Intelligent adjusting device for liquid volume at outlet of gas-liquid separator of air conditioner compressor

Abstract

The invention discloses an air conditioner compressor gas-liquid separator outlet liquid amount intelligent adjusting device, and relates to the technical field of air conditioners, the air conditioner compressor gas-liquid separator outlet liquid amount intelligent adjusting device comprises a front cavity with an inlet on the left side, a rear cavity with an outlet on the right side, and a liquid supply channel connecting the lower side of the front cavity and the lower side of the rear cavity; and oil return adjustment is conducted according to the amount of lubricating oil stored in the compressor, and the liquid-phase refrigerant in the mixture at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator is removed through the liquid supply channel. The oil return reliability of the compressor can be improved, and liquid impact damage caused by the fact that a liquid-phase refrigerant enters the compressor is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of air conditioning, and in particular to an intelligent regulating device for liquid volume at an outlet of a gas-liquid separator of an air conditioning compressor. Background Art

[0002] Air conditioning compressors rely on lubricating oil to ensure their stable operation. The compressor needs to meet the requirement of smooth oil return at all times during operation. During the operation of the system, the lubricating oil is discharged from the compressor along with the refrigerant, and returns to the compressor after circulation. Where there is refrigerant in and out, there is lubricating oil in and out. In order to ensure the normal operation of the compressor, a gas-liquid separator is usually set at the inlet of the compressor. The gas-liquid separator is responsible for separating the lubricating oil from the refrigerant, and its outlet is directly connected to the compressor inlet. When the system is running, the outlet of the gas-liquid separator is often a mixture of gas-phase refrigerant and lubricating oil dissolved with liquid-phase refrigerant, that is, there is a problem of liquid in the outlet suction. If the amount of liquid in the outlet of the gas-liquid separator is too large, too much liquid-phase refrigerant will flow into the compressor, causing "liquid hammer" damage to the moving parts of the compressor; conversely, if the amount of liquid in the outlet of the gas-liquid separator is too small, the amount of lubricating oil returning to the compressor will be insufficient, increasing the risk of compressor wear. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a technology to intelligently adjust and control the amount of liquid in the outlet of the gas-liquid separator. Ensure that the fluid entering the compressor is a gas phase refrigerant carrying lubricating oil, without liquid phase refrigerant, effectively solving the problem of liquid inhalation at the outlet of the air-liquid separator of the air-conditioning compressor. However, in actual operation, due to the complexity of the air-conditioning operation scene and working conditions, the oil return problem of the compressor has become a technical problem.

[0003] At present, the common method to solve the problem of poor oil return of compressors is mainly to control the oil return volume and liquid volume at the outlet by optimizing the parameters such as the size, position, and number of the oil return holes. Patent document CN110987397A discloses a method and device for detecting the oil return hole of a gas-liquid separator, which proposes a method for detecting the oil return hole of a gas-liquid separator. The method is used to optimize the structural parameters of the oil return hole to improve the liquid separation ability, but the method cannot solve the problem of refrigerant dissolved in the outlet lubricating oil. Patent document CN117190556A proposes a control method and device for a compressor system and a multi-split air conditioner. The method determines the fluid composition in the oil return flow path through a temperature and current detection component, thereby implementing a corresponding control strategy to avoid unnecessary oil return action and the resulting system performance loss. However, this method does not involve the control and regulation of the refrigerant state at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator, and therefore cannot solve the problem of liquid refrigerant dissolved in the outlet lubricating oil. Patent document CN113883749A discloses an oil return system equipped with an ejector, which aims to improve the oil return efficiency of a vapor compression refrigeration system while ensuring that no large pressure loss is generated. The ejector connects the oil return pipe of the gas-liquid separator to the outlet end of the return pipe of the compressor, and uses the jet formed by the refrigerant or lubricating oil on the high-pressure side to suck out the lubricating oil in the gas-liquid separator and guide it to the return pipe of the compressor. Despite this, the system also fails to solve the problem of liquid refrigerant dissolved in the lubricating oil. Patent document CN111928548A discloses a gas-liquid separator and an oil return system, which improves the oil return efficiency by arranging a return oil straight pipe with multiple openings in the gas-liquid separator, and optimizes the oil return speed according to the amount of lubricating oil under different working conditions. The lubricating oil in the gas-liquid separator enters the return oil straight pipe through the openings and flows downward along the inner wall, so that the return oil straight pipe is filled with liquid lubricating oil, thereby accelerating the oil return speed. When the amount of lubricating oil in the gas-liquid separator is large and the lower part is liquid, the multiple openings on the return oil straight pipe can increase the oil return speed as the number of openings submerged by the liquid lubricating oil increases. Although this design improves the oil return efficiency, it also fails to solve the problem of liquid refrigerant dissolved in liquid lubricating oil.

[0004] In summary, the existing air-conditioning compressor only adjusts the total amount of the mixture at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator, but cannot remove the liquid refrigerant in the outlet mixture, thus causing the liquid refrigerant to "liquid hammer" damage the compressor. On the other hand, it does not consider the amount of lubricating oil stored in the oil pool of the compressor itself, and always provides return oil to the compressor during the operation of the system, resulting in excessive return oil and poor cooling effect of the air-conditioning system.

[0005] Therefore, technicians in this field are committed to developing an intelligent adjustment device for the liquid volume at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator of an air-conditioning compressor. Summary of the invention

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is how to remove the liquid refrigerant in the mixture at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator when the oil return is adjusted according to the amount of lubricating oil stored in the compressor.

[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides an intelligent adjustment device for the liquid amount at the outlet of an air-conditioning compressor gas-liquid separator, comprising a front cavity with an inlet on the left side, a rear cavity with an outlet on the right side, a liquid supply channel connecting the lower side of the front cavity with the lower side of the rear cavity, and oil return adjustment is performed according to the amount of lubricating oil stored in the compressor, and the liquid refrigerant in the mixture at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator is removed through the liquid supply channel.

[0008] Furthermore, the liquid supply channel includes a flow meter arranged in the upstream section of the liquid supply channel for measuring the flow rate of the liquid refrigerant and lubricating oil mixture at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator and calculating the amount of liquid refrigerant dissolved in the mixture, an electric heater arranged in the downstream section of the liquid supply channel for heating the liquid refrigerant to vaporization, and a PID controller connected to the flow meter and the electric heater for controlling the electric heater.

[0009] Furthermore, the right side of the rear cavity is provided with, from top to bottom, a first outlet channel through which gas-phase refrigerant passes, a second outlet channel through which gas-phase refrigerant transformed from liquid-phase refrigerant in the liquid mixture by heating and evaporation passes, and a third outlet channel through which lubricating oil remaining after the liquid mixture is heated passes, and the first outlet channel, the second outlet channel and the third outlet channel converge at the outlet of the rear cavity.

[0010] Furthermore, a partition is slidably provided on the upper position of both side walls of the rear cavity to separate the gas refrigerant and the liquid mixture, and a spring for resetting the partition is provided on the right side of the top of the rear cavity, the upper end of the spring is connected to the top of the rear cavity, and the lower end of the spring is connected to the partition.

[0011] Furthermore, below the partition, a positioning plate for limiting the downward travel of the partition is provided between the first outlet channel and the left entrance of the second outlet channel.

[0012] Furthermore, a baffle is provided on the top of the front chamber for gas-liquid separation of the two-phase mixture entering the front chamber, the left side of the baffle is opposite to the gas-liquid separator outlet connecting pipe, the upper end of the baffle is fixedly set on the top of the front chamber, and the position of the baffle is between the gas-liquid separator outlet connecting pipe and the pressure balance channel connecting port at the top of the front chamber.

[0013] Furthermore, the upper side of the front cavity is connected to the upper side of the rear cavity through a pressure balance channel, and the pressure balance channel guides the gas-phase refrigerant from the front cavity into the rear cavity.

[0014] Furthermore, the setting height of the front cavity is smaller than the setting height of the rear cavity.

[0015] Furthermore, when the lubricating oil stored in the air-conditioning compressor itself can meet the normal operation, the oil return operation is not performed.

[0016] Furthermore, when the lubricating oil stored in the air-conditioning compressor itself cannot meet the requirements for normal operation, an oil return operation is performed to remove the liquid refrigerant in the mixture at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0018] (1) Ensure that the liquid refrigerant in the mixture at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator is completely evaporated into gas refrigerant, and the fluid entering the compressor is gas refrigerant or a mixture of gas refrigerant and lubricating oil, thereby avoiding the liquid refrigerant entering the compressor and causing "liquid hammer" damage to the compressor.

[0019] (2) Intelligently determine whether oil return operation is needed based on the storage of lubricating oil in the compressor itself, and intelligently adjust the oil volume at the outlet by adding two cavities between the gas-liquid separator and the compressor to improve the reliability of the compressor oil return, ensuring that the compressor can fully return oil and avoiding the deterioration of the refrigeration effect caused by excessive oil return.

[0020] The concept, specific structure and technical effects of the present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings to fully understand the purpose, characteristics and effects of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the working mode of an embodiment of the present invention when the outlet of the gas-liquid separator is a gas-phase refrigerant;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the working mode of an embodiment of the present invention when the outlet of the gas-liquid separator is a two-phase mixture.

[0024] Among them: 1-gas-liquid separator outlet connecting pipe, 2-front chamber, 3-baffle, 4-pressure balance channel, 5-partition, 6-spring, 7-positioning plate, 8-rear chamber, 9-first outlet channel, 10-second outlet channel, 11-third outlet channel, 12-compressor inlet connecting pipe, 13-liquid supply channel, 14-flow meter, 15-electric heater, 16-PID controller.

[0025] The arrows in the figure indicate the flow of gas-phase refrigerant, and the dotted line indicates the liquid level. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The following describes the preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings in the specification, so that the technical content is clearer and easier to understand. The present invention can be embodied in many different forms of embodiments, and the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments mentioned in the text.

[0027] In the drawings, components with the same structure are indicated by the same numerical reference numerals, and components with similar structures or functions are indicated by similar numerical reference numerals. The size and thickness of each component shown in the drawings are arbitrarily shown, and the present invention does not limit the size and thickness of each component. In order to make the illustration clearer, the thickness of the components is appropriately exaggerated in some places in the drawings.

[0028] like Figure 1 The structure diagram of a specific embodiment of the present invention is shown. The intelligent regulating device for liquid volume at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator of the air-conditioning compressor mainly includes a front cavity 2 connected to the gas-liquid separator through the gas-liquid separator outlet connecting pipe 1 on the left side, and a rear cavity 8 connected to the upper side of the front cavity 2 through the pressure balance channel 4 on the upper side. The front cavity 2 and the rear cavity 8 are used to temporarily store liquid phase fluid, and the pressure balance channel 4 is used to guide the gas phase refrigerant to enter the compressor and ensure the pressure balance between the two cavities. The lower side of the front cavity 2 is connected to the lower side of the rear cavity 8 through the liquid supply channel 13, and the liquid supply channel 13 is used for the liquid mixture formed by the liquid phase refrigerant and the lubricating oil to pass through. The rear cavity 8 is connected to the compressor through the compressor inlet connecting pipe 12. Among them, the setting height of the front cavity 2 is slightly lower than the setting height of the rear cavity 8. When the outlet of the gas-liquid separator is a gas-phase refrigerant, the temporarily stored liquid-phase fluid will mainly accumulate in the front cavity 2, and very little liquid-phase fluid will accumulate in the rear cavity 8, so that the liquid in the rear cavity 8 will not be brought into the compressor.

[0029] A baffle 3 is provided at the top of the front chamber 2, and the left side of the baffle 3 faces the gas-liquid separator outlet connecting pipe 1. The upper end of the baffle 3 is fixedly provided on the top of the front chamber 2, and the position of the baffle 3 is between the gas-liquid separator outlet connecting pipe 1 and the pressure balance channel 4 connecting port at the top of the front chamber 2. The baffle 3 is used to achieve gas-liquid separation.

[0030] The right side of the rear cavity 8 is provided with a first outlet channel 9, a second outlet channel 10 and a third outlet channel 11 from top to bottom. The first outlet channel 9 is used for the passage of gas-phase refrigerant, the second outlet channel 10 is used for the passage of gas-phase refrigerant that is heated and evaporated in the liquid mixture, and the third outlet channel 11 is used for the passage of lubricating oil remaining after the liquid mixture is heated. These three channels converge to the right and are connected to the compressor inlet connecting pipe 12. A partition 5 is slidably provided at the upper position of the two side walls of the rear cavity 8. The partition 5 is used to separate the gas-phase refrigerant and the liquid mixture. A spring 6 is provided on the right side of the top of the rear cavity 8. The upper end of the spring 6 is connected to the top of the rear cavity 8, and the lower end of the spring 6 is connected to the partition 5. The spring 6 is used to reset the partition 5. A positioning plate 7 is provided between the first outlet channel 9 and the left entrance of the second outlet channel 10 at the lower right of the partition 5. The positioning plate 7 is used to limit the downward travel of the partition 5. When the gas-phase refrigerant enters the rear cavity 8 from the front cavity 2 under the guidance of the pressure balance channel 4, the partition 5 is pushed to move to the positioning plate 7, the first outlet channel 9 is opened, and the gas-phase refrigerant enters the compressor along the first outlet channel 9 under the guidance of the compressor inlet connecting pipe 12.

[0031] The liquid supply channel 13 includes a flow meter 14 disposed at the upstream section of the liquid supply channel 13, the flow meter 14 is used to measure the flow of the mixture of liquid refrigerant and lubricating oil at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator, and calculate the amount of liquid refrigerant dissolved in the mixture, an electric heater 15 disposed at the downstream section of the liquid supply channel 13, the electric heater 15 is used to heat the liquid refrigerant in the mixture, and a PID controller 16 connected to the flow meter 14 and the electric heater 15, the PID controller 16 is used to calculate the heat required for the liquid refrigerant to completely evaporate into gaseous refrigerant, and accordingly regulate the electric heater 15. When the mixture of liquid refrigerant and lubricating oil at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator flows through the liquid supply channel 13, the flow meter 14 measures the flow of the mixture, calculates the amount of liquid refrigerant dissolved in the mixture according to the calculation formula of the saturated solubility of the liquid refrigerant in the lubricating oil, and feeds back to the PID controller 16, which calculates the heat required for the liquid refrigerant to completely evaporate into gaseous refrigerant, and then controls the electric heater 15 to adjust the electric heating amount.

[0032] When the intelligent liquid volume regulating device at the outlet of the air-conditioning compressor gas-liquid separator is working, different working modes can be switched according to whether the lubricating oil stored in the compressor itself meets the lubrication needs of the compressor operation:

[0033] (1) Working mode when the outlet of the gas-liquid separator is gas-phase refrigerant

[0034] This mode is suitable for scenarios where the compressor itself has sufficient lubricating oil stored, that is, it can meet the lubrication needs of normal operation of the compressor. At this time, the compressor does not need additional oil return operations.

[0035] When the compressor is running, the outlet of the gas-liquid separator is gas-phase refrigerant, and the gas-phase refrigerant enters the front cavity 2 along the gas-liquid separator outlet connecting pipe 1. The liquid originally accumulated in the front cavity 2 forms a liquid seal area. The gas-phase refrigerant can only enter the rear cavity 8 from the front cavity 2 along the pressure balance channel 4, and push the partition 5 to move to the positioning plate 7, thereby opening the first outlet channel 9. The gas-phase refrigerant enters the compressor inlet connecting pipe 12 along the first outlet channel 9 and finally enters the compressor. In this working mode, the flow meter 14, the PID controller 16 in the liquid supply channel 13, and the electric heater 15 do not work.

[0036] (2) Working mode when the outlet of the gas-liquid separator is a two-phase mixture

[0037] This mode is suitable for scenarios where the lubricating oil stored in the compressor itself is insufficient, that is, it cannot meet the lubrication needs of the normal operation of the compressor. At this time, the compressor needs to perform additional oil return operations.

[0038] When the compressor is running, the outlet of the gas-liquid separator is a two-phase mixture of gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant and lubricating oil. The two-phase mixture enters the front cavity 2 along the gas-liquid separator outlet connecting pipe 1 and impacts the baffle 3. The two-phase mixture impacts the baffle 3 to separate gas and liquid. The gas-phase refrigerant gathers at the top of the front cavity 2, and the liquid mixture formed by the liquid-phase refrigerant and the lubricating oil gathers at the bottom of the front cavity 2. The gas-phase refrigerant enters the rear cavity 8 from the front cavity 2 along the pressure balance channel 4, and pushes the partition 5 to move to the positioning plate 7, thereby opening the first outlet channel 9. At the same time, the liquid mixture continues to accumulate at the bottom of the front cavity 2, causing the liquid level to rise, and enters the rear cavity 8 along the liquid supply channel 13. The flow rate of the mixture of liquid refrigerant and lubricating oil is measured by the flow meter 14 in the liquid supply channel 13, and the amount of liquid refrigerant dissolved in the mixture is calculated and fed back to the PID controller 16. The PID controller 16 calculates the heat required for the complete evaporation of these liquid refrigerants into gaseous refrigerants, and controls the electric heater 15 to adjust the heat, thereby heating the liquid mixture in the rear cavity 8. The liquid refrigerant in the rear cavity 8 is heated and evaporated into gaseous refrigerant, and the gaseous refrigerant enters the compressor inlet connecting pipe 12 along the second outlet channel 10. The remaining lubricating oil after heating enters the compressor inlet connecting pipe 12 along the third outlet channel 11 driven by the suction of the gaseous refrigerant in the second outlet channel 10. The fluid that finally enters the compressor is a mixture of gaseous refrigerant and lubricating oil.

[0039] The intelligent regulating device for the liquid volume at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator of the air-conditioning compressor of the present invention can not only ensure that the liquid refrigerant in the mixture at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator is completely evaporated into gas refrigerant, and the fluid entering the compressor is gas refrigerant or a mixture of gas refrigerant and lubricating oil, thereby avoiding the liquid refrigerant entering the compressor and causing "liquid hammer" damage to the compressor. It can also intelligently judge whether the oil return operation is required based on the storage of lubricating oil in the compressor itself, and intelligently regulate the oil volume at the outlet by adding two cavities between the gas-liquid separator and the compressor, thereby improving the reliability of the oil return of the compressor, ensuring that the compressor can fully return oil, and avoiding the deterioration of the refrigeration effect caused by excessive oil return of the compressor.

[0040] The preferred specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above. It should be understood that ordinary technicians in the field can make many modifications and changes based on the concept of the present invention without creative work. Therefore, all technical solutions that can be obtained by technicians in the technical field based on the concept of the present invention through logical analysis, reasoning or limited experiments on the basis of the prior art should be within the scope of protection determined by the claims.

Claims

1. An intelligent regulating device for liquid volume at the outlet of a gas-liquid separator of an air-conditioning compressor, characterized in that: It includes a front cavity with an inlet on the left side, a rear cavity with an outlet on the right side, a liquid supply channel connecting the lower side of the front cavity and the lower side of the rear cavity, and oil return adjustment is performed according to the amount of lubricating oil stored in the compressor. The liquid refrigerant in the mixture at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator is removed through the liquid supply channel.

2. The intelligent regulating device for liquid volume at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator of the air-conditioning compressor according to claim 1, characterized in that: The liquid supply channel includes a flow meter arranged in the upstream section of the liquid supply channel for measuring the flow rate of the liquid refrigerant and lubricating oil mixture at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator and calculating the amount of liquid refrigerant dissolved in the mixture, an electric heater arranged in the downstream section of the liquid supply channel for heating the liquid refrigerant to vaporization, and a PID controller connected to the flow meter and the electric heater for controlling the electric heater.

3. The intelligent regulating device for liquid volume at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator of the air-conditioning compressor according to claim 1, characterized in that: The right side of the rear cavity is provided with a first outlet channel through which gas-phase refrigerant passes, a second outlet channel through which gas-phase refrigerant converted from liquid-phase refrigerant in the liquid mixture by heating and evaporation passes, and a third outlet channel through which lubricating oil remaining after the liquid mixture is heated passes, from top to bottom. The first outlet channel, the second outlet channel and the third outlet channel converge at the outlet of the rear cavity.

4. The intelligent regulating device for liquid volume at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator of the air-conditioning compressor as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that: A partition is slidably provided at the upper position of both side walls of the rear cavity to separate the gas refrigerant and the liquid mixture, and a spring for resetting the partition is provided at the right side of the top of the rear cavity, the upper end of the spring is connected to the top of the rear cavity, and the lower end of the spring is connected to the partition.

5. The intelligent regulating device for liquid volume at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator of the air-conditioning compressor as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that: Below the partition, a positioning plate for limiting the downward travel of the partition is arranged between the first outlet channel and the left entrance of the second outlet channel.

6. The intelligent regulating device for liquid volume at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator of the air-conditioning compressor according to claim 1, characterized in that: A baffle is provided at the top of the front chamber for gas-liquid separation of the two-phase mixture entering the front chamber, the left side of the baffle is opposite to the gas-liquid separator outlet connecting pipe, the upper end of the baffle is fixedly arranged on the top of the front chamber, and the position of the baffle is between the gas-liquid separator outlet connecting pipe and the pressure balance channel connecting port at the top of the front chamber.

7. The intelligent regulating device for liquid volume at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator of the air-conditioning compressor according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper side of the front cavity is connected to the upper side of the rear cavity through a pressure balance channel, and the pressure balance channel guides the gas-phase refrigerant from the front cavity into the rear cavity.

8. The intelligent regulating device for liquid volume at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator of the air-conditioning compressor according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The setting height of the front cavity is smaller than the setting height of the rear cavity.

9. The intelligent regulating device for liquid volume at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator of the air-conditioning compressor as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that: When the lubricating oil stored in the air-conditioning compressor itself can meet normal operation, no oil return operation is performed.

10. The intelligent regulating device for liquid volume at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator of the air-conditioning compressor as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that: When the lubricating oil stored in the air-conditioning compressor itself cannot meet the normal operation, the oil return operation is performed to remove the liquid refrigerant in the mixture at the outlet of the gas-liquid separator.

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