Patent ID: 8408018

Claim:
A refrigeration apparatus including a refrigerant circuit provided with a compression mechanism in which a first compressor with variable operating capacity and a second compressor with fixed operating capacity are connected to each other on a discharge side; and with a pilot-type four-way switching valve which is able to switch depending on a differential pressure between a high-pressure port which is connected to the compression mechanism, and which communicates with the discharge side of the compression mechanism, and a low-pressure port communicating with a suction side of the compression mechanism, the refrigeration apparatus comprising: a capacity control section for starting the first compressor at a lower operating capacity level when starting thereof; a switching valve control section for outputting a switching signal for controlling the four-way switching valve to a predetermined switching state when starting the compression mechanism; and a switching determination section which, when starting only the first compressor as a start-up of the compression mechanism, performs a determination operation for comparing the differential pressure with a predetermined determination value after the switching signal being outputted by the switching valve control section, and which outputs a low differential pressure signal if the differential pressure falls below the determination value in the determination operation, wherein the capacity control section starts the second compressor after the switching determination section outputs the low differential pressure signal.