JP2002168592A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner reducing an impact noise by suppressing a refrigerant dispersing degree when a refrigerant flows into an outdoor heat exchanger and inhibiting that a branched flowing amount of the refrigerant is deflected to flow to one refrigerant route. SOLUTION: The air conditioner comprises a compressor 16 for compressing the refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger 18 as condensers divided therein into two refrigerant routes 25a and 25b, and a branching unit provided between the exchanger 18 and the compressor 16 to branch the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 16 to the routes 25a and 25b of the exchanger 18. In this case, branching refrigerant pipes 27a and 27b each having an intermediate inner diameter are provided between a compressor side refrigerant pipe 28 in which inner diameters of compressor side refrigerant pipes 24a and 24b of the branching unit 31 are larger than that of the heat exchanger side refrigerant pipe and the pipes 24a and 24b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an outdoor heat exchanger for an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an improvement in refrigerant flow.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a small outdoor heat exchanger is used as a condenser in an air conditioner, it is important to improve the heat exchange efficiency by providing a plurality of paths in the heat exchanger. It is. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of a conventional outdoor unit. In FIG. 4, an outdoor unit 10 has an outdoor heat exchanger (hereinafter simply referred to as a heat exchanger) 1 and a plurality of refrigerant pipes 2 for heat exchangers are horizontally arranged at predetermined intervals in the heat exchanger. The plurality of heat exchanger refrigerant pipes 2 are connected to form two refrigerant paths. Heat exchanger 1
The inlet portions 3a and 3b of these two refrigerant paths are vertically arranged on the right side surface of the. These upper and lower entrances 3a, 3b
A branch 4 is provided in the vicinity so that a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant sent from the compressor 5 is distributed.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the vicinity of an inlet of a conventional outdoor heat exchanger. A refrigerant pipe (hereinafter referred to as a compressor-side pipe) 7 communicating with the compressor 5 via the four-way valve 6 is connected to the lower inlet 3b, and a branch 4 is formed in the middle of the compressor-side pipe 7. A passage hole 9 having the same inner diameter as the compressor-side pipe 7 is formed at an upper portion of the branch portion 4, and an L-shaped bent refrigerant pipe (hereinafter, referred to as a branch) is bent from the passage hole 9 to the upper entrance 3 a. 8a is provided.

[0004] As described above, the refrigerant pipe in the heat exchanger 1 is divided into two refrigerant paths, and the refrigerant flowing into the heat exchanger 1 is divided and heat-exchanged, thereby increasing the heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger 1. I'm doing better.

[0005]

However, in such a conventional refrigerant distribution system, the distribution pipes 8a and 8b provided from the branch section 4 to the respective refrigerant pipe inlets 3a and 3b for the heat exchanger are connected. When a refrigerant pipe having the same inner diameter as the inner diameter of the compressor-side pipe 7 (for example, inner diameter φ10.7 mm) is used, the energy loss when the refrigerant flows through the branch pipes 8a and 8b is small, but the refrigerant flows through the branch pipe. 8
a, 8b, the refrigerant pipe 2 for the heat exchanger having an inner diameter smaller than the branch pipes 8a, 8b (for example, an inner diameter φ 7.4 mm)
, The degree of refrigerant divergence becomes excessive. Therefore, the refrigerant in the heat exchanger refrigerant pipe 2 is in a turbulent state, and is less likely to be heat-exchanged in the heat exchanger 1. Further, there is a drawback that a loud impact sound is generated when the refrigerant enters the heat exchanger 1.

Further, since the compressor-side pipe 7 and the lower inlet 3b are directly connected to each other, and the branch 4 is formed in the middle of the compressor-side pipe 7 to branch off to the upper inlet 3a to divide the refrigerant, Most of the flow flowed into the lower entrance 3b, and the remainder flowed into the upper entrance 3a. For this reason, there is a disadvantage that the distribution amount of the refrigerant flows unevenly to one of the refrigerant paths (the refrigerant path flowing from the lower inlet portion 3b).

The present invention has solved the above-mentioned conventional problems. The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and it is possible to reduce the impact noise by suppressing the refrigerant divergence when the refrigerant flows into the outdoor heat exchanger and to reduce the refrigerant flow rate. It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner that is prevented from flowing in one of the refrigerant paths.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 includes a compressor for compressing a refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger as a condenser having an interior divided into two refrigerant paths, In the air conditioner provided between the outdoor heat exchanger and the compressor, a branch portion that branches the refrigerant discharged from the compressor into respective refrigerant paths of the outdoor heat exchanger,
Between the compressor-side refrigerant pipe and the heat-exchanger-side refrigerant pipe, where the inner diameter of the compressor-side refrigerant pipe of the branch portion is larger than the inner diameter of the heat-exchanger-side refrigerant pipe, a branching refrigerant pipe having an intermediate diameter between them is provided. It is characterized by having.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the air conditioner according to the first aspect, the branching refrigerant pipes use pipes having the same inner diameter, are formed in a U shape, and are connected to inlets of two refrigerant paths. In addition, the branch portion is arranged in the middle of the two corners of the branch refrigerant pipe, and the length from the two corners to the branch portion is determined according to the ratio of the capacity of the two refrigerant paths.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the air conditioner according to the first or second aspect, the compressor-side refrigerant pipe is vertically connected to the branching refrigerant pipe, and the diameter of the through hole at the connection portion is reduced by the compressor-side refrigerant. It is characterized in that it is smaller than the inner diameter of the pipe.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a refrigerant circuit diagram in one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, an air conditioner 10 has an indoor unit 12 connected to an outdoor unit 13 by a refrigerant pipe 14. The indoor unit 12 houses an indoor heat exchanger 15 incorporating a refrigerant pipe 14 through which a refrigerant flows, and a blower (not shown) for blowing air to the indoor heat exchanger 15.
Air is sucked in from an air inlet 2 (not shown), heated or cooled by the indoor heat exchanger 15, and then blown into the room.

The outdoor unit 13 contains components such as a refrigerant compressor 16, a four-way valve 17, an outdoor heat exchanger 18, an electric expansion valve 21, an accumulator 22, and the like. 15 and outdoor unit 1
3 and the indoor unit 12, and between the outdoor unit 13 and the indoor unit 12
And a refrigerant circuit (the refrigerant circulates in the direction of the solid arrow to perform the cooling operation, and circulates in the direction of the dotted arrow to perform the heating operation).

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the outdoor heat exchanger, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the vicinity of the refrigerant inlet of the outdoor heat exchanger.

In FIG. 2, an outdoor unit 13 includes an outdoor heat exchanger (hereinafter referred to as a heat exchanger) 18 from the rear to the left.
Blower 23 at front, refrigerant compressor 16 at right, four-way valve 1
7, the electric expansion valve 21, the accumulator 22, etc. are arranged, the air suction port 37 is provided on the back, and the blower 2 is provided on the front.
3, an air outlet 38 is provided. When the heat exchanger 18 is used as a condenser, the four-way valve 17 is connected between the discharge port (not shown) of the compressor 16 and the heat exchanger side pipe inlets 26a and 26b formed at the upper right of the heat exchanger 18. The high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 16 flows into the heat exchanger 18 through the refrigerant pipe (compressor-side pipe) 28.

In FIG. 3, a plurality of refrigerant pipes (hereinafter referred to as heat exchanger side pipes) 24 having the same inner diameter, for example, φ7.4 mm, are horizontally arranged in the heat exchanger 18. Are arranged in a meandering manner in the heat exchanger 18 as one set of upper and lower parts, and two refrigerant paths 25a and 25b are provided. In these two refrigerant paths 25a and 25b, the lower refrigerant path 25b is longer than the upper refrigerant path 25a in the heat exchanger 18, and thus the capacity of the lower refrigerant path 25b is larger.

The upper and lower refrigerant paths 2 are located at the upper right of the heat exchanger 18.
The inlet portions 26a and 26b of 5a and 25b are arranged, and the inlet portions 26a and 26b are connected to refrigerant pipes for splitting (hereinafter referred to as split pipes), respectively. As the branch pipe 27, a refrigerant pipe having the same inner diameter (for example, φ7.94) larger than the inner diameter of the heat exchanger side pipe 24 is used, and the inlet portions 26a and 26b are connected in a U-shape as shown in the figure. ing.

A branch portion 31 is formed at an intermediate position between two corners (portions arranged in the vertical direction) of the branch pipe 27. The branch portion 31 has a refrigerant pipe (hereinafter referred to as a compressor side pipe) on the compressor side. 28) are connected vertically. The branch part 31 is provided at a position of a length L from above two corners of the branch pipe 27 and has a length M below, and L is longer than M. As the compressor-side pipe 28, a pipe having an inner diameter of 10.7 is used, and the compressor-side pipe 28 is connected to the branch pipe 27 through a through-hole 32 having an inner diameter of 8.1.

In the heat exchanger 18 thus configured, when this heat exchanger 18 is used as a condenser, the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 16 flows through the compressor-side pipe 28, Through the passage hole 32 of the branch part 31, it is branched and flows to upper and lower branch pipes 27 and 27b. Since the branch pipes 27a and 27b have different lengths,
The refrigerant is diverted more and flows to the lower branch pipe 27b having a shorter length than the upper branch pipe 27a having a longer length. The divided refrigerant flows into the upper refrigerant passage 25a and the lower refrigerant passage 25b, respectively.

As described above, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 16 is divided into refrigerant pipes φ10.7 (compressor pipe), φ8.
1 (passing hole 31), φ7.94 (diversion pipe), φ7.
4 (the heat exchanger side pipe 24), the inner diameter is sequentially reduced, and the refrigerant flows into the heat exchanger 18, so that the refrigerant is gradually diverged and the impact noise can be suppressed. Further, the turbulent flow of the refrigerant in the heat exchanger 18 is suppressed, and the heat exchange rate can be improved.

The upper and lower branch pipes 27a and 27b are connected in a U-shape, and a compressor-side pipe 28 is vertically connected in the middle of the vertically arranged pipes. , 27b, the distribution amount of the refrigerant can be adjusted and distributed. Thereby, even if the two refrigerant paths 25a and 25b formed in the heat exchanger 18 have different internal capacities, the refrigerant amount can be distributed according to the difference in the internal capacities, so that the refrigerant paths 25a and 25b It is possible to easily design the heat exchanger 18 having good heat exchange efficiency without making the refrigerant amount too large or too small.

The compressor side pipe 28 is connected to the branch pipe 2
7a, 27b, and the inner diameter of the passage hole 31 between the compressor-side pipe 28 and the branch pipes 27a, 27b is set to an intermediate diameter between the compressor-side pipe 28 and the branch pipes 27a, 27b. Heat exchanger 1 from side pipe 28
, The flow of the refrigerant can be made smoother. Further, after passing through the passage hole 31, the refrigerant is vertically injected into the branch pipes 27a and 27b, so that the refrigerant can be easily distributed up and down.

Although the present invention has been described based on one embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this.

In the present embodiment, the inlets of the refrigerant passages formed in the two heat exchangers are arranged vertically, but may be arranged on the left and right.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In an outdoor heat exchanger in which the inside is divided into two refrigerant paths and used as a condenser, the inner diameter of the heat exchanger-side refrigerant pipe is smaller than the inner diameter of the compressor-side refrigerant pipe. Between the side refrigerant pipes, the refrigerant pipes for branching with these intermediate diameters are provided, so that the degree of refrigerant divergence is gradually reduced to reduce the impact noise when the refrigerant enters the outdoor heat exchanger, and the outdoor heat exchanger To reduce turbulence inside
The heat exchange efficiency in the heat exchanger can be improved.

When an outdoor heat exchanger formed by dividing the interior into two refrigerant paths is used as a condenser, the respective refrigerant path inlets are connected by a U-shaped branch refrigerant pipe. A branch portion with the compressor-side refrigerant pipe is formed in the middle of the branch refrigerant pipe. By adjusting the position from the two corners of the branching refrigerant pipe to the branch, the distribution ratio of the refrigerant amount can be changed, so that the refrigerant amount according to the capacity of each refrigerant path can be adjusted, and the heat exchange efficiency can be improved. A good heat exchanger can be designed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a refrigerant circuit diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of the outdoor unit of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the vicinity of a refrigerant inlet of the outdoor heat exchanger of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of a conventional outdoor heat exchanger.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the vicinity of a branch of the outdoor heat exchanger of FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Indoor unit 13 Outdoor unit 14 Refrigerant pipe 15 Indoor heat exchanger 16 Refrigerant compressor 17 Four-way valve 18 Outdoor heat exchanger 23 Blower 24 Heat exchanger side pipe 25a Upper refrigerant path 25b Lower refrigerant path 26a Upper inlet part 26b Lower inlet Part 27a Upper branch pipe 27b Lower branch pipe 28 Compressor side pipe 31 Branch part 32 Passage hole

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A compressor for compressing a refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger as a condenser having an interior divided into two refrigerant paths, and a compressor provided between the outdoor heat exchanger and the compressor and discharged from the compressor. A branch part for branching the refrigerant into respective refrigerant paths of the outdoor heat exchanger, wherein the inner diameter of the compressor side refrigerant pipe of the branch part is larger than the inner diameter of the heat exchanger side refrigerant pipe. An air conditioner, comprising a refrigerant pipe having a middle diameter between the refrigerant pipe and the heat exchanger-side refrigerant pipe. 2. The diversion refrigerant pipe uses a pipe having the same inner diameter, is formed in a U-shape, is connected to the inlet of the two refrigerant paths, and has a branch part in the middle of two corners of the diversion refrigerant pipe. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the length from the two corners to the branch portion is determined according to a ratio of the capacity of the two refrigerant paths. 3. The refrigerant pipe according to claim 1, wherein the compressor-side refrigerant pipe is vertically connected to the branch refrigerant pipe, and a diameter of a passage hole at a connecting portion is smaller than an inner diameter of the compressor-side refrigerant pipe. Air conditioner.