JP7359576B2 - Flow divider and refrigeration cycle equipment - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a flow divider that divides fluid, and a refrigeration cycle equipped with this flow divider.

Conventionally, an air conditioner, which is a refrigeration cycle device, includes a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion device, and an indoor heat exchanger. When the heat exchanger functions as an evaporator, the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant flowing from the expansion device is divided into a plurality of capillary tubes by a flow divider, and then flows into the heat exchanger. By dividing the refrigerant and guiding it to the heat exchanger in this way, it is possible to improve the heat exchange efficiency.

Patent No. 4937240

However, even when a flow divider is used, the refrigerant flowing into the heat exchanger is unevenly distributed. Furthermore, depending on the shape of the air conditioner and the installation situation, there are parts of the heat exchanger that are more likely to exchange heat with the air and parts that are less likely to exchange heat with the air. For this reason, countermeasures are taken such as increasing the flow rate of refrigerant in areas where heat exchange is easy and reducing the flow rate in areas where heat exchange is difficult. For example, a method is known in which the lengths of a plurality of capillary tubes provided on the downstream side of a flow divider are individually set, and the refrigerant flow rate is adjusted by the flow resistance of the tubes. In order to set the length of this capillary tube, it is necessary to repeat prototyping and testing, which takes time and effort.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a flow divider that can easily adjust the flow rate to a heat exchanger.

In order to achieve the above object, the flow divider of the embodiment includes a cylindrical main body, an inflow part through which fluid flows into one end of the main body, and at least four outflow parts through which fluid flows out into the other end. and an opening degree of a branch space in which the inflow section and the at least four outflow sections communicate with each other inside the main body, and a portion where each of the at least four outflow sections and the branch space communicate with each other is set to the outside of the main body section. at least four adjustment valves that can be adjusted respectively from the main body, and a valve insertion hole that penetrates from the one end side of the main body into the branch space and into which the adjustment valve is inserted, the adjustment valve is It is fixed at the opening adjusted to.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a refrigeration cycle device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a flow divider according to the same embodiment. FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the flow divider according to the same embodiment. An enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 3. FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a flow divider according to a second embodiment.

Embodiments for carrying out the invention will be described below.
(First embodiment)
A flow divider 1 and a refrigeration cycle device 100 according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a refrigeration cycle device.

The air conditioner 100, which is a refrigeration cycle device, includes a compressor 101, a four-way valve 102, an outdoor heat exchanger 103, an expansion device 104, and an indoor heat exchanger 105. These are sequentially connected through refrigerant piping 106 to form a refrigeration cycle. Furthermore, a flow divider 1 is provided on the upstream side when the outdoor heat exchanger 103 and the indoor heat exchanger 105 are used as evaporators. It is connected to exchanger 105.

The four-way valve 102 changes the flow direction of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 101 to switch between cooling operation and heating operation. During cooling operation, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 101 flows in the order of the outdoor heat exchanger 103, the expansion device 104, and the indoor heat exchanger 105 via the four-way valve 102, as shown by the solid arrow in FIG. At this time, the outdoor heat exchanger 103 functions as a heat radiator (condenser), and the indoor heat exchanger 105 functions as a heat absorber (evaporator). During the heating operation, the refrigerant flows in the order of the compressor 101, the four-way valve 102, the indoor heat exchanger 105, the expansion device 104, and the outdoor heat exchanger 103, as shown by the broken line arrow in FIG. The outdoor heat exchanger 103 functions as a heat absorber (evaporator), and the indoor heat exchanger 105 functions as a radiator (condenser).

The flow divider 1 will be explained. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the flow divider 1. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the flow divider 1. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the range of F shown in FIG. The flow divider 1 has an inflow part 30 formed at one end of a cylindrical main body 2, and a plurality of outflow parts 40 formed at the other end. The main body part 2 is composed of an inner cylinder part 3 in which an inflow part 30 is formed and an outer cylinder part 4 in which an outflow part 40 is formed, and the inner cylinder part 3 is fitted into the outer cylinder part 4 concentrically. There is. The inner cylinder part 3 and the outer cylinder part 4 are made of brass.

The inner cylinder portion 3 is formed with a valve insertion hole 31 into which a regulating valve 5 for adjusting the opening of the inlet portion 41, which will be described later, is inserted. The valve insertion hole 31 passes through the inner cylinder portion 3 in the axial direction. The valve insertion hole 31 has a female threaded portion 32 on the inner peripheral surface on the outflow portion 40 side.

The outer cylindrical portion 4 has a substantially conical recessed portion on the end surface opposite to the outflow portion 40 . The inner cylindrical portion 3 is fitted into this recess, and a flow dividing space 60 is formed between the outer cylindrical portion 4 and the inner cylindrical portion 3. Therefore, the flow separation space 60 is formed between the inflow part 30 and the outflow part 40, and communicates with each of the inflow part 30 and the outflow part 40. In other words, the inflow section 30 and the outflow section 40 communicate with each other via the diversion space 60.

The inflow portion 30 is formed so that its central axis O1 is coaxial with the central axis O of the main body portion 2. A refrigerant pipe 106 is inserted into an inlet 38 of the inflow portion 30, and an outlet 39 opens into a branch space 60. The outlet 39 side of the inflow portion 30 is formed to have a smaller diameter than the inlet 38 side.

A plurality of outflow portions 40 are formed circumferentially around the central axis O of the main body portion 2 . The flow divider 1 of this embodiment is provided with four outflow portions 40. The outlet portion 40 has a tapered branch inlet portion 41 formed in a portion that communicates with the branch space 60 . A capillary tube 10 connected to the heat exchangers 103 and 105 is inserted into the outflow section 40 from the side opposite to the inlet inlet section 41 .

The regulating valve 5 will be explained. The regulating valve 5 extends in the axial direction of the main body portion 2 and is inserted into a valve insertion hole 31 formed in the inner cylinder portion 3. The regulating valve 5 of this embodiment is of a screw type that is screwed from the inflow section 30 side to the outflow section 40 side. Solid line arrows and broken line arrows shown in FIG. 3 indicate the forward and backward directions of the regulating valve.
The regulating valve 5 has a head 50 on the inflow portion 30 side, a tip portion 51 extending to the inlet portion 41, and an adjustment portion 52 between the head 50 and the tip portion 51.

The head 50 protrudes from the main body 2. By turning the head 50 with a tool such as a wrench, the adjusting valve 5 moves in the direction of the solid line arrow or broken line arrow shown in FIG. 3 while rotating in the axial direction, and the screwing depth is adjusted.

The adjustment portion 52 has a straight portion 52a that continues to the head 50 side and a male threaded portion 52b that continues to the tip portion 51. The male threaded portion 52b is screwed into the female threaded portion 32 formed in the valve insertion hole 31 of the inner cylinder portion 3. The male threaded portion 52b is longer than the female threaded portion 32 in the axial direction. Therefore, the male threaded portion 52 near the tip portion 51 protrudes from the inner cylinder portion 3 into the flow dividing space 60 .

The tip portion 51 continues from the male threaded portion 52b of the adjustment portion 52 and is located in the flow separation space 60. The tip portion 51 is formed to become gradually thinner toward the tip.

In the flow divider 1 described above, when adjusting the flow rate of each outflow portion 40, the head 50 is turned using a tool such as a wrench to adjust the screwing amount of the adjustment valve 5. In detail, for example, when suppressing the flow rate of the outflow portion 40, the head 50 of the regulating valve 5 is turned clockwise and the regulating valve 5 is screwed into the main body portion 2. Therefore, the regulating valve 5 advances in the direction of the solid line arrow shown in FIG. The more the distal end portion 51 enters the partial inlet portion 41, the smaller the gap between the distal end portion 51 and the partial inlet portion 41 becomes. That is, since the flow path (opening degree) of the refrigerant in the inlet portion 41 becomes narrower, the amount of refrigerant flowing into the outlet portion 40 decreases.

When increasing the flow rate of the outflow portion 40, the head 50 of the regulating valve 5 is turned counterclockwise to pull out the regulating valve 5. Therefore, the regulating valve 5 retreats in the direction of the dashed arrow shown in FIG. The tip 51 is moved from the branch inlet 41 to the branch space 60, and the gap between the tip 51 and the branch inlet 41 becomes larger. That is, since the flow path (opening degree) of the refrigerant in the branch inlet portion 41 becomes wider, the amount of refrigerant flowing into the outlet portion 40 increases.

As described above, the screwing depth of the regulating valve 5 is adjusted, and once the depth is determined, the regulating valve 5 is fixed to the inner cylinder part 3 by brazing or the like.

There is a possibility that the refrigerant introduced into the flow dividing space 60 passes between the valve insertion hole 31 of the inner cylinder portion 3 and the regulating valve 5 and leaks to the outside of the flow divider 1 . Therefore, in the flow divider 1 of this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a seal hole 33 having a larger diameter than the female threaded portion 32 is formed in the valve insertion hole 31, and an O-ring 20 is inserted into the seal hole 33. is provided to seal between the valve insertion hole 31 and the regulating valve 5.

The seal hole 33 has an O-ring hole 34 in which the O-ring 20 is accommodated, and a C-ring hole 35 in which the C-ring 21 that fixes the O-ring 34 is accommodated. The C-ring hole 35 is located on the opposite side of the female threaded portion 32 with respect to the O-ring hole 34. O-ring 20 is a rubber member. The C ring 21 is a metal member such as stainless steel.

Before inserting the regulating valve 5 into the inner cylinder portion 3, the O-ring 20 is inserted into the seal hole 33 in a radially compressed state. When the O-ring 20 reaches the O-ring hole 34, the compression of the O-ring 20 is released. Next, the C-ring 21 is inserted into the seal hole 33 in a radially compressed state. When the C-ring 21 reaches the C-ring hole 35, the compression of the C-ring 21 is released. In this state, the regulating valve 5 is inserted into the inner cylinder portion 3, and the opening degree is adjusted by the method described above.

The opening degree adjustment is performed, for example, when performing a performance test of the heat exchangers 103 and 105. A temperature sensor is attached to each path of the heat exchangers 103 and 105 to which the capillary tube 10 is connected, and the refrigerant flow rate is adjusted while checking the temperature of the temperature sensor. In the conventional method of adjusting the flow rate by changing the length of the capillary tube, it is necessary to stop the equipment and stop the test run, and then change the length of the capillary tube. On the other hand, in the adjustment method using the regulating valve 5 provided in the flow divider 1 shown in this embodiment, it is possible to check the data of the temperature sensor and change the opening degree of the regulating valve 5 at any time while continuing the test operation. can. Therefore, since there is no need to replace the capillary tube, the cost of the prototype can be reduced.

When installing the flow divider 1 of this embodiment in a product, the optimum opening degree of the regulating valve 5 obtained in a test can be determined by the screwing condition of the regulating valve 5, so that manufacturing variations can be prevented. Further, the piping parts of the capillary tube can be simplified and a large piping storage space is not required, so the indoor unit and the outdoor unit can be made more compact.

(Second embodiment)
A flow divider 1 according to a second embodiment will be described based on FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the flow divider 1 according to the second embodiment. In addition, in the second embodiment, the same parts as in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the flow divider 1 of the second embodiment, a C-ring hole 135 is provided on the end surface of the inner cylinder portion 3 on the inflow portion 30 side, and an O-ring hole 134 is provided so as to dig into this C-ring hole 135. . A cover 36 is provided to cover the end surface of the inner cylinder portion on the inflow side 30 side. The C-ring hole 135 is closed by the cover 36. The cover 36 is fixed to the inner cylinder portion 3 by screws (not shown).

After the O-ring 20 is placed in the O-ring hole 134 in substantially the same state, the C-ring 21 is placed in the C-ring hole 135 in substantially the same state. Next, a cover 36 is placed on the end face of the inner cylinder part 3 and fixed to the inner cylinder part 3 with screws. The C-ring 21 is pushed into the O-ring 20 side by the cover 36 and fixes the O-ring 20. The O-ring 20 is fixed by a C-ring 21 and seals the gap between the regulating valve 5 and the inner cylinder portion 3.

According to the flow divider 1 of the second embodiment, the O-ring 20 and the C-ring 21 can be arranged in the inner cylinder part 3 without being compressed in the radial direction, and the seal made of the O-ring 20 and the C-ring 21 The work of attaching members can be easily performed.

According to the flow divider 1 of at least one embodiment described above, since the flow divider 1 has the adjustment valve 5 that can be adjusted from outside, the amount of refrigerant to each path of the heat exchangers 103 and 105 can be adjusted. This can be done easily, and manufacturing variations can be prevented by setting the optimum opening degree. Further, the piping components of the capillary tube 10 can be simplified and a large piping storage space is not required, so the indoor unit and the outdoor unit can be made more compact.

In the flow divider 1 of the described embodiment, a valve insertion hole 31 is formed in the main body 2 and penetrates from the outside to the internal flow separation space 60, and the regulating valve 5 is inserted into the valve insertion hole 31. Between the regulating valve 5 and the valve insertion hole 31, an O-ring 20 that is a sealing member and a C-ring 21 that presses the O-ring 20 are provided. Can prevent leakage.

Although several embodiments of the invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included within the scope and gist of the invention as well as within the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Flow divider, 10... Capillary tube, 2... Main body part, 20... O ring, 21... C ring, 3... Inner cylinder part, 30... Inflow part, 31... Valve insertion hole, 32... Female thread part, 33... Seal Hole, 4... External cylinder part, 40... Outlet part, 41... Minute inlet part, 5... Regulating valve, 50... Head, 51... Tip part, 52... Adjusting part, 52a... External thread part, 60... Diversion space, 100... Air conditioner (refrigeration cycle device), 101... Compressor, 102... Four-way valve, 103... Outdoor heat exchanger, 104... Expansion device, 105... Indoor heat exchanger, 106... Refrigerant piping

Claims (6)

A cylindrical main body,
An inflow portion through which fluid flows into one end of the main body, at least four outflow portions through which fluid flows out toward the other end, and a branch flow in which the inflow portion and the at least four outflow portions communicate within the main body. space and
at least four adjustment valves capable of adjusting the opening degree of a portion where each of the at least four outflow portions and the separation space communicate with each other from the outside of the main body;
a valve insertion hole that penetrates from the one end side of the main body portion into the diversion space and into which the adjustment valve is inserted;
The regulating valve is a flow divider fixed to the main body portion with an adjusted opening degree . The adjustment valve includes a head that is inserted into the valve insertion hole and protrudes from one end side of the main body, a tip portion that extends to the outflow portion, and an adjustment portion that is provided between the head and the tip portion. and has
The flow divider according to claim 1. a female threaded portion in the valve insertion hole;
The adjustment portion of the adjustment valve includes a male threaded portion;
The flow divider according to claim 2. A portion where the plurality of outflow portions and the diversion space communicate is formed in a tapered shape.
The flow divider according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The valve insertion hole is provided with an O-ring that seals between the adjustment valve and the valve insertion hole.
The flow divider according to any one of claims 2 to 4. A refrigeration cycle device comprising the flow divider according to any one of claims 1 to 5, a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and an evaporator.

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