A controller is configured to decide whether liquid refrigerant is unevenly distributed among a plurality of outdoor units and then adjust an outlet subcooling degree of an outdoor heat exchanger or an outlet sub cooling degree at a high-pressure outlet of a high-low pressure heat exchanger, and a discharge superheating degree of a compressor in a low capacity-side outdoor unit to match lower heat exchange capacity of the outdoor heat exchanger in the low capacity-side outdoor unit with higher heat exchange capacity of an outdoor heat exchanger in a high capacity-side outdoor unit, the low capacity-side outdoor unit being one of the plurality of outdoor units in which the outdoor heat exchanger has the lower heat exchange capacity, the high capacity-side outdoor unit being another of the plurality of outdoor units in which the outdoor heat exchanger has the higher heat exchange capacity.

A refrigeration cycle device includes a pre-evaporator decompression unit that decompresses refrigerant which flowed out from an exterior heat exchanger, and an evaporator passage that guides the refrigerant which flowed out from the exterior heat exchanger to a suction port of a compressor while passing through a pre-evaporator decompression unit and an evaporator. Further, the refrigeration cycle device includes a bypass passage that guides the refrigerant which flowed out from the exterior heat exchanger to the suction port of the compressor while bypassing the pre-evaporator decompression unit and the evaporator, a pre-exterior device switching unit, and a passage switching unit that opens and closes the bypass passage. Further, the pre-exterior device switching unit and the passage switching unit form a coupled valve where the pre-exterior device switching unit and the passage switching unit are mechanically coupled.

An outdoor unit being part of a refrigeration cycle apparatus in which refrigerant circulates and having a maintenance opening port includes an open-close panel configured to cover the maintenance opening port by being attached openably and closably to the outdoor unit, a heat source side heat exchanger disposed above the maintenance opening port and provided at least with an open-close panel-facing heat exchange unit facing a plane containing the open-close panel, a drainage channel located at least below the open-close panel-facing heat exchange unit of the heat source side heat exchanger, wherein the heating energy supply unit includes a refrigerant pipe configured to pass refrigerant higher in temperature than a freezing point of water in an upstream direction from a downstream direction of the drainage channel.

An objective of the present invention is to provide a heat exchanger and a heat pump system which are capable of reducing the amount of a refrigerant that accumulates in an outdoor heat exchanger during heating operation, and of decreasing the appropriate amount of the refrigerant during heating operation. A vehicle-external heat exchanger is provided with a hollow first header, a hollow second header provided facing the first header, and a plurality of tubes provided between the first header and the second header and communicating with the first header and the second header. The first header is provided with a partition plate that divides the interior of the first header. The first header is provided with a first opening formed on a partition plate side between the upper end of the first header and the partition plate. When the vehicle-external heat exchanger functions as an evaporator, the refrigerant is supplied from the lower part of the first header or of the second header, and the first opening serves an outflow port for the refrigerant.

During heat applying operation, both an air-source heat exchanger that exchanges heat with the atmosphere as a heat source and an earth-source heat exchanger that uses geothermal heat as a heat source serve as evaporators to collect heat from the atmosphere and the geothermal heat. During defrosting operation, while a four-way valve is switched to cause the air-source heat exchanger to serve as a radiator, and the earth-source heat exchanger to serve as an evaporator to collect the geothermal heat, and the collected geothermal heat is collected in the main circuit via the sub-circuit.

A refrigeration unit includes a cabinet with a refrigerator compartment, a freezer compartment, and a machine compartment. The cabinet includes a mullion region between the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment, a first pass-through therethrough providing access from an external environment to the refrigerator compartment, and a second pass-through therethrough providing access from the external environment to the freezer compartment. The cabinet further includes a third pass-through extending through the mullion region, and a refrigerant system. The refrigerant system includes a three-way valve configured to direct a refrigerant down a first flow path or a second flow path, the refrigerant in the first flow path flows through the first pass-through, a first evaporator, the third pass-through, and the second evaporator, and the refrigerant in the second flow path flows through the second pass-through and the second evaporator.

An air conditioner including a compressor; an outdoor heat exchanger; an indoor heat exchanger; a switching valve for guiding refrigerant discharged from the compressor to the outdoor heat exchanger during a cooling operation and to the indoor heat exchanger during a heating operation; and an injection module for injecting a portion of the refrigerant discharged from the indoor heat exchanger to the compressor, performing heat exchange between a portion of the refrigerant discharged from the indoor heat exchanger and the refrigerant that moves from the outdoor heat exchanger to the indoor heat exchanger during the cooling operation, and injecting the refrigerant into the compressor, thus increasing efficiency.

Disclosed are a refrigerator and a control method thereof. The refrigerator according to one aspect includes a main body having a storage chamber; a compressor configured to compress a refrigerant; a condenser configured to condense the refrigerant compressed by the compressor; an evaporation expander configured to depressurize the refrigerant condensed by the condenser; a first evaporator configured to evaporate the refrigerant depressurized by the evaporation expander and thus to cool the storage chamber; a condensing expander installed between the condenser and the evaporation expander and configured to depressurize the refrigerant condensed by the condenser; and a subsidiary condenser installed between the condensing expander and the evaporation expander and configured to condense the refrigerant depressurized by the condensing expander.

A combined air-conditioning and hot water supply system simultaneously executes the cooling operation of a use unit and the hot water supply operation of a hot water supply unit, wherein the combined air-conditioning and hot water supply system operates in a cooling priority mode when the temperature differential T.sub.wm between a set hot water supply temperature T.sub.wset and the inlet water temperature T.sub.wi of a plate water-heat exchanger is smaller than a priority operation determination threshold M that is set in advance, and operates in a hot water supply priority mode when the temperature differential T.sub.wm becomes equal to or higher than the priority operation determination threshold M. This simultaneous execution of cooling and hot water supply operations prevents hot water from running out.

Disclosed is a flow path switching valve. The flow path switching valve includes a housing provided with a plurality of ports in a peripheral direction thereof, the housing having a space in which fluid is received, a valve body including a disc configured to divide the space of the housing into a plurality of flow spaces and to switch a flow direction of fluid via rotation, and a sealing member configured to seal at least one of an upper end and a lower end of the flow spaces, and a pressure plate configured to pressurize the sealing member toward the valve body as the valve body is rotated.