air conditioning equipment

Abstract

To provide an air conditioner that operates a sensor that detects refrigerant using a predetermined voltage. [Solution] The air conditioning device (10) is equipped with a sensor (25) that detects refrigerant leakage, and includes a voltage conversion unit (310) that converts AC to DC and outputs the voltage to a line, and a voltage adjustment unit (330) that adjusts the voltage input via the line, and the voltage adjustment unit (330) supplies a predetermined voltage to the sensor (25).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an air conditioner for detecting refrigerant leakage. [Background technology]

[0002] Refrigerants with various characteristics have been developed for use in air conditioners. Some refrigerants with excellent characteristics are highly flammable, for example, and air conditioners are sometimes equipped with a function to detect refrigerant leaks to ensure safety during use.

[0003] For example, International Publication WO2012 / 001847 (Patent Document 1) discloses an air conditioner equipped with a refrigerant leakage detection means for detecting refrigerant leakage. According to Patent Document 1, safety can be improved by having a blower means diffuse the refrigerant when a refrigerant leakage is detected.

[0004] However, in the configuration described in Patent Document 1, the sensor serving as the refrigerant leak detection means is installed inside the main body of the air conditioner. Therefore, if a refrigerant leak occurs at a location away from the main body, such as in the piping connecting the indoor unit and the outdoor unit, it cannot be detected. In such a case, it is necessary to install a sensor at a location away from the main body, but the power supplied to the sensor may decrease due to a voltage drop caused by the length of the wiring, and the power required to operate the sensor may not be supplied.

[0005] Therefore, there has been a demand for technology that allows sensors to operate appropriately to detect refrigerant leaks. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. WO2012 / 001847 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and has an object to provide an air conditioner in which a sensor for detecting refrigerant is activated by a predetermined voltage. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] That is, according to the present invention, An air conditioning apparatus equipped with a sensor that detects refrigerant leakage, A conversion means for converting AC to DC and outputting the voltage to the line; an adjusting means for adjusting the voltage input via the line; Including, The adjusting means supplies a predetermined voltage to the sensor. An air conditioning system is provided. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an air conditioner in which a sensor that detects refrigerant is activated by a predetermined voltage. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a refrigeration cycle in the air conditioning apparatus of the present embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of an air conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a software block diagram included in the air conditioning apparatus of the present embodiment. [Figure 4] 5 is a graph showing a voltage supplied to a sensor in the present embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of an air conditioning apparatus according to another example of the present embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is a graph showing a voltage supplied to a sensor in another example of the present embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of an air conditioning apparatus according to another embodiment. [Figure 8]FIG. 10 is a software block diagram included in an air conditioning apparatus of another embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is a graph showing the voltage supplied to a sensor in another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. In the drawings referred to below, the same reference numerals will be used for common elements, and their description will be omitted as appropriate.

[0012] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating the refrigeration cycle in an air conditioner 10 of this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the refrigeration cycle in the air conditioner 10 is composed of an indoor unit 20 and an outdoor unit 30, which are connected via refrigerant piping 40. The indoor unit 20 is installed in the indoor space to be air-conditioned, and the outdoor unit 30 is installed outside the indoor space.

[0013] The indoor unit 20 includes an indoor heat exchanger 21, an indoor fan 22, a control board 23, a sensor board 24, and a sensor 25. The outdoor unit 30 includes a compressor 31, a four-way valve 32, an outdoor heat exchanger 33, an expansion valve 34, and an outdoor fan 35. The arrows in Fig. 1 indicate the direction of refrigerant flow during cooling operation, and unless otherwise noted, the following explanation of the refrigeration cycle will be explained using cooling operation as an example for convenience. Note that during heating operation, the direction of refrigerant flow is reversed from the direction of the arrows in Fig. 1.

[0014] The indoor unit 20 performs air conditioning of the indoor space by using the indoor fan 22 to exchange heat between the air in the indoor space and the refrigerant flowing through the indoor heat exchanger 21 and discharging the air back into the room. During cooling operation, the indoor heat exchanger 21 operates as an evaporator, exchanging heat between low-temperature, low-pressure liquid refrigerant and the air blown by the indoor fan 22. The indoor unit 20 can lower the temperature of the indoor space by discharging the air that has been subjected to heat exchange. The refrigerant that flows out of the indoor heat exchanger 21 is a low-temperature, low-pressure gas refrigerant, and flows to the outdoor unit 30 via refrigerant piping 40.

[0015] The control board 23 is a board equipped with a circuit that converts AC supplied from a commercial power source into DC and outputs the DC. The control board 23 can supply power to various components that make up the refrigeration cycle, components related to the operation of the air conditioner 10, the sensor board 24, etc. Furthermore, the control board 23 of this embodiment can output signals related to the control of the air conditioner 10. Note that the control board 23 may be provided not in the indoor unit 20 but in the outdoor unit 30 or outside the housing, for example.

[0016] The sensor board 24 is a board equipped with a circuit for operating the sensor 25, which detects refrigerant leakage. The sensor board 24 can boost or lower the power output from the control board 23 to a predetermined voltage value and supply it to the sensor 25. The sensor board 24 of this embodiment can also have a relay function for transmitting a signal output from the sensor 25 to the control board 23. The sensor board 24 may be provided not in the indoor unit 20 but in the outdoor unit 30 or outside the housing, for example.

[0017] The sensor 25 is a device for detecting refrigerant leakage. The sensor 25 of this embodiment can operate at a predetermined voltage. The sensor 25 can be provided in any position, such as inside or near the housing of the indoor unit 20 or the outdoor unit 30, or near the refrigerant piping 40 that connects the indoor unit 20 and the outdoor unit 30 and through which the refrigerant flows. The air conditioning apparatus 10 may also be provided with multiple sensors 25.

[0018] Next, the outdoor unit 30 will be described. The compressor 31 compresses low-temperature, low-pressure gas refrigerant that flows in from the outdoor unit side by driving a motor, and discharges it as high-temperature, high-pressure gas refrigerant. The gas refrigerant discharged from the compressor 31 passes through a four-way valve 32 and flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 33. The outdoor heat exchanger 33 exchanges heat between the refrigerant flowing inside and the outside air sent in by the outdoor fan 35. During cooling operation, the outdoor heat exchanger 33 operates as a condenser, and discharges the refrigerant as a high-temperature liquid through heat exchange. Note that during heating operation, the outdoor heat exchanger 33 operates as an evaporator.

[0019] The refrigerant discharged from the outdoor heat exchanger 33 is expanded in volume by the expansion valve 34, and its temperature is lowered by being reduced in pressure. The refrigerant then flows into the indoor unit 20, where it performs cooling operation to lower the temperature of the indoor space as described above.

[0020] The four-way valve 32 is a valve that switches the refrigerant flow path depending on the operation mode of the air conditioner 10. That is, during cooling operation, the connection is as shown by the solid lines in Fig. 1, and during heating operation, the connection is as shown by the dashed lines. This allows one of the indoor heat exchanger 21 and the outdoor heat exchanger 33 to operate as a condenser, and the other as an evaporator, allowing for appropriate air conditioning operation.

[0021] The air conditioning apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 may be configured to have one or more outdoor units 30 for multiple indoor units 20, such as a so-called commercial air conditioner (also referred to as a multi-air conditioner for buildings, VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow), etc.), or may be configured to have one outdoor unit 30 for one indoor unit 20, such as a so-called domestic air conditioner (also referred to as a room air conditioner).

[0022] Next, the hardware configuration of the air conditioning apparatus 10 will be described. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the air conditioning apparatus 10 in this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 2, the control board 23 includes an AC / DC converter 231 and a control unit 232. Also, as shown in Fig. 2, the sensor board 24 includes a voltage adjustment circuit 241 and a sensor control unit 242. The control board 23 and the sensor board 24 are connected by a line W, and power, signals, etc. are transmitted via the line W. Note that in Fig. 2, solid lines indicate lines that transmit power, and dashed lines indicate signal lines that transmit information.

[0023] First, the control board 23 will be described. The AC / DC converter 231 is a device that converts AC power supplied from a commercial power source into DC power and outputs it. The AC / DC converter 231 supplies DC power to the sensor board 24 via a line W. The AC / DC converter 231 can also supply DC power to other components included in the control board 23, such as the control unit 232.

[0024] The control unit 232 is a device that controls various operations of the air conditioning apparatus 10. The control unit 232 can be configured as, for example, a CPU or a microcomputer, but this is not a particular limitation on the embodiment. The control unit 232 can control the operation of the air conditioning apparatus 10 based on signals received from, for example, a remote control. The control unit 232 can transmit signals related to the operation of the sensor board 24 via, for example, the line W, and can also receive signals detected by the sensor 25 from the sensor board 24.

[0025] Next, the sensor board 24 will be described. DC power and signals transmitted from the control board 23 are input to the sensor board 24. The DC power is input to a voltage adjustment circuit 241 and a sensor control unit 242. The signals are input to the sensor control unit 242.

[0026] The voltage adjustment circuit 241 is a circuit that adjusts the voltage output from the AC / DC converter 231 of the control board 23 and supplied via the line W to a voltage required to operate the sensor 25. The voltage adjustment circuit 241 of this embodiment constitutes an adjustment means. The voltage adjustment circuit 241 can be configured to include elements such as a switching IC. The voltage adjustment circuit 241 of this embodiment can boost or lower the input voltage. The voltage adjustment circuit 241 can output the adjusted voltage to the sensor 25.

[0027] Furthermore, the voltage adjustment circuit 241 can be configured to measure the value of the input voltage, and can be configured to boost the voltage if the measured voltage is lower than a voltage recommended for driving the sensor 25 (e.g., the minimum operating voltage), and can be configured to lower the voltage if the measured voltage is higher than the voltage recommended for driving the sensor 25. The voltage adjustment circuit 241 can boost the voltage dropped by the line W, allowing the sensor 25 to operate properly. The voltage adjustment circuit 241 can also lower a voltage on which an induced electromotive force or noise is superimposed by the line W, for example, and allowing the sensor 25 to operate properly. In this way, by adjusting the voltage based on the measured voltage value, the voltage adjustment circuit 241 can perform voltage adjustment based on feedback control.

[0028] The sensor control unit 242 is a device that controls the operation of the sensor 25, and can be configured as, for example, a CPU or a microcomputer. In this embodiment, the sensor control unit 242 controls the operation of the sensor 25 and can receive a signal (hereinafter referred to as a sensor signal) that the sensor 25 outputs when it detects a refrigerant leak. The sensor control unit 242 can relay the sensor signal and send it to the control board 23, which allows the control unit 232 to notify the user that a refrigerant leak has occurred, for example, by sound or display.

[0029] The hardware configuration included in the air conditioning apparatus 10 of this embodiment has been described above. Next, the functional means executed by each piece of hardware in this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a software block diagram included in the air conditioning apparatus 10 of this embodiment.

[0030] The air conditioner 10 is configured to include various functional means, such as a voltage conversion unit 310, a voltage value detection unit 320, a voltage adjustment unit 330, a leakage detection unit 340, and a leakage notification unit 350. Each functional means will be described in detail below.

[0031] The voltage conversion unit 310 is a means for converting AC commercial power supply voltage into DC. The voltage conversion unit 310 constitutes the conversion means in this embodiment. The voltage conversion unit 310 in this embodiment can be configured as, for example, an AC / DC converter 231. The voltage conversion unit 310 can output the voltage converted into DC to, for example, the sensor board 24.

[0032] The voltage value detection unit 320 is a means for detecting the value of the voltage on the sensor board 24. The voltage value detection unit 320 constitutes the detection means in this embodiment. The voltage value detection unit 320 in this embodiment can be configured as a part of the voltage adjustment circuit 241, for example, and can detect the value of the voltage input to the sensor board 24 via the line W.

[0033] The voltage adjustment unit 330 is a means for adjusting the voltage input to the sensor board 24 to a predetermined voltage value. The voltage adjustment unit 330 constitutes the adjustment means in this embodiment. The voltage adjustment unit 330 in this embodiment can be configured as part of the voltage adjustment circuit 341. The voltage adjustment unit 330 can adjust the voltage based on the voltage value detected by the voltage value detection unit 320, for example. The voltage adjustment unit 330 can adjust the voltage to a level that allows the sensor 25 to operate appropriately, for example, by boosting the voltage when the voltage value detected by the voltage value detection unit 320 is lower than a predetermined voltage, or by lowering the voltage when the voltage value detected by the voltage value detection unit 320 is higher than the predetermined voltage. In other words, the voltage adjustment unit 330 can be configured as a voltage boosting means, a voltage lowering means, or both. It should be noted that the voltage adjustment unit 330 does not necessarily have to adjust the voltage to the same voltage as that output by the voltage conversion unit 310 (AC / DC converter 231). For example, the voltage conversion unit 310 may output a voltage lower than the operating voltage of the sensor 25, and the voltage adjustment unit 330 may boost the voltage to a predetermined voltage.

[0034] The leak detection unit 340 is a means for detecting a refrigerant leak. The leak detection unit 340 constitutes the detection means in this embodiment. The leak detection unit 340 in this embodiment can be configured in the form of, for example, the sensor 25. When the leak detection unit 340 detects a refrigerant leak, it can output a sensor signal to the leak notification unit 350.

[0035] The leak notification unit 350 is a means for notifying the user that a refrigerant is leaking. The leak notification unit 350 constitutes the notification means in this embodiment. The leak notification unit 350 in this embodiment can notify the user of a refrigerant leak by receiving a sensor signal from the leak detection unit 340. The leak notification unit 350 can notify the user of a refrigerant leak, for example, by voice, alarm sound, LED display, LCD display, etc., but this is not a limitation on the embodiment. Furthermore, the leak notification unit 350 may also notify the user of the refrigerant leak information to, for example, a mobile phone terminal carried by the user, by communication via a network such as a LAN or the Internet.

[0036] The software blocks described above correspond to functional units realized by causing each piece of hardware to function by executing the program of the present embodiment using a CPU, etc. The functional units shown in each embodiment may be realized entirely by software, or some or all of them may be implemented as hardware that provides equivalent functions.

[0037] Next, a description will be given of the voltage supplied to sensor 25. Fig. 4 is a graph showing the voltage supplied to sensor 25 in this embodiment. The horizontal axis of Fig. 4 represents the distance from AC / DC converter 231, and the vertical axis represents the voltage value.

[0038] 4, in the embodiment to be described, AC / DC converter 231 converts AC into DC 5V and outputs it. Note that the value of the voltage output by AC / DC converter 231 is not limited to 5V, and can be any voltage value (for example, 24V, 3.3V, etc.) according to the drive voltage of sensor 25.

[0039] 4, as the distance from the AC / DC converter 231 increases, the voltage value output from the AC / DC converter 231 decreases due to a voltage drop across the line W. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the voltage value at the position of the sensor board 24 is below the minimum operating voltage of the sensor 25. Therefore, in this case, the sensor 25 cannot operate properly, and it becomes impossible to detect a refrigerant leak.

[0040] Therefore, in the embodiment to be described, the voltage is boosted by the voltage adjustment circuit 241 and supplied to the sensor 25. As shown in Fig. 4, by boosting the voltage to 5 V by the voltage adjustment circuit 241, it is possible to supply a voltage that exceeds the minimum operating voltage to the sensor 25, even when taking into account the voltage drop on the sensor board 24. Therefore, the sensor 25 can operate properly and detect leaking refrigerant.

[0041] In the embodiment described above, an example in which there is one sensor 25 has been given, but this is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiment. Therefore, for example, in another example of this embodiment, multiple sensors 25 may be provided, as shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the air conditioning apparatus 10 in another example of this embodiment.

[0042] In the example shown in FIG. 5, the air conditioning apparatus 10 is configured to include multiple sensor boards 24 and multiple sensors 25. Note that while FIG. 5 shows two sensor boards 24 and two sensors 25, the air conditioning apparatus 10 may be configured to include two or more sensor boards 24 and sensors 25. The multiple sensor boards 24 are connected in a so-called daisy chain configuration, as shown in FIG. 5. That is, the voltage adjustment circuit 241a of the first sensor board 24a receives a voltage supplied from the AC / DC converter 231 via the line Wa and outputs a voltage to the line Wb and the sensor 25a. The voltage adjustment circuit 241b of the second sensor board 24b receives a voltage supplied from the voltage adjustment circuit 241a via the line Wb and outputs a voltage to the line Wc and the sensor 25b. Note that the line Wc may be connected to a subsequent sensor board 24 (not shown), resulting in a so-called daisy chain configuration.

[0043] When the air conditioning device 10 includes multiple sensors 25, as shown in Figure 5, a voltage adjustment circuit 241 relays between the lines and adjusts the voltage, thereby increasing the voltage that has dropped due to each line and supplying an appropriate voltage to each sensor 25 and the subsequent sensor board 24.

[0044] In the configuration shown in Fig. 5, the voltage supplied to each sensor board 24 is as shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the voltage supplied to the sensor 25 in another example of this embodiment. The horizontal axis of Fig. 6 represents the distance from the AC / DC converter 231, and the vertical axis represents the voltage value.

[0045] As shown in Fig. 6, the voltage output from AC / DC converter 231 decreases as the distance from AC / DC converter 231 increases due to a voltage drop across line Wa. In the example shown in Fig. 6, the voltage at the position of voltage adjustment circuit 241a on sensor board 24a is below the minimum operating voltage of sensor 25. Therefore, in this case, sensor 25a cannot operate properly, and refrigerant leakage cannot be detected. Furthermore, only a low voltage can be supplied to subsequent sensor board 24b, preventing sensor 25b from operating properly.

[0046] Therefore, in the described embodiment, the voltage adjustment circuit 241a boosts the voltage and supplies it to the sensor 25a. The boosted voltage is then supplied to the downstream sensor board 24b via the line Wb. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, by boosting the voltage to 5V using the voltage adjustment circuit 241a, a voltage exceeding the minimum operating voltage can be supplied to the sensor 25a, even taking into account the voltage drop on the sensor board 24a. Furthermore, by supplying the boosted voltage to the downstream sensor board 24b, the downstream voltage adjustment circuit 241b can supply a voltage that can be boosted to the minimum operating voltage, even taking into account the voltage drop on the line Wb. Therefore, the downstream voltage adjustment circuit 241b can appropriately boost the voltage, allowing the downstream sensor 25b to operate appropriately and detect the leaked refrigerant.

[0047] By using the configurations shown in Figures 5 and 6, when multiple sensors 25 are provided, particularly when the refrigerant piping 40 connecting the indoor unit 20 and the outdoor unit 30 is long and multiple sensors 25 are provided along the refrigerant piping 40, each sensor 25 can be operated at an appropriate voltage, and refrigerant leakage can be detected appropriately.

[0048] So far, we have described an embodiment in which the sensor is driven by adjusting the voltage using the sensor board 24. In another embodiment described below, the line W can transmit both power and signals, a so-called AMI (Alternate Mark Inversion code) transmission, to operate the sensor 25.

[0049] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of an air conditioning apparatus 10 in another embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the control board 23 includes an AC / DC converter 231, a control unit 232, and a transmission circuit 233. Also, as shown in FIG. 7, the sensor board 24 includes a voltage adjustment circuit 241, a sensor control unit 242, and a reception circuit 243. The control board 23 and the sensor board 24 are connected by a two-wire AMI line W, and AMI communication can be performed via the line W. Note that in FIG. 7, solid lines indicate lines for transmitting power, dashed lines indicate signal lines for transmitting information, and double lines indicate AMI communication lines. Note that the AC / DC converter 231, control unit 232, voltage adjustment circuit 241, and sensor control unit 242 in FIG. 7 are the same as those shown in FIG. 2, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0050] The transmitting circuit 233 is a circuit that outputs an AMI signal in which a control signal is superimposed on power. The transmitting circuit 233 can transmit the AMI signal via a two-wire AMI line W. The receiving circuit 243 is a circuit that receives the AMI transmitted via the AMI line W and separates it into a power signal and a communication signal. The receiving circuit outputs the power included in the AMI signal to the voltage adjustment circuit 241 and the sensor control unit 242, and outputs the communication signal included in the AMI signal to the sensor control unit 242.

[0051] Next, functional means in another embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a software block diagram included in an air conditioning apparatus 10 of another embodiment. The air conditioning apparatus 10 is configured to include various functional means, such as a voltage conversion unit 310, a voltage value detection unit 320, a voltage adjustment unit 330, a leak detection unit 340, a leak notification unit 350, a signal transmission unit 360, and a signal reception unit 370. Details of each functional means will be described below. Note that the voltage conversion unit 310, the voltage value detection unit 320, the voltage adjustment unit 330, the leak detection unit 340, and the leak notification unit 350 are the same as those described in Fig. 3, so detailed description will be omitted.

[0052] The signal transmitting unit 360 is a means for transmitting an AMI signal based on the power output by the AC / DC converter 231 and the signal output by the control unit 232. The signal transmitting unit 360, together with the transmission circuit 233, constitutes the transmitting means in the embodiment to be described. The signal transmitting unit 360 can transmit a signal to the signal receiving unit 370 via, for example, a line W.

[0053] The signal receiving unit 370 is a means for receiving the AMI signal transmitted by the signal transmitting unit 360. The signal receiving unit 370, together with the receiving circuit 243, constitutes the receiving means in the embodiment to be described. Furthermore, the signal receiving unit 370 can separate the power and the control signal from the received AMI signal and output them.

[0054] The software blocks described above correspond to functional units realized by causing each piece of hardware to function by executing the program of the embodiment described by a CPU, etc. Also, the functional units shown in each embodiment may be realized entirely by software, or some or all of them may be implemented as hardware that provides equivalent functions.

[0055] 9A and 9B are graphs showing the voltage supplied to the sensor 25 in another embodiment, and FIGS. 9A and 9B show the voltages at time t a , t b (t a <t b9(a) and (b), two signal components S1 and S2 (the rectangular portions in FIG. 9) are superimposed on the power output from the control board 23. As shown in FIGS. 9(a) and (b), the signal components S1 and S2 progress over time and are input to the receiving circuit 243.

[0056] 9, as in the description of FIG. 4, etc., as the distance from AC / DC converter 231 increases, a voltage drop occurs in line W. Even with such an AMI signal, the voltage separated by receiving circuit 243 can be boosted by voltage adjustment circuit 241 to a voltage appropriate for operating sensor 25. Therefore, sensor 25 operates appropriately, enabling refrigerant leakage to be detected.

[0057] According to the embodiment of the present invention described above, it is possible to provide an air conditioner that operates a sensor that detects refrigerant using a predetermined voltage.

[0058] Each function of the above-described embodiments of the present invention can be realized by a device-executable program written in C, C++, C#, Java (registered trademark), etc., and the program of this embodiment can be stored and distributed on a device-readable recording medium such as a hard disk drive, CD-ROM, MO, DVD, flexible disk, EEPROM (registered trademark), EPROM, etc., and can also be transmitted over a network in a format that can be used by other devices.

[0059] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and any embodiment that can be conceived by a person skilled in the art is included in the scope of the present invention as long as it exhibits the functions and effects of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 10...Air conditioning equipment, 20...Indoor unit, 21...Indoor heat exchanger, 22...Indoor fan, 23...control board, 24...sensor board, 25...sensor, 30...Outdoor unit, 31...Compressor, 32...Four-way valve, 33...Outdoor heat exchanger, 34...expansion valve, 35...Outdoor fan, 40...refrigerant piping, 231...AC / DC converter, 232...control unit, 233...Transmitting circuit, 241...voltage regulation circuit, 242...sensor control unit, 243...receiving circuit, 310...voltage conversion unit, 320...voltage value detection unit, 330...voltage adjustment unit, 340...Leak detection unit, 341...Voltage regulation circuit, 350...Leak Notification Department, 360...signal transmitting unit, 370...Signal receiving unit

Claims

1. An air conditioning apparatus equipped with a plurality of sensors for detecting refrigerant leakage, A conversion means for converting AC to DC and outputting the voltage to the line; a plurality of adjusting means corresponding to the plurality of sensors, each adjusting a voltage input via the line; Including, The adjusting means supplies a predetermined voltage to the sensor; the plurality of adjusting means are connected in series via lines; Air conditioning equipment.

2. An air conditioning apparatus equipped with a sensor that detects refrigerant leakage, A conversion means for converting AC to DC and outputting the voltage to the line; a transmitting means for transmitting a signal in which a control signal is superimposed on the voltage output by the converting means; receiving means for receiving the signal transmitted by the transmitting means; an adjusting means for adjusting the voltage input via the line; Including, the receiving means outputs a voltage component included in the signal to the adjusting means; The adjusting means supplies a predetermined voltage to the sensor. Air conditioning equipment.

3. The adjusting means is configured to include a boosting means for boosting a voltage. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

4. further comprising a detection means for detecting a value of a voltage input via the line; the boosting means boosts the voltage when the value of the voltage detected by the detecting means is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value; The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 3.

5. The adjusting means is configured to include a step-down means for stepping down a voltage. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 3.

6. further comprising a detection means for detecting a value of a voltage input via the line; the step-down means steps down the voltage when the voltage value detected by the detection means is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value; The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 5.

7. a notification means for notifying the leakage when the sensor detects the leakage of the refrigerant; The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising:

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