Heat exchanger

By introducing a variable path structure and bypass valve in the heat exchanger, dynamically adjusting the flow path of the refrigerant, the problem of unbalanced performance of the existing heat exchanger in the cooling and heating modes is solved, and the two modes are realized Both show excellent performance effects.

CN119404064APending Publication Date: 2025-02-07HANON SYST CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202380046929.5
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2022-06-30
Filing Date
2023-04-28
Publication Date
2025-02-07

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing heat exchangers exhibit uneven performance in cooling modes and heating modes, which vary according to the number of paths, resulting in excellent performance in one mode and poor performance in another mode.

Method used

A heat exchanger is designed to optimize cooling and heating performance by changing the flow path of the refrigerant using a variable path structure and bypass valve, and dynamically adjusting the number of paths according to the requirements of the cooling mode and heating mode.

Benefits of technology

A heat exchanger that exhibits excellent performance in both cooling mode and heating mode is realized. By dynamically adjusting the path structure, the performance imbalance caused by changes in the number of paths is solved.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The present invention relates to a heat exchanger designed in consideration of cooling / heating performance. An object of the present invention is to provide a heat exchanger designed in consideration of cooling / heating performance, in which variable paths are introduced to solve the problem of tradeoff between cooling performance and heating performance according to the number of paths. More specifically, an object of the present invention is to provide a heat exchanger designed in consideration of cooling / heating performance, in which the heat exchanger is designed to have a variable number of paths such that performance thereof can be optimized in both cooling and heating modes.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a heat exchanger, and more particularly, to a heat exchanger which adopts variable paths in consideration of cooling / heating performance to solve a problem in which cooling performance and heating performance vary according to the number of paths. Background Art

[0002] Generally, not only components such as an engine for operating a vehicle are disposed in the engine room of the vehicle, but also heat exchangers such as a radiator, an intercooler, an evaporator, and a condenser for cooling components such as the engine in the vehicle or adjusting the air temperature in the interior of the vehicle are disposed in the engine room of the vehicle. Generally, a heat exchange medium flows in the heat exchanger. The heat exchange medium in the heat exchanger exchanges heat with the outside air existing outside the heat exchanger, so that a cooling operation or heat dissipation can be performed.

[0003] A general refrigeration cycle basically includes a condenser and an evaporator. The condenser is a heat exchanger that is responsible for condensation in the main refrigeration cycle in the air conditioning system for vehicles, and is used to condense a high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant into a liquid state. The evaporator is a heat exchanger responsible for evaporation, and unlike the condenser, it is used to evaporate a liquid refrigerant into a gaseous refrigerant. In the general cooling mode, the condenser discharges the condensation heat generated when the refrigerant condenses in the condenser to the outside, while the refrigerant in the evaporator absorbs the evaporation heat from the outside while being evaporated. The cooling operation is performed by blowing the air around the evaporator to the inside using a process in which the air around the evaporator is cooled by losing heat. At the same time, in the heating mode, in addition to the method of directly heating the air, a method of using a heat pump is sometimes adopted by using the above method in a reverse manner, and the heat pump is configured to blow the air around the condenser to the inside. The cooling mode and the heating mode are performed based on substantially the same principle. A system is also widely used, in which the system is designed to change the flow direction of the refrigerant and a single heat exchanger operates as an evaporator in a cooling mode and as a condenser in a heating mode, so that cooling and heating operations can be performed by a single heat exchanger.

[0004] Meanwhile, the heat exchanger is generally shaped as a pair of header boxes including a plurality of tubes arranged in parallel to each other so that the refrigerant flows therethrough and is arranged at two opposite ends of each of the tube rows including the tube. The simplest and easiest shape of the flow of the refrigerant in the heat exchanger is a single route, through which the refrigerant introduced into a single header box is heat exchanged while passing through all the tube rows and is discharged through another header box. The flow of the refrigerant in the heat exchanger also basically adopts a single route. However, the amount of pressure drop varies depending on the length of the refrigerant propagation route in the heat exchanger, which may cause various problems, such as problems in which the flow rate of the refrigerant cannot be evenly distributed. Therefore, a design has been widely introduced in which the heat exchanger has two or four routes instead of a single route. For example, Korean Patent No. 2103951 (“Refrigerator”, April 17, 2020) discloses a dual-path condenser, and the technology of heat exchangers with multiple paths is well known.

[0005] Figure 1 shows the flow of refrigerant in a four-path heat exchanger, and Figure 2 The flow of refrigerant in a dual path heat exchanger is shown. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The four-path heat exchanger 40 / dual-path heat exchanger 20 shown in the drawings each includes: a plurality of tubes 41 and 21, which are arranged in parallel with each other so that the refrigerant flows therethrough; and a pair of headers 42 and 22, which are arranged at two opposite ends of each of the tube rows including the tubes 41 and 21. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The heat exchanger in is a heat exchanger that basically functions as a condenser, and the receiver dryer 10 is connected to the header tank 42 or 22 at one side. Inlet ports 43 and 23 / outlet ports 44 and 24 through which the refrigerant is introduced / discharged are provided in the header tanks 42 and 22. In addition, in order to realize a desired refrigerant flow direction, baffles 45 and 25 are provided at appropriate positions in the header tanks 42 and 22.

[0006] Will refer to Figure 1 The flow of the refrigerant in the four-path heat exchanger 40 is described in detail. As shown in the figure, the refrigerant introduced into the inlet port 43 is condensed in a step-by-step manner while flowing in a "2" shape along paths 1, 2, and 3 in sequence. The refrigerant that has passed through path 3 is introduced into the receiver dryer 10, and the gas and liquid are separated. The liquid refrigerant separated by the receiver dryer 10 is introduced back into path 4 of the four-path heat exchanger 40. The refrigerant that is overcooled while passing through path 4 is finally discharged to the outlet port 44.

[0007] Will refer to Figure 2The flow of the refrigerant in the dual-path heat exchanger 20 is described in detail. As shown in the figure, the refrigerant introduced into the inlet port 23 is condensed while passing through the path 1. The refrigerant that has passed through the path 1 is introduced into the receiver dryer 10, and the gas and liquid are separated. The liquid refrigerant separated by the receiver dryer 10 is introduced back into the path 2 of the dual-path heat exchanger 20. The refrigerant that is overcooled while passing through the path 2 is finally discharged to the outlet port 24.

[0008] exist Figure 1 and Figure 2 In the case where the four-path heat exchanger 40 / dual-path heat exchanger 20 in the system operates as a condenser in the cooling mode, the four-path heat exchanger 40 has excellent heat transfer performance, which solves the high pressure problem in the system and reduces the power consumption of the compressor, thereby improving the coefficient of performance (COP) of the system. However, since the flow path structure of the dual-path heat exchanger 20 is relatively simple, the heat transfer performance is relatively low, and the problem of high system pressure arises. In addition, the power consumption of the compressor is increased by the high pressure of the system, thereby reducing the COP of the system. More specifically, it is known that in the cooling mode, a high pressure of about 4 bar or more is applied, and the COP is reduced by about 8% in the dual-path heat exchanger 20 compared with the four-path heat exchanger 40.

[0009] Meanwhile, as described above, a system is widely used in which a single heat exchanger operates as a condenser in a cooling mode and as an evaporator in a heating mode. However, in the cooling mode, the performance of the four-path heat exchanger 40 is much higher than that of the dual-path heat exchanger 20, but in the heating mode, the opposite trend occurs. That is, in the case where the four-path heat exchanger 40 / dual-path heat exchanger 20 operates as an evaporator in the heating mode, due to the complex flow path structure of the four-path heat exchanger 40, the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing in the system is low, which reduces the heating performance. On the contrary, in the dual-path heat exchanger 20, due to the simple flow path structure, the refrigerant flow resistance is low, and the flow rate of the refrigerant is relatively high, which improves the heating performance. More specifically, it is known that in the heating mode, the flow rate of the refrigerant is as high as 4kg / hr to 14kg / hr, and the heating discharge temperature is about 1 degree to 3 degrees higher in the dual-path heat exchanger 20 compared to the four-path heat exchanger 40.

[0010] As described above, in the case where a single heat exchanger operates as a condenser in a cooling mode and as an evaporator in a heating mode, the current heat exchanger structure exhibits excellent performance in either the cooling mode or the heating mode, while the heat exchanger structure has poor performance in the other of the cooling mode and the heating mode. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a heat exchanger capable of exhibiting excellent performance in both the cooling mode and the heating mode.

[0011] [Related technical literature]

[0012] [Patent Document]

[0013] (Patent Document 1) 1. Korean Patent No. 2103951 (“Refrigerator”, April 17, 2020) Summary of the invention

[0014] Technical issues

[0015] The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above-mentioned problems in the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a heat exchanger that adopts a variable path in consideration of cooling / heating performance to solve the problem in which cooling performance and heating performance vary according to the number of paths. More specifically, another object of the present invention is to provide a heat exchanger that is designed to change the number of paths in consideration of cooling / heating performance so as to optimize for performance in cooling mode and performance in heating mode.

[0016] Technical Solution

[0017] In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention provides a heat exchanger 100, which includes: a plurality of tubes 110, which are arranged in parallel with each other and are configured to define a core area for the refrigerant to flow therein; a pair of header boxes, which are arranged at two opposite ends of the tubes 110; and a plurality of baffles, which are arranged in the header boxes, wherein a plurality of paths are sequentially arranged in the core area through the plurality of baffles, and bypass valves that selectively bypass some of the plurality of paths are connected to one side or both sides of the pair of header boxes.

[0018] In this case, the heat exchanger 100 may further include a receiver dryer 200, and the bypass valve may be opened or closed according to the temperature.

[0019] In the first embodiment, one receiver-side bypass valve 160A may be provided as a bypass valve in the heat exchanger 100. When the receiver-side bypass valve 160A is closed, the refrigerant may not pass through the receiver dryer 200, and when the receiver-side bypass valve 160A is opened, the refrigerant may pass through the receiver dryer 200.

[0020] In this case, the receiver-side bypass valve 160A may be disposed above the receiver dryer 200 .

[0021] In the second embodiment, two bypass valves, namely, a receiver side bypass valve 160A and a flow port side bypass valve 160B, may be provided in the heat exchanger 100. When the receiver side bypass valve 160A and the flow port side bypass valve 160B are closed, the refrigerant may not pass through the receiver dryer 200. When the receiver side bypass valve 160A and the flow port side bypass valve 160B are opened, a portion of the refrigerant may pass through the receiver dryer 200, and the remaining portion of the refrigerant may pass through only a portion of the heat exchanger 100.

[0022] In this case, the receiver-side bypass valve 160A may also be provided above the receiver dryer 200. The flow port-side bypass valve 160B may be provided between the inlet port 130 and the outlet port 140 formed in the header box.

[0023] In addition, the heat exchanger 100 may include: a first header tank 121 and a second header tank 122; an inlet port 130, which is provided in the first header tank 121 so that the refrigerant is introduced through the inlet port; an outlet port 140, which is provided in the first header tank 121 so that the refrigerant is discharged through the outlet port; a first baffle 151, which is provided in the first header tank 121 at a position between the inlet port 130 and the outlet port 140; a second baffle 152, which is provided in the second header tank 122 at a position between the first baffle 151 and the outlet port 140; and a third baffle 153, which is provided in the first header tank 121. 152 and the outlet port 140; a fourth baffle 154, the fourth baffle is arranged at the same position as the third baffle 153 in the second collecting box 122, wherein the area separated by the first baffle 151 defines a first path ①, wherein the area between the first baffle 151 and the second baffle 152 defines a second path ②, wherein the area between the second baffle 152 and the third baffle 153 and the fourth baffle 154 defines a third path ③, wherein the area separated by the third baffle 153 and the fourth baffle 154 defines a fourth path ④, wherein the inlet port 130 is formed at a position connected to the first path ①, and wherein the outlet port 140 is formed at a position connected to the fourth path ④.

[0024] In addition, the heat exchanger 100 may also include a receiver dryer 200, which is connected to any one of the header boxes and is configured to receive the refrigerant that has passed through the first path ①, the second path ② and the third path ③, separate the refrigerant into gaseous refrigerant and liquid refrigerant, and discharge the liquid refrigerant to the fourth path ④, wherein the bypass valve is configured to open or close according to the refrigerant temperature, wherein, in the cooling mode, as the temperature of the refrigerant becomes a relatively high temperature, the bypass valve is closed, and wherein, in the heating mode, as the temperature of the refrigerant becomes a relatively low temperature, the bypass valve is opened.

[0025] In addition, the heat exchanger 100 may have one receiver-side bypass valve 160A as a bypass valve, or may have two bypass valves, namely, the receiver-side bypass valve 160A and the flow port-side bypass valve 160B. In the case where the heat exchanger 100 has the receiver-side bypass valve 160A, the heat exchanger 100 may include: a receiver-side bypass port 141 provided in the second header tank 122; and a receiver-side bypass path 142 connected to the receiver-side bypass valve 160A and configured to allow the refrigerant to bypass the path when the receiver-side bypass path 142 is opened. In the case where the heat exchanger 100 also has a flow port side bypass valve 160B, the heat exchanger 100 may also include: a flow port side bypass port 131 arranged in the first header tank 121; and a flow port side bypass path 132, which is connected to the flow port side bypass valve 160B and is configured to allow the refrigerant to bypass the path when the flow port side bypass path 132 is opened.

[0026] As a specific example of the first embodiment, in the heat exchanger 100, a receiver side bypass valve 160A can be set as a bypass valve, the receiver side bypass valve 160A can be set above the receiver dryer 200, and when the receiver side bypass valve 160A is opened, the refrigerant passing through the first path ① can be supplied to flow to the receiver dryer 200 and pass through the fourth path ④.

[0027] In this case, in the heat exchanger 100 , a receiver side bypass port 141 may be formed on the second header tank 122 at a position communicating with the first path ①, and a receiver side bypass path 142 may be formed to connect the receiver side bypass valve 160A and the receiver dryer 200 .

[0028] In the heat exchanger 100, the heat exchanger 100 can be operated as a condenser in the cooling mode, and the receiver side bypass valve 160A can be closed so that the refrigerant passes through all of the first path ①, the second path ②, the third path ③ and the fourth path ④, and the heat exchanger 100 can be operated as an evaporator in the heating mode, the receiver side bypass valve 160A can be opened, and the refrigerant can bypass the second path ② and the third path ③, and pass through the receiver dryer 200, so that the refrigerant only passes through the first path ① and the fourth path ④.

[0029] As a specific example of the second embodiment, in the heat exchanger 100, the receiver side bypass valve 160A and the flow port side bypass valve 160B can be set as two bypass valves, the receiver side bypass valve 160A can be set above the receiver dryer 200, and the flow port side bypass valve 160B can be set between the inlet port 130 and the outlet port 140. When the receiver side bypass valve 160A is opened, a portion of the refrigerant that has passed through the first path ① can flow to the receiver dryer and pass through the fourth path ④, and when the flow port side bypass valve 160B is opened, the remaining portion of the refrigerant that has passed through the first path ① can be supplied to pass through the second path ② and pass through the flow port side bypass valve 160B to be discharged.

[0030] In this case, in the heat exchanger 100, the flow port side bypass port 131 can be formed on the first header tank 121 at a position connected to the second path ②, the flow port side bypass path 132 can connect the flow port side bypass valve 160B and the outlet port 140, the receiver side bypass port 141 can be positioned on the second header tank 122 at a position connected to the first path ①, and the receiver side bypass path 142 can connect the receiver side bypass valve 160A and the receiver dryer 200.

[0031] In addition, in the heat exchanger 100, in the cooling mode, the heat exchanger 100 can be operated as a condenser, and the receiver side bypass valve 160A and the flow port side bypass valve 160B can be closed, so that the refrigerant can pass through all of the first path ①, the second path ②, the third path ③ and the fourth path ④, and in the heating mode, the heat exchanger 100 can be operated as an evaporator, the receiver side bypass valve 160A can be opened, and a portion of the refrigerant can bypass the second path ② and the third path ③ and pass through the receiver dryer 200, so that a portion of the refrigerant only passes through the first path ① and the fourth path ④, and the flow port side bypass valve 160B is opened, so that the remaining portion of the refrigerant is discharged immediately after passing through the first path ① and the second path ②.

[0032] Beneficial Effects

[0033] According to the present invention, the heat exchanger is designed so that the number of paths can be changed as needed, which can basically solve the problem in which the cooling performance and the heating performance vary according to the number of paths. In more detail, a four-path heat exchanger / dual-path heat exchanger is widely used in the related art. When the four-path heat exchanger is used as a condenser, the four-path heat exchanger exhibits excellent performance, and when the dual-path heat exchanger is used as an evaporator, the dual-path heat exchanger exhibits excellent performance. In the present invention, a single heat exchanger uses a bypass valve to change the refrigerant path, so that the heat exchanger operates as a four-path heat exchanger in cooling mode and operates as a dual-path heat exchanger in heating mode, thereby obtaining all the benefits.

[0034] In addition, in the present invention, a thermal bypass valve is used to change the refrigerant path by sensing the refrigerant temperature, so that a path optimized for the cooling mode and the heating mode can be formed. Therefore, the heat exchanger path can be simply changed without using a separate electrical signal and power, and excellent performance can be achieved in both the cooling mode and the heating mode. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Figure 1 is a diagram showing the flow of refrigerant in a four-path heat exchanger.

[0036] Figure 2 is a diagram showing the flow of refrigerant in a dual-path heat exchanger.

[0037] Figure 3 It is a figure which shows the 1st Embodiment of the heat exchanger of this invention.

[0038] Figure 4 It is a diagram showing the flow of the refrigerant in the cooling mode in the first embodiment of the heat exchanger of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 5 It is a diagram showing the flow of the refrigerant in the heating mode in the first embodiment of the heat exchanger of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 6 It is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the heat exchanger of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 7 It is a diagram showing the flow of the refrigerant in the cooling mode in the second embodiment of the heat exchanger of the present invention.

[0042] Figure 8 It is a diagram showing the flow of the refrigerant in the heating mode in the second embodiment of the heat exchanger according to the present invention.

[0043] Fig. 9 is a diagram showing the operating principle of a thermal valve.

[0044] Fig.10 It is a cross-sectional view showing the bypass valve of the present invention.

[0045] Fig.11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of the bypass valve according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0046] **EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMBERS**

[0047] 100: heat exchanger, 110: tube

[0048] 121: First header box, 122: Second header box

[0049] 130: Inlet port, 140: Outlet port

[0050] 131: flow port side bypass port, 132: flow port side bypass path

[0051] 141: Receiver side bypass port, 142: Receiver side bypass path

[0052] 151: first baffle, 152: second baffle

[0053] 153: The third baffle, 154: The fourth baffle

[0054] 160A: Receiver side bypass valve, 160B: Flow port side bypass valve

[0055] 161: first communication path, 162: second communication path

[0056] 163: Main space part, 164: Subspace part

[0057] 171: Guide pin, 172: Valve bonnet

[0058] 172a: Sealing ring, 172b: Snap ring

[0059] 173: Shell, 174: Elastic part

[0060] 175: cover, 175a: sealing plate

[0061] 176: Wax part

[0062] 177: valve plate, 177a: retaining ring

[0063] 178: Main spring, 179: Sub-spring DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0064] Hereinafter, a heat exchanger according to the present invention, which is configured as described above in consideration of cooling / heating performance, will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0065] [1] Basic configuration of the heat exchanger of the present invention

[0066] Figure 3 A first embodiment of the heat exchanger of the present invention is shown, and Figure 6 A second embodiment of the heat exchanger of the present invention is shown. First, the first embodiment and the second embodiment are different in the position of the bypass valve. The first embodiment and the second embodiment will be described in more detail below. First, the basic configuration of the heat exchanger 100 of the present invention will be described.

[0067] The heat exchanger 100 of the present invention basically has a configuration similar to that of a four-path heat exchanger. That is, the heat exchanger 100 includes a plurality of tubes 110 arranged in parallel with each other and configured to define a core region in which the refrigerant flows, a pair of headers arranged at two opposite ends of the tubes 110, and a plurality of baffles arranged in the headers, and a plurality of paths are sequentially arranged and formed in the core region through the plurality of baffles.

[0068] As described above, in the case where the four-path heat exchanger operates as a condenser in cooling mode, the four-path heat exchanger has excellent performance compared to the two-path heat exchanger. However, in the case where the four-path heat exchanger operates as an evaporator in heating mode, the performance deteriorates due to the complexity of the route. In view of this configuration, in the present invention, the heat exchanger 100 operates as a four-path heat exchanger in cooling mode. Conversely, in heating mode, a bypass valve is used to allow a portion of the refrigerant to flow to a simpler route, which solves the problem of the complexity of the route in the four-path heat exchanger in the related art. That is, in the heat exchanger 100 of the present invention, a bypass valve that selectively bypasses at least some of the multiple paths is connected to one side or two opposite sides of a pair of headers. In particular, in this case, the heat exchanger 100 also includes a receiver dryer 200, and the bypass valve can be opened or closed according to the temperature.

[0069] The configuration of the heat exchanger 100 will be described in more detail below. One of the pair of headers will be referred to as a first header 121, and the remaining header will be referred to as a second header 122. The first header 121 has an inlet port 130 for introducing refrigerant thereinto and an outlet port 140 from which the refrigerant is discharged. In addition, a first baffle 151 and a third baffle 153 are provided in the first header 121, and a second baffle 152 and a fourth baffle 154 are provided in the second header 122. The first baffle 151, the second baffle 152, and the third baffle 153 are provided at positions spaced apart from each other in sequence, and define a first path ①, a second path ②, and a third path ③, and the third baffle 153 and the fourth baffle 154 are provided at the same position and define a fourth path ④. That is, the core area is divided by the baffles, and the first path ①, the second path ②, the third path ③, and the fourth path ④ are provided in sequence. Meanwhile, the receiver dryer 200 is connected to any one of the headers, receives the refrigerant having passed through the first path ①, the second path ② and the third path ③, separates the refrigerant into gaseous refrigerant and liquid refrigerant, and discharges the liquid refrigerant to the fourth path ④.

[0070] More clearly, the first baffle 151 may be provided in the first header tank 121 and provided at a position between the inlet port 130 and the outlet port 140. The second baffle 152 is provided in the second header tank 122 and provided at a position between the first baffle 151 and the outlet port 140. The third baffle 153 is provided in the first header tank 121 and provided at a position between the second baffle 152 and the outlet port 140. The fourth baffle 154 is provided in the second header tank 122 and provided at the same position as the third baffle 153. Therefore, the area separated by the first baffle 151 defines a first path ①, the area between the first baffle 151 and the second baffle 152 defines a second path ②, and the area between the second baffle 152 and the third baffle 153 and the fourth baffle 154 defines a third path ③, so that the refrigerant defines a "2" shape while sequentially passing through the first path ①, the second path ②, and the third path ③. The area separated by the third baffle 153 and the fourth baffle 154 defines the fourth path ④. That is, the fourth path ④ is substantially completely isolated from the first path ①, the second path ②, and the third path ③. At the same time, the inlet port 130 is formed at a position communicating with the first path ①, and the outlet port 140 is formed at a position communicating with the fourth path ④. In this case, since the receiver dryer 200 connects the third path ③ and the fourth path ④, the refrigerant can be introduced into the inlet port 130, sequentially pass through the first path ①, the second path ② and the third path ③, the receiver dryer 200, and the fourth path ④, and be smoothly discharged through the outlet port 140.

[0071] This configuration is similar to the reference Figure 1 The flow path configuration of the described four-path heat exchanger 40 is substantially the same. However, in the present invention, as described above, the bypass valve can be used to allow the refrigerant to flow to the four paths in a complete manner, or to appropriately bypass the four paths according to the cooling mode and the heating mode, thereby improving the performance in both modes.

[0072] In the present invention, the problem in which the refrigerant flow rate is insufficient in the heating mode is solved by simplifying the route by basically using the bypass valve. The difference in configuration of the bypass valve between the first embodiment and the second embodiment will be described in more detail.

[0073] In the first embodiment, one receiver-side bypass valve 160A is provided as a bypass valve. When the receiver-side bypass valve 160A is closed, the refrigerant does not pass through the receiver dryer 200, and when the receiver-side bypass valve 160A is opened, the refrigerant passes through the receiver dryer 200. In this case, the receiver-side bypass valve 160A is provided above the receiver dryer 200 in consideration of the position of the path intended to be bypassed.

[0074] In the second embodiment, two bypass valves, namely, a receiver side bypass valve 160A and a flow port side bypass valve 160B, are provided. When the receiver side bypass valve 160A and the flow port side bypass valve 160B are closed, the refrigerant does not pass through the receiver dryer 200. When the receiver side bypass valve 160A and the flow port side bypass valve 160B are opened, a portion of the refrigerant passes through the receiver dryer 200, and the remaining portion of the refrigerant passes only a portion of the heat exchanger 100. In more detail, when the receiver side bypass valve 160A is opened or closed, the flow of a portion of the refrigerant is the same as that in the first embodiment. When the flow port side bypass valve 160B is opened or closed, the flow of the remaining portion of the refrigerant passes only a portion of the heat exchanger 100, thereby simplifying the route. In this case, the receiver side bypass valve 160A is also provided above the receiver dryer 200 in consideration of the position of the path intended to be bypassed. The flow port side bypass valve 160B is provided between the inlet port 130 and the outlet port 140 formed in the header tank.

[0075] That is, in both the first embodiment and the second embodiment, when the bypass valve is closed, the bypass valve supplies refrigerant so that the refrigerant passes through all the first paths ①, the second path ②, the third path ③ and the fourth path ④. When the refrigerant is supplied to the first path ①, the refrigerant naturally passes through all the first paths ①, the second path ②, the third path ③ and the fourth path ④. Therefore, in this case, it can be said that the heat exchanger operates as a four-path heat exchanger. At the same time, when the bypass valve is opened, the bypass valve supplies refrigerant so that the refrigerant passes through only two paths selected from the first path ①, the second path ②, the third path ③ and the fourth path ④ in both embodiments. The difference between the embodiments lies in which of the two paths the refrigerant passes through. In this case, in the present invention, there is a small difference in that one or two bypass valves can be provided. In addition, considering that there is a physical distance between the bypass valve and the desired position of the path, a bypass port and a bypass path are also provided. Specifically, the heat exchanger 100 has one receiver-side bypass valve 160A as a bypass valve, or has two bypass valves, namely, the receiver-side bypass valve 160A and the flow port-side bypass valve 160B. In the case where the heat exchanger 100 has the receiver-side bypass valve 160A, the heat exchanger 100 includes: a receiver-side bypass port 141 provided in the second header tank 122; and a receiver-side bypass path 142, which is connected to the receiver-side bypass valve 160A and is configured to allow the refrigerant to bypass the path when the receiver-side bypass path 142 is opened. In the case where the heat exchanger 100 also has the flow port-side bypass valve 160B, the heat exchanger 100 also includes: a flow port-side bypass port 131 provided in the first header tank 121; and a flow port-side bypass path 132, which is connected to the flow port-side bypass valve 160B and is configured to allow the refrigerant to bypass the path when the flow port-side bypass path 132 is opened. The flow of refrigerant according to the bypass port, the position of the bypass path, and whether the bypass valve is opened or closed will be described in more detail for each embodiment.

[0076] [2] First embodiment of the heat exchanger of the present invention

[0077] As described above, in the first embodiment, one receiver side bypass valve 160A is provided, and the receiver side bypass valve 160A is provided above the receiver dryer 200. In this case, the receiver side bypass valve 160A supplies the refrigerant so that when the receiver side bypass valve 160A is opened, the refrigerant having passed through the first path ① flows toward the receiver dryer 200 and passes through the fourth path ④.

[0078] Of course, the receiver side bypass port 141 and the receiver side bypass path 142 are also provided to correspond to the receiver side bypass valve 160A at the same time. More specifically, the receiver side bypass port 141 is formed on the second header tank 122 at a position communicating with the first path ①, and the receiver side bypass path 142 is formed to connect the receiver side bypass valve 160A and the receiver dryer 200.

[0079] Figure 4 1 shows the flow of the refrigerant in the first embodiment of the heat exchanger of the present invention in the cooling mode. In the heat exchanger 100 of the present invention in the first embodiment, the heat exchanger 100 operates as a condenser in the cooling mode, and the receiver-side bypass valve 160A is closed, so that the refrigerant passes through all of the first path ①, the second path ②, the third path ③, and the fourth path ④. Therefore, as Figure 4 As shown in FIG, the refrigerant sequentially passes through the first path ①, the second path ②, the third path ③ and the fourth path ④. The flow of the refrigerant is similar to that of the reference Figure 1 The flow of refrigerant in the four-path heat exchanger described is the same. As mentioned above, it is well known that when the four-path heat exchanger is operated as a condenser, the performance is much better ("In cooling mode, applying a high pressure of about 4 bar or more, the COP is reduced by about 8% in the two-path heat exchanger 20 compared to the four-path heat exchanger 40"). Therefore, in cooling mode, the heat exchanger 100 generates the same flow of refrigerant as the flow of refrigerant in a typical four-path heat exchanger.

[0080] Figure 5 1 shows the flow of the refrigerant in the first embodiment of the heat exchanger of the present invention in the heating mode. In the heat exchanger 100 of the present invention in the first embodiment, the heat exchanger 100 operates as an evaporator in the heating mode, the receiver-side bypass valve 160A is opened, and the refrigerant bypasses the second path ② and the third path ③ and passes through the receiver dryer 200, so that the refrigerant passes only through the first path ① and the fourth path ④. In more detail, as Figure 5As shown in FIG. 1 , the refrigerant passing through the first path ① flows to the receiver side bypass valve 160A which is opened, instead of flowing to the second path ②. Therefore, the refrigerant which has passed through the receiver dryer 200 immediately passes through the fourth path ④ and is discharged. That is, in this case, as a result, the refrigerant passes only through the first path ① and the fourth path ④, so that the heat exchanger 100 operates as the heat exchanger 100 as a dual-path heat exchanger. As described above, in the case where the four-path heat exchanger is operated as an evaporator, due to the complexity of the flow path, the flow rate of the refrigerant is low, and the heating performance deteriorates ("It is well known that in the heating mode, the flow rate of the refrigerant is as high as 4kg / hr to 14kg / hr, and the heating discharge temperature is about 1 degree to 3 degrees higher in the dual-path heat exchanger 20 than in the four-path heat exchanger 40"). However, in the heat exchanger 100 of the present invention, simplification of the route is achieved to allow the refrigerant to pass through only two paths in the heating mode, thereby obtaining the advantages of the dual-path heat exchanger.

[0081] [3] Second embodiment of the heat exchanger of the present invention

[0082] In the second embodiment, as described above, two bypass valves, namely, the receiver-side bypass valve 160A and the flow-port-side bypass valve 160B are provided, the receiver-side bypass valve 160A is provided above the receiver dryer 200, and the flow-port-side bypass valve 160B is provided between the inlet port 130 and the outlet port 140. In this case, the receiver-side bypass valve 160A supplies refrigerant so that when the receiver-side bypass valve 160A is opened, a portion of the refrigerant that has passed through the first path ① flows toward the receiver dryer 200 and passes through the fourth path ④. In addition, the flow-port-side bypass valve 160B supplies refrigerant so that when the flow-port-side bypass valve 160B is opened, a remaining portion of the refrigerant that has passed through the first path ① passes through the second path ② and is discharged through the flow-port-side bypass valve 160B.

[0083] Of course, the receiver-side bypass port 141, the receiver-side bypass path 142, the flow port-side bypass port 131, and the flow port-side bypass path 132 are also provided to correspond to both the receiver-side bypass valve 160A and the flow port-side bypass valve 160B. More specifically, in the case of the receiver, as in the first embodiment, the receiver-side bypass port 141 is formed on the second header tank 122 at a position communicating with the first path ①, and the receiver-side bypass path 142 is formed to connect the receiver-side bypass valve 160A and the receiver dryer 200. At the same time, the flow port-side bypass port 131 is formed on the first header tank 121 at a position communicating with the second path ②, and the flow port-side bypass path 132 is formed to connect the flow port-side bypass valve 160B and the outlet port 140.

[0084] Figure 7 2 shows the flow of the refrigerant in the cooling mode in the second embodiment of the heat exchanger of the present invention. As in the first embodiment, in the heat exchanger 100 of the present invention in the second embodiment, the heat exchanger 100 operates as a condenser in the cooling mode, and the receiver side bypass valve 160A and the flow port side bypass valve 160B are closed, so that the refrigerant passes through all of the first path ①, the second path ②, the third path ③, and the fourth path ④. Therefore, as Figure 7 As shown in FIG, the refrigerant sequentially passes through the first path ①, the second path ②, the third path ③ and the fourth path ④. The flow of the refrigerant is similar to that of the reference Figure 1 The refrigerant flow in the four-path heat exchanger described (and reference Figure 4 The flow of refrigerant in the cooling mode in the first embodiment described is the same.

[0085] Figure 8 The flow of the refrigerant in the heating mode in the second embodiment of the heat exchanger of the present invention is shown. In the heat exchanger 100 of the present invention in the second embodiment, the heat exchanger 100 operates as an evaporator in the heating mode, the receiver side bypass valve 160A is opened, and a part of the refrigerant bypasses the second path ② and the third path ③ and passes through the receiver dryer 200, so that a part of the refrigerant passes only through the first path ① and the fourth path ④, and the flow port side bypass valve 160B is opened, so that the remaining part of the refrigerant is discharged immediately after passing through the first path ① and the second path ②. That is, a part of the refrigerant passes through the receiver dryer 200 and passes only through two paths, and the remaining part of the refrigerant passes only through a part of the heat exchanger 100 and is then immediately discharged, so that the refrigerant passes only through these two paths. Therefore, compared with the first embodiment, the second path ② is also used. Considering the route in terms of the actual flow of the refrigerant, the refrigerant finally flows through only two paths, which still appropriately achieves the simplification of the route.

[0086] It can be said that, compared with the first embodiment, as in the first embodiment, a route is also added in the second embodiment so that a part of the refrigerant passes only through the first path ① and the fourth path ④, and the remaining part of the refrigerant is discharged immediately after passing through the first path ① and the second path ②. In this case, in the case of the first embodiment, the total amount of the refrigerant that has passed through the first path ① needs to pass through the receiver-side bypass valve 160A and flow to the receiver dryer 200. However, during the process in which the refrigerant is dispersed along several tubes, since the refrigerant flowing through the tube provided below the receiver-side bypass valve 160A cannot enter the receiver-side bypass route, it is possible that leakage occurs from the route. In this case, the refrigerant that cannot enter the receiver-side bypass route inevitably passes through all the remaining paths, which inevitably leads to the deterioration of the above-mentioned performance. However, in the case of the second embodiment, even if there is refrigerant that leaks without entering the receiver-side bypass route, the remaining part of the refrigerant can be collected, passed through the second path ②, and discharged through the flow port-side bypass valve 160B. That is, in the case of the second embodiment, the refrigerant route can be diversified so that there is no refrigerant leakage. Furthermore, the refrigerant can eventually travel through any route, as long as the refrigerant only travels through two paths, which can effectively eliminate factors that cause performance deterioration.

[0087] [4] Detailed configuration of the bypass valve of the present invention

[0088] As described in reference paragraph [1], in the heat exchanger 100 of the present invention, as the bypass valve is opened or closed according to the mode, the path changes so that a path optimized for each of the modes is formed. In this case, the bypass valve can be equipped with an electronic circuit, and a control signal can be applied to adjust the opening or closing of the bypass valve. However, in the present invention, the opening or closing of the bypass valve can be mechanically adjusted according to the temperature of the refrigerant, so that unnecessary components and control algorithms can be additionally removed, which further improves system efficiency.

[0089] First, the operating principle of a valve that opens or closes according to temperature will be briefly described. Fig. 9 is a diagram used to illustrate the operating principle of the thermal valve. Fig. 9 As shown in , the thermal valve has a shape in which a piston is arranged in a housing and surrounded by an elastomer, and a space between the housing and the elastomer is filled with expansion wax. The expansion wax becomes a liquid phase or a solid phase according to temperature, wherein the expansion wax exists as a solid at low temperature and has a small volume. Fig. 9The left figure in the figure shows the state of the thermal valve at low temperature. At the same time, when the temperature environment is raised to a higher temperature, the expansion wax changes to a liquid phase and increases in volume. Since the volume of the space in the housing is fixed, any increase in the volume of the expansion wax exerts pressure on the elastomer. The pressure exerted on the elastomer causes the piston embedded in the elastomer to "squeeze". Therefore, as Fig. 9 As shown in the right figure in FIG, the piston moves in the direction in which the piston is pushed to the outside of the housing. When the temperature environment is lowered to a low temperature again, the volume of the expanded wax decreases and naturally returns to Fig. 9 The state shown in the left figure.

[0090] When the piston end is designed to Fig. 9 When any flow path hole is blocked as shown in the right figure, Fig. 9 The thermal valve in the embodiment of the present invention can be operated to close the flow path hole at high temperature and open the flow path hole at low temperature. Of course, the flow path can be designed in another way so that the flow path can be opened at high temperature and the flow path is closed at low temperature. In this way, the thermal valve does not require any electronic circuit system or control signal, and can adjust the opening and closing based on a purely mechanical principle using only the ambient temperature environment.

[0091] Fig.10 2 is a cross-sectional view of the bypass valve of the present invention. Fig. 9 The principle of the thermal valve described is applied to Fig.10 The bypass valve of the present invention shown in the figure makes it possible to adjust the opening and closing based on purely mechanical principles. That is, the bypass valve is configured to open or close according to the temperature of the refrigerant. Therefore, when the refrigerant has a relatively high temperature in the cooling mode, the bypass valve is closed, and when the refrigerant has a relatively low temperature in the heating mode, the bypass valve is opened. First, reference will be made to Fig.10 The bypass valve configuration is described in detail and then referred to Fig.11 Describe in detail the movement of the components when the bypass valve is opened or closed.

[0092] As required, the bypass valve is connected to a route position such as the receiver side bypass port 141 or the flow port side bypass port 131 and receives the refrigerant. The bypass valve includes a first communication path 161 and a second communication path 162 to separate and discharge the refrigerant as required. The first communication path 161 is formed at a position communicating with the second header tank 122 or the first header tank 121, more clearly, at a position communicating with the receiver side bypass port 141 or the flow port side bypass port 131. The second communication path 162 is formed at a position connected to the receiver side bypass path 142 or the flow port side bypass path 132. As described above, in the bypass valve of the present invention, in the cooling mode, the bypass valve is closed so that the refrigerant passes through all the first path ①, the second path ②, the third path ③ and the fourth path ④. In the heating mode, the bypass valve is opened so that the refrigerant is discharged after passing through only two selected paths. That is, the first communication path 161 is always open, and the second communication path 162 is formed to be opened or closed as required.

[0093] To this end, first, a main space portion 163 and a subspace portion 164 are formed in the bypass valve. The main space portion 163 is communicated with the inlet port 130 and the first communication path 161, and accommodates a valve portion configured to perform an opening and closing operation. The subspace portion 164 is substantially communicated with the main space portion 163, and has a smaller cross-sectional area than the main space portion 163. That is, as Fig.10 As shown in FIG. 1 , a step portion is formed on the connection portion between the main space portion 163 and the subspace portion 164, and the valve portion is configured to open or close the portion. That is, the communication between the subspace portion 164 and the main space portion 163 is opened or closed by the operation of the valve portion. In this case, since the subspace portion 164 is connected to the second communication path 162, the opening or closing of the second communication path 162 is adjusted by the operation of the valve portion.

[0094] The valve part adopts the above reference Fig. 9 The operating principle of the thermal valve. As shown in the figure, the valve part can basically include a guide pin 171, a valve cap 172, a housing 173, a cover 175, an elastic part 174, a wax part 176 and a valve plate 177, and also includes a main spring 178 and a sub-spring 179 to achieve smoother operation.

[0095] The guide pin 171 extends in the extending direction of the main space portion 163 and is disposed in the main space portion 163. Fig. 9 However, in the bypass valve of the present invention, the guide pin 171 is fixed and does not move, so it is given another name.

[0096] The valve bonnet 172 fixes one side of the guide pin 171 to one side of the main space portion 163. A sealing ring 172a having an O-ring shape may be provided between the valve bonnet 172 and the inner wall of the main space portion 163 to prevent leakage. In addition, a clamping ring 172b may be provided at the upper end of the valve bonnet 172 to prevent the valve bonnet 172 from retracting.

[0097] The housing 173 is formed in a container shape opened at one end thereof, and accommodates the guide pin 171. The inner wall of the housing 173 is spaced apart from the outer surface of the guide pin 171. That is, the housing 173 is spaced apart from the outer surface of the guide pin 171. Fig. 9 At the same time, as mentioned above, Fig. 9 The guide pin 171 corresponding to the "piston" in the valve body is fixed to one side of the main space portion 163 through the valve cap 172. Fig. 9 In the thermal valve of , the "housing" is fixed, so that the "piston" is configured to move relative to the "housing" according to changes in temperature. However, in Fig.10 In the bypass valve of the present invention, the guide pin 171 is fixed, and the housing 173 moves relative to the guide pin 171 according to the change in temperature. Fig. 9 As can be seen from the operating principle of the thermal valve in FIG, the operation of the valve is achieved as the wax undergoes a phase change according to the ambient temperature environment. Therefore, it is necessary to actively and appropriately transfer heat between the ambient temperature environment and the wax. Therefore, the housing 173 can be made of a metal material that promotes heat transfer. For example, the housing 173 can be made of brass or the like.

[0098] The elastic portion 174 is provided to surround the guide pin 171 and to Fig. 9 The elastic portion 174 corresponds to the "elastic body" in FIG. The elastic portion 174 may be made of a material with good elastic deformation to effectively press the guide pin 171. For example, the elastic portion 174 may be made of rubber or the like.

[0099] The cover 175 is movable along the guide pin 171 and is used to seal the open end of the housing 173. Fig.10 As shown in the figure, a structure is formed in which a part of the upper end of the elastic part 174 is assembled with the lower inner side of the cover part 175. As shown in the figure, a sealing plate 175a can be provided between the cover part 175 and the elastic part 174 to prevent foreign matter from being introduced between the elastic part 174 and the guide pin 171.

[0100] The wax portion 176 fills the space between the elastic portion 174 and the housing 173 and changes phase into a liquid phase or a solid phase according to temperature. Fig. 9. In general, it is known that the refrigerant introduced into the condenser in the cooling mode has a temperature of about 81 degrees or higher, and the refrigerant introduced into the evaporator in the heating mode has a temperature of about 64 degrees or lower. In view of this, it is preferred that the wax portion 176 is a material that becomes liquid at a temperature of about 81 degrees or higher and becomes solid at a temperature of about 64 degrees or lower. As a specific example, the wax portion 176 may be a paraffin-based wax having a characteristic temperature variable range of 45 degrees to 120 degrees.

[0101] The valve plate 177 is provided at the other side of the housing 173 and is used to open or close the communication between the main space portion 163 and the subspace portion 164. In this case, the fixing ring 177a can be assembled by press-fitting with the lower side of the valve plate 177 so that the valve plate 177 can be firmly fixed to the housing 173.

[0102] The two opposite ends of the main spring 178 are supported by the valve plate 177 and one end of the housing 173, respectively, and the main spring 178 is used to absorb the excessive expansion of the wax portion 176. The component including the guide pin 171 and the valve plate 177 can be operated as a thermal valve. However, since the main spring 178 is provided, the operation of the valve can be performed more stably.

[0103] The two opposite ends of the return spring 179 are supported by the valve plate 177 and the other side of the subspace portion 164, respectively, and the return spring 179 is used to help return the housing 173 to the original position. Even if the return spring 179 is not provided, the position of the housing 173 is restored as the wax portion 176 becomes a solid phase. However, by the return force of the return spring 179, the operation of the valve can be performed more smoothly.

[0104] Fig.11 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the operation of the bypass valve of the present invention, wherein: Fig.11 The top diagram in the figure shows the cooling mode, and Fig.11 The bottom diagram in FIG. 2 shows the heating mode. Fig.11 An embodiment is shown in which the bypass valve is the above-described flow port side bypass valve 160B. The first communication path 161 is connected to the flow port side bypass port 131 , and the second communication path 162 is connected to the flow port side bypass path 132 . The flow port side bypass path 132 is connected to the outlet port 140 .

[0105] In cooling mode, that is, when the refrigerant is in a high temperature state, the flow port side bypass valve 160B operates to close, and the valve plate 177 closes the second communicating path 162. Therefore, the path along which the refrigerant flows directly to the outlet port 140 is blocked, so that the refrigerant that has passed through the first path ① and the second path ② flows to the third path ③ and the fourth path ④ in an original manner. In heating mode, that is, when the refrigerant is in a low temperature state, the flow port side bypass valve 160B operates to open, and the valve plate 177 opens the second communicating path 162. Therefore, the refrigerant that has passed through the first path ① and the second path ② can pass through the flow port side bypass path 132 and flow directly to the outlet port 140 along the opened second communicating path 162, and be discharged. Therefore, the refrigerant does not flow to the third path ③ and the fourth path ④, so that the flow path is further simplified. As an example, Fig.11 The flow port side bypass valve 160B is shown. However, the receiver side bypass valve 160A may be operated in the same manner, and only the device or path through which the refrigerant passes may be changed. Therefore, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0106] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and the scope of application is diverse. Of course, various modifications and implementations can be made by any technician in the field to which the present invention belongs without departing from the subject matter of the present invention claimed in the claims.

[0107] Industrial Applicability

[0108] Four-path heat exchanger / dual-path heat exchanger is widely used in the related art. When the four-path heat exchanger is used as a condenser, the four-path heat exchanger exhibits excellent performance, and when the dual-path heat exchanger is used as an evaporator, the dual-path heat exchanger exhibits excellent performance. In the present invention, a single heat exchanger uses a bypass valve to change the refrigerant path, so that the heat exchanger operates as a four-path heat exchanger in cooling mode and as a dual-path heat exchanger in heating mode, thereby obtaining all the advantages. In particular, in the present invention, a thermal bypass valve is used to change the refrigerant path by sensing the refrigerant temperature, so that a path optimized for the cooling mode and the heating mode can be formed. Therefore, the heat exchanger path can be simply changed without using a separate electrical signal and electricity.

Claims

1. A heat exchanger, comprising: a plurality of tubes disposed parallel to one another and configured to define a core region for refrigerant flow; a pair of header boxes disposed at two opposite ends of the tube; as well as a plurality of baffles, the plurality of baffles being arranged in the header box, A plurality of paths are sequentially arranged in the core area through the plurality of baffles, and bypass valves that selectively bypass some of the plurality of paths are connected to one side or both sides of the pair of headers.

2. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, further comprising: Receiver dryer, The bypass valve is opened or closed according to the temperature.

3. The heat exchanger according to claim 2, wherein: A receiver-side bypass valve is provided as the bypass valve, and when the receiver-side bypass valve is closed, the refrigerant does not pass through the receiver dryer, and when the receiver-side bypass valve is opened, the refrigerant passes through the receiver dryer.

4. The heat exchanger according to claim 3, wherein: The receiver-side bypass valve is disposed above the receiver dryer.

5. The heat exchanger according to claim 2, wherein: A receiver side bypass valve and a flow port side bypass valve are provided as two of the bypass valves, and when the receiver side bypass valve and the flow port side bypass valve are closed, the refrigerant does not pass through the receiver dryer, and when the receiver side bypass valve and the flow port side bypass valve are opened, a portion of the refrigerant passes through the receiver dryer and the remaining portion of the refrigerant passes through only a portion of the heat exchanger.

6. The heat exchanger according to claim 5, wherein: The receiver-side bypass valve is disposed above the receiver dryer, and the flow port-side bypass valve is disposed between an inlet port and an outlet port formed in the header tank.

7. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, comprising: a first header box and a second header box; an inlet port disposed in the first header tank so that the refrigerant is introduced through the inlet port; an outlet port disposed in the first header tank so that the refrigerant is discharged through the outlet port; a first baffle disposed in the first header tank at a position between the inlet port and the outlet port; a second baffle disposed in the second header tank at a position between the first baffle and the outlet port; a third baffle disposed in the first header tank at a position between the second baffle and the outlet port; a fourth baffle, the fourth baffle being arranged in the second header box at the same position as the third baffle, wherein the area separated by the first baffle defines a first path, wherein the area between the first baffle and the second baffle defines a second path, The area between the second baffle and the third baffle and the fourth baffle defines a third path, wherein the area separated by the third baffle and the fourth baffle defines a fourth path, wherein the inlet port is formed at a position communicating with the first path, and The outlet port is formed at a position communicating with the fourth path.

8. The heat exchanger according to claim 7, further comprising: a receiver dryer connected to any one of the header tanks and configured to receive the refrigerant having passed through the first path, the second path, and the third path, separate the refrigerant into gaseous refrigerant and liquid refrigerant, and discharge the liquid refrigerant to the fourth path, wherein the bypass valve is configured to open or close according to the refrigerant temperature, wherein, in cooling mode, as the temperature of the refrigerant becomes relatively high, the bypass valve is closed, and In the heating mode, as the temperature of the refrigerant becomes a relatively low temperature, the bypass valve is opened.

9. The heat exchanger according to claim 8, wherein: a receiver-side bypass valve is provided as the bypass valve, or a receiver-side bypass valve and a flow-port-side bypass valve are provided as two of the bypass valves, Wherein, when the receiver-side bypass valve is provided, the heat exchanger comprises: a receiver-side bypass port disposed in the second header tank; and a receiver-side bypass path connected to the receiver-side bypass valve and configured to allow the refrigerant to bypass the path when the receiver-side bypass path is open, and Wherein, when the flow port side bypass valve is also provided, the heat exchanger comprises: a flow port side bypass port disposed in the first header tank; and A flow port side bypass path is connected to the flow port side bypass valve and is configured to allow the refrigerant to bypass the path when the flow port side bypass path is open.

10. The heat exchanger according to claim 9, wherein: A receiver side bypass valve is provided as the bypass valve, the receiver side bypass valve is provided above the receiver dryer, and when the receiver side bypass valve is opened, the refrigerant passing through the first path is supplied to flow toward the receiver dryer and pass through the fourth path.

11. The heat exchanger according to claim 10, wherein: The receiver-side bypass port is formed on the second header tank at a position communicating with the first path, and the receiver-side bypass path connects the receiver-side bypass valve and the receiver dryer.

12. The heat exchanger according to claim 11, wherein: In the cooling mode, the heat exchanger operates as a condenser, and the receiver-side bypass valve is closed so that the refrigerant passes through all of the first path, the second path, the third path, and the fourth path, and wherein, in the heating mode, the heat exchanger operates as an evaporator, the receiver-side bypass valve is opened, and the refrigerant bypasses the second path and the third path and passes through the receiver dryer, so that the refrigerant passes only through the first path and the fourth path.

13. The heat exchanger according to claim 8, wherein: A receiver side bypass valve and a flow port side bypass valve are provided as two of the bypass valves, Wherein, the receiver side bypass valve is arranged above the receiver dryer, Wherein, the flow port side bypass valve is arranged between the inlet port and the outlet port, wherein, when the receiver-side bypass valve is opened, a portion of the refrigerant that has passed through the first path flows toward the receiver dryer and passes through the fourth path, and Wherein, when the flow port side bypass valve is opened, the remaining portion of the refrigerant having passed through the first path is supplied to pass through the second path and is discharged through the flow port side bypass valve.

14. The heat exchanger according to claim 13, wherein: The flow port side bypass port is formed on the first header tank at a position communicating with the second path, wherein the flow port side bypass path connects the flow port side bypass valve and the outlet port, wherein the receiver-side bypass port is located on the second header tank at a position communicating with the first path, and Wherein, the receiver-side bypass path connects the receiver-side bypass valve and the receiver dryer.

15. The heat exchanger according to claim 11, wherein: In the cooling mode, the heat exchanger operates as a condenser, and the receiver-side bypass valve and the flow port-side bypass valve are closed so that the refrigerant passes through all of the first path, the second path, the third path, and the fourth path, and wherein, in the heating mode, the heat exchanger operates as an evaporator, the receiver-side bypass valve is opened, and a portion of the refrigerant bypasses the second path and the third path and passes through the receiver dryer, so that a portion of the refrigerant passes only through the first path and the fourth path, and the flow port-side bypass valve is opened so that the remaining portion of the refrigerant is discharged immediately after passing through the first path and the second path.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Refrigerator

    KR102103951B1