Split air conditioner for cooling two rooms

Abstract

A split air conditioner for cooling two rooms allows two rooms to be cooled by one indoor unit, inserted into a frame (2) in the wall (1). Airflows from both rooms are separated from each other by the air chamber partition (5) when passing through the indoor unit. The pipe of the evaporator passes the air chamber partition (5) at one or more passages (3) and cools the air from one or both rooms. In addition to the casing (7), evaporator (8) and air chamber partition (5), the indoor unit also consists of two air filters (4), two cross-flow fans (6), two swing flaps (9) and two remote controls. The advantage of this device is only one cooling circuit for two rooms, which means lower production costs compared to the twin type air conditioner. The installation costs of multi split and VRF systems with the new device are signifficantly reduced.

Description

[0001] Split Air Conditioner For Cooling Two Rooms

[0002] The present invention relates to the technical field of air conditioners. The subject of the invention is a split air conditioner for cooling two adjacent rooms, with only one indoor unit built into the wall between cooled rooms and with an evaporator in a partitioned air chamber, which allows independent cooling of one or both rooms at the same time.

[0003] The technical problem to be solved is to create the indoor unit of the split air conditioner that will enable the cooling of one or both rooms simultaneously, with only one extremely simple refrigerant circuit and without the possibility of air from one room passing through the device to another room, which is important to prevent the passage of odors and steam, e.g. from the kitchen to the bedroom.

[0004] According to the prior art, a split air conditioner consists of an outdoor and an indoor unit, which are connected to each other by two refrigerant pipes. The cooling circuit, which consists of a compressor, evaporator, expansion valve and condenser, transferes the excess heat from the room via the indoor unit, the refrigerant connection and the outdoor unit out of the building. The evaporator is the heat exchanger in the indoor unit and the condenser is the heat exchanger in the outdoor unit of the split air conditioner. Both heat exchangers consist of a pipe, through which a refrigerant flows, and aluminium fins, fastened to the pipe to increase the surface area for more efficient transfer of heat from the air in the room to the refrigerant in the indoor unit and from the refrigerant to the external air in the outdoor unit.

[0005] In order to cool two adjacent rooms, we have to use two air conditioners. We can also use the so-called twin-type split air conditioner with one outdoor unit and two indoor units.

[0006] In some prior inventions there are also air conditioners described with one outdoor unit and one indoor unit, which is built into the wall between two adjacent rooms to be cooled. Some such designs have one evaporator and one fan in the indoor unit (CN2376602Y, JPH06331163A, CN2502182Y, JPH03241244A, JPH06347057A, CN2215693Y,

[0007] CN2500955Y, CN2380836Y, CN1727763A, CN2913919Y, CN2478005Y, CN2354050Y, CN2660361Y, CN2285875Y, CN2135120Y, CN2305597Y, CN1121588C, CN2480753Y, CN2394134Y, JPS6441731A, CN2278889Y, CN102207308A and CN2365566Y) or one evaporator and two fans (CN208704027U, CN2567491Y, CN2200130Y, JP2002081681 , CN2304054Y, CN2347087Y, CN2375901Y and CN1367348A), or two evaporators and one fan (JP2607844B2A and JPS5993133A), or two evaporators and two fans (JPH0755249A, CN2285439Y, CN103822304A and CN106287968A). Among the models of air conditioners with one indoor unit for cooling two rooms presented in the mentioned patent descriptions, only a few (JPH0755249A, CN2285439Y and CN103822304A) have two air chambers separated by an airtight partition, which ensures that the two airflows for cooling both rooms are completely separated from each other while passing through the indoor unit.

[0008] The disadvantage of designs without air chamber partition is that during the simultaneous cooling of both rooms, air passes from one room to the other through the air conditioner, and odors and steam also pass with the air. This is especially annoying if we cool the kitchen and bedroom with such an air conditioner. In addition, due to the turbulent mixing of the air in the air chamber, the noise level of the device is higher than that of a device with an air chamber partition and separate air streams. There can also be problems with an air intake and distribution of cooled air evenly in both rooms due to different pressures and different air temperatures in the two rooms. The device would also not work well in case of different setting of the cooling intensity in the two rooms. The indoor unit of the air conditioner for cooling two rooms must therefore necessarily have an air chamber partition, which ensures that the air streams for the two cooled rooms are completely separated from each other when passing through the air conditioner. Only the air conditioners from the three above mentioned patent descriptions meet this condition.

[0009] All three air-chamber partition air conditioner models from the three aforementioned patents JPH0755249A, CN2285439Y and CN103822304A each have two fans and two evaporators. In these designs with two evaporators, it is necessary to arrange the regulation of the refrigerant flow through both evaporators, because the cooling needs in the two rooms are different and change over time. In patent CN2285439Y, this is solved with two shut-off valves on the pipes of both evaporators. The refrigerant pipe splits into two pipes just before entering the two separated air chambers, which is how we get two evaporators, and the two pipes merge again after leavig both air chambers. The disadvantages of this solution are that shutoff valves with actuators take up some valuable space in the device, the implementation is technically quite demanding and makes the final product more expensive. In addition, the refrigerant flow speed through the evaporator is significantly higher when only one room is cooled and the valve on the other pipe is closed, compared to the flow when both rooms are cooled at the same time. This arrangement of refrigerant flow control is somehow similar to the arrangement at twin air conditioners, except that in twin air conditioner the two valves, which are actually expansion valves, are installed in the outdoor unit, and from there two pairs of refrigerant pipes are connected to the two indoor units. In the other two patents with an air chamber partition, the issue of regulation of flows through both evaporators is not resolved, which means that the regulation is similar to that of a twin air conditioner, as neither patent offers a better solution.

[0010] All of the above means that the only advantage of air conditioners with two evaporators and with an air chamber partition according to the three above mentioned inventions is that they have all components for cooling two rooms installed in one casing only compared to the twintype air conditioner which has two casings. All other components are practically the same. Therefore, one of the main purposes of the mentioned patents, which is the significant reduction of the production costs, is not met.

[0011] All these shortcomings are solved by the air conditioner according to the present invention, shown in Figure 1. The air chamber in the indoor unit is divided by a partition 5 in such a way that two air chambers 11 and 12 are obtained, which ensures that the air streams for cooling Room 1 and Room 2 are completely separated. There is only one evaporator 8 and it is positioned in both air chambers to cool both rooms. Namely, the pipe of the evaporator 8 passes the air chamber partition 5 at one or more sealed passages 3 from one air chamber to another and vice versa. The pipe passages 3 through the partition 5 are airtight. Thus, we get an air conditioner for cooling two rooms with one evaporator only and therefore with only one very simple refrigerant circuit.

[0012] The regulation of the refrigerant flow through the evaporator 8 is as simple as with the simplest single air conditioner, and for the outdoor unit we can use the outdoor unit of the ordinary single air conditioner, which is significantly cheaper to produce than the outdoor unit of the twin air conditioner.

[0013] In addition to the two air chambers 11 and 12, the air chamber partition 5 and the evaporator 8, the indoor air conditioning unit according to this invention also has a casing 7, two air filters 4, two cross-flow fans 6 , two swing flaps 9 and two remote controls. It may also have other equipment that is not the subject of this patent.

[0014] Both parts of the evaporator for cooling two rooms are of the same size. The refrigerant goes through the pipe first into the part of the evaporator for cooling Room 1 and then into the part of the evaporator for cooling Room 2. Therefore, we have significantly more cooling power available for cooling Room 1 than for cooling Room 2. The temperature of the refrigerant rises by a few degrees Celsius when it passes through the part of the evaporator for cooling Room 1 , so there is less cooling power available for cooling Room 2. The cooling capacity for cooling the two rooms can be equalized in two ways. The first way is to increase the speed of the fan in Room 2 and thus the flow of air through the evaporator. However, this reduces the level of comfort due to the increased noise of the device and the perceived more intense movement of air in the room. The second way is to divide the evaporator into 4 sectors, as shown in Figure 3. Sectors A and D are used to cool Room 1, while sectors B and C are used to cool Room 2. Let's assume that with the same intensive cooling of both rooms, when passing through each of the four sectors of the evaporator, the cooling capacity of the refrigerant is reduced by the same number of watts (W) of cooling power. The refrigerant first enters sector A to cool Room 1 , then passes through the air chamber partition 5 to sector B and then C to cool Room 2, after which it passes through the air chamber partition to sector D to cool Room 1. Thus, the cooling capacities for cooling both rooms are equalized.

[0015] The air chamber partition 5 is generally positioned in the middle of the indoor unit, as shown in Figure 1. However, if the device is ment to cool two rooms of different sizes, the partition 5 can also be installed in such a way that e.g. two-thirds of the evaporator 8 is in the larger air chamber on the side where we cool the larger space, and one third of the evaporator 8 is in the smaller air chamber on the side where we cool the smaller space. The proportion of the evaporator 8 in one and the other chamber can also be different. Different cooling capacities for cooling two different-sized rooms can also be provided by NOT dividing the evaporator 8 into 4 sectors, as described in the previous paragraph, but the refrigerant first goes to the part of the evaporator that cools the larger room, and then it goes through the air chamber partition 5 into the part of the evaporator that cools the smaller room. Although both parts of the evaporator are the same, the cooling capacity for cooling a larger room is greater than for cooling a smaller room due to the lower temperature of the refrigerant.

[0016] Since the evaporator 8 is made in one piece, the air chamber partition 5 must be made of two pieces, so that during the production process the evaporator and the partition can be assembled together so that the evaporator pipe passes through the air chamber partition 5 in one or more passages 3. The air chamber partition 5 can also be made of only one piece, if the passage of the evaporator 8 pipe from one air chamber to another is led around the air chamber partition 5, i.e. through the contact of the partition 5 with the casing 7 or in any other way. The contacts between the two parts of the air chamber partition 5, between the partition 5 and the casing 7 and at the pipe passages are airtight.

[0017] When the user wants to cool Room 1 , he switches on the air conditioner with the remote control. The fan 6 sucks warm air from the room through the inlet opening 10, the air filter 4 and the evaporator 8, and blows it cooled back into Room 1. The power of the compressor and the speed of the fan 6 are adjusting to the actual air temperature in Room 1 , the outdoor air temperature and the desired air temperature in Room 1 , which the user sets on the remote control. When the air passes through the evaporator 8, the air gives off some heat to the cold evaporator and this excess heat is removed from the building via cooling circuit of the air conditioner. Meanwhile, in Room 2, the swing flap 9 is closed and the fan 6 is switched off, so the cold evaporator 8 cools down the air in the chamber 12 of Room 2 significantly. The air chamber partition 5 is made of stainless steel sheet or other heat-conducting material. Therefore, a lot of heat from the air in the chamber 11 of Room 1 , where the air temperature is much higher than in the chamber 12 of Room 2, is transfered by the partition 5 to the air in the chamber 12 of Room 2, thereby reducing the temperature difference between them. With this, the air chamber partition 5 becomes an additional cooling surface that cools the air in Room 1 . On both sides of the partition 5 a condensate drain is provided. The condensate drains from the two air chambers must be routed separately, as a common condensate drain would allow undesired passage of air from one air chamber to the other. Due to significant cooling of the air chamber in a room where the air conditioner is not switched on, condensation could begin to form on the outer surface of the device casing, so the entire casing 7 of the indoor unit of the air conditioner must be thermally insulated from the inside with a few mm or cm of thermal insulation with a closed-cell structure.

[0018] If the user wants to cool Room 2 as well, he switches on the part of the air conditioner in Room 2 with another remote control. The speed of each cross-flow fan 6 is regulated according to the set (desired) and actual air temperature in each room. The power of the compressor is regulated according to the outside air temperature, the set and actual air temperature in one or both rooms, and the total heat removal from both rooms. It does not matter how much heat is taken from one room or another.

[0019] The two remote controls must operate at different frequencies so that each one regulates only the operation of its own fan and does not interfere with the comunication between the remote control and the fan in the other room.

[0020] Before installing the indoor unit of the air conditioner for cooling two rooms , it is necessary to install a frame 2 in the opening of appropriate dimensions in the wall 1. The indoor unit of the air conditioner is then inserted into the frame 2. The frame, which is made of plastic or sheet metal or other suitable material, has guides and a locking mechanism so that the indoor unit can be inserted and fixed in the frame. The locking mechanism must be such that it can be released and, for servicing purposes, the device can be pulled out of the frame 2 on both sides, i.e. in Room 1 or Room 2. The surface of the frame on which the device rests must be covered with rubber or similar material to prevent as much as possible the transmission of sound and vibrations from the air conditioner to the frame 2 and the building structure 1. The frame must allow adaptation to the different thicknesses of the wall between the two rooms, as shown in Figure 2. This is achieved by making the frame 2 telescopically extendable across the width and allowing the set width to be fixed. Optionally, this can also be solved with a relatively wide frame for thick walls (e.g. 40 cm) with notches all around the perimeter, which simplify the cutting of excess material to adjust the width of the frame to the thickness of the wall. The air inlet 10 in both refrigerated rooms is located on the upper surface of the indoor unit, similar to all modern split air conditioners. This prevents, as far as possible, the cooled air from the exhaust 13 at the bottom of the casing 7 from coming straight back through the inlet opening 10 into the air conditioner, as this would greatly reduce the cooling efficiency of the device. Both with thin walls and even more so with thicker walls between the two cooled rooms, like in Figure 1 and Figure 2, the indor unit of the air conditioner for cooling two rooms looks like it is significantly thinner than the conventional one. The upper section with the air inlet 10 is even recessed into the wall. In the case of thicker walls, the lower part of the device with the swing flap 9 and the air outlet 13 is recessed into the wall as well. This design feature is necessary to prevent the immediate return of cooled air back into the air conditioner and to ensure that the air conditioner operates at the highest level.

[0021] According to the same principle as for two rooms, the air conditioner can cool three or even four rooms like in Figure 4 and Figure 5 at the same time with only one simple cooling circuit. In this case, the air chamber in the indoor unit of the air conditioner is divided by partitions 5 into three or four parts, through which the evaporator pipe is routed. We also need three or four fans, swing flaps and remote controls.

[0022] We can use indoor unit for cooling two rooms also with multi split and VRF systems. Such indoor unit is cheaper than two regular indoor units. In addition, we save also with significantly smaller quantities of refrigerant pipes and Y-joints and we need fewer and smaller branch boxes. We also save with less refrigerant in the system, shorter lines of electrical cables and fewer assembly hours. The packiging and transport are cheaper as well.

[0023] All references in this patent application which refer to the cooling of premises by the described air conditioner also refer, mutatis mutandis, to the heating of premises by the said air conditioner. Also, all information apply to both wall and parapet split air conditioners. All information in this patent application apply to split air conditioners as well as to water- cooled / heated wall and parapet fan coils and to indoor units in multi split and VRF systems.

Claims

Claims1. A split air conditioner for cooling two rooms, characterised by that the indoor unit, installed in the wall (1) between the cooled rooms, has an air chamber divided by a partition (5) into two air chambers (11 and 12), in which only one evaporator (8) is installed, the pipe of which passes through the air chamber partition (5) at one or more sealed passages (3) from one air chamber (11) to the other air chamber (12) and vice versa.

2. A split air conditioner for cooling two rooms according to claim 1 , characterised by that in addition to two air chambers (11 and 12), an air chamber partition (5) and an evaporator (8), the indoor unit also has a casing (7), two air filters (4), two cross-flow fans (6), two swing flaps (9) and two remote controls.

3. A split air conditioner for cooling two rooms according to claim 1 , characterised by that in order to equalize the cooling capacity for cooling two rooms, the evaporator is divided into 4 sectors (Figure 3), whereby sectors A and D are intended for cooling Room 1, and sectors B and C for cooling Room 2, and the refrigerant enters sector A first, after which it passes through the air chamber partition (5) to sectors B and C for cooling Room 2 and again through the air chamber partition (5) it enters sector D for cooling Room 1.

4. A split air conditioner for cooling two rooms according to claim 1 , characterised by that the air chamber partition (5) is usually installed in the middle of the indoor unit, but if the device will cool two rooms of different sizes, the partition (5) can also be positioned the way that two-thirds of the evaporator (8) is in the larger air chamber on the side where we coolthe larger room, and one third of the evaporator is in the smaller air chamber on the side where we cool the smaller room, or in a different ratio.

5. A split air conditioner for cooling two rooms according to claim 1 , characterised by that the air chamber partition (5) consists of two parts, so that during the production process the evaporator (8) and both parts of the partition (5) can be assembled together with air-tight joints so that the pipe of the evaporator (8) in one or more passages (3) passes through the air chamber partition (5); that the air chamber partition (5) can also be made of only one piece and the passage of the evaporator (8) pipe from one air chamber to another is led around the air chamber partition (5), i.e. through the contact of the air chamber partition (5) with the casing (7) or in any other way.

6. A split air conditioner for cooling two rooms according to claim 1 , characterised by that the air chamber partition (5) is made of stainless steel sheet or other heat- conducting material, which enables the reduction of the difference between the air temperatures in the two air chambers (11 and 12), and the air chamber partition (5) becomes an additional cooling surface that cools the air from Room 1 in the case of cooling only this room, since the air in the air chamber of Room 2, where the air conditioner is not turned on, is significantly colder.

7. A split air conditioner for cooling two rooms according to claim 1 , characterised by that on both sides of the air chamber partition (5) and under the evaporator (8) there is a condensate drain provided, which is led through two pipes separately from both air chambers.

8. A split air conditioner for cooling two rooms according to claim 1 , characterised bythat the entire casing (7) of the indoor unit of the air conditioner is thermally insulated from the inside with a few mm of thermal insulation with a closed-cell structure, so that when cooling only one room, the formatoion of condensation on the outer surface of the device casing (7) in the other room due to the strongly cooled air chamber, is prevented.

9. A split air conditioner for cooling two rooms according to claim 1 , characterised by that the indoor unit of the air conditioner is inserted into the frame (2), which is previously fixedly installed in an opening of appropriate dimensions in the wall (1); that the frame (2) has guides and a locking mechanism, so that the air conditioner can be inserted into the frame (2); that the frame (2) has such a locking mechanism that it can be released and, for servicing purposes, the air conditioner can be pulled out of the frame (2) on both sides, i.e. in Room 1 or Room 2; that the surface on the frame (2) on which the indoor unit of the air conditioner rests is coated with rubber or similar material in order to prevent as much as possible the transmission of sound and vibrations from the air conditioner to the building structure (1); that the assembly frame (2) is telescopically extendable in width to adjust to the thickness of the wall (1) and that it has the possibility of fixing the set width, or optionally that it has notches for this purpose all around the perimeter that simplify the cutting of excess material to adjust the width of the frame (2) to the thickness of the wall (1 ).

10. A split air conditioner for cooling two rooms according to claim 1 , characterised by that the indoor unit of the device is visually much thinner than the indoor unit of an ordinary air conditioner, and that with thicker walls (1) there is an upper part of the casing (7) with an air inlet (10) and a lower part of the casing (7) with a swing flap (9) and the air exhaust opening (13) recessed into the wall (1), as shown in Figure 2, thus preventing the blown cold air from immediately returning into the air conditioner.

11. A split air conditioner for cooling two rooms according to claims 1 to 10, characterised by that according to the same principle as for two rooms, three (Figure 4) or even four rooms (Figure 5) can be cooled at the same time with an air conditioner with a singleevaporator (8) and therefore only one simple cooling circuit, whereas the air chamber is divided with partitions (5) into three or four parts, through which the evaporator (8) pipe is routed and that the device has three or four cross-flow fans (6), swing flaps (9) and remote controls.

12. A split air conditioner for cooling two rooms according to claims 1 to 11 , characterised by that all the claims in this patent application, which refer to the cooling of rooms with the described air conditioner, sensibly also refer to the heating of rooms with this device; that all claims apply to both wall and parapet split air conditioners and, in addition to split air conditioners, also to water-cooled / heated wall and parapet fan coil units and to indoor units in multi-split and VRF systems.

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