Heat pump apparatus

Abstract: Heat pump apparatus comprising a compressor (11), a condenser (12), a restrictor (13), an evaporator (14) and a fractioning/separating device (15). A reservoir (16) and a heater (17) are disposed below the fractioning/separating device (15), the reservoir (16) having the lower portion connected to the evaporator (14) via the valve (18). The structure is arranged in such a manner that nonazeotropic mixed refrigerant is enclosed therein and the fractioning/separating device (15) is disposed in the low pressure circuit in the main circuit of refrigerating cycle so as to conduct separation operation, the fraction/­ separation can be conducted at a low pressure in a separation mode.

Description: The present invention relates to an improvement in a heat pump apparatus of a type using nonazeotropic mixed refrigerant and capable of varying the composition of the mixed refrigerant by reserving high boiling point refrigerant through separation of the refrigerant's components. Such an apparatus is disclosed in document EP-A-0 196 051. Figure 6 shows an apparatus arranged to use nonazeotropic mixed refrigerant and capable of varying the composition of the mixed refrigerant by reserving high boiling point refrigerant through separation of the refrigerant's components. Referring to Fig. 6. reference numeral 1 represents a compressor, 2 represents a condenser, 3 represents a main restrictor, and 4 represents an evaporator. The main circuit of the heater apparatus is formed by connecting the above-described elements. Reference numeral 5 represents a fractioning/separating device filled with filler. An upper portion of the fractioning/separating device 5 is connected to an outlet port of the condenser 2 via a pipe 6 and also connected to an inlet port of the evaporator 4 via an auxiliary restrictor 7. A reservoir 8 is disposed below the fractioning/separating device 5, the bottom of the reservoir 8 being connected to the auxiliary restrictor 7 via a valve 9. Furthermore, a heater 10 is disposed in the reservoir 8. The method of varying the composition of the enclosed nonazeotropic mixed refrigerant will now be described. In the case where the apparatus is operated with the composition of the enclosed mixed-refrigerant being retained as it is (in non-separation mode), the heater 10 is not operated. In this case, the reservoir 8 acts to reserve excess refrigerant when valve 9 is closed, and discharges a portion of refrigerant to the evaporator 4 via the auxiliary restrictor 7 when valve 9 is opened, thereby not causing any change in the composition of the refrigerant to take place. Therefore, the main circuit is operated while maintaining the composition of the enclosed mixed-refrigerant enriched with high boiling point refrigerant. On the other hand, in the case where the apparatus is operated with the composition of the refrigerant enriched with low boiling point refrigerant while reserving high boiling point refrigerant (in a separation mode), the heater 10 is operated and the low boiling point refrigerant in the refrigerant contained in the reservoir 8 is, in the main, evaporated, the evaporated low boiling point refrigerant then moving upwards through the fractioning/separating device 5 when the valve 9 is closed. At this time, liquid refrigerant is supplied from the outlet port of the condenser 2 via the pipe 6 so that fractioning takes place in the fractioning/separating device 5 due to a gas-liquid contact. As a result, the density of the low boiling point refrigerant in the gas which is moving upwards is raised and the density of the high boiling point refrigerant in the liquid moving downwards is also raised. As a result, high boiling point refrigerant in the form of a condensed liquid is reserved in the reservoir 8. The gas which is moving upwards and which is enriched with low boiling point refrigerant is introduced into the evaporator 4 via the auxiliary restrictor 7. Therefore, the main circuit can be operated while maintaining the composition of the refrigerant enriched with low boiling point refrigerant. Where the heat pump apparatus of the above-described type is used, for example, in a hot water supply apparatus from which hot water is to be obtained, the apparatus is operated while maintaining the composition of the enclosed refrigerant enriched with high boiling point refrigerant whose condensing pressure is low so as to improve the reliability of the compressor or the like. To quickly reserve hot water by utilizing high heating performance, the apparatus is operated while maintaining the composition of the refrigerant enriched with low boiling point refrigerant which exhibits excellent heating performance. However, since the heat pump apparatus of the type described above is operated with the pressure of its fractioning/separating device as high as the pressure in the main circuit, the separating performance of the fractioning/separating device has been found to be insufficient. That is, it is known that the performance of the fractioning/separating device can be improved by raising the velocity of the gas which moves upwards in the fractioning/separating device. If separation is conducted at high pressure as described above, the specific volume of the gas generated in the reservoir due to heat applied from the heater is reduced, causing the velocity of the gas in the fractioning/separating device to be reduced. Therefore, the apparatus of the type described above suffers from insufficient separating performance. In order to overcome this insufficiency the heating capability of the heater in the conventional apparatus has been increased. This leads to a reduction in performance. Furthermore, if separation is conducted at high pressure, the saturated temperature of the refrigerant in the reservoir is raised excessively, causing problems in terms of the heat resistance of the devices and unnecessary heat radiation to occur. United States patent specification US-A-4913714 discloses an apparatus including a fractioning/separating device having a reservoir within an upper portion thereof, the inside of which is cooled by reducing the pressure of coolant in a lower portion of the fractioning/separating device. In this arrangement, the lower portion of the fractioning/separating device is not heated since heating would have no effect. Basically, since a reservoir is not provided in the lower portion of the fractioning/separating device, coolant having a high boiling point cannot be reserved. Indeed, coolant is introduced into the fractioning/separating device by an inlet located generally at the centre of the device. Accordingly, the apparatus disclosed in this specification cannot be incorporated in the apparatus arrangements of the present invention. An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerating cycle structure capable of conducting high performance separation with a reduced quantity of applied heat and capable of being used even if the load or the temperature changes excessively. In order to achieve the above-described object, there is provided a heat pump apparatus comprising a main heat pump circuit containing nonazeotropic mixed refrigerant, said circuit consists of a compressor, a four-way valve, a utilization side heat-exchanger, a main restrictor, a heat source side heat-exchanger, a fractioning/separating device, a reservoir and a heat source, characterised in that an upper portion of said fractioning/separating device is connected to a pipe disposed between said utilization side heat-exchanger and said main restrictor via a parallel circuit of a first auxiliary restrictor and a first check valve, which allows only a stream discharged from said fractioning/separating device to flow therethrough, and said upper portion thereof is also connected to another pipe between the heat source side heat-exchanger and said main restrictor via a parallel circuit of a second auxiliary restrictor and a second check valve which allow only a stream discharged from said fractioning/separating device to flow therethrough. Alternatively, the apparatus is characterised in that an upper portion of said fractioning/separating device is connected to a pipe disposed between said utilization side heat-exchanger and said main restrictor via a first auxiliary restrictor, and said upper portion is connected to an inlet port of a first check valve which allows only a stream discharged from said fractioning/separating device to flow therethrough, an outlet port of said first check-valve is connected to a pipe between said four-way valve and said utilization side heat-exchanger, and said upper portion of said fractioning/separating device is also connected to a pipe between said heat source side-heat exchanger and said main restrictor via a second auxiliary restrictor, said upper portion is connected to an inlet port of a second check valve which allows only a stream discharged from said fractioning/separating device to flow therethrough, and an outlet port of said second check valve is connected to a pipe between the four-way valve and said heat source side heat-exchanger. Fig. 1 is a view which illustrates the structure of a heat pump apparatus arranged such that a refrigerating/separating device is provided in a low pressure side of the main circuit; Fig. 2 is view which illustrates a method of specifying the range of compositions of the mixed refrigerant to be used in the apparatus of the present invention; Fig. 3 is a view which illustrates an embodiment of the heat pump apparatus according to the present invention arranged to be capable of switching mode between heating and cooling operations; Fig. 4 is a view which illustrates another embodiment of the heat pump apparatus according to the present invention arranged to be capable of switching mode between heating and cooling operations; Fig. 5 illustrates a heat pump apparatus in which the heat source side heat exchanger is used as the heat source and the apparatus is arranged to be capable of switching mode between heating and cooling operations; Fig. 6 illustrates a conventional heat pump apparatus. Fig. 1 is a view which illustrates an embodiment of a heat pump apparatus. Referring to the drawing, reference numeral 11 represents a compressor, 12 represents a utilization side heat exchanger (a condenser), 13 represents a restrictor, which are sequentially connected via pipes. Reference numeral 14 represents a heat source side heat exchanger (an evaporator), and 15 represents a fractioning/separating device filled with filler. An upper portion of the fractioning/separating device 15 is connected to an outlet port of the restrictor 13, the upper portion also being connected to an inlet port of the heat source side heat exchanger 14. Furthermore, an outlet port of the heat source side heat exchanger 14 and the compressor 11 are connected to each other. Thus, the main circuit of the heat pump is constituted. A reservoir 16 and a heater 17 are disposed below the fractioning/separating device 15, the reservoir 16 having a lower portion connected to the inlet port of the heat source side heat exchanger 14 via a valve 18. The structure is arranged such that refrigerant in the reservoir 16 is heated by the heater 17. The manipulation and operation of the heat pump apparatus for varying the composition of enclosed nonazeotropic mixed refrigerant will now be described. In a non-separation mode, refrigerant discharged from the restrictor 13 is introduced into the reservoir 16 via the fractioning/separating device 15 by opening valve 18, the reservoir 16 reserving excess refrigerant. Refrigerant which has not been reserved reaches the heat source side heat exchanger 14 via the valve 18. As a result, the main circuit is caused to be operated while maintaining the mixed refrigerant enriched with high boiling point refrigerant with composition the same as that when it was first enclosed. In a separation mode, the valve 18 is closed and the heater 17 is operated. As a result, low boiling point refrigerant from the liquid refrigerant in reservoir 16 is mainly evaporated, the evaporated refrigerant then moving upwards in the fractioning/separating device 15. At this time, two-phase refrigerant consisting of liquid and gas is supplied from the outlet port of the restrictor 13 to the upper portion of the fractioning/separating device 15. A portion of the thus supplied liquid refrigerant moves downward in the fractioning/separating device 15. Then, the liquid refrigerant undergoes a gas-liquid contact with gas which is moving upwards, causing fractioning to take place. As a result, the density of the low boiling point refrigerant in the gas which is moving upwards is raised, while the density of the high boiling point refrigerant in the liquid refrigerant moving downwards is also raised. Thus, the reservoir 16 reserves high boiling point refrigerant in the form of condensed liquid. On the other hand, the gas enriched with low boiling point refrigerant which has moved upwards is mixed with the residual portion of the supplied refrigerant before being introduced into the heat source side heat exchanger 14. As a result, the main circuit can be operated while maintaining the composition of the mixed refrigerant enriched with low boiling point refrigerant. In this case, since the pressure in the fractioning/separating device 15 is arranged to be as low as the pressure in the main circuit, the specific volume of gas generated in the reservoir 16 due to the heat from the heater 17 is large enough, and the velocity of the gas which is moving upward in the fractioning/separating device 15 is thereby increased. As a result, gas-liquid contact is promoted, causing the separating performance of the fractioning/separating device 15 to be improved. Therefore, the density of the high boiling point refrigerant reserved in the reservoir 16 can be significantly raised. Since the composition of the refrigerant in the main circuit becomes a composition enriched with low boiling point refrigerant which has a significant heating performance, the main circuit can satisfactorily cope with an increase in load. In this case, since the pressure in the reservoir 16 is as low as the pressure of the refrigerant in the main circuit, the saturation temperature for the refrigerant in the reservoir 16 can be lowered, and the heat radiation from the heater 17 can be reduced. When it is intended to restore the composition of the refrigerant in the main circuit, it is only necessary to open the valve 18 so that the high boiling point refrigerant in the reservoir 16 is mixed with that in the main circuit, causing the composition of the refrigerant in the main circuit to become composition enriched with high boiling point refrigerant which is as it was when it was first enclosed. As described above, the composition of the refrigerant in the main circuit can be significantly varied by simply operating the valve 18 and the heater 17. Therefore, the composition of the refrigerant can be easily controlled so as to cope with the magnitude of load applied. As a result, the range in which performance can be varied can be broadened. Although the restrictor 13 and the heat source side heat exchanger 14 are connected to each other via the upper portion of the fractioning/separating device 15 according to this embodiment, the restrictor 13 may be directly connected to the heat source side heat exchanger 14 via another pipe. In this case, only liquid refrigerant which moves downwards in the fractioning/separating device 15 is introduced into the upper portion of the fractioning/separating device 15, causing fractioning to occur. The residual portion of the refrigerant is directly introduced into the heat source side heat exchanger 14. As a result, fractioning can be conducted without affecting the gas-liquid contact taking place in the fractioning/separating device 15. When nonazeotropic mixed refrigerant as used in this embodiment is composed of R22, which has been mixed in a composition in which the vapour pressure becomes substantially the same as that of R12 and having a boiling point higher than that of R22, the refrigerant can be fractioned and separated in the heat pump apparatus. Therefore, the vapour pressure can be lowered by using the mixed refrigerant as it is in the case where the condensing temperature is at a high level, while the refrigerant, since having a higher boiling point than that of R22, is separated in the case where the operation temperature is low, thereby allowing high heating performance to be realized. The composition of the mixed refrigerant will now be described. Refrigerants to be mixed with R22 and having a boiling point higher than that of R22 are, for example:- R134a (-26.5°C), R152a (-25.0°C), R134 (-19.7°C), R124 (-12.0°C), R142b (-9.8°C), RC318 (-5.8°C), R143 (5.0°C), R123 (27.1°C) , R123a (28.2°C), and R141b (32.0°C), which provide a limited possibility of destroying ozone layers and which form nonazeotropic mixed refrigerant together with R22. It is preferable that the vapour pressure be substantially equal to that of R12 in the case where the condensing temperature is at a high level. In general, although it is difficult to specify a vapour pressure for the mixed refrigerant, the range of the composition of the mixed refrigerant can be simply specified in accordance with a method described with reference to Fig. 2. (1) Vapour pressure P₁ and P₂ of the corresponding component 1 (R22) and component 2 (refrigerant having a boiling point higher than that of R22) at the desired highest condensing temperature are obtained. (2) Liquid phase composition Z A corresponding to point A for an imaginary ideal solution having vapour pressure P₃ of R12 is obtained. (3) Gas phase composition Z B corresponding to point B for an imaginary ideal vapour having vapour pressure P₃ of R12 is obtained. The thus obtained composition range Z A to Z B is the composition Z₁ of component 1 (R22) whose vapour pressure is substantially equal to that of R12. By specifying (1 - Z₁) as the composition of component 2 (refrigerant having a boiling point higher than that of R22) enables the range of the composition of a mixture with one of R134a, R125a, R134, R124, R142b, RC318, R143, R213, R123a, and R141b to be easily specified. Although R152a, R142b, R143, and R141b are classified as combustible refrigerants, a range in which the above described refrigerant is combustible can be avoided by making the mixture in accordance with the above-described composition range. In order to also avoid the combustible range, incombustible refrigerant such as R134a, R134, R124, RC318, R123, and 123a may be mixed as the third refrigerant. Although the apparatus is operated with the heater activated in the separation mode according to this embodiment, the heater 17 may be activated for certain time periods and thereafter only activation of the heater 17 may be stopped while operating the apparatus. In this case, since the high boiling point refrigerant in the reservoir 16 is cooled while maintaining its density and is reserved in the reservoir 16 as supercooled liquid, the composition enriched with the low boiling point refrigerant can be retained in the main circuit. Therefore, the quantity of heat required for the heater 17 to conduct the separating action can be reduced. Fig. 3 is a view which illustrates an embodiment of the heat pump apparatus according to the present invention and structured so as to conduct the switching between heating and cooling operations. Referring to the drawing, reference numeral 20 represents a compressor, 21 represents a four-way valve, 22 represents a utilisation side heat exchanger, 23 represents a main restrictor and 24 represents a heat source side heat exchanger. The main circuit of the heat pump apparatus according to this embodiment is formed by connecting the above-described elements via pipes. Reference numeral 25 represents a fractioning/separating device filled with filler, the fractioning/separating device 25 having an upper portion connected to a pipe arranged between the utilization side heat exchanger 22 and the main restrictor 23 via a parallel circuit consisting of a first auxiliary restrictor 26 and a first check valve 27. Similarly, the upper portion of the fractioning/separating device 25 is connected to a pipe arranged between the main restrictor 23 and the heat source side heat exchanger 24 via a parallel circuit consisting of a second auxiliary restrictor 28 and a second check valve 29. A reservoir 30 is disposed below the fractioning/separating device 25, the lower portion of the reservoir 30 being connected to a pipe arranged between the main restrictor 23 and the heat source side heat exchanger 24 via a valve 31 and a third check valve 32. The lower portion of the reservoir 30 is connected to a pipe arranged between the main restrictor 23 and the utilization side heat exchanger 22 via the valve 31 and a fourth check valve 33. Further more, the structure is so arranged that refrigerant in the reservoir 30 is heated by a heater 34. The manipulation and operation of the heat pump apparatus for varying the composition of enclosed nonazeotropic mixed refrigerant will now be described. In the non-separation mode with the heater operating, a portion of refrigerant discharged from the utilization side heat exchanger 22 is introduced into the main restrictor 23 by opening the valve 31, the refrigerant thus introduced being then constricted to a low pressure level before being introduced into the heat source side heat exchanger 24. The residual portion of the liquid refrigerant passes through the first auxiliary restrictor 26 during which liquid refrigerant is constricted to a low pressure level before being allowed to branch above the fractioning/separating device 25. After this branching, a portion of the liquid refrigerant passes through the second check valve 29 before being introduced into the heat source side heat exchanger 24, while the residual portion is introduced into the reservoir 30 at which excess refrigerant is reserved. The refrigerant passes through the valve 31 and the third check valve 32 before being introduced into the heat source side heat exchanger 24. As a result, the main circuit is operated while maintaining the composition of the mixed refrigerant enriched with high boiling point refrigerant which is the state in which the refrigerant was first enclosed. In the non-separation mode at the time of the cooling operation, a portion of the refrigerant discharged from the heat source side heat exchanger 24 is introduced into the main restrictor 23 before passing through the main circuit. Then, it passes through the fractioning/separating device 25 through a second restrictor 28 before being introduced into the reservoir 30 in which excess refrigerant is reserved. The residual refrigerant passes through the valve 31 and the fourth check valve 33 before passing through the utilization side heat exchanger 22. As a result, the main circuit is operated while maintaining the composition of the mixed refrigerant enriched with high boiling point refrigerant which is the state in which the refrigerant was first enclosed. In the separation mode at the time of the heating operation, the valve 31 is closed and the heater 34 is operated. As a result, low boiling point refrigerant of the mixed refrigerant in the reservoir 30 is mainly evaporated, the evaporated refrigerant then moving upwards in the fractioning/separating device 25. At this time, two-phase refrigerant consisting of liquid and gas is supplied from the outlet point of the first auxiliary restrictor 26 to the upper portion of the fractioning/separating device 25. A portion of the thus supplied liquid refrigerant moves downward in the fractioning/separating device 25. Then, the liquid refrigerant undergoes a gas-liquid contact with gas which is moving upwards, causing fractioning to take place. As a result, the density of the low boiling point refrigerant in the gas which is moving upwards is raised, while the density of the high boiling point refrigerant in the refrigerant in the liquid which is moving downwards is also raised. Thus, the reservoir 30 reserves high boiling point refrigerant as a condensed liquid. On the other hand, the gas enriched with low boiling point refrigerant which has moved upwards is mixed with a portion of the supplied refrigerant before passing through the second check valve 29. Then, it is introduced into the heat source side heat exchanger 24. As a result, the main circuit is operated while maintaining the composition of the mixed refrigerant enriched with low boiling point refrigerant. In this case, since the pressure in the fractioning/separating device 25 is arranged to be as low as the pressure in the main circuit, the specific volume of gas generated is large, and the velocity of the gas which is upward moving in the fractioning/separating device 25 to be thereby increased. As a result, the gas-liquid contact is promoted, causing the separating performance of the fractioning/separating device 25 is improved. Therefore, the density of the high boiling point refrigerant reserved in the reservoir 30 can be significantly raised. Since the composition of the refrigerant in the main circuit becomes a composition enriched with low boiling point refrigerant which has a significant heating performance, the main circuit can satisfactorily cope with an increase in heating load. In the separation mode at the time of the cooling operation, the valve 31 is closed and the heater 34 is not operated. As a result, low boiling point refrigerant from the mixed liquid refrigerant in the reservoir 30 is mainly evaporated, the evaporated refrigerant then moving upwards in the fractioning/separating device 25. At this time, two phase refrigerant consisting of liquid and gas is supplied from the outlet port of the second auxiliary restrictor 28 to the upper portion of the fractioning/separating device 25. Then, the liquid refrigerant undergoes a gas-liquid contact with gas which is moving upwards, causing fractioning to take place. As a result, the main circuit is operated while maintaining the composition of the mixed refrigerant enriched with low boiling point refrigerant similar to the case of the heating operation, the composition exhibiting excellent cooling performance. Therefore, the apparatus can cope with an increase in the load. When it is intended to restore the composition of the refrigerant in the main circuit, it is only necessary to open the valve 31 and in both the cases of the heating and the cooling operations since the high boiling point refrigerant in the reservoir 16 is then mixed with that in the main circuit causing the composition of the refrigerant in the main circuit to become enriched with high boiling point refrigerant in a state the same as that when it was first enclosed. As described above, the composition of the refrigerant in the main circuit can be significantly varied by simply operating the valve 31 and the heater 34. Therefore, the composition of the refrigerant can be easily controlled so as to cope with the magnitude of the load applied. As a result, the range in which the performance can be varied can be broadened. Fig. 4 is a view which illustrates another embodiment of the heat pump apparatus according to the present invention structured so as to conduct switching between the heating and cooling operations. Like elements as those shown in Fig. 3 are given like reference numerals. According to this embodiment, the upper portion of the fractioning/separating device 25 in connected to a pipe arranged between the main restrictor 23 and the utilization side heat exchanger 22 via a first auxiliary resistor 35. The upper portion is also connected to a pipe arranged between the four-way valve 21 and the utilization side heat exchanger 22 via a first check valve 36. Similarly, the upper portion of the fractioning/separating device 25 is connected to a pipe arranged between the heat source side heat exchanger 24 and the main restrictor 23 via a second auxiliary restrictor 37. The upper portion is also connected to a pipe arranged between the four-way valve 21 and the heat source side heat exchanger 24 via a second check valve 38. According to this embodiment, in the non-separation mode at the time of heating and the cooling operations, refrigerant discharged from the first auxiliary restrictor 35 or the second auxiliary restrictor 37 passes through the fractioning/separating device 25 before being introduced into the reservoir by opening the valve 31. The excess refrigerant is reserved in the reservoir 30. The refrigerant then passes through the valve 31 and the third check valve 32 or the fourth check valve 33 before passing through the main circuit. Therefore, the main circuit can be operated while maintaining the mixed composition of refrigerant enriched with high boiling point which is as it was when first enclosed. In the separation mode at the time of the heating operation, the valve 31 is closed. Since the fraction at this time is conducted at a low pressure in similar manner to the apparatus shown in Fig. 3, high performance separation can be conducted. Gas generated from the liquid refrigerant in the reservoir 30 due to the heat supplied from the heater 34 moves upwards in the fractioning/separating device 25 and is sucked by the compressor 20 after passing through the second check valve 38 and the four-way valve 21. As a result, the pressure loss which occurs in the heat source side heat exchanger 24 can be reduced so that the composition of the refrigerant in the main circuit can be made to be a composition enriched with low boiling point refrigerant while performance is maintained at a high level. In the separation mode at the time of the cooling operation, the valve 31 is similarly closed. Since fractioning can be similarly conducted at a low pressure, high performance separation can be conducted. Gas generated from the liquid refrigerant in the reservoir 30 due to the heat supplied from the heater 34 moves upwards in the fractioning/separating device 25 and is sucked by the compressor 20 after passing through the first check valve 36 and the four-way valve 21. As a result, the pressure loss which occurs in the utilisation side heat exchanger 22 serving as a heat source side heat-exchanger can be reduced so that the composition of the refrigerant in the main circuit can be made to be a composition enriched with low boiling point refrigerant while performance is maintained at a high level. When it is intended to restore the composition of the refrigerant in the main circuit, it is only necessary to open the valve 31 in both the cases of the heating and the cooling operations since the high boiling point refrigerant in the reservoir 30 is mixed with that in the main circuit causing the composition of the refrigerant in the main circuit to become enriched with high boiling point refrigerant which is in a state the same as that when it was first enclosed. As described above, the composition of refrigerant in the main circuit can be significantly varied by conducting the separation at a low pressure in both heating and cooling operations simply by operating the valve 31 and the heater 34. Furthermore, gas generated in the reservoir 30 can be directly sucked by the compressor 20. As a result, the operation provides a high performance. Fig. 5 is a view which illustrates the structure of a heat pump apparatus according to the present invention and structured so as to conduct switching between heating and cooling operations. Referring to the drawing, reference numeral 80 represents a compressor, 81 represents a four-way valve, 82 represents a utilisation side heat exchanger, 83 represents a main restrictor, and 84 represents a heat source side heat exchanger. The main circuit of the heat pump apparatus according to this embodiment is formed by connecting the above-described elements. Reference numeral 85 represents a fractioning/separating device filled with filler. The upper portion of the fractioning/separating device 85 is connected to a pipe arranged between the utilization side heat exchanger 82 and the main restrictor 83 via a parallel circuit formed by a first auxiliary restrictor 86 and a first check valve 87. Similarly, the upper portion of the fractioning/separating device 85 is connected to a pipe arranged between the main restrictor 83 and the heat source side heat exchanger 84 via a parallel circuit formed by a second auxiliary restrictor 88 and a second check valve 89. A reservoir 90 is disposed below the fractioning/separating device 85. The lower portion of the reservoir 90 is connected to the pipe arranged between the main restrictor 83 and the heat source side heat exchanger 83 via a valve 91 and a third check valve 92. The lower portion is also connected to the pipe arranged between the main restrictor 83 and the utilization side heat exchanger 82 via the valve 91 and a fourth check valve 93. The reservoir 90 is structured so as to exchange heat to and from the ambient air 95 blown by a fan 94 and serving as the heat source of the heat source side heat exchanger 84. The manipulation and operation of the heat pump apparatus for varying the composition of enclosed nonazeotropic mixed refrigerant will now be described. In the non-separation mode at the time of the heating operation, when the valve 91 is opened, a portion of refrigerant passing through the main circuit passes through the fractioning/separating device 85 via the first auxiliary restrictor 86 before being introduced into the reservoir 90. The excess portion of the refrigerant is reserved in the reservoir 90, and the residual portion passes through the valve 91 and the third check valve 92 before being introduced into the heat source side heat exchanger 84. As a result, the main circuit is operated while maintaining the composition of mixed refrigerant enriched with high boiling point refrigerant which is in the same state as when the refrigerant was first enclosed. In the non-separation mode at the time of the cooling operation, refrigerant discharged from the second auxiliary restrictor 88 passes through the fractioning/separating device 85 before being introduced into the reservoir in which the excess portion of the refrigerant is reserved. The residual refrigerant passes through the valve 91 and the fourth check valve 93 before being introduced into the utilization side heat exchanger 82. As a result, the main circuit is operated with maintaining the composition of mixed refrigerant enriched with high boiling point refrigerant which is in the state as when the refrigerant was first enclosed. In the separation mode at the time of the heating operation, the valve 91 is closed. Since the temperature of the refrigerant in the reservoir 90 is substantially the same as the that at an inlet port of the heat source side heat exchanger 84, heat is transmitted from the high temperature ambient air 95 supplied by the fan 94, to the reservoir 90. As a result, low boiling point refrigerant of the mixed liquid refrigerant in the reservoir 90 is mainly evaporated so that the evaporated refrigerant moves upwards in the fractioning/separating device 85. At this time, two-phase refrigerant consisting of liquid and gas is supplied from the outlet port of the first auxiliary restrictor 86 to the upper portion of the fractioning/separating device 85. The portion of liquid refrigerant of the supplied refrigerant moves downwards in the fractioning/separating device 85 before being subjected to a gas-liquid contact with the gas which is moving upwards, causing the fraction to take place. As a result, the density of low boiling point refrigerant in the gas which is moving upwards is also raised, while the density of high boiling point refrigerant of liquid which is moving downwards is raised. Therefore, high boiling point refrigerant in the form of condensed liquid is reserved in the reservoir 90. On the other hand, gas enriched with low boiling point refrigerant which has moved upwards is mixed with a portion of supplied refrigerant before passing through the second check valve 89. Then, refrigerant is introduced into the heat source side heat exchanger 84. As a result, the main circuit can be operated with maintaining the composition of mixed refrigerant enriched with low boiling point refrigerant. In this case, since the pressure in the fractioning/separating device 85 is arranged to be a low pressure, the separating performance can be improved. Furthermore, since the ambient air 95 is used as the heat source, the heating performance does dot deteriorate. Thus, the composition of the refrigerant can be varied with a high performance being maintained. Furthermore, when the quantity of refrigerant to be circulated in the main circuit is increased by raising the revolution speed of the compressor 80 and so forth in order to generate heating performance which can cope with an increased load, temperature of evaporation is lowered so as to balance with the capacity of heat exchanger 84. Therefore, the pressure in the reservoir is lowered, causing the generation of gas to be increased temporarily. Furthermore, temperature of refrigerant in the reservoir is caused to be lowered. Therefore, the pressure in the reservoir is lowered, causing the generation of gas to be increased temporarily. Furthermore, temperature of refrigerant in the reservoir is caused to be lowered. Therefore, the difference in the temperature from that of the ambient air 95 is increased. As a result, the quantity of heat is increased, causing the generation of gas is promoted and thereby the separation action to also be promoted. As a result, the composition of refrigerant in the main circuit becomes a composition enriched with low boiling point refrigerant exhibiting an excellent heating performance. Therefore, the apparatus can satisfactorily cope with an increase in load. On the contrary, in the case where the quantity of refrigerant to be circulated is reduced due to the reduction in the load, evaporation temperature is raised, causing the quantity of heat supplied to the reservoir 90 to be reduced. As a result, the separation action cannot be promoted, causing the composition of refrigerant in the main circuit to become a composition enriched with high boiling point refrigerant having limited heating performance. Thus, the apparatus can sufficiently cope with a decrease in the load. In the separation mode at the time of the cooling operation, the valve 91 is also closed. Since temperature of refrigerant in the reservoir 90 is substantially equal to that at the inlet port of the utilization side heat exchanger 82 in the main circuit at this time, heat is transmitted from the high temperature ambient air 95 supplied by the fan 94, to the reservoir 90. As a result, low boiling point refrigerant of the mixed liquid refrigerant in the reservoir 90 is mainly evaporated so that the evaporated refrigerant moves upwards in the fractioning/separating device 85. At this time, two-phase refrigerant consisting of liquid and gas is supplied from the outlet port of the second auxiliary restrictor 88 to the upper portion of the fractioning/separating device 85. The portion of liquid refrigerant of the supplied refrigerant moves downwards in the fractioning/separating device 85 before being subjected to a gas-liquid contact with the gas which is moving upwards, causing fractioning to take place. As a result, the main circuit can be operated while maintaining the composition of mixed refrigerant enriched with low boiling point refrigerant in similar manner to the heating operation. Also in this case, since the fractioning/separating device 85 is operated at a low pressure, excellent separating performance can be obtained. Furthermore, the composition of refrigerant necessary to cope with a change in the load can be obtained by adjusting the quantity of refrigerant which passes through the main circuit. In order to restore the composition of refrigerant in the main circuit, it is necessary for the valve 91 to be opened in both heating and cooling modes to enable the high boiling point refrigerant in the reservoir 90 to be mixed with refrigerant in the main circuit and thereby the composition of refrigerant in the main circuit can be restored to the state when the refrigerant was first enclosed. As described above, the composition of refrigerant in the main circuit can be significantly varied by conducting separation at a pressure as low as that of the main circuit in both heating and cooling modes, the variation of the composition being capable of maintaining high performance without deterioration in heating and cooling performance. Furthermore, the composition of refrigerant corresponding to the magnitude of the load can be easily controlled in accordance with change in the quantity of refrigerant to be circulated. As a result, the range in which performance can be varied can be broadened.

Claims: A heat pump apparatus comprising: a main heat pump circuit containing nonazeotropic mixed refrigerant, said circuit consists of a compressor (20,80), a four-way valve (21,81), a utilization side heat-exchanger (22,82), a main restrictor (23,83), a heat source side heat-exchanger (24,84), a fractioning/separating device (25,85), a reservoir (30,90) and a heat source (34,[90,94]), characterised in that an upper portion of said fractioning/separating device is connected to a pipe disposed between said utilization side heat-exchanger (22,82) and said main restrictor (23,83) via a parallel circuit of a first auxiliary restrictor (26,86) and a first check valve (27,87) which allows only a stream discharged from said fractioning/separating device (25,85) to flow therethrough, and said upper portion is also connected to another pipe between the heat source side heat-exchanger (24,84) and said main restrictor (23,83) via a parallel circuit of a second auxiliary restrictor (28,88) and a second check valve (29,89) which allows only a stream discharged from said fractioning/separating device (25,85) to flow therethrough. A heat pump apparatus comprising: a main heat pump circuit containing nonazeotropic mixed refrigerant, said circuit consists of a compressor (20), a four-way valve (21), a utilization side heat-exchanger (22), a main restrictor (23), a heat source side heat-exchanger (24), a fractioning/separating device (25), a reservoir (30), and a heat source (34), characterised in that an upper portion of said fractioning/separating device (25), is connected to a pipe disposed between said utilization side heat-exchanger (22) and said main restrictor (23) via a first auxiliary restrictor (35), and said upper portion of said fractioning/separating device (25) is connected to an inlet port of a first check valve (36) which allows only a stream discharged from said fractioning/separating device to flow therethrough, an outlet port of said first check-valve (36) is connected to a pipe between said four-way valve (21) and said utilization side heat-exchanger (22), and said upper portion of said fractioning/separating device is also connected to a pipe between said heat source side heat-exchanger (24) and said main restrictor (23) via a second auxiliary restrictor (37), the upper portion of said fractioning/separating device (25) is connected to an inlet port of a second check valve (38) which allows only a stream discharged from said fractioning and separating device to flow therethrough, and an outlet port of said second check valve (38) is connected to a pipe between the four-way valve (21) and said heat source side heat-exchanger (24). A heat pump apparatus as set forth in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that said reservoir (30,90) is connected to a low pressure side pipe line in said main heat pump circuit via a shut-off valve (31,91). A heat pump apparatus as set forth in any preceding claim, characterised in that the heat source is a heater (34) and the reservoir (30) and heater (34) are disposed below the fractioning/separating device (25). A heat pump apparatus as set forth in claim 4, characterised in that said heater (34) is used as a heat source for said utilization side (22) or heat source side heat-exchanger (24) in said main heat pump circuit. A heat pump apparatus as set forth in any preceding claim, characterised in that said nonazeotropic mixed refrigerant is composed of R22 and a refrigerant having a boiling point higher that that of R22, which are mixed so as to have a vapour pressure substantially equal to that of R12. A heat pump apparatus as set fourth in claim 6, characterised in that a refrigerant containing at least one selected from a group consisting of R134a. R152a, R134, R124, R142b, RC318, R143, R123, R123a and R141b is used as said refrigerant having a boiling point higher than that of R22.

Inventors: ARITA KOJI, IKOMA MITSUHIRO, NAKATANI KAZUO, TAGASHIRA MINORU, TOMIZAWA TAKESHI, YOSHIDA YUJI, ARITA, KOJI, IKOMA, MITSUHIRO, NAKATANI, KAZUO, TAGASHIRA, MINORU, TOMIZAWA, TAKESHI, YOSHIDA, YUJI
Applicants: MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC IND CO LTD, MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.
Application year: 1989
Main classification: F25B9
IPC codes: F25B9, F25B13