At Condenser Or Receiver Patents (Class 62/473)
  • Patent number: 11692747
    Abstract: A cooling system drains oil from low side heat exchangers to vessels and then uses compressed refrigerant to push the oil in the vessels back towards a compressor. Generally, the cooling system operates any number and combination of three different modes of operation: a normal mode, an oil drain mode, and an oil return mode. During the normal mode, a primary refrigerant is cycled to cool one or more secondary refrigerants. As the primary refrigerant is cycled, oil from a compressor may mix with the primary refrigerant and become stuck in a low side heat exchanger. During the oil drain mode, the oil in the low side heat exchanger is allowed to drain into a vessel. During the oil return mode, compressed refrigerant is directed to the vessel to push the oil in the vessel back towards a compressor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: Heatcraft Refrigeration Products LLC
    Inventors: Shitong Zha, Augusto Zimmermann
  • Patent number: 11434887
    Abstract: A compressor includes a casing, a piston accommodated in a cylinder disposed inside the casing to reciprocate forward and backward, the piston being configured to define a suction space in which a refrigerant is accommodated therein, a suction muffler connected to the piston to guide the refrigerant to the suction space, a suction guide disposed behind the suction muffler and fixed to the casing, the suction guide being disposed parallel to the suction muffler in an axial direction, and a suction pipe passing through the casing to extend into the suction guide, the suction pipe being configured to suction the refrigerant. A portion of the suction muffler is disposed to overlap the suction guide in a direction crossing the axial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Kyunyoung Lee, Kiwon Noh
  • Patent number: 10969147
    Abstract: An air conditioning system for a high-rise building includes a condenser unit and a compressor separate from the condenser unit and in fluid communication with the condenser unit. The compressor is to be located at a floor of a high-rise building that is below a location of the condenser unit at a roof top of the high-rise building. The system may also include an oil separator to separate oil from a refrigerant. The oil separator is in a path of the refrigerant from the compressor to the condenser unit, where the oil separator is distal from the condenser unit and proximal to the compressor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: Rheem Manufacturing Company
    Inventor: Douglas Bates
  • Patent number: 10907870
    Abstract: A lubricant separator includes a shell, a vapor inlet located at a first end of the shell to admit a flow of refrigerant and lubricant into the lubricant separator and a muffler positioned in the shell. The muffler includes a first perforated pipe extending along a longitudinal axis of the shell from the vapor inlet, a second perforated pipe radially spaced from the first perforated pipe, an absorption material layer positioned radially outboard of the second perforated pipe, and a lubricant-permeable liner positioned radially between the second perforated pipe and the absorption material layer. The lubricant-permeable liner allows for acoustic wave transmission from the second perforated pipe to the absorption material layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: CARRIER CORPORATION
    Inventors: Francois Lambert, Jin Liu, Damien Poux
  • Patent number: 10746443
    Abstract: A system may include a compressor, a heat exchanger, an expansion device, and first and second working fluid flow paths. The compressor may include a compression mechanism and a motor. The heat exchanger may receive compressed working fluid from the compressor. The expansion device may be disposed downstream of the heat exchanger. The first working fluid flow path may fluidly connect the heat exchanger and the expansion device. The second working fluid flow path may be disposed downstream of the heat exchanger and may fluidly connect the heat exchanger with the compressor. The second working fluid flow path may provide compressed working fluid to the compression mechanism and to the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: Emerson Climate Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Kirill M. Ignatiev, Robert C. Stover
  • Patent number: 10598416
    Abstract: A refrigeration cycle (1) comprises in the direction of flow of a circulating refrigerant: a compressor unit (2); an oil separation device (4) which is configured for separating oil from an refrigerant-oil-mixture leaving the compressor unit (2); at least one gas cooler/condenser (6); and at least one evaporator (10) having an expansion device (8) connected upstream thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: CARRIER CORPORATION
    Inventor: Sascha Hellmann
  • Patent number: 9988964
    Abstract: An ebullient cooling device includes: an internal combustion engine cooled by boiling a coolant flowing through a coolant passage formed within the internal combustion engine; a gas-liquid separator that separates a coolant discharged from the internal combustion engine into a liquid-phase coolant and a gas-phase coolant; a condenser that is disposed on a downstream side of the expander, and cools the gas-phase coolant having passed through the expander so as to be changed into a liquid-phase coolant; a first passage that supplies the liquid-phase coolant from the condenser to the coolant passage formed within the internal combustion engine; a second passage that is branched from the first passage, and is connected to the gas-liquid separator; and a control valve that controls a supply state of a liquid-phase coolant supplied to the gas-liquid separator from the condenser through the second passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masahiro Sato
  • Patent number: 8931303
    Abstract: A refrigerating air-conditioning apparatus, at least provided with no possibility that a foreign material returns to a compressor from an accumulator at a time of the pipeline-cleaning operation firstly, and provided with a possibility to perform a collecting operation for the foreign material in a short time secondary, is provided. The heat-source side unit includes an accumulator provided with a function to separate and collect the foreign material in an existing pipeline, a collecting container for collecting the foreign material separated by the accumulator, and an oil return pipeline for returning refrigerating machine oil to the compressor via a flow amount adjusting device, installed at a lower portion of the accumulator, and at a time of ordinary cooling or heating operation, the refrigerating machine oil is caused to flow into the oil return pipeline, and at a time of pipeline cleaning and foreign material-collecting operations, the flow amount adjusting device is fully closed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Masaki Toyoshima, Susumu Yoshimura, Shinichi Wakamoto, Osamu Morimoto
  • Patent number: 8899073
    Abstract: A refrigerant storage device that arranges two end plates to form a cavity and includes a turbulator plate within the cavity. The turbulator plate is arranged within the cavity to reinforce the cavity by providing a plurality of reinforcement portions between the end plates. The cavity is sized and the turbulator plate is configured so a liquid portion of refrigerant flowing through the cavity collects onto the turbulator plate. The device has a rectangular shape that simplifies vehicle packaging and allows the device to be readily integrated into a plate-type refrigerant-to-liquid coolant heat exchanger. The device is formed by a stacking arrangement of parts that provides for a readily scalable design.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Delphi Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Gary Scott Vreeland, Frederick Vincent Oddi
  • Patent number: 8783059
    Abstract: A refrigerating air-conditioning apparatus, at least provided with no possibility that a foreign material returns to a compressor from an accumulator at a time of the pipeline-cleaning operation firstly, and provided with a possibility to perform a collecting operation for the foreign material in a short time secondary, is provided. The heat-source side unit includes an accumulator provided with a function to separate and collect the foreign material in an existing pipeline, a collecting container for collecting the foreign material separated by the accumulator, and an oil return pipeline for returning refrigerating machine oil to the compressor via a flow amount adjusting device, installed at a lower portion of the accumulator, and at a time of ordinary cooling or heating operation, the refrigerating machine oil is caused to flow into the oil return pipeline, and at a time of pipeline cleaning and foreign material-collecting operations, the flow amount adjusting device is fully closed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Masaki Toyoshima, Susumu Yoshimura, Shinichi Wakamoto, Osamu Morimoto
  • Patent number: 8596088
    Abstract: An oil separator for an air conditioner, which includes: a case having a cylinder portion, and a lid portion and a bottom portion respectively closing an upper side opening end and a lower side opening end of the cylinder portion; an inlet pipe which is connectable to a discharging outlet of a compressor and which penetrates the lid portion so that an end of the inlet pipe is located inside the case; an outlet pipe which is connectable to a condenser and which penetrates the lid portion so that an end portion of the outlet pipe is located inside the case and protrudes into the cylinder portion toward the bottom portion; and a mesh portion which is provided to the end of the inlet pipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2013
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Toshiyuki Sato
  • Patent number: 8181478
    Abstract: A refrigeration system can incorporate a liquid-injection system that can provide a cooling liquid to an intermediate-pressure location of the compressor. The cooling liquid can absorb the heat of compression during the compression of the refrigerant flowing therethrough. The refrigeration system can include an economizer circuit that injects a refrigerant vapor into an intermediate-pressure location of the compressor in conjunction with the injection of the cooling liquid. The incorporation of the vapor injection in conjunction with the cooling-liquid injection can advantageously increase the cooling capacity and/or efficiency of the refrigeration system and the performance of the compressor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2012
    Assignee: Emerson Climate Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Kirill Ignatiev
  • Publication number: 20110000243
    Abstract: A discharge pipe for connecting a compressor with a condenser in a vapor-compression system comprises an intake segment, a muffler, a splitter segment and first and second discharge segments. The intake segment is configured to connect to a discharge port of the compressor and receive compressed refrigerant flow. The muffler is connected to the intake segment for attenuating pulsations within the compressed refrigerant flow. The splitter segment is connected to the muffler and configured to divide the compressed refrigerant flow into first and second branches. The first discharge segment connects to the splitter to receive the first branch and is configured to connect to the condenser at a first position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 4, 2009
    Publication date: January 6, 2011
    Applicant: CARRIER CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tony Jabbour, Xavier Girod, Emmanuel Chulio
  • Publication number: 20100300139
    Abstract: An oil separator for an air conditioner, which includes: a case having a cylinder portion, and a lid portion and a bottom portion respectively closing an upper side opening end and a lower side opening end of the cylinder portion; an inlet pipe which is connectable to a discharging outlet of a compressor and which penetrates the lid portion so that an end of the inlet pipe is located inside the case; an outlet pipe which is connectable to a condenser and which penetrates the lid portion so that an end portion of the outlet pipe is located inside the case and protrudes into the cylinder portion toward the bottom portion; and a mesh portion which is provided to the end of the inlet pipe.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2010
    Publication date: December 2, 2010
    Applicant: AISIN SEIKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Toshiyuki SATO
  • Patent number: 7810351
    Abstract: An oil separator for separating oil from a refrigerant gas and oil mixture on the high side of a refrigeration/chiller system comprising, a housing having an upper chamber with an inlet for the refrigerant gas and oil mixture, and having a refrigerant gas outlet therefrom, the outlet conduit being connected to multiple outlets for delivery of refrigerant gas to multiple condenser circuits in the system, and said housing also having a lower chamber with an oil outlet therefrom, and at least one oil filter in said upper chamber for removing oil out of the mixture for transfer to the lower chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2010
    Inventor: Gary W. Westermeyer
  • Publication number: 20100122550
    Abstract: Disclosed are a hermetic compressor and a refrigeration cycle device having the same. An oil separator for separating oil from a refrigerant is installed outside a casing. The oil separated by the oil separator is recollected into the casing by an oil pump driven by a driving force of a driving motor. The oil is recollected from the refrigerant and fabrication costs are be reduced. A cooling capability of the refrigeration cycle device is enhanced, the compressor has a simplified configuration, and the fabrication costs are reduced. Because an outlet of a discharge opening through which oil is discharged to the casing from the oil pump is installed at a position lower than a minimum level of oil in the casing, the refrigerant is prevented from backflowing into an oil passage, and the occurrence of air bubbles on the surface of oil in the compressor may be prevented.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2009
    Publication date: May 20, 2010
    Inventors: Nam-Kyu Cho, Hyo Keun Park, Byeong-Chul Lee, Se-Heon Choi
  • Publication number: 20100122549
    Abstract: To a hermetic compressor and a refrigeration cycle device having the same, an oil separator for separating oil from a refrigerant discharged from a compression unit is added. Separated oil is recollected into an oil pump driven by a driving motor. Because refrigerant separated from the oil is prevented from being re-introduced into the compressor, a cooling capability of the refrigeration cycle device may be enhanced. Because the oil pump is driven by the driving force of the driving motor, the compressor may have a simplified configuration, and the fabrication costs may be reduced. The oil used for a crankshaft lubrication process is returned to the oil pump by forming an oil pocket between bearing surfaces of a crankshaft and the oil pump, oil may be prevented from back-flowing to the oil separator from the crankshaft. This may allow oil to be smoothly recollected into the oil pump.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2009
    Publication date: May 20, 2010
    Inventors: Nam-Kyu Cho, Hyo-Keun Park, Byeong-Chul Lee, Se-Heon Choi
  • Patent number: 7647790
    Abstract: A refrigeration system can incorporate a cooling-liquid injection system that can inject a cooling liquid into an intermediate-pressure location of the compressor. The cooling liquid can absorb the heat of compression during the compression of the refrigerant flowing therethrough. The refrigeration system can include an economizer system that injects a refrigerant vapor into an intermediate-pressure location of the compressor in conjunction with the injection of the cooling liquid. A refrigeration system can include a liquid-refrigerant injection system that can inject liquid refrigerant into an intermediate-pressure location of the compressor. The injected liquid refrigerant can reduce the discharge temperature of the refrigerant. The liquid-refrigerant injection system can be used with the cooling-liquid injection system and/or the economizer system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2010
    Assignee: Emerson Climate Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Kirill Ignatiev, Jean-Luc M Caillat
  • Publication number: 20090133435
    Abstract: A refrigerating air-conditioning apparatus, at least provided with no possibility that a foreign material returns to a compressor from an accumulator at a time of the pipeline-cleaning operation firstly, and provided with a possibility to perform a collecting operation for the foreign material in a short time secondary, is provided. The heat-source side unit includes an accumulator provided with a function to separate and collect the foreign material in an existing pipeline, a collecting container for collecting the foreign material separated by the accumulator, and an oil return pipeline for returning refrigerating machine oil to the compressor via a flow amount adjusting device, installed at a lower portion of the accumulator, and at a time of ordinary cooling or heating operation, the refrigerating machine oil is caused to flow into the oil return pipeline, and at a time of pipeline cleaning and foreign material-collecting operations, the flow amount adjusting device is fully closed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2006
    Publication date: May 28, 2009
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masaki Toyoshima, Susumu Yoshimura, Shinichi Wakamoto, Osamu Morimoto
  • Patent number: 7386994
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are an oil separator and a cooling-cycle apparatus using the oil separator. To a casing of the separator is connected an inflow tube to supply gaseous refrigerant and oil into the casing for allowing them flowing in a swirl pattern, thereby being separated from each other in a cyclone separation manner. Such a separation manner results in an improved oil separation efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2008
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Seung Yong Chang, Yoon Been Lee, Sung Chun Kim, Se Dong Chang
  • Patent number: 7347061
    Abstract: An oil checking device for compressor of air conditioning system includes an oil container connected to an high-pressure part of the air conditioning system to receive refrigerant and oil from the high-pressure part, the oil container being formed of a transparent material so that a user can observe the oil mixed with the refrigerant, a valve member for selectively opening a gas line and a liquid line respectively connected to upper-inner and lower-inner portions of the oil container to exhaust refrigerant gas and compressor oil from the oil container to a low-pressure part of the air conditioning system, a ball floater disposed in the oil container, and an oil amount/state display part formed on the oil container, the oil amount/state display part having a reference oil level that can be compared with the compressor oil level and a reference color that can be compared with a color of the compressor oil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Assignee: Metachem Inc.
    Inventor: Deok-Jae Lee
  • Patent number: 7204098
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a structure for separating oil from a refrigerant gas containing the oil. The refrigerant gas is discharged from a refrigerant compressor which forms a part of refrigerating cycle to an external refrigerant circuit. The oil separation structure includes a separation chamber in which the oil is separated from the discharge refrigerant gas having a cylindrical inner surface, and a plurality of introduction passages through which the discharge refrigerant gas is introduced into the separation chamber. The oil is separated by centrifugal action from the discharge refrigerant gas by turning the discharge refrigerant gas introduced into the separation chamber along the cylindrical inner surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2007
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Jidoshokki
    Inventors: Yoshinari Yamada, Suguru Hirota, Hajime Kurita
  • Patent number: 7032410
    Abstract: A compression system including a compressor driven by a motor, an optional accumulator, a liquid/gas separator, heat exchangers in the form of a condenser and an evaporator, expansion valves and conduit in the form of piping to connect these components together. The liquid/gas separating means is a lubricant separator, typically a cylindrical horizontal or vertical vessel used in conjunction with a gas compressor. The lubricant separator accepts discharge flow from the compressor which includes a mixture of a “smokeless” lubricant and refrigerant gas in a range of particle sizes forming a fluid stream, separates the refrigerant gas from the lubricant and collects the lubricant for reuse in the compressor. Because the lubricant used in the lubrication system rapidly agglomerates into larger size droplets and does not produce an aerosol, the separator does not require a coalescer element to coalesce aerosol and does not require a manway for serving the coalescer element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2006
    Assignee: York International Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas Barratt, William McQuade
  • Patent number: 6880360
    Abstract: A compression system including a compressor driven by a motor, an optional accumulator, a liquid/gas separator, heat exchangers in the form of a condenser and an evaporator, expansion valves and conduit in the form of piping to connect these components together. The liquid/gas separating means is a lubricant separator, typically a cylindrical horizontal or vertical vessel used in conjunction with a gas compressor. The lubricant separator accepts discharge flow from the compressor which includes a mixture of a “smokeless” lubricant and refrigerant gas in a range of particle sizes forming a fluid stream, separates the refrigerant gas from the lubricant and collects the lubricant for reuse in the compressor. Because the lubricant used in the lubrication system rapidly agglomerates into larger size droplets and does not produce an aerosol, the separator does not require a coalescer element to coalesce aerosol and does not require a manway for serving the coalescer element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2005
    Assignee: York International Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas Barratt, William McQuade
  • Publication number: 20040221610
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a structure for separating oil from a refrigerant gas containing the oil. The refrigerant gas is discharged from a refrigerant compressor which forms a part of refrigerating cycle to an external refrigerant circuit. The oil separation structure includes a separation chamber in which the oil is separated from the discharge refrigerant gas having a cylindrical inner surface, and a plurality of introduction passages through which the discharge refrigerant gas is introduced into the separation chamber. The oil is separated by centrifugal action from the discharge refrigerant gas by turning the discharge refrigerant gas introduced into the separation chamber along the cylindrical inner surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 28, 2004
    Publication date: November 11, 2004
    Inventors: Yoshinari Yamada, Suguru Hirota, Hajime Kurita
  • Patent number: 6644045
    Abstract: The expansion device in a refrigeration or air conditioning system is an expressor. The expresser is made up of a twin screw expander and a twin screw compressor with rotors of the expander functioning as timing gears.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2003
    Assignee: Carrier Corporation
    Inventors: Yan Tang, Joost J. Brasz
  • Publication number: 20030101740
    Abstract: In a hybrid compressor for a vehicle where a vehicle engine is stopped when the vehicle is temporally stopped, a pulley, a motor and a compressor can be driven in independent from each other, and are connected to a sun gear, planetary carriers and a ring gear of a planetary gear. A rotational speed of the motor is adjusted by a controller, so that a rotational speed of the compressor is changed with respect to a rotational speed of the pulley. Accordingly, production cost of the hybrid compressor and the size thereof can be reduced, while a cooling function can be ensured even when the vehicle engine is stopped.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 27, 2002
    Publication date: June 5, 2003
    Inventors: Yasushi Suzuki, Shigeki Iwanami, Hironori Asa, Keiichi Uno
  • Patent number: 6516627
    Abstract: An evaporator for a refrigeration chiller includes a tube bundle in which at least a portion of the tubes of the tube bundle are immersed in a pool which include both liquid refrigerant and is lubricant. Liquid refrigerant and lubricant are deposited into the pool at a first pool location. Because of the vaporization of refrigerant that occurs within the pool, a pattern of flow is established and managed that causes the lubricant in the pool to migrate from the location of its deposit into the pool to a second pool location. An outlet is provided at the second pool location from which lubricant is drawn out of the evaporator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2003
    Assignee: American Standard International Inc.
    Inventors: H. Kenneth Ring, Jon P. Hartfield, Sean A. Smith, William J. Peck
  • Patent number: 6497114
    Abstract: An oil separator comprising a cylindrical portion, an inlet for incoming gas/oil mixture, an outlet for separated gas, a lower portion, and an outlet for separated oil is provided. The lower portion decreases in diameter as it proceeds from top to bottom, thereby providing for an increase in centrifugal force within the oil separator and greater separation of oil. The inlet traverses an upper wall of the oil separator, and preferably comprises a plurality of passageways angled with respect to the upper wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2002
    Assignee: Visteon Global Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Guntis Viktors Strikis, Kanwal Bhatia, Srinivas Pitla, Vipen Khetarpal
  • Publication number: 20020139136
    Abstract: A refrigerated intercooler for an air conditioning, refrigeration or similar cooling system. The intercooler provides a thermal interface between colder refrigerant gas leaving the air conditioning system's evaporator and the hotter refrigerant liquid leaving the system's condenser. The thermal interface occurs between the gas in the accumulator portion of the intercooler and the liquid in an interior container of the intercooler. In the preferred embodiment, the interior container is coiled tubing, to promote better heat exchange. The system's oil/refrigerant emulsion is metered and returned from the intercooler to the compressor through an oil return line that is external to the accumulator portion of the intercooler.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2001
    Publication date: October 3, 2002
    Inventor: John O. Noble
  • Patent number: 6457325
    Abstract: High pressure drop and evaporator inefficiency due to the presence of lubricant in a refrigerant are avoided in a refrigeration system including a compressor (10) having an inlet (12) and an outlet (14). A gas cooler/condenser (16) receives compressed, lubricant containing refrigerant from the compressor outlet (14). Also included is an evaporator (48) for evaporating refrigerant and cooling another fluid and returning the refrigerant to the compressor inlet (12). A phase separator (36) is interposed between the gas cooler/condenser (16) and the evaporator (48) for receiving cooled refrigerant from the gas cooler/condenser (16). The phase separator (36) includes a chamber (62) having an inlet (34) connected to the gas cooler/condenser (16), an upper vapor outlet (38) connected to the compressor inlet (12), a liquid refrigerant outlet (40) and a lubricant outlet (78).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2002
    Assignee: Modine Manufacturing Company
    Inventor: Frank Vetter
  • Patent number: 6446463
    Abstract: A filter cartridge F in a condenser K for an automobile air-conditioning system comprises a permeable housing 1 containing a desiccant charge, said housing being inserted into a header pipe 8 of said condenser which header pipe is closed by a plug S being part of said filter cartridge F. In a condenser K being equipped with a filter cartridge F in header tube 8 which is closed by a plug S said is made from plastic material or light metal and is part of said filter cartridge F to fulfil a function, namely to seal the header tube and to position the cartridge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2002
    Assignee: S.K.G. Italiana S.p.A.
    Inventor: Michele Bernini
  • Publication number: 20020100291
    Abstract: An oil separator comprising a cylindrical portion, an inlet for incoming gas/oil mixture, an outlet for separated gas, a lower portion, and an outlet for separated oil is provided. The lower portion decreases in diameter as it proceeds from top to bottom, thereby providing for an increase in centrifugal force within the oil separator and greater separation of oil.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 1, 2001
    Publication date: August 1, 2002
    Inventors: Guntis Viktors Strikis, Kanwal Bhatia, Lavlesh Sud, Mirza Qadir Mahmood Baig, Vipen Khetarpal
  • Patent number: 6374629
    Abstract: A lubricant-refrigerant composition contained within a compression refrigeration system is disclosed which comprises (A) at least one fluorine-containing hydrocarbon refrigerant containing 1 to 3 carbon atoms, further wherein fluorine is the only halogen in said fluorine-containing hydrocarbon with the proviso that 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane is not the sole refrigerant; and (B) at least one lubricant comprising (1) a hydrocarbyl substituted arene, (2) a phosphate ester, (3) an organic ester of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol, (4) a perfluoropolyethylene, (5) an ether; (6) a polyether; (7) a polyalphaolefin; or (8) a mineral oil; wherein at a temperature of above −60° C. a phase separation occurs such that at least two phases are formed, said phases being a refrigerant rich phase and a lubricant rich phase, further wherein the lubricant rich phase resides below the refrigerant rich phase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2002
    Assignee: The Lubrizol Corporation
    Inventors: Jill Ellen Oberle, Thomas Edward Rajewski
  • Publication number: 20020026800
    Abstract: A heat source unit and refrigerant used in an existing refrigeration system are replaced with new refrigerant and a new heat source unit which employs the new refrigerant and is equipped with an oil separator and extraneous-matter trapping means. An indoor unit of the existing refrigeration system may be used, in its present form, or replaced with a new indoor unit. Further, connecting pipes used for the existing refrigeration are reused. After replacement of refrigerant, the refrigeration system performs an ordinary operation after having performed a cleaning operation. The extraneous-matter trapping means is provided in a refrigerant pipe close to the heat source unit or in a bypass channel connected to the refrigerant pipe close to the heat source unit. Alternatively, only the heat source unit of the existing refrigeration system is replaced with a new one, and there is employed refrigeration oil which has no mutual solubility with respect to HFC or has very low mutual solubility.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 17, 2000
    Publication date: March 7, 2002
    Inventors: Tomohiko Kasai, Mitsunori Kurachi, Hidekazu Tani, Moriya Miyamoto, Yoshihiro Sumida, Takashi Ikeda, Toshihiro Kikukawa, Shohichiroh Masuda, Hirofumi Koge
  • Patent number: 6276165
    Abstract: A condenser capable of separating oil is provided, including a mesh 80 disposed at the opening 75a of a coolant inlet 75 in a header 72 in which the coolant inlet 75 is provided, and a return path 78, communicating with an intake side of a compressor, is provided at the lower side of the coolant inlet 75 in the header 72.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2001
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideya Nishijima, Toshiyuki Higuchi
  • Patent number: 6250099
    Abstract: In order to achieve an improvement in the efficiency of a refrigerating cycle and achieve quick and precise response to changes in the environment or the operating state while using carbon dioxide as a coolant, the refrigerating cycle according to the present invention is provided with a first expander and a second expander and further with a vapor-liquid separator provided between the first and second expanders. The components are arranged such that pressure of a vapor-phase coolant at high pressure, compressed by a compressor and cooled by a radiator, is reduced to an intermediate pressure level in a vapor-liquid two-phase range by the first expander. Then the coolant in a condition of a vapor-liquid mix is separated into a vapor-phase coolant by the vapor-liquid separator, so that only the liquid-phase coolant is expanded by the second expander, so that the vapor-phase coolant is taken into the intake side of the compressor while maintaining the intermediate pressure level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2001
    Assignee: Zexel Corporation
    Inventors: Shunichi Furuya, Hiroshi Kanai
  • Patent number: 6116046
    Abstract: An assured supply of lubricant to the compressor in a refrigeration chiller is provided by a reservoir that is connected in parallel with the main line by which lubricant is supplied to the compressor. The reservoir is connected to the main lubricant supply line in a manner such that if the lubricant supply line is blown dry, as can occur as a result of an unusual or abnormal chiller shutdown condition, a critical portion of the supply line will be refilled by the reservoir relatively very quickly which assures the immediate availability of lubricant to the compressor from that portion of the lubricant supply line when it next starts up.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2000
    Assignee: American Standard Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel C. Leaver, Sean A. Smith
  • Patent number: 6058727
    Abstract: A refrigeration system for cooling air is disclosed. The system includes a substantially liquid refrigerant and an evaporator for transferring heat from the air to the substantially liquid refrigerant. The substantially liquid refrigerant becomes a low temperature, low pressure first substantially gaseous refrigerant. A compressor compresses the first substantially gaseous refrigerant into a high pressure, high temperature superheated second gaseous refrigerant. A lubricant circuit supplies lubricant to the compressor. A condenser rejects heat from the second gaseous refrigerant and forms a high pressure, lower temperature sub-cooled liquid refrigerant. The condenser has an output stream. A metering device transforms the sub-cooled liquid refrigerant into the substantially liquid refrigerant for the evaporator. A heat exchanger receives the first substantially gaseous refrigerant as a coolant on route to the compressor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2000
    Assignee: Carrier Corporation
    Inventors: Howard H. Fraser, Jr., Russell G. Lewis, Michael F. Taras
  • Patent number: 6006532
    Abstract: In a refrigerant cycle system, a gas-liquid separator has a gas-suction pipe for introducing gas refrigerant from the gas-liquid separator to a compressor. The gas-suction pipe has an open end opened in a gas-refrigerant area in the gas-liquid separator, a first suction hole, provided in a liquid-refrigerant area of the gas-liquid separator, for sucking liquid refrigerant containing lubricating oil, and a second suction hole provided in the gas-refrigerant area of the gas-liquid separator. The second suction hole for sucking gas refrigerant is formed in the gas-suction pipe at a downstream refrigerant side of the first suction hole. Therefore, a flow rate of gas refrigerant passing through around the first suction hole in the gas-suction pipe is decreased due to introduction of gas refrigerant by the second suction hole, thereby decreasing quantity of liquid refrigerant sucked from the first suction hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 28, 1999
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Takahisa Suzuki, Katsuya Ishii, Kunio Iritani, Satoshi Itoh
  • Patent number: 5899091
    Abstract: A refrigeration system for cooling air s disclosed. The system includes a substantially liquid refrigerant and an evaporator for transferring heat from the air to the substantially liquid refrigerant. The substantially liquid refrigerant becomes a low temperature, low pressure first superheated gas refrigerant. A compressor compresses the first superheated gas refrigerant into a high pressure, high temperature second further superheated gas refrigerant. A lubricant circuit supplies lubricant to the compressor, wherein a portion of the lubricant is mixed with the further superheated gas refrigerant. A condenser rejects heat from the second superheated gas refrigerant and forms a high pressure, low temperature sub-cooled liquid refrigerant. The condenser has an output stream. A metering device transforms the sub-cooled liquid refrigerant into the substantially liquid refrigerant for the evaporator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 4, 1999
    Assignee: Carrier Corporation
    Inventors: Howard H. Fraser, Jr., Russell G. Lewis, Michael F. Taras
  • Patent number: 5765392
    Abstract: The invention shows an improvement in the lubrication of bearings and shaft seals of screw compressors for refrigerants with oils soluble in refrigerants. A typical application results, for example, for ammonia with polyalkylene glycol soluble therein. Due to the fact that a partial oil flow is taken out of the oil flow returned to the screw compressor at an intermediate pressure prior to a pressure reduction to nearly suction pressure of the compressor and conveyed via a vapor separation container, substantial proportions of the dissolved refrigerant can be fed in at an intermediate pressure connection on the compression path of the screw compressor. Correspondingly more advantageous are the lubrication properties of the remaining partial oil flow at the lubrication connection, and the disadvantages of pressure collapse or foam conveyance at an oil pump are absent, since no oil pump is required with a suitable intermediate pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1998
    Assignee: Sulzer-Escher Wyss GmbH
    Inventor: Ferdinand Baur
  • Patent number: 5724821
    Abstract: The present invention is a method for controlling oil lubricant pressure of a screw type compressor in an air conditioning system. In response to a low oil pressure condition, evaporator pressure is lowered to increase the pressure differential across a compressor, to thereby bring about an increase in oil pressure. Evaporator pressure can be lowered by decreasing the maximum operating pressure of the evaporator, and by throttling an expansion valve by the amount required to lower the evaporator pressure in accordance with the reduced maximum operating setpoint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 10, 1998
    Assignee: Carrier Corporation
    Inventors: Richard G. Lord, Kenneth J. Nieva
  • Patent number: 5704215
    Abstract: An oil separator for a refrigeration system having a screw compressor for pressurizing and circulating refrigerant through the system, an evaporator, a condenser and an oil separator. The oil separator is placed within the housing of the condenser.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 6, 1998
    Assignee: Carrier Corporation
    Inventors: Richard G. Lord, David L. Waugh, Dennis R. Penge
  • Patent number: 5685168
    Abstract: In a refrigerating apparatus having a compression mechanism (21), an outdoor heat exchanger (24), an outdoor motor-operated expansion valve (25) and an indoor heat exchanger (32), the compression mechanism (21) is so composed that two compressors (2a, 2b) are connected in parallel with each other. Each compressor (2a, 2b) is provided with an oil discharge mechanism (40) for discharging, when lubricating oil stored in its casing exceeds a set amount, the lubricating oil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 11, 1997
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Shinri Sada
  • Patent number: 5444993
    Abstract: A condenser for a refrigerant, capable of varying the condensing capacity of the condenser in accordance with a load, so that a condensing pressure larger than a predetermined value is maintained at the condenser when the load is low. The condenser includes a inlet header 15 to which a first inlet conduit 17 is connected at its top location. The inlet conduit 17 is provided with a U-shaped portion 17a and an upright portion 17b. A second inlet conduit 18 is connected to the header 15 at its bottom location. During a high load condition, the high speed of the flow of the refrigerant prevents a lubricant mixed with the refrigerant from being held at the U-shaped portion 17a, so that the gaseous state the refrigerant can pass through the upright portion 17b, so that the refrigerant is introduced into all of heat exchanging tubes 13, thereby obtaining a large area of the heat emission by the heat exchanging tubes 13.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 29, 1995
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ken Yamamoto, Isao Kuroyanagi, Yasushi Yamanaka, Nobuharu Kakehashi
  • Patent number: 5419155
    Abstract: Compressor lubricant in a screw compressor-based refrigeration system is cooled by directing the lubricant from the system oil separator to an oil-cooling heat exchanger disposed in the lower portion of the system condenser where it is bathed in condensed system refrigerant. Parasitic capacity losses with respect to the compressor lubricant cooling process are thereby avoided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 30, 1995
    Assignee: American Standard Inc.
    Inventors: Michael C. Boehde, James W. Larson
  • Patent number: 5199271
    Abstract: An air conditioning system (10) for an aircraft, the air conditioning system (10) having a separator (14) located between the high pressure side of a compressor (12) and a condenser (18). A timer (34) activated normally open solenoid (32) is located on a separator drain line 28 to periodically dump the lubricant accumulated in the separator (14) back into the compressor (12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 1991
    Date of Patent: April 6, 1993
    Assignee: Zee Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: John W. Ewer
  • Patent number: 5136851
    Abstract: A helium gas compressing apparatus constructed in such as manner that: an oil separator in a high-pressure gas passage is connected to a low-pressure gas passage; and oil return path having first and second branch paths is provided between the high- and low-pressure gas passages; a capillary tube is installed in one of the two branch paths; and an adjustment valve is installed in the other branch path to adjust the pressure difference between the supply gas in the high-pressure gas passage and the return gas in the low-pressure gas passage. Because of this construction, the adjustment valve can be manipulated from outside to make fine adjustments on the pressure difference or change it to a desired value with ease even during operation of the apparatus, thereby adjusting the refrigerating capability of a helium refrigerating machine connected to the apparatus and the power consumption of the helium gas compressing apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 1990
    Date of Patent: August 11, 1992
    Assignee: Seiko Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hirofumi Kotaka
  • Patent number: 5101641
    Abstract: A compact refrigerant reclaim apparatus that is capable of removing refrigerant from a refrigeration system during repairs in order to remove oil and other impurities from said refrigerant and being capable of returning the refrigerant to the refrigeration system in a clean state. The apparatus includes an oil separator that includes oil separation and oil accumulator means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 1990
    Date of Patent: April 7, 1992
    Inventor: Leon R. Van Steenburgh, Jr.