KR100325802B1 - Flow rate control valve - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A flow rate control valve is provided to improve flow rate control performance by excluding a thermal expanding liquid or a diaphragm. CONSTITUTION: A lower housing(21) is formed in a specific shape. An upper housing(22) having an inlet(22a) and an outlet(22b) includes a specific space(23) charged with a liquid refrigerant. The upper housing is fixed on the upper face of the lower housing. A spool(24) combined to a guide hole(21a) of the lower housing moves up and down. A sealing unit prevents the leakage of a liquid refrigerant charged in the space of the upper housing. The spool is elastically supported on an elastic support unit combined to the lower portion of the spool. The spool is lifted up and down by a drive unit.

Description

Flow control valve

The present invention relates to a flow regulating valve applied to a refrigeration cycle, and more particularly to a flow regulating valve that can further improve the flow regulating performance, and further improve durability.

Generally, a refrigeration cycle is basically composed of an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser and an expansion valve to reduce the ambient temperature while evaporating, compressing, condensing and expanding the refrigerant. Perform the function.

In more detail, the liquefied refrigerant inside the evaporator is evaporated by evaporation. At this time, the refrigerant liquid deprives the latent heat of evaporation necessary for evaporation from the air around the cooling tube and continues to evaporate itself. The air deprived of heat is cooled to lower the temperature, and the air keeps the inside of the inside at low temperature by natural convection or a blowing fan. In the evaporator, the refrigerant liquid supplied from the expansion valve and the evaporated refrigerant vapor coexist, and a change from liquid to steam proceeds, and a constant relationship is established between the evaporation pressure and the evaporation temperature during this state change. .

The refrigerant vapor vaporized in the evaporator is sucked into the compressor. This action is intended to keep the refrigerant pressure inside the evaporator low so that the liquid refrigerant can continue to evaporate vigorously even under low temperature conditions. In addition, the refrigerant vapor sucked into the compressor is compressed by the piston inside the cylinder, and the pressure is increased, so that the refrigerant vapor can be easily liquefied even when cooled by cooling water or cooling air at room temperature.

Thereafter, the compressed gas exiting the compressor is cooled by the condenser to liquefy condensation. In the case of such a condensation action, as in the case of evaporation, the refrigerant is in a state where the vapor and the liquid coexist, and a constant relationship is established between the condensation pressure and the condensation temperature while changing from gas to liquid.

The action of lowering the pressure to a state that is easy to evaporate before the refrigerant liquefied by the condenser is called expansion is referred to as expansion, and the expansion valve acts as a depressurizing action and performs flow rate control of the refrigerant liquid. In other words, the amount of refrigerant evaporating inside the evaporator is determined according to the amount of heat to be removed in the furnace under a predetermined evaporation temperature (evaporation pressure). to be.

In other words, the expansion valve functions as a flow control valve for thermally expanding and expanding the high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant to a low-temperature low-pressure state by the throttling action, and at the same time, maintaining a proper refrigerant supply amount according to the load of the evaporator.

The expansion valve is known in various forms according to the operation method and structure, and in recent years, a thermopneumatic flow control valve is known that has a high driving force, fine driving, and reduced manufacturing cost, Exemplary embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a cap 1 having a predetermined shape, a heating element bottom plate 3 made of ceramic material having an expansion liquid inlet 2 formed on both sides thereof, and a Ta-Al heating electrode in a middle portion thereof. (4) is provided and is fixed to the upper surface of the heating element base plate 3 and the Al electrode 5, and the outer peripheral portion of the upper surface of the Al electrode 5 via a spacer (6) for example And a diaphragm 7 formed of a Cu material, interposed between an upper surface of the Al electrode 5 and a lower surface of the spacer 6, and an upper surface of the spacer 6 and a lower surface of the diaphragm 7 to improve adhesive strength. An adhesive layer (also referred to as a filler) (8) (9), a thermal expansion liquid (10) filled in a space formed between the Al electrode (5) and the diaphragm (7), and the heating element base plate (3). The bottom plate 11 is fixed to the bottom surface of the suture for closing the expansion liquid inlet (2).

Reference numeral 12 in the figure shows a power line.

The cap 1 has a predetermined space portion 1a through which the liquid refrigerant passes, and an inlet port 1b for introducing the liquid refrigerant and an outlet port 1c for discharging the refrigerant on both sides of the upper portion. It is formed so that 1a may pass.

In constructing the thermopneumatic flow control valve as described above, the Al electrode 5 having the Ta-Al heating electrode 4 is first fixed to the upper surface of the bottom plate 3 of the heating element, and the Al electrode 5 is The lower bonding layer 8, the spacer 6, the upper bonding layer 9, and the diaphragm 7 are sequentially bonded and fixed on the upper surface, and the inside of the Al electrode 5, the spacer 6, and the diaphragm 7 is fixed. The predetermined space is formed in the.

Thereafter, the thermal expansion liquid 10 is injected from the lower side of the heating element bottom plate 3 through the expansion liquid inlet 2, and the sealing bottom plate 11 is attached and fixed to the lower surface of the heating element bottom plate 3 to expand the expansion liquid. After the injection port 2 is sealed, the sealing bottom plate 11 is attached and fixed to the bottom of the cap 1, and the power supply line 12 of the Al electrode 5 is led out to the outside of the cap 1.

At this time, the central portion of the diaphragm 7 is located directly under the discharge port 1c formed in the cap (1).

In the conventional flow control valve as described above, the liquid refrigerant flows in through the inlet 1b of the cap 1, passes through the space 1a formed therein, and then through the outlet 1c. When the flow rate of the liquid refrigerant needs to be adjusted when it is discharged to the evaporator, when the power is applied to the Al electrode 5 through the power line 12 drawn out of the cap 1, the Al electrode 5 The Ta-Al heating electrode 4 emits heat, so that the thermal expansion liquid 10 filled in the Al electrode 5 and a predetermined space formed inside the spacer 6 and the diaphragm 7 is formed. As shown in FIG. 2, the intermediate portion of the diaphragm 7 swells toward the discharge port 1c of the cap 1 by the thermal expansion action of the thermal expansion liquid 10, and accordingly the discharge port 1c. By controlling the amount of liquid refrigerant discharged to) to control the overall amount of fluid.

However, in the thermopneumatic flow control valve according to the prior art as described above, the thermal expansion liquid 10 is a method of adjusting the flow rate by expanding the thermal expansion liquid 10 by applying heat to the Ta-Al heating electrode 4. There were a number of improvements with the use of.

That is, sealing to prevent leakage of the thermal expansion liquid 10 is not easy, and durability of the diaphragm 7 due to repeated expansion and contraction of the thermal expansion liquid 10 is not good, and thus the flow rate The reliability of the operation of the control valve is reduced, there is a disadvantage that acts as a factor for reducing the overall life.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a flow regulating valve which eliminates the use of a thermal expansion liquid, a diaphragm, and the like, thereby further improving performance and further improving durability.

1 and 2 show the configuration and operation of the flow control valve according to the prior art,

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the thermal expansion liquid does not expand.

2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the thermal expansion liquid is expanded and the diaphragm swells.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a flow control valve according to the present invention.

4 is an enlarged view of a portion A of FIG. 3;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the drive means of the flow control valve according to the present invention.

6a and 6b are for explaining the operation of the flow control valve according to an embodiment of the present invention,

6A is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which the spool is lowered.

6B is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state where the spool is raised;

7 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of a flow control valve according to the present invention.

8 and 9 show another embodiment of the flow control valve according to the present invention,

8 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state where the spool is lowered.

9 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state where the spool is raised.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

21; Lower housing 22; Upper housing

22a; Inlet 22b; outlet

23; Space part 24, 24 '; spool

24b; Lower hook 26; First o-ring

27; Second o-ring 28,28 '; Middle member

28a; Upper hook 29,29 '; Elastic member

30; Brakit 31; Step motor

35; Cam disc 35a; Short neck

35b; Small diameter 41; First gear

42; Second gear 42a; Spur gear

42b; Worm gear 43; Third gear

43a; Spare word 43b; Small gear

44; Fourth gear 45; Bellows

46; Diaphragm

In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, the lower housing, the upper housing is fixed to the upper surface of the lower housing so that the inlet and outlet are formed on both sides of the upper portion and a predetermined space portion is formed therein filled with liquid refrigerant, A spool coupled to move up and down through an intermediate portion of the lower housing, a seal means for preventing leakage of liquid refrigerant filled in the space portion, a stopper portion coupled to a lower portion of the spool to elastically support the spool, and There is provided a flow control valve comprising a driving means for interlocking the stop means to move up and down the spool.

The driving means comprises a power generating means, a gear train for transmitting the rotational force of the power generating means, and a cam member for lifting and lowering the spool by interlocking the fingering means while being rotated by the gear train. .

According to an embodiment in which the driving means is further embodied, a brakit fixed to the lower housing, a power generating means fixed to the bracket, a first gear directly connected to the power generating means, a spur gear and a worm A second gear is integrally formed to be rotatably supported by the bracket and is rotated by the first gear, and a standby gear and a small gear having different radii are integrally formed to be rotatably supported by the bracket. A third gear rotated by the rotation of the second gear, a fourth gear rotatably supported by the bracket and rotated by the third gear, a short diameter portion having a small radius, and a long diameter portion having a large radius, and a fourth It is formed integrally with the gear and comprises a cam disc for interlocking the fingering means.

The gripping means comprises an intermediate member coupled to the lower portion of the spool to be lowered, and an elastic member interposed between the spool and the intermediate member to support the intermediate member in a downward direction at all times.

It is preferable to form a lower hook at an intermediate portion of the lower surface of the spool, and an upper hook at an outer circumference of the intermediate member to couple the upper hook of the intermediate member to the lower hook of the spool.

In addition, a guide groove is formed in a central portion of the lower surface of the spool at a predetermined depth, and a guide shaft is inserted in the central portion of the bottom surface of the intermediate member into the guide groove of the spool, so that the intermediate member is directly and downwardly swayed with respect to the spool. Configure only to exercise.

According to one embodiment of the sealing means, it is characterized in that the O-ring (O ring) interposed between the flange portion formed in the lower portion of the spool and the lower housing.

According to another embodiment of the sealing means, it is characterized in that the bellows (bellows) is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the guide hole formed in the lower housing to surround the spool as a whole.

According to another embodiment of the sealing means, it is characterized in that the membrane (membrane) is fixed in the transverse direction inside the upper housing.

It is preferable to interpose an elastic member such as a compression coil spring between the lower housing and the spool.

Hereinafter, the flow control valve according to the present invention will be described with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the flow control valve according to the present invention, Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the portion A of Figure 3, Figure 5 is a perspective view showing an excerpt of the drive means of the flow control valve according to the present invention. .

As shown in the drawing, the flow regulating valve according to the present invention includes a lower housing 21 having a predetermined shape, an inlet port 22a and an outlet port 22b formed at both sides of the upper part, and filled with a liquid refrigerant therein. The upper housing 22 is fixed to the upper surface of the lower housing 21 to form a predetermined space portion 23, and a spool coupled to the lifting and lowering to the guide hole (21a) of the lower housing 21 (24), seal means for preventing the leakage of the liquid refrigerant filled in the space (23), and gripping means coupled to the lower portion of the spool (24) to elastically support the spool (24); And driving means for raising and lowering the spool 24.

The lower housing 21 and the upper housing 22 is preferably fixed using several fixing bolts 25 as shown in the embodiment of the figure. However, the present invention is not limited thereto and other fixing means may be used.

In addition, an accommodating groove 22c is formed in a lower surface of the upper housing 22 to a predetermined depth, and a first O-ring 26 is inserted into the accommodating groove 22a. The leakage of the liquid refrigerant filled in 23 is prevented.

Preferably, the outlet 22b formed in the spool 24 and the upper housing 22 is positioned on the same axis.

Referring to one embodiment of the sealing means, it is characterized in that the second O ring (27) interposed between the flange portion (24a) formed in the lower portion of the spool 24 and the lower housing (21) do.

The second o-ring 27 prevents leakage of the liquid refrigerant and also has good elasticity in the up and down direction, thereby acting as a spring buffer during the lifting and lowering motion of the spool 24.

In addition, the gripping means is interposed between the intermediate member 28 coupled to the lower portion of the spool 24, and the spool 24 and the intermediate member 28 at all times the intermediate member 28 at all times. It comprises an elastic member 29, such as a compression coil spring to support the elasticity in the downward direction.

Referring to the coupling structure of the spool 24 and the intermediate member 28, as shown in Figure 4, the lower hook 24b is formed in the middle of the lower surface of the spool 24, the intermediate member ( An upper hook 28a is formed at the outer circumferential portion of 28 so that the spool 24 and the intermediate member 28 are interposed between the spool 24 and the intermediate member 28 with the elastic member 29 interposed therebetween. By engaging, the upper hook 28a of the intermediate member 28 is caught by the lower hook 24b of the spool 24, so that the spool 24 and the intermediate member 28 are integrally assembled.

At this time, the guide groove 24c is formed in the center of the lower surface of the spool 24 at a predetermined depth, and the guide shaft is inserted into the guide groove 24c of the spool 24 in the center of the bottom surface of the intermediate member 28. A 28b is formed so that the intermediate member 28 can only move up and down with respect to the spool 24 without shaking from side to side.

In addition, the elastic member 29 serves to prevent damage to the cam disc 35 to be described later given the amount of overlap even after the spool 24 is compressed.

Meanwhile, the driving means moves up and down the intermediate member 28 in contact with the intermediate member 28 while being rotated by the gear train for transmitting the rotational force of the stepper motor, the stepper motor, and the gear train. A cam member is included.

As described above, an embodiment of the driving means including the step motor, the gear train, and the cam member will be described in detail. The side wall 30a is formed at one side edge, and the bracket is fixed to the lower side of the lower housing 21. 30, a step motor 31 having a rotation shaft 31 a fixed to the side wall 30 a of the bracket 30 and penetrating inwardly through the side wall 30 a, and the step motor 31 of the step motor 31. A first gear 41 fixed to the rotary shaft 31a, a support shaft 32 fixed inward to the sidewall 30a of the bracket 30, and a second fixed to the support shaft 32 A third gear 43 and a fourth gear 44 rotatably coupled to the gear 42 and the support shafts 33 and 34 fixed to both sides of the bracket 30, respectively; The cam disc 35 is formed integrally with the four gears 44 and the intermediate member 28 is elastically contacted with a predetermined portion of the outer circumferential surface.

The second gear 42 is formed integrally with the spur gear 42a and the worm gear 42b, and the spur gear 42a is always engaged with the first gear 41 which is also a spur gear. In addition, since the third gear 43 is formed of integrally formed air gears 43a and small gears 43b having different diameters, the air gears 43a are always meshed with the worm gears 42b. 43b is always engaged with the fourth gear 44.

The cam disc 35 formed integrally with the fourth gear 44 has a short diameter portion 35a having the smallest radius and a long diameter portion 35b having the largest radius, and an outer peripheral surface of the cam disc 35. The intermediate member 28 in contact with the force is applied upward due to the difference in the radius of the cam disc 35, thereby enabling the lifting and lowering operation of the spool 24.

The step motor 31 is capable of precise control, and it is possible to precisely control the rotation angle of the cam disc 35 and the raising and lowering height of the spool 24, thus making the adjustment of the liquid refrigerant amount more accurate.

The driving means is not limited to the embodiment shown in the present invention, and may be any configuration that effectively raises and lowers the spool 24 by using the power of the step motor 31.

Referring to the operation of the flow control valve according to the present invention configured as described in more detail as follows.

3 and 6A show a state in which the outlet 22b of the upper housing 22 is opened to the maximum, in which case the intermediate member 28 is in contact with the short diameter portion 35a of the cam disc 35. Accordingly, the spool 24 descends along the guide hole 21a of the lower housing 21 so as not to disturb the flow of the liquid refrigerant.

When power is applied to the step motor 31 in order to reduce the amount of liquid refrigerant in such a state, the rotational force of the step motor 31 becomes the spur gear 42a of the first gear 41 → the second gear 42. → a worm gear 42b → a third gear 43 → a fourth gear 44, which is integrally formed with the fourth gear 44 as the fourth gear 44 is rotated by a predetermined angle. The cam disc 35 also rotates integrally.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the cam disc 35 is rotated about 180 ° so that the large diameter portion 35a of the cam disc 35 is positioned upward, the radius of the cam disc 35 increases. As such, the intermediate member 28 and the spool 24 are raised to bring the upper end of the spool 24 closer to the outlet 22b of the upper housing 22, thereby reducing the total amount of liquid refrigerant.

At this time, the elastic member 29 interposed between the intermediate member 28 and the spool 24 is possible to overlap the intermediate member 28 even after the spool 24 is compressed, so that the cam disc 35 is This prevents the phenomenon of breakage.

On the other hand, Figure 7 shows another embodiment of the sealing means, characterized in that the bellows (45) that is fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the guide hole (21a) formed in the lower housing 21 to surround the spool 24 as a whole do.

The bellows 45 not only serves to prevent leakage of the liquid refrigerant, but also has the advantage of smooth operation in the longitudinal direction to improve the reliability of the operation.

The flow control valve according to another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 7 is a sealing means, except that the bellows 45 is applied, and other configurations and actions are the same as those of the flow control valve shown in FIG. Detailed description will be omitted.

8 and 9 show another embodiment of the sealing means, which is a membrane 46 fixed in the transverse direction inside the upper housing 22 ′.

The diaphragm 46 is bonded and fixed by brazing to the step surface 22'e formed inside the upper housing 22 ', and the upper end portion of the spool 24' penetrates the middle portion. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the outlet 22b of the upper housing 22 is affected by the upper end of the spool 24 '.

In addition, a predetermined portion of the diaphragm 46 through which the spool 24 'is penetrated is also post-processed so as to prevent leakage of the liquid refrigerant by a conventional method such as brazing bonding.

As described above, in the case of applying the diaphragm 46 as a sealing means, a spring insertion groove 21'b is formed in the lower surface of the lower housing 21 ', and is compressed in the spring insertion groove 21'b. An elastic member 47 such as a coil spring is inserted to elastically support the spool 24 'downward.

In addition, a guide groove 24 in which an accommodating portion 24'e is formed at a lower portion of the spool 24 ', and guide guides 28'b of the intermediate member 28' of a predetermined depth are inserted and guided therein. 'd) is formed, and the elastic member 29' such as a compression coil spring and the intermediate member 28 'are accommodated in the housing 24'e to elastically support the intermediate member 28'. It is desirable to do so.

Also in the other embodiment by this invention comprised as mentioned above, only what comprised the sealing means by the diaphragm 46 is different, and the other structure and operation are the same as the flow control valve by one embodiment and another embodiment of this invention. Therefore, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The flow control valve according to the present invention as described above is not limited to the embodiments described in the detailed description and shown in the drawings. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventive concept of the claims of this invention and its dependent claims.

As described above, the flow rate control valve according to the present invention includes an upper portion fixed to an upper surface of the lower housing such that an inlet and an outlet are formed at both sides of the upper housing, and a predetermined space portion in which liquid refrigerant is filled therein is formed. A spool coupled to the housing to move up and down through the middle of the lower housing, a sealing means for preventing leakage of the liquid refrigerant filled in the space portion, and a tangy coupled to the lower portion of the spool to elastically support the spool. By including the means and the drive means for raising and lowering the spool by interlocking the fingering means, there is an effect such as to further improve the flow rate regulation performance, contribute to the improvement of durability.

Claims (10)

Lower housing, An upper housing fixed to an upper surface of the lower housing such that an inlet and an outlet are formed at both sides of the upper portion, and a predetermined space portion in which a liquid refrigerant is filled is formed; A spool coupled to move up and down through an intermediate portion of the lower housing; Sealing means for preventing the leakage of the liquid refrigerant filled in the space portion; Tangent means coupled to the lower portion of the spool and elastically supporting the spool; And a drive means for raising and lowering the spool by interlocking the stop means. 2. The cam according to claim 1, wherein the driving means includes a power generating means, a gear train for transmitting the rotational force of the power generating means, and a cam for lifting and lowering the spool by interlocking the fingering means while being rotated by the gear train. A flow regulating valve comprising a member. According to claim 1, wherein the drive means is a bracket for fixing to the lower housing, the power generating means fixed to the bracket, the first gear directly connected to the power generating means, the spur gear and the worm gear is integral A second gear formed to be rotatably supported by the bracket and rotated by the first gear, and a standby gear and a small gear having different radii are integrally formed to be rotatably supported by the bracket and the second gear A third gear rotated by rotation of the first gear; a fourth gear rotatably supported by the bracket; and rotated by the third gear; a short radius portion having a small radius; and a long diameter portion having a large radius; Flow control valve, characterized in that consisting of a cam disc for interlocking the gripping means. According to claim 2 or 3, wherein the holding means is an intermediate member coupled to the lower portion of the spool and the elastic member interposed between the spool and the intermediate member to elastically support the intermediate member at all times in the downward direction Flow control valve characterized in that configured to include. The lower hook is formed in the middle of the lower surface of the spool, the upper hook is formed on the outer periphery of the intermediate member, the upper hook of the intermediate member is coupled to the lower hook of the spool Flow control valve. The method of claim 6, wherein the guide groove is formed in the central portion of the lower surface of the spool to a predetermined depth, and the guide shaft for inserting into the guide groove of the spool is formed in the central portion of the bottom surface of the intermediate member, A flow control valve, characterized in that configured to move only up and down without shaking. The flow regulating valve according to claim 1, wherein the sealing means is an O-ring interposed between the flange portion formed in the lower portion of the spool and the lower housing. The flow control valve according to claim 1, wherein the sealing means is bellows fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the guide hole formed in the lower housing to surround the spool as a whole. The flow regulating valve according to claim 1, wherein the sealing means is a membrane fixed transversely to the inside of the upper housing. 10. The flow regulating valve according to claim 9, wherein a compression coil spring is interposed between the lower housing and the spool.