JPH05306857A - Liquid receiver for refrigerating plant - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a liquid receiver which is capable of detecting the amount of refrigerant of a refrigerant device with high accuracy and at low cost and storing excess refrigerant produced by operational changes, such as increased rotary speed of a compressor, thereby performing the original function of the liquid receiver. CONSTITUTION:A hollow member 3, which is closed at an upper part and opened at a lower part, is installed in a liquid receiver main body 1. The liquefied refrigerant which flows in from an outlet 7 of refrigerant and collected from the lower part of a liquid receiver main body 1, fails to be collected inside the hollow member 3 but collected from the outside. This construction makes it possible to keep the internal part of the hollow member 3 at a vapor refrigerant state even when the liquid level is positioned at the highest elevation in the liquid receiver main body 1 and the size of a prism 2a is reduced. It is, therefore, possible to store excess refrigerant inside the hollow member 3 even when the rotary speed of a compressor is increased.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid receiver of a refrigerating machine, and is effective when used in a refrigerating machine for vehicle air conditioning, for example.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a receiver of a refrigerating apparatus, a site provided above a receiver, as disclosed in, for example, Nippon Denso Koho Giho No. 62-101 (issued November 15, 1988). There is one that visually checks the inside of the receiver from the glass to detect the amount of refrigerant in the receiver. Further, in this conventional device, as shown in FIG. 20, the traveling direction of light in the prism 2a portion is different depending on whether the prism 2a portion integrally formed with the sight glass 2 is filled with the liquid refrigerant or not. By taking advantage of the difference, the surfaces 2a1 and 2a2 of different colors are provided at the destinations of the light traveling directions in each case. The amount of excess and deficiency can be detected.

[0003]

There is a limit to the amount of liquid refrigerant that can be stored in the conventional receiver 1 as described above.
The liquid level in the receiver 1 when the rotation speed of the compressor was low was at most up to the position of the broken line in FIG. This is because when the receiver 1 is filled with the liquid refrigerant when the rotation speed of the compressor is low, the receiver 1 cannot store the excess liquid refrigerant generated when the rotation speed of the compressor is increased. As a result, the power consumption of the compressor increases. That is, the excess liquid refrigerant that cannot be stored in the receiver 1 accumulates in the condenser provided upstream of the receiver 1, which leads to a reduction in the heat radiation area of the condenser. Then, the condenser is required to liquefy the refrigerant with a small heat radiation area, and as a result, the high pressure of the condenser becomes high. Along with this, the power consumption of the compressor increases.

Generally, the amount of refrigerant is detected by visually observing the inside of the receiver 1 from the sight glass 2 when the rotation speed of the compressor is low. However, as described above, conventionally, the liquid level in the receiver 1 could not be made too high when the rotational speed of the compressor was low, so that the length from the sight glass 2 to the prism 2a was inevitably long to some extent. I had to.

The sight glass 2 and the prism 2a are made of, for example, transparent nylon, quartz glass or the like. Here, when the sight glass 2 and the prism 2a are made of transparent nylon, since the transparent nylon has low transparency, the amount of the refrigerant is clearly detected when the length from the sight glass 2 to the prism 2a becomes long as described above. There is a problem that you cannot do it.

Although the above problem can be solved by constructing the sight glass 2 with highly transparent quartz glass, since the quartz glass is expensive and weak in strength, the sight glass 2 to the prism 2a are not used. If the length is too long as described above, there arises a problem that the cost increases correspondingly and it is easily broken.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the amount of refrigerant in the refrigerating apparatus can be detected accurately and at low cost by increasing the liquid level in the main body of the receiver when the number of revolutions of the compressor is low. An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid receiver of a refrigeration system that can satisfactorily perform the original function of the liquid receiver, such as accumulating excess liquid refrigerant caused by changes in operating conditions such as an increase in the rotation speed of the machine.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a compressor for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser for condensing a high-pressure refrigerant compressed by the compressor, and this condenser. Is used in a refrigerating apparatus provided with a decompressing means for decompressing and expanding the refrigerant condensed in, and an evaporator for evaporating the refrigerant decompressed by the decompressing means, in the middle or outlet of the passage of the condenser. And a liquid receiver main body configured to store a liquid refrigerant therein, and a liquid receiver main body having a refrigerant inlet connected to the position of and a refrigerant outlet connected to a position upstream of the pressure reducing means. Sight glass provided in the upper part of the receiver and for viewing the inside of the receiver body, and provided in the receiver body, has an opening at the bottom, and has a shape in which the top is closed, and the inside is A hollow member that is insulated against the surroundings, and Serial refrigerant inlet and receiver from the gist of the refrigerating apparatus is opened to the receiver body at a position lower than the opening of the hollow member.

[0009]

In the refrigeration system including the compressor, the condenser, the liquid receiver main body, the decompression means, and the evaporator, the refrigerating system has a small amount of refrigerant, and the low rotation speed of the compressor is used to enter the refrigeration system. The case of injecting the refrigerant will be described.

When the amount of the refrigerant existing in the refrigerating apparatus is small, the amount of the liquid refrigerant accumulated in the liquid receiver main body 1 is small and the liquid level is the opening of the hollow member 3 as shown in FIG. 18 (a). It is located below the portion 3a. At the same time, a large amount of gas refrigerant flows into the liquid receiver main body 1 from the refrigerant inlet 7 formed in the liquid receiver main body 1 at a position lower than the opening 3a, whereby the liquid level is increased. Disturbed. Further, this large amount of gas refrigerant rises by buoyancy toward the inside 5 and the outside 6 of the hollow member 3 which is thermally insulated by the surrounding space layer and the like. Of these, the gas refrigerant that has risen toward the outside 6 of the hollow member is, when rising along the inner wall surface of the receiver body 1 by the outside air or the like outside the receiver body 1 via the receiver body 1. It is cooled and partly condensed and liquefied. However, since the gas refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant inlet 7 into the liquid receiver body 1 is sufficient, the gas refrigerant is supplied to the hollow member exterior 6 by the amount of the liquefied gas refrigerant, so that the pressure fluctuation in 6 occurs. Absent.

By further injecting the refrigerant into the refrigerating apparatus, the proportion of the gas refrigerant in the refrigerant flowing from the refrigerant inlet 7 into the receiver main body 1 is reduced, and the gas flows toward the hollow member inside 5 and the outside 6. As a result, the amount of gas refrigerant that rises is reduced (Fig. 18
(B)). Also in this case, the gas-refrigerant outside the hollow member 6 is cooled and liquefied by the outside air or the like. However, since the amount of the gas-refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant inlet 7 into the liquid receiver main body 1 is small, the air-refrigerant outside 6 The amount of vaporized refrigerant that is liquefied at is larger than the amount of vaporized refrigerant that rises toward the outside 6 of the hollow member, and the pressure at the outside 6 of the hollow member decreases. Therefore, the liquid level in the hollow member exterior 6 rises until the pressure in the hollow member exterior 6 reaches the same pressure as the liquid refrigerant in the lower part of the receiver body 1 (FIG. 19 (a)). On the other hand, since the periphery of the hollow member interior 5 is thermally insulated, the gas refrigerant in the hollow member interior 5 is not liquefied. Therefore, the pressure inside the hollow member 5 does not fluctuate, and the liquid level inside the hollow member 5 does not rise (FIG. 19).
(A)).

By further injecting the refrigerant into the refrigerating apparatus, the amount of the gas refrigerant rising toward the outside 6 of the hollow member is further reduced. On the other hand, liquefaction of the gas refrigerant in the hollow member exterior 6 still continues, so that the low pressure state of the hollow member exterior 6 continues and the rise of the liquid level in the hollow member exterior 6 continues further. Finally, as shown in FIG. 19B, the amount of refrigerant in the liquid receiver body 1 is overfilled. At this time, since the liquid level of the refrigerant is located above the liquid receiver main body 1, it is possible to easily and accurately detect from the sight glass 2 whether or not the refrigerant amount is overfilled.

At this time, the injection of the refrigerant into the refrigeration system is
When the compressor is stopped near the position where it can be detected as the overfilled state, the space inside the hollow member 5 can be filled with the gas refrigerant when the compressor rotates at a low speed.
This reduces the amount of refrigerant required for the refrigeration system due to changes in operating conditions such as an increase in the number of revolutions of the compressor, and even when the excess liquid refrigerant in the entire refrigeration system increases, this excess liquid refrigerant is received. It can be stored in the liquid body 1.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By raising the liquid level of the refrigerant in the liquid receiver body, it is possible to easily and accurately detect whether or not the refrigerant amount in the refrigerating device is in the overfilled state. Further, for example, since excess liquid refrigerant generated by changing operating conditions can be stored in the receiver body, it is possible to avoid reducing the heat dissipation area of the condenser, and as a result,
It is possible to avoid an increase in power consumption of the compressor.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, the structure of a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an automobile will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a refrigerating apparatus diagram showing the outline of the refrigerating apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 200 is a compressor driven by an automobile running engine (not shown). The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant compressed and discharged by the compressor 200 is supplied to the condenser 400 via the refrigerant pipe 350. The refrigerant that has exchanged heat with the outside air in the condenser 400 remains at high temperature and high pressure and is in the refrigerant pipe 351.
It is supplied to the pressure reducing means 300 via. In the first embodiment, a temperature-operated expansion valve that changes the throttle amount based on a signal from the heat-sensitive cylinder 311 is used as the pressure reducing means.

The atomized refrigerant that is decompressed and expanded by the expansion valve 300 is supplied to the evaporator 310. Evaporator 310
Is disposed in an air conditioner for automobiles, and exchanges heat with air to be conditioned, takes heat of vaporization from the air to cool the air, and at the same time evaporates the refrigerant. The low-temperature low-pressure gas-refrigerant evaporated in the evaporator 310 circulates to the compressor 200 via the refrigerant pipe 352. The refrigerant inlet of the liquid receiver body 1 is connected to the outlet position of the condenser 400, and the refrigerant outlet of the liquid receiver body 1 is connected to the upstream position of the expansion valve 300.

Next, the internal structure of the receiver body 1 is shown in FIG.
Will be explained. As shown in FIG. 1, the upper end of the cylindrical liquid receiver body 1 in the figure is open, and a cutting member 9 made of a hollow ring-shaped aluminum material is caulked and fixed to the opening. Further, the opening and the cutting member 9 are tightly fixed by an O-ring 10. The liquid receiver body 1 is made of aluminum having good thermal conductivity.

A prism 2a made of transparent nylon is inserted in the hollow portion of the cutting member 9. On the upper surface of the cutting member 9 in the drawing, an iron ring 11 having a sight glass 2 welded to its hollow portion is caulked and fixed by a part 9a of the cutting member 9. Further, the cutting member 9 and the prism 2
a and an O-ring 1 between each of the iron rings 11.
0 are provided, and they are closely fixed to each other.
The sight glass 2 is made of glass.

The protruding portion 2a1 formed below the prism 2a in the figure has a plate 1 for overfilling check colored red.
2 is fitted. Further, below the receiver body 1 in the figure, there are a refrigerant inlet 7 into which the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant from the condenser 400 (FIG. 2) flows, and a refrigerant outlet 8 from which the refrigerant is discharged to the expansion valve 300 (FIG. 2). Is open.

A hollow member 3 is provided inside the liquid receiver body 1. The hollow member 3 is closed at the upper side in the drawing and has an opening 3a at the lower side in the drawing, and is made of a hollow columnar resin.

As shown in FIG. 3, the hollow member 3 has four legs 3b, four protrusions 3c, and four legs 3d.
Here, the four legs 3b and the four legs 3d are the hollow members 3
It is for fixing so that it does not wobble in the vertical direction. The four protrusions 3c are for fixing the hollow member 3 so as not to wobble in the lateral direction.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment based on the above construction will be described. When the amount of refrigerant existing in the refrigerating apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is small, as shown in FIG. 4, the amount of liquid refrigerant accumulated in the liquid receiver body 1 is small, and the liquid level thereof is the hollow member 3
Is located below the opening 3a. At the same time, a large amount of gas refrigerant flows into the liquid receiver body 1 through the refrigerant inlet 7 formed below the opening 3a, thereby disturbing the liquid surface. Further, this large amount of gas refrigerant rises toward the inside 5 and the outside 6 of the hollow member 3 by buoyancy.

Of these, when the gas refrigerant rising toward the outside 6 of the hollow member rises along the inner wall surface of the receiver body 1, the receiver body is made of aluminum having good thermal conductivity. 1 is cooled by the outside air or the like outside the liquid receiver body 1, and a part thereof is condensed and liquefied. However, since the amount of the gas refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant inlet 7 into the receiver body 1 is sufficient, the gas refrigerant is supplied to the hollow member outside 6 by the amount of the gas refrigerant liquefied in the hollow member outside 6. As a result, the pressure fluctuation at 6 does not occur.

On the other hand, the inner wall surface of the receiver body 1 and the hollow member 3
Since the space layer between the outer wall surface and the outer wall surface acts as a heat insulating layer, it is the same as the hollow member 3 being thermally insulated as a result. As a result, the gas-refrigerant in the hollow member interior 5 is not cooled or liquefied. Therefore, no pressure fluctuation occurs inside the hollow member 5.

By further injecting the refrigerant into the refrigerating apparatus, the proportion of the gas refrigerant in the refrigerant flowing from the refrigerant inlet 7 into the receiver main body 1 is reduced, and as a result, the air flows toward the outside 6 of the hollow member. The amount of the air-refrigerant that rises as a result decreases as compared with the state shown in FIG. Also in this case, the gas-refrigerant outside the hollow member 6 is cooled and liquefied by outside air or the like. However, the amount of the gas-refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant inlet 7 to the hollow member outside 6 is smaller than the liquefied amount. Since it is smaller than that of the hollow member, the pressure in the outside 6 of the hollow member becomes small.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the hollow member exterior 6
When the pressure of the hollow member outside 6 becomes smaller, the liquid level in the hollow member outside 6 rises to the point where the pressure of the hollow member outside 6 becomes equal to the pressure of the liquid refrigerant accumulated below the receiver body 1.

On the other hand, since the hollow member 3 is thermally insulated by the surrounding space layer, the gas refrigerant inside the hollow member 5 is not liquefied in this case as well. As a result, since the pressure inside the hollow member 5 does not fluctuate, as shown in FIG. 5, the liquid level inside the hollow member 5 is kept constant at the position of the opening 3a of the hollow member 3 and does not rise any further.

By further injecting the refrigerant into the refrigerating device, the amount of the gas refrigerant rising toward the outside 6 of the hollow member is further reduced. On the other hand, since the liquefaction of the gas refrigerant in the hollow member exterior 6 still continues, the pressure in the hollow member exterior 6 remains smaller than the pressure of the liquid refrigerant, and the liquid level in the hollow member exterior 6 rises. Continue. And finally Figure 6
As shown in, the inside of the receiver body 1 is filled with the liquid refrigerant. On the other hand, the liquid level inside the hollow member 5 is constant at the position of the opening 3a of the hollow member 3 as described above.

By the way, at the time of idling, that is, the compressor 2
When the number of rotations of 00 (FIG. 2) is low, the liquid receiver main body 1 is filled with the liquid refrigerant to the amount shown in FIG.
When the number of rotations of 0 is increased, the amount of refrigerant required for the entire refrigeration system is reduced. As a result, the refrigerant is left over from the whole of the refrigeration system, and the excess refrigerant is stored in the condenser 400 as a liquid as shown in FIG. 7A. Then, the subcool (supercooling) portion 401 is formed by the liquid refrigerant accumulated in the condenser 400.

The refrigerant supplied to the condenser 400 is subcooled in the subcool section 401 and then supplied into the liquid receiver body 1. That is, the liquid refrigerant supercooled to a temperature lower than the gas refrigerant temperature inside the hollow member 5 is supplied into the liquid receiver main body 1. Then, the gas refrigerant inside the hollow member 5 is cooled by the supercooled liquid refrigerant via the liquid surface and liquefied. As a result, the liquid level inside the hollow member 5 rises as shown in FIG. 7B for the reason described above.

The rise of the liquid level inside the hollow member 5 means that the amount of the liquid refrigerant contained in the inside of the liquid receiver main body 1 increases accordingly. That is, the liquid refrigerant accumulated in the subcool portion 401 shown in FIG. 7A is accumulated in the space inside the hollow member 5 inside the receiver body 1. In other words, in the case of the first embodiment, the condenser 400 is provided with the subcool unit 4
Since 01 is not formed, it is possible to avoid a decrease in the heat radiation area of the condenser 400, and it is possible to prevent an increase in power consumption of the compressor 200 (FIG. 2). And this can improve the fuel efficiency of the engine.

As described above, the hollow member 3 stores the excess refrigerant generated when the rotation speed of the compressor 200 becomes high, and as a result, the power consumption of the compressor 200 is prevented from increasing.
It also has the function of improving the fuel efficiency of the engine. Therefore, in the first embodiment, the rotation speed of the compressor 200 is 780 rp.
At m, the liquid receiver main body 1 is filled with the liquid refrigerant until the state shown in FIG. 6 is reached.
When the speed is increased to 0 rpm, the excess refrigerant generated thereby can be stored in the space of the hollow member 3.

That is, in the case of the first embodiment, the compressor 20
Receiver body 1 when the number of revolutions (Nc) of 0 is 780 rpm
When 750 g of the liquid refrigerant is filled in, the amount of the liquid refrigerant in the liquid receiver body 1 becomes the state shown in FIG. When Nc is increased to 2000 rpm, 50 g of excess liquid refrigerant is generated, and the hollow member 3 can store this excess refrigerant.

As described above, the rotation speed of the compressor 200 (N
If the amount of liquid refrigerant to be filled in the receiver body 1 is 750 g when c) is 780 rpm, the hollow member 3 can store the excess refrigerant generated when Nc is increased to 2000 rpm. As shown, the discharge pressure (PD) at the outlet of the compressor 200 can be minimized even when Nc rises to 2000 rpm.

For example, if the amount of the liquid refrigerant to be filled in the receiver body 1 is set to 800 g when Nc is 780 rpm, the hollow member 3 stores the excess refrigerant generated when Nc is increased to 2000 rpm. Because it is not possible,
The subcool portion 401 shown in (a) is formed in the condenser 400, and the subcool temperature (SC) at the outlet of the condenser 400 increases as shown in FIG. Further, this also causes the discharge pressure (PD) at the outlet of the compressor 200 to increase.

For the above reason, in the first embodiment, the total volume of the liquid receiver body 1 is set to the volume of 750 g of the liquid refrigerant, and the volume of the hollow member 3 is set to the volume of 50 g of the liquid refrigerant. By the way, when the inside of the receiver body 1 is filled with the liquid refrigerant as shown in FIG. 6, when the inside of the receiver body 1 is seen from the sight glass 2, the overfill check plate 12 colored in red is confirmed. can do.

This is because the prism 2a and the liquid refrigerant have the same refractive index. That is, FIG. 9B
As shown in, when the liquid level in the liquid receiver body 1 is above the overfill check plate 12, the space between the prism 2a and the overfill check plate 12 is filled with the liquid refrigerant. .. Further, since the refractive index of the liquid refrigerant and the refractive index of the prism 2a are equal to each other, light entering from above the sight glass 2 as shown by an arrow in the figure is directly transmitted through the boundary surface between the prism 2a and the liquid refrigerant, Finally, it reaches the overfill check plate 12. As a result, when the liquid receiver body 1 is filled with the liquid refrigerant, the overfill check plate 12 colored in red can be confirmed from the sight glass 2.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9A, when the liquid level in the liquid receiver body 1 is lower than the overfill check plate 12, the prism 2a and the overfill check plate 12 are separated from each other. The space will be filled with the gas refrigerant. Further, since the refraction index of the gas refrigerant is different from the refraction index of the prism 2a, light entering from above the sight glass 2 as shown by the arrow in the figure is totally reflected at the boundary surface between the prism 2a and the gas refrigerant. As a result, in this case, the red overfill check plate 12 is not visible.

As described above, in the first embodiment, even if the liquid refrigerant is injected into the receiver body 1 until the liquid surface is located at the uppermost part of the receiver body 1, the hollow member interior 5 Since the space can be filled with the gas refrigerant, even if the liquid refrigerant is filled until the liquid surface is located at the uppermost part of the receiver body 1 during idling, the rotation speed of the compressor is increased. The excess liquid refrigerant generated by the above can be stored in the space inside the hollow member 5, and as a result, the heat radiation area of the condenser is not reduced and the power consumption of the compressor can be prevented from increasing.

Further, since it is possible to detect whether or not the refrigerant is overfilled when the liquid level in the liquid receiver body 1 is high, the length of the prism 2a in the vertical direction in FIG. 1 can be shortened. This makes it possible to detect whether the refrigerant is overfilled accurately and at low cost.

Further, whether or not the refrigerant amount in the refrigerating device is overfilled can be easily and clearly detected by observing the difference in color of the refrigerant amount. In the first embodiment, the space layer between the inner wall of the receiver body 1 and the outer wall of the hollow member 3 fulfills the function of the heat insulating layer, but a heat insulating material may be provided around the hollow member 3. In this case, The hollow member interior 5 can be further insulated. Further, the hollow member 3 may be made of a material having an excellent heat insulating property.

Further, in the first embodiment, the refrigerant inlet 7 is connected to the outlet position of the condenser 400 and the refrigerant outlet 8 is connected to the upstream position of the expansion valve 300, but the refrigerant inlet 7 and the refrigerant outlet 8 are connected to each other. The connecting position is not limited to this, and the refrigerant inlet 7 is connected in the middle of the condenser 400, and the refrigerant condensed in the condenser 400 upstream of the refrigerant inlet 7 is the refrigerant inlet 7
Further, it may be of a type in which only the liquid refrigerant after flowing into the liquid receiver main body 1 and undergoing gas-liquid separation here returns to the middle of the condenser 400 from the refrigerant outlet 8. In addition to the condenser 400, a subcool condenser is separately provided, and the refrigerant inlet 7
May be connected to the condenser 400, and the refrigerant outlet may be connected to the subcool condenser.

Next, FIG. 10 and FIG. 1 for the second embodiment.
This will be described using 1. As shown in FIG. 10, the cutting member 9 is caulked and fixed to the upper part of the liquid receiver body 1, and the iron ring 11 and the sight glass 2 are caulked and fixed by a part 9 a of the cutting member 9.

In the hollow portion of the cutting member 9, a prism 2a made of transparent nylon and having a U-shaped cross section is inserted. Further, the overfill check plate 12 colored in red is fitted to the protrusion 2a1 formed below the prism 2a in the figure. A mark attaching member 13 is provided at the center of the prism 2a so as to be movable in the vertical direction in the figure. The 13a portion is colored yellow and the 13b portion is colored blue.

A hollow member 3 made of resin is provided inside the liquid receiver body 1. Since the hollow member 3 in the second embodiment is not provided with the four legs 3b (FIG. 1) in the first embodiment, the hollow member 3 can move upward in FIG. When at least a part of the hollow member exterior 6 is filled with the liquid refrigerant and the hollow member interior is filled with the gas refrigerant, the hollow member 3 moves up and down due to the buoyancy as the liquid refrigerant in the hollow member exterior 6 increases and decreases. .. That is, the hollow member 3 also has a function as a float.

In the second embodiment, the prism 2a constitutes a light guide member. The identification mark provided on the mark attachment member is composed of a yellow colored portion 13a and a blue colored portion 13b. Further, of the mark mounting member and the prism 2a, the mark mounting member is configured to be vertically movable.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment having the above structure will be described. When the amount of refrigerant existing in the refrigerating apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is small, the amount of liquid refrigerant in the liquid receiver body 1 is also small, and the liquid surface is located below the opening 3 a of the hollow member 3. Therefore, the hollow member 3 does not float, and the space between the hollow member 3 and the mark attachment member 13 does not change as shown in FIG.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 11A, the space between the prism 2a and the overfill check plate 12 is filled with the gas refrigerant. Further, since the refraction index of this gas refrigerant is different from the refraction index of the prism 2a, light entering from above the sight glass 2 as shown by the arrow in the figure is reflected by the prism 2a.
Is totally reflected at the boundary surface between the air and the refrigerant, and the mark attaching member 13
13a part of is reached. As a result, the yellow colored 13a can be confirmed from the sight glass 2.

When the amount of refrigerant existing in the refrigerating apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is a proper amount, the state of refrigerant in the liquid receiver body 1 is
For example, as shown in FIG. 11B, the hollow member exterior 6 is partially filled with the liquid refrigerant, and the hollow member interior 5 is filled with the gas refrigerant. The hollow member 3 floats due to the increase of the liquid refrigerant in the hollow member outside 6, and as a result, the mark attaching member 13 is formed by the portion 3e of the hollow member 3.
Is pushed up.

In this case also, since the space between the prism 2a and the overfill check plate 12 is filled with the gas refrigerant,
As shown by the arrow 1 (b), the light that has entered from above the sight glass 2 is totally reflected at the boundary surface between the prism 2a and the gas refrigerant, and reaches the portion 13b of the mark attaching member 13.
As a result, blue colored 13b can be confirmed from the sight glass 2.

Further, when the amount of the refrigerant existing in the refrigerating apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is in an overfilled state, the liquid level of the liquid refrigerant in the receiver main body 1 is as shown in FIG. 11 (c). It comes to be located at the top of the main body 1. However, the inside 5 of the hollow member is filled with the gas refrigerant.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 11C, the space between the prism 2a and the overfill check plate 12 is filled with the liquid refrigerant. Since the refractive index of this liquid refrigerant is equal to the refractive index of the prism 2a, the sight glass 2
The light that has entered from above passes through the boundary surface between the prism 2a and the gas refrigerant as it is, and finally reaches the overfill check plate 12
Reach up to. As a result, the overfill check plate 12 colored in red can be confirmed from the sight glass 2.

That is, from the sight glass 2 to the receiver body 1
When looking inside, it looks yellow when the amount of refrigerant present in the refrigeration system is insufficient, and looks blue when it is in the proper state,
Appears red when overfilled.

The second embodiment has been described above.
In the case of the embodiment, as in the case of the first embodiment, even if the liquid refrigerant is injected into the receiver body 1 until the liquid surface is located at the uppermost part of the receiver body 1, the inside of the hollow member 5 is Since the space can be filled with the gas refrigerant, even if the liquid refrigerant is filled until the liquid surface is located at the uppermost part of the receiver body 1 during idling, the rotation speed of the compressor is increased. The excess liquid refrigerant generated by can be stored in the space inside the hollow member 5, as a result, without reducing the heat dissipation area of the condenser,
It is also possible to avoid increasing the power consumption of the compressor.

Further, since it is possible to detect whether the refrigerant is overfilled or insufficient when the liquid level in the liquid receiver body 1 is high, it is possible to detect whether the prism 2a of FIG.
The length in the middle and up and down directions can be shortened, and thus the amount of refrigerant can be detected accurately and at low cost.

Further, the amount of refrigerant in the refrigerating apparatus can be easily and clearly detected by checking the difference in color. Further, in the second embodiment described above, since the hollow member 3 having an opening at the lower side is made to function as a float, there is an effect that the buoyancy of the hollow member 3 is increased by the gas refrigerant accumulated inside the hollow member 5.

In the second embodiment, the space layer between the inner wall of the receiver body 1 and the outer wall of the hollow member 3 functions as a heat insulating layer. However, a heat insulating material is provided around the hollow member 3. Good,
In this case, the hollow member interior 5 can be further insulated. Further, the hollow member 3 may be made of a material having an excellent heat insulating property.

In the second embodiment, the mark mounting member 13 is vertically movable, but the prism 2a may be vertically movable. Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 12, the second hollow member 14 may be fixed to the protrusion 2a1 formed below the prism 2a in the figure. By providing the second hollow member 14 in this way, the volume for storing the excess refrigerant generated when the rotation speed of the compressor becomes high is increased by the volume of 15 parts in the figure. At this time, the second hollow member 14 may be made of a material having an excellent heat insulating property. Further, by coloring the upper surface of the second hollow member 14 in the figure, it is possible to easily and clearly detect whether or not it is overfilled.

Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the mark mounting member 13 and the hollow member 3 functioning as a float may be integrally formed, and this may be used as the fourth embodiment. Further, as shown in FIG. 14, the hollow member 3 may not be made to function as a float, and a float 16 may be separately provided, which may be used as the fifth embodiment. In this case, the float 16 is preferably made of resin so that it floats easily in the liquid refrigerant.

Next, a sixth embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 16, the prism 2a has a depressed central portion, and the prism 2a is surrounded by the 13a and 13b portions of the mark attachment member 13 (see FIG. 17) integrally formed with the hollow member 3. Constitute. .. 13 like this
By increasing the surface areas of the portions a and 13b, the color of the portion 13a and the color of the portion 13b can be clearly confirmed from the sight glass 2.

Further, the mark mounting member 13 is composed of small parts as in the second embodiment and is inserted into the hole in the central portion of the prism 2a. It is easy to make the member 13 and easy to assemble.

In the second embodiment, the color of the uppermost portion of the mark attaching member 13 is always visible from the center of the sight glass 2 regardless of the amount of liquid refrigerant in the receiver body 1.
In the case of the sixth embodiment, 13a portion, 13
Only the colors of part b and part 13c can be seen. In the mark attaching member 13, 13a is colored yellow, 13b is colored blue, and 13c is colored red. Reference numeral 17 is a liquid refrigerant introduction hole.

Next, FIG. 21 and FIG. 2 for the seventh embodiment.
2 is used for the explanation. A conical first coloring member 21 colored in blue and a ring-shaped second coloring member 22 colored in yellow are press-fitted into the disk-shaped recess provided in the upper part of the hollow member 3 in FIG. Has been done. The second coloring member 22 is provided with two liquid-refrigerant introduction holes 17, and the liquid-refrigerant can be introduced from here. Also, the hollow member 3
The upper surface of the first coloring member 21 and the prism 2 when the
If the lower surface of a adheres to the lower surface of a, there is a risk that they will not be separated due to surface tension. Therefore, the height of the second coloring member 22 is set to the first when the hollow member 3 floats.
The coloring member 21 and the prism 2a are provided so as not to stick to each other. A ring-shaped third coloring member 23 colored in red is press-fitted into 9b formed by caulking a part of the cutting member 9 in a ring shape.

The prism 2a is inserted and fixed inside the part 9b of the cutting member 9. As shown in FIG. 22, the prism 2a has a prism portion 201 and a ring portion 202 which are formed of four parts.
They are connected by a leg 203 of a book, and the prism portion 201, the ring portion 202, and the leg 203 are integrally formed of transparent resin.

In the case of the seventh embodiment, since the space between the prism portion 201 and the ring portion 202 is not filled with the transparent resin to make a space, the path of light passing through the transparent resin between the sight glass 2 and the coloring member is It will be shorter and the colors will be more clearly discernible when looking through the sight glass 2.

Next, FIG. 23 and FIG. 2 for the eighth embodiment.
4 will be described. However, for convenience of explanation, hatching is not applied to FIG. In the case of the eighth embodiment, the hollow member 3 is fixed to the upper and lower sides by the legs 3b and 3c, so that the hollow member 3 cannot move in the vertical direction. A fourth coloring member 24 including a red colored portion 24a and a blue colored portion 24b is provided below the prism 2a in the figure.

The lower end of the prism 2a in the figure is
Instead of forming an acute angle as in the seventh embodiment, it has a flat portion. By making the lower end of the prism 2a in the drawing a flat portion in this way, the following effects are produced.

That is, assuming that the lower end portion of the prism 2a in FIG. 23 is a flat portion, as shown in FIG. 24 (b), the light traveling in the direction of arrow B cannot escape from the sight glass 2 to the outside. It is always shut off at the lower side of the iron ring 11. In other words, when looking into the sight glass 2 while the upper side portion of the receiver body 1 is filled with the gas refrigerant,
This means that the blue color of the portion 24b cannot be seen. According to this, when the upper side portion of the receiver body 1 is filled with the gas refrigerant, only the red portion of the portion 24a is in the sight glass 2
Therefore, the amount of refrigerant can be accurately detected.

This is the same as in the seventh embodiment.
If the lower end of the
As shown in (a), the light traveling in the direction of the arrow A goes out of the sight glass 2. In other words, when looking through the sight glass 2 obliquely from above, the blue color of the portion 24b is visible even when the upper side portion of the liquid receiver body 1 is filled with the gas refrigerant. That is, when the upper part of the receiver body 1 is filled with the gas refrigerant, the red color of the portion 24a can be seen when looking into the sight glass 2 from directly above the sight glass 2, and the blue portion of the portion 24b can be viewed from diagonally above. Can be seen, and accurate refrigerant amount detection cannot be performed.

As described above, in the case of the eighth embodiment, it is possible to accurately detect the refrigerant amount regardless of which direction the sight glass 2 is looked into. Next, a ninth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 25 and 26.

FIG. 25 shows a part of the ninth embodiment device.
The structure of the part not shown is the same as that of the seventh embodiment. As shown in FIG. 25, the prism 2a of the ninth embodiment has a stepped inner portion. By forming the inner portion of the prism 2a in a stepwise manner in this manner, the length of the path through which light passes through the prism itself is shortened. This will be described below with reference to FIGS. 26 (a) and 26 (b). 26 (a) is a front view of the prism 2a of the ninth embodiment, and FIG. 26 (b) is a front view of the prism 2a of the seventh embodiment.

In the case of the ninth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 26 (a), the light entering from just above the prism 2a travels in the path indicated by arrow C. At this time, the length of the path through which the light passes through the prism 2a itself in the vertical direction in the figure is d.
On the other hand, in the case of the seventh embodiment, as shown in FIG. 26 (b), the light entering from the direction directly above the prism 2a proceeds in the path indicated by the arrow D. At this time, the length of the path through which the light passes through the prism 2a itself in the vertical direction in the figure is d '.

Comparing d and d'above, d is shorter. That is, by forming the inner portion of the prism 2a in a stepwise manner as in the ninth embodiment, the path length of light passing through the prism 2a itself is shortened. This means that the visibility when looking through the sight glass 2 (25) is improved. This also leads to ensuring the visibility even if the prism 2a is made of a material having a slightly poor light transmittance or the transmittance of the prism 2a is lowered due to a change with time or the like.

Further, high temperature resin is poured into a predetermined mold,
When the prism 2a is made by a so-called injection forming direction in which the mold is removed after cooling and hardening the prism 2a
By setting the shape as in the ninth embodiment, it is possible to reduce the deformation amount when the resin is cured. In other words, it can be formed into a shape that can accurately exhibit the function as a prism.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an internal structure of a liquid receiver main body in a first embodiment of a liquid receiver of a refrigerating apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a refrigeration system diagram showing an outline of the refrigeration system of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a hollow member provided inside the liquid receiver body.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the amount of liquid refrigerant inside the liquid receiver body is insufficient.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the amount of liquid refrigerant inside the liquid receiver body is in an appropriate state.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the amount of liquid refrigerant inside the liquid receiver body is in an overfilled state.

FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a transition of excess liquid refrigerant that occurs when the number of rotations of the compressor in the first embodiment increases, and FIG. 7A shows a state in which the excess liquid refrigerant accumulates in the condenser. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a state in which the liquid refrigerant accumulated in the condenser is transferred to the liquid receiver main body.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing the discharge pressure at the compressor outlet and the subcool temperature at the condenser outlet with respect to the amount of liquid refrigerant filled in the receiver body.

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a traveling direction of light entering the receiver body from the sight glass, and FIG. 9 (a) is a diagram showing a case where the amount of liquid refrigerant in the receiver body is in an appropriate state; (B) is a figure which shows the case where the amount of liquid refrigerant in the said receiver body is an overfilling state.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the liquid receiver main body in the second embodiment of the liquid receiver of the refrigerating apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a traveling direction of light entering the receiver body from the sight glass of the second embodiment,
(A) is a figure which shows when the amount of liquid refrigerant in the said receiver body is in an insufficient state, (b) is a figure which shows when the amount of liquid refrigerant in the said receiver body is in an appropriate state, and (c) FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a case where the amount of liquid refrigerant in the liquid receiver body is in an overfilled state.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the liquid receiver main body in the third embodiment of the liquid receiver of the refrigeration apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the liquid receiver body in the fourth embodiment of the liquid receiver of the refrigeration apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the liquid receiver body in the fifth embodiment of the liquid receiver of the refrigerating apparatus of the present invention.

15 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the liquid receiver body in the sixth embodiment of the liquid receiver of the refrigeration apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a partial perspective view of a mark attaching member in the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the receiver body of the receiver of the refrigerating apparatus of the present invention, showing the case where the amount of liquid refrigerant inside the receiver body is insufficient in both (a) and (b). It is a schematic cross section shown.

FIG. 19 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the receiver body of the receiver of the refrigerating apparatus of the present invention, (a) showing a state where the amount of liquid refrigerant inside the receiver body is in an appropriate state; FIG. 7B is a diagram showing a case where the amount of liquid refrigerant inside the receiver body is in an overfilled state.

FIG. 20 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of a conventional receiver.

FIG. 21 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the liquid receiver body in the seventh embodiment of the liquid receiver of the refrigeration apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a prism according to the seventh embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the liquid receiver body in the eighth embodiment of the liquid receiver of the refrigerating apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is an enlarged view of a prism and its peripheral portion, (a) shows a comparative example, and (b) shows the eighth embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of the internal structure of the liquid receiver body in the ninth embodiment of the liquid receiver of the refrigeration apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a front view of a prism, FIG.
An example is shown, and (b) shows the seventh example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Liquid Receiver Main Body 2 Sight Glass 2a Prism as Light Guide Member 3 Hollow Member 3a Hollow Member Opening 4 Heat Insulating Layer 7 Refrigerant Inlet 8 Refrigerant Outlet 13 Mark Attachment Member 16 Float 21 First Coloring Member 22 Second Coloring Member 23 Third colored member 24 Fourth colored member

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Kenichi Fujiwara, 1-1, Showa-cho, Kariya city, Aichi prefecture, Nihon Denso Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor, Takahisa Suzuki, 1-1, Showa-cho, Kariya city, Aichi prefecture Incorporated (72) Inventor Shin Nishida 1-1, Showa-cho, Kariya city, Aichi Prefecture

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A compressor for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser for condensing a high-pressure refrigerant compressed by the compressor, and a decompression means for decompressing and expanding the refrigerant condensed by the condenser. It is used for a refrigerating apparatus provided with an evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant decompressed by the decompression means, a refrigerant inlet connected to a position of a passageway or an outlet of the condenser, and an upstream of the decompression means. And a receiver body that has a refrigerant outlet connected to the position and that is configured to store liquid refrigerant inside, and that is provided on the top of the receiver body to view the inside of the receiver body. And a hollow member provided in the liquid receiver body, having an opening at the bottom, having a shape closed at the top, and having an inside thermally insulated from the surroundings. And the refrigerant inlet is below the opening of the hollow member. A liquid receiver of a refrigerating apparatus, which is opened to the liquid receiver main body at one position. 2. A float, which is provided inside the liquid receiver main body and moves up and down as the liquid refrigerant increases and decreases, and an identification mark, and the identification mark is an upper portion inside the liquid receiver main body. And a light guide for guiding light between the sight glass and the mark attachment member so that the identification mark can be seen from the sight glass. A member, and one of the mark attaching member and the light guide member is configured to be movable in the vertical direction, the amount of liquid refrigerant inside the liquid receiver body from a shortage state to a proper state When the temperature becomes low, the float floats and pushes up one of the two members to shift the relative position between the identification mark and the light guide member. The liquid receiver of the refrigerating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 3. The liquid receiver of the refrigerating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the float is the hollow member.