Patent Publication Number: US-2023138920-A1

Title: End cover structure and water chiller

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present disclosure is a national phase application of International Application No. PCT/CN2020/135557, filed on Dec. 11, 2020, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202010554731.6 filed with China National Intellectual Property Administration on Jun. 17, 2020, the entireties of which are herein incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to the field of heat exchange unit equipment, in particular, to an end cover structure and a water chiller. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Currently, due to the large heat exchange demand of office buildings, central air conditioners are often used as their air conditioning systems. However, in the initial period of use, since the temperature difference between the water inlet pipe and the water outlet pipe of a heat exchanger is small, the oil return of the water chiller in the central air conditioner will be reduced, and this greatly affects the normal use of the central air conditioners. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure aims to solve at least one of the problems in the prior art or related art. 
     Thus, one embodiment of the present disclosure is to provide an end cover structure. 
     Another embodiment of the present disclosure is to provide a water chiller. 
     One embodiment of the present disclosure provides an end cover structure, and it includes: an end cover body; a water inlet pipe, provided on the end cover body; a water outlet pipe, provided on the end cover body, the water outlet pipe and the water inlet pipe being provided independent of each other; a bypass pipeline in which two cavities are formed, one of the two cavities being communicated with the water inlet pipe, and the other being communicated with the water outlet pipe; and an adjusting member, movably provided in the bypass pipeline, and the adjusting member is movable to adjust the communication between the two cavities. 
     According to the embodiment of the second aspect of the present disclosure, a water chiller is provided, and it includes a unit shell, and a condenser is provided in the unit shell, and a heat exchange pipeline is arranged on the condenser; and the end cover structure in any one of the embodiments of the first aspect, disposed at one end of the unit shell, and a water inlet pipe and a water outlet pipe of the end cover structure are respectively connected with the inlet and the outlet of the heat exchange pipeline. 
     The embodiments of the present disclosure will be shown in the following description, or can be understood through the embodiments of the present disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic view of the structure of an end cover structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic view of the structure of an end cover structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic view of the structure of an end cover structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG.  4    is a schematic view of the structure of a water chiller according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
       In one embodiment, the corresponding relations among the reference signs in  FIG.  1    to 
         FIG.  4    and the names of the components are as follows: 
     
    
    
       12  end cover body;  14  water inlet pipe;  142  first differential pressure joint;  16  water outlet pipe;  162  second differential pressure joint;  18  bypass pipeline;  20  adjusting member;  22  controller;  24  pressure sensor;  30  flushing member;  32  blocking member;  34  unit shell. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     In order that the above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure can be understood more clearly, a further detailed description of the present disclosure will be given below in connection with the accompanying drawings and exemplary embodiments. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present disclosure and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other if there is no conflict. 
     In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure can further be implemented in other manners than those described herein. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the exemplary embodiments disclosed below. 
     Referring to  FIG.  1    to  FIG.  4   , some embodiments of the present disclosure are described in the following. 
     As shown in  FIG.  1   , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an end cover structure is provided, and it includes: an end cover body  12  on which a water inlet pipe  14  and a water outlet pipe  16  are provided; and a bypass pipeline  18  which connects the water inlet pipe  14  and the water outlet pipe  16 , and the bypass pipeline  18  is provided with two cavities divided by an adjusting member  20 , and one of the two cavities is communicated with the water inlet pipe  14 , and the other is communicated with the water outlet pipe  16 ; and the adjusting member  20  is movably provided in the bypass pipeline  18  to conduct or disconnect the two cavities. 
     In one embodiment, the water inlet pipe  14  is disposed below the water outlet pipe  16 . 
     In an embodiment, when the adjusting member  20  moves to a position where the two cavities are communicated with each other, the fluid in the water inlet pipe  14  can be directly communicated with the water outlet pipe  16  through the bypass pipeline  18 , to adjust the pressure difference between the water inlet pipe and the water outlet pipe  16 . 
     In another embodiment, when the adjusting member  20  moves to a position where the two cavities are disconnected, the fluid enters a heat exchange pipeline through the water inlet pipe  14  and flows out through the water outlet pipe  16 . Then, washing operation can be conducted to the water inlet pipe  14 , the heat exchange pipeline and the water outlet pipe  16 , to maintain a normal heat exchange operation of the pipeline. 
     Based on the embodiment 1, as shown in  FIG.  2   , in order to improve the mobile intelligence of the adjusting member  20 , a controller  22  and a pressure sensor  24  are provided, and the controller  22  is provided at an end of the bypass pipeline  18 , and is in transmission connection with the adjusting member  20 ; the pressure sensor  24  is in electrical connection with the controller  22  and configured to detect the pressure in the water inlet pipe  14  and the water outlet pipe  16 . It can be understood that when there is not any fluid flowing in the water inlet pipe  14  or in the water outlet pipe  16 , the pressure is the atmospheric pressure; when there is fluid flowing in the water inlet pipe  14  and in the water outlet pipe  16 , the pressure is the water pressure in the pipe. 
     When the pressure difference is less than a pressure difference threshold, the adjusting member  20  is controlled to be opened and the bypass pipeline  18  is conducted, and then, as shown in  FIG.  3   , the direction of the arrow is the flow direction of the water flow, and the opening range of the adjusting member  20  can be controlled by the controller  22 , that is, the opening degree of the bypass pipeline  18  can be adjusted. 
     When the pressure difference is greater than or equal to the pressure difference threshold, the adjusting member  20  is controlled to be closed and the bypass pipeline  18  is disconnected. 
     The pressure sensor  24  detects the pressure of the water inlet pipe  14  and the water outlet pipe  16  mainly through a first differential pressure joint  142 , a second differential pressure joint  162  and two pressure interfaces. For example, the pressure of the water inlet pipe  14  can be transmitted to the pressure sensor  24  through the first differential pressure joint  142  and a corresponding pressure interface. Similarly, the pressure of the water outlet pipe  16  can be transmitted to the pressure sensor  24  through the second differential pressure joint  162  and a corresponding pressure interface, and the pressure sensor  24  can determine the pressure difference by comparing the two pressure values. 
     According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an end cover structure is provided, and it includes: an end cover body  12  on which a water inlet pipe  14  and a water outlet pipe  16  are provided; and a bypass pipeline  18  which connects the water inlet pipe  14  and the water outlet pipe  16 , and the bypass pipeline  18  is provided with two cavities divided by an adjusting member  20 , and one of the two cavities is communicated with the water inlet pipe  14 , and the other is communicated with the water outlet pipe  16 ; and the adjusting member  20  is movably provided in the bypass pipeline  18  to conduct or disconnect the two cavities. 
     In addition, when the pressure difference between the water inlet pipe  14  and the water outlet pipe  16  is relatively large, for example, the pressure difference is greater than or equal to a pressure difference threshold, a spherical flushing member  30  can be placed in the water inlet pipe  14 , and a mesh blocking member  32  can be embedded in the water outlet pipe  16 . 
     In one embodiment, it can be understood that the more the flushing members  30  are placed into the water inlet pipe  14 , the better the cleaning effect to the pipeline connected to the end cover structure is. 
     As shown in  FIG.  4   , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a water chiller, which includes a unit shell  34  and the end cover structure in any one of the above embodiments, and the end cover structure is disposed at one end of the unit shell  34 ; a condenser and a heat exchange pipeline are arranged in the unit shell  34 , and a water inlet pipe  14  and a water outlet pipe  16  of the end cover structure are respectively connected with the inlet and the outlet of the heat exchange pipeline, and the fluid can flow into the heat exchange pipeline through the water inlet pipe  14  and the inlet, and flows out of the outlet to the water outlet pipe  16 . 
     After water is injected into the heat exchange pipeline, at the initial stage of start-up operation, if the pressure difference is determined to be less than a pressure difference threshold through the pressure sensor  24  of the end cover structure, the adjusting member  20  is controlled by the controller  22  to open the bypass pipeline  18 , and the fluid in the water inlet pipe  14  directly flows to the water outlet pipe  16  without passing through the whole heat exchange pipeline, until the pressure difference reaches the pressure difference threshold, that is, the pressure difference is greater than or equal to the pressure difference threshold, and then the adjusting member  20  is closed through the controller  22  to disconnect the two cavities of the bypass pipeline  18 . Then, as shown by the direction of the arrow in  FIG.  4   , the fluid in the water inlet pipe  14  will first pass through the heat exchange pipeline via the inlet, and then flow out through the water outlet pipe  16  via the outlet. 
     On the basis that the fluid flows through the heat exchange pipeline, if the inner wall of the pipeline needs to be cleaned, one or more spherical flushing members  30  can be placed in the water inlet pipe  14  according to the amount of dirt, and the moving path of the flushing members  30  is the same with the flowing direction of water. 
     It can be understood that if there is relatively a large amount of dirt on the inner wall of the pipeline, the inner wall of the pipeline can be washed by labor first, after the large piece of dirt is removed, the flushing member  30  is placed in the water inlet pipe  14 . 
     According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, an end cover structure and a water chiller are provided, and the end cover structure can be used as a bypass valve at the initial start-up stage of the water chiller to effectively bypass cooling water; when the unit is running stably, it can be used as a rubber ball cleaning device to reduce costs, save space, increase heat exchange performance, and improve the reliability of the unit. 
     For example, at the beginning of start-up, a water chiller control system detects and calculates that the pressure difference is less than a set value, and an electric actuator (i.e., a controller  22 ) rotates to a specified position, a central partition plate (i.e., an adjusting member  20 ) of a cleaning device (i.e., the end cover structure) is opened to form an effective channel, and the cooling water in the inlet of the condenser is directly bypassed to the outlet, the bypass amount is automatically calculated according to the unit control system, and the opening degrees of the inlet and the outlet are controlled by the rotation of the actuator, to control the bypass amount of the cooling water. 
     When the entire system is stable, the pressure difference should be greater than or equal to a set value, the control system logically switches to an automatic cleaning state, the actuator rotates to a corresponding position, and small silicone balls of the cleaning device are started from the inlet of the cooling water inlet, pass through the heat exchange copper tube, return to the outlet of the cooling water outlet, then pass through a baffle net, and return to the cylinder of the cleaning device, to complete a cleaning cycle; and  FIG.  4    shows the trajectory of the small silicone balls. When the control system detects and calculates that the pressure difference is less than the set value at the inlet position of the cooling water, the electric actuator rotates to the specified position, and the central partition plate in the cleaning device is opened to perform bypass processing again. 
     Through the above embodiments, the cleaning device can operate continuously, the fouling coefficient of the condenser can be reduced, the heat exchange effect of the whole machine can be improved, and the objects of saving energy, reducing consumption, avoiding reporting high-pressure failure and improving the operation stability of the unit are achieved. In addition, no additional power source is required for receiving or emitting the small silicone balls, and thus additional energy consumption is reduced. In terms of space, the bypass function is added to the cleaning device and the cleaning device is integrated into the condenser, and this reduces occupied area. 
     Through the end cover structure and the water chiller provided by the present disclosure, by setting the bypass pipeline and the adjusting member, both the bypass function and the cleaning function can be realized. 
     In the present disclosure, the terms of “first”, “second” and “third” are used only for the purpose of description and shall not be understood to indicate or imply any relative importance; the term of “multiple” refers to two or more, unless otherwise clearly defined. The terms of “mounting”, “connected to”, “connected with”, “fix” and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, the term “connect with” can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; the term “connected to” can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. The specific meanings of the above-mentioned terms in the present disclosure according to specific circumstances. 
     In the description of the present disclosure, it needs to be understood that the orientation or position relations indicated by the terms “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “right”, “front”, “rear” and the like are based on the orientation or position relations shown in the accompanying drawings, and they are just intended to conveniently describe the present disclosure and simplify the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the devices or units as indicated should have specific orientations or should be configured or operated in specific orientations, and then should not be construed as limitations to the present disclosure. 
     In the specification of the present disclosure, the terms of “an embodiment”, “some embodiments”, “exemplary embodiment” and the like mean that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in combination with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. In the specification, the illustrative expression of the above terms may not indicate the same embodiment or example. In addition, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described above may be combined in an appropriate method in one or more of any embodiments or examples.