GB2200441A

GB2200441A - Heat exchanger bypass control apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2200441A
Application number: GB08713390A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Keiichi Kimura
Original assignee: Kimura Kohki Co Ltd
Current assignee: Kimura Kohki Co Ltd
Priority date: 1987-01-28
Filing date: 1987-06-08
Publication date: 1988-08-03
Anticipated expiration: 2007-06-08
Also published as: IT1204997B; GB8713390D0; IT8720410A0; JPH0620012Y2; JPS63119975U; KR880015269U; KR920006589Y1; GB2200441B

Abstract

A water flow control apparatus for a heat exchanger at an air conditioner, integrally connects through a by-pass pipe 18 a first socket joint 13 connecting with a cold or hot water feed pipe 2 and an inlet 1c of the heat exchanger and a second socket joint 17 connecting with a cold or hot water discharge pipe 3 and an outlet 1d of the heat exchanger and is provided at the second socket joint 17 with a valve chamber 16 and a valve 21 selectively movable between positions in which it closes the outlet of the by-pass pipe 18 and the inlet of the second socket joint 17 respectively. <IMAGE>

Description

WATER EI;OW CONTROL APPARATUS The present invention relates to a device for use in connecting water supply and discharge pipes to a heat exchanger. More particularly, the invention concerns a water flow control apparatus for controlling cold or hot water supply/discharge to/from the heat exchanger at an air conditioner.

A conventional air conditioner using cold or hot water as a heat medium to perform air conditioning employs a separate electrically operated three-wayvalve by which a flow rate of the cold or hot water to be fed into a heat exchanger is controlled corresponding to an indoor load, thereby keeping an optimum indoor temperature, in conjunction with other separate conduit fittings.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved device or arrangement for connecting water supply and discharge pipes to a heat exchanger, occupying less space and/or having less flow resistance.

Another or alternative object of the invention is to provide the connecting device incorporating a constant water flow rate control mechanism.

A water flow control apparatus for a heat exchanger at an air conditioner of the invention, which is provided with a cold or hot water feed pipe and a cold or hot water discharge pipe to perform air conditioning by using the cold or hot water as a heat medium, is characterized by providing; a first socket joint provided with a first connection portion connecting with the cold or hot water feed pipe and a second connecting portion connecting with an inlet for the cold or hot water at the heat exchanger; a second socket joint provided with a third connecting portion connecting with the cold or hot water discharge pipe, a fourth connecting portion connecting with an outlet for the cold or hot water at the heat exchanger, and a valve chamber formed at an intermediate portion between the third connecting portion and the fourth connecting portion; a by-pass pipe which is fixed to an intermediate portion of the first socket joint and to an intermediate portion of the second socket joint so as to integrally connect the socket joints and which allows the first socket joint to communicate at its interior with the valve chamber at the second socket joint to thereby by-pass for the heat exchanger the cold or hot water supplied from the cold or hot water feed pipe and flow it into the valve chamber; and an open-close valve housed therein to selectively open and close a communicating portion communicating with the fourth connecting portion and open at the valve chamber and that communicating with the by-pass pipe.

A preferred characteristic of the present invention is that the first socket joint, second socket joint and by-pass pipe are disposed in an about H-like shape when viewed from the front and integral or integrally connected with each other, thereby being simply built in the heat exchanger and the cold or hot water feed and discharge pipes. Thus, the conventional complicated piping is not required, whereby the water flow control apparatus of the invention is small-sized as a whole and can be assembled at a mimimum space. Furthermore, the cold or hot water can be supplied straight to the heat exchanger, thereby minimizing a flow resistance and saving energy.

A second preferred characteristic of the present invention is that the first socket joint is used to build therein a constant water flow rate control mechanism.

Thus, there is no need of especially providing the constant water flow rate mechanism at other portion as in the conventional example, so that the apparatus is very compact and mountable with ease even in a restricted place and moreover the constant water flow rate control mechanism need not be interposed particularly at the inlet side pipe, thereby having the advantage-of largely saving labor to mount the mechanism and omitting mounting parts there for.

Further, according to the present invention there is provided a device for use in connecting water supply and discharge pipes to a heat exchanger, comprising; a supply conduit having an inlet connection means at one end and an outlet connection means at the opposite end, a discharge conduit having an inlet connection means at one end and an outlet connection means at the opposite end, the supply and discharge conduits being disposed mutually parallel and mutually laterally spaced and each constructed for generally straight water flow therethrough, a by-pass conduit extending between and interconnecting the supply and discharge conduits, and a valve element in the discharge conduit and shiftable to a first position in which the valve element closes the by-pass conduit from the discharge conduit and to a second position in which the valve element closes the discharge conduit from water flow through its inlet end and to an intermediate position permitting water to flow simultaneously through the by-pass conduit and the discharge conduit inlet.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of a water flow control apparatus for a heat exchanger of the invention applied for an air conditioner, Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the Fig. 1 embodiment, Fig. 3 is a modified embodiment of a water flow control apparatus of the invention, and Fig. 4 is a front view exemplary of the conventional water flow control apparatus, corresponding to Fig. 1.

In Fig. 4, a well-known water flow control apparatus employs a commercially available electric three-way valve V which is provided with one fixed port P1 and two selectable ports P2 and P3 and houses in the valve V a selector valve electrically operable, the fised port P1 connecting with a cold or hot water feed pipe A, one of the two selectable ports P2 and P3 connecting with an inlet-side pipe C at a heat exchanger B and the other connecting with a by-pass pipe D. Also, a cold or hot water discharge pipe F connects with a centre port at a T-joint E, an outlet-side pipe G and the by-pass pipe D connect with both sides of the T-joint E, and a constant water flow rate control valve H is interposed on the way of the inlet side pipe C.

In a case that such three-way-valve V, when in use, requires a connecting member, such as the T-joint E, and also the by-pass pipe D must be provided, thereby creating the problem that the piping work becomes complicated and needs a larger space. Also, the cold or hot water supplied from the cold or hot water feed pipe A changes its flow direction substantially perpendicularly at the three-way--alve V and then enters into the heat exchanger B, thereby creating the problem in that a needless flow resistance increases to cause an energy loss. Furthermore, the constant water flow rate control valve H is interposed in the inlet side pipe C to make the apparatus bulky as a whole, thereby creating the problem in that a large piping space is required.

Referring to Fig. 1, an air conditioner is shown which comprises a heat exchanger 1 provided with heat exchanger tubes la and a number of fins Ib, a cold or hot water feed pipe 2 connecting with an inlet of the heat exchanger 1, and a cold or hot water discharge pipe 3 connecting with an outlet of the same, thereby performing air conditioning by using cold or hot water as a heat medium. A water flow control apparatus of the invention is built in between the heat exchanger 1 and the cold or hot water feed pipe 2 and discharge pipe 3 at the air conditioner.

The water flow control apparatus of the invention, as shown by its typical embodiment in Fig. 2, comprises a first socket joint 13 provided with a first connecting portion 11 connecting with the cold or hot water feed pipe 2 and a second connecting portion 12 connecting with an inlet-side pipe lc extending from the heat exchanger tuve la at the heat exchanger 1 and introducing therein the cold or hot water, a second socket joint 17 provided with a third connecting portion 14 connecting with the cold or hot water discharge pipe 3, a fourth connecting portion 15 connecting with an outlet side tube 1 extending from the heat exchanger tube la and discharging therefrom the cold or hot water and a valve chamber 16 formed at an intermediate portion between the third connecting portion 14 and the fourth connecting portion 15, and a by-pass pipe 18 fixed to an intermediate portion of the first socket joint 13 and that of the second socket joint 17 to thereby connect the socket joints 13 and 17 integrally with each other, the valve chamber 16 housing therein an open-close valve 19 electrically operable.

In a first embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the first and second socket joints 13 and 17 and by-pass pipe 18 are integrally cast to be of substantially H-likeconfiguration as a whole when viewed from the front and a constant water flow rate control mechanism 30 is housed within the first socket joint 13. The by-pass pipe 18 allows the interior of the first socket joint 13 to communicate with the valve chamber 16 at the second socket joint 17 so that cold or hot water supplied from the cold or hot water feed pipe 2 is by-passed for the heat exchanger 1 by operating the open-close valve 19 and flows from the valve chamber 16 to the cold or hot water discharge pipe 3.A communicating portion at the by-pass pipe 18 communicating with the valve chamber 16 is provided with a valve seat 21 for the openclose valve 19 and a communicating portion at the valve chamber 16 communicating with the fourth connecting portion 15 is provided with a valve seat 22 for the same.

The open-close valve 19 serves to selectively open or close the communicating portion at the fourth connecting portion 15 and that of the by-pass pipe 18 open at the valve chamber 16, and is provided with a valve shaft 24. The valve shaft 24 is rotated by an electric motor 23 schematically shown in Fig. 1 so as to shift the open-close valve 19 between a first position where the valve 19 is seated on the valve seat 21 to close the by-pass pipe 18 and a second position where the same is seated on the valve seat 22 to close the fourth connecting portion 15 connecting with the outlet side pipe ld.

When the open-close valve 19 is seated on the first position as shown in Fig. 2, the cold or hot water supplied from the cold or hot water feed pipe 2 is introduced at its whole amount into the heat exchanger 1 through the inlet side pipe lc, thereby performing air conditioning at a full flow operation. When the openclose valve 19 is shifted from the first position to the second position, the by-pass pipe 18 is open with respect to the valve chamber 16 at a degree of opening corrsponding to the displacement of the openclose valve 19, whereby part of cold or hot water flowing in the first socket joint 13 is by-passed from the valve chamber 16 to the cold or hot water discharge pipe 3.

Hence, an amount of cold or hot water flowing in the heat exchanger 1 is adjusted to perform the volume control operation. Furthermore, when the open-close valve 19 is seated in the second position, the whole amount of cold or hot water flowing through the first socket joint 13 is by-passed from the by-pass pipe 18 to the cold or hot water discharge pipe 3 to thereby stop the air conditioning operation of the heat exchanger 1.

When the open-close valve 19 is seated in the first position to perform the full flow operation and the volume control operation, the cold or hot water is supplied straight from the cold or hot water feed pipe 2 to the heat exchanger 1 through the first socket joint 13, whereby its flow resistance is reduced more than the conventional example to thereby save energy.

Referring to Fig. 2, the constant flow rate control mechanism 30 housed in the first socket joint 13 supplies the cold or hot water at a constant flow rate to the heat exchanger 1 to thereby control the air conditioning operation with accuracy, and is so constructed that a valve body or needle valve 31 having at a conic utmost end 31a is mounted stationarily at the axis of the second connecting portion 12 at the first socket joint 13, and a control member 32 opposite to the conic utmost end 31a and provided with a central flow-through bore 32a having a slppe of a cone angle similar to that of the conic utmost end 31a is disposed movably back and forth with respect to the needle valve 31. A stop 33 is provided as shown to regulate a movable range of the control member 32 and a spring 34 biases the control member 32 toward the stop 33.

When pressure of the cold or hot water supplied through the first joint 13 is lower than that set by the spring 34, the flow-through bore '32a is open to a maximum. On the contrary, when the supply pressure exceeds the set pressure, the control member 32 moves toward the needle valve 31 against the spring 34 so that the flow-through bore 32a is restricted by the needle valve 31. Thus, the control member 32 operates corresponding to a change in the supply pressure to automatically adjust the flow rate, thereby keeping constant an amount of cold or hot water supplied to the heat exchanger 1 regardless of change in the supply pressure of cold or hot water.

In addition, the above description premises that the open-close valve 19 is seated inthe first position.

Hence, when the open-close valve 19 is shifted toward the second position, the flow rate of cold or hot water into the heat exchanger 1 of course is controlled.

In addition, in Figs. 1 and 2, reference numerals 41 and 42 designate joint tubes which fixedly connect with the inlet-side pipe lc and outlet-side pipe ld at the heat exchanger 1 through stepped nuts 43 and 44 respectively, and le and lf designate connectors previously fixed by welding or the like to the inlet side pipe lc and outlet side pipe ld respectively.

The connectors 'le and lf screw with the joint tubes 41 and 42, and thereafter the nuts 43 and 44 are tightened to thereby connect the inlet side pipe lc and outlet side pipe ld to the second and fourth connecting portions 12 and 15 respectively.

Alternatively, the first and second socket joints 13 and 17 and by-pass pipe 18 may be formed separate and then connected integrally with each other.

In this case, as shown in Fig. 3, a first socket joint 130 and a by-pass pipe 180 are integral and a second socket joint 170 is separate therefrom. The second socket joint 170 comprises a box-like first socket body 171 having a valve chamber 160 and housing therein an open-close valve 190, a first pipe 172 having a third connecting portion 140 coupled with the socket body 171 at one side thereof, and a second pipe 173 having a fourth connecting portion 150 coupled with the socket 171 at the other side thereof a fourth connecting portion 150 coupled with the socket body 171 at the other side thereof, the socket body 171 being provided with a coupling bore 174 through which the socket body 171 integrally connects with the by-pass pipe 180.

In Fig. 3, the first socket joint 130 omits the constant water flow rate control mechanism, but may desirably contain it as in the first embodiment.

Besides this, although not shown, the first and second socket joints and by-pass pipe may be separate from each other and be integrally connected with each other. In this case, even when an interval between the inlet side pipe'le and the outlet side pipe ld at the heat exchanger 1 varies, it is easy to vary a length of the by-pass pipe as a countermeasure for the varied interval.

Although several embodiments have been described, they are merely exemplary of the invention and not to be constructed as limiting, the invention being defined solely by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A water flow control apparatus for a heat exchanger at an air conditioner provided with a cold or hot water feed pipe and a cold or hot water discharge pipe so that air conditioning is performed using cold or hot water as a heat medium, said water flow control apparatus being provided with, a first socket joint provided with a first connecting portion connecting with said cold or hot water feed pipe and a second connecting portion connecting with an inlet for the cold or hot water at said heat exchanger, a second socket joint provided with a third connecting portion connecting with said cold or hot water discharge pipe, a fourth connecting portion connecting with an outlet for the cold or hot water at said heat exchanger, and a valve chamber formed at an intermediate portion between said third connecting portion and said fourth connecting portion, a by-pass pipe fixed to an intermediate portion of said first socket joint and to that of said second socket joint to integrally connect both said socket joints with each other and allows said first socket joint to communicate at the interior thereof with said valve chamber at said second socket joint so that cold or hot water supplied from said cold or hot water feed pipe is by-passed for said heat exchanger to enter into said valve chamber, and an open-close valve housed in said valve chamber at said second socket joint to selectively open and close a communicating portion communicating with said fourth connection portion open at said valve chamber and a communicating portion communicating with said bypass pipe.

2. A water flow control apparatus for a heat exchanger at an air conditioner.according to claim 1, wherein said first socket joint, second socket joint and by-pass pipe are integral and substantially H-like-shaped as a whole when viewed from the front.

3. A water flow control apparatus for a heat exchanger at an air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2,wherein said second socket joint comprises a box-like-shaped socket body having a valve chamber, a first pipe having a third connecting portion coupling with one side of said socket body, and a second pipe having a fourth connecting portion coupling with the other side of said socket body, said socket body providing a coupling bore through which said socket body couples with said by-pass pipe.

4. A water flow control apparatus for a heat exchanger at an air conditioner according to any preceding claim, wherein said first socket joint is provided therein with a constant water flow rate control mechanism.

5. A water flow control mechanism for a heat exchanger at an air conditioner according to claim 4, wherein said constant water flow control mechanism is provided with a valve body having a conic portion and kept stationary at the axis of said first socket joint, a control member having a tapered flow-through bore opposite to said conic portion at said valve body and disposed movably back and forth with respect to said valve body, a stopper for regulating said control member of moving away from said valve body, and a spring for biasing said control member toward said stopper.

6. A device for use in connecting water supply and discharge pipes to a heat exchanger, comprising: a supply conduit having an inlet connection means at one end and an outlet connection. means at the opposite end, a discharge conduit having an inlet connection means at one end and an outlet connection means at the opposite end, the supply and discharge conduits being disposed mutually parallel and mutually laterally spaced and each constructed for generally straight water flow therethrough, a by-pass conduit extending between and interconnecting the supply and discharge conduits, and a valve element in the discharge conduit and shiftable to a first position in which the valve element closes the by-pass conduit from the discharge conduit and to a second position in which the valve element closes the discharge conduit from water flow through its inlet end and to an intermediate position permitting water to flow simultaneously through the by-pass conduit and the discharge conduit inlet.

7. A water flow control apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described and as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 or Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings.