Valve device and refrigeration cycle device

Abstract

To provide a valve gear which inhibits outflow of a brazing material to fixedly braze a lid member to a valve body, and to provide a refrigeration cycle device including the valve gear.SOLUTION: A valve gear 1 includes: a valve body 10; a valve element which changes an opening of a valve port; and a lid member 28 which is formed into a bottomed cylindrical shape and supports the valve element in a manner that the valve element can move forward or rearward relative to the valve port and in which a bottom wall 281 is fixedly brazed to an end part 111 of the valve body 10. An R portion 284 in which a cross section is rounded into a round shape over an entire outer periphery of the bottom wall 281 is formed at a corner part between an outer peripheral surface 283 of the lid member 28 and an outer surface 281a of the bottom wall 281. A groove 285 which makes a circuit along the outer periphery of the bottom wall 281 is formed at the R portion 284.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a valve device that is used in a refrigeration cycle device or the like to control the flow rate of a refrigerant or the like, and to a refrigeration cycle device equipped with such a valve device. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there has been known a valve device that includes a valve body with a valve chamber and a valve port provided therein, a valve element that can advance and retreat relative to the valve port, and a lid member that is attached to the valve body (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such a valve device, the lid member is brazed to the valve body to ensure airtightness between the valve body and the lid member. When brazing, the lid member is first combined with the valve body by crimping or the like. Then, brazing is performed by setting a ring-shaped brazing material at the boundary portion with one of the members (in most cases, the lid member) standing upright so that it is on the bottom. Brazing is performed by penetrating the molten brazing material from this boundary portion into between the lid member and the valve body. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2009-052742 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When the brazing is performed as described above, some of the molten brazing material may drip onto the side of the member, such as the lid member, below the boundary before it fully penetrates into the space between the lid member and the valve body from the boundary, which is the brazing portion. If too much brazing material drips and flows out, there is a risk of air leakage at the brazing portion between the valve body and the lid member. Furthermore, if the flowing out brazing material adheres to a portion to be welded in a later process, it may cause poor welding and air leakage.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention focuses on the above-mentioned problems and aims to provide a valve device that can braze a cover member to a valve body while preventing the outflow of brazing material from the brazing portion, and a refrigeration cycle apparatus equipped with such a valve device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the valve device of the present invention comprises: a valve body having a valve port therein for allowing a fluid to flow in and out; a valve body that is movable forward and backward relative to the valve port by a drive unit and changes the opening degree of the valve port; a cover member having a bottomed tubular shape with an inlet at a bottom wall through which a cylindrical portion protruding toward the drive portion of the valve body enters, the cover member having the bottom wall brazed to a periphery of the cylindrical portion, a chamfered portion is formed at a corner portion between an outer peripheral surface of the cover member and an outer surface of the bottom wall, the chamfered portion being chamfered around the entire outer periphery of the bottom wall, The chamfered portion is characterized in that at least one groove is formed around the outer periphery of the bottom wall.

[0007] The chamfering referred to here includes both C-chamfering, which forms an inclined surface at the corner portion, and R-chamfering, which rounds the corner portion to form a convex surface.

[0008] According to the valve device of the present invention, a chamfered portion is formed at the corner of the lid member, and when the lid member is assembled to the valve body for brazing, the chamfered portion is located at the boundary between the two. Here, when the lid member is brazed to the valve body, the lid member may be placed below the valve body and brazed. Then, the molten brazing material penetrates from the boundary into the brazing portion between the lid member and the valve body to perform brazing, but at this time, the brazing material may melt before the brazing portion between the lid member and the valve body is sufficiently heated, and a part of the brazing material may drip from the boundary to the side of the lid member placed below as described above. Even if a part of the brazing material drips in this way, the brazing material is stored in a groove formed in the chamfered portion located at the boundary, so that the movement of the brazing material that tries to drip further beyond the groove to the side of the lid member is stopped. As a result, most of the brazing material remains at the boundary, and the outflow of the brazing material from the brazing portion to the side of the member is suppressed. As a result, it is possible to prevent air leakage due to a shortage of brazing material, air leakage due to poor welding caused by adhesion of leaked brazing material to the welded portion, etc. In this way, according to the valve device of the present invention, it is possible to braze and fix the cover member to the valve body while preventing the outflow of brazing material from the brazing portion.

[0009] Here, the valve device of the present invention may be an electrically operated valve including a motor for driving the drive portion to move the valve body forward and backward relative to the valve port.

[0010] In the valve device of the present invention, an outer edge of a pair of edges of the groove that is located on the outer circumferential surface side of the cover member and the axial distance between the valve body and At least a portion of the inner surface of the groove and The valve body shorter than the axial distance It is preferable that:

[0011] With this configuration, at least a part of the inner surface of the groove for storing the brazing material is farther from the valve body in the axial direction than the outer edge of the groove, which makes it possible to effectively retain the brazing material stored in the groove within the groove when brazing and fixing the valve body with the lid member facing downward, for example, and thus makes it possible to perform brazing and fixing the valve body while further preventing the brazing material from flowing out of the brazing portion.

[0012] In this configuration, the outer edge of the groove is a tip edge of a protruding wall that protrudes in a rib shape from the bottom of the groove, and the tip edge and the axial distance between the valve body and At least a portion of the inner surface of the groove and The valve body shorter than the axial distance It is more preferable that

[0013] According to this configuration, the tip edges of the rib-like protruding walls forming the outer edges of the grooves can effectively retain the brazing material within the grooves.

[0014] Furthermore, the groove may be an arc groove having an arc-shaped cross section perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the outer periphery of the bottom wall, or a V-shaped groove having a V-shaped cross section perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the outer periphery of the bottom wall, or a rectangular groove having a rectangular cross section perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the outer periphery of the bottom wall.

[0015] According to this configuration, grooves having shapes that are easy to process, such as arc grooves, V-shaped grooves, rectangular grooves, etc., are provided, so that an increase in manufacturing costs associated with the formation of the grooves can be suppressed.

[0016] In the valve device of the present invention, it is preferable that the outside diameter of the cover member is larger than the outside diameter of the valve body.

[0017] With this configuration, the outer diameter of the cover member is larger than the outer diameter of the valve body, so that, for example, when brazing the cover member with the cover member facing down, the brazing material can be easily retained at the boundary between the two, and the outflow of the brazing material from the brazing portion can be further suppressed while brazing the cover member.

[0018] In order to achieve the above object, a refrigeration cycle apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that it has the above-mentioned valve device of the present invention in a refrigerant circuit.

[0019] As described above, the refrigeration cycle apparatus of the present invention is provided with a valve device capable of brazing and fixing the cover member to the valve body while preventing the outflow of brazing material from the brazing portion. Effect of the Invention

[0020] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a valve device that can braze a cover member to a valve body while preventing the outflow of brazing material from the brazing portion and has stable airtightness, and a refrigeration cycle device equipped with such a valve device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of a valve device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a refrigeration cycle apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, which has the valve device shown in FIG. 1 in a refrigerant circuit. [Diagram 3] 2 is a diagram showing how the bottom wall of the lid member is brazed to the end of the valve body in the valve device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] 13 is a diagram showing how molten brazing material is accumulated in a groove formed in the R portion of the lid member during brazing, in comparison with a comparative example in which no groove is provided. FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing how an increase in the outer diameter of the lid member is suppressed by forming a groove in the R portion of the lid member, in comparison with a comparative example in which a groove is formed in the flat outer surface of the bottom wall. [Figure 6] 6A to 6C are diagrams showing a first modified example and a second modified example of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 5. [Figure 7] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a third modified example of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 5. [Figure 8] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a fourth modified example of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A valve device and a refrigeration cycle device according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described. First, an embodiment of the valve device will be described.

[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of a valve device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] 1 is used, for example, in a refrigeration cycle device as a so-called expansion valve that changes the flow rate of a refrigerant fluid. This valve device 1 is an electrically operated valve having a stepping motor 70 (described later) as a drive unit that drives a valve element 30 to move forward and backward relative to a valve port 12.

[0025] As shown in Fig. 1, the valve device 1 has a cup-shaped metallic valve body 10. The valve body 10 has a valve chamber 11, a valve port 12 provided in a valve seat 22 facing the valve disc 30 in the valve chamber 11, a first port 14 connected to a horizontal joint 13 and communicating directly with the valve chamber 11, and a second port 16 connected to a lower joint 15 and communicating with the valve chamber 11 via the valve port 12.

[0026] That is, the valve body 10 has a flow passage formed therein that allows the above-mentioned refrigerant to flow from the first port 14 to the valve chamber 11, the valve opening 12, and the second port 16. The valve chamber 11 accommodates the refrigerant that flows in and out of the first port 14. Furthermore, the valve opening 12 allows the refrigerant to flow in and out between the valve chamber 11 and the second port 16. In the illustrated example, the valve device 1 allows the refrigerant to flow as a liquid fluid in either direction from the first port 14 to the second port 16 and from the second port 16 to the first port 14. The inner surfaces of the first port 14 and the horizontal joint 13 are disposed substantially flush with the inner surface of the valve chamber 11. An inlet 112 that allows the valve element 30 to enter the valve chamber 11 is opened at an upper end 111 of the valve body 10 in FIG. 1, and a valve guide member 34 is attached to the inside of the inlet 112.

[0027] The valve port 12 is formed to open substantially at the center of the valve seat 22, i.e., the wall portion that defines the second port 16 side of the valve chamber 11. The valve port 12 allows a refrigerant as a fluid to flow inside.

[0028] A cover member 28 formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom and having a passage port 282 for the valve element 30 provided in a bottom wall 281 is coaxially attached to the upper part of the valve body 10 in Fig. 1. A fixed support member 18 is fixed to the upper part of this cover member 28 in Fig. 1 by a mounting plate 17. A guide hole 19 is formed in the fixed support member 18. The guide hole 19 is located concentrically with the valve port 12, and a cylindrical valve holder 20 is fitted into the guide hole 19 so as to be slidable in the axial direction (up and down direction), i.e., in the valve opening and closing direction. This allows the valve holder 20 to move in the axial direction within the fixed support member 18.

[0029] The valve holder 20 has an annular lower lip component 21 attached to the inner periphery of the lower end in Fig. 1, and an annular upper lip piece 23 formed integrally with the inner periphery of the upper end in Fig. 1. The upper surface of the lower lip component 21 in Fig. 1 forms an upward-facing stopper surface portion 25 formed in an annular stepped shape. The valve holder 20 is also formed with a pressure equalizing hole 110.

[0030] A metal or synthetic resin valve element 30 is attached to the lower lip component 21 attached to the valve holder 20 so as to be displaceable in the axial direction. The valve element 30 is formed in a cylindrical needle shape and loosely fits into an opening 26 formed inside the lower lip component 21, that is, is passed through with a predetermined radial gap so as to be displaceable in the radial direction relative to the valve holder 20. The lower bottom surface of an annular stepped portion 32 provided in a convex shape from the upper end in FIG. 1 engages with the upper surface of the lower lip component 21, whereby the valve element 30 is rotatably suspended and supported by the valve holder 20.

[0031] The cover member 28 is disposed with the outer surface of the bottom wall 281 facing the end 111 of the valve body 10 where the inlet 112 of the valve element 30 is open. The bottom wall 281 is fixed around the inlet 112 at the end 111 by brazing along at least one of the outer periphery of the bottom wall 281 and a central region on the inner side of the outer periphery of the outer surface 281a of the bottom wall 281, as described below. This brazing may be such that only one of the outer periphery and the inner region of the bottom wall 281 is brazed to the end 111 of the valve body 10, or may be such that both the outer periphery and the inner region of the bottom wall 281 are brazed to the end 111 of the valve body 10.

[0032] The valve disc 30 passes through the valve guide member 34 from the outside of the valve body 10 and enters the valve chamber 11, and is supported by the valve guide member 34 so as to be movable along its axis. The valve disc 30 is located on the lower side in Fig. 1 and has a conical flow rate adjustment portion 33 at its tip which faces the valve orifice 12 and can enter therein, and the flow rate adjustment portion 33 protrudes toward the valve orifice 12 through the opening 26 on the inside of the lower lip member 21. In this way, the valve disc 30 is movable in the axial direction and is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat from the valve orifice 12, and the flow rate adjustment portion 33 is formed so as to taper as it approaches the valve orifice 12.

[0033] The valve body 30 performs quantitative flow control of the refrigerant depending on the degree of penetration (axial position) of the flow control section 33 into the valve orifice 12, and when the flow control section 33 abuts and seats against the valve seat 22 around the valve orifice 12, the valve orifice 12 is closed (blocked) to a fully closed state.

[0034] A lower end 74 of a male screw shaft 73 forming a rotor shaft of a stepping motor 70 (described later) passes through an inner opening 27 of an upper lip piece 23 of the valve holder 20 in a loose-fitting state. This loose-fitting state means that the valve holder 20 and the male screw shaft 73 can be displaced relatively in the radial direction.

[0035] A retainer member 35 is disposed at the lower end 74 of the male threaded shaft 73, i.e., between the male threaded shaft 73 and the valve body 30. The retainer member 35 is formed in a cylindrical shape and is, of course, housed in the valve holder 20. At its upper end in FIG. 1, a flange-shaped suspension engagement portion 75 is integrally formed in such a manner that it protrudes radially outward over its entire circumference. The suspension engagement portion 75 is rotatably engaged with the upper lip piece 23 of the valve holder 20 on the upper surface side in FIG. 1, sandwiching washers 29, 31 that are coated with highly lubricating plastic such as fluororesin or made of highly lubricating plastic. Due to this engagement, the valve holder 20 is rotatably supported by being suspended from the male threaded shaft 73.

[0036] Between the hanging engagement portion 75 provided on the retainer member 35 and the ring step portion 32 of the valve body 30, a compression coil spring 36 with the retainer member 35 passing through it on the inside is attached with a predetermined preload applied.

[0037] The male screw portion 37 is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the male screw shaft 73. The male screw portion 37 is fixedly supported. The male threaded shaft 73 is threadedly engaged with the female threaded portion 38 formed in the member 18. Due to this threaded engagement, the male threaded shaft 73 moves in the axial direction, i.e., in the valve opening and closing direction, as it rotates. The threaded engagement between the male threaded portion 37 and the female threaded portion 38 forms a feed screw mechanism, which converts the rotational motion of the male threaded shaft 73 into linear motion in the valve opening and closing direction.

[0038] A can-shaped rotor case 71 of a stepping motor 70 is fixed airtightly to the upper part of the cover member 28 in Fig. 1 by welding. A rotor 72, the outer peripheral surface part 72A of which is multi-pole magnetized, is rotatably provided inside the rotor case 71. The center part in Fig. 1 of a male screw shaft 73, which also serves as a rotor shaft, is fixedly connected to the rotor 72.

[0039] A stator coil unit 77 is inserted and attached to the outside of the rotor case 71. Although the details of the stator coil unit 77 are not shown, it has a well-known airtight molded structure for a stepping motor, and has magnetic pole teeth, a winding section, and an electric wiring section inside.

[0040] Inside rotor case 71, there are provided a guide support tube 78 suspended from the ceiling of rotor case 71, a spiral guide wire body 79 attached to the outer periphery of guide support tube 78, and a fixed stopper portion 80 formed on the upper end portion of guide support tube 78. A movable stopper member 81 is screwed into spiral guide wire body 79, and rotor 72 is provided with a protrusion portion 82 that engages with movable stopper member 81 and kicks it around. This structure inside rotor case 71 constitutes a stopper for opening or closing the valve. Furthermore, guide support tube 78 supports male screw shaft 73 rotatably, with upper end portion 76 of male screw shaft 73 in FIG. 1 passing through the inside.

[0041] The stepping motor 70 rotates the male screw shaft 73 by means of the rotor 72, and the axial movement of the male screw shaft 73 accompanying the rotation linearly moves the valve element 30 together with the valve holder 20 in the valve opening / closing direction. This changes the axial position (linear movement position in the valve opening / closing direction) of the flow rate adjustment portion 33 of the valve element 30 relative to the valve orifice 12, and the effective opening area of ​​the valve orifice 12 increases or decreases depending on the axial position, thereby quantitatively controlling the flow rate of the refrigerant. In this way, the valve element 30 moves forward and backward relative to the valve orifice 12 to change the flow rate of the refrigerant, i.e., to change the opening degree of the valve device 1.

[0042] 1 in the valve opening / closing direction, the effective opening area of ​​the valve orifice 12 gradually decreases, and accordingly the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the valve orifice 12 gradually decreases. When the valve disc 30 moves downward a predetermined amount in the valve opening / closing direction, the flow rate adjustment portion 33 of the valve disc 30 abuts and seats on the valve seat 22, closing the valve orifice 12 and entering a fully closed state.

[0043] The valve device 1 having the above-mentioned configuration is provided in a refrigerant circuit of a refrigeration cycle device and functions as an expansion valve of the refrigeration cycle device. An embodiment of this refrigeration cycle device will be described below.

[0044] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a refrigeration cycle apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, which has the valve device shown in FIG. 1 in a refrigerant circuit.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 2, the refrigeration cycle device 5 includes a compressor 501, a condenser (outdoor heat exchanger) 502, the above-mentioned valve device 1 used as an expansion valve, an evaporator (indoor heat exchanger) 504, and refrigerant passages 505-508 that connect these in a loop.

[0046] This refrigeration cycle device 5 is used in air conditioners (cooling), freezers, refrigerators, etc. The refrigeration cycle device to which the valve device 1 is applied is not limited to the basic refrigeration cycle device as shown in FIG. 2. That is, it can be applied to air conditioners for cooling and heating in which the refrigerant flow direction in the refrigerant circuit can be reversed by incorporating a four-way valve, and to air conditioners capable of cooling, heating, and dehumidification in which two heat exchangers are connected in series to an indoor unit and an additional expansion valve is provided between the two heat exchangers. In this way, the refrigeration cycle device 5 can be applied to all types of refrigeration cycle devices. The refrigeration cycle device to which the valve device 1 is applied can also be applied to air conditioners capable of cooling and heating in which a plurality of indoor units are connected in parallel to one outdoor unit and each indoor unit has an expansion valve.

[0047] 1, as described above, the bottom wall 281 of the cover member 28 is brazed to the end portion 111 of the valve body 10. This brazing is performed as described below.

[0048] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing how the bottom wall of the cover member is brazed to the end of the valve body in the valve device shown in FIG.

[0049] When brazing and fixing, the cover member 28 is first combined with the valve body 10 by crimping or the like. Then, as shown in Fig. 3, the cover member 28 is stood upright with the bottom side, and the brazing material 6 is set in a ring shape at the boundary between the two, and brazing is performed. Brazing and fixing is performed by the penetration of the molten brazing material 6 from this boundary into the brazed portion between the cover member 28 and the valve body 10.

[0050] At this time, in this embodiment, at the corner between the outer peripheral surface 283 of the cover member 28 and the outer surface 281a of the bottom wall 281, a rounded R portion 284 having a cross section rounded in an R shape is formed as a chamfered portion by performing R chamfering over the entire circumference of the bottom wall 281. This R portion 284 is formed so that a chamfering start position 284a on the bottom wall 281 side, which abuts on the outer circumference of the bottom wall 281, is located inside the outer circumference 10a of the valve body 10. Then, at approximately the center of this R portion 284, one groove 285 is formed that goes around the circumference of the bottom wall 28 to collect the brazing material 6 and stop the movement of the brazing material 6 when a part of the brazing material 6 in a molten state tries to drip when the cover member 28 is brazed and fixed to the valve body 10.

[0051] The groove 285 is an arc groove in which the cross section perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the outer periphery is arc-shaped, and is formed so as to be slightly upward when the cover member 28 and the valve body 10 are vertically placed as shown in Fig. 3 during brazing and fixing. Due to such upward formation, a part of the inner surface of the groove 285 is farther from the valve body 10 in the axial direction (up and down direction in the figure) than the outer edge 285a, which is located on the outer peripheral surface side of the cover member 28, of the pair of edges of the groove 285. The outer edge 285a becomes the lower edge located on the lower side during brazing and fixing in which the cover member 28 is located below the valve body 10. Also, the part of the inner surface of the groove 285 farther from the valve body 10 than the outer edge 285a becomes the lowest part 285b of the inner surface of the groove 285 during this brazing and fixing.

[0052] In this embodiment, the outer diameter φ11 of the cover member 28 is larger than the outer diameter φ12 of the valve body 10.

[0053] According to the valve device 1 and refrigeration cycle device 5 of the present embodiment described above, the R portion 284 is formed at the corner portion of the cover member 28 brazed to the valve body 10 in the valve device 1. When the cover member 28 is assembled to the valve body 10 for brazing, the R portion 284 is located at the boundary between the two. Even if the brazing material 6 melts before the brazing portion between the cover member 28 and the valve body 10 is sufficiently heated during brazing and a part of it drips from the boundary onto the side surface of the cover member 28 arranged below as described above, it is collected in the groove 285 formed in the R portion 284 located at the boundary and its movement is stopped.

[0054] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing how a portion of the molten brazing material that attempts to drip during brazing is collected in a groove formed in the R portion of the lid member and prevented from moving, in comparison with a comparative example in which no groove is provided. In Fig. 4, the same reference numerals as in this embodiment are used for the components of the comparative example that are equivalent to those of this embodiment.

[0055] First, a comparative example having a cover member 68 without a groove 285 will be described. Before the brazing portion between the cover member 68 and the valve body 10 is sufficiently heated, the brazing material 6 melts, and a part of the brazing material 6 drips from the boundary portion to the side surface of the cover member 68. If too much brazing material 6 flows out at this time, there is a risk of air leakage between the cover member 68 and the valve body 10. In addition, the destination of the brazing material 6 on the side surface of the cover member 68 is a welded portion 686 with the rotor case 71, which is also shown in FIG. 1. If the flowed-out brazing material 6 adheres to such a welded portion 686, it may cause poor welding during welding in a later process, which may also cause air leakage.

[0056] In contrast to this comparative example, in this embodiment, even if some of the molten brazing material 6 attempts to drip from the boundary portion, it is collected in the groove 285 formed in the R portion 284 of the lid member 28 and its movement is stopped, so that most of the brazing material 6 remains at the boundary portion. As a result, it is possible to prevent air leakage due to a shortage of the brazing material 6, and to prevent welding defects caused by the outflowing brazing material 6 adhering to the welded portion 286 with the rotor case 71. In this way, according to this embodiment, it is possible to braze and fix the lid member 28 to the valve body 10 while preventing the outflow of the brazing material 6 from the brazing portion.

[0057] Furthermore, in this embodiment, by forming groove 285 in R portion 284 of cover member 28, an increase in the outer diameter of cover member 28 due to the formation of groove 285 can be suppressed.

[0058] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing how the groove formed in the R portion of the lid member prevents the increase in the outer diameter of the lid member, in comparison with a comparative example in which the groove is formed in the flat outer surface of the bottom wall. Note that in Fig. 5, the same reference numerals as in this embodiment are used for the comparative example, with respect to components equivalent to those in this embodiment.

[0059] First, a comparative example will be described in which the groove 885 is formed on the flat outer surface 881a of the bottom wall 881 of the lid member 88. In this comparative example, in order to allow a portion of the brazing material 6 to accumulate during brazing and fixing, the groove 885 needs to be formed so as to be exposed radially outward from the valve body 10. Therefore, in order to secure a location for forming the groove 885, the outer diameter d81 of the lid member 88 needs to be made larger than that of the valve body 10.

[0060] Furthermore, when the groove 885 is formed by cutting or pressing, protrusions 885c such as burrs due to cutting or protuberances due to pressing may be generated on the edge of the groove 885. In the comparative example shown in Fig. 5, unless a process for removing the protrusions 885c is provided prior to brazing and fixing, a gap d82 may be generated between the valve body 10 and the cover member 88, which may result in poor brazing or the like.

[0061] In contrast to the above comparative examples, in this embodiment, groove 285 is formed in R portion 284 of cover member 28. R portion 284 is a portion that is separated from end 111 of valve body 10 and does not come into contact with it, unlike the flat end of bottom wall 281 that faces end 111 of valve body 10. For this reason, groove 285 can be formed exposed so that brazing material 6 can accumulate, without needing to significantly expand outer diameter d11 of cover member 28 relative to valve body 10. In other words, according to this embodiment, groove 285 is formed in R portion 284 of cover member 28, and thus an increase in outer diameter d11 of cover member 28 can be suppressed.

[0062] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the groove 285 is formed in the R portion 284 that is not in contact with the end 111 of the valve body 10, so that even if a protrusion 285c is generated by cutting or pressing, such a protrusion 285c will not come into contact with the end 111 of the valve body 10. As a result, there is no gap d82 that may cause brazing defects, and therefore it is not necessary to remove the protrusion 285c, and the number of steps during manufacturing can be reduced.

[0063] 3, according to this embodiment, the lowermost portion 285b on the inner surface of groove 285 that stores the brazing material 6 is farther away from valve body 10 in the axial direction (the up-down direction in the figure) than the outer edge 285a of groove 285 that stores the brazing material 6. Therefore, when brazing and fixing is performed with cover member 28 facing downward, brazing material 6 stored in groove 285 can be effectively retained inside groove 285, and outflow of brazing material 6 can be further suppressed while brazing and fixing can be performed.

[0064] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the groove 285 has a shape that is easy to process, such as an arc groove, so that an increase in manufacturing costs associated with the formation of the groove 285 can be suppressed.

[0065] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the outer diameter φ11 of the cover member 28 is larger than the outer diameter φ12 of the valve body 10. Therefore, when the cover member 28 is placed on the bottom and brazed, the brazing material 6 is easily retained at the boundary between the two, and the outflow of the brazing material 6 from the brazing portion can be further suppressed while the brazing is performed.

[0066] The refrigeration cycle apparatus 5 of this embodiment shown in Figure 2 is equipped with a valve device 1 that can braze and fix the cover member 28 to the valve body 10 while preventing the outflow of the brazing material 6 from the brazing portion as described above.

[0067] Next, various modifications of the embodiment described above will be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7. In all of these modifications, the grooves provided in the cover member 28 are different from those in the embodiment described above.

[0068] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a first and a second modified example of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 to Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a third modified example of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 to Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a fourth modified example of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 to Fig. 5. In these modified examples, the same reference numerals as in the above-mentioned embodiment are used for the parts other than the grooves.

[0069] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the groove 285 is an arc groove in which the cross section perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the outer periphery of the bottom wall 281 is arc-shaped in the R portion 284 of the cover member 28. In the first modified example shown in Fig. 6, a V-shaped groove in which the cross section perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the outer periphery of the bottom wall 281 is V-shaped is provided as the groove 385. This V-shaped groove 385 is also formed so as to face slightly upward when the cover member 28 and the valve body 10 are placed vertically as shown in Fig. 3 during brazing and fixing. In this V-shaped groove 385, the lowest portion 385b on the inner surface of the groove 385 is farther from the valve body 10 in the axial direction (the up-down direction in the figure) than the outer edge 385a.

[0070] 6, a groove 386 is provided as a rectangular groove having a rectangular cross section with its long sides aligned in the up-down direction when the valve is placed upright. An outer edge 386a of the rectangular groove 386 is a tip edge of a protruding wall that protrudes in a rib-like manner from the bottom of the groove 386, which is a lowest part 386b formed by leaving part of the outer surface side of the R portion 284. The lowest part 386b of the inner surface of the groove 386 is further away from the valve body 10 in the axial direction (the up-down direction in the drawing) than the outer edge 386a, which is the tip edge.

[0071] In both the first and second modified examples described above, it goes without saying that the lid member 28 can be brazed to the valve body 10 while preventing the outflow of the brazing material 6, as in the above embodiment. Furthermore, since the lowest portions 385b, 386b are farther from the valve body 10 than the outer edges 385a, 386a, the brazing material 6 can be satisfactorily retained inside the grooves 385, 386, and brazing can be performed while further preventing the outflow of the brazing material 6, as in the above embodiment. Furthermore, since the V-shaped groove 385 and the rectangular groove 386 are also easily machined shapes, as in the case of the arc-shaped groove 285, an increase in manufacturing costs associated with groove formation can be suppressed.

[0072] Furthermore, according to the second modification in which the rectangular groove 386 is provided, the brazing material 6 can be effectively retained inside the groove 386 by the tip edge of the rib-shaped protruding wall forming the outer edge 386a of the groove 386.

[0073] In the third modified example shown in FIG. 7, the orthogonal cross section of the groove 387 is an arc shape similar to the above-mentioned embodiment, but the groove 387 is formed in three rows in the R portion 284, concentrically with the axis of the valve device 1. This third modified example is an example in which the groove 387 is formed in the R portion 284 of the lid member 28, which has a thinner wall thickness t31 than the wall thickness t11 of the lid member 28 in the above-mentioned embodiment. When the groove 387 is formed in the thin-walled lid member 28 in this way, it may be difficult to provide one deep groove that has a large cross-sectional area and can store a sufficient amount of brazing material 6 to stop the outflow, as in the above-mentioned embodiment, in order to suppress a decrease in strength. In the third modified example, each groove 387 is a shallow groove with a small cross-sectional area, which suppresses a decrease in strength, and three such grooves 387 are provided to ensure a sufficient amount of brazing material 6 to be stored overall. The number of grooves 387 is not limited to three, and can be set appropriately according to the thickness of the lid member 28 and the required amount of brazing material 6 to be stored.

[0074] In any of the above-mentioned embodiment and the first to third modified examples, the R portion 284 is formed as a chamfered portion at the corner portion between the outer peripheral surface 283 of the cover member 28 and the outer surface 281a of the bottom wall 281. In contrast, in the fourth modified example shown in FIG. 8, a C (Chamfer) portion 394 is formed at the above-mentioned corner portion as a chamfered portion inclined from the outer surface 281a of the bottom wall 281 to the outer peripheral surface 283 of the cover member 28. This C portion 394 is also formed so that the chamfering start position 394a on the bottom wall 281 side is located inside the outer periphery 10a of the valve body 10, similar to the above-mentioned R portion 284. In the fourth modified example, one groove 395 having an arc-shaped cross section is formed at approximately the center of this C portion 394. Also in the fourth modified example, the outer diameter φ11 of the cover member 28 is larger than the valve body φ12. It goes without saying that in the fourth modified example described above, as in the above-mentioned embodiment and the first to third modified examples, the outflow of the brazing material 6 from the brazing portion can be prevented and the cover member 28 can be brazed and fixed to the valve body 10.

[0075] The above-described embodiment and modifications are merely representative of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto. In other words, the present invention can be embodied in various modifications without departing from the gist of the present invention. As long as the valve device and refrigeration cycle device of the present invention are still provided even with such modifications, they are of course included in the scope of the present invention.

[0076] For example, in the above-described embodiment and modified example, the valve device 1 is exemplified as an example of a valve device as an electrically-operated valve in which the valve element 30 is driven by a stepping motor 70. However, the valve device is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a manual valve in which the valve element is manually driven, or an electromagnetic valve in which a solenoid is driven. Furthermore, even in the case of an electrically-operated valve, the drive unit is not limited to a stepping motor, and may be another motor.

[0077] In the above-mentioned embodiment and modified examples (in the modified examples, the second and third modified examples shown in FIG. 6), the following grooves 285, 385, 386, 395 are exemplified as an example of the groove provided in the lid member. That is, in these grooves 285, 385, 386, 395, the lowest parts 285b, 385b, 386b are farther away from the valve body 10 than the outer edges 285a, 385a, 386a. However, the grooves provided in the lid member are not limited to these, and the position of the outer edges may be set appropriately as long as the brazing material can be stored. However, as described above, by moving at least a part of the inner surface of the grooves 285, 385, 386, 395 away from the valve body 10 than the outer edges 285a, 385a, 386a, the stored brazing material 6 can be well retained in the groove.

[0078] In the above-mentioned third modified example, the outer edge 386a that is the tip edge of the protruding wall protruding in a rib shape is exemplified as an example of the outer edge of the groove provided in the cover member. However, the outer edge of the groove is not limited to this, and may not have such a protruding structure as exemplified in the above-mentioned embodiment and other modified examples. However, as described above, by making the outer edge 386a the tip edge of the rib-shaped protruding wall, the brazing material can be effectively retained in the groove. Here, in the third modified example, the outer edge 386a that is formed by leaving a part of the outer surface side of the R portion 284 when forming the rectangular groove 386 is exemplified as an example of the outer edge that is the tip edge of the protruding wall. However, the outer edge that is the tip edge of the protruding wall is not limited to this, and its specific shape and formation method are not limited.

[0079] In the above-described embodiment and modified example, grooves 285, 387 having an arc-shaped cross section, groove 385 having a V-shaped cross section, and groove 386 having a rectangular cross section are exemplified as grooves provided in the lid member. However, the grooves provided in the lid member are not limited to these, and the specific groove shapes can be set arbitrarily. However, as described above, by adopting groove shapes that are easy to process, such as an arc-shaped, V-shaped, rectangular, etc., it is possible to suppress an increase in manufacturing costs associated with groove formation.

[0080] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment and modified example, the valve device 1 in which the outer diameter φ11 of the lid member 28 is larger than the outer diameter φ12 of the valve body 10 is exemplified as an example of the valve device. However, the valve device is not limited to this, and the outer diameter of the lid member and the outer diameter of the valve body may be the same diameter, or the outer diameter of the lid member may be smaller than the outer diameter of the valve body, etc. However, as described above, by making the outer diameter φ11 of the lid member 28 larger than the outer diameter φ12 of the valve body 10, the outflow of the brazing material 6 from the brazing portion can be further suppressed and brazing and fixing can be performed. [Explanation of symbols]

[0081] 1 Valve gear 5 Refrigeration cycle equipment 6 Brazing material 10 Valve body 10a Outer circumference 11 Valve chamber 12 Valve Orifice 28 Lid member 30 Valve body 71 Rotor case 111 End 112 Entry hole 281 Bottom wall 281a Exterior 282 Passage gate 283 Outer surface 284 R part (chamfered part) 284a,394a Chamfering start position 285,385,386,387,395 groove 285a, 385a, 386a Outer edge 285b,385b,386b lowest part 285c protrusion 286 Welding points 394 C part (chamfered part) d11 outer diameter t11,t31 wall thickness φ11, φ12 outer diameter

Claims

1. A valve body having a valve port therein for allowing a fluid to flow in and out; a valve body that is movable forward and backward relative to the valve port by a drive unit and changes the opening degree of the valve port; a cover member having a bottomed tubular shape with an inlet at a bottom wall through which a cylindrical portion protruding toward the drive portion of the valve body enters, the cover member having the bottom wall brazed to a periphery of the cylindrical portion, a chamfered portion is formed at a corner portion between an outer peripheral surface of the cover member and an outer surface of the bottom wall, the chamfered portion being chamfered around the entire outer periphery of the bottom wall, The valve device according to claim 1, wherein the chamfered portion has at least one groove formed therein, the groove extending completely around the outer periphery of the bottom wall.

2. 2. The valve device according to claim 1, wherein the drive portion is an electrically operated valve including a motor for driving the valve body toward and away from the valve port.

3. 3. The valve device according to claim 1, wherein the axial distance between the valve body and one of a pair of edges of the groove, an outer edge located on the outer peripheral surface side of the cover member, is shorter than the axial distance between at least a portion of the inner surface of the groove and the valve body.

4. 4. The valve device according to claim 3, wherein the outer edge of the groove is a tip edge of a protruding wall that protrudes like a rib from the bottom of the groove, and the axial distance between the tip edge and the valve body is shorter than the axial distance between at least a portion of the inner surface of the groove and the valve body.

5. 5. The valve device according to claim 1, wherein an outer diameter of the cover member is larger than an outer diameter of the valve body.

6. A refrigeration cycle device comprising the valve device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 in a refrigerant circuit.

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