JPS5924775B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to a refrigerator having two or more compartments with different temperatures, such as a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment.

[Background of the invention]

In a conventional two-temperature refrigerator, the two compartments are cooled independently, so a refrigeration cycle with two coolers, a freezer compartment cooler 1 and a refrigerator compartment cooler 20, is used as shown in Figure 1. A solenoid valve 3 was added to a part of the connecting pipe connecting the two coolers, and the amount of refrigerant flowing to the two coolers was controlled by opening and closing this valve.

Note that 4 is a liquid tank for storing refrigerant, 5 is a radiator, 6 is a pressure regulator, I is a compressor, and 11 and 13 are connecting pipes.

However, this method requires a mechanical valve with a moving part, such as a solenoid valve, so it can be used for a long period of time (approximately 10
Those that are used over a period of several years have shortcomings in terms of lifespan and reliability, and also have the disadvantage of being expensive due to their structure.

In order to eliminate these drawbacks, a patent application filed in 1973 proposed a refrigeration cycle for refrigerators equipped with a bubble pump instead of a solenoid valve.
-1464.37 (% Publication No. 52-39183).

However, in this prior invention, the liquid refrigerant is supplied from the riser pipe to the cooler outside the liquid tank.

Therefore, as will be described later, when the refrigerator is placed in an inclined position, liquid refrigerant is supplied to the cooler even though the bubble pump is stopped.

Further, a pressure equalizing pipe is required to equalize the pressures at the top of the riser pipe and the upper space of the liquid tank, making the configuration complicated.

[Purpose of the invention]

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art described above and to provide a bubble pump mechanism having a simple structure, which has no moving parts (and does not malfunction even when tilted), as a means for performing a valve action on the flow of refrigerant in a refrigeration cycle. We provide refrigerators with

[Summary of the invention]

A feature of the present invention is that a bubble pump is used as a means for performing a valve action, and includes a riser pipe equipped with a heating means and a return pipe for receiving and taking liquid refrigerant flowing out from the riser pipe. The open end and the open end of the return pipe are provided close to the upper space within the liquid tank, so that the refrigerant from the riser pipe directly flows into the return pipe.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to Examples.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the invention.

The high-temperature gas of the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 7 is cooled and condensed by the radiator 5, becomes a liquid, is depressurized by the pressure regulator 6 consisting of an expansion valve, a capillary tube, etc., and enters the freezer compartment cooler 1. Evaporate.

Liquid refrigerant 30 that could not be completely evaporated in the freezer cooler 1
The refrigerant vapor is stored in a liquid tank 4 (referred to as a header, an accumulator, etc.) through a connecting pipe 11, and only the refrigerant vapor returns to the compressor 7 through the connecting pipe 13 and goes around the refrigeration cycle.

The process up to this point is equivalent to the prior art, and the features of the present invention are as follows.

That is, the pipe 8 whose one end is connected to the lower part of the liquid tank 4 is extended, turned upward, and forms a riser pipe 10 that rises again into the upper space 4A within the liquid tank 4.

Further, a return pipe 17 is provided so as to surround the riser pipe 10,
The lower part thereof is connected to the inlet of the refrigerator compartment cooler 20.

Further, in order to return the refrigerant vapor vaporized by the refrigerator compartment cooler 2, the outlet of the refrigerator compartment cooler 2 and the upper space 4A of the liquid tank 4 are connected by a rising pipe 12.

A heating device 9 consisting of a power supply heater, a hot air fan, a Peltier element, an electromagnetic heater, etc. is added to the lower end of the riser pipe 10.

Note that the top of the riser pipe 100 is connected to the refrigerant 3 in the liquid tank 4.
0 liquid level so that the liquid refrigerant does not exceed the top and reach the cooler 2 when not being heated by the heating device 9.

Thus, when the heating device 9 is not operating, the refrigerant liquid level is lower than the top of the riser pipe 10, so that the liquid refrigerant cannot cross the top.

Therefore, since the liquid refrigerant 30 is not supplied to the refrigerator compartment cooler 2, the liquid refrigerant 30 disappears, and the cooling action stops.

When the heating device 9 operates and the riser pipe 10 is heated, the internal liquid refrigerant 30 of the riser pipe 10 boils and bubbles made of refrigerant vapor are generated, and the pump action when the bubbles rise causes the liquid refrigerant to become 30 is pushed up, and the refrigerant flows through the riser pipe 10.
It overflows from the top.

The overflowing liquid refrigerant 30 passes through the return pipe 17 and enters the refrigerator compartment cooler 2, where the cooling action is started.

At this time, the heat given to the refrigerator compartment cooler 2 is absorbed by the latent heat of vaporization of the liquid 30 inside, becomes vapor, and is transmitted through the liquid tank 4 to the refrigeration cycle side.

The input to the heating device 9 can be opened or closed by, for example, detecting the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment with a temperature detector, and if the temperature is higher than a predetermined temperature, the heating device 9 is energized and the refrigerant 30 is turned on by a bubble pump action.
is sent to the refrigerator compartment cooler 2 for cooling, and when the temperature drops below a predetermined temperature, the electricity is turned off to stop the cooling action.

In this way, by opening and closing the input to the heating device 9, the supply of the refrigerant 30 to the refrigerator compartment cooler 2 can be started or stopped, and the cooling effect can be controlled.

According to actual measurement results, using Freon R-12 as the refrigerant,
The riser pipe 10 has an inner diameter of 4 mm and a height of 200 mm, and by manually opening and closing the heating device 9 (electric heater) with 3 W, the heat transfer amount (approximately 80 W) of the refrigerator compartment cooler 2 can be controlled. The temperature could always be controlled at 2°C separately from the freezing room.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing the details of the piping structure including the liquid tank 4 and refrigerator compartment cooler 2, which are the main points of the present invention in FIG.

As can be seen from the figure, it is necessary to seal in an amount of refrigerant such that the liquid level of the refrigerant 30 in the liquid tank 4 is lower than the top of the riser pipe 10, that is, the open end 18.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the invention, in which the riser 10 is separated from the tank 4 and the open end 18 of the riser 10 is connected to the tank 4.
It is provided near the upper end of the inner return pipe 17.

In this way, the riser pipe 10 can be manufactured easily and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The figure also shows a case where a liquid trap 14 is added. By providing the liquid trap 14 in this way, the refrigerant of the liquid 30 containing air bubbles flows through the refrigerator compartment cooler 2 to overcome the flow resistance. A water head is formed here, allowing the refrigerant to flow effectively.

However, it goes without saying that the effects of the present invention are not affected even if the liquid trap 14 is not provided.

In addition, the same figure shows a case where the liquid level of the liquid 30 serving as the water head is higher than the refrigerator compartment cooler 2.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4, the open end 18 of the riser pipe 10 is open to the upper part of the return pipe 17 in the tank, so that the pressure is equalized and the action of the bubble pump is ensured. It is done.

Further, in a configuration in which the open end 18 of the riser pipe 10 is separated from the tank 4, it is necessary to connect the two using a new pressure equalizing pipe.

On the other hand, the above embodiment does not require a pressure equalizing pipe and has a simple configuration.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

The freezer compartment cooler 1 is located on the freezer compartment 20 side, and the refrigerator compartment cooler 2 is located on the freezer compartment 20 side.
is installed in the refrigerator compartment 21, and the rest has the same configuration as in FIG. 2 above.

The freezer compartment cooler 1 may be a fin tube or a box type cooler, and may have any shape.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, since the open end 18 of the riser pipe 10 is located inside the return pipe 17 in the tank 4, even when the refrigerator is tilted, the liquid level of the refrigerant 30 in the tank 4 and the riser pipe 10
The distance from the open end 18 to the open end 18 is always approximately constant, so that liquid will not accidentally overflow from the open end 18 into the return pipe 17.

This point also applies to the embodiment shown in FIG.

This will be explained using FIGS. 8 and 9.

Incidentally, in FIGS. 8 and 9, the dashed dotted line indicates an embodiment of the prior invention (Japanese Patent Application No. 51-29937).

When the present invention is applied to a refrigerator or the like, it is important to prevent the liquid 30 from leaking over the top 22 of the riser pipe 100 even when the heater input is stopped. be.

FIG. 8 shows a case where the liquid tank 4 and the riser pipe 10 are installed completely vertically.
The liquid levels 30-a and 30-b are balanced as shown in the figure,
Liquid 30 does not overflow beyond the top 22 of riser 100.

The biggest problem when the liquid tank 4 is tilted is when the liquid tank 4 is tilted toward the riser pipe 10 (to the right in FIG. 9) as shown in FIG. In the present invention, exceeding 22') is a condition in which leakage is likely to occur.

As shown in FIG. 9, the distance t2 from the center of the return pipe 17 to the top 22' of the riser pipe 10 in the prior art is longer than the distance L1 to the top 22 in the present invention.

Therefore, when the liquid tank 4 and riser pipe 10 are tilted by θ, the displacement of the top 22' of the prior art (the amount of descent from the normal position to the bottom in FIG. 8) is greater than that of the top 22 of the present invention, as shown in the figure. The liquid 30 tends to overflow from the top 22'.

On the contrary, the displacement of the top part n of the present invention is small, and the liquid 30
It is difficult to overflow, and it does not malfunction.

This effect is even more effective when the top portion 22 of the riser pipe 100 is closer to the center of the return pipe 17, as shown in FIG.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to a case in which the present invention is used to control the cooler 2 for a refrigerator compartment, the present invention is not limited to this combination (as shown in FIG. 1 may be used to control.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, the second riser 15 and the second heating device 16 can be provided to control three or more coolers, such as controlling a third cooler 25. can.

In this case, the effects of the present invention are even more significant in terms of high reliability and low cost.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the present invention provides a highly reliable two-temperature (or higher multi-temperature) refrigerator that has a simple structure, has no moving parts, and does not malfunction even when tilted. It can be done, and the effect is great.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the refrigeration cycle of a conventional refrigerator, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the structure of an embodiment of the refrigeration cycle used in the refrigerator of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the main parts of Fig. 2. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main parts of another embodiment, FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an example of the overall configuration of the refrigerator according to the present invention, FIGS. 6 and 7 FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment. FIGS. 8 and 9 are diagrams for explaining the effects of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 shows the refrigerator in its normal position, and FIG. 9 shows the state when it is tilted. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Cooler, 2...Cooler, 4...Liquid tank, 7...Compressor, 9...Heating device, 10...Rise pipe, 17...Return pipe, 18 ...Opening end, 30...
·liquid.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a refrigerator equipped with a refrigeration cycle having a compressor, a radiator, a pressure regulator, and a plurality of coolers, a liquid tank for storing a liquid refrigerant is provided in a part of the refrigeration cycle, and further, one end of the refrigerator is provided with a liquid tank for storing a liquid refrigerant. is connected to the bottom of the liquid tank, the other end protrudes into the upper space of the liquid tank, and has an open standpipe; and a return pipe connected to the inlet side of the cooler, and an open end of the riser pipe is arranged in or near the opening of the return pipe so that refrigerant overflowing from the riser pipe flows into the return pipe. , by providing a heating means in the middle of the riser pipe and activating and stopping the heating means,
A refrigerator characterized in that the flow of refrigerant to the at least one cooler is controlled to control the temperature of the cooler. 2. The return pipe extends longitudinally through the inside of the liquid tank, and the riser pipe extends from the bottom of the liquid tank to the outside of the tank, further extends in the return pipe inside the liquid tank in the pipe axial direction, and the riser pipe extends from the bottom of the liquid tank to the outside of the tank, and further extends in the pipe axial direction within the return pipe inside the liquid tank, and the riser pipe extends from the bottom of the liquid tank to the outside of the tank. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerator has an opening into the return pipe. 3. The return pipe extends longitudinally through the inside of the liquid tank, and the riser pipe extends from the bottom of the liquid tank through the outside of the tank and back into the upper space within the liquid tank, and the end of the riser pipe 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the portion extends in a direction coinciding with the axial direction of the return pipe and is open within the return pipe or near the open end of the return pipe.