Compressor Injection Heat Exchanger for Air Conditioner Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Prior air conditioner technologies experience a reduction in cooling ability due to the bypass of high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant during cooling operations, leading to a decrease in evaporation flow rate and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
An air conditioner design that includes an injection module with an injection heat exchanger and expansion valves to inject refrigerant that has undergone heat exchange in the indoor heat exchanger into the compressor during cooling operations, enhancing efficiency by increasing the refrigerant's enthalpy and preventing refrigerant flow back to the indoor heat exchanger during heating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If a portion of high-temperature and high-pressure liquid-phase refrigerant is bypassed during cooling operation, then the coefficient of performance is enhanced, but the cooling ability deteriorates due to reduction in evaporation flow rate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an injection heat exchanger as an intermediary device between the indoor heat exchanger and the compressor. This heat exchanger serves as a mediator to transfer heat from the bypassed refrigerant to the main refrigerant flow, allowing the bypassed refrigerant to contribute to cooling rather than merely being injected into the compressor. The intermediary device resolves the contradiction by enabling the bypassed refrigerant to enhance cooling performance while maintaining appropriate evaporation flow rate.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical injection method (directly injecting bypassed refrigerant into the compressor) with a thermal substitution approach. Instead of mechanically forcing the bypassed refrigerant into the compressor, the system uses heat exchange in the injection heat exchanger to pre-cool the main refrigerant flow, substituting mechanical injection with thermal interaction to achieve both performance enhancement and cooling ability maintenance.
2Productivity
If refrigerant is injected into the compressor during cooling operation, then efficiency increases, but refrigerant flow rate to indoor unit decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The injection heat exchanger acts as an intermediary that captures heat from the bypassed refrigerant and transfers it to the main refrigerant flow before the latter enters the indoor heat exchanger. This intermediary mechanism allows the system to maintain high refrigerant flow rate to the indoor unit while still utilizing the bypassed refrigerant's thermal energy, thereby maintaining both efficiency and refrigerant quantity.
3Productivity
If refrigerant flow path is changed for heating operation, then heating performance is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The injection heat exchanger is designed with multi-functionality to serve both cooling and heating operations. During cooling, it acts as a heat exchanger for bypassed refrigerant; during heating, it facilitates refrigerant flow redirection. This universal design allows the system to improve heating performance without proportionally increasing system complexity, as the same component performs multiple functions across different operating modes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design increases cooling efficiency by injecting heat-exchanged refrigerant into the compressor, maintaining refrigerant flow and enhancing the cooling ability, while also optimizing heating operations by diverting refrigerant through different paths.
Implementation Method 1
the injection module performs heat exchange between the portion of the refrigerant discharged from the indoor heat exchanger and refrigerant, which moves from the outdoor heat exchanger to the indoor heat exchanger, during the cooling operation
Implementation Method 2
a first injection expansion valve for expanding refrigerant, which moves between the injection heat exchanger and the compressor
Implementation Method 3
a compressor for compressing refrigerant
Implementation Method 4
an outdoor heat exchanger installed in an outdoor space for performing heat exchange between the refrigerant and outdoor air
Implementation Method 5
an indoor heat exchanger installed in an indoor space for performing heat exchange between the refrigerant and indoor air
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed is an air conditioner including a compressor for compressing refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger installed in an outdoor space for performing heat exchange between the refrigerant and outdoor air, an indoor heat exchanger installed in an indoor space for performing heat exchange between the refrigerant and indoor air, a switching valve for guiding the refrigerant, discharged from the compressor, to the outdoor heat exchanger during a cooling operation and to the indoor heat exchanger during a heating operation, and an injection module for injecting a portion of the refrigerant, discharged from the indoor heat exchanger, to the compressor, and the injection module performs heat exchange between a portion of the refrigerant discharged from the indoor heat exchanger and the refrigerant, which moves from the outdoor heat exchanger to the indoor heat exchanger, during the cooling operation, and injects the refrigerant into the compressor, thus increasing efficiency.