JP3925158B2 - Refrigerant condenser - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a refrigerant condenser in which a condensing part for condensing refrigerant and a supercooling part for supercooling liquid refrigerant separated by a liquid receiver are integrated, and is suitable for use in a vehicle air conditioner. Is something.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a conventional refrigerant condenser, what is disclosed in JP-A-11-304293 is known. In this refrigerant condenser, a condensing unit that condenses the refrigerant and a supercooling unit that supercools the liquid refrigerant separated by the liquid receiver are configured integrally, and the supercooling unit is located above the condensing unit. It is supposed to be arranged in.
[0003]
This prevents a decrease in the cooling performance of the supercooling section when high-temperature air is caught during idling such as waiting for a vehicle signal. In other words, during idling, if a phenomenon occurs in which high-temperature air that has passed through the refrigerant condenser and the radiator flows back to the upstream side of the refrigerant condenser through the lower side of the refrigerant condenser, the supercooling section is condensed. By arranging it on the upper side of the part, it is prevented from being affected by this high-temperature air.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the refrigerant passage for allowing the refrigerant that has flowed into the liquid receiver from the condensing part to flow further into the supercooling part is provided with a header tank and a liquid receiver by a concave portion extending in the longitudinal direction provided in the header tank or the liquid receiver. Therefore, a dedicated die for forming the concave portion and its processing man-hour are required, and the processing cost is high.
[0005]
In addition, normally, a filter for removing foreign substances in the refrigerant and a dryer that absorbs moisture in the refrigerant are arranged in the liquid receiver, but the liquid refrigerant in the liquid receiver is naturally used. In fact, the liquid is stored on the bottom side in the liquid receiver, and in order to exert the functions of a filter and a dryer in the refrigerant flow, it is necessary to be disposed on the lower side in the liquid receiver. Therefore, the opening for disposing the filter or dryer in the receiver is often provided below the receiver, so that the maintainability of the filter and dryer after the refrigerant condenser is mounted on the vehicle is improved. There is also the problem of being very bad.
[0006]
In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerant condenser that can cope with a low cost even when the supercooling portion is disposed on the upper side and can improve the maintainability in the liquid receiver.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following technical means.
[0008]
In the first aspect of the present invention, a filter (145) for removing foreign substances in the liquid refrigerant is provided in the liquid receiver (140), and at least the condensing part (110a) and the supercooling part (110b) are integrated. In the refrigerant condenser which is formed and the supercooling part (110b) is arranged on the upper side of the condensing part (110a), the part which is higher than the liquid level of the liquid refrigerant stored inside the liquid receiver (140) A partition plate (144) that divides the internal space of the liquid receiver (140) into a lower first space (140a) and an upper second space (140b), a condensing unit (110a), and a first A first communication path (151) that communicates with one space (140a), a second communication path (152) that communicates with the second space (140b) and the supercooling section (110b), and a bottom of the first space (140a) 2nd space from the vicinity (140b) A suction pipe (146) communicating with the suction pipe is provided, and the filter (145) is inserted from the opening (142) opened on the upper side of the liquid receiver (140) and is connected to the suction pipe (146). As described above, the opening (142) is arranged so as to be closed by a detachable lid member (147) , and moisture in the refrigerant is absorbed into the first space (140a). A dryer (149) is provided, and the partition plate (144) is detachable from the liquid receiver (140), and the gas refrigerant separated from the gas and liquid in the first space (140a) A seal member (148a) that seals leakage to the second space (140b) side above the plate (144) is provided .
[0009]
In this way, in the refrigerant condenser in which the supercooling part (110b) is arranged on the upper side, a suction passage is provided for a flow passage for allowing the liquid refrigerant that accumulates on the bottom side of the liquid receiver (140) to flow out to the supercooling part (110b) side. (146), and can be formed on the basis of a pipe material. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the expensive mold as described in the prior art and its processing man-hours at low cost.
[0010]
Then, if the lid member (147) is removed, the filter (145) can be replaced from the upper side of the liquid receiver (140), and the maintainability after the refrigerant condenser is mounted on the vehicle can be improved. .
Further, if the partition plate (144) is removed together with the lid member (147), the dryer (149) together with the filter (145) can be maintained from above the liquid receiver (140).
Moreover, it can suppress reliably that the gas refrigerant in a 1st space (140a) flows out into a 2nd space (110b) and also a supercooling part (110b), and prevents the performance fall in a supercooling part (110b). it can.
[0011]
In the second aspect of the present invention, the cylindrical portion formed integrally with the partition plate (144) and formed on the upper side and the male screw portion (147a) formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lid member (147) are screwed together. A female screw part (143) and a projecting part (141a) for positioning the partition plate (144) in the vertical direction, and an annular member formed on the inner peripheral surface of the opening part (142). (148a) is an O-ring (148a), and the O-ring (148a) is disposed between the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion and the inner peripheral surface of the annular member.
[0013]
In the third aspect of the present invention, the partition plate (144), the filter (145), the suction pipe (146), and the lid member (147) are all made of a resin material and are integrally formed. It is a feature.
[0014]
As a result, the processing man-hours of the respective members (144, 145, 146, 147) can be reduced and the cost can be further reduced, and the assembling property can be improved.
[0015]
The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that the dryer (149) is formed integrally with the partition plate (144).
[0016]
Thereby, like the invention of Claim 3, a processing man-hour can be reduced and it can be made cheap, and the assembly | attachment property and maintenance property of a dryer (149) can also be improved collectively.
[0019]
As in the fifth aspect of the invention, the liquid receiver (140) is suitable for application to a refrigerant condenser formed integrally with the condensing part (110a) and the supercooling part (110b).
[0020]
In addition, the code | symbol in the bracket | parenthesis of each said means shows a corresponding relationship with the specific means of embodiment description mentioned later.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments shown in the drawings. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment and show an example in which the refrigerant condenser 100 of the present invention is applied to a liquid receiver integrated refrigerant condenser in a vehicle air conditioner. The refrigeration cycle apparatus 200 for a vehicle air conditioner includes a closed circuit in which a compressor 210, a refrigerant condenser 100, an expansion valve 220, and an evaporator 230 are sequentially connected by a refrigerant pipe 240 made of a metal pipe or a rubber hose. The
[0022]
The compressor 210 is driven by a vehicle engine (not shown) via an electromagnetic clutch, and sucks, compresses, and discharges the refrigerant. The refrigerant condenser 100 cools and condenses and supercools the high-temperature and high-pressure superheated gas refrigerant discharged from the compressor 210. As is well known, the refrigerant condenser 100 is disposed in the foremost part (the front side of the engine cooling radiator) in the vehicle engine room and is supplied with cooling air (outside air) blown by a cooling fan common to the engine cooling radiator. To be cooled.
[0023]
The expansion valve 220 serves as a decompression unit that decompresses and expands the liquid refrigerant supercooled by the refrigerant condenser 100. The evaporator 230 absorbs and evaporates the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant decompressed by the expansion valve 220 from the conditioned air, and serves as a cooling means for the conditioned air.
[0024]
Next, the specific structure of the refrigerant condenser 100 will be described in detail. The refrigerant condenser 100 has a pair of header tanks arranged at predetermined intervals, that is, a left header tank 120 and a right header tank 130. The left and right header tanks 120 and 130 have a shape extending in a substantially cylindrical shape in the vertical direction. And the core part 110 for heat exchange is arrange | positioned between the header tanks 120 and 130 on either side.
[0025]
The refrigerant condenser 100 of the present embodiment is generally called a multi-flow type, and the core part 110 includes a flat tube 112 that flows the refrigerant in the horizontal direction between the left and right header tanks 120 and 130. A number of layers are stacked in the vertical direction, and corrugated fins 111 are interposed between the number of flat tubes 112. Further, a side plate 113 as a strength member is joined to the outside of the upper and lower outermost corrugated fins 111. One end of the flat tube 112 communicates with the left header tank 120, and the other end communicates with the right header tank 130. An inlet joint 122 through which the refrigerant flows into the lower end side of the left header tank 120 and an outlet joint 123 through which the refrigerant flows out are arranged and joined to the upper end side.
[0026]
On the other hand, the separator 121 is disposed on the upper side in the left header tank 120, and the separator 131 is disposed in the right header tank 130 so as to be at the same height as the separator 121. Thereby, the inside of the left and right header tanks 120 and 130 is partitioned into a plurality of spaces 120a, 120b, 130a, and 130b in the vertical direction. The inlet joint 122 communicates with the lower space 120 a in the left header tank 120, and the outlet joint 123 communicates with the upper space 120 b in the left header tank 120.
[0027]
In the core part 110, the lower part of the separators 121 and 131 constitutes a condensing part 110a, and heat exchange is performed between the gas refrigerant discharged from the compressor 210 and cooling air sent by a cooling fan (not shown). Let it cool and condense. Further, in the core part 110, the part above the separators 121 and 131 constitutes a supercooling part 110 b that supercools the liquid refrigerant separated in the liquid receiver 140 described later by heat exchange with cooling air. is doing.
[0028]
The right header tank 130 is integrally configured with a liquid receiver 140 that separates the gas-liquid refrigerant and stores the liquid refrigerant. The liquid receiver 140 is a container body that is formed based on a liquid receiving tank 141 having a substantially cylindrical shape, and is slightly lower in height than the right header tank 130, and is on the outer surface side of the right header tank 130. And is joined to the outer surface of the right header tank 130.
[0029]
The communication structure between the space inside the liquid receiver 140 and the right header tank 130 is configured as shown in FIG. That is, a partition plate 144 that is press-fitted into the inner peripheral surface of the liquid receiving tank 141 is provided at a position that is higher than the liquid level of the liquid refrigerant stored in the liquid receiver 140, and the interior is the first lower side. The space 140a is divided into an upper second space 140b. The space 130 a below the right header tank 130 and the first space 140 a below the liquid receiver 140 communicate with each other by the first communication path 151. Further, the second space 140 b above the liquid receiver 140 and the space 130 b above the right header tank 130 communicate with each other through the second communication path 152. In FIG. 2, the first communication path 151 is provided above the first space 140a. However, in order to stabilize the liquid level of the liquid refrigerant, the first communication path 151 is provided below the liquid level. Anyway.
[0030]
Further, a filter 145 is disposed in the second space 140b above the liquid receiver 140. The filter 145 removes foreign matters such as dust in the refrigerant, and is made of a compressor lubricating oil circulating in the refrigeration cycle and a resin excellent in deterioration resistance, heat resistance, etc., such as nylon or polyester. The overall shape is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. The upper side of the cylindrical shape is closed by an integrally formed closing member, and the lower side is also closed by a partition plate 144, and the internal space is divided into a plurality of parts in the circumferential direction. Further, the circumferential surface is provided with a fine mesh member (mesh member) constituting a filter surface for removing foreign matters such as dust in the refrigerant.
[0031]
A lid member 147 is provided on the upper side of the filter 145 and detachably closes an opening 142 that opens on the upper side of the liquid receiving tank 141 via an O-ring 148 as a seal member. The partition plate 144 and the lid member 147 are both made of the same resin as the filter 145, and are integrally formed. Further, a suction pipe 146 made of the same resin material and extending from the vicinity of the bottom of the first space 140a and joined to a hole provided in the partition plate 144 by welding is provided. The suction pipe 146 is formed based on a tube material that can be easily formed. The suction pipe 146 communicates the first space 140a with the internal space of the filter 145, and further communicates with the second space 140b through a mesh member on the circumferential surface of the filter 145.
[0032]
The filter 145 in which the lid member 147, the partition plate 144, and the suction pipe 146 are integrally formed is inserted into the second space 140b from the opening 142 and formed on the inner peripheral surface of the opening 142. A male screw portion 147a formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lid member 147 is screwed into the female screw portion 143, and is fixed detachably.
[0033]
In addition, in the 1st space 140a of the liquid receiver 140, the dryer 149 which absorbs the water | moisture content in a refrigerant | coolant is arrange | positioned. This is because moisture in the refrigerant is used to prevent corrosion of each functional component constituting the refrigeration cycle apparatus 200 or freezing in the pores of the expansion valve 220 to stagnate the refrigerant flow. It absorbs, and the desiccant 149b which consists of granular zeolite is accommodated in the inside of the bag body 149a as a container.
[0034]
As described above, the refrigerant condenser 100 includes the condensing unit 110a, the liquid receiver 140, and the supercooling unit 110b sequentially from the upstream side of the refrigerant flow, and these are integrally provided. In this embodiment, each member of the refrigerant condenser 100 is formed of an aluminum material except for the resin member in the liquid receiver 140 and the dryer 149, and is assembled by integral brazing.
[0035]
Next, the operation based on the above configuration will be described. The superheated gas refrigerant discharged from the compressor 210 passes through the tube 112 group of the condensing unit 110a as indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 1 through the inlet joint 122 and the space 120a below the left header tank 120 of the refrigerant condenser 100. Then, it flows into the space 130a below the right header tank 130. During this time, the refrigerant is cooled by exchanging heat with cooling air, and becomes a saturated liquid refrigerant partially including a gas refrigerant. The saturated liquid refrigerant flows from the lower space 130a through the first communication path 151 into the first space 140a of the liquid receiver 140 as indicated by an arrow B in FIGS. Are separated and liquid refrigerant is stored. Further, excess moisture is absorbed by the dryer 149. The liquid refrigerant in the first space 140a flows from the suction pipe 146 into the filter 145 provided in the second space 140b as indicated by an arrow C in FIG. Further, the air flows from the filter 145 through the second space 140b into the upper space 130b of the right header tank 130 as indicated by an arrow D in FIGS. 1 and 2, and as shown by an arrow E in FIG. Pass through. In this supercooling section 110b, the liquid refrigerant is cooled again to be in a supercooled state, and this supercooled liquid refrigerant flows out of the refrigerant condenser 100 from the outlet joint 123 through the space 120b above the left header tank 120. Then, the supercooled liquid refrigerant flows into the expansion valve 220.
[0036]
The refrigerant condenser 100 is provided with a subcooling unit 110b in order to prevent a deterioration in performance in the supercooling unit 110b when high-temperature air heat-exchanged during idling such as waiting for a vehicle signal flows backward. In the present invention, the pipe disposed as the suction pipe 146 is a flow passage for allowing the liquid refrigerant accumulated on the bottom side of the liquid receiver 140 to flow out to the supercooling section 110b side. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the expensive mold as described in the prior art and its processing man-hours at low cost. In addition, since the partition plate 144, the suction pipe 146, and the lid member 147 are integrally formed with the filter 145, the number of processing steps can be reduced and the cost can be further reduced, and the assembling property of each member can be improved.
[0037]
When the lid member 147 is removed, the integrally formed partition plate 144 is also removed at the same time, so that the filter 145 and the dryer 149 can be replaced from the upper side of the liquid receiver 140, and the refrigerant condenser 100 is mounted on the vehicle. The maintainability after the operation can be improved.
[0038]
The lid member 147, the filter 145, the partition plate 144, and the suction pipe 146 do not have to be formed integrally, and may be divided as shown in FIG. 3 according to their formability. . For example, the partition plate 144 and the suction pipe 146 are integrally formed, and the lid member 147, the filter 145, and the partition plate 144 are divided together as shown in FIG. 3A, or as shown in FIG. As described above, the filter 145 and the lid member 147 may be integrally formed, and the partition plate 144 may be divided. At this time, the partition plate 144 is positioned and fixed in the vertical direction by a convex portion 141 a provided on the inner peripheral surface of the liquid receiving tank 141.
[0039]
Further, in the refrigerant evaporator 100 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, the structure of the basic member, the manufacturing process, etc. can be performed by eliminating the suction pipe 146 in the liquid receiver 140 and reversing the vertical direction. Without change, the supercooling unit 110b can be the refrigerant condenser 100a disposed below the condensing unit 110a. When the heat-exchanged high-temperature air flows backward from the lower side of the vehicle, the refrigerant condenser 100 in which the supercooling unit 110b is arranged on the upper side is advantageous for improving the performance. It does not necessarily have such a characteristic of the ventilation system, and when the air temperature increases toward the upper side, it may be advantageous to arrange the supercooling unit 110b on the lower side. Thus, if the needs of two types of refrigerant condensers are considered together, the present invention has an advantage that both can be easily handled due to its structure.
[0040]
(Second Embodiment)
A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. In the second embodiment, a dryer 149 disposed in the first space 140a in the liquid receiver 140 is integrally formed with the partition plate 144, compared to the first embodiment.
[0041]
Here, the bag body 149a of the dryer 149 is integrally provided so as to be a mesh-like container body, and the desiccant 149b is enclosed inside.
[0042]
Thereby, like the said 1st Embodiment, a process man-hour can be reduced and it can be made cheap, and the assembly | attachment property and maintenance property of the dryer 149 can also be improved collectively.
[0043]
(Third embodiment)
A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. In the third embodiment, an O-ring 148a as a seal member is interposed between the partition plate 144 and the inner wall of the liquid receiving tank 141, compared to the first embodiment.
[0044]
The gas refrigerant separated in the first space 140a in the liquid receiver 140 has a saturated vapor pressure, and when the partition plate 144 is fixed only by press fitting as in the first embodiment, It is conceivable that the gas refrigerant is not sufficiently sealed against this pressure. If the gas refrigerant leaks to the second space 140b side, the gas refrigerant is mixed into the supercooling part 110b and the cooling performance in the supercooling part 110b is lowered.
[0045]
However, in the third embodiment, since the leakage of the gas refrigerant can be reliably sealed by the O-ring 148a, the cooling performance in the supercooling unit 110b is not deteriorated.
[0046]
(Other embodiments)
In the first to third embodiments described above, the liquid receiver 140 is joined to the right header tank 130 and formed integrally with the condensing unit 110a and the supercooling unit 110b. The first and second communication passages 151 and 152 may be formed as refrigerant pipes and arranged separately.
[0047]
The liquid receiver 140 is provided on the left header tank 120 side having the inlet joint 122 and the outlet joint 123 through which the refrigerant flows in and out by providing a U-turn flow in the condensing unit 110a and the supercooling unit 110b. Also good.
[0048]
Further, the present invention can be similarly implemented in a refrigeration cycle apparatus for uses other than the vehicle air conditioner.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view showing an overall configuration of a refrigerant condenser in a first embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the liquid receiver in FIG. 1. FIG.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are sectional views showing a first modification and FIG. 3B showing a second modification in the structure of the lid member, the filter, the partition plate, and the suction pipe in the liquid receiver.
4A is a front view showing a refrigerant condenser when a supercooling unit is disposed on the lower side, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the liquid receiver shown in FIG. 4A.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of a liquid receiver in a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a seal structure of a partition plate in a third embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
100 Refrigerant condenser 110a Condensing part 110b Subcooling part 140 Liquid receiver 140a First space 140b Second space 142 Opening part 144 Partition plate 145 Filter 146 Suction pipe 147 Lid member 148a O-ring 149 Dryer 151 First communication path 152 First 2 passage 210 compressor

Claims (5)

A condensing unit (110a) for cooling and condensing the superheated gas refrigerant discharged from the compressor (210);
A liquid receiver (140) for gas-liquid separation of the refrigerant condensed in the condensing unit (110a) and storing the liquid refrigerant inside;
A filter (145) provided in the liquid receiver (140) for removing foreign substances in the liquid refrigerant;
A supercooling section (110b) for supercooling the liquid refrigerant from the filter (145),
In the refrigerant condenser in which at least the condensing part (110a) and the supercooling part (110b) are integrally formed, and the supercooling part (110b) is disposed above the condensing part (110a),
The liquid receiver (140) is provided at a position higher than the liquid level of the liquid refrigerant stored in the receiver (140), and the internal space of the receiver (140) is defined as a lower first space (140a). And a partition plate (144) divided into an upper second space (140b),
A first communication path (151) through which the condensing part (110a) and the first space (140a) communicate;
A second communication path (152) through which the second space (140b) and the supercooling part (110b) communicate with each other;
A suction pipe (146) communicating from the vicinity of the bottom of the first space (140a) into the second space (140b) is provided,
The filter (145) is inserted into the second space (140b) so as to be connected to the suction pipe (146) while being inserted from an opening (142) opened on the upper side of the liquid receiver (140). And
The opening (142) is closed by a removable lid member (147) ,
A dryer (149) that absorbs moisture in the refrigerant is provided in the first space (140a),
The partition plate (144) is detachable from the liquid receiver (140),
A sealing member (148a) is provided for sealing that the gas refrigerant separated in the first space (140a) leaks to the second space (140b) above the partition plate (144). refrigerant condenser, characterized in that there.   A cylindrical portion integrally formed with the partition plate (144) and formed on the upper side;
  A female screw part (143) to which a male screw part (147a) formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lid member (147) is screwed, and a convex part (141a) for positioning the partition plate (144) in the vertical direction are provided. An annular member formed on the inner peripheral surface of the opening (142),
  The seal member (148a) is an O-ring (148a),
  The refrigerant condenser according to claim 1, wherein the O-ring (148a) is disposed between an outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion and an inner peripheral surface of the annular member.   The partition plate (144), the filter (145), the suction pipe (146), and the lid member (147) are all made of a resin material and integrally formed. The refrigerant condenser in any one of Claim 1 or Claim 2. The refrigerant condenser according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the dryer (149) is formed integrally with the partition plate (144). The liquid receiver (140) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it has to be formed integrally the condensing portion (110a) and the supercooling part (110b) Refrigerant condenser.

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