JP2014178045A - Accumulator and air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an accumulator that properly controls dryness of a compressor by properly controlling the amount of refrigerant oil returned to the compressor, even when requiring a wide operation range as an operation frequency of the compressor.SOLUTION: Oil return holes 13b and 13c are formed in different height positions, respectively. Straw pipes 14b and 14c, the one-side ends of which are opened in the state of reaching a liquid refrigerant area, are connected to the oil return holes 13b and 13c, respectively. The inside of an outflow pipe 12 and the inside of a straw pipe 14 communicate with each other.

Description

  The present invention relates to an accumulator and an air conditioner.

  Conventionally, there has been an accumulator for a refrigeration cycle in which a first oil return hole is formed in the liquid refrigerant region at the lower part of the outflow pipe and a second oil return hole is formed in the gas refrigerant region at the upper part of the outflow pipe (for example, Patent Document 1).

  Conventionally, there has also been an air conditioner in which a liquid return pipe is provided in a liquid refrigerant area below the outflow pipe and a balance hole is formed in the gas refrigerant area above the outflow pipe (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2004-125308 A ([0010], FIG. 1) JP 07-12431 A ([0015], FIG. 1)

  In the refrigeration cycle accumulator described in Patent Document 1, it is considered that a pipe reaching one end to the liquid refrigerant region is connected to the second oil return hole to control the amount of refrigeration oil returning to the compressor. However, when a wide operating range is required as the operating frequency of the compressor, only the first oil return hole and the second oil return hole described in Patent Document 1 can appropriately set the amount of refrigerating machine oil returned to the compressor. There was a problem that it was impossible to control.

  In the air conditioner described in Patent Document 2, it is considered to control the dryness of the compressor by providing a liquid return pipe and further forming a balance hole in the gas refrigerant region above the outflow pipe. However, when a wide operating range is required as the operating frequency of the compressor, there is a problem that the degree of dryness of the compressor cannot be appropriately controlled only by the liquid return pipe and the balance hole described in Patent Document 2.

  The present invention has been made against the background of the problems described above, and even when a wide operating range is required as the operating frequency of the compressor, the amount of refrigeration oil returned to the compressor is appropriately controlled, and the compressor An object of the present invention is to obtain an accumulator and an air conditioner that appropriately control the degree of dryness.

  An accumulator according to the present invention is an accumulator installed between an evaporator of a refrigeration cycle apparatus and a refrigerant suction side of a compressor, and introduces a sealed container and a refrigerant discharged from the evaporator into the sealed container. And a U-shaped outflow pipe that supplies the refrigerant in the sealed container to the compressor. A lower oil return hole is formed in the liquid refrigerant region of the outflow pipe, A plurality of upper oil return holes are formed in the gas refrigerant region, the plurality of upper oil return holes are formed at different height positions, and one end of each of the plurality of upper oil return holes is in the liquid refrigerant region. The straw pipes that open and reach are connected to each other, and the inside of the outflow pipe communicates with the inside of the straw pipe.

  The air conditioner according to the present invention includes the accumulator of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, the plurality of upper oil return holes are formed at different height positions, and the plurality of upper oil return holes are respectively connected to the straw pipes having one end reaching the liquid refrigerant region and opened. The inside of the pipe communicates with the inside of the straw pipe. For this reason, refrigeration oil and liquid refrigerant corresponding to the operation frequency of the compressor can be caused to flow into the outflow pipe even when a wide operation range is required as the operation frequency of the compressor. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately control the amount of refrigerating machine oil returned to the compressor and appropriately control the dryness of the compressor.

It is a refrigerating cycle figure of the air conditioner provided with the accumulator which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the accumulator which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the flow volume of the gas refrigerant | coolant which flows through the inside of the outflow pipe | tube of the accumulator which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention, and the quantity of the liquid refrigerant | coolant (refrigeration oil) which flows in into the inside of an outflow pipe | tube. It is sectional drawing of the accumulator which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the flow volume of the gas refrigerant which flows through the inside of the outflow pipe | tube of the accumulator which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention, and the quantity of the liquid refrigerant (refrigeration oil) which flows in into the inside of an outflow pipe | tube. It is sectional drawing of the accumulator which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the hole diameter and dryness of the oil return hole of the accumulator which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a table | surface which shows the diameter of the oil return hole of the accumulator which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention, the height of an oil return hole, and the internal diameter of a straw tube.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a refrigeration cycle diagram of an air conditioner 100 including an accumulator 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the accumulator 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner 100 includes an accumulator 10, a compressor 20, a four-way valve 30, a condenser 40, an expansion valve 50, a liquid pipe 60, an evaporator 70, and a gas pipe. 80. For example, during the cooling operation, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 20 passes through the four-way valve 30, enters the condenser 40, is cooled, is decompressed by the expansion valve 50, passes through the liquid pipe 60, and is evaporated by the evaporator 70. After being evaporated, the gas pipe 80, the four-way valve 30, and the accumulator 10 are sequentially passed back to the compressor 20.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the accumulator 10 includes an airtight container 1, an inflow pipe 11 that introduces the refrigerant discharged from the evaporator 70 into the airtight container, and a U that supplies the refrigerant in the airtight container 1 to the compressor 20. And a letter-shaped outflow pipe 12. In the outflow pipe 12, oil return holes 13a, 13b, and 13c are formed in ascending order of height.

  The oil return hole 13a is located in a liquid refrigerant region filled with liquid refrigerant and refrigeration oil, and the oil return holes 13b and 13c are located in a gas refrigerant region filled with gas refrigerant. The hole diameter of the oil return hole 13b is the same as the hole diameter of the oil return hole 13c. The hole diameters of the oil return holes 13b and 13c are larger than the hole diameter of the oil return hole 13a. Connected to the oil return holes 13b and 13c are straw tubes 14b and 14c, respectively, one end of which reaches the liquid refrigerant region and opens. The height positions of the lower ends of the straw tubes 14b and 14c are, for example, the same as the height of the oil return hole 13a. In FIG. 2, the shapes of the oil return hole 13 b and the oil return hole 13 c are illustrated, but actually, as described above, the straw tubes 14 b and 14 c are connected to the oil return holes 13 b and 13 c, respectively. Yes.

  In the following description, the oil return hole formed in the outflow pipe 12 may be collectively referred to as the oil return hole 13. In the following description, the straw tube connected to the outflow tube 12 may be collectively referred to as the straw tube 14.

Next, the operation of the accumulator 10 according to the first embodiment will be described.
The refrigerant introduced into the sealed container 1 from the inflow pipe 11 is separated into a liquid refrigerant containing a refrigerating machine oil and a gas refrigerant, the liquid refrigerant containing the refrigerating machine oil is stored at the bottom of the hermetic container 1, and the gas refrigerant is stored in the sealed container. 1 is stored in the upper part.

  As described above, in the state where the liquid refrigerant containing the refrigerating machine oil and the gas refrigerant are stored in the closed container 1, the operating frequency of the compressor 20 becomes high, and the refrigerant circulation amount circulating in the outflow pipe 12 increases. Then, the dynamic pressure in the outflow pipe 12 increases and the static pressure decreases. For this reason, the oil return amount (liquid refrigerant return amount) from the straw tube 14 into the outflow tube 12 increases.

  On the other hand, when the liquid refrigerant containing the refrigeration oil and the gas refrigerant are stored in the sealed container 1, the operating frequency of the compressor 20 is lowered, and the refrigerant circulation amount circulating in the outflow pipe 12 is reduced. The amount of decrease in static pressure in the outflow pipe 12 is reduced. For this reason, the liquid refrigerant (refrigerating machine oil) cannot secure the positional energy and the pipe friction energy necessary for flowing through the straw pipe 14, and hardly flows into the outflow pipe 12.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the flow rate of the gas refrigerant flowing through the outflow pipe 12 of the accumulator 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention and the amount of liquid refrigerant (refrigeration oil) flowing into the outflow pipe 12. It is.
The horizontal axis of FIG. 3 shows the flow rate of the gas refrigerant flowing inside the outflow pipe 12, and the vertical axis of FIG. 3 shows the amount of liquid refrigerant (refrigeration oil) flowing into the inside of the outflow pipe 12.

  3A shows a case where a straw pipe is not connected to the outflow pipe 12, and FIG. 3B shows a case where there is one straw pipe connected to the outflow pipe 12. FIG. (C) shows a case where there are two straw tubes connected to the outflow tube 12. As can be seen from FIG. 3, depending on the number of straw tubes connected to the outflow pipe 12, the amount of liquid refrigerant (refrigerator oil) flowing into the outflow pipe 12 with respect to the flow rate of the gas refrigerant flowing through the outflow pipe 12 is reduced. May be different.

  When the straw pipe is not provided in the outflow pipe 12, when the flow rate of the gas refrigerant increases, the inflow amount of the liquid refrigerant (refrigeration machine oil) increases as shown in FIG.

  When there is only one straw pipe connected to the outflow pipe 12, for example, when only the straw pipe 14b is provided (FIG. 2), the flow rate of the gas refrigerant flowing through the outflow pipe 12 increases. As shown in FIG. 3B, the amount of liquid refrigerant (refrigerator oil) flowing into the outflow pipe 12 increases.

  Here, when the flow rate of the gas refrigerant is less than (i) in FIG. 3, the liquid refrigerant (refrigerating machine oil) flows into the outflow pipe 12 only through the oil return hole 13 a, so that the gas flowing through the outflow pipe 12 The relationship between the flow rate of the refrigerant and the amount of liquid refrigerant (refrigerating machine oil) flowing into the outflow pipe 12 is the same as in the case of (A) where no straw pipe is provided. On the other hand, when the flow rate of the gas refrigerant is (i) or higher, the liquid refrigerant (refrigeration machine oil) flows into the outflow pipe 12 via the oil return holes 13a and 13b. That is, when the flow rate of the gas refrigerant becomes equal to or greater than (i), the path through which the liquid refrigerant (refrigeration machine oil) flows into the outflow pipe 12 increases. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3B, the inflow amount of the liquid refrigerant (refrigeration machine oil) changes remarkably with the flow rate of the gas refrigerant at the boundary (i).

  When there are two straw tubes connected to the outflow tube 12, for example, when the straw tubes 14b and 14c are provided (FIG. 2), the flow rate of the gas refrigerant flowing inside the outflow tube 12 increases. Then, as shown in FIG. 3C, the amount of liquid refrigerant (refrigeration oil) flowing into the outflow pipe 12 increases.

  Here, when the flow rate of the gas refrigerant is less than (ii) in FIG. 3, the liquid refrigerant (refrigerating machine oil) flows into the outflow pipe 12 only through the oil return holes 13a and 13b. The relationship between the flow rate of the flowing gas refrigerant and the amount of liquid refrigerant (refrigeration oil) flowing into the outflow pipe 12 is the same as in the case of (B) where there is one straw pipe. On the other hand, when the flow rate of the gas refrigerant is (ii) or higher, the liquid refrigerant (refrigerating machine oil) flows into the outflow pipe 12 through the oil return holes 13a, 13b, and 13c. That is, when the flow rate of the gas refrigerant becomes (ii) or more, the paths through which the liquid refrigerant (refrigeration oil) flows into the outflow pipe 12 increase. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3C, the inflow amount of the liquid refrigerant (refrigeration machine oil) changes remarkably with the flow rate of the gas refrigerant as the boundary (ii).

  As described above, in the accumulator 10 according to the first embodiment, the oil return holes 13b and 13c are formed at different height positions, and one end of the oil return holes 13b and 13c reaches the liquid refrigerant region. The opened straw tubes 14b and 14c are connected, and the inside of the outflow tube 12 and the inside of the straw tube 14 communicate with each other. For this reason, even when a wide operating range is required as the operating frequency of the compressor 20, refrigeration oil and liquid refrigerant corresponding to the operating frequency of the compressor 20 can be allowed to flow into the outflow pipe 12. Therefore, the amount of refrigerating machine oil returned to the compressor 20 can be appropriately controlled, and the dryness of the compressor 20 can be appropriately controlled.

  Moreover, by providing the said structure, the hole diameter of the oil return hole 13a is formed smaller than before. In addition, with the above configuration, when the refrigerant circulation amount decreases, the liquid refrigerant hardly flows into the outflow pipe through the straw pipe 14 and the oil return holes 13b and 13c. For this reason, when the refrigerant circulation amount decreases, the amount of liquid refrigerant flowing into the outflow pipe 12 can be reduced, and the performance degradation of the compressor 20 can be suppressed. This is particularly effective when there is little.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
Next, the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of accumulator 10 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the second embodiment, the number of oil return holes formed in the outflow pipe 12 and the number of straw pipes provided in the outflow pipe 12 are increased as compared with the first embodiment. . Specifically, in the second embodiment, an oil return hole 13d and a straw tube 14d are added.

  As shown in FIG. 4, oil return holes 13 a, 13 b, 13 c, and 13 d are formed in the outflow pipe 12 in ascending order of height. Similar to the oil return holes 13b and 13c, the oil return hole 13d is located in the gas refrigerant region filled with the gas refrigerant. The hole diameter of the oil return hole 13d is the same as that of the oil return holes 13b and 13c, and is larger than the hole diameter of the oil return hole 13a. A straw tube 14d having one end reaching the liquid refrigerant region and opening is connected to the oil return hole 13d. The height position of the lower end of the straw tube 14d is, for example, the same as the height of the oil return hole 13a.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the flow rate of the gas refrigerant flowing through the outflow pipe 12 of the accumulator 10 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention and the amount of liquid refrigerant (refrigeration oil) flowing into the outflow pipe 12. It is. 5 indicates the flow rate of the gas refrigerant flowing through the outflow pipe 12, and the vertical axis in FIG. 5 indicates the amount of liquid refrigerant (refrigeration oil) flowing into the outflow pipe 12.

  When there are three straw pipes connected to the outflow pipe 12, for example, when the straw pipes 14b, 14c, and 14d are provided, when the flow rate of the gas refrigerant flowing through the outflow pipe 12 increases, As shown in FIG. 5D, the amount of liquid refrigerant (refrigeration oil) flowing into the outflow pipe 12 increases.

  Here, when the flow rate of the gas refrigerant is less than (iii), the liquid refrigerant (refrigerating machine oil) flows into the outflow pipe 12 only through the oil return holes 13a, 13b, and 13c, and therefore flows through the outflow pipe 12. The relationship between the flow rate of the gas refrigerant and the amount of liquid refrigerant (refrigeration oil) flowing into the outflow pipe 12 is the same as in the case of (C) with two straw pipes. On the other hand, when the flow rate of the gas refrigerant is (iii) or more, the liquid refrigerant (refrigeration machine oil) flows into the outflow pipe 12 through the oil return holes 13a, 13b, 13c, and 13d. That is, when the flow rate of the gas refrigerant becomes (iii) or more, the path through which the liquid refrigerant (refrigerating machine oil) flows into the outflow pipe 12 increases. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 5D, the inflow amount of the liquid refrigerant (refrigeration machine oil) changes remarkably with the flow rate of the gas refrigerant at (iii) as a boundary.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment (FIG. 5), even when a wider operation range is required as the operation frequency of the compressor 20 than in the first embodiment (FIG. 3), the operation frequency of the compressor 20 is adjusted. Refrigerating machine oil and liquid refrigerant can flow into the outflow pipe 12. Therefore, the amount of refrigeration oil returned to the compressor 20 can be more appropriately controlled, and the dryness of the compressor 20 can be more appropriately controlled.

  FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 (i) illustrate a branch point where liquid refrigerant (refrigerating machine oil) begins to flow into the outflow pipe 12 via the oil return hole 13b and the straw pipe 14b. (Ii) illustrates a branch point where the liquid refrigerant (refrigerating machine oil) starts to flow into the outflow pipe 12 via the oil return hole 13c and the straw pipe 14c, and (iii) in FIG. 5 illustrates the oil return hole 13d and the straw It is described for explaining a branch point where the liquid refrigerant (refrigeration oil) starts to flow into the outflow pipe 12 via the pipe 14d, and the flow rate of the gas refrigerant is not particularly limited.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
Next, Embodiment 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of accumulator 10 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

  In the third embodiment, unlike the first and second embodiments, the diameters of the oil return holes formed in the gas refrigerant region are not all the same. FIG. 6 shows an example in which the hole diameter of the oil return hole 13d is formed larger than the hole diameters of the oil return holes 13b and 13c. In addition, the magnitude relationship of the hole diameters of the oil return holes 13b to 13d is not limited to the above-described example, and the hole diameters of the oil return holes 13b to 13d may be two or more different sizes. For example, the hole diameter of the oil return hole 13b may be formed larger than the hole diameters of the oil return holes 13c and 13d. The third embodiment can also be applied to the case where the oil return hole 13 is configured by the oil return holes 13a to 13c as in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the hole diameter of the oil return hole 13 and the dryness of the accumulator 10 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The horizontal axis in FIG. 7 indicates the hole diameter of the oil return hole 13, and the vertical axis in FIG. 7 indicates the dryness.

  FIG. 7A shows the change in dryness when the hole diameter of the oil return hole 13a is changed, and FIG. 7B shows the dryness when the hole diameters of the oil return holes 13b to 13d are changed. It shows the change in degree. 7A and 7B, when the hole diameter of the oil return hole 13 is increased, the amount of liquid refrigerant flowing into the outflow pipe 12 through the straw pipe 14 is increased. Becomes smaller. The amount of change in dryness when the diameter of the oil return hole 13a is increased ((a) in FIG. 7), and the amount of change in dryness when the oil return holes 13b to 13d are increased ((b in FIG. 7). Larger than)).

  FIG. 8 shows the diameters D1 to D4 of the oil return holes 13a to 13d, the heights L1 to L3 of the oil return holes 13b to 13d, and the inner diameter SD1 of the straw tubes 14b to 14d of the accumulator 10 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. It is a table | surface which shows -SD3.

  The diameters D1 to D4 of the oil return holes 13a to 13d are, for example, in the range of 0.1 mm to 4.0 mm. Moreover, height L1-L3 of the oil return holes 13b-13d is in the range of 10 mm-400 mm, for example. The inner diameters SD1 to SD3 of the straw tubes 14b to 14d are in the range of 0.5 mm to 4.0 mm, for example.

The positions of the oil return holes 13b to 13d are not limited to the positions described in the first to third embodiments, and the oil return holes 13b to 13d are positioned higher than the oil return hole 13a. What is necessary is just to be provided in the upstream of the refrigerant | coolant flow rather than the oil return hole 13a.
Further, more than three oil return holes 13 may be formed. In this case, more straw tubes 14 are provided in accordance with the number of oil return holes 13.
Needless to say, the present invention can be applied not only to HFC but also to natural refrigerants such as HC and CO ₂ .

The oil return hole 13a corresponds to the “lower oil return hole” in the present invention.
The oil return hole 13b and the oil return hole 13c, or the oil return hole 13b, the oil return hole 13c, and the oil return hole 13d correspond to the “upper oil return hole” in the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Airtight container, 10 Accumulator, 11 Inflow pipe, 12 Outflow pipe, 13, 13a-13d Oil return hole, 14, 14b-14d Straw pipe, 20 Compressor, 30 Four-way valve, 40 Condenser, 50 Expansion valve, 60 liquid Piping, 70 evaporator, 80 gas piping, 100 air conditioner, D1-D4 diameter, L1-L3 height, SD1-SD3 inner diameter.

Claims (4)

An accumulator installed between the evaporator of the refrigeration cycle apparatus and the refrigerant suction side of the compressor,
A sealed container;
An inflow pipe for introducing the refrigerant from the evaporator into the sealed container;
A U-shaped outflow pipe for supplying the refrigerant in the sealed container to the compressor;
A lower oil return hole is formed in the liquid refrigerant region of the outflow pipe,
A plurality of upper oil return holes are formed in the gas refrigerant region of the outflow pipe,
The plurality of upper oil return holes are formed at different height positions,
The plurality of upper oil return holes are respectively connected to a straw pipe having one end reaching the liquid refrigerant region and opened, and the inside of the outflow pipe communicates with the inside of the straw pipe. The accumulator according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of upper oil return holes have two or more different sizes. The accumulator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a hole diameter of the plurality of upper oil return holes is larger than a hole diameter of the lower oil return hole. An air conditioner comprising the accumulator according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

Images