Air conditioner and method for controlling the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016201951-A1
Application number	US-201614991216-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jan 8, 2016
Priority date	Jan 12, 2015
Publication date	Jul 14, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Provided is an air conditioner including at least one indoor unit; an EHP outdoor unit connected with the at least one indoor unit, and configured to control an applied current and drive an EHP compressor; a GHP outdoor unit connected with the at least one indoor unit and including a GHP compressor configured to operate using power from an engine driven through a combustion gas and an oil separator provided at an outlet side of the GHP compressor; an oil level sensor provided at the EHP outdoor unit or the GHP outdoor unit and configured to detect an amount of oil; and a control part configured to control an RPM of the EHP compressor or the GHP compressor based on information detected by the oil level sensor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An air conditioner comprising:
an indoor unit; an EHP outdoor unit connected with the indoor unit to drive an EHP compressor using an applied current; a GHP outdoor unit connected with the indoor unit and including a GHP compressor to operate using power from an engine driven by combustion gas and an oil separator provided at an outlet side of the GHP compressor; an oil level sensor provided at the EHP outdoor unit or the GHP outdoor unit to detect an amount of oil; and a control part configured to control an RPM of the EHP compressor or the GHP compressor based on the amount of oil detected by the oil level sensor.

2 . The air conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the oil level sensor comprises:
a first oil level sensor provided at the EHP compressor; and a second oil level sensor provided at the oil separator.

3 . The air conditioner of claim 2 , wherein the control part determines an amount of oil in the GHP compressor based on an amount of oil detected by the second oil level sensor.

4 . The air conditioner of claim 2 , wherein,
when an amount of oil detected by the first oil level sensor is less than or equal to a first predetermined value and an amount of oil detected by the second oil level sensor is greater than or equal to a second predetermined value, the control part increases the RPM of the EHP compressor and decreases the RPM of the GHP compressor.

5 . The air conditioner of claim 4 , wherein the RPM of the EHP compressor is increased the same amount as the RPM of the GHP compressor is decreased.

6 . The air conditioner of claim 2 , wherein,
when an amount of oil detected by the first oil level sensor is greater than or equal to a first predetermined value and an amount of oil detected by the second oil level sensor is less than or equal to a second predetermined value, the control part increases the RPM of the GHP compressor and decreases the RPM of the EHP compressor.

7 . The air conditioner of claim 6 , wherein the RPM of the GHP compressor is increased the same amount as the RPM of the EHP compressor is decreased.

8 . The air conditioner of claim 6 , wherein the GHP outdoor unit further comprises:
a waste heat recovery heat exchanger to heat exchange a cooling water circulated in the engine with a refrigerant that is suctioned into the GHP compressor; a cooling water pipe to guide a circulation of the cooling water; and a cooling water pump provided at the cooling water pipe.

9 . The air conditioner of claim 8 , wherein the control part drives the cooling water pump while the RPM of the GHP compressor is increased such that the cooling water is heat-exchanged with the refrigerant in the waste heat recovery heat exchanger.

10 . The air conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the GHP outdoor unit further comprises:
an outdoor heat exchanger to heat-exchang a refrigerant with air by an outdoor fan; and a radiator installed at a side of the outdoor heat exchanger to heat-exchange a cooling water with the air.

11 . The air conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the GHP outdoor unit further comprises an auxiliary heat exchanger to heat-exchange a refrigerant flowing to the outdoor heat exchanger with a cooling water.

12 . The air conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the GHP compressor comprises a horizontal type low-pressure compressor.

13 . A method for controlling an air conditioner in which an EHP outdoor unit having an EHP compressor using an electric motor as an EHP driving source and a GHP outdoor unit having a GHP compressor using an engine as a GHP driving source are each connected with an indoor unit, the method comprising:
driving the EHP compressor and the GHP compressor; determining, using a controller, an amount of oil in each of the EHP compressor and the GHP compressor; and controlling, using the controller, an RPM of each of the EHP compressor and the GHP compressor based on the determined amount of the oil.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the controlling of the RPM comprises reducing an RPM of the electric motor and increasing an RPM of the engine when the amount of the oil in the EHP compressor is within a predetermined range for the EHP compressor and the amount of the oil in the GHP compressor is less than a predetermined amount for the GHP compressor.

15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising transferring heat generated from the engine to a refrigerant being suctioned into the GHP compressor.

16 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the controlling of the RPM comprises increasing the RPM of the electric motor and reducing the RPM of the engine when the amount of the oil in the EHP compressor is less than a predetermined amount for the EHP compressor and the amount of the oil in the GHP compressor is within a predetermined range for the GHP compressor.

17 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the controlling of the RPM comprises increasing the RPM of the electric motor and increasing the RPM of the engine when the amount of the oil in the EHP compressor is less than a predetermined amount for the EHP compressor and the amount of the oil in the GHP compressor is less than a predetermined amount for the GHP compressor.

18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising driving a cooling water pump to prevent a refrigerant from being introduced into the GHP compressor.

19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising opening an expansion valve provided at the indoor unit to enable oil in the indoor unit to flow to the EHP compressor and the GHP compressor.

20 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the controlling the RPM comprises increasing the RPM of the engine and/or the electric motor so that the amount of the oil introduced into the GHP compressor and/or the EHP is respectively increased.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Jeong Hojong
• Shin Kwangho
• Chung Minho
• Choi Song

Classifications

• F25B13/00 Primary

  Compression machines, plants or systems, with reversible cycle (defrosting cycles F25B47/02) · CPC title

• Y02B30/70

  Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating · CPC title

• Y02P80/15

  On-site combined power, heat or cool generation or distribution, e.g. combined heat and power [CHP] supply · CPC title

• F24F1/26

  Refrigerant piping · CPC title

• F25B2327/001

  Mechanical Engineering · mapped topic