JP2002005317A - Rotary four-way valve - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rotary four-way valve that can easily switch over a cooling circuit and a heating circuit via rotational valve displacement even under a large refrigerant pressure difference between high-pressure and low- pressure circuits. SOLUTION: The rotary four-way valve comprises a closed valve case 1 with a valve seat 5 fixed at the lower end, a permanent magnet rotatably arranged in the closed valve case 1, a main valve 7 rotatably arranged in the closed valve case 1 and designed to cause the pressure of fluid passing in a plurality of passages 26 communicating with the interior of the closed valve case 1 to generate force pressing the main valve 7 on the valve seat 5, and an electromagnetic coil 9 positioned inside the permanent magnet. The main valve 7 has communicating holes for separating the main valve 7 from the valve seat 5 by disconnecting or connecting a high pressure-side circuit channel 10 and a low pressure-side circuit channel 12 formed by the main valve 7 and the valve seat 5, and the body in the closed valve case 1. A rotation of the permanent magnet by energization of the electromagnetic coil 9 simultaneously opens and closes the communicating holes and rotates the main valve 7.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotary four-way valve which mainly controls the direction of a cooling circuit and a heating circuit of an air conditioner or a refrigerator by rotating and displacing the valve.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a cooling / heating cycle of an air conditioner or the like, a four-way valve for directional control has been used to switch the flow direction of a sealed refrigerant during a cooling operation and a heating operation. .

Therefore, as this type of four-way valve, Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 54-165324 or Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 54-165324 has been proposed as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-42737.
JP-A-61-6486 and JP-B-3-30749.
Inventions and inventions such as a number are known.

[0004] However, these conventional four-way valves are composed of a main valve body for switching circuits and a pilot valve for operating the valve body, and require piping for connecting the two, thus requiring a large number of parts. However, since the construction is complicated and the assembly is troublesome, the cost is high. In addition, continuous heating is required for the pilot valve during the heating operation.

Another directional control valve is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
As shown in the invention of No. 152075, a direct acting four-way valve is known.

This comprises a valve body and an electromagnetic coil detachably mounted on the upper part of the valve body. The valve body has a valve seat attached to the lower end of a cylindrical body and an inner surface of the body. It is composed of a rotatable permanent magnet and a resin valve, and is characterized in that it is compact and the manufacturing cost is lower than the four-way valve described above.

However, this directional control valve has a structure in which the valve is directly moved by the attraction and repulsion of the permanent magnet and the electromagnetic coil. As compared with the valve, there is a problem that although the manufacturing cost is low, the manufacturing cost still cannot be sufficiently reduced.

Further, since the directional control valve has a structure in which the valve is directly moved by the attraction and repulsion of the permanent magnet and the electromagnetic coil, the valve operation force is weak and the differential pressure operation performance is low.

On the other hand, during the heating operation of the air conditioner, the outdoor unit heat exchanger is periodically defrosted. In this operation, high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor flows into the outdoor unit heat exchanger.
This is to remove the adhering frost.

There are two types of air conditioners, one in which this defrosting operation is performed by bypassing a dedicated circuit and the other in which the circuit of a four-way valve is switched. In the cooling operation, the indoor unit fan is stopped, and no cool air is blown into the room.

Further, in the case where a rotary four-way valve that performs circuit switching by utilizing the repulsive force of an electromagnet and a permanent magnet is employed in a model that performs a defrosting operation by circuit switching, the circuit is operated by a linear reciprocating four-way valve. The time required from defrosting to heating operation again needs to be at least twice as long as that switching from one to another. For example, the linear reciprocating type requires 1 to 1.5 minutes, whereas the rotary four-way valve requires about 3 minutes. Need a minute.

The reason is that, during operation of the air conditioner, the inlet of the valve seat is connected to the discharge port of the compressor, the inside of the main body is also at a high pressure, and the outlet is connected to the suction port of the compressor. This is because the pressure is low in both of the communication grooves and the pressure difference causes the valve to be pressed against the valve seat, and the outflow of the refrigerant from the inlet side to the outlet side is regulated.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a rotary four-way valve which can easily switch between a cooling circuit and a heating circuit by rotating and displacing the valve even if the refrigerant pressure difference in the high / low pressure circuit is large. .

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a sealed valve case having a valve seat fixedly provided at a lower end portion, a permanent magnet rotatably disposed inside the sealed valve case, and a rotatable inside the sealed valve case. A main valve, which is arranged so as to be able to press against a valve seat by the pressure of a fluid passing through a plurality of flow paths communicating with the closed valve case, and a rotational force applied to the permanent magnet located inside the permanent magnet. By closing or conducting the high-pressure side circuit groove and the low-pressure side circuit groove formed by the main valve and the valve seat and the main body in the closed valve case,
A rotary four-way valve in which a communication hole that separates the main valve from the valve seat is provided in the main valve, and the opening and closing operation of the communication hole and the rotation operation of the main valve are simultaneously performed by rotating a permanent magnet by energizing the electromagnetic coil. Become.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A rotary four-way valve according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, as shown in FIGS. A sealed valve case 1 having a valve seat 5 fixed at the lower end thereof; a permanent magnet magnet 6 rotatably disposed inside the sealed valve case 1; and a rotatably disposed inside the sealed valve case 1. A main valve 7 that generates a force pressing against the valve seat 5 by the pressure of the fluid passing through a plurality of flow paths communicating with the closed valve case 1, and is located inside the magnet 6. And an electromagnetic coil 9 for applying a rotational force to the electromagnetic coil 6.

Further, the structure of the rotary type four-way valve will be described, and the structure of the valve and the rotary structure will be described.

First, as a structure of the valve, two valve chambers of an arc groove are formed symmetrically in a plane portion on the ground side of the valve seat 5 of the substantially cylindrical main valve 7 as shown in FIG. 12 and the other as a high-pressure side circuit groove 10, a small-diameter hole 11 communicating from the high-pressure side circuit groove 10 to the upper flat portion, and a small-diameter hole 13 communicating from the low-pressure side circuit groove 12 to the upper flat portion, respectively. Each of the grooves 10 and 12 communicates with the inside of the main body in the sealed valve case 1. The size of the small diameter holes 11 and 13 is larger than the small diameter hole 11 on the low pressure side than the small diameter hole 11 on the high pressure side.

Next, in a state where the main valve 7 is not displaced,
The small-diameter hole 11 on the high-pressure side serves as a passage for refrigerant conduction between the circuit groove and the inside of the main body, and the small-diameter hole 13 on the low-pressure side is closed by an open valve 18 mounted on the rotor 17 so as to be movable in the axial direction. Therefore, the low-voltage side circuit groove 12 does not communicate with the inside of the main body.

Further, when the main valve 7 is displaced, the upper flat portion of the small-diameter hole 11 on the high-pressure side is closed by a closing valve 19 installed in the rotor 17 so as to be movable in the axial direction.

Next, as the rotating structure, two permanent magnets of different magnetic poles in the form of arcs are installed at symmetrical positions along the inner diameter of the cylindrical rotor 17 and fixed to the main body at the upper end thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, an electromagnetic coil 9 having a core having a symmetrical circular arc side surface is installed at an appropriate position with respect to the magnet 6 in a cylindrical tube 3 with a bottom.

The outer periphery of the tube 3 from the bottom of the tube 3 to the height where the electromagnetic coil 9 of the core is installed is provided with a concave groove 4 having an appropriate angle at a symmetrical position as shown in FIG.
The protrusion 1 fitted to the concave groove 4 of the tube 3 is provided on the rotor 17.
6 is formed so as to abut on the circumferential end of the concave groove 4 of the tube 3 and be regulated.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the main valve 7 is fixed to the rotor 17 in the radial direction, and is provided on the outer peripheral upper surface of the main valve 7 at the key portion of the closing valve 19 which is installed movably in the axial direction. Are engaged with each other, and follow the rotation of the rotor 17.

The main valve 7 is formed with a radial recess from the center in the upper radial direction toward the outer radial direction, and the torsion coil spring 15 has an arm portion having a side wall of the recess of the main valve 7 and the closing valve 1.
9 to be in contact with the key portions.

In the parts exploded view of FIG. 7, reference numeral 21 denotes a slide, reference numeral 22 denotes a U-shaped pin, reference numeral 23 denotes a coil spring, reference numeral 24 denotes a washer,
Numeral 25 indicates a shaft. Further, in FIG. 7, what is indicated by 26 is a plurality of flow passages communicating with the inside of the sealed valve case 1 of the rotary four-way valve, and by appropriately communicating and blocking these flow passages, for example, a heating operation is performed. , Or switching to the cooling operation.

Next, the operation mechanism of the rotary four-way valve having the above structure will be described. During the heating operation (or the cooling operation), the small-diameter hole 11 on the high-pressure side of the main valve 7 is opened, and the small-diameter hole 13 on the low-pressure side. Is closed, the high-pressure refrigerant passes through the small-diameter hole 11 from the high-pressure side circuit groove 10, enters the main body, and keeps the inside of the main body at high pressure.

Since the small-diameter hole 13 on the low-pressure side is closed by the opening valve 18, the high-pressure refrigerant does not enter the low-pressure circuit groove 12, the low-pressure circuit groove 12 is kept at a low pressure, and the main valve 7 is a valve seat. 5 is pressed.

When the electromagnetic coil 9 is energized, the electromagnetic coil 9
The rotor 17 rotates due to the magnetic force generated in the magnet and the attraction and repulsion of the magnet 6 installed on the rotor 17,
At this time, since the main valve 7 is pressed against the valve seat 5 by the high-pressure refrigerant in the main body, it does not rotate, the small-diameter hole 13 on the low-pressure side is opened, and the inside of the main body communicates with the low-pressure-side circuit groove 12 of the main valve 7. At the same time, the closing valve 19 closes the small-diameter hole 13 on the high-pressure side, thereby shutting off the inside of the main body and the high-pressure side circuit groove 10.

Next, since the low pressure side passage 26 is sucked by the compressor, the pressure in the main body becomes low, the force holding down the main valve 7 against the valve seat 5 is released, and the main pressure is applied by the high pressure side. The valve 7 is lifted and rotated.

At the same time when the main valve 7 rotates, the main valve 7 returns to the neutral position by the repulsive force of the torsion coil spring 15, and the small-diameter hole 13 on the low pressure side is closed by the opening valve 18.
The small-diameter hole 11 on the high-pressure side is released by opening the closing valve 19, so that the relative positions of the main valve 7, the opening valve 18 and the closing valve 19 are restored.

Next, the operation of the rotary four-way valve according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 8, 9, 10 and 11.
As shown in the left side of each of these figures,
1 is a plan sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 1, and the right side (b) shows the operation of the plane sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 1 in each state.

First, FIG. 8 shows a state before the operation of the four-way valve. In a state where the electromagnetic coil 9 is not energized,
The rotor 17 to which the magnet 6 is fixed is moved by the attraction force of the magnet 6 and the iron core of the electromagnetic coil 9.
Of the tube 3 is pressed in the direction in which it contacts the groove wall 4 of the tube 3, and is held at that position.
The arm portion F of the torsion coil spring 15 installed in contact with the side wall of the radial recess of the main valve 7 has its extension portion closed by a closing valve 19.
The main valve 7 is stationary without receiving the force of the spring. In FIG. 8, the outer peripheral radial concave side wall of the main valve 7 is indicated by G, and the outer key-shaped portion of the closing valve 19 is indicated by H.

Next, in operation 1 shown in FIG. 9, when the electromagnetic coil 9 is energized, the magnetic force of the electromagnetic coil 9 attracts and repels the magnet 6 installed on the rotor 17 to cause the rotor 17 to move.
Starts to rotate and rotates simultaneously with the rotor 17
The arm of the torsion coil spring 15 rotates while the arm portion of the torsion coil spring 15 is bent until the outer key-like portion 9 contacts the outer peripheral radial concave side wall of the main valve 7.

The release valve 18 also rotates simultaneously with the rotor 17,
In this position, the valve portion K of the release valve 18 is disengaged from the small-diameter hole 13 on the low-pressure side of the main valve 7, and the inside of the main body and the low-pressure side circuit groove 12 of the main valve 7 are opened.
At the same time, the valve portion L of the closing valve 19 closes the small-diameter hole 11 on the high-pressure side of the main valve 7 and shuts off the inside of the main body and the high-pressure side circuit groove 10 of the main valve 7. At this time, the fluid in the main body flows into the low pressure side circuit groove 12 of the main valve 7, while the fluid does not flow into the main body from the high pressure side circuit groove 10 of the main valve 7, so that the pressure in the main body becomes low.

In operation 2 shown in FIG. 10, when the pressure in the main body becomes low, the main valve 7 rises from the valve seat 5 due to the high pressure in the high-pressure side circuit groove 10, and presses the main valve 7 against the valve seat 5. Since the force is lost, the rotor 17 rotates necessaryly until the projection 16 on the inner side thereof comes into contact with the concave groove wall 4 of the tube 3, and at the same time, the main valve 7 also rotates. Is denoted by M.

Further, in the operation 3 shown in FIG. 11, the main valve 7 is further rotated by the spring reaction force of the arm of the torsion coil spring 15, and stops at the position where the spring reaction forces of both arms are balanced. The opening valve 18 is a small diameter hole 13 on the low pressure side of the main valve 7.
And the closing valve 19 releases the small diameter hole 11 on the high pressure side of the main valve 7. Thus, the relative positions of the main valve 7, the opening valve 18, and the closing valve 19 return to the original state.

It is assumed that the reverse rotation operates in the same manner as described above.

[0037]

According to the rotary type four-way valve of the present invention described above, the cylindrical rotor is rotationally displaced by the attraction and repulsion generated by the magnet installed on the rotor and the magnetic force generated in the electromagnetic coil. Then, the high-pressure side circuit groove and the low-pressure side circuit groove formed by the main valve and the valve seat and the main body in the sealed valve case are cut off and conducted, so that the main valve is lifted up from the valve seat and separated from the communication hole. Each small-diameter hole on the high-pressure side and low-pressure side is provided in the main valve, and the opening and closing operation of each small-diameter hole and the rotation operation of the main valve are simultaneously performed by energizing the electromagnetic coil. Even when the refrigerant pressure difference in the circuit is large, it can be easily switched.

Further, in the present invention, since the electromagnetic coil is disposed inside the permanent magnet, the four-way valve can be manufactured compactly and inexpensively, and it is economical with little power consumption.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of one embodiment of a rotary four-way valve of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view taken along a line BB in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view taken along a line CC in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a plan sectional view taken along the line EE in FIG. 1;

7 is an exploded side sectional view of the rotary four-way valve of FIG. 1 before assembly.

FIG. 8 is a plan view for explaining a state before operation of a rotor and a main valve of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory plan view of the state of Operation 1 following FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an explanatory plan view of the state of Operation 2 following FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory plan view of the state of Operation 3 following FIG. 10;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sealing valve case 5 Valve seat 7 Main valve 9 Electromagnetic coil 10 High-pressure side circuit groove 11 Low-pressure side circuit groove 26 Flow path

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3H062 AA13 BB33 CC01 DD03 EE07 FF05 HH04 HH08 3H067 AA13 CC45 DD03 DD12 DD32 EA02 FF11 GG23

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A closed valve case having a valve seat fixed to a lower end portion, a permanent magnet rotatably disposed inside the closed valve case, and a rotatably disposed and sealed inside the closed valve case. It comprises a main valve that generates a force that presses against a valve seat due to the pressure of fluid passing through a plurality of flow paths communicating with the valve case, and an electromagnetic coil that is located inside the permanent magnet and applies a rotational force to the permanent magnet, By closing or conducting the high-pressure side circuit groove and the low-pressure side circuit groove formed by the main valve and the valve seat and the main body in the closed valve case, the communication hole separating the main valve from the valve seat is used as the main valve. A rotary four-way valve provided, wherein the opening and closing operation of a communication hole and the rotation operation of a main valve are simultaneously performed by rotation of a permanent magnet due to energization of an electromagnetic coil.