JPH11237132A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide an air conditioner using a non-azeotropic mixed refrigerant in which an outdoor unit and an indoor unit are separated from each other and can be connected by a long connection pipe. SOLUTION: An outdoor unit 1 having at least an accumulator 3, a compressor 5, an outdoor heat exchanger 10 and an expansion mechanism 11 and an indoor unit 12 having an indoor heat exchanger 13 are sequentially connected by piping, In an air conditioner filled with a non-azeotropic mixed refrigerant, a discharge side 6 of the compressor 5 and the accumulator 3 are connected by a bypass pipe 7 having an on-off valve 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to a structure for connecting an outdoor unit and an indoor unit of an air conditioner using a non-azeotropic mixed refrigerant with a long connecting pipe. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional air conditioner generally uses a single refrigerant such as R12 or an azeotropic mixed refrigerant such as R502.
These refrigerants do not change in boiling point or composition due to evaporation or condensation, and can be charged with additional refrigerant when the refrigerant runs short by connecting with long connection pipes to place the outdoor unit and the indoor unit apart. Met.

[0003]

However, in recent years, chlorofluorocarbon gas has been attracting attention as a cause of environmental problems such as depletion of the ozone layer, and switching to a refrigerant that does not destroy the ozone layer has begun on a worldwide scale. As one step, an attempt is made to switch to a non-azeotropic refrigerant mixture such as R407C having a low ozone depletion potential. Non-azeotropic mixed refrigerants such as R407C cannot be additionally charged due to their physical properties.
Since the outdoor unit and the indoor unit are separated from each other, there is a problem in that there is no way to cope with a shortage of the refrigerant by connecting with a long connection pipe. In the present invention, in view of the above-described problems, in an air conditioner using a non-azeotropic mixed refrigerant, an outdoor unit and an indoor unit are arranged apart from each other, and it is possible to connect the outdoor unit and the indoor unit with a long connection pipe. Aim.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an outdoor unit having at least an accumulator, a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger and an expansion mechanism, and an indoor unit having an indoor heat exchanger. Are sequentially connected by a pipe, and in an air conditioner filled with a non-azeotropic mixed refrigerant, the discharge side of the compressor and the accumulator are connected by a bypass pipe having an on-off valve. I have.

Further, an opening of the bypass pipe into the accumulator is provided above the accumulator.

Further, when the connection pipe connecting the outdoor unit and the indoor unit is long, the on-off valve is opened.

Further, the on-off valve is controlled to open and close according to the refrigerant temperature on the suction side of the compressor.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the embodiments of the present invention shown in FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes an outdoor unit installed outdoors. The outdoor unit 1 is mainly connected to a suction side 4 of a compressor 5 described later, and is a non-azeotropic mixed refrigerant such as R407C. An accumulator 3 for storing the refrigerant liquid 2 and supplying only refrigerant vapor to a compressor 5 described below; a compressor 5 for compressing the refrigerant vapor to form a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant vapor; A bypass pipe 7 having an on-off valve 8 branched from the discharge side 6 and connected above the accumulator 3; and a bypass pipe 7 connected to the discharge side 6 of the compressor 5 and radiating heat to the outside of the room to release the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant vapor. Heat exchanger 10 for converting water into a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant liquid
And a capillary tube 11 as an expansion mechanism for converting a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant liquid from the outdoor heat exchanger 10 into a low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant liquid. The opening 9 of the bypass pipe 7 to the accumulator 3 is provided near the front end of the refrigerant outflow pipe 3a of the accumulator 3 or above the front end of the refrigerant outflow pipe 3a, so that the accumulator 3 is surely provided. Can be opened in the refrigerant vapor. An indoor unit 12 is installed in the room to cool the room. The indoor unit 12 mainly absorbs heat from the room and converts the low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant liquid from the outdoor unit 1 into low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant vapor. It comprises an indoor heat exchanger 13. The outdoor unit 1 and the indoor unit 12 are connected by a refrigerant connection pipe 14.

Next, the operation and action of the bypass pipe 7 and the on-off valve 8 in the above configuration will be described. When the outdoor unit 1 and the indoor unit 12 are installed separately according to the installation conditions of the house, the connection pipe 14 becomes long. In this case, since the circulating refrigerant in the refrigeration circuit is insufficient, in order to prevent this, as shown in FIG.
Guiding the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant vapor discharged from the compressor 5 into the low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant vapor above the accumulator 3;
By promoting evaporation of the refrigerant liquid 2 stored in the accumulator 3, the amount of circulating refrigerant in the refrigeration circuit is increased. The on-off valve 8 may be always open when the connection pipe is long, but as shown in FIG. 4, a refrigerant temperature is measured by a thermistor or the like provided on the suction side 4 of the compressor 5, and the refrigerant temperature is set to a predetermined value. By controlling to open when the temperature is equal to or lower than the temperature, the efficiency can be improved.
In this embodiment, the cooling only machine has been described.However, a heat pump type air conditioner that combines cooling and heating using a four-way valve or the like also includes an opening / closing valve that connects the discharge side of the compressor and the accumulator. By providing the bypass pipe, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

[0010]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In an air conditioner using a non-azeotropic mixed refrigerant, an outdoor unit and an indoor unit are arranged apart from each other, and can be connected by a long connection pipe.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a refrigeration circuit diagram of an embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of an embodiment of the air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing one control content of the on-off valve of the air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing another control content of the on-off valve of the air conditioner according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 outdoor unit 3 accumulator 4 suction side 5 compressor 6 discharge side 7 bypass pipe 8 on-off valve 9 opening 10 outdoor heat exchanger 11 capillary tube (expansion mechanism) 12 indoor unit 13 indoor heat exchanger 14 connection pipe

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An outdoor unit having at least an accumulator, a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger and an expansion mechanism, and an indoor unit having an indoor heat exchanger are sequentially connected by piping,
An air conditioner filled with a non-azeotropic mixed refrigerant, wherein the discharge side of the compressor and the accumulator are connected by a bypass pipe having an on-off valve. 2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein an opening of the bypass pipe into the accumulator is provided above the accumulator. 3. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the on-off valve is opened when a connection pipe connecting the outdoor unit and the indoor unit is long. 4. The air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the on / off valve is controlled to open and close according to a refrigerant temperature on a suction side of the compressor.