JPH11230637A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To put the efficiency of a heat exchanger in favorable condition, by making the flow of a refrigerant a counter flow which flows in opposite direction to the direction of the flow of a wind. SOLUTION: In an air condition where an outdoor unit equipped with a compressor and a heat exchanger 16 and an indoor unit are connected with each other by a refrigerant pipe, for the heat exchanger 16, the first branch pipe 21 is arranged on the rear flow side of the wind, and a refrigerant is shunted into two adjacent heat transfer pipes 21a and 21b by the first branch pipe 21, and the refrigerant is let flow as two circuits 22 and 23, and after confluence of the two adjacent heat transfer pipes 24a and 24b of the two circuits 22 and 23 by the second branch pipe 24, the second branch pipe 24 is connected to the pipe 27 on the rear flow side of the lower part of the heat exchanger by a long pipe 25, and the refrigerant is discharged from the lowermost end on front flow side of the heat exchanger 16. Hereby, the flow of the refrigerant can be made into a counter flow, and the efficiency of the heat exchanger can be raised.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner for sending refrigerant from a compressor from a heat exchanger to an indoor unit.
It is intended to improve the efficiency of the heat exchanger.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an air conditioner for sending a refrigerant from a compressor from a heat exchanger to an indoor unit, an indoor unit and an outdoor unit are connected by a refrigerant pipe, and the outdoor unit includes a compressor,
It is composed of a blower with an electric motor, an outdoor heat exchanger, a suction grill, a casing 8 and the like. The configuration of a heat exchanger in a conventional air conditioner will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a front view of a heat exchanger in a conventional air conditioner, and FIG. 7 is a view taken in the direction of arrow VII in FIG.

During cooling, an outdoor heat exchanger 1 is used as a condenser, and refrigerant discharged from a compressor (not shown)
It is sent to the branch pipe 2 of the heat exchanger 1. The refrigerant sent to the branch pipe 2 is branched into two circuits 3 and 4, and the circuit 3 passes through the hairpin tube 5 and is connected to the cheese 7 on the upstream side of the wind by the long pipe 6. On the other hand, the circuit 4 is connected to the cheese 7 through the hairpin tube 8. The circuits 3 and 4 are merged, and the refrigerant undergoes heat exchange on the way and is cooled by the wind, and is condensed and discharged from the pipe 9 to the downstream side of the wind.

[0004]

In the heat exchanger 1 of the conventional air conditioner, the circuit 3 and the circuit 4 have the same number of heat transfer tubes as much as possible in order to prevent the flow rate of the refrigerant from being biased. Since the circuits 3 and 4 are arranged on the upper and lower sides, there is a problem that a long pipe 4a is required from the branch pipe 9 of the lower circuit 4 to the heat transfer pipe.

In order to improve the efficiency of the heat exchanger 1, a counter flow in which the refrigerant flows in a direction opposite to the flow direction of the wind is preferred. The refrigerant in the circuits 3 and 4 flows in the direction opposite to the wind, but since the junction of the cheese 7 is on the upstream side of the wind, the refrigerant from joining the cheese 7 to being discharged from the pipe 9 is in the direction of the wind. It is a parallel flow that flows in the same direction as. Therefore, there is a problem that the efficiency of the heat exchanger is not preferable.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner in which an outdoor unit having a compressor and a heat exchanger and an indoor unit are connected by refrigerant piping. In the heat exchanger, a first branch pipe is disposed as a refrigerant inlet on the downstream side of the wind, and the refrigerant is divided by the first branch pipe into two adjacent heat transfer pipes, and the refrigerant flows as two circuits, After the two adjacent heat transfer tubes of the circuit are joined by the second branch tube, the second branch tube is connected to the heat transfer tube on the downstream side of the heat exchanger by a long pipe, and the lowermost end on the upstream side of the heat exchanger is connected. It is characterized by discharging more refrigerant.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the first branch pipe at the refrigerant inlet is disposed above the downstream side of the heat exchanger, and the first branch pipe is divided into two circuits and heat-exchanged to join the first side. 2
The branch pipes are arranged below the heat exchanger, and the rise of the U-shaped portions of the heat transfer tubes of the two circuits is reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner in which an outdoor unit having a compressor and a heat exchanger is connected to an indoor unit by a refrigerant pipe. , A branch pipe is arranged as a refrigerant inlet on the downstream side of the wind, and after branching into two circuits,
Further, the refrigerant is divided into two adjacent heat transfer tubes of the two circuits to flow the refrigerant as four circuits, and the two adjacent heat transfer tubes of the four circuits are joined by the branch pipe to form two circuits, and then two more circuits are formed. The two circuits are combined to form a single circuit, which is connected to the downstream heat transfer tube below the heat exchanger by a long pipe to discharge the refrigerant from the lowermost downstream end of the heat exchanger.

[0009]

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a simplified state of a heat transfer tube in a lateral direction of a heat exchanger. The state shown in FIG. 2 corresponds to the conventional state shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the indoor unit 11 is connected to an indoor unit 13 through a refrigerant pipe 12. The outdoor unit 13 includes a compressor 14, a blower 15 with an electric motor, an outdoor heat exchanger 16, a suction grill 17, a casing 18, and the like.

At the time of cooling, the outdoor heat exchanger 16 is used as a condenser, and the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 14 is sent to the first branch pipe 21 of the heat exchanger 16. That is, in the heat exchanger 16, the first branch pipe 21 is arranged as a refrigerant inlet on the downstream side of the wind, and the refrigerant is divided into two adjacent heat transfer pipes 21 a and 21 b by the first branch pipe 21 so that Refrigerant flows as circuits 22 and 23.

The two adjacent circuits 22 and 23
Heat transfer tubes 24a and 24b are joined by a second branch tube 24,
The branch pipe 24 is connected by a long pipe 25 to a heat transfer pipe 25a downstream of the heat exchanger 16 on the downstream side of the wind. The heat transfer tube 25a is connected to the tube 27 via the long pipe 26 via the four hairpin tubes 20, and the refrigerant undergoes heat exchange on the way to be condensed and discharged from the tube 27 to the upstream side of the wind.

In the heat exchanger 16 of the air conditioner having the above-described structure, the refrigerant flows through the two heat transfer tubes 21 adjacent to the first branch tube 21.
Since it is branched into two circuits a and 21b and flows through the two circuits 22 and 23, the long pipe 4a from the branch pipe 2 to the heat transfer pipe as in the conventional heat exchanger 1 can be omitted. Also,
Since the two circuits 22 and 23 are joined by the first branch tube 24 and connected to the heat transfer tube 25a on the downstream side of the wind, the flow of the refrigerant can be set to the counter flow.

A heat exchanger according to another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the heat exchanger 16 shown in FIG. 3, the first branch pipe 21 of the refrigerant inlet is disposed at the upper part on the downstream side of the heat exchanger 16,
The second branch pipe 24 on the upstream side, which is divided into the two circuits 22 and 23 and exchanges heat and merges, is disposed below the heat exchanger 16, and the rise of the U-shaped portion of the heat transfer tubes of the two circuits 22 and 23 is performed. It is less. Other configurations are the same as those shown in FIG.

In the heat exchanger 16 shown in FIG. 3, since the outlet side of the refrigerant, that is, the position of the second branch pipe 24 connected to the long pipe 25 is located lower than the first branch pipe 21, the circuit is The height of the rising portion of the U-shaped portion of the heat transfer tube 23 is reduced, and there is almost no pressure loss of the refrigerant liquid condensed in the heat transfer tube. For this reason, it is possible to eliminate the uneven flow rate of the refrigerant in the circuits 22 and 23.

The lower circuit portion of the heat exchanger 16 uses four hairpin tubes 20 as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.

A heat exchanger according to still another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the heat exchanger 31 shown in FIG. 5, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 14 is sent to the branch pipe 32 of the heat exchanger 31. That is, the branch pipe 32 is arranged in the heat exchanger 31 as a refrigerant inlet on the downstream side of the wind, and the refrigerant flows through the two circuits 33 and 34. The two circuits 33, 34 are respectively connected to two adjacent heat transfer tubes 35a,
The refrigerant is diverted by the first branch pipe 35b to the
Refrigerant flows as one of the circuits 36 and 37. That is, the refrigerant flows as four circuits.

Adjacent two heat transfer tubes 38a, 38b of each of the two circuits 36, 37 are joined by a second branch tube 38, and the respective second branch tubes 38 are connected to the front of the heat exchanger 16 by long pipes 39, 40. They are joined by a branch pipe 41 arranged on the flow side. The branch pipe 41 is connected by a long pipe 43 to a heat transfer pipe 43a downstream of the heat exchanger 16 on the downstream side of the wind. Heat transfer tube 43
a is connected to a pipe 45 via a long pipe 44 via a hairpin tube 42, and the refrigerant undergoes heat exchange on the way to be condensed and discharged from the pipe 45 to the upstream side of the wind.

In the heat exchanger 31 of the air conditioner having the above-described structure, the flow of the refrigerant in the heat transfer tubes is controlled by the four circuits 36 and 37.
And then merge into one by the branch pipe 41, and the flow of the refrigerant is a counter flow that flows in the opposite direction to the direction in which the wind flows. The length of the circuit 34 branched by the branch pipe 32 at the refrigerant inlet is up to the first branch pipe 35 in the middle of the lower circuit, and is a long pipe 4a from the branch pipe 2 of the conventional heat exchanger 1 to the heat transfer pipe. Can be shorter.

Further, since the four circuits 36 and 37 have counterflows in the opposite directions to the flow direction of the wind, the efficiency of the heat exchanger 31 can be set in a favorable state. Also, after being joined by the branch pipe 41, the heat transfer pipe 43a
The flow from to the pipe 45 is also a counter flow, and the efficiency can be set in a preferable state.

[0021]

According to the air conditioner of the present invention, in an air conditioner in which an outdoor unit having a compressor and a heat exchanger is connected to an indoor unit by a refrigerant pipe, the heat exchanger is located on the downstream side of the wind. A first branch pipe is arranged as a refrigerant inlet in the refrigerant pipe.
After flowing the refrigerant as one circuit and joining two adjacent heat transfer tubes of the two circuits by the second branch pipe,
Since the second branch pipe is connected to the heat transfer pipe on the downstream side of the heat exchanger by a long pipe to discharge the refrigerant from the lowermost end on the upstream side of the heat exchanger, the refrigerant is adjacent to the first branch pipe. Do 2
It is branched into two heat transfer tubes and is flowed through two circuits, so that long piping is not required, and the efficiency of the heat exchanger can be improved. Also, since the two circuits are joined by the first branch pipe and connected to the heat transfer pipe on the downstream side of the wind,
The flow of the refrigerant can be a counter flow, and the efficiency of the heat exchanger can be in a favorable state.

The first branch pipe at the inlet of the refrigerant is disposed above the downstream side of the heat exchanger, and the second branch pipe on the upstream side is divided into two circuits to exchange heat and join the lower part of the heat exchanger. And the rise of the U-shaped portions of the heat transfer tubes of the two circuits is reduced, so that the pressure loss of the refrigerant liquid condensed in the heat transfer tubes is almost eliminated, and the uneven flow rate of the refrigerant in the circuit can be eliminated.

Further, the air conditioner of the present invention is an air conditioner in which an outdoor unit having a compressor and a heat exchanger is connected to an indoor unit by a refrigerant pipe.
A branch pipe is arranged on the downstream side of the wind as a refrigerant inlet, and after branching into two circuits, the refrigerant is further divided into two adjacent heat transfer pipes of two circuits to flow the refrigerant as four circuits, and the four circuits are separated. Two adjacent heat transfer tubes are joined by a branch pipe to form two circuits, and then two more circuits are joined to form a single circuit that is connected to the downstream heat transfer tube below the heat exchanger by a long pipe. Since the refrigerant is discharged from the lowermost end on the upstream side of the heat exchanger, the flow of the refrigerant in the heat transfer tube is divided into four circuits and then flown into one by a branch pipe, thereby shortening the piping. Thus, the flows of the four circuits and the refrigerant after the merging are set to the counterflow flowing in the opposite direction to the direction of the wind, so that the efficiency of the heat exchanger can be brought into a preferable state.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a heat exchanger in a side direction.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram in a side direction of the heat exchanger.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a lower portion in a side direction of the heat exchanger.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram in a side direction of the heat exchanger.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a heat exchanger in a conventional air conditioner.

FIG. 7 is a view taken in the direction of arrow VII in FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Two-way valve 11 Controller 13 Heat exchanger temperature sensor 14 Outdoor temperature sensor 15 Outdoor fan 16 Indoor fan 21 Defrost control means

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kei Matsuda 3-1-1 Asahicho, Nishibiwajima-cho, Nishi-Kasugai-gun, Aichi Prefecture Inside Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Air Conditioning Works

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An air conditioner in which an outdoor unit provided with a compressor and a heat exchanger is connected to an indoor unit by a refrigerant pipe, wherein the heat exchanger has a first branch pipe as a refrigerant inlet on a downstream side of the wind. Is disposed, the refrigerant is divided into two adjacent heat transfer tubes by the first branch tube, the refrigerant flows as two circuits, and the two adjacent heat transfer tubes of the two circuits are joined by the second branch tube, An air conditioner characterized in that a second branch pipe is connected to a heat transfer pipe on a downstream side of a heat exchanger by a long pipe to discharge a refrigerant from a lowermost end on a upstream side of the heat exchanger. 2. The pre-flow side second branch pipe according to claim 1, wherein the first branch pipe at the inlet of the refrigerant is disposed above the downstream side of the heat exchanger and divided into two circuits to exchange heat and join. An air conditioner characterized in that the heat transfer tubes of the two circuits have less rise in the U-shaped portion by disposing the heat exchanger below the heat exchanger. 3. An air conditioner in which an outdoor unit having a compressor and a heat exchanger is connected to an indoor unit by a refrigerant pipe, wherein the heat exchanger has a branch pipe disposed on the downstream side of the wind as a refrigerant inlet. After branching to two circuits, two more
Divide into two adjacent heat transfer tubes of one circuit
The refrigerant flows as one circuit, and two adjacent heat transfer tubes of the four circuits are joined by a branch pipe to form a circuit.
After two circuits are combined, two more circuits are merged and connected as a single circuit to the downstream heat transfer tube below the heat exchanger with a long pipe to discharge the refrigerant from the lowermost downstream end of the heat exchanger on the upstream side. An air conditioner characterized by the following.