Patent ID: 10281184

Abstract:
Dehumidification cannot be performed when a load decreases. In an air conditioner of the present invention, an indoor heat exchanger includes an auxiliary heat exchanger 20 and a main heat exchanger 21 disposed leeward from the auxiliary heat exchanger 20. In an operation in a predetermined dehumidification operation mode, a liquid refrigerant supplied to the auxiliary heat exchanger 20 all evaporates midway in the auxiliary heat exchanger 20. Therefore, only an upstream partial area in the auxiliary heat exchanger 20 is an evaporation region, while an area downstream of the evaporation region in the auxiliary heat exchanger 20 is a superheat region. In the predetermined dehumidification operation mode, a compressor and an expansion valve are controlled so that the extent of the evaporation region of the auxiliary heat exchanger 20 varies depending on the load.