JP2009079805A - Heat exchanger - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat exchanger capable of preventing jumping-out of a plug in demounting the plug of a liquid receiver from a cylindrical main body. <P>SOLUTION: A female-side seal face 33 and a female screw 32 are disposed on an inner peripheral face of an opening end portion of the cylindrical main body 26 of the liquid receiver 7 of this heat exchanger. A male-side seal face 35 and a male screw 34 engaged with the female screw 32 are disposed on an outer peripheral face of the plug 28 of the liquid receiver 7. An O-ring 37 seals between the female-side seal face 33 of the cylindrical main body 26 and a male-side seal face 35 of the plug 28. The plug 28 is provided with a bottomed tool insertion hole 41 extending downward from an upper end face for inserting a tool to rotate the plug 28 around the axis. A through hole 42 is formed between a lower end face of the plug 28 and a bottom face of the tool insertion hole 41. A safety valve 43 opened in inserting the tool in the tool insertion hole 41 and normally closed, is disposed in the through hole 42. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat exchanger used in, for example, a refrigeration cycle constituting a car air conditioner.

  In this specification and claims, the top and bottom of FIG.

  In recent years, as a heat exchanger of a refrigeration cycle that constitutes a car air conditioner, for example, an interval between each other can be improved for the purpose of improving assembling to a vehicle body, saving installation space, and improving the refrigeration capacity of a refrigeration cycle. A pair of vertically extending tanks disposed at a distance from each other, and a plurality of heat exchange tubes disposed in parallel with a space in the vertical direction between both tanks and having both ends connected to both tanks, It is equipped with fins arranged between adjacent heat exchange pipes and a liquid receiver that extends in the vertical direction attached to one of the tanks, and both tanks are separated by a partition wall provided at the same height position. The tank is divided into two headers in the length direction of the tank, and a condensing part having a function as a condenser is provided in a part above the both partition walls, and a part below the both partition walls. Subcooling portion is widely known heat exchanger provided with a function as a subcooler in.

  In the heat exchanger mentioned above, it is necessary to exchange the desiccant etc. which are arrange | positioned in a liquid receiver, for example, the heat exchanger of patent document 1 is known. A liquid receiver for a heat exchanger described in Patent Document 1 has a cylindrical main body extending in the vertical direction and having at least a lower end opened, and a plug screwed into the lower end of the cylindrical main body. A cylindrical female seal surface is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the lower end portion, and a female screw is provided on a portion of the inner peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the cylindrical main body that extends above the female seal surface. A male screw that is screwed onto the female screw is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the plug, and a male-side sealing surface having a cylindrical surface is provided on a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the plug that is continuous with the male screw. The inner diameter of the sealing surface is larger than the inner diameter of the female thread, the outer diameter of the male sealing surface of the plug is larger than the outer diameter of the male thread, and the female sealing surface of the cylindrical body and the male sealing surface of the plug The space between the upper and lower O-rings A heat exchanger in which the distance between the lower end of the female sealing surface of the cylindrical body and the upper O-ring is longer than the distance between the upper end of the male thread of the plug and the lower end of the female thread of the cylindrical body. It is known (see Patent Document 1).

However, in the receiver of the heat exchanger described in Patent Document 1, the distance between the lower end of the female sealing surface of the cylindrical body and the upper O-ring is such that the upper end of the male thread of the plug and the female thread of the cylindrical body are Since it is longer than the distance to the lower end, the following problem occurs when the plug is removed from the cylindrical body while the refrigerant remains in the refrigeration cycle, that is, in the heat exchanger and the internal pressure is high. That is, when the plug is removed from the cylindrical main body, the upper O-ring seals the gap between the female-side seal surface and the male-side seal surface when the plug is turned and the screw-fitting of the female screw and the male screw is released. As a result, the refrigerant remains in the heat exchanger and the internal pressure remains high, so the plug jumps out vigorously due to the pressure in the heat exchanger.
JP-A-9-324962

  An object of the present invention is to provide a heat exchanger that solves the above problems and can prevent the plug from popping out when the plug of the liquid receiver is removed from the cylindrical main body.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises the following aspects.

1) A pair of tanks extending in the vertical direction spaced apart from each other, and a plurality of heats arranged in parallel with a space in the vertical direction between the tanks and both ends connected to both tanks. It is provided with an exchange pipe, fins arranged between adjacent heat exchange pipes, and a liquid receiver attached to one of the tanks. The liquid receiver extends in the vertical direction and at least one end is open. A cylindrical main body, and a plug screwed into the opening end of the cylindrical main body, and a cylindrical female-side sealing surface and a female screw are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the opening end of the cylindrical main body. The outer peripheral surface of the plug is provided with a male side sealing surface and a male screw that is screwed with the female screw, and the female side sealing surface of the cylindrical body and the male side sealing surface of the plug are sealed by an O-ring. In the heat exchanger,
The plug is formed with a bottomed tool insertion hole for inserting a tool for rotating the plug around the axis line from the vertical outer end surface in the length direction of the cylindrical main body, and the vertical inner end surface of the plug. A heat exchanger in which a through hole is formed between the bottom surface of the tool insertion hole, and a safety valve that is opened when a tool is inserted into the tool insertion hole and normally closed is disposed in the through hole.

  2) The safety valve has a cylindrical shape with an opening at the inner end in the vertical direction and a closed outer end in the vertical direction, and opens and closes the refrigerant discharge path in the valve body. A valve head and a spring that biases the valve head toward the closed side, and the vertical outer end of the valve body protrudes into the tool insertion hole, and a portion that protrudes into the tool insertion hole in the peripheral wall of the valve body A valve passage is formed on the inner end of the valve body, and the valve face of the valve head is in close contact with the valve face. Is provided at the inner end of the valve stem that protrudes into the tool insertion hole and can move in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical body, and the spring is located above the valve body in the valve stem. The above-mentioned heat exchanger 1), characterized in that disposed around the portion protruding outwardly.

  According to the heat exchanger of 1) above, a bottomed tool insertion hole for inserting a tool for extending the plug in the length direction of the cylindrical main body from the vertical outer end surface and turning the plug around the axis. A safety valve that is open when a tool is inserted into the tool insertion hole and is normally closed in the through hole formed between the vertical inner end surface of the plug and the bottom surface of the tool insertion hole. When the plug is removed from the cylindrical body while the pressure in the refrigeration cycle, that is, in the heat exchanger is still relatively high, the tool for turning the plug is inserted into the tool insertion hole. Then, the safety valve opens, and the refrigerant remaining in the heat exchanger escapes to the outside. Therefore, when the screwing of the female thread of the cylindrical body and the male thread of the plug is released, the pressure in the refrigeration cycle, i.e., the heat exchanger, has dropped, preventing the plug from popping out vigorously. The

  According to the heat exchanger of 2), the configuration of the safety valve is relatively simple.

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

  In this embodiment, the heat exchanger according to the present invention is applied to a heat exchanger in which a condensing part having a condenser function and a supercooling part having a supercooler function are integrated.

  In the following description, the left and right sides in FIG. 1 are referred to as left and right, the front side of FIG. In the following description, the term “aluminum” includes aluminum alloys in addition to pure aluminum.

  FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the heat exchanger, and FIGS. 2 to 5 show the configuration of the main part thereof.

  In FIG. 1, the heat exchanger (1) has a width between a pair of left and right aluminum tanks (2) and (3) extending in the vertical direction and spaced apart from each other, and both tanks (2) and (3). A plurality of flat aluminum heat exchange tubes (4) with their directions directed in the front-rear direction and arranged in parallel at intervals in the vertical direction, and both left and right ends connected to both tanks (2) (3), respectively And an aluminum corrugated fin (5) brazed to the heat exchange pipe (4) between the adjacent heat exchange pipes (4) and outside the heat exchange pipes (4) at both upper and lower ends, and A pair of upper and lower aluminum side plates (6) disposed outside the corrugated fins (5) and brazed to the corrugated fins (5), and fixed to the left tank (2) via mounting members (8) And a liquid receiver (7).

  Both tanks (2) and (3) of the heat exchanger (1) are divided vertically by partition walls (9) and (11) at the same height at the bottom, thereby condensing the gas-phase refrigerant. Function of the condenser (12) having the function of a condenser to be a liquid phase, and the function of the supercooler for supercooling the liquid refrigerant condensed in the condenser (12) to a temperature lower by about 5 to 15 ° C. than the condensation temperature And a supercooling section (13) having a vertical line in the same vertical plane.

  Here, the part above the partition wall (9) in the left tank (2) is the left header (14) of the condensing part (12), and the part above the partition wall (11) in the right tank (3) Is the right header (15) of the condenser (12). Further, the part below the partition wall (9) in the left tank (2) is the left header (16) of the supercooling section (13), and the part below the partition wall (11) in the right tank (3) Is the right header (17) of the supercooling section (13).

  The right header (15) of the condensing part (12) is divided into an upper header part (15a) and a lower header by an aluminum first partition plate (18) for forming a passage group provided at a middle height position in the vertical direction. The left header (14) is divided by an aluminum second partition plate (19) for passage group formation provided at a lower position than the first partition plate (18). The upper header portion (14a) and the lower header portion (14b) are partitioned. The condensing part (12) is divided into a part above the first partition plate (18), a part between the partition plates (18) and (19), and a part below the second partition plate (19), respectively. A passage group (21), (22), (23) is provided which is composed of heat exchange pipes (4) arranged continuously in the vertical direction. The number of heat exchange pipes (4) constituting each of the passage groups (21), (22), and (23) decreases sequentially from the top. Further, the flow direction of the refrigerant in all the heat exchange pipes (4) constituting each passage group (21), (22), and (23) is the same, and two adjacent passage groups (21) (22) And the flow directions of the refrigerant in the heat exchange pipe (4) of (22) and (23) are different.

  An aluminum refrigerant inlet member (24) leading to a refrigerant inlet (not shown) is brazed to the upper end portion of the upper header portion (15a) of the right header (15) of the condensing portion (12), and the right side of the supercooling portion (13). An aluminum refrigerant outlet member (25) leading to a refrigerant outlet (not shown) is brazed to the header (17). In addition, a refrigerant outlet (not shown) for sending refrigerant to the liquid receiver (7) is formed in the lower header part (14b) of the left header (14) of the condenser part (12), and the supercooling part (13) The left header (16) is formed with a refrigerant inlet (not shown) through which refrigerant is fed from the liquid receiver (7). The refrigerant outlet of the lower header portion (14b) of the left header (14) is connected to a refrigerant inlet (not shown) formed in the liquid receiver (7) via a refrigerant inflow passage formed in the mounting member (8). ), And the refrigerant inlet of the left header (16) is connected to a refrigerant outlet (not shown) formed in the receiver (7) through a refrigerant outflow passage formed in the mounting member (8). ing.

  The liquid receiver (7) includes a cylindrical main body (26) with both upper and lower ends open, an aluminum lower cap (27) brazed to the lower end of the cylindrical main body (26) to close the lower end opening, and a cylinder And a cylindrical aluminum plug (28) for closing the upper end opening of the main body (26). The cylindrical body (26) includes an aluminum pipe (30) having a circular cross section and an aluminum stepped cylindrical member brazed to the upper end of the pipe (30) and having an inner peripheral surface of a cylindrical surface. It consists of a screw part (31). A refrigerant inlet and a refrigerant outlet (not shown) are formed below the pipe (30). Although illustration is omitted, a desiccant, a strainer and the like are arranged in the liquid receiver (7).

  As shown in FIG. 2, a female screw (32) is provided on the upper part of the inner peripheral surface of the threaded part (31) for brazing to the upper end of the pipe (30), and the inner peripheral surface of the female threaded part (31). A cylindrical female-side sealing surface (33) is provided at a portion connected to the lower side (inward in the vertical direction) of the female screw (32). The internal diameter of the female-side seal surface (33) of the internal thread component (31) is smaller than the internal diameter of the internal thread (32).

  A portion of the outer peripheral surface of the plug (28) excluding the lower end is provided with a male screw (34) that is screwed with the female screw (32) of the female screw component (31) of the cylindrical body (26), and the plug A cylindrical male seal surface (35) is provided on a portion of the outer peripheral surface of (28) connected to the lower side of the male screw (34). The outer diameter of the male side sealing surface (35) of the plug (28) is smaller than the outer diameter of the male screw (34). An annular groove (36) is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the male side sealing surface (35) of the plug (28), and an O-ring (37) is mounted in the annular groove (36). 37), the space between the female sealing surface (33) of the female thread part (31) of the cylindrical body (26) and the male sealing surface (35) of the plug (28) is sealed. The upper end of the plug (28) is provided with an outward flange (38) in contact with the upper end surface of the female thread component (31), and the outward flange (38) is fitted to the lower surface of the outward flange (38). A plurality of, in this case, two annular ridges (39) are formed concentrically to seal between the upper end surface of the screw component (31) (see FIG. 3).

  The plug (28) extends downward from its upper end surface (vertical outer end surface) (longitudinal direction of the cylindrical body (26)), and a tool for turning the plug around its axis, such as a hexagon wrench or Torx A bottomed tool insertion hole (41) for inserting a wrench is formed. A through hole (42) is formed between the lower end surface (vertical inner end surface) of the plug (28) and the bottom surface of the tool insertion hole (41), and the tool is inserted into the tool insertion hole ( 41) A safety valve (43) that opens when inserted into the valve and is normally closed is arranged. A female screw (44) is provided at the lower part of the inner peripheral surface of the through hole (42).

  As shown in detail in FIG. 4, the safety valve (43) has a cylindrical shape with the lower end (vertical inner end) opened and the upper end (vertical outer end) closed, and the inside is a refrigerant discharge path. The valve body (45) formed as (46), the valve head (47) that opens and closes the refrigerant discharge passage (46) of the valve body (45), and the valve head (47) are biased to the closed side, here upward Spring (48).

A male screw (49) screwed with the female screw (44) of the through hole (42) of the plug (28) is provided at the lower part of the outer peripheral surface of the valve body (45). An annular groove (51) is formed over the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the valve body (45) above the male screw (49), and the plug (28) of the plug (28) is formed in the annular groove (51). An O-ring (52) that seals between a portion above the internal thread (44) on the inner peripheral surface of the through hole (42) and a portion above the external thread (49) on the outer peripheral surface of the valve body (45). ) Is installed. The upper end (vertical outer end) of the valve body (45) protrudes into the tool insertion hole (41), and the refrigerant passes through the part protruding into the tool insertion hole (41) on the peripheral wall of the valve body (45). A hole (53) is formed. A valve seat (54) is formed on the lower end (inner end) of the valve body (45) so that the valve face (47a) of the valve head (47) is in close contact therewith. The valve head (47) penetrates the upper end closing wall (45a) of the valve body (45), and the upper end (vertical outer end) protrudes into the tool insertion hole (41) and can move in the vertical direction. The valve stem (55) is provided at the lower end (vertical inner end). An annular groove (56) is formed over the entire circumference of the valve face (47a) of the valve head (47), and a valve seal (57) made of an O-ring is mounted in the annular groove (56). The spring (48) includes a spring receiver (55a) provided at an upper end portion of the valve stem (55) and a valve body (45) around a portion of the valve stem (55) protruding outward from the valve body (45). And the cylindrical body (26) by turning the plug (28) for the purpose of exchanging the desiccant etc. disposed in the liquid receiver (7). When a rod-shaped tool such as a hex wrench or Torx wrench is inserted into the tool insertion hole (41) of the plug (28), the valve stem (55) of the safety valve (43) is pushed by the tool and the spring ( The valve stem (55) descends against the biasing force of (48), the valve face (47a) of the valve head (47) moves away from the valve seat (54) of the valve body (45), and the refrigerant discharge passage (46) Is opened (see FIG. 5). As a result, even if the refrigerant remains in the refrigeration cycle, that is, in the heat exchanger (1) and the internal pressure is still relatively high, the remaining refrigerant remains in the refrigerant discharge passage (46) and the valve body (45). Since it passes through the refrigerant passage hole (53) and goes outside, when the screwing of the female screw (32) of the cylindrical body (26) and the male screw (34) of the plug (28) is released, That is, the pressure in the heat exchanger (1) is reduced, and the plug (28) is prevented from jumping upwards vigorously.

  The heat exchanger (1) constitutes a refrigeration cycle together with a compressor, an expansion valve (decompressor) and an evaporator, and is mounted on a vehicle as a car air conditioner.

  In the heat exchanger (1) described above, during operation of the refrigeration cycle, the high-temperature and high-pressure gas-liquid mixed phase refrigerant compressed by the compressor passes through the inlet member (24) from the refrigerant inlet (not shown) to the condenser (12). It flows into the upper header portion (15a) of the right header (15). The gas-liquid mixed phase refrigerant that has flowed into the upper header portion (15a) of the right header (15) passes through the heat exchange pipe (4) of the upper end passage group (21), and the upper header portion (14a) of the left header (14). ) And then into the lower header section (15b) of the right header (15) through the heat exchange pipe (4) of the intermediate path group (22) and further heat exchange of the lower end path group (23). It flows into the lower header part (14b) of the left header (14) through the pipe (4).

  The gas-liquid mixed phase refrigerant that has flowed into the lower header portion (14b) of the left header (14) of the condensing portion (12) is sent out from the refrigerant outlet formed in the lower header portion (14b), and is attached to the mounting member (8). The refrigerant flows into the liquid receiver (7) from the refrigerant inlet formed in the pipe and the refrigerant inlet formed in the pipe (30) of the cylindrical body (26) of the liquid receiver (7). In the liquid receiver (7), the liquid is separated and the water is removed.

  The liquid-phase refrigerant separated from the gas-phase refrigerant is a refrigerant outlet formed in the pipe (30) of the cylindrical body (26) of the liquid receiver (7), and a refrigerant outflow path formed in the mounting member (8). And enters the left header (16) through the refrigerant inlet formed in the left header (16) of the supercooling section (13). The refrigerant flowing into the left header (16) of the supercooling section (13) flows into the right header (17) through the heat exchange pipe (4), and passes through the refrigerant outlet member (25) from the refrigerant outlet (not shown). It is sent to the evaporator through an expansion valve.

  In the above embodiment, the cylindrical body (26) of the liquid receiver (7) is composed of a pipe (30) and a stepped cylindrical female screw part (31) brazed to the upper end of the pipe (30). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the entire cylindrical main body may be composed of one member, and a female screw (32) and a female-side sealing surface (33) may be provided at the upper end portion thereof.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the plug (28) is screwed into the upper end opening of the cylindrical body, but conversely, the plug (28) is screwed into the lower end opening of the cylindrical body. Also good. In this case, as a matter of course, the plug (28) is used upside down.

  Further, the configuration of the safety valve is not limited to that shown in the drawings, and can be appropriately changed as long as it opens when the tool is inserted into the tool insertion hole and is normally closed.

It is a front view which shows the whole structure of the heat exchanger of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a vertical longitudinal cross-sectional view which expands and shows the upper end part of the liquid receiver of the heat exchanger shown in FIG. It is a figure which expands and shows the part of the outward flange of the plug in FIG. It is a figure which expands and shows the part of the safety valve in FIG. FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 showing a state where the safety valve is opened.

Explanation of symbols

(1): Heat exchanger
(2) (3): Tank
(4): Heat exchange pipe
(5): Corrugated fin
(7): Receiver
(26): Cylindrical body
(28): Plug
(32): Female thread
(33): Female side sealing surface
(34): Male thread
(35): Male sealing surface
(37): O-ring
(41): Tool insertion hole
(42): Through hole
(43): Safety valve
(45): Valve body
(45a): Top closed wall
(46): Refrigerant discharge path
(47): Valve head
(47a): Valve face
(48): Spring
(53): Refrigerant passage hole
(54): Valve seat
(55): Valve stem

Claims (2)

A pair of tanks extending in the vertical direction spaced apart from each other, and a plurality of heat exchange tubes arranged in parallel with a space in the vertical direction between both tanks and having both ends connected to both tanks. And a fin disposed between adjacent heat exchange tubes and a liquid receiver attached to one of the tanks, the liquid receiver extending in the vertical direction and having a cylindrical shape with at least one end opened. A main body and a plug screwed into the open end of the cylindrical main body, and a cylindrical female seal surface and a female screw are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the open end of the cylindrical main body. The outer surface of the tube is provided with a male seal surface and a male screw that is screwed to the female screw, and the heat exchange is performed between the female seal surface of the tubular body and the male seal surface of the plug by an O-ring. In the vessel
The plug is formed with a bottomed tool insertion hole for inserting a tool for rotating the plug around the axis line from the vertical outer end surface in the length direction of the cylindrical main body, and the vertical inner end surface of the plug. A heat exchanger in which a through hole is formed between the bottom surface of the tool insertion hole, and a safety valve that is opened when a tool is inserted into the tool insertion hole and normally closed is disposed in the through hole. The safety valve has a cylindrical body whose upper end in the vertical direction is open and whose outer end in the vertical direction is closed and the inside is a refrigerant discharge path, and a valve head that opens and closes the refrigerant discharge path of the valve body And a spring for urging the valve head toward the closing side, and the vertical outer end of the valve body protrudes into the tool insertion hole, and the refrigerant protrudes into the tool insertion hole in the peripheral wall of the valve body. A passage hole is formed, and a valve seat is formed on the inner end of the valve body in the vertical direction, and the valve face of the valve head is in close contact with the valve head. It is provided at the inner end of the valve stem that protrudes into the insertion hole and can move in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical body, and the spring is moved up and down from the valve body in the valve stem. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, characterized in that disposed around the portion protruding toward the outside.

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