KR100624025B1 - Accumulator for air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an accumulator for an air conditioner, and aims to provide an accumulator having a compact and excellent gas-liquid separation effect by reducing the capacity of an electric heater by minimizing the latent heat of evaporation of a refrigerant.

An accumulator according to the present invention includes: a gas-liquid separator (11) having a refrigerant inlet (13); A gas-liquid separation plate 15 for gas-liquid separation of the refrigerant flowing through the inlet; The refrigerant gas is disposed inside the gas-liquid separator to discharge the refrigerant gas toward the compressor, and the oil outlet 19 is installed at the lower end to discharge the oil stored at the bottom of the gas-liquid separator to the compressor. Discharge pipe 17; A filter 21 installed around the oil hole; An electric heater (23) for making the refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant gas discharge pipe into a gas state; And a vibrating element 25 for making the liquid refrigerant stored in the gas-liquid separator into a gas state.

Accumulator, gas-liquid separator, receiver, air conditioning, air conditioning

Description

Accumulator for Air Conditioning Equipment {ACCUMULATOR FOR AIR CONDITIONER}

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an accumulator according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view showing an accumulator according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing an accumulator according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a cross-sectional view showing an accumulator according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing an accumulator according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a configuration diagram showing a cooling cycle of a general air conditioner.

7 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional accumulator.

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

11: gas-liquid separator, 13: refrigerant inlet,

15: gas-liquid separation plate, 17: refrigerant gas discharge pipe,

19: oil hole, 21: filter,

23: electric heater, 25: vibration element,

27: gas-liquid separation wall, 28: gas-liquid separation plate

The present invention relates to an accumulator for an air conditioner installed at the compressor inlet line in the air conditioner to prevent liquid refrigerant from flowing into the compressor, and particularly, effectively prevents the introduction of liquid refrigerant into the compressor. In addition, the present invention relates to an accumulator for an air conditioner that can compactly design a heat exchanger for superheat control.

The automotive air conditioner includes a cooling system for cooling the interior of a vehicle and a heating system for heating the interior of the vehicle. In the cooling system, as shown in FIG. 6, the refrigerant discharged by the driving of the compressor 91 circulates back to the compressor 91 through the condenser 92, the expansion valve 93, and the evaporator 94. In the process is configured to cool the interior of the vehicle by heat exchange by the evaporator. In such a cooling system, the expansion valve 93 generally serves to control the superheat degree appropriate for the refrigerant from the evaporator and send it to the compressor in a gas state, but under complicated conditions, it is difficult to adjust the proper superheat degree to the compressor 91. There is a risk of liquid refrigerant inflow. In this way, when liquid refrigerant flows into the compressor 91, a liquid refrigerant compression phenomenon may occur and the compressor 91 may be greatly damaged. In particular, in a combined heat / cooling heat pump, the refrigerant temperature is low when the ambient air temperature is low. Of liquid refrigerant is likely to flow.

Therefore, in order to prevent liquid refrigerant from flowing into the compressor 91, an accumulator 96 is installed between the conventional evaporator 94 and the compressor 91. The accumulator 96 serves to protect the compressor 91 by separating the liquid refrigerant from the suction refrigerant gas and sending only the refrigerant gas to the compressor 91 to prevent liquid compression. Reference numeral 95 denotes a four-way valve for switching the flow path of the refrigerant.

The accumulator 96 is similar to the receiver dryer in appearance, but its role is different from that of the receiver dryer, such as having an oil hole provided therein. As shown in FIG. A gas-liquid separator (961) having a gas, a gas-liquid separator (963) installed adjacent to the refrigerant inlet (962) to separate the gas-liquid by scattering the refrigerant flowing from the refrigerant inlet (962), and the gas-liquid separator (961) A substantially U-shaped refrigerant gas discharge pipe 964 disposed inside and having an outlet end protruding out of the gas-liquid separator 961 and provided with an oil hole 965 at a lower end thereof, and a filter installed around the oil hole 965. 966, and an electric heater 947 installed around the outer circumferential surface of the gas-liquid separator 961.

Therefore, when the refrigerant flows into the gas-liquid separator 961 through the refrigerant inlet 962, the refrigerant hits the gas-liquid separator plate 963 and is scattered, so that the liquid refrigerant contained in the refrigerant and the oil for the compressor lubrication oil are separated into the gas-liquid separator 961. It hits the inner wall surface of the bottom) and falls down to the bottom of the gas-liquid separator 961. Since the specific gravity of the liquid refrigerant 98 is lower than that of the oil, the liquid refrigerant 98 accumulates at the top of the oil. On the other hand, the refrigerant gas hit by the gas-liquid separation plate 962 is introduced into the inlet of the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 964 by the negative pressure according to the operation of the compressor 91 is discharged toward the compressor 91, at this time the electric heater ( By the heating of 967, the refrigerant changes into a gas state and is discharged toward the compressor 91. Oil accumulated at the bottom of the gas-liquid separator 961 is introduced into the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 964 through the oil hole 965 and discharged toward the compressor 91, and bypassed separately from the refrigerant gas in the compressor 91 so that the compressor ( 91 It is supplied internally and used for lubricating compressor.

In the conventional accumulator 96 as described above, when the level of the liquid refrigerant rises by a predetermined level or more, the liquid refrigerant is attracted by the flow rate of the refrigerant gas and flows into the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 964 together with the refrigerant gas. There is a high possibility that liquid refrigerant compression will occur. Such a phenomenon can be particularly large in the initial operation or during load changes. In addition to this, the capacity of the electric heater 967 for evaporating the refrigerant from the liquid phase to the gaseous phase must be large, and the electric heater 967 must be provided around the gas-liquid separator 961. Since it is installed, the volume of the accumulator 96 must also be large.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and aims to provide a compact and excellent gas-liquid separation effect by reducing the capacity of the electric heater by minimizing the latent heat of steam.

In order to achieve the above object, the accumulator according to the present invention includes a gas-liquid separation passage having a refrigerant inlet at the top; A gas-liquid separation plate disposed adjacent to the refrigerant inlet port to separate the gas-liquid separation by scattering the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant inlet port; The oil hole is disposed in the gas-liquid separator to discharge the refrigerant gas inside the gas-liquid separator to the compressor, and an outlet hole protrudes out of the gas-liquid separator and discharges oil stored at the bottom of the gas-liquid separator to the compressor. An installed refrigerant gas discharge pipe; A filter installed around the oil hole; An electric heater for making the refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant gas discharge pipe into a gas state; And a vibrating element for evaporating the liquid refrigerant stored in the gas-liquid separator into a gas state.

As the vibrating element, for example, an ultrasonic vibrating element is preferably used.

According to the accumulator of the present invention configured as described above, as the refrigerant collides with the gas-liquid separation plate in the process of the refrigerant flowing into the gas-liquid separator, the oil mixed in the liquid refrigerant and the refrigerant is the inner wall surface of the gas-liquid separator. It is stored down in the gas-liquid separator by falling down. On the other hand, the refrigerant gas hit by the gas-liquid separation plate flows into the inlet of the refrigerant gas discharge pipe due to the negative pressure caused by the operation of the compressor and is discharged toward the compressor. When the electric heater is heated, the refrigerant gas introduced into the refrigerant gas discharge pipe is converted into a complete gas state and discharged to the compressor. The surface of the liquid refrigerant stored in the gas-liquid separator is evaporated and flows into the refrigerant gas discharge pipe. To the side. On the other hand, when the liquid level of the refrigerant stored in the gas-liquid separator is high, the vibrating element is driven along with the operation of the electric heater, the evaporation of the liquid refrigerant stored in the gas-liquid separator by the drive of the vibrating element is easily changed to a gas state It is introduced into the refrigerant gas discharge pipe and discharged toward the compressor. The oil accumulated at the bottom of the gas-liquid separator flows into the refrigerant gas discharge pipe through the oil hole and is discharged toward the compressor. The oil is bypassed separately from the refrigerant gas from the compressor and supplied into the compressor.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments based on the accompanying drawings.

<Example 1>

An accumulator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

Reference numeral 11 is a gas-liquid separator and has a refrigerant inlet 13 at the top. Inside the gas-liquid separator 11, a gas-liquid separation plate 15 is installed adjacent to the refrigerant inlet 13 so that refrigerant is separated from the evaporator 95 (see FIG. 6) through the refrigerant inlet 13. When introduced into the cylinder 11, it is hit by the gas-liquid separation plate 15 and scattered. Accordingly, the liquid refrigerant contained in the refrigerant flows down the inner wall surface of the gas-liquid separation tube 11 to the bottom of the gas-liquid separation plate 15. Goes to In addition, the refrigerant includes oil for lubrication of the compressor 91 (see FIG. 6). Thus, the oil flows down through the inner wall of the gas-liquid separator 11 while the oil is mixed with the liquid refrigerant. Go to 11). In general, the lubricating oil is dissolved and mixed well in the refrigerant, but since the specific gravity of the liquid refrigerant 33 is higher than the oil, when the temperature is low, the oil may be stored at a lower position than the liquid refrigerant 33.

On the other hand, the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 is installed inside and outside the gas-liquid separator 11 to send the refrigerant gas in the gas state among the refrigerant flowing into and scattered into the gas-liquid separator 11. In the first embodiment, the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 has a substantially U shape, and the inlet end of the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 prevents the liquid refrigerant from flowing into the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 as it is. The outlet end of the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 which is disposed adjacent to the bottom of the and connected to the compressor side protrudes to the upper portion of the gas-liquid separator 11. Therefore, the refrigerant gas contained in the refrigerant that is scattered by the gas-liquid separation plate 15 may be introduced into the inlet of the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 by the negative pressure according to the operation of the compressor and supplied to the compressor.

And, in order to return the oil stored in the bottom of the gas-liquid separator 11 to the compressor, the oil hole 19 in the lower end of the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 placed in the oil region stored in the bottom of the gas-liquid separator 11 Is formed, and the filter 21 is installed so that foreign matter does not flow around the oil hole 19. Therefore, the oil stored in the bottom of the gas-liquid separator 11 may flow into the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 through the oil hole 19 and be supplied to the compressor together with the refrigerant gas.

According to the first embodiment, when the refrigerant gas flows into the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17, the liquid refrigerant may be led by the flow rate of the refrigerant gas and flow into the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 together with the refrigerant gas, thereby making it a complete gas state. An electric heater 23 is installed around the inlet end of the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 located inside the gas-liquid separator 11 to supply the compressor. The electric heater 23 is installed around the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 to effectively change the refrigerant into a gas state, and the electric heater 23 has a low liquid level of the liquid refrigerant stored in the gas-liquid separator 11. It is mainly operated.

On the other hand, when the level of the liquid refrigerant stored in the gas-liquid separator 11 is gradually increased or the flow rate of the refrigerant is greatly increased in accordance with the cooling load of the liquid refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 by the flow rate of the refrigerant gas There is a fear that the amount will increase. In such a case, a large capacity electric heater 23 must be used, and therefore, a large volume of gas-liquid separator 11 needs to be used. However, in the present invention, to solve this disadvantage, the interior of the gas-liquid separator 11 Vibration element 25 is installed at an appropriate position.

As described above, when the vibrating element 25 is installed inside the gas-liquid separator 11, atomization of the liquid refrigerant stored in the gas-liquid separator 11 by the driving of the vibrating element 25 may be promoted. Therefore, the amount of heat for changing the refrigerant from the liquid phase to the gaseous phase, i.e., the latent heat of evaporation can be reduced and the load fluctuation can be sufficiently coped with the driving change of the vibrating element 25. In this way, the volume of the gas-liquid separator 11 can be reduced, thereby making the accumulator compact.

In order to minimize the latent heat of evaporation of the refrigerant, it may be considered to install the vibrating element 25 on the bottom of the gas-liquid separator 11, but for the sake of concern, the gas-liquid separation of the liquid refrigerant region as shown in consideration of fire, etc. The inner wall surface one side of the cylinder 11 may be provided.

As the vibration element 25, for example, an ultrasonic vibration element or the like is preferably used.

<Example 2>

An accumulator according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2. In the accumulator according to the second embodiment, the outlet end of the U-shaped refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 protrudes out of the gas-liquid separator 11 in the lateral direction, and the outlet end of the protruded refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17. Except that the electric heater 23 is installed around the rest of the configuration and operation is the same as the first embodiment described above.

<Example 3>

An accumulator according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3. Here, the same parts as those of the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the operation of these parts is also the same as the first embodiment described above, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In Example 3, the gas-liquid separation wall 27 is provided in the center inside the gas-liquid separation cylinder 11. Preferably, the gas-liquid separation wall 27 is made of aluminum foam. When the gas-liquid separation wall 27 is installed, the gas-liquid separation wall 27 hits the gas-liquid separation plate 15 and is scattered to the inner wall surface of the gas-liquid separation tube 11. The impacted refrigerant is scattered again by hitting the gas-liquid separation wall 27 is excellent in the gas-liquid separation effect. In order to further enhance the gas-liquid separation effect, the gas-liquid separation plate 15 is installed to be inclined downward toward one of the left and right spaces partitioned by the gas-liquid separation wall 27, so that the refrigerant impinging on the gas-liquid separation plate 15 is in the left and right spaces. It is scattered to one space (i.e., the refrigerant inflow side space) and then hits the gas-liquid separation wall 27 again. The refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 is formed in an L shape and the inlet end of the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 is placed in a space opposite to the refrigerant inflow side space in the left and right spaces partitioned by the gas-liquid separation wall 27. The outlet end of the discharge pipe 17 penetrates the lower end of the gas-liquid separation wall 27 and protrudes laterally out of one side of the lower end of the gas-liquid separation tube 11 through the refrigerant inlet side space. In addition, an oil hole 19 is formed at one side of an outlet end of the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 existing in the gas-liquid separator 11, and a filter 21 is installed around the oil hole 19. In addition, an electric heater 23 is installed inside the gas-liquid separator 11 near the inlet end of the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17, and a vibrating element 25 is installed at the lower end of the inner wall surface of the gas-liquid separator 11. do.

<Example 4>

An accumulator according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4. In the accumulator according to the fourth embodiment, a gas-liquid separator 28 is installed vertically in the inner center of the gas-liquid separator 11 instead of the gas-liquid separation wall 27 provided in Example 3, and this gas-liquid The upper end of the separation plate 28 extends to cover the inlet of the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17, and the electric heater 23 is around the outlet end of the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 protruding out of the gas-liquid separator 11. The rest of the configuration and operation are the same as in the above-described third embodiment except that it is installed.

As described above, when the gas-liquid separator 28 is installed, the attraction of the liquid refrigerant due to the flow rate of the refrigerant gas is reduced.

Example 5

An accumulator according to the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 5. In the accumulator according to the fourth embodiment, the electric heater 23 and the vibrating element 25 are formed around a portion of the outlet end of the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17 protruding to the outside of the gas-liquid separator 11 in the above-described 2. The rest of the configuration and operation are the same as in Example 2 except that they are installed one after the other.

In the accumulator according to the present invention configured as described above, it is configured to minimize the latent heat of evaporation for changing the refrigerant from the liquid phase to the gas phase by the vibrating element 25 to use the electric heater 23 of a small capacity. Since the volume of the gas-liquid separator 11 can be reduced by being able to cope with the load fluctuations actively, the accumulator can be made compact. In addition, since the liquid refrigerant is blocked from being supplied to the compressor, the liquid compression phenomenon can be prevented from occurring, thereby protecting the compressor.

Claims (3)

A gas-liquid separator 11 having a refrigerant inlet 13 at the top; A gas-liquid separation plate 15 installed adjacent to the refrigerant inlet to separate gas-liquid by scattering the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant inlet; An oil hole (19) is disposed inside the gas-liquid separator to discharge the refrigerant gas inside the gas-liquid separator to the compressor, and an outlet end protrudes out of the gas-liquid separator and discharges oil stored at the bottom of the gas-liquid separator to the compressor. Coolant gas discharge pipe 17 is installed; A filter 21 installed around the oil hole to block the inflow of foreign substances; An electric heater 23 installed inside or outside the gas-liquid separator so as to make the refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant gas discharge pipe into a gas state; And, For the air conditioner comprising a vibrating element 25 installed inside or outside the gas-liquid separator to make the refrigerant flowing into the liquid refrigerant or the refrigerant gas discharge pipe stored in the gas-liquid separator into a gas state Accumulator. The method of claim 1, Inside the gas-liquid separator 11, a gas-liquid separation wall 27 made of aluminum foam is further vertically installed to partition the refrigerant inlet side and the inlet side of the refrigerant gas discharge tube 17. Accumulator. The method of claim 1, Inside the gas-liquid separator 11, a gas-liquid separator 28 is further vertically installed to partition the refrigerant inlet side and the inlet side of the refrigerant gas discharge pipe 17, and the upper end of the gas-liquid separator 28 is bent. And covering the inlet side of the refrigerant gas discharge pipe (17) at predetermined intervals.

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