JP2008298343A - Expansion valve of refrigerant flow divider integral structure and refrigerator using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an expansion valve of a refrigerant flow divider integral structure capable of reducing a discontinuous refrigerant flow noise and capable of providing appropriate flow dividing characteristics of a refrigerant; and a refrigerator using the expansion valve. <P>SOLUTION: The expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integral structure is provided with a first throttle part 10 for conducting a throttle action, a refrigerant dividing chamber 6 for dividing the refrigerant after flowing through the first throttle part 10 into a flow dividing pipe 12 and the flow dividing pipe 12 connected to the refrigerant dividing chamber 6. The flow dividing pipe 12 is formed so as to open near a wall body (a first separation wall 4) where the first throttle part 10 is formed and a cylindrical member 13 for preventing the refrigerant flow injected from the first throttle part 10 from directly blowing to an inlet of the flow dividing pipe 12 is provided around an outlet side of the first throttle part 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an expansion valve having a refrigerant flow divider integrated structure in which a refrigerant flow divider and an expansion valve are integrated, and a refrigeration apparatus using the expansion valve.

  In a refrigeration apparatus such as an air conditioner, a refrigerator, or a manufacturing process cooling apparatus, an evaporator may be configured with a plurality of passes (a refrigerant flow passage in a heat exchanger). The refrigerant circuit in this case is configured as shown in FIG. 16, for example. The refrigerant pressurized by the compressor 101 is condensed by the condenser 102 and sent to the expansion valve 104 through the liquid receiver 103. The refrigerant decompressed by the expansion valve 104 is sent to the refrigerant distributor 106 via the refrigerant pipe 105, is divided by the refrigerant distributor 106, and is sent to a plurality of paths of the evaporator 107. The low-pressure refrigerant sent to the evaporator 107 is evaporated by the evaporator 107 and is returned to the compressor 101 through the accumulator 108. When the evaporator 107 is configured in a plurality of paths as described above, the refrigerant decompressed by the expansion valve 104 is evenly divided into the plurality of paths of the evaporator 107 through the refrigerant pipe 105 on the downstream side of the expansion valve 104. A refrigerant flow divider 106 is attached for the purpose. The refrigerant distributor 106 is a container having a predetermined volume of refrigerant distribution space (hereinafter referred to as a refrigerant distribution chamber), as described in Patent Document 1, for example. A diversion pipe mounting hole for connecting each path of the evaporator 107 is formed. Therefore, the refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant flow divider 106 is a low-pressure gas-liquid two-phase flow refrigerant because the refrigerant is decompressed by the expansion valve 104 in a predetermined flow direction. And this gas-liquid two-phase flow refrigerant tends to become a plug flow or slag flow in which large bubbles exist while flowing through the refrigerant pipe 105 connecting the expansion valve 104 and the refrigerant flow divider 106. In addition, when the refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant flow divider 106 becomes a plug flow or a slag flow, bubbles may not flow uniformly into each branch pipe due to the influence of gravity or the like, and it is difficult to perform a uniform flow. There was a problem.

  Therefore, in recent refrigerant flow dividers, for example, as described in Patent Document 1, a throttle part (path reducing member in Patent Document 1) having a constant opening is arranged upstream of the branch pipe mounting hole. Proposals have been made to achieve a uniform diversion by putting the refrigerant on the downstream side of the section into a sprayed state.

On the other hand, apart from the above-described problem of the refrigerant flow divider, the refrigerant flow noise is a problem in the expansion valve as follows.
The expansion valve is generally based on the fact that the refrigerant flowing in is a high-pressure liquid refrigerant. However, air bubbles may be contained in the refrigerant upstream of the expansion valve, that is, on the outlet of the receiver (or the outlet of the condenser if there is no receiver) due to fluctuations in the operating conditions of the refrigeration system. The high-pressure liquid refrigerant containing bubbles may be heated from the outside of the pipe while flowing through the refrigerant pipe leading to the expansion valve, and the bubbles may increase, or the bubbles in the refrigerant flow may merge. As a result, large bubbles may grow into a plug flow or a slag flow in which intermittently present, and flow into the expansion valve. Further, when the plug flow or the slag flow is sent to the expansion valve, a discontinuous state in which liquid refrigerant and gas refrigerant alternately flow to the throttle portion, and speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation occur in the refrigerant flow of the expansion valve. For this reason, in the throttle part, the gas-liquid alternately flows to make a squealing sound, or the spraying speed and pressure of the mist refrigerant flowing out from the throttle part to the refrigerant piping system fluctuate and the expansion valve outlet side There was a problem that a discontinuous refrigerant flow sound was generated, such as making a sound of “shashasha”. Furthermore, there has been a problem in that devices around the expansion valve such as the expansion valve and connection piping vibrate due to speed fluctuations and pressure fluctuations in the refrigerant pipe, and vibration noise is generated around the expansion valve. Note that such refrigerant flow noise and vibration noise are collectively referred to as discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve in the following description.

For this reason, as a method for reducing the discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve, means for reducing the speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation of the refrigerant flow in the expansion valve has been provided. For example, in patent document 2, the other throttle part which decompresses a refrigerant | coolant flow is provided in the upstream of the throttle part which can be closed. Moreover, in patent document 3, the disturbance generation | occurrence | production part which causes disturbance in a refrigerant | coolant flow is provided in the upstream of the throttle part which can be closed. Moreover, in patent document 4, the other throttle part which decompresses a refrigerant | coolant flow is provided in the downstream of the throttle part which can be closed.
JP 2002-188869 A JP 2005-69644 A JP 2005-351605 A JP 2005-226846 A

  As described above, in the conventional refrigerant flow divider, the throttle portion is provided on the upstream side of the flow dividing pipe mounting hole as means for evenly dividing the flow, but the throttle portion is provided on the upstream side of the refrigerant flow divider. However, there is a waste of arranging the same constituent elements in duplicate. On the other hand, in the conventional expansion valve, as described above, in order to reduce the discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve, a means for reducing the speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation of the refrigerant flow has been provided. However, providing such means as a component of the expansion valve alone has a problem that the expansion valve becomes large and costs increase.

  The present invention solves such a problem in the prior art, and uses a common throttle in the expansion valve and a throttle in the refrigerant flow divider to integrate the refrigerant circuit from the expansion valve to the refrigerant flow divider. It aims at simplifying and aiming at reduction of the discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in an expansion valve. Another object of the present invention is to improve the refrigerant flow-dividing characteristics in the refrigerant flow divider so that the flow of the refrigerant jetted from the throttle portion is not directly blown onto the flow-dividing pipe. Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigeration apparatus using an expansion valve having such a refrigerant flow divider integrated structure.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an expansion valve having a refrigerant flow distributor integrated structure according to the present invention includes a first throttle portion that is formed between the first valve body and the first valve hole and performs a throttle action. A wall body in which a refrigerant branch chamber for branching the refrigerant after passing through the first throttle part to a branch pipe and a branch pipe connected to the refrigerant branch chamber are formed, and the branch pipe is formed with the first throttle part And a cylindrical member for preventing the refrigerant flow ejected from the first throttle part from flowing directly to the shunt pipe around the outlet side of the first throttle part. Is provided.

  According to the expansion valve with the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure configured as described above, the refrigerant flow characteristics are improved, the refrigerant sound can be reduced, and the expansion valve and the refrigerant flow divider are integrated. By doing so, the circuit portion from the expansion valve to the refrigerant flow divider can be simplified, the occupied space can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

These improvements will be further described. First, the point that the refrigerant diversion characteristics are improved will be described in detail.
In the expansion valve having the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure, the sprayed refrigerant in which the bubbles after passing through the first throttle portion are subdivided is directly led to the refrigerant flow dividing chamber without passing through the refrigerant pipe. Therefore, the gas-liquid two-phase flow does not develop into a plug flow or a flag flow after passing through the throttle portion, and the shunt characteristics are improved.

  In addition, since the cylindrical member is provided around the outlet side of the first throttle part, the refrigerant flow ejected from the first throttle part is prevented from flowing directly to the branch pipe, and the first throttle part A bypass circuit is formed in which the refrigerant flow ejected from the pipe collides with the wall body facing the first throttle portion to change the direction. If the jet ejected from the first throttle part directly collides with a minute area part that forms the inlet of the shunt pipe, the influence of the component that collides and bounces on the peripheral surface without flowing into the outflow hole, or the shunt pipe Even the components that flow into the turbulence are disturbed by the influence of the separation flow immediately after the flow, and a large unstable phenomenon occurs. However, in the present invention, as described above, the jet flow from the first throttle portion is bypassed so as to reach the inlet of the branch pipe, so that the above-described problem does not occur. Moreover, the influence of the intermittent fluctuation | variation which the jet flow ejected from the 1st throttle part has can also be reduced.

Next, improvement of refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve will be described.
Since the jet energy of the refrigerant flow flowing out from the first throttle part is diffused by the refrigerant branch chamber acting as an expansion space part, the refrigerant flow upstream of the first throttle part becomes a plug flow or a slag flow Moreover, the pressure fluctuation of the refrigerant flow in the expansion valve can be reduced. As a result, discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve can be reduced.

  Further, the refrigerant flow noise is also improved when the expansion valve having the refrigerant divider integrated structure is used in a heating cycle. When the expansion valve with the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to the present invention is used in a heat pump type air conditioner or the like, it is used in a state where the refrigerant flows in the reverse direction during the heating operation. In this case, when the high-pressure liquid refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant distribution chamber is a plug flow or a slag flow, refrigerant flow noise is likely to occur, but each time when the refrigerant flow joins the refrigerant distribution chamber from the distribution pipe, The refrigerant flowing in from the shunt pipe is disturbed by the merging and is also disturbed by colliding with the cylindrical member. As a result, bubbles in the refrigerant flow are subdivided, and discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve is effectively reduced.

  Further, in the expansion valve with the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure configured as described above, a valve chamber that houses the first valve body is formed on the inlet side of the first throttle portion, and the wall body that forms the first throttle portion The refrigerant branch chamber can be formed on the outlet side of the first throttle part. If comprised in this way, a refrigerant | coolant branch chamber etc. can be designed with the structure of the conventional valve chamber. In addition, there are fewer restrictions on the design of the refrigerant branch chamber.

  The refrigerant distribution chamber is formed such that a dimension in a direction orthogonal to a central axis of the first valve hole constituting the first throttle portion is larger than an axial dimension of the central axis of the first valve hole, The branch pipe may be formed so as to open to the refrigerant separation chamber at a position radially away from the first throttle portion in the refrigerant branch chamber thus formed. If comprised in this way, since the refrigerant | coolant flow ejected from a 1st aperture | diaphragm | squeeze part can be detoured more reliably, the effect by the above-mentioned detour can be exhibited further.

  Also, a guide portion that guides the jet flowing out so as to collide from the first throttling portion to change the direction toward the inlet of the shunting pipe on the wall body facing the first throttling portion in the refrigerant branching chamber. May be formed. If comprised in this way, it will suppress the disturbance at the time of the jet flow from a 1st aperture | diaphragm | squeeze turning direction, reducing ejection energy, subdividing the bubble in a refrigerant | coolant flow, and reducing a refrigerant | coolant flow noise. Can do.

  Further, bubble fragmentation means may be arranged in the valve chamber. With this configuration, when the refrigerant flow upstream of the first throttle portion becomes a plug flow or slag flow, the bubbles in the refrigerant flow upstream of the first throttle portion are subdivided by the bubble subdividing means. The flow of the refrigerant to the first throttle part is continued, and the speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation of the refrigerant flow in the expansion valve are alleviated. Therefore, discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve is reduced. Further, the spray state downstream of the first throttle portion is stabilized, and the refrigerant diversion in the refrigerant diversion chamber is stabilized.

  Further, a porous permeable material layer may be disposed in the refrigerant passage in the refrigerant distribution chamber. According to this configuration, the refrigerant flow after passing through the first throttle portion consumes ejection energy when passing through the porous permeable material layer, so that the speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation in the expansion valve are alleviated, and the expansion Discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the valve is reduced. In addition, since the refrigerant flow passing through the first throttle part is subdivided into bubbles when passing through the porous permeable material layer, the flow state of the gas-liquid two-phase flow refrigerant with respect to each branch pipe is made uniform, and the flow in the refrigerant branch chamber is divided. Improved characteristics.

  Further, a valve chamber that houses the first valve element is formed on the outlet side of the first throttle portion, and this valve chamber can also be configured as a valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber that is also used as a refrigerant branch chamber. If comprised in this way, the circuit part from an expansion valve to a refrigerant | coolant flow divider will be simplified more notably.

  The valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber has a dimension in a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the first valve hole constituting the first throttle portion larger than the axial dimension of the central axis of the first valve hole. The branch pipe formed may be formed to open to the refrigerant separation chamber at a position radially away from the first throttle portion in the refrigerant branch chamber thus formed. If comprised in this way, since the refrigerant | coolant flow ejected from a 1st aperture | diaphragm | squeeze part can be detoured more reliably, the effect by the above-mentioned detour can be exhibited further.

  Further, a guide is provided on the wall facing the first throttle portion in the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber so as to change the direction of the jet flowing out from the first throttle portion toward the inlet of the branch pipe. A guide portion may be formed. If comprised in this way, it will suppress the disturbance at the time of the jet flow from a 1st aperture | diaphragm | squeeze turning direction, reducing ejection energy, subdividing the bubble in a refrigerant | coolant flow, and reducing a refrigerant | coolant flow noise. Can do.

  A rectification chamber may be formed on the inlet side of the valve chamber / refrigerant distribution chamber, and bubble subdividing means may be arranged in the rectification chamber. If comprised in this way, a bubble fragmentation means can be installed in the upstream of a 1st aperture | diaphragm | squeeze part in the structure which served as the valve chamber and the refrigerant | coolant distribution chamber. Further, by installing the bubble subdividing means, when the refrigerant flow upstream of the first throttle portion becomes a plug flow or slag flow, the bubbles in the refrigerant flow are subdivided upstream of the first throttle portion. The For this reason, the flow of the refrigerant to the first throttle part is made continuous, and the speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation of the refrigerant flow in the expansion valve are alleviated. Therefore, discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve is reduced. Further, the spray state downstream of the first throttle portion is stabilized, and the refrigerant diversion in the refrigerant diversion chamber is stabilized.

  Further, a porous permeable material layer may be disposed in the refrigerant passage in the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber. According to this configuration, the refrigerant flow after passing through the first throttle portion consumes ejection energy when passing through the porous permeable material layer, so that the speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation in the expansion valve are alleviated, and the expansion Discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the valve is reduced. Further, since the refrigerant flow passing through the first throttle part is subdivided into bubbles when passing through the porous permeable material layer, the flow state of the gas-liquid two-phase flow refrigerant with respect to each branch pipe is made uniform, and the valve chamber / refrigerant branch flow The refrigerant distribution characteristics of the chamber are improved.

  Moreover, you may form a 2nd aperture | diaphragm | squeeze part as said bubble fragmentation means. If comprised in this way, when the refrigerant | coolant flow upstream of an expansion valve turns into a plug flow or a slag flow, a bubble will be subdivided in a 2nd throttle part and the flow of the refrigerant | coolant to a 1st throttle part will be continued. Thus, the speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation of the refrigerant flow in the expansion valve are alleviated. Moreover, it becomes the structure of the multistage aperture | diaphragm | restriction with a 2nd aperture | diaphragm | squeeze part and a 1st aperture_diaphragm | restriction part, and the ejection energy in a diaphragm | throttle part is disperse | distributed. As a result, the speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation of the refrigerant flow in the expansion valve are further alleviated. Therefore, discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve is reduced. In addition, the spray state downstream of the first throttle portion is stabilized, and the refrigerant diversion in the refrigerant diversion chamber or the valve chamber / refrigerant diversion chamber is stabilized.

  Moreover, you may make it provide an expansion space part as a said bubble fragmentation means between a 2nd aperture | diaphragm | squeeze part and a 1st aperture_diaphragm | restriction part. If comprised in this way, as for the refrigerant | coolant by which the bubble was subdivided by the 2nd aperture | diaphragm | squeeze part, while the ejection energy is disperse | distributed in an expansion space part, the bubble in the refrigerant | coolant which flows in into a 1st aperture | diaphragm | squeeze part is further subdivided. As a result, the speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation of the refrigerant flow in the expansion valve are further alleviated, so that the refrigerant flow noise is further reduced and the refrigerant diversion in the refrigerant diversion chamber or the valve chamber / refrigerant diversion chamber is further stabilized. The

  Moreover, you may make it provide a porous permeation | transmission material layer as said bubble fragmentation means. If comprised in this way, the bubble in the refrigerant | coolant flow which flows into a 1st throttle part will be subdivided in a porous permeation | transmission material layer. As a result, the speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation of the refrigerant flow in the expansion valve are further alleviated, so that the refrigerant flow noise is reduced and the refrigerant diversion in the refrigerant diversion chamber is stabilized. Further, by providing the porous permeable material layer, it is possible to reduce clogging of the first throttle part.

  Moreover, the cylindrical member provided in the refrigerant | coolant flow chamber of the above-mentioned 1st aperture | diaphragm | squeeze part can also be formed in the edge which a front-end | tip part repeats an unevenness | corrugation alternately. With this configuration, when the refrigerant is used while flowing in the opposite direction, the refrigerant passing through this portion can cause further disturbance, so that the bubble fragmentation effect is improved and the refrigerant noise is reduced. be able to. In addition, even when the refrigerant is circulated in the positive direction during cooling, stable vortex generation can be achieved even when a high-speed jet from the first throttle portion collides with the tip of the cylindrical member to generate a separation flow. Since it can be suppressed, speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation are alleviated, refrigerant flow noise is further reduced, and refrigerant flow in the refrigerant branch chamber is further stabilized.

  Moreover, the refrigeration apparatus according to the present invention uses the expansion valve having the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure. Therefore, the discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve can be reduced, the capacity can be improved by improving the shunt characteristics, and a simple refrigeration apparatus can be configured.

  According to the expansion valve having the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to the present invention, the refrigerant in the sprayed state after passing through the first throttle portion is guided to the refrigerant flow dividing chamber, so that the refrigerant can be evenly divided. In addition, since the refrigerant flow ejected from the first throttle part is caused to flow into the shunt pipe by a bypass circuit that collides with the wall facing the first throttle part and changes its direction, the air flowing into the expansion valve Less susceptible to fluctuations in liquid two-phase flow. Further, since the jet energy of the refrigerant flow flowing out from the first throttle portion is diffused in the refrigerant branch chamber, when the refrigerant flow upstream of the first throttle portion becomes a slag flow or a plug flow, it flows into the refrigerant branch chamber. The ejection energy of the refrigerant is reduced, and the speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation of the refrigerant flow in the expansion valve are alleviated. Thereby, the discontinuous refrigerant | coolant flow noise in an expansion valve can be reduced. In the heating operation in which the refrigerant flows in the reverse direction, the refrigerant is disturbed when the refrigerant joins the refrigerant branch chamber from the shunt pipe, or the refrigerant entering from the shunt pipe collides with the cylindrical member, Bubbles in the flow are subdivided. Thereby, a bubble is subdivided and a refrigerant | coolant sound is reduced. Moreover, the refrigerant circuit is simplified by integrating the expansion valve and the refrigerant flow divider.

  Hereinafter, the expansion valve according to each embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the element common to each embodiment, and description is simplified. Moreover, in the following description, when referring to the vertical and horizontal directions, the vertical and horizontal directions in each figure are assumed. Moreover, the solid line arrow in each figure shall show the flow direction of the refrigerant | coolant of a positive direction, for example, the flow direction of the refrigerant | coolant at the time of the cooling operation in FIG. 16 which concerns on a prior art example. However, since it is possible to use the refrigerant flowing in the reverse direction as the expansion valve, the expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure described below has, for example, the cooling operation of the air conditioner as the forward flow. It is possible to use it for the reverse flow of the case, that is, for heating operation. At this time, the refrigerant branch chamber does not function as a refrigerant distributor. However, in the following description, unless otherwise specified, only the cooling operation in which the refrigerant flows in the forward direction will be described, and the description will be simplified.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, an expansion valve having an integrated refrigerant distributor structure according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of an expansion valve having an integrated refrigerant flow divider structure according to Embodiment 1, and omits the valve drive device at the upper part of the valve chamber. The expansion valve with the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to Embodiment 1 is used in place of a circuit portion from the expansion valve to the refrigerant flow divider in a normal refrigerant circuit.

  The expansion valve with the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure has a valve body 1 formed in a substantially cylindrical shape having a central axis in the vertical direction, and an inlet port 2 is formed on a side surface thereof. A liquid pipe 3 is connected to the inlet port 2. Further, the inside of the valve body 1 is vertically divided by a first partition wall 4, a valve chamber 5 is formed at the upper part (upstream side), and a refrigerant distribution chamber 6 is formed at the lower part (downstream side). The aforementioned inlet port 2 is formed on the side surface of the valve chamber 5.

  The first partition wall 4 forms a valve seat, and a first valve hole 7 that forms a throttle portion between the valve chamber 5 and the refrigerant distribution chamber 6 is formed at the center thereof. A valve rod 8 is accommodated in the valve chamber 5. The valve stem 8 extends downward from an upper valve driving device (not shown), and is disposed concentrically with the valve body 1 and the valve chamber 5. A first valve body (in this case, a needle valve) 9 is formed at the tip of the valve stem 8. The first valve body 9 is configured to move forward and backward with respect to the first valve hole 7 via the valve rod 8 by driving a valve driving device (not shown). In this way, the first throttle body 10 is formed by the first valve body 9 and the first valve hole 7 so that the opening degree is variable and can be fully closed in accordance with the refrigeration load.

  The refrigerant distribution chamber 6 is formed to have a predetermined volume, and has an equal pitch at the upper portion of the outer peripheral wall, that is, near the first partition wall 4 where the first throttle portion 10 is formed. A plurality of branch pipe mounting holes 11 corresponding to the number of passes are formed. A flow dividing pipe 12 that connects the refrigerant flow dividing chamber 6 and the inlet of each path of the evaporator is connected to the flow dividing pipe mounting hole 11.

  Further, the refrigerant flow ejected from the first restrictor 10 is prevented from flowing directly to the inlet of the diversion pipe 12 around the outlet side of the first restrictor 10, that is, around the refrigerant distribution chamber 6. A cylindrical member 13 is provided. As shown in FIG. 1, the cylindrical member 13 is a cylindrical member whose thickness becomes thinner as it goes to the tip, and its axial length is from the first throttle portion 10. The length is such that the jetted refrigerant flow is prevented from flowing directly to the inlet of the branch pipe 12. Therefore, the cylindrical member 13 is arranged in a state facing the inlet of the flow dividing pipe 12.

The expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure of the first embodiment is configured as described above, and operates as follows.
When the expansion valve of this refrigerant flow divider integrated structure is used to flow the refrigerant in the normal direction (the direction of the arrow in the figure) in a normal refrigerant circuit, the liquid refrigerant condensed by the condenser flows from the inlet port 2. . The refrigerant that has entered from the inlet port 2 is reduced in pressure by the first throttle unit 10 and sprayed. Then, it flows into the refrigerant distribution chamber 6 in the sprayed state. This jet is guided by the cylindrical member 13 and collides with the bottom wall of the refrigerant distribution chamber 6, that is, the wall body (the bottom wall of the refrigerant distribution chamber 6) facing the first throttle portion 10, and the direction is changed upward. As a result, the air flows detouring toward the inlet of the branch pipe 12. For this reason, since the jet does not flow directly to the inlet of the branch pipe 12, the pressure fluctuation and the speed fluctuation in the jet from the first throttle 10 are configured not to directly affect the refrigerant flow in the branch pipe 12. . Further, since the sprayed refrigerant flows through the diversion pipes 12, the refrigerant diversion chamber 6 is equally divided into the diversion pipes 12 without being affected by gravity.

  In addition, when the gas-liquid two-phase flow refrigerant enters the slag flow or the plug flow in which large bubbles exist from the inlet port 2, the refrigerant flow with respect to the first throttle unit 10 includes the liquid refrigerant and the gas refrigerant (bubbles). Is a discontinuous state in which alternately flows. For this reason, the speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation of the refrigerant flow in the expansion valve are likely to occur. In addition, discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve is likely to occur due to such fluctuations in the velocity and pressure of the refrigerant flow. However, according to the present embodiment, since the refrigerant branch chamber 6 that expands the refrigerant flow path is formed on the downstream side of the first throttle portion 10, the jet energy is diffused in the refrigerant branch chamber 6. As a result, the speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation of the refrigerant flow in the expansion valve are alleviated, and the discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve is reduced.

  In addition, such an expansion valve having a refrigerant flow divider integrated structure is used by flowing a refrigerant in the reverse direction in a heat pump refrigerant circuit that reversibly circulates the refrigerant. In this case, in the refrigerant circuit of a recent heat pump type air conditioner, the indoor expansion valve used for cooling adjusts the degree of refrigerant subcooling at the outlet of the indoor heat exchanger during heating operation. There are many examples that are used as apertures. In this case, the expansion valve of this refrigerant flow divider integrated structure is connected in the immediate vicinity of the indoor heat exchanger. Then, the liquid refrigerant from the indoor heat exchanger flows into the refrigerant branch chamber 6 through the plurality of branch pipes 12 and is mixed. The refrigerant that has entered the refrigerant branch chamber 6 is throttled by the first throttle 10 and flows out of the liquid pipe 3 through the valve chamber 5. In this case, the refrigerant is stored in a gas-liquid two-phase state in the indoor heat exchanger while the operation is stopped, and it is difficult to completely liquefy at the outlet of the indoor heat exchanger in the transition period of the operation start. Therefore, a gas-liquid two-phase flow flows into this expansion valve. For this reason, when the heating operation is started, the high-pressure liquid refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant branch chamber 6 may become a plug flow or a slag flow, and the refrigerant flow noise is likely to occur as in the case of the previous cooling operation. ing. However, in the case of the present embodiment, the refrigerant is disturbed when it joins the refrigerant branch chamber 6 from the branch pipe 12, and the refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant branch chamber 6 from the branch pipe 12 collides with the cylindrical member 13. It is disturbed. Thereby, since the bubbles in the gas-liquid two-phase flow refrigerant are subdivided, the expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to the present embodiment is used when the refrigerant flows in the reverse direction. However, the discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve can be effectively reduced.

  Also, the expansion valve with the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to the present embodiment can reduce the refrigerant flow noise in the same manner even when the refrigerant is used as a normal expansion valve by flowing the refrigerant in the reverse direction. That is, when the flag flow or the slag flow flows in from the branch pipe 12, the bubbles are subdivided by the refrigerant confluence action from the diversion pipe 12 and the refrigerant collision action on the tubular member 13, and the refrigerant flow sound Is reduced.

Since the expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to the present embodiment is configured as described above, the following effects can be achieved.
(1) Since the expansion valve and the refrigerant flow divider are integrated, the circuit portion from the expansion valve to the refrigerant flow divider is simplified, and the occupied space is saved.

(2) Since the refrigerant in the spray state flows into the refrigerant branch chamber 6, the refrigerant is equally divided into the respective branch pipes 12 without being affected by gravity.
(3) Since a high-speed spray flow from the first throttle unit 10 is not directly blown into the inlet of the branch pipe 12, an unstable phenomenon (jet flow) that occurs under the influence of the jet flow from the first throttle unit 10 It is possible to avoid a complex phenomenon such as a collision with the inlet of the branch pipe 12, a rebound, and a separation flow.

  (4) Since the refrigerant branch chamber 6 that expands the refrigerant flow path is formed on the downstream side of the first throttle portion 10, the ejection energy is diffused. Thereby, the speed fluctuation | variation and pressure fluctuation | variation of a refrigerant | coolant flow are relieve | moderated, and the discontinuous refrigerant | coolant flow noise in an expansion valve is reduced.

  (5) When the refrigerant is used so that the refrigerant flows in the reverse direction, the refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant distribution chamber 6 from the distribution pipe 12 is disturbed by the combination of the refrigerant from each of the distribution pipes 12, and It is disturbed by colliding with the cylindrical member 13. Thereby, the bubbles in the gas-liquid two-phase flow refrigerant are subdivided. As described above, the expansion valve with the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to the present invention effectively reduces discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve even when the refrigerant flow is used in the reverse direction. The

  (6) The first throttle portion 10 installed upstream of the refrigerant flow dividing chamber 6 is throttled to have a variable opening degree corresponding to the refrigeration load, so that the opening degree is constant as if attached to a conventional refrigerant flow divider. Unlike the throttle part, the throttle degree changes to an appropriate throttle degree in accordance with the operating conditions such as the flow rate and the dryness, whereby the refrigerant distribution characteristics can be further improved.

  (7) The valve chamber 5 is formed on the upstream side of the first throttle portion 10, and the refrigerant distribution chamber 6 is formed on the downstream side. Therefore, the refrigerant distribution chamber 6 and the like can be designed with the conventional valve chamber configuration.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of an expansion valve having an integrated refrigerant flow divider structure according to the second embodiment. As shown in this figure, the expansion valve is obtained by changing the shape of the refrigerant branch chamber 6 and the mounting position of the branch pipe mounting hole 11 in the first embodiment. In other words, in this embodiment, the refrigerant branch chamber 6 has a dimension in the radial direction (lateral direction in the drawing) centered on the axis of the first throttle portion 10 in the axial direction (vertical direction in the drawing). It is formed in a shape that is larger than the dimension of (direction), that is, in a shape that spreads thinly and laterally with respect to the central axis of the expansion valve as seen in the drawing. Further, the wall where the branch pipe mounting hole 11 extends around the first throttle part 10, that is, the peripheral part of the upper wall of the refrigerant branch chamber 6 formed at the same height as the first partition wall 4, that is, The flow dividing pipe 12 is opened to the refrigerant flow dividing chamber 6 through the flow dividing pipe mounting hole 11.

  Since the second embodiment is configured as described above, the refrigerant flow ejected from the first throttle portion 10 does not directly flow into the branch pipe 12, and is largely bypassed in the case of the first embodiment. To do. As a result, a detour effect similar to or greater than that of the first embodiment can be achieved, and the diversion characteristics in the refrigerant diversion chamber 6 are improved.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, Embodiment 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of an expansion valve having an integrated refrigerant flow divider structure according to the third embodiment. As shown in this figure, the expansion valve is obtained by changing the attachment of the branch pipe mounting hole 11 and the branch pipe 12 in the second embodiment. That is, in this embodiment, the branch pipe mounting hole 11 is provided in the wall body (the bottom wall of the refrigerant branch chamber 6) facing the first throttle portion 10. In addition, the flow dividing pipe 12 attached to the flow dividing pipe attaching hole 11 is fixed through the diverting pipe attaching hole 11 and extends around the first throttle part 10 in the refrigerant diverting chamber 6, that is, The first partition wall 4 is configured to open at a position close to the upper wall of the refrigerant distribution chamber 6 formed at the same height as the first partition wall 4.

  Since the third embodiment is configured as described above, the refrigerant flow ejected from the first throttle portion 10 is reversed and bypassed as shown by a broken line in the drawing, and flows into the inlet of the upper branch pipe 12. . Therefore, the same bypass effect as in the case of Embodiment 2 can be exhibited, and the flow dividing pipe 12 can be arranged in the axial direction of the expansion valve.

(Embodiment 4)
Next, Embodiment 4 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of an expansion valve having an integrated refrigerant flow distributor structure according to the fourth embodiment. As shown in this figure, the expansion valve is obtained by changing a wall body facing the first throttle portion 10 in the refrigerant branch chamber 6 of the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the wall body (the bottom wall of the refrigerant distribution chamber 6) facing the first throttle portion 10 has an inner wall surface that smoothly spreads the collision flow ejected from the first throttle portion 10 to the periphery and reverses it. It is comprised in the guide part which acts on. Specifically, a conical protruding portion 15 is formed as a guide portion at a portion facing the first throttle portion 10, and a corner portion between the bottom wall surface and the side wall is formed on the arc surface 16.

  Since the fourth embodiment is configured as described above, it is possible to suppress turbulence when the jet flow from the first throttle unit 10 changes its direction. Therefore, when a gas-liquid two-phase flow enters from the liquid pipe 3, this guide portion promotes the action of changing the flow direction of the refrigerant flow to reduce the jet energy of the refrigerant flow, and subdivides the bubbles in the refrigerant flow. The refrigerant flow noise can be reduced.

(Embodiment 5)
Next, the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of an expansion valve having an integrated refrigerant flow distributor according to a fifth embodiment. As shown in this figure, the expansion valve is obtained by changing the wall body (the bottom wall of the refrigerant branch chamber 6) facing the first throttle portion 10 in the refrigerant branch chamber 6 of the second embodiment. The wall body facing the first throttle portion 10 in this embodiment is configured as a guide portion whose inner wall surface acts so as to smoothly spread and reverse the collision flow ejected from the first throttle portion 10 to the periphery. ing. Specifically, a conical protruding portion 17 is formed as a guide portion at a portion facing the first throttle portion 10, and a corner portion between the wall surface and the side wall is smoothly connected by a curved surface 18.

  Since the fifth embodiment is configured as described above, it is possible to suppress turbulence when the jet flow from the first throttle unit 10 changes its direction. Therefore, when a gas-liquid two-phase flow enters from the liquid pipe 3, this guide portion promotes the action of changing the flow direction of the refrigerant flow to reduce the jet energy of the refrigerant flow, and subdivides the bubbles in the refrigerant flow. The refrigerant flow noise can be reduced.

(Embodiment 6)
Next, the sixth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of an expansion valve having an integrated refrigerant flow distributor structure according to a sixth embodiment, in which a drive device above the valve chamber is omitted. Similarly to the first embodiment, the expansion valve with the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to the sixth embodiment is used instead of the circuit portion from the expansion valve to the refrigerant flow divider in the normal refrigerant circuit. is there.

  The expansion valve with the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure has a valve body 21 formed in a substantially cylindrical shape with a central axis in the vertical direction, and an inlet port 23 is formed on the lower wall 22 thereof. A liquid pipe 24 is connected to the inlet port 23. A valve chamber / refrigerant distribution chamber 25 is formed in the valve body 21. Above the valve chamber / refrigerant distribution chamber 25 is a drive unit 26 that houses a valve drive device (not shown), and a partition wall 27 is formed between the drive unit 26 and the valve chamber / refrigerant distribution chamber 25. ing.

  The lower wall 22 forms a valve seat, and the central portion is formed with the inlet port 23 as described above, and a first valve hole that forms a throttle portion between the valve chamber and the refrigerant distribution chamber 25. 28 is formed. A valve rod 29 is accommodated in the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber 25. The valve rod 29 extends downward from an upper valve driving device (not shown), and is disposed concentrically with the valve main body 21 and the valve chamber / refrigerant distribution chamber 25. A first valve body (in this case, a needle valve) 30 is formed at the tip of the valve rod 29. The first valve body 30 is configured to move forward and backward with respect to the first valve hole 28 via the valve rod 29 by driving of the valve driving device. In this way, the first throttle body 31 is formed by the first valve body 30 and the first valve hole 28 so that the opening degree is variable and can be fully closed corresponding to the refrigeration load.

  The valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber 25 is formed in a predetermined volume. Then, on the side of the side wall of the valve chamber / refrigerant distribution chamber 25 close to the first throttling portion 31 (below the valve chamber / refrigerant distribution chamber 25 in the drawing), a plurality of pitches equal to the number of passes of the evaporator A number of branch pipe mounting holes 32 are formed. The branch pipe mounting hole 32 is connected with a branch pipe 33 that connects the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber 25 and the inlet of each path of the evaporator. Further, a cylindrical member 34 is formed on the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber 25 side of the first valve hole 28 to prevent the refrigerant flow ejected from the first throttle 31 from flowing directly to the inlet of the branch pipe 33. Yes. The cylindrical member 34 is formed in a form in which the cylindrical member in the first embodiment is turned upside down.

The expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure of the sixth embodiment is configured as described above, and operates as follows.
When the expansion valve having the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure is used to flow the refrigerant in the normal direction (the direction indicated by the arrow) in the normal refrigerant circuit, the liquid refrigerant condensed by the condenser flows from the inlet port 23. . The refrigerant that has entered from the inlet port 23 is reduced in pressure by the first throttle 31 and sprayed. Then, it flows into the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber 25 in the sprayed state. As indicated by the broken line, the refrigerant flow ejected from the first throttle portion 31 is guided by the cylindrical member 34 and ejected between the valve rod 29 and the outer peripheral wall of the valve chamber / refrigerant distribution chamber 25, and the drive unit It collides with an appropriate wall body such as a partition wall 27 with respect to H. 26, reverses and flows into the flow dividing pipe 33 from the flow dividing pipe mounting hole 32. For this reason, since the jet does not flow directly to the inlet of the branch pipe 33, the pressure fluctuation and the speed fluctuation in the jet from the first throttle part 31 are not directly affected by the refrigerant flow in the branch pipe 33. . Further, since the sprayed refrigerant flows through the branch pipes 33, the refrigerant is evenly divided into the respective branch pipes 33 without being affected by gravity in the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber 25.

  In addition, when a gas-liquid two-phase flow refrigerant enters the slag flow or plug flow in which large bubbles are present from the inlet port 23, the refrigerant flow with respect to the first constriction portion 31 is a liquid refrigerant and a gas refrigerant (bubbles). Is a discontinuous state in which alternately flows. For this reason, the speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation of the refrigerant flow in the expansion valve are likely to occur. In addition, discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve is likely to occur due to such fluctuations in the velocity and pressure of the refrigerant flow. However, according to the present embodiment, since the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber 25 that expands the refrigerant flow path is formed on the downstream side of the first throttle portion 31, the jet energy in the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber 25 is Is diffused. As a result, the speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation of the refrigerant flow in the expansion valve are alleviated, and the discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve is reduced.

  In addition, such an expansion valve having a refrigerant flow divider integrated structure is used by flowing a refrigerant in the reverse direction in a heat pump refrigerant circuit that reversibly circulates the refrigerant. In this case, as described in the first embodiment, the refrigerant circuit of a recent heat pump air conditioner is used as a throttle for adjusting the degree of supercooling of the refrigerant at the outlet of the indoor heat exchanger during heating operation. There are many examples. Then, the liquid refrigerant from the indoor heat exchanger flows into the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber 25 through the plurality of branch pipes 33 and is mixed. The refrigerant that has entered the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber 25 is throttled by the first throttle portion 31 and flows out of the liquid pipe 24 through the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber 25. In this case, the refrigerant is stored in a gas-liquid two-phase state in the indoor heat exchanger while the operation is stopped, and it is difficult to completely liquefy at the outlet of the indoor heat exchanger in the transition period of the operation start. . For this reason, at the start of the heating operation, the high-pressure liquid refrigerant flowing into the valve chamber / refrigerant distribution chamber 25 may become a plug flow or a slag flow, and the refrigerant flow noise is likely to occur as in the case of the cooling operation. It is in a situation. However, in the case of the present embodiment, the refrigerant is disturbed when the refrigerant merges from the diverter pipe 33 into the valve chamber / refrigerant diverter chamber 25, and the refrigerant flowing from the diverter pipe 33 into the valve chamber / refrigerant diverter chamber 25 is cylindrical. It collides with the member 34 and is disturbed. As a result, the bubbles in the gas-liquid two-phase flow refrigerant are subdivided, so the expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to the present embodiment is used so that the refrigerant flows in the reverse direction in this way. Even in this case, discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve can be effectively reduced.

  Also, the expansion valve with the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to the present embodiment can reduce the refrigerant flow noise in the same manner even when the refrigerant is used as a normal expansion valve by flowing the refrigerant in the reverse direction. That is, when the flag flow or the slag flow flows in from the branch pipe 33, the bubbles are subdivided by the refrigerant merging action from the branch pipe 33 and the refrigerant collision action on the cylindrical member 34, and the refrigerant flow sound Is reduced.

  Since the expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to the present embodiment is configured as described above, the same effects as (1) to (6) in the first embodiment described above can be achieved. it can. Further, according to the present embodiment, since the valve chamber and the refrigerant branch chamber are shared, the configuration can be made more compact than in the case of the first embodiment.

(Embodiment 7)
Next, Embodiment 7 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of an expansion valve having a refrigerant flow distributor integrated structure according to the seventh embodiment. As shown in this figure, the expansion valve is obtained by changing the shape of the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber 25 and the mounting position of the branch pipe mounting hole 32 in the sixth embodiment. That is, in this embodiment, the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber 25 has a dimension in the radial direction (lateral direction in the drawing) centered on the axis of the first throttle 31 (in the direction of the axis of the first throttle 31). It is formed in a shape larger than the dimension in the vertical direction in the drawing, that is, in a shape spreading laterally with respect to the central axis of the expansion valve as seen in the drawing. Further, the branch pipe mounting hole 32 is formed at a position close to the lower wall 22 on the side wall, that is, a position close to the wall body extending around the first throttle portion 31 and a position away from the first throttle portion 31. The distribution pipe 33 opens into the valve chamber / refrigerant distribution chamber 25 through the distribution pipe mounting hole 32.

  Since the seventh embodiment is configured as described above, the refrigerant flow ejected from the first throttling portion 31 does not directly flow into the diversion pipe 33, and is largely bypassed in the case of the sixth embodiment. To do. As a result, a bypass effect similar to or greater than that of the sixth embodiment can be obtained, and the flow dividing characteristics in the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber 25 are improved.

(Embodiment 8)
Next, an eighth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of an expansion valve having a refrigerant flow distributor integrated structure according to the eighth embodiment. As shown in this figure, the expansion valve is obtained by changing a wall body facing the first throttle portion 31 in the seventh embodiment. The wall body facing the first throttle part 31 in this embodiment is configured as a guide part that acts so that the inner wall surface smoothly spreads and reverses the collision flow ejected from the first throttle part 31 to the periphery. Yes. Specifically, as the guide portion, a central portion (around the valve rod) of the partition wall 27 with the drive portion is a protruding portion 25a that protrudes downward in a conical shape, and the valve chamber / refrigerant from the periphery of the protruding portion 25a. A curved wall 25b in which the shape extending from the upper wall of the diversion chamber 25 to the valve chamber / refrigerant diversion chamber 25 is a curved shape along the flow line of the refrigerant is used.

  Since the eighth embodiment is configured as described above, it is possible to suppress turbulence when the jet flow from the first throttle portion 31 changes its direction. Therefore, when a gas-liquid two-phase flow enters from the liquid pipe 3, this guide portion promotes the action of changing the flow direction of the refrigerant flow to reduce the jet energy of the refrigerant flow, and subdivides the bubbles in the refrigerant flow. The refrigerant flow noise can be reduced.

(Embodiment 9)
Next, Embodiment 9 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of an expansion valve having an integrated refrigerant flow distributor according to the ninth embodiment. As shown in this figure, the expansion valve is provided as a bubble subdividing means in the valve chamber 5 in the first embodiment so that the bubbles can be subdivided when the refrigerant flowing into the expansion valve is a plug flow or a slag flow. In addition, a second diaphragm 35 is provided, and an enlarged space 36 is provided between the second diaphragm 35 and the first diaphragm 31. Hereinafter, the difference from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the expansion valve with the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to Embodiment 9 is provided with a second partition wall 37 having a large height at the center of the valve chamber 5, and An enlarged space portion 36 is formed below, that is, between the second partition wall 37 and the first throttle portion 31. A tapered hole is formed in the center of the second partition wall 37 so that the hole diameter decreases downward. This taper hole forms the second valve hole 38. Further, the valve stem 8 is arranged concentrically with the valve main body 1 as in the case of the first embodiment, and forms an enlarged diameter portion above the first valve body 9, that is, in the middle portion of the valve stem 8. This is the second valve body 39. The second valve body 39 is formed as a tapered surface whose outer diameter decreases toward the lower outer peripheral surface, and a spiral groove is formed on the tapered surface. Thereby, a substantially spiral path is formed between the second valve hole 38 and the second valve body 39. This spiral passage forms the second throttle portion 35. The second throttle portion 35 changes the cross-sectional area and length of the spiral passage when the valve stem 8 is driven in the vertical direction. For example, when the refrigeration load is small, the valve stem 8 moves downward to reduce the cross-sectional area of the spiral passage and to increase the refrigerant passage resistance by increasing the length of the spiral passage (opening degree). To be smaller). The second throttle part 35 is thus formed with a variable opening. The first throttle portion 31 is formed between the first valve hole 7 and the first valve body 9 as described above, and the opening degree is variable by driving the valve stem 8 in the vertical direction. And it is formed to be fully closed.

  As described above, the expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to the ninth embodiment has the refrigerant flow dividing chamber 6 formed in the lower part (downstream side) of the first partition wall 4 as in the case of the first embodiment. Therefore, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. In addition, since the second throttle part 35 and the enlarged space part 36 are formed in the valve chamber 5 at the upper part (upstream side) of the first partition wall 4 as described above, the following operation is performed. There is an effect.

  In the case of the first embodiment described above, when the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant enters the slag flow or the plug flow from the inlet port 2, the slag flow or the plug flow passes through the first throttle unit 10. The bubbles in the refrigerant stream had not been subdivided before. However, in this embodiment, the gas-liquid two-phase flow refrigerant such as the slag flow or the plug flow entering from the inlet port 2 passes through the second constriction part 35, and the bubbles are subdivided. Thereby, the refrigerant | coolant flow to the 1st throttle part 10 is continued, and the discontinuous refrigerant | coolant flow noise in an expansion valve is reduced effectively. In particular, since the second throttle portion 35 is configured by a spiral passage, the throttle passage can be lengthened and the bubble fragmentation effect can be improved.

  Further, in the case of this embodiment, since the two-stage throttle part is formed by the second throttle part 35 and the first throttle part 10, the ejection energy itself in each throttle part becomes small. Therefore, also from this viewpoint, speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation of the refrigerant flow passing through the expansion valve are alleviated. Furthermore, in this embodiment, an enlarged space portion 36 is provided in addition to the second restricting portion 35, and the refrigerant flow after passing through the second restricting portion 35 has an ejection energy generated by expanding the flow path in the enlarged space portion 36. The bubbles in the refrigerant are further diffused and further subdivided in the enlarged space 36. Therefore, compared with the case of only the second throttle part 35, the bubble fragmentation effect is further improved, and the speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation of the refrigerant flow flowing through the expansion valve can be further alleviated. As a result, the discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve can be further reduced as compared with the first embodiment.

(Embodiment 10)
Next, Embodiment 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of an expansion valve having a refrigerant flow distributor integrated structure according to the tenth embodiment. As shown in this figure, the expansion valve is provided with a porous permeable material layer 43 in the valve chamber 5 of Embodiment 1 as a bubble subdividing means for subdividing the bubbles in the refrigerant flow. As described above, the tenth embodiment is different from the ninth embodiment in that the bubble fragmentation means is the porous permeable material layer 43.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the expansion valve with the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to the tenth embodiment is provided with a porous permeable material layer 43 in the valve chamber 5. The porous permeable material layer 43 is formed in a cylindrical shape surrounding the valve rod 8 from the upper surface of the first partition wall 4 to the upper portion of the inlet port 2, and is supported on the inner surface of the valve chamber 5 at the upper and lower portions. Support plates 43a and 43b are formed. As a material of the porous permeable material layer 43, foam metal, ceramic, foamable resin, mesh-like material, perforated plate, or the like can be used.

  Since the expansion valve with the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to the tenth embodiment is configured as described above, when the refrigerant flow enters the slag flow or the plug flow from the inlet port 2, this refrigerant flow Passes through the porous permeable material layer 43, and the bubbles in the refrigerant flow flowing to the first throttle portion 10 are subdivided in the porous permeable material layer 43. Therefore, as in the case of the ninth embodiment, discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve can be reduced. Moreover, since the porous permeation | transmission material layer 43 can remove the dust in the refrigerant | coolant which passes, it can serve as a filter.

(Embodiment 11)
Next, Embodiment 11 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of an expansion valve having an integrated refrigerant flow divider according to an eleventh embodiment. As shown in this figure, the expansion valve has a shape changed in the first embodiment and a porous permeable material layer 45 installed in the refrigerant flow path in the refrigerant distribution chamber. In other words, in this embodiment, the refrigerant branch chamber 6 has a dimension in the radial direction (lateral direction in the drawing) centered on the axis of the first throttle portion 10 in the axial direction (vertical direction in the drawing). It is formed in a shape larger than the dimension of (direction), that is, formed in a shape spreading laterally with respect to the central axis of the expansion valve as seen in the drawing. A cylindrical porous permeable material layer 45 is disposed concentrically with the refrigerant distribution chamber 6 in the refrigerant distribution chamber 6. The material of the porous permeable material layer 45 may be the same as that in the tenth embodiment, and may be a foam metal, ceramic, foam resin, mesh, porous plate or the like.

  Since the eleventh embodiment is configured as described above, the refrigerant flow ejected from the first throttle portion 10 does not directly flow into the branch pipe 12, and is largely bypassed in the case of the first embodiment. To do. As a result, a detour effect similar to or greater than that of the first embodiment can be achieved, and the diversion characteristics in the refrigerant diversion chamber 6 are improved.

  In addition, since the porous permeable material layer 45 is disposed in the refrigerant passage in the refrigerant branch chamber, the ejection energy is consumed when the refrigerant flow after passing through the first throttle portion 10 passes through the porous permeable material layer 45. Is done. Thereby, the speed fluctuation and pressure fluctuation of the refrigerant flow after passing through the first throttle part 10 in the expansion valve are alleviated, and discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve is reduced. In addition, since the refrigerant flow passing through the first throttle portion 10 is subdivided into bubbles when passing through the porous permeable material layer 45, the flow state of the gas-liquid two-phase flow refrigerant with respect to each branch pipe 12 is made uniform, and the refrigerant flow is divided. The shunt characteristics of the chamber 6 are improved. Moreover, since the porous permeation | transmission material layer 45 can remove the dust in the refrigerant | coolant to pass, in the case of a reverse flow, it can serve as a filter.

(Embodiment 12)
Next, Embodiment 12 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of an expansion valve having an integrated refrigerant flow distributor according to a twelfth embodiment. As shown in this figure, the expansion valve is obtained by changing the porous permeable material layer 45 in Embodiment 11 to a mesh 46. In this case, the same effect as that of the tenth embodiment can be obtained. Moreover, since the mesh 46 can remove the dust in the refrigerant | coolant which passes, it can serve as a filter in the case of a reverse flow.

(Embodiment 13)
Next, Embodiment 13 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of an expansion valve having an integrated refrigerant flow distributor according to a thirteenth embodiment. As shown in this figure, the expansion valve is provided with a cylindrical porous permeable material layer 47 concentrically with the valve chamber / refrigerant distribution chamber 25 in the refrigerant passage of the valve chamber / refrigerant distribution chamber 25 in the seventh embodiment. It is a thing. The material of the porous permeable material layer 47 may be the same as that in the tenth embodiment, and may be a foam metal, ceramic, foam resin, mesh, porous plate or the like. Except for the above, this embodiment is the same as Embodiment 7.

  Since the thirteenth embodiment is configured as described above, the refrigerant flow after passing through the first throttle portion 31 consumes ejection energy when passing through the porous permeable material layer 47, so that the expansion valve The speed fluctuation and the pressure fluctuation in are reduced, and the discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve is reduced. In addition, since the refrigerant flow that has passed through the first throttle portion 31 is subdivided into bubbles when passing through the porous permeable material layer 47, the flow state of the gas-liquid two-phase flow refrigerant with respect to each branch pipe 33 is made uniform, and the valve chamber The refrigerant distribution characteristics of the cum refrigerant distribution chamber 25 are improved. Moreover, since the porous permeation | transmission material layer 47 can remove the dust in the refrigerant | coolant which passes, it can serve as a filter in the case of a reverse flow.

(Embodiment 14)
Next, a fourteenth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of an expansion valve having a refrigerant flow distributor integrated structure according to a fourteenth embodiment. As shown in this figure, the basic structure of the expansion valve is the same as that of the seventh embodiment in which the valve chamber / refrigerant distribution chamber 25 has a larger radial dimension than an axial dimension. A rectifying chamber 51 is formed on the inlet side of one throttle part 31, and bubble fragmentation means is arranged in a refrigerant passage inside the rectifying chamber 51.

  In order to form the rectifying chamber 51, a container is newly extended below the lower wall 22 of the valve chamber / refrigerant distribution chamber, and the inside thereof is formed as the rectifying chamber 51. An inlet port 23 is formed in the bottom wall 52 of the rectifying chamber 51, and a liquid pipe 24 is connected to the inlet port 23. Therefore, the inlet port 23 is not formed in the lower wall 22 of the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber 25, and the liquid pipe 24 is not connected. A disc-shaped porous permeable material layer 53 is horizontally disposed as a bubble subdividing means at the intermediate height position of the rectifying chamber 51. The material of the porous permeable material layer 53 may be the same as that in the tenth embodiment, and may be a foam metal, a ceramic, a foam resin, a mesh, a porous plate, or the like.

  Since the fourteenth embodiment is configured as described above, when the refrigerant flow enters the slag flow or the plug flow from the inlet port 23, the refrigerant flow enters the rectifying chamber 51 consisting of a large space. Energy is diffused and bubbles in the refrigerant flow are subdivided. Then, when the refrigerant flow passes through the porous permeable material layer 53, the bubbles in the refrigerant flow flowing to the first throttle portion 31 are further subdivided in the porous permeable material layer 53. Thereby, the refrigerant | coolant flow to the 1st throttle part 31 is continued, and the discontinuous refrigerant | coolant flow noise in an expansion valve is reduced notably. Therefore, in the case of the present embodiment, discontinuous refrigerant flow noise in the expansion valve is reduced as compared with the seventh embodiment in which the bubbles are not subdivided on the inlet side of the first throttle portion 31. Moreover, since the porous permeation | transmission material layer 53 can remove the dust in the refrigerant | coolant which passes, it can serve as a filter.

(Modification)
(1) The cylindrical member 13 according to Embodiment 1 has a flat tip as shown in a development view seen from the center side of the first valve hole 7 in FIG. However, the tip portion may be formed at an edge that alternately repeats unevenness. For example, it may be formed in a sawtooth shape as shown in the developed view of FIG. 5B, or may be regularly uneven as shown in FIG. Moreover, it is good also as random shapes different from these shapes. With such a shape, during the heating operation in which the refrigerant flows from the opposite direction, the refrigerant flow that collides with the cylindrical member 13 is further disturbed by passing through the uneven portion, so that the bubble fragmentation effect is further enhanced. As a result, the discontinuous refrigerant passing sound can be further reduced. Even during the cooling operation in which the refrigerant flows in the forward direction, stable vortex generation can be achieved even when the high-speed jet from the first throttle portion 10 collides with the tip of the cylindrical member 13 to generate a separation flow. Since it can be suppressed, noise can be reduced. The cylindrical members 13 and 34 in other embodiments can be similarly modified.

  (2) In the ninth embodiment and the tenth embodiment, an example in which the bubble subdividing means is provided is described. Such a bubble subdividing means is also used in the second to fifth, eleventh and twelfth embodiments. Can be applied. Further, the bubble fragmentation means is not limited to such an example, and other bubble fragmentation means may be provided in the valve chamber 5. For example, only one of the second aperture portion 35 and the enlarged space portion 36 may be provided. In addition, other means for disturbing the refrigerant flow, for example, means for giving a swirling flow to the refrigerant flow or meandering the refrigerant flow may be used. Further, a donut-shaped porous permeable material layer may be provided on a plane perpendicular to the valve stem 8 around the valve stem 8. Further, such bubble subdividing means can be applied to the second to fifth, eleventh and twelfth embodiments.

  (3) Although the second valve body 39 and the second valve hole 38 are tapered with respect to the second throttle portion 35 in the ninth embodiment, the outer peripheral surface parallel to the center line of the valve stem 8 is formed. You may make it the valve hole provided with the inner peripheral surface parallel to the valve body provided, or the centerline of the valve stem 8. Further, the spiral groove provided in the second valve body 39 may be formed by a plurality of spiral grooves to form a plurality of throttle passages. Moreover, it may replace with a spiral groove and may be formed with a plurality of concave grooves extending linearly in the vertical direction. Such a groove may be formed not on the outer peripheral surface of the second valve body 39 but on the inner peripheral surface of the second valve hole 38. Moreover, it is good also as a throttle part which does not form these groove | channels in either the 2nd valve body 39 or the 2nd valve hole 38. FIG. Further, the step shape of these grooves may be various shapes such as a semi-circle, a triangle, and a quadrangle.

  (4) In the fourteenth embodiment, by forming the inlet port 23 that connects the liquid pipe 24 on the side surface of the rectifying chamber 51, the rectifier is replaced with the disk-shaped porous permeable material layer 53 disposed in the rectifying chamber 51. A cylindrical porous permeable material layer can also be installed concentrically with the chamber. Further, as the bubble subdividing means arranged in the rectifying chamber 51, the second restricting portion and the enlarged space portion 36 are configured as in the ninth embodiment, and the rectifying chamber 51 itself is configured as the second restricting portion 35 and the enlarged space portion. It may be replaced with a configuration comprising 36 (see FIG. 9).

It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view of the expansion valve of the refrigerant | coolant flow divider integrated structure which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view of the expansion valve of the refrigerant | coolant divider | distributor integrated structure which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view of the expansion valve of the refrigerant | coolant divider | distributor integrated structure which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view of the expansion valve of the refrigerant | coolant flow divider integrated structure which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view of the expansion valve of the refrigerant | coolant divider | distributor integrated structure which concerns on Embodiment 5 of this invention. It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view of the expansion valve of the refrigerant | coolant flow divider integrated structure which concerns on Embodiment 6 of this invention. It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view of the expansion valve of the refrigerant | coolant flow divider integrated structure which concerns on Embodiment 7 of this invention. It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view of the expansion valve of the refrigerant | coolant flow divider integrated structure which concerns on Embodiment 8 of this invention. It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view of the expansion valve of the refrigerant | coolant flow divider integrated structure which concerns on Embodiment 9 of this invention. It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view of the expansion valve of the refrigerant | coolant divider | distributor integrated structure which concerns on Embodiment 10 of this invention. It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view of the expansion valve of the refrigerant | coolant flow divider integrated structure which concerns on Embodiment 11 of this invention. It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view of the expansion valve of the refrigerant | coolant divider | distributor integrated structure which concerns on Embodiment 12 of this invention. It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view of the expansion valve of the refrigerant | coolant flow divider integrated structure which concerns on Embodiment 13 of this invention. It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view of the expansion valve of the refrigerant | coolant divider | distributor integrated structure which concerns on Embodiment 14 of this invention. With respect to the development as viewed from the center side of the cylindrical member in the first embodiment, (a) is a development view of the first embodiment, (b) is a development view of the modification, and (c) It is an expanded view of other modification which becomes. It is a common refrigerant circuit figure in the conventional freezing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 ... Valve chamber, 6 ... Refrigerant distribution chamber, 7, 28 ... 1st valve hole, 9, 30 ... 1st valve body, 10, 31 ... 1st aperture | diaphragm | restriction part, 12, 33 ... Diverging pipe, 13, 34 ... Tube 25, a valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber, 35 ... a second throttle portion, 36 ... an enlarged space portion, 43, 45, 47, 53 ... a porous permeable material layer, 51 ... a rectifying chamber.

Claims (16)

A first throttle part that performs a throttling action formed between the first valve body and the first valve hole, a refrigerant branch chamber for branching the refrigerant after passing through the first throttle part, and a refrigerant branch A shunt pipe connected to the chamber,
The shunt pipe is formed so as to open near the wall where the first throttle portion is formed,
A cylindrical member is provided around the outlet side of the first throttle part to prevent the refrigerant flow ejected from the first throttle part from flowing directly into the branch pipe. Expansion valve with integrated refrigerant flow divider. In the expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to claim 1,
A valve chamber that houses the first valve body is formed on the inlet side of the first throttle portion, and a refrigerant distribution chamber is formed on the outlet side of the first throttle portion with a wall forming the first throttle portion interposed. An expansion valve having an integrated refrigerant flow divider structure. The refrigerant distribution chamber is formed such that a dimension in a direction orthogonal to a central axis of the first valve hole constituting the first throttle portion is larger than an axial dimension of the central axis of the first valve hole,
The refrigerant according to claim 2, wherein the branch pipe is formed to open to the refrigerant separation chamber at a position radially away from the first throttle portion in the refrigerant branch chamber formed in this way. Expansion valve with integrated flow divider.   A guide portion is formed on the wall facing the first throttle portion in the refrigerant branch chamber to guide the jet flowing out so as to collide from the first throttle portion so as to change the direction toward the inlet of the branch pipe. The expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the expansion valve is an integrated structure.   The expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein bubble fragmentation means is disposed in the valve chamber.   The expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein a porous permeable material layer is disposed in the refrigerant passage in the refrigerant flow dividing chamber. In the expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to claim 1,
A refrigerant flow distributor characterized in that a valve chamber for housing the first valve element is formed on the outlet side of the first throttle part, and this valve chamber is also used as a refrigerant flow dividing chamber and is configured as a valve chamber / refrigerant flow dividing chamber. Integrated expansion valve. The valve chamber / refrigerant distribution chamber is formed such that the dimension in the direction orthogonal to the central axis of the first valve hole constituting the first throttle portion is larger than the axial dimension of the central axis of the first valve hole. ,
The refrigerant according to claim 7, wherein the branch pipe is formed to open to the refrigerant separation chamber at a position radially away from the first throttle portion in the refrigerant branch chamber formed in this way. Expansion valve with integrated flow divider.   In the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber, a guide that guides the jet flowing out so as to collide from the first throttle portion to change the direction toward the inlet of the branch pipe on the wall facing the first throttle portion. The expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to claim 7 or 8, wherein a portion is formed.   The refrigerant branch flow according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein a rectifying chamber is formed on an inlet side of the valve chamber / refrigerant branch chamber, and bubble fragmentation means is disposed in the rectifier chamber. Expansion valve with integrated structure.   The expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein a porous permeable material layer is disposed in a refrigerant passage in the valve chamber / refrigerant flow dividing chamber.   The expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to claim 5 or 10, wherein the bubble subdividing means is a second throttle portion.   The expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to claim 12, wherein the bubble segmentation means includes an enlarged space portion between the second throttle portion and the first throttle portion.   The expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to claim 5 or 10, wherein the bubble subdividing means is a porous permeable material layer.   The expansion valve of the refrigerant flow divider integrated structure according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the cylindrical member is formed at an edge where a tip portion alternately repeats unevenness.   A refrigerating apparatus using the expansion valve having an integrated refrigerant flow divider structure according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

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