Liquid chiller with enhanced motor cooling and lubrication
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A liquid chiller comprising:
- a compressor;
a motor for driving said compressor;
a housing, said motor being disposed in said housing;
an evaporator, said evaporator being connected for refrigerant flow to said compressor;
an oil supply tank, said oil supply tank being physically disposed below said compressor;
pump apparatus, said pump apparatus delivering oil from said oil supply tank to said compressor for lubrication purposes and liquid refrigerant to said motor for motor cooling purposes; and
a condenser, said condenser receiving refrigerant from said compressor, supplying refrigerant to said evaporator, being the source for liquid refrigerant that is delivered by said pump apparatus to said motor for cooling purposes and being the location to which at least a major portion of the refrigerant used in the cooling of said motor is returned subsequent to cooling said motor.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An enhanced motor cooling and lubrication system for a liquid chiller includes a liquid refrigerant cooled compressor drive motor, wherein the refrigerant used to cool the drive motor is returned to the chiller'"'"'s condenser, and apparatus to better facilitate the return of oil carried to the compressor entrained in the suction gas flow stream back to the chiller'"'"'s oil supply tank.
88 Citations
72 Claims
-
1. A liquid chiller comprising:
-
a compressor; a motor for driving said compressor; a housing, said motor being disposed in said housing; an evaporator, said evaporator being connected for refrigerant flow to said compressor; an oil supply tank, said oil supply tank being physically disposed below said compressor; pump apparatus, said pump apparatus delivering oil from said oil supply tank to said compressor for lubrication purposes and liquid refrigerant to said motor for motor cooling purposes; and a condenser, said condenser receiving refrigerant from said compressor, supplying refrigerant to said evaporator, being the source for liquid refrigerant that is delivered by said pump apparatus to said motor for cooling purposes and being the location to which at least a major portion of the refrigerant used in the cooling of said motor is returned subsequent to cooling said motor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
-
-
55. A liquid chiller comprising:
-
an evaporator; a compressor, said compressor receiving refrigerant gas from said evaporator; a motor for driving said compressor, said motor being a variable speed motor; a housing, said motor being disposed in said housing; a controller, said controller controlling the speed of said motor; an oil supply tank; pump apparatus, said pump apparatus delivering oil from said oil supply tank to said compressor for lubrication purposes and delivering liquid refrigerant both to said motor and to said controller for purposes of cooling said motor and said controller; and a condenser, said condenser receiving refrigerant from said compressor, supplying refrigerant to said evaporator, being the source for liquid refrigerant that is delivered by said pump apparatus to said motor and to said controller for cooling purposes and being the location to which refrigerant used in the cooling of said motor and said controller is returned subsequent to cooling said motor and said controller. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
-
-
63. A method for providing compressor bearing lubrication and compressor drive motor cooling in a centrifugal liquid chiller where the chiller includes a compressor, a compressor drive motor, a condenser, an evaporator and an oil supply tank, comprising the steps of:
-
pumping liquid refrigerant from said condenser to said compressor drive motor for purposes of cooling said motor; returning refrigerant pumped to said drive motor in said pumping step to said condenser; pumping oil from said oil supply tank to said compressor for bearing lubrication purposes; returning oil pumped to said compressor for bearing lubrication purposes to said oil supply tank; controllably returning oil which has become disentrained from refrigerant delivered from said evaporator to said compressor and which has settled in a location in said compressor to said oil supply tank. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72)
-
Specification