JP3128302B2 - Refrigerator oil level controller - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an oil level controller of a refrigerating apparatus which is mounted on a compressor of a refrigerating apparatus and generates a signal in accordance with the vertical movement of the oil level of the compressor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are mainly the following two methods for controlling the oil level of a refrigeration system of this kind.

[0003] First, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 53-109847, the oil separated by an oil separator is once collected in an oil tank, and an oil regulator attached to each compressor from the oil tank. Oil is supplied to the compressor by a head and an appropriate amount of oil is returned to each compressor by this oil regulator.

Further, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 56-8876, after oil separated by an oil separator is returned to each compressor through an oil return pipe, an equalizer for connecting these compressors is provided. In this method, the oil level of each compressor is adjusted using an oil pipe.

[0005]

However, according to the above configuration, there are problems as described below.

First, according to the former method, although it works well in terms of returning oil evenly to each compressor,
Since relatively large and expensive parts such as an oil tank and an oil regulator are required, there is a problem that the apparatus becomes large and the cost rises.

Further, according to the latter method, since the oil level of each compressor is controlled by the oil equalizing pipe, when the capacity of each compressor is different, the pressure difference generated between the compressors during the full operation causes the pressure difference between each compressor. There has been a problem that the oil level of the compressors differs, and that the oil level cannot be controlled uniformly in each compressor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a small, inexpensive oil level controller excellent in mass productivity which can be manufactured by a simple method using a drawing process of a metal tube and a sealing material. The purpose is to do.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an oil level adjuster for a refrigerating apparatus which is mounted on a compressor of a refrigerating apparatus and generates a signal in accordance with the vertical movement of the oil level of the compressor. A container, formed by drawing a metal tube and having an opening at an upper portion, a metal insertion tube inserted through the opening of the container body, fixed in the container body, and closed at a lower end thereof; A stopper fixed to the vertical position of the insertion tube, a float inserted in the insertion tube between the stoppers so as to be vertically movable, a substrate inserted into the insertion tube and having a reed switch, and the insertion tube And a pressure equalizing pipe and an oil equalizing pipe fixed to the side surface of the container main body.

[0010]

The oil level controller of the refrigerating apparatus according to the present invention can be manufactured by a simple method of drawing a metal pipe and using a sealing material by the above configuration, so that it can be manufactured in a small size and at low cost, and mass productivity can be improved. .

In addition, since the oil level of the compressor can be directly sensed by the oil level controller and a signal to start or stop oil supply can be issued, for example, when there is a pressure difference among a plurality of compressors. However, without being influenced by this, the oil level of each compressor can be adjusted to an appropriate amount independently.

In addition, since the oil level control device can be configured by a simple method of mounting a relatively small oil level controller on the compressor, relatively large and expensive parts such as an oil tank are eliminated and the number of parts is reduced. The cost can be reduced by promoting the miniaturization of the device.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 is a refrigeration system. The apparatus includes a 3-horsepower fully enclosed scroll compressor 2 for refrigeration and a 4-horsepower fully enclosed scroll compressor 3 for refrigeration, an oil separator 4, a condenser 5, a liquid receiver 6, an expansion valve, and the like. 7a, 7b and evaporator 8
a, 8b and accumulators 9a, 9b are connected by piping.

Reference numeral 10 denotes an oil return pipe for connecting the oil separator 4 to each of the compressors 2 and 3. This oil return pipe is branched from the middle and connected to branch pipes 10a and 10a connected to the compressors 2 and 3, respectively. 10
b. Numerals 11 and 12 are solenoid valves attached to the branch pipes 10a and 10b. 13 and 14 are compressors 2 and 3 respectively.
Oil level adjuster mounted on

Since the oil level adjusters 13 and 14 have the same structure, the structure will be described by taking the oil level adjuster 13 as an example. A container body 15 formed by drawing a copper pipe and having an opening 16 in the upper part will be described. And an insertion tube 17 made of a copper tube inserted through the opening 16 of the container body and fixed in the container body and closed at the lower end by drawing, and stoppers 18 and 19 fixed at the upper and lower positions of the insertion tube. A float 20 inserted vertically into the insertion tube 17 between the stoppers 18 and 19, a magnet 28 built in the float,
A substrate 22 having a reed switch 21 inserted into the insertion tube 17;
An epoxy resin material 25 for sealing a lead wire 24 drawn out from an upper end opening 23 of the insertion tube 17 in a collar 29 fixed to an upper portion of the insertion tube 17; And a pressure equalizing pipe 26 connected to the lower upper side of the compressor 2 and an oil equalizing pipe 27 having one end brazed to the lower side of the container body 15 and the other end connected to the lower lower side of the compressor 2. ing.

The oil level controller 15 is manufactured by the following method as shown in FIG.

First, the upper end of a straight large-diameter copper tube is drawn to form an opening 16 at the upper end and two holes 15a at the side.
A container body 15 having 15b is formed. On the other hand, an insertion tube 17 is formed by closing the lower end of a straight small-diameter copper tube by drawing and silver brazing. Next, the float 20 is inserted into the insertion tube 17 and the float 20 is inserted.
The stoppers 18 and 19 are located at upper and lower positions of the insertion tube 17 with the
Is fitted. Then, the insertion tube 1 on which the float 20 is mounted
7 is inserted into the inside of the main body from the lower opening 15c of the container main body 15, the upper end of the insertion tube 17 is made to protrude from the opening 16 of the main body 15, and is temporarily fixed with an adhesive in this state. Next, the substrate 22 having the reed switch 21 is inserted from the upper end opening 23 of the insertion tube 17. The insertion depth is determined by the protrusion 30 of the insertion tube 17. After this, the reed switch 21
Is drawn out from the upper end opening 23 of the insertion tube 17, and the collar 29 is inserted into the upper end of the insertion tube 17.
An epoxy resin 25 is poured into the collar 29, and the collar, the insertion tube 17 and the lead wire 24 are integrally sealed and fixed. Next, the equalizing pipe 26 and the oil equalizing pipe 27 are connected and fixed to the holes 15a and 15b of the container body 15 by brazing. Finally, the lower opening 15c of the container body 15 is closed by drawing and silver brazing, and the oil level controller 13 is completed.

Reference numeral 31 is electrically connected to the oil level adjusters 13 and 14 via a lead wire 24, and controls the opening and closing operations of the solenoid valves 11 and 12 based on signals from these oil level adjusters. It is a control device.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the oil in the container 15 is in an appropriate amount, that is, when the oil level is between the points A and B,
Since 1 is excited and the contact is opened, no signal is output. Next, when the amount of oil in the container 15 is large,
When the amount of oil in the compressor 2 is large (when the oil level reaches the point A), the float 20 rises and the reed switch 21 is not excited and generates an OFF signal. Is output, and the solenoid valve 11 is closed. Therefore, supply of oil from the oil separator 4 to the compressor 2 is stopped, and the oil level in the compressor 2 is maintained at an appropriate level. Further, when the oil in the container 15 is small, that is, when the oil in the compressor 2 is small (the oil level becomes equal to or lower than the point B), the float 20 descends and the reed switch 21 is not excited and turned on. A signal is generated, an ON signal is output from the control device 31 to the solenoid valve 11, and the solenoid valve 11 is opened. Therefore, oil is supplied from the oil separator 4 to the compressor 2 via the oil return pipe 10 and the branch pipe 10a. This oil supply is
When the oil level in the container 15 rises and reaches a level slightly above the point B, the operation is stopped. That is, reed switch 2
1 has a hysteresis, so that the reed switch 21 is excited by the magnet 28 at a point slightly beyond the point B. When the contact is opened by this excitation, an OFF signal is output and the electromagnetic valve 11 is closed. Is stopped.

Here, in FIG. 3, the point A is the OF of the solenoid valve 11.
The position of the float 20 indicating the point F, and the point B corresponds to the O of the solenoid valve 11.
The position of the float 20 indicating the point N is shown in FIG.
It can be confirmed in the sight glass 32 inside.

The same oil level control is performed for the oil level adjuster 14.

The oil level adjusters 13 and 14 of the refrigeration apparatus thus configured can be manufactured by a simple method using a drawing process of a copper pipe and a sealing material of an epoxy resin 25, so that they can be manufactured small and inexpensively. , Mass productivity can be improved.

Further, since the oil level of the compressors 2 and 3 can be directly sensed by the oil level controllers 13 and 14 to start and stop the oil supply and output signals, for example, a plurality of compressors 2 and 3 can be used. , 3 can independently adjust the oil level of each of the compressors 2, 3 to an appropriate amount without being affected by the pressure difference.

Further, since the oil level control device can be constituted by a simple method of mounting the relatively small oil level controllers 13 and 14 to the compressors 2 and 3, relatively large and expensive parts such as oil tanks are provided. Can be eliminated, the number of parts can be reduced, and miniaturization of the apparatus can be promoted to reduce costs.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the metal pipe can be manufactured by a simple method using the drawing process and the sealing material, it can be manufactured in a small size at low cost, and the mass productivity can be improved.

Also, since the oil level of the compressor can be directly sensed by the oil level controller and a signal to start or stop oil supply can be issued, for example, when there is a pressure difference among a plurality of compressors. However, without being influenced by this, the oil level of each compressor can be adjusted to an appropriate amount independently.

Further, since the oil level control device can be constituted by a simple system in which a relatively small oil level controller is mounted on the compressor, relatively large and expensive parts such as an oil tank are eliminated and the number of parts is reduced. It is possible to reduce the cost by promoting the miniaturization of the device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a refrigerant circuit diagram showing a refrigerant circuit diagram of a refrigeration apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part of a compressor equipped with an oil level controller.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of an oil level controller.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the oil level controller.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2,3 Compressor 10 Oil return pipe 11,12 Solenoid valve 13,14 Oil level controller

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F25B 1/00 387 G01F 23/62 F04B 49/00 F04C 29/02 321

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An oil level adjuster for a refrigerating apparatus which is attached to a compressor of a refrigerating apparatus and generates a signal in accordance with a vertical movement of an oil level of the compressor. A container main body formed by processing and having an opening at an upper part, a metal insertion pipe inserted through the opening of the container main body and fixed in the container main body, and having a closed lower end, and fixed at the upper and lower positions of the insertion pipe; Stopper, a float inserted vertically into the insertion tube between the stoppers, a substrate having a reed switch inserted into the insertion tube, and a lead wire led out from the substrate and pulled out from the upper end opening of the insertion tube. And a pressure equalizing pipe and an oil equalizing pipe connected to a side surface of the container main body.