KR20000073807A - coolant quantity control method of air conditoiner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for regulating a refrigerant amount of an air conditioner is provided to exactly regulate the refrigerant amount flowing in an operation indoor unit according to the entire operation capacity by on/off-controlling a bypass valve. CONSTITUTION: A controller initializes an air conditioner by receiving a direct voltage outputted from a power device(150). The controller recognizes each operation capacity of indoor units in A, B and C chambers. An operation signal is inputted. The controller outputs a control signal to an indoor fan drive device(162) and recognizes the entire operation capacity of the operation indoor unit. When the entire operation capacity is over a 12 specific area, the controller outputs a control signal to a valve drive device(164). The valve drive device turns off the bypass valve(40) by receiving the control signal. Thus, the entire refrigerants flow to the operation indoor unit.

Description

Refrigerant amount control method of air conditioner {coolant quantity control method of air conditoiner}

The present invention relates to a multi-air conditioner (hereinafter, referred to as an air conditioner) for air conditioning a plurality of indoor spaces by connecting two indoor units to one outdoor unit, and in particular, adjusting the amount of refrigerant flowing to the indoor unit according to the indoor unit operating capacity. It relates to a refrigerant amount control method of the air conditioner to increase the operating efficiency.

In general, air conditioners are classified into various types according to their function or configuration of the unit. In terms of function, air conditioners can be classified into cooling only, cooling and dehumidification only, and cooling and heating. It is divided into an integrated type that is installed in a window and the like and a separate type that separates and installs a cooling device on the indoor side and a heat dissipation and compression device on the outdoor side.

The separate type air conditioner includes a multi type for air conditioning a plurality of indoor spaces by connecting two or more indoor units to one outdoor unit.

Such a conventional multi-type (for example, three-room) air conditioner, as shown in Figure 1, a plurality of indoor units (10, 11, 12) installed in each indoor, and outdoor unit (installed outdoors) 20 operates as a system, and the data of the operation state between the indoor units 10, 11, 12 and the outdoor unit 20 between the indoor units 10, 11, 12 and the outdoor unit 20 Communication lines for transmitting and receiving each other (temperature, humidity, outdoor temperature, motor revolutions of each indoor unit) are connected.

In the multi-type air conditioner configured as described above, in the case of the combined operation in which the user operates the rooms A and B and the operation C is turned off, the outdoor units 20 each of the rooms A, B, and C indoor units 10 and 11. Refer to the indoor units 10 and 11 combined according to the operation combination of (12), and turn off the bypass valve of the outdoor unit when the indoor unit operation combination exceeds 12 pyeong, and bypass the operation unit of the indoor unit by 12 pyeong or less. The valve was turned on to adjust the amount of refrigerant flowing in the driving indoor units 10 and 11 according to the total operating capacity (plain water).

By the way, in the conventional method of controlling the amount of refrigerant in a multi-type air conditioner, the indoor units 10, 11, and 12 are normally installed in an A room (5 pyeong), a B room (7 pyeong), and a C room (9 pyeong). The total operating capacity of the indoor unit (10) and (11) in operation is 12 pyeong (5 pyeong + 7 pyeong), so the bypass valve is turned on to discharge the amount of refrigerant flowing into the operating indoor unit (10, 11). Although it can be adjusted to the total operating capacity, when the indoor unit 10, 11, 12 is incorrectly installed in room A (9 pyeong), room B (7 pyeong), room C (5 pyeong), the indoor unit in operation ( 10) (11) Although the total operating capacity is 16 pyeong (9 pyeong + 7 pyeong), the outdoor unit 20 determines that the total operating capacity is 12 pyeong or less by referring to the operation indoor units 10 and 11, Since the temperature is turned on, there is a problem in that the amount of the refrigerant flowing in the driving indoor units 10 and 11 cannot be adjusted according to the total operating capacity.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and by controlling the bypass valve with reference to the indoor unit operating capacity, the amount of refrigerant discharged from the compressor to flow into the operating indoor unit is adjusted to the total operating capacity. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of controlling the amount of refrigerant in an air conditioner that is accurately controlled.

Refrigerant amount control method of the air conditioner according to the present invention in order to achieve the above object, in the control method of the multi-type air conditioner for the air conditioning operation of a plurality of indoor space by connecting a plurality of indoor units to one outdoor unit, A driving combination determination step of determining a driving combination, a driving capacity grasping step of grasping the total operating capacity of the driving indoor unit according to the driving combination of each indoor unit determined in the driving combination judging step, and the operation identified at the driving capacity grasping step Refrigerant amount adjusting step of controlling the amount of refrigerant flowing to the operating indoor unit by controlling the bypass valve on / off according to the total operating capacity of the indoor unit, and if the refrigerant amount is adjusted according to the total operating capacity of the operating indoor unit in the refrigerant amount control step, the compressor and It is characterized by consisting of an operation control step for optimally controlling the operation of the indoor unit by driving an outdoor fan. The.

1 is a block diagram of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit of a typical 3-room multi-type air conditioner;

2 is a refrigerant cycle diagram of an air conditioner according to the present invention;

3 is a control block diagram of a refrigerant amount control device of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a flow chart showing the operation sequence for adjusting the compressor discharge refrigerant amount of the air conditioner according to the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10,11,12: Indoor unit 20: Outdoor unit

30: compressor 40: bypass valve

50: four-way valve 60: outdoor heat exchanger

80, 81, 82: indoor heat exchanger 154: control means

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a refrigerant cycle diagram of an air conditioner according to the present invention, and the same reference numerals are used for the same parts as in the conventional configuration.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the air conditioner including the indoor units 10, 11, 12 and the outdoor unit 20, the outdoor unit 20 includes a compressor 30 that compresses a refrigerant in a gaseous state of high temperature and high pressure. And a main solenoid valve 35 for controlling the superheat degree during the cooling operation and the supercooling degree during the heating operation by controlling the discharge gas temperature of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 30, and the indoor unit 10, 11 ( Bypass valve 40 for controlling the amount of the refrigerant flowing in the operating indoor unit by bypassing a predetermined amount of refrigerant discharged from the compressor 30 according to the operating capacity of 12), and the compressor according to the operating conditions (cooling or heating) Four-way valve 50 for converting the flow of the gas refrigerant compressed to high temperature and high pressure at 30, and outdoor heat exchange for condensing the liquid refrigerant of low temperature and high pressure to the gas refrigerant compressed to high temperature and high pressure in the compressor 30 during the cooling operation Group 60, and the outdoor heat exchanger (60) In order to facilitate heat exchange, the outdoor fan 61 sucks outdoor air and blows the air to the outdoor heat exchanger 60, and is connected to each indoor unit 10, 11, 12. A, B and C chamber capillaries (100, 101, 102) and each indoor unit (10) (11) () which expand the low-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant condensed at A, B and C chamber solenoid valves 110, 111 and 112 are provided for opening and closing the flow of refrigerant to selectively air-condition each interior space according to the operating conditions of 12).

In addition, the indoor units 10, 11, and 12 have a low temperature and low pressure while evaporating the low-temperature low-temperature free refrigerant passing through the A, B, C chamber solenoid valves 110, 111, 112 during the cooling operation. An indoor heat exchanger (80) (81) and (82) for converting the refrigerant gas into a completely gaseous state of the room, and the indoor air circulating indoor air to facilitate heat exchange in the indoor heat exchanger (80, 81, 82). Fans 90, 91 and 92 are respectively provided.

A circuit block diagram for controlling the refrigerant amount control of the multi-type air conditioner configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

As shown in Fig. 3, the power supply means 150 converts and outputs a commercial AC voltage supplied from an AC power supply terminal (not shown) into a predetermined DC voltage, and the operation operation means 152 operates the operation mode of the air conditioner ( Automatic, cooling, dehumidification, blowing, heating, etc.) and a set of function keys for inputting the set air volume, set temperature (Ts), and start / stop of the air conditioner.

In addition, the control means 154 receives the DC voltage output from the power supply means 150 to initialize the air conditioner, and controls the entire operation according to the operation selection signal input by the operation operation means 152. As a microcomputer, the control means 154 grasps the operating capacity of the indoor units combined according to the operation combinations (1 room operation, 2 room operation or 3 room operation) of each indoor unit 10, 11, 12. The bypass valve 40 is on / off controlled to adjust the amount of the refrigerant discharged at 30 and flowing to the operation indoor unit according to the total operating capacity.

The indoor temperature detecting means 156 detects the temperature Tr of the indoor air sucked into each indoor unit 10, 11, 12, and the compressor driving means 158 sets the set temperature Ts and the indoor temperature Tr. According to the comparison result of the control unit receives the control signal output from the control means 154 to control the compressor 30 on / off.

The outdoor fan motor driving means 160 receives the control signal output from the control means 154 according to the comparison result of the set temperature (Ts) and the room temperature (Tr) to receive the air heat exchanged in the outdoor heat exchanger (60). The outdoor fan motor is driven on / off to blow air to the outside, and the outdoor fan 61 is driven, and the indoor fan motor driving means 162 receives the control signal output from the control means 154 according to the set air volume. The indoor fan motor 90, 91, 92 is controlled to drive by controlling the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor to blow air (cold or warm air) heat exchanged by the heat exchanger 80, 81, 82 into the room.

Further, the valve driving means 164 converts the refrigerant flow in accordance with the operating conditions (cooling or heating) and the operation combination (1 room operation, 2 room operation or 3 room operation) of the indoor units 10, 11 and 12. Alternatively, the bypass valve 40, the four-way valve 50, the solenoids 35, 110, 111, 112 are turned on / off by receiving a control signal output from the control means 154 to open and close. The display means 166 displays the operation selection mode (automatic, cooling, dehumidification, blowing, heating, etc.) and the operation state of the air conditioner according to the control of the control means 154.

Hereinafter, the effect of the refrigerant amount control method of the air conditioner configured as described above will be described.

4 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure for adjusting the compressor discharge refrigerant amount of the air conditioner according to the present invention, in which S denotes a step (STEP).

First, when power is applied to the air conditioner, the power supply unit 150 converts a commercial AC voltage supplied from an AC power terminal (not shown) into a predetermined DC voltage required for driving the air conditioner, thereby driving each circuit and control means ( 154).

Therefore, in step S1, the DC voltage outputted from the power supply means 150 is inputted from the control means 154 to initialize the air conditioner, and the flow proceeds to step S2, and the control means 154 is an indoor unit 10 of room A, B, C. Each operation capacity (square number) of (11) (12) is grasped.

At this time, when the user operates the operation operation means 152 and presses the operation key, and inputs the operation mode (for example, cooling), the set temperature Ts, and the set air volume of the desired air conditioner, the operation operation means ( An operation selection signal and an operation start signal (hereinafter referred to as an operation signal) are input from the control unit 154 to the control means 154.

Accordingly, in step S3, the control means 154 determines whether the driving signal is input from the driving operation means 152, and maintains the air conditioner in the operating standby state when the driving signal is not input (NO). The operation below step S3 is repeatedly performed.

As a result of the discrimination in step S3, when a driving signal is input (YES), the control means 154 proceeds to step S4 and the control means for driving the indoor fans 90, 91 and 92 of the indoor driving unit. Is output to the indoor fan motor driving means (162).

Therefore, the indoor fan motor driving means 162 controls the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor according to the set wind volume to turn on the indoor fans 90, 91, 92 of the driving indoor unit, and the control means 154 in step S5. Figure out the total operating capacity of the driving indoor unit.

Subsequently, in step S6, the control means 154 determines whether the total operating capacity of the driving indoor unit exceeds 12 pyeong, and if it exceeds 12 pyeong (if YES), the control means 154 bypasses. The control signal for driving the valve 40 is output to the valve driving means 164.

Accordingly, the valve driving means 164 receives the control signal output from the control means 154 to turn off (close) the bypass valve 40 so that the entire refrigerant discharged from the compressor 30 flows to the operation indoor unit. .

As a result of the discrimination in step S6, when not exceeding 12 pyeong (NO), the flow advances to step S61, and the control means 154 controls the valve drive means 164 to turn on the bypass valve 40 (open). By bypassing a predetermined amount of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 30 to adjust the amount of the refrigerant flowing in the operation indoor unit according to the total operating capacity (12 pyeong or less).

As described above, when the amount of the refrigerant flowing to the driving indoor unit is controlled by turning on / off the bypass valve 40 according to the total operating capacity of the driving indoor unit, the control means 154 in step S8 controls the compressor 30 and the outdoor unit. The control signal for driving the fan 61 is output to the compressor driving means 158 and the outdoor fan motor driving means 160.

Accordingly, the compressor driving means 158 receives the control signal output from the control means 154 to turn on the compressor 30, and the outdoor fan motor driving means 160 receives the control signal output from the control means 154. The outdoor fan 61 is turned on.

When the compressor 30 and the outdoor fan 61 are turned on, in step S9, the high temperature and high pressure gas refrigerant discharged from the compressor 30 of the outdoor unit 20 is transferred through the main solenoid valve 35 and the four-way valve 50. The outdoor heat exchanger (60) flows into the outdoor heat exchanger (60), and the gas refrigerant compressed at high temperature and high pressure is forced to heat exchange with air blown by the outdoor fan (61) for forced cooling to condense.

Low-temperature, high-pressure liquid refrigerant condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger 60 is introduced into the A, B, C chamber capillary tubes 100, 101, 102 and expanded to a low-temperature, low-pressure free refrigerant which is easy to evaporate. According to the operation combination (1 room operation, 2 room operation, or 3 room operation) of (10) (11) (12), the indoor unit (through the A, B, C room solenoid valve 110, 111, 112) 10) flows into the indoor heat exchangers 80, 81 and 82 respectively installed in the (11) and (12).

Therefore, in the indoor heat exchanger (80) (81) (82), the low-temperature, low-pressure free refrigerant that is decompressed through the A, B and C chamber solenoid valves (110, 111, 112) passes through several pipes. While evaporating and vaporizing, it takes away heat from the air blown by the indoor fans 90, 91, and 92 to cool the indoor air, and then discharges the cooled air (cooling air) into the room for optimal cooling of the operating indoor unit. After operation, the low-temperature low-pressure gas refrigerant cooled in the indoor heat exchangers 80, 81, and 82 is introduced into the compressor 30 through the four-way valve 50 again to induce adiabatic compression of the compressor 30. Is converted into a refrigerant gas of high temperature and high pressure, and the refrigerant cycle as shown in the solid arrow direction of FIG. 2 is repeated.

When the optimal cooling operation is performed as described above, in step S10, the operation key is turned off to determine whether the operation stop signal is input to the control means 154 from the operation operation means 152, and the operation stop signal is not input. (NO), the flow returns to the step S9 to repeat the operation of step S9 or less.

As a result of the determination in step S10, when the operation stop signal is input (YES), the control means 104 moves to the compressor driving means 158, the outdoor fan motor driving means 160, and the indoor fan motor. The driving means 162 is controlled to terminate the operation while stopping the compressor 30, the outdoor fan 61, and the indoor fans 90, 91, 92 of the driving indoor unit.

According to the method of controlling the refrigerant amount of the air conditioner according to the present invention as described above, since the bypass valve is controlled on / off with reference to the indoor unit operating capacity, the amount of refrigerant discharged from the compressor and flowing to the operating indoor unit is calculated. It is effective to increase the driving efficiency by adjusting it correctly.

Claims (4)

In the control method of the multi-type air conditioner to co-operate a plurality of indoor space by connecting a plurality of indoor units to one outdoor unit, A driving combination discrimination step of determining a driving combination of each indoor unit; A driving capacity grasping step of grasping the total driving capacity of the driving indoor unit according to the driving combination of each indoor unit determined in the driving combination discrimination step; Refrigerant amount adjusting step of controlling the amount of the refrigerant flowing to the operating indoor unit by controlling the bypass valve on / off in accordance with the overall operating capacity of the operating indoor unit identified in the operation capacity detection step; Refrigerant amount control method of the air conditioner, characterized in that consisting of an operation control step of controlling the operation of the operation indoor unit by operating the compressor and the outdoor fan when the refrigerant amount is adjusted according to the total operating capacity of the operation indoor unit in the refrigerant amount control step. The method of claim 1, In the refrigerant amount adjusting step, when the total operating capacity of the operating indoor unit determined in the operation capacity determining step exceeds a predetermined square, the bypass valve is turned off so that the entire refrigerant discharged from the compressor flows to the operating indoor unit. Method of controlling the amount of refrigerant of the group. The method of claim 1, The refrigerant amount adjusting step is to turn on the bypass valve to bypass a predetermined amount of refrigerant discharged from the compressor when the total operating capacity of the indoor indoor unit determined in the operation capacity determination step is less than or equal to a predetermined basis. How to adjust. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, Refrigerant amount control method of the air conditioner, characterized in that the predetermined square is between 10 to 15 pyeong.