KR101639514B1 - An air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an air conditioner. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the air conditioner comprises: a compressor; a condenser condensing a refrigerant compressed in the compressor; an expansion device decompressing the refrigerant condensed in the condenser; an evaporator vaporizing the refrigerant decompressed in the expansion device; a first gas-liquid separator separating the liquid refrigerant and the gas refrigerant among the refrigerants passing through the expansion device; and a bypass flow passage enabling the gas refrigerant separated from the first gas-liquid separator to bypass toward an inlet of the compressor.

Description

An air conditioner

The present invention relates to an air conditioner.

The air conditioner is a device for keeping the air in a predetermined space in a most suitable condition according to the purpose of use and purpose. Generally, the air conditioner includes a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and an evaporator, and a refrigeration cycle for compressing, condensing, expanding, and evaporating the refrigerant is driven to cool or heat the predetermined space .

The predetermined space may be variously proposed depending on the place where the air conditioner is used. For example, when the air conditioner is installed in a home or an office, the predetermined space may be an indoor space of a house or a building. On the other hand, when the air conditioner is disposed in a car, the predetermined space may be a boarding space on which a person boarded.

When the air conditioner performs the cooling operation, the outdoor heat exchanger provided in the outdoor unit functions as a condenser, and the indoor heat exchanger provided in the indoor unit functions as an evaporator. On the other hand, when the air conditioner performs the heating operation, the indoor heat exchanger functions as a condenser and the outdoor heat exchanger functions as an evaporator.

1 is a cycle diagram showing a configuration of a conventional air conditioner.

1, the air conditioner 1 is provided with a compressor 2, a gas-liquid separator 3 for separating and introducing gaseous refrigerant into the compressor 2, A flow switching unit 4 for switching the flow direction of the outdoor heat exchanger 5, and an outdoor heat exchanger 5 and an indoor heat exchanger 7.

The refrigerant compressed in the compressor 2 flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 5 via the flow switching unit 4 during the cooling operation of the air conditioner and the refrigerant condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger 5 is expanded Is decompressed in the device (8) and evaporated in the indoor heat exchanger (7).

The refrigerant compressed in the compressor (2) flows into the indoor heat exchanger (7) through the flow switching unit (4) during the heating operation of the air conditioner, and the refrigerant condensed in the indoor heat exchanger (7) Is decompressed in the expansion device (6) and evaporated in the outdoor heat exchanger (5).

According to such a conventional air conditioner, when the indoor heat exchanger 7 functions as an evaporator during the cooling operation of the air conditioner, in order to control the discharge superheat degree of the refrigerant passing through the indoor heat exchanger 7, do. The control of the flow rate of the refrigerant may be performed through adjustment of the opening degree of the indoor expansion device 8. [

In the process of controlling the refrigerant flow rate, a flash gas is generated by the vaporization phenomenon of the refrigerant. The flash gas caused a loss of the evaporation pressure and thus the evaporation heat amount was reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner capable of improving system efficiency during cooling operation.

An air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a compressor; A condenser for condensing the refrigerant compressed in the compressor; An expansion device for decompressing the refrigerant condensed in the condenser; An evaporator for evaporating the refrigerant decompressed in the expansion device; A first gas-liquid separator for separating the liquid refrigerant and the gaseous refrigerant from the refrigerant passing through the expansion device; And a bypass flow path for bypassing the gaseous refrigerant separated in the first gas-liquid separator to the suction side of the compressor.

The first gas-liquid separator is installed between the expansion device and the evaporator.

The apparatus further includes a second gas-liquid separator provided on a suction side of the compressor for separating the gaseous refrigerant from the refrigerant and supplying the separated gaseous refrigerant to the compressor.

Further, the bypass flow path is characterized in that it extends from the first gas-liquid separator to the second gas-liquid separator.

The first gas-liquid separator may further include: a refrigerant inflow portion through which the refrigerant having passed through the expansion device flows; A liquid refrigerant discharge unit for discharging the liquid refrigerant separated in the first gas-liquid separator; And a gaseous refrigerant discharge portion through which the gaseous refrigerant separated in the first gas-liquid separator is discharged.

The liquid refrigerant discharge portion is formed at a lower portion of the first gas-liquid separator, and the gaseous refrigerant discharge portion is formed at an upper portion of the first gas-liquid separator.

The second gas-liquid separator may further include: an evaporative refrigerant inlet connected to an outlet side of the evaporator; And a gaseous refrigerant inlet connected to the bypass passage.

The bypass valve may further include a bypass valve installed in the bypass passage for controlling a flow rate of the refrigerant.

In addition, the bypass valve includes a solenoid valve capable of on / off control or an electronic expansion valve (EEV) capable of adjusting opening degree.

Further, the condenser is an outdoor heat exchanger, the evaporator is an indoor heat exchanger, and the expansion device is an indoor expansion device.

According to the present invention, it is possible to bypass the gas-phase refrigerant, that is, the flash gas, from the refrigerant flowing into the indoor heat exchanger during the cooling operation of the air conditioner and supply the gas-phase refrigerant to the gas-liquid separator, do.

As a result, the loss of the evaporation pressure in the refrigeration cycle can be prevented, and the evaporation heat quantity can be increased. Further, it is possible to reduce the compression work of the compressor, thereby contributing to improvement of the system efficiency.

In particular, by providing a separate gas-liquid separator on the inlet side of the indoor heat exchanger, the gaseous refrigerant separated from the gas-liquid separator can be easily introduced into the gas-liquid separator on the compressor inlet side.

1 is a cycle diagram showing a configuration of a conventional air conditioner.
2 is a cycle diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a view showing a configuration of a main part according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a PH diagram showing the effect of the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the spirit of the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown and that those skilled in the art, upon reading and understanding the spirit of the invention, may easily suggest other embodiments within the scope of the same concept.

FIG. 2 is a cycle diagram showing a configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a view showing a configuration of a main part according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, an air conditioner 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a compressor 110 for compressing a refrigerant, a refrigerant heat exchanger 110 disposed at an outlet side of the compressor 110, To the outdoor heat exchanger (150) or the indoor unit (200).

When the air conditioner is in the cooling operation mode, the refrigerant flows into the outdoor heat exchanger (150) from the flow switching unit (130). On the other hand, when the air conditioner performs the heating operation, the refrigerant flows from the flow switching unit 130 to the indoor heat exchanger 210 of the indoor unit 200. Hereinafter, the configuration of the air conditioner will be described on the basis of the cooling operation time.

The outdoor heat exchanger (150) includes a plurality of heat exchangers (151, 152) and an outdoor fan (155). The plurality of heat exchanging units 151 and 152 includes a first heat exchanging unit 151 and a second heat exchanging unit 152 connected in parallel. The first and second heat exchanging units 151 each include a refrigerant pipe through which refrigerant flows and a heat exchange pin coupled to the refrigerant pipe.

The refrigerant that has passed through the flow switching unit 130 flows into the first heat exchanging unit 151 or the second heat exchanging unit 152 between the flow switching unit 130 and the outdoor heat exchanger 150 A branch portion 140 is provided.

The air conditioner 10 is provided with a first branched flow passage 141 extending from the branch portion 140 to the first heat exchanging portion 151 and a second branched flow passage 141 extending from the branched portion 140 to the second heat exchanging portion 152, And a second branch flow passage 142 extending to the second branch passage 142. [

At least a portion of the first branched flow passage 141 constitutes a refrigerant pipe of the first heat exchanging section 151 and at least a portion of the second branched flow passage 142 is connected to a refrigerant pipe of the second heat exchanging section 152 . That is, the first branched flow path 141 is understood as a flow path extending from the inlet side piping to the outlet side piping of the first heat exchanging part 151, and the second branch flow path 142 is defined as a flow path extending from the second heat exchanging part To the outlet side piping from the inlet side piping of the adsorption tower 152.

The air conditioner 10 is further provided with a first outdoor expansion device 145 installed in the first branch flow passage 141 and a second outdoor expansion device 146 installed in the second branch flow passage 142 . The first outdoor expansion device 145 and the second outdoor expansion device 146 may include an electric expansion valve (EEV).

The amount of refrigerant passing through the first branch flow path 141 can be adjusted according to the opening degree of the first outdoor expansion device 145. According to the opening degree of the second outdoor expansion device 146, the amount of refrigerant passing through the second branch flow passage 142 can be adjusted.

The air conditioner 10 further includes a third branch flow passage 147 branching from one point of the second branch flow passage 142 and bypassing the second outdoor expansion device 146. That is, the third branch passage 147 bypasses at the inlet side of the second outdoor expansion device 146 and is connected to the outlet side of the second outdoor expansion device 146.

The air conditioner 10 further includes a joint portion 148 where the first branched flow path 141 and the second branched flow path 142 meet. The joint portion 148 may be formed at a point where the outlet side piping of the first branched flow passage 141 and the outlet side piping of the second branched flow passage 142 meet at the time of cooling operation.

The indoor unit 200 is disposed at the outlet side of the joint portion 148 on the basis of the cooling operation time. The indoor unit 200 includes an indoor heat exchanger 210 and an indoor expansion unit 215 installed at an inlet side of the indoor heat exchanger 210. The refrigerant condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger 150 may be decompressed in the indoor expansion device 215 and then introduced into the indoor heat exchanger 210 and evaporated.

At this time, the opening degree of the indoor expansion device 215 can be adjusted, and the amount of refrigerant to be introduced into the indoor heat exchanger 210 can be adjusted according to the opening degree of the indoor expansion device 215. At this time, the refrigerant passing through the indoor expansion device 215 may be vaporized and flash gas may be generated. Therefore, the gaseous refrigerant may be included in the condensed refrigerant.

The air conditioner (10) further includes a first gas-liquid separator (250) for separating the gaseous refrigerant in the refrigerant from the refrigerant passing through the indoor expansion device (215). The first gas-liquid separator 250 may be installed between the indoor expansion device 215 and the indoor heat exchanger 210.

The first gas-liquid separator 250 includes a refrigerant inlet 251 connected to an outlet pipe of the indoor expansion device 215 for guiding the inflow of the refrigerant, A liquid refrigerant discharge portion 252 for discharging the liquid refrigerant and a gaseous refrigerant discharge portion 254 for discharging the gaseous refrigerant separated from the first gas-liquid separator 250.

The liquid refrigerant discharge unit 252 may be installed below the first gas-liquid separator 250 and the gaseous refrigerant discharge unit 254 may be installed above the first gas-liquid separator 250. For example, the liquid refrigerant discharge unit 252 may be installed on the lower surface of the first gas-liquid separator 250, and the gaseous refrigerant discharge unit 254 may be installed on the upper surface of the first gas-liquid separator 250.

Since the liquid refrigerant flowing into the first gas-liquid separator 250 flows relatively downward toward the liquid refrigerant discharge portion 252 because of its relatively large specific gravity, and the gaseous refrigerant has a relatively small specific gravity, Section 254, as shown in Fig.

The air conditioner 10 further includes a liquid refrigerant flow path 261 extending from the liquid refrigerant discharge portion 252 to the indoor heat exchanger 210. The liquid refrigerant flow path 261 can be understood as a flow path for guiding the liquid refrigerant separated from the first gas-liquid separator 250 to the indoor heat exchanger 210 (solid line arrow).

The air conditioner 10 further includes a bypass flow passage 262 extending from the first gas-liquid separator 250 to the suction side of the compressor 110. The bypass flow path 262 can be understood as a flow path for guiding the gaseous refrigerant separated from the first gas-liquid separator 250 to be sucked into the compressor 110 (dotted arrow).

A second gas-liquid separator 160 separating the gaseous refrigerant from the refrigerant to be introduced into the compressor 110 and supplying the separated gas-phase refrigerant to the compressor 110 is installed on the suction side of the compressor 110. The bypass passage 262 may be connected to the second gas-liquid separator 160.

The second gas-liquid separator 160 is connected to the outlet side of the indoor heat exchanger 210 and includes a vaporized refrigerant inlet 161 through which evaporated refrigerant flows and a gas-phase refrigerant inlet connected to the bypass channel 262 Section 162 is included. For example, the gaseous coolant inlet 162 may be installed above the second gas-liquid separator 160.

The air conditioner (10) further includes a bypass valve (265) installed in the bypass passage (262) for controlling the flow rate of the refrigerant. The bypass valve 265 may include a solenoid valve capable of on / off control or an EEV capable of adjusting opening degree.

The bypass valve 265 is opened when the air conditioner 10 performs the cooling operation and can be controlled to be closed when performing the heating operation.

The refrigerant flow during the cooling operation of the air conditioner 10 according to the present embodiment will be briefly described.

The refrigerant compressed in the compressor 110 may be introduced into the outdoor heat exchanger 150 through the flow switching unit 130. At this time, the refrigerant may be introduced into at least one of the first heat exchanging unit 151 and the second heat exchanging unit 152 via the branching unit 140. Whether or not the refrigerant is introduced into the first heat exchanging unit 151 or the second heat exchanging unit 152 can be determined depending on whether the first outdoor expansion device 145 or the second outdoor expansion device 146 is opened . The outdoor heat exchanger 150 functions as a "condenser ".

The refrigerant condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger (150) flows into the indoor unit (200) and is decompressed in the indoor expansion unit (215). The opening degree of the indoor expansion device 215 may be adjusted according to the amount of refrigerant to be introduced into the indoor heat exchanger 210.

As the refrigerant passes through the indoor expansion device 215, gaseous refrigerant may be generated. Accordingly, the refrigerant that has passed through the indoor expansion device 215 may be in a two-phase state in which the liquid refrigerant and the gaseous refrigerant are mixed.

The refrigerant in the two-phase state flows into the first gas-liquid separator 250, and can be separated into the liquid refrigerant and the gaseous refrigerant. The separated liquid refrigerant flows through the liquid refrigerant flow passage 261 through the liquid refrigerant discharge portion 252 and may be introduced into the indoor heat exchanger 210. The indoor heat exchanger 210 functions as an "evaporator ". The refrigerant evaporated in the indoor heat exchanger 210 may be introduced into the second gas-liquid separator 160.

The separated gaseous refrigerant may flow into the second gas-liquid separator 160 through the bypass passage 262 through the gaseous coolant outlet 254. At this time, whether or not the refrigerant flows in the bypass passage 262 or the amount of the refrigerant can be determined according to the opening degree of the bypass valve 264.

The liquid refrigerant in the refrigerant flowing into the second gas-liquid separator 160 is separated and the gaseous refrigerant can be sucked into the compressor 110. Such a refrigerant cycle can be repeatedly performed.

The gaseous refrigerant bypasses the indoor heat exchanger 210 and flows into the second gas-liquid separator 160. The liquid refrigerant flows from the indoor heat exchanger 210 to the second gas- Liquid separator 160, it is possible to prevent the evaporation pressure from being lowered and to increase the evaporation heat quantity.

4 is a P-H diagram showing the effect of the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 together, the refrigerant condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger 150 may have the property of state A. The A state can be understood as a liquid state or a supercooled liquid state.

The refrigerant decompressed in the indoor expansion device (215) has a B state property. As shown in FIG. 4, the refrigerant dryness in the B state may have a value greater than zero. That is, the liquid refrigerant in the B state may include liquid refrigerant and gaseous refrigerant.

As in the present embodiment, the liquid refrigerant flows into the indoor heat exchanger 210 and the gaseous refrigerant is bypassed to the suction side of the compressor, so that the pressure drop can be reduced. Accordingly, it can be seen that the evaporation pressure appearing on the P-H line (solid line) of the air conditioner 10 according to the present embodiment is formed to be higher by? Pe than the P-H line (dotted line) of the conventional air conditioner.

As a result, the enthalpy (h) of the refrigerant passing through the indoor heat exchanger 210 increases, and the amount of heat of evaporation, which is the lower area of the evaporation pressure (low pressure) diagram, is increased.

The loss of the evaporation pressure of the P-H line is reduced, so that the load of the compressor 110 is reduced and the compression work is reduced accordingly. The discharge pressure or the condensation pressure Pd of the compressor 110 decreases as the compression date is decreased.

As a result, the operation efficiency of the air conditioner 10 can be improved.

10: outdoor unit 110: compressor
130: flow switching section 141: first branch flow path
142: Second branch line EURO 145: First outdoor expansion device
146: second outdoor expansion device 150: outdoor heat exchanger
151: first heat exchanger 152: second heat exchanger
160: second gas-liquid separator 200: indoor unit
210: indoor heat exchanger 215: indoor expansion device
250: first gas-liquid separator 262:
265: Bypass valve

Claims (10)

compressor;
A condenser for condensing the refrigerant compressed in the compressor;
An expansion device for decompressing the refrigerant condensed in the condenser;
An evaporator for evaporating the refrigerant decompressed in the expansion device;
A first gas-liquid separator for separating the liquid refrigerant and the gaseous refrigerant from the refrigerant passing through the expansion device;
A second gas-liquid separator provided on a suction side of the compressor for separating the gaseous refrigerant from the refrigerant and supplying the separated gaseous refrigerant to the compressor; And
And a bypass flow path extending from the first gas-liquid separator to the second gas-liquid separator. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first gas-liquid separator is installed between the expansion device and the evaporator. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the bypass flow path bypasses the gaseous refrigerant separated by the first gas-liquid separator with a second gas-liquid separator. The method according to claim 1,
In the first gas-liquid separator,
A refrigerant inflow portion through which the refrigerant having passed through the expansion device flows;
A liquid refrigerant discharge unit for discharging the liquid refrigerant separated in the first gas-liquid separator; And
And a gaseous refrigerant discharge portion through which the gaseous refrigerant separated in the first gas-liquid separator is discharged. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the liquid refrigerant discharge portion is formed at a lower portion of the first gas-liquid separator,
And the gas-phase refrigerant discharge portion is formed on the upper portion of the first gas-liquid separator. 6. The method of claim 5,
In the second gas-liquid separator,
A vaporizing refrigerant inlet connected to an outlet side of the evaporator; And
And a gas-phase refrigerant inlet connected to the bypass passage. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a bypass valve installed in the bypass passage for controlling a flow rate of the refrigerant. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the bypass valve includes a solenoid valve capable of on / off control or an electronic expansion valve (EEV) capable of adjusting opening degree. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the condenser is an outdoor heat exchanger, the evaporator is an indoor heat exchanger,
Wherein the expansion device is an indoor expansion device.

Images