JPH04169765A - Refrigerant regenerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a small-sized device to be attained and improve a convenience in use by a method wherein an oil separator placed in a refrigerant recovering passage ranging to a refrigerant recovery device under a recovered freezing cycle and for removing oil, dust and moisture from the recovered refrigerant, a filter and a dryer are integrally constructed and stored in the same container. CONSTITUTION:A refrigerant regenerating device 1 placed in a refrigerant recoverying passage ranging from a recovered freezing cycle 2 to a refrigerant recovery device 3 is provided with a cylindrical container 15 formed with an inlet port 13 and an outlet port 14 for recovered refrigerant. The container 15 houses an oil separator 16 for separating oil from the refrigerant, a filter composed of filtration material of random-arranged metallic wires felt-like filtration materials 18, 19 and a dryer containing drying agent 20. Refrigerant recovered by the recovered freezing cycle 2 under an operation of the refrigerant recovery device 3 passes through a refrigerant regenerating device 1 to remove the oil component, dust, and moisture from the refrigerant, thereafter the refrigerant flows into the recovery container 1O, condensed and liquified in the recovery container 10 and dripped into a keeping tank 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a refrigerant regeneration device that removes oil, dust, and moisture contained in refrigerant recovered from a refrigeration cycle to be recovered.

[Prior art] When refrigerant is recovered from the refrigeration cycle used in vehicle air conditioners, oil, dust, and moisture contained in the recovered refrigerant are removed in order to regenerate it into a refrigerant that can withstand reuse. There is a need to.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, conventionally, a refrigerant regeneration device consisting of an oil separator 100, a filter 101, and a dryer 102 has been provided in the refrigerant recovery path from the refrigeration cycle 200 to be recovered to the refrigerant recovery device 300. (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 48-32232).

The oil separator 100 and the r-filter 101 are integrally constructed, and a dryer 102 is connected downstream thereof.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional refrigerant regeneration device, the oil separator 100 and the r
Since the filter 101 and the dryer 102 each constitute an independent component, the device becomes large and difficult to use. Furthermore, since the oil separator 100, the filter 101, and the pressure vessel forming the outer cylinder of the dryer 102 are expensive, the cost of the entire device increases due to the increased number of components.

The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a small and low-cost refrigerant regeneration device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for removing oil, dust, and moisture contained in the recovered refrigerant by intervening in the refrigerant recovery path from the refrigeration cycle to be recovered to the refrigerant recovery device. The technical means is that an oil separator, a filter, and a dryer are integrally constructed and housed in the same container.

[Operations and Effects of the Invention] In the present invention having the above configuration, the oil separator, the filtration device, and the dryer are integrated, so that the device can be downsized and the usability can be improved.

Furthermore, by housing the oil separator, filter, and dryer in the same container, they can be made into one independent component. Therefore, the cost of the entire device can be reduced compared to conventional devices.

[Example] Next, a refrigerant regenerating apparatus of the present invention will be described based on an example shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the refrigerant regeneration device.

The refrigerant regeneration device 1 of this embodiment is interposed in a refrigerant recovery path from the refrigeration cycle 2 to be recovered to the refrigerant recovery device 3, and removes oil, dust, and moisture contained in the recovered refrigerant.

The recovered refrigeration cycle 2 is used, for example, in a vehicle air conditioner, and includes a refrigerant compressor 4, a refrigerant condenser 5, a receiver 6, a pressure reducing device 7, and a refrigerant evaporator 8. It has a well-known structure in which functional parts are connected in a ring.

The refrigerant recovery device f3 includes a recovery container 10 and a recovery container 1.
0, and a storage tank 12 for storing the recovered refrigerant.

The refrigerant recycling bag f1 includes a cylindrical container 15 in which an inlet 13 and an outlet 14 for recovered refrigerant are formed.
an oil separator 1 for separating oil contained in the refrigerant;
6. Furnace material 17 composed of irregularly arranged metal wires, etc.
A filter made of the above, a felt-like R material 18, 19, a dryer made of the desiccant 20, etc. are accommodated.

The container 15 includes a cylindrical body 22 in which an oil drain port 21 is formed at the bottom, a flange 23 fixed to the upper end of the cylindrical body 22 by welding or the like, and an airtight screw to the flange 23 via an O-ring 24. It is composed of a lid body 25 that is fixed in place.

An oil sump container 29 is connected to the oil drain port 21 via an oil drain pipe 128 that includes a check valve 26 and a solenoid valve 27 (normally closed valve).

The inlet 13 is provided at the lower side of the cylindrical body 22 and is connected to a service valve provided in the refrigerant compressor 4 of the refrigeration cycle 2 to be recovered by a refrigerant recovery hose 30 .

The outlet 14 is provided on the side surface of the flange 23 and is connected to the recovery container 1 of the refrigerant recovery device 3 by the refrigerant recovery hose 31.
Connected to 0. The refrigerant recovery hose 30 and the refrigerant recovery hose 31 are each provided with check valves 32 and 33 for preventing backflow of the refrigerant.

The above-mentioned R material 17 is supported at the top and bottom by an end plate 34 in which a plurality of small holes are formed, and is held in a predetermined position by legs 35 fixed to the bottom surface of the cylindrical body 22.

The furnace materials 18 and 19 and the desiccant 20 are housed in an inner cylinder 36 having a plurality of small holes formed in the bottom thereof, and are arranged above the furnace material 17. In addition, the furnace material 18.19 is the desiccant 20.
The desiccant 20 is disposed below and above the desiccant 20 so as to be sandwiched therebetween from above and below.

The inner cylinder 36 has an upper outer circumferential portion locked to an inner circumferential edge of the flange 23, and an upper end opening of the presser plate 3 having a plurality of small holes.
7, and is held by being pressed by a spring 38 disposed between the pressing plate 37 and the lid body 25.

Note that each component of this refrigerant recycling bag f1 is made of a corrosion-resistant material such as aluminum or stainless steel.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

By the operation of the refrigerant recovery device 3, the refrigerant recovered from the refrigeration cycle 2 to be recovered passes through the refrigerant recycling bag W, 1 to remove oil, dust, and moisture contained in the refrigerant, and then returns to the recovery container 10. The liquid flows into the storage tank 10, condenses and liquefies in the collection container 10, and drips into the storage tank 12.

Here, the function of the refrigerant regenerating device 1 according to the phase state of the recovered refrigerant will be explained.

a) When the recovered refrigerant flows into the refrigerant regeneration device 1 in a gaseous state.

The oil contained in the recovered refrigerant flows in the form of a mist (N-shape), and the oil mist adheres to the furnace material 11 and the wall surface with which the air flow collides, and is separated from the recovered refrigerant.

b) When the recovered refrigerant flows into the refrigerant regeneration device 1 in a liquid phase state.

As shown in FIG. 1, the recovered refrigerant is stored at the bottom of the container 15, but only the recovered refrigerant evaporates due to heat reception from the outside and a decrease in the pressure inside the container 15 due to the operation of the refrigerant recovery device 3. A fractionation phenomenon occurs, so that only oil remains at the bottom of the container 15.

C) When the recovered refrigerant flows into the refrigerant regeneration device 1 in a gas-liquid two-phase state, or when the gas-phase refrigerant flows into the liquid refrigerant accumulated in the container 15.

Although foaming of the refrigerant liquid surface occurs more than the fractional distillation phenomenon, the saw material 17
At the same time, the incoming oil-containing liquid refrigerant is captured and no oil is sent to the downstream.

The oil accumulated at the bottom of the container 15 flows out from the oil drain port 21 by opening the electromagnetic valve 27 as appropriate, passes through the oil drain pipe 128, is collected in the oil sump container 29, and is disposed of.

Although the oil content has been removed through the actions up to this point, the recovered refrigerant contains dust and moisture in addition to the oil content.

The dust is captured by the furnace material 17 or remains together with the oil due to fractional distillation, but some of the dust flows to the downstream side together with the recovered refrigerant.

In addition, water remains together with the oil due to the fractional distillation phenomenon, but in particular, due to bubbling on the liquid surface of the recovered refrigerant, some of it flows in the form of mist to the downstream side together with the recovered refrigerant.

The recovered refrigerant, from which oil has been removed by the above action, passes through the small holes in the inner cylinder 36 and through the felt-like furnace material 18 in a gaseous state, whereupon dust is removed and it rises and passes through the layer of desiccant 20. Water is removed during the process.

Then, it passes through the furnace material 18, passes through the small hole in the holding plate 37, flows out from the outlet 14, and is introduced into the recovery container 10.

Note that the r material 18 is for capturing the fine powder of the desiccant 20.

The second experimental example shows the water removal performance of this refrigerant regeneration system f1.
As shown in the figure.

As a characteristic of the desiccant 20, as the cumulative amount of moisture adsorption increases, the moisture content at the outlet 14 increases, that is, the moisture adsorption performance decreases. On the other hand, the EPI standard stipulates that the moisture content in the refrigerant is 15 PPM or less, so the cumulative amount of moisture adsorption is limited to 70g, which is equivalent to 230g for a small passenger car.
Equivalent to the amount of water in a table.

Similarly, an experiment was conducted regarding oil content, and 1
We were able to remove 5000 PPM down to 20 PPM.

As described above, the refrigerant regenerating device f1 of this embodiment includes an oil separator 16, a filter (P material 17), and a dryer (desiccant 20) for removing oil, dust, and moisture contained in the recovered refrigerant. functions are configured within one container 15.

As a result, the example medium regenerating device 1 can be downsized,
A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 3, which can improve usability and reduce costs.

In the first embodiment, the furnace material 17 is supported by the end plate 34 in order to capture oil mist and defoam the liquid surface of the recovered refrigerant.
However, if there is sufficient space, the distance between the two end plates 34 can be set larger and the outer diameter of the end plates 34 can be adjusted to the inner diameter of the cylindrical body 22, as shown in FIG. The r material 17 may be omitted by providing it with a size that is almost in close contact with the circumferential surface.

In this case, the oil collides with and adheres to the surfaces of the two end plates 34, but eventually drips and accumulates at the bottom of the container 15.

In this way, even if the r material 11 is omitted, in addition to defoaming the liquid surface, the oil can be captured as in the case of the first embodiment.
It is possible to prevent oil from flowing to the downstream side.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerant regeneration device, FIG. 2 is an experimental result showing the water removal performance of the refrigerant regeneration device, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of a refrigerant regeneration apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an overall configuration diagram of a refrigerant regeneration apparatus according to the prior art. In the figure 1... Refrigerant regeneration device 2... Recovered refrigeration cycle 3
... Refrigerant recovery device 15 ... Container 17 ... Furnace material (
20... Desiccant (dryer)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) An oil separator, a filter, and a dryer are integrated in the refrigerant recovery path from the refrigeration cycle to be recovered to the refrigerant recovery device to remove oil, dust, and moisture contained in the recovered refrigerant. Refrigerant regeneration equipment housed in the same container.