JP3172915B2 - Accumulator with flow switching device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device which is incorporated in a heat pump type air conditioner or the like and switches a flow path of a working medium, and more particularly to purifying a working medium, making pulsation uniform or silencing. New accumley
It relates to the data.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION An air conditioner is a working medium circulating between an indoor unit and an outdoor unit (a high and low pressure gas between an indoor heat exchanger and a compressor to an outdoor heat exchanger, and an outdoor heat exchanger to a capillary to an indoor unit). Heat, which is liquid between heat exchangers)
Room temperature is adjusted by releasing indoor heat to the outside or taking in outdoor heat into the room. Switching between cooling and heating is performed by switching the direction of circulation of the working medium in the opposite direction. By the way, in order to reversely circulate the working medium, it is actually impossible to reversely circulate the working medium by rotating the compressor in the reverse direction, so a switching valve called a four-way valve is required. This product has been variously developed in order to improve its operability. The tendency is disclosed in
As seen in US Pat. No. 6,468, it is changing from switching by switching the valve element to switching the flow path by rotating the valve element in the casing.

The inventor of the present invention has merged both the switching structure for shifting the valve element and the valve element for the purpose of reducing the size and cost of the entire apparatus, and has disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-1249.
No. 48, "Flow switching device for high and low pressure gas in cooling and heating device", Japanese Patent Application No. 9-124949, "Flow switching device for high and low pressure gas in cooling and heating device", Japanese Patent Application No. 9-176515
No. 2 is involved in patent applications such as "Four-way valve with reduced switching impact".

Most of these are mainly related to a valve body for switching the flow of the working medium and a switching drive member for switching the flow , that is, those which directly affect the performance of the device, and are mainly used for noise reduction of the device and for the working medium. At present, there are few things which are not directly related to the performance of the apparatus, such as cleaning of the apparatus or equalizing the pulsation thereof. Of course, auxiliary equipment that performs such an additional function is provided with a flow path switching device .
The accumulator can be provided separately from the accumulator and can be appropriately combined with each other. However, the increase in the size and cost of the entire accumulator cannot be avoided, and it is not suitable when the storage space is limited.

[0005]

[Technical Problems Attempted to Be Developed] The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and by incorporating a muffler, a filter, and the like into an accumulator, the overall size is reduced and the working medium is cleaned. An attempt was made to develop a new accumulator for achieving uniformization, pulsation uniformization, and silencing of the device.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
The accumulator provided with the flow path switching device has a first connection port connected to the discharge port of the compressor, a second connection port connected to the indoor heat exchanger, and a third connection port connected to the outdoor heat exchanger. And a casing having a fourth connection port connected to the suction port of the compressor via the accumulation chamber, and a first connection port rotatably provided on an axis passing through the first connection port in the casing. A first switching passage communicating from the switching passage to the second switching passage, and a valve body having a second switching passage communicating from the first switching passage to the third switching passage, wherein the first connection opening is provided. And the first switching port are always in communication with each other, while the second connection port and the second switching port, and the third connection port and the third switching port are selectively rotated by reciprocating the valve body by a predetermined angle. And selectively connect two flow paths, the first switching path and the second switching path. In an accumulator in which a flow path switching device adapted to switch is incorporated, a rotation drive mechanism rotatably supporting the valve element connects a valve element and a drive source with a transmission mechanism, and further includes a transmission mechanism. Comprises a driving element constituted by a permanent magnet and a passive element constituted by a magnetic material such as a steel plate, and transmits rotation in a non-contact state with each other, and the casing partitions the inside by accumulating the rotation. At the top of the rate chamber, a plurality of shielding plates provided with flow holes are provided at appropriate intervals, the working medium is flown in a zigzag shape, the pulsation of the working medium is leveled, and a muffler chamber for noise reduction and a valve are provided. And a switching valve chamber for accommodating the body, the passive element is housed in a sealed state inside the casing, and a portion from the driving element to the driving source is in a sealed area. Become a shall provided in an upper portion of the casing and said rotary drive mechanism
Reduces the rotation from the drive element between the passive element and the valve element
And it comprises a speed reduction mechanism for rotation switching of the valve body, and this reduction
The speed mechanism is a deceleration operation formed further above the switching valve chamber.
It is constructed inside
It is characterized by being stored in a closed state .

According to the above-mentioned invention, the working medium can be made uniform and the noise can be reduced while further reducing the size and cost of the accumulator.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. In explaining, the Accu of the present invention
Basic flow switching device 1 incorporated in mullator 1A
After first described configuration, with different configurations, such as casing and the valve body relative to the channel switching apparatus 1, the present invention
The accumulator 1A will be described.

First , the working medium flow switching device 1 incorporated in the present invention will be described. This device is used by being incorporated in a part of a cooling and heating device as shown in FIG. 1, and basically has a casing 10 as shown in FIGS. And a valve element 20 that reciprocates at a predetermined angle is constituted as a main member. So
In the flow path switching device 1, the first pipe H1 and the fourth pipe H4 are connected from the discharge port and the suction port of the compressor 2, and the second pipe H2 is connected to the indoor heat exchanger 3 and the outdoor heat exchanger 5.
And the third pipe H3 are connected. Further, a capillary tube 4 for reducing the pressure of the working medium is connected as an example between the indoor heat exchanger 3 and the outdoor heat exchanger 5, and is shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 5 during the heating operation. As described above, the working medium is circulated in the order of the compressor 2, the flow switching device 1, the indoor heat exchanger 3, the capillary 4, the outdoor heat exchanger 5, the flow switching device 1, and the compressor 2. On the other hand, during the cooling operation, as shown in FIG. 6, the working medium circulates in the order of the compressor 2, the flow switching device 1, the outdoor heat exchanger 5, the capillary 4, the indoor heat exchanger 3, the flow switching device 1, and the compressor 2. are doing.

[0010] The following respective components of the channel switching apparatus 1 further explained. First, the casing 10 will be described. The casing 10 has a substantially cylindrical shape as an example as shown in FIGS.
And a closing plate 10b for closing the open end of the case portion 10a, and the inside is kept airtight. The case portion 10a employs a mode in which the cover member and the body member are joined by welding, bolting, or the like at the fixed portion for the purpose of facilitating the fixing of the shield plate 17 described later. A form in which the member is integrally formed, a form in which the lid member and the body member are further divided and joined, and the like can be adopted.
A first connection port 11 is opened at the center of the upper surface of the casing 10, and a first pipe H1 connected to a discharge port of the compressor 2 is connected to the first connection port 11. In addition, a second connection port 12, a third connection port 13, and a fourth connection port 14 are provided at three places of the closing plate 10b.
Is open. The fourth connection port 14 is connected to the closing plate 10b.
Alternatively, it may be provided on the upper surface or side wall of the casing 10.
As shown in FIG. 5, the second connection port 12 and the indoor heat exchanger 3
The third connection port 13 and the outdoor heat exchanger 5 are connected by the third pipe H3, and the fourth connection port 14 and the suction port of the compressor 2 are connected as shown in FIG. They are connected by a fourth pipe H4.

Next, the filter 15 will be described. The filter 15 purifies the circulating working medium, and is disposed in the fourth pipe H4 as an example, as shown in FIG. 3C. This is usually made of a metal or resin material, is formed in a net shape, and mainly filters and traps solid impurities and the like in the working medium. For this reason, the filter 15 is disposed in the fourth pipe H4 in which the flow direction of the working medium does not change during both heating, cooling, and dehumidifying operations. It may be arranged in the pipe H1. When the filter 15 purifies unnecessary components dissolved in the working medium by adsorption or chemical reaction, such as activated carbon of a water purifier, rather than filtering solid impurities or the like in the working medium, the filter 15 is used. May be disposed in the circulation path of the working medium, for example, in the second pipe H2 or the third pipe H3. A rotation shaft 26 of the valve body 20 described later is inserted into the center of the closing plate 10b.

Next, the muffler 16 formed inside the casing 10 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 (b) and 4 (a), a plurality of shielding plates 17 each having a flow hole 17a are formed at appropriate intervals, and the working medium discharged from the compressor 2 is discharged to the first side. The fluid flows in a zigzag manner from the one connection port 11 to the first switching path port 21 to equalize the pulsation and to reduce noise. For this reason, the respective shield plates 17 are arranged so as to alternately face the flow holes 17a formed near the peripheral portion, except for those connected to the first switching passage 21 of the valve body 20. The shielding plate 17 is usually made of a metal material, is easily formed by press working, and is attached to the casing 10 by press-fitting or welding. Note that the muffler described in this specification makes the pulsation of the working medium uniform as described above,
It refers to a device for silencing. Matako In the flow hole 17a this, to one formed in one shield plate 17
As described above , for example, as shown in FIG. 4B, it is also possible to form a plurality of small holes in the shielding plate 17 and use the small holes as one flow hole 17a. Further, as shown in FIG. 4C, a form in which a sound absorbing material 18 such as a steel wool fiber or a glass wool fiber is stuck near the periphery of each shielding plate 17 to further reduce the sound can be adopted.

Next, the valve body 20 provided in the casing 10 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the valve body 20 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with right and left side arcs, and is integrally assembled with a case portion 20 a having a bottom opening and a bottom opening side of the case portion 20 a. Closing part 20
b, and a communication chamber 20c is formed inside. Since the communication chamber 20c is kept airtight and provided with two flow paths communicating from the upper surface to the lower surface, the first switching passage opening 21 is opened at the center of the upper surface, and at the left and right positions on the lower surface,
The second switching path 22 and the third switching path 23 are open. A flow path communicating from the first switching path 21 to the second switching path 22 is referred to as a first switching path R1.
Through the second switching path R
It is 2. On the other hand, the rotation shaft 2
6 is fixedly provided on the valve body 20 and the casing 10
The valve body 20 is rotatably held in the casing 10 by the rotating shaft 26 by a predetermined angle. Note that the second switching path 22 and the third switching path 23 have a surface coated with a fluororesin via an O-ring 24 or a cylindrical sealing 25 formed of a fluororesin, the outer end of which protrudes. It is fitted in the state. Thus, the sealing 25 is elastically pressed against the inner wall surface of the closing plate 10b by the O-ring 24, so that the working medium does not leak from the opening end. The case portion 20a and the closing portion 20b of the valve body 20 are formed by pressing a plate made of a metal material as an example, but may be formed of an appropriate material such as glass or plastic.

Next, the operation state of this device will be described. In the description, the heating operation and the cooling / dehumidifying operation will be described separately. (1) During the heating operation When performing the heating operation, as shown in FIG. 5, the second switching passage 22 of the valve body 20 is connected to the second pipe H2, and the third switching passage 23 is connected to the third piping H3. Not to be In this case, the working medium from the compressor 2 includes the compressor 2, the first pipe H1, the muffler 16, the first switching path R1, the second pipe H2, the indoor heat exchanger 3, the capillary 4, the outdoor heat exchanger 5, and the Three pipes H3, inside casing 10, fourth connection port 1
4. Fourth pipe H4, compressor . . Circulate in the order of

(2) Cooling / Dehumidifying Operation During the cooling / dehumidifying operation, the third switching passage 23 of the valve body 20 is connected to the third pipe H3, and the second switching passage 22 is connected to the second piping, as shown in FIG. The state is not connected to H2. In this case, the working medium from the compressor 2 includes the compressor 2, the first pipe H1, the muffler 16, the second switching path R2, the third pipe H3, the outdoor heat exchanger 5, the capillary 4, the indoor heat exchanger 3, Two pipes H2, inside casing 10, fourth connection port 1
4. Fourth pipe H4, compressor . . . Circulate in the order of When the working medium circulates during both the heating, cooling, and dehumidifying operations, the pulsation is made uniform and the sound is reduced by the muffler 16. Unnecessary components are removed and purified by a filter 15 disposed in the fourth pipe H4 or the like.

[0016] Naoko In this, the muffler to the channel switching device 1
6 and the filter 15 are incorporated, but depending on the condition of the installation location of the cooling and heating device, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, from the first connection port 11 of the casing 10 to the first switching path port 21 of the valve body 20. It is possible to adopt a form in which only the muffler 16 is incorporated. Here, the sectional view shown in FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view corresponding to FIG.

Next, an accumulator 1A in which the above-described flow path switching device 1 is incorporated and the construction of the casing 10, the valve body 20, and the like are different will be described. As an example, as shown in FIG. 8, a casing 10 and a valve body 20 are main components, but an accumulator chamber 7 for storing a working medium is incorporated below the accumulator 1A and a deceleration action chamber 8 is formed at an upper portion. Is what you do. The accumulating chamber 7 stores the working medium and equalizes the pulsation of the working medium by itself. In the present embodiment, the filter 15 and the muffler 16 are incorporated to further improve the uniformity. It is intended to reduce noise and mute. In addition, the flow path mentioned earlier
The switching device 1 basically has a configuration in which the muffler 16 is disposed in the upper portion and a drive source (not shown) is disposed below the valve body 20 with the valve body 20 interposed therebetween. The rotation drive mechanism 30 is configured to rotate the valve body 20 in the reverse direction, and the muffler 16 and the accumulation chamber 7 are formed below the valve body 20 with the valve body 20 interposed therebetween. Here, the rotation drive mechanism 30
Is the speed reduction mechanism 31 provided in the motor M as the driving source or the speed reduction action chamber 8 or the speed reduction mechanism 31 from the motor M side.
And a member for switching the rotation of the valve body 20 including the transmission mechanism 6 for transmitting rotation to the valve body 20. Further, in this embodiment, since the muffler 16 and the accumulation chamber 7 are configured inside, the casing 1
Numeral 0 substantially indicates a member having a substantially cylindrical shape for accommodating them. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, these members are formed so as to partition them into respective functional spaces, and the partitioned rooms are connected by welding or the like. In this case, a form in which the casing 10 is formed is possible.

In the accumulator 1A, a motor M as a drive source for rotating the valve body 20 is provided in the accumulator 1A.
It is provided substantially at the center of the upper part of the. And casing 1
On the upper surface of the motor M, a second pipe H2 connecting the second connection port 12 and the indoor heat exchanger 3 and a third pipe H3 connecting the third connection port 13 and the outdoor heat exchanger 5 are provided with a motor M. It is arranged at a position slightly near the circumference to avoid interference. A first pipe H1 connecting the first connection port 11 and the discharge port of the compressor 2 is disposed substantially at the center of the lower surface of the muffler 16, and a first pipe H1 connected to the suction port of the compressor 2 is provided inside the accumulation chamber 7. Four pipes H4 are inserted.

Next, the speed reducing mechanism 31 provided in the speed reducing action chamber 8 will be described. This is a motor M
The rotation from the shaft is reduced and transmitted to the rotation shaft 26 of the valve body 20. As shown in FIG.
2 is constituted by a gear train 34 in which a plurality of gears 33 having different gear ratios are fitted in a multistage manner. Then, the gears 33 are sequentially decelerated by the action of the mutual gears 33, and finally the gear train 3
In order to obtain an appropriate reduction ratio as 4, the tip of one shaft 32 rotates the rotating shaft 26 at an appropriate angle.
The gear 33 which is first driven among the plurality of gears 33
The passive element 6B of the transmission mechanism 6 described later
Is provided.

Next, the transmission mechanism 6 will be described. The transmission mechanism 6 is a driving element 6A directly driven to rotate by the motor M.
And a passive element 6B which rotates in a non-contact state in response thereto. In the present embodiment, the driving element 6A and the passive element 6B are formed in a so-called nested shape so as to fit each other, so that a sufficient transmission operation area is ensured.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the driving element 6A is formed to fit into the passive element 6B,
A is formed by a permanent magnet 61, and the passive element 6B is formed by a steel plate 63. In the present embodiment, the driving element 6A and the passive element 6B are nested in order to secure a sufficient transmission operation area. However, if a sufficient transmission operation area can be ensured, it is not always necessary. The transmission mechanism 6 does not need to be nested.

By adopting such a structure, first, the permanent magnet 61 is rotated by the motor M, and the steel plate 63 in the non-contact state is rotated by the magnetic force. Then, the rotation of the valve body 20 is switched. The sites for accommodating the permanent magnet 61 because this is not necessarily airtight is maintained, Ru actually bracket or the like is attached for fixing the motor M Tei.
As described above, the passive element 6 </ b> B is a driving member that substantially rotates the valve body 20 and is housed in the sealed casing 10. Therefore, for example, even if the working medium leaks from the peripheral portion of the rotation shaft 26, In this way, the heat is shut off by the deceleration action chamber 8, and efficient heat exchange can be performed. The direction of rotation of the valve body 20 can be switched by changing the direction of the current flowing through the motor M. Incidentally, the final reduction ratio of the reduction mechanism 31 is 1/8.
If the setting is 00, the valve element 20 is rotated by 1/8 rotation, that is, 45 ° when the driving element 6A is rotated 100 times.

In this embodiment, in addition to the above-described specifications, a bowl-shaped bellows-type sealing material 25a is disposed in a prone state in the vicinity of the first switching passage opening 21 of the valve body 20 as an example. 25b is provided so as to maintain more stable airtightness.

Next, an operation state of the accumulator 1A will be described. In explaining, heating operation and cooling
The description will be given separately for the dehumidifying operation. (1) At the time of heating operation At the time of performing the heating operation, as shown in FIG. 9, the second switching port 22 of the valve body 20 is connected to the second pipe H2, and the third switching port 23 is connected to the third pipe H3. Not to be In this case, the working medium from the compressor 2 includes the compressor 2, the first pipe H1, the muffler 16, the first switching path R1, the second pipe H2, the indoor heat exchanger 3, the capillary 4, the outdoor heat exchanger 5, and the Three pipes H3, valve body 20 in casing 10
1. outside, fourth connection port 14, filter 15, accumulation chamber 7, fourth pipe H4, compressor . . Circulate in the order of

(2) At the time of cooling / dehumidifying operation At the time of cooling / dehumidifying operation, the third switching passage 23 of the valve element 20 is connected to the third pipe H3 and the second switching passage 22 is connected to the second piping as shown in FIG. The state is not connected to H2. In this case, the working medium from the compressor 2 includes the compressor 2, the first pipe H1, the muffler 16, the second switching path R2, the third pipe H3, the outdoor heat exchanger 5, the capillary 4, the indoor heat exchanger 3, Two pipes H2, valve body 20 in casing 10
1. outside, fourth connection port 14, filter 15, accumulation chamber 7, fourth pipe H4, compressor . . Circulate in the order of When the working medium circulates during both the heating, cooling, and dehumidifying operations, the pulsation is made uniform and the sound is reduced by the muffler 16. Unnecessary components are effectively removed and purified by the filter 15 disposed in the circulation path.

In the present embodiment, the muffler 16 and the filter 1 are provided in the accumulator 1A having the flow path switching device.
5 is incorporated, but it is also possible to adopt a form in which only the muffler 16 is incorporated depending on the conditions such as the installation location of the cooling and heating device.

[0026]

According to the present invention, the pulsation of the working medium can be made uniform and the noise can be reduced while reducing the size and cost of the accumulator 1A.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are an explanatory view showing a use state of a flow path switching device incorporated in the present invention and a perspective view showing a flow path switching device.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a flow path switching device.

FIG. 3 (a) is a plan sectional view as viewed from the direction of the arrow AA in FIG. 3 (b), and FIG. 3 (b) is a longitudinal sectional view as viewed from the direction of the arrow BB in the plan sectional view (a). ), And a vertical cross-sectional view (c) as seen from the direction of the arrows CC.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing various embodiments of a muffler.

5A is a cross-sectional plan view showing a flow of a working medium during a heating operation, and FIG.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are a cross-sectional plan view and a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating a flow of a working medium during a cooling / dehumidifying operation.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment in which only a muffler is incorporated in a flow path switching device.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an accumulator according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a flow of a working medium during a heating operation according to the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a flow of a working medium during the cooling / dehumidifying operation of the above.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Flow-path switching apparatus 1A Accumulator 2 Compressor 3 Indoor heat exchanger 4 Capillary tube 5 Outdoor heat exchanger 6 Transmission mechanism 6A Drive element 6B Passive element 7 Accumulate chamber 8 Deceleration chamber 10 Casing 10a Case part 10b Closure plate 11 First connection Port 12 Second connection port 13 Third connection port 14 Fourth connection port 15 Filter 16 Muffler 17 Shield plate 17a Flow hole 18 Sound absorbing material 20 Valve body 20a Case portion 20b Closed portion 20c Communication chamber 21 First switching path 22 Second switching Roadway 23 Third switching path 24 O-ring 25 Sealing 25a Bellows-type sealing material 25b Pressure-reducing spring 26 Rotating shaft 30 Rotating drive mechanism 31 Reduction mechanism 32 Shaft 33 Gear 34 Gear train 61 Permanent magnet 63 Steel plate H1 First pipe H2 Second pipe H3 Third pipe H4 Fourth pipe Motor R1 first change 換路 R2 second switching 換路

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F25B 43/00 F25B 41/04 F16K 11/074

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first connected to a discharge port of a compressor.
A connection port, a second connection port connected to the indoor heat exchanger,
The third connection port connected to the external heat exchanger and the accumulation
The second connected to the compressor inlet via the chamber
A casing having four connection ports, and rotating on an axis passing through the first connection port in the casing;
It is provided freely and connects from the first switching path to the second switching path.
The first switching path that passes through, and the first switching path to the third switching path
And a valve body having a second switching path communicating with the first connection port and the first switching path port are always in communication,
The second connection port, the second switching path port, the third connection port and the third disconnection
The switching port is selected by reciprocating the valve body by a certain angle.
The two flow paths of the first switching path and the second switching path are
Internal flow path switching device that selectively switches the path
In the accumulator incorporated in the above, the rotation drive mechanism for rotatably supporting the valve body, the valve body and
The drive mechanism is connected to the drive source by a transmission mechanism.
And a passive element made of a magnetic material such as a steel plate.
The casing is configured to transmit rotation in a non-contact state with each other, and the casing is partitioned by partitioning the inside thereof so that
At the top of the accumulation chamber
Shield plates are provided at appropriate intervals, and the working medium is zigzag
Let it flowhandEqualizes the pulsation of the working medium and reduces noise
The muffler chamber to be designed and the switching valve chamber to house the valve element are sequentially configured
And the passive element is housed in a sealed state inside the casing.
And the area from the drive element to the drive source is tightly closed.
At the top of the casing outside the rangeAnd The rotation drive mechanism is driven between the passive element and the valve body.
Reduction gear that switches the rotation of the valve body by reducing the rotation from the element
With a structure, The speed reduction mechanism is formed further above the switching valve chamber.
Housing with the passive elements
Housed in a sealed state inside Characterized byChannel cut
Accumulator with a changer.