EP0009145B1 - Refrigerant compressor capacity control apparatus - Google Patents

Refrigerant compressor capacity control apparatus Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0009145B1
EP0009145B1 EP79103180A EP79103180A EP0009145B1 EP 0009145 B1 EP0009145 B1 EP 0009145B1 EP 79103180 A EP79103180 A EP 79103180A EP 79103180 A EP79103180 A EP 79103180A EP 0009145 B1 EP0009145 B1 EP 0009145B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
piston
housing
manifold
cylinders
refrigerant
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
EP79103180A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0009145A1 (en
Inventor
Bruce A. Frazer
Jr. Curtis Holt
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Carrier Corp
Original Assignee
Carrier Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Carrier Corp filed Critical Carrier Corp
Priority to AT79103180T priority Critical patent/ATE1396T1/de
Publication of EP0009145A1 publication Critical patent/EP0009145A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0009145B1 publication Critical patent/EP0009145B1/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
    • F25B49/00—Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
    • F25B49/02—Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices for compression type machines, plants or systems
    • F25B49/022—Compressor control arrangements
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04B—POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS
    • F04B49/00—Control, e.g. of pump delivery, or pump pressure of, or safety measures for, machines, pumps, or pumping installations, not otherwise provided for, or of interest apart from, groups F04B1/00 - F04B47/00
    • F04B49/22—Control, e.g. of pump delivery, or pump pressure of, or safety measures for, machines, pumps, or pumping installations, not otherwise provided for, or of interest apart from, groups F04B1/00 - F04B47/00 by means of valves
    • F04B49/225—Control, e.g. of pump delivery, or pump pressure of, or safety measures for, machines, pumps, or pumping installations, not otherwise provided for, or of interest apart from, groups F04B1/00 - F04B47/00 by means of valves with throttling valves or valves varying the pump inlet opening or the outlet opening
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
    • F25B2400/00—General features or devices for refrigeration machines, plants or systems, combined heating and refrigeration systems or heat-pump systems, i.e. not limited to a particular subgroup of F25B
    • F25B2400/07—Details of compressors or related parts
    • F25B2400/074—Details of compressors or related parts with multiple cylinders
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
    • F25B41/00—Fluid-circulation arrangements
    • F25B41/20—Disposition of valves, e.g. of on-off valves or flow control valves
    • F25B41/22—Disposition of valves, e.g. of on-off valves or flow control valves between evaporator and compressor

Definitions

  • This invention relates to capacity control of a refrigeration compressor, and in particular, to a capacity control device which decreases the power input requirements of the compressor motor as the load on the refrigeration unit decreases.
  • Mechanical refrigeration units such as those employed in air conditioning systems, normally operate under varying load conditions. Typically, the units are designed to deliver conditioned air at a temperature of 25°C at high ambients, such as 40°C (hereinafter maximum load). When the refrigeration unit is operating at less than maximum load conditions, it is desirable to reduce the refrigeration producing capacity thereof.
  • valve disposed between the suction manifold of the refrigeration compressor and one or more of the refrigerant compressor cylinders to unlbad one or more cylinders of a refrigeration compressor when reduced capacity is desired.
  • the valve disposed within the manifold is placed in a position to terminate flow of the refrigerant gas from the manifold to the cylinders.
  • a reduction of the input power requirements of approximately 10% may be achieved by modulating the valve to vary the flow of refrigerant to at least one of the cylinders of the compressor as compared to opening or closing a valve in the manner disclosed in the US-A-3578.883, particularly when it is desirable to reduce the capacity of the unit to 20%-40% of its maximum load rating.
  • a capacity control apparatus for a refrigerating system is disclosed in FR-A-1,284,287. That apparatus, however, is a relatively complex mechanism and in operation is subject to variable forces produced in working chambers. Such variable forces must be compensated and, to this end, the apparatus of FR-A-1,284,287 resorts to bellows.
  • the present invention incorporates means for producing a relatively constant force for urging the valve to a closed position.
  • capacity control apparatus for a multi-cylinder refrigerant compressor employed in a mechanical refrigeration unit including a manifold for delivering refrigerant vapor to less than all of the cylinders of the compressor, a housing disposed between the manifold, and the cylinders to receive refrigerant vapor therefrom and conduct refrigerant vapor from the manifold to said cylinders, a lower portion of the housing defining a fluid inlet in communication with the manifold and a side of the housing defining a fluid outlet in communication with the cylinders, a piston reciprocally disposed with the housing and cooperating with said housing to provide a valve with said piston being movable respectively to a position in which the fluid outlet is open to permit fluid flow to the cylinders and a position in which the outlet is closed to modulate the flow of refrigerant vapor from the manifold to the cylinders receiving vapor therefrom, the piston also dividing the housing into an upper chamber spaced from the manifold and a lower chamber in
  • a mechanical refrigeration unit 10 including an outdoor heat exchange coil 12, an indoor heat exchange coil 24, a compressor 20 and an expansion device 22.
  • High pressure refrigerant gas compressed by operation of compressor 20 is discharged through conduit 16 and delivered to outdoor heat exchange coil 12 whereat fan 14 routes ambient air over the surface of the coil to condense the vaporous refrigerant flowing therethrough.
  • the condensed refrigerant is delivered via conduit 18 through expansion device 22 to indoor heat exchange coil 24.
  • the indoor coil has air or water to be cooled routed thereover by operation of fan 26.
  • the air routed over the surface of coil 24 rejects heat to the refrigerant flowing therethrough causing the refrigerant to be vaporized.
  • the vaporous refrigerant is returned to the suction side of the compressor via conduit 28.
  • the aforedescribed mechanical refrigeration unit is conventional and is typical of units employed in mechanical air conditioning systems.
  • multi-cylinder compressors are utilized.
  • multi-cylinder compressors are designed to function with all cylinders fully loaded when ambient temperatures are relatively high, as for example at 40°C. At such high ambient temperatures, the cooling load on the refrigeration unit is also large. At less than maximum load conditions, it is desirable to reduce the refrigeration capacity of the refrigeration unit to prevent overcooling of the space served by the unit and to reduce the power input requirements thereof.
  • Many known compressor capacity control devices have been used on multi-cylinder compressors in attempts to achieve the aforegoing capacity reduction at reduced cooling loads.
  • One such capacity control device includes the utilization of a valve disposed between the suction manifold and some of the cylinders of the compressor to terminate flow of refrigerant from the manifold to the cylinders when reduced capacity of the compressor is desired. While this form of capacity control has been found to be relatively efficient, it has been additionally determined that improvements in such arrangement can effectively reduce the power input requirements by a considerable amount.
  • the capacity control device of the present invention includes a housing 42 mounted within the cylinder head 46 of the compressor.
  • the housing has an inlet 43 in communication with suction manifold 34 and includes an outlet preferably defined by one or more ports 58.
  • Refrigerant gas flowing through ports 58 is delivered into a suction header 35 for an individual cylinder.
  • Each cylinder or bank of cylinders will generally be associated with a separate suction header.
  • the suction gas passing from suction header 35 flows through suction ports 36 into compressor cylinder 30.
  • the refrigerant gas in cylinder 30 is compressed by reciprocal movement of piston 31 therein and is discharged therefrom through ports 38 into discharge chamber 32.
  • the flow of refrigerant gas through ports 36 and 38 are controlled by suitable valves, as is well-known by those skilled in the art.
  • a piston type device 52 is movably disposed within bore 41 defined by housing 42.
  • a retainer ring 48 maintains piston 52 within the bore.
  • Springs 54 and 56, mounted on retainer 60, provide a force to move piston 52 upwardly within bore 41.
  • a relatively constant magnitude force is developed in chamber 49 located above the top surface of piston 52 in opposition to the force acting on the bottom surface thereof generated by springs 54 and 56.
  • the constant magnitude force may be generated by the pressure of the discharge gas passing through conduits 16 and 17.
  • a constant pressure valve 44 is utilized to control the pressure of the gas flowing through conduit 17 to maintain the pressure in chamber 49 at a predetermined magnitude.
  • An 0-ring 50 is provided to prevent leakage between the opposed surfaces of housing 42 and the cylinder block in which the valve 40 is mounted.
  • a force developed by the suction pressure of the gas in manifold- 34 operates in combination with the force developed by springs 54 and 56 on the bottom surface of piston 52 to move the piston upwardly within bore 41.
  • piston 52 moving from the position shown in figure 2 (whereat a maximum flow of refrigerant passes to cylinder 30) downwardly within bore 41 towards manifold 34.
  • the movement of piston 52 relative to port 58 resulting from a reduction in the refrigeration load tends to decrease the quantity of refrigerant passing from manifold 34 into suction header 35.
  • piston 52 modulates the flow of refrigerant moving into suction header 35 in accordance with the changes in load on the refrigeration unit by changing the active flow area of port 58.
  • the piston will move within bore 41 to further reduce the active area of port 58 to further reduce the flow of refrigerant passing therethrough.
  • piston 52 upon further decreases in the refrigeration load, piston 52 will move with respect to port 58 to completely terminate the flow of refrigerant therethrough. When this occurs, cylinder 30 is completely unloaded.
  • the power input to the compressor is reduced generally in proportion to the movement of piston 52 with respect to port 58; as the piston reduces the flow of refrigerant through port 58 to cylinder 30, the power input to the compressor will likewise decrease since the compressor will require less energy to compress the refrigerant still flowing to its cylinders.
  • the pressure of the refrigerant gas passing into manifold 34 increases to increase the force acting on the lower surface of piston 52 to thereby raise the piston within bore 41 to permit renewed flow of refrigerant gas through port 58.
  • the quantity of refrigerant gas passing through the port will vary directly with the pressure of the refrigerant gas acting on the lower surface of piston 52.
  • the pressure acting on the lower surface of piston 52 will also increase to further move piston 52 with respect to port 58 to increase the flow passage opening defined thereby to permit a greater quantity of refrigerant gas to pass into suction header 35.
  • the capacity control device of the present invention modulates the gas flowing to a bank of cylinders to improve the performance of the refrigeration unit by reducing the power consumption requirements of the unit at part-load conditions.
  • the specific embodiment herein disclosed achieves the desired capacity control by regulating the movement of the capacity control device in response to changes in the difference in the pressure between suction pressure and a predetermined pressure operating in a chamber provided above a piston of the capacity control device.
  • the capacity control device has been illustrated as employed with a compressor used in an air conditioning system, the invention may also readily be employed with refrigeration units employed to chill water. Generally in such units, the temperature of the water leaving the evaporator is monitored to sense changes of the refrigeration load on the unit.
EP79103180A 1978-09-20 1979-08-28 Refrigerant compressor capacity control apparatus Expired EP0009145B1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AT79103180T ATE1396T1 (de) 1978-09-20 1979-08-28 Vorrichtung zur leistungsregelung eines kuehlkompressors.

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US94423778A 1978-09-20 1978-09-20
US944237 1978-09-20

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0009145A1 EP0009145A1 (en) 1980-04-02
EP0009145B1 true EP0009145B1 (en) 1982-07-28

Family

ID=25481045

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP79103180A Expired EP0009145B1 (en) 1978-09-20 1979-08-28 Refrigerant compressor capacity control apparatus

Country Status (15)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0009145B1 (es)
JP (1) JPS5551978A (es)
AR (1) AR221901A1 (es)
AT (1) ATE1396T1 (es)
AU (1) AU532017B2 (es)
BR (1) BR7905936A (es)
DE (1) DE2963419D1 (es)
DK (1) DK361879A (es)
ES (2) ES484265A1 (es)
IL (1) IL58116A (es)
IN (1) IN152999B (es)
MX (1) MX147475A (es)
NO (1) NO146446C (es)
PH (1) PH18397A (es)
ZA (1) ZA794377B (es)

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4382749A (en) * 1980-11-14 1983-05-10 The Trane Company Reciprocating compressor with integral unloader valve
JPS57202781U (es) * 1981-06-19 1982-12-23
JPS5873993U (ja) * 1981-11-12 1983-05-19 三菱電機株式会社 ２気筒回転式圧縮機
AU615200B2 (en) * 1987-06-30 1991-09-26 Sanden Corporation Refrigerant circuit with passageway control mechanism
US6575710B2 (en) * 2001-07-26 2003-06-10 Copeland Corporation Compressor with blocked suction capacity modulation

Family Cites Families (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE146420C (es) *
US2309773A (en) * 1941-03-29 1943-02-02 Gen Motors Corp Refrigerating apparatus
FR1259473A (fr) * 1960-03-15 1961-04-28 Chantiers De Latlantique Procédé et dispositif de commande de la puissance de compresseurs comprenant deux ou un plus grand nombre d'ensembles à cylindre et piston
FR1284287A (fr) * 1961-03-17 1962-02-09 Borg Warner Dispositif pour la commande du débit d'un compresseur d'équipement de refroidissement pour automobiles
GB1089694A (en) * 1964-02-24 1967-11-01 J & E Hall Ltd Improvements in or relating to gas and vapour compressors
US3360952A (en) * 1966-06-28 1968-01-02 Trane Co Capacity controlled refrigeration system
US3518032A (en) * 1968-05-24 1970-06-30 Dresser Ind Compressor cylinder unloader
US3578883A (en) * 1969-05-14 1971-05-18 Copeland Refrigeration Corp Unloader for multicylinder refrigeration compressors
US3759057A (en) * 1972-01-10 1973-09-18 Westinghouse Electric Corp Room air conditioner having compressor with variable capacity and control therefor
US3781135A (en) * 1972-05-19 1973-12-25 C Nickell Refrigerant compressor for vehicles
JPS5538415Y2 (es) * 1972-06-09 1980-09-08
US3872685A (en) * 1973-03-16 1975-03-25 Controls Co Of America Evaporator temperature control for refrigeration systems
JPS5130287A (ja) * 1974-09-06 1976-03-15 Sumitomo Chemical Co Ekijohoributajennoseizohoho
JPS53109211A (en) * 1977-03-04 1978-09-22 Toshiba Corp Heat pump type air conditioner

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
IL58116A0 (en) 1979-12-30
ZA794377B (en) 1980-11-26
AU532017B2 (en) 1983-09-15
NO146446B (no) 1982-06-21
AU5038479A (en) 1980-03-27
NO793007L (no) 1980-03-21
DK361879A (da) 1980-03-21
ES484265A1 (es) 1980-04-01
BR7905936A (pt) 1980-05-27
DE2963419D1 (en) 1982-09-16
AR221901A1 (es) 1981-03-31
JPS5551978A (en) 1980-04-16
NO146446C (no) 1982-09-29
IL58116A (en) 1982-11-30
MX147475A (es) 1982-12-03
ES485139A1 (es) 1980-05-16
PH18397A (en) 1985-06-21
ATE1396T1 (de) 1982-08-15
IN152999B (es) 1984-05-19
EP0009145A1 (en) 1980-04-02

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