EP0153557B1 - Refrigeration cycle apparatus - Google Patents

Refrigeration cycle apparatus Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0153557B1
EP0153557B1 EP85100213A EP85100213A EP0153557B1 EP 0153557 B1 EP0153557 B1 EP 0153557B1 EP 85100213 A EP85100213 A EP 85100213A EP 85100213 A EP85100213 A EP 85100213A EP 0153557 B1 EP0153557 B1 EP 0153557B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
compressor
heat exchanger
refrigerant
valve
capillary tubes
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
EP85100213A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0153557A2 (en
EP0153557A3 (en
Inventor
Fumio Mitsubishi Denki K.K Matsuoka
Hitoshi Mitsubishi Denki K.K Iijima
Original Assignee
Mitsubishi Electric Corp
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Publication date
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Application filed by Mitsubishi Electric Corp filed Critical Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Priority to EP85100213A priority Critical patent/EP0153557B1/en
Priority to EP87109204A priority patent/EP0247638B1/en
Publication of EP0153557A2 publication Critical patent/EP0153557A2/en
Publication of EP0153557A3 publication Critical patent/EP0153557A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0153557B1 publication Critical patent/EP0153557B1/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
    • F25B13/00—Compression machines, plants or systems, with reversible cycle
    • 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
    • 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
    • F25B41/24—Arrangement of shut-off valves for disconnecting a part of the refrigerant cycle, e.g. an outdoor part

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to refrigeration cycle apparatus comprising: a compressor, a first heat exchanger operable as a condenser, an expansion means and a second heat exchanger operable as an evaporator connected in series with each other; means for repeatedly starting and stopping said compressor; and means including a first check valve provided between an outlet of said compressor and an inlet of said first heat exchanger for isolating refrigerant on a high pressure side of said compressor from said refrigerant on a low pressure side of said compressor.
  • a storage tank is provided between the condensor and evaporator to provide pressure stabilization and to prevent migration of refrigerant to the condenser during the off cycle. But during these times, refrigerant liquid stored on the low pressure side in the evaporator is drawn into the compressor. The presence of the liquid refrigerant in the condenser increases the load on the compressor at the time of restarting the compressor. This lowers the coefficient of performance (hereinafter abbreviated as "COP") of the apparatus as compared with that during continuous operation.
  • COP coefficient of performance
  • Reversible refrigeration cycle apparatus is known from US-A-2 720 756 and includes an expansion device in the form of two capillary tubes coupled in series with a check valve across one tube to decrease the effective length of the expansion means in the cooling mode.
  • an expansion device in the form of two capillary tubes coupled in series with a check valve across one tube to decrease the effective length of the expansion means in the cooling mode.
  • An object of the invention is to improve the efficiency and simplify the construction of such apparatus thus enabling less expensive manufacture and reduction in size.
  • Another object of this invention is to enable the expansion coefficient of the apparatus to be varied between the heating and cooling modes in a single manner.
  • the apparatus defined in the first paragraph of this specification is characterised in that a reversing valve is provided between the compressor and first and second heat exchanger for reversing the functions of that heat exchanger to provide for an operation in a cooling or a heating mode, that said first check valve is arranged between the compressor outlet and said reversing valve, in that said expansion means comprises two capillary tubes coupled in series with each other between said first heat exchanger and said second heat exchanger and a second check valve provided in parallel with one of said capillary tubes so as to increase the effective length of said expansion means in said heating mode and to bypass said one of the capillary tubes in said cooling mode, and in that said isolating means further comprises a switching element provided between said capillary tubes and arranged to fully close when said compressor is stopped and to fully open when said compressor is started.
  • Reference numeral 1 designates generally a compressor.
  • a refrigerant gas compressed at high temperature and high pressure by the compressor 1 is fed through a check valve 2 and a four-way valve 3 into a condenser 4.
  • the refrigerant dissipates heat in the condenser 4 and is condensed to a high temperature and high pressure liquid.
  • the refrigerant liquid is passed through a capillary tube 12 where the refrigerant becomes a low temperature, low pressure liquid and a switching element 14 which acts as a valve and from there is introduced into an evaporator 7.
  • the low temperature and low pressure refrigerant liquid in the evaporator 7 absorbs heat and thus evaporates to a gas.
  • This refrigerant gas is again fed through the four-way valve 3 into an accumulator 8 which isolates the refrigerant liquid which cannot be evaporated in the evaporator 7 and is retained in the liquid state and which returns only the refrigerant gas again to the compressor 1. While the compressor 1 is operating, the apparatus repeats the refrigeration cycle.
  • Referernce numeral 9 illustrates a fan for the condenser 4 and 10 a fan for the evaporator 7.
  • the four-way valve 3 is a change-over or switching valve which operates so that the condenser 4 can be used as an evaporator and the evaporator 7 used as a condenser.
  • the evaporator 7 is used as an indoor side heat exchanger
  • the condenser 4 is used as an outdoor side heat exchanger.
  • the apparatus is operated in a refrigeration cycle which in the heating mode is switched by the four-way valve 3 so that the indoor side heat exchanger 7 is used as a condenser and the outdoor side heat exchanger 4 is used as an evaporator.
  • the air temperature conditioning system operates to detect the temperature in the room by a temperature detector or thermostat (not shown) and to start or stop the compressor 1 so as to maintain the room temperature at a set temperature by operating or stopping the refrigeration cycle apparatus.
  • the switching element 14, which isolates the compressor 1, is constructed so as to open when the compressor 1 is started and to close when the compressor 1 is stopped.
  • the element 14 and the check valve 2 function to isolate high pressure side refrigerant and low pressure side refrigerant when the compressor 1 is stopped.
  • the high pressure side refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle is isolated from the low pressure side refrigerant. Since the element 14 is then opened, a desired pressure difference between the high and low pressure side refrigerant can be attained in short time and the apparatus can reach the ordinary operating state in short time.
  • the conventional refrigerant cycle not incorporating such an isolating device requires about five minutes to reach the ordinary operation state after restarting.
  • the refrigeration cycle apparatus of the invention requires only about one minute and twenty seconds to make the transition.
  • the aforesaid switching element 14 may be a solenoid valve or another type of switching valve and may be any type which closes when the compressor 1 is stopped and opens when the compressor 1 is started.
  • a further capillary tube 13 in parallel with a check valve 15 which is constructed to pass the refrigerant in the illustrated cooling mode and to block the refrigerant in the non-illustrated heating mode with the valve 3 switched to its other position.
  • the check valve 15 is provided to effectively alter the length of the total capillary tube 12, 13 since the apparatus will operate more efficiently if the expansion coefficient of the refrigerant is varied between the cooling mode and the heating mode in such a manner that the capillary tube is effectively increased in length in the heating mode.
  • the apparatus can be inexpensively constructed, even if the check valve 15 is added.
  • the switching element 14 is constructed to compare the pressure P 2 , determined by the output side refrigerant gas (temperature of the evaporator 7 as detected by a heat sensitive tube provided between the outlet of the evaporator 7 and the inlet of the compressor 1, with the pressure P 1 of the refrigerant exhausted from the capillary tube 12, and to open when P 2 >P l and to close when P 2 ⁇ P ll in the same manner as described above.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Compression-Type Refrigeration Machines With Reversible Cycles (AREA)

Description

  • The present invention relates to refrigeration cycle apparatus comprising: a compressor, a first heat exchanger operable as a condenser, an expansion means and a second heat exchanger operable as an evaporator connected in series with each other; means for repeatedly starting and stopping said compressor; and means including a first check valve provided between an outlet of said compressor and an inlet of said first heat exchanger for isolating refrigerant on a high pressure side of said compressor from said refrigerant on a low pressure side of said compressor.
  • Such apparatus is known from US-A-3 093 976.
  • In this known apparatus, a storage tank is provided between the condensor and evaporator to provide pressure stabilization and to prevent migration of refrigerant to the condenser during the off cycle. But during these times, refrigerant liquid stored on the low pressure side in the evaporator is drawn into the compressor. The presence of the liquid refrigerant in the condenser increases the load on the compressor at the time of restarting the compressor. This lowers the coefficient of performance (hereinafter abbreviated as "COP") of the apparatus as compared with that during continuous operation.
  • Furthermore, to enable the above-described refrigeration cycle apparatus to be used in an air temperature conditioning system capable of operating in both cooling and heating modes the refrigerant flow would have to be reversible. This would not be possible in the apparatus of US-A-3 093 976 owing to the presence of the storage tank. Conventional reversible apparatus of this type is relatively expensive to manufacture and is relatively large.
  • Reversible refrigeration cycle apparatus is known from US-A-2 720 756 and includes an expansion device in the form of two capillary tubes coupled in series with a check valve across one tube to decrease the effective length of the expansion means in the cooling mode. However, the problem of maintaining compressor pressure during intermittant operation is not addressed in this specification.
  • An object of the invention is to improve the efficiency and simplify the construction of such apparatus thus enabling less expensive manufacture and reduction in size.
  • Another object of this invention is to enable the expansion coefficient of the apparatus to be varied between the heating and cooling modes in a single manner.
  • According to the invention, the apparatus defined in the first paragraph of this specification is characterised in that a reversing valve is provided between the compressor and first and second heat exchanger for reversing the functions of that heat exchanger to provide for an operation in a cooling or a heating mode, that said first check valve is arranged between the compressor outlet and said reversing valve, in that said expansion means comprises two capillary tubes coupled in series with each other between said first heat exchanger and said second heat exchanger and a second check valve provided in parallel with one of said capillary tubes so as to increase the effective length of said expansion means in said heating mode and to bypass said one of the capillary tubes in said cooling mode, and in that said isolating means further comprises a switching element provided between said capillary tubes and arranged to fully close when said compressor is stopped and to fully open when said compressor is started.
  • The foregoing objects and other objects as well as the characteristic features of the invention will become more apparent and more readily understandable by the following description and the appended claims when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the sole figure of which is a schematic structural view showing a preferred embodiment of refrigeration cycle apparatus of the invention.
  • Reference is now made to the drawing showing a preferred embodiment of the refrigeration cycle apparatus, constructed according to the invention. Reference numeral 1 designates generally a compressor. A refrigerant gas compressed at high temperature and high pressure by the compressor 1 is fed through a check valve 2 and a four-way valve 3 into a condenser 4. The refrigerant dissipates heat in the condenser 4 and is condensed to a high temperature and high pressure liquid. The refrigerant liquid is passed through a capillary tube 12 where the refrigerant becomes a low temperature, low pressure liquid and a switching element 14 which acts as a valve and from there is introduced into an evaporator 7. The low temperature and low pressure refrigerant liquid in the evaporator 7 absorbs heat and thus evaporates to a gas. This refrigerant gas is again fed through the four-way valve 3 into an accumulator 8 which isolates the refrigerant liquid which cannot be evaporated in the evaporator 7 and is retained in the liquid state and which returns only the refrigerant gas again to the compressor 1. While the compressor 1 is operating, the apparatus repeats the refrigeration cycle.
  • Referernce numeral 9 illustrates a fan for the condenser 4 and 10 a fan for the evaporator 7. The four-way valve 3 is a change-over or switching valve which operates so that the condenser 4 can be used as an evaporator and the evaporator 7 used as a condenser.
  • When this refrigeration cycle apparatus is used in a room air temperature conditioning system, the evaporator 7 is used as an indoor side heat exchanger, and the condenser 4 is used as an outdoor side heat exchanger. In the illustrated cooling mode, the apparatus is operated in a refrigeration cycle which in the heating mode is switched by the four-way valve 3 so that the indoor side heat exchanger 7 is used as a condenser and the outdoor side heat exchanger 4 is used as an evaporator.
  • The air temperature conditioning system operates to detect the temperature in the room by a temperature detector or thermostat (not shown) and to start or stop the compressor 1 so as to maintain the room temperature at a set temperature by operating or stopping the refrigeration cycle apparatus.
  • The switching element 14, which isolates the compressor 1, is constructed so as to open when the compressor 1 is started and to close when the compressor 1 is stopped. The element 14 and the check valve 2 function to isolate high pressure side refrigerant and low pressure side refrigerant when the compressor 1 is stopped.
  • In this refrigeration cycle apparatus used in an air temperature conditioning system as described above, when the compressor 1 is repeatedly started and stopped to maintain the room temperature at a set value, the element 14 is simultaneously opened and closed. Since the element 14 is closed when the compressor 1 is stopped, the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant liquid in the condenser 4 does not flow into the capillary tubes 12, 13 and accordingly does not flow into the evaporator 7. On the other hand, since the check valve 2 is provided at the exhaust side of the compressor 1, the refrigerant gas in the condenser 4 and the condensed refrigerant liquid cannot return to the compressor 1.
  • When the compressor 1 is restarted, the high pressure side refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle is isolated from the low pressure side refrigerant. Since the element 14 is then opened, a desired pressure difference between the high and low pressure side refrigerant can be attained in short time and the apparatus can reach the ordinary operating state in short time.
  • The conventional refrigerant cycle not incorporating such an isolating device requires about five minutes to reach the ordinary operation state after restarting. On the other hand, the refrigeration cycle apparatus of the invention requires only about one minute and twenty seconds to make the transition.
  • It is noted that the aforesaid switching element 14 may be a solenoid valve or another type of switching valve and may be any type which closes when the compressor 1 is stopped and opens when the compressor 1 is started.
  • There is also provided a further capillary tube 13 in parallel with a check valve 15 which is constructed to pass the refrigerant in the illustrated cooling mode and to block the refrigerant in the non-illustrated heating mode with the valve 3 switched to its other position. The check valve 15 is provided to effectively alter the length of the total capillary tube 12, 13 since the apparatus will operate more efficiently if the expansion coefficient of the refrigerant is varied between the cooling mode and the heating mode in such a manner that the capillary tube is effectively increased in length in the heating mode.
  • With two capillary tubes 12 and 13 used instead of an expansion valve, the apparatus can be inexpensively constructed, even if the check valve 15 is added.
  • The switching element 14 is constructed to compare the pressure P2, determined by the output side refrigerant gas (temperature of the evaporator 7 as detected by a heat sensitive tube provided between the outlet of the evaporator 7 and the inlet of the compressor 1, with the pressure P1 of the refrigerant exhausted from the capillary tube 12, and to open when P2>Pl and to close when P2<Pll in the same manner as described above.

Claims (2)

1. Refrigeration cycle apapratus comprising: a compressor (1), a first heat exchanger (4) operable as a condenser, an expansion means (12, 13) and a second heat exchanger (7) operable as an evaporator connected in series with each other; means for repeatedly starting and stopping said compressor (1); and means (2, 14) including a first check valve (2) provided between an outlet of said compressor (1) and an inlet of said first heat exchanger (4) for isolating refrigerant on a high pressure side of said compressor (1) from said refrigerant on a low pressure side of said compressor (1) characterised in that a reversing valve (3) is provided between the compressor (1) and the first (4) and second (7) heat exchanger for reversing the functions of that heat exchanger to provide for an operation in a cooling or a heating mode, that said first check valve (2) is arranged between the compressor outlet and said reversing valve (3), in that said expansion means comprises two capillary tubes (12, 13) coupled in series with each other between said first heat exchanger (4) and said second heat exchanger (7) and a second check valve (15) provided in parallel with one (13) of said capillary tubes so as to increase the effective length of said expansion means in said heating mode and to bypass said one of the capillary tubes in said cooling mode, and in that said isolating means further comprises a switching element (14) provided between said capillary tubes (12, 13) and arranged to fully close when said compressor (1) is stopped and to fully open when said compressor (1) is started.
2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said reversing valve (3) is a four-way valve.
EP85100213A 1981-10-20 1981-10-20 Refrigeration cycle apparatus Expired EP0153557B1 (en)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP85100213A EP0153557B1 (en) 1981-10-20 1981-10-20 Refrigeration cycle apparatus
EP87109204A EP0247638B1 (en) 1981-10-20 1981-10-20 Refrigeration cycle apparatus

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP85100213A EP0153557B1 (en) 1981-10-20 1981-10-20 Refrigeration cycle apparatus

Related Parent Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP81108580.2 Division 1981-10-20

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0153557A2 EP0153557A2 (en) 1985-09-04
EP0153557A3 EP0153557A3 (en) 1986-02-19
EP0153557B1 true EP0153557B1 (en) 1989-05-17

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ID=8193223

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP85100213A Expired EP0153557B1 (en) 1981-10-20 1981-10-20 Refrigeration cycle apparatus

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EP (1) EP0153557B1 (en)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
BR9300342A (en) * 1993-02-09 1994-09-27 Brasil Compressores Sa Arrangement for starting cooling systems with pressure difference at startup
US5564280A (en) * 1994-06-06 1996-10-15 Schilling; Ronald W. Apparatus and method for refrigerant fluid leak prevention

Family Cites Families (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR811326A (en) * 1936-01-21 1937-04-12 Sulzer Ag Compression refrigeration machine
US2720756A (en) * 1954-12-29 1955-10-18 Gen Electric Heat pump, including fixed flow control means
US2969655A (en) * 1959-05-19 1961-01-31 Ranco Inc Reversible heat pump system
US3093976A (en) * 1962-04-20 1963-06-18 Carl O Walcutt Refrigeration system including receiver
US3131549A (en) * 1962-11-29 1964-05-05 Carrier Corp Heat pump control
US4081971A (en) * 1976-09-17 1978-04-04 The Trane Company Air cooled centrifugal refrigeration machine with provision to prevent evaporator freezing
US4267702A (en) * 1979-08-13 1981-05-19 Ranco Incorporated Refrigeration system with refrigerant flow controlling valve

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0153557A2 (en) 1985-09-04
EP0153557A3 (en) 1986-02-19

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