Air-conditioning apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10088205-B2
Application number	US-201314765167-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 12, 2013
Priority date	Mar 12, 2013
Publication date	Oct 2, 2018
Grant date	Oct 2, 2018

Abstract

An air-conditioning apparatus includes: a first bypass pipe connected to an inlet-side passage of an accumulator through a second expansion device, a second passage of a subcooling heat exchanger for exchanging heat between refrigerant flowing through the second passage of the subcooling heat exchanger and refrigerant flowing through a first passage of the subcooling heat exchanger, and a first opening and closing device; a second bypass pipe branched from the first bypass pipe between the subcooling heat exchanger and the first opening and closing device and connected to an injection port of a compressor through a second opening and closing device; and a third bypass pipe branched from a refrigerant pipe between a heat source-side heat exchanger and a use-side heat exchanger and connected to a refrigerant pipe between an inlet side of the compressor and an outlet side of the accumulator through a third expansion device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An air-conditioning apparatus, comprising:
a refrigeration cycle for circulating refrigerant therethrough, in which a compressor, a first heat exchanger, a first passage of a subcooling heat exchanger for exchanging heat between high-temperature refrigerant and low-temperature refrigerant to subcool the high-temperature refrigerant, a first expansion device, a second heat exchanger, and an accumulator are connected to each other by refrigerant pipes,
the compressor including an injection port for introducing refrigerant from outside of the compressor into a compression chamber of the compressor,
the accumulator being arranged on a suction side of the compressor;
a first bypass pipe branched from one of the refrigerant pipes, which is between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, the first bypass pipe being connected to an inlet-side passage of the accumulator through a second expansion device, a second passage of the subcooling heat exchanger for exchanging heat between refrigerant flowing through the second passage of the subcooling heat exchanger and refrigerant flowing through the first passage of the subcooling heat exchanger, and a first opening and closing device;
a second bypass pipe branched from the first bypass pipe between the subcooling heat exchanger and the first opening and closing device and connected to the injection port of the compressor through a second opening and closing device; and
a third bypass pipe branched from the one of the refrigerant pipes between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, the third bypass pipe being connected to an other of the refrigerant pipes between an inlet side of the compressor and an outlet side of the accumulator through a third expansion device; and
a gas-liquid separator configured to extract a part of liquid refrigerant from refrigerant flowing between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, wherein
the first bypass pipe and the third bypass pipe are directly connected to a liquid line that branches from a liquid extraction port of the gas-liquid separator.

2. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising: a discharge temperature detection device configured to detect a temperature of refrigerant in an outlet-side passage of the compressor; and a controller configured to adjust an opening degree of one of the second expansion device and the third expansion device to control either one of a flow rate of refrigerant flowing through the second bypass pipe and a flow rate of refrigerant flowing through the third bypass pipe, to thereby control either one of the discharge temperature corresponding to the temperature detected by the discharge temperature detection device and a value to be computed based on the discharge temperature, wherein refrigerant to be circulated through the refrigerant pipes includes refrigerant that causes a discharge temperature of the compressor to be higher than a discharge temperature when R41OA is used.

3. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 2 , wherein, during a cooling operation to be performed by causing the first heat exchanger to function as a condenser and the second heat exchanger to function as an evaporator, the controller adjusts the opening degree of the third expansion device based on either one of the discharge temperature corresponding to the temperature detected by the discharge temperature detection device and the value to be computed based on the discharge temperature, to thereby control the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the third bypass pipe.

4. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 3 , wherein, at least when a temperature of air around the first heat exchanger to be subjected to heat exchange with refrigerant in the first heat exchanger is high during the cooling operation, the controller controls refrigerant to flow through the third bypass pipe as well as controlling refrigerant to flow through the first bypass pipe.

5. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 3 , wherein, during the cooling operation, the controller adjusts the opening degree of the third expansion device, to thereby control the discharge temperature corresponding to the temperature detected by the discharge temperature detection device.

6. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 2 , further comprising a fourth expansion device arranged between the first heat exchanger and the first expansion device that is positioned on a downstream side of the second heat exchanger during a heating operation to be performed by causing the first heat exchanger to function as an evaporator and the second heat exchanger to function as a condenser, wherein, during the heating operation, the controller adjusts the opening degree of the second expansion device, into which refrigerant split from an upstream side of the fourth expansion device is controlled to flow, based on either one of the discharge temperature corresponding to the temperature detected by the discharge temperature detection device and the value to be computed based on the discharge temperature, to thereby control the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the second bypass pipe.

7. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 6 , wherein, at least when a temperature of air around the first heat exchanger to be subjected to heat exchange with the refrigerant in the first heat exchanger is low during the heating operation, the controller controls refrigerant to flow through the second bypass pipe.

8. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising a high-pressure detection device configured to detect a pressure of the refrigerant in the outlet-side passage of the compressor,
wherein, during the heating operation, the controller adjusts the opening degree of the second expansion device, to thereby control a degree of discharge superheat to be computed based on the discharge temperature and the pressure detected by the high-pressure detection device.

9. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1 , wherein refrigerant to be circulated through the refrigerant pipes includes refrigerant that causes a discharge temperature of the compressor to be higher than a discharge temperature when R41OA is used, wherein a cooling operation is performed by causing the first heat exchanger to function as a condenser and the second heat exchanger to function as an evaporator, wherein a heating operation is performed by causing the first heat exchanger to function as an evaporator and the second heat exchanger to function as a condenser, and a discharge temperature detection device configured to detect a temperature of refrigerant in an outlet-side passage of the compressor, a high-pressure detection device configured to detect a pressure in the outlet-side passage of the compressor, and a controller configured to adjust, during the cooling operation, an opening degree of the third expansion device to control a flow rate of refrigerant flowing through the third bypass pipe, to thereby control the discharge temperature corresponding to the temperature detected by the discharge temperature detection device, and adjust, during the heating operation, an opening degree of the second expansion device to control a flow rate of refrigerant flowing through the second bypass pipe, to thereby control a degree of discharge superheat to be computed based on the discharge temperature and the pressure detected by the high-pressure detection device.

10. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 2 , wherein refrigerant to be circulated through the refrigerant pipes includes one of R32 and a refrigerant mixture containing R32 at a ratio of 62% or more.

11. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1 , wherein

Assignees

• Yamashita Koji
• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Yamashita Koji

Classifications

• F25B2700/2101

  in a bypass · CPC title

• F25B2700/1931

  Discharge pressures · CPC title

• F25B40/00

  Subcoolers, desuperheaters or superheaters · CPC title

• F25B2313/0314

  Temperature sensors near the indoor heat exchanger · CPC title

• F25B2600/2501

  Bypass valves · CPC title