JP2816260B2 - Four-way valve - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a four-way switching valve for switching the flow path of a refrigerant circuit such as a heat pump.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a refrigeration cycle of a heat pump, a four-way valve is used for switching the flow of a refrigerant in a cooling / heating operation. An example of the structure of the four-way valve according to the prior art will be described with reference to FIG. The conventional four-way valve illustrated in FIG. 5 includes a valve body 21 provided in a flow path of a refrigerant circuit, a pilot valve 26 for controlling switching of the valve body, and a valve body 21.
And a capillary tube 25a, 25b, 25c that fluidly connects the pump and the pilot valve 26. The valve body 21 has a high-pressure port 21a communicating with the outlet of the compressor (A).
And a low-pressure port 2 communicating with the suction port of the compressor (A) on the opposite side.
1b, and a valve seat 22 of the valve body 21 is provided with a conduction port 21c communicating with the indoor heat exchanger (B) and a conduction port 21d communicating with the outdoor heat exchanger. Valve body 2
1, a valve body 23 having a concave portion communicating one of the low-pressure port 21b and the conduction port 21c or 21d is slidably disposed, and a piston 24 having a fine hole 24a is provided on both sides of the valve body 23. It is installed continuously.

[0003] Capillary tubes 25a and 25b are provided on both sides of a valve body 21 to provide a valve seat 26 for a pilot valve 26.
a of the pilot valve 26
The central portion of a is connected to a low pressure port 21b provided in the valve body by a capillary tube 25c. A solenoid coil 27 is provided at one end of the pilot valve 26, and a movable iron core 28 connected to a needle valve 29 for switching the flow path of the capillary tubes 25a, 25b, 25c is provided inside the pilot valve 26. . In the figure, when the solenoid coil 27 is not energized, the movable iron core 28 is biased to the left by the force of the spring 30, and the capillary tubes 25a, 25c are communicated by the needle valve 29, and the capillary tube 25
b is closed. Then, the left end of the valve body 21 has a low pressure, and the right end has a high pressure through the fine holes 24a, and the valve body 23 connected to the pistons 24 moves to the left by force due to the pressure difference between the pistons 24 on both sides. As a result, the high pressure port 21a and the conduction port 21d communicate with each other, and the high pressure refrigerant supplied from the compressor (A) enters the valve body from the high pressure port 21a,
The valve exits from the valve main body through the through-hole 21d of the valve body and passes through the outdoor heat exchanger (C) and the indoor heat exchanger (B) to form the through-hole 2.
A cooling circuit is formed from the valve body again from 1c, out of the valve body through the low pressure port 21b, and returning to the compressor (A).
On the other hand, when the solenoid coil 27 is energized, the movable iron core 28 moves to the right in the drawing against the force of the spring 30, and the needle valve 29 closes the capillary tube 25a to close the capillary tube 25a. 25b,
25c so as to communicate therewith. Then, the valve body 23 moves rightward due to the reverse operation, the high-pressure port 21a and the conduction port 21c communicate with each other, and the high-pressure refrigerant supplied from the compressor (A) flows into the valve body from the high-pressure port 21a. Entry and exit from the valve body through the conduction port 21c of the valve body, and the indoor heat exchanger (B)
And through the outdoor heat exchanger (C), enters the valve body again through the conducting port 21d, exits the valve body through the low pressure port 21d,
A heating circuit returning to the compressor (A) is formed.

[0004]

Problems to be Solved by the Invention The conventional four-way valve as illustrated in FIG. 5 has a large and complicated structure because it uses a reciprocating piston.
In addition, a pilot valve for operating the valve body and a pipe for connecting the pilot valve are required, which is expensive. Also, during the heating operation, it was necessary to continuously energize the solenoid coil to hold the pilot valve. Furthermore, when the solenoid is energized, an operating sound is generated, and a pressure difference between the high-pressure part and the low-pressure part is required to switch the valve body, and
Since the high-pressure section and the low-pressure section are instantaneously switched, there is a problem that a flow noise of the refrigerant is generated. The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and therefore, an object of the present invention is to:
An object of the present invention is to provide a small, simple structure four-way switching valve that does not require a pilot valve or a pipe connecting the valve body to the pilot valve.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the four-way valve of the present invention has the following configuration. A cylindrical valve box having a flat valve seat having a high-pressure port, a low-pressure port, and two conduction ports, and a disk rotatably provided in the cylindrical valve box so as to correspond to the flat valve seat. A main valve body, the main valve body having a hole for selectively communicating between the high pressure port and one of the two conduction ports, and a recess for selectively communicating the low pressure port and the other of the two conduction ports. The disk-shaped main valve body provided with, the valve seat of the main valve body is provided on the surface on the opposite side,
A sub-valve seat having a communication path communicating with the recess, a support plate rotatable about the same center as the main valve body, a sub-valve body provided on the support plate so as to correspond to the sub-valve seat, The same center of rotation as the main shaft, connecting the main bevel gear and sub-bevel gear provided to transmit the rotational force from the source, the main shaft connecting the main valve body to the main bevel gear, and connecting the support plate to the sub-bevel gear In a four-way valve comprising a main shaft and a sub-shaft provided rotatably with respect to each other, a high pressure port and one of two conduction ports are communicated with each other by a hole provided in the main valve body. The low pressure port and the other of the two conduction ports are communicated by the recess provided in the valve body, and the sub-valve seat provided in the main valve body is closed by the sub-valve body provided in the support plate. Where
The rotation of the main valve body and the support plate can be restricted and arranged.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of a four-way valve according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a cylindrical valve box having a flat valve seat having a high-pressure port 1a, a low-pressure port 1c, and two conduction ports 1b and 1d at its bottom. Rotatable, high pressure port 1a and conduction port 1b,
A disc-shaped main body provided with a hole 2a for selectively communicating with one of the high-pressure ports 1d and a recess 2b for selectively communicating the low-pressure port 1c with the other of the conduction ports 1b and 1d that are not communicated with the high-pressure port. The valve body 2 is arranged. On the upper surface of the main valve body 2, there is provided a sub-valve seat 2 d having a communication path communicating with the bottom of the recess 2 b. Inside the cylindrical valve box,
A support plate 5 that is rotatable around the same center as the main valve body 2 is provided. The support plate 5 has a sub-valve element 4 that opens and closes a sub-valve seat 2 d, and a main valve body 2 through a spring 6. It is installed so that it can be pressed in the direction. The main valve body 2 is connected to an upper main bevel gear 8 by a main shaft 7, and the support plate 5 is disposed below the main bevel gear 8 by an outer shaft 7 a having the same rotation center as the main shaft 7 but rotatable with each other. Connected to the bevel gear 9. A main shaft 7 is provided between the main bevel gear 8 and the sub-bevel gear 9.
A pinion 11 having a pinion shaft 13 orthogonal to the above is connected to the permanent magnet 12 of the stepping motor (M).

Next, the details around the main valve body 2 will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. An upwardly projecting convex portion 2c is formed at one location on the upper surface of the main valve body 2, and an outwardly projecting convex portion 5a is formed at one location on the outer periphery of the support plate 5. Inside, two convex portions 1e protruding inward are formed at predetermined intervals. When the main valve body 2 and the support plate 5 rotate, the high pressure port 1 is formed by the holes 2 a provided in the main valve body 2.
a is communicated with one of the conduction ports 1b and 1d, and the low pressure port 1c is communicated with the other of the conduction ports 1b and 1d by the concave portion 2b provided in the main valve body 2.
At the position where the sub-valve seat 2d provided on the main valve body 2 is closed by the sub-valve body 4 attached to the support plate 5, the respective convex portions (the valve box 1) are stopped so that the main valve body 2 and the support plate 5 stop. And two convex portions 1e provided on the main valve body 2.
c and the convex portion 5a) provided on the support plate 5 and the high pressure port 1a,
The low pressure port 1c and the conduction ports 1b and 1d are arranged.

A case 14 and a lid 15 for supporting the coil of the stepping motor (M) are fixed to the outer periphery of the upper portion of the valve box 1 to form a sealed valve. An embodiment in which a four-way valve having this configuration is incorporated in a refrigerant circuit will be described with reference to FIG. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the high pressure port 1a is connected to the discharge side of the compressor (A), and the low pressure port 1c is connected to the suction side of the compressor (A). In addition, the conduction port 1b
Is connected to the outdoor heat exchanger (C), and the conduction port 1d is connected to the indoor heat exchanger (B). FIG. 4 shows the high pressure port 1a.
The state where the low pressure port 1c and the conduction port 1d are communicated with each other through the concave portion 2b is shown in the drawing. In this state, the high-pressure refrigerant supplied from the compressor (A) enters the valve box 1 through the high-pressure port 1a, passes through the hole 2a provided in the main valve body 2, and passes through the conduction port 1b of the valve box. Through the outdoor heat exchanger (C) and the indoor heat exchanger (B) and into the valve box again through the conduction port 1d, and through the concave portion 2b provided in the main valve body 2, through the low pressure port 1c. This forms a cooling circuit that returns from the valve box and returns to the compressor (A). At this time, the sub-valve seat 2 d is closed by the sub-valve element 4.

Next, when the compressor (A) is stopped and the stepping motor (M) is energized, the rotational force of the permanent magnet 12 is transmitted to the pinion 11 so that the main bevel gear 8 and the sub-bevel gear 9 are rotated. Works. At this time, the main valve body 2
The sub-valve element 4 is pressed against the sub-valve seat 2d of the main valve element 2 by the force of the spring 6 and the pressure by the force of the pressure. Since the frictional force acting between the valve body 2 and the valve seat at the bottom of the valve box is larger than the frictional force acting between the sub-valve body 4 and the sub-valve seat 2d having a small area, the sub-valve body 4 is mounted. Support plate 5
Only the rotation of the auxiliary bevel gear 9 is transmitted via the outer shaft 7a, and is rotated by overcoming the frictional force between the auxiliary valve body 4 and the auxiliary valve seat 2d, so that the auxiliary valve seat 2d is opened. At this time, the auxiliary valve seat 2d is gradually opened by the rotation of the support plate 5, and the high pressure of the high pressure port 1a is gradually opened to the low pressure port 1c. The support plate 5 connected to the auxiliary bevel gear 9 further rotates, and the convex portion 5a of the support plate 5 becomes the convex portion 1e of the valve box 1 (in this embodiment, the convex portion 1e arranged on the right side of FIG. 2). , The main bevel gear 8 is rotated by the pinion 11,
The main valve body 2 is rotated by overcoming the frictional force between the main valve body 2 and the valve seat at the bottom of the valve box, and the convex portion 2c of the main valve body 2 contacts the above-mentioned convex portion 1e of the valve box 1. It is in a state of contact.

In this state, the high pressure port 1a and the conduction port 1d are communicated by the hole 2a, the low pressure port 1c and the conduction port 1b are communicated by the recess 2b, and the sub valve seat 2d is closed by the sub valve body 4. Will be done. Therefore, the compressor (A)
The supplied high-pressure refrigerant enters the valve box 1 from the high-pressure port 1a, passes through the hole 2a provided in the main valve body 2, and exits from the valve box through the conduction port 1d of the valve box, and the indoor heat exchanger ( B) and through the outdoor heat exchanger (C), re-enters the valve box through the connection port 1b, and out of the valve box through the low-pressure port 1c through the recess 2b provided in the main valve body 2, and the compressor. A heating circuit returning to (A) is formed. When there is no pressure difference between the high pressure port 1a and the low pressure port 1c, the main valve body 2 or the support plate 5 is rotated simultaneously or with a smaller frictional force first, and the convex portion 1e of the valve box 1 is rotated.
The circuit can be switched where the convex portion 2c of the main valve body 2 and the convex portion 5a of the support plate 5 abut. The switching from the heating circuit to the cooling circuit is performed by rotating the stepping motor in the reverse direction to the above, so that the convex portion 1e on the opposite side to the convex portion 1e at the time of the heating circuit (in the case of the present embodiment, disposed on the left side of FIG. 2). This is achieved by contact between the convex portion 1e) and the convex portion 2c of the main valve body and the convex portion 5a of the support plate.

[0011]

According to the present invention, the pilot valve and the piping for connecting the valve body and the pilot valve are not required, and the switching between the main valve and the sub-valve is performed by rotating operation. Not only can the main valve and the sub-valve be switched, it is not necessary to energize the motor, and the sub-valve seat is gradually opened, so that the generation of fluid flow noise is suppressed and the There are advantages such as no sound.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a four-way valve according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between the valve box, main valve body, support plate, and their convex portions of the four-way valve of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main valve body.

FIG. 4 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of a heat pump incorporating the four-way valve according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing an example of a four-way valve according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Valve box 1a High-pressure port 1b, 1d Conducting port 1c Low-pressure port 1e Convex part 2 Main valve body 2a Hole 2b Concave part 2c Convex part 2d Sub-valve seat 3 Bearing 4 Sub-valve body 5 Support plate 5a Convex part 6 Spring 7 Main shaft 7a Outside Shaft 8 Main bevel gear 9 Secondary bevel gear 10 Joint 11 Pinion 12 Permanent magnet 13 Pinion shaft 14 Case 15 Lid (A) Compressor (B) Indoor heat exchanger (C) Outdoor heat exchanger (M) Stepping motor

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cylindrical valve housing including a planar valve seat having a first fluid opening, a second fluid opening, and two communication ports, and corresponding to the planar valve seat in the cylindrical valve housing. A disc-shaped main valve body rotatably provided as described above, the main valve body having a hole for selectively communicating the first fluid opening and one of the two communication ports with a second hole. A disc-shaped main valve body provided with a recess for selectively communicating the fluid opening with the other of the two conduction ports, and the valve seat provided on the surface of the main valve body opposite to the valve seat, A sub-valve seat having a communication path communicating with the recess, a support plate rotatable around the same center as the main valve body,
A sub-valve body provided on the support plate so as to correspond to the sub-valve seat, a main bevel gear and a sub-bevel gear provided for transmitting a rotational force from a drive source, and A four-way valve comprising: a main shaft connected to a main bevel gear; and a sub-shaft connecting the support plate to the sub-bevel gear, the sub-shaft having the same center of rotation as the main shaft but rotatably provided with the main shaft. 2. The four-way valve according to claim 1, further comprising a rotation restricting means for restricting a rotation range of said main valve body and said support plate within a predetermined angle. 3. The four-way valve according to claim 2, wherein said rotation restricting means comprises two inwardly protruding portions provided at a predetermined interval in said valve box, and said rotation protruding portion is provided between said two protruding portions. A four-way valve comprising contact portions provided on the main valve body and the support plate so as to be in contact with each other. 4. The four-way valve according to claim 2, wherein when the main valve body and the support plate rotate to a rotation-regulated position by the rotation restricting means, the hole provided in the main valve body causes the fourth valve to rotate. One fluid opening and one of the communication ports communicate with each other, and the recess provided in the main valve body communicates the second fluid opening with the other of the communication ports, and A four-way valve, wherein the rotation regulating means is provided so that the sub-valve seat provided on the valve body is closed by the sub-valve body provided on a support plate.