METHOD FOR RECYCLING ENERGY FROM COMPRESSOR OUTLET, AND AIR CONDITIONER
A method for recovering and using energy from a fluid exiting an outlet of a compressor in an air conditioning system, the method including: disposing an ejector between a compressor and a condenser of an air conditioning system, the ejector including a first inlet for receiving a working fluid and a second inlet for receiving an ejection fluid; connecting the first inlet of the ejector to an outlet of the compressor; connecting an outlet of the ejector to an inlet of the condenser; and connecting the second inlet of the ejector to an evaporator of the air conditioning system.
This application is a continuation-in-part of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2012/073168 with an international filing date of Mar. 28, 2012, designating the United States, now pending, and further claims priority benefits to Chinese Patent Application No. 201210048140.7 filed Feb. 28, 2012. The contents of all of the aforementioned applications, including any intervening amendments thereto, are incorporated herein by reference. Inquiries from the public to applicants or assignees concerning this document or the related applications should be directed to: Matthias Scholl P.C., Attn.: Dr. Matthias Scholl Esq., 245 First Street, 18th Floor, Cambridge, Mass. 02142.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of refrigeration and heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), and more particularly to an air conditioning system and a method for recovering and using a fluid from an outlet of a compressor thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Air conditioning system primarily includes a throttle valve, an evaporator, a condenser, and a compressor. The compressor, the condenser, the throttle valve, and the evaporator are connected in series. As a main energy-consuming component of the air conditioning, the compressor consumes the electric energy and converts the electric energy into pressure, so that a fluid medium in the evaporator is transformed from a liquid state into a gas state, and heat energy is absorbed. The fluid medium is pressurized by the compressor and therefore is at high pressure and high temperature when it leaves the compressor. The fluid medium is cooled by the condenser and is transformed from a gas state into a liquid state whereby releasing the heat energy. Different means and devices have been utilized to recover the heat released by the condenser but rarely have provided satisfactory results.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn view of the above-described problems, it is one objective of the invention to provide a method for recovering and using energy from a fluid exiting an outlet of a compressor of an air conditioning system.
It is another objective of the invention to provide an air conditioning system.
The method and the system are capable of effectively recovering energy from a fluid exiting an outlet of the compressor and fully utilizing the recovered energy without additional energy consumption.
The energy consumption of the compressor of the air conditioning is largely decreased or the cooling (heating) capacity of the compressor is largely improved without increasing the power consumption.
To achieve the above objective, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method for recovering and using energy from a fluid exiting an outlet of a compressor of an air conditioning system, the method comprising: disposing an ejector between a compressor and a condenser of an air conditioning system, the ejector comprising a first inlet for receiving a working fluid and a second inlet for receiving an ejection fluid; connecting the first inlet of the ejector to an outlet of the compressor; connecting an outlet of the ejector to an inlet of the condenser; and connecting the second inlet of the ejector to an evaporator of the air conditioning system.
In certain embodiments of the invention, a working fluid passes through the ejector where it is mixed with an ejection fluid from the evaporator to form a mixed fluid, and the mixed fluid then enters the condenser. The mixed fluid has a much lower temperature and requires a much smaller cooling load. The mixed fluid is cooled by the condenser and passes through a throttle valve to return to the evaporator, thereby forming a reciprocating cycle. In the above process, the pressure energy from the outlet of the compressor is converted into the speed energy, so that the ejection fluid is sucked by the ejector. Similarly, the fluid medium is extracted out of the evaporator by the compressor, and therefore a negative pressure is produced in the evaporator, the fluid medium is transformed from a liquid state into a gas state, and the heat energy is absorbed. Thus, the load carrying capacity of the compressor is largely improved without increasing the electricity consumption, or the electricity consumption of the compressor is largely decreased under a constant load.
In a class of this embodiment, the outlet of the compressor is connected in parallel to a plurality of ejectors.
In a class of this embodiment, the outlet of the compressor is connected in series to a plurality of ejectors.
In a class of this embodiment, the outlet of the compressor is connected to the ejectors in a mixed connection type; and the mixed connection type comprises a serial connection and a parallel connection.
In a class of this embodiment, the second inlet of the ejector for receiving the ejection fluid is connected to one or more evaporators.
In a class of this embodiment, the outlet of the ejector is provided with a four-way valve, and the four-way valve is connected to the condenser and the evaporator.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, there is provided an air conditioning system. The air conditioning system comprises: a compressor, the compressor comprising an outlet; an ejector, the ejector comprising: a first inlet for receiving a working fluid, a second inlet for receiving an ejection fluid, and an outlet; a condenser, the condenser comprising an inlet, and an outlet; and an evaporator, the evaporator comprising an inlet, a first outlet, and a second outlet. The ejector is disposed between the compressor and the condenser. The outlet of the compressor is connected to the first inlet of the ejector for receiving the working fluid. The outlet of the ejector is connected to the inlet of the condenser. The outlet of the condenser is connected to an inlet of the evaporator. The first outlet of the evaporator is connected to the second inlet of the ejector for receiving the ejection fluid and the second outlet of the evaporator is connected to the compressor.
Advantages according to embodiments of the invention are summarized as follows: the efficiency of the air conditioning system of the invention is increased by above 30%. Under the same electricity consumption, the heating or cooling capacity of the air conditioning system is largely improved.
The invention is described hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
In the drawings, the following reference numbers are used: 1. Compressor; 2. Ejector; 3. Condenser; 4. Gas-water separator; 5. First throttle valve; 5′. Second throttle valve; 6. First evaporator; and 6′. Second evaporator.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTSFor further illustrating the invention, experiments detailing an air conditioning system and a method for recovering and using energy from an outlet of a compressor thereof are described below. It should be noted that the following examples are intended to describe and not to limit the invention.
It should be noted that “upper” and “lower” positions in the following description indicate an upper direction and lower direction in the drawings, respectively; and “inner” or “outer” position indicates a direction facing towards or away from the drawings or a geometric center of a specific component in the drawings.
EXAMPLE 1As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The air conditioning system is further provided with a four-way valve at the outlet of the ejector. The four-way valve communicates with the condenser and the evaporator, respectively (not shown in the figures), so that the outlet of the ejector communicates with the evaporator (in the heating condition, the evaporator functions as a condenser) to exchange functions of the condenser and the evaporator, thereby realizing the heating.
The air conditioning system of the invention largely increases the load carrying capacity of the compressor in the absence of increasing the electricity consumption, or largely decreases the electricity consumption of the compressor decreased under a constant load.
For simplicity, those falling in the prior art are omitted in the specification.
While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A method for recovering and using energy from a fluid exiting an outlet of a compressor in an air conditioning system, the method comprising:
- a) disposing an ejector between a compressor and a condenser of an air conditioning system, the ejector comprising a first inlet for receiving a working fluid and a second inlet for receiving an ejection fluid;
- b) connecting the first inlet of the ejector to an outlet of the compressor;
- c) connecting an outlet of the ejector to an inlet of the condenser; and
- d) connecting the second inlet of the ejector to an evaporator of the air conditioning system.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the outlet of the compressor is connected in parallel to a plurality of ejectors.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the outlet of the compressor is connected in series to a plurality of ejectors.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the outlet of the compressor is connected to the ejectors in a mixed connection type; and the mixed connection type comprises a serial connection and a parallel connection.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second inlet of the ejector for receiving an ejection fluid is connected to one or more evaporators.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the outlet of the ejector is provided with a four-way valve, and the four-way valve is connected to the condenser and the evaporator.
7. An air conditioning system, comprising: wherein
- a) a compressor, the compressor comprising an outlet;
- b) an ejector, the ejector comprising: a first inlet for receiving a working fluid, a second inlet for receiving an ejection fluid, and an outlet;
- c) a condenser, the condenser comprising an inlet, and an outlet; and
- d) an evaporator, the evaporator comprising an inlet, a first outlet, and a second outlet;
- the ejector is disposed between the compressor and the condenser;
- the outlet of the compressor is connected to the first inlet of the ejector for receiving the working fluid;
- the outlet of the ejector is connected to the inlet of the condenser;
- the outlet of the condenser is connected to an inlet of the evaporator; and
- the first outlet of the evaporator is connected to the second inlet of the ejector for receiving the ejection fluid and the second outlet of the evaporator is connected to the compressor.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the second inlet of the ejector for receiving an ejection fluid is connected to one or more evaporators.
9. The system of claim 7, wherein the outlet of the ejector is provided with a four-way valve; and the four-way valve is connected to the condenser and the evaporator.
10. The system of claim 7, wherein the outlet of the compressor is connected to a plurality of the ejectors in series, in parallel, or both in series and in parallel.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 28, 2014
Publication Date: Jan 22, 2015
Inventor: Yuren ZHANG (Wuhu)
Application Number: 14/470,961
International Classification: F25B 41/00 (20060101); F25B 41/04 (20060101);