Air conditioner

An air conditioner comprising a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion device, and an indoor heat exchanger,

• wherein the outdoor heat exchanger comprises:
• a refrigerant channel that is partitioned into a first unit channel and a second unit channel;
• and
• a plurality of separating devices, wherein each of the plurality of separating devices is located in each of the first unit channel and the second unit channel and configured to, in a heating operation, separate refrigerant into a liquid refrigerant component and a vapor refrigerant component, and
• wherein the air conditioner further comprises:
• a compressor suction channel that is connected to a heating-operation outlet of the outdoor heat exchanger and an inlet of the compressor;
• a bypass pipe that is connected to the plurality of separating devices and the compressor suction channel and that is configured to, in the heating operation, bypass the vapor refrigerant component to the compressor suction channel;
• a first parallel connection channel that is connected to a first side of each of the first unit channel and the second unit channel in parallel and that is configured to, in the heating operation, introduce the refrigerant into the first unit channel and the second unit channel of the outdoor heat exchanger;
• a second parallel connection channel that is connected to a second side of each of the first unit channel and the second unit channel in parallel and that is configured to, in the heating operation, discharge the refrigerant that has passed through the first unit channel and the second unit channel to an outside of the outdoor heat exchanger;
• a serial connection channel that is connected to the first unit channel and the second unit channel in serial and that is configured to, in a cooling operation, bypass the refrigerant that has passed through the first unit channel from the second parallel connection channel and redirect the refrigerant to the second unit channel;
• a serial connection valve that is located on the serial connection channel and that is configured to open the serial connection channel in the cooling operation and close the serial connection channel in the heating operation;
• a first distributor that is connected to the first parallel connection channel and that is configured to, in the heating operation, distribute a portion of refrigerant from the first parallel connection channel to the first unit channel;
• and
• a second distributor that is connected to the first parallel connection channel and that is configured to, in the heating operation, distribute a remainder of refrigerant from the first parallel connection channel to the second unit channel;
• wherein the plurality of separating devices comprise:
• a first return pipe that is positioned in a middle of a plurality of first return pipes that connect adjacent refrigerant pipes among a plurality of refrigerant pipes in the first unit channel;
• and
• a second return pipe that is positioned in a middle of a plurality of second return pipes that connect adjacent refrigerant pipes among a plurality of refrigerant pipes in the second unit channel.