Switching device and air-conditioning apparatus

Abstract

A switching device or the like efficiently performs operations such as the cutting off of a refrigerant and is easy to maintain, design, and manufacture at low cost even if the switching device is included in, for example, an air-conditioning apparatus including a plurality of indoor units. A plurality of shut-off valves for individually stopping the flow of a refrigerant are provided in a plurality of pipes for making a refrigerant circulate between a heat source unit and a plurality of indoor units. The shut-off valves are integrated into pairs. A number of pairs of the shut-off valves corresponding to the number of indoor units are grouped together.

1 . An air-conditioning apparatus, comprising:
 a heat source unit;   a plurality of indoor units;   a plurality of pipes connecting the heat source unit and the indoor units so as to circulate a refrigerant; and   a switching device including   a plurality of shut-off valves integrally formed into pairs, the shut-off valves being provided in the pipes that connect the heat source unit and indoor units so as to circulate a refrigerant, the shut-off valves each cutting off a flow of the refrigerant based on an instruction, and   a connecting portion provided in a connection between a shut-off valve of each pair and a pipe toward the corresponding indoor unit, the connecting portion being capable of flowing a fluid into or out from the pipe.   
     
     
         2 . (canceled) 
     
     
         3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . The air-conditioning apparatus of  claim 3   claim 8 , further comprising refrigerant-leakage-detecting means that transmits a leakage signal when detecting refrigerant leakage from any of the indoor units provided in an air-conditioned space; and
 an interface device that transmits an open-close signal to the switching device, the open-close signal requesting to close the corresponding shut-off valve on the basis of the leakage signal, wherein   transmission of the signals concerning the refrigerant leakage is performed over a communication system that is used between the heat source unit and the indoor units.   
     
     
         5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . The air-conditioning apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein
 the indoor units each further include a controller including display means that displays a state of the corresponding indoor unit, and   when the leakage signal from the refrigerant-leakage-detecting means is received, information on the leakage is displayed on the display means of the corresponding controller.   
     
     
         7 . The air-conditioning apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the heat source unit includes recording means that records information on the leakage when receiving the leakage signal from the refrigerant-leakage-detecting means. 
     
     
         8 . The air-conditioning apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising
 refrigerant-leakage-detecting means that transmits a leakage signal when detecting refrigerant leakage from any of the indoor units provided in an air-conditioned space, wherein   while a shut-off valve provided in connection with a pipe toward the indoor unit in the air-conditioned space, in which the refrigerant leakage is detected by the refrigerant-leakage-detecting means, is closed, the remaining indoor units are allowed to operate.