COMPRESSION SYSTEM AND CLOTHING TREATING APPARATUS COMPRISING SAME

Abstract

Provided is a compression system including, in order to minimize an amount of oil mixed with a supplied refrigerant, a compressor configured to compress and discharge the refrigerant, a plurality of oil separators configured to separate the oil included in the refrigerant discharged from the compressor, and a refrigerant pipe configured to connect the compressor and the plurality of oil separators to form a travelling path of the refrigerant, and the plurality of oil separators are connected in series along the travelling path of the refrigerant.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a compression system and a clothing treating apparatus including a same. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a compression system for separating oil from carbon dioxide compressed in a compressor and discharged therefrom in a clothing treating apparatus that performs carbon dioxide dry-cleaning and the clothing treating apparatus including a same.

BACKGROUND ART

A generally used dry-cleaning solvent is environmentally harmful and a factor dangerous for health and safety. Such a dry-cleaning solvent includes perchloroethylene that is suspected as a carcinogen. Specifically, a gasoline-based solvent in current use is flammable and generates smog.

In order to solve such a problem of the gasoline-based solvent, a dry-cleaning system using carbon dioxide has been developed. Carbon dioxide is nontoxic, nonflammable, does not generate the smog, and is unlimited in amount. In addition, liquid carbon dioxide may be a proper dry-cleaning agent because liquid carbon dioxide does not damage fabric and may be dissolved in dye.

In the dry-cleaning system using the carbon dioxide, a washing operation may be performed with the carbon dioxide supplied to a washing tub. The carbon dioxide which is used in the washing operation and contaminated is discharged to a distillation tub connected to the washing tub. While vaporized by a heat exchanger provided inside the distillation tub, the contaminated carbon dioxide is separated from a contaminant. At this point, a compressor provided to the dry-cleaning system is supplied with the carbon dioxide from the distillation tub, compresses the carbon dioxide into high-temperature carbon dioxide, and then supplies the high-temperature carbon dioxide to the heat exchanger inside the distillation tub.

Generally, an oil compressor is used in such a dry-cleaning system. A compressor additionally supplied with oil for lubricating an operation of the compressor is referred to as the oil compressor. Such oil lubricates the operation of the compressor in the compressor, and then a portion of the oil is mixed with a refrigerant and discharged. Thus, the oil compressor may include an oil separator for separating the oil from the refrigerant.

Such an oil separator is disclosed in Korean Utility Model Publication No. 20-0217628 (hereinafter, referred to as “prior art”).

Since the carbon dioxide directly touches laundry in a clothing treating apparatus performing carbon dioxide dry-cleaning, washing performance may be decreased when a large amount of the oil is included in the carbon dioxide.

However, since an oil separation structure disclosed in the prior art includes only one oil separator, a limit on effectively separating the oil from the refrigerant has been present. Accordingly, a malfunction of another component may have been caused, and efficiency of a refrigerant cycle may have been decreased. Also, when the oil separation structure disclosed in the prior art is used, the washing performance is decreased because the refrigerant which includes a large amount of the oil directly touches laundry.

Furthermore, even when a plurality of oil separators are provided in order to solve such a problem, the oil which is separated in the oil separators may move toward a position having a lowest pressure due to pressure differences between each of the oil separators, which may cause an oil shortage when the separated oil is recovered with the compressor.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

Technical Goals

The present disclosure is to provide a compression system for further effectively separating oil from a refrigerant discharge from an oil compressor to reduce a malfunction of another component and improving efficiency of a refrigerant cycle and a clothing treating apparatus including a same.

In addition, the present disclosure is to provide a compression system for improving washing performance by minimizing an oil content of a refrigerant and a clothing treating apparatus including a same.

Also, the present disclosure is to provide a compression system for solving a shortage of oil recovered to a compressor due to oil surface differences between a plurality of oil separators and a clothing treating apparatus including a same.

Technical Solutions

According to an aspect, there is provided a compression system including a compressor configured to compress and discharge a refrigerant, a plurality of oil separators configured to separate oil included in the refrigerant discharged from the compressor, and a refrigerant pipe configured to connect the compressor and the plurality of oil separators to form a travelling path of the refrigerant.

At this point, the plurality of oil separators may be connected in series along the travelling path of the refrigerant.

Through this, the oil may be further effectively separated from the refrigerant which is discharged from an oil compressor, and accordingly, a malfunction of another component may be reduced, and efficiency of a refrigerant cycle may be improved.

In addition, washing performance may be improved by minimizing an oil content of the refrigerant.

The compression system may further include a connection pipe in which the oil is to flow between each of the plurality of oil separators, and a recovery pipe for recovering the oil from the plurality of oil separators to the compressor, and the plurality of oil separators may include a first oil separator provided closest to the compressor on the travelling path of the refrigerant and a second oil separator provided next to the first oil separator, the connection pipe may connect the first oil separator and the second oil separator, and the recovery pipe may connect the first oil separator and the compressor.

The connection pipe may include a first flow resistance body configured to provide resistance to a flow of the oil.

The first flow resistance body may be formed in a capillary structure on the connection pipe.

The recovery pipe may include a second flow resistance body configured to provide resistance to a flow of the oil.

The second flow resistance body may be formed in a capillary structure on the recovery pipe.

The connection pipe may include a first flow resistance body configured to provide resistance to a flow of the oil, the recovery pipe may include a second flow resistance body configured to provide resistance to the flow of the oil, and flow resistance of the second flow resistance body may be less than flow resistance of the first flow resistance body.

Through this, a shortage of the oil which is collected to the compressor due to oil surface differences between the plurality of oil separators may be solved.

The first flow resistance body and the second flow resistance body may be formed in a capillary structure, and a length of the second flow resistance body may be formed to be shorter than a length of the first flow resistance body.

The first flow resistance body and the second flow resistance body may be formed in a capillary structure, and a flow path cross-sectional area of the second flow resistance body may be formed to be wider than a flow path cross-sectional area of the first flow resistance body.

According to another aspect, there is also provided a clothing treating apparatus including a washing unit that is supplied with a refrigerant and performs washing of laundry, a distillation unit including a shell forming, inside the shell, a distillation space for receiving a refrigerant discharged from the washing unit and including a heater positioned inside the shell to heat the refrigerant received in the distillation space, a compression system for compressing the refrigerant which is distilled in the distillation space and supplying the refrigerant to the heater, a freezing unit that freezes the refrigerant which is discharged from the heater, and a storage unit that stores the refrigerant which is liquefied by the freezing unit,

The compression system may include a compressor configured to compress and discharge the refrigerant, and a plurality of oil separators configured to separate oil included in the refrigerant discharged from the compressor, and the plurality of oil separators may be connected in series along the travelling path of the refrigerant.

Effects

Through the present disclosure, since oil may be further effectively separated from a refrigerant discharged from an oil compressor, it is possible to reduce a malfunction of another component and improve efficiency of a refrigerant cycle.

In addition, it is possible to improve washing performance by minimizing an oil content of the refrigerant.

Also, it is possible to solve a shortage of the oil which is recovered to the compressor due to oil surface differences occurring between a plurality of oil separators.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a dry-cleaning system of a clothing treating apparatus according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a compression system according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an oil recovery amount in a compression system according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a pre-operation state of a compression system according to another example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an operating state of a compression system according to another example embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a post-operation state of a compression system according to another example embodiment of the present disclosure.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Terms used in the example embodiments are selected, as much as possible, from general terms that are widely used at present while taking into consideration the functions obtained in accordance with the present disclosure, but these terms may be replaced by other terms based on intentions of those skilled in the art, precedents, emergence of new technologies, or the like. Also, in a particular case, terms that are arbitrarily selected by the applicant of the present disclosure may be used. In this case, the meanings of these terms may be described in corresponding description parts of the disclosure. Accordingly, it should be noted that the terms used herein should be construed based on practical meanings thereof and the whole content of this specification, rather than being simply construed based on names of the terms.

Terms “module” and “part” used for elements in the following description are granted or used together in consideration only of easy drawing of the specification and do not have meanings or roles that may be independently distinguished. Also, in the descriptions of example embodiments in the present disclosure, when a description for prior art is determined to obscure the gist of the present disclosure, the detailed description will be omitted. In addition, the accompanying drawings is to easily understand example embodiments included in the present disclosure, does not limit the technical spirit of the present disclosure, and may be understood as including all changes, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and the technical spirit of the present disclosure.

Terms including an ordinal number such as “first” or “second” used in the present specification may be used to describe various elements. However, the elements may not be limited by the terms. The terms are used to distinguish one element from another element.

When an element is described as being “connected” or “joined” to another element, it may be understood that the element is directly connected or joined to the other element or that still another element is present in between. In contrast, when an element is described as being “directly connected” or “directly joined” to another element, it may be understood that still another element is absent in between.

Terms in a singular form used in the present specification includes all of the terms in the singular form and a plural form unless an apparently and contextually conflicting description is present.

Terms such as “include” or “have” throughout the specification is to indicate that a feature, a number, a step, an operation, an element, a component, or a combination thereof described in the specification is present and may be understood as not excluding beforehand possibilities of adding or existence of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

Throughout the specification, expression “at least one of a, b, and c” may include ‘a only’, ‘b only’, ‘c only’, ‘a and b’, ‘a and c’, ‘b and c’, or ‘all of a, b, and c’.

In the following description, example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily carry out the present disclosure. The present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to example embodiments described herein.

Hereinafter, example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a dry-cleaning system of a clothing treating apparatus according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

Hereinafter, a clothing treating apparatus 1 of the present disclosure will be described with an example of using carbon dioxide as a solvent to perform dry-cleaning, but is not limited thereto. A dry-cleaning system of a clothing apparatus according to the present disclosure may use another solvent having an identical or similar cycle.

Hereinafter, the clothing treating apparatus 1 according to the present disclosure may include a supply unit 10, a washing unit 30, a distillation unit 40, a compression system 50, a freezing unit 60, and a storage unit 20. However, the clothing treating apparatus 1 may be carried out without a portion of the above-described elements and not exclude an additional element.

Referring to FIG. 1, the clothing treating apparatus 1 may include the supply unit 10. The supply unit 10 may be connected to the washing unit 30. The supply unit may supply a refrigerant R to the washing unit 30. Hereinafter, the refrigerant R may be understood as being referred to as the carbon dioxide.

The clothing treating apparatus I may include the washing unit 30. The washing unit 30 may be supplied with the refrigerant R. The refrigerant R may be supplied from the supply unit 10 and/or the storage unit 20 which will be described below: The washing unit 30 may perform washing of laundry. In addition, the washing unit 30 may perform a rinsing process after a washing process. The refrigerant R which completes the washing and/or rinsing and is contaminated may be discharged to the distillation unit 40.

The clothing treating apparatus I may include the distillation unit 40. The distillation unit 40 may be positioned next to the washing unit 30 on a path of the refrigerant R. The distillation unit 40 may separate an impurity from the contaminated refrigerant R.

Specifically, the distillation unit 40 may include a shell 41. A distillation space D may be formed inside the shell 41. The distillation space D may be formed as an airtight space by the shell 41. The distillation space D may receive the discharged contaminated refrigerant R after the washing unit 30 performs the washing inside the distillation space D.

The shell 41 may include an inflow port 42 and a discharge port 43. The contaminated refrigerant R discharged from the washing unit 30 may flow into the distillation space D via the inflow port 42. The refrigerant R which is distilled in the distillation space D may flow into, via the discharge port 43, the compression system 50 which will be described below:

The clothing treating apparatus I may include the compression system 50. One side of the compression system 50 may be connected to the distillation space D of the distillation unit 40, and another side of the compression system 50 may be connected to a heater 44 of the distillation unit 40. The compression system 50 may compress the refrigerant R distilled in the distillation space D. The compression system 50 may supply the refrigerant R which is compressed with a high temperature and a high pressure to the heater 44 of the distillation unit 40. The compression system 50 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 through 6.

The distillation unit 40 may include the heater 44. The heater 44 may be positioned inside the shell 41. One side of the heater 44 may be connected to the compression system 50. and another side of the heater 44 may be connected to the freezing unit 60. The heater 44 may heat, through the refrigerant R which flows in from the compression system 50 and has the high temperature and the high pressure, the refrigerant R which is contaminated and received in the distillation space D.

The clothing treating apparatus 1 may include the freezing unit 60. One side of the freezing unit 60 may be connected to the heater 44, and another side of the freezing unit 60 may be connected to the storage unit 20. The refrigerant R which passes through the heater 44 may flow into the freezing unit 60. The freezing unit 60 may freeze the refrigerant R which is discharged from the heater 44 and then supply the refrigerant R to the storage unit 20.

The clothing treating apparatus I may include the storage unit 20. One side of the storage unit 20 may be connected to the freezing unit 60. The storage unit 20 may store the refrigerant R which is liquefied by the freezing unit 60. When the washing process and/or the rinsing process is started, the storage unit 20 may supply the refrigerant R stored therein to the washing unit 30.

Hereinafter, circulation of carbon dioxide R according to the washing process and/or the rinsing process will be described.

The laundry may be positioned in the washing unit 30 for the washing and/or the rinsing. When a door of the washing unit 30 is closed, a washing tub of the washing unit 30 is decompressed to be a vacuum. Before the washing process and/or the rinsing process is started, the carbon dioxide R in a gaseous state may be supplied from the supply unit 10 and/or the storage unit 20, and the washing unit 30 may be compressed by the carbon dioxide R.

During the washing process, the carbon dioxide R may dissolve a contaminant of the laundry in the washing unit 30. After the washing process is ended, the carbon dioxide R in a liquid state in the washing unit 30, which is contaminated, may be discharged to the distillation unit 40 via an outlet.

The rinsing process may be started immediately after the washing process is ended. At this point, the carbon dioxide R which is clean may be supplied again to the washing unit 30. Similarly to the washing process, the carbon dioxide R in the liquid state in the washing unit 30 may be discharged to the distillation unit 50 via the outlet after the rinsing process is ended.

The carbon dioxide R discharged from the washing unit 30 may be collected in the distillation space D formed inside the shell 41 of the distillation unit 40.

In parallel with the rinsing process, distillation of the carbon dioxide R in the liquid state, which is contaminated, may be started in the distillation unit 40. The distillation may be performed while the carbon dioxide R which is contaminated and received to the distillation space D is heated by the heater 44 positioned inside the distillation unit 40.

Specifically, the carbon dioxide R distilled in the distillation space D and discharged therefrom may flow into the compression system 50 connected to the discharge port 43 of the shell 41. The compression system 50 may compress the carbon dioxide R flowing in and generate high-temperature and high-pressure carbon dioxide R. The high-temperature and high-pressure carbon dioxide R may be supplied to a flowing path forming the heater 44 positioned inside the distillation unit 40 and connected to the compression system 50. The high-temperature carbon dioxide R which flows along the flowing path may heat the carbon dioxide R contaminated and received to the distillation space D. At this point, the carbon dioxide R flowing into the heater 44 may be understood as the carbon dioxide R which has been already distilled and released from the distillation space D and is in a clean state.

The impurity may be separated while the carbon dioxide R is distilled in the distillation space D. That is, in the carbon dioxide R which is contaminated, the carbon dioxide R may be distilled and flow into the compression system 50, and the impurity may be precipitated in a lower side of the distillation space D. The impurity precipitated as such may be collected in a waste drum.

The carbon dioxide R which is clean and passes through the heater 44 may be frozen by the freezing unit 60. The frozen carbon dioxide R may be liquefied and stored in the storage unit 20.

As such, the circulation of the carbon dioxide R is completed during one washing process and/or one rinsing process, the carbon dioxide R stored in the storage unit 20 may be supplied to the washing unit 30 for a subsequent washing process and/or a subsequent rinsing process.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a compression system according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an oil recovery amount in a compression system according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

Hereinafter, the compression system 50 according to the present disclosure will be described with an example of being used in a dry-cleaning system using the carbon dioxide R, but is not limited thereto. The compression system 50 may be broadly used in a field in which an oil compressor such as a freezer is used.

The compression system 50 according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure may include a compressor 100, a plurality of oil separator 110, a refrigerant pipe 120, a connection pipe 130, a recovery pipe 140. However, the compression system 50 may be carried out without a portion of the above-described elements and not exclude an additional element.

Referring to FIG. 2, the compression system 50 may include the compressor 100. The compressor 100 may compress and discharge the refrigerant R. The compressor 100 may be an oil compressor additionally using oil O for lubricating an operation. For I example, the compressor 100 may be a rotary compressor such as a screw compressor or a reciprocating compressor such as a linear compressor.

The compression system 50 may include the plurality of oil separators 110. The plurality of oil separators 100 may separate the oil O which is included in the refrigerant R discharged from the compressor 100.

Hereinafter, the plurality of oil separators 110 may be described with an example of being formed with three oil separators 111, 112, and 113. However, the plurality of oil separators 110 may be formed with two oil separators or four oil separators.

Referring to FIG. 2, the plurality of oil separators 110 may include a first oil separator 111, a second oil separator 112, and a third oil separator 113. The first oil separator 111 may be provided closest to the compressor 100 on a travelling path of the refrigerant R. The second oil separator 112 may be provided next to the first oil separator 111 on the travelling path of the refrigerant R. The third oil separator 113 may be provided next to the second oil separator 112 on the travelling path of the refrigerant R.

Each of the plurality of oil separators 110 may be positioned horizontally to a gravitational direction. The first oil separator 111 through the third oil separator 113 may be connected by the connection pipe 130 which will be described below: In this case, when the first oil separator 111 through the third oil separator 113 are installed at an equal height, the oil O may be prevented from unnecessarily flowing, by gravity, along the connection pipe 130.

The plurality of oil separators 110 according to the present disclosure may have equal oil separation efficiency. For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the plurality of oil separators 110 may have oil separation efficiency of ninety percent, which may be understood as that each time the refrigerant R which includes the oil O passes each of the oil separators 111, 112, and 113, ninety percent of the oil O is separated from the refrigerant R.

In contrast, the plurality of oil separators 110 may have oil separation efficiency different from each other. For example, oil separation efficiency of the first oil separator 111 which is required to separate a largest amount of the oil O may have highest efficiency, and the farther from the compressor 100, the lower the oil separation efficiency may be.

Each of the plurality of oil separators 110 may include a filter 114. The filter 114 may be positioned in an upper area of each of the oil separators 111, 112, and 113. The oil O may be separated while the refrigerant R which flows into each of the oil separators 111, 112, and 113 passes the filter 114. The oil O separated by the filter 114 may descend to and be collected in a lower part of each of the oil separators 111, 112, and 113.

The compression system 50 may include the refrigerant pipe 120. It may be understood that a pipe in which the refrigerant R flows into the compressor 100, a pipe connecting the compressor 100 and the first oil separator 111, a pipe connecting the first oil separator 111 and the second oil separator 112, and a pipe connecting the second oil separator 112 and the third oil separator 113 are all referred to as the refrigerant pipe 120.

The refrigerant pipe 120 may connect to the upper area of each of the oil separators 111, 112, and 113. Since the filter 114 is provided in the upper area of each of the oil separators 111, 112, and 113, and since the refrigerant R including the oil O easily passes the filter 114 when the refrigerant pipe 120 is positioned in the upper area of each of the oil separators 111, 112, and 113, the oil O may be further efficiently separated.

The plurality of oil separators 110 may be connected in series to the travelling path of the refrigerant R. Specifically, the refrigerant pipe 120 which is connected to a discharge port of the compressor 110 may be connected to an inflow port of the first oil separator 111. The refrigerant pipe 120 which is connected to a discharge port of the first oil separator 111 may be connected to an inflow port of the second oil separator 112. The refrigerant pipe 120 which is connected to a discharge port of the second oil separator 112 may be connected to an inflow port of the third oil separators 113. The refrigerant R may be discharged from the compression system 50 via the refrigerant pipe 120 which is connected to a discharge port of the third oil separator 113.

When the plurality of oil separators 110 is connected in series along the path of the refrigerant R as described above, the refrigerant R including the oil O may pass the plurality of oil separator 110 sequentially: Accordingly, the oil separation efficiency may be improved.

The compression system 50 may include the connection pipe 130. The connection pipe 130 may be connected to a lower area of each of the oil separators 111, 112, and 113. Specifically, since the connection pipe 130 is a pipe in which the oil O which is collected in the lower part of each of the oil separators 111, 112, and 113 may flow; it may be desired that the connection pipe 130 is connected in a range of a level at which the oil O is collected. In other words, the connection pipe 130 as a path in which only the oil O flows may be distinguished from the refrigerant pipe 120 which forms the path of the refrigerant R.

The oil O may flow between each of the oil separators 111, 112, and 113. Specifically, the connection pipe 130 may connect the first oil separator 111 and the second oil separator 112. Also, the connection pipe 130 may connect the second oil separator 112 and the third oil separator 113.

The compression system 50 may include the recovery pipe 140. The recovery pipe 140 may recover the oil O from the plurality of oil separators 110 to the compressor 100. The recovery pipe 140 may connect the first oil separator 111 and the compressor 100. Specifically, the compressor 100 may include an oil chamber (not illustrated), the recovery pipe 140 may recover the oil O from the first oil separator 111 to the oil chamber (not illustrated). That is, the recovery pipe 140 as a path in which only the oil O flows may be also distinguished from the refrigerant pipe 120 forming the path of the refrigerant R.

The compression system 50 may include an oil recovery pump (not illustrated). The oil recovery pump (not illustrated) may be formed on the recovery pipe 140 or formed as one element of the compressor 100. The oil recovery pump (not illustrated) may provide a force for recovering the oil O from the first oil separator 111 during operation of the compression system 50.

The compression system 50 may include a recovery check valve (not illustrated). The recovery check valve (not illustrated) may be formed on the recovery pipe 140 or formed as one element of the compressor 100. The recovery check valve (not illustrated) may prevent the oil O from flowing back from the compressor 100 to the first oil separator 111.

Hereinafter, an operation of the compression system 50 according to a first example embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

When the compression system 50 operates as a washing process progresses, the refrigerant R may be flow into and compressed in the compressor 100, and then be discharged to the plurality of oil separators 110 along the refrigerant pipe 120. At this point, while passing through a compression stroke in the compressor 100, the refrigerant R is to include the oil O for lubricating an operation of the oil compressor 100.

While the refrigerant R discharged from the compressor 100 passes the plurality of oil separators 110 along the refrigerant pipe 120, the refrigerant R may be separated from the oil O. For example, when each of the oil separators 111, 112, and 113 has the oil separation efficiency of ninety percent as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, and under an assumption that an amount of the oil O included in the refrigerant R discharged from the compressor 100 is one hundred, ninety of the oil O may be separated while the refrigerant R passes the first oil separator 111, nine of the oil O may be separated while the refrigerant R which has remaining ten of the oil O passes the second oil separator 112, nine tenths of the oil O may be separated while the refrigerant R which has remaining one of the oil O passes the third oil separator 113, and finally, the refrigerant R discharged from the compression system 50 may have zero point one.

As such, since the oil separators 111, 112, and 113 each having the oil separation efficiency of ninety percent may have final oil separation efficiency of ninety-nine and ninety-nine point nine percent when connected in series, greatly high oil separation efficiency may be achieved.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 2, each time the refrigerant R passes each of the oil separator 111, 112, and 113, a pressure drop may occur. For example, the pressure drop may occur while the refrigerant R collides with a partition plate (or a filter) of a partition-plated oil separator.

Specifically, under an assumption that the refrigerant R discharged from the compressor 100 has a pressure of 40 bars and that a pressure drop of 0.5 bars occurs each time the refrigerant R passes each of the oil separator 111, 112, and 113, a pressure in the first oil separator 111 may be 39.5 bars, a pressure in the second oil separator 112 may be 39.0 bars, and a pressure in the third oil separator 113 may be 38.5 bars.

The plurality of oil separators is connected to each other by the connection pipe 130. Pressure differences between the first oil separator 111 through the third oil separator 113 may generate a flow of the oil O through the connection pipe 130. Specifically, the oil O may flow from the first oil separator 111 which has a relatively high pressure to the second oil separator 112 which has a relatively intermediate pressure. Also, the oil O may flow from the second oil separator 112 having the relatively intermediate pressure to the third oil separator 113 which has a relatively low pressure.

Thus, during the operation of the compression system 50, although the largest amount of the oil O is separated in the first oil separator 111, an oil surface of the oil O in the first oil separator 111 may be continuously lowered over time. The oil O which is collected in the first oil separator 111 is to be recovered to the compressor 100 through the recovery pipe 140, but surface descent of the oil O in the first oil separator 111 as described above may cause a shortage of the oil O recovered to the compressor 100. Accordingly, compression efficiency of the compressor 100 may be decreased.

Such a problem may be solved by a structure of the compression system 50 according to another example embodiment of the present disclosure that will be described below:

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a pre-operation state of a compression system according to another example embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an operating state of a compression system according to another example embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a post-operation state of a compression system according to another example embodiment of the present disclosure.

A detailed element of the compression system 50 according to another example embodiment of the present disclosure, which is not described below; may be understood as being identical to that of the compression system 50 according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure, which is described in association with FIGS. 2 and 3.

Referring to FIGS. 4 through 6, the connection pipe 130 may include a first flow resistance body 131. The first flow resistance body 131 may control a flow of the oil O. The first flow resistance body 131 may be formed in a capillary structure on the connection pipe 130.

Specifically, the first flow resistance body 131 may provide resistance to the flow of the oil O. Through this, the first flow resistance body 131 may delay the flow of the oil O in the connection pipe 130. In other words, the first flow resistance body 131 may be understood as performing, when a force allowing the oil O to flow from one oil separator to another oil separator is generated due to a pressure gradient or the like, a function of decreasing a speed of a flow in order to resist such a force.

The recovery pipe 140 may include a second flow resistance body 141. The second flow resistance body 141 may adjust the flow of the oil O. The second flow resistance body 141 may be formed in a capillary structure on the recovery pipe 140.

Specifically, the second flow resistance body 141 may provide resistance to the flow of the oil O and designed (or specified) so as to have appropriate flow resistance. An oil surface in the first oil separator 111 may be maintained to be at an appropriate level by appropriately adjusting the flow resistance of the second flow resistance body 141. For example, when the flow resistance is decreased by shortening a length of the second flow resistance body 141, since a speed of recovering the oil O from the first oil separator 111 to the compressor 100 is increased, the oil surface in the first oil separator 111 may be lowered. In contrast, when the flow resistance is increased by lengthening the second flow resistance body 141, the oil surface in the first oil separator 111 may rise.

The flow resistance of the second flow resistance body 141 may be less than flow resistance of the first flow resistance body 131. For example, when the flow resistance of the second flow resistance body 141 is adjusted by a length of the capillary structure, cross-sectional areas of two flow resistance bodies 141 and 131 may be equal, and the length of the second flow resistance body 141 may be formed to be shorter than a length of the first flow resistance body 131. In contrast, when the flow resistance of the second flow resistance body 141 is adjusted by a flow path cross-sectional area of the capillary structure, lengths of the two resistance bodies 141 and 131 may be equal, and the flow path cross-sectional area of the second flow resistance body 141 may be formed to be wider than a flow path cross-sectional area of the first flow resistance body 131.

Through this, during operation of the compression system 50, the oil O which is collected in the first oil separator 111 may be prevented from flowing to the second oil separator 112 or the third oil separator 113 due to pressure differences between the plurality of oil separators 110, and a shortage of the oil O which is recovered from the first oil separator 111 to the compressor 100 may be prevented.

Unlike the compression system 50 according to another example embodiment of the present disclosure, the first flow resistance body 131 may be provided only between the first oil separator 111 and the second oil separator 112, and the first flow resistance body 131 may not be provided between the second oil separator 112 and the third oil separator 113. Specifically, even when only the flow of the oil O from the first oil separator 111 to the second oil separator 112 is suppressed, since the oil O may be prevented from unnecessarily flowing to the second oil separator 112 or the third oil separator 113 due to the pressure differences between the plurality of oil separators 110, the shortage of the oil O in the first oil separator 111 may be prevented.

In addition, unlike the compression system 50 according to another example embodiment of the present disclosure, the recovery pipe 140 may not include the second flow resistance body 141. Specifically, since flow resistance of the connection pipe 130 including the first flow resistance body 131 may be greater than flow resistance of the recovery pipe 140 not including the second flow resistance body 141, the oil O may be prevented from flowing to the second oil separator 112 or the third oil separator 113 due to the pressure differences between the plurality of oil separators 110. When the oil surface in the first oil separator 111 is to be appropriately maintained only with the flow resistance of the recovery pipe 140 itself, a purpose of the present disclosure may be achieved without the second flow resistance body 141.

Also, unlike the compression system 50 according to another example embodiment of the present disclosure, the first flow resistance body 131 and the second flow resistance body 141 may be a control valve. Such a control valve may be set to adjust a flow amount of the oil O based on data on the pressure differences between the plurality of oil separators 110, or the flow amount of the oil O may be controlled in real time by controlling the control valve with an electronic method.

Hereinafter, a principle of the flow of the oil O being controlled by the first flow resistance body 131 and the second flow resistance body 141 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 through 6.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state before operating of the compression system 50 according to another example embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4, since a pressure drop does not occur because the refrigerant R does not pass through the plurality of oil separators 110 before the compression system 50 operates. pressures in the plurality of oil separators 110 may be all equal. Thus, oil surfaces of the oil O in the first oil separator 111, the second oil separator 112, and the third oil separator 113 may be equal to each other.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state of operating of the compression system 50 according to another example embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, as described above, the largest amount of the oil O may be separated in the first oil separator 111, an amount of the oil O smaller than the amount of the oil O which is separated in the first oil separator 111 may be separated in the second oil separator 112, and an amount of the oil O smaller than the amount of the oil O which is separated in the second oil separator 112 may be separated in the third oil separator 113. Thus, in consideration thereof except a flow of the oil O due to a pressure gradient and recovery of the oil O to the compressor 100 via the recovery pipe 140, the farther from the first oil separator 111 and the closer to the third oil separator 113, the lower an oil surface of the oil O may be.

At this point, since the first flow resistance body 131 is provided to the connection pipe 130 which is provided between the first oil separator 111 and the second oil separator 112 and the connection pipe 130 which is provided between the second oil separator 112 and the third oil separator 113, the oil O may be prevented from flowing from the first oil separator 111 to the second oil separator 112 and flowing from the second oil separator 112 to the third oil separator 113 even with pressure gradients between the first oil separators 111, the second oil separators 112, and the third oil separators 113. Through this, the oil O which is in the first oil separator 111 may maintain an oil surface higher than that of the oil O which is in the second oil separator 112. The oil O in the second oil separator 112 may maintain an oil surface higher than that of the oil O which is in the third oil separator 113.

Meanwhile, the oil O which is collected in the first oil separator 111 may be collected to the compressor 100 via the recovery pipe 140 when the compression system 50 operates. At this point, since flow resistance of the second flow resistance body 141 provided to the connection pipe 130 is less than flow resistance of the first flow resistance body 131 which is provided to the recovery pipe 140, a flow of the oil O in the first oil separator 111 to the second oil separator 112 may be suppressed, and the oil may be effectively recovered to the compressor 100.

At this point, as the oil O in the first oil separator 111 is recovered to the compressor 100, the oil surface of the oil O in the first oil separator may be relatively lowered. However, the oil O may be prevented, by the first flow resistance body 131, from unnecessarily flowing out from the first oil separator 111 to the second oil separator 112. Also, since the refrigerant R including the oil O is continuously supplied to the first oil separator 111, the oil surface of the oil O in the first oil separator 111 may be maintained to be at a predetermined level. Through this, a shortage of the oil O which is recovered from the first oil separator 111 to the compressor 100 may be solved.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state after stopping operation of the compression system 50 according to another example embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, recovery of the oil O to the compressor 100 may be stopped. At this point, since a flow of the refrigerant R in the plurality of oil separators 110 is also stopped, pressures in the plurality of oil separators 110 may be equalized again. Since the oil O which is received in each of the plurality of oil separators 110 may be distributed to each of the separators 111, 112, and 113, and since the plurality of oil separators 110 does not have a pressure difference, an oil surface of the oil O received in each of the plurality of oil separators 110 may be again equalized to another.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The above-described example embodiments or other example embodiments are not mutually exclusive or distinguished from each other. Elements or functions of the above-described example embodiments or the other example embodiments each may be used in combination or combined with each other.

For example, an element A described in a predetermined example embodiment and/or drawing and an element B described in another example embodiment and/or drawing may be combined. That is, even when combination between the elements is not directly described, the combination is possible unless the elements are described as being not combinable.

The above detailed description is not to be limitedly construed in all aspects and should be considered as an example. The scope of the present disclosure is to be determined by a reasonable interpretation of the accompanying claims, and all changes in a range equivalent to the present disclosure is included in the scope of the present disclosure.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The above-described features of the present disclosure may be applied partly or wholly to a clothing treating apparatus of the field of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A compression system comprising:

a compressor configured to compress and discharge a refrigerant;

a plurality of oil separators configured to separate oil included in the refrigerant discharged from the compressor; and

a refrigerant pipe configured to connect the compressor and the plurality of oil separators to form a travelling path of the refrigerant,

wherein the plurality of oil separators are connected in series along the travelling path of the refrigerant.

2. The compression system of claim 1, further comprising:

a connection pipe in which the oil is to flow between each of the plurality of oil separators; and

a recovery pipe for recovering the oil from the plurality of oil separators to the compressor,

wherein the plurality of oil separators includes a first oil separator provided closest to the compressor on the travelling path of the refrigerant and a second oil separator provided next to the first oil separator,

the connection pipe connects the first oil separator and the second oil separator, and

the recovery pipe connects the first oil separator and the compressor.

3. The compression system of claim 2, wherein the connection pipe comprises a first flow resistance body configured to provide resistance to a flow of the oil.

4. The compression system of claim 3, wherein the first flow resistance body is formed in a capillary structure on the connection pipe.

5. The compression system of claim 2, wherein the recovery pipe comprises a second flow resistance body configured to provide resistance to a flow of the oil.

6. The compression system of claim 5, wherein the second flow resistance body is formed in a capillary structure on the recovery pipe.

7. The compression system of claim 2, wherein the connection pipe comprises a first flow resistance body configured to provide resistance to a flow of the oil,

the recovery pipe comprises a second flow resistance body configured to provide resistance to the flow of the oil, and

flow resistance of the second flow resistance body is less than flow resistance of the first flow resistance body.

8. The compression system of claim 7, wherein the first flow resistance body and the second flow resistance body are formed in a capillary structure, and

a length of the second flow resistance body is formed to be shorter than a length of the first flow resistance body.

9. The compression system of claim 7, wherein the first flow resistance body and the second flow resistance body are formed in a capillary structure, and

a flow path cross-sectional area of the second flow resistance body is formed to be wider than a flow path cross-sectional area of the first flow resistance body.

10. A clothing treating apparatus comprising:

a washing unit that is supplied with a refrigerant and performs washing of laundry: a distillation unit comprising a shell forming, inside the shell, a distillation space for receiving the refrigerant which is discharged from the washing unit and comprising a heater positioned inside the shell to heat the refrigerant received in the distillation space:

a compression system for compressing the refrigerant which is distilled in the distillation space and supplying the refrigerant to the heater;

a freezing unit that freezes the refrigerant which is discharged from the heater; and

a storage unit that stores the refrigerant which is liquefied by the freezing unit,

wherein the compression system comprises:

a compressor configured to compress and discharge the refrigerant:

a plurality of oil separators configured to separate oil included in the refrigerant discharged from the compressor: and

a refrigerant pipe configured to connect the compressor and the plurality of oil separators to form a travelling path of the refrigerant, and

the plurality of oil separators are connected in series along the travelling path of the refrigerant.

11. The clothing treating apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

a connection pipe in which the oil is to flow between each of the plurality of oil separators: and

a recovery pipe for recovering the oil from the plurality of oil separators to the compressor,

wherein the plurality of oil separators includes a first oil separator provided closest to the compressor on the travelling path of the refrigerant and a second oil separator provided next to the first oil separator,

the connection pipe connects the first oil separator and the second oil separator, and

the recovery pipe connects the first oil separator and the compressor.

12. The clothing treating apparatus of claim 11, wherein the connection pipe comprises a first flow resistance body configured to provide resistance to a flow of the oil,

the recovery pipe comprises a second flow resistance body configured to provide resistance to the flow of the oil, and

flow resistance of the second flow resistance body is less than flow resistance of the first flow resistance body.

13. The clothing treating apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first flow resistance body and the second flow resistance body are formed in a capillary structure.

14. The clothing treating apparatus of claim 13, wherein a length of the second flow resistance body is formed to be shorter than a length of the first flow resistance body.