Refrigeration – Refrigeration producer – Compressor-condenser-evaporator circuit
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-19
2002-09-17
Walberg, Teresa (Department: 3742)
Refrigeration
Refrigeration producer
Compressor-condenser-evaporator circuit
Reexamination Certificate
active
06449979
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is related to and claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. Hei. 11-189407 filed on Jul. 2, 1999, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an evaporator of a refrigerant cycle, in which a refrigerant distribution can be suitably set. The evaporator is suitable for a vehicle air conditioner, for example.
2. Description of Related Art
A refrigerant evaporator
110
having refrigerant passages shown in
FIG. 19
is proposed in JP-Y2-2518259. The refrigerant evaporator
110
has plural tubes
100
each of which has two parallel refrigerant passages
100
a,
100
b
therein, and first and second tanks
101
,
102
formed independently from the tubes
100
. One side refrigerant passage
100
a
communicates with the first tank
101
, and the other side refrigerant passage
100
b
communicates with the second tank
102
. A partition plate (not shown) is provided at a middle position of the first tank
101
in a tank longitudinal direction, so that the first tank
101
is partitioned into an inlet tank portion
101
a
for distributing refrigerant into the tubes
100
and an outlet tank portion
101
b
for collecting refrigerant from the tubes
100
. The first tank
101
is disposed at an upstream side from the second tank
102
in an air flowing direction A. Further, a refrigerant inlet
103
is provided in the inlet tank portion
101
a,
and a refrigerant outlet
104
is provided in the outlet tank portion
101
b.
The refrigerant passage
100
a
defines upstream passages F
1
and F
4
provided at an upstream air side, and refrigerant passage
100
b
defines downstream passages F
2
and F
3
provided at a downstream air side.
In the evaporator
110
, refrigerant from the refrigerant inlet
103
flows through refrigerant passages in a refrigerant flow direction shown by arrows in
FIG. 19
, and is discharged to an outside from the refrigerant outlet
104
. When gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant flows toward the left side within the second tank
102
in
FIG. 19
, liquid refrigerant readily flows toward the leftmost side within the second tank
102
due to the inertia force rather than gas refrigerant. Therefore, a liquid refrigerant ratio becomes higher at a left side of the refrigerant passage F
3
, and the temperature of air blown out from the evaporator
110
becomes ununiform.
In the conventional refrigerant evaporator
110
, throttle means is provided at the left side of the second tank
102
in
FIG. 19
, so that the quantity of the liquid refrigerant flowing toward the leftmost side of the second tank
102
is smaller in the evaporator
110
, refrigerant almost gasified in the refrigerant passages F
1
, F
2
flows into the refrigerant passages F
3
, F
4
on the left side in
FIG. 19
, and air passing through the tubes
100
around the refrigerant passages F
3
, F
4
is difficult to be cooled. As a result, in this case, a temperature difference of air blown from the evaporator
110
becomes larger between left and right sides.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of foregoing problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an evaporator having a uniform temperature distribution of blown-air.
According to the present invention, in a refrigerant evaporator, a plurality of tubes are arranged in parallel with each other in a width direction perpendicular to a flow direction of air (outside fluid) and are arranged in plural rows in the flow direction of air, and plural tanks are disposed at both upper and lower ends of each tube to have upper tank portions and lower tank portions. The tanks are arranged to correspond to the arrangement of the tubes in the plural rows in the flow direction of air. The tanks have an inlet through which refrigerant is introduced, and an outlet through which refrigerant having passed through the tanks and the tubes is discharged. The inlet and the outlet are provided at side ends of the tanks in the width direction to be positioned at different-row tanks in the flow direction of air in such a manner that refrigerant Introduced from the inlet passes all refrigerant passages provided in one row where the inlet is positioned, passes through all refrigerant passages at adjacent row in order, and flows into the refrigerant outlet. In the evaporator, the lower tank portion has therein a throttle at which a refrigerant passage area is reduced. Thus, liquid refrigerant distribution in the tubes can be adjusted using the throttle, and temperature distribution of air blown out from the evaporator can be made uniform.
Preferably, the throttle includes plural throttle plates having throttle holes. Therefore, even when refrigerant distribution of the tubes in one row is ununiform, it is possible to offset the ununiform refrigerant distribution in a tube-overlapped portion in the flow direction of air, by suitably setting arrangement positions of the throttle plates,
More preferably, adjacent tanks adjacent to each other in the flow direction of air are partitioned by a partition wall, and are provided to communicate with each other through communication holes provided in the partition wall. Therefore, the refrigerant distribution of the tubes can be finely set using both the throttle holes and the communication holes.
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patent: 0 849 557 (1998-06-01), None
patent: A-6-26780 (1994-02-01), None
patent: B2-7-39895 (1995-05-01), None
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Makihara Masamichi
Nagasawa Toshiya
Torigoe Eiichi
Denso Corporation
Harness Dickey & Pierce PLC
Robinson Daniel
Walberg Teresa
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