JPH0755232A - Method for controlling operation of air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a heating operation to be carried out when an abnormal state in a hot water circulation circuit occurs by a method wherein a refrigerant circulation circuit is changed over to the heating operation when an instruction of a rapid heating operation is set. CONSTITUTION:When a heating operation is started, a hot water heating source machine 13 is turned on, both a controlling of a proportional control valve 18 and an operation of a circulation pump 15 are started, and hot water is supplied to a radiator 3. A hot water heat exchanger temperature sensor 25 detects a temperature of the radiator 3, i.e., a hot water heat exchanger temperature and it is judged whether there is an abnormal state in the hot water circulation circuit. Then, when an abnormal state occurs in the hot water circulation circuit, operation of the hot water circulation circuit is stopped and at the same time a heating operation of the refrigerant circulation circuit is started. With such an arrangement as above, it is possible to perform the heating operation even under a condition in which the heating operation with the hot water circulation circuit becomes impossible. When a rapid heating instruction is provided at the time of starting the heating operation, a four-way valve 10 is changed over to a heating operation side under a condition in which the operation of the hot water circulation circuit is continued, the compressor 7 is turned on and the heating operation of the refrigerant circulation circuit is started.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention includes an operation of an air conditioner equipped with a refrigerant circulation circuit for circulating a refrigerant and a hot water circulation circuit for circulating hot water and capable of performing dehumidifying operation in addition to cooling operation and heating operation. Regarding control method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an air conditioner using hot water (so-called hot water air conditioner) has a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion device and an indoor heat exchanger, and is a heat pump type refrigerant circulation circuit for circulating a refrigerant. And a hot water circulation circuit having a heat source device, a circulation pump, a radiator, and a hot water valve. Such an air conditioner operates only the refrigerant circulation circuit during the cooling operation, operates only the hot water circulation circuit during the heating operation, and simultaneously operates the refrigerant circulation circuit and the hot water circulation circuit during the dehumidification operation to control the room temperature and humidity. The capacity control of the hot water circulation circuit is performed by adjusting the opening degree of the hot water valve to control the flow rate of the hot water.The refrigerant circulation circuit is used only for cooling, and the capacity control is turned on / off. It is performed by control (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-103330).

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional operation control method of the air conditioner, the refrigerant circulation circuit is used only for cooling, and heating is performed by operating only the hot water circulation circuit. In addition, there was a risk that the capacity would be insufficient during heating operation. For example, it is sometimes desired to raise the room temperature Tr rapidly regardless of the difference between the set temperature Ts and the room temperature Tr. However, even in such a case, the room temperature Tr is set to the heating operation only by the hot water circulation circuit. Since it takes a long time to bring the temperature close to the set temperature Ts, there is a problem that comfortable heating cannot be obtained. In order to solve this problem, it is possible to increase the heating capacity of the hot water circulation circuit, but during normal heating operation and dehumidifying operation, the heating capacity of the hot water circulation circuit becomes excessive, and there is a problem that the equipment becomes large. there were. Further, since the heating operation is performed only by the hot water circulation circuit, the heating operation can be performed when an abnormality occurs in the hot water circulation circuit, for example, when the circulation pump, the heat source device, or the hot water valve fails. There was a problem that I could not do it.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner equipped with a heat pump type refrigerant circulation circuit and a hot water circulation circuit so that the heating capacity is increased to perform a comfortable heating operation and the heating operation is performed when the hot water circulation circuit is abnormal. It is to provide an operation control method of an air conditioner capable of performing the above.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the operation control method of an air conditioner of the present invention has a cooling and heating capacity having a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion device and an indoor heat exchanger. An air conditioner equipped with a refrigerant circulation circuit, a heat source device, a circulation pump, a hot water valve for controlling the flow rate of hot water, a hot water circulation circuit having a radiator, and an indoor temperature detecting means,
Normally, only the hot water circulation circuit is operated to perform the heating operation, and the refrigerant circulation circuit is switched to the heating operation when a command for quick heating operation is issued. Also, during normal operation, only the hot water circulation circuit is operated for heating operation,
The refrigerant circulation circuit may be switched to the heating operation when an abnormality occurs in the hot water circulation circuit.

[0006]

In the normal operation, only the hot water circulation circuit is operated to perform the heating operation, and when the command for the rapid heating operation is given, the refrigerant circulation circuit is switched to the heating operation to set the temperature Ts.
If the heating capacity is insufficient in the hot water circulation circuit due to a large difference between the room temperature Tr and the room temperature Tr, or if the room temperature Tr is set to the set temperature T.
When it is necessary to approach s rapidly, the refrigerant circulation circuit is switched to heating operation by the command of rapid heating operation to increase the heating capacity. Also, by switching the refrigerant circulation circuit to the heating operation when an abnormality occurs in the hot water circulation circuit, even when the heating operation by the hot water circulation circuit becomes impossible due to an abnormality such as a failure in the hot water circulation circuit, The heating operation can be performed by the circulation circuit.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In FIG. 2, a refrigerant indoor heat exchanger 2 and a hot water indoor heat exchanger, that is, a radiator 3 are sequentially arranged in an air flow path from an upstream side in an indoor unit 1, and an indoor fan 4 is installed at a downstream position thereof. The drain pan 5 is installed below the refrigerant indoor heat exchanger 2 and the radiator 3. Refrigerant indoor heat exchanger 2
And a compressor 7 arranged in the outdoor unit 6, a refrigerant outdoor heat exchanger 8 cooled by an outdoor fan 11, a capillary tube (expansion device) 9, and a four-way valve 10 which is a cooling / heating switching device by a refrigerant pipe 12. A refrigerant circulation circuit having a heat pump type cooling and heating capacity that is sequentially connected is configured. During the cooling operation, the four-way valve 10 is switched to the solid line position in the figure, and the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 7 is cooled by the refrigerant outdoor heat exchanger 8 via the four-way valve 10 and adiabatically expanded by the capillary tube 9. After that, the refrigerant indoor heat exchanger 2 evaporates and absorbs heat. On the other hand, during the heating operation, the four-way valve 10 is switched to the dotted line position in the figure, and the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 7 is liquefied in the refrigerant indoor heat exchanger 2 via the four-way valve 10 to release heat, After adiabatic expansion by the capillary tube 9, the refrigerant outdoor heat exchanger 8
Is supplied to and evaporated.

The radiator 3 is connected to a water heating heat exchanger 14 installed in a hot water heat source device 13 via a circulation pump 15 and a hot water valve (flow control valve) 16 by a hot water pipe 17 to circulate hot water. A circuit is formed and a proportional control valve 18 is provided in the combustor which heats the water heating heat exchanger 14. The flow rate control valve 16 is driven by a stepping motor and the opening degree is determined by the number of steps, and is connected to the inlet side of the radiator 3. During the heating operation, the indoor fan 4, the hot water heat source device 13 of the hot water circulation circuit, and the circulation pump 15 are operated, and the opening degree of the hot water valve 16 is based on the temperature difference between the set temperature Ts and the indoor temperature Tr and the indoor temperature change rate. It is adjusted by the fuzzy control. During the dehumidifying operation, the indoor fan 4 and the refrigerant circulation circuit are switched to the cooling operation side (the four-way valve 10 is in the solid line position in the figure).
Compressor 7, outdoor fan 12, and hot water heat source machine for hot water circulation circuit
13, the circulation pump 15, and the hot water valve 16 are turned on.

An indoor unit controller 20 provided in the indoor unit 1 is connected to a remote controller (remote controller) 21, and inputs a set temperature Ts, operation modes such as heating and cooling, and other command signals. In addition, the room temperature Tr detected by the room temperature sensor 22 provided in the air intake passage
And the indoor humidity Hr detected by the indoor humidity sensor 23 and the refrigerant heat exchanger temperature sensor 24 provided in the refrigerant indoor heat exchanger 2.
Heater temperature Te-2 of the refrigerant indoor heat exchanger 2 detected by
And the heat exchanger temperature of the radiator 3 (radiator temperature) Te-3 detected by the hot water heat exchanger temperature sensor 25 provided in the radiator 3.
Are input to the indoor unit controller 20. On the other hand, the control signal from the indoor unit control unit 20 is output to the compressor 7 of the refrigerant circulation circuit, the four-way valve 10 and the outdoor fan 11, and is also output to the flow rate control valve 16 of the hot water circulation circuit and the heat source device control unit 19. To be done.

In FIG. 3, the indoor unit controller 20 is
Input circuit 201, output circuit 205, CPU 202, CP
Memory circuit 203 and timer circuit 204 connected to U202
The data input to the input circuit 201 is sent to the CPU 202 for calculation, and the control signal calculated by the CPU 202 is output via the output circuit 205. Indoor temperature detector (indoor temperature sensor) 22, indoor humidity detector (indoor humidity sensor) 23, refrigerant heat exchanger temperature detector (refrigerant heat exchanger temperature sensor) 24 and hot water heat exchanger temperature detector (hot water) The indoor temperature Tr detected by the detection device 30 including the heat exchanger temperature sensor 25, the indoor humidity Hr, the refrigerant indoor heat exchanger temperature Te-2, the hot water heat exchanger temperature Te-3, and the remote The operation mode set by the controller 21, the set temperature Ts and the set humidity Hs are input to the control device 18, a control signal is output from the indoor unit control unit 20, and the indoor fan 4 is driven via the drive circuit 41. The circuit 33 controls the vertical deflection louver, the hot water heat source device 13 and the circulation pump 15 via the heat source device control unit 19, the compressor 7, the four-way valve (cooling / heating switching device) 10 and the hot water valve 16. Incidentally, 31 is an A / D converter.

The control operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the heating operation is started, the hot water heat source device 13 is turned on, the control of the proportional control valve 18 and the operation of the circulation pump 15 are started, and hot water is supplied to the radiator 3. The hot water heat exchanger temperature detector 25 detects the temperature of the radiator 3, that is, the hot water heat exchanger temperature Te-3, and determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the hot water circulation circuit. When the hot water heat exchanger temperature Te-3 rises to the preset temperature To within the predetermined time, it is determined that there is no abnormality in the hot water circulation circuit, and the difference between the indoor temperature Tr and the set temperature Ts is the predetermined value α. If the above is satisfied (Tr −Ts ≧ α),
While the hot water heat source device 13 is in the ON state, the opening degree of the hot water valve 16 is adjusted to control the hot water flow rate. Further, the difference between the room temperature Tr and the set temperature Ts is less than the predetermined value α (Tr-Ts <
α), the proportional control valve 18 is turned off and the circulation pump 15
The ON state continues, and the opening degree of the hot water valve 16 is adjusted to control the hot water flow rate.

When the hot water heat exchanger temperature Te-3 does not reach the preset lower heating limit temperature To within the predetermined time, an abnormality such as a failure of the circulation pump 15 or a sticking of the hot water valve 16 has occurred in the hot water circulation circuit. It is determined that the hot water heat source device 13 is turned off, the alarm device that notifies the abnormality of the hot water circulation circuit is turned on, the circulation pump 15 and the proportional control valve 18 are turned off, and the operation of the hot water circulation circuit is stopped. The four-way valve 10 is switched to the heating side, the compressor 7 is turned on, and the heating operation of the refrigerant circulation circuit is started.

With this configuration, when an abnormality occurs in the hot water circulation circuit, the operation of the hot water circulation circuit is stopped and the heating operation of the refrigerant circulation circuit is started, so that the heating operation by the hot water circulation circuit becomes impossible. , Can perform heating operation. The heating lower limit temperature To is a temperature that the hot water heat exchanger temperature Te-3 needs to reach during the heating operation, but the hot water circulation circuit is also operated during the dehumidifying operation, and the dehumidifying operation is performed. When determining whether there is an abnormality in the hot water circulation circuit at the time, the dehumidifying lower limit temperature Td (usually Td
≦ To) is set, and whether the hot water heat exchanger temperature Te-3 reaches the dehumidifying lower limit temperature Td within a predetermined time or not can be determined to constantly check the hot water circulation circuit.

When a command for rapid heating operation is given at the start of heating operation, the four-way valve 10 is switched to the heating side while the operation of the hot water circulation circuit is continued, the compressor 7 is turned on and the refrigerant circulation circuit is turned on. Heating operation is started. With this configuration, when there is a request for quick heating operation, the refrigerant circulation circuit is switched to heating operation along with the heating operation of the hot water circulation circuit to increase the heating capacity, and the indoor temperature Tr is quickly brought close to the set temperature Ts. You can

[0015]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following effects. Normally, only the hot water circulation circuit is operated to perform heating operation, and when there is a command for quick heating operation, the refrigerant circulation circuit is switched to heating operation, so that the difference between the set temperature Ts and the room temperature Tr is large,
When the heating capacity is insufficient in the hot water circulation circuit, or when it is necessary to bring the room temperature Tr rapidly close to the set temperature Ts, etc., the refrigerant circulation circuit is switched to the heating operation by the command of the rapid heating operation to increase the heating capacity. , Room temperature T rapidly
It is possible to quickly bring r to the set temperature Ts. Also, by switching the refrigerant circulation circuit to the heating operation when an abnormality occurs in the hot water circulation circuit, even when the heating operation by the hot water circulation circuit becomes impossible due to an abnormality such as a failure in the hot water circulation circuit, The heating operation can be performed by the circulation circuit.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of heating operation control according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of an air conditioner to which the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 indoor unit, 2 indoor heat exchanger, 3 radiator, 4
Indoor fan 5 Drain pan, 6 Outdoor unit, 7 Compressor, 8 Outdoor heat exchanger 9 Capillary tube (expansion device), 10 Four-way valve, 11
Outdoor fan 12 Refrigerant pipe, 13 Hot water heat source device, 14 Water heating heat exchanger, 15 Circulation pump 16 Flow control valve (hot water valve), 17 Hot water pipe, 18 Proportional control valve 19 Heat source device control unit, 20 Indoor unit control unit , 21 Remote controller 22 Indoor temperature detector, 23 Indoor humidity detector, 24 Refrigerant heat exchanger temperature detector 25 Hot water heat exchanger temperature detector

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerant circulation circuit having a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion device, and an indoor heat exchanger, having a cooling and heating capacity, a heat source device, a circulation pump, and a hot water valve for controlling a hot water flow rate,
In an air conditioner equipped with a hot water circulation circuit having a radiator and an indoor temperature detection means, in normal times only the hot water circulation circuit is operated for heating operation, and when there is a command for rapid heating operation, a refrigerant circulation circuit A method for controlling operation of an air conditioner, characterized in that the air conditioner is switched to heating operation. 2. A refrigerant circulation circuit having a cooling and heating capacity, which includes a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion device and an indoor heat exchanger, a heat source device, a circulation pump, and a hot water valve for controlling the flow rate of hot water,
In an air conditioner equipped with a hot water circulation circuit having a radiator and an indoor temperature detecting means, during normal operation, only the hot water circulation circuit is operated for heating operation, and the refrigerant circulation circuit is operated when an abnormality occurs in the hot water circulation circuit. An operation control method for an air conditioner, characterized by switching to heating operation.