Air-conditioning apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12061019-B2
Application number	US-202017775313-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 8, 2020
Priority date	Jan 8, 2020
Publication date	Aug 13, 2024
Grant date	Aug 13, 2024

Abstract

An air-conditioning apparatus includes: a heat source-side system having an intermediate heat exchanger that causes heat exchange to be performed between a heat source-side heat medium and a use-side heat medium, causes the heat source-side heat medium to receive or transfer heat, and causes the use-side heat medium to undergo a phase change; and a use-side cycle circuit formed of pipes connecting, to one another, the intermediate heat exchanger, a pump that sucks and delivers the use-side heat medium in a liquid state, a use-side heat exchanger that heats or cools air in an air-conditioning target space due to heat exchange causing a change in phase of the use-side heat medium, and a pressure-reducing device that reduces a pressure of the use-side heat medium that passes through the use-side heat exchanger, the use-side cycle circuit causing the use-side heat medium to circulate through the use-side cycle circuit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An air-conditioning apparatus comprising:
a heat source-side system having an intermediate heat exchanger that causes heat exchange to be performed between a heat source-side heat medium and a use-side heat medium differing from the heat source-side heat medium, causes the heat source-side heat medium to receive or transfer heat due to performing switching, and causes the use-side heat medium to undergo a phase change; and
a use-side cycle circuit formed of pipes connecting, to one another, the intermediate heat exchanger, a pump that sucks and delivers the use-side heat medium in a liquid state, a use-side heat exchanger that heats or cools air in an air-conditioning target space due to heat exchange causing a change in phase of the use-side heat medium, and a pressure-reducing device that reduces a pressure of the use-side heat medium that passes through the use-side heat exchanger, the use-side cycle circuit causing the use-side heat medium to circulate through the use-side cycle circuit,
wherein the use-side cycle circuit includes
a use-side flow-switching device that performs switching of a flow of the use-side heat medium so that, during a cooling operation for cooling air in the air-conditioning target space, the pump sucks the use-side heat medium whose phase has been changed from gas to liquid at the intermediate heat exchanger and so that, during a heating operation for heating air in the air-conditioning target space, the pump sucks the use-side heat medium whose phase has been changed from gas to liquid at the use-side heat exchanger, and wherein
the use-side flow-switching device has
a cooling-dedicated first on-off valve disposed on a pipe between the intermediate heat exchanger and the pump,
a cooling-dedicated second on-off valve disposed on a pipe between the pump and the use-side heat exchanger,
a cooling-dedicated third on-off valve disposed on a pipe between the pressure-reducing device and the intermediate heat exchanger,
a heating-dedicated first on-off valve disposed on a pipe connecting a pipe between the pressure-reducing device and the cooling-dedicated third on-off valve to a pipe between the cooling-dedicated first on-off valve and the pump,
a heating-dedicated second on-off valve disposed on a pipe connecting a pipe between the pump and the cooling-dedicated second on-off valve to a pipe between the cooling-dedicated third on-off valve and the intermediate heat exchanger, and
a heating-dedicated third on-off valve disposed on a pipe connecting a pipe between the intermediate heat exchanger and the cooling-dedicated first on-off valve to a pipe between the cooling-dedicated second on-off valve and the use-side heat exchanger.

2. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising
a controller configured to control the heat source-side system and a device of the use-side cycle circuit, wherein
the controller configured to perform a control so that, during the heating operation for heating air in the air-conditioning target space, the use-side heat medium in the use-side cycle circuit has a temperature and a pressure higher than a temperature and a pressure of the use-side heat medium in the use-side cycle circuit during the cooling operation for cooling air in the air-conditioning target space and so that, during the heating operation, at the intermediate heat exchanger, the use-side heat medium has an evaporating temperature higher than a condensing temperature of the use-side heat medium during the cooling operation.

3. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising
a controller configured to control the heat source-side system and a device of the use-side cycle circuit, wherein
the controller is configured to
perform, during the cooling operation, a control to open the cooling-dedicated first on-off valve, the cooling-dedicated second on-off valve, and the cooling-dedicated third on-off valve and a control to close the heating-dedicated first on-off valve, the heating-dedicated second on-off valve, and the heating-dedicated third on-off valve and
perform, during the heating operation, a control to close the cooling-dedicated first on-off valve, the cooling-dedicated second on-off valve, and the cooling-dedicated third on-off valve and a control to open the heating-dedicated first on-off valve, the heating-dedicated second on-off valve, and the heating-dedicated third on-off valve.

4. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1 , wherein
the use-side cycle circuit includes
a receiver disposed on a pipe connecting the cooling-dedicated first on-off valve to the pump and positioned between a junction with a pipe on which the heating-dedicated first on-off valve is disposed and the pump, the receiver causing the use-side heat medium in a liquid state that has been separated from the use-side heat medium in a gaseous state to pass through the receiver.

5. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 4 , further comprising
a decomposition-product precipitation device having the receiver and a cooling device that cools the use-side heat medium in the receiver.

6. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a controller configured to control the heat source-side system and a device of the use-side cycle circuit; and
an intermediate-heat-exchanger outlet temperature sensor that detects a temperature of the use-side heat medium that flows out from the intermediate heat exchanger, wherein
the controller is configured to control
the device so that a temperature detected by the intermediate-heat-exchanger outlet temperature sensor is lower than a set temperature determined in advance.

7. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 6 , wherein
the set temperature is set based on a temperature at which a decomposition reaction of the use-side heat medium is caused.

8. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1 , wherein
the heat source-side system has
a heat source-side cycle circuit formed of pipes connecting, to one another, a compressor that compresses the heat source-side heat medium, a heat source-side flow-switching device that performs switching of a flow passage of the heat source-side heat medium, a heat source-side heat exchanger that causes the heat source-side heat medium to perform heat exchange, an expansion device that regulates a pressure of the heat source-side heat medium, and the intermediate heat exchanger, the heat source-side cycle circuit causing the heat source-side heat medium to circulate through the heat source-side cycle circuit.

9. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1 , wherein
the use-side heat medium is a nonflammable refrigerant.

10. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1 , wherein
the use-side heat medium is an R466A refrigerant, an R13I1 refrigerant, or a mixed refrigerant containing the R13I1 refrigerant.

11. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 2 , further comprising
a controller configured to control the heat source-side system and a device of the use-side cycle circuit, wherein
the controller is configured to
perform, during the cooling operation, a control to open the cooling-dedicated first on-off valve, the cooling-dedicated second on-off valve, and the cooling-dedicated third on-off valve and a control to close the heating-dedicated first on-off valve, the heating-dedicated second on-off valve, and the heating-dedicated third on-off valve and
perform, during the heating operation, a control to close the cooling-dedicated first on-off valve, the cooling-dedicated second on-off valve, and the cooling-dedicated third on-off valve and a control to open the heating-dedicated first on-off valve, the heating-dedicated second on-off

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Ikeda Soshi
• Nishio Jun
• Takenaka Naofumi
• Ishimura Katsuhiro
• Motomura Yuji

Classifications

• F25B2400/12

  Inflammable refrigerants · CPC title

• F25B2313/02791

  using shut-off valves · CPC title

• F25B9/006

  the refrigerant containing more than one component (F25B9/004 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F25B41/26

  of fluid flow reversing valves · CPC title

• F25B41/40

  Fluid line arrangements · CPC title