KR20240061895A - Electronic Expansion Valve - Google Patents

Abstract

The electronic expansion valve of one embodiment of the present invention includes a valve body having a communication space formed on the inside, and connected to the communication space to form an inlet and a plurality of outlets; a ball member installed in the communication space and having a connection passage for selectively communicating between the inlet and one of the plurality of outlets; and a seat portion disposed between the valve body and the ball member to relay the outlet and the connection passage, wherein the seat portion has a through hole in communication with the outlet, and an open area at one side of the through hole is gradually increased. A notched sheet with an expansion line extending to reduce the pressure is formed to control the state of the refrigerant discharged from the outlet according to the rotation of the ball member, making it simpler to expand or bypass the refrigerant through a plurality of outlets. Provides a structure.

Description

Electronic Expansion Valve

The present invention relates to an electronic expansion valve, and more specifically, to an electronic expansion valve used in a vehicle air conditioning system.

As eco-friendly technology develops, electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle technology, which uses electricity as a driving force, has recently received the most attention in the automobile industry as a technology to replace fossil fuels.

For this purpose, electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles are equipped with batteries to use electricity as driving force. In this case, the batteries are used not only for driving the vehicle, but also for cooling and heating the vehicle.

More specifically, in order to cool and heat the vehicle, the refrigerant is circulated in a cycle including the battery, and at this time, an expansion valve is used to ensure smooth circulation of the refrigerant. In conventional electric and hybrid vehicles, a needle-type electronic expansion valve is used to control the motor or solenoid. The refrigerant was circulated through the up and down movement of the needle linked to the drive.

However, this needle-type electronic expansion valve has a limited flow direction and opening amount depending on the degree of movement of the needle, and is used only for the purpose of expanding the refrigerant during cooling, so its utilization is very low. It is difficult to change the flow direction, so many expansion valves are used. Alternatively, there was a problem that a direction change valve was required, which increased costs and reduced workability.

One embodiment of the present invention was devised to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to provide an electronic expansion valve that uses a ball member to form a multi-directional flow path capable of expansion and bypass functions in each direction. do.

The electronic expansion valve of one embodiment of the present invention includes a valve body having a communication space formed on the inside, and connected to the communication space to form an inlet and a plurality of outlets; a ball member installed in the communication space and having a connection passage for selectively communicating between the inlet and one of the plurality of outlets; and a seat portion disposed between the valve body and the ball member to relay the outlet and the connection passage, wherein the seat portion has a through hole in communication with the outlet, and an open area at one side of the through hole is gradually increased. A notched sheet with an expansion line extending to reduce the pressure is formed to control the state of the refrigerant discharged from the outlet according to the rotation of the ball member.

The seat part may further include an airtight sheet in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ball member on the outside of the notched seat.

The expansion line is formed of a first inclined surface extending from the inner peripheral surface of the through hole and a second inclined surface extending at a different degree of inclination from the first inclined surface, and can control the flow rate of the refrigerant expanded and discharged through the outlet.

The expansion line may have the first and second inclined surfaces symmetrically formed on both sides, the first inclined surface may be formed to have a larger inclination angle than the second inclined surface with respect to the axis of symmetry, and the flow rate of the expanded refrigerant discharged through the outlet. can increase.

It may further include a control unit that receives an external signal and rotates a pivoting member coupled to the ball member, wherein the ball member is linked to the rotation of the pivoting member to connect the inlet and one of the plurality of outlets. A refrigerant passage can be formed, and in this case, when the connecting passage is connected to the through hole, the refrigerant moves as is through the outlet, and when the connecting passage is connected to the expansion line, the refrigerant expands and flows to the outlet. may be discharged.

The valve body has the inlet formed on the same line as the rotation axis of the ball member, and the plurality of outlets are formed along the rotation direction of the ball member to form a plurality of refrigerant passages through one of the connecting passages. there is.

The valve body may have a first guide formed on one side of the outlet to guide the placement position of the seat portion.

The sheet part may be formed with a second guide that is complementary to the first guide, so that the expansion line can be formed at a pre-designed position.

As discussed above, various effects including the following can be expected according to the problem-solving means of the present invention. However, the present invention does not require all of the following effects to be achieved.

The electronic expansion valve of the present invention forms a connection flow path bent inside the ball, forming a refrigerant flow path in various directions connecting one inlet and one of a plurality of outlets in a simpler configuration just by rotating the ball.

In addition, a separate seat part is provided between the outlet and the ball member to seal the connecting passage, which simplifies the inner processability of the valve body, reduces product costs, and improves productivity.

At this time, the seat part has a through hole on the inside that bypasses the refrigerant to the outlet, and an expansion line on one side of the through hole that expands the refrigerant to the outlet, so that the refrigerant can be bypassed or expanded to each outlet and discharged. The mode can be used for heating and cooling operation, so its usability is very high.

In addition, the expansion line is formed of first and second slopes with different slopes, which rapidly increases the amount of refrigerant when the refrigerant expands, allowing the flow rate to be more precisely adjusted according to the degree of superheat, maximizing the effect of improving the usability and reliability of the product. (Please check the contents.)

1 is a perspective view of an electronic expansion valve according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of Figure 1.
Figure 3(a) A perspective view of the seat portion of Figure 2. Figure 3(b) is a perspective view from another direction of Figure 3(a).
FIG. 4(a) is a cross-sectional view taken in the direction IVa-IVa of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IVb-IVb of FIG. 1.
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken in the direction V-V of Figure 1.
Figure 6 is a perspective view with one of the outlets in Figure 1 removed.
FIG. 7(a) is a view of the ball member in FIG. 6 rotated at a certain angle.
Figure 7(b) is a diagram showing the process of opening the expansion line as the ball member in part A of Figure 7(a) rotates.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, in order not to confuse the gist of the present invention, descriptions of well-known functions or configurations are omitted.

Also, for convenience of explanation, the axial direction is defined as a direction parallel to the central axis of the inlet, and the directions that are perpendicular to the axial direction and perpendicular to each other are defined as the first and second horizontal directions.

Additionally, the up, down, left and right directions used to explain the invention below are simply based on the drawings, and the up, down, left and right directions of each configuration can be changed depending on the installation direction of the electronic expansion valve.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an electronic expansion valve according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of Figure 1, Figure 3(a) is a perspective view of the seat portion of Figure 2, and Figure 3(b) is a perspective view of the seat portion of Figure 3(a). is a perspective view in another direction, FIG. 4(a) is a cross-sectional view in the direction IVa-IVa of FIG. 1, FIG. 4(b) is a cross-sectional view in the direction IVb-IVb of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view in the direction V-V of FIG. 1 This is a cross-sectional view of .

FIG. 6 is a perspective view with one of the outlets in FIG. 1 removed, FIG. 7(a) is a view with the ball member rotated at a certain angle in FIG. 6, and FIG. 7(b) is a view of FIG. 7(a). This is a diagram showing the process of opening the expansion line as the ball member of part A of is rotated.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 7, the electronic expansion valve 10 of an embodiment of the present invention has a communication space 111 formed on the inside, and is connected to the communication space 111 to have an inlet 120 and a plurality of outlets. A valve body 110 formed with (130), a ball installed in the communication space 111 and formed with a connection passage 220 that selectively communicates the inlet 120 with one of the plurality of outlets 130. It includes a member 200 and a seat portion 300 disposed between the valve body 110 and the ball member 200 to relay the outlet 130 and the connection passage 220, and the seat portion ( 300 has a through hole 311 in communication with the outlet 130, and a notched sheet 310 with an expansion line 312 extending from one side of the through hole 311 so that the open area is gradually reduced. It is characterized by controlling the state of the refrigerant that is formed and discharged to the outlet 130 according to the rotation of the ball member 200.

In addition, it is preferable to further include a control unit 400 that receives an external signal and rotates the pivoting member 500 engaged with the ball member 200. In this case, the ball member 200 is connected to the pivoting member 500. A refrigerant passage is formed by connecting the inlet 120 and one of the plurality of outlets 130 in conjunction with rotation, and when the connection passage 220 is connected to the through hole 311, the refrigerant is When the refrigerant is moved through the outlet 130 and the connecting passage 220 is connected to the expansion line 312, the refrigerant is preferably expanded and discharged through the outlet 130.

The electronic expansion valve 10 constitutes a vehicle air conditioning system including a motor refrigerant line, a battery refrigerant line, a compressor, an evaporator, and a condenser, providing cooling, heating and dehumidification inside the vehicle, and cooling the battery. The motor refrigerant line acts like an evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant through the heat generated by the motor.

Therefore, the electronic expansion valve (10) moves the refrigerant to the required configuration according to the operating purpose of the vehicle's air conditioning system.

Specifically, during cooling, the refrigerant is bypassed through the outlet 130 connected to the condenser, and during heating, the refrigerant is expanded and provided through the outlet 130 connected to the motor refrigerant line. When dehumidifying, the refrigerant is supplied through the outlet 130 connected to the evaporator. It is supplied by expanding it through the outlet (130), and when cooling the battery, the refrigerant is supplied by expanding it through the outlet (130) connected to the battery refrigerant line.

In summary, the electronic expansion valve 10 of the present invention moves the refrigerant to the required configuration according to the operation purpose of the air conditioning system, thereby allowing heat exchange to occur through various cycles connecting the inside and outside of the vehicle.

Here, the cycle is a cycle in which the refrigerant circulates to achieve the operation purpose of the air conditioning system in which the refrigerant circulates. It is the same as the cycle of a general air conditioning system, but the present invention allows it to be formed in a more simplified configuration.

The valve body 110 includes a body 110 with a communication space 111 formed on the inside, an inlet 120 connected to the communication space 111, and a plurality of outlets 130 connected to the communication space 111. It is formed so that the refrigerant can be delivered in various configurations through a plurality of outlets 130.

The communication space 111 is open in both the axial direction and the first and second horizontal directions so that the inlet 120, the plurality of outlets 130, and the rotating member 500 can be connected to the ball member 200, At this time, the upper and lower parts are opened so that the inlet 120 and the rotating member 500 can be installed in the axial direction to form various refrigerant channels through one connection passage 220, and a plurality of outlets 130 can be installed. It is desirable to be open to the left and right in the first and second horizontal directions.

However, the inlet 120 simply flows in the refrigerant so that the refrigerant can be bypassed or expanded in a different configuration, and unlike the outlet 130, it may be formed integrally with the valve body 110. In this case, the inlet 120 ) is also not divided into the notched sheet 310 and the airtight sheet 320, and may be formed with only the airtight sheet 320 to simply have airtightness.

In addition, one of the first and second horizontal openings connected to the plurality of outlets 130, unlike the others, has an open area large enough to allow the seat portion 300 and the ball member 200 to pass through the inlet 120. And the operator can more easily install the seat part 300 at the part where the outlet 130 is connected, and at the same time, the ball member 200 can also be installed in the communication space 111.

At this time, a second guide 112 is formed on the inner surface of the body 110 to enable the expansion line 312 of the seat portion 300 to be placed at a pre-designed position. In one example, the second guide 112 is formed as a groove into which the first guide 322 protruding from one side of the seat portion 300 can be complementary, so that the operator can determine the assembly position when assembling the seat portion 300. At the same time as guiding, if the seat part 300 deviates from the assembly position, the ball member 200 is not completely inserted into the communication space 111, thereby minimizing the problem of incorrect assembly.

The ball member 200 includes a ball 210 that is seated in the communication space 111 and rotates about the rotating member 500, and is formed inside the ball 210 to form an inlet 120 and a plurality of outlets 130. It is formed of a connection passage 220 that connects any one of them, and an interlocking groove 230 that interlocks the ball 210 and the rotating member 500 with each other.

Specifically, the connection passage 220 extends in the axial direction at one end and is connected to the inlet 120, and at the other end, the ball 210 extends parallel to the first and second directions to be connected to a plurality of outlets 130. ) is formed by curving in the center of the.

At this time, the interlocking groove 230 is formed in the axial direction so that one end of the connection passage 220 is continuously connected to the inlet 120 even when the ball 210 rotates, and the other end of the connection passage 220 is connected to one of the plurality of inlets 120 according to the degree of rotation of the ball 210 and at the same time controls the area where the outlet 130 and the connection passage 220 communicate, that is, the degree of opening of the outlet 130.

Therefore, the electronic expansion valve 10 of the present invention can select the outlet 130 through which the refrigerant is discharged through the rotation of the ball 210, and the discharge state (bypass function or expansion function) and discharge of the refrigerant through the degree of opening. It can determine the flow rate and is involved in both cooling and heating of the vehicle.

As a result, the usability of the product can be improved and the configuration for the vehicle's air conditioning system can also be reduced, improving productivity and workability.

The seat portion 300 is formed with a through hole 311 in communication with the outlet 130, a notched sheet 310 with an expansion line 312 formed on one side of the through hole 311, and an outside of the notched sheet 310. The inlet 120 and outlet 130 are formed of an airtight sheet 320 that is in close contact with the outlet 130 and the connection passage 220 and provide airtightness, and are disposed between the valve body 110 and the ball member 200. and relays the connection channel (220).

For this purpose, one side of the seat portion 300 is formed as a flat surface and is in close contact with the outside of the outlet 130 or the inlet 120, and the other side is formed as a curved surface having the same arc as the outer peripheral surface of the ball 210 and is connected. It is in close contact with the outside of the flow path 220 and provides airtightness of the refrigerant flow path.

At this time, the same seat portion 300 may be installed at the inlet 120 and the outlet 130, but in the case of the seat portion 300 in communication with the inlet 120, an expansion line 312 is required for expansion of the refrigerant. It does not, and simply serves to move the refrigerant to the connection passage 220 without leaking, so it can be formed only from the airtight sheet 320 with the through hole 311 formed. Therefore, the following description will be made based on the sheet portion 300 in communication with the outlet 130.

Specifically, a through hole 311 communicating with the outlet 130 of the notch sheet 310 is formed, and at this time, the area of the through hole 311 is formed to be equal to the area of the connection passage 220 and the outlet 130, so that the refrigerant The expansion line 312 is formed on one side of the through hole 311 to increase the connection area between the connection passage 220 and the outlet 130 according to the degree of rotation of the ball 210. This allows the refrigerant to expand.

For this purpose, the expansion line 312 includes the center of the ball 210 and is formed on a surface parallel to the first and second directions, so that as the ball 210 rotates, the connecting passage 220 occurs before the through hole 311. ) to allow the refrigerant to expand.

At this time, the expansion line 312 is formed of a first inclined surface 3121 extending from the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 311 and a second inclined surface 3122 extending with different degrees of inclination from the first inclined surface 3121 and is expanded. While controlling the flow rate of the discharged refrigerant, the outer peripheral surface of the other end of the connection passage 220 moves from the expansion line 312 formed by the first inclined surface 3121 to the expansion line 312 formed by the second inclined surface 3122. The moment it heats up, it increases the amount of refrigerant that expands, allowing immediate response to overheating.

In order to maximize this effect, it is preferable that the first and second inclined surfaces are symmetrical on both sides, and that the first inclined surface 3121 is formed to have a larger inclination angle than the second inclined surface 3122 with respect to the axis of symmetry.

In summary, the expansion line 312 is connected to each other at one end of the second slope 3122, which is formed by the main beam, and connected to the first slope 3121 at the other end, forming a V-shaped groove with an inflection point on one side. As the ball 210 rotates, the connection passage 220 first communicates with the expansion line 312 having a different second inclined surface 3122, thereby expanding the refrigerant and discharging it through the outlet 130.

At this time, the first slope 3121 has a larger angle (degree of slope) between the axis of symmetry and the second slope 3122, so that the connecting passage 220 crosses the boundary of the first slope 3121 from the second slope 3122. When rotating, the communication area with the connection passage (220) increases and the flow rate of the expanded refrigerant also increases rapidly. (Please check.)

The airtight sheet 320 is formed on the outside of the notched sheet 310 to maintain the airtightness of the refrigerant flow path, and is elastic like rubber to be in close contact with the inner surface of the body 110 around the ball 210 and the outlet 130. It is preferable that it is formed of a synthetic resin having.

In addition, the notch sheet 310 is preferably formed of a metal member in order to have a certain level of durability against repeated movement of the refrigerant, so for a more stable combination of the airtight sheet 320 and the notch sheet 310, the notch sheet 310 is used. A coupling groove 313 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the airtight sheet 320, and a coupling protrusion 321 that is complementary to the coupling groove 313 is preferably formed on the inner peripheral surface of the airtight sheet 320.

In addition, on one side of the airtight sheet 320, that is, the side in close contact with the inner surface of the peripheral body 110 of the flat outlet 130, a first guide is protruded and complementary to the second guide 112 ( 322) is formed so that the seat portion 300 can be stably installed in a pre-designed position.

Furthermore, the first and second guides ensure that the symmetry axis of the expansion line 312 is located on the same line as the first and second direction central axes of the ball 210, so that the connection passage 220 and the expansion are performed according to the rotation of the ball 210. The line 312 is communicated first to ensure the stability of the expansion function of the refrigerant.

The control unit 400 is configured to receive an external signal and control the rotation angle of the pivoting member 500 that is fastened to the ball member 200, and rotates the pivoting member 500 according to the purpose of the vehicle's air conditioning system to achieve the ultimate Controls the rotation angle of the ball 210.

Therefore, the control unit 400 may be formed on one side with a terminal that can be connected to a connector that transmits an external signal, etc., and is connected to the rotating member 500 to change the rotation angle of the rotating member 500 about the axial direction according to the signal. control.

The rotating member 500 rotates according to a signal from the control unit 400, and is connected to the interlocking groove 230 so that the ball 210 is interlocked with the rotating member 500, and for this purpose, the axis of the communication space 111 It is installed to seal the upper opening, and a protrusion extending from one side may be formed to be inserted and connected to the inside of the interlocking groove 230.

Therefore, the electronic expansion valve 10 of the present invention can change the refrigerant flow path in various ways only by controlling the rotation angle of the ball member 200 according to the control unit 400, and at the same time control the discharge state and discharge flow rate of the refrigerant, thereby controlling the air conditioning of the vehicle. Make the system simpler.

In addition, the assembly and workability of the product are improved by providing a seat portion 300 formed separately from the valve body 110, and expansion lines 312 with different inclinations are formed to provide a plurality of outlets 130. It has a bypass function and an expansion function and at the same time allows immediate preparation for overheating, significantly improving the usability and reliability of the product.

In the above, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described by way of example, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and any appropriate changes that can be made within the scope described in the patent claims are within the scope of protection of the present invention. It applies.

10 Electronic expansion valve
100 valve body 110 body
111 Flue space 112 Second guide
120 inlet 130 outlet
200 ball member 210 ball
220 connection flow path 230 connection home
300 seat part 310 notch seat
311 Through hole 312 Expansion line
3121 1st slope 3122 2nd slope
313 Combination groove
320 Airtight sheet 321 Combination protrusion
322 1st guide
400 Control unit 500 Rotating member

Claims (7)

A valve body having a communication space formed on the inside, and having an inlet and a plurality of outlets connected to the communication space;
a ball member installed in the communication space and having a connection passage for selectively communicating between the inlet and one of the plurality of outlets; and
It includes a seat portion disposed between the valve body and the ball member to relay the outlet and the connection passage,
The sheet part
A through hole in communication with the outlet and a notched sheet with an expansion line extending to gradually reduce the open area on one side of the through hole are formed to control the state of the refrigerant discharged from the outlet according to the rotation of the ball member. An electronic expansion valve characterized in that.
According to paragraph 1,
The sheet part
An electronic expansion valve, characterized in that an airtight sheet in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ball member is further formed on the outside of the notch sheet.
According to paragraph 1,
The expansion line is
An electronic expansion valve formed by a first slope extending from the inner peripheral surface of the through hole and a second slope extending from the first slope with a different degree of slope, and controlling the flow rate of the refrigerant expanded and discharged through the outlet. .
According to paragraph 3,
The expansion line is
The first and second inclined surfaces are formed symmetrically on both sides, and the first inclined surface is formed to have a larger inclination angle than the second inclined surface with respect to the axis of symmetry, thereby increasing the flow rate of the expanded refrigerant discharged through the outlet. Electronic expansion valve. (Please check.)
According to paragraph 3,
It further includes a control unit that receives an external signal and rotates the rotating member engaged with the ball member,
The ball member is
A refrigerant flow path is formed by connecting the inlet and any one of the plurality of outlets in response to the rotation of the rotating member,
At this time, when the connecting passage is connected to the through hole, the refrigerant is moved as is through the outlet, and when the connecting passage is connected to the expansion line, the refrigerant is expanded and discharged through the outlet. valve.
According to clause 5,
The valve body is
The inlet is formed on the same line as the rotation axis of the ball member, and the plurality of outlets are formed along the rotation direction of the ball member to form a plurality of the refrigerant passages through one of the connection passages. Expansion valve.
According to paragraph 1,
The valve body is
A first guide is formed on one side of the outlet to guide the placement position of the seat portion,
The sheet part
An electronic expansion valve, characterized in that a second guide is formed complementary to the first guide so that the expansion line is formed at a pre-designed position.

Images