JP7693012B2 - Flow diverter and cooling system having the same - Google Patents

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to a Chinese patent application filed on April 30, 2021, bearing application number 202120925911.0 and entitled "Flow Diverter and Cooling System Having the Same", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

This application relates to the field of cooling technology, and in particular to a flow divider and a cooling system having the same.

A flow divider, also called a liquid separator or dispenser, is an important component in an air conditioning cooling system, and plays a role in mixing fluids (liquid, gas, or gas-liquid mixture) and distributing them evenly to each pipeline. Flow dividers are usually installed at the inlet of a heat exchanger in a cooling system, and are used to distribute the medium evenly to each heat exchange tube of the heat exchanger for heat exchange.

In the related shunts, the machining process of the shunt body is usually formed by turning a copper rod, first cutting the copper rod, and then using a cutting tool to machine multiple shunt holes in sequence. However, this method has low machining efficiency, high manufacturing costs, a long manufacturing cycle, and is disadvantageous for subsequent use and maintenance.

In view of this, and in response to the above-mentioned technical problems, the present application provides a shunt with low manufacturing costs.

In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present application provides the following technical aspects.
A flow distributor comprising a body having a chamber, an inlet and an outlet drilled through the body, the inlet and the outlet being located at opposite ends of the body, respectively, the inlet and the outlet being connected to each other by the chamber, the body being formed by drawing a metal plate.

This application adopts a method of forming the body by pulling it together with a metal plate, so that there is no weld bead on the body and the overall airtightness is enhanced, and this method can reduce the manufacturing cost, shorten the manufacturing cycle, and also make both subsequent use and maintenance more convenient.

In one embodiment, the body includes an inlet segment and a tapered segment connected to each other, the inlet is drilled into the inlet segment, the perpendicular distance from the tapered segment to the axis of the body gradually increases in a direction from the inlet to the outlet, and a transition segment is provided between the inlet segment and the tapered segment, the transition segment being located at the connection between the inlet segment and the tapered segment and used to transition the flow of fluid within the body.

It can be seen that the installation of the transition segment prevents stress from concentrating in the transition segment located at the connection point between the inlet segment and the tapered segment, thereby avoiding fracture of the structure due to stress concentration.

In one embodiment, the axial cross section of the transition segment is an arc segment, the arc mouth of the arc segment faces the outside of the body, and the radius R of the arc segment is ≧15 mm.

It can be seen that if the radius R of the arc segment is too small, it will not be effective in avoiding stress concentration.

In one embodiment, the body further includes an outlet segment, the outlet segment connected to one end of the tapered segment remote from the inlet segment, an outlet drilled into the outlet segment, the inlet segment having a wall thickness of t1, the tapered segment having a wall thickness of t2, and the outlet segment having a wall thickness of t3, where t1, t2, and t3 satisfy the following relationship: t1>t3>t2.

In one embodiment, the flow diverter further includes a flow diverter plate, the flow diverter plate is attached to the outlet position of the body, the flow diverter plate has a plurality of flow diverter holes drilled therein, the flow diverter holes are interconnected with the inlet by the chamber, and the flow diverter plate is punched to form the flow diverter holes.

It can be seen that by punching and forming the flow diversion holes in the flow diversion plate, processing efficiency is improved.

In one embodiment, the flow diverter plate is punched with an enlarged flange, and the flow diverter holes are formed within the space enclosed by the flange.

In one embodiment, the flange extends away from the inlet.

In one embodiment, the included angle between the axis of the flange and the axis of the body is α, and α satisfies the following relationship: α≦90°.

It can be seen that by limiting α≦90°, the flow diverter improves the flow diversion efficiency without interfering with the fluid.

In one embodiment, a restricting structure is provided in the main body at a position relatively close to the outlet, and the flow diverter can abut against the restricting structure.

It can be seen that the installation position of the flow divider plate is restricted by providing a restricting structure.

In one embodiment, the metal plate is a stainless steel plate.

It can be seen that by making the main body out of stainless steel, the weld strength between the flow divider plate and the main body can be improved, and the pressure resistance and sealing performance can be improved.

The present application further provides the following technical aspects.
A cooling system comprising a heat exchanger and a flow divider, the flow divider being disposed at an inlet of the heat exchanger.

Compared with the related art, the present application adopts a method of forming the body by pulling it together with a metal plate, so that there is no weld bead on the body and the overall airtightness is enhanced, and this method can reduce the manufacturing cost, shorten the manufacturing cycle, and also make both subsequent use and maintenance more convenient.

FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a current shunt provided in the present application; FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a flow divider provided in the present application;

The meanings of the symbols in the figure are as follows:
100 Flow divider, 10 Body, 11 Chamber, 12 Inlet, 121 Inlet pipe, 13 Outlet, 14 Inlet segment, 15 Tapered segment, 16 Transition segment, 17 Outlet segment, 20 Flow divider plate, 21 Flow divider hole, 211 Outlet pipe, 22 Flange.

The technical aspects of the embodiments of the present application will be described below clearly and completely with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. However, it is clear that the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application and do not include all of the embodiments. All other embodiments that can be obtained by a person skilled in the art without creative efforts based on the embodiments of the present application are all within the scope of protection of the present application.

It should be noted that when an assembly is said to be "mounted" to another assembly, it may be directly mounted to the other assembly or there may be intervening assemblies. When an assembly is said to be "mounted" to another assembly, it may be directly mounted to the other assembly or there may be intervening assemblies. When an assembly is said to be "fastened" to another assembly, it may be directly fastened to the other assembly or there may be intervening assemblies.

All technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art of the present application unless otherwise defined. Terms used herein in the specification of the present application are merely for the purpose of describing specific examples and are not intended to limit the present application. The term "or/and" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated items listed.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the present application provides a flow divider 100, which is usually attached to the inlet of a heat exchanger in a cooling system and is used to uniformly distribute a medium to each heat exchange tube of the heat exchanger for heat exchange. In this embodiment, the flow divider 100 is attached to the inlet of an evaporator, but in other embodiments, the flow divider 100 may be attached to the inlet of a condenser, and is not limited here.

Specifically, the flow divider 100 provided in this application includes a body 10, the body 10 having a chamber 11, an inlet 12 and an outlet 13 drilled in the body 10, the inlet 12 and the outlet 13 being located at both ends of the body 10, respectively, the inlet 12 and the outlet 13 being connected to each other by the chamber 11, and the body 10 being formed by drawing a metal plate.

In addition, in the related shunt, the machining process of the shunt body is usually formed by lathe machining of a copper rod, first cutting the copper rod, and then using a blade to machine multiple shunt holes in sequence. However, this method has low machining efficiency, high manufacturing costs, a long manufacturing cycle, and is disadvantageous in subsequent use and maintenance. In this embodiment, a method is adopted in which the body 10 is formed by pulling with a metal plate, and the body 10 is integrally pulled with the metal plate to form the body 10, so that there is no weld bead on the body 10 and the overall airtightness is enhanced. This method can reduce the manufacturing cost, shorten the manufacturing cycle, and also make both subsequent use and maintenance more convenient.

In this embodiment, the specific method of forming the body 10 by stretching it with a metal plate is to clamp the metal plate material only from both sides and stretch it to the plastic zone, then wrap the convex die at more than halfway point, remove the concave die, and complete the stretch forming for the body 10. The advantage of this processing process is that the parts can be automatically removed by the action of the spring, thereby improving the efficiency of removing the parts and without damaging the parts, and the structure of the die is simple, thus reducing the manufacturing cost, shortening the manufacturing cycle, and making both subsequent use and maintenance more convenient.

Optionally, the metal plate is a stainless steel plate, i.e., the material of the main body 10 is stainless steel, and of course, in other embodiments, the metal plate may be a plate structure made of other materials such as a copper plate, an aluminum plate, or an iron plate, and is not limited here.

Compared to the shunt 100 made of brass, the main body 10 made of stainless steel can reduce costs, has high pressure resistance and high sealing performance, and at the same time, it can be seen that the problem of cracks occurring when performing ammonia fumigation tests using brass material can be avoided.

1, the body 10 includes an inlet segment 14 and a taper segment 15 connected to each other. The inlet segment 14 is provided as a straight segment extending in the axial direction of the body 10, and the vertical distance from the taper segment 15 to the axis of the body 10 gradually increases from the inlet 12 to the outlet 13, i.e., the taper segment 15 is provided with a larger diameter toward the outlet 13. The inlet 12 is drilled at one end of the inlet segment 14, and the other end is connected to the small diameter end of the taper segment 15. Specifically, a transition segment 16 is provided between the inlet segment 14 and the taper segment 15, and the transition segment 16 is located at the connection position between the inlet segment 14 and the taper segment 15, and both ends of the transition segment 16 are connected to the inlet segment 14 and the taper segment 15, respectively, and the transition segment 16 is used to transition the flow of the fluid in the body 10.

In addition, in the process of pulling out the inlet segment 14 and the taper segment 15 by the method of stretching the metal plate, there is a curved point between the inlet segment 14 and the taper segment 15 where the diameter increases suddenly, so that stress is concentrated at the curved point, which causes the structure to break during the bending process. Therefore, the present application installs the transition segment 16 to prevent stress from concentrating at the connection point between the inlet segment 14 and the taper segment 15, thus avoiding the structure from breaking due to stress concentration.

The cross section of the transition segment along the axial direction is an arc segment, the arc mouth of the arc segment faces the outside of the body, and the radius R of the arc segment is ≧15 mm.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the cross section of the transition segment 16 along the axial direction is a circular arc segment, both ends of which are connected to the inlet segment 14 and the taper segment 15, respectively, and the radius R of the circular arc segment is ≧15 mm. Of course, in other embodiments, the transition segment 16 may adopt other types of transition structures such as fillets or chamfers, and is not limited here.

The cross section of the transition segment 16 along the axial direction is an arc segment. Here, the cross section along the axial direction means that the side of the cross section of the transition segment 16 along the axial direction of the main body 10 is an arc segment, and the arc mouth of this arc segment faces the outside of the main body.

If the radius of the arc segment is too small, the arc length of the arc segment will be too short, and therefore the effect of avoiding stress concentration will not be achieved. Therefore, it can be seen that limiting the radius of the arc segment to ≥ 15 mm will achieve the effect of avoiding fracture of the structure due to stress concentration.

It should be noted that the main body 10 has a thick wall, in other words, there are two curved points where the diameter increases suddenly at the connection point between the inlet segment 14 and the taper segment 15. That is, when the transition segment 16 is cut in the axial direction of the main body 10, there are two arc segments located on the outer and inner walls of the main body 10 on the sides of the cross section of the transition segment 16. In this case, there are three embodiments, respectively, in which the arc segments are provided only on the outer wall surface of the main body 10, the arc segments are provided only on the inner wall surface of the main body 10, and the arc segments are provided on both the inner and outer wall surfaces of the main body 10. Here, the specific installation positions of the arc segments are not limited.

2, the body 10 further includes an outlet segment 17. The outlet segment 17 is connected to one end of the taper segment 15 remote from the inlet segment 14, and the outlet 13 is drilled in the outlet segment 17. Here, the inlet 12 is drilled in one end of the inlet segment 14 remote from the taper segment 15, and the outlet 13 is drilled in one end of the outlet segment 17 remote from the taper segment 15, and the entire space surrounded by the inlet 12, the inlet segment 14, the taper segment 15, the outlet segment 17, and the outlet 13 is collectively referred to as the chamber 11 of the body 10.

Specifically, the inlet segment 14 has a thickness _t1 , the tapered segment 15 has a thickness _t2 , and the outlet segment 17 has a thickness t3, with t1, _t2 , and _t3 satisfying the relationship: _t1 > _t3 > _t2 .

In this embodiment, the main body 10 is made by drawing a stainless steel plate into a cylinder and then reducing the diameter of the tail portion. In this case, the processing method for reducing the diameter of the tail portion is to increase the thickness of the outlet segment 17, and the thickness relationship of the inlet segment 14, the taper segment 15 and the outlet segment 17 is formed to satisfy the relationship _t1 > _t3 > _t2 by the stretch forming process.

The flow diverter 100 further includes a flow diverter plate 20, which is attached to the body 10 at the location of the outlet 13.

Specifically, in this embodiment, the main body 10 is substantially cylindrical, the corresponding flow diverter plate 20 is disk-shaped, and the disk-shaped flow diverter plate 20 is attached to the position of the outlet 13 of the cylindrical main body 10. Of course, in other embodiments, the main body 10 and the flow diverter plate 20 may have other shapes, and are not limited here.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the flow diverter plate 20 is made of stainless steel material. The flow diverter plate 20 made of stainless steel can reduce costs and has high pressure resistance and high sealing performance. The flow diverter plate 20 can be welded into the body 10 by laser welding or argon arc welding, which does not require welding materials, has a small heat-affected zone, a high melting point, and can improve the welding consistency and weld strength. However, the copper body 10 and the flow diverter plate 20 can only be welded by flame welding or high frequency welding, which requires a relatively high welding penetration depth and a relatively long welding penetration. If the welding penetration depth or welding penetration does not meet the requirements, it will affect the welding strength. Of course, in other embodiments, the flow diverter plate 20 may be made of other materials, which are not limited here.

Furthermore, the flow divider plate 20 is provided with a plurality of flow divider holes 21, which are connected to the inlet 12 by the chamber 11, and the flow divider plate 20 is punched to form the flow divider holes 21. In this way, machining efficiency can be improved compared to the conventional lathe machining of the flow divider holes 21 using a copper rod.

Specifically, the flow divider plate 20 is formed by punching an expanded flange 22, and the flow divider holes 21 are formed in the space surrounded by the flange 22. That is, the flow divider plate 20 is formed by punching a plurality of flanges 22, and each flange 22 has one corresponding flow divider hole 21, and the flow divider holes 21 are uniformly distributed on the flow divider plate 20.

Optionally, the flange 22 may extend in a direction away from the chamber 11, or the flange 22 may extend in a direction closer to the chamber 11; in this embodiment, the flange 22 extends in a direction away from the chamber 11.

Optionally, the axis of the flange 22 is inclined relative to the axis of the body 10, and the included angle α between the axis of the flange 22 and the axis of the body 10 satisfies the relationship: α≦90°.

After the fluid flows from the inlet 12 into the chamber 11 and then out of the diversion hole 21, the flow direction is inclined with respect to the axis of the main body 10, thus improving the efficiency of the fluid diversion. However, if the included angle α between the axis of the flange 22 and the axis of the main body 10 exceeds 90°, the fluid must make a curve when it flows out of the diversion hole 21, which increases the flow resistance and is disadvantageous to the normal diversion of the fluid.

Furthermore, the main body 10 is provided with a limiting structure (not shown), and the flow diverter plate 20 is fixed to the outlet 13 and can abut against the limiting structure. By providing the limiting structure, the installation position of the flow diverter plate 20 is limited; that is, in this embodiment, when the flow diverter plate 20 is installed at the position of the outlet 13 in the main body 10, a limiting structure is provided on the inner wall of the outlet segment 17, and when the flow diverter plate 20 is installed at the position of the outlet 13 in the main body 10, it can abut against the limiting structure and is limited, thereby limiting the installation position of the flow diverter plate 20.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the limiting structure may be a limiting protrusion or a limiting protrusion ring, and of course, in other embodiments, the limiting structure may be provided as a narrowing structure or an expanding structure, and is not limited here.

Furthermore, an inlet pipe 121 is inserted into the inlet 12 and fixed to the inlet 12 by welding. The inlet pipe 121 is used to connect to an external device such as a throttle valve. The flow dividing hole 21 has an outlet pipe 211 at its opening located outside the chamber 11, and the outlet pipe 211 and flange 22 are fixedly connected by welding. By arranging them in this way, the connection strength of the outlet pipe 211 can be increased.

In another embodiment, the inlet pipe 121 may be fitted into the inlet 12 and fixed to the inlet 12 by welding; similarly, the outlet pipe 211 may be partially inserted into the diversion hole 21 and partially fitted into the outer wall of the flange 22, which not only increases the connection strength but also allows the flange 22 to be connected to outlet pipes 211 of different pipe diameters.

In this embodiment, the multiple outlet pipes 211 are connected to multiple heat exchange tubes of the evaporator, but in other embodiments, the outlet pipes 211 may be connected to different devices according to different connection targets, which is not limited here.

Optionally, the inlet pipe 121 and the outlet pipe 211 may be stainless steel pipes or copper pipes. Since the stainless steel pipes are low in cost and are made of the same material as the main body 10, the difficulty of welding can be reduced. Similarly, since the pipelines of the cooling system are usually copper pipes, providing the inlet pipe 121 and the outlet pipe 211 as copper pipes can facilitate welding. The flow divider 100 of the present application may select the inlet pipe 121 and the outlet pipe 211 made of stainless steel or copper material according to different cases, and is not limited here.

The present application provides a flow divider, and the body 10 is manufactured by using a drawing process of stainless steel plate, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost, shortening the manufacturing cycle, and making both subsequent use and maintenance more convenient.

The present application further provides a cooling system (not shown) including a heat exchanger (not shown) and the above-mentioned flow divider 100, the flow divider 100 being provided at the inlet of the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger may be an evaporator or a condenser. The cooling system of the present application is provided with the flow divider 100 provided in the present application, which can improve the heat exchange effect of the evaporator and improve the performance of the cooling system.

The technical features of the above embodiments may be combined in any manner, and for the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described, but as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, any combination should be considered within the scope of the present specification.

The above examples merely illustrate some embodiments of the present application, and although the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be understood as limiting the scope of the claims of the application. It should be noted that those skilled in the art may make some modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit of the present application, and all of these are within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the patent of the present application should be equivalent to the scope of the attached claims.

Claims (11)

a body having a chamber, an inlet and an outlet drilled through the body, the inlet and the outlet being located at opposite ends of the body, respectively, the inlet and the outlet being in communication with each other through the chamber, the body being formed by drawing a metal sheet ;
the body includes an inlet segment and a tapered segment connected to each other, the inlet being drilled through the inlet segment, and a perpendicular distance from the tapered segment to the body axis gradually increasing in a direction from the inlet to the outlet;
The body further includes an outlet segment, the outlet segment being connected to an end of the tapered segment remote from the inlet segment, the outlet being drilled through the outlet segment;
A flow splitter, wherein the inlet segment has a wall thickness t1 _, the tapered segment has a wall thickness t2 _, and the outlet segment has a wall thickness t3 _, and _t1 , t2 _, and t3 _satisfy the following relationship: t1 _> t3 _> t2 _. 2. The flow diverter of claim 1, wherein a transition segment is provided between the inlet segment and the tapered segment, the transition segment being located at a connection between the inlet segment and the tapered segment and used to transition the flow of fluid within the body. The flow diverter of claim 2, wherein the cross section of the transition segment along the axial direction is an arc segment, the arc mouth of the arc segment faces the outside of the body, and the radius R of the arc segment is ≧15 mm. The flow distributor according to claim 1, further comprising a flow distributor plate, the flow distributor plate being attached to the outlet position in the main body, the flow distributor plate being provided with a plurality of flow distributor holes, the flow distributor holes being connected to the inlet by the chamber, and the flow distributor plate being punched to form the flow distributor holes. 5. The flow distributor of claim 4 , wherein the flow distributor plate is stamped with an enlarged flange, the flow distributor holes being formed within a space enclosed by the flange. The flow splitter of claim 5 , wherein the flange extends away from the inlet. 6. The flow splitter of claim 5 , wherein an included angle between an axis of the flange and an axis of the body is α, and α satisfies the following relationship:
α≦90° The flow distributor according to claim 4 , wherein a limiting structure is provided on the body at a position relatively close to the outlet, and the flow distributor plate is abuttable against the limiting structure. The flow divider of claim 1, wherein the metal plate is a stainless steel plate. A cooling system comprising a heat exchanger and a flow diverter according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , the flow diverter being provided at an inlet of the heat exchanger. if the body and the airflow dividing plate are made of stainless steel, welding the airflow dividing plate into the body by laser welding or argon arc welding;
if the body and the airflow dividing plate are made of copper, welding the airflow dividing plate into the body by flame welding or high frequency welding;
9. A method for welding a current shunt according to any one of claims 4 to 8 , comprising:

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