JP2006266521A - Heat exchanger - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a distribution of temperature by allowing inflow refrigerant to approximately uniformly flow in all of tubes by preventing the refrigerant from unevenly flowing to a part of the tubes when the quantity of inflow refrigerant is changed, in particular, its capacity is small. <P>SOLUTION: This heat exchanger 1 is constituted by alternately stacking the tubes 4 and fins 5, and mounting tanks 2, 3 at both ends of the tubes 4. A wall 30 is projected to a tube 4 side from an anti-tube connection side into the tank at a refrigerant inflow side and longitudinally mounted. The inside of the tank 2 is divided into an upstream-side portion and a downstream-side portion with respect to the conditioned air by the wall 30, and further the tubes 4 are separated into an upstream-side portion 4a and a downstream-side portion 4b with respect to the conditioned air. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention particularly relates to a heat exchanger that is used as an evaporator through which a refrigerant flows.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a heat exchanger as an evaporator that controls a cooling action employs a four-pass type refrigerant flow as shown in Patent Document 1 and the like in order to improve heat exchange efficiency. The refrigerant entered from the refrigerant inlet 8 flows into the compartment 6A of the tank 6, flows through the tube 2 regulated by the partition 10, and reaches the compartment 7A of the tank 7 below. Then, after flowing through the compartment 7A in the stacking direction and reaching the lower side of the tube 2 on the downstream side where one end of the compartment 6B is connected, it flows into the tube 2, rises toward the compartment 6B, and reaches the compartment 6B. .
JP 2002-147992

  The refrigerant reaching the compartment 6B reaches the compartment 6C on the downstream side of the conditioned air and descends the tube 2. The refrigerant descending the tube 2 reaches the compartment 7B of the lower tank 7. Then, after moving in the stacking direction in the compartment 7B and reaching the lower side of the tube 2 on the upstream side where one end of the compartment 6C is connected, it flows into the tube 2 and rises toward the compartment 6C. To. And it flows out of the heat exchanger 1 from the exit part 9.

  In recent years, variable capacity compressors have been employed in automotive air conditioners in order to improve controllability. The variable capacity compressor is controlled in proportion to the heat load, and the discharge amount is changed from a small capacity (for example, 20 cc / s) to a large capacity (150 cc / s), and the above-described 4-pass evaporator is used. Washed away.

  As described above, when the discharge amount from the variable capacity compressor decreases, even in the above-described four-pass evaporator, the flow of the refrigerant causes uneven temperature in the heat exchanger rather than the piece, which is the temperature of the blown air. It was uneven.

Although the prior art that took this measure could not be found, the one shown in Patent Document 2 was found. In this example, the distribution plate 20 is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the tank so as to prevent the non-uniformity of the refrigerant flowing to each tube depending on the connection position of the inlet pipe to the tank, and a large number of communication with different diameters are connected to the distribution plate 20. A hole 23 is formed. However, in this example, it is not possible to prevent temperature unevenness caused by the flow caused by the refrigerant pieces when the refrigerant flowing in is reduced.
JP 2001-255095 A

  Therefore, the present invention provides a heat exchanger that produces a good temperature distribution without being generated in the refrigerant flow even when the refrigerant flowing in has a small capacity.

  In the heat exchanger according to the present invention, in the heat exchange in which tubes and fins are alternately stacked and tanks are provided at both ends of the tubes, a wall projecting toward the tube side in the tank is provided from the anti-tube connection side. It exists in the longitudinal direction (Claim 1). For this reason, the refrigerant flows into the tank, but when the capacity decreases and the capacity is small, the refrigerant is blocked by the wall in the tank, and most of the refrigerant flows into the upstream side portion of the conditioned air in the tank. It will be. For this reason, a refrigerant | coolant flows in into the upstream site | part of the conditioned air of a tube. That is, the tube has a channel cross-sectional area of about half, and the refrigerant can flow uniformly through all the tubes. In addition, a part of the refrigerant that has flowed through the wall flows in the downstream side portion of the conditioned air of the tube. It is also possible to appropriately change the cross-sectional area ratio between the upstream part and the downstream part of the conditioned air according to the position of the wall (Claim 6).

  The tank is partitioned into an upstream portion and a downstream portion of the conditioned air in the longitudinal direction by the wall, and a refrigerant inflow means is connected to the upstream portion of the conditioned air (Claim 2). That is, by connecting the inlet portion such as the inlet pipe to the upstream portion of the tank divided by the wall, as described above, it contributes to flowing the refrigerant uniformly through all the tubes.

  Further, the tube is divided into an upstream portion and a downstream portion of the conditioned air on the wall, and most of the refrigerant is caused to flow to the upstream portion (Claim 3).

  There is a restriction means for restricting the flow in the longitudinal direction in the tube (Claim 4). Specifically, the inner fin is arranged in the tube (Claim 5). With this restricting means and inner fin, the refrigerant can flow only on one side of the tube. Although not shown, the regulating means may have a plurality of passages in the vertical direction, such as an extruded tube.

  The wall may be in non-contact with or in contact with the tube (claims 7 and 8). In the case of non-contact, the refrigerant flows from the lower side or the upper side of the wall to the downstream side of the conditioned air of the tube over the wall, and in the case of contact, the refrigerant flows through the space between the tubes. . In addition, a large number of holes are formed in the wall (claim 9).

  Further, the configuration of claim 1 is adopted in the first pass and the second pass in a four-pass heat exchanger (claim 10), and the front surface of the heat exchanger is uniform even when the refrigerant capacity is small. Thus, the temperature distribution can be improved.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when the amount of the refrigerant sent to the heat exchanger is reduced, the refrigerant is blocked by the wall in the tank and flows to the upstream portion of the conditioned air in the tank, and It will flow to the upstream part of the conditioned air of the tube. The flow path in the upstream portion of the conditioned air of the tube is about half of the cross-sectional area of the tube, so that the refrigerant can flow through all the tubes even when the flow rate is small. Thereby, the temperature distribution of the heat exchanger can be made uniform. In a four-pass heat exchanger, the present invention can be provided on the windward front surface in the first and second passes.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  A heat exchanger 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used as an evaporator that constitutes a part of a refrigeration cycle of an automotive air conditioner, for example. The heat exchanger 1 includes a pair of tanks 2 and 3, a plurality of tubes 4 communicating with the tanks 2 and 3, a corrugated fin 5 inserted and joined between the tubes 4, and a stack of the tubes 4. A connector 9 having a side plate 6 disposed at a direction end and an inlet portion 7 and an outlet portion 8 of a refrigerant that is a heat exchange medium is attached. This connector 9 is connected to an expansion valve (not shown).

  And this heat exchanger 1 makes the refrigerant | coolant sent via the expansion valve which is not shown inflow flow in via the inlet pipe 10, moves between the tanks 2 and 3 with the tube 2, and it is between the fins 5 in the process. Heat is exchanged with the air passing through the outlet pipe 11 and finally delivered through the outlet pipe 11.

  Of these, the tube 4 is configured by accommodating inner fins 15 (see FIG. 3) in a flat tube having both ends inserted into the tanks 2 and 3 open and a refrigerant flow path 14 formed therein. Yes. In this embodiment, the tube 4 is formed by bending a single material by roll homing. However, the tube 4 may be formed by extrusion and provided with a plurality of flow paths.

  The tanks 2 and 3 are disposed so as to face each other at a predetermined interval, and are formed in a cylindrical shape along the stacking direction of the tubes 4. The cylindrical body 18 and an opening portion of the cylindrical body 18 It is comprised from the cap 19 which obstruct | occludes.

  The tank 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6. In the tank 2, a partition wall 20 extending in the tube stacking direction is formed integrally with the cylindrical body 18, and a partition wall 21 is further formed by the partition wall 20. The tank 2 is divided into compartments 22A and 22B upstream of the conditioned air and compartments 22C and 22D (described in FIG. 1) downstream of the conditioned air. The compartment 22B and the compartment 22D have a communication path 25 in order to make the refrigerant flow into four paths.

  In the tank 2, many tube insertion holes 24 for inserting the tubes 4 are formed on both sides of the partition wall 20 in the tube connection portion 23 on the lower surface thereof. The tube 4 is inserted into the tube insertion hole 24, and its end protrudes into the tank 2 by a predetermined amount.

  Furthermore, a wall 30 projects into the tank 2 from the side opposite to the tube connecting portion 27 in the longitudinal direction. The tip of the wall 30 is in a non-contact state toward the tube 2, but the wall 30 prevents the compartment 22 </ b> A of the tank 2 from being completely in the upstream part 22 </ b> AU and the downstream part 22 </ b> AD of the conditioned air. Is partitioned. The inlet pipe 10 described above is connected to the upstream portion 2a side. Further, the wall 4 separates the above-described tube 4 into the upstream part 4a and the downstream part 4b of the conditioned air, though not completely.

  Therefore, when the amount of the refrigerant flowing in from the inlet pipe 10 is small (20 to 50 cc / s), as shown by an arrow, a large amount flows into the upstream portion 22AU of the conditioned air in the tank 2, and partly A small amount passes through the wall 30 and flows to the downstream portion 22AD of the conditioned air in the tank 2.

  For this reason, most of the refrigerant flows in the upstream portion 4 a of the conditioned air in the tube 4. Since the inner fin 15 is contained in the tube 4, the flow in the tube 4 is restricted, flows only in the upstream side portion thereof, and reaches the compartment 36 </ b> A of the lower tank 3. Thus, when the refrigerant flow has a small capacity, the same effect as when the flow path cross-sectional area of the tube 4 is reduced in the first pass is obtained, and the refrigerant flows evenly to all the tubes 4 in the first pass. Thus, the temperature distribution can be improved.

  On the contrary, when the refrigerant flow has a large capacity, it flows not only through the upstream side of the conditioned air but also through the wall 30 to the downstream part 22AD of the tank 2, and not only the upstream part 4a of the tube 4 but also the downstream part. It will also flow in 4b. Thus, the refrigerant can be allowed to flow evenly through the tube 4 not only when the capacity is large but also when the capacity is small. That is, this example is an example applied to the first pass of the 4-pass heat exchanger 1.

  6 and 7 show an example in which the second pass has the same configuration as that of the first pass. First, before describing this, the structure of the lower tank 3 will be described. In the tank 3, the partition wall 34 extending in the tube stacking direction is formed integrally with the cylindrical body 35, and the tank 3 is upstream of the conditioned air. It is divided into a side compartment 36A and a downstream compartment 36B.

  In the tank 3, many tube insertion holes 38 for inserting the tubes 4 are formed on both sides of the partition wall 34 in the tube connection portion 37 on the upper surface thereof. The tube 4 is inserted into the tube insertion hole 24, and its end protrudes into the tank 3 by a predetermined amount.

  Furthermore, a partition wall 42 is provided in the center of the compartment 36A of the tank 3 when viewed from the front, and the compartment 36A is divided into a left compartment 36AL and a right compartment 36AR. The partition wall 42 has a hole 43 that allows the refrigerant to flow.

  Furthermore, in the left compartment 36AL of the tank 4, a wall 40 protrudes from the side opposite to the tube connecting portion (bottom surface) in the longitudinal direction. The tip of the wall 40 is in a non-contact state toward the tube 4 side, but this wall 40 allows the left compartment 36AL of the compartment 36A upstream of the conditioned air in the tank 3 to be upstream of the conditioned flow. The part 36ALU and the downstream part 36ALD are not completely separated. The upstream portion 36ALU communicates with the compartment 36AR through the hole 43. Further, the wall 40 separates the tube 4 into the upstream part 4a and the downstream part 4b of the conditioned air, though not completely.

  Therefore, when the amount of the refrigerant flowing from the hole 43 is small (20 to 50 cc / s), a large amount flows into the upstream portion 36ALU of the conditioned air of the tank 3 as shown by the arrows in FIGS. Thus, a small amount of part flows over the wall 40 and flows to the downstream portion 36ALD of the conditioned air of the tank 3.

  For this reason, most of the refrigerant flows in the upstream portion 4 a of the conditioned air in the tube 4. Since an inner fin (not shown) is contained in the tube 4, the flow in the tube 4 is restricted, and only the upstream side thereof flows to the compartment 22 </ b> B of the upper tank 2. Thus, when the refrigerant flow has a small capacity, the same effect as when the flow path cross-sectional area of the tube 4 is reduced in the second pass is obtained, and the refrigerant flows evenly to all the tubes 4 in the second pass. Thus, the temperature distribution can be improved.

  On the contrary, when the refrigerant flow has a large capacity, it flows not only on the upstream side of the conditioned air but also on the downstream side portion 36ALD of the tank 3 through the wall 40, and not only on the upstream side portion 4a of the tube 4 but also on the downstream side portion. It will also flow in 4b. In this way, the refrigerant can be allowed to flow evenly through the second-pass tube 4 not only when the capacity is large but also when the capacity is small. That is, this example is an example applied to the second pass of the four-pass heat exchanger 1.

  The refrigerant reaching the compartment 22B of the tank 2 enters the compartment 22C from the communication path 25, descends from the tube 4 and reaches the compartment 36B of the tank 3. Then, the refrigerant moves in the stacking direction in the compartment 36 </ b> B, rises again through the tube 4, reaches the compartment 22 </ b> C of the tank 2, and flows out from the outlet pipe 11.

  FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of the flow of the refrigerant of the present invention. In the heat exchanger 1 of the 4-pass system, the present invention is implemented in the first pass and the second pass. The refrigerant is displayed so that a large amount of refrigerant flows through the upstream portion 4a of the conditioned air in the tube 4 when the capacity is relatively small. That is, the amount of refrigerant is indicated by “X”, and a large amount of “XX” is flowing in the upstream portion 4a of the tube 4 in the first pass and the second pass.

  FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. That is, in this example, the wall 30 or 40 is in contact with the end of the tube 40. In this example, a part of the refrigerant flows from the space 45 formed between the tubes 4 and the walls 30 or 40 to the downstream portion 4b of the conditioned air. The wall 30 or 40 also has an effect as a stopper that determines the insertion position of the tube 4. Since other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the modification of the second embodiment, the amount of refrigerant flowing in the downstream portion 4b of the tube 4 may be small in the space 45 described above, and a solution is made by making a large number of holes 46 in the wall 30 or 40. is there. Since other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, an example in which the present invention is adopted in four passes is shown, but it is of course applicable to a heat exchanger of one pass and two passes, and upstream of the tube. The present invention may be implemented in the tank on the side.

It is a perspective view of the 1st example of the heat exchanger of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a main part that is employed in the first pass portion and displays the flow of the refrigerant from the relationship between the tank 2, the tube 4, and the wall 30. It is a cross-sectional view of the principal part same as the above. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the principal part cut | disconnected along the longitudinal direction of the tank 2 same as the above. It is a perspective view same as the above. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the second pass portion in the first embodiment of the present invention. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view of the principal part which displayed the flow of the refrigerant | coolant from the relationship between the tank 3, the tube 4, and the wall 40 same as the above. It is the schematic diagram which showed typically the flow of the refrigerant | coolant of 1st Example of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the principal part cut | disconnected along the longitudinal direction of the tank 2 or 3 of 2nd Example of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the principal part cut | disconnected along the longitudinal direction of the tank 2 or 3 of 3rd Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Heat exchanger 2 Tank 3 Tank 4 Tube 4a The upstream part of the conditioned air 4b The downstream part of the conditioned air 5 Fin 10 Inlet pipe 11 Outlet pipe 15 Inner fin 18 Cylindrical body 20 Partition wall 22A, 22B The upstream side of the conditioned air 22C, 22D of the room of the downstream side of the conditioned air 23 Tube connection portion 24 Tube insertion hole 27 Anti-tube connection portion 30 wall 36A Room of the upstream side of the air-conditioning air 37 Tube connection portion 38 Tube insertion hole 39 Anti-tube connection portion 40 Wall 42 partition wall 43 holes 45 space 46 holes

Claims (10)

In a heat exchanger in which tubes and fins are alternately stacked and tanks are provided at both ends of the tubes,
A heat exchanger characterized in that a wall projecting toward the tube side is provided in the tank in the longitudinal direction from the anti-tube connection side.   The heat exchange according to claim 1, wherein the tank is partitioned into an upstream portion and a downstream portion of the conditioned air in the longitudinal direction by the wall, and a refrigerant inflow means is connected to the upstream portion of the conditioned air. vessel.   The heat exchanger according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the tube is divided into an upstream portion and a downstream portion of the conditioned air, and most of the refrigerant is allowed to flow to the upstream portion of the tube.   The heat exchanger according to claim 1 or 3, further comprising a restricting means for restricting a flow in the longitudinal direction in the tube.   The heat exchanger according to claim 4, wherein an inner fin is disposed in the tube.   The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional area of the upstream portion of the tank is larger than a cross-sectional area of the downstream portion.   The heat exchanger according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the wall is not in contact with the tube.   The heat exchanger according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the wall is in contact with the tube.   The heat exchanger according to claim 8, wherein a plurality of holes are formed in the wall.   A heat exchanger using a four-pass system in which the refrigerant flows, wherein the structure of claim 1 is adopted in the front side on the windward side of the heat exchanger in the first pass and the second pass.

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