Directional control valve

Abstract

A directional control valve (100). The directional control valve (100) comprises a valve body (20) and a valve core (10), wherein the valve body (20) is provided with a valve cavity (201) and a plurality of valve holes (202); the plurality of valve holes (202) are distributed at intervals along the peripheral side of the valve cavity (201) and are in communication with the valve cavity (202); and the valve core (10) is rotatably mounted in the valve cavity (201) so as to be in communication with different valve holes (202). The directional control valve (100) further comprises an elastic member (31) and a first sealing member (32), which are both mounted in each valve hole (202), wherein an inner wall of the valve hole (202) is provided with a first groove (2021), which is recessed in a direction away from the axis of the valve hole; and one end of the elastic member (31) is clamped in the first groove (2021), and the other end thereof abuts against the first sealing member (32).

Description

Reversing valve

[0001] Related applications

[0002] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202421930431.3, filed on August 9, 2024, and entitled “Reversing valve”, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to the technical field of fluid control, and in particular, to a reversing valve. BACKGROUND

[0004] At present, in a vehicle air conditioning system, a rotary reversing valve is often used to adjust the flow direction of refrigerant, so as to realize the switching between the cooling mode and the heating mode of the air conditioning system.

[0005] The reversing valve in the related art comprises a valve body and a valve core, the valve body is provided with a valve cavity and a plurality of valve holes, and the valve core is rotatably arranged in the valve cavity to communicate different valve holes, thereby realizing the switching of the flow path. However, the sealing effect between the valve core and the valve hole in the related structure is poor, and the medium such as refrigerant is easy to leak from the gap between the valve core and the valve hole, thereby greatly affecting the safety of the operation of the air conditioning system. SUMMARY

[0006] According to various embodiments of the present application, a reversing valve is provided.

[0007] The present application provides a reversing valve, which comprises a valve body and a valve core, the valve body is provided with a valve cavity and a plurality of valve holes, the plurality of valve holes are distributed along the circumferential side of the valve cavity and are communicated with the valve cavity, and the valve core is rotatably arranged in the valve cavity to communicate different valve holes; the reversing valve further comprises an elastic member and a first sealing member, both the elastic member and the first sealing member are arranged in the valve hole, wherein the inner wall of the valve hole is provided with a first groove recessed away from the axis thereof, one end of the elastic member is clamped in the first groove, the other end abuts against the first sealing member, and the elastic member can exert a force on the first sealing member towards the direction close to the valve core, so that the first sealing member is tightly attached to the valve core.

[0008] In one embodiment, the elastic member comprises a split elastic body and a clasp, the clasp is clamped in the first groove, and the clasp at least partially protrudes from the inner wall of the valve hole, one end of the elastic body abuts against the first sealing member, and the other end abuts against the clasp.

[0009] In one embodiment, the clasp is provided with a notch, and the notch is used to provide a deformation amount for the deformation of the clasp.

[0010] In one of the embodiments, the elastic body is tapered from one end close to the clasp ring to the other end away from the clasp ring.

[0011] In one of the embodiments, the elastic body is configured as a butterfly spring.

[0012] In one of the embodiments, the elastic member comprises a body part and a connecting part, one end of the body part is arranged against the first sealing member, the other end is connected with the connecting part, and the connecting part is clamped in the first groove.

[0013] In one of the embodiments, the body part and the connecting part are in an integral structure.

[0014] In one of the embodiments, the outer wall of the first sealing member is provided with a second groove recessed towards the direction close to the axis thereof, the reversing valve further comprises a second sealing member, the second sealing member is installed in the second groove and sealingly cooperates with the inner wall of the second groove, and at least part of the second sealing member protrudes out of the second groove to sealingly abut against the inner wall of the valve hole.

[0015] In one of the embodiments, the outer surface of the valve core and the surface of the first sealing member close to one end of the valve core are arranged in the same arc shape with the same radius.

[0016] In one of the embodiments, the first sealing member is provided with a flow-through hole, the valve core is provided with a plurality of flow channels, and the flow-through hole can communicate with different flow channels with the rotation of the valve core; wherein the inner diameters of the flow-through hole and the flow channels are equal.

[0017] The details of one or more embodiments of the application are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the application will be apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] To better describe and illustrate the embodiments and / or examples of the inventions disclosed herein, reference can be made to one or more drawings. Additional details or examples used to describe the drawings should not be considered as limiting the scope of any of the disclosed inventions, the presently described embodiments and / or examples, and the best mode presently contemplated of these inventions.

[0019] Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a reversing valve according to an embodiment of the application.

[0020] Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of A in Fig. 1.

[0021] Fig. 3 is a structural schematic view of an elastic member according to an embodiment of the application.

[0022] Fig. 4 is a structural schematic diagram of a snap ring according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0023] Fig. 5 is a sectional view of another direction of the reversing valve according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0024] In the drawings: 100, reversing valve; 10, valve core; 101, flow passage; 101a, first flow passage; 101b, second flow passage; 20, valve body; 201, valve cavity; 2011, impurity discharge gap; 2012, impurity containing space; 202, valve hole; 202a, first valve hole; 202b, second valve hole; 202c, third valve hole; 202d, fourth valve hole; 2021, first groove; 30, sealing assembly; 301, flow-through hole; 31, elastic member; 311, elastic main body; 3111, upright section; 3112, abutting section; 312, snap ring; 3121, notch; 313, main body portion; 314, connecting portion; 32, first sealing member; 3201, second groove; 33, second sealing member; 40, driving mechanism; 41, motor coil; 42, motor rotor; 50, speed reduction mechanism; 51, gear set; 52, fixed plate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] In order to make the above objectives, features and advantages of the present application more apparent, specific embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present application. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present application can be practiced in a variety of ways beyond the specific embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit of the present application, and it is intended that the present application cover all such modifications and changes. Thus, the present application should not be limited by the specific embodiments set forth below.

[0026] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "on" or "connected to" another element, it can be directly on or connected to the other element, or intervening elements can be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element, or intervening elements can be present. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", and similar expressions as used herein are for the purpose of illustration only and do not indicate or imply absolute orientation.

[0027] In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. are used herein only to describe various elements, and do not imply or suggest relative importance or a number of the elements indicated. Thus, the features defined with "first", "second", etc. can include at least one of the features explicitly or implicitly. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "a plurality of" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically limited.

[0028] In the present application, unless specifically defined and limited otherwise, the first feature is "on", "under", "above" and "over" the second feature can be the first feature directly and the second feature contact, or the first feature and the second feature indirectly contact through the intermediate medium. Moreover, the first feature is "on", "above" and "over" the second feature can be the first feature directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or only indicates that the first feature is higher than the second feature in horizontal height. The first feature is "under", "below" and "under" the second feature can be the first feature directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or only indicates that the first feature is less than the second feature in horizontal height.

[0029] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in the specification of the present application have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present application belongs. The terms used in the specification of the present application are only for the purpose of describing the specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present application. The term "and / or" used in the specification of the present application includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items.

[0030] At present, in the vehicle air conditioning system, the flow direction of refrigerant is often adjusted by using a rotary reversing valve to realize the switching of the air conditioning system between cooling mode and heating mode.

[0031] The reversing valve in the related art includes a valve body and a valve core, the valve body is provided with a valve cavity and a plurality of valve holes, and the valve core is rotatably arranged in the valve cavity to communicate different valve holes, thereby realizing the switching of the flow path. However, the sealing effect between the valve core and the valve hole in the related structure is poor, and the medium such as refrigerant is easy to leak from the gap between the valve core and the valve hole, thereby greatly affecting the safety of the operation of the air conditioning system.

[0032] Please refer to FIG. 1-5, in order to solve the problem of insufficient sealing performance between the valve core and the valve hole of the existing reversing valve, the present application provides a reversing valve 100, which is mainly applied in the vehicle air conditioning system. The reversing valve 100 includes a valve body 20 and a valve core 10, the valve body 20 is provided with a valve cavity 201 and a plurality of valve holes 202, the plurality of valve holes 202 are distributed along the circumferential side of the valve cavity 201 and are communicated with the valve cavity 201, and the valve core 10 is rotatably installed in the valve cavity 201 and used to communicate different valve holes 202.

[0033] Specifically, the valve body 20 of the present application is provided with four valve holes 202, and the four valve holes 202 are distributed in a cross shape. A plurality of flow channels 101 can be formed in the valve core 10, and the present application specifically provides two flow channels 101, which are defined as a first flow channel 101a and a second flow channel 101b. The two openings of the first flow channel 101a and the two openings of the second flow channel 101b are distributed in a cross shape that is adapted to the valve hole 202, and the first flow channel 101a and the second flow channel 101b are both substantially arc-shaped. In this way, by rotating the valve core 10 around its own axis, the first flow channel 101a and the second flow channel 101b on the valve core 10 can communicate with different valve holes 202, thereby realizing the switching of the refrigeration mode and the heating mode.

[0034] Please continue to refer to FIG. 1, the reversing valve 100 provided by the present application further comprises a sealing assembly 30, the sealing assembly 30 comprises an elastic member 31 and a first sealing member 32, and the elastic member 31 and the first sealing member 32 are both installed in the valve hole 202. Among them, the inner wall of the valve hole 202 is provided with a first groove 2021 recessed away from the axis direction of itself, one end of the elastic member 31 is clamped in the first groove 2021, the other end abuts against the first sealing member 32, and the elastic member 31 can exert a force on the first sealing member 32 towards the direction close to the valve core 10, so that the first sealing member 32 is tightly attached to the valve core 10.

[0035] It can be understood that when assembling the reversing valve 100 of the present application, the first sealing member 32 and the elastic member 31 can be sequentially put into the valve hole 202 through the opening of the valve hole 202 away from the valve core 10, and the elastic member 31 is firmly installed through the clamping cooperation between the elastic member 31 and the first groove 2021, thereby improving the overall assembly efficiency. At the same time, the elastic member 31 can exert a force on the first sealing member 32 towards the direction close to the valve core 10, so that the first sealing member 32 is tightly attached to the valve core 10, thereby effectively improving the sealing performance of the cooperation between the valve core 10 and the valve hole 202, preventing leakage. Moreover, even if the first sealing member 32 is worn out after long-term work, the elastic force of the elastic member 31 can also compensate for it, further ensuring good sealing effect with the valve core 10.

[0036] It should be noted that the first sealing member 32 is provided with a flow-through hole 301 for the flow of refrigerant, and the flow-through hole 301 can be communicated with different flow channels 101 on the valve core 10 through the rotation of the valve core 10, thereby realizing the smooth flow of refrigerant. In some embodiments, the present application sets the inner diameters of the flow-through hole 301 and the flow channel 101 to be equal, so as to improve the cooperation effect and sealing performance of the two.

[0037] To further improve the sealing effect between the first sealing member 32 and the valve core 10, in an embodiment, the outer surface of the valve core 10 and the surface of the first sealing member 32 close to one end of the valve core 10 are arranged in the same arc shape. In this way, the close sealing between the valve core 10 and the first sealing member 32 is facilitated, and the rotation of the valve core 10 is facilitated.

[0038] Further, in an embodiment, the first sealing member 32 at least partially protrudes from the opening of the valve hole 202 close to one end of the valve core 10, that is, the valve core 10 is only in active sealing cooperation with the first sealing member 32, and is spaced apart from the inner wall of the valve cavity 201 in the radial direction of the valve core 10. In this way, not only can the good close effect between the first sealing member 32 and the valve core 10 be further ensured, but also the side wall of the valve core 10 in the radial direction and the inner wall of the valve cavity 201 form a debris removal gap 2011, so that impurities mixed in the refrigerant flow during the rotation of the valve core 10 are brought into the debris removal gap 2011, avoiding the influence of the impurities on the rotation of the valve core 10, thereby greatly improving the reliability of the valve core 10.

[0039] Since the reversing valve 100 provided by the present application is usually installed in the vertical direction, that is, the axis direction of the valve core 10 is parallel to the direction of gravity, the surface of the valve core 10 at one end in the axial direction is spaced apart from the inner wall of the valve cavity 201 to form a debris storage space 2012, which is in communication with the debris removal gap 2011, thereby facilitating the impurities in the debris removal gap 2011 to be smoothly stored in the debris storage space 2012, and further reducing the adverse effects of the impurities on the rotation of the valve core 10.

[0040] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the outer wall of the first sealing member 32 is provided with a second groove 3201 recessed towards the direction close to the axis thereof. The reversing valve 100 further comprises a second sealing member 33 installed in the second groove 3201 and in sealing cooperation with the inner wall of the second groove 3201, and at least part of the second sealing member 33 protrudes from the second groove 3201 to sealingly abut the inner wall of the valve hole 202. In this way, the second sealing member 33 can seal the gap between the first sealing member 32 and the inner wall of the valve hole 202, thereby greatly reducing the probability of refrigerant leakage from the gap.

[0041] In an embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the elastic member 31 comprises a split elastic body 311 and a clasp 312, the clasp 312 is clamped in the first groove 2021, and at least part of the clasp 312 protrudes from the inner wall of the valve hole 202, one end of the elastic body 311 abuts against the first sealing member 32, and the other end abuts against the clasp 312. The clasp 312 can stop and position the elastic body 311, thereby ensuring the reliability of the installation of the elastic body 311 in the valve body 20.

[0042] Further, in an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the clamping ring 312 is provided with a notch 3121, which is used to provide a deformation amount for the deformation of the clamping ring 312. In this way, when the clamping ring 312 is clamped into the first groove 2021, the clamping ring 312 can be deformed by using the notch 3121 to reduce the installation difficulty of the clamping ring 312, thereby facilitating the installation of the clamping ring 312.

[0043] In order to reduce the risk of the elastic body 311 being separated from the clamping ring 312, in an embodiment, the elastic body 311 is gradually tapered from one end close to the clamping ring 312 to one end away from the clamping ring 312. In this way, stable abutment between the elastic body 311 and the clamping ring 312 can be achieved, greatly improving the installation firmness of the elastic body 311.

[0044] In an embodiment, the elastic body 311 is configured as a butterfly spring, and the overall axial size of the butterfly spring is small, which is conducive to reducing the size of the valve body 20 for installing the elastic body 311, thereby reducing the cost, and the stress on the first sealing element 32 is also more uniform, which can effectively improve the sealing effect between the first sealing element 32 and the valve core 10.

[0045] Specifically, the butterfly spring has a plurality of elastic pieces arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction. Each elastic piece includes a standing section 3111 and an abutment section 3112 connected to one end of the standing section 3111 and arranged at an angle with the standing section 3111. In this way, when the abutment section 3112 is abutted on the first sealing element 32, the elastic piece can be deformed under stress, and the elastic piece can exert a stable force on the first sealing element 32 under the action of elastic recovery, thereby avoiding the generation of gaps between the first sealing element 32 and the valve core 10 due to factors such as friction and wear.

[0046] In another embodiment, the elastic member 31 includes a main body portion 313 and a connecting portion 314, one end of the main body portion 313 is abutted on the first sealing element 32, and the other end is connected with the connecting portion 314, wherein the connecting portion 314 is clamped in the first groove 2021. In this way, the clamping and fitting of the elastic member 31 and the first groove 2021 can also be achieved, thereby realizing the installation of the elastic member 31, and further reducing the risk of the elastic member 31 and the first groove 2021 being separated. Here, the main body portion 313 can adopt the same structural features as the elastic body 311 to reduce the installation size.

[0047] Specifically, in this embodiment, the main body portion 313 and the connecting portion 314 are of an integrated structure to improve the overall processing efficiency of the elastic member 31 and reduce the connection steps. However, it is not limited thereto, and in other embodiments, the main body portion 313 and the connecting portion 314 can also be fixed by welding, which can be reasonably arranged according to actual needs.

[0048] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the reversing valve 100 further comprises a driving mechanism 40 and a speed reduction mechanism 50, the driving mechanism 40 comprising a motor coil 41 and a motor rotor 42 magnetically cooperating with the motor coil 41, the motor coil 41 being detachably sleeved outside the valve body 20, and the motor rotor 42 being installed inside the valve body 20 and capable of rotating under the driving of the motor coil 41.

[0049] Further, the speed reduction mechanism 50 is installed inside the valve body 20, the speed reduction mechanism 50 comprising a gear set 51 and a fixing plate 52, the gear set 51 being installed on the fixing plate 52 and connected to the valve body 20 through the fixing plate 52. The gear set 51 is connected to the output shaft of the motor rotor 42 and the valve core 10 respectively, so as to realize the rotation of the valve core 10 through the meshing transmission of multiple gears on the gear set 51, and the setting of the speed reduction mechanism 50 can increase the driving torque of the valve core.

[0050] The reversing valve 100 provided in the present application is mainly applied to a vehicle air conditioning system, wherein the vehicle air conditioning system further comprises a compressor, an outside heat exchanger and an inside heat exchanger, and the reversing valve 100 is used to change the flow direction of the refrigerant flowing out of the compressor, so as to switch the cooling and heating modes of the system.

[0051] For the convenience of description, the four valve holes 202 circumferentially distributed on the valve body 20 of the reversing valve 100 are defined as a first valve hole 202a, a second valve hole 202b, a third valve hole 202c and a fourth valve hole 202d respectively. With the rotation of the valve core 10, as shown in FIG. 5, the first valve hole 202a can be connected to the second valve hole 202b through the first flow channel 101a, at this time, the third valve hole 202c can be connected to the fourth valve hole 202d through the second flow channel 101b. Alternatively, the first valve hole 202a is connected to the fourth valve hole 202d through the second flow channel 101b, at this time, the third valve hole 202c can be connected to the second valve hole 202b through the first flow channel 101a.

[0052] Here, the first valve hole 202a is connected to the outlet of the compressor, the third valve hole 202c is connected to the inlet of the compressor, the second valve hole 202b is connected to the outside heat exchanger, and the fourth valve hole 202d is connected to the inside heat exchanger.

[0053] When the vehicle air conditioning system is in a cooling state, the high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the outlet of the compressor enters the first flow channel 101a from the first valve hole 202a on the reversing valve 100, and then flows out of the second valve hole 202b and sequentially exchanges heat in the outside heat exchanger and the inside heat exchanger, and then sequentially flows out of the reversing valve 100 through the fourth valve hole 202d, the second flow channel 101b and the third valve hole 202c of the reversing valve 100 and enters the compressor from the inlet of the compressor.

[0054] When the vehicle air conditioning system is in the heating state, the high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor outlet enters the second flow channel 101b from the first valve hole 202a on the reversing valve 100, then flows out from the fourth valve hole 202d and sequentially exchanges heat in the indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger, and then sequentially flows out from the second valve hole 202b, the first flow channel 101a and the third valve hole 202c of the reversing valve 100 and enters the compressor from the inlet of the compressor.

[0055] Wherein, the rotation of the valve core 10 is realized through the driving mechanism 40 and the speed reduction mechanism 50, specifically, the motor coil 41 is electrified to drive the motor rotor 42 to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise, at this time, the output shaft of the motor rotor 42 can drive the gear set 51 to rotate, thereby driving the valve core 10 to rotate correspondingly, realizing the switching of the flow path. And, the position of the valve core 10 when the vehicle air conditioning system is in the cooling state is defined as the initial position of the valve core 10, when the vehicle air conditioning system is switched to the heating state, since the two adjacent valve holes 202 are both vertically arranged, the driving mechanism 40 and the speed reduction mechanism 50 only need to drive the valve core 10 to rotate 90°, so as to realize the switching of the flow channel. When the vehicle air conditioning system is switched back to the cooling state, the driving mechanism 40 and the speed reduction mechanism 50 control the valve core 10 to rotate back 90°, so as to control the valve core 10 to return to the initial position.

[0056] In order to ensure the accuracy of the rotation angle of the valve core 10, a limiting mechanism can be arranged between the speed reduction mechanism 50 and the valve core 10, for example, the cooperation of the arc-shaped groove and the limiting column is used to realize the limiting.

[0057] The technical features of the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined arbitrarily, in order to make the description simple, all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-mentioned embodiments are not described, however, as long as the combinations of the technical features do not exist contradictory, it should be considered that it is within the scope of the present application.

[0058] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation manners of the present application, the description is more specific and detailed, but it should not be understood as the limitation of the patent application scope. It should be pointed out that for ordinary skilled in the art, without departing from the concept of the present application, a number of modifications and improvements can be made, which all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the patent protection scope of the present application should be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A reversing valve comprising a valve body and a valve core, the valve body being provided with a valve cavity and a plurality of valve holes, the plurality of valve holes being spaced apart along the circumferential side of the valve cavity and being in communication with the valve cavity, the valve core being rotatably installed in the valve cavity for communicating different valve holes. characterized in that The reversing valve further comprises an elastic member and a first sealing member, both of which are installed in the valve hole, wherein the inner wall of the valve hole is provided with a first groove recessed away from the axis thereof, one end of the elastic member is clamped in the first groove, the other end abuts against the first sealing member, and the elastic member can exert a force on the first sealing member towards the direction close to the valve core so as to tightly abut the first sealing member against the valve core.

2. The reversing valve of claim 1, wherein, The elastic member comprises a split elastic body and a clasp, the clasp is clamped in the first groove, and the clasp at least partially protrudes from the inner wall of the valve hole, one end of the elastic body abuts against the first sealing member, and the other end abuts against the clasp.

3. The diverter valve of claim 2, wherein, The clasp is provided with a notch for providing a deformation amount for deformation of the clasp.

4. The diverter valve of claim 2, wherein, The elastic body is gradually tapered from one end close to the clasp to the other end away from the clasp.

5. The diverter valve of claim 2, wherein, The elastic body is configured as a butterfly spring.

6. The diverter valve of claim 1, wherein, The elastic member comprises a main body and a connecting portion, one end of the main body abuts against the first sealing member, and the other end is connected with the connecting portion, the connecting portion is clamped in the first groove.

7. The reversing valve of claim 6, wherein, The main body and the connecting portion are of an integral structure.

8. The diverter valve of claim 1, wherein, The outer wall of the first sealing member is provided with a second groove recessed towards the direction close to the axis thereof, the reversing valve further comprises a second sealing member, the second sealing member is installed in the second groove and sealingly engages with the inner wall of the second groove, and at least part of the second sealing member protrudes from the second groove to sealingly abut against the inner wall of the valve hole.

9. The diverter valve of claim 1, wherein, The outer surface of the valve core and the surface of the first sealing member close to the valve core are of the same curvature and are arranged in an arc shape.

10. The diverter valve of claim 1, wherein, The first sealing member is provided with a flow-through hole, and the valve core is provided with a plurality of flow channels, the flow-through hole can communicate with different flow channels with rotation of the valve core. The inner diameters of the flow-through hole and the flow channels are equal.

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