EP3118544B1 - Accumulator - Google Patents
Accumulator Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP3118544B1 EP3118544B1 EP16173246.6A EP16173246A EP3118544B1 EP 3118544 B1 EP3118544 B1 EP 3118544B1 EP 16173246 A EP16173246 A EP 16173246A EP 3118544 B1 EP3118544 B1 EP 3118544B1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- bag
- accumulator
- drying agent
- cylindrical portion
- pipe
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Active
Links
- 239000003507 refrigerant Substances 0.000 claims description 43
- 238000003780 insertion Methods 0.000 claims description 41
- 230000037431 insertion Effects 0.000 claims description 41
- 239000002274 desiccant Substances 0.000 claims description 40
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 claims description 18
- 238000000926 separation method Methods 0.000 claims description 14
- 230000002093 peripheral effect Effects 0.000 claims description 10
- 239000007791 liquid phase Substances 0.000 description 15
- 239000012071 phase Substances 0.000 description 10
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 5
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 description 4
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 4
- 238000000465 moulding Methods 0.000 description 4
- 229920003002 synthetic resin Polymers 0.000 description 4
- 239000000057 synthetic resin Substances 0.000 description 4
- 238000001816 cooling Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000005057 refrigeration Methods 0.000 description 3
- 229910052782 aluminium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N aluminium Chemical compound [Al] XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000000227 grinding Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000010802 sludge Substances 0.000 description 2
- PEDCQBHIVMGVHV-UHFFFAOYSA-N Glycerine Chemical compound OCC(O)CO PEDCQBHIVMGVHV-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 241001272720 Medialuna californiensis Species 0.000 description 1
- 239000004744 fabric Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910001220 stainless steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000010935 stainless steel Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000009423 ventilation Methods 0.000 description 1
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B43/00—Arrangements for separating or purifying gases or liquids; Arrangements for vaporising the residuum of liquid refrigerant, e.g. by heat
- F25B43/006—Accumulators
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B43/00—Arrangements for separating or purifying gases or liquids; Arrangements for vaporising the residuum of liquid refrigerant, e.g. by heat
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B43/00—Arrangements for separating or purifying gases or liquids; Arrangements for vaporising the residuum of liquid refrigerant, e.g. by heat
- F25B43/003—Filters
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an accumulator (a gas-liquid separator) that is used in a heat pump type refrigeration cycle (hereinafter, referred to as a heat pump system) such as a car air conditioner, a room air conditioner, and a refrigerator.
- a heat pump system a heat pump type refrigeration cycle
- a heat pump system 200 constituting a car air conditioner or the like includes an accumulator 250 in addition to a compressor 210, an outdoor heat exchanger 220, an indoor heat exchanger 230, an expansion valve 260, a four-way switching valve 240, and the like as in an example illustrated in Fig. 7 .
- a cooling operation and a heating operation are switched (a passage is switched) by the four-way switching valve 240.
- a refrigerant is circulated in a cycle illustrated in Fig. 7(A) .
- the outdoor heat exchanger 220 serves as a condenser and the indoor heat exchanger 230 serves as an evaporator.
- a refrigerant is circulated in a cycle illustrated in Fig. 7(B) .
- the outdoor heat exchanger 220 serves as the evaporator and the indoor heat exchanger 230 serves as the condenser.
- a low-temperature and low-pressure gas-liquid refrigerant is introduced from the evaporator (the indoor heat exchanger 230 or the outdoor heat exchanger 220) into the accumulator 250 through the four-way switching valve 240.
- Patent Document 1 discloses an accumulator including: a bottomed cylindrical tank of which an upper surface opening is air-tightly closed by a lid member provided with an inflow port and an outflow port, a gas-liquid separation body which has a hat shape or an inverse thin bowl shape and has a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the tank, an outflow pipe which has a double pipe structure provided with an inner pipe and an outer pipe and has an upper end connected to the outflow port so as to be suspended, and a strainer which is provided in the vicinity of a bottom portion of the outflow pipe (the outer pipe thereof) and traps and removes the foreign material included in the liquid phase refrigerant and the oil (the refrigerator oil) mixed with the refrigerant.
- the refrigerant which is introduced into the accumulator 250 collides with the gas-liquid separation body so as to be diffused radially and separated into a liquid phase refrigerant and a gas phase refrigerant, the liquid phase refrigerant (including oil) flows downward along the inner peripheral surface of the tank so as to be accumulated in the lower portion of the tank, and the gas phase refrigerant flows downward in the space (the downward gas phase refrigerant flowing passage) formed between the outer pipe and the inner pipe of the outflow pipe and moves upward in the space inside the inner pipe so as to be suctioned to the suction side of the compressor 210. In this way, the refrigerant is circulated.
- the oil accumulated in the lower portion of the tank along with the liquid phase refrigerant moves toward the bottom portion of the tank due to a difference in property with respect to the liquid phase refrigerant or a difference in specific weight in a case where the specific weight of the oil is larger than the specific weight of the liquid phase refrigerant, is suctioned to the gas phase refrigerant suctioned to the suction side of the compressor through the outflow pipe, and is returned to the suction side of the compressor along with the gas phase refrigerant while sequentially passing through the strainer (the mesh filter thereof), the oil returning hole formed in the bottom portion of the outflow pipe (the outer pipe), and the space inside the inner pipe of the outflow pipe. In this way, the oil can be circulated.
- the flow of the liquid phase refrigerant and the oil is substantially the same as a case where the specific weight of the oil is smaller than the specific weight of the liquid phase refrigerant.
- Patent Document 2 discloses an accumulator without a bag containing a drying agent for absorbing and removing moisture in a refrigerant in a tank.
- CN103712385A discloses an accumulator according to the preamble of claim 1.
- the accumulator disclosed in Patent Document 2 uses a countermeasure in which a bag is wound on an outer periphery of an outer pipe and a connection band is fixed while being wound on an outer periphery thereof in order to prevent the rotation or the movement of the drying agent containing bag inside the tank.
- a countermeasure has a problem in which a considerable time is spent and a component cost or an assembly cost increase.
- the invention is made in view of the above-described circumstances and an object thereof is to provide an accumulator capable of easily fixing a drying agent containing bag and hence decreasing a component cost or an assembly cost.
- the bag insertion cylindrical portion is integrally molded with the outer pipe.
- the outer pipe and the bag insertion cylindrical portion are integrally molded with each other so that a part thereof is formed as a common peripheral wall portion.
- the drying agent containing bag is inserted into the bag insertion cylindrical portion through press-fitting.
- an upper end and/or a lower end of the drying agent containing bag is exposed from the bag insertion cylindrical portion.
- a gas-liquid separation body is provided at the upper side of the outer pipe and the drying agent containing bag is disposed so as to be stretched between the gas-liquid separation body and a bottom portion of the tank.
- the bag insertion cylindrical portion into which the drying agent containing bag is inserted through press-fitting is provided on the outer portion of the outer pipe.
- the drying agent containing bag can be simply and easily fixed compared with a case where the bag is wound on the outer periphery of the outer pipe and a connection band is wound on the outer periphery thereof as in the related art.
- the component cost or the assembly cost can be decreased.
- the drying agent containing bag inserted into the bag insertion cylindrical portion is disposed so as to be stretched between the bottom portion of the tank and the gas-liquid separation body provided at the upper side of the outer pipe.
- Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway front view illustrating a first embodiment of an accumulator not according to the invention and Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along an arrow U-U of Fig. 1 .
- An accumulator 1 of the first embodiment illustrated in the drawing is used as, for example, an accumulator 250 of a heat pump system 200 constituting a car air conditioner of an electric vehicle as illustrated in Fig. 7 described above and includes a bottomed cylindrical tank 10 which is formed of metal such as stainless steel or aluminum.
- a lid member 12 formed of metal.
- the accumulator 1 of the embodiment is disposed, for example, in the vertical direction as illustrated in drawing. That is, the accumulator is installed so that the lid member 12 faces the upper (sky) side and the bottom portion of the tank 10 faces the lower (earth) side.
- the lid member 12 is provided with an inflow port 15 and a stepped outflow port 16 side by side.
- a gas-liquid separation body 18 having a hat shape or an inverse thin bowl shape and having a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the tank 10 is disposed at the lower side of the lid member 12 and an upper end of an outflow pipe 30 is connected to a lower portion of the outflow port 16.
- the outflow pipe 30 is formed as a double pipe structure including an inner pipe 31 which is formed of metal so as to be suspended inside the tank 10 while an upper end thereof is connected to the lower portion of the outflow port 16 through caulking or press-inserting and a bottomed outer pipe 32 which is formed of synthetic resin and is disposed on the outer periphery of the inner pipe 31. Then, a bag insertion cylindrical portion 37 which fixes a bag 50 containing a drying agent M in an insertion state is integrally molded with the outer portion of the outer pipe 32.
- the lower end of the outer pipe 32 is fitted and fixed into an inner peripheral stepped upper portion 42a of a casing 42 of a strainer 40 to be described later through press-fitting or the like.
- the lower end of the inner pipe 31 is located at the slight upper position in relation to a bottom portion 32b of the outer pipe 32 and the upper end of the outer pipe 32 is located at the slight lower position in relation to the lid member 12.
- An oil returning hole 35 is formed in the center of the bottom portion 32b of the outer pipe 32.
- a hole diameter of the oil returning hole 35 is set to, for example, about 1 mm.
- Three plate-shaped ribs 36 are provided at the same angular interval so as to protrude inward in the radial direction inside the outer pipe 32 along the longitudinal direction (the up and down direction) as illustrated in the cross-section of Fig. 2 .
- the inner pipe 31 is inserted and fixed to the inner peripheral sides of three plate-shaped ribs 36 through press-fitting.
- a flange-shaped portion 31f which is compressed and curved by bulging is provided near the upper end of the inner pipe 31.
- the inner pipe 31, the outer pipe 32, and the plate-shaped rib 36 may be integrally molded with one another by using metal such as aluminum or synthetic resin. In this molding, for example, an extruding technique can be employed.
- the strainer 40 is fixed while being placed on the bottom portion of the tank 10.
- the strainer includes a bottomed cylindrical casing 42 which is formed of synthetic resin and a cylindrical mesh filter 45 which is integrated with the casing 42 through insert-molding.
- the mesh filter 45 is made by, for example, a wire net or a mesh member formed of synthetic resin.
- Figs. 3 and 4 do not show the bag 50 containing the drying agent M to be described later or the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37.
- the casing 42 of the strainer 40 includes the inner peripheral stepped upper portion 42a into which the lower end of the outer pipe 32 is fitted and fixed, a bottom plate portion 42c, four column-shaped portions 42b which are formed uprightly on the outer periphery of the bottom plate portion 42c at the same angular interval, and circular band-shaped mesh end embedded portions 42d and 42d each of which has a predetermined thickness and a predetermined band width while including the upper and lower ends of the column-shaped portion 42b.
- the upper and lower ends of the mesh filter 45 are integrally sealed to the upper and lower mesh end embedded portions 42d and 42d during the insert-molding process.
- the portion of the column-shaped portion 42b of the mesh filter 45 is also integrally sealed to the column-shaped portion 42b during the insert-molding process.
- four windows 44 each having a rectangular shape in the side view are defined by four column-shaped portions 42b and the upper and lower mesh end embedded portions 42d and 42d and the mesh filter 45 is stretched on each window 44.
- four column-shaped portions 42b have a drawing gradient.
- four column-shaped portions 42b and the upper and lower mesh end embedded portions 42d and 42d have substantially the same radial width.
- a low-temperature and low-pressure gas-liquid-phase refrigerant is introduced from the evaporator into the tank 10 through the inflow port 15, the introduced refrigerant collides with the gas-liquid separation body 18 so as to be diffused radially and separated into a liquid phase refrigerant and a gas phase refrigerant, the liquid phase refrigerant (including oil) flows downward along the inner peripheral surface of the tank 10 so as to be accumulated into the lower space of the tank 10, and the gas phase refrigerant is suctioned to the suction side of the compressor 210 while sequentially passing through the space (the downward gas phase refrigerant flowing passage) formed between the inner pipe 31 and the outer pipe 32 of the outflow pipe 30 and the space in the inner pipe 31. In this way, the refrigerant can be circulated.
- the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37 of which upper and lower sides are opened so as to fix the bag 50 containing the drying agent M to the outer portion of the outer pipe 32 through press-fitting in an insertion state is integrally molded with the outer pipe 32 by extruding.
- the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37 has a crescent moon shape or a half moon shape in the cross-sectional view.
- a part of the outer pipe 32 and the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37 is formed as a common peripheral wall portion.
- a half of the outer pipe 32 (a portion having a semi-circular shape in the cross-section and located near the center portion of the tank 10) is formed as an inner wall portion 37a of the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37 and an outer wall portion 37b of the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37 has an outer shape of a half coin in the cross-section including a semi-circular portion as in the inner wall portion 37a.
- the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37 is located at the substantial center of the tank 10.
- the upper end of the bag insertion cylindrical portion is located at the same position as the upper end of the outer pipe 32 and the lower end thereof is located at the slight upper position in relation to the lower end of the outer pipe 32.
- the bag 50 contained in the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37 is formed as a cloth body such as felt having a ventilation/water passing property and a necessary shape keeping property and the granular drying agent M is fully charged thereinto.
- the bag 50 containing the drying agent M may be press-inserted into the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37. That is, when the bag 50 containing the drying agent M is press-inserted into the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37, the bag is fixed in an insertion state through press-fitting so that most part excluding the upper and lower ends each having a triangular cross-section substantially comes into press-contact with the entire area of the inner peripheral surface of the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37.
- the upper and lower ends of the bag 50 containing the drying agent M are exposed from the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37.
- the upper end of the bag comes into press-contact with the ceiling surface of the gas-liquid separation body 18 and the lower end thereof comes into press-contact with the bottom portion 13 of the tank so as to improve the safety and the vibration resistance.
- the dimensions of each component are set so that the bag 50 containing the drying agent M is stretched between the gas-liquid separation body 18 and the bottom portion 13 of the tank. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a vibration of the bag 50 containing the drying agent M inside the tank 10. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent the crushing or the powdering of the drying agent M and to prevent the drying agent M from leaking from the bag 50 through a minute gap of the bag 50.
- the maximal liquid level height position Hmax of the liquid phase portion including the oil and the liquid phase refrigerant accumulated in the tank 10 when the compressor is stopped is located at the height position of 1/2 to 3/5 from the lower side of the bag 50 containing the drying agent M inserted and fixed to the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37 and the upper portion of the bag 50 containing the drying agent M is located at the upper side of the maximal liquid level height position Hmax.
- the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37 into which the bag 50 containing the drying agent M is inserted through press-fitting is integrally molded with the outer pipe 32, that is, the outer portion of the outer pipe 32.
- the bag 50 containing the drying agent M can be simply and easily fixed compared with a case where the bag is wound on the outer periphery of the outer pipe and a connection band is wound on the outer periphery thereof as in the related art. As a result, the component cost or the assembly cost can be decreased.
- Fig. 5 is a partially cutaway front view illustrating a second embodiment of an accumulator according to the invention and Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along an arrow U-U of Fig. 5 .
- An accumulator 2 of the second embodiment illustrated in the drawing is similar to the accumulator 1 of the first embodiment except that the center portion of the outer wall portion 37b of the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37 is provided with a slit-shaped notch portion 38 in the up and down direction (the axial direction of the outer pipe 32). Further, in Figs. 5 and 6 illustrating the accumulator 2 of the second embodiment, a common reference numeral is given to a component corresponding to the component of the accumulator 1 of the first embodiment.
- the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37 is provided with the slit-shaped notch portion 38, the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37 is easily elastically deformed (widened and opened) when the bag 50 containing the drying agent M is inserted into the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37 through press-fitting. For this reason, since the bag 50 containing the drying agent M is easily inserted into the bag insertion cylindrical portion and the exposure area of the bag 50 containing the drying agent M increases, it is possible to obtain an effect in which the moisture of the refrigerant is absorbed well.
- the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37 and the outer pipe 32 are integrally molded with each other so that a part thereof is formed as the common peripheral wall portion, but the invention is not limited to such a configuration. That is, the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37 and the outer pipe 32 may be formed independently from each other (as separate members).
- the bag 50 containing the drying agent M is fixed to the bag insertion cylindrical portion 37 through press-fitting in an insertion state, but the bag 50 containing the drying agent M may be, of course, inserted thereinto so as not to be movable.
- the accumulators 1 and 2 of the above-described embodiments can be applied to a refrigeration cycle that uses HFO1234yf or HFC134a as a refrigerant and uses POE oil (having a specific weight smaller than the refrigerant) as oil.
- the accumulators can be also applied to a refrigeration cycle that uses the refrigerant or the oil other than the above-described examples. Further, it is needless to mention that a relation between the specific weight values of the refrigerant and the oil may be reversed.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Thermal Sciences (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Air-Conditioning For Vehicles (AREA)
- Drying Of Gases (AREA)
Description
- The present invention relates to an accumulator (a gas-liquid separator) that is used in a heat pump type refrigeration cycle (hereinafter, referred to as a heat pump system) such as a car air conditioner, a room air conditioner, and a refrigerator.
- In general, a
heat pump system 200 constituting a car air conditioner or the like includes anaccumulator 250 in addition to acompressor 210, anoutdoor heat exchanger 220, anindoor heat exchanger 230, anexpansion valve 260, a four-way switching valve 240, and the like as in an example illustrated inFig. 7 . - In such a
system 200, a cooling operation and a heating operation are switched (a passage is switched) by the four-way switching valve 240. In the cooling operation, a refrigerant is circulated in a cycle illustrated inFig. 7(A) . At this time, theoutdoor heat exchanger 220 serves as a condenser and theindoor heat exchanger 230 serves as an evaporator. Meanwhile, in the heating operation, a refrigerant is circulated in a cycle illustrated inFig. 7(B) . At this time, theoutdoor heat exchanger 220 serves as the evaporator and theindoor heat exchanger 230 serves as the condenser. In any operation mode, a low-temperature and low-pressure gas-liquid refrigerant is introduced from the evaporator (theindoor heat exchanger 230 or the outdoor heat exchanger 220) into theaccumulator 250 through the four-way switching valve 240. - As the
accumulator 250, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an accumulator including: a bottomed cylindrical tank of which an upper surface opening is air-tightly closed by a lid member provided with an inflow port and an outflow port, a gas-liquid separation body which has a hat shape or an inverse thin bowl shape and has a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the tank, an outflow pipe which has a double pipe structure provided with an inner pipe and an outer pipe and has an upper end connected to the outflow port so as to be suspended, and a strainer which is provided in the vicinity of a bottom portion of the outflow pipe (the outer pipe thereof) and traps and removes the foreign material included in the liquid phase refrigerant and the oil (the refrigerator oil) mixed with the refrigerant. - The refrigerant which is introduced into the
accumulator 250 collides with the gas-liquid separation body so as to be diffused radially and separated into a liquid phase refrigerant and a gas phase refrigerant, the liquid phase refrigerant (including oil) flows downward along the inner peripheral surface of the tank so as to be accumulated in the lower portion of the tank, and the gas phase refrigerant flows downward in the space (the downward gas phase refrigerant flowing passage) formed between the outer pipe and the inner pipe of the outflow pipe and moves upward in the space inside the inner pipe so as to be suctioned to the suction side of thecompressor 210. In this way, the refrigerant is circulated. - Further, the oil accumulated in the lower portion of the tank along with the liquid phase refrigerant moves toward the bottom portion of the tank due to a difference in property with respect to the liquid phase refrigerant or a difference in specific weight in a case where the specific weight of the oil is larger than the specific weight of the liquid phase refrigerant, is suctioned to the gas phase refrigerant suctioned to the suction side of the compressor through the outflow pipe, and is returned to the suction side of the compressor along with the gas phase refrigerant while sequentially passing through the strainer (the mesh filter thereof), the oil returning hole formed in the bottom portion of the outflow pipe (the outer pipe), and the space inside the inner pipe of the outflow pipe. In this way, the oil can be circulated. When the oil passes through the mesh filter, a foreign material such as sludge is trapped and the foreign material is removed from the circulated refrigerant (including oil). Further, the flow of the liquid phase refrigerant and the oil is substantially the same as a case where the specific weight of the oil is smaller than the specific weight of the liquid phase refrigerant.
- Further, in the above-described accumulator, for example,
Patent Document 2 discloses an accumulator without a bag containing a drying agent for absorbing and removing moisture in a refrigerant in a tank. -
- Patent Document 1:
JP 2014-70869 A - Patent Document 2:
JP 2014-202440 A -
CN103712385A discloses an accumulator according to the preamble of claim 1. - Incidentally, the accumulator disclosed in
Patent Document 2 uses a countermeasure in which a bag is wound on an outer periphery of an outer pipe and a connection band is fixed while being wound on an outer periphery thereof in order to prevent the rotation or the movement of the drying agent containing bag inside the tank. However, such a countermeasure has a problem in which a considerable time is spent and a component cost or an assembly cost increase. - The invention is made in view of the above-described circumstances and an object thereof is to provide an accumulator capable of easily fixing a drying agent containing bag and hence decreasing a component cost or an assembly cost.
- In order to attain the above-described object, according to the invention, there is provided an accumulator according to independent claim 1.
- Preferably, the bag insertion cylindrical portion is integrally molded with the outer pipe.
- As a more preferable aspect, the outer pipe and the bag insertion cylindrical portion are integrally molded with each other so that a part thereof is formed as a common peripheral wall portion.
- Preferably, the drying agent containing bag is inserted into the bag insertion cylindrical portion through press-fitting.
- As a preferable aspect, an upper end and/or a lower end of the drying agent containing bag is exposed from the bag insertion cylindrical portion.
- As another preferable aspect, a gas-liquid separation body is provided at the upper side of the outer pipe and the drying agent containing bag is disposed so as to be stretched between the gas-liquid separation body and a bottom portion of the tank.
- In the accumulator according to the invention, the bag insertion cylindrical portion into which the drying agent containing bag is inserted through press-fitting is provided on the outer portion of the outer pipe. For this reason, the drying agent containing bag can be simply and easily fixed compared with a case where the bag is wound on the outer periphery of the outer pipe and a connection band is wound on the outer periphery thereof as in the related art. As a result, the component cost or the assembly cost can be decreased.
- Further, the drying agent containing bag inserted into the bag insertion cylindrical portion is disposed so as to be stretched between the bottom portion of the tank and the gas-liquid separation body provided at the upper side of the outer pipe. As a result, it is possible to prevent the crushing or the powdering of the drying agent and further to prevent the drying agent from leaking from the drying agent containing bag through a minute gap of the drying agent containing bag.
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Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway front view illustrating a first embodiment of an accumulator as an example not according to the invention; -
Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along an arrow U-U ofFig. 1 ; -
Fig. 3 is an enlarged half cross-sectional view illustrating a main part of a strainer of the accumulator of the first embodiment not according to the invention; -
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along an arrow V-V ofFig. 3 ; -
Fig. 5 is a partially cutaway front view illustrating a second embodiment of an accumulator according to the invention as claimed; -
Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along an arrow U-U ofFig. 5 ; and -
Fig. 7 illustrate an example of a heat pump system, whereFig. 7(A) is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a flow (a cycle) of a refrigerant in a cooling operation andFig. 7(B) is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a flow (a cycle) of a refrigerant in a heating operation. - Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.
-
Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway front view illustrating a first embodiment of an accumulator not according to the invention andFig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along an arrow U-U ofFig. 1 . - An accumulator 1 of the first embodiment illustrated in the drawing is used as, for example, an
accumulator 250 of aheat pump system 200 constituting a car air conditioner of an electric vehicle as illustrated inFig. 7 described above and includes a bottomedcylindrical tank 10 which is formed of metal such as stainless steel or aluminum. Here, an upper surface opening of thetank 10 is air-tightly closed by alid member 12 formed of metal. In addition, the accumulator 1 of the embodiment is disposed, for example, in the vertical direction as illustrated in drawing. That is, the accumulator is installed so that thelid member 12 faces the upper (sky) side and the bottom portion of thetank 10 faces the lower (earth) side. - The
lid member 12 is provided with aninflow port 15 and astepped outflow port 16 side by side. Here, a gas-liquid separation body 18 having a hat shape or an inverse thin bowl shape and having a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of thetank 10 is disposed at the lower side of thelid member 12 and an upper end of anoutflow pipe 30 is connected to a lower portion of theoutflow port 16. - The
outflow pipe 30 is formed as a double pipe structure including aninner pipe 31 which is formed of metal so as to be suspended inside thetank 10 while an upper end thereof is connected to the lower portion of theoutflow port 16 through caulking or press-inserting and a bottomedouter pipe 32 which is formed of synthetic resin and is disposed on the outer periphery of theinner pipe 31. Then, a bag insertioncylindrical portion 37 which fixes abag 50 containing a drying agent M in an insertion state is integrally molded with the outer portion of theouter pipe 32. - The lower end of the
outer pipe 32 is fitted and fixed into an inner peripheral steppedupper portion 42a of acasing 42 of astrainer 40 to be described later through press-fitting or the like. The lower end of theinner pipe 31 is located at the slight upper position in relation to abottom portion 32b of theouter pipe 32 and the upper end of theouter pipe 32 is located at the slight lower position in relation to thelid member 12. Anoil returning hole 35 is formed in the center of thebottom portion 32b of theouter pipe 32. A hole diameter of theoil returning hole 35 is set to, for example, about 1 mm. - Three plate-
shaped ribs 36 are provided at the same angular interval so as to protrude inward in the radial direction inside theouter pipe 32 along the longitudinal direction (the up and down direction) as illustrated in the cross-section ofFig. 2 . Here, theinner pipe 31 is inserted and fixed to the inner peripheral sides of three plate-shaped ribs 36 through press-fitting. - A flange-shaped
portion 31f which is compressed and curved by bulging is provided near the upper end of theinner pipe 31. When the gas-liquid separation body 18 and theinner pipe 31 are assembled to thelid member 12, the upper end of theinner pipe 31 is press-fitted or expand-fixed to theoutflow port 16 from the downside while passing through apassage hole 19 provided in the gas-liquid separation body 18. Accordingly, the gas-liquid separation body 18 is held and fixed so as to be sandwiched between the flange-shapedportion 31f and the lower end surface of thelid member 12 at the upside of theouter pipe 32. - Additionally, the
inner pipe 31, theouter pipe 32, and the plate-shapedrib 36 may be integrally molded with one another by using metal such as aluminum or synthetic resin. In this molding, for example, an extruding technique can be employed. - The
strainer 40 is fixed while being placed on the bottom portion of thetank 10. As understood fromFigs. 3 and 4 , the strainer includes a bottomedcylindrical casing 42 which is formed of synthetic resin and acylindrical mesh filter 45 which is integrated with thecasing 42 through insert-molding. Themesh filter 45 is made by, for example, a wire net or a mesh member formed of synthetic resin. In addition,Figs. 3 and 4 do not show thebag 50 containing the drying agent M to be described later or the bag insertioncylindrical portion 37. - The
casing 42 of thestrainer 40 includes the inner peripheral steppedupper portion 42a into which the lower end of theouter pipe 32 is fitted and fixed, abottom plate portion 42c, four column-shapedportions 42b which are formed uprightly on the outer periphery of thebottom plate portion 42c at the same angular interval, and circular band-shaped mesh end embeddedportions portion 42b. The upper and lower ends of themesh filter 45 are integrally sealed to the upper and lower mesh end embeddedportions portion 42b of themesh filter 45 is also integrally sealed to the column-shapedportion 42b during the insert-molding process. In other words, fourwindows 44 each having a rectangular shape in the side view are defined by four column-shapedportions 42b and the upper and lower mesh end embeddedportions mesh filter 45 is stretched on eachwindow 44. Further, four column-shapedportions 42b have a drawing gradient. However, four column-shapedportions 42b and the upper and lower mesh end embeddedportions - In the accumulator 1 with such a configuration, as in the related art, a low-temperature and low-pressure gas-liquid-phase refrigerant is introduced from the evaporator into the
tank 10 through theinflow port 15, the introduced refrigerant collides with the gas-liquid separation body 18 so as to be diffused radially and separated into a liquid phase refrigerant and a gas phase refrigerant, the liquid phase refrigerant (including oil) flows downward along the inner peripheral surface of thetank 10 so as to be accumulated into the lower space of thetank 10, and the gas phase refrigerant is suctioned to the suction side of thecompressor 210 while sequentially passing through the space (the downward gas phase refrigerant flowing passage) formed between theinner pipe 31 and theouter pipe 32 of theoutflow pipe 30 and the space in theinner pipe 31. In this way, the refrigerant can be circulated. - Further, the oil which is accumulated in the lower space of the
tank 10 along with the liquid phase refrigerant moves toward thebottom portion 13 of thetank 10 by a difference in specific weight or property with respect to the liquid phase refrigerant, is suctioned to the gas phase refrigerant suctioned to the suction side of the compressor through theoutflow pipe 30, and is returned to the suction side of the compressor along with the gas phase refrigerant while sequentially passing through themesh filter 45 of thestrainer 40, theoil returning hole 35, and the space in theinner pipe 31. In this way, the oil can be circulated. When the oil passes through themesh filter 45, a foreign material such as sludge is trapped and the foreign material is removed from the circulated refrigerant (including oil). - In addition to the above-described configuration, in the accumulator 1 of the embodiment, the bag insertion
cylindrical portion 37 of which upper and lower sides are opened so as to fix thebag 50 containing the drying agent M to the outer portion of theouter pipe 32 through press-fitting in an insertion state is integrally molded with theouter pipe 32 by extruding. - Specifically, the bag insertion
cylindrical portion 37 has a crescent moon shape or a half moon shape in the cross-sectional view. A part of theouter pipe 32 and the bag insertioncylindrical portion 37 is formed as a common peripheral wall portion. In other words, a half of the outer pipe 32 (a portion having a semi-circular shape in the cross-section and located near the center portion of the tank 10) is formed as aninner wall portion 37a of the bag insertioncylindrical portion 37 and anouter wall portion 37b of the bag insertioncylindrical portion 37 has an outer shape of a half coin in the cross-section including a semi-circular portion as in theinner wall portion 37a. - Further, the bag insertion
cylindrical portion 37 is located at the substantial center of thetank 10. Here, the upper end of the bag insertion cylindrical portion is located at the same position as the upper end of theouter pipe 32 and the lower end thereof is located at the slight upper position in relation to the lower end of theouter pipe 32. - Meanwhile, the
bag 50 contained in the bag insertioncylindrical portion 37 is formed as a cloth body such as felt having a ventilation/water passing property and a necessary shape keeping property and the granular drying agent M is fully charged thereinto. In order to fix thebag 50 containing the drying agent M, thebag 50 containing the drying agent M may be press-inserted into the bag insertioncylindrical portion 37. That is, when thebag 50 containing the drying agent M is press-inserted into the bag insertioncylindrical portion 37, the bag is fixed in an insertion state through press-fitting so that most part excluding the upper and lower ends each having a triangular cross-section substantially comes into press-contact with the entire area of the inner peripheral surface of the bag insertioncylindrical portion 37. - Further, in the embodiment, in a state where the
bag 50 containing the drying agent M is inserted and fixed into the bag insertioncylindrical portion 37, the upper and lower ends of thebag 50 containing the drying agent M are exposed from the bag insertioncylindrical portion 37. At the same time, the upper end of the bag comes into press-contact with the ceiling surface of the gas-liquid separation body 18 and the lower end thereof comes into press-contact with thebottom portion 13 of the tank so as to improve the safety and the vibration resistance. In other words, the dimensions of each component are set so that thebag 50 containing the drying agent M is stretched between the gas-liquid separation body 18 and thebottom portion 13 of the tank. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a vibration of thebag 50 containing the drying agent M inside thetank 10. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent the crushing or the powdering of the drying agent M and to prevent the drying agent M from leaking from thebag 50 through a minute gap of thebag 50. - Further, in the accumulator 1 of the embodiment, the maximal liquid level height position Hmax of the liquid phase portion including the oil and the liquid phase refrigerant accumulated in the
tank 10 when the compressor is stopped is located at the height position of 1/2 to 3/5 from the lower side of thebag 50 containing the drying agent M inserted and fixed to the bag insertioncylindrical portion 37 and the upper portion of thebag 50 containing the drying agent M is located at the upper side of the maximal liquid level height position Hmax. - As described above, in the accumulator 1 of the above-described embodiment, the bag insertion
cylindrical portion 37 into which thebag 50 containing the drying agent M is inserted through press-fitting is integrally molded with theouter pipe 32, that is, the outer portion of theouter pipe 32. For this reason, thebag 50 containing the drying agent M can be simply and easily fixed compared with a case where the bag is wound on the outer periphery of the outer pipe and a connection band is wound on the outer periphery thereof as in the related art. As a result, the component cost or the assembly cost can be decreased. -
Fig. 5 is a partially cutaway front view illustrating a second embodiment of an accumulator according to the invention andFig. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along an arrow U-U ofFig. 5 . - An
accumulator 2 of the second embodiment illustrated in the drawing is similar to the accumulator 1 of the first embodiment except that the center portion of theouter wall portion 37b of the bag insertioncylindrical portion 37 is provided with a slit-shapednotch portion 38 in the up and down direction (the axial direction of the outer pipe 32). Further, inFigs. 5 and6 illustrating theaccumulator 2 of the second embodiment, a common reference numeral is given to a component corresponding to the component of the accumulator 1 of the first embodiment. - As described above, since the bag insertion
cylindrical portion 37 is provided with the slit-shapednotch portion 38, the bag insertioncylindrical portion 37 is easily elastically deformed (widened and opened) when thebag 50 containing the drying agent M is inserted into the bag insertioncylindrical portion 37 through press-fitting. For this reason, since thebag 50 containing the drying agent M is easily inserted into the bag insertion cylindrical portion and the exposure area of thebag 50 containing the drying agent M increases, it is possible to obtain an effect in which the moisture of the refrigerant is absorbed well. - Additionally, in the above-described embodiment, the bag insertion
cylindrical portion 37 and theouter pipe 32 are integrally molded with each other so that a part thereof is formed as the common peripheral wall portion, but the invention is not limited to such a configuration. That is, the bag insertioncylindrical portion 37 and theouter pipe 32 may be formed independently from each other (as separate members). - Further, in the above-described embodiment, the
bag 50 containing the drying agent M is fixed to the bag insertioncylindrical portion 37 through press-fitting in an insertion state, but thebag 50 containing the drying agent M may be, of course, inserted thereinto so as not to be movable. - The
accumulators 1 and 2 of the above-described embodiments can be applied to a refrigeration cycle that uses HFO1234yf or HFC134a as a refrigerant and uses POE oil (having a specific weight smaller than the refrigerant) as oil. However, the accumulators can be also applied to a refrigeration cycle that uses the refrigerant or the oil other than the above-described examples. Further, it is needless to mention that a relation between the specific weight values of the refrigerant and the oil may be reversed.
Claims (6)
- An accumulator (1) comprising:a tank (10) closed by a lid member (12) provided with an inflow port (15) and an outflow port (16);an outflow pipe (30) having a double pipe structure including an inner pipe (31) connected to the outflow port (16) so as to be suspended inside the tank (10) and an outer pipe (32) disposed on an outer periphery of the inner pipe (31); anda drying agent (M) containing bag (50) for absorbing and removing moisture in a refrigerant, a bag insertion cylindrical portion (37) having the drying agent (M) containing bag (50) inserted thereinto provided at an outer portion of the outer pipe (32), characterized in that a slit-shaped notch portion (38) is formed in the bag insertion cylindrical portion (37) in the up and down direction.
- The accumulator (1) according to claim 1,
wherein the bag insertion cylindrical portion (37) is integrally molded with the outer pipe (32). - The accumulator (1) according to claim 2,
wherein the outer pipe (32) and the bag insertion cylindrical portion (37) are integrally molded with each other so that a part thereof is formed as a common peripheral wall portion. - The accumulator (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
wherein the drying agent (M) containing bag (50) is inserted into the bag insertion cylindrical portion (37) through press-fitting. - The accumulator (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
wherein an upper end and/or a lower end of the drying agent (M) containing bag (50) is exposed from the bag insertion cylindrical portion (37). - The accumulator (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5,wherein a gas-liquid separation body (18) is provided at the upper side of the outer pipe (32), andwherein the drying agent (M) containing bag (50) is disposed so as to be stretched between the gas-liquid separation body (18) and a bottom portion (13) of the tank (10).
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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JP2015142953A JP6514981B2 (en) | 2015-07-17 | 2015-07-17 | accumulator |
Publications (2)
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EP3118544A1 EP3118544A1 (en) | 2017-01-18 |
EP3118544B1 true EP3118544B1 (en) | 2022-01-05 |
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EP16173246.6A Active EP3118544B1 (en) | 2015-07-17 | 2016-06-07 | Accumulator |
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JP (1) | JP6514981B2 (en) |
CN (1) | CN106352620B (en) |
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JP7115712B2 (en) * | 2019-03-05 | 2022-08-09 | 株式会社不二工機 | refrigerant container |
CN112013581A (en) * | 2019-05-30 | 2020-12-01 | 株式会社不二工机 | Liquid storage device and assembling method thereof |
Citations (1)
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CN103712385A (en) * | 2012-10-02 | 2014-04-09 | 株式会社不二工机 | Storage device |
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JP2000356439A (en) * | 1999-06-16 | 2000-12-26 | Denso Corp | Accumulator |
DE60217057T2 (en) * | 2001-12-12 | 2007-08-30 | Sanden Corp., Isesaki | heat exchangers |
CN102679643B (en) * | 2011-03-16 | 2014-10-22 | 浙江三花汽车零部件有限公司 | Liquid reservoir |
JP5849909B2 (en) * | 2012-09-07 | 2016-02-03 | 株式会社デンソー | accumulator |
JP6155005B2 (en) * | 2012-10-12 | 2017-06-28 | 株式会社不二工機 | accumulator |
JP6068909B2 (en) | 2012-10-02 | 2017-01-25 | 株式会社不二工機 | accumulator |
JP6175228B2 (en) * | 2012-11-22 | 2017-08-02 | 株式会社不二工機 | accumulator |
JP6199590B2 (en) | 2013-04-08 | 2017-09-20 | 株式会社不二工機 | accumulator |
-
2015
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CN103712385A (en) * | 2012-10-02 | 2014-04-09 | 株式会社不二工机 | Storage device |
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CN106352620A (en) | 2017-01-25 |
EP3118544A1 (en) | 2017-01-18 |
JP2017026189A (en) | 2017-02-02 |
CN106352620B (en) | 2020-09-04 |
JP6514981B2 (en) | 2019-05-15 |
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