US1922942A - Combination receiver and regenerator unit for refrigerating plants - Google Patents

Description

G PLANTS N. H. GAY

Aug. 15, 1933.

COMBINATION RECEIVER AND REGENERATOR UNIT FOR REFRIGERATIN Filed Jan. 6, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet l M .QQK EQRK I (Ittomegs Aug. 15, 1933. N H Y 1,922,942

COMBINATION RECEIVER AND REGENERATOR UNIT FOR REFRIGERATING PLANTS Filed Jan. 6, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I r J0 fwflfi, 1 ,60, 7

9g 1 {a a, 4] 1 Q --T" 3nnentor Patented Aug. 15, 1933 UNITED STATES COMBINATION RECEIVER AND REGEN- ERATOR UNIT FOR REFRIGERATING PLANTS Norman H. Gay, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application January 6, 1932. Serial No. 585,081

17 Claims. (01. 62-115) This invention relates to improvements in refrigerating plants, and more particularly concerns an assembly whereby certain parts of such plants, customarily manufactured separately and connected by piping and valves, may be combined into units whereby the amount of piping and the number of valves is reduced.

One of the features of the present invention is the provision of a refrigerating plant adapted for automatic and semi-automatic operation, and comprised of a single unit for receiving the liquid refrigerant with means for recovering or regenerating refrigerant medium f-rom trapped oil and foreign gas, and means for controlling the flow of liquid refrigerant from the high pressure or condensing portion of the plant to the low pressure or evaporating portion thereof.

Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a unit for a refrigerating system comprising a receiver and a regenerator, combined in a single structure.

A further feature of the present invention is the provision of a receiver including a control float and valve, and a regenerator, with other associatedvparts, the receiver and'regenerator being assembled as an integral piece.

With these and other objects in view as will appear in the course of the following specification and claims, an illustrative embodiment of the invention is set forth on the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view showing the relationship of the parts of a refrigerating system including the present invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view, on a larger scale, of the receiver and regenerator unit.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the same.

Figure 4 is a sectional view substantially on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figures 5 to 8 show a modified form of receiver.

Figure 8 shows a further modification in the receiver.

In these drawings, the compressor 10 receives gaseous refrigerant and pumps it, under increased pressure, through a pipe line 11 and an oil trap 12, past a shut-off valve 13 into a condenser 14 where the refrigerant is condensed to a liquid and flows through an outlet pipe 15 and shut-off valve 16 into the receiver. 1 With some types of condensers, e. g. some shell condensers where the lighter noncondensable gases accumulate in the condenser, such non-condensable gases may enter an outlet or purging pipe 1'7 andpass a shut-off valve 18. It will be understood that such gases of noncondensable nature commonly referred to as foul or foreign gases, are usually present because of impurities in the refrigerant employed, and be-v cause of leakages from the atmosphere into the system. These gases may be heavier or lighter than the refrigerant gas itself. In some types of condensers, both the heavier and lighter noncondensed gases pass along with the condensed refrigerant in pipe 15 to the receiver 19. With other types, as referred to above, only the heavier non-condensed gases pass forward through the pipe 15. In any event, the ultimate result in the present system is to bring the non-condensed gases into. a regenerating coil as will be described hereinafter.

The liquid leaving the receiver-chamber 19 is controlled by a float 20 with an associated valve 44. This valve 44 is illustrated conventionally as comprising a disc having a perforation therethrough which, according to the position of float 20, is in registry or out of registry with a corre-'. sponding aperture in the valve body, and thus permits or shuts off communication between the interior of the receiver 19, through pipe 44a, with the liquid refrigerant line 21, which has a shutoff valve 22 for controlling communication with the evaporator. .23. The liquid refrigerant evaporates in the evaporator 23 in known manner and thus reduces the temperature of the medium surrounding the evaporator, and the resulting gaseous refrigerant finally escapes through apipe 24 and shut-off valve 25 back to the compressor, for a return in cycle. Any nonevaporable' liquid, such as oil, water, etc., in the evaporator is drawn off into a trap 26 from which it may pass through a shut-off valve27 into a common liquid purging line 28. The oil from the gaseous refrigerant trap 12 is likewise passed through a shut-off valve 29 to a pipe line 30 and thus into the common liquid purging line 28. The

pipe 28 passes the oil or other liquid contained therein through a valve 31 into the upper regenerator casing or chamber 32 of the receiver-regenerator unit. It will be understood that if it be desired to operate independently of the float valve, as for example, if the valve 14 become obstructed for any reason, the valve 20a may be opened to a desired degree so that the liquid may flow from the receiver-chamber 19 through pipe 21a into pipe 21.

A gaseous refrigerant pipe 33 having a shutoff valve 34 leads from the top of the regenerator housing 32 and communicates with pipe 24 and thus with thecompressor 10.

As shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4, the lower or receiver housing 19 has the closing bottom wall and the top wall 41. The pipe 15 enters it between these walls, and a bailie 42 is provided which terminates short of the top and bottom of the same to direct the entering refrigerant liquid downwardly and gas upwardly within the receiver, so that the liquid refrigerant establishes a pool in the receiver, while gaseous refrigerant as Well as non-condchsible gas may collect in the upper portion thereof. The fioat 20 is mounted on a fioat rod 43 which communicates with a valve structure 44 carried by a flange 45 which is bolted to an offset 46 on the wall of the receiver. Any oil or other heaviernoneevaporable liquid in the refrigerant liquid may settle out in this receiver and collect in the bottom thereof, from which it may be drawn off fromtime to time through a pipe line 47 which passes through the upper wall 41 and enters the housing 32 of the regenerator unit near its top, being provided with a shut-off valve 48. The upper housing 32, containing the regenerator parts, is'fixed to the top wall 41 of the receiver, by welding, and is closedat the top by a wall 49; The pipe 33 passes centrally through the top wall'49 and thus establishes communication with the interior of housing' 32. The gas purging pipe 17 likewise passes through this top wall, and establishes communication with the interior of coil 50.,

"Located within theregenerator unit isa coil 50 having its lower end 51 passed'through the top wall 41 of the receiver and thus establishing communication with the interior of the receiver. The uppere'nd 52 of this coil extendsthrough the wall of housing 32 and connects with ashortpipe 53 having a shut-off valve 54 leading to a nipple r generatoranu is connected to'thecoil 50'at' an intermediatepoint of the height thereof, so that purged gas is brought into this coil at a poin betweenth'e top and bottomthereof.

'Adraw-ofi pipe fio'passes through the housing 32 and opens'into the regenerator near the bottom therofQc'lo'sely adjacent the top wall 41" of the receiver, andfis provided: with a shut-01f valve 61 andadischargepipefizwhich(Figure 1) isillustrated as leadingto a bucket 63.

The nipples maybe provided in the'r'eceiver housing andc'onnect'ed by valves '71 with a gauge glass '72 whichiper mi ts readin g the height of re friger'ant within the receiver. During operation ofth'e plant in its cyclefoiland'other non-evaporable liquid is separated'in the'traps {12fand 26, and inthe receiver 19; while'non-condens'able' gasis conducted from the condenserinto coil 50, either directly through 'the pur'ging pipe 17 forlight non cond'ensable gas'ajss'et'forth above, or by passage 'into the receiver 19 along with the'liquid and thence upwardly'into'the coil end 51. During the'course of the circulation in cycle, the "attendant inayopen valve 27 from time to time to relieve the accumulated liquid'from trap 26 into pipe 28: and alternating therewith the valve 29 may be open to cause the'relief of liquidfromthe'trap l2 into thepip'e28. During this latter operation, "the pressure existing in the compressorand condenser causes the forcing of all liquid in pipe28 into theupper' or regenerator chamber 32. Normally th'e'valve 29isleft partly open until the 'h'eat 'of gases p'assing valve 29 causes a warming of the branch pipe 30, whereupon the valve 29 is closed again. In this way the liquid is forced from pipe 28 through valve 31 into the regenerator chamber 32. As is well known, a considerable quantity of the refrigerant used is normally dissolved in the oil and other liquid separated in the trap 26 and in the receiver l and usually also in the liquid separated at 12. The liquid from the traps, along with such gas as may develop there due to drop in pressure in line 28, causing entrained refrigerant liquid to expand, passes onward through valve 31into regenerator body 32, where the process of regeneration causes the refrigerant to evaporate and pass out through line 33 and back to the compressor, while the remaining non-evaporable liquids are drawnoff through line 60 and valve 61 into a receptacle 63 and disposed of.

The purged or foul gas passing through pipe 17 or to the receiver 19 through pipe 15 enters the coil 50 at the bottom or a part of the height thereof. This coil, however, is being constantly chilled by the evaporation of the refrigerant contained in the entering oily liquid which surrounds the coil. Refrigerant gas accompanying i the non-condensable gas coming in contact with the interior of this chilled coil is condensed to a liquid. Hence, the foul gas is continuously being deprived of its refrigerant gas content, the condenscd liquid from this latter gas passing out 1 through the end 51 of the coil and entering the receiver. Non-condensable'gas from the receiver or from line 17 may pass continuously upward in the coil and thus be brought to the extreme upper end of this coil. It will be noted that by introducing the purged gas into the coil, a storage chamber is provided in which the foul gas is substantially quiescent and hence may befreed of its admixed refrigerant gas. From time to time the valve 54 may be opened and the foul gas 1 blown off at which time any traces of refrigerant gas remaining may be absorbed in the vessel 57. Further, it will be noted that any oil separating in the receiver portion of the unit will be blown off upon opening the valve 48 by the pressure differences existing in the receiver and regeneratorQand this ascends in pipe 47 and enters the top of the regenerator unit. In-the form of execution shown on the drawing, the fioat valve is limited in'its upward movement by the engagement of the fioat rod 43 with the inner-wall of the projection 46.

"'In disassembling the refrigerating system for repair, the various shut-off valves'may be closed.

generator-receiver unit'by closing the valves 18, 34, 31, 16 and 22, and disconnecting the pipes which'connect these valves with'thejunit, e. g. by separating the flanges of valvesl8. Usually, the receiver 19 is completely drained by opening valve 4.8{aiidclosing the inlet valve 16,- so that substantially all refrigerant is Withdrawn from the receiver itself. Priorto this operation, as is usual, the 'valves '18 and 16 are closed and the com- Thus-it is possible "to separate the complete repres'sor operated so that all refrigerant medium 40 is p'asSed intothe portion of the system external to "the regenerator andreceiver units. By combining the receiver and r'egeneratorinto a single structure, then'umber of'shut oifvalves required is gr atly reduced, and therewith the possibi1i In Figure 5 the housing 19a has the bottom wall 400. and top wall 41a, together with the liquid inlet conduit 15, the gas outlet conduit 51, the projecting tubular piece 46a having the closing wall 45 in which is received the liquid refrigerant outlet line 44a from the float valve 44 to the conduit 21; In this construction, however, the tubular member 46a does not terminate at or adjacent the receiver wall, but extends across the receiver chamber, substantially the upper half of it being cut away along the lines 46s. The extreme end may be joined by a welding seam 4612 to the opposite wall of the receiver 19a, while a bottom aperture 46p isprovided therein between this wall and the baffle 42m, which latter in the present instance extends from an upper end at which it obstructsthe free fall of liquid from the liquid line 15, down to the bottom of the extended portion of the tubular member 46a, to which it may be welded. Extending upwardly from the lines 463 (Figure '7), at which the tubular member 46a was cut and joined for example by welding to this member, are the baflie walls 42s which'extend chordally (Figure 6) across the receiver chamber and rise to a point above the maximum liquid level which is indicated by the dot-and-dash lines Max in' Figure 5. The bafiie 4250 is joined to these walls so that a very rigid baffle structure exists within the chamber and around the float 20.

With this construction, the liquid entering from the liquid line 15 comes against the baffle 42m, and the gas therein may pass upward over the baffle walls 425, 42m and into-the upper part of the chamber, while the liquid moves freely downward inside of these baifle walls and through the aperture 46p to the bottom of the receiver chamber. As the liquid level rises in the receiver chamber, it finally overflows the baffles and passes into the float trough formed by the walls 46a, 42s, and thus raises the float 20 and moves the float valve 44 in the manner described above. In this way, less turbulence exists within the portion of the receiver chamber external to the float trough, and hence a better segregation of the non-evaporable liquid may be accomplished by gravity, this liquid settling into the bottom of the chamber so that it may be withdrawn through the pipe conduit 47. Hence, the structure leads to a greater efflciency in the separation of the of the chamber, while the vertical baflie partition 42y is substantially identical with the baffle 42 of Figure 4, and preferably is secured to and stiffened by the end plate 4670, as by a weld seam 42ya.

In general, the operation of the device of Figure 8 is the same as that of Figure 5, except that the liquid in the receiver chamber does not rise to above the maximum level before it enters the trough.

It is obvious that the invention may be modifled in many ways within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:-

1. In a refrigerating system including a compressor, a condenser, a receiver and an evaporator and pipes for connecting the same, a gas purging line connected to said condenser, the combination of a unit includingsaid receiver and a regenerator, a coil within said regenerator in communication with the upper portion of said receiver, a connection between said purging line and said coil, means for introducing liquid refrigerant into said regenerator and means for withdrawing gaseous refrigerant therefrom, and a non-condensable gas discharge line connected to the upper end of said coil and including a discharge valve.

2. A refrigerating system as in claim 1, in which a trap is provided in said system between the condenser and the evaporator for separating non-evaporable liquid from the refrigerant liquid, and said introducing means establishes communication between said trap and said regenerator for introducing mixed non-evaporable and refrigerant liquid into said regenerator.

3. A refrigerating system as in claim 1, in which said gas purging line communicates with said coil at a point intermediate the height of said coil.

4. A refrigerating system as in claim 1, in which a non-evaporable liquid discharge line establishes communication between the bottom of said receiver and the top of said regenerator, and a valve is located in said liquid discharge line for closing the same.

5. In a refrigerating system including a compressor, a condenser, a receiver, an evaporator and conduits for connecting the same, the combination of a unit including said receiver and a regenerator, a coil within said regenerator in communication with the upper portion of said receiver, a float in said receiver, a valve located in the conduit between the receiver and the evaporator and operated by said float, means for withdrawing gaseous refrigerant from said regenerator, and a non-condensable gas discharge line connected to the upper end'of said coil.

6. A receiver structure for a refrigerating system comprising a housing, a vertical partition in said housing spaced from the top and bottom thereof, a refrigerant liquid inlet line communicating with said receiver at one side of said partition whereby gaseous refrigerant may pass over the top of said partition and liquid refrigerant under the bottom of said partition, a float within the receiver housing at the opposite side of said partition, a conduit and a valve therein for the outlet of liquid from said housing, a swinging float arm for connecting said float and valve, and means rigid with the receiver housing for limiting the movement of said float arm.

7. A unitary receiver-regenerator structure for a refrigerating system, comprising walls providing two separate chambers at different levels,

, a coil within the upper chamber and itself communicating with said lower chamber for providing an upward passage for refrigerating gas contaminated with non-condensable gas into said coil and downward drainage for refrigerant liquid out of said coil into said lower chamber, a

,non-condensable gas discharge line leading from the upper end of said coil, a refrigerant gas suc tion line communicating with said upper chamber, means for introducing refrigerant liquid into said upper chamber, and means for introducing refrigerant and non-condensable gas into said lower chamber.

8. A unitary receiver-regenerator structure as in claim 7 for a refrigerator system which includes a trap for separating non-evaporable liquid from refrigerant liquid, in which said liquid introducing means is connected with said trap for-introducing mixed non-evaporable and refrigerant liquid into said upper chamber and outside said coil.

9. Aunitary receiver-regenerator.structure as in claim 7 for a refrigerator system which includes a trap for separating non-evaporable liquid from refrigerant liquid, in which said liquid introducing means is connected with said trap for introducing mixed non-evaporable and refrigerant liquid into said upper chamber and outside said coil, and including means connected with the bottom of said upper ChELlIIbGI fOI withdrawing non-evaporable liquid therefrom.

10. In a refrigerating system having a compressor, a condenser, a receiver, and evaporator and conduits for connecting the same in circuit, the combination of a regenerator housing, a coil within said housing and communicating with said receiver and providing upward passage of refrigerating gascontaminated with non-con densable gas from said receiver into saidcoil and downward drainage for refrigerant liquid from said coil into said receiver, a non-condensable gas discharge line leading from the upper end of said coil, a refrigerant gas suction line for establishing communication between said housing and said compressor, means for introducing a mixture of refrigerant liquid and non-evaporable liquid into said housing, and means whereby non-evaporable liquid may be withdrawn from said housing.

'11. A system'as in claim 10 including a purged gas line from said condenser for establishing communication with said coil at an intermediate point of the height thereof. a

12. In a refrigerating system having a compressor, a condenser, a receiver, an evaporator, and conduits for connecting the same in circuit, a non-evaporable liquid trap located between said compressor and condenser, a non-evaporable liquid trap located at the outlet of said evaporator, a regeneratorhousing, conduits including valves for connecting said traps with said regenerator housing, a conduit for connecting said housing with the compressor so that said housing may be evacuated, a purged gas cooling means loca ed within'said regenerator, and a connection from said cooling means for providing pressure induced gas fiow from and gravitational flow of refrigerant liquid into said receiver.

13. A refrigerating system as in claim 12, including a non-evaporable liquid discharge line from the bottom of said receiver into said regenerator, and a valve for closing said line.

14. A'refrigerating system .having a compressor, a condenser, a receiver, an evaporator, and conduits for connecting the same in circuit, a nonevaporable liquid trap located between said compressor and condenser, a non-evaporable liquid trap located at the outlet of said evaporator, a regenerator housing, lines including valves for connecting said traps with said regenerator housing, a line for connecting said'housing with the compressor so that said housing may be evacuated, a purged gas cooling means located within said housing, and 'a valved connection from said receiver into said regenerator housing so that pressure in said receiver will force liquid therefrom into said regenerator housing, whereby the evacuation of said regenerator housing will produce a refrigeration of said purged gas cooling means.

vl5. A refrigerating system as in claim 14 including a valve in the conduit from the receiver to the evaporator, and a float in said receiver for operating said valve.

16. A receiver-regenerator structure for a refrigerating system comprising walls for providing a closed receiver, means for admitting refrigerant liquid and non-condensable gas into said receiver, means for withdrawing refrigerant liquidv from said receiver, a heat-exchange regenerator comprising a heat-absorbing portion and a heatyielding portion, means for passing mixed refrigerant and non-condensable gases from said receiver into said heat-yielding portion, means for admitting mixed, refrigerant liquid and nonevaporable liquid into said heat-absorbing portion, and a suction conduit for evacuating said heat-absorbing portion.

17. A receiver-regenerator structure as in claim '16, in which said liquid admitting means includes a conduit in communication with said receiver near its bottom whereby mixed nonevaporable liquid and refrigerant liquid may'flow from saidreceiver into said heat-absorbing portion.

NORMAN H. GAY.

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