U.S. patent application number 14/364114 was filed with the patent office on 2014-12-18 for air-conditioning apparatus and method for controlling same.
This patent application is currently assigned to LG ELECTRONICS INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is LG ELECTRONICS INC.. Invention is credited to Eunjun Cho, Beomsoo Seo.
Application Number | 20140366564 14/364114 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 48612845 |
Filed Date | 2014-12-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140366564 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Cho; Eunjun ; et
al. |
December 18, 2014 |
AIR-CONDITIONING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING SAME
Abstract
The present invention relates to an air-conditioning apparatus
which is capable of performing a cooling operation in a stable
manner in an environment having a low outside temperature. The
air-conditioning apparatus according to the present invention
comprises: a housing including an inlet, a bypass inlet, and an
outlet; a fan configured to introduce air into the housing and
discharge the air from the housing; a heat-exchange flow path
deposed between the inlet and the outlet; a heat exchanger disposed
at the heat exchange flow path; and a bypass flow path disposed
between the bypass inlet and the outlet.
Inventors: |
Cho; Eunjun; (Seoul, KR)
; Seo; Beomsoo; (Seoul, KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
LG ELECTRONICS INC. |
Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul |
|
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
LG ELECTRONICS INC.
Seoul
KR
|
Family ID: |
48612845 |
Appl. No.: |
14/364114 |
Filed: |
December 14, 2012 |
PCT Filed: |
December 14, 2012 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/KR2012/010912 |
371 Date: |
June 10, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/115 ; 62/181;
62/183 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F 11/74 20180101;
F24F 11/81 20180101; F24F 2140/20 20180101; F24F 2110/10 20180101;
F24F 11/30 20180101; F24F 1/56 20130101; F24F 1/50 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
62/115 ; 62/181;
62/183 |
International
Class: |
F24F 11/00 20060101
F24F011/00; F24F 11/053 20060101 F24F011/053; F24F 11/02 20060101
F24F011/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 14, 2011 |
KR |
10-2011-0134992 |
Claims
1. An air conditioning apparatus comprising: a housing including an
inlet, a bypass inlet and an outlet; a fan configured to introduce
air into the housing and to discharge the air from the housing; a
heat exchange flow path defined between the inlet and the outlet; a
heat exchanger located in the heat exchange flow path; and a bypass
flow path defined between the bypass inlet and the outlet.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a bypass
blocking device configured to selectively open or close the bypass
inlet.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a bypass
vane configured to adjust an opening degree of the bypass
inlet.
4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a
controller configured to control revolutions per minute (RPM) of a
fan motor, the fan motor serving to drive the fan.
5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the controller
controls the RPM of the fan motor based on a condensation pressure
or condensation temperature of refrigerant.
6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the controller
controls the fan motor so as to be operated at minimum control RPM
when the condensation pressure or condensation temperature is below
a first predetermined value, and wherein the controller controls
the fan motor to stop operation thereof when the condensation
pressure or condensation temperature is below a second
predetermined value, the second predetermined value being less than
the first predetermined value.
7. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a bypass
vane configured to selectively open or close the bypass inlet and
to adjust an opening degree of the bypass inlet.
8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the controller
controls the bypass vane to open the bypass inlet when the fan
motor is operated at minimum control RPM.
9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the controller
increases the opening degree of the bypass inlet when the fan motor
is operated at the minimum control RPM, thereby increasing the flow
rate of air introduced through the bypass inlet and reduces the
flow rate of air introduced through the inlet.
10. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cover
configured to prevent outside air from being directly introduced
into the inlet in a direction perpendicular to the inlet.
11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the cover has a
cover top inlet and a cover lateral inlet and includes a main body
configured to bypass the air, directly introduced in the direction
perpendicular to the inlet of the housing, to the cover top inlet
and the cover lateral inlet.
12. An air conditioning apparatus comprising an outdoor unit and
one or more indoor units connected to the outdoor unit, wherein the
outdoor unit comprises: a housing including an inlet, a bypass
inlet and an outlet; a fan configured to introduce air into the
housing through the inlet and the bypass inlet and to discharge the
air from the housing through the outlet; and a controller
configured to control driving of the fan, wherein the inlet is in
indirect communication with the outlet through a heat exchanger and
the bypass inlet is in direct communication with the outlet, and
wherein the controller varies the flow rate of air introduced
through the inlet by adjusting the flow ate of air introduced
through the bypass inlet.
13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the controller
controls driving of the fan based on a condensation pressure or
condensation temperature of refrigerant.
14. The apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a
bypass vane configured to selectively open or close the bypass
inlet and to adjust an opening degree of the bypass inlet.
15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the controller
controls the bypass vane so as to be operated when a fan motor is
operated at minimum control RPM.
16. A control method of an air conditioning apparatus, the control
method comprising: sensing a condensation pressure or condensation
temperature of refrigerant in an outdoor unit; implementing
constant speed operation of a fan in which a fan motor of the
outdoor unit is controlled so as to be operated at minimum control
RPM and the flow rate of air introduced into a heat exchanger is
varied when the sensed result is below a first predetermined value;
and implementing variable speed operation of the fan in which the
fan motor of the outdoor unit is controlled so as to be operated at
RPM exceeding the minimum control RPM when the sensed result is the
first predetermined value or more.
17. The control method according to claim 16, wherein, in the
constant speed operation of the fan, the flow rate of bypassed air
not subjected to heat exchange is varied.
18. The control method according to claim 17, wherein, in the
constant speed operation of the fan, the flow rate of bypassed air
through the bypass inlet is increased to reduce the flow rate of
air introduced into the heat exchanger through the inlet.
19. The control method according to claim 16, wherein operation of
the fan stops during the constant speed operation of the fan when
the sensed result is below a second predetermined value.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to an air conditioning
apparatus, and more particularly to an air conditioning apparatus
which is capable of performing a cooling operation in a stable
manner under an environment having a low outside temperature.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] In general, an air conditioning apparatus is designed to
cool or warm an indoor space, such as a residence, a restaurant, an
office or the like.
[0003] In addition, such an air conditioning apparatus may include
an outdoor unit installed in an outdoor space and an indoor unit
installed in an indoor space. The outdoor unit may include a
compressor for compression of refrigerant, an outdoor heat
exchanger for heat exchange between outdoor air and refrigerant, a
blowing fan and various pipes for connection between the compressor
and the indoor unit. The indoor unit may include an indoor heat
exchanger for heat exchange between indoor air and refrigerant and
an expansion valve.
[0004] Meanwhile, in a case in which an outdoor unit is connected
to a plurality of indoor units, in order to increase heat exchange
area, the outdoor unit is provided with a large-scale outdoor heat
exchanger. A compressor, an oil separator, an accumulator and the
like for compression of refrigerant circulating in an air
conditioning cycle, a fan for forced flow and a motor for rotation
of the fan are mounted to the outdoor unit. In addition, a
plurality of refrigerant pipes is received in the outdoor unit to
interconnect the aforementioned components thereof and the indoor
units.
[0005] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional outdoor
unit, and FIG. 2 is a view for explanation of an operational state
of a fan included in the conventional outdoor unit.
[0006] Referring to FIG. 1, an outdoor unit 20 includes a housing
21 defining an external appearance of the outdoor unit, and the
housing 21 has an inlet 22 and an outlet 23. A heat exchanger 24 is
placed in the housing 21 near the inlet 22. In this case, air
introduced through the inlet 22 is subjected to heat exchange with
refrigerant while passing through the heat exchanger 24 and,
thereafter, is discharged outward through the outlet 23.
[0007] Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 2, in a case in which the
outdoor unit 20 performs a cooling operation under an environment
having a low outside temperature (for example, -5.degree. C.). ,
the condensation temperature or condensation pressure of
refrigerant flowing in the heat exchanger is reduced, which
prevents efficient operation of the compressor.
[0008] In this case, to adjust cooling load, the conventional
outdoor unit is designed to reduce the flow rate of air introduced
through the inlet 22 by reducing revolutions per minute
(hereinafter referred to as RPM) of the fan.
[0009] However, when the RPM of the fan is reduced to a given RPM
or less, only iterative ON/OFF control is possible due to an
operation limit at low RPM. Existence of such a discontinuous
control section causes hunting F1 of the condensation temperature
or evaporation temperature of refrigerant in a cooling cycle, which
problematically makes it impossible to provide inhabitants with
pleasant cooling.
DISCLOSURE
Technical Problem
[0010] An object of the present invention is to provide an air
conditioning apparatus which is capable of performing a cooling
operation in a stable manner under an environment having a low
outside temperature.
[0011] In addition, another object of the present invention is to
provide an air conditioning apparatus which is capable of
continuously controlling the flow rate of air passing through a
heat exchanger even during a discontinuous control section of a
fan.
[0012] In addition, a further object of the present invention is to
provide an air conditioning apparatus which is capable of
preventing high pressure drop due to sudden increase in the flow
rate of air introduced into a heat exchanger.
Technical Solution
[0013] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the
objects of the present invention can be achieved by providing an
air conditioning apparatus including a housing including an inlet,
a bypass inlet and an outlet, a fan configured to introduce air
into the housing and to discharge the air from the housing, a heat
exchange flow path defined between the inlet and the outlet, a heat
exchanger located in the heat exchange flow path, and a bypass flow
path defined between the bypass inlet and the outlet.
[0014] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention,
there is provided an air conditioning apparatus including an
outdoor unit and one or more indoor units connected to the outdoor
unit, wherein the outdoor unit includes a housing including an
inlet, a bypass inlet and an outlet, a fan configured to introduce
air into the housing through the inlet and the bypass inlet and to
discharge the air from the housing through the outlet, and a
controller configured to control driving of the fan.
[0015] Here, the inlet may be in indirect communication with the
outlet through a heat exchanger and the bypass inlet may be in
direct communication with the outlet. The controller may vary the
flow rate of air introduced through the inlet by adjusting the flow
ate of air introduced through the bypass inlet.
[0016] In accordance with a further aspect of the present
invention, there is provided a control method of an air
conditioning apparatus, the control method including sensing a
condensation pressure or condensation temperature of refrigerant in
an outdoor unit, implementing constant speed operation of a fan in
which a fan motor of the outdoor unit is controlled so as to be
operated at minimum control RPM and the flow rate of air introduced
into a heat exchanger is varied when the sensed result is below a
first predetermined value, and implementing variable speed
operation of the fan in which the fan motor of the outdoor unit is
controlled so as to be operated at RPM exceeding the minimum
control RPM when the sensed result is the first predetermined value
or more.
Advantageous Effects
[0017] As is apparent from the above description, an air
conditioning apparatus according to one embodiment of the present
invention is configured to perform a cooling operation in a stable
manner under an environment having a low outside temperature.
[0018] In addition, an air conditioning apparatus according to one
embodiment of the present invention is configured to continuously
control the flow rate of air passing through a heat exchanger even
during a discontinuous control section of a fan.
[0019] In addition, an air conditioning apparatus according to one
embodiment of the present invention is configured to prevent high
pressure drop due to sudden increase in the flow rate of air
introduced into a heat exchanger.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0020] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional outdoor
unit.
[0021] FIG. 2 is a view for explanation of an operational state of
a fan included in the conventional outdoor unit.
[0022] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing configuration of an air
conditioning apparatus according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0023] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the air conditioning
apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 5 is a conceptual view for explanation of inlet flow to
the air conditioning apparatus according to one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0025] FIG. 6 is a view for explanation of an operational state of
a fan included in the air conditioning apparatus according to one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0026] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an air conditioning
apparatus according to another embodiment of the present
invention.
[0027] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a control method of the air
conditioning apparatus according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
BEST MODE
[0028] Hereinafter, an air conditioning apparatus according to one
embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail
with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood
that the accompanying drawings which illustrate the exemplary
configuration of the present invention is merely given for more
detailed description of the present invention and is not intended
to limit the technical scope of the present invention.
[0029] In addition, the same or similar elements are denoted by the
same reference numerals even though they are depicted in different
drawings and a repeated description thereof will be omitted. For
convenience of description, in the drawings, sizes and shapes of
respective constituent members may be exaggerated or reduced.
[0030] Meanwhile, although the terms first, second, etc. may be
used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not
be limited by these terms and are used simply to discriminate any
one element from other elements.
[0031] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing configuration of an air
conditioning apparatus according to one embodiment of the present
invention, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the air conditioning
apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, and
FIG. 5 is a conceptual view for explanation of inlet flow to the
air conditioning apparatus according to one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0032] The air conditioning apparatus according to one embodiment
of the present invention may include an outdoor unit 300 installed
in an outdoor space and an indoor unit 500 installed in an indoor
space. The outdoor unit 300 may include a compressor 200 for
compression of refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger 320 for heat
exchange between outdoor air and refrigerant, a fan (not shown), a
fan motor 350 to drive the fan and various pipes (not shown) for
connection between the compressor 200, the outdoor heat exchanger
320 and the indoor unit 500. The pipes are provided with
temperature sensors and pressure sensors which are capable of
measuring the temperature and pressure of refrigerant.
[0033] In addition, the indoor unit 500 may include an indoor heat
exchanger (not shown) for heat exchange between indoor air and
refrigerant, an expansion valve (not shown), a fan (not shown) and
a fan motor 550 to drive the fan.
[0034] In addition, the air conditioning apparatus includes a
controller 100 to control operations of the outdoor unit 300 and
the indoor unit 500.
[0035] Meanwhile, the air conditioning apparatus according to one
embodiment of the present invention includes a refrigeration cycle
consisting of the compressor 200, the outdoor heat exchanger 320,
the expansion valve and the indoor heat exchanger.
[0036] Considering the refrigeration cycle in detail, gas-phase
refrigerant compressed in the compressor is introduced into the
outdoor heat exchanger and changed into liquid-phase refrigerant.
The refrigerant radiates heat outward during phase change in the
outdoor heat exchanger. Thereafter, the refrigerant discharged from
the outdoor heat exchanger is expanded while passing through the
expansion valve and then introduced into the indoor heat
exchanger.
[0037] Thereafter, the liquid-phase refrigerant introduced into the
indoor heat exchanger is changed into gas-phase refrigerant.
Likewise, the refrigerant absorbs outside heat during phase change
in the indoor heat exchanger.
[0038] In this document, the air conditioning apparatus may be both
an outdoor unit and an indoor unit or may be only an outdoor unit.
Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the air conditioning
apparatus will be limitedly described with reference to an outdoor
unit alone.
[0039] The air conditioning apparatus 300 according to one
embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 310
including an inlet 311, a bypass inlet 313 and an outlet 312, a fan
configured to introduce air into the housing 310 and to discharge
the air from the housing 310, a heat exchange flow path defined
between the inlet 311 and the outlet 312, the heat exchanger 320
located in the heat exchange flow path and a bypass flow path
defined between the bypass inlet 313 and the outlet 312.
[0040] The housing 310 has at least one inlet 311 through which
outside air is introduced and moved to the heat exchanger 320. In
one embodiment, a pair of inlets 311 may be formed respectively in
both lateral surfaces of the housing 310. In addition, the housing
310 has the outlet 312 through which air moved by the fan is
discharged. In one embodiment, a plurality of outlets 312 may be
formed in an upper surface of the housing 310.
[0041] At least one heat exchanger 320 may be arranged in a lower
space of the housing 310, and at least one fan may be arranged in
an upper space. In addition, a pair of heat exchangers 320 may be
located in the housing 310 near both lateral ends of the housing so
as to correspond to the inlets 311 respectively. The heat
exchangers may have an "L"-shaped or "U"-shaped form in order to
increase heat exchange area.
[0042] Here, the heat exchange flow path refers to a path defined
between the inlet 311 and the outlet 312. Air introduced through
the inlet 311 is subjected to heat exchange with refrigerant while
passing through the heat exchanger 320.
[0043] In addition, the housing 310 has at least one bypass inlet
313. Air introduced through the bypass inlet 313 does not directly
pass through the heat exchanger 320. Accordingly, in a case in
which the inlets 311 are formed respectively in both lateral
surfaces of the housing 310, the bypass inlet 313 may be formed in
a front surface of the housing 310.
[0044] Here, the bypass flow path is defined between the bypass
inlet 311 and the outlet 312. Although some of the air introduced
through the bypass inlet 311 may move to the heat exchanger 320,
most of the air is discharged through the outlet 312 without
passing through the heat exchanger 320.
[0045] The inlet 311 and the bypass inlet 313 differ from each
other in terms of positions thereof relative to the heat exchanger.
More specifically, since the heat exchanger 320 is positioned at
the inlet 311, the heat exchanger 320 serves as a resistor with
respect to air introduced through the inlet 311 when both the inlet
311 and the bypass inlet 313 are open. Therefore, the flow rate of
air introduced through the inlet 311 is reduced as compared to a
case in which the bypass inlet 313 is closed.
[0046] Accordingly, the air conditioning apparatus according to one
embodiment of the present invention may control the flow rate of
air introduced through the inlet 311 by adjusting the flow rate of
air introduced through the bypass inlet 313, and consequently may
adjust the flow rate of air that is subjected to heat exchange
while passing through the heat exchangers 320, which may result in
adjustment of cooling load.
[0047] To this end, the air conditioning apparatus 300 according to
one embodiment of the present invention may include a bypass
blocking device 330 to selectively open or close the bypass inlet
331. When the bypass blocking device 330 opens the bypass inlet
313, the flow rate of air introduced through the inlet 311 may be
reduced. When the bypass blocking device 330 closes the bypass
inlet 313, the flow rate of air introduced through the inlet 311
may be increased.
[0048] In addition, the air conditioning apparatus 300 according to
one embodiment of the present invention may include a bypass vane
331 to adjust an opening degree of the bypass inlet. The bypass
vane 331 may adjust an opening degree of the bypass inlet 313,
thereby reducing the flow rate of air introduced through the inlet
311 when increasing the opening degree and increasing the flow rate
of air introduced through the inlet 311 when reducing the opening
degree.
[0049] In addition, the bypass blocking device 330 may take the
form of the bypass vane 331, and the bypass blocking device 330
and/or the bypass vane 331 may be controlled by the aforementioned
controller 100.
[0050] FIG. 6 is a view for explanation of an operational state of
the fan included in the air conditioning apparatus according to one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0051] As described above, when the conventional outdoor unit 20 as
described above performs a cooling operation under an environment
having a low outside temperature (for example, -5.degree. C.), the
condensation temperature or condensation pressure of refrigerant
moving in the heat exchanger is reduced, which prevents efficient
operation of the compressor.
[0052] In this case, the conventional outdoor unit adjusts cooling
load by reducing revolutions per minute (hereinafter referred to as
RPM) of the fan to reduce the flow rate of air introduced through
the inlet 22.
[0053] However, when the RPM of the fan is reduced to a given RPM
or less, only iterative ON/OFF control is possible due to an
operation limit at low RPM. Existence of such a discontinuous
control section causes hunting Fl of the condensation temperature
or evaporation temperature of refrigerant in a cooling cycle, which
problematically makes it impossible to provide inhabitants with
pleasant cooling (see FIG. 2).
[0054] Meanwhile, the aforementioned controller 100 controls the
RPM of the fan motor 350 that drives the fan. The controller
controls the RPM of the fan motor 350 based on the condensation
pressure or condensation temperature of refrigerant.
[0055] In this case, under control of the controller 100, the
bypass inlet 311 may be opened when the fan motor 350 is operated
at the minimum control RPM.
[0056] More specifically, differently from a conventional case in
which the fan is reduced in RPM and stops operation thereof
(minimum RPM control) under an environment having a low outside
temperature (for example, -5.degree. C.), the air conditioning
apparatus 300 according to the present invention may adjust the
flow rate of air introduced through the bypass inlet 313 without
stopping operation of the fan, thereby adjusting the flow rate of
air introduced into the heat exchanger 320.
[0057] Referring to FIG. 2, the conventional air conditioning
apparatus has a discontinuous control section of the fan including
a time t1 during which the fan is operated under an environment
having a low outside temperature and a time t2 during which the fan
stops. On the other hand, referring to FIG. 6, it will be
appreciated that the air conditioning apparatus 300 according to
the present invention exhibits an increased time t3 during which
the fan is operated even under an environment having a low outside
temperature, resulting in reduced hunting F2 of the condensation
temperature or evaporation temperature.
[0058] In this way, the air conditioning apparatus 300 according to
the present invention may perform a cooling operation in a stable
manner even under an environment having a low outside temperature,
may continuously control the flow rate of air passing through the
heat exchanger 320 even during a discontinuous control section of
the fan, and may adjust cooling load.
[0059] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an air conditioning
apparatus according to another embodiment of the present
invention.
[0060] Referring to FIG. 7, the air conditioning apparatus 300 may
further include a cover 340 to prevent outside air from being
directly introduced into the inlet 311 in a direction perpendicular
to the inlet. The cover 340 functions to prevent high pressure drop
due to sudden increase in the flow rate of air introduced into the
heat exchanger 320.
[0061] In one embodiment, the cover 340 may have a cover top inlet
324 and a cover lateral inlet 343, and may include a main body 341
configured to bypass air, directly introduced in a direction
perpendicular to the inlet 311, to the cover top inlet 342 and the
cover lateral inlet 343.
[0062] In addition, the air conditioning apparatus according to the
present embodiment may include the outdoor unit 300 and one or more
indoor units 500 connected to the outdoor unit.
[0063] Here, the outdoor unit 300, as described above, may include
the housing 310 including the inlet 311, the bypass inlet 313 and
the outlet 312, the fan configured to introduce air into the
housing 310 through the inlet 311 and the bypass inlet 313 and to
discharge the air from the housing 310 through the outlet 312 and
the controller 100 to control driving of the fan.
[0064] In addition, the inlet 311 is in indirect communication with
the outlet 312 through the heat exchanger 320, the bypass inlet 313
is in direct communication with the outlet 312, and the controller
100 varies the flow rate of air introduced through the inlet 311 by
adjusting the flow rate of air introduced through the bypass inlet
313.
[0065] In this case, as described above, the controller 100 may
control driving of the fan based on the condensation pressure or
condensation temperature of refrigerant. The outdoor unit may
include the bypass vane 331 which functions to selectively open or
close the bypass inlet 313 and to adjust an opening degree of the
bypass inlet.
[0066] In addition, the controller 100 may control the bypass vane
331 such that the bypass vane 331 is operated when the fan is
driven at the minimum control PRM.
[0067] Hereinafter, a control method of the air conditioning
apparatus 300 having the above-described configuration will be
described in detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
[0068] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a control method of an air
conditioning apparatus according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0069] The control method of the air conditioning apparatus
according to one embodiment of the present invention includes
sensing the condensation pressure or condensation temperature of
refrigerant in an outdoor unit (S3), implementing constant speed
operation of a fan in which a fan motor of the outdoor unit is
controlled so as to be operated at minimum control RPM and the flow
rate of air introduced into a heat exchanger is varied when the
sensed result is below a first predetermined value (S5) and
implementing variable speed operation of the fan in which the fan
motor of the outdoor unit is controlled so as to be operated at RPM
exceeding the minimum control RPM when the sensed result is the
first predetermined value or more (S4).
[0070] In this case, in the constant speed operation of the fan S5,
varying the flow rate of bypassed air that is not subjected to heat
exchange is possible. During the constant speed operation of the
fan S5, the sensed result may be compared with a second
predetermined value (S6). When the sensed result is below the
second predetermined value, operation of the fan stops (S7).
[0071] More specifically, when a cooling operation starts (S1) and
thereafter an outdoor temperature is reduced during the cooling
operation, the outdoor unit senses the condensation pressure or
condensation temperature of refrigerant (S3). In this case, when
the condensation pressure or condensation temperature of
refrigerant is the first predetermined value or more, the variable
speed operation of the fan S4 in which the RPM of the fan is varied
to adjust the flow rate of air introduced into the heat exchanger
is implemented.
[0072] Differently, when the condensation pressure or condensation
temperature of refrigerant is below the first predetermined value,
the flow rate of air introduced into the heat exchanger cannot be
adjusted by varying the RPM of the fan. In this case, the constant
speed operation of the fan S5 may be implemented without stopping
operation of the fan. As described above, the flow rate of air
introduced into the heat exchanger may be adjusted by varying the
flow rate of bypassed air that is not subjected to heat
exchange.
[0073] Meanwhile, the sensed result may be compared with the second
predetermined value (S6) during the constant speed operation of the
fan S5. When the sensed result is below the second predetermined
value, operation of the fan stops (S7).
[0074] As described above, an air conditioning apparatus according
to one embodiment of the present invention is configured to perform
a cooling operation in a stable manner under an environment having
a low outside temperature.
[0075] In addition, an air conditioning apparatus according to one
embodiment of the present invention is configured to continuously
control the flow rate of air passing through a heat exchanger even
during a discontinuous control section of a fan.
[0076] In addition, an air conditioning apparatus according to one
embodiment of the present invention is configured to prevent high
pressure drop due to sudden increase in the flow rate of air
introduced into a heat exchanger.
[0077] The exemplary embodiments of the present invention as
described above are disclosed for illustrative purpose, and those
skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications,
variations and additions can be made within spirit or scope of the
present invention and these modifications, variations and additions
fall in the following claims.
* * * * *