JPH09178276A - Refrigeration equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) 【Abstract】 PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: It is possible to reduce the height of a machine room, reduce the manufacturing cost, and surely return the lubricating oil in the accumulator to the refrigerant compressor, thereby depleting the lubricating oil. A refrigeration system capable of preventing a failure of a refrigerant compressor due to An accumulator 9 having a horizontally oriented casing 9e is arranged with the cylinder center of the casing 9 inclined from the horizontal direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to, for example, a refrigerator,
The present invention relates to a refrigerating device used for a freezer, a supermarket showcase, or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 shows a schematic structure of a conventional refrigeration system. In FIG. 5, 1 is a refrigerant compressor, 2 is an oil separator, 3 is a condenser, and 4 is a condenser. A liquid reservoir for storing the liquefied refrigerant, 6 is a vertical accumulator, 7 is a suction pipe connecting the accumulator 6 and the refrigerant compressor 1, 8
Is a liquid leveling pipe branched from the middle of the suction pipe 7 and connected to the accumulator 6. The connection port 6a of the liquid leveling pipe 8 of the accumulator 6 is a refrigerant suction port 1a of the compressor 1 to which the suction pipe 7 is connected. It is provided below.

A refrigerating apparatus (not shown) equipped with the above-mentioned equipment is formed in a box shape as a whole, and the inside thereof has a heat exchange chamber (not shown) accommodating the condenser 3 and the like. , A machine room (not shown) accommodating the refrigerant compressor 1, the oil separator 2, the liquid reservoir 4, the accumulator 6, and the like. The equipment of this refrigeration system is connected to a load side equipment such as a decompression device, an evaporator, etc. (not shown) installed at the customer via the refrigerant pipes 5a and 5b to form a refrigerant circuit. It is designed to be configured.

Further, FIG. 6 shows the vertical accumulator 6 described above. In this way, the accumulator 6
It has a vertically-oriented cylindrical casing 6e, and an inlet pipe 6b and an outlet pipe 6c whose one end is inserted from the outside to the inside of the casing 6e, and an oil return hole 6d is formed at a predetermined position in the outlet pipe 6c. ing. Although not shown in FIG. 6, the other end of the inlet pipe 6b is connected to the refrigerant pipe 5b, and the other end of the outlet pipe 6c is connected to the suction pipe 7, respectively.

Next, the operation will be described. The gas refrigerant that has been compressed by the refrigerant compressor 1 and has become high temperature and high pressure is sent to the condenser 3 after the contained lubricating oil is separated by the oil separator 2. In the condenser 3, the gas refrigerant is condensed and liquefied by heat exchange with the outside air to become a low temperature and high pressure liquid refrigerant, and once the liquid reservoir 4
After being stored in, the refrigerant is sent to the load side through the refrigerant pipe 5a.

On the load side, the liquid refrigerant is first decompressed by a decompression device (not shown) to be in a gas-liquid two-phase state. Then, the low-temperature low-pressure gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant exchanges heat with the air in the refrigerator (freezer, showcase, etc.) in the evaporator (not shown),
While cooling these compartments, the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant evaporates and
It vaporizes and becomes a gas refrigerant. Then, the gas refrigerant returns to the refrigeration system side through the refrigerant pipe 5b, is sucked into the refrigerant compressor 1 through the accumulator 6 and the suction pipe 7, and repeats the same cycle as above.

Liquid refrigerant that has not been completely evaporated by an evaporator (not shown) due to changes in operating conditions and the like returns to the accumulator 6 together with the gas refrigerant, where it is separated into gas and liquid, and only gas refrigerant is discharged from the outlet pipe 6c. , And is returned to the refrigerant compressor 1 through the suction pipe 7.

The lubricating oil separated by the oil separator 2 is
It is returned to the suction pipe 7 through an oil return pipe (not shown), and is sucked into the refrigerant compressor 1 together with the refrigerant. In the oil separator 2, most of the lubricating oil is separated from the refrigerant, but the lubricating oil that cannot be separated is sent to the load side together with the refrigerant through the condenser 3, the liquid reservoir 4, etc., and further from the load side to the refrigerant. Casing 6e of accumulator 6 through pipe 5b and inlet pipe 6b
It is returned inside and is stored here.

Then, the lubricating oil accumulated in the casing 6e is sucked into the outlet pipe 6c through the oil return hole 6d,
It is returned to the refrigerant compressor 1 through the suction pipe 7 together with the refrigerant sucked from the one end opening of the outlet pipe 6c.

Further, when the refrigeration system is stopped for a long time, the refrigerant lays in the lubricating oil in the refrigerant compressor 1. Then, when restarted, the mixture of the lubricating oil and the liquid refrigerant is discharged from the refrigerant compressor 1, so that the lubricating oil in the refrigerant compressor 1 is depleted, and there is a risk that the refrigerant compressor 1 will malfunction. Therefore, when the liquid refrigerant is laid down above the refrigerant suction port 1a of the refrigerant compressor 1, the laid liquid refrigerant is caused to flow into the accumulator 6 through the suction pipe 7 and the liquid leveling pipe 8 due to the difference in height. .

Since the vertical accumulator 6 is used in this refrigerating apparatus as described above, the accumulator 6 has a large capacity (outer size), although it depends on the type of the refrigerating apparatus. Then, the height becomes quite high. Therefore, for example, when the machine room of the refrigerating machine has a height restriction, the accumulator 6 having a required capacity may not be accommodated in the machine room.

Therefore, in such a case, instead of the vertical accumulator 6, a horizontal accumulator 9 as shown in FIG. 7 is used. In this accumulator 9, a horizontally-oriented cylindrical casing 9e and this casing 9
It has an inlet pipe 9b and an outlet pipe 9c whose one end side is inserted from the outside to the inside of e, and an oil return hole 9d is formed at a predetermined position in the outlet pipe 9c.

Since such a horizontal accumulator 9 can be made lower in height than the vertical accumulator 6 having the same capacity, the necessary capacity can be secured even when the height of the machine room of the refrigerating machine is restricted. There is an advantage that the outer dimensions of the refrigerating apparatus can be reduced by lowering the height of the machine room to reduce the manufacturing cost of the refrigerating apparatus.

[0014]

However, the refrigerating apparatus using the horizontal accumulator 9 described above has the following problems. That is, the horizontal accumulator 9 has a larger space below the oil return hole 9d than the vertical accumulator 6 having the same capacity, and the amount of lubricating oil (hatched in FIG. 7) accumulated in this portion is large. Becomes
Although depending on the capacity of the accumulator, about twice as much lubricating oil as the vertical accumulator 6 is accumulated. The lubricating oil in this portion is not sucked into the outlet pipe 9c through the oil return hole 9d and therefore remains in the casing 9e and does not return to the refrigerant compressor 1. Therefore, the lubricating oil retained in the refrigerant compressor 1 may be depleted, causing a failure of the refrigerant compressor 1.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and can reduce the height of the machine chamber, reduce the manufacturing cost, and reduce the lubricating oil in the accumulator. It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigeration system that can be reliably returned to the refrigerant compressor and can prevent a failure of the refrigerant compressor due to exhaustion of lubricating oil.

[0016]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is directed to a refrigerant compressor for sucking and compressing a refrigerant in a refrigerant circuit in a machine chamber, and a refrigerant compressor connected to an upstream side in a refrigerant flow direction. The accumulator and a liquid reservoir connected to the downstream side of the refrigerant compressor in the refrigerant flow direction via a condenser to store the refrigerant condensed and liquefied in the condenser are housed, and the accumulator has a horizontally-oriented tubular casing. In such a refrigeration system, the accumulator is arranged by inclining the cylinder core of the casing from the horizontal direction.

Further, in the above structure, the accumulator is placed on a pedestal installed above the liquid reservoir.

Further, in the above structure, the accumulator is arranged at a position where the refrigerant outlet of the casing is lower than the refrigerant inlet of the refrigerant compressor.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment 1 FIG. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a refrigeration system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In this refrigeration system, a horizontal accumulator 9 is used instead of the vertical accumulator 6.
5, except that the conventional refrigeration system shown in FIG. 5 is used.

FIG. 2 shows the accumulator 9 in this refrigeration system. The accumulator 9 has a horizontally-oriented cylindrical casing 9e, and an inlet pipe 9b and an outlet pipe 9c whose one end is inserted from the outside to the inside of the casing 9e, and the outlet pipe 9c has an oil return hole at a predetermined position. 9d is formed. And the inlet pipe 9
By raising the side where b is provided, the cylinder center of the casing 9e is arranged to be inclined by a predetermined angle α from the floor surface (horizontal direction) of the machine room of the refrigeration system. Note that FIG.
Although not shown, the other end of the inlet pipe 9b is connected to the refrigerant pipe 5b, and the other end of the outlet pipe 9c is connected to the suction pipe 7.

Next, the operation will be described. The gas refrigerant that has been compressed by the refrigerant compressor 1 and has become high temperature and high pressure is sent to the condenser 3 after the contained lubricating oil is separated by the oil separator 2. In the condenser 3, the gas refrigerant is condensed and liquefied by heat exchange with the outside air to become a low temperature and high pressure liquid refrigerant, and once the liquid reservoir 4
After being stored in, the refrigerant is sent to the load side through the refrigerant pipe 5a.

On the load side, the liquid refrigerant is first decompressed by a decompression device (not shown) to be in a gas-liquid two-phase state. Then, the low-temperature low-pressure gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant exchanges heat with the air in the refrigerator (freezer, showcase, etc.) in the evaporator (not shown),
While cooling these compartments, the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant evaporates and
It vaporizes and becomes a gas refrigerant. Then, the gas refrigerant returns to the refrigeration system side through the refrigerant pipe 5b, is sucked into the refrigerant compressor 1 through the accumulator 9 and the suction pipe 7, and the same cycle as above is repeated again.

Liquid refrigerant that has not been completely evaporated in an evaporator (not shown) due to changes in operating conditions and the like returns to the accumulator 9 together with the gas refrigerant, where it is separated into gas and liquid, and only gas refrigerant is discharged from the outlet pipe 9c. , And is returned to the refrigerant compressor 1 through the suction pipe 7.

The lubricating oil separated by the oil separator 2 is
It is returned to the suction pipe 7 through an oil return pipe (not shown), and is sucked into the refrigerant compressor 1 together with the refrigerant. In the oil separator 2, most of the lubricating oil is separated from the refrigerant, but the lubricating oil that cannot be separated is sent to the load side together with the refrigerant through the condenser 3, the liquid reservoir 4, etc., and further from the load side to the refrigerant. Casing 9e of accumulator 9 through pipe 5b and inlet pipe 6b
It is returned inside and is stored here.

The lubricating oil accumulated in the casing 9e is sucked into the outlet pipe 9c through the oil return hole 9d,
It is returned to the refrigerant compressor 1 through the suction pipe 7 together with the refrigerant sucked from the one end opening of the outlet pipe 9c.

At this time, the accumulator 9 is arranged with the cylinder center of the casing 9e inclined as described above,
Since the lubricating oil collects on the side of the outlet pipe 9c by gravity, the amount of the lubricating oil (shown by diagonal lines in FIG. 2) accumulated below the oil return hole 9d of the outlet pipe 9c, that is, the casing 9
The amount of lubricating oil that remains in the e and does not return to the refrigerant compressor 1 is
This is less than in the case where the accumulator 9 is horizontally arranged as shown in FIG. Therefore, the lubricating oil is surely returned to the refrigerant compressor 1, and the failure of the refrigerant compressor 1 due to the exhaustion of the lubricating oil is prevented.

The accumulator capacity required can be secured even when the height of the machine room of the refrigeration system is restricted,
The advantage that the manufacturing cost of the refrigeration system can be reduced by reducing the outer dimensions of the refrigeration system by reducing the height of the machine room is the same as in the case of FIG. 7.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 3 shows an accumulator 9 of a refrigerating apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 10 denotes a pedestal installed above the liquid reservoir 4, and the pedestal 4 has the above-mentioned structure. A horizontal accumulator 9 similar to that in the form 1 is mounted.

With this structure, it is possible to effectively use the machine room space of the refrigeration system,
By reducing the floor area of the machine room, it is possible to reduce the external dimensions of the refrigeration system and further reduce the manufacturing cost of the refrigeration system.

By the way, if the above-mentioned installation method is carried out by using the vertical accumulator 6 as shown in FIG. 6, the height of the machine room must be further increased, which is rather expensive, which is preferable. Absent.

Embodiment 3 FIG. 4 shows an accumulator 9 of a refrigerating apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. In FIG. 4, 1a is a refrigerant inlet of a refrigerant compressor 1 to which an intake pipe 7 is connected, and 9a is a casing of the accumulator 9. 9e is a refrigerant outlet through which the outlet pipe 9c is inserted.

Thus, the refrigerant outlet 9 of the casing 9e
By disposing the accumulator 9 at a position where a is lower than the refrigerant suction port 1a, when the liquid refrigerant lays above the refrigerant suction port 1a of the refrigerant compressor 1 while the refrigeration system is stopped, Due to the difference in height, the liquid refrigerant that has fallen asleep is in the suction pipe 7
And then flows into the accumulator 9.

Therefore, when restarted, the mixture of the lubricating oil and the liquid refrigerant is discharged from the refrigerant compressor 1 and the lubricating oil in the refrigerant compressor 1 is depleted.
It is possible to prevent the breakdown. Further, since the liquid equalizing pipe 8 conventionally provided for this purpose is unnecessary, the refrigerating apparatus can be provided at a low cost.

[0034]

As described above, according to the refrigerating apparatus of the present invention, since the accumulator having the horizontally oriented casing is arranged with the cylinder center of the casing inclined from the horizontal direction, the height of the machine room is increased. By reducing the height, the external dimensions of the refrigeration system can be reduced and the manufacturing cost of the refrigeration system can be reduced. In addition, the lubricating oil in the casing collects on one end side in the cylinder center direction and therefore remains in the casing. The amount of the lubricating oil can be reduced, the lubricating oil can be surely returned to the refrigerant compressor, and the failure of the refrigerant compressor due to the exhaustion of the lubricating oil can be prevented.

Further, in the case where the accumulator is placed on the pedestal installed above the liquid reservoir, the floor area of the machine room can be made small, so that the external dimensions of the refrigerating apparatus can be made smaller and the manufacturing cost thereof can be reduced. It becomes possible to further reduce.

Further, in the case where the accumulator is arranged at a position where the refrigerant outlet of the casing is lower than the refrigerant inlet of the refrigerant compressor, the accumulator lays above the refrigerant inlet of the refrigerant compressor while the refrigeration system is stopped. The liquid refrigerant flows to the accumulator side due to the difference in height, and the liquid refrigerant in the refrigerant compressor decreases, so the amount of lubricating oil taken out of the refrigerant compressor along with the liquid refrigerant when the refrigeration system starts up also decreases, which leads to depletion of lubricating oil. It is possible to prevent the failure of the refrigerant compressor due to it, and, because the liquid leveling pipe that was conventionally provided for returning the liquid refrigerant sunk in the refrigerant compressor to the accumulator becomes unnecessary, the refrigerating device It is possible to further reduce the manufacturing cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a refrigeration apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an accumulator in the refrigerating apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an installed state of an accumulator in the refrigerating apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an installed state of an accumulator in a refrigeration system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional refrigeration system.

6 is a sectional view of an accumulator in the refrigerating apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a horizontal accumulator in a conventional refrigeration system.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Refrigerant compressor, 1a Refrigerant inlet, 3 Condenser, 4
Liquid sump, 9 accumulator, 9a refrigerant outlet, 9e
Casing, 10 frames.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A suction device for sucking a refrigerant in a refrigerant circuit into a machine chamber.
A refrigerant compressor to be compressed, an accumulator connected to the refrigerant flow direction upstream side of the refrigerant compressor, and a refrigerant flow direction downstream side of the refrigerant compressor connected via a condenser to be condensed and liquefied in the condenser. In a refrigerating apparatus in which a liquid reservoir that stores a refrigerant is accommodated, and the accumulator has a horizontally-oriented tubular casing, the cylinder center of the casing is inclined from the horizontal direction, and the accumulator is arranged. Refrigerating device. 2. The refrigerating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the accumulator is mounted on a frame installed above the liquid reservoir. 3. The refrigerating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the accumulator is arranged at a position where the refrigerant outlet of the casing is lower than the refrigerant inlet of the refrigerant compressor.