Air conditioner and control method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses an air conditioner and a control method thereof, and relates to the field of air conditioners, the air conditioner comprises a condenser, an evaporator and a thermoacoustic engine and a thermoacoustic refrigerator, and the thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator are communicated through a low-temperature medium pipeline and a high-temperature medium pipeline. The first economizer connected in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline in series is used for cooling the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline through the low-temperature medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline, and the target refrigerant transmission pipeline is a part of the refrigerant transmission pipeline where the refrigerant flows into the evaporator. According to the thermoacoustic temperature adjusting device, the low-temperature medium is generated in the low-temperature medium pipeline based on the thermoacoustic temperature adjusting device without external energy supply, and the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline is cooled through the first economizer connected to the target refrigerant transmission pipeline in series and the low-temperature medium; therefore, the energy consumption of the air conditioner is reduced while the temperature adjusting effect of the air conditioner is ensured by improving the supercooling degree.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of air conditioners, and in particular, to an air conditioner and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Affected by factors such as ambient temperature, change in circulating system pressure, and working state of the condenser, the subcooling of an air conditioner fluctuates. When the subcooling decreases, the proportion of gaseous refrigerant compared to liquid refrigerant increases, thereby affecting the temperature regulation effect of the air conditioner. To ensure the temperature regulation effect, the air conditioner needs to increase the operating power of the compressor to increase the proportion of liquid refrigerant.

[0003] However, the increase in the operating power of the compressor also increases the energy consumption of the air conditioner. Therefore, how to reduce the energy consumption of the air conditioner while ensuring the temperature regulation effect of the air conditioner has become an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, the present application provides an air conditioner and a control method thereof to achieve the purpose of reducing the energy consumption of the air conditioner while ensuring the temperature regulation effect of the air conditioner. The specific solutions are as follows:

[0005] In a first aspect of the present application, an air conditioner is provided, and the air conditioner includes:

[0006] A condenser, an evaporator, and a thermoacoustic temperature regulating device, where the thermoacoustic temperature regulating device includes a thermoacoustic engine and a thermoacoustic refrigerator,

[0007] The condenser and the evaporator are connected through a refrigerant transmission pipeline;

[0008] The thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator are connected through a resonance pipeline;

[0009] The thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator are also connected through a low-temperature medium pipeline and a high-temperature medium pipeline;

[0010] A first economizer is connected in series in a target refrigerant transmission pipeline, and the first economizer is bypassed with the low-temperature medium pipeline. The target refrigerant transmission pipeline is a partial pipeline of the refrigerant transmission pipeline through which the refrigerant flows into the evaporator; the first economizer is used to utilize the low-temperature medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline to cool the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the thermoacoustic temperature regulating device further includes:

[0012] At least one phase modulation mechanism, which is deployed in the resonance pipeline between the thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator, and is used to adjust the acoustic impedance between the thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the air conditioner further includes:

[0014] A four-way reversing valve, which is connected in series in the refrigerant transmission pipeline, and is used to change the flow direction of the refrigerant in the refrigerant transmission pipeline.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the air conditioner further includes:

[0016] A second economizer, which is communicated with the four-way reversing valve and bypasses the target refrigerant transmission pipeline, and is used to use the low-temperature refrigerant input by the four-way reversing valve to cool the refrigerant in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the thermoacoustic engine includes:

[0018] A room-temperature end heat exchanger, a regenerator, and a high-temperature end heat exchanger arranged in sequence along the sound wave propagation direction, the room temperature end heat exchange The device is used to convert sound waves into heat energy to heat the medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline, the high-temperature end heat exchanger is used to absorb the heat of the medium heated in the low-temperature medium pipeline, and the regenerator is used to do work on the air in the resonance tube based on the temperature difference between the high-temperature end heat exchanger and the room-temperature end heat exchanger to maintain the propagation of the sound wave in the resonance tube.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the thermoacoustic refrigerator includes:

[0020] A room-temperature end heat exchanger, a regenerator and a low-temperature end heat exchanger deployed in sequence according to the sound wave propagation direction. The room-temperature end heat exchanger is used to absorb the heat of the medium in the high-temperature medium pipeline and cool the medium. The low-temperature end heat exchanger is used to absorb heat from the medium flowing from the high-temperature medium pipeline into the low-temperature medium pipeline and cooled to obtain the low-temperature medium flowing into the low-temperature medium pipeline. The regenerator is used to do work on the air in the resonance tube based on the temperature difference between the low-temperature end heat exchanger and the room-temperature end heat exchanger to maintain the propagation of the sound wave in the resonance tube.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the thermoacoustic temperature adjustment device further includes:

[0022] At least one return water pump, which is deployed in the low-temperature medium pipeline and / or the high-temperature medium pipeline, and is used to push the medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline and / or the high-temperature medium pipeline to circulate.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the phase modulation mechanism is also obliquely connected to the side wall of the resonant pipeline.

[0024] The second aspect of the present application provides a control method for an air conditioner, which is applied to the air conditioner provided in the first aspect of the present application and any possible implementation of the first aspect. The control method of the air conditioner includes:

[0025] When the air conditioner is powered on, the thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator connected through the resonant pipeline in the thermoacoustic temperature regulation device operate, and for the low-temperature medium pipeline and the high-temperature medium pipeline connecting the thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator, low-temperature medium is generated in the low-temperature medium pipeline; through the first economizer connected in series in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline, the low-temperature medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline is used to cool the refrigerant flowing from the condenser into the evaporator in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline, and the target refrigerant transmission pipeline is a partial pipeline of the refrigerant transmission pipeline where the refrigerant flows from the condenser into the evaporator.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the control method of the air conditioner further includes:

[0027] When the air conditioner is powered on, the phase modulation mechanism generates an initial sound wave signal in the resonant pipeline.

[0028] By means of the above technical solutions, an air conditioner and its control method provided by the present application configure a thermoacoustic temperature regulation device including a connection between a thermoacoustic engine and a thermoacoustic refrigerator, a low-temperature medium pipeline and a high-temperature medium pipeline connecting the thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator, and a resonant pipeline connecting the thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator, respectively constructing a sound wave circulation loop and a circulation generation loop of the low-temperature medium. Thus, during the entire operation of the air conditioner, except for providing sound waves at the initial moment, there is no need to continuously provide energy supply to the thermoacoustic temperature regulation device, and low-temperature medium is continuously generated in the low-temperature medium pipeline without increasing the energy consumption of the air conditioner. Subsequently, by configuring a first economizer connected in series in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline where the refrigerant flows into the evaporator, and configuring the first economizer to be bypassed with the low-temperature medium pipeline, the low-temperature medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline is used to exchange heat with the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator in the first economizer, thereby reducing the temperature of the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator, and further improving the temperature regulation effect of the air conditioner by increasing the subcooling degree. Finally, since the thermoacoustic engine drives the sound wave oscillation by using the temperature difference between the high-temperature end heat exchanger and the room-temperature end heat exchanger, and couples it to the thermoacoustic refrigerator through the resonant pipeline to realize the circulation generation of the low-temperature medium, and uses the low-temperature medium to cool the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator, the air conditioner ensures the temperature regulation effect without additional energy supply and without increasing the compressor power, and reduces the energy consumption of the air conditioner. It can be seen that the present application reduces the energy consumption of the air conditioner while ensuring the temperature regulation effect of the air conditioner. Description of the Drawings

[0029] In conjunction with the accompanying drawings and with reference to the following specific embodiments, the above and other features, advantages and aspects of the various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent. Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. It should be understood that the drawings are schematic and that the original components and elements are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0030] Figure 1 FIG. 0 is a schematic structural diagram of an existing air conditioner provided by the present application;

[0031] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an air conditioner provided by the present application;

[0032] Figure 3 FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a phase modulation mechanism provided by the present application;

[0033] Figure 4 FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the deployment position of a phase modulation mechanism provided by the present application;

[0034] Figure 5 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the working principle of a thermoacoustic engine provided by the present application;

[0035] Figure 6 FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the working principle of a thermoacoustic refrigerator provided by the present application;

[0036] Figure 7 FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the principle of a thermoacoustic temperature regulation device provided by the present application;

[0037] Figure 8 FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a phase modulation mechanism obliquely connected to the side wall of a resonance pipeline provided by the present application;

[0038] Figure 9 FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the operation of an air conditioner in a heating mode provided by the present application. Detailed Description of the Embodiments

[0039] The following describes the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. The terms used in the embodiments of the present application are only for explaining the specific embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application.

[0040] The following describes the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the drawings. Those of ordinary skill in the art will know that with the development of technology and the emergence of new scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are equally applicable to similar technical problems.

[0041] In the description and claims of this application and the above-mentioned drawings, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish similar objects and do not necessarily describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such terms can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances, which is merely a way of distinguishing objects with the same attributes when describing embodiments of this application. In addition, the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, system, product or device comprising a series of units does not have to be limited to those units, but may include other units not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0042] It should be noted that in the actual application scenario, compared with the existing air conditioner, the air conditioner provided by this application achieves the invention purpose of reducing the energy consumption of the air conditioner while ensuring the temperature adjustment effect of the air conditioner. Specifically: as Figure 1 Shown is a schematic structural diagram of an existing air conditioner. In the cooling mode, the low-temperature refrigerant output by the outdoor unit (condenser) flows into the indoor unit (evaporator) through the right refrigerant transmission pipeline. After heat exchange in the indoor unit, the high-temperature refrigerant flows back to the outdoor unit through the left refrigerant transmission pipeline. In the heating mode, the outdoor unit is the evaporator and the indoor unit is the condenser, and the refrigerant flow direction is opposite to that in the cooling mode. In the cooling mode, when the subcooling degree is low, it corresponds to a higher refrigerant temperature and a larger amount of gaseous refrigerant in the right refrigerant transmission pipeline, resulting in deteriorated cooling effect of the indoor unit. In the heating mode, when the subcooling degree is low, the proportion of the liquid refrigerant entering the outdoor unit decreases, resulting in a decrease in the amount of liquid refrigerant absorbing heat in the outdoor unit, and further resulting in a decrease in the proportion of the liquid refrigerant transmitted from the outdoor unit to the indoor unit through the left refrigerant transmission pipeline for heat release, resulting in deteriorated heating effect of the indoor unit. In order to ensure the cooling or heating effect, the existing air conditioner can only increase the operating power of the compressor to increase the proportion of the liquid refrigerant entering the indoor unit, resulting in an increase in the energy consumption of the air conditioner. And this application configures a thermoacoustic temperature adjustment device including a thermoacoustic engine and a thermoacoustic refrigerator to form a medium loop, and configures a first economizer connected in series in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline to bypass the low-temperature medium pipeline of the thermoacoustic temperature adjustment device, so as to use the low-temperature medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline to cool the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline, and by increasing the subcooling degree, increase the proportion of the liquid refrigerant in the refrigerant participating in temperature adjustment, so as to ensure the temperature adjustment effect. And because the thermoacoustic temperature adjustment device does not require additional energy supply, and the air conditioner does not need to increase the compressor power to ensure the temperature adjustment effect. Therefore, the air conditioner provided by this application also reduces the energy consumption during use. It can be seen that the air conditioner provided by this application reduces the energy consumption of the air conditioner while ensuring the temperature adjustment effect of the air conditioner.

[0043] The first aspect of this application provides an air conditioner, as Figure 2 shown, the air conditioner includes:

[0044] A condenser 1, an evaporator 2, and a thermoacoustic temperature regulating device. The thermoacoustic temperature regulating device includes a thermoacoustic engine 3 and a thermoacoustic refrigerator 4. The condenser 1 and the evaporator 2 are connected through a refrigerant transmission pipeline 5.

[0045] The thermoacoustic engine 3 and the thermoacoustic refrigerator 4 are connected through a resonance pipeline 6.

[0046] The thermoacoustic engine 3 and the thermoacoustic refrigerator 4 are also connected through a low-temperature medium pipeline 7 and a high-temperature medium pipeline 8.

[0047] A first economizer 10 is connected in series in a target refrigerant transmission pipeline 9. The first economizer 10 is bypassed with the low-temperature medium pipeline 7. The target refrigerant transmission pipeline 9 is a partial pipeline of the refrigerant transmission pipeline 5 where the refrigerant flows into the evaporator 2. The first economizer 10 is used to utilize the low-temperature medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline 7 to cool the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator 2 in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline 9.

[0048] It should be noted that in actual application scenarios, the above-mentioned condenser 1 and the above-mentioned evaporator 2 correspond to different physical devices in different temperature regulation modes. Specifically: when the air conditioner is in the cooling mode, the above-mentioned condenser 1 is the outdoor unit of the air conditioner, and the above-mentioned evaporator 2 is the indoor unit of the air conditioner. When the air conditioner is in the heating mode, the above-mentioned condenser 1 is the indoor unit of the air conditioner, and the above-mentioned evaporator 2 is the outdoor unit of the air conditioner.

[0049] It should be noted that in actual application scenarios, the above-mentioned thermoacoustic temperature regulating device is a device constructed based on the thermoacoustic effect. Since sound waves are a kind of compression-expansion waves, when the sound waves propagate in the resonance pipeline 6, they will cause periodic pressure oscillations of the gas therein, resulting in the gas alternately experiencing compression (pressure increase, temperature rise) and expansion (pressure decrease, temperature drop). When the gas in the compressed or expanded state contacts the thermoacoustic engine 3 or the thermoacoustic refrigerator 4, an endothermic or exothermic effect will occur. In this application, by configuring the above-mentioned thermoacoustic temperature regulating device, the medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline 7 and the high-temperature medium pipeline 8 is cooled by using the endothermic or exothermic effect, so as to form a low-temperature medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline.

[0050] It should be noted that in actual application scenarios, the temperature of the above-mentioned low-temperature medium can be the lowest temperature value of the refrigerant flowing from the condenser into the evaporator under various working conditions calibrated in the test scenario. The temperature of this low-temperature medium can be adjusted by configuring the above-mentioned thermoacoustic engine 3 and thermoacoustic refrigerator 4. This application does not limit and elaborate on the above adjustment process too much.

[0051] It should be noted that, in actual application scenarios, the above-mentioned thermoacoustic engine 3 (thermoacoustic sirlingheat engine) is a device that utilizes the thermoacoustic prime effect (Thermoacoustic Prime Effect) to drive the gas to generate self-excited acoustic wave oscillations to achieve the conversion of thermal energy into acoustic energy. The above-mentioned thermoacoustic refrigerator 4 is a device that utilizes the thermoacoustic reverse effect (Thermoacoustic Reverse Effect) to drive the gas to generate a heat pump effect to achieve the conversion of acoustic energy into thermal energy. The present application constructs an acoustic wave circulation loop by configuring the above-mentioned thermoacoustic engine 3 and the thermoacoustic refrigerator 4 to be connected through the resonance pipeline 6. Therefore, during the entire operation process, except for providing sound waves at the starting time, there is no need to continuously provide energy supply to the thermoacoustic temperature regulating device, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the air conditioner.

[0052] It should be noted that in actual application scenarios, the above-mentioned resonance pipeline (Inertance Tube, also known as inertance tube) 6 is used to transmit sound waves between the thermoacoustic engine 3 and the thermoacoustic refrigerator 4. The resonance pipeline 6 uses the inertial effect of the gas to adjust the phase of the sound wave. By changing the length, cross-sectional area or fluid properties of the pipeline, the time delay of sound wave propagation is controlled, thereby optimizing the synchronization of thermodynamic processes (such as heat absorption / heat release) and sound wave compression-expansion. The material and design parameters of the resonance pipeline 6 can be set by yourself based on the actual equipment application scenario, and this application does not make too many restrictions and elaborations on this.

[0053] It should be noted that, in actual application scenarios, the low-temperature medium pipeline 7 is a pipeline for transmitting low-temperature medium, and the high-temperature medium pipeline 8 is a pipeline for transmitting medium heated by the target refrigerant transmission pipeline. Since the above-mentioned heat rise temperature regulating device will produce endothermic reaction or exothermic reaction during operation, the present application configures a low-temperature medium pipeline 7 and a high-temperature medium pipeline 8 connecting the thermoacoustic engine 3 and the thermoacoustic refrigerator 4, and uses the endothermic reaction to cool down the high-temperature medium in the high-temperature medium pipeline, thereby constructing a medium cooling circulation loop to ensure that the low-temperature medium is continuously provided to the low-temperature medium pipeline 7 during the operation of the air conditioner, thereby improving the continuity and reliability of cooling. In addition, the high temperature in the high-temperature medium pipeline 8 is used to provide thermal energy to the thermoacoustic temperature regulating device to assist the operation of the thermoacoustic temperature regulating device, thereby improving energy utilization.

[0054] It should be noted that in the actual application scenario, the above-mentioned first economizer 10 is a heat exchanger, and its principle is to use the evaporation heat absorption effect of the cooling medium to perform heat exchange on the object to be cooled. Since the degree of under cooling is the difference between the saturation temperature of the refrigerant under a certain condensation pressure and the actual refrigerant temperature flowing out of the condenser, and the above-mentioned saturation temperature is a fixed value, therefore, the smaller the value of the actual condensation temperature flowing out of the condenser, the greater the degree of under cooling, and the better the temperature adjustment effect of the air conditioner. Based on this idea, in this application, a first economizer 10 is connected in series in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline 5 where the refrigerant flows into the evaporator 2, and the first economizer 10 is configured to be bypassed with the low-temperature medium pipeline 7, so as to use the low-temperature medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline 7 to exchange heat with the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator 2 in the first economizer 10, thereby reducing the temperature of the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator 2 (equivalent to reducing the temperature of the refrigerant flowing out of the condenser 1). Furthermore, the temperature adjustment effect of the air conditioner is improved by increasing the degree of under cooling.

[0055] In this application, a thermoacoustic temperature adjustment device is configured to include connecting a thermoacoustic engine and a thermoacoustic refrigerator, a low-temperature medium pipeline and a high-temperature medium pipeline connecting the thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator, and a resonance pipeline connecting the thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator, respectively constructing a sound wave circulation loop and a circulation generation loop of the low-temperature medium. Thus, during the entire operation of the air conditioner, except for providing sound waves at the initial moment, there is no need to continuously provide energy supply to the thermoacoustic temperature adjustment device, and low-temperature medium is continuously generated in the low-temperature medium pipeline without increasing the energy consumption of the air conditioner. Subsequently, a first economizer is connected in series in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline where the refrigerant flows into the evaporator, and the first economizer is configured to be bypassed with the low-temperature medium pipeline, so as to use the low-temperature medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline to exchange heat with the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator in the first economizer, thereby reducing the temperature of the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator, and further improving the temperature adjustment effect of the air conditioner by increasing the degree of under cooling. Finally, since the thermoacoustic engine uses the temperature difference between the high-temperature end heat exchanger and the room temperature end heat exchanger to drive the sound wave oscillation, and is coupled to the thermoacoustic refrigerator through the resonance pipeline to realize the circulation generation of the low-temperature medium, and uses the low-temperature medium to cool the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator, the air conditioner ensures the temperature adjustment effect without additional energy supply and without increasing the compressor power, and reduces the energy consumption of the air conditioner. It can be seen that this application reduces the energy consumption of the air conditioner while ensuring the temperature adjustment effect of the air conditioner.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the above-mentioned thermoacoustic temperature adjustment device further includes:

[0057] At least one phase adjustment mechanism, the phase adjustment mechanism is deployed in the resonance pipeline 6 between the thermoacoustic engine 3 and the thermoacoustic refrigerator 4, and the phase adjustment mechanism is used to adjust the acoustic impedance between the thermoacoustic engine 3 and the thermoacoustic refrigerator 4.

[0058] It should be noted that in the actual application scenario, since the above-mentioned thermoacoustic temperature regulation device is a self-excited oscillation system, the thermoacoustic refrigerator 4 not only consumes the acoustic power output by the thermoacoustic engine to generate a refrigeration effect, but also provides the required volume flow rate and phase for the thermoacoustic engine 3. In this process, the thermoacoustic refrigerator 4 will generate a propagation resistance to the sound wave, and this propagation resistance is the acoustic impedance, which is defined as the ratio of the sound pressure to the volume flow velocity. Since there are various media with different sound wave blocking capabilities deployed inside the thermoacoustic refrigerator 4, when the sound wave passes through the interface of media with different impedances, part of the energy will be reflected, resulting in a decrease in the transmission efficiency of the sound wave energy, and further leading to the inaccuracy of the volume flow rate and phase received by the thermoacoustic engine 3, making it unable to work properly. Therefore, in this application, the above-mentioned phase adjustment mechanism is configured to adjust the acoustic impedance between the thermoacoustic engine 3 and the thermoacoustic refrigerator 4, so as to improve the accuracy of the above-mentioned volume flow rate and phase, avoid energy loss, and improve the cooling effect of the thermoacoustic temperature regulation device on the low-temperature medium.

[0059] It should be noted that in the actual application scenario, the above-mentioned phase adjustment mechanism (also known as the phase adjuster, Phase Adjuster) is a device that adjusts the sound wave reflection path by changing the cavity solvent to achieve sound wave phase adjustment. There are various structures of this phase adjustment mechanism, and here an example is provided:

[0060] As Figure 3 shown, it is a schematic structural diagram of a phase adjustment mechanism. This phase adjustment mechanism includes a tank body 31, an elastic component 32, a sealing component 33, an adsorption component 34, and a sound generating component 35, and their combination is as Figure 3 shown. Among them, the tank body 31 is used to limit the movement trajectory of the sealing component. The above-mentioned elastic component 32 is a component with adjustable elasticity. The above-mentioned sealing component 33 is a component used to impact the sound generating component 35 to generate sound waves. The above-mentioned adsorption assembly 34 is a component used to adsorb the sealing component 33. The side of the sealing component 33 close to the elastic component 32 can be provided with a metal sheet, so that the adsorption component 34 can attract the sealing component 33 to control the stroke of the sealing component 33 and the force of impacting the sound generating component, thereby adjusting the phase of the sound waves emitted by the sound generating component 35. The above-mentioned adsorption component 34 can be a magnetic adsorption coil. During operation, the action mode of this phase adjustment mechanism can be: when powered on, the adsorption assembly 34 adsorbs the sealing component 33, so that the sealing component 33 squeezes the elastic component 32. When the power-on duration is reached, the adsorption assembly 34 is powered off, and the elastic component 32 pushes the sealing component 33 to impact the sound generating component 35 to generate sound waves. Among them, the above-mentioned adsorption component 34 can control the stroke of the sealing component 33 by adjusting the magnitude of the input current.

[0061] As Figure 4As shown, it is a schematic diagram of the deployment position of a phase modulation mechanism, in which the relative position relationship of the thermoacoustic engine 3, the thermoacoustic refrigerator 4, the phase modulation mechanism 11, and the resonance pipeline 6 is as Figure 4 shown.

[0062] In a possible implementation, the air conditioner provided by the first aspect of the present application and any possible implementation further includes:

[0063] A four-way reversing valve, which is connected in series in the refrigerant transmission pipeline 5, and the four-way reversing valve is used to change the flow direction of the refrigerant in the refrigerant transmission pipeline 5.

[0064] It should be noted that in the actual application scenario, since the air conditioner needs to be adjusted between the cooling and heating modes, its main adjustment method is to change the refrigerant flow direction. And considering the reduction of production costs, the first economizer 10 provided in the present application is connected in series to a part of the refrigerant transmission pipeline 5 where the refrigerant flows into the evaporator 2, and does not change its deployment position with the change of the cooling or heating mode. Therefore, by configuring the above four-way reversing valve, while realizing the transformation of the temperature adjustment mode of the air conditioner, there is no need to change the series connection position or the number of installations of the first economizer 10, reducing the production cost of the air conditioner.

[0065] In a possible implementation, the air conditioner provided by the first aspect of the present application and any possible implementation further includes:

[0066] A second economizer, which is connected to the four-way reversing valve and bypasses the target refrigerant transmission pipeline 9. The second economizer is used to cool the refrigerant in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline 9 by using the low-temperature refrigerant input by the four-way reversing valve.

[0067] It should be noted that in the actual application scenario, the above second economizer can be connected to the four-way reversing valve and connected to the upstream of the target refrigerant transmission pipeline. By configuring the second economizer to be connected to the four-way reversing valve and bypassing the target refrigerant transmission pipeline 9, the second economizer can use the low-temperature refrigerant input by the four-way reversing valve to cool the refrigerant in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline 9, thus avoiding the risk of reduced reliability caused by relying solely on the thermoacoustic temperature adjustment device for cooling.

[0068] In a possible implementation, the above thermoacoustic engine 3 includes:

[0069] A room-temperature end heat exchanger, a regenerator, and a high-temperature end heat exchanger deployed in sequence according to the sound wave propagation direction. The room-temperature end heat exchanger is used to convert sound waves into heat energy to heat the medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline. The high-temperature end heat exchanger is used to absorb the heat of the heated medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline. The regenerator is used to do work on the air in the resonance tube based on the temperature difference between the high-temperature end heat exchanger and the room-temperature end heat exchanger to maintain the propagation of sound waves in the resonance tube.

[0070] To facilitate understanding of the working principle of the above-mentioned thermoacoustic engine 3, a possible implementation of the present application is specifically described here:

[0071] like Figure 5 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the working principle of a thermoacoustic engine, including a room temperature end heat exchanger, a regenerator and a high temperature end heat exchanger. There is a temperature gradient from low to high along the axial direction of the regenerator from left to right, and the acoustic work is transmitted and amplified from left to right. The room temperature end heat exchanger releases heat to the environment during operation, and the high temperature end heat exchanger absorbs heat from the environment during operation. The arrows on the gas clusters in the figure indicate whether the gas clusters are in a state of heat release or heat absorption. Each gas cluster in the regenerator needs to sequentially undergo the thermoacoustic dynamic cycle (thermoacoustic positive effect) of compression, heat release, expansion and heat absorption as shown in the figure, as shown in the lower right corner: (1) The gas cluster is compressed while moving toward the high temperature side, and the pressure increases; (2) The temperature of the gas cluster is lower than the temperature of the regenerator, and it absorbs the heat released by the regenerator, the pressure and temperature increase, and the volume is compressed to the extreme; (3) The gas cluster moves toward the room temperature end, and at the same time, the volume expands to do work externally, and the pressure decreases; (4) The gas cluster releases heat to the regenerator, the pressure and temperature decrease, and the volume expands to the extreme. Numerous micro-air masses gradually convert the heat input from the hot end heat exchanger into acoustic work through relay-type heat transfer and system action, and the heat that cannot be converted is discharged to the environment through the room temperature heat exchanger. It should be noted that there are two isothermal processes and two isobaric processes in the thermoacoustic cycle, while there are two isothermal processes and two isochoric processes in the Stirling cycle. Therefore, the thermoacoustic cycle is a thermodynamic cycle based on a completely new working principle, which is essentially different from the Stirling cycle.

[0072] In a possible implementation, the thermoacoustic refrigerator 4 includes:

[0073] The room temperature end heat exchanger, regenerator and low temperature end heat exchanger are deployed in sequence according to the direction of sound wave propagation. The room temperature end heat exchanger is used to absorb the heat of the medium in the high temperature medium pipeline and cool the medium. The low temperature end heat exchanger is used to absorb heat from the medium that flows into the low temperature medium pipeline from the high temperature medium pipeline and has been cooled to obtain the low temperature medium that flows into the low temperature medium pipeline. The regenerator is used to do work on the air in the resonance tube based on the temperature difference between the low temperature end heat exchanger and the room temperature end heat exchanger to maintain the propagation of sound waves in the resonance tube.

[0074] To facilitate understanding of the working principle of the thermoacoustic refrigerator 4, a possible implementation of the present application is described below:

[0075] like Figure 6As shown in the figure, it is a schematic diagram of the working principle of a thermoacoustic refrigerator, including a room-temperature end heat exchanger, a regenerator, and a low-temperature end heat exchanger. Since sound waves are compression-expansion waves, they can interact with solid media to produce endothermic or exothermic effects. Under certain conditions, sound waves can pump heat lower than the ambient temperature to the environment, forming a thermoacoustic refrigeration power cycle (thermoacoustic inverse effect). There is a temperature gradient from high to low along the axial direction of the regenerator from left to right, and the acoustic power propagates from left to right and is consumed. The heat in the regenerator is pumped from the low-temperature end heat exchanger to the room-temperature end heat exchanger side, thereby achieving refrigeration on the solid line side of the low-temperature heat exchanger. Inside the thermoacoustic refrigerator, each gas microcluster undergoes a thermoacoustic refrigeration cycle process of compression, heat release, expansion, and heat absorption, as shown in the lower right corner of the figure: (1) The gas microcluster moves towards the room-temperature side, the temperature rises, and the pressure increases; (2) The temperature of the gas microcluster is higher than the temperature of the regenerator, and heat is released to the regenerator; (3) The gas microcluster moves towards the low-temperature side, the temperature drops, and the pressure decreases; (4) The temperature of the gas microcluster is lower than the temperature of the regenerator, and heat is absorbed from the regenerator. Through the consumption of acoustic power, numerous gas microclusters transfer heat from the low-temperature end to the high-temperature end of the regenerator through relay-like heat transfer, realizing the refrigeration function. It should be noted that there are two isothermal processes and two isobaric processes in the thermoacoustic refrigeration power cycle, while there are two isothermal processes and two isochoric processes in the Stirling cycle. Therefore, the thermoacoustic refrigeration power cycle is a thermodynamic cycle based on a completely new working principle and is essentially different from the Stirling cycle.

[0076] In summary, self-excited pressure oscillations are generated in the gas inside the thermoacoustic engine, and thermal energy is converted into mechanical energy in the form of acoustic energy. In the thermoacoustic refrigerator, acoustic power is consumed to transfer heat from the low-temperature end of the regenerator to the high-temperature end. Thus, the acoustic energy (thermoacoustic effect) generated in the thermoacoustic engine is used to drive the thermoacoustic refrigerator for refrigeration (thermoacoustic refrigeration effect), thereby realizing the energy conversion of thermal energy - acoustic energy - cold energy (thermoacoustic thermoacoustic refrigeration). As follows Figure 7 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the principle of a thermoacoustic temperature regulation device provided by this application. The sound wave propagates from left to right. The room-temperature end heat exchanger of the thermoacoustic engine releases heat at room temperature, and the high-temperature end heat exchanger absorbs heat at a high temperature. The room-temperature end heat exchanger of the thermoacoustic refrigerator releases heat at room temperature, and the low-temperature end heat exchanger absorbs heat at a low temperature.

[0077] In a possible implementation, the above thermoacoustic temperature regulation device further includes:

[0078] At least one return water pump, which is deployed in the low-temperature medium pipeline and / or the high-temperature medium pipeline, and the return water pump is used to push the medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline and / or the high-temperature medium pipeline to circulate.

[0079] It should be noted that in actual application scenarios, due to the non-fixed installation position of the thermal lift temperature adjustment device, if the low-temperature medium circulation is only based on the potential difference, there are risks of low efficiency and poor reliability. Therefore, in this application, by deploying the above-mentioned return water pump in the low-temperature medium pipeline and / or the high-temperature medium pipeline, the low-temperature medium circulation efficiency and circulation reliability are improved.

[0080] In a possible implementation, the phase adjustment mechanism is also obliquely connected to the side wall of the resonance pipeline.

[0081] In a possible implementation, since the size of the phase adjustment mechanism is not fixed, when the phase adjustment mechanism is deployed in the resonance pipeline 6, if the size of the phase adjustment mechanism is large, it is very easy to block and interfere with the sound wave, resulting in energy loss. Therefore, by configuring the phase adjustment mechanism to be obliquely connected to the side wall of the resonance pipeline, the degree of blockage and interference of the phase adjustment mechanism on the sound wave can be reduced, and the energy loss can be reduced. The schematic diagram of the above-mentioned phase adjustment mechanism obliquely connected to the side wall of the resonance pipeline is as Figure 8 shown. Among them, the relative positions of the thermoacoustic engine 3, the thermoacoustic refrigerator 4, the resonance pipeline 6 and the phase adjustment mechanism 11 are as Figure 8 shown.

[0082] It should be noted that in actual application scenarios, due to the differences in the structures and configurations of different air conditioners, for the convenience of understanding the structure of the air conditioner provided in this application, a possible implementation of this application is specifically described here:

[0083] As Figure 9 shown is a schematic diagram of the heating mode operation of an air conditioner. Among them, the solid lines in the figure represent that the medium temperature is higher, and the dotted lines represent that the medium temperature is lower. It should be noted that since the temperature of the refrigerant cooled by the thermoacoustic temperature adjustment device and the temperature of the refrigerant output by the indoor heat exchanger are still higher than the temperature of the refrigerant output by the outdoor heat exchanger, the refrigerant flowing from the indoor heat exchanger to the outdoor heat exchanger is not represented by a dotted line.

[0084] The variable-frequency compressor 901 outputs high-temperature refrigerant to the four-way reversing valve 902. The four-way reversing valve 902 transports the high-temperature refrigerant to each indoor heat exchanger 904 through the gas pipe stop valve 903. The high-temperature refrigerant releases heat in each indoor heat exchanger 904 to form medium-temperature refrigerant, and then flows into the second economizer 907 through the electronic expansion valve 905 and the liquid pipe stop valve 906. The second economizer 907 uses the low-temperature refrigerant introduced from the inlet of the gas-liquid separator 908 to cool the flowing medium-temperature refrigerant, and transports the cooled medium-temperature refrigerant to the first economizer 909, so that the first economizer 909 uses the low-temperature medium provided by the thermoacoustic temperature regulation device to cool the cooled medium-temperature refrigerant to obtain medium-low temperature refrigerant and transport it to the outdoor heat exchanger 910. The outdoor heat exchanger 910 cools the medium-low temperature refrigerant, and transports the obtained low-temperature refrigerant to the gas-liquid separator 908 through the four-way reversing valve 902 for gas-liquid separation. The gas-liquid separator 908 inputs the separated low-temperature liquid refrigerant into the variable-frequency compressor 901 to complete the refrigerant cycle.

[0085] In the above process, the first economizer 909 uses the low-temperature medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline 911 to cool the medium-temperature refrigerant after being cooled by the second economizer 907. And the obtained high-temperature medium after absorbing heat is transported through the high-temperature medium pipeline 912 to the room-temperature heat exchanger of the thermoacoustic refrigerator 913 for heat absorption. Subsequently, the high-temperature medium after absorbing heat in the room-temperature heat exchanger of the thermoacoustic refrigerator 913 is transported through the high-temperature medium pipeline 912 to the low-temperature end heat exchanger of the thermoacoustic refrigerator 913 for cooling to obtain low-temperature medium. Subsequently, the low-temperature medium is transported through the low-temperature medium pipeline 911 to the room-temperature heat exchanger of the thermoacoustic engine 914 for heat absorption. Subsequently, the high-temperature medium after absorbing heat in the room-temperature heat exchanger of the thermoacoustic engine 914 is transported through the high-temperature medium pipeline 912 to the high-temperature end heat exchanger of the thermoacoustic engine 914 for heat release and cooling, and the obtained low-temperature medium is input into the low-temperature medium pipeline 911 flowing to the first economizer 909.

[0086] After being tested by the R & D personnel of this application, in the refrigeration mode, the cold outlet temperature of the outdoor side heat exchanger is about 37 degrees. After being processed by the air conditioner provided by this application, the temperature of the refrigerant entering the indoor heat exchanger is about 9 degrees. In the heating mode, the cold outlet temperature of the indoor heat exchanger is 34 degrees. After being processed by the air conditioner provided by this application, the temperature of the refrigerant entering the outdoor heat exchanger is about 2 degrees. It can be seen that the cooling effect of the air conditioner provided by this application is stronger.

[0087] The second aspect of this application provides a control method for an air conditioner, which is applied to the air conditioner provided by the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect of this application. The control method of this air conditioner includes:

[0088] When the air conditioner is powered on, the thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator connected through the resonant pipeline in the thermoacoustic temperature regulation device operate, and for the low-temperature medium pipeline and the high-temperature medium pipeline connecting the thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator, a low-temperature medium is generated in the low-temperature medium pipeline; through the first economizer connected in series in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline, the low-temperature medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline is used to cool the refrigerant flowing from the condenser into the evaporator in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline, and the target refrigerant transmission pipeline is a partial pipeline of the refrigerant transmission pipeline where the refrigerant flows from the condenser into the evaporator.

[0089] In a possible implementation, the control method of the air conditioner further includes:

[0090] When the air conditioner is powered on, the phase modulation mechanism generates an initial acoustic wave signal in the resonant pipeline.

[0091] In addition, it should be noted that the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the modules can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment. In addition, in the attached drawings of the device embodiments provided in this application, the connection relationship between modules indicates that they have a communication connection, which can be specifically implemented as one or more communication buses or signal lines.

[0092] Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that this application can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general hardware, and of course, it can also be implemented by dedicated hardware including application-specific integrated circuits, dedicated CPUs, dedicated memories, dedicated components, etc. Generally, functions completed by computer programs can be easily implemented by corresponding hardware, and the specific hardware structures used to implement the same function can also be various, such as analog circuits, digital circuits or dedicated circuits. However, for this application, in more cases, software program implementation is a better implementation method. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a readable storage medium, such as a floppy disk, USB flash drive, mobile hard disk, ROM, RAM, magnetic disk or optical disc of a computer, and includes several instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, training device, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in various embodiments of this application.

[0093] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product.

[0094] The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are wholly or partly generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, a computer, a training device, or a data center to another website, a computer, a training device, or a data center by wired means (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless means (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be stored by a computer or a data storage device such as a training device or a data center that includes one or more integrated available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disk (SSD)).

Claims

1. An air conditioner, characterized in that, The air conditioner includes: a condenser, an evaporator, and a thermoacoustic temperature regulating device, where the thermoacoustic temperature regulating device includes a thermoacoustic engine and a thermoacoustic refrigerator, the condenser and the evaporator are connected through a refrigerant transmission pipeline; the thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator are connected through a resonance pipeline; the thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator are also connected through a low-temperature medium pipeline and a high-temperature medium pipeline; a first economizer is connected in series in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline, the first economizer is bypassed with the low-temperature medium pipeline, and the target refrigerant transmission pipeline is a partial pipeline of the refrigerant transmission pipeline where the refrigerant flows into the evaporator; the first economizer is used to utilize the low-temperature medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline to cool the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline.

2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that, The thermoacoustic temperature regulating device further includes: at least one phase adjustment mechanism, which is arranged in the resonance pipeline between the thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator, and the phase adjustment mechanism is used to adjust the acoustic impedance between the thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator.

3. The air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that, The air conditioner further includes: a four-way reversing valve, which is connected in series in the refrigerant transmission pipeline, and the four-way reversing valve is used to change the flow direction of the refrigerant in the refrigerant transmission pipeline.

4. The air conditioner according to claim 3, characterized in that The air conditioner further includes: a second economizer, which is connected to the four-way reversing valve and bypassed with the target refrigerant transmission pipeline, and the second economizer is used to utilize the low-temperature refrigerant input by the four-way reversing valve to cool the refrigerant in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline.

5. The air conditioner according to claim 2, characterized in that, The thermoacoustic engine includes: a room-temperature end heat exchanger, a regenerator, and a high-temperature end heat exchanger arranged in sequence according to the sound wave propagation direction. The room-temperature end heat exchanger is used to convert sound waves into heat energy to heat the medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline. The high-temperature end heat exchanger is used to absorb the heat of the medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline that has been heated. The regenerator is used to do work on the air in the resonance tube based on the temperature difference between the high-temperature end heat exchanger and the room-temperature end heat exchanger to maintain the propagation of the sound wave in the resonance tube.

6. The air conditioner according to claim 2, characterized in that, The thermoacoustic refrigerator includes: a room-temperature end heat exchanger, a regenerator, and a low-temperature end heat exchanger arranged in sequence according to the sound wave propagation direction. The room-temperature end heat exchanger is used to absorb the heat of the medium in the high-temperature medium pipeline and cool the medium. The low-temperature end heat exchanger is used to perform heat absorption treatment on the medium that flows from the high-temperature medium pipeline into the low-temperature medium pipeline and has been cooled to obtain the low-temperature medium flowing into the low-temperature medium pipeline. The regenerator is used to do work on the air in the resonance tube based on the temperature difference between the low-temperature end heat exchanger and the room-temperature end heat exchanger to maintain the propagation of the sound wave in the resonance tube.

7. The air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that, The thermoacoustic temperature regulating device further includes: at least one return water pump, which is arranged in the low-temperature medium pipeline and / or the high-temperature medium pipeline, and the return water pump is used to push the medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline and / or the high-temperature medium pipeline to circulate.

8. The air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that, The phase adjustment mechanism is also obliquely connected to the side wall of the resonance pipeline.

9. A control method for an air conditioner, characterized in that, Applied to the air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the control method of the air conditioner includes: When the air conditioner is powered on, the thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator connected through the resonance pipeline in the thermoacoustic temperature adjustment device operate, and for the low-temperature medium pipeline and the high-temperature medium pipeline connecting the thermoacoustic engine and the thermoacoustic refrigerator, low-temperature medium is generated in the low-temperature medium pipeline; through the first economizer connected in series in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline, the low-temperature medium in the low-temperature medium pipeline is used to cool the refrigerant flowing from the condenser into the evaporator in the target refrigerant transmission pipeline, and the target refrigerant transmission pipeline is a partial pipeline of the refrigerant transmission pipeline where the refrigerant flows from the condenser into the evaporator.

10. The control method of the air conditioner according to claim 9, characterized in that, The control method of the air conditioner further includes: When the air conditioner is powered on, the phase modulation mechanism generates an initial sound wave signal in the resonance pipeline.

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