KR100512146B1 - Air conditioner for dehumidification and control method - Google Patents

Abstract

The dehumidifying air conditioner and control method according to the present invention follows a heating operation in which the refrigerant discharged from the compressor flows directly into the indoor heat exchanger, but at this time, the second heat exchanger connected to the compressor is connected to the condenser through an indoor expansion unit. 1 The heat exchanger is used as an evaporator.

Here, the first heat exchanger is inclined to the upper side of the second heat exchanger so that the condensed water generated in the second heat exchanger is re-evaporated in the first heat exchanger, so that re-humidification is performed.

Accordingly, the dehumidification action is not generated or is made insignificant to satisfy the needs of users who do not want the dehumidification action.

Description

Air conditioner for dehumidification and control method

The present invention relates to a dehumidifying air conditioner and a control method, and more particularly, to a dehumidifying air conditioner and a control method that can satisfy a user's demand when the user does not require dehumidification.

The dehumidifying air conditioner refers to an air conditioner centered on removing moisture by arranging a heat exchanger serving as a condenser and a heat exchanger serving as an evaporator, respectively, in an indoor heat exchanger located indoors.

1 is a structural diagram schematically showing a conventional dehumidification air conditioner.

Referring to the drawings, a conventional dehumidification air conditioner and a compression unit 10 is compressed refrigerant; An outdoor heat exchanger (20) provided with a heat exchanger (21) and a fan (22) to exchange heat between the refrigerant and outdoor air; The first heat exchanger (31), the second heat exchanger (32), and the indoor expansion portions (33, 34) located between the first and second heat exchangers (31, 32) are provided. An indoor heat exchanger (30); The expansion unit 40 is positioned between the outdoor heat exchanger 20 and the indoor heat exchanger 30.

In more detail, the compression unit 10 includes a compressor 11 for converting a low temperature low pressure gas refrigerant output from the outdoor heat exchange unit 20 or an indoor heat exchange unit 30 into a high temperature high pressure gas refrigerant; It is provided with a four-way valve 12 for determining the discharge direction of the compressor 11, the four-way valve 12 is to switch the suction and discharge piping of the compressor 11 to cool the room The indoor heat exchanger 30 is operated as an evaporator, and when the room is to be heated, the indoor heat exchanger 30 is operated as a condenser. Of course, the outdoor heat exchanger 20 is operated as a condenser and an evaporator, respectively. However, since the main purpose of the present invention is to use the dehumidifier, it is assumed that the outdoor heat exchanger 20 is operated as a condenser and the indoor heat exchanger 30 is operated as an evaporator.

The outdoor heat exchanger 20 is a means for converting the high temperature and high pressure gas refrigerant generated by the compression unit 10 into a medium temperature and high pressure liquid refrigerant. A condenser 21 and a fan 22 are provided for this purpose.

The expansion portion 40 is a means for converting the medium-temperature high-pressure liquid refrigerant output from the outdoor heat exchanger 20 into a low-temperature low-pressure liquid refrigerant, and consists of a capillary tube 41, in parallel with the first valve 42 ), The first valve 42 determines whether the capillary tube 41 passes. As such, the control of the passage of the capillary tube 41 is not to be performed in the expansion part 40 when the capillary tube 41 is used as a dehumidifier. In this case, the first valve 42 is opened to allow the refrigerant to pass through the first valve. Pass through (42) to prevent expansion.

As such, the refrigerant having a medium temperature and high pressure is introduced into the indoor heat exchanger 30 without undergoing the expansion process. The indoor heat exchanger 30 includes the first heat exchanger 31, the second heat exchanger 32, and the same. Consists of the indoor expansion (33, 34) between, the first heat exchanger (31) takes place once more condensation action, the expansion of the indoor expansion unit 33 of the indoor expansion is made. By the expansion process, the medium-temperature high-pressure liquid refrigerant is converted into a low-temperature low-pressure liquid refrigerant, and the second heat exchanger 32 absorbs and evaporates the surrounding heat to convert it into a low-temperature low-pressure gas refrigerant, and then the compression unit. Flows into (10). If it operates as a cooler rather than a dehumidifier, an expansion process is performed in the expansion part 40, and the first heat exchanger 31 also operates as an evaporator like the second heat exchanger 32. Of course, at this time, the second valve 34 of the indoor expansion part should be opened so that the indoor expander 33 does not operate.

Looking briefly at the operation of the conventional dehumidifying air conditioner having such a configuration, in the second heat exchanger 32, the temperature is lowered due to evaporation of the refrigerant and condensation of the surrounding moisture is caused. It becomes dehumidification by doing so. Of course, the temperature of the room is also cooled in this process, so that the first heat exchanger 31 is operated as a condenser in order to prevent the temperature from being balanced.

As described above, the conventional dehumidification air conditioner is characterized in that dehumidification is possible without changing the room temperature. In addition to these features, all of the indoor heat exchangers are capable of general cooling operation or heating operation in which an evaporator or a condenser is used.

However, such a driving method is a problem when a user wants to control room temperature but does not want dehumidification.

That is, in an air conditioner in which an element called an evaporator which basically produces condensate is used, if a part or the whole of the heat exchanger in the indoor heat exchanger is used as an evaporator, an indoor dehumidifying effect is necessarily generated. The solution is insufficient.

The present invention has been made to improve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a dehumidifying air conditioner and a method of controlling the same, which can satisfy the needs of a user who does not want a dehumidifying action.

Dehumidification air conditioner according to the present invention in order to achieve the above object and the compression unit is compressed refrigerant; An outdoor heat exchanger provided with a heat exchanger and a fan to exchange heat between the refrigerant and outdoor air; A first heat exchanger connected by the outdoor heat exchanger and an expansion unit, a second heat exchanger positioned below the condensate generated by the first heat exchanger and connected to the compression unit, and the first and second heat exchangers It characterized in that it comprises an indoor heat exchanger is provided with an indoor expansion located between the groups.

Here, it is preferable to further include a re-humidification pipe connecting the inlet side of the first heat exchanger and the compressor.

The indoor expander may include an indoor expander used for dehumidification operation; A re-humidification expander used for humidification operation; It is preferable to include a switch for determining whether to use the inflator, wherein the first heat exchanger is installed in an inclined state, the second heat exchanger is preferably located below the inclined lower end of the first heat exchanger. Do.

The dehumidification air conditioner according to the present invention suppresses dehumidification by causing the high temperature second heat exchanger to evaporate the condensed water generated in the first heat exchanger that operates as the evaporator again.

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

2 is a structural diagram showing a dehumidifying air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the dehumidifying air conditioner according to the present embodiment includes a compression unit 10 in which a refrigerant is compressed, and a heat exchanger 21 and an outdoor fan 22 to exchange heat between the refrigerant and outdoor air. An indoor heat exchanger (30) provided with an outdoor heat exchanger (20), first and second heat exchangers (31) and (32) and indoor expansion units (33) and (34) positioned between the heat exchangers; The expansion unit 40 is positioned between the outdoor heat exchanger 20 and the indoor heat exchanger 30.

In more detail, the compression unit 10 is a member for compressing the refrigerant evaporated in the heat exchange unit 20 and 30 to convert the refrigerant into high temperature and high pressure gas refrigerant, which is the same as the conventional description.

The outdoor heat exchanger 20 heat-exchanges the refrigerant to convert it into a gas refrigerant in the case of the liquid refrigerant and into a liquid refrigerant in the case of the gas refrigerant.

The indoor heat exchanger 30 also operates in the same manner as the outdoor heat exchanger 20. The dehumidification air conditioner is divided into two heat exchangers 31 and 32 for dehumidification.

In the dehumidifying air conditioner according to the present embodiment, the indoor heat exchanger 30 is configured as shown in FIG. 3. 3 is a side perspective view showing the structure of an indoor heat exchanger of a dehumidifying air conditioner according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, where it can be seen that the second heat exchanger 32 is located below the first heat exchanger 31. have.

More specifically, the second heat exchanger 32 is positioned immediately below the grill 39 at the front of the indoor heat exchanger, and starts immediately above the second heat exchanger, that is, the second heat exchanger 32. The first heat exchanger 31 is positioned in an inclined state.

On the other hand, the indoor fan 35 is located between the first heat exchanger 31 and the second heat exchanger 32, through the grill 39 of the front and the inlet of the upper by the drive of the indoor fan. The introduced air is discharged through the discharge port in a state of being cooled or heated via the first and second heat exchangers 31 and 32. At this time, the wind direction is changed by the baffle 38 formed outside the discharge port.

Again, referring to the first and second heat exchangers, the first heat exchanger is disposed at an oblique angle to the upper side of the second heat exchanger, so that the condensed water generated in the first heat exchanger passes through the second heat exchanger. To do this.

Looking at the operation, during the cooling operation, both the first and second heat exchangers operate as an evaporator. Therefore, condensate is generated in the entire heat exchanger, which flows down the second heat exchanger to be collected in a lower condensate receiver (not shown) and discharged to the outside through the condensate pipe.

In the heating operation, both the first and second heat exchangers operate as the condenser, so that no condensate is generated, and thus, the influence of the change in the indoor humidity is less affected.

In a general dehumidification operation, the first heat exchanger is operated as a condenser and the second heat exchanger is operated as an evaporator. The first heat exchanger, which operates as a condenser, has little effect on humidity, and the second heat exchanger operates as an evaporator to generate condensate and discharge. Done. Therefore, the dehumidification action occurs like the cooling operation.

In the rehumidification operation according to the present invention, the heating operation using the outdoor heat exchanger as the evaporator and the indoor heat exchanger as the condenser is almost similar, but there is a difference in using the indoor heat exchanger separately.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, during the rehumidification operation, the second heat exchanger is operated as a condenser and the first heat exchanger is operated as an evaporator. Therefore, the condensed water generated by evaporation of the refrigerant flows down the inclined first heat exchanger in the first heat exchanger, which is the evaporator, and then flows down the second heat exchanger, which is relatively high temperature, as the condenser. In this process, the condensed water is re-evaporated by the high temperature second heat exchanger. The evaporated water vapor is discharged into the room through the fan to be re-humidified.

To this end, indoor expansion parts 33, 34, 36, 37 are positioned between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger. The second valve 34 and the indoor expander, which are switches for general dehumidification operation, are located. In addition to (33), a re-humidification expander 36 and a check valve 37 for re-humidification operation are further provided.

Looking at the operation, first, in the cooling operation or the heating operation, the second valve 34 is opened so that the expanders 33 and 36 do not operate. This can be explained by the nature of the inflator operating as a resistor.

In the general dehumidification operation, the second valve 34 is closed, and thus the refrigerant passes through the expanders 33 and 36. In the general dehumidification operation, the first heat exchanger is used as the condenser and the second heat exchanger is used as the evaporator. The refrigerant flows from the first heat exchanger towards the second heat exchanger. Therefore, the refrigerant does not pass through the re-humidification expander 36 by the check valve 37 but passes only through the indoor expander 33.

In the re-humidification operation according to the present invention, the second valve is closed so that the refrigerant passes through the expander. In the re-humidification operation, since the first heat exchanger is used as the evaporator and the second heat exchanger is used as the condenser, the refrigerant is transferred to the second heat exchanger. Flow toward the first heat exchanger. Thus, the refrigerant passes through both the indoor expander 33 and the re-humidification expander 36. In other words, there is a parallel relationship, which is different according to the design of the re-humidification expander 36, which in turn is different by the volume and use of the first and second heat exchangers.

Of course, the first and second heat exchangers may be coordinated to omit the re-humidification expander and serve as the indoor expander. The check valve can also be replaced by any member serving as a switch.

Meanwhile, in FIG. 3, the indoor expansion part is disposed at the same position as the fan, which is biased on the left and right sides of the indoor heat exchanger, so that there is no collision with the fan.

Referring back to Figure 2, it can be seen that the re-humidification pipe 60 is installed for the connection of the first heat exchanger 31 and the inlet side of the compressor 11 in the compression section, which is an outdoor heat exchanger during the re-humidification operation This is to prevent the loss of cooling by.

This means that during the re-humidification operation, the second heat exchanger acts as a condenser, the indoor expander as an expander and the first heat exchanger as an evaporator, which satisfies all refrigeration cycles, thus requiring additional cooling losses and passing through the outdoor heat exchanger. Because there is not.

However, since the refrigerant can pass through the re-humidification pipe through the re-humidification pipe 60 in an operation mode other than the re-humidification operation, a switch 61 such as a separate two-way valve is installed to open the re-humidification pipe. It is determined whether or not, which is a separate control unit 50 is in charge.

Meanwhile, the expansion part 40 converts the liquid refrigerant passing through the heat exchanger into a spray of low temperature and low pressure, and whether or not the operation thereof is determined according to the operating state of the indoor heat exchanger, which is performed under the control of the first valve.

Of course, even if the re-humidification piping is omitted does not affect the operation much.

5 is a side perspective view showing the structure of an indoor heat exchanger of a dehumidifying air conditioner according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, it can be seen that in the present embodiment, the first heat exchanger 31 ′ positioned above the second heat exchanger 32 is bent.

As such, the first heat exchanger is bent in order to install a larger volume heat exchanger by using a narrow space efficiently, and the size and the bending portion of the first heat exchanger should be appropriately made according to each operation mode and rehumidification operation mode.

That is, some of the condensed water may not flow down to the second heat exchanger due to the bending of the first heat exchanger, but may flow down to the inner condensate receiver and be discharged straight to the outside.

Other descriptions are the same as in FIG. 3 and will be omitted.

As described above, the dehumidifying air conditioner and the control method according to the present invention follow a heating operation in which the refrigerant discharged from the compressor flows directly into the indoor heat exchanger, but at this time, the second heat exchanger connected to the compressor is a condenser. A first heat exchanger connected via an indoor expansion is used as the evaporator.

Here, the first heat exchanger is inclined to the upper side of the second heat exchanger so that the condensed water generated in the second heat exchanger is re-evaporated in the first heat exchanger, so that re-humidification is performed.

Accordingly, the dehumidifying action may not be generated or may be generated slightly, thereby satisfying the needs of users who do not want the dehumidifying action.

1 is a structural diagram schematically showing a conventional dehumidification air conditioner.

Figure 2 is a structural diagram showing a dehumidifying air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a side perspective view showing the structure of the indoor heat exchanger of the dehumidifying air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the dehumidifying air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a side perspective view showing the structure of the indoor heat exchange unit of the dehumidifying air conditioner according to another embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10 ... compressor 11 ... compressor

12 ... 4-way valve 20 ... Outdoor heat exchanger

21 ... condenser 22, 35 ... fan

30.Indoor heat exchanger 31, 31 '... 1st heat exchanger

32 ... 2nd heat exchanger 33 ... indoor expander

34 ... 2nd valve 40 ... Expansion part

41 ... Inflator 42 ... 1st valve

50 control unit 60 re-humidification piping

61 ... switch

Claims (5)

Compression unit for compressing the refrigerant; An outdoor heat exchanger provided with a heat exchanger and a fan to exchange heat between the refrigerant and outdoor air; And A first heat exchanger connected by the outdoor heat exchanger and an expansion unit, a second heat exchanger positioned below the condensate generated by the first heat exchanger and connected to the compression unit, and the first and second heat exchangers Includes an indoor heat exchanger having an indoor expansion located between the groups, The indoor expansion unit is a dehumidification air conditioner, characterized in that it comprises an indoor expander used in the dehumidification operation, a re-humidification expander used in the dehumidification operation, and a switch for determining whether to use the inflator. The method of claim 1, Re-humidification pipe connecting the first heat exchanger and the inlet side of the compressor Control unit for determining the use of the re-humidification pipe Dehumidification air conditioner further comprising. delete The method of claim 1, The first heat exchanger is installed in an inclined state, the second heat exchanger is a dehumidification air conditioner, characterized in that located under the inclined lower end of the first heat exchanger. Compressor, indoor heat exchanger, expansion unit, indoor heat exchanger are connected in series, The indoor heat exchange unit includes a control method of a dehumidification air conditioner including at least a first heat exchanger, an indoor expansion unit, and a second heat exchanger connected in series from the expansion unit; When performing the heating operation in which the refrigerant discharged from the compressor first flows into the indoor heat exchange unit, the second heat exchanger is operated as a condenser and the first heat exchanger as an evaporator, The condensate generated in the first heat exchanger control method of the dehumidifying air conditioner, characterized in that the re-humidification by evaporation while passing through the high temperature second heat exchanger.