JP2009168318A - Heat pump device and hot water supply device equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat pump device capable of improving durability of an expansion valve and a hot water supply device equipped with the same. <P>SOLUTION: The heat pump device includes a heat pump cycle 20 having a compressor 30, a water refrigerant heat exchanger 40, having the expansion valve 50 and an air refrigerant heat exchanger 60, and a control device 10 for controlling the opening of the expansion valve 50. The control device 10 determines whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied after the previous initial processing of the expansion valve 50 upon starting opening control of the expansion valve 50, and when it is determined that the prescribed condition is satisfied, the opening control of the expansion valve 50 is started by performing initial processing of the expansion valve 50. When it is determined that the prescribed condition is not satisfied, the opening control of the expansion valve is started without performing initial processing of the expansion valve 50. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat pump device and a hot water supply device including the heat pump device.

Patent Document 1 discloses an electric expansion valve and a control device in which the opening degree is adjusted without performing feedback control. The expansion valve has a pulse motor that rotates forward and backward when a pulse current is supplied, and a valve body that is driven by the pulse motor. The opening degree of the expansion valve is controlled based on the polarity and the number of pulses of the pulse current supplied to the pulse motor. The control device determines a target opening degree of the expansion valve, and supplies a pulse current such that the opening degree of the expansion valve becomes the target opening degree to the pulse motor of the expansion valve. However, when the opening / closing operation of the expansion valve is repeated, the actual opening of the expansion valve is deviated from the target opening determined by the control device. For this reason, in the above control device, in order to prevent the deviation between the target opening and the actual opening of the expansion valve from accumulating, the initialization process is always performed when the control device is turned on or reset. Is to be done.
JP 2003-222413 A

  When performing the initialization process of the expansion valve, a pulse current having a polarity in a direction of decreasing the opening degree is supplied to the expansion valve at a number more than the number of pulses necessary to change from the fully open state to the fully closed state. As a result, the expansion valve is fully closed at any opening before initialization. Even after the expansion valve is fully closed, a pulse current is supplied to the pulse motor. However, after the expansion valve is fully closed, the displacement of the valve element is restricted by contact with the valve seat. The pulse motor runs idle.

  However, in such an expansion valve initialization process, the valve body is pressed against the valve seat every time the pulse motor idles. Therefore, if the initialization process of the expansion valve is frequently performed, the contact surfaces of the valve body and the valve seat are roughened, and when the valve is closed, unintentional leakage occurs and the durability of the expansion valve is increased. The problem of deteriorating arises.

  The objective of this invention is providing the heat pump apparatus which can improve durability of an expansion valve, and a hot-water supply apparatus provided with the same.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following technical means.

  The invention described in claim 1 includes a heat pump cycle (20) including a compressor (30), a high-pressure side heat exchanger (40), an expansion valve (50), and a low-pressure side heat exchanger (60), and an expansion valve. A control device (10) for controlling the opening of the expansion valve (50), and the control device (10) starts the previous opening of the expansion valve (50) when starting the opening control of the expansion valve (50). It is determined whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied after the initialization process. If it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied, the expansion valve (50) is initialized and the opening control of the expansion valve (50) is started. If the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the opening control of the expansion valve (50) is started without performing the initialization process of the expansion valve (50).

  Thereby, since the frequency of the initialization process of an expansion valve (50) can be reduced, durability of an expansion valve (50) can be improved.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the predetermined condition includes that the elapsed time since the previous initialization process of the expansion valve (50) is performed is a predetermined time (T1) or more. Yes.

  Thereby, since the interval at which the initialization process of the expansion valve (50) is performed can be made longer than the predetermined time (T1), the frequency of the initialization process of the expansion valve (50) can be reduced, and the expansion valve (50). The durability of can be improved.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the predetermined condition is that the predetermined time is repeated at a predetermined time interval between the initialization date and time when the previous initialization process of the expansion valve (50) was performed and the current date and time. (Trn) is included.

  Thereby, since the average space | interval with which the initialization process of an expansion valve (50) is performed can be more than said time interval, the frequency of the initialization process of an expansion valve (50) can be reduced, and an expansion valve (50 ) Durability can be improved.

  As in the fourth aspect of the invention, the control device (10) may receive a radio wave on which time information is superimposed, and determine the current date and time based on the received radio wave.

  In the invention according to claim 5, the predetermined condition is that the operation time of the heat pump cycle (20) after the previous initialization process of the expansion valve (50) is longer than a predetermined time (T2). It is characterized by including.

  Thereby, since the interval at which the initialization process of the expansion valve (50) is performed can be set to the predetermined time (T2) or more in the operation time of the heat pump cycle (20), the frequency of the initialization process of the expansion valve (50) And the durability of the expansion valve (50) can be improved. Moreover, since the deviation of the opening degree of the expansion valve (50) generally increases as the operating time of the heat pump cycle (20) increases, the initial value of the expansion valve (50) is based on the operating time of the heat pump cycle (20). The expansion valve (50) can be initialized at a more appropriate time by determining whether or not the conversion process is necessary.

  In the invention according to claim 6, the predetermined condition is that the number of activations of the heat pump cycle (20) after the previous initialization process of the expansion valve (50) is equal to or greater than the predetermined number (N1). It is characterized by including.

  Thereby, since the interval at which the initialization process of the expansion valve (50) is performed can be set to a predetermined number (N1) by the number of activations of the heat pump cycle (20), the frequency of the initialization process of the expansion valve (50) can be reduced. The durability of the expansion valve (50) can be improved.

  The invention according to claim 7 further includes an outside air temperature sensor (62) for detecting the outside air temperature, and the control device (10) determines whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied based on a change in the outside air temperature. It is characterized by doing.

  Since the outside air temperature changes approximately in a daily cycle, the time interval and time can be roughly determined based on the change in the outside air temperature. For this reason, since the frequency of the initialization process of an expansion valve (50) can be reduced similarly to the said invention, durability of an expansion valve (50) can be improved.

  As in the eighth aspect of the invention, it further includes an outside air temperature sensor (62) for detecting the outside air temperature, and the control device (10) controls the rotational speed of the compressor (30) based on the outside air temperature. Whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied may be determined based on the rotational speed of the compressor (30).

  The invention according to claim 9 includes a heat pump cycle (20) including a compressor (30), a high pressure side heat exchanger (40), an expansion valve (50) and a low pressure side heat exchanger (60), and an expansion valve. And a control device (10) for controlling the opening degree of (50), and the control device (10) controls the expansion valve (51) when starting the opening degree control of the expansion valve (51). The expansion valve (51) outputs a signal, and the control unit (52) determines whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied after the previous initialization process of the expansion valve (51) when the control signal is input. When the control unit (52) determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied, the control unit (52) initializes the expansion valve (51) and controls the expansion valve (51) based on the control signal from the control device (10). When the opening degree control is started and it is determined that the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the expansion valve (51) is initialized. A heat pump apparatus characterized by starting the control of the opening degree of the expansion valve based on the control signal from the controller without physical (10) (51).

  Thereby, since the frequency of the initialization process of an expansion valve (50) can be reduced, durability of an expansion valve (50) can be improved.

  As described in the invention described in claim 10, the above invention is a heat pump device, a hot water storage tank (80) for storing hot water heated by the heat pump device, and a hot water supply for supplying hot water in the hot water storage tank (80) to the outside. The present invention can be applied to a hot water supply device including a flow path (83).

  The invention according to claim 11 is a heat pump device according to the invention, a hot water storage tank (80) for storing hot water heated by the heat pump device, and a hot water supply channel (83) for supplying hot water in the hot water storage tank (80) to the outside. ) And a calorific value detection means (81) for detecting the calorific value in the hot water storage tank (80), and the control device (10) determines whether or not a predetermined condition is met, It is a hot water supply device characterized by judging based on.

  In the hot water supply apparatus provided with the hot water storage tank (80), hot water is mainly boiled and stored in the hot water storage tank (80) in a specific time zone, and the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank (80) is mainly the above-mentioned. Since it is used in a time zone other than the time zone, the time interval and time can be roughly determined based on the change in the amount of heat in the hot water storage tank (80). For this reason, since the frequency of the initialization process of an expansion valve (50) can be reduced similarly to the said invention, durability of an expansion valve (50) can be improved.

  The invention according to claim 12 relates to an expansion valve (20) in a heat pump cycle (20) comprising a compressor (30), a high pressure side heat exchanger (40), an expansion valve (50) and a low pressure side heat exchanger (60). 50) is a control device for controlling the opening of the expansion valve (50), and whether or not a predetermined condition has been satisfied after the previous initialization process of the expansion valve (50) when starting the opening control of the expansion valve (50) If it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied, the expansion valve (50) is initialized and the opening control of the expansion valve (50) is started. If it is determined that the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the expansion valve (50) is expanded. The heat pump device control device is characterized in that the opening degree control of the expansion valve (50) is started without performing the initialization process of the valve (50).

  Thereby, since the frequency of the initialization process of an expansion valve (50) can be reduced similarly to the invention of Claim 1, durability of an expansion valve (50) can be improved.

  In addition, the code | symbol in the bracket | parenthesis of each said means has shown an example of the corresponding relationship with the specific means as described in embodiment mentioned later.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 schematically shows a schematic configuration of a hot water supply apparatus 1 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the hot water supply device 1 includes a heat pump device 2 that generates hot water by heating water by heat exchange with a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant. The heat pump device 2 includes a compressor 30, a water refrigerant heat exchanger (high-pressure side heat exchanger) 40, an expansion valve 50, an air refrigerant heat exchanger (low-pressure side heat exchanger) 60, and an accumulator 70 sequentially through the refrigerant piping. It has a heat pump cycle 20 that is connected in a ring and circulates the refrigerant. For example, carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) is used as the refrigerant.

  The compressor 30 is an electric fluid device that compresses and discharges the refrigerant in the heat pump cycle 20 to a high temperature and a high pressure. The number of rotations of the compressor 30 is variably set by an inverter device (not shown) based on a control signal from the control device 10 described later. The water-refrigerant heat exchanger 40 has a water flow path and a refrigerant flow path, and heat exchange heats water flowing through the water flow path by heat exchange with a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 30 and flowing through the refrigerant flow path. It is a vessel.

  The expansion valve 50 is an electric decompression unit that decompresses and expands the refrigerant flowing out of the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 40 in an enthalpy manner. The opening degree of the expansion valve 50 is variably set based on a control signal from the control device 10. For example, the expansion valve 50 includes a pulse motor that rotates forward and backward when a pulse current is supplied, and a valve body that is driven by the pulse motor. The opening degree of the expansion valve 50 is controlled based on the polarity and the number of pulses of the pulse current supplied to the pulse motor.

  The air refrigerant heat exchanger 60 is a heat exchanger that evaporates the low-pressure refrigerant decompressed by the expansion valve 50 by heat exchange with the outside air blown by the blower fan 61. The accumulator 70 is a gas-liquid separation device that separates the refrigerant flowing out of the air refrigerant heat exchanger 60 into two phases, stores the liquid-phase refrigerant, and sucks the gas-phase refrigerant into the compressor 30.

  The hot water supply device 1 has a hot water storage tank 80 for storing hot water. The hot water storage tank 80 is made of metal having excellent corrosion resistance. A heat insulating material (not shown) is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the hot water storage tank 80 to keep the warm water inside for a long time. A predetermined temperature stratification is formed in the hot water storage tank 80 due to the specific gravity difference of water due to the difference in temperature. As a result, hotter hot water is stored in the upper portion of the hot water storage tank 80, and lower temperature hot water (or water) is stored in the lower portion of the hot water storage tank 80.

  On the outer wall surface of the hot water storage tank 80, a plurality of water level thermistors 81 (heat quantity detection means; five are shown in FIG. 1) are arranged at substantially equal intervals in the height direction of the hot water storage tank 80. The water level thermistor 81 detects the hot water temperature at each water level in the hot water storage tank 80 and outputs a detection signal to the control device 15 described later.

  A pipe 84a having both ends connected to a circulation circuit 84 to be described later passes through the hot water storage tank 80. The pipe 84a connects, for example, between an inlet portion 80d formed on the upper surface portion and an outlet portion 80c formed on the bottom surface portion. The water in the hot water storage tank 80 is heated by heat exchange with the hot water flowing through the pipe 84a to become hot water.

  The outlet portion 80c and the inlet portion 80d of the hot water storage tank 80 are connected via a circulation circuit 84 that is formed outside the hot water storage tank 80 and passes through the water flow path of the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 40. The circulation circuit 84 is provided with a circulation pump 85 that circulates water in the circulation circuit 84. The circulation pump 85 operates based on a control signal from the control device 15 and outputs an operation state signal to the control device 15. The water that flows out from the outlet 80c of the hot water storage tank 80 and circulates in the circulation circuit 84 is boiled by heat exchange with the high-temperature refrigerant in the water refrigerant heat exchanger 40 to become hot water, and the hot water storage tank 80 passes through the inlet 80d. It returns to the inside and circulates in the pipe 84a.

  That is, the hot water in the hot water storage tank 80 is heated indirectly by the heat pump device 2 using the hot water circulating in the circulation circuit 84 as a heat medium.

  An inlet 80 a is provided on the bottom surface of the hot water storage tank 80. A water supply pipe 82 for introducing tap water having a predetermined pressure into the hot water storage tank 80 is connected to the introduction port 80a. An outlet port 80 b is provided on the upper surface of the hot water storage tank 80. A hot water supply pipe (hot water supply flow path) 83 for supplying hot water in the hot water storage tank 80 to the outside is connected to the outlet 80b. Hot water mixing means (not shown) is connected to the downstream side of the hot water supply pipe 83. In the hot water mixing means, hot water having a predetermined temperature supplied to the hot water supply use terminal is generated by mixing hot hot water flowing in through the hot water supply pipe 83 and tap water flowing in through the water supply pipe (not shown). It has come to be.

  The hot water supply device 1 has a floor heating unit 90 to which hot water boiled by the water / refrigerant heat exchanger 40 is directly supplied without going through the hot water storage tank 80. The floor heating unit 90 is connected to a circulation circuit 91 that circulates water independently of the circulation circuit 84 via the water refrigerant heat exchanger 40. The circulation circuit 91 is provided with a circulation pump 92 that circulates the hot water boiled by the water / refrigerant heat exchanger 40 into the circulation circuit 91. The circulation pump 92 operates based on a control signal from the control device 15 and outputs an operation state signal to the control device 15.

  The control device 15 includes a central processing unit (CPU) that performs various controls and operations, a read-only storage device (ROM) that stores various control programs, setting values, and the like, and writes data in an arbitrary storage area. And a readable storage device (RAM) and an input / output port for inputting / outputting signals to / from the outside. The control device 15 includes hot water supply including circulation pumps 85 and 92 based on detection signals from various sensors including the water level thermistor 81, operation signals from an operation switch for the floor heating unit 90 provided in the room, and the like. The operation control of the device 1 is performed. Further, the control device 15 outputs a start signal and a stop signal for the heat pump cycle 20 to the control device 10 based on the detection signal, the operation signal, and the like.

  As with the control device 15, the control device 10 has a CPU, ROM, RAM, and input / output ports. The control device 10 includes a start signal and a stop signal from the control device 15, a refrigerant temperature sensor that detects a refrigerant temperature at each position in the heat pump cycle, a refrigerant pressure sensor that detects a refrigerant pressure, and an outside air temperature that detects an outside air temperature. Based on detection signals from various sensors including the sensor 62, the operation control of the heat pump device 2 including the compressor 30, the expansion valve 50, the blower fan 61, and the like is performed.

  Here, when the opening / closing operation of the expansion valve 50 is repeated based on the control of the control device 10, the target opening degree of the expansion valve 50 determined by the control device 10 due to play or the like of the drive portion of the expansion valve 50. In contrast, the actual opening of the expansion valve 50 deviates. Therefore, when starting the operation of the heat pump device 2, the control device 10 determines whether or not the expansion valve 50 needs to be initialized as will be described later, and performs initialization processing for the expansion valve 50 if necessary. For example, in the initialization process of the expansion valve 50, a pulse current having a polarity in the direction of decreasing the opening is supplied at a pulse number higher than the number of pulses necessary to change from the fully open state to the fully closed state. This is done by returning the position to the reference position (fully closed position).

  The ROM or RAM of the control device 10 has a minimum elapsed time T1 (for example, 24 hours) from the initialization of the expansion valve 50 to the next initialization as a set value for determining whether or not the expansion valve 50 needs to be initialized. ) Information is stored in advance. In addition, the control device 10 has a timer unit that accumulates elapsed time since the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is performed.

  Next, a method for controlling the heat pump device and the hot water supply device of the present embodiment will be described. The control device 15 controls the operation of the hot water supply device 1 including the circulation pumps 85 and 92 based on detection signals from various sensors, operation signals from operation switches, and the like. When the controller 15 detects a shortage of hot water in the hot water storage tank 80 or an operation request for the floor heating unit 90, the controller 15 outputs a start signal for the heat pump cycle 20 to the controller 10.

  When the activation signal from the control device 15 is input, the control device 10 controls the operation of the heat pump device 2 including the compressor 30, the expansion valve 50, the blower fan 61, and the like based on detection signals from various sensors. To do.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a control flow for the expansion valve 50 of the control device 10 in the present embodiment. In the initial state, it is assumed that the heat pump cycle 20 is in a stopped state. As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 10 switches the expansion valve 50 to the previous time when the operation of the heat pump cycle 20 is started based on the activation signal from the control device 15 (or when power is turned on to the control device 10). The elapsed time since initialization is acquired from the timer unit (step S1).

  Next, the control device 10 compares the elapsed time acquired from the timer unit with a preset minimum elapsed time T1 in order to determine whether or not the initialization condition has been satisfied since the previous initialization process. (Step S2). If the elapsed time is equal to or longer than the minimum elapsed time T1, the control device 10 determines that the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is necessary because the initialization condition is satisfied. That is, the control device 10 supplies a pulse current having a predetermined number of pulses to the expansion valve 50, and performs an initialization process for the expansion valve 50 (step S3). Thereafter, the control device 10 resets the elapsed time accumulated in the timer unit to the initial value (0) (step S4), and proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, if the elapsed time is less than the shortest elapsed time T1, the control device 10 determines that the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is unnecessary because the initialization condition is not satisfied, and the initialization process and the elapsed time of the expansion valve 50 are determined. The process proceeds to step S5 without resetting.

  In step S <b> 5, the control device 10 starts the compressor 30 and performs normal opening degree control of the expansion valve 50 based on the refrigerant temperature and refrigerant pressure at each position in the heat pump cycle 20.

  FIG. 3 is a time chart showing an example of initialization timing of the expansion valve 50 according to the present embodiment. The horizontal axis in FIGS. 3A and 3B represents time. 3A represents the operating state (ON / OFF) of the heat pump cycle 20, and the vertical axis in FIG. 3B represents the state of execution of the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 by the control device 10 (initialization process). The execution time is ON, and the others are OFF). In the present embodiment, since the hot water is supplied to the floor heating unit 90 without using the hot water storage tank 80, the heat pump cycle 20 is assumed to be intermittently operated with a relatively short cycle.

  First, it is assumed that the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is performed at time t1 when the operation of the heat pump cycle 20 is started. At subsequent times t2, t3, t4, and t5, although the operation of the heat pump cycle 20 is started, the elapsed time from the time t1 is less than the shortest elapsed time T1, so the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is performed. Absent. At time t6, since the elapsed time from time t1 is equal to or greater than the minimum elapsed time T1, initialization processing of the expansion valve 50 is performed when the operation of the heat pump cycle 20 is started. Thereafter, similarly, the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is performed at time t7 when the elapsed time from time t6 is equal to or longer than the minimum elapsed time T1.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the control device 10 starts the opening degree control of the expansion valve 50, the elapsed time since the previous initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is the minimum elapsed time T1 or more. If so, the expansion valve 50 is initialized. If the elapsed time is less than the shortest elapsed time T1, the expansion valve 50 is not initialized. Thereby, the time interval in which the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is performed can be set to the minimum elapsed time T1 or more. Therefore, since the expansion valve 50 can be prevented from being initialized frequently, the durability of the expansion valve 50 can be improved.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, since the hot water is directly supplied to the floor heating unit 90 without going through the hot water storage tank 80, the heat pump cycle 20 is activated every time there is a request for hot water from the floor heating unit 90 side. To do. For this reason, the heat pump cycle 20 often operates intermittently with a relatively short period. According to the present embodiment, the frequency of initialization of the expansion valve 50 can be reduced even when the heat pump cycle 20 is intermittently operated in a relatively short period.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, as a set value for determining whether or not the expansion valve 50 needs to be initialized, a periodic time trn (n = 1, 2,...) Repeated at a predetermined time interval (for example, one day interval). Is stored in advance in the ROM or RAM of the control device 10. Further, the control device 10 writes information on the date and time when the expansion valve 50 was previously initialized (initialization date and time) in the RAM.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a control flow for the expansion valve 50 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, when starting the operation of the heat pump cycle 20, the control device 10 reads the initialization date / time information from the RAM (step S <b> 11). Next, the control device 10 determines whether or not the preset periodic time trn is included at least once between the read initialization date and time and the current date and time (step S12).

  If the regular time trn is included between the initialization date and the current date, the control device 10 determines that the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is necessary, and performs the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 (step S13). . That is, when the heat pump cycle 20 is first activated after the elapse of the regular time trn, the expansion valve 50 is initialized. Subsequently, the control device 10 erases the previous initialization date information written in the RAM, writes the current date information as a new initialization date in the RAM (step S14), and proceeds to step S15.

  On the other hand, if the regular time trn is not included between the initialization date and time and the current date and time, the control device 10 determines that the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is unnecessary, and does not perform the initialization process of the expansion valve 50. Proceed to step S15. In step S <b> 15, the control device 10 activates the compressor 30 and performs normal opening control of the expansion valve 50.

  FIG. 5 is a time chart showing an example of the initialization timing of the expansion valve 50 according to the present embodiment. 5A and 5B are the same as those in FIGS. 3A and 3B. As shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that the heat pump cycle 20 is intermittently operated with a relatively short cycle under the control of the control device 10.

  First, it is assumed that the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is performed at time t11 when the heat pump cycle 20 is first started after the regular time tr1. At the subsequent time t12, although the operation of the heat pump cycle 20 is started, the next regular time tr2 is not included between the time t11 when the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is performed, and therefore, the expansion valve 50 The initialization process is not performed. Similarly, at times t13, t14, and t15, since the operation of the heat pump cycle is started but the time t2 is not included between the times t11, the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is not performed. Since the time t16 includes the regular time tr2 between the time t16 and the time t11 when the expansion valve 50 is initialized, the expansion valve 50 is initialized when the heat pump cycle 20 is started. Is called. Thereafter, similarly, the expansion valve initialization process is performed at a time t17 in which the next regular time tr3 is included between the expansion valve 50 initialization process t16 and the time t16.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the opening degree control of the expansion valve 50 is started, if the regular time trn is included between the initialization date and the current date, the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is performed. When the periodic time trn is not included between the initialization date and the current date, the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is not performed. Thereby, the average time interval in which the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is performed can be made equal to or longer than the interval (for example, one day) of the regular time trn. Therefore, even when the heat pump cycle 20 is intermittently operated at a relatively short period, the expansion valve 50 can be prevented from being initialized frequently, and the durability of the expansion valve 50 can be improved.

  Here, in the above example, the regular time trn is set at an interval of one day. However, the regular time trn is set at an interval of one week (for example, every Saturday at 0:00) or an interval of one month (for example, 0 of the first day of every month). It is also possible to set at various intervals.

  In addition, the control device 10 may include a receiving unit that receives a radio wave (for example, a standard radio wave) on which time information is superimposed, and may determine the current date and time based on the received radio wave. As a result, the clock function of the control device 10 can be omitted.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, as a set value for determining whether or not the expansion valve 50 needs to be initialized, information on the shortest operating time T2 of the heat pump cycle 20 from the initialization of the expansion valve 50 to the next initialization is used as the control device. 10 ROMs or RAMs are stored in advance. The timer unit of the control device 10 is configured to integrate the operation time of the heat pump cycle 20 since the expansion valve 50 was initialized last time.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a control flow for the expansion valve 50 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, when starting the operation of the heat pump cycle 20, the control device 10 acquires the operating time of the heat pump cycle 20 since the initialization of the expansion valve 50 from the timer unit (step S <b> 21).

  Next, the control device 10 compares the operating time acquired from the timer unit with a preset minimum operating time T2 (step S22). If the operating time is equal to or longer than the shortest operating time T2, the control device 10 performs an initialization process for the expansion valve 50 (step S23). Thereafter, the control device 10 resets the operation time accumulated in the timer unit to the initial value (0) (step S24), and starts accumulation from the initial value of the operation time (step S25). On the other hand, if the operation time is less than the shortest operation time T2, the control device 10 determines that the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is unnecessary, and the operation time is not reset without resetting the initialization process and the operation time of the expansion valve 50. Integration from the previous value is started (step S25).

  Subsequently, the control device 10 activates the compressor 30 and performs normal opening degree control of the expansion valve 50 based on the refrigerant temperature and refrigerant pressure at each position in the heat pump cycle 20 (step S26).

  Thereafter, the control device 10 ends the operation of the heat pump cycle 20 based on the end of the boiling operation, a request to stop the floor heating unit 90, or the like. When the operation of the heat pump cycle 20 is finished (step S27), the control device 10 stops the accumulation of operation time (step S28).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the control device 10 starts the opening degree control of the expansion valve 50, the operation time of the heat pump cycle 20 since the previous initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is performed is the shortest. If the operation time is equal to or longer than T2, the expansion valve 50 is initialized. If the operation time is less than the shortest operation time T2, the expansion valve 50 is not initialized. Therefore, even when the heat pump cycle 20 is intermittently operated at a relatively short period, the expansion valve 50 can be prevented from being initialized frequently, and the durability of the expansion valve 50 can be improved.

  Further, the deviation of the actual opening degree of the expansion valve 50 from the target opening degree generally increases as the operating time of the heat pump cycle 20 increases. In this embodiment, since the necessity of the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is determined based on the operation time of the heat pump cycle 20, the expansion valve 50 can be initialized at a more appropriate time.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, as a set value for determining whether or not the expansion valve 50 needs to be initialized, information on the minimum number of activations N1 of the heat pump cycle 20 from the initialization of the expansion valve 50 to the next initialization is obtained as a control device. 10 ROMs or RAMs are stored in advance. Further, the control device 10 integrates the number of activations of the heat pump cycle 20 since the expansion valve 50 was initialized last time and writes it in the RAM.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a control flow for the expansion valve 50 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, when starting the operation of the heat pump cycle 20, the control device 10 reads the number of activations of the heat pump cycle 20 since the initialization of the expansion valve 50 from the RAM (step S <b> 31).

  Next, the control device 10 compares the activation count read from the RAM with a preset minimum activation count N1 (step S32). If the number of activations is equal to or greater than the minimum number of activations N1, the control device 10 performs an initialization process for the expansion valve 50 (step S33). Thereafter, the control device 10 resets the number of activations to an initial value (0 times) (step S34), and adds the number of activations once to the initial value (step S35). On the other hand, if the number of activations is less than the minimum activation number N1, the control device 10 determines that the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is unnecessary, and does not perform the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 and resets the activation number. Is added once to the previous value (step S35).

  Subsequently, the control device 10 activates the compressor 30 and performs normal opening degree control of the expansion valve 50 based on the refrigerant temperature and refrigerant pressure at each position in the heat pump cycle 20 (step S36).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the control device 10 starts the opening degree control of the expansion valve 50, the number of activations of the heat pump cycle 20 after the previous initialization process of the expansion valve 50 is minimized. If the number of activations is N1 or more, the expansion valve 50 is initialized. If the number of activations is less than the minimum number of activations N1, the expansion valve 50 is not initialized. Therefore, even when the heat pump cycle 20 is intermittently operated at a relatively short period, the expansion valve 50 can be prevented from being initialized frequently, and the durability of the expansion valve 50 can be improved.

(Fifth embodiment)
Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, whether or not the expansion valve 50 needs to be initialized is determined based on the outside air temperature. In general, the outside air temperature increases in the daytime and decreases in the nighttime. Therefore, for example, the time interval and time can be roughly determined by detecting the minimum or maximum of the time change of the outside air temperature.

  FIG. 8 is a time chart showing an example of the initialization timing of the expansion valve 50 according to the present embodiment. The horizontal axes of FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C represent time. The vertical axis of FIG. 8A represents the operating state (ON / OFF) of the heat pump cycle 20, the vertical axis of FIG. 8B represents the outside air temperature, and the vertical axis of FIG. It represents the execution state of the initialization process (ON when the initialization process is executed, and OFF otherwise). As shown to Fig.8 (a), the heat pump cycle 20 of this example shall operate | move intermittently with a comparatively short period by control of the control apparatus 10. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8B, the time variation of the outside air temperature is minimal at times t21 and t27. Therefore, the control device 10 determines that the time between the time t21 and the time t27 is approximately 24 hours. That is, when the control device 10 performs the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 at the time t22 when the heat pump cycle 20 is first started after the time t21, for example, the initialization of the expansion valve 50 is performed at the times t23, t24, t25, and t26. Do not process. And the control apparatus 10 performs the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 at time t28 when the heat pump cycle 20 is first started after time t27. Also according to this embodiment, since the time interval at which the expansion valve 50 is initialized can be roughly set, the expansion valve 50 can be prevented from being initialized frequently, and the durability of the expansion valve 50 can be improved.

  Here, the rotation speed of the compressor 30 is controlled based on the outside air temperature, and is set to a high rotation speed when the outside air temperature is low, and is set to a low rotation speed when the outside air temperature is high. For this reason, it is possible to roughly determine the time interval and the time based on the rotation speed of the compressor 30 instead of the outside air temperature. Therefore, even if it is determined whether or not the expansion valve 50 needs to be initialized based on the rotation speed of the compressor 30, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

(Sixth embodiment)
Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, whether or not the expansion valve 50 needs to be initialized is determined based on the amount of heat of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 80. The amount of heat of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 80 is obtained based on the hot water temperature at each water level detected by the water level thermistor 81. These warm water temperature signals are output from the control device 15 to the control device 10. In general, in the hot water storage type hot water supply device 1 provided with the hot water storage tank 80, hot water is mainly boiled and stored in the hot water storage tank 80 in a specific time zone (for example, midnight), and the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 80 is stored. Is mainly used in a time zone other than the above time zone. That is, the amount of heat of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 80 increases during a specific time period, and is maintained or decreased during other time periods. Therefore, the time interval and the time can be roughly determined by detecting the maximum or minimum of the temporal change in the amount of heat of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 80.

  FIG. 9 is a time chart showing an example of the initialization timing of the expansion valve 50 according to the present embodiment. The horizontal axes of FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C represent time. The vertical axis in FIG. 9A represents the operating state (ON / OFF) of the heat pump cycle 20, the vertical axis in FIG. 9B represents the amount of heat in the hot water storage tank 80, and the vertical axis in FIG. This represents the execution state of the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 (ON when the initialization process is executed, and OFF otherwise). As shown in FIG. 9 (a), the heat pump cycle 20 of this example operates continuously for a relatively long time (for example, about several hours) in a specific time zone every day, and relatively relatively in other time zones. It is assumed that it is operating intermittently with a short cycle.

  As shown in FIG. 9B, the temporal change in the amount of heat of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 80 takes a maximum at times t31 and t36. Therefore, the control device 10 determines that the time between the time t31 and the time t36 is approximately 24 hours. That is, when the control device 10 performs the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 at the time t32 when the heat pump cycle 20 first starts after the time t31, the control apparatus 10 performs the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 at the times t33, t34, and t35. Absent. And the control apparatus 10 performs the initialization process of the expansion valve 50 at the time t37 when the heat pump cycle 20 first starts after the time t36. Also according to this embodiment, since the time interval at which the expansion valve 50 is initialized can be roughly set, the expansion valve 50 can be prevented from being initialized frequently, and the durability of the expansion valve 50 can be improved.

(Seventh embodiment)
Next, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 schematically shows a schematic configuration of the hot water supply device 3 in the present embodiment. Unlike the first to sixth embodiments, the present embodiment is characterized in that the necessity of initialization processing for the expansion valve 51 is determined by the control unit 52 of the expansion valve 51 itself. In the ROM or RAM of the control unit 52, as a set value for determining whether or not the expansion valve 51 needs to be initialized, for example, the shortest elapsed time T1 from when the expansion valve 51 is initialized to when it is initialized next time. Information (for example, 24 hours) is stored in advance. In addition, the control unit 52 has a timer unit that accumulates elapsed time since the initialization process of the expansion valve 51 is performed.

  When a control signal or an activation signal is input from the control device 10 while the operation of the expansion valve 51 is stopped, the control unit 52 determines whether the expansion valve 51 needs to be initialized, for example, as illustrated in FIG. To come to judge. When it is determined that initialization is necessary, the control unit 52 performs initialization processing of the expansion valve 51 and starts normal opening degree control of the expansion valve 51 based on a control signal from the control device 10. If it is determined that initialization is not necessary, the control unit 52 does not perform initialization processing of the expansion valve 51 and starts normal opening degree control of the expansion valve 51 based on a control signal from the control device 10.

  Also according to the present embodiment, since it is possible to determine whether or not the initialization process of the expansion valve 51 is necessary, as in the first embodiment, the heat pump cycle 20 is operated intermittently with a relatively short cycle. However, the expansion valve 51 can be prevented from being initialized frequently, and the durability of the expansion valve 51 can be improved. Of course, the control unit 52 of the expansion valve 51 can perform the same control as in the second to sixth embodiments.

(Other embodiments)
In the above embodiment, it is determined whether or not the expansion valves 50 and 51 need to be initialized when the heat pump cycle 20 is started. However, the control device 10 initializes the expansion valves 50 and 51 when stopping the heat pump cycle 20. If it is determined whether or not initialization is necessary, the expansion valves 50 and 51 may be initialized and the heat pump cycle 20 may be stopped.

In the above embodiment uses CO ₂ as the refrigerant circulating through the heat pump cycle 20, it may be a mixed refrigerant or other coolant such as R410.

  Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the heat pump type hot-water supply apparatus was mentioned as an example, it is applicable also to a heat pump type air conditioner.

It is a figure which shows typically schematic structure of the hot water supply apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of control with respect to the expansion valve in 1st Embodiment. It is a time chart which shows the example of the initialization timing of the expansion valve in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of control with respect to the expansion valve in 2nd Embodiment. It is a time chart which shows the example of the initialization timing of the expansion valve in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of control with respect to the expansion valve in 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of control with respect to the expansion valve in 4th Embodiment. It is a time chart which shows the example of the initialization timing of the expansion valve in 5th Embodiment. It is a time chart which shows the example of the initialization timing of the expansion valve in 6th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically schematic structure of the hot water supply apparatus in 7th Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1, 3 Hot-water supply device 2 Heat pump device 10 Control device 20 Heat pump cycle 30 Compressor 40 Water refrigerant heat exchanger (high-pressure side heat exchanger)
50, 51 Expansion valve 52 Control unit 60 Air refrigerant heat exchanger (low pressure side heat exchanger)
62 Outside temperature sensor 80 Hot water storage tank 81 Water level thermistor (heat quantity detection means)
83 Hot water supply piping (hot water supply flow path)
90 Floor heating unit

Claims (12)

A heat pump cycle (20) including a compressor (30), a high-pressure side heat exchanger (40), an expansion valve (50), and a low-pressure side heat exchanger (60), and the opening degree of the expansion valve (50) are controlled. A control device (10) for
The control device (10) determines whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied after the previous initialization process of the expansion valve (50) when starting the opening degree control of the expansion valve (50),
If it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied, the expansion valve (50) is initialized to start opening control of the expansion valve (50),
When it is determined that the predetermined condition is not satisfied, opening control of the expansion valve (50) is started without performing initialization processing of the expansion valve (50).   2. The heat pump device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition includes that an elapsed time after the previous initialization process of the expansion valve (50) is equal to or longer than a predetermined time (T1). .   The predetermined condition includes a periodic time (trn) repeated at a predetermined time interval between the initialization date and time when the previous initialization process of the expansion valve (50) was performed and the current date and time. The heat pump device according to claim 1, comprising:   The heat pump device according to claim 3, wherein the control device (10) receives a radio wave on which time information is superimposed, and determines the current date and time based on the received radio wave.   The predetermined condition includes that the operation time of the heat pump cycle (20) after the previous initialization process of the expansion valve (50) is equal to or longer than a predetermined time (T2). Item 2. The heat pump device according to Item 1.   The predetermined condition includes that the number of activations of the heat pump cycle (20) after the previous initialization process of the expansion valve (50) is equal to or greater than a predetermined number (N1). Item 2. The heat pump device according to Item 1. An outside temperature sensor (62) for detecting the outside temperature;
The heat pump device according to claim 1, wherein the control device (10) determines whether the predetermined condition is satisfied based on a change in the outside air temperature. An outside temperature sensor (62) for detecting the outside temperature;
The control device (10) controls the rotational speed of the compressor (30) based on the outside air temperature and determines whether the predetermined condition is satisfied based on the rotational speed of the compressor (30). The heat pump device according to claim 1. A heat pump cycle (20) including a compressor (30), a high-pressure side heat exchanger (40), an expansion valve (50), and a low-pressure side heat exchanger (60), and the opening degree of the expansion valve (50) are controlled. A control device (10) for
The control device (10) outputs a control signal to the expansion valve (51) when starting the opening control of the expansion valve (51),
The expansion valve (51) has a control unit (52) that determines whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied after the previous initialization process of the expansion valve (51) when the control signal is input. ,
When the control unit (52) determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied, the control unit (52) performs initialization processing of the expansion valve (51) and starts opening control of the expansion valve (51) based on the control signal. ,
When it is determined that the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the heat pump device starts the opening control of the expansion valve (51) based on the control signal without performing the initialization process of the expansion valve (51). .   The heat pump device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, a hot water storage tank (80) for storing hot water heated by the heat pump device, and a hot water supply flow for supplying hot water in the hot water storage tank (80) to the outside A hot water supply apparatus comprising a path (83). The heat pump device according to claim 1, a hot water storage tank (80) for storing hot water heated by the heat pump device, a hot water supply channel (83) for supplying hot water in the hot water storage tank (80) to the outside, A calorific value detection means (81) for detecting the calorific value in the hot water storage tank (80),
The said control apparatus (10) judges whether the said predetermined conditions were satisfy | filled based on the change of the said calorie | heat amount. The opening degree of the expansion valve (50) is controlled in a heat pump cycle (20) including a compressor (30), a high-pressure side heat exchanger (40), an expansion valve (50), and a low-pressure side heat exchanger (60). A control device,
When starting the opening control of the expansion valve (50), it is determined whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied after the previous initialization process of the expansion valve (50),
If it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied, the expansion valve (50) is initialized to start the opening control of the expansion valve (50),
When it is determined that the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the opening control of the expansion valve (50) is started without performing the initialization process of the expansion valve (50).

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