US20060254308A1 - Ejector cycle device - Google Patents
Ejector cycle device Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20060254308A1 US20060254308A1 US11/434,426 US43442606A US2006254308A1 US 20060254308 A1 US20060254308 A1 US 20060254308A1 US 43442606 A US43442606 A US 43442606A US 2006254308 A1 US2006254308 A1 US 2006254308A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- refrigerant
- evaporator
- ejector
- evaporators
- cycle device
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- Abandoned
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Classifications
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- 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
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D21/00—Defrosting; Preventing frosting; Removing condensed or defrost water
- F25D21/06—Removing frost
- F25D21/08—Removing frost by electric heating
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
- B60H1/00—Heating, cooling or ventilating [HVAC] devices
- B60H1/32—Cooling devices
- B60H1/3204—Cooling devices using compression
- B60H1/3205—Control means therefor
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- 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
- F25B39/00—Evaporators; Condensers
- F25B39/02—Evaporators
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- 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
- F25B41/00—Fluid-circulation arrangements
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- 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
- F25B5/00—Compression machines, plants or systems, with several evaporator circuits, e.g. for varying refrigerating capacity
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
- B60H1/00—Heating, cooling or ventilating [HVAC] devices
- B60H1/32—Cooling devices
- B60H2001/3286—Constructional features
- B60H2001/3297—Expansion means other than expansion valve
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
- B60H1/00—Heating, cooling or ventilating [HVAC] devices
- B60H1/32—Cooling devices
- B60H2001/3286—Constructional features
- B60H2001/3298—Ejector-type refrigerant circuits
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- 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
- F25B2341/00—Details of ejectors not being used as compression device; Details of flow restrictors or expansion valves
- F25B2341/001—Ejectors not being used as compression device
- F25B2341/0011—Ejectors with the cooled primary flow at reduced or low pressure
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- 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
- F25B2341/00—Details of ejectors not being used as compression device; Details of flow restrictors or expansion valves
- F25B2341/001—Ejectors not being used as compression device
- F25B2341/0012—Ejectors with the cooled primary flow at high pressure
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- 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
- F25B2341/00—Details of ejectors not being used as compression device; Details of flow restrictors or expansion valves
- F25B2341/001—Ejectors not being used as compression device
- F25B2341/0013—Ejector control arrangements
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- 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
- F25B2400/00—General features or devices for refrigeration machines, plants or systems, combined heating and refrigeration systems or heat-pump systems, i.e. not limited to a particular subgroup of F25B
- F25B2400/23—Separators
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- 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
- F25B2500/00—Problems to be solved
- F25B2500/27—Problems to be solved characterised by the stop of the refrigeration cycle
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- 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
- F25B2500/00—Problems to be solved
- F25B2500/28—Means for preventing liquid refrigerant entering into the compressor
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- 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
- F25B2600/00—Control issues
- F25B2600/25—Control of valves
- F25B2600/2501—Bypass valves
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- 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
- F25B2600/00—Control issues
- F25B2600/25—Control of valves
- F25B2600/2507—Flow-diverting valves
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- 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
- F25B2700/00—Sensing or detecting of parameters; Sensors therefor
- F25B2700/21—Temperatures
- F25B2700/2104—Temperatures of an indoor room or compartment
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- 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
- F25B2700/00—Sensing or detecting of parameters; Sensors therefor
- F25B2700/21—Temperatures
- F25B2700/2106—Temperatures of fresh outdoor air
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- 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
- F25B2700/00—Sensing or detecting of parameters; Sensors therefor
- F25B2700/21—Temperatures
- F25B2700/2117—Temperatures of an evaporator
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- 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
- F25B5/00—Compression machines, plants or systems, with several evaporator circuits, e.g. for varying refrigerating capacity
- F25B5/02—Compression machines, plants or systems, with several evaporator circuits, e.g. for varying refrigerating capacity arranged in parallel
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- 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
- F25B5/00—Compression machines, plants or systems, with several evaporator circuits, e.g. for varying refrigerating capacity
- F25B5/04—Compression machines, plants or systems, with several evaporator circuits, e.g. for varying refrigerating capacity arranged in series
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an ejector cycle device having an ejector which has a function for reducing pressure of refrigerant and a function for circulating refrigerant.
- JP-B1-3322263 discloses an ejector cycle device that has a first evaporator and a second evaporator.
- the second evaporator is arranged on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of an ejector having functions for reducing pressure of refrigerant and for circulating refrigerant
- a vapor—liquid separator is arranged on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of this second evaporator
- the first evaporator is interposed between a liquid refrigerant outlet of the vapor—liquid separator and a refrigerant suction port of the ejector.
- vapor-phase refrigerant discharged from the first evaporator is drawn by the use of a pressure drop caused by a high-speed flow of refrigerant when refrigerant is expanded and the velocity energy of refrigerant when refrigerant is expanded is converted to pressure energy by a diffuser portion (pressure increasing portion) to increase the pressure of refrigerant (suction pressure).
- a diffuser portion pressure increasing portion
- a mechanical or electrical control valve is arranged on the upstream side of the ejector or the upstream side of the evaporator.
- the opening of the control valve arranged on the upstream side of the ejector is controlled so as to control the degree of superheat at the outlet of the evaporator or the high pressure of refrigerant in the refrigerant cycle.
- the opening of the control valve arranged on the upstream side of the evaporator is controlled to thereby control the degree of superheat of refrigerant at the outlet of the evaporator.
- the control valve described in JP-B1-3322263 controls the degree of superheat at the outlet of the evaporator or the high pressure of refrigerant at the time of an ejector cycle device operation, but does not open and close a refrigerant passage in operative connection with the intermittent operation of the compressor. For this reason, even when the compressor is stopped, the control valve is kept in a state of a specified opening. Accordingly, when the compressor is stopped, a phenomenon in which the high pressure and low pressure of the cycle is brought into a uniform state, that is, a pressure balance is developed. In the process of developing this pressure balance, refrigerant passing through the nozzle portion of the ejector causes flowing noises. In particular, when the compressor is stopped, the compressor does not cause operation noise to produce silent environment and hence the flowing noises caused by the nozzle portion becomes offensive to the ear.
- JP-A-2005-308380 (corresponding to US 2005/0178150A1, US 2005/0268644A1) proposes an ejector cycle device having: a branch passage, which is branched from a branch point of a refrigerant passage on the upstream portion of an ejector and is connected to the refrigerant suction port of the ejector; a throttle mechanism and a first evaporator arranged in the branch passage; and a second evaporator arranged on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of the ejector.
- the first evaporator is connected in parallel to the ejector
- the branch passage has the throttle mechanism exclusive to the first evaporator.
- the amounts of refrigerant of the first and second evaporators can be easily controlled.
- refrigerant passing though the nozzle portion of the ejector and the throttle mechanism of the branch passage causes flowing noises.
- JP-A-5-312421 there has been known an ejector cycle device constructed of: a refrigerant passage for connecting a compressor, a radiator, an ejector, and a first evaporator; and a branch passage branched from the refrigerant passage and including throttle means, and a second evaporator.
- frost easily adheres to three portions of the second evaporator that is comparatively low in evaporation temperature, an upwind portion of the first evaporator that is arranged on the upstream side of air flow because the first evaporator is comparatively high in evaporation temperature, and an accumulator (vapor—liquid separator) arranged on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of the first evaporator.
- an accumulator vapor—liquid separator
- an object of the present invention to provide an ejector cycle device which can prevent a refrigerant flowing noise when a compressor is stopped.
- a low-pressure side component e.g., evaporators and an accumulator.
- an ejector cycle device includes: a compressor that draws and compresses refrigerant; a radiator that radiates heat of high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor; an ejector disposed at a downstream side of the radiator to decompress and expand refrigerant from the radiator; an evaporator that is arranged in a refrigerant branch passage connected to a refrigerant suction port of the ejector; an opening/closing member that opens and closes a refrigerant flow and is capable of preventing refrigerant from flowing into the evaporator; and a control unit that brings the opening/closing member into a closing state in a time period for which the operation of the compressor is stopped.
- the opening/closing member prevents a refrigerant flow into the evaporator. Therefore, it can prevent liquid refrigerant from collecting in the evaporator while the compressor is stopped, and prevent liquid refrigerant from the evaporator from returning to the compressor when the compressor is restarted in the next time. As a result, when the operation of the compressor is stopped, a refrigerant flowing noise can be restricted.
- the evaporator connected to the refrigerant suction port is arranged as a first evaporator, and a second evaporator can be arranged on a downstream side of the ejector.
- the first evaporator and the second evaporator can be disposed to cool one space to be cooled, or can be disposed to cool separate spaces to be cooled.
- a temperature detecting member for detecting temperature relating to a temperature of a space to be cooled of the evaporator can be disposed, and the control unit can intermittently control operation of the compressor on the basis of temperature detected by the temperature detecting member.
- the refrigerant branch passage can be branched at a branch point on an upstream side of the ejector and can be connected to the refrigerant suction port.
- the opening/closing member may be an opening/closing valve arranged on an upstream side of the branch point, or a three-way valve arranged at the branch point, or an opening/closing valve arranged on an upstream side of the evaporator in the refrigerant branch passage, or a passage opening/closing mechanism arranged in the ejector itself.
- the control unit can control the opening/closing member from the closing state to an opening state in the time period for which the compressor is stopped, and then can restart the operation of the compressor. Furthermore, the control unit can control the opening/closing member from an opening state to a closing state before stopping the compressor and can continuously keep the compressor in an operating state for a specified time in a state where the opening/closing member is closed, and then stops the compressor.
- the opening/closing member can include an opening/closing valve arranged on an upstream side of the evaporator connected to the refrigerant suction port, and a passage opening/closing mechanism arranged in the ejector itself.
- the control unit controls the opening/closing valve from a closing state to an opening state in the time period for which the compressor is stopped to thereby bring pressure in a refrigerant cycle into balance, and then returns the passage opening/closing mechanism into an opening state and then restarts the operation of the compressor.
- a throttle mechanism can be arranged on an upstream side of the opening/closing member to reduce pressure of refrigerant on the upstream side of the opening/closing member in such a way as to bring the refrigerant into two phases of vapor and liquid.
- the ejector and the opening/closing valve can be combined with each other at least as one integrated unit.
- an ejector cycle device includes a compressor that draws and compresses refrigerant; a radiator that radiates heat of high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor; an ejector that includes a nozzle portion for reducing pressure of refrigerant on a downstream side of the radiator to expand the refrigerant and draws refrigerant by a jet flow of refrigerant from the nozzle portion; a first evaporator that evaporates refrigerant to be drawn into a refrigerant suction port of the ejector so as to have a cooling capacity; a second evaporator that evaporates refrigerant flowing out of the ejector so as to have a cooling capacity; a frost removing member that heats the first and second evaporators so as to perform a frost removing operation where frost adhering to the first and second evaporators is removed; an evaporator temperature detecting member that detects temperature of at least one of the first evaporator
- the evaporator temperature detecting member can be disposed to detect the temperature of the first evaporator.
- the control unit controls the frost removing member to perform the frost removing operation when temperature of the first evaporator detected by the evaporator temperature detecting member reaches a predetermined temperature.
- the evaporator temperature detecting member can be disposed to detect the temperature of the second evaporator. In this case, the control unit controls the frost removing member to perform the frost removing operation when temperature of the second evaporator detected by the evaporator temperature detecting member reaches a predetermined temperature.
- an accumulator can be arranged on a downstream side of the second evaporator in a refrigerant flow, and an accumulator temperature detecting member can be disposed to detect a temperature of the accumulator.
- the evaporator temperature detecting member can be provided with a first evaporator temperature sensor disposed to detect a temperature of the first evaporator, and a second evaporator temperature sensor disposed to detect the temperature of the second evaporator.
- the control unit controls the frost removing member to perform the frost removing operation when a temperature detected by any one of the accumulator temperature detecting member and the first and second evaporator temperature sensors reaches a predetermined temperature or more.
- the control unit can perform the frost removing operation of the first and second evaporators in a state where the compressor is stopped.
- the frost removing member can be provided with a passage switching means arranged on a downstream side of refrigerant flow of the radiator, and a hot-gas supply passage through which high-temperature refrigerant from the passage switching means is supplied to an upstream side of the refrigerant flow of the second evaporator.
- the control unit controls the passage switching means to switch a refrigerant passage to the hot-gas supply passage in a state where the compressor is operated, and performs the frost removing operation of the first and second evaporators by using the high-temperature refrigerant.
- an ejector cycle device includes a compressor that draws and compresses refrigerant, a radiator that radiates heat of high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor, an ejector that includes a nozzle portion for reducing pressure of refrigerant on a downstream side of the radiator to expand the refrigerant and draws refrigerant by a jet flow of refrigerant from the nozzle portion, a first evaporator that evaporates refrigerant to be drawn into a refrigerant suction port of the ejector to have a cooling capacity, a second evaporator that evaporates refrigerant flowing out of the ejector to have a cooling capacity, an accumulator that is arranged on a downstream side of the second evaporator in a refrigerant flow, a frost removing member that heats the first and second evaporators so as to perform a frost removing operation where frost adhering to the first and second evaporators is
- the frost removing member can be arranged on an upstream air side of the first and second evaporators.
- a frost removing member can be disposed to heat the first and second evaporators so as to perform a frost removing operation where frost adhering to the first and second evaporators is removed, and a control unit can control the frost removing member to perform the frost removing operation of the first and second evaporators. Therefore, it is possible to suitable perform the frost removing operation while effectively performing the cooling operation of the first and second evaporators.
- the frost removing member can be constructed with a plurality of heater portions for heating the first and second evaporators in the frost removing operation.
- the frost removing member can be located at an upstream air side of each of first and second evaporators, or can be located to contact both the first and second evaporators, or can be located to heat both the first and second evaporators.
- the frost removing member can be provided at one side of the first and second evaporators.
- a radiant heat absorbing member can be provided at the other one of the first and second evaporators such that radiant heat from the frost removing member is delivered to the radiant heat absorbing member.
- the frost removing member is provided at one side of the first and second evaporators such that heat from the frost removing member is delivered to the other one of the first and second evaporators by convection.
- a heat conductive member in an ejector cycle device, can be disposed to connect the first evaporator and the second evaporator so as to transfer heat between the first evaporator and the second evaporator.
- frost on the first and second evaporators can be effectively removed in a short time.
- the heat conductive member can be disposed to contact the frost removing member, or can be heat exchange fins disposed in the first and second evaporators, or a holding member for holding the first and second evaporators, or a side plates attached to side ends of the first and second evaporators.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 1st embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 2 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a passage opening/closing mechanism of an ejector in accordance with the 1st embodiment.
- FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an electric control unit of the 1st embodiment.
- FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the operation of the 1st embodiment.
- FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing operation of an opening and closing control of an opening/closing valve when a compressor is stopped in accordance with the 1st embodiment.
- FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the operation of components of an ejector cycle device according to a 2nd embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a way to determine a pump downtime in accordance with the 2nd embodiment.
- FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 3rd embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the operation of components of the ejector cycle device according to the 3rd embodiment.
- FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams showing operation of an opening and closing control of an opening/closing valve when a compressor is stopped in accordance with the 3rd embodiment.
- FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the operation of components of an ejector cycle device according to a 4th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 5th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the operation of components of an ejector cycle device according to the 5th embodiment.
- FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 6th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 7th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the operation of components of an ejector cycle device according to the 7th embodiment.
- FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with an 8th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the operation of components of the ejector cycle device according to the 8th embodiment.
- FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 9th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 10th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with an 11th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 12th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 13th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 14th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 15th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 16th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 17th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with an 18th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 29 is a diagram showing examples of the settings of interval of a frost removing operation (defrosting operation) with respect to an outside air temperature.
- FIG. 30 is a time chart showing a frost removing control (defrosting control) in the ejector cycle device in FIG. 28 .
- FIG. 31 is a diagram showing examples of the settings of a predetermined temperature T with respect to an outside air temperature.
- FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 19th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 20th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 34 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 21st embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 35 is a time chart showing a frost removing control in the ejector cycle device in FIG. 34 .
- FIG. 36 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 22nd embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 37 is a time chart showing a frost removing control in the ejector cycle device in FIG. 36 .
- FIG. 38 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 23rd embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 39A is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 24th embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 39B is a view when viewed from a direction shown by arrow A in FIG. 39A .
- FIG. 40A is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 25th embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 40B is a view when viewed from a direction shown by arrow B in FIG. 40A .
- FIGS. 41A and 41B are a schematic front view and a schematic side view, respectively, showing an arrangement example of evaporators and an electric heater in accordance with a 26th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIGS. 42A and 42B are a schematic front view and a schematic side view, respectively, showing an arrangement example of evaporators and an electric heater in accordance with a 27th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIGS. 43A and 43B are schematic views showing an arrangement example of evaporators and an electric heater in accordance with a 28th embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 43A shows a state of a normal operation and FIG. 43 B shows a state at the time of frost removing operation.
- FIGS. 44A and 44B are a front view and a side view, respectively, showing an arrangement example of evaporators and an electric heater in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
- FIGS. 45A and 45B are a front view and a side view, respectively, showing an arrangement example of evaporators and an electric heater in accordance with further another embodiment of the present invention.
- FIGS. 46A and 46B are a front view and a side view, respectively, showing an arrangement example of evaporators and an electric heater in accordance with further another embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 47A is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device in accordance with a 29th embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 47B is a view when viewed from a direction shown by arrow A in FIG. 47A .
- FIG. 48 is a graph showing a change in a refrigerating capacity and a change in a frost removing performance (defrosting performance) in accordance with a heat transferring amount of integrated fins.
- FIG. 49A is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device in accordance with a 30th embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 49B is a view when viewed from a direction shown by arrow B in FIG. 49A .
- FIGS. 50A and 50B are a schematic front view and a schematic side view, respectively, showing an arrangement example of evaporators and an electric heater in accordance with a 31st embodiment of the present invention.
- FIGS. 51A and 51B are a schematic front view and a schematic side view, respectively, showing an arrangement example of evaporators and an electric heater in accordance with a 32nd embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show the 1st embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 1 shows an example to which an ejector cycle device 10 in accordance with the 1st embodiment is used for a refrigerating device for a vehicle.
- the refrigerating device for a vehicle of this embodiment cools the inside of a compartment (space) to an extremely low temperature of, for example, approximately ⁇ 20° C.
- a compressor 11 for sucking and compressing refrigerant is rotated and driven by a vehicle driving engine (not shown) via an electromagnetic clutch 12 , a belt, and the like.
- This compressor 11 is connected to and disconnected from the vehicle driving engine by intermittently passing current through the electromagnetic clutch 12 , thereby being intermittently operated. That is, the refrigerant discharge capacity of the compressor 11 is controlled by changing the rate of intermittent operation of the compressor 11 by intermittently operating the electromagnetic clutch 12 .
- a radiator 13 is arranged on the refrigerant discharge side of this compressor 11 .
- the radiator 13 exchanges heat between high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 and outside air (air outside the vehicle compartment) sent by a cooling fan (not shown) to cool the high-pressure refrigerant.
- a usual chlorofluorocarbon-based refrigerant is used as refrigerant circulating in a refrigerant cycle.
- the ejector cycle device 10 constructs a subcritical-pressure cycle in which high pressure does not exceed the critical pressure of the refrigerant.
- the radiator 13 operates as a condenser for cooling and condensing refrigerant.
- a liquid receiver 14 is arranged as a vapor—liquid separator for separating the vapor and liquid of refrigerant and for storing liquid refrigerant on the downstream of refrigerant flow of the radiator 13 , and liquid refrigerant is discharged from this liquid receiver 14 to the downstream side.
- a throttle mechanism 15 is connected to the downstream side of refrigerant flow of the liquid receiver 14 .
- this throttle mechanism 15 is constructed of a fixed throttle such as a capillary tube and an orifice and reduces high-pressure liquid refrigerant from the liquid receiver 14 to middle-pressure refrigerant in the state of two phases of vapor and liquid. Then, an opening/closing valve 16 is connected to the downstream side of this throttle mechanism 15 .
- this opening/closing valve 16 is constructed of an electromagnetic valve and is opened and closed in operative connection with the intermittent operation of the compressor 11 as will be described below.
- an ejector 17 is arranged on the more downstream side of the opening/closing valve 16 .
- This ejector 17 is used as a pressure reducing means for reducing the pressure of refrigerant and also a refrigerant circulating means (momentum transport type pump) for circulating refrigerant by the suction operation (entangling action) of refrigerant flow jetting at high speeds.
- the ejector 17 is provided with: a nozzle portion 17 a that reduces the area of a passage, through which middle-pressure refrigerant having passed through the opening/closing valve 16 flows, and reduces the pressure of the middle-pressure refrigerant to thereby expand the middle-pressure refrigerant in an isentropic manner; and a refrigerant suction port 17 b that is arranged in the same space as the refrigerant jetting port of the nozzle portion 17 a and draws vapor-phase refrigerant from a first evaporator 18 to be described later.
- a mixing portion 17 c for mixing high-speed refrigerant from the nozzle portion 17 a and refrigerant drawn from the refrigerant suction port 17 b is arranged on the downstream side of the nozzle portion 17 a and the refrigerant suction port 17 b. Then, a diffuser portion 17 d forming a pressure increasing part is arranged on the downstream side of the mixing portion 17 c in the ejector 17 .
- This diffuser portion 17 d is formed in a shape gradually increasing the area of passage of refrigerant and performs an action of reducing the speed of refrigerant flow and of increasing the pressure of refrigerant, that is, an action of converting the velocity energy of refrigerant to the pressure energy thereof.
- the ejector 17 is provided with a passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e for variably controlling the area of passage of the nozzle portion 17 a.
- FIG. 2 shows an example of this passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e and a needle 17 f arranged in the passage of the nozzle portion 17 a in such a way as to move in the direction of length of the passage.
- the tip of this needle 17 f is formed in a slender and pointed shape (tapered shape).
- the base portion of the needle 17 f is connected to a driving portion 17 g and the needle 17 f is moved in the direction of length of the passage (in the up and down direction in FIG. 2 ) by the operating force of this driving portion 17 g.
- the driving portion 17 g a motor actuator such as a stepping motor or an electromagnetic solenoid mechanism can be used. That is, various kinds of driving means to be electrically controlled can be used as the driving portion 17 g.
- a second evaporator 21 is connected to the downstream side of the diffuser portion 17 d of the ejector 17 and the downstream side of refrigerant flow of this second evaporator 21 is connected to the suction side of the compressor 11 .
- a refrigerant branch passage 19 is branched from the upstream part of the ejector 17 and the downstream side of this refrigerant branch passage 19 is connected to the refrigerant suction portion 17 b of the ejector 17 .
- a reference symbol Z denotes the branch point of the refrigerant branch passage 19 .
- a throttle mechanism 20 is arranged in this refrigerant branch passage 19 , and the first evaporator 18 is arranged on the downstream side of this throttle mechanism 20 .
- the throttle mechanism 20 is a pressure reducing unit for controlling the flow rate of refrigerant to the first evaporator 18 and, for example, can be constructed of a fixed throttle such as a capillary tube and an orifice.
- an electric control valve having its valve opening (opening of throttle passage) controlled by an electrically-driven actuator may be used as the throttle mechanism 20 .
- both the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are combined with each other to form an integrated structure.
- the constituent parts of the two evaporators 18 , 21 may be formed of aluminum and are bonded by brazing into the integrated structure.
- Air to be cooled is blown by a common electrically driven blower 22 to the two evaporators 18 , 21 as shown by arrow A in FIG. 1 , thereby the blown air is cooled by the two evaporators 18 , 21 .
- the cool air cooled by these two evaporators 18 , 21 is sent to a common space 23 to be cooled, for example. In this manner, the common space 23 to be cooled is cooled by the two evaporators 18 , 21 .
- the second evaporator 21 connected to a passage on the downstream side of the ejector 17 is arranged on the upstream side in the direction of flow of air, shown by arrow A
- the first evaporator 18 connected to the refrigerant suction port 17 b of the ejector 17 is arranged on the downstream side in the direction of flow of air, shown by arrow A.
- the ejector cycle device 10 is used for the refrigerating device for a vehicle as described above and hence the common space 23 to be cooled is an inside space of a refrigerating unit for receiving goods to be refrigerated.
- a temperature sensor (thermistor) 24 for detecting an inside temperature of the space 23 is arranged.
- a control unit 25 is constructed of a well-known microcomputer, which includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and its peripheral circuit. This control unit 25 performs various kinds of computations and processing on the basis of control programs stored in the ROM to control the operations of the above-mentioned various parts 12 , 16 , 17 g, and 22 .
- the group of sensors 26 include an outside air sensor for detecting an outside air temperature (temperature outside the vehicle compartment) and the like.
- the operation panel 27 is provided with a temperature setting switch for setting the cooling temperature of the space 23 to be cooled.
- the opening/closing valve 16 is brought into a valve opening state by the control output of the control unit 25 .
- the driving portion 17 g is driven by the control output of the control unit 25 to move the needle 17 f to a specified opening position of the nozzle portion 17 a.
- refrigerant in a high-temperature high-pressure state which is compressed by and discharged from the compressor 11 , flows into the radiator 13 .
- the high-temperature refrigerant is cooled and condensed by the outside air.
- the refrigerant after passing through the radiator 13 is separated into vapor and liquid by the liquid receiver 14 and the high-pressure liquid refrigerant is discharged to the downstream side of the liquid receiver 14 and is passed through the throttle mechanism 15 .
- the high-pressure liquid refrigerant is decompressed in the opening/closing valve 16 to a middle pressure, thereby being brought into a two-phase state of vapor and liquid phases.
- This middle-pressure refrigerant is branched at the branch point Z into a refrigerant flow toward the ejector 17 and a refrigerant flow toward the refrigerant branch passage 19 .
- the refrigerant flowing into the ejector 17 is reduced in pressure and is expanded by the nozzle portion 17 a. Hence, the pressure energy of the refrigerant is converted into velocity energy by the nozzle portion 17 a and the refrigerant is jetted out at a high speed from the jet port of this nozzle portion 17 a.
- the refrigerant (vapor-phase refrigerant) after passing through the first evaporator 18 of the refrigerant branch passage 19 is drawn from the refrigerant suction port 17 b by a reduction in pressure of the refrigerant at this time.
- the refrigerant jetted from the nozzle portion 17 a and the refrigerant drawn into the refrigerant suction port 17 b mix with each other in the mixing potion 17 c on the downstream side of the nozzle portion 17 a and flows into the diffuser portion 17 d.
- the area of passage is increased to convert the velocity energy (expansion energy) of refrigerant to pressure energy, thereby the pressure of refrigerant is increased.
- the low-pressure refrigerant at low temperature absorbs heat from the air blown in the direction shown by arrow A and evaporates.
- the vapor-phase refrigerant after evaporation is drawn into the compressor 11 and is again compressed.
- the refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant branch passage 19 has its pressure reduced by the throttle mechanism 20 and becomes low-pressure refrigerant, and the low-pressure refrigerant flows into the first evaporator 18 .
- the refrigerant absorbs heat from air blown in the direction shown by arrow A and evaporates.
- the vapor-phase refrigerant after evaporation is drawn into the ejector 17 through the refrigerant suction port 17 b.
- the refrigerant on the downstream side of the diffuser portion 17 d of the ejector 17 can be supplied to the second evaporator 21 and the refrigerant on the refrigerant branch passage 19 side can be supplied to the first evaporator 18 through the throttle mechanism 20 .
- the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 can perform a cooling operation at the same time. For this reason, the cool air cooled by both of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 is blown off into the space 23 to be cooled to cool the space 23 .
- the refrigerant evaporation pressure of the second evaporator 21 becomes pressure increased by the diffuser portion 17 d, whereas the outlet of the first evaporator 18 is connected to the refrigerant suction port 17 b of the ejector 17 . Accordingly, the lowest pressure, which is produced immediately after the nozzle portion 17 a, can be applied to the first evaporator 18 .
- the refrigerant evaporation pressure (refrigerant evaporation temperature) of the first evaporator 18 can be lower than the refrigerant evaporation pressure (refrigerant evaporation temperature) of the second evaporator 21 .
- the second evaporator 21 having a higher refrigerant evaporation temperature is arranged on the upstream side in the direction of flow of air shown by arrow A and the first evaporator 18 having a lower refrigerant evaporation temperature is arranged on the downstream side.
- the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 can effectively improve their cooling capacities.
- the cooling capacity for the common space 23 to be cooled can be effectively increased by a combination of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- the suction pressure of the compressor 11 can be increased by the diffuser portion 17 d so as to decrease the driving power of the compressor 11 .
- the refrigerant branch passage 19 branched from the branch point Z on the upstream side of the ejector 17 is connected to the refrigerant suction port 17 b of the ejector 17 , and is provided with the throttle mechanism 20 and the first evaporator 18 .
- the low-pressure refrigerant of two phases of vapor and liquid can be independently supplied to the first evaporator 18 through the refrigerant branch passage 19 .
- the flow rate of refrigerant flowing into the first evaporator 18 can be independently controlled by the throttle mechanism 20 without depending on the function of the ejector 17 .
- the refrigerant flow is branched on the upstream side of the ejector 17 and this branched refrigerant is drawn into the refrigerant suction port 17 b through the refrigerant branch passage 19 .
- the refrigerant branch passage 19 is connected in parallel with the ejector 17 in the refrigerant cycle device 10 .
- the refrigerant branch passage 19 can be supplied with the refrigerant by using not only the refrigerant suction capacity of the ejector 17 but also the refrigerant suction/discharge capacity of the compressor 11 .
- the degree of a decrease in the flow rate of refrigerant of the first evaporator 18 can be made smaller.
- the cooling capacity of the first evaporator 18 can be easily secured.
- the intermittent control of the compressor 11 will be described. Basically, the operation of the compressor 11 is intermittently controlled on the basis of such inside temperature Tr of the space 23 to be cooled (hereinafter, referred to “inside temperature”) that is detected by the temperature sensor 24 .
- the control unit 25 interrupts the passage of current through the electromagnetic clutch 12 to stop the operation of the compressor 11 .
- the control unit 25 passes current through the electromagnetic clutch 12 to start the compressor 11 again.
- the lower limit set temperature Toff is, for example, approximately from ⁇ 20° C. to ⁇ 22° C.
- the upper limit set temperature Ton is a predetermined temperature higher than the lower limit set temperature Toff, for example, approximately from ⁇ 16° C. to ⁇ 18° C.
- the inside temperature Tr is controlled to within a predetermined temperature range between the lower limit set temperature Toff and the upper limit set temperature Ton.
- the opening/closing valve 16 and the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 are controlled by the control unit 25 in operatively connection with the intermittent control of the compressor 11 as follows. That is, when the inside temperature Tr decreases to the lower limit set temperature Toff, both of the opening/closing valve 16 and the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 are brought to a closing state in operative connection with the stopping of operation of the compressor 11 .
- the opening/closing valve 16 is continuously kept in a closing state for a first specified time t 1 in a period during which the compressor 11 is stopped and then, first, is returned to an opening state.
- a second specified time t 2 passes, the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 is returned to an opening state.
- the compressor 11 After the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e is returned to the opening state, the compressor 11 is again started.
- the first specified time t 1 and the second specified time t 2 are set in such a way that t 1 >t 2 .
- either a first control based on the inside temperature Tr or a second control based on a timer function may be used for the control of opening and closing the opening/closing valve 16 and the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 .
- a first auxiliary set temperature T 1 which is higher than the lower limit set temperature Toff by a specified value
- a second auxiliary set temperature T 2 which is a little higher than the first auxiliary set temperature T 1 and a little lower than the upper limit set temperature Ton, are set as set temperatures for the inside temperature Tr.
- FIG. 5A is a diagram for collectively showing such opening/closing states of the opening/closing valve 16 that are determined on the basis of the inside temperature Tr.
- FIG. 5B shows an example of a method of determining the first specified time t 1 , that is, the time t 1 required to close the opening/closing valve 16 , and the this example will be later described in detail.
- the opening/closing valve 16 By bringing the opening/closing valve 16 into a closing state in operative connection with the operation of stopping the compressor 11 as described above, the passage on the upstream side of the branch point Z is brought into a shut state. With this, when the compressor 11 is stopped, it is possible to prevent the refrigerant on the upstream side of the opening/closing valve 16 from being flowed into the passage to the ejector 17 and into the refrigerant branch passage 19 by the difference between high pressure and low pressure in the cycle.
- the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are brought to a state where they substantially stop the cooling operation.
- the electrically driven blower 22 for blowing air to the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are stopped in operative connection with the operation of stopping the compressor 11 .
- the electrically driven blower 22 may be continuously operated also when the compressor 11 is stopped.
- the opening/closing valve 16 when the opening/closing valve 16 is closed in operative connection with the operation of stopping the compressor 11 to suddenly interrupt the flow of non-compressive liquid-phase refrigerant, the refrigerant pressure on the upstream side of the opening/closing valve 16 may be abruptly increased to cause a water hammering phenomenon and to produce abnormal noises.
- the throttle mechanism 15 is arranged on the upstream side of the opening/closing valve 16 and the flow of the middle-pressure refrigerant, which is reduced in pressure by this throttle mechanism 15 and is brought into the state of two phases of vapor and liquid, is interrupted by the opening/closing valve 16 .
- the opening/closing valve 16 eventually interrupts the flow of refrigerant including compressive vapor-phase refrigerant.
- this can prevent refrigerant pressure on the upstream side of the opening/closing valve 16 from increasing suddenly when the opening/closing valve 16 is closed.
- it is possible to avoid a water hammering phenomenon (liquid hammering phenomenon) and to prevent the occurrence of abnormal noises caused by the phenomenon.
- the opening/closing valve 16 is kept in a closing state for the first specified time t 1 and then is returned to an opening state. At this time, the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 is still kept in the closing state. Hence, the refrigerant passing through the opening/closing valve 16 passes through only the refrigerant branch passage 19 and flows through the first evaporator 18 ⁇ the ejector 17 ⁇ the second evaporator 21 .
- high-pressure refrigerant flows into a low-pressure passage, thereby high pressure decreases to a still lower value when the opening/closing valve 16 is closed as shown by the solid line H in the lower part in FIG. 4 .
- the low pressure increases to a still higher value when the opening/closing valve 16 is closed as shown by the solid line L.
- the high pressure and the low pressure in the cycle are brought into balance between the time when opening/closing valve 16 is opened and the time when the compressor 11 is again started (for the time t 3 ).
- This time t 3 becomes the period for a pressure balance.
- the broken lines b, c of the high pressure and the low pressure in the lower part in FIG. 4 show pressure balance when the opening/closing valve 16 is not opened and closed (or controlled) as shown by the broken line d and show a case where the high pressure and the low pressure are completely brought into balance at the same pressure of an intermediate pressure between them.
- the high pressure and the low pressure in the cycle are brought into balance only for a period t 3 of the latter half part during a period for which the compressor 11 is stopped.
- pressure balance is finished before the high pressure and the low pressure are brought to the same intermediate pressure.
- a pressure difference exists between the high pressure and the low pressure, as shown in FIG. 4 .
- the pressure difference between the high pressure and the low pressure can be decreased by bringing the high pressure and the low pressure in the cycle into balance. Accordingly, power required to start the compressor 11 can be decreased by a large amount as compared with a case where the compressor 11 is started again while a large pressure difference is kept between the high pressure and the low pressure.
- the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 is kept in the closing state for a period t 2 that is a large portion of this pressure balance period t 3 . Hence, it is possible to prevent the refrigerant from making flowing noises at the nozzle portion 17 a of the ejector 17 .
- the timing when the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 is returned to an opening state, precedes by a little time than the timing when the compressor 11 is again started.
- this is because the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e is surely brought into an opening state before the compressor 11 is again started. Accordingly, when the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e can be brought into an opening state within an extremely short time, the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e may be returned to the opening state at the same time when the compressor 11 is again started.
- both of the opening/closing valve 16 and the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e are simultaneously brought into a closing state at the same time when the compressor 11 is closed.
- the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e may be brought into a closing state after a specified time from the time when the opening/closing valve 16 is closed as shown by a broken line “a” in FIG. 4 .
- the time t 1 during which the opening/closing valve 16 is in a closing state may be determined according to the outside air temperature Tam. For example, when the outside air temperature Tam is within a low temperature range of not higher than a first predetermined temperature Ta, it is determined that the time t 1 during which the opening/closing valve 16 is in a closing state is A (minutes); when the outside air temperature Tam is within an intermediate temperature range of higher than the first predetermined temperature Ta to not higher than a second predetermined temperature Tb, it is determined that the time t 1 during which the opening/closing valve 16 is in a closing state is B (minutes); and when the outside air temperature Tam is within a high temperature range of more than the second predetermined temperature Tb, it is determined that the time t 1 during which the opening/closing valve 16 is in a closing state is C (minutes).
- FIG. 4 a case has been described where the compressor 11 is intermittently operated on the basis of a change in the inside temperature Tr.
- an occupant manually operates a cycle operating switch fitted in the operation panel 27 to intermittently operate the compressor 11 it is only necessary to control the operations of various kinds of parts in the manner shown in FIG. 4 .
- the opening/closing valve 16 is closed in operative connection with the operation of stopping the compressor 11 .
- the opening/closing valve 16 is closed before the compressor 11 is stopped. With this, the compressor 11 is continuously operated for a specified time t 4 with the upstream passage of the branch point Z held shut and then is stopped after this specified time t 4 passes.
- the specified time t 4 is a period of a pump-down operation in which the compressor 11 draws refrigerant on the low pressure side of the cycle and moves the refrigerant to high pressure side and holds the refrigerant on the high pressure side.
- the pump downtime t 4 is determined to become longer as the outside air temperature Tam becomes lower (that is, the thermal load in the cycle decreases). With this, the pump downtime t 4 can be determined to be an appropriate time corresponding to thermal load condition.
- the throttle mechanism 15 and the opening/closing valve 16 are arranged on the upstream side of the branch point Z on the upstream side of the ejector 17 .
- the throttle mechanism 15 and the opening/closing valve 16 arranged on the upstream side of the ejector 17 in the above-described first embodiment are not arranged, but the opening/closing valve 16 is interposed between the downstream side of the throttle mechanism 20 of the refrigerant branch passage 19 and the upstream side of the first evaporator 18 .
- the opening/closing valve 16 shuts only the passage of the refrigerant branch passage 19 .
- both of the opening/closing valve 16 and the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 are brought into a closing state at the same time in operative connection with the operation of stopping the compressor 11 .
- the passage of the ejector 17 can be shut by the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 when the compressor 11 is stopped.
- FIG. 9 shows the operation of various kinds of parts operatively connected with the intermittent operation of the compressor 11 according to the 3rd embodiment.
- the operation can be the same as in FIG. 4 except that the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 is surely brought into a closing state at the same time when the compressor 11 is stopped.
- a reference symbol t 5 shows the time during which the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 is in a closing state when the compressor 11 is stopped.
- FIG. 10A shows control examples in a case where the opening/closing valve 16 and the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 are determined on the basis of the inside temperature Tr when the compressor 11 is stopped in the 3rd embodiment.
- FIG. 10A has features similar to FIG.5A , and its specific description will be omitted.
- FIG. 10B shows control examples in a case where the time t 1 during which the opening/closing valve 16 is in a closing state and the time t 5 during which the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 is in a closing state when the compressor 11 is stopped are determined by the timer function in the 3rd embodiment.
- FIG. 10B has the same features as in FIG. 5B , that is, the time t 1 during which the opening/closing valve 16 is in a closing state when the compressor 11 is stopped is set to become longer as the outside air temperature Tam becomes lower.
- A>B>C among the valve closing times A, B, and C.
- the time t 5 during which the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 is in a closing state when the compressor 11 is stopped is also set to become longer as the outside air temperature Tam becomes lower.
- D>E>F there is a relationship of D>E>F among the closing times D, E, and F.
- a 4th embodiment is a combination of the above-mentioned 3rd embodiment (cycle construction in FIG. 8 ) and the pump down control of FIG. 6 (2nd embodiment).
- FIG. 11 shows the operations of various kinds of parts operatively connected with the intermittent operation of the compressor 11 according to the 4th embodiment.
- the inside temperature Tr decreases to the lower limit set temperature Toff
- both of the opening/closing valve 16 and the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 are simultaneously brought into a closing state before the compressor 11 is stopped.
- the upstream portion of the first evaporator 18 of the refrigerant branch passage 19 can be shut and the inlet of the ejector 17 can be shut.
- the compressor 11 is continuously operated for the specified time t 4 with the passage held shut, and then is stopped after this specified time t 4 passes.
- the compressor 11 performs a pump-down operation of sucking refrigerant on the low pressure side of the cycle and moving the refrigerant to the high pressure side for the specified time t 4 .
- the time t 4 of pump-down operation may be set to become longer as the outside air temperature Tam becomes lower (that is, the thermal load in the cycle decreases) as shown in FIG. 7 .
- FIG. 12 shows the 5th embodiment and corresponds to a cycle construction in which a portion of the cycle construction of the 1st embodiment is modified. That is, in the 5th embodiment, a passage switching mechanism 30 is arranged on the downstream side of the first evaporator 18 of the refrigerant branch passage 19 .
- this passage switching mechanism 30 is constructed of three-way solenoid valve and switches between a first state where the downstream portion of the first evaporator 18 is directly connected to the downstream side of the second evaporator 21 (suction side of the compressor 11 ) and a second state where the downstream portion of the first evaporator 18 is connected to the refrigerant suction port 17 .
- the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are integrated with each other and air is blown to the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 by the blower 22 that is common to the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 , thereby cooling the common space 23 to be cooled by the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- the 5th embodiment is different also in this point from the 1st embodiment.
- the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are constructed of separate bodies and are arranged in separate spaces 23 a, 23 b to be cooled. For this reason, air is blown to the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 by separate blowers 22 a, 22 b, thereby cooling the separate spaces 23 a, 23 b with different temperatures.
- the refrigerant evaporation temperature of the first evaporator 18 is lower than that of the second evaporator 21 , the inside temperature of the first space 23 a to be cooled by the first evaporator 18 is lower than the inside temperature of the second space 23 b to be cooled by the second evaporator 21 .
- the second space 23 b to be cooled is used, for example, as a cooling chamber in a refrigerator and the first space 23 a to be cooled is used, for example, as a refrigerating chamber of the refrigerator.
- Temperature sensors 24 a, 24 b for detecting inside temperatures Tr 1 , Tr 2 are arranged in the two spaces 23 a, 23 b to be cooled.
- the detection signals of these two temperature sensors 24 a, 24 b are inputted to the control unit 25 ( FIG. 2 ) and the switching operation of the passage switching mechanism 30 and the operations of the other parts (compressor 11 , the ejector passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e, and the opening/closing valve 16 ) are controlled by the control output of this control unit 25 .
- FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the operation of the 5th embodiment.
- Lower limit set temperatures Toff 1 , Toff 2 and upper limit set temperatures Ton 1 , ton 2 are set to the inside temperature Tr 1 of the first space 23 a to be cooled, which is detected by the first temperature sensor 24 a, and the inside temperature Tr 2 of the second space 23 b to be cooled, which is detected by the second temperature sensor 24 b, respectively.
- the control unit 25 switches the passage switching mechanism 30 from the second state to the first state.
- the downstream portion of the first evaporator 18 is directly connected to the downstream side (suction side of the compressor 11 ) of the second evaporator 21 .
- the control unit 25 brings the passage switching mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 into a closing state. Hence, refrigerant flow passing through the ejector 17 is interrupted and refrigerant flow into the second evaporator 21 is prevented.
- the control unit 25 brings the compressor 11 into a stopping state and at the same time brings the opening/closing valve 16 into a closing state.
- This closing state of the opening/closing valve 16 is continued for the time t 1 , thereby the refrigerant is prevented from flowing into the first evaporator 18 and the second evaporator 21 .
- the inside temperature Tr 1 of the first space 23 a to be cooled starts to increase from the time t 11 .
- the opening/closing valve 16 returns to the opening state.
- the compressor 11 is continuously held stopped, when the opening/closing valve 16 is opened, the high pressure and low pressure of the cycle are changed in the direction of making pressures uniform, thereby being brought into balance.
- the high pressure and low pressure of the cycle are brought into balance for the time t 3 until the compressor 11 is again started.
- the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 returns to the opening state (time t 2 ⁇ time t 3 ).
- the control unit 25 starts the compressor 11 again and switches the passage switching mechanism 30 from the first state to the second state.
- the downstream portion of the first evaporator 18 is connected to the refrigerant suction port 17 b of the ejector 17 .
- the above-mentioned operation is repeatedly performed, thereby the inside temperature Tr 1 of the first space 23 a to be cooled and the inside temperature Tr 2 of the second space 23 b to be cooled can be controlled to within a predetermined temperature range between their lower limit set temperatures Toff 1 , Toff 2 and the upper limit set temperatures Ton 1 , Ton 2 .
- the operation and effect of preventing the liquid refrigerant from collecting in the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 when the compressor 11 is stopped can be exerted similarly to the 1st embodiment.
- FIG. 13 shows an example in which the compressor 11 is again started when the inside temperature Tr 2 of the second space 23 b to be cooled increases to the upper limit set temperature Ton 2 .
- the inside temperature Tr 1 of the first space 23 a to be cooled increases to the upper limit set temperature Ton 1 earlier than the inside temperature Tr 2 of the second space 23 b to be cooled increases to the upper limit set temperature Ton 2 , it is only necessary to start the compressor 11 again at that time.
- the bottom line is that the compressor 11 is continuously held stopped before both of the inside temperature Tr 1 of the first space 23 a to be cooled and the inside temperature Tr 2 of the second space 23 b to be cooled do not increase to the upper limit set temperatures Ton 1 , Ton 2 and that it is only necessary to start the compressor 11 again when either of the inside temperature Tr 1 of the first space 23 a to be cooled or the inside temperature Tr 2 of the second space 23 b to be cooled increases to either of the upper limit set temperatures Ton 1 , Ton 2 .
- blowers 22 a, 22 b of the first and second spaces 23 a, 23 b it is only necessary to operate the blowers 22 a, 22 b of the first and second spaces 23 a, 23 b to be cooled in operative connection with the intermittent flow of refrigerant into the corresponding evaporators 18 , 21 .
- FIG. 16 shows the 6th embodiment that is a modification of the 5th embodiment.
- the bypass passage 31 of the second evaporator 21 is arranged and a passage switching mechanism 30 is arranged at the branch point of this bypass passage 31 and the second evaporator 21 .
- this passage switching mechanism 30 is also constructed of a three-way solenoid valve and switches a first state in which the downstream portion of the ejector 17 is connected to the bypass passage 31 and a second state in which the downstream portion of the ejector 17 is connected to the second evaporator 21 .
- the operation of the 6th embodiment may be performed in the same way as shown in FIG. 13 described above.
- the passage switching mechanism 30 is switched from the second state to the first state at the time t 10 in FIG. 13 in the 6th embodiment, refrigerant flow into the second evaporator 21 is interrupted.
- the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 it is not necessary to bring the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 into a closing state but the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e is continuously held open.
- FIG. 15 shows the 7th embodiment.
- a second branch passage 32 is arranged separately from a first branch passage 19 corresponding to the refrigerant branch passage 19 in the first to 6th embodiments.
- This second branch passage 32 is interposed between the downstream portion of the opening/closing valve 16 and the suction side of the compressor 11 and the passage switching mechanism 30 is arranged at the branch position of this branch passage 32 .
- this passage switching mechanism 30 is also constructed of a three-way solenoid valve and switches a first state in which the downstream portion of the opening/closing valve 16 is connected to the branch point Z of the upstream portion of the ejector 17 and a second state in which the downstream portion of the opening/closing valve 16 is connected to the second branch passage 32 .
- a throttle mechanism 33 is arranged on the upstream side of the second branch passage 32 and a third evaporator 34 is arranged on the downstream side of this throttle mechanism 33 .
- the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are integrated with each other and are arranged in the first space 23 a to be cooled together with the blower 22 a and the temperature sensor 24 a. Moreover, the third evaporator 34 , the blower 22 b, and the temperature sensor 24 b are arranged in the second space 23 b to be cooled.
- FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the operation of the 7th embodiment.
- the passage switching mechanism 30 switches to the first state where the downstream portion of the opening/closing valve 16 is connected to the branch point Z of the upstream portion of the ejector 17 .
- the passage switching mechanism 30 switches to the second state where the downstream portion of the opening/closing valve 16 is connected to the second branch passage 32 .
- the intermittent operation of the compressor 11 is determined on the inside temperatures Tr 1 , Tr 2 of both of the first and second spaces 23 a, 23 b to be cooled. Specifically, when the inside temperature Tr 1 of the first space 23 a to be cooled decreases to the lower limit set temperature Toff 1 and the inside temperature Tr 2 of the second space 23 b to be cooled does not increase to the upper limit set temperature Ton 2 , as shown at a time t 13 in FIG. 16 , the compressor 11 is stopped.
- the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of the ejector 17 and the opening/closing valve 16 are brought to a closing state in operative connection with this operation of stopping the compressor 11 .
- the time t 1 during which the opening/closing valve 16 is in a closing state and the time t 3 during which pressure balance is brought after the compressor 11 is stopped, and the time t 2 during which the ejector 17 is in a closing state in the time t 3 during which pressure balance is brought can be determined similarly to those in the first to 6th embodiments.
- FIG. 17 shows an 8th embodiment in which a third evaporator 34 and a bypass passage 35 of this third evaporator 34 are arranged in parallel on the downstream side of the second evaporator 21 .
- the passage switching mechanism 30 is arranged at the branch position of this parallel circuit.
- this passage switching mechanism 30 is also constructed of a three-way solenoid valve and switches between a first state where the downstream portion of the second evaporator 21 is connected to the bypass passage 35 and a second state where the downstream portion of the second evaporator 21 is connected to the third evaporator 34 .
- the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are integrated with each other and are arranged in the first space 23 a to be cooled together with the blower 22 a and the temperature sensor 24 a.
- the third evaporator 34 , the blower 22 b, and the temperature sensor 24 b are arranged in the second space 23 b to be cooled.
- FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the operation of the 8th embodiment.
- the passage switching mechanism 30 switches passage, the compressor 11 is operated intermittently, and the opening/closing valve 16 and the ejector 17 are opened and closed similarly to the operation in the 7th embodiment.
- FIG. 19 shows the 9th embodiment in which the third evaporator 34 is arranged in parallel to the second evaporator 21 .
- the first evaporator 18 , the second evaporator 21 , and the third evaporator 34 are arranged in the separate spaces 23 a, 23 b, and 23 c to be cooled, respectively.
- the blowers 22 a, 22 b, and 22 c and the temperature sensors 24 a, 24 b, and 24 c are arranged individually in the respective spaces 23 a, 23 b, and 23 c to be cooled, respectively.
- the lower limit set temperatures Toff 1 , Toff 2 , and Toff 3 and the upper limit set temperatures Ton 1 , Ton 2 , and Ton 3 are set in correspondence with the inside temperatures Tr 1 , Tr 2 , and Tr 3 detected by the temperature sensors 24 a, 24 b, and 24 c.
- the compressor 11 is intermittently operated on the basis of the inside temperatures Tr 1 , Tr 2 , and Tr 3 detected by the temperature sensors 24 a, 24 b, and 24 c in the following manner. That is, when any one of the inside temperatures Tr 1 , Tr 2 , and Tr 3 of the first to third spaces 23 a, 23 b, and 23 c to be cooled decreases to the lower limit set temperature and neither of the other two inside temperatures increase to the upper limit set temperatures, the compressor 11 is stopped.
- the compressor 11 can be continuously stopped for a period during which none of the inside temperatures Tr 1 , Tr 2 , and Tr 3 of the first to third spaces 23 a, 23 b, and 23 c increase to the upper limit set temperatures after the compressor 11 is stopped.
- the opening/closing valve 16 and the ejector 17 can be opened and closed on the basis of the same idea as in the above-described embodiments.
- the third evaporator 34 is arranged in parallel to the second evaporator 21 .
- the second branch passage 32 is arranged in parallel to the series circuit of the ejector 17 and the second evaporator 21 , and a throttle mechanism 33 is arranged on the upstream side of this second branch passage 32 , and the third evaporator 34 is arranged on the downstream side of this throttle mechanism 33 .
- the first evaporator 18 , the second evaporator 21 , and the third evaporator 34 are arranged in separate spaces 23 a, 23 b, and 23 c to be cooled.
- the 10th embodiment is the same in this point as the 9th embodiment.
- the compressor 11 can be intermittently operated in the same manner as in the 9th embodiment.
- the opening/closing valve 16 is arranged on the upstream side of the branch point Z.
- a three-way valve type opening/closing valve 16 is arranged at the position of the branch point Z.
- this three-way valve type opening/closing valve 16 is also constructed of a solenoid valve.
- This opening/closing valve 16 switches between a valve opening state where the downstream portion (high-pressure passage portion) of the liquid receiver 14 communicates with the upstream passage of the ejector 17 and the branch passage 19 at the same time, and a valve closing state where the downstream portion (high-pressure passage portion) of the liquid receiver 14 is shut off from the upstream passage of the ejector 17 and the branch passage 19 .
- the throttle mechanism 15 can be arranged on the upstream portion of the opening/closing valve 16 to prevent a liquid hammering phenomenon when the opening/closing valve 16 is opened and closed.
- the opening/closing valve 16 is arranged on the downstream side of the throttle mechanism 20 in the refrigerant branch passage 19 .
- first and second throttle mechanisms 20 a, 20 b are arranged in series in the refrigerant branch passage 19 and the opening/closing valve 16 is arranged in the middle of the first and second throttle mechanisms 20 a, 20 b. This construction can also produce the same effect as the 3rd embodiment.
- FIG. 23 is the 13th embodiment in which the opening/closing valve 16 is arranged on the upstream side of the throttle mechanism 20 in the refrigerant branch passage 19 .
- the opening/closing valve 16 is arranged on the upstream side of the throttle mechanism 20 and hence it is not expected that the effect of preventing a liquid hammering phenomenon can be produced when the opening/closing valve 16 is closed.
- by closing the opening/closing valve 16 when the compressor 11 is stopped, in the same manner it is also possible to produce the effect of preventing the refrigerant from making flowing noises and of preventing the liquid refrigerant from returning when the compressor 11 is started.
- FIG. 24 is the 14th embodiment and relates to the combination structure of a cycle construction.
- the 14th embodiment has the same cycle construction as the 1st embodiment.
- the throttle mechanism 15 , the opening/closing 16 , the ejector 17 , and the throttle mechanism 20 of the refrigerant branch passage 19 are combined with each other as an integrated unit 40 .
- the integrated unit 40 is an assembly in which the multiple parts 15 , 16 , 17 , and 20 are previously assembled into an integrated structure. Hence, the whole of this integrated unit 40 can be handled as one component.
- the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are also integrated into one structure by brazing or the like as described above to construct an integrated unit 41 .
- both of these integrated units 40 , 41 can be further integrated into one unit.
- This integration can reduce the whole physical size of both of the integrated units 40 , 41 and hence can reduce a space when they are mounted to a vehicle. Moreover, because both of the integrated units 40 , 41 can be mounted as a single unit, the work of mounting the units in the vehicle and the like can be effectively performed.
- refrigerant piping can be easily connected to an external unit.
- the cycle construction in which the liquid receiver 14 is arranged on the downstream side of the radiator 13 .
- the liquid receiver 14 is not provided, but an accumulator 44 of a vapor/liquid separator that separates the vapor and liquid of the refrigerant and discharges vapor-phase refrigerant is arranged on the suction side of the compressor 11 .
- the present invention may be carried out in the cycle construction having the accumulator 44 like this.
- the ejector cycle device 10 When refrigerant having a high pressure more than supercritical pressure such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is used as refrigerant, the ejector cycle device 10 becomes a supercritical pressure cycle and hence high-pressure refrigerant only radiates heat in a supercritical pressure state and is not condensed. Hence, in this supercritical pressure cycle, it does not make sense that the liquid receiver 14 is arranged on the downstream side of the refrigerant radiator 13 , and hence a cycle construction having the accumulator 44 as shown in FIG. 25 can be used in the 15th embodiment.
- supercritical pressure such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 )
- the 16th embodiment relates to a cycle construction having only one evaporator 18 as shown in FIG. 26 .
- the accumulator 44 used as a vapor/liquid separator is arranged on the downstream side of the ejector 17 , and the vapor and liquid of the refrigerant is separated by this accumulator 44 and the separated vapor-phase refrigerant is introduced into the suction side of the compressor 11 .
- This evaporator 18 is at the upstream portion of the refrigerant suction port 17 b and hence corresponds to the first evaporator 18 in the 1st to 15th embodiments, whereas the opening/closing valve 16 is arranged on the upstream side of the ejector 17 .
- the ejector 17 is not provided with the passage switching mechanism 17 e but may be provided with the passage switching mechanism 17 e as required.
- the 17th embodiment is a modification of the 16th embodiment. As shown in FIG. 27 , the opening/closing valve 16 is eliminated, but the ejector 17 is provided with the passage switching mechanism 17 e. By bringing the passage switching mechanism 17 e into a closing state when the compressor 11 is stopped, it is possible to produce the same effect as the 1st embodiment.
- the throttle mechanism 15 in the 1st embodiment is eliminated have been shown in the 16th and 17th embodiments.
- the throttle mechanism 15 may be arranged on the upstream portion of the opening/closing valve 16 or the upstream portion of the passage switching mechanism 17 e.
- control unit 25 and the opening/closing member ( 16 , 17 e ) close the refrigerant circuit in response to the stoppage of the compressor that is provided by the intermittent operation for the compressor.
- control unit 25 and the opening/closing member ( 16 , 17 e ) may close the refrigerant circuit in response to a shut down of the electric power supply.
- the shut down may occur when turning off the power supply switch such as an ignition switch of a vehicle or a power failure. In this case, the compressor simultaneously stops at the shut down. Therefore, the refrigerant circuit is closed when the compressor is stopped in this case too.
- This shut down operation may be applied in addition to or instead of the operation provided by the above-described embodiments.
- the shut down operation can be applied to a refrigeration system using a variable capacity compressor or a refrigeration system using a motor driven compressor.
- the shut down operation may be obtained by using a valve or an electromagnetic actuator having normally close type function.
- the valve 16 may be provided with a valve body, a biasing member biasing the valve body in a closing direction such as a spring and an electromagnetic solenoid that actuate the valve body in an open direction when it is energized.
- the control unit 25 may have a post-shut down control means for controlling the opening/closing member ( 16 , 17 e ) to a closed position after the power supply is stopped.
- a control circuit including the control unit 25 have a backup power supply such as a battery or condenser that have a capacity at least sufficient to maintain the control unit 25 and the opening/closing member ( 16 , 17 e ) functioning until an closing operation is completed.
- the opening/closing member ( 16 , 17 e ) may have a position holding type actuator driven by a motor such as a stepping motor.
- FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device in accordance with the 18th embodiment of the present invention and shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a refrigerant cycle of a refrigerating unit mounted to a vehicle.
- the ejector cycle device has a refrigerant circulating passage for circulating refrigerant, and the compressor 11 for sucking and compressing refrigerant is arranged in the refrigerant circulating passage.
- this compressor 11 is rotated and driven by a vehicle driving engine (not shown) via a belt or the like.
- a refrigerant radiator 13 is arranged on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of this compressor 11 .
- the refrigerant radiator 13 exchanges heat between high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 and outside air (air outside a vehicle compartment) blown by a cooling fan (not shown) to thereby cool the high-pressure refrigerant.
- the ejector 17 is arranged at a portion on the more downstream side of refrigerant flow than the refrigerant radiator 13 .
- This ejector 17 is a momentum transport type pump that is pressure reducing means for reducing the pressure of fluid liquid and transports fluid by an entangling action.
- the ejector 17 is provided with the nozzle portion 17 a, which restricts and throttles the area of passage of high-pressure refrigerant flowing from the refrigerant radiator 13 to reduce the pressure of high-pressure refrigerant to thereby expand the refrigerant in an isentropic manner, and the suction portion 17 b which is arranged in the same space as the refrigerant jet outlet of the nozzle portion 17 a and draws vapor-phase refrigerant from the second evaporator 18 to be described later.
- a diffuser portion 17 d forming a pressure increasing portion of the ejector 17 is arranged on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of the nozzle portion 17 a and the suction portion 17 b.
- This diffuser portion 17 d is formed in a shape to gradually increase the area of passage of refrigerant and performs an action of reducing the velocity of refrigerant flow to thereby increase the pressure of refrigerant, that is, an action of converting the velocity energy of refrigerant to pressure energy.
- the second evaporator 21 is arranged in an air passage of a refrigerating unit (not shown) in a refrigerating box R and performs an operation of cooling the inside of the refrigerating box R. Specifically, air in the refrigerating box R is blown to the second evaporator 21 by an electrically driven blower 18 a in the cooing unit (refer to FIG. 32 ) and is reduced in pressure by the ejector 17 . Then, low-pressure refrigerant absorbs heat from the air in the refrigerating box R in the second evaporator 21 and evaporates, thereby the air in the refrigerating box R is cooled to obtain a cooling capacity.
- the vapor-phase refrigerant evaporating in the second evaporator 21 is drawn by the compressor 11 and is circulated again in a refrigerant circulating passage.
- the branch passage 19 that branches off at a portion between the radiator 13 and the ejector 17 of the refrigerant circulating passage and merges with the refrigerant circulating passage.
- a throttle member 116 for reducing the pressure of refrigerant is arranged in this refrigerant branch passage 19 , and the first evaporator 18 is arranged at a portion on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of this throttle means 116 .
- This first evaporator 18 is arranged next to the second evaporator 21 in such way as to be in an air passing portion in series with the second evaporator 21 and on the downwind side of the second evaporator 21 in the air passage of the cooling unit (not shown) in the refrigerating box R.
- This first evaporator 18 further cools air in the refrigerating box that is cooled by the second evaporator 21 .
- the compressor 11 and the frost removing member 121 are electrically controlled by a control signal from an electric control unit (control unit, hereinafter referred to “ECU”) 25 .
- ECU electric control unit
- an electric heater 121 (frost removing member) that heats the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 in order to remove frost adhering to the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 is arranged on the upstream air side of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- the first evaporator 18 which is low in evaporation temperature and has frost easily deposited thereon and is not easily increased in temperature, is mounted with a first evaporator temperature sensor (first evaporator temperature detecting member) 122 for detecting temperature such as thermistor.
- first evaporator temperature sensor 122 can be mounted at a portion that is most resistant to rising in temperature in the first evaporator 18 .
- the detection signal of the first evaporator temperature sensor 122 is inputted to the ECU 25 , and when the frost removing control of melting and removing frost deposited on the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 is performed, the frost removing member 121 is energized and controlled by an output signal from the ECU 25 .
- the flow of refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant circulating passage flows into the ejector 17 and the refrigerant is reduced in pressure and is expanded by the nozzle portion 17 a.
- the pressure energy of the refrigerant is converted into the velocity energy by the nozzle portion 17 a and the refrigerant is jetted out at high speed from the jet port of this nozzle portion 17 a.
- the vapor-phase refrigerant evaporated in the first evaporator 18 is drawn from the suction portion 17 b by a pressure drop of the refrigerant.
- the refrigerant jetted out of the nozzle portion 17 a and the refrigerant drawn by the suction portion 17 b are mixed with each other on the downstream side of the nozzle portion 17 a and are flowed into the diffuser portion 17 d.
- the area of passage is increased to convert the velocity (expansion) energy of refrigerant into pressure energy and hence the pressure of refrigerant is increased by the diffuser portion 17 d.
- the refrigerant flowing out of the diffuser portion 17 d of the ejector 17 flows into the second evaporator 21 .
- the refrigerant absorbs heat from air in the refrigerating box that is blown by the electrically driven blower 18 a (refer to FIG. 32 ) and evaporates.
- the vapor-phase refrigerant after evaporation is drawn and compressed by the compressor 11 and is again flowed through the refrigerant circulating passage.
- the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant branch passage 19 is reduced in pressure by the throttle means 116 , thereby being brought to low-pressure refrigerant.
- This low-pressure refrigerant is heat-exchanged with air blown by the electrically driven blower 18 a in the first evaporator 18 (refer to FIG.
- the first evaporator 18 performs the cooling operation of the inside of the refrigerating box, and the vapor-phase refrigerant flowing out of the first evaporator 18 is drawn into the suction portion 17 b of the ejector 17 .
- FIG. 29 is a diagram showing examples of the settings of time interval between frost removing operations with respect to an outside air temperature Tam.
- the time interval between the frost removing operations is varied and is set at a value relating to the outside air temperature.
- FIG. 30 is a time chart showing a frost removing control (defrosting control) in the ejector cycle device in FIG. 28 .
- FIG. 31 is a diagram showing examples of the settings of a predetermined temperature T for determining the end of the frost removing operation, with respect to the outside air temperature Tam.
- the integrated operation time of the compressor 11 may be varied in relation to the outside air temperature Tam. For example, when the outside air temperature Tam is not higher than 15° C. (T 1 ), integrated operation time of the compressor 11 is A hour; when the outside air temperature Tam is higher than 15° C. (T 1 ) and not higher than 30° C. (T 2 ), the integrated operation time is B hour; and when the outside air temperature Tam is higher than 30° C. (T 2 ), the integrated operation time is C hour. These hours are set in the relationship of A hour>B hour>C hour.
- the predetermined temperature T may be varied according to the outside air temperature Tam as shown in FIG. 30 just as with the integrated operation time of the compressor 11 .
- the predetermined temperature T for ending the frost removing operation is 8° C. (a ° C.); when the outside air temperature Tam is higher than 15° C. (T 1 ) and not higher than 30° C.
- the predetermined temperature T for ending the frost removing operation is 10° C. (b ° C.); and when the outside air temperature Tam is higher than 30° C. (T 2 ), the predetermined temperature T for ending the frost removing operation is 12° C. (c ° C.).
- These temperatures are set in the relationship of a ° C.>b ° C.>° C.
- the present embodiment includes: the compressor 11 that draws and compresses refrigerant; the radiator 13 that radiates heat from the high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 ; the ejector 17 that reduces the pressure of refrigerant on the downstream side of the radiator 13 to thereby expand the refrigerant and draws the refrigerant from the first evaporator 18 ; the second evaporator 21 that evaporates the refrigerant flowing out of the ejector 17 to thereby obtain a cooling capacity; the first evaporator 18 that evaporates the refrigerant drawn by the ejector 17 to thereby obtain a cooling capacity; the frost removing member 121 that heats the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 to thereby remove frost adhering to the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 ; the first evaporator temperature sensor 122 that detects the temperature of the first evaporator 18 ; and the ECU 25 .
- the ECU 25 controls the frost removing operation of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 to thereby remove frost, and stops the frost removing operation by heating using the frost removing member 121 when the temperature of the first evaporator 18 detected by the first evaporator temperature detection sensor 122 reaches the predetermined temperature T for ending the defrosting operation.
- the first evaporator 18 that is low in evaporation temperature and has frost easily deposited thereon and is resistant to rising in temperature, is provided with the first evaporator temperature sensor 122 .
- the first evaporator 18 is heated until the first evaporator 18 reaches the predetermined temperature T.
- frost is never left on the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 but can be surely removed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a decrease in cooling efficiency, due to the frost adhering to and depositing on the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- the frost removing member 121 is arranged on the upstream air side of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 . According to this arrangement, heat produced by the frost removing member 121 flows to a downstream air side and hence can heat the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 with high efficiency.
- the frost removing member 121 is constructed with the electric heater 121 . According to this, it is easy to use the electric heater 121 as heating means for removing frost.
- the ECU 25 performs the heating of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 by using the frost removing member 121 . According to this, by heating the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 using the frost removing member 121 in a state where the compressor 11 is stopped, it is possible to finish removing frost within a short time.
- the predetermined temperature T is varied according to the outside air temperature Tam. Normally, the amount of moisture contained by the air is varied and hence the amount of adhering frost is varied according to the outside air temperature Tam. Hence, in order to surely remove frost, the predetermined temperature T is also varied according to the outside air temperature Tam.
- FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device in accordance with the 19th embodiment of the present invention.
- the features of the 19th embodiment different from the 18th embodiment described above include: the compressor 11 that draws and compresses refrigerant; the radiator 13 that radiates the heat of high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 ; the ejector 17 that reduces the pressure of refrigerant on the downstream side of the radiator 13 to thereby expand the refrigerant and draws the refrigerant from the first evaporator 18 ; the second evaporator 21 that evaporates the refrigerant flowing out of the ejector 17 to thereby exert a cooling capacity; the first evaporator 18 that evaporates the refrigerant to be drawn by the ejector 17 to thereby exert a cooling capacity and has an air passage arranged in series with the air passage of the second evaporator 21 and is arranged next to the second evaporator 21 in such a way as to arrange the second evaporator 21 on the
- the ECU 25 controls the frost removing operation for heating the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 to thereby remove frost thereon, and finishes the frost removing operation using the frost removing member 121 when the temperature of the second evaporator 21 detected by the second evaporator temperature sensor 123 reaches the predetermined temperature T.
- the second evaporator temperature sensor 123 is arranged on the upstream air side of the second evaporator 21 .
- the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are heated until the temperature of the upstream air side of the second evaporator 21 , which is arranged on the upstream air side and to which frost easily adheres, becomes the predetermined temperature T or more, so that it is possible to remove frost with reliability without leaving frost on the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- T or more the predetermined temperature
- the frost removing operation of the second evaporator 21 which is arranged on the upstream air side and to which frost easily adheres, is finished, the frost removing operation by using the frost removing member 121 is stopped. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate excessive heating and to limit an increase in the temperature of the space R to be cooled and the amount of power consumption required to remove frost to minimum amounts.
- FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device in the 20th embodiment of the present invention.
- the ejector cycle device includes: the compressor 11 that draws and compresses refrigerant; the radiator 13 that radiates the heat of high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 ; the ejector 17 that reduces the pressure of refrigerant on the downstream side of the radiator 13 to thereby expand the refrigerant and draws the refrigerant from the first evaporator 18 ; the second evaporator 21 that evaporates the refrigerant flowing out of the ejector 17 to thereby exert a cooling capacity; the first evaporator 18 that evaporates refrigerant to be drawn into the refrigerant suction port of the ejector 17 to thereby exert a cooling capacity; an accumulator 118 that is arranged on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of the second evaporator 21 ; the frost removing member 121 that heats the first and second evaporators 18
- the ECU 25 performs defrosting operation of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 to thereby remove frost, and finishes the frost removing operation using the frost removing member 121 when the temperature of the outside wall temperature of the accumulator 118 detected by the accumulator temperature sensor 124 reaches a predetermined temperature T.
- the accumulator 118 is arranged on the downstream side of the second evaporator 21 so as to respond to load fluctuations and the accumulator temperature sensor 124 is fixed to the accumulator 118 in which low-temperature liquid refrigerant accumulates and to which frost easily adheres.
- the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are heated until the temperature of the outside wall temperature of the accumulator 118 , to which frost easily adheres, becomes the predetermined temperature T or more, it is possible to remove frost with reliability without leaving frost on the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 . Hence, it is possible to prevent a decrease in cooling efficiency caused by the frost adhering to and depositing on the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- FIG. 34 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device in the 21st embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 35 is a time chart showing a frost removing control in the ejector cycle device in FIG. 34 .
- This embodiment different from the above-mentioned 18th-20th embodiments is mainly described.
- a first evaporator temperature sensor 122 a second evaporator temperature sensor 123 , an the accumulator temperature sensor 124 are provided as the multiple temperature sensors 122 to 124 that are fixed to multiple portions.
- the ECU 25 performs the heating of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 to remove frost thereon, and finishes the frost removing operation using the frost removing member 121 when all of the temperatures detected by the multiple temperature sensors 122 to 124 reach the predetermined temperature T or more.
- the multiple temperature sensors 122 to 124 are fixed to the above-mentioned multiple portions having frost easily deposited thereon because the degree of adhesion of frost varies according to the operating conditions even in the above-mentioned portions to which frost easily adheres.
- the ECU 25 performs the heating of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 until all of the multiple temperature sensors 122 to 124 fixed to the multiple portions reach the predetermined temperature T or more. Hence, it is possible to remove frost with reliability without leaving frost on the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 and hence to prevent a decrease in cooling efficiency caused by the frost adhering to and depositing on the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- the frost removing operation at the multiple portions to which frost easily adheres is finished, the heating by using the frost removing member 121 is stopped. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate excessive heating, and to effectively limit an increase in the temperature of the space R to be cooled and the amount of power consumption required to remove frost.
- FIG. 36 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device in the 22nd embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 37 is a time chart showing a frost removing control in the ejector cycle device in FIG. 36 .
- the frost removing member includes a three-way valve (passage switching member 120 ) arranged on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of the radiator 13 and a hot gas supply passage 119 for supplying refrigerant from the three-way valve 120 to the upstream side of the refrigerant flow of the first evaporator 18 .
- the ECU 25 switches the refrigerant flow to the hot gas supply passage 119 by the three-way valve 120 in a state where the compressor 11 is operated, and performs the heating of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 by using the high-temperature refrigerant.
- the refrigerant from the radiator 13 is introduced to the nozzle 17 a of the ejector 17 .
- the refrigerant from the radiator 13 flows through the hot gas supply passage 119 .
- the frost removing operation (defrosting operation) of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 can be performed without using a heater. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the frost removing member and hence to reduce cost.
- FIG. 38 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device in accordance with the 23rd embodiment.
- the 23rd embodiment is different from the ejector cycle devices of the above-described 18 th -22 nd embodiments in that a refrigerant branch passage 19 from the refrigerant circulating passage is branched from a liquid refrigerant accumulating portion of the accumulator 118 . Even in this case, this ejector cycle device can also produce the same effect as the above-mentioned 18 th -22 nd embodiments.
- FIG. 39A is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device of the 24th embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 39B is a side view when viewed from a direction shown by arrow A in FIG. 39 A.
- hydrocarbon (HC)-based refrigerant is used as refrigerant.
- the compressor 11 , the electrically driven blower 18 a are electrically controlled by a control signal from the electric control unit (control unit, hereinafter referred to as ECU).
- ECU electric control unit
- the construction in accordance with the 24th embodiment will be described.
- Multiple frost removing members 121 for heating the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are disposed in order to remove frost adhering to the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- electric heaters 121 such as non-contact type glass pipe heaters are disposed at the upstream side of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 and at a position between the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 , which are integrated into one unit in the air passage of a cooling unit (not shown).
- the first evaporator 18 that is low in evaporation temperature and hence has frost easily deposited thereon is provided with an evaporator temperature sensor (evaporator temperature detecting member) 122 such as thermistor for detecting temperature.
- evaporator temperature sensor 122 such as thermistor for detecting temperature.
- this evaporator temperature sensor 122 is arranged in a portion that is most resistant to rising in temperature in the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- the detection signal of the evaporator temperature sensor 122 is inputted to the ECU 25 and when the frost removing control of melting and removing frost adhering to and depositing on the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 is performed, the frost removing member 121 is energized and is controlled by an output signal from the ECU 25 .
- cooling operation and the frost removing operation can be performed similarly to the control operation of FIGS. 29-31 in the 18th embodiments.
- the ejector cycle device includes: the compressor 11 that draws and compresses refrigerant; the radiator 13 that radiates the heat of high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 ; the ejector 17 that reduces the pressure of refrigerant on the downstream side of the radiator 13 to thereby expand the refrigerant and draws the refrigerant; the second evaporator 21 that evaporates the refrigerant flowing out of the ejector 17 to thereby exert a cooling capacity; the refrigerant branch passage 19 that branches from the refrigerant cycle including the compressor 11 , the radiator 13 , the ejector 17 , and the second evaporator 21 and causes the ejector 17 to draw refrigerant; the first evaporator 18 that is arranged in the refrigerant branch passage 19 and evaporates refrigerant to thereby exert a cooling capacity; the frost removing members 121 that heat the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 in order to remove frost adhering to the first
- the frost removing member 121 is arranged so as to heat both of the first evaporator 18 that is low in evaporator temperature and the second evaporator 21 that is arranged on the upstream air side of the first evaporator 18 . Hence, even when heating temperature is set low, it is possible to remove frost with reliability without leaving frost and hence to prevent a decrease in cooling efficiency caused by the frost adhering to and depositing on the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- the frost removing members 121 are arranged on the upstream side of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 , respectively. According to this embodiment, heat produced by the frost removing member 121 flows downwind and hence the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 can be heated with high efficiency. In this embodiment, the frost removing members 121 are constructed with electric heaters 121 .
- the ECU 25 performs the heating of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 by using the electric heaters 121 in a state where the compressor 11 is stopped. Accordingly, the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 can be heated by the electric heater 121 in a state where the compressor 11 is stopped. Hence, it is possible to finish removing frost within a short time.
- refrigerant is a hydrocarbon (HC)-based refrigerant of a flammable refrigerant.
- the flammable refrigerant includes a hydrocarbon-based refrigerant (refrigerant substance containing hydrogen and carbon and existing in nature and the like) and this hydrocarbon-based refrigerant includes R600a using isobutene and R290 using propane.
- R600a catches fire at a temperature of approximately from 460° C. to 494° C.
- the ignition temperature is reduced to a temperature of approximately from 200° C. to 300° C.
- the ignition temperature is reduced to a temperature of approximately 100° C.
- R600a can be used as the flammable refrigerant.
- FIG. 40A is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device of the 25th embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 40B is a side view when viewed from a direction shown by arrow B in FIG. 40A .
- This embodiment is provided with the ECU 25 that performs the heating of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 by using the frost removing member 121 .
- an electric heater 121 is used as the frost removing member 121 , and is arranged in contact with both of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- the electric heater 121 is a contact type pipe heater.
- the electric heater 121 is located to contact both of the first evaporator 18 , which is low in evaporator temperature and hence frost easily develops, and the second evaporator 21 , which is arranged on the upstream side and hence has frost easily deposited on its upstream side and easily causes clogging. Accordingly, even when heating temperature of the electric heater 121 is set low, it is possible to remove frost with reliability without leaving frost and hence to prevent a decrease in cooling efficiency caused by the frost adhering to and depositing on the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- the ejector cycle device shown in FIGS. 40A, 40B is different from the ejector cycle device of the above-mentioned 24th embodiment in that the refrigerant branch passage 19 from the refrigerant circulating passage is branched from the liquid refrigerant accumulating portion of the accumulator 118 .
- the structure of the heater 121 can be used for performing the frost removing operation even in this type of the ejector cycle device.
- the electric heater 121 may be arranged on both sides of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 , or may be arranged on only either of both sides of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- FIGS. 41A and 41B are schematic views showing the arrangement example of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 in the 26th embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 41A is a front view and FIG. 41B is a side view.
- one electric heater 121 that can heat both of the first evaporator 18 , which is low in evaporator temperature and hence frost easily develops, and the second evaporator 21 , which is arranged on the upstream air side and hence has frost easily deposited on its upstream side and easily causes clogging.
- the second evaporator 21 which is arranged on the upstream air side and hence has frost easily deposited on its upstream side and easily causes clogging.
- the frost is removed by means of one electric heater 121 having the same size as a usual single evaporator, so it is possible to effectively use an installation space and to effectively remove frost from the multiple evaporators.
- either of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 is provided with the electric heater 121 and the other of them is provided with a member easily absorbing radiant heat, for example, an aluminum plate (radiant heat absorbing member) 128 coated with black paint and the radiant heat from the electric heater 121 is delivered to the aluminum plate 128 .
- a member easily absorbing radiant heat for example, an aluminum plate (radiant heat absorbing member) 128 coated with black paint and the radiant heat from the electric heater 121 is delivered to the aluminum plate 128 .
- the electric heater 121 is provided for heating either of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 and the other of them is heated via the aluminum plate 128 for absorbing radiant heat from the electric heater 121 .
- heating temperature is set low, it is possible to remove frost with reliability without leaving frost and to prevent a decrease in cooling efficiency caused by frost adhering to and depositing on the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- FIGS. 42A and 42B are schematic views showing the arrangement example of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 and the electric heater 121 in the 27th embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 42A is a front view
- FIG. 42B is a side view.
- the electric heater 121 is mounted on either of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 and heat from the electric heater 121 is delivered to the other evaporator by convection.
- the electric heater 121 for heating either of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 and the other evaporator is heated by convection from the electric heater 121 .
- convection forced convection by the electrically driven blower (air blowing means) 18 a is used. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively perform convection with reliability.
- FIGS. 43A and 43B are schematic views showing the arrangement example of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 and the frost removing member 121 in the 28th embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 43A shows a normal operation
- FIG. 43B shows a frost removing operation (defrosting operation).
- the difference between this embodiment and the above-mentioned respective embodiments is in that: the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are arranged in the up and down direction; and the electric heater 121 is arranged in a lower position of the evaporators 18 , 21 , so that natural convection is used as convection. Accordingly, it is also possible to effectively use natural convection.
- FIGS. 44A and 44B , FIGS. 45A and 45B , and FIGS. 46A and 46B are schematic views showing the arrangement examples of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 and the electric heater 121 .
- the electric heater 121 is located at the upstream air side of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 and at a position between the integrated first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- the electric heater 121 may be located at the upstream air side and the downstream air side of the integrated first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are integrated into one unit has been described in the 24th embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 45A and 45B , the first evaporator 18 and the second evaporator 21 may be separate units.
- the 25th embodiment is provided with the electric heater 121 that is in contact with the sides of both of the second evaporator 21 and the first evaporator 18 and heats them.
- the electric heater 121 may be located between the second evaporator 21 and the first evaporator 18 in such a way as to be in contact with both of them and to heat them.
- the construction of the 29th embodiment will be described by the use of FIGS. 47A and 47B .
- the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are connected to each other in such a way that heat can be transferred by a member 128 for transferring heat.
- a portion of heat exchange fins ( 128 ) constructed of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are integrated with each other as the member 128 for transferring heat.
- a reference symbol 128 a denotes a heat exchange fin common to the first and second evaporators 18 , 21
- 128 b denotes a heat exchange fin for the second evaporator 21
- 128 c denotes a heat exchange fin for the first evaporator 18 .
- the electric heater 121 as the frost removing member, which heats the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 so as to remove frost adhering to the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 is fixed to the surface of air passage on the upstream side of the integrated first and second evaporators 18 , 21 in such a way as to be in contact with the integrated fins 128 a.
- an evaporator temperature sensor (evaporator temperature detecting member) 122 such as thermistor for detecting temperature is fixed to the first evaporator 18 that is low in evaporator temperature and has frost easily deposited thereon.
- this evaporator temperature sensor 122 is fixed to a portion that is most resistant to rising in temperature in the integrated first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- the detection signal of the evaporator temperature sensor 122 is inputted to the ECU 25 .
- the electric heater 121 is energized and is controlled by an output signal from the ECU 25 .
- the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are connected to each other in such a way as to transfer heat by integrated fins (members for transferring heat) 128 a.
- the electric heater 121 heats the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 so as to remove frost adhering to them, and the ECU 25 performs the heating of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 by using the electric heater 121 to thereby remove frost.
- the first evaporator 18 arranged on the downstream air side is heated by heat transferred from the second evaporator 21 via the integrated fins 128 a, thereby having frost removed therefrom.
- the integrated fins 128 a are brought into contact with the electric heater 121 . This makes it easy to transfer heat from the integrated fins 128 a to the first evaporator 18 . Furthermore, the amount of heat conduction of the integrated fins 128 a is determined in such a way that a refrigerating capacity required by the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 is compatible with a frost removing capacity required by them.
- FIG. 48 is a graph showing a change in refrigerating capacity and a change in frost removing capacity (defrosting performance DP) with respect to the amount of heat conduction of the integrated fins 128 a.
- the refrigerating capacity (RC) for improving the refrigerating capacity (RC), it is preferred to completely separate the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- the amount of heat conduction is excessively small, heat cannot be transferred at the time of removing frost and hence the frost removing capacity (defrosting performance DP) is reduced by a large amount.
- the refrigerating capacity (RC) and the frost removing capacity (DP) are contradictory to each other in terms of the amount of heat conduction.
- the amount of heat conduction is determined in such a way that the required refrigerating capacity (RC) is compatible with the required frost removing capacity (DP).
- the amount of heat conduction by the integrated fins 128 a it is also possible to think the amount of heat conduction in terms of the number of pieces of the integrated fins 128 a or the like as a substitute for the amount of heat conduction when the environment conditions of temperature and the amount of air in the evaporator are the same levels.
- the heat exchange fins 128 are used as members for transferring heat. These are a portion or the whole of the heat exchange fins 128 constructed of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are integrated with each other according to the above-mentioned required amount of heat conduction. According to this, it is possible to construct the above-mentioned structure without adding a new component and hence to reduce cost.
- the second evaporator 21 is in contact with the first evaporator 18 .
- both evaporators 18 , 21 are separated from each other in their main bodies and are integrated with each other only in the integrated fins 128 a.
- the integrated fins 128 a are uniformly arranged, but it is also recommendable to respond to biased frost formation caused by the construction of evaporator and the design of air passage by the connection method, the number of connected pieces and the arrangement of the integrated fins 128 a.
- this integrated fins 128 a is used for transferring heat from the second evaporator 21 to the first evaporator 18 .
- these integrated fins 128 a may be different from the other heat exchange fins 128 b, 128 c in material, size and shape, and forming method and may be different from the sizes of the evaporators.
- FIG. 49A is a schematic view showing an ejector cycle device in the 30th embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 49B is a side view when viewed from a direction shown by arrow B in FIG. 49A .
- a holding member 124 for holding the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 is used as a member for transferring heat.
- the holding member 124 for holding the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 is used as a heat transfer member according to the amount of required heat conduction described above. This can also construct the above-mentioned structure without adding a new component and can reduce cost.
- the ejector cycle device shown in FIG. 49A is different from the ejector cycle device of the 29th embodiment in that the refrigerant branch passage 19 from the refrigerant circulating passage is branched from the liquid refrigerant accumulating portion of the accumulator 118 .
- the electric heater 121 and the holding member 124 are fixed only to the one side of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 but may be fixed to both sides (refer to FIG. 49B ).
- the holding member 124 may have openings 124 a for passing air by convection (refer to FIG. 49A ).
- FIGS. 50A and 50B are schematic views showing the arrangement example of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 and the electric heater 121 in the 31st embodiment.
- FIG. 50A is a front view
- FIG. 50B is a side view.
- the 31st embodiment different from the above-mentioned respective embodiments is in that side plates 125 constructed on both ends of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are used as members for transferring heat.
- the side plates 25 constructed on both ends of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 are used as members for transferring heat according to the amount of required heat conduction described above. This can also construct the above-mentioned structure without adding a new component and hence can reduce cost.
- FIGS. 51A and 51B are schematic views showing the arrangement example of the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 and the electric heater 121 in the 32nd embodiment.
- FIG. 51A is a front view
- FIG. 51B is a side view.
- the 32nd embodiment different from the above-mentioned respective embodiments is in that heat transfer members 126 are constructed as members for transferring heat in the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- the heat transfer plates (heat transfer members) 126 relating to the amount of required heat conduction described above is constructed in the first and second evaporators 18 , 21 .
- the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments but may be variously modified as will be described below.
- the above-mentioned respective embodiments may be combined with each other.
- the ejector cycle device of the present invention is used for a vehicle-mounted refrigerating apparatus in the above-mentioned embodiments, the ejector cycle device may be used not only to the refrigerating/cooling apparatus and air conditioning (air cooling) apparatus like this but also a vapor compression type cycle such as a heat pump unit for a water heater and a household refrigerator.
- flon-based refrigerant either a supercritical pressure cycle or a subcritical pressure cycle using flon-based refrigerant, hydrocarbon (HC)-based refrigerant, carbon dioxide (CO 2 )-based refrigerant as refrigerant may be used.
- flon means a generic term of an organic compound containing fluorine, chlorine, and hydrogen and the flon is widely used as refrigerant.
- the flon-based refrigerant includes a hydro-, chloro-, fluoro-carbon (HCFC)-based refrigerant and a hydro-, fluoro-carbon (HFC)-based refrigerant.
- the accumulator 118 is arranged on the upstream side of the compressor 11 and only vapor-phase refrigerant is caused to flow into the compressor 11 .
- it is also recommendable to employ a construction in which a vapor—liquid separator is arranged on the upstream side of the second evaporator 21 and in which only liquid refrigerant is caused to flow into the second evaporator 21 .
- it is also recommendable to arrange a receiver, which separates the vapor and liquid of refrigerant and flows only liquid-phase refrigerant to the downstream side, on the downstream side of the radiator 13 .
- the compressor 11 may be a variable displacement type compressor. Alternatively, it is also recommended that a fixed displacement type compressor 11 is employed and that the operation of this fixed displacement type compressor 11 is controlled in accordance with an on-off control by an electromagnetic switch to control the ratio of the on-off operation of the compressor 11 to thereby control the refrigerant discharge capacity of the compressor 11 . Moreover, when an electrically driven compressor is used as the compressor 11 , the refrigerant discharge capacity may be controlled by controlling the number of revolutions of the electrically driven compressor 11 .
- a variable flow type ejector can be used as for the ejector 17 .
- the open area of refrigerant passage of the nozzle portion 17 a of the ejector 17 can be controlled so as to control the pressure of refrigerant jetted from the nozzle portion 17 a and the flow rate of drawn vapor-phase refrigerant, based on the degree of superheat of refrigerant at the outlet of the second evaporator 21 .
- throttle means 116 such as a capillary tube having a restriction opening set constant is arranged on the upstream side of the first evaporator 18 .
- a variable throttle that can vary the flow rate of refrigerant according to fluctuations in the thermal load of the first evaporator 18 .
- a member for example, expansion valve, which has a mechanism for detecting the degree of superheat at the outlet of the first evaporator 18 and controls the restriction opening, as throttle means 116 .
- the temperatures (inside temperatures) of the spaces 23 , 23 a, 23 b, 23 c to be cooled of the respective evaporators 18 , 21 , 34 are detected by the temperature sensors 24 , 24 a, 24 b, and 24 c.
- temperatures relating to the inside temperatures such as surface temperature of the evaporator may be detected.
Abstract
In an ejector cycle device having an ejector, an evaporator is arranged in a refrigerant branch passage connected to a refrigerant suction port of the ejector, an opening/closing member for opening and closing a refrigerant passage is disposed to prevent refrigerant from flowing into the evaporator, and a control unit intermittently controls operation of the compressor. In the ejector cycle device, the control unit brings the opening/closing member into a closing state in a time period for which the operation of the compressor is stopped. Accordingly, it can restrict liquid refrigerant from collecting in the evaporator while the compressor is stopped.
Description
- This application is based on Japanese Patent Applications No. 2005-142476 filed on May 16, 2005, No. 2005-148470 filed on May 20, 2005, No. 2005-151588 filed on May 24, 2005, No. 2005-213272 filed on Jul. 22, 2005, and No. 2005-219354 filed on Jul. 28, 2005, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention relates to an ejector cycle device having an ejector which has a function for reducing pressure of refrigerant and a function for circulating refrigerant.
- 2. Description of the Related Art
- This kind of ejector cycle device has been known in JP-B1-3322263, for example. JP-B1-3322263 discloses an ejector cycle device that has a first evaporator and a second evaporator. The second evaporator is arranged on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of an ejector having functions for reducing pressure of refrigerant and for circulating refrigerant, a vapor—liquid separator is arranged on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of this second evaporator, and the first evaporator is interposed between a liquid refrigerant outlet of the vapor—liquid separator and a refrigerant suction port of the ejector.
- According to this ejector cycle device, vapor-phase refrigerant discharged from the first evaporator is drawn by the use of a pressure drop caused by a high-speed flow of refrigerant when refrigerant is expanded and the velocity energy of refrigerant when refrigerant is expanded is converted to pressure energy by a diffuser portion (pressure increasing portion) to increase the pressure of refrigerant (suction pressure). Hence, it is possible to reduce the driving power of a compressor and hence to enhance the operation efficiency of a refrigerant cycle.
- Moreover, it is possible to perform a heat absorption (cooling) operation in separate spaces by both of the first and second evaporators or in the same space by using the two evaporators. In an ejector cycle device having an evaporator (above-mentioned first evaporator) arranged only on the refrigerant suction port of the ejector, a mechanical or electrical control valve is arranged on the upstream side of the ejector or the upstream side of the evaporator.
- The opening of the control valve arranged on the upstream side of the ejector is controlled so as to control the degree of superheat at the outlet of the evaporator or the high pressure of refrigerant in the refrigerant cycle. The opening of the control valve arranged on the upstream side of the evaporator is controlled to thereby control the degree of superheat of refrigerant at the outlet of the evaporator.
- The control valve described in JP-B1-3322263 controls the degree of superheat at the outlet of the evaporator or the high pressure of refrigerant at the time of an ejector cycle device operation, but does not open and close a refrigerant passage in operative connection with the intermittent operation of the compressor. For this reason, even when the compressor is stopped, the control valve is kept in a state of a specified opening. Accordingly, when the compressor is stopped, a phenomenon in which the high pressure and low pressure of the cycle is brought into a uniform state, that is, a pressure balance is developed. In the process of developing this pressure balance, refrigerant passing through the nozzle portion of the ejector causes flowing noises. In particular, when the compressor is stopped, the compressor does not cause operation noise to produce silent environment and hence the flowing noises caused by the nozzle portion becomes offensive to the ear.
- Moreover, when the compressor is stopped and then is started again, liquid refrigerant is returned to the compressor and is compressed by the compressor. In this case, the life of durability of the compressor is deteriorated.
- For example, when an inside temperature of a space to be cooled is decreased to an extremely low temperature close to, for example, −20° C. like a vehicle-mounted refrigerator, the low pressure of the refrigerant cycle needs to be decreased to a low pressure corresponding to this extremely low temperature close to −20° C. Hence, the pressure difference between high pressure and low pressure of the refrigerant cycle when the compressor is stopped becomes very large.
- Therefore, in the process of developing pressure balance when the compressor is stopped, a large amount of liquid refrigerant flows from the high-pressure side to the low-pressure side through the nozzle portion of the ejector. At this time, the inside temperature is already reduced to the extremely low temperature and the thermal load of the evaporator becomes small and refrigerant is not drawn to the suction side of the compressor. Hence, refrigerant flowing to the low pressure side collects as liquid-phase refrigerant in the vapor—liquid separator and the evaporator on the downstream side of the ejector. As a result, when the compressor is started next time, the liquid refrigerant may overflow from the vapor—liquid separator and may return to the compressor.
- Moreover, JP-A-2005-308380 (corresponding to US 2005/0178150A1, US 2005/0268644A1) proposes an ejector cycle device having: a branch passage, which is branched from a branch point of a refrigerant passage on the upstream portion of an ejector and is connected to the refrigerant suction port of the ejector; a throttle mechanism and a first evaporator arranged in the branch passage; and a second evaporator arranged on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of the ejector. According to this ejector cycle device, the first evaporator is connected in parallel to the ejector, and the branch passage has the throttle mechanism exclusive to the first evaporator. In this case, the amounts of refrigerant of the first and second evaporators can be easily controlled. However, in the process of developing pressure balance when the compressor is stopped, refrigerant passing though the nozzle portion of the ejector and the throttle mechanism of the branch passage causes flowing noises.
- Moreover, when an inside temperature of a space to be cooled is decreased to an extremely low temperature close to, for example, −20° C. like a vehicle-mounted refrigerator, the thermal load of the evaporator becomes small when the compressor is stopped. Hence, in the process of developing pressure balance, a phenomenon develops in which refrigerant flows into the first and second evaporators and collects there. In this case, when the refrigerant further flows into the liquid refrigerant staying in the first and second evaporators, the refrigerant flow causes flowing noises. Moreover, liquid refrigerant, collecting in the first and second evaporators while the compressor is stopped, is drawn by the compressor and the liquid refrigerant is returned into the compressor when the compressor is started next time.
- Furthermore, as shown in JP-A-5-312421, there has been known an ejector cycle device constructed of: a refrigerant passage for connecting a compressor, a radiator, an ejector, and a first evaporator; and a branch passage branched from the refrigerant passage and including throttle means, and a second evaporator.
- However, in the ejector cycle device described in JP-A-5-312421, frost easily adheres to three portions of the second evaporator that is comparatively low in evaporation temperature, an upwind portion of the first evaporator that is arranged on the upstream side of air flow because the first evaporator is comparatively high in evaporation temperature, and an accumulator (vapor—liquid separator) arranged on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of the first evaporator. When the frost deposits in the three portions, the cooling efficiency of the ejector cycle device is greatly deteriorated.
- In view of the foregoing problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ejector cycle device which can prevent a refrigerant flowing noise when a compressor is stopped.
- It is another object of the present invention to provide an ejector cycle device which can prevent liquid refrigerant, staying in an evaporator while a compressor is stopped, from being introduced into the compressor at the next operation time of the compressor.
- It is further another object of the present invention to provide an ejector cycle device which can effectively remove frost on a low-pressure side component, e.g., evaporators and an accumulator.
- According to an aspect of the present invention, an ejector cycle device includes: a compressor that draws and compresses refrigerant; a radiator that radiates heat of high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor; an ejector disposed at a downstream side of the radiator to decompress and expand refrigerant from the radiator; an evaporator that is arranged in a refrigerant branch passage connected to a refrigerant suction port of the ejector; an opening/closing member that opens and closes a refrigerant flow and is capable of preventing refrigerant from flowing into the evaporator; and a control unit that brings the opening/closing member into a closing state in a time period for which the operation of the compressor is stopped. Accordingly, while the operation of the compressor is stopped, the opening/closing member prevents a refrigerant flow into the evaporator. Therefore, it can prevent liquid refrigerant from collecting in the evaporator while the compressor is stopped, and prevent liquid refrigerant from the evaporator from returning to the compressor when the compressor is restarted in the next time. As a result, when the operation of the compressor is stopped, a refrigerant flowing noise can be restricted.
- For example, the evaporator connected to the refrigerant suction port is arranged as a first evaporator, and a second evaporator can be arranged on a downstream side of the ejector. In this case, the first evaporator and the second evaporator can be disposed to cool one space to be cooled, or can be disposed to cool separate spaces to be cooled.
- Furthermore, a temperature detecting member for detecting temperature relating to a temperature of a space to be cooled of the evaporator can be disposed, and the control unit can intermittently control operation of the compressor on the basis of temperature detected by the temperature detecting member. The refrigerant branch passage can be branched at a branch point on an upstream side of the ejector and can be connected to the refrigerant suction port. Furthermore, the opening/closing member may be an opening/closing valve arranged on an upstream side of the branch point, or a three-way valve arranged at the branch point, or an opening/closing valve arranged on an upstream side of the evaporator in the refrigerant branch passage, or a passage opening/closing mechanism arranged in the ejector itself.
- The control unit can control the opening/closing member from the closing state to an opening state in the time period for which the compressor is stopped, and then can restart the operation of the compressor. Furthermore, the control unit can control the opening/closing member from an opening state to a closing state before stopping the compressor and can continuously keep the compressor in an operating state for a specified time in a state where the opening/closing member is closed, and then stops the compressor.
- Furthermore, the opening/closing member can include an opening/closing valve arranged on an upstream side of the evaporator connected to the refrigerant suction port, and a passage opening/closing mechanism arranged in the ejector itself. In this case, the control unit controls the opening/closing valve from a closing state to an opening state in the time period for which the compressor is stopped to thereby bring pressure in a refrigerant cycle into balance, and then returns the passage opening/closing mechanism into an opening state and then restarts the operation of the compressor.
- In the ejector cycle device, a throttle mechanism can be arranged on an upstream side of the opening/closing member to reduce pressure of refrigerant on the upstream side of the opening/closing member in such a way as to bring the refrigerant into two phases of vapor and liquid. Furthermore, the ejector and the opening/closing valve can be combined with each other at least as one integrated unit.
- According to another aspect of the present invention, an ejector cycle device includes a compressor that draws and compresses refrigerant; a radiator that radiates heat of high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor; an ejector that includes a nozzle portion for reducing pressure of refrigerant on a downstream side of the radiator to expand the refrigerant and draws refrigerant by a jet flow of refrigerant from the nozzle portion; a first evaporator that evaporates refrigerant to be drawn into a refrigerant suction port of the ejector so as to have a cooling capacity; a second evaporator that evaporates refrigerant flowing out of the ejector so as to have a cooling capacity; a frost removing member that heats the first and second evaporators so as to perform a frost removing operation where frost adhering to the first and second evaporators is removed; an evaporator temperature detecting member that detects temperature of at least one of the first evaporator and the second evaporator; and a control unit that controls the frost removing member to heat the first and second evaporators and to perform the frost removing operation when temperature detected by the evaporator temperature detecting member reaches a predetermined temperature. Accordingly, the frost removing operation of the first and second evaporators can be suitably performed while I can prevent cooling efficiency of the first and second evaporators from being deteriorated.
- For example, the evaporator temperature detecting member can be disposed to detect the temperature of the first evaporator. In this case, the control unit controls the frost removing member to perform the frost removing operation when temperature of the first evaporator detected by the evaporator temperature detecting member reaches a predetermined temperature. Alternatively, the evaporator temperature detecting member can be disposed to detect the temperature of the second evaporator. In this case, the control unit controls the frost removing member to perform the frost removing operation when temperature of the second evaporator detected by the evaporator temperature detecting member reaches a predetermined temperature.
- Alternatively, an accumulator can be arranged on a downstream side of the second evaporator in a refrigerant flow, and an accumulator temperature detecting member can be disposed to detect a temperature of the accumulator. Furthermore, the evaporator temperature detecting member can be provided with a first evaporator temperature sensor disposed to detect a temperature of the first evaporator, and a second evaporator temperature sensor disposed to detect the temperature of the second evaporator. In this case, the control unit controls the frost removing member to perform the frost removing operation when a temperature detected by any one of the accumulator temperature detecting member and the first and second evaporator temperature sensors reaches a predetermined temperature or more.
- The control unit can perform the frost removing operation of the first and second evaporators in a state where the compressor is stopped.
- The frost removing member can be provided with a passage switching means arranged on a downstream side of refrigerant flow of the radiator, and a hot-gas supply passage through which high-temperature refrigerant from the passage switching means is supplied to an upstream side of the refrigerant flow of the second evaporator. In this case, the control unit controls the passage switching means to switch a refrigerant passage to the hot-gas supply passage in a state where the compressor is operated, and performs the frost removing operation of the first and second evaporators by using the high-temperature refrigerant.
- According to further another aspect of the present invention, an ejector cycle device includes a compressor that draws and compresses refrigerant, a radiator that radiates heat of high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor, an ejector that includes a nozzle portion for reducing pressure of refrigerant on a downstream side of the radiator to expand the refrigerant and draws refrigerant by a jet flow of refrigerant from the nozzle portion, a first evaporator that evaporates refrigerant to be drawn into a refrigerant suction port of the ejector to have a cooling capacity, a second evaporator that evaporates refrigerant flowing out of the ejector to have a cooling capacity, an accumulator that is arranged on a downstream side of the second evaporator in a refrigerant flow, a frost removing member that heats the first and second evaporators so as to perform a frost removing operation where frost adhering to the first and second evaporators is removed, an accumulator temperature detecting member that detects a temperature of the accumulator, and a control unit that controls the frost removing member to heat the first and second evaporators and to perform the frost removing operation when temperature of an outer wall of the accumulator detected by the accumulator temperature detecting member reaches a predetermined temperature. Even in this case, it can effectively restrict a component on a low refrigerant pressure side, such as the accumulator from being frosted.
- Even in this case, the frost removing member can be arranged on an upstream air side of the first and second evaporators.
- According to another aspect of the present invention, a frost removing member can be disposed to heat the first and second evaporators so as to perform a frost removing operation where frost adhering to the first and second evaporators is removed, and a control unit can control the frost removing member to perform the frost removing operation of the first and second evaporators. Therefore, it is possible to suitable perform the frost removing operation while effectively performing the cooling operation of the first and second evaporators.
- For example, the frost removing member can be constructed with a plurality of heater portions for heating the first and second evaporators in the frost removing operation. Furthermore, the frost removing member can be located at an upstream air side of each of first and second evaporators, or can be located to contact both the first and second evaporators, or can be located to heat both the first and second evaporators.
- Alternatively, the frost removing member can be provided at one side of the first and second evaporators. In this case, a radiant heat absorbing member can be provided at the other one of the first and second evaporators such that radiant heat from the frost removing member is delivered to the radiant heat absorbing member. Alternatively, the frost removing member is provided at one side of the first and second evaporators such that heat from the frost removing member is delivered to the other one of the first and second evaporators by convection.
- According to further another aspect of the present invention, in an ejector cycle device, a heat conductive member can be disposed to connect the first evaporator and the second evaporator so as to transfer heat between the first evaporator and the second evaporator. In this case, by performing the frost removing operation, frost on the first and second evaporators can be effectively removed in a short time.
- For example, the heat conductive member can be disposed to contact the frost removing member, or can be heat exchange fins disposed in the first and second evaporators, or a holding member for holding the first and second evaporators, or a side plates attached to side ends of the first and second evaporators.
- Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments when taken together with the accompanying drawings.
-
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 1st embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 2 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a passage opening/closing mechanism of an ejector in accordance with the 1st embodiment. -
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an electric control unit of the 1st embodiment. -
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the operation of the 1st embodiment. -
FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing operation of an opening and closing control of an opening/closing valve when a compressor is stopped in accordance with the 1st embodiment. -
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the operation of components of an ejector cycle device according to a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a way to determine a pump downtime in accordance with the 2nd embodiment. -
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 3rd embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the operation of components of the ejector cycle device according to the 3rd embodiment. -
FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams showing operation of an opening and closing control of an opening/closing valve when a compressor is stopped in accordance with the 3rd embodiment. -
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the operation of components of an ejector cycle device according to a 4th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 5th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the operation of components of an ejector cycle device according to the 5th embodiment. -
FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 6th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 7th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the operation of components of an ejector cycle device according to the 7th embodiment. -
FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with an 8th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the operation of components of the ejector cycle device according to the 8th embodiment. -
FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 9th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 10th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with an 11th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 12th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 13th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 14th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 15th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 16th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 17th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with an 18th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 29 is a diagram showing examples of the settings of interval of a frost removing operation (defrosting operation) with respect to an outside air temperature. -
FIG. 30 is a time chart showing a frost removing control (defrosting control) in the ejector cycle device inFIG. 28 . -
FIG. 31 is a diagram showing examples of the settings of a predetermined temperature T with respect to an outside air temperature. -
FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 19th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 20th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 34 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 21st embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 35 is a time chart showing a frost removing control in the ejector cycle device inFIG. 34 . -
FIG. 36 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 22nd embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 37 is a time chart showing a frost removing control in the ejector cycle device inFIG. 36 . -
FIG. 38 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 23rd embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 39A is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 24th embodiment of the present invention andFIG. 39B is a view when viewed from a direction shown by arrow A inFIG. 39A . -
FIG. 40A is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device for a vehicle in accordance with a 25th embodiment of the present invention andFIG. 40B is a view when viewed from a direction shown by arrow B inFIG. 40A . -
FIGS. 41A and 41B are a schematic front view and a schematic side view, respectively, showing an arrangement example of evaporators and an electric heater in accordance with a 26th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIGS. 42A and 42B are a schematic front view and a schematic side view, respectively, showing an arrangement example of evaporators and an electric heater in accordance with a 27th embodiment of the present invention. -
FIGS. 43A and 43B are schematic views showing an arrangement example of evaporators and an electric heater in accordance with a 28th embodiment of the present invention, in whichFIG. 43A shows a state of a normal operation and FIG. 43B shows a state at the time of frost removing operation. -
FIGS. 44A and 44B are a front view and a side view, respectively, showing an arrangement example of evaporators and an electric heater in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. -
FIGS. 45A and 45B are a front view and a side view, respectively, showing an arrangement example of evaporators and an electric heater in accordance with further another embodiment of the present invention. -
FIGS. 46A and 46B are a front view and a side view, respectively, showing an arrangement example of evaporators and an electric heater in accordance with further another embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 47A is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device in accordance with a 29th embodiment of the present invention, andFIG. 47B is a view when viewed from a direction shown by arrow A inFIG. 47A . -
FIG. 48 is a graph showing a change in a refrigerating capacity and a change in a frost removing performance (defrosting performance) in accordance with a heat transferring amount of integrated fins. -
FIG. 49A is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device in accordance with a 30th embodiment of the present invention, andFIG. 49B is a view when viewed from a direction shown by arrow B inFIG. 49A . -
FIGS. 50A and 50B are a schematic front view and a schematic side view, respectively, showing an arrangement example of evaporators and an electric heater in accordance with a 31st embodiment of the present invention. -
FIGS. 51A and 51B are a schematic front view and a schematic side view, respectively, showing an arrangement example of evaporators and an electric heater in accordance with a 32nd embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 1 andFIG. 2 show the 1st embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 1 shows an example to which anejector cycle device 10 in accordance with the 1st embodiment is used for a refrigerating device for a vehicle. Here, the refrigerating device for a vehicle of this embodiment cools the inside of a compartment (space) to an extremely low temperature of, for example, approximately −20° C. - In the
ejector cycle device 10 of this embodiment, acompressor 11 for sucking and compressing refrigerant is rotated and driven by a vehicle driving engine (not shown) via anelectromagnetic clutch 12, a belt, and the like. Thiscompressor 11 is connected to and disconnected from the vehicle driving engine by intermittently passing current through the electromagnetic clutch 12, thereby being intermittently operated. That is, the refrigerant discharge capacity of thecompressor 11 is controlled by changing the rate of intermittent operation of thecompressor 11 by intermittently operating theelectromagnetic clutch 12. - A
radiator 13 is arranged on the refrigerant discharge side of thiscompressor 11. Theradiator 13 exchanges heat between high-pressure refrigerant discharged from thecompressor 11 and outside air (air outside the vehicle compartment) sent by a cooling fan (not shown) to cool the high-pressure refrigerant. - In this embodiment, a usual chlorofluorocarbon-based refrigerant is used as refrigerant circulating in a refrigerant cycle. In this case, the
ejector cycle device 10 constructs a subcritical-pressure cycle in which high pressure does not exceed the critical pressure of the refrigerant. Hence, theradiator 13 operates as a condenser for cooling and condensing refrigerant. - A
liquid receiver 14 is arranged as a vapor—liquid separator for separating the vapor and liquid of refrigerant and for storing liquid refrigerant on the downstream of refrigerant flow of theradiator 13, and liquid refrigerant is discharged from thisliquid receiver 14 to the downstream side. Athrottle mechanism 15 is connected to the downstream side of refrigerant flow of theliquid receiver 14. - Specifically, this
throttle mechanism 15 is constructed of a fixed throttle such as a capillary tube and an orifice and reduces high-pressure liquid refrigerant from theliquid receiver 14 to middle-pressure refrigerant in the state of two phases of vapor and liquid. Then, an opening/closingvalve 16 is connected to the downstream side of thisthrottle mechanism 15. Specifically, this opening/closingvalve 16 is constructed of an electromagnetic valve and is opened and closed in operative connection with the intermittent operation of thecompressor 11 as will be described below. - Then, an
ejector 17 is arranged on the more downstream side of the opening/closingvalve 16. Thisejector 17 is used as a pressure reducing means for reducing the pressure of refrigerant and also a refrigerant circulating means (momentum transport type pump) for circulating refrigerant by the suction operation (entangling action) of refrigerant flow jetting at high speeds. - The
ejector 17 is provided with: anozzle portion 17 a that reduces the area of a passage, through which middle-pressure refrigerant having passed through the opening/closingvalve 16 flows, and reduces the pressure of the middle-pressure refrigerant to thereby expand the middle-pressure refrigerant in an isentropic manner; and arefrigerant suction port 17 b that is arranged in the same space as the refrigerant jetting port of thenozzle portion 17 a and draws vapor-phase refrigerant from afirst evaporator 18 to be described later. - A mixing
portion 17 c for mixing high-speed refrigerant from thenozzle portion 17 a and refrigerant drawn from therefrigerant suction port 17 b is arranged on the downstream side of thenozzle portion 17 a and therefrigerant suction port 17 b. Then, adiffuser portion 17 d forming a pressure increasing part is arranged on the downstream side of the mixingportion 17 c in theejector 17. - This
diffuser portion 17 d is formed in a shape gradually increasing the area of passage of refrigerant and performs an action of reducing the speed of refrigerant flow and of increasing the pressure of refrigerant, that is, an action of converting the velocity energy of refrigerant to the pressure energy thereof. - Further, the
ejector 17 is provided with a passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e for variably controlling the area of passage of thenozzle portion 17 a.FIG. 2 shows an example of this passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e and aneedle 17 f arranged in the passage of thenozzle portion 17 a in such a way as to move in the direction of length of the passage. The tip of thisneedle 17 f is formed in a slender and pointed shape (tapered shape). - The base portion of the
needle 17 f is connected to a drivingportion 17 g and theneedle 17 f is moved in the direction of length of the passage (in the up and down direction inFIG. 2 ) by the operating force of this drivingportion 17 g. - When the
needle 17 f is moved down from the position inFIG. 2 and the large-diameter portion of theneedle 17 f is brought into press contact with the inside wall surface of the minimum passage portion of thenozzle portion 17 a, the passage of thenozzle portion 17 a can be fully closed. As the drivingportion 17 g, a motor actuator such as a stepping motor or an electromagnetic solenoid mechanism can be used. That is, various kinds of driving means to be electrically controlled can be used as the drivingportion 17 g. - A
second evaporator 21 is connected to the downstream side of thediffuser portion 17 d of theejector 17 and the downstream side of refrigerant flow of thissecond evaporator 21 is connected to the suction side of thecompressor 11. - Meanwhile, a
refrigerant branch passage 19 is branched from the upstream part of theejector 17 and the downstream side of thisrefrigerant branch passage 19 is connected to therefrigerant suction portion 17 b of theejector 17. A reference symbol Z denotes the branch point of therefrigerant branch passage 19. - A
throttle mechanism 20 is arranged in thisrefrigerant branch passage 19, and thefirst evaporator 18 is arranged on the downstream side of thisthrottle mechanism 20. Thethrottle mechanism 20 is a pressure reducing unit for controlling the flow rate of refrigerant to thefirst evaporator 18 and, for example, can be constructed of a fixed throttle such as a capillary tube and an orifice. In this regard, an electric control valve having its valve opening (opening of throttle passage) controlled by an electrically-driven actuator may be used as thethrottle mechanism 20. - In this embodiment, both the first and
second evaporators evaporators - Air to be cooled is blown by a common electrically driven
blower 22 to the twoevaporators FIG. 1 , thereby the blown air is cooled by the twoevaporators evaporators common space 23 to be cooled, for example. In this manner, thecommon space 23 to be cooled is cooled by the twoevaporators - Here, among these two
evaporators second evaporator 21 connected to a passage on the downstream side of theejector 17 is arranged on the upstream side in the direction of flow of air, shown by arrow A, and thefirst evaporator 18 connected to therefrigerant suction port 17 b of theejector 17 is arranged on the downstream side in the direction of flow of air, shown by arrow A. - In this regard, in this embodiment, the
ejector cycle device 10 is used for the refrigerating device for a vehicle as described above and hence thecommon space 23 to be cooled is an inside space of a refrigerating unit for receiving goods to be refrigerated. In thespace 23 to be cooled, a temperature sensor (thermistor) 24 for detecting an inside temperature of thespace 23 is arranged. - Next, an electric control unit of this embodiment will be described on the basis of
FIG. 3 . Acontrol unit 25 is constructed of a well-known microcomputer, which includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and its peripheral circuit. Thiscontrol unit 25 performs various kinds of computations and processing on the basis of control programs stored in the ROM to control the operations of the above-mentionedvarious parts - Not only the detection value of the above-mentioned
temperature sensor 24 but also detection signals from a group ofsensors 26 and various kinds of operation signals from theoperation panel 27 are inputted to thecontrol unit 25. - Specifically, the group of
sensors 26 include an outside air sensor for detecting an outside air temperature (temperature outside the vehicle compartment) and the like. Theoperation panel 27 is provided with a temperature setting switch for setting the cooling temperature of thespace 23 to be cooled. - Next, the operation of the
ejector cycle device 10 of the 1st embodiment will be described. First, there will be described a basic operation in the state of operation of thecompressor 11. When current is passed through the electromagnetic clutch 12 by the control output of thecontrol unit 25 to bring the electromagnetic clutch 12 into the state of connection, the rotational power of the vehicle engine is transmitted to thecompressor 11 to operate thecompressor 11. - In this state of operation of the
compressor 11, the opening/closingvalve 16 is brought into a valve opening state by the control output of thecontrol unit 25. In theejector 17, the drivingportion 17 g is driven by the control output of thecontrol unit 25 to move theneedle 17 f to a specified opening position of thenozzle portion 17 a. - Hence, refrigerant in a high-temperature high-pressure state, which is compressed by and discharged from the
compressor 11, flows into theradiator 13. In theradiator 13, the high-temperature refrigerant is cooled and condensed by the outside air. The refrigerant after passing through theradiator 13 is separated into vapor and liquid by theliquid receiver 14 and the high-pressure liquid refrigerant is discharged to the downstream side of theliquid receiver 14 and is passed through thethrottle mechanism 15. - The high-pressure liquid refrigerant is decompressed in the opening/closing
valve 16 to a middle pressure, thereby being brought into a two-phase state of vapor and liquid phases. This middle-pressure refrigerant is branched at the branch point Z into a refrigerant flow toward theejector 17 and a refrigerant flow toward therefrigerant branch passage 19. - The refrigerant flowing into the
ejector 17 is reduced in pressure and is expanded by thenozzle portion 17 a. Hence, the pressure energy of the refrigerant is converted into velocity energy by thenozzle portion 17 a and the refrigerant is jetted out at a high speed from the jet port of thisnozzle portion 17 a. The refrigerant (vapor-phase refrigerant) after passing through thefirst evaporator 18 of therefrigerant branch passage 19 is drawn from therefrigerant suction port 17 b by a reduction in pressure of the refrigerant at this time. - The refrigerant jetted from the
nozzle portion 17 a and the refrigerant drawn into therefrigerant suction port 17 b mix with each other in the mixingpotion 17 c on the downstream side of thenozzle portion 17 a and flows into thediffuser portion 17 d. In thisdiffuser portion 17 d, the area of passage is increased to convert the velocity energy (expansion energy) of refrigerant to pressure energy, thereby the pressure of refrigerant is increased. - The refrigerant flowing out of the
diffuser portion 17 d of theejector 17 flows into thesecond evaporator 21. In thesecond evaporator 21, the low-pressure refrigerant at low temperature absorbs heat from the air blown in the direction shown by arrow A and evaporates. The vapor-phase refrigerant after evaporation is drawn into thecompressor 11 and is again compressed. - In contrast, the refrigerant flowing into the
refrigerant branch passage 19 has its pressure reduced by thethrottle mechanism 20 and becomes low-pressure refrigerant, and the low-pressure refrigerant flows into thefirst evaporator 18. In thefirst evaporator 18, the refrigerant absorbs heat from air blown in the direction shown by arrow A and evaporates. The vapor-phase refrigerant after evaporation is drawn into theejector 17 through therefrigerant suction port 17 b. - As described above, according to this embodiment, the refrigerant on the downstream side of the
diffuser portion 17 d of theejector 17 can be supplied to thesecond evaporator 21 and the refrigerant on therefrigerant branch passage 19 side can be supplied to thefirst evaporator 18 through thethrottle mechanism 20. Hence, the first andsecond evaporators second evaporators space 23 to be cooled to cool thespace 23. - At this time, the refrigerant evaporation pressure of the
second evaporator 21 becomes pressure increased by thediffuser portion 17 d, whereas the outlet of thefirst evaporator 18 is connected to therefrigerant suction port 17 b of theejector 17. Accordingly, the lowest pressure, which is produced immediately after thenozzle portion 17 a, can be applied to thefirst evaporator 18. - With this, the refrigerant evaporation pressure (refrigerant evaporation temperature) of the
first evaporator 18 can be lower than the refrigerant evaporation pressure (refrigerant evaporation temperature) of thesecond evaporator 21. Thesecond evaporator 21 having a higher refrigerant evaporation temperature is arranged on the upstream side in the direction of flow of air shown by arrow A and thefirst evaporator 18 having a lower refrigerant evaporation temperature is arranged on the downstream side. Hence, both of a temperature difference between the refrigerant evaporation temperature and air temperature in thesecond evaporator 21 and a temperature difference between the refrigerant evaporation temperature and air temperature in thefirst evaporator 18 can be secured. - For this reason, the first and
second evaporators common space 23 to be cooled can be effectively increased by a combination of the first andsecond evaporators compressor 11 can be increased by thediffuser portion 17 d so as to decrease the driving power of thecompressor 11. - Moreover, in the ejector cycle device of this embodiment, the
refrigerant branch passage 19 branched from the branch point Z on the upstream side of theejector 17 is connected to therefrigerant suction port 17 b of theejector 17, and is provided with thethrottle mechanism 20 and thefirst evaporator 18. Hence, the low-pressure refrigerant of two phases of vapor and liquid can be independently supplied to thefirst evaporator 18 through therefrigerant branch passage 19. - For this reason, the flow rate of refrigerant flowing into the
first evaporator 18 can be independently controlled by thethrottle mechanism 20 without depending on the function of theejector 17. - Moreover, under condition that cycle thermal load is small, the difference between high pressure and low pressure in the cycle becomes small, and therefore, a refrigerant amount flowing input to the
ejector 17 becomes small. In this case, in the conventional cycle of JP-B1-3322263, the flow rate of refrigerant passing through the evaporator on the ejector suction side (corresponding to thefirst evaporator 18 in this embodiment) depends only on the refrigerant suction capacity of the ejector. Hence, an input refrigerant amount to the ejector decreases→the refrigerant suction capacity of the ejector decreases→the flow rate of refrigerant of suction-side evaporator decreases. This makes it difficult to secure the cooling capacity of the suction-side evaporator. - In contrast to this, according to this embodiment, the refrigerant flow is branched on the upstream side of the
ejector 17 and this branched refrigerant is drawn into therefrigerant suction port 17 b through therefrigerant branch passage 19. Hence, therefrigerant branch passage 19 is connected in parallel with theejector 17 in therefrigerant cycle device 10. - For this reason, the
refrigerant branch passage 19 can be supplied with the refrigerant by using not only the refrigerant suction capacity of theejector 17 but also the refrigerant suction/discharge capacity of thecompressor 11. With this, even when a phenomenon that the input of theejector 17 decreases, the degree of a decrease in the flow rate of refrigerant of thefirst evaporator 18 can be made smaller. Hence, even under the conditions of low thermal load, the cooling capacity of thefirst evaporator 18 can be easily secured. - Next, the intermittent control of the
compressor 11 will be described. Basically, the operation of thecompressor 11 is intermittently controlled on the basis of such inside temperature Tr of thespace 23 to be cooled (hereinafter, referred to “inside temperature”) that is detected by thetemperature sensor 24. - Specifically, as shown in
FIG. 4 , when the inside temperature Tr decreases to a lower limit set temperature Toff, thecontrol unit 25 interrupts the passage of current through the electromagnetic clutch 12 to stop the operation of thecompressor 11. When the inside temperature Tr is increased to an upper limit set temperature Ton by stopping the operation of thecompressor 11, thecontrol unit 25 passes current through the electromagnetic clutch 12 to start thecompressor 11 again. - Here, the lower limit set temperature Toff is, for example, approximately from −20° C. to −22° C., and the upper limit set temperature Ton is a predetermined temperature higher than the lower limit set temperature Toff, for example, approximately from −16° C. to −18° C.
- In this manner, by intermittently controlling the operation of the
compressor 11 according to the level of the inside temperature Tr, the inside temperature Tr is controlled to within a predetermined temperature range between the lower limit set temperature Toff and the upper limit set temperature Ton. - The opening/closing
valve 16 and the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 are controlled by thecontrol unit 25 in operatively connection with the intermittent control of thecompressor 11 as follows. That is, when the inside temperature Tr decreases to the lower limit set temperature Toff, both of the opening/closingvalve 16 and the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 are brought to a closing state in operative connection with the stopping of operation of thecompressor 11. - The opening/closing
valve 16 is continuously kept in a closing state for a first specified time t1 in a period during which thecompressor 11 is stopped and then, first, is returned to an opening state. When the opening/closingvalve 16 is returned to the opening state and then a second specified time t2 passes, the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 is returned to an opening state. - After the passage opening/
closing mechanism 17 e is returned to the opening state, thecompressor 11 is again started. Here, the first specified time t1 and the second specified time t2 are set in such a way that t1>t2. - Specifically, either a first control based on the inside temperature Tr or a second control based on a timer function may be used for the control of opening and closing the opening/closing
valve 16 and the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17. - First, the first control will be now described. In the first control, as shown in
FIG. 4 , a first auxiliary set temperature T1, which is higher than the lower limit set temperature Toff by a specified value, and a second auxiliary set temperature T2, which is a little higher than the first auxiliary set temperature T1 and a little lower than the upper limit set temperature Ton, are set as set temperatures for the inside temperature Tr. - When the
compressor 11 is stopped and then the inside temperature Tr increases to the first auxiliary set temperature T1, first, the opening/closingvalve 16 is returned to an opening state. When the inside temperature Tr further increases to the second auxiliary set temperature T2, the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 is also returned to an opening state. Then, when the inside temperature Tr still further increases to the upper limit set temperature Ton, thecompressor 11 is started again.FIG. 5A is a diagram for collectively showing such opening/closing states of the opening/closingvalve 16 that are determined on the basis of the inside temperature Tr. - In contrast to this, the second control, the above-mentioned first specified time t1 and the second specified time t2 are directly set by the timer function of the
control unit 25.FIG. 5B shows an example of a method of determining the first specified time t1, that is, the time t1 required to close the opening/closingvalve 16, and the this example will be later described in detail. - By bringing the opening/closing
valve 16 into a closing state in operative connection with the operation of stopping thecompressor 11 as described above, the passage on the upstream side of the branch point Z is brought into a shut state. With this, when thecompressor 11 is stopped, it is possible to prevent the refrigerant on the upstream side of the opening/closingvalve 16 from being flowed into the passage to theejector 17 and into therefrigerant branch passage 19 by the difference between high pressure and low pressure in the cycle. - For this reason, when the
compressor 11 is stopped, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of flowing noises when the refrigerant passes through thenozzle portion 17 a of theejector 17 and thethrottle mechanism 20 of thebranch passage 19. - At the same time, it is possible to prevent liquid refrigerant from collecting in the first and
second evaporators compressor 11 when the compressor is started next time. - Moreover, it is possible to prevent the refrigerant on the upstream side of the opening/closing
valve 16 from flowing into the first andsecond evaporators valve 16 is in a closing state. Hence, this can prevent high pressure and low pressure in the cycle from being brought into balance. - Specifically, as shown by solid lines H and L in the lower part in
FIG. 4 , for the first specified time t1 during which the opening/closingvalve 16 is kept in a closing state after thecompressor 11 is stopped, high pressure becomes a little lower than when thecompressor 11 is operated, and low pressure becomes a little higher than when thecompressor 11 is operated and is kept at a comparatively low value. - This means that refrigerant temperatures in the first and
second evaporators compressor 11 is stopped. - When the refrigerant flows into the first and
second evaporators compressor 11 is stopped, low pressure increases→refrigerant temperature in the first andsecond evaporators compressor 11 is stopped, the above-mentioned trouble can be avoided by bringing the opening/closingvalve 16 into a closing state. - When the
compressor 11 is stopped, the first andsecond evaporators blower 22 for blowing air to the first andsecond evaporators compressor 11. However, when it is necessary to make a temperature distribution in thespace 23 to be cooled uniform, the electrically drivenblower 22 may be continuously operated also when thecompressor 11 is stopped. - Moreover, when the opening/closing
valve 16 is closed in operative connection with the operation of stopping thecompressor 11 to suddenly interrupt the flow of non-compressive liquid-phase refrigerant, the refrigerant pressure on the upstream side of the opening/closingvalve 16 may be abruptly increased to cause a water hammering phenomenon and to produce abnormal noises. However, in this embodiment, thethrottle mechanism 15 is arranged on the upstream side of the opening/closingvalve 16 and the flow of the middle-pressure refrigerant, which is reduced in pressure by thisthrottle mechanism 15 and is brought into the state of two phases of vapor and liquid, is interrupted by the opening/closingvalve 16. Hence, the opening/closingvalve 16 eventually interrupts the flow of refrigerant including compressive vapor-phase refrigerant. - As a result, this can prevent refrigerant pressure on the upstream side of the opening/closing
valve 16 from increasing suddenly when the opening/closingvalve 16 is closed. Hence, it is possible to avoid a water hammering phenomenon (liquid hammering phenomenon) and to prevent the occurrence of abnormal noises caused by the phenomenon. - The opening/closing
valve 16 is kept in a closing state for the first specified time t1 and then is returned to an opening state. At this time, the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 is still kept in the closing state. Hence, the refrigerant passing through the opening/closingvalve 16 passes through only therefrigerant branch passage 19 and flows through thefirst evaporator 18→theejector 17→thesecond evaporator 21. - This can make high pressure and low pressure in the cycle uniform, that is, can bring high pressure and low pressure into balance. Specifically, when the opening/closing
valve 16 is opened, high-pressure refrigerant flows into a low-pressure passage, thereby high pressure decreases to a still lower value when the opening/closingvalve 16 is closed as shown by the solid line H in the lower part inFIG. 4 . With this, the low pressure increases to a still higher value when the opening/closingvalve 16 is closed as shown by the solid line L. - The high pressure and the low pressure in the cycle are brought into balance between the time when opening/closing
valve 16 is opened and the time when thecompressor 11 is again started (for the time t3). This time t3 becomes the period for a pressure balance. The broken lines b, c of the high pressure and the low pressure in the lower part inFIG. 4 show pressure balance when the opening/closingvalve 16 is not opened and closed (or controlled) as shown by the broken line d and show a case where the high pressure and the low pressure are completely brought into balance at the same pressure of an intermediate pressure between them. - In this embodiment, the high pressure and the low pressure in the cycle are brought into balance only for a period t3 of the latter half part during a period for which the
compressor 11 is stopped. Hence, pressure balance is finished before the high pressure and the low pressure are brought to the same intermediate pressure. As a result, even when the pressure balance is finished (when thecompressor 11 is again started), a pressure difference exists between the high pressure and the low pressure, as shown inFIG. 4 . - However, the pressure difference between the high pressure and the low pressure can be decreased by bringing the high pressure and the low pressure in the cycle into balance. Accordingly, power required to start the
compressor 11 can be decreased by a large amount as compared with a case where thecompressor 11 is started again while a large pressure difference is kept between the high pressure and the low pressure. - Moreover, the passage opening/
closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 is kept in the closing state for a period t2 that is a large portion of this pressure balance period t3. Hence, it is possible to prevent the refrigerant from making flowing noises at thenozzle portion 17 a of theejector 17. - In
FIG. 4 , the timing, when the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 is returned to an opening state, precedes by a little time than the timing when thecompressor 11 is again started. However, this is because the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e is surely brought into an opening state before thecompressor 11 is again started. Accordingly, when the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e can be brought into an opening state within an extremely short time, the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e may be returned to the opening state at the same time when thecompressor 11 is again started. - In
FIG. 4 , both of the opening/closingvalve 16 and the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e are simultaneously brought into a closing state at the same time when thecompressor 11 is closed. However, it is possible to prevent the refrigerant from flowing into theejector 17 by bringing the opening/closingvalve 16 into a closing state. Hence, the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e may be brought into a closing state after a specified time from the time when the opening/closingvalve 16 is closed as shown by a broken line “a” inFIG. 4 . - By the way, describing a preferable specific example in a case where the time period during which the opening/closing
valve 16 is in a closing state (first specified time t1) is set in the manner shown by the second control by the timer function of thecontrol unit 25, there is a correlation that the smaller the cycle thermal load, the smaller the degree of increase in the inside temperature for a period during which thecompressor 11 is stopped and the longer the period during which thecompressor 11 is stopped. - As shown in
FIG. 5B , the time t1 during which the opening/closingvalve 16 is in a closing state may be determined according to the outside air temperature Tam. For example, when the outside air temperature Tam is within a low temperature range of not higher than a first predetermined temperature Ta, it is determined that the time t1 during which the opening/closingvalve 16 is in a closing state is A (minutes); when the outside air temperature Tam is within an intermediate temperature range of higher than the first predetermined temperature Ta to not higher than a second predetermined temperature Tb, it is determined that the time t1 during which the opening/closingvalve 16 is in a closing state is B (minutes); and when the outside air temperature Tam is within a high temperature range of more than the second predetermined temperature Tb, it is determined that the time t1 during which the opening/closingvalve 16 is in a closing state is C (minutes). - There is a relationship of A>B>C among the valve closing times A, B and C, and the time t1 during which the opening/closing
valve 16 is in a closing state is made longer as the outside air temperature becomes lower (that is, the thermal load in the cycle decreases). With this, the time t1 during which the opening/closingvalve 16 is in a closing state can be determined to be an appropriate time corresponding to thermal load condition. - In
FIG. 4 , a case has been described where thecompressor 11 is intermittently operated on the basis of a change in the inside temperature Tr. However, also in a case where an occupant manually operates a cycle operating switch fitted in theoperation panel 27 to intermittently operate thecompressor 11, it is only necessary to control the operations of various kinds of parts in the manner shown inFIG. 4 . - In the 1st embodiment, the opening/closing
valve 16 is closed in operative connection with the operation of stopping thecompressor 11. However, in the 2nd embodiment, as shown inFIG. 6 , when the inside temperature Tr of the space to be cooled decreases to the lower limit set temperature Toff, first, the opening/closingvalve 16 is closed before thecompressor 11 is stopped. With this, thecompressor 11 is continuously operated for a specified time t4 with the upstream passage of the branch point Z held shut and then is stopped after this specified time t4 passes. - Here, the specified time t4 is a period of a pump-down operation in which the
compressor 11 draws refrigerant on the low pressure side of the cycle and moves the refrigerant to high pressure side and holds the refrigerant on the high pressure side. By performing this pump-down operation, the amount of refrigerant collected in the first andsecond evaporators compressor 11 is stopped can be further reduced as compared with the 1st embodiment. Hence, it is possible to more effectively prevent a danger that the liquid refrigerant is returned to thecompressor 11 and is compressed when thecompressor 11 is again started next time. - For example, it is preferable that the pump downtime t4 is determined specifically according to the outside air temperature as shown in
FIG. 7 . That is, when the outside air temperature is within a low temperature range of not higher than the first predetermined temperature Ta, it is determined that the pump downtime t4=G; when the outside air temperature is within an intermediate temperature range of more than the first predetermined temperature Ta to not higher than the second predetermined temperature Tb, it is determined that the pump downtime t4=H; and when the outside air temperature is within a high temperature range of higher than the second predetermined temperature Tb, it is determined that the pump downtime t4=I. - There is a relationship of G>H>I among the pump downtimes G, H, and I, and the pump downtime t4 is determined to become longer as the outside air temperature Tam becomes lower (that is, the thermal load in the cycle decreases). With this, the pump downtime t4 can be determined to be an appropriate time corresponding to thermal load condition.
- In the 1st embodiment, the
throttle mechanism 15 and the opening/closingvalve 16 are arranged on the upstream side of the branch point Z on the upstream side of theejector 17. However, in the 3rd embodiment, as shown inFIG. 8 , thethrottle mechanism 15 and the opening/closingvalve 16 arranged on the upstream side of theejector 17 in the above-described first embodiment are not arranged, but the opening/closingvalve 16 is interposed between the downstream side of thethrottle mechanism 20 of therefrigerant branch passage 19 and the upstream side of thefirst evaporator 18. - Hence, according to the 3rd embodiment, the opening/closing
valve 16 shuts only the passage of therefrigerant branch passage 19. Hence, in the 3rd embodiment, both of the opening/closingvalve 16 and the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 are brought into a closing state at the same time in operative connection with the operation of stopping thecompressor 11. With this, the passage of theejector 17 can be shut by the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 when thecompressor 11 is stopped. -
FIG. 9 shows the operation of various kinds of parts operatively connected with the intermittent operation of thecompressor 11 according to the 3rd embodiment. The operation can be the same as inFIG. 4 except that the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 is surely brought into a closing state at the same time when thecompressor 11 is stopped. In this regard, inFIG. 9 , a reference symbol t5 shows the time during which the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 is in a closing state when thecompressor 11 is stopped. -
FIG. 10A shows control examples in a case where the opening/closingvalve 16 and the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 are determined on the basis of the inside temperature Tr when thecompressor 11 is stopped in the 3rd embodiment.FIG. 10A has features similar toFIG.5A , and its specific description will be omitted. -
FIG. 10B shows control examples in a case where the time t1 during which the opening/closingvalve 16 is in a closing state and the time t5 during which the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 is in a closing state when thecompressor 11 is stopped are determined by the timer function in the 3rd embodiment.FIG. 10B has the same features as inFIG. 5B , that is, the time t1 during which the opening/closingvalve 16 is in a closing state when thecompressor 11 is stopped is set to become longer as the outside air temperature Tam becomes lower. In the drawing, there is a relationship of A>B>C among the valve closing times A, B, and C. Moreover, the time t5 during which the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 is in a closing state when thecompressor 11 is stopped is also set to become longer as the outside air temperature Tam becomes lower. In the drawing, there is a relationship of D>E>F among the closing times D, E, and F. - A 4th embodiment is a combination of the above-mentioned 3rd embodiment (cycle construction in
FIG. 8 ) and the pump down control ofFIG. 6 (2nd embodiment). -
FIG. 11 shows the operations of various kinds of parts operatively connected with the intermittent operation of thecompressor 11 according to the 4th embodiment. When the inside temperature Tr decreases to the lower limit set temperature Toff, both of the opening/closingvalve 16 and the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 are simultaneously brought into a closing state before thecompressor 11 is stopped. - With this, the upstream portion of the
first evaporator 18 of therefrigerant branch passage 19 can be shut and the inlet of theejector 17 can be shut. Thecompressor 11 is continuously operated for the specified time t4 with the passage held shut, and then is stopped after this specified time t4 passes. - Hence, the
compressor 11 performs a pump-down operation of sucking refrigerant on the low pressure side of the cycle and moving the refrigerant to the high pressure side for the specified time t4. With this, it is possible to more effectively decrease the amount of refrigerant collected in the first andsecond evaporators compressor 11 is stopped. - Also in the 4th embodiment, the time t4 of pump-down operation may be set to become longer as the outside air temperature Tam becomes lower (that is, the thermal load in the cycle decreases) as shown in
FIG. 7 . -
FIG. 12 shows the 5th embodiment and corresponds to a cycle construction in which a portion of the cycle construction of the 1st embodiment is modified. That is, in the 5th embodiment, apassage switching mechanism 30 is arranged on the downstream side of thefirst evaporator 18 of therefrigerant branch passage 19. - Specifically, this
passage switching mechanism 30 is constructed of three-way solenoid valve and switches between a first state where the downstream portion of thefirst evaporator 18 is directly connected to the downstream side of the second evaporator 21 (suction side of the compressor 11) and a second state where the downstream portion of thefirst evaporator 18 is connected to therefrigerant suction port 17. - In the 1st embodiment, the first and
second evaporators second evaporators blower 22 that is common to the first andsecond evaporators common space 23 to be cooled by the first andsecond evaporators - That is, in the 5th embodiment, the first and
second evaporators separate spaces second evaporators separate blowers separate spaces - Here, because the refrigerant evaporation temperature of the
first evaporator 18 is lower than that of thesecond evaporator 21, the inside temperature of thefirst space 23 a to be cooled by thefirst evaporator 18 is lower than the inside temperature of thesecond space 23 b to be cooled by thesecond evaporator 21. For this reason, thesecond space 23 b to be cooled is used, for example, as a cooling chamber in a refrigerator and thefirst space 23 a to be cooled is used, for example, as a refrigerating chamber of the refrigerator. -
Temperature sensors spaces temperature sensors FIG. 2 ) and the switching operation of thepassage switching mechanism 30 and the operations of the other parts (compressor 11, the ejector passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e, and the opening/closing valve 16) are controlled by the control output of thiscontrol unit 25. -
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the operation of the 5th embodiment. Lower limit set temperatures Toff1, Toff2 and upper limit set temperatures Ton1, ton2 are set to the inside temperature Tr1 of thefirst space 23 a to be cooled, which is detected by thefirst temperature sensor 24 a, and the inside temperature Tr2 of thesecond space 23 b to be cooled, which is detected by thesecond temperature sensor 24 b, respectively. - When the second inside temperature Tr2 decreases to the lower limit set temperature Toff2 at a time t10, the
control unit 25 switches thepassage switching mechanism 30 from the second state to the first state. Hence, the downstream portion of thefirst evaporator 18 is directly connected to the downstream side (suction side of the compressor 11) of thesecond evaporator 21. At the same time, thecontrol unit 25 brings thepassage switching mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 into a closing state. Hence, refrigerant flow passing through theejector 17 is interrupted and refrigerant flow into thesecond evaporator 21 is prevented. - With this, the cooling operation of the
second evaporator 21 is stopped and hence the inside temperature Tr2 of thesecond space 23 b to be cooled starts to increase. In contrast, refrigerant continuously flows through thefirst evaporator 18 and hence the inside temperature Tr1 of thefirst space 23 a to be cooled decreases further also after the time t10. - When the inside temperature Tr1 of the
first space 23 a to be cooled decreases to the lower limit set temperature Toff1 at time t11, thecontrol unit 25 brings thecompressor 11 into a stopping state and at the same time brings the opening/closingvalve 16 into a closing state. This closing state of the opening/closingvalve 16 is continued for the time t1, thereby the refrigerant is prevented from flowing into thefirst evaporator 18 and thesecond evaporator 21. Hence, the inside temperature Tr1 of thefirst space 23 a to be cooled starts to increase from the time t11. - Then, after the time t1 passes, the opening/closing
valve 16 returns to the opening state. At this time, because thecompressor 11 is continuously held stopped, when the opening/closingvalve 16 is opened, the high pressure and low pressure of the cycle are changed in the direction of making pressures uniform, thereby being brought into balance. The high pressure and low pressure of the cycle are brought into balance for the time t3 until thecompressor 11 is again started. In contrast, after the opening/closingvalve 16 returns to the opening state and then the time t2 passes, the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 returns to the opening state (time t2<time t3). - When the inside temperature Tr2 of the
second space 23 b to be cooled increases to the upper limit set temperature Ton2 at a time t12, thecontrol unit 25 starts thecompressor 11 again and switches thepassage switching mechanism 30 from the first state to the second state. Hence, the downstream portion of thefirst evaporator 18 is connected to therefrigerant suction port 17 b of theejector 17. - Thereafter, the above-mentioned operation is repeatedly performed, thereby the inside temperature Tr1 of the
first space 23 a to be cooled and the inside temperature Tr2 of thesecond space 23 b to be cooled can be controlled to within a predetermined temperature range between their lower limit set temperatures Toff1, Toff2 and the upper limit set temperatures Ton1, Ton2. At the same time, the operation and effect of preventing the liquid refrigerant from collecting in the first andsecond evaporators compressor 11 is stopped can be exerted similarly to the 1st embodiment. - By the way, in the above-mentioned description of operation has been provided a description to the effect that the
compressor 11 is stopped when the inside temperature Tr1 of thefirst space 23 a to be cooled decreases to the lower limit set temperature Toff1. More specifically, when an AND condition (predetermined condition) that the inside temperature Tr1 of thefirst space 23 a to be cooled (one space to be cooled) decreases to the lower limit set temperature Toff1 and that the inside temperature Tr2 of thesecond space 23 b to be cooled (other space to be cooled) does not increase to the upper limit set temperature Ton2 is satisfied, thecompressor 11 is stopped. This is because it is possible to determine a state where the cooling actions of both of the first andsecond evaporators - That is, when the inside temperature of either of these two
spaces compressor 11. - Moreover,
FIG. 13 shows an example in which thecompressor 11 is again started when the inside temperature Tr2 of thesecond space 23 b to be cooled increases to the upper limit set temperature Ton2. However, when the inside temperature Tr1 of thefirst space 23 a to be cooled increases to the upper limit set temperature Ton1 earlier than the inside temperature Tr2 of thesecond space 23 b to be cooled increases to the upper limit set temperature Ton2, it is only necessary to start thecompressor 11 again at that time. - The bottom line is that the
compressor 11 is continuously held stopped before both of the inside temperature Tr1 of thefirst space 23 a to be cooled and the inside temperature Tr2 of thesecond space 23 b to be cooled do not increase to the upper limit set temperatures Ton1, Ton2 and that it is only necessary to start thecompressor 11 again when either of the inside temperature Tr1 of thefirst space 23 a to be cooled or the inside temperature Tr2 of thesecond space 23 b to be cooled increases to either of the upper limit set temperatures Ton1, Ton2. - In this regard, it is only necessary to operate the
blowers second spaces evaporators blower 22 a of thefirst space 23 a to be cooled in operative connection with the interruption of the refrigerant flow to thefirst evaporator 18 and to restart theblower 22 a in operative connection with the restarting of thecompressor 11. Similarly, it is only necessary to stop theblower 22 b of thesecond space 23 b to be cooled in operative connection with the interruption of the refrigerant flow into thesecond evaporator 21 and to restart theblower 22 b in operative connection with the restarting of thecompressor 11. -
FIG. 16 shows the 6th embodiment that is a modification of the 5th embodiment. In the 6th embodiment, thebypass passage 31 of thesecond evaporator 21 is arranged and apassage switching mechanism 30 is arranged at the branch point of thisbypass passage 31 and thesecond evaporator 21. - Specifically, this
passage switching mechanism 30 is also constructed of a three-way solenoid valve and switches a first state in which the downstream portion of theejector 17 is connected to thebypass passage 31 and a second state in which the downstream portion of theejector 17 is connected to thesecond evaporator 21. - Specifically, the operation of the 6th embodiment may be performed in the same way as shown in
FIG. 13 described above. However, when thepassage switching mechanism 30 is switched from the second state to the first state at the time t10 inFIG. 13 in the 6th embodiment, refrigerant flow into thesecond evaporator 21 is interrupted. Hence, at this point of time, it is not necessary to bring the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 into a closing state but the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e is continuously held open. - Then, when the
compressor 11 is stopped and the opening/closingvalve 16 is closed at time t11 inFIG. 13 , it is only necessary to bring the passage opening/closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 into a closing state. The other operations except for the operation of opening/closing theejector 17 in the 6th embodiment may be the same as those in the 5th embodiment. -
FIG. 15 shows the 7th embodiment. In the 7th embodiment, asecond branch passage 32 is arranged separately from afirst branch passage 19 corresponding to therefrigerant branch passage 19 in the first to 6th embodiments. - This
second branch passage 32 is interposed between the downstream portion of the opening/closingvalve 16 and the suction side of thecompressor 11 and thepassage switching mechanism 30 is arranged at the branch position of thisbranch passage 32. Specifically, thispassage switching mechanism 30 is also constructed of a three-way solenoid valve and switches a first state in which the downstream portion of the opening/closingvalve 16 is connected to the branch point Z of the upstream portion of theejector 17 and a second state in which the downstream portion of the opening/closingvalve 16 is connected to thesecond branch passage 32. - A
throttle mechanism 33 is arranged on the upstream side of thesecond branch passage 32 and athird evaporator 34 is arranged on the downstream side of thisthrottle mechanism 33. - In the 7th embodiment, the first and
second evaporators first space 23 a to be cooled together with theblower 22 a and thetemperature sensor 24 a. Moreover, thethird evaporator 34, theblower 22 b, and thetemperature sensor 24 b are arranged in thesecond space 23 b to be cooled. -
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the operation of the 7th embodiment. When the inside temperature Tr2 of thesecond space 23 b to be cooled decreases to the lower limit set temperature Toff2, thepassage switching mechanism 30 switches to the first state where the downstream portion of the opening/closingvalve 16 is connected to the branch point Z of the upstream portion of theejector 17. When the inside temperature Tr2 of thesecond space 23 b to be cooled increases to the upper limit set temperature Ton2, thepassage switching mechanism 30 switches to the second state where the downstream portion of the opening/closingvalve 16 is connected to thesecond branch passage 32. - In contrast, the intermittent operation of the
compressor 11 is determined on the inside temperatures Tr1, Tr2 of both of the first andsecond spaces first space 23 a to be cooled decreases to the lower limit set temperature Toff1 and the inside temperature Tr2 of thesecond space 23 b to be cooled does not increase to the upper limit set temperature Ton2, as shown at a time t13 inFIG. 16 , thecompressor 11 is stopped. - The passage opening/
closing mechanism 17 e of theejector 17 and the opening/closingvalve 16 are brought to a closing state in operative connection with this operation of stopping thecompressor 11. The time t1 during which the opening/closingvalve 16 is in a closing state and the time t3 during which pressure balance is brought after thecompressor 11 is stopped, and the time t2 during which theejector 17 is in a closing state in the time t3 during which pressure balance is brought can be determined similarly to those in the first to 6th embodiments. -
FIG. 17 shows an 8th embodiment in which athird evaporator 34 and abypass passage 35 of thisthird evaporator 34 are arranged in parallel on the downstream side of thesecond evaporator 21. Thepassage switching mechanism 30 is arranged at the branch position of this parallel circuit. - Specifically, this
passage switching mechanism 30 is also constructed of a three-way solenoid valve and switches between a first state where the downstream portion of thesecond evaporator 21 is connected to thebypass passage 35 and a second state where the downstream portion of thesecond evaporator 21 is connected to thethird evaporator 34. - Also in the 8th embodiment, the first and
second evaporators first space 23 a to be cooled together with theblower 22 a and thetemperature sensor 24 a. Thethird evaporator 34, theblower 22 b, and thetemperature sensor 24 b are arranged in thesecond space 23 b to be cooled. -
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the operation of the 8th embodiment. Thepassage switching mechanism 30 switches passage, thecompressor 11 is operated intermittently, and the opening/closingvalve 16 and theejector 17 are opened and closed similarly to the operation in the 7th embodiment. -
FIG. 19 shows the 9th embodiment in which thethird evaporator 34 is arranged in parallel to thesecond evaporator 21. Thefirst evaporator 18, thesecond evaporator 21, and thethird evaporator 34 are arranged in theseparate spaces blowers temperature sensors respective spaces - Also in the 9th embodiment, the lower limit set temperatures Toff1, Toff2, and Toff3 and the upper limit set temperatures Ton1, Ton2, and Ton3 are set in correspondence with the inside temperatures Tr1, Tr2, and Tr3 detected by the
temperature sensors - In the 9th embodiment, it is recommended that the
compressor 11 is intermittently operated on the basis of the inside temperatures Tr1, Tr2, and Tr3 detected by thetemperature sensors third spaces compressor 11 is stopped. - Furthermore, the
compressor 11 can be continuously stopped for a period during which none of the inside temperatures Tr1, Tr2, and Tr3 of the first tothird spaces compressor 11 is stopped. When any one of the inside temperatures Tr1, Tr2, and Tr3 increases to the upper limit set temperature, the operation of thecompressor 11 is started again. Moreover, the opening/closingvalve 16 and theejector 17 can be opened and closed on the basis of the same idea as in the above-described embodiments. - In the 9th embodiment described above, the
third evaporator 34 is arranged in parallel to thesecond evaporator 21. However, in the 10th embodiment, as shown inFIG. 20 , thesecond branch passage 32 is arranged in parallel to the series circuit of theejector 17 and thesecond evaporator 21, and athrottle mechanism 33 is arranged on the upstream side of thissecond branch passage 32, and thethird evaporator 34 is arranged on the downstream side of thisthrottle mechanism 33. - The
first evaporator 18, thesecond evaporator 21, and thethird evaporator 34 are arranged inseparate spaces compressor 11 can be intermittently operated in the same manner as in the 9th embodiment. - In the cycle constructions in the 5th to 10th embodiments (
FIGS. 12, 14 , 15, 17, 19, and 20) have been shown examples in which thethrottle mechanism 15 of the 1st embodiment is not arranged on the upstream portion of the opening/closingvalve 16. However, also in the 5th to 10th embodiments, just as with the 1st embodiment, it is possible to produce the effect of preventing a liquid hammering phenomenon by arranging thethrottle mechanism 15 on the upstream portion of the opening/closingvalve 16. - In the 1st embodiment, the opening/closing
valve 16 is arranged on the upstream side of the branch point Z. However, in the 11th embodiment, as shown inFIG. 21 , a three-way valve type opening/closingvalve 16 is arranged at the position of the branch point Z. - Specifically, this three-way valve type opening/closing
valve 16 is also constructed of a solenoid valve. This opening/closingvalve 16 switches between a valve opening state where the downstream portion (high-pressure passage portion) of theliquid receiver 14 communicates with the upstream passage of theejector 17 and thebranch passage 19 at the same time, and a valve closing state where the downstream portion (high-pressure passage portion) of theliquid receiver 14 is shut off from the upstream passage of theejector 17 and thebranch passage 19. - According to this, by switching the opening/closing
valve 16 to the valve closing state in operative connection with the operation of stopping thecompressor 11, it is possible to produce the effect of preventing the refrigerant from making flowing noises and to prevent the liquid refrigerant from returning when thecompressor 11 is started. - In the 11th embodiment, the
throttle mechanism 15 can be arranged on the upstream portion of the opening/closingvalve 16 to prevent a liquid hammering phenomenon when the opening/closingvalve 16 is opened and closed. - In the 3rd embodiment shown in
FIG. 8 , the opening/closingvalve 16 is arranged on the downstream side of thethrottle mechanism 20 in therefrigerant branch passage 19. However, in the 12th embodiment, as shown inFIG. 22 , first andsecond throttle mechanisms refrigerant branch passage 19 and the opening/closingvalve 16 is arranged in the middle of the first andsecond throttle mechanisms -
FIG. 23 is the 13th embodiment in which the opening/closingvalve 16 is arranged on the upstream side of thethrottle mechanism 20 in therefrigerant branch passage 19. - According to the 13th embodiment, the opening/closing
valve 16 is arranged on the upstream side of thethrottle mechanism 20 and hence it is not expected that the effect of preventing a liquid hammering phenomenon can be produced when the opening/closingvalve 16 is closed. However, also in the 13th embodiment, by closing the opening/closingvalve 16 when thecompressor 11 is stopped, in the same manner, it is also possible to produce the effect of preventing the refrigerant from making flowing noises and of preventing the liquid refrigerant from returning when thecompressor 11 is started. -
FIG. 24 is the 14th embodiment and relates to the combination structure of a cycle construction. In the 14th embodiment has the same cycle construction as the 1st embodiment. - The
throttle mechanism 15, the opening/closing 16, theejector 17, and thethrottle mechanism 20 of therefrigerant branch passage 19 are combined with each other as anintegrated unit 40. Here, theintegrated unit 40 is an assembly in which themultiple parts integrated unit 40 can be handled as one component. - The first and
second evaporators integrated unit 41. - Hence, by combining the
integrated unit 40 of theejector 17 and the like with theintegrated unit 41 of the first andsecond evaporators integrated units - This integration can reduce the whole physical size of both of the
integrated units integrated units - Moreover, because it is only necessary to set one
refrigerant inlet 42 and onerefrigerant outlet 43 for the whole of both of theintegrated units - In the 1st to 14th embodiments has been described the cycle construction in which the
liquid receiver 14 is arranged on the downstream side of theradiator 13. In the 15th embodiment, as shown inFIG. 25 , theliquid receiver 14 is not provided, but anaccumulator 44 of a vapor/liquid separator that separates the vapor and liquid of the refrigerant and discharges vapor-phase refrigerant is arranged on the suction side of thecompressor 11. The present invention may be carried out in the cycle construction having theaccumulator 44 like this. - When refrigerant having a high pressure more than supercritical pressure such as carbon dioxide (CO2) is used as refrigerant, the
ejector cycle device 10 becomes a supercritical pressure cycle and hence high-pressure refrigerant only radiates heat in a supercritical pressure state and is not condensed. Hence, in this supercritical pressure cycle, it does not make sense that theliquid receiver 14 is arranged on the downstream side of therefrigerant radiator 13, and hence a cycle construction having theaccumulator 44 as shown inFIG. 25 can be used in the 15th embodiment. - While the cycle constructions each having the
multiple evaporators evaporator 18 as shown inFIG. 26 . - The
accumulator 44 used as a vapor/liquid separator is arranged on the downstream side of theejector 17, and the vapor and liquid of the refrigerant is separated by thisaccumulator 44 and the separated vapor-phase refrigerant is introduced into the suction side of thecompressor 11. There is provided abranch passage 45 for connecting a liquid-phase refrigerant outlet of theaccumulator 44 to therefrigerant suction port 17 b of theejector 17 and theevaporator 18 is arranged in thisbranch passage 45. - This
evaporator 18 is at the upstream portion of therefrigerant suction port 17 b and hence corresponds to thefirst evaporator 18 in the 1st to 15th embodiments, whereas the opening/closingvalve 16 is arranged on the upstream side of theejector 17. - Also in the 16th embodiment, by closing the opening/closing
valve 16 when thecompressor 11 is stopped, it is possible to produce the same effect as in the 1st embodiment and the like. In the 16th embodiment, theejector 17 is not provided with thepassage switching mechanism 17 e but may be provided with thepassage switching mechanism 17 e as required. - The 17th embodiment is a modification of the 16th embodiment. As shown in
FIG. 27 , the opening/closingvalve 16 is eliminated, but theejector 17 is provided with thepassage switching mechanism 17 e. By bringing thepassage switching mechanism 17 e into a closing state when thecompressor 11 is stopped, it is possible to produce the same effect as the 1st embodiment. - In this regard, examples in which the
throttle mechanism 15 in the 1st embodiment is eliminated have been shown in the 16th and 17th embodiments. However, also in the 16th and 17th embodiments, needless to say, thethrottle mechanism 15 may be arranged on the upstream portion of the opening/closingvalve 16 or the upstream portion of thepassage switching mechanism 17 e. - In the above-described embodiments, the
control unit 25 and the opening/closing member (16, 17 e) close the refrigerant circuit in response to the stoppage of the compressor that is provided by the intermittent operation for the compressor. Alternately, thecontrol unit 25 and the opening/closing member (16, 17 e) may close the refrigerant circuit in response to a shut down of the electric power supply. The shut down may occur when turning off the power supply switch such as an ignition switch of a vehicle or a power failure. In this case, the compressor simultaneously stops at the shut down. Therefore, the refrigerant circuit is closed when the compressor is stopped in this case too. This shut down operation may be applied in addition to or instead of the operation provided by the above-described embodiments. In addition, the shut down operation can be applied to a refrigeration system using a variable capacity compressor or a refrigeration system using a motor driven compressor. The shut down operation may be obtained by using a valve or an electromagnetic actuator having normally close type function. For example, thevalve 16 may be provided with a valve body, a biasing member biasing the valve body in a closing direction such as a spring and an electromagnetic solenoid that actuate the valve body in an open direction when it is energized. Alternately, thecontrol unit 25 may have a post-shut down control means for controlling the opening/closing member (16, 17 e) to a closed position after the power supply is stopped. In this case, a control circuit including thecontrol unit 25 have a backup power supply such as a battery or condenser that have a capacity at least sufficient to maintain thecontrol unit 25 and the opening/closing member (16, 17 e) functioning until an closing operation is completed. The opening/closing member (16, 17 e) may have a position holding type actuator driven by a motor such as a stepping motor. - Hereinafter, the 18th embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to
FIGS. 28-31 .FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device in accordance with the 18th embodiment of the present invention and shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a refrigerant cycle of a refrigerating unit mounted to a vehicle. The ejector cycle device has a refrigerant circulating passage for circulating refrigerant, and thecompressor 11 for sucking and compressing refrigerant is arranged in the refrigerant circulating passage. - In this embodiment, this
compressor 11 is rotated and driven by a vehicle driving engine (not shown) via a belt or the like. Arefrigerant radiator 13 is arranged on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of thiscompressor 11. Therefrigerant radiator 13 exchanges heat between high-pressure refrigerant discharged from thecompressor 11 and outside air (air outside a vehicle compartment) blown by a cooling fan (not shown) to thereby cool the high-pressure refrigerant. - The
ejector 17 is arranged at a portion on the more downstream side of refrigerant flow than therefrigerant radiator 13. Thisejector 17 is a momentum transport type pump that is pressure reducing means for reducing the pressure of fluid liquid and transports fluid by an entangling action. Theejector 17 is provided with thenozzle portion 17 a, which restricts and throttles the area of passage of high-pressure refrigerant flowing from therefrigerant radiator 13 to reduce the pressure of high-pressure refrigerant to thereby expand the refrigerant in an isentropic manner, and thesuction portion 17 b which is arranged in the same space as the refrigerant jet outlet of thenozzle portion 17 a and draws vapor-phase refrigerant from thesecond evaporator 18 to be described later. - Moreover, a
diffuser portion 17 d forming a pressure increasing portion of theejector 17 is arranged on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of thenozzle portion 17 a and thesuction portion 17 b. Thisdiffuser portion 17 d is formed in a shape to gradually increase the area of passage of refrigerant and performs an action of reducing the velocity of refrigerant flow to thereby increase the pressure of refrigerant, that is, an action of converting the velocity energy of refrigerant to pressure energy. - Refrigerant flowing out of the
diffuser portion 17 d of theejector 17 flows into thesecond evaporator 21. Thesecond evaporator 21 is arranged in an air passage of a refrigerating unit (not shown) in a refrigerating box R and performs an operation of cooling the inside of the refrigerating box R. Specifically, air in the refrigerating box R is blown to thesecond evaporator 21 by an electrically drivenblower 18 a in the cooing unit (refer toFIG. 32 ) and is reduced in pressure by theejector 17. Then, low-pressure refrigerant absorbs heat from the air in the refrigerating box R in thesecond evaporator 21 and evaporates, thereby the air in the refrigerating box R is cooled to obtain a cooling capacity. - The vapor-phase refrigerant evaporating in the
second evaporator 21 is drawn by thecompressor 11 and is circulated again in a refrigerant circulating passage. In the ejector cycle device of this embodiment is formed thebranch passage 19 that branches off at a portion between theradiator 13 and theejector 17 of the refrigerant circulating passage and merges with the refrigerant circulating passage. - A
throttle member 116 for reducing the pressure of refrigerant is arranged in thisrefrigerant branch passage 19, and thefirst evaporator 18 is arranged at a portion on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of this throttle means 116. Thisfirst evaporator 18 is arranged next to thesecond evaporator 21 in such way as to be in an air passing portion in series with thesecond evaporator 21 and on the downwind side of thesecond evaporator 21 in the air passage of the cooling unit (not shown) in the refrigerating box R. Thisfirst evaporator 18 further cools air in the refrigerating box that is cooled by thesecond evaporator 21. In this embodiment, thecompressor 11 and the frost removing member 121 (defrosting member) are electrically controlled by a control signal from an electric control unit (control unit, hereinafter referred to “ECU”) 25. - Next, construction in accordance with the 18th embodiment of the present invention will be described. In an air passage of the cooling unit (not shown), an electric heater 121 (frost removing member) that heats the first and
second evaporators second evaporators second evaporators - The
first evaporator 18, which is low in evaporation temperature and has frost easily deposited thereon and is not easily increased in temperature, is mounted with a first evaporator temperature sensor (first evaporator temperature detecting member) 122 for detecting temperature such as thermistor. For example, this firstevaporator temperature sensor 122 can be mounted at a portion that is most resistant to rising in temperature in thefirst evaporator 18. The detection signal of the firstevaporator temperature sensor 122 is inputted to theECU 25, and when the frost removing control of melting and removing frost deposited on the first andsecond evaporators frost removing member 121 is energized and controlled by an output signal from theECU 25. - Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described in the above-mentioned construction. When the
compressor 11 is driven by the vehicle engine, refrigerant that is compressed and brought into a high-temperature high-pressure state is discharged out in a direction shown by arrow and is flowed into theradiator 13. In theradiator 13, the high-temperature refrigerant is cooled by outside air and condensed. The liquid-phase refrigerant flowing out of theradiator 13 flows through the refrigerant circulating passage and branches off from a flow flowing through therefrigerant branch passage 19. - The flow of refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant circulating passage flows into the
ejector 17 and the refrigerant is reduced in pressure and is expanded by thenozzle portion 17 a. Hence, the pressure energy of the refrigerant is converted into the velocity energy by thenozzle portion 17 a and the refrigerant is jetted out at high speed from the jet port of thisnozzle portion 17 a. At this time, the vapor-phase refrigerant evaporated in thefirst evaporator 18 is drawn from thesuction portion 17 b by a pressure drop of the refrigerant. - The refrigerant jetted out of the
nozzle portion 17 a and the refrigerant drawn by thesuction portion 17 b are mixed with each other on the downstream side of thenozzle portion 17 a and are flowed into thediffuser portion 17 d. In thisdiffuser portion 17 d, the area of passage is increased to convert the velocity (expansion) energy of refrigerant into pressure energy and hence the pressure of refrigerant is increased by thediffuser portion 17 d. The refrigerant flowing out of thediffuser portion 17 d of theejector 17 flows into thesecond evaporator 21. - In the
second evaporator 21, the refrigerant absorbs heat from air in the refrigerating box that is blown by the electrically drivenblower 18 a (refer toFIG. 32 ) and evaporates. The vapor-phase refrigerant after evaporation is drawn and compressed by thecompressor 11 and is again flowed through the refrigerant circulating passage. In contrast, the refrigerant flowing through therefrigerant branch passage 19 is reduced in pressure by the throttle means 116, thereby being brought to low-pressure refrigerant. This low-pressure refrigerant is heat-exchanged with air blown by the electrically drivenblower 18 a in the first evaporator 18 (refer toFIG. 32 ) and further absorbs heat from air in the refrigerating box while refrigerant flows through thesecond evaporator 21 and evaporates. With this, thefirst evaporator 18 performs the cooling operation of the inside of the refrigerating box, and the vapor-phase refrigerant flowing out of thefirst evaporator 18 is drawn into thesuction portion 17 b of theejector 17. - Next, the frost removing operation (defrosting operation) will be described.
FIG. 29 is a diagram showing examples of the settings of time interval between frost removing operations with respect to an outside air temperature Tam. In this embodiment, the time interval between the frost removing operations is varied and is set at a value relating to the outside air temperature.FIG. 30 is a time chart showing a frost removing control (defrosting control) in the ejector cycle device inFIG. 28 .FIG. 31 is a diagram showing examples of the settings of a predetermined temperature T for determining the end of the frost removing operation, with respect to the outside air temperature Tam. - When the integrated operation time of the
compressor 11 reaches a specified time, in order to remove frost adhering to and depositing on the first andsecond evaporators compressor 11 is stopped and thefrost removing member 121 is energized to heat the first andsecond evaporators compressor 11, as shown inFIG. 29 , may be varied in relation to the outside air temperature Tam. For example, when the outside air temperature Tam is not higher than 15° C. (T1), integrated operation time of thecompressor 11 is A hour; when the outside air temperature Tam is higher than 15° C. (T1) and not higher than 30° C. (T2), the integrated operation time is B hour; and when the outside air temperature Tam is higher than 30° C. (T2), the integrated operation time is C hour. These hours are set in the relationship of A hour>B hour>C hour. - When the detection value of the first
evaporator temperature sensor 122 fixed to thefirst evaporator 18 reaches the predetermined temperature T, the energizing of thefrost removing member 21 is stopped and thecompressor 11 is again started to start a refrigerating operation again. At this time, the predetermined temperature T may be varied according to the outside air temperature Tam as shown inFIG. 30 just as with the integrated operation time of thecompressor 11. For example, when the outside air temperature Tam is not higher than 15° C. (T1), the predetermined temperature T for ending the frost removing operation is 8° C. (a ° C.); when the outside air temperature Tam is higher than 15° C. (T1) and not higher than 30° C. (T2), the predetermined temperature T for ending the frost removing operation is 10° C. (b ° C.); and when the outside air temperature Tam is higher than 30° C. (T2), the predetermined temperature T for ending the frost removing operation is 12° C. (c ° C.). These temperatures are set in the relationship of a ° C.>b ° C.>° C. - Next, the features and effects of this embodiment will be described. The present embodiment includes: the
compressor 11 that draws and compresses refrigerant; theradiator 13 that radiates heat from the high-pressure refrigerant discharged from thecompressor 11; theejector 17 that reduces the pressure of refrigerant on the downstream side of theradiator 13 to thereby expand the refrigerant and draws the refrigerant from thefirst evaporator 18; thesecond evaporator 21 that evaporates the refrigerant flowing out of theejector 17 to thereby obtain a cooling capacity; thefirst evaporator 18 that evaporates the refrigerant drawn by theejector 17 to thereby obtain a cooling capacity; thefrost removing member 121 that heats the first andsecond evaporators second evaporators evaporator temperature sensor 122 that detects the temperature of thefirst evaporator 18; and theECU 25. TheECU 25 controls the frost removing operation of the first andsecond evaporators frost removing member 121 when the temperature of thefirst evaporator 18 detected by the first evaporatortemperature detection sensor 122 reaches the predetermined temperature T for ending the defrosting operation. - In this embodiment, the
first evaporator 18, that is low in evaporation temperature and has frost easily deposited thereon and is resistant to rising in temperature, is provided with the firstevaporator temperature sensor 122. According to this embodiment, thefirst evaporator 18 is heated until thefirst evaporator 18 reaches the predetermined temperature T. Hence, frost is never left on the first andsecond evaporators second evaporators - Moreover, when the frost removing operation of the
second evaporator 21 is finished, the heating by using thefrost removing member 121 is stopped. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate excessive heating and to limit an increase in temperature of the space R to be cooled and the power consumption required to remove the frost to minimum amounts. Moreover, thefrost removing member 121 is arranged on the upstream air side of the first andsecond evaporators frost removing member 121 flows to a downstream air side and hence can heat the first andsecond evaporators - Moreover, the
frost removing member 121 is constructed with theelectric heater 121. According to this, it is easy to use theelectric heater 121 as heating means for removing frost. TheECU 25 performs the heating of the first andsecond evaporators frost removing member 121. According to this, by heating the first andsecond evaporators frost removing member 121 in a state where thecompressor 11 is stopped, it is possible to finish removing frost within a short time. - Furthermore, the predetermined temperature T is varied according to the outside air temperature Tam. Normally, the amount of moisture contained by the air is varied and hence the amount of adhering frost is varied according to the outside air temperature Tam. Hence, in order to surely remove frost, the predetermined temperature T is also varied according to the outside air temperature Tam.
-
FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device in accordance with the 19th embodiment of the present invention. The features of the 19th embodiment different from the 18th embodiment described above include: thecompressor 11 that draws and compresses refrigerant; theradiator 13 that radiates the heat of high-pressure refrigerant discharged from thecompressor 11; theejector 17 that reduces the pressure of refrigerant on the downstream side of theradiator 13 to thereby expand the refrigerant and draws the refrigerant from thefirst evaporator 18; thesecond evaporator 21 that evaporates the refrigerant flowing out of theejector 17 to thereby exert a cooling capacity; thefirst evaporator 18 that evaporates the refrigerant to be drawn by theejector 17 to thereby exert a cooling capacity and has an air passage arranged in series with the air passage of thesecond evaporator 21 and is arranged next to thesecond evaporator 21 in such a way as to arrange thesecond evaporator 21 on the upstream side thereof; thefrost removing member 121 that heats the first andsecond evaporators second evaporators second evaporator 21; and theECU 25. TheECU 25 controls the frost removing operation for heating the first andsecond evaporators frost removing member 121 when the temperature of thesecond evaporator 21 detected by the secondevaporator temperature sensor 123 reaches the predetermined temperature T. - In the present embodiment, in the construction in which the
second evaporator 21 is arranged on the upstream air side where frost easily deposits, the secondevaporator temperature sensor 123 is arranged on the upstream air side of thesecond evaporator 21. According to this, the first andsecond evaporators second evaporator 21, which is arranged on the upstream air side and to which frost easily adheres, becomes the predetermined temperature T or more, so that it is possible to remove frost with reliability without leaving frost on the first andsecond evaporators second evaporators - Moreover, when the frost removing operation of the
second evaporator 21, which is arranged on the upstream air side and to which frost easily adheres, is finished, the frost removing operation by using thefrost removing member 121 is stopped. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate excessive heating and to limit an increase in the temperature of the space R to be cooled and the amount of power consumption required to remove frost to minimum amounts. -
FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device in the 20th embodiment of the present invention. In the 20th embodiment, the ejector cycle device includes: thecompressor 11 that draws and compresses refrigerant; theradiator 13 that radiates the heat of high-pressure refrigerant discharged from thecompressor 11; theejector 17 that reduces the pressure of refrigerant on the downstream side of theradiator 13 to thereby expand the refrigerant and draws the refrigerant from thefirst evaporator 18; thesecond evaporator 21 that evaporates the refrigerant flowing out of theejector 17 to thereby exert a cooling capacity; thefirst evaporator 18 that evaporates refrigerant to be drawn into the refrigerant suction port of theejector 17 to thereby exert a cooling capacity; anaccumulator 118 that is arranged on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of thesecond evaporator 21; thefrost removing member 121 that heats the first andsecond evaporators second evaporators accumulator temperature sensor 124 that detects the temperature of theaccumulator 118; and theECU 25. TheECU 25 performs defrosting operation of the first andsecond evaporators frost removing member 121 when the temperature of the outside wall temperature of theaccumulator 118 detected by theaccumulator temperature sensor 124 reaches a predetermined temperature T. - In the present embodiment, the
accumulator 118 is arranged on the downstream side of thesecond evaporator 21 so as to respond to load fluctuations and theaccumulator temperature sensor 124 is fixed to theaccumulator 118 in which low-temperature liquid refrigerant accumulates and to which frost easily adheres. - According to this embodiment, the first and
second evaporators accumulator 118, to which frost easily adheres, becomes the predetermined temperature T or more, it is possible to remove frost with reliability without leaving frost on the first andsecond evaporators second evaporators - Moreover, when the frost removing operation of the
accumulator 118 to which frost easily adheres is finished, the frost removing operation using thefrost removing member 121 is stopped. Therefore, this can make it possible to eliminate excessive heating and to limit an increase in the temperature of the space R to be cooled and the amount of power consumption required to remove frost to minimum amounts. -
FIG. 34 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device in the 21st embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 35 is a time chart showing a frost removing control in the ejector cycle device inFIG. 34 . This embodiment different from the above-mentioned 18th-20th embodiments is mainly described. In the 21st embodiment, a firstevaporator temperature sensor 122, a secondevaporator temperature sensor 123, an theaccumulator temperature sensor 124 are provided as themultiple temperature sensors 122 to 124 that are fixed to multiple portions. Furthermore, theECU 25 performs the heating of the first andsecond evaporators frost removing member 121 when all of the temperatures detected by themultiple temperature sensors 122 to 124 reach the predetermined temperature T or more. - In this embodiment, the
multiple temperature sensors 122 to 124 are fixed to the above-mentioned multiple portions having frost easily deposited thereon because the degree of adhesion of frost varies according to the operating conditions even in the above-mentioned portions to which frost easily adheres. - According to this embodiment, the
ECU 25 performs the heating of the first andsecond evaporators multiple temperature sensors 122 to 124 fixed to the multiple portions reach the predetermined temperature T or more. Hence, it is possible to remove frost with reliability without leaving frost on the first andsecond evaporators second evaporators - Moreover, when the frost removing operation at the multiple portions to which frost easily adheres is finished, the heating by using the
frost removing member 121 is stopped. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate excessive heating, and to effectively limit an increase in the temperature of the space R to be cooled and the amount of power consumption required to remove frost. -
FIG. 36 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device in the 22nd embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 37 is a time chart showing a frost removing control in the ejector cycle device inFIG. 36 . This embodiment different from the above-mentioned respective embodiments is mainly described. In the 22nd embodiment, the frost removing member includes a three-way valve (passage switching member 120) arranged on the downstream side of refrigerant flow of theradiator 13 and a hotgas supply passage 119 for supplying refrigerant from the three-way valve 120 to the upstream side of the refrigerant flow of thefirst evaporator 18. Furthermore, theECU 25 switches the refrigerant flow to the hotgas supply passage 119 by the three-way valve 120 in a state where thecompressor 11 is operated, and performs the heating of the first andsecond evaporators - That is, in a normal operation (1), the refrigerant from the
radiator 13 is introduced to thenozzle 17 a of theejector 17. In contrast, in the frost removing operation (2) of the first andsecond evaporator radiator 13 flows through the hotgas supply passage 119. - According to this embodiment, the frost removing operation (defrosting operation) of the first and
second evaporators -
FIG. 38 is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device in accordance with the 23rd embodiment. The 23rd embodiment is different from the ejector cycle devices of the above-described 18th-22nd embodiments in that arefrigerant branch passage 19 from the refrigerant circulating passage is branched from a liquid refrigerant accumulating portion of theaccumulator 118. Even in this case, this ejector cycle device can also produce the same effect as the above-mentioned 18th-22nd embodiments. - Hereinafter, the 24th embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail by the use of
FIGS. 39A and 39B .FIG. 39A is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device of the 24th embodiment of the present invention andFIG. 39B is a side view when viewed from a direction shown by arrow A in FIG. 39A. In this embodiment, hydrocarbon (HC)-based refrigerant is used as refrigerant. - In this embodiment, the
compressor 11, the electrically drivenblower 18 a are electrically controlled by a control signal from the electric control unit (control unit, hereinafter referred to as ECU). Next, the construction in accordance with the 24th embodiment will be described. Multiplefrost removing members 121 for heating the first andsecond evaporators second evaporators frost removing members 121,electric heaters 121 such as non-contact type glass pipe heaters are disposed at the upstream side of the first andsecond evaporators second evaporators - Moreover, in this embodiment, the
first evaporator 18 that is low in evaporation temperature and hence has frost easily deposited thereon is provided with an evaporator temperature sensor (evaporator temperature detecting member) 122 such as thermistor for detecting temperature. For example, thisevaporator temperature sensor 122 is arranged in a portion that is most resistant to rising in temperature in the first andsecond evaporators - The detection signal of the
evaporator temperature sensor 122 is inputted to theECU 25 and when the frost removing control of melting and removing frost adhering to and depositing on the first andsecond evaporators frost removing member 121 is energized and is controlled by an output signal from theECU 25. - In this embodiment, the cooling operation and the frost removing operation can be performed similarly to the control operation of
FIGS. 29-31 in the 18th embodiments. - In this embodiment, the ejector cycle device includes: the
compressor 11 that draws and compresses refrigerant; theradiator 13 that radiates the heat of high-pressure refrigerant discharged from thecompressor 11; theejector 17 that reduces the pressure of refrigerant on the downstream side of theradiator 13 to thereby expand the refrigerant and draws the refrigerant; thesecond evaporator 21 that evaporates the refrigerant flowing out of theejector 17 to thereby exert a cooling capacity; therefrigerant branch passage 19 that branches from the refrigerant cycle including thecompressor 11, theradiator 13, theejector 17, and thesecond evaporator 21 and causes theejector 17 to draw refrigerant; thefirst evaporator 18 that is arranged in therefrigerant branch passage 19 and evaporates refrigerant to thereby exert a cooling capacity; thefrost removing members 121 that heat the first andsecond evaporators second evaporators ECU 25 that causes thefrost removing member 121 to perform the heating of the first andsecond evaporators - According to this embodiment, the
frost removing member 121 is arranged so as to heat both of thefirst evaporator 18 that is low in evaporator temperature and thesecond evaporator 21 that is arranged on the upstream air side of thefirst evaporator 18. Hence, even when heating temperature is set low, it is possible to remove frost with reliability without leaving frost and hence to prevent a decrease in cooling efficiency caused by the frost adhering to and depositing on the first andsecond evaporators - Moreover, the
frost removing members 121 are arranged on the upstream side of the first andsecond evaporators frost removing member 121 flows downwind and hence the first andsecond evaporators frost removing members 121 are constructed withelectric heaters 121. - Furthermore, the
ECU 25 performs the heating of the first andsecond evaporators electric heaters 121 in a state where thecompressor 11 is stopped. Accordingly, the first andsecond evaporators electric heater 121 in a state where thecompressor 11 is stopped. Hence, it is possible to finish removing frost within a short time. Moreover, in this embodiment, refrigerant is a hydrocarbon (HC)-based refrigerant of a flammable refrigerant. The flammable refrigerant includes a hydrocarbon-based refrigerant (refrigerant substance containing hydrogen and carbon and existing in nature and the like) and this hydrocarbon-based refrigerant includes R600a using isobutene and R290 using propane. - For example, R600a catches fire at a temperature of approximately from 460° C. to 494° C. However, when a glass pipe heater is used as the
electric heater 121, the ignition temperature is reduced to a temperature of approximately from 200° C. to 300° C. When a pipe heater is used as theelectric heater 121 for heating an object in contact with the object, the ignition temperature is reduced to a temperature of approximately 100° C. Hence, R600a can be used as the flammable refrigerant. -
FIG. 40A is a schematic diagram showing an ejector cycle device of the 25th embodiment of the present invention, andFIG. 40B is a side view when viewed from a direction shown by arrow B inFIG. 40A . This embodiment is provided with theECU 25 that performs the heating of the first andsecond evaporators frost removing member 121. In this embodiment, anelectric heater 121 is used as thefrost removing member 121, and is arranged in contact with both of the first andsecond evaporators electric heater 121 is a contact type pipe heater. - In this embodiment, the
electric heater 121 is located to contact both of thefirst evaporator 18, which is low in evaporator temperature and hence frost easily develops, and thesecond evaporator 21, which is arranged on the upstream side and hence has frost easily deposited on its upstream side and easily causes clogging. Accordingly, even when heating temperature of theelectric heater 121 is set low, it is possible to remove frost with reliability without leaving frost and hence to prevent a decrease in cooling efficiency caused by the frost adhering to and depositing on the first andsecond evaporators - The ejector cycle device shown in
FIGS. 40A, 40B is different from the ejector cycle device of the above-mentioned 24th embodiment in that therefrigerant branch passage 19 from the refrigerant circulating passage is branched from the liquid refrigerant accumulating portion of theaccumulator 118. The structure of theheater 121 can be used for performing the frost removing operation even in this type of the ejector cycle device. Moreover, theelectric heater 121 may be arranged on both sides of the first andsecond evaporators second evaporators -
FIGS. 41A and 41B are schematic views showing the arrangement example of the first andsecond evaporators FIG. 41A is a front view andFIG. 41B is a side view. - According to this embodiment, there is provided one
electric heater 121 that can heat both of thefirst evaporator 18, which is low in evaporator temperature and hence frost easily develops, and thesecond evaporator 21, which is arranged on the upstream air side and hence has frost easily deposited on its upstream side and easily causes clogging. Hence, even when heating temperature is set low, it is possible to remove frost with reliability without leaving frost. Moreover, it is possible to prevent a decrease in cooling efficiency caused by the frost adhering to and depositing on the first andsecond evaporators - Moreover, the frost is removed by means of one
electric heater 121 having the same size as a usual single evaporator, so it is possible to effectively use an installation space and to effectively remove frost from the multiple evaporators. - Furthermore, either of the first and
second evaporators electric heater 121 and the other of them is provided with a member easily absorbing radiant heat, for example, an aluminum plate (radiant heat absorbing member) 128 coated with black paint and the radiant heat from theelectric heater 121 is delivered to thealuminum plate 128. - According to this embodiment, the
electric heater 121 is provided for heating either of the first andsecond evaporators aluminum plate 128 for absorbing radiant heat from theelectric heater 121. Hence, even when heating temperature is set low, it is possible to remove frost with reliability without leaving frost and to prevent a decrease in cooling efficiency caused by frost adhering to and depositing on the first andsecond evaporators first evaporator 18 with black paint so as to provide the surface with feature easily absorbing radiant heat. -
FIGS. 42A and 42B are schematic views showing the arrangement example of the first andsecond evaporators electric heater 121 in the 27th embodiment of the present invention, andFIG. 42A is a front view andFIG. 42B is a side view. In this embodiment, theelectric heater 121 is mounted on either of the first andsecond evaporators electric heater 121 is delivered to the other evaporator by convection. - According to this embodiment, there is provided the
electric heater 121 for heating either of the first andsecond evaporators electric heater 121. Hence, even when heating temperature is set low, it is possible to remove frost with reliability without leaving frost. Moreover, as to convection, forced convection by the electrically driven blower (air blowing means) 18 a is used. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively perform convection with reliability. -
FIGS. 43A and 43B are schematic views showing the arrangement example of the first andsecond evaporators frost removing member 121 in the 28th embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 43A shows a normal operation, andFIG. 43B shows a frost removing operation (defrosting operation). The difference between this embodiment and the above-mentioned respective embodiments is in that: the first andsecond evaporators electric heater 121 is arranged in a lower position of theevaporators -
FIGS. 44A and 44B ,FIGS. 45A and 45B , andFIGS. 46A and 46B are schematic views showing the arrangement examples of the first andsecond evaporators electric heater 121. In the 24th embodiment, theelectric heater 121 is located at the upstream air side of the first andsecond evaporators second evaporators FIGS. 44A and 44B , theelectric heater 121 may be located at the upstream air side and the downstream air side of the integrated first andsecond evaporators - Moreover, although a case where the first and
second evaporators FIGS. 45A and 45B , thefirst evaporator 18 and thesecond evaporator 21 may be separate units. Furthermore, the 25th embodiment is provided with theelectric heater 121 that is in contact with the sides of both of thesecond evaporator 21 and thefirst evaporator 18 and heats them. However, as shown inFIGS. 46A and 46B , theelectric heater 121 may be located between thesecond evaporator 21 and thefirst evaporator 18 in such a way as to be in contact with both of them and to heat them. - The construction of the 29th embodiment will be described by the use of
FIGS. 47A and 47B . First, the first andsecond evaporators member 128 for transferring heat. Specifically, a portion of heat exchange fins (128) constructed of the first andsecond evaporators member 128 for transferring heat. - In an embodiment shown in
FIG. 47A , areference symbol 128 a denotes a heat exchange fin common to the first andsecond evaporators second evaporator first evaporator 18. Theelectric heater 121 as the frost removing member, which heats the first andsecond evaporators second evaporators second evaporators integrated fins 128 a. - In this embodiment, an evaporator temperature sensor (evaporator temperature detecting member) 122 such as thermistor for detecting temperature is fixed to the
first evaporator 18 that is low in evaporator temperature and has frost easily deposited thereon. Preferably, thisevaporator temperature sensor 122 is fixed to a portion that is most resistant to rising in temperature in the integrated first andsecond evaporators evaporator temperature sensor 122 is inputted to theECU 25. When the frost removing control of melting frost adhering to and depositing on the first andsecond evaporators electric heater 121 is energized and is controlled by an output signal from theECU 25. - Next, the features and effects of this embodiment will be described. First, the first and
second evaporators electric heater 121 heats the first andsecond evaporators ECU 25 performs the heating of the first andsecond evaporators electric heater 121 to thereby remove frost. - According to this, for example, even when only one
electric heater 121 is arranged on the upstream air side and heats the upwind surface of thesecond evaporator 21 to thereby remove frost, thefirst evaporator 18 arranged on the downstream air side is heated by heat transferred from thesecond evaporator 21 via theintegrated fins 128 a, thereby having frost removed therefrom. - In this manner, it is possible to heat both of the
first evaporator 18, which is low in evaporation temperature and hence frost easily develops, and thesecond evaporator 21, which is arranged on the upstream air side, by using oneelectric heater 121 and hence to remove frost within a short time with high efficiency. Moreover, even when the heating temperature is set low, it is possible to remove frost from the first andsecond evaporators electric heater 121. - Moreover, the
integrated fins 128 a are brought into contact with theelectric heater 121. This makes it easy to transfer heat from theintegrated fins 128 a to thefirst evaporator 18. Furthermore, the amount of heat conduction of theintegrated fins 128 a is determined in such a way that a refrigerating capacity required by the first andsecond evaporators -
FIG. 48 is a graph showing a change in refrigerating capacity and a change in frost removing capacity (defrosting performance DP) with respect to the amount of heat conduction of theintegrated fins 128 a. When a difference in evaporation temperature is caused between the first andsecond evaporators integrated fins 128 a. At this time, when the amount of heat conduction is excessively large, the frost removing capacity (defrosting performance DP) is enhanced by heat transfer but liquid refrigerant of thefirst evaporator 18, which is to be used for cooling air and is low in evaporation temperature, is used for cooling thesecond evaporator 21. In this case, the refrigerating capacity (RC) is deteriorated. - In this manner, for improving the refrigerating capacity (RC), it is preferred to completely separate the first and
second evaporators integrated fins 128 a, it is also possible to think the amount of heat conduction in terms of the number of pieces of theintegrated fins 128 a or the like as a substitute for the amount of heat conduction when the environment conditions of temperature and the amount of air in the evaporator are the same levels. - Moreover, the
heat exchange fins 128 are used as members for transferring heat. These are a portion or the whole of theheat exchange fins 128 constructed of the first andsecond evaporators - In
FIGS. 47A and 47B , thesecond evaporator 21 is in contact with thefirst evaporator 18. However, it is also recommended that bothevaporators integrated fins 128 a. Moreover, inFIGS. 47A and 47B , theintegrated fins 128 a are uniformly arranged, but it is also recommendable to respond to biased frost formation caused by the construction of evaporator and the design of air passage by the connection method, the number of connected pieces and the arrangement of theintegrated fins 128 a. - Moreover, this
integrated fins 128 a is used for transferring heat from thesecond evaporator 21 to thefirst evaporator 18. Hence, within a scope not departing from this feature, theseintegrated fins 128 a may be different from the otherheat exchange fins -
FIG. 49A is a schematic view showing an ejector cycle device in the 30th embodiment of the present invention andFIG. 49B is a side view when viewed from a direction shown by arrow B inFIG. 49A . In the 30th embodiment, a holdingmember 124 for holding the first andsecond evaporators member 124 for holding the first andsecond evaporators - The ejector cycle device shown in
FIG. 49A is different from the ejector cycle device of the 29th embodiment in that therefrigerant branch passage 19 from the refrigerant circulating passage is branched from the liquid refrigerant accumulating portion of theaccumulator 118. Moreover, theelectric heater 121 and the holdingmember 124 are fixed only to the one side of the first andsecond evaporators FIG. 49B ). Furthermore, the holdingmember 124 may haveopenings 124 a for passing air by convection (refer toFIG. 49A ). -
FIGS. 50A and 50B are schematic views showing the arrangement example of the first andsecond evaporators electric heater 121 in the 31st embodiment. Here,FIG. 50A is a front view andFIG. 50B is a side view. The 31st embodiment different from the above-mentioned respective embodiments is in thatside plates 125 constructed on both ends of the first andsecond evaporators side plates 25 constructed on both ends of the first andsecond evaporators -
FIGS. 51A and 51B are schematic views showing the arrangement example of the first andsecond evaporators electric heater 121 in the 32nd embodiment. Here,FIG. 51A is a front view andFIG. 51B is a side view. The 32nd embodiment different from the above-mentioned respective embodiments is in thatheat transfer members 126 are constructed as members for transferring heat in the first andsecond evaporators second evaporators - The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments but may be variously modified as will be described below. For example, the above-mentioned respective embodiments may be combined with each other. Moreover, although the ejector cycle device of the present invention is used for a vehicle-mounted refrigerating apparatus in the above-mentioned embodiments, the ejector cycle device may be used not only to the refrigerating/cooling apparatus and air conditioning (air cooling) apparatus like this but also a vapor compression type cycle such as a heat pump unit for a water heater and a household refrigerator.
- Moreover, either a supercritical pressure cycle or a subcritical pressure cycle using flon-based refrigerant, hydrocarbon (HC)-based refrigerant, carbon dioxide (CO2)-based refrigerant as refrigerant may be used. Here, the term of flon means a generic term of an organic compound containing fluorine, chlorine, and hydrogen and the flon is widely used as refrigerant. The flon-based refrigerant includes a hydro-, chloro-, fluoro-carbon (HCFC)-based refrigerant and a hydro-, fluoro-carbon (HFC)-based refrigerant.
- Furthermore, in the 30th embodiment, the
accumulator 118 is arranged on the upstream side of thecompressor 11 and only vapor-phase refrigerant is caused to flow into thecompressor 11. However, it is also recommendable to employ a construction in which a vapor—liquid separator is arranged on the upstream side of thesecond evaporator 21 and in which only liquid refrigerant is caused to flow into thesecond evaporator 21. Moreover, it is also recommendable to arrange a receiver, which separates the vapor and liquid of refrigerant and flows only liquid-phase refrigerant to the downstream side, on the downstream side of theradiator 13. - The
compressor 11 may be a variable displacement type compressor. Alternatively, it is also recommended that a fixeddisplacement type compressor 11 is employed and that the operation of this fixeddisplacement type compressor 11 is controlled in accordance with an on-off control by an electromagnetic switch to control the ratio of the on-off operation of thecompressor 11 to thereby control the refrigerant discharge capacity of thecompressor 11. Moreover, when an electrically driven compressor is used as thecompressor 11, the refrigerant discharge capacity may be controlled by controlling the number of revolutions of the electrically drivencompressor 11. - Moreover, as for the
ejector 17, a variable flow type ejector can be used. In this case, the open area of refrigerant passage of thenozzle portion 17 a of theejector 17 can be controlled so as to control the pressure of refrigerant jetted from thenozzle portion 17 a and the flow rate of drawn vapor-phase refrigerant, based on the degree of superheat of refrigerant at the outlet of thesecond evaporator 21. - Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiments has been described an example in which fixed throttle means 116 such as a capillary tube having a restriction opening set constant is arranged on the upstream side of the
first evaporator 18. However, it is also recommendable to employ a variable throttle that can vary the flow rate of refrigerant according to fluctuations in the thermal load of thefirst evaporator 18. Moreover, it is also recommendable to employ a member (for example, expansion valve), which has a mechanism for detecting the degree of superheat at the outlet of thefirst evaporator 18 and controls the restriction opening, as throttle means 116. - Furthermore, in the above-mentioned 1st to 17th embodiments, the temperatures (inside temperatures) of the
spaces respective evaporators temperature sensors - While the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments and constructions. The invention is intended to cover various modification and equivalent arrangements. In addition, while the various elements of the preferred embodiments are shown in various combinations and configurations, which are preferred, other combinations and configuration, including more, less or only a single element, are also within the spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims (53)
1. An ejector cycle device comprising:
a compressor that draws and compresses refrigerant;
a radiator that radiates heat of high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor;
an ejector disposed at a downstream side of the radiator to decompress and expand refrigerant from the radiator, wherein the ejector has a refrigerant suction port for drawing refrigerant by a high-speed refrigerant flow when refrigerant is expanded, mixes the refrigerant drawn from the refrigerant suction port with the high-speed refrigerant flow and decelerates the mixed refrigerant flow to thereby increase pressure of the mixed refrigerant flow;
an evaporator that is arranged in a refrigerant branch passage connected to the refrigerant suction port;
an opening/closing member that opens and closes a refrigerant flow and is capable of preventing refrigerant from flowing into the evaporator; and
a control unit that brings the opening/closing member into a closing state in a time period for which the operation of the compressor is stopped.
2. The ejector cycle device according to claim 1 , wherein the evaporator connected to the refrigerant suction port is arranged as a first evaporator, the ejector cycle device further comprising
a second evaporator arranged on a downstream side of the ejector.
3. The ejector cycle device according to claim 2 , wherein the first evaporator and the second evaporator are disposed to cool one space to be cooled.
4. The ejector cycle device according to claim 2 , wherein the first evaporator and the second evaporator are disposed to cool separate spaces to be cooled.
5. The ejector cycle device according to claim 1 , further comprising
a temperature detecting member for detecting temperature relating to a temperature of a space to be cooled of the evaporator,
wherein the control unit intermittently controls operation of the compressor on the basis of temperature detected by the temperature detecting member.
6. The ejector cycle device according to claim 1 , wherein the refrigerant branch passage is branched at a branch point on an upstream side of the ejector and is connected to the refrigerant suction port.
7. The ejector cycle device according to claim 6 , wherein the opening/closing member is an opening/closing valve arranged on an upstream side of the branch point.
8. The ejector cycle device according to claim 6 , wherein the opening/closing member is a three-way valve arranged at the branch point.
9. The ejector cycle device according to claim 1 , wherein the opening/closing member is an opening/closing valve arranged on an upstream side of the evaporator in the refrigerant branch passage.
10. The ejector cycle device according to claim 1 , wherein the opening/closing member is a passage opening/closing mechanism arranged in the ejector itself.
11. The ejector cycle device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit controls the opening/closing member from the closing state to an opening state in the time period for which the compressor is stopped, and then restarts the operation of the compressor.
12. The ejector cycle device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the opening/closing member includes an opening/closing valve arranged on an upstream side of the evaporator connected to the refrigerant suction port, and a passage opening/closing mechanism arranged in the ejector itself; and
the control unit controls the opening/closing valve from a closing state to an opening state in the time period for which the compressor is stopped to thereby bring pressure in a refrigerant cycle into balance, and then returns the passage opening/closing mechanism into an opening state and then restarts the operation of the compressor.
13. The ejector cycle device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit controls the opening/closing member from an opening state to a closing state before stopping the compressor and continuously keeps the compressor in an operating state for a specified time in a state where the opening/closing member is closed, and then stops the compressor.
14. The ejector cycle device according to claim 1 , further comprising
a throttle mechanism that is arranged on an upstream side of the opening/closing member, and reduces pressure of refrigerant on the upstream side of the opening/closing member in such a way as to bring the refrigerant into two phases of vapor and liquid.
15. The ejector cycle device according to claim 1 , wherein the ejector and the opening/closing valve are combined with each other at least as one integrated unit.
16. An ejector cycle device comprising:
a compressor that draws and compresses refrigerant;
a radiator that radiates heat of high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor;
an ejector that includes a nozzle portion for reducing pressure of refrigerant on a downstream side of the radiator to expand the refrigerant, and draws refrigerant by a jet flow of refrigerant from the nozzle portion;
a first evaporator that evaporates refrigerant to be drawn into a refrigerant suction port of the ejector, so as to have a cooling capacity;
a second evaporator that evaporates refrigerant flowing out of the ejector, so as to have a cooling capacity;
a frost removing member that heats the first and second evaporators so as to perform a frost removing operation where frost adhering to the first and second evaporators is removed;
an evaporator temperature detecting member that detects temperature of at least one of the first evaporator and the second evaporator; and
a control unit that controls the frost removing member to heat the first and second evaporators and to perform the frost removing operation when temperature detected by the evaporator temperature detecting member reaches a predetermined temperature.
17. The ejector cycle device according to claim 16 , wherein:
the evaporator temperature detecting member is disposed to detect the temperature of the first evaporator; and
the control unit controls the frost removing member to perform the frost removing operation when temperature of the first evaporator detected by the evaporator temperature detecting member reaches a predetermined temperature.
18. The ejector cycle device according to claim 16 , wherein:
the evaporator temperature detecting member is disposed to detect the temperature of the second evaporator; and
the control unit controls the frost removing member to perform the frost removing operation when temperature of the second evaporator detected by the evaporator temperature detecting member reaches a predetermined temperature.
19. The ejector cycle device according to claim 16 , further comprising:
an accumulator that is arranged on a downstream side of the second evaporator in a refrigerant flow; and
an accumulator temperature detecting member that detects a temperature of the accumulator, wherein:
the evaporator temperature detecting member includes a first evaporator temperature sensor disposed to detect a temperature of the first evaporator, and a second evaporator temperature sensor disposed to detect the temperature of the second evaporator; and
the control unit controls the frost removing member to perform the frost removing operation when a temperature detected by any one of the accumulator temperature detecting member and the first and second evaporator temperature sensors reaches a predetermined temperature or more.
20. The ejector cycle device according to claim 16 , wherein the frost removing member is arranged on an upstream air side of the first and second evaporators.
21. The ejector cycle device according to claim 16 , wherein the frost removing member has an electric heater.
22. The ejector cycle device according to claim 21 , wherein the control unit performs the frost removing operation of the first and second evaporators in a state where the compressor is stopped.
23. The ejector cycle device according to claim 16 , wherein:
the frost removing member has a passage switching means arranged on a downstream side of refrigerant flow of the radiator, and a hot-gas supply passage through which high-temperature refrigerant from the passage switching means is supplied to an upstream side of the refrigerant flow of the second evaporator; and
the control unit controls the passage switching means to switch a refrigerant passage to the hot-gas supply passage in a state where the compressor is operated, and performs the frost removing operation of the first and second evaporators by using the high-temperature refrigerant.
24. The ejector cycle device according to claim 16 , wherein the control unit varies the predetermined temperature according to an outside air temperature.
25. An ejector cycle device comprising:
a compressor that draws and compresses refrigerant;
a radiator that radiates heat of high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor;
an ejector that includes a nozzle portion for reducing pressure of refrigerant on a downstream side of the radiator to expand the refrigerant, and draws refrigerant by a jet flow of refrigerant from the nozzle portion;
a first evaporator that evaporates refrigerant to be drawn into a refrigerant suction port of the ejector, to have a cooling capacity;
a second evaporator that evaporates refrigerant flowing out of the ejector, to have a cooling capacity;
an accumulator that is arranged on a downstream side of the second evaporator in a refrigerant flow;
a frost removing member that heats the first and second evaporators so as to perform a frost removing operation where frost adhering to the first and second evaporators is removed;
an accumulator temperature detecting member that detects a temperature of the accumulator; and
a control unit that controls the frost removing member to heat the first and second evaporators and to perform the frost removing operation when temperature of an outer wall of the accumulator detected by the accumulator temperature detecting member reaches a predetermined temperature.
26. The ejector cycle device according to claim 25 , wherein the frost removing member is arranged on an upstream air side of the first and second evaporators.
27. The ejector cycle device according to claim 25 , wherein the frost removing member has an electric heater.
28. The ejector cycle device according to claim 27 , wherein the control unit performs the frost removing operation of the first and second evaporators in a state where the compressor is stopped.
29. The ejector cycle device according to claim 25 , wherein:
the frost removing member has a passage switching means arranged on a downstream side of refrigerant flow of the radiator, and a hot-gas supply passage through which high-temperature refrigerant from the passage switching means is supplied to an upstream side of the refrigerant flow of the second evaporator; and
the control unit controls the passage switching means to switch a refrigerant passage to the hot-gas supply passage in a state where the compressor is operated, and performs the frost removing operation of the first and second evaporators by using the high-temperature refrigerant.
30. The ejector cycle device according to claim 25 , wherein the control unit varies the predetermined temperature according to an outside air temperature.
31. The ejector cycle device according to claim 16 , wherein:
the frost removing member is constructed with a plurality of heating portions; and
the control unit controls the first and second evaporators to perform the frost removing operation of the first and second evaporators.
32. The ejector cycle device according to claim 16 , wherein the frost removing member contacts both the first and second evaporators to heat the first and second evaporators in the frost removing operation.
33. The ejector cycle device according to claim 16 , wherein the frost removing member is disposed to heat both the first and second evaporators in the frost removing operation.
34. An ejector cycle device comprising:
a compressor that draws and compresses refrigerant;
a radiator that radiates heat of high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor; and
an ejector that includes a nozzle portion for reducing pressure of refrigerant on a downstream side of the radiator to expand the refrigerant, and draws refrigerant by a jet flow of refrigerant from the nozzle portion;
a first evaporator that evaporates refrigerant flowing out of the ejector;
a refrigerant branch passage that is branched from a refrigerant cycle including the compressor, the radiator, the ejector, and the first evaporator, and introduces refrigerant into a refrigerant suction port of the ejector;
a second evaporator that is arranged in the refrigerant branch passage and evaporates refrigerant;
a frost removing member that is disposed to heat the first and second evaporators so as to perform a frost removing operation where frost adhering to the first and second evaporators is removed; and
a control unit that controls the frost removing member to perform the frost removing operation of the first and second evaporators.
35. The ejector cycle device according to claim 34 , wherein the frost removing member is constructed with a plurality of heater portions for heating the first and second evaporators in the frost removing operation.
36. The ejector cycle device according to claim 34 , wherein the frost removing member is located at an upstream air side of each of first and second evaporators.
37. The ejector cycle device according to claim 34 , wherein the frost removing member is located to contact both the first and second evaporators.
38. The ejector cycle device according to claim 34 , wherein the frost removing member is located to heat both the first and second evaporators.
39. The ejector cycle device according to claim 34 , wherein the frost removing member is provided at one side of the first and second evaporators, further comprising
a radiant heat absorbing member provided at the other one of the first and second evaporators such that radiant heat from the frost removing member is delivered to the radiant heat absorbing member.
40. The ejector cycle device according to claim 34 , wherein:
the frost removing member is provided at one side of the first and second evaporators such that heat from the frost removing member is delivered to the other one of the first and second evaporators by convection.
41. The ejector cycle device according to claim 40 , further comprising an air blowing unit which is located to perform the convection.
42. The ejector cycle device according to claim 40 , wherein the first and second evaporators are arranged in a vertical direction, and the frost removing member is arranged at a lower position of the first and second evaporators to perform a natural convection in the frost removing operation.
43. The ejector cycle device according to claim 34 , wherein the frost removing member has an electric heater.
44. The ejector cycle device according to claim 34 , wherein the control unit performs the frost removing operation of the first and second evaporators by the frost removing member in a state where the compressor is stopped.
45. The ejector cycle device according to claim 34 , wherein the refrigerant is a flammable refrigerant.
46. The ejector cycle device according to claim 16 , further comprising
a heat conductive member that connects the first evaporator and the second evaporator to transfer heat between the first evaporator and the second evaporator.
47. An ejector cycle device comprising:
a compressor that draws and compresses refrigerant;
a radiator that radiates heat of high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor;
an ejector that includes a nozzle portion for reducing pressure of refrigerant on a downstream side of the radiator to expand the refrigerant, and draws refrigerant by a jet flow of refrigerant from the nozzle portion;
a first evaporator that evaporates refrigerant flowing out of the ejector;
a refrigerant branch passage that is branched from a refrigerant cycle including the compressor, the radiator, the ejector, and the first evaporator and introduces refrigerant into a refrigerant suction port of the ejector;
a second evaporator that is arranged in the refrigerant branch passage and evaporates refrigerant;
a heat conductive member that connects the first evaporator and the second evaporator to transfer heat between the first evaporator and the second evaporator; and
a frost removing member that is disposed to heat the first and second evaporators to remove frost adhering to the first and second evaporators.
48. The ejector cycle device according to claim 47 , wherein the heat conductive member is disposed to contact the frost removing member.
49. The ejector cycle device according to claim 47 , further comprising
a control unit for controlling a frost removing operation of the first and second evaporators, wherein an amount of heat conduction of the heat conductive member is set in such a way that a refrigerating capacity required by the first and second evaporators is compatible with a frost removing capacity required in the frost removing operation of the first and second evaporators.
50. The ejector cycle device according to claim 47 , wherein the heat conductive member includes heat exchange fins disposed in the first and second evaporators.
51. The ejector cycle device according to claim 47 , wherein the heat conductive member is a holding member for holding the first and second evaporators.
52. The ejector cycle device according to claim 47 , wherein the heat conductive member includes side plates attached to side ends of the first and second evaporators.
53. The ejector cycle device according to claim 47 , wherein the heat conductive member is located in the first and second evaporators.
Applications Claiming Priority (10)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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JP2005142476A JP4665601B2 (en) | 2005-05-16 | 2005-05-16 | Cycle using ejector |
JP2005-142476 | 2005-05-16 | ||
JP2005148470A JP2006322691A (en) | 2005-05-20 | 2005-05-20 | Ejector cycle |
JP2005-148470 | 2005-05-20 | ||
JP2005-151588 | 2005-05-24 | ||
JP2005151588 | 2005-05-24 | ||
JP2005213272A JP2007003170A (en) | 2005-05-24 | 2005-07-22 | Ejector type cycle |
JP2005-213272 | 2005-07-22 | ||
JP2005-219354 | 2005-07-28 | ||
JP2005219354A JP4609226B2 (en) | 2005-07-28 | 2005-07-28 | Ejector type cycle |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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US20060254308A1 true US20060254308A1 (en) | 2006-11-16 |
Family
ID=37311298
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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US11/434,426 Abandoned US20060254308A1 (en) | 2005-05-16 | 2006-05-15 | Ejector cycle device |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US20060254308A1 (en) |
DE (1) | DE102006022557A1 (en) |
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