JP2006097760A - Electric expansion valve - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric expansion valve as a unit for compatibly functioning as the electric expansion valve and as a pressure control valve. <P>SOLUTION: In a block body 100, there are formed a fluid inlet 10, an inlet passage 11 communicated with the fluid inlet, a fluid outlet 20, an outlet passage 21 communicated with the fluid output, a solenoid valve mounting hole 35, a valve chest 35a formed in the bottom of the solenoid valve mounting hole and communicated with the inlet passage, and a fluid communication hole 23 for communicating the outlet passage with the valve chest. A valve guide cylinder body 30 is fitted to the valve chest and a main valve element 40 slidable up and down is arranged in the valve guide cylinder body 30. In the lower part of the valve guide cylinder body, there are formed a valve seat portion 31a, an orifice 32, and a through-hole 37 for communicating the orifice with the inlet passage. A spring chamber 34 is formed in the upper part of the valve guide cylinder body, and the main valve element 40 is energized to abut on the valve seat portion by a closing spring 51 arranged in the spring chamber. Furthermore, refrigerant pressure in the spring chamber is controlled by a solenoid valve 60 provided in the upper part of the spring chamber. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric expansion valve, and more particularly to an electric expansion valve having a function as a pressure control valve (relief valve) in addition to a function as an expansion valve.

  In a refrigeration cycle such as an air conditioner, when providing an expansion valve for expanding the refrigerant and a pressure control valve as a relief valve when a refrigerant pressure (abnormal refrigerant pressure) exceeding a predetermined value is provided, There was a need to place a valve. Therefore, it has been desired to reduce the required space by reducing the size and cost of the refrigeration cycle by unifying the parts.

  An object of the present invention is to realize the above-described demand, and to provide an electric expansion valve as a single unit having both the function of a conventional electric expansion valve and the function of a pressure control valve.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has taken the following measures. That is,
An electric expansion valve according to the present invention includes a block main body, a fluid inlet, an inlet passage communicating with the fluid inlet, a fluid outlet, an outlet passage communicating with the fluid outlet, a solenoid valve mounting hole, and the electromagnetic valve. A valve chamber formed at the bottom of the valve mounting hole and communicating with the inlet passage, and a fluid communication hole communicating with the outlet passage and the valve chamber are formed, and a valve guide cylinder is fitted into the valve chamber. A main valve body is disposed in the valve guide cylinder so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, and a valve seat section, an orifice, and an orifice and an inlet passage communicate with each other at the lower part of the valve guide cylinder. And a spring chamber is formed in the upper part of the valve guide cylinder, and the main valve body is attached to the valve seat portion in a contact direction by a closing spring disposed in the spring chamber. Furthermore, the refrigerant pressure in the spring chamber is controlled by an electromagnetic valve provided in the electromagnetic valve mounting hole. Characterized in that it is configured to be.

  Furthermore, in the electric expansion valve according to the present invention, a sub valve seat is attached to the upper end portion of the valve guide cylinder in the electric expansion valve, and the sub valve seat is formed at a lower portion of the sub valve seat. An orifice is formed to communicate the spring chamber and the sub-valve chamber formed above the sub-valve seat, and a sub-valve for opening and closing the orifice by the electromagnetic valve is disposed in the sub-valve chamber. And

  Since the present invention is configured as described above, the electric expansion valve for expanding the fluid and the pressure control valve as a relief valve when abnormal fluid pressure occurs can be configured as a single valve. Therefore, it is possible to provide an electric expansion valve that is miniaturized and can realize space saving.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an electric expansion valve according to the present invention. In addition, although it demonstrates according to drawing below, the expression of upper, lower, left, and right is accompanying description of drawing, and does not necessarily correspond with actual positional relationship.

  The electric expansion valve according to the present embodiment is used in a refrigeration cycle such as an air conditioner, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped metal block main body 100 made of, for example, an aluminum alloy, and the block main body 100. The main valve body 40 provided includes an electromagnetic valve 60 that opens and closes by an electromagnetic method using a solenoid. As shown in FIG. 1, a fluid inlet 10 is formed in the right side surface 101 of the block main body 100, and the inlet passage toward the left side surface 102 of the block main body 100 facing the right side surface continuously from the fluid inlet 10. 11 is formed horizontally.

  Further, a fluid outlet 20 is formed on the left side surface 102 of the block body 100, and an outlet passage 21 is formed horizontally toward the right side surface 101 continuously to the fluid outlet 20. In addition, a pressure equalizing communication hole 22 is formed in the middle of the block main body 100 and a fluid communication hole 23 is formed in parallel with the pressure equalizing communication hole 22. In addition, an electromagnetic valve mounting hole 35 having a certain depth is formed in the upper part of the block body 100, and a valve chamber 35a is formed at the center bottom thereof, and the valve chamber 35a communicates with the fluid communication hole 23. . Further, the right side of the valve chamber 35 a communicates with the inlet passage 11.

(Main valve)
Next, the main valve portion will be described.
The main valve portion includes a valve guide cylinder 30 and a main valve body 40. First, the valve guide cylinder 30 will be described. The valve guide cylinder 30 is fitted in the valve chamber 35a. The valve guide cylinder 30 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape with a predetermined length, and a valve seat portion 31a is formed in the lower portion thereof, and an orifice 32 made of a circular hole is formed in the valve seat portion 31a. . Further, the orifice 32 communicates with the fluid communication hole 23.

Further, a through hole 37 and a small hole 38 are formed in the side wall of the valve guide cylinder 30 at the upper part of the valve seat portion 31 a, and the inlet passage 11 is formed through the through hole 37 and the small hole 38. And the orifice 32 are communicated with each other.
Therefore, the fluid flow path from the fluid inlet 10 to the fluid outlet 20 communicates from the fluid inlet 10 to the inlet passage 11, the through hole 37, the small hole 38, the orifice 32, the fluid communication hole 23, and the outlet passage 21. The fluid outlet 20 is reached.
Further, the upper part of the valve guide cylinder 30 extends to the inside of the electromagnetic valve mounting hole 35, a sub valve seat mounting portion 33 is formed at the upper end portion thereof, and a spring chamber is formed below the sub valve seat mounting portion 33. 34 is formed (described later).

Next, the main valve body 40 will be described.
A main valve body 40 is provided in the valve guide cylinder 30 so as to be movable up and down. The main valve body 40 has a rod shape with a circular cross section as a whole, and includes a lowermost valve seat contact portion 41, a small diameter portion 42 following the upper portion of the valve seat contact portion 41, and the diameter. The large-diameter portion 43 that follows the small portion 42 is formed. The valve seat abutting portion 41 has an inverted conical shape with the lower end as a top portion, and the diameter of the small diameter portion 42 is larger than the inner diameter of the orifice 32 and smaller than the large diameter portion 43. Note that the refrigerant can flow in the gap between the main valve body 40 and the sleeve 61.

  Further, the upper surface of the large-diameter portion 43 is a spring receiving portion 45 of a closing spring 51 (described later), and a convex portion 44 is formed at the central portion of the shaft center.

Next, the electromagnetic valve 60 mounted in the electromagnetic valve mounting hole 35 will be described.
In the solenoid valve 60, a solenoid part 63 is accommodated in a solenoid housing 62, and a sealing material, for example, a gasket (not shown) is inserted into the solenoid valve attachment hole 35 by a screw part formed in a housing attachment part 62 a below the solenoid housing 62. ) To be screwed and fixed.
A clearance is formed between the electromagnetic valve mounting hole 35 and the lower portion of the housing mounting portion 62a. This clearance forms an in-valve flow path 36 and communicates with the pressure equalization communication hole 22. Reference numeral 64 denotes a coil constituting the solenoid unit 63 and is wound around the bobbin 65.

A cylindrical sleeve 61 is provided below the inside of the solenoid housing 62, and a suction element 67 is fixed integrally therewith. The suction element 67 is formed in a cylindrical shape as a whole, has the same outer diameter as the sleeve 61, and a push rod 69 is inserted in the lower part thereof so as to be movable up and down.
Also, a push rod side spring receiver 69a is provided in the cylinder of the suction element 67 at the upper end of the push bar 69, and an adjustment screw 70 is screwed into the upper cylinder of the suction element 67 so as to be adjustable up and down. An adjustment-side spring receiver 71 is disposed below the 70. A spring 72 is interposed between the push rod side spring receiver 69 a and the adjustment side spring receiver 71. The spring 72 urges the auxiliary valve seat abutting portion 82 downward (in the direction of the auxiliary valve seat 50) via the push rod 69 and the plunger 68. The plunger 68 is provided with a pressure equalizing hole 68a in the vertical direction for communicating the space above the plunger 68 and the sub valve chamber 81 below.

  Further, the lower end portion of the push rod 69 is formed in a flange shape, and the flange portion 69b is connected to the upper end portion of the plunger 68 so as to contact or be fixed, and the plunger 68 is guided by the sleeve 61 so as to be vertically movable. The upper part of the rod-shaped sub valve 80 is fitted and fixed in the valve rod hole 68b formed at the center of the plunger 68, and the sub valve 80 moves up and down as the plunger 68 moves up and down. Is configured to do.

  The lower end portion of the auxiliary valve 80 is formed with an inverted conical auxiliary valve seat abutting portion 82 having the lower end as a top, and the auxiliary valve seat abutting portion 82 is separated from and attached to an auxiliary valve seat 50 (described later). It arrange | positions so that the valve 80 may be opened and closed.

(Sub valve seat 50)
A sub valve seat 50 is mounted on the sub valve seat mounting portion 33 at the upper end of the valve guide cylinder 30. The sub-valve seat 50 includes a fitting portion to the sub-valve seat mounting portion 33 at a lower portion thereof and a wide portion placed on the upper surface of the valve guide cylinder 30, and an orifice 52 and a closed portion are disposed on the shaft core portion. A spring receiving portion for the spring 51 is formed. A closing spring 51 is disposed in the spring chamber 34 below the auxiliary valve seat 50, and presses the main valve body 40 downward.

Further, a sub valve chamber 81 is formed between the sub valve seat 50 and the plunger 68, and the sub valve chamber 81 communicates with the in-valve flow path 36 through a gap between the sleeve 61 and the valve guide cylinder 30. is doing.
As described above, the auxiliary valve seat 50 divides the spring chamber 34 and the auxiliary valve chamber 81, but the flow area of the refrigerant increases as the auxiliary valve seat abutment portion 82 of the auxiliary valve 80 moves away from the orifice 52. However, the refrigerant flow increases in proportion to the expansion. Further, when the auxiliary valve seat abutting portion 82 is separated from the orifice 52 by a predetermined distance or more, the flow amount from the spring chamber 34 to the auxiliary valve chamber 81 is increased at once, and the refrigerant pressure in the spring chamber 34 is suddenly reduced accordingly. As a result, the main valve body 40 moves up at once, and the flow amount of the main valve portion increases.

  The lower portion of the suction element 67 is formed to be recessed in a truncated cone shape over the entire circumference, and the upper end side of the opposed plunger 68 is formed in a convex shape in the shape of a truncated cone. With this configuration, the vertical movement of the sub valve 80 interlocked with the plunger 68 can be quickly adjusted in a substantially linear state by the magnitude of the energization amount to the electromagnetic valve 60.

  The adjustment screw 70 is adjusted by a driver portion 75 a of a connector-integrated coil assembly 75 mounted above the plate 76 on the solenoid housing 62. The engaging portion between the suction element 67 and the adjusting screw 70 is connected in a watertight manner by an O-ring 74, and the coil assembly 75 is attached to the solenoid housing 62 via the O-ring 73. Therefore, the adjustment of the elasticity of the spring 72 by the adjusting screw 70 is for setting a reference value for opening the valve by setting an initial elasticity of the auxiliary valve 80 toward the auxiliary valve seat 50 in the auxiliary valve portion. The reference value can be selected by adjustment.

(Function)
With this configuration, in the state where the electric expansion valve of the present embodiment is interposed in the refrigeration cycle, when the energization to the solenoid unit 63 is “off”, the attractor 67 and the like are not excited, and therefore the spring The push rod 69, the plunger 68, and the auxiliary valve 80 are pressed downward by the spring pressure of 72, the auxiliary valve seat contact portion 82 of the auxiliary valve 80 contacts the auxiliary valve seat 50, and the orifice 52 is closed. ing.
Further, the valve seat contact portion 41 of the main valve body 40 is also in contact with the valve seat portion 31 a by the spring pressure of the closing spring 51 and is in a closed state.

  During this time, the refrigerant does not flow from the fluid inlet 10, but the refrigerant flows depending on the type of the refrigeration cycle, and the refrigerant flows from the fluid inlet 10 to the inlet passage 11, the valve chamber 35 a, and the spring chamber. Even if it reaches 34, there is no refrigerant outlet and the refrigerant flow stops. Further, when the refrigerant pressure to the fluid inlet 10 is further increased and the refrigerant pressure becomes high enough to push up the main valve body 40 regardless of the spring pressure of the closing spring 51, the main valve body 40 moves upward, and the orifice 32 is opened, and the refrigerant communicates from the fluid inlet 10 to the fluid outlet 20 through the inlet passage 11, the orifice 32, the fluid communication hole 23, and the outlet passage 21.

In the operating state of the electric expansion valve having the above-described configuration, when energization to the solenoid unit 63 is “on”, the attractor 67 and the like are magnetized according to the energization amount, and the plunger 68 is activated according to the degree of magnetization. The valve opening degree of the auxiliary valve 80 is varied by moving up and down. As a result, the refrigerant in the spring chamber 34 flows into the sub valve chamber 81 according to the valve opening, and the refrigerant pressure in the spring chamber 34 is reduced. That is,
The refrigerant pressure in the valve chamber 35a> the refrigerant pressure in the spring chamber 34 + the closing pressure of the closing spring 51, so that the main valve body 40 is opened, and the refrigerant flowing into the fluid inlet 10 in accordance with this opening state is the orifice 32. And flows out from the outlet passage 21 to the fluid outlet 20 through the fluid communication hole 23.

  In order to close the main valve body 40, the energization of the electromagnetic valve 60 is turned off and the sub valve 80 is closed. When the sub valve 80 is closed, the refrigerant pressure in the spring chamber 34 is approximately equal to the refrigerant pressure in the valve chamber 35a, and the main valve body 40 is eventually closed by the spring pressure.

  Moreover, when the refrigerant pressure reaches an abnormal refrigerant pressure that is equal to or higher than the reference value pressure in the refrigerant flow, the main valve body 40 moves up against the closing spring 51. As a result, the refrigerant rapidly escapes to the outlet passage 21 through the orifice 32 and the fluid communication hole 23, and the adverse effects caused by the abnormal high pressure of the refrigerant can be avoided. Therefore, this electric expansion valve also has a function as a pressure control valve.

The longitudinal section of the electric expansion valve concerning the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Fluid inlet 11 Inlet channel | path 20 Fluid outlet 21 Outlet channel | path 22 Pressure equalization communicating hole 23 Fluid communicating hole 30 Valve guide cylinder 31a Valve seat part 32 Orifice 33 Sub valve seat mounting part 34 Spring chamber 35 Electromagnetic valve mounting hole 35a Valve chamber 36 In-valve flow path 37 Through hole 38 Small hole 40 Main valve body 41 Valve seat contact part 42 Small diameter part 43 Large diameter part 44 Convex part 45 Spring receiving part 50 Sub valve seat 51 Closed spring 52 Orifice 60 Solenoid valve 61 Sleeve 62 Solenoid housing 62a Housing mounting part 63 Solenoid part 64 Coil 65 Bobbin 67 Suction element 68 Plunger 68a Pressure equalizing hole 68b Valve rod hole 69 Push rod 69a Push rod side spring receiver 69b Flange portion 70 Adjustment screw 71 Adjustment side spring receiver 72 Spring 73, 74 O-ring 75 Coil assembly 75a Driver part 76 Plate 80 Sub valve 81 Sub valve chamber 82 Sub valve seat contact portion 100 Block body 101 Right side surface (of the block body) 102 Left side surface (of the block body)

Claims (2)

The block body has a fluid inlet, an inlet passage communicating with the fluid inlet, a fluid outlet, an outlet passage communicating with the fluid outlet, a solenoid valve mounting hole, and an inlet formed at the bottom of the solenoid valve mounting hole. A valve chamber communicating with the passage, and a fluid communication hole communicating the outlet passage and the valve chamber are formed,
A valve guide cylinder is fitted into the valve chamber, and a main valve body is disposed in the valve guide cylinder so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. An orifice and a through hole for communicating the orifice and the inlet passage, and a spring chamber is formed in the upper part of the valve guide cylinder and the main valve is formed by a closed spring disposed in the spring chamber. The body is urged in the abutting direction against the valve seat,
Further, the refrigerant pressure in the spring chamber is configured to be controlled by an electromagnetic valve provided in the electromagnetic valve mounting hole.   A sub-valve seat is attached to the upper end of the valve guide cylinder, and the sub-valve seat includes the spring chamber formed in the lower portion of the sub-valve seat and the sub-valve chamber formed in the upper portion of the sub-valve seat. 2. An electric expansion valve according to claim 1, wherein an orifice is formed to communicate with each other, and a sub-valve for opening and closing the orifice by the electromagnetic valve is disposed in the sub-valve chamber.

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