Refrigeration – Disparate apparatus utilized as heat source or absorber – With vapor compression system
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-09
2002-04-30
Doerrler, William (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Disparate apparatus utilized as heat source or absorber
With vapor compression system
Reexamination Certificate
active
06378318
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a heat pump type air conditioning apparatus and, more particularly, to a heat pump type air conditioning apparatus in which a heat pump system is combined with water heating means for radiational heating and hot water supply.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With reference to
FIG. 1
, a general heat pump type air conditioning apparatus is constructed in such a way that a compressor
1
, a four-way valve
2
, an indoor heat exchanger
3
, a pressure reducer
4
for a room cooling operation, another pressure reducer
5
for a room heating operation, an outdoor heat exchanger
6
, and the four-way valve
2
are connected one after another by means of a conduit
7
and the four-way valve
2
is additionally connected to the compressor
1
by means of a suction conduit
7
′, thus forming a refrigeration circuit.
In the conventional heat pump type air conditioning apparatus, when the four-way valve
2
is manipulated to allow refrigerant to flow in a passage designated by the solid arrows of the drawing for heating a room, there is reiterated a cycle in which high temperature and high pressure refrigerant compressed in the compressor
1
is condensed in the indoor heat exchanger
3
and simultaneously radiates condensation heat to the room air to heat the interior of the room in a convectional manner, the low temperature and high pressure refrigerant liquid is reduced in pressure in the pressure reducer
5
for a heating operation, the refrigerant liquid is evaporated into low temperature and low pressure refrigerant gas in the outdoor heat exchanger
6
utilizing the ambient air as a heat source, and the refrigerant gas is sucked into the compressor
1
. On the other hand, when the four-way valve
2
is manipulated to allow refrigerant to flow in a passage designated by the phantom arrows of the drawing for heating a room, there is reiterated a cycle in which high temperature and high pressure refrigerant compressed in the compressor
1
is condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger
6
, the low temperature and high pressure refrigerant liquid is reduced in pressure in the pressure reducer
4
for a room cooling operation, the refrigerant liquid reduced in pressure is evaporated into low temperature and low pressure refrigerant gas in the indoor heat exchanger
3
and simultaneously absorbs evaporation heat from the room air to cool a room, and the evaporated refrigerant enters the compressor
1
.
In some Asian regions including Korea, an under-floor heating system of a radiational heating fashion has been employed as a room heating system. With the progress of industrialization, there is employed a heating system in which a heat radiating coil is laid under the floor of a room or a radiator heats room air in a convectional heating fashion. Additionally, hot water is used for a bath, etc. regardless of a season.
However, in the conventional heat pump type air conditioning apparatus, the generation of hot water is almost impossible because the indoor heat exchanger
3
has a combined use for the cooling and heating operations, and the temperature difference in between the upper and lower regions of a room is large, noise is great and a user feels discomfort due to a strong air stream in comparison with a hypocaust type radiant heating system or hot water type radiant heating system because air is heated in a convective fashion.
The inventor of this invention has proposed another heat pump type air conditioning apparatus in U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,102, in which a third conduit is connected to the first conduit of the refrigeration circuit of a general heat pump type air conditioning apparatus to bypass an indoor heat exchanger, a condenser is disposed in the third conduit and a water heating tub is in the vicinity of the condenser.
However, in the heat pump type air conditioning apparatus according to the patented invention, since the water heating tub is disposed behind the four-way valve, there occur disadvantages in which hot water is generated during only a heating operation and water heating efficiency is low.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a heat pump type air conditioning apparatus, which is capable of providing desirable heating in both convectional and radiational fashions and generating hot water for a bath, etc. regardless of a season.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a heat pump type air conditioning apparatus constructed in such a way that a compressor, a four-way valve, an indoor heat exchanger, a pressure reducer for a room cooling operation, another pressure reducer for a room heating operation, an outdoor heat exchanger and the four-way valve are connected one after another by means of a conduit, and the compressor is connected to the four-way valve by means of a suction conduit, characterized in that two points on the portion of the conduit between the compressor and the four-way valve are connected by means of a bypass, a first heat exchanger is disposed on the bypass, a water heating circuit is provided, a second heat exchanger is disposed on one side of the water heating circuit while being in a heat exchange relation with the first heat exchanger, and radiational heat generating means is disposed on the opposite side of the water heating circuit.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4238933 (1980-12-01), Coombs
patent: 4493193 (1985-01-01), Fisher
patent: 4727727 (1988-03-01), Reedy
patent: 4869074 (1989-09-01), Hoshi et al.
patent: 4893476 (1990-01-01), Bos et al.
patent: 5749235 (1998-05-01), Ueda
patent: 6050102 (2000-04-01), Jin
patent: 6138466 (2000-10-01), Lake et al.
Doerrler William
Hedman & Costigan ,P.C.
Shulman Mark
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