JP2006308156A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner capable of reducing costs, performing defrosting operation while continuing its heating operation and reducing a running cost in the defrosting operation. <P>SOLUTION: In this air conditioner, a refrigerating cycle constituted by connecting a compressor 4, a four-way valve 5, an indoor heat exchanger 3, a first pressure reducer 7 and an outdoor heat exchanger 6 by means of refrigerant pipes 8, is provided with a bypass circuit 9 connecting between the indoor heat exchanger 3 and the first pressure reducer 7, and between the four-way valve 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6, the bypass circuit 9 is provided with a two-way valve 10 and a refrigerant heater 13, and the refrigerant heater 13 is positioned near the compressor 4, thus the continuous heating operation can be performed though the inexpensive simple refrigerating cycle is applied, and further the running cost of the refrigerant heater 13 can be reduced by utilizing the heat generated in operating the compressor 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is an air conditioner including a heater for heating a refrigerant, and can perform a heating operation while performing a defrosting operation.

  Conventionally, this type of air conditioner defrosting method has been implemented as a high heating capacity compared to a defrosting method in which a four-way valve is switched and the refrigerant flows in the reverse direction during defrosting operation (for example, , See Patent Document 1). FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a refrigeration cycle of a conventional air conditioner. Hereinafter, a conventional air conditioner will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor 101, a four-way valve 102, an indoor heat exchanger 103, an expansion mechanism 104, and an outdoor heat exchanger 105 are connected by a refrigerant pipe 106, the expansion mechanism 104 in this refrigeration cycle. Is provided with a refrigerant heating circuit 201 that is connected to the suction side of the compressor 101. The refrigerant heating circuit 201 includes a combustion refrigerant heater 107 and a two-way valve 108. Yes. In addition, a defrosting circuit 202 is provided which is connected between the discharge side of the compressor 101 and the four-way valve 102 and the outdoor heat exchanger 105. The defrosting circuit 202 includes a two-way valve 109 and a capillary tube 110. is doing. Further, a two-way valve 111 and a two-way valve 112 are provided between the expansion mechanism 104 and the outdoor heat exchanger and between the four-way valve 102 and the compressor 101 as shown in FIG.

  Below, the defrost system of the outdoor heat exchanger used for the conventional air conditioner of the said structure is demonstrated.

  In the air conditioner having the above configuration, the two-way valves 108 and 109 are normally closed, and the two-way valves 111 and 112 are opened to perform heating operation. However, when frost forms on the outdoor heat exchanger 105 during the heating operation, the two-way valve 111 is closed, and simultaneously with the ignition of the refrigerant heater 107, the two-way valve 112 is closed and the two-way valve 108 is turned on. Open. Next, by opening the two-way valve 109 and the two-way valve 111, the refrigerant heated by the refrigerant heater 107 passes through the compressor 101 and then flows through the indoor heat exchanger 103 and the defrost circuit 202. Is branched into refrigerant flowing through the outdoor heat exchanger 105. At this time, since the defrost circuit 202 has the capillary tube 110, the refrigerant hardly flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 105 on the low temperature side. The arrows in FIG. 3 indicate the refrigerant flow during the defrosting operation.

Thus, the indoor heating operation is performed with the refrigerant flowing through the indoor heat exchanger 103, and the defrosting operation is performed with the refrigerant flowing through the outdoor heat exchanger 105. Then, the refrigerant that has passed through the indoor heat exchanger 103 and the expansion mechanism 104 and the refrigerant that has passed through the outdoor heat exchanger 105 merge at the inlet side (two-way valve 8 side) of the refrigerant heating circuit 201, and again the refrigerant heater. Heated by 107.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-182994

  However, in the above conventional example, since the two-way valve 109 is opened during the defrosting operation, the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant flows through the outdoor heat exchanger 105 and the four-way valve 102. Therefore, since the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant passing through the four-way valve 102 flows into the compressor 101, the two-way valve 112 must be provided. However, in order not to increase the refrigerant pressure loss that causes the two-way valve 112 to impair the performance of the cooling and heating operation, the two-way valve 112 having a large diameter must be adopted, which increases the cost. In addition, the equipment has been increased in size.

  Further, since the conventional defrosting is performed by opening the two-way valve 108 from the heating operation and switching to the refrigerant heating operation, the refrigerant flow in the outdoor heat exchanger 105 is reversed during the heating operation and the defrosting operation. For this reason, it is necessary to operate the two-way valve 111 with one end closed before performing the defrosting operation. Therefore, the cost increases because the two-way valve 111 is used.

  In addition, during the defrosting operation, the refrigerant flowing through the outdoor heat exchanger 105 and the refrigerant flowing through the indoor heat exchanger 103 merge at the entrance of the refrigerant superheat circuit 201, so that the refrigerant pressure at the merge point is the outdoor heat exchanger 105. When the refrigerant pressure is higher than the refrigerant pressure, the refrigerant flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 105, and vice versa, the refrigerant flows into the indoor heat exchanger 103. That is, the case where the defrosting operation cannot be performed while performing the heating operation occurs, which leads to a decrease in usability.

  The air conditioner of the present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, realizes cost reduction, improves the usability by performing the defrosting operation while continuing the heating operation, and at the time of the defrosting operation It aims at providing the air conditioner which implement | achieves low running cost reduction.

  In order to solve the conventional problems, an air conditioner of the present invention includes a compressor, a four-way valve, an indoor heat exchanger, a first decompressor, and an outdoor heat exchanger connected by a refrigerant pipe, Provided with a bypass circuit connecting between the indoor heat exchanger and the first pressure reducer, and between the four-way valve and the outdoor heat exchanger, the bypass circuit is provided with a two-way valve and a refrigerant heater, A refrigerant heater is placed in the vicinity of the compressor.

  Accordingly, continuous heating operation can be performed while the refrigeration cycle is inexpensive and has a simple configuration. In addition, by placing the refrigerant heater in the vicinity of the compressor, the refrigerant heater can obtain the heat generated by the operation of the compressor, and the capacity of the heater of the refrigerant heater can be suppressed, realizing low running costs. can do.

  The air conditioner of the present invention achieves cost reduction, and can improve the usability by performing the defrosting operation while continuing the heating operation, and can realize a reduction in running cost during the defrosting operation.

  A first aspect of the present invention is a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor, a four-way valve, an indoor heat exchanger, a first pressure reducer, and an outdoor heat exchanger are connected by a refrigerant pipe, wherein the indoor heat exchanger and the first pressure reducer And a bypass circuit connecting between the four-way valve and the outdoor heat exchanger, the bypass circuit is provided with a two-way valve and a refrigerant heater, and by placing the refrigerant heater in the vicinity of the compressor, Defrosting operation can be performed while performing heating operation. Furthermore, since the defrosting operation is performed while continuing the heating operation, there is no need to switch the four-way valve, no refrigerant noise is generated when switching the four-way valve, and the pressure fluctuation is small, so the compressor oil fluctuation is small and compressed. The reliability of the machine is also improved.

  In addition, since the defrosting is performed by the heat of the outside air, the heat of the refrigerant heater can be used for all the indoor heating, so that a highly efficient heating operation can be performed. Further, the running cost of the heater of the refrigerant heater can be reduced by using the heat generated by the refrigerant heater from the compressor.

  According to the second invention, in particular, the first pressure reducer of the air conditioner of the first invention is an electronic expansion valve or a pressure reducing two-way valve, and is closed or close to a closed state during the defrosting operation, so that the outdoor The refrigerant flow in the heat exchanger can be stopped, and the heating circuit and defrost circuit can be configured by adding only one bypass two-way valve, making the outdoor piping structure simple and inexpensive. it can.

  According to a third aspect of the invention, in particular, in the bypass circuit of the air conditioner according to any one of the first and second aspects, the second decompressor is provided upstream of the refrigerant heater, whereby the refrigerant heater is evaporated. Therefore, the heat absorption efficiency of the refrigerant is improved, and an efficient refrigeration cycle can be formed.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in particular, in the bypass circuit of the air conditioner according to any one of the first to third aspects, the reverse flow valve is provided on the upstream side of the refrigerant heater, so that the direction in which the refrigerant flows is the forward direction. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the refrigerant from passing through the bypass circuit during the cooling operation and to realize normal operation.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in particular, in the refrigerant flow path of the air conditioner according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the bypass is provided at a position away from the suction port of the compressor by at least four times the pipe diameter of the suction port. By connecting the circuit and the refrigerant pipe, the compressor can be operated with high reliability without causing an extreme change in refrigerant behavior on the suction side of the compressor.

  In a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the refrigerant heater of the air conditioner of any one of the first to fifth aspects of the invention, the refrigerant heater includes a heater part and a refrigerant passage part, and the refrigerant is disposed on the outer periphery of the heater part. By arranging the passage part in a spiral shape and covering the heater part and the refrigerant passage part with a heat storage member, the refrigerant heater can be made compact and an efficient defrosting operation can be realized. .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a refrigeration cycle of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  The air conditioner of the present invention includes an indoor unit 1 and an outdoor unit 2. The indoor unit 1 is provided with an indoor heat exchanger 3, and the outdoor unit 2 is provided with a compressor 4, a four-way valve 5, an outdoor heat exchanger 6, and a first decompressor 7, as shown in FIG. In addition, the refrigerant pipe 8 is connected. Further, a bypass circuit 9 is provided between the indoor heat exchanger 3 and the first pressure reducer 7, and between the four-way valve 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6, and the bypass circuit 9 includes a two-way valve 10 and a reduced pressure. A vessel 11, a reverse valve 12, and a refrigerant heater 13 are provided.

  The refrigerant heater 13 is composed of a heater 13a, a refrigerant passage pipe 13b, and a heat storage material covering the surroundings. The refrigerant passage 13b is formed in a cylindrical shape by spirally winding the refrigerant passage pipe 13b around the heater 13a. In order to achieve compactness, the refrigerant heater 13 is arranged at the upper part of the compressor. Further, the outdoor unit 2 is provided with a fan 14 for facilitating heat exchange of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 and a power supply unit 15 for supplying power to each device.

  In the air conditioner configured as described above, operations and effects will be described below.

  In Embodiment 1 of the present invention, the refrigerant heat-exchanged by the outdoor heat exchanger 6 is supplied to the compressor 4, and the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 4 is supplied to the indoor heat exchanger 3 provided in the indoor unit 1. It is supplied through the pipe 8 and radiates heat there. The refrigerant that has exchanged heat with the indoor heat exchanger 3 is supplied to the first decompressor 7 provided in the outdoor unit 2 through the refrigerant pipe 8 and decompressed. As the first pressure reducer 7, an electronic expansion valve or a two-way valve having a pressure reducing function is used. The decompressed refrigerant is supplied to the outdoor heat exchanger 6 for heat exchange. The heating operation is performed by repeating such a cycle.

However, when heating operation is performed, frost is generated in the outdoor heat exchanger 6 and the heating efficiency is reduced. Therefore, when the outdoor heat exchanger 6 is frosted, the two-way valve 10 is opened and the operation of the refrigerant heater 13 is started. At this time, the first pressure reducer performs a closed operation or an operation close to the closed state. Moreover, since the refrigerant | coolant heater 13 becomes a substitute for the outdoor heat exchanger 6, heating operation can be continued. Next, the compressor 4 is operated at an operating frequency for defrosting. And with completion | finish of defrosting, it returns to the heating operation using the outdoor heat exchanger 6, and performs a normal heating operation. The operation close to blockage refers to flowing a small amount of refrigerant.

  Moreover, since the refrigerant | coolant heater 13 can arrange | position the vicinity of the compressor 4 and can heat a refrigerant | coolant using the heat | fever which arises at the time of the driving | operation of the compressor 4, compared with the time of not arrange | positioning in the vicinity of the compressor 4. The running cost of the heater 13a can be reduced. In Embodiment 1 of the present invention, the air warmed by the compressor 4 rises, and the refrigerant heater 13 is disposed at the upper part of the compressor 4. Can be used. Further, by winding the refrigerant passage tube 13b provided inside the refrigerant heater 13 around the heater 13a in a spiral manner, the heat capacity is greatly increased, and the defrosting time can be shortened.

  In the first embodiment, the operating frequency of the compressor is changed. However, the defrosting operation can be performed by continuing heating even with a constant speed compressor.

  Moreover, since the number of two-way valves to be used is small and the refrigerant heater 13 is also compact, it can be accommodated in the outdoor unit 2 in a small space, and the outdoor unit 2 can be made compact.

  As described above, the air conditioner according to the present invention can perform the defrosting operation while performing the heating operation, and can reduce the size of the outdoor unit by making the heater compact. Applicable to all air conditioners from air conditioners to large air conditioners.

The perspective view of the air conditioner of Embodiment 1 of this invention Configuration diagram of refrigeration cycle of the air conditioner Configuration diagram of conventional air conditioner refrigeration cycle

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Indoor unit 2 Outdoor unit 3 Indoor heat exchanger 4 Compressor 5 Four-way valve 6 Outdoor heat exchanger 7 First decompressor 8 Refrigerant piping 9 Bypass circuit 10 Two-way valve 11 Second decompressor 12 Reverse support valve 13 Refrigerant heating 13a Heater 13b Refrigerant passage tube 14 Fan 15 Power supply

Claims (6)

In a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor, a four-way valve, an indoor heat exchanger, a first pressure reducer, and an outdoor heat exchanger are connected by refrigerant piping, between the indoor heat exchanger and the first pressure reducer, the four-way valve And a bypass circuit connecting between the heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger, wherein the bypass circuit is provided with a two-way valve and a refrigerant heater, and the refrigerant heater is arranged near the compressor. Air conditioner to do. 2. The air according to claim 1, wherein the first pressure reducer is an electronic expansion valve or a two-way valve having a pressure reducing function, and the first pressure reducer is closed or substantially closed during the defrosting operation. Harmony machine. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein a second decompressor is provided upstream of the refrigerant heater in the bypass circuit. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a check valve is provided upstream of the refrigerant heater in the bypass circuit. 5. The bypass circuit and the refrigerant pipe are connected to each other at a position separated from the suction port of the compressor by a distance of at least four times the pipe diameter of the suction port in the refrigerant flow path. Air conditioner as described in. The refrigerant heater includes a heater part and a refrigerant passage part, and the refrigerant passage part is spirally disposed on the outer periphery of the heater part, and the heater part and the refrigerant passage part are covered with a heat storage member. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein:

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