JPH0658653A - Gas liquid separator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a gas liquid separator in which a gas liquid separation of refrigerant can be positively and stably carried out and concurrently a multi- pass uniform distribution of the refrigerant can be attained in the case that the refrigerant is applied to a heat pump freezing cycle. CONSTITUTION:In the case that refrigerant is fed from a first pipe passage 14 in a gas-liquid separator 3, its flowing pressure is received to cause a resistor member 34 of a check valve 35 to be moved and a third pipe passage 18 is closed by a valve 42 and in turn in the case that the refrigerant is flowed out of the first pipe passage 14, its flowing pressure is received, the resistor member 34 is moved and the third pipe passage 18 is opened by the valve member 42. Accordingly, the gas-liquid separator 3 is applied to a heat pump freezing cycle, the first pipe passage 14 is connected to an indoor heat exchanger, the second pipe passage 13 is connected to an expansion valve and the third pipe passage 18 is connected to the indoor heat exchanger at its downstream side while bypassing it, respectively, resulting in that only the liquid refrigerant flows within the indoor heat exchanger during cooling operation and its multi-pass uniform distribution can be realized.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gas-liquid separator applicable to a heat pump refrigeration cycle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, when a heat exchanger using a large capacity heat exchanger or a small diameter pipe (for example, a diameter of 9.5 mm or less) is used in a compression type refrigeration cycle, the refrigerant flowing in the pipe of the heat exchanger is used. From the viewpoint of preventing the refrigerant temperature from decreasing due to the pressure loss, it has been attempted to reduce the refrigerant circulation amount per one pass to suppress the increase in the pressure loss, particularly in the evaporator by using the multi-pass type. However, since the refrigerant is in a gas-liquid two-phase state on the inlet side of the evaporator, it is difficult to evenly distribute the refrigerant to each path of the evaporator. Due to the uniformity, there was a problem that the capacity of the heat exchanger could not be fully utilized.

As one of means for solving such a problem,
A vapor-liquid separator is provided on the refrigerant inlet side of an evaporator that requires multi-pass distribution, and the vapor-liquid separator separates a gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant into a gas refrigerant and a liquid refrigerant, thereby contributing to heat exchange. A small-sized gas refrigerant is diverted from the bypass path that bypasses the evaporator to the downstream side of the evaporator, and only the liquid refrigerant is distributed to each path in a single phase in the evaporator, thereby achieving uniform distribution of the refrigerant. It is also possible.

[0004]

However, when the gas-liquid separator provided with such a bypass passage is directly applied to the heat pump refrigeration cycle, the refrigerant flows in opposite directions during the cooling operation and the heating operation. And the heat exchanger functioning as an evaporator during the cooling operation functions as a condenser during the heating operation, so that the gas refrigerant flowing into the heat exchanger during the heating operation passes through the bypass passage. The amount of refrigerant flowing into the heat exchanger is significantly reduced, and the heat exchange capacity is extremely reduced. As a countermeasure against such a case, it is conceivable to provide a check mechanism in the bypass passage, but it is difficult to ensure proper operation with a conventionally known check valve because the pressure loss in the condenser is very small. And it is not possible to achieve the purpose sufficiently.

Therefore, in the present invention, the gas-liquid separation of the refrigerant can be efficiently and stably carried out in spite of its compact structure, and an appropriate check function can be obtained even under the condition of low pressure loss. By doing so, the gas-liquid separator applicable to the heat pump refrigeration cycle is not provided.

[0006]

As a concrete means for solving such a problem in the invention of the present application, in the invention of claim 1, as shown in FIGS. One end 14a of the first conduit 14 connected to the refrigerant outlet side of the outdoor heat exchanger 6 functioning as a condenser during the cooling operation is opened upward or downward at an intermediate portion in the vertical direction of The liquid phase portion 32a located in the lower portion of the casing 31 has one end 13a of the second pipeline 13 connected to the refrigerant inlet side of the indoor heat exchanger 4 which functions as an evaporator during the cooling operation opened, and In the gas phase portion 32b located above the casing 31, one end 18a of the third pipe line 18 bypassing the indoor heat exchanger 4 and connected to the refrigerant outlet side thereof is opened, and the gas phase portion 32b is further opened. Up and down on 32b A valve body 42 capable of opening or closing one end 18a of the third conduit 18 by displacement, and a valve body 42 arranged to face the one end 14a of the first conduit 14 from the first conduit 14 Refrigerant is casing 31
When it flows into the inside, it receives the flow pressure and the valve body 42
When the refrigerant flows from the inside of the casing 31 through the first conduit 14, the flow pressure of the refrigerant causes the resistance element 3 to urge the valve element 42 in the valve opening direction.
It is characterized in that a check valve 35, which is integrally connected to 4 and 4, is arranged.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the gas-liquid separator according to the first aspect, the resistor 34 is formed of a spherical body, while the one end 14a of the first conduit 14 has an end face 1 thereof.
It is characterized in that it is an expanded portion 43 whose diameter gradually increases toward the 4b side.

[0008]

With each of the inventions of the present application, the following effects can be obtained by adopting such a configuration.

During the cooling operation in which the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant is introduced from the outdoor heat exchanger 6 side, which functions as a condenser, into the gas-liquid separator 3 from the first conduit 14, the first conduit 14 One end
The resistance element 34 of the check valve 35 provided facing 4a receives the fluid pressure of the refrigerant to act as the valve element 42, and the third conduit 1
8 works to open. Therefore, the gas-liquid separator 3
The liquid refrigerant separated into gas and liquid inside flows out from the second pipe line 13 opening to the liquid phase portion 32a to the indoor heat exchanger 4 side which functions as an evaporator, and the gas refrigerant opens to the gas phase portion 32b. The indoor heat exchanger 4 is bypassed from the third pipe 18 and discharged downstream. For this reason, since the liquid refrigerant flows in a single-phase state in the indoor heat exchanger 4, when the indoor heat exchanger 4 is configured by a multi-pass heat exchanger, the refrigerant is uniformly distributed to each path. It will be realized.

On the other hand, during the heating operation, the gas refrigerant is introduced to the side of the indoor heat exchanger 4 which functions as a condenser, so that when the third pipe line 18 is in the open state, the gas refrigerant will be discharged. In most cases, the indoor heat exchanger 4 is bypassed from the third pipe 18 and flows into the gas-liquid separator 3 side as it is, and heat is not exchanged in the indoor heat exchanger 4. When the refrigerant flows out to the outdoor heat exchanger 6 side functioning as an evaporator through the first conduit 14, the flow pressure of the refrigerant causes the resistor 34 to be displaced, causing the valve element 42 to operate and the third valve to operate. Since the pipe line 18 is closed, the entire amount of the gas refrigerant flows through the indoor heat exchanger 4, and a good heat exchange action is realized.

Further, the resistance body 34 of the check valve 35 is formed into a spherical shape, and the one end 14a of the first conduit 14 which the resistance body 34 faces is expanded and expanded toward the end face 14b side. Since the opening 43 is formed, during the cooling operation, the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant flowing into the gas-liquid separator 3 from the first conduit 14 is guided by the outer peripheral surface of the resistor 34. Under the influence of the guide action of the inner surface of the expanding portion 43, the gas flows in a diffused state to the peripheral wall side of the gas-liquid separator 3. As a result, the flow passage area of the refrigerant is expanded, and the flow velocity of the refrigerant is reduced accordingly, so that the gas-liquid separation of the refrigerant is further promoted.

On the other hand, since the flow pressure to the resistor 34 changes as the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the first pipeline 14 changes, the third pipeline 18 that serves as a flow path for the gas refrigerant. The opening area of is automatically increased / decreased according to the change of the refrigerant flow rate, and the gas-liquid interface position in the gas-liquid separator 3 is controlled.

[0013]

Therefore, according to the gas-liquid separator of each invention of the present application, the following effects can be obtained.

(I) During the cooling operation in which the refrigerant flows from the first pipeline 14, the third pipeline 18 serving as a flow path for the gas refrigerant is opened, while the refrigerant flows out from the first pipeline 14. Since the third conduit 18 is closed during the heating operation, the gas-liquid separator 3 can be applied to a heat pump refrigeration cycle. And
When this gas-liquid separator 3 is applied to a heat pump refrigeration cycle, since only the liquid refrigerant is introduced into the indoor heat exchanger 4 in a single phase during the cooling operation, the indoor heat exchanger 4 is subjected to the multi-pass heat exchange. Even if it is configured with a heat exchanger, it is possible to evenly distribute the refrigerant to each path with a distributor with a simpler structure, which can reduce the cost of the heat pump refrigeration cycle and reduce the amount of gas refrigerant that contributes little to heat exchange. Since it does not pass through the indoor heat exchanger 4, the pressure loss of the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchanger 4 can be reduced, and the heat exchange performance can be improved accordingly.

(Ii) In the gas-liquid separator 3, the resistor 34 of the check valve 35 has a spherical shape and the one end 14a of the first conduit circulation conduit 14 is the expansion portion 43, so that the flow velocity of the refrigerant is increased. Since it is lowered to promote the gas-liquid separation of the refrigerant, it is possible to realize more reliable gas-liquid separation with a smaller gas-liquid separator 3 and to make the gas-liquid separator 3 compact. It is possible to achieve both the improvement of the gas-liquid separation performance and the improvement of the gas-liquid separation performance.

(Iii) Further, since the opening area of the third conduit 18 changes in accordance with the increase / decrease in the flow rate of the refrigerant, the gas-liquid interface position in the gas-liquid separator 3 is automatically controlled. ,
The gas-liquid separation in the gas-liquid separator 3 is performed more stably regardless of the flow rate of the refrigerant.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A gas-liquid separator according to the present invention will be specifically described below by taking the case of application to a heat pump type air conditioner as an example. FIG. 1 shows the entire system of the heat pump type air conditioner. . This air conditioner includes a compressor 1, a four-way switching valve 2, an indoor heat exchanger 4 which will be described later, a gas-liquid separator 3, an expansion valve 5, an outdoor heat exchanger 6 and an accumulator 7 which are the subject matter of the present invention. And the circulation lines 11 to 17
To form a refrigerant circulation system, and a heating operation (the flow of the refrigerant in this case is shown by a solid line arrow) and a cooling operation (the flow of the refrigerant in this case is shown by a broken line arrow) by the switching operation of the four-way switching valve 2. (Shown) and are selected.

The indoor heat exchanger 4 is composed of a multi-pass heat exchanger, and is provided with a distributor 8 on the side serving as the refrigerant inlet during the cooling operation and a header 9 on the side serving as the refrigerant inlet during the heating operation. ing.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the gas-liquid separator 3 is a casing 3 which is a cylindrical closed container having an upper part of an inner chamber 32 thereof as a gas phase part 32b and a lower part thereof as a liquid phase part 32a.
1, one end 13a of a circulation line 13 (corresponding to the second line in the claims), the other end of which is connected to the distributor 8 of the indoor heat exchanger 4, and the other end of which is the expansion One end 14a of the circulation line 14 (corresponding to the first line in the claims) connected to the outdoor heat exchanger 6 via the valve 5.
, And the other end is attached to one end 18a of a bypass conduit 18 which is connected in the middle of a circulation conduit 12 which connects the header 9 of the indoor heat exchanger 4 and the four-way switching valve 2.

Of the conduits 13, 14, 18, one end 13a of the circulation conduit 13 is open at the bottom of the liquid phase portion 32a. In addition, one end 1 of the circulation line 14
4a is an expanding portion 43 whose diameter gradually increases toward the end face 14b side, and is opened upward at an intermediate position in the vertical direction of the inner chamber 32.

Further, the bypass conduit 18 is attached downward from the upper surface side of the casing 31 so as to face the circulation conduit 14. The end surface 18b of the one end 18a of the bypass conduit 18 has a basin-shaped lid 3
7 is closed, and the opening 4 is provided at a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the one end 18a corresponding to the peripheral wall 37a of the lid 37.
, 41, ... Are formed. Therefore, the bypass conduit 18 passes through the inside of the lid 37 from the opening 41 and opens in an annular shape toward the end surface 37b side. Further, an annular valve seat 38 is attached to the end surface 37b side of the lid body 37, and a valve body 42 of a check valve 35 described later is arranged on the valve seat 38 so as to be seated or separated.

The check valve 35 is provided in the bypass line 18
It has an annular valve body 42 which can be seated on the side valve seat 38 and close it. The valve body 42 is constantly urged by the valve support spring 39 in the direction in which it is seated on the valve seat 38, and the spherical resistor 34 is interposed by the support frame 36 elastically supported on the casing 31 side by the damping spring 40. It is integrally connected with. The resistor 34 is coaxially arranged so as to face the expanding portion 43 of the circulation conduit 14, and the relative position with respect to the expanding portion 43 in the vertical direction is as shown in FIG. Disc 42
Is seated on the valve seat 38 and closes the bypass conduit 18, and is located deep in the expanded portion 43,
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the valve body 42 is located near the end of the expanding portion 43 in a state where the valve body 42 is separated upward from the valve seat 38 to open the bypass conduit 18. Therefore, the refrigerant passage in the expanded portion 43 is adapted to increase or decrease in response to the vertical position of the resistor 34.

Next, the operation of the gas-liquid separator 3 thus constructed will be described with reference to the operation of the entire air conditioner.

During cooling operation During cooling operation, the indoor heat exchanger 4 functions as an evaporator and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 functions as a condenser, and the refrigerant circulates in the direction indicated by the chain line arrow in FIG. That is, the high-temperature high-pressure gas refrigerant Fg discharged from the compressor 1 is
And, it flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 6 via the circulation pipe line 15 and is condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger 6 to become the liquid refrigerant Fl.
Then, the liquid refrigerant Fl is decompressed in the expansion valve 5, becomes a gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant Fgl, and flows into the gas-liquid separator 3 from the circulation pipeline 14.

In the gas-liquid separator 3, as shown in FIG. 2, when the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant Fgl flows upward from the expanded portion 43 of the circulation line 14, it receives the flow pressure of the refrigerant. As a result, the resistor 34 of the check valve 35 is pushed upward, and the valve body 42 is separated from the valve seat 38 accordingly, and the check valve 35 is opened.

On the other hand, the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant Fgl is guided by the inner surface of the expanding portion 43 and the outer peripheral surface of the resistor 34 and flows out from the surroundings toward the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the casing 31 in a diffused state. Therefore, the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant Fgl is smoothly gas-liquid separated due to the decrease in the flow velocity due to the rapid expansion of the flow passage area. Then, the separated liquid phase portion 32a accumulates in the liquid phase portion 32a, and is made to flow out from there to the distributor 8 side of the indoor heat exchanger 4 through the circulation pipe line 13. On the other hand, the separated gas refrigerant Fg bypasses the indoor heat exchanger 4 via the bypass pipe 18 and flows out to the downstream side thereof.

Therefore, in the indoor heat exchanger 4, since only the liquid refrigerant Fl is introduced into the distributor 8 in the single-phase state, for example, compared with the case where the refrigerant is introduced in the gas-liquid two-phase state. The uniform distribution of the refrigerant to each path is realized, and as a result, in the indoor heat exchanger 4, the gas refrigerant Fg that hardly contributes to heat exchange does not flow and the pressure loss of the refrigerant in the indoor heat exchanger 4 is small. This also helps to ensure higher heat exchange performance.

In gas-liquid separation in the gas-liquid separator 3, the opening degree of the check valve 35 is controlled by the flow pressure of the refrigerant acting on the resistor 34, that is, the flow rate of the refrigerant, and the flow rate of the refrigerant is If the amount of gas is decreased, the flow passage area of the bypass conduit 18 is correspondingly decreased, and the position of the gas-liquid separation interface in the gas-liquid separator 3 is automatically controlled. Therefore, the indoor heat exchanger 4 A good gas-liquid separation action is always ensured even when the load in the case fluctuates and the refrigerant flow rate changes.

That is, in this embodiment, by disposing the gas-liquid separator 3, a high-level gas-liquid separation action and uniform distribution of the refrigerant to each path of the indoor heat exchanger 4 are achieved during the cooling operation. Will be realized at the same time.

During heating operation During heating operation, the indoor heat exchanger 4 functions as a condenser and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 functions as an evaporator. Therefore, the gas refrigerant Fg is introduced into the indoor heat exchanger 4 from the circulation line 12. In this case, when the bypass pipe line 18 is in the open state, the gas refrigerant Fg flows through the bypass pipe line 18 having a low resistance, hardly flows to the indoor heat exchanger 4 side, and the heat exchange action is hardly performed. Become. However, in the case of this embodiment, in such a case, as shown in FIG. 3, the liquid refrigerant flowing from the circulation line 13 into the gas-liquid separator 3 and flowing out from the expanded portion 43 of the circulation line 14. The flow pressure of Fl causes the resistor 34 of the check valve 35 to move downward, causing the valve body 42 to move to the valve support spring 3
It works in cooperation with the biasing force of 9 to bias in the valve closing direction. Therefore, the check valve 35 maintains the closed state regardless of the pressure of the gas refrigerant Fg introduced into the bypass pipeline 18 to close the bypass pipeline 18. Therefore, the entire amount of the gas refrigerant Fg sent from the compressor 1 flows through the indoor heat exchanger 4, a good heat exchange action is realized, and heating operation is possible.

FIG. 4 shows a gas-liquid separator 3 according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the gas-liquid separator 3, in the above embodiment, the circulation line 14 and the bypass line 18 are arranged to face each other, and the valve seat 38 is arranged on the end face of the lid 37 attached to the bypass line 18. While it was,
The circulation line 14 and the bypass line 18 are arranged in a substantially orthogonal state, and the valve seat 38 is directly attached to the peripheral wall of the casing 31. In the case of such a structure, compared with the case of the above-described embodiment, the valve body 42 is larger and the kinetic mass is increased, but the operability is inferior, but the member such as the lid 37 is unnecessary. There is an advantage that the structure can be simplified by a certain amount and the cost can be reduced. The gas-liquid separator 3 of this embodiment basically operates in the same manner as the above-mentioned embodiment, and the same effects can be obtained, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall system diagram of a heat pump type air conditioner including a gas-liquid separator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed structural explanatory view of the gas-liquid separator shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a state change diagram of the gas-liquid separator shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a detailed structural explanatory view of a gas-liquid separator according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a compressor, 2 is a four-way switching valve, 3 is a gas-liquid separator, 4 is an indoor heat exchanger, 5 is an expansion valve, 6 is an outdoor heat exchanger, 7 is an accumulator, 8 is a distributor, and 9 is a header. , 13 is a circulation pipeline (second pipeline), 14 is a circulation pipeline (first pipeline), 18
Is a bypass line (third line), 31 is a casing, 32
Is an inner chamber, 34 is a resistor, 35 is a check valve, 36 is a support frame, 37 is a lid, 38 is a valve seat, 39 is a valve support spring, 40 is a vibration damping spring, 41 is an opening, and 42 is a valve body. , 43 are expanded portions, and 45 and 46 are valve support springs.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Koichi Yaseo 1304 Kanaoka-cho, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture Daikin Industries, Ltd.Kanaoka Plant, Sakai Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sakai Factory Kanaoka Factory

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A first pipe line connected to a refrigerant outlet side of an outdoor heat exchanger (6), which functions as a condenser during cooling operation, at an intermediate portion in a vertical direction in a casing (31) having a predetermined volume.
One end (14a) of (14) is opened upward or downward, while the liquid phase part (32a) located at the bottom of the casing (31) has an indoor heat exchanger that functions as an evaporator during cooling operation.
One end of the second pipeline (13) connected to the refrigerant inlet side of (4)
(13a) is opened and the gas phase part (32b) is located above the casing (31).
At the end of the third heat pipe (18) bypassing the indoor heat exchanger (4) and connected to the refrigerant outlet side of the third heat exchanger (18a), and further at the gas phase portion (32b). , A valve body (42) capable of opening or closing one end (18a) of the third conduit (18) by vertical displacement, and the first conduit (1)
4) is arranged so as to face one end (14a) of the first pipe line (14)
When the refrigerant flows into the casing (31) from the inside of the casing (31), the valve body (42) is urged in the valve closing direction by receiving the flow pressure of the refrigerant. If the refrigerant flows out through the
A gas-liquid separator characterized in that a check valve (35) formed by integrally connecting a resistor (34) for urging the valve (42) in the valve opening direction is arranged. 2. The resistance element (34) according to claim 1, wherein the resistance element (34) is a spherical body, and one end of the first conduit (14).
A gas-liquid separator characterized in that (14a) is an expanding portion (43) whose diameter gradually increases toward the end face (14b) side.