KR20040033083A - Heat Pump With Heat Pipe Type Indoor Heat Exchanger and Heat Exchange Method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A heat pump having a heat pipe type internal heat exchanger and a heat exchange method thereof are provided to maximize the heat exchange by using latent heat. CONSTITUTION: A heat pump having a heat pipe type internal heat exchanger includes an internal heat exchanger(2) for carrying out the heat exchange between liquid refrigerant passing through an indoor unit and the gas refrigerant passing through an outdoor unit. The internal heat exchanger is in the shape of sealed casing and includes upper and lower cases(4,6) respectively passing the gas refrigerant and the liquid refrigerant. The upper case has condensation parts(8) formed of heat pipes, and the lower case has evaporating parts(10) formed of heat pipes, wherein the upper and lower cases are connected to each other by heat pipes(12). These heat pipes are formed of an insulating material(14) having a low conductivity for preventing the heat loss from surfaces except the evaporating parts and the condensation parts.

Description

Heat Pump With Heat Pipe Type Indoor Heat Exchanger and Heat Exchange Method

The present invention relates to a heat pump having a heat pipe type internal heat exchanger that can maximize the heat exchange performance of the internal heat exchanger used to improve the performance of the heat pump.

In general, the heat pump is a reverse cycle of the air conditioner, which absorbs heat from the heat exchanger (evaporator) of the outdoor unit and radiates heat using the heat exchanger (condenser) of the indoor unit installed indoors. As the evaporation efficiency of the refrigerant in the evaporator decreases in proportion, heating energy is insufficient, especially in cold winters, so many efforts have been made to improve this.

It is widely known that the performance of a heat pump is improved by heat exchange between a low temperature, low pressure refrigerant passing through an outdoor unit (evaporator) and a high temperature and high pressure refrigerant passing through an indoor unit (condenser) as shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, since the performance of the heat pump is improved as the heat exchange capacity of the internal heat exchanger is improved, various shapes of internal heat exchangers have been developed and used.

The commonly used internal heat exchanger is a double tube heat exchanger or shell-tube heat exchanger made using two small tubes as described in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-0259324 and Patent Publication No. 2002-0024537. . However, the heat exchanger of such a shape has a sensible heat exchange that changes only the temperature of the air without changing the humidity, and there is a problem in that the heat exchange ability is not excellent because the heat exchanger has a poor heat transfer coefficient among the heat exchangers for sensible heat exchange.

In addition, US Pat. No. 6,050,102 used a heat exchanger to heat exchange the high temperature refrigerant passing through the condenser and the low temperature refrigerant passing through the evaporator in order to improve the performance of the heat pump. As shown in FIG. 1, the first heat exchanger 13, the second heat exchanger 14, and the auxiliary heating device 30 are used for the internal heat exchange, and the heat pipe 40 is included in the auxiliary heating device. An electric heating device 39 was used to operate the heat pipe. Since the heat pipe and the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger that are electrically operated as described above exchange heat and cool refrigerant, the system is complicated and requires additional energy.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a heat pump having a heat pipe type internal heat exchanger that can maximize the heat exchange between the two fluids by using latent heat by using a heat pipe as an internal heat exchanger. .

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises an upper case through which the gas refrigerant passing through the outdoor unit and a lower case through which the liquid refrigerant passing through the indoor unit passes, connecting the upper case and the lower case with a heat pipe. It provides an internal heat exchanger for heat exchange.

The present invention provides a method for heat exchange between a low temperature low pressure refrigerant passing through an outdoor unit and a high temperature high pressure refrigerant passing through an indoor unit through a heat pipe of the internal heat exchanger.

1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional heat pump system.

2 is a schematic diagram of a heat pump system of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the operating principle of the heat exchange method using a heat pipe according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is a detailed view of the operating principle of the internal heat exchanger of the present invention using a heat pipe.

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

2: internal heat exchanger 4: upper case

6: lower case 8: condensation unit

10: evaporator 12: heat pipe

14 insulation 16 compressor

18: four-way valve 20: indoor unit

22: outdoor unit 24, 24 ': capillary tube

26, 26 ': check valve 28: conduit

The present invention provides an internal heat exchanger for exchanging an outdoor unit for evaporating a refrigerant, a compressor for compressing a refrigerant, an indoor unit for condensing a compressed high temperature and high pressure refrigerant, a low temperature low pressure gas refrigerant passing through an outdoor unit, and a high temperature high pressure liquid refrigerant passing through an indoor unit. It provides a heat pump comprising a group.

Accordingly, in the present invention, the low-temperature gas refrigerant passing through the outdoor unit flows to the upper case of the internal heat exchanger, that is, the condensation unit, and the high temperature liquid refrigerant passing through the indoor unit flows to the lower case of the internal heat exchanger, that is, the evaporator, to heat pipe of the internal heat exchanger. Heat exchange by

In the present invention, latent heat refers to heat absorbed or generated when a substance transitions from one phase to another while maintaining equilibrium without changing temperature and pressure.

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

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the heat pump system of the present invention, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the operating principle of the heat exchange method using a heat pipe according to the present invention, Figure 4 is an operating principle of the internal heat exchanger of the present invention using a heat pipe. It demonstrates together as a detailed figure.

3 and 4, the heat pump having a heat pipe type internal heat exchanger of the present invention includes a compressor 16 for compressing a refrigerant, a four-way valve 18, an indoor unit 20 for condensing the compressed refrigerant, Capillary tubes 24 and 24 'for depressurizing the compressed refrigerant, an outdoor unit 22 for evaporating the refrigerant, and an internal heat exchanger for mutual heat exchange between the liquid refrigerant passing through the indoor unit 20 and the gas refrigerant passing through the outdoor unit 22 ( It consists of 2).

The compressor 16, the four-way valve 18, the indoor unit 20, the capillary tube 24, 24 ′, the outdoor unit 22, and the internal heat exchanger 2 are connected to the conduit 28 so that the refrigerant gas is sequentially A closed circuit is formed to circulate, and a lower case 6 of the internal heat exchanger 2 is installed in the conduit 28 between the capillary tube 24 and the capillary tube 24 ', and the outdoor unit 22 and the compressor 16 are installed. In the conduit 28 between the upper case 4 of the internal heat exchanger 2 so as to be located above the lower case 6, and at the same time, the upper case 4 and the lower case 6 are connected to the heat pipe ( 12).

The internal heat exchanger (2) of the present invention is made of a casing in the form of a sealed container, and the upper case (4) through which the gas refrigerant passing through the outdoor unit (22) and the liquid refrigerant passing through the indoor unit (20) pass through. Consists of a lower case (6), the inside of the upper case 4 is formed with a heat pipe condensation unit 8, the inside of the lower case (6) evaporation unit 10 by heat pipe ) Is formed, and the upper case 4 and the lower case 6 are connected by a heat pipe 12.

The heat pipe 12 is thermally insulated with a heat insulating material 14 having low conductivity so that heat loss does not occur except for the evaporation part 10 and the condensation part 8.

In the embodiment of the present invention as described above, the refrigerant flows in the direction of the arrow when heating or hot water heating, and in the opposite direction when cooling.

Therefore, at the time of heating, the refrigerant gas of the high temperature and high pressure compressed by the compressor 16 is condensed and liquefied in the indoor unit 20 acting as a condenser via the four-way valve 18 to discharge the heat of condensation to heat the room or to select hot water. At the same time, the refrigerant liquid, which is heated and decompressed in the capillary tube 24 through the check valve 26, becomes a low temperature and flows into the outdoor unit 22 serving as an evaporator, becomes a refrigerant gas of low temperature and low pressure using the atmosphere as a heat source, It is to repeat the cycle flowing into the compressor 16 via 18).

When forming the heating or hot water heating circuit as described above, if the atmospheric temperature is lowered, the evaporation of the refrigerant liquid in the outdoor unit 22 is insufficient in proportion to the lowering of the atmospheric temperature. When the heating calorie is insufficient as described above, the high temperature refrigerant liquid condensed in the indoor unit 20 is heated and evaporated by the evaporator 10 of the lower case 6 of the internal heat exchanger 2. As the state rises to the upper case 4, at this time, the high-temperature liquid passing through the indoor unit 20 loses energy by the latent heat of evaporation and the temperature drops. In addition, the gas working fluid discharges heat from the condensation part 8 of the upper case 4 to the low temperature fluid passing through the outdoor unit 22 and becomes condensed water to the evaporation part 10 of the lower case 6. The cycle is lowered and heated by the refrigerant liquid flowing out of the indoor unit 20.

As described above, the refrigerant gas evaporated from the upper case 4 and introduced into the compressor 16 has an increased evaporation efficiency and a higher coefficient of grade, so that a lack of heating calories does not occur even in a cold winter at low atmospheric temperature. .

On the other hand, at the time of cooling, the refrigerant gas of the high temperature and high pressure compressed by the compressor 16 is condensed in the indoor unit 20 acting as a condenser via the four-way valve 18, and then depressurized in the capillary tube 24 to become a low temperature, The air flows into the working outdoor unit 22, evaporates to perform a cooling function, and repeats a cycle flowing into the compressor 16 via the four-way valve 18, and during cooling, the function of the indoor heat exchanger is stopped.

From the above description, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features. In this regard, the embodiments described above are to be understood in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention should be construed that all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the appended claims and their equivalents, rather than the detailed description, are included in the scope of the present invention.

As described above, the heat pump having the heat pipe type internal heat exchanger of the present invention performs heat transfer between the low temperature fluid and the high temperature fluid by using latent heat, so that the heat transfer performance is superior to that of the conventional double pipe type internal heat exchanger, and thus the internal heat exchanger. The size of the can be made small, and even if the temperature difference between the two fluids is effective to transfer heat effectively.

Claims (6)

The compressor 16 compresses the refrigerant, the four-way valve 18, the indoor unit 20 condensing the compressed refrigerant, the capillary tubes 24 and 24 ′ depressurizing the compressed refrigerant, and the outdoor unit 22 that evaporates the refrigerant. In a refrigerant circuit connected by conduits (28); A heat pump having a heat pipe type internal heat exchanger, characterized in that it comprises an internal heat exchanger (2) for mutual heat exchange between the low temperature gas refrigerant passing through the outdoor unit (22) and the high temperature liquid refrigerant passing through the indoor unit (20). . According to claim 1, wherein the internal heat exchanger (2) is made of a casing in the form of a sealed container, the upper case (4) through which the gas refrigerant flowing through the outdoor unit 22 passes, the liquid coming out through the indoor unit (20) A lower case 6 through which refrigerant passes, a heat pipe 12 connecting the upper case 4 and the lower case 6, a condensation unit 8 formed inside the upper case 4, and the lower case A heat pump having a heat pipe type internal heat exchanger, characterized in that it comprises an evaporator (10) formed inside (6). 3. The heat pump according to claim 2, wherein the lower case (6) is installed in a conduit (28) between the capillary tube (24) and the capillary tube (24 '). The heat pipe type according to claim 2, wherein the upper case (4) is installed above the lower case (6) in a conduit (28) between the outdoor unit (22) and the compressor (16). Heat pump with internal heat exchanger. The heat pipe of claim 2, wherein the heat pipe 12 is heat-insulated with a low-conducting heat insulating material 14 to prevent heat loss from the surfaces other than the evaporation part 10 and the condensation part 8. Heat pump with pipe internal heat exchanger. The high temperature and high pressure refrigerant gas compressed by the compressor (16) is condensed and liquefied in the indoor unit (20) acting as a condenser, thereby dissipating the heat of condensation to heat the room, or to selectively or simultaneously heat hot water, and to decompress it in the capillary tube (24) to a low temperature. A heat pump having a cycle flowing into the outdoor unit 22 acting as an evaporator to become a refrigerant gas of low temperature and low pressure, and then entering the compressor 16; The high temperature refrigerant liquid condensed in the indoor unit 20 is heated and evaporated by the evaporation unit 10 of the lower case 6 of the internal heat exchanger 2 to rise to the upper case 4 in a gaseous state. The high temperature liquid passing through) loses energy by the latent heat of evaporation and the temperature drops. The working fluid in the gaseous state is transferred to the low temperature fluid passing through the outdoor unit 22 from the condensation part 8 of the upper case 4. The heat exchange method of the heat pump having a heat pipe type internal heat exchanger, characterized in that by discharging the heat to the condensed water is lowered to the evaporation unit 10 of the lower case 6 and is heated by the refrigerant liquid flowing out of the indoor unit 20 .