - Google Patents
AirconditionerInfo
- Publication number
- CA1169653A CA1169653A CA000400109A CA400109A CA1169653A CA 1169653 A CA1169653 A CA 1169653A CA 000400109 A CA000400109 A CA 000400109A CA 400109 A CA400109 A CA 400109A CA 1169653 A CA1169653 A CA 1169653A
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- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- room
- heat exchanger
- refrigerant
- mode
- warming mode
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Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
The disclosed airconditioner comprises a refrigerant compressor connected to a four-way valve subsequently across a refrigeration circuit in each of the room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation comprising an indoor heat exchanger, an externally heated exchanger, a piping, a first electromagnetic valve and an outdoor heat exchanger, and a second electromagnetic valve connected in parallel to the outdoor heat exchanger between the piping and the four-way valve to form a refrigeration circuit in`
the second room warming mode of operation with the indoor heat exchanger, the externally heated heat exchanger and the piping. In the room cooling mode and first room warming mode of operation the first electromagnetic valve is opened and the piping and the externally heated heat exchanger reverse a liquid refrigerant with the sum of their volumes equal to a volume of the outdoor heat exchanger while the outdoor heat exchanger reverses the liquid refrigerant in the second room warming mode of operation in which the second electromagnetic valve and an electromagnetic valve connected across the compressor are open.
The disclosed airconditioner comprises a refrigerant compressor connected to a four-way valve subsequently across a refrigeration circuit in each of the room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation comprising an indoor heat exchanger, an externally heated exchanger, a piping, a first electromagnetic valve and an outdoor heat exchanger, and a second electromagnetic valve connected in parallel to the outdoor heat exchanger between the piping and the four-way valve to form a refrigeration circuit in`
the second room warming mode of operation with the indoor heat exchanger, the externally heated heat exchanger and the piping. In the room cooling mode and first room warming mode of operation the first electromagnetic valve is opened and the piping and the externally heated heat exchanger reverse a liquid refrigerant with the sum of their volumes equal to a volume of the outdoor heat exchanger while the outdoor heat exchanger reverses the liquid refrigerant in the second room warming mode of operation in which the second electromagnetic valve and an electromagnetic valve connected across the compressor are open.
Description
Il . 11~i9~5~ ~
AIRCONDITIONER
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to improvements in an airconditioner utilizing a vapor compressing and refrigerating cycle, and particularly to such an airconditioner increased in airconditioning capability during the drop in outdoor temperature to efficiently cool and warm an associated room or rooms in the whole year.
Heretofore there have been widely employed airconditioners having the vapor compressing and refrigerating cycle. Because of the atmosphere used as a heat source, those airconditioners have been characterized in that the capability of warming an associated room or rooms decreases upon a reduction in outdoor temperature for example, in the winter, in cold districts, in the morning or in the evening.
Particularly they have encountered the problem that, when the outdoor air falls to a few temperature in Centigrade above the freezing of water point, a frost is caused on the surface of an outdoor heat exchanger resulting in a problem that the heat exchange capability thereof is extremely d!eteriorated .
There have been alreadily proposed some approaches to that problem occurring in the room warming mode of operation utilizing the atmosphere as a heat source. One of the approaches has been to provide an indoor or an outdoor heat exchanger with an electric heater serving as an auxiliary heat source. For the indoor heat exchanger with the electric heater, an indoor air blower is used to directly take out .
. 11~i9653 warm air while for the outdoor heat exchanger with the electric heater, a refrigerant involved is heated by the electric heater for the purpose of transporting heat to the indoors. However the use of such an electric heater as the auxiliary heat source has been disadvantageous in that the cost of operation is expensive as compared with other heat sources and a limitation exists in view of the installation of an electric source involved.
Also it has been previously known to provide the outdoor heat exchanger with a water heater. This measure has be required to use a boiler resulting in the high cost of equipment and also in a large-sized apparatus which is inevitably attended with a large area occupied thereby. On the other hand, the frost on the outdoor heat exchange has been able to be removed in the room cooling mode of operation performed for a short time interval. This measure, however, has been disadvantageous in that the defrosting increases a heat loss and the room warming mode of operation is temporarily suspended.
In addition, there has been proposed a measure ~f replenishing a lack of a room warming capability. According to the measure, a combustion device has been incorporated into an indoor exchanger to heat an associated heat exchanger with the resulting combustion gas thereby to supply warm air to the interior of the particular room or rooms for room warming purposes, while the combustion gas is externally exhausted after having heated the heat exchanger and the room or rooms is or are cooled by a room cooling device separately di'sposed. Thus the presence of the indoor ", .. ! . .
11~i9653 combustion device has been disadvantageous in that it is required to dispose pipings for sucking burning air and exhausting the exhaust combustion gas which results in many limitations as to the installation.
On the contrary, there has been also another measure of providing the outdoor heat exchanger with a combustion device as a heat source enabled in the room warming mode of the operation. A combustion gas from the combustion device has supplied thermal energy required for the particular refrigeratnt to be evaporated thereby to prevent a reduction in room warming capability upon a decrease in outdooe temperature. With a high temperature combustion gas used as the heat source, it is to be understood that a contrivance is required not only to efficiently use the heat for evaporating the refrigerant but also to solve a problem that a heating efficiency is not high. This is because even though the outdoor heat exchanger would be partly heated by the combustion device, the resulting heat is partly dissipated through a piping to the indoors.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved airconditioner including a refrigeration circuit in which a liquid and a vapor phase of a refrigerant involved are distributed in well balaned state in any of modes of operation to be highly economically operated in the whole year.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an airconditioner selectively operative in the room cooling mode, the first - ~ 9~53 room warming mode using the outdoor air as a heat source, and the second room warming mode using a forced heat generation source as a heat source, comprising compressor means for compressing a refrigerant; an indoor heat exchanger disposed in heat exchange relationship with the indoor air to be operated as an evaporator in the room cooling mode of operation and as a condenser in the first and second room warming mode of operation; an outdoor heat exchanger disposed in heat exchange relationship with the outdoor air to be operated as a condenser in the room cooling mode of operation and as an evaporator in the first room warming mode of operation, the outdoor heat exchanger reserving therein the refrigerant in its liquid phase in the second room warming mode of operation; a separate heat exchanger for heating the .
refrigerant in the second room warming mode of operation, the separate heat exchanger reserving therein the refrigerant in its liquid phase in both the room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation; forced heat generation means for imparting heat to the separate heat exchanger in the second room warming mode of operation; piping means for reserving the refrigerant in its liquid phase in both the room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation, the piping means having an internal volume added to that of the separate heat exchanger to be substantially eqaul to an internal volume of the outdoor heat exchanger;
the piping means being connected in series to the separate heat exchanger at least in the second room warming mode of operation; first valve means connected between the piping means and the.outdoor heat exchanger to be open in both the 1~'3~53 room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation and closed in the second room warming mode of operation;
first pressure reducing mechanism connected in series to the first valve means to reduce a pressure of the refrigerant flowing therethrough in the first room warming mode of operation; first bypass means for bypassing the refrigerant tending to flow into the first pressure reducing mechanism in the room cooling mode of operation; second valve means connected in parallel to the outdoor heat exchanger to be open in the second room warming mode of operation and closed in the remaining modes of operation; second pressure reducing mechanism connected ~etween the indoor heat exchanger and the piping means to reduce a pressure of the refrigerant flowing therethrough in the room cooling mode of operation;
second bypass means for bypassing the refrigerant tending to flow into the second pressure reducing mechanism in the first and second room warming modes of operation; flow rate-of-refrigerant adjusting means connected to the compressor means to adjust a flow xate of the refrigerant flowing into the separate heat exchanger in the second room warming mode of operation; and control means for selectively controlling the first and second valve means and the flow rate-of-refrigerant adj-lsting means to selectively put them in their operating positions as determined by the room cooling mode and the first and second room warming mode of operation respectively.
In order to selectively operate the airconditioner in the first and second room warming modes, the control means may be~connected to a temperature sensor means for _ 5 _ sensing an outdoor temperature and responsive to a sensed outdoor temperature to select either one of the first and second room warming modes of operation.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the aircondikioner may comprise a refrigerant compressor; a four-way valve; an outdoor heat exchanger disposed in heat exchange relationship with the outdoor air to be operated as a condenser in the room cooling mode of operation and as an evaporator in the first and second room warming modes of operation the outdoor heat exchanger reserving the refrigerant in its liquid phase in the second room warming mode of operation; a parallel combination of a first check valve permitting a refrigerant to flow therethrough in the room cooling mode of operation, and a first pressure reducing mechanism for reducing a pressure of the refrigerant flowing therethrough in the first room warming mode of operation; a first electromagnetic valve open in both the room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation and closed in the second room warming mode of operation; a piping for reserving the refrigerant in its liquid phase in both the room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation; a separate heat exchanger heated by a burner to heat the refrigerant, the separate heat exchanger reserving the refrigerant in its liquid phase in both the room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation, a parallel combination of a second check valve permitting the refrigerant to flow therethrough in the first and second room warming modes of operation, and a second pressure reproducing mechanism for reducing a pressure of the refrigerant in the ;'3~;53 room cooling mode of operation; and an indoor heat exchanger disposed in heat exchanger relationship with the indoor air to be operated as an evaporator in the room cooling mode of operation and as a condenser in the first room warming mode of operation; all the abovementioned components being connected in series to one another in the named order and the indoor refrigerant being connected to the four way valve to form a refrigeration circuit in each of the room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation with an internal valume of the piping substantially equal to a difference in internal volume between the outdoor heat exchanger and the separate heat exchanger. The airconditioner further comprises a second electromagnetic valve connected in parallel to the outdoor heat exchanger between the piping and the four-way valve to be open in the second room warming mode of operation and closed in the remaining modes of operation which valve forms a refrigerant circuit in the second room warming mode of operation with the piping, the indoor heat exchanger and the components disposed there-between, and a series combination of a third electromagnetic valve and a throttle mechanism conne~ted between a delivery and a suction side of the compressor, the third electro-magnetic valve being open in the second room warming mode of operation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in .
conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
1. t ~ 3 Figure 1 is a block diagram of a refrigerant circuit running through one embodiment according to the airconditioner of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a graph illustrating the relationship between an entalpy of a refrigerant and a pressure thereof useful in explaining the operation of the arrangement shown in Figure l;
Figure 3 is a diagram similar to Figure 1 but illustrating a modification of the present invention; and Figure 4 is a diagram similar to Figure 1 but illustrating another modification of the present invention.
Throughout the Figures like reference numerals designate the identical or corresponding components.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings, there is illustrated a refrigeration circuit running through one embodiment according to the airconditioner of the present invention selectively operated in the room cooling mode, a first room warming mode using the outdoor air as a heat source and the second room warming mode using a burner as the heat source. The arrangement illustrated comprises an electrically driven refrigerant compressor 10 with an accumulator lOa connected via a four-way reverse valve 12 to a refrigeration circuit traced from an indoor heat exchanger 14, through a parallel combination of a check valve 16 and a pressure reducing mechanism 18, a separate heat exchanger 20 and thence to a refrigeration piping 22. Then the refrigeration piping 22 is connected to an electromagnetic ` liti'~53 valve 24 subsequently connected to a parallel combination of a check valve 26 and a pressure reducing menanism 28 which is, in turn, connected to an outdoor heat exchanger 30 subsequently, connected to the four-way reverse valve 12 to complete a closed loop refrigeration circuit as shown at solid line in Figure 1. Further an electromagnetic valve 32 is connected to a series combination of the components 24, 26-28 and 30 to form a branch for the refrigeration circuit as shown also at solid line in Figure 1.
The compressor 10 is provided with a series combination of an electromagnetic valve 34 and a throttle mechanism 36 connected across a delivery and a suction side thereof through the accumulator lOa for purposes as will be apparent later. The four-way reverse valve 12 is connected across the delivery and suction dides of the compressor 10 and operative to flow the refrigeration circuit with the compressed refrigerant from the compressor 10 in the direction of the arrow A shown in Figure 1 in the room cooling mode of operation and in the direction of the arrow B also shown in Figure 1 in the first and second room warming modes of operation.
The indoor heat exchanger 14 is disposed in heat exchanger relationship with the indoor air while the outdoor heat exchanger 30 is disposed in heat exchanger relationship with the outdoor air. The separate heat exchanger 20 is operatively coupled to forced heat generation means such as a burner 38. The burner 38 is supplied with a fuel-air mixture preliminarily prepared by mixing air from an air feed tube 40,with a fuel from a fuel feed tube 42 in a _ g _ ll~ 3 proper proportion in order to prevent soot from being generated in the combustion process. In the second room warming mode of operation the burner 38 burns the fuel-air mixture to supply combustion heat to the separate heat exchanger 20. That is, this heat exchanger 20 exchanges heat between the refrigerant flowing therethrough and the resulting combustion gas.
- The arrangement comprises further a control unit 46 and a temperature sensor 48 operatively coupled to the control unit to sense an outdoor temperature.
The check valve 16 is connected in the refrigeration circuit so that the refrigerant is permitted to flow pass therethrough from the indoor heat exchanger 14 to the separate heat exchanger 20, that is, in the first and second warm J modes of operation while the check valve 26 is arranged to permit the refrigerant to flow therethrough from the outdoor ' heat exchanger 30 to the electromagnetic valve 24.
The operation of the arrangement shown in Figure l will now be described. In the room cooling mode of operation the control unit 46 is operated to close the electromagnetic valves 32 and 34 and open the electromagnetic valve 24.
Thus the compressed refrigerant from the compressor lO flows through the refrigeration circuit traced from the compressor lO through the four-way valve 12, the outdoor heat exchanger 30, the check valve 26, the now open electromagnetic valve 24, the piping 22, the heat exchanger 20, the pressure reducing mechanism 18, the indoor heat exchanger l~, the four-way valve 12 and thence to the compressor lO.
I ~
Under these circumstances the indoor heat exchanger 14 is operated as an evaporator while the outdoor heat exchanger 30 is operated as a condenser with the result that the heat exchanger 20 and the piping 22 located upstream of the pressure reducing mechanism 18 with respect to the stream of the refrigerant are fully filled with the refrigerant in its liquid phase.~ Also the pressure reducing mechanism 28 is operated to reduce a pressure of the refrigerant therethrough.
In the first room warming mode of operation using the outdoor air as the heat source, the control unit 40 is operated to close the electromagnetic valves 34 and 32 and open the electromagnetic valve 24. Thus the compressed referigerant flows through a refrigeration circuit traced from th compressor 10 through the four-way valve 12, the indoor heat exchanger 14, the check valve 16, the heat exchanger 20, the piping 22, the now open electromagnetic valve 24, the pressure reducing mechanism 28, the outdoor heat exchanger 30, the four-way valve 12 and thence to the compressor 10. At that time the heat exchangers 14 and 30 serve as a condensor and an evaporator respectively. Thus the piping 22 and the heat exchanger 20 located upstream of the pressure reducing mechanism 28 with respect to the stream of the refrigerant are substantially fully filled with the refrigerant in its liquid phase. The pressure reducing mechanism 18 is operated to reduce a pressure of the refrigerant flowing therethrGugh.
Also in the second room warming mode of operation using the co,mbustion heat as a heat source, the electro-1.1~ 3 magnetic valve 24 is closed while the electromagnetic valves32 and 34 are open. Therefore the compressed refrigerant flows partly through a refrigeration circuit traced from the compressor 10 through the four-way valve 12, the indoor heat exchanger 14r the check valve 16, the heat exchanger 20, the piping 22~ the now open electromagnetic valve 32, the four-way valve 12 and thence to the compressor 10 on the one hand and partly through a path traced from the compressor 10 through the now open electromagnetic valve 34 the throttle mechanism 36 and thence to the compressor 10 on the other hand. At that time the indoor heat exchanger 14 is operated as a condenser while the heat exchanger 20 is operated as an evaporator so that the refrigerant are evaporated under a pxessure and at a temperature high as compared with the first room warming mode of operation. Also the outdoor heat exchanger 30 condenses the refrigerant and is filled with the refrigerant in its liquid phase in the steady-state operation. This is because the electromagnetic valve 24 is in its closed position.
As described above, the control unit-40 selectively control the closure and opening of the electromagnetic values 24, 32 and 34 to selectively operate the arrangement of Figure 1 in the room cooling mode and the first and second room warming modes.~ To this end, the control unit 46 connected to the temperature sensor 48 has stored therein a predetermined temperature set so that the outdoor heat exchanger 30 can not provide a predetermined room warming capability as a result of the outdoor temperature decreasing to reduce a quantity of heat exchanged by the same. The ~ ;i3 control unit 46 compares that predetermined set temperature with an outdoor temperature sensed by the temperature sensor 48 to determine if the sensed temperature is less than the set temperature. When having determined so, the control unit 46 controls the electromagnetic valves 24, 32 and 34 to operate the arrangement of Figure 1 in the second room warming mode. otherwise the control unit 46 controls those electromagnetic valves to operate the arrangement in the first room warming mode.
The fact that the outdoor heat exchanger 30 is fully filled with the refrigerant in its liquid phase is effective for permitting the heat exchanger 30 to dissipate only an extremely small quantity of heat to the outdoor air.
This will now be described in conjunction with Figure 2 wherein there is illustrated a pressure p of the refrigerant plotted in ordinate against an enthalpy i thereof in abscissa.
Figure 2 illustrates a heat cycle in the second room warming mode of operation using an external heat source such as the burner 38 on a Mollier chart for the refrigerant. The heat cycle includes those portions designated by the reference numerals 10, 14, 20j 22 and 30 and corresponding to the compressor 10, the indoor heat exchanger 14, the heat exchanger 20, the piping 22 and the outdoor heat exchanger 30 respectively. Also Figure 2 shows-a pair of isothermal lines at dotted-and-dashed lines one of which is designated by the reference numeral 100.
From Figure 2, it is seen that the pressure of the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 30 is substantially equal to that in the heat exchanger 20 but a temperature ~ 3 within the former heat exchanger is far less than that within the latter and rather close to the outdoor temperature.
This means that the outdoor heat exchanger 30 scarecely disF;ipates heat to the outdoor air.
Further heat from the heat exchanger 20 is transmitted to the outdoor heat exchanger 30 only through a refrigerant piping connecting the two heat exchangers to each other. In other words this transmission of heat is conducted through the refrigerant in its liquid phase flowing through that piping or the thick wall portion thereof resulting in an extremely small quantity of transmitted heat.
Accordingly, even though the outdoor heat exchanger 30 would be cooled with any invaded external wind, the resulting dissipation of heat is very minute. Therefore it is possible to efficiently transmit a quantity of heat absorbed by the refrigerant in the heat exchanger 20 to the indoor heat exchanger 14.
Also the piping 22 is shown in Figure 1 as being coated with a thermally isolating material 22a. As the thermally isolating material 22a is effective for suppressing the heat exchange effected between the piping 22 and that portion of the outdoor air surrounding the latter. Thus the refrigerant remains in its vapor or gas phase (see Figùre
AIRCONDITIONER
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to improvements in an airconditioner utilizing a vapor compressing and refrigerating cycle, and particularly to such an airconditioner increased in airconditioning capability during the drop in outdoor temperature to efficiently cool and warm an associated room or rooms in the whole year.
Heretofore there have been widely employed airconditioners having the vapor compressing and refrigerating cycle. Because of the atmosphere used as a heat source, those airconditioners have been characterized in that the capability of warming an associated room or rooms decreases upon a reduction in outdoor temperature for example, in the winter, in cold districts, in the morning or in the evening.
Particularly they have encountered the problem that, when the outdoor air falls to a few temperature in Centigrade above the freezing of water point, a frost is caused on the surface of an outdoor heat exchanger resulting in a problem that the heat exchange capability thereof is extremely d!eteriorated .
There have been alreadily proposed some approaches to that problem occurring in the room warming mode of operation utilizing the atmosphere as a heat source. One of the approaches has been to provide an indoor or an outdoor heat exchanger with an electric heater serving as an auxiliary heat source. For the indoor heat exchanger with the electric heater, an indoor air blower is used to directly take out .
. 11~i9653 warm air while for the outdoor heat exchanger with the electric heater, a refrigerant involved is heated by the electric heater for the purpose of transporting heat to the indoors. However the use of such an electric heater as the auxiliary heat source has been disadvantageous in that the cost of operation is expensive as compared with other heat sources and a limitation exists in view of the installation of an electric source involved.
Also it has been previously known to provide the outdoor heat exchanger with a water heater. This measure has be required to use a boiler resulting in the high cost of equipment and also in a large-sized apparatus which is inevitably attended with a large area occupied thereby. On the other hand, the frost on the outdoor heat exchange has been able to be removed in the room cooling mode of operation performed for a short time interval. This measure, however, has been disadvantageous in that the defrosting increases a heat loss and the room warming mode of operation is temporarily suspended.
In addition, there has been proposed a measure ~f replenishing a lack of a room warming capability. According to the measure, a combustion device has been incorporated into an indoor exchanger to heat an associated heat exchanger with the resulting combustion gas thereby to supply warm air to the interior of the particular room or rooms for room warming purposes, while the combustion gas is externally exhausted after having heated the heat exchanger and the room or rooms is or are cooled by a room cooling device separately di'sposed. Thus the presence of the indoor ", .. ! . .
11~i9653 combustion device has been disadvantageous in that it is required to dispose pipings for sucking burning air and exhausting the exhaust combustion gas which results in many limitations as to the installation.
On the contrary, there has been also another measure of providing the outdoor heat exchanger with a combustion device as a heat source enabled in the room warming mode of the operation. A combustion gas from the combustion device has supplied thermal energy required for the particular refrigeratnt to be evaporated thereby to prevent a reduction in room warming capability upon a decrease in outdooe temperature. With a high temperature combustion gas used as the heat source, it is to be understood that a contrivance is required not only to efficiently use the heat for evaporating the refrigerant but also to solve a problem that a heating efficiency is not high. This is because even though the outdoor heat exchanger would be partly heated by the combustion device, the resulting heat is partly dissipated through a piping to the indoors.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved airconditioner including a refrigeration circuit in which a liquid and a vapor phase of a refrigerant involved are distributed in well balaned state in any of modes of operation to be highly economically operated in the whole year.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an airconditioner selectively operative in the room cooling mode, the first - ~ 9~53 room warming mode using the outdoor air as a heat source, and the second room warming mode using a forced heat generation source as a heat source, comprising compressor means for compressing a refrigerant; an indoor heat exchanger disposed in heat exchange relationship with the indoor air to be operated as an evaporator in the room cooling mode of operation and as a condenser in the first and second room warming mode of operation; an outdoor heat exchanger disposed in heat exchange relationship with the outdoor air to be operated as a condenser in the room cooling mode of operation and as an evaporator in the first room warming mode of operation, the outdoor heat exchanger reserving therein the refrigerant in its liquid phase in the second room warming mode of operation; a separate heat exchanger for heating the .
refrigerant in the second room warming mode of operation, the separate heat exchanger reserving therein the refrigerant in its liquid phase in both the room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation; forced heat generation means for imparting heat to the separate heat exchanger in the second room warming mode of operation; piping means for reserving the refrigerant in its liquid phase in both the room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation, the piping means having an internal volume added to that of the separate heat exchanger to be substantially eqaul to an internal volume of the outdoor heat exchanger;
the piping means being connected in series to the separate heat exchanger at least in the second room warming mode of operation; first valve means connected between the piping means and the.outdoor heat exchanger to be open in both the 1~'3~53 room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation and closed in the second room warming mode of operation;
first pressure reducing mechanism connected in series to the first valve means to reduce a pressure of the refrigerant flowing therethrough in the first room warming mode of operation; first bypass means for bypassing the refrigerant tending to flow into the first pressure reducing mechanism in the room cooling mode of operation; second valve means connected in parallel to the outdoor heat exchanger to be open in the second room warming mode of operation and closed in the remaining modes of operation; second pressure reducing mechanism connected ~etween the indoor heat exchanger and the piping means to reduce a pressure of the refrigerant flowing therethrough in the room cooling mode of operation;
second bypass means for bypassing the refrigerant tending to flow into the second pressure reducing mechanism in the first and second room warming modes of operation; flow rate-of-refrigerant adjusting means connected to the compressor means to adjust a flow xate of the refrigerant flowing into the separate heat exchanger in the second room warming mode of operation; and control means for selectively controlling the first and second valve means and the flow rate-of-refrigerant adj-lsting means to selectively put them in their operating positions as determined by the room cooling mode and the first and second room warming mode of operation respectively.
In order to selectively operate the airconditioner in the first and second room warming modes, the control means may be~connected to a temperature sensor means for _ 5 _ sensing an outdoor temperature and responsive to a sensed outdoor temperature to select either one of the first and second room warming modes of operation.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the aircondikioner may comprise a refrigerant compressor; a four-way valve; an outdoor heat exchanger disposed in heat exchange relationship with the outdoor air to be operated as a condenser in the room cooling mode of operation and as an evaporator in the first and second room warming modes of operation the outdoor heat exchanger reserving the refrigerant in its liquid phase in the second room warming mode of operation; a parallel combination of a first check valve permitting a refrigerant to flow therethrough in the room cooling mode of operation, and a first pressure reducing mechanism for reducing a pressure of the refrigerant flowing therethrough in the first room warming mode of operation; a first electromagnetic valve open in both the room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation and closed in the second room warming mode of operation; a piping for reserving the refrigerant in its liquid phase in both the room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation; a separate heat exchanger heated by a burner to heat the refrigerant, the separate heat exchanger reserving the refrigerant in its liquid phase in both the room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation, a parallel combination of a second check valve permitting the refrigerant to flow therethrough in the first and second room warming modes of operation, and a second pressure reproducing mechanism for reducing a pressure of the refrigerant in the ;'3~;53 room cooling mode of operation; and an indoor heat exchanger disposed in heat exchanger relationship with the indoor air to be operated as an evaporator in the room cooling mode of operation and as a condenser in the first room warming mode of operation; all the abovementioned components being connected in series to one another in the named order and the indoor refrigerant being connected to the four way valve to form a refrigeration circuit in each of the room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation with an internal valume of the piping substantially equal to a difference in internal volume between the outdoor heat exchanger and the separate heat exchanger. The airconditioner further comprises a second electromagnetic valve connected in parallel to the outdoor heat exchanger between the piping and the four-way valve to be open in the second room warming mode of operation and closed in the remaining modes of operation which valve forms a refrigerant circuit in the second room warming mode of operation with the piping, the indoor heat exchanger and the components disposed there-between, and a series combination of a third electromagnetic valve and a throttle mechanism conne~ted between a delivery and a suction side of the compressor, the third electro-magnetic valve being open in the second room warming mode of operation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in .
conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
1. t ~ 3 Figure 1 is a block diagram of a refrigerant circuit running through one embodiment according to the airconditioner of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a graph illustrating the relationship between an entalpy of a refrigerant and a pressure thereof useful in explaining the operation of the arrangement shown in Figure l;
Figure 3 is a diagram similar to Figure 1 but illustrating a modification of the present invention; and Figure 4 is a diagram similar to Figure 1 but illustrating another modification of the present invention.
Throughout the Figures like reference numerals designate the identical or corresponding components.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings, there is illustrated a refrigeration circuit running through one embodiment according to the airconditioner of the present invention selectively operated in the room cooling mode, a first room warming mode using the outdoor air as a heat source and the second room warming mode using a burner as the heat source. The arrangement illustrated comprises an electrically driven refrigerant compressor 10 with an accumulator lOa connected via a four-way reverse valve 12 to a refrigeration circuit traced from an indoor heat exchanger 14, through a parallel combination of a check valve 16 and a pressure reducing mechanism 18, a separate heat exchanger 20 and thence to a refrigeration piping 22. Then the refrigeration piping 22 is connected to an electromagnetic ` liti'~53 valve 24 subsequently connected to a parallel combination of a check valve 26 and a pressure reducing menanism 28 which is, in turn, connected to an outdoor heat exchanger 30 subsequently, connected to the four-way reverse valve 12 to complete a closed loop refrigeration circuit as shown at solid line in Figure 1. Further an electromagnetic valve 32 is connected to a series combination of the components 24, 26-28 and 30 to form a branch for the refrigeration circuit as shown also at solid line in Figure 1.
The compressor 10 is provided with a series combination of an electromagnetic valve 34 and a throttle mechanism 36 connected across a delivery and a suction side thereof through the accumulator lOa for purposes as will be apparent later. The four-way reverse valve 12 is connected across the delivery and suction dides of the compressor 10 and operative to flow the refrigeration circuit with the compressed refrigerant from the compressor 10 in the direction of the arrow A shown in Figure 1 in the room cooling mode of operation and in the direction of the arrow B also shown in Figure 1 in the first and second room warming modes of operation.
The indoor heat exchanger 14 is disposed in heat exchanger relationship with the indoor air while the outdoor heat exchanger 30 is disposed in heat exchanger relationship with the outdoor air. The separate heat exchanger 20 is operatively coupled to forced heat generation means such as a burner 38. The burner 38 is supplied with a fuel-air mixture preliminarily prepared by mixing air from an air feed tube 40,with a fuel from a fuel feed tube 42 in a _ g _ ll~ 3 proper proportion in order to prevent soot from being generated in the combustion process. In the second room warming mode of operation the burner 38 burns the fuel-air mixture to supply combustion heat to the separate heat exchanger 20. That is, this heat exchanger 20 exchanges heat between the refrigerant flowing therethrough and the resulting combustion gas.
- The arrangement comprises further a control unit 46 and a temperature sensor 48 operatively coupled to the control unit to sense an outdoor temperature.
The check valve 16 is connected in the refrigeration circuit so that the refrigerant is permitted to flow pass therethrough from the indoor heat exchanger 14 to the separate heat exchanger 20, that is, in the first and second warm J modes of operation while the check valve 26 is arranged to permit the refrigerant to flow therethrough from the outdoor ' heat exchanger 30 to the electromagnetic valve 24.
The operation of the arrangement shown in Figure l will now be described. In the room cooling mode of operation the control unit 46 is operated to close the electromagnetic valves 32 and 34 and open the electromagnetic valve 24.
Thus the compressed refrigerant from the compressor lO flows through the refrigeration circuit traced from the compressor lO through the four-way valve 12, the outdoor heat exchanger 30, the check valve 26, the now open electromagnetic valve 24, the piping 22, the heat exchanger 20, the pressure reducing mechanism 18, the indoor heat exchanger l~, the four-way valve 12 and thence to the compressor lO.
I ~
Under these circumstances the indoor heat exchanger 14 is operated as an evaporator while the outdoor heat exchanger 30 is operated as a condenser with the result that the heat exchanger 20 and the piping 22 located upstream of the pressure reducing mechanism 18 with respect to the stream of the refrigerant are fully filled with the refrigerant in its liquid phase.~ Also the pressure reducing mechanism 28 is operated to reduce a pressure of the refrigerant therethrough.
In the first room warming mode of operation using the outdoor air as the heat source, the control unit 40 is operated to close the electromagnetic valves 34 and 32 and open the electromagnetic valve 24. Thus the compressed referigerant flows through a refrigeration circuit traced from th compressor 10 through the four-way valve 12, the indoor heat exchanger 14, the check valve 16, the heat exchanger 20, the piping 22, the now open electromagnetic valve 24, the pressure reducing mechanism 28, the outdoor heat exchanger 30, the four-way valve 12 and thence to the compressor 10. At that time the heat exchangers 14 and 30 serve as a condensor and an evaporator respectively. Thus the piping 22 and the heat exchanger 20 located upstream of the pressure reducing mechanism 28 with respect to the stream of the refrigerant are substantially fully filled with the refrigerant in its liquid phase. The pressure reducing mechanism 18 is operated to reduce a pressure of the refrigerant flowing therethrGugh.
Also in the second room warming mode of operation using the co,mbustion heat as a heat source, the electro-1.1~ 3 magnetic valve 24 is closed while the electromagnetic valves32 and 34 are open. Therefore the compressed refrigerant flows partly through a refrigeration circuit traced from the compressor 10 through the four-way valve 12, the indoor heat exchanger 14r the check valve 16, the heat exchanger 20, the piping 22~ the now open electromagnetic valve 32, the four-way valve 12 and thence to the compressor 10 on the one hand and partly through a path traced from the compressor 10 through the now open electromagnetic valve 34 the throttle mechanism 36 and thence to the compressor 10 on the other hand. At that time the indoor heat exchanger 14 is operated as a condenser while the heat exchanger 20 is operated as an evaporator so that the refrigerant are evaporated under a pxessure and at a temperature high as compared with the first room warming mode of operation. Also the outdoor heat exchanger 30 condenses the refrigerant and is filled with the refrigerant in its liquid phase in the steady-state operation. This is because the electromagnetic valve 24 is in its closed position.
As described above, the control unit-40 selectively control the closure and opening of the electromagnetic values 24, 32 and 34 to selectively operate the arrangement of Figure 1 in the room cooling mode and the first and second room warming modes.~ To this end, the control unit 46 connected to the temperature sensor 48 has stored therein a predetermined temperature set so that the outdoor heat exchanger 30 can not provide a predetermined room warming capability as a result of the outdoor temperature decreasing to reduce a quantity of heat exchanged by the same. The ~ ;i3 control unit 46 compares that predetermined set temperature with an outdoor temperature sensed by the temperature sensor 48 to determine if the sensed temperature is less than the set temperature. When having determined so, the control unit 46 controls the electromagnetic valves 24, 32 and 34 to operate the arrangement of Figure 1 in the second room warming mode. otherwise the control unit 46 controls those electromagnetic valves to operate the arrangement in the first room warming mode.
The fact that the outdoor heat exchanger 30 is fully filled with the refrigerant in its liquid phase is effective for permitting the heat exchanger 30 to dissipate only an extremely small quantity of heat to the outdoor air.
This will now be described in conjunction with Figure 2 wherein there is illustrated a pressure p of the refrigerant plotted in ordinate against an enthalpy i thereof in abscissa.
Figure 2 illustrates a heat cycle in the second room warming mode of operation using an external heat source such as the burner 38 on a Mollier chart for the refrigerant. The heat cycle includes those portions designated by the reference numerals 10, 14, 20j 22 and 30 and corresponding to the compressor 10, the indoor heat exchanger 14, the heat exchanger 20, the piping 22 and the outdoor heat exchanger 30 respectively. Also Figure 2 shows-a pair of isothermal lines at dotted-and-dashed lines one of which is designated by the reference numeral 100.
From Figure 2, it is seen that the pressure of the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 30 is substantially equal to that in the heat exchanger 20 but a temperature ~ 3 within the former heat exchanger is far less than that within the latter and rather close to the outdoor temperature.
This means that the outdoor heat exchanger 30 scarecely disF;ipates heat to the outdoor air.
Further heat from the heat exchanger 20 is transmitted to the outdoor heat exchanger 30 only through a refrigerant piping connecting the two heat exchangers to each other. In other words this transmission of heat is conducted through the refrigerant in its liquid phase flowing through that piping or the thick wall portion thereof resulting in an extremely small quantity of transmitted heat.
Accordingly, even though the outdoor heat exchanger 30 would be cooled with any invaded external wind, the resulting dissipation of heat is very minute. Therefore it is possible to efficiently transmit a quantity of heat absorbed by the refrigerant in the heat exchanger 20 to the indoor heat exchanger 14.
Also the piping 22 is shown in Figure 1 as being coated with a thermally isolating material 22a. As the thermally isolating material 22a is effective for suppressing the heat exchange effected between the piping 22 and that portion of the outdoor air surrounding the latter. Thus the refrigerant remains in its vapor or gas phase (see Figùre
2).
As described above, the heat exchanger 20 and the piping 22 are fully filled with the refrigerant in its liquid phase in the first room warming mode of operation while the out,door heat exchanger 30 is fully filled with the ~ 3 refrigerant in its liquid phase in the second room warming mode thereof. Accordingly, in order to ensure the good operation in either of the first and second room warming modes, it is important that the piping 22 have its internal valume as determined so that the internal volume of the outdoor heat exchanger 30 is substantially equal to the sum of the internal volume of the heat exchanger 20 and that of the piping 22.
Since the heat exchanger 20 is operatively coupled to the combustion gas higher in temperature than the outdoor air as the auxiliary heat source, the same can be fairly small-sized as compared with the outdoor heat exchanger 30 resulting in a decrease in internal volume thereof. Therefore it will readily be understood that the purpose of the piping 22 is to substantially compensate for a difference in internal volume between the heat exchanger 20 ~nd 30.
Because of the presence of the piping 22, the outdoor heat-exchanger 30 serves as a liquid reservoir in the second room warming mode of operation and the heat exchanger 20 and the piping 22 serve as liquid reservoirs in both the first room warming mode thereof using the outdoor air as the heat source and the room cooling mode thereof.
Thus in any of room warming and cooling modes of operation just described, the refrigeration circuit includes the refrigerant having its liquid phase substantially identical in disbribution to its vapor phase.
From this it is seen that, by preliminarily designing the proper distribution of the refrigerant concerning its liquid and vapor phases, it is possible always to perform the satisfactory operation.
1~ 3~3 By rendering the inside diameter of the check valve 16 and the electromagnetic valve 32 larger than that of the check valve 26 and the electromagnetic valve 24, a power required,for the compressor 10 to be driven can effectively reduce in the second room warming mode of operation. This is because the check valve 16 and the electromagnetic valve 32 have flowing therethrough the refrigerant in its vapor and liquid phases or in its vapor phase in the second room warming mode of operation so that the use of the inside diameter as high as possible decreases pressure loss.
Since the refrigeration circuit put in the second room warming mode of operation decreases in pressure loss and utilizes combustion heat at an elevated temperature as the heat source as described above, the refrigerant can be high in evaporating pressure within the heat exchanger 20 and the compressor 10 can have an extremely small compression ratio. Thus,a compression work is small as compared with the room cooling mode or the first room warming mode of operation. However an increase in evaporating pressure causes a decrease in specific volume of the refrigerant sucked by the compressor 10. Therefore the refrigerant increases in mass flow rate and therefore in quantity recirculating through the refrigeration circuit~ This increase in recirculating quantity causes an increase in pressure loss through the refrigeration circuit. As a result, the compression work is not so decreased which will be evident from the following relationship between the capability of, warming the room and the recirculating quantity expressed by 11~<~653 R = gG~qVN/v (1) where R designates the room warming capability in Kcal/hr, q the room warming effect in Kcal/Kg, V a cylinder volume of the compressor in m3, v a specific volume in m3/kg of the refrigerant sucked by the compressor/ N the number of rotation of the compressor per minute, and G designate the recirculating quantity in kg/hr of the refrigerant. Assuming that a constant load is imposed on the room warming and R, q, N and V are constant, a rise of the evaporating pressure causes a aecrease in specific volume until the refrigerant has its recirculating quantity in excess of a proper value relative to the room warming capability R.
It is particularly noted that, as the compressor is used in common to the room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation, the refrigerant recirculates in extremely excessive quantity through the refrigerant circuit in the second room warming mode of operation. In order to ajust this exccessively recirculating quantity under a high evaporating pressure, the present invention includes a shunt circuit formed of the electromagnetic valve 34 and the throttle mechanism 36 serving as flow rate-of-refrigerant adjusting means. In the second room warming mode of operation, the electromagnetic valve 34 is open by the control unti 46 to permit one portion of the refrigerant delivered from the delivery side of the compressor 10 to be shunted to the suction side thereof. Then the throttle mechanism 36 controls a quantity of the shunted refrigerant so that the heat exchanger 30 has flowing through a recirculating quantity of the refrigerant required for a ~ 53 -`-' I' ' ' .
¦ predetermined room warming capability to be exhibited. This ¦ measure permits a pressure loss on the refrigerant circuit ¦ to decrease to extremely reduce a power required for the ¦ compressor 10 in the second room warming mode of operation.
¦ While the present invention has been illustrated ¦ and described in conjunction with the heat exchanger 20 ¦ located downstream of the parallel combination of~the check ¦ valve 16 and the pressure reducing mechanism 18 with respect ¦ to the stream of the refrigerant occurring in the first and ¦ second room warming mode of operation. It is to be understood ¦ that the same is not limited thereby or thereto and that the ¦ heat exchanger 20 may be located downstream of the electro-¦ magnetic valve 32 as with respect to the stream of refrigerant ¦ occurring in the second room warming mode of operation.
¦ This is shown in Figure 3 wherein there is illustrated a ¦ modification of the present invention. The arrangement ¦ illustrated is different from that shown in Figure 1 only in ¦ that in Figure 3 the heat exchanger 20 is directly connected ¦ in series to the electromagnetic valve 32 on that side ¦ thereof nearer to the four-way valve.
¦ In the arrangement of Figure 1 -the refrigerant ¦ flowing through the refrigerant circuit in the second room ¦ warming mode of operation is adjusted to the optimum ¦ recirculating quantity by the electromagnetic valve 34 and ¦ the throttle mechanism 36 for shunting one portion of the ¦ refrigerant from the delivery side of the compressor 10 to ¦ the suction side thereof. However it is to be understood ¦ that present invention is not limited to such an adjustment ¦ of the flow ~ate of the refrigerant and that it is possible llti'~j53 to control the flow rate of the refrigerant by adjusting the number of rotation in unit time of the compressor 10 as will be seen from the expression (1). For example, this measure may use a frequency converter for controlling a frequency of an electric power applied to an electric motor for the compressor 10.
Figure 4 shows another modification of the present invention wherein a frequency converter 50 is disposed between the control unit 40 and the compressor 10 with the omission of the third electromagnetic valve 34 and the throttle mechanism 36.
In other respects the arrangement illustrated is identical to that shown in Figure 1.
In the arrangement of Figure 4 the frequency converter 48 is responsive to a control signal from the control unit 46 to control a frequency of an associated electric source. The compressor 10 operated in the second room warming mode is required to have its number of rotation in unit time less than that for in each of the room cooling mode and the room warming mode. Thus in the second room warming mode of operation, the source frequency from the frequency converter decreases in proportion to the number of rotation in unit time required for the compressor 10 and supplies the frequency thus decreased to the electric motor for the compressor 10. This measure permits the flow rate of the refrigerant recirculating through the heat exchanger 20 to be adjusted to a proper magnitude resulting in a reduction in electric power required for the compressor to be driven.
i~ 36S3 The present invention has several advantages. For example, a heat loss due to the heat dessipation to the outdoor air can be suppressed in the second room warming mode of operation and also the refrigerant has its liquid and vapor phases distributed in the well balanced state within the refrigerant circuit in any of the modes of operation. Accordingly the present air conditioner can be highly economically operated in the whole year.
While the present invention has been illustrated and described in conjunction with a few preferred embodiments thereof it is to be understood that numerous changes and modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the compressor 10 may be replaced by a volume controlled compressor including the so-called bypass passageway with a control valve disposed in the main body thereof with the omission of the electromagnetic valve 34 and the throttle mechanism 36.
As described above, the heat exchanger 20 and the piping 22 are fully filled with the refrigerant in its liquid phase in the first room warming mode of operation while the out,door heat exchanger 30 is fully filled with the ~ 3 refrigerant in its liquid phase in the second room warming mode thereof. Accordingly, in order to ensure the good operation in either of the first and second room warming modes, it is important that the piping 22 have its internal valume as determined so that the internal volume of the outdoor heat exchanger 30 is substantially equal to the sum of the internal volume of the heat exchanger 20 and that of the piping 22.
Since the heat exchanger 20 is operatively coupled to the combustion gas higher in temperature than the outdoor air as the auxiliary heat source, the same can be fairly small-sized as compared with the outdoor heat exchanger 30 resulting in a decrease in internal volume thereof. Therefore it will readily be understood that the purpose of the piping 22 is to substantially compensate for a difference in internal volume between the heat exchanger 20 ~nd 30.
Because of the presence of the piping 22, the outdoor heat-exchanger 30 serves as a liquid reservoir in the second room warming mode of operation and the heat exchanger 20 and the piping 22 serve as liquid reservoirs in both the first room warming mode thereof using the outdoor air as the heat source and the room cooling mode thereof.
Thus in any of room warming and cooling modes of operation just described, the refrigeration circuit includes the refrigerant having its liquid phase substantially identical in disbribution to its vapor phase.
From this it is seen that, by preliminarily designing the proper distribution of the refrigerant concerning its liquid and vapor phases, it is possible always to perform the satisfactory operation.
1~ 3~3 By rendering the inside diameter of the check valve 16 and the electromagnetic valve 32 larger than that of the check valve 26 and the electromagnetic valve 24, a power required,for the compressor 10 to be driven can effectively reduce in the second room warming mode of operation. This is because the check valve 16 and the electromagnetic valve 32 have flowing therethrough the refrigerant in its vapor and liquid phases or in its vapor phase in the second room warming mode of operation so that the use of the inside diameter as high as possible decreases pressure loss.
Since the refrigeration circuit put in the second room warming mode of operation decreases in pressure loss and utilizes combustion heat at an elevated temperature as the heat source as described above, the refrigerant can be high in evaporating pressure within the heat exchanger 20 and the compressor 10 can have an extremely small compression ratio. Thus,a compression work is small as compared with the room cooling mode or the first room warming mode of operation. However an increase in evaporating pressure causes a decrease in specific volume of the refrigerant sucked by the compressor 10. Therefore the refrigerant increases in mass flow rate and therefore in quantity recirculating through the refrigeration circuit~ This increase in recirculating quantity causes an increase in pressure loss through the refrigeration circuit. As a result, the compression work is not so decreased which will be evident from the following relationship between the capability of, warming the room and the recirculating quantity expressed by 11~<~653 R = gG~qVN/v (1) where R designates the room warming capability in Kcal/hr, q the room warming effect in Kcal/Kg, V a cylinder volume of the compressor in m3, v a specific volume in m3/kg of the refrigerant sucked by the compressor/ N the number of rotation of the compressor per minute, and G designate the recirculating quantity in kg/hr of the refrigerant. Assuming that a constant load is imposed on the room warming and R, q, N and V are constant, a rise of the evaporating pressure causes a aecrease in specific volume until the refrigerant has its recirculating quantity in excess of a proper value relative to the room warming capability R.
It is particularly noted that, as the compressor is used in common to the room cooling mode and the first room warming mode of operation, the refrigerant recirculates in extremely excessive quantity through the refrigerant circuit in the second room warming mode of operation. In order to ajust this exccessively recirculating quantity under a high evaporating pressure, the present invention includes a shunt circuit formed of the electromagnetic valve 34 and the throttle mechanism 36 serving as flow rate-of-refrigerant adjusting means. In the second room warming mode of operation, the electromagnetic valve 34 is open by the control unti 46 to permit one portion of the refrigerant delivered from the delivery side of the compressor 10 to be shunted to the suction side thereof. Then the throttle mechanism 36 controls a quantity of the shunted refrigerant so that the heat exchanger 30 has flowing through a recirculating quantity of the refrigerant required for a ~ 53 -`-' I' ' ' .
¦ predetermined room warming capability to be exhibited. This ¦ measure permits a pressure loss on the refrigerant circuit ¦ to decrease to extremely reduce a power required for the ¦ compressor 10 in the second room warming mode of operation.
¦ While the present invention has been illustrated ¦ and described in conjunction with the heat exchanger 20 ¦ located downstream of the parallel combination of~the check ¦ valve 16 and the pressure reducing mechanism 18 with respect ¦ to the stream of the refrigerant occurring in the first and ¦ second room warming mode of operation. It is to be understood ¦ that the same is not limited thereby or thereto and that the ¦ heat exchanger 20 may be located downstream of the electro-¦ magnetic valve 32 as with respect to the stream of refrigerant ¦ occurring in the second room warming mode of operation.
¦ This is shown in Figure 3 wherein there is illustrated a ¦ modification of the present invention. The arrangement ¦ illustrated is different from that shown in Figure 1 only in ¦ that in Figure 3 the heat exchanger 20 is directly connected ¦ in series to the electromagnetic valve 32 on that side ¦ thereof nearer to the four-way valve.
¦ In the arrangement of Figure 1 -the refrigerant ¦ flowing through the refrigerant circuit in the second room ¦ warming mode of operation is adjusted to the optimum ¦ recirculating quantity by the electromagnetic valve 34 and ¦ the throttle mechanism 36 for shunting one portion of the ¦ refrigerant from the delivery side of the compressor 10 to ¦ the suction side thereof. However it is to be understood ¦ that present invention is not limited to such an adjustment ¦ of the flow ~ate of the refrigerant and that it is possible llti'~j53 to control the flow rate of the refrigerant by adjusting the number of rotation in unit time of the compressor 10 as will be seen from the expression (1). For example, this measure may use a frequency converter for controlling a frequency of an electric power applied to an electric motor for the compressor 10.
Figure 4 shows another modification of the present invention wherein a frequency converter 50 is disposed between the control unit 40 and the compressor 10 with the omission of the third electromagnetic valve 34 and the throttle mechanism 36.
In other respects the arrangement illustrated is identical to that shown in Figure 1.
In the arrangement of Figure 4 the frequency converter 48 is responsive to a control signal from the control unit 46 to control a frequency of an associated electric source. The compressor 10 operated in the second room warming mode is required to have its number of rotation in unit time less than that for in each of the room cooling mode and the room warming mode. Thus in the second room warming mode of operation, the source frequency from the frequency converter decreases in proportion to the number of rotation in unit time required for the compressor 10 and supplies the frequency thus decreased to the electric motor for the compressor 10. This measure permits the flow rate of the refrigerant recirculating through the heat exchanger 20 to be adjusted to a proper magnitude resulting in a reduction in electric power required for the compressor to be driven.
i~ 36S3 The present invention has several advantages. For example, a heat loss due to the heat dessipation to the outdoor air can be suppressed in the second room warming mode of operation and also the refrigerant has its liquid and vapor phases distributed in the well balanced state within the refrigerant circuit in any of the modes of operation. Accordingly the present air conditioner can be highly economically operated in the whole year.
While the present invention has been illustrated and described in conjunction with a few preferred embodiments thereof it is to be understood that numerous changes and modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the compressor 10 may be replaced by a volume controlled compressor including the so-called bypass passageway with a control valve disposed in the main body thereof with the omission of the electromagnetic valve 34 and the throttle mechanism 36.
Claims (21)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. An airconditioner selectively operative in the room cooling mode, the first room warming mode using the outdoor air as a heat source and the second room warming mode using a forced heat generation source as a heat source, comprising compressor means for compressing a refrigerant;
an indoor heat exchanger disposed in heat exchanger relationship with the indoor air to be operated as an evaporator in said room cooling mode of operation and as a condenser in said first and second room warming mode of operation; an outdoor heat exchanger disposed in heat exchanger relationship with the outdoor air to be operated as a condenser in said room cooling mode of operation and as an evaporator in said first room warming mode of operation, said outdoor heat exchanger reserving therein the refrigerant in its liquid phase in said second room warming mode of operation; a separate heat exchanger for heating said refrigerant in said second room warming mode of operation, said separate heat exchanger reserving the refrigerant in its liquid phase in both said room cooling mode and said first room warming mode of operation; forced heat generation means for imparting heat to said separate heat exchanger in said second room warming mode of operation; piping means for reserving the refrigerant in its liquid phase in both said room cooling mode and said first room warming mode of operation, said piping means having an internal volume added to that of said separate heat exchanger to be substantially equal to an internal volume of said outdoor heat exchanger, said piping means being connected in series to said separate heat: exchanger at least in said second room warming mode of operation; first valve means connected between said piping means and said outdoor heat exchanger to be open in both said room cooling mode and said first room warming mode of operation and closed in second room warming mode of operation;
first pressure reducing mechanism connected in series to said first valve means to reduce a pressure of the refrigerant flowing therethrough in said first room warming mode of operation; first bypass means for bypassing the refrigerant tending to flow into said first pressure reducing mechanism in said room cooling mode of operation; second valve means connected in parallel to said outdoor heat exchanger to be open in said second room warming mode of operation and closed in the remaining modes of operation; second pressure reducing mechanism connected between said indoor heat exchanger and said piping means to reduce a pressure of the refrigerant therethrough in said room cooling mode of operation; second bypass means for bypassing the refrigerant tending to flow into said second pressure reducing mechanism in said first and second room warming mode of operation;
flow rate-of-refrigerant adjusting means connected to said compressor means to adjust a flow rate of the refrigerant flowing into said separate heat exchanger in said second room warming mode of operation; and control means for selectively controlling said first and second valve means and said flow rate-of-refrigerant adjusting means to selectively put them in their operating position as determined by said room, cooling mode and said first and second room warming mode of operation.
an indoor heat exchanger disposed in heat exchanger relationship with the indoor air to be operated as an evaporator in said room cooling mode of operation and as a condenser in said first and second room warming mode of operation; an outdoor heat exchanger disposed in heat exchanger relationship with the outdoor air to be operated as a condenser in said room cooling mode of operation and as an evaporator in said first room warming mode of operation, said outdoor heat exchanger reserving therein the refrigerant in its liquid phase in said second room warming mode of operation; a separate heat exchanger for heating said refrigerant in said second room warming mode of operation, said separate heat exchanger reserving the refrigerant in its liquid phase in both said room cooling mode and said first room warming mode of operation; forced heat generation means for imparting heat to said separate heat exchanger in said second room warming mode of operation; piping means for reserving the refrigerant in its liquid phase in both said room cooling mode and said first room warming mode of operation, said piping means having an internal volume added to that of said separate heat exchanger to be substantially equal to an internal volume of said outdoor heat exchanger, said piping means being connected in series to said separate heat: exchanger at least in said second room warming mode of operation; first valve means connected between said piping means and said outdoor heat exchanger to be open in both said room cooling mode and said first room warming mode of operation and closed in second room warming mode of operation;
first pressure reducing mechanism connected in series to said first valve means to reduce a pressure of the refrigerant flowing therethrough in said first room warming mode of operation; first bypass means for bypassing the refrigerant tending to flow into said first pressure reducing mechanism in said room cooling mode of operation; second valve means connected in parallel to said outdoor heat exchanger to be open in said second room warming mode of operation and closed in the remaining modes of operation; second pressure reducing mechanism connected between said indoor heat exchanger and said piping means to reduce a pressure of the refrigerant therethrough in said room cooling mode of operation; second bypass means for bypassing the refrigerant tending to flow into said second pressure reducing mechanism in said first and second room warming mode of operation;
flow rate-of-refrigerant adjusting means connected to said compressor means to adjust a flow rate of the refrigerant flowing into said separate heat exchanger in said second room warming mode of operation; and control means for selectively controlling said first and second valve means and said flow rate-of-refrigerant adjusting means to selectively put them in their operating position as determined by said room, cooling mode and said first and second room warming mode of operation.
2. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said control means is connected to temperature sensor means for sensing an outdoor temperature and said control means selects said first and second room warming modes of operation in response to a sensed outdoor temperature.
3. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 2 wherein said control means is responsive to sensed outdoor temperature no higher than a predetermined magnitude to select said i second room warming mode of operation.
4. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said forced heat generation means comprises a burner.
5. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said separate heat exchanger is disposed in direct heat exchanger relationship with a combustion gas.
6. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said piping means is coated with a heat isolating material to be prevented from effecting the heat exchange between the same and the exterior.
7. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said piping mean is connected to a refrigerant tube and larger in inside diameter than said refrigerant tube.
8. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first and second valve means comprise respective electromagnetic valves.
9. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 1 wherein at leat one of said first and second pressure reducing mechanisms comprises at least a capillary tube.
10. An airconditioners as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of said first and second bypass means comprises a check valve connected across an associated one of said first and second pressure reducing mechanisms.
11. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of a set of said first pressure reducing mechanism and said first bypass means and a set of said second pressure reducing mechanism and said second bypass means is formed of at least one variable pressure reduction mechanism for changing a pressure reduction from its substantially null to its maximum magnitude at will, and said variable pressure reduction mechanism sets a pressure reduction to the optimum magnitude in accordance with each of said modes of operation.
12. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said flow rate-of-refrigerant adjusting means includes separate bypass means for communicating the high pressure side of said compressor means with the low pressure side thereof in said second room warming mode of operation.
13. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 12 wherein said separate bypass means includes third valve means open in said second room warming mode of operation.
14. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 13 wherein said third valve means comprises a thid electro-magnetic valve.
15. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said flow rate-of-refrigerant adjusting means comprises a series combination of an electromagnetic valve and a throttle mechanism disposed between the high and low pressure sides of said compressor means, and said control means controls the lastmentioned electromagnetic valve to be open in said second room warming mode of operation.
16. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said flow rate-of-refrigerant adjusting means is formed of a variable speed compressor for reducing the number of rotation in unit time of said compressor in said second room warming mode of operation.
17. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 16 wherein there is provided means for controlling a frequency of an electric source supplying an electric power to an electric motor for driving said compressor means thereby to reduce the number of rotation in unit time of said compressor means.
18. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 1 wherein a four-way valve is connected across a delivery and a suction sides of said compressor means and operative to reverse a stream of the refrigerant forming a refrigeration cycle in said room cooling mode and said room warming modes of operation.
19. An airconditioner selectively operative in the room cooling mode, the first room warming mode using the outdoor air as a heat source and the second room warming mode using a forced heat generation means, comprising a refrigerant compressor; a four-way valve; an outdoor heat exchanger disposed in heat exchanger relationship with the outdoor air to be operated as a condenser in said room cooling mode of operation and as an evaporator in said first room warming mode of operation said outdoor refrigerant reserving the refrigerant in its liquid phase in said second room warming mode of operation; a parallel combination of a first check valve permitting a refrigerant to flow there-through in said room cooling mode of operation, and a first pressure reducing mechanism for reducing a pressure of said refrigerant flowing therethrough in said first room warming mode of operation a first electromagnetic valve open in both said room cooling mode and said first room warming mode of operation and closed in said second room warming mode of operation; a piping for reserving the refrigerant in its liquid phase in both said room cooling mode and said first room warming mode of operation; a separate heat exchanger heated by a burner to heat the refrigerant, said separate heat exchanger reserving the refrigerant in its liquid phase in both said room cooling mode and said first room warming mode of operation; a parallel combination of a second check valve permitting the refrigerant to flow therethrough in said first and second room warming modes of operation, and a second pressure reproducing mechanism for reducing a pressure of the refrigerant in said room cooling mode of operation; and an indoor heat exchanger disposed in heat exchanger relationship with the indoor air to be operated as an evaporator in said room cooling mode of operation and as a condenser in said first room warming mode of operation, all said components being connected in series to one another in the named order and said indoor heat exchanger being connected to said four way valve to form a refrigeration circuit in each of said room cooling mode and said first room warming mode of operation with an internal valume of said piping substantially equal to a difference in internal volume between said outdoor heat exchanger and said separate heat exchanger; and further comprising a second electro-magnetic valve connected in parallel to said outdoor heat exchanger between said piping and said four-way valve to be open in the second room warming mode of operation and closed in the remaining modes of operation, said second electro-magnetic valve forming a refrigertion circuit in said second room warming mode of operation with said piping, said indoor heat exchanger and the components disposed therebetween.
20. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 19 wherein there are provided a series combination of a third electromagnetic valve and a throttle mechanism connected between a delivery and a suction side of said compressor, said third electromagnetic valve being open in said second room warming mode of operation, and a control unit for selectively controlling operating positions of said first, second and third electromagnetic valves in said room cooling mode and said first and second room warming mode of operation.
21. An airconditioner as claimed in claim 19 wherein there are provided a control unit for selectively controlling operating positions of said first and second electromagnetic values in said room cooling mode and said first and second room warming mode of operation; and a frequency converter connected to said control unit to change a frequency of an electric power applied to an electric motor for said compressor.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000400109A CA1169653A (en) | 1982-03-31 | 1982-03-31 | Airconditioner |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000400109A CA1169653A (en) | 1982-03-31 | 1982-03-31 | Airconditioner |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1169653A true CA1169653A (en) | 1984-06-26 |
Family
ID=4122473
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000400109A Expired CA1169653A (en) | 1982-03-31 | 1982-03-31 | Airconditioner |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1169653A (en) |
-
1982
- 1982-03-31 CA CA000400109A patent/CA1169653A/en not_active Expired
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