Refrigerating apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-8991204-B2
Application number	US-78852810-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 27, 2010
Priority date	May 27, 2009
Publication date	Mar 31, 2015
Grant date	Mar 31, 2015

Abstract

A refrigerating apparatus including a first refrigeration cycle circuit having a first compressor, a first radiator, a supercooler, a first pressure-reducing device and an evaporator that are connected through a refrigerant pipe, a second refrigeration cycle circuit having a second compressor, a second radiator, a second pressure-reducing device and the supercooler that are connected through a refrigerant pipe, a refrigeration unit in which the first compressor and the first radiator are mounted, a showcase in which the first pressure-reducing device and the evaporator are mounted, a supercooling hot water supply device in which the second compressor, the second radiator, the second pressure-reducing device and the supercooler are mounted, and a hot-water stock device having a hot water supply tank that is connected to the second radiator of the supercooling hot water supply device through a second radiator.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerating apparatus comprising:
a first refrigeration cycle circuit including a first compressor, a first radiator, a supercooler, a first pressure-reducing device and an evaporator that are successively connected to one another through a first refrigerant pipe, the first compressor, the first radiator, the supercooler, the first pressure-reducing device and the evaporator being successively connected in this order, the supercooler being disposed between the first radiator and the first pressure-reducing device;
a supercooling hot water supply device including a second compressor, a second radiator, a second pressure-reducing device and the supercooler that are successively connected to one another through a second refrigerant pipe, a first refrigerant of the first refrigeration cycle circuit being supercooled by vaporization action of the supercooling hot water supply device in the supercooler, and hot-water supply water being warmed by heat radiation action of a second refrigerant of the supercooling hot water supply device in the second radiator, the supercooler supercooling the first refrigerant of the first refrigeration cycle circuit;
a hot-water stock device having a hot water supply tank that is connected to the second radiator, the second radiator being connected to the supercooler;
a third radiator that is disposed in parallel to the second radiator through the second refrigerant pipe and radiates heat from the second refrigerant to atmospheric air;
a sensor for detecting an amount of hot water in the hot water supply tank; and
a controller, wherein the controller is configured to determine that it is necessary to warm the hot-water supply water when the amount of hot water in the hot water supply tank, which is detected by the sensor, is equal to or smaller than a predetermined hot-water amount and to determine that it is unnecessary to warm the hot-water supply water when the amount of hot water in the hot water supply tank is larger than the predetermined hot-water amount, and to execute heat radiation from the second refrigerant to the atmospheric air by the third radiator when it is unnecessary to warm the hot-water supply water, wherein the third radiator disposed in parallel to the second radiator that is connected to the supercooler,
the first compressor is a two-stage compression type compressor having a low-pressure side compressing element and a high-pressure side compressing element,
the refrigerating apparatus further comprises:
a subsidiary refrigerant circuit having a first branch portion provided to an exit-side pipe of the first radiator, a first subsidiary refrigerant pipe extending to the supercooler, and a second subsidiary refrigerant pipe extending to a suction port of the high-pressure side compressing element of the first compressor, the first and second subsidiary refrigerant pipes being connected to the first branch portion;
a subsidiary throttle unit which is provided on the second subsidiary refrigerant pipe and reduces the branched refrigerant to an intermediate pressure that is higher than the suction pressure of the first compressor and lower than a discharge pressure of the first compressor; and
a subsidiary heat exchanger for performing heat exchange between the branched refrigerant that is reduced in pressure by the subsidiary throttle unit and the refrigerant that is cooled by the first radiator and flows into the supercooler,
a third subsidiary refrigerant pipe is provided, which connects the low-pressure side compressing element and the high-pressure side compressing element and to which the second subsidiary refrigerant pipe is connected, and
the controller is further configured to control opening degree of the subsidiary throttle unit to be increased when the amount of hot water in the hot water supply tank is larger than a predetermined amount, and reduced when the amount of the hot water is smaller than the predetermined amount.

2. The refrigerating apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a water radiator connected to the second radiator through a water pipe,
wherein heat is radiated from the hot-water supply water to atmospheric air in the water radiator.

3. The refrigerating apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the controller is further configured to execute heat radiation from the hot-water supply water to the atmospheric air when it is unnecessary to warm the hot-water supply water.

4. The refrigerating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein carbon dioxide is used as the second refrigerant filled in the supercooling hot water supply device, and the second radiator acts as a gas cooler.

5. The refrigerating apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a detector configured to determine whether it is necessary to warm the hot-water supply water,
wherein the controller is configured to execute the heat radiation from the second refrigerant to the atmospheric air by the third radiator when the detector determines that it is unnecessary to warm the hot-water supply water.

6. The refrigerating apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the detector is configured to detect a temperature of hot water stored in the hot water tank.

7. The refrigerating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the second compressor, the second radiator, the second pressure-reducing device and the supercooler are successively connected in this order.

8. The refrigerating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the second refrigeration cycle is provided with a second branch portion disposed on a discharge pipe of the second compressor, a fourth pipe connected to the second branch portion and extending to the second radiator and a fifth pipe connected to the second branch and bypassing the second radiator to extend to the supercooler, the fifth pipe is provided with the third radiator and a change-over valve.

9. The refrigerating apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to open the change-over valve when it is necessary to warm the hot-water supply water, or to open/close the change-over valve in accordance with an amount of the refrigerant of the supercooling hot water supply device second refrigeration cycle circuit.

10. The refrigerating apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a refrigeration unit configured to house and unitize the first compressor and the first radiator;
a showcase configured to house and unitize the first pressure-reducing device and the evaporator; and
the supercooling hot water supply device configured to house and unitize the second compressor, the second radiator, the second pressure-reducing device and the supercooler, wherein: the hot-water stock device is configured to house and unitize the hot water supply tank, and
each of the refrigeration unit, the showcase, the supercooling hot water supply device and the hot-water stock device has pipe connection ports connected to each other respectively through the first refrigerant pipe, the second refrigerant pipe and a water pipe.

11. The refrigerating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the third subsidiary refrigerant pipe is provided with an intermediate cooler and the second subsidiary refrigerant pipe is connected to the third subsidiary refrigerant pipe at a downstream side of the intermediate cooler.

12. The refrigerating apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a temperature sensor provided to the hot water supply tank,
wherein the controller is configured to determine the amount of hot water in the hot water supply tank from temperature of hot water in the hot water supply tank detected by the temperature sensor.

13. The refrige

Assignees

• Otake Masahisa
• Sasaki Hidetaka
• Hasegawa Setsu
• Kawakubo Ken
• Mihara Kazuhiko
• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Otake Masahisa
• Sasaki Hidetaka
• Hasegawa Setsu
• Kawakubo Ken
• Mihara Kazuhiko

Classifications

• F24D17/02 Primary

  using heat pumps · CPC title

• Y02B30/12

  Hot water central heating systems using heat pumps · CPC title

• F25B7/00

  Compression machines, plants or systems, with cascade operation, i.e. with two or more circuits, the heat from the condenser of one circuit being absorbed by the evaporator of the next circuit (F25B9/00 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F24D2200/24

  Refrigeration · CPC title

• F25B2400/075

  with parallel compressors · CPC title