PORTABLE, REFRIGERANT RECOVERY UNIT WITH A CONDENSER BYPASS MODE
A portable, refrigerant recovery unit to transfer refrigerant from a refrigerant system to a storage tank. The recovery unit includes a condenser bypass mode controlled by a valving arrangement that can be employed when the cooling and phase change functions of the condenser are not needed such as commonly exist during the initial stages of the overall recovery process when the refrigerant from the system may already be in liquid phase. In such cases, the bypass mode avoids having the flow run through the tubing and other plumbing of the condenser which otherwise would add significant length (e.g., 2-3 feet or more) and resistance to the flow through the recovery unit for a faster overall recovery process. The valving arrangement of the recovery unit has a single control knob and can be positioned in a plurality of modes including off, condenser bypass, recovery, and condenser purge.
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This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/938,570 filed Feb. 11, 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of portable, refrigerant recovery units.
2. Discussion of the Background
Portable, refrigerant recovery units are primarily used to transfer refrigerant from a refrigerant system to a storage tank. In this manner, the refrigerant can be removed from the system and captured in the tank without undesirably escaping into the atmosphere. Needed repairs or other services can then be performed on the system.
Efficiency and speed of operation of the recovery process are critical factors as the faster the refrigerant can be recovered, the faster the repairs or other services can be made to the system and the faster it can be put back on line. Significant productive and financial losses can then be minimized by putting the refrigerant system back in use as quickly as possible be it to prevent food spoilage in a grocery store setting or the shutdown of a hospital or office building due to the lack of air conditioning. Savings can also be realized in the efficient use of the time of the personnel servicing the system.
With this and other goads in mind, the present invention was developed. In it, a portable, refrigerant recovery unit is provided which includes a mode of operation controlled by a multiple valve manifold or valving arrangement that bypasses the condenser in the recovery unit when the condenser is not needed to perform its cooling and phase change functions. Such conditions can commonly exist when the recovery process is first initiated and the recovery unit is already pumping liquefied refrigerant from the system to the storage tank. The valving arrangement of the recovery unit has a single control knob for ease of operation and can be positioned in a plurality of modes including off, condenser bypass, recovery, and condenser purge.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThis invention involves a portable, refrigerant recovery unit that efficiently and effectively operates to transfer refrigerant from a refrigerant system to a storage tank as quickly as possible. The recovery unit includes a condenser bypass mode controlled by a multiple valve manifold or valving arrangement that can be employed when the cooling and phase change functions of the condenser are not needed. Such conditions can commonly exist during the initial stages of the overall recovery process when the refrigerant from the system may already be in liquid phase. In such cases, the bypass mode avoids having the flow run through the tubing and other plumbing of the condenser which otherwise would add significant length (e.g., 2-3 feet or more) and resistance to the flow through the recovery unit. The result is a significant reduction in the time needed to perform the overall recovery operation (e.g., 30 minutes versus 1.5 hours or more) and the accompanying savings in time and cost to perform the repairs on the system and get it back on line.
The valving arrangement of the recovery unit has a single control knob and can be positioned in a plurality of modes including off, condenser bypass, recovery, and condenser purge. The condenser bypass mode is typically operated first after which the recovery unit is switched to the recovery mode to complete the transfer of the remaining refrigerant (which is typically mostly vapor) from the refrigerant system to the storage tank. In this recovery mode, the refrigerant does pass through the condenser of the recovery unit to be cooled and condensed. A purge mode is also provided in which the condenser can subsequently be cleared of any residual refrigerant and the residual refrigerant safely confined to the storage tank. The overall result of having the bypass mode and the valving arrangement is a significant increase in the efficiency and speed (e.g., 2-3 times or more faster) of the overall recovery process.
In this operating recovery mode, the refrigerant passes through the multiple valve manifold or valving arrangement 11 of
As explained in more detail below, the valves 15, 17, 19, and 21 of the valving arrangement 11 can be selectively positioned to place the recovery unit 1 in four modes. In the mode of
Rotation of the single control knob 13 in
In conventional recovery units with condensers, the normal operation is from the off position discussed above directly to the recovery position also discussed above. However, in the present invention and between the off and recovery positions of the control knob 13 of
That is and in contrast to other recovery units that always have their flow pass through the condenser even under conditions when the cooling and phase change functions of the condenser are not needed (e.g., pumping only liquid refrigerant or small amounts of vapor and in push/pull configurations), the present recovery unit 1 allows the flow in such circumstances to run directly from the inlet line 3 (see
Completing the description of the operating modes of the recovery unit 1 of the present invention and after the recovery mode of
Although described above in a different order of operation for clarity, the normal sequence of operation of the recovery unit 1 is from being off (
Referring again to the recovery and bypass operational modes of
Further adding to this simplicity is the use of a second common valve at 15 upstream of the compressor 5 in
The common valve 17 offers the further advantage in the purge mode of
It is noted that in a push/pull operating configuration of the recovery unit 1 as in
It is specifically noted that the condenser 7 of the present invention in all of the illustrated embodiments could be made as a physically integral part with the other parts (e.g., compressor 5) of the recovery unit 1. The parts would then essentially be fixed relative to each other within a common casing. However, the condenser 7 could also be a separable part of the recovery unit 1 if desired so that it could, for example, be physically separated from the other parts and submerged in ice water or other exterior cooing media. Although separable, the flow paths to and from the condenser 7 and through the recovery unit 1 and its other parts would still be as illustrated in the various modes discussed above.
The above disclosure sets forth a number of embodiments of the present invention described in detail with respect to the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in this art will appreciate that various changes, modifications, other structural arrangements, and other embodiments could be practiced under the teachings of the present invention without departing from the scope of this invention as set forth in the following claims. In particular, it is noted that the word substantially is utilized herein to represent the inherent degree of uncertainty that may be attributed to any quantitative comparison, value, measurement or other representation. This term is also utilized herein to represent the degree by which a quantitative representation may vary from a stated reference without resulting in a change in the basic function of the subject matter involved.
Claims
1. A portable, refrigerant recovery unit for transferring refrigerant from a refrigerant system to a storage tank, said recovery unit having an inlet line selectively connectable in fluid communication to said system and an outlet line selectively connectable in fluid communication to said storage tank,
- said recovery unit further including at least a compressor and a condenser and a valving arrangement to selectively establish at least first and second flow paths through the recovery unit from the inlet line thereof to the outlet line thereof with (a) said first flow path running from said inlet line to and through the compressor and to and through the condenser to said outlet line and (b) said second flow path bypassing said condenser and running from said inlet line to and through the compressor to said outlet line without running through the condenser.
2. The recovery unit of claim 1 wherein said first flow path runs in series from the inlet line to and through the compressor and the condenser in a first direction to said outlet line.
3. The recovery unit of claim 2 wherein said valving arrangement further selectively establishes a third flow path blocked from fluid communication with the inlet line and running within said recovery unit to and through the condenser in a second direction opposite to said first direction and to and through the compressor in said first direction to the outlet line to purge the condenser.
4. The recovery unit of claim 3 wherein said valving arrangement further selectively establishes an off position blocking flow between the inlet line and outlet line of the recovery unit.
5. The recovery unit of claim 1 wherein said first and second flow paths selectively run through at least one common valve having at least one inlet port and two outlet ports, said common valve being selectively positionable between at least first and second positions with (a) the first position forming a portion of the first flow path and placing the inlet port in fluid communication with the outlet line of the recovery unit through one of the outlet ports of the common valve and (b) the second position forming a portion of the second flow path and placing the inlet port in fluid communication with the outlet line of the recovery unit through the second of the outlet ports of the common valve.
6. The recovery unit of claim 5 wherein the two outlet ports of the common valve are in fluid communication with the inlet port and each other.
7. The recovery unit of claim 5 wherein said common valve is a ball valve having passages therethrough forming a T-shape having a stem and two arms with the inlet port at the stem of the T-shape and the outlet ports at the respective ends of the arms of the T-shape.
8. The recovery unit of claim 5 wherein said first and second flow paths selectively run through at least a second common valve having at least two inlet ports and one outlet port, said second common valve being positioned upstream of the compressor in both said first and second flow paths and being selectively positionable between at least first and second positions with (a) the first position forming a portion of the first flow path and placing one of the inlet ports in fluid communication with the outlet line of the recovery unit through the outlet port of the second common valve and (b) the second position forming a portion of the second flow path and placing the second of the inlet ports in fluid communication with the outlet line of the recovery unit through the outlet port of the second common valve.
9. The recovery unit of claim 8 wherein the two inlet ports of the second common valve are in fluid communication with the outlet port and each other.
10. The recovery unit of claim 8 wherein said second common valve is a ball valve having passages therethrough intersecting orthogonally and respectively forming the two inlet ports and one outlet port.
11. The recovery unit of claim 8 wherein said second common valve is upstream of the first mentioned common valve in both said first and second flow paths and said first and second flow paths each run through the second common valve and the first mentioned common valve in the same direction.
12. The recovery unit of claim 1 wherein the first and second flow paths respectively run through the compressor in the same direction.
13. A portable, refrigerant recovery unit for selectively transferring refrigerant from a refrigerant system to a storage tank in a recovery mode and a push/pull mode, said recovery unit having an inlet line and an outlet line, said storage tank having a vapor port and a liquid port with said inlet line being selectively connectable in fluid communication to said system and said outlet line being selectively connectable in fluid communication to the liquid port of said storage tank in said recovery mode and said inlet line being selectively connectable in fluid communication to the vapor port of said storage tank and said outlet line being selectively connectable in fluid communication to said system in said push/pull mode,
- said recovery unit further including at least a compressor and a condenser and a valving arrangement to selectively establish (i) at least a first flow path through the recovery unit from the inlet line thereof to the outlet line thereof in said recovery mode and (ii) a second flow path through the recovery unit from the inlet line thereof to the outlet line thereof in said push/pull mode with (a) said first flow path running from said inlet line to and through the compressor and to and through the condenser to said outlet line and (b) said second flow path bypassing said condenser and running from said inlet line to and through the compressor to said outlet line without running through the condenser.
14. The recovery unit of claim 13 wherein said first flow path runs in series from the inlet line to and through the compressor and the condenser in a first direction to said outlet line.
15. The recovery unit of claim 13 wherein the first and second flow paths respectively run in the same direction through the compressor.
16. The recovery unit of claim 13 wherein said valving arrangement further selectively establishes an off position blocking flow between the inlet line and outlet line of the recovery unit in said recovery and push/pull modes.
17. The recovery unit of claim 13 wherein said first and second flow paths selectively run through at least one common valve having at least one inlet port and two outlet ports, said common valve being selectively positionable between at least first and second positions with (a) the first position forming a portion of the first flow path and placing the inlet port in fluid communication with the outlet line of the recovery unit through one of the outlet ports of the common valve and (b) the second position forming a portion of the second flow path and placing the inlet port in fluid communication with the outlet line of the recovery unit through the second of the outlet ports of the common valve.
18. The recovery unit of claim 17 wherein said first and second flow paths selectively run through at least a second common valve having at least two inlet ports and one outlet port, said second common valve being positioned upstream of the compressor in both said first and second flow paths and being selectively positionable between at least first and second positions with (a) the first position forming a portion of the first flow path and placing one of the inlet ports in fluid communication with the outlet line of the recover/unit through the outlet port of the second common valve and (b) the second position forming a portion of the second flow path and placing the second of the inlet ports in fluid communication with the outlet line of the recovery unit through the outlet port of the second common valve
19. The recovery unit of claim 17 wherein said second common valve is upstream of the first mentioned common valve in both the first and second flow paths and said first and second flow paths each run through the second common valve and the first mentioned common valve in the same direction
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 9, 2015
Publication Date: Aug 13, 2015
Applicant: (Englewood, CO)
Inventor: Gregory S. Sundheim (Englewood, CO)
Application Number: 14/616,896