JP3515071B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner and an operating method thereof, and more particularly to an air conditioner capable of dehumidifying operation in a wide temperature range ranging from cooling to heating and an operating method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional air conditioners mainly use a system in which air cooled by an evaporator is heated again by an electric heater when a dehumidifying operation is performed to reduce humidity, or a condensation heat in a refrigeration cycle is used. A method of heating again is known. When comparing the two methods, especially from the viewpoint of energy saving, the former method consumes much more power, and thus the latter method is superior.

Further, as an example of a refrigerating cycle in which the air cooled in the dehumidifying operation is heated again by the refrigerating cycle itself, JP-A-60-181559 and JP-A-2-18.
37376, JP-A-3-31640, and JP-A-51-18059.

In JP-A-60-181559, a compressor, a four-way valve, an outdoor heat exchanger, a throttling device, an indoor heat exchanger, etc. are successively connected by a refrigerant pipe, and an indoor heat exchanger is further connected. Disclosed is a cycle configuration in which a dehumidifying throttle device for dehumidifying operation and a two-way valve bypassing the dehumidifying throttle device are provided in parallel between them. During the dehumidifying operation, the two-way valve is closed to allow the refrigerant to flow through the dehumidifying expansion device, so that the upstream side of the indoor heat exchanger divided into two is a condenser and the downstream side is an evaporator. It allows the dehumidification operation to flow from the condenser to the condenser, cool and dehumidify with the evaporator, and then reheat with the condenser to lower the humidity without lowering the temperature too much.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-183776, a two-way valve with a small hole is used as a dehumidifying expansion device, and the indoor heat exchanger is divided into upper and lower parts, and the upper indoor heat exchanger is operated during dehumidifying operation. The condenser and lower indoor heat exchanger are used as evaporators, and the indoor air flow is made to flow in parallel to these indoor heat exchangers to cool and dehumidify them in the evaporator and to heat them in the condenser to prevent overcooling. However, it enables dehumidifying operation to lower the humidity.

In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 3-31640, in addition to the cycle configuration of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 60-181559, there is further provided a flow path switching means consisting of four check valves to switch the four-way valve to a heating cycle. Even in such a case, the air flow is made to flow from the evaporator to the heater on the indoor side so that a powerful heating-like dehumidifying operation is possible. In addition, the amount of heat radiated in the outdoor heat exchanger is controlled by controlling the rotation speed of the outdoor fan, and the amount of air heated in the indoor heat exchanger is adjusted so that the room temperature reaches the set temperature. In addition, in the publicly known example, it is described that the outdoor fan is operated weakly when the outside air temperature is 22 ° C. or less and weakly operated when the outside air temperature is 22 ° C. or more.

FIG. 30 shows a cycle configuration in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 51-18059, and FIG. 31 shows an operation list of each part. Although the cycle structure of FIG. 30 is provided with two compressors, it is basically the same as the cycle structure described in the above-mentioned JP-A-60-181559. In the operating method shown in FIG. 31, the outdoor fan and the compressor perform control according to the operating function, but do not perform control according to the outdoor temperature and the like. For example, the outdoor fan is operated at a low speed in the cooling dehumidifying operation and is stopped in the heating dehumidifying operation. In addition, the compressor operates at the time of dehumidifying operation.

[0008]

Recently, the dehumidifying operation has been used for various purposes. For example, (1) In the rainy season or autumn rain season, when the temperature is not so high, dehumidification is performed while keeping the room temperature set, comfortable dehumidification operation, (2) In a sultry night or at dawn, there is no airflow feeling and low noise condition. , Good night sleep, dehumidifying operation, which allows you to sleep comfortably by lowering the humidity without lowering the temperature too much
(3) Relative humidity is kept at around 50% to prevent the growth of mold and mites, mold and mite prevention dehumidification operation, (4) Used to dry the laundry dried in the house during the rainy season and autumn rain season. ,
There are laundry dehumidification operation etc. However, the above-mentioned four publicly-known publications do not consider the driving method for the purpose of use (1) to (4).

In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-31640, the rotation speed of the outdoor fan is controlled to adjust the air heating amount in the indoor heat exchanger in the dehumidifying operation. I haven't even touched on it, especially (1) above
It is insufficient to be applied to many purposes such as ~ (4). Further, the outdoor fan is controlled in two stages of weak operation when the outdoor air temperature is 22 ° C. or lower and weak operation when the outdoor air temperature is 22 ° C. or higher, but this is insufficient as control for the outdoor temperature.

Further, in the air conditioner, cooling operation and heating operation are often performed in addition to the dehumidifying operation. However, when the two divided indoor heat exchangers are connected in series as described in the above-mentioned four known publications. In the cooling operation and the heating operation, the refrigerant flow path of the indoor heat exchanger becomes long, and especially in the cooling operation using the two indoor heat exchangers as the evaporator, the pressure loss of the refrigerant flow in the indoor heat exchanger becomes large. Further, if the air flow and the refrigerant flow do not become counter flows, or if sufficient subcooling cannot be obtained during the heating operation, the performance of the refrigeration cycle deteriorates. In this case, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-183776 discloses that at least one of the indoor heat exchangers divided into two has two refrigerant passages to reduce the pressure loss, but it is still insufficient. Other known publications do not specifically mention this problem.

Further, in a small air conditioner such as a room air conditioner, the size of an indoor unit (also called an indoor unit) is limited. It is necessary to improve the heat transfer performance of the indoor heat exchanger as much as possible in each operation of dehumidification, cooling and heating to keep the performance of the refrigeration cycle sufficiently high by devising the relationship between the above.

Further, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 51-18059, since the outdoor fan is stopped at the time of heating and dehumidifying operation, the temperature of the electric parts on the outdoor unit (also referred to as the outdoor unit) side becomes high and the life becomes short. Will end up. Also, because the outdoor fan is not controlled by the outdoor temperature, the amount of heat radiated from the outdoor heat exchanger (waste heat amount) changes depending on the outdoor temperature, and it is not possible to adequately control the indoor blown air temperature and dehumidification amount, or the compressor operates at a constant speed. Since there is only one unit, the dehumidification amount control based on the difference between the set humidity and the indoor humidity cannot be performed sufficiently.

The object of the present invention is to perform dehumidification operation for various purposes and to act as an evaporator even with a high air flow rate.
To lower the evaporation temperature of the indoor heat exchanger
An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that can perform the obtained high air flow dehumidification operation .

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, an air conditioner of the present invention comprises a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, a first indoor heat exchanger, and a second indoor heat exchanger. An air conditioner connected between the first indoor heat exchanger and the second indoor heat exchanger and having a dehumidifying expansion device that functions as a expansion device during the dehumidification operation, in the dehumidification operation, the first
The air volume of the indoor fan that ventilates the indoor heat exchanger and the second indoor heat exchanger is made variable, and the indoor fan is operated at a low air volume.
Or the function to set to high air volume operation and
Operates the compressor at a higher capacity than during low air flow operation
It has a function and.

A compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, a first indoor heat exchanger, a second indoor heat exchanger, and a connection between these first indoor heat exchanger and second indoor heat exchanger. During the dehumidification operation, the first indoor heat exchanger is connected to the condenser and the second indoor heat exchanger.
A refrigeration cycle having a dehumidifying expansion device that functions as a expansion device so that the exchanger becomes an evaporator, and
Ventilate the first indoor heat exchanger and the second indoor heat exchanger
Cooling operation with indoor fan , heating operation and dehumidification operation
In a possible air conditioner, during dehumidification operation, the function of varying the air volume of the indoor fan for ventilation in the first indoor heat exchanger and the second indoor heat exchanger, a plurality of use of dehumidifying operation
Function for selecting the usage mode and one of the plurality of usage modes.
Low air volume operation of the indoor fan by selecting one
The function to set the operation including
Increase the indoor fan by selecting the other one.
This operation is set to include air volume operation and this high air volume operation is performed.
A high capacity operation of the compressor than at the Teikazeryou operation when
It has a setting function.

Further, a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, a first indoor heat exchanger, a second indoor heat exchanger, and a connection between the first indoor heat exchanger and the second indoor heat exchanger. In the dehumidifying operation, the first indoor heat exchanger is a condenser and the second indoor heat exchanger is
A refrigerating cycle having a dehumidifying and squeezing device that functions as a squeezing device so that the container serves as an evaporator .
Room which ventilates to 1 indoor heat exchanger and said 2nd indoor heat exchanger
It includes an inner fan, cooling operation further comprising a control circuit for inputting the temperature detected by the indoor temperature sensor, the heating luck
In rolling and dehumidifying operation can be air conditioner, during dehumidification operation, the a function of the air volume of the indoor fan to vary the air to the first indoor heat exchanger and the second indoor heat exchanger, dehumidification luck
Function to select multiple usage modes, and
Indoor fan by selecting one of the modes for
Function to set operation including low air flow operation,
Function The large air flow during operation and sets the indoor fan operation including the high air volume operation by selecting another one of the use mode to set the a high capacity operation of the compressor than at the low air volume operation And, the low air volume operation and the high air volume operation both operation, based on the room temperature detected by the indoor temperature sensor based on the room temperature by the control circuit to control the air volume of the outdoor fan ventilated to the outdoor heat exchanger, cooling, It is provided with a function of performing dehumidifying operation control such as isothermal and heating.

[0017]

[0018]

[0019]

With the above configuration, in the dehumidifying operation for the various purposes described above, for example, in the good night / awakening dehumidifying operation, a low air volume dehumidifying operation which does not have a feeling of air flow and has a low noise and a large dehumidifying amount is necessary. Laundry dehumidification operation requires a high air volume dehumidification operation that reaches a wide range of airflow and has a high drying capacity.For comfortable dehumidification operation and mold / mite dehumidification operation, it is necessary to properly use low air volume dehumidification operation and high air volume dehumidification operation. is there.

The low air flow dehumidifying operation can be realized by reducing the air flow rate of the indoor fan, and even if the compressor is controlled to have a low capacity, a sufficient dehumidifying capacity can be obtained. It can be performed.

In order to perform the high air volume dehumidifying operation, the air volume of the indoor fan is increased and the capacity of the compressor is made equal to or higher than that in the low air volume dehumidifying operation. This can be achieved by increasing the air volume of the indoor fan.Furthermore, by controlling the compression function to a high capacity, the evaporation temperature of the indoor heat exchanger that functions as an evaporator can be lowered even with a high air volume to achieve sufficient dehumidification. It is possible to perform a high air flow dehumidifying operation with which the capacity is obtained.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings, taking an air conditioner attached to a building as an example.

An embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a refrigeration cycle and a control system according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an operation mode, FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an operation method in a dehumidifying operation with a low air volume, and FIG. 4 is a dehumidifying operation method with a high air volume. 2 is a flowchart of.

The air conditioner of this embodiment is constructed as follows. In FIG. 1, 1 is a compressor, 2 is a four-way valve that is switched when switching operating states such as cooling and heating,
3 is an outdoor heat exchanger, 4 is a main expansion device through which a refrigerant flows during cooling operation and heating operation, 5 is a two-way valve provided in parallel with the main expansion device 4 for flowing a refrigerant during dehumidification operation, and 6a, 6b are two The divided indoor heat exchanger, 7 is the indoor heat exchangers 6a and 6a
The dehumidifying expansion device 8 is provided in series between the dehumidifying expansion device 7 and b, and the refrigerant flows during the dehumidifying operation. Two-way valve for flowing, 9 is an accumulator for preventing liquid return to the compressor, 10 is an outdoor fan, 1
Reference numeral 1 is an outdoor fan motor, 12 is an indoor fan, 13 is an indoor fan motor, 14 and 15 are arrows indicating the directions of air flow inside and outside the room, 16 is a control unit, and 17 is a temperature detecting means such as a temperature sensor for detecting an indoor temperature. , 18 are humidity detecting means such as a humidity sensor for detecting indoor humidity, 21, 22, 23, 2
Reference numerals 4 and 25 indicate wirings, respectively. Also, the compressor 1
Can control the capacity, and the outdoor fan 10 and the indoor fan 12 can control the capacity, that is, the air flow rate.
Especially recently, the compressor 1 and the fan motors 11 and 13 are
A rotation speed control system in which the rotation speed can be continuously changed is used, and the capacity can be finely controlled.

In the above-described cycle configuration, during cooling operation, the two-way valve 5 is closed and the two-way valve 8 is opened to circulate the refrigerant as shown by the solid arrow, and the outdoor heat exchanger 3 is connected to the condenser. The indoor heat exchangers 6a and 6b are used as evaporators to cool the room. During the heating operation, the four-way valve 2 is switched, the two-way valve 5 is closed, and the two-way valve 8 is opened to circulate the refrigerant as indicated by a dashed arrow, thereby allowing the indoor heat exchanger 6a to be circulated.
And 6b are used as condensers and the outdoor heat exchanger 3 is used as an evaporator to heat the room.

In the dehumidifying operation, the four-way valve 2 is switched in the same manner as in the cooling operation, the two-way valve 5 is opened and the two-way valve 8 is closed, so that the refrigerant is compressed by the compressor 1 and the four-way valve as shown by the one-dot chain line. 2, outdoor heat exchanger 3, two-way valve 5, indoor heat exchanger 6
a, the dehumidifying expansion device 7, the indoor heat exchanger 6b, the four-way valve 2, the accumulator 9, and the compressor 1 are circulated in this order, the outdoor heat exchanger 3 is an upstream condenser, and the indoor heat exchanger 6a is a downstream condenser. The device and the indoor heat exchanger 6b are set to be an evaporator. Then, the indoor air is directed by the indoor fan 12 to the arrow 15
, The air is cooled and dehumidified by the indoor heat exchanger 6b acting as an evaporator, and then the downstream condenser,
That is, it is heated again by the indoor heat exchanger 6a serving as a heater and blown out into the room. In this case, the capacities of the evaporator 6b and the heater 6a can be adjusted by further controlling the capacities of the compressor 1 and the blowing capacities of the indoor fan 12 and the outdoor fan 10, and finally the dehumidifying amount and the blowing amount. The air temperature can be controlled according to the purpose of use.

By the way, as described above, the dehumidifying operation has recently been used for multiple purposes. For example, (1)
The temperature is not so high due to the rainy season and autumn rain, etc., but the so-called comfortable dehumidifying operation that dehumidifies while maintaining the set temperature when damp, (2) There is no airflow feeling on a hot and humid night or at dawn, and the temperature is low in a low noise state. To reduce the humidity without lowering it so that you can sleep comfortably, good night / wake good dehumidifying operation, (3) Keep relative humidity at around 50% to prevent the growth of mold and mites, so-called mold / mite prevention There are also dehumidification operation, and (4) so-called laundry dehumidification operation, which is used when drying the laundry dried in the house in the rainy season or autumn rain season.

Further, considering the operating states of the compressor, the indoor fan, and the outdoor fan in the dehumidifying operation for various purposes described above, in the good night / awakening dehumidifying operation,
In particular, a low air volume dehumidifying operation that does not have a feeling of air flow and has a low noise and a large dehumidifying amount is required. In the laundry dehumidifying operation, a high air amount dehumidifying operation that allows a particularly large airflow and has a high drying capacity is required. In the comfortable dehumidifying operation and the mold / tick preventing dehumidifying operation, it is necessary to properly use the above-described dehumidifying operation with a low air flow and dehumidifying operation with a high air flow. Further, in addition to the dehumidifying operation with a low air volume and the dehumidifying operation with a high air volume, it is necessary to further perform a cooling-like, isothermal-like, or heating-like operation depending on the room temperature.

The dehumidifying operation methods for various purposes described above will be described below with reference to FIG. 2 which is a flow chart of the operation modes. As shown in FIG. 2, when an instruction to start the dehumidifying operation (200) is issued by a forced operation or an automatic operation that detects the temperature and humidity inside and outside the room, a use mode selection (201) in the dehumidifying operation is performed. Dehumidifying operation (210), mildew / mite prevention dehumidifying operation (220), good night / wake up dehumidifying operation (230),
One of the laundry dehumidifying operation (240) and the like is selected. At this time, when the selection mode is not designated, a comfortable dehumidifying operation (210) mode is automatically selected.

First, in the comfortable dehumidifying operation (210), the temperature sensor 17 and the humidity sensor 18 detect the temperature and humidity of the indoor air (211) and set the desired indoor temperature and humidity (212).
Is done. Next, the blower state of the indoor fan 12 is set (213) as to whether to perform the dehumidifying operation with a low air volume or the high air volume, and based on this setting (213), the low air volume dehumidifying operation (214). Or high air volume dehumidification operation (2
15) is selected. In addition, when performing comfortable dehumidification operation,
It is necessary to set the room temperature and humidity to make people feel comfortable, but PMV (Predicted Mean Vo)
It is designed to be controlled based on a thermal environment evaluation index such as te), which means a predicted average declaration). When controlled based on this thermal environment evaluation index, only the indoor temperature and humidity are used. Instead, it is possible to obtain comfortable conditions of thermal sensation by considering radiation temperature, wind speed, clothing amount, and activity amount, and automatically set temperature and humidity in consideration of season, clothes condition, activity condition, and the like.

In the mold / mite prevention dehumidifying operation (220),
As in the comfortable dehumidification operation (210), the temperature sensor 1
7. The humidity sensor 18 detects the temperature and humidity of indoor air (2
21) The desired indoor temperature and humidity are set (222). Next, whether the dehumidifying operation is performed with a low air volume or the dehumidifying operation is performed with a high air volume is set for the blowing state of the indoor fan 12 (2
23) is performed, and the low air flow dehumidifying operation (224) or the high air flow dehumidifying operation (225) is selected based on this setting (223). It is known that the relative humidity should be set to about 40 to 60% to prevent the growth of molds and mites. Therefore, in the dehumidifying operation for preventing mold and mites, for example, the humidity is automatically set to about 50%. It may be fixed and set. By performing such a dehumidifying operation, the dehumidifying operation can be performed in a state where the sensible temperature can be kept well.

In the good night / woke up dehumidifying operation (230), the temperature sensor 17 and the humidity sensor 18 detect the temperature and humidity of the room air (231) and set the desired room temperature and humidity (232). Next, during sleep, especially at the beginning of sleep or when waking up in the morning, when the feeling of airflow and noise are high, it is difficult to sleep, so a low-air-volume dehumidification operation (233) in which the blowing capacity of the indoor fan 12 is lowered is performed. In addition, about the comfortable temperature and humidity in the room during sleep, we know the approximate value,
For example, during the rainy season or in the hot and humid summer, it is better to keep the room temperature at a proper level and lower the humidity to create a comfortable and healthy sleeping environment. Therefore, in the good night / remembering dehumidifying operation, the room temperature and humidity may be automatically fixed and set to such values. In addition, this operation mode is
It can also be used in an automatic driving mode programmed according to human sleep patterns such as when waking up in the morning.

In the laundry dehumidifying operation (240), the temperature sensor 17 and the humidity sensor 18 detect the temperature and humidity of the indoor air (241), and the desired indoor temperature and humidity are set (242).
Is done. Next, when the laundry is dried, it is necessary for the air flow to spread over a wide range and to have a sufficiently high dehumidifying ability. Therefore, a high air flow dehumidifying operation (24
3) is performed. In addition, the temperature and humidity when the laundry is dried can be set to be approximately constant, unlike the human sensation that slightly changes. Therefore, even in the laundry dehumidifying operation, the room temperature and humidity can be automatically fixed and set.

In the operation modes for each purpose shown in FIG. 2, indoor temperature / humidity detection (211), (221),
(231), (241), indoor temperature and humidity setting (212),
(222), (232), (242), indoor air-blowing state setting (213), (223) do not necessarily need to be performed in this order, and can be set arbitrarily.

In each of the above-mentioned purposes of use, the operation modes are roughly classified into a low air flow dehumidifying operation and a high air flow dehumidifying operation. The air conditioner itself uses these low air volume dehumidification operation and high air volume dehumidification operation for comfortable dehumidification operation, mold and
It can be used according to each purpose mode, such as dehumidifying operation to prevent ticks, good night / awakening dehumidifying operation, and laundry dehumidifying operation.

In the low air volume dehumidifying operation and the high air volume dehumidifying operation described above, when the detected value of the room temperature and the set value are different, the temperature difference ΔT (ΔT = detected room temperature−set room temperature) is used. If the detected room temperature is higher and ΔT is positive, cooling is likely to occur, if both are approximately equal and ΔT is near zero, isothermal is felt, and if the detected temperature is lower and ΔT is negative, heating is dehumidified. You need to drive. These operating methods will be described below.

As can be seen from FIG. 3 showing the operation method in the low air volume dehumidifying operation (300), first, the indoor fan is set to the low air volume operation (301). Next, the detected room temperature detected by the temperature sensor 17 in the room is compared with the set room temperature (302).
However, when the temperature difference ΔT is positive, the low air flow cooling / dehumidifying operation (310) is performed. In this case, the compressor 1
Even if the capacity is lowered, sufficient dehumidifying capacity can be obtained. Therefore, in order to set the low capacity operation (311) and to perform the cooling operation, the heat dissipation capacity of the outdoor heat exchanger 3 is increased to serve as a heater. It is necessary to reduce the heating capacity of the used indoor heat exchanger 6a for the air flow 15, and for this reason, the blowing capacity of the outdoor fan 10 is increased (312).

When the temperature difference ΔT is almost zero, a low air flow constant temperature dehumidifying operation (320) is performed. In this operation, the compressor 1 can obtain a sufficient dehumidifying capacity even if the capacity is reduced. Is set to be medium, and the heating capacity for the air flow 15 by the indoor heat exchanger 6a used as a heater needs to be medium. Therefore, the blowing capacity of the outdoor fan 10 is set to medium (322). .

When the temperature difference ΔT is negative, a low air flow heating dehumidifying operation (330) is performed. In this operation, it is necessary to reduce the heat radiation amount in the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and increase the heating capacity for the air flow 15 by the indoor heat exchanger 6a used as a heater. For this purpose, the outdoor fan 10
The air-blowing capacity is reduced as much as possible, and the outdoor fan is stopped (332) if necessary. Further, although the compressor 1 can obtain a sufficient dehumidifying capacity even if the capacity is reduced, as the capacity of the compressor 1 is increased, the capacity of the heater 6a is increased, so that the compressor 1 can be more heated. Therefore, the capacity of the compressor 1 increases (331) according to the degree of heating.

Here, as a specific operation example of the low air flow dehumidifying operation, for example, the standard cooling capacity is 2.8 k under the conditions of indoor temperature / humidity of 24 ° C., 60% and outdoor temperature / humidity of 24 ° C., 80%.
When a room air conditioner of W is used and the outdoor air volume is sufficiently reduced and the indoor air volume is set to about 2 m ³ / min, if the theoretical displacement of the compressor is set to 0.98 m ³ / h, the outlet temperature tends to be about 21 ° C. When the operation and the theoretical displacement amount of the compressor are set to 1.5 m ³ / h, it is possible to perform a heating-like operation in which the blowout temperature is about 27 ° C. That is, the temperature of the air blown out from the indoor unit is room temperature-
It is possible to perform a cooling dehumidifying operation at 3 ° C and a heating dehumidifying operation up to room temperature + 3 ° C.

In the low air volume dehumidifying operation described above, the capacity of the compressor 1 is set low because a sufficient dehumidifying amount can be obtained, but the capacity of the compressor 1 is not limited to this, and the capacity of the compressor is increased. The input is significantly increased in this case, but the dehumidification capacity gradually increases.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, a high air flow dehumidifying operation (350)
The driving method of is explained. First, the indoor fan 12 is set to high air volume operation (351). Next, the detected room temperature detected by the temperature sensor 17 in the room is compared with the set room temperature (35
2) Then, when the temperature difference ΔT is positive, a high air flow cooling / dehumidifying operation (360) is performed. In this operation, since the indoor fan 12 is in high air volume operation, the compressor 1 is operated in high capacity to lower the evaporation temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 6b acting as an evaporator and obtain sufficient dehumidifying capacity (361). West,
In order to perform cooling-like operation further, the indoor heat exchanger 6a which increases the heat radiation capacity of the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and acts as a heater
It is necessary to reduce the heating capacity for the air flow 15 due to. For this reason, the blowing capacity of the outdoor fan 10 is increased (3
62) Allow.

When the temperature difference ΔT is substantially zero, the high air flow isothermal dehumidifying operation (370) is performed. In this operation, the compressor 1 is set to the high capacity operation (371) for the same reason as the above-mentioned cooling operation. For further isothermal operation, the heat radiation capacity of the outdoor heat exchanger 3 is set to a medium level, and the air flow 15 by the indoor heat exchanger 6a acting as a heater is increased.
It is necessary to have a medium heating capacity for. For this reason, the blowing capacity of the outdoor fan 10 is set to a medium level (372). When the temperature difference ΔT is negative, the high air volume heating dehumidifying operation (380) is performed. In this operation, the compressor 1
Is set to the high capacity operation (381) for the same reason as the above-mentioned cooling operation or isothermal operation. Further, in order to perform the heating-like operation, it is necessary to reduce the heat radiation amount in the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and increase the heating capacity for the air flow 15 by the indoor heat exchanger 6a acting as a heater. Therefore, the blowing capacity of the outdoor fan 10 is reduced as much as possible, and the outdoor fan 10 is stopped (382) if necessary.

Here, as a specific operation example of the high air volume dehumidifying operation, for example, a room air conditioner having a standard cooling capacity of 2.8 kW under conditions of indoor temperature and humidity of 24 ° C. and 60% and outdoor temperature and humidity of 24 ° C. and 80%. When the outdoor air volume is sufficiently reduced and the indoor air volume is set to about 6 m ³ / min, and the theoretical pushing amount of the compressor is set to 1.9 m ³ / h, the blowout temperature is about 26.5 ° C and the operation tends to be heating. can do. That is, the temperature of the air blown out from the indoor unit can be heated to room temperature + 3 ° C.

In the high air volume dehumidifying operation described above, the input becomes large because the compressor 1 is set to the high capacity operation. FIG. 5 shows a side sectional view showing the structure of the indoor unit that can solve the problem of large input, and FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the high air flow dehumidifying operation method in this case.

In FIG. 5, reference numerals 6a, 6b and 12 respectively have the same cycle configurations as those shown in FIG. 1, and are respectively the leeward indoor heat exchanger, the windward indoor heat exchanger,
It is an indoor fan. In addition, 31 is a suction grill, 32
Is a casing on the back side forming an air passage, 33 is a dew tray for receiving condensed water, 34 is an openable / closable damper, and 35 is an air passage provided above the casing 32. With such a configuration, during the dehumidifying operation, the indoor heat exchanger 6b serves as an evaporator and the indoor heat exchanger 6a serves as a heater, and the indoor fan 12 is operated to move the indoor air from the air flow 36 as shown by an arrow. By flowing like the air flow 37, the air flow 36 passes through the suction grill 31 and is cooled by the evaporator 6b.
After being dehumidified, the indoor fan 1 is heated by the heater 6a.
It is blown out through 2 in the direction of the arrow. Also, the evaporator 6
After the condensed water generated in b is once received by the dew tray 33,
It is discharged outdoors.

Next, a method of high air flow dehumidifying operation using the indoor unit shown in FIG. 5 will be described below with reference to the cycle configuration shown in FIG. 1 with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG.

When the high air volume dehumidifying operation mode is selected (400), the suction damper 34 first opens (401) as shown at 34a, and the indoor fan 12 is operated in a high air volume state (402). Next, the detected room temperature detected by the temperature sensor 17 shown in FIG. 1 is compared with the set room temperature (403), and the temperature difference Δ
If T is positive, high air volume cooling dehumidifying operation (41
0) is performed. In this operation, the indoor fan 12 operates at a high air volume, and this air volume is the sum of the air volume passing through the ventilation passage 35 and the air volume passing through the indoor heat exchangers 6b and 6a. The amount of air passing through becomes small, and even if the compressor 1 is operated at a low capacity (411), the evaporation temperature of the evaporator 6b is lowered and a sufficient dehumidifying capacity is obtained. Further, in order to perform cooling-like operation, the air flow 3 by the indoor heat exchanger 6a which functions as a heater by increasing the heat radiation capacity of the outdoor heat exchanger 3
It is necessary to lower the heating capacity for 6. For this reason, the blowing capacity of the outdoor fan 10 is increased to the limit (412).

When the temperature difference ΔT is substantially zero, the high air flow isothermal dehumidifying operation (420) is performed. In this operation, the compressor 1 is set to the low capacity operation (421) for the same reason as the above-described cooling operation. Further, in this isothermal operation, it is necessary to set the heat radiation capacity of the outdoor heat exchanger 3 to be medium and the heating capacity of the air flow 36 by the indoor heat exchanger 6a acting as a heater to be medium. For this reason, the blowing capacity of the outdoor fan 10 is set to the middle level (422).

If the temperature difference ΔT is negative, a high air volume heating dehumidifying operation (430) is performed. Even in this operation, the compressor 1 is set to the low capacity operation (431) for the same reason as the above-described cooling operation or isothermal operation. Further, in order to perform this heating-like operation, it is necessary to reduce the heat radiation amount in the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and increase the heating capacity for the air flow 36 by the indoor heat exchanger 6a acting as a heater.
For this reason, the blowing capacity of the outdoor fan 10 is reduced as much as possible,
The outdoor fan 10 is stopped (432) if necessary.

In FIG. 5, the dehumidifying operation with a low air flow is
By closing the damper 34, the same operation method as shown in FIG. 3 can be performed. Also, in FIG.
Although 4 is a damper that can be opened and closed by rotation, the damper is not limited to this and may be any structure that can be opened and closed. Further, in the above description, the detection of the room temperature and humidity is performed according to the procedure described with reference to FIG. Thirty
It is also possible to perform before 2), (352), and (403).

Another embodiment according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram showing an outdoor portion of the cycle of the present embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a method of adjusting the heat radiation amount of the outdoor heat exchanger 3.

The outdoor portion of the cycle shown in FIG. 7 is as shown in FIG.
1 corresponds to a portion 40 surrounded by a two-dot chain line, and in the cycle configuration shown in FIG. 1, the outdoor heat exchanger 3 is bypassed and a bypass pipe 42 is provided via a two-way valve 41.
Further, in FIG. 7, those having the same numbers as in FIG.
The same part is shown.

In the air conditioner of this embodiment having the cycle configuration shown in FIG. 7, the operating method is almost the same as in the case of the cycle configuration shown in FIG. 1, but the low air flow heating dehumidifying operation shown in FIG. In step 332 in (330), in step 382 in the high air volume heating dehumidifying operation shown in FIG. 4 and in in the high air volume heating dehumidifying operation (430) shown in FIG. 6 corresponding to the structure of the indoor unit shown in FIG. The method of adjusting the heat radiation capacity of the outdoor heat exchanger 3 in step 432 is different as follows.

In the heating dehumidifying operation, the indoor heat exchanger 6a which functions as a heater in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is first prepared by the method of adjusting the heat radiation amount of the outdoor heat exchanger 3 shown in FIG.
In order to increase the heating capacity of the outdoor fan 10, the blowing capacity of the outdoor fan 10 is reduced as much as possible, or the outdoor fan 10 is stopped (50
1) Do. Next, the room temperature is detected again and compared with the set room temperature (5
02) and if the detected room temperature is lower than the set room temperature, the two-way valve 41
Open (503). If the detected room temperature is not lower than the set room temperature, the setting is finished (504). As a result, when the two-way valve 41 is opened in step 503, most of the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant flow discharged from the compressor 1 does not pass through the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and acts as a heater.
Since the two-way valve 41 is closed and the outdoor fan 10 is stopped, the amount of heat radiated to the outside air by natural convection is also carried to the indoor heat exchanger 6a, which acts as a heater. In 6a, the heating amount is further increased, and the dehumidifying operation more like heating can be performed.

The case of dehumidifying operation in the cycle configuration of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 has been described so far, but cycle performance and heat exchange in the indoor heat exchangers 6a, 6b are also performed for each operation of cooling and heating. It is necessary to ensure performance and operate efficiently. Hereinafter, this method will be described.

First, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, since the indoor heat exchanger is divided into 6a and 6b and these are connected in series via the two-way valve 8, cooling operation and heating operation, especially In the cooling operation, both the indoor heat exchangers 6a and 6b are at a low pressure, and since the evaporator has a large specific volume of the gas refrigerant and a large volume flow rate, the pressure loss in the indoor heat exchanger increases and the cycle performance increases. Is reduced.

An embodiment capable of solving this problem is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is different from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in that the indoor side portion 90 surrounded by the alternate long and short dash line.
10 is a front view seen from the direction of arrow P in FIG. 9. 9 and 10, 51a and 51b are 6a and 6b shown in FIG. 1, respectively.
The indoor heat exchanger 51a is a two-divided indoor heat exchanger, and the indoor heat exchanger 51a is divided into two lines of refrigerant pipes, a refrigerant pipe 52 and a refrigerant pipe 53, at point A, and then merges into one system again at point B. The indoor heat exchanger 51b similarly has a piping configuration
At a point, the refrigerant pipe 54 and the refrigerant pipe 55 are divided into two systems of refrigerant pipes, and then at a point D, they are joined again into one system. Further, reference numeral 56 is a radiation fin. Other Figure 1
The same numbers as in the above indicate the same parts.

In the air conditioner configured as described above, during the cooling operation and the heating operation, the two-way valve 8 is opened so that the refrigerant flows in two systems in the indoor heat exchangers 51a and 51b. , The flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through each system is halved, and the indoor heat exchangers 51a and 5a
Since the refrigerant flow pressure loss in 1b is reduced, it is possible to prevent performance deterioration.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10,
Although the case where the refrigerant pipes of the indoor heat exchangers 51a and 51b are divided into two systems is shown, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to divide into more systems, and in this case also the indoor heat exchanger 51a. It is possible to reduce the pressure loss of the refrigerant flow at 51 and 51b and prevent the performance from deteriorating. However, if the refrigerant flow is too multi-system, the pressure loss of the refrigerant flow will decrease, but the heat transfer coefficient will decrease significantly, and the overall performance of the air conditioner, such as the cooling capacity and the coefficient of operation, will decrease. It is necessary to set the number of systems, and this number of systems is determined by the inner diameter of the refrigerant pipe.

Next, in the heating operation, in order to improve the performance such as the heating capacity and the coefficient of operation, in the indoor heat exchanger acting as a condenser, the heat exchanger through which the high temperature gas refrigerant flow flows The part is heat-exchanged with the air flow at a position where there is no heat-exchanger part that exchanges heat on the leeward side, and the heat exchanger part, which is the outlet of the refrigerant flow, is sufficiently subcooled so that the sub-cooling is sufficient. Need to exchange heat with the air flow. An example of such a configuration is shown in FIG.
Shown in. In FIG. 11, reference numeral 60a denotes an indoor heat exchanger including two systems of refrigerant pipes 61 and 62 connected at points E and F,
60b is an indoor heat exchanger consisting of two systems of refrigerant pipes 63 and 64 connected at the G point, 60c is a refrigerant flow upstream of the indoor heat exchanger 60b during heating operation, and the air flow 15 is the indoor heat exchanger 60b. An indoor heat exchanger consisting of two systems of refrigerant pipes 66, 67 connected at a point H provided at a position on the leeward side after passing, 60d is a refrigerant flow at the downstream side of the indoor heat exchanger 60a during heating operation, and An indoor heat exchanger having a refrigerant pipe 65 in which the air flow 15 is directly contacted and is located above the indoor heat exchanger 60b and which has a single refrigerant flow system. Basically, the embodiment shown in FIG. On the other hand, the indoor heat exchangers 60c and 60d are further provided.

In the structure constructed as described above,
During the heating operation, the refrigerant flows through the two-way valve 8 through the indoor heat exchanger in the order of 60c, 60b, 60a, 60d, and as shown by the broken line arrow, the high-temperature gas refrigerant flow is generated by the indoor heat exchanger 6.
Air flow 15 after heat exchange with the indoor heat exchanger 60b at 0c
a, heat exchange with the indoor heat exchanger 60b with the relatively low temperature air flow 15, and heat exchange with the indoor heat exchanger 60b with the indoor heat exchanger 60a. As a result, the heat is dissipated and cooled, and it is sufficiently condensed at the outlet of the indoor heat exchanger 60a. Next, the condensed liquid refrigerant flow flows into the indoor heat exchanger 60d of one system to have a high speed, the heat transfer coefficient in the pipe is sufficiently high, and the heat exchange is performed with the air flow 15 having a relatively low temperature to generate a subcool. Will be fully removed. In this case, the refrigerant flow from the indoor heat exchangers 60c to 60b is the air flow 15 and the air flow 15
The refrigerant flow that is a counter flow to a and that flows from the indoor heat exchanger 60a to the indoor heat exchanger 60d is also the air flows 15 and 15a.
And a counter flow, and in each case, the heat exchange state is efficient.

During the cooling operation, the refrigerant is the indoor heat exchanger 60d and the indoor heat exchanger 60 as indicated by the solid line arrow.
a, two-way valve 8, indoor heat exchanger 60b, indoor heat exchanger 60
Flowing in the order of c, all of these indoor heat exchangers act as an evaporator.

During the dehumidifying operation, the refrigerant is the indoor heat exchanger 60d and the indoor heat exchanger 60 as indicated by the one-dot chain line arrow.
a, the dehumidifying / humidifying expansion device 7, the indoor heat exchanger 60b, and the indoor heat exchanger 60c in this order. The indoor heat exchanger 60d and the indoor heat exchanger 60a serve as heaters, and the indoor heat exchanger 60b and the indoor heat exchanger 60c are used. Acts as a cooler / dehumidifier. In this case, the indoor heat exchanger 60c acting as a cooling / dehumidifier
Is located below the indoor heat exchanger 60a acting as a heater, the dehumidified water generated in the indoor heat exchanger 60c is
It is not heated by the indoor heat exchanger 60a and evaporated again. In addition, since the indoor heat exchanger 60d that functions as a heater is located above the indoor heat exchanger 60b that serves as a cooling / dehumidifying device, the dehumidified water generated in the indoor heat exchanger 60b is absorbed in the indoor heat exchanger 60d. It will not be heated and evaporated again.

As can be seen from the above description, in FIG. 11, the indoor heat exchanger 60c does not necessarily have to be under the indoor heat exchanger 60a, and the position of the indoor heat exchanger 68 is indicated by the alternate long and short dash line 68. Below the exchanger 60b or 6
The indoor heat exchanger 60a at the position indicated by the alternate long and short dash line 8a
Including the leeward side, etc., if the dehumidified water generated in the indoor heat exchanger 60c during the dehumidifying operation at a position where there is no indoor heat exchanger part on the leeward side does not drip into the indoor heat exchanger that is the heater, Can be placed in position. In addition, the indoor heat exchanger 60
d does not necessarily have to be on the indoor heat exchanger 60b, and is the position indicated by the two-dot chain line 69 and is the indoor heat exchanger 6
Above the 0a position or at the position indicated by the two-dot chain line 69a, including the front of the indoor heat exchanger 60b, etc., a relatively low temperature air flow 15 is directly contacted with the dehumidifying water during the dehumidifying operation, and is placed at any position. be able to.

Further, in FIG. 11, both the indoor heat exchanger 60c is provided on the inlet high temperature gas area side of the refrigerant flow and the indoor heat exchanger 60d is provided on the outlet subcool area side during the heating operation, but the invention is not limited to this. Either way, in this case,
The effects of the respective actions of the indoor heat exchangers 60c and 60d can be obtained.

More specifically, in FIG. 9, the indoor heat exchangers 51a and 51b are used as the refrigerant passages of two systems, or in FIG. 11, the indoor heat exchangers 60a and 60b.
Although b and 60c are two-system refrigerant flow paths and the indoor heat exchanger 60d is one-system refrigerant flow path, it is not limited to this, and each indoor heat exchanger 51a, 51b or 60a, 60b, 60c,
The refrigerant flow path of 60d can be made into one system or multiple systems by judging from the flow rate of the refrigerant, the simplicity of the configuration, and the like. For example, when the flow rate of the refrigerant is relatively large, the indoor heat exchanger mixed with the gas flow becomes 51a, 51b in FIG. 9 or FIG.
60a, 60b, 60c of No. 1 are better to be the refrigerant flow passages of a plurality of systems in order to reduce the pressure loss, and the indoor heat exchanger 60d of FIG.
Then, in order to increase the flow velocity in the pipe and improve the heat transfer performance, it is better to use a single-system refrigerant flow path. When the flow rate of the refrigerant is relatively small, the indoor heat exchanger having a relatively low refrigerant dryness on the upstream side during the cooling operation becomes 51a in FIG. 9 or 60a in FIG.
Even if the refrigerant flow path is a single system (not shown), the pressure loss here is relatively small, the deterioration of performance is hardly a problem, and the piping configuration is simple. Further, when the refrigerant flow rate is low, all indoor heat exchangers (51a in FIG. 9,
51b or 60a, 60b, 60c, 60 of FIG.
Even if d) is a single-system refrigerant pipe (not shown), performance degradation does not pose a problem, and the pipe configuration is further simplified.

By the way, in a room air conditioner or the like which is a small air conditioner, the structure of the indoor heat exchanger is limited and is almost fixed, and the degree of freedom of the piping configuration is small. Hereinafter, with respect to such a case, a specific example will be described by taking the indoor heat exchanger in the case where the pipe rows are two in the embodiment shown in FIG. 11 as an example.

In FIG. 12, there are two rows of pipes and the number of stages of the pipes is nine.
It is a side view of the indoor heat exchanger 70 when it is configured in a tier,
The structural example of the piping around the indoor heat exchanger 7 is also shown. In FIG. 12, what is indicated by a circle is a heat transfer tube 7 provided so as to penetrate a plurality of heat radiation fins 71.
3, those indicated by broken lines and solid lines are connection pipes, and 7 and 8 are dehumidifying throttle devices and two-way valves, respectively, as in FIG. 1 or FIG. Further, the indoor heat exchanger 70 is separated into two L-shaped heat exchangers 70a and 70b by cutting the radiating fin 71 at the portion indicated by the line 72, and the heat transfer tube 7
3a and 73b have a one-system refrigerant flow, and the other heat transfer tubes are arranged so as to have a two-system refrigerant flow with the dehumidifying expansion device 7 and the two-way valve 8 interposed therebetween.

With the above-mentioned structure, the refrigerant flow flows in the directions of the arrow shown by the solid line, the arrow shown by the broken line, and the arrow shown by the alternate long and short dash line in each operation of cooling, heating, and dehumidifying. For this reason, all the heat transfer tubes become low-pressure evaporators during the cooling operation, but since all the heat transfer tubes except 73a and 73b become the two-system refrigerant flow, the pressure loss is small and there is no problem. Also, during heating operation, the hot gas refrigerant flow is
On the inlet side of the indoor heat exchanger 70, the heat transfer tubes 73c and 73d flow to the heat transfer tubes 73e and 73f on the downstream side, respectively, and become a counterflow with the air flow 15, so that an efficient heat exchange state can be realized and the outlet side. In the heat transfer tubes 73b and 73a, which are the heat transfer tubes of No. 3, heat is exchanged on the windward side with the air flow 15 having a relatively low temperature, and since the refrigerant flow is one system, the speed is high and the heat transfer performance in the tubes is improved. , Can take enough subcool. During the dehumidifying operation, the indoor heat exchanger 70b serves as a cooling / dehumidifier (ie, an evaporator) on the windward side, and the indoor heat exchanger 70a serves as a heater (ie, a condenser) on the leeward side with respect to the air flow 15. After cooling and dehumidifying No. 15, it is heated again. In this case, since the indoor heat exchanger 70a having a high temperature and the indoor heat exchanger 70b having a low temperature are separated from each other by the cut 72, there is no heat loss because the heat exchangers do not directly interfere with each other, Efficient dehumidification operation can be performed. In addition, the indoor heat exchanger 70 that functions as a heater
a is an indoor heat exchanger 70b that functions as a cooling / dehumidifier
The dehumidified water that flows above and does not evaporate again due to being heated.

FIG. 13 is a modification of the embodiment of the indoor heat exchanger shown in FIG. 12 in which the heat transfer tubes are arranged in two rows and in nine stages. Compared with the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, heating operation is performed. At times, in order to take a subcool on the outlet side of the refrigerant flow, the heat transfer tubes 74a and 74b that are arranged so that the refrigerant flow is in one system are shifted to the upper side by one stage, and the inlet heat transfer tube into which the refrigerant flow of the high temperature gas flows is the air flow. The pipe structure has a heat transfer pipe 74c on the windward side and a heat transfer pipe 74d on the leeward side with respect to 15, and is divided into two by a cutting line indicated by 96. In this piping configuration, the heat transfer tubes 74c in the high temperature gas area and the heat transfer tubes 74e, 74f in the condensation area on the leeward side of the heating operation are not opposed to the air flow 15, but after cooling and dehumidifying during the dehumidifying operation. The height h ₂ of the heat exchanger part to be heated again is longer than the height h ₁ shown in FIG. 12, and a larger amount of dehumidification can be obtained than in the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 shows still another modified example of the indoor heat exchanger shown in FIG. 12 in which the heat transfer tubes are arranged in two rows and nine stages.
At the time of heating operation, the heat transfer tubes 75a and 75b in which the refrigerant flow is made into one system for taking subcool on the outlet side of the refrigerant flow are arranged in the uppermost two rows, and the inlet heat transfer tube into which the refrigerant flow of the high temperature gas flows is set to the air flow 15 On the other hand, both are heat transfer tubes 75c, 7 on the windward side.
The indoor heat exchanger 88 is divided into two parts, 88a and 88b, at a position indicated by 89. In this piping configuration, the inlet heat transfer tubes 75c, 75d in the high temperature gas region and the heat transfer tubes 75b, 75e, 75f, 75g having a lower temperature on the leeward side thereof during the heating operation do not become the counterflow with the air flow 15, but during the dehumidification operation. The height h ₃ of the heat exchanger portion that is cooled and dehumidified and then reheated can be made longer than that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, and a greater amount of dehumidification can be taken.

FIG. 15 is a side view of an embodiment of the indoor heat exchanger 80 in which the heat transfer pipes are arranged in two rows and arranged in 10 stages, and the piping configuration around the indoor heat exchanger 80 is also shown. .
Similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, those indicated by ○ in FIG. 15 are heat transfer tubes provided so as to penetrate a plurality of heat radiation fins 81, those indicated by broken lines and solid lines are connection pipes, 7,
Reference numeral 8 is a dehumidifying throttle device and a two-way valve, respectively. Further, the indoor heat exchanger 80 is separated into two L-shaped heat exchangers 80a and 80b by cutting the radiating fin 81 at a portion indicated by a separation line 82, and the heat transfer tubes 83a and 8
3b is a refrigerant flow of one system, and the other heat transfer pipes are arranged so as to be a refrigerant flow of two systems with the dehumidifying expansion device 7 and the two-way valve 8 interposed therebetween. Further, the L-shaped heat exchanger 80b has a two-system refrigerant pipe configuration of a system shown by an arrow 84 and a system shown by an arrow 85 between the branching I point and J point. Since the number of heat transfer tubes (two in this case) is smaller than that of the system piping indicated by 85, the heat transfer tubes 83c and J A resistance tube 86 is provided between the points.

With the above-mentioned structure, the refrigerant flows in the cooling, heating, and dehumidifying operations by the arrows indicated by solid lines,
Flow in the direction of the arrow indicated by the broken line, the arrow indicated by the alternate long and short dash line, the refrigerant flow state of low pressure loss in the cooling operation, the heat exchange state by the counter flow of the inlet high temperature gas refrigerant flow and the air flow in the heating operation, and the outlet portion Sufficient subcooling with one system of refrigerant flow, cooling for air flow 15 in dehumidification operation,
The operations of dehumidification and reheating can be performed efficiently and without any problem as in the embodiment shown in FIG.

The resistance tube 86 may be provided anywhere between points I and J in the piping of the system shown by 84. Further, it may be applied that a resistance tube is provided in one of the plurality of channels having a smaller flow resistance to equalize the flow resistance of each flow path. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 9 or FIG.
The present invention can be applied to a case where a resistance tube is provided in a flow path having a small flow resistance to make the flow resistance equal and the refrigerant flows in a well-balanced manner.

FIG. 16 is a modification of the indoor heat exchanger shown in FIG. 15 in which the heat transfer tubes are arranged in two rows and in ten stages. During the heating operation, the refrigerant flow is reduced in order to take subcool at the refrigerant flow outlet side. 87a, 87b, 8 heat transfer tubes designed to be one system
7i, and the inlet heat transfer tubes into which the refrigerant flow of the high temperature gas flows are both windward side heat transfer tubes 87 with respect to the air flow 15.
The pipes are configured to be c and 87d, and similarly cut at 97. In this piping configuration, during the heating operation, the heat transfer tubes 87c, 87d in the high temperature gas region and the heat transfer tubes 87e, 87f, 87g, 8g having a lower temperature on the leeward side thereof are provided.
7h is, but not a counter flow against the air flow 15, during dehumidifying operation, cooling, the height h ₅ of the heat exchanger portion after reheating dehumidified longer than h ₅ of Figure 15, many more Dehumidifying amount can be taken. Further, the refrigerant flow between the points K and L is a two-system flow, but the lengths of the heat transfer tubes of each system are set to be the same, and the resistance tube 86 as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 15 is used. It becomes unnecessary to provide.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 12, 13, 14, and 16, the number of heat transfer tubes serving as heaters in the dehumidifying operation is set larger than the number of heat transfer tubes serving as cooling / dehumidifiers. This is because this is effective in performing the dehumidifying operation with a slight heating effect described in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 6, and 8. That is, in the dehumidifying operation, cooling /
Since the capacity of the dehumidifier can be made lower and the capacity of the heater can be made higher, the dehumidifying operation that tends to be heating becomes easier.

Here, in the indoor heat exchanger shown in FIG. 12 to FIG. 16, both of the two divided heat exchangers constitute two channels of the refrigerant flow path, which is the embodiment shown in FIG. As described above, it is suitable as a piping configuration of an air conditioner having a relatively large refrigerant flow rate. When the flow rate of the refrigerant is relatively low, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 12 to 16, it becomes the evaporator on the upstream side during the cooling operation (for example, FIG.
2 is 70a, and 80a in FIG. 15) can be used as a single-system refrigerant flow path, and when the refrigerant flow rate is low, it can be used as an evaporator on the downstream side during cooling operation. An operating indoor heat exchanger (for example, 70b in FIG. 12 and 80b in FIG. 15)
Can also be a single-system refrigerant flow path.

As an example, FIG. 17 will be described as an embodiment corresponding to the embodiment shown in FIG. 12 and having a piping structure for a relatively small refrigerant flow rate. Here, FIG. 17 shows the heat exchanger 70a shown in FIG. 12 as a single-system refrigerant flow path. In FIG. 17, reference numeral 98 denotes a heat exchanger 98a which is divided into two parts by a cutting line 72 and which has a refrigerant flow path serving as an upstream evaporator during cooling operation as one system and a refrigerant which serves as a downstream evaporator during cooling operation. Heat exchanger 98 with two channels
b (the same as 70b shown in FIG. 12). Further, in FIG. 17, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 12 indicate the same parts.

In the case of the above configuration, the refrigerant flows in the directions of the arrow indicated by the solid line, the arrow indicated by the broken line, and the arrow indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in each operation of cooling, heating and dehumidifying. During the cooling operation, both the indoor heat exchangers 98a and 98b are low-pressure evaporators, but since the refrigerant flow rate is relatively small, the upstream evaporator 98a with low dryness causes a pressure loss even if the refrigerant flow path is one system. It is comparatively small, and conversely, the refrigerant flow velocity is higher than that in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, so that the heat transfer coefficient in the pipe is large. In the evaporator 73b on the downstream side,
Although the dryness is high, the refrigerant flow rate is sufficiently low and the pressure loss is small because the refrigerant flow path has two systems.

Further, during the heating operation, in the indoor heat exchanger 98, since the refrigerant flow has a high pressure, the specific volume of the gas refrigerant becomes small and the flow velocity becomes slow. Enters the indoor heat exchanger 98b of the system and condenses,
Since the refrigerant flow path enters the indoor heat exchanger 98a of one system after the degree of dryness of the refrigerant becomes sufficiently low, a problematic pressure loss does not occur. Therefore, when the flow rate of the refrigerant is relatively small, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 17, there is no performance problem in the cooling and heating operations, and the refrigerant flow path of the indoor heat exchanger 98a is a single system, so the piping The configuration is simple. The heat exchange state between the indoor heat exchanger 98 and the airflow 15 during the cooling operation, the heating operation, and the dehumidifying operation is the same as that of the embodiment shown in FIG.

Here, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 12 to 16, the indoor heat exchanger is completely divided into two by the cutting line 72 shown in FIG. 12 and the cutting line 89 shown in FIG. The heat transfer between the exchangers is sufficiently blocked, enabling sufficient cooling / dehumidification and heating during dehumidification operation.
However, on the other hand, there is a problem that the assembly of the heat exchanger becomes complicated, and in order to solve this, it is preferable that the heat radiation fin before the heat transfer tube is incorporated is configured as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19.

The radiation fin 91 shown in FIG. 18 has a structure in which an intermittent slit 92 is provided at a position corresponding to the cutting line 72 shown in FIG. As a result of this configuration,
Due to the slit 92, the heat insulation performance is slightly inferior to that of the cutting line 72 shown in FIG.
Heat transfer between the b side can be blocked, and the heat radiation fin 9
Since the 1a side and the 91b side are connected, this assembly can be facilitated when assembling the heat exchanger.

Further, the radiation fin 93 shown in FIG.
4 has a structure in which an intermittent slit 94 is provided at a position corresponding to the cutting line 89 shown in FIG. Also in this case, FIG.
Similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the slit 94 can block heat transfer between the heat radiation fins 93a and 93b, and the heat radiation fins 93a and 93b are connected to each other, so that the heat exchanger is assembled. Sometimes this assembly can be facilitated.

Further, in the embodiments described above, the case where a single refrigerant such as HCFC22 (abbreviation of hydrochlorofluorocarbon 22) which is often used in an air conditioner is used has been described. However, recently, from the viewpoint of ozone layer depletion and global warming, research on alternative refrigerants to replace HCFC22 has become active. Further, as an alternative refrigerant, use of not only a single refrigerant but also a mixed refrigerant is being considered. Of these, the single refrigerant has the same pressure level as the refrigeration cycle, but the characteristics are the same as those of the HCFC22, and even in the case of the mixed refrigerant, the embodiment shown in FIGS. The cycle configuration, the indoor unit structure, the operation control method, the piping configuration of the indoor heat exchanger, and the like described above can be applied, and similar effects can be obtained.

Further, in the case of using a mixed refrigerant, it is generally possible to obtain a single refrigerant in the cooling operation by using the piping configuration shown in FIGS. 11 to 17 for the indoor heat exchanger. The following effects are obtained.

FIG. 21 shows a modeled temperature-entropy diagram of the refrigeration cycle when a single refrigerant and a mixed refrigerant are used. In this temperature-entropy diagram, for example, when the cooling operation is performed in the piping configuration shown in FIG. 11, in the indoor heat exchanger that acts as an evaporator, in the case of a single refrigerant, pressure loss occurs due to pressure loss. The evaporation temperature decreases from the inlet to the outlet, as shown from Ta point to Pa point in FIG. 21, and the indoor heat exchanger 6
Since 0a is an evaporator on the high temperature side and 60b is an evaporator on the low temperature side, the refrigerant flow and the air flow 15 do not become counter flows. On the other hand, in the case of the mixed refrigerant, the composition ratio of the mixed refrigerant in the gas phase and the liquid phase generally changes in the evaporation process, and as a result, as shown from point T to point P in FIG. The evaporation temperature rises from the inlet to the outlet of the heat exchanger. As a result, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the indoor heat exchanger 6
Since the evaporation temperature of 0a is lower than the evaporation temperature of the indoor heat exchanger 60b, the refrigerant flow and the air flow 15 are in a counterflow state, and the heat exchange state is more efficient than in the case of a single refrigerant. .

In the heating operation, on the condensation side,
As shown in FIG. 21 from point Qa to point Ra and point Sa, point Q to point R and point S, the refrigerant temperature decreases from the inlet to the outlet of the indoor heat exchanger for both the single refrigerant and the mixed refrigerant. The temperature relationship between the refrigerant flow and the air flow in the indoor heat exchanger has the same temperature relationship between the single refrigerant and the mixed refrigerant.

Up to now, description has been made assuming a structure in which the indoor heat exchangers 6a and 6b divided into two are arranged in series (front and rear) with respect to the air flow 15 as shown in FIG. Not limited to this, even if the indoor heat exchanger divided into two is arranged in parallel (upper and lower) with respect to the air flow, the same action and effect can be obtained during the dehumidifying operation. FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a refrigerating cycle and a control system according to this embodiment. In FIG. 22, reference numerals 110a and 110b denote indoor heat exchangers divided into two and arranged in parallel (up and down) with respect to the air flow 15. 1 is the same as that in FIG. 1 except that the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 represent the same parts. The compressor 1 is capable of capacity control, and the outdoor fan 10 and the indoor fan 12 are capacity control, that is, air flow rate control. Is possible.

Here, the indoor fan 12 shows the case where air flows through the indoor heat exchangers 6a and 6b in parallel. However, the indoor heat exchangers 6a and 6b are bent in a dogleg shape. The indoor fan 12 can be arranged so that air is first allowed to flow in the indoor heat exchanger 6b and then air is allowed to flow in the indoor heat exchanger 6a. With such a structure, inflow and outflow of air Easy to form passages.

In the cycle configuration of FIG. 22 as well, similar to the cycle configuration of FIG. 1, during cooling operation, the two-way valve 5 is closed and the two-way valve 8 is opened to circulate the refrigerant as indicated by the solid arrow. The outdoor heat exchanger 3 is used as a condenser, and the indoor heat exchangers 6a and 6b are used as evaporators to cool the room. During heating operation, the four-way valve 2 is switched, the two-way valve 5 is closed, and the two-way valve 8
By opening, the refrigerant is circulated as indicated by the dashed arrow, and the indoor heat exchangers 6a and 6b are used as condensers and the outdoor heat exchanger 10 is used as an evaporator to heat the room.

In the dehumidifying operation, the four-way valve 2 is switched in the same manner as in the cooling operation, the two-way valve 5 is opened and the two-way valve 8 is closed, so that the refrigerant is compressed by the compressor 1 and the four-way valve as shown by the one-dot chain line. 2, outdoor heat exchanger 3, two-way valve 5, indoor heat exchanger 11
0a, the dehumidifying expansion device 7, the indoor heat exchanger 110b, the four-way valve 2, the accumulator 9, and the compressor 1 in this order, and the outdoor heat exchanger 3 is condensed on the upstream side and the indoor heat exchanger 6a is condensed on the downstream side. The container and the indoor heat exchanger 6b are used as an evaporator. Then, when the indoor air is made to flow by the indoor fan 12 as indicated by the arrow 15, a part of the air flow becomes the evaporator, and the indoor heat exchanger 11
While being cooled and dehumidified at 0b, the remaining air flow is heated by the indoor heat exchanger 110a that serves as a heater in the condenser and blown out into the room. In this case, the capacities of the evaporator 110b and the heater 110a can be adjusted by controlling the capacities of the compressor 1 and the blowing capacities of the indoor fan 12 and the outdoor fan 10, and finally, the dehumidifying amount and the blown air temperature. Can be controlled according to the purpose of use.

Therefore, in the dehumidifying operation, the indoor heat exchanger 110a divided into two parts with respect to the air flow 15 as shown in FIG.
And 110b are arranged in parallel (up and down), the same various operations as in the case where the indoor heat exchangers 6a and 6b divided into two with respect to the air flow 15 are arranged in series (before and after) as shown in FIG. The same operating method as in FIGS. 2 to 4 can be performed, and the same effect can be obtained. That is, FIG.
Dehumidifying operation according to various purposes such as comfortable dehumidifying operation, good night / wake up dehumidifying operation, mold / tick preventing dehumidifying operation, laundry dehumidifying operation, etc., which are described in the examples It is possible to selectively use the low air volume dehumidifying operation and the high air volume dehumidifying operation, and perform the cooling, isothermal or heating dehumidifying operation depending on the room temperature.

By the way, in the above-mentioned high air flow dehumidification operation, since the compressor is operated in high capacity, the input becomes large. An embodiment capable of solving this problem is shown in FIG. FIG. 23 is a view showing a side cross section of the indoor unit when the indoor heat exchanger is divided into upper and lower parts, as compared with the embodiment of FIG.
Reference numerals a, 110b, and 12 are the same as those described in the cycle configuration of FIG. 22, and are an upper indoor heat exchanger, a lower indoor heat exchanger, and an indoor fan, respectively. Further, the same parts as those in FIG. 5 are designated by the same reference numerals.

With the above construction, during the dehumidifying operation, the indoor heat exchanger 6b serves as an evaporator and the indoor heat exchanger 6a serves as a heater, and the indoor fan 12 is operated to flow indoor air as indicated by arrows 36 to 37. The airflow 36 passes through the suction grill 31, partly cooled and dehumidified by the evaporator 6b, partly heated by the heater 6a, and further blown out in the direction of the arrow 37 through the indoor fan 12. . Further, the condensed water generated in the evaporator 6b is once received by the dew tray 33 and then discharged outside the room.

The various operating methods when the indoor unit shown in FIG. 23 is used are the same as those of the indoor unit shown in FIG. Thus, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the embodiment of FIG.

Also in the case of FIG. 22, it is apparent that the same effect can be obtained by applying the embodiment of FIG. 7 as in the case of FIG. That is, the portion 40 surrounded by the alternate long and two short dashes line in FIG. 22 is configured as shown in FIG. 7, and the heat radiation amount in the outdoor heat exchanger 3 is adjusted by the heating dehumidifying operation method shown in FIG. It is possible to perform a dehumidifying operation slightly more like heating than in the case.

Note that FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 6,
The operating method during the dehumidifying operation shown in FIG. 8 has been described assuming the cycle configuration shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 7 or FIG. 22, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the indoor heat exchanger is divided into two and dehumidifying is performed between them. For an air conditioner that has a throttle device and has a cycle configuration in which the upstream side of the refrigerant flow of the indoor heat exchanger divided into two is a heater and the downstream side is a cooling / dehumidifier during dehumidifying operation, As described above, it is commonly applied to the case where the indoor heat exchangers are arranged in front and back to allow the airflow to flow through these indoor heat exchangers in sequence, or the case where the indoor heat exchangers are arranged vertically to allow the airflow to flow in parallel to these heat exchangers. It is possible to obtain the same effect.

By the way, although the case of the dehumidifying operation has been described with respect to the cycle configuration of the embodiment shown in FIG. 22, as in the case of the cycle configuration of FIG. Indoor heat exchangers 110a, 110
It is necessary to ensure the heat exchange performance in b and operate efficiently. This method will be described below. First, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 22, the indoor heat exchanger is divided into 110a and 110b, and in the cooling operation and the heating operation, these are connected in series via the two-way valve 8. In the above, both the indoor heat exchangers 110a and 110b are evaporators in which the specific volume of the gas refrigerant is large and the volume flow rate is large at low pressure, resulting in a large pressure loss in the indoor heat exchanger and a reduction in cycle performance.

FIG. 24 shows an embodiment capable of solving this problem. This embodiment corresponds to the heat exchanger portion of the indoor side portion 111 surrounded by the alternate long and short dash line in the embodiment shown in FIG. 24, 100a and 100b are indoor heat exchangers divided into two parts corresponding to 110a and 110b in FIG. 22, respectively, and the indoor heat exchanger 100a is P
At the point, the indoor heat exchanger 100b similarly has a two-system refrigerant pipe divided into two systems, 101 and 102, and then merges again into one system. The pipe configuration is such that after it is divided into two, it joins again into the system at point S. Further, the same parts as those in FIG. 22 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the above structure, the indoor heat exchanger 1 is opened by opening the two-way valve 8 during the cooling operation and the heating operation.
Since the refrigerant flows in two systems in each of 00a and 100b, the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing in each system is halved, the refrigerant flow pressure loss in the indoor heat exchangers 100a and 100b is reduced, and the deterioration of the performance can be prevented.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 24, the refrigerant pipes of the indoor heat exchangers 100a and 100b are divided into two systems, but not limited to this, it is possible to divide into more systems, and in this case as well. Indoor heat exchangers 100a and 100b
It is possible to reduce the pressure loss of the refrigerant flow in the above and prevent the deterioration of the performance. However, if the refrigerant flow is made too multi-system, the pressure loss of the refrigerant flow will decrease, but the heat transfer coefficient will decrease too much, and the overall performance such as cooling capacity and coefficient of operation will decrease. And this value changes depending on the inner diameter of the refrigerant pipe.

Further, in the heating operation, in order to improve the performance such as the heating capacity and the coefficient of operation, it is necessary to make it possible to sufficiently obtain a subcool in the heat exchanger portion corresponding to the refrigerant outlet in the indoor heat exchanger that serves as the condenser. is there. FIG. 25 shows an embodiment capable of realizing this. In FIG. 25, 100c is an indoor heat exchanger that is on the downstream side of the refrigerant flow during heating operation and is composed of two lines of refrigerant pipes 106 and 107 connected to one line of refrigerant pipe 105 at a point T.
The same number as 4 indicates the same part. That is, in the embodiment of FIG. 25, the indoor heat exchanger 100a having two systems of refrigerant pipes in FIG. 24 is replaced with an indoor heat exchanger 100c having a combination of one system of refrigerant pipes and two systems of refrigerant pipes.

In the above structure, during the heating operation, the refrigerant flows in the order of the indoor heat exchanger 100b, the two-way valve 8 and the indoor heat exchanger 100c. In this case, the high temperature gas refrigerant entered as indicated by the broken arrow. The stream exchanges heat with the air stream 15,
Two-system indoor heat exchanger 10 with refrigerant pipes 103 and 104
0b to the refrigerant pipes of the indoor heat exchanger 100c are 106, 1
It is fully condensed in the two system part of 07. Next, the condensed liquid refrigerant flow enters the refrigerant pipe 105 of the one system of the indoor heat exchanger 100c to have a high speed, and the heat transfer coefficient in the pipe is sufficiently high, so that a sufficient subcool is obtained. As a result, an efficient heat exchange state is achieved.

Further, during the cooling operation, as shown by the solid line arrow, the refrigerant flows from one system refrigerant pipe 105 of the indoor heat exchanger 100c to two system refrigerant pipes 106 and 107, the two-way valve 8, the indoor heat exchanger. 100b two-system refrigerant pipe 103,
Flows in the order of 104, but in this case, one line of the refrigerant pipe 1
In No. 05, the pressure loss is not so large because the dryness of the refrigerant flow is low. Furthermore, one system of refrigerant piping 1
In No. 05, since the flow velocity of the refrigerant flow is increased, there is also an effect that the heat transfer coefficient in the tube is increased and the heat transfer performance is improved.

More specifically, in FIG. 24, the indoor heat exchangers 100a and 100b are used as two-system refrigerant flow paths, or in FIG. 25, the indoor heat exchanger 100b is used.
As a two-way refrigerant flow path and the indoor heat exchanger 100c
Has a flow path configuration in which a single-system refrigerant flow path and a dual-system refrigerant flow path are combined, but the present invention is not limited to this, and each indoor heat exchanger 100
The refrigerant flow path a, 100b, or 100c can be made into one system or multiple systems by judging from the refrigerant flow rate, the simplicity of the configuration, and the like. For example, when the flow rate of the refrigerant is relatively large, the indoor heat exchanger in which the gas flow is mixed becomes 1 in FIG.
00a, 100b or 100c, 100b in FIG.
In order to reduce the pressure loss, it is better to use a plurality of systems of refrigerant flow paths (the indoor heat exchanger 100c in FIG. 25 may be a combination of one system and a plurality of systems). When the refrigerant flow rate is relatively low, 100a in FIG. 24 or 100c in FIG. 25 becomes an indoor heat exchanger having a relatively low refrigerant dryness on the upstream side during the cooling operation.
Even if the refrigerant flow path is a single system (not shown), the pressure loss here is relatively small, the deterioration of performance is hardly a problem, and the piping configuration is simple. When the refrigerant flow rate is lower, all indoor heat exchangers (100 in FIG.
Even if (a, 100b or 100c, 100b in FIG. 25) is used as a single-system refrigerant pipe (not shown), the deterioration in performance does not pose a problem and the pipe configuration is further simplified.

Regarding the type of the refrigerant flowing in the refrigeration cycle of FIG. 22, as in the case of the embodiment of FIG.
For the single refrigerant such as FC22 or various mixed refrigerants, the cycle configuration, indoor unit structure, operation control method, indoor heat exchanger piping configuration, etc. described above can be applied, and similar effects can be obtained. It is clear that it will be done.

By the way, as a capacity control method of the compressor, the indoor fan, and the outdoor fan in the cycle configurations shown in FIGS. However, various methods other than this are conceivable. For example, various methods such as a method of mechanically controlling the capacity of the compressor, a method of switching the taps of the AC motor, a method of narrowing the ventilation passage, and a method of increasing the ventilation resistance can be used for the blower. Further, the high air volume of the indoor fan in the dehumidifying operation that has been used so far is generally equal to or less than the air volume in the cooling operation and the heating operation.

Moreover, FIGS. 1, 9, 11, 12, and 1
3, FIG. 14, FIG. 15, FIG. 16, FIG. 17, FIG. 22, and FIG.
4, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 25, as described above, as the main expansion device 4 or the dehumidification expansion device 7,
Not only a fixed throttle device such as a capillary tube but also a variable throttle device such as an expansion valve or an electric expansion valve can be used. In this case, finer control can be performed. In particular, when an electrically driven expansion valve having a small flow resistance and capable of being fully opened is used, the two-way valve 5 or the two-way valve 8 becomes unnecessary, and for example, as shown by the broken lines in FIGS. 1 and 22. In addition, the parts 45 and 46 of the throttle device 4 and the two-way valve 5 and the throttle device 7 and the two-way valve 8 which are provided in parallel can be replaced only by the fully openable electric expansion valve 95 as shown in FIG.

Further, although the refrigeration cycle capable of three operating states of cooling, heating and dehumidification has been described so far, the present invention is not limited to this, and other refrigeration cycles have been described so far. The operating method and the configuration of the indoor heat exchanger can be applied. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 or 22, the four-way valve 2 is removed and the compressor 1 and the accumulator 9 are connected in series to the indoor heat exchanger 6b or 110b, the accumulator 9, the compressor 1, and the outdoor heat exchanger 3. When connected as shown in the figure (not shown),
The refrigeration cycle enables the cooling operation of the refrigerant flow indicated by the solid arrow and the dehumidifying operation of the refrigerant flow indicated by the alternate long and short dash line. In the dehumidifying operation of such a refrigeration cycle, as shown in FIGS.
The same effect can be obtained by performing the operating method shown in FIG. 4, the operating method shown in FIG. 6 in the indoor unit structure shown in FIG. 5 or 23, or the operating method shown in FIG. 8 in the embodiment shown in FIG. it can.

Further, in the refrigeration cycle configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 22, an accumulator is not always necessary, and a refrigeration cycle configuration without an accumulator may be used depending on the type of compressor used, the type of main expansion device and the control method. be able to.

Next, an example of a more specific operation method centering on the dehumidifying operation according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 26, 27, 28 and 29.

FIG. 26 shows a cycle system diagram and temperature sensors (representative ones are thermistors) and humidity detecting means (representative ones are humidity sensors) of respective parts, and when temperature is estimated by calculation. FIG. During the dehumidifying operation, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 201 passes through the four-way valve 202, the outdoor heat exchanger 203, and the bypass two-way valve (typically an electromagnetic valve) 206 to the indoor heat exchanger 208 serving as a heater. After entering, it is further decompressed by the dehumidifying expansion device 219, passes through the indoor heat exchanger 209 serving as an evaporator, and returns to the compressor 201 again. Further, the outdoor unit has an outdoor air temperature sensor 215 for detecting the outdoor air temperature, and the indoor unit has a humidity sensor 216 for detecting the humidity, an indoor intake temperature sensor 217 for detecting the intake air temperature, and an indoor air temperature sensor for detecting the blown air temperature. An outlet temperature sensor 218 is provided. These temperature sensor and humidity sensor are connected to a control unit (not shown).

An embodiment of the control method of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 27 and 28. FIG. 27 shows an outside air temperature sensor 215.
The control method of the outdoor fan 211 is shown with respect to the temperature detected by (3). When the outdoor temperature becomes low, the outdoor heat exchanger 20
Since the amount of heat radiated in 3 becomes large, the heating amount in the dehumidifying operation becomes small, and the temperature of the indoor blown air becomes low. Therefore, when the outdoor temperature drops, the rotation speed of the outdoor fan 211 is reduced and the indoor blown air is reduced. Prevents the temperature from dropping. In addition, in the outdoor unit having the structure in which the outdoor unit side is provided with electric components and the outdoor fan 211 is operated to prevent the temperature rise of the outdoor unit side electric components, when the outdoor temperature rises, the outdoor unit side Since the temperature rise of electrical products will also be large, as the outdoor temperature rises,
The number of rotations of the outdoor fan 211 is increased to reduce the temperature rise of the electric products.

The method of controlling the outdoor temperature and the rotation speed of the outdoor fan 211 is patterned or stored as an arithmetic expression in the control unit, and stored in advance in the control unit according to the outdoor temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor 215. The outdoor fan 211 is controlled by using the pattern and the arithmetic expression that have been set.
Further, at this time, the same effect can be obtained not only by changing the rotation speed of the outdoor fan 211 according to the outdoor temperature but also by performing intermittent operation of ON-OFF and changing the ON-OFF time ratio according to the outdoor temperature. can get.

According to this control method, the indoor blown air temperature does not decrease even when the outdoor temperature decreases, and not only the comfort is improved, but also when the outdoor temperature increases,
By increasing the number of rotations of the outdoor fan 211, it is possible to suppress the temperature rise of the electric components provided on the outdoor unit side, and it is possible to secure the reliability of the electric components.

FIG. 28 shows a method of controlling the compressor 1 with respect to the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 216. When the indoor humidity is high, the number of rotations of the compressor 201 is increased to increase the refrigerant circulation amount in the refrigeration cycle to perform the operation with a large amount of dehumidification,
Quickly reduce indoor humidity. Further, when the indoor humidity is low, the number of rotations of the compressor 201 is reduced to perform the operation, and the operation is performed efficiently. This indoor humidity and the control method of the compressor 201 are stored in the control unit as a pattern or as an arithmetic expression, and with respect to the indoor humidity detected by the humidity sensor 216,
The number of rotations of the compressor 201 is controlled.

As described above, a comfortable and efficient dehumidifying operation is performed by controlling the operation patterns of the rotational speeds of the outdoor fan 211 and the compressor 201 according to the detected outdoor temperature and indoor humidity.

According to this control method, when the humidity in the room is high, for example, when the operation is started, the number of revolutions of the compressor 201 is maximized to perform the dehumidification operation having a large dehumidification capacity, and the humidity in the room is quickly changed to an arbitrary humidity. Falls to. Further, when the indoor humidity decreases to an arbitrary humidity, the rotation speed of the compressor 201 is decreased to perform a highly efficient operation with a relatively small amount of dehumidification. With these control methods, more comfortable and efficient dehumidification operation can be performed.

Another control method of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

One is a method of controlling the rotational speeds of the outdoor fan 211 and the compressor 201 by the difference between the temperatures detected by the indoor outlet temperature sensor 218 and the indoor inlet temperature sensor 217. When the temperature decreases, the rotation speed of the outdoor fan 211 is decreased to reduce the heat radiation amount on the outdoor unit side, thereby increasing the indoor blown air temperature. Further, the temperature of the indoor blown air can be changed by changing (increasing or decreasing) the rotation speed of the compressor 201. Regarding the increase or decrease of the rotation speed of the compressor 201, the indoor heat exchanger 209, the heating heat exchanger 208, and the outdoor heat exchanger 20 of the refrigeration cycle are used.
It depends on the size ratio of 3. (Compressor 20
The control method of the number of rotations of 1 becomes like a solid line or a dashed line)
Further, in the case where the temperature difference between the indoor blown air temperature and the indoor suction air temperature is determined by the difference between the indoor temperature and the arbitrarily set temperature (desired temperature of the person in the room), for example, the indoor temperature is arbitrarily set. When the temperature is higher than the set temperature, the control is performed such that the indoor blown air temperature−the indoor suction air temperature ≦ 0, the outdoor fan 211 is set to a relatively high rotation speed, and the compressor 201 is appropriately controlled to operate. If the room temperature is lower than the set temperature, the room outlet air temperature-the room intake air temperature>
The control is set to 0, the outdoor fan 211 is operated at a low rotation speed, and the compressor 201 is appropriately controlled and operated.

In these cases, not only the outdoor fan 211 is continuously operated but also the ON-OFF intermittent operation is performed, and the ON-OFF time ratio is determined from the difference between the indoor blown air temperature and the indoor sucked air temperature. Therefore, it is more effective. The difference between the indoor blown air temperature and the indoor sucked air temperature and the operation patterns of the outdoor fan 211 and the compressor 201 are patterned in advance or made into an arithmetic expression and stored in the control unit.

With these control methods, the comfort during dehumidifying operation can be further improved.

FIG. 32 shows an example of an operation pattern for patterning the outdoor fan 211 and the compressor 201, which is stored in the control unit when controlling by the temperature difference between the indoor temperature and the set temperature. Show. In addition, not only the dehumidifying operation mode but also the cooling operation mode and the heating operation mode are described in each block of FIG. 32, and each operation mode of the cooling operation, the dehumidification operation, and the heating operation is appropriate according to the range of the outdoor temperature and the indoor temperature. Therefore, comfortable driving can be performed over a wider range of the outdoor temperature and the indoor temperature.

In FIG. 32, the horizontal axis represents the outdoor temperature and the vertical axis represents the indoor temperature (the indoor intake air temperature can be used).
The outdoor temperature range is divided into four, and the indoor temperature range is divided into five, and the blocks are divided into blocks in a grid pattern of to make constant operating conditions for each block. The constant operating conditions are:
Dehumidification / heating operation mode, outdoor fan operation pattern,
The operation pattern of the compressor and the like. Of these, outdoor fan 2
As the operation pattern of 11, the continuous operation at a certain rotation speed in the stepwise rotation speed shown in FIG. 27 or 29, O
There are various operation patterns such as intermittent operation in which the N-OFF time ratio is appropriately changed, and further a combination of continuous operation and intermittent operation. Also regarding the operation pattern of the compressor 201, continuous operation at the rotational speed at the stepwise rotational speed shown in FIG. 28 and FIG. 29, intermittent operation in which the ON-OFF time ratio is appropriately changed, and further continuous operation There are various driving patterns such as intermittent driving. Even when the number of revolutions of an outdoor fan or compressor can be changed by only a few types, continuous operation and O
Many operation patterns can be set by changing the N-OFF time ratio variously.

Then, the operation patterns of these outdoor fans or compressors and the cooling / dehumidifying / heating operation modes are set for each block in FIG. 32 in accordance with the outdoor temperature and the indoor temperature corresponding to this block. As a result, in the actual operation, when the temperature sensor detects the outside air temperature and the indoor temperature, the operation mode (for cooling / dehumidifying / heating) according to the block of FIG. 32 including the detected temperature, the outdoor The operation is performed according to the operation pattern of the fan and the operation pattern of the compressor. For example, in block? As a result, comfortable driving can be performed.

It is not always necessary to divide the outdoor temperature and the indoor temperature as shown in FIG. 32, and one or more can be appropriately divided as necessary.

The temperature difference between the room temperature and the set temperature or the temperature difference between the room blown air temperature and the room suction air temperature,
When the relation between the outdoor fan 211 and the operation pattern of the compressor 201 is calculated and stored in the control unit,
It enables finer control, and this control method
This is especially effective when the capabilities of the outdoor fan and compressor can be continuously controlled.

It is also possible to determine the set value of the room temperature or the room humidity on the basis of the thermal environment evaluation method such as PMV described above. In this case, more comfortable driving is automatically performed. I can do it. By performing such a dehumidifying operation, a dehumidifying operation with a good sensible temperature can be performed.

Up to now, the description has been made assuming the humidity sensor as the humidity detecting means, but since the humidity sensor is relatively expensive, the humidity can be easily estimated by using an inexpensive temperature sensor such as a thermistor. Is also done. In particular, there is a correlation between the indoor temperature, the evaporation temperature of the heat exchanger, and the indoor humidity. It is possible to obtain this relationship experimentally in advance and obtain the humidity from the indoor temperature and the evaporation temperature (although the accuracy may drop). it can. Further, this relationship can be effectively used when the operation is stopped when the humidity drops to the target value. From the experience so far, for example, between the indoor temperature T ₁ and the evaporation temperature T ₂ when the indoor humidity becomes about 50%, A,
There is the following relationship with B as a constant.

T ₂ = A × T ₁ -B Therefore, if the indoor temperature and the evaporation temperature are detected by the temperature sensor and the evaporation temperature reaches the temperature T ₂ at the time when the indoor humidity corresponding to the indoor temperature T 1 is 50%, The humidity can be controlled so that the operation is stopped. In this case, an appropriate humidity is said to be around 50%, and it is not as sensitive as temperature, so that such humidity control is sufficiently practical. In addition, it can be realized at a lower cost than when using a humidity sensor.

Although all of the embodiments described so far have been described on the assumption of an air conditioner used in a general building, the present invention is not limited to this, and other applications requiring dehumidifying operation are also possible. It is also applicable to the device. In such a case, generally, the indoor heat exchanger can be called the use side heat exchanger, the outdoor heat exchanger can be called the heat source side heat exchanger, the indoor fan can be called the use side fan, and the outdoor fan can be called the heat source side fan.

The respective embodiments described above will be summarized and described as follows.

The object of the above embodiment is to provide an air conditioner capable of dehumidifying operation for various purposes.

Another object is to provide an air conditioner which can perform dehumidifying operation and can maintain its performance in cooling operation and heating operation at a sufficiently high performance.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner in which the indoor air temperature and the dehumidifying amount can be kept at a predetermined temperature and dehumidifying amount even when the outdoor temperature changes, and the indoor humidity can be quickly set to the set humidity. It is in.

Another object is to provide an air conditioner in which the temperature of electric parts on the outdoor unit side does not rise excessively and a sufficient life can be maintained.

In order to achieve the first object, the air conditioner of the above embodiment is an air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttle device and an outdoor heat exchanger. The exchanger has a cooling / dehumidifying portion and a heating portion, and the heating portion is controlled by controlling the capacity of the compressor, the air volume of the fan of the indoor heat exchanger, and the air volume of the fan of the outdoor heat exchanger during dehumidifying operation. The heating capacity and the heat radiation amount of the outdoor heat exchanger are controlled.

Further, in an air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttling device and an outdoor heat exchanger, the indoor heat exchanger is thermally divided into a cooling / dehumidifying part and a heating part. A compressor having a second expansion device provided between a cooling / dehumidifying portion and a heating portion, and a control circuit for inputting a temperature detected by an indoor temperature sensor. , The air flow rate of the fan of the indoor heat exchanger, and the air flow rate of the fan of the outdoor heat exchanger to control the dehumidifying operation such as cooling, isothermal, and heating.

In an air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttling device, and an outdoor heat exchanger, the dehumidifying operation includes a comfortable dehumidifying operation, a good night / smooth dehumidifying operation, and a mold / mite preventing dehumidifying operation. It has each operation mode such as laundry dehumidification operation, and lowers the air volume of the fan of the indoor heat exchanger during the good night and awakening dehumidification operation, and increases the air volume of the fan of the indoor heat exchanger during the landry operation. It is to drive the car.

Further, in an air conditioner having at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttling device, and an outdoor heat exchanger, the indoor heat exchanger has an indoor humidity detecting means and a humidity detected by the indoor humidity detecting means. In addition to having a control circuit for inputting, a dehumidification / duration prevention dehumidification operation mode is provided during dehumidification operation, and when the operation mode is set,
The humidity detected by the humidity detecting means is 40% to 6%.
The control circuit controls the capacity of the compressor, the air volume of the fan of the indoor heat exchanger, and the air volume of the fan of the outdoor heat exchanger so that the range is 0%.

Further, the control circuit controls the capacity of the compressor, the air volume of the fan of the indoor heat exchanger, and the air volume of the fan of the outdoor heat exchanger so that the humidity detected by the humidity detecting means becomes about 50%. Is to control.

In an air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttle device and an outdoor heat exchanger, the indoor heat exchanger has a cooling / dehumidifying portion and a heating portion, and an indoor temperature sensor. By having a control circuit for inputting the room temperature detected by, when the difference between the detected room temperature and the set temperature is determined to be negative, the control circuit reduces the heat radiation amount of the outdoor heat exchanger, The operation is controlled so as to increase the heating capacity of the heating portion.

Further, in the air conditioner having at least the compressor, the indoor heat exchanger, the expansion device, and the outdoor heat exchanger, the indoor unit having the indoor heat exchanger has a ventilation path for inflowing the indoor air. An air flow that is provided and has an opening and closing port such as a damper that opens and closes the ventilation passage, and that allows the air flow passing through the indoor unit to pass through the indoor heat exchanger and the ventilation not passing through the indoor heat exchanger. When the indoor fan is set to a low air volume during dehumidification operation, the compressor is controlled from low capacity to high capacity and the outdoor fan is controlled from high air capacity to low air capacity during dehumidification operation. Thus, when the indoor fan has a high air flow, the air flow passing through the indoor heat exchanger and the air flow passing through the ventilation passage without opening the opening / closing port provided in the ventilation passage High air volume by combining both In addition, by controlling from low capacity to high capacity with the compression function lowered and controlling the outdoor fan from high air volume to low air volume, low air volume dehumidification over a wide temperature range such as cooling, isothermal, and heating. The operation is performed or a high air flow dehumidification operation is performed.

Further, in an air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttling device and an outdoor heat exchanger, an indoor unit equipped with the indoor heat exchanger has a ventilation path for inflowing indoor air. The indoor temperature sensor is provided and has an opening / closing port for opening / closing the ventilation passage, and when the difference between the room temperature detected by the indoor temperature sensor and the set temperature is substantially zero, the opening / closing port is opened. When the difference between the room temperature and the set temperature detected by is negative, the opening / closing port is controlled to be closed.

Further, in the air conditioner equipped with at least the compressor, the indoor heat exchanger, the expansion device and the outdoor heat exchanger, the indoor heat exchanger has a cooling / dehumidifying portion and a heating portion,
And the outdoor heat exchanger is provided with a bypass pipe having a two-way valve, and when it is determined that the room temperature detected by the indoor temperature sensor is lower than the set temperature, the two-way valve is turned on during the dehumidifying operation. It controls to open.

Further, in an air conditioner having at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttling device and an outdoor heat exchanger, the indoor heat exchanger includes a cooling / dehumidifying portion and a heating portion which are thermally divided. In addition to having a control circuit for inputting the temperature detected by the indoor temperature sensor,
When it is determined that the difference between the temperature detected by the indoor temperature sensor and the set temperature is positive, the control circuit controls to increase the air volume of the fan of the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger. The rotation number of the compressor is controlled according to the air volume of the fan.

Further, in an air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttling device and an outdoor heat exchanger, the indoor heat exchanger has a cooling / dehumidifying portion and a heating portion which are thermally divided. In addition to having a control circuit for inputting the temperature detected by the indoor temperature sensor,
When it is determined that the difference between the temperature detected by the indoor temperature sensor and the set temperature is substantially zero, the control circuit controls the air volume of the fan of the outdoor heat exchanger to a medium range and the indoor heat exchange. The number of revolutions of the compressor is controlled according to the air volume of the fan of the container.

Further, in an air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttling device and an outdoor heat exchanger, the indoor heat exchanger has a cooling / dehumidifying part and a heating part which are thermally divided. In addition to having a control circuit for inputting the temperature detected by the indoor temperature sensor,
When it is determined that the difference between the temperature detected by the indoor temperature sensor and the set temperature is negative, the control circuit controls to reduce the air volume of the fan of the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger. The rotation number of the compressor is controlled according to the air volume of the fan.

Further, in an air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttling device and an outdoor heat exchanger, the indoor heat exchanger includes a cooling / dehumidifying part and a heating part which are thermally divided. In addition to having a control circuit for inputting the temperature detected by the indoor temperature sensor,
When it is determined that the difference between the temperature detected by the indoor temperature sensor and the set temperature is negative, the capacity of the heater is controlled so as to reach the set temperature, and according to the air volume of the fan of the indoor heat exchanger. It controls the rotation speed of the compressor.

Further, when the air volume of the fan of the indoor heat exchanger is set to a low air volume, the capacity of the compressor is controlled to be reduced. Further, when the air volume of the fan of the indoor heat exchanger is set to a high air volume, control is performed so as to increase the capacity of the compressor.

Further, in an air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttling device and an outdoor heat exchanger, a detecting means for detecting an outdoor temperature and an outdoor fan motor according to a signal from the detecting means. And a means for controlling the number of revolutions of the compressor in response to a signal from the means for detecting the room temperature, to control the room temperature and the dehumidification capacity.

Further, in the air conditioner having the dehumidifying function in which the indoor heat exchanger is composed of the cooler and the heater, it is provided with means for controlling the rotation speed of the outdoor fan motor and means for controlling the rotation speed of the compressor, The temperature of the outdoor fan motor and the speed of the compressor are controlled to control the room temperature and the dehumidifying ability.

Further, in an air conditioner having a dehumidifying function in which the indoor heat exchanger is composed of a cooler and a heater, the dehumidifying capacity of the indoor heat exchanger is kept substantially constant regardless of the indoor temperature control. It has a means for controlling.

Further, in an air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttle device and an outdoor heat exchanger, the dehumidifying operation is provided with each operation mode of a good night operation, a mold and a tick prevention operation. Then, the room temperature and the dehumidifying capacity are controlled by stepwise controlling the air flow rate of the fan of the outdoor heat exchanger and the rotation speed of the compressor.

Further, in an air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttling device and an outdoor heat exchanger, a detecting means for detecting an outdoor temperature and a compressor according to a signal from the detecting means A means for controlling the number of rotations and a means for controlling the number of rotations of the compressor in response to a signal from the means for detecting the indoor temperature are provided, and the room temperature is controlled to approach the set temperature, and the humidity is controlled from 40. The dehumidifying ability is controlled so as to be in the range of 60%.

Further, in any one of the comfortable dehumidifying operation, the mold / tick preventing dehumidifying operation, the good night / sleeping dehumidifying operation, and the laundry dehumidifying operation, the temperature and humidity suitable for the operating mode are stored in advance. , Temperature sensor and humidity sensor to detect temperature and humidity,
The dehumidifying operation is performed by the control device so that the detected temperature and humidity match the stored temperature and humidity.

Further, the cooling / dehumidifying portion of the indoor heat exchanger is provided on the windward side of the heating portion.

The heating portion of the indoor heat exchanger is cooled and
It is provided above the dehumidifying portion.

In addition, the comfortable dehumidifying operation is controlled based on the PMV thermal environment evaluation method, and the PM
The dehumidifying operation is performed so that V becomes almost zero.

The compressor or blower controls the number of revolutions.

Further, the main expansion device or the dehumidification expansion device is an electric expansion valve capable of being fully opened.

The refrigerant enclosed in the air conditioner is a mixed refrigerant.

Further, the temperature detecting means converts the temperature detected by the two temperature sensors.
Further, the temperature at which air is blown out from the indoor heat exchanger is controlled to be higher than the set temperature by 3 degrees or less.

The cooler and the heater of the indoor heat exchanger are arranged vertically.

In order to achieve the second object, the air conditioner of the present invention is an air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttle device and an outdoor heat exchanger,
The indoor heat exchanger has a thermally divided cooling / dehumidifying portion and a heating portion, and a dehumidifying expansion device used during dehumidifying operation is provided between the cooling / dehumidifying portion and the heating portion, and the cooling / dehumidifying portion is provided. The dehumidifying part and the heating part each have two or more refrigerant flow paths.

Further, a resistance tube is provided in one of the refrigerant passages so that the circulation resistances of the refrigerant passages having two or more systems are equal.

Further, the refrigerant flow path of the heat exchanger on the upstream side during the cooling operation of the indoor heat exchanger is integrated into one system.

Further, in the indoor heat exchanger, the refrigerant outlet port during the heating operation is a single-system refrigerant passage.

Further, the indoor heat exchanger has a structure in which a heat transfer tube is closely fitted in a hole formed in the heat radiation fin and a cutting line is put in the heat radiation fin to divide the heat radiation tube into two parts. Further, the indoor heat exchanger has a structure in which a heat transfer tube is closely fitted into a hole formed in a heat radiation fin and a slit is provided in this heat radiation fin to thermally divide the heat radiation tube into two.

In an air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttling device, and an outdoor heat exchanger, the indoor heat exchanger is thermally divided into two parts, and dehumidification operation is performed between them. A dehumidifying expansion device that is sometimes used is provided, and a refrigerant outlet port during heating operation of the indoor heat exchanger is provided on the most upstream side of the air flow.

In an air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttle device, and an outdoor heat exchanger, the indoor heat exchanger is thermally divided into two parts, and dehumidification is performed between the two divided parts. While providing a dehumidifying expansion device used during operation, the refrigerant outlet portion during heating operation of the indoor heat exchanger,
The other part of the indoor heat exchanger is not arranged below the refrigerant outlet part.

Further, in an air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttling device and an outdoor heat exchanger, the indoor heat exchanger is thermally divided into two parts, and dehumidification operation is carried out between the two parts. With a dehumidifying squeezing device used at the time,
The refrigerant inlet port during the heating operation of the indoor heat exchanger is configured so that no other part of the indoor heat exchanger is arranged on the leeward side of the inlet part.

In an air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttle device and an outdoor heat exchanger, the indoor heat exchanger is divided into two parts which are used during dehumidification operation. The dehumidifying expansion device is provided, and the refrigerant inlet portion of the indoor heat exchanger during the heating operation is configured so that other portions of the indoor heat exchanger are not arranged below the inlet portion.

Further, in an air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttle device and an outdoor heat exchanger, the indoor heat exchanger is thermally divided into two parts and dehumidified between the two divided parts. A dehumidifying expansion device used during operation is provided, and an indoor heat exchanger is installed with a heat transfer tube in close contact with the holes formed in the radiating fins, and a cutting wire is inserted into the radiating fins to divide it into two parts. Is.

Further, in the air conditioner equipped with at least the compressor, the indoor heat exchanger, the expansion device, and the outdoor heat exchanger, the indoor heat exchanger is thermally divided into two, and the dehumidification operation is performed between them. A dehumidifying expansion device that is used at times is installed, and an indoor heat exchanger is installed by closely fitting a heat transfer tube into the hole formed in the heat radiation fin and providing a slit in this heat radiation fin so that it is divided into two parts thermally. It is a thing.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned third or fourth object, the air conditioner of the present invention is a dehumidifying air conditioner equipped with at least a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, a throttle device and an outdoor heat exchanger. During operation, the indoor heat exchanger has a thermally divided cooling and dehumidifying portion and a heating portion, the indoor unit is equipped with a humidity detecting means for detecting indoor humidity and a temperature sensor for detecting outdoor temperature, When the dehumidification operation is performed, the outdoor temperature and outdoor fan motor control pattern, the indoor blown air temperature and outdoor fan motor control pattern, and the difference between the indoor humidity and the set humidity are entered in the main unit microcomputer in advance to control the compressor rotation speed. This is a control for performing an optimum operation corresponding to the indoor humidity condition and the outdoor temperature.

In the above configuration, in the dehumidifying operation for the various purposes described above, for example, in the good night / awakening dehumidifying operation, the low air flow dehumidifying operation which does not have a feeling of air flow and has a low noise and a large dehumidifying amount is required. In the laundry dehumidifying operation, a high air flow dehumidifying operation is required, which has a high airflow and reaches a wide range. For comfortable dehumidifying operation and mold / tick dehumidifying operation, it is necessary to properly use low air flow dehumidifying operation and high air flow dehumidifying operation. Further, in addition to the low air flow dehumidifying operation and the high air flow dehumidifying operation, it is necessary to further perform cooling, isothermal or heating operation depending on the room temperature.

The low air flow dehumidifying operation can be realized by reducing the air flow of the indoor fan, and by controlling the compressor from low capacity to high capacity or by controlling the outdoor fan from high air capacity to low air capacity Therefore, the low air flow dehumidification operation can be performed over a wide temperature range from the isothermal point to the heating point.

In order to perform the high air volume dehumidification operation, the air volume of the indoor fan is increased and the capacity of the compressor is made equal to or higher than that in the low air volume dehumidification operation. On the other hand, when the indoor unit is provided with the opening / closing port and an air passage is provided that does not pass through the indoor heat exchanger, the compressor is put in a low capacity state equivalent to the case of low air volume dehumidifying operation, and the opening / closing port is further opened. A high air flow dehumidifying operation can be performed in a more energy-saving state by adding an air flow that is not opened to the air flow passing through the indoor heat exchanger to increase the air flow. Furthermore, in these high air volume dehumidification operations, by controlling the compression function to a high capacity or by controlling the outdoor fan from a high air volume to a low air volume, it is possible to change from a cooling air to an isothermal air, and an isothermal air to a wide heating air. A high air flow dehumidifying operation can be performed over the temperature range.

In addition, since the refrigerant flow passages in each of the indoor heat exchangers divided into two are made plural, the refrigerant flow rate in each passage decreases in each operation of dehumidification, cooling, and heating, and the two divided use sides. It is possible to prevent the pressure loss from increasing due to the heat exchangers being connected in series, and prevent the performance from deteriorating. This effect is particularly great in the cooling operation in which both indoor heat exchangers are evaporators. Furthermore, by making the outlet flow path part of the indoor heat exchanger during heating operation into one system, during heating operation,
The proper subcool of the refrigerant can be taken and the performance can be secured. Furthermore, in the indoor heat exchanger, the heat transfer performance is maintained and the performance is ensured by making the refrigerant flow and the air flow as opposed as possible.

Further, the control section uses the outside air temperature detected by the temperature sensor and operates the outdoor fan at the outdoor temperature according to the data table in which the operation pattern and the rotation speed of the outdoor fan motor are stored in advance or the arithmetic expression. I do. Further, using the indoor humidity detected by the humidity detecting means, the number of revolutions of the compressor corresponding to the humidity is determined by a previously stored data table or an arithmetic expression based on the difference from the set humidity.

Further, using the indoor blown air temperature detected by the temperature sensor, the operation pattern and the rotation speed are determined by a data table in which the operation patterns of the rotation speed of the outdoor fan motor and the compressor are stored in advance, or an arithmetic expression.

According to the air conditioner of the above-described embodiment, the use side heat exchanger such as the indoor heat exchanger is divided into two, and the dehumidifying expansion device used during the dehumidifying operation is provided between them, and the dehumidifying operation is performed during the dehumidifying operation. In a refrigeration cycle in which one of the use side heat exchangers is an evaporator and the other is a condenser for cooling / dehumidifying and heating air, a use side fan such as an indoor fan, a heat source side fan such as an outdoor fan, and a compressor. By controlling the capacity of these devices appropriately, it is possible to perform low air flow dehumidification operation, high air flow dehumidification operation, and further to these dehumidification operations by controlling the capacity of these devices appropriately. On the other hand, it is possible to perform a heating operation, an isothermal operation, and a cooling operation.

As a result, the use range of the dehumidifying operation is greatly expanded, and various operating modes for various purposes, such as a comfortable dehumidifying operation, a good night / smooth dehumidifying operation, a mold / tick preventing dehumidifying operation, and a laundry dehumidifying operation are performed. It is possible to provide an air conditioner that can be used for driving or the like, can satisfy the needs for comfort and health that have recently been increasing, and can be used for purposes other than air conditioning.

Further, in the summer when it is not so hot, instead of the cooling operation, it is possible to perform the dehumidifying operation in which the sensible temperature is the same by lowering the humidity without lowering the room temperature, and the high air flow dehumidifying operation can be performed with a low input. Therefore, energy saving can be achieved.

Further, the refrigerant flow path of each of the two use side heat exchangers is divided into two or more systems to prevent an increase in the refrigerant flow resistance in the use side heat exchanger, and the refrigerant flow path of the use side heat exchanger. In order to obtain a sufficient refrigerant subcool during heating operation by making the outlet part during heating operation into one system, and to make the refrigerant flow and the air flow in the heat exchanger on the use side as counterflow as possible, etc. This makes it possible to prevent performance degradation.

Further, the refrigerant flow path of each of the two divided heat exchangers on the use side is changed from one system to a plurality of systems according to the flow rate of the refrigerant to prevent an increase in the refrigerant flow resistance in the heat exchanger on the use side or to prevent the use side heat exchanger from increasing. The outlet part of the heat exchanger during heating operation was set to be a single system so that sufficient refrigerant subcool could be obtained during heating operation, and further, the refrigerant flow and the air flow in the heat exchanger on the use side could be counter flows as much as possible. As a result, it is possible to prevent performance deterioration.

Further, by providing the blowout temperature sensor and the humidity detecting means on the indoor unit side and the outdoor air temperature sensor on the outdoor unit side, it is possible to perform a comfortable dehumidifying operation in accordance with the dehumidifying operation condition. For example, as the outdoor temperature becomes lower, the rotation speed of the outdoor fan is increased to increase the amount of air heated in the room, and when the humidity is high, the rotation speed of the indoor fan or compressor is increased. Further, it is possible to perform the operation with a large amount of dehumidification to quickly bring the room to a predetermined humidity, and further, when the room temperature is low, perform the dehumidification operation in which the temperature of the air blown from the indoor unit is higher than the temperature of the suction air.

Furthermore, the dehumidifying operation method and the piping configuration of the utilization side heat exchanger as described above can be applied to both single refrigerant and mixed refrigerant, and similar effects can be obtained.

[0191]

As described above, according to the air conditioner of the present invention, it is possible to perform dehumidifying operation for various purposes.
In addition, indoor heat exchange that acts as an evaporator even with high air volume
High air volume that can lower the evaporation temperature of the vessel to obtain sufficient dehumidifying capacity
Dehumidification operation can be performed .

[0192]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an air conditioner that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an operating method of dehumidifying operation for various purposes.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a method of operating a compressor and a fan in a low air flow dehumidifying operation.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a method of operating a compressor and a fan in a high air volume dehumidifying operation.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing an indoor unit structure of the air conditioner.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a method of operating a compressor and a fan in a high air volume dehumidifying operation.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a heat source side portion of an air conditioner that is another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation method of a heat source side portion corresponding to a heating dehumidifying operation.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a piping system of a utilization side heat exchanger.

FIG. 10 is a front view of a utilization side heat exchanger.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a piping system of a utilization side heat exchanger.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a piping configuration of a utilization side heat exchanger.

FIG. 13 is a side view showing a piping configuration of a utilization side heat exchanger.

FIG. 14 is a side view showing a piping configuration of a utilization side heat exchanger.

FIG. 15 is a side view showing a piping configuration of a utilization side heat exchanger.

FIG. 16 is a side view showing a piping configuration of a utilization side heat exchanger.

FIG. 17 is a side view showing a piping configuration of a utilization side heat exchanger.

FIG. 18 is a side view of the radiation fins of the utilization side heat exchanger.

FIG. 19 is a side view of the radiation fins of the utilization side heat exchanger.

FIG. 20 is a configuration diagram of a diaphragm device portion.

FIG. 21 is a temperature entropy diagram of the refrigeration cycle.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioner that is yet another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a side sectional view showing another indoor unit structure of the air conditioner.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a piping system of a utilization side heat exchanger.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a piping system of a utilization side heat exchanger.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a configuration of an air conditioner of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a method of controlling the outdoor fan.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a method of controlling the compressor.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a method of controlling the outdoor fan-compressor.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a configuration of an air conditioner according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a conventional control method.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing an example of an operation pattern according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 201 ... Compressor, 2, 202 ... Four-way valve, 3, 203
... Outdoor heat exchanger, 4 ... Main throttling device, 5,8,41 ... Two-way valve, 6a, 6b, 51a, 51b, 60a, 60b, 6
0c, 60d, 68, 68 ', 69, 69', 70, 7
0a, 70b, 80, 80a, 80b, 88, 88a,
88b98, 98a, 98b, 100a, 100b, 1
00c, 110a, 110b, 208, 209 ... Indoor heat exchanger, 7, 210 ... Dehumidifying expansion device, 10, 211 ... Outdoor fan, 11, 212 ... Outdoor fan motor, 12, 2
13 ... Indoor fan, 13, 214 ... Indoor fan motor,
16 ... Control part, 17, 216 ... Temperature sensor, 18, 21
6 ... Humidity detecting means, 34 ... Opening / closing damper, 35 ... Ventilation path,
52, 53, 54, 55, 61, 62, 63, 64, 6
5, 66, 67, 101, 102, 103, 104, 1
05, 106, 10 ... Refrigerant piping, 56, 71, 81, 9
1, 91a, 91b, 93, 93a, 93b ... Radiating fins, 72, 82, 89, 96, 97 ... Cutting line, 73a,
73b, 73c, 73d, 73e, 73f, 74a, 7
4b, 74c, 74d, 74e, 74f, 75a, 75
b, 75c, 75d, 75e, 75f, 75g, 83
a, 83b, 83c, 87a, 87b, 87c, 87
d, 87e, 87f, 87g, 87h ... Heat transfer tube, 86 ...
Resistance tube, 92, 94 ... Slit, 95 ... Electric expansion valve, 2
04 ... Heating throttle device, 205 ... Cooling and heating throttle device, 2
06 ... By-pass solenoid valve, 207 ... Check valve, 210 ... Dehumidifying expansion device, 215 ... Outside air temperature sensor, 217 ... Indoor suction temperature sensor, 218 ... Indoor blowing temperature sensor.

Front page continuation Preliminary examination (72) Inventor Morimoto Sosei 800 Tomita, Ohira-cho, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture Hitachi Ltd. Living Equipment Business Department (72) Inventor Hironobu Kawamura 502 Kintachi-cho, Tsuchiura-shi, Ibaraki Stock Company Hitachi Ltd., Mechanical Research Laboratory (72) Inventor Kazuya Matsuo 502 Jinmachi, Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture Hitachi Ltd. Mechanical Research Laboratory (72) Inventor Hiroshi Kogure 800 Tomita, Ohira Town, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi Hitachi Co., Ltd. Living Equipment Business Department (72) Inventor Tetsunobu Okamura 800 Tomita, Ohira-cho, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture Hitachi Ltd. Living Equipment Business Department (72) Inventor Shoichi Ozodo 800, Tomita, Ohira-cho, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture Address, Hitachi, Ltd., Living Equipment Business Department (56) Reference JP 62-242754 (JP, A) JP 5-240492 (JP, A) JP 1-131842 (JP, A) Flat 3-55730 (JP, Y2) (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F24F 11/02 102

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, a first indoor heat exchanger, a second indoor heat exchanger, and a connection between the first indoor heat exchanger and the second indoor heat exchanger. In the air conditioner having a dehumidifying expansion device that functions as a expansion device during the dehumidifying operation, the air volume of the indoor fan that ventilates the first indoor heat exchanger and the second indoor heat exchanger during the dehumidifying operation is variable. An air conditioner having a function of setting the indoor fan to a low air volume operation or a high air volume operation, and a function of operating the compressor with a higher capacity during the high air volume operation than during the low air volume operation. 2. A compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, a first indoor heat exchanger, a second indoor heat exchanger, and a connection between the first indoor heat exchanger and the second indoor heat exchanger. Before the dehumidifying operation
The first indoor heat exchanger is a condenser, and the second indoor heat exchanger is
The first chamber is provided with a refrigeration cycle having a dehumidifying expansion device that functions as an expansion device so as to function as an evaporator.
An indoor fan that ventilates the internal heat exchanger and the second indoor heat exchanger
Cooling operation having a § down, the indoor fan heating operation and dehumidifying operation in a <br/> air conditioner can, where during dehumidification operation, ventilating the first indoor heat exchanger and the second indoor heat exchanger The function to change the air volume of the
Mode and one of the above usage modes.
Including low air volume operation of the indoor fan by selecting
The function to set to operation and the other one of the above-mentioned usage modes.
By selecting one of the
In addition to setting the operation including rotation, during this high air volume operation,
Serial Teikazeryou air conditioner and a setting to <br/> Ru function the compressor driving higher power than during operation. 3. A compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, a first indoor heat exchanger, a second indoor heat exchanger, and a connection between the first indoor heat exchanger and the second indoor heat exchanger. Before the dehumidifying operation
The first indoor heat exchanger is a condenser, and the second indoor heat exchanger is
The first chamber is provided with a refrigeration cycle having a dehumidifying expansion device that functions as an expansion device so as to function as an evaporator.
An indoor fan that ventilates the internal heat exchanger and the second indoor heat exchanger
Comprising a § down, cooling operation further comprising a control circuit for inputting the temperature detected by the indoor temperature sensor, the heating operation及
In an air conditioner capable of dehumidifying operation,
The function of varying the air volume of the indoor fan that ventilates the first indoor heat exchanger and the second indoor heat exchanger, and the dehumidifying operation.
The function to select multiple usage modes and the multiple usage modes
Lowering the indoor fan by selecting one of the
Function to set operation including air volume operation and use of the above
By selecting the other one of the modes, and sets the indoor fan operation including high air volume operation, the large air volume during operation sets the the high capacity operation of the compressor than at the low air volume operation The function and the air volume of the outdoor fan ventilating the outdoor heat exchanger by the control circuit based on the room temperature detected by the indoor temperature sensor during both the low air volume operation and the high air volume operation , An air conditioner having a function of performing dehumidifying operation control such as isothermal and heating.