EP4008973A1 - Air conditioner - Google Patents
Air conditioner Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP4008973A1 EP4008973A1 EP20882824.4A EP20882824A EP4008973A1 EP 4008973 A1 EP4008973 A1 EP 4008973A1 EP 20882824 A EP20882824 A EP 20882824A EP 4008973 A1 EP4008973 A1 EP 4008973A1
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- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- port
- pipe
- piping
- refrigerant
- heat exchanger
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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Classifications
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B13/00—Compression machines, plants or systems, with reversible cycle
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
- F24F—AIR-CONDITIONING; AIR-HUMIDIFICATION; VENTILATION; USE OF AIR CURRENTS FOR SCREENING
- F24F3/00—Air-conditioning systems in which conditioned primary air is supplied from one or more central stations to distributing units in the rooms or spaces where it may receive secondary treatment; Apparatus specially designed for such systems
- F24F3/06—Air-conditioning systems in which conditioned primary air is supplied from one or more central stations to distributing units in the rooms or spaces where it may receive secondary treatment; Apparatus specially designed for such systems characterised by the arrangements for the supply of heat-exchange fluid for the subsequent treatment of primary air in the room units
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B41/00—Fluid-circulation arrangements
- F25B41/20—Disposition of valves, e.g. of on-off valves or flow control valves
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B41/00—Fluid-circulation arrangements
- F25B41/40—Fluid line arrangements
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B2313/00—Compression machines, plants or systems with reversible cycle not otherwise provided for
- F25B2313/023—Compression machines, plants or systems with reversible cycle not otherwise provided for using multiple indoor units
- F25B2313/0233—Compression machines, plants or systems with reversible cycle not otherwise provided for using multiple indoor units in parallel arrangements
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B2313/00—Compression machines, plants or systems with reversible cycle not otherwise provided for
- F25B2313/027—Compression machines, plants or systems with reversible cycle not otherwise provided for characterised by the reversing means
- F25B2313/0272—Compression machines, plants or systems with reversible cycle not otherwise provided for characterised by the reversing means using bridge circuits of one-way valves
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B2400/00—General features or devices for refrigeration machines, plants or systems, combined heating and refrigeration systems or heat-pump systems, i.e. not limited to a particular subgroup of F25B
- F25B2400/13—Economisers
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B2500/00—Problems to be solved
- F25B2500/12—Sound
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B2600/00—Control issues
- F25B2600/25—Control of valves
- F25B2600/2509—Economiser valves
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B2600/00—Control issues
- F25B2600/25—Control of valves
- F25B2600/2515—Flow valves
Definitions
- the present invention relates to the technical field of air conditioning, and in particular to an air conditioner.
- the enhanced vapor injection refrigerant system is more and more widely used, especially applications to the coal-to-electricity conversion and multi-split air conditioners in northern China.
- many systems are provided with secondary subcoolers to reduce pipeline pressure loss and indoor machine throttling noise.
- an economizer may be shared.
- the economizer is bound to perform downstream heat exchange in one of the directions, which results in a small temperature difference for heat exchange and a low heat exchange efficiency.
- a main objective of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner which aims to enable the air conditioner to have a high heating capacity in low-temperature environments while having a thermostatic dehumidification function.
- the air conditioner provided in the present invention includes an outdoor unit and an indoor unit, where the outdoor unit includes an enhanced vapor compression mechanism and an outdoor heat exchanger, and the indoor unit includes a first heat exchanger and a first throttle regulator;
- the refrigerant bridge has a first port, a second port, and a refrigerant passage that causes the first port to communicate with the second port, and the refrigerant bridge is connected to the first piping through the first port and the second port.
- the refrigerant bridge has a third port and a fourth port, and the two ends of the first refrigerant flow path are connected to the third port and the fourth port, respectively;
- the refrigerant bridge has a third port and a fourth port, and the two ends of the first refrigerant flow path are connected to the third port and the fourth port, respectively;
- the first bridge section, the second bridge section, the third bridge section, and the fourth bridge section are each provided with a one-way valve.
- the liquid pickup pipe is provided with a liquid pickup throttle valve.
- the return pipe includes a return pipe body, a first communication pipe, and a second communication pipe;
- an inflow end of the liquid pickup pipe communicates with the first piping between the economizer and the outdoor side heat exchanger, or an inflow end of the liquid pickup pipe communicates with the first piping between the economizer and the first indoor throttle regulator.
- an inflow end of the liquid pickup pipe has a liquid pickup port at a junction with the first piping, the liquid pickup port being located below the first piping around the liquid pickup port.
- the air conditioner further includes a liquid pickup structure having a liquid pickup chamber and a first refrigerant port, a second refrigerant port, and a liquid pickup port that communicate with the liquid pickup chamber, the liquid pickup port being located below the first refrigerant port and the second refrigerant port.
- the air conditioner further includes a second heat exchanger, a second throttle regulator, a third piping, and a branch pipe branching off from the discharge pipe, the third piping connecting a first intersection point of the first piping, the second throttle regulator, the second heat exchanger, and the branch pipe in sequence, where the first intersection point is located between the first throttle regulator and the outdoor heat exchanger, and the economizer is located on the first piping between the first intersection point and the outdoor heat exchanger.
- the third piping communicates with the branch pipe, and a third control valve is provided on the branch pipe to control the opening and closing of the branch pipe; and the third piping communicates with the low-pressure suction pipe or with the second piping through a coupling pipe, and a fourth control valve is provided on the coupling pipe to control the opening and closing of the coupling pipe.
- the air conditioner further includes a second switching device, the second switching device being capable of switching between a third switching state and a fourth switching state of the second switching device, where
- the air conditioner further includes an outdoor side throttle regulator, the outdoor side throttle regulator being located on the first piping between the economizer and the outdoor side heat exchanger.
- the air conditioner further includes: a first connection pipe branching off from a second intersection point of the first piping and a second connection pipe branching off from the second piping, the second intersection point being located between the first throttle regulator and the outdoor heat exchanger, and the air conditioner further includes multiple indoor units, the multiple indoor units being connected in parallel to the first connection pipe and the second connection pipe.
- the economizer includes a plate heat exchanger or a double-pipe heat exchanger having a first end and a second end provided opposite each other, where the first refrigerant flow path enters through the first end and exits through the second end and the second refrigerant flow path enters through the second end and exits through the first end; or the first refrigerant flow path enters through the second end and exits through the first end and the second refrigerant flow path enters through the first end and exits through the second end.
- the refrigerant flow directions in the first refrigerant flow path and the second refrigerant flow path are always opposite (whether in the heating mode where the refrigerant flows from the indoor heat exchanger to the outdoor heat exchanger, or in the cooling mode where the refrigerant flows from the outdoor heat exchanger to the indoor heat exchanger).
- the temperature difference between refrigerants in the first refrigerant flow path and the second refrigerant flow path is adequately maintained, so that the heat exchange effect between the first refrigerant flow path and the second refrigerant flow path can be ensured, which is conducive to ensuring the air replenishment effect of the economizer on the compressor in the heating mode, thus ensuring the heating capacity of the air conditioner in low-temperature environments; and which, at the same time, is conducive to ensuring the liquefaction effect (exhaust effect) of the economizer on the refrigerant in the cooling mode, ensuring that the refrigerant entering the indoor throttle device is in the liquid state, thus eliminating the abnormal sound generated in the indoor throttling process.
- the air conditioner includes an outdoor unit 100 and an indoor unit 200, where the outdoor unit 100 includes a compression mechanism and an outdoor side heat exchanger 141, and the indoor unit 200 includes a first heat exchanger 220 and a first throttle regulator 240;
- the air conditioner in the first switching state the air conditioner is in the heating state, i.e., the first heat exchanger 220 is in the heating operation.
- the air conditioner In the second switching state, the air conditioner is in the cooling state.
- the first switching device 131 may be a four-way valve.
- the air conditioner further includes an economizer 143, where the economizer 143 is provided on the first piping 140 between the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 and the first throttle device; a first refrigerant flow path 143a and a second refrigerant flow path 143b are provided in the economizer 143, the first refrigerant flow path 143a being connected to the first piping 140 through a refrigerant bridge 600; and one end of the second refrigerant flow path 143b communicates with the first piping 140 through a liquid pickup pipe 145 and the other end communicates with both a medium-pressure suction port of the compressor 110 and the suction pipe through a return pipe 146, so that refrigerant flow directions in the first refrigerant flow path 143a and the second refrigerant flow path 143b are opposite.
- the first switching device 131 in the heating mode, is in the first state, in which case the discharge pipe 111 communicates with the second piping 150, so that the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant passes through the discharge pipe 111 and the second piping 150 and then enters the first heat exchanger 220 for heating, and then flows into the refrigerant bridge 600 through the first piping 140, and after being subject to the action of the refrigerant bridge 600, flows into the first refrigerant flow path 143a of the economizer 143, and flows back to the first piping 140 after passing through the first refrigerant flow path 143a, and passes through the outdoor throttle valve and the outdoor side heat exchanger 141, and then flows back to the compressor 110 through the suction pipe from the low-pressure suction port.
- the second refrigerant flow path 143b of the economizer 143 after liquid pickup and passing through the plate heat exchanger to exchange heat with the first refrigerant flow path 143a, flows through the return pipe 146 back to the medium-pressure suction pipe of the compressor 110. At the same time, the communication between the return pipe 146 and the suction pipe is cut off, so as to replenish air to the compressor 110, thus improving the heating capacity of the compressor 110 in low-temperature environments;
- the first switching device 131 is in the second state, in which case the discharge pipe 111 communicates with the first piping 140, and the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant passes through the discharge pipe 111 and the first piping 140, enters the outdoor side heat exchanger 141, then passes through the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 and then the outdoor throttle valve, and then enters the first refrigerant flow path 143a of the economizer 143 through the refrigerant bridge 600, and the first refrigerant flow path 143a passes through the plate heat exchanger and then flows back to the first piping 140, and then along the first piping 140 and through the first indoor throttle device, enters the first heat exchanger 220 for cooling; the inflow end of the second refrigerant fluid communicates with the first piping 140, and the refrigerant passes through the plate heat exchanger to exchange heat with the refrigerant in the first refrigerant flow path 143a (to perform heat exchange through the plate heat exchanger), and then flows through the return pipe
- the economizer 143 includes a plate heat exchanger or a double-pipe heat exchanger having a first end 510 and a second end 520 provided opposite each other, where the first refrigerant flow path 143a enters through the first end 510 and exits through the second end 520 and the second refrigerant flow path 143b enters through the second end 520 and exits through the first end 510; or the first refrigerant flow path 143a enters through the second end 520 and exits through the first end 510 and the second refrigerant flow path 143b enters through the first end 510 and exits through the second end 520.
- the refrigerant in the first refrigerant flow path 143a and the refrigerant in the second refrigerant flow path 143b exchange heat through the plate heat exchanger or the double-pipe heat exchanger. Since the first refrigerant flow path 143a and the second refrigerant flow path 143b flow in opposite directions, the temperature difference between refrigerants in the first refrigerant flow path 143a and the second refrigerant flow path 143b is kept maximum, thus ensuring the heat exchange effect.
- the refrigerant bridge 600 may be in various forms, as long as it enables, as the refrigerant passes through the first piping 140 (whether the refrigerant flows from the indoor heat exchanger to the outdoor side heat exchanger 141, or from the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 to the indoor heat exchanger), the refrigerant flow direction in the first refrigerant flow path 143a to be always opposite to the refrigerant flow direction in the second refrigerant flow path 143b so as to increase the temperature difference and thus ensure the heat exchange effect.
- the refrigerant flow directions in the first refrigerant flow path 143a and the second refrigerant flow path 143b are always opposite (whether in the heating mode where the refrigerant flows from the indoor heat exchanger to the outdoor side heat exchanger 141, or in the cooling mode where the refrigerant flows from the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 to the indoor heat exchanger).
- the temperature difference between refrigerants in the first refrigerant flow path 143a and the second refrigerant flow path 143b is adequately maintained, so that the heat exchange effect between the first refrigerant flow path 143a and the second refrigerant flow path 143b can be ensured, which is conducive to ensuring the air replenishment effect of the economizer 143 on the compressor 110 in the heating mode, thus ensuring the heating capacity of the air conditioner in low-temperature environments; and which, at the same time, is conducive to ensuring the liquefaction effect (exhaust effect) of the economizer 143 on the refrigerant in the cooling mode, ensuring that the refrigerant entering the indoor throttle device is in the liquid state, thus eliminating the abnormal sound generated in the indoor throttling process.
- the conception of the present invention can be used not only for conventional air conditioners, but also for situations where multiple indoor heat exchangers are provided in the same one indoor unit 200, and also for situations where the refrigerant system has multiple indoor units 200.
- the increase in the complexity of the structure of a single indoor unit 200 itself, or the increase in the number of indoor units 200, will increase the length of the refrigerant pipeline and will make the effect of the present invention in eliminating abnormal sound more obvious.
- the indoor unit 200 further includes a second heat exchanger 210, a second throttle regulator 230, and a thermal circulation device for delivering heat or cold from the indoor unit 200 into the room.
- the air conditioner further includes a third piping 160 and a branch pipe 112 branching off from the discharge pipe 111, the third piping 160 connecting a first intersection point 211 of the first piping 140, the second throttle regulator 230, the second heat exchanger 210, and the branch pipe 112 in sequence so as to form a refrigerant circuit, where the first intersection point 211 is located between the first throttle regulator 240 and the outdoor side heat exchanger 141; and the economizer 143 is located on the first piping 140 between the first intersection point 211 and the outdoor side heat exchanger 141.
- the thermal circulation device may be a wind wheel, and the rotation of the wind wheel delivers to the room the air for which heat has been exchanged with an initial heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger 210.
- the thermal circulation device may also be a water circulation device, where the first heat exchanger 220 and the second heat exchanger 210 deliver heat or cold to the room through the circulating water flowing in the water circulation device.
- the air conditioner can realize cooling by the first heat exchanger 220 and heating by the second heat exchanger 210, so that thermostatic dehumidification can be realized.
- the first throttle regulator 240 includes a solenoid throttle valve, such as a solenoid expansion valve
- the second throttle regulator 230 includes a solenoid throttle valve, such as a solenoid expansion valve.
- the first switching device 131 is in the second state, where the first heat exchanger 220 performs cooling at which point the refrigerant is discharged from the discharge pipe 111 and enters the second heat exchanger 210 through the branch pipe 112 and the third piping 160; and the second heat exchanger 210 performs heating at which point the refrigerant flows out of the second heat exchanger 210 and then flows into the second piping 150 and, along the second piping 150, passes through the refrigerant bridge 600, the economizer 143, the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 and the suction pipe and flows back to the low-pressure suction port of the compressor 110.
- the air conditioner further includes a second switching device 132, the second switching device 132 being capable of switching between a third switching state and a fourth switching state of the second switching device 132, where in the third switching state, the second switching device 132 causes the third piping 160 to communicate with the branch pipe 112, and in the fourth switching state, the second switching device 132 causes the third piping 160 to communicate with the suction pipe.
- the air conditioner is in a thermostatic dehumidification state.
- the air conditioner is in the cooling state, i.e., the first heat exchanger 220 and the second heat exchanger 210 perform cooling at the same time.
- the second switching device 132 may be a four-way valve.
- an auxiliary branch pipe which communicates with the suction pipe when the third piping 160 communicates with the branch pipe 112.
- the auxiliary branch pipe communicates with the low-pressure suction pipe 113 and the branch pipe 112.
- a filter and a capillary are provided on the auxiliary branch pipe.
- the first switching device 131 and the second switching device 132 may exist at the same time, so that the air conditioner can be switched among three states of thermostatic dehumidification, heating only and cooling only.
- the air conditioner further includes an outdoor side throttle regulator 142, the outdoor side throttle regulator 142 being located on the first piping 140 between the economizer 143 and the outdoor side heat exchanger 141.
- the outdoor side throttle regulator 142 includes an outdoor throttle valve, such as an electronic expansion valve.
- the specific operation of the economizer 143 will be described below based on the situation where there exist a first indoor heat exchanger and a second indoor heat exchanger in the room.
- the air conditioner further includes the economizer 143; the economizer 143 is provided on the first piping 140 between the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 and the first intersection point 211, and the return pipe 146 of the economizer 143 communicates with the medium-pressure suction port of the compressor 110.
- the return pipe 146 may be in various forms, and the return pipe 146 may include only the return pipe 146 body, or may include the return pipe 146 body and the first communication pipe 148, one end of the first communication pipe 148 communicating with the return pipe 146 body and the other end communicating with the medium-pressure suction port of the compressor 110.
- a first control valve 133 is provided on the return pipe 146 or on the first communication pipe 148 between the return pipe 146 and the medium-pressure suction port of the compressor 110.
- the compressor 110 at this point is an enhanced vapor injection compressor 110 having a low-pressure suction port and a medium-pressure suction port.
- the liquid pickup pipe 145 is provided with a liquid pickup throttle valve 144.
- the discharge from the compressor 110 after being switched by the first switching device 131 and the second switching device 132, enters the second heat exchanger 210 (the refrigerant enters through the third piping 160) and the first heat exchanger 220 (the refrigerant enters through the first piping 140), respectively, for heating, and the liquid refrigerant coming from the second heat exchanger 210 and the first heat exchanger 220 is divided into two parts when it passes through the economizer 143: the first part (through the refrigerant bridge 600 and the first refrigerant flow path 143a) is directly subjected to throttling and pressure reduction by the outdoor side throttle regulator 142 (electronic expansion valve) and then enters the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 for evaporation and heat absorption; and the second part (through the second refrigerant flow path 143b) is subjected to throttling and pressure reduction by the liquid pickup throttle valve 144 (electronic expansion valve), and then enters the economizer 143
- the system design of the enhanced vapor injection compressor 110 and the economizer 143 increases the refrigerant suction amount of the compressor 110 in low-temperature environments, which in turn increases the heat production at a low temperature, while reducing the compression ratio in low-temperature environments, so the reliability of the system can be improved.
- the inflow end of the liquid pickup pipe 145 communicates with the first piping 140 between the economizer 143 and the outdoor side heat exchanger 141, while in some other embodiments, the inflow end of the liquid pickup pipe 145 may also communicate with the first piping 140 between the economizer 143 and the first intersection point 211 (in the absence of the first intersection point 211, the inflow end of the liquid pickup pipe 145 communicates with the first piping 140 between the economizer 143 and the first indoor throttle regulator). That is, the refrigerant flows in through the refrigerant outflow end of the economizer 143, which is conducive to improving the reliability of liquid pickup.
- the junction between the inflow end of the liquid pickup pipe 145 and the first piping 140 is referred to as the liquid pickup point.
- the connection position is referred to as a first liquid pickup point 134, or referred to as an upstream liquid pickup point; and when the inflow end of the liquid pickup pipe 145 is located between the first piping 140 between the economizer 143 and the first intersection point 211 (or the first indoor throttle regulator), the connection position is referred to as a second liquid pickup point 135, or referred to as a downstream liquid pickup point.
- the first liquid pickup point 134 or the upstream liquid pickup point is selected in order to replenish air to the compressor 110, thus increasing its heating capacity in low-temperature environments; and in the situation of cooling or thermostatic dehumidification (or dehumidification and reheating) by the indoor heat exchanger, the second liquid pickup point 135 or the downstream liquid pickup point is selected to cause the refrigerant entering the indoor unit 200 to be liquid as much as possible, thus avoiding the generation of abnormal sound during indoor throttling.
- the inflow end of the liquid pickup pipe 145 has a liquid pickup port 840 at a junction with the first piping 140, the liquid pickup port 840 being located below the first piping 140 around the liquid pickup port 840.
- the position of the liquid pickup port 840 By setting the position of the liquid pickup port 840 to be lower than that of the first piping 140, because the liquid refrigerant flows along the lower side pipe wall of the first piping 140 (the density of the refrigerant in the liquid state is greater than that in the gaseous state), so that when the refrigerant passes through the liquid pickup port 840, the liquid refrigerant enters preferentially under the action of gravity, thus ensuring that refrigerant picked up at the liquid pickup port 840 is in the liquid state.
- the liquid pickup port 840 may be formed in many ways, such as, for example, providing a liquid pickup structure 800 at the junction of the liquid pickup pipe 145 with the first piping 140, where the liquid pickup structure 800 has a liquid pickup chamber 810 and three refrigerant ports that communicate with the liquid pickup chamber 810, namely, a first refrigerant port 830, a second refrigerant port 820 and a liquid pickup port 840, the liquid pickup port 840 being located below the first refrigerant port 830 and the second refrigerant port 820. Both the first refrigerant port 830 and the second refrigerant port 820 communicate with the first piping 140, and the liquid pickup port 840 communicates with the inflow end of the liquid pickup pipe 145.
- the first refrigerant port 830 communicates with the first piping 140 near the outdoor heat exchanger
- the second refrigerant port 820 communicates with the first piping 140 near the first indoor throttle regulator.
- the liquid pickup port 840 is located at the bottom of the liquid pickup structure 800.
- the liquid pickup structure 800 may be in various shapes, such as rectangular, square, column, etc.
- the first refrigerant port 830 and the second refrigerant port 820 may be located at the two ends or at the top of the liquid pickup structure 800, but, of course, in some embodiments, the first piping 140 may also extend into the liquid pickup chamber 810 through the first refrigerant port 830 and the second refrigerant port 820.
- the air conditioner further includes a gas-liquid separator 120 and the economizer 143, the gas-liquid separator 120 being provided on the low-pressure suction pipe 113; and the economizer 143 is provided on the first piping 140 between the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 and the first intersection point 211, and the return pipe 146 of the economizer 143 communicates with the gas-liquid separator 120.
- the return pipe 146 may be in various forms, and the return pipe 146 may include only the return pipe 146 body, or may include the return pipe 146 body and the second communication pipe 147, one end of the second communication pipe 147 communicating with the return pipe 146 body and the other end communicating with the gas-liquid separator 120.
- the return pipe 146 communicates with the gas-liquid separator 120 through the low-pressure suction pipe 113, and a second control valve 149 is provided on the return pipe 146 or the second connection pipe 250 between the return pipe 146 and the low-pressure suction pipe 113.
- the refrigerant condensing temperature at the outlet of the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 is further reduced, which improves the subcooling degree and causes the refrigerant to condense completely to the liquid state, and the liquid refrigerant enters the indoor heat exchanger for heat absorption and evaporation after the throttling and pressure reduction by the indoor electronic expansion valves, so that the refrigerant passing through the indoor throttle devices is in the full liquid state, thus solving the problem of abnormal sound of refrigerant generated by the gas-liquid two-phase state refrigerant.
- the high-pressure and high-temperature gaseous refrigerant enters the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 for condensation and heat exchange
- the medium-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant in the gas-liquid two-phase state coming out of the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 enters the economizer 143 and is then divided into two parts: the first part, after the throttling and pressure reduction by the liquid pickup throttle valve 144, passes through the liquid pickup pipe 145 and then enters the economizer 143 for heat absorption and evaporation
- the evaporated gaseous refrigerant enters the gas-liquid separator 120 through the return pipe 146, the second control valve 149 (solenoid valve) and the connection pipe, and after being mixed with the gaseous refrigerant that has been subjected to heat absorption and evaporation by the indoor heat exchanger, enters the suction port of the compressor 110 together; and the second part, after further condensation and heat exchange by the
- the refrigerant condensing temperature at the outlet of the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 is further reduced, which improves the subcooling degree and causes the refrigerant to condense completely to the liquid state from the gas-liquid two-phase state, and the liquid refrigerant enters the indoor heat exchanger for heat absorption and evaporation after the throttling and pressure reduction by the indoor electronic expansion valves (the first throttle regulator 240 and the second throttle regulator 230), so that the refrigerant passing through the indoor throttle devices (the first throttle regulator 240 and the second throttle regulator 230) is in the full liquid state, thus solving the problem of abnormal sound of refrigerant generated by the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant when passing through the throttle regulators, thereby improving the satisfaction of users
- the return pipe 146 communicates with the medium-pressure suction port of the compressor 110 and the gas-liquid separator 120, respectively, through different communication pipes, in which case the two communication pipes (the first communication pipe 148 and the second communication pipe 147) are provided with the first control valve 133 (near the compressor 110) and the second control valve 149 (near the gas-liquid separator 120), respectively.
- the return pipe 146 in this case includes the return pipe 146 body and the two communication pipes.
- the second control valve 149 is closed and the first control valve 133 is opened, allowing the refrigerant to flow into the compressor 110 to improve heating capacity.
- the first control valve 133 In the cooling mode or thermostatic dehumidification mode, the first control valve 133 is closed and the second control valve 149 is opened to eliminate the abnormal sound.
- the second control valve 149 may also be closed and the first control valve 133 opened due to special working conditions.
- the air conditioner can adjust the first control valve 133 and the second control valve 149 according to the specific situation, thus improving the heating capacity of the air conditioner in the heating mode and reducing noise in the cooling and thermostatic dehumidification modes.
- the compressor 110 is an enhanced vapor injection compressor 110, and this compressor 110 has a medium-pressure suction port M (i.e., vapor injection port) in addition to the conventional high-pressure exhaust port P and low-pressure suction port S, where the medium-pressure refrigerant vapor enters the compressor 110 through this vapor injection port to increase the effective flow of refrigerant.
- M medium-pressure suction port
- the a port of the economizer 143 is connected to a third port 630 of the refrigerant bridge 600, the b port of the economizer 143 is connected to a fourth port 640 of the refrigerant bridge 600, the c port of the economizer 143 is connected to the liquid pickup pipe 145, the d port of the economizer 143 is connected to the return pipe 146, the liquid pickup throttle valve 144 is connected in series to the liquid pickup pipe 145, the first control valve 133 is connected in series to a communication pipe, and the second control valve 149 is connected in series to another communication pipe, with one end of the communication pipe being connected to the medium-pressure suction port M of the compressor 110, and the other communication pipe being connected to the inlet end of the gas-liquid separator 120.
- the air conditioner further includes multiple indoor units 200, and the form of heat exchangers included in each indoor unit 200 may be different, for example, one or more of an indoor machine with thermostatic dehumidification function (having both the first heat exchanger 220 and the second heat exchanger 210), an ordinary cooling/heating indoor machine (having only one heat exchanger and a corresponding throttle device), and an indoor machine with a conversion device that can freely switch between cooling or heating states may be included, so that the air conditioner can perform mixed operations of thermostatic dehumidification, cooling and heating at the same time.
- an indoor machine with thermostatic dehumidification function having both the first heat exchanger 220 and the second heat exchanger 210
- an ordinary cooling/heating indoor machine having only one heat exchanger and a corresponding throttle device
- an indoor machine with a conversion device that can freely switch between cooling or heating states
- the air conditioner further includes: a first connection pipe 260 branching off from a second intersection point 212 of the first piping 140 and a second connection pipe 250 branching off from the second piping 150, the second intersection point 212 being located between the first throttle regulator 240 and the outdoor side heat exchanger 141, and the air conditioner further includes multiple indoor units 200, the multiple indoor units 200 being connected in parallel to the first connection pipe 260 and the second connection pipe 250.
- the second switching device 132 is controlled using two solenoid valves.
- the third piping 160 communicates with the branch pipe 112 and communicates with the low-pressure suction pipe 113 or the second piping 150, with a third control valve 310 being provided on the branch pipe 112, and the third piping 160 communicates with the low-pressure suction pipe 113 or with the second piping 150 through the coupling pipe 114, with a fourth control valve 320 being provided on the coupling pipe 114.
- the end of the coupling pipe 114 away from the third piping 160 may communicate with either the second piping 150 between the first switching device 131 and the indoor heat exchanger or the second piping 150 between the first switching device 131 and the gas-liquid separator 120.
- the third control valve 310 and the fourth control valve 320 are separate control valves, the structure is simpler and more stable and reliable compared to the four-way valve.
- the third control valve 310 and the fourth control valve 320 may be solenoid valves. The solenoid valve can still work stably and reliably when liquid refrigerant enters, while in the four-way valve, if liquid refrigerant enters, its working stability will be affected. Therefore, the use of separate third control valve 310 and fourth control valve 320 can improve the stability and reliability of the operation and state switching of the air conditioner.
- the states of the third control valve 310 and the fourth control valve 320 in the case of power off may be set according to the actual requirements of the working conditions.
- the third control valve 310 as an example.
- the third control valve 310 may be selected as a normally open valve, that is, most of its work can be completed in the power-off state, and it needs to be powered on only when the state of the third control valve 310 needs to be switched.
- the third control valve 310 maintains a normally closed state for a long time, it is selected to be a normally closed valve. In this way, it is conducive to reducing the electrical energy consumed by the second switching device 132 (including the third control valve 310) during the operation of the air conditioner, thus contributing to the rational use of energy.
- the third piping 160, the branch pipe 112 and the coupling pipe 114 are connected at the first junction Q.
- the low-pressure suction pipe 113 may communicate with the other two pipes through the coupling pipe 114.
- one three-way valve may be provided at the first junction Q instead of two two-way valves.
- the three-way valve realizes the communication of the third piping 160 to the coupling pipe 114 and the branch pipe 112, respectively, and may control the opening and closing of the coupling pipe 114 and the branch pipe 112, respectively. In this way, it is conducive to improving the convenience of the connection of the third piping 160, the coupling pipe 114 and the branch pipe 112.
- Cooling mode The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant is discharged from an exhaust pipe and passes through the first switching device 131, the first piping 140, the outdoor side heat exchanger 141, and the economizer 143 in sequence, and then enters an evaporation heat exchanger and the first heat exchanger 220, respectively, for cooling.
- the third control valve 310 is closed and the fourth control valve 320 is opened.
- Heating mode The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant is discharged from the exhaust pipe, and one part thereof passes through the first switching device 131 (which may be absent in some embodiments) and the second piping 150 in sequence, then enters the first heat exchanger 220 for heating, and then flows out of the first heat exchanger 220 and enters the first piping 140; and the other part passes through the branch pipe 112 and the third piping 160 in sequence and enters the second heat exchanger 210 for heating, and flows out of the second heat exchanger 210 and then enters the first piping 140, passes through the economizer 143, the outdoor side heat exchanger 141, and the first switching device 131, and then flows into the gas-liquid separator 120.
- the third control valve 310 is opened and the fourth control valve 320 is closed.
- Thermostatic dehumidification mode The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant is discharged from the exhaust pipe, and one part thereof passes through the first switching device 131 (which may be absent in some embodiments), the first piping 140, the outdoor side heat exchanger 141, and the economizer 143 in sequence, and then enters the first heat exchanger 220 for cooling, and then passes through the second piping 150 and the first switching device 131 and flows into the gas-liquid separator 120.
- the other part passes through the branch pipe 112 and the third piping 160 in sequence and enters the second heat exchanger 210 for heating, and then flows into the first heat exchanger 220 for cooling.
- the third control valve 310 is opened and the fourth control valve 320 is closed.
- the refrigerant bridge 600 has a first port 610, a second port 620, and a refrigerant passage that causes the first port 610 to communicate with the second port 620, and the refrigerant bridge 600 is connected to the first piping 140 through the first port 610 and the second port 620.
- the first port 610 communicates with the first piping 140 near the outdoor side heat exchanger 141
- the second port 620 communicates with the first piping 140 near the indoor unit 200.
- the refrigerant bridge 600 further has a second port 620 and a fourth port 640, where the refrigerant bridge 600 is connected to the first refrigerant line of the economizer 143 through the second port 620 and the fourth port 640.
- the refrigerant may enter the refrigerant bridge 600 through the first port 610 or the second port 620, flow into the first refrigerant flow path 143a through the third port 630 (the fourth port 640), pass through the first refrigerant flow path 143a and then enter the refrigerant bridge 600 through the fourth port 640 (the third port 630), and then flow into the first piping 140 through the second port 620 or the first port 610.
- the refrigerant bridge 600 has a third port 630 and a fourth port 640, with the two ends of the first refrigerant flow path 143a being connected to the third port 630 and the fourth port 640, respectively;
- the first port 610 communicates with the third port 630 through a first bridge section 650, the first bridge section 650 allowing unidirectional fluid flow from the first port 610 to the third port 630;
- the third port 630 communicates with the second port 620 through a second bridge section 660, the second bridge section 660 allowing unidirectional fluid flow from the second port 620 to the third port 630;
- the second port 620 communicates with the fourth port 640 through a third bridge section 670, the third bridge section 670 allowing unidirectional fluid flow from the fourth port 640 to the second port 620;
- the fourth port 640 communicates with the first port 610 through a fourth bridge section 680, the fourth bridge section
- liquid pickup is conducted at the first liquid pickup point 134 (the upstream liquid pickup point):
- the refrigerant after flowing out of the indoor heat exchanger, enters the first piping 140, and enters the first bridge section 650 along the first piping 140 through the first port 610, flows out through the third port 630 and then enters the first refrigerant flow path 143a of the economizer 143, enters through the first end 510 (in some embodiments, it may also enter through the second end 520 and flow out through the first end 510) into the plate heat exchanger or double-pipe heat exchanger for heat exchange and then flows out through the second end 520, and then enters the third bridge section 670 through the fourth port 640, flows out of the refrigerant bridge 600 through the second port 620 and enters the first piping 140, and then passes through the outdoor side throttle regulator 142 and the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 in sequence.
- the refrigerant after being subjected to liquid pickup at the first liquid pickup point 134 by the liquid pickup pipe 145, passes through the liquid pickup throttle valve 144 and enters through the second end 520 into the plate heat exchanger or double-pipe heat exchanger for heat exchange, and then flows out through the first end 510 (in some embodiments it may also enter through the first end 510 and flow out through the second end 520, as long as it is opposite to the first refrigerant flow path 143a), and then enters the return pipe 146 and, along the return pipe 146, flows back to the medium-pressure suction port of the compressor 110.
- liquid pickup is conducted at the second liquid pickup point 135 (the downstream liquid pickup point):
- the refrigerant after flowing out of the outdoor side heat exchanger 141, enters the first piping 140, and enters the second bridge section 660 along the first piping 140 through the second port 620, flows out through the third port 630 and then enters the first refrigerant flow path 143a of the economizer 143, enters through the first end 510 (in some embodiments, it may also enter through the second end 520 and flow out through the first end 510) into the plate heat exchanger or double-pipe heat exchanger for heat exchange and then flows out through the second end 520, and then enters the fourth bridge section 680 through the fourth port 640, flows out of the refrigerant bridge 600 through the first port 610 and enters the first piping 140, and then enters the indoor heat exchanger.
- the refrigerant after being subjected to liquid pickup at the second liquid pickup point 135 by the liquid pickup pipe 145, passes through the liquid pickup throttle valve 144 and enters through the second end 520 into the plate heat exchanger or double-pipe heat exchanger for heat exchange, and then flows out through the first end 510 (in some embodiments it may also enter through the first end 510 and flow out through the second end 520, as long as it is opposite to the first refrigerant flow path 143a), and then enters the return pipe 146, and along the return pipe 146 it flows back to the medium-pressure suction port of the compressor 110.
- the refrigerant bridge 600 has a third port 630 and a fourth port 640, with the two ends of the first refrigerant flow path 143a being connected to the third port 630 and the fourth port 640, respectively;
- the first port 610 communicates with the third port 630 through a first bridge section 650, the first bridge section 650 allowing unidirectional fluid flow from the third port 630 to the first port 610;
- the third port 630 communicates with the second port 620 through a second bridge section 660, the second bridge section 660 allowing unidirectional fluid flow from the third port 630 to the second port 620;
- the second port 620 communicates with the fourth port 640 through a third bridge section 670, the third bridge section 670 allowing unidirectional fluid flow from the second port 620 to the fourth port 640;
- the fourth port 640 communicates with the first port 610 through a fourth bridge section 680, the fourth bridge section 680 allowing unidirectional fluid flow from the first port 610 to the fourth port 640
- liquid pickup is conducted at the first liquid pickup point 134 (the upstream liquid pickup point):
- the refrigerant after flowing out of the indoor heat exchanger, enters the first piping 140, and enters the fourth bridge section 680 along the first piping 140 through the first port 610, flows out through the fourth port 640 and then enters the first refrigerant flow path 143a of the economizer 143, enters through the second end 520 (in some embodiments, it may also enter through the first end 510 and flow out through the second end 520) into the plate heat exchanger or double-pipe heat exchanger for heat exchange and then flows out through the first end 510, and then enters the second bridge section 660 through the third port 630, flows out of the refrigerant bridge 600 through the second port 620 and enters the first piping 140, and then passes through the outdoor side throttle regulator 142 and the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 in sequence.
- the refrigerant after being subjected to liquid pickup at the first liquid pickup point 134 by the liquid pickup pipe 145, passes through the liquid pickup throttle valve 144 and enters through the first end 510 into the plate heat exchanger or double-pipe heat exchanger for heat exchange, and then flows out through the second end 520 (in some embodiments it may also enter through the second end 520 and flow out through the first end 510, as long as it is opposite to the refrigerant flow direction in the first refrigerant flow path 143a), and then enters the return pipe 146 and, along the return pipe 146, flows back to the medium-pressure suction port of the compressor 110.
- liquid pickup is conducted at the second liquid pickup point 135 (the downstream liquid pickup point):
- the refrigerant after flowing out of the outdoor side heat exchanger 141, enters the first piping 140, and enters the third bridge section 670 along the first piping 140 through the second port 620, flows out through the fourth port 640 and then enters the first refrigerant flow path 143a of the economizer 143, enters through the second end 520 (in some embodiments, it may also enter through the first end 510 and flow out through the second end 520) into the plate heat exchanger or double-pipe heat exchanger for heat exchange and then flows out through the first end 510, and then enters the first bridge section 650 through the third port 630, flows out of the refrigerant bridge 600 through the first port 610 and enters the first piping 140, and then enters the indoor heat exchanger.
- the refrigerant after being subjected to liquid pickup at the second liquid pickup point 135 by the liquid pickup pipe 145, passes through the liquid pickup throttle valve 144 and enters through the first end 510 into the plate heat exchanger or double-pipe heat exchanger for heat exchange, and then flows out through the second end 520 (in some embodiments it may also enter through the second end 520 and flow out through the first end 510, as long as it is opposite to the first refrigerant flow direction), and then enters the return pipe 146 and, along the return pipe 146, flows back to the medium-pressure suction port of the compressor 110.
- the first bridge section 650, the second bridge section 660, the third bridge section 670, and the fourth bridge section 680 are each provided with a one-way valve 690 to achieve unidirectional fluid flow with each bridge section.
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Abstract
Description
- The present application claims priority to
Chinese Application No. 201911034323.1 filed to the Chinese Patent Office on October 28, 2019 Chinese Patent Application No. 201921830849.6 filed to the Chinese Patent Office on October 28, 2019 - The present invention relates to the technical field of air conditioning, and in particular to an air conditioner.
- With the increasing improvement of people's living standards and the demand for energy saving, the enhanced vapor injection refrigerant system is more and more widely used, especially applications to the coal-to-electricity conversion and multi-split air conditioners in northern China. In addition, as for multi-split air conditioner systems or other refrigerant systems, due to the application of long connection pipes and the existence of throttle devices on the indoor machine side, many systems are provided with secondary subcoolers to reduce pipeline pressure loss and indoor machine throttling noise. When both enhanced vapor injection and secondary subcooling are required on a refrigerant system application, an economizer may be shared. However, due to the opposite flow directions of cooling and heating refrigerants, the economizer is bound to perform downstream heat exchange in one of the directions, which results in a small temperature difference for heat exchange and a low heat exchange efficiency.
- A main objective of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner which aims to enable the air conditioner to have a high heating capacity in low-temperature environments while having a thermostatic dehumidification function.
- In order to achieve the above purpose, the air conditioner provided in the present invention includes an outdoor unit and an indoor unit, where the outdoor unit includes an enhanced vapor compression mechanism and an outdoor heat exchanger, and the indoor unit includes a first heat exchanger and a first throttle regulator;
- the air conditioner further includes: a discharge pipe connected to a discharge side of the compression mechanism, a low-pressure suction pipe connected to a low-pressure suction side of the compression mechanism, a first piping connecting the discharge pipe, the outdoor heat exchanger, the first throttle regulator, and the first heat exchanger in sequence, and a second piping connecting the first heat exchanger and the low-pressure suction pipe, thus forming a refrigerant circuit;
- the outdoor unit further includes a first switching device, the first switching device being capable of switching between a first switching state of the first switching device and a second switching state of the first switching device, where in the first switching state the first switching device causes the first piping to communicate with the suction pipe and the second piping to communicate with the discharge pipe, and in the second switching state the first switching device causes the first piping to communicate with the discharge pipe and the second piping to communicate with the suction pipe; and
- the air conditioner further includes an economizer, where the economizer is provided on the first piping between the outdoor heat exchanger and the first throttle device; a first refrigerant flow path and a second refrigerant flow path are provided in the economizer, the first refrigerant flow path being connected to the first piping through a refrigerant bridge; and one end of the second refrigerant flow path communicates with the first piping through a liquid pickup pipe and the other end communicates with both a medium-pressure suction port of the compressor and the suction pipe through a return pipe, so that refrigerant flow directions in the first refrigerant flow path and the second refrigerant flow path are opposite.
- In some embodiments, the refrigerant bridge has a first port, a second port, and a refrigerant passage that causes the first port to communicate with the second port, and the refrigerant bridge is connected to the first piping through the first port and the second port.
- In some embodiments, the refrigerant bridge has a third port and a fourth port, and the two ends of the first refrigerant flow path are connected to the third port and the fourth port, respectively;
- the first port communicates with the third port through a first bridge section, the first bridge section allowing unidirectional fluid flow from the first port to the third port;
- the third port communicates with the second port through a second bridge section, the second bridge section allowing unidirectional fluid flow from the second port to the third port;
- the second port communicates with the fourth port through a third bridge section, the third bridge section allowing unidirectional fluid flow from the fourth port to the second port; and
- the fourth port communicates with the first port through a fourth bridge section, the fourth bridge section allowing unidirectional fluid flow from the fourth port to the first port.
- In some embodiments, the refrigerant bridge has a third port and a fourth port, and the two ends of the first refrigerant flow path are connected to the third port and the fourth port, respectively;
- the first port communicates with the third port through a first bridge section, the first bridge section allowing unidirectional fluid flow from the third port to the first port;
- the third port communicates with the second port through a second bridge section, the second bridge section allowing unidirectional fluid flow from the third port to the second port;
- the second port communicates with the fourth port through a third bridge section, the third bridge section allowing unidirectional fluid flow from the second port to the fourth port; and
- the fourth port communicates with the first port through a fourth bridge section, the fourth bridge section allowing unidirectional fluid flow from the first port to the fourth port.
- In some embodiments, the first bridge section, the second bridge section, the third bridge section, and the fourth bridge section are each provided with a one-way valve.
- In some embodiments, the liquid pickup pipe is provided with a liquid pickup throttle valve.
- In some embodiments, the return pipe includes a return pipe body, a first communication pipe, and a second communication pipe;
- one end of the first communication pipe communicates with the return pipe body and the other end communicates with the medium-pressure suction port of the compressor; the return pipe body or the first communication pipe is provided with a first control valve; and
- one end of the second communication pipe communicates with the return pipe body and the other end communicates with the suction pipe, and the second communication pipe is provided with a second control valve.
- In some embodiments, an inflow end of the liquid pickup pipe communicates with the first piping between the economizer and the outdoor side heat exchanger, or
an inflow end of the liquid pickup pipe communicates with the first piping between the economizer and the first indoor throttle regulator. - In some embodiments, an inflow end of the liquid pickup pipe has a liquid pickup port at a junction with the first piping, the liquid pickup port being located below the first piping around the liquid pickup port.
- In some embodiments, the air conditioner further includes a liquid pickup structure having a liquid pickup chamber and a first refrigerant port, a second refrigerant port, and a liquid pickup port that communicate with the liquid pickup chamber, the liquid pickup port being located below the first refrigerant port and the second refrigerant port.
- In some embodiments, the air conditioner further includes a second heat exchanger, a second throttle regulator, a third piping, and a branch pipe branching off from the discharge pipe, the third piping connecting a first intersection point of the first piping, the second throttle regulator, the second heat exchanger, and the branch pipe in sequence, where the first intersection point is located between the first throttle regulator and the outdoor heat exchanger, and the economizer is located on the first piping between the first intersection point and the outdoor heat exchanger.
- In some embodiments, the third piping communicates with the branch pipe, and a third control valve is provided on the branch pipe to control the opening and closing of the branch pipe; and the third piping communicates with the low-pressure suction pipe or with the second piping through a coupling pipe, and a fourth control valve is provided on the coupling pipe to control the opening and closing of the coupling pipe.
- In some embodiments, the air conditioner further includes a second switching device, the second switching device being capable of switching between a third switching state and a fourth switching state of the second switching device, where
- in the third switching state, the second switching device causes the third piping to communicate with the branch pipe, and
- in the fourth switching state, the second switching device causes the third piping to communicate with the suction pipe.
- In some embodiments, the air conditioner further includes an outdoor side throttle regulator, the outdoor side throttle regulator being located on the first piping between the economizer and the outdoor side heat exchanger.
- In some embodiments, the air conditioner further includes: a first connection pipe branching off from a second intersection point of the first piping and a second connection pipe branching off from the second piping, the second intersection point being located between the first throttle regulator and the outdoor heat exchanger, and the air conditioner further includes multiple indoor units, the multiple indoor units being connected in parallel to the first connection pipe and the second connection pipe.
- In some embodiments, the economizer includes a plate heat exchanger or a double-pipe heat exchanger having a first end and a second end provided opposite each other, where the first refrigerant flow path enters through the first end and exits through the second end and the second refrigerant flow path enters through the second end and exits through the first end;
or the first refrigerant flow path enters through the second end and exits through the first end and the second refrigerant flow path enters through the first end and exits through the second end. - In the technical scheme of the present invention, by connecting the refrigerant inflow end of the first refrigerant flow path of the economizer to the refrigerant bridge and setting the flow direction of the second refrigerant flow path, the refrigerant flow directions in the first refrigerant flow path and the second refrigerant flow path are always opposite (whether in the heating mode where the refrigerant flows from the indoor heat exchanger to the outdoor heat exchanger, or in the cooling mode where the refrigerant flows from the outdoor heat exchanger to the indoor heat exchanger). In this way, the temperature difference between refrigerants in the first refrigerant flow path and the second refrigerant flow path is adequately maintained, so that the heat exchange effect between the first refrigerant flow path and the second refrigerant flow path can be ensured, which is conducive to ensuring the air replenishment effect of the economizer on the compressor in the heating mode, thus ensuring the heating capacity of the air conditioner in low-temperature environments; and which, at the same time, is conducive to ensuring the liquefaction effect (exhaust effect) of the economizer on the refrigerant in the cooling mode, ensuring that the refrigerant entering the indoor throttle device is in the liquid state, thus eliminating the abnormal sound generated in the indoor throttling process.
- In order to illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or technical schemes in the related art, the drawings used in description of the embodiments or the related art will be briefly described below, and obviously, the drawings in the following description are provided as merely some embodiments of the present invention, and for those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be derived on the basis of the structures shown in these drawings without any inventive effort.
-
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention; -
Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention; -
Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of an embodiment in the heating mode at A inFig. 2 ; -
Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of an embodiment in the cooling mode at A inFig. 2 ; -
Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another embodiment in the heating mode at A inFig. 2 ; -
Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another embodiment in the cooling mode at A inFig. 2 ; -
Fig. 7 is a partial enlarged view of an embodiment of a junction of a liquid pickup pipe with a first piping in an air conditioner according to the present invention; -
Fig. 8 is a partial enlarged view of another embodiment of a junction of a liquid pickup pipe with a first piping in an air conditioner according to the present invention; -
Fig. 9 is a partial enlarged view of yet another embodiment of a junction of a liquid pickup pipe with a first piping in an air conditioner according to the present invention; and -
Fig. 10 is a partial enlarged view of yet another embodiment of a junction of a liquid pickup pipe with a first piping in an air conditioner according to the present invention. - The achievement of the purpose, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further illustrated in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
- The technical schemes in the embodiments of the present invention are described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. It is obvious that the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present invention instead of all the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without inventive effort are within the scope of the present invention.
- It should be noted that all directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, ...) in the embodiments of the present invention are used only to explain the relative position relationship, movement situation, etc., among the components in a particular attitude (as shown in the attached figures), and if that particular attitude is changed, the directional indications change accordingly.
- The following illustration will focus on the specific structure of the air conditioner.
- Referring to
Figs. 1 to 4 , the entire pipeline structure and component configuration of the air conditioner will first be introduced. In an embodiment of the present invention, the air conditioner includes anoutdoor unit 100 and anindoor unit 200, where theoutdoor unit 100 includes a compression mechanism and an outdoorside heat exchanger 141, and theindoor unit 200 includes afirst heat exchanger 220 and afirst throttle regulator 240; - the air conditioner further includes: a
discharge pipe 111 connected to a discharge side of thecompression 110 mechanism, a low-pressure suction pipe 113 connected to a low-pressure suction side of the compression mechanism, afirst piping 140 connecting thedischarge pipe 111, the outdoorside heat exchanger 141, thefirst throttle regulator 240, and thefirst heat exchanger 220 in sequence, and asecond piping 150 connecting thefirst heat exchanger 220 and the low-pressure suction pipe 113, thus forming a refrigerant circuit; - the
outdoor unit 100 further includes afirst switching device 131, thefirst switching device 131 being capable of switching between a first switching state of thefirst switching device 131 and a second switching state of thefirst switching device 131, where - in the first switching state the
first switching device 131 causes thefirst piping 140 to communicate with the suction pipe and thesecond piping 150 to communicate with thedischarge pipe 111, and in the second switching state thefirst switching device 131 causes thefirst piping 140 to communicate with thedischarge pipe 111 and thesecond piping 150 to communicate with the suction pipe. - By the setting of the
first switching device 131, in the first switching state the air conditioner is in the heating state, i.e., thefirst heat exchanger 220 is in the heating operation. In the second switching state, the air conditioner is in the cooling state. Thefirst switching device 131 may be a four-way valve. - The air conditioner further includes an
economizer 143, where theeconomizer 143 is provided on thefirst piping 140 between the outdoorside heat exchanger 141 and the first throttle device; a firstrefrigerant flow path 143a and a secondrefrigerant flow path 143b are provided in theeconomizer 143, the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a being connected to thefirst piping 140 through a refrigerant bridge 600; and one end of the secondrefrigerant flow path 143b communicates with thefirst piping 140 through aliquid pickup pipe 145 and the other end communicates with both a medium-pressure suction port of thecompressor 110 and the suction pipe through areturn pipe 146, so that refrigerant flow directions in the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a and the secondrefrigerant flow path 143b are opposite. - Regarding the operation of the
economizer 143, in the heating mode, thefirst switching device 131 is in the first state, in which case thedischarge pipe 111 communicates with thesecond piping 150, so that the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant passes through thedischarge pipe 111 and thesecond piping 150 and then enters thefirst heat exchanger 220 for heating, and then flows into the refrigerant bridge 600 through thefirst piping 140, and after being subject to the action of the refrigerant bridge 600, flows into the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a of theeconomizer 143, and flows back to thefirst piping 140 after passing through the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a, and passes through the outdoor throttle valve and the outdoorside heat exchanger 141, and then flows back to thecompressor 110 through the suction pipe from the low-pressure suction port. The secondrefrigerant flow path 143b of theeconomizer 143, after liquid pickup and passing through the plate heat exchanger to exchange heat with the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a, flows through thereturn pipe 146 back to the medium-pressure suction pipe of thecompressor 110. At the same time, the communication between thereturn pipe 146 and the suction pipe is cut off, so as to replenish air to thecompressor 110, thus improving the heating capacity of thecompressor 110 in low-temperature environments; - In the cooling mode, the first switching device 131 is in the second state, in which case the discharge pipe 111 communicates with the first piping 140, and the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant passes through the discharge pipe 111 and the first piping 140, enters the outdoor side heat exchanger 141, then passes through the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 and then the outdoor throttle valve, and then enters the first refrigerant flow path 143a of the economizer 143 through the refrigerant bridge 600, and the first refrigerant flow path 143a passes through the plate heat exchanger and then flows back to the first piping 140, and then along the first piping 140 and through the first indoor throttle device, enters the first heat exchanger 220 for cooling; the inflow end of the second refrigerant fluid communicates with the first piping 140, and the refrigerant passes through the plate heat exchanger to exchange heat with the refrigerant in the first refrigerant flow path 143a (to perform heat exchange through the plate heat exchanger), and then flows through the return pipe 146 and the suction pipe back to the low-pressure suction port of the compressor 110, so that the refrigerant entering the room through the economizer 143 and the first piping 140 is in the liquid state, thus avoiding the harsh and abnormal sound generated by the indoor throttle devices during the throttling process.
- The
economizer 143 includes a plate heat exchanger or a double-pipe heat exchanger having afirst end 510 and asecond end 520 provided opposite each other, where the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a enters through thefirst end 510 and exits through thesecond end 520 and the secondrefrigerant flow path 143b enters through thesecond end 520 and exits through thefirst end 510; or the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a enters through thesecond end 520 and exits through thefirst end 510 and the secondrefrigerant flow path 143b enters through thefirst end 510 and exits through thesecond end 520. The refrigerant in the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a and the refrigerant in the secondrefrigerant flow path 143b exchange heat through the plate heat exchanger or the double-pipe heat exchanger. Since the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a and the secondrefrigerant flow path 143b flow in opposite directions, the temperature difference between refrigerants in the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a and the secondrefrigerant flow path 143b is kept maximum, thus ensuring the heat exchange effect. - Regarding the refrigerant bridge 600, the refrigerant bridge 600 may be in various forms, as long as it enables, as the refrigerant passes through the first piping 140 (whether the refrigerant flows from the indoor heat exchanger to the outdoor
side heat exchanger 141, or from the outdoorside heat exchanger 141 to the indoor heat exchanger), the refrigerant flow direction in the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a to be always opposite to the refrigerant flow direction in the secondrefrigerant flow path 143b so as to increase the temperature difference and thus ensure the heat exchange effect. - In this embodiment, by connecting the refrigerant inflow end of the first
refrigerant flow path 143a of theeconomizer 143 to the refrigerant bridge 600 and setting the flow direction of the secondrefrigerant flow path 143b, the refrigerant flow directions in the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a and the secondrefrigerant flow path 143b are always opposite (whether in the heating mode where the refrigerant flows from the indoor heat exchanger to the outdoorside heat exchanger 141, or in the cooling mode where the refrigerant flows from the outdoorside heat exchanger 141 to the indoor heat exchanger). In this way, the temperature difference between refrigerants in the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a and the secondrefrigerant flow path 143b is adequately maintained, so that the heat exchange effect between the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a and the secondrefrigerant flow path 143b can be ensured, which is conducive to ensuring the air replenishment effect of theeconomizer 143 on thecompressor 110 in the heating mode, thus ensuring the heating capacity of the air conditioner in low-temperature environments; and which, at the same time, is conducive to ensuring the liquefaction effect (exhaust effect) of theeconomizer 143 on the refrigerant in the cooling mode, ensuring that the refrigerant entering the indoor throttle device is in the liquid state, thus eliminating the abnormal sound generated in the indoor throttling process. - It is worth noting that the conception of the present invention can be used not only for conventional air conditioners, but also for situations where multiple indoor heat exchangers are provided in the same one
indoor unit 200, and also for situations where the refrigerant system has multipleindoor units 200. The increase in the complexity of the structure of a singleindoor unit 200 itself, or the increase in the number ofindoor units 200, will increase the length of the refrigerant pipeline and will make the effect of the present invention in eliminating abnormal sound more obvious. - The situation where multiple indoor heat exchangers are provided in a single
indoor unit 200 will be described below:
Theindoor unit 200 further includes asecond heat exchanger 210, asecond throttle regulator 230, and a thermal circulation device for delivering heat or cold from theindoor unit 200 into the room. - The air conditioner further includes a
third piping 160 and abranch pipe 112 branching off from thedischarge pipe 111, thethird piping 160 connecting afirst intersection point 211 of thefirst piping 140, thesecond throttle regulator 230, thesecond heat exchanger 210, and thebranch pipe 112 in sequence so as to form a refrigerant circuit, where thefirst intersection point 211 is located between thefirst throttle regulator 240 and the outdoorside heat exchanger 141; and theeconomizer 143 is located on thefirst piping 140 between thefirst intersection point 211 and the outdoorside heat exchanger 141. - Here, in some embodiments, the thermal circulation device may be a wind wheel, and the rotation of the wind wheel delivers to the room the air for which heat has been exchanged with an initial heat exchanger and the
second heat exchanger 210. Of course, in other embodiments, the thermal circulation device may also be a water circulation device, where thefirst heat exchanger 220 and thesecond heat exchanger 210 deliver heat or cold to the room through the circulating water flowing in the water circulation device. - On the basis of the above pipeline, the air conditioner can realize cooling by the
first heat exchanger 220 and heating by thesecond heat exchanger 210, so that thermostatic dehumidification can be realized. Here, thefirst throttle regulator 240 includes a solenoid throttle valve, such as a solenoid expansion valve, and thesecond throttle regulator 230 includes a solenoid throttle valve, such as a solenoid expansion valve. Thefirst switching device 131 is in the second state, where thefirst heat exchanger 220 performs cooling at which point the refrigerant is discharged from thedischarge pipe 111 and enters thesecond heat exchanger 210 through thebranch pipe 112 and thethird piping 160; and thesecond heat exchanger 210 performs heating at which point the refrigerant flows out of thesecond heat exchanger 210 and then flows into thesecond piping 150 and, along thesecond piping 150, passes through the refrigerant bridge 600, theeconomizer 143, the outdoorside heat exchanger 141 and the suction pipe and flows back to the low-pressure suction port of thecompressor 110. - In some other embodiments, the air conditioner further includes a
second switching device 132, thesecond switching device 132 being capable of switching between a third switching state and a fourth switching state of thesecond switching device 132, where in the third switching state, thesecond switching device 132 causes thethird piping 160 to communicate with thebranch pipe 112, and in the fourth switching state, thesecond switching device 132 causes thethird piping 160 to communicate with the suction pipe. - By the setting of the
second switching device 132, in the third switching state, the air conditioner is in a thermostatic dehumidification state. In the fourth switching state, the air conditioner is in the cooling state, i.e., thefirst heat exchanger 220 and thesecond heat exchanger 210 perform cooling at the same time. Thesecond switching device 132 may be a four-way valve. Also connected to thesecond switching device 132 is an auxiliary branch pipe, which communicates with the suction pipe when thethird piping 160 communicates with thebranch pipe 112. When thethird piping 160 communicates with the low-pressure suction pipe 113, the auxiliary branch pipe communicates with the low-pressure suction pipe 113 and thebranch pipe 112. A filter and a capillary are provided on the auxiliary branch pipe. - Of course, in some embodiments, the
first switching device 131 and thesecond switching device 132 may exist at the same time, so that the air conditioner can be switched among three states of thermostatic dehumidification, heating only and cooling only. - In order to better regulate the subcooling degree of the outdoor
side heat exchanger 141, the air conditioner further includes an outdoorside throttle regulator 142, the outdoorside throttle regulator 142 being located on thefirst piping 140 between theeconomizer 143 and the outdoorside heat exchanger 141. The outdoorside throttle regulator 142 includes an outdoor throttle valve, such as an electronic expansion valve. - The specific operation of the
economizer 143 will be described below based on the situation where there exist a first indoor heat exchanger and a second indoor heat exchanger in the room. - In order to improve the heating capacity of the air conditioner at low temperatures, the air conditioner further includes the
economizer 143; theeconomizer 143 is provided on thefirst piping 140 between the outdoorside heat exchanger 141 and thefirst intersection point 211, and thereturn pipe 146 of theeconomizer 143 communicates with the medium-pressure suction port of thecompressor 110. Thereturn pipe 146 may be in various forms, and thereturn pipe 146 may include only thereturn pipe 146 body, or may include thereturn pipe 146 body and thefirst communication pipe 148, one end of thefirst communication pipe 148 communicating with thereturn pipe 146 body and the other end communicating with the medium-pressure suction port of thecompressor 110. - A
first control valve 133 is provided on thereturn pipe 146 or on thefirst communication pipe 148 between thereturn pipe 146 and the medium-pressure suction port of thecompressor 110. Thecompressor 110 at this point is an enhancedvapor injection compressor 110 having a low-pressure suction port and a medium-pressure suction port. Theliquid pickup pipe 145 is provided with a liquidpickup throttle valve 144. In this way, the discharge from the compressor 110, after being switched by the first switching device 131 and the second switching device 132, enters the second heat exchanger 210 (the refrigerant enters through the third piping 160) and the first heat exchanger 220 (the refrigerant enters through the first piping 140), respectively, for heating, and the liquid refrigerant coming from the second heat exchanger 210 and the first heat exchanger 220 is divided into two parts when it passes through the economizer 143: the first part (through the refrigerant bridge 600 and the first refrigerant flow path 143a) is directly subjected to throttling and pressure reduction by the outdoor side throttle regulator 142 (electronic expansion valve) and then enters the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 for evaporation and heat absorption; and the second part (through the second refrigerant flow path 143b) is subjected to throttling and pressure reduction by the liquid pickup throttle valve 144 (electronic expansion valve), and then enters the economizer 143 through the liquid pickup pipe 145 for heat absorption and evaporation, and the evaporated medium-pressure saturated vapor passes through the return pipe 146, the first control valve 133, and the connection pipe and enters the medium-pressure suction port of the compressor 110, and is compressed after being mixed with the refrigerant from the low-pressure suction port of the compressor 110, thus solving the problems of low refrigerant flow, low back pressure, and high compression ratio in low-temperature environments, and improving the low-temperature heat production and the reliability of the system. With the technology of the present invention, when the outdoor environment temperature is low, the system design of the enhancedvapor injection compressor 110 and theeconomizer 143 increases the refrigerant suction amount of thecompressor 110 in low-temperature environments, which in turn increases the heat production at a low temperature, while reducing the compression ratio in low-temperature environments, so the reliability of the system can be improved. - In order to improve the liquid pickup effect, the inflow end of the
liquid pickup pipe 145 communicates with thefirst piping 140 between theeconomizer 143 and the outdoorside heat exchanger 141, while in some other embodiments, the inflow end of theliquid pickup pipe 145 may also communicate with thefirst piping 140 between theeconomizer 143 and the first intersection point 211 (in the absence of thefirst intersection point 211, the inflow end of theliquid pickup pipe 145 communicates with thefirst piping 140 between theeconomizer 143 and the first indoor throttle regulator). That is, the refrigerant flows in through the refrigerant outflow end of theeconomizer 143, which is conducive to improving the reliability of liquid pickup. - The junction between the inflow end of the
liquid pickup pipe 145 and thefirst piping 140 is referred to as the liquid pickup point. As for the selection of the liquid pickup point, it will be beneficial for different working conditions to select corresponding liquid pickup points under different working conditions. When the inflow end of theliquid pickup pipe 145 communicates with thefirst piping 140 between theeconomizer 143 and the outdoorside heat exchanger 141, the connection position is referred to as a firstliquid pickup point 134, or referred to as an upstream liquid pickup point; and when the inflow end of theliquid pickup pipe 145 is located between thefirst piping 140 between theeconomizer 143 and the first intersection point 211 (or the first indoor throttle regulator), the connection position is referred to as a secondliquid pickup point 135, or referred to as a downstream liquid pickup point. In the situation of heating by the indoor heat exchanger where the enhanced vapor injection needs to be turned on, the firstliquid pickup point 134 or the upstream liquid pickup point is selected in order to replenish air to thecompressor 110, thus increasing its heating capacity in low-temperature environments; and in the situation of cooling or thermostatic dehumidification (or dehumidification and reheating) by the indoor heat exchanger, the secondliquid pickup point 135 or the downstream liquid pickup point is selected to cause the refrigerant entering theindoor unit 200 to be liquid as much as possible, thus avoiding the generation of abnormal sound during indoor throttling. - Referring to
Figs. 7-10 , in some embodiments, in order to ensure the liquid pickup effect, the inflow end of theliquid pickup pipe 145 has aliquid pickup port 840 at a junction with thefirst piping 140, theliquid pickup port 840 being located below thefirst piping 140 around theliquid pickup port 840. By setting the position of theliquid pickup port 840 to be lower than that of thefirst piping 140, because the liquid refrigerant flows along the lower side pipe wall of the first piping 140 (the density of the refrigerant in the liquid state is greater than that in the gaseous state), so that when the refrigerant passes through theliquid pickup port 840, the liquid refrigerant enters preferentially under the action of gravity, thus ensuring that refrigerant picked up at theliquid pickup port 840 is in the liquid state. - The
liquid pickup port 840 may be formed in many ways, such as, for example, providing aliquid pickup structure 800 at the junction of theliquid pickup pipe 145 with thefirst piping 140, where theliquid pickup structure 800 has aliquid pickup chamber 810 and three refrigerant ports that communicate with theliquid pickup chamber 810, namely, a firstrefrigerant port 830, a secondrefrigerant port 820 and aliquid pickup port 840, theliquid pickup port 840 being located below the firstrefrigerant port 830 and the secondrefrigerant port 820. Both the firstrefrigerant port 830 and the secondrefrigerant port 820 communicate with thefirst piping 140, and theliquid pickup port 840 communicates with the inflow end of theliquid pickup pipe 145. Specifically, the firstrefrigerant port 830 communicates with thefirst piping 140 near the outdoor heat exchanger, and the secondrefrigerant port 820 communicates with thefirst piping 140 near the first indoor throttle regulator. Theliquid pickup port 840 is located at the bottom of theliquid pickup structure 800. Theliquid pickup structure 800 may be in various shapes, such as rectangular, square, column, etc. The firstrefrigerant port 830 and the secondrefrigerant port 820 may be located at the two ends or at the top of theliquid pickup structure 800, but, of course, in some embodiments, thefirst piping 140 may also extend into theliquid pickup chamber 810 through the firstrefrigerant port 830 and the secondrefrigerant port 820. - In some other embodiments, in order to avoid unpleasant abnormal sound generated when the refrigerant in the gas-liquid two-phase state passes through the indoor throttle device, the air conditioner further includes a gas-
liquid separator 120 and theeconomizer 143, the gas-liquid separator 120 being provided on the low-pressure suction pipe 113; and theeconomizer 143 is provided on thefirst piping 140 between the outdoorside heat exchanger 141 and thefirst intersection point 211, and thereturn pipe 146 of theeconomizer 143 communicates with the gas-liquid separator 120. Thereturn pipe 146 may be in various forms, and thereturn pipe 146 may include only thereturn pipe 146 body, or may include thereturn pipe 146 body and thesecond communication pipe 147, one end of thesecond communication pipe 147 communicating with thereturn pipe 146 body and the other end communicating with the gas-liquid separator 120. For ease of control, in some examples, thereturn pipe 146 communicates with the gas-liquid separator 120 through the low-pressure suction pipe 113, and asecond control valve 149 is provided on thereturn pipe 146 or thesecond connection pipe 250 between thereturn pipe 146 and the low-pressure suction pipe 113. - In the present invention, by adopting the system design with the
economizer 143 on the basis of the three-pipe system, by controlling the liquid pickup throttle valve 144 (electronic expansion valve) in the system design circuit with theeconomizer 143, the refrigerant condensing temperature at the outlet of the outdoorside heat exchanger 141 is further reduced, which improves the subcooling degree and causes the refrigerant to condense completely to the liquid state, and the liquid refrigerant enters the indoor heat exchanger for heat absorption and evaporation after the throttling and pressure reduction by the indoor electronic expansion valves, so that the refrigerant passing through the indoor throttle devices is in the full liquid state, thus solving the problem of abnormal sound of refrigerant generated by the gas-liquid two-phase state refrigerant. - After the discharge of the compressor 110 is switched by the first switching device 131, the high-pressure and high-temperature gaseous refrigerant enters the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 for condensation and heat exchange, and the medium-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant in the gas-liquid two-phase state coming out of the outdoor side heat exchanger 141 enters the economizer 143 and is then divided into two parts: the first part, after the throttling and pressure reduction by the liquid pickup throttle valve 144, passes through the liquid pickup pipe 145 and then enters the economizer 143 for heat absorption and evaporation, and the evaporated gaseous refrigerant enters the gas-liquid separator 120 through the return pipe 146, the second control valve 149 (solenoid valve) and the connection pipe, and after being mixed with the gaseous refrigerant that has been subjected to heat absorption and evaporation by the indoor heat exchanger, enters the suction port of the compressor 110 together; and the second part, after further condensation and heat exchange by the economizer 143, is changed from gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant to pure liquid refrigerant, and this part of pure liquid refrigerant flows to the room, and then, after the throttling and pressure reduction by a dehumidification throttle valve and a reheating throttle valve, enters the first heat exchanger 220 and the second heat exchanger 210 for heat absorption and evaporation, respectively. Since the state of the refrigerant entering the
first throttle regulator 240 and the second throttle regulator 230 (electronic expansion valve) changes from the gas-liquid two-phase state to the pure liquid state, the problem of abnormal sound of refrigerant caused by gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant when passing through throttle devices is solved. - In this embodiment, by means of the technical scheme of the present invention, the refrigerant condensing temperature at the outlet of the outdoor
side heat exchanger 141 is further reduced, which improves the subcooling degree and causes the refrigerant to condense completely to the liquid state from the gas-liquid two-phase state, and the liquid refrigerant enters the indoor heat exchanger for heat absorption and evaporation after the throttling and pressure reduction by the indoor electronic expansion valves (thefirst throttle regulator 240 and the second throttle regulator 230), so that the refrigerant passing through the indoor throttle devices (thefirst throttle regulator 240 and the second throttle regulator 230) is in the full liquid state, thus solving the problem of abnormal sound of refrigerant generated by the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant when passing through the throttle regulators, thereby improving the satisfaction of users - It is worth noting that, in some embodiments, the
return pipe 146 communicates with the medium-pressure suction port of thecompressor 110 and the gas-liquid separator 120, respectively, through different communication pipes, in which case the two communication pipes (thefirst communication pipe 148 and the second communication pipe 147) are provided with the first control valve 133 (near the compressor 110) and the second control valve 149 (near the gas-liquid separator 120), respectively. Thereturn pipe 146 in this case includes thereturn pipe 146 body and the two communication pipes. In the heating mode, thesecond control valve 149 is closed and thefirst control valve 133 is opened, allowing the refrigerant to flow into thecompressor 110 to improve heating capacity. In the cooling mode or thermostatic dehumidification mode, thefirst control valve 133 is closed and thesecond control valve 149 is opened to eliminate the abnormal sound. Of course, in some embodiments, thesecond control valve 149 may also be closed and thefirst control valve 133 opened due to special working conditions. By means of such settings, the air conditioner can adjust thefirst control valve 133 and thesecond control valve 149 according to the specific situation, thus improving the heating capacity of the air conditioner in the heating mode and reducing noise in the cooling and thermostatic dehumidification modes. - Regarding the specific connection of the
compressor 110 to theeconomizer 143, thecompressor 110 is an enhancedvapor injection compressor 110, and thiscompressor 110 has a medium-pressure suction port M (i.e., vapor injection port) in addition to the conventional high-pressure exhaust port P and low-pressure suction port S, where the medium-pressure refrigerant vapor enters thecompressor 110 through this vapor injection port to increase the effective flow of refrigerant. - The a port of the
economizer 143 is connected to athird port 630 of the refrigerant bridge 600, the b port of theeconomizer 143 is connected to afourth port 640 of the refrigerant bridge 600, the c port of theeconomizer 143 is connected to theliquid pickup pipe 145, the d port of theeconomizer 143 is connected to thereturn pipe 146, the liquidpickup throttle valve 144 is connected in series to theliquid pickup pipe 145, thefirst control valve 133 is connected in series to a communication pipe, and thesecond control valve 149 is connected in series to another communication pipe, with one end of the communication pipe being connected to the medium-pressure suction port M of thecompressor 110, and the other communication pipe being connected to the inlet end of the gas-liquid separator 120. - In some embodiments, the air conditioner further includes multiple
indoor units 200, and the form of heat exchangers included in eachindoor unit 200 may be different, for example, one or more of an indoor machine with thermostatic dehumidification function (having both thefirst heat exchanger 220 and the second heat exchanger 210), an ordinary cooling/heating indoor machine (having only one heat exchanger and a corresponding throttle device), and an indoor machine with a conversion device that can freely switch between cooling or heating states may be included, so that the air conditioner can perform mixed operations of thermostatic dehumidification, cooling and heating at the same time. - Specifically, the air conditioner further includes: a
first connection pipe 260 branching off from asecond intersection point 212 of thefirst piping 140 and asecond connection pipe 250 branching off from thesecond piping 150, thesecond intersection point 212 being located between thefirst throttle regulator 240 and the outdoorside heat exchanger 141, and the air conditioner further includes multipleindoor units 200, the multipleindoor units 200 being connected in parallel to thefirst connection pipe 260 and thesecond connection pipe 250. - In some embodiments, in order to improve the reliability of the
second switching device 132, instead of using a four-way valve, thesecond switching device 132 is controlled using two solenoid valves. Specifically, thethird piping 160 communicates with thebranch pipe 112 and communicates with the low-pressure suction pipe 113 or thesecond piping 150, with athird control valve 310 being provided on thebranch pipe 112, and thethird piping 160 communicates with the low-pressure suction pipe 113 or with thesecond piping 150 through thecoupling pipe 114, with afourth control valve 320 being provided on thecoupling pipe 114. It is worth noting that the end of thecoupling pipe 114 away from thethird piping 160 may communicate with either thesecond piping 150 between thefirst switching device 131 and the indoor heat exchanger or thesecond piping 150 between thefirst switching device 131 and the gas-liquid separator 120. Since thethird control valve 310 and thefourth control valve 320 are separate control valves, the structure is simpler and more stable and reliable compared to the four-way valve. In addition, thethird control valve 310 and thefourth control valve 320 may be solenoid valves. The solenoid valve can still work stably and reliably when liquid refrigerant enters, while in the four-way valve, if liquid refrigerant enters, its working stability will be affected. Therefore, the use of separatethird control valve 310 andfourth control valve 320 can improve the stability and reliability of the operation and state switching of the air conditioner. - It is worth noting that the states of the
third control valve 310 and thefourth control valve 320 in the case of power off may be set according to the actual requirements of the working conditions. Take thethird control valve 310 as an example. During the operation of the air conditioner, thethird control valve 310 maintains a normally open state for a long period of time, in which case thethird control valve 310 may be selected as a normally open valve, that is, most of its work can be completed in the power-off state, and it needs to be powered on only when the state of thethird control valve 310 needs to be switched. Similarly, if thethird control valve 310 maintains a normally closed state for a long time, it is selected to be a normally closed valve. In this way, it is conducive to reducing the electrical energy consumed by the second switching device 132 (including the third control valve 310) during the operation of the air conditioner, thus contributing to the rational use of energy. - In some embodiments, in order to simplify the pipeline structure, the
third piping 160, thebranch pipe 112 and thecoupling pipe 114 are connected at the first junction Q. Of course, the low-pressure suction pipe 113 may communicate with the other two pipes through thecoupling pipe 114. In this case, one three-way valve may be provided at the first junction Q instead of two two-way valves. The three-way valve realizes the communication of thethird piping 160 to thecoupling pipe 114 and thebranch pipe 112, respectively, and may control the opening and closing of thecoupling pipe 114 and thebranch pipe 112, respectively. In this way, it is conducive to improving the convenience of the connection of thethird piping 160, thecoupling pipe 114 and thebranch pipe 112. - Cooling mode:
The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant is discharged from an exhaust pipe and passes through thefirst switching device 131, thefirst piping 140, the outdoorside heat exchanger 141, and theeconomizer 143 in sequence, and then enters an evaporation heat exchanger and thefirst heat exchanger 220, respectively, for cooling. One part flows out of thefirst heat exchanger 220, passes through thesecond piping 150 and the first switching device 131 (which may be absent in some embodiments), and flows into the gas-liquid separator 120; and the other part flows out of the evaporation heat exchanger, passes through thethird piping 160 and enters thecoupling pipe 114, and when thecoupling pipe 114 communicates with the low-pressure suction pipe 113, the refrigerant enters the gas-liquid separator 120 through the low-pressure suction pipe 113; and when thecoupling pipe 114 communicates with thesecond piping 150, the refrigerant flows into thesecond piping 150 through thecoupling pipe 114, and then flows into the gas-liquid separator 120 through thesecond piping 150. In this process, thethird control valve 310 is closed and thefourth control valve 320 is opened. - Heating mode:
The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant is discharged from the exhaust pipe, and one part thereof passes through the first switching device 131 (which may be absent in some embodiments) and thesecond piping 150 in sequence, then enters thefirst heat exchanger 220 for heating, and then flows out of thefirst heat exchanger 220 and enters thefirst piping 140; and the other part passes through thebranch pipe 112 and thethird piping 160 in sequence and enters thesecond heat exchanger 210 for heating, and flows out of thesecond heat exchanger 210 and then enters thefirst piping 140, passes through theeconomizer 143, the outdoorside heat exchanger 141, and thefirst switching device 131, and then flows into the gas-liquid separator 120. In this process, thethird control valve 310 is opened and thefourth control valve 320 is closed. - Thermostatic dehumidification mode:
The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant is discharged from the exhaust pipe, and one part thereof passes through the first switching device 131 (which may be absent in some embodiments), thefirst piping 140, the outdoorside heat exchanger 141, and theeconomizer 143 in sequence, and then enters thefirst heat exchanger 220 for cooling, and then passes through thesecond piping 150 and thefirst switching device 131 and flows into the gas-liquid separator 120. The other part passes through thebranch pipe 112 and thethird piping 160 in sequence and enters thesecond heat exchanger 210 for heating, and then flows into thefirst heat exchanger 220 for cooling. In this process, thethird control valve 310 is opened and thefourth control valve 320 is closed. - The specifics of the refrigerant bridge 600 will be described with an example as follows:
The refrigerant bridge 600 has afirst port 610, asecond port 620, and a refrigerant passage that causes thefirst port 610 to communicate with thesecond port 620, and the refrigerant bridge 600 is connected to thefirst piping 140 through thefirst port 610 and thesecond port 620. Specifically, thefirst port 610 communicates with thefirst piping 140 near the outdoorside heat exchanger 141, and thesecond port 620 communicates with thefirst piping 140 near theindoor unit 200. The refrigerant bridge 600 further has asecond port 620 and afourth port 640, where the refrigerant bridge 600 is connected to the first refrigerant line of theeconomizer 143 through thesecond port 620 and thefourth port 640. The refrigerant may enter the refrigerant bridge 600 through thefirst port 610 or thesecond port 620, flow into the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a through the third port 630 (the fourth port 640), pass through the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a and then enter the refrigerant bridge 600 through the fourth port 640 (the third port 630), and then flow into thefirst piping 140 through thesecond port 620 or thefirst port 610. - There are many approaches of allowing unidirectional fluid flow between adjacent ports, as illustrated by two specific examples below:
In the first approach, the refrigerant bridge 600 has athird port 630 and afourth port 640, with the two ends of the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a being connected to thethird port 630 and thefourth port 640, respectively; thefirst port 610 communicates with thethird port 630 through afirst bridge section 650, thefirst bridge section 650 allowing unidirectional fluid flow from thefirst port 610 to thethird port 630; thethird port 630 communicates with thesecond port 620 through asecond bridge section 660, thesecond bridge section 660 allowing unidirectional fluid flow from thesecond port 620 to thethird port 630; thesecond port 620 communicates with thefourth port 640 through athird bridge section 670, thethird bridge section 670 allowing unidirectional fluid flow from thefourth port 640 to thesecond port 620; and thefourth port 640 communicates with thefirst port 610 through afourth bridge section 680, thefourth bridge section 680 allowing unidirectional fluid flow from thefourth port 640 to thefirst port 610. - Two examples are given below for illustration:
Referring toFig. 3 , in the heating mode of the indoor machine, liquid pickup is conducted at the first liquid pickup point 134 (the upstream liquid pickup point):
The refrigerant, after flowing out of the indoor heat exchanger, enters thefirst piping 140, and enters thefirst bridge section 650 along thefirst piping 140 through thefirst port 610, flows out through thethird port 630 and then enters the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a of theeconomizer 143, enters through the first end 510 (in some embodiments, it may also enter through thesecond end 520 and flow out through the first end 510) into the plate heat exchanger or double-pipe heat exchanger for heat exchange and then flows out through thesecond end 520, and then enters thethird bridge section 670 through thefourth port 640, flows out of the refrigerant bridge 600 through thesecond port 620 and enters thefirst piping 140, and then passes through the outdoorside throttle regulator 142 and the outdoorside heat exchanger 141 in sequence. - The refrigerant, after being subjected to liquid pickup at the first
liquid pickup point 134 by theliquid pickup pipe 145, passes through the liquidpickup throttle valve 144 and enters through thesecond end 520 into the plate heat exchanger or double-pipe heat exchanger for heat exchange, and then flows out through the first end 510 (in some embodiments it may also enter through thefirst end 510 and flow out through thesecond end 520, as long as it is opposite to the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a), and then enters thereturn pipe 146 and, along thereturn pipe 146, flows back to the medium-pressure suction port of thecompressor 110. - Referring to
Fig. 4 , in the cooling or dehumidification and reheating mode of the indoor machine, liquid pickup is conducted at the second liquid pickup point 135 (the downstream liquid pickup point):
The refrigerant, after flowing out of the outdoorside heat exchanger 141, enters thefirst piping 140, and enters thesecond bridge section 660 along thefirst piping 140 through thesecond port 620, flows out through thethird port 630 and then enters the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a of theeconomizer 143, enters through the first end 510 (in some embodiments, it may also enter through thesecond end 520 and flow out through the first end 510) into the plate heat exchanger or double-pipe heat exchanger for heat exchange and then flows out through thesecond end 520, and then enters thefourth bridge section 680 through thefourth port 640, flows out of the refrigerant bridge 600 through thefirst port 610 and enters thefirst piping 140, and then enters the indoor heat exchanger. - The refrigerant, after being subjected to liquid pickup at the second
liquid pickup point 135 by theliquid pickup pipe 145, passes through the liquidpickup throttle valve 144 and enters through thesecond end 520 into the plate heat exchanger or double-pipe heat exchanger for heat exchange, and then flows out through the first end 510 (in some embodiments it may also enter through thefirst end 510 and flow out through thesecond end 520, as long as it is opposite to the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a), and then enters thereturn pipe 146, and along thereturn pipe 146 it flows back to the medium-pressure suction port of thecompressor 110. - In the second approach, the refrigerant bridge 600 has a
third port 630 and afourth port 640, with the two ends of the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a being connected to thethird port 630 and thefourth port 640, respectively; thefirst port 610 communicates with thethird port 630 through afirst bridge section 650, thefirst bridge section 650 allowing unidirectional fluid flow from thethird port 630 to thefirst port 610; thethird port 630 communicates with thesecond port 620 through asecond bridge section 660, thesecond bridge section 660 allowing unidirectional fluid flow from thethird port 630 to thesecond port 620; thesecond port 620 communicates with thefourth port 640 through athird bridge section 670, thethird bridge section 670 allowing unidirectional fluid flow from thesecond port 620 to thefourth port 640; and thefourth port 640 communicates with thefirst port 610 through afourth bridge section 680, thefourth bridge section 680 allowing unidirectional fluid flow from thefirst port 610 to thefourth port 640. - Two examples are given below for illustration:
Referring toFig. 5 , in the heating mode of the indoor machine, liquid pickup is conducted at the first liquid pickup point 134 (the upstream liquid pickup point):
The refrigerant, after flowing out of the indoor heat exchanger, enters thefirst piping 140, and enters thefourth bridge section 680 along thefirst piping 140 through thefirst port 610, flows out through thefourth port 640 and then enters the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a of theeconomizer 143, enters through the second end 520 (in some embodiments, it may also enter through thefirst end 510 and flow out through the second end 520) into the plate heat exchanger or double-pipe heat exchanger for heat exchange and then flows out through thefirst end 510, and then enters thesecond bridge section 660 through thethird port 630, flows out of the refrigerant bridge 600 through thesecond port 620 and enters thefirst piping 140, and then passes through the outdoorside throttle regulator 142 and the outdoorside heat exchanger 141 in sequence. - The refrigerant, after being subjected to liquid pickup at the first
liquid pickup point 134 by theliquid pickup pipe 145, passes through the liquidpickup throttle valve 144 and enters through thefirst end 510 into the plate heat exchanger or double-pipe heat exchanger for heat exchange, and then flows out through the second end 520 (in some embodiments it may also enter through thesecond end 520 and flow out through thefirst end 510, as long as it is opposite to the refrigerant flow direction in the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a), and then enters thereturn pipe 146 and, along thereturn pipe 146, flows back to the medium-pressure suction port of thecompressor 110. - Referring to
Fig. 6 , in the cooling or dehumidification and reheating mode of the indoor machine, liquid pickup is conducted at the second liquid pickup point 135 (the downstream liquid pickup point):
The refrigerant, after flowing out of the outdoorside heat exchanger 141, enters thefirst piping 140, and enters thethird bridge section 670 along thefirst piping 140 through thesecond port 620, flows out through thefourth port 640 and then enters the firstrefrigerant flow path 143a of theeconomizer 143, enters through the second end 520 (in some embodiments, it may also enter through thefirst end 510 and flow out through the second end 520) into the plate heat exchanger or double-pipe heat exchanger for heat exchange and then flows out through thefirst end 510, and then enters thefirst bridge section 650 through thethird port 630, flows out of the refrigerant bridge 600 through thefirst port 610 and enters thefirst piping 140, and then enters the indoor heat exchanger. - The refrigerant, after being subjected to liquid pickup at the second
liquid pickup point 135 by theliquid pickup pipe 145, passes through the liquidpickup throttle valve 144 and enters through thefirst end 510 into the plate heat exchanger or double-pipe heat exchanger for heat exchange, and then flows out through the second end 520 (in some embodiments it may also enter through thesecond end 520 and flow out through thefirst end 510, as long as it is opposite to the first refrigerant flow direction), and then enters thereturn pipe 146 and, along thereturn pipe 146, flows back to the medium-pressure suction port of thecompressor 110. - Here, there are various approaches of allowing unidirectional fluid flow, taking the setting of one-
way valve 690 as an example, thefirst bridge section 650, thesecond bridge section 660, thethird bridge section 670, and thefourth bridge section 680 are each provided with a one-way valve 690 to achieve unidirectional fluid flow with each bridge section. - The above contents are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and not to limit the scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structural transformation made under the inventive concept of the present invention using the specification and the accompanying drawings of the present invention, or directly/indirectly applied in other related technical fields are included in the scope of protection of the present invention.
Reference numeral | Name | | Name | |
100 | | 110 | | |
111 | | 112 | | |
113 | Low- | 114 | | |
120 | Gas- | 131 | | |
132 | | 133 | | |
134 | First | 140 | | |
141 | Outdoor | 142 | Outdoor | |
143 | Economizer | 144 | Liquid | |
143a | First | 143b | Second | |
145 | | 146 | | |
147 | | 148 | | |
149 | | 150 | | |
160 | | 135 | Second | |
200 | | 210 | | |
220 | | 230 | | |
240 | | 250 | | |
260 | | 211 | | |
212 | Second intersection point | P | Exhaust port | |
M | Medium-pressure suction port | S | Low- | |
310 | | 320 | | |
510 | | 520 | Second end | |
600 | | 610 | | |
620 | | 630 | | |
640 | | 650 | | |
660 | | 670 | | |
680 | Fourth bridge section | Q | | |
800 | | 810 | | |
820 | | 830 | | |
840 | | 690 | One-way valve |
Claims (16)
- An air conditioner, comprising:an outdoor unit comprising an enhanced vapor compression mechanism and an outdoor heat exchanger;an indoor unit comprising a first heat exchanger and a first throttle regulator;a discharge pipe connected to a discharge side of the compression mechanism, a low-pressure suction pipe connected to a low-pressure suction side of the compression mechanism, a first piping connecting the discharge pipe, the outdoor heat exchanger, the first throttle regulator, and the first heat exchanger in sequence, and a second piping connecting the first heat exchanger and the low-pressure suction pipe, thus forming a refrigerant circuit;a first switching device capable of switching between:a first switching state of the first switching device, in which the first switching device causes the first piping to communicate with the suction pipe and causes the second piping to communicate with the discharge pipe; anda second switching state of the first switching device, in which the first switching device causes the first piping to communicate with the discharge pipe and causes the second piping to communicate with the suction pipe;
andan economizer arranged on the first piping between the outdoor heat exchanger and the first throttle device; a first refrigerant flow path arranged in the economizer and connected to the first piping through a refrigerant bridge; and a second refrigerant flow path arranged in the economizer, one end of the second refrigerant flow path communicating with the first piping through a liquid pickup pipe and the other end of the second refrigerant flow path communicating with both a medium-pressure suction port of the compressor and the suction pipe through a return pipe, wherein refrigerant flow directions in the first refrigerant flow path and the second refrigerant flow path are opposite. - The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein:the refrigerant bridge has a first port, a second port, and a refrigerant passage that causes the first port to communicate with the second port; andthe refrigerant bridge is connected to the first piping through the first port and the second port.
- The air conditioner of claim 2, wherein:the refrigerant bridge has a third port and a fourth port;the two ends of the first refrigerant flow path are connected to the third port and the fourth port, respectively;the first port communicates with the third port through a first bridge section which allows unidirectional fluid flow from the first port to the third port;the third port communicates with the second port through a second bridge section which allows unidirectional fluid flow from the second port to the third port;the second port communicates with the fourth port through a third bridge section which allows unidirectional fluid flow from the fourth port to the second port; andthe fourth port communicates with the first port through a fourth bridge section which allows unidirectional fluid flow from the fourth port to the first port.
- The air conditioner of claim 2, wherein:the refrigerant bridge has a third port and a fourth port;the two ends of the first refrigerant flow path are connected to the third port and the fourth port, respectively;the first port communicates with the third port through a first bridge section which allows unidirectional fluid flow from the third port to the first port;the third port communicates with the second port through a second bridge section which allows unidirectional fluid flow from the third port to the second port;the second port communicates with the fourth port through a third bridge section which allows unidirectional fluid flow from the second port to the fourth port; andthe fourth port communicates with the first port through a fourth bridge section which allows unidirectional fluid flow from the first port to the fourth port.
- The air conditioner of claim or 4, wherein the first bridge section, the second bridge section, the third bridge section, and the fourth bridge section are each provided with a one-way valve.
- The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein the liquid pickup pipe is provided with a liquid pickup throttle valve.
- The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein:the return pipe comprises a return pipe body, a first communication pipe, and a second communication pipe;one end of the first communication pipe communicates with the return pipe body and the other end of the first communication pipe communicates with the medium-pressure suction port of the compressor; the return pipe body or the first communication pipe is provided with a first control valve; andone end of the second communication pipe communicates with the return pipe body and the other end of the second communication pipe communicates with the suction pipe, and the second communication pipe is provided with a second control valve.
- The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein:an inflow end of the liquid pickup pipe communicates with the first piping between the economizer and the outdoor side heat exchanger; oran inflow end of the liquid pickup pipe communicates with the first piping between the economizer and the first indoor throttle regulator.
- The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein an inflow end of the liquid pickup pipe has a liquid pickup port at a junction with the first piping, the liquid pickup port is located below the first piping around the liquid pickup port.
- The air conditioner of claim 9, further comprising:
a liquid pickup structure comprising:a liquid pickup chamber;a first refrigerant port communicating with the liquid pickup chamber;a second refrigerant port communicating with the liquid pickup chamber; anda liquid pickup port communicating with the liquid pickup chamber, the liquid pickup port being located below the first refrigerant port and the second refrigerant port. - The air conditioner of claim 1, further comprising:a second heat exchanger;a second throttle regulator;a branch pipe branching off from the discharge pipe; anda third piping connecting a first intersection point of the first piping, the second throttle regulator, the second heat exchanger, and the branch pipe in sequence;wherein the first intersection point is located between the first throttle regulator and the outdoor heat exchanger, the economizer is located on the first piping between the first intersection point and the outdoor heat exchanger.
- The air conditioner of claim 11, further comprising:a coupling pipe;a third control valve arranged on the branch pipe to control the opening and closing of the branch pipe; anda fourth control valve arranged on the coupling pipe to control the opening and closing of the coupling pipe;wherein the third piping communicates with the branch pipe, the third piping communicates with the low-pressure suction pipe or with the second piping through the coupling pipe.
- The air conditioner of claim 11, further comprising:
a second switching device capable of switching betweena third switching state of the second switching device, in which the second switching device causes the third piping to communicate with the branch pipe, anda fourth switching state of the second switching device, in which the second switching device causes the third piping to communicate with the suction pipe. - The air conditioner of claim 1, further comprising an outdoor side throttle regulator, the outdoor side throttle regulator being located on the first piping between the economizer and the outdoor side heat exchanger.
- The air conditioner of claim 1, further comprising:a first connection pipe branching off from a second intersection point of the first piping, the second intersection point being located between the first throttle regulator and the outdoor heat exchanger;a second connection pipe branching off from the second piping; anda plurality of indoor units connected in parallel to the first connection pipe and the second connection pipe.
- The air conditioner of any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the economizer comprises:
a plate heat exchanger or a double-pipe heat exchanger, which has a first end and a second end provided opposite each other, wherein:the first refrigerant flow path enters through the first end and exits through the second end and the second refrigerant flow path enters through the second end and exits through the first end; orthe first refrigerant flow path enters through the second end and exits through the first end and the second refrigerant flow path enters through the first end and exits through the second end.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
CN201911034323.1A CN112797658A (en) | 2019-10-28 | 2019-10-28 | Air conditioner |
CN201921830849.6U CN211177490U (en) | 2019-10-28 | 2019-10-28 | Air conditioner |
PCT/CN2020/079187 WO2021082331A1 (en) | 2019-10-28 | 2020-03-13 | Air conditioner |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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EP4008973A1 true EP4008973A1 (en) | 2022-06-08 |
EP4008973A4 EP4008973A4 (en) | 2022-09-14 |
Family
ID=75714811
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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EP20882824.4A Pending EP4008973A4 (en) | 2019-10-28 | 2020-03-13 | Air conditioner |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US20220325924A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP4008973A4 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2021082331A1 (en) |
Family Cites Families (14)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP1780479A4 (en) * | 2004-07-01 | 2013-12-11 | Daikin Ind Ltd | Freezer and air conditioner |
JP2006300371A (en) * | 2005-04-18 | 2006-11-02 | Daikin Ind Ltd | Air conditioner |
JP2009127902A (en) * | 2007-11-21 | 2009-06-11 | Mitsubishi Electric Corp | Refrigerating device and compressor |
JP4569708B2 (en) * | 2008-12-05 | 2010-10-27 | ダイキン工業株式会社 | Refrigeration equipment |
KR101552618B1 (en) * | 2009-02-25 | 2015-09-11 | 엘지전자 주식회사 | air conditioner |
CN201837139U (en) * | 2009-06-01 | 2011-05-18 | 特灵空调系统(中国)有限公司 | Jet and enthalpy increasing heat pump air conditioner hot water unit |
JP5516712B2 (en) * | 2012-05-28 | 2014-06-11 | ダイキン工業株式会社 | Refrigeration equipment |
CN203083058U (en) * | 2013-02-01 | 2013-07-24 | 珠海格力电器股份有限公司 | Air conditioner |
KR102163859B1 (en) * | 2013-04-15 | 2020-10-12 | 엘지전자 주식회사 | Air Conditioner and Controlling method for the same |
CN104613665A (en) * | 2015-02-02 | 2015-05-13 | 珠海格力电器股份有限公司 | Heat pump air conditioning system |
CN204494894U (en) * | 2015-02-02 | 2015-07-22 | 珠海格力电器股份有限公司 | Heat pump air conditioning system |
CN105004090A (en) * | 2015-07-09 | 2015-10-28 | 广东美的暖通设备有限公司 | Multi-split air-conditioning system and supercooling and enhanced vapor injection method thereof |
CN205939467U (en) * | 2016-08-19 | 2017-02-08 | 广东美的暖通设备有限公司 | Multi -split air conditioning system |
CN107990585A (en) * | 2017-12-26 | 2018-05-04 | 南京天加环境科技有限公司 | A kind of improved air injection enthalpy-increasing air-conditioning system |
-
2020
- 2020-03-13 EP EP20882824.4A patent/EP4008973A4/en active Pending
- 2020-03-13 US US17/764,832 patent/US20220325924A1/en active Pending
- 2020-03-13 WO PCT/CN2020/079187 patent/WO2021082331A1/en unknown
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US20220325924A1 (en) | 2022-10-13 |
WO2021082331A1 (en) | 2021-05-06 |
EP4008973A4 (en) | 2022-09-14 |
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