KR20140057059A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

An air conditioner of the present invention includes: an evaporator which has a plurality of coolant fluid paths for evaporating a coolant; a compressor for compressing the coolant evaporated in the evaporator; a condenser for condensing the coolant compressed in the compressor; an expansion unit for expanding the coolant condensed in the condenser; and a distributor body which has an evaporator inlet header distributor for distributing the coolant expanded in the expansion unit. The evaporator inlet header distributor comprises: a distributor body; a coolant inlet pipe for guiding the coolant expanded in the expansion unit into the distributor body; a coolant outlet pipe for discharging the coolant of the distributor body through the coolant fluid paths; a header fluid path which is connected to the distributor body through the coolant outlet pipes; and an isolation plate which are connected to the coolant inlet pipes, distribute and divide the coolant to upper and lower parts of the header fluid path. According to the present invention, the air conditioner can uniformly distribute a two-phase coolant to the coolant output pipes with a simple structure.

Description

Air conditioner

The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner having an evaporator inlet header distributor for distributing a refrigerant to an evaporator between an expansion mechanism and an evaporator.

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an air conditioner is an apparatus that can cool or heat a room using a refrigerant cycle in which a refrigerant circulates. The refrigerant sequentially compresses, condenses, expands, and evaporates. When the refrigerant is vaporized, And performs the cooling or heating operation according to the characteristics of releasing the heat.

The air conditioner may include a compressor through which the refrigerant circulates, a condenser, an expansion mechanism, and an evaporator, and the refrigerant passing through the expansion mechanism may flow into the evaporator in the state of two phase refrigerant of the gaseous refrigerant and the liquid refrigerant.

The evaporator can form one refrigerant flow path, and a plurality of refrigerant flow paths can be formed. In the air conditioner, the evaporator may have a plurality of refrigerant channels, and the two-phase refrigerant flowing in the expansion mechanism may be divided into a plurality of refrigerant channels of the evaporator, evaporated in each of the refrigerant channels, and then flowed to the compressor.

The air conditioner according to the related art has a problem that the liquid refrigerant can be excessively introduced into a part of a plurality of refrigerant channels of the evaporator and the efficiency of the evaporator may be lowered due to a difference in amount of liquid refrigerant between a plurality of refrigerant channels.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been conceived to solve the problems of the prior art described above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigeration cycle in which two-phase refrigerant of liquid refrigerant and gaseous refrigerant is dispersed upwardly and downwardly, So as to uniformly distribute the air-conditioned air.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner comprising: an evaporator formed with a plurality of refrigerant channels and evaporating refrigerant; A compressor for compressing the refrigerant evaporated in the evaporator; A condenser for condensing the refrigerant compressed in the compressor; An expansion mechanism for expanding the refrigerant condensed in the condenser; And an evaporator inlet header distributor for distributing the refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism to the plurality of refrigerant channels, wherein the evaporator inlet header distributor comprises: a distributor body; A refrigerant inlet pipe for guiding the refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism into the distributor body; A plurality of refrigerant outlet pipes through which the refrigerant of the distributor body flows out into the refrigerant passage; And a separator for dividing the header fluid into a header flow path through which the plurality of refrigerant outlet tubes communicate with each other and a refrigerant dispersion flow path through which the refrigerant inlet tube communicates and distributes the refrigerant to guide the refrigerant to upper and lower portions of the header flow path.

The header channel and the refrigerant dispersion channel may communicate with each other at the upper side and the lower side.

The upper end of the separator may be spaced apart from the upper end of the distributor body and the lower end may be spaced apart from the lower end of the distributor body.

A plurality of the refrigerant inlet tubes may be connected to one side of the right and left sides of the distributor body with respect to a vertical center axis of the distributor body, and the plurality of refrigerant outlet tubes may pass through the other side of the distributor body.

The refrigerant inlet pipe may have an outlet end facing the separator.

The separator may be disposed vertically within the dispenser body.

The air conditioner according to the present invention includes an evaporator in which a plurality of refrigerant channels are formed and evaporates the refrigerant; A compressor for compressing the refrigerant evaporated in the evaporator; A condenser for condensing the refrigerant compressed in the compressor; An expansion mechanism for expanding the refrigerant condensed in the condenser; And an evaporator inlet header distributor for distributing the refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism to the plurality of refrigerant channels, wherein the evaporator inlet header distributor comprises: a distributor body having a header channel formed therein; A plurality of refrigerant outlet pipes through which the refrigerant of the distributor body flows out into the refrigerant passage; A lower refrigerant inlet tube for guiding the refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism to a lower portion of the header flow path; And an upper refrigerant inlet tube for guiding the refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism to the upper portion of the header flow path, wherein the outlet end of the lower refrigerant inlet tube and the outlet end of the upper refrigerant inlet tube are arranged to face each other in the vertical direction.

 The lower refrigerant inlet pipe may be connected to the lower plate portion of the distributor body, and the upper refrigerant inlet pipe may be connected to the upper plate portion of the distributor body.

The outlet end of the lower refrigerant inlet tube and the outlet end of the upper refrigerant inlet tube may be located in the vertical center axis of the distributor body.

The present invention is advantageous in that a two-phase refrigerant can be evenly distributed to a plurality of refrigerant outlet tubes with a simple structure.

Also, there is an advantage that the concentration of the liquid refrigerant in a part of the plurality of refrigerant outlet pipes can be minimized by the upward and downward flows of the two-phase refrigerant into the upper and lower portions of the header flow channel.

1 is a configuration diagram of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the inside of an evaporator inlet header distributor of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention,
3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the inside of an evaporator inlet header distributor of another embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

The air conditioner comprises a compressor 1, a first heat exchanger 2, an expansion mechanism 3 and a second heat exchanger 4, an evaporator inlet header distributor 5 (5 '), an evaporator outlet header pipe 6 ) ≪ / RTI > 6 '.

The air conditioner may be constituted by a cooling-only air conditioner for cooling the room or a cooling / heating-use air conditioner for cooling or heating the room.

The refrigerant compressed in the compressor 1 is sequentially passed through the second heat exchanger 4, the expansion mechanism 3 and the first heat exchanger 2, and then the refrigerant compressed in the compressor 1 1), and the second heat exchanger (4) may be an outdoor heat exchanger for exchanging outdoor air or cooling water with the refrigerant, and may be a condenser for condensing the refrigerant compressed in the compressor, and the first heat exchanger 2 may be an evaporator which is constituted by an indoor heat exchanger for exchanging indoor air with refrigerant and which evaporates the refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism 3.

The evaporator inlet header distributor 5 'can be installed between the expansion device 3 and the first heat exchanger 2 and can be installed between the expansion device 3 and the first heat exchanger 2, To the first heat exchanger (2). The first heat exchanger 2 may have a plurality of refrigerant channels, and the evaporator inlet header distributor 5 'may distribute the gaseous refrigerant and the liquid refrigerant evenly to the plurality of refrigerant channels. The evaporator outlet header pipe 6 'may be installed between the first heat exchanger 2 and the compressor 1, and the refrigerant expanded in the plurality of refrigerant channels of the first heat exchanger 2, which is an evaporator, (6 ') and then sucked into the compressor (1).

When the air conditioner is composed of an air conditioner and a combined air conditioner, the air conditioner can be operated in cooling operation or in cooling operation. The refrigerant compressed in the compressor 1 can be sucked into the compressor 1 after passing through the second heat exchanger 4, the expansion mechanism 3 and the first heat exchanger 2 in order. The second heat exchanger 4 may be configured as an outdoor heat exchanger for exchanging outdoor air or cooling water with a refrigerant, and may be a condenser. The first heat exchanger 2 may be an indoor heat exchanger for exchanging indoor air with refrigerant, and may be an evaporator. During the heating operation, the refrigerant compressed in the compressor 1 can be sucked into the compressor 1 after passing through the first heat exchanger 2, the expansion mechanism 3 and the second heat exchanger 4 sequentially, The first heat exchanger 2 may be an indoor heat exchanger for exchanging indoor air with a refrigerant and may be a condenser and the second heat exchanger 4 may be an outdoor heat exchanger for exchanging outdoor air or cooling water with a refrigerant, It can be an evaporator.

The evaporator inlet header distributor 5 'may be installed between the expansion mechanism 3 and the first heat exchanger 2 and may be configured to distribute the refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism 3 to the first heat exchanger 2 Can be distributed. The first heat exchanger 2 may be provided with a plurality of refrigerant channels and the evaporator inlet header distributor 5 'may distribute the gaseous refrigerant and the liquid refrigerant evenly to the plurality of refrigerant channels of the first heat exchanger 2 during the cooling operation . The evaporator outlet header pipe 6 'may be installed between the first heat exchanger 2 and the compressor 1, and the refrigerant expanded in the plurality of refrigerant channels of the first heat exchanger 2 during the cooling operation, May be combined in the pipe 6 'and sucked into the compressor 1.

The evaporator inlet header distributor 5 may be installed between the expansion mechanism 3 and the second heat exchanger 4 and distributes the refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism 3 to the second heat exchanger 4 during the heating operation . The second heat exchanger 4 may be provided with a plurality of refrigerant channels and the evaporator inlet header distributor 5 may distribute the gaseous refrigerant and the liquid refrigerant evenly to the plurality of refrigerant channels of the second heat exchanger 4 during the heating operation . The evaporator outlet header pipe 6 may be installed between the second heat exchanger 4 and the compressor 1 and the refrigerant expanded in the plurality of refrigerant passages of the second heat exchanger 4 during the cooling operation may be connected to the evaporator outlet header pipe 6, (6) and then sucked into the compressor (1).

The air conditioner includes a first heat exchanger 2 and a second heat exchanger 4 each having a plurality of refrigerant channels and an evaporator inlet header distributor 5 ' And an evaporator inlet header distributor 5 may be provided between the expansion mechanism 3 and the second heat exchanger 4, respectively.

The air conditioner includes a first heat exchanger 2 having a plurality of refrigerant channels and an evaporator inlet header distributor 5 'installed between the expansion mechanism 3 and the first heat exchanger 2, It is also possible that the evaporator inlet header distributor 5 is not provided between the two heat exchangers 4.

The air conditioner includes an evaporator inlet header distributor 5 disposed between the expansion mechanism 3 and the second heat exchanger 4 and having an expansion mechanism 3, a second heat exchanger 4 having a plurality of refrigerant channels, It is also possible that the evaporator inlet header distributor 5 'is not installed between the first heat exchanger 2 and the first heat exchanger 2.

The evaporator inlet header distributor 5 'is installed between the expansion device 3 and the first heat exchanger 2, and is connected to the evaporator inlet header distributor 5. The evaporator inlet header distributor 5' Is installed between the expansion mechanism (3) and the second heat exchanger (4). The air conditioner may further include a cooling / heating switching valve (7) for switching the refrigerant flow path during the cooling operation and the heating operation.

The compressor 1 compresses the refrigerant evaporated in the evaporator, and can suck and compress the refrigerant evaporated in the evaporator, and discharge the compressed refrigerant. The compressor 1 is connected to a compressor suction passage 11 through which the refrigerant is sucked into the compressor 1 and to a compressor discharge passage 12 through which the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 1 is discharged. The compressor suction flow path 11 may be provided with an accumulator 13 containing liquid refrigerant and guiding the gaseous refrigerant to the compressor suction flow path 11. [ One end of the compressor suction flow path 11 may be connected to the compressor 1 and the other end thereof may be connected to the cooling / heating switching valve 7. One end of the compressor discharge flow passage 12 may be connected to the compressor 1 and the other end thereof may be connected to the air conditioning switching valve 7.

The first heat exchanger 2 can be an evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant evenly distributed by the evaporator inlet header 5 after being expanded in the expansion mechanism 3 during the cooling operation, And may be a condenser for condensing compressed refrigerant. The first heat exchanger 2 can heat-exchange the air blown from the indoor fan 8 with the refrigerant and can be installed in the indoor unit O together with the indoor fan 8. [ The first heat exchanger 2 may be composed of a fin-tube heat exchanger, a plate heat exchanger, or the like. The first heat exchanger 2 may include a plurality of refrigerant passages 21, 22, 23 and 24. When the two-phase refrigerant in which the liquid refrigerant and the gaseous refrigerant are mixed during the cooling operation is uniformly dispersed into the plurality of refrigerant passages 21, 22, 23 and 24, the first heat exchanger 2 has high heat exchange performance as a whole, When the liquid refrigerant is concentrated in a part of the plurality of refrigerant passages 21, 22, 23 and 24, the heat exchange performance of the whole is lowered. One end of each of the plurality of refrigerant channels 21, 22, 23 and 24 can be connected to the evaporator inlet header distributor 5 'and the plurality of refrigerant channels 21 and 22 ) 23 and 24 may be connected to the evaporator outlet header pipe 6 '. The evaporator inlet header distributor 5 'connected to the first heat exchanger 2 may be connected by the expansion mechanism 3 and the expansion mechanism connecting flow path 51. The evaporator outlet header pipe 6 'connected to the first heat exchanger 2 may be connected to the cooling / heating switching valve 7 and the cooling / heating switching valve connecting flow path 61.

The expansion mechanism 3 is for expanding the refrigerant condensed in the condenser, and may include an expansion valve such as EEV or LEV or a capillary tube. One or a plurality of expansion mechanisms 3 may be provided. When the first heat exchanger 2 and the second heat exchanger 4 are connected to the evaporator inlet header distributors 5 and 5 'respectively, the expansion mechanism 3 is arranged so that the first heat exchanger 2 is connected to the evaporator inlet header May be installed between the distributor 5 'and the evaporator inlet header distributor 5 to which the second heat exchanger 4 is connected. The refrigerant condensed in the second heat exchanger 4 during the cooling operation flows through the evaporator inlet header distributor 5 connected to the second heat exchanger 4 and the expansion device 3 and the evaporator 3 connected to the first heat exchanger 2 The inlet header distributor 5 ', and the first heat exchanger 2 in this order. On the other hand, the refrigerant condensed in the first heat exchanger 2 during the heating operation flows through the evaporator inlet header distributor 5 'to which the first heat exchanger 2 is connected, the expansion mechanism 3 and the second heat exchanger 4 The evaporator inlet header distributor 5, and the second heat exchanger 4 in this order. The expansion mechanism 3 is capable of installing one expansion mechanism in one of the outdoor unit O and the indoor unit I and the indoor expansion mechanism is installed in the indoor unit I and the outdoor expansion device It can be installed.

The second heat exchanger 4 can be a condenser for condensing the refrigerant compressed in the compressor 1 during the cooling operation and is expanded in the expansion mechanism 3 in the heating operation and then cooled by the evaporator inlet header 5 And may be an evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant that has been dispensed. The second heat exchanger 4 can be constituted by an air-cooling type heat exchanger for exchanging the air blown from the outdoor fan 9 with the refrigerant, and can be constituted by a water-cooled heat exchanger for exchanging the cooling water supplied from the cooling water supply source with the refrigerant . When the second heat exchanger 4 is constituted by an air-cooled heat exchanger, it may be constituted by a fin-tube heat exchanger or a plate heat exchanger. When the second heat exchanger (4) is constituted by a water-cooled heat exchanger, it can be constituted by a shell-and-tube heat exchanger. The second heat exchanger (4) may be installed in the outdoor unit (O) together with the compressor (1) and the outdoor fan (9). The second heat exchanger 4 may include a plurality of refrigerant passages 41, 42, 43 and 44. When the two-phase refrigerant in which the liquid refrigerant and the gaseous refrigerant are mixed during the heating operation is uniformly dispersed into the plurality of refrigerant passages 41, 42, 43 and 44, the second heat exchanger 4 has a high heat exchange performance as a whole, When the liquid refrigerant is concentrated in a part of the plurality of refrigerant flow passages 41, 42, 43 and 44, the entire heat exchange performance is lowered. One end of each of the plurality of refrigerant passages 41, 42, 43 and 44 can be connected to the evaporator inlet header distributor 5 and a plurality of refrigerant passages 41 and 42 can be connected to the first heat exchanger 4. [ (43) and (44) may be connected to the evaporator outlet header pipe (6). The evaporator inlet header distributor 5 connected to the second heat exchanger 4 may be connected by the expansion mechanism 3 and the expansion mechanism connecting flow path 52. The evaporator outlet header pipe 6 connected to the second heat exchanger 4 may be connected to the cooling / heating switching valve 7 and the cooling / heating switching valve connecting flow path 62.

The evaporator inlet header distributors 5 and 5 'can uniformly distribute the two-phase refrigerant to the plurality of refrigerant channels of the evaporator so that the liquid refrigerant is not concentrated in the plurality of refrigerant channels of the evaporator. The detailed configuration of the evaporator inlet header distributors 5 and 5 'will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

The evaporator outlet header pipes 6 and 6 'may be made to flow toward the compressor 1 after the refrigerant vaporized in the plurality of refrigerant channels of the evaporator is combined. The evaporator outlet header pipes 6 and 6 'may have a space therein and may be respectively connected to the refrigerant channels of the evaporator and the refrigerant inlet pipe, and the gas refrigerant may flow out through one refrigerant outlet pipe . In the case of the evaporator outlet header pipe 6 'connected to the first heat exchanger 2, the evaporator outlet header pipe is divided into a plurality of refrigerant passages 21, 22, 23 and 24 of the first heat exchanger 2, The refrigerant inlet pipe can be connected. The evaporator outlet header pipe is connected to each of a plurality of refrigerant passages 41, 42, 43 and 44 of the second heat exchanger 4 and a plurality of refrigerant passages 41, 42, 43 and 44 of the second heat exchanger 4 in the case of the evaporator outlet header pipe 6 connected to the second heat exchanger 4. [ The inlet pipe can be connected.

The cooling / heating switching valve 7 may be a four-way valve. The cooling / heating changeover valve 7 can guide the refrigerant compressed in the compressor 1 to the evaporator outlet header pipe 6 connected to the second heat exchanger 4 during the cooling operation, and to the first heat exchanger 2 It is possible to guide the refrigerant that has flowed from the connected evaporator outlet header pipe 6 'to the compressor suction flow path 11. The heating / cooling switching valve 7 can guide the refrigerant compressed in the compressor 1 to the evaporator outlet header pipe 6 'connected to the first heat exchanger 2 during the heating operation, and the second heat exchanger 4, The refrigerant flowing from the evaporator outlet header pipe 6 connected to the compressor inlet pipe 11 can be guided to the compressor suction pipe 11.

2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the inside of an evaporator inlet header distributor of an embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

The evaporator inlet header distributor (5) (5 ') comprises a distributor body (60); A refrigerant inlet pipe (70) for guiding the refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism (3) into the distributor body (60); And a plurality of refrigerant outlet pipes 80, 82, 84 and 86 through which the refrigerant of the distributor body 60 flows out to the refrigerant passage of the evaporator. The evaporator inlet header distributors 5 and 5 'may have one refrigerant outlet pipe 80, 82, 84 and 86 connected to one refrigerant passage of the evaporator, respectively. The evaporator inlet header distributors 5 and 5 'may include a header flow path P1 in which the two phase refrigerant is divided into a plurality of refrigerant outlet tubes 80, 82, 84 and 86, And a refrigerant dispersion flow path P2 for guiding the refrigerant to the upper portion and the lower portion of the header flow path S1. The two-phase refrigerant having passed through the refrigerant inlet pipe 70 can be vertically dispersed in the refrigerant dispersion flow path P2 to the upper flow path P21 and the lower flow path P22, and the evaporator inlet header distributors 5, The two-phase refrigerant guided to the upper flow path P21 can flow to the upper portion of the header flow path P1 and the two-phase refrigerant guided to the lower flow path P22 can flow to the lower portion of the header flow path P2. The evaporator inlet header distributor (5) (5 ') includes a separator (100) disposed within the distributor body (60). The separator 100 has a header channel P1 in which a plurality of refrigerant outlet tubes 80, 82, 84 and 86 are communicated with the inside of the distributor body 60 and a header channel P1 through which the refrigerant inlet tube 60 is communicated, Is divided into a refrigerant distributing passage (P2) for guiding to the upper portion and the lower portion of the header passage (P1).

The distributor body 60 may be installed vertically in the air conditioner. The distributor body 60 may be formed such that the peripheral portion 61 is long in the vertical direction and the upper portion 62 and the lower portion 64 are formed in a round shape. The distributor body 60 may have a circumferential portion 61 formed to be vertically long and an upper plate portion may be formed at an upper end of the circumferential portion 61 and a lower plate portion may be formed at a lower portion of the circumferential portion 61. The peripheral portion 61 may be formed in the shape of a hollow cylinder or a hollow cylinder. The distributor body 60 can easily flow the two phase refrigerant of the refrigerant distributing passage P2 to the upper portion of the header passage P2 when the upper portion 62 is rounded and the upper portion 62 of the distributor body 60 62 are preferably rounded. The distributor body 60 can easily flow into the lower portion of the header flow path P2 and the lower portion 63 of the distributor body 60 when the lower portion 63 is rounded, Is preferably rounded. The distributor body 60 may be formed with a refrigerant inlet pipe connecting portion 64 through which the refrigerant inlet pipe 70 is connected or connected to the refrigerant outlet pipe 80 through which the refrigerant outlet pipes 80, Through holes 65, 66, 67 and 68 may be formed. The distributor body 60 may be located adjacent to the first heat exchanger 2 when the evaporator inlet header distributor is an evaporator inlet header distributor 5 'connected to the first heat exchanger 2. The distributor body 60 may be located adjacent to the second heat exchanger 4 when the evaporator inlet header distributor is an evaporator inlet header distributor 5 connected to the second heat exchanger 4. [ The distributor body 60 may be spaced apart from the evaporator outlet header pipes 6 and 6 'shown in FIG. 1 and each of the first heat exchanger 2 and the second heat exchanger 4 may be installed in a distributor body 60 and the evaporator outlet header pipes 6, 6 'shown in FIG. 1, respectively.

 The refrigerant inlet pipe 70 may be connected to the expansion mechanism connecting passage 51 shown in FIG. 1 when the evaporator inlet header distributor is an evaporator inlet header distributor 5 'connected to the first heat exchanger 2. The refrigerant inlet pipe 70 may be connected to the expansion mechanism connecting passage 52 shown in FIG. 1 when the evaporator inlet header distributor is an evaporator inlet header distributor 5 connected to the second heat exchanger 4. The refrigerant inlet tube 70 may be disposed through the dispenser body 60 or disposed in contact with the dispenser body 60 outside the dispenser body 60. One refrigerant inlet pipe 70 may be installed in one distributor body 60. The refrigerant inlet pipe 70 may have an inlet end 71 at which the refrigerant is introduced and a refrigerant inlet pipe 70 at an outlet end 72 of the distributor body 60, 60, respectively. The refrigerant inlet pipe 70 may be provided with a refrigerant injection direction according to the direction of the outlet end 72 and the outlet end 72 may be installed with a two-phase refrigerant injected toward the partition 100. The outlet end 72 may be provided so as to face the separator 100. The refrigerant inlet tube 70 may be disposed horizontally or be inclined to the distributor body 60. When the refrigerant inlet pipe 70 is arranged to be upwardly inclined to the distributor body 60, it is possible to cause the two-phase refrigerant to flow more into the upper flow path P21 of the refrigerant dispersion flow path P2, When the refrigerant is arranged to be inclined downward, more two-phase refrigerant can flow through the lower flow path P22 of the refrigerant dispersion flow path P2. When the refrigerant inlet pipe 70 is installed on the horizontal center axis HX, the two-phase refrigerant can be uniformly dispersed in the upper flow path 21 and the lower flow path P22, The two-phase refrigerant flowing into the upper flow path 21 may be larger than the two-phase refrigerant flowing into the lower flow path P22. When the two-phase refrigerant is installed at a position lower than the horizontal center axis HX, Phase refrigerant flowing into the upper flow path P21 may be larger than the two-phase refrigerant flowing into the upper flow path P21. The refrigerant inlet pipe 70 can be horizontally disposed on the horizontal center axis HX and can be disposed upwardly inclined or downwardly inclined to a position higher than the horizontal center axis HX, It is possible to arrange it upwardly inclined or downwardly inclined at a low position. The refrigerant inlet pipe 70 may be connected to one of the right and left sides of the distributor body 60 with respect to the vertical center axis VX of the distributor body 60.

The plurality of refrigerant outlet pipes 80, 82, 84 and 86 may pass through the other of the right and left sides of the distributor body 60 with respect to the vertical center axis VX of the distributor body 60. The refrigerant outlet pipes 80, 82, 84 and 86 are connected to the first heat exchanger 2 when the evaporator inlet header distributor is an evaporator inlet header distributor 5 ' And may be connected to the refrigerant flow paths 21, 22, 23 and 24, respectively. The evaporator inlet header distributor 5 'may have one refrigerant outlet pipe connected to one refrigerant channel of the first heat exchanger 2, respectively. The refrigerant outlet pipes 80, 82, 84 and 86 are connected to the refrigerant outlet of the second heat exchanger 4 when the evaporator inlet header distributor is connected to the evaporator inlet header distributor 5 connected to the second heat exchanger 4, And may be connected to the flow paths 41, 42, 43, 44, respectively. The evaporator inlet header distributor (5) can be connected to one refrigerant outlet of the second heat exchanger (4). A plurality of refrigerant outlet tubes 80, 82, 84, 86 may be installed through the distributor body 60. A plurality of refrigerant outlet pipes 80, 82, 84, and 86 may be spaced apart from the distributor body 60. A plurality of refrigerant outlet pipes 80, 82, 84 and 86 may be inserted into the header flow path P1. The plurality of refrigerant outlet tubes 80, 82, 84 and 86 can be positioned such that their respective inlet ends 88 can be located in the header flow path P1 and their respective outlet ends 89 are connected to the distributor body 60). The plurality of refrigerant outlet pipes 80, 82, 84 and 86 may be arranged such that the inlet end 88 faces the partition 110. When the outlet end 72 of the refrigerant inlet pipe 70 is disposed to face the one surface 105 of the partition 110, a plurality of inlet ends of the refrigerant outlet pipes 80, 82, 84, May be disposed so as to face the opposite surface 106 of the opposite side 105 of the partition 110 facing the outlet end 72 of the refrigerant inlet pipe 70.

  The separator 100 may be disposed vertically within the distributor body 60. The separator 100 may be such that the upper end 102 is spaced apart from the upper end of the dispenser body 60 and the lower end 104 is spaced from the lower end of the distributor body 60. The header channel (P1) and the refrigerant dispersion channel (P2) can communicate with the upper side and the lower side, respectively. The inner space of the distributor body 60 can be divided into left and right header channels P1 and refrigerant distribution channels P2 on the basis of the separator 100 and the upper channel P21 of the refrigerant distribution channel P2, The cross sectional shapes of the flow paths P1 may be connected in an ∩ shape and the cross sectional shapes of the lower flow path P22 and the header flow path P1 of the refrigerant dispersion flow path P2 may be connected in the form of a U shape. Between the upper end 102 of the separator 100 and the upper end of the distributor body 60 can be the boundary between the upper flow path P21 of the refrigerant dispersion flow path P2 and the header flow path P1, The lower end 104 and the lower end of the distributor body 60 can be the boundary between the lower flow path P22 of the refrigerant dispersion flow path P2 and the header flow path P1. The separator 100 may be installed such that the distance L1 from the refrigerant inlet pipe 70 is shorter than the distance L2 from the refrigerant outlet pipes 80, 82, 84,

Hereinafter, the operation of the present invention will be described.

First, in the heating operation of the air conditioner, the compressor 1 can compress the refrigerant, the first heat exchanger 2 can be the condenser for condensing the refrigerant, and the expansion mechanism 3 can be condensed in the condenser And the evaporator inlet header distributor 5 connected to the second heat exchanger 4 can expand the refrigerant in the expansion mechanism 3 to a plurality of refrigerant passages 41 of the second heat exchanger 4 ) 43, 44, the second heat exchanger 4 may be an evaporator for evaporating the refrigerant, and the compressor 1 may compress the refrigerant evaporated in the evaporator.

 In the compressor (1), gaseous refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure can be discharged, and gaseous refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure can be condensed in the first heat exchanger (2) which is a condenser. The refrigerant condensed in the first heat exchanger 2 can be expanded by the expansion mechanism 3 and the two-phase refrigerant of the liquid refrigerant and the gaseous refrigerant is introduced into the evaporator inlet refrigerant distributor (not shown) connected to the second heat exchanger 4 5). ≪ / RTI > The two-phase refrigerant flowing into the evaporator inlet refrigerant distributor 5 may be introduced into the refrigerant dispersing flow path P1 of the distributor body 60 through the refrigerant inlet pipe 70. The two-phase refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant dispersion channel P1 can be dispersed upward and downward between the distributor body 60 and the separator 100 into the upper channel P21 and the lower channel P22. A part of the two-phase refrigerant flows into the upper passage P21 and flows over the upper end 102 of the separator 100 to the upper portion of the header passage P2 and the remaining portion flows into the lower passage P22 Can flow over the lower end (104) of the separator (100) and flow down to the lower portion of the header channel (P2).

When the two-phase refrigerant is configured to flow only to one side of the lower portion of the header channel P2 or the lower portion of the header channel P2, the evaporator inlet header distributors 5 and 5 ' Liquid refrigerant can be concentrated in some of the refrigerant outlet pipes 80, 82, 84,

The two-phase refrigerant flowing through the header channel P2 around the upper end 102 of the separator 100 and the two-phase refrigerant flowing through the header channel P2 through the lower end 104 of the separator 100, The refrigerant can be mixed in the header flow path P2 and the refrigerant that has been dispersed upward and downward and flows into the header flow path P2 can be evenly distributed to the plurality of refrigerant outlet tubes 80, 82, 84, The concentration of the liquid refrigerant in a part of the plurality of refrigerant outlet pipes 80, 82, 84 and 86 may be minimized and the two-phase refrigerant may be supplied to a plurality of refrigerant passages 41, 42 and 43 44) and can be evaporated. The refrigerant vaporized in each of the plurality of refrigerant passages 41, 42, 43 and 44 can then be introduced into the evaporator outlet header pipe 6 connected to the second heat exchanger 4 as an evaporator, Can be mixed again inside the pipe (6). The refrigerant can then be flowed into the compressor (1), and the compressor (1) can compress the refrigerant evaporated in the second heat exchanger (4), which is an evaporator.

 In the cooling operation of the air conditioner, the compressor (1) can compress the refrigerant, the second heat exchanger (4) can be the condenser for condensing the refrigerant, and the expansion mechanism (3) And the evaporator inlet header distributor 5 'connected to the first heat exchanger 2 distributes refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism 3 to a plurality of refrigerant passages 21 and 22 of the first heat exchanger 2, The first heat exchanger 2 may be an evaporator for evaporating the refrigerant, and the compressor 1 may compress the refrigerant evaporated in the evaporator.

In the compressor (1), gaseous refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure can be discharged, and gaseous refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure can be condensed in the second heat exchanger (4) which is a condenser. The refrigerant condensed in the second heat exchanger 4 can be expanded by the expansion mechanism 3 and the two-phase refrigerant of the liquid refrigerant and the gaseous refrigerant is introduced into the evaporator inlet refrigerant distributor (not shown) connected to the first heat exchanger 2 5 '). The two-phase refrigerant flowing to the evaporator inlet refrigerant distributor 5 'connected to the first heat exchanger 2 is dispersed in the refrigerant dispersion channel P1 to the upper channel P21 and the lower channel P22, And can be evenly distributed to the plurality of refrigerant outlet pipes 80, 82, 84 and 86 while being mixed again in the header flow path P1. The two-phase refrigerant can be uniformly distributed and evaporated into a plurality of refrigerant passages 21, 22, 23 and 24 of the evaporator. The refrigerant vaporized in each of the plurality of refrigerant passages 21, 22, 23 and 24 can then be introduced into the evaporator outlet header pipe 6 'connected to the first heat exchanger 2 as an evaporator, Can be mixed back inside the header pipe 6 '. The refrigerant can then be flowed to the compressor (1), and the compressor (1) can compress the refrigerant evaporated in the first heat exchanger (2), which is an evaporator.

 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the inside of an evaporator inlet header distributor of another embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

The air conditioner of this embodiment includes a distributor body 60 'in which an evaporator inlet header distributor 5 (5') has a header flow path P3 formed therein; A lower refrigerant inlet pipe 70 'for guiding the refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism 3 to a lower portion of the header flow path P3; An upper refrigerant inlet pipe 70 " for guiding the refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism 3 to the upper portion of the header flow path P3; a plurality of refrigerant outlets 70 "for discharging the refrigerant in the distributor body 60 ' The outlet end 72 'of the lower refrigerant inlet tube 70' and the outlet end 72 "of the upper refrigerant inlet tube 70" And other configurations and operations other than the evaporator inlet header distributors 5 and 5 'are the same as or similar to those of the embodiment of the present invention, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The distributor body 60 'may be formed with an internal flow path P3 corresponding to the header flow path P1 of the embodiment of the present invention. The distributor body 60 'may be installed vertically in the air conditioner, like the distributor body 60 of the embodiment of the present invention. The distributor body 60 'may have a long circumferential portion 61', and an upper plate portion 62 'may be formed at the upper end of the circumferential portion 61' (63 ') may be formed. The dispenser body 60 may be formed with a lower refrigerant inlet pipe connection 64 'through which the lower refrigerant inlet pipe 70' is connected or connected and the upper refrigerant inlet pipe 70 ' A tube connecting portion 64 " The lower refrigerant inlet pipe connection 64 'may be formed in the lower plate portion 63' of the distributor body 60 and the upper refrigerant inlet pipe connection 64 'may be formed in the upper plate portion 62' of the distributor body 60 The distributor body 60 'is formed with refrigerant outlet tube through holes 65, 66, 67 and 68 through which the refrigerant outlet tubes 80, 82, 84 and 86 are inserted The distributor body 60 is the same as or similar to the distributor body 60 of the embodiment of the present invention, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The lower refrigerant inlet pipe 70 'and the upper refrigerant inlet pipe 70' 'may be branched in the expansion mechanism connecting channel. The lower refrigerant inlet pipe 70' and the upper refrigerant inlet pipe 70 ' Or via a separate refrigerant dispenser 100 to the expansion mechanism connecting flow path. The outlet end 72'of the lower refrigerant inlet tube 70'and the outlet end 72''of the upper refrigerant inlet tube 70'can be located in the vertical center axis VX of the distributor body 60 ' . The lower refrigerant inlet pipe 70 'may be connected to the lower plate portion 62' of the distributor body 60. The upper refrigerant inlet tube 70 "may be connected to the upper plate portion 63 'of the distributor body 60. The lower refrigerant inlet tube 70' and the upper refrigerant inlet tube 70" The lower refrigerant inlet pipe 70 'may correspond to the lower flow path P22 of the present invention and the upper refrigerant inlet pipe 70 " may correspond to the dispersion channel P2, The upper refrigerant inlet pipe 70 'and the upper refrigerant inlet pipe 70 " may be arranged in close proximity to each other in the circumferential portion 61' of the distributor body 60, The two-phase refrigerant can be concentrated by the refrigerant outlet pipes 82 and 84 located approximately at the center of the plurality of refrigerant outlet pipes 80, 82, 84 and 86. On the other hand, when the outlet end 72 'of the lower refrigerant inlet pipe 70' and the outlet end 72 '' of the upper refrigerant inlet pipe 70 'are disposed facing each other in the vertical direction, the lower refrigerant inlet pipe 70' Phase refrigerant flowing upward from the outlet end 72 'of the upper refrigerant inlet pipe 70 "to the distributor body 60 from the outlet end 72' of the upper refrigerant inlet pipe 70" The refrigerant can be evenly distributed to the plurality of refrigerant outlet pipes 80, 82, 84 and 86 while being mixed in the distributor body 60. At this time, the plurality of refrigerant outlet pipes 80, 82, ) Of the liquid refrigerant can be minimized.

1: compressor 2: first heat exchanger
3: expansion mechanism 4: second heat exchanger
5,5 ': Evaporator inlet header distributor
6,6 ': Evaporator outlet header pipe
7: Heating / cooling switching valve 60: distributor body
70: Refrigerant inlet pipe 80, 82, 84, 86: Refrigerant outlet pipe
100:

Claims (10)

An evaporator in which a plurality of refrigerant channels are formed and evaporates the refrigerant;
A compressor for compressing the refrigerant evaporated in the evaporator;
A condenser for condensing the refrigerant compressed in the compressor;
An expansion mechanism for expanding the refrigerant condensed in the condenser;
And an evaporator inlet header distributor for distributing the refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism to the plurality of refrigerant channels,
The evaporator inlet header dispenser comprising: a dispenser body;
A refrigerant inlet pipe for guiding the refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism into the distributor body;
A plurality of refrigerant outlet pipes through which the refrigerant of the distributor body flows out into the refrigerant passage;
And a separator for separating the refrigerant into a header flow passage in which the plurality of refrigerant outlet pipes communicate with each other and a refrigerant distribution flow passage in which the refrigerant inlet pipe communicates and distributes the refrigerant to guide the refrigerant to the upper and lower portions of the header flow path, Harmonics. The method according to claim 1,
And the header channel and the refrigerant channel are communicated with each other at an upper side and a lower side, respectively. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein an upper end of the separator is spaced apart from an upper end of the distributor body and a lower end of the separator is spaced apart from a lower end of the distributor body. The method of claim 3,
Wherein a plurality of the refrigerant inlet tubes are connected to one side of the right and left sides of the distributor body with respect to the vertical center axis of the distributor body and the plurality of refrigerant outlet tubes are passed through the other side of the distributor body. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the refrigerant inlet pipe has an outlet end facing the separator. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the separator is vertically disposed within the dispenser body. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the separator has a distance from the refrigerant inlet pipe to the refrigerant outlet pipe. An evaporator in which a plurality of refrigerant channels are formed and evaporates the refrigerant;
A compressor for compressing the refrigerant evaporated in the evaporator;
A condenser for condensing the refrigerant compressed in the compressor;
An expansion mechanism for expanding the refrigerant condensed in the condenser;
And an evaporator inlet header distributor for distributing the refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism to the plurality of refrigerant channels,
The evaporator inlet header distributor includes a distributor body having a header flow path formed therein;
A plurality of refrigerant outlet pipes through which the refrigerant of the distributor body flows out into the refrigerant passage;
A lower refrigerant inlet tube for guiding the refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism to a lower portion of the header flow path;
And an upper refrigerant inlet pipe for guiding the refrigerant expanded in the expansion mechanism to an upper portion of the header flow path,
Wherein an outlet end of the lower refrigerant inlet pipe and an outlet end of the upper refrigerant inlet pipe are disposed to face each other in the vertical direction. 9. The method of claim 8,
The lower refrigerant inlet pipe is connected to the lower plate portion of the distributor body,
And the upper refrigerant inlet pipe is connected to the upper plate portion of the distributor body. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the outlet end of the lower refrigerant inlet tube and the outlet end of the upper refrigerant inlet tube are located in the vertical center axis of the distributor body.

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