JP2001124458A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a refrigerator using combustible refrigerant in which damage of low pressure refrigerant piping and leakage of refrigerant can be detected easily. SOLUTION: Refrigerating machine oil of a compressor 1 is mixed with an oxygen detecting agent changing hue upon reaction to oxygen and a pipe 20 for visualizing flow of internal fluid is provided as a part of piping of refrigeration cycle. When low pressure refrigerant piping is damaged, outdoor air flows into the piping because the inner pressure of the piping is lower than the atmospheric pressure. Since the oxygen detecting agent mixed into the refrigerating machine oil reacts on the oxygen in the outdoor air to change the hue, an abnormality can be detected easily in the early stage.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the detection of breakage of a low-pressure refrigerant pipe and leakage of a refrigerant in a refrigerator using a flammable refrigerant.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional refrigerator is disclosed in JP-A-10-1038.
No. 38 has a configuration as known. Hereinafter, the configuration of the conventional refrigerator will be described with reference to FIG.

A conventional refrigerator compresses a flammable refrigerant,
A compressor 1 that converts a gas refrigerant in a gaseous state into a liquid refrigerant by cooling and liquefying the gas refrigerant in a gas state;
A dryer 3 for removing impurities of the liquid refrigerant, a decompression device 4 for decompressing the liquid refrigerant, an evaporator 5 (evaporator) for evaporating the refrigerant to a low-temperature / low-pressure gas refrigerant, and a medium-temperature / low-pressure And a suction pipe 7 serving as a gas refrigerant, which are connected in order by welding pipes or the like to form a refrigeration cycle.

[0006] In the vicinity of the evaporator 5, a sensor 8 is provided near the evaporator 5 to detect the leakage of the refrigerant from the evaporator 5 or the welding part 6 around the evaporator 5. It is arranged near to. Further, the control device 9 detects the leakage of the refrigerant by the sensor 8, and outputs the buzzer 10
To notify the user.

[0005]

However, in the above-described conventional configuration, the temperature of the sensor 8 is not changed during normal cooling and during defrosting.
Since the sensor 8 is disposed near the welded portion 6 around the evaporator 5 where the humidity greatly changes, there is a problem that the accuracy and the life of the sensor 8 are greatly affected.

[0006] Further, there is a problem that it is difficult to detect the hydrocarbon-based gas generated from food such as vegetables and the refrigerant separately because the air in the refrigerator circulates.

[0007] Further, a space for disposing the sensor 8 in the refrigerator is required, and there is a problem in that the cooling chamber in which the evaporator 5 is built is complicated and the ineffective volume in the refrigerator is increased.

[0008] The present invention solves the conventional problems, without complicating the cooling room and increasing the ineffective volume in the refrigerator,
Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of reliably detecting breakage of a low-pressure refrigerant pipe and leakage of a refrigerant without problems of accuracy and life.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator comprising: an outer box; an inner box provided in the outer box; a foam insulation material filled between the inner and outer boxes; a compressor; , A dryer, a throttle device, and an evaporator are sequentially connected by piping, and a refrigeration cycle in which a flammable refrigerant and a refrigerating machine oil are sealed,
An oxygen detector, which changes its hue when it reacts with oxygen, is mixed into the refrigerating machine oil of the compressor, and a part of the piping of the refrigerating cycle is constituted by a visualization tube from which the flow of the fluid inside can be visually recognized.

Thus, it is possible to detect an abnormality at an early stage when the low-pressure refrigerant pipe is damaged. Further, since the refrigerant leak detection sensor is not used, there is no need to maintain the sensor. Furthermore, there is no need to install a sensor in the cooling room, which simplifies the cooling room.
Small capacity is possible.

The refrigerator according to claim 2 is an outer box, an inner box housed in the outer box, a foam insulation material filled between the inner and outer boxes, a compressor, a condenser, a dryer, and a squeezing device. And a refrigeration cycle in which a flammable refrigerant and refrigerating machine oil are sealed, and a part of the refrigeration cycle piping is a visualization pipe through which the flow of fluid inside can be visually recognized. The visualization tube has an oxygen detecting agent that changes its hue when it reacts with oxygen.

Thus, even when the flow of the refrigerant in the cooling system piping is small, such as when the compressor is stopped or when the evaporator is defrosted, the hue on the inner surface of the visualization tube can be visually recognized.
It is possible to detect an abnormality in the low-pressure refrigerant pipe.

Further, in the refrigerator according to the third aspect, a high-pressure refrigerant pipe is heat-exchangeably disposed inside the peripheral edge of the front opening of the heat-insulating housing to form a dew-prevention heating body at the peripheral edge of the front opening. The visualization tube is connected to a part of the heating device for preventing sticking.

Thus, the visualization tube can be easily visually recognized in a normal installation state of the refrigerator.

In the refrigerator according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the inside of the visualization tube is configured so that a small amount of refrigerating machine oil is stored.

This makes it possible to easily visually recognize the hue of the oxygen detector in the visualization tube.

Further, in the refrigerator according to the present invention, the visualization pipe is disposed upstream of the high-pressure refrigerant pipe.

Thus, since the refrigerant in the visualization tube is in a high-temperature and high-pressure gas state, the refrigerant is hardly dissolved in the refrigerating machine oil, the hue of the colored refrigerating machine oil does not become thin, and the hue of the oxygen detector is easily visually recognized. can do.

Further, the refrigerator according to the present invention uses a reversible oxygen detecting agent which changes its hue when it reacts with oxygen and returns to its original color when degassed.

This facilitates management of the oxygen detector in the manufacturing process.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises an outer box, an inner box provided inside the outer box, a foamed heat insulating material filled between the inner and outer boxes, a compressor, A condenser, a dryer, a throttle device, and an evaporator are sequentially connected by piping, and a refrigeration cycle is provided in which a flammable refrigerant and refrigeration oil are sealed.
An oxygen detector that changes its hue when reacting with oxygen is mixed into the refrigerating machine oil of the compressor, and a part of the piping of the refrigerating cycle is constituted by a visualization tube in which the flow of a fluid inside can be visually recognized. When the low-pressure refrigerant pipe is damaged, the pressure inside the pipe is lower than the atmospheric pressure, so that outside air flows into the pipe, and the oxygen detector mixed into the refrigerating machine oil reacts with the oxygen contained in the outside air. This has the effect that the hue of the oxygen detector changes.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an outer box, an inner box housed in the outer box, a foam insulating material filled between the inner and outer boxes, a compressor, a condenser, and a dryer. , A throttle device, and an evaporator are sequentially connected by piping, and a refrigeration cycle is provided in which a flammable refrigerant and refrigeration oil are sealed. It consists of a visualization tube, characterized in that it has an oxygen detector on the tube inner surface of the visualization tube whose hue changes when it reacts with oxygen.If the low-pressure refrigerant pipe is damaged, the pressure in the pipe is Since it is lower than the atmospheric pressure, outside air flows into the piping, and the oxygen contained in the outside air circulating in the cooling system reacts with the oxygen detector on the surface of the visualization tube, which has the effect of changing the hue of the surface inside the visualization tube. .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a high-pressure refrigerant pipe is heat-exchangeably disposed inside the peripheral edge of the front opening of the heat-insulating housing to form a dew-prevention heating element at the peripheral edge of the front opening. ,
It is characterized in that a visualization pipe is connected to a part of the dew-prevention heating body, and in the case where breakage occurs in the low-pressure refrigerant pipe, a visualization pipe provided in a peripheral portion of the front opening of the heat-insulating housing. It has the effect that the hue of the refrigerating machine oil or the inner surface of the visualization tube changes.

The invention according to claim 4 of the present invention is characterized in that the shape of the inside of the visualization tube is configured so that a small amount of refrigerating machine oil accumulates. This has the effect that a small amount of refrigerating machine oil always stays in the visualization tube.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the visualization pipe is disposed upstream of the high-pressure refrigerant pipe. Since the refrigerant in the visualization pipe is in a high-temperature and high-pressure gas state, the refrigerant is refrigerated. This has the effect that the color of the refrigerating machine oil that is hardly dissolved in the machine oil and colored does not become thin.

The invention according to claim 6 of the present invention is characterized by using a reversible oxygen detecting agent which changes its hue when it reacts with oxygen and returns its hue when degassed. In the process, when the refrigerant is evacuated before filling the cooling system into the cooling system, oxygen is exhausted outside the cooling system and the hue of the oxygen detector returns to its original state. If the breakage occurs, the effect is that the hue of the refrigerating machine oil in the visualization tube or the inner surface of the visualization tube changes.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. However, the same components as those of the related art are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a refrigerator cooling system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the refrigeration cycle, a compressor 1, a condenser 2, a dryer 3, a throttle device 4, and an evaporator 5 are sequentially connected to form a refrigeration cycle, and a flammable refrigerant is sealed in the refrigerant.

The visualizing tube 20 is made of a colorless and transparent material such as glass, for example, so that the refrigerant and refrigerating machine oil flowing in the tube can be visually confirmed. In FIG. 1, a visualization tube 20 is connected between the compressor 1 and the condenser 2,
It is not limited to this case. Further, the refrigerating machine oil sealed in the compressor 1 contains an oxygen detector that changes its hue when it reacts with oxygen.

In the above configuration, if the low-pressure refrigerant pipe is damaged due to aging or the like during use at the user's house, the pressure in the pipe is lower than the atmospheric pressure, so that outside air flows into the pipe, and the refrigerating machine oil The oxygen contained in the oxygen detector reacts with the oxygen contained in the outside air to change the hue of the oxygen detector.

As described above, it is possible to detect an abnormality at an early stage when the low-pressure refrigerant pipe is damaged. Further, since the refrigerant leak detection sensor is not used, there is no need to maintain the sensor. Further, a space for installing the sensor in the cooling chamber is unnecessary, and the cooling chamber can be simplified and reduced in capacity.

It should be noted that the detecting agent mixed in the refrigerating machine oil is not limited to the oxygen detecting agent for detecting oxygen, but can be similarly detected as long as it is present in the air such as nitrogen or moisture. is there.

The oxygen detector is not mixed with the refrigerating machine oil, but is applied to the inner surface of the visualizing tube 20 to prevent the refrigerant in the cooling system piping from being stopped when the compressor is stopped or the evaporator is defrosted. Even when the flow is small, it is possible to detect an abnormality in the low-pressure refrigerant pipe by visually recognizing the hue on the inner surface of the visualization pipe 20.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a main part of a third embodiment of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

The outer box 21 covers the outside of the refrigerator and the periphery of the front opening, and houses the inner box 22 therein. The space between the outer box 21 and the inner box 22 is filled with a foamed heat insulating material to form a heat insulating casing.

A dry pipe 23, which is a part of a high-pressure refrigerant pipe, is disposed inside the peripheral edge of the front opening of the heat insulating casing for heat exchange, and is used as a dew-prevention heating element at the peripheral edge of the front opening. Have been. A visualization tube 20 is connected to a part of the dry pipe 23, and a transparent member 24 in which the inner visualization tube 20 is visible from the outside is provided at a portion of the outer box 21 that covers the visualization tube 20 at the peripheral edge of the front opening. ing.

According to the above configuration, since the visualization tube 20 is provided on the front of the refrigerator, the visualization tube 20 can be easily visually recognized in a normal installation state.

Further, by forming the visualization tube 20 in such a shape that a small amount of refrigerating machine oil is accumulated, a small amount of refrigerating machine oil always stays in the visualization tube 20 and the hue of the oxygen detector in the visualization tube can be easily visually recognized. be able to.

By disposing the visualization tube 20 upstream of the high-pressure side refrigerant pipe, the refrigerant in the visualization tube 20 is in a high-temperature and high-pressure gas state, so that the refrigerant is hardly dissolved in the refrigerating machine oil and colored. Because the hue of the refrigerator oil does not fade,
The hue of the oxygen detector can be easily visually recognized.

In addition, the use of a reversible oxygen detector which changes the hue when reacting with oxygen and returns to the original hue when degassed allows the refrigerant to be evacuated during the evacuation before sealing the refrigerant in the cooling system in the manufacturing process. Since oxygen is exhausted out of the cooling system and the hue of the oxygen detector returns to its original state, it becomes easier to manage the oxygen detector in the manufacturing process.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, an outer box,
An inner box provided inside the inner box, a foamed heat insulating material filled between the inner and outer boxes, a compressor, a condenser, a dryer, a squeezing device,
An evaporator is sequentially connected by piping, and has a refrigeration cycle in which a flammable refrigerant and a refrigerating machine oil are sealed, and an oxygen detector that changes its hue when reacting with oxygen is mixed into the refrigerating machine oil of the compressor. A part of the piping of the refrigeration cycle has a visualization pipe through which the flow of the fluid inside can be visually recognized, and when the low-pressure refrigerant pipe is damaged, the pressure inside the pipe is lower than the atmospheric pressure, so that outside air is generated in the pipe. The hue of the oxygen detecting agent changes due to the reaction between the oxygen detecting agent flowing into the refrigerating machine oil and the oxygen contained in the outside air, so that an abnormality can be detected at an early stage. Further, since the refrigerant leak detection sensor is not used, there is no need to maintain the sensor. Further, there is no need for a space for installing a sensor in the cooling chamber, and the cooling chamber can be simplified and reduced in capacity.

Also, an outer box, an inner box housed in the outer box, a foam insulating material filled between the inner and outer boxes, a compressor,
A refrigeration cycle in which a condenser, a dryer, a throttle device, and an evaporator are sequentially connected by a pipe, and a flammable refrigerant and a refrigerating machine oil are filled therein; Constructed with a visualization tube that allows the flow to be visually recognized, having an oxygen detector that changes the hue when reacting with oxygen on the inner surface of the visualization tube, and when the low-pressure refrigerant pipe is damaged, the pressure in the pipe is higher than the atmospheric pressure. Outside air flows into the pipes,
Oxygen contained in the outside air circulating in the cooling system reacts with the oxygen detector on the surface of the visualization tube to change the hue on the surface of the visualization tube, so when the compressor is stopped or the evaporator is defrosted, etc.
Even when the flow of the refrigerant in the cooling system pipe is small, it is possible to detect the abnormality of the low-pressure refrigerant pipe by visually recognizing the hue on the inner surface of the visualization pipe.

Further, a high-pressure refrigerant pipe is heat-exchangeably disposed inside the peripheral edge of the front opening of the heat-insulating housing to form a dew-prevention heating element at the peripheral edge of the front opening, and a part of the dew-prevention heating element. If the low-pressure refrigerant pipe is damaged, the refrigerator oil in the visualization pipe arranged on the peripheral edge of the front opening of the heat insulating casing, or the color of the visualization pipe inner surface changes, There is an effect that the visualization tube can be easily visually recognized in a normal installation state of the refrigerator.

Further, the visualizing pipe has a configuration in which a small amount of refrigerating machine oil accumulates, and the refrigerating machine oil circulating in the cooling system piping together with the refrigerant always has a small amount of refrigerating machine oil stagnant in the visualizing pipe. Has an effect that the hue of the oxygen detecting agent can be easily visually recognized.

Further, the visualization pipe is disposed upstream of the high-pressure refrigerant pipe, and the refrigerant in the visualization pipe is in a high-temperature and high-pressure gas state. Therefore, the hue of the oxygen detecting agent can be easily visually recognized.

Further, a reversible oxygen detector is used, which changes its hue when it reacts with oxygen and returns to its hue when degassed. Is exhausted outside the cooling system and the hue of the oxygen detector returns to its original state.If the low-pressure refrigerant pipe is damaged due to aging or other problems during use at the user's home, the refrigerator oil in the visualization pipe or the inner surface of the visualization pipe Has an effect that the control of the oxygen detecting agent in the manufacturing process becomes easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a refrigeration system diagram of a first embodiment of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a main part of a second embodiment of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a refrigeration system diagram of a conventional refrigerator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Compressor 2 Condenser 3 Dryer 4 Decompression device 5 Evaporator 20 Visualization tube 21 Outer box 22 Inner box 23 Dry pipe 24 Transparent member

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Akihiro Jino 4-5-2-5 Takaida Hondori, Higashi-Osaka City, Osaka Inside Matsushita Refrigerating Machinery Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akira Nakano 4-5-2-5 Takaida Hondori, Higashi-Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture No. Matsushita Refrigeration Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3L045 AA06 BA01 CA02 DA02 JA03 PA04 PA05

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An outer box, an inner box housed in the outer box, a foam insulating material filled between the inner and outer boxes, and a compressor, a condenser, a dryer, a throttle device, and an evaporator are sequentially piped. A refrigeration cycle in which a flammable refrigerant and refrigerating machine oil are sealed therein, wherein an oxygen detector that changes its hue when reacting with oxygen is mixed in the refrigerating machine oil, and a part of piping of the refrigerating cycle. Characterized by comprising a visualization tube through which the flow of the fluid inside can be visually recognized. 2. An outer box, an inner box housed in the outer box, a foam insulation material filled between the inner and outer boxes, and a compressor, a condenser, a dryer, a throttle device, and an evaporator are sequentially piped. A refrigerating cycle in which a flammable refrigerant and a refrigerating machine oil are sealed inside, and a part of the piping of the refrigerating cycle is constituted by a visualization tube in which the flow of the fluid inside can be visually recognized. A refrigerator having an oxygen detecting agent whose temperature changes on the inner surface of the visualization tube. 3. A high-pressure refrigerant pipe is heat-exchangeably disposed inside the front opening peripheral edge of the heat-insulating housing to form a dew-prevention heating body at the front opening peripheral edge, and a part of the dew-prevention heating body. 3. A refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a visualization tube is connected to the refrigerator. 4. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the visualization tube is configured so that a small amount of refrigerating machine oil is stored. 5. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the visualization pipe is provided upstream of the high-pressure refrigerant pipe. 6. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a reversible oxygen detector is used, which changes color when reacting with oxygen and returns to the original color when degassed.