CN111189251B

CN111189251B - Refrigerating equipment

Info

Publication number: CN111189251B
Application number: CN201811362336.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 董旭; 王飞; 罗荣邦
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Air Conditioner Gen Corp Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd; Chongqing Haier Air Conditioner Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qingdao Haier Air Conditioner Gen Corp Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd; Chongqing Haier Air Conditioner Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-11-15
Filing date: 2018-11-15
Publication date: 2021-12-21
Anticipated expiration: 2038-11-15
Also published as: CN111189251A

Abstract

The present invention provides a refrigeration apparatus comprising: a housing defining an accommodating space therein; the circulating pipeline is at least partially positioned in the accommodating space, and a refrigerant is arranged in the circulating pipeline and has flammability; the detection device is used for detecting whether the refrigerant leaks out of the circulating pipeline; and the adsorption device is arranged in the accommodating space and comprises a sealing part and an adsorbent, the sealing part is configured to seal the adsorbent before the detection device generates a signal of refrigerant leakage so as to prevent the adsorbent from being exposed for a long time and losing efficacy, and the adsorbent is exposed after the detection device generates the signal of refrigerant leakage so as to enable the adsorbent to adsorb the leaked refrigerant. The leaked combustible refrigerant is adsorbed by the adsorption device, so that the leaked combustible refrigerant can be effectively prevented from being ignited due to the fact that the leaked combustible refrigerant meets open fire, and the risk of combustion and even explosion of the refrigeration equipment is reduced.

Description

Refrigerating equipment

Technical Field

The invention relates to a temperature adjusting device, in particular to a refrigerating device.

Background

The refrigerant used for heat exchange is commonly used in a circulating pipeline of refrigeration equipment such as an air conditioner, a refrigerator and the like, and because the existing refrigerant generally has the problem of environmental pollution, the technology of replacing the traditional refrigerant with the pollution-free flammable refrigerant is urgent for the sake of environmental protection requirements.

The existing safety protection technologies for flammable refrigerants generally include the following three types:

the first main means is to enhance the sealing performance of the circulating system and prevent the circulating system from being blocked, and when the combustible refrigerant does not leak, the potential safety hazard of combustible refrigerant combustion does not exist, but the effect is limited by simply applying the protection means to carry out safety precaution, and the problem cannot be fundamentally solved.

The second category is that after the combustible refrigerant leaks, the combustible refrigerant is correspondingly processed, and the main implementation means is that after the combustible refrigerant leaks, the leaked combustible refrigerant is detected, the alarm is carried out, the leaked combustible refrigerant is extracted and discharged to the outside, isolation measures are taken to ensure that the leaked combustible refrigerant does not contact with electric elements or other high-temperature elements in the system, and the temperature value of the combustible refrigerant is reduced to be below the ignition point through structural improvement, wherein the measures are that the leaked combustible refrigerant does not meet the combustion condition or the loss caused by the combustion of the combustible refrigerant is reduced through various methods.

The third category is to design a multi-refrigerant system, namely, the system has both combustible refrigerants and non-combustible refrigerants, the combustible refrigerants operate in an environment with lower safety requirements, the non-combustible refrigerants operate in an environment with higher safety requirements, and the combustible and non-combustible refrigerants are interacted to achieve better refrigeration effect. But such processing is costly in design as well as in manufacturing.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a safe and reliable refrigeration appliance.

In particular, the present invention provides a refrigeration device comprising:

a housing defining an accommodating space therein;

the circulating pipeline is at least partially positioned in the accommodating space, and a refrigerant is arranged in the circulating pipeline and has flammability;

the detection device is used for detecting whether the refrigerant leaks out of the circulating pipeline;

and the adsorption device is arranged in the accommodating space and comprises a sealing part and an adsorbent, the sealing part is configured to seal the adsorbent before the detection device generates a signal of refrigerant leakage so as to prevent the adsorbent from being exposed for a long time and losing efficacy, and the adsorbent is exposed after the detection device generates the signal of refrigerant leakage so as to enable the adsorbent to adsorb the leaked refrigerant.

Further, the circulation pipeline comprises a heat exchange part located in the accommodating space, the heat exchange part comprises a bent section, and the adsorption device is arranged at the bent section and used for adsorbing the refrigerant leaked from the bent section.

Further, the circulation pipeline comprises a heat exchange part located in the accommodating space, the heat exchange part is connected with fins for heat exchange, and the adsorption device is arranged on the fins.

Further, the adsorbent is in powder form.

Further, the adsorption device further includes an injection device configured to inject the adsorbent out of the sealing portion when the detection device generates a signal of refrigerant leakage.

Further, the spraying device is configured to spray the adsorbent in a fan shape.

Further, still include:

and an air supply system configured to generate an air flow for guiding the leaked refrigerant to the adsorption device when the detection device generates a signal of refrigerant leakage.

Further, still include:

and the suction and storage part is provided with a storage cavity in a negative pressure state and is configured to suck the refrigerant in the circulating pipeline into the storage cavity after the detection device generates a refrigerant leakage signal.

Further, the refrigerant is alkane combustible, the adsorption device comprises an adsorbent, and the adsorbent material is one or more of a metal organic framework, a high-silicon molecular sieve, a hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane, modified activated carbon, a pi-complex, a zeolite molecular sieve and attapulgite clay.

Further, the refrigeration equipment is an air conditioner.

The refrigeration equipment provided by the invention adsorbs the leaked combustible refrigerant through the adsorption device, so that the leaked combustible refrigerant can be effectively prevented from being ignited due to naked fire, and the risk of combustion and even explosion of the refrigeration equipment is reduced. Meanwhile, the refrigerating equipment can realize the leakage treatment of the refrigerant without replacing and designing the refrigerant system again, and the method is easy to operate, simple and feasible.

The above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of specific embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Some specific embodiments of the invention will be described in detail hereinafter, by way of illustration and not limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in the drawings identify the same or similar elements or components. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram reflecting the connections between the various structures of a refrigeration appliance, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural view of a refrigerating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more apparent, the present application is described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application.

Fig. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The refrigeration equipment may be specifically an air conditioner, a refrigerator, an ice chest, a freezer, or the like capable of adjusting temperature, and for convenience of description, the refrigeration equipment is hereinafter exemplified as the air conditioner, and it should be understood that the refrigeration equipment should not be construed as the air conditioner in a narrow sense.

The air conditioner in the present embodiment includes a casing 10 (the casing 10 in the indoor unit of the air conditioner may also be the casing 10 in the outdoor unit of the air conditioner, and for convenience of description, the casing 10 in the indoor unit of the air conditioner will be exemplified below), a circulation duct, and an adsorption device 30. The inside of the casing 10 defines an accommodating space, and a part of the circulation line is disposed in the accommodating space of the casing 10 (in other embodiments, the circulation line may be completely located in the casing 10, for example, when the refrigeration apparatus is a refrigerator, the circulation line is completely disposed in the accommodating space of the casing 10). The circulating pipeline is provided with refrigerant which has flammability, and the refrigerant can be understood as all flammable refrigerants which are applied to the air conditioner in the prior art. The adsorption device 30 is located in the receiving space and configured to adsorb the refrigerant after the refrigerant leaks out of the circulation line. The adsorption device 30 has an adsorption effect on the flammable refrigerant, which may be embodied by physical adsorption (e.g., adsorption mode of activated carbon) or chemical adsorption (e.g., adsorption mode of iron powder on water vapor). The adsorption device 30 in the present embodiment is mainly used for adsorbing the flammable refrigerant leaked into the accommodation space.

In particular, in this embodiment, the flammable refrigerant material is alkane, the adsorption device 30 includes an adsorbent, and the adsorbent material is one or more of a metal organic framework, a high-silica molecular sieve, a hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane, modified activated carbon, a pi-complex, a zeolite molecular sieve, and attapulgite clay. The acting force between the gas molecules of the alkane and the adsorbing material comprises van der Waals acting force between molecules, hydrogen bonds, surface acting force between molecules and pores, capillary action and the like, and under the acting force, the gas molecules are absorbed into the adsorbing agent; when the adsorption quantity is increased, gas molecules are condensed and changed into liquid, and the liquid is stored in a pore structure with developed adsorption materials under the action of pore surface force; in the process, the combustible refrigerant is adsorbed and stored, and meanwhile, the effects that the refrigerant is timely treated after being leaked and is prevented from being leaked indoors are achieved. In other embodiments, the refrigerant material may be of other classes, and accordingly, the adsorbent may be made of other corresponding materials.

The refrigeration equipment in the embodiment adsorbs the leaked combustible refrigerant through the adsorption device 30, so that the leaked combustible refrigerant can be effectively prevented from being ignited due to naked fire, and the risk of combustion and even explosion of the refrigeration equipment is reduced. Meanwhile, the refrigerating equipment can realize the leakage treatment of the refrigerant without replacing and designing the refrigerant system again, and the method is easy to operate, simple and feasible. After the combustible refrigerant leaks and the danger is relieved, the air conditioner is very simple to maintain again, and only the sealing effect of the circulating pipeline needs to be enhanced and the adsorbent and the refrigerant are replaced.

The circulation line includes a heat exchanging part 21 located in the accommodating space, and the heat exchanging part 21 corresponds to an evaporator or a condenser of the air conditioner. The heat exchanging portion 21 includes a heat exchanging pipeline and a fin 213 connected to the heat exchanging pipeline for dissipating or absorbing heat, the heat exchanging pipeline is in a winding shape and includes a straight section 212 and a curved section 211 (in other embodiments, the heat exchanging pipeline may include only the curved section 211, and the whole heat exchanging pipeline is in a spiral shape). The bent section 211 of the heat exchange pipeline is bent and formed and is connected with the straight line section 212 into a whole through a connection process, and the bent section 211 is deformed during bending, and the phenomenon that the sealing performance does not reach the standard may occur when the bent section 211 is connected with the straight line section 212, so that the bent section 211 of the heat exchange pipeline and the joint of the bent section 211 and the straight line section 212 are parts with high risk of refrigerant leakage. In order to effectively prevent the refrigerant from leaking and causing a risk, the adsorption device 30 may be disposed at the bent section 211 or at a connection between the bent section 211 and the straight section 212, and is configured to adsorb the refrigerant leaking from the bent section 211 or the connection between the bent section 211 and the straight section 212. How the specific arrangement position of the suction device 30 depends on the actual situation, for example, the suction device 30 may be disposed closely to the curved section 211, or may be disposed at a distance from the curved section 211. Further, the adsorption device 30 may be provided on the fin 213, and specifically, may be provided in close contact with the fin 213 or spaced apart from the fin 213. In other embodiments, the adsorption device 30 may be disposed in other locations where flammable refrigerants are susceptible to leakage.

Since the adsorption device 30 automatically adsorbs the refrigerant after the refrigerant leaks, the adsorption device 30 can be operated well even when a device for detecting whether the refrigerant leaks is not provided in the air conditioner. However, in order to accurately determine the time of refrigerant leakage and improve the adsorption effect, in one embodiment, the air conditioner further includes a detection device 40 and a controller 50. The detection device 40 is used for detecting whether the refrigerant leaks out of the circulation line, and may specifically include a pressure detector or a concentration sensor. The pressure detector is used for detecting the pressure in the circulation line and configured to generate a signal that the refrigerant has leaked when detecting that the pressure in the circulation line is less than a preset pressure threshold, that is, when the pressure in the circulation line becomes small after the refrigerant leaks, and the pressure sensor detects that the pressure of the refrigerant in the circulation line is less than the preset threshold, the pressure detector defaults that the refrigerant has leaked and generates a signal that the refrigerant leaks, and transmits the signal to the controller 50. The concentration detector is used to detect the concentration of leaked flammable refrigerant in the accommodating space, and is configured to generate a signal that refrigerant has leaked when the concentration of refrigerant is detected to be higher than a preset concentration threshold value, and transmit the signal to the controller 50. It should be understood that the detecting device 40 can also be any structure capable of detecting the leakage of the refrigerant, and is not limited to the pressure sensor and the concentration sensor. The controller 50 is connected to the detecting device 40, and configured to control the operation of the air conditioner according to the leakage state of the refrigerant detected by the detecting device 40. Specifically, the controller 50 may control the air supply fan, the compressor or other electrical components of the air conditioner to be closed after receiving the signal of the refrigerant leakage, and control the wind shield of the air conditioner to be closed so that the casing 10 of the air conditioner is relatively closed.

The adsorption device 30 may be a single component or a combination of a plurality of components. When it is a separate member, it may be only a bulk material or a film-like material or the like having an adsorption ability. The block-shaped adsorbent and the membrane-shaped adsorbent may be disposed at a portion of the circulation line of the air conditioner where the sealing property is low (such as the bent section 211 of the heat exchange line). When it is a combination of a plurality of components, it may include an adsorbent having an adsorption capacity and a carrier on which the adsorbent is loaded.

In order that the adsorption capacity of the adsorption device 30 is not reduced by the extension of the life span, the adsorption device 30 may include a sealing part configured to seal the adsorbent when the refrigerant does not leak out of the circulation line to prevent the adsorbent from being exposed to failure for a long time, and an adsorbent exposed to the outside when the refrigerant leaks out of the circulation line to allow the adsorbent to adsorb the leaked refrigerant. That is, in a normal state, the refrigerant does not leak, and the sealing portion seals and holds the adsorbent so that the adsorbent does not lose adsorption capacity due to adsorption of impurities in the air by being exposed to the air for a long time. When the refrigerant leaks, the sealing part is opened, so that the adsorbent in the sealing part absorbs the leaked refrigerant. Specifically, the opening and closing of the sealing portion may be controlled by the controller 50, and the controller 50 controls the sealing portion to be sealed when the detection device 40 does not generate the signal of the refrigerant leakage, and the controller 50 controls the sealing portion to be opened when the detection device 40 generates the signal of the refrigerant leakage.

The sealing portion may be any conventional structure capable of having both a sealed state and an opened state, and may be, for example, a simple box body having an opening and closing mechanism, a sealing bag capable of wrapping the adsorbent and having sealing properties and being torn, or the like. The adsorbent may be either passively or actively adsorbing the refrigerant. When the adsorbent passively adsorbs the refrigerant, it adsorbs only the refrigerant flowing through the periphery of its arrangement position. When the adsorbent actively adsorbs the refrigerant, it may be injected toward a place where the refrigerant leaks.

When the absorbent passively absorbs the refrigerant, in one embodiment, the absorption device 30 may be a band-shaped absorption band attached to the circulation line, so that the refrigerant leaking from the circulation line is absorbed by the absorption band at the first time. The adsorption band may be completely attached to the outer surface of the circulation line, or may be attached only to a portion of the circulation line where leakage is likely to occur, for example, the adsorption band may be attached to the bent portion 211 of the heat exchanging portion 21, a joint between the bent portion 211 and the straight portion 212, or the fin 213 of the heat exchanging portion 21. For convenience of attachment, the adsorption belt can be attached to the circulating pipeline along the extension direction of the circulating pipeline; in order to make the adsorption belt have better tightness after being attached, the adsorption belt can also be spirally wound on the circulating pipeline. Specifically, the adsorption band may include a carrier band having a sealing property and an adsorbent for adsorbing a refrigerant, the adsorbent being disposed on a surface of the carrier band that is attached to the circulation line such that the adsorbent is covered by the carrier band to prevent the adsorbent from being deactivated by long-term exposure to air. In order to make the absorbent more solid, the absorbent belt may further include a carrier belt having sealing property, a wrapping belt having air permeability, and an absorbent for absorbing the refrigerant. The first face laminating of wrapping band in circulation pipeline, the carrier area is connected to the second face towards circulation pipeline's surface, forms long banding chamber that holds between wrapping band and the carrier area, and the chamber is held in placing in to the adsorbent, twines back on circulation pipeline when the adsorption band, and the refrigerant of revealing can see through the wrapping band and be adsorbed by the adsorbent.

When the adsorbent actively adsorbs the refrigerant, in one embodiment, the adsorption device 30 may further include an injection device 90, and the injection device 90 is used for injecting the adsorbent toward a refrigerant leakage point ("refrigerant leakage point" refers to a predicted possible leakage point of the refrigerant, such as the bent section 211 or the fin 213 of the heat exchanging portion 21). The spraying device 90 may be integrated with the sealing portion, for example, the whole of the sealing portion and the spraying device 90 may be a spraying bottle with positive pressure inside, and when a leak occurs, the opening of the spraying bottle is opened, and the adsorbent stored inside is sprayed. In order to make the sorbent spray uniform, the gas in the spray bottle can be sprayed together with the sorbent in powder or liquid form. Furthermore, in order to enhance the fire-proof effect, the spray bottle can be loaded with inert gas, and the inert gas can effectively reduce the concentration of the refrigerant on one hand and also has excellent flame-retardant performance on the other hand. The injection device 90 may also be a blower structure, that is, after the refrigerant leaks, the sealing part is opened and the powdered adsorbent is exposed, and the blower of the injection device 90 is turned on to generate an air flow to guide the adsorbent to the refrigerant leakage.

The adsorbent can be sprayed in a beam shape or a fan shape, and when the adsorbent is sprayed in the beam shape, the refrigerant can be intensively sprayed to the easy-leakage part of the circulating pipeline, so that the adsorption efficiency is enhanced. When the refrigerant is sprayed in a fan shape, the refrigerant is sprayed from a spraying point with a small area, the spraying area is gradually enlarged along with the spraying distance, and a conical spraying space is formed, so that the range in which each adsorption device 30 can adsorb is enlarged, and the refrigerant is more effectively prevented from overflowing the shell 10. Further, in order to make the coverage of each adsorption device 30 wider, the adsorption device 30 may be connected to a steering device 80, and the steering device 80 is configured to drive the sealing portion to rotate when the sealing portion injects the adsorbent, so as to change the injection direction of the adsorbent, so that the adsorbent is swept in the accommodating space. In order to prevent the leakage of the adsorbent out of the casing 10, in one embodiment, a linkage 60 may be provided in the air conditioner, and the controller 50 controls the linkage 60 to seal the receiving space after the detection device 40 generates a signal of the leakage of the refrigerant, so as to prevent the sprayed adsorbent from leaking out. When the casing 10 is an air conditioner indoor unit, linkage baffles may be disposed at the air inlet and the air outlet of the casing 10, and after the detection device 40 detects that the refrigerant leaks, the controller 50 controls the linkage baffles of the linkage device 60 to close the air inlet and the air outlet of the casing 10, so as to seal the accommodating space.

In one embodiment, an alarm device 70 is further provided in the air conditioner, and is controlled by the controller 50 and configured to alarm when the detection device 40 generates a signal after the refrigerant leakage. In particular, the alarm device 70 may perform a voice alarm, and the voice information is used to signal to the user that there is a danger that the flammable refrigerant of the air conditioner has leaked. That is, the alarm sound is not a simple sound but a language information that the user can recognize, and the specific language depends on the language of the country where the user is located. The warning is carried out by utilizing the language information, so that the user can know the danger signal, the user can be guided to carry out safety protection, the emotion of the user can be pacified, and the user can not be panic.

In one embodiment, the air conditioner is further provided with an air supply system controlled by the controller 50 and configured to generate an air flow directing leaked flammable refrigerant to the adsorbent when the detection device 40 generates a signal of refrigerant leakage. That is, when the adsorbent is passively adsorbed, the air supply system can guide the leaked refrigerant to the adsorbent through the generated air flow, and the adsorption efficiency of the adsorbent is enhanced. When the adsorbent is actively adsorbed, the air flow generated by the air supply system and the air flow sprayed by the adsorbent form opposite impact, and the adsorption efficiency of the adsorbent can also be enhanced. It should be noted that the air supply system may be an additional component compared to a conventional air conditioner, or may be an air supply device of the air conditioner itself, that is, the air supply system may include a fan of the air conditioner itself for guiding the heat exchange air flow in the casing 10 to the room, and the controller 50 may control the fan to move or turn to achieve the purpose of guiding the air flow to the adsorption device 30.

In order to prevent the capacity of the leaked refrigerant from being excessive, which would cause the adsorption device 30 to be saturated and thus unable to adsorb any more, in one embodiment, the air conditioner further includes a suction and storage portion having a storage chamber in a negative pressure state, the suction and storage portion being configured to suck the refrigerant in the circulation line into the storage chamber when the detection device 40 generates a signal of refrigerant leakage. Specifically, the suction and storage portion may be a vacuum tank, the vacuum tank is connected to the circulation line by a valve, the suction and storage cavity of the vacuum tank is not communicated with the circulation line in a normal state, and when the detection device 40 detects that the refrigerant leaks, the controller 50 may control the valve between the vacuum tank and the circulation line to be opened, and the vacuum tank immediately absorbs and stores the refrigerant in the circulation line.

Because of numerous nodes in the circulating pipeline, the pressure intensity of the refrigerant among the nodes is different, and all the refrigerant in the circulating pipeline is difficult to absorb by one outlet, the vacuum tank can be connected with a plurality of pipelines in parallel to be respectively connected with a plurality of nodes of the circulating pipeline, and the nodes are simultaneously absorbed after the combustible refrigerant is found to leak. In one embodiment, the vacuum tank is disposed in the outdoor unit and connected to the indoor circulation line, and when a refrigerant leakage is detected, the refrigerant circulation is stopped and the indoor and outdoor refrigerants are separated, and the outdoor vacuum tank sucks only the refrigerant in the indoor circulation line, thereby reducing the volume of the vacuum tank.

Thus, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that while a number of exemplary embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described in detail herein, many other variations or modifications consistent with the principles of the invention may be directly determined or derived from the disclosure of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be understood and interpreted to cover all such other variations or modifications.

Claims

1. A refrigeration apparatus, comprising:

a housing defining an accommodating space therein;

a detection device for detecting whether the refrigerant leaks out of the circulation line;

an adsorption device disposed in the receiving space, the adsorption device including a sealing portion configured to seal the adsorbent before the detection device generates the signal of the refrigerant leakage to prevent the adsorbent from being exposed for a long time to fail, and an adsorbent exposed to the outside after the detection device generates the signal of the refrigerant leakage to allow the adsorbent to adsorb the leaked refrigerant;

the adsorbent is in a powder shape;

the adsorption device further includes an injection device configured to inject the adsorbent out of the sealing portion when the detection device generates the signal of the refrigerant leakage.

2. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 1,

the circulation pipeline comprises a heat exchange part positioned in the accommodating space, the heat exchange part comprises a bent section, and the adsorption device is arranged at the bent section and used for adsorbing the refrigerant leaked from the bent section.

3. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 1,

the circulation pipeline comprises a heat exchange part positioned in the accommodating space, the heat exchange part is connected with fins for heat exchange, and the adsorption device is arranged on the fins.

4. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 1,

the spraying device is configured to spray the adsorbent in a fan shape.

5. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 1, further comprising:

an air supply system configured to generate an air flow that directs the leaked refrigerant to the adsorption device when the detection device generates the signal of refrigerant leakage.

6. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 1, further comprising:

a suction and storage portion having a storage chamber in a negative pressure state, the suction and storage portion being configured to suck the refrigerant in the circulation line into the storage chamber when the detection means generates the signal of refrigerant leakage.

7. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 1,

the refrigerant is alkane combustible, the adsorption device comprises an adsorbent, and the adsorbent material is one or more of a metal organic framework, a high-silicon molecular sieve, a hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane, modified activated carbon, a pi-complex, a zeolite molecular sieve and attapulgite clay.

8. A refrigerating apparatus as recited in any one of claims 1-7,

the refrigeration equipment is an air conditioner.