Refrigeration cycle device

• US 10,451,317 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2015
• Issued: 10/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Kawakubo, Masaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Aviles, Orlando E
• Application Number:
  US15/536,583
• Publication Number:
  US 20170350624A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,414 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00921 where the flow direction of the refrigerant does not change and there is an extra subcondenser, e.g. in an air duct
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/3227 characterised by the arrangement or the type of heat exchanger, e.g. condenser, evaporator condensed liquid drainage means B60H1/3233
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2309/061 with cycle highest pressure above the supercritical pressure
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2339/044 Condensers with an integrated receiver
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2339/0444 where the flow of refrigerant through the condenser receiver is split into two or more flows, each flow following a different path through the condenser receiver
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2339/047 Water-cooled condensers
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2400/02 Centrifugal separation of gas, liquid or oil
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2400/0403 for the condenser
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2400/0409 for the evaporator
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2600/2501 Bypass valves
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2600/2507 Flow-diverting valves
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 39/028 having distributing means
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 40/02 Subcoolers
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 41/22 between evaporator and compressor
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 41/39 Dispositions with two or more expansion means arranged in series, i.e. multi-stage expansion, on a refrigerant line leading to the same evaporator
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 43/02 for separating lubricants from the refrigerant
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 49/02 for compression type machines, plants or systems
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 5/00 Compression machines, plants or systems, with several evaporator circuits, e.g. for varying refrigerating capacity with cascade operation F25B7/00
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 6/04 arranged in series

Abstract

A refrigeration cycle device is configured to be selectively switchable between an air-cooling first refrigerant circuit that causes refrigerant to flow out of a liquid-phase refrigerant outlet of a gas-liquid separator, and an air-heating second refrigerant circuit that causes the refrigerant to flow out of a gas-phase refrigerant outlet of the gas-liquid separator. In the refrigeration cycle device, an oil separator is disposed in a refrigerant passage that leads from a heat dissipation device to a first expansion valve. Thus, when the first refrigerant circuit is configured in the refrigeration cycle device, the refrigerant passing through the oil separator is in a single gas phase or in an almost gas phase, so that oil can be easily separated from the refrigerant. Furthermore, when the refrigerant circulates through the first refrigerant circuit, oil can be retained at a position other than the gas-liquid separator.

Claims

1. A refrigeration cycle device comprising:

a compressor that draws, compresses, and discharges a refrigerant;

a heat dissipation device that dissipates heat held in the refrigerant discharged from the compressor, into a ventilation air which is to be blown into a space to be air-conditioned;

a first decompression portion that decompresses the refrigerant flowing out of the heat dissipation device;

an exterior heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the refrigerant flowing out of the first decompression portion and outside air;

a gas-liquid separator that separates the refrigerant flowing out of the exterior heat exchanger into a gas-phase refrigerant and a liquid-phase refrigerant, the gas-liquid separator having a gas-phase refrigerant outlet from which the gas-phase refrigerant flows and a liquid-phase refrigerant outlet from which the liquid-phase refrigerant flows;

a second decompression portion that decompresses the refrigerant flowing out of the liquid-phase refrigerant outlet of the gas-liquid separator;

an evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant by exchanging heat between the refrigerant flowing out of the second decompression portion and the ventilation air;

a switching device configured to be selectively switchable between a first refrigerant circuit and a second refrigerant circuit, wherein the first refrigerant circuit is configured to cause the refrigerant discharged from the compressor to flow into the gas-liquid separator while flowing out of the liquid-phase refrigerant outlet of the gas-liquid separator and then to cause the refrigerant from the liquid-phase refrigerant outlet to flow sequentially into the second decompression portion and the evaporator to be drawn into the compressor, and the second refrigerant circuit is configured to cause the refrigerant discharged from the compressor to flow into the gas-liquid separator while flowing out of the gas-phase refrigerant outlet of the gas-liquid separator, and then to cause the refrigerant from the gas-phase refrigerant outlet to be drawn into the compressor; and

an oil separator provided in a refrigerant passage from the compressor to the exterior heat exchanger, the oil separator being configured to separate oil from the refrigerant containing the oil and flowing into the oil separator from a refrigerant-flow upstream side of the oil separator and then to cause the refrigerant after the separation to flow out toward a refrigerant-flow downstream side of the oil separator, while retaining the oil when the first refrigerant circuit is set, wherein

the oil separator includes a tank forming an oil reservoir space that retains the oil separated from the refrigerant, a refrigerant inlet portion through which the refrigerant flows from the refrigerant-flow upstream side of the oil separator into the oil reservoir space, and a refrigerant outlet portion that causes the refrigerant within the oil reservoir space to flow out toward the refrigerant-flow downstream side of the oil separator, wherein the oil separator is provided downstream the heat dissipation device and upstream the first decompression portion in the refrigerant passage from the compressor to the exterior heat exchanger, and

wherein the refrigeration device is configured such that when the second circuit is circulating refrigerant, the refrigerant in the gas liquid separator flows out of the gas-phase refrigerant outlet without flowing out of the liquid-phase refrigerant outlet, and the liquid-phase refrigerant after condensation in the heat dissipation device flows into the tank of the oil separator.

2. The refrigeration cycle device according to claim 1, wherein

the refrigerant outlet portion of the oil separator has an in-reservoir-space inlet that is open within the oil reservoir space at a level higher than a liquid surface of the oil retained in the oil reservoir space when the first refrigerant circuit is circulating refrigerant, the refrigerant outlet portion being configured to cause the refrigerant flowing into the oil separator from the in-reservoir-space inlet to flow out toward the refrigerant-flow downstream side of the oil separator.

3. The refrigeration cycle device according to claim 1, wherein the refrigeration cycle device is further configured to have the first decompression portion be set to an open state of causing the refrigerant flowing into the first decompression portion to flow out toward the exterior heat exchanger in connection with the first refrigerant circuit circulating refrigerant by the switching device, and is set to a decompression state of decompressing the refrigerant flowing into the first decompression portion more than in the open state and then causing the decompressed refrigerant to flow out toward the exterior heat exchanger in connection with the second refrigerant circuit circulating refrigerant by the switching device,

in the open state of the first decompression portion, a pressure of the refrigerant flowing out of the first decompression portion is set at a value that makes a temperature of the refrigerant higher than a temperature of the outside air in the exterior heat exchanger, and

in the decompression state of the first decompression portion, a pressure of the refrigerant flowing out of the first decompression portion is set at a value that makes the temperature of the refrigerant lower than a temperature of the outside air in the exterior heat exchanger.

4. The refrigeration cycle device according to claim 1, wherein

the compressor has a suction port that draws the refrigerant,

the first decompression portion is configured to be set to either an open state of causing the refrigerant flowing into the first decompression portion to flow toward the exterior heat exchanger or a decompression state of decompressing the refrigerant flowing into the first decompression portion more than in the open state and causing the decompressed refrigerant to flow toward the exterior heat exchanger,

in the open state of the first decompression portion, a pressure of the refrigerant flowing out of the first decompression portion is set at a value that makes a temperature of the refrigerant higher than a temperature of the outside air in the exterior heat exchanger,

in the decompression state of the first decompression portion, a pressure of the refrigerant flowing out of the first decompression portion is set at a value that makes the temperature of the refrigerant lower than a temperature of the outside air in the exterior heat exchanger,

the switching device includes:

a compressor connection passage connected to a suction port of the compressor;

a first connection passage connected to the evaporator;

a second connection passage connected to the gas-phase refrigerant outlet of the gas-liquid separator;

a switching valve body that is configured to be switched between a first valve position and a second valve position, the first valve position being a position in which the first connection passage communicates with the compressor connection passage while closing the second connection passage, the second valve position being a position in which the second connection passage communicates with the compressor connection passage while closing the first connection passage;

an urging member that urges the switching valve body toward the second valve position; and

a pressure-chamber formation portion that is provided with a pressure chamber into which the refrigerant flowing out of the gas-phase refrigerant outlet of the gas-liquid separator is introduced, the pressure-chamber formation portion being adapted to cause a refrigerant pressure in the pressure chamber to press the switching valve body toward the first valve position against the urging member,

the urging member is configured to cause the switching valve body to be switched to the first valve position by the refrigerant pressure in the pressure chamber when the refrigerant pressure in the pressure chamber takes a value that brings the first decompression portion into the open state, and

the urging member is configured to cause the switching valve body to be switched to the second valve position when the refrigerant pressure in the pressure chamber takes a value that brings the first decompression portion into the decompression state.

5. The refrigeration cycle device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a subcooler disposed between the liquid-phase refrigerant outlet of the gas-liquid separator and the second decompression portion, the subcooler being adapted to subcool the refrigerant flowing out of the liquid-phase refrigerant outlet, wherein

the exterior heat exchanger and the subcooler are integral.

6. The refrigeration cycle device according to claim 1, wherein

the exterior heat exchanger and the gas-liquid separator are integral.