Abstract: An evaporator includes an inlet side space of a leeward side upper tank into which a refrigerant flows from a refrigerant inlet port, and an inlet side turn path that is formed of a group of tubes and connected to the inlet side space. A ratio of a total passage cross-sectional area AT1 of the group of tubes forming the inlet side turn path to an inlet passage cross-sectional area Ain of the refrigerant inlet port is set at 3.5 or less, and a ratio of a longitudinal direction length Lg1 of the inlet side space to an inlet equivalent diameter Din of the refrigerant inlet port is set at 25 or less. Further, a Reynolds number Re of the refrigerant that has flowed into the inlet side turn path is set at 1800 or more.

Abstract: An ejector refrigeration cycle includes a bypass passage that guides a refrigerant on an outlet side of an evaporator drawn from a refrigerant suction port of an ejector to a suction port side of a compressor while bypassing a diffuser passage of the ejector. A differential pressure regulating valve is disposed as a bypass flow-rate adjustment device that adjusts a bypass flow rate of the refrigerant circulating though the bypass passage. An enlarged portion for gradually enlarging the passage area is formed at a most downstream part of the refrigerant flow in the bypass passage. During a low-load operation, the differential pressure regulating valve increases the bypass flow rate, thereby allowing the refrigerant to flow into the evaporator connected to the upstream side of a refrigerant suction port using the suction effect of the compressor.

Abstract: An ejector includes a body having a nozzle passage that depressurizes a refrigerant flowing out of a swirling space in which the refrigerant is swirled, a suction passage that draws a refrigerant from an external, and a diffuser passage that mixes an ejection refrigerant jetted from the nozzle passage and a suction refrigerant drawn from the suction passage together and pressurizes the mixed refrigerant. The body also has a gas-liquid separation space that separates the refrigerant flowing out of the diffuser passage into gas and liquid by an action of a centrifugal force, and multiple liquid-phase refrigerant outflow passages through which the liquid-phase refrigerant separated by the gas-liquid separation space flows out to the multiple evaporators.

Abstract: A body of an ejector includes a diffuser passage, in which an ejection refrigerant jetted from a nozzle passage and a suction refrigerant drawn from a suction passage are mixed together and pressurized by arranging a passage formation member, and a gas-liquid separation space, in which the refrigerant flowing out of the diffuser passage is separated into gas and liquid by the action of a centrifugal force. An inlet part of an oil return passage that is open in the gas-liquid separation space is arranged at a position closer to an outer peripheral side than to an axis center of the passage formation member.

Abstract: An ejector includes a nozzle having a fluid passage circular in cross section. The fluid passage includes a throat portion smallest in cross-sectional area, a divergent portion that becomes larger in cross-sectional area toward a downstream side from the throat portion, and an ejection port that is provided at a downstream end of the divergent portion. A passage wall surface of the divergent portion includes a recess portion that is recessed from within outward in a radial direction of the passage wall surface. The recess portion is located adjacent to the ejection port, and the recess portion extends continuously in a circumferential direction of the passage wall surface to enclose the fluid passage and have an annular shape. Accordingly, noise due to an expansion wave of the ejected fluid can be reduced.

Abstract: An interior of a nozzle in an ejector is formed with a swirling space in which a refrigerant swirls, and a refrigerant passage in which the refrigerant that has flowed from the swirling space is depressurized. The refrigerant passage includes a minimum passage area part most reduced in the refrigerant passage area, and a divergent part that gradually enlarges in the refrigerant passage area from the minimum passage area part toward a refrigerant ejection port. Plate members, which reduce a velocity component of the refrigerant flowing into the minimum passage area part in a swirling direction, are disposed within the refrigerant passage.

Abstract: In a dehumidification-air heating mode, a refrigerant circuit is configured such that a refrigerant outlet side of an exterior heat exchanger communicates with a heating side refrigerant suction port of a heating side ejector as a refrigerant decompression means, and that a refrigerant inlet side of an interior evaporator communicates with an outlet side of a heating side diffuser of the heating side ejector. A refrigerant evaporation temperature in the exterior heat exchanger is set lower than that of the interior evaporator by a pressurizing effect of the heating side ejector. Thus, the amount of heat absorption by the refrigerant at the exterior heat exchanger is increased to improve the heating capacity of the air in an interior condenser.

Abstract: An ejector includes (i) a body part including a depressurizing space in which a refrigerant flowing out of a swirling space is depressurized, a suction passage that draws a refrigerant from an external, and a pressurizing space in which a jet refrigerant jetted from the depressurizing space and a suction refrigerant drawn from the suction passage are mixed with each other to be pressurized, (ii) a conical passage formation member which is arranged inside the body part, and (iii) a swirling promotion part. A nozzle passage is provided in the depressurizing space on an outer peripheral surface of the passage formation member, and a diffuser passage is provided in the pressurizing space on the outer peripheral surface of the passage formation member. The swirling promotion part includes a flow regulation plate that promotes a swirling flow of the refrigerant flowing in the diffuser passage.

Abstract: An ejector has a swirling space, a pressure reducing space, a suction passage, a pressure increasing space, a nozzle passage, a diffuser passage, a passage forming member that forms the nozzle passage and the diffuser passage, and a vibration suppressing portion that suppresses a vibration of the passage forming member. The vibration suppressing portion has (i) a first elastic member that applies a load to the passage forming member in a direction in which an area of a cross section perpendicular to the direction of the central axis of the nozzle passage and the diffuser passage decreases and (ii) a second elastic member that applies a load to the passage forming member in a direction opposite from the direction in which the first elastic member applies the load to the passage forming member.

Abstract: In a heating mode, a refrigerant circuit is switched in which a refrigerant is decompressed by an ejector to flow into a gas-liquid separator, and a separated gas phase refrigerant is introduced into an intermediate-pressure suction port of a compressor and at the same time a separated liquid phase refrigerant flows to at least a second variable throttle valve, an interior evaporator, and a suction port of the compressor, in this order. In a cooling mode, a refrigerant circuit is switched in which the refrigerant flowing out of the interior condenser is decompressed by a first variable throttle valve through an exterior heat exchanger to flow into the gas-liquid separator, and a separated gas phase refrigerant is introduced into the intermediate-pressure suction port of the compressor, and at the same time a separated liquid phase refrigerant flows to the second variable throttle valve, the interior evaporator, and the suction port of the compressor, in this order.

Abstract: An ejector-type refrigeration cycle includes an upstream side gas-liquid separator that separates a refrigerant that has flowed out of a diffuser portion of an ejector into gas and liquid and allows the separated liquid-phase refrigerant to flow to an evaporator without storing the separated liquid-phase refrigerant, and a downstream side gas-liquid separator that separates the refrigerant flowing out of the upstream side gas-liquid separator into gas and liquid, stores the separated liquid-phase refrigerant, and allows the separated gas-phase refrigerant to flow out toward an inlet side of a compressor. The ejector-type refrigeration cycle includes a refrigerant oil bypass passage for introducing a refrigerator oil within the diffuser portion into the downstream side gas-liquid separator.

Abstract: An ejector includes a body member having a depressurizing space that depressurizes a refrigerant which flows out of a swirling space that swirls the refrigerant, a suction passage that draws the refrigerant from an external, and a pressurizing space that mixes a refrigerant jetted from the depressurizing space with a refrigerant drawn from the suction passage and pressurizes the mixed refrigerant, and a conical passage formation member arranged in the depressurizing space and in the pressurizing space. A nozzle passage is formed of a refrigerant passage between an inner peripheral surface of the depressurizing space and an outer peripheral surface of the passage formation member, and a diffuser passage is formed of a refrigerant passage between an inner peripheral surface of a portion that defines the pressurizing space and an outer peripheral surface of the passage formation member.

Abstract: An ejector refrigeration cycle includes an upstream-side branch portion for branching a flow of a refrigerant flowing out a radiator, an upstream-side ejector having an upstream-side nozzle for decompressing one of the refrigerants branched by the upstream-side branch portion, and a gas-liquid separator for separating the refrigerant flowing out the upstream-side ejector into gas and liquid phase refrigerants. The liquid-phase refrigerant flowing out of the gas-liquid separator is decompressed by a low-pressure side fixed throttle and allowed to evaporate at a first evaporator. The other refrigerant branched by the upstream-side branch portion is decompressed by a high-pressure side fixed throttle and allowed to evaporate at a second evaporator. A merging portion merges the refrigerant flowing out of the first evaporator with the refrigerant flowing out of the second evaporator, so that the merged refrigerant is sucked from an upstream-side refrigerant suction port of the upstream-side ejector.

Abstract: An ejector-type refrigeration cycle includes a radiator radiating heat of refrigerant discharged from a compressor, an ejector depressurizing the refrigerant cooled in the radiator, a gas-liquid separator separating gas and liquid of the refrigerant flowing out of a diffuser portion of the ejector, an evaporator disposed in a refrigerant passage connecting the gas-liquid separator and a refrigerant suction port of the ejector, and an opening-closing valve switching between a first refrigerant flow path, in which an ejection refrigerant ejected from a nozzle portion of the ejector flows out of the diffuser portion, and a second refrigerant flow path, in which the ejection refrigerant flows out of the refrigerant suction port. When a rotation rate of the compressor is lower than or equal to a standard rotation rate, the first refrigerant flow path is switched to the second refrigerant flow path.

Abstract: In an ejector, a substantially conical passage formation member is disposed in the interior of a body forming a space therein to define a nozzle passage functioning as a nozzle, a mixing passage in which an ejection refrigerant ejected from the nozzle passage and a suction refrigerant drawn from a suction passage are mixed together, and a diffuser passage that converts a kinetic energy of the refrigerant that has flowed out of the mixing passage into a pressure energy, between an inner peripheral surface of the body and the passage formation member. The passage formation member is configured so that a spread angle of a portion forming an outlet side of the nozzle passage is smaller than a spread angle of a portion forming an inlet side of the nozzle passage in a cross-section parallel to an axial direction of the passage formation member.

Abstract: A mixing portion that is formed in an area from a refrigerant injection port of a nozzle portion to an inlet section of a diffuser portion in an internal space of a body portion of an ejector and that mixes an injection refrigerant injected from the refrigerant injection port and a suction refrigerant suctioned from a refrigerant suction port is provided. A distance from the refrigerant injection port to the inlet section in the mixing portion is determined such that a flow velocity of the refrigerant flowing into the inlet section of the diffuser portion becomes lower than or equal to a two-phase sound velocity. A shock wave that is generated at a time that a mixed refrigerant is shifted from a supersonic velocity state to a subsonic velocity state is generated in the mixing portion, so as to stabilize pressure increasing performance in the diffuser portion.

Abstract: In an ejector, formed in a body is a swirling space which lets a high-pressure refrigerant flowing from a refrigerant inlet port swirl and introduces the swirling high-pressure refrigerant into a depressurizing space in which the swirled high-pressure refrigerant is depressurized and expanded. A passage formation member that defines a nozzle passage and a diffuser passage is shaped to have a cross-sectional area increasing with distance from the depressurizing space. Further, a temperature sensing unit of a drive device that displaces the passage formation member is housed in the body, and the temperature sensing unit and a diaphragm have annular shapes to surround at least the axial line of the passage formation member.

Abstract: In an ejector, a passage formation member is disposed inside a body forming a space therein. Provided between an inner peripheral surface of the body and the passage formation member are a nozzle passage functioning as a nozzle, a mixing passage in which an ejection refrigerant ejected from the nozzle passage and a suction refrigerant drawn through a suction passage are mixed together, and a diffuser passage that converts a kinetic energy of the refrigerant that has flowed out of the mixing passage into a pressure energy. The mixing passage has a shape gradually reducing in cross-sectional area toward a downstream side in the refrigerant flow.

Abstract: An approximately conical passage-forming member is disposed inside a body in which a swirling space for swirling a refrigerant is formed, and an ejector defines therein a nozzle passage that functions as a nozzle for depressurizing a refrigerant that has flowed out from the swirling space between an inner circumferential surface of the body and the passage-forming member, and a diffuser passage that pressurizes a mixed refrigerant obtained from a refrigerant sprayed from the nozzle passage and a refrigerant drawn from a suction-passage. A plurality of driving passages through which a refrigerant is introduced from a distribution space to the swirling space are formed in the body. In this case, the driving passages are formed in a manner such that a refrigerant flowing in from each driving passage into the swirling space flows along an outer circumference of the swirling space and flows in directions different from each other. Accordingly, nozzle efficiency is sufficiently improved.

Abstract: A refrigerant passage formed between an inner peripheral surface of a decompression space formed within a body part and an outer peripheral surface of a valve body that changes a refrigerant passage area of a minimum area part functions as a nozzle, and a refrigerant passage formed between an inner peripheral surface of a pressure increase space formed within the body part and an outer peripheral surface of a passage formation member functions as a diffuser to configure an ejector. Further, the valve body and the passage formation member are provided as separated members, and a load of the refrigerant on the valve body is reduced, thereby being capable of downsizing a drive device that displaces the valve body.