JP5379720B2 - Air conditioner for vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently circulate oil to be circulated together with coolant without being trapped in a cold storing internal heat exchanger. <P>SOLUTION: This air conditioner includes the cold storing internal heat exchanger 9 wherein an internal heat exchanger and a cold storing heat exchanger are integrated. A low pressure coolant flow passage of the cold storing internal heat exchanger is constituted of a first internal low pressure coolant flow passage 7a for reliquefying a part of low pressure coolant by cooling the low pressure coolant by heat exchange with a cold storing material and forming an oil storing area used as reliquefying of the low pressure coolant capable of storing oil in the coolant together with the reliquefied coolant and a second internal low pressure coolant flow passage 7b capable of feeding the low pressure coolant from the first internal low pressure coolant flow passage to a compressor. The second internal low pressure coolant flow passage is branched into a feed flow passage 23 to the compressor and a branch flow passage 24 passing an oil storing area portion of the first internal low pressure coolant flow passage and joining the feed flow passage. The branch flow passage includes a suction mechanism of oil, and a joining part of the branch flow passage with the feed flow passage includes an oil sucking up mechanism 28. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner provided with a refrigerant circuit having a compressor, a condenser, a decompressor, and an evaporator, and more particularly, a vehicle air conditioner provided with a cold storage internal heat exchanger containing a cold storage material in the refrigerant circuit. Relates to the device.

  A conventional ordinary vehicle air conditioner includes a refrigerant circuit having a compressor, a condenser, a decompressor, and an evaporator in this order. For example, the vehicle interior is cooled by driving the compressor using a vehicle engine as a drive source. It is supposed to be. In such a vehicle air conditioner, an internal heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the high-pressure refrigerant on the downstream side of the condenser and the low-pressure refrigerant on the downstream side of the evaporator is provided in the refrigerant circuit so as to improve the cooling capacity. What is made is known.

  By the way, when the air conditioner is applied to a vehicle having an idling stop mechanism that detects a stop due to a signal waiting or the like and stops the engine, the compressor circuit is also stopped simultaneously with the stop of the engine. Since the refrigerant does not circulate, the cooling cannot be continued. Therefore, in order to continue cooling even when the compressor is stopped, the refrigerant flow path on the downstream side of the evaporator of the refrigerant circuit has a cold storage material inside, and the cold storage material is cooled by the low-pressure refrigerant during the operation of the compressor. A cold storage heat exchanger that cools the low-pressure refrigerant with the cold storage material cooled when the compressor is stopped, liquefies the refrigerant with the cold storage material when the compressor stops, and after the compressor stops, It is known that the cooling until a predetermined time can be continued by delaying the time until the pressure on the low pressure side becomes uniform (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-1485 A

  However, the vehicle air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a large number of parts constituting the refrigerant circuit, such as an internal heat exchanger and a cold storage heat exchanger, and has a large number of parts and an assembling man-hour. Therefore, there is a problem that the occupied space is large and the manufacturing cost is increased.

  Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, the application is still unpublished, but the applicant previously reduced the occupied space by integrating a plurality of parts constituting the refrigerant circuit. A vehicle air conditioner capable of reducing the number of parts and assembly man-hours, that is, an improved structure in which a cold storage heat exchanger as described above and a conventional general internal heat exchanger are integrally configured has been proposed ( Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-143936). More specifically, in a vehicle air conditioner including a refrigerant circuit having a compressor, a condenser, a decompressor, and an evaporator, a high-pressure refrigerant flow path through which a high-pressure refrigerant on the downstream side of the condenser flows in the refrigerant circuit. A low-pressure refrigerant flow path through which the low-pressure refrigerant on the downstream side of the evaporator flows, and a cold storage material storage portion in which the cold storage material is stored, and the high-pressure refrigerant in the high-pressure refrigerant flow path and the low-pressure refrigerant in the low-pressure refrigerant flow path The high-pressure refrigerant in the high-pressure refrigerant flow path after cooling the cold storage material in the cold-storage material storage portion with the low-pressure refrigerant in the low-pressure refrigerant flow path and exchanging heat with the low-pressure refrigerant in the low-pressure refrigerant flow path when the compressor is driven An air conditioner for a vehicle is proposed in which a cold storage internal heat exchanger is provided that cools the low-pressure refrigerant in the low-pressure refrigerant flow path with the cold storage material when the compressor is stopped. Functions as an exchanger and cold storage heat exchanger One of to be able to exert in the cold storage internal heat exchanger as a part, component, with consequently reduce the overall size of the vehicle air conditioner, it is possible to reduce the number of components and assembly steps.

  However, the following problems still remain in the vehicle air conditioner previously proposed by the applicant. Usually, oil (lubricating oil) is also circulated together with the refrigerant circulated in the refrigerant circuit, and the oil has to be circulated especially to a compressor having a movable part, which was previously proposed by the present applicant. In the structure, no special consideration was given to such oil circulation. That is, in the proposed structure, a portion where oil is trapped easily occurs in the cold storage internal heat exchanger, and therefore there is a possibility that the amount of oil circulation, particularly the amount of oil circulation to the compressor, may be insufficient. It is left.

  Further, in the above proposed structure, heat is exchanged with the low-pressure refrigerant in the low-pressure refrigerant channel at the upstream portion in the high-pressure refrigerant channel in the cold storage internal heat exchanger, and the heat exchange is performed in the high-pressure refrigerant channel after the heat exchange. The high-pressure refrigerant consisting of liquid refrigerant is to be cooled by the regenerator at the downstream site, but basically the regenerator internal heat exchanger is arranged horizontally, so if the vehicle tilts or vibrates However, in order to send substantially only the liquid refrigerant from the upstream portion in the high-pressure refrigerant flow path to the downstream portion, the volume of the upstream portion must be increased. In other words, in the case of the horizontal arrangement, since it is easily affected by the inclination and vibration of the vehicle, the high pressure refrigerant is sent from the upstream side portion to the downstream side portion in the liquid refrigerant state without being affected by the influence. When doing so, the volume of the upstream part must be increased. When the volume of a part (upstream side part) in the high-pressure refrigerant flow path is increased in this way, the entire regenerator internal heat exchanger increases in size, and eventually the conventional general internal heat exchanger and regenerator heat exchanger are combined. The advantage of miniaturization of the entire vehicle air conditioner due to the integration of the cold storage internal heat exchanger is lost. Further, when a part of the volume in the high-pressure refrigerant flow path is increased, the amount of refrigerant to be sealed in the refrigerant circuit is increased, so that the amount of refrigerant filled may be unnecessarily increased from the viewpoint of cooling performance.

  Therefore, the problem of the present invention is that the conventional proposed structure in which the conventional general internal heat exchanger and the cold storage heat exchanger are integrated to form the cold storage internal heat exchanger (the previous proposed structure including the cold storage internal heat exchanger). In order to solve the remaining problems in (), an improved structure that allows the oil (lubricating oil) circulated with the refrigerant to circulate efficiently without being trapped unnecessarily in the cold storage internal heat exchanger. It is providing the vehicle air conditioner provided with the cold storage internal heat exchanger which has.

  In addition, a smooth oil circulation structure in the cold storage internal heat exchanger can be achieved while the cold storage internal heat exchanger itself has a compact structure and the entire cold storage internal heat exchanger is downsized. The object of the present invention.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention includes a compressor circuit, a condenser, a decompressor, and an evaporator including a refrigerant circuit in this order in a refrigerant flow direction. The refrigerant circuit includes a high-pressure refrigerant flow path through which the high-pressure refrigerant downstream of the condenser flows, a low-pressure refrigerant flow path through which the low-pressure refrigerant downstream of the evaporator flows, and a cold storage material storage portion in which the cold storage material is stored. And has an internal heat exchange function for exchanging heat between the high-pressure refrigerant in the high-pressure refrigerant flow path and the low-pressure refrigerant in the low-pressure refrigerant flow path. A cold storage internal heat exchanger having a cold storage heat exchange function for cooling the material and cooling the low pressure refrigerant in the low pressure refrigerant flow path with the cold storage material cooled when the compressor is stopped;
The low-pressure refrigerant flow path of the cold-storage internal heat exchanger can be used to cool the low-pressure refrigerant by exchanging heat with the regenerator material to re-liquefy part of the low-pressure refrigerant and store the oil in the refrigerant together with the re-liquefied refrigerant A first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path that forms a low-pressure refrigerant reliquefaction and oil storage area, and the low-pressure refrigerant from the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path connected to the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path A second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path that can be delivered to the machine,
A branch that passes through the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path and the delivery flow path to the compressor and the oil storage area of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path and merges with the delivery flow path to the compressor. Branch to the channel,
A suction mechanism for sucking oil stored in the lower part of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path into the branch flow path is provided in the oil storage area portion passage portion of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path of the branch flow path. In addition, oil that has been sucked into the branch channel and sent together with the refrigerant in the branch channel into the junction of the branch channel with the delivery channel to the compressor is sent into the compressor flow channel. It consists of the thing characterized by providing the siphoning mechanism to siphon up.

  In such a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path is branched from the delivery flow path to the compressor in the middle, and a part of the low-pressure refrigerant is contained in the branch flow path. When a small amount is flown and the branch flow path passes through the oil storage area portion of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path, the oil stored in the lower part in the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path enters the branch flow path. The sucked and sucked oil is sent together with the low-pressure refrigerant to the junction with the delivery flow path to the compressor, sucked into the delivery flow path, and sent from the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path to the compressor. It is merged with the flow of low-pressure refrigerant and sent to the compressor. With such a configuration, the oil accumulated in the oil storage area of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path (usually the bottom of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path) that forms the low-pressure refrigerant reliquefaction and oil storage area is smooth. It is carried on the flow of the low-pressure refrigerant sent to the compressor, and is efficiently circulated toward the compressor without being trapped in the cold storage internal heat exchanger. Further, in this case, the reliquefied refrigerant in the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path may be sucked in the same path and sucked in the delivery flow path to the compressor, but even in that case, When sucked into the delivery channel and put on the flow from the second internal low-pressure refrigerant channel in the delivery channel, the carburetor effect is manifested, so the sucked liquid refrigerant is atomized and atomized The low-pressure refrigerant will not reach the compressor in the liquefied state. Therefore, liquid compression in the compressor that may occur when the low-pressure refrigerant is sent in a liquefied state is avoided. Further, such an oil recovery structure (circulation structure) is provided with an appropriate oil return pipe, for example, in the cold storage internal heat exchanger by appropriately disposing the branch passage in the cold storage internal heat exchanger. Therefore, it is possible to meet the demands for reducing the size of the entire regenerator internal heat exchanger and reducing the number of parts and the number of assembly steps.

  Moreover, in the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path is at a lower position of the cold-storage internal heat exchanger, and the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path is the cold-storage internal heat exchange. It is preferable that it is arranged at a higher part of the vessel. If constituted in this way, the above-mentioned branch channel inevitably extends downward from the branch part, sucks oil in the lower suction mechanism part, and then upwards toward the upper suction mechanism part. Will extend. In such a configuration, it becomes easy to pass the branch flow path through the oil storage area portion of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path, and it is easy to suck oil into the branch flow path. In addition, it becomes easier to join the branch flow path to the delivery flow path to the compressor, and the oil sucked into the branch flow path and sent together with the refrigerant through the branch flow path can be easily sucked into the delivery flow path to the compressor. Become. Further, in the configuration in which the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path is disposed at a lower position and the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path is disposed at a higher position, the peripheral and lower portions of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path are A configuration in which the regenerator storage unit is disposed, for example, between a first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow channel disposed inside a regenerator internal heat exchanger and a housing that forms an outer shell of the regenerator internal heat exchanger Moreover, the structure which formed the cool storage material accommodating part in which the cool storage material was accommodated can be employ | adopted. If comprised in this way, the predetermined site | part required by this invention can be arrange | positioned efficiently and compactly, and it can contribute to size reduction of the whole cool storage internal heat exchanger.

  Moreover, in the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, the suction mechanism has a communication hole that is provided at the lowermost portion of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path and opens into the branch flow path. Can be configured into a structure. The communication hole may be formed as small as necessary for smooth oil suction. With this configuration, the oil stored in the lower part of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant channel is sucked into the branch channel efficiently and smoothly.

  In addition, the suction mechanism has a throttle communication hole (having a throttle shape) provided in a junction portion of the branch flow path with the delivery flow path to the compressor and opening into the delivery flow path to the compressor. It is preferable to have a communication hole. If comprised in this way, the oil suction performance from the branch flow path by the flow of the low pressure refrigerant in the delivery flow path from the second internal low pressure refrigerant flow path to the compressor can be improved, and the recovered oil More reliable circulation. In addition, since the flow is once squeezed and then sucked up, when the liquefied low-pressure refrigerant is sucked up together with the oil, the carburetor effect as described above is increased, and the atomization performance of the liquefied refrigerant is improved. Thus, liquid compression in the compressor is more reliably avoided.

  Further, in the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, the cold storage material accommodating portion can be disposed, for example, in the peripheral portion and the lower portion of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path as described above, or the first internal low-pressure refrigerant portion. It can also be arranged inside the refrigerant flow path. Each embodiment will be clearly described with reference to the drawings as described later. In particular, in the configuration in which the regenerator material accommodating portion is disposed inside the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path, for example, the regenerator material accommodating portion includes a plurality of disk fin-like members in which the regenerator material is enclosed. It is also possible to adopt a structure that is configured as a vertically connected articulated structure. If comprised in this way, the more efficient heat exchange between a cool storage material accommodating part and a 1st internal low pressure refrigerant flow path will be attained, and the function as a cool storage heat exchanger will be improved.

  Further, the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path is formed in a chamber shape having a gas-liquid separation function, and between the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path and the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path, It is also preferable to employ a configuration in which the liquid refrigerant separated in the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path is communicated via a communication hole that drops into the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path. With this configuration, even if the low-pressure refrigerant reliquefied in the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow channel flows out into the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow channel, the liquid refrigerant remains in the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow channel. Gas-liquid separation is performed in the low-pressure refrigerant flow path, and the separated liquid refrigerant is returned to the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path through the communication hole. Therefore, the outflow of the liquid refrigerant to the compressor side can be more effectively suppressed, and undesirable liquid compression in the compressor can be avoided more appropriately.

  The regenerator internal heat exchanger in the present invention is basically arranged vertically, but in order to construct a regenerator internal heat exchanger that can efficiently exhibit the target performance in a small occupied space, the regenerator internal heat exchanger It is preferable that the outer shape is formed in a cylindrical shape extending in the vertical direction. By adopting the cylindrical shape, it is possible to efficiently form the high-pressure refrigerant flow path, the low-pressure refrigerant flow path, and the cold storage material accommodating portion inside. In this case, an inlet for introducing the low-pressure refrigerant into the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path and an outlet for deriving the low-pressure refrigerant from the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path are arranged on the side surface of the cylindrical body. It is preferable. By being arranged on the side surface of the cylindrical body, for example, the inlet and outlet can be formed in the direction along the circumferential direction of the cylindrical body, and the entire external shape of the regenerator internal heat exchanger is compared with the case where it is arranged in the radial direction. As a result, downsizing becomes possible. Similarly, from the viewpoint that the external shape of the regenerator internal heat exchanger can be reduced in size as a whole, the inlet for introducing the high-pressure refrigerant into the high-pressure refrigerant channel in the regenerator internal heat exchanger and the high-pressure refrigerant from the high-pressure refrigerant channel are derived. It is preferable that the outlet to be disposed also on the side surface of the cylindrical body.

  In addition, about the preferable example of a high pressure refrigerant flow path of the cool storage internal heat exchanger in this invention, and its specific structural example, it illustrates in the below-mentioned embodiment.

  Thus, according to the vehicle air conditioner provided with the cold storage internal heat exchanger according to the present invention, without circulating the oil circulating with the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit unnecessarily in the cold storage internal heat exchanger, It can be efficiently circulated toward the compressor. In addition, the structure required for oil recovery and circulation can be configured compactly in a regenerator internal heat exchanger that is required to be compact, and meet the demands for downsizing the entire regenerator internal heat exchanger. be able to.

  In addition, since the recovered oil is sucked up into the delivery flow path to the compressor and merged with the refrigerant in the delivery flow path, smoother oil suction and recovery becomes possible, and when the liquefied low-pressure refrigerant is sucked up with the oil Even in this case, the liquid refrigerant can be atomized by the carburetor effect, and liquid compression in the compressor can be avoided.

It is a schematic apparatus system diagram which shows an example of the refrigerant circuit of the vehicle air conditioner which concerns on this invention. 1 is a schematic external perspective view of a cold storage internal heat exchanger in a vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a partial cross-section display perspective view of the cool storage internal heat exchanger of FIG. It is the partial cross section display perspective view seen from another angle of the cool storage internal heat exchanger of FIG. It is the partial cross section display perspective view seen from another angle of the cool storage internal heat exchanger of FIG. It is the partial cross section display perspective view seen from another angle of the cool storage internal heat exchanger of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cool storage internal heat exchanger of FIG. 2, and is a figure which shows the oil collection | recovery path | route in this invention. It is a partial cross section display perspective view of the cool storage internal heat exchanger in the vehicle air conditioner concerning another embodiment of the present invention. It is the partial cross section display perspective view seen from another angle of the cool storage internal heat exchanger of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cool storage internal heat exchanger of FIG. 8, and is a figure which shows the oil collection | recovery path | route in this invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, a schematic configuration of the entire vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention is applied to a vehicle including an idling stop mechanism that detects that the vehicle has stopped by waiting for a signal or the like, and stops the engine. The refrigerant circuit as shown in FIG. It has.

  In FIG. 1, a refrigerant circuit 1 includes a compressor 2, a condenser 3, an expansion valve 4 serving as a decompressor, and an evaporator 5 in a well-known refrigeration circuit in this order in the refrigerant flow direction indicated by arrows. The high-pressure refrigerant on the downstream side of the evaporator 3 and the low-pressure refrigerant on the downstream side of the evaporator 5 are heat-exchanged, and the high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6 through which the high-pressure refrigerant on the downstream side of the condenser 3 circulates. It has a low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7 through which the low-pressure refrigerant flows and a cold storage material accommodating portion 8 in which a cold storage material is accommodated, and exchanges heat between the high-pressure refrigerant in the high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6 and the low-pressure refrigerant in the low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7. In addition to having an internal heat exchange function, when the compressor 2 is driven, the low-pressure refrigerant in the low-temperature refrigerant flow path 7 cools the regenerator material in the regenerator material storage unit 8, and when the compressor 2 is stopped, the low-temperature refrigerant flow is Cold storage internal heat having a cold storage heat exchange function for cooling the low-pressure refrigerant in the passage 7 And a one provided the exchanger 9. The compressor 2 used here is driven using a vehicle engine as a drive source, and when the engine is stopped by an idling stop mechanism, the drive is stopped simultaneously. Further, in this vehicle air conditioner, the evaporator 5 is provided inside the air conditioning unit in the vehicle interior (in the air passage to the vehicle interior), and the air exchanged heat with the refrigerant in the evaporator 5 is blown by the blower 10 in the vehicle interior. To be supplied. Moreover, the compressor 2, the condenser 3, the expansion valve 4, and the cool storage internal heat exchanger 9 are provided inside the engine room outside the passenger compartment. In the refrigerant circuit 1, for example, HFC134a or HFO1234yf is used as the refrigerant. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a switching valve, which will be described later.

  In this embodiment, the external shape of the cold storage internal heat exchanger 9 is formed in the shape of a cylindrical body extending in the vertical direction (in the cylindrical outer shell 12) as shown in FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6 of the cold-storage internal heat exchanger 9 is located upstream in the refrigerant flow direction (in the direction of the arrow) and the high-pressure refrigerant from the condenser 3 is introduced. The first internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6a, and the high-pressure refrigerant from the first internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6a that is located downstream in the refrigerant flow direction are introduced and the high-pressure refrigerant is decompressed (expansion valve 4). The second internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6b is sent to And in the most downstream part of the 1st internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6a communicating with this 2nd internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6b, in the high-pressure refrigerant introduced into the 2nd internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6b A high-pressure liquid refrigerant assembly portion 13 is formed in which the liquid refrigerant is gathered so that most of the refrigerant introduced into the second internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6b efficiently becomes the liquid refrigerant. In the present embodiment, the high-pressure refrigerant inlet 14 to the first internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6a is arranged on the side surface of the cylindrical outer shell 12, and the high-pressure refrigerant introduced from the inlet 14 is cylindrical in the vertical direction. The first internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6a extending in the shape of the first internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6a is sent to the downstream side, and most of the liquid refrigerant is in the high-pressure liquid refrigerant assembly 13 formed at the most downstream portion of the first internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6a. It is gathered in the state of. The high-pressure liquid refrigerant assembly 13 is formed in a liquid reservoir-like shape capable of collecting and temporarily storing liquid refrigerant at the lowermost portion of the first internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6a extending in the vertical direction. . The inlet of the second internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6b is connected to the bottom side of the high-pressure liquid refrigerant assembly 13 in FIG.

  The high-pressure refrigerant outlet 15 from the second internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6b is also arranged on the side surface of the cylindrical outer shell 12, and the high-pressure refrigerant led out from the outlet 15 is on the decompressor (expansion valve 4) side. Is sent to. However, in the present embodiment, the aforementioned switching valve 11 is provided in the vicinity of the outlet 15 as shown in FIG. 4, for example, and this switching valve 11 is provided with the second switching valve 11 as shown in FIG. A first refrigerant path 16 that is provided between the internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6b and the evaporator 5 and sends the high-pressure refrigerant to the evaporator 5 through the decompressor (expansion valve 4) when the compressor 2 is driven; 2 is switched between the second refrigerant path 17 for sending the high-pressure refrigerant to the evaporator 5 by bypassing the decompressor (expansion valve 4). Since the expansion valve 4 normally has a flow path resistance of a certain level or more, when the engine of the vehicle is stopped and the operation of the compressor 2 is stopped at the time of idling stop or the like, the high-pressure side refrigerant at that time is stopped. Under the pressure condition, the flow rate of the refrigerant that can pass through the expansion valve 4 having a relatively high flow path resistance becomes very small, and there is a possibility that the amount of refrigerant introduced into the evaporator 5 necessary for air conditioning may not be obtained. The refrigerant path is switched to the second refrigerant path 17 that bypasses the expansion valve 4, whereby the high-pressure refrigerant is naturally introduced into the evaporator 5 using the pressure difference from the low-pressure side, and the engine It is possible to perform air conditioning for a certain time (that is, the time until the pressure difference disappears) even at the time of stopping.

  Now, in the low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7 of the cold storage internal heat exchanger 9 through which the low-pressure refrigerant on the downstream side of the evaporator 5 is circulated, as shown in FIG. It is disposed on the side surface of the cylindrical outer shell 12. As shown in FIG. 6, the low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7 forms a low-pressure refrigerant reliquefaction area in which the low-pressure refrigerant is cooled by heat exchange with the cold storage material and a part of the low-pressure refrigerant is reliquefied. A low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a and a second internal connected to the downstream side of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a and capable of sending low-pressure refrigerant from the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a to the compressor 2 The low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7b is configured to exchange heat between at least the low-pressure refrigerant in the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7b and the high-pressure refrigerant in the first internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6a. ing. In the cold storage internal heat exchanger 9, the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7 a is disposed at a lower position, and the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7 b is disposed at a higher position so that the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow The low-pressure refrigerant outlet 19 from the passage 7 b is disposed on the side surface of the cylindrical outer shell 12. The second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7b is formed in a chamber shape having a gas-liquid separation function, and the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path is between the first and second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow paths 7a and 7b. The liquid refrigerant separated in 7b is communicated through a communication hole 20 for dropping into the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a.

  In the present embodiment, the regenerator material accommodating portion 8 includes the internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a at the periphery and the lower portion of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a disposed at the lower position in the regenerator internal heat exchanger 9. It is formed between the inner wall 21 and the outer shell 12 that are formed, and is configured by housing (for example, enclosing) a predetermined cold storage material in a space formed therebetween. By installing the regenerator material accommodating portion 8, the regenerator material accommodated by the low-pressure refrigerant channel 7, particularly the low-pressure refrigerant in the first internal low-pressure refrigerant channel 7 a, is cooled when the compressor 2 is driven. A cold storage heat exchange function of cooling the low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7, particularly the low-pressure refrigerant in the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a, is provided by the cold storage material cooled at the time of stoppage.

  In addition, a check valve 22 for preventing the high-pressure refrigerant from flowing back to the condenser 3 side is provided at the inlet 14 side of the high-pressure refrigerant to the first internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6a, for example, as shown in FIG. It may be provided. If such a check valve 22 is provided, the high-pressure refrigerant can always flow in a desired direction, which can contribute to reliably exhibiting the target function as the cold storage internal heat exchanger 9.

  Next, the oil (lubricating oil) recovery and circulation structure of the present invention in this embodiment will be described. This oil recovery and circulation structure is good for the oil circulated with the refrigerant, particularly in the present embodiment, the oil collected at the bottom in the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a forming the low-pressure refrigerant reliquefaction area. In order to return the low-pressure refrigerant to the flow into the compressor 2. As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7b is provided in the middle of the oil storage area at the bottom of the delivery flow path 23 to the compressor 2 and the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a. After passing through the lower part, it branches off into a delivery passage 23 to the compressor 2 and a branch passage 24 that joins. In this embodiment, most of the branch flow path 24 is constituted by a pipe (referred to as an oil return pipe 25).

  Oil stored in the lower part of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a is sucked into the branch flow path 24 into the oil storage area portion passage portion at the bottom of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a of the branch flow path 24. A suction mechanism 26 is provided, and in the present embodiment, the suction mechanism 26 has a communication hole 27 provided in the lowermost portion of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a and opening into the branch flow path 24. It is configured to have a structure. Oil (indicated by arrows) sucked into the branch channel 24 and sent together with the refrigerant in the branch channel 24 is joined to the junction of the branch channel 24 and the delivery channel 23 to the compressor 2. A suction mechanism 28 is provided in the delivery flow path 23 to the compressor 2. In the present embodiment, the suction mechanism 28 is provided at the junction of the branch flow path 24 and the delivery flow path 23 to the compressor 2, and is connected to a throttle communication hole 29 (feed flow) that opens into the delivery flow path 23. It is configured to have a communication hole) that is narrowed so that the hole diameter decreases toward the path 23 side. In the present embodiment, the oil return pipe 25 that forms the branch flow path 24 passes through the space formed between the inner wall 21 and the outer shell 12 in the middle, that is, after passing through the regenerator accommodating portion 8. The suction mechanism 28 is reached.

  First, the function of the cold storage internal heat exchanger 9 in the vehicle air conditioner according to this embodiment configured as described above will be described. By configuring the cold storage internal heat exchanger 9 as one component that can exhibit both the function as an internal heat exchanger and the function as a cold storage heat exchanger, an internal heat exchanger and a cold storage heat exchanger are provided separately. Compared to the case, the occupied space in the refrigerant circuit is reduced, and the number of parts and the number of assembling steps are reduced. As in this embodiment, the high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6 of the regenerator internal heat exchanger 9 is composed of the first internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6a and the second internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6b, and the first internal By forming the high-pressure liquid refrigerant collecting portion 13 at the most downstream portion of the high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6a, the liquid refrigerant can be tilted in the vehicle without particularly increasing the volume of the first internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6a on the upstream side. It is possible to collect the high-pressure liquid refrigerant assembly 13 appropriately and reliably without being influenced by vibration or vibration, and the collected high-pressure liquid refrigerant can be reliably and easily supplied to the second internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6b. And can be introduced. Since the volume of the first internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6a can be reduced, the high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6 can be compared with the structure previously proposed by the present applicant while ensuring a desired function as the cold storage internal heat exchanger 9. As a whole, it is possible to reduce the size of the entire regenerator internal heat exchanger 9. Further, since it is not necessary to particularly increase the volume of the high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6, the amount of refrigerant enclosed as the entire refrigerant circuit having the cold storage internal heat exchanger 9 is significantly larger than the structure previously proposed by the applicant. Can be reduced.

  Further, the low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7 forms a low-pressure refrigerant reliquefaction area in which a part of the low-pressure refrigerant is reliquefied by heat exchange with the cold storage material, and a second internal low-pressure refrigerant. The flow path 7b is configured to exchange heat between at least the low-pressure refrigerant in the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7b and the high-pressure refrigerant in the first internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6a. By forming 8 at the periphery and the lower part of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a, heat exchange with the cold storage material can be performed more efficiently in the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a. The low-pressure refrigerant that has been partially liquefied and efficiently cooled is sent to the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7b, and effectively with the high-pressure refrigerant in the first internal high-pressure refrigerant flow path 6a. Heat exchange can be performed, the degree of supercooling of the high-pressure refrigerant is further increased, and the internal It can improve the function of the exchanger. Even when a part of the re-liquefied low-pressure refrigerant flows into the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7b, the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7b disposed at a higher position communicates with the second low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7b. It becomes possible to return the low-pressure refrigerant re-liquefied into the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a disposed in the lower portion through the hole 20 and to return the liquid refrigerant to the compressor 2 side. The outflow can be efficiently suppressed.

  Further, in addition to the vertical arrangement of the regenerator internal heat exchanger 9, a regenerator material accommodating portion 8 is mainly formed between the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a and the outer shell 12, so that a compact regenerator material accommodation structure is provided. Thus, the entire regenerator internal heat exchanger 9 can be configured in a small size.

  In this way, since the small vertical cold-storage internal heat exchanger 9 that can efficiently exhibit both the function as the internal heat exchanger and the function as the cold storage heat exchanger can be configured, the internal heat exchanger and the cold storage heat exchange can be configured. In addition to reducing the space occupied by the refrigerant circuit and reducing the number of parts and the number of assembly steps, the regenerator internal heat exchanger 9 is made smaller than the structure previously proposed by the present applicant. In addition to the configuration, the amount of refrigerant enclosed in the refrigerant circuit can be reduced. By providing such a small and high-performance cold-storage internal heat exchanger 9 in the refrigerant circuit, the temperature of the exhaust air into the vehicle interior is kept low for an appropriate time even when the vehicle engine is stopped, such as when idling is stopped. Can contribute to relieving passenger discomfort.

Next, oil recovery and circulation in the present invention in the above embodiment will be described.
A small amount of the low-pressure refrigerant is introduced into the branch channel 24 branched from the delivery channel 23 to the compressor 2, and flows downstream in the branch channel 24 formed by the oil return pipe 25. The branch flow path 24 is disposed so as to pass through a lower portion of the bottom of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a forming the low-pressure refrigerant reliquefaction area. Therefore, the oil stored in the bottom portion of the internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a is separated by the refrigerant flow in the branch flow path 24 through the communication hole 27 of the suction mechanism 26. It is sucked into 24. The sucked oil rides on the flow of the low-pressure refrigerant and is sent toward the junction with the delivery flow path 23 to the compressor 2 together with the low-pressure refrigerant.

  The oil sent to the junction with the delivery flow path 23 to the compressor 2 together with the low-pressure refrigerant in the branch flow path 24 passes through the throttle communication hole 29 of the suction mechanism 28 by the flow of the refrigerant in the delivery flow path 23. And sucked into the delivery flow path 23. The sucked oil rides on the flow of the low-pressure refrigerant flowing in the delivery flow path 23 and is sent to the compressor 2. In this way, the oil accumulated in the oil storage area of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a (the bottom of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a) that forms the low-pressure refrigerant reliquefaction and oil storage area is smoothly recovered. Then, it is put on the flow of the low-pressure refrigerant sent to the compressor 2, is efficiently sent toward the compressor 2 without being trapped in the cold storage internal heat exchanger 9, and is circulated in the refrigerant circuit 1. It will be.

  At the time of such oil recovery, the reliquefied refrigerant in the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a is also sucked into the branch flow path 24 through the communication hole 27 of the suction mechanism 26 and passes through the branch flow path 24. After being sent toward the junction with the delivery channel 23, it may be sucked up together with the oil by the suction mechanism 28 and introduced into the delivery channel 23. However, even in such a case, the sucked liquid refrigerant is atomized and atomized by the carburetor effect in the suction mechanism 28, particularly by the carburetor effect at the time of suction through the throttle communication hole 29 in the present embodiment. It is sent to the 2 compressors in the state. Therefore, it is avoided that the low-pressure refrigerant reaches the compressor 2 in the liquefied state, and liquid compression in the compressor 2 is avoided.

  Further, the oil return pipe 25 constituting a part of such an oil recovery structure (circulation structure) is efficiently and compactly arranged in the cold storage internal heat exchanger 9 as shown in FIGS. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately meet the demands for reducing the size of the entire regenerator internal heat exchanger 9 and reducing the number of parts and the number of assembly steps.

8 to 10 show the structure of a regenerative heat exchanger according to another embodiment of the present invention.
In the present embodiment, the structure of the cold storage material accommodating portion 32 in the cold storage internal heat exchanger 31 and the surrounding structure, particularly the oil recovery structure, are changed as compared with the above-described embodiment. Since the structure of other parts is substantially the same as that of the above-described embodiment, the same reference numerals as those of the above-described embodiment are assigned to the parts corresponding to the above-described embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a is not formed in the inner wall as in the above-described embodiment, but is formed directly on the lower side in the outer shell 33 by the cylindrical outer shell 33. And the cool storage material accommodating part 32 is arrange | positioned inside this 1st internal low voltage | pressure refrigerant | coolant flow path 7a. The regenerator material accommodating portion 32 is a vertically connected communication structure of a plurality of disc fin-like members 32a in which a regenerator material is enclosed (a plurality of disc fin-like members 32a are arranged in parallel and arranged in the up-down direction. The adjacent disk fin-like members 32a are connected to each other and communicated with each other). Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the oil return pipe 35 forming the branch flow path 34 directly sucks oil accumulated at the bottom of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a directly formed by the outer shell 33. The communication hole 36 is opened at a portion corresponding to the bottom. The suction mechanism 37 is configured to have a throttle communication hole 38 as in the above-described embodiment.

  According to such a configuration of the present embodiment, the contact area between the low-pressure refrigerant in the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a and the outer surface of the regenerator material accommodating portion 32 is remarkably increased. The efficiency of the exchange is greatly improved, and the cooling performance of the regenerator material in the regenerator material storage portion 32 by the low-pressure refrigerant in the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a when the compressor is driven, and cooling when the compressor is stopped. The cooling performance of the low-pressure refrigerant in the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a by the regenerator material in the regenerator material accommodating part 32 will be greatly enhanced, and the target function as the regenerator internal heat exchanger 31 will be Greatly improved.

  Further, the oil return pipe 35 passes through the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a, and the oil accumulated at the bottom can be directly sucked through the communication hole 36, so that the oil is sucked more reliably. It becomes possible. Moreover, although the cool storage material accommodating part 32 is comprised in the up-down direction connection communication structure of the several disk fin-shaped member 32a by which the cool storage material was enclosed inside, this up-down direction connection connection structure is produced as another component. After that, if only the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7a itself is seen, it can be formed directly by the outer shell 33 without providing an inner wall. Thus, the internal structure of the cold storage heat exchanger 31 can be further downsized. Other configurations, operations, and effects are the same as those in the above-described embodiment.

  In the illustrated example, the regenerator material accommodating portion 32 is configured as a vertically connected communication structure of a plurality of disk fin-like members 32a in which the regenerator material is enclosed, but is not limited to this structure, and heat exchange Any structure can be used as long as the contact area with the low-pressure refrigerant can be increased.

  The structure of the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention is considered to be desirable to have a cold storage internal heat exchanger in the refrigerant circuit in order to improve the cooling performance at the time of idling top, etc., and circulation of oil to the compressor is considered. It can be applied to any required vehicle air conditioner.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerant circuit 2 Compressor 3 Condenser 4 Expansion valve 5 as decompressor Evaporator 6 High pressure refrigerant flow path 6a First internal high pressure refrigerant flow path 6b Second internal high pressure refrigerant flow path 7 Low pressure refrigerant flow path 7a First Internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 7b Second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path 8, 32 Cold storage material accommodating part 9, 31 Cold storage internal heat exchanger 10 Blower 11 Switching valve 12, 33 Outer shell 13 High pressure liquid refrigerant collecting part 14 Inlet 15 High-pressure refrigerant outlet 16 First refrigerant path 17 Second refrigerant path 18 Low-pressure refrigerant inlet 19 Low-pressure refrigerant outlet 20 Communication hole 21 Inner wall 22 Check valve 23 Delivery flow path 24, 34 to the compressor Branching flow Passage 25, 35 Oil return pipe 26 Suction mechanism 27, 36 Communication hole 28, 37 Suction mechanism 29, 38 Restriction communication hole

Claims (10)

In a vehicle air conditioner provided with a refrigerant circuit having a compressor, a condenser, a decompressor, and an evaporator in this order in the flow direction of the refrigerant,
A high-pressure refrigerant flow path through which the high-pressure refrigerant downstream of the condenser flows, a low-pressure refrigerant flow path through which the low-pressure refrigerant downstream of the evaporator flows in the refrigerant circuit, and a regenerator storage section in which a regenerator material is stored. And has an internal heat exchange function for exchanging heat between the high-pressure refrigerant in the high-pressure refrigerant flow path and the low-pressure refrigerant in the low-pressure refrigerant flow path, and the low-pressure refrigerant in the low-pressure refrigerant flow path when the compressor is driven. A cold storage internal heat exchanger having a cold storage heat exchange function for cooling the cold storage material and cooling the low-pressure refrigerant in the low-pressure refrigerant flow path by the cold storage material cooled when the compressor is stopped is provided.
The low-pressure refrigerant flow path of the cold-storage internal heat exchanger can be used to cool the low-pressure refrigerant by exchanging heat with the regenerator material to re-liquefy part of the low-pressure refrigerant and store the oil in the refrigerant together with the re-liquefied refrigerant A first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path that forms a low-pressure refrigerant reliquefaction and oil storage area, and the low-pressure refrigerant from the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path connected to the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path A second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path that can be delivered to the machine,
A branch that passes through the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path and the delivery flow path to the compressor and the oil storage area of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path and merges with the delivery flow path to the compressor. Branch to the channel,
A suction mechanism for sucking oil stored in the lower part of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path into the branch flow path is provided in the oil storage area portion passage portion of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path of the branch flow path. In addition, oil that has been sucked into the branch channel and sent together with the refrigerant in the branch channel into the junction of the branch channel with the delivery channel to the compressor is sent into the compressor flow channel. A vehicle air conditioner provided with a sucking-up mechanism.   The first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path is disposed at a lower position of the cold storage internal heat exchanger, and the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path is disposed at a higher position of the cold storage internal heat exchanger. The vehicle air conditioner according to 1.   3. The vehicle air conditioning according to claim 1, wherein the suction mechanism has a communication hole that is provided at a lowermost portion of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path and opens into the branch flow path. apparatus.   The suction mechanism has a throttle communication hole provided in a joining portion of the branch flow path with the delivery flow path to the compressor and opening into the delivery flow path to the compressor. Item 4. The vehicle air conditioner according to any one of Items 1 to 3.   The vehicle air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cold storage material accommodation portion is disposed in a peripheral portion and a lower portion of the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path.   The vehicle air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cold storage material accommodating portion is disposed inside the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path.   The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 6, wherein the cold storage material accommodating portion is configured as a vertically connected communication structure of a plurality of disk fin-like members in which the cold storage material is enclosed.   The second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path is formed in a chamber shape having a gas-liquid separation function, and the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path and the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path are between the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path and the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path. The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the vehicle is communicated via a communication hole for dropping the liquid refrigerant separated in the two internal low-pressure refrigerant channels into the first internal low-pressure refrigerant channel. Air conditioner.   The vehicle air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein an outer shape of the cold-storage internal heat exchanger is formed in a cylindrical shape extending in a vertical direction.   The inlet for introducing the low-pressure refrigerant into the first internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path and the outlet for deriving the low-pressure refrigerant from the second internal low-pressure refrigerant flow path are arranged on the side surface of the cylindrical body. The vehicle air conditioner according to 9.

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