Patent Grant
9518754
The present invention relates to an air-conditioning apparatus.
Conventional air-conditioning apparatuses perform defrosting operation by inverting a refrigerant cycle to remove frost in an outdoor heat exchanger acting as an evaporator in a heating operation. However, in that defrosting operation, indoor comfort decreases because heating is halted in the defrosting operation. One example of a technique capable of performing a heating operation and a defrosting operation at a time is a heat pump including an outdoor heat exchanger divided into a plurality of parallel heat exchangers, a bypass that bypasses gas discharged from an injection compressor for each of the divided heat exchangers, and an electromagnetic on-off valve that controls a bypass state (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).
That heat pump includes an outdoor unit, indoor units, and a main pipe connecting them such that a refrigerant circulates therethrough and is a multi-type air-conditioning apparatus in which two indoor units are connected to one outdoor unit. The outdoor unit includes an injection compressor, a four-way valve for switching between a cooling operation and a heating operation, outdoor heat exchangers connected in parallel, a first bypass pipes having a first end connected between the injection compressor and the four-way valve and a second end split and connected in parallel to the pipes connected to the outdoor heat exchangers, a second flow switching device for switching the flow of the refrigerant to either one of the main pipe and the first bypass pipe, and a third flow control valve for controlling the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing in the first bypass pipe. That enables continuous heating without inverting the refrigeration cycle by causing part of the refrigerant from the injection compressor to alternately enter each of the bypasses and by alternately defrosting each of the parallel heat exchangers.
There is a refrigeration machine that includes a plurality of parallel heat exchangers, a plurality of main compressors, and a sub compressor and that injects a refrigerant used in deicing for the heat exchanger into the sub compressor (see, for example, Patent Literature 2).
However, in the technique in Patent Literature 1, during simultaneous operation of heating operation and defrosting operation, a refrigerant in two-phase gas-liquid state exiting the outdoor heat exchanger targeting for defrosting and a gas refrigerant exiting the outdoor heat exchanger performing heating action are mixed, and the mixture is sucked into the injection compressor. Accordingly, the injection compressor needs to raise not only the pressure of the refrigerant for heating but also that for defrosting from low to high, and thus the efficiency of the air-conditioning apparatus decreases.
Enthalpy usable in defrosting is only sensible heat of the gas, and it is necessary to make a large amount of a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the injection compressor flow into the first bypass pipes in order to melt frost. That reduces the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the outdoor heat exchanger transferring heat to outside the room to perform heating, and thus the heating capacity decreases.
The technique in Patent Literature 2 needs the sub compressor, and is a technique relating to a refrigeration machine capable of performing only refrigeration and freezing, and does not include means for switching the direction of the flow of the refrigerant. Thus it cannot perform heating and cooling required as an air-conditioning apparatus.
The present invention is made to solve the above-described conventional problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide an air-conditioning apparatus capable of improving its energy efficiency and improving its heating capacity during simultaneous operation of heating operation and defrosting operation using a main compressor.
An air-conditioning apparatus according to the present invention includes a main pipe that connects indoor units and an outdoor unit such that a refrigerant circulates therethrough. The air-conditioning apparatus further includes an indoor heat exchanger, a flow control valve, an injection compressor, a refrigerant flow switching device, a plurality of outdoor heat exchangers connected in parallel, a first bypass pipe, a second bypass pipe, a first flow switching device, and a second flow switching device. The flow control valve is configured to control a flow rate of the refrigerant entering the indoor heat exchanger. The injection compressor includes an injection port allowing the refrigerant to be injected therethrough into the refrigerant undergoing compression. The refrigerant flow switching device is configured to switch between a cooling operation and a heating operation. The plurality of outdoor heat exchangers are connected in parallel. The first bypass pipe has a first end connected between the injection compressor and the refrigerant flow switching device and a second end connected to a first one of inlet and outlet sides of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers. The second bypass pipe has a first end connected to the injection port or a pipe connected to the injection port and a second end connected to a second one of the inlet and outlet sides of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers. The first flow switching device is configured to switch a flow of the refrigerant to the main pipe or the first bypass pipe. The second flow switching device is configured to switch the flow of the refrigerant to the main pipe or the second bypass pipe. In a defrosting operation of removing frost in any of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers, the first flow switching device causes part of the refrigerant discharged from the injection compressor to flow through the first bypass pipe, and the refrigerant is supplied to the outdoor heat exchanger including the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers, and targeting for defrosting, and the second flow switching device causes part of the refrigerant supplied to the outdoor heat exchanger targeting for defrosting to enter the second bypass pipe.
According to the present invention, there is no need to lower the pressure of the refrigerant for defrosting to a suction pressure. Accordingly, the injection compressor needs to raise only the pressure of the refrigerant circulating through the main circuit to perform heating from low to high, and needs to raise the pressure of the injected intermediate-pressure two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant only from intermediate to high. Thus, the advantageous effects of reducing the workload of the injection compressor 1 and improving the efficiency of the heat pump and the heating capacity are obtainable.
Embodiment 1 of the present invention is described below with reference to
The air-conditioning apparatus 1000 includes an outdoor unit 100, indoor units 200a and 200b, and a main pipe connecting them such that a refrigerant circulates therethrough. The air-conditioning apparatus 1000 is a multi-type air-conditioning apparatus in which two indoor units are connected to one outdoor unit.
The outdoor unit 100 includes an injection compressor 1, a temperature sensor 2, a four-way valve 3, a refrigerant heat exchanger 6, a second flow control valve 7 (corresponding to an outdoor flow control valve in the present invention), two-way valves 8a and 8b, outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b, two-way valves 10a and 10b, a first bypass pipe 21, two-way valves 22a and 22b, a second bypass pipe 31, third flow control valves 32a and 32b (corresponding to a second bypass flow control valve in the present invention), a third bypass pipe 41, a fourth flow control valve 42 (corresponding to an injection flow control valve in the present invention), a first flow switching device A, and a second flow switching device B. The indoor unit 200a includes an indoor heat exchanger 4a and a first flow control valve 5a (corresponding to a flow control valve in the present invention). The indoor unit 200b includes an indoor heat exchanger 4b and a first flow control valve 5b (corresponding to the flow control valve in the present invention).
The injection compressor 1 is a compressor capable of injecting a refrigerant into a refrigerant undergoing compression. The temperature sensor 2 measures the temperature of a refrigerant discharged from the injection compressor 1. The four-way valve 3 switches between a cooling operation and a heating operation and corresponds to a refrigerant flow switching device in the present invention. The refrigerant heat exchanger 6 exchanges heat between a refrigerant flowing in the main pipe and a refrigerant flowing in the third bypass pipe 41 (described below).
The first bypass pipe 21 has a first end connected between the injection compressor 1 and the four-way valve 3 and a second end split and connected in parallel to the pipes connected to the outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b. The second bypass pipe 31 has a first end connected to the third bypass pipe 41 and a second end connected in parallel to the pipe different from the pipes connected to the first bypass pipe 21 for the two outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b. The third bypass pipe 41 has a first end connected between the outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b and the main pipe connected to the indoor units 200a and 200b and a second end connected to an injection port of the injection compressor 1.
The first flow control valves 5a and 5b control the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the indoor units 200a and 200b. The second flow control valve 7 controls the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing between the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 and the two-way valves 8a and 8b. The third flow control valves 32a and 32b control the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing from the second flow switching device B to the second bypass pipe 31. The fourth flow control valve 42 adjusts the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing in the third bypass pipe 41.
The first flow switching device A is made up of the two-way valves 8a, 8b, 22a, and 22b. The second flow switching device B is made up of the two-way valves 10a and 10b and the third flow control valves 32a and 32b. Each of the two-way valves 8a, 8b, 10a, 10b, 22a, and 22b is openable and closable independently of the magnitude of a pressure at each of an inlet and an outlet of the valve and switches the flow of the refrigerant.
The valve body V includes movable walls W1 and W2 moving rightward or leftward in accordance with the pressure in each of the pressure chambers P1 and P2 and a small slide valve S. The small slide valve S is attached to the movable walls W1 and W2, moves rightward or leftward on a valve seat U, and opens and closes the valve. The pressure adjusting device X includes the small slide valve S and a small slide valve driving device Y driving the small slide valve S. The small slide valve S is used to selectively switch to either one of the case where the pipes T1 and T3 are connected and the pipes T2 and T4 are connected (valve is opened) and the case where the pipes T1 and T2 are connected and the pipes T3 and T4 are connected (valve is closed).
The pipe T1 is attached to the pressure adjusting device X at a first end and to the main pipe M1 at a second end. The pipe T2 is attached to the pressure adjusting device X at a first end and to the pressure chamber P1 at a second end. The pipe T3 is attached to the pressure adjusting device X at a first end and to the pressure chamber P2 at a second end. The pipe T4 is connected to a location where the pressure is always low in the air-conditioning apparatus, for example, to a low-pressure pipe, a suction pipe of the injection compressor 1, or an accumulator.
In the two-way valve with the above-described structure, when the small slide valve driving device Y moves the small slide valve S leftward, as illustrated in
When the small slide valve driving device Y moves the small slide valve S rightward, as illustrated in
In Embodiment 1, as illustrated in
Next, the description is provided with reference to
<Cooling Only Operation>
In the cooling only operation, the four-way valve 3 is switched to the state indicated by the broken lines in
First, a low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant is compressed by the injection compressor 1. Changes in the refrigerant in the injection compressor 1 are represented by an oblique line where the enthalpy slightly increases (points [1]-[2]) in consideration of the efficiency of the injection compressor 1.
Then, the refrigerant undergoing compression and the refrigerant flowing from the third bypass pipe 41 join together. Changes in the refrigerant in the joining are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a horizontal line (points [2]-[3], points [9]-[3]). The refrigerant is further compressed and is discharged as the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant.
Changes in the refrigerant in the injection compressor 1 are represented by an oblique line where the enthalpy slightly increases (points [3]-[4]) in consideration of the efficiency of the injection compressor 1.
The high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant discharged from the injection compressor 1 passes through the four-way valve 3 and is split, and then the split refrigerants pass through the second flow switching device B. The refrigerants enter the outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b, exchange heat with the outside air outside a room, condense and liquefy, and transfer heat to outside the room. Changes in the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [4]→point [5]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure losses in the outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b.
The liquid refrigerants pass through the first flow switching device A and then join together. The joined refrigerant flows in the main pipe and is cooled in the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 by the refrigerant flowing in the third bypass pipe 41, and its temperature decreases. Changes in the refrigerant in the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [5]→point [6]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure loss in the refrigerant heat exchanger 6.
The refrigerant exiting the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 partially enters the third bypass pipe 41, and the remaining thereof enters the indoor units 200a and 200b. The refrigerant entering the indoor units 200a and 200b is split, and the refrigerants enter the first flow control valves 5a and 5b, respectively. The refrigerants are decompressed into a low-pressure two-phase gas-liquid state. Changes in the refrigerant in the first flow control valves 5a and 5b are made under the state where the enthalpy is constant and are represented by a vertical line (point [6]→point [7]) in the p-h diagram.
The refrigerants decompressed to low pressure enter the indoor heat exchangers 4a and 4b, respectively. Each of the refrigerants exchanges heat with the air inside a room, evaporates, and cools the inside of the room. Changes in the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchangers 4a and 4b are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [7]→point [1]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure losses in the indoor heat exchangers 4a and 4b.
The low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerants exiting the indoor heat exchangers 4a and 4b join together. The joined refrigerant exits the indoor units 200a and 200b, enters the outdoor unit 100 through the main pipe, passes through the four-way valve 3 again, and is sucked into the injection compressor 1. The cooling operation is performed by circulation of the refrigerant through the main circuit in the above-described way.
The refrigerant entering the third bypass pipe 41 is decompressed by the fourth flow control valve 42 and changes into a low-temperature two-phase gas-liquid state. Changes in the refrigerant in the fourth flow control valve 42 are made under the state where the enthalpy is constant and are represented by a vertical line (point [6]→point [8]) in the p-h diagram.
The refrigerant entering the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 is heated by the refrigerant flowing in the main pipe and evaporates. Changes in the refrigerant in the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [8]→point [9]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure loss in the refrigerant heat exchanger 6.
<Heating Only Operation>
In the heating only operation, the four-way valve 3 is switched to the state indicated by the solid lines in
First, a low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant is compressed by the injection compressor 1. Changes in the refrigerant in the injection compressor 1 are represented by an oblique line where the enthalpy slightly increases (points [1]-[2]) in consideration of the efficiency of the injection compressor 1.
Then, the refrigerant undergoing compression and the refrigerant flowing from the third bypass pipe 41 join together. Changes in the refrigerant in the joining are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a horizontal line (points [2]-[3], points [10]-[3]). The refrigerant is further compressed and is discharged as the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant.
Changes in the refrigerant in the injection compressor 1 are represented by an oblique line where the enthalpy slightly increases (points [3]-[4]) in consideration of the efficiency of the injection compressor 1. The high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant discharged from the injection compressor 1 passes through the four-way valve 3 and is split. The split refrigerants enter the indoor units 200a and 200b through the main pipe, and each of the refrigerants exchanges heat with the air inside a room, condenses and liquefies, and heats on the inside of the room.
Changes in the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchangers 4a and 4b are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [4]→point [5]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure losses in the indoor heat exchangers 4a and 4b.
The liquid refrigerants are decompressed by the first flow control valves 5a and 5b. Changes in the refrigerant in the first flow control valves 5a and 5b are made under the state where the enthalpy is constant and are represented by a vertical line (point [5]→point [6]) in the p-h diagram.
The decompressed refrigerants join together. The joined refrigerant flows through the main pipe and partially enters the third bypass pipe 41, and the remaining thereof enters the refrigerant heat exchanger 6. The refrigerant entering the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 is cooled by the refrigerant flowing in the third bypass pipe 41, and its temperature decreases. Changes in the refrigerant in the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [6]→point [7]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure loss in the refrigerant heat exchanger 6.
The refrigerant exiting the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 enters the second flow control valve 7 and is decompressed into a low-pressure two-phase gas-liquid state. Changes in the refrigerant in the second flow control valve 7 are made under the state where the enthalpy is constant and are represented by a vertical line (point [7]→point [8]) in the p-h diagram.
The refrigerant decompressed to low pressure is split, and the split refrigerants enter the outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b, exchange heat with the outside air outside a room, evaporate, and transfer heat to outside the room. Changes in the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [8]→point [1]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure losses in the outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b. The low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerants exiting the outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b join together, and the joined refrigerant passes through the four-way valve 3 again and is sucked into the injection compressor 1. The heating operation is performed by circulation of the refrigerant through the main circuit in the above-described way.
The refrigerant entering the third bypass pipe 41 is decompressed by the fourth flow control valve 42 and changes into a low-temperature two-phase gas-liquid state. Changes in the refrigerant in the fourth flow control valve 42 are made under the state where the enthalpy is constant and are represented by a vertical line (point [5]→point [9]) in the p-h diagram.
The refrigerant entering the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 is heated by the refrigerant flowing in the main pipe and evaporates. Changes in the refrigerant in the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [9]→point [10]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure loss in the refrigerant heat exchanger 6. In that operation, when the temperature of the air outside the room is low, frost occurs in the outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b, continuous operation increases the frost, and the amount of heat exchanged decreases.
<Heating and Defrosting Simultaneous Operation>
Next, the flow in a heating and defrosting simultaneous operation (in a heating operation at which the outdoor heat exchanger 9b is targeting for defrosting) is described with reference to
The first flow switching device A is switched such that the refrigerant flowing from the indoor units 200a and 200b into the outdoor unit 100 is sent to only the outdoor heat exchanger 9a, passes through the four-way valve 3, and is sucked into the injection compressor 1.
It is switched such that the refrigerant discharged from the injection compressor 1 partially flows through the first bypass pipe 21, passes through the first flow switching device A, enters the outdoor heat exchanger 9b, flows through the second bypass pipe 31, and joins with the refrigerant flowing in the third bypass pipe 41.
First, the low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant is compressed by the injection compressor 1. Changes in the refrigerant in the injection compressor 1 are represented by an oblique line where the enthalpy slightly increases (points [1]-[2]) in consideration of the efficiency of the injection compressor 1.
Then, the refrigerant undergoing compression and the refrigerant flowing from the third bypass pipe 41 join together. Changes in the refrigerant in the joining are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a horizontal line (points [2]-[3], points [11]-[3]).
The refrigerant is further compressed and is discharged as the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant. Changes in the refrigerant in the injection compressor 1 are represented by an oblique line where the enthalpy slightly increases (points [3]-[4]) in consideration of the efficiency of the injection compressor 1.
The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the injection compressor 1 partially enters the first bypass pipe 21. The remaining thereof passes through the four-way valve 3, flows through the main pipe, enters each of the indoor units 200a and 200b, exchanges heat with the air inside a room, condenses and liquefies, and heats the inside of the room. Changes in the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchangers 4a and 4b are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [4]→point [5]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure losses in the indoor heat exchangers 4a and 4b.
Then, the liquid refrigerants pass through the first flow control valves 5a and 5b and are decompressed. Changes in the refrigerant in the first flow control valves 5a and 5b are made under the state where the enthalpy is constant and are represented by a vertical line (point [5]→point [6]) in the p-h diagram. The decompressed refrigerants join together, and the joined refrigerant flows through the main pipe and partially enters the third bypass pipe 41. The remaining thereof enters the refrigerant heat exchanger 6.
The refrigerant entering the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 is cooled by the refrigerant flowing through the third bypass pipe 41, and its temperature decreases. Changes in the refrigerant in the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [6]→point [7]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure loss in the refrigerant heat exchanger 6.
The refrigerant exiting the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 enters the second flow control valve 7 and is decompressed into a low-pressure two-phase gas-liquid state. Changes in the refrigerant in the second flow control valve 7 are made under the state where the enthalpy is constant and are represented by a vertical line (point [7]→point [8]) in the p-h diagram.
The refrigerant decompressed to low pressure passes through the first flow switching device A, enters the outdoor heat exchanger 9a, exchanges heat with the outside air outside a room, evaporates, and transfers heat to outside the room. Changes in the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 9a are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [8]→point [1]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure loss in the outdoor heat exchanger 9a. The low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant exiting the outdoor heat exchanger 9a passes through the four-way valve 3 again and is sucked into the injection compressor 1. The heating operation is performed by circulation of the refrigerant through the main circuit in the above-described way.
The refrigerant entering the third bypass pipe 41 is decompressed by the fourth flow control valve 42 and changes into a low-temperature two-phase gas-liquid state. Changes in the refrigerant in the fourth flow control valve 42 are made under the state where the enthalpy is constant and are represented by a vertical line (point [6]→point [9]) in the p-h diagram.
Then, the refrigerant passing through the fourth flow control valve 42 joins with the refrigerant flowing from the second bypass pipe 31. Changes in the refrigerant in the joining are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a horizontal line (point [9]-point [10], point [13]-point [10]) in the p-h diagram.
The joined refrigerant enters the refrigerant heat exchanger 6, is heated by the refrigerant flowing in the main pipe, and evaporates. Changes in the refrigerant in the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [10]→point [11]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure loss in the refrigerant heat exchanger.
The refrigerant entering the first bypass pipe 21 passes through the first flow switching device A and condenses while melting frost occurring in the outdoor heat exchanger 9b. Changes in the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 9b are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [4]→point [12]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure loss in the outdoor heat exchanger 9b.
The condensed refrigerant is decompressed by the third flow control valve 32b and changes into the two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant. Changes in the refrigerant in the third flow control valve 32b are made under the state where the enthalpy is constant and are represented by a vertical line (point [12]→point [13]) in the p-h diagram.
The decompressed refrigerant flows through the second bypass pipe 31 and joins with the refrigerant flowing in the third bypass pipe 41.
In the above-described way, in this operation mode, frost in the outdoor heat exchanger 9b can be melted while the inside of a room is heated. In the heating operation at which the outdoor heat exchanger 9a is targeting for defrosting, the first flow switching device A and the second flow switching device B are switched, and an operation of melting frost in the outdoor heat exchanger 9a and of transferring heat to outside the room in the outdoor heat exchanger 9b is performed.
<Method of Adjusting Discharge Temperature of Refrigerant from Injection Compressor 1>
Next, a method of adjusting the discharge temperature of the refrigerant from the injection compressor 1 is described. When the discharge temperature of the refrigerant from the injection compressor 1 measured by the temperature sensor 2 is equal to or higher than an upper limit temperature for securing reliability of the injection compressor 1, the opening degree of the fourth flow control valve 42 is increased. When that temperature is lower than the upper limit, the opening degree of the fourth flow control valve 42 is reduced.
In the heating operation at a low outside temperature, because the discharge temperature of the refrigerant from the injection compressor 1 increases, monitoring the discharge temperature of the refrigerant from the injection compressor 1 prevents abnormal increase in the discharge temperature of the refrigerant exiting the injection compressor 1.
As described above, the air-conditioning apparatus 1000 according to Embodiment 1 is operable in three modes of the cooling only operation, the heating only operation, and the heating and defrosting simultaneous operation and can continuously heat the inside of a room by the heating and defrosting simultaneous operation if frost occurs in the outdoor heat exchanger 9b and the performance starts decreasing because of a decrease in the volume of air or a decrease in the evaporating temperature.
In the air-conditioning apparatus 1000 according to Embodiment 1, the refrigerant for defrosting is injected not into the suction side but in the course of a compression process in the injection compressor 1. Thus, it is not necessary to lower the pressure of the refrigerant for defrosting to a suction pressure. Accordingly, the injection compressor 1 needs to raise only the pressure of the refrigerant circulating through the main circuit from low to high, and needs to raise the pressure of the injected intermediate-pressure two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant only from intermediate to high. Consequently, the workload of the injection compressor 1 is reduced, and the efficiency of the heat pump (heating capacity/workload of the injection compressor 1) is improved. That also contributes to energy saving.
In the air-conditioning apparatus 1000 according to Embodiment 1, the two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant entering the injection compressor 1 through the injection port is heated by the intermediate-pressure gas refrigerant undergoing compression and changes into the gas state inside the injection compressor 1. Thus, the reliability of the heat pump is improved. In Embodiment 1 described above, the difference of enthalpies of the refrigerant used in defrosting (length of the segment from point [4] to point [12] in
In addition, the air-conditioning apparatus 1000 according to Embodiment 1 includes the temperature sensor 2 for measuring the discharge temperature of the refrigerant from the injection compressor 1 and controls the fourth flow control valve 42 in accordance with the discharge temperature. Accordingly, an increase in the discharge temperature under a low outside air temperature condition can be suppressed, and the reliability of the injection compressor 1 is enhanced.
Additionally, in the heating operation in the air-conditioning apparatus 1000 according to Embodiment 1, the outdoor heat exchanger 9b targeting for defrosting exchanges heat while the refrigerant flows in a direction parallel to the direction in which the outside air flows, whereas the outdoor heat exchanger 9a not targeting for defrosting exchanges heat while the refrigerant flows in a direction opposite to the direction of the outside air flows. The flow of the refrigerant in the heating and defrosting simultaneous operation is described below with reference to
The outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b illustrated in
Two-way valves each capable of being opened and closed independently of the magnitude of the pressure at each of the inlet and outlet of the valve and capable of stopping a refrigerant in only one direction are used in the air-conditioning apparatus 1000 according to Embodiment 1. Accordingly, two-way valves each having a simple internal structure capable of stopping the refrigerant in only one direction can be used.
The air-conditioning apparatus 1000 according to Embodiment 1 includes the first flow switching device A and the second flow switching device B for each of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b such that the direction of the refrigerant flowing from each of the outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b to the main pipe coincides with the direction in which the two-way valve can stop the refrigerant. In all of the operation modes, the refrigerant in the first flow switching device A and the second flow switching device B can be stopped without leakage.
The air-conditioning apparatus 1000 according to Embodiment 1 is described as the configuration in which the second bypass pipe 31 is provided with the third flow control valves 32a and 32b. The configuration may be used in which each of the two pipes into which the second bypass pipe 31 is split is provided with two two-way valves and the single pipe after joining is provided with one flow control valve. With that configuration, the temperature of the refrigerant entering the outdoor heat exchanger 9b targeting for defrosting can decrease and a change in the refrigerant inside the outdoor heat exchanger 9b targeting for defrosting can be reduced, unevenness of deicing can be reduced, and thus the efficiency of deicing can be enhanced.
The air-conditioning apparatus 1000 according to Embodiment 1 includes the third bypass pipe 41 having the first end connected between the outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b and the first flow control valve 5 and the second end connected to the injection port of the injection compressor 1, the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 for exchanging heat between the refrigerant flowing between the first flow control valve 5 and the outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b and the refrigerant flowing in the third bypass pipe 41, and the fourth flow control valve 42 for controlling the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the third bypass pipe 41. The first end of the second bypass pipe 31 is connected to the third bypass pipe 41 ahead of the refrigerant heat exchanger 6. Thus the refrigerant exiting the outdoor heat exchanger 9b targeting for defrosting and the refrigerant flowing in the main pipe can exchange heat with each other in the refrigerant heat exchanger 6, and the efficiency can be enhanced.
The order of defrosting in the heating and defrosting simultaneous operation is not described in the air-conditioning apparatus 1000 according to Embodiment 1. In the case of the heat exchanger illustrated in
Embodiment 2 of the present invention is described below with reference to
The air-conditioning apparatus 1000 includes the outdoor unit 100, the indoor units 200a and 200b, and the main pipe connecting them such that a refrigerant circulates therethrough. The air-conditioning apparatus 1000 is a multi-type air-conditioning apparatus in which two indoor units are connected to one outdoor unit.
The outdoor unit 100 includes two-way valves 51a and 51b connected to the second bypass pipe 31 and a fifth flow control valve 50 (corresponding to a first bypass flow control valve in the present invention) disposed on the first bypass pipe 21. The outdoor unit 100 further includes a second pressure sensor 56 on the discharge side of the injection compressor 1 and a first pressure sensor 55 between the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 and the first flow control valves 5a and 5b (between the branch point to the third bypass pipe 41 and the first flow control valves 5a and 5b).
Each of the two-way valves 22a, 22b, 51a, and 51b is configured as a valve substantially the same as in Embodiment 1 illustrated in
In Embodiment 2, each of the two-way valves 8a, 8b, 10a, 10b, 22a, 22b, 51a, and 51b can stop a refrigerant in only the direction indicated by the arrow in
A check valve 52 is disposed between the portion where the two-way valves 51a and 51b are disposed and the portion where the second bypass pipe 31 and the third bypass pipe 41 are connected. The check valve 52 is used to prevent a refrigerant from flowing from the portion where the second bypass pipe 31 and the third bypass pipe 41 are connected toward the direction of the two-way valves 51a and 51b. The second pressure sensor 56 measures the discharge pressure of the refrigerant from the injection compressor 1. The first pressure sensor 55 measures the pressure at a location between the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 and the first flow control valves 5a and 5b (between the branch point to the third bypass pipe 41 and the first flow control valves 5a and 5b).
The other configuration is substantially the same as in Embodiment 1, and the description thereof is omitted here.
Next, the description is provided with reference to
The other operation modes, the cooling operation and the heating operation, are substantially the same as in Embodiment 1, and the description thereof is omitted here.
<Heating and Defrosting Simultaneous Operation>
Next, a flow in a heating and defrosting simultaneous operation (in the heating operation at which the outdoor heat exchanger 9b is targeting for defrosting) is described with reference to
The first flow switching device A is switched such that the refrigerant entering the outdoor unit 100 from the indoor units 200a and 200b is sent to only the outdoor heat exchanger 9a, passes through the four-way valve 3, and is sucked into the injection compressor 1.
It is switched such that the refrigerant discharged from the injection compressor 1 partially flows through the first bypass pipe 21, passes through the first flow switching device A, enters the outdoor heat exchanger 9b, flows through the second bypass pipe 31, and joins with the refrigerant flowing in the third bypass pipe 41.
First, a low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant is compressed by the injection compressor 1. Changes in the refrigerant in the injection compressor 1 are represented by an oblique line where the enthalpy slightly increases (points [1]-[2]) in consideration of the efficiency of the injection compressor 1.
Then, the refrigerant undergoing compression and the refrigerant flowing from the third bypass pipe 41 join together. Changes in the refrigerant in the joining are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a horizontal line (points [2]-[3], points [11]-[3]).
The refrigerant is further compressed and is discharged as the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant. Changes in the refrigerant in the injection compressor 1 are represented by an oblique line where the enthalpy slightly increases (points [3]-[4]) in consideration of the efficiency of the injection compressor 1.
The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the injection compressor 1 partially enters the first bypass pipe 21, and the remaining thereof passes through the four-way valve 3, flows through the main pipe, enters each of the indoor units 200a and 200b, exchanges heat with the air inside a room, condenses and liquefies, and heats the inside of the room. Changes in the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchangers 4a and 4b are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [4]→point [5]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure losses in the indoor heat exchangers 4a and 4b.
Then, the liquid refrigerants pass through the first flow control valves 5a and 5b and are decompressed. Changes in the refrigerant in the first flow control valves 5a and 5b are made under the state where the enthalpy is constant and are represented by a vertical line (point [5]→point [6]) in the p-h diagram. The decompressed refrigerants join together, and the joined refrigerant flows through the main pipe and partially enters the third bypass pipe 41. The remaining thereof enters the refrigerant heat exchanger 6.
The refrigerant entering the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 is cooled by the refrigerant flowing through the third bypass pipe 41, and its temperature decreases. Changes in the refrigerant in the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [6]→point [7]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure loss in the refrigerant heat exchanger 6.
The refrigerant exiting the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 enters the second flow control valve 7 and is decompressed into a low-pressure two-phase gas-liquid state. Changes in the refrigerant in the second flow control valve 7 are made under the state where the enthalpy is constant and are represented by a vertical line (point [7]→point [8]) in the p-h diagram.
The refrigerant decompressed to low pressure, passes through the first flow switching device A, enters the outdoor heat exchanger 9a, exchanges heat with the outside air outside a room, evaporates, and transfers heat to outside the room. Changes in the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 9a are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [8]→point [1]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure loss in the outdoor heat exchanger 9a. The low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant exiting the outdoor heat exchanger 9a passes through the four-way valve 3 again and is sucked into the injection compressor 1. The heating operation is performed by circulation of the refrigerant through the main circuit in the above-described way.
The refrigerant entering the third bypass pipe 41 is decompressed by the fourth flow control valve 42 and changes into a low-temperature two-phase gas-liquid state. Changes in the refrigerant in the fourth flow control valve 42 are made under the state where the enthalpy is constant and are represented by a vertical line (point [6]→point [9]) in the p-h diagram.
Then, the refrigerant passing through the fourth flow control valve 42 joins with the refrigerant flowing from the second bypass pipe 31. Changes in the refrigerant in the joining are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a horizontal line (point [9]-point [10], point [13]-point [10]) in the p-h diagram.
The joined refrigerant enters the refrigerant heat exchanger 6, is heated by the refrigerant flowing in the main pipe, and evaporates. Changes in the refrigerant in the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [10]→point [11]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure loss in the refrigerant heat exchanger.
The refrigerant entering the first bypass pipe 21 is decompressed by the fifth flow control valve 50. Changes in the refrigerant in the fifth flow control valve 50 are made under the state where the enthalpy is constant and are represented by a vertical line (point [4]→point [12]) in the p-h diagram. The decompressed refrigerant passes through the first flow switching device A and condenses while melting frost occurring in the outdoor heat exchanger 9b. Changes in the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 9b are made under the state where the pressure is substantially constant and are represented by a slightly oblique nearly horizontal line (point [12]→point [13]) in the p-h diagram in consideration of the pressure loss in the outdoor heat exchanger 9b.
The decompressed refrigerant flows through the second bypass pipe 31 and joins with the refrigerant flowing in the third bypass pipe 41.
In the above-described way, in this operation mode, frost in the outdoor heat exchanger 9b can be melted while the inside of a room is heated. In the heating operation at which the outdoor heat exchanger 9a is targeting for defrosting, the first flow switching device A and the second flow switching device B are switched, and an operation of melting frost in the outdoor heat exchanger 9a and of transferring heat to outside the room in the outdoor heat exchanger 9b is performed.
The method of adjusting the discharge temperature of the refrigerant from the injection compressor 1 is substantially the same as in Embodiment 1, and the description thereof is omitted here.
As described above, the air-conditioning apparatus 1000 according to Embodiment 2 can reduce the temperature of the refrigerant entering the outdoor heat exchanger 9b targeting for defrosting and changes in the temperature, can reduce unevenness of deicing, and can enhance the efficiency of deicing, in addition to achieving substantially the same advantageous effects as in Embodiment 1.
Additionally, the air-conditioning apparatus 1000 according to Embodiment 2 includes the second pressure sensor 56 for measuring the discharge temperature of the refrigerant from the injection compressor 1 and controls the fifth flow control valve 50 such that the refrigerant is at a predetermined discharge pressure in the heating and defrosting simultaneous operation, and thus heating capacity of each of the indoor heat exchangers 4a and 4b can be maintained. Specifically, when the discharge pressure is lower than the predetermined pressure, the opening degree of the fifth flow control valve 50 is reduced. When the discharge pressure is higher than the predetermined pressure, the opening degree of the fifth flow control valve 50 is increased.
In addition, the air-conditioning apparatus 1000 according to Embodiment 2 includes the first pressure sensor 55 for measuring the pressure at a location between the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 and the first flow control valves 5a and 5b (between the branch point to the third bypass pipe 41 and the first flow control valves 5a and 5b) and controls the second flow control valve 7 in accordance with the measured pressure. Thus, the pressure of the refrigerant entering the fourth flow control valve 42 and the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 can be controlled to a predetermined value, the amount of heat exchanged in each of the refrigerant heat exchanger 6 and the outdoor heat exchangers 9a and 9b can be controlled, and operation is stabilized. Specifically, when the pressure is lower than the predetermined pressure, the opening degree of the second flow control valve 7 is increased. When the pressure is higher than the predetermined pressure, the opening degree of the second flow control valve 7 is reduced.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2012/000409 | 1/24/2012 | WO | 00 | 4/28/2014 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2013/111177 | 8/1/2013 | WO | A |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20140245766 A1 | Sep 2014 | US |
