Refrigeration – Automatic control – Diverse – cascade or compound refrigeration-producing system
Reexamination Certificate
2003-02-24
2004-03-02
Doerrler, William C. (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Automatic control
Diverse, cascade or compound refrigeration-producing system
C062S526000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06698217
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a refrigeration apparatus and, more particularly, to a refrigeration apparatus provided with an air-conditioning heat exchanger and a cooling heat exchanger.
BACKGROUND ART
A refrigeration apparatus has been conventionally used widely as an air conditioner for cooling or warming a room, or a cooler for a refrigerant for stocking foods and the like therein. There has also been a refrigeration apparatus for performing both of air-conditioning and freezing, as disclosed in WO 98/45651. The refrigeration apparatus of this type is installed at a place at which both of air-conditioning and freezing are required, for example, at a convenience store or the like, and it is provided with a plurality of compressors and a plurality of heat exchangers on a using side such as an air-conditioning heat exchanger and a refrigerating heat exchanger. Therefore, both of the air-conditioning inside the store and the cooling of a show case or the like can be achieved by the use of the single refrigeration apparatus of this type.
However, in the case where either one of the compressors is broken down in the conventional refrigeration apparatus, there has been a tendency of the degradation of either one of the air-conditioning heat exchanger and the refrigerating heat exchanger or of the entire degradation of both of the heat exchangers.
In view of this, a demand has been increased for a refrigeration apparatus, in which operation can be continued as it is without inducing excessive degradation even if one of the compressors is broken down.
In general, it is more important to maintain the freezing performance than to maintain the air-conditioning performance in the usage requiring both of the air-conditioning and the freezing. This is because the degradation of the air-conditioning performance merely induces an uncomfortable feeling of a resident but the degradation of the freezing performance leads to the degradation of a quality of an object to be cooled (e.g., frozen foods and the like). However, the conventional refrigeration apparatus has not been configured such that the operation is changed so as to secure the freezing performance when the compressor is broken down. Therefore, there has been a demand for a refrigeration apparatus in which the operation can be continued while securing the freezing performance even if one of the compressors is broken down.
The present invention has been accomplished to solve the above-described problems experienced by the prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigeration apparatus in which operation can be continued as it is even if one of compressors is broken down.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
A first refrigeration apparatus comprises: a refrigerant circuit including first, second and third compressors juxtaposed to each other, a heat exchanger on the side of a heat source, an air-conditioning heat exchanger for air-conditioning the inside of a room, cooling heat exchangers for cooling the insides of a refrigerator and a freezer, and a first expanding mechanism and second expanding mechanisms for expanding a refrigerant; and breakdown detecting means for detecting the breakdown of at least the second compressor; the refrigeration apparatus being capable of freely performing at least a cooling operation and a freezing operation, wherein the cooling operation is performed by actuating the second compressor and the third compressor, the cooling operation being achieved by condensing a refrigerant discharged from the second compressor and the third compressor by means of the heat exchanger on the side of the heat source, expanding it by the first expanding mechanism, evaporating it by the air-conditioning heat exchanger, and returning it to the second compressor and the third compressor, and further, the freezing operation is performed by actuating the first compressor and the second compressor, the freezing operation being achieved by condensing a refrigerant discharged from the first compressor and the second compressor by means of the heat exchanger on the side of the heat source, expanding it by the second expanding mechanisms, evaporating it by the cooling heat exchangers, and returning it to the first compressor and the second compressor; and the cooling operation being continued by actuating the first compressor in place of the second compressor if the breakdown of the second compressor is detected during the cooling operation.
A second refrigeration apparatus comprises: a refrigerant circuit including first, second and third compressors juxtaposed to each other, a heat exchanger on the side of a heat source, an air-conditioning heat exchanger for air-conditioning the inside of a room, cooling heat exchangers for cooling the insides of a refrigerator and a freezer, and a first expanding mechanism and second expanding mechanisms for expanding a refrigerant; and breakdown detecting means for detecting the breakdown of at least the second compressor; the refrigeration apparatus being capable of freely performing at least a freezing operation and a cooling/freezing operation, wherein the freezing operation is performed by actuating the first compressor and the second compressor, the freezing operation being achieved by condensing a refrigerant discharged from the first compressor and the second compressor by means of the heat exchanger on the side of the heat source, expanding it by the second expanding mechanisms, evaporating it by the cooling heat exchangers, and returning it to the first compressor and the second compressor, and further, the cooling/freezing operation is performed by actuating the first compressor, the second compressor and the third compressor, the cooling/freezing operation being achieved by condensing a refrigerant discharged from the first compressor, the second compressor and the third compressor by means of the heat exchanger on the side of the heat source, reducing the pressure of a part of the condensed refrigerant down to a first low pressure by the first expanding mechanism, evaporating it by the air-conditioning heat exchanger, and returning it to the third compressor while reducing the pressure of the residual condensed refrigerant down to a second low pressure lower than the first low pressure by the second expanding mechanisms, evaporating it by the cooling heat exchangers, and returning it to the first compressor and the second compressor; the refrigerant circuit further including a refrigerant pipeline for introducing the refrigerant from pipelines on the suction sides of the first compressor and the second compressor to a pipeline on the suction side of the third compressor, and channel switching means disposed on the refrigerant pipeline; and the freezing operation being continued by opening the channel switching means, and further, actuating the third compressor in place of the second compressor if the breakdown of the second compressor is detected during the freezing operation.
A third refrigeration apparatus comprises: a refrigerant circuit including first, second and third compressors juxtaposed to each other, a heat exchanger on the side of a heat source, an air-conditioning heat exchanger for air-conditioning the inside of a room, cooling heat exchangers for cooling the insides of a refrigerator and a freezer, and a first expanding mechanism and second expanding mechanisms for expanding a refrigerant; and breakdown detecting means for detecting the breakdown of at least the second compressor; the refrigeration apparatus being capable of freely performing at least a freezing operation and a cooling/freezing operation, wherein the freezing operation is performed by actuating the first compressor and the second compressor, the freezing operation being achieved by condensing a refrigerant discharged from the first compressor and the second compressor by means of the heat exchanger on the side of the heat source, expanding it by the second expanding mechanisms, evaporating it by the cooling heat exchangers, and returning it to the first compressor a
Kajimoto Akihiro
Nomura Kazuyoshi
Takegami Masaaki
Tanimoto Kenji
Ueno Takeo
Ali Mohammad M.
Daikin Industries Ltd.
Nixon & Peabody LLP
Studebaker Donald R.
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