JP2001227843A - Heat exchanger with receiver tank - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat exchanger having a receiver tank in which a high refrigeration effect can be attained. SOLUTION: A condenser of the present invention is comprised of a heat exchanger main body 10 and a receiver tank 50. A plurality of heat exchanging tubes 12 communicated with and connected to both headers at both ends are arranged between a pair of headers 11. The heat exchanging tubes 12 are divided into a condensing part 10C and a supercooling part 10S at the heat exchanger main body 10. After the refrigerant condensed by the condensing part 10C is guided to a pressure reducing pipe P3 and its pressure is reduced, gas and liquid of the refrigerant are separated by the receiver tank 50 and only the liquid refrigerant is fed into the supercooling segment 10S to perform a supercooling operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat exchanger with a receiver tank suitably used for, for example, a refrigeration system for air conditioning of a vehicle.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION An air conditioning refrigeration system for a vehicle or the like usually has a vapor compression refrigeration cycle using a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator.

Conventionally, as a condenser of such a refrigeration cycle, a condenser comprising a heat exchanger called a multi-flow type is well known. In this heat exchanger, as shown in FIG. 7, a large number of heat exchange tubes having both ends connected and connected in parallel are arranged on a pair of headers (102) (102) to form a core (101). I have. Further, by a partition member (103) provided in the header (102),
Many heat exchange tubes have multiple passes (P1) to (P4)
Is divided into In this heat exchanger, the refrigerant is circulated in order through the respective paths (P1) to (P4), and during the circulation, the refrigerant is condensed by exchanging heat with the outside air.

On the other hand, in recent years, based on the multi-flow type heat exchanger, the condensed refrigerant is further cooled to a temperature several degrees lower to increase the amount of heat radiation, thereby improving the refrigerating capacity. A technique for achieving the above has been proposed.

As this proposed technique, a heat exchanger with a receiver tank in which a receiver tank is disposed between a condenser section and a supercooling section is being developed.

FIG. 8 shows a heat exchanger with a receiver tank.
As shown in the figure, the multi-flow type heat exchanger body (1
11) and a receiver tank (113) attached to one of the headers (112).
The upstream side of 11) is configured as a condensing section (111C), and the downstream side is configured as a supercooling section (111S). In this heat exchanger, the refrigerant exchanges heat with the outside air and condenses while passing through the paths (P1) to (P3) of the condensing section (111C) in order, and further condenses. The refrigerant is guided to the receiver tank (113) to separate gas and liquid, and only the liquid refrigerant is guided to the supercooling section (111S) to be supercooled.

[0007]

The heat exchanger with a receiver tank proposed in the prior art is installed in a limited space in an automobile, like the existing heat exchanger shown in FIG. Yes, basically, the same size as the existing heat exchanger is used. However, the heat exchanger with the receiver tank proposed in the past is a heat exchanger body (111).
Is configured as a subcooling section (111S) that does not contribute to condensation, so that the heat exchanger body (111) has a subcooling section (111S) when compared with an existing heat exchanger.
Is formed, the condensing portion (111C) becomes small, and the condensing ability is reduced. For this reason, for example, the condensation of the refrigerant in the condensing section (111C) tends to be insufficient, and the liquid refrigerant flows into the receiver tank (113) with a large amount of gas refrigerant mixed therein, and foaming occurs in the tank (113). The bubble-removing property is deteriorated, and the liquid refrigerant in a stable state is
It became difficult to feed into S), and there was a possibility that the desired refrigeration effect could not be obtained. Conversely, in order to obtain a liquid refrigerant in a stable state, it is necessary to additionally charge the refrigerant, and as the amount of the charged refrigerant increases, a liquid pool occurs in the condensing portion (111C), which deteriorates the performance. Absent.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a heat exchanger with a receiver tank capable of efficiently sending a stable liquid refrigerant to a supercooling section and obtaining an excellent refrigeration effect. The purpose is to provide a vessel.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a heat exchanger with a receiver tank according to the present invention has two ends connected to a pair of headers arranged in parallel at a distance from each other. A plurality of heat exchange tubes are arranged, and the inside of the header is partitioned, and the plurality of heat exchange tubes are divided into a condensing section and a supercooling section. Tank, and a pressure reducing means for lowering the refrigerant pressure, the pressure of the refrigerant condensed by the condensing unit is reduced by the pressure reducing means, and then gas-liquid separated by the receiver tank. Is configured to be supercooled by the supercooling section.

In the heat exchanger with a receiver tank according to the present invention, a pressure reducing means is provided between the condensing section and the receiver tank. This decompression means has a refrigerant state control function for controlling the refrigerant in a stable state. With this control function, the best condensing capacity is obtained in the condensing part, and the liquid is supplied to the condensing part just before the inflow part of the depressurizing means. No accumulation occurs, and only the liquid refrigerant in a stable state is reliably sent from the pressure reducing means to the receiver tank. For this reason, for example, foaming in the receiver tank can be prevented, the bubble elimination property can be improved, and gas-liquid separation can be efficiently and smoothly performed by the receiver tank.

On the other hand, in the present invention, the decompression means can be constituted by the heat exchange tube itself.

That is, in the present invention, the plurality of heat exchange tubes are divided into three or more paths, and of those paths, an intermediate path between the first path and the final path is the depressurized one. The pressure reduction path constituting the means is configured such that a path upstream of the pressure reduction path is configured as the condensation unit, and a path downstream of the pressure reduction path is configured as the supercooling unit. Can be adopted.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a heat exchanger (1) with a receiver tank according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 2 is a refrigerant circuit configuration diagram of the heat exchanger (1). As shown in both figures, this heat exchanger (1) is provided with a heat exchanger body (1).
0) and a receiver tank (50).

The heat exchanger body (10) has a pair of left and right vertical headers (11) (11) facing each other at a distance.
Is provided. Between the pair of headers (11) and (11), a number of flat tubes (12) as heat exchange tubes extending along the horizontal direction are connected at both ends thereof to the headers (11) and (11). , Are arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. In addition, a flat tube (1
Corrugated fins (13) are arranged between each of 2) and outside the outermost flat tube (12), and the fins (13) are placed outside the outermost corrugated fin (13). A strip-shaped side plate (14) for protection is provided.

Here, as the flat tube (12),
As shown in FIG. 3, a harmonica tube having a plurality of refrigerant passages (12a) provided therein is used.

In the present invention, as the heat exchange tube, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a plurality of refrigerant passages (12a) are provided inside, and a partition wall between adjacent refrigerant passages (12a). A flat tube or the like having a plurality of communication holes (12c) for connecting adjacent refrigerant passages to each other in (12b) may be suitably used.

At a predetermined position of each header (11) in the heat exchanger body (10), a plurality of partition members (16) for partitioning the inside of the header are provided, and a large number of flat tubes (12) are formed. The first to fourth four paths (P
1) to (P4). In this case, between each of the first to third passes (P1) to (P3), a partition member (16) is provided only on one of the headers (11), and the first header (11) is provided.
In addition, the third paths (P1) to (P3) are communicated in this order, and between the third path (P3) and the fourth path (P4), both headers (11) and (11) have the same height. A partition member (16) is provided at the position (same level), and a fourth pass (P) is provided for the first to third passes (P1) to (P3).
4) is divided so as to be independent.

Of these paths (P1) to (P4), the third path (P3) is constituted as a decompression path as a decompression means, and the first and upper paths above the decompression path (P3). The second pass (P1) (P2) is the condensing section (10
C), and the lower side is a subcooling section (10
S).

Here, in this embodiment, specifically,
The first pass (P1) is formed by the 12 flat tubes (12) from the first to the twelfth from the top, and the second pass (P2) is formed by the ten flat tubes (12) from the 13th to the 22nd. Is formed, and a decompression pass (P3) is formed by the 23rd flat tube (12).
The three flat tubes (1 to 24)
The fourth pass (P4) is formed by 2).

At the upper and lower ends of the left header (11), union nuts and the like are attached, and a refrigerant inlet (11a) is provided.
And a refrigerant outlet (11b).

On the other hand, a receiver tank (50) provided along the right header (11) separates refrigerant from gas and liquid. The inlet of the receiver tank (50) is connected to the right header (11). ) Through the tank inflow pipe (51) at a position corresponding to the pressure reducing path (P3), and the outlet of the receiver tank (50) is connected to the fourth path (P4) of the right header (11). A corresponding position, that is, a position corresponding to the subcooling unit (10S) is communicated via the tank outflow pipe (52).

In the heat exchanger (1) with a receiver tank, the refrigerant flowing from the refrigerant inlet (11a) passes through the first and second paths (P1) and (P2), that is, the condensing section (1).
0C), is condensed and liquefied, and flows into the pressure reduction path (P3).

Here, the pressure reduction path (P3) has a smaller number of tubes and a smaller total passage sectional area than the upstream path (P2), so that the refrigerant passes through the pressure reduction path (P3).
When passing through 3), the flow velocity increases and the pressure is reduced. Due to this reduced pressure, the refrigerant is controlled to a stable state, and the best condensing capacity is obtained in the condensing section (10C) by this refrigerant state control function. For this reason, only the liquid refrigerant is reliably sent from the pressure reduction path (P3) to the receiver tank (50), so that bubbling in the tank (50) can be prevented, and the bubble elimination property can be improved. Therefore, gas-liquid separation can be efficiently and smoothly performed by the receiver tank (50).
Only the liquid refrigerant in a stable state is reliably sent to the supercooling section (10S).

The liquid refrigerant sent to the supercooling section (10S) is supercooled, and after sufficiently increasing the amount of heat released, flows out of the refrigerant outlet (11b). The refrigerant outlet (11
The refrigerant flowing out of b) is decompressed and expanded by an expansion valve (not shown) and then sent to an evaporator (not shown), where it exchanges heat with the air in the vehicle and evaporates.

As described above, in the heat exchanger (1) with a receiver tank according to the present embodiment, only the liquid refrigerant in the stable state, which is sufficiently condensed by the condensing section (10C), is surely received. And since it is sent to the supercooling section (10S), an excellent refrigeration effect can be obtained.

In the above embodiment, the tube (12) constituting the decompression path (P3) and the tube (12) constituting the path other than the decompression path are formed of tubes having the same structure. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In order to enhance the decompression effect, a tube constituting a decompression path may be formed with a different structure from other tubes. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a circular passage type harmonica tube in which a plurality of small circular refrigerant passages (12a) are formed may be used as the tube (12) for the decompression path.

Further, as a tube constituting a decompression path,
It is not always necessary to use a straight one, and a meandering tube or a capillary tube used in a serpentine heat exchanger may be used as a tube for a reduced pressure path.

In the present invention, the number of passes and the number of tubes in each pass are not limited. For example, a decompression pass may be constituted by two or more tubes.
Further, two or more pressure reduction paths may be provided.

In the present invention, the depressurizing means does not necessarily need to be constituted by the heat exchange tube itself, and a separate depressurizing means such as a partition plate with an orifice, an orifice tube made of a thin tube, and a throttle valve is separately provided in the tube. You may do it.

Further, in the present invention, the decompression means does not necessarily need to be provided in the heat exchange tube, but may be provided in the header.

[0031]

As described above, according to the heat exchanger with the receiver tank of the present invention, since the decompression means is provided between the condensing part and the receiver tank, the refrigerant is kept in a stable state by the decompression means. And the best condensing capacity is obtained in the condensing section. For this reason, only the liquid refrigerant is reliably sent from the decompression means to the receiver tank, and bubbling in the tank can be prevented, so that bubble elimination can be improved. Therefore, gas-liquid separation can be efficiently and smoothly performed by the receiver tank, and only the liquid refrigerant in a stable state can be reliably sent to the supercooling section, and an excellent refrigerating effect can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a heat exchanger with a receiver tank according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a refrigerant circuit in the heat exchanger with a receiver tank according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a flat tube applied as a heat exchange tube of the heat exchanger in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a flat tube applicable as a modified example of the heat exchange tube in the present invention.

5 is a view showing the flat tube of FIG. 4, wherein FIG. 5 (a) is a front sectional view and FIG. 5 (b) is a side sectional view.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a circular passage type flat tube which is a modified example of the tube for a decompression path in the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a refrigerant circuit in a conventional multi-flow type heat exchanger.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a refrigerant circuit in a heat exchanger with a receiver tank according to a conventional proposal.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Heat exchanger with receiver tank 10 ... Heat exchanger main body 11 ... Header 12 ... Flat tube (heat exchange tube) 50 ... Receiver tank 10C ... Condensing part 10S ... Supercooling part P1-P4 ... Pass

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of heat exchange tubes having both ends communicating with both headers are arranged between a pair of headers arranged in parallel with each other at intervals, and the inside of the headers is partitioned, A heat exchanger body in which a plurality of heat exchange tubes are divided into a condensing section and a supercooling section, a receiver tank for performing gas-liquid separation of the refrigerant, and a pressure reducing means for lowering the refrigerant pressure, After the pressure of the refrigerant condensed by the condensing unit is reduced by the pressure reducing means, gas-liquid separation is performed by the receiver tank.
A heat exchanger with a receiver tank, wherein the liquid refrigerant is supercooled by the supercooling section. 2. The plurality of heat exchange tubes are divided into three or more paths, and among these paths, an intermediate path between a first path and a final path is a depressurized pressure constituting the decompression means. The receiver tank according to claim 1, wherein the receiver tank is configured as a path, and a path upstream of the decompression path is configured as the condensing unit, and a path downstream of the decompression path is configured as the supercooling unit. With heat exchanger.