JP2000292033A - Purging unit for refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attract and recover a trace amount of refrigerant gas to be discharged in association with exhausting of a noncondensible gas, by reducing a noncondensible gas exhausting frequency with scarcely exhausting the gas in association with exhausting of the noncondensible gas. SOLUTION: In the purging unit for a refrigerator for connecting a purge condenser 1 to a condenser 11 of the refrigerator through communicating piping 7, introducing noncondensible gas containing a refrigerant gas from the condenser 11 into the purge condenser 1 by a differential pressure between an internal pressure of the condenser 11 and an internal pressure of the purge condenser 1, guiding liquid refrigerant of the condenser 11 or an economizer by supercooling to a cooling coil 2 dispersed in the purge condenser 1, cooling in the purge condenser 1 to condense the gas to recover as the refrigerant liquid, and exhausting the noncondensible gas in the purging condenser out of the refrigerator, a solenoid valve 8 is provided at the piping 7, and, when the noncondensible gas in the purge condenser 1 is exhausted out of the refrigerator, the solenoid valve 8 is closed to shut off the flow of the refrigerant gas containing the noncondensible gas from the condenser 11 into the purge condenser 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bleed air recovery apparatus for recovering refrigerant by extracting non-condensable gas such as air leaking into a refrigerator and discharging the same outside the refrigerator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional refrigerator having this type of bleed gas recovery device. As shown in the drawing, the bleed air recovery device includes a purge condenser 1, a purge pump 6, a differential pressure switch 4, a solenoid valve 5, and the like. The purge condenser 1 is divided into two upper and lower chambers, a condenser chamber 1a and a float valve chamber 1b. The condenser chamber 1a functions as a condenser, and is connected to the condenser 11 of the refrigerator and the communication pipe 7.
And an orifice 9.

In the condenser chamber 1a of the purge condenser 1, a cooling coil 2 is disposed. In the cooling coil 2, a liquid refrigerant of the condenser 11, which is supercooled by a refrigerant liquid in a cooler 12 of the refrigerator, is supplied with a refrigerant pump. 13 flows through the refrigerant filter 14 and always cools the inside of the purge condenser 1. Therefore, the pressure in the purge condenser 1 is lower than the pressure in the condenser 11, and the gas in the condenser 11 flows into the purge condenser 1 through the communication pipe 7 and the orifice 9 due to the pressure difference. There, the refrigerant gas is cooled and liquefied, and the refrigerant liquid flows to the lower float valve chamber 1b.
When a certain amount or more of the refrigerant accumulates in the float valve chamber 1b, the float valve 3 opens and the refrigerant returns to the cooler 12. At this time, since the non-condensable gas remains in the purge condenser 1 as it is, it is gradually accumulated and the pressure in the purge condenser 1 increases.

When the pressure in the purge condenser 1 rises and the pressure difference from the pressure in the condenser 11 falls to a predetermined value, the output of the differential pressure switch 4 causes the control unit 10 to open the solenoid valve 5 and to purge simultaneously. The pump 6 is started to discharge the non-condensable gas in the purge condenser 1 to the atmosphere. When the non-condensable gas in the purge condenser 1 is discharged, the pressure in the purge condenser 1 decreases, and the differential pressure from the pressure in the condenser 11 increases, the output of the differential pressure switch 4 causes the control unit 10 to operate the solenoid valve 5. Closed, the purge pump 6 is stopped, and the discharge of the non-condensable gas ends.

[0005]

However, in the bleed gas recovery apparatus having the above-mentioned structure, the non-condensable gas containing the refrigerant gas flows into the purge condenser 1 from the condenser 11 of the refrigerator even while the purge pump 6 is operating. There is a problem that the refrigerant gas is released into the atmosphere together with the non-condensable gas. Also, the pressure in the purge condenser 1 and the condenser 1
When the pressure difference between the pressure in the purge condenser 1 and the pressure in the purge condenser 1 decreases to a predetermined value, the non-condensable gas in the purge condenser 1 is discharged. Is discharged, the frequency of discharging the non-condensable gas increases, and the operation frequency of the purge pump 6 and the solenoid valve 5 also increases. Further, there is also a problem that a small amount of refrigerant gas contained in the non-condensable gas is discharged to the atmosphere as the non-condensable gas is discharged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and eliminates the above-mentioned problems. Accordingly, there is almost no discharge of refrigerant gas with discharge of non-condensable gas, and the frequency of discharge of non-condensable gas can be reduced. It is another object of the present invention to provide a bleed gas recovery device for a refrigerator capable of adsorbing and recovering a small amount of refrigerant gas discharged together with discharge of non-condensable gas.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a purge condenser is connected to a condenser of a refrigerator through a communication pipe, and an internal pressure of the condenser and an internal pressure of the purge condenser are solved. A non-condensable gas containing a refrigerant gas is introduced from the condenser into the purge condenser by a pressure difference between the condenser condenser and the cooling coil disposed in the purge condenser to supercool the condenser of the refrigerator or the liquid refrigerant of the economizer. In the bleed gas recovery device of the refrigerator, the cooling device is configured to cool the inside of the purge condenser, condense the refrigerant gas and recover it as a refrigerant liquid, and discharge the non-condensable gas in the purge condenser to the outside of the device. When an on-off valve is provided in the piping and the non-condensable gas in the purge condenser is discharged out of the machine, the on-off valve is closed and non-condensation containing refrigerant gas from the condenser is performed. Characterized by interrupting the flow of the scan of the purge within the capacitor.

As described above, when discharging the non-condensable gas in the purge condenser to the outside of the apparatus, the on-off valve is closed to shut off the flow of the non-condensable gas containing the refrigerant gas from the condenser into the purge condenser. In addition, the refrigerant gas is not discharged from the condenser when the non-condensable gas is discharged outside the apparatus.

The invention described in claim 2 is the first invention.
In the bleed gas extraction device of the refrigerator described in the above, while closing the on-off valve to block the inflow of non-condensable gas containing refrigerant gas from the condenser into the purge condenser, the refrigerant gas concentration in the purge condenser is minimized. Condense until
Thereafter, the on-off valve is opened to allow the non-condensable gas including the refrigerant gas to flow into the purge condenser from the condenser, and the operation is repeated a plurality of times to increase the concentration of the non-condensable gas in the purge condenser, and It is characterized by being configured to be discharged outside the machine.

As described above, the operation of closing the on-off valve and condensing the refrigerant gas in the purge condenser until the concentration of the refrigerant gas is minimized is repeated a plurality of times to increase the concentration of non-condensable gas in the purge condenser and then discharge the gas to the outside of the apparatus. With such a configuration, the frequency of discharging the non-condensable gas can be reduced, and the life of the device constituting the non-condensable gas discharging means can be extended.

[0011] The invention according to claim 3 is based on claim 1.
Alternatively, in the bleed gas extraction device according to 2, the non-condensable gas discharged outside the device is discharged to the atmosphere through a refrigerant adsorption filter.

As described above, the non-condensable gas discharged outside the apparatus is discharged to the atmosphere through the refrigerant adsorption filter.
Since a small amount of refrigerant gas contained in the non-condensable gas is adsorbed by the refrigerant adsorption filter, the refrigerant gas is not discharged into the atmosphere, and the refrigerant adsorbed by regenerating the refrigerant adsorption filter is recovered and adsorbed. Filters can be reused.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a refrigerator having the bleed air recovery device according to the present invention. The bleed gas recovery device includes a purge condenser 1, a purge pump 6, a differential pressure switch 4, a solenoid valve 5, and the like.
Is divided into a condenser chamber 1a and a float valve chamber 1b,
The condenser chamber 1a functions as a condenser, communicates with the condenser 11 of the refrigerator by the communication pipe 7 and the orifice 9, and the cooling coil 2 disposed in the condenser chamber 1a is supercooled by the refrigerant liquid in the cooler 12 of the refrigerator. The liquid refrigerant in the condenser 11 flows through the refrigerant filter 14 by the refrigerant pump 13 and always cools the inside of the purge condenser 1, which is the same as the conventional example of FIG.

The present invention is different from the conventional example shown in FIG. 1 in that a solenoid valve 8 is provided in a communication pipe 7 connecting a purge condenser 1 and a condenser 11 of a refrigerator, and a purge condenser discharged by a purge pump 6. In addition to the purge pump 6 and the solenoid valve 5, the operation of the solenoid valve 8 is also controlled by the control unit 10 in that the non-condensable gas from 1 is discharged to the atmosphere through the refrigerant adsorption filter 15. That is the point.

In the bleed gas recovery apparatus having the above-described structure, the cooling of the refrigerant in the purge condenser 1 is performed by using the condensed refrigerant (liquid refrigerant) of the refrigerator supercooled by the cooler 12 of the refrigerator as in the conventional example, as described above. I have. In the case of the refrigerator of the economizer cycle, when the liquid refrigerant of the economizer is used, a lower-temperature cooling refrigerant can be supplied, so that the pressure of the purge condenser 1 decreases, and the refrigerant gas concentration of the purge condenser 1 can be reduced.

The accumulation of the non-condensable gas in the purge condenser 1 depends on the difference between the pressure in the condenser 11 of the refrigerator and the pressure in the purge condenser 1 as in the prior art. That is, the gas in the condenser 11 is caused to flow into the purge condenser 1 through the communication pipe 7 and the orifice 9 by this differential pressure. There, the refrigerant gas is cooled and liquefied, and the refrigerant liquid flows into the lower float valve chamber 1b. The float valve chamber 1
When a certain amount or more of the refrigerant accumulates in b, the float valve 3 opens and the refrigerant returns to the cooler 12. At this time, the non-condensable gas remains in the purge condenser 1 as it is.

When non-condensable gas is accumulated in the purge condenser 1 and the pressure in the purge condenser 1 rises and the pressure difference from the pressure in the condenser 11 decreases to a predetermined value, the differential pressure switch 4 is activated, The control unit 10 starts the purge pump 6 at the same time as opening the electromagnetic valve 5, and discharges the non-condensable gas in the purge condenser 1 to the atmosphere. When discharging the non-condensable gas, the control unit 10 closes the solenoid valve 8 and shuts off the flow of the non-condensable gas including the refrigerant gas from the condenser 11 to the purge condenser 1. As a result, the refrigerant gas is not discharged from the condenser 11 to the outside through the purge condenser 1 when the non-condensable gas is discharged, unlike the related art.

The controller 10 performs the following control to reduce the refrigerant gas concentration in the purge condenser 1.
When the differential pressure switch 4 is operated, the solenoid valve 8 is closed, and the refrigerant gas taken into the purge condenser 1 is further condensed. When the refrigerant gas in the purge condenser 1 is sufficiently condensed by the condensation process, the pressure in the purge condenser 1 decreases, and the differential pressure switch 4 is turned off. Differential pressure switch 4
When the power is cut off, the solenoid valve 8 is opened again, and an uncondensable gas containing a refrigerant gas is introduced from the condenser 11 into the purge condenser 1 to condense the refrigerant gas and accumulate the non-condensable gas.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of the non-condensable gas purging operation in the control unit 10. After the start of the refrigerator 5
After a lapse of one minute, first, it is determined whether or not the purge differential pressure switch 4 is ON (step ST1).
If the answer is N, the partitioning solenoid valve 8 is closed (step S).
T2). Next, it is determined whether or not the operation count of the differential pressure switch 4 has reached a predetermined value ("5" in the figure) (Step S).
T3) When the operation count is not the predetermined value, when a predetermined time ("30 seconds" in the figure) has elapsed after the differential pressure switch 4 was turned on (step ST4), the partitioning solenoid valve 8 is opened (step ST5). ), And return to step ST1.

In step ST3, the operation count of the differential pressure switch 4 reaches a predetermined value, and when a predetermined time ("30 seconds" in the figure) elapses after the differential pressure switch 4 is turned on (step ST6), the purge discharge is performed. The solenoid valve 5 is opened and the purge pump 6 is operated (step ST
7). Subsequently, when the operation of the purge pump 6 has elapsed for a predetermined time ("10 seconds" in the figure) (step ST8), the purge discharge solenoid valve 5 is closed, and the purge pump 6 is stopped (step ST9). Return to

Although the purge pump 6 is provided in the example shown in FIG. 2, the purge pump 6 is not always required. However, when the purge pump 6 is not provided,
A switch for determining whether or not the pressure in the purge condenser 1 is higher than the atmospheric pressure is provided. When the switch determines that the pressure is higher than the atmospheric pressure, the purge discharge solenoid valve 5 is opened.

The above process is repeated a plurality of times. When the concentration of the non-condensable gas in the purge condenser 1 becomes sufficiently high, the solenoid valve 5 is opened, the purge pump 6 is started, and the non-condensable gas in the purge condenser 1 is discharged outside the machine. discharge.

The concentration of the non-condensable gas in the purge condenser 1 is determined by the number of operations of the differential pressure switch 4 (which can be arbitrarily set depending on the use condition of the refrigerator). As another method of determining the concentration of the non-condensable gas, the amount of the non-condensable gas can be quantitatively determined by detecting the opening and closing of the electromagnetic valve and the pressure in the purge condenser 1 in the condensation process in the purge condenser 1.

A small amount of refrigerant gas is contained in the non-condensable gas discharged to the outside as described above, and when the non-condensable gas is discharged to the atmosphere as it is, a small amount of the refrigerant gas is also discharged to the air. Will be done. Therefore, a refrigerant adsorption filter 15 is provided at the discharge section of the non-condensable gas, and the discharged non-condensable gas is discharged into the atmosphere through the refrigerant adsorption filter 15. As a result, a small amount of refrigerant gas contained in the non-condensable gas is adsorbed by the refrigerant adsorption filter 15, and only the non-condensable gas containing no refrigerant gas is released to the atmosphere. This refrigerant adsorption filter 15 is replaced regularly,
The adsorbed refrigerant is recovered, regenerated, and reused.

In the case where the refrigerant is not released into the atmosphere by using the above-mentioned method, and a CFC-based refrigerant is used as the refrigerant, it is particularly effective in terms of environmental conservation.

[0026]

As described above, according to the invention described in each claim, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when discharging the non-condensable gas in the purge condenser out of the apparatus, the on-off valve is closed and the non-condensable gas containing the refrigerant gas is discharged from the condenser into the purge condenser. , The refrigerant gas is not discharged from the condenser when the non-condensable gas is discharged outside the machine.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the operation of closing the on-off valve and condensing the refrigerant gas concentration in the purge condenser until the concentration becomes minimum is repeated a plurality of times, and the non-condensable gas concentration in the purge condenser is repeated. In this case, the frequency of discharging the non-condensable gas can be reduced, and the life of the device constituting the non-condensable gas discharging means can be extended.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the non-condensable gas discharged outside the machine is discharged into the atmosphere through the refrigerant adsorption filter, a small amount of refrigerant gas contained in the non-condensable gas is adsorbed by the refrigerant adsorption filter. The refrigerant gas is not discharged into the atmosphere, and the adsorbed refrigerant is recovered by regenerating the refrigerant adsorption filter, so that the adsorption filter can be reused.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional refrigerator having this type of bleed air recovery device.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a refrigerator having a bleed air recovery device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of a non-condensable gas purging operation of the bleed gas recovery device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Purge condenser 2 Cooling coil 3 Float valve 4 Differential pressure switch 5 Solenoid valve 6 Purge pump 7 Communication pipe 8 Solenoid valve 9 Orifice 10 Control part 11 Condenser 12 Cooler 13 Refrigerant pump 14 Refrigerant filter 15 Refrigerant adsorption filter

Claims (3)

[Claims] A purge condenser is connected to a condenser of a refrigerator through a communication pipe, and a non-condensable gas containing a refrigerant gas is removed from the condenser by the pressure difference between the internal pressure of the condenser and the internal pressure of the purge condenser. While supercooling and guiding the liquid refrigerant of the condenser or economizer of the refrigerator to the cooling coil disposed in the purge condenser, and cooling the inside of the purge condenser to condense the refrigerant gas to thereby cool the refrigerant. A bleed gas recovery device for a refrigerator configured to recover as a liquid and discharge the non-condensable gas in the purge condenser to the outside of the machine. When discharging outside, close the on-off valve,
A bleed air recovery device for a refrigerator, wherein an inflow of non-condensable gas including a refrigerant gas from the condenser into the purge condenser is blocked. 2. The bleed air recovery device for a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the on-off valve is closed to block inflow of non-condensable gas containing refrigerant gas from the condenser into the purge condenser, and to purge the gas. The condenser gas is condensed until the concentration of the refrigerant gas in the condenser becomes minimum, and then the on-off valve is opened to allow the non-condensable gas containing the refrigerant gas to flow from the condenser into the purge condenser, and the operation is repeated a plurality of times. A bleed gas recovery device for a refrigerator, wherein the concentration of non-condensable gas in a purge condenser is increased and the non-condensable gas is discharged outside the device. 3. The bleed gas extraction device for a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the non-condensable gas discharged outside the device is discharged to the atmosphere through a refrigerant adsorption filter. .