JP2001012811A - Cooler - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a cooler in which heat exchanging function is enhanced without requiring any extra installation space and power consumption can be reduced by reducing the load being applied to a compressor. SOLUTION: This cooler 1 comprises a compressor 2 for compressing refrigerant, a condenser 3 for condensing compressed refrigerant, and expansion valve 5 for expanding condensed refrigerant adiabatically, and an evaporator 6 for evaporating expanded refrigerant. The evaporator 6 comprises a heat exchanging passage for passing refrigerant flowing out of the condenser 3 and entering the expansion valve 5 and for exchanging heat with the refrigerant passing through the refrigerant passage of the evaporator 6, i.e., a second tank 62.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling device used in a heat exchange cycle of a vehicle or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a cooling device used for a vehicle includes a compressor, a condenser, a liquid receiver, an expansion valve, and an evaporator, and these devices are connected by a pipe or the like to form one heat exchange. Make up the cycle.

That is, as shown in FIG. 9, a conventional cooling device 30 includes a compressor 31 for compressing a refrigerant to a high temperature and a high pressure, a condenser 32 for condensing the compressed refrigerant, and a gas-liquid separation for the condensed refrigerant. And a liquid receiver 33 for temporarily storing the liquid refrigerant therein.
And an expansion valve 34 for performing adiabatic expansion of the refrigerant, and an evaporator 35 for exchanging heat between the adiabatic expanded refrigerant and the outside air to diffuse cool air into the outside air. The refrigerant flowing through the evaporator 35 flows into the compressor 31 again, and circulates through the heat exchange cycle of the cooling device 30.

For example, in the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-62021, heat exchange between a medium flowing through a liquid receiver and a refrigerant flowing through an evaporator is performed in the above-described cooling device. It is equipped with a sub heat exchanger. In other words, this sub heat exchanger is provided with a passage through which the refrigerant flowing out of the evaporator flows in the receiver, and the relatively high-temperature refrigerant flowing or temporarily stored in the receiver and the evaporator. Heat exchange of the flowing relatively low-temperature refrigerant is performed.

In the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-185831, a heat exchanger is provided between an expansion valve and an evaporator, and one or more throttles are provided between the heat exchangers. The pressure of the flowing refrigerant is regulated, and the refrigerant flows substantially evenly through the branched refrigerant flow path inside the evaporator, thereby improving the heat exchange function of the evaporator.

[0006]

However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
In the case of the invention described in JP-A-62021, it is necessary to separately provide the sub heat exchanger as described above, which complicates the configuration of the cooling device and increases the size of the cooling device itself. A problem arises when installing in a space.

In the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-185831, the heat exchange between the refrigerant discharged from the pressure reducing valve and the refrigerant discharged from the evaporator is performed. Since the compressor is small and a load is applied to the compressor, power consumption cannot be reduced.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems,
Without requiring extra installation space, while improving the heat exchange function of the cooling device by supercooling the refrigerant,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cooling device capable of reducing a load applied to a compressor and reducing power consumption.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a compressor for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser for condensing the compressed refrigerant, and an expansion valve for adiabatically expanding the condensed refrigerant. And a cooling device including an evaporator that evaporates the expanded refrigerant, wherein the evaporator flows through the refrigerant before flowing out of the condenser and flowing into the expansion valve, and flows through the evaporator. This is a cooling device provided with a heat exchange passage for performing heat exchange with a refrigerant.

A heat exchange passage provided in the evaporator allows a relatively high-temperature refrigerant flowing out of the condenser and flowing into the expansion valve to flow through the passage. The refrigerant flowing through the passage exchanges heat with the refrigerant in the evaporator that flows through the expansion valve.

Accordingly, the refrigerant is supercooled, becomes a relatively low-temperature liquid refrigerant, flows through the expansion valve, and flows into the evaporator. At this time, since the refrigerant is in a supercooled state, the heat exchange function of the evaporator can be improved.
In addition, the refrigerant flows through the expansion valve in a liquid state, so that the refrigerant adiabatically expands through the expansion valve, enters a gas-liquid mixed state in the evaporator, and is equally distributed to each tube, so that heat exchange is performed. The function can be improved.

On the other hand, the refrigerant flowing through the evaporator exchanges heat with the relatively high-temperature refrigerant flowing through the heat exchange passage provided in the evaporator, so that the temperature of the refrigerant flowing out of the evaporator increases. In addition, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the compressor that performs adiabatic compression of the refrigerant.

In general, an evaporator includes a tank into which a refrigerant flows and a tank through which a refrigerant flows, and tubes are connected to these tanks so that the tubes can communicate with each other. And heat exchange between the outside air.

For example, when the heat exchange passage is adjacent to the outflow tank of the evaporator, heat exchange between the refrigerant flowing through the heat exchange passage and the refrigerant flowing through the outflow tank of the evaporator is performed. Thus, it is possible to improve the heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator and reduce the power consumption of the compressor.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the evaporator includes a plurality of tubes through which a refrigerant flows, a fin mounted between the tubes, And a heat exchange passage provided in the evaporator is a cooling device disposed inside the tank of the evaporator.

As described above, when the passage through which the refrigerant flowing out of the condenser and flowing into the expansion valve flows into the tank of the evaporator is provided, heat exchange with the refrigerant flowing out of the evaporator is performed. It is possible to improve the heat exchange function of the cooling device and reduce the power consumption of the compressor without increasing the installation space.

[0017]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a cooling device according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cooling device 1 of the present embodiment comprises:
A compressor 2 for compressing the refrigerant, a condenser 3 for exchanging heat between the compressed refrigerant and the outside air to condense the refrigerant, and a liquid receiver for temporarily separating the condensed gas into a liquid medium and temporarily storing a liquid medium therein. The apparatus includes a vessel 4, an expansion valve 5 for adiabatically expanding the liquid medium condensed in the condenser 3, and an evaporator 6 for evaporating the expanded refrigerant. The respective devices are connected by a passage 7 for communicating a refrigerant.

Therefore, the refrigerant adiabatically compressed by the compressor 2 flows into the condenser 3, is condensed, flows into the receiver 4, is separated into gas and liquid by the receiver 4, and is then expanded by the expansion valve. 5 and adiabatically expanded by the expansion valve 5 to flow into the evaporator 6;
The evaporator 6 emits cold air by heat exchange with the outside air.
The refrigerant that has exchanged heat with the outside air flows into the compressor 2 again and is configured to circulate through the cooling cycle.

The cooling device 1 of the present embodiment, after flowing out of the liquid receiver 4,
Heat exchange passage 7a through which the refrigerant before flowing into expansion valve 5 flows
Is installed inside the evaporator 6.

That is, the relatively high-temperature liquid refrigerant condensed in the condenser 3 and gas-liquid separated in the liquid receiver 4 is temporarily cooled in the evaporator 6 before passing through the expansion valve 5.
a, and the refrigerant flowing through the heat exchange passage 7a exchanges heat with the refrigerant in a gas-liquid mixed state flowing through the flow passage 7b in the evaporator 6.

Hereinafter, specific examples will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the evaporator 6, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the evaporator 6 similarly.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the evaporator 6 includes a first tank 61 for flowing the refrigerant and a second tank 62 for discharging the refrigerant, and communicates with the first and second tanks. A plurality of tubes 63 are provided. In addition, fins 64 are provided between the tubes 63, and the fins 64 increase the heat transfer area and efficiently exchange heat with the outside air. Further, the evaporator 6 of the present example includes a heat exchange passage 7a adjacent to the second tank 62 and in parallel with the second tank 62.

The evaporator 6 is provided with two cylindrical projections 61a and 62a at the end of the plate constituting the tube 63, and the illustration is omitted at the ends of the cylindrical projections 61a and 62b. A flat part is formed, and this flat part is joined to the convex flat part of the plate constituting the adjacent tube,
A first tank 61 and a second tank 62 that connect the plurality of tubes are formed. Further, the plate constituting the tube 63 has a concave portion serving as a flow channel for the refrigerant, has a convex portion at the center of the concave portion, and divides the flow channel into two flow channels whose ends are connected in a U-shape. ing. This tube 63
Are joined together to form a tube 63 having a reciprocating flow path.

Accordingly, in the evaporator 6 of the present embodiment, when the refrigerant flows from the first tank 61, the refrigerant is divided into a plurality of tubes 63, flows through the refrigerant passages of the tubes 63, and exchanges heat with the outside air. And the evaporated refrigerant flows out of the second tank 62. Further, in this example, the heat exchange passage 7a is formed with a hole through which the heat exchange passage 7a is inserted at an appropriate portion of the plate constituting the tube 63, and the heat exchange passage 7a is inserted through this hole to form the heat exchange passage 7a. A heat exchange passage 7a is provided in a position adjacent to the second tank 62 in parallel.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the flow of the refrigerant flowing through the inside of the evaporator 6 of this embodiment. The arrows in the figure indicate the direction in which the refrigerant flowing through the heat exchange passage 7a and the inside of the evaporator 6 flows.

As shown in FIG. 4, a heat exchange passage 7a is provided inside the evaporator 6 of the present embodiment, and a first tank 61 for flowing a refrigerant.
And a second tank 62 for discharging the refrigerant.

The heat exchange passage 7 a is arranged in parallel at a position adjacent to the second tank 62 from which the refrigerant flows out, and then protrudes from the evaporator 6 and is bent in a rectangular shape so as to be in parallel with the tube 63. Then, it is arranged in parallel with the tube 63 from the outside of the evaporator 6 (7b), and further bent in a rectangular shape so that the lower portion of the evaporator 6 is arranged so as to be in parallel with the first or second tank 61, 62 ( 7c), again projecting from the evaporator 6, and obliquely arranged along the tube 63 so as to communicate with the first tank 61 (7d), and communicating with the first tank 61.

The heat exchange passage 7d and the first tank 61
Between them, an expansion valve 5 is provided, at which the adiabatic expanded refrigerant flows into the first tank 61 of the evaporator 6.

The refrigerant that has flowed into the first tank 61 is diverted from the first tank 61 to each tube, flows between the tubes, exchanges heat with the outside air, and flows into the second tank 62. . Then, it flows through the second tank 62, flows out of the evaporator 6, flows into the compressor 2, and circulates between the cooling cycles.

In the evaporator 6 of this embodiment, since the heat exchange passage 7a is provided in parallel at a position adjacent to the second tank 62,
The refrigerant flowing through the heat exchange passage 7 a before passing through the expansion valve 5 exchanges heat with the refrigerant flowing between the second tanks 62 of the evaporator 6.

Therefore, the relatively high-temperature refrigerant after flowing through the condenser 3 and the liquid receiver 4 flows through the heat exchange passage 7a before passing through the expansion valve 5, and during or after the evaporation. The refrigerant exchanges heat with the low-temperature refrigerant, passes through the expansion valve 5 in a state of being supercooled and becomes a low-temperature liquid refrigerant, and the adiabatic expanded refrigerant in a gas-liquid mixed state flows into the evaporator 6. The heat exchange function can be improved.

On the other hand, the refrigerant flowing through the second tank 62 flowing out of the refrigerant from the evaporator 6 undergoes heat exchange with the refrigerant flowing through the heat exchange passage 7a, and the temperature of the refrigerant rises. In addition, since the refrigerant flows into the compressor 2, the load on the compressor 2 which is adiabatically compressed into a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant is reduced, and the power consumption of the compressor 2 can be reduced.

Next, a second specific example of the evaporator used in the cooling device of the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the evaporator 10 provided with a heat exchange passage.

The evaporator 10 of this embodiment includes an inflow passage 7e and an outflow passage 7f having an outflow inlet at the center of the evaporator 10. The solid arrow in FIG. 5 indicates the heat exchange passage 7e.
Or 7f and the direction in which the refrigerant flowing through the evaporator 10 flows. The dotted arrow in FIG.
It shows the flow direction of the refrigerant flowing inside 0.

FIG. 6 shows the heat exchange passage 7e or 7
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of f and the evaporator 10, and arrows indicate flowing directions of the refrigerant.

As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the refrigerant flowing out of the condenser and the liquid receiver flows through the heat exchange passage 7e, passes through the throttle portion 11 provided in the inflow passage, and undergoes adiabatic expansion to form a gas-liquid mixture. It becomes a mixed refrigerant and flows into the evaporator 10. Then, from the first tank 12 of the evaporator 10, the heat is exchanged with the outside air by being diverted to each tube, flows through the reciprocating flow path of the tubes, flows into the heat exchange passage 7 f from the second tank 13, The air is sent from the exchange passage 7f to the compressor. Further, the evaporator 10 of the present example includes a temperature sensing part 14 for sensing the temperature of the refrigerant flowing out of the evaporator 10 and flowing into the heat exchange passage 7f.
The temperature sensing section 14 adjusts the opening of the throttle section 11 by sensing the temperature of the refrigerant flowing out of the evaporator 10. When the refrigerant temperature is high, the opening of the throttle unit 11 is increased and the evaporator 1
Increase the amount of refrigerant flowing into 0, enhance the heat exchange function,
When the temperature of the detected refrigerant is low, the opening of the throttle unit 11 is reduced to reduce the amount of the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator 10 to prevent the freezing of the evaporator 10 when the detected temperature of the refrigerant is low. are doing.

In the evaporator 10 of this embodiment, the refrigerant flowing out of the condenser 3 and the liquid receiver 4 flows through the heat exchange passage 7e before passing through the expansion valve 5, and evaporates through the heat exchange passage 7f. In order to exchange heat with the refrigerant flowing out of the evaporator 10, the evaporator 1 adiabatically expands through the expansion valve 5 in a supercooled state.
Since the gas flows into the evaporator 10, the heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator 10 can be improved.

On the other hand, the refrigerant flowing through the heat exchange passage 7f is:
In order to exchange heat with the high-temperature refrigerant flowing out of the condenser 3 and the liquid receiver 4 flowing through the heat exchange passage 7e, the refrigerant temperature rises, and the load on the compressor that performs adiabatic compression is reduced. Reduce the power consumption of

Next, a third specific example of an evaporator having a heat exchange passage will be described.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a part of a schematic configuration of the evaporator 20 used in the cooling device 1 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 7, the arrows indicate the flow direction of the refrigerant.

The evaporator 20 of this embodiment comprises a first tank 21, a second tank 22, and a third tank 2 above and below the evaporator 20.
A third and fourth tank 24 is provided. The first, second, third, and fourth tanks 21, 22, 23, and 24 are formed by joining convex portions formed integrally with a plate constituting the tube 25 in the same manner as in the evaporator 6, so that refrigerant is supplied to each tube 25. It is configured to flow. The tube 25 has a convex portion 25c at the center in the longitudinal direction.
5a and a flow path 25b are formed. In addition, tube 2
5 and fins 26 are mounted. Second tank 22
The third tank 23 has a communication passage 27 communicating with the third tank 23. First tank 21 and second tank 22
Has heat exchange passages 7g and 7h that are supported inside the tank using a support member 29.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 8, the first tank 21 and the heat exchange passage 7g and the second tank 22 and the heat exchange passage 7h constitute a double pipe. Also, the first tank 2
The heat exchange passage 7g, which forms a double tube inside 1, has an evaporator 2
0, a passage 7i arranged in parallel with the tube 25
The second tank 22 is connected to the second heat exchange passage 7h forming a double pipe. The second heat exchange passage 7h is provided outside the evaporator 20 with a passage 7j arranged in parallel with the tube 25.
And is connected to the first tank 21 (that is, corresponds to the outer pipe of the double pipe).

As shown by the arrows in FIG. 7, the refrigerant flowing out of the condenser and the liquid receiver is supplied to the first tank 21 of the evaporator 20.
The heat exchange passage 7g installed inside the evaporator 20 once flows through the inside of the heat exchange passage 7g, and once passes through the passage 7i installed outside the evaporator 20.
h, and further, a passage 7 provided outside the evaporator 20.
After flowing through j, it flows through the first tank 21. That is, the heat exchange passage 7g flows through the first tank 21 which is the outer tube constituting the double tube with the inner tube. The refrigerant that has flowed into the first tank 21 is diverted from the first tank 21 to each tube 25,
a flows downward, flows into the second tank 22, flows again from the communicating third tank 23 through the other flow path 25b of the tube 25, and flows from the fourth tank 24. leak.

The relatively high-temperature refrigerant flowing out of the condenser and the receiver receives the expansion valve 28 when flowing through the heat exchange passage 7g.
And heat exchange with the low-temperature refrigerant flowing through the first tank 21 adiabatically expanded. Similarly, the refrigerant flowing through the heat exchange passage 7h also exchanges heat with the refrigerant flowing through the second tank 22.

As described above, when heat is exchanged between the heat exchange passage 7g and the first tank 21 and the heat exchange passage 7h and the second tank 22 which constitute the double pipe, the evaporator 20 Since the refrigerant before flowing in is cooled by the low-temperature refrigerant flowing between the first tank 21 and the second tank 22, and flows into the evaporator 20 from the expansion valve 28 in a state of a supercooled liquid medium, The heat exchange function of the evaporator 20 is improved.

On the other hand, the tank and tube 2 of the evaporator 20
When the refrigerant evaporated in 5 flows through the first tank 21 and the second tank 22, the refrigerant evaporates with the refrigerant flowing in the heat exchange passages 7g and 7h installed in each tank. After replacement, the temperature of the refrigerant flowing out of the evaporator 20 increases, and the refrigerant flows into the compressor. Therefore, the load on the compressor that performs adiabatic compression of the relatively high-temperature refrigerant is reduced. Thus, the power consumption of the compressor can be reduced.

Further, the evaporator 20 of the present embodiment has a heat exchange passage 7g,
Since the 7 h is provided, the cooling device has a function of performing the supercooling and a function of reducing the load on the compressor without increasing the installation space of the cooling device.

[0052]

As described above, the present invention relates to a compressor for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser for condensing the compressed refrigerant, an expansion valve for performing adiabatic expansion of the condensed refrigerant, and an expansion valve for compressing the refrigerant. In a cooling device provided with an evaporator for evaporating a refrigerant, the evaporator exchanges heat with a refrigerant flowing out of the condenser, flowing through a medium before flowing into an expansion valve, and flowing in the evaporator. This is a cooling device provided with a heat exchange passage for performing the following.

Further, the heat exchange passage may be arranged inside the tank of the evaporator.

When a heat exchange passage is provided in the evaporator of the cooling device, the refrigerant before flowing into the expansion valve flows out of the condenser and / or the liquid receiver through the heat exchange passage. Heat exchange between the evaporated refrigerant flowing through the inside and the high-temperature liquid refrigerant flowing through the heat exchange passage is performed, and the refrigerant before flowing into the expansion valve is supercooled.

Therefore, the heat exchange passage provided in the evaporator allows the relatively high-temperature refrigerant flowing out of the condenser and flowing into the expansion valve to flow into the passage, and the refrigerant flowing through the passage to flow therethrough. Heat exchange with the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator through the expansion valve,
It becomes a state of supercooling. Since the supercooled refrigerant, which is the liquid refrigerant, can be adiabatically expanded by the expansion valve and flow into the evaporator, the heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator is improved.

On the other hand, in the evaporator, the low-temperature evaporated refrigerant flowing through the evaporator exchanges heat with the relatively high-temperature refrigerant flowing through the heat exchange passage, so that the refrigerant flows out of the evaporator. The temperature of the refrigerant increases, and the load on the compressor is reduced, so that the power consumption for compression is reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, since the heat exchange structure exhibiting the above functions is provided in the evaporator, the heat exchange function of the cooling device can be improved without increasing the installation space of the cooling device. The power consumption of the compressor can be reduced.

[0058]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a cooling device according to a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing an evaporator according to a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an evaporator according to a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a flow of a refrigerant in the evaporator of FIGS. 1 and 2 according to a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a flow of a refrigerant in an evaporator according to a second specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a flow of a refrigerant in an evaporator according to a second specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a flow of a refrigerant in an evaporator according to a third specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing a cross section taken along line AA of FIG. 7, according to a third specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a cooling device according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 cooling device 2 compressor 3 condenser 4 liquid receiver 5 expansion valve 6 evaporator 7 passage 7 a heat exchange passage 7 b passage 7 c passage 7 d passage 7 e heat exchange passage 7 f heat exchange passage 7 g heat exchange passage 7 h heat exchange passage 7 i passage 7 j Passageway 10 Evaporator 11 Throttle section 12 First tank 13 Second tank 14 Temperature sensing section 20 Evaporator 21 First tank 22 Second tank 23 Third tank 24 Fourth tank 25 Tube 25a Flow path 25b Channel 25c Convex part 26 Fin 27 Communication path 28 Expansion valve 29 Support member 30 Cooling device 31 Compressor 32 Condenser 33 Receiver 34 Expansion valve 35 Evaporator 61 First tank 61a Convex part 62 Second tank 62a Convex Part 63 tube 64 fin

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on front page (72) Inventor Kazuhiro Irie 39, Higashihara, Chiyo-ji, Odai-gun, Osato-gun, Saitama Pref. 39 in Zexel Konan Plant (72) Inventor Soichi Kato 39, Higashihara, Chiyo-ji, Konan-cho, Osato-gun, Saitama Prefecture In-house Co., Ltd. 39 characters Higashihara Inside Zexel Gangnam Plant

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A compressor for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser for condensing the compressed refrigerant, an expansion valve for performing adiabatic expansion of the condensed refrigerant, and an evaporator for evaporating the expanded refrigerant. In the cooling device, the evaporator is provided with a heat exchange passage through which the refrigerant flows out of the condenser and before flowing into the expansion valve, and exchanges heat with the refrigerant flowing through the evaporator. And a cooling device. 2. The evaporator includes a plurality of tubes through which a refrigerant flows, fins mounted between the tubes, and a tank communicating with the tubes. A heat exchange passage provided in the evaporator includes: The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the cooling device is disposed inside a tank of the evaporator.