JPS6230705Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to a refrigerant amount detection device that is capable of determining whether or not the amount of refrigerant in a cooling cycle is appropriate in a vehicle interior in an automobile cooling system.

Conventionally, the appropriateness of the amount of refrigerant in the cooling cycle has been determined by observing the state of the refrigerant flowing in the cooling cycle through a sight glass provided in a liquid tank or high-pressure piping. In other words, if the amount of refrigerant flowing through the cooling cycle is appropriate, the bubbles will disappear and become transparent several minutes after the refrigerant compressor starts operating, and if the amount of refrigerant is insufficient, it will become transparent, like a white mist. This is because the condition continues, so it is possible to judge whether the amount of refrigerant is appropriate based on the condition of the refrigerant.

However, since the sight glass is located in the engine room together with the liquid tank or high-pressure piping, it is necessary to look through the sight glass after opening the bonnet, which is time-consuming and involves the danger of the bonnet falling. was.

Therefore, in this invention, light is transmitted through the refrigerant passage through which the refrigerant flows, and the transmission state is displayed on the display section of the control panel via an optical fiber, allowing occupants to enter the vehicle interior without opening the bonnet. The object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerant amount detection device that can immediately and safely determine whether or not the refrigerant amount is appropriate.

Examples of this invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In Fig. 1, the refrigerant amount detection device of this invention is shown, and the nipple-shaped pipe joint 1 is connected on both sides to the high-pressure piping between the liquid tank and the expansion valve of the cooling cycle. A refrigerant passage 2 is formed in the longitudinal direction, and a light emitting part 3 and a light receiving part 4, which will be described below, are provided to face each other with the refrigerant passage 2 in between.

The light emitting part 3 is a part that emits light, and is constructed by providing a lamp 6 and a transparent sealing glass 7 on one convex part 5a formed on the pipe joint 1. The lamp 6 is supported by the convex portion 5a via a lamp support member 8, and is surrounded by the convex portion 5a, the sealing glass 7, and the lamp support member 8, and is arranged in a chamber 9. . In addition, sealing glass 7
is fixed to the opening side of the convex portion 5a so as to partition the chamber 9 from the refrigerant passage 2 in front of the lamp 6,
Together with O-rings 10a and 10b provided before and after the sealing glass 7, the space between the refrigerant passage 2 and the chamber 9 is sealed.

The light receiving part 4 is a part that receives light, and the vicinity of one end of the optical fiber cable 11 is fixed to the other convex part 5b formed on the pipe joint 1 via a fixing member 12. Transparent sealing glass 13 so that one end surface abuts
is provided on the opening side of the convex portion 5b, and the sealing glass 13 and O-ring 14 seal between the refrigerant passage 2 and the outside. Therefore, the light emitted from the lamp 6 of the light emitting section 3 passes through the sealing glass 7 of the light emitting section 3, the refrigerant passage 2, and the sealing glass 13 of the light receiving section 4, and is received at one end of the optical fiber cable 11. It will be done.

The optical fiber cable 11 is configured by bundling a large number of optical fibers, and is interposed between the light receiving section 4 and the display section 16 of the control panel 15.
The light receiving section 4 and the display section 16 are connected. The control panel 15 is provided at the front of the vehicle interior, and includes a display section 16 and other control parts such as a cooler switch. In the illustrated embodiment, the display section 16 has a simple structure in which the other end of the optical fiber cable 11 is surrounded by a protective glass 16a, but in other embodiments, an optical signal may be converted into an electrical signal. It can also be displayed.

In FIG. 2, a circuit showing a method of supplying current to the lamp 6 of the light emitting section 3 is shown, and the lamp 6 is provided in parallel to the compressor drive circuit via a delay circuit 17. In the compressor drive circuit, when the cooler switch 18 and the temperature control control circuit 19 are closed, the relay 20 is activated, and the magnet coil 21 of the compressor 21 for refrigerant compression is activated.
a is excited to drive the compressor 21. Therefore, current is supplied to the lamp 6 after the delay circuit 17 delays for a certain period of time from the start of driving the compressor 21. The delay time in the delay circuit 17 is equal to the time required for bubbles of the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant passage 2 to disappear, and is set to about 2 minutes in a general cooling cycle.

In the above configuration, when the compressor 21 is driven, current is supplied to the lamp 6 of the light emitting section 3 and the light emitting section 3 emits light after a certain period of time has elapsed from the start of the drive. This light passes through the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant passage 2, is received by the light receiving section 4, and the intensity of the light is displayed on the display section 16 of the control panel 15 via the optical fiber cable 11. At this time, if the amount of refrigerant is appropriate, the amount of light received by the light receiving section 4 is large because the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant passage 2 is transparent, but if the amount of refrigerant is insufficient, the refrigerant passage 2
Since the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant becomes cloudy and has many bubbles, the amount of light received by the light receiving section 4 decreases and fluctuates narrowly. Therefore, by observing the state of the light on the display section 16, the occupant can judge whether the amount of refrigerant is appropriate.

As described above, according to this invention, in an automobile cooling system, a light emitting part that emits light and a light receiving part that receives light from the light emitting part are provided to face each other with a refrigerant passage in between, and the light receiving part Since the refrigerant amount detection device is constructed by connecting the control panel and the display section of the control panel via an optical fiber cable, the amount of received light that has passed through the refrigerant passage is displayed on the display section, and therefore it is possible to check whether the refrigerant amount is appropriate during the cooling cycle. This can be determined from inside the vehicle without having to open the bonnet or other troublesome tasks. Therefore, the appropriateness of the amount of refrigerant can be determined in a shorter time and more safely than in the past, reducing the risk of refrigerant shortage and reliably preventing cooling failures, compressor seizure, etc. due to refrigerant shortage.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the refrigerant amount detection device of this invention, and FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a method of supplying current to the lamp of the light emitting section. 2... Refrigerant passage, 3... Light emitting section, 4... Light receiving section, 11... Optical fiber cable, 15... Control panel, 16... Display section, 17... Delay circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. A light-emitting part that emits light and a light-receiving part that receives light from the light-emitting part are provided to face each other with a refrigerant passage in between, and the light-receiving part and a display part of a control panel are connected to each other. A refrigerant amount detection device in an automobile cooling system, characterized in that the device is connected via an optical fiber cable. 2. A refrigerant amount detection device in an automobile cooling system according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting portion emits light with a delay from the start of driving of the refrigerant compressor.