HEAT SOURCE APPARATUS, HEAT SOURCE SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR OPERATING HEAT SOURCE APPARATUS

• US 20100031683A1
• Filed: 10/30/2007
• Published: 02/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems, Ltd. (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
• Inventors: UEDA, Kenji, MATSUO, Minoru
• Granted Patent: US 8,245,525 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 62/230
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2600/021 Inverters therefor
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2700/21172 at the inlet
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2700/21173 at the outlet
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 49/025 Motor control arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating

Abstract

A heat source apparatus in which a control device of the heat source apparatus can ascertain a stoppage of an inverter device and in which a stable operating time of the heat source apparatus can be extended is provided. The heat source apparatus includes an electric compressor that is driven by an inverter device and that compresses a refrigerant, the inverter device having a protective function that performs stoppage for device protection on the basis of a predetermined calculation by an inverter control portion, and a control device that controls cold output and/or heat output. The control device includes an inverter-protective-function estimating unit that estimates a calculation result of the protective function of the inverter control portion.

Claims

1. A heat source apparatus comprising:

an electric compressor that is driven by an inverter device and that compresses a refrigerant, the inverter device having a protective function that performs stoppage for device protection on the basis of a predetermined calculation by an inverter control portion;

a condenser that condenses the refrigerant compressed by the electric compressor;

an expansion valve that expands the refrigerant condensed by the condenser;

an evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant expanded by the expansion valve; and

a control device that controls cold output and/or heat output,

wherein the control device includes an inverter-protective-function estimating unit that estimates a calculation result of the protective function of the inverter control portion.

2. The heat source apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the inverter-protective-function estimating unit determines that a stopping operation by the protective function of the inverter control portion is imminent, the control device performs control so as to reduce a load on the inverter device.

3. The heat source apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the load on the inverter device is reduced by performing capacity control of the heat source apparatus.

4. The heat source apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an inverter stopping condition is determined to occur when an integrated value of the predetermined calculation by the protective function of the inverter control portion reaches an upper limit, the predetermined calculation including addition when an output current output from the inverter device to the electric compressor exceeds a polarity-determining value and subtraction when the output current falls below the polarity-determining value, and

wherein the inverter-protective-function estimating unit obtains the output current value and the polarity-determining value from the inverter device to perform the addition and the subtraction.

5. The heat source apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an inverter stopping condition is determined to occur when an integrated value of the predetermined calculation by the protective function of the inverter control portion reaches an upper limit, the predetermined calculation including addition when an output current output from the inverter device to the electric compressor exceeds a polarity-determining value and subtraction when the output current falls below the polarity-determining value, and

wherein the inverter-protective-function estimating unit obtains the output current value and the polarity-determining value from the inverter device to perform the addition and the subtraction.

6. The heat source apparatus according to claim 3, wherein an inverter stopping condition is determined to occur when an integrated value of the predetermined calculation by the protective function of the inverter control portion reaches an upper limit, the predetermined calculation including addition when an output current output from the inverter device to the electric compressor exceeds a polarity-determining value and subtraction when the output current falls below the polarity-determining value, and

wherein the inverter-protective-function estimating unit obtains the output current value and the polarity-determining value from the inverter device to perform the addition and the subtraction.

7. The heat source apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the inverter-protective-function estimating unit has a load limit threshold with which the load on the inverter device is limited by controlling the heat source apparatus using the control device before the integrated value reaches a corresponding upper limit that corresponds to the upper limit of the inverter device.

8. The heat source apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the inverter-protective-function estimating unit has a forced limit value with which a performance of the heat source apparatus is forcedly reduced, the forced limit value being between the load limit threshold and the corresponding upper limit.

9. The heat source apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the corresponding upper limit is a value that is smaller than the upper limit of the inverter device, and wherein a stopping operation of the heat source apparatus is performed when the corresponding upper limit is reached.

10. The heat source apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when an output current value of the inverter device that drives the electric compressor exceeds a first threshold, the control device controls the heat source apparatus so as to limit a load on the inverter device.

11. The heat source apparatus according to claim 10, wherein when the output current value exceeds a second threshold that is greater than the first threshold, the control device forcedly reduces a performance of the heat source apparatus.

12. The heat source apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inverter-protective-function estimating unit obtains the calculation result of the protective function from the inverter control portion.

13. A heat source system comprising:

an inverter device having a protective function that performs stoppage for device protection on the basis of a predetermined calculation by an inverter control portion; and

a plurality of heat source apparatuses,

wherein each heat source apparatus includes

an electric compressor that is driven by the inverter device and that compresses a refrigerant,

a condenser that condenses the refrigerant compressed by the electric compressor,

an expansion valve that expands the refrigerant condensed by the condenser,

an evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant expanded by the expansion valve, and

a control device that controls cold output and/or heat output, and

wherein the control device includes an inverter-protective-function estimating unit that estimates a calculation result of the protective function of the inverter control portion.

14. A method for operating a heat source apparatus that includes

an electric compressor that is driven by an inverter device and that compresses a refrigerant, the inverter device having a protective function that performs stoppage for device protection on the basis of a predetermined calculation by an inverter control portion,

a condenser that condenses the refrigerant compressed by the electric compressor,

an expansion valve that expands the refrigerant condensed by the condenser,

an evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant expanded by the expansion valve, and

a control device that controls cold output and/or heat output,

the method comprising:

estimating a calculation result of the protective function of the inverter control portion by using the control device.

15. The method for operating the heat source apparatus according to claim 14, wherein an inverter stopping condition is determined to occur when an integrated value of the predetermined calculation by the protective function of the inverter control portion reaches an upper limit, the predetermined calculation including addition when an output current output from the inverter device to the electric compressor exceeds a polarity-determining value and subtraction when the output current falls below the polarity-determining value, and

wherein the estimating the calculation result includes obtaining the output current value and the polarity-determining value from the inverter device to perform the addition and the subtraction.