Lg Electronics Inc.

Yoon Been Lee

Sang Ho Lee

Se Dong Chang

Il Nahm Hwang

Sung Chun Kim

Baik Young Chung

Young Min Park

Sung Oh Choi

Seok Ho Yoon

Jong Han Park

Jae Heuk Choi

Dong Jun Yang

Sai Kee Oh

Hyung Soo Kim

Seung Yong Chang

Multi-type air conditioner including a plurality of compressors, a plurality of temperature sensors mounted in the plurality of compressors for sensing temperatures in the compressors respectively, and an equalizing pipe in communication with the plurality of compressors, for uniform distribution of oil among the plurality of compressors according to the temperatures sensed at the plurality of temperature sensors respectively, thereby distributing oil among the compressors uniformly at an exact time point at which the oil is distributed among the compressors non-uniformly, not only to permit improvement of the performance of the compressors, but also to permit improvement performance of the air conditioner having the compressors.

Multi-type air conditioner and method for controlling the same

Disclosed herein is an oil separator for air conditioners that is capable of separating oil from refrigerant. The oil separator comprises a shell having a cylindrical space defined therein, a refrigerant introduction pipe for introducing refrigerant into the shell, a refrigerant discharge pipe for discharging the refrigerant out of the shell, and oil-drop growth accelerating member for accelerating growth of oil drops contained in the refrigerant flowing in the shell.

Oil separator for air conditioners

An air conditioning system and an apparatus for protecting the same. The air conditioning system comprise an outdoor unit, a plurality of indoor units connected to the outdoor unit by each refrigerant line, and a refrigerant line closing unit installed at the refrigerant line of the indoor unit for preventing a refrigerant flowing on the refrigerant line of the indoor unit from being introduced into the outdoor unit when power supply to one or more indoor units is cut off.

Air-conditioning system and apparatus for protecting the same

Provided is an air conditioner, particularly, an apparatus and method for controlling a super-heating degree in a heat pump system for preventing a liquid refrigerant from flowing into a compressor. The method includes: operating the heat pump system; receiving a present outdoor temperature, a pipe absorption temperature and a low pressure value of a compressor, respectively; computing a present absorption super-heating degree from a difference between the absorption temperature of the compressor and a saturated temperature at a low pressure side; and comparing an targeted absorption super-heating degree set in advance, with the computed present absorption super-heating degree according to the received outdoor temperature, and controlling the system so that the present absorption super-heating degree may follow the targeted absorption super-heating degree.

Apparatus and method for controlling super-heating degree in heat pump system

Disclosed is an apparatus and method for preventing liquid refrigerant accumulation in an accumulator of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner. The method includes the steps of: determining a state of a compressor; if the compressor is in standby mode or off state, turning on a four-way valve; determining whether the state of the compressor in standby mode or off state continues longer than a predetermined amount of time; and if the state of the compressor continues longer than the predetermined amount of time, closing an expansion valve. Particularly, high-pressure refrigerant flows in the closed expansion valve while low-pressure refrigerant flows in a check valve through the four-way valve. The apparatus includes a suction pipe connected to spray oil of the accumulator to the compressor; a liquid recovery pipe with one end being connected to the suction pipe and the other end being connected to the accumulator; and a liquid recovery valve for controlling opening/closing of the liquid recovery pipe, in which a compressor of the air conditioner in cooling or heating mode is operated and a liquid recovery valve for controlling a liquid recovery pipe connected to the compressor and an accumulator is opened to reduce oil in the accumulator. According to the present invention, when the compressor is off, it is possible to prevent liquid refrigerant accumulation by changing refrigerant flow line to the accumulator and the refrigerant at the lower end of the accumulator can be recovered.

Apparatus for preventing liquid refrigerant accumulation of air conditioner and method thereof

Disclosed is a method for controlling an air conditioner. In particular, driving modes of elements, namely sucking/discharge compressure, of the compressor in operation are determined so that variable means are controlled to ensure for the elements of the compressor to be within predetermined value ranges in safe area. According to the present invention, vibrations/noises that usually occur when the compressor is in unstable area are greatly reduced and thus, the compressor can be protected from damages.

Method for controlling air conditioner

The present invention relates to a method for controlling an air conditioner, in which operation time periods of an outdoor unit is integrated, to determined a time point when an oil recovery operation is performed, and performing the oil recovery operation only when a summed rates, or a number of indoor units accessed with communication is higher than a value preset at a control unit.

Method for controlling multi-type air conditioner

Disclosed herein are an oil separator and a cooling-cycle apparatus using the oil separator. To a casing of the separator is connected an inflow tube to supply gaseous refrigerant and oil into the casing for allowing them flowing in a swirl pattern, thereby being separated from each other in a cyclone separation manner. Such a separation manner results in an improved oil separation efficiency.

Oil separator and cooling-cycle apparatus using the same

Disclosed herein is a control method for a multiple heat pump. In the control method, when one of multiple indoor units operates in the heating mode and the other indoor units shut down, electronic expansion valves of the shutdown indoor units are controlled to have an opening degree higher than a standard opening degree if an outlet temperature of compressors is higher than a preset temperature, so as to permit a liquid refrigerant, remaining in the shutdown indoor units, to be more readily recovered to the compressors. This eliminates a refrigerant shortage phenomenon of the compressors and prevents deterioration of heating performance as well as reduction of life-span of the compressors.

Control method for multiple heat pump

Disclosed herein is a control method for four-way valves of a multiple heat pump. In the control method, if even at least one of four-way valves of respective outdoor units is not switched to a desired mode upon switching of all of the four-way valves to the desired mode, the other four-way valves, switched to the desired mode, is switched to an opposite direction of the desired mode, and then all of the four-way valves are switched again to the desired mode, thereby simply and rapidly correcting switching error of the four-way valves, resulting in normal operation of the multiple heat pump.

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Seoul, South Korea

Yoon Been Lee