JP2005249273A - Thermal expansion valve - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thermal expansion valve capable of stably holding the value of an opening area by securely adjusting, to any value, the opening area for adiabatically expanding a gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant from the liquid-phase refrigerant of the thermal expansion valve in which the pressing force of a pressing member pressed in a valve opening direction is controlled by controlling the projected amount of the pressing member. <P>SOLUTION: This thermal expansion valve comprises an operation bar 60 supported on a valve body 10, a valve element 30 opening and closing an orifice part 40 by the movement of the operation bar 60, and a stopper member 90 moved by the vertical movement of a diaphragm 80. The relative position of the operation bar 60 relative to the diaphragm 80 is changeable. The valve element 30 is pressed to the orifice part 40 side by a spring 34 in a valve chamber 22 formed in the valve body 10. The valve element 30 is pressed to the spring 34 side by the operation bar 60. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a temperature type expansion valve that controls the flow rate of refrigerant supplied to an evaporator (evaporator) in accordance with the temperature of an air conditioner such as a car air conditioner.

  FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a temperature type expansion valve according to a conventional technique (see Patent Document 1 below). A temperature type expansion valve denoted as a whole by reference numeral 100 includes a prismatic valve main body 110, and a passage 120 for introducing a high-pressure refrigerant sent from the compressor side of the air conditioner is formed in the valve main body 110. A valve chamber 122 communicating with the passage 120 is formed inside the lower portion of the valve body 110.

  The valve chamber 122 communicates from the passage 120 to the passage 126 via the valve seat 124, and sends the refrigerant from the passage 126 to the evaporator side. A spherical valve body 130 is provided in the valve chamber 122 so as to face the valve seat 124, and the valve body 130 is supported by a valve body receiving member 132. Further, the valve body receiving member 132 is supported by a nut member 136 serving as an adjusting screw via a spring 134. The nut member 136 is screwed into the valve main body 110 with a screw portion 137 and screwed with a tool such as a wrench using the hexagonal hole 138.

  The valve body 130 can be urged in the valve closing direction by adjusting the spring force of the spring 134 that supports the valve body 130 by the screwing amount of the nut member 136. A seal member 139 is attached to the nut member 136 to prevent the refrigerant from leaking out of the valve chamber 122.

  In the valve body 110, a refrigerant return passage 128 returning from the evaporator side to the compressor side is formed in parallel with the passage 126. The valve body 130 is operated by an operating rod 140 that passes through the central portion of the valve body 110. The upper end of the operating rod 140 is inserted into the stopper member 150, and the lower end thereof contacts the valve body 130.

  A seal member 142 is provided between the actuating rod 140 and the valve main body 110 to form a seal between the refrigerant delivery passage 126 and the refrigerant return passage 128. The stopper member 150 is mounted in a drive device called a power element, which is indicated as a whole by reference numeral 160. The power element 160 includes a disk-shaped can body 163 including an upper lid 161 and a lower lid 162, and the can body 163 is screwed onto the upper portion of the valve body 110 by a screw portion 164 of the lower lid 162 and a stopper member 150. The peripheral part is supported by the lower lid 162.

  A diaphragm 166 is provided in the can body 163, and a peripheral portion thereof is sandwiched between the upper lid 161 and the lower lid 162 and fixed by welding to form an upper pressure chamber 168 and a lower pressure chamber 169. The upper pressure chamber 168 is filled with a working fluid and sealed with a plug 170. The pressure of the refrigerant passing through the refrigerant return passage 128 acts on the lower surface of the stopper member 150, and the temperature of the refrigerant is transmitted to the stopper member 150 via the operating rod 140 and inside the upper pressure chamber 168 via the diaphragm 166. To the working fluid.

  The diaphragm 166 is displaced by the pressure in the upper pressure chamber 168, and the displacement amount operates the valve body 130 via the operating rod 140, decompresses and expands the refrigerant flowing through the passage 120, and forms the valve seat 124. The flow area of the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator side is controlled.

Such a conventional temperature type expansion valve requires many parts such as a valve receiving member, a spring, and an adjusting screw, making it difficult to reduce the size and weight of the temperature type expansion valve. In addition, there is a risk that a refrigerant leaks from the valve chamber through the adjusting screw portion.
Therefore, in response to demands for downsizing and weight reduction of the temperature type expansion valve, a temperature type expansion valve has been invented with a simplified structure and a reduced number of parts.

  FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a temperature type expansion valve according to the second prior art (see Patent Document 2 below). A first passage 220 for receiving high-pressure refrigerant sent from the compressor side of the air conditioner is formed on the lower side of the valve main body 210 that constitutes the housing of the temperature type expansion valve denoted as a whole by reference numeral 200.

  The first passage 220 is a bottomed hole, and a valve chamber 222 is formed in the vicinity of the bottom. The valve chamber 222 is parallel to the first passage 220 through a valve seat member 211 that is press-fitted into a hole 216 that forms a throttle passage formed perpendicularly to the first passage 220 in the valve body 210. The second passage 226 communicates with the second passage 226 formed therein, and sends the refrigerant to the evaporator side. A third passage 228 provided in parallel with the second passage 226 is formed on the upper side of the valve body 210. The third passage 228 passes through the valve main body 210 and passes through the refrigerant returning from the evaporator side to the compressor side.

  A spherical valve body 230 is disposed in the valve chamber 222 so as to face the throttle passage from the upstream side of the first passage 220, and the valve body 230 is fixed to the lower end of the operating rod 232 by welding. The operating rod 232 slides in the vertical hole 214 of the valve body 210, and a seal member 234 provided on the operating rod 232 forms a seal between the second passage 226 and the third passage 228. The operating rod 232 passes through the hole 212 of the valve main body 210, and the upper end 236 thereof is in contact with the stopper member 240.

  A power element generally indicated by reference numeral 260 has a can body 262 composed of an upper lid 263 and a lower lid 263 '. The can body 262 is screwed onto the upper end of the main body 210 by a screw portion 264 of the lower lid 263'. The periphery of the stopper member 240 is supported by the lower lid 263 '. The can body 262 is provided with a diaphragm 266, and its peripheral portion is sandwiched between an upper lid 263 and a lower lid 263 ′ and fixed together by welding to form an upper pressure chamber 268 and a lower pressure chamber 269. The upper pressure chamber 268 is filled with a working fluid, such as a refrigerant, and sealed with a plug 270.

  The upper surface of the stopper member 240 is in contact with the diaphragm 266, and a coil spring is provided between the step portion of the upper end 236 of the operating rod 232 that contacts the lower surface of the stopper member 240 and the protrusion 213 of the valve body 210 that forms the hole 212. 242 is provided, and the spring force urges the stopper member 240 toward the upper pressure chamber 268 via the operating rod 230. A concave portion 241 is formed on the lower surface of the stopper member 240, and the bottom surface of the concave portion 241 comes into contact with the upper end 236 of the operating rod 232.

  The refrigerant that passes through the third passage 228 and returns from the evaporator side to the compressor side transmits pressure to the lower surface of the stopper member 240 through the hole 212 of the valve body 210. The operating rod 232 functions as a temperature sensing member, and transmits the temperature of the refrigerant passing through the third passage 228 to the working fluid in the upper pressure chamber 268 via the stopper member 240 and the diaphragm 266. The operating rod 232 is displaced to a position where the pressure in the upper pressure chamber 268 and the pressure acting on the lower surface of the stopper member 240 are balanced, and the opening area of the throttle passage is adjusted by the valve body 230 to pass through the first passage 220. The flow rate of the refrigerant sent out from the second passage 226 to the evaporator side is controlled.

  However, also in the second prior art, it is desired to finely adjust the valve opening characteristics and set a so-called superheat degree.

Further, in order to adjust the valve opening characteristics, it is necessary to change the spring force of the coil spring 242. For this reason, coil springs having different free lengths must be prepared.
JP 2001-50617 A JP 2002-310538 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a valve member that adjusts the amount of refrigerant passing through the orifice, in the pressing force of the pressing member that presses in the valve opening direction. The purpose of the adjustment is to provide a temperature type expansion valve that can vary the valve opening characteristic by adjusting the protruding amount of the pressing member.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has taken the following measures.
The temperature type expansion valve according to claim 1 comprises an operating rod supported by the valve body, a valve body that opens and closes with respect to the orifice portion by the movement of the operating rod, and a stopper member that moves by the vertical movement of the diaphragm. In the temperature-type expansion valve, the relative position of the operating rod with respect to the diaphragm can be changed.
The temperature expansion valve according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the above means, the relative position of the operating rod with respect to the stopper member can be changed.

The temperature type expansion valve according to claim 3 is the temperature type expansion valve according to claim 2, wherein an operating rod is screwed to the stopper member.
The temperature type expansion valve according to claim 4 is the temperature type expansion valve according to claim 1, wherein the stopper member is composed of two upper and lower members, and the relative distance of the two members can be changed in the moving direction of the operating rod. It is characterized by that.

The temperature type expansion valve according to claim 5 is the temperature type expansion valve according to claim 4, wherein the two members are screwed together.
A temperature type expansion valve according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the temperature type expansion valve according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the valve body is moved to the orifice portion side by a spring in a valve chamber formed in the valve body. The valve body is pressed against the spring side by the operating rod.

The present invention has the following effects by the above configuration. That is,
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the degree of pressing by the operating rod can be changed, and the degree of opening and closing of the valve body can be changed.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above effect, the position of the operating rod relative to the stopper member may be simply changed.

According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 2, the opening / closing adjustment of the valve body can be realized by a simple means of screw connection.
In addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, the invention of claim 4 can be opened and closed by a stopper member having a relatively large diameter, so that the operation thereof is facilitated, and the two-member connection relationship Is also stable.

According to the invention described in claim 5, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 4, the opening / closing adjustment of the valve body can be realized by a simple means of screw connection.
According to the invention of claim 6, in the effect of the invention of any one of claims 1 to 5, the adjustment on the spring side is not required, thereby improving the airtightness of the valve body and improving the valve body. The configuration can be simplified.

  Hereinafter, the first and second embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description, expressions such as “up”, “down”, “left”, and “right” may be used. It is added that it is not always related.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a first embodiment according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of the temperature type expansion valve of the first embodiment.
A thermal expansion valve generally indicated by reference numeral 1 has a valve body 10 whose outer surface made of aluminum alloy or the like has a prismatic shape and has a circular hole in the center, and high pressure refrigerant flows into the valve body 10. One passage 20 is provided. The first passage 20 communicates with the valve chamber 22 of the bottomed 22 a, and an orifice portion 40 formed integrally with the guide member 35 is press-fitted and fixed to the opening of the valve chamber 22. A spherical valve body 30 is disposed in the valve chamber 22 by welding to a support member 32, and the support member 32 constantly biases the valve body 30 toward the orifice portion 40 by a spring 34.

  The cylindrical guide member 35 provided in the valve body 10 has a guide portion 37 in which an operating rod hole 36 is formed at the center thereof, and a step portion 38 on the outer peripheral portion thereof. A cylindrical large-diameter portion 39 formed integrally with an orifice portion 40 formed integrally with a large-diameter portion of the guide portion 37 with respect to the valve main body 10 via a passage 43 is formed in the valve main body 10. The stepped portion 13 and the stepped portion 38 of the guide member 37 are brought into contact with each other by surface contact, the guide member 35 is accurately positioned and fixed, and the surface contact between the stepped portion 38 and the stepped portion 13 provides a sealing property. Secured.

  In addition, an orifice portion 40 formed through a passage 43 communicating with the second passage 24 formed in the lower portion of the guide member 35 has a throttle portion 42 that allows the valve chamber 22 and the passage 43 to communicate with each other at the center. And forms a refrigerant flow path with the valve body 30. The refrigerant that has passed through the orifice portion 40 is sent out from the second passage 24 to the evaporator (not shown) through the passage 43. The refrigerant returning from the evaporator is sent to the compressor side (not shown) through the third passage 26.

A stepped hole 14 is formed in the upper portion of the guide portion 37, and a vibration isolating member 50 in the stepped hole 14 is mounted on the outer periphery of the operating rod 60 to prevent the operating rod 60 from vibrating.
The guide member 35 of this embodiment is fixed by caulking by the valve body 10 and the orifice portion 40 of the guide member 35 is fixed to the valve body 10 by press-fitting, so that the guide member 35 is securely fixed to the valve body 10. . Moreover, the orifice portion 40 is fixed by securing a sealing property by being press-fitted.

  A power element (valve element drive device) 70 is attached to the end (upper end) of the valve body 10 on the opposite side of the valve chamber 22. The power element 70 has a can body 72 in which an upper lid 72a and a lower lid 72b are integrally welded, and a diaphragm 80 is sandwiched between the upper lid 72a and the lower lid 72b. The can body 72 is fixed to the valve body 10 with a screw portion 74 and sealed with a seal member 76. A pressure chamber 82 is formed between the diaphragm 80 and the upper lid 72a, filled with a working fluid, and sealed with a plug 84.

  A stopper member 90 is disposed on the opposite side (lower part) of the pressure chamber 82 of the diaphragm. The refrigerant in the third passage 26 is introduced to the back surface of the stopper member through the opening 12. The stopper member 90 slides up and down following the displacement of the diaphragm 80. The stopper member 90 is connected to the operating rod 60, and the tip (lower end) of the operating rod 60 contacts the valve body 30. The displacement of the diaphragm 80 presses the valve body 30 via the operating rod 60 and controls the flow path area between the orifice portion 40 and the diaphragm 80. Further, a diaphragm contact surface 91 is formed on the upper surface of the stopper member 90, and an outer extension 92 is formed around the periphery thereof so as to contact the receiving portion 72c formed on the inner surface of the lower lid 72b. Formed.

Next, the setting position adjusting means of the operating rod 60 with respect to the stopper member 90 will be described with reference to FIG.
A cylindrical connecting tube portion 93 is integrally formed at the lower portion of the stopper member 90, and a female screw portion 94 a is formed on the inner periphery of the connecting tube portion 93. The male screw part 63 on the outer periphery of the small diameter part 62 formed at the upper end part of the operating rod 60 is screwed together. Then, the rotation of the operating rod 60 allows the small diameter portion 62 to enter and exit from the hole 94 to adjust the relative position of the operating rod 60 with respect to the stopper member 90.

Further, an operation portion 61 having a quadrangular or hexagonal cross section is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the operating rod 60 facing the third passage 26 in order to facilitate the rotating operation of the operating rod 60. . Therefore, when it is desired to adjust the operating rod 60 up and down with respect to the stopper member 90, the temperature type expansion valve 1 according to the present invention is set in the air conditioner or after the setting, via the third passage 26. Then, a rotating tool may be applied to the operation unit 61 to rotate the operating rod 60.
And by this adjustment, the protrusion amount to the downward direction (valve body 30 side) with respect to the orifice part 40 of the operating rod 60 is set, and the pressing amount to the valve body 30 is also set.

Next, a procedure for assembling the temperature type expansion valve will be described.
First, the support member 32 to which the spring 34 and the valve body 30 are welded is inserted into the bottomed valve chamber 22 through the opening 12 on the side where the power element 70 of the valve body 10 is attached.

  Next, the guide member 35 to which the vibration isolating member 50 is attached and the operating rod 60 is inserted is inserted from the opening 12 and press-fitted into the stepped hole 14 of the valve body 10. The guide member 35 is positioned in the axial direction by the step portion 13, and is subjected to crimping (caulking portion 11) to be fixed.

Finally, the assembly of the power element 70 is attached to the valve body 10. This mounting is performed by screwing the screw portion 74 into the screw portion on the valve body 10 side. At this time, the hole 94 on the stopper member 90 side is applied to the upper end of the small diameter portion 62 of the actuating rod 60 and rotated. After the assembly of the element 70 is securely attached to the valve body 10, the position of the operating rod 60 may be set by rotating the operating rod 60.
As described above, the present invention enables the adjustment of the protruding amount of the actuating rod 60 (the amount of pressing against the valve body) even with the non-adjustable temperature-type expansion valve using the spring 34, so that the spring 34 The opening / closing amount of the valve element can be adjusted while maintaining the merit of the non-adjustable temperature expansion valve.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a second embodiment according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of the temperature type expansion valve of the second embodiment. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment shown in FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a stopper member 90 is disposed below the diaphragm pressure chamber 82. The stopper member 90 is divided into two parts in the vertical direction (moving direction of the stopper member 90), and includes an upper diaphragm contact portion 90a and a lower adjustment portion 90b. A hole is formed on the lower surface of the diaphragm contact portion 90a. 95 is formed, and an internal thread 95a is formed on the inner periphery thereof. Further, a male screw 96 that can be screwed with the female screw 95a is formed on the peripheral portion of the adjusting portion 90b, and a connecting tube portion 93 is extended downward below the adjusting portion 90b. The upper end portion of the operating rod 60 is inserted and fixed in the central hole 94 of the connecting cylinder portion 93.

Moreover, the lower end part of the said connection cylinder part 93 is extended to the 3rd channel | path 26, and comprises the rotation operation part 93a of the adjustment part 90b. And by rotating the operation part 93a with a tool etc., the adjustment part 90b can be moved up and down with respect to the diaphragm contact part 90a, and the actuating rod 60 can be adjusted up and down.
In the above configuration, the refrigerant in the third passage 26 is introduced to the back surface of the stopper member 90 through the opening 12. The stopper member 90 slides up and down following the displacement of the diaphragm 80. The stopper member 90 is connected to the operating rod 60, and the tip (lower end) of the operating rod 60 contacts the valve body 30. The displacement of the diaphragm 80 raises and lowers the valve body 30 via the operation rod 60 to control the flow path area between the orifice portion 40 and the diaphragm 80.

  Next, in the assembly procedure of the temperature type expansion valve in the second embodiment, the relative position adjustment of the operating rod 60 with respect to the stopper member 90 is performed by the rotation of the operating rod 60 in the first embodiment, but in the second embodiment, the adjusting portion 90b is adjusted. Is moved up and down to adjust the vertical position of the operating rod 60.

  As described above, the present invention can be understood from the first embodiment or the second embodiment, even if it is a non-adjustable temperature expansion valve using a spring, the protruding amount of the actuating rod 60 (the pressing amount against the valve body). By making the adjustment possible, it is possible to adjust the valve opening characteristic while maintaining the merit of the non-adjustment type temperature expansion valve by the spring.

The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the temperature type expansion valve which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. The principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view of the temperature type expansion valve of the Example 1. FIG. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the temperature type expansion valve which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. The principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view of the temperature type expansion valve of the example 2 of the embodiment. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the temperature type expansion valve which concerns on the prior art 1. FIG. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the temperature type expansion valve which concerns on the prior art 2. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Temperature type expansion valve (this invention) 10 ... Valve body 11 ... Caulking part 12 ... Opening part 13 ... Step part 14 ... Stepped hole 15 ... Step part 20 ... First passage 22 · · Valve chamber 22a · · bottom 24 · · second passage 26 · · third passage 30 · · valve body 32 · · support member 34 · · spring 35 · · guide member 36 · · actuating rod hole 37 ·・ Guide part 38 ・ ・ Step part
39 ·· Large diameter portion 40 · · Orifice portion 42 · · Throttling portion 43 · · Passage 50 · · Anti-vibration member

60..Operating rod 61..Operation part 62..Small diameter part 63..Male screw part 70..Power element (driving device) 72..Can body 72a..Upper cover 72b..Lower cover 72c..Receiving part 74 ·· Screw portion 76 · · Seal member 80 · · Diaphragm 82 · · Pressure chamber 84 · · Plug member 90 · · Stopper member 90a · · Diaphragm contact portion 90b · · Adjustment portion 91 · · Diaphragm contact surface 92 · · Extension portion 93 · · Connection cylinder portion 93a · · Operation portion 94 · · Hole 94a · · Female screw portion 95 · · 95a · · female screw · · · 96 · · male screw

100..Temperature expansion valve (conventional) 110..Valve body 120..Passage 122..Valve chamber 124..Valve seat 126..Passage 128..Return passage 130..Valve element 132..Valve receiving member 134 ··· Spring 136 · · Nut member 137 · · Screw part 138 · · Hexagonal hole 139 · · Seal member 140 · · Actuating rod 142 · · Seal member 150 · · Stopper member 160 · · Power element 161 · · Upper lid 162 · -Lower lid 163-Can body 164-Screw part 166-Diaphragm 168-Upper pressure chamber 169-Lower pressure chamber 170-Plug body

200 ·· Temperature expansion valve (conventional) 210 · · Valve body 211 · · Valve seat member 212 · · Hole 213 · · Projection 214 · · Vertical hole 216 · · Hole 220 · · First passage 222 · · Valve chamber 226 ·· Diaphragm 226 ·· Second passage 228 ·· Third passage 230 ·· Valve 232 ·· Operating bar 234 ·· Seal member 236 ·· Upper portion 240 ·· Stopper member 241 ·· Recess portion 242 ·· Coil Spring 260, Power element 262, Can body 263, Upper lid 263 ', Lower lid 264, Screw part 266, Diaphragm 268, Upper pressure chamber 269, Lower pressure chamber 270, Plug body

Claims (6)

  A thermal expansion valve comprising: an operating rod supported by a valve body; a valve body that opens and closes with respect to an orifice portion by movement of the operating rod; and a stopper member that moves by vertical movement of the diaphragm. A temperature-type expansion valve characterized in that the relative position of the operating rod can be changed.   The temperature type expansion valve according to claim 1, wherein the relative position of the operating rod with respect to the stopper member can be changed.   The temperature type expansion valve according to claim 2, wherein the operating rod is screwed to the stopper member.   The temperature type expansion valve according to claim 1, wherein the stopper member is composed of two upper and lower members, and the relative distance of the two members can be changed in the moving direction of the operating rod.   The temperature type expansion valve according to claim 4, wherein the two members are screwed together.   The valve body is pressed toward the orifice portion by a spring in a valve chamber formed in the valve body, and the valve body is pressed toward the spring side by the operating rod. The temperature type expansion valve according to claim 5.

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