Expansion valve

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of valves, in particular to an expansion valve. The expansion valve comprises a valve body assembly and a noise reduction structure, the valve body assembly is provided with a valve cavity, the noise reduction structure is arranged in the valve cavity, the extending direction of the noise reduction structure is parallel to the axial direction of the valve cavity, and the two ends, in the axial direction of the valve cavity, of the noise reduction structure are connected with the two opposite inner walls of the valve cavity correspondingly. Wherein the noise reduction structure is a porous part and is used for rectifying or decomposing bubbles in fluid flowing through the noise reduction structure, and circulating holes penetrating through the noise reduction structure in the thickness direction of the noise reduction structure are formed in the noise reduction structure. According to the expansion valve, the problem that large pressure drop is generated due to the fact that a noise reduction structure is arranged in a valve cavity of an existing expansion valve is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of valve technology, and in particular to an expansion valve. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, during the operation of an expansion valve, the fluid after throttling at the valve port becomes a gas-liquid two-phase state, generating bubbles of varying sizes. These bubbles, flowing through the pipeline, produce discontinuous noise, affecting the user experience of the expansion valve. Therefore, related technologies often incorporate noise reduction structures at the connection between the valve port and the connecting pipe. These structures refine the throttled bubbles, reducing fluid flow noise.

[0003] In some designs, noise reduction structures are also placed inside the valve cavity to reduce the noise of fluid flowing within the cavity and further optimize the noise performance of the expansion valve. However, the fluid inside the valve cavity experiences a pressure drop when flowing through the noise reduction structure, which can affect the flow capacity of the electronic expansion valve. Utility Model Content

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to provide an expansion valve to solve the problem that the existing expansion valve will have a large pressure drop due to the noise reduction structure set in the valve cavity.

[0005] This application provides an expansion valve, which includes a valve body assembly and a noise reduction structure. The valve body assembly has a valve cavity, and the noise reduction structure is disposed within the valve cavity. The extension direction of the noise reduction structure is parallel to the axial direction of the valve cavity, and the two ends of the noise reduction structure along the axial direction of the valve cavity are respectively connected to the two opposite inner walls of the valve cavity. The noise reduction structure is a porous component used to rectify or decompose air bubbles in the fluid flowing through the noise reduction structure, and the noise reduction structure has a flow hole that penetrates the noise reduction structure along its own thickness direction.

[0006] In one embodiment, the noise reduction structure is configured as a filter sintered block.

[0007] In one embodiment, the valve body assembly includes a valve seat and a nut, the nut being connected to one end of the valve seat and forming the valve cavity with the valve seat; the noise reduction structure is connected to the nut and the valve seat at both ends along the axial direction of the valve cavity, respectively.

[0008] In one embodiment, a slot is provided at one end of the nut near the valve cavity, and one end of the noise reduction structure is inserted into the slot and connected to the nut.

[0009] In one embodiment, the valve body assembly further has a mounting hole, which is formed on the periphery of the valve body assembly and communicates with the valve cavity, wherein the noise reduction structure is installed in the valve cavity near the mounting hole.

[0010] In one embodiment, the noise reduction structure is configured as a flat plate, and the noise reduction structure is arranged perpendicular to the axis of the mounting hole.

[0011] In one embodiment, the noise reduction structure is configured as an arc-shaped plate, and the bending direction of the noise reduction structure is the same as the bending direction of the inner wall of the valve cavity.

[0012] In one embodiment, the valve body assembly further has a valve port, which is located at one end of the valve body assembly and communicates with the valve cavity, wherein the noise reduction structure is configured as a columnar plate and surrounds the outer periphery of the valve port.

[0013] In one embodiment, the valve body assembly further has a valve port, which is located at one end of the valve body assembly and communicates with the valve cavity. The number of flow holes is one, and the flow area of ​​the flow hole is greater than or equal to the flow area of ​​the valve port; or, the number of flow holes is multiple, and the total flow area of ​​the multiple flow holes is greater than or equal to the flow area of ​​the valve port.

[0014] In one embodiment, the flow hole is circular, elliptical, polygonal, or irregular in shape.

[0015] In one embodiment, there are multiple noise reduction structures, which are arranged radially spaced along the valve cavity.

[0016] In one embodiment, the projections of the flow holes on adjacent noise reduction structures do not coincide along the radial direction of the valve cavity.

[0017] In one embodiment, the expansion valve further includes a connecting plate, the two ends of which are respectively connected to two adjacent noise reduction structures.

[0018] Compared to existing technologies, the expansion valve provided in this application features a noise reduction structure connected to the two opposing inner walls of the valve cavity along its axial direction. When the fluid flows in the forward direction, it first passes through the noise reduction structure before reaching the valve port. At this point, there are fewer air bubbles in the fluid before it reaches the valve port. The noise reduction structure primarily acts as a flow straightener, reducing eddies and resulting in more uniform fluid flow and reduced noise. When the fluid flows in the reverse direction, it first passes through the valve port before reaching the noise reduction structure. At this point, the throttled fluid becomes a gas-liquid two-phase state, generating bubbles of varying sizes. The noise reduction structure, through multiple micropores, decomposes these bubbles, refining large bubbles into smaller ones, achieving uniform bubble size within the fluid and reducing abnormal noise generated during flow. This significantly reduces the noise generated by the expansion valve under different operating conditions, improving the user experience. Meanwhile, because the noise reduction structure has larger flow holes, the pressure drop generated when fluid flows through the structure can be reduced, thereby improving the flow capacity of the electronic expansion valve. Furthermore, the flow holes also allow impurities to pass through, effectively preventing impurities from clogging the micropores in the noise reduction structure and ensuring its reliability during use. Attached Figure Description

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the conventional technology, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the conventional technology will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0020] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of an expansion valve according to an embodiment of this application;

[0021] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a noise reduction structure according to an embodiment of this application;

[0022] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a noise reduction structure according to an embodiment of this application;

[0023] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a noise reduction structure according to an embodiment of this application;

[0024] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a noise reduction structure according to an embodiment of this application.

[0025] The symbols in the diagram represent the following meanings:

[0026] 100. Expansion valve; 10. Valve body assembly; 101. Valve port; 102. Mounting hole; 103. Valve cavity; 104. Slot; 11. Valve seat; 12. Nut; 20. Noise reduction structure; 201. Flow hole; 21. Connecting plate; 30. Valve needle. Detailed Implementation

[0027] To make the above-mentioned objectives, features, and advantages of this application more apparent and understandable, the specific embodiments of this application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Many specific details are set forth in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of this application. However, this application can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar modifications without departing from the spirit of this application. Therefore, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0028] It should be noted that when a component is referred to as being "fixed to" or "set on" another component, it can be directly on the other component or there may be an intermediate component. When a component is considered to be "connected to" another component, it can be directly connected to the other component or there may be an intermediate component present. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," and similar expressions used in this application's specification are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only possible implementation.

[0029] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. In the description of this application, "multiple" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0030] In this application, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, "above" or "below" the second feature can mean that the first feature is in direct contact with the second feature, or that the first feature and the second feature are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Furthermore, "above," "over," and "on top" the second feature can mean that the first feature is directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Below," "below," and "under" the second feature can mean that the first feature is directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.

[0031] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in this application have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used in this application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. The term "and / or" as used in this application includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0032] Currently, during the operation of an expansion valve, the fluid after throttling at the valve port becomes a gas-liquid two-phase state, generating bubbles of varying sizes. These bubbles, flowing through the pipeline, produce discontinuous noise, affecting the user experience of the expansion valve. Therefore, related technologies often incorporate noise reduction structures at the connection between the valve port and the connecting pipe. These structures refine the throttled bubbles, reducing fluid flow noise.

[0033] In some designs, noise reduction structures are also placed inside the valve cavity to reduce the noise of fluid flowing within the cavity and further optimize the noise performance of the expansion valve. However, the fluid inside the valve cavity experiences a pressure drop when flowing through the noise reduction structure, which can affect the flow capacity of the electronic expansion valve.

[0034] Please see Figures 1-5 To address the issue of significant pressure drop caused by noise reduction structures within the valve cavity of existing expansion valves, this application provides an expansion valve 100. The expansion valve 100 includes a valve body assembly 10 and a noise reduction structure 20. The valve body assembly 10 has a valve port 101, a mounting hole 102, and a valve cavity 103. The valve port 101 is located at one end of the valve body assembly 10 and communicates with the valve cavity 103. The mounting hole 102 is located on the periphery of the valve body assembly 10 and communicates with the valve cavity 103. When fluid enters the expansion valve 100, it can flow in through either the mounting hole 102 or the valve port 101. For clarity, this application defines forward flow as fluid flowing into the valve cavity 103 from the mounting hole 102 and out from the valve port 101, and reverse flow as fluid flowing into the valve cavity 103 from the valve port 101 and out from the mounting hole 102.

[0035] Furthermore, the noise reduction structure 20 is disposed inside the valve cavity 103, and the extension direction of the noise reduction structure 20 is parallel to the axial direction of the valve cavity 103. The two ends of the noise reduction structure 20 along the axial direction of the valve cavity 103 are respectively connected to the two opposite inner walls of the valve cavity 103. The noise reduction structure 20 is a porous component used to rectify or decompose air bubbles in the fluid flowing through the noise reduction structure 20. Furthermore, the noise reduction structure 20 has a flow hole 201 that penetrates the noise reduction structure 20 along its own thickness direction.

[0036] As is easily understood, since the noise reduction structure 20 is connected to the two opposite inner walls of the valve cavity 103 at both ends along the axial direction of the valve cavity 103, when the fluid flows in the forward direction, the fluid first passes through the noise reduction structure 20 in the valve cavity 103 before flowing to the valve port 101. At this time, there are fewer air bubbles in the fluid before it passes through the valve port 101 for throttling. The noise reduction structure 20 mainly plays a rectifying role in the fluid, thereby reducing the generation of eddies, making the fluid flow more uniform, and reducing the generation of noise. When the fluid flows in the reverse direction, the fluid first passes through the valve port 101 for throttling before flowing to the noise reduction structure 20. At this time, the fluid after throttling will become a gas-liquid two-phase state and generate air bubbles of different sizes. The noise reduction structure 20 can decompose the air bubbles through multiple micropores, refining large air bubbles into small air bubbles, achieving uniform air bubble size in the fluid, thereby reducing the abnormal noise generated by air bubbles during flow. In this way, the noise generated by the expansion valve 100 during fluid flow under different operating conditions is greatly reduced, improving the user experience of the expansion valve 100. Meanwhile, because the noise reduction structure 20 has a larger flow hole 201, the pressure drop generated when the fluid flows through the noise reduction structure 20 can be reduced, thereby improving the flow capacity of the electronic expansion valve 100. In addition, the flow hole 201 can also allow impurities to pass through, effectively preventing impurities from clogging the micropores on the noise reduction structure 20, thus ensuring the reliability of the noise reduction structure 20 during use.

[0037] Specifically, the noise reduction structure 20 is configured as a filter sintered block, which is woven from metal or alloy wires. These wires are then sintered together at high temperature to form a uniform block-shaped filter material with high strength and stability, effectively achieving filtration. Furthermore, the sintered block has a dense internal pore structure with multiple layers (three or more). Compared to traditional single-layer or double-layer spaced rectifiers, it achieves a finer and more thorough rectification effect, refining discontinuous large bubbles (plug flow). The noise reduction block can cover the entire flow channel cross-section, achieving complete bubble refinement and homogenization (fine bubble flow).

[0038] For example, the noise reduction structure 20 can be a sintered block of stainless steel filter screen. Stainless steel is low in cost, and the sintering process ensures reliability after molding and good compatibility with fluids.

[0039] In one embodiment, such as Figure 1 As shown, the valve body assembly 10 includes a valve seat 11 and a nut 12. The nut 12 is connected to one end of the valve seat 11 and together with the valve seat 11 forms a valve cavity 103. The noise reduction structure 20 is connected to the nut 12 and the valve seat 11 at both ends along the axial direction of the valve cavity 103, respectively. The expansion valve 100 also includes a valve needle 30. One end of the valve needle 30 is inserted into the nut 12 and threadedly connected to the nut 12, so that the valve needle 30 can move relative to the nut 12 toward or away from the valve port 101, thereby realizing flow regulation at the valve port 101.

[0040] The inner wall of the nut 12 can guide the valve needle 30, ensuring the stability of the valve needle 30 during movement, reducing the shaking caused by fluid impact on the valve needle 30, and improving the structural stability of the expansion valve 100.

[0041] Specifically, a slot 104 is provided at one end of the nut 12 near the valve cavity 103, and one end of the noise reduction structure 20 is inserted into the slot 104 and connected to the nut 12. This facilitates the matching and installation of the noise reduction structure 20, ensures the firmness and reliability of the noise reduction structure 20 in the valve cavity 103, and reduces the probability of the noise reduction structure 20 moving after being impacted by fluid.

[0042] In this embodiment, the noise reduction structure 20 is detachably plugged into the slot 104, and the end of the noise reduction structure 20 away from the slot 104 abuts against the valve seat 11. This facilitates the replacement of the noise reduction structure 20. When the noise reduction structure 20 is clogged, it can be removed from the slot 104 for replacement, thereby reducing costs.

[0043] In one embodiment, such as Figure 2 As shown, the noise reduction structure 20 can be configured as a flat plate structure, and the noise reduction structure 20 is arranged perpendicular to the axis of the mounting hole 102. In another embodiment, as... Figure 3 As shown, the noise reduction structure 20 can be configured as an arc-shaped plate, and the bending direction of the noise reduction structure 20 is the same as the bending direction of the inner wall of the valve cavity 103. In this way, the noise reduction structure 20 has a simple structure, is easy to manufacture, and can effectively achieve the noise reduction effect.

[0044] When the noise reduction structure 20 is configured as a flat plate or an arc-shaped plate, the noise reduction structure 20 can be installed in the valve cavity 103 near the mounting hole 102 to ensure that the fluid flowing into the valve cavity 103 can pass through the noise reduction structure 20, thereby ensuring the noise reduction function of the noise reduction structure 20.

[0045] In other embodiments, such as Figure 4 As shown, the noise reduction structure 20 can also be configured as a columnar plate. When the noise reduction structure 20 is configured as a hollow columnar plate, the noise reduction structure 20 can surround the outer periphery of the valve port 101 to facilitate the movement of the valve needle 30 and reduce the space occupied by the valve cavity 103.

[0046] Optionally, the number of flow holes 201 can be as follows: Figure 3 As shown, there is one flow hole 201. In this case, the flow hole 201 can be set in the middle of the noise reduction structure 20, or it can be set at the edge of the noise reduction structure 20. Furthermore, the flow area of ​​the flow hole 201 is greater than or equal to the flow area of ​​the valve port 101. This helps to reduce the pressure drop of the fluid flowing to the noise reduction structure 20, thereby improving the flow efficiency of the fluid.

[0047] Alternatively, the number of flow holes 201 can also be as follows: Figure 2 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 The configuration shown includes multiple flow holes 201. When there are multiple flow holes 201, they can be arranged in a ring around the axis of the noise reduction structure 20, or in a row, column, or array arrangement, depending on actual needs. Furthermore, the total flow area of ​​the multiple flow holes 201 is greater than or equal to the flow area of ​​the valve port 101. This arrangement helps to reduce the pressure drop of the fluid flowing towards the noise reduction structure 20, thereby improving fluid flow efficiency.

[0048] Furthermore, the shape of the flow hole 201 can be circular, elliptical, polygonal, or irregular, etc., without being too limited here, as long as it can achieve the function of reducing fluid pressure drop.

[0049] It should be noted that the irregular shapes here can be formed by combinations of line segments and curves.

[0050] like Figure 1 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, there are multiple noise reduction structures 20, which are arranged radially at intervals along the valve cavity 103. By setting multiple noise reduction structures 20, the rectification or filtration effect of the noise reduction structures 20 on the fluid can be further improved, reducing the flow noise of the fluid in the expansion valve 100.

[0051] For example, in this embodiment, the number of noise reduction structures 20 is two, but it is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the number of noise reduction structures 20 may also be three or four, etc.

[0052] Furthermore, along the radial direction of the valve cavity 103, the projections of the flow holes 201 on adjacent noise reduction structures 20 do not overlap. Since other areas with micropores on the noise reduction structure 20 actually play a noise reduction role, by staggering the flow holes 201 on multiple noise reduction structures 20, the fluid that passes directly through the flow holes 201 without micropore refinement can have its bubbles refined and noise reduced by the corresponding micropore areas on adjacent noise reduction structures 20, thereby improving the noise reduction effect of the noise reduction structure 20.

[0053] like Figure 5 As shown, the expansion valve 100 also includes a connecting plate 21, with its two ends connected to two adjacent noise reduction structures 20 respectively. Here, the connecting plate 21 can be configured as an arc-shaped plate and connected to the ends of the noise reduction structures 20 to reduce the impact on fluid flow while ensuring the stability between the noise reduction structures 20.

[0054] Specifically, the connecting plate 21 can limit the relative displacement between adjacent noise reduction structures 20, preventing any noise reduction structure 20 from shifting under the impact of the fluid, thereby ensuring the installation stability of the noise reduction structure 20.

[0055] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0056] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of several implementation methods of this application, and while the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the patent application. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of this application, and these all fall within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the patent protection scope of this application should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An expansion valve, characterized in that, The device includes a valve body assembly (10) and a noise reduction structure (20). The valve body assembly (10) has a valve cavity (103). The noise reduction structure (20) is disposed in the valve cavity (103) and the extension direction of the noise reduction structure (20) is parallel to the axial direction of the valve cavity (103). Furthermore, the two ends of the noise reduction structure (20) along the axial direction of the valve cavity (103) are respectively connected to the two opposite inner walls of the valve cavity (103). The noise reduction structure (20) is a porous component used to rectify or decompose air bubbles in the fluid flowing through the noise reduction structure (20). Furthermore, the noise reduction structure (20) has a flow hole (201) that penetrates the noise reduction structure (20) along its own thickness direction.

2. The expansion valve according to claim 1, characterized in that, The noise reduction structure (20) is configured as a filter sintering block.

3. The expansion valve according to claim 1, characterized in that, The valve body assembly (10) includes a valve seat (11) and a nut (12), the nut (12) being connected to one end of the valve seat (11) and forming the valve cavity (103) with the valve seat (11); The noise reduction structure (20) is connected to the nut (12) and the valve seat (11) at both ends along the axial direction of the valve cavity (103).

4. The expansion valve according to claim 3, characterized in that, The nut (12) has a slot (104) at one end near the valve cavity (103), and one end of the noise reduction structure (20) is inserted into the slot (104) and connected to the nut (12).

5. The expansion valve according to claim 1, characterized in that, The valve body assembly (10) also has a mounting hole (102), which is located on the periphery of the valve body assembly (10) and communicates with the valve cavity (103). The noise reduction structure (20) is installed in the valve cavity (103) near the mounting hole (102).

6. The expansion valve according to claim 5, characterized in that, The noise reduction structure (20) is configured as a flat plate, and the noise reduction structure (20) is arranged perpendicular to the axis of the mounting hole (102).

7. The expansion valve according to claim 5, characterized in that, The noise reduction structure (20) is configured as an arc-shaped plate, and the bending direction of the noise reduction structure (20) is the same as the bending direction of the inner wall of the valve cavity (103).

8. The expansion valve according to claim 1, characterized in that, The valve body assembly (10) also has a valve port (101), which is located at one end of the valve body assembly (10) and communicates with the valve cavity (103). The noise reduction structure (20) is configured as a columnar plate and surrounds the outer periphery of the valve port (101).

9. The expansion valve according to claim 1, characterized in that, The valve body assembly (10) also has a valve port (101), which is located at one end of the valve body assembly (10) and communicates with the valve cavity (103). The number of the flow holes (201) is one, and the flow area of ​​the flow hole (201) is greater than or equal to the flow area of ​​the valve port (101). Alternatively, there may be multiple flow holes (201), and the total flow area of ​​the multiple flow holes (201) may be greater than or equal to the flow area of ​​the valve port (101).

10. The expansion valve according to claim 8, characterized in that, The flow hole (201) is circular, elliptical, polygonal, or irregular in shape.

11. The expansion valve according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of noise reduction structures (20) is multiple, and the multiple noise reduction structures (20) are arranged at radial intervals along the valve cavity (103).

12. The expansion valve according to claim 11, characterized in that, Along the radial direction of the valve cavity (103), the projections of the flow holes (201) on adjacent noise reduction structures (20) do not coincide.

13. The expansion valve according to claim 11, characterized in that, The expansion valve also includes a connecting plate (21), the two ends of which are respectively connected to two adjacent noise reduction structures (20).

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