REFRIGERANT CIRCULATION APPARATUS

A refrigerant circulation apparatus includes a refrigerant circulation component including a compressor, a condenser, an expander, and an evaporator forming a refrigerant cycle through circulation of a refrigerant, and a support body in which the compressor is fixed to one side, the condenser, the expander, and the evaporator are sequentially disposed on the other side along the refrigerant cycle of the refrigerant, and a plurality of flow paths are formed so that the refrigerant flows between the condenser, the expander, and the evaporator.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0102326, filed on Aug. 16, 2022, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND

Field

The present disclosure relates to a refrigerant circulation apparatus in which respective parts through which a refrigerant is circulated are modularized so as to make a refrigerant line compact, which enables fixing means for fixing respective refrigerant-circulation parts to be deleted through such modularization, thereby reducing the weight and manufacturing cost.

Description of the Related Art

Recently, electric vehicles are emerging as social issues for implementing environmentally friendly technology and solving a problem such as energy depletion. Electric vehicles operate using a motor that receives electricity from a battery and outputs power. Therefore, electric vehicles are in the spotlight as eco-friendly vehicles, since there is no emission of carbon dioxide, the noise is very small, and the energy efficiency of the motor is higher than that of an engine.

A key technology for realizing such an electric vehicle is a technology related to a battery module, and recent studies on light weight, miniaturization, and short charging time of batteries are being actively conducted. Battery modules need to be used in an optimal temperature environment to maintain optimal performance and long lifespan. However, it is difficult to use the battery module in an optimal temperature environment due to heat generated during operation and external temperature change.

In addition, since electric vehicles do not have a waste heat source generated during combustion in a separate engine like an internal combustion engine, the electric vehicles perform the indoor heating in winter with an electric heater, and the electric vehicles require warm-up to improve charge/discharge performance of batteries in a cold weather condition, the electric vehicles configure and use separate cooling water heating-type electric heaters. That is, in order to maintain an optimal temperature environment of a battery module, a technology for operating a heating/cooling system for controlling the temperature of a battery module separately from a heating/cooling system for indoor air-conditioning of a vehicle is used.

Here, in the case of an air conditioning system for indoor air-conditioning of a vehicle, a heat pump technology for minimizing heating energy consumption is applied to increase mileage, thereby minimizing energy consumption.

That is, an electric vehicle includes a refrigerant line through which a refrigerant is circulated, a coolant line through which a coolant is circulated for cooling electric components, and a coolant line through which a coolant is circulated for cooling a battery, thereby realizing a heat pump and the temperature of the coolant through heat exchange between the refrigerant and the coolant.

However, in the case of the refrigerant line, a plurality of parts forming a refrigerant cycle are configured, respective parts are fixed at different positions through separate brackets, and a refrigerant line extends between respective parts, thereby increasing the size of the refrigerant line.

However, recently, in order to secure thermal management efficiency and space, a method of reducing the refrigerant line is required.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present disclosure has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and an objective of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerant circulation apparatus in which respective parts through which a refrigerant is circulated are modularized so as to make a refrigerant line compact, which enables fixing means for fixing respective refrigerant-circulation parts to be deleted through such modularization, thereby reducing the weight and manufacturing cost.

In order to accomplish the above objective, according to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a refrigerant circulation apparatus including a refrigerant circulation component including a compressor, a condenser, an expander, and an evaporator forming a refrigerant cycle through circulation of a refrigerant, and a support body in which the compressor is fixed to one side, the condenser, the expander, and the evaporator are sequentially disposed on the other side along the refrigerant cycle of the refrigerant, and a plurality of flow paths are formed so that the refrigerant flows between the condenser, the expander, and the evaporator.

The support body may be formed from an elastic material such that vibration transmitted from the compressor is absorbed.

The support body may be provided with a plurality of slit holes opened in a direction facing the compressor, the condenser, the expander, and the evaporator.

The support body may be provided such that one side thereof is formed to match an outer shape of the compressor, and the condenser, the expander, and the evaporator are disposed on the other side thereof.

The other side of the support body may be provided with a partition wall part dividing the condenser, the expander, and the evaporator, the partition wall part extending along an outer shape of the condenser, the expander, and the evaporator.

The refrigerant circulation component may further include a receiver dryer and an accumulator on the other side of the support body.

The compressor may be provided on one side of the support body, and the condenser, the receiver dryer, the expander, the evaporator, and the accumulator are sequentially arranged along the refrigerant cycle of the refrigerant in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction from the center on the other side of the support body.

The support body may include an inlet through which the refrigerant discharged from the compressor flows into the condenser, a first flow path through which the refrigerant discharged from the condenser flows into the receiver dryer, a second flow path through which the refrigerant discharged from the evaporator flows into the accumulator, and an outlet through which the refrigerant discharged from the accumulator is circulated to the compressor.

An outlet of the compressor and the inlet of the support body may be connected so that the refrigerant flows through a first pipe, and an inlet of the compressor and the outlet of the support body may be connected so that the refrigerant flows through a second pipe.

The first flow path and the second flow path may be formed separately from the support body and the support body may be provided with a first insertion groove and a second insertion groove such that the first flow path is fixedly inserted into the first insertion groove and the second flow path is fixedly inserted into the second insertion groove.

The support body may be formed from an elastic material to absorb vibration transmitted from the compressor, and the first flow path and the second flow path may be formed from a rigid body so as not to be deformed.

According to the refrigerant circulation apparatus having the above-mentioned configuration, respective parts through which a refrigerant is circulated are modularized so as to make a refrigerant line compact, which enables fixing means for fixing respective refrigerant-circulation parts to be deleted through such modularization, thereby reducing the weight and manufacturing cost.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the effects that can be achieved with the present disclosure are not limited to those described above and other advantages of the present disclosure will be clearly understood from the following detailed description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, embodiments disclosed in the present specification will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar components are assigned the same reference numbers, and a redundant description thereof will be omitted.

The suffixes “module” and “part” for the components used in the following description are given or interchanged in consideration of only the ease of constructing the specification, and do not have distinct meanings or functions by themselves.

In addition, in describing the embodiments disclosed in the present specification, if it is determined that detailed descriptions of related known technologies may obscure the gist of the embodiments disclosed in the present specification, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the accompanying drawings are only for easy understanding of the embodiments disclosed in the present specification so that the technical spirit disclosed herein is not limited by the accompanying drawings, so the accompanying drawings should be understood as covering all changes, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present therebetween. In contrast, it will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” to another element, there are no intervening elements present.

FIG.1is a block diagram illustrating respective components according to a refrigerant cycle,FIG.2is a diagram illustrating a refrigerant circulation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure,FIG.3is an exploded perspective view illustrating the refrigerant circulation apparatus ofFIG.1,FIG.4is a side view illustrating the refrigerant circulation apparatus ofFIG.1, andFIG.5is a diagram illustrating a refrigerant flow in the refrigerant circulation apparatus ofFIG.1.

The refrigerant circulation apparatus according to the present disclosure includes: a refrigerant circulation component10including a compressor11, a condenser12, an expander13, and an evaporator14forming a refrigerant cycle through the circulation of a refrigerant, and a support body20in which the compressor11is fixed to one side, or a first side, thereof, the condenser12, the expander13, and the evaporator14are seated on the other side, or a second side thereof, and a plurality of flow paths are provided so that the refrigerant is circulated between the condenser, the expander13, and the evaporator14.

In the present disclosure, the refrigerant circulation component10includes the compressor11, the condenser12, the expander13, and the evaporator14such that the refrigerant heat-exchanges with other heat exchange medium through the refrigerant cycle by sequential circulation of the refrigerant through the compressor11, the condenser12, the expander13, and the evaporator14. As an example, it may be configured such that coolant for cooling PE parts or coolant for cooling a battery heat-exchanges with a refrigerant through the condenser12or the evaporator14to implement a heat pump through temperature management of the refrigerant and the coolant.

Here, the refrigerant circulation component10may further include a receiver dryer15and an accumulator16. Accordingly, as can be seen inFIG.1, the refrigerant circulation component10may perform heat exchange with another heat exchange medium through the condenser12while the refrigerant compressed through the compressor11is condensed through the condenser12. In addition, the refrigerant discharged from the condenser12may expand in the expander13after foreign substances and moisture are filtered through the receiver dryer15, and may flow to the evaporator14. Here, the refrigerant exchanges heat with another heat exchange medium through the evaporator14, and is separated into a liquefied refrigerant and a gaseous refrigerant through the accumulator16, so the gaseous refrigerant is circulated to the compressor11.

Accordingly, the refrigerant circulation component10forms a circulation cycle in which a refrigerant sequentially circulates through the compressor11, the condenser12, the receiver dryer15, the expander13, the evaporator14, and the accumulator16.

In particular, in the present disclosure, the refrigerant circulation component10is integrated into the support body20so as to be modularized. That is, as illustrated inFIGS.2to4, the compressor11is fixed to one side of the support body20, and the condenser12, the expander13, and the evaporator14are seated on the other side of the support body20, so that the refrigerant circulation component10is modularized with the support body20.

The support body20is formed from an elastic material so that vibration can be absorbed. Accordingly, in the support body20, since vibration generated as the compressor11is driven is not directly transmitted to the refrigerant circulation component10except for the compressor11, damage to respective parts due to the vibration is prevented. That is, although the compressor11generates vibration during operation due to its structural characteristics, even if the refrigerant circulation component10is modularized with the support body20, the support20attenuates the vibration generated by the compressor11so that the vibration generated by the compressor11is not directly transmitted to the condenser12, the expander13, and the evaporator14, thereby maintaining the durability performance of the condenser12, the expander13, and the evaporator14.

One side of the support body20may be formed to match an outer shape of the compressor11, and the condenser12, the expander13, and the evaporator14may be disposed on the other side of the support body. As such, the support body20is formed to surround the compressor11since one side thereof matches the outer shape of the compressor11, so that the compressor11may be firmly fixed to attenuate vibration generated by the compressor11. In addition, since the refrigerant circulation component10excluding the compressor11is disposed on the other side of the support body20, damage to the respective parts caused by the micro-vibration generated even if the vibration generated by the compressor11is attenuated by the support body20is avoided.

In addition, the support body20may be provided with a plurality of slit holes21opened in a direction facing the compressor11, the condenser12, the expander13, and the evaporator14.

As can be seen inFIG.3, the plurality of slit holes21are formed in the support20to facilitate self-deformation of the support body20, thereby improving the vibration attenuation effect. These slit holes21are opened in directions toward one side and the other side, and may be formed to extend a predetermined length. In addition, the plurality of slit holes21may be formed at positions matching the large-sized condenser12and evaporator14among the refrigerant circulation component10seated on the support body20. The slit holes are preferably located so as not to interfere with flow paths and the other circulation parts.

On the other hand, as can be seen inFIG.3, a partition wall part22is formed on the other side of the support body20to divide the condenser12, the expander13, and the evaporator14, and the partition wall part22may extend along outer shapes of the condenser12, the expander13, and the evaporator14. The partition wall part22extends to surround the other sides of the refrigerant circulation component10except for the compressor11on the other side of the support body20, so that the condenser12, the expander13, and the evaporator14are stably fixed. In addition, since the partition wall part22surrounds the outer sides of the condenser12, the expander13, and the evaporator14, the vibration attenuation effect of respective parts of the refrigerant circulation component10by the support body20is improved.

Meanwhile, as illustrated inFIG.5, from the center of the other side of the support body20, the condenser12, the expander13, and the evaporator14may be sequentially disposed along the refrigerant cycle of a refrigerant. In this way, parts of the refrigerant circulation component10fixed to the other side of the support body20may be arranged according to the order of the refrigerant cycle, and the parts of the refrigerant circulation component10are sequentially aligned and arranged clockwise or counterclockwise from the center of the support body20, so that the refrigerant circulation through respective parts of the refrigerant circulation component10coupled to the support body20may be simplified, and thus the entire package may be reduced.

In detail, the compressor11may be disposed on one side of the support body20, and the condenser12, the receiver dryer15, the expander13, the evaporator14, and the accumulator16may be sequentially disposed on the other side of the support body clockwise or counterclockwise along the refrigerant cycle.

Accordingly, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor11provided on one side of the support body20flows to the condenser12on the other side of the support body20, and then flows clockwise or counterclockwise sequentially through the condenser12, the receiver dryer15, the expander13, the evaporator14, and the accumulator16, so that the refrigerant circulation between the respective parts is facilitated. That is, during circulation through the refrigerant circulation component10, the refrigerant naturally flows through the condenser12, the receiver dryer15, the expander13, the evaporator14, and the accumulator16arranged in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction on the other side of the support body20without an overlapped section. For this reason, even when the parts of the refrigerant circulation component10are modularized in the support body20, a flow of refrigerant may be stabilized and the circulation path of the refrigerant may be formed in a shortest length.

To this end, the support body20may have the following detailed structure to form a refrigerant flow between the parts of the refrigerant circulation component10. The support body20may have an inlet23through which a refrigerant discharged from the compressor11flows into the condenser12, a first flow path through which the refrigerant discharged from the condenser12flows to the receiver dryer15, a second flow path through which the refrigerant discharged from the evaporator14flows to the accumulator16, and an outlet26through which the refrigerant discharged from the accumulator16flows to the compressor11.

Here, an outlet of the compressor11and the inlet23of the support body20may be connected such that the refrigerant circulates through a first pipe A1, and an inlet of the compressor11and the outlet26of the support body20may be connected such that the refrigerant circulates through a second pipe A2. In the present disclosure, it may be configured such that the refrigerant discharged from the compressor11among the parts of the refrigerant circulation components10circulates through the other parts of the refrigerant circulation component10while passing through the support body20. However, when a structure for circulation of the refrigerant is added to both sides of the support body20, there is a problem in that the structure of the support body20itself becomes complicated and the size of the support body needs to be increased. Thus, it is preferable to connect the first pipe A1and the second pipe A2to the compressor11to form a refrigerant flow through the parts of the refrigerant circulation component10connected to the compressor11.

On the other hand, the first flow path24and the second flow path25are formed separately from the support body20and the support body20has a first insertion groove27and a second insertion groove28formed therein. The first flow path24may be fixedly inserted into the first insertion groove27, and the second flow path25may be fixedly inserted into the second insertion groove28.

That is, the first flow path24and the second flow path25have through-flow channels through which the refrigerant can flow. When the first flow path24and the second flow path25are integrated into the support body20, separate processing is required for forming the first flow path24and the second flow path25on the support body20. However, it is difficult to form flow channels of the first flow path24and the second flow path25.

In addition, the support body20may be configured to absorb vibrations generated by the compressor11, and the first flow path24and the second flow path25may be separately formed form a rigid material to prevent deformation of the flow paths, thereby preventing the deformation of the flow paths through which the refrigerant flows.

Since the support body20according to the present disclosure described above is configured by the inlet23, the first flow path24, the second flow path25, and the outlet26, so that a flow of refrigerant through the parts of the refrigerant circulation component10can be formed.

That is, the first pipe A1extending from the outlet of the compressor11may be connected to the inlet23of the support body20, which is connected to an inlet of the condenser12, so that as the refrigerant compressed in the compressor11flows to and is condensed by the condenser12, heat exchange with a heat exchange medium may be performed.

The first flow path24may be configured in the support body20, and an outlet of the condenser12and an inlet of the receiver dryer15may be connected to the first flow path24, so that the refrigerant discharged from the condenser12may flow to the receiver dryer15through the first flow path24.

In this way, the refrigerant in which foreign substances and moisture are filtered through the receiver dryer15flows to and expands at the expander13, and then flows to the evaporator14, so that as the refrigerant evaporates in the evaporator14, heat exchange between the refrigerant and another heat exchange medium is performed.

In addition, the second flow path25may be configured in in the support body20, and an outlet of the evaporator14and an inlet of the accumulator16may be connected to the second flow path25, so that the refrigerant discharged from the evaporator14may flow to the accumulator16through the second flow path25.

Meanwhile, the second pipe A2extending from the inlet of the compressor11may be connected to the outlet26of the support body20, which is connected to an outlet of the accumulator16, so that the gaseous refrigerant separated through the accumulator16may be recirculated to the compressor11.

In this way, the refrigerant circulation component10may be fixed to the support body20in a modularized state such that a smooth flow of refrigerant in the refrigerant circulation component10may occur through the inlet23, the first flow path24, the second flow path25, and the outlet26of the support body20.

Meanwhile, the support body20is formed from an elastic material to absorb vibration transmitted from the compressor11, and the first flow path24and the second flow path25are formed from a rigid body so as not to be deformed.

As such, since the support body20is formed from an elastic material, vibration generated during driving of the compressor is not directly transmitted to the refrigerant circulation component10except for the compressor11. On the other hand, the first flow path24and the second flow path25are formed from a rigid material to prevent shape deformation for smooth circulation of the refrigerant. Accordingly, the parts of the refrigerant circulation component10fixed to the support body20are prevented from being damaged by vibration, and as a flow of refrigerant through the first flow path24and the second flow path25is stabilized, smooth circulation of the refrigerant between the parts of the refrigerant circulation component10can be maintained.

According to the refrigerant circulation apparatus having the above-mentioned configuration, respective parts through which a refrigerant is circulated are modularized so as to make a refrigerant line compact, which enables fixing means for fixing respective refrigerant-circulation parts to be deleted through such modularization, thereby reducing the weight and manufacturing cost.

Although the present disclosure has been described and illustrated with respect to the specific embodiments, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various improvements and modifications are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure as disclosed in the accompanying claims.