JP2003028529A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner which raises an outlet temperature for heating and makes the human body sense warmth by constituting an indoor heat exchanger, so that two upper and lower paths each constituted of two lines in the front and the rear are used for a heating operation wherein importance is attached to the capacity, and that the two upper and lower paths each constituted of one front line on the upstream side of an air flow are used when the importance is attached to the outlet temperature. SOLUTION: Two upper and lower connecting parts each connecting the upper ends and the lower ends of the front and rear lines of a refrigerant passage are made intermediate parts 5a and 5b of the indoor heat exchanger 5. A first opening-closing valve 7 is provided at an upper-side inlet of the refrigerant passage on the occasion of heating, and a second opening-closing valve 8 is provided at a lower-side inlet, while a third opening-closing valve 9 is provided between the upper-side intermediate part 5a and the inlet side of the first valve 7, and a fourth opening-closing valve 10 is provided between the lower-side intermediate part 5b and the inlet side of the second valve 8. On the occasion of the heating operation, opening and closing of each valve is controlled so that the refrigerant passage can be switched over selectively to either the two upper and lower paths each constituted of the front and rear lines, or the two upper and lower paths each constituted of one front line.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to a refrigerant flow path of an indoor heat exchanger during heating operation in two rows, front and rear, in which performance is emphasized, and upper and lower two-pass operation and blowout. The present invention relates to a refrigerant circuit that can switch between upper and lower two-pass operation in a single row in the front row with emphasis on temperature.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional air conditioner with a small output of 2.2 KW class has, for example, a compressor 1, a four-way valve 2, an outdoor heat exchanger 3, an expansion valve 4 as shown in FIG. , The indoor heat exchanger 5'is connected in sequence to form a refrigerant circuit, and the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant gas discharged from the compressor 1 during the heating operation is passed through the four-way valve 2 as shown by the solid arrow to show the indoor heat exchanger. 5 ′, after heat exchange with the indoor air, decompressed liquid is liquefied by the decompression device 4, gasified by heat exchange with the outdoor air in the outdoor heat exchanger 3, and again sucked into the compressor 1 through the four-way valve 2. It is supposed to return to the side. Further, when the four-way valve 2 is switched during the cooling operation, the flow of the refrigerant changes as indicated by the broken line arrow, and the actions of the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and the indoor heat exchanger 5 are opposite to those during heating.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a piping connection of an indoor heat exchanger 5 '. The outdoor heat exchanger 3 is arranged in two rows before and after the air flow generated by the operation of the indoor fan 6 shown in FIG. In addition, it has an upper and lower two-pass configuration. However, in the above-described conventional configuration, since the air conditioner has a small capacity, the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 5 ′ during the heating operation does not rise, and the blowout temperature often decreases. Therefore, there is a problem in that although the ability is obtained, it is not perceptually warm.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the heating operation in which the capacity is emphasized is such that the refrigerant passages of the indoor heat exchanger are operated in two rows in the front and rear and in the upper and lower two-pass operation. In the heating operation that emphasizes the blowout temperature, the blowout temperature of the heating can be raised by performing the two-pass operation in the front row and one row on the windward side of the airflow, and the warmth can be felt sensibly. It is intended to provide an air conditioner that can do the work.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a compressor, a four-way valve, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve, and an indoor heat exchanger are sequentially arranged. Refrigerant flow paths of the indoor heat exchanger are connected to each other to form two rows in front and rear with respect to an air flow generated by rotation of an indoor fan, and have two inlets and two outlets in a central portion. In the air conditioner that splits the refrigerant up and down on the inlet side and joins and connects on the outlet side, two upper and lower joining portions that join the upper end and the lower end of the front row and the rear row of the refrigerant flow path, respectively. As an intermediate portion of the indoor heat exchanger, a first opening / closing valve is provided at the upper inlet and a second opening / closing valve is provided at the lower inlet when heating the refrigerant passage, and the upper intermediate portion and the first opening / closing are provided. A third on-off valve is installed between the valve inlet side and the lower middle A fourth on-off valve provided respectively, the refrigerant passage when heating operation between the inlet side of the second shut-off valve in two anteroposterior rows and vertical two-pass, or in the front row a row and,
And so that you can select and switch to either the upper or lower two paths,
It is configured to control the opening and closing of each of the on-off valves.

Further, when the upper and lower two paths of the refrigerant flow passage are selected in two rows, the first opening / closing valve and the second opening / closing valve are opened, and the third opening / closing valve and the fourth opening / closing valve are opened. To close the refrigerant passage in a single row in the front row and to select upper and lower two paths, close the first opening / closing valve and the second opening / closing valve, and open the third opening / closing valve and the fourth opening / closing valve. It is configured to control.

In addition, an inlet for heating the refrigerant passage is provided in a rear row and an outlet is provided in a front row.

Further, the inlet and outlet for heating the refrigerant passage are provided in a middle stage where the lengths of the refrigerant passage are vertically equal.

The third on-off valve is provided near the upper middle portion, and the fourth on-off valve is provided near the lower middle portion.

Further, a solenoid valve is used for each of the on-off valves.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
~ It demonstrates based on FIG. FIG. 1 shows a refrigerant circuit of an air conditioner, where 1 is a compressor, 2 is a four-way valve that switches the flow of refrigerant discharged from the compressor 1 according to heating operation, cooling operation, etc., 3 is outdoor heat exchange And 4 are expansion valves, and 5 are indoor heat exchangers, which are sequentially connected by piping to form a refrigerant circuit, and the refrigerant flow path of the indoor heat exchanger 5 is air generated as the indoor fan 6 rotates. It is configured in two rows in front and rear with respect to the flow, has two inlets and two outlets in the central portion, and splits the refrigerant up and down on the inlet side and joins and connects on the outlet side.

The upper and lower connecting portions for connecting the upper end and the lower end of the front row and the rear row of the refrigerant flow passage are defined as intermediate portions 5a and 5b of the indoor heat exchanger 5, and the upper side of the refrigerant flow passage during heating. A first opening / closing valve 7 is provided at the inlet, a second opening / closing valve 8 is provided at the lower inlet, and a third opening / closing valve 9 is provided between the upper middle portion 5a and the inlet side of the first opening / closing valve 7. A fourth on-off valve 10 is provided between the lower intermediate portion 5b and the inlet side of the second on-off valve 8, and the refrigerant passages are arranged in two rows in the front and rear and two paths in the upper and lower rows or one row in the front row during the heating operation. In addition, the opening and closing of each of the on-off valves 7, 8, 9 and 10 is controlled so that it can be selectively switched to either the upper or lower two paths.

In the above structure, the refrigerant during the heating operation circulates as shown by the solid arrow, and the refrigerant gas compressed to high temperature and high pressure by the compressor 1 passes through the four-way valve 2 and flows through the indoor heat exchanger 5. Is heat-exchanged with the indoor air by the indoor fan 6, decompressed and liquefied by the expansion valve 4, and is heat-exchanged with the outdoor air by the outdoor fan to be gasified while flowing through the outdoor heat exchanger 3, and again passes through the four-way valve 2 to the compressor. Return to the suction side of 1. Further, during the cooling operation and the defrosting operation for removing the frost formation of the outdoor heat exchanger 3, the four-way valve 2 is switched, so that the flow of the refrigerant is changed as indicated by the broken line arrow, and the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and the indoor heat exchanger 3 are changed. The operation of the exchanger 5 is reversed.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment,
The remote control is provided with a switching button for switching the number of passes of the refrigerant flow path during heating operation, one is two rows of front and rear with emphasis on capacity, and upper and lower two-pass operation, and the other is front row with emphasis on outlet temperature (upward side of air flow). ) It is a one-line and upper / lower two-pass operation. As shown in FIG. 2, in the heating operation in which capacity is emphasized, the first opening / closing valve 7 and the second opening / closing valve 8 are opened, the third opening / closing valve 9 and the fourth opening / closing valve 10 are closed, and two rows in front and rear, and Perform upper and lower 2-pass operation. Further, in the heating operation that emphasizes the blowout temperature, the first opening / closing valve 7 and the second opening / closing valve 8 are closed,
The third opening / closing valve 9 and the fourth opening / closing valve 10 are opened, and a two-row operation is performed in a front row in which the flow of the refrigerant flows from the upper intermediate portion 5a and the lower intermediate portion 5b to the outlet. As a result, even in a small capacity air conditioner with an output of 2.2KW, for example, by performing a 1-pass operation on the windward side of the air flow, the temperature of the air blown out of the heating can be raised, and you can feel the warmth. Can be made. Note that the cooling operation is performed in two rows before and after emphasizing the capability, and is the same as the upper and lower two-pass operation, and only the flow direction of the refrigerant is changed.

FIG. 3 shows a piping connection structure of the indoor heat exchanger 5. The upper and lower parts are arranged in front and rear two rows with respect to the windward side of the air flow generated by the operation of the indoor fan 6 (suction port of the indoor unit), and connect the upper ends and the lower ends of the refrigerant passages in the front and rear rows, respectively. The two coupling parts are the intermediate parts 5a and 5b of the indoor heat exchanger 5, and the first opening / closing valve 7 is provided at the upper inlet of the refrigerant passage and the second opening / closing valve 8 is provided at the lower inlet thereof. A third opening / closing valve 9 between the upper middle portion 5a and the inlet side of the first opening / closing valve 7.
A fourth on-off valve 10 is provided between the lower intermediate portion 5b and the inlet side of the second on-off valve 8. In addition, the inlet and outlet where the refrigerant enters and leaves during cooling operation, heating operation, etc.
The refrigerant passages are provided in the middle of the front row and the rear row in which the lengths are even in the vertical direction.

A solenoid valve is used as the opening / closing valve, the third opening / closing valve 9 is provided near the upper intermediate portion 5a, and the fourth opening / closing valve 10 is provided near the lower intermediate portion 5b. By this, when the third on-off valve 9 and the fourth on-off valve 10 are closed, there is no refrigerant accumulation in the pipe between the intermediate portion and the on-off valve, and efficient operation can be performed.

In the above-described structure, in the heating operation with emphasis on capacity, the first opening / closing valve 7 and the second opening / closing valve 8 are opened,
The third opening / closing valve 9 and the fourth opening / closing valve 10 are closed,
In addition, in the heating operation in which the upper and lower two-pass operations are performed and the blowout temperature is emphasized, the first opening / closing valve 7 and the second opening / closing valve 8 are closed, the third opening / closing valve 9 and the fourth opening / closing valve 10 are opened, and the refrigerant Even in a small capacity air conditioner, even if the air conditioner has a small capacity, the air flow can be increased to the windward side of the airflow side by performing the upper and lower two-pass operation in a front row in which the flow is made from the upper middle portion 5a and the lower middle portion 5b to the outlet. By performing the pass operation, it is possible to raise the temperature of the air blown out of the heating, and the air conditioner can be made to feel warmth.

[0018]

As described above, in the heating operation with emphasis on capacity, the two rows of front and rear of the indoor heat exchanger are performed, and the upper and lower two-pass operations are performed. In the heating operation with emphasis on the blowout temperature, the flow of the refrigerant is changed. Even in a small capacity air conditioner, the outlet temperature of the heating is raised by performing two-pass operation in the front row in the windward side of the air flow that flows from the upper middle portion and the lower middle portion to the outlet. As a result, the air conditioner can be made to feel warmth.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an operational relationship of each on-off valve according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a pipe connection configuration diagram of the indoor heat exchanger according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of an air conditioner showing a conventional example.

FIG. 5 is a pipe connection configuration diagram of an indoor heat exchanger showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 compressor 2 four-way valve 3 outdoor heat exchanger 4 expansion valve 5 Indoor heat exchanger 5a, 5 Middle part 6 indoor fan 7 First on-off valve 8 Second on-off valve 9 Third on-off valve 10 4th on-off valve

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A compressor, a four-way valve, an outdoor heat exchanger,
The expansion valve and the indoor heat exchanger are sequentially connected to each other to form a refrigerant circuit, and the refrigerant passages of the indoor heat exchanger are arranged in two rows in front and rear with respect to the air flow generated with the rotation of the indoor fan, and the center. In the air conditioner, which has two inlets and two outlets in the section, divides the refrigerant up and down on the inlet side, and joins and connects on the outlet side, the upper ends of the front row and the rear row of the refrigerant flow path The upper and lower two connecting portions that connect the lower ends to each other are used as the intermediate portion of the indoor heat exchanger, and the first opening / closing valve is provided at the upper inlet and the second opening / closing valve is provided at the lower inlet when the refrigerant flow passage is heated. A third opening / closing valve is provided between the upper middle portion and the inlet side of the first opening / closing valve, and a fourth opening / closing valve is provided between the lower middle portion and the inlet side of the second opening / closing valve. , In the heating operation, the refrigerant flow passage is in two rows in the front and rear, and two paths in the upper and lower, The air conditioner is characterized by controlling the opening / closing of each of the opening / closing valves so that the opening / closing valves can be selectively switched to one of the upper and lower two paths in the front row. 2. The first opening / closing valve and the second opening / closing valve are opened to select the third opening / closing valve and the fourth opening / closing valve when the upper and lower two paths of the refrigerant flow passage are selected in two rows, front and rear. To close the refrigerant passage in a single row in the front row and to select upper and lower two paths, close the first opening / closing valve and the second opening / closing valve, and open the third opening / closing valve and the fourth opening / closing valve. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioner is controlled. 3. An inlet for heating the refrigerant passage is provided in a rear row,
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the outlets are provided in the front row. 4. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the inlet and the outlet of the refrigerant passage are provided in a middle stage where the lengths of the refrigerant passage are vertically equal. 5. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the third opening / closing valve is provided in the vicinity of the upper middle portion, and the fourth opening / closing valve is provided in the vicinity of the lower middle portion. . 6. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein an electromagnetic valve is used for each of the on-off valves.