Patent Publication Number: US-9890962-B2

Title: Refrigerant socket and air conditioner having the same

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to a socket and, in particular, to a refrigerant socket and an air conditioner having the same. The refrigerant socket is connected between an outdoor unit and an indoor unit of the air conditioner. 
     2. Related Art 
     An air conditioner includes an outdoor unit, a plurality of indoor units, and a plurality of refrigerant pipes connected between the outdoor unit and the indoor unit. The indoor unit is installed indoors to performing heat exchange on indoor air. The outdoor unit is installed outdoors to draw outdoor air and release heat. 
     When installing the conventional air conditioner, a diameter of the installed refrigerant pipe has to exactly match the outdoor unit and the indoor unit. Therefore, if a room with the installed indoor unit is intended for a different use, a cooling capacity is changed, decoration is changed, brand-new decoration is required, a position of the indoor unit is changed, or etc., the original piping has to be removed to conduct a new installation, there occur problems like wasting piping materials, refrigerant, time, and efforts for the new installation, so the new installation not only is cost-prohibitive and cost-ineffective, but also damages the structure of the building by repeatedly removing and installing the piping. Further, if the refrigerant pipe is already installed in a wall, the wall has to be damaged for installing new piping, so the installation is more troublesome and inconvenient and greatly damaging the structure of the building, which are defects commonly known by people. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerant socket and an air conditioner having the same. Even if a diameter of a refrigerant pipe does not match an indoor unit, connection can still be made without the need of removing the original piping, thereby avoiding wasting refrigerant. 
     Accordingly, the present invention provides a refrigerant socket including: an accommodating body including an accommodating space; and at least one pipeline assembly including a refrigerant pipe, a switch, a refrigerant pumping pipe, and at least one joint. The refrigerant pipe is connected to the accommodating body and has an inner section inside the accommodating space and an outer section outside the accommodating body. The inner section has a free end. The switch is disposed at the inner section and away from the free end thereof. The switch selectively allows or blocks a flow inside the refrigerant pipe. The refrigerant pumping pipe communicates between the free end of the inner section and the switch. The at least one joint communicates between the free end of the inner section and the switch. 
     The present invention further provides a conditioner including an outdoor unit, at least one indoor unit including an indoor unit refrigerant pipe, and at least one refrigerant socket. The at least one refrigerant socket includes: an accommodating body, the accommodating body having an accommodating space; at least one pipeline assembly. The pipeline assembly includes a refrigerant pipe, a switch, a refrigerant pumping pipe, and at least one joint. The refrigerant pipe is connected to the accommodating body and has an inner section inside the accommodating space and an outer section outside the accommodating body. The inner section has a free end, and the outer section is connected to the outdoor unit. The switch is disposed at the inner section and away from the free end thereof, and the switch selectively allows or blocks a flow inside the refrigerant pipe where the switch is. The refrigerant pumping pipe communicates between the free end of the inner section and the switch. The at least one joint communicates between the free end of the inner section and the switch, and the indoor unit refrigerant pipe of the at least one indoor unit is connected to the at least one joint. 
     Compared to conventional techniques, the present invention has following effects: even if the diameter of the refrigerant pipe does not match the indoor unit, connection can still be made by means of the refrigerant socket without the need of removing the original piping, thereby avoiding wasting refrigerant. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a refrigerant socket according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the refrigerant socket, after a cover body and a partition are opened, according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of the refrigerant socket of  FIG. 2  according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic perspective view of the refrigerant socket, after opening a cover body for connecting an indoor unit refrigerant pipe, according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic view of the refrigerant socket, showing a flow state of the refrigerant after connecting the indoor unit refrigerant pipe, according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a front view of the refrigerant socket, in which the refrigerant socket is changed to use a single pipeline assembly and a single joint, according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic view illustrating the connection of an air conditioner using the refrigerant socket shown in  FIG. 6  according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic view of the air conditioner installed to a building according to  FIG. 7  of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic view of the air conditioner installed to the building according to  FIG. 5  of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic front view of a refrigerant socket according to the second embodiment of the present invention, which illustrating the flow state of the refrigerant after the refrigerant socket is connected to the indoor unit refrigerant pipe (the cover body and the partition are opened). 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Detailed descriptions and technical contents of the present invention are illustrated below in conjunction with the accompany drawings. However, it is to be understood that the descriptions and the accompany drawings disclosed herein are merely illustrative and exemplary and not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. 
     The present invention provides a refrigerant socket and an air conditioner having the same. The air conditioner includes an outdoor unit  600  (as shown in  FIG. 7 ), an indoor unit  800 , and a refrigerant socket  100 . The refrigerant socket  100  is connected between the outdoor unit  600  and the indoor unit  800  to allow refrigerant in liquid phase from the outdoor unit  600  to be conveyed into the indoor unit  800 . After heat exchange, the refrigerant in vapor phase is conveyed from the indoor unit  800  back into the outdoor unit  600 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 1 to 5 , showing the refrigerant socket  100  according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerant socket  100  includes an accommodating body  1  and a plurality of pipeline assemblies  2 . In the first embodiment, the number of the pipeline assemblies  2  is two as an example (the refrigerant socket  100  certainly may include only one, three, or more than three pipeline assemblies  2 ), and detailed descriptions are provided as follow. 
     The accommodating body  1  includes a box body  11 , a cover body  12 , and a partition  13 . The box body  11  has an accommodating space  111 , and the box body  11  forms an opening  110  corresponding to the accommodating space  111 . The cover body  12  correspondingly covers the opening  110  of the box body  11 . The partition  13  is elevated high to be disposed at a suitable height inside the accommodating space  111  of the box body  11  and forms as a close shape. The partition  13  further forms a plurality of holes  131 . The accommodating body  1  can be embedded in a depression (not illustrated) of the wall, and then the cover body  12  or the partition  13  can cover the accommodating space  111  for a decoration effect. Certainly, the accommodating body  1  can also be protrudingly installed on the wall, which is not limited by the present invention. An insulation material  14  (not shown in some of the drawings) is disposed in the accommodating space  111  of the accommodating body  1  to keep the accommodating body  1  cool. 
     The pipeline assembly  2  includes a refrigerant pipe  21 , a refrigerant pumping pipe  22 , a switch  23 , and a plurality of joints (for example, joints  24 ,  25 ,  26  or even more). In the first embodiment, each of the pipeline assemblies  2  has a plurality of joints  24  to  26 , as exemplified. The refrigerant pipe  21  is connected to the accommodating body  1  and has an inner section  211  inside the accommodating space  111  and an outer section  212  outside the accommodating body  1 . The inner section has a free end  210 . Referring to  FIG. 7 , the outer section  212  of the two pipeline assemblies  2  is connected to a refrigerant outlet and a refrigerant inlet (not shown in the drawings) of the outdoor unit  600 , respectively. The outer section  212  of the refrigerant pipe  21  is enclosed by an insulation material  28  to maintain cool in the refrigerant pipe  21 . 
     The switch  23  is disposed at the inner section  211  and away from the free end  210 . The refrigerant pumping pipe  22  communicates between the free end  210  of the inner section  211  and the switch  23 . The switch  23  is a stop valve, so as to selectively allow or block the flow inside the refrigerant pipe  21 , thereby controlling the refrigerant inside the refrigerant pipe  21  to flow or not to flow. 
     Each of the joints  24 ,  25  and  26  communicates between the free end  210  of the inner section  211  and the switch  23 , and has a different diameter for being adapted to use with different outdoor units  600  and indoor units  800 . As shown in the drawings, the diameter of the joint  24  is larger, the diameter of the joint  26  is smaller, and the diameter of the joint  25  is between that of the joint  24  and that of the joint  26 . For instance, the diameters of the joints  24  to  26  can sequentially be ½ inch, ⅜ inch, and ¼ inch, or can be greater diameters like ¾ inch, ⅝ inch, and ½ inch. A workman can select suitable joints from joints  24  to  26  to match the diameters of the outdoor unit  600  and the indoor unit  800 . Therefore, even if the diameter of the refrigerant pipe  21  does not match the indoor unit  800 , the connection can still be made via the refrigerant socket  100  of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 5 , two indoor unit refrigerant pipes  8  (one is for flowing in, and the other is for flowing out) of the indoor unit  800  (not shown in  FIG. 5 , but shown in  FIG. 7 ) are respectively and selectively connected to one of the joints  24  to  26  of the two pipeline assemblies  2 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , each of the joints  24 ,  25  and  26  protrudes outside the accommodating body  1  through the holes  131  of the partition  13 . The indoor unit refrigerant pipe  8  of the indoor unit  800  has butt joints  81 ,  82 , and  83  removably connected to the joints  24 ,  25 , and  26 , respectively. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 7 , the refrigerant socket  100  has two pipeline assemblies  2 . The two pipeline assemblies  2  are respectively used as a refrigerant flowing in pipe and a refrigerant flowing out pipe while installed to the indoor unit  800 . Since each of pipeline assemblies  2  has plural joints  24  to  26 , the workman can select a suitable one (what shown in  FIG. 5  are joint  25  and joint  26  respectively) of the joints to match and connect to the indoor unit  800 . The installation is very convenient and fast. 
     Moreover, the refrigerant pumping pipe  22  is connected to the inner section  211  and close to the free end  210 , and the refrigerant pumping pipe  22  is correspondingly connected to the joint  24  closest to the free end  210 . The refrigerant pumping pipe  22  is a three-way pipe, and the workman can use the refrigerant pumping pipe  22  to pump out the refrigerant inside the indoor unit refrigerant pipe  8  or the refrigerant pipe  21  to substantially achieve a vacuum. 
       FIG. 6  shows a modified example (the cover body  12  and the partition  13  are omitted) according to the foregoing first embodiment of the present invention. In the modified example, the first embodiment is modified into a single unit type refrigerant socket  100 . The single unit type refrigerant socket  100  includes the foregoing accommodating body  1  and only one set of pipeline assembly  2 . The pipeline assembly  2  includes only one joint  27  (with any diameter matching to the indoor unit  800 ) as shown in the drawing. Certainly, in the modified example according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the pipeline assembly  2  can have plural joints with diameters different from one another (not shown in the drawings). 
       FIG. 7  is a schematic view showing the connection in regard to the air conditioner using the single unit type refrigerant socket  100  shown in  FIG. 6 , in which the single unit type refrigerant socket  100  is connected between the outdoor unit  600  and the indoor unit  800 . Since the refrigerant socket  100  of the modified example includes only one pipeline assembly  2 , it requires using two refrigerant sockets  100  to accomplish the connection. As shown in the drawing, the outer sections  212  of the refrigerant pipes  21  of the two refrigerant sockets  100  are respectively connected to the refrigerant outlet and the refrigerant inlet of the outdoor unit  600 . The refrigerant outlet and the refrigerant inlet of the outdoor unit  800  are respectively connected to the joints  27  of the inner sections  211  of the two refrigerant sockets  100 . Accordingly, the liquid-phase refrigerant of the outdoor unit  600  is conveyed to the indoor unit  800  via one of the refrigerant pipes  21  and one of the indoor unit refrigerant pipes  8 . After performing the heat exchange in the indoor unit  800 , the vapor-phase refrigerant is conveyed back into the outdoor unit  600  via the other one of the indoor unit refrigerant pipes  8  and the other one of the refrigerant pipes  21 . 
       FIG. 7  is a schematic view showing the connection in regard to the air conditioner using the single unit type refrigerant socket  100  shown in  FIG. 6 , in which the single unit type refrigerant socket  100  is connected between the outdoor unit  600  and the indoor unit  800 . Since the refrigerant socket  100  of the modified example includes only one pipeline assembly  2 , it requires using two refrigerant sockets  100  to accomplish the connection. As shown in the drawing, the outer sections  212  of the refrigerant pipes  21  of the two refrigerant sockets  100  are connected to the refrigerant outlet and the refrigerant inlet of the outdoor unit  600 , respectively. The refrigerant outlet and the refrigerant inlet of the outdoor unit  800  are connected to the joints  27  of the inner sections  211  of the two refrigerant sockets  100 , respectively. Accordingly, the liquid-phase refrigerant of the outdoor unit  600  is conveyed to the indoor unit  800  via one of the refrigerant pipes  21  and one of the indoor unit refrigerant pipes  8 . After performing the heat exchange in the indoor unit  800 , the vapor-phase refrigerant is conveyed back into the outdoor unit  600  via the other one of the indoor unit refrigerant pipes  8  and the other one of the refrigerant pipes  21 . 
     Regarding no waste of refrigerant, since the switch  23  can be used to block the flow of the refrigerant in the refrigerant pipe  21 , to remove or install the indoor unit  800  for the above-mentioned reasons, it only needs to pump out the refrigerant inside a small section, of the refrigerant pipe  8 , from the indoor unit  800  to the refrigerant socket  100  so as to substantially achieve the vacuum inside the small section. Moreover, the refrigerant in the outer section  212  of the refrigerant pipe  21 , which is longer in length, does not need to be pumped out to achieve the substantially vacuum state. The refrigerant is blocked and limited between the switch  23  and the outdoor unit  600 , thereby greatly reducing waste of the refrigerant and lower the possibility of incurring refrigerant leakage pollution. To install back the indoor unit  800 , it only needs to connect the indoor unit refrigerant pipe  8  to the corresponding joints  24  to  26 , then turn on the switch  23 , and then the refrigerant is allowed to flow and the air conditioner can be turned on immediately to operate. 
     Situations other than the above-mentioned are for example the following which also achieve the above-mentioned effects: removing the indoor unit  800  to clean it then installing it back, or removing the indoor unit  800  for maintenance then installing it back. 
       FIG. 8  is a schematic view of the air conditioner installed to the building  900  according to the foregoing modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention. The building  900  includes a plurality of walls (including the walls  9   a  and  9   b ), the outdoor unit  600  is installed outside the building  900 , one of the indoor walls of the building  900  have the plural refrigerant sockets  100  (the refrigerant sockets are installed in pairs, and each pair includes two of the refrigerant sockets) installed thereto, and the outer section  212  of the refrigerant pipe  21  is embedded in advance inside the walls  9   a  and  9   b  and pre-connected among the refrigerant outlet, the refrigerant inlet of the outdoor unit  600  and the plurality of refrigerant sockets  100 . At this point, the workman only needs to install the indoor unit  800  to the wall  9   b  according to requirements, and then the two indoor unit refrigerant pipes  8  can be removably connected to the two joints  27  of one of the pairs of the refrigerant sockets  100 , which makes the installation very easy, convenient, and fast. 
       FIG. 9  is a schematic view of the air conditioner installed to the building  900  according to the first embodiment (shown in  FIG. 5 ) of the present invention. The refrigerant socket  100  of the present invention is already embedded in the indoor wall of the building  900 , the outer section  212  of the refrigerant pipe  21  is embedded in advance in the walls  9   a  and  9   b  and pre-connected among the refrigerant inlet, the refrigerant outlet and the refrigerant socket  100 . At this point, the workman only needs to install the indoor unit  800  on one (i.e. the wall  9   b ) of the walls, the two indoor unit refrigerant pipes  8  of the indoor unit  800  can be respectively and removably connected to a suitable one of the joints  25  and  26 , which makes the installation easy, convenient, and fast. 
       FIG. 10  shows a refrigerant socket according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerant socket  100   a  of the second embodiment is almost the same to the refrigerant socket  100  of the foregoing first embodiment. The difference lies in that the accommodating body  1  of the refrigerant socket  100   a  is connected to three pipeline assemblies  2   a.    
     Each of the pipeline assemblies  2   a  has a different joint  24 ,  25  or  26  (these joints are different from one another in diameter; their diameters are ½ inch, ⅜ inch and ¼ inch sequentially, or are ¾ inch, ⅝ inch and ½ inch sequentially). The refrigerant socket  100   a  has three refrigerant pipes  21 , and the outer sections  212  of the three refrigerant pipes  21  are pre-installed or embedded in advance inside the walls  9   a  and  9   b.    
     Accordingly, referring to  FIG. 7 , when installing the indoor unit  800 , the workman only needs to use any two pipeline assemblies  2   a  matching the indoor unit  800  for making the connections. The un-connected pipeline assemblies are shut off by means of the switch  23  and not in use. In other words, as shown in  FIG. 10 , when choosing to use the joint  24  with the diameter of ½ inch and the joint  25  with the diameter of ⅜ inch, the joint  26  with the diameter of ¼ inch is shut off and not in use. Further, when choosing to use the joint  24  with the diameter of ½ inch and the joint  26  with the diameter of ¼ inch, the joint  25  with the diameter of ⅜ inch is shut off and not in use (not shown in the drawings), and the rest may be deduced by analogy. 
     In summary, compared to conventional techniques, the present invention has the following effects: it only needs to pre-install the refrigerant sockets  100  and  100   a  to the wall, and connect in advance the refrigerant sockets  100  and  100   a  to the outdoor unit  600  via the outer section  212  of the refrigerant pipe  21 , such that when installing the indoor unit  800  with any pipe diameter, the installation is very easy, convenient and fast by simply making the indoor unit refrigerant pipe  8  selectively and removably connected to the matching ones of the joints  24  to  26  (or  27 ) of the refrigerant sockets  100  and  100   a . In other words, since the joints  24  to  26  (or  27 ) with different diameters respectively can match the indoor unit  800  of all kinds of cooling capacity, it only needs to select suitable joints  24  to  26  (or  27 ) to make the connections when installing the indoor unit  800  of different cooling capacity, and there is no need to remove the originally installed piping of the refrigerant pipe  21 . 
     Furthermore, when the indoor room is intended for a different use, the cooling capacity is changed, the space design is changed, decoration is changed, brand-new decoration is required, or the position of the indoor unit  800  is changed, the connection can still be made via the refrigerant sockets  100  and  100   a  even if the diameter of the refrigerant pipe  21  cannot match the indoor unit  800 , and thereby achieving effects as follows: no need to remove the original piping of the refrigerant pipe  21 , no need to install new piping, no waste of piping materials, no waste of refrigerant, no damages to the structure of the building by repeatedly removing and re-installing piping (influences are more serious especially when the piping is pre-installed in the walls). In brief, even the diameter of the refrigerant pipe  21  cannot match the indoor unit  800 , the connection can be made simply via the refrigerant sockets  100  and  100   a.    
     Furthermore, the present invention also provides other effects: since the refrigerant sockets  100  and  100   a  are additionally disposed between the indoor unit  600  and the outdoor unit  800 , it only requires the diameters of the joints  24  to  26  (or  27 ) to match the indoor unit  800 . As to the outer section  212  of the refrigerant pipe  21 , which does not need to be removed and replaced, there is no need to consider the size/diameter problem since it does not affect the coolness of the air conditioner. Certainly, the invention is embodied best when directly choosing to use the outer section  212  with a largest diameter. 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to the foregoing preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details thereof. Various equivalent variations and modifications can still occur to those skilled in this art in view of the teachings of the present invention. Thus, all such variations and equivalent modifications are also embraced within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.