KR20090114834A - Multi-type air-conditioner and the control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A multi-type air conditioner and a control method for preventing the shortage of the refrigerant of a main outdoor unit are provided to control hot gas valve and an outdoor electronic expansion valve. CONSTITUTION: A multi-type air conditioner and a control method for preventing the shortage of the refrigerant of a main outdoor unit determine satisfaction of a first condition about a main outdoor unit operation(S102). The indoor unit operation capacity about the operation middle indoor unit is calculated(S104). It determines whether a second condition about the indoor unit operation capacity is satisfied(S106). A main and sub hot gas valves turn on and off(S110).

Description

Multi-type air conditioner and its control method

The present invention relates to a multi-type air conditioner and a control method thereof, and more particularly, by controlling a hot gas valve and an outdoor electronic expansion valve according to an indoor unit operating capacity for a indoor unit in operation among a plurality of indoor units and a compressor operation of a main outdoor unit. A multi-type air conditioner capable of preventing a refrigerant from accumulating in a sub outdoor unit and a control method thereof.

In general, an air conditioner is a device that is disposed in a room, a living room, an office, or a business store to maintain a comfortable indoor environment by controlling air temperature, humidity, cleanliness, and airflow. It is largely divided into separate type or split type.

The integrated type and the separate type are functionally the same, but the integrated type integrates the functions of cooling and heat dissipation to install a hole in the wall of the house or hang the device on the window, and the separate type installs an indoor unit that performs cooling / heating on the indoor side and outdoor. On the side, an outdoor unit that performs heat dissipation and compression was installed, and two separate devices were connected by refrigerant pipes.

In general, one outdoor unit is installed corresponding to one indoor unit. However, in the case of a building having multiple rooms, multiple outdoor units must be purchased to correspond to the indoor unit installed in each room. A certain area of space must be secured for each outdoor unit, so it is not efficient in terms of space usage.

Therefore, development of a multi-type air conditioner capable of cooling and heating several rooms at once by connecting several indoor units to one outdoor unit is actively underway.

An object of the present invention is to control the hot gas valve and the outdoor electronic expansion valve according to the indoor unit operating capacity of the indoor unit of the plurality of indoor units and the compressor operation of the main outdoor unit to prevent the refrigerant accumulation in the sub outdoor unit And to provide a control method thereof.

The multi-type air conditioner of the present invention is connected to a main outdoor unit including an inverter, a constant speed compressor, a main outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve, and a main hot gas valve, the main outdoor unit and a refrigerant pipe, and a plurality of constant speed compressors, a sub outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve, and Calculating indoor unit operating capacity according to a sub outdoor unit including a sub hot gas valve, a plurality of indoor units connected to the main and sub outdoor units and a refrigerant pipe, first conditions for operating the main outdoor unit, and an indoor unit in operation among the plurality of indoor units; And a control unit for differently turning on and off the main and sub hot gas valves and operating the opening degrees of the main and sub outdoor electronic expansion valves differently when the second condition for the indoor unit operating capacity is satisfied. .

In addition, the control method of the multi-type air conditioner of the present invention includes a main outdoor unit including an inverter and a constant speed compressor, a main outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve, and a main hot gas valve; A sub outdoor unit including a plurality of constant speed compressors, a sub outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve, and a sub hot gas valve; And a plurality of indoor units connected to the main outdoor unit and the sub outdoor unit by refrigerant pipes, and determining whether a first condition for operating the main outdoor unit is satisfied. When the first condition is satisfied, the plurality of indoor units includes: Calculating an indoor unit operating capacity for an indoor unit operating in an indoor unit, determining whether a second condition for the indoor unit operating capacity is satisfied, and if the second condition is satisfied, turn on the main and sub hot gas valves differently And turning off and operating the openings of the main and sub outdoor electromagnetic expansion valves differently.

The multi-type air conditioner of the present invention and a control method thereof include an outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve and a hot gas valve which are respectively included in the main and sub outdoor units according to the indoor unit operation capacity of the indoor unit among the plurality of indoor units and the compressor operation of the main outdoor unit. By operating differently, the refrigerant accumulated in the accumulator of the sub outdoor unit is recovered to the accumulator of the main outdoor unit and the refrigerant is not introduced into the sub outdoor unit, thereby reducing the refrigerant noise and preventing the refrigerant shortage of the main outdoor unit.

A multi-type air conditioner and a control method thereof according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view of a building showing a multi-type air conditioner according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the multi-type air conditioner is connected to at least one indoor unit 11, 12, 13, 14, or indoor unit 11, 12, 13, 14 installed in a room, and has a compressor (not shown) and outdoor electronic expansion. Outdoor units 21 and 22 including valves (not shown).

Here, the outdoor unit (21, 22) and the indoor unit (11, 12, 13, 14) is connected through the refrigerant pipe (P), so that the refrigerant between the outdoor unit (21, 22) and the indoor unit (11, 12, 13, 14) Depending on the flow, cooling or heating operation is performed.

In this case, the multi-type air conditioner may further include a central controller (not shown) connected to the outdoor units 21 and 22 and the indoor units 11, 12, 13, and 14 to monitor and control an operating state.

In addition, a distributor (not shown) may be included between the outdoor units 21 and 22 and the indoor units 11, 12, 13, and 14.

The indoor units 11, 12, 13, 14 and the outdoor units 21, 22 transmit and receive mutual control commands and data according to a predetermined communication method.

Here, at least one indoor unit (11, 12, 13, 14) may be provided in one room, the outdoor unit (21, 22) by the request of at least one of the indoor unit (11, 12, 13, 14) Driven. When a plurality of indoor units are provided in one room, a plurality of indoor units installed in one room may be group controlled or individually controlled through the central controller or outdoor units 21 and 22.

Here, the outdoor units 21 and 22 may have a variable number of air conditioners installed in accordance with the number of air conditioners and the capacity of the compressor according to the number of operation units of the indoor units 11, 12, 13, and 14.

That is, the outdoor units 21 and 22 include the main outdoor unit 21 and the sub outdoor unit 22, and although the sub outdoor unit 22 is represented as one, a plurality of outdoor units 21 and 22 may be formed.

2 is a block diagram showing a multi-type air conditioner according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the multi-type air conditioner includes a plurality of indoor units 11, 12, 13, and 14, hereinafter referred to as 'indoor', a main outdoor unit 21 connected to the indoor units 11, 12, 13, and 14, and The sub outdoor unit 22 is included.

Here, the indoor units 11, 12, 13, 14, the main outdoor unit 21, and the sub outdoor unit 22 are connected through the refrigerant pipe 30, and the main outdoor unit 21 and the sub outdoor unit 22 are the indoor unit 11. Driven by the indoor unit request of at least one of 12, 13, and 14, the main outdoor unit 21 and the sub outdoor unit 22 increase as the cooling / heating capacity required by the indoor unit 11, 12, 13, 14 increases. The number of operations of and the number of operations of the compressors installed in the main outdoor unit 21 and the sub outdoor unit 22 are increased.

Here, the indoor unit main outdoor unit 21 and the sub outdoor unit 22 are an indoor heat exchanger 51 for exchanging refrigerant and indoor air, and an indoor blower 52 installed near the indoor heat exchanger 51 to circulate indoor air. And an indoor expansion valve 54 for expanding the refrigerant flowing into the indoor heat exchanger 51 during cooling.

The main outdoor unit 21 and the sub outdoor unit 22 receive and accumulate the accumulator 61 and the gas refrigerant extracted from the accumulator 61 to extract only the gas refrigerant from the refrigerants supplied from the indoor units 11, 12, 13, and 14. Connected to the compressor (62, 63, 67), the compressor (62, 63, 67), the four-way valve 65 for selecting the flow path of the compressed refrigerant, the refrigerant supplied from the four-way valve 65 and the outdoor air heat exchange Outdoor heat exchanger (70).

Here, the main outdoor unit 21 includes an inverter compressor 62 and a constant speed compressor 63, the sub outdoor unit 22 includes only a plurality of constant speed compressors 67, and the inverter compressor 62 compresses refrigerant. The compressor is capable of varying the capacity, and the constant speed compressor 63 is a compressor having a constant compression capacity of the refrigerant.

In addition, the inverter compressor 62 is responsible for 70% of the compression capacity of the main outdoor unit 21, the constant speed compressor 63 included in the main outdoor unit 21 is responsible for the remaining 30%, included in the sub outdoor unit 22 Each constant speed compressor 67 is responsible for a compression capacity of 50%.

In particular, in order to detect the pressure of the refrigerant suctioned and discharged in the compressors 62, 63, 67, a pressure sensor is respectively provided in the inlet refrigerant pipe of the accumulator 61 and the discharge refrigerant pipe of the compressors 62, 63, 67, respectively. (Not shown) is installed.

The main outdoor unit 21 and the sub outdoor unit 22 have a four-way valve 65 in the middle, and a hot gas pipe connecting the refrigerant pipe at the inlet side of the accumulator 61 and the refrigerant pipe at the discharge side of the compressors 62, 63, and 67. The hot gas pipe 68 is provided, and the hot gas pipe 68 is provided with a capillary tube 66 and hot gas valves 69 and 79.

Here, the hot gas pipe 68 accumulates the high temperature gas refrigerant when the discharge temperature and discharge pressure of the gas refrigerant discharged from the compressors 62, 63, 67 are higher than the predetermined reference value. Piping for moving to 61, the control unit (not shown) turns the hot gas valve (69, 79) on / off.

On the other hand, the oil separator 64 is installed in the pipe connecting the compressors 62, 63, 67 and the four-way valve 65, and the oil separator 64 is connected to the suction side of the compressors 62, 63, 67. .

In particular, the oil separator 64 separates oil from the refrigerant discharged from the compressors 62, 63, and 67, and supplies the separated oil to the compressors 62, 63, and 67, thereby providing compressors 62, 63, and 67. Maintain an appropriate amount of oil inside. The oil separator 64 and the suction side pipes of the compressors 62, 63, and 67 are connected through a capillary tube, and oil is moved through the capillary tube.

In addition, the refrigerant pipes guiding the refrigerant discharged from the outdoor heat exchanger (70) to the indoor heat exchanger (51) include main and sub outdoor electromagnetic expansion valves (lev, 73, 74) for expanding the refrigerant during heating, and indoors during cooling. A supercooling device (not shown) for cooling the refrigerant moved to the heat exchanger 51, and a liquid injection device (not shown) for lowering the temperature of the compressors 62, 63, 67 are provided.

Here, the main and sub outdoor electromagnetic expansion valves (73, 74) are fully open during cooling to pass through the refrigerant condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger (70) without expanding, but when heated to open a predetermined size to heat the indoor heat exchanger (51). The refrigerant condensed in) is expanded into a liquid in a spray state before entering the outdoor heat exchanger 70.

3 is a functional block diagram showing a multi-type air conditioner according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the multi-type air conditioner controls the inverter compressor 62, the constant speed compressor 63, the main outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve 73, and the main hot gas valve 69 included in the main outdoor unit 21. The constant speed compressor 67 and the sub outdoor propagation expansion valve 74 included in the main controller 82 and the sub outdoor unit 22 that calculate the indoor unit operation capacity for the indoor unit being operated among the indoor units 11, 12, 13, 14. And a control unit 80 including a sub control unit 84 for controlling the sub hot gas valve 79 according to a control command of the main control unit 82.

Here, the main control unit 82 operates the main outdoor unit 21 according to the driving of the indoor units 11, 12, 13, 14, and calculates the indoor unit operating capacity.

At this time, the main controller 82 determines whether the first condition set for the operation of the main outdoor unit 21 is satisfied. If the first condition is satisfied, the main controller 82 determines whether the second condition with respect to the indoor unit operation capacity is satisfied.

The first condition is to determine whether only the inverter compressor 62 is in operation, and the second condition is to determine whether the indoor unit operating capacity is less than or equal to the set capacity after satisfying the first condition.

Herein, the set capacitance is preferably 27 Kw to 30 Kw. That is, when only the inverter compressor 62 is operated, it means that the indoor unit operating capacity is low.

The main controller 82 operates only the inverter compressor 62 of the main outdoor unit 21 when both the first and second conditions are satisfied, and the constant speed compressor 67 included in the sub outdoor unit 22 does not operate, but the refrigerant The main hot gas valve 69 prevents the coolant from being shortened in the accumulator 61 included in the main outdoor unit 21 and prevents refrigerant from accumulating in the accumulator 61 included in the sub outdoor unit 22. By turning off and turning on the sub hot gas valve 79, the pressure of the sub outdoor unit 22 is increased.

In addition, the main controller 82 operates the main and sub hot gas valves 69 and 79, maintains the main outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve 73 in the first opening degree, and sets the sub outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve 74 to the first opening. The flow rate flowing into the sub outdoor unit 22 is cut off by maintaining the predetermined degree smaller than one degree.

Here, the predetermined opening is preferably 20% to 40% compared to the first opening.

In addition, if only one of the first and second conditions is satisfied, the main controller 82 may set the main and sub hot gas valves 69 and 79 and the main and sub outdoor electromagnetic expansion valves 63 and 64, respectively. Operate in the same way according to the solenoid valve condition.

In the multi-type air conditioner of the present invention, if only the inverter compressor of the main outdoor unit is operated and the indoor unit operation capacity is less than the set capacity, the main and sub hot gas valves and the main and sub outdoor electronic expansion valves are operated differently so that the refrigerant flows into the accumulator of the main outdoor unit. And by blocking the inflow of the refrigerant to the accumulator of the sub-outdoor unit, there is an advantage of preventing overheating and refrigerant noise of the inverter compressor.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a multi-type air conditioner according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the multi-type air conditioner starts cooling or heating operation (S100), and determines whether the first condition for the operation of the main outdoor unit 21 is satisfied (S102).

That is, the control unit 80 includes a main outdoor unit 21 including an inverter compressor 62, a constant speed compressor 63, a main outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve 73, and a main hot gas valve 69, and a plurality of constant speed compressors. The main outdoor unit 21 of the sub outdoor unit 21 including the 67, the sub outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve 74, and the sub hot gas valve 79 is operated to start cooling or heating operation.

At this time, the control unit 80 determines whether the main outdoor unit 21 satisfies the first condition. The first condition is a condition for determining whether only the inverter compressor 62 is operating.

When the first condition for the main outdoor unit 21 is satisfied, the indoor unit operating capacity of the indoor unit in operation among the plurality of indoor units 11, 12, 13, and 14 is calculated (S104), and the indoor unit operating capacity is calculated. It is determined whether or not the second condition is satisfied (S106).

That is, when the first condition is satisfied, the control unit 80 calculates an indoor unit operating capacity for the indoor unit in operation among the plurality of indoor units 11, 12, 13, and 14 to determine whether the second condition is satisfied. Here, the second condition is a condition for determining whether the indoor unit operating capacity is less than or equal to a predetermined capacity.

When both of the first and second conditions are satisfied, the main hot gas valve 69 is turned off, the sub hot gas valve 79 is turned on (S108), and the main outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve 73 is maintained at the first opening degree. The sub outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve 74 is maintained at a predetermined opening smaller than the first opening (S108).

That is, when both the first and second conditions are satisfied, the control unit 80 turns off the sub hot gas valve 79 to increase the pressure of the sub outdoor unit 22 and sets the sub outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve 74 to a predetermined value. The opening degree is maintained so that the refrigerant flowing into the main outdoor unit 21 does not flow into the sub outdoor unit 22.

Here, the main outdoor unit 21 flows refrigerant from the sub outdoor unit 22 and accumulates in the accumulator 61.

If the first condition is not satisfied at step S102 or if the first condition is not satisfied at step S106, the main hot gas valve 69 and the sub hot gas valve 79 may be set to the set hot gas valve condition. The same on or off accordingly, and maintains the same degree of opening the main outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve 73 and the sub-outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve 74 according to the set electromagnetic expansion valve conditions.

Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can make various changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It will be appreciated that modifications or variations may be made. Accordingly, modifications to future embodiments of the present invention will not depart from the technology of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view of a building showing a multi-type air conditioner according to the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing a multi-type air conditioner according to the present invention.

3 is a functional block diagram showing a multi-type air conditioner according to the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a multi-type air conditioner according to the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols on main parts of the drawings>

21: main outdoor unit 22: sub outdoor unit

80: control unit

Claims (9)

A main outdoor unit including an inverter and a constant speed compressor, a main outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve, and a main hot gas valve; A sub outdoor unit including a plurality of constant speed compressors, a sub outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve, and a sub hot gas valve; And a plurality of indoor units connected to the main outdoor unit and the sub outdoor unit by refrigerant pipes. Determining whether a first condition for driving the main outdoor unit is satisfied; Calculating an indoor unit operating capacity for an indoor unit in operation among the plurality of indoor units when the first condition is satisfied; Determining whether a second condition with respect to the indoor unit operating capacity is satisfied; And And turning on and off the main and sub hot gas valves differently when the second condition is satisfied, and operating the opening degrees of the main and sub outdoor electromagnetic expansion valves differently. The method of claim 1, wherein the first condition, And a condition for determining whether only the inverter compressor is operating. The method of claim 1, wherein the second condition, And a condition for determining whether the indoor unit operation capacity is within a predetermined capacity range. The method of claim 1, wherein the operation step, When the first and second conditions are satisfied, the main hot gas valve is turned off and the sub hot gas valve is turned on according to the set hot gas valve condition and the outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve opening condition. A method of controlling a multi-type air conditioner, characterized by maintaining the opening degree and maintaining the sub outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve in the second opening degree. The method of claim 4, wherein the second opening degree, Control method of a multi-type air conditioner, characterized in that 20% to 40% compared to the first opening degree. The method of claim 4, wherein the operation step, If only one of the first and second conditions is satisfied, the main and sub hot gas valves are equally turned on or off according to the hot gas valve condition and the outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve opening condition, and the main and sub outdoor electromagnetic expansion valves are A control method of a multi-type air conditioner, characterized in that the same opening degree to the set opening degree. A main outdoor unit including an inverter and a constant speed compressor, a main outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve, and a main hot gas valve; A sub outdoor unit connected to the main outdoor unit and a refrigerant pipe, the sub outdoor unit including a plurality of constant speed compressors, a sub outdoor electromagnetic expansion valve, and a sub hot gas valve; A plurality of indoor units connected to the main and sub outdoor units by a refrigerant pipe; And When the first condition for the main outdoor unit operation and the indoor unit operation capacity according to the indoor unit in operation among the plurality of indoor units are calculated to satisfy the second condition for the indoor unit operation capacity, the main and sub hot gas valves are different. And a control unit that turns on and off and operates the openings of the main and sub outdoor electromagnetic expansion valves differently. The method of claim 7, wherein the first condition, And a condition for determining whether only the inverter compressor is operating. The method of claim 7, wherein the second condition, And a condition for determining whether the indoor unit operation capacity is within a predetermined capacity range.

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