Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
  • B60H1/00—Heating, cooling or ventilating [HVAC] devices
  • B60H1/00507—Details, e.g. mounting arrangements, desaeration devices
  • B60H1/00585—Means for monitoring, testing or servicing the air-conditioning
• • 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
  • F25B45/00—Arrangements for charging or discharging refrigerant
• • 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
  • F25B2345/00—Details for charging or discharging refrigerants; Service stations therefor
  • F25B2345/002—Collecting refrigerant from a cycle

Definitions

• holes in the ozone layer, including one over the Antarctica having an area of more than a million square miles.
• the protection of the ozone layer against further deterioration is basically a two-fold matter, namely, that of the reduction of production of CFC's, and, secondly, the control of the release of CFG's into the atmosphere.
• the present invention addresses the above problem of CFC/Freon recovery from air conditioning and refrigeration system in the course of repair or replacement of such systems.
• the invention is a system for refrigerant recovery and purification. It includes a hollow fluid -tight pressure vessel having fluid input means; and a hollow, annular jacket having its exterior inner surface in thermal communication with said pressure vessel, said jacket having a polar axis in substantial alignment with the gravity vector, said jacket having liquid accumulation means at the bottom thereof, said jacket further having fluid output means. Also provided is fluid communication means for defining a fluid path, external of said vessel, between said vessel and an input to said jacket, said fluid communication means further comprising expansion valve means for selectively increasing the volume of fluid flowing from said vessel prior to its entry into said jacket. Condensing means are in fluid communication with said output means, said condensing means having an output in fluid communication with said input means of said pressure vessel,
• Fig. 1 is a schematic view of the present inventive refrigerant recovery system.
• Fig. 2 is an enlarged area of the view of Fig. 1 with specific reference to the condensing means and heating means.
• Fig. 3 is a schematic view of an alternate embodiment of the pressure vessel and jacket means.
• FIG. 1 With reference to Fig. 1, there is shown, to the left of the figure, the system 8 to be evacuated.
• This system includes a compressor 10, a condenser 12, an evaporator 14, a liquid line service valve 16 and a liquid receiver 17.
• the interface or tap between the present inventive refrigerant recovery device and the system 8 uses manifold gauges 7. he center hose is attached at connection 18.
• the low pressure hose of manifold gauges 7 connects to a suction service valve 11.
• a high pressure hose of manifold gauges 7 connects to said liquid service valve 16.
• This method of connection is useful when large amounts of liquid refrigerant are present within the system being evacuated.
• An alternate method of connection places the low pressure hose of manifold gauges 7 at suction service valve 11 while the high pressure hose of gauges 7 connects to service valve 16 and the center hose connects to valve 65. This method is useful in the automotive area where only vapor is generally available for recovery.
• a high pressure liquid refrigerant line 18 carries liquid refrigerant from the evacuated system 8 to a metering device 24.
• the function of the metering device is to controllably permit an expansion of the refrigerant liquid thereby creating a pressure differential between the high pressure liquid refrigerant line 18 and the inside of annular jacket 26 at a substantially lower pressure.
• the pressure within high pressure liquid refrigerant line 18 will, at conditions of 90 degrees Fahrenheit and R12 refrigerant, be 90 psi while the conditions within annular jacket 26 will be about 20 pounds per square inch.
• Annular jacket 26 surrounds special purpose storage bottle 28 which is provided with a valve-operated drain 31. Within said jacket 26 there is formed a so called puddle 27 of refrigerant. This puddle will form within jacket 26 when a sufficient volume of low pressure gas accumulates therewithin. From puddle 27, which is technically known as a flooding evaporator, refrigerant will be drawn through a perforated suction tube 29.- Liquid refrigerant, from the end of said tube 29, will be drawn from puddle 27 while the perforations therewithin will draw gas from the portion of said jacket above said puddle 27. Accordingly, a combination of both liquid and vapor refrigerant will enter a low pressure suction line 30. This combination of fluid may be considered a boiling liquid, and its condition as between a liquid or vapor will be determined by various system variables.
• low pressure suction line 30 From low pressure suction line 30, the boiling liquid refrigerant travels to the right, passing a low pressure gauge 47. Therefrom (see Fig. 2 for enlarged view) refrigerant enters suction dryer means 36. Suction dryer means 36 performs the functions of filtering and drying. As may be noted in Fig. 2, low pressure suction line 30 is in fluid communication with suction dryer means 36 and refrigerant exits at connection line 68. Below connection line 68 is shown an oil trap 33, the function of which is to remove oil from the boiling liquid refrigerant. This oil trap exists for the purpose of protecting the compressor 40 from the introduction of oils, moisture, or any other contaminants, from the system being evacuated.
• jacket means 26 constitutes a segmented evaporator in which the superheat therein is controlled by either (1) an automatic expansion valve responding to compressor capacity, (2) a thermostatic expansion valve responding to a bulb positioned at point 67, or (3) any other known metering device.
• connection line 68 the refrigerant enters suction dryer 66, having a heat strip 65, which performs the function of a second dryer, and further protects compressor 40 from liquid refrigerant entering thereto.
• Said heat strip 65 is controlled by a temperature sensor on line 32. Accordingly, the refrigerant, upon exiting from 66 is assured to be in the vapor state.
• gaseous refrigerant travels through low pressure vapor suction line 32 and passes point 38 which is the connecting point for a low pressure control switch, i the function of which is to turn off the entire system, including compressor 40, in the event of zero pressure..
• the low pressure vapor refrigerant is compressed in order to create a high pressure gaseous refrigerant output which passes through high pressure hot vapor line 48.
• This line then travels to oil separator 44, the function of which is to assure that compressor 40 is at all times supplied with oil.
• oil return line 46 which connects oil separator 44 to low pressure suction line 32.
• the high pressure gaseous refrigerant passes through high pressure hot vapor extension line 49 into air cooled condenser 52 which functions to reduce the temperature of the refrigerant passing by high pressure gauge 54.
• the refrigerant then passes from air cooled condenser 52 to a reduced temperature high pressure line 57.
• condensed refrigerant enters high pressure water cooled refrigerant line 55, where further cooling is achieved by water cooled condenser 53 bringing the refrigerant into a liquid state.
• water cooled condenser 53 tap water is used which in certain areas of the country may be as warm as 70 degrees. In other areas it may be about 60 degrees.
• the liquified refrigerant Upon exiting the water cooled condenser 53, the liquified refrigerant passes through high pressure liquid line 62 into one way valve 56.
• the one way valve prevents refrigerant from flowing back from the special bottle 28 into the system when bottle pressure is higher than the system pressure. Further, it allows the refrigerant to flow into the bottle when the system pressure is higher than the bottle pressure. From one way valve 56 the liquid refrigerant flows through high pressure liquid line 62 and into bottle access valve 64 where storage of the recycled, recovered refrigerant is effected.
• jacket 26 one of the functions of jacket 26 is to maintain bottle 28 at a low temperature to thereby enhance the overall efficiency of the system.
• valve 51 When valve 51 is de-energized the system pumps down and shuts off automatically, returning the refrigerant to the storage bottle.
• Fig. 3 Shown in Fig. 3 is an alternate embodiment of the invention in which jacket 26 is replaced by separate regions 126 which function in the manner of said jacket 26.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Thermal Sciences (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Vaporization, Distillation, Condensation, Sublimation, And Cold Traps (AREA)
• Compression-Type Refrigeration Machines With Reversible Cycles (AREA)
• Separation By Low-Temperature Treatments (AREA)
• Sorption Type Refrigeration Machines (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (6)

Publications (2)

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Citations (1)

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• 1989
  • 1989-01-11 WO PCT/US1989/000094 patent/WO1989006336A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1989-01-11 AU AU30315/89A patent/AU3031589A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1989-01-11 EP EP19890901803 patent/EP0421999A4/en not_active Ceased

Patent Citations (1)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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