[0001] The present invention relates to an air conditioning system, and particularly, to
a unitary air conditioning system provided with an outdoor unit and a plurality of
blower units connected to the outdoor unit, for cooling or heating each zone inside
a building.
[0002] In general, a unitary air conditioning system is a kind of central heating and cooling
system in which cool air or warm air is made by using a heating and cooling device
provided in a factory, an office, a hotel, a house or the like, and supplied to each
zone through a pipe or a duct provided in a building.
[0003] In the unitary air conditioning system, to independently supply the cool or warm
air to individual zones by distinguishing a zone requiring cooling or heating and
a zone which does not so, a zone controller for distributing the cool or warm air
is installed on a duct, or a plurality of heating and cooling devices are individually
installed correspondingly to a plurality of zones.
[0004] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional unitary air conditioning system includes
an outdoor unit 1 fixedly installed outside a building (a two-story building in the
drawing); a supply duct 3 installed inside each zone (Z1) and (Z2) in the building,
for distributing the cool or warm air to the zones (Z1) and (Z2); a return duct 4
for returning the cool or warm air in each zone (Z1) and (Z2); a central blower unit
2 connected with the outdoor unit 1 by refrigerant pipes, for sending cool or warm
air to the supply duct 3; and a zone controller 5 installed between the central blower
unit 2 and the supply duct 3 and between the central blower unit 2 and the return
duct 4, for controlling a supply and a return of the air to and from the zones (Z1)
and (Z2).
[0005] The outdoor unit 1 includes a compressor 1a for compressing refrigerant; a first
heat exchanger 1b connected to the compressor 1 a by refrigerant pipes, for heat exchange
between refrigerant and ambient air; an expander 1 c for expanding volume of refrigerant
and reducing pressure of refrigerant; a four way valve 1 d disposed adjacent to the
compressor 1 a, for circulating a compressed refrigerant discharged from the compressor
1a according to a heating cycle or a cooling cycle; and an accumulator 1e disposed
in the vicinity of a refrigerant inlet of the compressor 1a, for filtering a liquefied
refrigerant.
[0006] The central blower unit 2 includes a second heat exchanger 2a connected to the compressor
1 a and the expander 1 c by refrigerant pipes, respectively; and a supply fan (not
shown) disposed adjacent to the second heat exchanger 2a, for supplying the cool or
warm air to the supply duct 3.
[0007] A plurality of discharge openings 3a are formed at the supply duct 3 to supply the
cool or warm air to a zone requiring cooling or heating, and a plurality of suction
openings 4a through which the air of each zone is sucked are formed at the return
duct 4.
[0008] The zone controller 5 is composed of valve 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d for selectively supplying
the cool or warm air to each zone (Z1) and (Z2), wherein the valves are installed
at the supply duct 3 and the return duct 4 arranged in the corresponding zone (Z1)
and (Z2). By the zone controller 5, the cool or warm air is distributed thus to be
supplied to each zone (Z1) and (Z2), or be selectively supplied to only one of the
zones (Z1) and (Z2).
[0009] The conventional air conditioning system having such a structure is operated as follows.
[0010] First, in case that a load detected in each zone (Z1) and (Z2) is greater than a
preset value, the cool or warm air is simultaneously supplied through the supply duct
3 of each zone (Z1) and (Z2). On the other side, in case that just one load of one
of the zones (Z1) and (Z2) is greater than a preset value, the cool or warm air is
supplied through the supply duct 3 of the corresponding zone, which requires cooling
or heating, by operation of the zone controller 5.
[0011] For example, during the cooling operation, a refrigerant compressed by the compressor
1a of the outdoor unit 1 is condensed in the first heat exchanger 1b of the outdoor
unit 1, and the condensed refrigerant passes through the expander 1c and then passes
through the second heat exchanger 2a of the central blower unit 2, thereby exchanging
its heat with the air introduced through the return duct 4. The air cooled in such
a manner moves to the supply duct 3 by a supply fan (not shown).
[0012] At this time, the zone controller 5 is operated according to a load of each corresponding
zone (Z1) and (Z2), thereby cooling the zone that requires cooling.
[0013] Meanwhile, during the heating operation, a flow of the refrigerant is converted by
operation of the four way valve 1d, and a heating cycle is carried out as a reverse
cycle of the cooling cycle.
[0014] However, the conventional air conditioning system constructed and operated as described
above has following problems.
[0015] First, a zone controller for controlling a return and supply of air should be additionally
installed when the cool or warm air is to be more intensively supplied to a zone having
high loads, such as a kitchen, a sun room, an exercise room or the like in the building.
However, operations for an additional installation of the duct and the zone controller
are complicated.
[0016] Also, to independently correspond to a load of each zone, a plurality of outdoor
units and a plurality of central blower units may be installed corresponding to the
number of zones. However, it may cause an increase in cost, which is very inefficient.
[0017] Therefore, an aim of the present invention is to provide a unitary air conditioning
system capable of effectively performing cooling or heating operation corresponding
to a load of each zone by being provided with a cooling/heating control unit for selectively
distributing a refrigerant from an outdoor unit to each blower unit for performing
cooling or heating operation on each zone.
[0018] Another aim of the present invention is to provide a unitary air conditioning system
capable of individually cooling or heating a specific zone having high loads or having
no duct by employing an individual cooling and heating system within a central cooling
and heating system performing heating and cooling operation on each zone in a building.
[0019] To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present
invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a unitary air
conditioning system comprising an outdoor unit including a compressor for compressing
refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger for heat exchange of refrigerant, and an expander
connected to the outdoor heat exchanger, for expanding refrigerant; a duct installed
in each zone of a building; a plurality of central blower units, each unit having
a heat exchanger connected to the outdoor unit by a refrigerant pipe and a blower
for supplying the air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger to the duct; and a cooling/heating
control unit for selectively distributing a refrigerant from the outdoor unit toward
the heat exchangers of the plurality of central blower units and controlling cooling
or heating operation for each zone of the building.
[0020] To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present
invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a unitary air
conditioning system comprising an outdoor unit including a compressor for compressing
refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger for heat exchange of refrigerant, and an expander
connected to the outdoor heat exchanger, for expanding refrigerant; a duct installed
in each zone of a building; a central blower unit having a heat exchanger connected
to the outdoor unit by a refrigerant pipe, and a blower for supplying the air heat-exchanged
by the heat exchanger to the duct; an individual blower unit including a heat exchanger
connected to the outdoor unit by a refrigerant pipe and a fan for sending the air
heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger, and disposed in a zone inside the building,
for individually cooling or heating the zone; and a cooling/heating control unit for
selectively distributing the refrigerant from the outdoor unit toward the heat exchangers
of the central blower unit and the individual blower unit and controlling cooling
or heating operation for each zone of the building.
[0021] The foregoing and other aims, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention
will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention
when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
[0022] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding
of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a unit of this specification,
illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to
explain the principles of the invention.
[0023] In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing one example of a conventional air conditioning
system;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the air conditioning system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an air conditioning system in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the air conditioning system of FIG. 3; and
FIG. 5 is a control block diagram of the air conditioning system of FIG. 3.
[0024] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present
invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
[0025] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a unitary air conditioning system in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention includes an outdoor unit 110 installed outside
a building; a plurality of ducts 121 and 122 installed at each zone (Z1) and (Z) in
the building, for distributing cool or warm air inside the building; a central blower
unit 120 connected to the outdoor unit 110 and installed inside or outside the building,
for supplying the cool or warm air inside the building through the ducts 121 and 121;
an individual blower unit 140 connected to the outdoor unit 110 and installed at a
specific zone (Z3) in the building, such as a kitchen or the like, for individually
supplying the cool or warm air to the specific zone; and a cooling/heating control
unit 300 for selectively distributing a refrigerant from the outdoor unit 110 toward
the central blower unit 120 and the individual blower unit 140 and controlling the
cooling and heating operation for each zone (Z1), (Z2) and (Z3).
[0026] The outdoor unit 110 includes a compressor 111 for compressing refrigerant; an outdoor
heat exchanger 113 for heat exchange between refrigerant and ambient air; a four way
valve 117 for circulating the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 111 according
to a cooing cycle or a heating cycle; an accumulator 118 disposed in the vicinity
of a refrigerant inlet of the compressor 111, for filtering a liquefied refrigerant;
an expander 114 connected to the outdoor heat exchanger 113, for expanding volume
of refrigerant and reducing pressure of refrigerant; and a fan 119 disposed adjacent
to the outdoor heat exchanger 113.
[0027] The plurality of ducts 121 and 122 are divided to be arranged in a plurality of zones
(Z1) and (Z2) in the building, respectively, and are composed of a supply duct 121
having a plurality of discharge openings 121a; and a returned duct 122 having a plurality
of suction openings 122a.
[0028] Preferably, the number of central blower units 120 corresponds to the number of zones
(Z1) and (Z2), and the central blower units 120 are installed in parallel, so that
the cool or warm air can be independently supplied to the zones (Z1) and (Z2) in the
building. In the present embodiment, a two-story building is divided into a first
zone (Z1) on the first story and a second zone (Z2) on the second story, and an air
conditioning system in which two central blower units corresponding to the first and
second zones (Z1) and (Z2) are installed in parallel will be now be described.
[0029] The central blower unit 120 includes a first heat exchanger 123 connected to the
outdoor unit 110 through a first refrigerant pipe 150; and a blower 125 for supplying
the air heat-exchanged by the first heat exchanger 123 to the supply duct 121.
[0030] The individual blower unit 140 includes a second heat exchanger 141 connected to
the outdoor unit 110 by the second refrigerant pipe 160; and a blower fan 142 for
sending the air heat-exchanged by the second heat exchanger 141.
[0031] The individual blower unit 140 is disposed in a zone where there are relatively high
loads or a duct is not installed, such as a kitchen or a sun room inside the building,
and subsidiarily cools or heats the zone (Z3).
[0032] Various types, such as a panel type, cabinet type, a slim type, a ceiling type, or
the like can be employed for the individual blower unit 140, and the number of individual
blower units 140 may be installed correspondingly to the number of zones requiring
subsidiary cooling or heating.
[0033] The cooling/heating control unit 300 includes a plurality of first temperature controllers
124 installed inside each zone (Z1) and (Z2) in the building, for detecting a temperature
of each zone (Z1) and (Z2) and receiving a set temperature value of a user; a second
temperature controller 144 installed at the individual blower unit 140, for receiving
a set temperature value of the user and detecting a temperature of a room where the
individual blower unit 140 is installed; control valves 151, 152, 161 and 162 respectively
installed at the first and second refrigerant pipes 150 and 160; and a control unit
301 connected with the first temperature controller 124 and the second temperature
controller 144, for comparing room temperatures inputted from the first and second
temperature controller 124 and 144 with a set temperature, and controlling operation
of the control valves 151, 152, 161 and 162 and the compressor 111.
[0034] The first and second refrigerant pipes 150 and 160 are opened and closed by the operation
of the control valves 151, 152, 161, and 162. According to this, the operation of
the central blower unit 120 and the individual blower unit 140 is controlled, and
the cooling or heating for each zone (Z1), (Z2) and (Z3) in the building is selectively
controlled.
[0035] Meanwhile, preferably, the control unit 301 is directly connected with the second
temperature controller 144 through a communication line.
[0036] Operation of the air conditioning system having such a structure in accordance with
an embodiment of the present invention will now be described. Here, a case that the
air conditioning system performs the cooling operation will be explained as an example.
[0037] First, if a temperature value of each zone (Z1), (Z2) and (Z3), which is detected
from the first and second temperature controllers 124 and 144 of the cooling/heating
control unit 300, and a temperature value set by a user are inputted to the control
unit 301, the control unit 301 compares a room temperature of each zone (Z1), (Z2)
and (Z3) with the set value of the user.
[0038] At this time, if the room temperatures of the zones (Z1), (Z2) and (Z3) exceed the
set value, the control unit 301 outputs a signal for driving the compressor 111 and
simultaneously, outputs a signal for opening the control valves 151, 152, 161 and
162.
[0039] Here, if all the temperature values of the zones (Z1), (Z2) and (Z3) exceed the set
value, the control unit 301 opens all of the control valves 151, 152, 161 and 162.
And if just one temperature value of one of the zones (Z1), (Z2) and (Z3) exceeds
the set value, the control unit 301 opens only one set of control valves that are
connected to the blower unit related to the corresponding zone, of the control valves
151, 152, 161 and 162.
[0040] For example, if a load of the first or second zone (Z1) and (Z2) exceeds a preset
value and a load of the third zone (Z3) is smaller than the preset value, that is,
if the cooling is required only for the first or second zone (Z1) and (Z2), the compressor
111 is driven by a signal of the control unit 301, the control valves 151 and 152
connected to the central blower unit 120 related to cooling operation for the first
or second zone (Z1) and (Z2) are opened, and the control valves 161 and 162 connected
to the individual blower unit 140 related to cooling operation for the third zone
(Z3) maintains a closed state.
[0041] And a refrigerant compressed by the compressor 111 is introduced to the outdoor heat
exchanger 113 through the four way valve 117 to be condensed, and the condensed refrigerant
passes through the expander 114, thereby being expanded, reducing the pressure. And
the refrigerant expanded in the expander 114 moves to the first heat exchanger 123
and is evaporated to thereby exchange its heat with ambient air of the first heat
exchanger 123. And then, the air moves toward the outdoor unit 110.
[0042] And the air heat-exchanged by the first heat exchanger 123 is discharged to supply
duct 121 by the blower 125 and to the first and second zones (Z1) and (Z2) through
the discharge openings 121a. And the air having completed its cooling operation in
the first or second zone (Z1) and (Z2) is introduced to the return duct 122 through
the suction openings 122a, is reintroduced to the central blower unit 120 and passes
through the first heat exchanger 123, thereby being cooled again. Such processes are
repeated, so that the central cooling operation is performed on the first or second
zone (Z1) and (Z2).
[0043] Meanwhile, if the sum of loads of the third zone (Z3) having specially high loads,
such as a kitchen, a sun room or the like is greater than a preset value, the second
refrigerant pipe 160 connecting the individual blower unit 140 with the outdoor unit
110 is opened by operation of the control valves 161 and 162. According to this, the
refrigerant having passed through the outdoor heat exchanger 113 and the expander
114 is introduced to the second heat exchanger 141 of the individual blower unit 140
and exchanges it heat with ambient air of the second heat exchanger 141. And the air
heat-exchanged by the second heat exchanger 141 is sent to the third zone (Z3) by
the fan 141, thereby individually cooling the third zone (Z3).
[0044] Meanwhile, the control unit 301 compares a room temperature of each zone (Z1), (Z2)
and (Z3) with a set value. If all the room temperatures of the zones (Z1), (Z2) and
(Z3) are lower than the set value, the control unit 301 outputs a signal for stopping
the compressor 111 and simultaneously outputs a signal for closing the control valves
151, 152, 161 and 162. According to this, the compressor 111 is stopped, the first
and second refrigerant pipes 150 and 160 that respectively connects the central blower
unit 120 and the individual blower unit 140 with the outdoor unit 110 are closed,
thereby stopping the cooing operation for each zone.
[0045] In case that the air conditioning system in accordance with the present invention
performs heating operation, a flow of a refrigerant is changed by the operation of
the four way valve 116, and the refrigerant moves in reverse order of the above-described
cooling cycle.
[0046] In the unitary air conditioning system in accordance with the present invention,
a central blower unit performing central cooling or heating operation through a duct
and an individual blower unit for individually cooling or heating a specific zone
where there are relatively high loads or a duct is not installed are installed to
be connected in parallel to one outdoor unit. Accordingly, cooling or heating operation
can be performed zone by zone using a duct and simultaneously, individual cooling
or heating operation can be additionally performed on a specific zone, so that a cost
is lowered and the cooling and heating operation for the building can be efficiently
carried out.
[0047] In addition, by providing a cooling/heating control unit which can circulate a refrigerant
by distributing the refrigerant between one outdoor unit and a plurality of blower
units, the plurality of blower units are systematically operated according to a load
of each zone in a building. Accordingly, the cooling or heating operation for each
zone can be effectively carried out.
[0048] As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from
the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that
the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing
description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within
its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes
and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalence
of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.
1. A unitary air conditioning system comprising:
an outdoor unit including a compressor for compressing refrigerant, an outdoor heat
exchanger for heat exchange of refrigerant, and an expander connected to the outdoor
heat exchanger, for expanding refrigerant;
a duct installed in each zone of a building;
a plurality of central blower units, each unit having a heat exchanger connected to
the outdoor unit by a refrigerant pipe and a blower for supplying the air heat-exchanged
by the heat exchanger to the duct; and
a cooling/heating control unit for selectively distributing a refrigerant from the
outdoor unit toward the heat exchangers of the plurality of central blower units and
controlling cooling or heating operation for each zone of the building.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the cooling/heating control unit comprises:
a plurality of temperature controllers installed inside each zone in the building,
for detecting a temperature of each zone and receiving a set temperature value of
a user;
control valves installed at refrigerant pipes for respectively connecting the outdoor
unit with the plurality of central blower units, for controlling a flow rate of a
refrigerant; and
a control unit connected to the temperature controllers, for comparing a room temperature
inputted from each temperature controller with a set temperature value of a user,
and controlling the control valves.
3. A unitary air conditioning system comprising:
an outdoor unit including a compressor for compressing refrigerant, an outdoor heat
exchanger for heat exchange of refrigerant, and an expander connected to the outdoor
heat exchanger, for expanding refrigerant;
a duct installed in each zone of a building;
a central blower unit having a heat exchanger connected to the outdoor unit by a refrigerant
pipe, and a blower for supplying the air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger to the
duct;
an individual blower unit including a heat exchanger connected to the outdoor unit
by a refrigerant pipe and a fan for sending the air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger,
and disposed in a zone inside the building, for individually cooling or heating the
zone; and
a cooling/heating control unit for selectively distributing the refrigerant from the
outdoor unit toward the heat exchangers of the central blower unit and the individual
blower unit, and controlling cooling or heating operation for each zone of the building.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the cooling/heating control unit comprises:
a plurality of first temperature controllers installed inside each zone in the building,
for detecting a temperature of each zone and receiving a set temperature value of
a user;
a second temperature controller installed at the individual blower unit, for receiving
a set temperature value of the user and detecting a temperature of a room where the
individual blower unit is installed;
control valves respectively installed at refrigerant pipes that respectively connect
the outdoor unit with the central blower units and a refrigerant pipe that connects
the outdoor unit with the individual blower unit; and
a control unit connected with the first temperature controllers and the second temperature
controller, for comparing the room temperatures inputted from the first and second
temperature controllers with the set temperature value, and controlling the control
valves.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the second temperature controller and the control unit
are directly connected to each other through a communication line.