KR20160058454A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an air conditioning device including: a compressor formed to compress a coolant; a first heat exchanger; an expansion valve formed to expand the coolant; and a second heat exchanger. The air conditioning device includes: a first coolant pipe formed between the compressor and the first heat exchanger; a second coolant pipe formed between the first heat exchanger and the expansion valve; a third coolant pipe formed between the expansion valve and the second heat exchanger; a fourth coolant pipe formed between the second heat exchanger and the compressor; and a coolant storing unit connected to one among the first coolant pipe to the fourth coolant pipe in a row and formed to store at least some of the coolant circulating in the air conditioning device. According to the present invention, in the air conditioning device circulating the coolant while a predetermined amount of the coolant is supplied, the amount of the coolant circulating in a cooling cycle and a heating cycle can be varied. Thus, both of the heating performance and the cooling performance can be improved.

Description

Air conditioner

The present invention relates to an air conditioner capable of improving both cooling performance and heating performance.

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.

Also, the air conditioner is a device for cooling and / or heating the indoor space by performing a process of compressing, condensing, expanding, and evaporating 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.

1 is a view showing a refrigerant circulation structure of a conventional air conditioner 1 of the related art.

1, the air conditioner 1 includes a cooling / heating cycle consisting of a compressor 2, a first heat exchanger 5, an expansion valve 6 and a second heat exchanger 7. At this time, one or more fans may be provided in the vicinity of the first heat exchanger (5) and the second heat exchanger (7). An accumulator 3 may be provided on the compressor 2 side.

The air conditioner (1) may include a flow path switching valve (4) for cooling or heating the indoor space by selectively supplying the refrigerant in both directions. At this time, the flow path switching valve 4 may be a 4-way valve. The flow path switching valve (4) is configured to select and supply the refrigerant flowing into one side in one of four directions.

The compressor 2, the first heat exchanger 5, the expansion valve 6, and the second heat exchanger 7 may be connected to each other by a refrigerant passage 8.

Depending on the circulation direction of the refrigerant, the first heat exchanger (5) and the second heat exchanger (7) can be operated in the form of one of a condenser and an evaporator, respectively.

For example, in the state shown in FIG. 1, when the refrigerant circulates clockwise, the first heat exchanger 5 operates as a condenser and the second heat exchanger 7 can operate as an evaporator. At this time, if the first heat exchanger (5) is an indoor heat exchanger, the air conditioner (1) can form a cooling cycle for cooling the room by the refrigerant circulating in the clockwise direction.

On the other hand, when the refrigerant circulates counterclockwise, the first heat exchanger 5 operates as an evaporator and the second heat exchanger 7 can operate as a condenser. At this time, if the first heat exchanger (5) is an indoor heat exchanger, the air conditioner (1) can form a heating cycle for heating the room by the refrigerant circulating in the counterclockwise direction.

On the other hand, as the refrigerant circulates clockwise or counterclockwise in the air conditioner 1 in a state where a certain amount of refrigerant is injected into the air conditioner 1, a cooling and / or heating cycle is formed do.

At this time, when the size difference between the first heat exchanger 5 and the second heat exchanger 7 is large or when the volume of the tube disposed in the first heat exchanger 5 and the tube disposed in the second heat exchanger 7 When the difference is large, there may arise a problem that the cooling efficiency according to the cooling cycle and the heating efficiency differ according to the heating cycle.

For example, when the second heat exchanger 7 is smaller than the first heat exchanger 5, the following problems may occur.

When the second heat exchanger 7 operates as a condenser, a relatively large amount of liquid refrigerant is filled in the second heat exchanger 7 and the two-phase section (i.e., the phase change section) is reduced, 7 may be deteriorated.

This problem can be similarly generated even when the size of the first heat exchanger 5 is smaller than that of the second heat exchanger 7 and the first heat exchanger 5 operates as a condenser. That is, in this case, the condensing performance of the first heat exchanger 5 may be deteriorated.

That is, when the heat exchanger operating as the condenser is smaller than the heat exchanger operating as the evaporator, the above-mentioned condensation performance problem arises.

The problem also arises from the fact that the amount of the refrigerant injected into the air conditioner 1 is determined based on the cooling performance.

That is, the amount of refrigerant for optimal cooling performance is generally greater than the amount of refrigerant for optimal heating performance. At this time, when the size of the heat exchanger acting as the condenser is smaller than the size of the heat exchanger operating as the evaporator, the section occupied by the liquid refrigerant in the heat exchanger acting as the condenser becomes large.

As a result, there arises a problem that the two-phase section (that is, phase change section) of the refrigerant in the heat exchanger operating as the condenser is reduced and the condensing performance is deteriorated.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner that can improve both the cooling performance and the heating performance.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner capable of varying the amount of refrigerant circulating through the air conditioner in a cooling cycle and a heating cycle of the air conditioner.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner capable of preventing performance deterioration of a heat exchanger operating as a condenser, when the heat exchanger operating as a condenser is smaller than a heat exchanger operating as an evaporator.

Specifically, the present invention provides an air conditioning apparatus including a compressor formed to compress a refrigerant, a first heat exchanger, an expansion valve formed to expand the refrigerant, and a second heat exchanger, A first refrigerant pipe provided between the first heat exchanger and the first heat exchanger; A second refrigerant pipe provided between the first heat exchanger and the expansion valve; A third refrigerant pipe provided between the expansion valve and the second heat exchanger; A fourth refrigerant pipe provided between the second heat exchanger and the compressor; And a refrigerant storage portion connected in parallel to one of the first to fourth refrigerant tubes and configured to store at least a part of the refrigerant circulating in the air conditioner, wherein the refrigerant storage portion includes a refrigerant storage And a check valve disposed on one side of the refrigerant storage means.

At this time, the refrigerant reservoir may be connected to the third refrigerant tube in parallel.

In addition, the refrigerant storage means may be disposed on the branched flow path branched in parallel from the third refrigerant pipe.

In addition, the check valve may be disposed in series with the refrigerant storage means on the branch flow path.

In addition, the check valve may be configured to block the refrigerant flowing through the branched flow channel when the air conditioner operates in a cooling cycle.

The check valve may be disposed at a position facing the expansion valve side with respect to the refrigerant storage means.

The refrigerant storage means and the check valve may be integrally formed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner comprising: an outdoor unit in which the first heat exchanger is installed; And an indoor unit in which the second heat exchanger is installed, and the refrigerant storage unit and the check valve may be disposed in the indoor unit.

Conversely, the refrigerant storage means and the check valve may be disposed in the outdoor unit.

The refrigerant storage unit may be configured to store at least a portion of the liquid refrigerant flowing through the third refrigerant pipe during the heating operation of the air conditioner.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner comprising: a compressor configured to compress a refrigerant; A first heat exchanger configured to exchange heat with indoor air; An expansion valve formed to expand the refrigerant; A second heat exchanger formed to exchange heat with outdoor air; And a refrigerant storage portion disposed in parallel with the refrigerant pipe provided between the expansion valve and the second heat exchanger and configured to store at least a portion of the refrigerant.

The refrigerant storage unit may include: a refrigerant storage unit disposed on a branch flow path branched in parallel from the refrigerant pipe; And a check valve disposed in series with the refrigerant storage means on the branch flow path.

Further, the check valve may be disposed closer to the expansion valve than the refrigerant storage means.

Also, the branched flow path includes a first branched flow path and a second branched flow path, the first branched flow path is formed to connect the refrigerant pipe and the check valve, and the second branched flow path is connected to the refrigerant pipe and the refrigerant May be formed to connect the storage means.

At this time, the first branched flow passage is disposed closer to the expansion valve side than the second branched flow passage, and the second branched flow passage is disposed closer to the second heat exchanger side than the first branched flow passage have.

According to the present invention, both the cooling performance and the heating performance of the air conditioner for circulating the refrigerant in a state in which a certain amount of refrigerant is supplied can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, the amount of the refrigerant circulating in the air conditioner can be varied in the cooling cycle and the heating cycle of the air conditioner.

Further, according to the present invention, when the heat exchanger operating as a condenser is smaller than the heat exchanger operating as an evaporator, deterioration of performance of the heat exchanger operating as a condenser can be prevented.

1 is a view showing a refrigerant circulation structure of a conventional air conditioner.
2 is a view illustrating a refrigerant circulation structure of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view illustrating a control unit included in the air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present 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.

2 is a view illustrating a refrigerant circulation structure of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, an air conditioner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a compressor 120 configured to compress a refrigerant, a first heat exchanger 150, an expansion valve 160 And a second heat exchanger 170.

In this case, the first heat exchanger 150 and the second heat exchanger 170 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 .

The air conditioner 100 may further include a plurality of air conditioners 100 for connecting the compressor 120, the first heat exchanger 150, the expansion valve 160 configured to expand the refrigerant, and the second heat exchanger 170, And may further include refrigerant pipes 181, 182, 183 and 184.

Specifically, the air conditioning apparatus 100 includes a first refrigerant pipe 181 provided between the compressor 120 and the first heat exchanger 150, a first refrigerant pipe 181 disposed between the first heat exchanger 150 and the expansion valve A third refrigerant pipe 183 provided between the expansion valve 160 and the second heat exchanger 170 and a second refrigerant pipe 183 provided between the second heat exchanger 170 and the second refrigerant pipe 183, And a fourth refrigerant pipe (184) provided between the compressor (120) and the compressor (120).

The accumulator 130 may be provided on the compressor 120 to prevent the refrigerant that has not evaporated from the heat exchanger from operating in the evaporator to prevent the liquid refrigerant from flowing into the compressor 130.

The air conditioning apparatus 100 further includes a flow path switching valve 1400 for cooling or heating the indoor space by selectively supplying the refrigerant in both directions between the compressor 120 and the first heat exchanger 150 .

The flow path switching valve 140 may be a four-way valve. The flow path switching valve 140 is configured to select and supply the refrigerant introduced into one side in one of four directions.

In addition, the flow path switching valve 140 may be disposed closer to the compressor 120 than the first heat exchanger 150.

The air conditioner 100 may further include an oil separator (not shown) for returning the oil discharged from the compressor 120 together with the refrigerant to the compressor 120 again.

Also, the air conditioner 100 may be provided with one or more sensors for detecting status information of the air conditioning space, such as a temperature sensor and / or a humidity sensor, and status information of the air conditioner 100, Various valves may be provided for control.

Meanwhile, the first heat exchanger 150 may be an indoor heat exchanger or an outdoor heat exchanger.

When the first heat exchanger 150 is used as an indoor heat exchanger, the second heat exchanger 170 can be used as an outdoor heat exchanger.

Conversely, when the first heat exchanger 150 is used as an outdoor heat exchanger, the second heat exchanger 170 can be used as an indoor heat exchanger.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the first heat exchanger 150 is used as an outdoor heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger 170 is used as an indoor heat exchanger.

In the case of a cooling cycle in which the refrigerant circulates clockwise, the first heat exchanger 150 may operate as a condenser and the second heat exchanger 170 may operate as an evaporator.

Further, in the case of a heating cycle in which the refrigerant circulates counterclockwise, the first heat exchanger 150 may operate as an evaporator and the second heat exchanger 170 may operate as a condenser.

At this time, the first heat exchanger 150 may perform heat exchange with the outside air (i.e., outdoor air), and the second heat exchanger 170 may be formed to exchange heat with the indoor air (i.e., indoor air).

When the sizes of the first heat exchanger 150 and the second heat exchanger 170 are greatly different from each other, a heat exchanger of the first heat exchanger 150 and the second heat exchanger 170, which functions as a condenser, The condensation performance may be deteriorated.

For example, when the second heat exchanger 170 is smaller than the first heat exchanger 150 and a certain amount of refrigerant is injected into the air conditioner 100, the second heat exchanger 170 The condensing performance of the second heat exchanger 170 may be lowered in the heating cycle used as the condenser.

Of course, when the size of the first heat exchanger 150 is smaller than that of the second heat exchanger 170, the condensing performance of the first heat exchanger 150 is lowered even in the cooling cycle in which the first heat exchanger 150 is used as the condenser .

This decrease in the condensing performance is due to the fact that the space occupied by the liquid state refrigerant in the heat exchanger used as the condenser (i.e., in the tube of the heat exchanger) becomes larger, so that the phase of the two phases It is because.

Therefore, when the relatively small heat exchanger of the two heat exchangers 150 and 170 provided in the air conditioner 100 operates as a condenser, it is necessary to adjust the amount of refrigerant supplied to the condenser.

In particular, by reducing the amount of refrigerant supplied to a relatively small heat exchanger operating as a condenser, it is possible to prevent degradation of the condensing performance of the heat exchanger operating as a condenser or to improve condensing performance.

For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the size of the second heat exchanger 170 is smaller than that of the first heat exchanger 150 in the embodiment shown in FIG. In addition, the problem of the degradation of the condensation performance can be generated in the case of a heating cycle in which the second heat exchanger 170 operates as a condenser.

In this case, the lowering of the condensing performance of the second heat exchanger 170 may affect the heating efficiency and the power consumption.

That is, if the condensing performance of the second heat exchanger 170 is improved, the heating efficiency can be increased and the power consumption can be reduced.

Accordingly, the air conditioner 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may include a refrigerant storage unit 190 connected to one of the first to fourth refrigerant pipes 181 to 184 and configured to store the refrigerant. have.

At this time, the refrigerant storage unit 190 may be connected to one of the first to fourth refrigerant pipes 181 to 184 in parallel, and may be configured to store a predetermined amount of liquid refrigerant.

The amount of the refrigerant circulating in the air conditioner 100 is limited by the amount of refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant storage unit 190 because the refrigerant is circulated in the counterclockwise direction in accordance with the heating cycle, May be reduced by the amount of refrigerant stored in the heat exchanger.

Therefore, the condensing performance of the second heat exchanger 170 can be prevented from deteriorating or the condensing performance can be improved.

The refrigerant storage unit 190 may be connected to the third refrigerant pipe 183 provided between the expansion valve 160 and the second heat exchanger 170 in parallel.

This is because the refrigerant in the liquid state is easy to store, and generally the liquid refrigerant flows into the third refrigerant pipe 183 and the second refrigerant pipe 182.

In addition, in the illustrated embodiment, the second refrigerant pipe 182 is generally provided on the side of the first heat exchanger 150 (i.e., the outdoor heat exchanger) together with the expansion valve 160, It is preferable that the refrigerant storage unit 190 is connected in parallel.

Specifically, the refrigerant storage unit 190 may include a refrigerant storage unit 191 disposed on the branch flow paths 185 and 186 branched from the third refrigerant pipe 183 in parallel.

The refrigerant storage means 191 may be formed to have a predetermined volume. Accordingly, at least a part of the refrigerant flowing through the third refrigerant pipe 183 may be supplied to the refrigerant storage means 191 through the branch flow paths 185 and 186.

That is, the branched flow paths 185 and 186 are connected to the third refrigerant pipe 183 in parallel. A part of the refrigerant flowing through the third refrigerant pipe 183 flows through the branched flow paths 185 and 186 Lt; / RTI >

The refrigerant flowing through the branched flow paths 185 and 186 may be supplied to the refrigerant storage means 191 through one side of the refrigerant storage means 191.

At this time, the refrigerant storage means 191 having a predetermined volume may be filled with a refrigerant (for example, liquid refrigerant).

After the refrigerant storage means 191 is filled with the refrigerant, the refrigerant entering the refrigerant storage means 191 thereafter flows through the branched flow paths 185 and 186 connected to the other side of the refrigerant storage means 191 by pressure Flow. Of course, in this case, the refrigerant storage means 191 can be kept filled with the refrigerant.

Therefore, in the illustrated embodiment, in the case of the heating cycle in which the refrigerant circulates in the counterclockwise direction, the amount of the refrigerant circulating in the air conditioner 100 can be reduced as compared with the case of the cooling cycle.

In the cooling cycle in which the refrigerant circulates clockwise in the illustrated embodiment, the refrigerant stored in the refrigerant storage means 191 flows into the third refrigerant pipe 183 by the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the third refrigerant pipe 183 ). Therefore, in the cooling cycle, the amount of the refrigerant circulating in the air conditioner 100 can be increased as compared with the case of the heating cycle.

That is, in the cooling cycle in which the refrigerant circulates in the clockwise direction, the pressure of the third refrigerant pipe 183 is lowered by the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the third refrigerant pipe 183. Accordingly, the refrigerant stored in the refrigerant storage means 191 can be discharged to the third refrigerant pipe 183.

The refrigerant storage unit 191 may have a hexahedral shape or a spherical shape, and a chamber may be formed therein.

The refrigerant storage unit 190 may further include a check valve 192 disposed on one side of the refrigerant storage unit 191 on the branched flow paths 185 and 186.

At this time, the first branched flow path 185 may be connected to the upper side of the refrigerant storage means 191 and the second branch flow path 186 may be connected to the lower side (lower end) of the refrigerant storage means 191. In addition, the refrigerant storage means 191 can be positioned higher than the third refrigerant pipe 183.

Accordingly, in the cooling cycle in which the refrigerant circulates in the clockwise direction, the refrigerant stored in the refrigerant storage means 191 can escape to the third refrigerant pipe 183 through the second branch passage 186.

Of course, in a cooling cycle in which a pump (not shown) is connected to the refrigerant storage means 191 and the refrigerant circulates clockwise, the refrigerant stored in the refrigerant storage means 191 by the pump is supplied to the third refrigerant pipe 183 As shown in Fig.

In the cooling cycle in which the refrigerant circulates in the clockwise direction, in order to allow the refrigerant stored in the refrigerant storage means 191 to escape to the third refrigerant pipe 183 through the second branch passage 186, The first branch passage 191 is located at a position higher than the third refrigerant pipe 183 and the second branch passage 186 is connected to the lower end of the refrigerant storage means 191. [

At this time, in the cooling cycle in which the refrigerant circulates clockwise, if the refrigerant stored in the refrigerant storage means 191 can escape to the third refrigerant pipe 183 through the second branch passage 186, The flow path 185 may be connected to a portion other than the upper side of the refrigerant storage means 191.

On the other hand, the check valve 192 may be formed such that the refrigerant entering the check valve 192 flows only in one direction.

The check valve 192 may be disposed in series with the refrigerant reservoir 190 on the branched flow paths 185 and 186.

Therefore, the check valve 192 can selectively pass or block the refrigerant flowing toward the refrigerant storage means 191 on the branch flow paths 185 and 186.

At this time, the check valve 192 may be configured to block the refrigerant flowing into the branch passages 185 and 186 when the air conditioner 100 operates in a cooling cycle.

Accordingly, only when the air conditioner 100 is operated in the heating cycle (that is, only when the refrigerant circulates counterclockwise in the illustrated embodiment), the branch flow paths 185, 186 and the check valve 192 are closed, A predetermined amount of refrigerant may be stored in the refrigerant storage means 191. [

The check valve 192 may be disposed at a position facing the expansion valve 160 with respect to the refrigerant storage means 191.

That is, in the refrigerant storage unit 190, the refrigerant storage unit 191 is disposed at a position facing the second heat exchanger 170 side compared with the check valve 192, May be disposed at a position facing the check valve (192) side as compared with the refrigerant storage means (191).

Accordingly, the refrigerant flowing toward the refrigerant storage means 191 through the branch flow paths 185 and 186 flows through the refrigerant storage means 191 before the refrigerant storage means 191 in the cooling cycle (i.e., when the refrigerant circulates in the clockwise direction in the illustrated embodiment) The supply of the refrigerant to the refrigerant storage means 191 can be cut off by the check valve 192 provided in the refrigerant storage means 191.

Conversely, the refrigerant directed to the refrigerant storage means 191 through the branch flow passages 185, 186 in the heating cycle (i.e., when the refrigerant circulates in the counterclockwise direction in the illustrated embodiment) The refrigerant can be supplied to the third refrigerant pipe 183 through the check valve 192 after the predetermined amount of refrigerant is stored.

The branch passages 185 and 186 may include a first branch passage 185 and a second branch passage 186.

The first branched flow path 186 is formed to connect the third refrigerant pipe 183 and the check valve 192 and the second branched flow path 186 is connected to the third refrigerant pipe 183, And may be formed to connect the refrigerant storage means 191.

The first branched flow path 185 may be located closer to the expansion valve 160 side than the second branched flow path 186 and the second branched flow path 186 may be disposed closer to the first branched flow path 186 185 closer to the second heat exchanger 170 side.

Accordingly, in the illustrated embodiment, at least a portion of the refrigerant flowing through the third refrigerant pipe 183 may flow toward the first branch flow path 185 in the cooling cycle, The flow of the refrigerant through the one-branch flow path 185 can be shut off.

Also, in the case of a heating cycle, at least a part of the refrigerant flowing through the third refrigerant pipe 183 may be stored in the refrigerant storing means 191 through the second branch flow path 186.

At this time, when the refrigerant storage means 191 is filled with the refrigerant (for example, liquid refrigerant), the refrigerant supplied to the refrigerant storage means 191 through the second branch flow path 186 is again sent to the check valve 192 And the first branch passage 185 to the third refrigerant pipe 183 and circulated.

Meanwhile, the refrigerant storage means 191 and the check valve 192 may be integrally formed.

In addition, the air conditioner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include an unillustrated indoor unit and an outdoor unit.

The first heat exchanger 150 may be installed in the outdoor unit, and the second heat exchanger 170 may be installed in the indoor unit.

At this time, the refrigerant storage unit 190 may be disposed in the indoor unit. That is, the refrigerant storage unit 191 and the check valve 192 may be disposed in the indoor unit.

Conversely, the refrigerant storage unit 190 may be disposed in the outdoor unit. That is, the refrigerant storage means 191 and the check valve 192 may be disposed in the outdoor unit.

As described above, in the air conditioner having the two heat exchangers, when the size of one of the heat exchangers is smaller than that of the other heat exchanger, or when the volume of the tube provided in one of the heat exchangers is different from that of the other heat exchangers In the case where the volume of the tube is smaller than the volume of the tube provided, a problem of degradation of condensing performance may arise when a small heat exchanger whose size is small or the volume of the tube operates as a condenser.

However, by adopting the configuration of the refrigerant storage unit 190, it is possible to selectively control the amount of refrigerant in the cooling cycle and the heating cycle, thereby improving both the cooling performance and the heating performance.

In the above description, it is assumed that the second heat exchanger 170 is smaller than the first heat exchanger 150 or the second heat exchanger 170 is smaller than the tube volume of the first heat exchanger 150 It is assumed that the volume of the tube provided is small.

Conversely, when the size of the second heat exchanger 170 is larger than that of the first heat exchanger 150, or the volume of the tubes provided in the first heat exchanger 150 is larger than the volume of the tubes provided in the second heat exchanger 170 The larger the volume of the tube is.

Even in this case, the above-described configurations are applied equally and the same effect can be generated. However, when the first heat exchanger (for example, the outdoor heat exchanger) is smaller than the second heat exchanger (for example, the indoor heat exchanger), the second heat exchanger 170 is operated as an evaporator and the first heat exchanger 150 may operate as a condenser may be a problem.

That is, in the cooling cycle, the condensing performance of the first heat exchanger 150 operating as a condenser may be deteriorated.

In this case, the positions of the refrigerant storage means 191 and the check valve 192 should be opposite to each other.

That is, the refrigerant storage means 191 is located closer to the expansion valve 160 side than the check valve 192, and the check valve 192 is located closer to the refrigerant storage means 191 than to the refrigerant storage means 191, (170) side.

Also, the check valve 192 may be configured to block the flow of the refrigerant even if a part of the refrigerant flowing in the counterclockwise direction enters the third refrigerant pipe 183 through the second branch passage 186.

Other than these differences, all of the above-described configurations and effects can be equally applied.

Hereinafter, a control unit for controlling the air conditioner 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

3 is a view illustrating a control unit included in the air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the air conditioner 100 may further include a controller 103 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The control unit 103 may be configured to control the compressor 120, the flow path switching valve 140, and the expansion valve 160 described above.

That is, the control unit 103 may be configured to control the compressor 120, the flow path switching valve 140, and the expansion valve 160 according to a command input by the user.

For example, the control unit 103 may be configured to adjust the refrigerant compressive strength of the compressor 120 formed to compress the refrigerant based on the strength of the cooling and / or heating cycle input by the user.

In addition, the control unit 103 may control the flow path switching valve 140 to operate the air conditioner 100 in a cooling or heating cycle in accordance with a command input by a user.

In other words, in accordance with the control of the flow path switching valve 140 by the control unit 103, the refrigerant can be circulated clockwise or counterclockwise in the embodiment shown in FIG. In addition, the air conditioner 100 can be operated in a cooling cycle or a heating cycle according to the circulation direction of the refrigerant.

The control unit 103 may be configured to control the expansion valve 160 according to a command input by the user.

For example, the control unit 103 may control the expansion valve 160 to adjust the expansion degree of the refrigerant expanded by the expansion valve 160.

Meanwhile, when the air conditioner 100 further includes an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, the control unit 103 may be installed in one of the indoor unit and the outdoor unit.

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.

Air conditioner 100 compressor 120
The first heat exchanger 150 and the expansion valve 160
The second heat exchanger 170, the first refrigerant pipe 181
The second refrigerant tube 182, the third refrigerant tube 183
Fourth refrigerant pipe 184 refrigerant storage portion 190
Refrigerant storage means 191 Check valve 192
First branch line 185 Second line branch line 186

Claims (15)

An air conditioner comprising a compressor configured to compress a refrigerant, a first heat exchanger, an expansion valve configured to expand the refrigerant, and a second heat exchanger,
A first refrigerant pipe provided between the compressor and the first heat exchanger;
A second refrigerant pipe provided between the first heat exchanger and the expansion valve;
A third refrigerant pipe provided between the expansion valve and the second heat exchanger;
A fourth refrigerant pipe provided between the second heat exchanger and the compressor; And
And a refrigerant storage unit connected in parallel to one of the first to fourth refrigerant pipes and configured to store at least a part of the refrigerant circulating in the air conditioner,
Wherein the refrigerant storage unit comprises a refrigerant storage unit configured to store refrigerant and a check valve disposed at one side of the refrigerant storage unit. The method according to claim 1,
And the refrigerant storage unit is connected to the third refrigerant pipe in parallel. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the refrigerant storage means is disposed on branch flow paths branched in parallel from the third refrigerant pipe. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the check valve is arranged in series with the refrigerant storage means on the branched flow path. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the check valve is configured to shut off the refrigerant flowing through the branch passage when the air conditioner operates in a cooling cycle. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the check valve is disposed at a position facing the expansion valve side with respect to the refrigerant storage means. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the refrigerant storage means and the check valve are integrally formed. 5. The method of claim 4,
An outdoor unit in which the first heat exchanger is installed; And
And an indoor unit in which the second heat exchanger is installed,
Wherein the refrigerant storage means and the check valve are disposed in the indoor unit. 5. The method of claim 4,
An outdoor unit in which the first heat exchanger is installed; And
And an indoor unit in which the second heat exchanger is installed,
Wherein the refrigerant storage means and the check valve are disposed in the outdoor unit. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the refrigerant storage unit is configured to store at least a part of the liquid refrigerant flowing through the third refrigerant pipe during the heating operation of the air conditioner. A compressor configured to compress the refrigerant;
A first heat exchanger configured to exchange heat with indoor air;
An expansion valve formed to expand the refrigerant;
A second heat exchanger formed to exchange heat with outdoor air; And
And a refrigerant storage portion arranged in parallel with the refrigerant pipe provided between the expansion valve and the second heat exchanger and configured to store at least a portion of the refrigerant. 12. The method of claim 11,
The refrigerant storage unit includes:
A refrigerant storage means disposed on a branch flow path branched in parallel from the refrigerant pipe; And
And a check valve disposed in series with the refrigerant storage means on the branch flow path. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the check valve is disposed closer to the expansion valve than the refrigerant storage means. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the branched flow path includes a first branched flow path and a second branched flow path,
Wherein the first branched flow path is formed to connect the refrigerant pipe and the check valve, and the second branched flow path is formed to connect the refrigerant pipe and the refrigerant storage means. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the first branched flow passage is disposed closer to the expansion valve side than the second branched flow passage,
Wherein the second branched flow path is disposed closer to the second heat exchanger side than the first branched flow path.

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