JPH11325666A - Liquid receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid receiver for simply replacing a filter only without replacing the entire liquid receiver. SOLUTION: In a liquid receiver comprising a cylindrical receiver main body 11 with one end thereof being blocked having an inflow opening 12 and an outflow opening 13 of a heat medium on the side thereof, a filter 30 contained therein, and a plug body 20 inserted and installed in one end of the receiver main body 11, a supporting bar 28 is provided with one end being adhered to the inner side end face, and the other end being detachably fitted in a recessed fitting part 33 provided in the filter 30. Further, at an opposing position near an opening part of the receiver main body 11 is provided a mounting hole, and a through hole 21 communicating with the mounting hole is provided near an end part in the plug body 20. A fixed pin 26 is passed through this mounting hole and the through hole 21, and a stopper is detachably secured to a protruding part of the fixed pin 26.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid receiver, and more particularly to a liquid receiver connected to a condenser incorporated in an air conditioner such as an automobile or a house, for separating a heat medium flowing from the condenser into a gas and a liquid. The present invention also relates to a liquid receiver for removing contaminants contained in a heat medium and discharging the heat medium to a condenser.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, as shown in FIG. 9, an air conditioning system used for an air conditioner of an automobile or a house includes a compressor a, a condenser b, a liquid receiver c, an expansion valve d and an evaporator e. And those connected via a pipe f are known.

[0003] In the air conditioning system AC thus configured, the high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous heat medium discharged from the compressor a passes through the condenser b and exchanges heat with the heat exchange fluid such as air. By performing exchange and releasing latent heat,
Condenses and liquefies. The high-temperature heat medium thus liquefied is once stored in the liquid receiver c and then sent to the expansion valve d, where it is adiabatically expanded by being ejected from a small hole (not shown) by the expansion valve d, thereby being adiabatically expanded to have a low temperature Evaporator e
Sent to In the evaporator e, the heat medium evaporates and evaporates by performing heat exchange with a heat exchange fluid, for example, air to absorb latent heat. The low-temperature and low-pressure heat medium thus vaporized is sent to the compressor a and adiabatically compressed,
It becomes a high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous heat medium and is sent to the condenser b again. By repeating such a series of cycles, the air conditioning system AC can be used for cooling and heating.

In the air conditioning system AC, the liquid receiver c
Separates the liquid-phase heat medium sent from the condenser b into gas and liquid, and temporarily stores the liquid therein. Further, it plays a role of removing impurities and the like contained in the heat medium in the course of one cycle.

[0005] In this case, the conventional liquid receiver has, for example, a tubular liquid receiver body having an inlet and an outlet for the heat medium on the side surfaces, and upper and lower ends thereof are integrally closed. A liquid receiver main body mainly constituted by a filter housed in the main body, or having, for example, an inlet and an outlet for a heat medium on a side surface, and having a closed one end; It is mainly composed of a plug inserted into the other end opening of the container main body and a filter housed in the liquid receiver main body, and the liquid receiver configured as described above is connected via a pipe. Connected to condenser. Among the above-mentioned conventional liquid receivers, the latter uses a fixing screw or the like to insert the plug into the liquid receiver main body. In addition,
The above-mentioned filter is a consumable item, and needs to be replaced when the ability to remove contaminants is reduced.

[0006]

However, in the former case of the conventional liquid receiver, since the liquid receiver main body is formed in a cylindrical shape having both ends integrally closed, the liquid receiver is housed therein. In order to replace the filter, it is necessary to replace the entire receiver body, which is difficult to replace and increases the cost for replacement.

In the latter case, since the plug is fixed by the fixing screw, it is necessary to provide a screw receiving block for receiving the fixing screw, so that assembling is troublesome and the plug is attached and detached. In such a case, the fixing screw must be rotated by a driver or the like, and there is a problem that attaching and detaching the plug is troublesome, especially in a narrow space in the automobile.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid receiver in which only a filter can be easily replaced without replacing the entire liquid receiver.

[0009]

To achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows. According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tubular liquid receiver main body having one end closed and having an inlet and an outlet for a heat medium on a side surface, a filter housed in the liquid receiver main body, and the liquid receiver. And a plug inserted into the opening end of the container body, one end of which is fixed to the inner end surface of the plug and the other end of which is provided on the filter. A support rod removably engaged with the receiving part, and a mounting hole orthogonal to the axial direction of the receiver main body is provided at an opposing position near an opening of the receiver main body; In the vicinity of the portion, a through-hole continuous with the mounting hole is provided, a fixing member is penetrated through the mounting hole and the through-hole, and a stopper is detachably fastened to an outer side of the mounting hole at a protrusion of the fixing member. It is characterized by that.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the filter is constituted by a cylinder having a ventilation portion on a side surface and a filter element housed in the cylinder. In this case, it is preferable to insert a desiccant into the liquid receiver main body (claim 3).

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the attachment and detachment of the fixing member for fixing the stopper in the main body of the receiver can be simplified, so that the attachment and detachment of the stopper can be facilitated. Also, by connecting the plug and filter with a support rod,
By removing the plug from the main body of the liquid receiver, the filter housed in the main body of the liquid receiver can be easily taken out.
Furthermore, since one end of the support bar and the engaging portion of the filter are detachably engaged, the filter can be easily replaced.

In this case, the filter is composed of a cylindrical body having a ventilation portion on the side surface and a filter element housed in the cylindrical body, so that the deformation of the filter and the filter element and the like remain in the liquid receiver. Thus, it is possible to prevent the filter element from being replaced (claim 2). Furthermore, by inserting a desiccant into the liquid receiver main body, water contained in the heat medium can be removed (claim 3).

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a liquid receiver according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, a description will be given of a liquid receiver used in an air conditioner such as an automobile, which is integrally brazed to a parallel flow type condenser.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing a state in which a liquid receiver according to the present invention is integrally joined to a condenser, FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of FIG.

The condenser 1 includes a pair of header pipes 2a,
2b, a plurality of heat exchange tubes 3 bridged between the header pipes 2a, 2b, and heat exchange fins such as corrugated fins 4 interposed between the heat exchange tubes 3 and joined together. It is mainly composed of

The header pipes 2a and 2b are formed in an approximately cylindrical shape from an extruded aluminum member, and cap members 5 are fixed to upper and lower ends thereof. In addition, for example, near the upper end on the outer side of one header pipe 2a (left side in FIG. 1), an inlet 7 for the heat medium is provided, and the lower end on the outer side of the other header pipe 2b (right side in FIG. 1). A heat medium outlet 8 is provided in the vicinity.
Further, an outlet 9a and an inlet 9b for the heat medium are formed in the side surface of the header pipe 2a to communicate with the liquid receiver 10 according to the present invention (see FIG. 4). The liquid receiver 10 is integrally brazed so as to communicate with the inflow hole 9b. The header pipe 2a
Between the outflow hole 9a and the inflow hole 9b.
c is interposed.

The heat exchange tube 3 is formed, for example, in a flat plate shape from an extruded shape member made of aluminum, and has therein a plurality of flow paths (parts) of a heat medium which penetrates in the longitudinal direction. (Not shown). Both ends of the heat exchange tube 3 thus formed are connected to both header pipes 2a, 2a.
On the opposite side of the b-side surface, a plurality of slits (not shown) arranged parallel to each other at appropriate intervals are inserted and fixed.

The heat exchange fins, ie, corrugated fins 4, are formed in a continuous wave shape by bending an aluminum plate material, and are interposed between the heat exchange tubes 3 and brazed. In this case, the corrugated fins 4 are also brazed to the outer sides of the heat exchange tubes 3 arranged at the uppermost stage and the lowermost stage.
In order to protect the corrugated fins, a side plate 6 is further brazed to the outside of both corrugated fins 4.

First Embodiment A first embodiment of the liquid receiver according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. The liquid receiver 10 includes the liquid receiver main body 1.
1 and a filter 30 housed in the receiver main body 11.
And a cap member 15 for closing one end of the receiver body 11
And a plug 20 inserted into the other end opening of the receiver main body 11.
It is mainly composed of One end of a support rod 28 is joined to the inner end surface of the plug 20, and the other end of the support rod 28 is detachably engaged with the filter 30.

The liquid receiver main body 11 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape by, for example, an extruded shape member made of aluminum, and a mounting hole 14 is provided at an opposing position near the opening of the liquid receiver main body 11 on the side of the plug 20. (See FIGS. 7A and 7B). The condenser 1 is provided on a side surface of the receiver main body 11.
The joints 16 and 17 joined to the side surface of the header pipe 2a are integrally formed with the liquid receiver main body 11. The joints 16 and 17 are formed by extruding integrally with the liquid receiver main body 11 and then cutting off a predetermined portion. In addition, an inflow port 12 and an outflow port 13 for the heat medium are provided in the lower joint portion 17. Such joints 16, 17
Is joined to the side surface of the header pipe 2a of the condenser 1 by, for example, brazing. In this case, the receiver main body 11
The outlet 12 of the header pipe 2a communicates with the outlet 9a of the header pipe 2a.
The brazing is performed in a state where the inflow hole 9b of FIG. Note that the joining portions 16 and 17 do not necessarily need to be formed at two locations, and may be formed, for example, as one joining portion connected in a vertical direction, or at three or more locations.

The filter 30 is mainly composed of a cylindrical body 31 made of, for example, aluminum and having a substantially cylindrical shape with a bottom, and a filter element 34 filled in the cylindrical body 31. In this case, a ventilation portion 32 formed of, for example, a metal mesh is provided on a side surface of the cylindrical body 31 (see FIG. 6), and a bottom portion of the cylindrical body 31 is provided with an opening that opens upward. A mating portion, for example, a fitting concave portion 33 is provided. Also,
As shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 4, a desiccant 35 formed in, for example, a substantially columnar shape is inserted into the upper part of the filter 30 in the liquid receiver main body 11 to remove water contained in the heat medium. It can be absorbed and removed.

The cap member 15 is formed in a substantially hat shape by, for example, an aluminum member.
Is fixed so as to close the opening at one end (the lower side in FIG. 4). In this case, it suffices that the opening at one end of the liquid receiver main body 11 can be closed, so that means other than the cap member 15 may be used, for example, a bottom is integrally provided to close the one end of the liquid receiver main body 11. .

The plug 20 is formed in a substantially columnar shape by, for example, an extruded member made of aluminum, and is removably inserted into the opening of the liquid receiver main body 11. For example, at two locations on the side surface of the plug 20, a concave groove 24 is provided,
A sealing member such as an O-ring 25
Are fitted respectively to keep the gap between the liquid receiver main body 11 and the plug body 20 airtight. The number of the grooves 24 is not necessarily two, but may be one or three.

In the vicinity of the end (the upper end in FIGS. 4 and 5) of the plug 20, a through-hole 21 which is continuous with the mounting hole 14 of the liquid receiver main body 11 is provided. 14, a fixing member such as a fixing pin 2
6 is inserted, and a stopper, for example, an E-ring 27 is detachably fastened near the outer side of the mounting hole 14 in the protrusion 26a of the fixing pin 26 (see FIGS. 7A and 7B). . Further, the support rod 28 is provided on the inner end surface of the plug 20.
Is provided with an insertion concave portion 22 for inserting one end of the insertion hole. Note that the fixing member and the stopper are fixed to the fixing pin 26 and E
The invention is not limited to the ring 27. For example, a fixing bolt and a nut may be used. That is, the through hole 21
Alternatively, a fixing bolt may be passed through the mounting hole 14 and a nut may be fastened or screwed to the protrusion of the fixing bolt.

The support rod 28 is formed of, for example, a rod-shaped member made of aluminum. One end of the support rod 28 is inserted into the insertion concave portion 22 provided on the inner end surface of the plug 20 and is fixed by, for example, welding. ing. In this case, the support rod 28 penetrates the desiccant 35 in the up-down direction, and the other end is detachably fitted (engaged) and fixed to a fitting recess 33 provided in the cylindrical body 31 of the filter 30. ing.

According to the liquid receiver 10 configured as described above, as shown by a dashed line with an arrow in FIG. 4, the inlet port of the liquid receiver main body 11 from the outlet hole 9a of the header pipe 2a in the condenser 1. The heat medium flows through the heat medium 12, and the heat medium penetrates and passes through the desiccant 35 and the filter 30, whereby impurities and moisture contained in the heat medium can be removed. Of the heat medium thus purified, the liquefied portion flows from the outlet 13 through the inflow hole 9b of the header pipe 2a and flows into the header pipe 2a, and the gas portion flows into the receiver 10 Remains at the top of the

Next, a procedure for replacing the filter 30 and the desiccant 35 will be described. First, the protrusion 2 of the fixing pin 26
The E-ring 27 fixed to 6a is removed, and the fixing pin 26 is removed from the mounting hole 14 of the receiver main body 11 and the through hole 21 of the plug 20. Next, by pulling up the plug 20, the plug 20 and the support rod 2 having one end fixed to the plug 20 are supported.
8 and a desiccant 35 inserted in the receiver main body 11.
And a filter 30 fitted and fixed to the other end of the support rod 28.
Is taken out of the receiver main body 11.

Thereafter, the filter 30 is removed from the support rod 28, and the desiccant 35 is removed.
After passing through the support rod 28, a new filter 30 is attached. In this way, the plug 20 in which the new filter 30 and the desiccant 35 are attached to the support rod 28 is accommodated in the receiver main body 11, and the fixing pin 26 is passed through the through-hole 21 and the attachment hole 14. The replacement of the filter 30 is completed by fastening the E-ring 27 to the protruding portion 26a of the fixing pin 26. The present invention is not limited to the case where the entire filter 30 is replaced as described above. The used filter element 34 may be taken out of the cylinder 31 and the cylinder 31 may be washed and dried, and then filled with a new filter element 34.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the liquid receiver according to the present invention will be described.
A description will be given based on FIG. In the second embodiment, the plug 20 is inserted into the lower end of the receiver main body 11, and the cap member 15 is attached and fixed to the upper end of the receiver main body 11.

In this case, the liquid receiver 10 according to the second embodiment
A is a receiver main body 11, a filter 40 housed in the receiver main body 11, a cap member 15 for closing one end (the upper end in FIG. 8) of the receiver main body 11, a receiver main body 11 And the plug 20 inserted into the opening of the other end (the lower end in FIG. 8). One end of a support rod 29 is joined to the inner end surface (the upper end surface in FIG. 8) of the plug 20, and the other end of the support rod 29 is detachably engaged with the filter 40.

The plug 20 is, as in the first embodiment,
For example, it is formed in an approximately cylindrical shape by an extruded shape member made of aluminum, and is removably inserted into the opening of the liquid receiver main body 11. For example, at two places on the side surface of the plug 20,
Concave grooves 24 are provided around, and seal members such as O-rings 25 are respectively fitted in these concave grooves 24 to maintain a gap between the receiver main body 11 and the plug 20 in a water-tight manner. I have. Further, an insertion recess 22 (FIG. 5)
Reference).

In the vicinity of the end of the plug 20, a through-hole 2 connected to the mounting hole 14 (see FIG. 7) of the liquid receiver main body 11 is provided.
A fixing member, for example, a fixing pin 26 is inserted through the through hole 21 and the mounting hole 14, and a stopper is provided near the outer side of the mounting hole 14 in the protrusion 26 a of the fixing pin 26. For example, an E-ring 27 is detachably fastened (see FIGS. 7A and 7B).

The support rod 29 is formed of a rod-like member having a threaded portion 29b engraved on at least one end side surface.
The end having the screw portion 29b is the insertion recess 2 of the plug 20.
2 and is fixed, for example, by welding.

The filter 40 is mainly composed of a cylindrical body 41 made of, for example, aluminum and having a substantially cylindrical shape with a bottom, and a filter element 34 filled in the cylindrical body 41.
In this case, an engagement portion, for example, a screw hole 43 is provided at the bottom of the cylindrical body 41, and a ventilation portion 42 made of, for example, a metal mesh is provided on the side surface. A desiccant 35 formed in a substantially cylindrical shape is inserted into the liquid receiver main body 11, and a support rod 29 penetrates vertically through the desiccant 35. Insert the end of the support rod 29 on the opposite side to the plug 20 into the screw hole 43 of the filter 40 configured as described above, move the plug to the plug 20 side, and fix the screw. It is housed in the container body 11.

Since the other parts in the second embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

When the filter 40 and the desiccant 35 are replaced, the E-ring 27 is first removed, the fixing pin 26 is removed, and the plug 20 is pulled downward.
The plug 20, the support rod 29, the filter 40, and the desiccant 35 are taken out of the receiver main body 11. Then, the filter 40
While rotating the cylindrical body 41, it is moved to the other end of the support rod 29 to remove it, and the desiccant 35 is removed from the support rod 29. Next, a new desiccant 35 is passed through the support rod 29, and a new filter 40 is screwed into the support rod 29, moved toward the stopper 20, and then stored in the receiver main body 11 again. Thereafter, the fixing pin 26 is passed through the mounting hole 14 and the through hole 21, and an E-ring is fastened near the outer side of the mounting hole 14 in the protrusion 26 a of the fixing pin 26, thereby completing the replacement operation.

When the filter 40 is replaced, only the filter element 34 may be replaced as described in the first embodiment.

In the above embodiment, the case where the liquid receiver main body is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape has been described. However, the liquid receiver body may be formed in a cylindrical shape having a substantially elliptical cross section or a substantially polygonal cross section. Of course, it is good.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, because of the above-described configuration, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

(1) According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the fixing member for fixing the stopper in the receiver main body can be easily attached and detached, the attachment and detachment of the stopper can be facilitated. . Also, by connecting the plug and the filter with the support rod, the plug is taken out from the receiver main body, so that the filter contained in the receiver main body can be easily taken out. Furthermore, since one end of the support bar and the engaging portion of the filter are detachably engaged, the filter can be easily replaced.

(2) According to the second aspect of the invention, the filter is composed of a cylindrical body having a ventilation portion on a side surface and a filter element housed in the cylindrical body. Can be prevented from remaining inside the liquid receiver, and only the filter element can be replaced. Therefore, replacement of the filter can be performed more easily and at low cost.

(3) According to the third aspect of the invention, moisture contained in the heat medium can be removed by inserting the desiccant into the liquid receiver main body. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the heat efficiency of the heat medium from being reduced due to the inclusion of water.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing an example of a condenser equipped with a liquid receiver according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the plug and the support rod according to the present invention in an enlarged manner.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional perspective view showing a cylindrical body of a filter according to the present invention.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are an enlarged perspective view and a plan view showing a main part of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a modification of the liquid receiver according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a configuration of a conventional air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 10A liquid receiver 11 liquid receiver main body 12 inflow port 13 outflow port 14 mounting hole 15 cap member 20 plug 21 through hole 26 fixing pin (fixing member) 27 E-ring (stopper) 28, 29 support rod 30, 40 Filter 31, 41 Cylindrical body 32, 42 Ventilation part 33 Fitting concave part (engaging part) 34 Filter element 35 Desiccant 43 Screw hole (engaging part)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A tubular liquid receiver main body having one end having an inlet and an outlet for a heat medium on a side surface, a filter housed in the liquid receiver main body, and a filter provided in the liquid receiver main body. A stopper inserted into the opening end, wherein one end is fixed to an inner end surface of the stopper and the other end is attached to and detached from an engaging portion provided on the filter. A support rod is provided so as to be capable of being engaged, and at an opposing position near an opening of the liquid receiver main body,
A mounting hole orthogonal to the axial direction of the liquid receiver main body is provided, a through hole connected to the mounting hole is provided near an end of the plug body, and a fixing member is passed through the mounting hole and the through hole, and the fixing is performed. A liquid receiver characterized in that a stopper is removably fastened to an outer side of a mounting hole in a projecting portion of the member. 2. The liquid receiver according to claim 1, wherein the filter is constituted by a cylinder having a ventilation portion on a side surface and a filter element housed in the cylinder. 3. The receiver according to claim 1, wherein a desiccant is inserted into the receiver body.