IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0829352
(2007-07-27)
|
등록번호 |
US-8091377
(2012-01-10)
|
우선권정보 |
KR-10-2006-0071811 (2006-07-29) |
발명자
/ 주소 |
- Jeong, Ho Jong
- Hwang, Il Nahm
- Chung, Baik Young
|
출원인 / 주소 |
|
대리인 / 주소 |
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
6 인용 특허 :
2 |
초록
▼
A heat pump capable of performing heating and cooling simultaneously is provided. The heat pump includes a compressor, indoor devices that heat or cool an indoor space, outdoor heat exchangers, and switching devices. The outdoor heat exchangers are configured to individually operate as a condenser o
A heat pump capable of performing heating and cooling simultaneously is provided. The heat pump includes a compressor, indoor devices that heat or cool an indoor space, outdoor heat exchangers, and switching devices. The outdoor heat exchangers are configured to individually operate as a condenser or an evaporator depending on a ratio of heating to cooling of the indoor devices. When an operation mode is changed, continuous heating and cooling is performed without stopping the system.
대표청구항
▼
1. A heat pump, comprising: at least one compressor;a plurality of indoor devices, wherein each of the plurality of indoor devices includes an indoor heat exchanger which operates as a condenser or evaporator to heat or cool a different indoor room;an outdoor device coupled to the plurality of indoo
1. A heat pump, comprising: at least one compressor;a plurality of indoor devices, wherein each of the plurality of indoor devices includes an indoor heat exchanger which operates as a condenser or evaporator to heat or cool a different indoor room;an outdoor device coupled to the plurality of indoor devices, wherein the outdoor device includes a plurality of outdoor heat exchangers, and wherein each of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operates as either a condenser or an evaporator;a divider that couples the outdoor device to the plurality of indoor devices through a plurality of valves; anda plurality of switching devices, wherein:each of the plurality of switching devices couples one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers to the at least one compressor,the plurality of switching devices controls a flow of refrigerant between the at least one compressor and the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers,each indoor heat exchanger is coupled to first and second valves, the first and second valves set to opposing states to control a direction of flow of refrigerant into the indoor heat exchanger, and arranged to return refrigerant passing through the indoor heat exchanger to the at least one compressor along a path that bypasses indoor heat exchangers of remaining ones of the indoor devices,when the heat pump operates in a cooling dominant mode for heating a first number of rooms while simultaneously cooling a second number of rooms greater than the first number, all of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operate as condensers,when the heat pump operates in the cooling dominant mode and a ratio of the plurality of indoor devices performing heating to the plurality of indoor devices performing cooling increases above a predetermined amount, at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers switches from operating as a condenser to operating as an evaporator, andwhen the at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operates as a condenser and at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operates as an evaporator, at least a portion of refrigerant discharged from the at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operating as a condenser is directly introduced into the at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operating as an evaporator in the cooling dominant mode without passing through the at least one compressor, and the other portion of refrigerant discharged from the at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operating as a condenser is introduced into at least one of the indoor heat exchangers which operates as an evaporator. 2. The heat pump of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of check valves, wherein each of the plurality of check valves is provided in one of a plurality of connection pipes, respectively, that connects one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers with the divider, and wherein the plurality of check valves allows refrigerant in the plurality of connection pipes to flow only from the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers to the divider;a plurality of parallel pipes, wherein each of the plurality of parallel pipes is connected to one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers, respectively, and wherein each of the plurality of parallel pipes is connected in parallel to one of the plurality of connection pipes; anda plurality of outdoor expansion valves, wherein each of the plurality of outdoor expansion valves is provided on one of the plurality of parallel pipes, respectively. 3. The heat pump of claim 1, comprising: wherein, when the heat pump operates in a heating dominant mode for cooling a first number of rooms while simultaneously heating a second number of rooms greater than the first number of rooms, all of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operate as evaporators,when the heat pump operates in a heating dominant mode, and a ratio of the plurality of indoor devices performing cooling to the plurality of indoor devices performing heating increases above a predetermined amount, at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers switches from operating as an evaporator to operating as a condenser, andwhen the at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operates as a condenser and at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operates as an evaporator, at least a portion of refrigerant discharged from the at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operating as a condenser is directly introduced into the at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operating as an evaporator without passing through the at least one compressor. 4. The heat pump of claim 1, wherein the plurality of switching devices are configured such that at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers communicates with a discharge side of the at least one compressor when the at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operates as a condenser, and at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers communicates with a suction side of the at least one compressor when the at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operates as an evaporator. 5. The heat pump of claim 1, wherein the divider is configured to route high-pressure gaseous refrigerant output from the at least one compressor to at least one of the plurality of indoor devices that is performing a heating operation. 6. The heat pump of claim 3, wherein the divider is configured to route high-pressure liquid refrigerant output from the at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operating as a condenser to at least one of the plurality of indoor devices that is performing a cooling operation. 7. The heat pump of claim 1, wherein when the heat pump is operating in a cooling dominant mode, all of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operate as condensers, and wherein the divider is configured to route the high-pressure liquid refrigerant output from all of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operating as condensers to the plurality of indoor devices. 8. The heat pump of claim 1, wherein when the at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operates as a condenser, at least one corresponding switching device of the plurality of switching devices couples a discharge side of the at least one compressor to the at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers. 9. The heat pump of claim 1, wherein when at least one of the plurality of outdoor heat exchangers operates as an evaporator, at least one corresponding switching device of the plurality of switching devices couples the at least one of the pluralityof outdoor heat exchangers to a suction side of the at least one compressor. 10. The heat pump of claim 1, wherein the at least one compressor includes one of a constant speed compressor or a variable speed compressor. 11. The heat pump of claim 3, wherein the at least one compressor includes one of a constant speed compressor or a variable speed compressor. 12. The heat pump of claim 1, wherein: a first one of the switches includes a first valve body that moves reciprocally between first and second positions,in the first position, the first valve body fluidly connects a first pipe to a flow stopping surface to cause the refrigerant to flow from an inlet of the switch to a second pipe, the second pipe directing the refrigerant flow from the at least one compressor to a first one of the outdoor heat exchangers, and in the second position, the first valve body fluidly connects the first pipe to the second pipe to direct the refrigerant to flow to the at least one compressor. 13. The heat pump of claim 12, wherein the flow of refrigerant from the inlet of the first switch to the second pipe exerts a force against the first valve body to hold the first valve body in the first position. 14. The heat pump of claim 12, wherein: when the first valve body is in the first position, said first one of the outdoor heat exchangers outputs the refrigerant to flow into at least one of the indoor heat exchangers operating as an evaporator to cool a corresponding room. 15. The heat pump of claim 14, wherein: when the first valve body is in the second position, refrigerant is received from the first one of the outdoor heat exchangers from the second pipe, the refrigerant flows from the second pipe to the first pipe through the first valve body, and is directed through the first pipe towards the at least one compressor. 16. The heat pump of claim 15, wherein the first valve body includes a channel for carrying the flow of refrigerant from the first pipe to the flow stopping surface in the first position and from the second pipe to the first pipe in the second position. 17. The heat pump of claim 16, wherein the flow stopping surface is included at a terminal end of a closed pipe. 18. The heat pump of claim 12, wherein: a second one of the switches includes a second valve body that moves reciprocally between first and second positions,in the first position, the second valve body fluidly connects a third pipe to another flow stopping surface to cause the refrigerant to flow from an inlet of the second switch to a fourth pipe, the fourth pipe directing the refrigerant flow from the at least one compressor to a second one of the outdoor heat exchangers, andin the second position, the second valve body fluidly connects the third pipe to the fourth pipe to direct the refrigerant to flow to the at least one compressor. 19. The heat pump of claim 18, wherein the flow of refrigerant from the inlet of the second switch to the fourth pipe exerts a force against the second valve body to hold the second valve body in the first position. 20. The heat pump of claim 18, wherein: when the second valve body is in the first position, said second one of the outdoor heat exchangers outputs refrigerant to flow into at least one of the indoor heat exchangers operating as an evaporator to cool a corresponding room. 21. The heat pump of claim 20, wherein: when the second valve body is in the second position, refrigerant is received from the second one of the outdoor heat exchangers from the fourth pipe, the refrigerant flows from the fourth pipe to the third pipe through the second valve body, and is directed through the third pipe towards the at least one compressor. 22. The heat pump of claim 21, wherein the second valve body includes a channel for carrying the flow of refrigerant from the third pipe to said another flow stopping surface in the first position and from the fourth pipe to the third pipe in the second position. 23. The heat pump of claim 22, wherein said another flow stopping surface is included at a terminal end of another closed pipe. 24. The heat pump of claim 22, wherein: all the indoor heat exchangers operate as evaporators for cooling respective ones of the rooms when the first valve body and the second valve body are in the first position. 25. The heat pump of claim 22, wherein: wherein indoor heat exchangers, coupled to the first and second ones of the outdoor heat exchangers, operate as evaporators to cool respective rooms when the first body valve and the second body valve are in the first position, andat least one other indoor heat exchanger receives a flow of refrigerant from the at least one compressor along a flow path that bypasses the first and second ones of the outdoor heat exchangers, said at least one other indoor heat exchanger simultaneously operating as a condenser to heat a respective room. 26. The heat pump of claim 22, wherein: one or more indoor heat exchangers are coupled to the first one of the outdoor heat exchangers for cooling, and one or more other indoor heat exchangers are coupled to the at least one compressor for heating, when the first valve body is in one of the first or second positions and the second valve body is in the other one of the first or second positions. 27. The heat pump of claim 26, wherein the first one of the outdoor heat exchangers operates as an evaporator and the second one of the outdoor heat exchangers operates as a condenser.
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