JPH0346829Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of industrial application) The present invention relates to an oil separator, and more specifically, the invention relates to an oil separator, which is installed in the refrigerant circuit of an air conditioner, and which separates the refrigerant discharged from the compressor in which refrigerating machine oil is floating into the refrigerant. This invention relates to improvements in oil separators that separate oil and oil.

(Prior Art) FIG. 5 shows a refrigerant circuit of an air conditioner. This refrigerant circuit includes a compressor 1 and a
The indoor and outdoor heat exchangers 3 and 4 are connected to each other via a four-way valve 2, and a capillary tube 5 provided between the two heat exchangers 3 and 4 is connected to the suction side of the compressor 1. an oil separator 7 connected to the discharge side of the compressor 1, and a capillary tube 8 provided at the outlet side of the oil separator.
It is equipped with

The oil separator is generally used when the total length of the extension pipe 9 connecting the indoor heat exchanger 3 and the outdoor refrigerant circuit is long in the refrigerant circuit as described above.
The lubricating oil of the compressor mixed with the refrigerant is transferred to the extension pipe 9.
In order to prevent stagnation of lubricant oil circulation to the compressor due to stagnation in the refrigerant circuit,
The lubricating oil floating in the refrigerant discharged from the compressor is separated from the refrigerant and left behind, and is passed through the capillary tube 8.
The oil is returned to the suction side of the compressor through the oil to maintain a normal oil level in the compressor.

The structure of a conventional oil separator 7 that performs this function is shown in FIG.

The conventional oil separator 7 has an inlet pipe 11 that penetrates the upper wall surface of a main body 10 and enters the main body 10.
and an outlet pipe 12, and a wire mesh 13 is attached to each pipe so as to surround the opening at the end of the pipe. An oil return pipe 14 is provided on the lower wall surface of the main body 10 to pass through the lower wall surface, and the oil in the main body 10 is returned through the pipe 14.

In the conventional oil separator configured as described above, when the refrigerant floating in the oil discharged from the compressor enters the main body 10 from the inlet pipe 11 and passes through the wire mesh 13 attached to the tip of the inlet pipe 11, Apply oil to the wire mesh and drip it into the main body,
Further, when the refrigerant passes through the wire mesh 13 at the tip of the outlet pipe 12, it is attached to the wire mesh and dripped into the main body, so that only the gas phase refrigerant is released from the outlet pipe 12 while the oil remains in the main body. The oil accumulated in the main body 10 is guided from the lower oil return pipe 14 to the compressor suction side via a capillary tube.

(Problem that the invention aims to solve) Conventional oil separators were constructed as described above, so unless the speed of the refrigerant passing through the strainer section was lowered, the mist of oil would not adhere or drip. . However, there was a problem in that in order to reduce the speed of the refrigerant, the internal volume of the main body had to be considerably increased. In addition, it is difficult to maintain a constant velocity distribution over the entire surface of the strainer section, and as a result, there are problems in that the deposition rate tends to decrease due to differences in velocity distribution, and the oil recovery rate also tends to deteriorate.

The purpose of the present invention has been made to solve the problems of the conventional art, and is to provide an oil separator that is small in size and has a high gas-liquid separation effect.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The oil separator of the present invention has an inlet pipe for introducing refrigerant gas containing oil and an air separator inserted into a cylindrical container body and positioned with each open end facing each other. a shield disposed between an outlet pipe for discharging phase refrigerant and the opposing open ends of the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe, located directly above the open end of the outlet pipe and having a diameter larger than the diameter of the open end; a partition plate having at least one communication hole provided on the outside of the part and the shielding part, and an oil adhesion means provided between the partition plate and the open end of the inlet piping, from the communication hole to the container. It is equipped with an oil return pipe for discharging oil that has fallen to the bottom.

(Function) According to the oil separator of the present invention having the above configuration, the oil-containing refrigerant introduced into the container body from the inlet pipe collides with the oil adhesion means, deposits oil in the form of mist, and flows downward. drip onto the partition plate. The oil dripped onto the partition plate passes through the oil adhesion means and collides with the partition plate, forming an oil film together with the separated oil and falling to the bottom of the container body through the communication hole formed around the shielding part. The oil accumulates at the bottom and is sequentially discharged from the oil return pipe and collected. On the other hand, the gas phase refrigerant from which the oil has been separated flows through the communication hole of the partition plate and is drawn out to the open end of the outlet pipe located directly below the shielding part of the partition plate so as to be attracted by the pressure difference. At that time, since the diameter of the shielding part is larger than that of the opening end of the outlet piping, there is a relative distance between the communication hole and the opening end of the outlet piping, and as a result, the oil that falls from the communication hole is transferred to the outlet of the gas phase refrigerant. It does not flow into the outlet piping along with the flow toward the piping opening.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show an oil separator 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This oil separator 20 includes a cylindrical container body 21, and an inlet pipe 2 is provided at the center of the upper wall surface 21a.
An outlet pipe 23 is arranged to penetrate through the center of the lower wall surface 21b so as to be coaxial with the pipe 22. The open end of the outlet pipe 23, which is disposed through the lower wall surface 21b of the main body 21, enters the main body longer than the inlet pipe 22 and is placed at a relatively high position, considering that oil will accumulate at the bottom of the main body 21. be. At such a position within the main body 21, the open end of the inlet pipe 22 and the open end of the outlet pipe 23 coaxially face each other, and the partition plate 24 is disposed between them.

This partition plate 24 has a disk shape, and is located directly above the open end of the outlet pipe 23 and has a shielding portion 28 having a diameter larger than the diameter of the open end, and a space is provided between the outer periphery of the shielding portion 28 and the shielding portion 28 . The partition plate 24 consists of a large number of communication holes 25 formed by
The outer periphery of is in contact with the inner wall of the container body 21.

A wire mesh 26 as an oil adhesion means is disposed within the main body 21 between the partition plate 24 and the open end of the inlet pipe 22. Note that reference numeral 27 indicates an oil return pipe for returning separated oil from the refrigerant accumulated in the main body 21.

According to the oil separator 20 of the above embodiment configured in this way, the oil-containing refrigerant sucked in from the inlet pipe 22 collides with the wire mesh 26, thereby discharging the mist of oil into the wire mesh. The oil that is deposited and dripped onto the partition plate 24 passes through the wire mesh 26 and collides with the partition plate 24 to form an oil film together with the separated oil, which is formed around the shielding part 28. The oil falls to the bottom of the container body 21 through the communication hole 25, and is collected at the bottom while being sequentially guided from the oil return pipe 27 through the capillary tube to the compressor.

On the other hand, the gas phase refrigerant after the oil is separated is separated from the partition plate 2.
4 through the communication hole 25 of the partition plate 24.
The liquid flows to the open end of the outlet pipe 23 located directly below 8 and is drawn out as if being attracted by the pressure difference. At that time, since the diameter of the shielding part 28 is larger than that of the open end of the outlet pipe 23, the communication hole 25 and the outlet pipe 2
As a result, the oil falling from the communication hole 25 does not flow into the outlet pipe along with the flow of the gas phase refrigerant toward the outlet pipe opening.

In this way, the oil separator 2 of this example
0, the flow velocity of the refrigerant is forcibly reduced by the wire mesh 26 and the partition plate 24, and the floating oil can be reliably recovered by making more effective use of the volume of the container body, and in addition, the structure for this purpose allows the oil to be separated. There is no problem of oil flowing into the gas phase refrigerant outlet pipe and being remixed, and the oil recovery efficiency is also improved.

In the above embodiment, the case where a wire mesh is used as an oil adhering means for gas-liquid separation has been explained, but the wire mesh referred to here can be of various types, for example, a wire mesh as shown in FIG. Plate 26a
It may be a stack of several layers. Also, the fourth
As shown in the figure, even with a spring-like steel wire wound (for example, a metal scrubber) 26b, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained, and
The gas-liquid separation rate can be further increased. The oil adhering means can also be constructed by making glass fiber or the like into a wire mesh shape or by shaping it into a shape as shown in FIG. 4.

(Effects of the invention) As explained above, according to the oil separator of the invention, the oil adhesion means and the partition plate are used to sufficiently increase the oil separation efficiency of refrigerant gas containing oil using a container with a smaller volume than before. can be increased, and
With this configuration, when the separated oil falls from the communication hole of the partition plate to the bottom of the container body, it does not flow into the gas phase refrigerant outlet pipe and be remixed, and the oil recovery effect can also be enhanced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing an oil separator according to an embodiment of the present invention with the wire mesh removed and the main body cut away; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the oil separator of the embodiment; Fig. 3; Figure 4 shows the oil separator 2 used in the oil separator of this invention.
FIG. 5 is a refrigerant circuit diagram using a conventional oil separator, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a conventional oil separator. 20...Oil separator, 21...Main body,
21a... Upper wall surface, 21b... Lower wall surface, 22...
Inlet piping, 23... Outlet piping, 24... Partition plate,
25...Communication hole, 26...Wire mesh, 27...Oil return piping, 28...Shielding portion In addition, the same numbers in the drawings indicate the same or equivalent parts.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] An inlet pipe for introducing a refrigerant gas containing oil and an outlet pipe for discharging a gas phase refrigerant, which are inserted into a cylindrical container main body and positioned with their open ends facing each other, and the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe a shielding portion disposed between the opposing open ends, located directly above the open end of the outlet piping, and having a diameter larger than the diameter of the open end; and at least one communication hole provided outside the shielding portion. a partition plate having a partition plate, an oil adhesion means provided between the partition plate and the opening end of the inlet pipe, and an oil adhesion means that is opened at the inner bottom of the container and that falls into the bottom of the container from the communication hole of the partition plate. An oil separator equipped with an oil return pipe for discharging oil.