JPH04110575A - Accumulator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To favorably carry out separation of refrigerant and perform a positive returning of lubricant oil by a method wherein a plurality of oil return holes are formed below a refrigerant gas suction port of a refrigerant pipe in spaced-apart relation in a vertical direction. CONSTITUTION:One refrigerant tube 11 passing vertically through a closed container 12 is provided with a refrigerant blowing port 11a and a refrigerant gas suction port 11b. A lower part in the container 12 of the refrigerant tube 11 is formed with a plurality of oil return holes 11da to 11dc in an equal-spaced apart space L in a vertical direction to each other. The refrigerant fed from an upper part in the refrigerant tube 11 is flowed from the refrigerant blowing port 11a into the container 12, divided into a refrigerant gas and a refrigerant liquid 14. The refrigerant liquid 14 of relative high specific weight is stored at a bottom part of a spacing and a lubricant oil 15 of relative low specific weight is stored while being separated into two phases on the refrigerant liquid 14. Since a plurality of oil return holes 11da to 11dc are positioned so as to accommodate for the two-phase separated lubricant oil 15 or a layer of refrigerant liquid 14, it is possible to return each of the stored lubricant oil and refrigerant liquid to the compressor 2 through the refrigerant tube 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Objective of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) This invention relates to an accumulator employed in an air conditioner or the like.

(Prior Art) In an air conditioner or the like, as shown in FIG. 4, an accumulator (gas-liquid separator) 1 is connected to a refrigerant suction side of a compressor 2. The compressor 2 also has a condenser 3. A refrigeration cycle is constructed by sequentially connecting the throttle device 4 and the evaporator 5.

The accumulator (2) separates refrigerant liquid from the refrigerant gas from the evaporator 5 and supplies it to the compressor 2, thereby preventing the compressor 2 from compressing the liquid during load fluctuations.

Some conventional accumulators have the configuration shown in FIG.

That is, the upper and lower ends of the container 12 through which the refrigerant pipe 11 passes in the vertical direction are closed, and an airtight space 13 is formed between the container 12 and the refrigerant pipe 11.

In this space 13, a part of the peripheral wall is cut out and crushed at the upper part of the refrigerant pipe 11 to form a refrigerant outlet 11a, and below the refrigerant outlet 11a is a refrigerant gas inlet. Llb is provided.

Note that llc are oil return holes provided at the same height in order to return the separated and stored refrigerant liquid 14 to the compressor.

Therefore, the refrigerant introduced into the space 13 from the refrigerant blower 8011a as shown by the arrow, while the refrigerant liquid 14 is separated and stored in the lower part of the container 12, the refrigerant gas is introduced from the refrigerant gas suction port 11b as shown by the arrow. The refrigerant is configured to be led out into the refrigerant pipe ll in the direction.

The accumulator 1 having such a structure is used by being connected to a compressor 2 such as a rotary compressor or a scroll compressor, or in such a compressor 2, the accumulator 1 is connected to a compressor 2 such as a rotary compressor or a scroll compressor. The oil 15 is separated into two phases, and only the refrigerant liquid 14 with a high specific gravity returns to the compressor 2 from the lower oil return hole 11c, and the lubricating oil 15 with a low specific gravity cannot return to the compressor 2, and the refrigerant liquid 14 has a high specific gravity. has the disadvantage that it locks due to lack of lubricant 15.

Another conventional accumulator 1 has a configuration shown in FIG. This is, for example, Utility Model No. 58-60172
This is also described in the publication, and a refrigerant inflow pipe 17 and a U-shaped outflow pipe 18 are inserted into a tank 1B which is a closed container, and a plurality of small return holes 18a are inserted into the outflow pipe 18. , 1.8b are provided in a vertical positional relationship, and are configured so that the lubricating oil 15 can also be returned to the compressor 2. However, accumulator 1 with such a structure has 2
Since two pipes (17, 18) are required, the number of component parts increases, and each pipe (17, 113) is supported at only one point relative to the wall of tank 1G, so it does not tilt inside tank 1B. As a result, there was a fear that the refrigerant separation function could not be obtained. Also, the pipe (17,1
Since the pipes 8) are supported only at the - point, there is a risk that these pipes (17, 18) may break due to mechanical vibration during transportation, and an improvement has been desired.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) In conventional accumulators, lubricating oil with low specific gravity does not return sufficiently to the compressor, the structure is complex, the number of parts is large, and the functional reliability is not satisfactory. Ta.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an accumulator which eliminates the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, has a simple structure, can obtain a good refrigerant separation effect, and can perform a lubricating oil return function more reliably.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) This invention has a refrigerant pipe vertically penetrating a sealed container, and a peripheral wall located above the refrigerant pipe in the container. A refrigerant blower 80 is provided for blowing refrigerant into a container formed by cutting out and crushing a portion, and a refrigerant gas suction port is formed from inside the container located below the refrigerant blow-out port, and the refrigerant liquid is injected into the lower part of the container. The accumulator is characterized in that a plurality of oil return holes are formed below the refrigerant gas suction port of the refrigerant pipe at intervals in the vertical direction.

(Function) The accumulator according to the present invention has a plurality of oil return holes vertically spaced apart from each other in a single refrigerant pipe penetrated into a sealed container, so the mechanical structure is strong. The refrigerant liquid separated and stored at the bottom of the container is reliably guided into the refrigerant pipe through the lower oil return hole, and the lubricating oil with a smaller specific gravity is guided into the refrigerant pipe through the upper oil return hole.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of the accumulator according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Components that are the same as the conventional configurations shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are given the same reference numerals, and detailed explanations will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a first embodiment of an accumulator according to the present invention.

That is, a single refrigerant pipe 11 that vertically penetrates the sealed container 12 is placed in the upper part of the space 13 by cutting out a part of the peripheral wall as in the conventional case, and then crushing the refrigerant pipe 11 to form the refrigerant outlet 11.
A is formed, and a refrigerant gas suction port 11b is provided below the refrigerant outlet 11a.

Further, in the lower part of the refrigerant pipe 11 inside the container 12, there are a plurality (three in this embodiment) of oil return holes 11da, 1ldb having the same diameter and spaced from each other at equal intervals in the vertical direction.

11dc is formed.

Now, the refrigerant introduced from above in the refrigerant pipe 11 in the direction of the arrow flows into the space 13 in the sealed container 12 from the refrigerant outlet 11a, is separated into refrigerant gas and refrigerant liquid 14, and is relatively cool. The refrigerant liquid 14 having a high specific gravity is stored at the bottom of the space 13 . At this time, lubricating oil 1 is contained in the refrigerant liquid 14.
The lubricating oil 15, which has a relatively small specific gravity, is stored on top of the refrigerant liquid 14, that is, separated into two phases.

Here, the plurality of oil return holes Llda, 1ldb,
1ldc are formed in the upper and lower positions, and are located so as to correspond to the layers of the lubricating oil 15 and refrigerant liquid 14, which are separated into two phases. ~tide) can be returned to the compressor 2 via the refrigerant pipe 11.

As a result, when the air conditioner is operating at a low load and a large amount of lubricating oil 15 is contained in the refrigerant, in the accumulator according to the present invention, the separated and stored lubricating oil 15 is transferred to the upper oil return hole 11da or 11db. The refrigerant returns to the compressor 2 via the refrigerant pipe 11, and troubles such as locking due to lack of lubricating oil 15 can be prevented.

Of course, during normal operation, lubricating oil 15 gets mixed into the refrigerant.
When the amount of refrigerant is relatively small, the refrigerant liquid 14 alone can be returned to the compressor 2 as it is from the lower ura return hole 11dc, since the refrigerant liquid 14 will not be separated into two phases.

Note that if there are many opportunities for low-load operation, the amount of oil discharged from the compressor 2 may further increase. In that case container 12
Since the amount of lubricating oil 15 stored therein increases further, an oil return hole can be formed to correspond to this amount.

FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating a second embodiment of the accumulator according to the present invention, particularly showing the state of formation of the refrigerant pipe 11 and its oil return hole.

That is, FIG. 2 shows a plurality of oil return holes 11da and 1ldb.

11dc, 1ldd, and 11de each have the same diameter, and are arranged in such a way that the distance between the holes located at the top becomes narrower so that the distance between the holes becomes Ll<L2<L3<L4 sequentially from the top. . As a result, as the amount of lubricating oil 15 stored increases, the amount flowing out from the holes also increases accordingly, making it possible to more reliably prevent the compressor 2 from locking.

FIG. 3 illustrates a third embodiment of the accumulator according to the present invention, and is a side view showing in particular the formation of the refrigerant pipe 11 and its oil return hole. The diameter of the lubricating oil 15 is made larger toward the upper position, so that the amount of lubricating oil 15 that flows out increases as the amount of stored lubricating oil 15 increases.

Furthermore, the accumulator according to the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but may be configured by combining the second embodiment and the third embodiment, for example, by changing the hole spacing and the diameter size. It can be implemented with various modifications.

In any case, since the refrigerant pipe 11 is supported at both the upper and lower ends of the container 12, the accumulator according to the present invention has sufficient mechanical strength, has a stable oil separation function, and has a stable oil separation function. Because it can accurately return the stored lubricating oil to the compressor, it is especially effective when operating rotary compressors, scroll compressors, etc. at low speeds, and improves the functionality of air conditioners. This has a significant effect on improving reliability.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the accumulator according to the present invention can ensure sufficient structural strength and can effectively return the lubricating oil stored in the accumulator to the compressor side. It is highly effective that it can be widely adopted in air conditioners and the like.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of an accumulator according to the invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of a refrigerant pipe showing a second embodiment of the accumulator according to the invention, and FIG. 3 is a side view of a refrigerant pipe also according to the invention. A side view of a refrigerant pipe showing a third embodiment of an accumulator, Fig. 4 is a configuration diagram showing an air conditioner with a connected accumulator, Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a conventional accumulator, and Fig. 6 is the same. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing another conventional accumulator. 1...Accumulator, 11...Refrigerant pipe, 11a...
... Refrigerant outlet, 11b... Refrigerant gas suction port, 11c, Yu1da~11de-... Oil return port, 12... Container, 13... Space, 14
... Refrigerant liquid, 15... Lubricating oil, 2... Compressor, 3... Condenser, 4... Throttle device, 5... Evaporator.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A refrigerant pipe is passed vertically into the sealed container, and a refrigerant outlet into the container is formed by cutting out and crushing a part of the peripheral wall at the upper position of the refrigerant pipe in the container. In an accumulator, the accumulator is provided with a refrigerant gas suction port from the container formed below the refrigerant outlet, and the refrigerant liquid is stored in the lower part of the container.
An accumulator characterized in that a plurality of oil return holes are formed below the refrigerant gas suction port of the refrigerant pipe at intervals in the vertical direction.