Valve device

Abstract

A valve device that allows a valve core to operate smoothly and perform stable control. The valve device includes: a valve body having a valve chamber connected to a refrigerant inflow path and an outflow path; a valve core that changes the refrigerant flow rate by moving forward and backward relative to a valve seat; and a pressure-sensitive component connected to the valve core, which applies force to the valve core toward the valve seat and expands and contracts by the pressure of the refrigerant flowing into the valve core from the inflow path, thereby allowing the valve core to move forward and backward, wherein the valve chamber includes a lower valve chamber formed on the lower side of the valve body to communicate with the inflow path and an upper valve chamber formed on the upper side of the valve body to communicate with the outflow path, the valve seat is provided at the lower end of the upper valve chamber, the upper end of the pressure-sensitive component is supported by the upper end of the upper valve chamber, and the lower end thereof contacts the valve core in a manner that can prevent relative lateral displacement with the valve core, and the valve device also includes a guide unit (support rod and guide hole) provided on the lower side of the valve core, which allows the valve core to move in the up-down direction but restricts the valve core from moving in the left-right direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a valve device used in a refrigeration cycle, and in particular to an evaporation pressure regulating valve with a pressure-sensitive bellows. Background Art

[0002] In the refrigeration cycle, the refrigerant is vaporized in the evaporator and heat is exchanged with the surrounding atmosphere. However, when the load is light, the evaporator may be overcooled and frosted. Once frosting occurs, ventilation is blocked by the ice layer, and the cooling efficiency drops sharply. Therefore, in order to prevent this, an evaporation pressure regulating valve is installed on the outlet side piping of the evaporator.

[0003] The evaporation pressure regulating valve throttles the flow path on the outlet side of the evaporator and prevents frost on the evaporator by keeping the pressure in the evaporator at a constant level or above.

[0004] In addition, as a document that discloses such an evaporation pressure regulating valve, there is the following Patent Document 1.

[0005] Prior art literature

[0006] Patent Literature

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-270981

[0008] Technical problem to be solved by the invention

[0009] However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the valve element for adjusting the flow rate of the refrigerant is prone to inclination and axial displacement, and it is difficult to obtain smooth operation and stable control of the valve element.

[0010] Specifically, in the invention described in the document, the valve core is supported on the valve body (main body) coaxially with the refrigerant inflow path via a bellows as a pressure-sensitive component. The base end of the bellows supporting the valve core is supported by a seat plate fixed to the valve body, but the top end side where the valve core is provided is not supported by the valve body like a cantilever beam. And because the bellows needs to expand and contract in response to the pressure on the valve core, the axial dimension of the bellows is long and flexible.

[0011] Therefore, the valve core disposed at the top of such a long and flexible bellows is prone to vibrate left and right (in a direction intersecting the axial direction), and is pushed by the inflowing refrigerant to tilt or shift left and right and contact the inner wall surface of the inflow path, which may hinder the smooth operation of the valve core. In addition, sliding resistance is generated between the inflow path wall surface in contact, and the actual working pressure of the valve core may deviate from the design pressure set by the bellows.

[0012] In order to suppress the inclination of the valve core, the outer diameter D of the valve core (seeFig.12 ) and the embedding length L is sufficiently small, but in the invention described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the outer diameter D of the valve portion needs to be sufficiently large to ensure the required flow path area, so L needs to be increased. Therefore, there is a problem that the total length of the evaporation pressure regulating valve becomes longer, and there is also a problem of installation when mounted on a vehicle. Summary of the invention

[0013] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to obtain a valve device that can ensure smooth operation of a valve element and can perform more stable control.

[0014] Technical means for solving technical problems

[0015] In order to achieve the purpose of solving the above-mentioned technical problems, the valve device of the present invention comprises: a valve body, which has a valve chamber, and the valve chamber is connected to an inlet path for introducing refrigerant and an outlet path for discharging the refrigerant; a valve core, which changes the flow rate of the refrigerant by moving forward and backward relative to the valve seat between a closed valve state in which the valve core is seated on a valve seat formed in the valve chamber and an open valve state in which the valve core is separated from the valve seat; and a pressure-sensitive component, which applies a force to the valve core toward the valve seat and expands and contracts according to the pressure exerted on the valve core by the refrigerant flowing in from the inlet path, thereby allowing the valve core to move forward and backward.

[0016] In addition, in the valve device, when the valve opening direction of the valve core is set to the upper side and the valve closing direction of the valve core is set to the lower side (in the present invention, the up-down direction is also referred to as the "vertical direction". In addition, the direction orthogonal to the up-down direction is referred to as the "left-right direction" or the "horizontal direction"), the valve chamber includes: a lower valve chamber, which is formed on the lower side of the interior of the valve body in a manner connected to the inflow path; and an upper valve chamber, which is formed on the upper side of the interior of the valve body in a manner connected to the outflow path, and the valve seat is provided at the lower end of the upper valve chamber. In addition, the lower valve chamber and the upper valve chamber are connected to each other via the valve seat (separated by the valve seat) to form a continuous internal space (valve chamber space). In addition, the upper end of the pressure-sensitive component is supported by the upper end of the upper valve chamber, and the lower end of the pressure-sensitive component contacts the valve core in a manner that can prevent the relative lateral displacement of the lower end and the valve core (relative movement of the lower end of the pressure-sensitive component and the valve core in the horizontal direction). The valve device further includes a guide unit provided on the lower side of the valve element, the guide unit allowing the valve element to move in the up-down direction but restricting the movement of the valve element in a direction intersecting the up-down direction.

[0017] In the valve device of the present invention, the valve core is allowed to move forward and backward (up and down) relative to the valve seat and is supported from both upper and lower surfaces (upper and lower sides), thereby preventing the valve core from moving (vibrating or positionally shifting) in a direction intersecting the upper and lower directions. That is, in addition to supporting the valve core via the pressure-sensitive component on the pressure-sensitive component side (upper side) as in the conventional method, the valve core is also supported by providing a guide unit from the side opposite to the pressure-sensitive component (lower side).

[0018] As described above, the guide unit allows the valve core to move in the upward and downward directions, that is, allows the valve to open and close, but limits the movement of the valve core in a direction intersecting with the opening and closing direction of the valve. By connecting such a guide unit to the valve core, the valve core is prevented from lateral displacement (vibration in the horizontal direction).

[0019] Specifically, the guide unit can be composed of a guide hole that is perforated in the lower surface of the lower valve chamber and extends in the up-down direction, and a support rod that is provided on the valve core in a manner that the lower end can be slidably embedded in the guide hole. In addition, the support rod can be a structure that is formed integrally with the valve core (the valve core and the support rod are made as one component), or a structure that is a different component from the valve core but fixed to the valve core. In addition, the guide unit can also be composed of a support rod that stands upward from the lower surface of the lower valve chamber toward the valve core, and a guide hole that is perforated in the lower surface of the valve core and allows the valve core to move in the up-down direction and for the upper end of the support rod to be embedded. In addition, from the viewpoint of preventing lateral displacement of the valve core, it is preferred that the above-mentioned support rods are composed of a hollow or solid rod-shaped portion or rod-shaped component that is not flexible (will not bend in the horizontal direction).

[0020] In addition, the guide unit may also include a sliding resistance adding component, which is arranged on the outer periphery of the support rod and adds sliding resistance to the support rod. According to this method, the sliding resistance of the sliding resistance adding component can be used to prevent the valve core from opening and closing suddenly, and the valve vibration sound can also be prevented. In addition, the guide unit may also include a spring component that applies force to the valve core toward the pressure-sensitive component. According to this method, the embodiment described later can also be adopted ( Figure 5 ) is a structure in which the bellows and the valve core are not connected.

[0021] In addition, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pressure-sensitive component, the valve core, and the guide unit are coaxially arranged on an axis extending in the vertical direction (e.g., on the center line of the upper valve chamber and the lower valve chamber) to prevent the valve core from being offset in the horizontal direction and to enable the valve core to move smoothly in the vertical direction.

[0022] In addition, in the present invention, it is preferable that an opening of the inflow passage to the lower valve chamber (hereinafter referred to as an "inflow port") is formed in a side wall of the lower valve chamber.

[0023] This is to prevent the guide unit from obstructing the inflow of refrigerant. Fig.12 In the valve device described in Patent Document 1, if the valve core is to be supported from the upper surface side (the side opposite to the bellows), a support unit (guide unit) has to be provided in the inlet passage, and the flow area of ​​the inlet passage is narrowed due to the support unit, which may hinder the inflow of the refrigerant. In contrast, such a problem can be avoided according to the above method.

[0024] Effects of the Invention

[0025] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a valve device capable of performing stable control by achieving smooth operation of a valve element.

[0026] Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments of the present invention described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals represent the same or corresponding parts. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 This is a longitudinal sectional view showing a valve body, a coil spring, etc. cut away in order to clarify the internal structure of the evaporation pressure regulating valve (valve closed state) according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 2 is with Figure 1 Similarly, a longitudinal sectional view of the evaporation pressure regulating valve (in an open valve state) according to the first embodiment is shown.

[0029] Figure 3 This is a longitudinal sectional view showing a valve body, a pressure-sensitive bellows, a guide mechanism, a coil spring, etc. cut away in order to clarify the internal structure of the evaporation pressure regulating valve (valve closed state) according to the first embodiment.

[0030] Figure 4 is with Figure 3 Similarly, a longitudinal sectional view of the evaporation pressure regulating valve (in an open valve state) according to the first embodiment is shown.

[0031] Figure 5 is with Figure 3 Similarly, a longitudinal sectional view of an evaporation pressure regulating valve (valve closed state) according to a modification of the first embodiment is shown.

[0032] Figure 6 This is a longitudinal sectional view showing a valve body, a valve element, a coil spring, etc. cut away in order to clarify the internal structure of the evaporation pressure regulating valve (valve closed state) according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 7 is with Figure 6Similarly, a longitudinal sectional view of the evaporation pressure regulating valve (in an open valve state) according to the second embodiment is shown.

[0034] Figure 8 This is a longitudinal sectional view showing a valve body, a pressure-sensitive bellows, a guide mechanism, a coil spring, etc. cut away in order to clarify the internal structure of the evaporation pressure regulating valve (valve closed state) according to the second embodiment.

[0035] Fig. 9 is with Figure 8 Similarly, a longitudinal sectional view of the evaporation pressure regulating valve (in an open valve state) according to the second embodiment is shown.

[0036] Fig.10 This is a longitudinal sectional view showing a valve body, a coil spring, etc. cut away in order to clarify the internal structure of the evaporation pressure regulating valve (valve closed state) according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] Fig.11 is with Fig.10 Similarly, a longitudinal sectional view of the evaporation pressure regulating valve (in an open valve state) according to the third embodiment is shown.

[0038] Fig.12 It is a longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional evaporation pressure regulating valve (the above-mentioned Patent Document 1).

[0039] Explanation of symbols

[0040] 11, 31, 41 Evaporation pressure regulating valve

[0041] 12 Valve body

[0042] 13 Valve chamber

[0043] 13a lower valve chamber

[0044] 13b Upper valve chamber

[0045] 14 Valve seat

[0046] 15 Valve core

[0047] 15a Raised part

[0048] 15b recess

[0049] 16 Pressure Sensing Bellows

[0050] 17, 67 Adjustment thread

[0051] 18 Coil spring (spring component)

[0052] 19 Spring bearing parts

[0053] 19a Spring receiving part

[0054] 20 Guidance Agency

[0055] 20a, 20c Support rod (rod-shaped support portion)

[0056] 20b, 20d Guide holes

[0057] 20e Support hole

[0058] 21 Inflow Road

[0059] 21a Inlet

[0060] 22 Outflow

[0061] 22a Outlet

[0062] 23 Sliding resistance additional parts

[0063] 23a Conical part

[0064] 24 O-ring parts (sliding resistance additional parts)

[0065] 25 Plate-shaped connecting parts

[0066] 55 Valve core body DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0067] [First embodiment]

[0068] Reference Figures 1 to 4 The valve device of the first embodiment of the present invention is described. In addition, the valve device of this embodiment (the same applies to each embodiment described later) is provided in the outlet side piping of the evaporator of the refrigeration cycle, and is an evaporation pressure regulating valve (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "regulating valve") that keeps the pressure in the evaporator at a constant level or above. In addition, two-dimensional orthogonal coordinates are shown in each figure, and the coordinates represent each direction of up, down, left, and right, and the following description is based on these directions (the same applies to each embodiment described later).

[0069] like Figures 1 to 4As shown, the evaporation pressure regulating valve 11 of the first embodiment of the present invention comprises: a valve body 12, in which a valve chamber 13 composed of an upper valve chamber 13b and a lower valve chamber 13a is provided; a valve seat 14, which is formed on the bottom portion (lower surface portion) of the upper valve chamber 13b; a valve core 15, which changes the flow rate of the refrigerant by moving forward and backward (up and down) relative to the valve seat 14 in the upper valve chamber 13b; and a pressure-sensitive bellows (pressure-sensitive component / hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as a "bellows") 16, the upper end of which is fixed to the valve body via an adjustment screw 17 (threaded portion 17a). 12, the lower end of the pressure-sensitive bellows 16 is connected to the upper surface of the valve core 15 via a plate-like connecting component 25; a coil spring 18, which is arranged on the lower surface side of the valve core 15 and applies force to the valve core 15 upward; a spring bearing component 19, which is arranged on the bottom surface of the lower valve chamber 13a and bears the coil spring 18; a guide mechanism 20, which prevents the valve core 15 from deviating to the left and right directions (horizontal direction); an inlet path 21, which introduces the refrigerant into the lower valve chamber 13a; and an outflow path 22, which discharges the refrigerant from the upper valve chamber 13b.

[0070] In addition, the upper valve chamber 13b and the lower valve chamber 13a are formed to be stacked (continuous) in the up-down direction and communicate with each other. In addition, the inflow path 21 extends horizontally in the valve body 12, and an inflow port 21a is formed on the side wall of the lower valve chamber 13a as an opening (communication port) of the inflow path 21 to the lower valve chamber 13a. Similarly, the outflow path 22 extends horizontally in the valve body 12, and an outflow port 22a is formed on the side wall of the upper valve chamber 13b, which is an opening (communication port) of the outflow path 22 relative to the upper valve chamber 13b.

[0071] In the present embodiment, the guide mechanism 20 is composed of a support rod 20a formed on the lower side of the valve core 15 and extending vertically downward (in other words, a rod-shaped support portion 20a extending vertically downward from the lower surface of the disc-shaped valve core main body 55), and a guide hole 20b vertically bored in the bottom surface of the lower valve chamber 13a. The support rod 20a is a rod-shaped portion that is not flexible (i.e., does not bend in the horizontal direction), and the lower end of the support rod 20a is slidably (movably up and down) inserted into the guide hole 20b.

[0072] In addition, the support rod 20a is set to have the following length: when the support rod 20a moves upward together with the valve core 15 and is displaced to the uppermost position (that is, when the valve opening becomes maximum), the lower end of the support rod 20a will not be separated from the guide hole 20b. Furthermore, from the viewpoint of more reliably preventing the valve core 15 from lateral displacement and tilting, as a preferred method, when the outer diameter of the support rod 20a is set to "d" and the length of the lower end of the support rod embedded in the guide hole 20b when displaced to the uppermost position (embedded length) is set to "h1", the length of the support rod 20a can be set to "h1>d". In addition, in the present embodiment, by making the outer diameter d of the support rod and the inner diameter f of the valve seat 14 (refer to Figure 2 ) is sufficiently smaller than that of the embedded portion, so the length h1 of the embedded portion can be kept shorter and the size of the product can be kept smaller.

[0073] On the other hand, the guide hole 20b is set to have the following depth: when the support rod 20a that moves up and down with the valve core 15 is located at the bottom, that is, when the valve core 15 is in a closed valve state seated on the valve seat 14, the lower end of the support rod 20a does not collide with the bottom of the guide hole 20b (in other words, the support rod 20a does not collide with the bottom of the guide hole 20b and hinder the downward movement of the valve core 15).

[0074] In addition, the guide hole 20b, the support rod 20a, the valve core 15 and the pressure-sensitive bellows 16 are arranged coaxially on the central axis A of the valve chamber 13 (the lower valve chamber 13a and the upper valve chamber 13b). This is to prevent the valve core 15 from deviating in the horizontal direction and to enable the valve core 15 to move smoothly in the vertical direction.

[0075] In the present embodiment, a sliding resistance adding member 23 is provided at the upper end of the guide hole 20b. The sliding resistance adding member 23 is a cylindrical member with a C-shaped cross-sectional shape with a cutout, and is provided so as to be wound around the support rod 20a of the valve core 15. In addition, the outer peripheral corners of the upper and lower ends of the sliding resistance adding member 23 have a large C chamfer, and a tapered inclined surface (tapered portion 23a) that abuts against the C chamfer of the sliding resistance adding member 23 is formed at the upper end peripheral portion of the guide hole 20b. Therefore, the sliding resistance adding member 23 is sandwiched between the spring receiving member 19 and the tapered portion 23a, and a load is added from above by the coil spring 18, so that the sliding resistance can be added to the support rod 20a of the valve core 15, and the sliding resistance can prevent the valve core 15 from opening and closing suddenly, and can prevent the valve vibration sound from being generated. In addition, the coil spring 18 is compressed more when the valve core 15 is closed, and the load is larger, so the maximum sliding resistance can be given near the closed valve where the pressure and flow around the valve core are likely to become unstable.

[0076] In addition, the coil spring 18 not only applies a spring load to the sliding resistance adding member 23, but also plays a role of lifting the valve core 15 from below (playing a role of applying force toward the bellows 16). Therefore, even if the valve core 15 is connected to the bellows 16 via a plate-shaped connecting member 25 fixed to the bellows 16 as in the second embodiment described later instead of the present embodiment, the bellows 16 and the valve core 15 will not separate in the vertical direction due to the action of the coil spring 18 to lift the valve core 15.

[0077] Therefore, in the present invention, it is also possible to adopt a structure in which the bellows 16 and the valve core 15 are not connected. Figure 5 As shown in the figure, a recess 15b is formed on the upper surface of the valve core 15 (valve core main body 55) for inserting the lower end of the bellows 16, and the lower end of the bellows 16 can be inserted into the recess 15b. According to such a structure, although the valve core 15 only contacts the lower end of the bellows 16 but is not connected to the bellows 16, the valve core 15 will not leave the lower end of the bellows 16 due to the upward force of the coil spring 18, and the lateral displacement of the valve core 15 can be prevented by inserting the recess 15b.

[0078] Refer again Figure 1 to Figure 4 The vertical position of the valve core 15 (valve opening) is determined by the balance between the downward force of the bellows 16, the upward force of the coil spring 18, and the upward pressure of the refrigerant flowing into the lower valve chamber 13a through the inlet path 21 (this pressure is equal to the refrigerant pressure in the evaporator connected upstream of the regulating valve 11).

[0079] In addition, the bellows 16 has a coil spring inside that applies force to the valve core 15 downward, and the above-mentioned "force applied downward by the bellows" refers to the force applied by the entire bellows 16 including the coil spring. In addition, the bellows 16 may be set to a vacuum, and gas may be sealed in as needed when it is desired to increase the force applied by the bellows 16. In addition, the set pressure (force applied downward) of the bellows 16 can be adjusted by rotating the adjustment screw 17 provided at the upper end of the bellows 16.

[0080] The bellows 16 expands and contracts in the vertical direction as the pressure of the refrigerant flowing into the lower valve chamber 13a through the inflow passage 21 (the refrigerant pressure in the evaporator) changes, thereby maintaining the refrigerant pressure at a constant value or above, as described below.

[0081] First, in Figure 1 and Figure 3 In the closed valve state shown, the valve core 15 abuts against the valve seat 14, and the inflow path 21 and the outflow path 22 are blocked and do not communicate. Figure 2 and Figure 4In the valve open state shown in FIG. 1 , the valve core 15 moves upward and separates from the valve seat 14, and the inflow path 21 and the outflow path 22 are connected via the valve chamber 13 (the lower valve chamber 13a and the upper valve chamber 13b). The refrigerant flowing from the inflow path 21 into the lower valve chamber 13a passes between the valve core 15 and the valve seat 14 and penetrates into the upper valve chamber 13b, and is discharged to the outside through the outflow path 22 (refer to FIG. 1 ). Figure 2 At this time, the bellows 16 contracts more than when the valve is closed due to the pressure of the refrigerant (upward force) on the valve core 15, and the valve core 15 receives the elastic force (downward force) from the bellows 16.

[0082] If the refrigerant pressure decreases in this valve-open state, the elastic bellows 16 stretches, the valve core 15 moves downward toward the valve seat 14, and the refrigerant flow path area decreases. As a result, the refrigerant pressure increases. In this way, the pressure of the refrigerant flowing in from the inlet path 21 (the pressure in the evaporator connected upstream) is maintained at a constant value or above.

[0083] In addition, during the above-mentioned operation, the valve core 15 is always supported from the lower surface side by the support rod 20a integrally formed with the valve core 15 and having the lower end inserted into the guide hole 20b, so that the valve core 15 can be prevented from tilting and shifting in the horizontal direction. In addition, it is also possible to prevent the valve core 15 from abutting against the inner wall surface of the valve chamber 13 (upper valve chamber 13b) to hinder the operation of the valve core 15, or to prevent the sliding resistance between the valve core 15 and the inner wall surface of the valve chamber from causing the refrigerant pressure in the evaporator to deviate from the set pressure.

[0084] [Second embodiment]

[0085] Reference Figure 6 to Figure 9 The evaporation pressure regulating valve according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The same reference numerals are used for the same structures as those in the first embodiment, and duplicate descriptions are omitted, and the description will focus on the differences (the same applies to the third embodiment described later).

[0086] The guide mechanism 20 of the evaporation pressure regulating valve 31 of the second embodiment of the present invention is different from that of the first embodiment. Figure 6 to Figure 9 The guide mechanism 20 of the present embodiment shown is composed of a support rod 20c, which stands upward in a manner vertically penetrating the lower valve chamber 13a from the bottom surface of the lower valve chamber 13a, and a guide hole 20d, which receives the upper end of the support rod 20c. The support rod 20c is a metal pipe with no flexibility (not bent in the horizontal direction), and the support rod 20a is fixed by inserting the lower end into the support hole 20e bored in the bottom surface of the lower valve chamber 13a.

[0087] In addition, a raised portion 15a is formed in the valve core 15 so as to protrude downward from the lower surface of the central portion of the valve core 15, and the guide hole 20d is formed so as to extend vertically upward from the lower surface of the raised portion 15a. The upper end of the support rod 20c is slidably embedded in the guide hole 20d, thereby allowing the valve core 15 to move in the vertical direction and limiting the horizontal displacement of the valve core 15, thereby preventing the valve core 15 from being lateral deflected or tilted.

[0088] In addition, the guide hole 20d is set to have the following depth: when the valve core 15 is in the closed valve state at the bottom, the upper end of the support rod 20c does not collide with the top surface (upper surface) of the guide hole 20d (in other words, the support rod 20c does not collide with the top surface of the guide hole 20d and hinder the downward movement of the valve core 15).

[0089] In addition, the support rod 20c is set to have a height such that the upper end of the support rod 20c will not be pulled out of the guide hole 20d when the valve core 15 moves upward to the uppermost position (when the valve opening is at its maximum). Furthermore, similarly to the first embodiment, from the viewpoint of more reliably preventing the valve core 15 from lateral displacement and tilting, as a preferred method, the length of the support rod 20c can be set to the following length: when the outer diameter of the support rod 20c is set to "d" and the length (embedded length) of the upper end of the support rod 20c embedded in the guide hole 20d when the valve core 15 moves to the uppermost position is set to "h2", "h2>d".

[0090] In order to enable the valve core 15 to move smoothly in the vertical direction, the support rod 20c, the valve core 15, the guide hole 20d and the bellows 16 are arranged coaxially on the central axis A of the valve chamber 13 (the lower valve chamber 13a and the upper valve chamber 13b), similar to the first embodiment.

[0091] In addition, the regulating valve 31 of the present embodiment also includes the coil spring 18 for urging the valve body 15 upward, but instead of the spring receiving member 19 of the first embodiment, in the present embodiment, a cylindrical protrusion (spring receiving portion 19a) is formed at the center of the bottom surface of the lower valve chamber 13a to be inserted into the lower end of the coil spring 18. Then, the coil spring 18 is arranged between the spring receiving portion 19a and the protrusion 15a of the valve body 15.

[0092] In this embodiment, an O-ring member 24 is provided between the raised portion 15a and the support rod 20c (see Figure 8-Figure 9 ). Similar to the sliding resistance adding member 23 of the first embodiment, the O-ring member 24 provides sliding resistance between the valve core 15 (protrusion 15a) and the support rod 20c. Therefore, the magnitude of the sliding resistance can be changed by utilizing the compression rate of the O-ring member 24.

[0093] [Third embodiment]

[0094] Reference Figure 10-11 An evaporation pressure regulating valve according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0095] like Figure 10-11 As shown, the evaporation pressure regulating valve 41 of the third embodiment of the present invention is a structure in which the valve core 15 is supported from the lower surface side by the same guide mechanism 20 as the first embodiment, and the pressure-sensitive bellows 16 is connected to the upper surface of the valve core 15, but the adjustment screw member 67 provided at the upper end portion of the pressure-sensitive bellows 16 is set to a cap-shaped adjustment screw member.

[0096] That is, in the first embodiment (the second embodiment is also the same), the adjustment screw 17 provided at the upper end of the bellows 16 is fixed to the upper surface of the bellows in a stacked manner on the upper surface of the bellows 16, but the adjustment screw 67 of the present embodiment has a cap-like shape covering the upper end of the bellows 16 within a constant height range, and is provided to cover the upper end of the bellows 16. An external thread 67a is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the adjustment screw 67, and the external thread 67a is screwed into an internal thread portion (not shown) formed in an opening portion of the upper surface of the valve body 12 (an opening connected to the valve chamber 13 for assembling the bellows 16 or the valve core 15, the coil spring 18, the spring receiving member 19, and the support rod 20a into the valve chamber 13).

[0097] According to such an adjusting screw 67 , since the height of the valve body 12 can be reduced, the amount of material (eg, aluminum or aluminum alloy) used to form the valve body 12 can be reduced, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the evaporation pressure regulating valve 41 .

[0098] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made within the scope described in the claims of the present invention.

[0099] For example, in the above-described embodiment, an evaporation pressure regulating valve is configured, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention can be applied to various valve devices such as a pressure response switch and a pressure reducing valve that operate a valve element according to the refrigerant pressure.

Claims

1. A valve device, characterized in that: have: a valve body having a valve chamber connected to an inflow passage for introducing a refrigerant and an outflow passage for discharging the refrigerant; a valve element that changes the flow rate of the refrigerant by moving forward and backward relative to the valve seat between a valve-closing state in which the valve element is seated on a valve seat formed in the valve chamber and a valve-opening state in which the valve element is separated from the valve seat; as well as a pressure-sensitive component that applies force to the valve core toward the valve seat. If the pressure of the refrigerant flowing into the valve core from the inflow passage decreases, the pressure-sensitive component extends to move the valve core toward the valve seat. If the pressure increases, the pressure-sensitive component contracts to move the valve core back from the valve seat, thereby allowing the valve core to move forward and backward. When the valve opening direction of the valve body is set to upward and the valve closing direction of the valve body is set to downward, The valve chamber comprises: a lower valve chamber formed at a lower side of the interior of the valve body so as to communicate with the inflow path; and an upper valve chamber formed on an upper side of the interior of the valve body so as to communicate with the outflow passage, The valve seat is arranged at the lower end of the upper valve chamber, The upper end of the pressure-sensitive component is supported by the upper end of the upper valve chamber, and the lower end of the pressure-sensitive component is in contact with the valve core in a manner that can prevent the lower end from being laterally displaced relative to the valve core. The valve device includes a guide unit, which is provided on the lower side of the valve core and allows the valve core to move in the up-down direction but restricts the valve core from moving in the direction intersecting the up-down direction. The guiding unit comprises: A guide hole is formed through a hole in the lower surface of the lower valve chamber and extends in the up-down direction; A support rod, the support rod is arranged on the valve core in a manner that the lower end of the support rod can be slidably embedded in the guide hole; as well as The sliding resistance adding member is provided so as to be wound around the outer periphery of the support rod and to generate sliding resistance by contacting with the outer peripheral surface of the support rod, thereby adding sliding resistance to the guide unit.

2. The valve device according to claim 1, characterized in that The pressure-sensitive member, the valve element, and the guide unit are coaxially arranged on an axis extending in the up-down direction.

3. A valve device, characterized in that: have: a valve body having a valve chamber connected to an inflow passage for introducing a refrigerant and an outflow passage for discharging the refrigerant; a valve element that changes the flow rate of the refrigerant by moving forward and backward relative to the valve seat between a valve-closing state in which the valve element is seated on a valve seat formed in the valve chamber and a valve-opening state in which the valve element is separated from the valve seat; as well as a pressure-sensitive component that applies force to the valve core toward the valve seat. If the pressure of the refrigerant flowing into the valve core from the inflow passage decreases, the pressure-sensitive component extends to move the valve core toward the valve seat. If the pressure increases, the pressure-sensitive component contracts to move the valve core back from the valve seat, thereby allowing the valve core to move forward and backward. When the valve opening direction of the valve body is set to upward and the valve closing direction of the valve body is set to downward, The valve chamber comprises: a lower valve chamber formed at a lower side of the interior of the valve body so as to communicate with the inflow path; and an upper valve chamber formed on an upper side of the interior of the valve body so as to communicate with the outflow passage, The valve seat is arranged at the lower end of the upper valve chamber, The upper end of the pressure-sensitive component is supported by the upper end of the upper valve chamber, and the lower end of the pressure-sensitive component is in contact with the valve core in a manner that can prevent the lower end from being laterally displaced relative to the valve core. The valve device includes a guide unit, which is provided on the lower side of the valve core and allows the valve core to move in the up-down direction but restricts the valve core from moving in the direction intersecting the up-down direction. The guiding unit comprises: a support rod extending upward from a lower surface of the lower valve chamber toward the valve core; A guide hole is formed through a hole on the lower surface of the valve core, and the guide hole allows the valve core to move in an upward and downward direction and allows the upper end of the support rod to be embedded; as well as The sliding resistance adding member is provided so as to be wound around the outer periphery of the support rod and to generate sliding resistance by contacting with the outer peripheral surface of the support rod, thereby adding sliding resistance to the guide unit.

4. The valve device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The guide unit includes a spring member that urges the valve element toward the pressure-sensitive member.

5. The valve device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that An inlet is formed on a side wall of the lower valve chamber, and the inlet is an opening of the inlet passage with respect to the lower valve chamber.

Images