Patent ID: 6276149
Filing Date: 2001-08-21
Classification: F04C,F24F,F25B

Abstract:
An air conditioner having a refrigerant circuit comprising:a compressor;a four-way switching valve;an outdoor-side heat exchanger and an indoor-side heat exchanger which are selectively switched and connected to the high-pressure refrigerant discharge side and the low-pressure refrigerant suction side of said compressor via said four-way switching valve; andan expansion valve connected between said outdoor-side heat exchanger and said indoor-side heat exchanger, characterized in thatsaid compressor has an enclosed vessel, said enclosed vessel contains a refrigerant compressing section having a suction port and a discharge port and an electric motor for driving said refrigerant compressing section, and the interior of said enclosed vessel is divided airtightly into two chambers, an electric motor chamber containing said electric motor and a refrigerant discharge chamber on the side of the discharge port of said refrigerant compressing section, by said refrigerant compressing section serving as partitioning means, and a subsidiary electric motor chamber is formed by a bearer plate pivotally supporting a driving shaft of said electric motor on the side opposite to the refrigerant discharge chamber of said electric motor chamber;a low-pressure refrigerant suction pipe drawn from a first switching port on the low-pressure refrigerant discharge side of said four-way switching valve branches into two pipes, one branch pipe is connected to the suction port of said refrigerant compressing section as a first low-pressure refrigerant suction pipe having a first opening/closing valve, and the other branch pipe is connected to said electric motor chamber as a second low-pressure refrigerant suction pipe having a second opening/closing valve;a high-pressure refrigerant discharge pipe connected to a second switching port on the high-pressure refrigerant introduction side of said four-way switching valve branches into two pipes, one branch pipe is connected to said subsidiary electric motor chamber as a first high-pressure refrigerant discharge pipe having a third opening/closing valve, and the other branch pipe is connected to said refrigerant discharge chamber as a second high-pressure refrigerant discharge pipe having a fourth opening/closing valve;further, a first bypass pipe having a fifth opening/closing valve and reaching said subsidiary electric motor chamber branches off from the downstream side of said first opening/closing valve of said first low-pressure refrigerant suction pipe, and a second bypass pipe having a sixth opening/closing valve is provided between said electric motor chamber and said refrigerant discharge chamber;a third switching port of said four-way switching valve is connected with said outdoor-side heat exchanger, and a fourth switching port of said four-way switching valve is connected with said indoor-side heat exchanger;at the time of cooling operation, said second switching port and said third switching port are caused to communicate with each other and said first switching port and said fourth switching port are caused to communicate with each other by said four-way switching valve, and said first opening/closing valve, said third opening/closing valve, and said sixth opening/closing valve are opened, and said second opening/closing valve, said fourth opening/closing valve, and said fifth opening/closing valve are closed, whereby said compressor is operated as an internal high pressure type; andat the time of heating operation, said second switching port and said fourth switching port are caused to communicate with each other and said first switching port and said third switching port are caused to communicate with each other by said four-way switching valve, and said second opening/closing valve, said fourth opening/closing valve, and said fifth opening/closing valve are opened, and said first opening/closing valve, said third opening/closing valve, and said sixth opening/closing valve are closed, whereby said compressor is operated as an internal low pressure type.