PRESSURIZED REFRIGERANT RECIRCULATION SYSTEM WITH CONTROL MEANS

• US 3,827,249 A
• Filed: 03/12/1973
• Issued: 08/06/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Milton W. Garland, Robert C. Fish
• Original Assignee: Milton W. Garland, Robert C. Fish
• Inventors: Fish, Robert C., Garland, Milton W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Perlin, Meyer
• Application Number:
  US05/340,638
• Time in Patent Office: 512 Days
• Field of Search: 62/174,512
• US Class Current: 62/174
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 1/00 Compression machines, plants or systems with non-reversible cycle F25B3/00, F25B5/00, F25B6/00, F25B7/00, F25B9/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 43/00 Arrangements for separating or purifying gases or liquids in analysers or rectifiers F25B33/00; Arrangements for vaporising the residuum of liquid refrigerant, e.g. by heat F25B40/00 takes precedence

Abstract

A refrigeration apparatus having an accumulator-separator with a pair of pumping tanks which are sequentially operated by high pressure gas from the receiver for pumping liquid refrigerant to an evaporator. The apparatus provides a foolproof fail-safe automatically operated system in which the accumulator-separator and the pumping tanks are of a size to accommodate all of the refrigerant within the system so that a rise in pressure induced by temperature increase caused by a power failure is not sufficient to rupture the system.

Claims

1. A safe automatically operated refrigerant recirculation apparatus for circulating liquid refrigerant through an evaporator and usable with conventional compressor means and condenser means, said apparatus comprising an accumulatorseparator for receiving liquid and gaseous refrigerant from the evaporator and separating liquid refrigerant from gaseous refrigerant, conduit means connecting said accumulator-separator with said compressor means for removing gaseous refrigerant from said accumulator-separator, said compressor means compressing said gaseous refrigerant and discharging the same to said condenser means, a receiver communicating with said condenser for receiving liquid and gaseous refrigerant therefrom under condenser pressure, means for discharging liquid refrigerant from said receiver into said accumulator-separator, a pair of pumping tanks connected to said accumulator-separator and adapted to receive liquid refrigerant therefrom under pressurE conditions existing in the accumulator-separator, means for sequentially introducing high pressure gaseous refrigerant only from the upper portion of said receiver into said pumping tanks, said last mentioned means including a pressurizing conduit connecting the upper portion of said receiver to said pumping tanks, selectively operated flow valve means in said pressurizing conduit for each of said pumping tanks, selectively operated vent valve means associated with each of said pumping tanks, and control means for automatically and sequentially operating said flow valves and said vent valves, whereby the vent valve of one of said tanks is closed when the flow valve of said one tank is open to introduce gaseous refrigerant under pressure into said one pumping tank and cause liquid refrigerant to be discharged therefrom into the evaporator while the vent valve of the other pumping tank is open and flow valve is closed to permit liquid refrigerant to flow from said accumulator-separator into said other pumping tank.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which each of said vent valve means is normally open and each of said flow valve means is normally closed so that refrigerant flows from said accumulator-separator into both of said pumping tanks when the compressor means is not operating.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which said vent valve means and said flow valve means are pressure operated.

4. The structure of claim 1 including an oil still communicating with each of said pumping tanks, said oil still separating refrigerant from oil entrained therein, means for returning refrigerant from said still to said accumulator-separator, and means for returning oil from said still to said compressor means.

5. The structure of claim 1 in which the level of liquid refrigerant within said receiver is controlled by float operated valve means.

6. The structure of claim 1 in which the level of liquid refrigerant within said accumulator-separator is controlled by float operated valve means.

7. In a refrigerant recirculation system having an evaporator, an accumulator-separator, at least one compressor receiving gaseous refrigerant from said accumulator-separator and discharging the same to a condenser, a receiver receiving refrigerant from said condenser, said receiver containing both liquid and gaseous refrigerant under condenser pressure, means for discharging liquid refrigerant from said receiver into said accumulator-separator, and a pair of pumping tanks for receiving liquid refrigerant from said accumulator-separator, the improvement comprising vent valve means associated with each of said pumping tanks for selectively relieving pressure therein, flow valve means associated with each of said pumping tanks for selectively introducing gaseous refrigerant under pressure into said tanks, each of said flow valve means communicating with the upper portion of said receiver for introducing gaseous refrigerant only under condenser pressure into said pumping tanks, and control means for selectively operating said vent valve means and said flow valve means, whereby gaseous refrigerant from said receiver is introduced into one of said pumping tanks to discharge liquid refrigerant therefrom to said evaporator while liquid refrigerant from said accumulator-separator is being discharged into the other of said pumping tanks.