Suction-Capillary Tube Assembly and Refrigeration Cycle Apparatus Equipped with Same

This application is a continuation application, under 35 U.S.C. § 111(a), of international application No. PCT/KR2024/095172, filed Feb. 15, 2024, which claims priority under 35 U. S. C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0027271, filed Feb. 28, 2023, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0016233, filed Feb. 1, 2024, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The disclosure relates to a suction-capillary tube assembly used in a refrigeration cycle apparatus and a refrigeration cycle apparatus including the same.

Generally, a refrigeration cycle apparatus is configured to cool the surrounding air using a refrigerant.

The refrigeration cycle apparatus may include a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator. The refrigerant may circulate through the compressor, the condenser, the expansion valve, and the evaporator, and the phase of the refrigerant may change to absorb the surrounding heat, thereby cooling the surrounding air.

The expansion valve may be disposed between the condenser and the evaporator. A capillary tube may be used as the evaporator. Therefore, the refrigerant from the condenser may be introduced into the evaporator through the capillary tube.

The evaporator and the compressor may be connected by a suction pipe. Therefore, the refrigerant from the evaporator may be introduced into the compressor through the suction pipe.

The compressor may be connected to the condenser by a connecting pipe. Therefore, the refrigerant from the compressor may be introduced into the condenser through the connecting pipe.

An aspect of the disclosure relates to provide a suction-capillary tube assembly and a refrigeration cycle apparatus having the same, which can increase a heat exchange efficiency between a refrigerant passing through a suction hole and a refrigerant passing through a capillary hole and simplify a manufacturing process by forming the suction hole and the capillary hole in one body.

A suction-capillary tube assembly according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure may include: a main pipe including a suction hole formed inside the main pipe along a longitudinal direction of the main pipe and a capillary hole formed inside the main pipe along the longitudinal direction of the main pipe; a terminal suction pipe to be disposed at one end of the suction hole of the main pipe to communicate with the suction hole; and a terminal capillary pipe to be disposed at one end of the capillary hole of the main pipe to communicate with the capillary hole.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, the terminal suction pipe is a first terminal suction pipe and the terminal capillary pipe is a first terminal capillary pipe, and the suction-capillary tube assembly the suction-capillary tube assembly may further include: a second terminal suction pipe disposed at another end of the suction hole of the main pipe to communicate with the suction hole; and a second terminal capillary pipe disposed at another end of the capillary hole of the main pipe to communicate with the capillary hole.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, the suction-capillary tube assemblymay further include: a first sealing portion provided at one end of the main pipe and configured to seal joint portions of one end of the main pipe, the first terminal suction pipe, and the first terminal capillary pipe; and a second sealing portion provided at the other end of the main pipe and configured to seal joint portions of the other end of the main pipe, the second terminal suction pipe, and the second terminal capillary pipe.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, the first sealing portion and the second sealing portion may be formed of any one of silicone, paint, shrinkage tube, and hot melt shrinkage tube.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, a diameter of the suction hole of the main pipe may be larger than a diameter of the capillary hole.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, the diameter of the suction hole may be 4 mm to 20 mm, and the diameter of the capillary hole may be 0.5 mm to 2 mm.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, the main pipe may be formed of aluminum.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, the first and second terminal suction pipes and the first and second terminal capillary pipes may be formed of aluminum or copper.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, the first and second terminal suction pipes and the first terminal capillary pipe and the second terminal capillary pipe may be joined to both ends of the main pipe by welding or caulking.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, the main pipe may include: a main portion formed with a circular cross-section, in which the suction hole is formed; and a protruding portion protruding radially from an outer surface of the main portion, in which the capillary hole is formed.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, the protruding portion may include a plurality of protruding portions formed at regular intervals on the outer surface of the main portion.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, both ends of the capillary hole of the main pipe are provided with a first expanded portion and a second expanded portion having a diameter larger than the diameter of the capillary hole. The first terminal capillary pipe may be inserted into the first expanded portion, and the second terminal suction pipe may be inserted into the second expanded portion.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, the main pipe may include: a first cut portion formed at a certain depth at one end of the main pipe and configured to divide one end of the main pipe into a first protruding portion having the capillary hole and a first main portion having the suction hole; and a second cut portion formed at a certain depth at the other end of the main pipe and configured to divide the other end of the main pipe into a second protruding portion having the capillary hole and a second main portion having the suction hole.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, the first terminal capillary pipeand the second terminal capillary pipe may include enlarged portions into which the first protruding portion and the second protruding portion of the main pipe are inserted, respectively.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, the first terminal suction pipe may be inserted into one end of the suction hole, and the second terminal suction pipe may be inserted into another end of the suction hole.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, a refrigeration cycle apparatus may include a compressor; an evaporator; a condenser connectable to the compressor; and the suction-capillary tube assembly according to any one of the above-described features, which connects the compressor and the evaporator, and connects the evaporator and the condenser.

Various embodiments of this document and terms used herein are not intended to limit the technical features described in this document to specific embodiments, but should be understood to include various modifications, equivalents, or alternatives of the embodiments.

In connection with the description of the drawings, similar reference numbers may be used for similar or related components.

The singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include one or more of the above item, unless the relevant context clearly indicates otherwise.

In this document, each of phrases such as “A or B,” “at least one of A and B,” “at least one of A or B,” “A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “at least one of A, B, C” may include any one of the items listed together with the corresponding phrase, or any possible combination thereof.

The term “and/or” includes any element of a plurality of related described elements or a combination of a plurality of related described elements.

Terms such as “first,” “second,” “primary,” or “secondary” may be used simply to distinguish one component from other components, and do not limit the corresponding components in other respects (e.g., importance or order).

In addition, terms such as ‘front surface,’ ‘rear surface,’ ‘upper surface,’ ‘lower surface,’ ‘side surface,’ ‘left side,’ ‘right side,’ ‘upper side,’ ‘lower side,’ and the like used in the disclosure may be defined based on the drawings, and forms and locations of each element are not limited by these terms.

Terms such as “include” or “have” are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the embodiment, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combination thereof.

When a component is said to be “connected,” “coupled,” “supported,” or “in contact” with another component, this means not only cases where the components are directly connected, coupled, supported, or contacted, but also cases where the components are indirectly connected, coupled, supported, or contacted through a third component.

When a component is said to be located “on” other component, this includes not only cases where the component is in contact with the other component, but also cases where another component exits between the two components.

Hereinafter, a suction-capillary tube assemblyaccording to various embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

is a perspective view illustrating a suction-capillary tube assemblyaccording to one or more embodiments of the disclosure.is an exploded perspective view illustrating the suction-capillary tube assemblyof.is a cross-sectional view illustrating the suction-capillary tube assemblyoftaken along line A-A.is a cross-sectional view illustrating a main pipeof the suction-capillary tube assemblyof.is a cross-sectional view illustrating the suction-capillary tube assemblyoftaken along line B-B.

Referring to, a suction-capillary tube assemblyaccording to one or more embodiments of the disclosure may include a main pipe, a first terminal suction pipe, a second terminal suction pipe, a first terminal capillary pipe, and a second terminal capillary pipe.

Referring to, the main pipemay include a suction holeand a capillary hole. The suction holeand the capillary holemay be formed to penetrate the main pipein the longitudinal direction of the main pipe. The suction holeand the capillary holemay be formed parallel to each other in the longitudinal direction of the main pipe. Therefore, the suction holeand the capillary holemay be formed at both ends of the main pipe.

A refrigerant discharged from an evaporator(see) through the suction holeof the main pipemay move to a compressor(see). The refrigerant discharged from a condenser(see) may move to the evaporatorthrough the capillary holeof the main pipe. The pressure of the refrigerant discharged from the condensermay be reduced while passing through the capillary hole.

The cross-section of each of the suction holeand the capillary holemay be formed in a circular shape. The diameter of the suction holemay be formed larger than the diameter of the capillary hole.

For example, the diameter of the suction holemay be about 4 mm to 20 mm. Preferably, the diameter of the suction holemay be about 4.86 mm to 8.04 mm. The diameter of the capillary holemay be about 0.5 mm to 2 mm. Preferably, the diameter of the capillary holemay be about 0.65 mm to 0.95 mm. In other words, the suction holemay have a diameter that is about 2 to 40 times the diameter of the capillary hole.

As the diameter of the suction holeincreases, the amount of refrigerant moving to the compressormay increase. As diameter of the capillary holeincreases, the pressure drop of the refrigerant passing through the capillary holemay be increase. The diameter of the suction holeand the diameter of the capillary holemay be appropriately defined according to the compressor, the condenser, and the evaporatorincluded in the refrigeration cycle apparatus.

Referring again to, the main pipemay include a main portionand a protruding portion.

The main portionmay be formed in a circular cross-section, and the suction holemay be formed in the center of the main portion. For example, the main portionmay be formed in an approximately circular pipe shape.

The protruding portionmay be formed to protrude from the outer surface of the main portion. For example, the protruding portionmay be formed to protrude radially from the outer surface of the main portion. The protruding portionmay have the capillary hole. The protruding portionmay be formed along the entire length of the main portion.

The protruding portionmay be formed to have a width smaller than the diameter of the main portion. The tip of the protruding portionmay be formed in an arc shape. For example, the tip of the protruding portionmay be formed as a curved surface having a curvature corresponding to the capillary hole. The protruding portionmay be made as narrow as possible in width so that the capillary holecan be formed in the protruding portionand the terminal capillary pipesandcan be joined to the protruding portion.

The main portionand the protruding portionof the main pipemay be formed as a single body. In other words, the main pipemay be formed as a single body having a long length, and may include the suction holeand the capillary holeformed in the longitudinal direction of the body.

The main pipemay be formed by molding aluminum. For example, the main pipemay be formed by extruding or drawing aluminum. However, the method of molding the main pipeis not limited thereto. The main pipemay be manufactured in various ways as long as the main pipecan be formed to have the main portion, the protruding portion, the suction hole, and the capillary hole.

The first terminal suction pipemay be disposed at one end of the suction holeof the main pipeso as to be in communication with the suction hole. In other words, the first terminal suction pipemay be disposed so that the hollowthereof is arranged in a straight line and communicates with the suction hole. The second terminal suction pipemay be disposed at the other end of the suction holeof the main pipeso as to be in communication with the suction hole. In other words, the second terminal suction pipemay be disposed so that the hollowthereof is arranged in a straight line and communicates with the suction hole. Accordingly, the refrigerant may flow through the first terminal suction pipe, the suction hole, and the second terminal suction pipe.

The first terminal capillary pipemay be disposed so as to be in communication with the capillary holeat one end of the capillary holeof the main pipe. In other words, the first terminal capillary pipemay be disposed so that the hollowthereof is arranged in a straight line and communicates with the capillary hole. The second terminal capillary pipemay be disposed so as to be in communication with the capillary holeat the other end of the capillary holeof the main pipe. In other words, the second terminal capillary pipemay be disposed so that the hollowthereof is arranged in a straight line and communicates with the capillary hole. Accordingly, the refrigerant may flow through the first terminal capillary pipe, the capillary hole, and the second terminal capillary pipe.