Patent attributes
Disclosed is a multi-air conditioner in which heating and cooling operations are performed at the same time, the number of connection pipes connecting outdoor unit and distributor is simplified to three to flow a specific pressure and phase refrigerant through each connection pipe regardless of operation condition. The air conditioner includes: an outdoor unit installed at an outdoor location, and having therein a compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger; a plurality of indoor units respectively installed at indoor rooms, each of the indoor units having therein an electronic expansion valve and an indoor heat exchanger; a distributor provided between the outdoor unit and the plurality of indoor units, for selectively guiding a refrigerant introduced from the outdoor unit to the plurality of indoor units according to an operation condition; a four-way valve provided on an outlet side of the compressor, for selectively switching a flow direction of the refrigerant flowing through the outdoor heat exchanger; a first connection pipe branched from a pipe connecting an inlet side of the compressor with the four-way valve, for connecting the distributor to guide the refrigerant; a second connection pipe for connecting the outdoor heat exchanger with the distributor to guide the refrigerant; and a selective expansion apparatus provided on the third connection pipe and including a heating electronic expansion unit for selectively expanding the refrigerant.
