JP6329365B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner.

  Ability to supply warm air to the room in a short time after starting the heating operation, or to supply high-temperature refrigerant to the outdoor heat exchanger in a short time after starting the defrosting operation of the outdoor heat exchanger ( Hereinafter, an air conditioner having a rapid warming performance is also known.

  In order to make the air conditioner exhibit the above-mentioned speed-and-warm performance, a large compressor has been conventionally used. However, the large compressor has low reliability with respect to liquid return, and the compressor is activated at the start of each operation. In order to warm itself up, a lot of heat energy is required, and after all, it is not possible to exhibit the rapid warming performance.

  Therefore, the air conditioner described in Patent Document 1 controls the four-way valve at the start of each operation, thereby providing a port connected to the discharge side of the compressor and a port connected to the suction side of the compressor. The refrigerant is communicated so that the refrigerant discharged from the compressor is again sucked into the compressor. Thereby, the temperature of a refrigerant | coolant can be raised in a short time after starting each driving | operation, without using a large sized compressor.

  However, in the above-described configuration, the refrigerant does not flow to the indoor heat exchanger or the outdoor heat exchanger while the temperature of the refrigerant is raised, and thus the heating operation and the defrosting operation are activated during this period. Nevertheless, the temperature of the refrigerant only rises, and it is difficult to obtain effective rapid heating performance.

JP 2009-85484 A

  Then, this invention makes it a main subject to improve quick warming performance, without using a large sized compressor.

  That is, the air conditioner according to the present invention is an air conditioner including a refrigerant circuit having a compressor, a four-way valve, an outdoor heat exchanger, and an indoor heat exchanger, and the four-way valve is a discharge side pipe of the compressor. A first port connected to the outdoor heat exchanger, a second port connected to the outdoor heat exchanger, a third port connected to the suction side piping of the compressor, and a fourth port connected to the indoor heat exchanger. A valve body having a port, a valve body that opens and closes each port, and a drive unit that moves the valve body, the valve body is moved by the drive unit, and the first port and the third port And a part of the fourth port or part of the second port is opened, and the refrigerant discharged from the compressor is sucked into the compressor, and the refrigerant is supplied to the indoor heat exchanger or Flow through the outdoor heat exchanger for quick heating And it is characterized in Ukoto.

  In such an air conditioner, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor is sucked into the compressor, and the refrigerant is flowed to the indoor heat exchanger or the outdoor heat exchanger to perform the quick warming operation. While increasing the temperature, heating operation and defrosting operation can be performed, and quick heating performance can be improved without using a large compressor.

The valve further includes a control unit that controls the drive unit, and the control unit controls the drive unit based on a pressure or temperature of a refrigerant discharged from the compressor during the quick warming operation. What adjusts the position of a body and gives resistance to the flow of the refrigerant from the compressor to the indoor heat exchanger or the outdoor heat exchanger is preferable.
In this case, resistance is given to the flow of the refrigerant from the compressor to the indoor heat exchanger or the outdoor heat exchanger, so that the pressure of the compressor rises and the power consumption of the compressor can be improved. Can be raised in a short time to further improve the quick warming performance.
In addition, the control unit controls the drive unit so that the pressure and temperature of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor become, for example, a predetermined value or less based on a design value of the compressor, etc. Can be prevented from breaking down.

An auxiliary heat exchanger is provided, and an injection pipe that guides the refrigerant from the indoor heat exchanger to the compressor, and one end connected to the discharge side pipe of the compressor and the other end connected to the injection pipe A pipe and an on-off valve provided on the connection pipe, and opens the on-off valve during the rapid warming operation, and flows a part of the refrigerant flowing from the compressor to the four-way valve through the connection pipe. What is sucked into the compressor is preferable.
If this is the case, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor can flow through the connecting pipe and be sucked into the compressor, so that the temperature of the refrigerant can be increased in a shorter time and the quick warming performance can be further improved. Become.
In addition, the connecting pipe has a structure in which one end is connected to the discharge side pipe of the compressor and the other end is connected to the injection pipe. There is no complexity.

  According to the present invention configured as described above, the quick warming performance can be improved without using a large compressor.

The schematic block diagram of the air conditioner in this embodiment. The schematic block diagram of the four-way valve in the embodiment. The flowchart which shows control of the control part in the embodiment. The experimental result which shows the quick warming performance in the same embodiment. The experimental result which shows the quick warming performance in the same embodiment. The flowchart which shows control of the control part in deformation | transformation embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an air conditioner 100 according to this embodiment includes an indoor unit 10, an outdoor unit 20, and a heat pump cycle 200 configured to allow refrigerant to flow through the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 20. Is provided.

  The indoor unit 10 includes decompression means 11A and 11B connected in parallel to each other, and indoor heat exchangers 12A and 12B connected in series to the decompression means 11A and 11B, respectively.

  The outdoor unit 20 includes a four-way valve 21, an accumulator 22, a compressor 23, an outdoor heat exchanger 24, a distributor 25, an expansion valve 26, and an auxiliary heat exchanger 27.

  The heat pump cycle 200 includes a main circuit in which decompression means 11A and 11B, indoor heat exchangers 12A and 12B, a four-way valve 21, an outdoor heat exchanger 24, a distributor 25, an expansion valve 26, and an auxiliary heat exchanger 27 are connected in this order. 201, and a compression circuit 202 in which an accumulator 22, a compressor 23, and a four-way valve 21 are connected in this order.

In the heat pump cycle 200 of the present embodiment, a part of the refrigerant flowing from the decompression means 11A, 11B to the expansion valve 26 is branched from the main circuit 201 described above and guided to the compressor 23 without being guided to the outdoor heat exchanger 24. A flow path 203 is provided. Specifically, the injection flow path 203 is provided in the injection pipe La having one end connected to the compressor 23 and the other end connected between the expansion valve 26 and the pressure reducing means 11A and 11B, and the injection pipe La. And an auxiliary heat exchanger 27 provided between the compressor 23 and the electromagnetic valve EV in the injection pipe La.
The auxiliary heat exchanger 27 is provided across the main circuit 201 and the injection flow path 203.

  In the present embodiment, a connecting pipe Lb that connects the above-described compression circuit 202 and the injection flow path 203 is provided. Specifically, one end of the connecting pipe Lb is connected to the discharge side pipe 231 of the compressor 23. And the other end is connected to the injection pipe La. The connecting pipe Lb of this embodiment is provided with an on-off valve SV.

  The heat pump cycle 200 described above is configured so as to reverse the refrigerant flow in the main circuit 201 and to switch between the cooling operation and the heating operation by controlling the opening and closing of four ports B1 to B4 described later in the four-way valve 21. ing. More specifically, when the cooling operation is performed, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 23 is introduced into the outdoor heat exchanger 24. When the heating operation is performed, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 23 is It is configured to be introduced into the indoor heat exchangers 12A and 12B.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the four-way valve 21 includes a valve body 211 having four ports B1 to B4, a valve body 212 that opens and closes each of the ports B1 to B4, and a drive unit 213 that moves the valve body 212. In this embodiment, the drive unit 213 is a sliding type configured such that the valve body 212 moves linearly.

The valve body 211 is connected to the first port B1 connected to the discharge side pipe 231 of the compressor 23, the second port B2 connected to the outdoor heat exchanger 24, and the suction side pipe 232 of the compressor 23. It has 3rd port B3 and 4th port B4 connected to indoor heat exchanger 12A, 12B.
More specifically, the second port B2, the third port B3, and the fourth port B4 are formed on the valve seat surface 211a of the valve body 211, and the first port B1 is formed on the opposing surface 211b that faces the valve seat surface 211a. Is formed.

The valve body 212 opens and closes the second port B2, the third port B3, and the fourth port B4, respectively, by moving linearly while at least a portion is in contact with the valve seat surface 211a. In the present embodiment, It is configured to advance and retract linearly along the slide direction.
The first port B1 is open regardless of the position of the valve body 212.

  The driving unit 213 transmits driving force to the valve body 212 to move the valve body 212 linearly. In the present embodiment, the driving unit 213 is an electric type such as a linear solenoid.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner 100 of the present embodiment is provided with a control unit 30 that controls the drive unit 213 described above, and the control unit 30 controls the drive unit 213 to control the valve body. 212 is moved and the direction in which the refrigerant flows, that is, the operation state of the air conditioner 100 is switched.

  More specifically, during the heating operation, the control unit 30 communicates the first port B1 and the fourth port B4 and communicates the second port B2 and the third port B3 as shown in the upper part of FIG. The valve body 212 is configured to move to a position (hereinafter also referred to as a normal position).

  When the valve body 212 is in this normal position, the refrigerant is discharged from the compressor 23 and flows into the indoor heat exchangers 12A and 12B, and is discharged from the outdoor heat exchanger 24 and sucked into the compressor 23. Become.

  And the control part 30 of this embodiment makes 1st port B1 and 3rd port B3 connect as well as a part of 4th port B4, or 2nd port, as shown in the lower stage of FIG. 2 at the time of rapid heating operation. The valve body 212 is configured to move to a position where a part of B2 is opened (hereinafter also referred to as an intermediate position).

More specifically, the control unit 30 moves the valve body 212 to a position where a part of the fourth port B4 is opened during the quick warming operation before the heating operation, and during the rapid warming operation before the defrosting operation, The valve body 212 is moved to a position where a part of the port B2 is opened.
Below, for convenience of explanation, the quick warming operation before the heating operation will be described.

  When the valve body 212 is in the intermediate position described above, the first port B1 and the third port B3 communicate with each other, so that the refrigerant is discharged from the compressor 23 and sucked into the compressor 23 again. In addition, since a part of the fourth port B4 is open, a part of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 23 is supplied to the indoor heat exchangers 12A and 12B and discharged from the outdoor heat exchanger 24. The refrigerant is sucked into the compressor 23.

  The control unit 30 described above is configured to control the drive unit 213 based on the pressure of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 23. In the present embodiment, the discharge of the compressor 23 is performed as shown in FIG. The position of the valve body 212 is adjusted based on the measured pressure HP of the pressure sensor P provided in the side pipe 231.

  In addition, the control unit 30 of the present embodiment is configured to control the on-off valve SV of the above-described connection pipe Lb, and is discharged from the compressor 23 by opening the on-off valve SV during quick warming operation. A part of the refrigerant thus cooled flows from the connecting pipe Lb to the injection pipe La and is sucked into the compressor 23.

  Next, an example of the control operation of the control unit 30 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, when the compressor 23 is activated (S1), the control unit 30 linearly moves the valve body 212 from the normal position to the intermediate position, thereby changing the amount of high-pressure throttle.

Next, the measured pressure HP obtained by the pressure sensor P described above is compared with a predetermined first pressure P1 and a predetermined second pressure P2 (S21, S22).
The first pressure P1 and the second pressure P2 are predetermined values based on, for example, the design pressure of the compressor 23. In the present embodiment, the second pressure P2 is more than the first pressure P1. It is set to a large value.

  In S21, when the measured pressure HP is smaller than the first pressure P1 and the second pressure P2, the valve body 212 is held at the above-mentioned intermediate position (S3), and the on-off valve SV provided in the connection pipe Lb is opened. Then, the rapid warming operation is started (S4).

  In S22, when the measured pressure HP is not less than the first pressure P1 and less than the second pressure P2, the control unit 30 adjusts the intermediate position of the valve body 212 so as to further open the fourth port B4 (S5). ). As a result, the measured pressure HP is lowered, so that the valve body 212 is held at the adjusted intermediate position, the on-off valve SV provided in the connection pipe Lb is opened, and the quick warming operation is started (S4).

When the rapid warming operation is started, it is determined whether the rapid warming operation is to be terminated (S6). When the rapid warming operation is to be terminated, the valve body 212 is returned to the normal position (S7), and the on-off valve SV is closed. The heating operation is started (S8, S9). When the quick warm-up operation does not end, the process returns to S21 and S22 again, and the measured pressure HP is compared with the predetermined first pressure P1 and the predetermined second pressure P2.
In the present embodiment, the high pressure pressure is controlled by moving the valve body 212 linearly to change the amount of high pressure throttle. Therefore, after the compressor 23 is started, the indoor heat exchangers 12A and 12B and the outdoor heat When the exchanger 24 exhibits normal performance, the high pressure of normal heating operation is reached, so that the valve body 212 changed linearly is in the normal position. This time is the end of the quick warming operation (S6, S7).
Further, if there is a margin between the measurement pressure HP and the design pressures P1 and P2 according to the user's wishes, it is possible to make the measurement pressure HP higher and perform a quick warming operation.

  In S21 and S22, when the measured pressure HP is not within the above-described range, that is, when the measured pressure HP is equal to or higher than the second pressure, the valve body 212 is returned to the normal position (S7), and the connection pipe Lb A heating operation is performed with the on-off valve SV provided in the closed position (S8, S9).

Then, the experimental result which shows the quick heating performance of the air conditioner 100 in this embodiment is demonstrated with reference to FIG.4 and FIG.5.
FIG. 4 is an experimental result showing the quick warming performance before the heating operation, and FIG. 5 is an experimental result showing the quick warming performance before the defrosting operation.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the time (starting time) from when the compressor 23 is started until the heating operation becomes a steady state (starting time) is halved compared to the conventional air conditioner 100. I understand that.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, when switching from the heating operation to the defrosting operation, the air conditioner 100 in the present embodiment has a refrigerant that is supplied from the compressor 23 to the outdoor heat exchanger 24 as compared with the conventional case. It can be seen that the defrosting time is halved by increasing the temperature in a short time.

According to the air conditioner 100 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 23 is sucked into the compressor 23, and the refrigerant is supplied to the indoor heat exchangers 12A and 12B or the outdoor heat. Since the warm-up operation is performed by flowing through the exchanger 24, the heating operation and the defrosting operation can be performed while increasing the temperature of the refrigerant, and the warm-up performance can be improved without using the large compressor 23. it can.
Thereby, in heating operation, the time from starting the compressor 23 until it becomes steady operation can be shortened compared to the conventional case, and in the defrosting operation, the defrosting time is shortened compared to the conventional case. be able to.

  In addition, the control unit 30 controls the drive unit 213 so that the pressure of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 23 is less than a predetermined value based on the design pressure of the compressor 23 or the like. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the compressor 23 and the like from malfunctioning.

  Furthermore, since resistance is given to the flow of the refrigerant from the compressor 23 to the indoor heat exchangers 12A and 12B or the outdoor heat exchanger 24, the pressure of the compressor 23 is increased, and the power consumption of the compressor 23 is improved. The temperature of the refrigerant can be increased in a short time, and the quick warming performance can be further improved.

  In addition, since the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 23 can be caused to flow through the connecting pipe Lb and be sucked into the compressor 23, the temperature of the refrigerant can be increased in a shorter time and the quick warming performance can be further improved. It becomes possible.

  Further, the connection pipe Lb has one end connected to the discharge side pipe 231 of the compressor 23 and the other end connected to the injection pipe La, and the existing pipe can be connected to each other. The configuration of the entire 100 is not complicated.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the control unit is configured to control the position of the valve body and the opening / closing valve of the connecting pipe based on the pressure of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor. In addition to the control described above, a temperature sensor is provided in the pipe, and based on the temperature of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor obtained by the temperature sensor, the position of the valve body, the open / close valve of the connection pipe, and the solenoid valve of the injection pipe You may comprise so that it may control.
The control operation of this control unit will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, first, the measured temperature Td obtained by the temperature sensor, the predetermined first temperature T1, and the predetermined second temperature T2 are compared (S101, S102).
In addition, these 1st temperature T1 and 2nd temperature T2 are set to the temperature which can protect various components, such as a compressor, a refrigerant | coolant, oil, etc., for example, and is higher than 1st temperature T1 in this embodiment. 2 Temperature T2 is set lower

  In S101, when the measured temperature Td is smaller than the first temperature T1 and the second temperature T2, the above-described temperature comparison is continued thereafter.

  In S102, when the measured temperature Td is equal to or higher than the second temperature T2 and lower than the first temperature T1, the on-off valve provided in the connection pipe is closed (S200), and the electromagnetic valve provided in the injection pipe is opened ( (S300), returning to S101 and S102 again, the temperature comparison described above is continued.

  In S101 and S102, when the measured temperature Td is not within the above-described range, that is, when the measured temperature Td is equal to or higher than the first temperature T1, the valve body is returned to the normal position (S400) and connected to the connecting pipe. The on-off valve provided is closed (S500), the electromagnetic valve provided on the injection pipe is opened (S600), and the process returns to S101 and S102 again to continue the above temperature comparison.

  With the above-described configuration, even if the temperature of the refrigerant rises due to rapid heating operation, the temperature of the refrigerant can be maintained at a temperature that can protect various devices such as a compressor, refrigerant, oil, etc. Such various troubles can be prevented.

  Moreover, although the four-way valve of the above embodiment is a slide type, it may be a spool type.

  Furthermore, although the indoor unit of the said embodiment was provided with two internal heat exchangers connected in parallel, you may be provided with three or more indoor heat exchangers.

  In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Air conditioner 21 ... Four-way valve 23 ... Compressor 24 ... Outdoor heat exchanger 12 ... Indoor heat exchanger 200 ... Refrigerant circuit 211 ... Valve body 212 ...・ Valve 213 ... Drive unit 30 ... Control unit B1-B4 ... Port

Claims (3)

An air conditioner comprising a refrigerant circuit having a compressor, a four-way valve, an outdoor heat exchanger and an indoor heat exchanger,
The four-way valve
A first port connected to the discharge side piping of the compressor; a second port connected to the outdoor heat exchanger; a third port connected to the suction side piping of the compressor; and the indoor heat exchange. A valve body having a fourth port connected to the vessel;
A valve body for opening and closing each port;
A drive unit for moving the valve body,
The valve body is moved by the drive unit, the first port and the third port are communicated, a part of the fourth port or a part of the second port is opened, and discharged from the compressor. An air conditioner characterized in that a refrigerant is sucked into the compressor, and the refrigerant is caused to flow through the indoor heat exchanger or the outdoor heat exchanger to provide resistance to the flow of the refrigerant, thereby performing a quick heating operation. A control unit for controlling the driving unit;
Claim wherein the control unit is, when the speed warm operation, by controlling the driving unit based on the pressure or temperature of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor, characterized by adjusting the position of the valve body 1. The air conditioner according to 1. An auxiliary heat exchanger is provided, and an injection pipe for guiding the refrigerant from the indoor heat exchanger to the compressor;
One end is connected to the discharge side pipe of the compressor, and the other end is connected to the injection pipe, and a connection pipe;
Further comprising an on-off valve provided in the connection pipe,
3. The air according to claim 1, wherein the on-off valve is opened during the rapid warming operation, and a part of the refrigerant flowing from the compressor to the four-way valve is caused to flow through the connection pipe to be sucked into the compressor. Harmony machine.