KR20040064788A - Refrigeration cycles with multi-evaporator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A refrigerating cycle having a plurality of evaporators is provided to independently control a temperature in four separated spaces where four evaporators are installed, and prevent a cooling speed from lowering due to shortage of a refrigerant by preventing a back current of the refrigerant due to a difference in evaporation pressure, thereby appropriately coping with a load by minimizing inequality of a refrigerating cycle. CONSTITUTION: A compressor(110) and a condenser(113) are installed. Four evaporators(119,120,121,122) are installed at separated spaces for receiving a refrigerant from the condenser for evaporating the refrigerant. A common refrigerant supply passage(L11) is formed to mix refrigerants passing through the four evaporators to be moved into the compressor. An accumulator is installed between the four evaporators and the common refrigerant supply passage for common use. Plural check valves are installed at a discharge port of each evaporator to supply the refrigerant passing through the evaporators without a back current.

Description

Refrigeration cycles with multiple evaporators {Refrigeration cycles with multi-evaporator}

The present invention relates to a refrigeration cycle, and more particularly, a plurality of evaporators are configured to be driven by using a single compressor, and a plurality of evaporators are configured to enable independent temperature control in a storage space provided with each evaporator. It relates to a refrigeration cycle.

Refrigeration devices and freezers such as air conditioners, refrigerators, kimchi refrigerators, etc., are driving a refrigeration cycle to generate the cold air required inside the device. The refrigeration cycle generates the cool air required by the device by heat exchange between the refrigerant flowing in the refrigerant passage connected to the condenser and the evaporator from the compressor to the air.

1 is a configuration diagram of a refrigeration cycle conventionally used.

The illustrated refrigeration cycle is composed of one compressor 10, one condenser 13, and a plurality of evaporators 19, 21. That is, the illustrated refrigeration cycle is a system in which two evaporators are cooled by driving one compressor.

The compressor 10 sucks and compresses the superheated steam evaporated by the evaporators 19 and 21 to generate high temperature and high pressure superheated steam. The condenser 13 cools the high temperature and high pressure superheated steam compressed by the compressor 10. The evaporators 19 and 21 evaporate the superheated steam cooled in the condenser 13.

Thus, the compressor 10 is connected between the plurality of evaporators 19, 21 and the condenser 13, the condenser 13 is connected between the compressor 10 and the plurality of evaporators 19, 21, The evaporators 19, 21 are connected between the compressor 10 and the condenser 13. The compressor 10 is connected to the condenser 13 by one refrigerant passage L2, and the refrigerant passages L3 and L4 which are different from the condenser 13 to the respective evaporators 19 and 21 are connected to each other. And from the plurality of evaporators (19, 21) to the compressor (10) is again formed by one refrigerant passage (L1).

Therefore, the refrigerant passing through the evaporator 19 and the refrigerant passing through the other evaporator 21 are one refrigerant passage L1 connected from the rear end of the evaporators 19 and 21 to the compressor 10. The cooling cycle is configured to flow through.

A valve 17 is provided between the condenser 13 and the plurality of evaporators 19 and 21 to open and close the refrigerant supply passage depending on whether each evaporator is operated. The valve 17 can be controlled to open only one side or both sides. The valve uses a stepping motor valve. The dryer 15 is provided in front of the valve 17. Since the dryer has low water solubility in a specific refrigerant, it is provided to prevent expansion devices due to freezing of water, deterioration, blockage, corrosion of metal parts due to hydrolysis of water, deterioration of electric equipment, deterioration of lubricating oil, and the like. Lose.

In addition, expansion devices (31, 33) for controlling the pressure of the refrigerant flowing into the evaporator (19, 21) is installed, the liquid refrigerant inlet to the compressor (10) on the discharge port side of each evaporator (19, 21) And accumulators 23 and 25 for controlling the cooling rates, and check valves 27 and 29 for preventing the backflow of the refrigerant, respectively.

That is, in the refrigerating cycle configured in the conventional refrigeration system, the compressor (10) → condenser (13) → dryer (15) → valve (17) → expansion device (31) → evaporator (19) → accumulator (23). → the first storage space connected to the check valve 27 and the compressor 10 again, and the compressor 10 → condenser 13 → dryer 15 → valve 17 → expansion device 33 → evaporator 21 A second storage space is connected to the accumulator 25, the check valve 29 and the compressor 10 again.

Next will be described the operation of the conventional refrigeration cycle consisting of the above configuration.

As shown, the refrigeration cycle consists of one compressor 10 and two evaporators 19 and 21 that operate separately. Accordingly, the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 10 is supplied to the two evaporators 19 and 21 side by side.

That is, when performing the control for cooling the first storage space, only one side of the valve 25 is opened to open the refrigerant supply passage between the condenser 13 and the evaporator 19. In this case, as the refrigerant cooled in the condenser 13 is supplied to the evaporator 19 side, cold air required in the first storage space is created.

In addition, when performing the control to cool the second storage space, only the other side of the valve 17 is operated to open the refrigerant supply passage between the condenser 13 and the evaporator 21. In this case, as the refrigerant cooled in the condenser 13 is supplied to the evaporator 21 side, cold air required in the second storage space is created.

However, the first and second storage spaces are not always performed separately, and sometimes the first and second storage spaces require a cooling function at the same time. At this time, both sides of the valve 17 are opened, and the refrigerant passing through the condenser 13 is supplied to the two evaporators 19 and 21.

In this case, if the loads in the first and second storage spaces operate almost the same, the pressure of the refrigerant supplied to the first storage space and the pressure of the refrigerant supplied to the second storage space are almost equal to each other, so that a smooth evaporation can be achieved. Will be.

However, when the loads in the first and second storage spaces act differently, a refrigerant backflow phenomenon occurs in which the refrigerant flows back from the higher evaporation pressure to the lower one due to the difference in the evaporation pressures of the evaporators 19 and 21. In this case, even if the refrigerator compartment with a low evaporation pressure performs the freezing function normally, the refrigerator compartment with a high evaporation pressure fails to perform a proper refrigeration / freezing function as the cooling rate is reduced due to the refrigerant shortage caused by the refrigerant flow. .

Therefore, in order to prevent such refrigerant backflow, check valves 27 and 29 for preventing backflow of refrigerant are respectively provided on the discharge port side of each evaporator 19 and 21. The check valves 27 and 29 control the refrigerant to move only in one direction. Therefore, in the case where the two evaporators 19 and 21 operate, even if a difference occurs in the evaporation pressure, the refrigerant backflow phenomenon is suppressed by the check valves 27 and 29.

This configuration allows independent temperature control in each storage space in a system having two storage spaces. Refrigeration cycle having such a configuration, has been applied to the kimchi refrigerator that is loved by consumers in recent years.

However, the conventional refrigeration cycle has caused the following problems.

First, as shown in the prior art, since the refrigeration cycle is implemented limited to two evaporators, the storage space that can be provided in the kimchi refrigerator is limited to two. Therefore, it is difficult to meet the needs of consumers to use the product in various ways.

Second, as the performance of the compressor improves with the development of technology, it is possible to have more evaporators in one compressor. However, since the conventional refrigeration cycle is limited to two evaporators, there is a problem in that the high performance of the compressor is not sufficiently utilized.

Finally, the conventional refrigeration cycle is equipped with an independent accumulator at the rear end of each evaporator. The accumulator is a kind of liquid refrigerant separator for preventing the liquid refrigerant from being sucked into the compressor. Therefore, the accumulator may be provided on the suction side of the compressor. However, conventionally, by accumulating the accumulator independently at the rear end of each evaporator, there is a problem of increasing the manufacturing cost according to the increase in the number of parts.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigeration cycle having a plurality of evaporators having a plurality of evaporators installed in one compressor and capable of independent temperature control of a storage space in which each evaporator is installed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigeration cycle having a plurality of evaporators that can be installed in the rear end of the plurality of evaporators to improve the productivity.

1 is a configuration diagram of a refrigeration cycle according to the prior art,

2 is a block diagram of a refrigeration cycle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

110: compressor 113: condenser

115: dryer 117,118: valve

119,120,121,122: Evaporator 123,124,125,126: Check valve

127: Accumulator 131,132,133,134: Expansion valve

135,136: Hotline

A refrigeration cycle having a plurality of evaporators according to the present invention for achieving the above object, one compressor; One condenser; Four evaporators, each installed in separate spaces, for supplying refrigerant from the condenser and evaporating; A common refrigerant supply passage configured to mix refrigerants passing through the four evaporators and flow to the one compressor; And one accumulator installed for common use between the four evaporators and the common refrigerant supply passage.

It further comprises a check valve installed on the discharge port side of each evaporator so that the refrigerant passing through the plurality of evaporators is supplied to the compressor without a back flow.

Further characterized in that it further comprises a hot line for preventing dew condensation in the vicinity of the door to the condenser and extension lines.

Between the hot line and the four evaporators, a dryer, a valve for opening and closing the refrigerant supply, and an expansion device for regulating the pressure of the refrigerant is further provided.

Hereinafter, a refrigeration cycle having a plurality of evaporators according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a block diagram of a refrigeration cycle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

An embodiment of the present invention is composed of one compressor 110, one condenser 113, and a plurality of evaporators 119, 120, 121, 121. That is, the refrigerating cycle of the present invention is a method of cooling four evaporators by driving one compressor. The first evaporator 119 is installed in the first storage space, and the second evaporator 120 is installed in the second storage space. The third evaporator 121 is installed in the third storage space, and the fourth evaporator 122 is installed in the fourth storage space. That is, each of the evaporator has a different load amount according to the capacity, the internal food, the set temperature in the refrigerator. Each evaporator is installed independently in each storage space separated from each other.

The compressor 110 sucks and compresses the superheated steam evaporated by the evaporators 119, 120, 121, and 122 to generate high temperature and high pressure superheated steam. The condenser 113 cools the heated steam of the high temperature and high pressure compressed by the compressor 110. The evaporators 119, 120, 121, and 122 evaporate the heated steam cooled in the condenser 113.

Thus, the compressor 110 is connected between the plurality of evaporators 119, 120, 121, 122 and the condenser 113, the condenser 113 is connected between the compressor 110 and the plurality of evaporators, and the plurality of evaporators It is connected between 110 and the condenser 113.

In this case, a refrigerant supply passage L12 is formed from the compressor 110 to the condenser 113, and a refrigerant supply passage L13, L14, L15, which is divided from the condenser 113 to the plurality of evaporators 119, 120, 121, and 122, respectively. L16 is formed, and a common refrigerant supply passage L11 is formed again from the plurality of evaporators to the compressor 110. That is, the present invention is configured such that the refrigerant discharged from the plurality of evaporators is supplied to the compressor through one supply passage.

In addition, valves 117 and 118 are provided between the condenser 113 and the plurality of evaporators to open and close the refrigerant supply passage according to whether each evaporator is operated. The valves 117 and 118 are three-way valves having one inlet and two outlets, which are capable of simultaneously or selectively opening the two outlets. The valve 117 opens and closes the refrigerant supply to the first and second evaporators 119 and 120, and the valve 118 opens and closes the refrigerant supply to the third and fourth evaporators 121 and 122. The valve uses a stepping motor valve.

In addition, a hot line is installed on the discharge port side of the condenser 113 to prevent dew condensation that may be generated by a difference between the internal temperature of the door and the external temperature. The hot lines 135 and 136 extend in the condenser 113. That is, the discharge refrigerant of the condenser is provided, and dew condensation is prevented by the generated heat. The hot line is provided on the cavity side in contact with the door.

The refrigerant passing through the hot line is supplied to the dryer 115 provided at the front ends of the valves 117 and 118. Since the dryer has low water solubility in a specific refrigerant, it is provided to prevent expansion devices due to freezing of water, deterioration, blockage, corrosion of metal parts due to hydrolysis of water, deterioration of electric equipment, deterioration of lubricating oil, and the like. Lose.

In addition, expansion devices 131, 132, 133, and 134 for controlling the pressure of the refrigerant flowing into the evaporators 119, 120, 121, and 122 are installed at the inlet side of each evaporator.

In the present invention, an accumulator for preventing the introduction of liquid refrigerant to the compressor 110 is provided at the discharge port side of each of the evaporators 119, 120, 121, and 122. In the present invention, the discharge ports of all evaporators are configured to be connected to one refrigerant passage, and then one accumulator 127 is installed.

In addition, a check valve 123, 124, 125, 126 is installed between the discharge port side of each of the evaporators 119, 120, 121, 122 and the accumulator 127 to prevent the refrigerant backflow, so that the flowing refrigerant can be moved in only one direction. . The check valve is provided immediately after each evaporator so as to be configured independently for each evaporator.

That is, the refrigeration cycle of the present invention, the compressor 110 → condenser 113 → hot line (135, 136) → dryer 115 → valve 117 → expansion device 131 → evaporator 119 → check valve 123 → a first storage space connected to the accumulator 127 and the compressor 110 again,

Compressor 110 → condenser 113 → hotline 135, 136 → dryer 115 → valve 117 → expansion device 132 → evaporator 120 → check valve 124 → accumulator 127 and again. A second storage space connected to the compressor 110,

Compressor 110 → condenser 113 → hotline 135, 136 → dryer 115 → valve 118 → expansion device 133 → evaporator 121 → check valve 125 → accumulator 127 and again. A third storage space connected to the compressor 110,

Compressor 110 → condenser 113 → hotline 135, 136 → dryer 115 → valve 118 → expansion device 134 → evaporator 122 → check valve 126 → accumulator 127 and again. The fourth storage space is connected to the compressor 110.

Therefore, according to the present invention, an evaporator is individually installed in each storage space, the temperature of the storage space is controlled by the discharge cold air of each evaporator, and a check valve is provided on the discharge port side of the evaporator, thereby preventing the operation of a plurality of evaporators. This prevents the refrigerant backflow due to the evaporation pressure difference. In addition, the first, second, third and fourth storage spaces described in the present invention are configured in a space-separated form inside the kimchi refrigerator, and are configured to store various foods (kimchi).

Next will be described the operation of the refrigeration cycle according to the invention made of the above configuration.

First, in the present invention, all four independent storage spaces in which each evaporator is installed can be independently temperature controlled. That is, each storage space can individually control the high temperature inside the set temperature.

In order to supply cold air to the first storage space, the valve 117 must first be controlled to be opened to the evaporator 119 side. Thereafter, the refrigerant compressed at high temperature and high pressure according to the operation of the compressor 110 is sucked into the condenser 113 and cooled. The refrigerant cooled in the condenser 113 flows to the expansion device 131 allocated to the first storage space through the hotlines 135 and 136, the dryer 115, and the valve 117 adjusted to the open state.

The expansion device 131 adjusts the refrigerant discharged from the condenser 113 to a pressure and a flow rate in a good state to evaporate and delivers the refrigerant to the evaporator 119. The evaporator 119 sucks the refrigerant whose pressure is controlled by the expansion device 131, performs heat exchange between the refrigerant and air through an evaporation action, and the refrigerant thus exchanged through the refrigerant supply passage L11. Return to the compressor (110) side.

On the other hand, the check valve 123 is provided on the discharge port side of the evaporator 119, by adjusting the direction of the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant passage in one direction refrigerant that can be generated by the evaporation pressure difference due to the operation of the other evaporator Prevent backflow.

The accumulator 127 commonly connected to the rear ends of all the evaporators including the first evaporator 119 separates the liquid refrigerant from the refrigerant discharged from the evaporator 119 and prevents the liquid refrigerant from being sucked into the compressor.

In the above, the operation process of the refrigeration cycle for the evaporation operation of the first evaporator 119 has been described. The evaporation operation of the first evaporator 119 is performed when the temperature detected by a temperature sensor (not shown) for detecting the temperature of the first storage space does not reach the set temperature of the first storage space. In order to reach the set temperature of the storage space, the coolant is generated in the first evaporator 119 while the refrigerant circulation operation is controlled as described above.

Next, the control of the second storage space in which the second evaporator 120 is installed is the same as the control of the first storage space.

That is, when the detection temperature of the temperature sensor (not shown) provided in the second storage space does not reach the second storage space setting temperature, the valve 117 is controlled by the control unit (not shown). 120) in the open state.

In this state, the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 110 reaches the valve 117 through the condenser 113, the hotlines 135 and 136, and the dryer 115. The refrigerant reaching the valve 117 is sucked into the evaporator 120 through an open passage.

The evaporator 120 generates a heat exchange between the sucked refrigerant and the air in the air, thereby supplying cold cold air. The refrigerant heat exchanged by the above operation is returned to the compressor 110 through the accumulator 127 and the check valve 124. At this time, the accumulator 127 performs a function of separating the liquid refrigerant to prevent the inflow of the liquid refrigerant into the compressor 110, and the check valve 124 suppresses the backflow phenomenon of the flowing refrigerant.

The refrigerant discharged from the compressor 110 in the above process is cooled in the condenser 113, the pressure is adjusted in the expansion device 132, and then cooled in the second storage space through the process of evaporation in the evaporator 120. Cold air is supplied.

Therefore, the inside temperature of a 1st storage space and a 2nd storage space is adjusted by the cold air discharged from the 1st evaporator 119 and the 2nd evaporator 120 which are provided in each space. The refrigerant heat-exchanged by the above operation is supplied to the common accumulator 127 through the check valves 123 and 124 provided at the rear ends of the evaporators 119 and 120. The common accumulators 123 and 124 receive heat-exchanged refrigerant from all evaporators, and separate liquid refrigerant from flow to the compressor.

As described above, the embodiment of the present invention constitutes a refrigeration cycle through one accumulator commonly connected to the rear ends of the plurality of evaporators. The refrigerant discharged from each evaporator is configured to pass through the common accumulator. With this configuration, the present invention is intended to improve productivity by using one accumulator while simultaneously performing independent temperature control of four storage spaces. In the above description, only the operations according to the first and second evaporators are described, but the processes according to the operations of the third and fourth evaporators 121 and 122 are performed in the same manner as above.

In particular, in the present invention, the check valve is individually provided at the rear end of each evaporator, thereby suppressing the refrigerant backflow due to the evaporation pressure difference of each evaporator. That is, a difference occurs in the capacity of each of the four evaporators, the current temperature of each storage space, the set temperature of each storage space, the amount of food stored in each storage space, and the storage time of the food stored in each storage space. It is done. Due to this difference, a difference occurs in the load amount of each storage space, and a difference occurs in the evaporation pressure according to the operation of each evaporator due to the load difference.

The evaporation pressure causes a coolant backflow phenomenon, as mentioned in the prior art. However, in the present invention, a check valve is provided separately at the rear end of each evaporator. The check valve regulates the one-way flow of the refrigerant, thereby suppressing the backflow phenomenon of the refrigerant. Therefore, the storage space in which a plurality of evaporators are installed is adjusted to different control temperatures, so that even if the evaporation pressure difference of the plurality of evaporators is generated, the reverse flow phenomenon of the refrigerant flowing backward by the check valve connected to the rear end of each evaporator can be prevented. .

As described above, the present invention connects four evaporators 119, 120, 121, and 122 to one compressor 110, and installs one accumulator commonly used at the rear end of all the evaporators. In order to suppress refrigerant backflow due to the difference in evaporation pressure of each evaporator, check valves are separately provided at the rear end of each evaporator. With this control, the present invention allows the four storage spaces to independently control the temperature without the refrigerant backflow phenomenon.

According to the present invention as described above, in the system for cooling four evaporators by using one compressor, the refrigerant backflow phenomenon may occur in the evaporator refrigerant on the high pressure side to the evaporator side on the low pressure side, It can be seen that the basic technical idea is to prevent the backflow phenomenon of the refrigerant and to solve the shortage of the refrigerant.

And within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention, of course, various modifications are possible to those skilled in the art.

According to the present invention as described above, it will be appreciated that the following advantages can be provided.

In the refrigerating cycle according to the present invention, in the refrigerating cycle of cooling four evaporators by using one compressor, it is possible to prevent the backflow of the refrigerant due to the evaporation pressure difference, thereby solving the decrease in the cooling rate due to the shortage of the refrigerant. Therefore, the present invention is expected to minimize the imbalance of the refrigeration cycle, to enable the appropriate load response.

In addition, the present invention, by installing four evaporators in one compressor, it is possible to control the temperature independently in each of the four space separated storage space in which each evaporator is installed, to obtain the advantage that can be used in a variety of products to consumers do.

In addition, in the present invention, in order to improve productivity, only one accumulator is installed at the rear of the plurality of evaporators to perform liquid refrigerant separation. With this configuration, the present invention can also obtain the advantage of simplifying the installation of the refrigeration cycle.

Claims (4)

One compressor; One condenser; Four evaporators, each installed in separate spaces, for supplying refrigerant from the condenser and evaporating; A common refrigerant supply passage configured to mix refrigerants passing through the four evaporators and flow to the one compressor; A refrigeration cycle having a plurality of evaporators comprising one accumulator installed for common use between the four evaporator and the common refrigerant supply passage. The method of claim 1, And a check valve installed at a discharge port side of each evaporator such that refrigerant passing through the plurality of evaporators is supplied to the compressor without a back flow. The method of claim 2, A refrigeration cycle having a plurality of evaporators, characterized in that further comprising a hot line for preventing dew condensation near the door by the condenser and the extension line. The method of claim 3, wherein A refrigeration cycle having a plurality of evaporators, further comprising a dryer, a valve for opening and closing the refrigerant supply, and an expansion device for regulating the pressure of the refrigerant between the hot line and the four evaporators.