KR20150011073A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an air conditioning device. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the air conditioning device comprises: a heat exchanger which has multiple inlet ports, multiple outlet ports connected to the inlet ports, respectively, multiple refrigerant tubes for connecting the inlet ports and the outlet ports, respectively, and multiple pins for supporting the refrigerant tubes; multiple inlet tubes which are connected to the inlet ports, respectively; and multiple outlet tubes which are connected to the outlet ports, respectively, wherein at least two refrigerant tubes have different lengths that refrigerants flow. Thereby, the air conditioning device improves operation efficiency and reduces the difference between the measured superheat and actual superheat of an evaporator or a condenser.

Description

Air conditioner

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner capable of increasing operation efficiency.

Background Art [0002] Generally, an air conditioner is a device for cooling or heating an indoor space such as a residential space, a restaurant, or an office.

Further, the air conditioner includes a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve, and an outdoor heat exchanger, and the indoor space is cooled or heated according to the circulation direction of the refrigerant.

The air conditioner may include an outdoor unit installed in an outdoor space and an indoor unit installed in an indoor space. The outdoor unit includes a compressor for compressing refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger for exchanging heat between outdoor air and refrigerant, And an indoor unit, and the indoor unit may include an indoor heat exchanger and an expansion valve for exchanging heat between indoor air and the refrigerant.

In this case, in order to check the state information of the air conditioner, various pipes are equipped with a temperature sensor, and the temperature sensor measures the temperature of the refrigerant flowing through the pipe through contact with the pipe.

Specifically, the temperature sensor is installed at a predetermined position of the pipe for measuring the coolant inlet temperature and the coolant discharge temperature of the indoor heat exchanger or the outdoor heat exchanger.

Since the superheat of the refrigerant is an important index for increasing the operation efficiency, it is important to accurately measure the superheat degree of the refrigerant with the temperature sensor and maintain it at an appropriate level.

On the other hand, the indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger may have a fin-tube system, and have a structure in which a plurality of refrigerant tubes for flowing refrigerant are supported by a plurality of fins.

At this time, pressure loss occurs in the course of the refrigerant passing through the refrigerant tube. The pressure loss of the refrigerant causes a difference between the measured superheating degree and the actual superheating degree, and the difference between the measured superheating degree and the actual superheating degree causes a problem that the actual operating efficiency is inferior.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner capable of improving operation efficiency.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner capable of reducing the difference between measured superheat and actual superheat of an evaporator or a condenser.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner that can increase the reliability of measurement superheat.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner capable of improving rated performance of an evaporator or a condenser.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioning apparatus capable of optimally controlling the degree of superheat regardless of the flow rate of the refrigerant.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner comprising: a plurality of discharge ports connected to a plurality of inflow ports and respective inflow ports; a plurality of refrigerant tubes connecting the inflow ports to the discharge port; A heat exchanger including a plurality of fins for supporting the tube; a plurality of inflow tubes connected to each inflow port; And a plurality of discharge tubes connected to the respective discharge ports.

Wherein at least two refrigerant tubes are formed with different lengths in which the refrigerant flows.

Further, the length of one of the refrigerant tubes can be determined to be less than two thirds of the length of the other refrigerant tubes.

Further, the length of one of the refrigerant tubes may be determined so that a pressure loss of less than or equal to 1/2 of the pressure loss occurring in the other refrigerant tubes is generated.

In addition, the air conditioner may further include at least one temperature sensor for measuring a temperature of the refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant tube having a short length.

The air conditioner may further include: a first piping branching to the plurality of inlet tubes; a second piping branching the plurality of discharge tubes; And a first temperature sensor provided in the inflow tube connected to the refrigerant tube having a short length.

In addition, the air conditioner may further include a second temperature sensor provided in the second pipe.

In addition, at least two refrigerant tubes may be formed so that the refrigerant flows in the same length.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner comprising: a plurality of discharge ports connected to a plurality of inflow ports and respective inflow ports; a plurality of refrigerant tubes connecting the inflow ports to the discharge ports; A plurality of discharge tubes connected to the discharge ports, a first pipe branched from the plurality of discharge tubes, and a plurality of discharge tubes connected to the plurality of discharge tubes, A plurality of temperature sensors for measuring the degree of superheat of the refrigerant passing through the refrigerant tube, and a controller for controlling the opening degree of the expansion valve, The air conditioner comprising:

In order to reduce the difference between the measured superheat and the actual superheat degree, the length of at least one refrigerant tube is shorter than that of the remaining refrigerant tubes, and at least one temperature sensor measures the temperature of the refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant tube having a short length do.

The plurality of temperature sensors may include a first temperature sensor provided in the inflow tube connected to the refrigerant tube having a short length and a second temperature sensor provided in the second pipeline.

Here, the length of the short-circuited refrigerant tube may be determined to be ⅔ or less of the length of the other refrigerant tube.

Further, the length of the refrigerant tube having a short length can be determined so that a pressure loss of less than or equal to 1/2 of the average pressure loss occurring in the other refrigerant tubes is generated.

As described above, the air conditioner according to one embodiment of the present invention has the following effects.

By optimally controlling the superheat degree irrespective of the refrigerant flow rate, the rated performance of the evaporator or the condenser can be improved.

In addition, the reliability of the measured superheat can be increased by reducing the difference between the measured superheat and the actual superheated degree of the evaporator or condenser.

In addition, the error between the superheat measured by the temperature sensor and the actual superheat can be minimized, thereby realizing high-efficiency operation.

1 is a conceptual diagram of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram of an air conditioner related to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 and 4 are conceptual diagrams of a heat exchanger constituting an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

In addition, the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals, and redundant description thereof will be omitted. For convenience of explanation, the size and shape of each constituent member shown may be exaggerated or reduced have.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an air conditioner related to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an air conditioner related to an embodiment of the present invention.

An air conditioner 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a compressor 13, an indoor heat exchanger 11, an expansion valve 15, and an outdoor heat exchanger 12.

The compressor (13) functions to make the low temperature low pressure refrigerant into a high temperature and high pressure refrigerant condition capable of being condensed, and a plurality of the compressors (13) may be provided. When a plurality of the compressors 13 are provided, the plurality of compressors may be arranged in parallel along the flow direction of the refrigerant, or may be provided in series.

Also, the indoor heat exchanger 11 and the outdoor heat exchanger 12 may perform the functions of the evaporator and the condenser in the cooling mode, respectively, and may perform the functions of the condenser and the evaporator in the heating mode, respectively. The indoor heat exchanger (11) and the outdoor heat exchanger (12) may be fin-tube type heat exchangers.

The indoor heat exchanger 11 may be provided with an indoor fan 16 and the outdoor heat exchanger 12 may be provided with an outdoor fan 17.

The air conditioning apparatus 10 may include a flow path switching valve 14 for switching the circulation direction of the refrigerant so that the cooling cycle and the heating cycle are switched. -way valve.

The air conditioner 10 separates the refrigerant that has not evaporated from the oil separator (not shown) for returning the oil discharged together with the refrigerant to the compressor 13 again in the compressor 13 and the refrigerant in the evaporator, A liquid separator (not shown) may be further included to prevent the liquid refrigerant from being introduced into the evaporator 13.

In addition, the air conditioner 10 may be provided with one or more sensors for detecting state information of the air conditioning space, such as a temperature sensor and / or a humidity sensor, and state information of the air conditioner 10, Various valves may be provided for control.

Specifically, the air conditioner 10 includes a first temperature sensor 19 for measuring the temperature of the refrigerant flowing into the indoor heat exchanger or the outdoor heat exchanger, and a second temperature sensor 19 for measuring the temperature of the refrigerant discharged from the indoor heat exchanger or the outdoor heat exchanger And a second temperature sensor 20 for measuring the temperature of the liquid.

The air conditioner 10 also controls the opening degree of the compressor 13 and / or the expansion valve 15 based on the temperature information sensed by the first temperature sensor 19 and the second temperature sensor 20 And a control unit 18 for controlling the operation of the apparatus. The control unit 18 can control the indoor fan 16 and the outdoor fan 17 according to the required load.

As described above, the indoor heat exchanger 11 and the outdoor heat exchanger 12 may be a fin-tube type heat exchanger and perform different functions (evaporation and condensation of the refrigerant) based on the cooling mode and the heating mode can do.

Hereinafter, a case where the indoor heat exchanger operates in an evaporator (cooling mode of the air conditioner) with reference to an indoor heat exchanger (hereinafter also referred to as a heat exchanger or a first heat exchanger) will be described as an example.

3 and 4 are conceptual diagrams of a heat exchanger 100 constituting an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. As described above, the heat exchanger 100 corresponds to the indoor heat exchanger 11 described with reference to FIG.

The heat exchanger 100 includes a plurality of discharge ports 111 to 113 connected to a plurality of inlet ports 101 to 103 and respective inlet ports 101 to 103, A plurality of refrigerant tubes 171 to 173 connecting the ports 111 to 113 and a plurality of fins 120 to 121 to 123 for supporting the refrigerant tubes 171 to 173.

For convenience of explanation, the plurality of inlet ports 101 to 103 are referred to as a first inlet port 101 to the third inlet port 103, and the plurality of discharge ports 111 to 113 are referred to as a first discharge port 111 to the third discharge port 113 and the plurality of refrigerant tubes 171 to 173 are referred to as a first refrigerant tube 171 to a third refrigerant tube 173.

At this time, the refrigerant flowing through the first inlet port 101 flows through the first refrigerant tube 171 and is discharged through the first discharge port 111. The refrigerant flowing through the second inlet port 102 flows through the second refrigerant tube 172 and is discharged through the second discharge port 112. In addition, the refrigerant flowing through the third inlet port 103 flows through the third refrigerant tube 173 and is discharged through the third discharge port 113.

At this time, the first to third refrigerant tubes 171 to 173 through which the refrigerant flows can be referred to as first to third paths (Paths P1 to P3). The paths P1 to P3 of the heat exchanger 100 are designed based on the rated refrigerant flow rate.

In particular, when the indoor heat exchanger operates as an evaporator, the operation efficiency of the low load becomes important, and when the indoor heat exchanger operates as the condenser, the operation efficiency of the rated / high load can be an important index. That is, in the case of an indoor heat exchanger for operating a low flow rate on the assumption of operating as an evaporator, the performance of the condenser may be reduced.

On the other hand, even when the refrigerant superheat measured from the first temperature sensor 19 and the second temperature sensor 20 is optimized to be close to 1 degree, if the refrigerant flow rate becomes larger than the rated flow rate, It actually forms a high degree of superheat. In this way, inefficient operation can be performed when errors in measurement superheat and actual superheat occur.

Thus, a pass design is required to accommodate low flow rates when operating as an evaporator and to increase rated performance when operating as a condenser. That is, a structure capable of optimizing the superheat degree control regardless of the refrigerant flow rate is required.

To this end, at least two refrigerant tubes (e.g., 171, 172) are formed with different lengths through which the refrigerant flows.

For example, the lengths of the first refrigerant tube 171 and the second refrigerant tube 172 are different from each other. The length of the first refrigerant tube 171 in which the refrigerant flows is relatively short And the second refrigerant tube 172 may have a relatively long refrigerant flow length.

That is, the above-mentioned pass is corresponded to a low-load operation when operated by an evaporator and a control pass for efficiently performing superheat degree measurement and control irrespective of a refrigerant flow rate, and is classified into a performance path capable of responding to a rated flow rate when operated as a condenser . For example, the first refrigerant tube (first pass) may be a control pass, and the second refrigerant tube 172 and the third refrigerant tube 173 may be a performance pass.

In addition, in order to reduce the difference between the measured superheat and the actual superheat degree, the length of at least one refrigerant tube is shorter than that of the remaining refrigerant tubes.

In the case of the refrigerant tube (pass) having a relatively short length, since the pressure loss is small during the flow of the refrigerant, it is advantageous to measure the temperature for controlling the superheat degree. That is, in the case of the control path, the difference between the superheat measured by the temperature sensor and the actual superheat degree will not be large.

On the other hand, when at least two refrigerant tubes are formed to have different lengths of refrigerant flow, the length of one refrigerant tube can be determined to be less than two thirds of the length of another refrigerant tube. For example, the length of the first refrigerant tube 171 may be less than two thirds of the length of the second refrigerant tube 172.

Further, in the case where at least two refrigerant tubes are formed so that the refrigerant flow lengths are different from each other, the length of one refrigerant tube may be determined so that a pressure loss of less than or equal to 1/2 of the pressure loss occurring in the other refrigerant tubes is generated. For example, the length of the first refrigerant tube 171 may be determined so that a pressure loss of less than or equal to 1/2 of the pressure loss occurring in the second refrigerant tube 172 is generated.

As described above, both the second refrigerant tube 172 and the third refrigerant tube 173 may be performance paths.

In this case, the length of the refrigerant tube (first refrigerant tube) having a short length can be determined so that a pressure loss of less than or equal to 1/2 of the average pressure loss occurring in the other refrigerant tubes (the second and third refrigerant tubes) is generated.

Also, at least two refrigerant tubes may have the same length in which the refrigerant flows, and when both the second refrigerant tube 172 and the third refrigerant tube 173 are in the performance path, the second refrigerant tube 172, The third refrigerant tube 172 and the third refrigerant tube 172 may have the same length in which the refrigerant flows.

Hereinafter, the piping structure of the heat exchanger 100 will be described in more detail. The first refrigerant tube 171 is the control path P1 and the second and third refrigerant tubes 172 and 173 are the performance paths P2 , P3) will be described as an example.

The air conditioner 10 includes a plurality of inflow tubes 131 to 133 connected to the respective inflow ports 101 to 103 and a plurality of discharge tubes 141 to 143 connected to the respective discharge ports 111 to 113 .

The plurality of inflow tubes 131 to 133 includes first to third inflow tubes 131 to 133. The first inflow tube 131 is connected to the first inflow port 101, The tube 132 is connected to the second inlet port 102 and the third inlet tube 133 is connected to the third inlet port 103.

Similarly, the plurality of discharge tubes 141 to 143 include first to third discharge tubes 141 to 143, the first discharge tube 141 is connected to the first discharge port 111, The second discharge tube 142 is connected to the second discharge port 112 and the third discharge tube 143 is connected to the third discharge port 113.

The air conditioning apparatus 10 further includes a first pipe 150 branched to the plurality of inlet tubes 131 through 133 and a second pipe 160 connected to the plurality of discharge tubes 141 through 143 . Here, the above-described expansion valve 15 is provided on the first pipe 150.

In addition, the first pipe 150 may be provided with a refrigerant distributor 151 for branching the refrigerant into the first to third inflow tubes 131 to 133.

On the other hand, the mounting position of the temperature sensor is important in order to reduce the error between the actual superheat and the measured superheat.

The air conditioner 10 includes at least one temperature sensor for measuring a temperature of a refrigerant flowing into a refrigerant tube (first refrigerant tube) having a short length.

Specifically, the air conditioner (10) includes a first temperature sensor (19) located in an inlet tube connected to a refrigerant tube having a short length. That is, the first temperature sensor 19 is provided in the first inlet tube 131 connected to the first refrigerant tube 171. The first temperature sensor 19 measures the inlet temperature of the refrigerant flowing into the control pass (first refrigerant tube).

In addition, the air conditioner 10 may further include a second temperature sensor 20 positioned in the second pipe 160. The second temperature sensor 20 measures the outlet temperature of the refrigerant passing through the heat exchanger 100. That is, the second temperature sensor 20 may be provided at a point where the refrigerant passing through each of the first to third passes P1 to P3 is collected.

Alternatively, the second temperature sensor 20 may be provided in the first discharge tube 141 connected to the control path P1.

Up to now, the case where the heat exchanger (100, indoor heat exchanger) operates as an evaporator has been described as an example. Alternatively, if the heat exchanger 100 operates as a condenser, the second temperature sensor 20 will measure the condenser inlet temperature and the second temperature sensor 19 will measure the condenser outlet temperature.

The control unit 18 determines the degree of superheat based on the temperature information sensed by the first temperature sensor 19 and the second temperature sensor 20. In addition, the controller 18 may adjust the opening degree of the compressor 13 and / or the expansion valve 15 so that the measured superheat degree is maintained at an appropriate level.

Referring to FIG. 4, the first to third refrigerant tubes 171 to 173 are fixed and supported by a plurality of pins 121 to 123, respectively. Further, each of the refrigerant tubes 171 to 173 may be mounted on the plurality of fins 121 to 123 in a bent state at least once. The unexplained reference character B represents a return band, which indicates a bent region of each of the refrigerant tubes 171 to 173.

The first refrigerant tube 171 is a control path P1 and the second and third refrigerant tubes 172 and 173 are performance paths P2 and P3.

Accordingly, the first refrigerant tube 171 is formed to have a shorter refrigerant flow length than the second and third refrigerant tubes 172 and 173, and the second and third refrigerant tubes 172 and 173 are substantially formed of refrigerant The flow lengths of the first and second fluid chambers can be made equal.

As described above, the length of the first refrigerant tube 171 can be determined to be less than two thirds of the length of the second refrigerant tube 172.

The length of the first refrigerant tube 171 may be determined so that a pressure loss of less than or equal to 1/2 of the pressure loss occurring in the second refrigerant tube 172 is generated.

In addition, the length of the first refrigerant tube 171 can be determined so that a pressure loss of less than or equal to 1/2 of the average pressure loss generated in the second and third refrigerant tubes 172 and 173 is generated.

3 and 4, the number of return bands of the second path P2 is equal to the number of return bands of the third path P3, and the number of return bands of the first path P1 is equal to the number of return bands of the second path P2 P2) of the number of return bands.

For example, referring to FIG. 3, when the second path P2 and the third path P3 have five return bands, the first path Pl may have two return bands.

The intervals d1 and d2 of the two inlet ports may be the same and the interval h1 of one of the intervals h1 and h2 of the two adjacent discharge ports may be the same as the remaining interval h2. . ≪ / RTI >

The distance d1 between the first inlet port 101 and the second inlet port 102 and the distance d2 between the second inlet port 103 and the third inlet port 103 may be the same.

The interval h1 between the first discharge port 111 and the second discharge port 112 may be smaller than the interval h2 between the second discharge port 112 and the third discharge port 113. [

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, And additions should be considered as falling within the scope of the following claims.

10: air conditioner 11: indoor heat exchanger
12: outdoor heat exchanger 13: compressor
14: Four-way valve 15: Expansion valve
18: control unit 19: first temperature sensor
20: second temperature sensor 100: heat exchanger

Claims (13)

A heat exchanger including a plurality of discharge ports connected to the plurality of inlet ports and each of the inlet ports, a plurality of refrigerant tubes connecting the respective inlet ports to the discharge ports, and a plurality of fins for supporting the refrigerant tubes;
A plurality of inflow tubes connected to each inflow port; And
And a plurality of discharge tubes connected to the respective discharge ports,
Wherein at least two refrigerant tubes are formed such that refrigerant flow lengths are different from each other. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the length of one of the refrigerant tubes is determined to be less than two thirds of the length of the other refrigerant tubes. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the length of one of the refrigerant tubes is determined so that a pressure loss of less than or equal to 1/2 of the pressure loss occurring in the other refrigerant tube is generated. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising at least one temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the refrigerant flowing into the short-circuited refrigerant tube. The method according to claim 1,
A first tubing branched to the plurality of inflow tubes;
A second pipe through which the plurality of discharge tubes are lapped; And
Further comprising a first temperature sensor provided in the inflow tube connected to the refrigerant tube having a short length. 6. The method of claim 5,
And a second temperature sensor provided in the second pipe. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein at least two refrigerant tubes are formed so that the refrigerant flows in the same length. The method according to claim 1,
And the intervals of the two adjacent inlet ports are all formed identically. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein an interval of any one of the intervals of two adjacent discharge ports is smaller than the remaining interval. A heat exchanger including a plurality of discharge ports connected to the plurality of inlet ports and each of the inlet ports, a plurality of refrigerant tubes connecting the respective inlet ports to the discharge ports, and a plurality of fins for supporting the refrigerant tubes;
A plurality of inflow tubes connected to each inflow port;
A plurality of discharge tubes connected to the respective discharge ports;
A first tubing branched to the plurality of inflow tubes;
A second pipe through which the plurality of discharge tubes are lapped;
An expansion valve provided on the first pipe;
A plurality of temperature sensors for measuring the degree of superheat of the refrigerant passing through the refrigerant tube,
And a controller for adjusting the opening degree of the expansion valve,
In order to reduce the difference between the measured superheat and the actual superheat degree, the length of at least one refrigerant tube is shorter than that of the remaining refrigerant tubes,
Wherein the at least one temperature sensor is arranged to measure the temperature of the refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant tube having a short length. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the plurality of temperature sensors include a first temperature sensor provided in an inlet tube connected to a refrigerant tube having a short length and a second temperature sensor provided in the second pipe. 11. The method of claim 10,
The length of the refrigerant tube having a short length is determined to be less than two thirds of the length of the other refrigerant tubes. 11. The method of claim 10,
The length of the refrigerant tube having a short length is determined so that a pressure loss of less than or equal to 1/2 of the average pressure loss occurring in the other refrigerant tubes is generated.

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