JP3210193B2 - Refrigerant recovery 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 refrigerant recovery device for recovering a refrigerant of a refrigeration / air-conditioning device, for example.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a conventional refrigerant recovery apparatus using a compression system. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a suction valve connected to a gaseous refrigerant discharge pipe of a refrigeration / air-conditioning apparatus (not shown); 2 is a high-pressure shell type compressor, 3 is a condenser for liquefying the refrigerant, 4 is a liquid outlet valve, 5 is a recovery container, 6a is a suction pipe connecting the suction valve 1 and the compressor 2, and 6b is a compressor 2 A discharge pipe 6c communicates with the condenser 3 and the condenser 3, and a liquid outlet pipe 6c which communicates the condenser 3 with the collection vessel 5 and in which a liquid outlet valve 4 is provided in the path.
6c are made of copper tubes.

Next, the operation of the above-mentioned conventional refrigerant recovery apparatus will be described. First, in the refrigerant recovery device, the suction valve 1 is connected to a discharge pipe of a refrigeration / air conditioning device. Then, by operating the compressor 2, the gaseous refrigerant of the refrigeration / air-conditioning device is sucked into the compressor 2 via the suction pipe 6a. The gaseous refrigerant sucked into the compressor 2 is compressed by the compressor 2 to have a high temperature and a high pressure, and is sent to the condenser 3 via the discharge pipe 6b. The gaseous refrigerant sent to the condenser 3 is cooled and liquefied in the condenser 3 and sent to the collection container 5 via the liquid outlet pipe 6c.
Packed in the collection container 5.

[0004]

Since the conventional refrigerant recovery apparatus is configured as described above, the recovery of the refrigerant proceeds,
As the amount of refrigerant in the refrigeration / air-conditioning equipment decreases, the compressor 2
The amount of refrigerant sucked into the compressor 2 is reduced, and the compressor 2 enters a vacuum operation state. Eventually, the suction of the refrigerant is eliminated, and the refrigerant is not sent from the compressor 2 to the condenser 3. Therefore, there is a problem that the refrigerant already liquefied in the condenser 3 always remains in the condenser 3 or the liquid outlet pipe 6c, and the liquefied refrigerant cannot be completely recovered in the recovery container 5.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerant recovery device capable of completely recovering a gaseous refrigerant in a refrigeration / air-conditioning device or the like.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerant recovery apparatus for compressing a gaseous refrigerant which is sucked through a suction pipe, compressed and discharged as a high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant. And a condenser that condenses and liquefies the high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant sent from the compressor through the discharge pipe and discharges it as a liquid refrigerant, and the liquid that is discharged from the condenser through a liquid outlet pipe. A collection container for collecting the refrigerant, a bypass pipe branched from the discharge pipe, opening / closing means provided in the bypass pipe to control the flow of the refrigerant to and from the discharge pipe, and enclosed in the bypass pipe by the opening / closing means. a heating means for heating the high-temperature high-pressure gaseous refrigerant, or compressor
The gaseous refrigerant sent out from the
Into the bypass pipe,
The bypass pipe whose pressure has been increased by heating by the heating means
Gaseous refrigerant trapped inside
And a control device for controlling the opening / closing means as described above.

[0007] In the refrigerant recovery apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, at least a part of the bypass pipe is disposed so as to be able to exchange heat with a high-temperature shell of the compressor. .

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, gaseous refrigerant in a device such as a refrigeration / air-conditioning device is sucked into the compressor through a suction pipe. Then, it is compressed by the compressor and sent to the condenser as a high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant via a discharge pipe. Then, it is condensed and liquefied in a condenser and collected as a liquid refrigerant through a liquid outlet pipe in a collection container. At this time, at the end of the recovery of the refrigerant, the gaseous refrigerant sucked from the device side to the compressor disappears, and the liquid refrigerant already condensed and liquefied in the condenser remains in the condenser and the liquid outlet pipe. . On the other hand, the control unit
Therefore , a part of the high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant discharged from the compressor via the discharge pipe is sent to the bypass pipe and is sealed in the bypass pipe. The high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous refrigerant sealed in the bypass pipe is heated by the heating means to increase the pressure. Then, after the gaseous refrigerant sucked into the compressor from the device side disappeared, when the opening / closing means was opened by the control device to connect the bypass pipe and the discharge pipe, the pressure was increased in the bypass pipe. A gaseous refrigerant is jetted into the discharge pipe. Then, the gaseous refrigerant jetted into the discharge pipe flows into the recovery container via the condenser and the liquid outlet pipe. At this time,
The liquid refrigerant remaining in the condenser and the liquid outlet pipe flows into the recovery container together with the gaseous refrigerant jetted into the discharge pipe, and is collected.

[0009] In a second aspect of the present invention,
Since at least a part of the bypass pipe is disposed so as to be able to exchange heat with the high-temperature shell of the compressor, the gaseous refrigerant contained in the bypass pipe is heated by the heat of the high-temperature shell without providing any special heating means. Heated.

[0010]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a refrigerant recovery device according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view showing a periphery of a compressor of the refrigerant recovery device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The same or corresponding parts as those of the conventional refrigerant recovery device are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. In the drawing, reference numeral 7 denotes a check valve disposed in the path of the discharge pipe 6b, and reference numeral 8 denotes a discharge pipe as a bypass pipe whose end branched from the downstream side of the check valve 7 of the discharge pipe 6b is closed. The jetting pipe 8 is wound tightly on the high-temperature shell of the compressor 2. In this case, the high temperature shell of the compressor 2 constitutes the heating means. Reference numeral 9 denotes an electromagnetic valve as opening / closing means provided in the path of the ejection pipe 8, 10 denotes a pressure sensor for detecting the pressure in the ejection pipe 8, and 11 denotes a pressure sensor provided at an end of the ejection pipe 8. A relief valve that operates when the pressure in the ejection pipe 8 becomes abnormally high and discharges the refrigerant in the ejection pipe 8;
A control device 2 controls opening and closing of the solenoid valve 9 and the relief valve 11.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, the refrigerant recovery device freezes its suction valve 1
Connected to the exhaust pipe of the air conditioner. Therefore, when the operation of the refrigerant recovery device is started, the compressor 2 and the condenser 3 are operated, and the electromagnetic valve 9 is opened by the control device 12. Then, the gaseous refrigerant of the refrigeration / air-conditioning device is sucked into the compressor 2 via the suction pipe 6a. The gaseous refrigerant sucked into the compressor 2 is compressed by the compressor 2 to a high temperature and a high pressure, and a part of the refrigerant is discharged to the ejection pipe 8 through the discharge pipe 6b.
The remainder is sent to the condenser 3 via the discharge pipe 6b.
The gaseous refrigerant sent to the condenser 3 is cooled and liquefied in the condenser 3, sent to the collection container 5 via the liquid outlet pipe 6 c, and packed in the collection container 5. On the other hand, the pressure of the refrigerant sent into the jetting pipe 8 is detected by the pressure sensor 10 and the control device 12
Determines that the pressure in the ejection pipe 8 has reached a certain value, the solenoid valve 9 is closed. Then, the refrigerant sealed in the ejection pipe 8 is heated by the high-temperature shell of the compressor 2 and the pressure increases. Next, when the gaseous refrigerant in the refrigeration / air-conditioning equipment is not sucked into the compressor 2 immediately after the completion of the refrigerant collection, the solenoid valve 9 is opened. Then, a high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant which has been sealed in the ejection pipe 8 and has an increased pressure is ejected into the condenser 3 through the discharge pipe 6b. Therefore, the liquid refrigerant remaining in the condenser 3 and the liquid outlet pipe 6c due to the gaseous refrigerant in the refrigeration / air-conditioning equipment not being sucked into the compressor 2 immediately after the completion of the refrigerant collection. Then, the gas flows into the collection container 5 together with the gaseous refrigerant ejected from the ejection pipe 8. At this time, the gaseous refrigerant injected from the ejection pipe 8 is prevented from flowing into the compressor 2 via the discharge pipe 6b by the check valve 7.

Here, when the pressure of the gaseous refrigerant sealed in the ejection pipe 8 reaches a predetermined pressure, the control device 12
Is opening the solenoid valve 9 to reduce the internal pressure and adjust the pressure so that the inside of the ejection pipe 8 does not rise to an abnormal pressure. further,
When the pressure rises abnormally, the relief valve 11 is opened to reduce the internal pressure instantaneously, thereby preventing a burst accident of the jetting pipe 8.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the ejection pipe 8 is provided branching from the discharge pipe 6b, and the ejection pipe 8 is wound in close contact with the high-temperature shell of the compressor 2 and further ejected. Since the solenoid valve 9 is disposed in the path of the piping 8 for gas, the gaseous refrigerant discharged from the compressor 2
The gaseous refrigerant in the refrigeration / air-conditioning equipment can be compressed if the gaseous refrigerant in the refrigeration / air-conditioning equipment is blown into the discharge pipe 6b immediately after the completion of the refrigerant recovery. The liquid refrigerant remaining in the condenser 3 and the liquid outlet pipe 6c due to the fact that the refrigerant is no longer sucked into the condenser 2 and the liquid refrigerant can flow into the collection container 5 together with the gaseous refrigerant having the increased pressure. There is an effect that the refrigerant can be reliably recovered. In addition, the gaseous refrigerant sealed in the discharge pipe 8 is heated by heat exchange with the high-temperature shell of the compressor 8, and does not require any special heating means, thereby simplifying the apparatus and reducing the cost. Can be planned. Further, since the pressure sensor 10 is disposed in the ejection pipe 8 and the control device 12 controls the opening and closing of the solenoid valve 9 and the relief valve 11 based on the detection signal of the pressure sensor 10,
The pressure in the ejection pipe 8 can be adjusted, and the accident of rupture of the pipe due to an abnormal rise in pressure can be prevented, and safety can be improved.

Embodiment 2 FIG. In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, one end of the ejection pipe 13 is branched off from the discharge pipe 6b, and is wound in close contact with the high-temperature shell of the compressor 2, and then the other end is discharged with the discharge pipe. 6b, the solenoid valves 14a, 14b are arranged at both ends of the jetting pipe 13. The other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment.

Also in the second embodiment, after introducing the gaseous refrigerant discharged from the compressor 2 into the jetting pipe 13, the solenoid valves 14a and 14b are closed and sealed, and the pressure of the refrigerant can be increased by the high-temperature shell. The gaseous refrigerant having the increased pressure can be ejected into the discharge pipe 6b by opening the solenoid valve 14b immediately after the completion of the refrigerant recovery.
The same effect can be obtained.

In each of the above embodiments, the high-temperature shell of the compressor 2 is described as being used as a heating means. However, a heater or the like may be provided so as to surround the ejection pipes 8 and 13. .

[0017]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

In the first aspect of the present invention, a compressor for sucking a gaseous refrigerant through a suction pipe, compressing the compressed refrigerant, and discharging the compressed refrigerant as a high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous refrigerant is provided. A condenser for condensing and liquefying a high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant fed into the condenser and discharging the condensed liquid refrigerant as a liquid refrigerant, a collection container for collecting the liquid refrigerant discharged from the condenser through a liquid outlet pipe, and a discharge pipe A bypass pipe provided by branching from the opening, an opening / closing means provided in the bypass pipe to control the flow of the refrigerant to and from the discharge pipe, and a high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant sealed in the bypass pipe by the opening / closing means is heated. Heating means and gaseous refrigerant sent out of the compressor
Into the bypass pipe and sealed in the bypass pipe
Immediately after the completion of refrigerant recovery,
Gaseous gas contained in the bypass pipe
Control the opening and closing means so that the refrigerant is ejected to the discharge pipe
Since the control device is provided, even the liquid refrigerant remaining in the condenser and the liquid outlet pipe immediately before the completion of the refrigerant recovery can be reliably recovered in the recovery container.

In a second aspect of the present invention,
In the first aspect of the present invention, at least a part of the bypass pipe is disposed so as to be able to exchange heat with the high temperature shell of the compressor. Therefore, the apparatus can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a refrigerant recovery device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a periphery of a compressor of the refrigerant recovery device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating a refrigerant recovery device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional refrigerant recovery device.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 compressor, 3 condenser, 5 collection vessel, 6a suction pipe, 6b discharge pipe, 6c liquid outlet pipe, 8 ejection pipe (bypass pipe), 9 solenoid valve (opening / closing means), 13
Ejection piping (bypass piping), 14a, 14b Solenoid valve (opening / closing means).

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A compressor for sucking a gaseous refrigerant through a suction pipe, compressing the compressed refrigerant, and discharging the compressed refrigerant as a high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous refrigerant, and the high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant sent from the compressor via a discharge pipe. A condenser for condensing and liquefying the gaseous refrigerant of the above, and discharging as a liquid refrigerant, a recovery container for recovering the liquid refrigerant discharged from the condenser via a liquid outlet pipe, and branching from the discharge pipe. A bypass pipe provided in the bypass pipe, an opening / closing means provided in the bypass pipe for controlling the flow of the refrigerant with the discharge pipe, and the high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant sealed in the bypass pipe by the opening / closing means. heating means for heating the exit feed from the compressor
Flowing the gaseous refrigerant into the bypass pipe
In the bypass pipe, and
The bypass whose pressure is increased by being heated by the heating means;
The gaseous refrigerant contained in the pipe is discharged to the discharge pipe.
A control device for controlling the opening / closing means so as to blow out to a pipe
And a refrigerant recovery device. 2. The refrigerant recovery device according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the bypass pipe is disposed so as to be able to exchange heat with a high-temperature shell of the compressor.