JP2007263530A - Expansion valve - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an expansion valve with a reduced number of components by improving a valve opening adjusting mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: A body 110 of the expansion valve 100 has a first port 121 communicated with a receiver side, and a second port 122 leading toward an evaporator. A valve opening is adjusted by transmitting action of a power element 16 to an operation rod 170, and displacing valve element 140 via a transmitting means. A valve assembly unit 130 is composed by axially housing the valve element 140 and a biasing spring 150 in a valve housing 131, and forming an orifice 132 in the valve housing 131. The valve assembly unit is axially inserted and fixed in the first port 121 or the second port 122, the valve unit 140 of the valve assembly unit is displaced in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the operation rod 170 by axial displacement of the operation rod 170, and an opening/closing amount of the orifice 132 is controlled. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an expansion valve that is installed in an air conditioner such as a car air conditioner and controls the flow rate of refrigerant supplied to an evaporator according to the temperature of the refrigerant.

For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 below, this type of expansion valve is attached to a valve body in a direction to close the orifice, a valve body that opens and closes the orifice, and the valve body with respect to the orifice. A biasing spring is incorporated, and a valve element is displaced through an actuating rod to open and close an orifice by an operation of a power element that operates in response to a temperature, and thereby an evaporator from a compressor or a receiver side. The flow rate of the refrigerant supplied to the side is controlled.
In an expansion valve having a known structure, the valve element moves in the same direction as the axial direction of the operating rod driven by the power element. That is, a power element, an operating shaft, an orifice, a valve body, and a biasing spring, which are main components in the expansion valve, are arranged coaxially. Because of this structure, it is difficult to reduce the height dimension of the valve body in which these main components are incorporated, and there is a problem that hinders further reduction in manufacturing cost.
In addition, an orifice and a valve body are disposed between the first port connected to the outlet side of the condenser or the receiver and the second port connected to the inlet side of the evaporator after the refrigerant flowing into the first port flows out. However, since the power element, the operating shaft, the orifice, the valve body, and the urging spring are coaxially arranged, the refrigerant flow path flowing from the first port to the second port must be bent in a crank shape. In other words, this hinders the smooth flow of the refrigerant, which may cause abnormal noise.
JP 2002-267291 A

In the conventional expansion valve described above, the axis of the actuating rod driven by the power element and the axis of the moving direction of the valve body are arranged on the same axis. Therefore, there is a restriction not only in reducing the size of the expansion valve including the power element, but also in assembling.
An object of the present invention is to accommodate a valve body and an urging spring in the valve housing in the axial direction and form an orifice in the valve housing to form a valve assembly unit. The valve assembly unit is a first port or a second port. The expansion valve can be reduced in size, reduced in the number of parts, and improved in assembly by inserting and fixing in the axial direction in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the operating rod. Is to provide.

  The expansion valve according to the present invention includes a first port connected to the outlet side of the condenser or the receiver, a second port connected to the inlet side of the evaporator through which the refrigerant flowing into the first port flows out, and the outlet of the evaporator A third port connected to the side, a fourth port connected to the inlet side of the compressor through which the refrigerant flowing into the third port flows out and is connected to the third port, and between the first port and the second port A valve body movably provided to face the orifice so as to adjust opening and closing of the orifice, a biasing spring that biases the valve body in a closing direction, and a power that operates in response to temperature An element and an operating rod that transmits the operation of the power element to the valve body to control the amount of refrigerant throttling by the valve body, and the valve body and the biasing spring are accommodated in the valve housing in the axial direction. The orifice is formed in the valve housing to form a valve assembly unit, the valve assembly unit is inserted and fixed in the first port or the second port in the axial direction, and the axial displacement of the actuating rod is moved therewith. Transmission means for transmitting to the valve body in a direction orthogonal to the valve body and following the valve body is provided, and the valve body of the valve assembly unit is made to be orthogonal to the axial direction of the operation rod by the axial displacement of the operation rod. The opening / closing amount of the orifice is controlled by being displaced.

The transmission means preferably includes a first cam surface formed at a tip of the operating rod passing through a window hole provided in the valve housing and a second cam surface formed at a part of the valve body. The first cam surface and the second cam surface are V-shaped in cross section or at least one of them is formed as an inclined surface.
More preferably, the angle of the V-shaped section or the inclined surface is set to 30 to 60 degrees with respect to the axis of the operating rod.

And the said valve body facing the said orifice between the said 1st port and the said 2nd port is provided with at least 1 communicating path which accept | permits passage of the refrigerant | coolant which flows in from the said orifice.
Moreover, the said valve body and the said urging | biasing spring are hold | maintained so that it cannot detach | leave by performing the bending process or the crimping process to the edge part of a valve housing.
Further, the valve body and the biasing spring are held in a non-detachable manner by a screw member screwed to the end of the valve housing, and the biasing force of the biasing spring can be adjusted by adjusting the screwing of the screw member. is there.

By configuring as described above, it is possible to reduce the size of the expansion valve, reduce the number of parts, and reduce the assembling property and cost.
In addition, according to the configuration of the present invention, a smooth refrigerant flow can be obtained as compared with the known structure, so that it also has the effect of suppressing the generation of abnormal noise.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the expansion valve of the present invention.
An expansion valve denoted as a whole by reference numeral 100 has a main body 110 made of aluminum alloy or the like. The main body 110 is provided with a mounting screw hole 111 and the like, and further, a first port 121 connected to the outlet side of the condenser or the receiver, and the refrigerant flowing into the first port 121 flows out and is connected to the inlet side of the evaporator. A second port 122. In addition, the main body 110 is connected to the outlet side of the evaporator, the third port 123 into which the refrigerant returning from the evaporator flows in, and the refrigerant flowing into the third port 123 connected to the third port 123 flows out to enter the compressor And a fourth port 124 connected to the side.
The first port 121 and the second port 122 are arranged in a direction in which their axis centers are parallel to each other. In this embodiment, both ports are formed coaxially.

The valve assembly unit 130 is inserted and fixed between the first port 121 and the second port 122 or one of them.
The valve assembly unit 130 includes, for example, a cylindrical housing 131 formed by a method such as drawing using a corrosion-resistant metal such as stainless steel, a valve body 140 and a biasing spring 150 installed in the housing. 131 has an orifice 132. The valve body 140 has a spherical valve member 142 that adjusts the opening and closing of the orifice 132, and is provided so as to be movable within the valve housing 131. Further, the valve housing 131 is provided with a window hole 133 that allows entry of a lower end portion of an operating rod, which will be described later. The urging spring 150 that urges the valve body 140 toward the orifice 132 is held in the valve housing 131 so as not to be detached by bending or crimping the rear end portion 134 of the housing 131 inward.

The main body 110 is equipped with a power element 160 from the upper end side. The power element 160 has a can 161 in which a diaphragm 164 is sandwiched, and the can 161 is fixed to the main body 110 via a screw portion 162. A seal member 167 is inserted between the can 161 and the main body 110. A working chamber 163 defined by a diaphragm 164 is provided on the upper portion of the can 161, and working fluid is sealed and sealed with a plug 166.
The lower surface of the diaphragm 164 is supported by a stopper 165. The stopper 165 transmits the displacement of the diaphragm 164 to the operation rod 170. The movement of the operation rod 170 in the axial direction is the movement of the valve body 140 in the axial direction by the action of a transmission means described later. To adjust the distance between the valve element 140 and the orifice 132.

  The transmission means for transmitting the axial displacement of the actuating rod 170 to the valve body 140 in the direction orthogonal thereto and following the valve body includes a conical cam surface 172 formed at the lower end of the actuating rod 170, and the valve body 140. It is comprised by the V-groove-shaped cam surface 145 formed in this.

  In FIG. 1A, the operating rod 170 is pushed down in the F1 direction by the power element 160, and the valve element 140 is moved to the maximum in the left direction against the spring force of the biasing spring 150 by the action of the transmission means. Shows the state. The valve member 142 of the valve body 140 is maximally separated from the orifice 132, and the valve is fully opened.

  FIG. 1B shows a state in which the operating rod 170 has moved to the maximum in the direction of arrow F <b> 2 by the action of the power element 160. Due to the action of the transmission means, the valve element 140 moves to the maximum in the right direction, the valve member 142 completely closes the orifice 132, and the valve is fully closed.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing details of the structure of the valve body 140.
The cylindrical valve body 140 has a V-groove-shaped cam surface 145 and a spherical valve member 142 that is fixed to the neck portion 141 by welding. By means of the first cam surface 172 of the actuating rod 170 and the second cam surface 145 of the valve body 140, transmission means for transmitting the axial displacement of the actuating rod 170 to the valve body 140 in a direction orthogonal thereto and causing the valve body to follow. Constitute.
The valve body 140 has a hole 144 in which the urging spring 150 is accommodated, and a refrigerant communication path 143 that communicates the outside of the neck 141 and the hole 144 is provided. The communication path 143 can be formed with an appropriate number of holes.
Moreover, it can also be set as a communicating path by providing suitably the axial groove | channel etc. in the outer peripheral surface of the valve body 140 instead of a hole.

In the expansion valve of the present invention, since the valve assembly unit 130 is modularized, machining of the main body can be simplified. Therefore, the number of processing steps can be reduced. And the length dimension of a main body can be shortened, and also the number of parts can be reduced.
Further, in the expansion valve of the present invention, the refrigerant flows straight without being bent from the first port 121 to the second port 122, so that the turbulence in the refrigerant flow is reduced as compared with the known structure, and the refrigerant There is an effect of suppressing the generation of abnormal noise caused by disturbance.

Further, since a lateral force acts on the operating rod 170, the sliding resistance increases, and the vibration of the valve body is restrained. Therefore, an anti-vibration spring or the like that prevents vibration of the valve body can be omitted.
In addition, the power element 160 has a structure in which the working chamber 163 in which the working fluid is sealed is sealed with the plug 166, but the power element 160 can naturally be applied to a structure equipped with a capillary tube instead of the plug.

FIG. 3 shows an expansion valve 100A according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
The same configurations or members as those of the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. About the structure or member which is different from 1st Embodiment except the member added newly, "A" is attached | subjected to the code | symbol of 1st Example.

Differences of the second embodiment from the first embodiment will be described below.
The cylindrical valve housing 131A of the valve assembly unit 130A in the second embodiment is formed by cutting, has an orifice 132A on one end side, and has an internal thread on the other end 134A. The male screw 184 of the screw member 180 shown in FIG. 4 is screwed into the female screw of the other end 134A. In this embodiment, a hexagonal hole 182 is formed at the center of the screw member 180. The hexagonal hole 182 allows passage of the refrigerant, and the spring force of the built-in biasing spring 150 can be adjusted by turning the screw member 180 through a hexagonal wrench through the hole.

  The valve body 140A slidably accommodated in the valve housing 130A has a spherical valve member 142A for opening and closing the orifice 132A, and a second cam surface 145A having a V-shaped cross section is formed on the outer peripheral surface. . The first cam surface 172 formed at the tip of the operating rod 170 of the power element 160 passes through the window hole 133A of the valve housing 131A and engages with the second cam surface 145A of the valve body 140A. The first cam surface 172 and the second cam surface 145A constitute transmission means for transmitting the axial displacement of the actuating rod 170 to the valve body 140A in a direction orthogonal thereto to follow the valve body.

  In the second embodiment, the first port 121 is formed to have a step 121A. Since the step structure determines the fixing position of the valve assembly unit 130A with respect to the first port 121, the positioning and fixing of the valve assembly unit 130A can be easily performed.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the valve assembly unit is fixed to the first port side, but it is naturally possible to adopt a configuration in which the valve assembly unit is fixed to the second port side.

  Further, by arranging the first port, the second port, and the orifice on the same axis, it is possible to further reduce the number of machining steps and ensure the smooth flow of the refrigerant. The first port and the second port do not necessarily have to be coaxial as long as their cross-sections overlap each other.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the cam surface 172 at the lower end of the operating rod 170 can be an inclined cam surface or a hemispherical cam surface instead of the conical cam surface, and the angle of the cam surface is It is appropriately set within the range of 30 to 60 degrees. Further, a link mechanism or a lever mechanism can be adopted as the transmission means instead of the cam means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a fully open state and (b) is a cross-sectional view showing a fully closed state. It is explanatory drawing of the valve body which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. The 2nd Embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is a full open state, (b) is sectional drawing which shows a fully closed state. It is explanatory drawing of the screw member which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

100, 100A Expansion valve 110 Main body 121 First port 122 Second port 123 Third port 124 Fourth port 130, 130A Valve assembly unit 131, 131A Valve housing 132, 132A Orifice 133, 133A Window hole 140, 140A Valve body 142 , 142A Valve members 143, 143A Refrigerant passages 145, 145A Second cam surface 150 Energizing spring 160 Power element 164 Diaphragm 170 Actuating rod 172 First cam surface

Claims (10)

A first port connected to the outlet side of the condenser or the receiver, a second port connected to the inlet side of the evaporator through which the refrigerant flowing into the first port flows out, and a third port connected to the outlet side of the evaporator And the opening and closing adjustment of the orifice provided between the first port and the fourth port connected to the inlet side of the compressor through which the refrigerant flowing into the third port flows out and is connected to the third port. In this way, a valve body that is movably provided facing the orifice, a biasing spring that biases the valve body in a closing direction, a power element that operates in response to temperature, and a refrigerant by the valve body An operating rod for transmitting the operation of the power element to the valve body to control the amount of restriction,
The valve body and the biasing spring are accommodated in the valve housing in the axial direction, and the orifice is formed in the valve housing to form a valve assembly unit.
Inserting and fixing the valve assembly unit in the first port or the second port in the axial direction;
Transmission means for transmitting the axial displacement of the actuating rod to the valve body in a direction perpendicular to the axial displacement and causing the valve body to follow,
An expansion valve characterized in that the opening / closing amount of the orifice is controlled by displacing the valve body of the valve assembly unit in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the operating rod by the axial displacement of the operating rod.   The transmission means is a cam means comprising a first cam surface formed at the tip of the operating rod passing through a window hole provided in the valve housing and a second cam surface formed at a part of the valve body. The expansion valve according to claim 1, wherein:   The expansion valve according to claim 2, wherein the first cam surface and the second cam surface have a V-shaped cross section.   The expansion valve according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the first cam surface and the second cam surface is an inclined surface.   The expansion valve according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the angle of the V-shaped section or the inclined surface is set to 30 to 60 degrees with respect to the axis of the operating rod.   The expansion valve according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the valve body includes at least one communication passage that allows passage of the refrigerant flowing from the orifice.   The expansion valve according to claim 1, wherein the valve body and the biasing spring are held so as not to be detached by bending or crimping an end portion of the valve housing.   The expansion valve according to claim 1, wherein the valve body and the biasing spring are held in a non-detachable manner by a screw member screwed to an end portion of the valve housing.   The expansion valve according to claim 8, wherein the biasing force of the biasing spring can be adjusted by adjusting the screwing of the screw member. The expansion valve according to claim 1, wherein the first port and the second port are arranged coaxially.

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