U.S. patent application number 15/108849 was filed with the patent office on 2018-09-06 for air-conditioning apparatus and air-conditioning system.
The applicant listed for this patent is MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Kazuyoshi SHINOZAKI, Shogo TAMAKI.
Application Number | 20180252451 15/108849 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52682870 |
Filed Date | 2018-09-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180252451 |
Kind Code |
A9 |
TAMAKI; Shogo ; et
al. |
September 6, 2018 |
AIR-CONDITIONING APPARATUS AND AIR-CONDITIONING SYSTEM
Abstract
Provided is a first unit including a first unit including a
compressor and a first heat exchanger; a plurality of second units
each including a second heat exchanger and each being connected to
the first unit via a plurality of branched pipes; a plurality of
valves configured to open to permit refrigerant flows and close to
not permit the refrigerant flows; a storage unit configured to
store connection information indicating a relationship of
connection between the plurality of second units and the plurality
of pipes; a closed path pipe that is any of the plurality of
branched pipes to which no second unit is connected, and a control
unit configured to detect whether the closed path pipe is included
in the connection information.
Inventors: |
TAMAKI; Shogo; (Tokyo,
JP) ; SHINOZAKI; Kazuyoshi; (Cypress, CA) |
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Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION |
Tokyo |
|
JP |
|
|
Prior
Publication: |
|
Document Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20160327320 A1 |
November 10, 2016 |
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|
Family ID: |
52682870 |
Appl. No.: |
15/108849 |
Filed: |
November 12, 2014 |
PCT Filed: |
November 12, 2014 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/JP2014/005692 PCKC 00 |
371 Date: |
June 29, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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14168050 |
Jan 30, 2014 |
9823003 |
|
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15108849 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F 11/84 20180101;
F24F 11/87 20180101; F25B 2313/0233 20130101; F25B 2600/2519
20130101; F24F 11/63 20180101; F24F 11/30 20180101; F25B 49/00
20130101; F24F 11/88 20180101; F25B 49/02 20130101; F24F 11/83
20180101; F25B 13/00 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F25B 49/02 20060101
F25B049/02; F25B 13/00 20060101 F25B013/00; F24F 11/00 20060101
F24F011/00 |
Claims
1. An air-conditioning apparatus comprising: a first unit including
a compressor and a first heat exchanger; a plurality of second
units each including a second heat exchanger and each being
connected to the first unit via a plurality of branched pipes; a
plurality of valves configured to open and close to or not to
permit refrigerant to flow therethrough; a storage unit configured
to store connection information set to indicate a relationship of
connection between the plurality of branched pipes and the
plurality of second units each being connected to one of the
plurality of second units; and a controller configured to detect
whether a closed path pipe, which is any of the plurality of
branched pipes to which no second unit is actually connected, is
included in the connection information as a pipe connected to any
of the second units, the controller being configured to, when the
closed path pipe is included in the connection information as the
pipe connected to any of the second units, perform a first search
for searching for a pipe, to which the second unit set as being
connected to the closed path pipe is actually connected, of the
plurality of branched pipes, by controlling the valve.
2. (canceled)
3. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the
controller includes a display unit that displays a result of the
first search.
4. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 3, wherein the
controller is configured to automatically correct or allow manually
correcting the connection information, on a basis of a result of
the first search.
5. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein when the
connection information is connected, the controller again
determines whether the closed path pipe is included in the
connection information.
6. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 5, wherein the
controller repeatedly performs the first search until no closed
path pipe is included in the connection information.
7. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein in the first
search, the controller controls the valves corresponding to any of
the pipes that are not included in the connection information,
sequentially one by one.
8. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein when no
closed path pipe is included in the connection information, the
controller, by controlling the valves, performs a second search for
searching for one of the pipes to which one of the second units
determined to be connected to an open path pipe to which another of
the second units is connected is actually connected.
9. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 8, wherein the
controller includes a display unit that displays a result of the
second search.
10. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 9, wherein the
controller is configured to automatically correct or allow manually
correcting the connection information, on a basis of a result of
the second search.
11. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 8, wherein when the
connection information is corrected, the control unit controller
again performs the second search.
12. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 11, wherein the
controller repeatedly performs the second search until the
connection information becomes correct, on a basis of the result of
the second search.
13. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 8, wherein in the
second search, the controller controls the valves each
corresponding to any of pipes that are not included in the
connection information, sequentially one by one.
14. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, further comprising
an outdoor air temperature detector, wherein, before determining
whether the closed path pipe is included in the connection
information, the controller determines whether an outdoor air
temperature detected by the outdoor air temperature detector is a
preset value or greater, starts a cooling operation in all of the
second heat exchangers when the outdoor air temperature is the
preset value or greater, and starts a heating operation in all of
the second heat exchangers when the outdoor air temperature is less
than the preset value.
15. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 14, further comprising
a supercooling degree detector that detects a degree of
supercooling at the second heat exchanger, wherein the controller,
after the heating operation is started in all of the second heat
exchangers, determines whether the degree of supercooling at the
second heat exchanger, the degree of supercooling being detected by
the supercooling degree detector, is a preset value or greater, and
starts determination of whether the closed path pipe is included in
the connection information, when the degree of supercooling at the
second heat exchanger is the preset value or greater.
16. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 15, wherein each of the
second units includes a use side pressure-reducing mechanism that
controls a flow rate of the refrigerant by variably setting the
opening degree thereof, and the controller determines whether the
opening degree of the use side pressure-reducing mechanism is a
maximal opening degree when the closed path pipe is included in the
connection information, and starts the first search where the
opening degree of the use side pressure-reducing mechanism is the
maximal opening degree.
17. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the
controller confirms whether the number of the second units
connected to the pipes in the connection information and the number
of second units actually connected to the pipes agree.
18. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 17, wherein the
controller confirms the number of the second units actually
connected to the second units by controlling the valves to allow
the refrigerant to flow in all of the pipes.
19. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the
second units includes a second wiring terminal support, and a first
terminal support is provided that corresponds to each of the pipes,
and the second terminal support of each of the second units is
connected via a transmission line to the first terminal support
corresponding to the connected pipe to which the second unit is
connected.
20. An air-conditioning system comprising: an air-conditioning
apparatus including a first unit including a compressor and a first
heat exchanger, a plurality of second units each including a second
heat exchanger and each being connected to the first unit via a
plurality of branched pipes, and a plurality of valves configured
to open and close to or not to permit refrigerant to flow
therethrough; a storage unit configured to store connection
information set to indicate a relationship of connection between
the plurality of branched pipes and the plurality of second units
each being connected to one of the plurality of second units; and a
controller configured to detect whether a closed path pipe, which
is any of the plurality of branched pipes to which no second unit
is actually connected is included in the connection information as
a pipe connected to any of the second units, the controller being
configured to, when the closed path pipe is included in the
connection information as the pipe connected to any of the second
units, perform a first search for searching for a pipe, which is
determined as being the closed path pipe but to which the second
unit set as being connected to the close path pipe is actually
connected, of the plurality of branched pipes, by controlling the
valve.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a U.S. national stage application of
PCT/JP2014/005692 filed on Nov. 12, 2014, and is based on U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 14/168,050 filed on Jan. 30, 2014, the
contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to an air-conditioning
apparatus of steam compression type in which a first unit (disposed
at a heat source side) and a plurality of second units (disposed at
a use side) are connected via a branching unit. In particular, the
present invention relates to an air-conditioning apparatus that can
appropriately determine whether setting of connection information
indicating relations of connections between the second unit and a
plurality of branched pipes is correct and an air-conditioning
system including the same.
BACKGROUND
[0003] In an air-conditioning apparatus configured by connecting a
plurality of second units to at least one or more first units by
pipes, connection information indicating the relation of connection
between the second units and the branched pipes is usually set
manually by workers upon the construction work on the installation
location of the apparatus. Since the connection of pipes for the
second units and the setting of connection information are
independently performed, construction errors may occur in which the
correspondence relation between a pipe to which the second unit is
connected (connected pipe) and a pipe set as connection information
(setting pipe) do not agree to one another (there is an incorrect
correspondence relation).
[0004] Where there is an incorrect correspondence relation, it is
not possible to normally perform indoor temperature conditioning in
the second units, and customer complaints may occur after the
product is delivered to the user.
[0005] Therefore, technologies have conventionally been developed
that automatically detect disagreements in the correspondence
relations between the connected pipes and the setting pipes (see,
for example, Patent Literatures 1 and 2).
[0006] In the air-conditioning apparatus described in Patent
Literature 1, it is determined that an indoor heat exchanger is
functioning as a condenser where the refrigerant temperature within
the indoor heat exchanger of an indoor unit is higher than the
suction air temperature, and it is determined that the indoor heat
exchanger is functioning as an evaporator where the refrigerant
temperature is lower than the suction air temperature. The
apparatus is configured such that, where the indoor unit is
switched to a cooling or a heating operation, it is determined in
the indoor unit whether its connection with the corresponding
branching valve unit via a signal line is appropriate by
determining which of a condenser and an evaporator the indoor heat
exchanger of the indoor unit is functioning as.
[0007] Further, the air-conditioning apparatus disclosed in Patent
Literature 2 is such that in a splitting unit in which refrigerant
splitting for the indoor units is adjusted, by repeating multiple
times an operation in which a substantially half of solenoid valves
being open in the splitting unit is closed on the test run, and a
substantially half of solenoid valves having been closed is opened,
to thereby accurately detect correspondence relations between the
indoor units and the solenoid valves within the splitting unit in a
short time so that it is possible to accurately perform cooling and
heating operations of a desired indoor unit.
PATENT LITERATURE
[0008] [Patent Literature 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application
Publication No. 2002-013777 (see, for example, FIG. 2) [0009]
[Patent Literature 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application
Publication No. H09-21573 (see, for example, FIG. 3)
[0010] However, these conventional techniques do not give
consideration to presence or absence of a closed path setting error
in which a pipe to which no second unit is connected is included in
the connection information (in other words, such a closed path is
erroneously set as a setting pipe). Therefore, where a closed path
setting error is present and the opening/closing valve of a
connected pipe is forcibly switched, the number of second units
serving as evaporators or condensers becomes extremely small,
producing a possibility that the apparatus operation is stooped
during operation due to control for protection triggered when the
refrigerant pressure becomes extremely low or high. Further, since
there is always a second unit for which the opening/closing valve
is closed, the refrigerant temperature in the second unit does not
change even if the opening/closing valve is switched over, and it
is not possible to appropriately determine whether the connected
pipe and the setting pipe agree to one another.
SUMMARY
[0011] The present invention is made to overcome the above-stated
problems, and an object thereof is to obtain an air-conditioning
apparatus and an air-conditioning system in which the closed path
setting error is considered, and it is possible to appropriately
determine whether the connected pipes and the setting pipes agree
to one another without stop in the midway of the operation even in
the case where the closed path setting error is present.
[0012] The air-conditioning apparatus according to the present
invention comprises: a first unit including a compressor and a
first heat exchanger; a plurality of second units each including a
second heat exchanger and each being connected to the first unit
via a plurality of branched pipes; a plurality of valves configured
to open to permit refrigerant flows and close to not permit the
refrigerant flows; a storage unit configured to store connection
information indicating a relationship of connection between the
plurality of second units and the plurality of pipes; a closed path
pipe that is any of the plurality of branched pipes to which no
second unit is connected, and a control unit configured to detect
whether the closed path pipe is included in the connection
information.
[0013] According to the air-conditioning apparatus of the present
invention, since presence or absence of the closed path setting
error is determined, it is possible to find a second unit with a
closed path setting error in an early stage and an appropriate
measure can be taken.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the apparatus configuration
of the air-conditioning apparatus 100 in Embodiment 1 of the
present invention.
[0015] FIG. 2 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of the
air-conditioning apparatus 100 of Embodiment 1 of the present
invention.
[0016] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the unit control unit 101 of
the air-conditioning apparatus 100 of Embodiment 1 of the present
invention.
[0017] FIG. 4 shows example 1 of the setting error of a setting
pipe of the air-conditioning apparatus 100 of Embodiment 1 of the
present invention.
[0018] FIG. 5 is a first flowchart of a cooling operation setting
error detection operation of the air-conditioning apparatus 100 of
Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 6 is a table showing the flow of the correction of the
setting error of the setting pipe in example 1 of the
air-conditioning apparatus 100 of Embodiment 1 of the present
invention.
[0020] FIG. 7 is a second flowchart of a cooling operation setting
error detection operation of the air-conditioning apparatus 100 of
Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 8 is a table showing the flow of the correction of the
setting error of the setting pipe in example 2 of the
air-conditioning apparatus 100 of Embodiment 1 of the present
invention.
[0022] FIG. 9 is a table showing the flow of the correction of the
setting error of the setting pipe in example 3 of the
air-conditioning apparatus 100 of Embodiment 1 of the present
invention.
[0023] FIG. 10 shows example 4 of the setting error of a setting
pipe of the air-conditioning apparatus 100 of Embodiment 1 of the
present invention.
[0024] FIG. 11 is a table showing the flow of the correction of the
connection information in the case of the setting error of the
setting pipe in example 4 of the air-conditioning apparatus 100 of
Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0025] FIG. 12 is a first flowchart of a heating operation setting
error detection operation of the air-conditioning apparatus 100 of
Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0026] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the apparatus configuration and
wiring of the transmission line of the air-conditioning apparatus
200 of Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0027] Hereafter, embodiments of the present invention will be
described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is
not limited to the embodiments described hereafter. Further, there
may be cases where the relationships among sizes or scales of the
constituent elements may be different from actual ones in the
drawings mentioned below.
Embodiment 1
Configuration
[0028] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of apparatus configuration of
the air-conditioning apparatus 100 of Embodiment 1 of the present
invention.
[0029] This air-conditioning apparatus 100 is installed in a
large-scale trade establishment or an office building, etc., and
can perform cooling and heating concurrent operation by
individually processing a cooling instruction (cooling ON/OFF) or a
heating instruction (heating ON/OFF) selected in each of the second
units (use side units) 303a-303d and perform a refrigeration cycle
operation of a steam compression type.
[0030] In the air-conditioning apparatus 100, the first unit (heat
source side unit) 301 and the branching unit 302 are connected by a
high-pressure pipe 6 and a low-pressure pipe 24 that are
refrigerant pipes. Further, the second unit 303a is connected to
the branching unit 302 via a gas pipe 11a and a liquid pipe 15a,
which are refrigerant piping of the branching unit 302 connected to
the branching port 50a, and the branching port 51a for the
plurality of branched pipes of the branching unit 302.
[0031] The second units 303b, 303c, 303d, similarly to the second
unit 303a, are connected to the branching unit 302 via gas pipes
11b, 11c, 11d and liquid pipes 15b, 15c, 15d, which are refrigerant
pipes connected to the branching port 50b, 50c, 50d and the
branching ports 51b, 51c, 51d for the plurality of branched pipes,
of the branching unit 302.
[0032] The refrigerant used in the air-conditioning apparatus 100
is not limited in particular. For example, natural refrigerant such
as R410A, R32, HFO-1234yf, or hydrocarbon may be employed. Further,
an external controller 320 comprising a note PC or a tablet-type
terminal PC is provided. A below-stated controller controlling
device 121 is provided in the external controller 320.
[0033] In the branching unit 302, the branching port 50a and the
branching port 51a of the pipes are correctively referred to as a
connected pipe "a". This manner of reference similarly applies to
other branching ports of the pipes. The branching port 50b and
branching port 51b, the branching port 50c and branching port 51c,
the branching port 50d and the branching port 51d, the branching
port 50e and branching port 51e, the branching port 50f and
branching port 51f, are referred respectively to as piping, or
(connected) pipes, "b", "c", "d", "e" and "f".
[0034] For the second units 303a-303d, in order to detect which of
the connected pipes each of the second units is connected, "setting
pipe", which is information showing the relationship of connection
between each of the connected pipes second unit and each of the
second units, is set upon the installation construction of the
apparatus. The setting pipe is stored in an external storage unit
(storage means) that will be described later. The connection
information is stored in a unit storage unit that will be described
below. Since the second unit 303a is connected to the pipe "a", the
setting pipe set in the connection information is set as <a>.
The second units 303b, 303c, 303d are similarly connected
respectively to (connected) pipes "b", "c" and "d", and therefore
setting pipes are referred respectively to as <b>, <c>
and <d>.
[0035] In Embodiment 1, each of the branching ports 50a-50f for a
plurality of branched pipes is provided with corresponding one of
stop valves 54a-54f manually opened and closed by a worker upon the
construction work, and similarly, each of the branching ports
51a-51f for a plurality of branched pipes is provided with,
corresponding one of stop valves 55a-55f manually opened and closed
by a worker upon construction work. The stop valves 54a-54f and the
stop valves 55a-55f are closed before the construction work. Upon
the construction work, when the second units 303a-303d and the
branching unit 302 are connected by gas pipes 11a-11d and the
liquid pipes 15a-15d, the stop valves 54a-54f are manually closed
by the worker. Therefore, the stop valve is always open at the
branching ports 50a-50f and branching ports 51a-51f to which the
refrigerant piping (the gas pipe 11a-11d and the liquid pipes
15a-15d) is connected, while the stop valve is always closed at the
branching ports 50a-50f and the branching ports 51a-51f to which no
refrigerant pipe is connected.
<First Unit 301>
[0036] FIG. 2 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of the
air-conditioning apparatus 100 of Embodiment 1 of the present
invention.
[0037] The first unit 301 comprises a compressor 1, a four way
valve 2, a first heat exchanger 3, a first fan 4, a check valve
bridge comprising four check valves (a check valve 5, a check valve
25, a check valve 26, and a check valve 28), an accumulator 30, a
high-pressure pipe 6, a low-pressure pipe 24, a pipe 27 and a pipe
29.
[0038] The compressor 1 suctions a refrigerant, compresses it into
a high-temperature, high-pressure state, and has a variable
operation capacity. The four way valve 2 is a flow path change-over
mechanism to switch the direction of flow of the refrigerant, and
has first to fourth ports. The first port is connected to the
discharge side of the compressor 1, the second port is connected to
the first heat exchanger 3, the third port is connected to the
suction side of the compressor 1 and the fourth port is connected
to the low-pressure pipe 24.
[0039] The four way valve 2 is configured to be switchable between
a state in which the third port and the fourth port communicate
with each other while at the same time the first port and the
second port communicate with each other (the state in which the
continuous line within the four way valve 2 communicates), and the
state in which the second port and the third port communicate with
each other while at the same time the first port and the fourth
port communicate with each other (the state in which the broken
lines within the four way valve 2 communicate).
[0040] The first heat exchanger 3 is, for example, a fin-and-tube
heat exchanger of cross-fin type comprising a heat-transfer pipe
and a plurality of fins, exchanges heat between the outdoor air and
the refrigerant, and exhausts heat. The first fan 4 is configured
to have a variable rotation speed, and supplies air to the first
heat exchanger 3, and comprises a propeller fan or the like. The
check valve bridge restricts the direction of flow of the
refrigerant. The accumulator 30 has a function to accumulate
refrigerant excessive for operation, and a function to prevent a
lot of liquid refrigerant from entering the compressor 1 by
retaining the liquid refrigerant that is temporarily generated when
the operational state changes.
[0041] The first unit 301 includes a pressure sensor 201 in the
discharge side of the compressor 1, and a pressure sensor 212
provided in the suction side of the compressor 1 to measure the
refrigerant pressure at the installation location thereof. Further,
a temperature sensor 202 is provided in the liquid side of the
first heat exchanger 3, and measures the refrigerant temperature at
the installation location. A temperature sensor 203 is provided in
the air inlet, and measures the outdoor air temperature to serve as
an outdoor air temperature detector.
<Branching Unit 302>
[0042] The branching unit 302 comprises branching ports 50a-50f for
a plurality of branched pipes, branching ports 51a-51f for a
plurality of branched pipes, a gas-liquid separator 7,
opening/closing valves (opening/closing valves) 9a-9f,
opening/closing valves (opening/closing valves) 10a-10f, check
valves 16a-16f, check valves 17a-17f, stop valves 54a-54f, stop
valves 55a-55f, a supercooling heat exchanger 19, a supercooling
heat exchanger 21, a pressure-reducing mechanism 20, a
pressure-reducing mechanism 22, a pipe 8, a pipe 18 and a pipe
23.
[0043] The gas-liquid separator 7 is for flowing a gas refrigerant
to the pipe 8 and the liquid refrigerant to the pipe 18 by
separating the refrigerant having entered the high-pressure pipe 6
into a part of a liquid refrigerant and a part of a gas
refrigerant. The opening/closing valves 9a-9f and the
opening/closing valves 10a-10f are for controlling the flow of the
refrigerant by alternatively opening and closing these valves
according to the operations of the second units 303a-303d. The
check valves 16a-16f and the check valves 17a-17f are for
restricting the direction of flow of the refrigerant.
[0044] The supercooling heat exchanger 19 and the supercooling heat
exchanger 21 are for exchanging heat between the high-pressure
refrigerant and the low-pressure refrigerant. The pressure-reducing
mechanisms 20 and the pressure-reducing mechanism 22 are for
controlling the fluid delivery rate of the refrigerant by variably
setting the opening degree thereof.
[0045] In the branching unit 302, the pressure sensor 204 is
provided between the pressure-reducing mechanisms 20 and the
supercooling heat exchanger 19, the pressure sensor 205 is provided
between the pressure-reducing mechanisms 20 and the supercooling
heat exchanger 21, and they measure the refrigerant pressure at the
installation locations. A temperature sensor 206 is provided at the
high-pressure liquid side of the supercooling heat exchanger 21,
the temperature sensor 210 is provided at the low-pressure inlet of
the supercooling heat exchanger 21, and the temperature sensor 211
is provided at the low-pressure outlet of the supercooling heat
exchanger 19, and measures the refrigerant temperature at the
installation locations thereof.
<-Second Units 303a-303d>
[0046] The second units 303a-303d comprise use side
pressure-reducing mechanisms 14a-14d, second heat exchangers
12a-12d, and second fans 13a-13d. The use side pressure-reducing
mechanisms 14a-14d are for controlling the flow rate of the
refrigerant by variably setting the opening degree thereof. The
second heat exchangers 12a-12d are, for example, fin-and-tube heat
exchangers of cross-fin type, each comprising a heat-transfer pipe
and a plurality of fins, and exchange heat between the indoor air
and the refrigerant. The second fans 13a-13d have variable rotation
speeds, and supplies air to the second heat exchangers 12a-12d, and
comprise a propeller fan or the like.
[0047] The second units 303a-303d are provided with temperature
sensors 207a-207d in the liquid sides of the second heat exchangers
12a-12d, and temperature sensors 208a-208d in the gas sides of the
second heat exchangers 12a-12b, which detect the refrigerant
temperature at the installation locations thereof. Further,
temperature sensors 209a-209d are provided in the air inlet, and
measure the air temperatures at the installation locations
thereof.
<Unit Control Unit 101, Controller Controlling Device
121>
[0048] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the unit control unit 101 of
the air-conditioning apparatus 100 of Embodiment 1 of the present
invention. In the first unit 301, for example, a unit control unit
101 comprising a microcomputer is provided. In the external
controller 320, for example, a controller controlling device 121
implemented by S/W is provided. In the unit control unit 101, a
measuring unit 102, a computation unit 103, a control section 104,
a unit communication unit 105, and a unit storage unit 106 are
provided. In the unit control unit 101, each amount detected by
each temperature sensor and each pressure sensor is input to the
measuring unit 102, and an operation to determine various control
actions such as calculating the saturation temperature at the
detection pressure is performed by the computation unit 103 based
on the input information, and each device such as the compressor 1
and the first fan 4 is controlled by the control section 104.
[0049] Further, the unit communication unit 105 is provided, into
which communications data information is entered by means of
communications including telephone line, LAN or wireless
communication, and outputs the information to the outside. In the
unit communication unit 105, cooling instruction (cooling ON/OFF),
or heating instruction (heating ON/OFF) output by the use side
remote control (not shown) are input to the unit control unit 101
by communication, or measured values of the measuring unit 102 or
the device control value of the controller controlling device 121
is communicated. The unit storage unit 106 comprises a
semiconductor memory or the like, and stores setting value used for
normal operation.
[0050] In the controller controlling device 121 is provided an
input unit 122, an external communication unit 123, an external
storage unit 124, a special control unit 125, a determination unit
126 and a display screen 127.
[0051] On the input unit 122, the start of setting pipe setting
error detection operation is input by a worker. Here, the setting
pipe setting error detection operation refers to an operation to
forcibly operate (forcibly switch) an opening/closing valve to
determine whether the pipe connected to a second unit (connected
pipe) and the setting pipe (set in the connection information)
agree to one another, and detect, if any, point where the any of
the connected pipes and the any of the setting pipes disagree.
Forcibly operating refers to controlling to open or close the
opening/closing valve irrespective of the operating state or the
setting of the air-conditioning apparatus 100. The external
communication unit 123 can receive input of communication data
information and output the information to the outside by means of
communications such as telephone line, LAN, or wireless
communication. The external communication unit 123 transmits
information input to the input unit 122 or control values of the
opening/closing valves upon the setting pipe setting error
detection operation to the unit communication unit 105, and
receives operation data such as pressure or temperature from the
unit communication unit 105.
[0052] The external storage unit 124 comprises a semiconductor
memory or the like, and stores control setting values of each
device upon the setting pipe setting error detection operation. The
special control unit 125 performs computation of control values of
each device upon the setting pipe setting error detection
operation. The determination unit 126 determines whether the
connected pipes and the setting pipes agree. The display screen 127
comprises a display unit such as a liquid crystal display unit
installed in the external controller 320, and displays the result
of the setting pipe setting error detection operation or the
operational state of the air-conditioning apparatus 100.
[0053] The detection temperature of the temperature sensor, the
detection pressure at the pressure sensor measured by the measuring
unit 102 or the saturation temperature of the detection pressure of
the pressure sensor computed by the computation unit 103 and the
detection pressure of the pressure sensor are transmitted from the
unit communication unit 105, and received by the external
communication unit 123.
[0054] Further, in Embodiment 1, although the air-conditioning
apparatus 100 includes "a controller controlling device 121 that
includes an external storage unit 124 and a determination unit 126"
corresponding to the "storage unit and the controller" of the
present invention, the present invention may be configured as an
air-conditioning system comprising, as a separate unit from the
air-conditioning apparatus 100, such elements.
<Normal Operation Modes>
[0055] The air-conditioning apparatus 100 performs control of each
device installed in the first unit 301 and the second units
303a-303d according to air-conditioning instructions requested by
the second units 303a-303d. The air-conditioning apparatus 100, for
example, can start cooling only operation mode by the cooling
instruction on the second units 303a-303d, or heating only
operation modes by the heating instruction.
[0056] In the cooling only operation mode, the apparatus is in a
state as shown in FIG. 2, that is, the continuous lines within the
four way valve 2 communicate, in other words, the apparatus is in a
state in which the discharge side of the compressor 1 is connected
to the gas side of the first heat exchanger 3, and the suction side
of the compressor 1 is connected to the low-pressure pipe 24 via
the check valve 25. Further, the pressure-reducing mechanism 20 is
in the full-open opening degree. All of the second units 303a-303d
are turned to be cooling ON, the opening/closing valves 9a-9d are
open, and the opening/closing valves 10a-10d are closed.
[0057] The opening/closing valves 9e-9f and the opening/closing
valves 10e-10f are closed since no second unit is connected to the
branching port for the piping.
[0058] The high-temperature, high-pressure gas refrigerant
discharged from the compressor 1 is sent to the first heat
exchanger 3 via the four way valve 2, and transfers heat to the
outdoor air blown by the first fan 4. Thereafter, the refrigerant
passes through the high-pressure pipe 6 by way of the check valve
5, is sent to the gas-liquid separator 7 and enters the
high-pressure side supercooling heat exchanger 19 by way of the
pipe 18. The refrigerant having entered the supercooling heat
exchanger 19 is cooled by the low-pressure refrigerant, and after
passing through the pressure-reducing mechanisms 20, enters the
high-pressure side of the supercooling heat exchanger 21, and is
cooled by the low-pressure refrigerant. Thereafter, the refrigerant
is distributed to the refrigerant flowing through the
pressure-reducing mechanism 22, or check valves 17a-17d.
[0059] The refrigerant having entered the pressure-reducing
mechanism 22 is subjected pressure reduction to become a
low-pressure two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant, enters the
low-pressure side of the supercooling heat exchanger 21, and is
heated by the high-pressure refrigerant, and thereafter, enters the
low-pressure side of the supercooling heat exchanger 19 to be
heated again by the high-pressure refrigerant. Thereafter, the
refrigerant passes through the pipe 23 and merges with the
refrigerant having flowed through the check valves 17a-17d and the
opening/closing valves 9a-9d.
[0060] The pressure-reducing mechanism 22 is controlled by the
control section 104 shown in FIG. 3 so that degree of superheat at
the low-pressure side outlet of the supercooling heat exchanger 19
becomes a predetermined value.
[0061] The degree of superheat at the low-pressure side outlet of
the supercooling heat exchanger 19, is obtained by subtracting the
detection temperature of the temperature sensor 210 from the
detection temperature of the temperature sensor 211. On the other
hand, the refrigerant having entered the check valves 17a-17d,
passes through the branching ports 51a-51d and the liquid pipes
15a-15d and subjected to pressure reduction at the use side
pressure-reducing mechanisms 14a-14d to become low-pressure, two
phase refrigerant, cools the indoor air in the second heat
exchangers 12a-12d delivered by the second fans 13a-13d to become
the low-pressure gas refrigerant. Thereafter, the refrigerant
passes through the gas pipes 11a-11d, the branching port 50a-50d,
and the opening/closing valves 9a-9d, and merges with the
refrigerant having flowed to the pressure-reducing mechanism
22.
[0062] In the use side pressure-reducing mechanisms 14a-14d, the
degrees of superheat at the second heat exchangers 12a-12d are
controlled by the control section 104 shown in FIG. 3 to be a
predetermined degree. The degree of superheat at second heat
exchangers 12a-12b is obtained by subtracting the detection
temperature of the temperature sensors 207a-207d from the detection
temperatures of the temperature sensors 208a-208d.
[0063] Thereafter, the refrigerant having merged passes through the
accumulator 30 by way of the low-pressure pipe 24, the check valve
25 and the four way valve 2, and is suctioned by the compressor 1
again. The operation frequency of the compressor 1 is controlled by
the control section 104 shown in FIG. 3 so that the evaporating
temperature becomes a predetermined value (for example, 0 degrees
C.). The evaporating temperature is a saturation temperature at the
detection pressure of the pressure sensor 212. The rotation speed
of the first fan 40 is controlled by the control section 104 so
that the condensing temperature becomes a predetermined value (for
example, 40 degrees C.). The condensing temperature is a saturation
temperature at the detection pressure of the pressure sensor
201.
[0064] Next, the heating only operation mode will be described. In
the heating only operation mode, the state shown in FIG. 2 is
achieved in which the broken lines within the four way valve 2
communicate with each other, in other words, the state is achieved
in which the discharge side of the compressor 1 is connected to the
high-pressure pipe 6 by way of the check valve 26, and the suction
side of the compressor 1 is connected to the gas side of the first
heat exchanger 3. The pressure-reducing mechanisms 20 is set at a
full-close opening degree. All of the second units 303a-303d is set
to heating ON, and the opening/closing valves 9a-9d are closed, and
the opening/closing valves 10a-10d are open.
[0065] The opening/closing valves 9e-9f and the solenoid valve
10e-10f are closed since no second unit is connected to the
branching port (for the piping).
[0066] The high-temperature, high-pressure gas refrigerant
discharged from the compressor 1, after passing the high-pressure
pipe 6 by way of the four way valve 2 and the check valve 26,
enters the gas-liquid separator 7. The refrigerant thereafter
passes through the pipe 8 and the opening/closing valves 10a-10d,
flows in the gas pipes 11a-11d, and thereafter, enters the second
heat exchangers 12a-12d. The refrigerant in the second heat
exchangers 12a-12d heats the indoor air delivered by the second
fans 13a-13d and becomes a high pressure liquid refrigerant. The
refrigerant is thereafter subjected to pressure reduction at the
use side pressure-reducing mechanisms 14a-14d, passes through the
liquid pipes 15a-15d, check valves 16a-16d and flows in the
high-pressure side of the supercooling heat exchanger 21, and
thereafter is subjected to pressure reduction at the
pressure-reducing mechanism 22 to become a medium-pressure
two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant.
[0067] The use side pressure-reducing mechanisms 14a-14d are
controlled so that the degrees of supercooling at the second heat
exchangers 12a-12d become predetermined values. The degrees of
supercooling at the second heat exchangers 12a-12d are computed by
subtracting the temperature detected by the temperature sensors
207a-207d (corresponding to supercooling degree detector in the
claims) from the saturation temperature at the pressure detected by
the pressure sensor 204 (corresponding to the supercooling degree
detector in the claims). The pressure-reducing mechanism 22 is
controlled by the control section 104 to such an opening degree
that the medium pressure difference becomes a predetermined value.
The medium pressure difference is obtained by subtracting the
pressure detected by the pressure sensor 205 from the pressure
detected by the pressure sensor 204.
[0068] The refrigerant thereafter enters the low-pressure side of
the supercooling heat exchanger 21, is heated by the high-pressure
refrigerant, and enters the low-pressure pipe 24 via the
supercooling heat exchanger 19 and the pipe 23. The refrigerant
having entered the first heat exchanger 3 by way of the check valve
28 receives heat from the outdoor air delivered by the first fan 4
and becomes low-pressure gas refrigerant. The refrigerant
thereafter passes through the four way valve 2 and passes the
accumulator 30 and then is suctioned by the compressor 1 again. The
operation frequency of the compressor 1 is controlled by the
control section 104 shown in FIG. 3 so that the condensing
temperature becomes a predetermined value (for example, 50 degrees
C.). The rotation speed of the first fan 4 is controlled by the
control section 104 so that the evaporating temperature becomes a
predetermined value (for example, 0 degrees C.).
[0069] The opening/closing valve 9a and the opening/closing valve
10a are referred correctively as the opening/closing valve (a) of
the connected pipe "a". Similarly, the opening/closing valves 9b-9f
and the opening/closing valves 10b-10f are referred to correctly as
the opening/closing valves b-f of the connected pipes "b"-"f".
<Branching Port Setting Error Detection Operation>
[0070] In Embodiment 1, it is assumed that the technique of the
present application is used in the manner described below. Upon the
installation construction of the air-conditioning apparatus at the
installation location, the worker connects the first unit 301, the
branching unit 302, the second units 303a-303d by the high-pressure
pipe 6, the low-pressure pipe 24, the gas pipes 11a-11d and the
liquid pipes 15a-15d. Then, stop valves 54a-54d of the branching
ports 50a-50d and stop valves 55a-55d of the branching ports
51a-51d to which the refrigerant piping (the gas pipes 11a-11d and
the liquid pipes 15a-15d) is connected, are opened (a stop valve of
any of the branching ports to which no refrigerant piping is
connected remains closed). Thereafter, it is set as each of the
setting pipes <a>-<f> which one of the connected pipes
"a"-"f" of the branching unit 302 each of the second units
303a-303d is connected.
[0071] Here, the connection to the pipes "a"-"f" of the second
units 303a-303d (connecting to the gas pipes 11a-11d and liquid
pipes 15a-15d) and setting of the setting pipes <a>-<f>
are performed individually, there may be cases where there is
disagreement in correspondence relations between the connected
pipes and the setting pipes due to setting error of the setting
pipe caused by errors in the work. In the refrigerant circuit
diagram of FIG. 2, it is determined which of the opening/closing
valves 9a-9f and the opening/closing valves 10a-10f the target of
operation will be is determined based on the setting pipes
<a>-<f>, and therefore it becomes difficult to perform
normal interior temperature conditioning where there is
disagreement in correspondence relations.
[0072] In the present application, the setting error of the setting
pipe is distinguished into a closed path setting error and an open
path setting error.
[0073] The closed path setting error refers to erroneously setting,
as a setting pipe, a closed path pipe that is a pipe to which no
second unit 303a-303d is connected (or including such a pipe in the
connection information), and a setting error in which, for example
in the refrigerant circuit diagram of FIG. 2, although the second
unit 303a is connected to the connected pipe "a", the setting pipe
is <f> (although no connected pipe "f" is connected to any of
the second units). In this case, when the second unit 303a is
activated to cooling ON or heating ON from the stopped state, the
opening/closing valve 9f or the opening/closing valve 10f is open,
and the opening/closing valve 9a and the opening/closing valve 10a
remain closed. Therefore, the refrigerant does not flow to the
second unit 303a.
[0074] Since no refrigerant pipe is connected to the branching port
50f and the branching port 51f, and the stop valve is always
closed, the refrigerant does not flow even when the opening/closing
valve 10f is opened. Where the construction is completed in
unawareness of a setting error of a setting pipe, and usage is
started, indoor temperature conditioning by the second unit 303a
cannot be performed appropriately, which is the cause of the
subsequent user complaint.
[0075] On the other hand, the open path setting error refers to
erroneously setting, as a setting pipe, an open pipe (branching
port) to which other one of the second units 303 is connected. This
setting is a setting error in which, in the refrigerant circuit
diagram of FIG. 2, for example, although the second unit 303a is
connected to the connected pipe "a", the setting pipe is set to
<c> (the connected pipe "c" is actually connected to another
second unit). Also in this case, if the second unit 303a set to the
setting pipe <c> is stopped when the second unit 303c is
activated to cooling ON or heating ON from the stopped state, the
refrigerant does not flow to the second unit 303c since the
opening/closing valve 9c and the opening/closing valve 10c remain
closed. Therefore, when the construction is completed in
unawareness of the open path setting error, and the use is started,
indoor temperature conditioning of the second unit 303c cannot be
performed appropriately, which is the cause of the subsequent user
complaint.
[0076] Then, upon completion of the installation construction, a
setting pipe setting error detection operation to detect points
where there is disagreement in correspondence relations between the
connected pipes and the setting pipes is performed as a test run to
avoid the above-mentioned a state. There have conventionally been
attempts to detect disagreement of correspondence relations between
the connected pipes and the setting pipes. For example, a method is
disclosed in Patent Literature 1 in which the second units
303a-303d are changed over to a cooling or a heating operation to
determine whether the correspondence relations between the
connected pipes and the setting pipes agree on the basis of a
change in a temperature relation between the suction temperature
and the detection temperature.
[0077] FIG. 4 shows example 1 of the setting error of a setting
pipe of the air-conditioning apparatus 100 of Embodiment 1 of the
present invention.
[0078] With example 1 of the setting error of a setting pipe as
shown in FIG. 4, where the correspondence relation is searched with
all the second units 303a-303d being set to cooling ON, there are
the closed path setting errors in the second unit 303a and the
second unit 303b. Further, since there is no second unit 303 set to
the setting pipe <a> or the setting pipe <b>, the
refrigerant does not flow to the second unit 303a and the second
unit 303b. Furthermore, when the second unit 303c is turned to
heating ON in this state, the refrigerant flow in the second unit
303d is that of heating, and the second heat exchanger 12d serves
as a condenser in which it rejects heat from the refrigerant.
[0079] As a result, only the second heat exchanger 12c serves as an
evaporator that absorbs heat from the refrigerant, and when the
heat exchange capacity of the second heat exchanger 12c is small,
the low-pressure side pressure of the refrigerant becomes extremely
low, in which case there is a possibility that the detection
operation is stopped in the midway thereof. As described above, in
order to automatically detect points of setting error without the
stop in the midway of the operation, it is necessary to distinguish
the closed path setting error and the open path setting error from
each other to detect the disagreement of correspondence relations
between the connected pipes and the setting pipes.
[0080] After completion of the installation construction, the
worker inputs start of the setting pipe setting error detection
operation from the input unit 122 of the external controller 320.
The setting error detection operation includes the following two.
One is the cooling operation setting error detection operation, the
other is a heating setting pipe setting error detection operation.
Then, it is determined which one of the operations runs depending
on the outdoor air temperature upon the start of the setting error
detection operation.
[0081] For example, where the outdoor air temperature is 10 degrees
C. (preset value) or higher, the cooling operation setting error
detection operation runs, while the heating setting pipe setting
error detection operation runs if the outdoor air temperature is
lower than 10 degrees C. (preset value). Where the cooling
operation setting error detection operation is performed when the
outdoor air temperature is low, the high-pressure side pressure
becomes extremely low, and the low-pressure side pressure also
extremely reduces. Therefore, there is a possibility that the
operation stops in the midway thereof.
[0082] Conversely, where the heating setting pipe setting error
detection operation is performed when the outdoor air temperature
is high, the low-pressure side pressure becomes extremely high, and
the high-pressure side pressure also becomes extremely high, so
that there is a possibility that the operation stops in the midway
thereof. By selectively using the cooling operation setting error
detection operation and the heating setting pipe setting error
detection operation depending on the outdoor air temperature, it is
possible to perform the setting pipe setting error detection
operation in a wide range of the environmental temperature.
Hereafter, each of the detection operations will be described.
<Cooling Setting Pipe Setting Error Detection Operation>
[0083] FIG. 5 is a first flowchart showing the cooling operation
setting error detection operation of the air-conditioning apparatus
100 of Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a table
showing the flow of the correction of the setting error of the
setting pipes in example 1 of the setting error of the setting pipe
on the air-conditioning apparatus 100 of example of Embodiment 1 of
the present invention.
[0084] First, the cooling operation setting error detection
operation will be described with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG.
6.
[0085] In the following descriptions, it is assumed that the number
of connected pipes and the number of the setting pipes correspond
to one another.
[0086] When the cooling operation setting error detection operation
is started, all the second units 303a-303d are set to cooling ON in
step S1, and the cooling only operation mode is started. After
continuation of the operation for a predetermined time period (for
example, 10 minutes), presence or absence of the closed path
setting error is determined in step S2.
[0087] The presence or absence of the closed path setting error of
the closed path is determined by the determination unit 126 based
on the relation between the detection temperature TICI of the
temperature sensors 207a-207d, and the detection temperature Tai of
the temperature sensors 209a-209d. Where the opening/closing valves
9a-9d are opened, and cool, low-pressure, two phase refrigerant
flows to the second units 303a-303d, detection temperature TICI of
the temperature sensor 207a that is the piping temperature of the
liquid sides of the second heat exchangers 12a-12d becomes lower
than the detection temperature Tai of the temperature sensors
209a-209d that are the indoor air temperatures (TICI<Tai).
[0088] Therefore, where TICI<Tai in all the second units
303a-303d, it is determined that a low temperature refrigerant is
flowing in all the second units 303a-303d, and it is determined by
the determination unit 126 the closed path setting error is absent.
If any second unit where TICI greater than or equal to Tai, it is
determined there is a second unit 303 in which low temperature
refrigerant does not flow, it is determined by the determination
unit 126 that there is a closed path setting error.
[0089] There may be cases where detection temperature TICI<Tai
depending on the installation location or errors in measurement,
even when low temperature refrigerant is not flowing therein.
Therefore, detection temperature Tai that is the indoor air
temperature may be corrected to Tai' (for example, by 2 degrees C.
as Tai'=Tai-2 degrees C.) and the low temperature refrigerant is
flowing when TICI<Tar, and it may be determined that low
temperature refrigerant is not flowing where TICI greater than or
equal to Tai'. With this configuration, it is possible to
accurately detect presence or absence of the flow of the low
temperature refrigerant.
[0090] With the case of example 1 of setting error of a setting
pipe as shown in FIG. 4, although TICI<Tai in step S2 in second
unit 303c and second unit 303d, TICI greater than or equal to Tai
establishes in the second unit 303a and second unit 303b.
Therefore, it is determined that there is a closed path setting
error, and the first search is performed in which closed path pipe
that is erroneously set in step S3 is searched. The reason for
determining in step S2 that there is a closed path setting error in
the second unit 303a and second unit 303b is that the
opening/closing valve 9a and the opening/closing valve 9b of the
connected pipe to which the second unit 303a and the second unit
303b are connected do not open since the setting pipe <a> or
the setting pipe <b> is not set, in either of the second
units 303a-303d.
[0091] Based on this, the opening/closing valve of a pipe that is
not set to any of the second units 303a-303d are forcibly operated.
With the case of FIG. 4, since the pipes "a" and "b" are not set,
these two opening/closing valves are forcibly operated sequentially
one by one by the special control unit 125. That is, the
opening/closing valve (a) of the connected pipe "a" is set as the
cooling flow path, and it is determined by the determination unit
126 whether there is a flow of low temperature refrigerant
(TICI<Tai) in the second unit 303a and the second unit 303b.
[0092] Since the flow of low temperature refrigerant is present in
the second unit 303a, it is understood that the second unit 303a is
connected to the connected pipe "a". Next, the opening/closing
valve (b) of the piping connected pipe "b" is forcibly turned to
the cooling flow path, and it is determined in the second unit 303b
whether there is a flow of low temperature refrigerant. Then the
flow of low temperature refrigerant is determined to be present in
the second unit 303b, and therefore it is understood that the
second unit 303b is connected to the connected pipe "b". After the
completion of determination, the forcibly operated state of the
opening/closing valve is removed (the opening/closing state of the
opening/closing valve before the forcible operation is restored,
and the process proceeds to step S4.
[0093] For the opening/closing valve (a) of the pipe "a" for which
determination is terminated before the forcible operation of the
opening/closing valve b, the forcibly operated state may be removed
(the refrigerant path is set back to the stop flow path from the
cooling flow path), or may not be removed (the refrigerant path
remains in the cooling flow path). In the manner as described
above, first search is performed.
[0094] In FIG. 4 of Embodiment 1, although the number of closed
path pipe is same as that of second unit in which closed path
setting error is present, the present technique is not limited to
this case.
[0095] For example, the number of the branching ports for the
branched pipes of the branching unit 302 may be 8, the number of
the closed path pipe may be 4, and the number of the second units
with a closed path setting error may be 2. In this case, since the
number of the closed path pipe is greater than the number of the
second units with closed path setting error, there may be cases
where a low temperature refrigerant flow is determined to be absent
in a second unit with a closed path setting error even when the
opening/closing valve is forcibly operated. Further, forcible
operation from the special control unit 125 is communicated from
the external communication unit 123 to the unit communication unit
105. Further, the result of determination by the determination unit
126 is stored in the external storage unit 124.
[0096] Thereafter, correction of connection information is
performed in step S4. First, the point where closed path setting
error is present, that is, the point where the connected pipes and
the setting pipes disagree in second unit (second unit with the
setting error and the correct connected pipe of the second unit) is
displayed on the display screen 127 (display points with closed
path setting errors). The worker then confirms the display content
and corrects by the input unit 122 the point where the setting
error of the setting pipe is present from the state in the start of
the detection operation to the state after the correction of
connection information as shown in FIG. 6 (correction of points of
closed path setting errors).
[0097] That is, the setting pipe of the second unit 303a is reset
to <a>, the setting pipe of the second unit 303b is reset to
<b>. Thereafter, completion of points of setting error is
input to the input unit 122. After continuation of operation for a
predetermined time, presence or absence of the closed path setting
error is determined again in step S2. By the correction, it is
determined that low temperature refrigerant is flowing in all the
second units 303a-303d, and there is no closed path setting error.
Here, in step S2, the reason why it is determined there is no
closed path setting error for any of the second units 303a-303d is
because each of all the connected pipe to which a second unit
303a-303d is connected is set for any of the setting pipe of the
second units 303a-303d.
[0098] In this way, in the air-conditioning apparatus 100, since
presence or absence of the closed path setting error is determined,
a second unit 303a with a closed path setting error can be detected
in an early stage, and the worker can appropriately respond to
presence or absence of the closed path setting error.
[0099] In the correction of connection information in Embodiment 1
(S4), the worker performs the correction. However, the special
control unit 125 may automatically correct the point where the
setting error of a setting pipe is present, on the basis of the
result of the first search (S3). This can reduce the load of the
construction work for the worker, as well as making it possible to
suppress mistakes in re-setting, and it becomes possible to finish
the construction work in an early stage and achieve an accurate
construction work.
[0100] Next, the process proceeds to step S5 and second search in
which erroneously set open branching port is searched is
performed.
[0101] In the second search, all the connected pipes that are set
as the setting branching port of the second units 303a-303d are the
target of the forcible operation.
[0102] Here, the setting pipes of the second unit 303a and the
second unit 303b are supposed to be appropriately corrected in step
S4, and these could have been omitted from the target of forcible
operation. However, since there may be cases where the worker may
commit a setting error in the correction work in step S4, all the
connected pipes that are set as the setting branching of the port
second units 303a-303d are the targets of the forcible operation in
the second search. Then, since according to "after correction of
connection information" in FIG. 6, connected pipes "a", "b", "c",
and "d" are set, the four opening/closing valves are forcibly
operated sequentially one by one from the special control unit
125.
[0103] However, as will be described later, in the case where the
number of the connected pipes and the setting pipes disagree, all
the pipes of the plurality of branched pipes are the target of
forcible operation.
[0104] In the second search, opening/closing valve of a connected
pipe that is the operation target is forcibly operated from the
state of the cooling flow path (opening/closing valve 9 is open,
the opening/closing valve 10 is closed) to the heating flow path
(the opening/closing valve 9 is closed, and the opening/closing
valve 10 is open).
[0105] For example, when the opening/closing valve (a) is set to
the state of the cooling flow path to the heating flow path, the
refrigerant flow changes in the following manner from that of the
cooling only operation mode. The high-temperature, high-pressure
gas refrigerant discharged from the compressor 1 passes through the
four way valve 2 to flow in the gas-liquid separator 7, is split
into the refrigerant flowing in the pipe 18 and the refrigerant
flowing in the pipe 8. The refrigerant having flowed in the pipe 18
is cooled by the low-pressure refrigerant in the high-pressure side
of the supercooling heat exchanger 19, and after passage of the
pressure-reducing mechanisms 20, merges with the refrigerant having
flowed in the pipe 8.
[0106] On the other hand, the refrigerant having flowed in the pipe
8 passes through the opening/closing valve 9a, and the gas pipe
11a, and transfers heat to the indoor air delivered by the second
fans 13a at the second heat exchanger 12a, and becomes a high
pressure liquid refrigerant. Thereafter, the refrigerant is
subjected to pressure reduction at the use side pressure-reducing
mechanisms 14a, and after passage of the check valve 16a, merges
with the refrigerant having flowed in the pipe 18. After the merge,
the refrigerant enters the high-pressure side of the supercooling
heat exchanger 21, and is cooled by the low-pressure refrigerant.
Thereafter, the refrigerant is distributed to the refrigerant
flowing in the pressure-reducing mechanism 22 or the check valves
17b-17d. The refrigerant having entered the check valves 17b-17d
passes through the branching ports 51b-51d and the liquid pipes
15b-15d, and is subjected to pressure reduction at the use side
pressure-reducing mechanisms 14b-14d to become a low-pressure, two
phase refrigerant, cools the indoor air at the second heat
exchangers 12b-12d to be low-pressure gas refrigerant. Thereafter,
the refrigerant, by way of the gas pipe 11b-11d, the branching
ports 50b-50d and the opening/closing valves 9b-9d, merges with the
refrigerant having flowed to the pressure-reducing mechanism 22.
Other refrigerant flows are same as those of the cooling only
operation mode.
[0107] By setting the opening/closing valve (a) for the heating
flow path, the warm gas refrigerant flows in the second unit 303a
in which before the forcible operation the cool two-phase
gas-liquid refrigerant was flowing after the forcible operation.
That is, when in the cooling flow path, detection temperature TICI
of the temperature sensor 207a that is the piping temperature at
the liquid side of the second heat exchanger second heat exchanger
12a is lower than the detection temperature Tai of the temperature
sensor 209a that is the indoor air temperature (TICI<Tai), it
becomes that TICI greater than or equal to Tai establishes after
the flow path has turned to the heating flow path, cools two-phase
gas-liquid refrigerant (low temperature refrigerant) is not flowing
therein.
[0108] In this way, a second unit in which TICI greater than or
equal to Tai establishes when the opening/closing valve is forcibly
operated is determined by the determination unit 126.
[0109] When the correspondence relation between the setting pipe of
the second unit in which TICI greater than or equal to Tai
establishes, and the connected pipe in which the opening/closing
valve is forcibly operated agree, it is determined by the
determination unit 126 that setting pipe appropriateness is
achieved (setting pipe is appropriately set) in the use side unit,
and if they do not agree, it is determined by the determination
unit 126 that there is an open path setting error. Here, since TICI
greater than or equal to Tai establishes in the second unit 303a
whose setting pipe is <a> when the opening/closing valve (a)
of the connected pipe "a" is operated, the setting pipe of the
second unit 303a is determined to be appropriate.
[0110] Furthermore, because when the opening/closing valve b for
the pipe "b" is operated, TICI greater than or equal to Tai
establishes for the second unit 303b for which setting pipe is "b",
the setting pipe of the second unit 303a is determined to be
appropriate.
[0111] On the other hand, after the forcibly operated state is
removed (the refrigerant path is set back to the cooling flow
path), when the opening/closing valve (c) of the pipe "c" is
forcibly operated to be the heating flow path, TICI greater than or
equal to Tai establishes in the second unit 303c for which the
setting pipe is <d>, not the second unit 303d for which the
setting pipe is <c>. Therefore, the second unit 303c is
determined to have an open path setting error, while it is possible
to confirm that the second unit 303c connected to the connected
pipe is "c".
[0112] With the above configuration, for the second unit 303a and
second unit 303b, setting pipe appropriateness is achieved, while
for the second unit 303c and second unit 303d, open path setting
error results.
[0113] Since there may be cases where detection temperature
TICI<Tai established due to the installation location or errors
in measurement, even when no low temperature refrigerant is flowing
therein, the detection temperature Tai that is the indoor air
temperature may be corrected to obtain Tai' (for example correction
by 2 degrees C. to achieve Tai'=Tai-2 degrees C.), and it is
determined that low temperature refrigerant is flowing therein
where TICI<Tar, while it may be determined that low temperature
refrigerant is not flowing when TICI greater than or equal to Tai'
establishes. With this configuration, it is possible to accurately
detect presence or absence of flow of low temperature
refrigerant.
[0114] When all the opening/closing valves of a connected pipe that
are the operation targets are operated, then in step S6 the
presence or absence of the open path setting error is determined.
Since there are open path setting errors in the second unit 303c
and the second unit 303d, the process proceeds to step S7. In step
S7, second search correction is performed. First, the point where a
setting error of the setting pipe is present, that is, the point
where the connected pipes and the setting pipes disagree in the use
side unit (the second unit is erroneously set as an open path pipe
and a pipe to which the second unit is actually connected), are
displayed on the display screen 127 (display points with closed
path setting errors). By confirming the display content, the worker
uses the input unit 122 to correct the point where setting error of
the setting pipe is present as shown in FIG. 6 from the state after
correction of connection information to the state after the second
search correction (correction of points of closed path setting
errors).
[0115] In the second search correction (S7) in Embodiment 1, the
worker performs correction. However, the special control unit 125
may automatically correct the point where the setting error of a
setting pipe is present, based on the result of the second search
(S5). This can reduce the load of the construction work for the
worker, as well as making it possible to suppress mistakes in
re-setting, and it becomes possible to finish the construction work
in an early stage and achieve an accurate construction work.
[0116] After the second search correction, the connected pipes and
the setting pipes agree in correspondence, and the state becomes
that where there is no setting error. Thereafter, operation is
continued for a predetermined time period, and it is determined
that there is no closed path setting error again in step S2.
Thereafter, second search is performed in step S5, and it is
determined that there is no open path setting error in step S6, and
the cooling operation setting error detection operation is
completed.
[0117] By performing the setting pipe setting error detection
operation in the manner as describe above, in example 1 of the
setting error of a setting pipe in which a closed path setting
error, in which a closed path pipe to which no second unit is
connected, is included in the connection information (the closed
path pipe is erroneously set to a setting pipe) even when there is
any closed path setting error, it is possible to appropriately
determine the correspondence relations between the connected pipes
and the setting pipes without hang.
[0118] That is, since it is possible to detect points where the
connected pipes and the setting pipes disagree, it becomes easy to
correct a setting pipe to be set for an appropriate connected pipe,
as well as automatically determine whether a correspondence
relations between the connected pipes and the setting pipes is
appropriate. Then, by performing the setting pipe setting error
detection operation after completion of the construction and
appropriately setting the setting of connection information, it is
possible to avoid start of usage in the state in which any setting
error of a setting pipe is present, the factors to cause user
complaints may be eradicated to improve the service
organization.
[0119] In the second search, although the opening/closing valve is
changed to the heating flow path from the cooling flow path, the
configuration is not limited to this, and it may be changed from
the cooling flow path to the stop flow path (the opening/closing
valve 9 is closed, and the opening/closing valve 10 is closed).
With this configuration, it is possible to detect correspondence
relations between the connected pipes and the setting pipes of not
only the air-conditioning apparatus 100 in which the cooling and
heating concurrent operation can be performed as in Embodiment 1 of
the present invention, but also an air-conditioning apparatus 100
in which cooling and heating are switchable. Also in this case,
since cool two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant flows into second unit
in the cooling flow path, it is determined that the flow path is
the cooling flow path with the cool refrigerant flowing where
TICI<Tai, and it is determined that the flow path is the stop
flow path with the cool refrigerant not flowing, where TICI is
greater than or equal to Tai.
[0120] However, it is only that the refrigerant does not flow in
the stop flow path, hot refrigerant does not flow unlike in the
heating flow path, it takes a time until the temperature changes to
TICI greater than or equal to Tai. Therefore, in Embodiment 1 of
the present invention in which the cooling and heating concurrent
operation can be performed, the opening/closing valve is switched
from the cooling flow path to the heating flow path.
[0121] FIG. 7 is a second flowchart of a cooling setting error
detection operation of the air-conditioning apparatus 100 of
embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a table showing
the flow of correction of connection information of example 2 of a
setting error of the setting pipe of an air-conditioning apparatus
100 in embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0122] In example 1 of a setting error of the setting pipe,
description has been given of a case where the number of connected
pipes and the number of setting pipes agree. In example 2 of a
setting error of the setting pipe, a case will be described in
which the number of connected pipes and the number of setting pipes
disagree (the number of connected pipes> the number of setting
pipes) with reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8. Although not shown in
the drawings, example 2 of a setting error of the setting pipe
assumes a case where the second unit 303e is connected to pipe "e"
in FIG. 4.
[0123] Where there may possibly be cases in which the number of
connected pipes and the number of setting pipes disagree, first, as
shown in FIG. 7, it is confirmed in step S0 whether the number of
connected pipes and the number of setting pipes agree. As a method
for confirmation, the following may be applicable: flowing
refrigerant through all of the branched plurality of pipes,
determining a refrigerant flow from the temperature sensor or the
like by the determination unit 126, and counting the number of
pipes to which the refrigerant has actually flowed. In example 2 of
a setting error of the setting pipe, five second units are
connected via pipes. Therefore, the number of connected pipes is 5.
On the other hand, it is understood that since the number of
setting pipes is 4, the number of connected pipes and the number of
setting pipes disagree.
[0124] Where the number of connected pipes and the number of
setting pipes disagree, in S1-S4, processes same as example 1 of a
setting error of the setting pipe are performed (and the
descriptions therefor are omitted), but in the second search in S5,
all the pipes are the target of forcible operation.
[0125] Here, when the opening/closing valve a for pipe "a" is
operated, TICI greater than or equal to Tai establishes for a
second unit 303a for which setting pipe is <a>. Therefore,
the setting pipe for the second unit 303a is determined to be
appropriate. Further, when the opening/closing valve b for pipe "b"
is operated, TICI greater than or equal to Tai establishes for a
second unit 303b for which setting pipe is <b>. Therefore,
the setting pipe for the second unit 303a is determined to be
appropriate.
[0126] On the other hand, when the opening/closing valve c for pipe
"c" is forcibly operated to the heating flow path, TICI greater
than or equal to Tai establishes for a second unit 303c for which
setting pipe is <d>, not for second unit 303d for which the
setting pipe is <c>. Further, when the opening/closing valve
d for pipe "d" is forcibly operated to the heating flow path, TICI
greater than or equal to Tai establishes for a second unit 303d for
which setting pipe is <c>, not for the second unit 303c for
which setting pipe is <c>. Moreover, when the opening/closing
valve e for pipe "e" is forcibly operated to the heating flow path,
TICI greater than or equal to Tai establishes for the second unit
303e, which is not set to the setting pipe.
[0127] Therefore, it is possible to perform correction as in the
state after the second search correction as shown in shown in FIG.
8.
[0128] FIG. 9 is a table showing the flow of correction of the
connection information of example 3 of a setting error of the
setting pipe in the air-conditioning apparatus 100 of embodiment 1
of the present invention.
[0129] In example 3 of a setting error of the setting pipe, a case
will be described in which the number of connected pipes and the
number of setting pipes disagree (the number of connected pipes
<the number of setting pipes) with reference to FIG. 7 and FIG.
9.
[0130] Where there may possibly be the case in which the number of
connected pipes and the number of setting pipes disagree, first, as
shown in FIG. 7, it is confirmed in step S0 whether the number of
connected pipes and the number of setting pipes agree. As a method
for confirmation, the following may be applicable: flowing a
refrigerant to all of the branched plurality of pipes, determining
a refrigerant flow from the temperature sensor or the like by the
determination unit 126, and counting the number of pipes to which
the refrigerant has actually flowed. In example 3 of a setting
error of the setting pipe, since 4 second units are connected via
pipes, the number of connected pipes is 4. On the other hand, since
the number of setting pipes is 5, it is understood that the number
of connected pipes and the number of setting pipes disagree.
[0131] When the number of connected pipes and the number of setting
pipes disagree, a process is executed in steps S1-S4 that are same
as example 1 of a setting error of the setting pipe. (explanations
therefor are omitted), all the pipes are target of forcible
operation in the second search S5.
[0132] Here, when the opening/closing valve a for pipe "a" is
operated, TICI greater than or equal to Tai establishes for a
second unit 303a for which setting pipe is <a>. Therefore,
setting pipe for the second unit 303a is determined to be
appropriate.
[0133] On the other hand, when the opening/closing valve b for pipe
"b" is forcibly operated to the heating flow path, although there
should be no connected second unit, TICI greater than or equal to
Tai establishes for a second unit 303b for which setting pipe is
<e>. Further, when the opening/closing valve c for pipe "c"
is forcibly operated to the heating flow path, TICI greater than or
equal to Tai establishes for a second unit 303c for which setting
pipe is <d>, not for the second unit 303d for which setting
pipe is <c>. Further, when the opening/closing valve d for
pipe "d" is forcibly operated to the heating flow path, TICI
greater than or equal to Tai establishes for a second unit 303d for
which setting pipe is <c>, not for the second unit 303c for
which setting pipe is <c>. Furthermore, when the
opening/closing valve e for pipe "e" is forcibly operated to the
heating flow path, TICI greater than or equal to Tai does not
establish in any of the second units including second unit 303b for
which setting pipe is <e>.
[0134] Therefore, it is possible to perform correction in the
manner as shown in the state after the second search correction in
FIG. 9.
[0135] As described above, it is possible not only for the case
where the number of connected pipes and the number of setting pipes
agree, but also for the case where the number of connected pipes
and the number of setting pipes disagree, to perform correction to
correct connection information by performing the setting error
detection operation.
[0136] FIG. 10 shows example 4 of a setting error of the setting
pipe in the air-conditioning apparatus 100 of embodiment 1 of the
present invention. FIG. 11 is a setting error table showing the
flow of correction of example 4 of a setting error of the setting
pipe in the air-conditioning apparatus 100 of embodiment 1 of the
present invention.
[0137] Here, a flow of a detection operation is described of
example 2 of a setting error of the setting pipe as shown in FIG.
10. Example 2 of a setting error of the setting pipe as shown in
FIG. 10, unlike example 1 of a setting error of the setting pipe as
shown in FIG. 4, setting pipes for the second unit 303c and the
second unit 303d are erroneously set to "e" and "f", which are
closed path pipes. Further, setting pipes for the second unit 303a
and the second unit 303b are erroneously set to closed path pipes
"c" and "d".
[0138] Therefore, even though the second unit 303c and the second
unit 303d are erroneously set to the closed path pipes, since the
setting pipe in the second unit 303a and the second unit 303b are
erroneously set to pipe "c" and "d", the setting state as the start
of the detection operation is such that the refrigerant flows.
[0139] When the cooling operation setting error detection operation
starts according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, the cooling only
operation mode starts in step S1, and since in step S2 there is no
second unit for which the setting pipe is <a> or <b>,
the refrigerant does not flow in the second unit 303a and the
second unit 303b and TICI greater than or equal to Tai establishes,
and it is determined that a closed path setting error is present.
Thereafter, in step S3, the first search is performed. More
specifically, an opening/closing valve of a connected pipe that is
not set to any of the second units 303a-303d is forcibly operated.
As shown in FIG. 10, in example 2 of the setting error of a setting
pipe, the connected pipes "a" and "b" are not set. Therefore, the
two opening/closing valves are forcibly operated sequentially one
by one from the special control unit 125.
[0140] That is, first, the opening/closing valve (a) of the
connected pipe "a" is set to a cooling flow path, and it is
determined by the determination unit 126 whether a low temperature
refrigerant flow is present (TICI<Tai) in the second unit 303a
and the second unit 303b. Then, since a flow of low temperature
refrigerant is present in the second unit 303a, it is understood
that the second unit 303a is connected to the connected pipe "a".
Next, opening/closing valve (b) of the piping connected pipe "b" is
forcibly switched to the cooling flow path, and it is determined in
the second unit 303b whether there is a flow of low temperature
refrigerant. Then, since the flow of low temperature refrigerant is
determined to be present in the second unit 303b, it is understood
that the second unit 303b is connected to the connected pipe "b".
After the completion of determination, the forcibly operated state
is removed and the process proceeds to step S4.
[0141] The first search correction is performed in step S4, and the
point where the setting error of the setting pipe is present is
corrected in the manner as shown in FIG. 11 from the state of the
start of the detection operation to the state after the correction
of connection information (first time). Thereafter, after elapse of
a predetermined time, the presence or absence of the closed path
setting error is determined again in step S2.
[0142] Here, since the setting errors in the second unit 303a and
the second unit 303b have been corrected, there is no second unit
in which the setting pipe is <c> or <d>, and the
refrigerant does not flow to the second unit 303c and second unit
303d and TICI greater than or equal to Tai establishes, and it is
determined that a closed path setting error is present. Therefore,
the first search is performed again in step S3. In this case, since
the connected pipes "c" and "d" are not set, the two
opening/closing valves are forcibly operated sequentially one by
one from the special control unit 125.
[0143] That is, the opening/closing valve (c) of the pipe "c" is
set for the cooling flow path, and it is determined by the
determination unit 126 whether a low temperature refrigerant flow
is present (TICI<Tai) in the second unit 303c and the second
unit 303d. Then, since a low temperature refrigerant flow is
present in the second unit 303c, it is understood that the second
unit 303c is connected to the connected pipe "c". Next, the
opening/closing valve (d) of the connected pipe "d" is forcibly set
to the cooling flow path, and it is determined whether a low
temperature refrigerant flow is present in the second unit 303d.
Then, since it is determined that a low temperature refrigerant
flow is present in the second unit 303d, it is understood that the
second unit 303d is connected to the connected pipe "d". After the
completion of determination, the forcibly operated state is removed
and the process proceeds to step S4.
[0144] Correction of connection information is performed in step
S4, and the point where closed path setting error is present is
corrected as shown in FIG. 11 from the state after the correction
of connection information (first time) to the state after the
correction of connection information (second time). After the
correction of connection information (second time), the
correspondence relations between the connected pipes and the
setting pipes agree, and in this state no setting error is present.
Thereafter, operation is continued for a predetermined time period,
and it is determined that the closed path setting error is absent
in step S2 again. Thereafter, the second search is performed in
step S5, and it is determined in step S6 that no open path setting
error is present and the cooling operation setting error detection
operation is completed.
[0145] As shown in FIG. 11, there may be cases where even after it
is determined that a closed path setting error is present and the
points of closed path setting error are corrected, it is again
determined that a closed path setting error is present. Even if the
second search of step S5 is performed with a state in which the
setting pipe state is that of after the correction of the first
search (first time), since the setting pipe is erroneously set to
the closed path pipe for the second unit 303c and the second unit
303d. Therefore, the state is such a state in which no refrigerant
flow is present.
[0146] Therefore, in the second unit 303c and the second unit 303d,
irrespective of the operation of the opening/closing valves for the
connected pipes "a", "b", "e", and "f", TICI greater than or equal
to Tai always establishes (that is, it is determined that the flow
path is not the cooling flow path in all the time), and it is not
possible to appropriately detect the points of setting error.
Further, when the opening/closing valve (a) of the connected pipe
"a" is switched to the cooling flow path from the heating flow
path, since TICI greater than or equal to Tai always establishes in
the second unit 303c and the second unit 303d, the low-pressure
refrigerant does not flow to second units other than the second
unit 303b. There is a possibility that the low-pressure side
pressure becomes extremely low, and the operation is stopped in the
midway thereof. Therefore, it is necessary to repeat the first
search until it is determined that no closed path setting error is
present.
<Heating Setting Pipe Setting Error Detection Operation>
[0147] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a heating setting pipe
setting error detection operation of the air-conditioning apparatus
100 in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0148] Next, the heating setting pipe setting error detection
operation will be described by using a flowchart. When the heating
setting pipe setting error detection operation is started, all the
second units 303a-303d are turned to heating ON in step S21, and
the heating only operation mode is initiated.
[0149] After continuing the operation for a predetermined time (for
example, 10 minutes), it is determined in step S22 whether the
degrees of supercooling at the second heat exchangers 12a-12d are
predetermined values (preset values) or higher in the second units
303a-303d. The degrees of supercooling at the second heat
exchangers 12a-12d are computed by the same method as described in
the explanations for the refrigerant flow in the heating only
operation modes by subtracting the saturation temperature at the
pressure detected by the pressure sensor 204 from the temperatures
detected in the temperature sensors 207a-207d.
[0150] Here, where the outdoor air temperature is such a low degree
as -20 degrees C., the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 1
is cooled and condenses in the high-pressure pipe 6. Therefore, it
takes a time for the refrigerant to move to the second heat
exchangers 12a-12d from the start of the operation. Then, when the
high-pressure side pressure does not become high unless the
refrigerant moves to the second heat exchangers 12a-12d, and the
detection temperature TICI does not become high. Therefore, the
temperature difference between the detection temperature TICI and
the detection temperature Tai becomes small. Therefore, it becomes
not possible to accurately determine presence or absence of the
closed path setting error (TICI greater than or equal to Tai) in
step S27.
[0151] Therefore, it is determined by the determination unit 126
whether the degrees of supercooling at the second heat exchangers
12a-12d are predetermined values or greater (for example, 2 degrees
C. or more), so that it is possible to confirm that the refrigerant
has moved to the second units 303a-303d.
[0152] Even if the second heat exchangers 12a-12d are erroneously
set to the closed path pipe and the refrigerant does not flow to
the second heat exchangers 12a-12d, the liquid sides of the second
heat exchangers 12a-12d substantially become the room air
temperatures, the detection temperature of the temperature sensor
207 becomes lower than the saturation temperature at the pressure
detected by the pressure sensor 204, the degrees of supercooling at
the second heat exchangers 12a-12d become predetermined values or
greater. With this configuration, even in the case where the
outdoor air temperature is low, and it is possible to accurately
detect the closed path setting error.
[0153] When it is determined in step S22 that the degrees of
supercooling at the second heat exchangers 12a-12d are
predetermined values or greater, then, presence or absence of the
closed path setting error is determined in step S23. The presence
or absence of the closed path setting error is determined based on
the relationship between the detection temperature TICI of the
temperature sensors 207a-207d and the detection temperature Tai of
the temperature sensors 209a-209d.
[0154] Where the opening/closing valve a-d is set for the heating
flow, and the high-temperature gas refrigerant flows to the second
units 303a-303d, the detection temperature TICI of the temperature
sensor 207a that is the piping temperatures of the liquid sides of
the second heat exchangers 12a-12d, become higher than the
detection temperatures Tai of the temperature sensors 209a-209d
that are the indoor air temperatures.
[0155] Therefore, where TICI>Tai establishes in all the second
units 303a-303d, it is determined that the high-temperature
refrigerant is flowing in all the second units 303a-303d and no
closed path setting error of a setting pipe is present. If there is
any second unit where TICI less than or equal to Tai, it is
determined by the determination unit 126 that a closed path setting
error is present with a second unit in which the high-temperature
refrigerant is not flowing being set. Where it is determined that
there is a second unit in which TICI less than or equal to Tai
establishes and a closed path setting error is present, it is
determined in step S24 by the determination unit 126 whether the
opening degree of the use side pressure-reducing mechanisms is the
maximal opening degree in second unit in which a closed path
setting error is determined to be present.
[0156] That is, since the high-pressure side pressure is difficult
to rise when the room air temperature is at a low temperature such
as 10 degrees C., when determining presence or absence of the
closed path setting error in step S23, refrigerant flow rates in
the second heat exchangers 12a-12d become small when the opening
degrees of the use side pressure-reducing mechanisms 14a-14d are
small. Then, detection temperatures of the temperature sensors
207a-207d that are temperatures of the liquid sides of the second
heat exchangers 12a-12d decline, the temperature difference from
the detection temperatures of the temperature sensors 209a-209d
that are room air temperatures become small, and it becomes not
possible to accurately determine presence or absence of the closed
path setting error in step S27.
[0157] Therefore, there is a wait until the use side
pressure-reducing mechanisms open for the second units with a
closed path setting error. That is, in the second unit for which
the closed path setting error is determined to be present, where
the opening degrees of use side pressure-reducing mechanisms
14a-14d are the maximal opening degrees that are the upper limits
of the opening degree in control, the process returns to step S22,
while the process proceeds to step S25 if the opening degrees are
the maximal opening degrees. With this configuration, it is
possible to accurately detect the closed path setting error.
[0158] The following descriptions are directed to the heating
setting pipe setting error detection operation referring
specifically to example 1 of the setting error of a setting pipe as
shown in FIG. 4. After passage of the step S22, since the second
unit 303a and second unit 303b are erroneously set to the closed
path pipes "f" and "e" in step S23 in second unit 303a and second
unit 303b and the process proceeds to step S24, it is determined
that a closed path setting error is present. In a second unit with
a closed path setting error in step S24, the first search is
performed in step S25 after it is determined that the use side
pressure-reducing mechanisms 14a-14d are set for the maximal
opening degrees. In the first search, the opening/closing valve of
a pipe that is not set for any of the second units 303a-303d is
forcibly operated, and the pipes "a" and "b" are the target of
operation in the case of FIG. 4.
[0159] First, the opening/closing valve (a) of the pipe "a" is set
for the heating flow path, and it is determined by the
determination unit 126 whether a high-temperature refrigerant flow
is present (TICI>Tai) in the second unit 303a and second unit
303b. Here, since a high-temperature refrigerant flow is determined
to be present in the second unit 303a, it is understood that the
second unit 303a is connected to the connected pipe "a". Next, the
opening/closing valve (b) of the piping connected pipe "b" is
forcibly set to the heating flow path, and it is determined whether
a high-temperature refrigerant flow is present in the second unit
303b. After the completion of determination, the forcibly operated
state is removed and the process proceeds to step S26. The first
search is performed in the manner described above.
[0160] The correction of connection information is performed in
step S26, and the points of closed path setting errors are
corrected in the manner as shown in FIG. 6 from the state at the
start of the detection operation to the state after the correction
of connection information. Thereafter, operation is continued for a
predetermined time period, and it is confirmed in step S22 that the
degrees of supercooling at the second heat exchangers 12a-12d are
predetermined values or greater, and then presence or absence of
the closed path setting error is determined again in step S22. Due
to the above correction, it is determined that a low temperature
refrigerant is flowing in all the second units 303a-303d and no
closed path setting error of a setting pipe is present, the process
proceeds to step S27 and the second search is performed.
[0161] In the second search, an opening/closing valve of a pipe set
for the second units 303a-303d are forcibly operated. The
opening/closing valve of a pipe that is the operation target is
forcibly operated from the heating flow path to the cooling flow
path. For example, when the opening/closing valve (a) is switched
from the heating flow path to the cooling flow path, the
refrigerant flow changes from the state of the heating only
operation modes in the following manner.
[0162] The refrigerant having flowed in the gas-liquid separator 7,
passes through the pipe 8 and the opening/closing valves 10b-10d,
flows in the gas pipe 11b-11d, and then enters the second heat
exchangers 12b-12d. In the second heat exchangers 12b-12d, the
refrigerant heats the indoor air delivered by the second fans
13b-13d and becomes a high pressure liquid refrigerant. The
refrigerant is thereafter subjected to pressure reduction at the
use side pressure-reducing mechanisms 14b-14d, passes through the
liquid pipes 15b-15d, check valves 16-16d and the high-pressure
side of the supercooling heat exchanger 21, and then divided into a
refrigerant flowing in the pressure-reducing mechanism 22 and the
refrigerant flowing through the check valve 17a.
[0163] The refrigerant having flowed in the pressure-reducing
mechanism 22 is subjected to pressure reduction, heated by the
high-pressure refrigerant at the low-pressure side of the
supercooling heat exchanger 21, and merges with the refrigerant
having flowed in the check valve 17a via the supercooling heat
exchanger 19 and the pipe 23. On the other hand, the refrigerant
having flowed to the check valve 17a passes through the liquid pipe
15a and is subjected to pressure reduction at the use side
pressure-reducing mechanisms 14a, absorbs heat from the indoor air
to become low-pressure gas refrigerant at the second heat exchanger
12a. Thereafter, the refrigerant passes through the gas pipe 11a
and the opening/closing valve 9a, and merges with the refrigerant
having flowed through the pressure-reducing mechanism 22. Other
refrigerant flow is same as in the heating only operation
modes.
[0164] By setting the opening/closing valve (a) for the cooling
flow path, that state in the heating flow path in the second unit
303a in which the high-temperature gas refrigerant was flowing is
changed to the state in which cool two-phase gas-liquid refrigerant
flows. That is, in the heating flow path, the detection temperature
TICI of the temperature sensor 207a that is the piping temperature
at the liquid side of the second heat exchanger second heat
exchanger 12a has been higher than detection temperature Tai of the
temperature sensor 209a that is the indoor air temperature
(TICI>Tai). However, by changing to the cooling flow path, the
detection temperature becomes TICI less than or equal to Tai
according to which it is assumed that the high-temperature gas
refrigerant is not flowing.
[0165] In this way, a second unit in which TICI less than or equal
to Tai establishes when the opening/closing valve is forcibly
operated is determined by the determination unit 126. When the
correspondence relation between the setting pipe of second unit in
which TICI is less than or equal to Tai and the connected pipe in
which the opening/closing valve is forcibly operated agrees, it is
determined that the setting pipe appropriateness is achieved in the
second unit, and it is determined that the open path setting error
is present by the determination unit 126. With the above
configuration, setting pipe appropriateness is achieved in the
second unit 303a and the second unit 303b, and an open path setting
error is present in the second unit 303c and the second unit
303d.
[0166] When all the opening/closing valves of a pipe that is the
operation target are operated, then in step S28 presence or absence
of the open path setting error is determined. Since open path
setting errors have been present in the second unit 303c and second
unit 303d, second search correction is performed in step S29, and
the points where setting errors of the setting pipes are present
are corrected from the state after the second search correction to
the state after the open path branching port search correction as
shown in FIG. 6. In the state after the second search correction,
the connected pipes and the setting pipes agree and no setting
error is present. Thereafter, operation is continued for a
predetermined time period, by way of step S22, and it is determined
again in step S23 that there is no closed path setting error.
Thereafter, second search is performed in step S27, and it is
determined that no open path setting error is present in step S28,
and the heating setting pipe setting error detection operation is
completed.
[0167] As described above, in the setting pipe setting error
detection operation, by using the cooling operation setting error
detection operation and the heating setting pipe setting error
detection operation separately depending on the outdoor air
temperature, it is possible to appropriately perform setting pipe
setting error detection operation under a wide range of
environmental temperatures. Therefore, it is possible to
automatically determine whether the setting pipe is
appropriate.
[0168] In Embodiment 1, the explanation was given of the state
where the branching unit 302 is provided. However, the
configuration of the air-conditioning apparatus is not limited to
this, but the first unit 301 may be provided with branching ports
50a-50f for a plurality of branched pipes and branching ports
51a-51f for a plurality of branched pipes.
Embodiment 2
[0169] The apparatus configuration and the refrigerant circuit
configuration in Embodiment 2 are the same as those in Embodiment
1. The point of difference from Embodiment 1 is that the setting
pipe of second unit is distinguished from wiring of the
transmission line.
[0170] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the apparatus configuration and
the wiring and connection of the transmission lines of the
air-conditioning apparatus 200 of Embodiment 2 of the present
invention.
[0171] In Embodiment 2, the setting pipe is determined on the basis
of the relationship of connection between the second terminal
supports 53a-53d of the second units 303a-303d and the first
terminal supports 52a-52f of the branching unit 302.
[0172] For example, in FIG. 13, the second terminal support 53a of
the second unit 303a is connected to the first wiring terminal
support 52a via the transmission line (shown as a dashed line in
the drawing), the setting pipe is <a>. The second unit 303a,
is connected to the pipe "a" so that the correspondence relation
agrees. Here, if the second unit 303a is erroneously connected to
the first terminal support 52f, not the first wiring terminal
support 52a, the setting pipe of the second unit 303a is <f>,
and there is an incorrect correspondence relation. Even in such a
case, by performing an operation that is the same as Embodiment 1,
the disagreement in the correspondence relations between the
connected pipes and the setting pipes are detected and points of
errors in wiring connection can appropriately be displayed. As
described above, it is possible to apply the technique of the
present application regardless of the method for setting the
branching port.
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