JP2012072934A - Heat storage device, and air conditioner with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat storage device capable of increasing temperature in a heat storage material in a short time, and to provide an air conditioner employing the heat storage device.SOLUTION: In the heat storage device that is arranged to enclose a substantially cylindrical compressor 6, a heat storage tank body 46 houses a heat storage material 36 for storing heat generated at the compressor 6 and a heat storage exchanger 34 for acquiring the stored heat, and has a heat transfer plate 51 coming into contact with the compressor for acquiring heat generated in the compressor. In the heat storage tank body, the heat transfer plate is composed of a member with a predetermined thickness having high heat conductivity, and also other parts are composed of members with heat conductivity lower than that of the heat transfer plate. By this arrangement, a high heat storage performance can be secured.

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat storage device that stores a heat storage material that is arranged so as to surround a compressor and stores heat generated by the compressor, and an air conditioner including the heat storage device.

  Conventionally, when the outdoor heat exchanger is frosted during the heating operation by the heat pump air conditioner, defrosting is performed by switching the four-way valve from the heating cycle to the cooling cycle. In this defrosting method, although the indoor fan is stopped, there is a disadvantage that a feeling of heating is lost because cold air is gradually discharged from the indoor unit.

  Accordingly, a heat storage device is provided in the compressor provided in the outdoor unit, and the one that is defrosted using the waste heat of the compressor stored in the heat storage tank during the heating operation has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional heat storage device. In FIG. 10, the heat storage device 100 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the compressor 101. The heat storage device 100 includes a heat storage tank 102, a heat storage material 103, and a heat exchanger 104, and a heat transfer surface 105 of the heat storage tank 102 is disposed so as to be in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the compressor 101, thereby compressing. The waste heat of the machine is stored in a heat storage tank.

JP-A-3-31666

  In the conventional heat storage device shown in FIG. 10, the heat storage tank 102 is generally formed of a single material. Here, when the heat storage tank is formed of a material having high thermal conductivity, the thermal resistance from the compressor to the heat storage material is reduced, but at the same time, the amount of heat released from the heat storage tank to the outside atmosphere is also increased, so a sufficient amount of heat storage Cannot be obtained. On the other hand, if the heat storage tank is formed of a material with low thermal conductivity, the heat radiation from the heat storage tank to the outside atmosphere decreases, but the thermal resistance from the compressor to the heat storage material increases, so that sufficient heat storage performance is still achieved. Sometimes it was not possible.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and reduces the amount of heat released from the heat storage material to the outside atmosphere while reducing the thermal resistance between the compressor and the heat storage material. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a heat storage device having high heat storage performance and capable of increasing the temperature of the heat storage material in a short time, and an air conditioner using the heat storage device.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a heat storage device arranged so as to surround a substantially cylindrical compressor, and stores a heat storage material that accumulates heat generated by the pre-compressor, and the heat storage material. A heat storage tank, and a heat transfer surface that is a side surface of the heat storage tank and transfers heat from the compressor to the heat storage material, and the heat conductivity of the material of the heat transfer surface is that of a material other than the heat transfer surface of the heat storage tank. It is said that it is higher than thermal conductivity.

According to the present invention, since the heat transfer surface of the heat storage tank in contact with the compressor is made of a material having high thermal conductivity, it becomes possible to efficiently store waste heat from the compressor in the heat storage material, and Since the other surface of the heat storage tank, that is, the surface in contact with the outside atmosphere is made of a material having a low thermal conductivity, heat radiation of the stored heat to the outside atmosphere can be minimized. Thereby, it is possible to provide a heat storage device having high heat storage performance and capable of increasing the temperature of the heat storage material in a short time, and an air conditioner using the heat storage device.

The figure which shows the structure of the air conditioner provided with the heat storage apparatus which concerns on this invention. The schematic diagram which shows the operation | movement at the time of normal heating of the air conditioner of FIG. 1, and the flow of a refrigerant | coolant. The schematic diagram which shows the operation | movement at the time of defrosting and heating of the air conditioner of FIG. 1, and the flow of a refrigerant | coolant. The perspective view of the heat storage apparatus which concerns on this invention of the state which attached the compressor and the accumulator Exploded perspective view of heat storage tank Sectional view along line VII-VII in FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view when the sheet member provided in the heat storage device of FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view when the sheet member provided in the heat storage device of FIG. 4 has a three-layer laminated structure of a resin layer, a metal layer, and a resin layer. Relationship between heat transfer plate thickness and heat transfer performance Cross-sectional view of a conventional heat storage device

The present invention is a heat storage device disposed so as to surround a substantially cylindrical compressor, a heat storage material that accumulates heat generated by the pre-compressor, a heat storage tank that stores the heat storage material, and a side surface of the heat storage tank The heat conductivity of the material of the heat transfer surface is higher than the heat conductivity of the material other than the heat transfer surface of the heat storage tank.

  With this configuration, the heat transfer surface of the heat storage tank in contact with the compressor is made of a material having high thermal conductivity, so that waste heat from the compressor can be efficiently stored in the heat storage material, and the heat storage tank By configuring the other surface, that is, the surface in contact with the outside atmosphere with a material having a low thermal conductivity, heat radiation of the stored heat to the outside atmosphere can be minimized. Thereby, it is possible to provide a heat storage device having high heat storage performance and capable of increasing the temperature of the heat storage material in a short time, and an air conditioner using the heat storage device.

  Specifically, the heat storage tank employs metal for the heat transfer surface in contact with the compressor, and other materials employ resin. Thereby, also when a thermal storage tank contacts with a compressor, it becomes possible to prevent the leakage of the thermal storage material accompanying a crack etc. Furthermore, by constructing the resin other than the contact surface with a resin with high molding accuracy, the gap generated between the contact surface of the compressor and the heat storage tank can be kept to a minimum, resulting in poor contact between the compressor and the heat storage tank heat transfer surface. It is possible to prevent the accompanying deterioration in heat storage performance.

  Preferably, the heat transfer surface material is constituted by a first resin layer bonded to a portion other than the heat transfer surface, and a metal layer laminated on the compressor side with respect to the first resin layer. The heat conductivity, strength, etc. of the heat transfer surface material are improved.

More preferably, the heat transfer surface material further includes a second resin layer laminated on the compressor side with respect to the metal layer, thereby further improving the adhesion between the heat transfer surface material and the other material.
Preferably, the member thickness L (mm) in the heat flow direction from the compressor on the heat transfer surface to the heat storage material is expressed as 0.5 mm <L <3 mm, so Even when voids are generated between the hot surfaces, the heat transfer performance from the compressor to the heat storage material can be minimized due to the thermal diffusion effect of the heat transfer surface.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an air conditioner provided with a heat storage device according to the present invention, and the air conditioner is composed of an outdoor unit 2 and an indoor unit 4 connected to each other by refrigerant piping.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a compressor 6, a four-way valve 8, a strainer 10, an expansion valve 12, and an outdoor heat exchanger 14 are provided inside the outdoor unit 2. A heat exchanger 16 is provided, and these are connected to each other via a refrigerant pipe to constitute a refrigeration cycle.

  More specifically, the compressor 6 and the indoor heat exchanger 16 are connected via a first pipe 18 provided with a four-way valve 8, and the indoor heat exchanger 16 and the expansion valve 12 are provided with a strainer 10. The second pipe 20 is connected. The expansion valve 12 and the outdoor heat exchanger 14 are connected via a third pipe 22, and the outdoor heat exchanger 14 and the compressor 6 are connected via a fourth pipe 24.

  A four-way valve 8 is disposed in the middle of the fourth pipe 24, and an accumulator 26 for separating the liquid-phase refrigerant and the gas-phase refrigerant is provided in the fourth pipe 24 on the refrigerant suction side of the compressor 6. ing. The compressor 6 and the third pipe 22 are connected via a fifth pipe 28, and the first solenoid valve 30 is provided in the fifth pipe 28.

  Further, a heat storage tank 32 is provided around the compressor 6, and a heat storage heat exchanger 34 is provided inside the heat storage tank 32, and a heat storage material for exchanging heat with the heat storage heat exchanger 34 (for example, An ethylene glycol aqueous solution) 36 is filled, and the heat storage tank 32, the heat storage heat exchanger 34, and the heat storage material 36 constitute a heat storage device.

  The second pipe 20 and the heat storage heat exchanger 34 are connected via a sixth pipe 38, the heat storage heat exchanger 34 and the fourth pipe 24 are connected via a seventh pipe 40, and the sixth pipe 38. Is provided with a second electromagnetic valve 42.

  In addition to the indoor heat exchanger 16, an air blower fan (not shown), upper and lower blades (not shown), and left and right blades (not shown) are provided inside the indoor unit 4, and indoor heat exchange is performed. The unit 16 exchanges heat between the indoor air sucked into the interior of the indoor unit 4 by the blower fan and the refrigerant flowing through the interior of the indoor heat exchanger 16, and blows out the air warmed by heat exchange into the room during heating. On the other hand, air cooled by heat exchange is blown into the room during cooling. The upper and lower blades change the direction of air blown from the indoor unit 4 up and down as necessary, and the left and right blades change the direction of air blown from the indoor unit 4 to right and left as needed.

  The compressor 6, the blower fan, the upper and lower blades, the left and right blades, the four-way valve 8, the expansion valve 12, the electromagnetic valves 30 and 42, etc. are electrically connected to a control device (not shown, for example, a microcomputer). Be controlled.

  In the refrigeration cycle apparatus according to the present invention having the above-described configuration, the mutual connection relationship and function of each component will be described together with the flow of the refrigerant taking the heating operation as an example.

The refrigerant discharged from the discharge port of the compressor 6 reaches the indoor heat exchanger 16 from the four-way valve 8 through the first pipe 18. The refrigerant condensed by exchanging heat with the indoor air in the indoor heat exchanger 16 passes through the second pipe 20 through the indoor heat exchanger 16, expands through the strainer 10 that prevents foreign matter from entering the expansion valve 12. To valve 12. The refrigerant decompressed by the expansion valve 12 reaches the outdoor heat exchanger 14 through the third pipe 22, and the refrigerant evaporated by exchanging heat with the outdoor air in the outdoor heat exchanger 14 is the fourth pipe 24 and the four-way valve 8. And returns to the suction port of the compressor 6 through the accumulator 26.

  The fifth pipe 28 branched from the compressor 6 discharge port of the first pipe 18 and the four-way valve 8 is connected to the expansion valve 12 of the third pipe 22 and the outdoor heat exchanger 14 via the first electromagnetic valve 30. I am joining in between.

  Furthermore, the heat storage tank 32 in which the heat storage material 36 and the heat storage heat exchanger 34 are housed is disposed so as to be in contact with and surround the compressor 6, and the heat generated in the compressor 6 is accumulated in the heat storage material 36, and the second The sixth pipe 38 branched from the pipe 20 between the indoor heat exchanger 16 and the strainer 10 reaches the inlet of the heat storage heat exchanger 34 via the second electromagnetic valve 42 and exits from the outlet of the heat storage heat exchanger 34. The seventh pipe 40 joins between the four-way valve 8 and the accumulator 26 in the fourth pipe 24. In addition, the place where it joins may be between the accumulator 26 and the compressor 6, and in that case, it can be avoided that heat is taken away by the heat capacity of the accumulator 26 itself.

  Next, the operation during normal heating will be described with reference to FIG. 2 schematically showing the operation during normal heating and the flow of the refrigerant of the air conditioner shown in FIG.

  During the normal heating operation, the first electromagnetic valve 30 and the second electromagnetic valve 42 are controlled to be closed, and the refrigerant discharged from the discharge port of the compressor 6 as described above passes through the first pipe 18 and the four-way valve 8. To the indoor heat exchanger 16. The refrigerant condensed by exchanging heat with the indoor air in the indoor heat exchanger 16 exits the indoor heat exchanger 16, passes through the second pipe 20, reaches the expansion valve 12, and the refrigerant decompressed by the expansion valve 12 is the third refrigerant. It reaches the outdoor heat exchanger 14 through the pipe 22. The refrigerant evaporated by exchanging heat with outdoor air in the outdoor heat exchanger 14 returns from the four-way valve 8 to the suction port of the compressor 6 through the fourth pipe 24.

  Further, the heat generated in the compressor 6 is accumulated in the heat storage material 36 housed in the heat storage tank 32 from the outer wall of the compressor 6 through the outer wall of the heat storage tank 32.

  Next, the operation during defrosting / heating will be described with reference to FIG. 3 schematically showing the operation of the air conditioner shown in FIG. 1 during defrosting / heating and the flow of refrigerant. In the figure, the solid line arrows indicate the flow of the refrigerant used for heating, and the broken line arrows indicate the flow of the refrigerant used for defrosting.

  When the outdoor heat exchanger 14 is frosted during the above-described normal heating operation and the frosted frost grows, the ventilation resistance of the outdoor heat exchanger 14 increases and the air flow decreases, and the evaporation in the outdoor heat exchanger 14 increases. The temperature drops. As shown in FIG. 3, the air conditioner according to the present invention is provided with a temperature sensor 44 that detects the piping temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger 14, and the evaporation temperature is lower than that during non-frosting. When this is detected by the temperature sensor 44, an instruction from the normal heating operation to the defrosting / heating operation is output from the control device.

  When the normal heating operation is shifted to the defrosting / heating operation, the first electromagnetic valve 30 and the second electromagnetic valve 42 are controlled to open, and in addition to the refrigerant flow during the normal heating operation described above, the first solenoid valve 30 and the second electromagnetic valve 42 are discharged from the discharge port of the compressor 6. After a part of the vapor-phase refrigerant passes through the fifth pipe 28 and the first electromagnetic valve 30 and merges with the refrigerant passing through the third pipe 22, the outdoor heat exchanger 14 is heated, condensed, and converted into a liquid phase. Through the fourth pipe 24, the four-way valve 8 and the accumulator 26 are returned to the suction port of the compressor 6.

  Further, a part of the liquid-phase refrigerant that is divided between the indoor heat exchanger 16 and the strainer 10 in the second pipe 20 passes through the sixth pipe 38 and the second electromagnetic valve 42, and then is stored in the heat storage material 36 in the heat storage heat exchanger 34. From the accumulator 26 and returns to the suction port of the compressor 6 through the seventh pipe 40 and the refrigerant that passes through the fourth pipe 24.

  The refrigerant returning to the accumulator 26 includes the liquid phase refrigerant returning from the outdoor heat exchanger 14. By mixing this with the high-temperature gas phase refrigerant returning from the heat storage heat exchanger 34, The evaporation of the phase refrigerant is promoted, and the liquid phase refrigerant does not return to the compressor 6 through the accumulator 26, so that the reliability of the compressor 6 can be improved.

  The temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger 14 that has become below freezing due to the attachment of frost at the start of defrosting and heating is heated by the gas-phase refrigerant discharged from the discharge port of the compressor 6, and the frost is melted near zero degrees. When melting is finished, the temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger 14 begins to rise again. When the temperature sensor 44 detects the temperature rise of the outdoor heat exchanger 14, it is determined that the defrosting has been completed, and the control device outputs an instruction from the defrosting / heating operation to the normal heating operation.

  4 and 5 show a heat storage device, and the heat storage device includes the heat storage tank 32, the heat storage heat exchanger 34, and the heat storage material 36 as described above. FIG. 4 shows a state where the compressor 6 and the accumulator 26 assembled to the compressor 6 are attached to the heat storage device. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the heat storage tank, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the heat storage tank along line VII-VII in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the heat storage tank 32 includes a resin heat storage tank body 46 having side walls 46 a and 46 b and bottom walls (not shown) and opened upward, and the heat storage tank body 46. A resin lid 48 that closes the upper opening and a packing made of silicon rubber or the like interposed between the heat storage tank main body 46 and the lid 48 are provided. It is fixed by the part 50. In addition, a part of the side wall 46b of the heat storage tank main body 46 (that is, a part facing the compressor 6 at the side wall 46b) is open, and the heat transfer plate 51 is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the compressor 6 at the opening 46c. Is inserted and joined. In this embodiment, a copper plate excellent in workability and corrosion resistance is adopted as the heat transfer plate.

  The heat transfer plate 51 has a shape in which a part of a cylinder having a predetermined diameter is cut out as a whole. Since the compressor 6 is accommodated inside the heat transfer plate 51, the mounting tolerance and the like are taken into consideration. The inner diameter of the heat transfer plate 51 is set slightly larger than the outer diameter of the compressor 6.

  The heat storage heat exchanger 34 is, for example, a copper tube or the like bent in a serpentine shape, and is housed inside the heat storage tank body 46, and both ends of the heat storage heat exchanger 34 are extended upward from the lid 48. One end is connected to the sixth pipe 38 (see FIG. 1), while the other end is connected to the seventh pipe 40 (see FIG. 1). The heat storage heat exchanger 34 is accommodated, and the heat storage material 36 is filled in the internal space of the heat storage tank main body 46 surrounded by the side walls 46 a and 46 b, the bottom wall, and the heat transfer plate 51.

  The heat storage tank main body 46 is closely fixed from the lateral direction so as to hold the compressor 6 and fastened to the accumulator 26 and the compressor 6 by bands 52a and 52b, respectively, so as to be firmly fixed.

  Although the heat storage heat exchanger 34 is omitted in FIG. 5, the heat storage heat exchanger 34 is attached to the lid body 48 before fixing the lid body 48 to the heat storage tank main body 46, and is installed inside the heat storage tank 32. Be contained.

  Next, the operation of the heat storage device having the above configuration will be described.

As described above, the heat storage device stores heat generated in the compressor 6 during the heating operation in the heat storage material 36, and when the heat storage device 36 shifts from the normal heating operation to the defrosting / heating operation, the heat storage heat exchanger 34 Obtain and use heat. Therefore, the heat transfer performance of the heat transfer path from the outer surface of the compressor 6 to the heat storage material 36 is good so that the temperature of the heat storage material 36 can be sufficiently raised faster than frost grows during heating operation. The higher the heat insulation to the outside atmosphere, the better.

  The heat transfer performance of the heat transfer path from the outer surface of the compressor 6 to the heat storage material 36 depends on the degree of adhesion between the heat storage tank body 46 and the compressor 6 and the heat transfer performance of the heat transfer surface. The heat insulation from the atmosphere to the outside atmosphere depends on the heat insulation performance other than the heat transfer surface of the heat storage tank body 46.

  Therefore, in the heat storage device according to the present invention, a resin member having high heat insulation and high molding accuracy is adopted for the heat storage tank main body 46, and a heat transfer plate 51 having high heat transfer performance is fitted and joined thereto. . As a result, heat dissipation from the heat storage material to the outside atmosphere can be prevented, and dimensional accuracy of the heat transfer surface can be ensured, the degree of adhesion between the compressor and the heat transfer surface is improved, and the heat storage performance to the heat storage material 36 is improved. I am letting.

  In addition, the heat transfer plate 51 may have a metal single-layer structure, but it may be a laminated structure in which a resin layer is laminated on a metal layer in consideration of corrosion resistance, strength, and the like. Thereby, it becomes possible to comprise the coupling | bond part of the heat exchanger plate 51 and the thermal storage tank main body 46 with the same resin material, and can increase the intensity | strength of a coupling | bond part.

  In the case of a laminated structure, as shown in FIG. 7, the metal layer 58 is disposed on the outer side (the surface facing the compressor 6), and the resin layer 60 is disposed on the inner side (the contact surface with the heat storage material 36). preferable. The reason why the metal layer 58 is disposed on the compressor 6 side is to prevent the heat transfer plate 51 from being damaged by unevenness on the surface of the compressor 6, for example. The reason why the resin layer 60 is disposed closer to the heat storage material than the metal layer 58 is to prevent corrosion of the metal layer 58.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, a second resin layer 62 that is in close contact with the compressor 6 may be laminated on the metal layer 58, and in this case, the connection portion between the heat transfer plate 51 and the heat storage tank main body 46. The strength can be further increased.

  In addition, the thickness of the heat transfer plate 51 is desirably configured by the following thickness L (mm) with respect to the flow direction of heat from the compressor 6 to the heat storage material 36.

0.5mm <L <3mm
FIG. 9 is a calculation example showing heat transfer performance with respect to the thickness of the heat transfer plate when gaps are generated at intervals of 1 mm between the heat transfer plate 51 and the compressor 6. When the heat conductivity of the heat transfer plate is high, even if a gap is generated between the heat transfer plate 51 and the compressor 6 due to the inclusion of air bubbles, etc., the thickness of the heat transfer plate is appropriately secured, The temperature of the heat transfer plate that is not in contact can also be increased by the heat diffusion effect, and the decrease in heat transfer performance from the compressor 6 to the heat storage material 36 can be minimized.

  The heat storage device according to the present invention includes an adhesion member that is in close contact with the compressor, and can efficiently accumulate heat generated in the compressor in the heat storage material. Useful for washing machines.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Outdoor unit 4 Indoor unit 6 Compressor 8 Four-way valve 10 Strainer 12 Expansion valve 14 Outdoor heat exchanger 16 Indoor heat exchanger 18 1st piping 20 2nd piping 22 3rd piping 24 4th piping 26 Accumulator 28 5th piping 30 First solenoid valve 32 Thermal storage tank 34 Thermal storage heat exchanger 36 Thermal storage material 38 Sixth pipe 40 Seventh pipe 42 Second electromagnetic valve 44 Temperature sensor 46 Thermal storage tank body 46a, 46b Side wall 46c Side wall opening,
48 Lid 50 Claw 51 Heat transfer plate 52a, 52b Band 58 Metal layer 60 Resin layer 62 Second resin layer

Claims (6)

A heat storage device arranged to surround a substantially cylindrical compressor,
A heat storage material that accumulates heat generated by the compressor, a heat storage tank that houses the heat storage material, and a heat transfer surface that is a side surface of the heat storage tank and transfers heat from the compressor to the heat storage material. And a thermal conductivity of a material of the heat transfer surface is higher than a thermal conductivity of a material other than the heat transfer surface of the heat storage tank. The heat storage device according to claim 1, wherein a metal is used for a material of the heat transfer surface, and a resin is used for other materials. Resin is used for materials other than the said heat transfer surface, and the said heat transfer surface material is comprised by the 1st resin layer and the metal layer laminated | stacked on the said compressor side with respect to this 1st resin layer. The heat storage device according to claim 1, wherein the heat storage device is a heat storage device. The heat storage device according to claim 3, wherein the heat transfer surface material further includes a second resin layer laminated on the compressor side with respect to the metal layer. 5. The heat storage device according to claim 1, wherein a thickness L (mm) of the heat transfer surface is expressed by 0.5 mm <L <3 mm. An air conditioner using the heat storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.