JPH03134444A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To extend a function by closing a valve device and a second flow rate control device by a driving unit upon operation interruption. CONSTITUTION:A title device comprises a branch part 10 including valve devices 8a, 8b each for switchably connecting one sides of a plurality of indoor side heat exchangers 5 to connection pipings 6b-6d or connection pipings 7b-7d, a branch part 11 connected via a flow rate control device 9 to the other sides of the plurality of the indoor side heat exchangers 5 and connected via a flow rate control device 13 to connection pipings 7b-7d, and a driving device 22 for driving the valve devices 8a, 8b and the flow rate control device 13. Upon operation interruption, the valve devices 8a, 8b and the flow rate control device 13 are closed by the driving device 22. Hereby, cooling and heating are optionally performed, i.e., cooling in the one indoor machines and heating in the other indoor machines are simultaneously performed. Further, there is eliminated inclusion of a big volume of a refrigerant into the compressor upon the operation interruption, and there is prevented fluid back operation from an accumulator.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a multi-room heat pump type air conditioner in which a plurality of indoor units are connected to one heat source unit, and in particular, the invention relates to a multi-room heat pump type air conditioner that connects a plurality of indoor units to one heat source unit. The present invention relates to an air conditioner that can perform heating and cooling selectively, and can simultaneously perform cooling with one indoor unit and heating with the other indoor unit.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, heat pump air conditioners have been common, in which multiple indoor units are connected to one heat source unit using two pipes, a gas pipe and a liquid pipe, and each indoor unit performs heating and cooling operation. , or all configured to provide cooling.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] Conventional multi-room type and one-pump type air conditioners are configured as described above, so all indoor units operate only for heating or cooling, so cooling is not necessary. There was a problem in that heating was performed in places where heating was required, and cooling was performed in places that required heating.

In particular, when installed in a large building, the air conditioning load is significantly different between the interior and perimeter areas, or between general offices and computer rooms, which poses a particular problem.

This invention was developed in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. Multiple indoor units are connected to one heat source unit, and each indoor unit can selectively perform air conditioning and heating. The indoor unit can perform cooling and the other indoor unit can perform heating at the same time, and when installed in a large building, it can be used to open the interior and perimeter areas, or general offices and computer rooms, etc. To provide a multi-room type and one-pump type air conditioner capable of handling each room even if the air conditioning loads differ significantly in each room.

[Means to solve the problem]

This invention consists of one heat source machine consisting of a compressor, a four-way valve, a heat exchanger on the heat source side, a two-person rotor, etc., and a plurality of units consisting of an indoor heat exchanger, a first flow rate control device, etc. With the indoor unit,
In those connected via the first and second connection pipes,
a first branching section having a valve device that connects one of the plurality of indoor heat exchangers to the first connection pipe or the second connection pipe; and the plurality of indoor heat exchangers. a second branch section connected to the other of the valve device via the first flow rate control device and connected to the second connection pipe via the second flow rate control device; A drive device that drives a control device is provided, and the drive device closes the valve device and the second flow rate control device when the operation is stopped.

〔substitute〕

In this invention, when heating is the main component in simultaneous cooling and heating operation, high-pressure gas refrigerant is introduced from the first connecting pipe and the first branch into each indoor unit to be heated, and then the refrigerant is A portion of the air from the second branch flows into the indoor unit to be cooled, performs cooling, and flows from the first branch into the second connection pipe. On the other hand, Zanmyo's refrigerant is
It passes through the second flow rate control device, joins with the refrigerant that has passed through the cooling indoor unit, flows into the second connection pipe, and returns to the heat source device.

In addition, in the case of mainly cooling, the high-pressure gas refrigerant is exchanged with an arbitrary amount of heat in the heat exchanger on the heat source equipment side to create a two-phase state, and the gaseous refrigerant is supplied from the second connection pipe to the first branch for heating. The air is introduced into the indoor unit for heating, and then flows into the second branch. On the other hand, the remaining liquid refrigerant passes through the second flow rate control device, joins with the refrigerant that has passed through the indoor units that are intended to heat at the second branch, and flows into each indoor unit that is intended to heat, thereby cooling the units. After that, the heat source is guided from the first branch through the first connection pipe to the heat source machine and returns to the compressor.

Furthermore, in the case of only heating operation, the refrigerant is introduced from the heat source device through the first connection pipe and the first branch, into each indoor unit, heated, and then passed through the second connection pipe from the second branch. Return to the heat source machine.

In the case of only cooling operation, the refrigerant is introduced into each indoor unit from the heat source device through the second connection pipe and the second branch,
It is cooled and returns to the heat source device from the first branch through the first connection pipe.

In addition, when the operation is stopped, the valve device of the first branch and the second
By closing the second flow control device of the branch part, the heat source machine side and the indoor unit side are separated and cut off, and a considerable amount of refrigerant is held on the indoor unit side, thereby preventing excessive flow to the heat source machine side. Prevents refrigerant from returning and prevents compressor liquid back operation at next startup.

[Example j Examples of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram centered on the refrigerant system of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, FIGS. 2 to 4 show operating states during cooling/heating operation in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, FIG. The figures show the operation of simultaneous cooling and heating operation. Figure 3 shows heating-dominant operation (when heating operation capacity is larger than cooling operation capacity), and Figure 4 shows cooling-dominant operation (when cooling operation capacity is larger than heating operation capacity). ) is an operation state diagram showing the operation state. FIG. 5 is a state diagram when the operation is stopped in one embodiment of FIG. 1.

In this embodiment, a case will be described in which three indoor units are connected to one heat source device, but the same applies to cases in which two or more indoor units are connected.

Further, in the figure, the valve device and flow control device in the closed state are painted black to distinguish them.

In Figure 1, (A) is a heat source device, (B), (C), ■
) are indoor units that are connected in parallel to each other and have the same configuration, as will be described later. (G)) is a relay machine incorporating a first branch part, a second flow rate control device, a second branch part, and a gas-liquid separation device, as described later. (1) is a compressor, (2)
is a four-way valve that switches the refrigerant flow direction of the heat source machine, (3) is a heat exchanger on the heat source machine side, and (4) is an accumulator.
(1) to (3) are connected to constitute a heat source device (A).

(5) is three indoor heat exchangers, (6) is heat source equipment (A)
The first connection pipe connects the four-way valve (2) and the repeater (g), (6a), (6b), and (6c) are the indoor heat exchangers of the indoor unit (8) and (C1, CD), respectively. (5) and the repeater (g)), the first connection pipe on the indoor unit side corresponding to the connection pipe (6) of 41, (7) is the heat source machine (A)
second connection piping connecting the heat source machine side heat exchanger (3) and the repeater (E), (7b), (7c), (7
d) are each indoor a! 1 (B), (C), ω), a second connection pipe on the indoor unit side that connects the indoor heat exchanger (5) and the repeater (E) and corresponds to the second connection pipe (7); (8a
) is the first connection pipe on the indoor side (sb), (6c)
, (sa) is the on-off valve that connects the first connection pipe (6), (8b) is the first connection pipe (6b) on the indoor unit side (
be) + An on-off valve connecting (6d) and the second connection pipe (7), (9) is connected adjacent to the indoor heat exchanger (5) K and is connected to the outlet side of the indoor heat exchanger (5). The first flow control device is controlled by the super coolant amount during cooling and by the opcool amount during heating, and the second connecting pipe (7
b), (7c), (7d) are connected! , (10) is the first connection pipe (6a) on the indoor unit side,
(6c), (6d) and the first connection pipe (6
), and a first on-off valve (8b) that connects the first connection pipes (6b), (6c), (6d) on the indoor side and the second connection pipe (7). branch part, (11) is the second connection pipe (7b) on the indoor unit side
, (7c), (7d) and the second connection pipe (7
), (12) is the second connecting pipe (
7), the gas phase part of which is connected to the on-off valve (8b) of the first branch part (10), and the liquid phase part of which is connected to a second flow rate that can be opened and closed. It is connected to the second branch (11) via a control device (13).

An embodiment of the invention configured in this manner will be described.

First, the case of only cooling operation will be explained using FIG.

That is, in the same figure, the four-way valve (2) connects the compressor (1) and the heat source machine side heat exchanger (3) as shown by the solid line,
In addition, the cooling side that connects the first connection pipe (6) and the accumulator (4) is in an operating state, and as shown by the solid arrow in the figure, the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant gas discharged from the compressor (1) is
After passing through the direction valve (2) and being condensed and liquefied by heat exchange in the heat source equipment side heat exchanger (3), the second connection pipe (7), the gas-liquid separation device (12), and the second flow rate control It passes through the device (13) in this order, and further passes through the second branch part (11), the second connection pipes (7b), (7a), and (7d) on the indoor unit side,
It flows into each indoor unit (B), (C), and ω). Then, the refrigerant flowing into each indoor unit (B), <C>, ω)K is passed through the first flow rate control device (9) K, which is controlled by the amount of superheat at the outlet of each indoor heat exchanger (5). The pressure is reduced to a low pressure, and in the indoor heat exchanger (5), heat is exchanged with the indoor air, and the air is evaporated and gasified to cool the room. Then, this refrigerant in a gas state is transferred to the first connection pipe (6b) on the indoor unit side.
, (6a).

(6d), the on-off valve (8a), the first branch part (10), the first connection pipe (6), the four-way valve of the heat source machine (2), and the accumulator (4) to the compressor (1). It forms a circulation cycle for intake air and performs cooling operation. At this time, open/close valve (8a
) is open, and the on-off valve (8b) is closed.

Next, the case of only heating operation will be described using FIG. 2.

That is, in the figure, the four-way valve (2) connects the compressor (1) and the first connecting pipe (6) as shown by the dotted line, and also connects the heat exchanger (3) on the heat source side and the accumulator (4). As shown by the dotted arrow in the figure, the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant gas discharged from the compressor (1) is
Passing through the direction valve (2), the first connection pipe (6), the first branch part Cl0), the on-off valve (8a), and the first connection pipe on the indoor unit side (6h), (6c), (6d ),
It flows into each indoor unit (B), (C), and (D), exchanges heat with indoor air, condenses and liquefies, and heats the room. The refrigerant in a liquid state is then transferred to the first flow rate control device 1t, which is controlled by the subcooling amount at the outlet of each indoor heat exchanger (5).
(9) and the second connection pipe (7b) on the indoor unit side
(7c) and (7d) flow into the second branch (11), merge, and further pass through the second flow control device (13), where they flow into the first flow control device (9) or the second flow control device (13). The pressure is reduced to a low pressure two-phase state by either one of the flow rate control devices (13). The refrigerant reduced to a low pressure then passes through the gas-liquid separator (12) and the second connection pipe (7) to the heat source device (
The refrigerant that flows into the heat exchanger (3) on the heat source machine side of A), undergoes heat exchange, evaporates, and becomes a gas state is transferred to the four-way valve (2) of the heat source machine,
When performing a heating operation by configuring a circulation cycle in which air is sucked into the compressor (1) via the accumulator (4), the on-off valves (8a) and (8b) are operated in the same way as in the case of only the cooling operation described above. It is opened and closed.

Next, a case in which heating is the main component in simultaneous cooling and heating operation will be described using FIG. 3. Here, indoor units (B) and (C
) is for heating, and ) is for cooling.

That is, in the figure, the four-way valve (2) connects the compressor (1) and the first connecting pipe (6) as shown by the dotted line, and also connects the heat exchanger (3) on the heat source side and the accumulator (4). As shown by the dotted line arrow in the same figure, the high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant gas discharged from the compressor (1) passes through the first connection pipe (6) to the repeater (E). and passes through the first branch part (10), the on-off valve (8a), and the first connection pipes (6b) and (6c) on the indoor unit side, in this order, to each indoor unit (B) to be heated.・Flows into (C),
It exchanges heat with indoor air in the indoor heat exchanger 11 (5), condenses and liquefies it, and heats the room. Then, this condensed and liquefied refrigerant passes through the first flow rate control device (9) which is controlled by the subcooling amount at the outlet of each indoor heat exchanger (5) and is in an almost fully open state, and is slightly depressurized and then sent to the second branch. (11).

Then, a part of this refrigerant passes through the second connection pipe (7d) on the indoor unit side and enters the indoor unit CD) K to be cooled.
After entering the first flow rate control device @ (9) controlled by the flow rate at the outlet of the indoor heat exchanger (5) and being depressurized, it enters the indoor heat exchanger (5) K for heat exchange. It evaporates into a gas state, cools the room, and flows into the gas-liquid separator (12) via the on-off valve (8b).

On the other hand, other refrigerants pass through the second branch part (11), the second flow rate control device controlled by the high and low pressure values that can be opened and closed in the second connection pipe, and the gas-liquid separation device (13). 12
) of the indoor unit to be cooled, the refrigerant flows into the second connection pipe (the heat source unit (A)
It flows into the heat exchanger (3) on the heat source side, exchanges heat, and evaporates into a gas state. The refrigerant then flows through the heat source machine's four-way valve (
2) A circulation cycle is configured in which air is sucked into the compressor (1) via the accumulator (4), and heating-based operation is performed. At this time, the on-off valves (8a) connected to the indoor units (B) and (C) that are to be heated are open, and the valves (8b) are closed, and are connected to the indoor unit (D) that is to be cooled. On-off valve (
8a) is a closed circuit, and (8b) is an open circuit.

Next, a case in which air conditioning is mainly used in simultaneous heating and cooling operation will be described using FIG. 4. Here, indoor units (B) and (C
) is for cooling, and CD) is for heating.

That is, in the same figure, the four-way valve C; 2) connects the compressor (1) and the heat source equipment side heat exchanger (3) as shown by the solid line, and also connects the first connection pipe (6) and the accumulator ( 4) is connected to the air conditioner, and as shown by the solid arrow in the figure, the high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant gas discharged from the compressor (1) is heat-exchanged in an arbitrary amount by the heat exchanger (3) on the heat source side. It becomes a two-phase high temperature and high pressure state, and is sent to the gas-liquid separator (12) of the repeater (E) through the second connection pipe (7).

And here, the gaseous refrigerant is separated into the gaseous refrigerant and the liquid refrigerant, and the separated gaseous refrigerant 1tl - the first branch part (lO), the on-off valve (8b), and the first connection pipe on the indoor unit side (6d) , flows into the indoor unit (D) to be heated, exchanges heat with indoor air in the indoor heat exchanger (5), condenses and liquefies,
Heat the room. Furthermore, it passes through the first flow control device (9) which is controlled by the subcooling amount at the outlet of the indoor heat exchanger (5) and is in an almost fully open state, and is slightly depressurized and flows into the second branch part (1
1).

On the other hand, the remaining liquid refrigerant is controlled by the second flow rate control device (
13) and flows into the second branch part (11), where it joins with the refrigerant that has passed through the indoor unit CD) to be heated. Then, each indoor unit (B) passes through the second branch part (11), the second connection pipe (rb) on the indoor unit side, (7c), and so on.
(C). The refrigerant flowing into each indoor unit (B) and (C) is controlled by the amount of superheat at the outlet of each indoor heat exchanger (5) via a first flow rate control device @(9).
The pressure is reduced to low pressure, and it exchanges heat with the indoor air and evaporates into gas, cooling the room. Furthermore, this refrigerant in a gas state is transferred to the first connection pipe (sb) on the indoor unit side,
(6b), on-off valve (8a), first branch part (10),
The air is sucked into the compressor (1) through the first connecting pipe (6), the four-way valve (2) of the heat source device, and the accumulator (4) to form a closed loop cycle, and performs cooling-based operation. At this time, the on-off valves (8a) and (8b) connected to the indoor units (B), (C), and CD) are opened and closed in the same manner as in the heating-based operation.

Furthermore, the state when the operation is stopped will be explained using FIG. 5.

That is, when the operation is stopped, as shown in the figure, both the on-off valves (88) and (8b) of the first branch are closed, and the second flow rate control device (13) is also fully closed, thereby shutting down the heat source. By separating and shutting off the machine (AJ side and indoor unit ω) and (C1, ■) side, and holding a considerable amount of refrigerant on the indoor unit (3) and (C1,) side, This prevents excessive refrigerant from returning to the compressor (1) and prevents liquid back operation of the compressor (1) at the next startup.

Next, FIG. 6 shows the control of the four-way valve, the on-off valve, and the second flow rate control device when the operation is stopped in the above embodiment.
This will be explained using FIG. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the above control, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart thereof.

In FIG. 6, each indoor unit operation mode determining means (14)
, and each indoor unit capacity determination means (15), the operation mode determination means (16) determines the ratio of operation stop and cooling/heating operation capacity, and accordingly, the four-way valve operation determination means (17)
, the on-off valve operation determining means (18), and the second flow rate control device opening degree determining means (19), the four-way valve (21, the on-off valves (8a) and (8b), the second flow rate control device (13) ), and determines the operation of the four-way valve drive device (20), the on-off valve drive device (21), and the second flow control device drive device ff (22).
According to the above four-way valve), on-off valves (8a) and (8b),
Drive the second flow control device (13).

Figure 7 shows the four-way valve (2), the on-off valve (8a), and the on-off valve (8a).
b) shows a flowchart of operation decision control of the second flow rate control device (13).

In the same figure, in step (23) it is determined whether there is an indoor unit for the operator, and if there is an indoor unit for the operator, the process proceeds to step (24);
If not, proceed to step (31).

Step (24) compares and determines the cooling operation capacity for cooling operation and the heating operation capacity for heating operation among the operating indoor units, and if the cooling operation capacity is larger, proceed to step (25), otherwise proceed to step Proceed to step (26). In step (25), it is determined whether the operating indoor unit is only in cooling operation. If it is only in cooling operation, proceed to step (27); otherwise, proceed to step (28). . On the other hand, in step (f), it is determined whether the operating indoor unit is only in heating operation, and if it is only in heating operation, the process goes to step (29), otherwise, step (3)
Proceed to 0).

Steps (27) to (31) separated by the above determination
) respectively correspond to the embodiments of the operating states described in FIGS. 2 to 5.

That is, step (27) is for only the cooling operation explained in FIG. 2, and the four-way valve (2) is on the cooling side,
8a) is open, and on-off valve (8b) is closed.

Step (28) is the case where cooling is the main component in the simultaneous heating and cooling operation explained in FIG. 4, and the four-way valve (2) is on the cooling side,
Opening/closing valve (88) connected to each indoor unit to be cooled
is open, the on-off valve (8b) is closed, the on-off valve (8a) connected to each indoor unit to be heated is closed, and the on-off valve (8b) is open.

Step (29) is for only the heating operation described in FIG. 2, and the four-way valve (2) is on the heating side, the on-off valve (8a) is open, and the on-off valve (8b) is closed.

Step (30) is the case where heating is the main component in the simultaneous cooling and heating operation explained in FIG. 3, and the four-way valve (2) is on the heating side,
Opening/closing valve (8a) connected to each indoor unit to be heated
is open, the on-off valve (8h) is closed, the on-off valve (8a) connected to each indoor unit to be cooled is closed, and the on-off valve (8b) is open.

Step (31) is the case when the operation is stopped as explained in FIG. Control device (13)
is fully closed.

Note that in steps (27) to (30), the opening degree of the second flow rate control device (13) is not determined.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the air conditioner M of the present invention includes a compressor,
One heat source device consisting of a four-way valve, a heat exchanger on the heat source side, an accumulator, etc., and a plurality of indoor units consisting of an indoor heat exchanger, a first flow rate control device, etc. A first connection pipe having a valve device that connects one of the plurality of indoor heat exchangers to the first connection pipe or the second connection pipe in a switchable manner.
and the other of the plurality of indoor heat exchangers via a first flow rate control device, and connected to a second connection pipe via a second flow rate control device. a second branching portion; and a drive device that drives the valve device and the second flow rate control device, and the drive device closes the valve device and the second flow rate control device when the operation is stopped. This is what I did. Therefore, heating and cooling can be performed selectively, cooling with one indoor unit and heating with the other indoor unit at the same time.Moreover, by closing the valve device and the second flow rate control device when the operation is stopped, Each indoor unit side is sealed off from the above valve device and second flow rate control device, and almost the same amount of refrigerant as during operation is held in the sealed portion, so excess refrigerant does not return to the heat source equipment and the unit is stopped. At times, a large amount of refrigerant does not stay in the compressor, there is no liquid compression when the compressor is started, and liquid pack operation from the accumulator can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram centered on the refrigerant system of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. Figure 3 shows the operation Ilc! mainly for heating (when the heating operation capacity is larger than the cooling operation capacity) in the embodiment shown in Figure 1. I production state diagram,
FIG. 4 is an operational state diagram showing the cooling-main operation (when the cooling operation capacity is larger than the heating operation capacity) of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is the operation state diagram of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart thereof. In the figure, (A) is a heat source machine, (B), (C1, Uh
Indoors! , 田) is the repeater, (1) is the compressor, (2) is the four-way valve of the heat source machine, (3) is the heat exchanger, (4)
is an accumulator, (5) is an indoor heat exchanger, (6)
are the first connection pipes, (6b) (6c), (6d)
is the first connection pipe on the indoor unit side, (7) is the second connection pipe,
(7b), (7c), and (u) are the second connection pipes on the indoor unit side, (8a) and (8b) are on-off valves, (9) is the first flow rate control device, and (lO) is the first Branch of (11
) is the second branch, and (13) is the second flow rate control device. In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (1)

[Claims] One heat source machine consisting of a compressor, a four-way valve, a heat exchanger on the heat source side, an accumulator, etc., and a plurality of indoor units consisting of an indoor heat exchanger, a first flow rate control device, etc. , which is connected via a second connection pipe, and has a valve device that connects one of the plurality of indoor heat exchangers to the first connection pipe or the second connection pipe in a switchable manner. 1 branch part and the other of the plurality of indoor heat exchangers via a first flow rate control device, and connected to a second connection pipe via a second flow rate control device. becoming second
and a drive device for driving the valve device and the second flow rate control device, and the drive device closes the circuit between the valve device and the second flow rate control device when the operation is stopped. An air conditioner featuring: