Refrigeration module and refrigerant system

Abstract

The refrigeration module (6) for a refrigeration system, in particular for a heat pump system (2), has a gas-tight control housing (14) with a plurality of side walls (30) that adjoin one another at corner regions (34) and delimit an interior space (32) in which at least some components of a refrigeration circuit (12) are arranged. At least one of the side walls (30), and preferably all of the side walls (30), are curved toward the interior space. In the event of a refrigerant leak, pressure peaks are thereby absorbed in the control housing (14), preventing undesired refrigerant from escaping into the installation space of the refrigeration module (6).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a refrigeration module and a refrigerant system with such a refrigeration module, which is designed in particular for indoor installation, i.e. as a so-called indoor system.

[0002] The cooling module has a gas-tight control housing, in particular with a drain connected to it for refrigerant escaping in the event of a leak.

[0003] Such a cooling module can be found in EP 4 194 769 A1.

[0004] A refrigerant system generally comprises a refrigerant circuit that includes two heat exchangers, namely an evaporator and a condenser, as well as a compressor and an expansion valve. A refrigerant flows through the refrigerant circuit during operation.

[0005] During the service life of refrigerant systems, refrigerant leaks can occur for a variety of reasons. In the case of refrigerant systems installed inside buildings (indoor systems), these leaks can directly affect the installation room. Depending on the installation and use of the refrigerant system, several rooms or even the entire building may be exposed to escaping refrigerant from refrigerant leaks. The escaping refrigerant escapes in gaseous form. This can lead to harmful or toxic concentrations for living organisms. Furthermore, the use of highly or hardly flammable refrigerants, such as propane (R-290), poses the risk of deflagration, explosion, or fire if flammable mixtures with ignition sources are present at the same time.

[0006] To prevent refrigerant from escaping into the installation room, EP 4 194 769 A1 proposes a control module with a gas-tight control housing in which at least parts of the refrigerant circuit, and preferably the entire refrigerant circuit, are located. A drain is attached to the control housing through which the refrigerant can escape into the external environment in the event of a refrigerant leak, thus reliably preventing a dangerous or health-critical accumulation of the refrigerant, particularly in the installation room.

[0007] In the event of a major leak, a large amount of refrigerant can escape in a short period of time, resulting in a rapid and strong pressure increase inside the control housing, which must be reliably absorbed by the control housing without refrigerant escaping into the outside environment until the refrigerant has escaped via the discharge line.

[0008] Based on this, the invention is based on the object of providing a control module with a gas-tight control housing which can withstand in particular short-term pressure peaks.

[0009] The object is achieved according to the invention by a refrigeration module for a refrigerant system with a gas-tight control housing having a plurality of inner side walls that adjoin one another at corner regions and delimit an interior space. At least some components, and preferably all components, of a refrigerant circuit are arranged in the interior space. At least one of the side walls, and preferably all of the side walls, are curved in the direction of the interior space, i.e. the wall surface of the at least one side wall oriented toward the interior space is curved at least in sections and therefore has a curved shape.

[0010] The curved design of the side walls, which are oriented inwards towards the interior, results in improved force introduction into the structure of the housing in the event of pressure peaks, compared to the usually flat and planar side walls of conventional control housings.

[0011] The control housing typically has two reversibly connectable housing sections, allowing it to be opened for inspection purposes. In the case of conventional flat side walls with uniform wall thickness, these typically bulge outward in a central area, away from the corner areas, in the event of pressure peaks. This can cause the two housing sections to gape apart at their interface, allowing refrigerant to escape into the installation room in this area.

[0012] Due to the curved design of at least one side wall, the force exerted by the pressure peaks is appropriately transferred laterally and thus approximately parallel to the side wall and thus into the housing structure, reducing the load and preventing the housing parts from separating. This ensures gas tightness.

[0013] The control housing and in particular the at least one of the side walls, preferably several side walls, are designed in such a way that the force exerted by the pressure peaks is introduced laterally and thus approximately parallel to the side wall into the side wall and thus into the housing structure, so that the load is reduced and a gap between the housing parts is avoided.

[0014] In this context, gas-tight means that gas cannot escape from the control housing into a safety-critical area, particularly into the cooling module's installation space in the case of indoor installation. Except for a possibly connected drain, which forms a potentially open flow path from the interior of the control housing to an external environment, the control housing is gas-tight. The external environment is, in particular, an open outdoor area or a sufficiently large and / or adequately ventilated area.

[0015] In this case, a side wall is understood to be an outer boundary of the gas-tight control housing, which is part of a gas-tight shell surrounding the interior. The at least one side wall, together with other wall areas, forms this gas-tight shell, i.e., the control housing, and is in particular not formed by a built-in component within the control housing.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the curved design also allows the wall thickness of each side wall to vary. Compared to conventional flat side walls with a constant wall thickness, each side wall therefore has thickened wall sections, which additionally achieves increased rigidity.

[0017] The control cabinet is typically defined by a total of six side walls, each arranged in pairs opposite each other. These include a rear wall and an opposite front wall, a bottom wall and an opposite top wall, and finally two additional, opposite side walls.

[0018] In the present case, a curved configuration is generally understood to mean that a respective side wall, viewed in section, has at least one and preferably several convex and / or concave curved wall sections which are oriented towards the interior.

[0019] On the outside facing away from the interior, the side walls are particularly flat.

[0020] In a suitable embodiment, at least one of the side walls, in particular the front wall, has a wave-shaped profile when viewed in cross-section. This means that the side wall has at least one concavely curved section and at least one convexly curved section that adjoin one another.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment, the wave-shaped profile is formed by a convexly inwardly curved central wall section, which is adjoined at the edge by a concavely curved outer wall section. Specifically, it is provided that the central wall section curves inward approximately in a mushroom shape or like a dome and is surrounded at the edge by the concavely curved outer wall section like a circumferential groove.

[0022] These concavely curved outer wall sections preferably form the corner areas, which in this case are then rounded, or the outer wall sections merge into such (rounded) corner areas.

[0023] Preferably, at least two side walls, especially two opposing side walls, have a wave-shaped profile. For example, the aforementioned two opposing side walls have a wave-shaped profile. In a preferred embodiment, the front wall also has a wave-shaped profile.

[0024] In a suitable embodiment, at least one side wall, and preferably all side walls, are formed exclusively by curved wall sections. The respective side wall, and in particular all side walls, are therefore free of straight, flat sections.

[0025] Preferably, the corner areas, in particular all corner areas, are rounded. This prevents increased loading and force peaks in the corner areas. The corner areas expediently have a corner radius of at least 1 cm, preferably at least 3 cm, and more preferably at least 5 cm.

[0026] In a practical design, the various corner areas also have different radii. For example, the rear wall in particular—viewed in a horizontal section—is formed by a (single) concave curve, so that the corner areas are also formed by this concave curve and thus have a larger radius than other corner areas, especially compared to the corner areas of the front wall.

[0027] The rounded design of the corner areas also ensures that the wall thickness is increased in each corner area, so that in addition to the improved force redirection achieved by the rounding, greater strength is also achieved in the corner areas.

[0028] In a preferred embodiment, opposite side walls are mirror images of each other and therefore have the same shape.

[0029] In a preferred embodiment, the control housing is formed by two monolithic housing parts, which are made in particular of plastic and specifically of a foamed plastic, in particular of expanded polypropylene. The housing parts are a front part, which is designed in particular like a cover, and a rear part. The rear part largely defines the interior space. This means that the rear part is larger than the front part. In particular, the components of the refrigerant circuit arranged in the control housing are arranged and in particular also fastened within the rear part. These components are fastened, for example, to a base section of the rear part or to another wall section of the rear part.

[0030] The two housing parts are connected to each other at a particularly curved, i.e. non-flat, separating surface.

[0031] At the interface, the two housing parts abut each other with their facing ends. These ends are structured and preferably engage with each other according to a tongue-and-groove principle, thus achieving a good seal in the area of the interface. Suitable locking mechanisms and locking elements hold the two housing parts together. The locking elements allow the control housing to be opened for inspection purposes.

[0032] The curved design of the separating surface in turn achieves improved resistance to pressure peaks.

[0033] In a practical design, the separation surface runs at a distance from the corner areas, which also increases the resistance to pressure peaks.

[0034] In a preferred embodiment, the front part has a convexly inwardly curved central wall section in a central region and is in particular wave-shaped, so that - as already described above - a circumferentially concavely curved outer wall section adjoins this central wall section, which is in particular designed in the manner of a dome.

[0035] In a useful further development, the rear part - viewed in a horizontal section - delimits a concavely curved partial space of the interior in which components of the refrigerant circuit and in particular all components of the refrigerant circuit arranged in the control housing are arranged.

[0036] The object is further achieved according to the invention by a refrigerant system, in particular a heat pump system, with a system housing in which such a refrigerant module is arranged.

[0037] In the fully assembled state, the refrigerant system is connected to at least one hydraulic circuit, specifically a heating circuit, through which heat is supplied to a consumer. A buffer tank is typically integrated into the heating circuit. The consumer-side heating circuit is connected to the condenser of the refrigerant circuit.

[0038] An embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the figures, which show, in simplified representations: FIG 1 shows a refrigerant system designed as a heat pump system with a system cabinet as the system housing in which a control housing is arranged, FIG 2 shows a sectional view through the control housing along a vertical sectional plane, FIG 3 shows a sectional view through the control housing along a horizontal sectional plane, FIG 4 shows a sectional view through the control housing according to a second variant along a horizontal sectional plane and FIG 5 shows a front view of a rear part of the control housing.

[0039] One in FIG 1 The refrigerant system designed as a heat pump system 2 has a system housing 4 designed as a system cabinet. FIG 1 A situation is shown before the final installation and before the actual installation in an installation room. The heat pump system 2 is modular in the exemplary embodiment and has, for example, two modules, namely a cooling module 6 and a storage module 8. Each of the modules 6, 8 is arranged in its own housing part, in particular in its own module housing. The two module housings are stacked one above the other in the exemplary embodiment and form the system housing 4. In the storage module 8, a storage tank, specifically a domestic hot water tank 10, is arranged. In the cooling module 6, a refrigerant circuit 12 (schematically shown in FIG 3 indicated) within a control housing 14.

[0040] The heat pump system 2 is designed, for example, as an air / water heat pump system 2 or as a water (brine) / water heat pump system 2. A compressor, an expansion valve, and at least one heat exchanger, in particular a condenser (in heating mode), are arranged within the control housing 14 as components of the refrigerant circuit 12. In an air / water heat pump system 2, the evaporator (in heating mode) is usually arranged outside the control housing 12. In a water (brine) / water heat pump system 2, the second heat exchanger, in particular the evaporator, is also arranged in the control housing 14, so that all components of the refrigerant circuit 12 are arranged within the control housing 14.

[0041] The control housing 14 is a gas-tight housing, meaning no ambient air can enter. In the illustrated embodiment, the control housing 14 is a two-part housing that can generally be opened, for example, for inspection purposes. Lines, such as hydraulic lines, electrical lines, or possibly even refrigerant lines, that must be routed into the interior of the control housing 14 are routed into it in a sealed manner.

[0042] A discharge line 16 is attached to the control housing 14 and is in fluid communication with an internal volume of the control housing. The discharge line 16 is preferably connected to a lower portion, specifically the lower third of the control housing 14. In the event of a refrigerant leak, the discharge line 16 serves to discharge refrigerant into an external environment, for example, into an open outdoor area or into a sufficiently large and / or sufficiently ventilated area, as described, for example, in EP 4 194 769 A1.

[0043] In the exemplary embodiment, the control housing 14 is arranged within its own module housing 18. The control housing 14 is preferably made of a plastic, specifically a foamed plastic, in particular expanded polypropylene. The wall thickness is preferably in the range between 30 mm and 50 mm, and in particular in the range between 35 mm and 45 mm. The density of the foamed plastic is, for example, in the range between 40 g / dm 3 and 80 g / dm 3 and in particular 60 g / dm 3 .

[0044] Hydraulic lines 20 are preferably also connected to the control housing 14. These lines are connected to the heat exchanger arranged in the control housing 14, specifically to the condenser, and serve to connect to a hydraulic circuit, in particular a heating circuit. In a water (brine) / water heat pump system 2, the evaporator is also arranged in the control housing 14, and a further hydraulic circuit is connected to the evaporator. Furthermore, an electrical connection, specifically via a detachable plug connection, is preferably also provided on the control housing 14, via which control signals or an electrical power supply for the components arranged within the control housing 14 are provided.For the various connections for the hydraulic lines 20 or the electrical lines, suitable coupling elements, such as screw connections (especially hydraulic) or plug connections (especially electrical), are attached to the control housing, via which the lines can be connected. These coupling elements are installed in a pressure-tight manner in the wall of the control housing 14.

[0045] Both the hydraulic lines 20 and the discharge line 16 are generally led to coupling points 22 of the system housing 4, via which the hydraulic lines 20 and the discharge line 16 can be connected to further fluid lines.

[0046] Further hydraulic and electrical components are arranged within the cooling module 6, but outside the control housing 14. These include, for example, pumps, pipe elements, valves if required, and, with regard to the electrical components, in particular a control unit for controlling the heat pump system 2. Furthermore, an operating element for inputting and operating the control unit is preferably provided.

[0047] Flammable refrigerants are increasingly being used in today's refrigerant systems. In the event of a leak and discharge into the installation room, this can lead to an accumulation in the installation room that is hazardous to health or even critical for safety. The discharge line 16 is provided for this purpose, so that refrigerant is discharged to the outside. However, such systems must also be designed for larger refrigerant leaks and must also take worst-case scenarios such as a pipe burst in a refrigerant line into account. In such a serious leak, a large quantity of refrigerant escapes in a very short time, which can evaporate almost suddenly due to the lower pressure prevailing in the control housing 14 and thus lead to a short-term, high pressure peak. This must be reliably absorbed by the control housing 14 without the gas-tightness of the control housing 14 being compromised and refrigerant escaping undesirably.

[0048] For this purpose, the control housing 14 has a special structure, as described below in connection with the Figuren 2-5 will be explained in more detail. These figures show the structure of the control housing 14 in highly simplified, schematic representations.

[0049] The control housing 14 extends (compare FIG 1 ) along a vertical direction V, a horizontal direction H and a transverse direction Q, which are each oriented at right angles to each other.

[0050] Based on FIG 2 It can be clearly seen that the control housing 14 consists of two monolithic housing parts, namely a front part 24 and a rear part 26, which abut one another at a curved separating surface 28 and are tightly connected to one another at this separating surface 28.

[0051] The control housing 14 is delimited by six side walls 30, which enclose an interior space 32. The side walls 30 are a front wall 30A formed by the front part 24, a rear wall 30B formed by the rear part 26, a bottom wall 30C, a top wall 30D and finally two opposite side walls 30E (see FIG 3 ). The bottom wall 30C, the top wall 30B and the side walls 30E are each formed by wall sections of the front part 24 and the rear part 26.

[0052] In order to reliably absorb pressure peaks within the interior space 32, at least some, and preferably all, of the side walls 30 are curved inward toward the interior space 32. Viewed in a respective section, the side walls 30 therefore have a curved shape. In contrast, their outer sides are flat, so that the curved design toward the interior space 32 results in a varying wall thickness of the side walls 30.

[0053] FIG 2 shows a simplified sectional view of a vertical section (vertical section plane parallel to the vertical plane spanned by the vertical direction V and the transverse direction Q) through the control housing 14, specifically a vertical section in particular through the center of the control housing 14 (i.e. equidistant from the two opposite side walls 30E).

[0054] FIG 3 shows a horizontal section (horizontal section plane parallel to the horizontal plane spanned by the horizontal direction H and the transverse direction Q) through the control housing 14, specifically a horizontal section in particular through the center of the control housing 14 (i.e. equidistant from the bottom wall 30C and the top wall 30D).

[0055] FIG 4 shows a horizontal section analogous FIG 3 according to an alternative embodiment.

[0056] FIG 5 finally shows a front view of the rear part 26 and thus of the separating surface 28.

[0057] As can be seen from the sectional views according to the Figuren 2-4 and the front view according to FIG 5 As can be seen, the inner surfaces of the side walls 30 are curved and have convex and concave wall sections that alternately merge into one another. Overall, the side walls 30 are therefore curved toward the interior space 32. The individual side walls 30 adjoin one another at rounded corner regions 34.

[0058] In the embodiment according to FIG 2 as well as FIG 3 On the front wall 30A, a dome-like elevation is formed in a central region 36 by a convexly inwardly curved central wall section 38. This is circumferentially bounded by an outer, groove-like and thus concavely curved outer wall section 40. In the exemplary embodiment, this outer wall section 40 simultaneously forms the corner regions 34 of the front part 24.

[0059] In the version according to FIG 3 In the horizontal section shown, the entire wall area of the rear part 26 is bent and curved in the manner of a U, so that a U-shaped, concavely curved subspace 42 of the interior 32 is delimited by the rear part 26. The components of the refrigerant circuit 12 are arranged in this subspace. The refrigerant circuit 12 is arranged in particular on a wall section of the bottom wall 30C formed by the rear part 26.

[0060] Based on FIG 3 It can also be clearly seen that end faces 44 of the two housing parts 24, 26 are contoured and, in particular, one housing part has a circumferential groove 46 and the other housing part has a circumferential tongue 48, which engage with one another so that a good seal is achieved in the region of the separating surface 28.

[0061] In an alternative design variant according to FIG 4 the midrange is 36 compared to the FIG 3 less pronounced. In contrast to FIG 3 the back part 26 is also modified.

[0062] In the version according to FIG 4 It is particularly provided that the pairs of opposite side walls are identical and thus mirror-imaged to each other. FIG 4 Therefore, the rear wall 30B also has a protruding central region 36.

[0063] The two opposite lateral walls 30E extend in a wave-like manner, with both the rear part 26 and the front part 24 each having a raised, convexly curved wall section projecting inward toward the interior space 32 (exactly one in each case), which is adjoined by a concavely curved wall section. In the area of the separating surface 28, the concavely curved wall sections of the two housing parts 24, 26 merge into one another, in particular homogeneously and thus without edges.

[0064] Similar to the version according to FIG 4 are also according to the front view according to FIG 5 The opposite side walls 30, in particular the lateral walls 30E as well as the bottom wall 30C and the top wall 30D, are formed as mirror images of each other. Each of these side walls 30 has a raised central region 36, which is surrounded by concavely curved wall sections that simultaneously form the corner regions 34.

[0065] The corner regions 34 are generally rounded and have a corner radius R which is typically greater than 5 cm.

[0066] Due to the special design of the side walls 30 curved towards the interior 32, particularly in combination with the rounded corner areas 34, in the event of pressure peaks occurring in the interior 32, the forces caused thereby are absorbed by the side walls 30 and reliably diverted into the structure of the control housing 14 without the two housing parts 24, 26 being pressed apart at the separating surface 28. List of reference symbols

[0067] 2 Heat pump system 4 System housing 6 Cooling module 8 Storage module 10 Domestic hot water tank 12 Refrigerant circuit 14 Control housing 16 Drainage 18 Module housing 20 Hydraulic line 22 Coupling point 24 Front section 26 Rear section 28 Separating surface 30 Side wall 30A Front wall 30B Rear wall 30C Bottom wall 30D Top wall 30E Side wall 32 Interior 34 Corner area 36 Central area 38 Middle wall section 40 Outer wall section 42 Partial space 44 End face 46 Groove 48 Tongue R Corner radius

Claims

1. Refrigeration module (6) for a refrigerant system, comprising a gas-tight control housing (14) having a plurality of side walls (30) which adjoin one another at corner regions (34) and delimit an interior space (32) in which at least some components of a refrigerant circuit (12) are arranged, characterized in that at least one of the side walls (30) is curved in the direction of the interior (32).

2. Cooling module (6) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that several, in particular all, of the side walls (30) are curved.

3. Cooling module (6) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the side walls (30) and preferably all of the side walls (30) have a wave-shaped profile when viewed in cross section.

4. Cooling module (6) according to the preceding claim, characterized in thatthe at least one side wall (30) has a convexly inwardly curved central wall section (38) in a central region (36) and preferably has a concavely curved outer wall section (40) adjacent thereto.

5. Cooling module (6) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one side wall (30) and preferably all side walls (30) are formed exclusively by curved wall sections.

6. Cooling module (6) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the corner areas (34) are rounded.

7. Cooling module (6) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the corner regions (34) have a corner radius (R) of at least 1 cm, preferably of at least 3 cm and more preferably of at least 5 cm.

8. Cooling module (6) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the corner areas (34) have different radii.

9. Cooling module (6) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control housing (14) is formed by two in particular monolithic housing parts, namely a front part (24) and a rear part (26), which are connected to one another at a particularly curved separating surface (28).

10. Cooling module (6) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the separating surface (28) runs at a distance from corner regions (34).

11. Cooling module (6) according to one of the two preceding claims, characterized in that the front part (24) has a convexly inwardly curved central wall section (38) in a central region (36) and has a concavely curved outer wall section (40) adjacent thereto.

12. Cooling module (6) according to one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in thatthe rear part (26) - viewed in a horizontal section - delimits a concavely curved partial space (42) of the interior space (32), wherein components and in particular all components of the refrigerant circuit (12) arranged in the control housing (14) are arranged in the partial space (42).

13. Refrigerant system, in particular heat pump system (2), with a system housing (4) in which a refrigeration module (6) according to one of the preceding claims is arranged.

Images