KR100761278B1 - Distributor, distribution structure and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a distributor, a distribution structure, and a method for manufacturing the same, wherein, using a hydroforming process, first, second, and third connectors communicate with each other inside the connector, and the first, second, and third connectors are not bonded to each other. The second connector and the third connector is formed of a single body of the metal material, wherein the second connector and the third connector are protruded by a predetermined distance from the branch position in a state that is opened by a predetermined angle with respect to each other, a distribution structure applying the same, and its manufacture Provide a method. This achieves a dispensing structure that has high dispensing reliability and minimizes the amount of pressure drop caused by dispensing.

Splitter, Hydroforming

Description

DISTRIBUTOR, DISTRIBUTION STRUCTURE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF}

1 illustrates a configuration of a conventional distribution structure

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the distributor of Figure 1

Figure 3 is a side view showing the shape of the dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention

4 is a perspective view of the dispenser of FIG.

Figure 5 is a view for explaining the manufacturing process of the distributor of Figure 3, Figure 5 (a) is a side view showing the bent tube, Figure 5 (b) is a hydroforming process on the bent tube of Figure 5 (a) Perspective view showing a shape in which protrusions are formed by

6 (a) to 6 (c) show a general hydroforming process.

7 illustrates a distribution structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 illustrates a distribution structure using the distributor of FIG. 3 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

** Description of symbols for the main parts of the drawing **

100: distributor 110: tube

110a: first inflection point 110b: second inflection point

111: first connector 112: second connector

113 ': protrusion 113: third connector

114: junction 300: tube

310: lower jig 320: upper jig

330: pressure member 200, 400: distribution structure

210: first tube 220: second tube

The present invention relates to a distributor, a distribution structure and a manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly, a refrigerant supplied from one inlet, which has a high distribution reliability and minimizes the pressure drop caused by the distribution and can be manufactured inexpensively. A dispenser, a dispensing structure, and a manufacturing method for dividing and dividing a fluid such as into at least two outlets.

In order to supply refrigerant from one outdoor unit to a plurality of indoor units, a distribution structure in which one flow path is divided into two or more flow paths is required between an outdoor unit and an indoor unit of an air conditioner system having a plurality of indoor units. Is being used.

Looking at the conventional distribution structure, as shown in Figure 1, the first tube 10 is supplied with the fluid, the inlet flows into one inlet 21 to distribute the fluid to the two outlets (22, 23) And a second tube 30 and a third tube 40 connected to the outlets 22, 23 of the distributor 20.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the distributor 20 expands one end 22 or 23 of the tube of the same material by a spinning method, and then presses the central portion 24 of the expansion part. After blazing the crimped central portion 24, it is produced by cutting the ends 22,23.

However, when the distributor 20 is manufactured as described above, all of the compressed portion 24 may burst or leak while the high-pressure refrigerant or the fluid passes through the distributor 20, thereby causing the fluid to be kept constant. There is a problem of not distributing as intended. In addition, the distributor 20 has to be accompanied by an expansion process, and a problem of applying a material having an excessive thickness to reinforce the strength due to the softening of the material during the compression blazing process and to withstand sufficient internal pressure.

In addition, the distributor 20 has an excessive number of manufacturing processes, thereby increasing the quality control cost. Also, in the dispensing structure of FIG. 1, each tube is connected to the inlets and outlets 21, 22, and 23 of the distributor 20. There was a hassle of joining and connecting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems of the prior art, and has as its object to provide a distributor, a distribution structure, and a method of manufacturing the same, which have a high distribution reliability and minimize the amount of pressure drop caused by the distribution.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method that can produce a distributor and distribution structure for dividing and distributing fluid such as a refrigerant supplied from one inlet into two or more outlets in a cheaper and simpler process.

The present invention is a distributor comprising a first connector formed on one side, and a second connector and a third connector formed on the other side in order to achieve the object as described above, the first connector, the second connector and the third connector The connectors are in communication with each other, and the first, second and third connectors are formed of one metal body which is not bonded to each other, and the second connector and the third connector are opened at a predetermined angle with respect to each other. Provided is a dispenser which extends by a predetermined distance from the branch position and protrudes.

This is because the first connector and the second connector is formed on both sides of the dispenser by the hydroforming process, the third connector is protruded in an unbonded form from the tube having the first connector and the second connector. From the branch position, the third connector and the second connector are formed to protrude from about 60 ° to 120 °. In this way, in order to produce a shape in which the fluid flowing into one inlet (first connector) is divided into two outlets (the second connector and the third connector), compression and blazing are not used. Under the conditions, the branch position bursts to prevent the two outlets from communicating with each other.

Since the third connector is protruded by the hydroforming process of applying pressure on both sides of the tube, the third connector is formed to protrude at an angle of 75 ° to 90 ° from the outer circumferential surface of the tube.

The branch point is located on a line extending from the center of the first connector.

On the other hand, the present invention, the first tube of the metal material; A third connector formed to protrude by a predetermined distance from an outer circumferential surface of the first tube to a body which is not bonded to the first tube; A second tube coupled to the third connector; It provides a distribution structure characterized in that it comprises a.

In other words, by forming the distributor into a tube having a predetermined length, the first tube may serve as a pipe connected to the first and second connectors without connecting a separate pipe to the first and second connectors. . This makes it possible to configure the distribution structure even if the distributor and the pipe are not connected separately, thereby significantly reducing the manufacturing man-hours and thus reducing the manufacturing cost.

At this time, the first tube is bent to form an inflection point, and the third connector is formed at the inflection point. Since the third connector is formed to protrude at the inflection point, the connection between the connector (outlet) and the third connector of the first tube branched approximately symmetrically with respect to the center line from the inlet, and thus is introduced from the connector (inlet) of the first tube. The fluid can be dispensed into the connector (outlet) and the third connector of the first tube without pressure loss.

The first tube is bent in an inclined range of 30 ° to 60 ° with respect to the outer circumferential surface of the tube. In forming the third connector by hydroforming, since it is easiest to mold approximately perpendicular to the outer circumferential surface of the tube, when the first tube is bent at 45 °, the third connector is bent at -45 °. It is the easiest to do. Therefore, it is preferable to minimize the amount of pressure drop by having the bending angle of the first tube be in the range of 30 ° to 60 ° so that the angle of the projection of the third connector is -60 ° to -30 °. .

The third connector is formed to protrude at an angle of 75 ° to 90 ° from the outer peripheral surface of the first tube. That is, the region protruding to form the third connector can be easily formed to form an angle of 75 ° to 90 ° with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the tube.

On the other hand, according to another field of the invention, the present invention includes the steps of bending to form an inflection point in the metal tube; Forming a protrusion to extend a predetermined distance from an outer circumferential surface of the tube by a hydroforming process; Cutting the end of the protrusion to form an opening communicating with the inside of the tube; It provides a method for manufacturing a dispenser comprising a.

At this time, it is advantageous to form the protrusion at the inflection point in minimizing the pressure drop of the dispenser.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a side view showing the shape of the dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is a perspective view of the distributor of Figure 3, Figure 5 is a view for explaining the manufacturing process of the distributor of Figure 3, Figure 5 (a ) Is a side view showing a bent tube, Figure 5 (b) is a perspective view showing a shape in which a protrusion is formed by the hydroforming process on the bent tube of Figure 5 (a), Figure 6 (a) to Figure 6 ( c) shows a typical hydroforming process, FIG. 7 shows a distribution structure according to an embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 8 shows a distribution structure using the distributor of FIG. 3 according to another embodiment of the invention. Figure is a diagram.

3 and 4, the distributor 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is the first connector 111 formed as an inlet for introducing fluid into one side of the tube 110, the tube 110 A second connector 112 formed as an outlet for discharging the fluid on the other side of the tube, and protruded by hydroforming at the bending point 110a of the tube 110 and formed as an outlet for discharging the fluid by cutting the open end thereof. It consists of a third connector (113).

Accordingly, the third connector 113 is formed of the same material as the tube 110 while protruding from the tube 110 by a predetermined distance d, and is not bonded to the tube 110. In addition, since the third connector 113 is protruded by hydroforming at the bending point 110a while the tube 110 is bent, the second connector symmetrically with respect to the first connector 111 on the inlet side. 112 and the third connector 113 is formed, it is possible to minimize the pressure drop of the fluid introduced from the first connector (111). At this time, the angle between the second connector 112 and the third connector 113 on the outlet side is formed to about 60 ° to 120 °.

That is, it can be seen that the second connector 112 and the third connector 113 protrude a predetermined distance from the branch position 114. Thus, in the conventional distributor, although the second connector 22 and the third connector 23 extend in parallel, and are blocked by the partition wall 24a formed by crimping and blazing, the distributor 100 according to the present invention. The second connector 112 and the third connector 113 is formed as a passage having a separate wall surface, so even if a high pressure fluid passes through the distributor 100, the second connector 112 and the third connector 113 Note that the partitions between the cracks burst and do not communicate with each other.

In the case of distributing the same flow rate to two outlets, the branch point 114 may be positioned on the extension centerline of the first connector 111 in the tube length direction.

In addition, the third connector 113 may be formed to protrude by a hydroforming process at the bent position 110a of the tube 110, but may also be protruded from an unbent position to form one connector if necessary. .

Referring to Figure 5, the process of manufacturing the dispenser 100 by the hydroforming process is as follows. As shown in FIG. 5 (a), the tube 110 is bent so that the bending point 110a is formed at the position where the third connector 113 is to be formed, and then, the tube 110 has a shape to be formed by hydroforming. When the tube 110 of FIG. 5 (a) is placed in the mold and high pressure is applied to the tube 100 in both directions in the direction of the arrow 99 of FIG. 5 (b), the protrusions are formed at the bending point 110a in the shape of the mold. 113 'is molded. At this time, since the end of the protrusion 113 'is formed in a sealed shape, when the protrusion 113' is protruded to some extent, the end is cut to complete the third connector 113, which is an opening.

At this time, it is preferable to use a material such as copper having a high elongation as the material of the tube 110.

Looking at a more specific hydroforming process with reference to Figure 6, as shown in Figure 6 (a), the tube 300 to be molded is positioned between the upper mold 320 and the lower mold 310. At this time, the upper mold 320 and the lower mold 310, the shape of the tube to be formed is formed as indicated by the reference numerals 321,311. Then, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), after the upper mold 320 and the lower mold 310 are approached, as shown in FIG. 6 (c), the pressing members at both ends of the tube 300 ( When the force is applied to the 330, the tube 300 is molded according to the shapes 311 and 321 of the molds 310 and 320 by the ductility of the tube 300.

The present invention provides a dispensing structure 400 as shown in FIG. 7 by using a dispenser 100 manufactured by such hydroforming. That is, the distribution structure 400 according to another embodiment of the present invention, the first tube 410 for supplying the fluid to be dispensed, the first tube 410 and the first connector 111 is joined to two places Dispenser 100 for dispensing the fluid into the fluid, a second tube 420 in communication with the second connector 112, which is an outlet of the dispenser 100, and a third connector 113, which is another outlet of the distributor 100. ) And a third tube 430 in communication with each other.

Through this, the fluid passing through the distributor 100 can distribute the fluid with reliability at a desired ratio to the second connector 112 and the third connector 113, while minimizing the pressure drop amount. Moreover, even if the high pressure fluid passes through the distributor 100, the second tube 420 and the third tube at an unintentional ratio due to the collapse of the partition wall between the second tube 420 and the third tube 430. It is possible to essentially prevent fluid from being dispensed to 430.

On the other hand, the distribution structure 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Figure 8, the first tube 410, the distributor 100, the second tube of the above-described distribution structure 400 ( 420 may be formed in one shape. That is, while the tube 210 of a sufficiently long length is bent, the third connector 213 is formed by hydroforming so as to extend by a predetermined distance from the outer circumferential surface of the tube 210, and the third tube 220 is formed. It is configured in combination with the three connectors (213). Through this, it is possible to implement the distribution structure in a simpler process.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above by way of example, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and may be appropriately changed within the scope described in the claims.

That is, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that such a distributor can be applied in the form of a plurality of inlets and one outlet. In addition, the embodiment of the present invention has been described by way of example only a distributor consisting of one inlet and two outlets, it is also applicable to a distributor consisting of one inlet and three or more outlets.

As described above, according to the present invention, by using a hydroforming process, the first, second, and third connectors communicate with each other inside the connector, and the first, second, and third connectors are one metal material not bonded to each other. The second connector and the third connector is formed in a body of the protruding dispenser formed by extending a predetermined distance from the branch position in a state that is opened by a predetermined angle with respect to each other, a distribution structure applying the same and a manufacturing method thereof. Through this, it is possible to implement a dispensing structure having high dispensing reliability and minimizing the pressure drop caused by dispensing.

In addition, since the dispenser according to the present invention is manufactured by a hydroforming process, unlike the conventional dispenser which required the expansion process, the pressing process, the blazing process, and the cutting process, the distributor process is performed by the bending process, the hydroforming process, and the cutting process. This reduces the number of manufacturing steps for parts.

In addition, the dispenser according to the present invention eliminates the crimping part blazing process in the manufacturing process, thereby eliminating the problem that it was difficult to apply in high pressure conditions due to the conventional blasting of the blazing welding portion, even in a high pressure state. Application is possible.

In addition, as the conventional distributor has a phenomenon in which the material strength of the tube is weakened by about 30% by blazing welding, in view of this, it is inevitably formed to be too thick, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost of the distributor and increasing the volume. This resulted in limited results. On the contrary, since the distributor according to the present invention does not use blazing welding, the strength of the material is rather increased due to the work hardening phenomenon during the hydroforming process while forming into a thinner tube, thereby having sufficient strength and manufacturing cost. You can save.

In addition, since the distributor according to the present invention has a streamlined distribution shape, unlike a conventional distributor in which the shape of the branch point becomes irregular according to the shape and quality of the blazing, and it is difficult to distribute it while accurately controlling the intended flow rate, It is possible to accurately control the flow rate as intended.

Claims (10)

A first connector formed at one side of the bent tube to introduce fluid; A second connector formed at the other side of the tube to allow the fluid to flow out; And And a third connector protruding from the bent point of the tube to allow the fluid to flow out. And the second connector and the third connector are formed to protrude by a predetermined distance from the branch position in a state where they are opened at a predetermined angle with respect to each other. delete The method of claim 1, The third connector is a distributor, characterized in that protruding at an angle of 75 ° to 90 ° from the outer peripheral surface of the tube. The method of claim 1, The third connector is formed by protruding from the tube by a hydro-forming (hydro-forming) process. A first tube made of metal; A third connector formed to protrude by a predetermined distance from an outer circumferential surface of the first tube to a body which is not bonded to the first tube; A second tube coupled to the third connector; Include, The first tube is bent to form an inflection point, the distribution structure, characterized in that the third connector is formed at the inflection point. delete The method of claim 5, The first tube is a distribution structure, characterized in that formed in the inclined range of 30 ° to 60 ° with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the tube. The method of claim 7, wherein The third connector is a distribution structure characterized in that the protrusion formed at an angle of 75 ° to 90 ° from the outer peripheral surface of the first tube. Bending the tube to form an inflection point in the tube; Forming a protrusion to extend a predetermined distance from an outer circumferential surface of the tube at an inflection point of the tube by a hydroforming process; And Cutting an end of the protrusion to form an opening communicating with the inside of the tube; Method for producing a dispenser comprising a. delete

Images