JPH04187951A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To select a refrigerant circuit suitable for an air conditioning capacity by a method wherein the refrigerant circuit consists of a room-side heat exchanger, an outdoor-side heat exchanger, a heat-storage type heat exchanger and a compressor, and the combination of those equipment is changed. CONSTITUTION:Either a first refrigerant, circuit consisting of a compressor, a room-side heat exchanger and a heat-storage type heat exchanger, a third refrigerant circuit consisting of the compressor, the room-side heat exchanger and an outdoor-side heat exchanger, or a fourth refrigerant circuit consisting of the compressor, the room-side heat exchanger and the heat-storage type heat exchanger is selectively constituted. A microcomputer 18 receives a target temperature signal and a room temperature signal, converts them into voltages and calculates a differential voltage to decide whether or not change of circuit is required. When the change is required, the microcomputer 18 transmits a circuit designation signal to art operating controller 11 to select a circuit. When there is an accumulation of heat or cold-heat in the heat-storage type treat exchanger, operation can be performed using the first circuit. When the difference between the room temperature and the target temperature is small, operation is performed using the fourth circuit. In the case the temperature of the first and fourth circuits is out of the temperature difference mentioned above, operation is carried out using the third circuit. The operation of the third circuit is similar to operation of an air conditioner without a heat-storage type heat exchanger.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an air conditioner equipped with a heat storage heat exchanger.

[Conventional technology]

Previously, JP-A-62-200140 and JP-A-63-
No. 87558 discloses an air conditioner in which a refrigerant circuit is provided with a heat exchanger for heat storage. In such an air conditioner, a refrigeration cycle is usually formed by an indoor heat exchanger, an outdoor heat exchanger, and a compressor, and cooling and warming operations are performed.
A refrigeration cycle is formed with a heat storage heat exchanger and a compressor to store heat, or a refrigeration cycle is formed with an outdoor heat exchanger, a heat storage heat exchanger and a compressor to perform heat exchange for heat storage. When starting heating or cooling operation, the indoor heat exchanger is used to store cold.

A refrigeration cycle is formed with a heat storage heat exchanger and a compressor,
The heat storage or cold storage in the heat storage heat exchanger is utilized for heating and cooling.

As a result, power consumption at the start of cooling and heating operations can be reduced, making economical operation possible.

In addition, in the air conditioner disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 62-200140, each of the indoor heat exchanger, outdoor heat exchanger, and heat storage heat exchanger has a refrigerant flow path to the high pressure side of the compressor and a low pressure side. An on-off valve (two-way current valve) is provided that allows selection of the refrigerant flow path to the The inactive heat exchanger is connected to the low-pressure side (suction side) of the compressor, and the refrigerant in the inactive heat exchanger is sucked up to prevent it from accumulating therein. This prevents a decrease in capacity due to a lack of refrigerant.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the above-mentioned conventional technology, at the time of startup of cooling and Fli operation, cold storage,
Economical operation is possible by utilizing heat storage, but no consideration is given to operating performance during normal operation. Conventionally, there are air conditioners that perform capacity control, but in order to perform this control, a method is used to control the rotation speed of the compressor, so a compressor rotation speed control mechanism is required. This will cause an increase in costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that solves this problem and allows the air conditioning capacity to be controlled without using compressor rotation speed control.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an indoor heat exchanger,
In a refrigerant circuit consisting of an outdoor heat exchanger, a heat storage heat exchanger, and a compressor, the combinations thereof are switched to selectively obtain refrigerant circuits of different refrigeration cycles.

[Effect]

During cooling and heating operations, the first refrigerant circuit of the refrigeration cycle consists of a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, and a heat storage heat exchanger, and the first refrigerant circuit of a refrigeration cycle consists of a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, and an outdoor heat exchanger. Either of the third refrigerant circuit and the fourth refrigerant circuit of the refrigeration cycle consisting of a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, and a heat storage heat exchanger is selected. When the third refrigerant circuit is selected, the operation is similar to that of a conventional air conditioner without a heat storage heat exchanger. When the heat storage heat exchanger is storing cold or heat, the first refrigerant circuit can perform cooling and heating operations. When the fourth refrigerant circuit is selected, the cooling and heating capacities are reduced, so cold is stored in the heat storage heat exchanger.

Heat is stored, and by utilizing this cold storage and heat storage, cooling and heating operations can be performed using the first refrigerant circuit.

If the temperature difference between the room temperature and the target temperature is small and a large operating capacity is not required, a part of the refrigeration capacity or heat pump capacity can be used for heat storage by performing cooling and heating operations using the fourth refrigerant circuit. It can be used for cold storage and heat storage in commercial heat exchangers.

1st. If the above temperature difference is not included in the temperature range when using the fourth refrigerant circuit, cooling by the third refrigerant circuit,
Perform heating operation.

When electricity rates are low and cooling and heating operations are not required, such as late at night, the second refrigerant circuit of the refrigeration cycle, which consists of the compressor, outdoor heat exchanger, and heat storage heat exchanger, is used to operate the refrigeration cycle. The heat exchanger can store cold or heat, and when performing the next cooling or heating operation by utilizing this, the first refrigerant circuit can be used.

〔Example〕

Two embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In this embodiment, the refrigerant circuit is capable of operating in various modes. This will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. However, in these drawings, 1 is a compressor, 2 is an electric expansion valve, 3 is an outdoor heat exchanger, 4 is an indoor heat exchanger, 5 is a heat storage heat exchanger, 6 to 8 are three-way solenoid valves, 9.
10 is a three-way solenoid valve, 11 is an operation control section, and 12 is a parking circuit.

The first mode of the refrigerant circuit is shown in FIG. below.

The refrigerant circuit in this mode will be referred to as "refrigerant circuit A."

In the figure, the mode of the refrigerant circuit is set by controlling the three-way solenoid valves 6 to 8 and the three-way solenoid valves 9 and 10 by the operation control section 11. In the refrigerant circuit A, in the case of cooling operation, the electric expansion valve 2 and the three-way solenoid valve 9 are opened, the three-way solenoid valve 10 is closed, and the three-way solenoid valves 6 and 8 are connected to the low pressure side (suction side) of the compressor 1. Open the flow path to a, and close the flow path to the high pressure side (discharge side) b.

The three-way solenoid valve 7 opens the flow path to the high pressure side of the compressor 1,
The flow path to the low pressure side a is closed.

Therefore, in the case of cooling operation, as shown by the solid arrow,
A refrigeration cycle is configured in which refrigerant flows in the order of compressor 1 → heat storage heat exchanger 5 → indoor heat exchanger 4 → compressor 1. In this case, the indoor heat exchanger 4 acts as an evaporator, and the heat storage heat exchanger 5 acts as a coagulator. In addition, in the case of heating operation, the electric expansion valve 2 and the three-way solenoid valve 9 are opened, and the three-way solenoid valve 1 is opened.
Let's open 0 and again.

The three-way solenoid valve 6 opens the flow path to the high-pressure side of the compressor 1 and closes the flow path to the low-pressure side a, and the three-way solenoid valves 7 and 8 open the flow path to the low-pressure side a of the compressor 1. ,
Close the flow path to the high pressure side.

Therefore, in the case of heating operation, as shown by the dashed arrow,
A refrigeration cycle is configured in which refrigerant flows in the order of compressor 1 → indoor heat exchanger 4 → heat storage heat exchanger 5 → compressor 1. In this case, indoor heat exchanger 4 acts as a coagulator to transfer heat for heat storage Exchangers 5 each act as an evaporator.

In order for the heat storage heat exchanger 5 to act as a coagulator or evaporator in this mode, the heat storage heat exchanger 5 must have a certain amount of cold storage or heat storage during cooling or heating operation in this mode. This point will be explained later with reference to FIG. 5.

A second mode of the refrigerant circuit is shown in FIG. below.

The refrigerant circuit in this mode will be referred to as "refrigerant circuit B."

In the figure, the refrigerant circuit B is configured as follows under the control of the operation control section 11.

In the case of cooling operation, the electric expansion valve 2 and three-way solenoid valve 10 are opened, and the three-way solenoid valve 9 is closed.

The three-way solenoid valves 6 and 7 open the flow path to the low pressure side a of the compressor 1,
The flow path to the high pressure side is closed, and the three-way solenoid valve 8 opens the flow path to the high pressure side of the compressor 1, and opens the flow path to the low pressure side a.

In the case of heating operation, the solenoid expansion valve 2 and three-way solenoid valves 9 and 10 are the same as in the case of cooling operation, but the three-way solenoid valve 6 opens the flow path to the high pressure side of the compressor 1, Close the flow path to the low pressure side a.

The three-way solenoid valves 7 and 8 open a flow path to the low pressure side a of the compressor 1,
Close the flow path to the high pressure side.

Therefore, in the case of cooling operation, as shown by the solid arrow,
Compressor 1 → Outdoor heat exchanger 3 → Indoor heat exchanger 4 → Compressor l
A refrigeration cycle is constructed in which the refrigerant flows in this order. In this case, the indoor heat exchanger 4 acts as an evaporator, and the outdoor heat exchanger 5 acts as a coagulator. In addition, in the case of heating operation, as shown by the broken line arrow, compressor 1 → indoor heat exchanger 4
A refrigeration cycle is configured in which the refrigerant flows in the order of -> outdoor heat exchanger 5 -> compressor 1. In this case, the indoor heat exchanger 4 acts as a coagulator, and the outdoor heat exchanger 115 acts as an evaporator. Such a refrigeration cycle is similar to the refrigeration cycle of a normal air conditioner without a heat storage heat exchanger.

A third mode of the refrigerant circuit is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Hereinafter, the refrigerant circuit in this mode will be referred to as "refrigerant circuit C."

This refrigerant circuit C is configured as follows under the control of the operation control section 11.

In the case of cooling operation, the three-way solenoid valve 9,
10 and open again.

The three-way solenoid valves 6 and 7 open the flow path to the low pressure side a of the compressor 1,
The flow path to the high pressure side is closed, the three-way solenoid valve 8 opens the flow path to the high pressure side of the compressor 1, and the flow path to the low pressure side a is closed. Further, the electric expansion valve 2 operates as described below.

In the case of heating operation, in Fig. 4, the electric expansion valve 2
And for the three-way solenoid valves 9 and 10, the third! ! It is the same as in the cooling operation in I, but the three-way solenoid valves 6 and 7 open the flow path to the high pressure side of the compressor 1, close the flow path to the low pressure side a, and the three-way solenoid valve 8 closes the flow path to the high pressure side a of the compressor 1. The flow path to the low pressure side a of the compressor 1 is opened, and the flow path to the high pressure side is closed. Therefore, in the case of cooling operation shown in Fig. 3, the flow path from the compressor 1 to the outdoor air is A refrigeration cycle is constructed in which the refrigerant flows through the heat exchanger 3, branches into the indoor heat exchanger 4 and the heat storage heat exchanger 5, and then reaches the compressor 1. In this case, the outdoor heat exchanger 3 The coagulator, indoor heat exchanger 4, and heat storage heat exchanger 5 each function as an evaporator. Also,
In the case of the heating operation shown in FIG. 4, as shown by the broken line arrow, the compressor 1 branches into the indoor heat exchanger 4 and the heat storage heat exchanger 5, and then passes through the outdoor heat exchanger 3. A refrigeration cycle is configured for the flow of refrigerant to the compressor 1, in which case:
The outdoor heat exchanger 3 acts as an evaporator, and the indoor heat exchanger 4 and heat storage heat exchanger 5 act as coagulators.

In this refrigerant port MC, during the cooling operation shown in FIG.
Cold storage is performed in the heat storage heat exchanger 5, and heat is stored in the heat storage heat exchanger 5 during the heating operation shown in FIG.

In addition, in this refrigerant circuit C, the operation control unit 11 controls the electric expansion valve 2 according to the difference between the room temperature and the set target temperature.
In the embodiment for finely controlling the amount of refrigerant flowing into the indoor heat exchanger 4, in the case of cooling or heating operation, the above three refrigerant circuits A, B, and C are used. You can choose either. When the difference between the room temperature and the specified target temperature is large, either refrigerant circuit A or B is selected, and when the difference is small and fine temperature control is required, refrigerant circuit C is selected.

These three types of refrigerant circuits have different load characteristics, and if we look at them in order of the coefficient of performance of the refrigeration cycle, refrigerant circuit A that uses the heat storage heat exchanger 5 that stores cold or heat as a condenser or evaporator is the best. Yes, refrigerant circuits C and B
decreases in the order of Furthermore, when comparing the operating capacities of air conditioners when the outside temperature conditions are the same and the power consumption of compressor 1 is ignored, refrigerant circuit A has the highest air conditioning capacity;
It decreases in the order of refrigerant circuits B and C.

In the refrigerant circuit C, a part of the refrigerating capacity or heat pump capacity obtained by the refrigeration cycle is spent on cold storage or heat storage in the heat storage heat exchanger 5, so that only the remaining capacity is used for room temperature air conditioning. As mentioned above, the operating efficiency of the air conditioner decreases. However, when the refrigerant circuit A is selected and used after that, the heat storage heat exchanger 5 that has stored cold or heat in this way is used as a refrigerating capacity source or a heat pump capacity source during cooling or heating operation. Ru. Therefore, when operating an air conditioner for a long period of time, even if refrigerant circuit C is used for air conditioning, by switching and selecting refrigerant circuits A and C, the operating efficiency in such operation will not decrease as much, but rather Since the power consumption when circuit A is used is 1 less, the power consumption is leveled and reduced overall.

When performing air conditioning using refrigerant circuit B.

The coefficient of performance of the refrigeration cycle is lower than when refrigerant circuit A is used. However, when using the refrigeration circuit A, the heat exchanger 5 for heat storage must store cold or heat. If this is not the case, and the difference between the room temperature and the target temperature is large, and you want to operate the air conditioner, you can do so by using the refrigerant circuit B. Furthermore, although the operating efficiency of the air conditioner when using refrigerant circuit B is lower than when using refrigerant circuit A, it is still equivalent to the operating efficiency of a normal air conditioner that does not have a heat storage heat exchanger. be.

In this embodiment, as will be described later, the refrigerant circuits A and B are used depending on whether or not the heat storage heat exchanger 5 stores cold or heat. Operational efficiency is improved compared to ordinary air conditioners without.

As explained earlier, it is cooled using refrigerant circuit C.

When heating operation is performed, cold storage or heat storage is automatically performed in the heat storage heat exchanger 5, so if the difference between the room temperature and the target temperature becomes large due to changing the target temperature during operation, the refrigerant circuit A can be used and the air conditioner can be operated efficiently.

However, even if the difference between the startup waiting room temperature and the target temperature of the air conditioner is large, if the refrigerant circuit A can be used from startup, efficient operation can be achieved from startup.

In order to make this possible, in this embodiment, the mode for cold storage and heat storage of the heat storage heat exchanger 5 can be set in the refrigerant circuit.

FIG. 5 shows this mode of the refrigerant circuit, and hereinafter, the refrigerant circuit in this mode will be referred to as "refrigerant circuit DJ."

In the figure, the refrigerant circuit is configured as follows under the control of the operation control section 11.

Close the electric expansion valve 2 and open the three-way solenoid valves 9 and 1o. In the case where the heat storage heat exchanger 5 performs cold storage.

The three-way solenoid valves 6 and 7 open the flow path to the low pressure side a on the compressor,
The flow path to the high pressure side is closed, the three-way solenoid valve 8 opens the flow path to the high pressure side of the compressor 1, the flow path to the low pressure side a is closed, and the heat exchanger 5 stores heat. In this case, the three-way solenoid valves 6 and 8 open the flow path to the low-pressure side a of the compressor 1 and close the flow path to the high-pressure side, and the three-way solenoid valve 7 opens the flow path to the high-pressure side a of the compressor 1. The flow path to the low pressure side a is opened, and the flow path to the low pressure side a is closed.

Therefore, in the case of cold storage operation, as shown by the solid arrow,
A refrigeration cycle is configured in which refrigerant flows in the order of compressor 1 → outdoor heat exchanger 3 → heat storage heat exchanger 5 → compressor 1. In this case, the heat storage heat exchanger 5 acts as an evaporator, and the outdoor heat exchanger 3 acts as a coagulator. In the case of heat storage operation, a refrigeration cycle is configured in which the refrigerant flows in the order of compressor 1 → heat storage heat exchanger 5 → outdoor heat exchanger 3 → compressor 1, as shown by the broken line arrow. In this case, outdoor heat exchanger 3
acts as an evaporator, and the heat storage heat exchanger 5 acts as a coagulator. Through these operations, cold storage or heat storage is performed in the heat storage heat exchanger 5.

The refrigerant circuit does not perform cooling or heating operations. It is better to store cold and heat in the heat storage heat exchanger 5 through this refrigerant circuit late at night, when the electricity rate is low and there is no need to perform air conditioning. Store cold like this.

If refrigerant circuit A, which stores heat and has a light load and reduces power consumption, is used during the day, the electricity bill will be lower than that of a normal air conditioner that does not have a heat exchanger for heat storage.

Note that during cooling operation using any of the refrigerant circuits A, B, and C, frost may form on the outdoor heat exchanger, as in a normal air conditioner. In this case, the operation of the refrigerant circuits A, B, and C can be temporarily interrupted, and the refrigerant circuit can be placed in defrosting mode. This mode is shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the refrigerant circuit in the defrosting mode will be referred to as "refrigerant circuit E."

In the figure, the refrigerant circuit E is controlled by the operation control unit 11.
configured.

The electric expansion valve 2 and the three-way solenoid valves 9 and 10 are opened, and the three-way solenoid valves 6 and 8 open the flow path to the high pressure side of the compressor 1.
The flow path to the low pressure side a is closed, the three-way solenoid valve 7 opens the flow path to the low pressure side a of the compressor 1, and the flow path to the low pressure side is closed.

Therefore, as shown by the broken line arrow, the refrigerant is transferred from the compressor 1 to the outdoor heat exchanger 3. A refrigeration cycle is constructed in which the water branches into the indoor heat exchanger 4 and then returns to the compressor 1 through the heat storage heat exchanger 5. In this case, the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and the indoor heat exchanger 4 are coagulators.

The heat storage heat exchangers 5 each act as an evaporator, and the outdoor heat exchanger 3 is warmed and defrosted.

In this embodiment, the capacity of the air conditioner is controlled by selecting one of the refrigerant circuits A, B, and C depending on the difference between the room temperature and a specified target temperature. The overall control operation of this embodiment will be explained below.

As shown in FIG. 7, the indoor unit 13 of the air conditioner includes indoor electrical components 14 and a room temperature sensor 15 for detecting room temperature.
The indoor electrical appliance 14 is equipped with a remote controller 16 and the like, and by taking in the detection output of the room temperature sensor 15, the indoor electrical appliance 14 controls the refrigerant circuit as described below so that the room temperature reaches the target temperature specified by the remote controller 16. It is controlled to perform heating or cooling operation.

As shown in FIG.
7. It has a microcomputer 18, an operation control section 11, etc., and the microcomputer 18 has a CPU 19. Memory 20. It is composed of an input circuit 21 and an output circuit 22.

Next, the control operation will be explained using FIG. 9. However, in this case, when the difference between the room temperature and the target temperature is large and a large air conditioning capacity is required, such as at the start of cooling or heating operation, refrigerant circuit A with high operating efficiency is used. When the difference between the room temperature and the target temperature is small, refrigerant circuit C is used, and when there is a temperature difference between them, refrigerant circuit B is used.

A signal representing the target temperature Ta specified by the remote controller 16 is received by the signal receiving section 17 and sent to the microcomputer 18. Further, an output signal from the temperature sensor 15 representing the room temperature Ti is also sent to the microcomputer 18.

First, when the power is turned on, the microcomputer 18
is the remote controller 1 received by the signal receiving section 17
6, signals representing air conditioning items such as cooling and heating, and signals representing the target temperature Ta are taken in. These signals are supplied to the CPU 19 via the input circuit 21, and air conditioning items and target temperature Ta are set. Here, in the input circuit 21, a signal representing the target temperature Ta is converted into a voltage Va corresponding to the target temperature Ta (step 100 in FIG. 9).

Next, the microcomputer 18 takes in a signal representing the room temperature Ti from the temperature sensor 15, converts it into a voltage V1 corresponding to the room temperature T in the input circuit 21, and sends it to the CPU 19 (step 102). The CPU 19 uses these voltages Va,
V is added to the differential voltage of Vi (step 103).

On the other hand, the memory 2o stores three voltage ranges V0. V2. Three voltage ranges V, , V, , V, are set respectively for the heating operation.

Here, the voltage range v1yV4 is a voltage range for setting the refrigerant circuit A (FIG. 1), and is the voltage range Vz.

■5 is the refrigerant circuit B (Fig. 2), which is connected to the voltage range V3. V6
are voltage ranges for specifying the refrigerant circuits C (FIGS. 3 and 4), respectively.

Air conditioning item (9th item) specified by remote controller 16
If step 100) in the figure is cooling, the CPU1
9 is the voltage range V□ from the memory 20.

V2. V3 is read, it is determined which of these the differential voltage ΔV obtained in step 103 falls into, and the determination result is sent to the output circuit 22. Further, when the designated air conditioning item is heating, the CPU 19 reads the voltage ranges V, V5, . V, it is determined which of these the differential voltage ΔV falls within, and the determination result is sent to the output circuit 22.

Note that these voltage ranges ■, ~V6 are set so that when the differential voltage Δ■ is large, it falls within the voltage range V or v4, and when the differential voltage ΔV is small, it falls within the voltage range ■ or ■,
Furthermore, when the differential voltage ΔV is between these ranges, it is set to fall within the voltage range (2) or (5), respectively.

The determination results output from the CPU 19 are the refrigerant circuits A, B,
The output circuit 22 converts this information into a signal for configuring the specified refrigerant circuit. Based on this signal, the operation control section 11 configures any of the refrigerant circuits shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 as described above.

The above is step 104 in FIG.

In addition, the CPT 19 determines whether the refrigerant circuit configured above is the refrigerant circuit C (step 105 in FIG. 9), and if it is the refrigerant circuit A or B, it is activated to provide cooling or Heating operation is started (step 107).

Here, the above voltage range V31vs that specifies the refrigerant circuit C
is further finely divided, and when the differential voltage Δ■ is included in the voltage range V or 6, it is further determined whether the differential voltage ΔV belongs to the 9th category. When refrigerant circuit C is specified (step 105 in FIG. 9),
This determination result is also supplied to the output circuit 22, and a pulse signal consisting of a number of pulses corresponding to the determination result, for example, is generated.

This pulse signal is sent to the operation control unit 11, and as explained in FIGS. 3 and 4, the opening degree of the electric expansion valve 2 is adjusted according to the number of pulses of this pulse signal, and the refrigerant Fine temperature control is performed using circuit C when cooling and heating are performed (step 106 in FIG. 9). After that, cooling or heating operation starts (step 107 in FIG. 9).

The cooling and heating operation starts as described above, but during this operation, the microcomputer 18 periodically sends a signal to the signal receiving section 17.
A signal representing the target temperature Ta from the remote controller 16 and a signal representing the room temperature T1 from the temperature sensor 15 are taken in, and the series of control operations of steps 108 to 114 in FIG. 9 are repeated.

That is, the microcomputer 18 takes in these signals and converts them into voltages V a and V i using the input circuit 21 (step 108 in FIG. 9), and then causes the CPU 19 to calculate the difference voltage Δ■ between them. 109)
Based on the voltage range V-V3 or V4-V6 read from the memory 20, it is determined whether the refrigerant circuit needs to be changed (Step 110 in FIG. 9). When a change is required, a signal specifying the refrigerant circuit to be newly configured is sent to the operation control section 11 via the output circuit 22 as described above, and the electric expansion valve 2 is connected to the three-way solenoid valves 9 and 10.
The three-way solenoid valves 6 to 8 are controlled to form a new refrigerant circuit (step 111 in FIG. 9).

After that, or if the refrigerant circuit does not need to be changed, immediately after the determination in step 110, it is determined whether the newly configured refrigerant circuit is refrigerant circuit C (step l12 in FIG. 9), and the operation can be continued. If so (step 114),
The control operation from step 108 is performed again. When the new refrigerant circuit is refrigerant circuit C (step 1↓2 in FIG. 9), the voltage range V includes the differential voltage ΔV, as described above.

A pulse signal with a number of pulses corresponding to the classification of (1) or (2) is supplied to the operation control unit 11, and the opening degree of the electric expansion valve 2 in FIG. 3 or 4 is adjusted (step 1 in FIG. 9).
13). After that, if the operation is continued (step 114 in FIG. 9). The control operation from step 108 is performed again.

As described above, capacity control is performed according to the temperature difference between the room temperature Ti and the target temperature Ta.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, during air conditioning operation, a refrigerant circuit suitable for the air conditioning capacity can be selected from among a plurality of refrigerant circuits with different load characteristics depending on the operating situation, and the compressor Capacity control becomes possible without the need for control.

In addition, by utilizing electricity at night or during operation when the difference between the room temperature and the target temperature is small, cold storage and heat storage are performed, and this can be used to perform cooling and heating operations, promoting the leveling of electricity usage. This also makes it possible to reduce electricity charges.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 9 show an embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention, and FIGS. 1 to 6 are diagrams showing the flow of refrigerant in each mode of the refrigerant circuit, and FIG. 9 is a front view of the indoor unit, FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the electrical components in FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the control operation of this embodiment. 1...Compressor, 2...Electric expansion valve. 3...Outdoor heat exchanger, 4...Indoor heat exchanger. 5... Heat exchanger for heat storage, 6-8... Three-way solenoid valve. 9.10...Three-way solenoid valve, 11...Operation control section. 13...Indoor unit, 14...Electrical equipment. 1 Figure (Refrigerant upper path A) 2 Figure (Refrigerant 8 route B) 3 Figure Ryo (Refrigerant concave path C7 during reimaro operation) 4 Mi (Refrigerant available C2 dwarf return special) Tos box (Refrigerant circuit T)) 87 Figure $9121

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an air conditioner equipped with a heat exchanger for heat storage, during cooling operation, the indoor heat exchanger becomes an evaporator depending on the difference between the room temperature and the target temperature, and the heat exchanger for heat storage a first refrigerant circuit forming a refrigeration cycle in which the storage heat exchanger serves as a condenser; a second refrigerant circuit forming a refrigeration cycle in which the heat storage heat exchanger serves as an evaporator and the outdoor heat exchanger serves as a condenser; a third refrigerant circuit forming a refrigeration cycle in which the indoor heat exchanger serves as an evaporator and the outdoor heat exchanger serves as a condenser; and the indoor heat exchanger and the heat storage heat exchanger simultaneously serve as evaporators. and a fourth refrigerant circuit forming a refrigeration cycle in which the outdoor heat exchanger serves as a condenser. a fifth refrigerant circuit forming a refrigeration cycle in which the heat exchanger serves as a condenser and the heat storage heat exchanger serves as an evaporator; and the heat storage heat exchanger serves as a condenser and the outdoor heat exchanger serves as an evaporator. a seventh refrigerant circuit forming a refrigeration cycle in which the indoor heat exchanger serves as a condenser and the outdoor heat exchanger serves as an evaporator; The exchanger and the heat storage heat exchanger simultaneously function as a condenser, and the outdoor heat exchanger functions as an evaporator in an eighth refrigerant circuit forming a refrigeration cycle, and two or more of them can be switched. Air conditioner with special features. 2. In claim 1, one or more electrically operated expansion valves are provided in a refrigerant flow path connecting the heat storage heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger, during cooling operation by the fourth refrigerant circuit, and Said 8th
An air conditioner characterized in that the degree of opening of the electric expansion valve is adjusted according to the difference between a room temperature and a target temperature during heating operation by the refrigerant circuit.