A multi-air conditioner for heating and cooling may include at least one indoor unit installed in an indoor space and comprising an indoor heat exchanger and an indoor expansion valve; an outdoor unit connected to the at least one indoor unit via a refrigerant pipeline and comprising an outdoor heat exchanger, a compressor, an outdoor expansion valve, and a four-way valve; and at least one leak shut-off valve provided on the refrigerant pipeline, that blocks a flow of refrigerant in the refrigerant pipeline when a refrigerant leak from the refrigerant pipeline occurs in the indoor space. The outdoor unit may decrease a pressure of the refrigerant pipeline when a refrigerant leak occurs from the refrigerant pipeline. Therefore, it is possible to minimize an amount of refrigerant leakage when there is a refrigerant leak in the indoor space.

Heat pump systems with a gas bypass tank and that operate in both heating and cooling modes are disclosed. The systems include a first splitting valve that can route liquid refrigerant to either the indoor coil or the outdoor coil, depending on whether the heat pump system is in heating or cooling mode. An expansion valve in the system can lower the pressure of liquid refrigerant leaving a condenser, thereby creating a two-phase fluid comprising liquid refrigerant and vaporized refrigerant. The gas bypass tank can separate liquid refrigerant from vaporized refrigerant. The liquid refrigerant can be supplied to the evaporator of the system, while the vaporized refrigerant can be bypassed to a compressor. The first splitting valve can include a first plurality of switching paths that route the separated liquid refrigerant to either the outdoor coil or the indoor coil.

A temperature controller for a sorption system having an evaporator to produce a gas, a sorber containing a sorption material to sorb the gas during a sorption phase, a flow channel extending between the evaporator and sorber to provide a gas pathway connecting them, a valve to control the rate of gas flow in the flow channel, and a temperature sensor positioned to measure the temperature of an evaporator surface or the air adjacent thereto indicative of an evaporator surface temperature, and generate a temperature signal. The controller includes an inflatable member having first and second inflation states, and a control unit configured to evaluate the temperature signal and in response control the state of inflation of the inflatable member and thereby the operation of the valve to control the rate of gas flow between the evaporator and sorber through the gas pathway.

An air flow controller for an air cleaner and an air cleaner are provided. The air flow controller may include a fan, and a housing, the fan being provided in the housing and the housing being movable from an initial horizontal position in which the air flow controller directs air flow in a vertical direction to an inclined position in which the air flow controller directs air flow in a diagonal direction.

A cooling system uses P-traps to address the oil return issues that result from a vertical separation between the compressor and the high side heat exchanger. Generally, the vertical piping that carries the refrigerant from the compressor to the high side heat exchanger includes P-traps installed at various heights to capture oil in the refrigerant and to prevent that oil from flowing back to the compressor. As oil collects in the P-traps, the refrigerant begins to push the oil upwards until the oil reaches the high side heat exchanger. Multiple piping of different sizes may be used depending on a discharge pressure of the compressor. When the discharge pressure is higher, a larger piping may be used direct the oil and refrigerant to the high side heat exchanger.

An air conditioner includes two cut-off valves connected to respective refrigerant flow paths. At least one of the two cut-off valves is configured as a flow path switching valve configured to switch a flow path so as to block the refrigerant flow paths when a refrigerant leaks in a utilization circuit.

The present application provides an outdoor unit and a heat pump system. The outdoor unit includes a compressor, a valve assembly, an outdoor heat exchanger, a first pipeline port and a second pipeline port; a first branch that connects the valve assembly and the first pipeline port, the first branch being provided with the outdoor heat exchanger and a first switch valve assembly; a second branch that connects the mode switch valve assembly and the first pipeline port, wherein the second branch is provided with a second switch valve assembly; a third branch that connects the second pipeline port and the refrigerant inlet of the outdoor heat exchanger. The first and second switch valve assemblies control the on and off of the first branch and the second branch so that the refrigerant flows through the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet of the outdoor heat exchanger.

A temperature controller for a sorption system having an evaporator to produce a gas, a sorber containing a sorption material to sorb the gas during a sorption phase, a flow channel extending between the evaporator and sorber to provide a gas pathway connecting them, a valve to control the rate of gas flow in the flow channel, and a temperature sensor positioned to measure the temperature of an evaporator surface or the air adjacent thereto indicative of an evaporator surface temperature, and generate a temperature signal. The controller includes an inflatable member having first and second inflation states, and a control unit configured to evaluate the temperature signal and in response control the state of inflation of the inflatable member and thereby the operation of the valve to control the rate of gas flow between the evaporator and sorber through the gas pathway.

A temperature control device for controlling a temperature of a temperature adjustment target part is provided. A communication module of the temperature control device is configured to store target temperature information of each of the temperature adjustment target parts included in a communication frame periodically received via a field network in a predetermined position of a memory, and an arithmetic operation module of the temperature control device receives the target temperature information of each of the temperature adjustment target parts, receives refrigerant temperature information from each of temperature sensors corresponding to each of the temperature adjustment target parts, and calculates each of control parameter for adjusting an opening degree of each corresponding control valve so that each temperature of the temperature adjustment target parts becomes a target temperature indicated by the received target temperature information based on the received target temperature information and the received refrigerant temperature information.

A method for air-conditioning of watercraft and the like using a device with: an electronically controlled variable-r.p.m. compressor, a main gas/water condenser (5), at least one environmental heat-exchanger (3) with an electronically controlled fan (14), at least one electronically controlled expansion valve (8), and at least one first electronic control unit (4) programmed for calculating continuously a temperature deviation detected (DeltaT=T_ad−T_a), and as a function of said temperature deviation regulating in combination, the r.p.m. of the compressor (1), opening of the flow valve (8), and the r.p.m. of the fan of the heat-exchanger (3).