JP2005257149A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the cooling capacity of a freezing cycle of a refrigerator. <P>SOLUTION: This refrigerator 1 has a main body composed of a heat insulating casing 2, and comprises the freezing cycle for allowing a refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure discharged from a compressor 21 to be successively circulated to a radiator 23, expanding parts 24, 31 and an evaporator 16, and returned to the compressor. The sectioned inside of the refrigerator of the heat insulating casing is cooled by applying the evaporating action of the refrigerant by an evaporator of the freezing cycle, the expanding parts are constituted by a series circuit formed by successively connecting a first expanding part, a gas-liquid separator 18 and a second expanding part, a gas refrigerant in the gas-liquid separator is supplied to an intermediate pressure part 21c of the compressor, and the gas-liquid separator is covered by a heat insulating material. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  In the present invention, the main body is constituted by a heat insulating box body having a heat insulating action, and high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor is circulated through the radiator, the expansion unit, and the evaporator in order, and returns to the compressor again. The present invention relates to a refrigerator that includes a refrigeration cycle and that can cool a compartment partitioned by an endothermic action when a working refrigerant evaporates in an evaporator of the refrigeration cycle.

  In a conventional refrigerator, for example, in the refrigerator disclosed in Patent Document 1, a refrigeration destination cycle includes a compressor (corresponding to a compressor), a condenser (corresponding to a radiator), a capillary (corresponding to a capillary tube), and a cooler (corresponding to an evaporator). It was configured to be connected in a ring. At this time, the expansion portion such as the capillary tube or the expansion valve is only one stage.

By the way, as shown in the Ph diagram of FIG. 2, when the expansion part such as the capillary tube or the expansion valve is only one stage of the expansion part 24, all the refrigerant decompressed by the expansion part 24 is supplied to the evaporator as it is. Therefore, the cooling capacity is the cooling capacity between a and b shown in FIG. When the expansion part is in two stages, the expansion part 24 and the expansion part 31, the pressure of the refrigerant can be reduced to c in FIG. 2 by the action of the expansion part 31, and as a result, the cooling capacity between c and b can be obtained. it can. Therefore, the present applicant studied to make the expansion part of the refrigeration cycle in the refrigerator into two stages. However, in order to make the expansion part into two stages, it is necessary to cause some refrigerant to evaporate between the first expansion part 24 and the second expansion part 31 to cool the refrigerant, and as a result, the gas It is necessary to provide a gas-liquid separator 18 for separating the converted refrigerant. The problem is how to arrange the gas-liquid separator 18 in the refrigerator. For example, when it is disposed in a machine room of a refrigerator, heat from a compressor, a radiator or the like enters the gas-liquid separator 18 and cooling efficiency decreases.
JP 2002-286347 A

  The problem to be solved is that the expansion part of the refrigerator refrigeration cycle is one stage and the cooling capacity is low, and when the expansion part of the refrigerator refrigeration cycle is two stages, the gas-liquid separator is connected to the refrigerator. It is a point how to arrange in the most suitable place.

  The refrigerator (1) of the present invention has a main body constituted by a heat insulating box (2), and the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor (21) is a radiator (23), expansion parts (24, 31), evaporation. A refrigeration cycle that sequentially circulates through the vessel (16) and returns to the compressor, and cools the interior of the heat-insulated box body using the evaporation of refrigerant in the evaporator of the refrigeration cycle, and the expansion The first expansion section, the gas-liquid separator (18), and the second expansion section are sequentially connected in series, and the gas refrigerant in the gas-liquid separator is used as the intermediate pressure section (21c) of the compressor. And the gas-liquid separator is covered with a heat insulating material.

Moreover, the said gas-liquid separator may be arrange | positioned in the heat insulating material (2a) which comprises the back side of a heat insulation box.
Furthermore, the gas-liquid separator may be disposed in a heat insulating material near the evaporator.

  The compressor has a two-stage compression configuration in which two compression elements are connected in series in a single case, and supplies the gas refrigerant from the gas-liquid separator to an intermediate pressure portion between the compression elements. Sometimes.

The refrigerant circulating in the refrigeration cycle may be carbon dioxide or a refrigerant containing carbon dioxide.
Furthermore, at least one of the first expansion section and the second expansion section of the refrigeration cycle may be configured with a capillary tube.

And both the 1st expansion part and the 2nd expansion part of the refrigerating cycle may be constituted with a capillary tube.
Further, the gas-liquid separator may be disposed above the compressor.

Furthermore, the heat radiator may be divided into a plurality of heat exchangers having a heat radiation action.
And it may be provided with the structure which carries out heat exchange between the refrigerant in the 1st expansion part, and the gas refrigerant.

In addition, there may be a configuration in which heat exchange is performed between the refrigerant in the second expansion portion and the refrigerant discharged from the evaporator.
Furthermore, the refrigerant | coolant in a 1st expansion part and the structure which heat-exchanged the refrigerant | coolant which came out of the said evaporator may be provided.

  According to the present invention, the expansion part of the refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator is configured by a series circuit in which the first expansion part, the gas-liquid separator, and the second expansion part are sequentially connected in series, and the gas refrigerant in the gas-liquid separator is Supplying to the intermediate pressure part of the compressor improves the cooling capacity of the refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator. And the gas-liquid separator provided between the 1st expansion part and the 2nd expansion part is covered with the heat insulating material. As a result, the influence of heat generated from the machine room on the refrigerant supplied from the gas-liquid separator to the second expansion section can be reduced by the heat insulating material. As a result, the cooling efficiency of the refrigeration cycle is improved.

  In addition, the gas-liquid separator is disposed in a heat insulating material that forms the back side of the heat insulating box, and the heat insulating of the gas liquid separator can be shared with the heat insulating material used for heat insulating the heat insulating box. The number of items is reduced and the arrangement is efficient.

Furthermore, the gas-liquid separator is arranged in the heat insulating material in the vicinity of the evaporator, and the cold heat leaking from the evaporator to the outside of the heat insulating box through the heat insulating material can be effectively supplied to the gas-liquid separator, Increases the cooling efficiency of the refrigerant.
The compressor has a two-stage compression configuration in which two compression elements are connected in series in a single case, and supplies gas refrigerant from the gas-liquid separator to the intermediate pressure portion between the compression elements. The gas refrigerant from the gas-liquid separator can be recovered from the intermediate pressure part of the two-stage compressor, and the gas refrigerant can be recompressed without reducing the cooling capacity.

In addition, since the refrigerant circulating in the refrigeration cycle is carbon dioxide or a refrigerant containing carbon dioxide, it is better for the environment than other refrigerants.
Furthermore, at least one of the first expansion section or the second expansion section of the refrigeration cycle is configured with a capillary tube, and the configuration can be simplified.
And both the 1st expansion | swelling part and 2nd expansion | swelling part of a refrigerating cycle are comprised with the capillary tube, and a structure can be simplified.

Further, the gas-liquid separator is disposed above the compressor, and the liquid refrigerant can be stored by its own weight when the compressor is stopped.
Furthermore, the heat radiator is configured by being divided into a plurality of heat exchangers having a heat radiation action, and the heat radiation can be used for preventing dew condensation.
And the refrigerant | coolant in a 1st expansion part and the said gas refrigerant are heat-exchanged, and it can gasify reliably by heating a gas refrigerant with the refrigerant | coolant in a 1st expansion part.

Moreover, the structure which heat-exchanges the refrigerant | coolant in a 2nd expansion part and the refrigerant | coolant which came out of the said evaporator is provided, and the refrigerant | coolant which came out of the evaporator can be overheated.
Furthermore, the refrigerant | coolant in the 1st expansion | swelling part and the structure which heat-exchanges the refrigerant | coolant which came out of the said evaporator are provided, and the refrigerant | coolant which came out of the evaporator can be overheated.

  For the purpose of improving the cooling capacity of the refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator, the expansion section is provided with two stages of the first expansion section and the second expansion section, and a gas-liquid separator is provided between the first expansion section and the second expansion section. The gas-liquid separator is divided into a gas refrigerant and a liquid refrigerant, the gaseous gas refrigerant is returned to the intermediate pressure part of the compressor, and the gas-liquid separator provided when the expansion part is arranged in two stages is insulated. It was realized by covering it with a material and insulating it to prevent heat from the compressor and radiator from entering the gas-liquid separator as much as possible.

  Next, an embodiment of the refrigerator according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of a refrigeration cycle of a refrigerator in the present invention. FIG. 2 is a Ph diagram of the refrigeration cycle of FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the refrigerator. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the refrigerator. 5 and 6 show modified examples of the refrigeration cycle. In FIG. 4, a part of the heat insulating box is shown in a transparent state.

  3 and 4, the household refrigerator 1 is configured by a heat insulating box 2 including a heat insulating material whose outer shell, which is a main body, has a heat insulating effect. The internal space of the heat insulation box 2 (that is, the interior divided into a plurality of compartments) is partitioned into a plurality of storage chambers 3 (in this embodiment, five compartments, that is, five compartments) having different set temperatures. The storage room 3 is, for example, a refrigerated room, a vegetable room, an ice room, a select room or a freezer room for selecting freezing or refrigeration. Moreover, the front opening of the heat insulation box 2 is closed by the heat insulation door 4 provided with the heat insulation effect so that opening and closing is possible. The inner side of the lower storage chamber 3 is a machine room 11. Further, in the internal space of the heat insulating box 2, a cold air flow path 13 through which the cold air circulates is provided. In the cold air flow path 13, an evaporator 16 and the cold air cooled by the evaporator 16 are stored. An evaporator blower 17 to be circulated in the chamber 3 is provided. A gas-liquid separator 18 for intermediate pressure is built in the heat insulating wall 2a located near the evaporator 16 on the back side. The gas-liquid separator 18 is located above the compressor 21 and can store the refrigerant when the compressor 21 is stopped. In addition, although the evaporator 16 produces | generates the cold air for freezing and the cold air for refrigeration using the single thing, it is comprised from several evaporators from which evaporation temperature differs, and each is dedicated for freezing and refrigeration. You may make it produce | generate the cold of the temperature. The radiator 23 may be a single heat exchanger, a heat exchanger as a dew prevention heater that prevents dew condensation around the front opening of the refrigerator, a drain pan condenser used for evaporating defrost water and drain, etc. It may be configured by a combination of a plurality of heat exchangers such as partially diverting to the above. Therefore, a plate capacitor, a micro fin tube, a fin tube capacitor, a crest capacitor, a frame capacitor, or the like is used as a heat radiator.

  The machine room 11 is provided with a compressor 21 and the like. The compressor 21 is connected by a refrigerant pipe together with the evaporator 16 and the gas-liquid separator 18 described above, and constitutes the refrigeration cycle shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The compressor 21 is a two-stage compression type. The first compression section 21a and the second compression section 21b are connected in series in a single sealed case to enable two-stage compression, and compresses the sucked gaseous refrigerant. Then, the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant is discharged to the radiator 23. Then, the temperature of the refrigerant is lowered by the radiator 23 and reduced in pressure by the first capillary tube 24 as the first expansion part, and then partially expanded (evaporation action) in the gas-liquid separator 18 located at the intermediate pressure. However, it is divided into a gaseous gas refrigerant and a liquid liquid refrigerant. At this time, the liquid refrigerant is cooled by the evaporation of the refrigerant. In addition, as the configuration of the first expansion section, the first capillary tube 24 designed in accordance with the operation of the refrigeration cycle assumed in advance is used, but when it is necessary to consider the load fluctuation of the refrigeration cycle, The throttle amount may be varied according to a predetermined algorithm using a movable expansion mechanism capable of varying the throttle amount, and may be controlled so as to optimize or stabilize the operation cycle of the refrigeration cycle.

  The gaseous gas refrigerant in the gas-liquid separator 18 passes through the intermediate-pressure refrigerant flow path 26 from the gas-liquid separator 18 and passes through the intermediate pressure portion 21c (that is, the first compression portion 21a and the second compression portion) of the compressor 21. To the portion 21b). At that time, the gas refrigerant flowing in the intermediate pressure refrigerant flow path 26 exchanges heat with the refrigerant flowing in the first capillary tube 24 in the heat exchanging unit 27, thereby improving the cooling of the refrigerant flowing in the first capillary tube 24. In addition, a check valve 28 is provided in the intermediate pressure refrigerant flow path 26 that connects the gas-liquid separator 18 and the intermediate pressure portion 21c of the compressor 21 to prevent a reverse flow of gas refrigerant (such as when the compressor 21 is stopped). Yes. In addition, when using the compressor 21 whose case interior is designed to have an intermediate pressure, the intermediate pressure refrigerant flow path 26 may be configured to supply gas refrigerant into the case of the compressor 21. At this time, the discharge of the first compression unit 21a is in the case, and the suction of the second compression unit 21b is in the case.

  On the other hand, the liquid refrigerant in the gas-liquid separator 18 is depressurized by the second capillary tube 31 which is the second expansion portion, and then flows into the evaporator 16 and evaporates. At this time, the refrigerant evaporates (evaporates) while cooling the air around the evaporator 16 and exhibits a cooling action. Thereafter, it is sucked into the compressor 21 again and circulated through the refrigeration cycle. Further, the refrigerant flowing from the evaporator 16 to the compressor 21 exchanges heat with the refrigerant flowing through the second capillary tube 31 at the heat exchanging unit 33, thereby improving the cooling of the liquid refrigerant supplied to the evaporator 16. The second capillary tube 31 serving as the second expansion portion is also designed in the same manner as the first expansion portion described above, and can be similarly replaced with a movable expansion mechanism.

  Then, the air cooled by the cooling action of the evaporator 16 becomes cold air, and is blown by the blower 17 through the cold air flow path 13 to the storage chamber 3 and circulates in the warehouse.

Since the refrigerator 1 is configured in this way, the expansion portion can be configured in two stages of the first capillary tube 24 and the second capillary tube 31, and the gas-liquid separator 18 is arranged on the back side of the heat insulating box 2. It is built in the heat insulating wall 2a located in the vicinity of the evaporator 16 to suppress intrusion of heat from the machine room 11, and cool air leaking out of the heat insulating box 2 from the evaporator 16 can be used. Therefore, the second-stage expansion (decompression) efficiency of the refrigeration cycle can be improved and the amount of cooling can be increased, and the gas-liquid separator 18 can be optimally arranged.
In addition, each refrigeration cycle device is designed using carbon dioxide as a working refrigerant. As a result, in the ph diagram of FIG. 2, the operating region is subcritical, but depending on the ambient temperature, the operating region may become supercritical. The working refrigerant is not limited to carbon dioxide, and other similar refrigerants can be used.

  Further, as a modified example of the arrangement of the gas-liquid separator 18, the gas-liquid separator 18 can be disposed in the machine room 11 by covering the periphery with a heat insulating material. In this way, even if the gas-liquid separator 18 is covered with a heat insulating material to be insulated from the surroundings and disposed in the machine room 11 having a high ambient temperature, it is possible to prevent the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle from being lowered. Conventionally, the gas-liquid separator has not been covered with a heat insulating material.

Furthermore, the refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator can be appropriately changed as long as it has a two-stage expansion section, and a modified example of the refrigeration cycle will be described with reference to FIGS.
The modification shown in FIG. 5 is different from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in the number and arrangement of the heat exchange units. The modification shown in FIG. 5 includes one heat exchange unit 36. The heat exchanging unit 36 exchanges heat between the refrigerant flowing through the first capillary tube 24 and the refrigerant flowing from the evaporator 16 to the compressor 21.

  Further, the modification shown in FIG. 6 differs from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in the number and arrangement of the heat exchange units, and the modification shown in FIG. 6 includes one heat exchange unit 37. The heat exchanging unit 37 exchanges heat between the refrigerant coming out of the radiator 23 and the refrigerant flowing from the evaporator 16 to the compressor 21. At this time, the refrigerant flows are configured to face each other.

As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited to the said Example, A various change is performed within the range of the summary of this invention described in the claim. It is possible. Examples of modifications of the present invention are illustrated below.
(1) In the embodiment, the gas-liquid separator is disposed in the heat insulating wall located on the back side of the evaporator, but may be disposed on another heat insulating wall.

(2) In the embodiment, the compressor is two-stage compression. However, if the gaseous refrigerant of the gas-liquid separator can be returned at an intermediate pressure, the type and structure of the compressor can be selected as appropriate. For example, it may be a compressor having a single compression portion but having an injection port capable of gas injection into a location located at an intermediate pressure portion of a cylinder or rotor housing.
(3) The type, number and arrangement of the refrigerator storage room can be changed as appropriate. For example, an appropriate number of refrigeration rooms, freezing rooms, ice greenhouses, chilled, ice making rooms, vegetable rooms, and the like can be arranged at appropriate locations.

(4) In the embodiment, the inflating part is constituted by a capillary tube, but it can also be constituted by an expansion valve.

  The expansion part of the refrigerating cycle of the refrigerator is provided with two stages of a first expansion part and a second expansion part, and a gas-liquid separator is provided between the first expansion part and the second expansion part. Dividing into gaseous gas refrigerant and liquid liquid refrigerant, returning the gas refrigerant to the intermediate pressure part of the compressor and covering the gas-liquid separator provided when the expansion part is made in two stages with a heat insulating material, The cooling capacity of the refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator can be improved. Therefore, it is optimal to apply to refrigerators that require cooling capacity.

FIG. 1 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of a refrigeration cycle of a refrigerator in the present invention. FIG. 2 is a Ph diagram of the refrigeration cycle of FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the refrigerator. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the refrigerator. FIG. 5 shows a modification of the refrigeration cycle. FIG. 6 shows a modification of the refrigeration cycle.

Explanation of symbols

1 Refrigerator 2 Insulation box (refrigerator body)
2a Heat insulation wall 16 Evaporator 18 Gas-liquid separator 21 Compressor 21c Intermediate pressure part 23 of compressor 23 Radiator 24 1st capillary tube (1st expansion part)
31 2nd capillary tube (2nd expansion part)

Claims (12)

The main body is composed of a heat insulating box, and a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor has a refrigeration cycle that sequentially circulates through the radiator, expansion section, and evaporator and returns to the compressor. While cooling the inside of the compartment where the heat insulating box is partitioned using the evaporating action of the refrigerant,
The inflating part is constituted by a series circuit in which a first inflating part, a gas-liquid separator, and a second inflating part are sequentially connected in series,
Supplying the gas refrigerant in the gas-liquid separator to the intermediate pressure part of the compressor;
And the said gas-liquid separator is covered with a heat insulating material, The refrigerator characterized by the above-mentioned. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the gas-liquid separator is disposed in a heat insulating material forming a back side of the heat insulating box. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the gas-liquid separator is disposed in a heat insulating material in the vicinity of the evaporator. The compressor includes a two-stage compression configuration in which two compression elements are connected in series in a single case, and supplies the gas refrigerant from the gas-liquid separator to an intermediate pressure portion between the compression elements. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the refrigerant circulating in the refrigeration cycle is carbon dioxide or a refrigerant containing carbon dioxide. 6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein at least one of the first expansion section and the second expansion section of the refrigeration cycle is configured by a capillary tube. 6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein both the first expansion section and the second expansion section of the refrigeration cycle are configured by capillary tubes. 6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the gas-liquid separator is disposed above the compressor. 6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the heat radiator is divided into a plurality of heat exchangers having a heat radiation action. The refrigerator according to claim 6 or 7, comprising a configuration for exchanging heat between the refrigerant in the first expansion section and the gas refrigerant. The refrigerator according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising a configuration for exchanging heat between the refrigerant in the second expansion section and the refrigerant discharged from the evaporator. The refrigerator according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising a structure for exchanging heat between the refrigerant in the first expansion section and the refrigerant discharged from the evaporator.

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