Refrigeration cycle device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11506404-B2
Application number	US-202017110058-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 2, 2020
Priority date	Jun 8, 2018
Publication date	Nov 22, 2022
Grant date	Nov 22, 2022

Abstract

A refrigeration cycle device includes a heating unit, an air-heating expansion valve, an outdoor heat exchanger, an air-cooling expansion valve, an indoor evaporator, and a cooler-unit expansion valve, a cooler unit, and a refrigerant circuit switching unit. In a heating series cooler-unit mode, refrigerant is circulated in order of the heating unit, the air-heating expansion valve, the outdoor heat exchanger, the cooler-unit expansion valve, and the cooler unit. In a heating parallel cooler-unit mode, refrigerant is circulated in order of the heating unit, the air-heating expansion valve, and the outdoor heat exchanger, and refrigerant is circulated in order of the heating unit, the cooler-unit expansion valve, and the cooler unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigeration cycle device comprising:
a compressor that compresses and discharges a refrigerant;
a heating unit that heats air to be blown to a target space using heat of refrigerant discharged from the compressor as a heat source;
a heating expansion valve that reduces a pressure of the refrigerant flowing out from the heating unit;
an outdoor heat exchanger in which heat is exchanged between the refrigerant flowing from the air-heating expansion valve and outside air;
a branch portion that branches a flow of the refrigerant flowing out of the outdoor heat exchanger;
an air-cooling expansion valve that decompresses one of the refrigerant branched at the branch portion;
an indoor evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant flowing out from the air-cooling expansion valve to cool the air before being heated by the heating unit;
a cooler-unit expansion valve that reduces a pressure of the other refrigerant branched at the branch portion;
a cooler unit that cools a target object by evaporating the refrigerant flowing out from the cooler-unit expansion valve;
a confluence part that converges the flow of refrigerant flowing out of the indoor evaporator and the flow of refrigerant flowing out of the cooler unit to flow out toward a suction port of the compressor;
a bypass passage that guides the refrigerant flowing out of the heating unit toward an upstream side of the branch portion;
a heating passage that guides the refrigerant flowing out of the outdoor heat exchanger toward the suction port of the compressor;
a refrigerant circuit switching unit that switches a circuit of the refrigerant; and
a target blowout temperature determining unit that determines a target blowout temperature of the air to be sent into the target space, wherein
in a series dehumidification heating mode in which the air cooled by the indoor evaporator is reheated by the heating unit, the refrigerant circuit switching unit sets a circuit of the refrigerant to flow in order of the compressor, the heating unit, the air-heating expansion valve, the outdoor heat exchanger, and the air-cooling expansion valve, the indoor evaporator, and the compressor,
in a parallel dehumidification heating mode in which the air cooled by the indoor evaporator is reheated in the heating unit with a heating capacity higher than that in the series dehumidification heating mode, the refrigerant circuit switching unit sets a circuit of the refrigerant to flow in order of the compressor, the heating unit, the air-heating expansion valve, the outdoor heat exchanger, the heating passage, and the compressor, and to flow in order of the compressor, the heating unit, the bypass passage, the air-cooling expansion valve, the indoor evaporator, and the compressor,
in a heating series cooler-unit mode in which the cooler unit cools the target object and the heating unit heats the air, the refrigerant circuit switching unit sets a circuit of the refrigerant to flow in order of the compressor, the heating unit, the air-heating expansion valve, the outdoor heat exchanger, the cooler-unit expansion valve, the cooler unit, and the compressor,
in a heating parallel cooler-unit mode in which the cooler unit cools the target object and the heating unit heats the air with a heating capacity higher than that in the heating series cooler-unit mode, the refrigerant circuit switching unit sets a circuit of the refrigerant to flow in order of the compressor, the heating unit, the air-heating expansion valve, the outdoor heat exchanger, the heating passage, and the compressor, and to flow in order of the compressor, the heating unit, the bypass passage, the cooler-unit expansion valve, the cooler unit, and the compressor,
the refrigerant circuit switching unit sets in order of the heating series cooler-unit mode and the heating parallel cooler-unit mode in response to an increase in the target blowout temperature,
the refrigerant circuit switching unit sets in order of the series dehumidification heating mode and the parallel dehumidification heating mode in response to an increase in the target blowout temperature,
the refrigerant circuit switching unit changes the circuit of the refrigerant from the series dehumidification heating mode to the parallel dehumidification heating mode when the target blowout temperature is a dehumidification reference temperature,
the refrigerant circuit switching unit changes the circuit of the refrigerant from the heating series cooler-unit mode to the heating parallel cooler-unit mode when the target blowout temperature is a high-temperature-side cooling reference temperature, and
the high-temperature-side cooling reference temperature is set higher than the dehumidification reference temperature.

2. The refrigeration cycle device according to claim 1 , wherein
in a heating cooler-unit mode in which the cooler unit cools the target object and the heating unit heats the air with a heating capacity lower than that in the heating series cooler-unit mode, the refrigerant circuit switching unit sets a circuit of the refrigerant to flow in order of the compressor, the heating unit, the air-heating expansion valve, the outdoor heat exchanger, the cooler-unit expansion valve, the cooler unit, and the compressor, and
the air-heating expansion valve is fully opened in the heating cooler-unit mode.

3. The refrigeration cycle device according to claim 2 , wherein
the refrigerant circuit switching unit sets in order of the heating cooler-unit mode, the heating series cooler-unit mode, and the heating parallel cooler-unit mode in response to an increase in the target blowout temperature.

4. The refrigeration cycle device according to claim 3 , wherein
in an air-cooling mode in which the cooler unit cools the target object, the refrigerant circuit switching unit sets a circuit of the refrigerant to flow in order of the compressor, the heating unit, the air-heating expansion valve, the outdoor heat exchanger, the air-cooling expansion valve, the indoor evaporator, and the compressor,
in the air-cooling mode, the air-heating expansion valve is fully open,
the refrigerant circuit switching unit sets in order of the air-cooling mode, the series dehumidification heating mode, and the parallel dehumidification heating mode in response to an increase in the target blowout temperature,
the refrigerant circuit switching unit changes the circuit of the refrigerant from the air-cooling mode to the series dehumidification heating mode when the target blowout temperature is a cooling reference temperature,
the refrigerant circuit switching unit changes the circuit of the refrigerant from the heating cooler-unit mode to the heating series cooler-unit mode when the target blowout temperature is a low-temperature-side cooling reference temperature, and
the low-temperature-side cooling reference temperature is set higher than the cooling reference temperature.

5. A refrigeration cycle device comprising:
a compressor that compresses and discharges a refrigerant;
a heating unit that heats air to be blown to a target space using heat of refrigerant discharged from the compressor as a heat source;
a heating expansion valve that reduces a pressure of the refrigerant flowing out from the heating unit;
an outdoor heat exchanger in which heat is exchanged between the refrigerant flowing from the air-heating expansion valve and outside air;
a branch portion that branches a flow of the refrigerant flowing out of the outdoor heat exchanger;
an air-cooling expansion valve that decompresses one of the refrigerant branched at the branch portion;
an indoor evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant flowing out from the air-cooling expansion valve to cool the air before being heated by the heating unit;
a cooler-unit expansion valve that red

Assignees

• Denso Corp

Inventors

• Ito Satoshi
• Sugimura Kengo
• Kami Yuichi
• Kobayashi Hiroyuki

Classifications

• F25B5/02

  arranged in parallel · CPC title

• F24F2003/144

  by dehumidification only · CPC title

• B60H1/00278

  for the battery · CPC title

• F25B1/00

  Compression machines, plants or systems with non-reversible cycle (F25B3/00, F25B5/00, F25B6/00, F25B7/00, F25B9/00 take precedence) · CPC title

• F24F3/153 Primary

  with subsequent heating, i.e. with the air, given the required humidity in the central station, passing a heating element to achieve the required temperature · CPC title