阅读说明：本技术 换热器 (Heat exchanger ) 是由 渡边政利 前间庆成 高冈亮 冈孝多郎 于 2020-01-31 设计创作，主要内容包括：换热器(5)包括：多个扁管(11)；集管(12),连接着多个扁管；流入板(15),在集管内部划分出制冷剂流入部(14)和下循环部(16)；上下分隔板(18),划分出下循环部(16)和上循环部(17)；下分隔板(161),将下循环部中除下连通路(163)外的部分分隔成内侧的上升路和外侧的下降路；以及上分隔板(174),将上循环部中除上连通路(172)外的部分分隔成设于下风侧的至少一部分的上升路和至少设于上风侧的下降路,流入板在下风侧且内侧具有喷出制冷剂的喷出孔(151),上下分隔板分别在下风侧且内侧具有供制冷剂通过的第一通过口(18di),至少在上风外侧具有供制冷剂通过的第二通过口(18uo)。(The heat exchanger (5) comprises: a plurality of flat tubes (11); a header (12) to which a plurality of flat tubes are connected; an inflow plate (15) which divides the inside of the header into a refrigerant inflow portion (14) and a lower circulation portion (16); an upper and lower partition plate (18) for partitioning the lower circulation part (16) and the upper circulation part (17); a bottom partition plate (161) that partitions a portion of the lower circulation unit other than the bottom communication path (163) into an inner ascending path and an outer descending path; and an upper partition plate (174) that partitions a portion of the upper cycle section other than the upper communication passage (172) into an ascending path provided at least in part on the leeward side and a descending path provided at least on the windward side, the inflow plate having discharge holes (151) for discharging the refrigerant on the leeward side and on the inside thereof, the upper and lower partition plates having first through ports (18di) for passing the refrigerant on the leeward side and on the inside thereof, respectively, and second through ports (18uo) for passing the refrigerant on at least the windward outside thereof.)

1. A heat exchanger, comprising:

a plurality of flat tubes stacked in a direction perpendicular to a flow direction of a refrigerant flowing inside the flat tubes;

a hollow header connected to one side end of the plurality of flat tubes;

an inflow plate which partitions a refrigerant inflow portion and a lower cycle portion above the refrigerant inflow portion inside the header;

a vertical partition plate which partitions the lower circulation unit and an upper circulation unit above the lower circulation unit in the header;

a bottom partition plate extending parallel to the stacking direction of the flat tubes and partitioning the lower circulation portion into an inner ascending path and an outer descending path;

a lower communication passage that communicates the ascending path and the descending path of the lower circulation unit between the inflow plate and the bottom separation plate;

an upper partition plate extending in parallel to the stacking direction of the flat tubes and partitioning the upper circulation portion into an ascending path provided on at least a part of a leeward side and a descending path provided on at least a windward side; and

an upper communication passage for communicating the ascending passage and the descending passage of the upper circulation unit,

wherein the inflow plate has a discharge hole for discharging the refrigerant at a leeward side and an inner side,

the upper and lower partition plates have first passage ports through which the refrigerant passes on the leeward side and on the inner side thereof, and second passage ports through which the refrigerant passes on the windward side and on the outer side thereof.

2. The heat exchanger of claim 1,

the spouting holes of the inflow plate are located between the bottom separation plate and one end portion side of the plurality of flat tubes when viewed in cross section.

3. The heat exchanger of claim 1,

the lower end of the bottom separation plate of the lower circulating part is positioned below the flat tube at the lowest part.

4. The heat exchanger of claim 1,

the upper separation plate is formed in an L-shaped cross section by a first partition for dividing the windward side and the leeward side inside the upper circulation unit and a second partition for dividing the outer side and the inner side on the leeward side of the upper circulation unit, and the ascending path is divided between the leeward side and the inner side and the descending path is divided between the windward side and the leeward side.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a heat exchanger, and more particularly, to a heat exchanger for an air conditioner.

Background

Conventionally, a heat exchanger having the following structure is known: both ends of a flat tube (heat transfer tube) having a plurality of flow path holes are connected to a header, and a refrigerant is branched to the flat tube in the header. The flat tubes are stacked in a direction perpendicular to the refrigerant flow direction. In such a heat exchanger, when the refrigerant flow rate inside the header is low, liquid refrigerant stagnates in the lower portion thereof due to the influence of gravity, and when the refrigerant flow rate inside the header is high, liquid refrigerant stagnates in the upper portion thereof, so that the refrigerant flow distribution cannot be made uniform. In addition, although a plurality of flow path holes are provided inside the flat tube, since there is a difference in heat exchange amount between the upwind side and the downwind side of the flat tube, the state of the refrigerant becomes non-uniform among the plurality of flow paths in the flat tube, and the heat exchange capacity is lowered.

In contrast, patent document 1 discloses a heat exchanger 5A, as shown in fig. 5A, including: an orifice (outlet) 151A (discharge hole) provided in the inflow plate 15A for dividing the refrigerant inflow portion 14A of the header 12A and the circulation portion 16A; a partition plate 161A extending parallel to the stacking direction of the flat tubes and dividing the circulation portion 16A inside the header 12A into spaces of an inner side 16iA (side to which the flat tubes are connected) and an outer side 16oA (side opposite to the flat tubes); and an upper communication passage 162A and a lower communication passage 163A, wherein the upper communication passage 162A is provided above the partition plate 161A, and the lower communication passage 163A is provided below the partition plate 161A. In addition, sectional views of the header 12 in fig. 5A, 6A, and 7A are shown in fig. 5B, 6B, and 7B. In patent document 1, the liquid refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant inflow portion 14A from the inflow pipe 13A is increased in flow velocity by the orifice 151A, so that the liquid refrigerant is prevented from stagnating in the lower portion of the circulation portion 16A, and the liquid refrigerant moving to the upper portion of the circulation portion 16A is returned to the lower portion by circulating the liquid refrigerant in the circulation portion 16A partitioned by the upper communication passage 162A, the lower communication passage 163A, and the partition plate 161A, so that the stagnating in the upper portion is prevented (the flow of the refrigerant is indicated by arrows in the figure). However, the structure of patent document 1 has the following problems: the unevenness of the refrigerant state between the windward side and the leeward side of the flat tubes 11A cannot be improved.

For this purpose, it is considered to employ a heat exchanger 5B, as shown in fig. 6A and 6B, comprising: a first partition plate 161B that divides the circulation portion 16B inside the header 12B into spaces of an inner side 16iB (i.e., flat tube 11B side) and an outer side 16oB (i.e., the side opposite to the flat tube 11B side); a second partition plate 164B that further divides the space of the outer side 16oB into a space of the windward side 16uoB and a space of the leeward side 16 doB; an upper communication passage 162B and a lower communication passage 163B, wherein the upper communication passage 162B is provided above the second partition plate 164B, and the lower communication passage 163B is provided below the second partition plate 164B; and gaps 165B, 166B provided on the side surfaces of the first partition plate 161B.

In this structure, the liquid refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant inflow portion 14B from the inflow tube 13B is accelerated in flow velocity by the orifice 151B of the inflow plate 15B to suppress stagnation of the liquid refrigerant in the lower portion of the circulating portion 16B, and the liquid refrigerant staying in the upper portion of the circulating portion 16B is returned to the lower portion by circulating the liquid refrigerant in the circulating portion 16B partitioned by the upper communication passage 162B, the lower communication passage 163B, and the second partition plate 164B to suppress stagnation of the refrigerant in the upper portion of the header 12B. In the figure, the flow of refrigerant on the windward side 16uoB is indicated by dashed arrows, and the flow of refrigerant on the leeward side 16doB is indicated by solid arrows.

In the header 12B, the space between the outer side 16oB and the inner side 16iB communicates with each other through the gaps 165B and 166B of the first partition plate 161B, and therefore the refrigerant gradually flows into the space of the inner side 16iB while circulating. With this configuration, the flow velocity on the return side (upstream side 16uoB) of the circulation path is reduced, and more liquid refrigerant can be made to flow to the upstream side of the inner side 16iB via the gap 165B, so that the unevenness in the refrigerant state between the upstream side and the downstream side of the flat tubes 11B can be improved in addition to the effect of patent document 1. However, with this structure, there are the following problems: as shown in fig. 7A and 7B, the liquid refrigerant R stagnates (shown by hatching) near the lower communication passage 163B in the return-side space of the circulation path and flows around the flat tubes 11B. In fig. 7A, a part of flat tube 11B is not shown.

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2015-127618

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a heat exchanger that can make uniform the distribution of refrigerant in each flat tube, improve the unevenness of the state of refrigerant between the upstream side and the downstream side of the flat tube, and suppress the liquid refrigerant staying in the return side space of the cycle from flowing around to the flat tube.

The present invention is achieved by the following configuration in order to achieve the above object.

(1) A first aspect of the present invention is a heat exchanger comprising: a plurality of flat tubes stacked in a direction perpendicular to a flow direction of a refrigerant flowing inside the flat tubes; a hollow header connected to one side end of the plurality of flat tubes; an inflow plate which partitions a refrigerant inflow portion and a lower cycle portion above the refrigerant inflow portion inside the header; a vertical partition plate which partitions the lower circulation unit and an upper circulation unit above the lower circulation unit in the header; a bottom partition plate extending parallel to the stacking direction of the flat tubes and partitioning the lower circulation portion into an inner ascending path and an outer descending path; a lower communication passage that communicates the ascending path and the descending path of the lower circulation unit between the inflow plate and the bottom separation plate; an upper partition plate extending in parallel to the stacking direction of the flat tubes and partitioning the upper circulation portion into an ascending path provided on at least a part of a leeward side and a descending path provided on at least a windward side; and an upper communication passage that communicates the ascending path and the descending path of the upper cycle unit, wherein the inflow plate has a discharge hole for discharging the refrigerant on a leeward side and inside, the upper and lower partition plates have a first passage port for passing the refrigerant on the leeward side and inside, and a second passage port for passing the refrigerant on an outer side in the windward.

(2) In the heat exchanger of the above (1), the discharge holes of the inflow plate are located between the bottom separation plate and one end portion side of the plurality of flat tubes as viewed in cross section.

(3) In the heat exchanger according to the above (1), the lower end of the bottom partition plate of the lower cycle unit is located below the lowermost flat tube.

(4) In the heat exchanger according to the above (1), the top separation plate is formed to have an L-shaped cross section by a first partition portion for partitioning the inside of the top circulation portion into the windward side and the leeward side and a second partition portion for partitioning the outside and the inside of the leeward side of the top circulation portion, the ascending path is partitioned between the leeward side and the inside, and the descending path is partitioned between the windward side and the leeward side.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a heat exchanger that can make uniform the distribution of the refrigerant in each flat tube, improve the unevenness of the refrigerant state in the windward side and the leeward side in the flat tube, and suppress the liquid refrigerant staying in the return side space of the cycle from flowing unevenly to the flat tube.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining a structure of an air conditioner using a heat exchanger according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2A is a diagram illustrating a heat exchanger according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view illustrating the heat exchanger.

Fig. 2B is a front view showing the heat exchanger.

Fig. 3A is a diagram for explaining a header of a heat exchanger according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3B is a plan view showing a section of line B-B of fig. 3A and showing an inflow plate.

Fig. 3C is a sectional view showing a section taken along line C-C of fig. 3A.

Fig. 3D is a plan view showing a cross section of line D-D of fig. 3A and showing the upper and lower partition plates.

Fig. 3E is a sectional view showing a section taken along line E-E of fig. 3A.

Fig. 4A is a diagram for explaining the retention of the liquid refrigerant in the header (lower cycle) of the heat exchanger according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4B is a sectional view showing a section taken along line F-F of fig. 4A.

Fig. 5A is a diagram for explaining an example of a heat exchanger according to the related art, and is a diagram in a case where a partition plate for partitioning an inside and an outside is provided.

Fig. 5B is a sectional view showing a section taken along line K-K of fig. 5A.

Fig. 6A is a diagram for explaining another example of a heat exchanger of the related art, which is a diagram of a case where a first partition plate that partitions an inside and an outside and a second partition plate that partitions an upwind side and a downwind side are provided.

Fig. 6B is a sectional view showing a section taken along line L-L of fig. 6A.

Fig. 7A is a diagram for explaining the retention of the liquid refrigerant in fig. 6.

Fig. 7B is a sectional view showing a section taken along line M-M of fig. 7A.

Fig. 8A is a diagram for explaining a header of a heat exchanger according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8B is a sectional view showing a section taken along line G-G of fig. 8A.

Fig. 8C is a sectional view showing a section taken along line H-H of fig. 8A.

Fig. 8D is a sectional view showing a section taken along line I-I of fig. 8A.

Fig. 8E is a sectional view showing a section taken along line J-J of fig. 8A.

Detailed Description

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments

Hereinafter, a mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as "embodiment") will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the description of the embodiments.

First embodiment

First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 4B.

Integral structure of air conditioner

Fig. 1 shows a structure of an air conditioner using a heat exchanger according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1, the air conditioner 1 includes an indoor unit 2 and an outdoor unit 3. The indoor unit 2 is provided with an indoor heat exchanger 4, and the outdoor unit 3 is provided with a compressor 6, an expansion valve 7, a four-way valve 8, and the like, in addition to the outdoor heat exchanger 5.

During heating operation, the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant discharged from the compressor 6 of the outdoor unit 3 flows into the indoor heat exchanger 4 through the four-way valve 8. In the figure, the refrigerant flows in the direction of black arrows. During heating operation, the indoor heat exchanger 4 functions as a condenser, and condenses and liquefies the refrigerant that has exchanged heat with the air. Thereafter, the high-pressure liquid refrigerant is decompressed by the expansion valve 7 of the outdoor unit 3, becomes a low-temperature low-pressure gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant, and flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 5. The outdoor heat exchanger 5 functions as an evaporator, and vaporizes the refrigerant after exchanging heat with the outside air. Thereafter, the low-pressure gas refrigerant is sucked into the compressor 6 through the four-way valve 8.

During the cooling operation, the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant discharged from the compressor 6 of the outdoor unit 3 flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 5 through the four-way valve 8. In the figure, the refrigerant flows in the direction of the white arrows. The outdoor heat exchanger 5 functions as a condenser, and condenses and liquefies the refrigerant that exchanges heat with the outside air. Thereafter, the high-pressure liquid refrigerant is decompressed by the expansion valve 7 of the outdoor unit 3, becomes a low-temperature low-pressure gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant, and flows into the indoor heat exchanger 4. The indoor heat exchanger 4 functions as an evaporator, and vaporizes the refrigerant that exchanges heat with air. Thereafter, the low-pressure gas refrigerant is sucked into the compressor 6 through the four-way valve 8.

Heat exchanger

The heat exchanger according to the first embodiment can be applied to the indoor heat exchanger 4 and the outdoor heat exchanger 5, and the following description will be given as a heat exchanger applied to the heat exchanger 5 of the outdoor unit 3 that functions as an evaporator during heating operation. The heat exchanger 5 of the outdoor unit 3 may be flat or L-shaped in plan view. In general, when the heat exchanger is L-shaped in plan view, it can be obtained by bending the heat exchanger 5 formed in a flat shape. Specifically, the L-shaped heat exchanger 5 can be produced by the following steps: an assembly step of assembling the flat heat exchanger 5 with a member having a surface coated with solder, a brazing step of putting the assembled flat heat exchanger 5 into a furnace and brazing, and a bending step of bending the brazed flat heat exchanger 5 into an L shape. Hereinafter, the heat exchanger of the present invention will be described as a flat heat exchanger 5.

Fig. 2A and 2B are views for explaining the heat exchanger 5 according to the first embodiment, fig. 2A shows a plan view of the heat exchanger 5, and fig. 2B shows a front view of the heat exchanger 5. The flat tubes 11 (the first flat tube 11a and the second flat tube 11b) have a flat cross section extending in the direction in which air flows, and a plurality of flow paths through which a refrigerant flows are formed inside the flat tubes and arranged in the direction in which air flows. The heat exchanger 5 includes: a plurality of flat tubes 11 arranged in the vertical direction such that wider surfaces (wide surfaces) among side surfaces of the flat tubes 11 face each other; a pair of left and right headers 12 connected to both ends of the flat tubes 11; and a plurality of fins 111 arranged in a direction intersecting flat tubes 11 and engaged with flat tubes 11. In the heat exchanger 5, a refrigerant pipe is provided in the header 12 in addition to the above, and the heat exchanger 5 and other components of the air conditioner 1 are connected to each other to allow the refrigerant to flow therethrough.

The flat tubes 11 are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction with an interval S1 through which air passes, and both ends thereof are connected to the pair of headers 12. Specifically, the flat tubes 11 extending in the left-right direction are arranged at a predetermined interval S1 in the vertical direction, and both ends thereof are connected to the header 12.

The header 12 has a cylindrical shape, and has a refrigerant flow path (not shown) formed therein, and through which the refrigerant supplied to the heat exchanger 5 is caused to flow into the plurality of flat tubes 11 in a branched state or the refrigerant flowing out of the plurality of flat tubes 11 is caused to merge.

The fins 111 are flat plates extending in the direction intersecting the flat tubes 11 in front view, and are arranged at a predetermined arrangement pitch in the left-right direction with an interval through which air passes.

Collecting pipe

Next, the header 12 of the heat exchanger 5 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E, 4A, and 4B. The header 12 is provided in a pair of left and right as shown in fig. 2A and 2B, and the explanation will be given using the header 12 on the left side. In the first embodiment, the flat tube 11 side (right side in the drawing) of the bottom separation plate 161 described later is referred to as the inner side and the opposite side (left side in the drawing) thereof is referred to as the outer side with respect to the header 12, and the upper side in the drawing of the top separation plate 174 described later is referred to as the windward side and the opposite side thereof is referred to as the leeward side (lower side in the drawing). In fig. 3A and 4A, the fins 111 are omitted. In addition, an upward arrow in the cross-sectional view indicates the air flow direction.

The structure of the inside of the header 12 will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of fig. 3A. The header 12 is formed hollow inside to divide the refrigerant into a plurality of flat tubes 11. The header 12 is divided into a refrigerant inflow portion 14, a lower cycle portion 16, and an upper cycle portion 17 in this order from below. Fig. 3A is a sectional view of the header 12 as viewed in the direction in which the flat tubes are stacked, shown in fig. 3B, 3C, 3D, and 3E, and fig. 4A is a sectional view of the header 12 as viewed in the direction in which the flat tubes are stacked, shown in fig. 4B.

An inflow pipe 13 into which the refrigerant flows is connected to the refrigerant inflow portion 14. Among the plurality of flat tubes 11 stacked in the direction perpendicular to the flow direction of the refrigerant flowing through the flat tubes 11, one end portion thereof is connected to the header 12, and is divided into a lower flat tube group 11d connected to the lower circulation portion 16 and an upper flat tube group 11u connected to the upper circulation portion 17. Inside the flat tubes 11, a plurality of flow passage holes (not shown) through which the refrigerant flows are arranged in parallel from the upstream side to the downstream side.

The refrigerant inflow portion 14 and the lower circulation portion 16 above the refrigerant inflow portion are partitioned by an inflow plate 15. The inlet plate 15 is provided with discharge holes 151 (orifices) for discharging the refrigerant from the refrigerant inflow portion 14 to the lower cycle portion 16. As shown in fig. 3B, the discharge holes 151 are provided on the leeward side and inside of the inlet plate 15, between a lower partition plate 161 described later and one end portion side of the flat tubes 11, in a cross-sectional view of the inlet plate 15 viewed from the stacking direction of the flat tubes. Since the discharge holes 151 are arranged at positions not overlapping with the one end portions of the flat tubes 11, the refrigerant discharged from the discharge holes 151 to the lower cycle portion 16 can be suppressed from being decelerated by the flat tubes 11.

As shown in fig. 3C, the portion of the lower cycle portion 16 other than the lower communication passage 163 is partitioned by a bottom partition plate 161 into an ascending passage 16i of the refrigerant on the inner side (flat tube 11B side of the lower cycle portion 16) and a descending passage 16o of the refrigerant on the outer side (opposite side to the flat tube 11B side of the lower cycle portion 16). That is, the bottom separation plate 161 is extended downward in the stacking direction of the flat tubes from the top separation plate 18 described later, and is disposed so as to partition the lower circulation portion 16 into an inner side and an outer side, and at the lower end thereof, the inner side and the outer side communicate with each other through the lower communication passage 163. Here, the lower end of the bottom partition plate 161 is located below the lowermost flat tube 11 of the lower flat tube group 11 d.

The lower cycle portion 16 and the upper cycle portion 17 above it are partitioned by a vertical partition plate 18, and as shown in fig. 3D, the vertical partition plate 18 is provided with a first passage port 18di on the leeward side and inside of the header 12 for allowing the refrigerant flowing through the ascending path 16i to flow through the first passage port 18di to the upper cycle portion 17, and is provided with a first shut portion 18ui on the windward side and inside thereof for preventing the refrigerant from passing therethrough. Further, a second passage port 18uo for allowing the refrigerant to flow from the upper cycle portion 17 to the lower cycle portion 16 through the second passage port 18uo is provided on the windward side and outside of the header 12, and a second latching portion 18do for preventing the refrigerant from passing therethrough is provided on the leeward side and outside.

The second closing portion 18do need not be in a form of closing the flow path, but may be opened integrally with the second passage port 18 uo. The second passage port 18uo may be provided only on the windward side and the outer side, or may be provided on the outer side from the windward side to the leeward side, as long as the refrigerant can be guided to the downward path 16o on the outer side of the lower cycle portion 16. In short, the vertical partition plate 18 may have at least the second passage port 18uo through which the refrigerant passes in the downward direction on the windward outer side.

As shown in fig. 3E, the portion of the upper circulation unit 17 other than the upper communication passage 172 is partitioned into a downwind ascending path 17d and an upwind descending path 17u of the header 12 by the upper partition plate 174. That is, the top partition plate 174 extends upward in the stacking direction of the flat tubes from the top partition plate 18 described above so as to partition the upper circulation unit 17 into an upstream side and a downstream side, and the upstream side and the downstream side communicate with each other at the upper end thereof via the upstream communication passage 172. The upper partition plate 174 has a recess into which the flat tubes 11 are inserted, at a position corresponding to the upper flat tube group 11 u. Here, the upper end of the upper partition plate 174 is located above the uppermost flat tube 11 of the upper flat tube group 11 u.

Here, fig. 3A shows an example in which each of the lower flat tube group 11d and the upper flat tube group 11u is constituted by seven flat tubes 11, but the number of the flat tubes 11 is not limited to this, and the number of the upper and lower portions across the upper and lower partition plates 18 may be different. The cross-sectional areas of the ascending path 16i, the descending path 16o, the ascending path 17d, and the descending path 17u may be designed in advance according to the state and type of the refrigerant flowing therethrough. These matters can be appropriately set according to the performance required of the heat exchanger 5.

Circulation of refrigerant

According to the structure of the header 12, the refrigerant circulates through the header 12 as indicated by arrows in fig. 3A, and is branched into the flat tubes 11 of the lower flat tube group 11d and the upper flat tube group 11 u. That is, the refrigerant is first discharged from the refrigerant inflow portion 14 to the ascending path 16i inside the lower cycle portion 16 through the discharge hole 151 of the inflow plate 15. Thereafter, the refrigerant is guided to the ascending path 17d on the leeward side of the upper cycle portion 17 through the first passage port 18di of the vertical partition plate 18.

Subsequently, the refrigerant turns around in the upper communication passage 172, and returns to the upstream descending passage 17u of the upper circulation unit 17 as indicated by the broken line arrow in fig. 3A. Thereafter, the refrigerant is guided to the downward path 16o outside the lower cycle portion 16 through the second passage port 18uo of the vertical separation plate 18. At this time, as described above, the second passage port 18uo of the vertical partition plate 18 may be located only on the windward side and the outer side of the header 12, or may be located on the outer side from the windward side to the leeward side, and in short, may be a downward path 16o capable of guiding the refrigerant to the outer side of the lower circulation portion 16.

The refrigerant guided to the downward path 16o outside the lower cycle portion 16 turns around in the downward communication path 163, and circulates again to the upward path 16i inside the lower cycle portion 16. The refrigerant merges with the refrigerant flowing into the lower cycle portion 16 through the discharge holes 151 of the inlet plate 15, and is split into the flat tubes 11. Here, the areas of the discharge hole 151, the first through port 18di, and the second through port 18uo may be appropriately set according to the performance required for the heat exchanger 5.

By circulating the refrigerant as described above, the header 12 of the first embodiment can make the refrigerant flow distribution balance among the flat tubes 11 uniform. That is, since the flow passage cross-sectional area is reduced and the flow velocity of the refrigerant is increased by the discharge holes 151 of the inlet plate 15, the bottom partition plate 161 for partitioning the lower circulation portion 16, and the top partition plate 174 for partitioning the upper circulation portion 17, the liquid refrigerant is easily raised in the header 12 even at a low circulation amount, and the refrigerant can be suppressed from being retained in the lower portion of the header 12. On the other hand, since the raised refrigerant forms a circulation path from the upper communication passage 172 of the upper cycle unit 17 to the lower communication passage 163 of the lower cycle unit 16, through which the liquid refrigerant having moved to the upper cycle unit 17 can be returned to the position of the inlet plate 15, the refrigerant can be prevented from staying in the upper cycle unit 17 even at a high circulation amount.

Further, the unevenness of the refrigerant state in the windward side and the leeward side in the flat tubes 11 can be improved. That is, since the circulation paths of the inner ascending path 16i and the outer descending path 16o are formed in the lower circulation portion 16 of the header 12 and the positions of the discharge holes 151 of the inflow plate 15 are located on the leeward side, the gas having a high flow velocity that is blown up is distributed in many cases on the leeward side of the ascending path 16i, and the liquid refrigerant having a lower flow velocity than that is distributed in many cases on the windward side of the ascending path 16 i. Thus, in the conventional header, the liquid refrigerant is equally distributed in each flow passage hole, whereas in the header 12 of the first embodiment, the liquid refrigerant can be made to flow largely to the windward side where the heat exchange amount is relatively large, thereby improving the unevenness of the refrigerant state between the windward side and the leeward side of the flat tubes 11.

Further, since the circulation paths of the ascending path 17d on the leeward side and the descending path 17u on the windward side are formed in the upper circulation unit 17, and the proportion of the liquid refrigerant increases on the descending path 17u side as the return space, the inflow space is disposed on the leeward side and the return space is disposed on the windward side, so that the liquid refrigerant can flow greatly to the windward side where the heat exchange amount is relatively large, and the unevenness of the refrigerant state between the windward side and the leeward side of the flat tubes 11 can be improved.

The liquid refrigerant R (shown by hatching in fig. 4A and 4B) retained in the descending path 16o, which is a return space of the circulation path of the lower circulation unit 16, in the header 12 will be described with reference to fig. 4A and 4B. As shown in fig. 4A and 4B, the downward path 16o of the lower cycle portion 16 is an outer space where the flat tubes 11 are not connected, and the liquid refrigerant R staying therein does not drift toward the flat tubes 11. Further, since the lower end of the bottom partition plate 161 of the lower cycle portion 16 (even the height of the lower communication passage 163) is located below the lowermost flat tube 11 of the lower flat tube group 11d, the liquid refrigerant R can be suppressed from moving toward the ascending path 16 i.

Second embodiment

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, and 8E. The overall configuration of the air conditioner 1 and the heat exchanger 5 are the same as those of the first embodiment, and therefore, the description thereof will be omitted. Fig. 8A is a cross-sectional view of the header 12 as viewed in the stacking direction of the flat tubes, which is shown in fig. 8B, 8C, 8D, and 8E.

Collecting pipe

The header 22 will be described below using the header 22 positioned on the left side out of the pair of headers 22 provided on the left and right, the header 22 will be described with the flat tube 11 side (right side in the drawing) in the header 22 partitioned by the bottom partition plate 261 described later as the inner side and the opposite side (left side in the drawing) as the outer side, the upper partition plate 274 described later as the windward side and the opposite side as the leeward side (lower side in the drawing), and the fins 111 will be omitted in fig. 8A, all similar to the first embodiment.

The second embodiment aims to more appropriately split the liquid refrigerant in the downward path 17u (the space where the refrigerant returns to the lower portion) of the upper cycle unit 17 in the first embodiment in a situation where the circulation amount of the refrigerant is large.

To cope with this situation, as shown in fig. 8B, an upper partition plate 274 is provided in the upper circulation portion 27 of the header 22, and the cross-sectional shape of the upper partition plate 274 is L-shaped when viewed in a cross section perpendicular to the stacking direction of the flat tubes. Specifically, the top partition plate 274 is a combination of a first partition 274x that divides the inside of the upper circulation portion 27 into the upwind side and the downwind side, and a second partition 274y that divides the downwind side of the header 22 into the outside and the inside. The second partition 274y is disposed to extend from the vertical partition plate 28 to the upper end of the upper circulation portion 27, and the first partition 274x is disposed to be lower than at least the uppermost flat tube in the upper flat tube group 11u, and an upper communication passage 272 is provided between the first partition 274y and the upper end of the upper circulation portion 27. A recess is provided in the first partitioning portion 274x at a portion corresponding to the upper flat tube group 11u, into which the flat tubes 11 are inserted.

The upper circulation portion 27 is partitioned by the upper partition plate 274 into an ascending path 27di of the refrigerant on the leeward side and inside, a descending path 27u of the refrigerant on the windward side, and a descending path 27do of the refrigerant on the leeward side. The descending path 27u and the descending path 27do form an integrated space.

As described above, in the header 22 of the second embodiment, in the upper circulation portion 27, the space in the part of the space on the leeward side of the upper circulation portion 27, that is, the space on the leeward side and the inside thereof is partitioned into the ascending path 27di, and the space in the total space on the windward side plus the space in the part of the space on the leeward side and the outside thereof is partitioned into the descending paths 27u/27 do. Therefore, when the header 12 and the header 22 are summarized, the top partition plates 174 and 274 partition the portions of the upper circulation units 17 and 27 other than the top communication passages 172 and 272 into the ascending passages 17d and 27di provided at least in a part on the leeward side and the descending passages 17u and 27u/27do provided at least on the leeward side.

Circulation of refrigerant

In the above-described configuration, the refrigerant circulates through the header 22 as indicated by the arrows in fig. 8A, and is branched into the flat tubes 11 of the lower flat tube group 11d and the upper flat tube group 11 u. That is, the refrigerant is first discharged from the refrigerant inflow portion 24 to the inner upward path 26i of the lower cycle portion 26 through the discharge hole 251 on the leeward side and inner side of the inflow plate 25. Thereafter, the refrigerant is guided to the ascending path 27di on the leeward side and inside of the upper cycle portion 27 through the first passage port 28di of the vertical partition plate 28. Fig. 8C shows an example in which another discharge hole 252 is provided on the windward and inner side of the inflow plate 25, but this is not essential to the second embodiment, and may be provided when it is necessary to cause the refrigerant to be discharged to the circulating unit 26.

Then, the refrigerant turns around in the upper communication passage 272, and returns to the ascending downward path 27u and the descending downward path 27do outside the leeward of the upper cycle portion 27. Thereafter, the refrigerant is guided to the downward path 26o outside the lower cycle portion 26 through the second passage port 28uo of the vertical separation plate 28. In this case, as described above, the second passage opening 28uo of the top-bottom separation plate 28 may be located only on the windward side or may be located on the outer side from the windward side to the leeward side, and in short, may be a downward path 26o capable of guiding the refrigerant to the outer side of the lower circulation unit 26.

The refrigerant guided to the downward path 26o outside the lower cycle unit 26 turns around in the downward communication path 263 and circulates again to the upward path 26i inside the lower cycle unit 26.

Here, the retention of the liquid refrigerant in a situation where the circulation amount of the refrigerant is large will be described. When the circulation amount of the refrigerant is large, the liquid refrigerant may be accumulated on the windward side of the upper-lower separation plate 28. On the other hand, as in the second embodiment, since the upper communication passage 272 is partitioned into the ascending path 27di on the leeward side and the inner side, and the descending path 27u on the windward side and the descending path 27do on the leeward side by the L-shaped upper partition plate 274, even if the amount of the liquid refrigerant descending from the upper communication passage 272 to the descending path 27u and the descending path 27do cannot completely pass through the second passage port 28uo located on the windward side outer side of the upper and lower partition plates 28, the liquid refrigerant is diffused and accumulated in the second latching portion 28do located on the leeward side and the outer side in addition to the first latching portion 28ui on the windward side and the inner side on the upper and lower partition plates 28. Thus, since the area in which the refrigerant is retained in the upper circulation unit 27 can be increased, the retaining height of the liquid refrigerant can be made lower than the lowermost flat tube 11 of the upper flat tube group 11u, and the drift of the upper flat tube group 11u in the height direction can be further improved.

Effects of the embodiments

Since the heat exchanger as described above is used, the first embodiment can make the refrigerant split in each flat tube 11 uniform, improve the unevenness of the refrigerant state between the upstream side and the downstream side in the flat tube 11, and suppress the liquid refrigerant staying in the drop path 16o (refrigerant return space) of the lower cycle portion 16 from flowing around the flat tube 11.

In the second embodiment, the drift in the width direction is improved, and the retention area of the liquid refrigerant on the descending paths 27u and 27do side of the upper circulation unit 27 is increased, whereby the influence of the retention of the liquid refrigerant can be suppressed, and the drift can be further improved in the height direction.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, the above embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.

Description of the symbols

1 air conditioner

2 indoor machine

3 outdoor machine

4 heat exchanger (indoor)

5 Heat exchanger (outdoors)

6 compressor

11 flat tubes, 11d lower flat tube group, 11u upper flat tube group

111 fin

12 header (first embodiment)

13 inflow pipe

14 refrigerant inflow part

15 inflow plate

151 ejection hole (orifice)

16 lower circulation part, 16i inner ascending path and 16o outer descending path

161 bottom separation plate

163 lower communication path

17 upper circulation part, 17d upwind side upgoing path and 17u upwind side downgoing path

172 upper communication path

174 top partition board

18 upper and lower partition plates, 18di first passage ports, 18ui first locking portions, 18uo second passage ports, 18do second locking portions

22 header (second embodiment)

24 refrigerant inflow part

25 inflow plate

251 ejection hole (orifice)

26 lower circulation part, ascending path inside 26i and descending path outside 26o

261 bottom separation plate

263 lower communication path

27 upper circulation part, 27di downwind and inner ascending path, 27u upwind descending path, 27do downwind and outer descending path

272 upper communication path

274 top separation plate, 274x first separation part and 274y second separation part

28 vertical partition plate, 28di first passage port, 28ui first locking portion, 28uo second passage port, 28do second locking portion

R liquid refrigerant