JPH06129686A - Refrigerant control valve and refrigerating cycle equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a refrigerant control valve of multifunction and high efficiency which can execute selection of a plurality of flow passages and pressure reduction therefor by putting a plurality of valve functions together in one, and refrigerating cycle equipment using this valve. CONSTITUTION:This valve is equipped with a tubular case body 22 in which a plurality of refrigerant passages 23 to 26 are provided at intervals in the axial direction, a plurality of valve seats 27 to 29 provided at positions partitioning the refrigerant passages in this case body 22, respectively, a valve rod 33 inserted through an axial part of the case body, a driving mechanism 34 for driving this valve rod 33 forward and backward along the axial direction, and a plurality of valve elements 30 to 32 provided on the valve rod 33 and coming into contact with and separating from the valve seats with the forward-backward movement of the valve rod 33 respectively. An open mode in which each refrigerant passage is made to communicate with the adjacent one by the movement in one direction of the valve rod 33 and a close mode in which all the refrigerant passages are closed are set for the driving mechanism 34 and at least one 31 of the valve elements is made operable for opening in the close mode by constructing it so that it is actuated in the direction of opening by a spring, while a secondary-side valve chamber 45 of this valve element is made an expansion chamber.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerant control valve having both a flow path switching function and a pressure reducing function, and a refrigeration cycle apparatus having a dehumidifying function using the refrigerant control valve.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a heat pump type refrigeration cycle device with a dehumidifying function, for example, a structure shown in FIG. 5 is known.

In this refrigeration cycle apparatus, a compressor 1, a four-way valve 2, an outdoor heat exchanger 3, an expansion valve 4 as a pressure reducing mechanism, and a pair of indoor heat exchangers 5 and 6 are sequentially connected by a refrigerant pipe 7. A closed refrigeration cycle is constructed. The refrigerant pipe 7 has a bypass pipe 8 that bypasses the expansion valve 4 and a bypass valve 9 that opens and closes the bypass pipe 8.
And are provided.

On the indoor side, the refrigerant pipe 7 is branched into two parts, and the indoor heat exchangers 5 and 6 are connected to the branch pipes 7a and 7b, respectively. Auxiliary pipe 10 for connecting the indoor heat exchangers 5 and 6 in series to the branch pipes 7a and 7b.
The auxiliary pipe 10 is provided with an expansion valve (or capillary tube) 11 as a pressure reducing mechanism.

In each of the branch pipes 7a and 7b, branch portions 12a and 12b from the mother pipe and branch points 13a and 1 of the auxiliary pipe 10 are provided.
The on-off valves 14 and 15 are provided between the valve 3 and 3b.

During cooling, the bypass valve 9 is closed and the expansion valve 1 is closed.
1 is open and the on-off valves 14 and 15 are open.
As indicated by the solid arrow a, the flow sequentially flows to the compressor 1, the four-way valve 2, the outdoor heat exchanger 3, the expansion valve 4, and the indoor heat exchangers 5 and 6.

During heating, the respective valves 9, 11, 14, 15 are in the same state as described above, and the refrigerant is reverse to that during cooling, and the broken line arrow b in FIG.
Flow in the direction indicated by.

During dehumidification, the bypass valve 9 is opened, the on-off valves 14 and 15 are closed, and the expansion valve 11 functions. In this state, the refrigerant flows in substantially the same direction (direction of arrow a) as during cooling. That is, as shown by the white arrow c, the refrigerant flows through the bypass pipe 8 and the auxiliary pipe 10, and the expansion valve 4 in the mother pipe portion
Does not work. Further, in the branch pipes 7a and 7b, as shown by a white arrow d, the refrigerant is one indoor heat exchanger 5, the expansion valve 11 of the auxiliary pipe 10 and the other indoor heat exchanger 6
Flow in sequence. That is, one indoor heat exchanger 5 located on the upstream side of the expansion valve 11 functions for reheating, the decompression action is performed in the expansion valve 11, and the other indoor heat exchange located on the downstream side of the expansion valve 11 is performed. The vessel 6 functions for cooling.
The indoor heat exchanger 6 for cooling is arranged on the windward side of the indoor unit to dehumidify, and the indoor heat exchanger 5 for reheating is arranged on the leeward side to reheat the cooled air.

[0009]

In such a conventional refrigeration cycle apparatus, a plurality of valves (9, 1) are provided in the system.
4, 15) and the pressure reducing mechanism (4, 11) are provided, the number of parts increases and the configuration is complicated. Therefore, it takes a lot of time and effort to manufacture, and the manufacturing cost becomes high.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a first object thereof is a multifunctional and highly efficient refrigerant which can combine a plurality of valve functions into one and switch a plurality of flow paths and reduce the pressure. To provide a control valve.

A second object is that the use of the above-mentioned refrigerant control valve can reduce the number of flow path switching valves and the pressure reducing mechanism as compared with the conventional one, thereby reducing the number of parts and simplifying the structure. Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigeration cycle device which can reduce the manufacturing labor and the manufacturing cost.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, a refrigerant control valve according to the present invention comprises a cylindrical case body having a plurality of refrigerant passages provided at intervals in the axial direction, and the case body. A plurality of valve seats provided at positions for partitioning the respective refrigerant passages, a valve rod inserted in the axial center portion of the case body, a drive mechanism for driving the valve rod forward and backward along the axial direction, and the valve. A plurality of valve elements provided on the rod and moving toward and away from each of the valve seats as the valve rod advances and retracts, and the drive mechanism is configured to adjoin the refrigerant passages by unidirectional movement of the valve rods. And an open mode in which all the refrigerant passages are closed, and at least one of the valve elements is urged in the opening direction by a spring to perform an open operation with respect to the closed mode. In addition to making it possible, the secondary side valve chamber of the valve body is the expansion chamber Characterized in that it was.

Further, the refrigeration cycle apparatus according to the present invention is
A refrigeration cycle apparatus in which a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, a pressure reducing mechanism, and at least a pair of indoor heat exchangers are connected by a refrigerant pipe, and the indoor heat exchangers are connected in series for reheating and cooling during dehumidifying operation. In which the refrigerant pipe is branched, a refrigerant passage is connected to the branched pipe, and the refrigerant passage is connected to the refrigerant control valve according to claim 1, and the refrigerant passage is connected to each refrigerant passage of the refrigerant control valve. Among the branched pipes, while connecting the indoor heat exchanger for reheating to the one that becomes the primary side at the time of dehumidification with the pipe leading to the valve element that can be opened in the closed mode of the refrigerant control valve, at the time of dehumidification The indoor heat exchanger for cooling is connected to the secondary side.

[0014]

According to the refrigerant control valve of the present invention, by setting a plurality of valve bodies in the open mode or the closed mode, it is possible to open and close the refrigerant passages in a pair corresponding to each other. A corresponding flow path switching function is obtained.

Further, at least one of the valve bodies is biased in the opening direction by a spring so that it can be opened in the closed mode and the secondary side valve chamber of the valve body is an expansion chamber. When the high-pressure refrigerant is supplied, the refrigerant can be circulated in the closed mode and the refrigerant can be expanded. Therefore, it has a pressure reducing function as well as a flow path switching function, and has a plurality of types of valve functions.

Further, according to the refrigeration cycle apparatus of the present invention, the refrigerant control valve having a plurality of types of valve functions described above is incorporated, and one valve is used as an opening / closing valve for switching a flow path and an expansion valve. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide an on-off valve, an expansion valve, an auxiliary pipe or the like having an independent structure as in the conventional case. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of parts, simplify the structure, reduce the manufacturing labor, and reduce the manufacturing cost.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a refrigerant control valve according to the present embodiment and a system configuration of a heat pump type refrigeration cycle apparatus with a dehumidifying function incorporating the refrigerant control valve.
4 shows the detailed configuration and operating state of the refrigerant control valve.

As shown in these drawings, the refrigerant control valve 21 of the present embodiment is provided with a vertically long cylindrical case body 22, and four refrigerant passages 2 are axially spaced from this case body 22.
3, 24, 25 and 26 are provided. Ring-shaped valve seats 27, 28, 29 are provided between the refrigerant passages 23, 24, 25, 26, respectively.
Cylindrical or ring-shaped valve bodies 30, 31, 32 are engaged with the shaft 9 from above and below.

Each of the valve bodies 30, 31, 32 is a case body 22.
The valve rod 33 is supported by a vertically elongated valve rod 33 arranged at the axial center of the valve rod 33, and the valve rod 33 is driven in the axial direction (vertical direction) by a pulse motor 34 as a drive mechanism provided at the upper end of the case 22.

The uppermost valve body (first valve body) 30 opens and closes the uppermost-stage refrigerant passage (first refrigerant passage) 23 and the lower-stage refrigerant passage (second refrigerant passage) 24, and has a tubular shape. And the tapered lower edge is the uppermost valve seat (upper valve seat)
27 is engaged from above. The first valve body 30 is a valve rod 3
It is slidable in a certain range in the vertical direction with respect to 3.

The first valve body 30 is configured so that a flange 35 provided on the inner surface side of the first valve body 30 is brought into contact with a locking ring 36 provided on the valve rod 33 so that the first valve body 30 can be interlocked upward. Further, the compression coil spring 37 is interposed between the flange 35 and the stepped portion 33a formed in the upper stage of the valve rod 33, whereby the first valve body 30 is always pushed down with respect to the valve rod 33. Is urged by. The joint space between the first valve body 30 and the valve rod 33 is closed by a seal ring 38.

The intermediate valve body (second valve body) 31 includes a second refrigerant passage 24 and a lower refrigerant passage (third refrigerant passage) 25.
Are opened and closed, and have a ring-like shape, and the peripheral edge of the tapered lower end is engaged with the middle-stage valve seat (middle-stage valve seat) 28 from above. The second valve body 31 is fixed to the valve rod 33 and moves up and down integrally with the valve rod 33.

The lowermost valve body (third valve body) 32 includes a third refrigerant passage 25 and a lower refrigerant passage (fourth refrigerant passage).
26 is opened and closed, and has a cylindrical lower end peripheral edge engages with a lower valve seat (lower valve seat) 29 from above, and an upper end peripheral edge with the same shape acts as a middle valve seat 28. It is designed to engage from below.

The third valve body 32 is slidable in a certain range in the vertical direction with respect to the valve rod 33. The flange 39 provided on the inner surface side of the third valve body 32 is
3 is elastically contacted with a pair of upper and lower engaging rings 40 and 41 via compression coil springs 42 and 43, respectively, whereby the third valve body 32 is vertically moved against the valve rod 33 by a constant urging force. It follows the direction. The joint space between the third valve body 32 and the valve rod 33 is also closed by the seal ring 44.

With this structure, a valve chamber is formed inside the case body 22. Hereinafter, regarding these valve chambers, a space between the upper valve seat 27 and the middle valve seat 28 is referred to as an upper valve chamber 45, and a space between the middle valve seat 28 and the lower valve seat 29 is referred to as an intermediate valve chamber 46. The space below the lower valve seat 29 is referred to as the lower valve chamber 47.

Next, the valve action will be described.

FIG. 2 shows the open mode in which the valve rod 33 is moved upward by the pulse motor 34 to the maximum extent. In this open mode, all the valve bodies 30, 31, 32 rise together with the valve rod 33, and the respective valve bodies 30, 31, 32 are separated from the lower valve seats 27, 28, 29, respectively. However, the peripheral edge of the upper end portion of the third valve body 32 contacts the middle valve seat 28 from below, and the second refrigerant passage 24 and the third refrigerant passage 25 are shut off. Therefore, in this state, the first refrigerant passage 23 and the second refrigerant passage 24, and the third refrigerant passage 25 and the fourth refrigerant passage 26, which are adjacent to each other, communicate with each other.

FIG. 3 shows a closed mode in which the valve rod 33 is moved downward by the pulse motor 34 to the maximum extent. In this closed mode, all the valve bodies 30, 31, 32 descend together with the valve rod 33, and the respective valve bodies 30, 31, 32 come into contact with the lower valve seats 27, 28, 29, respectively. Therefore,
In this state, the refrigerant passages 23, 24, 25 and 26 are closed by the valve seat portions 27, 28 and 29, respectively.

FIG. 4 shows a transition state from the closed mode to the partially open mode in which some valves are opened. That is, in the closed mode shown in FIG. 3, the first and third valve bodies 30 and 32 are elastically pressed from above by the compression coil springs 37 and 42, respectively, and the springs are in a contracted state. Further, in this state, the third refrigerant passage 25 and the intermediate valve chamber 46 communicate with each other.

In this state, when the valve rod 33 is moved upward to a state where the pressing compression springs 37 and 42 are fully extended, the first valve body 30 and the third valve body 32 cause the upper valve seat 27 to move.
The second valve body 31 rises while being in contact with the lower valve seat 29.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the second valve body 31 is raised together with the valve rod 33 in this way. In this state, the second valve body 31 is opened, the upper valve chamber 45 and the intermediate valve chamber 46 communicate with each other, and the third refrigerant passage 25 and the second refrigerant passage 24 communicate with each other.

Next, a refrigeration cycle apparatus using the refrigerant control valve 21 having such a configuration will be described.

In the refrigeration cycle apparatus of this embodiment, the compressor 51, the four-way valve 52, the outdoor heat exchanger 53, the expansion valve 54 as a pressure reducing mechanism, and the pair of indoor heat exchangers 55,
56 are sequentially connected by a refrigerant pipe 57. The refrigerant pipe 57 includes a bypass pipe 5 that bypasses the expansion valve 54.
8 and a bypass valve 59 for opening and closing the bypass pipe 58
And are provided.

On the indoor side, the refrigerant pipe 57 branches into two branch pipes 57a and 57b on the expansion valve 54 side via a branch portion 60, and one branch pipe 57a is connected to the first refrigerant passage 23 of the refrigerant control valve 21. After being directly connected and the other branch pipe 57b being connected to the first indoor heat exchanger 55,
It is connected to the third refrigerant passage 25 of the refrigerant control valve 21. Further, the refrigerant pipe 57 has a branch portion 61 on the four-way valve 52 side.
Via the two branch pipes 57c, 57d, one of the branch pipes 57c is connected to the second indoor heat exchanger 56 and is connected to the second refrigerant passage 24 of the refrigerant control valve 21, and The other branch pipe 57d is the refrigerant control valve 2
It is directly connected to the first fourth refrigerant passage 26.

However, during cooling, the bypass valve 59 is closed, the refrigerant control valve 21 is in the open mode shown in FIG. 2, and the refrigerant is compressed by the compressor 5 as indicated by the solid arrow a in FIG.
1, the four-way valve 52, the outdoor heat exchanger 53, the expansion valve 54, and the indoor heat exchangers 55 and 56 sequentially flow. In this case, in the refrigerant control valve 21 in the open mode, the first refrigerant passage 2
3 and the second refrigerant passage 24 communicate with each other via the upper valve chamber 45, and the third refrigerant passage 25 and the fourth refrigerant passage 26 communicate with each other via the lower valve chamber 47, so that the branch portion of the refrigerant pipe 57. The refrigerant flowing from 60 to the one branch pipe 57a is
From the first refrigerant passage 23 of the refrigerant control valve 21 to the second refrigerant passage 2
4 through the second indoor heat exchanger 56, branch pipe 57
c and branch portion 61. The refrigerant flowing from the branch portion 60 of the refrigerant pipe 57 into the other branch pipe 57b passes through the first indoor heat exchanger 55, the third refrigerant passage 25 of the refrigerant control valve 21 and the fourth refrigerant passage 26, Branch pipe 57d
And the branch portion 61. In each of the indoor heat exchangers 55 and 56, the cooling action of the indoor air is performed in parallel (two passes).

During heating, the refrigerant flows in the direction indicated by the broken line arrow b in FIG. 1, contrary to the case of cooling. In this case, the refrigerant control valve 21 remains in the open mode shown in FIG. 2, and the heating operation is performed in two passes.

At the time of dehumidification, the refrigerant is similar to that at the time of cooling, as shown in FIG.
, The bypass valve 59 is opened, the refrigerant flows through the bypass pipe 58, and the expansion valve 54 of the mother pipe portion does not function, as shown by the white arrow c in FIG.

On the other hand, the refrigerant control valve 21 is in the state shown in FIG. 4 in which the second valve body 31 is raised together with the valve rod 33 with respect to the state of the closed mode shown in FIG.

In this state, the refrigerant flows into the branch pipes 57a and 57b through the branch portion 60, but since one branch pipe 57a communicates with the closed refrigerant passage 23 of the refrigerant control valve 21, the flow is blocked. To be done.

On the other hand, in the other branch pipe 57b, the refrigerant passes through the reheat indoor heat exchanger 55, the third refrigerant passage 25 of the refrigerant control valve 21, the intermediate valve chamber 46 and the upper valve chamber 45, and the second refrigerant. It flows out of the passage 24. At this time, the flow passage cross-sectional area changes depending on the opening degree of the second valve body 31, so that the upper valve chamber 45 becomes an expansion chamber, and the refrigerant is decompressed.

Then, the refrigerant flowing out from the second refrigerant passage 24 flows into the indoor heat exchanger 56 for cooling, is subjected to an evaporation action here, and exhibits a dehumidifying function here. That is, the indoor heat exchanger 56 for cooling is disposed on the windward side of the indoor unit to perform dehumidification, and the indoor heat exchanger 55 for reheating.
Are located leeward to reheat the cooled air.

According to the refrigerant control valve 21 of the present embodiment, the refrigerant passages 23, 24, 25, 26 are set by setting the three valve bodies 30, 31, 32 in the open mode or the closed mode.
The two can be opened and closed in a paired manner, and a flow passage switching function corresponding to two switching valves can be obtained.

The compression valve springs 37 and 42 allow the second valve body 31 to open while the first valve body 30 and the third valve body 32 are kept in contact with the respective valve seats 27 and 29. Since the upper valve chamber 45, which is the secondary valve chamber of the second valve body 31, is the expansion chamber, the refrigerant can be expanded. Therefore, it has a pressure reducing function as well as a flow path switching function, and has a plurality of types of valve functions.

Further, according to the refrigeration cycle apparatus of the present embodiment, the refrigerant control valve 21 having both two kinds of switching valve function and expansion valve function is incorporated, whereby one valve is opened / closed for switching the flow path. Since it is also used as an expansion valve, an on-off valve (1 in FIG.
4, 15), an expansion valve (11 in the same figure), an auxiliary pipe (10 in the same figure) and the like need not be provided. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of parts, simplify the structure, reduce the manufacturing labor, and reduce the manufacturing cost.

Although the above-mentioned embodiment is applied to the heat pump type refrigeration cycle device, the present invention can be applied to a refrigeration dedicated cycle device.

Further, in the above embodiment, the refrigerant control valve has two on-off valve functions and one expansion valve function, but these functions can be appropriately increased to implement the embodiment.

Further, with respect to the structure of the valve body, the valve seat, the refrigerant passage, etc., various modifications and applications are possible other than the above embodiment.

[0049]

As described above, according to the refrigerant control valve of the present invention, a multifunctional and highly efficient refrigerant control valve capable of combining a plurality of valve functions into one and switching a plurality of flow paths and reducing the pressure is provided. According to the refrigeration cycle apparatus of the present invention, the number of flow path switching valves and the pressure reducing mechanism can be reduced as compared with the related art, thereby reducing the number of parts and simplifying the configuration. The manufacturing labor can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention and showing a schematic configuration of a refrigerant control valve and a system of a refrigeration cycle apparatus.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the refrigerant control valve according to the same embodiment, showing an open mode.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the refrigerant control valve according to the same embodiment, showing a closed mode.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the refrigerant control valve according to the same embodiment, showing a partially open mode.

FIG. 5 is a system diagram showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 Refrigerant control valve 22 Case body 23, 24, 25, 26 Refrigerant passage 27, 28, 29 Valve seat 30, 31, 32 Valve body 33 Valve rod 34 Drive mechanism (pulse motor) 37, 42 Spring (compression coil spring) 45 Expansion chamber (upper valve chamber) 51 Compressor 53 Outdoor heat exchanger 54 Decompression mechanism (expansion valve) 55 Reheat indoor heat exchanger 56 Cooling indoor heat exchanger 57 Refrigerant piping 57a, 57b, 57c, 57d Branch piping

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A cylindrical case body in which a plurality of refrigerant passages are provided at intervals in the axial direction, a plurality of valve seats provided at positions separating the respective refrigerant passages in the case body, and the case body. A valve rod inserted into the shaft center portion, a drive mechanism for driving the valve rod forward and backward along the axial direction, and a valve mechanism provided on the valve rod and moving toward and away from the valve seats as the valve rod advances and retracts. A plurality of valve bodies are provided, and the drive mechanism is set to an open mode in which the refrigerant passages are connected to each other by one-way movement of the valve rod and a closed mode in which all the refrigerant passages are closed. In addition, at least one of the valve bodies is configured to be urged in the opening direction by a spring to enable the opening operation in the closed mode, and the secondary side valve chamber of the valve body is an expansion chamber. Characteristic refrigerant control valve. 2. A refrigeration cycle apparatus in which a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, a pressure reducing mechanism and at least a pair of indoor heat exchangers are connected by a refrigerant pipe, wherein each indoor heat exchanger is used for reheating and cooling during dehumidifying operation. A refrigerant control valve according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerant pipe is branched in a series connection state for indoor use, and the refrigerant pipe is branched inside, and a refrigerant passage is connected to the branched pipe. The indoor heat exchanger for reheating is connected to one of the branch pipes connected to each of the refrigerant passages, which pipe is connected to the valve body that can be opened in the closed mode of the refrigerant control valve and is the primary side during dehumidification. In addition, the refrigeration cycle apparatus characterized in that the indoor heat exchanger for cooling is connected to the secondary side at the time of dehumidification.