JP2021103069A - Expansion valve, refrigerant introduction pipe and refrigeration cycle device - Google Patents

Abstract

To reduce bursting sounds of bubbles included in a refrigerant and suppress abnormal noise generated from an expansion valve.SOLUTION: An expansion valve 11 includes: a valve body 12 having a valve chamber 13 communicated with an inflow passage 21 for introducing a refrigerant and an outflow passage 23 for discharging the refrigerant; a valve element 15 disposed in the valve chamber and changing a refrigerant flow rate by advancing/retracting relative to a valve seat 14 between a valve closing state seated with the valve seat and a valve opening state separated from the valve seat; a valve element support part 16 supporting the valve element; an energizing member 17 energizing the valve element toward the valve seat via the valve element support part; an operation rod 19 coming into contact with the valve element and resisting to energizing force of the energizing member to move the valve element to the valve opening direction; and a drive part 24 driving the operation rod. A venturi tube 31 is provided in the inflow passage, and the refrigerant is caused to flow into the valve chamber through the venturi tube. Bubbles included in the refrigerant are caused to pass through the venturi tube and thus are collapsed and made finer, so as to reduce bubble bursting sounds.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an expansion valve, a refrigerant introduction pipe, and a refrigeration cycle device, and particularly relates to a technique for suppressing a refrigerant passing noise of an expansion valve provided in a refrigeration cycle such as an air conditioner to prevent abnormal noise from being generated.

Refrigeration cycle devices such as car air conditioners are equipped with expansion valves to maximize the capacity of the evaporator. This expansion valve throttles the flow of the refrigerant supplied to the evaporator in response to the temperature of the refrigerant in the outlet side piping of the evaporator, and controls the flow rate to the optimum flow rate.

On the other hand, in such an expansion valve, abnormal noise may be generated by the refrigerant flowing in the valve, and various proposals for reducing such abnormal noise have been conventionally made.

For example, the invention described in Patent Document 1 below suppresses valve vibration by providing a vibration damping spring member that presses the valve body support portion and the operating rod, and prevents the generation of abnormal noise. In particular, in the invention described in this document, attention is paid to the fact that valve vibration is likely to occur when the valve opening is small, and a structure is adopted in which the force for pressing the valve body support portion and the operating rod becomes stronger as the valve opening is smaller. This enables effective vibration control corresponding to the valve opening.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2019-11885

By the way, the abnormal noise generated from the expansion valve is not only the vibration noise of the valve body, the valve body support, the operating rod, etc., but also the bursting of air bubbles contained in the refrigerant inside the valve. Become. Bubbles in the refrigerant collide with each part in the valve chamber, for example, the valve body, the valve body support part, the urging member for urging the valve body, the inner wall surface of the valve chamber, and the like, and burst to generate sound.

However, the invention described in Patent Document 1 suppresses the self-excited vibration of the valve body, the valve body support portion, and the operating rod, and cannot cope with such a bursting sound of bubbles.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to reduce the abnormal noise generated from the expansion valve, and particularly to suppress the bursting noise of bubbles contained in the refrigerant.

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the expansion valve according to the present invention is arranged inside a valve chamber and a valve body having a valve chamber that communicates with an inflow passage for introducing a refrigerant and an outflow passage for discharging a refrigerant. A valve body that changes the flow rate of the refrigerant by advancing and retreating with respect to the valve seat between a valve closed state that is seated on the valve seat and a valve open state that is separated from the valve seat, and a valve body that supports the valve body. The support portion, the urging member that urges the valve body toward the valve seat via the valve body support portion, and the valve body that comes into contact with the valve body and moves in the valve opening direction against the urging force of the urging member. It is an expansion valve provided with an operating rod to be operated and a driving unit for driving the operating rod, and a venturi pipe is provided in the inflow path so that the refrigerant flows into the valve chamber through the venturi pipe. In the present specification, the "Venturi tube" includes not only a Venturi tube having a so-called tubular structure, but also a site or a structure having a fluid path that exerts a Venturi effect.

As described above, the plosive sound of air bubbles, which is one of the abnormal noises generated from the expansion valve, is that the air bubbles collide with each part of the valve chamber (valve body, valve body support, urging member, valve chamber wall surface, etc.). However, this plosive sound becomes louder as the bubbles become larger. Therefore, in the expansion valve of the present invention, a Venturi pipe is provided in the inflow path of the refrigerant so that the refrigerant flowing into the valve chamber passes through the Venturi pipe.

The Venturi tube is provided with a reduced diameter portion in which the flow path diameter gradually decreases and a diameter enlarged portion in which the flow path diameter gradually increases, and the refrigerant flows through the reduced diameter portion and the enlarged diameter portion in order. The flow velocity of the refrigerant accelerates, and the pressure drops and then the pressure rises sharply, causing the bubbles contained in the refrigerant to collapse into fine bubbles. Even if the bubbles become finer in this way collide with each part in the valve chamber and burst, the sound generated is smaller than that of the conventional large bubbles. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce abnormal noise caused by the bursting of bubbles.

Further, as a preferred embodiment, the inflow path has a pipe connection hole to which a refrigerant introduction pipe for introducing a refrigerant into the expansion valve can be connected, and a small diameter portion serving as a flow path for guiding the refrigerant flowing in through the pipe connection hole to the valve chamber. Including, the above-mentioned Venturi pipe is arranged in the small diameter portion.

This is to prevent the bubbles from becoming larger again by subdividing the bubbles closer to the valve chamber and passing them through the Venturi tube to combine the finer bubbles. As a result, the bubble bursting sound can be effectively suppressed.

Further, the refrigerant introduction pipe according to the present invention is a refrigerant introduction pipe that can be connected to an inflow path for introducing the refrigerant into the valve chamber of the expansion valve, has a Venturi pipe inside, and the refrigerant expands through the Venturi pipe. It can be introduced into the valve chamber of the valve.

According to such a refrigerant introduction pipe, the present invention can be applied without changing the existing valve structure (structure of the inflow path). That is, the existing expansion valve has a pipe connection hole and a small diameter portion in the inflow path like the expansion valve according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention described above, but the small diameter portion is short and the Venturi pipe may not be arranged in the small diameter portion. .. On the other hand, according to the refrigerant introduction pipe according to the present invention, since the Venturi pipe is arranged not in the expansion valve itself (valve body) but in the pipe (refrigerant introduction pipe), the structure of the valve body (inflow path) does not matter. Moreover, the present invention can be realized in an existing expansion valve without requiring a design change of the valve body.

Further, in this refrigerant introduction pipe, it is preferable to arrange a Venturi pipe at the end of the connection to the inflow path. This is because the bubbles are subdivided at a position closer to the valve chamber as in the expansion valve according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention described above.

Further, the refrigeration cycle apparatus according to the present invention includes a compressor that compresses the refrigerant, a condenser that cools and liquefies the refrigerant compressed by the compressor, and an expansion valve that depressurizes and expands the refrigerant liquefied by the condenser. A refrigeration cycle device including an evaporator that evaporates and vaporizes the refrigerant expanded under reduced pressure by the expansion valve, and any expansion valve according to the present invention or the above-described embodiment is used as the expansion valve.

Further, another refrigeration cycle apparatus according to the present invention includes a compressor that compresses the refrigerant, a condenser that cools and liquefies the refrigerant compressed by the compressor, and an expansion that decompresses and expands the refrigerant liquefied by the condenser. A refrigeration cycle device including a valve and an evaporator that evaporates and vaporizes the refrigerant expanded under reduced pressure by the expansion valve, and any of the above-described refrigerant introduction pipes for introducing the refrigerant from the condenser to the expansion valve. Use the refrigerant introduction pipe.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the bursting noise of bubbles contained in the refrigerant and suppress the abnormal noise generated from the expansion valve.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be clarified by the following description of embodiments of the present invention described with reference to the drawings. In each figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an expansion valve according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing an inflow path and a valve chamber portion of the expansion valve according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an inflow path and a valve chamber portion of an expansion valve to which a refrigerant introduction pipe according to a second embodiment of the present invention is applied, in the same manner as in FIG. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a refrigeration cycle apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[First Embodiment]
The first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 2. It should be noted that this embodiment embodies the expansion valve according to the present invention described above. Further, although FIG. 1 shows two-dimensional Cartesian coordinates representing each direction of up, down, left, and right, the following description will be given based on these directions.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 2, the expansion valve 11 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a valve body 12 having a valve chamber 13 inside, a valve seat 14 formed in the upper part of the valve chamber, and a valve. The valve body 15 is installed so as to face the seat 14 and can move forward and backward (up and down) with respect to the valve seat 14, the valve body support portion 16 that supports the valve body 15 from below, and the lower surface portion of the valve body 12. A spring receiving member 18 that seals the valve chamber 13 by being mounted, and a valve body 15 that is arranged between the spring receiving member 18 and the valve body supporting portion 16 and directs the valve body 15 toward the valve seat 14 via the valve body supporting portion 16. A coil spring (urging member) 17 that urges upward, an operating rod 19 that retracts (moves downward) the valve body 15 from the valve seat 14 against the urging force of the coil spring 17, and a valve body 12 It has a diaphragm device (driving unit) 24 provided on the upper surface portion to move the operating rod 19 up and down.

Further, the valve body 12 circulates the refrigerant so as to pass through the inflow path 21 for introducing the refrigerant into the valve chamber 13, the outflow path 22 for discharging the refrigerant from the valve chamber 13 to the outside, and the upper portion of the valve body 12 to the left and right. A return flow path 23 is provided. Further, the operating rod 19 for opening and closing the valve extends in the vertical direction inside the valve body 12, the upper end thereof is connected to the diaphragm device 24, and the lower end is brought into contact with the valve body 15. The details of the diaphragm device 24 and the return flow path 23 will be described in the third embodiment described later in which the expansion valve 11 of the present embodiment is used.

The inflow passage 21 and the outflow passage 22 communicate with each other via the valve chamber 13, but the valve body 15 is in contact with the valve seat 14 due to the upward urging force of the coil spring 17, and is seated in a closed state (FIGS. 1 and 1). In the state shown in FIG. 2), the inflow path 21 and the outflow path 22 do not communicate with each other and are cut off. On the other hand, when the valve body 15 moves downward and separates from the valve seat 14 due to the downward pressing force of the operating rod 19, the inflow path 21 and the outflow path 22 communicate with each other and pass through the inflow path 21 to the inside of the valve chamber 13. The refrigerant flowing into is discharged to the outside of the expansion valve 11 through the outflow passage 22 and introduced into the evaporator 64 (see FIG. 4 described later). Then, the flow rate of the refrigerant is adjusted by changing the distance between the valve body 15 and the valve seat 14.

Further, the inflow path 21 has a pipe connection hole 21a to which a refrigerant introduction pipe (not shown) for introducing a refrigerant into the expansion valve 11 can be connected, and a pipe connection hole 21a and a valve chamber 13 having an inner diameter smaller than that of the pipe connection hole 21a. The venturi pipe 31 is arranged in the small diameter portion 21b, which is composed of the small diameter portion 21b connecting the two. The venturi pipe 31 has a diameter-reduced portion 31a that narrows the flow path by gradually reducing the inner diameter, and a diameter-expanded portion 31b that widens the flow path by gradually increasing the inner diameter, and has a pipe connection hole 21a. The refrigerant introduced into the expansion valve 11 through the (refrigerant introduction pipe) flows into the valve chamber 13 through the venturi pipe 31, that is, the diameter reduction portion 31a and the diameter expansion portion 31b in order (arrow in FIG. 2). See R).

Then, when the refrigerant passes through the Venturi pipe 31, the pressure of the refrigerant decreases, the flow velocity increases, and then the pressure suddenly increases, so that the bubbles contained in the refrigerant collapse and are subdivided. Therefore, even if the air bubbles entering the valve chamber 13 become fine and burst in the valve chamber 13, the bursting sound becomes small, and the abnormal noise generated from the expansion valve 11 can be reduced.

[Second Embodiment]
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the refrigerant introduction pipe according to the present invention described above is embodied and applied to an expansion valve, and the same configurations as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and duplicated. Is omitted, and the explanation will focus on the differences.

As shown in FIG. 3, the expansion valve according to the present embodiment is the expansion valve (more specifically, the tip of the refrigerant introduction pipe 32, that is, the expansion valve (in the refrigerant introduction pipe 32) connected to the pipe connection hole 21a of the inflow passage 21. The Venturi pipe 31 is arranged inside the connection end portion to the pipe connection hole 21a).

According to the present embodiment, for example, the present invention can be applied to an expansion valve in which the small diameter portion 21b is short and the venturi pipe 31 cannot be provided in the small diameter portion 21b as in the first embodiment. In particular, the existing expansion valve has a relatively short small diameter portion 21b, and it is often difficult to provide the Venturi pipe 31 with the current valve structure. However, according to the present embodiment, the present invention can be realized without changing the current valve body structure.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the venturi pipe 31 is arranged at the tip of the refrigerant introduction pipe 32 which has a short small diameter portion 21b and is inserted into the pipe connection hole 21a, the bubbles are subdivided at a position relatively close to the valve chamber 13. It is possible to effectively reduce the bursting sound of bubbles as in the first embodiment.

[Third Embodiment]
As a third embodiment of the present invention, a refrigeration cycle device using the expansion valve 11 of the first embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4, the refrigeration cycle device 41 is liquefied by a compressor (compressor) 42 that compresses the refrigerant, a condenser (condenser) 43 that cools and liquefies the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 42, and a condenser 43. An expansion valve 11 for decompressing and expanding the generated refrigerant and an evaporator (evaporator) 44 for evaporating and vaporizing the refrigerant decompressed and expanded by the expansion valve 11 are provided, and the expansion valve 11 according to the first embodiment is used as the expansion valve. ..

In such a refrigeration cycle device 41, the refrigerant pressurized by the compressor 42 is liquefied by the condenser 43 and sent to the expansion valve 11. Further, the refrigerant adiabatically expanded by the expansion valve 11 is sent to the evaporator 44, and the evaporator 44 exchanges heat with the air flowing around the evaporator 44. The refrigerant returning from the evaporator 44 is returned to the compressor 42 through the return flow path 23 of the expansion valve 11.

A high-pressure refrigerant is supplied to the expansion valve 11 from the condenser 43. More specifically, the high-pressure refrigerant sent from the condenser 43 flows into the valve chamber 13 through the inflow path 21. If the valve body 15 is pressed against the valve seat 14 by the coil spring 17 and is seated in the valve closed state, the valve chamber 13 and the outflow passage 22 are not in communication with each other, so that the refrigerant in the valve chamber 13 comes from the expansion valve 11. Not discharged.

On the other hand, when the operating rod 19 moves downward against the urging force of the coil spring 17 and the valve body 15 is retracted downward from the valve seat 14, the valve chamber 13 and the outflow passage 22 are in a communicating state (valve open state). ), And the refrigerant in the valve chamber 13 is discharged from the outflow passage 22 and sent out to the evaporator 44. The operation of the operating rod 19 is performed by the diaphragm device 24 provided on the upper surface of the valve body 12.

The diaphragm device 24 includes an upper lid member 25, a receiving member 26 having an opening at the center, and a diaphragm (not shown) arranged between the upper lid member 25 and the receiving member 26. The first space surrounded by the upper lid member 25 and the diaphragm is filled with a working gas. Further, the upper end of the working rod 19 is connected to the diaphragm, and when the working gas in the first space is liquefied, the working rod 19 is pulled upward by the diaphragm and the liquefied working gas is vaporized. , The actuating rod 19 is pushed down by the diaphragm. In this way, the expansion valve 11 is switched between the valve open state and the valve closed state.

Further, the second space between the diaphragm and the receiving member 26 communicates with the return flow path 23 through the opening in the center of the receiving member. Therefore, the phase (gas phase or liquid phase) of the working gas in the first space changes according to the temperature and pressure of the refrigerant flowing through the return flow path 23, and the working rod 19 is driven according to this change. To. In this way, the expansion valve 11 automatically adjusts the amount of the refrigerant supplied from the expansion valve 11 toward the evaporator 44 according to the temperature and pressure of the refrigerant returning from the evaporator 44 to the expansion valve 11.

Further, in the refrigeration cycle device 41 of the present embodiment, the expansion valve 11 of the first embodiment is used, and the refrigerant introduced into the valve chamber 13 from the condenser 43 passes through the Venturi pipe 31. Therefore, the bubbles contained in the refrigerant are subdivided into fine particles, and the abnormal noise generated by the bursting of the bubbles can be reduced.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited thereto and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. ..

For example, in the refrigeration cycle apparatus according to the third embodiment, the expansion valve 11 of the first embodiment is used, but of course, the existing expansion valve and the refrigerant introduction pipe of the second embodiment may be used instead. Further, in addition to the expansion valve or the refrigerant introduction pipe of these embodiments, it is also possible to use another expansion valve or the refrigerant introduction pipe that can be configured based on the present invention. Further, in the first and second embodiments, the valve body 15 and the valve body support portion 16 are configured as separate members, but these may be one member integrally molded.

Further, the present invention can be preferably applied to a car air conditioner and contribute to the improvement of quietness in the vehicle interior, but the application and application target are not limited to the car air conditioner, and various other applications such as a room air conditioner and a refrigerator. It can be applied to various refrigeration cycle devices.

11 Expansion valve 12 Valve body 13 Valve chamber 14 Valve seat 15 Valve body 16 Valve body support 17 Coil spring (urging member)
18 Spring receiving member 19 Operating rod 21 Inflow path 21a Piping connection hole 21b Small diameter part 22 Outflow path 23 Return flow path 24 Diaphragm device 25 Top lid member 26 Receiving member 31 Venturi pipe 31a Reduced diameter part 31b Diameter expansion part 32 Refrigerant introduction pipe 41 Refrigerant Cycle device 42 Compressor
43 Capacitor (condenser)
44 Evaporator (evaporator)
R Refrigerant flow

Claims (6)

A valve body having a valve chamber that communicates with an inflow path for introducing a refrigerant and an outflow path for discharging the refrigerant.
A valve that is arranged inside the valve chamber and changes the flow rate of the refrigerant by advancing and retreating with respect to the valve seat between a valve closed state seated on the valve seat and a valve opened state separated from the valve seat. With the body
A valve body support portion that supports the valve body and
An urging member that urges the valve body toward the valve seat via the valve body support portion, and
An actuating rod that comes into contact with the valve body and moves the valve body in the valve opening direction against the urging force of the urging member.
An expansion valve provided with a drive unit for driving the operating rod.
A Venturi pipe is provided in the inflow path,
An expansion valve characterized in that the refrigerant flows into the valve chamber through the Venturi pipe. The inflow path is
A pipe connection hole to which a refrigerant introduction pipe for introducing the refrigerant is connected to the expansion valve,
Includes a small diameter portion that serves as a flow path for guiding the refrigerant that has flowed in through the pipe connection hole to the valve chamber.
The expansion valve according to claim 1, wherein the Venturi pipe is arranged in the small diameter portion. A refrigerant introduction pipe that can be connected to the inflow path that guides the refrigerant into the valve chamber of the expansion valve.
A Venturi pipe is provided inside the refrigerant introduction pipe,
A refrigerant introduction pipe, characterized in that the refrigerant is introduced into the valve chamber through the Venturi pipe. The refrigerant introduction pipe according to claim 3, wherein the Venturi pipe is arranged at the end of the connection to the inflow path. A compressor that compresses the refrigerant and
A condenser that cools and liquefies the refrigerant compressed by the compressor, and
An expansion valve that decompresses and expands the refrigerant liquefied by the condenser,
A refrigeration cycle apparatus including an evaporator that evaporates and vaporizes the refrigerant that has been decompressed and expanded by the expansion valve.
A refrigeration cycle apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the expansion valve is the expansion valve. A compressor that compresses the refrigerant and
A condenser that cools and liquefies the refrigerant compressed by the compressor, and
An expansion valve that decompresses and expands the refrigerant liquefied by the condenser,
A refrigeration cycle apparatus including an evaporator that evaporates and vaporizes the refrigerant that has been decompressed and expanded by the expansion valve.
The refrigerating cycle apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the refrigerant introduction pipe for introducing the refrigerant from the condenser to the expansion valve is used.

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