A refrigeration unit with a liquid reservoir

Abstract

This utility model relates to the field of vehicle-mounted refrigeration and discloses a refrigeration device with a liquid receiver. The liquid receiver is a cylindrical body with non-crossing parallel spiral tubes inside. The spiral tubes are connected to the evaporator and compressor to form a refrigerant circulation channel; the inner bottom surface of the liquid receiver is a concave curved surface. Utilizing the combined centrifugal and gravitational effects generated by the fluid in the curved surface and staggered arrangement, the liquid refrigerant is fully settled, while the gaseous refrigerant is effectively discharged. This fundamentally avoids the risk of liquid slugging caused by liquid refrigerant entering the compressor, successfully solving the core problem of low efficiency in traditional gas-liquid separation devices.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of vehicle refrigeration, specifically to a refrigeration device with a liquid receiver. Background Technology

[0002] Currently widely used refrigeration units generally suffer from a series of structural and control strategy defects during the initial design stage, including low energy efficiency, insufficient system operational stability, and excessive refrigerant charge. These problems directly lead to increased daily operating energy consumption and overall costs. Low energy efficiency is mainly attributed to suboptimal heat exchanger structural design, insufficient regulation capacity under partial load conditions, and poor matching between the compressor and the system; while excessive refrigerant charge not only increases initial installation costs but also leads to higher system operating pressure, thereby posing a risk of leakage and potential environmental pollution.

[0003] Such design flaws not only cause significant energy waste but also significantly increase the frequency and complexity of system maintenance during actual operation, thereby driving up overall operating costs. Especially in the case of handling gas-liquid mixed refrigerants, traditional design methods often rely on simple mechanical or static separation structures, making it difficult to achieve efficient and consistently stable gas-liquid separation and heat exchange processes. Due to insufficient gas-liquid separator efficiency, unseparated liquid refrigerant easily remains in the refrigerant circulation system and enters the compressor cavity with the airflow, leading to severe "liquid slugging" phenomena. Utility Model Content

[0004] The present invention aims to provide a refrigeration device with a liquid receiver, which effectively improves structural adaptability and heat exchange efficiency by optimizing the refrigerant circulation path.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: a refrigeration device with a liquid receiver, comprising an evaporator, a compressor, and a condenser, wherein the liquid receiver is a cylindrical body with non-crossing parallel spiral tubes inside, the spiral tubes being connected to the evaporator and the compressor to form a refrigerant circulation channel; the inner bottom surface of the liquid receiver is a concave curved surface.

[0006] The principle and advantages of this scheme are as follows: In practical applications, the non-crossing parallel spiral tubes inside the cylindrical liquid receiver, together with the evaporator and compressor, form a highly efficient closed-loop circulation path. This spiral tube structure, combined with the concave curved surface design of the liquid receiver's inner bottom and the spatially staggered distribution at the bottom of the spiral tubes, significantly enhances the separation effect of the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant. Its working mechanism utilizes the combined centrifugal and gravitational effects generated by the fluid in the curved surface and staggered arrangement, allowing the liquid refrigerant to settle fully while the gaseous refrigerant is effectively discharged. This fundamentally avoids the risk of liquid slugging caused by liquid refrigerant entering the compressor, successfully solving the core problem of low efficiency in traditional gas-liquid separation devices. Furthermore, the spiral tubes are arranged with strict equal spacing, resulting in a compact and reasonable structure that greatly increases the effective heat exchange area, making the heat exchange process more thorough and uniform, and significantly improving the overall heat exchange efficiency of the system. This design effectively compensates for the energy efficiency deficiencies of traditional heat exchangers, demonstrating significant advantages in overall performance.

[0007] Preferably, as an improvement, the concave bottom of the liquid reservoir and the bottom end of the spiral tube are spatially misaligned.

[0008] Preferably, as an improvement, the spiral tubes are arranged in parallel along the axial direction of the reservoir at equal intervals without crossing, with a gap of 3-5 mm between the tubes.

[0009] Preferably, as an improvement, the spiral tube is fixed to the inner wall of the reservoir by an elastic clamp.

[0010] Preferably, as an improvement, the width of the elastic clamp is 10-15mm, and at least 3 clamps are provided in the axial direction of each spiral tube, with a spacing of 150-200mm between adjacent clamps.

[0011] Preferably, as an improvement, the refrigerant circulation channel further includes an expansion valve and a solenoid valve, with the expansion valve located on the pipeline between the receiver and the evaporator; and the solenoid valve located on the pipeline between the compressor and the condenser.

[0012] Preferably, as an improvement, the liquid receiver is further provided with a check valve to prevent refrigerant from flowing out of the liquid receiver.

[0013] Preferably, as an improvement, an oil-water separator is provided on the connecting pipe between the condenser and the liquid receiver to separate and remove oil and water from the refrigerant.

[0014] Preferably, as an improvement, the expansion valve is an externally balanced thermostatic expansion valve.

[0015] Preferably, as an improvement, the stop valve is a spring-loaded one-way stop valve, and the valve seat and the reservoir cylinder are fixed by argon arc welding. After polishing, the weld joint is coated with sealant for secondary sealing. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present utility model.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The following detailed description illustrates the specific implementation method: The reference numerals in the accompanying drawings include: evaporator 1, compressor 2, condenser 3, expansion valve 4, solenoid valve 5, check valve 6, liquid receiver 7, inlet 81, outlet 82, inlet 91, outlet 92, and oil-water separator 10.

[0019] The embodiment is basically as shown in the attached figure: a refrigeration device with a liquid receiver includes an evaporator 1, a compressor 2, and a condenser 3. The liquid receiver 7 is a cylindrical body with non-crossing parallel spiral tubes inside. The spiral tubes are connected to the evaporator 1 and the compressor 2 to form a refrigerant circulation channel. The inner bottom surface of the liquid receiver 7 is a concave curved surface.

[0020] The cylindrical liquid receiver 7, with its internal non-crossing parallel spiral tubes, together with the evaporator 1 and compressor 2, forms a highly efficient closed-loop circulation path. This spiral tube structure, combined with the concave curved surface design of the inner bottom of the liquid receiver 7 and the spatially staggered distribution at the bottom of the spiral tubes, significantly enhances the separation effect of the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant. Its working mechanism utilizes the combined centrifugal and gravitational effects generated by the fluid in the curved surface and staggered arrangement, allowing the liquid refrigerant to settle fully while the gaseous refrigerant is effectively discharged. This fundamentally avoids the risk of liquid slugging caused by liquid refrigerant entering the compressor 2, successfully solving the core problem of low efficiency in traditional gas-liquid separation devices. Furthermore, the strictly equidistant arrangement of the spiral tubes not only results in a compact and rational structure but also greatly increases the effective heat exchange area, making the heat exchange process more thorough and uniform, significantly improving the overall heat exchange efficiency of the system. This design effectively compensates for the energy efficiency deficiencies of traditional heat exchangers, demonstrating significant advantages in overall performance.

[0021] The refrigeration system achieves refrigeration through a cyclic process of "compression → condensation → liquid heat exchange → throttling → evaporation → gas return". The specific process is as follows: Evaporator 1 returns gas (a low-pressure gas-liquid mixture, approximately -30°C, enters the liquid receiver 7 through inlet 81; after being filtered to remove liquid impurities, the gas, approximately -10°C, exits through outlet 82 and enters compressor 2, where it is compressed into high-temperature, high-pressure superheated gas and sent to condenser 3. The high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous refrigerant releases heat to the outside in condenser 3, and then the approximately 40°C gas flows into the liquid receiver 7 through inlet 91; and so on. At this time, the low-pressure gas-liquid mixture refrigerant at approximately -30°C from evaporator 1 enters the internal spiral tube of receiver 7, where it undergoes efficient heat exchange with the stored liquid refrigerant (the spiral tube design extends the contact time and expands the heat exchange area), simultaneously completing gas-liquid separation and energy recovery. After heat exchange in receiver 7, the liquid refrigerant (or gas-liquid mixture) is throttled and depressurized through expansion valve 4, then enters evaporator 1 to absorb heat and evaporate (at approximately -30°C), completing the refrigeration cycle. The low-pressure gaseous refrigerant formed by evaporation is filtered again by the gas-liquid separator to remove liquid impurities before returning to compressor 2 to start the next cycle.

[0022] The cylindrical body of the receiver 7 contains a built-in spiral tube. Its upper and lower ends form refrigerant circulation channels via a first pipe connected to the compressor 2 and a second pipe connected to the evaporator 1, respectively. The spiral tubes are arranged in a non-crossing parallel configuration, ensuring unobstructed fluid flow while effectively increasing the heat exchange area through their spiral shape. Low-pressure gas-liquid mixed refrigerant from the evaporator 1 enters the spiral tube through inlet 81 and flows along the spiral path within the receiver 7. The curved structure of the spiral tube not only prolongs the residence time of the refrigerant in the receiver 7 but also significantly increases the contact area between the spiral tube and the liquid refrigerant (originating from the condenser 3) within the receiver 7, thereby enhancing heat exchange efficiency. The low-pressure gas-liquid mixed refrigerant can more fully exchange heat with the low-temperature liquid refrigerant in the receiver 7, accelerating the liquefaction of the gaseous refrigerant and making the liquid refrigerant state more stable. This reduces the risk of the gas-liquid mixture entering the compressor 2 and simultaneously improves system energy efficiency.

[0023] The bottom of the receiver 7 features a concave curved surface design, creating a spatially offset layout with the bottom of the spiral tube, thus optimizing the fluid flow path. This structure cleverly utilizes gravity to guide the low-pressure gas-liquid mixture of refrigerant to form a highly efficient vortex zone at the bottom, significantly extending the fluid residence time to 1.8-2.2 times that of traditional designs, while also drastically reducing the dead zone volume. Traditional flat-bottomed receivers require excessive refrigerant to cover the bottom of the spiral tube; in contrast, the concave curved bottom of this invention causes the liquid refrigerant to concentrate highly in the spiral tube area, effectively reducing the amount of refrigerant filled in the unused space.

[0024] Through innovative structural design of the receiver 7, employing a synergistic design of a spiral tube and a concave bottom, the spiral tube structure significantly extends the refrigerant residence time and expands the heat exchange area, promoting thorough heat exchange between the gas-liquid mixture and effectively reducing energy loss, thus comprehensively improving system energy efficiency. The gas-liquid separator and receiver 7 work together to effectively prevent liquid refrigerant from entering compressor 2, significantly extending compressor 2's service life. The concave bottom design reduces refrigerant charge, saving operating costs; the efficient heat exchange mechanism reduces energy consumption, further enhancing the system's economic performance.

[0025] The above descriptions are merely embodiments of this utility model, and common technical solutions and / or characteristics known in the scheme are not described in detail here. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the technical solution of this utility model. In this utility model, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "joining," and "fixing" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model according to the specific circumstances. The scope of protection claimed in this application shall be determined by the content of its claims, and the specific embodiments described in the specification can be used to interpret the content of the claims.

Claims

1. A refrigeration unit with a liquid receiver, comprising an evaporator, a compressor, and a condenser, characterized in that, The receiver is a cylindrical body with non-crossing parallel spiral tubes inside. The spiral tubes are connected to the evaporator and compressor to form a refrigerant circulation channel; the inner bottom surface of the receiver is a concave curved surface.

2. A refrigeration unit with a liquid reservoir according to claim 1, characterized in that: The concave bottom of the liquid reservoir and the bottom end of the spiral tube form a spatially misaligned layout.

3. A refrigeration unit with a liquid reservoir according to claim 1, characterized in that: The spiral tubes are arranged in parallel along the axial direction of the reservoir at equal intervals without crossing, with a gap of 3-5 mm between the tubes.

4. A refrigeration unit with a liquid reservoir according to claim 3, characterized in that: The spiral tube is fixed to the inner wall of the reservoir by an elastic clamp.

5. A refrigeration unit with a liquid reservoir according to claim 4, characterized in that: The width of the elastic clamp is 10-15mm, and at least 3 clamps are provided in the axial direction of each spiral pipe, with a spacing of 150-200mm between adjacent clamps.

6. A refrigeration unit with a liquid reservoir according to claim 1, characterized in that: The refrigerant circulation channel also includes an expansion valve and a solenoid valve. The expansion valve is located on the pipeline between the liquid receiver and the evaporator; the solenoid valve is located on the pipeline between the compressor and the condenser.

7. A refrigeration unit with a liquid reservoir according to claim 1, characterized in that: The liquid receiver is also equipped with a stop valve to prevent refrigerant from flowing out of the liquid receiver.

8. A refrigeration unit with a liquid reservoir according to claim 1, characterized in that: An oil-water separator is installed on the connecting pipe between the condenser and the liquid receiver to separate and remove oil and water from the refrigerant.

9. A refrigeration unit with a liquid reservoir according to claim 6, characterized in that: The expansion valve is an externally balanced thermostatic expansion valve.

10. A refrigeration unit with a liquid reservoir according to claim 7, characterized in that: The stop valve is a spring-loaded one-way stop valve. The valve seat and the reservoir body are fixed by argon arc welding. After polishing, the weld joint is coated with sealant for secondary sealing.

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