KR20140060698A - An accumulator and an air conditioner using it - Google Patents

Abstract

An accumulator according to the present invention includes a housing forming a space therein; an inlet pipe guiding inflow of a refrigerant to the housing; and a refrigerant discharge pipe discharging outwardly the refrigerant fed from the inlet pipe. The refrigerant discharge pipe has a guide channel disposed in the housing, a first discharge portion connected to the guide channel to guide the discharge of the refrigerant from the housing, and an inlet portion communicating with the first discharge portion to guide the inflow of the refrigerant from the housing. The air conditioner according to the present invention includes an indoor unit air-conditioning the indoor air, and an outdoor unit connected to the indoor unit and having a compressor compressing the refrigerant and an accumulator connected to the compressor to guide the inflow of the refrigerant. The accumulator has a housing forming the appearance and a refrigerant pipe guiding the flow of the refrigerant. The refrigerant pipe has a first pipe extending outwardly from the bottom surface of the housing, and a second pipe extending from the first pipe to the bottom surface of the housing.

Description

An accumulator and an air conditioner using the same,

The present invention relates to an accumulator and an air conditioner using the same.

The air conditioner is a device for adjusting the room temperature by discharging cold air into the room to create a pleasant indoor environment. The air conditioner may also be provided with an air cleaning function for purifying indoor air.

Generally, the air conditioner includes an indoor unit installed in a room, and an outdoor unit mounted with a number of components such as a compressor and a heat exchanger to supply the refrigerant to the indoor unit. At least one indoor unit may be connected to the outdoor unit. Also, the air conditioner may be operated in a cooling or heating mode by supplying the refrigerant to the indoor unit. The cooling mode or the heating mode, which is an operating mode of the air conditioner, can be changed according to a driving state requested by a user.

That is, the air conditioner may perform the cooling operation or the heating operation according to the flow of the refrigerant.

First, the flow of the refrigerant when the cooling operation is performed in the air conditioner will be described. The refrigerant compressed in the compressor of the outdoor unit becomes a liquid refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure through the heat exchanger of the outdoor unit. When the liquid refrigerant is supplied to the indoor unit, the refrigerant expands in the heat exchanger of the indoor unit, and vaporization may occur. The temperature of the surrounding air is lowered due to the vaporization phenomenon. And, the indoor fan can rotate and cool air can be discharged into the room.

The flow of the refrigerant when the heating operation is performed in the air conditioner is as follows. When the gas refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure is supplied to the indoor unit from the compressor of the outdoor unit, the gas refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure can be liquefied in the heat exchanger of the indoor unit. The energy released by the liquefaction phenomenon raises the temperature of the ambient air. And, the indoor fan can rotate, and warm air can be discharged to the room.

Meanwhile, the outdoor unit is provided with a compressor for changing the refrigerant into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas state when the air conditioner is subjected to cooling or heating operation. The refrigerant circulated in the refrigerant cycle of the air conditioner is mixed with the liquid and the gas while passing through the evaporator. The refrigerant having passed through the evaporator flows into the compressor again. Accordingly, the air conditioner is provided with an accumulator for separating the liquid and the gas so that the liquid is prevented from flowing into the compressor and only the gas can be introduced. That is, the accumulator is disposed between the compressor and the evaporator, and serves as a gas-liquid separator so that only gas can flow into the compressor.

However, the vibration and noise generated when the compressor operates may be transmitted to the piping for connecting the accumulator and the compressor, thereby hindering the operation of the accumulator.

Some of the liquid refrigerant and oil circulating in the refrigerant cycle of the air conditioner are collected at the lower portion of the accumulator. Therefore, there has been a need for a method for returning oil collected in the lower portion of the accumulator to the compressor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an accumulator for minimizing vibrations and noise generated in piping for connecting the compressor and an accumulator when the compressor is driven, and to provide an accumulator and an air conditioner using the accumulator.

And an apparatus for guiding the oil collected in the lower portion of the accumulator to be discharged to the compressor during operation of the air conditioner, and an air conditioner using the accumulator.

An accumulator according to the present invention includes: a housing defining a space therein; An inlet pipe for guiding the inflow of the refrigerant into the housing; And a refrigerant discharge pipe for discharging the refrigerant flowing through the inflow pipe to the outside, wherein the refrigerant discharge pipe includes: a guide channel disposed inside the housing; A first discharge portion connected to the guide passage and guiding the outflow of the refrigerant from the housing; And an inflow portion communicating with the first discharge portion and guiding inflow of the refrigerant into the housing.

Further, the air conditioner according to the present invention includes: an indoor unit for harmonizing indoor air; And an outdoor unit connected to the indoor unit, the outdoor unit having a compressor for compressing the refrigerant and an accumulator connected to the compressor to guide the flow of the refrigerant, wherein the accumulator comprises: a housing forming an outer appearance; And a refrigerant pipe for guiding the flow of the refrigerant, wherein the refrigerant pipe includes: a first pipe extending outward from a lower surface of the housing; And a second conduit extending from the first conduit to a bottom surface of the housing.

According to the present invention, a part of the refrigerant pipe connecting the compressor and the accumulator is disposed inside the accumulator, thereby minimizing the noise and vibration transmitted to the refrigerant pipe during the operation of the compressor.

An oil guide pipe is a passage through which oil collected at the lower portion of the accumulator is moved and an oil valve for controlling the movement of oil passing through the oil guide pipe is provided on the lower side of the accumulator, Can be smoothly performed.

1 is a view showing the configuration of an air conditioner according to the present invention.
2 is a view showing a system of an air conditioner according to the present invention.
3 is a perspective view showing a state where a compressor and an accumulator are connected according to the present invention;
4 is a refrigerant pipe diagram of an accumulator according to the present invention.
5 is a view showing the arrangement relationship between refrigerant and oil in the accumulator according to the present invention.
6 is a cross-sectional view of a portion II 'of FIG. 4 according to the present invention;

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. It should be noted that, in adding reference numerals to the constituent elements of the drawings, the same constituent elements are denoted by the same reference symbols as possible even if they are shown in different drawings. In the following description of the embodiments of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the difference that the embodiments of the present invention are not conclusive.

1 is a view showing a configuration of an air conditioner according to the present invention. Specifically, Fig. 1 (a) is a view showing an indoor unit and an outdoor unit as one example of a stand-type air conditioner, and Fig. 1 (b) is a view showing a plurality of indoor units and an outdoor unit as an example of a ceiling type air conditioner. The air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the stand type or ceiling type shown in the drawings. However, the type of the air conditioner is not limited to this, but can be used for a wall-mounted type, and can be used for an integral type in which there is no distinction between an outdoor unit and an indoor unit, and the form thereof is not limited to the drawings.

1, the air conditioner includes an indoor unit 200 for discharging conditioned air into the room, an outdoor unit 100 connected to the indoor unit 200 and disposed outside the room, .

The outdoor unit 100 and the indoor unit 200 are connected to each other through a refrigerant pipe so that the cold and hot air can be discharged from the indoor unit 200 to the room according to the circulation of the refrigerant. A plurality of the indoor units 200 may be provided and may be connected to the outdoor units 100 in a plurality of ways.

1B, the air conditioner includes a plurality of indoor units 200 and at least one outdoor unit 100 connected to the plurality of indoor units 200. The plurality of indoor units 200 and the outdoor unit 100 may be connected to each other through a refrigerant pipe or may be connected to a communication cable so as to transmit or receive a control command according to a predetermined communication method.

The air conditioner may further include a plurality of indoor units (200) and a remote controller (not shown) for controlling the outdoor units (100). The air conditioner may further include a local controller (not shown) connected to the indoor unit 200 for inputting a user command and outputting an operation state of the indoor unit 200.

The air conditioner may further include a plurality of units such as a ventilation unit, an air cleaning unit, a humidifying unit, a dehumidifying unit, a heater, and the like in addition to the indoor unit 200 and the outdoor unit 100. In addition, an illumination unit, an alarm unit, and the like may be connected to the remote controller (not shown) so as to be operated in cooperation with each other.

The indoor unit 200 includes a discharge port for discharging heat-exchanged air. The discharge port may be provided with a wind direction adjusting unit that can open and close the discharge port and control the direction of the discharged air. Also, the indoor unit 200 may control the amount of air discharged from the discharge port. At this time, a plurality of vanes may be installed in the plurality of air inlets and the plurality of air outlets. The vane may open / close at least one of the plurality of air inlets and the plurality of air outlets, and guide the flow direction of the air.

The indoor unit 200 may further include an input unit for inputting a display unit and setting data for displaying the operation status and setting information of the indoor unit 200. When the user inputs a driving operation command of the air conditioner through the input unit, the outdoor unit 100 can be operated in the cooling mode or the heating mode corresponding to the inputted command. In addition, the outdoor unit 100 supplies the refrigerant to the plurality of indoor units 100, and the direction of the air flow is guided along the discharge port of the indoor unit 100 so that the indoor environment can be controlled.

Hereinafter, the internal configuration of the indoor unit 200 and the outdoor unit 100 of the air conditioner will be described.

2 is a view showing a system of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

2, the outdoor unit 100 includes an outdoor heat exchanger 110 for exchanging heat between outdoor air and refrigerant, an outdoor air blower 120 for blowing outdoor air to the outdoor heat exchanger 110, An accumulator 300, a compressor 150 for compressing the gas refrigerant extracted from the accumulator 300, a four-way valve 130 for switching the flow of refrigerant, and an outdoor electronic expansion Valve < / RTI >

During the cooling operation of the air conditioner, the outdoor heat exchanger (110) can function as a condenser in which the gaseous refrigerant transferred to the outdoor heat exchanger (110) can be condensed by the outdoor air. The outdoor heat exchanger 110 may also operate as an evaporator in which the liquid refrigerant transferred to the outdoor heat exchanger 110 can be evaporated by the outdoor air during the heating operation of the air conditioner.

The outdoor fan 120 includes an outdoor motor 122 for generating power and an outdoor fan 121 connected to the outdoor electric motor 122 to generate a wind power while being rotated by the power of the outdoor electric motor 122. [ .

In addition, the outdoor unit 100 may include two compressors. One of the two compressors may be an inverter compressor and the other may be a constant speed compressor. However, the number of the compressors or the type of compressors is not limited.

The outdoor units 100 may include a plurality of outdoor units. Specifically, the outdoor unit 100 may include a main outdoor unit and an auxiliary outdoor unit. The main outdoor unit and the auxiliary outdoor unit may be connected to the plurality of indoor units 200. The main outdoor unit and the auxiliary outdoor unit may be driven by a request of at least one of the plurality of indoor units (200). First, when the main outdoor unit is operated corresponding to the number of indoor units to be operated and the capacity of the main outdoor unit exceeds the capacity of the main outdoor unit, the auxiliary outdoor unit may operate. That is, the number of operation of the outdoor unit and the operation of the compressor provided in the outdoor unit can be varied corresponding to the required cooling or heating capacity.

The indoor unit 200 includes an indoor heat exchanger 210 for exchanging indoor air and refrigerant with each other, an indoor air blower 220 for blowing indoor air to the indoor heat exchanger 210, an indoor air flow rate And an indoor electronic expansion valve (not shown) as an adjustment member.

During the cooling operation of the air conditioner, the indoor heat exchanger 210 may function as an evaporator in which the liquid refrigerant transferred to the indoor heat exchanger 210 can be evaporated by indoor air. Also, in the heating operation of the air conditioner, the gaseous refrigerant transferred to the indoor heat exchanger 210 may function as a condenser that can be condensed by room air.

The indoor fan 220 may include an indoor motor 222 for generating power and an indoor fan 221 connected to the indoor electric motor 222 to generate a wind power while being rotated by the indoor electric motor 222. [ have. Further, the air conditioner may be constituted by a cooler that cools the room, or a heat pump that cools or heats the room.

In this way, the air conditioner is provided with a space for allowing the refrigerant to move therein in order to perform the cooling or heating operation. Specifically, a plurality of components are installed in the outdoor unit 100 and the indoor unit 200 of the air conditioner. The plurality of components include a refrigerant pipe as a passage through which the refrigerant is moved. The refrigerant pipe capable of performing heat exchange with the outside air moves to the refrigerant pipe.

When the air conditioner performs cooling or heating operation, the refrigerant circulates through one refrigerant cycle and passes through the refrigerant pipe. That is, when the air conditioner operates, the refrigerant compressed by the high-temperature and high-pressure gas by the compressor 150 may flow into the compressor 150 through the evaporator after passing through the refrigerant cycle. However, the refrigerant passing through the evaporator has a state in which gas and liquid are mixed. Accordingly, an accumulator 300 separating the gas and the liquid is provided between the compressor and the evaporator. The accumulator 300 serves as a gas-liquid separator so that only refrigerant in a gaseous state in the refrigerant passing through the evaporator can be introduced into the compressor 150.

Hereinafter, the connection relationship between the accumulator and the compressor will be described.

3 is a perspective view showing a state where a compressor and an accumulator are connected according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the outdoor unit includes a compressor 150 for compressing refrigerant and an accumulator 300 connected to the compressor 50. The accumulator 300 includes a housing 310 forming an outer appearance of the housing 310, an inlet hole 306 through which the refrigerant flowing through the evaporator can pass, and an accumulator 300 And a second discharge passage (350) for providing a passage so that only the gaseous refrigerant in the refrigerant flowing into the compressor (150) flows into the compressor (150).

Hereinafter, the flow of the refrigerant moving through the accumulator will be briefly described.

First, the refrigerant passing through the evaporator flows into the accumulator 300 along the inlet pipe 305. At this time, the refrigerant passing through the inflow pipe 305 is in a mixed refrigerant state in which a gas and a liquid are mixed. Therefore, the accumulator 300 separates the gaseous refrigerant and the liquid refrigerant flowing through the inlet pipe 305 from each other. That is, the refrigerant in the liquid state is stored in the accumulator 300, and the refrigerant in the gaseous state is discharged to the compressor 150. The gaseous refrigerant may be moved to the compressor 150 through a second discharge passage 350 connecting the accumulator 300 and the compressor 150. [ The refrigerant transferred to the compressor (150) becomes a high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous state and can circulate the refrigerant cycle again.

The internal structure of the accumulator 300 will be described below.

4 is a refrigerant pipe view of an accumulator according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the accumulator 300 includes a housing 310 forming an outer appearance, and a plurality of refrigerant discharge tubes that are passages through which the refrigerant passing through the housing 310 is moved.

The refrigerant discharge pipe configured to pass through the accumulator 300 is provided with an inlet pipe 305 which is a passage through which the refrigerant that has passed through the evaporator flows into the accumulator 300, A first discharge passage 330 communicating with the first guide passage 320 and disposed below the housing 310, a second guide passage 320 communicating with the first guide passage 320, A second guide passage 340 communicating with the first guide passage 330 and accommodated in the housing 310 and a second discharge passage 350 communicated with the second guide passage 340 and provided on the upper side of the housing 310, .

That is, the guide channels 320 and 340 may be accommodated in the housing 310. In other words, the guide paths 320 and 340 include a first guide path 320 through which the gaseous coolant flows from the coolant introduced from the inflow pipe 305, and a second guide path 320 connected to the inflow part 332 340 may be included.

The refrigerant flowing into the housing 310 along the inlet pipe 305 is in a mixed refrigerant state in which gas and liquid are mixed. The liquid refrigerant may be stored in the housing 310. Then, the gas refrigerant is moved to the compressor (see 150 in FIG. 3) along the refrigerant pipe.

Hereinafter, the flow of the gas refrigerant moving along the refrigerant pipe will be described.

The gas refrigerant flowing into the housing 310 through the inlet pipe 305 may be guided by the first guide channel 320 disposed in the housing 310. [ The gas refrigerant moving through the first guide passage 320 is discharged to the outside of the housing 310 through the first discharge portion 331. That is, the first guide passage 320 may be coupled to the first discharge portion 331. The refrigerant passing through the first discharge portion 331 may move along the first discharge flow path 330 disposed outside the housing 310. The gas refrigerant passing through the first discharge passage 330 may be moved in the direction of the second guide passage 340 along the inlet 332 to guide the gas refrigerant into the housing 310 again. The refrigerant moved along the second guide passage 340 may be moved along the second discharge portion 351 which guides the refrigerant from the inside to the outside of the housing 310 again. The gas refrigerant passing through the second discharge portion 351 can be moved to the compressor (see 150 in FIG. 3) along the second discharge passage 350.

The first discharge portion 331 and the inflow portion 332 may be formed at a height lower than or equal to the height of the bottom surface of the housing 310.

A first pipe 332 extending from the lower surface of the housing 310 to the outside and a second pipe 332 extending from the first pipe 332 to the lower surface of the housing 310 333 may be included. That is, the first guide channel 320 can communicate with the first pipe 332, and the second guide channel 340 can communicate with the second pipe 333. Therefore, one side of the first pipe 332 and one side of the second pipe 333 can communicate with the lower surface of the housing 310.

Since the first guide passage 320 and the second guide passage 340 are disposed inside the housing 310 as described above, due to the noise and vibration generated by the operation of the compressor (see 150 in FIG. 3), the accumulator 300 ) Can be minimized.

The material flowing into the housing 310 through the inlet pipe 305 may include gaseous refrigerant, liquid refrigerant, and oil passed through the refrigerant cycle. Further, the oil must be discharged to the compressor again for smooth operation of the compressor.

Therefore, the second pipe 333 is provided with an oil guide pipe 360 for discharging oil to the compressor. Specifically, an oil passage hole is formed in the lower surface of the housing 310 so that oil contained in the lower surface of the housing 310 is discharged to the compressor. The oil passing through the oil through hole is connected to one side of the second pipe 333, so that the oil can be discharged to the compressor together with the gas refrigerant passing through the second pipe. The oil guide pipe 360 may be provided with an oil valve 361 for controlling the movement of the oil. Whether or not the oil moves along the oil guide pipe 360 can be determined by opening and closing the oil valve 361.

The oil passing through the inside of the oil guide pipe 360 may be connected to one side of the second pipe 333 and may move together with the gas refrigerant passing through the second pipe 333. The diameter of the oil guide pipe 360 is smaller than or equal to the diameter of the first discharge portion 331 or the inflow portion 332 so that the gas refrigerant and the oil are easily joined together Lt; / RTI >

Whether the oil valve 361 is opened or closed can be controlled by the user directly by opening or closing the oil valve 361 or by controlling the opening and closing of the oil valve 361 have. As an example, if the operation of the compressor stops, the oil supply to the compressor would be unnecessary. Accordingly, the control unit (not shown) may close the oil valve 361 to cut off unnecessary oil supply to the compressor.

If more oil is supplied to the compressor, turbulence is generated in the oil supplied to the compressor. In this case, when the compressor is driven, not only the refrigerant but also the oil are compressed at the same time, so that the efficiency of the compressor is deteriorated. Accordingly, when the compressor is stopped, the control unit (not shown) controls the oil valve 361 to be closed to prevent unnecessary oil supply to the compressor, thereby increasing the efficiency of the compressor.

The oil passing through the oil guide pipe 360 has a higher hydrostatic pressure than the gas refrigerant or liquid refrigerant flowing into the housing 310. The oil guide pipe 360 may be disposed at a lower or equal height than the lower surface of the housing 310 with respect to the lower surface of the housing 310.

Hereinafter, a process of separating the material flowing into the housing 310 through the inlet pipe 305 will be described.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the arrangement relationship between refrigerant and oil in the accumulator according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I 'of FIG. 4 according to the present invention.

5 and 6, the gas refrigerant, the liquid refrigerant, and the oil are included in the material that flows into the inflow portion 305 through the evaporator.

The specific gravity of the influent material is the largest in oil and the smallest in gas refrigerant. Accordingly, the gas refrigerant is received in the upper surface of the housing 310, the oil is received in the lower surface of the housing 310, and the liquid refrigerant can be received between the gas refrigerant and the oil. The process of moving the inflow material along the pipe will be described as follows.

The gas refrigerant is discharged from the inside of the housing 310 to the outside through the discharge through hole 321 located on the lower surface of the housing 310. The gas refrigerant discharged to the outside of the housing 310 may be introduced into the housing 310 again through the inflow holes 341.

The liquid refrigerant may be stored in the housing 310.

The oil can be received in the lower surface of the housing 310. The oil accommodated in the lower surface of the housing 310 may be discharged to the outside of the housing 310 along the oil through hole 362 formed at one side of the lower surface of the housing 310. The oil discharged to the outside of the housing 310 is combined with the gas refrigerant passing through the second pipe 333 located outside the housing 310 and flows through the inlet hole 341 Lt; / RTI >

That is, the substance discharged through the discharge through hole 321 is gas refrigerant, and the substance flowing through the inlet hole 341 may be gas refrigerant and oil. Accordingly, the oil contained in the lower surface of the housing 310 can smoothly move to the compressor.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are intended to illustrate rather than limit the scope of the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas falling within the scope of the same shall be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

100: outdoor unit 200: indoor unit
300: accumulator 310: housing

Claims (15)

A housing defining a space therein;
An inlet pipe for guiding the inflow of the refrigerant into the housing; And
And a refrigerant discharge pipe for discharging the refrigerant flowing through the inflow pipe to the outside,
The refrigerant discharge pipe includes:
A guide passage disposed inside the housing;
A first discharge portion connected to the guide passage and guiding the outflow of the refrigerant from the housing; And
And an inflow portion communicating with the first discharge portion and guiding inflow of the refrigerant into the housing. The method according to claim 1,
In the guide passage,
A first guide channel through which the gaseous refrigerant flows in the refrigerant introduced from the inlet pipe, and a second guide channel connected to the inlet unit. 3. The method of claim 2,
And the first guide passage is coupled to the first discharge portion. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first discharge portion and the inflow portion are provided, at one side thereof,
A through hole for connecting the first guide passage and the second guide passage is formed,
And the plurality of through holes are formed on a lower surface of the housing. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first discharge portion
Wherein the height of the housing is lower than or equal to the height of the bottom surface of the housing. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein at least one of the first discharge portion and the inflow portion is provided with:
And an oil guide tube for providing a passage for oil accommodated in a lower portion of the housing. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein one side of the oil guide pipe is connected to at least one of the first discharge portion and the inflow portion,
And the other side of the oil guide pipe is connected to a lower surface of the housing. 8. The method of claim 7,
On the lower surface of the housing,
And an oil passage hole through which the oil flows into the oil guide pipe is formed. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the diameter of the oil guide tube is smaller than or equal to the diameter of the first discharge portion or the inflow portion. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the oil guide tube is provided with an oil valve for guiding movement of the oil. An indoor unit for harmonizing indoor air; And
And an outdoor unit connected to the indoor unit, the outdoor unit having a compressor for compressing the refrigerant and an accumulator connected to the compressor to guide the flow of the refrigerant,
The accumulator includes:
A housing defining an appearance; And
And a refrigerant pipe for guiding the flow of the refrigerant,
Wherein the refrigerant pipe
A first pipe extending outwardly from a lower surface of the housing; And
And a second pipe extending from the first pipe to the lower surface of the housing. 12. The method of claim 11,
One side of the first pipe and one side of the second pipe are connected to each other,
And communicates with the lower surface of the housing. 13. The method of claim 12,
And the second piping includes:
And connected to an oil guide pipe which is a passage for introducing oil into the compressor. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the oil guide tube includes:
An air conditioner connected to an oil valve to guide the movement of oil. 12. The method of claim 11,
Further comprising a control unit for controlling the oil valve to be closed when the operation of the compressor is stopped.

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