JP2001317839A - Combination valve of four-way selector valve and motorized expansion valve - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a load on a motor in the case of selecting a four-way selector valve in a combination valve in which a four-way valve and an expansion valve are integrally built. SOLUTION: A valve seat of a valve element for an expansion valve is faced to a bottom face 26c. A groove 34 functions as an expansion valve in cooperation with a pair of ports A and B communicating respectively with an indoor heat-exchanger and an outdoor heat-exchanger. A groove 35 for full opening is provided in continuation with the groove 34 to communicate with the ports A and B during the selection operation of the four-way selector valve. The grooves 34 and 35 are provided to the bottom face 26c to reduce the load of the motor by reducing a pressure difference in the system during a selection rotation of the four-way valve.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a compound valve in which an expansion valve is integrated with a four-way switching valve for switching the flow path of refrigerant during cooling and heating in a heat pump refrigeration cycle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a compound valve described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-281321 is known as such a composite valve.

FIGS. 18 and 19 show this composite valve. In the figures, reference numeral 051 denotes a valve seat of the composite valve, and 058 denotes a four-way switching valve slidably and rotatably disposed on the upper surface of the valve seat 051. Shows the slider.

As shown in FIG. 19C, a four-way switching valve slider 058 is provided with a hole 061 at the center of a disk-shaped upper half 060 and opposing a side surface thereof.
Two engaging portions 060a, 060a are formed.

The lower half 059 of the fan-shaped body is integrally formed on the lower surface. Further, the lower half 059
An airtight communication hole 024 for airtightly communicating two of the four openings 014, 015, 016, 017 provided in the valve seat 051 is provided on the lower surface of the valve seat 051.

Reference numeral 052 denotes a guide portion provided at the center of the upper surface of the valve seat 051, and a hole 055 extending to the inside of the valve seat 051 is provided in this guide portion.

Further, a hole 055 is provided on the side of the valve seat 051.
A communication hole 054 is provided on the outer periphery of the guide portion 052, and the introduction tube 014a, the outlet tube 017a, the communication tube 015a, and the communication tube 015a of the electric four-way switching valve are arranged on the hole 055 and the center circle.
016a, four openings 014, 015, respectively.
016 and 017 are provided to constitute a four-way switching valve.

A female screw 056 is fixed in the middle of the hole 055, and a needle 065 as an expansion valve is formed at the tip of the female screw 056. Reference numeral 057 denotes a valve seat of the needle 065, and reference numerals 07 and 08 denote communication holes 05.
The communication port connected to the expansion valve via 4,053 is shown.

A motor M is provided as a drive source for the four-way switching valve and the expansion valve. The rotation of the motor M is transmitted to the four-way switching valve and the expansion valve via a gear mechanism 071 and a joint 070. Has become. Reference numeral 062
Denotes a valve shaft rotated by the motor M.

[0010] In the above-mentioned one, during the heating operation, the introduction hole 01
4 and the opening 016 are open, and the opening 015 and the outlet 0
17 is in communication with the hermetic through hole 024.

From this heating operation, the rotor 010 rotates several times to the left and the slider 058 moves the valve seat 0 just before the rotor is fully opened.
51, the inlet 014 and the outlet 015 are in an open state, and the outlet 016 and the outlet 017 are connected to the hermetic through-hole 024.
As a result, the communication state is established and the operation is switched to the cooling operation.

It is needless to say that the rotor 010 is rotated in the reverse direction within the range where the slider 058 is not operated in order to throttle the expansion valve in the cooling operation. Therefore, in the electric four-way switching valve shown in FIG.
The throttling function of the valve port 054 and the cooling / heating switching function of the slider 058 of the four-way switching valve can be controlled by changing the rotational position of the valve 10.

[0013]

In the above-described compound valve in which an expansion valve is integrated with the conventional four-way switching valve, a needle valve is used as the expansion valve.

When the needle valve type electric expansion valve has a fully closed function, it is necessary to make the tapered portion of the needle valve come into contact with the valve seat, and the needle valve bites into the valve seat by a vertical force. In order to prevent this, the tapered portion needs to be sufficiently large, for example, 60 °. Further, the needle root diameter D1 is equal to the valve hole diameter D0.
(D0> D1).

As a result, in the needle valve type,
The valve characteristic at the start of valve opening will be a sudden rise. Further, if a slight clearance is provided between the needle and the valve seat in order to prevent the biting, there is a possibility that the clearance alone will exceed the control range of the minute refrigerant flow rate.

For this reason, the needle valve type has a problem that it cannot be applied to a refrigeration cycle requiring minute refrigerant flow rate control.

An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem of the prior art and to provide a composite valve which can reduce the load on the motor during the switching operation of the four-way switching valve.

[0018]

According to the present invention, there is provided a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve, one high pressure port and one low pressure port. A four-way switching valve for switching the flow of the refrigerant between a plurality of ports including: a valve seat formed with the plurality of ports; a motor for rotating the four-way switching valve; and the expansion valve and the four-way switching valve. In a composite valve integrally formed with a switching valve, the four-way switching valve has a four-way valve element rotatable to a plurality of operating positions in relation to the valve seat, and the four-way valve element is the aforementioned Configured to control a refrigerant flow between the ports according to a relative position related to the valve seat through a communication path that opens to a bottom surface disposed opposite to the valve seat,
Further, the expansion valve is formed on the bottom surface of the expansion valve valve body disposed so that the bottom surface of the expansion valve is slidably rotated by the motor on the valve seat. A groove is provided that cooperates with a set of ports communicating with the indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger to perform the throttling action of the refrigerant.

Further, the electric four-way switching valve has a configuration including the first embodiment and the second embodiment.

According to the above configuration, the structure of the composite valve can be simplified, and the flow rate of the minute refrigerant can be controlled. Further, when the operation of switching the flow direction of the refrigerant is performed by rotating the valve element for the four-way valve, the ports A and B communicating with the expansion valve are fully opened, so that the pressure difference of the system is reduced, and the valve for the four-way valve is reduced. The rotational load on the body can be reduced.
Further, since the outer peripheral portion of the expansion valve valve element functions as a bearing for the four-way valve element, the support rigidity of the four-way valve element can be improved and the shape of the expansion valve valve element can be simplified. Cost reduction and mass production are possible.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment will be described.

(Structure) In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a case of a compound valve, in which a main part including a four-way switching valve 10 is disposed.

The four-way switching valve 10 includes a compressor 10
0 (see FIG. 8), a motor (driving unit) for switching the flow of refrigerant between a plurality of ports C and D including a high-pressure port D communicating with the high-pressure side of the compressor 100 and a low-pressure port S communicating with the low-pressure side of the compressor 100. 3) a four-way valve element 2 rotatably mounted on a gear output shaft 5 concentrically disposed on a rotary shaft 4 of the third element; The body 6 is rotated by being pushed by the rotation operation of the body 6, and the switching is performed.

In this embodiment, the four-way valve valve element 2 is capable of selectively communicating predetermined two of the ports therein (specifically, the cooling operation ports D and C, E
And S, and communicates with ports D and E during heating operation, and communicates with ports C and S), and has a sector shape with a central angle of about 130 ° in plan view. At the apex, it is attached to the gear output shaft 5 so as to be free to rotate.

The communication passage 2a of the four-way valve body 2 is open at the bottom surface 2b of the main body of the four-way valve body 2, and the bottom surface 2b is slidably sealed with respect to a valve seat 7 described later. It is movably arranged.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a valve seat of the four-way switching valve 10. The valve seat 7 has a port S communicating with a suction port of the compressor 100 and one connection port 11 of the indoor heat exchanger 11.
b, a port C communicating with one of the connection ports 12a of the outdoor heat exchanger 12, and a set of ports A and B communicating with an expansion valve 13 (to be described later in detail) 13. Have been.

The port A communicates with the other connection port 12b of the outdoor heat exchanger 12, and the port B communicates with the other connection port 11a of the indoor heat exchanger 11.

The expansion valve valve element 6 includes a horizontal portion 6a and a vertical portion 6a.
b, and is attached to the gear output shaft 5 at a horizontal portion 6a. Further, the vertical portion 6b is formed in an arc shape having a bottom surface of substantially 90 °, and the bottom surface 6c is disposed so as to be slidable and slidable with respect to the valve seat 7 in an airtight manner.

A groove 14 is formed in the bottom surface 6c for communicating the port A with the port B. The groove 14 functions as the expansion valve 13 by reducing the flow rate of the refrigerant between the port A and the port B. It is configured.

In order to control the throttle amount of the refrigerant flow between the port A and the port B in accordance with the rotation angle of the expansion valve 6, the groove 14 is rotated clockwise as shown in FIG. It is formed in an arc shape whose width gradually decreases in the direction. Groove 1
4 is formed in an arc shape with a central angle of approximately 70 ° in this embodiment.

A motor 3 as a drive unit is mounted on the upper surface of the case 1, and a lower gear plate 8 is mounted inside the case 1 so as to partition the inside of the case 1 up and down. The bearing 9 of the gear output shaft 5 is attached to the plate 8.

A gear device 18 for reducing the rotation of the motor 3 and transmitting the rotation to the gear output shaft 5 is provided in an upper chamber 1A formed by being partitioned by the lower gear plate 8 in the case 1.

The lower chamber 1B of the case 1, which is partitioned by the lower gear plate 8, is airtight. A port D is provided on the side surface of the joint 101, which communicates with the high pressure side of the compressor 100. The port D is open to the end 101a. The lower chamber 1B always communicates with the high pressure side of the compressor 100. Port D
May be provided at a position on the valve seat 7 which always communicates with the lower chamber 1B, as shown by a dotted line D 'in FIGS.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 102 denotes a joint which opens to the port S and communicates with the low pressure side of the compressor 100.
Reference numeral 03 denotes a joint that opens to the port B and communicates with the other end of the indoor heat exchanger 11a.

As described above, the composite valve of this embodiment has the expansion valve 6 and the four-way switching valve 10 integrally formed to form a composite valve structure.

In addition, since the expansion valve valve element 6 is of a type which is driven to rotate by the motor 3 and slides and rotates on the valve seat 7 to control the flow rate of the refrigerant, the above-mentioned problem of the needle type expansion valve, that is, If the valve characteristics at the start of valve opening suddenly rise, or if a slight clearance is provided between the needle and the valve seat to prevent biting, the control range of the minute refrigerant flow rate can be controlled only by the clearance. It is possible to solve the problem of exceeding.

(Operation) Next, the operation of the composite valve according to this embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described. In FIG. 2, the four-way valve body 2 is at a position shown by a solid line (the left end of the four-way valve body 2 is in contact with the first stopper pin 19a), and the expansion valve body 6 is shown by a dotted line. In position. This state is referred to as a “reference position” (angle 0 °).

At this time, the port S and the port E are in communication with each other, and the port D is in communication with the port C. However, the port D is also in communication with the ports A and B, and the ports A and B are in communication.
B are both open to the upper chamber 1B and port D
And a communication state. Therefore, at this time (reference position), neither cooling nor heating is performed.

In this state, the expansion valve 6 is rotated clockwise in FIG. The relationship between the rotation of the expansion valve body 6 and the ports A and B changes as shown in FIGS. That is, when the rotation reaches approximately 70 °, the left end of the groove 14 starts to communicate between the port A and the port B (see FIG. 6C).

When this rotation of the expansion valve body 6 is continued,
The width of the groove 14 gradually increases. This means that the expansion valve 13
Means that the opening degree gradually increases. Therefore,
In this state, the amount of the refrigerant passing through the groove 14 gradually increases. The relationship between the opening degree of the expansion valve 13, that is, the change in the amount of refrigerant passing through the groove 14 and the rotation angle of the expansion valve valve element 6 is indicated by a section X along a polygonal line L in FIG.

At this time, the four-way valve body 2 remains stopped at the position shown in FIG. The horizontal line Y1 in FIG. 7A shows the state during this time. On the other hand, when the rotation of the expansion valve element 6 reaches 70 °, the left end of the groove 14 starts to communicate with the port A and the port B, so that the rotation of the expansion valve element 6 becomes 70 ° from the reference position. Thereafter, the heat pump device enters a cooling operation state, and as the rotation angle of the expansion valve valve body 6 increases, the amount of refrigerant passing through the groove 14 of the expansion valve valve body 6 gradually increases, and the heat pump device Cooling capacity will increase. FIG. 3 shows the positions of the four-way valve element 2 and the expansion valve element 6 during the cooling operation.

The rotation of the expansion valve body 6 is further continued, and 105
° (see FIG. 6D), the degree of opening of the expansion valve 13 eventually becomes maximum. In this embodiment, the opening at that time is set to a position rotated by 105 ° from the reference position. After the opening degree of the expansion valve 13 reaches the maximum, the clockwise rotation of the expansion valve 6 is further continued (FIGS. 6E to 6F).
), The opening degree of the expansion valve 13 suddenly decreases to 140 °
Immediately before reaching (see FIG. 6 (g)).

Needless to say, the degree of decrease in the degree of opening of the expansion valve 13 can be adjusted by designing the shape of the end portion of the groove 14 and the shapes and diameters of the ports A and B.

The solid line position of the expansion valve valve body 6 in FIG. 2 indicates a state in which the expansion valve valve body 6 is further rotated slightly from the time when the expansion valve 13 is closed (a state in which the expansion valve valve body 6 is rotated by approximately 140 °). At this time, the cooling operation is not performed.

Therefore, when the expansion valve 6 is at a rotation position between 70 ° and 105 ° from the reference position, the heat pinch device is in a cooling operation state, and the rotation of the expansion valve 6 is performed by the rotation operation of the expansion valve 6. Thus, the cooling capacity can be controlled.

In order to switch from the cooling operation to the heating operation, the expansion valve 6 is further rotated clockwise.
Then, the rotation angle of the valve element 6 for the expansion valve is 140 degrees from the reference position.
°, the right end of the expansion valve 6 comes into contact with the left end of the four-way valve 2 (solid line in FIG. 2). When the rotation continues, the four-way valve body 2 is pushed by the expansion valve body 6 and rotates clockwise.

Due to this rotation of the four-way valve body 2, the communication amount of the port S to the port E gradually decreases, and the port S
The amount of communication with the port C gradually increases. FIG.
Sloping line Y ₂ of (a) shows that in this switching process.

The clockwise rotation of the expansion valve 6 stops when the right end of the four-way valve 2 comes into contact with the second stopper pin 19b. This stopped state is referred to as a “second stop position”. FIG. 4 shows the positional relationship between the four-way valve element 2 and the expansion valve element 6 at this time. In this embodiment, the four-way valve body 2 is set so as to rotate and stop by 60 ° from the reference position, and the expansion valve valve body 6 rotates by 200 ° from the reference position and the second rotation. It is set to reach the two stop position.

The arrow P in FIG. 7 indicates the second stop position (rotation angle 200 °) from the reference position (rotation angle 0 °) of the four-way valve body 2.
°) indicates the direction of change of the valve position to, but in the Y ₁ interval four-way valve for valve body 2 remains stopped at the reference position,
It rotated to 60 ° clockwise Y ₂ interval reaches the second stop position.

At this time, the port S communicates with the port C via the communication passage 2a, and the port D communicates with the port E. On the other hand, port D is in communication with ports A and B, and both ports A and B are open to upper chamber 1B and are in communication with port D. Therefore, at this time (when the four-way valve element 2 is rotated by 60 ° from the reference position to the second stop position and the expansion valve element 6 is at a position rotated by 200 ° from the reference position), cooling, There is no heating.

After the four-way valve body 2 reaches the second stop position, the expansion valve body 6 is rotated counterclockwise to return to the reference position.

Until the expansion valve valve element 6 returns from the 200 ° rotation position to the 60 ° rotation position, the four-way valve valve element 2 is in the second stop position, that is, the ports D and E are in communication with each other.
And the port C and the port S are in a state of communicating (horizontal line Z ₁ of FIG. 7 shows this state). On the other hand, the expansion valve element 6 rotates from (g) to (a) in FIG. 6 and when the rotation returns to the position of 105 °, the ports A and B communicate with each other at the right end of the groove 14. From the start, after the rotation of the expansion valve valve element 6 returns to the position of 105 ° from the second stop position, the heat pump device enters a heating operation state, and the return rotation angle of the expansion valve valve element 6 increases. As the rotation angle gradually approaches 0 °, the amount of refrigerant passing through the groove 14 of the expansion valve 6 gradually decreases, and the heating capacity of the heat pump device decreases. FIG. 5 shows the valve body 2 for a four-way valve in the heating operation state.
And the positional relationship between the expansion valve element 6 and the expansion valve 6.

When the valve element 6 for the expansion valve returns to the position at a rotation angle of 75 °, the communication between the port B and the groove 14 is cut off.
The opening degree of the expansion valve 13 becomes 0, and the heating operation state stops. During this time, the degree of opening of the expansion valve 13 is indicated by a broken line L in FIG.
It goes without saying that the value changes as indicated by the section X in.

The arrow Q in FIG. 7 indicates the second
From the stop position (rotation angle 200 °) to the reference position (rotation angle 0
°) indicates the direction in which the valve position changes.₁On a section
Is the second stop position (200 ° rotation angle) for the four-way valve element 2
But stopped at Z₂ 60 ° as seen from above in the section
Turn counterclockwise to switch to cooling operation position,
Return to the position (rotation angle 0 °). During heating operation, the composite valve is
In the state shown in FIG.

In the case shown in FIG. 5, when the expansion valve element 6 is at a rotational position between 105 ° and 75 ° from the reference position,
The heat pump device is in the heating operation state, and the heating capacity can be controlled by rotating the expansion valve 6.

As described above, in the composite valve of this embodiment, when the four-way valve body 2 is rotated to switch the flow direction of the refrigerant, the ports A and B communicating with the expansion valve 13 are connected. Since the lower chamber 1B is fully opened, the pressure difference in the system is reduced, and as a result, the rotational load of the four-way valve body 2 can be reduced.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a 20-pole stepping motor is used. In order to drive the expansion valve 6 to the above-mentioned rotation angle by the rotation of the stepping motor, the rotation shaft 4 and the gear output shaft 5 of the stepping motor are driven.
And a gear device 18 having a reduction ratio of 1/20 is interposed. The number of poles of the stepping motor and the gear device 1
Needless to say, the speed reduction ratio of 8, etc. can be appropriately selected in design. In addition, any known reduction gear may be used in place of the gear device 18.

(Effect) In the composite valve of the first embodiment,
The following effects can be obtained. (1) Since the composite valve structure is formed by combining a slide valve type expansion valve and a rotary slide type four-way switching valve body, the configuration is simple and positioning can be easily performed. (2) Since the valve element for the expansion valve is of a type that is driven to rotate by a motor and slides and rotates on a valve seat to control the flow rate of the refrigerant,
The above-mentioned problem of the needle type expansion valve, that is, the valve characteristics at the start of valve opening suddenly rises, or in order to prevent biting, if a slight clearance is provided between the needle and the valve seat, With just that clearance,
It is possible to solve the problem of exceeding the control range of the minute refrigerant flow rate. (3) When the operation of switching the flow direction of the refrigerant by rotating the valve body for the four-way valve is performed, the ports A,
Since B is fully open, the pressure difference in the system is small,
As a result, the rotational load of the four-way valve body 2 can be reduced.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Structure) In the electric four-way switching valve 30 of the second embodiment, the port A and the port B are provided at positions very close to the gear output shaft 25. Since the configuration is different from the switching valve and the other configurations are almost the same, in FIGS. 10 to 17, members corresponding to each member of the composite valve of the first embodiment are denoted by reference numerals with “20” added. And the description of those members may be omitted when the configuration is the same.

As shown in FIGS. 10, 11, and 13, the ports A and B are provided at positions very close to the gear output shaft 25. In this example, the port D is opened to the valve seat 27. Reference numeral 7A in FIG. 17 indicates a receiving hole of the gear output shaft 35.

Since the ports A and B are provided at positions very close to the gear output shaft 25, the ports A and B are always connected to the four-way valve element 22 (also in the second embodiment, the four-way valve element 2 is (It is almost the same configuration as that of the embodiment).

In order to deal with this inconvenience, in the second embodiment, the configuration of the expansion valve valve element 26 is different from the expansion valve valve element 6 of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 11, 12, and 13, the expansion valve valve element 26 has a substantially cylindrical shape as a whole, and is fixed to the gear output shaft 25 on its inner peripheral surface. I have.

Further, a projection 26a is provided at the upper end of the outer periphery of the cylindrical valve element 26 for an expansion valve. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 16 (a) and 16 (b), on the upper surface of the four-way valve valve body 22, there are provided projections 22b which can contact both side surfaces of the projection 26a.

Further, as shown in FIG. 13, in addition to the groove 34, the four-way valve element 2 is provided on the bottom surface 26c of the expansion valve element 26.
2, the ports A and B are fully opened (communicated) to reduce the pressure difference of the system and reduce the rotational load on the four-way valve element 22 to ensure a fully open flow rate (hereinafter referred to as a "fully open groove"). ) 35 are provided continuously to the maximum width portion of the groove 34.

The full-open groove 35 has a width much larger than the width of the maximum width portion of the groove 34, and the central angle thereof is set to 240 ° in this embodiment.

The outer peripheral surface 22c of the expansion valve valve element 26 forms a bearing (rotation guide) of the four-way valve element element 22. In this embodiment, the four-way valve element element 22 is an expansion valve valve. It is configured to be rotatably supported by the outer peripheral surface of the body 26.

(Operation) In FIG. 11, the four-way valve
The state where 2 is at the position shown by the solid line is called the “reference position”,
The rotation angle at this time is set to 0 °. At this reference position, the expansion valve element 26 is in the position shown in FIG.
The port B is in communication with the port B in a fully opened state via a groove 35 for full opening.

The expansion valve element 26 is moved from the reference position to the position shown in FIG.
1, rotate clockwise in FIG. Until the rotation angle reaches 300 °, the four-way valve element 22 remains stopped at this position. Horizontal line Z ₁ in FIG. 14 (a) shows the position of the four-way valve valve element 22 (the position of the four-way valve valve element 22 does not change) in this process.

During the rotation, if the rotation angle becomes 90 °,
When the right end 35a of the full-open groove 35 begins to separate from the port A, the communication area between the ports A and B gradually decreases, and when the rotation angle becomes 120 °, the communication between the ports A and B is completely cut off. . At the same time, the groove 34 starts to communicate between the port A and the port B, and the valve body 26 for the expansion valve starts functioning as an expansion valve.

As the rotation angle of the expansion valve body 26 increases, the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the ports A and B increases. Then, when the expansion valve valve body 26 becomes 240 °, the left end 35b of the full opening groove 35 starts to communicate with the port A, and the function of the expansion valve valve body 26 as the expansion valve ends. The section X in the polygonal line in FIG. 14B shows the flow restricting characteristic during operation as the expansion valve.

On the other hand, the valve body 26 for the expansion valve
°, the port E and the port S are in communication with each other through the communication passage 22a of the four-way valve body 22, and the port C and the port D are in communication with each other in the lower chamber 11B. The valve is in a cooling operation state.

Therefore, the valve body 26 for the expansion valve has a rotation angle of 1
When it is between 20 ° and 240 °, the valve element 26 for the expansion valve
By adjusting the rotation angle of the air conditioner, the cooling capacity can be adjusted.

The valve body 26 for the expansion valve is further rotated,
°, the projection 26a of the expansion valve valve body 26
Contact the right end of b. When the rotation of the expansion valve valve body 26 is continued, the expansion valve valve body 26 is thereafter pushed by the expansion valve valve body 26, and the four-way valve valve body 22 also rotates clockwise.
When rotated, the four-way valve body 22 is
9b (the second stop position, indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 11). When the four-way valve body 22 reaches the second stop position, the port C and the port S are in communication with each other through the communication passage 22a of the four-way valve body 22, and the port E and the port D are in the lower chamber. Switching to the state of communication at 11B, the composite valve has switched to the heating operation state. FIG.
The slope line Z2 in (a) indicates that the switching process of the four-way valve element 22 is in the process of being performed during this time.

During the above-mentioned switching process, the ports A and B are in the fully-open communication state with the fully-open groove 35, so that the pressure difference in the system becomes small.
2 can reduce the rotational load.

The valve 22 for the four-way valve was switched to the heating operation (at this time, the valve 26 for the expansion valve was moved 360 ° from the reference position).
After that, the expansion valve element 26 is rotated counterclockwise. During this rotation, the four-way valve valve body 22 remains stopped at the heating operation position (second stop position) until the expansion valve valve body 26 returns to the 60 ° rotation position. Figure 14 shows the position of the horizontal line Y ₁ is during this period of the four-way valve valve element 22 (a), the position of the four-way valve valve element 22 does not change.

On the other hand, the valve element 26 for the expansion valve
After the course opposite to the above, it returns to the reference position. That is, during the period from the rotation angle of 240 ° to 120 °, the heating capacity in the heating operation can be adjusted by adjusting the rotation angle.

When the valve body 26 for the expansion valve returns to 60 °, the projection 26a of the valve body 26 for the expansion valve comes into contact with the left end of the projection 22a. When the counterclockwise rotation of the expansion valve valve body 26 is continued, the expansion valve valve body 26 is thereafter pushed by the expansion valve valve body 26, and the four-way valve valve body 22 also rotates counterclockwise. Is 0
°, the four-way valve body 22 comes into contact with the first stopper pin 39a to stop and return to the reference state.

That is, the ports E and S are communicated with each other by the communication passage 22a of the four-way valve body 22, and the ports C and D are switched to communicate with each other in the lower chamber 11B. Switches to the cooling operation state. Figure 14 is sloping line Y ₂ of (a) shows the switching stroke during this period of the four-way valve for valve body 22.

During the above-mentioned switching process, the port A and the port B are in the fully open state in the fully open groove 35, so that the pressure difference of the system is reduced, and as a result, the valve element 2 for the four-way valve is reduced.
The point that the rotation load of Step 2 can be reduced is the same as when switching from the cooling operation state to the heating operation state.

(Effect) In the composite valve of the second embodiment,
In addition to the above effects of the composite valve of the first embodiment, since the outer peripheral portion of the expansion valve valve body 26 functions as a bearing for the four-way valve valve body 22, the support rigidity of the four-way valve valve body 22 can be improved, Further, the shape of the valve element for the expansion valve can be simplified, and effects such as reduction in manufacturing cost and mass production can be obtained.

[0083]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
The following effects can be obtained. (1) Since the composite valve structure is formed by combining a slide valve type expansion valve and a rotary slide type four-way switching valve body, the configuration is simple and positioning can be easily performed. (2) Since the valve element for the expansion valve is of a type that is driven to rotate by a motor and slides and rotates on a valve seat to control the flow rate of the refrigerant,
The above-mentioned problem of the needle type expansion valve, that is, the valve characteristics at the start of valve opening suddenly rises, or in order to prevent biting, if a slight clearance is provided between the needle and the valve seat, With just that clearance,
It is possible to solve the problem of exceeding the control range of the minute refrigerant flow rate. (3) When the operation of switching the flow direction of the refrigerant is performed by rotating the valve element for the four-way valve, the ports A and B communicating with the expansion valve are fully opened, so that the pressure difference of the system is reduced, and as a result, In addition, the rotational load of the four-way valve body can be reduced. (4) In the second embodiment, the outer peripheral portion of the expansion valve valve element functions as a bearing for the four-way valve element, so that the support rigidity of the four-way valve element can be improved. The shape can be simplified, manufacturing cost can be reduced, and mass production can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a composite valve according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view during the cooling operation.

FIG. 4 is a plan view when switching to the heating operation.

FIG. 5 is a plan view during the heating operation.

FIGS. 6A to 6G are schematic diagrams showing a relationship between rotation of a valve element for an expansion valve and ports A and B. FIGS.

7A is a graph chart showing the operation mode switching timings of the composite valve of FIG. 1, and FIG. 7B is a graph showing the relationship between the position of the expansion valve and the openings of ports A and B. The broken line L indicates the communication opening between the ports A and B.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a refrigeration cycle of the combined valve of FIG. 1 in a cooling operation position.

9 is a schematic diagram of a refrigeration cycle of the combined valve of FIG. 1 in a heating operation position.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a compound valve according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a plan view taken along the line BB of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a plan view taken along the line CC in FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a bottom view of the expansion valve body.

14A is a graph chart showing the operation mode switching timing of the combined valve of FIG. 10; FIG. 14B is a graph showing the relationship between the position of the expansion valve valve body and the openings of ports A and B; The broken line L indicates the communication opening between the ports A and B.

FIG. 15 is an exploded view of the same part.

FIG. 16A is a perspective view of the same four-way valve valve element, and FIG. 16B is a cross-sectional view of the same four-way valve valve element.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of the valve seat.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view of a conventional composite valve.

FIG. 19 is an exploded view of the composite valve.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 21 Case 1A, 21A Upper chamber 1B, 21B Lower chamber 2, 22 Four-way valve body 2a, 22a Communication passage 3, 23 Motor 4, 24 Motor rotation shaft 5, 25 Gear output shaft 6, 26 For expansion valve Valve body 26a Projection 7,27 Valve seat 8,28 Gear lower plate 9,29 Bearing 10,30 Four-way switching valve 11 Indoor heat exchanger 12 Outdoor heat exchanger 13 Expansion valve 14,34 Groove 18,38 Gear device 19a, 39a First stopper pin 19b, 39b Second stopper pin 22b Projection 35 Groove for full opening

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission Date] June 19, 2000 (2006.1.
9)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 8

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 8

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 9

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 9

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 10

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 11

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A four-way switch for switching a refrigerant flow between a plurality of ports including a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve, and one high pressure port and one low pressure port. A composite valve comprising a valve, a valve seat having the plurality of ports formed therein, and a motor for rotating the four-way switching valve, wherein the expansion valve and the four-way switching valve are integrally formed. The valve has a four-way valve body that is rotatable to a plurality of operating positions in relation to the valve seat, and the four-way valve body opens through a communication passage that opens to a bottom surface that is disposed opposite to the valve seat. Controlling the flow of refrigerant between the ports in accordance with a relative position associated with the valve seat, wherein the expansion valve is disposed to slide and rotate its bottom surface to the valve seat by the motor. And formed on the bottom surface and open to the valve seat. A four-way valve having an expansion valve having a groove which is opened and cooperates with a pair of ports communicating with the indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger to perform a throttling action of the refrigerant. A composite valve with a switching valve and an electric expansion valve. 2. The compound valve includes a case, and the valve seat is attached to a lower surface of the case to form an airtight lower chamber in the case. The four-way valve body is provided in the lower chamber. Is disposed rotatably and the expansion valve valve body is rotatably disposed by the motor, and the valve seat is
A port S communicating with a suction port of the compressor, a port E communicating with one connection port of the indoor heat exchanger, a port C communicating with one connection port of the outdoor heat exchanger, and a valve body for the expansion valve; A port and a port B as a set of ports cooperating with the groove of the opening are formed, and the port A communicates with the other connection port of the outdoor heat exchanger and the port B
Is configured to communicate with the other connection port of the indoor heat exchanger, and the groove formed on the bottom surface of the expansion valve valve body restricts the flow rate of the refrigerant between the port A and the port B. 2. The combined valve of claim 1, wherein the valve is configured to perform the function of an expansion valve. 3. The four-way switching valve according to claim 2, wherein the high-pressure port is opened to a lower chamber of the case, and the lower chamber communicates with a high-pressure refrigerant discharge port of the compressor. Compound valve with valve. 4. The four-way switching device according to claim 3, wherein said high pressure port is opened to said valve seat forming said lower chamber and communicates said lower chamber with a high pressure refrigerant discharge port of said compressor. A composite valve consisting of a valve and an electric expansion valve. 5. The valve body for a four-way valve is pushed by the rotation operation of the valve body for an expansion valve to control the flow of refrigerant between a plurality of ports including one high-pressure port and one low-pressure port. The combined valve of a four-way switching valve and an electric expansion valve according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the combined valve is configured to rotate to switch. 6. A groove formed in the expansion valve body is formed in a shape capable of continuously controlling the throttle amount of the refrigerant flow with the rotation of the expansion valve body. A compound valve comprising the four-way switching valve according to claim 1 and an electric expansion valve. 7. The expansion valve valve element is configured to open at least one of the port A and the port B to the lower chamber when the four-way valve element rotates. A composite valve comprising the four-way switching valve according to claim 6 and an electric expansion valve. 8. The valve seat according to claim 1, wherein a stopper pin for stopping the four-way valve valve at a cooling operation state position and a heating operation state position of the heat pump device is provided on the valve seat. A composite valve of the four-way switching valve and the electric expansion valve according to any one of the first to third aspects. 9. The expansion valve valve body is formed in a cylindrical shape, the outer peripheral surface of which forms a bearing of the four-way valve valve body, and the inner peripheral surface of which is formed on a shaft that is rotationally driven by the motor. A composite valve comprising the four-way switching valve according to claim 1 and an electric expansion valve which are fixed. 10. A groove formed in the bottom surface of the valve body for the expansion valve, the groove being opened to the valve seat and cooperating with a pair of ports communicating with the indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger. The four-way switching valve and the electric expansion according to claim 9, wherein a groove for fully opening the port A and the port B when the four-way valve element rotates is formed in the groove. Compound valve with valve. 11. A projection is provided on the expansion valve valve element for rotating the four-way valve element by rotation of the expansion valve element, and a projection capable of contacting the projection is provided on the expansion valve valve element. The compound valve of a four-way switching valve and an electric expansion valve according to claim 9 or 10, which is provided on a valve body.