US2162537A - Refrigerating system - Google Patents

Description

I June 13, 1939.

R. F. PEO

REFRIGERATIYNG SYSTEM Filed Nov. 13, 1935 CONDENSER.

M @i H111! E VAPOBATOR.

.Z'Fg.

EXPANGION VALVE Edi 0i c7 Peaf panded refrigerant line from the evaporator unit S out permitting the introduction of air Patented June 13, 1939.

PATENT OFFICE REFBIGERATINGV sys'rnm itaiph r. Peo, Buffalo,

Engin Oorporetion, poration of New York Application November 13, 1935, Serial No. 49,503

6Claims.

This invention relates to a device for introducing a refrigerant into refrigerating systems withor other impurities togetherwith the refrigerant.

More specifically, this invention relates to a check valve adapted to be disposed in the exof a mechanical refrigerating system.

Heretofore, in charging mechanical refrigerating systems with any refrigerant which oper ates liquid at atmospheric pressures and room tem-- peraturesysuch as, for example, methylene chloride (CH-.012), a receiver or collecting tani:- has 11 provided in therefrigerating system with. a opening at the top thereof. The refriger ant has been'poured through this opening, after removing the plug, into the receiver until the desired charge was introduced. This'procedure. however, always results in the introduction of air and other impurities into the refrigerator system, and materially decreases the efliciency of the system.

It was therefore necessary to purge tem free from air after the refrigerant had been introduced therein by warming the condenser of the system and. running thecompressor pump until the high side of the system was above at-.

mospheric pressure. The plug at the top of the .receiver was then removed, and since the pressure inside of the receiver was greater than atmospheric pressure, any air trapped at'the top of the receiver above the liquid refrigerant therein would be blown out of the system. In order to complete the removal of air and other trapped gases in the refrigerant, it was necessary to repeat the purging operation in two or three successive steps.

This procedure involves considerable time and expense in running the compressor pump without obtaining any appreciable refrigerating eil'ect, and I have therefore now provided a device for mounting in the refrigerating aystem which permits the charging of the systemwith refrigerant, while at the same time sealing the system against introduction of air 'or other impurities.

frigerant.

It is therefore an object of this invention to liquid methylene rding to my invention,

is sucked into the Acco chloride or similar refrigerant system through a check valve preferably secured provide a simple charging device permitting the below atmospheric pressure and which is;

thesys the new charge of re- N. Y assignor to Honde Buflalo, N. Y3, a corintroduction of refrigerant into refrigerating systems while at the same timesealing the system against the introduction of air.

Another object of this invention is to provide a check valve device for attachment to the intake 5 orifice of the compressor pump in a refrigerating system vfor introducing refrigerant into the system.

A further object of this invention is to provide a refrigerant charging device for mounting in the intake line to the compressor pump of refrigerating systems.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent from the following detaileddescription of the annexed sheet of drawings, which disl5 closes a preferred embodiment of the invention.

On the drawing; Figure l is a diagrammatic view of a refrigerator system having an intake check valve incorporated therein according to this invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-sectiona1 view, with parts in elevation, taken substantially on the line 11-11 of Figure '1.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view takensubstantially along the line III-III of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line IV-IV of Figure 1.

As shown on the drawing;

In Figure 1, the cates a rotary compressor pump having a discharge outlet Ii for flowing'compressed refrigerant through a tube into a condenser ll, wherein the refrigerant is cooled by air'ilowing around the condenser, and-becomes-liquefled. as The liquefied refrigerant flows from the topof the condenser i3 intoa tube ll communicating with the receiver it, where it is collected for use.

I As shown,,the receiver II has a plug ll near the top thereof-which can be removed to purge the 40 system of any air trapped in the refrigerant.

Liquid refrigerant collected in the receiver it flows through a tube l'l into an expansion valve I t, where it is expanded intothelow side of the system through a tube ll andinto the'bottom header II of an ev porator unit indicated gen- I reference numeral ll indithe check valve device of this invention, indis v cated generally at 25. The device 25 is secured on the intake 2! to the compressor pump In.

It should be understood from the above description that'the compressor l reduces the pressure in the low side of the system between the expansion valve l8 and the intake 25 of the pump. The expanded refrigerant received by the pump is then compressed and pumped through the cooling coil Ii, wherein it is again liquefied and collected in the receiver IS.

The system described is therefore of the expanded refrigerant type wherein compressed or liquefied refrigerant is expanded through an evaporator unit to and perform its refrigerating function. The spent expanded refrigerant is then sucked into the intake side of a rotary compressor and discharged from the compressor at a pressure sufficient to cause its condensation in a condenser unit.

The intake check valve 25 ofthis invention, as best shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4, comprises a cast or forged metal housing 30 defining a chamher 3! therein with a recessed shoulder 32 at the bottom of the chamber 3| and a well or sump 33 atthe base of the housing below said shoulder.

The recessed shoulder 32 receives therein an annular collar or valve seat 34 which may be pressed into tight frictional engagement with the recess of the shouiden. The valve seat 31 receives a metal plate or disk 35 adapted to lie upon an upturned lip 38 of the valve seat 35 and effect a sealing of the sump 33 from the chamber 3i.

The top of the housing 30 is closed with a plate 37 which may conveniently be spun into or brazed onto the housing for sealing the chamber M. A rod 33 extends through'the central portion of the plate-31 and is brazed or soldered therein. The rod 33 carries a spider 39 at the bottom thereof spaced from the plate 35 a sum-- cient'distance to allow this plate to rise and fall in the chamber 3!, without permitting the plate to stand on edge. The spider 39 therefore acts as a top stop for the plate or disk 36.

An opening it of a comparatively large size is formed through the side wall of near the top thereof and communicates with a passageway H which may be conveniently formed integral with the housing 3|. The passageway ll terminates in an enlarged flange i2 adapted tobe directly secured to the intake 28 of the pump it.

As shown in Figure 2, the flange 12 has oppositely extending ears provided with openings l3 therein for receiving bolts (not shown) to secure the device 25 to the intake 28 of the pump in.

Asshown in Figures 1 and 4, the well or sump 33 has an opening ll through the side wall thereof near the bottom of the sump. This opening has a boss therearound. as shown in Figure 1, for receiving the tube" from the evaporator unit. The tube 24 may be sealed in the opening M by forcing the tube in the opening with the nut 45 secured on the boss ll of .the housing.

The bottom of the sump 3! has a small threaded opening 18 adapted to receive in threadedrelation therein the vertical branch 41 of a coupling member 4'1. The branch fl has a vertical passageway ca therethrough communicating with the sump 33 and with a horizontal passageway 49 of-the branch 41" of the coupling member. This branch 41" has an enlarged horizontal threaded bore 50 communicating with the passageway, A tapered seat ii is formed at the absorb heat from the unitthe housing 30 closed and the check 7 the high side expands due to the heat end of the bore 50 for receiving the tapered end 53 of a needle valve 54 which is threaded in the bore 50. The needle valve has a laterally extending shank 55 projecting beyond the end of the branch 41" provided with an end 56 for receiving a wrench or tool to screw the needle valve 54 into the bore so that the end 53 thereof is in tight-fitting engagement with the seat 5| or to space the needle valve end 53 away from the seat 5!.

A cap member 5'! is threaded around the end of the branch 41" and compresses a gasket 58 over the end of the branch l1 to seal the bore 51) from the outside. The cap 51 has an extending portion defining a well 59 in which the end 55 of the needle valve may be disposed and protected against injury.

The coupling member 41 also has another vertical branch "0 projecting from the bottom thereof and defining a vertical passageway til offset from the vertical passageway 48 but communicating with the bore 50. The branch l1 receives a cap 51 in threaded relation therearound for pressing a coupling 62 against the end of the passageway 60 in air-tight relation therewith. The coupling 62 carries a tube 63 having its interior communicating with the passagcway' 50 through an opening provided in the coupling 52.

When it is desired to system such as shown in Figure 1 with refrigerant, the needle valve 54 is opened so that the passageway H) of the coupling l1 communicates with the passageway 48 through the bore 50 and passageway l9. Before the needle valve is i opened; however, the tube 63 communicating with the passageway 50 of the coupling 4'! is disposed in a container it Figure l) for liquid refrigerant, such as methylene chloride, below the liquid level therein. The compressor pump it thereupon sucks refrigerant from the container 84 into the sump 33 of the device 25 and the check valve 35 thereupon opens to permit the refrlgerant to flow through the passageway ll into the inlet 26 of the pump. Since the tube 63 is maintained below the level of liquid refrigerant in the container 64, and since the refrigerant is sucked from the container, no air is introduced into the system with the refrigerant. After a sufficient amount of refrigerant has been introduced into the system, the needle valve 51 is valve 35 thereupon drops by gravity to be seated on its seat 36. When the refrigerating system is operating, this check valve is only opened when the pressure in the evaporator is greater than the pressure at the intake of the pump. Under these conditions the spent expanded opens the valve 3! and flows into the pump to be compressed. In the event that back pressure is built up in the pump it does not affect the operation of the low side of the refrigerating sys-' tem since the check valve 35 will close and seal the evaporator from the pump until the pres pump. This sealing feature is important in the usual intermittent operation of the pump since after the pump is stopped any refrigerant collected in the intake thereof or leaking back from of the charge a refrigerating refrigerant from the evaporator motor and tends to increase the pressure in the low side of the system. The valve, however, seals the lowside of the systemfrom. the pump until the pressure within the evaporator is greater than the pressure in thepump. As a result the reduced pressure in the low side is utilized completely to expand refrigerant in the evaporator for performing its cooling function.

I am aware that many changes may be made and numerous details of construction may be .varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and I, therefore, do not purpose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:,

1. In a mechanical refrigerating system of the expanded refrigerant type including an evaporator and a suction pump for removing spent refrigerant from the evaporator, a check valve interposed between the evaporator and the suction pump to arrest a back flow of'material out of the pump and a tube communicating with the evaporator side ofsaid check valve adapted to be connected to a source of refrigerant for charging the system.

2. In a refrigerating system of the expanded refrigerant type including an evaporator unit and a compressor pump in operative assembly, the improvement which comprises a check valve interposed between the evaporator and compressor operable valve communicating with the inlet side of said check valve, said operable valve adapted to open said inlet side of the check valve to a source of refrigerant.

4. In a mechanical refrigerating system including a compressor pump, the improvement which comprises a check valve having the outlet side thereof communicating with the inlet of said compressor pump, said check valve adapted to arrest a back flow of material out of thepump, and means communicating with the inlet side of said check valve for connectionwith a source of refrigerant to charge the refrigerating system.

5. In a mechanical refrigerating system including an evaporator unit and a compressor pump, theimprovement which comprises a charging device interposed between the evaporator and the inlet side of said pump, said charging device comprising a housing defining 'an upper chamber and a well belowsaid chamber, a check valve between said chamber and said well adapted to open upwardly only for connecting the well with the chamber, said housing having an outletopening joining said upper chamber with the inlet to the pump, and an inlet opening joining said well with the evaporator, said housing also having a third opening communicatingwith the well and a valve coupling secured in said third opening adapted to be Joined with a source of refrigerant.

6. The method of charging a mechanical refrigerating system of the compressor-condenserevaporator type including a check valve havingan outlet communicating with the intake side of the compressor and an inlet communicating with the evaporator, without incorporating air into the system, and without loss of refrigerant from the system, which comprises operating the compressor to reduce the pressure in the check valve below atmospheric pressure, venting the inlet side of the check valve to a source of liquid refrigerant below the liquid level of said source,

sucking refrigerant through the check valve into the compressor, and arresting anyback flow of material out of said compressor.

RALPH F. PEO.

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