JP3299467B2 - Refrigerant receiver for air conditioning - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioning refrigerant receiver used for an air conditioner such as a car air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 3-786 discloses an air-conditioning refrigerant receiver for improving the bubble elimination of refrigerant.
No. 7 is known.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, the desiccant is supported inside a refrigerant receiver in a state sandwiched between an upper cover and a lower cover having a large number of punching holes. The energy falling in the upper space of the coolant receiver passes through the punching holes and the desiccant and is supplied to the lower space of the coolant receiver. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the height of the upper space to some extent, which limits the height of the lower space. Since bubbles easily accumulate on the liquid surface of the refrigerant stored in the lower space, when the height of the lower space is reduced, the liquid surface of the refrigerant is also lowered and the bubbles are supplied to the expansion valve, thereby generating noise and cooling. The effect may be reduced. In addition, since the refrigerant that has passed through the punching holes of the lower cover falls in the lower space and collides with the liquid surface, bubbles may be generated by the impact and the bubble disappearance may be reduced. Also, if the height of the upper space is increased, it is not possible to dispose a stored substance such as a desiccant close to the head of the refrigerant receiver, and thus there is a problem that it is difficult to fix the stored substance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an object to improve the bubble elimination property of a refrigerant receiver for air conditioning with a simple structure, and to facilitate installation of a storage material such as a desiccant. And

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an upper filter, a desiccant and a lower filter are provided.
Store the stacked items with the upper and lower surfaces
To the inside of the container body of the refrigerant receiver.
The upper space and the lower space above and below the storage
Partition the space and allow the refrigerant to pass through the storage from the upper space
In the air conditioning refrigerant receiver to be supplied to the lower space,
A large number of pantins through which the refrigerant passes
Holes, through which the lower cover allows the refrigerant to pass.
The outer periphery of the lower cover and the container
A gap is formed between the inner peripheral surface of the main body and
And the refrigerant that has passed through the storage
Flow down the inner surface of the container body.
And features. According to this, the refrigerant supplied to the upper space of the refrigerant receiver passes through the storage product formed by stacking the upper filter, the desiccant, and the lower filter, and is stored in the lower space of the refrigerant receiver. Since the refrigerant that has passed through the storage passes only through the gap formed between the outer periphery of the lower cover and the inner peripheral surface of the refrigerant receiver, the refrigerant falls on the liquid surface of the refrigerant stored in the lower space. Without flowing down , the refrigerant flows down the inner peripheral surface of the refrigerant receiver gently, and as a result , the falling energy of the refrigerant is reduced and the generation of bubbles is prevented.

In the invention described in claim 2, the lower part
Make sure that the outer periphery of the filter is bent and
And features. According to this, the outer peripheral portion of the lower filter inserted into the refrigerant receiver is bent, and the bent portion is inserted into the gap, so that the thickness of the entire lower filter is increased without increasing the thickness of the lower filter. By increasing the substantial thickness of the outer peripheral portion through which the gas passes, the filtering effect can be enhanced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a substantially circular shape is provided.
A head and an outer cylinder extending axially from an outer periphery of the head
Axially extending the inside of the outer cylinder from the center of the head.
The body of the container with the inner cylinder
And an annular surface connected to the inner surface of the outer cylinder on the inner surface of the head.
A step is formed, and the upper cover is attached to the annular step.
The upper part having a substantially constant height between the head and the head.
Form a space and attach the lower cover to the inner cylinder
Characterized in that the storage is supported by fixing.
I do. According to this, the head body is formed integrally with a substantially circular head, an outer cylinder extending axially from the outer periphery of the head, and an inner cylinder extending axially inside the outer cylinder from the center of the head. An annular step protrusion that is continuous with the inner surface of the outer cylinder and the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder is formed, and the stored items are fixed in contact with the annular step protrusion, so that accurate positioning and reliable fixing of the stored items are possible. Become. In addition, since a space having a substantially constant height is formed between the storage object and the head, the flow resistance of the refrigerant flowing through the space can be reduced, and the generation of bubbles can be suppressed.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 8 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a refrigerant receiver, and FIG.
3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the container body, FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a molding die and a material, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of an operation at the time of forging, FIG. 6 and FIG. FIG. 8 is a graph illustrating charge toughness.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a container main body 1 of a refrigerant receiver RT for a car air conditioner includes a disk-shaped head 2 and an outer cylinder 3 extending downward from the outer periphery of the head 2. ,
An inner cylinder 4 extending downward through the center of the head 2 is integrally formed by forging. Open end 3 ₁ of the outer tube 3 of the container body 1 is closed by welding downward fitted spigot open end 5 ₁ of the cup-shaped container lid 5 which is tapered. The inner tube 4 is longer than the outer tube 3, open end 4 ₁ of the inner cylinder 4 extends near the lowest point of the central vessel lid portion 5. Head 2 and outer cylinder 3 of container body 1
The part where the continuous, annular step protrusion 1 ₁ the inner diameter of the outer tube 3 is formed so as to slightly reduced diameter is provided.

An upper cover 6 is provided on the upper part of the container body 1.
The upper filter 7, the desiccant 8, the lower filter 9, and the lower cover 10 are stored in a state of being vertically stacked. The upper cover 6 is made of a metal plate on which a number of punching holes 6 ₁ ... Are formed.
With fitted on the outer periphery, abuts against the lower surface of the annular step protrusion 1 ₁ its outer periphery fitted to the inner periphery of the outer cylinder 3 of the container body 1. The upper filter 7 is superimposed on the lower surface of the upper cover 6, and its inner periphery is fitted on the outer periphery of the inner cylinder 4 of the container body 1, and its outer periphery is fitted on the outer cylinder 3 of the container body 1.
Fits inside. The lower filter 9, which is disposed below the upper filter 7 with the granular desiccant 8 interposed therebetween, has its inner periphery fitted to the outer periphery of the inner cylinder 4 of the container body 1, and its outer periphery attached to the outer periphery of the container body 1. bent portion 9 ₁ by bending downwardly along the inner circumference of the cylinder is formed.

The lower cover 10 made of a metal plate has a flange 10 ₁ whose inner periphery is bent downward, and the flange 10 ₁ is fitted to the outer periphery of the inner cylinder 4.
Is fixed by swaging. As a result, the annular step protrusion 1
Upper cover 6 pressed and fixed to ₁ and inner cylinder 4
The container 11 composed of the upper filter 7, the desiccant 8 and the lower filter 9 is supported between the lower cover 10 and the lower cover 10 fixed by swaging. At this time,
Annular gap 12 is formed between the inner circumference of the outer periphery and the container body 1 of the lower cover 10, bent portion 9 ₁ of the lower filter 9 is sandwiched into the gap 12.

Thus, an upper space 13 having a substantially constant height is formed between the lower surface of the head 2 and the upper surface of the upper cover 6, and the container body 1 and the container lid 5 below the lower filter 9. An enclosed lower space 14 is formed. The upper space 13 is communicated with the condenser (not shown) via the coolant supply hole 2 ₁ passing through the head 2 in the vertical direction. Lower space 14 communicates with an expansion valve (not shown) through a refrigerant discharge hole 2 _2, 2 ₃ in the inner cylinder 4 and the head 2 is formed in the radial direction and the vertical direction. The upper end opening of the inner cylinder 4 is closed by a sight glass 17 fixed to a central portion of the head 2 via a sealing member 16, and the coolant receiver RT passes through the sight glass 17.
Is visible.

Next, the structure of the die D and the punch P for forging the container body 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0015] Die D is a die bottom wall D ₁ of the flat circular, cylindrical die inner peripheral wall D ₂ which rises vertically from the outer periphery of the die bottom wall D _1, perpendicularly from the center of the die bottom wall D ₁ comprising a die recess D ₄ surrounded by a cylindrical die outer peripheral wall D ₃ rises. Material B of the container body 1 to be loaded in the interior of the die D is a member of the annular having a through hole B ₁ in the center, with its outer peripheral wall facing the die inner peripheral wall D _2, the through hole The inner peripheral wall of B _{1 is} the outer peripheral wall D of the die.
Facing ₃ On the other hand, at the lower end of the punch P, there is a flat circular punch bottom wall P ₁ facing the die bottom wall D ₁ and a gap corresponding to the thickness of the outer cylinder 3 at the die inner peripheral wall D _2. a punch peripheral wall P ₂ facing a punch in the peripheral wall P ₃ that faces to exist a gap corresponding to the thickness of the inner cylinder 4 on the die outer peripheral wall D ₃ are formed. Then the punch bottom wall P ₁ is in the portion continuous with the punch peripheral wall P _2, the annular step recess P ₄ corresponding to the annular step protrusion 1 ₁ of the container body 1 is formed.

Next, a process of forging the container body 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the punch P is moved up and down with the material B at room temperature loaded in the die D, the material B compressed by the punch bottom wall P ₁ is deformed, and FIG. as shown, the head 2 of the container body 1 is molded between the die bottom wall D ₁ and the punch bottom wall P _1. Die inner peripheral wall D ₂
And the outer cylinder 3 of the container body 1 is molded by the material B extruded upward from the gap of the punch peripheral wall P _2, the material extruded from the gap of the die outer peripheral wall D ₃ and punch the wall P ₃ upwardly B Thereby, the inner cylinder 4 of the container body 1 is formed.
At this time, the presence of the annular step recesses P ₄ provided on the punch P, since the gap between the die inner peripheral wall D ₂ and the punch peripheral wall P ₂ is given resistance to flow of the material B at the time of extruding the outer tube 3, the final The length of the outer cylinder 3 that has been extruded is shorter than the length of the inner cylinder 4. In other words, by changing the shape of the annular step recesses P ₄ of the punch P, it is possible to delicately and easily adjust the difference or ratio of the length of the outer tube 3 and inner tube 4.

If the length of the outer land 3 and the inner cylinder 4 is varied by changing the length of the forming land of the punch P as in the prior art, the length of the forming land is not always suitable for forming. not the length, but seizure or galling to the punch P can occur, in the present embodiment generates a difference in length of the outer tube 3 and inner tube 4 by annular step recess P ₄ formed in the punch P Therefore, the length of the molding land can be set arbitrarily to prevent seizure and galling.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
Diameter D = 60mm, outer cylinder length L₁= 110mm, inner cylinder length
L_Two= 136mm, head thickness L_Three= 20mm, outer cylinder meat
Thickness T ₁= 1.8mm, inner cylinder thickness T_Two= 1mm container body
The annular step recess P of the punch P_FourIs the height h =
3 mm, width w = 1.5 mm, punch bottom wall P₁And punch
Inner wall P_ThreeThe radius of curvature r between them is set to 2 mm.
The difference in length between the outer cylinder 3 and the inner cylinder 4 is mainly the annular shape of the punch P.
Step recess P_FourOf the punch bottom wall P₁as well as
Punch inner peripheral wall P_ThreeTo change the radius of curvature r = 2 mm between
It is also possible to fine-tune the length of the inner cylinder 4
You.

[0020] When the above manner the container body 1 by the intermediate workpiece is cold-forged, the outer surface of the head 2 of the intermediate workpiece, the open end 3 ₁ of the outer tube 3, the inner tube 4 open end 4 ₁ and finish processing. At this time, since the lengths of the outer cylinder 3 and the inner cylinder 4 of the intermediate work are almost exactly formed, the cutting allowance at the time of performing the finishing processing can be minimized and the loss of material can be reduced. Subsequently, the coolant supply holes 2
After processing ₁ ~ 2 ₃ and the mounting seat of sight glass 17,
A sight glass 17 is provided on the mounting seat via a sealing member 16.
Is fixed by caulking to complete the container body 1.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6, an open end 3 ₁ of the outer cylinder 3 is provided inside the container body 1 with the head 2 facing downward.
After contact with the annular step protrusion 1 ₁ by inserting the upper cover 6 from the side, further inserting the upper filter 7 and a desiccant 8 thereabove. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6, inserts the lower filter 9 from the open end 3 ₁ side of the outer tube 3. Since the diameter of the lower filter 9 is formed larger than the inner diameter of the outer cylinder 3, the outer peripheral portion is bent upward by approximately 90 ° when inserted into the outer cylinder 3. Subsequently, the insert lower cover 10 fixed to the inner cylinder 4 flange 10 ₁ by caulking, the top cover 6 between the caulking portion and the annular stepped protrusion, the upper filter 7, desiccant 8, a lower filter 9 And the lower cover 10 is fixed in a laminated state. At this time, the bent portion 9 ₁ of the lower filter 9 is fitted into the gap 12 formed between the inner periphery of the outer peripheral and the container main body 1 of the lower cover 10 (see FIG. 1). Finally, to complete the refrigerant receiver RT the open end 5 ₁ of the container lid 5 into the open end 3 ₁ of the outer tube 3 of the container body 1 coupled to the welding.

[0022] As described above, in a state in which the annular step protrusion 1 ₁ of the container body 1 is abutted to the upper cover 6, laminating the received material 11 and lower cover 10 to the upper cover 6, the lower cover By simply fixing the ten flanges 10 ₁ to the inner cylinder 4 by caulking, the upper cover 6, the storage item 11, and the lower cover 10 can be easily and reliably fixed. At this time, since the length of the outer cylinder 3 is formed shorter than the length of the inner cylinder 4, the work of inserting the upper cover 6, the storage object 11, and the lower cover 10 into the outer cylinder 3 can be easily performed. It is. A container lid 5 coupled to the container body 1;
Of the inner cylinder 4 while reducing the number of processing steps by making the outer cylinder 3 of the container main body 1 the same diameter.
_By bringing 1 closer to the reduced-diameter lower end of the container lid 5, it is possible to prevent air bubbles from being sucked.

Next, the operation of the refrigerant receiver RT having the above configuration will be described.

The refrigerant liquefied by a condenser (not shown) is supplied from the refrigerant supply hole 21 of the container body ₁ to the upper space 13 and from there a number of punching holes 6 ₁ .
Through the upper filter 7, the desiccant 8 and the lower filter 9, from the gap 12 around the lower cover 10 to the lower space 14. Refrigerant stored in the lower space 14 is supplied to the expansion valve (not shown) the inner tube 4 and the refrigerant discharge holes 2 _2, 2 ₃ through depending on the cooling load. When the refrigerant passes through the upper filter 7 and the lower filter 9, dust contained therein is removed, and when the refrigerant passes through the desiccant 8, moisture contained therein is removed.

By the way, when the air bubbles refrigerant stored in the lower space 14 is present, when the bubbles are supplied from the open end 4 ₁ of the inner cylinder 4 to the expansion valve, reduces the cooling capacity or noise occurs Problem. However, according to the present embodiment, the refrigerant that has passed through the lower filter 9 passes through the gap 12 between the outer periphery of the lower cover 10 and the inner wall surface of the container body 1, and does not fall out of the gap 12 without being dropped from the gap 12. Down the inner wall quietly. Thus, even if the volume (that is, height) of the lower space 14 is set large, it is possible to minimize the generation of bubbles in the refrigerant stored therein. The refrigerant also to pass the bent portion 9 ₁ of the lower filter 9, without increasing the total thickness of the lower filter 9, increasing the substantial thickness of the lower filter 9 in the bent portion 9 ₁ Not only can the filtration effect be increased, but also the flow rate of the refrigerant can be adjusted. Also just larger than the inner diameter of the outer diameter of the container body portion 1 of the lower filter 9, it is possible to automatically form the folded portion 9 ₁ when inserting the lower filter 9 to the container body 1 .

In FIG. 1, the larger the volume _VL of the lower space 14 is, the more difficult it is to supply the bubbles of the refrigerant to the expansion valve. Because bubbles due to accumulate on the liquid surface of the refrigerant stored in the lower space 14, because air bubbles from the open end 4 ₁ of the inner cylinder 4 the higher the liquid level of the refrigerant is not easily sucked. Moreover, according to the present embodiment, the refrigerant flows down from the gap 12 on the outer periphery of the lower cover 10 along the inner wall surface of the container body 1, so that the refrigerant drops sharply even if the height of the lower space 14 is set high. This is because there is no danger of bubbles being generated.

As described above, the volume V _L of the lower space 14
When a large set, the smaller the volume V _U of the upper space 13 to have decided refrigerant liquid receiver RT entire volume.
When the volume V _U in the upper space 13 becomes too small, increased flow resistance of the refrigerant passing therethrough, to and smaller drop energy of the refrigerant, the upper filter 7, the lower space 14 through the desiccant 8 and the lower filter 9 Cannot supply a sufficient amount of refrigerant. Therefore, the lower space 1
Can not be increased 4 volume V _L recklessly, optimal due consideration of the volume V _U headspace V _U ratio V _U /
_VL will be present. According to this embodiment, since the upper space 13 is a cylindrical space having a uniform height over the entire area, the refrigerant can smoothly pass even if the volume _VU is minimized. Is the lower cover 10
Is supplied to the lower space 14 by passing through the gap 12 on the outer periphery of the refrigerant, so that the flow resistance of the refrigerant is reduced as compared with the refrigerant passing through the punching holes formed in the lower cover, Collision energy is reduced. Therefore, it is possible to supply even expanded to maximize the volume V _L of the lower space 14 is set smaller the volume V _U in the upper space 13, the refrigerant while preventing foaming smoothly into the lower space 14.

The graph in FIG. 8 shows that the charge toughness of the refrigerant receiver RT is increased according to the present embodiment. The charge toughness is the amount of refrigerant that can be charged from the time when the refrigerant in the lower space 14 of the refrigerant receiver RT disappears until the lower space 14 becomes full while the bubble disappearance state is maintained. According to the present embodiment, the volume V _{U of the} upper space 13 is
Can be set to a minimum, the refrigerant bubbles disappear earlier than in the conventional case, and the charge toughness CT, which is the difference from the full state, also increases from the conventional G ₃ -G ₂ to the G ₃ -G ₁ .

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The second embodiment shown in Figure 9 (A) includes a flange 10 ₂ of the inner flange 10 ₁ and the outer peripheral side of the lower cover 10, the outer peripheral flange 10 ₂ Noto outer tube 3 bent portion 9 ₁ of the lower filter 9 is sandwiched between.
The bent portion 9 ₁ of the shape of the lower filter 9 can be stabilized according to this embodiment.

The third embodiment shown in FIG. 9 (B) is obtained by omitting the bent portion 9 ₁ of the lower filter 9. According to this embodiment, since it is not necessary to bend the lower filter 9, its assembly is further facilitated.

In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 9C, the lower filter 9 and the lower cover 10 are formed in an umbrella shape so that the outer peripheral side is lower. According to this embodiment, the refrigerant can be more smoothly guided to the gap 12 on the outer periphery of the lower cover 10 to reduce the flow path resistance.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, various design changes can be made in the present invention without departing from the gist thereof.

For example, in the embodiment, the lower cover 10 is fixed to the inner cylinder 4 by caulking. However, the lower cover 10 may be fixed to another member by another method.

[0035]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a refrigerant receiver is formed by sandwiching a storage product formed by laminating an upper filter, a desiccant, and a lower filter between the upper cover and the lower cover. For air conditioning fixed inside the container body
In the refrigerant receiver, the upper cover allows the refrigerant to pass through.
Formed a number of punching holes, and the lower cover
Without forming a hole for passing the refrigerant, since a gap for passing the refrigerant between the inner peripheral surface of the outer peripheral and the container main body portion of the lower cover, stored item is supplied to the upper space of the refrigerant receiver The refrigerant that has passed through
It is supplied between, so flowing down on the inner peripheral surface of the container body in said lower space. As a result, the falling energy of the refrigerant is reduced, and foaming of the refrigerant stored in the lower space of the refrigerant receiver is suppressed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention,
Since the outer peripheral portion of the lower filter is bent and inserted into the gap, it is possible to enhance the filtration effect by increasing the substantial thickness of the outer peripheral portion through which the refrigerant passes without increasing the thickness of the entire lower filter. it can. Moreover, the outer periphery can be automatically bent simply by inserting the lower filter having an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the container body into the container body.

According to the invention described in claim 3,
A container body having a substantially circular head, an outer cylinder extending in the axial direction from the outer periphery of the head, and an inner cylinder extending in the axial direction from the center of the head to the inside of the outer cylinder is integrally formed by forging, and the inner surface of the head is formed. Since an annular step convex portion connected to the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder was formed, and an upper cover was brought into contact with the annular step convex portion to form an upper space having a substantially constant height between the upper cover and the head, an upper space was formed. The flow resistance of the refrigerant can be reduced so that the refrigerant can be smoothly supplied to the stored items, thereby minimizing bubbles generated in the refrigerant that has passed through the stored items. Moreover, since the lower cover is fixed to the inner cylinder in a state where the upper cover is in contact with the annular stepped portion, the stored items can be easily positioned and securely fixed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a refrigerant receiver.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a container body.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a molding die and a material.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an operation during forging.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of an assembling process.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of an assembling process.

FIG. 8 is a graph illustrating charge toughness.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing second to fourth embodiments of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container main body part 1 ₁ Annular convex part 2 Head 3 Outer cylinder 4 Inner cylinder 6 Upper cover 7 Upper filter 8 Desiccant 9 Lower filter 10 Lower cover 11 Stowage 12 Gap 13 Upper space 14 Lower space RT Refrigerant receiver

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A storage (11) formed by laminating an upper filter (7), a desiccant (8) and a lower filter (9).
And the upper and lower surfaces of the upper cover (6) and the lower cover (1).
0) The container body part (1) of the refrigerant receiver (RT) sandwiched by
By fixing the interior, partition the upper space in the vertical (13) and lower space (14) of the housing material (11),
In the air-conditioning refrigerant receiver for supplying the refrigerant from the upper space (13) to the lower space (14) through the storage item (11), the upper cover (6) has a number of pumps through which the refrigerant passes.
Nchingu hole ₍₆₁₎ is formed, said lower cover (10) has a hole for passing the refrigerant to
Without forming the outer peripheral of the lower cover (10) volumes
A gap (12) for allowing the refrigerant to pass therethrough is formed between the container body (1) and the inner peripheral surface of the container body (1) , so that the cold
The medium passes only through the gap (12) and the container body (1)
A refrigerant receiver for air conditioning, characterized in that it flows down the inner peripheral surface of the air conditioner. 2. The air-conditioning refrigerant receiver according to claim 1, wherein an outer peripheral portion of the lower filter (10) is bent and inserted into the gap (12). 3. A substantially circular head (2), an outer cylinder (3) extending axially from an outer periphery of the head (2), and an inside of the outer cylinder (3) from the center of the head (2). A container main body (1) having an inner cylinder (4) extending in the axial direction is integrally formed by forging, and an annular step projection (2) is formed on the inner surface of the head (2) and connected to the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder (3). 1 ₁₎ is formed, the upper cover said annular stepped protrusion (6) ₍₁ 1)
To form the upper space (13) having a substantially constant height with the head (2), and to fix the lower cover (10) to the inner cylinder (4). An object (11) is supported.
Or the refrigerant receiver for air conditioning according to 2.