Airconditioner having selectively operated condenser bypass control

Claim 1

An air conditioner comprising: main heating means for heating air passing therethrough; compressor means for compressing a refrigerant and discharging said compressed refrigerant therefrom; condenser means for condensing the refrigerant discharged from the compressor and for discharging condensed refrigerant therefrom; a heat exchanger receiving the discharged condensed refrigerant; first pressure reducing means for reducing the pressure of refrigerant which flows into the heat exchanger; a main conduit which connects the compressor, the condenser, the heat exchanger and the pressure reducing means to each other; a bypass conduit having a first end connected to the main conduit downstream of the compressor and a second end connected to the main conduit upstream of the heat exchanger, the bypass conduit being for introducing the compressed refrigerant toward the heat exchanger while bypassing the condenser; valve means which selectively opens the bypass conduit and the main conduit between the compressor and the condenser; a check valve disposed in said main conduit between said condenser and said heat exchanger; and second pressure reducing means disposed in said bypass conduit between said valve means and said second end for reducing pressure of compressed refrigerant flowing through said bypass conduit; the heat exchanger being disposed in such a manner that the heat exchanger exchanges heat with air which is subsequently heated by the main heating means, thereby complimentarily working to augment total heat added to the air.