Heat pump and operating procedures for it

Abstract

Heat pump (10) which features: an outdoor unit (100) with a compressor (153, 154) for compressing a refrigerant and an outdoor heat exchanger (151a, 151b) for exchanging heat between the refrigerant and outside air; a hybrid unit (200) comprising a water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211) for exchanging heat between the refrigerant supplied by the outdoor unit (100) and water, and a refrigerant control valve (231) for controlling the amount of refrigerant flowing through the water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211); several indoor units (300a, 300b), each comprising an internal heat exchanger for exchanging heat between water supplied by the hybrid unit (200) and indoor air; and a controller (550) that is configured to: To calculate the operating loads of the multiple indoor units (300a, 300b); to determine the degree of opening of the refrigerant control valve (231) using a first ratio based on the amount or rate of change of the operating load, when the operating mode of the indoor unit connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211) is a cooling mode; and to determine the degree of opening of the refrigerant control valve (231) using the amount or rate of change of the operating load by a second ratio that is smaller than the first ratio, when the operating mode of the indoor unit connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211) is a heating mode; and to control the refrigerant control valve (231) based on the determined opening degree of the refrigerant control valve (231).

Description

Background of the Revelation; Area of ​​the Revelation

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a heat pump and an operating method therefor, and in particular to a heat pump capable of adjusting the amount of refrigerant delivered by an outdoor unit depending on the operating state of several indoor units, and an operating method therefor. Related technology

[0002] Heat pumps are devices that transfer thermal energy from a low-temperature heat source to a high-temperature space, or vice versa, using the heat of vaporization or condensation of a refrigerant. They generally comprise an outdoor unit with a compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger, and an indoor unit with an indoor heat exchanger. Furthermore, a heat pump can heat water through the heat exchange of a refrigerant, which is then used to raise the indoor temperature or provide hot water to a user, thus making it possible to replace the use of fossil fuels.

[0003] Meanwhile, in the case of a heat pump of the related technology, water that has exchanged heat with a refrigerant is supplied to a heating device or a hot water supply device, and the refrigerant itself, discharged from the outdoor unit, is supplied to the indoor unit. That is, in the heat pump of the related technology, during cooling operation, liquid refrigerant is supplied from the outdoor unit to the indoor unit, and during heating operation, gaseous high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant is supplied from the outdoor unit to the indoor unit, and the heat exchange between the refrigerant and the indoor air takes place in a heat exchanger in the indoor unit.

[0004] Furthermore, if the heat pump, as disclosed in patent document 1 (public Korean patent publication no. 10-2019-0005052), comprises several indoor units and each of the several indoor units cools and heats several indoor spaces, a valve for controlling the flow rate of the refrigerant is provided individually in each of the several indoor units and the degree of opening of the valve is controlled independently depending on the operating state of each indoor unit.

[0005] However, if the refrigerant is supplied to the indoor unit as in the related technology, for some reason, for example, because the liquid and gaseous refrigerants may mix while passing through an electronic expansion valve (EEV) provided in the indoor unit, a vibration of a line through which the refrigerant flows may be generated, which in turn may create noise in the house.

[0006] Furthermore, among the environmentally friendly refrigerants used as replacements for refrigerants with high ozone depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP), such as Freon gas, one refrigerant containing propane or isobutane as a main component is highly flammable, and if the refrigerant leaks into the interior, there is also a problem in that there is a high probability of fire.

[0007] US 2012 / 0031605 A1 concerns an air conditioning system for cooling / heating an interior space using water heat-exchanged with a refrigerant. JP 2014-145522 A concerns an air conditioning system in which heat exchange between a heat transfer fluid and water occurs via a water heat exchanger, and the use of the heat-exchanged water for heating. Summary

[0008] The technical problem that the present disclosure is intended to solve is as follows.

[0009] Firstly, the present disclosure serves to provide a heat pump and an operating method therefor which are capable of providing cooling and heating functions by providing a hybrid unit which supplies water which has exchanged heat with refrigerant to an indoor unit and the indoor unit carries out a heat exchange between the water and indoor air.

[0010] Secondly, the present disclosure serves to provide a heat pump capable of accurately controlling the amount of refrigerant delivered by an outdoor unit based on operating loads of several indoor units providing cooling and heating functions using water, and an operating method for this.

[0011] Thirdly, the present disclosure serves to provide a heat pump capable of simultaneously providing a cooling function and a heating function to multiple indoor spaces by providing the cooling function and the heating function using water, and an operating method for it.

[0012] The problems to be solved in the present disclosure are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other unmentioned problems will become obvious to those skilled in the art after reading the following description.

[0013] To solve the aforementioned problems, the present disclosure provides a heat pump which provides a water-refrigerant heat exchanger for carrying out heat exchange between a refrigerant and water and supplying the water to several indoor units, wherein it is capable of controlling an opening degree of a refrigerant control valve for controlling the amount of refrigerant flowing through the water-refrigerant heat exchanger based on operating loads depending on the operating states of the several indoor units.

[0014] According to one aspect, a heat pump is provided. The heat pump comprises an outdoor unit with a compressor for compressing a refrigerant and an outdoor heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the refrigerant and outside air; a hybrid unit comprising a water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the refrigerant supplied by the outdoor unit and water, and a refrigerant control valve for controlling the amount of refrigerant flowing through the water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger; several indoor units, each comprising an indoor heat exchanger for exchanging heat between water supplied by the hybrid unit and indoor air; and a controller configured to calculate operating loads of the multiple indoor units in order to control the opening degree of the refrigerant control valve in order to control the amount of refrigerant flowing through the water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger.

[0015] The controller can be configured to calculate the operating loads based on the on / off status and / or a setpoint temperature and / or an indoor temperature and / or an operating mode and / or the power consumption of the multiple indoor units, to calculate an amount or rate of change of the operating load for an indoor unit connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger based on the calculated operating load, and to determine an opening degree of the refrigerant control valve based on the calculated amount or rate of change of the operating load.

[0016] The controller can be configured to determine the degree of opening of the refrigerant control valve using the amount or rate of change of the operating load by a first ratio when the operating mode of the indoor unit connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger is a cooling mode, and to determine the degree of opening of the refrigerant control valve using the amount or rate of change of the operating load by a second ratio that is smaller than the first ratio when the operating mode of the indoor unit connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger is a heating mode.

[0017] The controller can be configured to calculate the amount or rate of change of the operating load for all of the multiple indoor units based on the calculated operating loads and to determine an operating frequency of the compressor based on the amount or rate of change of the operating load for all of the multiple indoor units.

[0018] The water-refrigerant heat exchanger of the heat pump can be connected to a high-pressure line through which a gaseous high-pressure refrigerant flows, a low-pressure line through which a gaseous low-pressure refrigerant flows, and a liquid line through which a liquid refrigerant flows, and the refrigerant control valve can be located in the liquid line.

[0019] The hybrid unit can include several of the water-refrigerant heat exchangers and several of the refrigerant control valves, each corresponding to the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers, and each of the multiple indoor units can be connected to two or more of the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers and receive the water from any one of the connected two or more water-refrigerant heat exchangers depending on the operating mode.

[0020] The controller can be configured to calculate a first amount or rate of change of a first operating load for an indoor unit connected to a first water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger and a second amount or rate of change of a second operating load for an indoor unit connected to a second water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger of the multiple water-to-refrigerant heat exchangers, to determine an opening degree of a first refrigerant control valve to control a quantity of refrigerant flowing through the first water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger based on the amount or rate of change of the first operating load, and to determine an opening degree of a second refrigerant control valve to control a quantity of refrigerant flowing through the second water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger based on the amount or rate of change of the second operating load.

[0021] Another aspect involves providing an operating procedure for a heat pump. This operating procedure includes calculating the operating loads of multiple indoor units and controlling the opening degree of a refrigerant control valve to regulate the amount of refrigerant flowing through a water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger for heat exchange between the refrigerant and water, based on the operating loads of the multiple indoor units.

[0022] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, by supplying water that has exchanged heat with a refrigerant to the indoor unit and providing cooling and heating functions using the heat exchange between the water and the indoor air, it is possible to prevent the generation of noise due to vibrations of a pipe due to the flow of the refrigerant and to reduce the probability of fire due to refrigerant leakage, thereby improving the reliability and safety of the product.

[0023] Furthermore, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, by precisely controlling the amount of refrigerant delivered by the outdoor unit based on the operating loads of the multiple indoor units, it is possible to evaporate / condense the refrigerant correctly, thereby preventing damage to a compressor and improving the operating efficiency of the heat pump.

[0024] Furthermore, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible, by providing several water-refrigerant heat exchangers and supplying water from one of the several water-refrigerant heat exchangers to the indoor unit according to the operating mode, to simultaneously provide the cooling function and the heating function to several indoor spaces, thereby improving the usability of the product and satisfaction with it.

[0025] A further extent of the applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description below. However, those skilled in the art could understand a wide variety of changes and modifications made within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, and thus it should be understood that the detailed description and specific embodiments, such as preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, are given only as examples. Brief description of the drawings Fig. Figure 1 is a view representing a configuration of a heat pump according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an outdoor unit, a hybrid unit and an indoor unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an outdoor unit, a hybrid unit and an indoor unit according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. Diagrams 4a to 4c show the operating state of a heat pump as a function of the operating state of several indoor units. Fig. Figure 5 is a block diagram of a heat pump according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an operating procedure of a heat pump according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. Figures 7a to 8b are diagrams that are referenced for the description of the operation of a heat pump. Description of exemplary embodiments

[0026] The advantages and features of the present disclosure and a method for achieving them may be obvious with reference to the embodiments described in detail below, together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but can be implemented in a variety of different forms. The embodiments are provided merely to complete the present disclosure and to enable a person with ordinary knowledge in the field to which the present disclosure belongs to define the scope of protection of the disclosure. The present disclosure is defined only by the scope of protection of the claims. The same reference numerals are used to refer to the same or similar elements throughout the present disclosure.

[0027] Spatially relative terms, such as "below," "under," "lower," "above," "over," "upper," or similar, can be used, as shown in the drawing, to easily describe the relationship between one component and another. Spatially relative terms should be understood as terms that, in addition to the direction shown in the drawing, encompass various directions of components in use or operation. For example, if elements shown in a drawing are reversed, an element described as "below" or "under" will be positioned "above" the other element. Consequently, the exemplary term "below" can encompass both directions, "below" and "above." An element can also be oriented in other directions, and thus spatially relative terms can be interpreted according to orientation.

[0028] The terms used in this disclosure are employed to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. In this disclosure, terms may be in the singular unless otherwise specified, and may include the plural. As used in this disclosure, the terms "includes" and / or "have" specify the presence of disclosed components, steps, and / or operations, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other components, steps, and / or operations.

[0029] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used in this disclosure (including technical and scientific terms) shall have the meanings commonly understood by people with ordinary knowledge of the technology to which this disclosure belongs. Furthermore, unless expressly defined otherwise, terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense.

[0030] For the sake of simplicity and clarity of description, the thickness or size of each element in the drawings is exaggerated, omitted, or depicted schematically. Furthermore, the size or area of ​​each element does not fully reflect its actual size or area.

[0031] It should be noted that the suffixes of elements used in the following description, such as a "module" and a "unit", are assigned or interchangeable, taking into account only the ease of writing this specification, but do not in themselves confer any unique meanings or roles.

[0032] In this case, it is appreciated that each block of the process flow diagram drawings and combinations of flow diagram drawings can be executed by computer program instructions. Since the computer program instructions can be installed on the processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate the means to perform the functions described in the flow diagram block(s).The computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-usable or computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to implement a function in a particular way, and thus the instructions stored in the computer-usable or computer-readable memory can produce a manufactured article that contains instruction devices for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s).The computer program instructions can also be installed on a computer or other programmable data processing device to cause the computer or other programmable data processing device to perform a series of operational steps on the computer or other programmable data processing device to produce a computer-executable procedure, and thus the instructions for operating the computer or other programmable data processing device can provide steps for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s).

[0033] Furthermore, each block can represent a section of a module, a segment, or a piece of code that includes one or more executable instructions for performing a specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that the functions listed in the blocks may not occur sequentially in some alternative implementations. For example, two blocks shown consecutively may, in fact, be executed essentially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved.

[0034] Furthermore, terms such as "first" and "second" may be used in this specification to describe different elements, but these elements are not restricted by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another.

[0035] Fig. Figure 1 is a block diagram representing a configuration of a heat pump according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] Referring to Fig. 1. The heat pump 10 can include an outdoor unit 100, a hybrid unit 200 and / or an indoor unit 300.

[0037] The outdoor unit 100 can compress a refrigerant. The outdoor unit 100 can compress a refrigerant to deliver a gaseous, high-temperature, and high-pressure refrigerant, or it can deliver a liquid refrigerant.

[0038] The outdoor unit 100 can be connected to the hybrid unit 200 via several lines 63, 72, and 75. For example, the outdoor unit 100 can supply a gaseous, high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant to the hybrid unit 200 via a high-pressure gas line 63, and can receive a gaseous, low-pressure refrigerant from the hybrid unit 200 via a low-pressure gas line 75. Alternatively, the outdoor unit 100 can supply the liquid refrigerant to the hybrid unit 200 via a liquid line 72, or receive it from the hybrid unit 200.

[0039] The hybrid unit 200 can operate to facilitate heat exchange between the refrigerant supplied by the outdoor unit 100 and the water supplied by the indoor unit 300. For example, the hybrid unit 200 can raise the temperature of water supplied by the indoor unit 300 using a high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant supplied by the outdoor unit 100 and transfer hot water to the indoor unit 300. Conversely, the hybrid unit 200 can cool the temperature of water supplied by the indoor unit 300 using a liquid refrigerant supplied by the outdoor unit 100 and transfer cold water to the indoor unit 300.

[0040] The indoor unit 300 can be connected to the hybrid unit 200 via several lines 41 and 51. For example, the indoor unit 300 can receive water from the hybrid unit 200 via a water inlet line 41 and can transfer water to the hybrid unit 200 via a water outlet line 51.

[0041] The indoor unit 300 can operate to facilitate heat exchange between water supplied by the hybrid unit 200 and the indoor air. For example, if hot water is supplied by the hybrid unit, the indoor unit 300 can provide a heating function by releasing air that has exchanged heat with the hot water. Conversely, if cold water is supplied to the hybrid unit, the indoor unit 300 can provide a cooling function by releasing air that has exchanged heat with the cold water.

[0042] In the drawing, the indoor unit 300 is shown as a ceiling-mounted indoor unit; however, the present disclosure is not limited to this, and various types, such as a floor-standing type, a wall-mounted type, and a ceiling-mounted type, are applicable.

[0043] Meanwhile, the heat pump 10 can comprise several indoor units 300a to 300n, and the several indoor units 300a to 300n can be connected to the hybrid unit 200. In the drawing, the hybrid unit 200 and the several indoor units 300a to 300n are shown as connected by separate lines; however, the present disclosure is not limited to this, and a line connected to the hybrid unit 200 can be branched and connected to each of the several indoor units 300a to 300n.

[0044] Meanwhile, the outdoor unit 100, the hybrid unit 200 and / or the indoor unit 300 can be connected via a communication line to send and receive data to and from each other, and can be connected via a cable or wirelessly to a central controller (not shown) to be operated under the control of the central controller.

[0045] Meanwhile, the indoor unit 300 can be connected to a remote control (not shown) and can receive a control command from a user via the remote control. For example, the user can use the remote control to turn the indoor unit 300 on / off and to change the operating mode or setpoint temperature of the indoor unit 300. In this case, the indoor unit 300 can communicate with the remote control either wired or wirelessly, depending on the connection type.

[0046] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the outdoor unit, the hybrid unit, and the indoor unit of Fig. 1 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0047] Referring to Fig. 2 The outdoor unit can comprise 100 compressors 153 and 154 for compressing the refrigerant, outdoor heat exchangers 151a and 151b for dissipating the heat from the compressed refrigerant, an accumulator 152 for temporarily storing the vaporized refrigerant to remove moisture and foreign matter, and then supplying a refrigerant at a constant pressure to the compressors 153 and 154, a cooling / heating switching valve 162 for switching flow paths of the compressed refrigerant, oil separators 158 and 159, an outdoor fan 161 arranged on one side of the outdoor heat exchangers 151a and 151b to promote heat dissipation from the refrigerant, at least one expansion mechanism (e.g., electronic expansion valve (EV)) for expanding the condensed refrigerant, or the like.

[0048] Compressors 153 and 154 can be either inverter compressors or constant-speed compressors. For example, the first compressor 153 can be an inverter compressor capable of changing the refrigerant's compression capacity, and the second compressor 154 can be a constant-speed compressor with a constant refrigerant compression capacity.

[0049] The discharge units of compressors 153 and 154 can each be connected to first and second discharge lines 155 and 156, respectively, and the first and second discharge lines 155 and 156 can each be connected to a branch junction 157. The oil separators 158 and 159 for recovering oil from the refrigerant discharged by compressors 155 and 159 can each be provided in the first and second discharge lines 155 and 156, respectively, and the oil separators 158 and 159 can each be connected to the oil recovery lines 130 and 131 for conveying the oil separated by the oil separators 158 and 159 to the intake sections of compressors 153 and 154, respectively.

[0050] An intake line 164 can be connected to an intake part of the accumulator 151, and an intake pressure sensor 169 can be arranged on the intake line 164. The intake pressure sensor 169 can detect the intake pressure of the refrigerant flowing into the compressors 153 and 154, and the intake pressure value can be transmitted to a controller (e.g., 550 in Fig. 5) be transferred.

[0051] The branch connection section 157 can be connected to the high-pressure gas line 63, through which the refrigerant delivered by the compressors 153 and 154 is diverted without passing through a four-way valve 162. The branch connection section 157 can be connected to the four-way valve 162 via a third delivery line 168.

[0052] The external heat exchangers 151a and 151b can exchange heat between the outside air and the refrigerant. During cooling operation, the external heat exchangers 151a and 151b can function as a condenser, and during heating operation as an evaporator.

[0053] The outdoor heat exchangers 151a and 151b can be connected to the four-way valve 162 via a first connecting line 171. To facilitate heat exchange in the outdoor heat exchangers 151a and 151b, the outdoor fan 161 can be arranged on one side of the outdoor heat exchangers 151a and 151b.

[0054] A first external heat exchanger 151a can be connected to a first bypass 191 and a first distribution line 193. The first connecting line 171 and a first bypass 191 can be connected by a second bypass 198.

[0055] A second external heat exchanger 151b can be connected to the first diversion 191 and a second distribution line 194, which joins the first distribution line 193.

[0056] One end of the first connecting line 171 can be connected to the four-way valve 162 and the other end of the first connecting line 171 is connected to the first heat exchanger 151a and the second bypass 198.

[0057] A first external expansion valve 165a can be arranged in the first distribution line 193 to control the opening degree of the first distribution line 193. For example, under the control of the controller 551, the first external expansion valve 165a can throttle, divert, or block the refrigerant flowing through the first distribution line 193.

[0058] In the first bypass 191, a first inlet / outlet valve 197, which is opened and closed to control the flow of refrigerant, can be arranged. For example, when the first inlet / outlet valve 197 is opened, refrigerant can be transferred from the first outdoor heat exchanger 151a to the second outdoor heat exchanger 151b. However, in the present drawing, the first bypass 191 is shown as branching off from the first distribution line 193 and connected to the second outdoor heat exchanger 151b; the present disclosure, however, is not limited to this.

[0059] A first check valve 192 can be arranged in the second bypass 198. The first check valve 192 can prevent the refrigerant from flowing from the first connecting line 171 to the first bypass 191.

[0060] A second external expansion valve 165b can be arranged in the second distribution line 194 to control the opening degree of the second distribution line 194. For example, under the control of the controller 551, the second external expansion valve 165b can throttle, divert, or block the refrigerant flowing through the second distribution line 194.

[0061] A subcooling device 166 can cool the refrigerant transferred to the hybrid unit 200. The subcooling device 166 can comprise a subcooling heat exchanger 166a, a subcooling diversion 166b which is diverted from the liquid line 72 and connected to the subcooling heat exchanger 166a, a subcooling expansion valve 166c which is arranged in the subcooling diversion 166b and selectively expands the refrigerant, and / or a recovery line 166d for connecting the subcooling heat exchanger 166a to the third delivery line 168.

[0062] The hybrid unit 200 can include a water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger 211 for exchanging heat between water and refrigerant supplied by the outdoor unit 100. The water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger 211 can be a double-pipe heat exchanger in which a refrigerant flow path 212, through which a refrigerant flows, and a water flow path 213, through which water flows, are formed on the inside / outside, with a heat transfer element inserted between them, or it can be a plate heat exchanger in which the refrigerant flow path 212 and the water flow path 213 alternate, with the heat transfer element inserted between them. A case in which the water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger 211 is a plate heat exchanger is described below as an example.

[0063] The refrigerant flow path 212 of the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211 can be connected to a high-pressure refrigerant flow path 263 for gaseous refrigerant, through which gaseous high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant flows, a low-pressure refrigerant flow path 275 for gaseous refrigerant, through which a gaseous low-pressure refrigerant flows, and / or a flow path 272 for liquid refrigerant, through which a liquid refrigerant flows.

[0064] The hybrid unit 200 can include a high-pressure gas valve 221, which is arranged in the high-pressure refrigerant flow path 263 for gaseous refrigerant and controls the degree of opening of the high-pressure refrigerant flow path 263 for gaseous refrigerant. If the operating mode of the indoor unit 300, which is connected to the water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger 211, is, for example, a heating mode, the high-pressure gas valve 221 is opened, and the refrigerant flowing through the high-pressure refrigerant flow path 263 for gaseous refrigerant can be transferred to the refrigerant flow path 212.

[0065] The hybrid unit 200 can include a low-pressure gas valve 222, which is arranged in the low-pressure refrigerant flow path 275 for gaseous refrigerant and controls the opening degree of the low-pressure refrigerant flow path 275 for gaseous refrigerant. For example, if the operating mode of the indoor unit 300, which is connected to the water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger 211, is a cooling mode, the low-pressure refrigerant flow path 275 for gaseous refrigerant enters an open state and the refrigerant discharged from the refrigerant flow path 212 can flow to the low-pressure refrigerant flow path 275 for gaseous refrigerant.

[0066] The hybrid unit 200 can include a refrigerant flow valve 231, which is arranged in the liquid refrigerant flow path 272 and controls the amount of refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant flow path 212. The refrigerant control valve 231 can be an electronic expansion valve (EEV), and its opening degree can be controlled according to an input pulse value. For example, if the pulse fed into the refrigerant control valve 231 decreases by 50%, the opening degree of the refrigerant control valve 231 can also be reduced by 50%.

[0067] The hybrid unit 200 can also include a flat pressure valve 223 that achieves a medium pressure gradient.

[0068] The hybrid unit 200 can further include a pump 251 for pumping water that circulates through the water flow path 213. For example, the pump 251 can be arranged in a line through which water supplied from the indoor unit 300 flows and can operate such that water discharged from the indoor unit 300 flows to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211.

[0069] The hybrid unit 200 can include supply valves 241a and 241b, which are arranged in water inlet lines 41a and 41b, through which water supplied to each of the multiple indoor units 300 flows, and control the degree of opening of the water inlet lines 41a and 41b.

[0070] The hybrid unit 200 can include dispensing valves 242a and 242b, which are arranged in water dispensing lines 51a and 51b, through which water supplied from each of the multiple indoor units 300 flows, and which control the degree of opening of the water dispensing lines 51a and 51b.

[0071] In the drawing, the supply valves 241a and 241b and the discharge valves 242a and 242b are shown as being provided in the hybrid unit 200; however, the present disclosure is not limited to this and they can be provided in the indoor unit 300 or can be provided separately between the hybrid unit 200 and the indoor unit 300. Alternatively, according to another embodiment, each of the supply valves 241a and 241b and the discharge valves 242a and 242b can be omitted.

[0072] The indoor units 300a and 300b can include indoor heat exchangers 310a and 310b, an indoor fan (not shown), and several sensors (not shown). The indoor heat exchangers 310a and 310b can exchange heat between cold or hot water supplied by the hybrid unit 200 and air. The indoor fan can then circulate the air, which has exchanged heat with the indoor heat exchangers 310a and 310b, and expel it inside the unit.

[0073] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the outdoor unit, the hybrid unit, and the indoor unit of Fig. 1 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The detailed description of the same components as in Fig. The section described in point 2 is omitted.

[0074] Referring to Fig. 3. The hybrid unit 200 can comprise several water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b. In the drawing, the hybrid unit 200 is shown comprising two water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b; however, the present disclosure is not limited to this, and three or more can be provided.

[0075] The hybrid unit 200 can include several high-pressure gas valves 221a and 221b, low-pressure gas valves 222a and 222b, flat-pressure valves 223a and 223b, refrigerant control valves 231a and 231b and / or pumps 251a and 251b, depending on the number of multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b.

[0076] The hybrid unit can comprise several supply valves 241aa to 241db and discharge valves 242a to 242d, depending on the number of multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b and multiple indoor units 300. In the drawing, the discharge valves 242a to 242d are shown as three-way valves; however, the present disclosure is not limited to this.

[0077] The multiple indoor units 300 can each be connected to multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b via water inlet lines 41a to 41d and water outlet lines 51a to 51d, and can receive water from any of the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b according to the operating mode. In this respect, a description with reference to Fig. 4a to 4c given.

[0078] Fig. 4a to 4c are diagrams that depict an operating state of a heat pump as a function of an operating state of the several indoor units.

[0079] Fig. 4a represents an operating state of each component when the operating modes of the first and third indoor units 300a and 300c of the multiple indoor units 300 are set to heating mode and the second and fourth indoor units 300b and 300d are switched off and the operating mode of the heat pump 10 is set to heating mode.

[0080] Referring to Fig. 4a In the heat pump 10, the indoor unit 300, which is connected to each of the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b, can be determined taking into account the operating loads of the multiple indoor units 300. For example, if only the first and third indoor units 300a and 300c of the multiple indoor units 300 are switched on, the first indoor unit 300a can be connected to the first water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211a and the second indoor unit 300b can be connected to the second water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211b. Furthermore, depending on the connection relationship between the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b and the multiple indoor units 300, the opening and closing of the supply valves 241aa to 241db and the discharge valves 242a to 242d can be determined.

[0081] When the operating mode of the heat pump 10 is set to the heating mode, the gaseous high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant, which is compressed and delivered by the compressors 153 and 154, can flow through the first and second delivery lines 155 and 156 and the branch junction part 157 to the high-pressure gas line 63 and can be supplied to the hybrid unit 200 via the high-pressure gas line 63.

[0082] Furthermore, by opening the high-pressure gas valves 221a and 221b of the hybrid unit 200, the gaseous high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant supplied by the outdoor unit 100 can be transferred to the refrigerant flow paths 212a and 212b of the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b.

[0083] The multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b can exchange heat between the gaseous high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant flowing in refrigerant flow paths 212a and 212b and the water flowing in water flow paths 213a and 213b. In this case, the liquid refrigerant can be discharged from refrigerant flow paths 212a and 212b via the heat exchange in the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b to flow to liquid refrigerant flow path 272.

[0084] The liquid refrigerant flowing in the liquid refrigerant flow path 272 can be supplied to the outdoor unit 100 via the liquid line 72. The liquid refrigerant supplied to the outdoor unit 100 can be transferred to the outdoor heat exchangers 151a and 151b, and the outdoor heat exchangers 151a and 151b can exchange heat between the liquid refrigerant and the outside air. In this case, a gaseous low-pressure refrigerant can be discharged from the outdoor heat exchangers 151a and 151b to the first connecting line 171 via the heat exchanger 152, and the gaseous low-pressure refrigerant can be discharged to the compressors 153 and 154 via the accumulator 152.

[0085] Meanwhile, the high-temperature water, which has exchanged heat with the gaseous high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant, can be supplied to the first and third indoor units 300a and 300c and can exchange heat with indoor air in the indoor heat exchangers 310a and 310c of the first and third indoor units 300a and 300c. In this case, the air that has exchanged heat in the indoor heat exchangers 310a and 310c can be discharged by the rotation of indoor fans provided in the first and third indoor units 300a and 300c.

[0086] Fig. 4b represents an operating state of each component when all operating modes of the multiple indoor units 300 are set to heating mode and the operating mode of the heat pump 10 is set to cooling mode.

[0087] Referring to Fig. 4b In the heat pump 10, the indoor unit 300, which is connected to each of the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b, can be determined taking into account the operating loads of the multiple indoor units 300. For example, of the multiple indoor units 300, the first indoor unit 300a and the second indoor unit 300b can be connected to the first water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211a, and the third indoor unit 300c and the fourth indoor unit 300d can be connected to the second water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211b. Furthermore, depending on the connection relationship between the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b and the multiple indoor units 300, the opening and closing of the supply valves 241aa to 241db and the discharge valves 242a to 242d can be determined.

[0088] When the operating mode of the heat pump 10 is set to the cooling mode, the gaseous high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant, which is compressed and delivered by the compressors 153 and 154, can flow through the first and second delivery lines 155 and 156, the branch junction part 157 and the cooling / heating changeover valve 162 to the first connecting line 171 and can be transferred through the first connecting line 171 to the outdoor heat exchangers 151a and 151b.

[0089] The external heat exchangers 151a and 151b can exchange heat between the gaseous high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant and the outside air. In this case, the liquid refrigerant can be transferred via the heat exchange in the external heat exchangers 151a and 151b to the second distribution line 194, in order to flow to the liquid line 72.

[0090] The liquid refrigerant flowing in the liquid line 72 can be supplied to the hybrid unit 200, and the liquid refrigerant supplied to the hybrid unit 200 can be transferred from 211a and 211b of the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b through the refrigerant flow path 272 to the refrigerant flow paths 212a and 212b.

[0091] The multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b can exchange heat between the liquid refrigerant flowing in the refrigerant flow paths 212a and 212b and the water flowing in the water flow paths 213a and 213b. In this case, the gaseous low-pressure refrigerant can be discharged from the refrigerant flow paths 212a and 212b to flow, via heat exchange in the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b, to the low-pressure refrigerant flow path 275 for gaseous refrigerant.

[0092] The gaseous low-pressure refrigerant flowing in the low-pressure refrigerant flow path 275 can be supplied to the outdoor unit 100 via the low-pressure gas line 75. The gaseous low-pressure refrigerant supplied to the outdoor unit 100 can be transferred via the accumulator 152 to the compressors 153 and 154.

[0093] Meanwhile, the low-temperature water, which has exchanged heat with the liquid refrigerant, can be supplied to the multiple indoor units 300a to 300d and can exchange heat with indoor air in the indoor heat exchangers 310a to 310d of the multiple indoor units 300. In this case, the air, which has exchanged heat in the indoor heat exchangers 310a to 310d, can be discharged indoors by the rotation of indoor fans provided in the multiple indoor units 300a to 300d.

[0094] Fig. 4c represents an operating state of each component when some operating modes of the multiple indoor units 300 are set to cooling mode and some other of their operating modes are set to cooling mode and the operating mode of the heat pump 10 is set to a cooling / heating mode.

[0095] Referring to Fig. 4c In the heat pump 10, the indoor unit 300, which is connected to each of the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b, can be determined taking into account the operating loads of the multiple indoor units 300. For example, of the multiple indoor units 300, the first indoor unit 300a and the third indoor unit 300, which are set to heating mode, can be connected to the first water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211a, and the fourth indoor unit 300b, which is set to cooling mode, can be connected to the second water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211b. Furthermore, depending on the connection relationship between the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b and the multiple indoor units 300, the opening and closing of the supply valves 241aa to 241db and the discharge valves 242a to 242d can be determined.

[0096] When the operating mode of heat pump 10 is set to cooling / heating mode, the gaseous high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant compressed and discharged by compressors 153 and 154 can flow through the first and second discharge lines 155 and 156 to the branch junction 157. In this case, at least some of the gaseous high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant transferred to the branch junction 157 can flow through the high-pressure gas line 63, and some of the remaining gaseous high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant that is not transferred to the high-pressure gas line 63 can flow through the cooling / heating changeover valve 162 to the first connecting line 162.

[0097] The gaseous high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant flowing in the first connecting line 171 can be transferred to the outdoor heat exchangers 151a and 151b, where it can exchange heat with the outside air. In this case, the liquid refrigerant can be transferred to the second distribution line 194 via the heat exchanger 151a and 151b, from where it flows to the liquid line 72.

[0098] Meanwhile, the high-pressure gas valve 221a of the hybrid unit 200 can be opened and the second high-pressure gas valve 221b is closed, and the gaseous high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant supplied from the outdoor unit 100 through the high-pressure gas line 63 can be transferred to the refrigerant flow path 212a of the first water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211a.

[0099] The first water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211a can exchange heat between the gaseous high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant flowing in the refrigerant flow path 212a and the water flowing in the water flow path 213a. In this case, the liquid refrigerant can be discharged from the refrigerant flow path 212a to flow through the heat exchange in the first water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211a to the liquid refrigerant flow path 272.

[0100] Meanwhile, the liquid refrigerant supplied from the external heat exchanger 100 through the liquid line 72, together with the liquid refrigerant flowing in the liquid refrigerant flow path 272, can be supplied to the refrigerant flow path 212b of the second water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211b.

[0101] The second water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211b can exchange heat between the liquid refrigerant flowing in refrigerant flow path 212b and the water flowing in water flow path 213b. In this case, the gaseous low-pressure refrigerant can be discharged from refrigerant flow path 212b to flow through the heat exchange in the second water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211b to the low-pressure refrigerant flow path 275 for gaseous refrigerant.

[0102] The gaseous low-pressure refrigerant flowing in the low-pressure refrigerant flow path 275 can be supplied to the outdoor unit 100 via the low-pressure gas line 75. The gaseous low-pressure refrigerant supplied to the outdoor unit 100 can be transferred via the accumulator 152 to the compressors 153 and 154.

[0103] Meanwhile, the high-temperature water that has exchanged heat in the first water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211a can be supplied to the first and third indoor units 300a and 300c, and the low-temperature water that has exchanged heat in the second water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211b can be supplied to the fourth indoor unit 300d.

[0104] Fig. Figure 5 is a block diagram of a heat pump according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0105] Referring to Fig. 5 The heat pump can include a fan drive 510, a compressor drive 520, a valve unit 530, a sensor unit 540 and / or a controller 550.

[0106] The fan drive 510 can drive at least one fan provided in the heat pump 10. For example, the fan drive 510 can drive an outdoor fan 161 provided in the outdoor unit 100, and / or indoor fans provided in several indoor units 300.

[0107] The 510 fan drive can include a (not shown) rectifier that converts AC power to DC power and outputs it, a DC voltage stage capacitor that stores a ripple voltage from the rectifier, an (not shown) inverter that has several switching elements and converts smoothed DC power into three-phase AC power at a predetermined frequency and outputs the converted power supply, and / or a (not shown) motor that drives a fan using the three-phase AC power output by the inverter.

[0108] The compressor drive 520 can drive compressors 153 and 154. The compressor drive 520 can include a rectifier (not shown) that converts AC power to DC power and outputs the DC power, a DC step-up capacitor (not shown), an inverter (not shown), and / or a compressor motor (not shown) that drives compressors 153 and 154 using the three-phase AC power output by the inverter. If the outdoor unit 200 includes multiple compressors 153 and 154, the compressor drive 520 can include separate compressor motors, one for each of the multiple compressors 153 and 154.

[0109] The valve unit 530 can include various valves provided in the heat pump 10. The valves contained in the valve unit 530 operate under the control of the controller 550. For example, the valve unit 530 can include a cooling / heating changeover valve 162, an expansion valve and an on / off valve provided in the outdoor unit 200, a high-pressure gas valve 221, a low-pressure gas valve 222, a flat-pressure valve 223 and a refrigerant control valve 231 provided in the hybrid unit 200, and similar components.

[0110] The sensor unit 540 can include at least one sensor and can transmit data about a sampled value, which is sampled by at least one sensor, to the controller 550.

[0111] At least one sensor provided in the sensor unit 540 can be located inside or outside the outdoor unit 100, the hybrid unit 200, and / or the indoor unit 300. For example, the sensor unit 540 can include a heat exchanger temperature sensor located in the outdoor heat exchangers 151a and 151b, at least one pressure sensor measuring the pressure of the refrigerant flowing through each line, at least one temperature sensor measuring the temperature of the fluid flowing through each line, or similar sensors.

[0112] The sensor unit 540 can include an indoor temperature sensor that measures the indoor temperature and / or an outdoor temperature sensor that measures the outdoor temperature. For example, the outdoor temperature sensor can be located in the outdoor unit 100 and the indoor temperature sensor can be located in the indoor unit 300.

[0113] The 550 controller can be connected to any component provided in the Heat Pump 10 and can control the overall operation of each component. The 550 controller can transmit data to and receive data from any component provided in the Heat Pump 10.

[0114] The 550 control unit can be provided not only in the outdoor unit 100, but also in a (not shown) remote control device for remotely controlling the operation of the hybrid unit 200, the indoor unit 300, the heat pump 10 or similar.

[0115] The controller 550 can include at least one processor and can control the overall operation of the heat pump 10 using a processor contained within it. Here, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU). Of course, the processor can also be a dedicated device, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or another hardware-based processor.

[0116] The controller 550 can control the operation of the fan drive 510. For example, the controller 550 can change the frequency of the three-phase AC power output to the motor for rotating the outdoor fan 161 through the operating control of the fan drive 510 in order to change the speed of the outdoor fan 161.

[0117] The controller 550 can control the operation of the compressor drive 520. For example, the controller 550 can change the frequency of the three-phase AC power output to the compressor motor for driving compressors 153 and 154 through the operating control of the compressor drive 520 in order to change the operating frequency of compressors 153 and 154.

[0118] The controller 550 can control the operation of at least one valve contained in the valve unit 530. For example, if the operating mode of the heat pump 10 is set to heating mode, cooling mode, or cooling / heating mode, the controller 550 can control the operation of the branch junction part 157, the four-way valve 162, the high-pressure gas valve 221, the low-pressure gas valve 222, and similar components according to each operating mode.

[0119] The 550 controller can calculate the operating loads of multiple 300 indoor units. It can calculate these loads based on the on / off status, setpoint temperature, indoor temperature, operating mode, and / or power consumption of each unit. For example, the operating load of an indoor unit that is switched off can be calculated as zero by the other 300 indoor units. Alternatively, the operating load can be calculated based on the difference between the setpoint temperature for each of the 300 indoor units and the actual indoor temperature. The greater the difference between the setpoint and indoor temperature, the higher the calculated operating load.

[0120] The controller 550 can calculate the amount or rate of change of the total operating load for all of the multiple indoor units 300 based on the operating loads of the multiple indoor units 300, and determine the operating frequency of the compressors 153 and 154 based on the amount or rate of change of the calculated total operating load.

[0121] For example, if half of the multiple indoor units 300 are switched off, while the remaining multiple indoor units 300 operate with the same settings and power on, the controller 550 can calculate the change in the total load as -50% and control the compressor drive 520 such that the operating frequency of compressors 153 and 154 is also reduced by 50% of the change in the total operating load. If, in this case, the change in the total load is calculated as -50%, the controller 550 can control the compressor drive 520 such that the operating frequency of the first compressor 153 is maintained by compressors 153 and 154, and the operation of the second compressor 154 is stopped.

[0122] If the heat pump 10 includes the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b, the controller 550 can determine a connection relationship between the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b and the multiple indoor units 300.

[0123] The controller 550 can determine the connection relationship between the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b and the multiple indoor units 300 based on the operating loads of the multiple indoor units 300. For example, the controller 550 can determine the connection relationship between the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b and the multiple indoor units 300 such that the operating loads of the multiple indoor units 300 are distributed depending on the number of multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b.

[0124] The controller 550 can determine the connection relationship between the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b and the multiple indoor units 300 based on the operating modes of the multiple indoor units 300. For example, the controller 550 can determine the connection relationship between the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b and the multiple indoor units 300 such that the indoor unit set to cooling mode is connected to the first water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211a, and the indoor unit set to heating mode is connected to the second water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211b of the multiple indoor units 300.

[0125] The controller 550 can control the opening degree of the refrigerant control valve 231 based on operating loads of the multiple indoor units 300.

[0126] The controller 550 can control the amount or rate of change of the operating load for the indoor unit 300, which is connected to the water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger 211, based on the operating loads of the multiple indoor units 300, and can determine the opening degree of the refrigerant control valve 231 based on the calculated amount or rate of change of the operating load. For example, if the operating load of the indoor unit 300, which is connected to the water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger 300, is reduced from 20 kBTU (kilo-kilogram thermal unit) to 15 kBTU, the controller 550 can calculate the amount or rate of change of the operating load as -25% and can calculate the opening degree of the refrigerant control valve 231 so that it is reduced by 25%.

[0127] When determining the opening degree of the refrigerant control valve 231, the controller 550 can set different usage ratios for the change in the amount or rate of change of the operating load, depending on the operating mode of the indoor unit 300 connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211. In this case, the usage ratio can be determined taking into account the influence of the compressors 153 and 154 and the refrigerant control valve 231 on the operating efficiency with respect to the operating mode of the indoor unit 300 connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211.

[0128] If, for example, the operating mode of the indoor unit 300 connected to the water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger 211 is cooling mode and the change in operating load is -50%, the controller 550 can control the opening degree of the refrigerant control valve 231 so that it is reduced by 50% using the change in operating load calculated by a first ratio (e.g., 100%). If, for example, the operating mode of the indoor unit 300 connected to the water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger 211 is heating mode and the change in operating load is -50%, the controller 550 can control the opening degree of the refrigerant control valve 231 so that it is reduced by 30% using the change in operating load calculated by a second ratio (e.g., 60%).

[0129] However, if the heat pump 10 includes the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b, the controller 550 can adjust the opening degrees of the refrigerant control valves 231a and 231b, which each correspond to the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b, based on the operating loads of the indoor units, which each are connected to the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b.

[0130] However, the heat pump 10 may also include an output unit (not shown).

[0131] The output unit may include a display device, such as a display and a light-emitting diode (LED), and may display a message regarding the operation of the heat pump 10 through the display device.

[0132] The output unit may include an audio device, such as a loudspeaker or a buzzer, and may emit a warning tone through the audio device.

[0133] Fig. Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an operating procedure for a heat pump according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0134] Referring to Fig. 6. The heat pump can check the operating status of the multiple indoor units 300 during operation S610. The heat pump 10 can, for example, check the on / off switching, the set temperature, the indoor temperature, the operating mode, the power consumption and similar parameters of the multiple indoor units 300.

[0135] In operation S620, the heat pump 10 can calculate the operating loads of the multiple indoor units 300 based on their operating state. For example, the heat pump 10 can calculate the operating load of an indoor unit that is switched off as zero for the multiple indoor units 300.

[0136] In operation S630, the heat pump 10 can calculate the amount or rate of change of the operating load for the indoor unit 300 connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211 based on the operating loads of the multiple indoor units 300. For example, if the operating load of the indoor unit 300 connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211 is reduced from 50 kBTU (kilo-kilogram thermal unit) to 25 kBTU, the heat pump 10 can calculate the amount or rate of change of the operating loads of the indoor units 300 connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211 as -50%.

[0137] In operation S640, the heat pump 10 can check whether the operating mode of the indoor unit 300 connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211 is cooling mode or heating mode.

[0138] In operation S650, the heat pump 10 can determine the opening degree of the refrigerant control valve 231 by using the first ratio when the operating mode of the indoor unit 300 connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211 is cooling mode. For example, if the change in the operating load is -50%, the heat pump 10 can determine a value that is 50% lower than the previous opening degree as the opening degree of the refrigerant control valve 231 by using the first ratio.

[0139] Meanwhile, in operation S660, the heat pump 10 can determine the opening degree of the refrigerant control valve 231 using the second ratio when the operating mode of the indoor unit 300 connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211 is heating mode. In this case, the second ratio can be a smaller value than the first ratio. For example, if the change in the operating load is -50%, the heat pump 10 can use the second ratio (e.g., 60%) to determine a value that is 30% lower than the previous opening degree as the opening degree of the refrigerant control valve 231.

[0140] In operation S670, the heat pump 10 can control the opening degree of the refrigerant control valve 231 with a specified opening degree. The heat pump 10 can control the opening degree, for example, by controlling a pulse value fed into the refrigerant control valve 231 based on the specified opening degree.

[0141] Fig. 7a to 8b are diagrams that are referenced to describe the operation of a heat pump.

[0142] Fig. 7a and Fig. 7b are diagrams which are referenced for the description of the operation of a heat pump 10 with reference to the change in the operating load of the indoor unit 300 connected to the water refrigerant heat exchanger 211, when the heat pump 10 includes a water refrigerant heat exchanger 211.

[0143] When referring to Fig. 7. If the cooling operation is carried out according to the same setting, while the several indoor units 300 contained in the heat pump 10 are all switched on, the operating mode of the heat pump 10 can be set to the cooling operating mode.

[0144] In this case, the gaseous high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant, which is compressed and delivered by the compressors 153 and 154 of the outdoor unit 100, can be supplied to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211 of the hybrid unit 200, and the high-temperature water, which has exchanged heat with the gaseous high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant in the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211, can be supplied to the indoor unit 300.

[0145] Referring to Fig. 7b, the first indoor unit 300a is switched off, the amount or rate of change of the total operating load for all of the multiple indoor units 300 and the amount or rate of change of the operating load associated with the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211 can all be calculated as -50%.

[0146] In this case, the heat pump 10 can control the compressor drive 250 in such a way that the operating frequency of the compressors 153 and 154 is reduced by 50% based on the amount or rate of change of the total operating load.

[0147] Furthermore, the heat pump 10 can control the opening degree of the refrigerant control valve 231 based on the amount or rate of change of the operating load of the indoor unit connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211, such that it is reduced by 50%.

[0148] Meanwhile, Fig. 8a and Fig. 8b Diagrams, which are referred to for the description of the operation of the heat pump 10 with the change in the operating load of the indoor units 300, each connected to several water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b, when the heat pump 10 comprises several water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b.

[0149] If the operating mode of the first and second indoor units 300a and 300b differs from that of the multiple indoor units 300 contained in the heat pump 10, referring to Fig. If 8a is set to cooling mode and the operating mode of the third and fourth indoor units 300c and 300d of the multiple indoor units contained in the heat pump 10 is set to heating mode, the operating mode of the heat pump 10 can be set to cooling / heating mode.

[0150] In this case, at least some of the gaseous high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant compressed and delivered by the compressors 153 and 154 of the outdoor unit 100 can be supplied to the hybrid unit 200 via the high-pressure gas line 63, and the remaining gaseous refrigerant that is not supplied to the hybrid unit 200 can be transferred to the outdoor heat exchangers 151a and 151b.

[0151] Furthermore, the liquid refrigerant can be transferred from the external heat exchangers 151a and 151b to the liquid line via the heat exchange between the gaseous refrigerant and outside air in the external heat exchangers 151a and 151b, and the liquid refrigerant can be supplied to the hybrid unit 200 via the liquid line 72.

[0152] Meanwhile, the high-temperature water, which has exchanged heat with the gaseous high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant in the first water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211a, can be supplied to the first and second indoor units 300a and 300b, and the low-temperature water, which has exchanged heat with the liquid refrigerant in the second water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211b, can be supplied to the third and fourth indoor units 300c and 300d.

[0153] Since the second and fourth indoor units 300b and 300d Referring to Fig. With 8b switched off, the change in the total operating load for all of the multiple indoor units 300 can be calculated as -50%. In this case, the heat pump 10 can control the compressor drive 520 based on the change in the total operating load such that the operating frequency of compressors 153 and 154 is reduced by 50%.

[0154] Meanwhile, the amount or rate of change of an operating load for an indoor unit connected to the first water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211a and the amount or rate of change of an operating load for an indoor unit connected to the second water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211b can all be calculated as -50%.

[0155] Since in this case the operating mode of the indoor unit connected to the first water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211a is set to heating mode, the heat pump 10 can control the operation by reducing the opening degree of the first refrigerant control valve 231a by 30% by using -50%, which is the amount or rate of change of the operating load for the indoor unit connected to the first water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211a, by the second ratio (e.g. 60%).

[0156] However, since the operating mode of the indoor unit connected to the second water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211b is set to cooling mode, the heat pump 10 can control the operation by reducing the opening degree of the second refrigerant control valve 231b by 50%, using -50%, which is the amount or rate of change of the operating load for the indoor unit connected to the second water-refrigerant heat exchanger 211b, by the second ratio (e.g. 100%).

[0157] As described above, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to prevent the generation of noise due to the vibration of a pipe due to the flow of refrigerant and to reduce the possibility of fire due to refrigerant leakage by supplying water that has exchanged heat with a refrigerant to the indoor unit 300 and providing cooling and heating functions using the heat exchange between the water and the indoor air, thereby improving the reliability and safety of the product.

[0158] Furthermore, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to evaporate / condense the refrigerant correctly by precisely controlling the amount of refrigerant delivered by the outdoor unit 100 and exchanging heat with water, by controlling the opening degree of the refrigerant control valve 231 based on the operating loads of the several indoor units 300, or without controlling the refrigerant control valve 231 based solely on the line temperature, thereby preventing damage to the compressors 153 and 154 and improving the operating efficiency of the heat pump 10.

[0159] Furthermore, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide the cooling function and the heating function to several indoor spaces simultaneously by providing several water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b and supplying water from one of the several water-refrigerant heat exchangers 211a and 211b to the indoor unit 300 according to the operating mode, thereby improving the usability and satisfaction with the product.

[0160] Furthermore, the accompanying drawings are merely intended to make the exemplary embodiments disclosed in this specification easily understandable, and the technical spirit disclosed in this specification is not limited by the accompanying drawings and includes all modifications, equivalents and substitutions that fall within the spirit and technological scope of the present disclosure.

[0161] While operations are depicted in a specific order, this should not be interpreted as requiring that such operations be performed in the specific order shown, or in a sequential order, or that all depicted operations must be performed to achieve desired results. Under certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing can be advantageous.

Claims

[1] Heat pump (10) which features: an outdoor unit (100) with a compressor (153, 154) for compressing a refrigerant and an outdoor heat exchanger (151a, 151b) for exchanging heat between the refrigerant and outside air; a hybrid unit (200) comprising a water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211) for exchanging heat between the refrigerant supplied by the outdoor unit (100) and water, and a refrigerant control valve (231) for controlling the amount of refrigerant flowing through the water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211); several indoor units (300a, 300b), each comprising an internal heat exchanger for exchanging heat between water supplied by the hybrid unit (200) and indoor air; and a controller (550) that is configured to: To calculate the operating loads of the multiple indoor units (300a, 300b); to determine the degree of opening of the refrigerant control valve (231) using a first ratio based on the amount or rate of change of the operating load, when the operating mode of the indoor unit connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211) is a cooling mode; and to determine the degree of opening of the refrigerant control valve (231) using the amount or rate of change of the operating load by a second ratio that is smaller than the first ratio, when the operating mode of the indoor unit connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211) is a heating mode; and to control the refrigerant control valve (231) based on the determined opening degree of the refrigerant control valve (231). [2] Heat pump (10) according to claim 1, wherein the controller (550) is configured to: to calculate the operating loads based on the switching on / off and / or a target temperature and / or an indoor temperature and / or an operating mode and / or the power consumption of the multiple indoor units (300a, 300b); to calculate a change in the amount or rate of change of the operating load for an indoor unit connected to the water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger (211) based on the calculated operating load; and to determine an opening degree of the refrigerant control valve (231) based on the calculated amount or rate of change of the operating load. [3] Heat pump (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the controller (550) is configured to: to calculate the amount or rate of change of the operating load for all of the multiple indoor units (300a, 300b) based on the calculated operating loads; and to determine an operating frequency of the compressor (153, 154) based on the amount or rate of change of the operating load for all of the multiple indoor units (300a, 300b). [4] Heat pump (10) according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211) is connected to a high-pressure line through which a gaseous high-pressure refrigerant flows, a low-pressure line through which a gaseous low-pressure refrigerant flows, and a liquid line through which a liquid refrigerant flows, and the refrigerant control valve (231) is arranged in the liquid line. [5] Heat pump (10) according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the hybrid unit (200) comprises several of the water-refrigerant heat exchangers (211) and several of the refrigerant control valves (231a, 231b), each corresponding to the several water-refrigerant heat exchangers (211a, 211b), and each of the several indoor units (300a, 300b) is connected to two or more of the several water-refrigerant heat exchangers (211a, 211b) and receives the water from any one of the connected two or more water-refrigerant heat exchangers (211a, 211b) depending on the operating mode. [6] Heat pump (10) according to claim 5, wherein the control is configured to: to calculate a first change amount or rate of change of a first operating load for an indoor unit connected to a first water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211a) and a second change amount or rate of change of a second operating load for an indoor unit connected to a second water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211b) of the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers (211a, 211b), to determine an opening degree of a first refrigerant control valve (231a) for controlling a refrigerant quantity flowing through the first water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211a) based on the amount or rate of change of the first operating load, and to determine an opening degree of a second refrigerant control valve (231b) to control a refrigerant quantity flowing through the second water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211b) based on the amount or rate of change of the second operating load. [7] Operating method for a heat pump comprising an outdoor unit (100) with a compressor (153, 154) for compressing a refrigerant and an outdoor heat exchanger (151a, 151b) for exchanging heat between the refrigerant and outdoor air, a hybrid unit (200) with a water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211) for exchanging heat between the refrigerant and water and a refrigerant control valve (231) for controlling a quantity of refrigerant flowing through a water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211), and several indoor units (300a, 300b), each of which includes an indoor heat exchanger for exchanging heat between water supplied by the hybrid unit (200) and indoor air, wherein the operating method comprises: Calculating operating loads of several indoor units (300a, 300b)Determining the degree of opening of the refrigerant control valve (231) using a change amount or rate of change of the operating load by a first ratio when the operating mode of the indoor unit connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211) is a cooling operating mode; Determining the degree of opening of the refrigerant control valve (231) using the amount or rate of change of the operating load by a second ratio that is smaller than the first ratio, when the operating mode of the indoor unit connected to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211) is a heating mode; and Control of the refrigerant control valve (231) based on the determined opening degree of the refrigerant control valve (231). [8] Operating method according to claim 7, wherein calculating the operating loads comprises calculating the operating loads based on switching on / off and / or a setpoint temperature and / or an indoor temperature and / or an operating mode and / or the power consumption of the multiple indoor units (300a, 300b), and wherein controlling the degree of opening of the refrigerant control valve (231) comprises: Calculating the amount or rate of change of the operating load for an indoor unit connected to the water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger (211) based on the calculated operating load; and Determining the opening degree of the refrigerant control valve (231) based on the calculated amount or rate of change of the operating load. [9] Operating method according to one of claims 7 or 8, further comprising: Calculating the amount or rate of change of the operating load for all of the multiple indoor units (300a, 300b) based on the calculated operating load; and Determining an operating frequency of the compressor (153, 154) based on the amount or rate of change of the operating load for all of the multiple indoor units (300a, 300b). [10] Operating method according to one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211) of the heat pump is connected to a high-pressure line through which a gaseous high-pressure refrigerant flows, a low-pressure line through which a gaseous low-pressure refrigerant flows, and a liquid line through which a liquid refrigerant flows, and wherein the refrigerant control valve is arranged in the liquid line. [11] Operating method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the hybrid unit comprises several of the water-refrigerant heat exchangers (211a, 211b) and several of the refrigerant control valves (231a, 231b), each corresponding to the several water-refrigerant heat exchangers (211a, 211b), and wherein each of the several indoor units (300a, 300b) is connected to two or more of the several water-refrigerant heat exchangers (211a, 211b) and receives the water from any one of the connected two or more water-refrigerant heat exchangers (211a, 211b) depending on the operating mode. [12] Operating method according to claim 11, wherein the calculation of the amount or rate of change of the operating load comprises calculating a first amount or rate of change of a first operating load for an indoor unit connected to a first water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211a) and a second amount or rate of change of a second operating load for an indoor unit connected to a second water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211b) of the multiple water-refrigerant heat exchangers (211a, 211b), and wherein the determination of the degree of opening of the refrigerant control valve (231) comprises determining a degree of opening of a first refrigerant control valve (231a) for controlling a quantity of refrigerant flowing through the first water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211a),based on the amount or rate of change of the first operating load and determining an opening degree of a second refrigerant control valve (231b) to control a refrigerant quantity flowing through the second water-refrigerant heat exchanger (211b) based on the amount or rate of change of the second operating load.

Images