AIR CONDITIONER

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To comfortably perform dehumidifying operation over a wide temperature range by setting orifice resistance proper for cooling cycle dehumidifying operation and heating cycle dehumidifying operation, respectively in an air conditioner. SOLUTION: This air conditioner has an indoor heat exchanger thermally divided into two parts of a first indoor heat exchanger 5 and a second indoor heat exchanger 6, and a second orifice device 7 for performing the orifice action at dehumidifying operation time between the indoor heat exchangers 5 and 6 divided into the two parts. The second orifice device 7 is composed of a passage by forming a solenoid opening-closing valve 10 and an orifice passage 11 in parallel. The solenoid opening-closing valve 10 opens at air conditioning and heating operation time, and closes at dehumidifying operation time. The orifice passage 11 is composed of a fixed orifice fixed to a pipe, and having an orifice hole, and a movable orifice movable by a flow of a refrigerant and having an orifice hole, and increases the orifice resistance at heating cycle dehumidifying operation time more than cooling cycle dehumidifying operation time by changing a combination state with the fixed orifice by a movement of the movable orifice. COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO