Air conditioner

Abstract

An air conditioner may include: an outdoor unit including a compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger; a first indoor unit including a first indoor heat exchanger; and a second indoor unit including a second indoor heat exchanger and an indoor expansion valve, wherein the outdoor unit includes: a first outdoor pipe, an outdoor expansion valve provided in the first outdoor pipe, the first outdoor pipe allowing a refrigerant discharged from the outdoor heat exchanger to pass through the outdoor expansion valve and flow to the first indoor unit; and a second outdoor pipe allowing a refrigerant discharged from the outdoor heat exchanger to bypass the outdoor expansion valve and flow to the second indoor unit.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An air conditioner comprising:
 an outdoor unit including a compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger;   a first indoor unit including a first indoor heat exchanger; and   a second indoor unit including a second indoor heat exchanger and an indoor expansion valve,   wherein the outdoor unit includes:
 an outdoor expansion valve; 
 a first outdoor pipe provided with the outdoor expansion valve, the first outdoor pipe allowing a refrigerant discharged from the outdoor heat exchanger to pass through the outdoor expansion valve and flow to the first indoor unit; and 
 a second outdoor pipe allowing a refrigerant discharged from the outdoor heat exchanger to bypass the outdoor expansion valve and flow to the second indoor unit. 
   
     
     
         2 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a first connection pipe connecting the outdoor unit to the first indoor unit by connecting to the first outdoor pipe of the outdoor unit; and   a second connection pipe connecting the outdoor unit to the second indoor unit by connecting to the second outdoor pipe of the outdoor unit.   
     
     
         3 . The air conditioner of  claim 2 , wherein the outdoor unit further comprises:
 a first connection valve connecting the first outdoor pipe to the first connection pipe; and   a second connection valve connecting the second outdoor pipe to the second connection pipe.   
     
     
         4 . The air conditioner of  claim 3 , wherein the refrigerant passing through the outdoor expansion valve is to pass through the first connection valve and the first connection pipe and then flow into the first indoor heat exchanger, and
 the refrigerant bypassing the outdoor expansion valve is to pass through the second connection valve and the second connection pipe and then flow into the indoor expansion valve.   
     
     
         5 . The air conditioner of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 a plurality of first indoor units, the plurality of first indoor units including the first indoor unit;   a plurality of first outdoor pipes, the plurality of first outdoor pipes including the first outdoor pipe;   a plurality of first connection valves, the plurality of first connection valves including the first connection valve; and   a plurality of first connection pipes, the plurality of first connection pipes including the first connection pipe,   the plurality of first outdoor pipes, the plurality of first connection valves, and the plurality of first connection pipes are respectively connected in series to form a plurality of refrigerant lines, and   each of the plurality of first indoor units corresponds to a respective one of the plurality of refrigerant lines to be connected to the outdoor heat exchanger.   
     
     
         6 . The air conditioner of  claim 3 , further comprising a plurality of second indoor units, the plurality of second indoor units including the second indoor unit, and
 the second connection pipe includes:
 a main connection pipe to be connected to the second connection valve; and 
 a plurality of sub connection pipes branched from the main connection pipe and each of the plurality of sub connection pipes corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of second indoor units. 
   
     
     
         7 . The air conditioner of  claim 3 , wherein the first connection valve has at least one of a shape, a form, a size, and a color different from those of the second connection valve so that the first connection valve and the second connection valve are visually identifiable from each other. 
     
     
         8 . The air conditioner of  claim 7 , wherein the outdoor unit further comprises a valve marker configured to indicate a connection state of the first connection valve and the second connection valve. 
     
     
         9 . The air conditioner of  claim 8 , wherein the outdoor unit further comprises an outdoor unit communicator to communicate with the first indoor unit and the second indoor unit, the outdoor unit communicator configured to receive information on whether the first indoor unit includes an indoor expansion valve and information on whether the second indoor unit includes an indoor expansion valve. 
     
     
         10 . The air conditioner of  claim 9 , further comprising a controller configured to control the valve marker based on the information received from the outdoor unit communicator. 
     
     
         11 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a third connection pipe connecting the first indoor unit to the outdoor unit such that a refrigerant discharged from the first indoor unit is introduced into the outdoor unit; and   a fourth connection pipe connecting the second indoor unit to the outdoor unit such that a refrigerant discharged from the second indoor unit is introduced into the outdoor unit.   
     
     
         12 . The air conditioner of  claim 11 , wherein the outdoor unit further comprises:
 a third outdoor pipe through which the refrigerant flowing through the third connection pipe is introduced; and   a fourth outdoor pipe through which the refrigerant flowing through the fourth connection pipe is introduced,   wherein the third outdoor pipe and the fourth outdoor pipe are provided to join before being introduced into the compressor.   
     
     
         13 . The air conditioner of  claim 12 , wherein the outdoor unit further comprises:
 a third connection valve connecting the third outdoor pipe to the third connection pipe; and   a fourth connection valve connecting the fourth outdoor pipe to the fourth connection pipe.   
     
     
         14 . The air conditioner of  claim 13 , wherein the third connection valve has at least one of a shape, a form, a size, and a color different from those of the fourth connection valve so that the third connection valve and the fourth connection valve are visually identifiable from each other. 
     
     
         15 . The air conditioner of  claim 1 , further comprising a four-way valve configured to switch a flow path such that a refrigerant compressed by the compressor selectively flows to the outdoor heat exchanger or to the first indoor heat exchanger and the second indoor heat exchanger.