JP2011158223A - Four-way valve and refrigerating cycle using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem of shortage of cooling capacity in conventional four-way valve cooling devices for performing cooling by interposing a heat transfer body between an outlet pipe to a suction port of a compressor and a four-way valve. <P>SOLUTION: In this four-way valve and refrigerating cycle using the four-way valve, an outlet pipe to a suction port of a compressor is bonded to a magnet coil of a pilot solenoid valve of the four-way valve. Thus, since the outlet pipe to the suction port of the compressor cooled by a refrigerant and the four-way valve are directly cooled, the four-way valve can be cooled efficiently. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a four-way valve used in a heat pump system such as an air conditioner or a water heater, and a refrigeration cycle using the same.

  The heat pump refrigeration cycle includes a four-way valve for switching the refrigerant flow path in the refrigeration cycle between a heating operation cycle and a cooling operation cycle. This four-way valve has a pilot solenoid valve, and there is an electromagnetic coil in the pilot solenoid valve. The solenoid coil is energized during the heating operation cycle, and the solenoid coil is de-energized during the cooling operation cycle. The valve is switched. For this reason, if heating is performed in a hot environment such as summer (heat pump water heaters are also operated in summer) due to insufficient cooling due to the heat dissipation of the four-way valve and heat generation due to energization of the electromagnetic coil. The four-way valve may become hot and impair reliability. Therefore, it is necessary to cool the four-way valve. As shown in FIG. 7 disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-325634, a conventional four-way valve cooling method is transmitted between an electromagnetic coil of a pilot solenoid valve of a four-way valve and an outlet pipe to a suction port of a compressor. By inserting the heat element, the low-temperature refrigerant flowing in the outlet pipe cooled the four-way valve via the heat transfer element.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-325634

  However, the conventional cooling of the four-way valve has a problem that the cooling efficiency is poor because the four-way valve is cooled via the heat transfer body. In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to efficiently cool a four-way valve.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a four-way valve that switches a heat pump refrigeration cycle between a heating cycle and a cooling cycle by energizing the solenoid valve, and an electromagnetic coil of the solenoid valve and the compression of the four-way valve. It is the structure which connects with the exit pipe | tube to the suction inlet of a machine thermally.

  According to the present invention, the four-way valve can be efficiently cooled, and parts such as a heat transfer body can be reduced.

It is a block diagram of the four-way valve of the 1st Example of the air conditioner by this invention. It is a block diagram of the four-way valve of the 2nd Example of the air conditioner by this invention. FIG. 3 is a refrigerant circuit diagram expressed in partial substantial view according to the present invention and shows a heating operation state. FIG. 3 is a refrigerant circuit diagram expressed in partial substantial view according to the present invention, showing a cooling operation state. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the mode switch by this invention, and the energization state of an electromagnetic coil. It is a block diagram of the four-way valve and refrigerant | coolant piping of the 3rd Example of the air conditioner by this invention. It is a perspective view of the Example of the four-way valve of the air conditioner by a prior art example.

  An object of the present invention is to efficiently cool a four-way valve by directly thermally connecting an electromagnetic coil of a pilot solenoid valve and an outlet pipe to a suction port of a compressor of the four-way valve. .

  The first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3 to 5. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are refrigerant circuit diagrams partially expressed in a substantial diagram, and are connected to the compressor 1, the four-way valve 4, and the connection port 8 of the four-way valve 4 for compressing the refrigerant through the refrigerant pipe and the outside air and the refrigerant. An outdoor heat exchanger 25 that exchanges heat, an electronic expansion valve 26 that is an expansion mechanism through which refrigerant passes and adiabatically expands, and a connection port 9 of the four-way valve 4 that is connected via a refrigerant pipe to exchange heat between indoor air and the refrigerant. The indoor heat exchanger 27 to be performed is a refrigeration cycle in which refrigerant pipes are sequentially connected.

  The four-way valve 4 switches the flow path of the refrigerant discharged from the discharge port 2 of the compressor 1 between a cooling operation cycle and a heating operation cycle. The four-way valve 4 includes a piston 5 for switching the refrigerant flow path, a main body case 6, an inlet pipe 7 connected to a refrigerant pipe from the discharge port 2 of the compressor 1 opened in the main body case 6, and a refrigerant pipe. The connection port 8 connected to the outdoor heat exchanger 26 through the refrigerant pipe, the connection port 9 connected to the indoor heat exchanger 28 through the refrigerant pipe, and the suction port 3 of the compressor 1 through the refrigerant pipe. And a pilot solenoid valve 11 that operates the piston 5 by using the pressure of the refrigerant.

  Reference numeral 23 denotes a mode switch for switching between cooling and heating.

  The pilot electromagnetic valve 11 includes an electromagnetic coil 12, a plunger 13 that is operated by the electromagnetic coil 12, springs 14 and 15 that assist the operation of the plunger 13, a valve case 16 that houses the plunger 13, and a plunger. Ports 17 and 18 that are opened and closed by a valve 13, a valve pipe 19 that guides the suction force of the compressor 1 of the outlet pipe 10 to the valve case 16, a valve pipe 20 that pulls the piston 5 by the suction force when the port 17 is opened, The valve pipe 21 pulls the piston 5 with the suction force when the port 18 is opened. As shown in FIG. 3, when the electromagnetic coil 12 is energized, a magnetic flux is generated in the electromagnetic coil 12, and the generated magnetic flux attracts the plunger 13 and moves the plunger 13 toward the electromagnetic coil 12. This is the state when heating is performed. If the electromagnetic coil 12 is not energized, the plunger 13 is pulled by the spring 15 and moves to the spring 15 side. This is the state when cooling is performed. In some cases, the electromagnetic coil is energized during the cooling operation cycle and the electromagnetic coil is not energized during the heating operation cycle.

  In the configuration for cooling the electromagnetic coil 12, the electromagnetic coil 12 is fixed to the side surface of the outlet pipe 10 so that the electromagnetic coil 12 and the outlet pipe 10 are thermally connected as shown in FIG. 1. Thereby, since the low-temperature refrigerant flows from the outlet pipe 10 to the compressor, the electromagnetic coil 12 can be cooled. In the present embodiment, although not shown, the electromagnetic coil 12 and the outlet pipe 10 are thermally connected using a metallic fixture in consideration of thermal conductivity. In addition to this, fixing is performed using a resin having high thermal conductivity. However, in the present invention, it is only necessary that the electromagnetic coil 12 and the outlet pipe 10 are thermally connected. It is not limited to.

  Next, the operation and effect of the above configuration will be described. First, the heating time shown in FIG. 3 will be described. As shown in the explanatory diagram of FIG. 5, when the mode switch 23 is in the heating mode, the control unit 24 energizes the electromagnetic coil 12. As shown in FIG. 3, since the sum of the force that the electromagnetic coil 12 attracts the plunger 13 and the operating force of the spring 15 is stronger than the operating force of the spring 14, the plunger 13 is pulled toward the electromagnetic coil 12 side. Port 17 opens. As a result, the valve pipes 19 and 20 communicate with each other, and the pressure on the valve pipe 20 side of the piston 5 becomes lower than that on the valve pipe 21 side by the suction force of the compressor 1, and the piston 5 is pressed against the valve pipe 20 side. As a result, the inlet pipe 7 from the discharge port 2 of the compressor 1 is connected to the connection port 9 to the indoor heat exchanger 27, and the connection port 8 from the outdoor heat exchanger 25 is connected to the suction port 3 of the compressor 1. It is connected to the outlet pipe 10 and becomes a refrigerant circuit (heating operation cycle) when heating is performed. In this state, the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant discharged from the compressor 1 passes through the connection port 9 from the inlet pipe 7 of the four-way valve 4, condenses by radiating heat to the indoor air in the indoor heat exchanger 27, and becomes high temperature. It becomes a high-pressure liquid refrigerant. The high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant becomes a low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant by adiabatic expansion by the electronic expansion valve 26, and the low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant evaporates by absorbing heat from the outside air in the outdoor heat exchanger 25, and the The gas refrigerant passes through the outlet pipe 10 from the connection port 8 of the four-way valve 4 and returns to the suction side of the compressor 1. Since the outlet pipe 10 is cooled by the passage of the low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant, the heat of the electromagnetic coil 12 heated by energization is absorbed by thermally connecting the outlet pipe 10 and the electromagnetic coil 12. Effectively cooled.

  Next, the cooling time shown in FIG. 4 will be described. As shown in the explanatory diagram of FIG. 5, when the mode switch 23 is cooled, the control unit 24 does not energize the electromagnetic coil 12. As shown in FIG. 2, since the operating force of the spring 14 is stronger than the operating force of the spring 15, the plunger 13 is pushed toward the spring 15 and the port 18 is opened. As a result, the valve pipes 19 and 21 communicate with each other, and the pressure on the valve pipe 21 side of the piston 5 becomes lower than that on the valve pipe 20 side due to the suction force of the compressor 1, and the piston 5 is pressed against the valve pipe 21 side. As a result, the inlet pipe 7 from the discharge port 2 of the compressor 1 is connected to the connection port 8 to the outdoor heat exchanger 25, and the connection port 9 from the indoor heat exchanger 27 is connected to the suction port 3 of the compressor 1. A refrigerant circuit (cooling operation cycle) for cooling is connected to the outlet pipe 10. In this state, the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant discharged from the compressor 1 passes through the connection port 8 from the inlet pipe 7 of the four-way valve 4 and is condensed by radiating heat to the outside air in the outdoor heat exchanger 25. It becomes a liquid refrigerant. The high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant becomes a low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant by adiabatically expanding by the electronic expansion valve 26, and the low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant evaporates by absorbing heat from the indoor air in the indoor heat exchanger 27 and has a low temperature. It becomes a low-pressure gas refrigerant, passes through the outlet pipe 10 from the connection port 9 of the four-way valve 4, and returns to the suction side of the compressor 1. Since the outlet pipe 10 has a low temperature when the low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant passes, the electromagnetic coil 12 is cooled by thermally connecting the outlet pipe 10 and the electromagnetic coil 12. During cooling, the electromagnetic coil 12 is not energized and is not heated. However, when the electromagnetic coil 12 is energized and switched to heating, the electromagnetic coil 12 is sufficiently cooled, which is advantageous.

  A second embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the four-way valve 4 of the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the electromagnetic coil 12 is disposed so as to be attached to the main body case 6, and the outlet pipe 10 connected to the suction port 3 of the compressor 1 is bent so as to be thermally connected to the electromagnetic coil 12. By arranging, the electromagnetic coil 12 can be cooled.

  A third embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 differs from the above-described embodiment in that a return pipe 31 is a refrigerant pipe through which a refrigerant that is connected to the outlet pipe 10 of the four-way valve 4 and returns to the suction port of the compressor 1 flows instead of the outlet pipe 10 of the four-way valve 4. Is used. The return pipe 31 is bent as shown in FIG. 6 and thermally connected to the electromagnetic coil 12 to cool the electromagnetic coil 12. Thereby, the conventional four-way valve 4 that cannot cool the electromagnetic coil 12 can be used, and the electromagnetic coil 12 of the four-way valve 4 can be efficiently cooled. In this embodiment, the return pipe 31 is bent to cool the electromagnetic coil 12, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the outlet coil 10 of the four-way valve 4 is bent so that the electromagnetic coil 12 and the thermal coil 12 are heated. Therefore, the return pipe 31 connected to the outlet pipe 10 does not have to be bent.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the four-way valve 4 and the return pipe 31 returning to the suction side of the compressor 1 or the outlet pipe 10 through which the low-temperature refrigerant flows are thermally connected to make the four-way valve 4 efficient. Cooling can be performed well, and the risk of impairing the reliability of the four-way valve 4 can be reduced. Moreover, parts, such as a heat exchanger, can be reduced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Compressor 2 Discharge port 3 Suction port 4 Four-way valve 8 Connection port connected with an outdoor heat exchanger 9 Connection port connected with an indoor heat exchanger 10 Outlet pipe 11 Pilot solenoid valve 12 Electromagnetic coil 25 Outdoor heat exchanger 26 Electronic expansion Valve (expansion mechanism)
27 Indoor heat exchanger 31 Return pipe

Claims (4)

In the four-way valve that switches the heat pump refrigeration cycle between the heating cycle and the cooling cycle by energizing the solenoid valve,
A four-way valve characterized in that an electromagnetic coil of the solenoid valve and an outlet pipe to a suction port of a compressor of the four-way valve are thermally connected. Fixing the electromagnetic coil to a side surface of the outlet pipe;
The four-way valve according to claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic coil and the outlet pipe are thermally connected. Fixing the electromagnetic coil to the side of the body case;
The four-way valve according to claim 1, wherein the outlet pipe is bent to thermally connect the electromagnetic coil and the outlet pipe. A heat pump refrigeration cycle that circulates refrigerant discharged from the discharge port of the compressor to a suction port of the compressor via a four-way valve having an electromagnetic valve, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion mechanism, an indoor heat exchanger, and the four-way valve In
A refrigeration cycle, wherein a refrigerant pipe through which a refrigerant that is connected to an outlet pipe of the four-way valve and returns to an inlet of the compressor flows, and an electromagnetic coil of the electromagnetic valve are thermally connected.

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