JP2001241800A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner using a high pressure refrigerant which solves the problems that a device becomes large, and installation characteristics and a safety are undesirable, because an air conditioner using the refrigerant operated under high pressure is required due to the resyriction of CFC refrigerant so that a pressure resistant level of a device needs to be raised. SOLUTION: An air conditioner comprises a primary side circuit having a bypass circuit with a bypass valve provided between a pressure reducing device and a four-way valve forming an outdoor machine, a secondary side circuit for supplying a refrigerant which performs a heat exchange between the refrigerant of the primary side circuit and a refrigerant in the secondary side circuit by a pump in the circuit, and a heat exchanger for introducing the refrigerant in the primary side circuit and the secondary side circuit to bring the refrigerant temperature of the seocndary side circuit to desired room temperature. Thus, an existing machine and connecting piping low in pressure resistance can be used and a regulation on an environmental destruction can be cleared. Further, a capacity can be adjusted by the bypass valve for adjusting the flow rate of the refrigerant from the primary side circuit to the heat exchanger. An inexpensive air conditioner can be obtained by using the exising indoor machine. The installation characteristics and safety of the indoor machine can be equal to those of a conventional machine. The refrigerant pressure of the indoor machine uduring a cooling operation can be lowered by a reversible operation of the pump.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an air conditioner,
In particular, the present invention relates to an air conditioner having a refrigerant circuit for performing cooling and heating using a high-pressure refrigerant.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a refrigerant circuit of a conventional air conditioner.

[0003] As shown in the figure, a compressor 1, a four-way valve 2, an outdoor heat exchanger 3, a decompression device 4, and an indoor exchanger 5 are provided in a refrigerant circuit of a conventional air conditioner. By switching, cooling, heating, and defrosting operations are enabled.

For example, during a cooling operation, the refrigerant returned from the refrigerant circuit to the compressor 1 is compressed by the compressor 1, passes through the four-way valve 2, and is condensed by being cooled by outside air in the outdoor heat exchanger 3. Into a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant liquid. Further, the refrigerant liquid flowing out of the outdoor heat exchanger 3 is decompressed to a low temperature and a low pressure by adiabatic expansion in the decompression device 4, enters the indoor heat exchanger 5, and cools air taken in from the room. Cooling operation for cooling the room becomes possible. The refrigerant heated by cooling the indoor air in the indoor heat exchanger 5 exits the indoor heat exchanger 5 and then returns to the four-way valve 2.
, And is sucked into the compressor 1 to repeat the above-described cooling cycle.

[0005] Further, during heating operation or defrosting,
By switching the four-way valve 2, the high-temperature refrigerant adiabatically compressed by the compressor 1 enters the indoor heat exchanger 5 through the four-way valve 2, and heats the air taken in from the room to heat the room. After being cooled, it is condensed and liquefied and flows out of the indoor heat exchanger 5. The liquid refrigerant flowing out of the indoor heat exchanger 5 enters the decompression device 4, where it is throttled and adiabatically expanded to become a low-temperature refrigerant and enter the outdoor heat exchanger 3 where it is heated by heat exchange with the outside air. Then, after leaving the outdoor exchanger 3, it passes through the four-way valve 2 again, is sucked into the compressor, and repeats the above-described heating cycle.

On the other hand, in recent years, from the viewpoint of environmental destruction, the use of conventionally used chlorine (CFC) refrigerant has been regulated from the viewpoint of environmental destruction. Refrigerant R-22 unfavorable in terms of
Although it does not work unless it is about 1.6 times higher pressure than
Attention has been paid to an air conditioner using R-410A, which is less problematic in terms of environmental destruction.

However, as described above, since the refrigerant R-410A operates at a pressure as high as 1.6 times that of the conventional refrigerant R-22, it is necessary to assemble a refrigeration cycle using the R-410A refrigerant. , The compressor 1, the pipes, the heat exchangers 3, 5 and the like need to have higher withstand pressure levels. For this reason, each component device constituting the refrigerant circuit becomes large, and in particular, the indoor heat exchanger 5, which needs to be provided indoors,
An indoor unit including a pipe or the like has a problem in that a problem arises in terms of safety due to an increase in installation and pressure.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention uses a high-pressure refrigerant such as R-410A, which is restricted in use from the viewpoint of environmental destruction and cannot be used. Among the problems that occur in air conditioners that have been installed, the problems that occur in outdoor units such as outdoor heat exchangers that are installed outdoors are tolerable compared to the problems that occur in indoor units, and even if they are unavoidable, It is possible to solve the unacceptable problems that occur in the indoor unit such as the installed indoor heat exchanger and the pipes connected to it, and it is manufactured on the assumption that the conventional CFC refrigerant is used, and has the low withstand pressure strength. Indoor units can be diverted, installation and safety can be maintained as before, and air conditioning can be performed using high-pressure refrigerant at low cost. And to provide a air conditioner.

[0009]

Therefore, the air conditioner of the present invention has the following means.

(1) In an air conditioner using a refrigerant operating at a high pressure that does not cause environmental destruction such as R-410A, an outdoor unit is constituted together with a compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger interposed in a circuit. A primary side circuit was provided between the pressure reducing device and the four-way valve, and on the side where the outdoor heat exchanger was not installed, in which a bypass circuit provided with a bypass valve was provided.

(2) A pump interposed in the circuit and capable of reversible operation, wherein heat is exchanged with the refrigerant flowing through the primary circuit in an indoor heat exchanger that constitutes an indoor unit together with the pump;
A secondary circuit for supplying a cooled or heated refrigerant was provided in the room. However, since the pump interposed in the secondary side circuit is preferable in terms of downsizing of the indoor unit, a part of the secondary side circuit is arranged outside the room, and the secondary side circuit portion arranged outside the room is arranged. Is preferably provided.

(3) A refrigerant operating at a high pressure flowing in the primary circuit and a refrigerant operating at a high pressure flowing in the secondary circuit are respectively introduced, exchange heat between the two refrigerants, and flow in the secondary circuit. A heat exchanger capable of adjusting the temperature of the refrigerant to a desired room temperature was provided. It is preferable that the heat exchanger be a plate heat exchanger that can increase the heat transfer efficiency between the two refrigerants and reduce the installation volume. Further, the refrigerant introduced into the heat exchanger from the primary circuit may be introduced directly from the primary circuit in which the bypass valve is not interposed, or from the bypass circuit in which the bypass valve is interposed. It may be introduced.

As a result, there is a problem in terms of environmental destruction in the past, and the use of CFC refrigerants which are subject to regulation, in other words, pressure-resistant refrigerants manufactured based on the use of these refrigerants used at low pressures Existing indoor units and connection pipes having low strength can be diverted, and the regulations on environmental destruction can be cleared. In addition, since heat exchange is performed with the refrigerant flowing in the secondary circuit, the flow rate of the refrigerant introduced from the primary circuit into the heat exchanger can be adjusted by the bypass valve, thereby adjusting the capacity of the air conditioner. Need not be performed by adjusting the number of revolutions of the compressor, and the air conditioner can be made inexpensive in combination with diverting existing indoor units.

Furthermore, despite the use of a refrigerant operating at a high pressure, the installation and safety of an air conditioner, particularly an indoor unit of an air conditioner installed indoors, are similar to those of a conventional air conditioner. Can be In addition, by making the pump interposed in the secondary circuit capable of reversible operation, even if the pressure of the refrigerant applied to the indoor unit is reduced during cooling, the pump can be operated without any problem.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the air conditioner of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same or similar members as those shown in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a refrigerant circuit as a first embodiment of the air conditioner of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, the refrigerant circuit of the present embodiment includes a compressor 1, a four-way valve 2, an outdoor heat exchanger 3, and a decompression device 4.
And a secondary circuit 12 including an indoor unit including an indoor heat exchanger 5 and a pump 8 for circulating a refrigerant. ing. In addition, a plate heat exchanger 6 is interposed between the primary circuit 11 and the secondary circuit 12, and a bypass circuit 9 provided with a bypass valve 7 is added in the primary circuit and the secondary circuit. Heat is exchanged between the refrigerant flowing in the circuit and the refrigerant flowing in the circuit.

In this embodiment, the primary circuit 1
In this embodiment, the plate heat exchanger 6 is used to exchange heat between the refrigerant flowing through the first heat exchanger 1 and the refrigerant flowing through the secondary circuit 12. Although it is a result of focusing on the fact that the heat transfer capacity can be reduced, the heat exchange between the refrigerant flowing through the primary circuit 11 and the refrigerant flowing through the secondary circuit 12 does not necessarily depend on the plate heat exchanger 6. Alternatively, another type of heat exchanger may be provided.

As is apparent from the figure, the primary circuit 11 is the same as the refrigerant circuit of the conventional air conditioner shown in FIG. 2, but the connection with the secondary circuit 12 is changed to the plate heat exchanger 6.
, The secondary circuit 1 between the pressure reducing device 4 and the four-way valve 2 where the outdoor heat exchanger 3 is not provided.
2 is provided with a bypass circuit 9, a bypass valve 7 is provided in the bypass circuit 9, and by adjusting the bypass valve 7, the flow rate of the refrigerant supplied from the secondary circuit 12 to the plate heat exchanger 6 is controlled. Like that. The secondary side circuit 12 is a circuit having a pump 8 for circulating the refrigerant, and the pump 8 circulates the refrigerant in the secondary side circuit 12. Except for the secondary circuit 12 provided near the pump 8 for supplying or discharging the refrigerant to or from the pump 8, the pump 8 is normally installed indoors.

In the air conditioner of the present embodiment, the heat (cold heat) of the refrigerant flowing in the primary circuit 12 is transmitted to the refrigerant flowing in the secondary circuit via the plate heat exchanger 6 by the above-described configuration. In addition, in the secondary side circuit 12, the heat possessed by the refrigerant for conditioning the indoor air is transferred to the indoor heat exchanger 5 by the refrigerant circulation pump 8, and the indoor air can be set and maintained at a desired temperature. . Further, since the refrigerant at a flow rate controlled by the bypass circuit 9 having the bypass valve 7 is supplied to the primary circuit 11 in the plate heat exchanger 6, the refrigerant is bypassed at the time of overload. 9, the pressure and capacity can be adjusted.

That is, in the middle period of the heating operation, the capacity of the primary circuit 11 becomes too high and the refrigerant pressure in the circuit becomes high.
If the capacity is adjusted by reducing the flow rate of the refrigerant supplied from the primary circuit 11 to the plate heat exchanger 6, the amount of heat transmitted to the secondary circuit 12 decreases, The pressure of the refrigerant flowing through the
2, the ability adjustment is also possible. In addition, the pressure of the refrigerant in the secondary circuit 12 increases even in the operation other than the intermediate period, but the refrigerant pressure in this case is within the conventional pressure limit, and the conventional air conditioning shown in FIG. The same refrigerant circuit as the unit can be adopted, and the existing indoor unit including the indoor heat exchanger 5 and the connection pipe can be used.

Although such pressure and capacity adjustments can be made by changing the number of revolutions of the compressor 1, the use of the bypass circuit 9 as in the present embodiment can reduce the cost. There are advantages. In addition, the pump 8 for circulating the refrigerant adopts a reversible operation pump, and the refrigerant pressure applied to the indoor unit is low at the time of cooling, so that the operation can be performed without any problem.

[0023]

As described above, the air conditioner according to the present invention comprises a compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger of an air conditioner using a refrigerant operating at a high pressure, a pressure reducing device and a four-way valve constituting the outdoor unit. And a primary circuit provided with a bypass circuit with a bypass valve provided therein, and a pump interposed in the circuit to cool or cool the refrigerant flowing through the primary circuit. The refrigerant flowing through the secondary circuit, the primary circuit, and the secondary circuit that supplies the heated refrigerant into the indoor heat exchanger that constitutes the indoor unit is introduced, and heat exchange is performed between the two refrigerants. The heat exchanger comprises a heat exchanger for adjusting the refrigerant temperature in the secondary circuit to a desired room temperature.

As a result, the existing indoor units and connection pipes having a low pressure resistance, which have a conventional problem of environmental destruction and are manufactured on the premise of using CFC refrigerants subject to regulation, can be used. Yes, and clear regulations on environmental destruction. Also, since the flow rate of the refrigerant introduced from the primary circuit into the heat exchanger can be adjusted by the bypass valve,
It is not necessary to adjust the capacity of the air conditioner by adjusting the number of revolutions of the compressor, and it is possible to reduce the cost of the air conditioner by combining the existing indoor unit with the existing one. Further, the installation and safety of the indoor unit of the air conditioner installed indoors can be made the same as that of the conventional air conditioner regardless of the use of the refrigerant operating at high pressure.

Further, since the pump interposed in the secondary circuit can be operated reversibly, the operation can be performed with the refrigerant pressure of the indoor unit lowered during cooling.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a circuit according to a first embodiment of an air conditioner of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit of a conventional air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Compressor 2 Four-way valve 3 Outdoor heat exchanger 4 Decompression device 5 Indoor heat exchanger 6 Plate heat exchanger 7 Bypass valve 8 Pump 9 Bypass circuit 11 Primary circuit 12 Secondary circuit

Claims (1)

[Claims] An air conditioner that performs cooling or heating using a refrigerant that operates at a high pressure is installed outdoors.
A primary circuit provided with a bypass circuit provided with a bypass valve between the decompression device on the side where the outdoor heat exchanger is not provided and the four-way valve, and a room provided to supply the refrigerant to the indoor heat exchanger A reversible pump is installed in the circuit 2
An air conditioner comprising: a secondary circuit; and a heat exchanger into which the refrigerant flowing through the primary circuit and the secondary circuit is introduced, and performs heat exchange between the two refrigerants.