Air conditioner and controlling method thereof

Abstract

An air conditioning system includes an indoor heat exchange unit which exchanges heat with indoor air, and an outdoor heat exchange unit which exchanges heat with outdoor air. The outdoor heat exchange unit performs a defrosting operation to remove frost from the outdoor heat exchange unit while the indoor heat exchange unit simultaneously performs a heating operation to heat the indoor air.

1 . An air conditioning system, comprising:
 an indoor heat exchange unit which exchanges heat with indoor air; and   an outdoor heat exchange unit which exchanges heat with outdoor air,   wherein the outdoor heat exchange unit performs a defrosting operation to remove frost from the outdoor heat exchange unit while the indoor heat exchange unit simultaneously performs a heating operation to heat the indoor air.   
   
   
       2 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a compressing unit that discharges high temperature refrigerant;   a switching unit connected to a discharge side of the compressing unit, the outdoor heat exchange unit being connected to the switching unit;   an expansion unit connected to the outdoor heat exchange unit, the indoor heat exchange unit being connected to the expansion unit and the switching unit; and   a bypass unit that provides the high temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressing unit to an intake side of the outdoor heat exchange unit during the defrosting operation.   
   
   
       3 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 2 , wherein the bypass unit is connected to a refrigerant pipe between the compressing unit and the switching unit. 
   
   
       4 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 2 , wherein the bypass unit is connected to a refrigerant pipe between the switching unit and the indoor heat exchange unit. 
   
   
       5 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 4 , further comprising a connecting unit that provides refrigerant from a discharge side of the expansion unit to a discharge side of the outdoor heat exchange unit during the defrosting operation. 
   
   
       6 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 2 , wherein an accumulator comprising a heating unit is disposed at an intake side of the compressing unit. 
   
   
       7 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 2 , wherein the compressing unit comprises a plurality of compressors, and the bypass unit provides refrigerant discharged from at least one of the compressors to the intake side of the outdoor heat exchange unit during the defrosting operation. 
   
   
       8 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 2 , further comprising a refrigerant pipe connecting the compressing unit to the switching unit, the refrigerant pipe comprising a valve which is closed during the defrosting operation. 
   
   
       9 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 2 , wherein the bypass unit comprises a valve and a pressure controller. 
   
   
       10 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 2 , wherein a heating unit that heats refrigerant is disposed at an intake side of the compressing unit. 
   
   
       11 . An air conditioning system, comprising:
 a bypass unit that provides refrigerant discharged from a compressing unit to an intake side of an outdoor heat exchange unit during a defrosting operation; and   a connecting unit that provides expanded refrigerant to a discharge side of the outdoor heat exchange unit during the defrosting operation.   
   
   
       12 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 11 , wherein the bypass unit is connected to a refrigerant pipe between a switching unit and an indoor heat exchange unit, and a refrigerant pipe between an expansion unit and the outdoor heat exchange unit. 
   
   
       13 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 11 , wherein the connecting unit is connected to a refrigerant pipe between an expansion unit and the outdoor heat exchange unit, and a refrigerant pipe between a switching unit and the outdoor heat exchange unit. 
   
   
       14 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 11 , wherein the connecting unit is connected to a refrigerant pipe between an expansion unit and the bypass unit. 
   
   
       15 . The air conditioning system according to  claim 11 , wherein a heating unit that heats refrigerant is disposed at an intake side of the compressing unit. 
   
   
       16 . A method for controlling an air conditioning system, comprising:
 performing heat exchange with indoor air to heat the indoor air; and   simultaneously defrosting an outdoor heat exchange unit when a defrosting operation is triggered.   
   
   
       17 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein defrosting the outdoor heat exchange unit comprises discharging refrigerant from a compressing unit, and providing a portion of the discharged refrigerant to an intake side of the outdoor heat exchange unit via a bypass unit. 
   
   
       18 . The method according to  claim 17 , further comprising heating refrigerant introduced to the compressing unit. 
   
   
       19 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein the defrosting operation is triggered when the temperature of the outdoor heat exchange unit is less than a predetermined temperature. 
   
   
       20 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein an indoor heat exchange unit performs the heat exchange with the indoor air, and refrigerant discharged from the indoor heat exchange unit is provided to a discharge side of the outdoor heat exchange unit via a connecting unit. 
   
   
       21 . The method according to  claim 20 , wherein refrigerant discharged from the indoor heat exchange unit is prevented from flowing into an intake side of the outdoor heat exchange unit.