JP2002243183A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner in which heat exchange efficiency is enhanced at the time of heating operation by eliminating variation in the quantity of heat exchange along the vertical position of an outdoor heat exchanger and the cost can be reduced. SOLUTION: A three-way valve 8 is disposed on the inflow side of the outdoor heat exchanger 3 at the time of heating operation, upstream side of the three-way valve 8 is connected with paths 3b and 3c at the central section of the outdoor heat exchanger 3, and downstream side of the three-way valve 8 is connected with paths 3a and 3d at the vertical section. Gas phase refrigerant is fed to the paths 3b and 3c at the central section and liquid phase refrigerant is fed to the paths 3a and 3d at the vertical section.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to a refrigeration cycle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional air conditioner is, for example, shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 2 (B), the compressor 1 and the four-way valve 2
And an outdoor heat exchanger 3 having four paths 3a to 3d parallel to each other
, An expansion valve 4, an indoor heat exchanger 5, and the four paths 3a to 3d.
Is connected to the brass flow divider 7 provided on the inflow side during the heating operation, and is filled with three kinds of mixed refrigerant R407C having different condensation points as refrigerant to constitute a refrigeration cycle, and the outdoor heat exchanger 3 A propeller fan 6 is provided in opposition to the above, and in the cooling operation, the refrigerant is circulated as indicated by a dashed arrow, while in the heating operation, the refrigerant is circulated as indicated by a solid arrow. .

However, during the heating operation, when the refrigerant is equally divided by the flow divider 7 toward the four paths 3a to 3d, the refrigerant is generated by the propeller fan 6 and passes through the outdoor heat exchanger 3. Due to the nature of the propeller fan 6, the position of the upper and lower paths 3a and 3d in the outdoor heat exchanger 3 is larger than the position of the central paths 3b and 3c in the outdoor heat exchanger 3. There is a problem that the amount of heat exchange varies depending on the position of ~ 3d and the heat exchange efficiency is reduced.

Further, since the flow divider 7 is made of brass and is relatively expensive, it has been desired to reduce the cost by using inexpensive components instead.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, the present invention eliminates variations in the amount of heat exchange at the upper and lower positions of an outdoor heat exchanger, thereby improving heat exchange efficiency during heating operation and reducing costs. An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that is enabled.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a compressor, a four-way valve, an outdoor heat exchanger having at least three vertical paths, an expansion valve, and an indoor heat exchanger. And an air conditioner comprising a propeller fan opposed to the outdoor heat exchanger while filling a three-component mixed refrigerant R407C having a different condensation point as a refrigerant to form a refrigeration cycle. A three-way joint is interposed on the inflow side during the heating operation of the outdoor heat exchanger, and the upper side of the three-way joint is connected to the center path of the outdoor heat exchanger, and the lower side is connected to the upper and lower paths. In this configuration, a gas-phase refrigerant flows into the central path, and a liquid-phase refrigerant flows into the upper and lower paths.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as examples. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an air conditioner according to the present invention, in which (A) is a diagram showing a refrigeration cycle, and (B) is an enlarged view of a portion A shown in (A).

As shown in FIG. 1A, the basic structure of an air conditioner according to the present invention is substantially the same as that of the prior art described above, in which a compressor 1, a four-way valve 2, and a vertical An outdoor heat exchanger 3 having four paths 3a to 3d, an expansion valve 4, an indoor heat exchanger 5, and a three-way joint 8 interposed on the inflow side of the heat exchanger 3 during a heating operation. A refrigeration cycle is configured by connecting pipes and charging a three-component mixed refrigerant R407C having a different condensation point as a refrigerant, and a propeller fan 6 is provided facing the outdoor heat exchanger 3.
The refrigerant is circulated as indicated by a dashed arrow, and during the heating operation, the refrigerant is circulated as indicated by a solid arrow.

The three-way joint 8 interposed on the inflow side during the heating operation of the outdoor heat exchanger 3 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in (B), the outflow side is branched up and down, the upper side is connected to paths 3b and 3c in the center of the outdoor heat exchanger 3, and the lower side is connected to upper and lower paths 3a and 3d, respectively. The central portion of the paths 3b and 3c, to allow a gaseous refrigerant having a small specific gravity to flow, and the upper and lower paths 3a and 3d to allow the liquid phase refrigerant having a large specific gravity collected on the lower side by its own weight to flow. The configuration is as follows.

Thus, when the air is generated by the propeller fan 6 during the heating operation, the upper and lower paths 3a and 3a in which a large amount of air flows through the outdoor heat exchanger 3 are provided.
Since the liquid-phase refrigerant flows into 3d and the gas-phase refrigerant flows into the central paths 3b and 3c where the air flow rate is small, the amount of heat exchange does not vary depending on the position of the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and heat is reduced. Exchange efficiency is improved.

[0011]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The heat exchange efficiency during the heating operation can be improved by eliminating the variation in the amount of heat exchange at the upper and lower positions of the outdoor heat exchanger, and a relatively inexpensive three-way joint is used instead of the shunt used in the above-described conventional technology. The use of the air conditioner makes the air conditioner advantageous in cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an air conditioner according to the present invention, in which (A) is a diagram showing a refrigeration cycle, and (B) is A shown in (A).
It is an enlarged view of a part.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an air conditioner according to a conventional example, in which (A) is a diagram showing a refrigeration cycle, and (B) is A shown in (A).
It is an enlarged view of a part.

[Description of Signs] 1 Compressor 2 Four-way valve 3 Outdoor heat exchanger 3a to 3d Four-pass 4 Expansion valve 5 Indoor heat exchanger 6 Propeller fan 8 Three-way joint

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A compressor, a four-way valve, an outdoor heat exchanger provided with at least three paths in the vertical direction, an expansion valve, and an indoor heat exchanger sequentially connected by piping, and three types of refrigerant having different condensation points are provided. In an air conditioner having a refrigeration cycle formed by charging the mixed refrigerant R407C and providing a propeller fan facing the outdoor heat exchanger, a three-way joint is provided on an inflow side of the outdoor heat exchanger during a heating operation. Interposed, the upper side of the three-way joint is connected to the center path of the outdoor heat exchanger, and the lower side is connected to the upper and lower paths, respectively, so that the gas-phase refrigerant flows into the center path. An air conditioner, wherein a liquid-phase refrigerant flows into the upper and lower paths.