Refrigerant recovering, regenerating and filling device

Abstract

To provide a refrigerant recovering, regenerating and filling device capable of having a novel refrigerant filled in a vehicle having a mixed refrigerant.SOLUTION: A refrigerant recovering, regenerating and filling device comprises: a connection part for being connected with a vehicle air conditioner; a compressor for sucking and recovering a refrigerant from the air conditioner; an oil separator for separating oil from the recovered refrigerant from the air conditioner; a vacuum pump; a condenser for liquefying the refrigerant; a refrigerant recovery tank capable of measuring the liquefied refrigerant; and a refrigerant replenishment part for replenishing a refrigerant. The refrigerant recovery tank comprises a plurality of first recovery tanks capable of recovering a first refrigerant, and the plurality of first recovery tanks comprises a duct, and an introduction part for taking gaseous refrigerant from above, and also comprises a duct for delivering the liquefied refrigerant to the bottom. The refrigerant recovering, regenerating and filling device comprises a refrigerant transfer duct that connects ducts for delivering the liquefied refrigerant at the bottoms of at least two recovery tanks among the first recovery tanks.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a refrigerant recovery / regeneration / charging apparatus) for recovering refrigerant primarily from an air conditioner of a vehicle and charging the air conditioner with recycled refrigerant or new refrigerant. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, HFC (hydrofluorocarbon)-134a (hereinafter referred to as the "old refrigerant") has been the mainstream refrigerant used in vehicle air conditioning equipment. However, in recent years, HFO (hydrofluoroolefin)-1234yf (hereinafter referred to as the "new refrigerant"), a new refrigerant with less impact on the environment, has become more widespread. For this reason, there are air conditioning equipment for general vehicles that use both the old refrigerant and the new refrigerant.

[0003] The old and new refrigerants have similar characteristics. In addition, the price of the new refrigerant is currently more than ten times that of the old refrigerant. For this reason, a mixed refrigerant of the old and new refrigerants may be filled in the air conditioning equipment of a vehicle.

[0004] In a conventional refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging method using a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device (i.e., a method for storing refrigerant for multiple vehicles in a recovery tank; hereinafter referred to as the "refrigerant storage method"), when a vehicle filled with a mixed refrigerant is connected, the mixed refrigerant is mixed with the refrigerant stored in the refrigerant recovery tank of the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device. Therefore, if another vehicle is connected to the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device and treated after treatment of that vehicle is completed, the other vehicle will be contaminated with the mixed refrigerant.

[0005] The mixed refrigerant does not change the performance of the air conditioner much compared to when only the old or new refrigerant is used. For this reason, vehicle owners tend not to be concerned about the problem, but in the near future, problems may arise regarding the disposal method of the mixed refrigerant.

[0006] For this reason, the inventors of the present application have developed a new refrigerant recovery, regeneration and filling method and device that returns all of the liquid refrigerant recovered from the vehicle's air conditioner to the recovery tank to the vehicle's air conditioner and eliminates the liquid refrigerant in the recovery tank so as to prevent the contamination of the mixed refrigerant from spreading (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Hereinafter, this new refrigerant recovery, regeneration and filling method will be referred to as the "direct total filling method." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2020-190385 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] According to this refrigerant recovery, regeneration and filling method and a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and filling device that uses this method, a gas pressure delivery pipeline is connected to the top of the refrigerant recovery tank for applying pressure into the refrigerant recovery tank with gaseous refrigerant, and the bottom of the refrigerant recovery tank is provided with a delivery section that can deliver liquid refrigerant.Therefore, even if all of the liquid refrigerant in the refrigerant recovery tank is filled into the vehicle's air conditioning equipment and the liquid refrigerant in the refrigerant recovery tank is removed and a new vehicle is then connected to the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and filling device, the new vehicle will not be filled with mixed refrigerant, and the spread of contamination from mixed refrigerant can be prevented.

[0009] However, since a vehicle having a mixed refrigerant is filled with the mixed refrigerant as is, it is not possible to fill the vehicle having a mixed refrigerant with new refrigerant of high purity. Therefore, it would be preferable to be able to refill a vehicle having a mixed refrigerant with new refrigerant.

[0010] On the other hand, according to the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device used in the conventional refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging method, the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device is a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device that targets either the old refrigerant or the new refrigerant. Therefore, although it is compatible with one type of refrigerant, it is desirable to be able to handle both the old refrigerant and the new refrigerant.

[0011] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the invention is to provide a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and filling device that can recover a mixed refrigerant from a vehicle and then fill the vehicle with new refrigerant with high purity.

[0012] In addition to the above-mentioned problems, another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device that can handle both old and new refrigerants. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] The present invention relates to a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device including a connection section for connecting to an air conditioning device of a vehicle, a compressor for suctioning and recovering a refrigerant from the air conditioning device, an oil separator for separating oil in the refrigerant recovered from the air conditioning device, a vacuum pump, a condenser for liquefying the refrigerant, a refrigerant recovery tank capable of measuring the liquefied refrigerant, and a refrigerant refilling section for refilling the refrigerant, The refrigerant recovery tank includes a plurality of first recovery tanks (1A), (1B) capable of recovering a first refrigerant, the first recovery tanks (1A) (1B) each include a pipeline for taking in a liquid refrigerant and an inlet for taking in a gaseous refrigerant from an upper portion, and include a pipeline for delivering the liquid refrigerant to a bottom portion; The means for solving the above problem is a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device comprising a refrigerant transfer pipeline (79) connecting pipelines for sending out the liquid refrigerant from the bottoms of at least two of the first recovery tanks (1A), (1B).

[0014] Furthermore, the present invention provides a system having at least one second recovery tank (1C) capable of recovering a second refrigerant, and thus has at least three refrigerant recovery tanks (1A), (1B), and (1C) in combination with the first recovery tank, based on the configuration of the above-mentioned invention, The above-mentioned problem is solved by a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device, characterized in that the second recovery tank (1C) is provided with a pipeline for sending liquid refrigerant upward.

[0015] Furthermore, the present invention provides a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device as a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, which is characterized in that, based on the configuration of any one of the above-mentioned inventions, the second recovery tank (1C) has an inlet part at the top for taking in gaseous refrigerant, and a pipeline at the bottom for delivering liquid refrigerant. Effect of the Invention

[0016] By providing a plurality of first recovery tanks (1A) (1B), the present invention can recover a mixed refrigerant from a vehicle and then fill the vehicle with new refrigerant. When a second recovery tank (1C) is further provided, the present invention can handle both new and old refrigerants. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a flowchart showing an outline of a processing procedure of the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device according to the first embodiment of the present invention (continuously extending from the lower left *1 to the upper right *1 in FIG. 1). [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which refrigerant recovery and regeneration are performed. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and is an explanatory diagram showing a vacuum drawing process. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a process of refilling a refrigerant into a refrigerant recovery tank 1A. [Diagram 5]FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the process of pressurizing and feeding a gaseous refrigerant and charging a first refrigerant from a refrigerant recovery tank 1A. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a process of charging a second refrigerant from a refrigerant recovery tank 1C. [Figure 7] 7 is a flowchart showing an outline of a processing procedure of a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device according to a second embodiment of the present invention (continuously extending from the lower left *2 to the upper right *2 in FIG. 7). [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a control unit of a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing an outline of a processing procedure of a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a piping diagram of a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] A refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device R according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In order to make the description easier to understand, some of the configurations, such as piping, are shown in a simplified or schematic manner, and some of the components, such as solenoid valves, are omitted in the drawings referred to below.

[0019] A refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a connection section for connecting to an air conditioning device of a vehicle, a compressor for suctioning and recovering a refrigerant from the air conditioning device, an oil separator for separating oil in the refrigerant recovered from the air conditioning device, a vacuum pump, a condenser for liquefying the refrigerant, a refrigerant recovery tank capable of measuring the liquefied refrigerant, and a refrigerant refilling section for refilling the refrigerant. The refrigerant recovery tank includes a plurality of first recovery tanks (1A), (1B) capable of recovering a first refrigerant, the first recovery tanks (1A) (1B) each include a pipeline for taking in a liquid refrigerant and an inlet for taking in a gaseous refrigerant from an upper portion thereof, and include a pipeline for delivering the liquid refrigerant to a bottom portion thereof; The refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device can be characterized in that it includes a refrigerant transfer pipeline (79) connecting pipelines for delivering the liquid refrigerant from the bottoms of at least two of the first recovery tanks (1A), (1B) (first configuration).

[0020] According to the first configuration, the multiple first recovery tanks (1A), (1B) corresponding to the first refrigerant are provided with a pipeline for taking in liquid refrigerant and an inlet part for taking in gaseous refrigerant from the top, and are provided with a pipeline for sending out liquid refrigerant at the bottom, so that the refrigerant can be filled by a direct full-filling method. By providing a refrigerant transfer pipeline (79) that connects the pipelines for sending out the liquid refrigerant at the bottom, the mixed refrigerant recovered in the first recovery tank (1A) to be mainly used can be transferred to the other first recovery tank (1B) through the refrigerant transfer pipeline (79), and then new refrigerant with high purity can be introduced into the first recovery tank (1A) and a specified amount can be filled into the vehicle air conditioning equipment.

[0021] Furthermore, based on the configuration of the above invention, the present invention can be configured to have at least one second recovery tank (1C) capable of recovering a second refrigerant, making at least three refrigerant recovery tanks (1A), (1B), (1C) in combination with the first recovery tank, and the second recovery tank (1C) can be configured to have a pipeline for sending liquid refrigerant upward (second configuration).

[0022] According to the second configuration, by providing refrigerant recovery tanks corresponding to the first refrigerant and the second refrigerant, respectively, both the new refrigerant and the old refrigerant can be handled, improving convenience.

[0023] Furthermore, based on any of the configurations of the invention described above, the present invention can be configured such that at least one of the second recovery tanks has an inlet portion at the top for taking in gaseous refrigerant and a pipeline at the bottom for delivering liquid refrigerant (third configuration).

[0024] According to the third configuration, assuming any of the above embodiments, it becomes possible to switch between the conventional refrigerant storage method and the direct total charging method for the second refrigerant, thereby improving convenience. EXAMPLES

[0025] The refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device R according to the first embodiment of the present invention is compatible with the new refrigerant HFO-1234YF (hereinafter referred to as the first refrigerant) and the old refrigerant HFC-134a (hereinafter referred to as the second refrigerant). That is, the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device R can be connected to the air conditioners of two vehicles that use different refrigerants. In this embodiment, the oil to be added is POE (polyol ester). Instead of POE, PAG (polyalkyl glycol) can be used.

[0026] As shown in Fig. 2 and other figures, the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device R includes a first oil separator 40 for decomposing the oil in the recovered refrigerant, a dry filter 63 (moisture removal means) for removing moisture in the recovered refrigerant, a compressor 60, a second oil separator 41A (for mainly separating residual oil) for further separating the oil in the recovered refrigerant, a third oil separator 41B (for separating residual oil with high accuracy), a condenser 62, three refrigerant recovery tanks 1 (1A, 1B, 1C) having measuring devices 2 (2A, 2B, 2C), a vacuum pump 61 for performing vacuum drawing as shown in Fig. 3, and a refrigerant supply can 3 for refilling used when the regenerated refrigerant is insufficient. Here, the refrigerant recovery tanks 1A and 1B correspond to the first recovery tank in the present invention, and the refrigerant recovery tank 1C corresponds to the second recovery tank in the present invention.

[0027] In addition, the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device R according to the first embodiment of the present invention is provided with an operation changeover switch for switching between automatic operation, in which the entire refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging process is performed continuously, and manual operation, in which each process is performed individually. In addition, the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device R uses a direct total charging method and a refrigerant storage method.

[0028] The direct full-fill method is a method in which all of the refrigerant recovered from the vehicle's air conditioning equipment and regenerated into a refrigerant recovery tank (if any part of it is reduced, refrigerant is replenished until the set amount is reached) is filled into the vehicle's air conditioning equipment. The refrigerant storage method is a method in which a certain amount of refrigerant is stored in the refrigerant recovery tank, the recovered refrigerant is mixed with the stored refrigerant, and a specified amount of that is filled into the vehicle's air conditioning equipment.

[0029] More specifically, the direct full amount filling method performs the following operations in the refrigerant recovery and regeneration process and the filling process. That is, in the refrigerant recovery and regeneration process, a state in which no liquid refrigerant of the vehicle is stored inside the refrigerant recovery tank is maintained before the refrigerant recovery, and then the refrigerant of the vehicle's air conditioner is recovered into the refrigerant recovery tank while being regenerated. In addition, in the filling process, if the weight of the regenerated refrigerant is less than the specified refrigerant weight of the vehicle, the refrigerant refill unit refills the refrigerant recovery tank with the shortage amount of refrigerant, which is the difference between the specified refrigerant weight and the weight of the regenerated refrigerant. Then, by pressure-feeding gas refrigerant from the refrigerant refill unit to the refrigerant recovery tank, the entire liquid refrigerant in the refrigerant recovery tank is filled into the vehicle's air conditioner by the specified amount, and the liquid refrigerant in the refrigerant recovery tank is removed.

[0030] The refrigerant storage method performs the following operations in the refrigerant recovery and regeneration process and the filling process: In the refrigerant recovery and regeneration process, liquid refrigerant from the vehicle is stored inside the refrigerant recovery tank before the refrigerant is recovered, and in the refrigerant recovery and regeneration process, the stored refrigerant and the recovered and regenerated refrigerant are mixed by recovering refrigerant from the air conditioning equipment of the vehicle, and in the filling process, a specified amount of liquid refrigerant in the refrigerant recovery tank is filled into the air conditioning equipment of the vehicle, and liquid refrigerant remains in the refrigerant recovery tank.

[0031] In the present embodiment 1, a direct total charge method is used for treating the first refrigerant using refrigerant recovery tanks 1A and 1B, and a refrigerant storage method is used for treating the second refrigerant using refrigerant recovery tank 1C.

[0032] The outer surface of the device main body (not shown) is provided with an operation changeover switch for switching between automatic operation and manual operation, a touch panel display, a first connection part 5A for connecting to the vehicle's air conditioner C1, and a second connection part 5B for connecting to the vehicle's air conditioner C2. The first connection part 5A is provided with a cleaning means connection part 50A, and the second connection part 5B is provided with a cleaning means connection part 50B.

[0033] The pipelines connecting the various devices constituting the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and filling apparatus of this embodiment 1 include a first common pipeline 70, a recovery side pipeline 71, a vacuum side pipeline 72, a filling side pipeline 73, an input pipeline 74 (74A, 74B), a filling pipeline 75 for direct total filling (75A, 75B), a gas pressure transfer pipeline 76, a refrigerant supply pipeline 77, a refrigerant storage filling pipeline 78, and a refrigerant transfer pipeline 79.

[0034] The common pipe 70 is a pipe that extends from each of the first connection portion 5A and the second connection portion 5B to a branch point after the compressor 60 via the first oil separator 40 and the dry filter 63.

[0035] The recovery side pipe 71 is a pipe that extends from a branching point after the compressor 60, through the second oil separator 41A, the third oil separator 41B, and the condenser 62, to a branching point before the refrigerant recovery tank 1.

[0036] The vacuum side pipe 72 is a pipe that passes from the branch point after the dry filter 63 through the vacuum pump 61 .

[0037] The filling side pipe 73 is a pipe extending from the rear of the refrigerant recovery tank to the first connection part 5A and the second connection part 5B (for this reason, it shares a part of the piping with the common pipe).

[0038] From a branch point which is the end of the common pipeline, it branches into two pipelines: recovery-side pipeline 71 and gas pressure-feed pipeline 76. Recovery-side pipeline 71 branches toward each refrigerant recovery tank, and the pipelines after the branching are input pipelines 74 (74A, 74B, 74C).

[0039] The input pipe 74 and the gas pressure-feed pipe 76 are connected to each refrigerant recovery tank 1 (1A, 1B, 1C). The input pipe 74 (74A, 74B, 74C) is connected to a supply pipe 10 extending from the lower part to the upper part of the refrigerant recovery tank 1 (1A, 1B, 1C), and the gas pressure-feed pipe 76 is connected to the upper part of the refrigerant recovery tank 1 (1A, 1B, 1C). The input pipe 74 (74A, 74B, 74C) is provided with a solenoid valve V6 (V6A, V6B, V6C) and a check valve V60 (V60A, V60B, V60C). The gas pressure-feed pipe 76 is provided with a solenoid valve V8 (V8A, V8B, V8C) and a check valve V80 (V80A, V80B, V80C).

[0040] From the refrigerant recovery tank 1 to the filling-side pipe 73, there are provided a direct full-fill filling pipe 75 (75A, 75B) and a refrigerant storage filling pipe 78. The direct full-fill filling pipe 75 connects the bottoms of the refrigerant recovery tanks 1A, 1B for the first refrigerant to the filling-side pipe 73. The refrigerant storage filling pipe 78 connects the siphon pipe 10a extending from the lower part to the upper part of the refrigerant recovery tank 1C for the second refrigerant to the filling-side pipe 73. The direct full-fill filling pipe 75 is provided with solenoid valves V7A, V7B and check valves V70A, V70B. The refrigerant storage filling pipe 78 is provided with a solenoid valve V7C and a check valve V70C.

[0041] Further, a refrigerant transfer pipeline 79 is provided between the direct total-filling pipelines 75A and 75B. The refrigerant transfer pipeline 79 is provided with a solenoid valve V79.

[0042] Further, refrigerant supply pipes 77A and 77B are pipes that connect refrigerant refill canisters 3 (3A and 3B) to dry filter 63. Refrigerant refill canister 3A is a refrigerant refill canister for a first refrigerant, and refrigerant refill canister 3B is a refrigerant refill canister for a second refrigerant. Refrigerant supply pipe 77 is provided with a refrigerant remaining amount detection device 770 to control the amount of refrigerant when it is sent out.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 9, the main body of the device includes a control device F1, a main memory device F2, and an auxiliary memory device F3, which are connected by a bus F7.

[0044] The auxiliary storage device F3 stores a program for carrying out a series of operations relating to recovery, regeneration, evacuation, and filling of the refrigerant. The refrigerant recovery tank selected in "Tank Selection" is associated with whether it operates in the direct full charge method or the refrigerant storage method. That is, when the first refrigerant recovery tank or the second refrigerant recovery tank is selected, the direct full charge method is automatically selected, and when the third refrigerant recovery tank is selected, the refrigerant storage method is automatically selected.

[0045] The control device F1 loads the program into the main memory device F2 and executes it, whereby the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device R executes processing in the direct total charging method or processing in the refrigerant storage method.

[0046] In the process of the direct full-fill method, the control device F1 determines whether or not there is a set amount of liquid refrigerant in the refrigerant recovery tank by referring to the measurement value of the meter 2 of the refrigerant recovery tank 1. If the amount of liquid refrigerant is less than the set amount, the control device F1 determines whether or not there is refrigerant in the supply canister based on the detection by the refrigerant remaining amount detection device 770. If there is no refrigerant in the supply canister, a new supply canister is attached, and the system waits until there is refrigerant in the supply canister, and once the supply canister is attached and it is determined that the set amount is in the tank, the filling process begins.

[0047] In the process of the refrigerant storage method, the control device F1 judges whether there is a liquid refrigerant in the refrigerant recovery tank in addition to the set filling amount, and at least the amount necessary to enable the refrigerant to be sent from the siphon tube 10a, by referring to the measured value of the meter 2 of the refrigerant recovery tank 1. If the liquid refrigerant does not reach the planned filling amount, on the condition that a new supply can is attached, when it is detected that all the refrigerant in the supply can has moved into the refrigerant recovery tank, it checks again whether there is a necessary amount of liquid refrigerant, and if it is determined that the planned filling amount is in the refrigerant recovery tank, the filling process is started. In other words, the refrigerant storage method differs from the direct full-fill method in that it supplies a large amount of refrigerant into the refrigerant recovery tank, on the condition that all the refrigerant in the supply can has moved into the refrigerant recovery tank.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 9, the bus F7 is connected to various input devices F4, various output devices F5, and various communication devices F6. The various input devices F4 include, for example, the sensor of the refrigerant remaining amount detection device 770, the touch panel of the display unit, and various sensors (not shown). The various output devices F5 include, for example, solenoid valves such as the first solenoid valve V1 that operate in response to instructions from the control device, a vacuum pump 61, a capacitor 62, a display unit, and the like. Examples of various communication devices F6 include communication means using standards such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and BLUETOOTH (registered trademark) that connect the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and filling device R to a mobile information terminal such as a tablet terminal that enables communication with the device.

[0049] An example of using the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device according to the first embodiment having the above configuration will be described below.

[0050] After turning on the power, select the automatic side for the operation changeover switch. The refrigerant to be used is selected. In the case of the first refrigerant, one of the refrigerant recovery tanks 1A and 1B to be used is also selected. In the case of the second refrigerant, the refrigerant recovery tank 1C is automatically selected (see FIG. 1). The following describes the case where the first refrigerant and refrigerant recovery tank 1A are selected.

[0051] After carrying out the required preparatory work (e.g., checking the internal cleaning status, checking the pressure and temperature of the refrigerant recovery tank, installing the refrigerant gas canister and additive oil canister, setting the amount of additive oil, etc.), the refrigerant recovery and regeneration process can begin.

[0052] (Recovery and recycling process) When the vehicle's air conditioning equipment C1 and the hose of the first connection part 5A in the main body of the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and filling device R are connected, the control device F1 operates the compressor 60 to suck the recovered refrigerant in the vehicle's air conditioning equipment C1 into the refrigerant recovery tank 1A in the main body of the device (see Figure 2).

[0053] The sucked recovered refrigerant is sent to the first oil separator 40 in the device body, where oil mixed in the recovered refrigerant is separated and removed. The refrigerant is then passed through a dry filter 63, where moisture in the recovered refrigerant is removed.

[0054] The recovered refrigerant is further sent to the second oil separator 41A and the third oil separator 41B via the compressor 60. The regenerated gas refrigerant, which is now at high temperature and pressure, has small amounts of remaining oil separated by the second oil separator 41A and the third oil separator 41B, thereby increasing the purity of the regenerated refrigerant. The high-temperature, high-pressure regenerated gas refrigerant thus obtained is liquefied in the condenser 62, passes through the solenoid valve V6A, the check valve V60A, and is sent from the input pipe 74A through the supply pipe 10 into the refrigerant recovery tank 1A.

[0055] (Vacuum drawing process) Thereafter, in order to remove moisture from the vehicle's air conditioning equipment C1, as shown in FIG. 3, a vacuum is drawn using a vacuum pump 61, thereby vacuum-drying the path from the vehicle's air conditioning equipment C1 to the first oil separator 40, and from the dry filter 63 to the vacuum pump 61 (i.e., the common pipe 70 and the vacuum side pipe 72). This process removes moisture from the vehicle air conditioner C1.

[0056] (Refilling, filling and pumping process) When the selected method is the direct full-volume filling method, new liquid refrigerant is replenished to the liquefied regenerated refrigerant recovered in the refrigerant recovery tank 1A (or 1B in some cases) to be used in an amount equal to the weight difference between the content of the liquefied regenerated refrigerant.

[0057] As shown in FIG. 4, by using the compressor 60, refrigerant is replenished from the refrigerant supply can 3 through the refrigerant supply path 77, the dry filter 63, the recovery side pipe 71, the compressor 60, the second oil separator 41A, the third oil separator 41B, the condenser 62, the input side pipe 74, and further through the solenoid valve V6A to the refrigerant recovery tank 1A.

[0058] The liquid refrigerant is replenished for each cycle of the entire process in this embodiment. The replenishment amount is the difference (additional amount) between the specified refrigerant weight previously set in the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device R and the weight of the recovered refrigerant measured by the measuring device 2.

[0059] After the additional amount of liquid refrigerant is pumped into the refrigerant recovery tank 1A, the liquid refrigerant is refilled into the vehicle's air conditioner by pumping new gaseous refrigerant.

[0060] The additional refrigerant is supplied from the refrigerant refill supply canister 3 to the refrigerant recovery tank 1A as new liquid refrigerant.

[0061] Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5, the gas refrigerant is pumped from the refrigerant refill supply can 3 through the solenoid valve V8A and check valve V80A of the gas pumping pipeline 76.

[0062] The compressor 60 is used to pump the refrigerant through the second oil separator 41A, the third oil separator 41B, the condenser 62, and the gas pumping line 76 from the top of the refrigerant recovery tank 1A.

[0063] During refilling, gaseous refrigerant is forced into the refrigerant recovery tank 1A from the top thereof from the refrigerant refill section 3, and all of the liquid refrigerant in the refrigerant recovery tank 1A is pressure-fed in a liquid state to fill the air conditioning equipment C1 of the vehicle.

[0064] By pumping the gas refrigerant, the liquid refrigerant in the refrigerant recovery tank 1A is directly filled from the bottom of the refrigerant recovery tank 1A through the full-fill filling line 75, the solenoid valve V7A, and the filling-side line 73 into the vehicle air conditioning equipment C1.

[0065] Then, the liquid refrigerant in the refrigerant recovery tank 1A is filled in a liquid state into the vehicle air conditioner C1, a specified amount of liquid refrigerant is removed from the refrigerant recovery tank 1A, and the refrigerant recovery tank 1A is filled with the remaining new gaseous refrigerant used to pump the specified amount of liquid refrigerant. Therefore, after the liquid refrigerant is pumped and filled into the vehicle air conditioner C1, the new gaseous refrigerant after pumping remains in the refrigerant recovery tank 1A.

[0066] Through the series of steps described above, no liquid refrigerant is stored in the refrigerant recovery tank 1A, and the refrigerant originally sealed in the air conditioner C1 of the vehicle is fully filled into the vehicle in a regenerated state. The automatic operation of the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and filling process for the vehicle ends.

[0067] If a small amount of liquid refrigerant remains, for example by manual operation, the solenoid valve V79 is opened and the gas refrigerant is pumped to move the liquid refrigerant in the refrigerant recovery tank 1A through the refrigerant transfer line 79 into the refrigerant recovery tank 1B.

[0068] This operation transfers the liquid refrigerant to the refrigerant recovery tank 1B, leaving the refrigerant recovery tank 1A empty of liquid refrigerant, making it available for the next use by the direct full-fill method.

[0069] In the refrigerant storage method, as described above, the control device F1 judges whether the refrigerant recovery tank 1C contains at least the amount of liquid refrigerant necessary to enable the refrigerant to be sent out from the siphon tube 10a in addition to the set filling amount by referring to the measured value of the meter 2 of the refrigerant recovery tank 1C. If the amount of liquid refrigerant does not reach the planned filling amount, the control device F1 checks again whether the necessary amount of liquid refrigerant is present when it detects that all of the refrigerant in the supply can has moved into the refrigerant recovery tank, provided that a new supply can is attached, and starts the filling process if it is judged that the planned filling amount is present in the refrigerant recovery tank 1C (see FIG. 6).

[0070] The liquid refrigerant is discharged from the refrigerant recovery tank 1C through the siphon tube 10a. After the specified amount of liquid refrigerant is filled into the air conditioner C1 of the vehicle, liquid refrigerant remains in the refrigerant recovery tank 1C. This ends the automatic operation of the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and filling process for the vehicle. EXAMPLES

[0071] The refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging apparatus R of the second embodiment of the present invention is, like the first embodiment, a refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging apparatus R that has three refrigerant recovery tanks 1A, 1B, and 1C and allows the refrigerant to be used to be selected from the first refrigerant and the second refrigerant.

[0072] In the present embodiment 2, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, the configuration of a refrigerant recovery tank 1C that recovers the second refrigerant and the associated flow paths and controls are different from those of the embodiment 1. In the present embodiment 2, as shown in the flow chart of Figure 7, recovery of the second refrigerant can be switched between a direct total charging method and a refrigerant storage method.

[0073] As a configuration for switching between the direct full-amount filling method and the refrigerant storage method, as shown in FIG. 8, the refrigerant recovery tank 1C has a siphon tube 10a for recovering the second refrigerant into the refrigerant recovery tank 1C and for sending the second refrigerant from the top of the tank to fill it, and is also equipped with a gas pressure delivery pipeline 80 for sending the second refrigerant to the bottom to fill it.

[0074] With this configuration, in the direct full amount filling method, in the recovery / regeneration step, the second refrigerant is recovered into the refrigerant recovery tank 1C using the siphon tube 10a, and in the filling step, if the weight of the regenerated refrigerant is less than the specified refrigerant weight of the vehicle, the shortage amount of refrigerant, which is the difference between the specified refrigerant weight and the weight of the regenerated refrigerant, is replenished as liquid refrigerant from the refrigerant refilling unit to the refrigerant recovery tank. Then, by pumping gaseous refrigerant from the refrigerant refilling unit to the refrigerant recovery tank, the liquid refrigerant (second refrigerant) in the refrigerant recovery tank 1C is sent out from the bottom of the refrigerant recovery tank 1C, filling the specified amount into the air conditioning equipment of the vehicle, and removing the liquid refrigerant from the refrigerant recovery tank 1C.

[0075] In addition, in the refrigerant storage method, for the refrigerant recovery and regeneration process, liquid refrigerant from the vehicle is allowed to be stored inside refrigerant recovery tank 1C at a stage before refrigerant recovery, and for the recovery process, a second refrigerant is recovered into refrigerant recovery tank 1C using siphon tube 10a and the recovered and regenerated refrigerant is added to the stored refrigerant, and for the filling process, the second refrigerant is sent out from siphon tube 10a of refrigerant recovery tank 1C to fill a specified amount of the vehicle's air conditioning equipment, and liquid refrigerant remains in the refrigerant recovery tank.

[0076] The means for switching between the direct total charge method and the refrigerant storage method can be displayed on a touch panel display. Methods can be switched by operating the operation buttons (method selection operation section) using a GUI (graphical user interface).

[0077] In the above embodiment, an operation changeover switch is provided to switch between automatic operation, in which the entire refrigerant recovery, regeneration, and filling process is performed continuously, and manual operation, in which each process of the refrigerant recovery, regeneration, and filling process is performed individually, so that the processing of one vehicle can be completed before the processing of another vehicle is completed. For example, the conditions at the time when the processing of one vehicle is interrupted can be stored as data in an auxiliary storage device, and when the processing is resumed, the data can be read out to continue the processing. Also, the first half of the process from recovery to vacuuming can be set as automatic operation, and the second half of the process can be set as automatic operation for filling, and the second half of the process can be performed according to the timing.

[0078] In the above embodiment, a refrigerant gas analyzer for measuring and outputting the purity of the refrigerant in the air conditioner of the vehicle can be provided and used separately from the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device according to the present invention. Also, the refrigerant gas analyzer can be provided as a component of the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device. EXAMPLES

[0079] A refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device R according to a third embodiment of the present invention is configured to handle only a first refrigerant, as shown in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11. The first refrigerant may be replaced with a second refrigerant. In the third embodiment, the refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device R is connectable to air conditioners of two vehicles that use a common refrigerant. In this embodiment, the oil to be added is POE (polyol ester). Instead of POE, PAG (polyalkyl glycol) can be used.

[0080] As shown in Fig. 11, the refrigerant recovery / regeneration / charging device R includes a first oil separator 40 for decomposing the oil in the recovered refrigerant, a dry filter 63 (moisture removal means) for removing moisture in the recovered refrigerant, a compressor 60, a second oil separator 41A (for mainly separating residual oil) for further separating the oil in the recovered refrigerant, a third oil separator 41B (for separating residual oil with high accuracy), a condenser 62, two refrigerant recovery tanks 1 (1A, 1B) having measuring devices 2 (2A, 2B), a vacuum pump 61 for performing vacuum drawing as shown in Fig. 3, and a refrigerant supply canister 3 (3A) for refilling the regenerated refrigerant when the regenerated refrigerant is insufficient. Here, the refrigerant recovery tanks 1A and 1B correspond to the first recovery tank in the present invention.

[0081] The refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device R of the third embodiment is compatible with a first refrigerant and cannot simultaneously handle multiple refrigerants, but is capable of recovering a mixed refrigerant from a vehicle and then charging the vehicle with new refrigerant of high purity.

[0082] In the above examples of the present invention, the first refrigerant is the new refrigerant, HFO-1234yf, and the second refrigerant is the old refrigerant, HFC-134a. However, the present invention is not limited to these refrigerants, and other refrigerants may also be used.

[0083] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes designs in which a part of the configuration is modified within the scope of the technical idea disclosed by the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0084] 1(1A, 1B, 1C) Refrigerant recovery tank 10 Supply pipe 10a Siphon tube 2(2A, 2B, 2C) Measuring instrument 3(3A, 3B) Refill refrigerant supply can 40 First Oil Separator 41A Second Oil Separator 41B 3rd oil separator 5A 1st connection 5B Second connection part 50A Cleaning means connection port 50B Cleaning means connection port 60 Compressor 61 Vacuum Pump 62 Capacitor 62A Fan 63 Dry Filter 70 Common pipeline 71 Recovery pipe 72 Vacuum side pipe 73 Filling side conduit 74 (74A, 74B, 74C) Input pipe 75 (75A, 75B) Filling line for direct full filling 76 Gas pressure transport pipeline 77(77A, 77B) Refrigerant supply pipe 770 Refrigerant remaining amount detection device 78 Refrigerant storage filling line 79 Refrigerant transfer line 80 Gas pressure transport pipeline C1 Vehicle air conditioning equipment C2 Vehicle air conditioning equipment F1 Controls F2 Main storage F3 Auxiliary storage F4 Input device F5 Output Device F6 Communication equipment F7 Bus R Refrigerant recovery and recharging device R1 Device body V4 Switching valve V6 (V6A, V6B, V6C) Solenoid valve V60 (V60A, V60B, V60C) Check valve V7 (V7A, V7B, V7C) Solenoid valve V70 (V70A, V70B, V70C) Check valve V79 Solenoid valve V8 (V8A, V8B, V8C) Solenoid valve V80 (V80A, V80B, V80C) Check valve

Claims

1. A refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device including a connection section for connecting to an air conditioning device of a vehicle, a compressor for suctioning and recovering a refrigerant from the air conditioning device, an oil separator for separating oil in the refrigerant recovered from the air conditioning device, a vacuum pump, a condenser for liquefying the refrigerant, a refrigerant recovery tank capable of measuring the liquefied refrigerant, and a refrigerant refilling section for refilling the refrigerant, The refrigerant recovery tank includes a plurality of first recovery tanks (1A), (1B) capable of recovering a first refrigerant, The first recovery tanks (1A) (1B) each include a pipeline for taking in a liquid refrigerant and an inlet for taking in a gaseous refrigerant from an upper portion, and include a pipeline for delivering the liquid refrigerant to a bottom portion, A refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device comprising: a refrigerant transfer pipeline (79) connecting pipelines for delivering the liquid refrigerant from the bottoms of at least two of the first recovery tanks (1A), (1B).

2. and at least one second recovery tank (1C) capable of recovering a second refrigerant, so that the system is provided with at least three refrigerant recovery tanks (1A), (1B), and (1C) in combination with the first recovery tank; 2. The refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device according to claim 1, wherein the second recovery tank (1C) is provided with a pipeline for delivering liquid refrigerant upward.

3. 3. The refrigerant recovery, regeneration and charging device according to claim 1, wherein the second recovery tank (1C) has an inlet at an upper portion for taking in a gaseous refrigerant and a pipeline at a bottom portion for delivering a liquid refrigerant.

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