JPH06174320A - Cooling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase a cooling capability of a refrigerant condenser in a freezer, and reduce the consumed amount of water of the refrigerant condenser and the amount of waste heat into a room. CONSTITUTION:In a refrigerant circuit of a freezer, refrigerant gas compressed by a compressor 11 is condensed by the successive passage through a primary air cooled condenser 13, a water cooled condenser 14, and a secondary air cooled condenser 15 and led from an expansion valve 18 to an evaporator 19 for evaporation and hence for freezing action and is further circulated to the compressor 11 while an automated water supply valve 21 is provided on a cooling water passage 12 to the water cooled condenser 14, whereby the automated water supply valve 21 is opened when a temperature condition is severe to actuate the water cooled condenser 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling device for refrigerators, chillers, refrigerators and the like, and more particularly to a refrigerant circuit thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional refrigerant circuit in a refrigerator is shown in FIG.
As shown in, the refrigerant gas compressed by the compressor 1 is condensed by the air-cooled or water-cooled condenser 2 and evaporated in the evaporator 4 through the expansion valve 3 to perform the refrigerating operation or the ice making operation, and the refrigerant gas is again cooled. Although it is configured to circulate to the compressor 1, when the condenser 2 is an air-cooled type, it is necessary to increase the size of the condenser 2 if the capacity of the compressor 1 is increased to increase the refrigerating capacity. As a result, the external dimensions of the refrigerator are significantly increased, and the amount of heat exhausted by the condenser 2 into the kitchen or the machine room is increased to raise the room temperature. As a result, the working environment in the room is deteriorated and the condenser 2 itself If the condenser 2 has a water cooling type, there is a problem that the cooling capacity is reduced and the refrigerator performance is adversely affected, or the load on the cooling in the kitchen increases, resulting in an increase in power consumption. The amount of cooling water is increasing Because of costly, freezing cost was on high.

Further, in the refrigerant circuit of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 6, the refrigerant gas compressed by the compressor 1 is sequentially condensed through the water-cooled condenser 5 and the air-cooled condenser 6, and thereafter the refrigerant gas shown in FIG.
However, the automatic water supply valve 7 for supplying the cooling water to the water-cooled condenser 5 is controlled to open and close by the temperature or pressure of the refrigerant liquid flowing out from the air-cooled condenser 6, and When the temperature or pressure falls below the set value and the automatic water supply valve 7 is closed, the cooling water stored in the water-cooled condenser 5 is heated by the high-temperature refrigerant gas discharged from the compressor 1 and rises in temperature high. , If the cooling water is discharged from this state, the drain pipe made of vinyl chloride may be bent by the heat of the high-temperature cooling water, or the adhesive for piping may melt, causing water leakage from the drain pipe. There is a problem that the generated water vapor condenses around the drain outlet and drops water drops, and once water leakage occurs, there is a drawback that it will cause serious trouble such as damaging the carpet on the floor where the refrigerator is installed. , The automatic water supply valve 7 Even when the opening / closing is repeated near the set temperature or set pressure, the temperature of the cooling water in the water-cooled condenser 5 rises to more than 60 ° C, which may cause an undesirable phenomenon similar to the above. .

Further, in the refrigerant circuit of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 7, the refrigerant gas compressed by the compressor 1 is sequentially condensed through the air-cooled condenser 6 and the water-cooled condenser 5, and thereafter, FIG.
It has the same configuration as the circuit of and has an automatic water supply valve 7 equivalent to that of FIG. 6, but regardless of whether the ambient temperature is high or low,
Since all the high-temperature refrigerant gas discharged from the compressor 1 passes through the air-cooled condenser 6 and exhaust heat is performed as much as possible here, there is a problem substantially similar to the case where the condenser 2 of FIG. 5 is of the air-cooled type. At the same time, a large amount of cooling water flows into the water-cooled condenser 5 to promote an increase in cost, and further, the temperature or pressure of the refrigerant liquid flowing out of the water-cooled condenser 5 falls below a set value to close the automatic water supply valve 7. At this time, the refrigerant is liquefied at the outlet of the air-cooled condenser 6, and the pipe volume behind it is increased due to the presence of the water-cooled condenser 5. As a result, the refrigerant gas comes first as shown in FIG. Since the amount of refrigerant to be filled must be increased as compared with the case of passing through, the homing etc. due to the start-up of the refrigerant is likely to occur, the compressor 1 may be damaged, and the reliability of the refrigerator is impaired. There was a flaw.

In each of the above-mentioned refrigerant circuits, a hot gas passage is provided, which bypasses the condensers 2, 5, 6 and the expansion valve 3 from the outlet side of the compressor 1 and communicates with the inlet side of the evaporator 4, By opening the hot gas valve installed in the hot gas passage, the high-temperature refrigerant gas is directly guided from the compressor 1 to the evaporator 4 to perform defrosting or deicing of the evaporator 4. When the ice making operation is performed, it is unavoidable that the same problems as described above are involved.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to enhance the cooling capacity of a refrigerant condenser in a cooling device and to reduce the amount of water consumed by the refrigerant condenser and the amount of heat exhausted into the room.

[0007]

Therefore, in the cooling device according to the present invention, the refrigerant gas compressed by the compressor is sequentially passed through the primary air-cooled condenser, the water-cooled condenser and the secondary air-cooled condenser. It is configured to be condensed and further circulated to the compressor through an expander and an evaporator.

[0008]

In other words, the high-temperature refrigerant gas flowing out of the compressor is first cooled through a small capacity primary air-cooled condenser, then passed through a water-cooled condenser, and further condensed through a secondary air-cooled condenser. While the cooling capacity of the condenser as a whole is enhanced, the amount of heat discharged into the room in which the cooling device is installed by the air cooling function of the condenser is relatively small,
You can easily suppress the rise in room temperature, and
Since the refrigerant gas is cooled by the primary air-cooled condenser and then passes through the water-cooled condenser, it is possible to prevent the temperature of the cooling water in the water-cooled condenser from rising to a high level even when the water-cooled condenser is not operating, and its drainage The obstacles of time can be avoided.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below by giving the same reference numerals to the same parts. In the refrigerant circuit 10 of the auger type ice maker shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerant gas compressed by the compressor 11 is air-cooled through a small capacity primary air-cooling condenser 13 to which cooling air is constantly supplied by a fan 12, By lowering the temperature to about 60 ° C., which is the saturation temperature of, the gas-liquid mixed state is introduced to the water-cooled condenser 14, and further, after passing through an oil cooler (not shown) in the compressor 11, the fan 12 also similarly. By passing through the secondary air-cooling condenser 15 to which cooling air is constantly supplied, the air is cooled again and condensed.

Next, the condensed refrigerant is transferred to the receiver tank 1
6, completely liquefied, and further, after passing through the dryer 17, the pressure is rapidly reduced in the expansion valve 18 and evaporated in the evaporator 19 to remove heat from the ice making water to perform the ice making operation, and then to the compressor 11 again. Circulate to. In addition, the cooling water pipe 20 connected to the water-cooled condenser 14 has an automatic water supply valve 21.
The automatic water supply valve 21 is controlled to open and close depending on the temperature or pressure of the refrigerant liquid flowing out from the secondary air-cooling condenser 15.

In the above apparatus, when the temperature or pressure of the refrigerant liquid flowing out from the secondary air-cooled condenser 15 is equal to or higher than the set value, the automatic water supply valve 21 is opened to supply the cooling water to the water-cooled condenser 14. The refrigerant passing through the water-cooled condenser 14 is cooled, but the air-cooled condenser 13, due to a decrease in ambient temperature,
When the cooling capacity of 15 becomes relatively large and the temperature or pressure of the refrigerant liquid flowing out from the secondary air-cooled condenser 15 becomes equal to or lower than a set value, the automatic water supply valve 21 is closed and the water-cooled condenser 1
4 does not cool the refrigerant.

That is, when the ambient temperature is relatively high, the automatic water supply valve 21 is opened and the water-cooled condenser 14 is actuated, so that the primary air-cooled condensation is performed on the kitchen or machine room where the ice maker is installed. Vessel 13 and secondary air-cooled condenser 15
Since the amount of heat discharged from the machine is kept low, it is possible to prevent hot air from staying in the kitchen or machine room, maintain a good working environment, and suppress indoor temperature rise. It can be demonstrated and its reliability can be easily enhanced.

Further, when the temperature or pressure of the refrigerant liquid flowing out from the secondary air-cooled condenser 15 falls below a set value due to a decrease in ambient temperature or the like, and it becomes unnecessary for the water-cooled condenser 14 to cool the refrigerant, Since the automatic water supply valve 21 is closed, the amount of cooling water consumed can be greatly reduced as compared with the conventional case, and the operating cost of the ice maker can be easily reduced. Moreover, even if the cooling water is not supplied to the water-cooled condenser 14 and the cooling water is stored inside, the refrigerant passing through the water-cooled condenser 14 has already been cooled by the primary air-cooled condenser 13 and has a saturated temperature. Since the temperature is lowered to 60 ° C., the stored water is not heated above this temperature, and therefore, when the stored water is discharged from the water-cooled condenser 14, the drain pipe receives heat damage, It is avoided that water vapor is generated near the drainage outlet and promotes dew condensation, which makes it much easier to handle as an ice machine. Needless to say, even in the case where the automatic water supply valve 21 is repeatedly opened and closed depending on the ambient temperature and the like, the same operational effect as described above can be obtained.

Further, by operating the water-cooled condenser 14 under severe temperature conditions, the capacities of the primary air-cooled condenser 13 and the secondary air-cooled condenser 15 are made relatively small to reduce the volume occupied by the entire condenser. It is possible to downsize the ice making machine and easily reduce the area required for its installation. Furthermore, a water-cooled condenser 14 is provided between the primary air-cooled condenser 13 and the secondary air-cooled condenser 15, and the water-cooled condenser 14 is provided when necessary.
However, since the secondary air-cooled condenser 15 is disposed behind the water-cooled condenser 14 and the refrigerant is liquefied at its outlet, the pipe volume on the downstream side thereof is air-cooled in the refrigerant circuit shown in FIG. It is smaller than the downstream side of the condenser 6 and has the merit that the amount of refrigerant enclosed is relatively small.

Since the primary air-cooling condenser 13 may have a small capacity, it can be constructed by simply using a bent copper tube to radiate heat, so that forced convection of cooling air can be omitted, and The use of an oil cooler may be omitted as shown in FIG. 2 and the refrigerant flowing out of the water-cooled condenser 14 may be directly guided to the secondary air-cooled condenser 15, or, as shown in FIG. A heat exchange section 22 is provided in which a pipe line reaching 18 and a pipe line extending from the evaporator 19 to the compressor 11 are in contact with each other, and the refrigerant flowing from the dryer 17 to the expansion valve 18 is subcooled in the heat exchange unit 22. Further, the opening / closing control of the automatic water supply valve 21 may be performed depending on the temperature or pressure of the refrigerant gas compressed by the compressor 11 before being condensed by the condenser. It is a function.

Next, the refrigerant circuit 30 of the refrigerator shown in FIG.
Has a structure similar to that of the refrigerant circuit 10 of FIG. 1 and can achieve the same effect as that of the refrigerant circuit 10, and directly communicates from the outlet side of the compressor 11 to the inlet side of the evaporator 19. The hot gas passage 31 is formed, and the hot gas passage 3 is formed.
When the hot gas valve 32 is installed in No. 1 and the evaporator 19 is defrosted or deiced, the fan 12 is stopped, the automatic water supply valve 21 is closed, and the hot gas valve 32 is opened. The hot refrigerant gas can be conducted from the machine 11 to the evaporator 19 to achieve its purpose.

This refrigerant circuit 30 includes air-cooled condensers 13 and 1
5 and the water-cooled condenser 14, the automatic water supply valve 2 is different from the refrigerant circuit of the refrigerator having only the water-cooled condenser.
It is necessary to increase the opening / closing set value of 1, and the refrigerant pressure on the high-pressure side during the refrigeration operation becomes relatively high. As a result, the refrigeration operation is temporarily stopped and the evaporator 19 is defrosted or deiced by the hot gas passage 31. At some times, the initial pressure of the refrigerant gas flowing through the evaporator 19 becomes high, so that the above defrosting or deicing can be performed quickly, and the ice making capacity of the ice making machine can be easily improved.

The refrigerant circuit 30 includes an air-cooled condenser 13,
Since it has 15 and the water-cooled condenser 14, the air-cooled condenser can have a small capacity as compared with the refrigerant circuit in the refrigerator having the same refrigerating capacity provided with only the air-cooled condenser.
When the ambient temperature is low, the automatic water supply valve 21 is closed to stop the cooling action of the water-cooled condenser 14, and the air-cooled condenser 1
When the refrigerant gas is cooled by only 3 and 15 to perform the refrigerating operation, the high pressure side refrigerant pressure becomes relatively high. Therefore, as in the case described above, the evaporator 19 can be quickly defrosted or deiced. The ice making capacity of the ice making machine can be easily improved.

Needless to say, by providing a hot gas passage having a hot gas valve also in the refrigerant circuits shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, it is possible to achieve the same effects as the refrigerant circuit 30. Absent. Further, by replacing the expansion valve in each of the above embodiments with a capillary tube or the like, or by changing the set value of the temperature or pressure for controlling the opening and closing of the automatic water supply valve, it is possible to change the ice making capacity, the amount of water consumption, etc. Furthermore, the present invention can be similarly applied to a cooling device such as a refrigerator or a refrigerator.

[0020]

In the cooling device according to the present invention, the refrigerant gas compressed by the compressor is sequentially cooled by the primary air-cooled condenser,
To condense through a water-cooled condenser and a secondary air-cooled condenser,
The cooling capacity of the entire condenser can be increased to reduce the size of the device, and the amount of heat discharged from the air-cooled condenser to the room will be smaller than in the past, improving the indoor work environment. At the same time, the operation of the cooling device itself is improved and its reliability is enhanced, and even when the water-cooled condenser is at rest, the internal cooling water temperature is prevented from rising and its drainage is suppressed. Time obstacles can be easily avoided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a refrigerant circuit diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a refrigerant circuit diagram according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a refrigerant circuit diagram in still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a refrigerant circuit diagram in still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a refrigerant circuit diagram in a conventional device.

FIG. 6 is a refrigerant circuit diagram in a conventional device.

FIG. 7 is a refrigerant circuit diagram in a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Refrigerant Circuit 11 Compressor 13 Primary Air Cooling Condenser 14 Water Cooling Condenser 15 Secondary Air Cooling Condenser 18 Expansion Valve 19 Evaporator 20 Cooling Water Pipeline 21 Automatic Water Supply Valve 22 Heat Exchange Section 30 Refrigerant Circuit 31 Hot Gas Path

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerant gas compressed by a compressor is successively condensed through a small-capacity primary air-cooled condenser, a water-cooled condenser and a secondary air-cooled condenser, and further passes through an expander and an evaporator to reach the compressor. A cooling device configured to circulate.