KR20010048137A - Multi air conditioner and operating control method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A multiple air conditioner and method for controlling operation of the same is provided to reduce manufacturing cost by eliminating the necessity of installing additional bypass channels and electronic expansion valves. CONSTITUTION: A multiple air conditioner comprises a compressor(23) for compression of refrigerant; an outdoor heat exchanger(25) for receiving refrigerant from the compressor and performing heat exchange operation; a plurality of indoor units(1a-1n) having indoor heat exchangers(3a-3n) communicated to the outdoor heat exchanger, and indoor blower fans(5a-5n) for blowing the air passed through indoor heat exchangers toward the indoor area; a plurality of electronic expansion valves(13a-13n) disposed at the refrigerant flow channel between the outdoor heat exchanger and indoor heat exchangers, and which open/shuts the refrigerant flow channel so as to allow the refrigerant to be selectively introduced into the corresponding indoor heat exchanger; a bypass channel for connecting the outlet side and inlet side of the compressor; a bypass channel open/shut-off valve(35) mounted to the bypass channel; and a control unit(39) for opening the bypass channel and controlling the corresponding electronic expansion valve so as to allow the refrigerant to pass through at least one of indoor units which are not in operation, in case where only a part of the indoor units is in operation.

Description

MULTI AIR CONDITIONER AND OPERATING CONTROL METHOD FOR THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a multi-type air conditioner, and more particularly, to a multi-type air conditioner to reduce the manufacturing cost.

The air conditioner is a device to adjust the temperature, humidity, air flow and cleanliness of the air to create a comfortable indoor environment. Recently, a plurality of indoor units can be arranged in each installation space and the air temperature can be adjusted in each installation space. A multi-type air conditioner has been developed.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a refrigeration cycle of a conventional multi-type air conditioner. As shown, the multi-type air conditioner has a plurality of rooms having at least one indoor heat exchanger (103a to 103n) and a blower fan (105) disposed at one side of the indoor heat exchangers (103a to 103n) and blowing toward the interior. Units 101a to 101n, and each indoor unit 101a to 101n and a refrigerant pipe, are connected to each other and have a single outdoor unit 111 for receiving and compressing refrigerant from each of the indoor units 101a to 101n.

The outdoor unit 111 is a compressor 113 for receiving and compressing refrigerant from each of the indoor units 101a to 101n and an outdoor heat exchange that is compressed by the compressor 113 and condenses the refrigerant in a high temperature and high pressure state through heat radiation. Group 115 and a cooling fan 117 disposed on one side of the outdoor heat exchanger 115 to blow toward the outdoor heat exchanger 115 to promote heat exchange. These indoor heat exchangers (103a to 103n), the compressor 113 and the outdoor heat exchanger (115) are connected by a refrigerant pipe so that the refrigerant flows with each other.

The accumulator 119 is coupled to the suction side of the compressor 113 to allow the refrigerant in the gaseous state to be sucked in, and the receiver 121 which forms a receiving space of the refrigerant is connected to the discharge side of the outdoor heat exchanger 115. It is. On the discharge side of the receiver 121, branch flow paths 123 having branch flow paths are coupled to each of the indoor heat exchangers 103a to 103n, and each room coupled to the branch flow path pipes 123 is coupled thereto. Expansion valves 125a to 125n are provided on the inflow side of the heat exchangers 103a to 103n so that the refrigerant passing through the outdoor heat exchanger 115 can expand under reduced pressure. The outlet refrigerant pipes of the indoor heat exchangers 103a to 103n are again joined and connected to the suction refrigerant pipe of the accumulator 119.

On the other hand, in such a multi-type air conditioner, the amount of refrigerant compression load of the compressor 113 varies depending on when the indoor units 101a to 101n are partially operated and when they are all operated. That is, a case in which only one indoor unit 101a to 101n is operated will be described, for example. The refrigerant compressed by the compressor 113 is condensed through the outdoor heat exchanger 115 and transferred to the corresponding indoor heat exchanger through the expansion valve. Inflow. At this time, since the amount of refrigerant flowing through the indoor heat exchanger operated to the suction side is relatively small compared to the amount of the refrigerant discharged by the compressor 113, the suction pressure on the suction side of the compressor 113 is lowered, which hinders the operation efficiency. There is a problem.

In consideration of this problem, by connecting the discharge side of the receiver 121 and the suction side of the accumulator 119 to provide a portion of the refrigerant passing through the receiver 121 to the suction side of the compressor 113, The first bypass passage 127 is provided to prevent the suction pressure of the compressor 113 from lowering. The first bypass passage 127 is provided with a first electromagnetic expansion valve 129 to facilitate the expansion of the refrigerant and the opening degree of the bypass passage.

As the refrigerant introduced into the first bypass passage 127 passes through the first electromagnetic expansion valve 129 and receives a throttling, the temperature decreases rapidly while reducing the temperature of the compressor 113, and thus the refrigerant is not sufficiently vaporized. As a result, liquid refrigerant may be sucked into the compressor 113.

Accordingly, by compensating for the refrigerant temperature on the suction side of the compressor 113, the discharge side of the compressor 113 and the suction side of the accumulator 119 communicate with each other to prevent the liquid refrigerant from being sucked into the compressor 113. The second electromagnetic expansion valve 133 is provided to facilitate the adjustment of the opening degree of the second bypass passage 131 and the second bypass passage 131 connected to each other. Accordingly, the compressor 113 is compressed by the compressor 113 to the suction side of the accumulator 119 to introduce a gaseous refrigerant having a high temperature and high pressure, whereby the suction side of the accumulator 119 is prevented from overcooling.

By the way, in the conventional multi-type air conditioner, the first and second bypass passages are formed in the case where only a part of the plurality of indoor units are operated, and each of the bypass passages is provided with a relatively expensive electromagnetic expansion valve. There is a problem of increasing the overall manufacturing cost.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a multi-type air conditioner capable of reducing manufacturing costs.

1 is a schematic configuration of a refrigeration cycle of a conventional multi-type air conditioner,

2 is a schematic configuration of a refrigeration cycle of a multi-type air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a schematic control block diagram of the multi-type air conditioner of FIG.

4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation control method of a multi-type air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

1a ~ 1n: Indoor unit 3a ~ 3n: Indoor heat exchanger

7: Inlet branch engine 9: Outlet branch engine

13a ~ 13n: Electronic expansion valve 21: Outdoor unit

23 compressor 25 outdoor heat exchanger

35: bypass flow open / close valve 37a ~ 37n: temperature detection sensor

39: control unit

The object is, according to the present invention, a compressor for compressing a refrigerant; An outdoor heat exchanger configured to receive and heat exchange refrigerant from the compressor; A plurality of indoor units having an indoor heat exchanger installed to communicate with the outdoor heat exchanger and an indoor blower fan disposed at one side of the indoor heat exchanger to provide the air passing through the indoor heat exchanger to the interior; A plurality of electromagnetic expansion valves disposed in the flow paths of the refrigerant formed between the outdoor heat exchanger and each of the indoor heat exchangers to open and close the flow paths to selectively introduce the refrigerant into the indoor heat exchanger; A bypass passage connecting the discharge side of the compressor and the suction side of the compressor; A bypass passage opening and closing valve installed in the bypass passage to open and close the bypass passage; When only a part of the plurality of indoor units is operated, the bypass flow path opening and closing valve is controlled to open the bypass flow path, and at the same time, the electronic expansion valve is controlled to flow refrigerant through at least one of the indoor units that are not operated. It is achieved by a multi-type air conditioner, characterized in that it comprises a control unit.

The apparatus may further include a plurality of temperature detection sensors for detecting the temperature of each indoor heat exchanger, wherein the controller is configured to pass through any one of the indoor units in which the refrigerant is not operated based on the temperature detection signal from the temperature detection sensor. It is preferable to control the electromagnetic expansion valve.

On the other hand, according to another field of the present invention, the step of checking whether the plurality of indoor units operating; As a result of the checking, when only a part of the plurality of indoor units is operated, controlling the bypass flow path opening / closing valve to open the bypass flow path formed to interconnect the suction side and the discharge side of the compressor; A method of controlling an operation of a multi-type air conditioner is provided, comprising controlling the electromagnetic expansion valve to pass through at least one of the indoor units in which the refrigerant passing through the outdoor heat exchanger is not operated.

The controlling of the electromagnetic expansion valve may further include detecting a temperature of a refrigerant pipe of each indoor unit that is not operated and comparing the detected temperature values with each other when there are a plurality of indoor units that are not operated. It is effective to control the electromagnetic expansion valve to pass through the refrigerant to the indoor unit having the highest temperature value as a result of the comparison.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail with respect to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the refrigeration cycle of the multi-type air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the multi-type air conditioner is installed to communicate with the plurality of indoor units 1a to 1n and the plurality of indoor units 1a to 1n to compress the refrigerant from the indoor units 1a to 1n. Therefore, it has a single outdoor unit 21 to provide to each indoor unit (1a ~ 1n).

Each of the indoor units 1a to 1n is disposed on one side of the indoor heat exchangers 3a to 3n and the indoor heat exchangers 3a to 3n which are heat-exchanged while air passes therethrough, and passes through the indoor heat exchangers 3a to 3n. An indoor blower fan (5a to 5n) for blowing heat-exchanged air into the room, and a temperature detection sensor (37a to 37n) for detecting the temperature of the refrigerant pipe of each of the indoor heat exchangers (3a to 3n). Branch flow paths are formed at the inflow side of each of the indoor heat exchangers 3a to 3n to be connected to the outlet side of the outdoor unit 21 to provide refrigerant from the outdoor unit 21 to the indoor heat exchangers 3a to 3n. An inlet branch pipe 7 is installed, and the refrigerant flowing into the indoor heat exchangers 3a to 3n from the inlet branch pipe 7 can be decompressed and expanded at the inlet side of each indoor heat exchanger 3a to 3n. At the same time, the electromagnetic expansion valves 13a to 13n for adjusting the opening degree are respectively coupled.

Outflow branch pipes 9 are installed in the outlet refrigerant pipes of each of the indoor heat exchangers 3a to 3n so that the refrigerant that has performed the cooling operation through the indoor heat exchangers 3a to 3n can be joined. On the inflow side of these inflow branch pipes 7 and the outflow side of the outflow branch pipes 9, service ports 11a and 11b are formed to allow the refrigeration cycle to be opened to the outside, respectively.

The outdoor unit 21 is disposed at one side of the outdoor heat exchanger 25 and the outdoor heat exchanger 25, which is installed to communicate with the compressor 23, which compresses the refrigerant, and the refrigerant 23 is heat-exchanged. It has an outdoor fan 27 which promotes the heat exchange effect of the outdoor heat exchanger 25. Between the outdoor heat exchanger (25) and the inlet branch pipe (7), a cylindrical receiver (31) is formed to form a receiving space for the refrigerant. A gaseous refrigerant can be sucked on the suction side of the compressor (23). The accumulator 29 is connected so that it may be installed.

On the other hand, at the suction side of the accumulator 29, one end branches from the discharge pipe of the compressor 23 so that the refrigerant in the high temperature and high pressure state discharged from the compressor 23 can flow into the suction side of the accumulator 29. A bypass flow passage 33 is formed to form a bypass flow path of a. The bypass passage pipe 33 is provided with a bypass passage opening and closing valve 35 to open and close the bypass passage.

3 is a schematic control block diagram of the multi-type air conditioner of FIG. 2. As shown in the figure, the control unit 39, which is composed of a microcomputer or the like in which a control program is embedded, includes a temperature detection sensor 37a to 37n for detecting the temperature of the refrigerant pipe of each of the indoor heat exchangers 3a to 3n, and each room. The electromagnetic expansion valves 13a to 13n for opening and closing the flow path of the refrigerant flowing into the heat exchangers 3a to 3n and the bypass flow path opening and closing valve 35 for opening and closing the bypass flow path are respectively connected.

4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation control method of a multi-type air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawing, the controller 39 first checks whether the plurality of indoor units 1a to 1n are fully operated (S10), and then checks the number of indoor units 1a to 1n that are not operated, and then is not operated. If there are a plurality of indoor units (S20), the temperature values of the refrigerant pipes detected by the respective temperature detection sensors 37a to 37n are checked (S30). At this time, the temperature value of the refrigerant pipe of the indoor units 1a to 1n which are operating is excluded. Next, a high temperature value is selected by comparing the temperature values of the refrigerant pipes detected by the respective temperature detection sensors 37a to 37n (S40). When the selected value is the highest temperature value (S50), the controller 39 causes the electromagnetic expansion valves 13a to 13n of the indoor units 1a to 1n corresponding to the highest temperature value to be opened (S60).

On the other hand, when there is only one indoor unit (1a ~ 1n) that is not operated (S20), of course, the electronic expansion valve (13a ~ 13n) of the corresponding indoor units (1a ~ 1n) is opened (S60). When the electromagnetic expansion valves 13a to 13n are opened, the control unit 39 controls the bypass flow path opening and closing valve 35 to open the bypass flow path (S70), and supplies power to the electric motor unit of the compressor 23. In operation S80, the compressor 23 is driven.

By this configuration, the refrigerant in the high temperature and high pressure state compressed by the compressor 23 is radiated and condensed while passing through the outdoor heat exchanger 25. The liquid refrigerant in the condensed room temperature and high pressure state is provided to each indoor unit 1a to 1n in operation by the inflow branch pipe 7 through the receiver 31. At this time, the control unit 39 controls the electromagnetic expansion valves 13a to 13n of the indoor units 1a to 1n in operation to open at the corresponding opening ratio.

The refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant inlet pipe of each indoor unit (1a to 1n) through the inlet branch pipe (7) performs a cooling operation to absorb the latent heat of evaporation while passing through the corresponding indoor heat exchangers (3a to 3n). Then, it is joined by the outflow branch engine 9 again.

On the other hand, when only a part of the indoor units (1a to 1n) is operated, the control unit, as described with reference to Figure 4, at least one of the indoor heat exchanger of the indoor unit in which the refrigerant from the receiver 31 is not operated ( The electromagnetic expansion valves 13a to 13n are opened to pass through 3a to 3n. At this time, the indoor blowing fans 5a to 5n of the indoor units 1a to 1n are, of course, not driven.

Since the refrigerant passing through the electronic expansion valve of the indoor unit that is not operated flows into the suction side of the accumulator 29 without sufficient heat exchange in the indoor heat exchanger, the suction side of the accumulator 29 becomes a supercooled state. At this time, the control unit 39 controls the bypass flow path opening and closing valve 35 to open the bypass flow path. Then, a part of the high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous refrigerant compressed by the compressor 23 flows into the suction side of the accumulator 29 through the bypass passage, whereby the supercooled state of the suction side of the accumulator 29 is introduced. Is resolved.

As described above, according to the present invention, when only a part of the plurality of indoor units are operated, the electric expansion valve of any one of the indoor units that are not operated is opened so that the refrigerant passing through the receiver does not operate via the indoor unit. By doing so, the imbalance between the suction and discharge side refrigerant capacities of the compressor can be eliminated. Therefore, unlike the conventional method of increasing the manufacturing cost by forming a separate refrigerant bypass flow path and installing an electronic expansion valve, a multi-type air conditioner capable of eliminating the bypass flow path and the electromagnetic expansion valve and reducing the manufacturing cost and its An operation control method is provided.

Claims (4)

A compressor for compressing the refrigerant; An outdoor heat exchanger configured to receive and heat exchange refrigerant from the compressor; A plurality of indoor units having an indoor heat exchanger installed to communicate with the outdoor heat exchanger and an indoor blower fan disposed at one side of the indoor heat exchanger to provide the air passing through the indoor heat exchanger to the interior; A plurality of electromagnetic expansion valves disposed in the flow paths of the refrigerant formed between the outdoor heat exchanger and each of the indoor heat exchangers to open and close the flow paths to selectively introduce the refrigerant into the indoor heat exchanger; A bypass passage connecting the discharge side of the compressor and the suction side of the compressor; A bypass passage opening and closing valve installed in the bypass passage to open and close the bypass passage; When only a part of the plurality of indoor units is operated, the bypass flow path opening and closing valve is controlled to open the bypass flow path, and at the same time, the electronic expansion valve is controlled to flow refrigerant through at least one of the indoor units that are not operated. Multi-type air conditioner comprising a control unit. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of temperature detection sensors for detecting temperatures of the indoor heat exchangers, wherein the controller is configured to include at least one of the indoor units in which the refrigerant is not operated based on the temperature detection signals from the temperature detection sensors. A multi-type air conditioner, characterized in that for controlling the electromagnetic expansion valve via any one. Checking whether the plurality of indoor units are driven; As a result of the checking, when only a part of the plurality of indoor units is operated, controlling the bypass flow path opening / closing valve to open the bypass flow path formed to interconnect the suction side and the discharge side of the compressor; And controlling the electromagnetic expansion valve to pass through any one of the indoor units in which the refrigerant passing through the outdoor heat exchanger is not operated. The method of claim 3, wherein the controlling of the electromagnetic expansion valve comprises: detecting a temperature of a refrigerant pipe of each indoor unit that is not operated, and comparing the detected temperature values when there are a plurality of indoor units that are not operated. And controlling the electromagnetic expansion valve so that the refrigerant passes through the indoor unit having the highest temperature value as a result of the comparison.