Patent ID: 7086242

Claim:
A dehumidifying air-conditioning apparatus comprising: a pressurizer for raising a pressure of a refrigerant; a condenser for condensing said refrigerant to heat a high-temperature heat source fluid; an evaporator for evaporating said refrigerant to cool process air to a temperature lower than its dew point; a first heat exchanging portion disposed in a refrigerant path between said condenser and said evaporator for evaporating said refrigerant under an intermediate pressure between the condensing pressure of said condenser and the evaporating pressure of said evaporator to cool said process air by evaporation of said refrigerant under said intermediate pressure; a second heat exchanging portion disposed in said refrigerant path between said condenser and said evaporator for condensing said refrigerant under an intermediate pressure between the condensing pressure of said condenser and the evaporating pressure of said evaporator to heat said process air by condensation of said refrigerant under said intermediate pressure; a process air path connecting said first heat exchanging portion, said evaporator, and said second heat exchanging portion in the order named; a first restriction disposed on said refrigerant path at the upstream side of said first heat exchanging portion; and a second restriction disposed on said refrigerant path at the downstream side of said second heat exchanging portion; wherein the throttling effect of said first restriction is larger than that of said second restriction.