JP2002188869A - Refrigerant flow splitter and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the uniformity of the distribution of a gas-liquid mixed refrigerant in a refrigerant distributor manufactured by drawing a pipe material such as copper pipes, with suppressing the manufacturing cost. SOLUTION: The refrigerant distributor 20 for splitting a flow of refrigerant comprises a body 21 and a nozzle 23. The body 21 is formed by drawing a copper pipe and has an inlet hole 21a and a plurality of distributing ports 21b. The nozzle 23 is disposed between the inlet hole 21a and the distributing ports 21b in the body 21 and has a hole 23a which reduces the route of the refrigerant flowing from the inlet hole 21a to the ports 21b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerant flow divider for use in a heat exchanger for a refrigeration system, and more particularly to a refrigerant flow divider for dividing a refrigerant by taking out refrigerant introduced from an inlet through a plurality of outlets. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When supplying a refrigerant to a heat exchanger having a plurality of heat transfer passages such as an evaporator for a refrigeration system,
It is widely practiced to control the refrigerant supplied to each heat transfer flow path by one expansion valve, and to distribute the refrigerant flowing out of the expansion valve evenly to each heat transfer flow path by a refrigerant flow divider. For example, FIG.
In the refrigerating apparatus shown in FIG. 1, first, the refrigerant pressurized by the compressor 11 is condensed in the condenser 12 and
Through the expansion valve 14. The gas-liquid two-phase flow refrigerant that has exited the expansion valve 14 is sent to each heat transfer flow path of the evaporator 16 by the refrigerant flow divider 15 and evaporated in the evaporator 16, and then sent to the compressor 11 through the accumulator 17. It is refluxed.

[0003] The refrigerant flow divider used in the above-described apparatus has a role of evenly distributing the refrigerant.
The higher the degree of uniformity, the better.

[0004]

FIG. 5 shows an example of a conventional refrigerant flow divider. The refrigerant distributor 15 shown here has a refrigerant distribution space S of a predetermined volume inside a large-diameter cylindrical main body 51, a refrigerant inlet 51a on the bottom side, and a plurality of distribution ports on the ceiling side. 51b are formed. The refrigerant distributor 15 introduces the gas-liquid mixed refrigerant supplied upward from the refrigerant supply passage connected to the inflow port 51a into the refrigerant distribution space S once, and then distributes the refrigerant to the refrigerant distribution space 51b. The refrigerant is diverted substantially evenly to the path. The divided refrigerant flows into each heat transfer tube of a cross-fin heat exchanger such as an evaporator for a refrigerator, for example, through each refrigerant distribution channel.

However, the conventional refrigerant flow divider 1 as described above
In the case 5, if the vertical installation angle accuracy of the main body 51 is not maintained at a considerably high accuracy, the ratio of gas-liquid in the refrigerant distributed to each refrigerant branch channel varies due to the influence of gravity. . Even if the accuracy of the installation angle of the main body 51 is ensured, there is a possibility that uniformity of distribution of the refrigerant may not be ensured depending on the installation state of the refrigerant supply path connected to the inlet 51a.

Various proposals have been made to improve the distribution uniformity of such a refrigerant flow divider, and some of them have been put to practical use. For example, JP-A-11-2
No. 57801 discloses a refrigerant flow divider in which a concave-spherical refrigerant flow collision portion is provided so that gas-liquid in the refrigerant is uniformly stirred. Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-38598 discloses a flow divider in which a separate member is attached to a flow divider main body to form a central passage or an annular passage to achieve uniform gas-liquid mixing.

[0007] However, all of these refrigerant flow dividers have complicated shapes, and require high-cost machining such as cutting. In addition, in order to perform a cutting process or the like, a refrigerant flow divider made of brass is often used. on the other hand,
In the case of the above-mentioned refrigerant diverter 15, since the copper pipe can be manufactured by narrowing the copper pipe, the manufacturing cost including the processing cost is reduced. Therefore, when a very high distribution uniformity is required, a machined refrigerant diverter is adopted, but when not so high a refrigerant distribution uniformity is required, cost reduction is required. From the viewpoint, a copper tube throttle type flow divider such as the above-described refrigerant flow divider 15 is employed.

An object of the present invention is to improve the uniformity of distribution of a gas-liquid mixed refrigerant in a refrigerant flow divider manufactured by squeezing a pipe material such as a copper pipe while suppressing the production cost.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerant diverter for diverting a refrigerant, comprising a main body and a path reducing member. The main body is formed from a tube by drawing, and has an inflow port and a plurality of branch ports. The path reducing member is disposed between the inflow port and the diversion port in the main body, and serves to reduce the path of the refrigerant flowing from the inflow port to the diversion port.

In the refrigerant distributor of the first aspect, the refrigerant sent to the refrigerant distributor flows into the main body from the inlet. And the refrigerant flows to the diversion port in the main body,
Before arriving at the diversion port, the path is reduced by the path reducing member. That is, after the refrigerant enters the main body from the inflow port, it passes through the path reduced by the path reducing member,
It will flow to each branch. And, even if the gas and liquid are biased before the path reducing member for some reason, the refrigerant is collected when passing through the small path of the path reducing member, and the refrigerant ejected from the small path of the path reducing member is Then, a spray state is established, and the gas-liquid ratio becomes substantially uniform before each of the diversion ports. Therefore, the refrigerant flowing from each branch port to the subsequent stage has a substantially equal gas-liquid ratio.

As described above, the use of the refrigerant flow divider according to claim 1 improves the uniformity of distribution of the gas-liquid mixed refrigerant as compared with the conventional refrigerant flow divider having no path reducing member.
The refrigerant flow divider according to claim 1 has a simple structure in which a path reducing member is fitted to a main body formed by drawing a pipe material such as a copper pipe, so that it is not necessary to perform expensive cutting on the main body. The manufacturing cost is reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the refrigerant flow divider according to the first aspect, wherein the path reducing member has an outer peripheral surface and a hole. The outer peripheral surface of the path reducing member faces the inner peripheral surface of the main body. The holes of the path reducing member are approximately equal in distance from each of the diversion ports.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a hole is provided in the path reducing member having an outer peripheral surface facing the inner peripheral surface of the main body, and the refrigerant path is reduced by the hole. Since the distance between the hole and each of the branch ports is substantially equal, the degree of the uniform branch of the refrigerant is high.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the refrigerant flow divider according to the first or second aspect, wherein the distribution port of the main body is formed by drilling. Although the main body is mainly formed by drawing, it is also assumed that if the main body is formed only by drawing, it is difficult to form the branch opening. Therefore, in the refrigerant flow divider according to the third aspect, the forming is performed by using a relatively inexpensive drilling process.
This makes it possible to reduce the manufacturing cost as compared with the case where the refrigerant flow divider is formed only by drawing.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerant flow divider according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the path reducing member is fixed to the main body by press working. Here, the path reducing member, which is a separate member from the main body, is fixed to the main body by press working. For example, a depression or a projection is formed in a part of the main body by dimple processing or the like, thereby fixing the path reducing member to the main body. In this way, the main body is not cut to fix the path reducing member, and the path reducing member is fixed to the main body by the inexpensive press working as described above. Manufacturing costs can be kept low.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a refrigerant flow divider.
A method for manufacturing the refrigerant flow divider according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising a first step, a second step, a third step, and a fourth step. In the first step, one end of the tube is subjected to drawing, and the opening at the one end is closed by welding. In the second step, one end of the pipe is drilled to form a plurality of branch ports. In the third step, the path reducing member is inserted into the tube from the opening at the other end of the tube. In the fourth step, drawing is performed on the other end of the tube material,
Form an inlet.

In the manufacturing method according to the fifth aspect, since the path reducing member is disposed in the main body, the path reducing member is inserted into the inside of the tube from the opening at the other end before the drawing is performed on the other end. ing. Further, the diversion port is formed by drilling, and a relatively troublesome process of forming a plurality of diversion ports by drawing can be omitted.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a refrigerant flow divider.
The manufacturing method according to claim 5, wherein the fifth step and the sixth step are performed.
And a step. The fifth step is a step performed before the third step, in which the intermediate portion of the tube is subjected to press working so that the first projecting portion that can be locked to the path reducing member projects inward. The sixth step is a step performed after the third step, in which a middle portion of the tube material is subjected to press working, and the second protrusion is engaged with the path reducing member on the side opposite to the first protrusion side of the path reducing member. Part protrudes inward.

According to the manufacturing method of the present invention, since the first and second projections for fixing the path reducing member are formed by press working instead of expensive cutting work, the manufacturing cost can be reduced. .

[0020]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a refrigerant flow divider according to one embodiment of the present invention. This refrigerant flow divider 20 is the same as the refrigerant flow divider 15 used in the refrigeration apparatus shown in FIG.
By adopting in place of the above, it is possible to increase the degree of gas-liquid uniformity when the refrigerant of the gas-liquid two-phase flow is transmitted to each heat transfer flow path of the evaporator 16.

<Configuration of Refrigerant Divider 20> Refrigerant Divider 20
Is mainly composed of a main body 21, a nozzle member (path reducing member) 23, and a screen 25.

The main body 21 is a molded product of a "potato type" which is formed from a copper tube mainly by drawing as described later, and has an inflow port 21a and a plurality of diversion ports 21b. The diversion ports 21b are circular holes having a diameter of 2 to 3 mm, and are radially arranged in a top view as shown in FIG. 1A and are arranged at regular intervals in the circumferential direction.

The nozzle member 23 is disposed between the inflow port 21a and the diversion port 21b in the main body 21. The nozzle member 23 divides the space in the main body 21 into a first space S1 and a second space S2. It serves to reduce the path of the refrigerant flowing from 21a to the diversion port 21b. The nozzle member 23 is a disk-shaped member, and has a hole 23a in the center. The hole 23a is arranged at the center of the nozzle member 23 so that the distance from each of the branch ports 21b is equal. The outer peripheral surface of the nozzle member 23 faces the inner peripheral surface of the main body 21 and is fitted into the main body 21 via the cylindrical portion of the screen holder 25a.

The screen 25 is a steel net that functions as a filter, and is fixed to the main body 21 by a screen holder 25a. This screen 25 is arranged on the inflow port 21 a side of the nozzle member 23. The screen holder 25a fixes the screen 25 to the main body 21 in such a manner that its cylindrical portion is sandwiched between the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle member 23 and the inner peripheral surface of the main body 21. A reinforcing spring (not shown) for suppressing deformation of the screen 25 is mounted around the screen 25.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the nozzle member 23 and the screen holder 25a are positioned in the main body 21 by a plurality of recesses 21c and 21d formed in the main body 21, which will be described later. I do.

<Distribution of Refrigerant by Refrigerant Divider 20> Next, how the refrigerant is distributed by the refrigerant divider 20 will be described.

The refrigerant sent to the refrigerant distributor 20 flows into the first space S1 in the main body 21 from the inflow port 21a.
Then, the refrigerant flows to the branch port 21b in the main body 21, but before reaching the branch port 21b, the nozzle member 2
3 makes the path smaller. That is, after the refrigerant enters the first space S1 in the main body 21 from the inflow port 21a,
Through the reduced path (the hole 23a of the nozzle member 23), it flows from the second space S2 to each of the diversion ports 21b. Since the refrigerant is collected when passing through the hole 23a of the nozzle member 23, even when the gas-liquid of the refrigerant is biased in the first space S1, the refrigerant ejected from the hole 23a remains in the second space S1. It becomes a spray state in S2,
The gas-liquid ratio becomes substantially uniform before each of the diversion ports 21b.
Therefore, the refrigerant flowing from each branch port 21b to each heat transfer passage of the evaporator 16 has a substantially equal gas-liquid ratio.

<Method for Manufacturing Refrigerant Flow Divider 20> Next, a method for manufacturing the refrigerant flow divider 20 will be described with reference to FIG.
In the manufacturing process of the refrigerant flow divider 20, the main body 21 is manufactured by molding a copper tube into a required shape using a mold, and the nozzle member 23 is fixed in the main body 21 by dimple processing. Also, the diversion port 21b is formed by drilling.

First, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), one end of the copper tube M is drawn by a drawing die 32 while being held by the holding member 31 to form a bowl shape. Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, the opening at the top of one end of the cup-shaped copper tube M is closed by TIG welding. Then, the branch outlet 21b is formed by drilling.

Next, dimple processing is performed on a predetermined position P1 of the copper tube M as shown in FIG. 2B, and several first dents 21c are formed in the circumferential direction (see FIG. 2C). Attach Then, the screen holder 25a on which the screen 25 is mounted is set in the nozzle member 23, inserted into the copper tube M from the other end of the copper tube M, and stopped against the first recess 21c.

Next, on the side opposite to the first recess 21c of the inserted nozzle member 23, dimple processing is performed on the copper tube M to form a second recess 21d, and the nozzle member 23 is provided with the first and second recesses 21c, 21c. The position is determined by 21d (see FIG. 2C).

Finally, as shown in FIG.
While the inner peripheral surface of the inflow port 21a is formed by the mold 35, the inclined portion 2 near the inflow port 21a is formed by the throttle member 34.
1e is formed.

The refrigerant distribution pipe 29 connected to each heat transfer passage of the evaporator 16 is connected to the distribution port 21b of the main body 21 of the refrigerant distributor 20, as shown in FIG. <Features of Refrigerant Flow Divider 20> (1) In the refrigerant flow distributor 20, the main body 21
The refrigerant that has entered the first space S1 is collected when passing through the hole 23a of the nozzle member 23, is sprayed into the second space S2, and flows into each of the diversion ports 21b. Further, the distance between the hole 23a and each of the branch ports 21b is equal. For this reason,
Even if the refrigerant gas is biased in the first space S1 due to the installation accuracy of the refrigerant flow divider 20 or the path of the pipe to the inlet 21a, a substantially uniform gas-liquid ratio is provided in front of each branch 21b. Becomes Therefore, each branch 21
The refrigerant entering the refrigerant distribution pipe 29 from b has a substantially equal gas-liquid ratio.

As described above, if the refrigerant flow divider 20 is used,
A conventional refrigerant flow divider 15 having no nozzle member 23
The distribution uniformity of the gas-liquid mixed refrigerant is improved as compared with (see FIG. 5). (2) The refrigerant flow divider 20 has a nozzle formed on the main body 21 formed by subjecting the copper pipe M to drawing and drilling. Since it has a simple structure in which the member 23 is inserted and it is not necessary to perform expensive cutting on the main body 21, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

(3) In the refrigerant distributor 20, the nozzle member 23, which is a separate member from the main body 21, is fixed to the main body 21 by forming depressions 21c and 21d in a part of the main body 21 by dimple processing. . As described above, the nozzle member 23 is fixed to the main body 21 by the inexpensive dimple processing as described above without cutting the main body 21 to fix the nozzle member 23. Manufacturing costs can be kept low.

[0036]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the refrigerant is collected when passing through the small path of the path reducing member. Therefore, even if the gas-liquid is biased before the path for some reason, the path is reduced. The refrigerant blown out from the small path of the reduction member is in a spray state, and has a substantially equal ratio of gas and liquid before each branch. Therefore, the refrigerant flowing from each branch port to the subsequent stage has a substantially equal gas-liquid ratio. In addition, since it has a simple structure in which a path reducing member is fitted to a main body formed by drawing a pipe material such as a copper pipe, it is not necessary to perform an expensive cutting process on the main body, so that the manufacturing cost of the refrigerant flow divider is reduced. Is suppressed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the hole of the path reducing member is provided to reduce the refrigerant path, and the distance between the hole and each of the branch ports is substantially equal. Get higher.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since each of the branch ports is formed by using a relatively inexpensive drilling process, the manufacturing cost is reduced as compared with the case where the refrigerant branch is formed only by drawing. Can be kept small.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the main body is not cut to fix the path reducing member, but the path reducing member, which is a separate member from the main body, is fixed to the main body by pressing such as dimple processing. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the refrigerant flow divider is reduced.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the path reducing member is disposed in the main body, the path reducing member is inserted through the opening at the other end before the drawing is performed on the other end of the tube. ing. Further, since the diversion port is formed by drilling, a relatively troublesome process of forming a plurality of diversion ports by drawing can be omitted.

In the invention according to claim 6, since the first and second projections for fixing the path reducing member are formed by press working instead of expensive cutting work, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a top view of a refrigerant flow divider according to an embodiment of the present invention. (B) A longitudinal sectional view of the refrigerant flow divider.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a manufacturing process of a refrigerant flow divider.

FIG. 3 is a connection diagram of a refrigerant distribution pipe to a refrigerant distribution device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a flow of a refrigerant in a refrigeration apparatus.

FIG. 5A is a top view of a conventional refrigerant flow divider. (B) A longitudinal sectional view of a conventional refrigerant flow divider.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 refrigerant distributor 21 main body 21a inflow port 21b distribution port 21c first depression (first projection) 21d second depression (second projection) 23 nozzle member (path reducing member) 23a hole M copper tube (pipe)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) B21D 51/18 B21D 51/18 BD 51/24 51/24 53/06 53/06 Z

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerant diverter for diverting a refrigerant.
It is formed from the tube material (M) by drawing, and the inlet (21)
a) and a body (21) having a plurality of diversion ports (21b)
And disposed between the inflow port (21a) and the diversion port (21b) in the main body (21);
A flow-reducing device (20) comprising: a path-reducing member (23) for reducing the path of the refrigerant flowing from 1a) to the distribution port (21b). 2. The path reducing member (23) has an outer peripheral surface facing an inner peripheral surface of the main body (21), and a hole (23a) having a distance substantially equal from each of the branch openings (21b). The refrigerant flow diverter (20) according to claim 1, wherein 3. The diversion port (21b) of the main body (21)
The refrigerant flow splitter (20) according to claim 1 or 2, formed by drilling. 4. The refrigerant flow divider according to claim 1, wherein the path reducing member is fixed to the main body by pressing. 5. A method for manufacturing a refrigerant flow divider (20) according to claim 1, wherein one end of said tube (M) is subjected to drawing and said one end is welded. A first step of closing the opening of the part;
1b), a third step of inserting the path reducing member (23) into the inside of the tube (M) from an opening at the other end of the tube (M), and a step of forming the tube (M). A) forming the inflow port (21a) by drawing at the other end of the refrigerant flow divider (20). 6. A press working is applied to an intermediate portion of the tube (M) before the third step, so that a first protrusion (21c) which can be locked to the path reducing member (23) is protruded inward. Fifth
After the third step, the intermediate portion is subjected to press working, and is engaged with the path reducing member (23) on the side of the path reducing member (23) opposite to the first protruding portion (21c) side. A sixth step of projecting the second projection (21d) inward;
The method for manufacturing a refrigerant flow divider (20) according to claim 5, further comprising: