Patent ID: 11859882
Assignee: DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD.
Field: Thermal processes and apparatus (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F | IPC F

Claim 0:
1. A refrigeration cycle apparatus including a refrigerant circuit in which a compressor, a heat-source-side heat exchanger, an expansion mechanism, and a use-side heat exchanger are connected in sequence, the refrigeration cycle apparatus comprising:
a temperature detector, including at least one radiation thermometer that measures an intensity of infrared or visible light emitted from a surface, that detects temperatures at a plurality of points in a contactless manner; and
a controller, wherein
at least one of the heat-source-side heat exchanger and the use-side heat exchanger includes
a plurality of refrigerant pipes through which refrigerant to be heat-exchanged flows,
a branch unit in which the flow of the refrigerant to be heat-exchanged is distributed to the plurality of refrigerant pipes,
a flow rate adjustment unit including a valve capable of adjusting a flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through each of the plurality of refrigerant pipes, and
a header in which the flows of the refrigerant distributed to the plurality of refrigerant pipes and heat-exchanged in the heat-source-side heat exchanger are joined together,

the temperature detector detects, for each of the plurality of refrigerant pipes, surface temperatures at a plurality of points near an outlet of a respective refrigerant pipe,
the controller controls the flow rate adjustment unit on the basis of the temperatures detected by the temperature detector so that the surface temperatures near the outlets of the plurality of refrigerant pipes become uniform, and
the controller detects, on the basis of the temperatures detected at the plurality of points along a respective refrigerant pipe by the temperature detector, a decrease in the surface temperatures of the refrigerant pipes due to leakage of refrigerant from the refrigerant pipes, to identify a failure caused in the respective refrigerant pipes.