Direct-acting electronic expansion valve and refrigeration equipment

Abstract

The utility model discloses a direct-acting electronic expansion valve and refrigeration equipment, and relates to the technical field of refrigeration equipment, the direct-acting electronic expansion valve comprises a valve seat, an access pipe and a valve core, a valve cavity is formed in the valve seat, the peripheral wall of the valve seat is provided with an access port, and one axial end of the valve seat is provided with a valve port; the access pipe penetrates into the access port and is used for feeding a refrigerant into the valve cavity; the valve element is located in the valve cavity, can move towards or away from the valve port and is used for opening or closing the valve port. A stop table is arranged in the valve seat, and the end of the access pipe abuts against the stop table. According to the technical scheme, the production process of the electronic expansion valve is simplified, the production period is shortened, and the production cost is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of refrigeration and air conditioning technology, and in particular to a direct-acting electronic expansion valve and a refrigeration device using the electronic expansion valve. Background Technology

[0002] In refrigeration and air conditioning systems, the electronic expansion valve is a key component, and its performance significantly impacts the system's cooling or heating effect and energy efficiency. Currently, the assembly method of the expansion valve connector and seat has drawbacks. Most existing technologies achieve the assembly and positioning of the connector and valve seat by creating limiting structures such as protrusions or constrictions on the connecting pipe. This undoubtedly increases the number of steps in copper pipe processing, raising production costs and extending the production cycle.

[0003] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a new electronic expansion valve structure and assembly method to solve the above problems. Utility Model Content

[0004] The main purpose of this invention is to propose a direct-acting electronic expansion valve and a refrigeration device, which aims to simplify the production process of the electronic expansion valve.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention proposes a direct-acting electronic expansion valve, comprising:

[0006] A valve seat, wherein a valve cavity is formed inside the valve seat, an inlet is provided on the outer peripheral wall of the valve seat, and a valve port is provided at one axial end of the valve seat;

[0007] An inlet pipe is inserted into the inlet and used to supply refrigerant into the valve cavity;

[0008] A valve core, located within the valve cavity and movable toward and away from the valve port, for opening or closing the valve port;

[0009] The valve seat is provided with a stop plate, and the end of the inlet pipe abuts against the stop plate.

[0010] In one embodiment, the stop is located on one side of the bottom wall of the valve seat.

[0011] In one embodiment, the lower part of the inlet is lower than the upper surface of the stop platform, and the upper surface of the stop platform is coplanar with the bottom surface of the valve cavity.

[0012] In one embodiment, the wall thickness of the access pipe is L, and the distance between the bottom of the stop platform and the bottom surface of the valve cavity is M, where M < L < 1.5M.

[0013] In one embodiment, the thickness of the bottom wall of the valve seat is N, where N > 2M.

[0014] In one embodiment, the length of the access tube extending into the access port is 0, where 4mm < 0 < 5mm.

[0015] In one embodiment, the access pipe is welded to the valve seat.

[0016] In one embodiment, the axis of the access pipe is perpendicular to the axial direction of the valve seat.

[0017] In one embodiment, the access pipe is made of copper tubing with good thermal conductivity.

[0018] This utility model also proposes a refrigeration device, including the aforementioned direct-acting electronic expansion valve.

[0019] The technical solution of this utility model is to set a stop plate in the valve seat to facilitate the positioning of the inlet pipe, simplify the assembly process, and reduce production costs. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without creative effort.

[0021] Fig. 1 A schematic diagram of a direct-acting electronic expansion valve according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Fig. 2 A schematic diagram of the valve seat of an embodiment of the direct-acting electronic expansion valve provided by this utility model;

[0023] Fig. 3 This is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the direct-acting electronic expansion valve provided by this utility model.

[0024] Explanation of icon numbers:

[0025] 10. Valve seat; 11. Valve cavity; 12. Inlet; 13. Valve port; 14. Stop platform; 15. Recessed groove; 20. Connecting pipe; 30. Valve core.

[0026] The realization of the purpose, functional features and advantages of this utility model will be further explained in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Detailed Implementation

[0027] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present utility model.

[0028] It should be noted that if the embodiments of this utility model involve directional indicators (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.), the directional indicators are only used to explain the relative positional relationship and movement of the components in a specific posture. If the specific posture changes, the directional indicators will also change accordingly.

[0029] Furthermore, if the embodiments of this utility model involve descriptions such as "first" or "second," these descriptions are for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of those features. Additionally, the use of "and / or" or "and / or" throughout the text includes three parallel solutions. For example, "A and / or B" includes solution A, solution B, or a solution where both A and B are satisfied simultaneously. Furthermore, the technical solutions of the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but this must be based on the ability of those skilled in the art to implement them. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or impossible to implement, it should be considered that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection claimed by this utility model.

[0030] Traditionally, the assembly and positioning of copper tubes and valve seats is achieved by creating limiting structures such as protrusions and narrowing on the copper tubes. This increases the number of processing steps for the copper tubes, raises production costs, and extends the production cycle.

[0031] This invention proposes a direct-acting electronic expansion valve to simplify the processing steps of the connection pipe and reduce production costs.

[0032] Please see Figs. 1 to 3 In one embodiment of this utility model, the direct-acting electronic expansion valve is used in a refrigeration device and includes a valve seat 10, an inlet pipe 20, and a valve core 30. The valve seat 10 has a valve cavity 11 inside, an inlet 12 on its outer peripheral wall, and a valve port 13 at one axial end. The inlet pipe 20 passes through the inlet 12 to supply refrigerant into the valve cavity 11. The valve core 30 is located within the valve cavity 11 and can move towards and away from the valve port 13 to open or close the valve port 13. A stop plate 14 is provided at a position corresponding to the inlet pipe 20, and the end of the inlet pipe 20 abuts against the stop plate 14.

[0033] Specifically, this application simplifies the assembly process and reduces production costs by optimizing the structure and connection method of the valve seat 10 and the inlet pipe 20. The valve seat 10 is integrally formed from a high-strength, corrosion-resistant metal material, forming a valve cavity 11 inside. An inlet 12 is provided on the outer peripheral wall of the valve seat 10, and a valve port 13 is provided at the lower end of the valve seat 10 in the axial direction, with an output pipe connected to the valve port 13. The diameter of the inlet pipe 20 is adapted to the size of the inlet 12, allowing the inlet pipe 20 to be inserted into the inlet 12 and extend into the valve cavity 11. The outer surface of the inlet pipe 20 has no complex machining structure and directly penetrates the inlet 12. The end of the inlet pipe 20 is a flat abutment face, and a stop 14 is provided inside the valve seat 10 at a position corresponding to the inlet pipe 20, adapting to the abutment face of the inlet pipe 20. After the inlet pipe 20 is inserted into the inlet 12, its abutment face tightly abuts against the stop 14, achieving precise positioning. The inlet pipe 20 is used to supply refrigerant into the valve chamber 11 and to discharge it to the outside through the valve port 13 under the control of the valve core 30. The valve core 30 is located inside the valve chamber 11 and can move up and down along the axial direction of the valve seat 10 to move closer to or further away from the valve port 13, thereby adjusting the cross-sectional area of ​​the fluid flow, thus controlling the refrigerant flow rate and opening or closing the valve port 13.

[0034] It should be noted that after the inlet pipe 20 abuts the stop plate 14, the inlet pipe 20 is then welded to the valve seat 10 through a welding process to fix the two into one piece and ensure the sealing performance of the inlet pipe 20 and the inlet 12.

[0035] In the embodiments of this application, the valve seat 10 serves as a basic component, providing installation space and support for the inlet pipe 20 and the valve core 30. The end of the inlet pipe 20 is positioned by abutting against the stop plate 14, eliminating the need to fabricate limiting structures such as protrusions or constrictions on the copper pipe, thus simplifying the processing steps of the inlet pipe 20 and reducing production costs and production cycle.

[0036] Furthermore, the stop plate 14 is located on one side of the bottom wall of the valve seat 10.

[0037] Specifically, the stop plate 14 is located on the bottom wall, a design that makes full use of the bottom wall. For example, the stop plate 14 can be directly integrated into the bottom wall of the valve seat 10. The bottom wall of the valve seat 10 is a planar structure, and setting the stop plate 14 on it makes the layout more convenient and the mold of the valve seat 10 simpler. However, the circumferential side wall of the valve seat 10 is usually a curved structure. If the stop plate 14 is set here, a boss or step structure needs to be machined on the curved surface. This will affect the layout of the flow channel in the valve cavity 11, the valve core 30, and other components. The valve core 30 needs to avoid the stop plate 14, which will compress the limited internal space and increase the complexity of the flow channel design; it may even affect the size of the valve port 13, thus affecting the performance of the electronic expansion valve.

[0038] Furthermore, the lower part of the inlet 12 is lower than the upper surface of the stop plate 14, and the upper surface of the stop plate 14 is coplanar with the bottom surface of the valve cavity 11.

[0039] Specifically, in this embodiment, a portion of the bottom wall of the valve seat 10 is thickened to form a recessed groove 15 and a stop platform 14, i.e., the stop platform 14 is integrally integrated into the bottom wall of the valve seat 10. The bottom surface of the valve cavity 11 and the upper surface of the stop platform are on the same plane. The bottom surface of the valve cavity 11 (i.e., the upper surface of the stop platform 14) is higher than the lower part of the inlet 12, so that the recessed groove 15 is located in the extending direction of the inlet 12. The recessed groove 15 is used to accommodate the inlet pipe 20 extending into the inlet 12 to position the circumferential side of the inlet pipe 20. Combined with the end face positioning of the stop platform 14, positioning is performed in two directions, which can achieve fast and accurate positioning. The dual positioning design of the recessed groove 15 and the stop platform 14 provides a solid foundation for subsequent welding processes. The circumferential side of the inlet pipe 20 is placed in the recessed groove 15, and with the end face limiting of the stop platform 14, the inlet pipe 20 always maintains a fixed posture during the welding process, effectively avoiding positional displacement caused by external forces. Actual testing revealed that traditional positioning methods resulted in a high rate of incomplete or missing welds due to component movement during welding. This structure, however, improves welding stability through dual positioning, significantly reducing the welding defect rate.

[0040] This dual-limiting structure eliminates the need for complex protrusions and narrowing processes on the access tube 20 during assembly, unlike traditional processes. The access tube 20 can be quickly positioned simply by inserting it directly into the access port 12 and placing it in the recessed groove 15, greatly simplifying the assembly process and improving assembly efficiency.

[0041] In this embodiment, the access pipe 20 is a circular pipe, and the inlet 12 of the valve seat 10 is a circular hole structure. The inner diameter of the inlet 12 is equal to the outer diameter of the access pipe 20. To facilitate the smooth insertion of the access pipe 20 into the inlet 12, a uniform gap of 0.05mm-0.1mm is formed between them through precision machining. This ensures that the access pipe 20 can smoothly enter the inlet 12 while avoiding assembly wobbling caused by excessive gap. The recessed groove 15 is arc-shaped, and its inner diameter is the same as that of the inlet 12. The recessed groove 15 is located in the extending direction of the inlet 12. This structure allows the access pipe 20 to be smoothly inserted into the inlet 12 and extends inward along the recessed groove 15 all the way to the stop 14. This structural design enables efficient "straight-line insertion" assembly: once the access tube 20 is aligned with the inlet 12, it can be directly pushed in along its axial direction. The uniform gap formed between the outer surface of the access tube 20 and the inner wall of the inlet 12 provides a self-guiding function, allowing the access tube 20 to naturally extend inward along the arc-shaped trajectory of the recessed groove 15 until its end abuts against the stop plate 14. This structural design also significantly improves the stability of welding quality: because the access tube 20 is precisely circumferentially positioned within the recessed groove 15, the solder can uniformly fill the annular gap between the inlet 12 and the access tube 20 during welding, forming a continuous weld with a consistent thickness.

[0042] Furthermore, the wall thickness of the inlet pipe 20 is L, and the distance between the bottom of the stop platform 14 and the bottom surface of the valve cavity 11 is M, where M≦L<1.5M.

[0043] Specifically, when L = M, the lower part of the inner surface of the inlet pipe 20 is flush with the bottom surface of the valve cavity 11, forming a zero-step flow channel structure. This structure achieves a seamless connection between the inlet pipe 20 and the bottom wall of the valve cavity 11, ensuring an extremely smooth surface transition. This design completely eliminates the step difference between the port of the inlet pipe 20 and the bottom wall of the valve cavity 11 in traditional structures, avoiding fluid turbulence caused by abrupt changes in cross-section. At the level of fluid dynamics principles, the zero-step flow channel structure greatly improves the fluid flow state. When fluid flows into the valve cavity 11 from the inlet pipe 20, due to the smooth and continuous flow channel, the fluid boundary layer can develop stably along the smooth wall surface without boundary layer separation. Therefore, the flow resistance of the fluid is reduced, and the flow rate of fluid from the inlet pipe 20 to the valve cavity 11 is increased.

[0044] When L is between M and 1.5M, the inner surface of the inlet pipe 20 is higher than the bottom surface of the valve cavity 11, ensuring that the fluid flowing from the inlet pipe 20 into the valve cavity 11 is not obstructed by any structure and can flow directly into the valve cavity 11. Compared to the fluid impact and backflow caused by steps and misalignment in traditional structures, this design eliminates obstruction points and reduces fluid kinetic energy loss. Simultaneously, the stable gap height helps the fluid maintain a laminar flow state, avoiding eddies and turbulence, allowing for smoother fluid flow. Therefore, when the fluid flows through the connection between the inlet pipe 20 and the valve cavity 11, the flow path is smoother, and the flow resistance is significantly reduced, thereby improving the stability of the electronic expansion valve's fluid flow control and the overall operating efficiency of the refrigeration system. When the wall thickness L of the inlet pipe 20 is greater than 1.5 times the distance M between the bottom of the stop platform 14 and the bottom surface of the valve cavity 11, the wall thickness of the inlet pipe 20 itself will increase significantly. Excessive wall thickness leads to a significant increase in the material usage of the inlet pipe 20, causing unnecessary waste and directly increasing product manufacturing costs. Therefore, in this embodiment, the wall thickness L of the access pipe 20 is strictly limited to between M and 1.5M (i.e., M≤L<1.5M). This design ensures that the access pipe 20 has sufficient structural strength to meet the support and assembly requirements by L≥M, while avoiding material waste caused by excessive wall thickness by L<1.5M. This effectively controls costs while ensuring product performance, achieving a balance between economy and functionality.

[0045] Furthermore, the thickness of the bottom wall of valve seat 10 is N, where N > 2M.

[0046] Specifically, the bottom wall thickness of valve seat 10 is N, where N > 2M. This design significantly improves the overall structural strength of valve seat 10 by increasing the bottom wall thickness, ensuring that it is not easily deformed under high refrigerant pressure and avoiding leakage or flow channel interference problems caused by an excessively thin bottom wall. The thicker bottom wall, together with the inlet pipe 20 and the recessed groove 15, forms a stable support structure, which not only ensures the reliability of positioning during assembly but also maintains the flatness of the inner wall of valve cavity 11, so that the fluid flow is not affected by the deformation of the bottom wall, further optimizing the flow channel smoothness and improving the durability and flow control stability of the electronic expansion valve.

[0047] Furthermore, the length of the access pipe 20 extending into the access port 12 is O, 4mm < O < 5mm.

[0048] Specifically, a portion of the inlet pipe 20 extends into the valve cavity 11, and the length of this portion is O, with O ranging from 4mm to 5mm. This length design ensures that the recessed groove 15 provides sufficient circumferential limiting length for the inlet pipe 20, ensuring positioning stability during assembly, while also preventing excessive length from causing redundancy in the valve seat 10 structure or excessive space occupation in the flow channel.

[0049] When the access pipe 20 is inserted into the inlet 12 and abuts against the stop 14, the recessed groove 15 limits its circumferential side length by 4mm-5mm, forming a stable support area and effectively suppressing the radial swaying or rotation of the access pipe 20. This provides a solid foundation for subsequent welding.

[0050] Furthermore, the axis of the access pipe 20 is perpendicular to the axial direction of the valve seat 10, which can also prevent the access pipe 20 from shaking after being inserted into the insertion port.

[0051] Specifically, the inlet pipe 20 penetrates the valve seat 10 radially (i.e., the axis of the inlet pipe 20 is perpendicular to the axial direction of the valve seat 10), causing the refrigerant to turn 90° when entering the valve chamber 11 from the inlet pipe 20. This clear flow path facilitates precise flow control via the axial movement of the valve core 30. Furthermore, the vertical axis design ensures that after insertion, the circumferential side of the inlet pipe 20 is perpendicular to the direction of force (refrigerant pressure transmitted axially) when it contacts the recessed groove 15, forming a stable "+" shaped structure that effectively suppresses radial sway caused by axial loads (such as refrigerant pressure or welding stress).

[0052] Furthermore, the inlet pipe 20 is made of copper tubing with good thermal conductivity.

[0053] Specifically, the inlet pipe 20 is made of copper tubing with excellent thermal conductivity, achieving a thermal conductivity of over 400 W / (m·K), significantly superior to stainless steel and other metallic materials. Copper tubing combines good ductility and rigidity, making it less prone to breakage under refrigerant impact or vibration. It can also absorb stress through slight deformation, resulting in fatigue resistance that is over 50% higher compared to brittle materials like aluminum tubing. Copper tubing is readily available and its processing technology is mature, offering significant cost-effectiveness while ensuring excellent thermal conductivity, making it suitable for large-scale industrial production.

[0054] This utility model also proposes a refrigeration device, which includes the above-mentioned direct-acting electronic expansion valve. The specific structure of the direct-acting electronic expansion valve is as described in the above embodiments. Since the refrigeration device adopts all the technical solutions of all the above embodiments, it has at least all the beneficial effects brought about by the technical solutions of the above embodiments, which will not be described in detail here.

[0055] The above description is merely an exemplary embodiment of the present utility model and does not limit the scope of protection of the present utility model. Any equivalent structural transformations made based on the technical concept of the present utility model and the contents of the present utility model specification and drawings, or direct / indirect applications in other related technical fields, are included within the scope of protection of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A direct-acting electronic expansion valve, characterized in that, include: A valve seat, wherein a valve cavity is formed inside the valve seat, an inlet is provided on the outer peripheral wall of the valve seat, and a valve port is provided at one axial end of the valve seat; An inlet pipe is inserted into the inlet and used to supply refrigerant into the valve cavity; A valve core, located within the valve cavity and movable toward and away from the valve port, for opening or about the valve port; The valve seat is provided with a stop plate, and the end of the inlet pipe abuts against the stop plate.

2. The direct-acting electronic expansion valve as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The stop plate is located on one side of the bottom wall of the valve seat.

3. The direct-acting electronic expansion valve as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The lower part of the inlet is lower than the upper surface of the stop platform, and the upper surface of the stop platform is coplanar with the bottom surface of the valve cavity.

4. The direct-acting electronic expansion valve as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The wall thickness of the access pipe is L, and the distance between the bottom of the stop platform and the bottom surface of the valve cavity is M, where M < L < 1.5M.

5. The direct-acting electronic expansion valve as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The thickness of the bottom wall of the valve seat is N, where N > 2M.

6. The direct-acting electronic expansion valve as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The length of the access pipe extending into the access port is 0, 4mm < 0 < 5mm.

7. The direct-acting electronic expansion valve as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The access pipe is welded to the valve seat.

8. The direct-acting electronic expansion valve as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The axis of the access pipe is perpendicular to the axial direction of the valve seat.

9. The direct-acting electronic expansion valve as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The access pipe is made of copper tubing with good thermal conductivity.

10. A refrigeration device, characterized in that, Includes the direct-acting electronic expansion valve as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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