JPS6387556A - Heat pump device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Purpose of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) This invention provides a method for controlling the refrigeration capacity or heating capacity by arbitrarily switching and connecting a plurality of compressors in the compression process of a refrigeration cycle. The present invention relates to a heat pump device.

(Prior art) In general, a heat pump device uses a compressor to compress a gas that easily liquefies (refrigerant gas) to a high pressure and high temperature state, then radiates heat and liquefies it in a condenser, and then expands this refrigerant liquid in an expander. A refrigeration cycle is realized in which the evaporator extracts heat from the surrounding medium to be cooled, vaporizes it, and then sucks it back into the compressor.

In this refrigeration cycle, the amount of heat taken by the evaporator is the refrigeration capacity, and the amount of heat radiated by the condenser is the heating capacity. That is, a heat pump is a type of heat pump whose purpose is to emit heat to a high heat source and use that heat for heating, and a refrigerator is a type of heat pump whose purpose is to absorb heat from a low heat source and freeze it.

Conventionally, in this type of heat pump device, multi-stage compression is performed in which the compression process is divided into two or three stages using a plurality of compressors.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional multi-stage compression heat pump device, all the compressors are driven simultaneously to compress the refrigerant gas in multiple stages. If the capacity is constant, the refrigerating capacity and heating capacity of the device will also necessarily be constant, making it impossible to satisfy the wide and complex demands of users. Moreover, since the heating and cooling capacity is always constant, there is a problem in that power is wasted when the heating and cooling are reduced.

This invention was made in view of the above problems, and it is possible to control the refrigerating capacity and heating capacity by arbitrarily switching and connecting a plurality of compressors individually or in series and parallel during the compression process. It is an object of the present invention to provide a heat pump device that can reduce wasteful consumption of electric power and save energy by adjusting heating and cooling capacity as necessary.

[Structure of the Invention (Means and Actions for Solving the Problems) This invention provides a method for switching a plurality of compressors arranged in the compression process of a specific cycle to single compression, independent compression, or multi-stage compression using a switching means. The refrigeration capacity or heating capacity can be controlled by switching and connecting multiple compressors to individual compression, independent compression, or multi-stage compression depending on the usage situation.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the example shown in FIG. FIG. 1 shows an example of a heat pump device according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a condenser that has pipes arranged in a meandering manner and condenses refrigerant gas compressed to high pressure and high temperature. an expander that reduces the pressure of the refrigerant condensed into a phase state; 3 an evaporator that is arranged with meandering pipes and that vaporizes the refrigerant;
4 and 5 are pressure m machines connected in parallel between the condenser 1 and the evaporator 3 through suction paths 6 and 7 and discharge paths 8 and 9; 10.1
Reference numeral 1 denotes a valve provided in each suction path 6, 7 of the compressors 4, 5 to switch and connect the compressors 4.5 to individual compression or independent compression.

This heat pump device radiates heat from high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant gas compressed by compressors 4 and 5 and condenses it into a gas-liquid two-phase state in a condenser 1.Then, the evaporator 3 removes heat from the surrounding medium to be cooled. A refrigeration cycle is constructed in which the vaporized refrigerant gas is compressed by the compressors 4 and 5 independently, or by one of them and sent again to the condenser l.

In the compression process of the refrigeration cycle described above, when valve 10 is opened and valve 11 is closed, compressor 4 becomes operational, and conversely, valve 1
When valve 1 is opened and valve 10 is closed, compressor 5 becomes operational.

Moreover, when the valve 10.11 is opened, the compressors 4 and 5 can be operated. For example, when a large amount of refrigeration capacity or heating capacity is required, such as immediately after the refrigeration cycle starts operating, valve 10.11 is opened to operate both compressors 4.5, and the temperature in the room is stabilized, thereby increasing the refrigeration capacity or heating capacity. When not needed, one of the valves 10.11 can be closed to allow one of the compressors 4, 5 to operate independently.

Therefore, according to such a configuration, the compressors 4 and 5 can be arbitrarily switched and connected according to the usage conditions to control the refrigeration capacity or heating capacity, thereby reducing wasted power consumption and saving energy. In addition, it is possible to fully satisfy the complex and wide-ranging demands of users.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the same parts as in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their explanation will be omitted. This embodiment is a modification of the compression process shown in FIG. 8 is provided with a valve 23 to constitute a refrigeration cycle.

That is, this device opens valve 10.11.23 and opens valve 21.
By closing the compressors 4.5, the compressors 4.5 can be operated independently. Also, open valve 10.23 and open valve 11.
By closing 21, the compressor 4 can be operated independently, and by opening the valve 11 and closing the valves 10, 21, and 23, the compressor 5 can be operated independently. Furthermore, valve 1
By opening the valve 0.21 and closing the valve 11.23, the compressor 4 first compresses the air and increases the pressure to a certain extent, and then the compressor 5
Two-stage compression is possible.

Therefore, according to such a configuration, the compressors 4 and 5 can be switched and connected in four ways depending on the usage situation, so that the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and can be implemented with various modifications without changing the gist. For example, in the above embodiment, two compressors are provided in the compression process of the refrigeration cycle, but three or more compressors may be provided and connected to enable single compression, independent compression, or multi-stage compression.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, by switching and connecting a plurality of compressors to enable single, independent, or multi-stage compression, it is possible to control the refrigeration capacity and the heating capacity, and adjust the heating and cooling capacity as necessary to reduce the power consumption. It is possible to provide a heat pump device that can reduce wasteful consumption of energy and save energy.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a heat pump device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the invention.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a heat pump device that performs refrigeration and heating by changing the operating gas according to a certain cycle, a switching system in which multiple compressors are installed in the compression process of the cycle and these compressors are switched and connected to enable individual compression or multi-stage compression. A heat pump device characterized in that a means is provided.