JP2005300007A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner provided with a heat source unit built in with a compressor, and carrying out air conditioning operation by supplying heat sources from both a refrigerant pipe and a water pipe. <P>SOLUTION: The air conditioner 100 is composed of an outdoor unit 1 built in with a compressor 11, direct expansion indoor units 3a and 3b provided with indoor heat exchangers 30a and 30b having a refrigerant delivered from the compressor 11 directly carry out heat exchange with indoor air via liquid pipes 5a and 5b and a gas pipe 5c, a chiller unit 2 carrying out heat exchange with the refrigerant to produce cold water or hot water, and fan coil units 4a and 4b provided with water heat exchangers 40a and 40b circulating the cold water or the hot water produced by the chiller unit 2 by operating a circulating pump 6 and carrying out heat exchange with indoor air. In a gas lacking state, the circulating pump 6 is operated, and an electric expansion valve 21 is opened to avoid the gas lacking state, and to prevent freezing of cold temperature water. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a configuration of an air conditioner, and more particularly to replacement of an air conditioner that uses an absorption chiller or the like and a fan coil unit.

  Conventionally, for example, in order to perform indoor air conditioning using an absorption chiller / heater or a chiller heat source as a heat source, a water pipe is laid in the building and a fan coil unit is connected to this water pipe. Then, cold water or hot water generated by the heat source unit is circulated in the water pipe with a circulation pump to perform air conditioning operation, and an outdoor unit equipped with a compressor that compresses and discharges refrigerant is used as the heat source unit In order to perform indoor air conditioning, a refrigerant pipe is laid in the building, an indoor unit is connected to the refrigerant pipe, and the refrigerant discharged from the compressor of the heat source machine is circulated in the refrigerant pipe. Air conditioning operation is performed.

  However, when the absorption chiller / heater or the chiller heat source is used as a heat source, a facility such as a cooling water system is required, so the number of the heat source is only one, but maintenance is required. The number of locations increased as compared to the case where an outdoor unit equipped with the compressor was used as a heat source unit, and the heat source unit could not be installed in a distributed manner.

  In addition, when replacing an air conditioner using the absorption chiller / heater or a chiller heat source machine as a heat source machine to an air conditioner using an outdoor unit equipped with the compressor as a heat source machine, laying in the building It was necessary to re-install the water pipe into the refrigerant pipe and install and replace the fan coil unit in the indoor unit.

For this reason, an outdoor unit equipped with a compressor and a chiller unit containing a water heat exchanger and the like are connected to form a chiller heat source unit, and cold water is discharged from the refrigerant discharged from the compressor of the outdoor unit. Or the chiller heat source machine which produces | generates warm water is proposed (refer patent document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-233405

  However, even with such a chiller heat source unit, although cold air or hot water can be supplied and indoor air-conditioning operation can be performed by the fan coil unit, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor is directly exchanged with room air. An inflatable indoor unit could not be juxtaposed with the fan coil unit.

  Therefore, the present invention provides an air conditioner that includes a heat source device with a built-in compressor and supplies a heat source from both a refrigerant pipe and a water pipe to perform an air conditioning operation.

  A first aspect of the present invention is a direct expansion room provided with a heat source unit having a built-in compressor and an indoor heat exchanger for directly exchanging heat between the refrigerant discharged from the compressor and room air through a liquid pipe and a gas pipe. And a chiller unit that generates cold water or hot water by exchanging heat with the refrigerant, and water that circulates the cold water or hot water generated by the chiller unit by operating a circulation pump to exchange heat with room air. And a fan coil unit including a heat exchanger.

  According to a second invention, in the first invention, a plurality of the indoor units are connected in parallel to the liquid pipe and the gas pipe.

  According to a third invention, in the first or second invention, the other end of the liquid pipe whose one end is connected to the heat source unit is branched after passing through a receiver tank provided in the chiller heat source unit, One is connected to one end of a water heat exchanger provided in the chiller heat source unit, the other is connected to the indoor unit, and one end of a gas pipe connected to the heat source unit The other end is branched, one is connected to the other end of the water heat exchanger, and the other is connected to the indoor unit.

  According to a fourth invention, in the first or second invention, after the other end of the liquid pipe whose one end is connected to the heat source device passes through a receiver tank provided in the chiller heat source device. One is connected to one end side of the water heat exchanger provided in the chiller heat source unit, the other is connected in parallel to the plurality of indoor units, and one end is connected to the heat source unit. The other end of the gas pipe connected to is branched, one is connected to the other end of the water heat exchanger, and the other is connected in parallel to the plurality of indoor units. It is what.

  In a fifth aspect of the present invention based on any one of the first to fourth aspects, the chiller heat source unit includes a branch point of the liquid pipe branched to the water heat exchanger and the indoor unit, and the water heat exchange. And when the operation of the circulation pump is stopped, when the lack of the refrigerant circulating to the indoor unit is detected, the control valve is opened and the circulation The pump is operated.

  In a sixth aspect of the present invention based on any one of the first to fifth aspects, the liquid heat exchanger and the control valve provided in the chiller heat source unit are extended from the other end side of the receiver tank. And connected to the gas pipe in parallel with the indoor unit.

  According to a seventh invention, in any one of the first to sixth inventions, the heat source machine includes the compressor driven by an engine that generates a driving force by burning fuel such as gas. It is a feature.

  According to the present invention, the apparatus includes a fan coil unit that circulates cold / hot water in a water pipe to perform an air conditioning operation, and an indoor unit that directly exchanges heat from the refrigerant discharged from the compressor with room air. The fan coil unit connected to the water pipe so far can be continuously used as it is, and a new refrigerant pipe can be laid to expand the air-conditioning area or improve the air-conditioning performance. Moreover, since the pipe to be newly laid is the refrigerant pipe, the laying construction cost in the building can be suppressed at a low cost.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an air conditioner of the present invention.

  The air conditioner 100 is a chiller that generates cold water or hot water by exchanging heat between the outdoor unit 1 including the engine 10 and the compressor 11 and the like and the refrigerant and water discharged from the compressor 11 with a water heat exchanger. The unit 2 and a plurality of directly expanded indoor units 3a and 3b for exchanging heat directly from the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 with indoor air are connected by liquid pipes 5a and 5b and a gas pipe 5c, and the chiller Water pipes 7a and 7b connect the unit 2 and fan coil units 4a and 4b that circulate cold water or hot water generated by the chiller unit 2 with a circulation pump 6 and exchange heat between the cold water or hot water and room air. It is connected and configured.

  First, the outdoor unit 1 includes an engine 10 that generates a driving force by burning fuel such as gas, a compressor 11 that is driven by the driving force of the engine 10, and a circulation of refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11. A four-way valve 12 that reverses the direction, an outdoor heat exchanger 13 that performs heat exchange between the refrigerant and the outside air, an outdoor expansion valve 14 that depressurizes the refrigerant, and a gas-liquid refrigerant sucked into the compressor 11 The accumulator 15 that performs the separation and the outdoor control device 16 that performs control of the outdoor unit 1 and communication with the chiller control device 24 and the indoor control devices 32a and 32b of the chiller unit 2 described later are housed.

  Further, the chiller unit 2 includes a plurality of plate-type heat exchangers that are refrigerant / water heat exchangers 20a and 20b, a refrigerant heat exchanger 20c, the refrigerant / water heat exchangers 20a and 20b, and the refrigerant heat. Electric expansion valve 21 that controls the flow rate of refrigerant flowing through the exchanger 20c, receiver tank 22 that temporarily stores the refrigerant, check valves 23a and 23b, opening adjustment of the electric expansion valve 21, and circulation pump 6 includes a chiller control device 24 that performs operation control and communication with the outdoor control device 16 of the outdoor unit 1 and the fan coil control devices 42a and 42b of the fan coil units 4a and 4b.

  The refrigerant pipe connection in the chiller unit 2 will be described. The liquid pipe 5a extending from the outdoor unit 1 is connected to one end of the receiver tank 22, and the other end of the receiver tank 22 branches at a branch point X. One is connected to the indoor units 3a and 3b described later by extending the liquid pipe 5b, and the other is connected to the refrigerant port A of the refrigerant heat exchanger 20c via the check valve 23a. Yes. That is, the chiller unit 2 is connected to the liquid pipe 5b and the gas pipe 5c in parallel with indoor units 3a and 3b described later on the other end side of the receiver tank 22.

  The check valve 23a is provided in a direction in which the refrigerant flows from the receiver tank 22 to the refrigerant heat exchanger 20c. One end of the other end of the receiver tank 22 is the refrigerant. A check valve 23b connected to the refrigerant port B of the heat exchanger 20c is connected to the check port 23b from the refrigerant port B of the refrigerant heat exchanger 20c to the other end of the receiver tank 22. It is provided in the direction in which the refrigerant flows. Furthermore, the refrigerant port B of the refrigerant heat exchanger 20c is connected to the refrigerant port C of the refrigerant / water heat exchanger 20a via the electric expansion valve 21, and the refrigerant port D of the refrigerant / water heat exchanger 20a is The refrigerant / water heat exchanger 20b is connected to the refrigerant port E. The refrigerant port F of the refrigerant / water heat exchanger 20b is connected to the refrigerant port G of the refrigerant heat exchanger 20c, and the refrigerant port H of the refrigerant heat exchanger 20c is connected to the refrigerant pipe 5c extending from the outdoor unit 1. It is connected. That is, the refrigerant / water heat exchangers 20a and 20b are provided connected in series on the refrigerant circuit.

  Further, the chiller unit 2 is provided with water pipes 7a and 7b for circulating cold water or hot water generated by the chiller unit 2 to fan coil units 4a and 4b described later, and one of the water pipes 7a is Branched and connected to the cold / hot water inlets I and K of the refrigerant / water heat exchangers 20a and 20b, and the other branched through the circulation pump 6 and fan coil units via the cold and hot water valves 41a and 41b, respectively. It is connected to one end of the water heat exchangers 40a and 40b of 4a and 4b. Furthermore, one of the water pipes 7b is branched and connected to the cold / hot water outlets J and L of the refrigerant / water heat exchangers 20a and 20b, and the other is branched and the water heat of the fan coil units 4a and 4b, respectively. It is connected to the other end of the exchangers 40a and 40b. That is, the refrigerant / water heat exchangers 20a and 20b are provided in parallel to the water pipes 7a and 7b connected to the fan coil units 4a and 4b.

  In this way, by configuring the air conditioner 100, the air conditioner 100 includes an air conditioning operation that is performed by exchanging heat between cold and hot water circulating in the water pipes 7a and 7b and room air, and the compressor 11. Both the discharged refrigerant and the air-conditioning operation performed by directly exchanging heat with the indoor air can be performed, and when replacing from a heat source machine such as an absorption refrigeration machine, The laid water pipe can be continuously used. Further, even when a new air-conditioning area is expanded or air-conditioning performance is improved, it is only necessary to lay a refrigerant pipe for circulating the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11, so that the construction cost of the pipe can be kept low. be able to.

  The indoor units 3a and 3b include indoor heat exchangers 30a and 30b that directly exchange heat with the indoor air from the refrigerant 11 stored in the outdoor unit 1, and these indoor heat exchangers 20a and 20b. The indoor expansion valves 31a and 31b for controlling the refrigerant amount of the refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant are connected by refrigerant pipes and stored respectively, and further, the control of each of the indoor units 3a and 3b and the outdoor unit 1 The indoor control devices 32a and 32b that communicate with the outdoor control device 16 are accommodated.

  Also, the fan coil units 4a and 4b include water heat exchangers 40a and 40b for exchanging heat between cold water or hot water generated by the chiller unit 2 and circulated by the circulation pump 6 with room air, and these water heat exchangers 40a. The hot and cold water valves 41a and 41b for controlling the inflow of the cold water or hot water flowing into the water 40b are connected by water pipes, respectively, and each of the fan coil units 4a and 4b and the chiller are controlled. Fan coil control devices 42a and 42b for communicating with the chiller control device 24 of the unit 2 are housed.

  Thereby, on the refrigerant circuit side supplied from the outdoor unit 1, it is possible to set a long path for heat exchange with the cold / hot water supplied from the chiller unit 2 to the use-side heat exchanger 30. The efficiency of heat exchange with water can be improved, and on the cold / hot water circuit side, the refrigerant / water heat exchanger 20a can be used without reducing the flow of cold / hot water supplied from the chiller unit 2 to the fan coil units 4a, 4b. , 20b, and in each of the cold / hot water pipes connected to the pipe, the flow rate of the cold / hot water can be reduced, and corrosion of the pipe and the like by the cold / hot water can be suppressed.

  When the operation of the air conditioner 100 is started by the outdoor control device 16, a combustion gas obtained by mixing fuel such as gas and the atmosphere is supplied from a fuel supply device (not shown) and the operation of the engine 10 is started. Then, the compressor 11 is operated by the driving force generated by the operation of the engine 10, the refrigerant is compressed and discharged from the compressor 11, and the operation of the circulation pump 6 is started from the chiller control device 24 of the chiller unit 2. Is done. In the cooling operation, the four-way valve 12 is set as indicated by a solid line from the outdoor control device 16 of the outdoor unit 1, and the opening degrees of the indoor expansion valves 31a and 31b of the indoor units 3a and 3b are set by the indoor control devices 32a and 32b. It is set based on the calculated air conditioning load.

  Further, the opening degree of the electric expansion valve 21 of the chiller unit 2 is controlled, the cold / hot water valves 41a and 41b of the fan coil units 4a and 4b are opened, and the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 is supplied to the four-way valve 12. The refrigerant flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 13 and condenses by exchanging heat with the outside air in the outdoor heat exchanger 13, and is decompressed by the outdoor expansion valve 14 and flows through the refrigerant pipe 5a. It flows into the receiver tank 22 of the chiller unit 2 and is temporarily stored. Thereafter, the refrigerant flows out from the receiver tank 22 and is divided. One of them flows through the refrigerant pipe 5b and goes to the indoor units 3a and 3b, and the other goes to one of the refrigerant heat exchangers 20c through the check valve 23a. And flows in.

  The refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant heat exchanger 20c exchanges heat with the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant / water heat exchangers 20a and 20b, and sequentially passes through the electric expansion valve 21 to the refrigerant / water heat exchangers 20a and 20b. It circulates and evaporates, generates cold water, flows through the other side of the refrigerant heat exchanger 20c, and flows out to the refrigerant pipe 5c.

  Moreover, the refrigerant | coolant which distribute | circulated the said refrigerant | coolant piping 5b and went to indoor unit 3a, 3b is divided | segmented into inflow to indoor unit 3a, 3b based on the opening degree of indoor expansion valve 31a, 31b, respectively, It evaporates in the heat exchangers 30a and 30b and flows out to the refrigerant pipe 5c.

  And it returns to the outdoor unit 1 with the refrigerant | coolant which distribute | circulated the said chiller unit 2 and evaporated through this refrigerant | coolant piping 5c, and returns to the compressor 11 via the four-way valve 12 and the accumulator 15. FIG.

  Further, the cold water generated by the chiller unit 2 is branched by flowing through the water pipe 7a by the operation of the circulation pump 6, and indoor air is supplied by the water heat exchangers 40a and 40b via the cold and hot water valves 41a and 41b, respectively. And return to the chiller unit 2 via the cold / hot water pipe 7b.

  When the indoor units 3a and 3b are stopped or the thermo-off operation is performed, the indoor expansion valves 31a and 31b of the indoor units 3a and 3b are fully closed, and all of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 is used. Is circulated through the refrigerant heat exchanger 20c from the receiver tank 22 of the chiller unit 2 via the check valve 23a, circulated through the refrigerant / water heat exchangers 20a and 20b, and returned to the compressor 11. .

  When the fan coil units 4a and 4b are stopped or the thermo-off operation is performed, the hot / cold water valves 41a and 41b of the fan coil units 4a and 4b are closed, and the electric expansion valve 21 of the chiller unit 2 is also closed. Thus, all of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 is diverted to the indoor units 3a and 3b.

  At this time, plate-type heat exchangers are used for the refrigerant / water heat exchangers 20a, 20b, and the heat exchange capability is high. Therefore, these refrigerant / water heat exchangers 20a, 20b are connected from the gas pipe 5c side. There is a concern that the refrigerant flowing into the heat pipe and heat-condensing with the water staying in the water pipes 7a and 7b, condensing, and the refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant pipes 5a to 5c may be temporarily deficient.

  In this case, by opening the electric expansion valve 21, the refrigerant stagnated in the refrigerant / water heat exchangers 20a and 20b can be forced to flow out, so that the out-of-gas condition can be eliminated. .

  At this time, it is also desirable to operate the circulation pump 6 so that the water staying in the refrigerant / water heat exchangers 20a and 20b does not freeze.

  This control will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, it is determined whether or not the air conditioner 100 is in operation (step S1). If not, the determination in step S1 is repeated. If the air conditioner 100 is in operation, both the fan coil units 4a and 4b are connected. It is determined whether the operation is stopped or the thermo-off operation is being performed (step S2), and if any of the fan coil units 4a and 4b is in the thermo-on operation, the determination in step S2 is repeated, and the fan coil units 4a and 4b are repeated. If both are stopped or the thermo-off operation is being performed, it is determined whether or not a detection signal detected by a sensor (not shown) provided in the outdoor unit 1 and / or the indoor units 3a and 3b is in a gas-out state. Judgment is made (step S3). This signal is, for example, a signal detected by a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, or the like provided in the outdoor unit 1 and / or the indoor units 3a and 3b. Specifically, in the case of the outdoor unit 1, outdoor heat exchange is performed. The inlet / outlet temperature and the inlet / outlet pressure of the chamber 13, the opening degree of the outdoor expansion valve 14, etc., or the indoor units 3 a and 3 b, the suction temperature and the outlet temperature of the indoor units 3 a and 3 b, and the indoor heat exchangers 30 a and 30 b Or the opening degree of the indoor expansion valves 31a and 31b.

  If it is not out of gas, the process returns to step S2 and repeats from the confirmation of the operating state of the fan coil units 4a and 4b. While operating (step S4), the electric expansion valve 21 is opened (step S5).

  As a result, the refrigerant condensed and retained in the refrigerant / water heat exchangers 20a, 20b and the like is pushed out from the chiller unit 2 to the liquid building 5a or the gas pipe 5c, so that the gas-out condition is also eliminated. It becomes.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, In the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention, it can change suitably.

  It is suitable for replacement from an air conditioner in which water piping is laid in a building to perform air conditioning operation.

It is a block diagram of the air conditioning apparatus of this invention. It is a flowchart of control which avoids a gas shortage state.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Outdoor unit 2 Chiller unit 3a, 3b Indoor unit 4a, 4b Fan coil unit 5a, 5b Liquid pipe 5c Gas pipe 6 Circulation pump 7a, 7b Water piping 10 Engine 11 Compressor 12 Four-way valve 13 Outdoor heat exchanger 14 Outdoor expansion valve DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 Accumulator 16 Outdoor control apparatus 20a, 20b Refrigerant / water heat exchanger 20c Refrigerant heat exchanger 21 Electric expansion valve 22 Receiver tank 23a, 23b Check valve 24 Chiller control apparatus 30a, 30b Indoor heat exchanger 31a, 31b Indoor expansion valve 32a, 32b Indoor control device 40a, 40b Water heat exchanger 41a, 41b Hot water valve 42a, 42b Fan coil control device 100 Air conditioner X Branch point

Claims (7)

  A direct-expansion indoor unit having a heat source unit incorporating a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger that directly exchanges heat of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor with indoor air via a liquid pipe and a gas pipe, and the refrigerant A chiller unit that generates cold water or hot water by performing heat exchange, and a water heat exchanger that circulates the cold water or hot water generated by the chiller unit by operating a circulation pump to exchange heat with indoor air. An air conditioning apparatus comprising: a fan coil unit.   The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the indoor units are connected in parallel to the liquid pipe and the gas pipe.   One end of the liquid pipe connected to the heat source unit is branched after passing through a receiver tank provided in the chiller unit, and the other is a water heat exchanger provided in the chiller unit. The other end of the gas pipe connected to the indoor unit, the other end of the gas pipe connected to the heat source unit is branched, and the other is connected to the water heat exchanger. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the other end is connected to the other end side, and the other end is connected to the indoor unit.   One end of the liquid pipe connected to the heat source unit is branched after passing through a receiver tank provided in the chiller unit, and the other is a water heat exchanger provided in the chiller unit. The other end of the gas pipe connected to the plurality of indoor units is connected in parallel, and the other end of the gas pipe connected to the heat source unit is branched. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the water heat exchanger is connected to the other end side, and the other is connected in parallel to the plurality of indoor units.   The chiller unit includes a control valve between a branch point of the liquid pipe branched to the water heat exchanger and the indoor unit, and the water heat exchanger, and the operation of the circulation pump is stopped. 5. The system according to claim 1, wherein when the lack of refrigerant circulating to the indoor unit is detected, the control valve is opened and the circulation pump is operated. Air conditioner.   The water heat exchanger and the control valve provided in the chiller unit are connected to the liquid pipe extending from the other end side of the receiver tank and the gas pipe in parallel with the indoor unit. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the heat source unit includes the compressor driven by an engine that generates a driving force by burning fuel such as gas. apparatus.

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