JPH10332221A - Multi-room air conditioner and operation method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multi-room air conditioner and an operation method thereof capable of performing different kinds of operation modes selected from a slight heating dehumidifying operation mode, a slight isothermal dehumidifying operation mode, a slight cooling dehumidifying operation mode and a cooling operation mode independently for each indoor unit, and performing an operation satisfying a requirement of each room, wherein operation for a room is not restricted by operation state for other rooms. SOLUTION: A bypass pipe 5a for bypassing an outdoor heat exchanger 3 during dehumidification is provided and when an operation for performing dehumidification while temperature is being raised by an indoor unit 7a is requested, a restricting device 6a is opened to allow refrigerant to flow from a bypass pipe 5a to a first heat exchanger 8a without passing through the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and a slight heating dehumidification operation is performed. This dehumidification operation is not influenced by air supply amount of an outdoor blower because refrigerant does not pass through the outdoor heat exchanger 3. By a combination with this slight heating dehumidification operation simultaneous operations can be performed in every combination of the cooling operation and each of the dehumidification operations.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-room air conditioner and a method of operating the same, and more particularly to a multi-room air conditioner capable of performing a dehumidification operation in a wide temperature range from cooling to heating. The present invention also relates to a multi-room air conditioner capable of selectively using a cooling operation and an operation method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional air conditioner, a throttle mechanism for dehumidification is provided in an indoor unit, and an indoor heat exchanger is divided into a dehumidifying portion and a heating portion during a dehumidifying operation, so that dehumidified air is not chilly. A system in which the temperature is raised before use is developed, and for example, a system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-139848 is known.

There is a demand for a multi-room air conditioner having the same function. Examples of this type of air conditioner are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-272843 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-324842. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. H10-26095. Among them, the multi-room air conditioner described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-272843 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a refrigeration cycle system diagram of a conventional multi-room air conditioner.

The multi-room air conditioner shown in FIG. 2 has an outdoor unit including a compressor 1, a four-way valve 2, an outdoor heat exchanger 3, and a plurality of (two in FIG. 2) outdoor expansion devices 4a and 4b. 13A
And a plurality of (two in FIG. 2) indoor units 7a and 7b. The indoor unit 7a connected to the outdoor expansion device 4a includes indoor heat exchangers 8a and 9a and a dehumidification expansion device 10a provided therebetween, and similarly, the indoor unit 7b connected to the outdoor expansion device 4b is an indoor unit 7b. Heat exchanger 8b,
9b and a dehumidifying squeezing device 10b provided therebetween.

[0005] The operation during cooling will be described assuming that the room in which the indoor unit 7a is located is cooled. By opening the dehumidifying expansion device 10a, the outdoor expansion device 4a corresponding to the indoor unit 7a is reduced according to the operating load. The indoor heat exchangers 8a and 9a both act as cooling portions to perform cooling. The operation at the time of dehumidification will be described assuming that the room in which the indoor unit 7b is located is dehumidified. By depressurizing the dehumidifying expansion device 10b and opening the outdoor expansion device 4b corresponding to the indoor unit 7b, indoor heat exchange is performed. The devices 8b and 9b operate as a heating portion and a cooling portion, respectively, with the dehumidifying expansion device 10b as a boundary, to perform dehumidification. Since the operations of the indoor unit 7a and the indoor unit 7b can be performed independently of each other, simultaneous operation of dehumidification and cooling is possible.

Further, in the multi-room air conditioner described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-324842, in addition to the above, a discharge pressure sensor, an outdoor heat exchanger sensor, an outdoor air temperature sensor, an indoor heat exchanger sensor, and an electrical component By providing a sensor or the like as control means, comfortable dehumidification is performed while protecting the compressor and electrical components.

[0007]

Problems to be Solved by the Invention
The multi-room air conditioner described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3 enables simultaneous operation of dehumidification and cooling. However, as a means for securing the heating amount at the time of dehumidification by heating, the outdoor blower is stopped and the compressor rotation speed is increased. A method is described. In the above method, when heating dehumidification and cooling are simultaneously performed, the outdoor blower is stopped for dehumidification and the number of rotations of the compressor is increased, thereby placing a burden on outdoor electric components and the compressor. At the same time, there was a problem that the cooling capacity was impaired.

Conversely, if the rotation speed of the outdoor blower is increased for the cooling operation, the temperature of the discharged air from the indoor unit performing the dehumidifying operation becomes low, resulting in the dehumidification of the cooling unit. As described above, in the simultaneous operation of dehumidification and cooling, it is not possible to sufficiently control the indoor discharge air temperature on the dehumidification side while performing comfortable cooling operation. When a plurality of dehumidifying units are operated, a difference between the room temperature in each room and the target room temperature may require simultaneous heating dehumidification, isothermal dehumidification, and cooling dehumidification, respectively. The response in such a case was not described.

Also, in the multi-room air conditioner described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-324842, there is no description about the case where the room temperature in each room, the operation mode required in each room, and the target set temperature are different. The simultaneous operation of the different modes of heating dehumidification, isothermal dehumidification, cooling dehumidification, and cooling, which are the points, was not satisfactory.

Conventionally, switching between heating dehumidification, isothermal dehumidification, and cooling dehumidification has been controlled by adjusting the number of revolutions of the outdoor blower and the number of revolutions of the compressor. Therefore, the outdoor blower, the compressor and the outdoor heat exchanger are controlled. In a multi-chamber air conditioner with a structure that shares the same conditions, independent dehumidification operation in each room cannot be performed, and simultaneous operation of cooling and dehumidification cannot be said to be a comfortable operation satisfying the specified settings. was there.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to simultaneously perform a cooling operation and a heating operation simultaneously for a plurality of units, and Heating dehumidification, isothermal dehumidification, cooling dehumidification, simultaneous operation in different modes of cooling can be performed independently for each indoor unit, and the operation of the own room is not limited by the operation status of other rooms, An object of the present invention is to provide a multi-room air conditioner capable of operating as required for each room and an operation method thereof.

[0012]

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve the above object, a multi-room air conditioner according to the present invention comprises a compressor,
A plurality of indoor units are connected to an outdoor unit equipped with a four-way valve, an outdoor heat exchanger, and a plurality of outdoor expansion devices, and the heat exchanger of the indoor unit has a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchange unit. The first heat exchanger is provided with a dehumidifying throttle mechanism between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, and the first heat exchanger is condensed by narrowing the dehumidifying throttle mechanism during the dehumidifying operation. Two heat exchangers as evaporators, in a multi-chamber air conditioner that acts as a heating portion and a cooling dehumidification portion to perform dehumidification, a pipe between the four-way valve and the outdoor heat exchanger, By-pass pipes connecting the outdoor heat exchanger to liquid-side pipes connected to the plurality of indoor units are provided by the number of connected indoor units, and can be opened and closed by a plurality of bypass pipes corresponding to the plurality of indoor units, respectively. This is provided with a simple diaphragm device.

[0013] In order to achieve the above object, a method for operating a multi-room air conditioner according to the present invention comprises a compressor,
A plurality of indoor units are connected to an outdoor unit including a four-way valve, an outdoor heat exchanger, and a plurality of outdoor expansion devices, and the heat exchanger of the indoor unit has a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchange unit. The first heat exchanger is provided with a dehumidifying throttle mechanism between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, and the first heat exchanger is condensed by narrowing the dehumidifying throttle mechanism during the dehumidifying operation. The two-heat exchanger as an evaporator, and in a method for operating a multi-room air conditioner capable of performing dehumidification by acting as a heating portion and a cooling and dehumidifying portion, respectively, between the four-way valve and the outdoor heat exchanger A plurality of bypass pipes connecting the pipes and the liquid side pipes connected to the plurality of indoor units from the outdoor heat exchanger are provided for the number of connected indoor units, and a plurality of bypass pipes corresponding to the plurality of indoor units are provided. Assuming that the aperture devices that can be opened and closed are connected in series, When any one of the plurality of indoor units performs the heating dehumidification operation of dehumidifying while increasing the room temperature, the high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor is passed through the bypass pipe corresponding to the indoor unit to the first indoor heat source. In the case of performing a cooling dehumidifying operation in which any of the indoor units performs dehumidification while lowering the room temperature, the refrigerant is prevented from flowing through the bypass pipe corresponding to the indoor unit. is there.

Incidentally, the technical means of the present invention and the function thereof are as follows. The multi-room air conditioner of the present invention is configured by connecting a plurality of indoor heat exchangers to an outdoor unit including a compressor, a four-way valve, an outdoor heat exchanger, and a plurality of outdoor expansion devices, and The exchanger has a structure that can be used separately for the cooling, dehumidifying part and heating part.In addition, the outdoor unit has a bypass pipe with a throttle device that bypasses the outdoor heat exchanger for indoor heat exchange. It is provided for the number of vessels.

In the dehumidifying operation, when a request is made to perform dehumidification while increasing the room temperature, a high-temperature refrigerant is sent from the bypass pipe to the indoor heat exchanger, where heat is radiated at the heating part, and humidity is collected at the cooling and dehumidifying parts. And dehumidify heating. In the dehumidifying operation in which the outdoor heat exchanger is bypassed, the refrigerant does not pass through the outdoor heat exchanger, so that it is possible to perform the dehumidification by heating regardless of the blowing amount of the outdoor blower. The combination of the heating dehumidification and the heating dehumidification enables simultaneous operation of the heating dehumidification and the isothermal dehumidification, the heating dehumidification and the cooling dehumidification, and the heating dehumidification and the cooling, which were difficult in the past.

Further, while performing the dehumidifying operation for bypassing the outdoor heat exchanger, the opening degree of the expansion device provided in the corresponding bypass pipe is set to a medium degree, thereby lowering the discharge air temperature slightly, thereby achieving isothermal dehumidification. In this case, combined operation of isothermal dehumidification and cooling can be performed. As described above, simultaneous operation is enabled in all combinations of the cooling operation and each dehumidification.

[0017]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a refrigeration cycle system diagram of a multi-room air conditioner showing one embodiment of the present invention. The multi-room air conditioner according to the present embodiment is configured such that a plurality of (two in FIG. 1) indoor units 7a and 7b are connected to an outdoor unit 13 by refrigerant piping.

In the outdoor unit 13, 1 is a compressor and 2 is
A four-way valve for changing the flow direction of the refrigerant in order to switch the operation state such as cooling or heating, 3 is an outdoor heat exchanger, 4a and 4b are
There are a plurality (two in FIG. 1) of outdoor throttle devices provided corresponding to the indoor units 7a and 7b. These outdoor throttle devices 4
a, 4b are liquid side pipes 14 connected to the indoor units 7a, 7b.
a, 14b. Also, 5a, 5
b is a bypass pipe that bypasses the outdoor heat exchanger 3 during the dehumidifying operation. The bypass pipes 5a and 5b are
A pipe 15 between the heat exchanger 3 and the outdoor heat exchanger 3;
-Side pipes 14a, 14 connected to the indoor units 7a, 7b from the
b. Reference numerals 6a and 6b denote expansion devices provided in the bypass pipes 5a and 5b for opening and closing or controlling the flow rates of the bypass pipes 5a and 5b. Reference numeral 12 denotes an outdoor blower.

In the indoor unit 7a, the first and second indoor heat exchangers 8a and 9a are divided into two, and the first and second indoor heat exchangers 10a are provided in series between the first and second indoor heat exchangers 8a and 9a. A dehumidifying squeezing mechanism for reducing the pressure during the dehumidifying operation, and 11a denotes an indoor blower. Similarly, for the indoor unit 7b, 8
b, 9b are the first and second indoor heat exchangers divided into two,
Reference numeral 0b denotes a dehumidifying throttle mechanism provided in series with the first and second indoor heat exchangers 8b and 9b to reduce the pressure during the dehumidifying operation, and 11b denotes an indoor blower. Also, the compressor 1
The capacity of the outdoor blower 12 and the indoor blowers 11a and 11b can be controlled, that is, the blower volume can be controlled.

Various operation modes of the refrigeration cycle configuration of such a multi-room air conditioner will be described. [Embodiment 1] First, a dehumidifying operation will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a system diagram showing the flow of the refrigerant during the heating dehumidifying operation. FIG. 3 shows the flow of the refrigerant (solid arrows) in the system diagram of FIG. During the dehumidifying operation, the four-way valve 2 is switched so that the refrigerant flows in the order of the compressor 1, the four-way valve 2, and the outdoor heat exchanger 3, as in the case of cooling. In the dehumidifying operation, when the indoor controller requests to dehumidify while increasing the room temperature, the room in which the indoor unit 7a is located will be heated and dehumidified in response to the request. As shown in FIG. The throttle device 6a of the bypass pipe 5a (corresponding to) is opened, and the outdoor throttle device 4a is opened.
Is fully closed, and the dehumidifying squeezing mechanism 10a of the indoor unit 7a is squeezed.

The high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant compressed by the compressor 1 flows through the bypass pipe 5a from the pipe 15 after passing through the four-way valve 2, bypasses the outdoor heat exchanger 3, and enters the indoor unit 7a without releasing heat. . In the indoor unit 7a, the first heat exchanger 8
a, the pressure is reduced by the dehumidifying throttle mechanism 10a, the pressure is reduced by the second heat exchanger 9a, and the refrigerant is returned to the compressor 1 as a low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant. At the same time, the indoor air is cooled and dehumidified by the second heat exchanger 9a by rotating the indoor blower 11a to force convection of the air, heated by the first heat exchanger 8a, and sent back into the room. At this time, since the heat radiation amount of the first heat exchanger 8a is large, the indoor air is dehumidified while being warmed,
Can meet your requirements.

Here, by changing the opening degree of the expansion device 6a or the rotation speed of the compressor 1, the temperature of the indoor discharge air can be adjusted. In the dehumidifying operation in which the outdoor heat exchanger 3 is bypassed, since the refrigerant does not pass through the outdoor heat exchanger 3, it is possible to perform dehumidification by heating regardless of the amount of air blown by the outdoor blower 12. Therefore, even if the cooling operation, the cooling dehumidification, and the isothermal dehumidification are performed in another room, they can be operated independently without being affected by each other. In FIG. 3, the opening and closing of the valve on the indoor unit 7b side and the illustration of the flow of the refrigerant are omitted.

[Embodiment 2] The following embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1 without particularly showing the opening / closing of a valve and the flow of a refrigerant. If there is a request for dehumidification that does not change the room temperature from each room, it will be described that the room in which the indoor unit 7a is located performs the isothermal dehumidification in response to the request. If the expansion device 6a of the bypass pipe 5a corresponding to the indoor unit 7a is used, The fully closed state, the outdoor expansion device 4a is opened, the outdoor blower 12 is operated at a low speed, and the dehumidification expansion mechanism 10a of the indoor unit 7a is reduced.

The high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant compressed by the compressor 1 passes through the four-way valve 2 and then flows from the pipe 15 to the outdoor heat exchanger 3.
a, and enters the indoor unit 7a. In the indoor unit 7a, the refrigerant is condensed in the first heat exchanger 8a, decompressed in the dehumidifying expansion mechanism 10a, evaporated in the second heat exchanger 9a, returned to the compressor 1 as a low-temperature low-pressure gas refrigerant. At the same time, by rotating the indoor blower 11a and forcing convection of the air, the indoor air is cooled and dehumidified by the second heat exchanger 9a, warmed by the first heat exchanger 8a, and sent to the room again. Thus, the indoor air is dehumidified while keeping the temperature constant, and can satisfy the demand.

The temperature of the indoor discharge air can be adjusted by changing the rotation speed of the outdoor blower 12 or the rotation speed of the compressor 1. When increasing the indoor discharge air temperature, the outdoor blower rotation speed may be decreased, and when decreasing the indoor discharge air temperature, the outdoor blower rotation speed may be increased.
That is, if the number of rotations of the outdoor blower 12 is increased and the temperature of the indoor discharge air is controlled to be lower, it is possible to perform the cooling dehumidifying operation of dehumidifying while reducing the room temperature.

The control device of each indoor unit 7 includes a room temperature detecting means and a target room temperature setting means, compares the actual room temperature with the target room temperature, and determines whether the discharge air temperature is higher than or equal to the room temperature. Decide whether to lower it and send a request to the outdoor controller. When the conditions required from each room are different from each other, the opening degree of the outdoor expansion device 4 is adjusted for each room, and control is performed so that the discharge air temperature is in accordance with the request from the room.

[Embodiment 3] During a dehumidifying operation, when there is a request to dehumidify while increasing the room temperature in one indoor unit and dehumidify while maintaining the room temperature in another indoor unit, the indoor unit 7a increases the room temperature. The description will be made with reference to FIG. 4 assuming that the indoor unit 7b performs the maintenance. FIG. 4 is a system diagram showing a flow of a refrigerant performing a heating dehumidifying operation in one indoor unit and performing an isothermal dehumidifying operation in another indoor unit. FIG. 4 is a system diagram of FIG. It is shown.

On the indoor unit 7a side, the corresponding expansion device 6a is opened, the outdoor expansion device 4a is fully closed, and the dehumidification expansion mechanism 10 is opened.
a is squeezed. On the other hand, on the indoor unit 7b side, the corresponding expansion device 6b is fully closed and the outdoor expansion device 4b is opened, the outdoor blower 12 is operated at low speed, and the dehumidification expansion mechanism 1 is operated.
0b is squeezed. In FIG. 4, the flow of the refrigerant on the indoor unit 7a side is indicated by a solid line arrow, and the flow of the refrigerant on the indoor unit 7b side is indicated by a broken line arrow.

On the side of the indoor unit 7a, the refrigerant bypasses the outdoor heat exchanger 3, flows to the indoor unit 7a without radiating heat, is condensed by the first heat exchanger 8a, decompressed by the dehumidifying expansion device 10a, Evaporates in the heat exchanger 9a and returns to the compressor 1.
At the same time, by rotating the indoor blower 11a and forcing convection of the air, the indoor air is cooled and dehumidified by the second heat exchanger 9a, warmed by the first heat exchanger 8a, and sent to the room again. At this time, since the heat radiation amount of the first heat exchanger 8a is large, the indoor air is dehumidified while being warmed. Furthermore, the discharge air temperature can be controlled by adjusting the rotation speed of the compressor 1 and the opening of the expansion device 6a.

On the side of the indoor unit 7b, the refrigerant flows to the indoor unit 7b while slightly radiating heat in the outdoor heat exchanger 3, condenses in the first heat exchanger 8b, decompresses in the dehumidifying expansion device 10b, and decompresses the second heat. In the exchanger 9b, it evaporates and returns to the compressor 1. At the same time, by rotating the indoor blower 11b to force convection of the air, the indoor air is cooled and dehumidified by the second heat exchanger 9b, warmed by the first heat exchanger 8b, and sent to the room again. Thus, the air in the room is dehumidified at an equal temperature while keeping the temperature constant. In the indoor unit 7b, the refrigerant that has slightly released heat in the outdoor heat exchanger 3 flows, and the indoor discharge temperature is adjusted by changing the rotation speed of the outdoor blower 12 and changing the amount of heat release in the outdoor heat exchanger 3. Can be.

When increasing the temperature of the indoor discharge air, the rotational speed of the outdoor blower may be decreased, and when decreasing the temperature of the indoor discharge air, the rotational speed of the outdoor blower may be increased. At this time, since the refrigerant does not pass through the outdoor heat exchanger 3 on the indoor unit 7a side that is performing the dehumidification for raising the room temperature, it is possible to perform the heating dehumidification regardless of the blowing amount of the outdoor blower 12. Therefore, since the outdoor blower 12 can be rotated as required by the indoor unit 7b, heating dehumidification and isothermal dehumidification can be simultaneously and independently operated.

[Embodiment 4] The following embodiments are described below.
In particular, description will be made with reference to FIG. 1 without opening and closing the valve and showing the flow of the refrigerant. At the time of dehumidification operation, when there is a request to perform dehumidification while increasing the room temperature in one indoor unit and to perform cooling in another indoor unit, the indoor unit 7a increases the room temperature and the indoor unit 7b performs the cooling. explain. On the indoor unit 7a side, the corresponding expansion device 6a is opened, the outdoor expansion device 4a is fully closed, and the dehumidification expansion mechanism 10a is set in the reduced state. On the other hand, on the indoor unit 7b side, the corresponding expansion device 6b is fully closed, the outdoor expansion device 4b is throttled, and the dehumidification expansion mechanism 10b is opened.

On the indoor unit 7a side, the refrigerant bypasses the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and flows to the indoor unit 7a without radiating heat. The refrigerant is condensed by the first heat exchanger 8a, depressurized by the dehumidifying expansion device 10a, depressurized by the second Evaporates in the heat exchanger 9a and returns to the compressor 1.
At the same time, by rotating the indoor blower 11a and forcing convection of the air, the indoor air is cooled and dehumidified by the second heat exchanger 9a, warmed by the first heat exchanger 8a, and sent to the room again. At this time, since the amount of heat radiation of the first heat exchanger 8a is large, the indoor air is dehumidified while being warmed. Further, the rotation speed of the compressor 1 or the opening degree of the expansion device 6a can be adjusted to control the discharge air temperature.

On the side of the indoor unit 7b, the refrigerant is condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and decompressed by the outdoor expansion device 4b.
b, evaporates in the first heat exchanger 8b and the second heat exchanger 9b, and returns to the compressor 1. At the same time, the indoor blower 11
By rotating b to force convection of the air, the indoor air is cooled by the indoor heat exchangers 8b and 9b and sent back to the room. That is, the indoor air is cooled. At this time, since the refrigerant does not pass through the outdoor heat exchanger 3 on the indoor unit 7a side performing dehumidification for raising the room temperature, the outdoor blower 1
Heating dehumidification can be performed irrespective of the amount of air blow of 2. Therefore, the outdoor blower 12 can be rotated as required by the indoor unit 7b performing cooling, so that the indoor unit 7b can secure the cooling capacity and can be operated without imposing a load on the electrical components and the compressor. In this manner, heating dehumidification and cooling can be simultaneously and independently operated.

[Embodiment 5] During a dehumidifying operation, when there is a request to perform dehumidification while maintaining room temperature in one indoor unit and cooling in another indoor unit, the indoor unit 7a,
The one performing the cooling will be described as the indoor unit 7b. Indoor unit 7a
The side opens the corresponding throttle device 6a, and the outdoor throttle device 4a
Is fully closed, and the dehumidifying diaphragm mechanism 10a is squeezed.
On the other hand, the indoor unit 7b side fully closes the corresponding expansion device 6b,
The outdoor expansion device 4b is throttled, and the dehumidification expansion mechanism 10b is opened.

On the side of the indoor unit 7a, the refrigerant bypasses the outdoor heat exchanger 3, flows to the indoor unit 7a without radiating heat, is condensed by the first heat exchanger 8a, depressurized by the dehumidifying throttle mechanism 10a, depressurized by the second Evaporates in the heat exchanger 9a and returns to the compressor 1.
At the same time, by rotating the indoor blower 11a and forcing convection of the air, the indoor air is cooled and dehumidified by the second heat exchanger 9a, warmed by the first heat exchanger 8a, and sent to the room again. At this time, the expansion device 6a closes down to reduce the heat radiation amount of the first heat exchanger 8a,
The temperature of the discharge air is adjusted so that a dehumidifies while maintaining the room temperature. Thus, it is possible to perform isothermal dehumidification while keeping the room temperature constant.

On the side of the indoor unit 7b, the refrigerant is condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and decompressed by the outdoor expansion device 4b.
b, evaporates in the first heat exchanger 8b and the second heat exchanger 9b, and returns to the compressor 1. At the same time, the indoor blower 11
By rotating b to force convection of the air, the indoor air is cooled and dehumidified by the indoor heat exchangers 8b and 9b, and sent to the room again. That is, the indoor air is cooled.
At this time, since the refrigerant does not pass through the outdoor heat exchanger 3 in the indoor unit 7a performing the isothermal dehumidification, the outdoor blower 1
(2) Isothermal dehumidification can be performed regardless of the blowing amount. Therefore, the outdoor blower 12 can be rotated as required by the indoor unit 7b performing cooling,
Cooling capacity can be ensured, and operation can be performed without imposing loads on electrical components and the compressor. In this manner, isothermal dehumidification and cooling can be simultaneously and independently operated.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention,
In a multi-room air conditioner, cooling, heating dehumidification, isothermal dehumidification, and cooling dehumidification can be operated independently without affecting each other's performance at the same time. Of course, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the cooling and heating system, but can also be applied to a multi-room air conditioner dedicated to cooling.

[Embodiment 6] The multi-room air conditioner according to the present invention can simultaneously perform a plurality of simultaneous cooling operations or a plurality of simultaneous heating operations. Indoor unit 7a,
7b, when there is a request to perform the cooling operation, the four-way valve 2 switches so that the refrigerant flows in the order of the compressor 1, the four-way valve 2, and the outdoor heat exchanger 3. On the indoor unit 7a side, the corresponding throttle device 6a is fully closed, the outdoor throttle device 4a is throttled, and the dehumidifying throttle mechanism 10a is opened.

On the indoor unit 7a side, the refrigerant is condensed in the corresponding outdoor heat exchanger 3, decompressed by the outdoor expansion device 4a, flows to the indoor unit 7a, and flows into the first heat exchanger 8a and the second heat exchanger 8a. It evaporates in the heat exchanger 9a and returns to the compressor 1. At the same time, the indoor blower 11a is rotated to force convection of the air, so that the indoor air is cooled and dehumidified by the indoor heat exchangers 8a and 9a, and is again sent indoors. That is, the indoor air is cooled. The same operation is performed on the indoor unit 7b side, and the simultaneous cooling operation is performed.

[Embodiment 7] When there is a request to perform a heating operation for both the indoor units 7a and 7b, the four-way valve 2 supplies the refrigerant in the order of the compressor 1, the four-way valve 2, and the second heat exchanger 9a or 9b. Switch to flow. On the indoor unit 7a side, the corresponding throttle device 6a is fully closed, the outdoor throttle device 4a is throttled, and the dehumidifying throttle mechanism 10a is opened.

On the indoor unit 7a side, the refrigerant flows to the indoor unit 7a, condenses in the indoor heat exchangers 8a and 9a, decompresses in the outdoor expansion device 4a, evaporates in the outdoor heat exchanger 3, and the compressor 1 Return to At the same time, the indoor air is forced into the indoor heat exchanger 8 by rotating the indoor blower 11a and forcibly convection the air.
Heated at a and 9a and sent again indoors. That is, the indoor air is heated. The same operation is performed on the indoor unit 7b side, and the simultaneous heating operation is performed.

Until now, the indoor unit was provided with a dehumidifying squeezing mechanism. At the time of dehumidification, the indoor heat exchanger was divided into a dehumidifying portion and a heating portion to act, and the air once cooled and dehumidified was reheated by the cycle itself to reach a temperature not chilly. Although the indoor unit of the cycle dehumidification method that has been used has been described, the indoor unit does not have a dehumidifying throttle mechanism as a separate method, and the dehumidification is performed by performing weak cooling by lowering the air flow rate and the compressor rotation speed of the indoor unit. There is a thing of the weak cooling system which performs. This method has a drawback that it has no means for reheating the cooled and dehumidified air, thereby lowering the room temperature, resulting in chills and poor comfort. In addition, there is a device provided with a heater as a reheating means, but has a disadvantage that power consumption is high. However, it is considered that both types will continue to exist as dehumidification methods in the future.

[Embodiment 8] The outdoor unit of the multi-room air conditioner of the present invention can be mixed with and connected to the latter indoor unit of the weak cooling type. To explain an example of the embodiment, the dehumidification method in the indoor side control device, that is, the cycle dehumidification method or the weak cooling method is stored in advance, and the dehumidification method is transmitted to the outdoor unit, and the outdoor control device is the indoor control device. When receiving the signal of the weak cooling system from the, it is determined that the indoor unit of the weak cooling system is connected, the opening of the corresponding bypass pipe expansion device is prohibited, and when dehumidifying, it is controlled to perform the weak cooling dehumidification. good. Thus, the indoor unit of the cycle dehumidification system and the indoor unit of the weak cooling system can be mixed and connected to the outdoor unit of the present invention.

[0045]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the cooling operation and the heating operation of a plurality of units can be simultaneously performed as before, and the heating dehumidification, the isothermal dehumidification, and the cooling dehumidification can be performed. The simultaneous operation of different modes of cooling can be performed independently for each indoor unit, and the operation of the own room is not limited by the operation status of the other room, and the operation according to the request can be performed for each room. And a method of operating the same.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a refrigeration cycle system diagram of a multi-room air conditioner showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a refrigeration cycle system diagram of a conventional multi-room air conditioner.

FIG. 3 is a system diagram illustrating a flow of a refrigerant during a heating dehumidifying operation.

FIG. 4 is a system diagram showing the flow of a refrigerant that performs heating dehumidification operation in one indoor unit and performs isothermal dehumidification operation in another indoor unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Compressor, 2 ... 4-way valve, 3 ... Outdoor heat exchanger, 12 ... Outdoor blower, 13 ... Outdoor unit, 4a, 4b ... Outdoor restrictor,
5a, 5b: bypass pipe, 6a, 6b: throttle device, 7
a, 7b: indoor unit, 8a, 8b: first indoor heat exchanger,
9a, 9b: second indoor heat exchanger, 10a, 10b: dehumidifying expansion device, 11a, 11b: indoor blower.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An indoor unit comprising a compressor, a four-way valve, an outdoor heat exchanger, and a plurality of outdoor expansion devices, wherein a plurality of indoor units are connected to each other. It is divided into a heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger, and a dehumidifying throttle mechanism is provided between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger. In a multi-chamber air conditioner in which a heat exchanger is a condenser and a second heat exchanger is an evaporator and dehumidifies by acting as a heating part and a cooling dehumidification part, respectively, the four-way valve and the outdoor heat exchange A plurality of bypass pipes are provided for connecting the indoor units and the liquid side pipes connecting the outdoor heat exchanger to the plurality of indoor units for the number of connected indoor units, corresponding to the plurality of indoor units. It is equipped with a throttle device that can be opened and closed on each of a plurality of bypass pipes. Multi-room air conditioner that. 2. An outdoor unit comprising a compressor, a four-way valve, an outdoor heat exchanger, and a plurality of outdoor expansion devices, wherein a plurality of indoor units are connected, and the heat exchanger of the indoor unit is a first heat exchanger. It is divided into a heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger, and a dehumidifying throttle mechanism is provided between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger. The method for operating a multi-chamber air conditioner in which the heat exchanger is a condenser and the second heat exchanger is an evaporator and can perform dehumidification by acting as a heating portion and a cooling dehumidification portion, respectively, wherein the four-way valve and the By-pass pipes connecting the number of indoor units connected to the outdoor heat exchanger and liquid-side pipes connecting the outdoor heat exchanger to the plurality of indoor units are provided, and the plurality of indoor units are provided. Diaphragm devices that can be opened and closed respectively in multiple bypass pipes corresponding to As a continuation, when any of the plurality of indoor units performs the heating dehumidifying operation of dehumidifying while increasing the room temperature, the high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor is bypassed corresponding to the indoor unit. When the indoor unit performs a cooling dehumidification operation in which dehumidification is performed while lowering the room temperature, refrigerant is caused to flow through the bypass pipe corresponding to the indoor unit. A method for operating a multi-room air conditioner, characterized in that it is not provided. 3. When a heating dehumidifying operation is performed in which any one of the plurality of indoor units performs dehumidification while increasing the room temperature, a throttle device of a bypass pipe corresponding to the indoor unit is opened,
The multi-purpose air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein an outdoor expansion device corresponding to the indoor unit of the outdoor unit is closed, and a dehumidification expansion mechanism between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger of the indoor unit is throttled. How to operate a room air conditioner. 4. When performing an isothermal dehumidification operation for dehumidifying any one of the plurality of indoor units while maintaining the room temperature, the throttle device of the bypass pipe corresponding to the indoor unit is closed,
The outdoor throttle device corresponding to the indoor unit of the outdoor unit is opened, the outdoor blower is operated at a low speed, and the dehumidifying throttle mechanism between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger of the indoor unit is throttled. The method for operating a multi-room air conditioner according to claim 2. 5. When any one of the plurality of indoor units performs a cooling dehumidifying operation for dehumidifying while lowering the room temperature, the throttle device of the bypass pipe corresponding to the indoor unit is closed,
The outdoor throttle device corresponding to the indoor unit of the outdoor unit is opened, the rotation speed of the outdoor blower is increased, and the dehumidifying throttle mechanism between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger of the indoor unit is throttled. The method for operating a multi-room air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein 6. When one of a plurality of indoor units performs a cooling operation, a throttle device of a bypass pipe corresponding to the indoor unit is closed, and an outdoor throttle device of the outdoor unit corresponding to the indoor unit is provided. 3. The method for operating a multi-room air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the dehumidifying throttle mechanism between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger of the indoor unit is opened.