JP-2026075368-A - Air conditioning system

Abstract

[Problem] This disclosure provides an air conditioning system that allows a shut-off valve to be easily opened and closed by an operator. [Solution] The air conditioning system in this disclosure comprises an outdoor unit, an indoor unit, refrigerant piping connecting the outdoor unit and the indoor unit, a shut-off valve provided in the refrigerant piping and housing a shut-off section capable of blocking the flow of refrigerant, and a refrigerant leak sensor for detecting refrigerant leakage. In this air conditioning system, when refrigerant leakage is detected by the refrigerant leak sensor, the indoor unit transmits a shut-off signal to the shut-off valve, and the shut-off valve closes upon receiving the shut-off signal. The invention also makes it possible to open and close the shut-off valve by performing a predetermined operation on the shut-off valve, regardless of the shut-off signal from the indoor unit. [Selection Diagram] Figure 11

Inventors

• 吉田 健二
• 梶原 大介
• 清水 正行
• 吉田 規一

Assignees

• パナソニックＩＰマネジメント株式会社

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20241022

Claims (6)

1. The system comprises an outdoor unit, an indoor unit, refrigerant piping connecting the outdoor unit and the indoor unit, a shut-off valve provided in the refrigerant piping and housing a shut-off section capable of blocking the flow of refrigerant, and a refrigerant leak sensor for detecting refrigerant leakage. In an air conditioning system in which, when a refrigerant leak is detected by the refrigerant leak sensor, a shut-off signal is transmitted from the indoor unit to the shut-off valve, and the shut-off valve closes upon receiving the shut-off signal, This allows the shut-off valve to be opened and closed by performing a predetermined operation on the shut-off valve, regardless of a shut-off signal from the indoor unit. Air conditioning system.
2. The shut-off valve comprises a circuit board, The circuit board is provided with an operating section that allows the shut-off valve to be opened and closed. The air conditioning device according to claim 1.
3. If the shut-off valve is opened by performing the predetermined operation on the shut-off valve, the air conditioning operation is prohibited. The air conditioning device according to claim 1.
4. The shut-off valve is equipped with an opening/closing operation notification unit that notifies that the predetermined operation has been performed on the shut-off valve. An air conditioning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
5. The system comprises a plurality of indoor units and a plurality of shut-off valves provided according to the plurality of indoor units, The system includes a second opening/closing operation notification unit that notifies the shut-off valve corresponding to the indoor unit in which no refrigerant leak has been detected that the predetermined operation has been performed. The air conditioning device according to claim 4.
6. When recovering refrigerant from the refrigerant system, it is determined whether or not a predetermined operation has been performed on the shut-off valve. An air conditioning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

Description

This disclosure relates to air conditioning systems. Patent Document 1 discloses an air conditioning system comprising an outdoor unit, an indoor unit, a shut-off valve capable of blocking the flow of refrigerant, and a refrigerant sensor, wherein the shut-off valve is closed when a refrigerant leak is detected by the refrigerant sensor. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-77040 Diagram showing the configuration of the air conditioning system in Embodiment 1.This figure shows the configuration of the control system for the outdoor unit in Embodiment 1.This figure shows the configuration of the indoor unit's control system in Embodiment 1.This figure shows the configuration of the control system for the shut-off valve in Embodiment 1.This figure shows the configuration of the control system for the indoor unit remote control in Embodiment 1.This figure shows the configuration of the control system for the detection alarm in Embodiment 1.Perspective view of the shut-off valve in Embodiment 1A diagram showing the control board of the shut-off valve in Embodiment 1.Sequence diagram showing the operation of each part of the air conditioning system during a refrigerant leak before repair work is carried out by workers in Embodiment 1.A flowchart showing an example of a method for workers to restore an air conditioning system in the event of a refrigerant leak in Embodiment 1.Sequence diagram showing the operation of each part of the air conditioning system during restoration work by a worker in Embodiment 1.A diagram showing the indoor unit remote control of an air conditioning system in Embodiment 2.Flowchart showing the operation of the air conditioning system in Embodiment 2 (Knowledge and other information that formed the basis of this disclosure) At the time the inventors conceived this disclosure, air conditioning systems, when a refrigerant leak was detected, would close a shut-off valve corresponding to the leak location to prevent excessive refrigerant leakage from that location. However, before the air conditioning system could be restarted, it was necessary to fill the refrigerant system with nitrogen to identify the leak location, repair the identified leak, and perform a vacuum test after the repair. Since such recovery work in the event of a refrigerant leak is generally performed with the indoor unit unpowered, it is not easy to temporarily open the shut-off valve during the work. Furthermore, even when the indoor unit is powered, if there is a problem with the communication line between the indoor unit and the shut-off valve, there is a risk that the shut-off valve cannot be closed in the event of a refrigerant leak. In other words, the inventors discovered that conventional air conditioning systems did not allow for easy opening and closing of the shut-off valve by operators, and the subject matter of this disclosure was formed in order to solve this problem. Therefore, this disclosure provides an air conditioning system that allows a shut-off valve to be easily opened and closed by an operator. The embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, unnecessary details may be omitted. For example, detailed explanations of already well-known matters or redundant explanations of substantially identical configurations may be omitted. This is to avoid the following explanation becoming unnecessarily verbose and to facilitate understanding for those skilled in the art. The attached drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand this disclosure and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims. (Embodiment 1) Embodiment 1 will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 11. [1-1. Structure] [1-1-1. Configuration of the air conditioning system] Figure 1 shows the configuration of the air conditioning system 1000 in Embodiment 1. The air conditioning system 1000 is a system that harmonizes the air in a space to be harmonized S. The air conditioning system 1000 is applied to facilities such as buildings and schools. The space to be harmonized S is a room within the facility. The air conditioning system 1000 of this embodiment has a refrigerant system RS1. The refrigerant system RS1 consists of an outdoor unit 1A, three indoor units 2A, 2B, and 2C, and three shut-off valves 3A, 3B, and 3C. In other words, the refrigerant system RS1 includes the outdoor unit 1A, the indoor units 2A, 2B, and 2C, and the shut-off valves 3A, 3B, and 3C. The outdoor unit 1A is installed outdoors of the facility. The indoor unit 2A is installed indoors of the facility and air-conditions the air-conditioned space S1. The indoor unit 2B is installed indoors of the facility and air-conditions the air-conditioned space S2. The indoor unit 2C is installed indoors of the facility and air-conditions the air-conditioned space S3. The outdoor unit 1A and the indoor units 2A, 2B, and 2C are connected by refrigerant