Patent ID: 7197889

Claim:
A cooling unit wherein a compressor and a condenser are located in an outdoor unit; an expansion means and an evaporator are located in an indoor unit; liquefied refrigerant from said condenser is supplied to the evaporator through a first pipeline system and the expansion means; the evaporator is configured so that vaporized refrigerant which has been cooled returns to the compressor through a second pipeline system; and a liquid receiver connected to said first pipeline system on a downstream side of said condenser is installed in said outdoor unit, said cooling unit comprising: a first bypass pipe disposed in said outdoor unit, said first bypass pipe diverging, on a downstream side of said compressor, from a refrigerant pipe-line, which connects said compressor and said condenser, and connecting to said first pipeline system of said outdoor unit on a downstream side of said liquid receiver; a second bypass pipe disposed in said indoor unit, said second bypass pipe diverging, on an upstream side of the expansion means, from said first pipeline system located in said indoor unit and connecting, on a downstream side of the expansion means, to an upstream side of the evaporator; and a switch means disposed in each of said first and second bypass pipes and said first pipeline system, for switching a refrigerant supply line to either one of a state in which liquefied refrigerant from said liquid receiver is supplied to the expansion means through the first pipeline system, and a state in which vaporized refrigerant from said compressor is supplied to the evaporator through the first pipeline system.