JPH0340309B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a refrigerant control device installed in the middle of a refrigeration cycle device used in a refrigeration device or an air conditioner.

In a refrigeration cycle device, controlling the amount of refrigerant flowing through the cycle to an appropriate value depending on its operating state is an effective means of increasing its operating efficiency. For example, even if the refrigerant discharge amount of the compressor changes widely, the operating efficiency can be greatly improved by controlling the refrigerant flow rate so that the degree of superheating of the refrigerant sucked into the compressor becomes a predetermined value.

Conventionally, a thermostatic automatic expansion valve as shown in FIG. 2 has been used as a device for controlling the amount of refrigerant. This is installed between the condenser and the evaporator in the refrigeration cycle.In this figure, the valve body 31 is provided with a refrigerant inlet 32 and a refrigerant outlet 33, and the opening of the valve port 34 is inside the valve body 31. A spindle 35 having a valve body portion for controlling the valve body and a spring 36 acting on the spindle 35 are housed. One end of the spindle 35 is connected to a diaphragm 38 installed inside the temperature-sensitive cylinder chamber 37. As the diaphragm 38 moves up and down, the spindle 35 moves and the opening degree of the valve port 34 is controlled. With such a structure, the flow rate control range cannot sufficiently follow large changes such as a reduction in flow rate by half or less. In addition, the flow rate of the refrigerant is controlled with a very small stroke of the spindle, and the vaporized state of the refrigerant is thermally sensed, which is then converted into pressure and mechanically operated. Pressure pulsations are likely to occur due to a delay in response.

This invention makes it possible to control the flow rate even if the discharge amount of the compressor that forms the refrigeration cycle varies widely, for example, the flow rate of the refrigerant can be controlled so that the degree of superheat of the refrigerant sucked into the compressor reaches a predetermined value. The object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerant control device.

An embodiment of a refrigerant control device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

A refrigerant connecting pipe 12 provided at the bottom of the body 5 made of magnetic material is connected to the evaporator, and a refrigerant connecting pipe 8 provided horizontally is connected to the condenser. Then, the cylinder 10 provided within the body 5
A slit 14 is provided at the connecting portion of the refrigerant connecting pipe 8 to communicate with the refrigerant flow path 9. Furthermore, a sliding piston 1 provided within this cylinder 10
3 is provided with a vertical port 15 penetrating in the axial direction to communicate the refrigerant flow path 11 and the pocket portion 16, and further provided with a groove 17 in a part of the circumferential portion.
A vertical port 15 of the sliding piston 13 and an outer circumferential surface of the sliding piston 13 are provided at a lower portion thereof. Further, a cylindrical permanent magnet 6 having a polarity in the radial direction is provided in the pocket portion 16 formed by the body 5 and the cover 3 so as to be inscribed in the recessed portion of the body 5, and a plunger 4 is provided in a form opposite to the permanent magnet 6. fixes the electromagnetic coil 7 and connects the sliding piston 13. The spring 2 provided inside the pocket 16 has one end in contact with the plunger 4 and the other end in contact with the cover 3 to constantly push down the plunger 4, and a stopper 19 that determines the upper limit of the vertical movement of the plunger 4 by the cover 3. The lower limit of the plunger 4 is determined by the body 5, and a stopper 20 is formed so that the magnetic flux of the permanent magnet 6 always flows orthogonally to the electromagnetic coil 7. Electromagnetic coil 7 is cover 3
A current is input through a lead wire 1 which is sealed and inserted through the refrigerant control device.

In the refrigerant control device configured in this way,
When the electromagnetic coil 7 is not energized, the plunger 4 is pushed downward by the spring 2 and is fixed against the stopper 20. The sliding piston 13 is therefore connected to the plunger 4
Since the refrigerant is also slid downward and fixed, the refrigerant in the refrigerant flow path 9 stops flowing because the slit 14 of the cylinder 10 is closed by the sliding piston 13. When the electromagnetic coil 7 located within the magnetic field of the permanent magnet 6 is energized, a force is generated that pushes the plunger 4 upward in proportion to the energized current, and the plunger 4 is stopped at a balanced position due to the force relationship with the spring 2. Therefore, as the current applied to the electromagnetic coil 7 increases, the force pushing it upward increases, and the stopping position of the plunger 4 also moves upward. When the plunger 4 is pushed upward, the sliding piston 1 connected to the plunger 4
3 is also pulled upward, and the slit 14 of the cylinder 10 and the groove 17 provided in the sliding piston 13 face each other, so that the refrigerant passage 9, the slit 14, the groove 17, and the vertical port 15 of the port 8 are in communication with each other. flows from the refrigerant flow path 9 through the refrigerant flow path 11 to the evaporator side. Therefore, by moving the sliding piston 13 up and down by electromagnetically generated force, the opening area of the slit 14 can be controlled with a large stroke from fully closed to fully open, so the flow rate control range can be made very large. The responsiveness can also be much better than conventional thermostatic automatic expansion valves. Furthermore, the vertical port 15 provided in the sliding piston 13 communicates the refrigerant flow path 11 with the pocket 16 so that no acting force is generated due to refrigerant pressure, so that the electromagnetic coil 7 that drives the sliding piston 13
Since it can be made smaller, power consumption can be reduced.

Next, an example of a refrigeration cycle equipped with a refrigerant control device according to the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG. The high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant gas discharged from the compressor 21 is condensed and liquefied in the condenser 22, passes through the refrigerant control device 23, becomes low-temperature and low-pressure, is evaporated in the evaporator 24, and is sucked into the compressor 21 again. The temperature sensor 25 detects the evaporation temperature, the temperature sensor 26 detects the intake gas temperature, and sends a signal of the temperature difference (degree of superheat) between the two to the controller 2.
7 to input. The controller 27 is configured to output a predetermined voltage to the refrigerant control device 23 in response to an input signal so that the refrigerant control device operates.
Therefore, the refrigerant flow rate is controlled using the degree of superheat as a controlled variable, and the refrigeration cycle system can be operated stably and with high efficiency.

In the above embodiment, the refrigerant connecting pipe 8 is connected to the condenser side, and the refrigerant connecting pipe 12 is connected to the evaporator side. However, since the flow of the refrigerant in the refrigerant control device is reversible, a heat pump device can be used. It may be provided between the side heat exchanger and the non-use side heat exchanger, and in this case, the refrigerant circuit can be simpler than a unidirectional one such as a normal thermostatic automatic expansion valve. That is, in this refrigerant control device, when the refrigerant flow is stopped, the refrigerant pressure from the high pressure side is determined by the outer peripheral surface of the sliding piston 13 when the refrigerant connecting pipe 8 is on the high pressure side, and the refrigerant pressure from the high pressure side when the refrigerant flow is stopped. If port 12 is on the high pressure side, port 1
8, the sliding surfaces of the cylinder 10 and the sliding piston 13 receive each other to close the refrigerant flow path, and in either case, the direction in which the refrigerant pressure is applied is the direction in which the sliding piston 13 slides. Unlike the above, since the directions are substantially perpendicular, the refrigerant flow path can be reliably closed off regardless of which side is on the high pressure side without being affected by the refrigerant pressure.

As explained above, according to the present invention, even if the discharge amount of the compressor forming the refrigeration cycle changes widely, the flow rate of the refrigerant can be accurately controlled, and the refrigerant flow path can be made reversible. When used in a heat pump device, the configuration can be simplified.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing an embodiment of a refrigerant control device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front sectional view showing an example of a conventional thermostatic automatic expansion valve, and FIG. 3 is a front sectional view showing an example of a refrigerant control device according to the present invention. A system diagram of the equipped refrigeration cycle is shown. In the figure, 1 is the lead wire, 2 is the spring, 3 is the cover,
4 is a plunger, 5 is a body, 6 is a permanent magnet, 7 is an electromagnetic coil, 8 and 12 are refrigerant connecting pipes,
9 and 11 are refrigerant flow paths, 10 are cylinders, 13 are sliding pistons, 14 are slits, 15 are vertical ports, 16 are pockets, 17 are grooves, 18 are ports, 19 and 20 are stoppers, 21 are compressors, 22 is a condenser, 23 is a refrigerant control device, 24 is an evaporator, 25 and 26 are temperature sensors, 27 is a controller, and 31 is a thermostatic automatic expansion valve body.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A body having a first refrigerant connecting pipe on one side and a cover forming a refrigerant reservoir pocket on the other side, the body having both ends facing the first refrigerant connecting pipe and the refrigerant reservoir pocket, respectively. A sliding piston that is slidably provided on an inner sliding surface and that has a vertical port therein that extends axially between the two ends of the sliding piston. A port that communicates with the outer peripheral surface, a second refrigerant connecting pipe that communicates with a slit opened at a predetermined location on the inner sliding surface of the body, and a permanent magnet that generates a magnetic field using an input electric current and that is connected to the sliding member. An electromagnetic coil that slides the piston, a spring that biases the sliding piston in a direction opposite to the direction of the biasing force of the electromagnetic coil, and a current that corresponds to the state of the refrigerant during refrigeration cycle operation is input to the electromagnetic coil. The present invention is characterized by comprising a control device that controls the movement of the sliding piston to a position where the outer peripheral surface of the sliding piston blocks the slit, or a position where the port overlaps the slit by an amount corresponding to the refrigerant state. Refrigerant control device.