JPH07294060A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an air conditioner in which an operation of high cooling capacity can be performed while providing a dehumidifying function necessary at the time of cooling. CONSTITUTION:At the time of cooling, refrigerant is fed to a reheater bypass route 48, and passed to an evaporator 14b without feeding it to a reheater 14a. Thus, high cooling capacity can be obtained. At the time of dehumidifying, the refrigerant can be fed through the evaporator and the reheater. Thus, at the times of cooling, heating and dehumidifying, an air conditioner can be operated by the capacities of an indoor radiator 14 to meet the respective operations.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly to an air conditioner having an evaporator and a reheater.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air conditioner equipped with a refrigerant heater is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 1-45532. This air conditioner has an outdoor unit including a condenser, a compressor, and a refrigerant heater, and an indoor unit including an evaporator, a reheater, and a flow control valve, and the outdoor unit and the indoor unit form a refrigerant circuit. ing.

When the refrigerant is circulated in the refrigerant circuit for cooling operation, a part of the refrigerant absorbs latent heat to cool in the reheater of the indoor unit, and then the remaining refrigerant passing through the flow control valve is evaporated. The latent heat is taken away by the vessel and cooled. Therefore, after cooling the air by both the evaporator and the reheater of the indoor unit, the air is blown toward the room.

On the other hand, during the dehumidifying operation, a part of the heat quantity obtained by adding the heat quantity of evaporation of the evaporator of the indoor unit and the heat quantity (work amount) of the compressor to the refrigerant is used as a part of the condenser of the outdoor unit. The outdoor heat exchanger) radiates the heat, and the remaining amount of heat is transferred to the indoor unit reheater and radiated. As a result, the air dehumidified and cooled by the evaporator of the indoor unit is reheated (reheated) by the remaining amount of heat in the reheater and blown out into the room.

[0005]

In the air conditioner of the type which is reheated after dehumidification as described above, the conventional indoor heat exchanger is divided into almost half to form an evaporator and a reheater, which are dehumidified and cooled by the evaporator. This is a method of reheating heated air with a reheater. Therefore, the dehumidifying operation has a cooling capacity which is about half that of the cooling operation.

Further, in order to improve the cooling capacity, it is conceivable to use a conventional outdoor heat exchanger for the cooling operation and additionally attach a heat exchanger for reheating, which is necessary in the cooling operation. There is a problem that it becomes a large indoor unit with a cooling capacity that exceeds the normal cooling capacity.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an air conditioner which has a necessary dehumidifying function and can be operated with a high cooling capacity.

[0008]

The present invention is an air conditioner comprising an indoor unit having an evaporator and a reheater, and an outdoor unit having an outdoor heat exchanger and a compressor. A reheater bypass path that bypasses the reheater, and first and second refrigerant control valves that are respectively provided upstream and downstream of the reheater and that control the inflow of refrigerant into the reheater. Characterize.

Further, the present invention is an air conditioner comprising an indoor unit having an evaporator and a reheater, an outdoor heat exchanger and an outdoor unit having a compressor, the reconditioning device bypassing the reheater. A heat exchanger bypass path, first and second refrigerant control valves provided upstream and downstream of the reheater, and an outdoor heat exchanger bypass path bypassing the outdoor heat exchanger are provided. .

[0010]

According to the invention described in claim 1, during the cooling operation, the refrigerant is passed through the reheater bypass path, and the refrigerant is passed through the evaporator without flowing the refrigerant through the reheater. Higher cooling capacity can be obtained. Further, during the dehumidifying operation, the refrigerant can be passed through the evaporator and the reheater. Therefore, during the cooling operation, the heating operation, and the dehumidifying operation, it is possible to operate with the capacity of the indoor radiator corresponding to each operation.

According to the invention of claim 2, in addition to the invention of claim 1 described above, the amount of the refrigerant flowing to the outdoor heat exchanger during the dehumidifying operation is adjusted by the bypass passage to control the fine humidity and temperature. You can make adjustments.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of a heat pump type warm / cool dry device and a refrigerant heating type warm / cool dry device using a refrigerant heater which is an air conditioner of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the air conditioner has an outdoor unit (outdoor unit) 18 and an indoor unit (indoor unit) 19.

First, the outdoor unit 18 will be described.

In the outdoor unit 18, a refrigerant heater 10, a combustor 11, a compressor 1, an outdoor heat exchanger (condenser) 5, a four-way valve 2 and the like are roughly arranged.

The compressor 1 includes a four-way valve 2 and an accumulator 1.
The pipe 2b of the four-way valve 2 is connected to the check valve 4 of the path 30 and the refrigerant heater 10, and to the check valve 23 of the heater bypass path 41. A two-way valve 3 is arranged between the refrigerant heater 10 and the condenser 5.

The two-way valve 3 and the check valve 4 are connected to the two-way valve 7 and the check valve 8 via the condenser 5, and the condenser 5 also called an outdoor heat exchanger A fan 6 for the container 5 is arranged to cool the refrigerant by blowing air. The two-way valve 7 and the check valve 8 are passed through the muffler 13,
It is connected to the pipe 21.

A heater bypass path 41 that bypasses the refrigerant heater 10 is provided between the pipe 2b and the two-way valve 3, and a check valve 23 is provided in the heater bypass path 41. .

On the other hand, the two-way valve 3, the condenser 5, and the check valve 8 are arranged in series in this order, and the two-way valve 3 to the check valve 8 are arranged.
Outdoor unit bypass path 4 in parallel to the series circuit up to
0 is set. In this outdoor unit bypass path 40,
A flow rate adjusting valve 9 is provided, and this bypass path 40
Is opened and closed by the flow rate adjusting valve 9.

The check valve 4 is arranged in the bypass passage 30. This bypass path 30 is arranged between the pipe 2 b and the outdoor heat exchanger 5, and is parallel to the refrigerant heater 10 and the two-way valve 3.

The refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant heater 10 can be heated by the combustor 11, which is also called a burner, when the heating capacity is insufficient when almost no refrigerant flows through the condenser 5. As a result, it is possible to increase the reheat amount of the refrigerant and perform strong heating.

The four-way valve 2 is connected to the accumulator 17, the compressor 1, the pipe 2b, and the pipe 20.

Next, the indoor unit 19 will be described.

The indoor heat exchanger 14 has a reheater 14a and an evaporator 14b. A muffler 16, an expansion valve 15, and a check valve 26 as a second refrigerant control valve are arranged between the reheater 14a and the evaporator 14b. That is, the reheater 14a, the check valve 26, the flow control valve 15, the muffler 16, and the evaporator 14b are connected in series in this order from the pipe 21, and the evaporator 14b is connected to the pipe 2
It is connected to 0.

Further, a two-way valve 25 as a second refrigerant control valve is arranged between the reheater 14a and the pipe 21. The two-way valve 25 and the check valve 26 are refrigerant control valves arranged upstream and downstream of the reheater 14a, respectively, and isolate the reheater 14a from the refrigerant path.

Moreover, a bypass path 48 for the reheater is provided between the pipe 21 and the expansion valve 15. A two-way valve 24 is arranged in the reheater bypass path 48. The reheater bypass path 48 is a bypass for preventing the refrigerant from passing through the reheater during the cooling operation and the heating operation.

Next, a preferred operation example of the above-mentioned air conditioner will be described.

First, the flow of the refrigerant during the normal cooling operation, the cooling operation with dehumidification, and the heating operation will be described in order.

In the normal cooling operation, the flow rate adjusting valve 9 is closed.

In the normal cooling operation, the refrigerant flows in the direction shown by the broken line arrow in FIG. That is, during the cooling operation, the combustor 11 does not operate, and the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 1 passes through the four-way valve 2 and the check valve 2 in the bypass path 41.
3 and the two-way valve 3 to condense in the outdoor heat exchanger 5 to radiate heat to the air, pass through the check valve 8 and the muffler 13, and connect to the pipe 21.
Through to the indoor unit 19 side. The refrigerant thus flowing into the indoor unit 19 side passes through the two-way valve 24 as the first refrigerant control valve, the reheater bypass path 48, the indoor expansion valve 15 and the muffler 16, and the indoor evaporator 14
It evaporates in b and flows out to the outdoor unit 18 side. That is, the refrigerant is bypassed and does not pass through the reheater, and the entire refrigerant takes latent heat in the evaporator 14b and cools it. Therefore, the air is cooled only by the evaporator 14b and then blown toward the room by an indoor fan (not shown).

Thus, during the cooling operation, the refrigerant evaporates in one evaporator 14b to cool the air, and the refrigerant does not pass through the other indoor reheater. That is,
The indoor reheater has a two-way valve 25 provided upstream and downstream thereof.
And the check valve 26 as the second refrigerant control valve, the refrigerant is independent of the refrigerant path, and the refrigerant is in the reheater bypass path 4
Pass 8.

During the cooling operation, the refrigerant is passed through the reheater bypass path 48 as a reheater, and the two-way valve 25 and the check valve 26 are connected.
To separate the reheater 14a from the path,
Bypassing a.

Next, in the cooling operation involving dehumidification, the opening degree of the flow rate adjusting valve 9 is changed and the indoor expansion valve 15 is throttled. As a result, the refrigerant circulates similarly to the above-described normal cooling operation, but the condenser 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger bypass path 4
0, there is a refrigerant passing through the heater bypass path 41. By bypassing a part of the refrigerant from the compressor 1 to the condenser 5 via the heater bypass path 41 and the outdoor heat exchanger bypass path 40, the amount of heat radiated in the indoor reheater can be adjusted and the amount of heat can be thermally increased. Loss can be reduced. Then, the refrigerant condenses and radiates heat in the indoor reheater, and evaporates and absorbs heat in the evaporator 14b.

That is, during the dehumidifying operation, the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 1 passes through the four-way valve 2, a part of the refrigerant passes through the refrigerant heater 10 and the two-way valve 3, and the outdoor heat exchanger 5 Although it radiates heat to the air, the remaining refrigerant is the check valve 23 of the heater bypass path 41 and the outdoor heat exchanger bypass path 4
It flows through the flow rate adjusting valve 9 of 0, the pipe 21 and the indoor unit 19. As a result, the refrigerant flowing into the indoor unit 19 passes through the two-way valve 25, radiates heat in the indoor reheater, is decompressed by the indoor expansion valve 15, and is cooled by the indoor evaporator 14.
b and evaporates in b and is connected to the outdoor unit 18 via the pipe 20.
Spill to.

Thus, while the refrigerant passes only through the evaporator 14b during the above-described cooling operation, during this dehumidifying operation, the refrigerant passes through both of the evaporators 14b and the indoor reheater 14a.

During the dehumidifying and cooling operation, the condenser 5 of the outdoor unit 18 radiates a part of the heat quantity, which is the sum of the heat quantity of evaporation of the evaporator 14b and the heat quantity (work quantity) of the compressor 1 introduced into the refrigerant, The remaining heat quantity is the reheater 14a of the indoor unit 19.
Then, the heat is further dissipated. Therefore, the indoor unit 1
The air that has been dehumidified and cooled by the evaporator 14b of FIG.
In a, it is heated with this remaining amount of heat and blown out into the room,
Dehumidify and cool.

At this time, the amount of heat radiated by the condenser 5 of the outdoor unit 18 is adjusted by adjusting the opening of the flow rate adjusting valve 9 so that the amount of heat circulated through the condenser 5 and the amount of heat radiated by the condenser 5 do not radiate. Condensing the outdoor unit 19 by adjusting the refrigerant circulation amount flowing into the reheater 14a of the indoor unit 19 via the check valve 23 of the heater bypass path 41 and the flow rate adjustment valve 9 of the outdoor heat exchanger bypass path 40. The heat radiation amount of the refrigerant in the container 5 can be adjusted, and the humidity and temperature can be finely controlled.

Therefore, the reheater 1 of the indoor unit 19
It is possible to largely change the ratio between the heat radiation amount in 4a and the heat radiation amount in the condenser 5 of the outdoor unit 18.

By reducing the opening of the flow rate adjusting valve 9 and decreasing the flow rate of the refrigerant passing through the bypass path 40 (by increasing the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the condenser 5),
By increasing the amount of outdoor heat radiation, the amount of heat used for indoor reheating by the reheater 14a is reduced. Therefore,
The indoor air blowing temperature becomes low, and cooling-like dehumidification is achieved.

That is, when the indoor temperature is higher than the set temperature, the refrigerant circulation amount flowing through the flow rate adjusting valve 9 is reduced (the refrigerant circulation amount flowing through the condenser 5 is increased), and the indoor reheating by the reheater 14a is performed. Decrease the heating amount and perform a dehumidifying operation with a slight cooling effect.

Next, the case of the heating dehumidifying operation will be described.

The flow of the refrigerant in this case is the same as that in the cooling operation as shown by the broken line in FIG.
By increasing the opening degree of the refrigerant and increasing the flow rate of the refrigerant bypass 40 passing through the flow rate adjusting valve 9 (reducing the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the condenser 5), thereby reducing the outdoor heat radiation amount and reheater. The amount of heat used for indoor reheating by 14a is increased. Therefore, the indoor air blowing temperature becomes high, and the heating dehumidification is performed.

That is, when the indoor temperature is lower than the set temperature, the refrigerant circulation amount flowing through the flow rate adjusting valve 9 is increased (the refrigerant circulation amount flowing through the condenser 5 is decreased) to reheater 14a.
The amount of reheating in the room due to is increased, and the heating dehumidifying operation is performed.

In this way, the room temperature can be adjusted to the set temperature while dehumidifying.

Next, in the normal heating operation, the flow of the refrigerant is shown by the solid line arrow opposite to that during cooling in FIG.

That is, the refrigerant is the evaporator 14b and the reheater 1.
4a, the condenser 5, the refrigerant heater 10, and returns to the compressor 1 via the four-way valve 2.

When a strong heating operation is performed from the above-mentioned heating operation state, when a small amount of refrigerant is supplied to the condenser 5 and the heating capacity is insufficient, the combustor 11 is ignited to flow through the refrigerant heater 10. The refrigerant is heated to increase the reheat amount of the refrigerant and heat the refrigerant.

When air is blown from the fan 6 for the condenser 5 during this heating operation, the refrigerant in the condenser 5 is almost liquefied because a little refrigerant flows in the condenser 5. May accumulate in the condenser 5. As described above, the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing during the refrigerant cycle varies depending on the amount of the refrigerant staying in the condenser 5 during heating,
When the suction state of the compressor 1 causes liquid return of the refrigerant,
It becomes impossible to continue stable operation of the air conditioner.

Therefore, when heating is started, the refrigerant is recovered. The compressor 1 is operated with the two-way valve 3, the two-way valve 7, and the flow rate adjusting valve 9 closed with the condenser fan 6 stopped. As a result, the refrigerant accumulated in the outdoor heat exchanger is
Accumulator 17 through check valve 4 and 4-way valve 2
And is sent to the indoor heat exchanger 14 side through the four-way valve 2 again by the compressor 1. When the refrigerant has been recovered, the flow rate adjusting valve 9 is opened to start the ignition operation of the combustor 11.

Then, heat pump heating is performed when the load is low and the outside air is high. When heating this heat pump,
The refrigerant flowing into the outdoor unit 19 through the pipe 20 is
It is condensed in the indoor evaporator 14b. Then, the refrigerant passes through the indoor expansion valve 15, passes through the bypass path 48 and the two-way valve 24, and flows out into the pipe 21. The refrigerant passes through the muffler 13 and the two-way valve 7 through the pipe 21, evaporates in the outdoor heat exchanger 5, passes through the check valve 4 and the path 30, passes through the four-way valve 2, and is compressed by the compressor 1. Indoor heat exchanger 1 through pipe 20
Heat is radiated to the air by the evaporator 14b of No. 4.

On the other hand, when the outside air is low, refrigerant heating and heating is performed. During this refrigerant heating and heating, the refrigerant that has passed from the evaporator 14b through the flow rate adjustment valve 9 of the reheater bypass path 48 and the outdoor heat exchanger bypass path 40 is heated by the refrigerant heater 10 and evaporated, and the four-way valve 2 After passing through the pipe 20 by the compressor 1, heat is radiated to the room air by the evaporator 14b.

As described above, during the heating operation, the refrigerant passes through the evaporator 14b and the reheater bypass path 48, and separates the reheater from the path to bypass the reheater.

As described above, in this embodiment, the operation can be smoothly performed in a wide range from the cooling operation to the cooling dehumidification operation, the heating dehumidification dehumidification operation, and the heating strong dehumidification operation. In particular, in this embodiment, the refrigerant is passed only through the evaporator 14b of the indoor unit 19 during the cooling operation and the heating operation, and the refrigerant is passed through both the evaporator 14b and the reheater 14a during the dehumidifying operation. It can be operated with the capacity of the indoor radiator that matches the capacity of heating operation, heating operation, and dehumidification operation.

Further, by providing the outdoor heat exchanger bypass path 40 and the heater bypass path 41, during the dehumidifying operation, the heat dissipation amount of the condensed heat of the refrigerant in the condenser 5 of the outdoor unit is suppressed to the utmost, and the high temperature refrigerant is discharged indoors. It can be transferred to a machine and dehumidified in a wide range of blowing temperatures.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, in another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2, a capillary tube 27 is further provided between the muffler 16 of the indoor unit 19 and the check valve 26. The capillary tube 27 is an expansion valve that replaces the expansion valve 15 of the embodiment shown in FIG. The embodiment of FIG. 2 is also shown in FIG.
The same operation as in the above embodiment can be performed.

Further, in another embodiment shown in FIG. 3, an expansion valve 12 is provided between the check valve 8 and the muffler 13 in the embodiment shown in FIG. By adjusting the expansion valve 12 and the flow rate adjusting valve 9 during the dehumidifying operation, the amount of the refrigerant flowing through the outdoor heat exchanger 5 and the heater bypass path 41.
It is possible to finely adjust the temperature and humidity by adjusting the amount of the refrigerant flowing through. In the cooling operation with dehumidification, the openings of the flow rate adjusting valve 9 and the expansion valve 12 are changed to change the indoor expansion valve 15
Squeeze. As a result, the refrigerant circulates in the same manner as in the normal cooling operation described above, but there is the refrigerant passing through the condenser 5, the outdoor heat exchanger bypass path 40, and the heater bypass path 41. By bypassing a part of the refrigerant from the compressor 1 through the outdoor heat exchanger bypass path 40 and the heater bypass path 41 to the condenser 5, the amount of heat released by the reheater 14a can be adjusted. The thermal loss can be reduced. Then, the refrigerant radiates heat in the reheater 14a and absorbs heat in the evaporator 14b.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.
Only the outdoor unit 18 is shown in FIG.
The outdoor unit of can be applied.

In another embodiment shown in FIG. 4, a capillary tube 27, a check valve 26, and a muffler 16 are arranged in series between the indoor reheater 14a and the indoor evaporator 14b. . An expansion valve 28 is used instead of the two-way valve 24 of the embodiment shown in FIG. Further, the bypass path 48 of the reheater is connected between the check valve 26 and the muffler 16.

Further, in another embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a check valve 26, an expansion valve 15 and a muffler 16 are arranged in series between the indoor reheater 14a and the indoor evaporator 14b. An expansion valve 28 is used instead of the two-way valve 24 of the embodiment shown in FIG. The bypass path 48 of the reheater is connected between the expansion valve 15 and the muffler 16.

In any case, according to the present invention, the refrigerant control valves provided upstream and downstream of the reheater in order to make the indoor reheater independent from the path may be either a two-way valve or a check valve. Good.

[0063]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, during the cooling operation, the refrigerant flows through the reheater bypass path 48, and the refrigerant does not flow through the reheater 14a. Pass the refrigerant through. Higher cooling capacity can be obtained. Also, during the dehumidifying operation, the evaporator 14b and the reheater 1
The refrigerant can be passed through 4a. Therefore, cooling operation,
During the heating operation and the dehumidifying operation, it is possible to operate with the capacity of the indoor radiator 14 that matches each operation.

According to the invention of claim 2, in addition to the invention of claim 1 described above, the amount of the refrigerant flowing to the outdoor heat exchanger during the dehumidifying operation is adjusted by the bypass passage to control the fine humidity and temperature. You can make adjustments.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a refrigerant cycle of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing another refrigerant cycle of the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing still another refrigerant cycle of the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing an indoor unit side of still another refrigerant cycle of the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an indoor unit side of still another refrigerant cycle of the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Compressor 25 Two-way valve (1st refrigerant control valve) 26 Check valve (2nd refrigerant control valve) 5 Outdoor heat exchanger 14 Indoor radiator 14a Reheater 14b Evaporator 40 Outdoor heat exchanger bypass path 48 Reheater bypass path

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An air conditioner comprising an indoor unit having an evaporator and a reheater, and an outdoor unit having an outdoor heat exchanger and a compressor, the reheater bypass bypassing the reheater. An air conditioner comprising: a path; and first and second refrigerant control valves that are provided upstream and downstream of the reheater and that control the inflow of refrigerant into the reheater. 2. An air conditioner comprising an indoor unit having an evaporator and a reheater, an outdoor heat exchanger, and an outdoor unit having a compressor, the reheater bypass path bypassing the reheater. And a first and a second provided respectively upstream and downstream of the reheater.
And an outdoor heat exchanger bypass path that bypasses the outdoor heat exchanger.