Air-Conditioning System And Controlling Method For The Same

Abstract

An air-conditioning system and a controlling method for the same that is capable of improving the operational efficiency of the air-conditioning system are disclosed. The air-conditioning system includes a phase separator ( 500 ) for separating a flowing refrigerant into a gas-phase refrigerant and a liquid-phase refrigerant, an evaporator ( 600 ) for evaporating the liquid-phase refrigerant separated by the phase separator ( 500 ), a compressor ( 100 ) having a first compression part into which the refrigerant having passed through the evaporator ( 600 ) is introduced and a second compression part into which both the gas-phase refrigerant separated by the phase separator ( 500 ) and the refrigerant having passed through the first compression part are introduced, and a control unit for simultaneously or selectively controlling the amount of the refrigerant introduced into the phase separator ( 500 ) and the amount of the refrigerant discharged from the phase separator ( 500 ).

1 . An air-conditioning system comprising:
 a phase separator for separating a flowing refrigerant into a gas-phase refrigerant and a liquid-phase refrigerant;   an evaporator for evaporating the liquid-phase refrigerant separated by the phase separator;   a compressor having a first compression part into which the refrigerant having passed through the evaporator is introduced and a second compression part into which both the gas-phase refrigerant separated by the phase separator and the refrigerant having passed through the first compression part are introduced; and a control unit for simultaneously or selectively controlling the amount of the refrigerant introduced into the phase separator and the amount of the refrigerant discharged from the phase separator.   
     
     
         2 . The air-conditioning system according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a first expansion valve for controlling the amount of the refrigerant introduced into the phase separator;   a second expansion valve for controlling the amount of the liquid-phase refrigerant discharged from the phase separator and introduced into the evaporator; and   a refrigerant control valve for controlling the amount of the gas-phase refrigerant discharged from the phase separator and introduced into the second compression part.   
     
     
         3 . The air-conditioning system according to  claim 2 , wherein the control unit controls the amount of the gas-phase refrigerant introduced into the second compression part depending upon operation load of the system. 
     
     
         4 . The air-conditioning system according to  claim 3 , wherein the control unit controls the opening amount of the refrigerant control valve based on a frequency of the compressor determined depending upon the operation load of the system. 
     
     
         5 . The air-conditioning system according to  claim 4 , wherein the operation load of the system is determined depending upon factors including operation mode set by a user. 
     
     
         6 . The air-conditioning system according to  claim 4 , wherein the operation load of the system is determined depending upon factors including outdoor temperature and indoor temperature. 
     
     
         7 . The air-conditioning system according to  claim 6 , further comprising:
 a temperature sensor for measuring the outdoor temperature and the indoor temperature.   
     
     
         8 . The air-conditioning system according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a measuring sensor for measuring data related to the state of the refrigerant.   
     
     
         9 . The air-conditioning system according to  claim 8 , wherein the measuring sensor is provided on a first refrigerant pipe through which the gas-phase refrigerant separated by the phase separator flows. 
     
     
         10 . The air-conditioning system according to  claim 9 , wherein the measuring sensor is a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the gas-phase refrigerant. 
     
     
         11 . The air-conditioning system according to  claim 8 , wherein the measuring sensor is a pressure sensor mounted in at least one of refrigerant pipes connected to the phase separator. 
     
     
         12 . The air-conditioning system according to  claim 11 , wherein the control unit converts the pressure data measured by the pressure sensor into temperature data corresponding to the pressure data. 
     
     
         13 . The air-conditioning system according to  claim 8 , wherein the control unit controls the first expansion valve, the second expansion valve, and the refrigerant control valve based on data related to the state of the refrigerant set depending upon the outdoor temperature and the data measured by the measuring sensor. 
     
     
         14 . The air-conditioning system according to  claim 8 , wherein the measuring sensor includes a pressure sensor and/or a temperature sensor, and the measuring sensor is provided at an outlet port of the compressor. 
     
     
         15 . The air-conditioning system according to  claim 14 , wherein the control unit closes all the valves to prevent the introduction of the liquid-phase refrigerant into the compressor when the operation of the air-conditioning system is initiated. 
     
     
         16 . A controlling method for an air-conditioning system, comprising:
 detecting data necessary for the operation of the system; and   simultaneously or selectively controlling the amount of refrigerant introduced into a phase separator and the amount of refrigerant discharged from the phase separator based on the detected data.   
     
     
         17 . The controlling method according to  claim 16 , wherein the data includes operation load of the system, and the controlling method further comprises:
 determining an operation frequency of a compressor corresponding to the operation load of the system; and   operating the compressor at the determined operation frequency.   
     
     
         18 . The controlling method according to  claim 16 , wherein the step of
 controlling the amount of refrigerant includes setting the opening amount of a refrigerant control valve depending upon the operation frequency of the compressor, and   controlling the refrigerant control valve depending upon the set opening amount.   
     
     
         19 . The controlling method according to  claim 16 , further comprising:
 changing operation mode of the air-conditioning system; and   
       resetting the opening amount of the refrigerant control valve depending upon the changed operation mode of the air-conditioning system. 
     
     
         20 . The controlling method according to  claim 16 , wherein the data includes data related to the state of the refrigerant, and the controlling method further comprises:
 comparing the measured data with data related to the state of the refrigerant previously set depending upon outdoor temperature; and   
       controlling valves provided on refrigerant pipes connected to the phase separator based on the measured data and the set data 
     
     
         21 . The controlling method according to  claim 20 , wherein the data includes the temperature of the refrigerant, and the step of controlling the valves includes when the temperature of the refrigerant does not exceed a first predetermined temperature previously stored in the control unit, closing a refrigerant control valve through which a gas-phase refrigerant is discharged from the phase separator, and opening a first expansion valve through which the refrigerant is introduced into the phase separator and a second expansion valve through which a liquid-phase refrigerant is discharged from the phase separator and introduced into an evaporator by predetermined opening degrees, respectively. 
     
     
         22 . The controlling method according to  claim 21 , wherein the step of controlling the valves includes when the temperature of the refrigerant exceeds a second predetermined temperature previously stored in the control unit, resetting the opening degrees of the refrigerant control valve, the first expansion valve, and the second expansion valve to be the opening degrees just before the valves are controlled. 
     
     
         23 . The controlling method according to  claim 16 , wherein the step of controlling the amount of refrigerant includes controlling a first expansion valve mounted on a mixed refrigerant pipe through which the refrigerant is introduced into the phase separator,
 controlling a refrigerant control valve mounted on a first refrigerant pipe through which a gas-phase refrigerant separated by the phase separator flows, and controlling a second expansion valve mounted on a second refrigerant pipe through which a liquid-phase refrigerant separated by the phase separator flows to an evaporator.   
     
     
         24 . The controlling method according to  claim 23 , wherein all the valves are closed to prevent the introduction of the liquid-phase refrigerant into the compressor when the operation of the air-conditioning system is initiated. 
     
     
         25 . The controlling method according to  claim 24 , wherein the first expansion valve and the second expansion valve are opened to predetermined opening degrees, respectively, until the measured data is within a range of reference data of the stabilized system after all the valves are closed. 
     
     
         26 . The controlling method according to  claim 25 , wherein, when the measured data is within the range of reference data, the refrigerant control valve is opened to a predetermined opening degree. 
     
     
         27 . The controlling method according to  claim 26 , wherein, after the refrigerant control valve is opened to the predetermined opening degree, the opening degrees of the first expansion valve, the second expansion valve, and the refrigerant control valve are controlled depending upon outdoor temperature.