WO2016203511A1

WO2016203511A1 - Fluid stirring device and heat pump system

Info

Publication number: WO2016203511A1
Application number: PCT/JP2015/067140
Authority: WO
Inventors: 小谷一; 角島秀輝
Original assignee: 小谷一; 角島秀輝
Priority date: 2015-06-15
Filing date: 2015-06-15
Publication date: 2016-12-22
Also published as: JPWO2016203511A1; JP5945377B1

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to miniaturize a fluid stirring device as much as possible. The fluid stirring device 1B is installed on the path of pipes so as to stir fluids including a refrigerant and refrigeration oil in a heat pump cycle. A housing 21 has one side closed by a right mirror plate 21b1 and the other side closed by a left mirror plate 21b2. A right pipe body 22 has one end which can be connected to one of the pipes, and, in a position separated from the center axis of the housing 21, passes through the right mirror plate 21b1 in a direction parallel to the center axis, and the other end which opens toward the left mirror plate 21b2. A left pipe body 23 has one end which can be connected to the other pipe and passes through the left mirror plate 21b2 in the direction of the center axis on the center axis of the housing 21, and the other end which opens toward the right mirror plate 21b1. A conical spring 24 includes a conical portion around which coils conically are wound and into which the left pipe body 23 is inserted through an opening on the vertex side, the conical portion being installed within the housing 21 with the center axis of the housing 21 as the axis therefor.

Description

Fluid stirring device and heat pump system

The present invention relates to a fluid agitation device installed on a piping path for agitating a fluid and a heat pump system using the fluid agitation device.

In heat pump systems that use heat pump cycles such as commercial refrigeration cycle systems and air conditioning systems, the pipe length for measuring COP (Coefficient of Performance) is 7.5 m, but the actual pipe is long, There are also various installation conditions. The heat pump cycle includes a compressor, a condenser, an expander, and an evaporator as main devices. The refrigerant circulates through piping connecting these devices. Refrigerating machine oil is mixed with the refrigerant as lubricating oil for the compressor. The compressor is provided with a refrigerator oil sump. The refrigeration oil is discharged from the compressor in a state dissolved in the refrigerant, circulates through the heat pump cycle together with the refrigerant, and returns to the compressor.

The refrigerant with specific chlorofluorocarbons containing chlorine was excellent in compatibility with refrigerating machine oil. However, since specific chlorofluorocarbons had ozone layer destruction problems, they were switched to refrigerants with alternative chlorofluorocarbons (hereinafter referred to as non-fluorocarbon refrigerants). It was. However, non-fluorocarbon refrigerants are not more compatible with refrigeration oil than specific fluorocarbons. For this reason, the refrigerating machine oil discharged together with the refrigerant from the compressor is separated from the non-fluorocarbon refrigerant and stays in equipment such as a condenser of the heat pump cycle and piping, and the lubricating oil of the compressor tends to be insufficient. Insufficient lubrication leads to compressor burn-in.

In addition, non-fluorocarbon refrigerants that are not compatible with refrigerating machine oil have their own fluidity lowered, and the refrigerating machine oil that has accumulated in equipment and piping such as condensers can be flown smoothly through the refrigerant and the condenser and Inhibits heat exchange in the evaporator. As a result, the heat exchange efficiency of the heat pump system is reduced. In order to ensure compatibility between the non-fluorocarbon refrigerant and the refrigerating machine oil, various chemically synthesized oils are added to the non-fluorocarbon refrigerant, but this is not sufficient.

Patent Document 1 discloses a bubble removing device that removes bubbles remaining in a radical state when a refrigerant is liquefied in a condenser to completely liquefy the refrigerant. This apparatus includes a cylindrical container and is installed on the outlet side of a condenser (outdoor unit) during cooling. By forming a spiral swirl flow in the cylindrical container, the refrigerant is stirred to remove bubbles.

International Publication 2013/099972 Pamphlet

The air bubble removing device described in Patent Document 1 aims at air bubble removal, but also has an effect of promoting the dissolution of refrigerating machine oil in the refrigerant because the refrigerant is agitated.
However, since the bubble removal apparatus described in Patent Document 1 forms a spiral swirl flow with a long coil, the cylindrical container becomes long and has a large capacity. For this reason, when installing a bubble removal apparatus, a large installation place is required and it is necessary to add a lot of refrigerant | coolants and refrigerator oil.

An object of the present invention is to provide a fluid agitation device that can be miniaturized as much as possible and a heat pump system using the fluid agitation device.

In order to achieve the above object, the fluid stirring device of the present invention comprises:
A fluid agitation device installed on a piping path for agitating a fluid containing refrigerant and refrigeration oil in a heat pump cycle,
A case in which one is closed by the first end plate and the other is closed by the second end plate;
One end is connectable to one of the pipes, penetrates the first end plate in a direction parallel to the center axis at a position away from the center axis of the housing, and the other end is the second end plate A first tube opening in the direction of
One end is connectable to another one of the pipes, passes through the second end plate in the direction of the center axis on the center axis of the housing, and the other end in the direction of the first end plate A second tubular body that opens;
The winding is wound in a conical shape, the second tubular body is inserted into the inside from the opening on the apex side, and is installed in the housing around the central axis of the housing. A spring including a conical portion in which a winding wound into a shape can vibrate;
It is characterized by providing.
Here, the spring has a natural frequency, and vibration is generated by fluid motion.

Preferably, the fluid stirring device of the present invention comprises:
The first tube extends to the vicinity of the bottom surface of the first end plate;
The second tubular body extends to the vicinity of the bottom surface of the first end plate;
It is characterized by that.

Preferably, the fluid stirring device of the present invention comprises:
The winding on the bottom surface of the conical portion of the spring is located near the bottom surface of the second end plate.

Preferably, the fluid stirring device of the present invention comprises:
The housing has a cylindrical body between the first end plate and the second end plate,
The spring is installed on the inner surface of the body portion of the housing around the central axis of the housing, and includes a cylindrical portion that can vibrate a winding wound in a cylindrical shape.
It is characterized by that.

Preferably, the fluid stirring device of the present invention comprises:
The edge of the opening at the other end of the first tubular body is inclined so that the central axis side of the housing is long and the peripheral edge side is short.

Preferably, the fluid stirring device of the present invention comprises:
The outer surface of the second tubular body is formed with irregularities formed by spiral threads and screw grooves alternately in the axial direction.

Preferably, the fluid stirring device of the present invention comprises:
At the time of indoor cooling, it is installed so that the fluid flows in from the first tube and the fluid flows out from the second tube, and the first tube is a condensation unit that is an outdoor unit in the heat pump cycle. It is connected to the fluid outlet side of the part.

Preferably, the fluid stirring device of the present invention comprises:
At the time of indoor heating, it is installed so that fluid flows in from the second tubular body and fluid flows out of the first tubular body, and the first tubular body is an outdoor unit in the heat pump cycle. It is connected to the fluid inlet side of the part.

The heat pump system of the present invention is
The fluid agitation apparatus described above is installed on a pipe route.

According to the present invention, the fluid stirring device can be made as small as possible.

It is the figure which showed typically an example of the heat pump cycle at the time of air_conditioning | cooling, when a heat pump system is an air conditioner. It is the figure which showed typically an example of the heat pump cycle at the time of heating, when a heat pump system is an air conditioner. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the fluid stirring apparatus which is a comparative example. 3 (a) is a longitudinal sectional view, FIG. 3 (b) is an AA view of FIG. 3 (a), FIG. 3 (c) is a BB sectional view of FIG. 3 (a), and FIG. ) Is a CC view of FIG. It is a left view of the fluid stirring apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the coil spring shown in FIG. 5A is a plan view of the coil spring, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. 5A. It is a figure which shows the example of the lower pipe body shown in FIG. FIG. 6A is an external perspective view of an example of the lower tubular body, and FIG. 6B is an external perspective view of another example of the lower tubular body. It is a graph which shows an example of the change of the power consumption at the time of installing a fluid stirring apparatus in an indoor air conditioner and removing after 6 days. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the fluid stirring apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. 8A is a longitudinal sectional view, FIG. 8B is an EE view of FIG. 8A, and FIG. 8C is an FF view of FIG. 8A. It is a figure which shows an example of the conical spring shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows an example of a structure of the fluid stirring apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the coil spring with a cone part shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows an example of a structure of the fluid stirring apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, a fluid stirring device and a heat pump system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings for explaining the comparative example and the embodiment, common constituent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description is omitted.
The fluid agitation apparatus described in this specification agitates a fluid flowing through a heat pump system using a heat pump cycle. The heat pump system includes various forms such as an air conditioner, a refrigerator, a refrigerator, a water heater, a freezer warehouse, and a chiller. These fluid agitation devices can be applied to any heat pump system. Moreover, these fluid stirring apparatuses are applicable not only to a new system but also to an existing system.

“The heat pump system” in this specification means “an apparatus that absorbs heat from a low-temperature object such as water or air and applies the heat to an object such as high-temperature water or air”. Therefore, the case where it is used for either the purpose of further cooling the low-temperature object or the purpose of further warming the high-temperature object, and the case where it is used for both purposes by switching are included. For example, in the case of an air conditioner, a device that performs only cooling and a device that performs both cooling and heating by switching are included in the heat pump system of the present invention. In the present specification, “fluid” means a fluid that circulates in the heat pump cycle, and includes at least a refrigerant and refrigerating machine oil. In addition, the “fluid” may be in a gas state, a liquid state, or a mixed state of gas and liquid depending on which process in the heat pump cycle is present.

1 and 2 schematically show an example of a heat pump cycle when the heat pump system is an air conditioner. In an air conditioner, fluid circulates between an outdoor unit installed outdoors and an indoor unit installed indoors. FIG. 1 is an example of a cycle during indoor cooling. FIG. 2 is an example of a cycle during indoor heating.

The heat pump cycle includes a fluid stirring device 1, a compression unit 2, a condensing unit 3, an expansion unit 4, and an evaporation unit 5. Sealed piping connects these components. Fluid circulates in these pipes. The arrows on the piping path in FIGS. 1 and 2 indicate the direction of fluid flow. White arrows indicate heat transfer in the condenser 3 and the evaporator 5 which are heat exchangers. Dotted arrows indicate the air flow indoors and outdoors.
As an example of the fluid agitation apparatus 1, a fluid agitation apparatus 1A as a comparative example, a fluid agitation apparatus 1B according to the first embodiment of the present invention, a fluid agitation apparatus 1C according to the second embodiment of the present invention, A fluid stirring device 1D according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described later.

The capital letters in FIGS. 1 and 2 are used as follows. However, in a mixed state of gas and liquid, it is referred to as “gas state” or “liquid state” based on the dominant one of gas and liquid. In addition, the meanings of “high” and “low” in “high temperature” and “low temperature” and “high pressure” and “low pressure” are not absolute, but in the preceding process or the subsequent process of the part indicated in capital letters It is only a rough representation of the relative difference from the temperature or pressure of the fluid. For example, “GS (HT, HP)” means “high temperature, high pressure gas state”, and “LQ (LT, LP)” means “low temperature, low pressure liquid state”. The meaning of each symbol is shown below.
GS: Gas state refrigerant LQ: Liquid state refrigerant HT: High temperature LT: Low temperature HP: High pressure LP: Low pressure

1, in the cycle at the time of indoor cooling in FIG. 1, the compression unit 2 includes a compressor for compressing a low-pressure gaseous refrigerant in a sealed container. An oil reservoir 11a for storing refrigerating machine oil is usually provided in the sealed container containing the compressor. The gaseous refrigerant is compressed into a high-pressure and higher-temperature gas. This gaseous refrigerant is mixed with the refrigerating machine oil and then discharged from the compression unit 2 to the condensation unit 3 (outdoor unit). The condensing unit 3 includes a capacitor. During cooling, the outdoor unit performs heat exchange as the condensing unit 3. The high-temperature and high-pressure gas fluid that has flowed into the condensing unit 3 is condensed by releasing heat to the outside, and becomes a low-temperature liquid fluid. The liquid fluid is ideally a liquid refrigerant in which refrigeration oil is dissolved.

However, refrigeration oil does not dissolve in mixed refrigerant systems such as R410 and non-fluorocarbon refrigerants. Refrigerant and refrigeration oil are likely to be separated. For this reason, when the refrigerant changes from gas to liquid in the condensing unit 3, a part of the refrigerating machine oil may be separated without being dissolved in the refrigerant. In addition, the oil phase of the combined refrigerating machine oil may trap the liquid refrigerant. Furthermore, the refrigerant that has almost passed through the condensing unit 3 may remain as a high-temperature gas. Due to such a phenomenon, the liquid fluid flowing out from the condensing unit 3 may include separated refrigeration oil, liquid refrigerant and / or gas refrigerant trapped in the oil phase of the refrigeration oil.

During actual cooling, the fluid stirring device 1 is inserted between the condensing unit 3 and the expansion unit 4. The inflow port of the fluid agitation apparatus 1 is connected to the outlet side of the condensing unit 3 that is an outdoor unit. The outlet of the fluid agitation device 1 is connected to the inlet side of the expansion part 4. The fluid that has flowed out of the condensing unit 3 is sufficiently stirred in the fluid stirring device 1. As a result, the separated refrigerating machine oil is dissolved in the liquid refrigerant, the liquid solvent trapped in the oil phase of the refrigerating machine oil is released, and the remaining gas refrigerant is lowered in temperature to become a liquid refrigerant. Thereafter, the fluid that has flowed out of the fluid agitator 1 is sent to the expansion unit 4.

The expansion part 4 includes an expansion valve or a capillary tube. The low-temperature and high-pressure liquid fluid becomes a low-pressure and further low-temperature liquid by being passed through narrow holes and pipes. Then, this fluid is sent to the evaporation part 5 (indoor unit). The evaporation unit 5 includes an evaporator. During indoor cooling, the indoor unit performs heat exchange as the evaporation unit 5. The low-temperature and low-pressure liquid fluid that has flowed into the evaporator 5 evaporates by absorbing heat from the outside, and becomes a high-temperature gas fluid. Thereby, indoor air is cooled. Thereafter, the gaseous fluid is returned to the compression unit 2.

In the indoor heating cycle of FIG. 2, the fluid circulation direction is opposite to that of the cooling of FIG. Since a valve for switching the direction of fluid circulation in a heat pump system is well known, illustration and description thereof are omitted. During heating, the high-temperature and high-pressure gas fluid discharged from the compression unit 2 is sent to the indoor unit that performs heat exchange as the condensing unit 3. The high-temperature and high-pressure gas fluid that has flowed into the condensing unit 3 (indoor unit) condenses into a low-temperature liquid fluid by releasing heat to the outside. Thereby, indoor air is warmed.

Here, when the refrigerant changes from gas to liquid in the condensing unit 3, the liquid fluid flowing out from the condensing unit 3 is captured by the separated refrigerating machine oil and the oil phase of the refrigerating machine oil, as in the cooling cycle of FIG. Liquid refrigerant and / or gaseous refrigerant. At the time of heating, the liquid fluid flowing out from the condensing unit 3 is further sent to the expansion unit 4 and becomes a low-pressure and further low-temperature liquid. Even after passing through the expansion part 4, there is a possibility that separated refrigeration oil, trapped liquid refrigerant and / or gas refrigerant remain.

During indoor heating, the fluid agitation device 1 is inserted between the expansion unit 4 and the evaporation unit 5 (outdoor unit). The inflow port of the fluid agitation apparatus 1 is connected to the outlet side of the expansion unit 4. The outlet of the fluid agitation apparatus 1 is connected to the inlet side of the evaporator 5 that is an outdoor unit. The fluid that has flowed out of the expansion part 4 is sufficiently stirred in the fluid stirring device 1. The separated refrigerating machine oil is dissolved in the liquid refrigerant, the liquid solvent trapped in the oil phase of the refrigerating machine oil is released, and the remaining gas refrigerant is lowered in temperature to become a liquid refrigerant. Thereafter, the fluid flowing out from the fluid stirring device 1 is sent to the evaporation unit 5.
During actual heating, the outdoor unit performs heat exchange as the evaporation unit 5. The low-temperature and low-pressure liquid fluid that has flowed into the evaporator 5 evaporates by absorbing heat from the outside, and becomes a high-temperature gas fluid. Thereafter, the gaseous fluid is returned to the compression unit 2.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the fluid agitation device 1 is inserted on the piping path constituting the heat pump system. Since the actual piping is formed by connecting a plurality of pipe members, for example, by removing one pipe member and replacing it with the fluid stirring apparatus 1, the fluid stirring apparatus 1 can be easily attached. it can. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, for example, the fluid stirring device 1 can be installed in an outdoor pipe near the outdoor unit.

1 and 2 described above show an example in which the fluid agitation device 1 is applied to the basic form of the heat pump system. There are many applications for actual heat pump systems. The fluid agitation apparatus 1 can also be applied to a heat pump system in which various components are added to the basic form.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of a fluid stirring apparatus 1A that is a comparative example. 3 (a) is a longitudinal sectional view, FIG. 3 (b) is an AA view of FIG. 3 (a), FIG. 3 (c) is a BB sectional view of FIG. 3 (a), and FIG. ) Is a CC view of FIG. FIG. 4 is a left side view of the fluid agitating apparatus 1A shown in FIG.
The fluid agitation apparatus 1 A has a housing 11. The casing 11 includes a cylindrical body portion 11a having a central axis in the vertical direction, a hemispherical upper end plate 11b1 that closes the upper end side of the body portion 11a, and a hemispherical lower portion that closes the lower end side of the body portion 11a. And an end plate 11b2. Here, the “end plate” generally means a lid member that closes the pressure vessel. Since the fluid in the present embodiment is also a pressure fluid discharged from the compressor at a predetermined pressure, the housing 11 can also be regarded as a kind of pressure vessel. The cross section of the upper end plate 11b1 and the lower end plate 11b2 shown in FIG. 3A is a semicircle having a central angle of 180 degrees, and the radius thereof is equal to the radius of the cylindrical body portion 11a.

Two tubes are provided for inflow or outflow of fluid to the housing 11 (FIG. 3A shows a side surface, not a cross section of these tubes). When the fluid agitator 1A is inserted on the piping path of the heat pump system, one tube is connected to one piping end and the other tube is connected to the other piping end at the insertion location. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 described above, the fluid circulation direction is reversed during cooling and during heating. Accordingly, the inlet of the fluid agitator 1A during cooling serves as an outlet during heating, and the outlet during cooling serves as an inlet during heating. The effect of the fluid agitating apparatus 1A has been demonstrated even during heating in which the circulation direction is reversed. Therefore, it is not necessary to change the attachment state of the fluid agitator 1A even when switching between cooling and heating of the air conditioner.

The upper pipe 12 serves as an inlet during cooling and serves as an outlet during heating. Although illustration of the upper part of the upper tubular body 12 is abbreviate | omitted in FIG. 3, it can be connected to suitable piping of a heat pump system. Although the mounting state of the fluid agitator 1A is not changed during cooling and heating, the circulation direction of the fluid is reversed, so that the upper tubular body 12 has the condensing unit 3 (during cooling as shown in FIG. It is connected to the outlet side of the outdoor unit) and is connected to the inlet side of the evaporator 5 (outdoor unit) during heating shown in FIG.

The upper tubular body 12 penetrates the upper end plate 11b1 in the vertical direction at a position away from the central axis of the housing 11. The upper tubular body 12 extends downward to the vicinity of the upper end of the body portion 11a in the casing 11, and the lower end 12a is opened downward. As shown in FIG. 3A, the edge of the opening of the lower end 12a of the upper tubular body 12 is preferably inclined so that the central axis side is low and the peripheral side is high. This inclination is intended to facilitate the formation of a good flow of fluid.

The lower pipe 13 serves as an outlet during cooling and serves as an inlet during heating. Although illustration of the lower part of the lower pipe 13 is abbreviate | omitted in FIG. 3, it connects to suitable piping of a heat pump system.
The lower tubular body 13 penetrates the lower end plate 11b2 in the vertical direction on the central axis. The lower tubular body 13 extends upward in the casing 11 along the central axis to the vicinity of the upper end of the body portion 11a, and the upper end 13a is opened upward.

A coil spring 14 is installed on the inner surface of the body portion 11a. The axis of the coil spring 14 coincides with the central axis of the body portion 11a. Each winding of the coil spring 14 is not fixed to the inner surface of the body portion 11a and can move up and down.

5A is a plan view of the coil spring 14 shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG. 5A.
The coil spring 14 is an unequal pitch coil spring, and the pitch gradually increases from one end to the other end. “The pitch becomes gradually longer” includes two meanings as schematically shown by two different dotted lines in FIG. One is a case where the pitch in each of a plurality of regions (for example, three regions p1, p2, and p3) is constant and the pitch of each region is in a relationship of p1 <p2 <p3. The other is a case where the pitch px is continuously increased over the entire length of the coil spring. Furthermore, the case where these two cases are combined is also included. In addition, if the pitch is different, the resonance frequency (natural frequency) is different. The resonance frequency is high in the long pitch region, and the resonance frequency is low in the short pitch region.

The fluid flows into the housing 11 from the lower end 12 a of the upper tube 12 or the upper end of the lower tube 13. Then, after the fluid goes straight downward, the fluid is turned upward (U-turn) by the lower end plate 11b2. In addition, the fluid travels straight upward and is then turned downward (U-turn) by the upper end plate 11b1. In this way, a strong vertical flow is formed.
The vertical flow collides with the upper tube body 12 and the lower tube body 13 when the direction is changed between the upper and lower end plates 11b1 and 11b2. This imparts complex motion to the fluid.

As described above, the fluid flowing in the vertical direction with the complicated motion applied causes collision and friction with the coil spring 14. The winding of the coil spring 14 resonates in the local area where these collisions and friction are received, and generates vertical vibration. Resonating with the coil spring 14, the fluid also causes vertical vibration locally. This vertical vibration causes a shearing force to act on the fluid. Further, a shearing force acts on the fluid also by the unevenness of the coil spring 14 itself.
As a result, the refrigerant and the refrigerating machine oil contained in the fluid are greatly agitated and made uniform.

6A is an external perspective view of an example of the lower tubular body 13 shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 6B is an external perspective view of another example of the lower tubular body 13.
It is preferable to form a plurality of irregularities alternately on the outer surface of the lower tubular body 13. For example, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), by forming the lower tubular body 13 with a parallel threaded steel pipe, a shape in which irregularities due to spiral threads and thread grooves are alternately repeated on the outer surface in the axial direction is obtained. It is done. Circumferential peaks and grooves may be alternately formed instead of spiral. Moreover, you may give a knurling process on an outer surface. These fine irregularities on the outer surface of the lower tubular body 13 have an effect of capturing fluid bubbles. By capturing the gaseous refrigerant that is not finally dissolved (not liquefied) even when stirring is performed by the fluid stirring device 1A, it can be separated from the liquid refrigerant, that is, the liquid fluid. Furthermore, the fine unevenness on the outer surface of the lower tubular body 13 contributes to the stirring of the fluid when the fluid collides with the unevenness.
In addition, as shown in FIG.6 (b), an unevenness | corrugation does not need to be on the outer surface of the lower tubular body 13. FIG. It has been confirmed that even if the lower tubular body 13 of FIG. 6B is used, it does not significantly affect the effect of reducing power consumption, which will be described later.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing an example of a change in power consumption when the fluid stirring device 1A is installed in the indoor cooling device and removed after 6 days.
The indoor air conditioner was operated for 8 hours per day. A broken line indicates a case where the indoor cooling device is operated without the fluid stirring device 1A. A solid line indicates a case where the fluid cooling device 1A is installed and the indoor cooling device is operated. Power consumption was measured from the beginning to the middle of August 2014. The indoor cooling device was operated without the fluid stirring device 1A to measure the power consumption indicated by the broken line, and the fluid stirring device 1A was subsequently installed to operate the indoor cooling device to measure the power consumption indicated by the solid line.
After attaching the fluid agitator 1A to the indoor cooling device, power consumption was higher for 8 hours than when the fluid agitator 1A was not provided. From 8 hours to 16 hours, the power consumption was almost the same with and without the fluid stirring device 1A. After 16 hours had passed, the room cooling device had lower power consumption when the fluid stirring device 1A was installed than when the fluid stirring device 1A was not provided. When 48 hours passed, the fluid stirring device 1A was removed from the room cooling device, but the power consumption remained low.

Even if the fluid agitator 1A was attached to the indoor cooling device, the power consumption did not decrease for the first 16 hours, and the power consumption was kept low even after the fluid agitator 1A was removed from the indoor cooling device. Based on this result, the inventors considered the reason why the power consumption is reduced by installing the fluid agitator 1A as follows.
In recent years, a non-fluorocarbon refrigerant is used, which is a mixture of a plurality of refrigerants. The refrigerating machine oil used with this refrigerant is partially synthetic oil or 100% synthetic oil. Synthetic oils are polymeric substances. When the non-fluorocarbon refrigerant and the refrigeration oil are agitated, the refrigeration oil is refined and dissolved in the non-fluorocarbon refrigerant, and the fluid becomes a polymer solution to which a dilute polymer is added. For this reason, the Toms effect which the frictional resistance of a turbulent flow reduces is produced in the fluid which flows through piping.

According to this idea, the change in the power consumption shown in FIG. 7 can be explained as follows.
After the fluid stirring device 1A is installed in the indoor cooling device, it takes about 16 hours until the non-fluorocarbon refrigerant and the refrigerating machine oil are turned into a polymer solution, and the indoor cooling device has low power consumption when in the polymer solution state. Even if the fluid stirring device 1A is removed from the indoor cooling device, the power consumption remains low while the polymer solution state of the non-fluorocarbon refrigerant and the refrigerating machine oil can be maintained.
Although not shown in the graph of FIG. 7, it is considered that the power consumption increases because a polymer solution state cannot be maintained after a certain period of time.

In addition, the inventors have come to consider that the resonance frequency of the coil spring 14, that is, the spring is the most important in order to refine the refrigerating machine oil in the non-fluorocarbon refrigerant. That is, as described above, the fluid resonates with the coil spring 14 and locally generates vertical vibration. This vertical vibration causes a shearing force to act on the fluid. Further, a shearing force acts on the fluid also by the unevenness of the coil spring 14 itself. It came to be considered that refrigerating machine oil was mainly refined by this shearing force.
Furthermore, when the inventors continuously refine the refrigerating machine oil, the size and concentration of the refrigerating machine oil fluctuate. We believe that the resonance frequency of the non-fluorocarbon refrigerant changes as the size and concentration change.

Since the coil spring 14 of the fluid agitator 1A has various pitches as shown in FIG. 5, it has various resonance frequencies. For this reason, even if the size and concentration of the refrigerating machine oil mass change, the coil spring 14 can efficiently convert the non-fluorocarbon refrigerant into a polymer solution.
However, the coil spring 14 is long. Since the fluid agitator 1 A must accommodate the coil spring 14, the body portion 11 a becomes long. For this reason, the housing | casing 11 becomes large. The housing 11 has a capacity of about 630 cc, for example.
For this reason, 1 A of fluid stirring apparatuses require a large place in order to install. If it is installed in a confined space, piping may be bent. Piping bends increase the flow resistance and consequently increase power consumption.

Further, if the capacity of the casing 11 is about 630 cc, a non-fluorocarbon refrigerant must be added when the fluid agitating apparatus 1A is installed. However, the non-fluorocarbon refrigerant is a mixed refrigerant, and the concentration ratio is severely limited, so that addition is difficult. In order to add the fluid agitating device 1A to the installed indoor air conditioner or the like, the entire amount of non-fluorocarbon refrigerant must be replaced, which is costly.

On the other hand, the resonance frequency can also be changed by changing the diameter of the spring, the material, or the diameter of the spring material (the number of iron wires φ). For example, when the aperture is large, the resonance frequency is low, and when the aperture is small, the resonance frequency is high.
FIG. 8 shows an example of the configuration of the fluid stirring device 1B according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 8A is a longitudinal sectional view, FIG. 8B is an EE view of FIG. 8A, and FIG. 8C is an FF view of FIG. 8A.
The fluid agitation device 1 B has a housing 21. The casing 21 has a spherical shape. The housing 21 includes a hemispherical right end panel 21b1 that closes the right side and a hemispherical left end panel 21b2 that closes the left side. The housing 21 can also be regarded as a kind of pressure vessel. The cross sections of the right end plate 21b1 and the left end plate 21b2 shown in FIG. 8 are preferably semicircles having a central angle of 180 degrees, and the radius of the right end plate 21b1 and the radius of the left end plate 21b2 are equal. However, the right end plate 21b1 and the left end plate 21b2 may have any shape that can change the direction of fluid flow (U-turn), and the cross-sectional shape is not necessarily a semicircle having a central angle of 180 degrees. Also good. The hemispherical shape in this specification includes a semi-elliptical cross-sectional shape in which an ellipse is cut along the long axis.
In the first embodiment, the hemispherical right end panel 21b1 has the farthest distance from the bottom of the right end panel 21b1, and the hemispherical left end panel 21b2 has the farthest distance from the bottom. The axis passing through the apex of the end plate 21b2 is referred to as the central axis of the housing 21.
The right end plate 21b1 is an example of the first end plate of the present invention, and the left end plate 21b2 is an example of the second end plate of the present invention.

Similar to the fluid agitating apparatus 1A of the comparative example, two tubes are provided for inflow or outflow of the fluid to the housing 21 (in FIG. 8A, side surfaces rather than cross sections of these tubes). Is shown). When the fluid stirring device 1B is inserted on the piping path of the heat pump system, one tube is connected to one piping end at the insertion location, and the other tube is connected to the other piping end. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the direction of fluid circulation is reversed between cooling and heating. Accordingly, the inlet of the fluid agitator 1B during cooling serves as an outlet during heating, and the outlet during cooling serves as an inlet during heating. Even if the cooling and heating of the air conditioner are switched, there is no need to change the mounting state of the fluid agitator 1B.

The right tube 22 serves as an inlet during cooling and serves as an outlet during heating. In FIG. 8, illustration of the right portion of the right tubular body 22 is omitted, but connection to appropriate piping of the heat pump system is possible. Note that the mounting state of the fluid agitator 1B is not changed between the cooling time and the heating time. However, since the fluid circulation direction is reversed, the right tubular body 22 has the condensing unit 3 at the time of cooling shown in FIG. It is connected to the outlet side of the (outdoor unit) and is connected to the inlet side of the evaporator 5 (outdoor unit) during the heating shown in FIG.
The right tubular body 22 penetrates the right end panel 21b1 in a direction parallel to the central axis at a position away from the central axis of the casing 21. The right tube 22 extends in the housing 21 to the vicinity of the bottom surface of the right end plate 21b1, and the left end 22a opens in the direction of the left end plate 21b2. As shown in FIG. 8B, it is preferable that the edge of the opening of the left end 22a of the right tube 22 is inclined so that the central axis side of the housing 21 is long and the peripheral side is short. This inclination is intended to facilitate the formation of a good flow of fluid.
The right tubular body 22 is an example of the first tubular body of the present invention.

The left tube 23 serves as an outlet during cooling and serves as an inlet during heating. In FIG. 8, the left portion of the left tubular body 23 is not shown, but is connected to an appropriate pipe of the heat pump system.
The left tubular body 23 passes through the left end plate 21 b 2 in the direction of the central axis on the central axis of the housing 21. The left tube 23 extends in the housing 21 along the central axis to the vicinity of the bottom surface of the right end plate 21b1, and the right end thereof opens in the direction of the right end plate 21b1.
The left tubular body 23 is formed of a parallel threaded steel pipe in the same manner as the lower tubular body 13 in the fluid agitating apparatus 1A of the comparative example, and irregularities due to spiral threads and thread grooves are alternately arranged on the outer surface in the axial direction. It is a shape repeated. These fine irregularities on the outer surface of the left tubular body 23 have an action of capturing fluid bubbles. By capturing the gaseous refrigerant that is not finally dissolved (not liquefied) even when stirring is performed by the fluid stirring device 1B, it can be separated from the liquid refrigerant, that is, the liquid fluid. Furthermore, the fine irregularities on the outer surface of the left tubular body 23 contribute to the agitation of the fluid when the fluid collides with these irregularities.
The left tubular body 23 is an example of the second tubular body of the present invention.

A conical spring 24 shown in FIG. 9 is installed inside the left end plate 21b2. The conical spring 24 has a conical portion 24a and a short cylindrical portion 24b.
The conical portion 24a has a winding wound in a conical shape. The diameter of the winding in the opening 24c on the apex side of the conical portion 24a is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the left tubular body 23. The diameter of the winding of the cylindrical portion 24b is the same as the diameter of the winding of the bottom surface of the conical portion 24a. The outer diameter of the winding of the cylindrical portion 24 b is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the housing 21. The left tubular body 23 is inserted into the conical spring 24 from the apex side opening 24c. The conical spring 24 is installed inside the housing 21 with the central axis of the housing 21 as an axis. The winding on the bottom surface of the conical portion 24a of the conical spring 24 is located in the vicinity of the bottom surface of the left end plate 21b2.
Each winding of the conical spring 24 is not fixed to the inner surface of the casing 21 and can vibrate.
The conical spring 24 may be fixed to the left end plate 21b2 by the nut 25.

The fluid flows into the housing 11 from the left end 22 a of the right tube 22 or the right end of the left tube 23. The fluid rotates along the inner surface of the casing 21. Then, the fluid collides with the right tube 22 and the left tube 23 during rotation. This imparts complex motion to the fluid.
As described above, the rotating fluid given the complicated motion causes collision and friction with the conical spring 24. The winding of the conical spring 24 resonates in a local area subjected to collision or friction, and generates left-right vibration. Resonating with the conical spring 24, the fluid also locally generates lateral vibration. By this left-right vibration, a shearing force acts on the fluid.
As a result, the fluid is greatly agitated, the refrigerating machine oil is refined and dissolved in the non-fluorocarbon refrigerant, and the fluid becomes a polymer solution to which a dilute polymer is added.

Since the winding of the conical spring 24 has various diameters, it has various resonance frequencies like the coil spring 14 in the fluid stirring apparatus 1A of the comparative example. For this reason, even if the refrigerating machine oil is further miniaturized and the size and concentration of the refrigerating machine oil changes, the non-fluorocarbon refrigerant can be efficiently made into a polymer solution.
Since the conical spring 24 is small, the casing 21 that accommodates the conical spring 24 is smaller than the casing 11 in the fluid agitating apparatus 1 A that is a comparative example. The casing 21 has a capacity of about 40 cc to 50 cc, for example. For this reason, the fluid stirring apparatus 1B can be easily installed in a narrow place.
Further, when the capacity of the casing 21 is about 40 cc to 50 cc, it is not necessary to add a non-fluorocarbon refrigerant when the fluid agitating device 1B is installed in an installed indoor cooling device or the like.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the configuration of a fluid stirring apparatus 1C according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
The fluid agitation device 1 C includes a housing 31. The casing 31 includes a body portion 31a, a hemispherical right end panel 31b1 that closes the right side, and a hemispherical left end panel 31b2 that closes the left side.
The shapes and sizes of the right end panel 31b1 and the left end panel 31b2 are the same as those of the right end panel 21b1 and the left end panel 21b2 according to the first embodiment, respectively. The body part 31a has a cylindrical shape. In the second embodiment, the axis of the body portion 31 a is referred to as the central axis of the housing 31. Similar to the fluid agitating apparatus 1B according to the first embodiment, the central axis passes through the apex of the right end plate 31b1 and the apex of the left end plate 31b2.
The right end plate 31b1 is an example of the first end plate of the present invention, and the left end plate 31b2 is an example of the second end plate of the present invention.

A conical coil spring 34 shown in FIG. 11 is installed inside the left end plate 31b2 and the body 31a. The coil spring 34 with a conical portion has a conical portion 34a and a cylindrical portion 34b.
The shape and size of the conical part 34a are equal to the conical part 24a according to the first embodiment. The cylindrical portion 34b is wound in a cylindrical shape. The diameter of the winding of the cylindrical portion 34b is the same as the diameter of the winding of the bottom surface of the conical portion 34a. The outer diameter of the winding of the cylindrical portion 34 b is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the housing 31. The length of the cylindrical portion 34 b is substantially equal to the body portion 31 a of the housing 31. The left tubular body 23 is inserted into the conical coil spring 34 through the apex side opening 34c. The coil spring 34 with a conical portion is installed inside the housing 31 with the central axis of the housing 31 as an axis. The winding on the bottom surface of the conical portion 34a is located in the vicinity of the bottom surface of the left end plate 31b2.
Each winding of the conical coil spring 34 is not fixed to the inner surface of the casing 31 and can vibrate.
Note that the conical coil spring 34 may be fixed to the left end plate 31b2 by the nut 25.

The fluid agitating apparatus 1 C is related to the first embodiment in that the casing 31 has a trunk portion 31 a, and the length of the cylindrical portion 34 b of the conical coil spring 34 is substantially equal to the trunk portion 31 a of the casing 31. Different from the fluid stirring device 1B.
When the fluid agitator 1C is attached to an indoor cooling device or the like, a plurality of non-fluorocarbon refrigerants included in the cylindrical portion 34b when the resonance frequency of the non-fluorocarbon refrigerant coincides with the resonance frequency of the winding of the cylindrical portion 34b. Since the refrigerating machine oil in that region is refined by the winding of, the time until the non-fluorocarbon refrigerant becomes a polymer solution and the power consumption is reduced can be shortened.

FIG. 12 shows an example of the configuration of a fluid stirring apparatus 1D according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
The fluid agitating apparatus 1D is different from the fluid agitating apparatus 1C according to the second embodiment in that a conical spring 24 is provided instead of the conical coil spring 34.
The conical spring 24 is the same as that used in the fluid agitator 1B according to the first embodiment. However, the installation direction of the conical spring 24 is opposite to the installation direction in the fluid stirring device 1B. The apex of the conical spring 24 faces the right end plate 31b1, and the winding on the bottom surface of the conical portion 24a is located near the bottom surface of the left end plate 31b2. The nut 25 suppresses the winding in the opening 24 c on the apex side of the conical spring 24 and fixes the conical spring 24.

In addition, the material of each component of

fluid stirring apparatus

1A, 1B, 1C, 1D should just be a material which can be used for piping of a heat pump system, and is not specifically limited. For example, it can be made of steel.

In the embodiment described above, an example was shown in which the fluid agitator 1B according to the first embodiment, the fluid agitator 1C according to the second embodiment, and the fluid agitator 1D according to the third embodiment were placed horizontally. However, there are no particular restrictions on the direction of installation. For example, these may be placed vertically.

As described above, according to the present invention, the fluid stirring device can be miniaturized as much as possible.
In addition, by attaching the fluid stirring device of the present invention to a heat pump system such as an air conditioner, the resistance in the liquid pipe of the heat pump system is reduced, so that the power consumption in the compressor can be reduced.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various modifications and combinations necessary for design reasons and other factors are described in the inventions described in the claims and the specific embodiments described in the embodiments of the invention. It is included in the scope of the invention corresponding to the example.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1A ... Fluid stirring apparatus, 11 ... Housing | casing, 11a ... Body part, 11b1 ... Upper end plate, 11b2 ... Lower end plate, 12 ... Upper pipe body, 13 ... Lower pipe body, 14 ... Coil spring, 1B ... Fluid stirring apparatus, 21 ... casing, 21b1 ... right end plate, 21b2 ... left end plate, 22 ... right tube, 23 ... left tube, 24 ... conical spring, 24a ... conical part, 24b ... cylindrical part, 25 ... nut, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1C ... Fluid stirring apparatus, 31 ... Housing | casing, 31a ... Body part, 31b1 ... Right end plate, 31b2 ... Left end plate, 34 ... Coil spring with a cone part, 34a ... Conical part, 34b ... Cylindrical part, 1D ... Fluid stirring Apparatus, 2 ... Compression unit, 3 ... Condensing unit (cooling: outdoor unit, heating: indoor unit), 4 ... expansion unit, 5 ... evaporating unit (cooling: indoor unit, heating: outdoor unit)

Claims

A fluid agitation device installed on a piping path for agitating a fluid containing refrigerant and refrigeration oil in a heat pump cycle,
A case in which one is closed by the first end plate and the other is closed by the second end plate;
One end is connectable to one of the pipes, penetrates the first end plate in a direction parallel to the center axis at a position away from the center axis of the housing, and the other end is the second end plate A first tube opening in the direction of
One end is connectable to another one of the pipes, passes through the second end plate in the direction of the center axis on the center axis of the housing, and the other end in the direction of the first end plate A second tubular body that opens;
The winding is wound in a conical shape, the second tubular body is inserted into the inside from the opening on the apex side, and is installed in the housing around the central axis of the housing. A spring including a conical portion in which a winding wound into a shape can vibrate;
A fluid agitation device comprising:
The first tube extends to the vicinity of the bottom surface of the first end plate;
The second tubular body extends to the vicinity of the bottom surface of the first end plate;
The fluid agitation apparatus according to claim 1.
The fluid stirring device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the winding on the bottom surface of the conical portion of the spring is positioned in the vicinity of the bottom surface of the second end plate.
The housing has a cylindrical body between the first end plate and the second end plate,
The spring is installed on the inner surface of the body portion of the housing around the central axis of the housing, and includes a cylindrical portion that can vibrate a winding wound in a cylindrical shape.
The fluid agitation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fluid agitation apparatus is used.
The edge of the opening at the other end of the first tubular body is inclined so that the central axis side of the housing is long and the peripheral edge side is short. The fluid stirring apparatus described in 1.
6. Fluid agitation according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein irregularities due to spiral threads and thread grooves are alternately formed on the outer surface of the second tubular body in the axial direction. apparatus.
At the time of indoor cooling, it is installed so that the fluid flows in from the first tube and the fluid flows out from the second tube, and the first tube is a condensation unit that is an outdoor unit in the heat pump cycle. The fluid agitation device according to claim 1, wherein the fluid agitation device is connected to a fluid outlet side of the unit.
At the time of indoor heating, it is installed so that fluid flows in from the second tubular body and fluid flows out of the first tubular body, and the first tubular body is an outdoor unit in the heat pump cycle. The fluid agitation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fluid agitation apparatus is connected to a fluid inlet side of the unit.
A heat pump system, wherein the fluid agitation device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is installed on a pipe path.