WO2012062678A1

WO2012062678A1 - An accumulator and a cooling device wherein the accumulator is used

Info

Publication number: WO2012062678A1
Application number: PCT/EP2011/069482
Authority: WO
Inventors: Aydin Celik; Husnu Kerpicci; Omer Unal
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2010-11-12
Filing date: 2011-11-04
Publication date: 2012-05-18
Also published as: CN103189691A; EP2638338B1; CN103189691B; PL2638338T3; EP2638338A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an accumulator (1) which provides the refrigerant in the liquid phase and the refrigerant in the gas phase to be separated from each other effectively and a cooling device (2) wherein the said accumulator (1) is used. By increasing the effectiveness of phase separation, the accumulator (1) reduces the risk of entering of the refrigerant in the liquid phase to the compressor (10) and accumulates the excess refrigerant. The accumulator (1) of the present invention which is suitable for using in a cooling device (2) is disposed between the evaporator (9) and the compressor (10).

Description

AN ACCUMULATOR AND A COOLING DEVICE WHEREIN THE ACCUMULATOR IS USED

The present invention relates to an accumulator, which is suitable for using in a cooling device and whereof the effectiveness of the separation of the refrigerant in the liquid phase and the refrigerant in the gas phase from each other is increased, and to a cooling device wherein the accumulator is used.

Cooling devices comprise a compressor, a condenser, an expansion member, an evaporator and an accumulator between the evaporator and the compressor. By means of these members, the refrigeration steps of the refrigeration cycle are realized. The refrigerant, which continuously flows in the refrigeration cycle, flows in the two-phase state in some areas. The refrigerant in the liquid phase and the refrigerant in the gas phase are dispersed within each other. In most stages of the refrigeration cycle, these two phases move together, and the amount of the refrigerant in the liquid phase entering the evaporator and the amount of the refrigerant in the gas phase entering the compressor are desired to be increased. Entering of the refrigerant in the liquid phase into the compressor adversely affects the efficiency of the cooling device. Similarly, entering of the refrigerant in the gas phase into the evaporator adversely affects the refrigeration efficiency.

Accumulators are used in cooling devices in order to increase the effectiveness of the separation of the refrigerant in the liquid phase and the refrigerant in the gas phase, which flow together and one over the other in the refrigeration cycle, from each other, and hence in order to increase the refrigeration effectiveness and to accumulate the large amount of refrigerant in the liquid phase.

In the state of the art German Patent No. DE19502996, an accumulator, which is located at the evaporator outlet and the compressor inlet and bent towards the inlet channel side wall, is described.

In the state of the art United States of America Patent Document No. US636742, an accumulator having a T-shaped inlet channel is described.

In the state of the art United States of America Patent No. US6223555, the accumulator used in the refrigeration cycle is described. A tube, which provides the refrigerant exiting the evaporator to be supplied into the accumulator by coming to the accumulator through the accumulator inlet channel, and a guide disposed in front of the end of the tube in the accumulator, are described.

In the state of the art United States of America Patent Application No. US3563053, a guide, which is located in the inlet tube and on the inlet tube wall through the inlet tube disposed on the side wall, is described.

The aim of the present invention is the realization of an accumulator, whereof the effectiveness of the separation of the refrigerant in the liquid phase and the refrigerant in the gas phase from each other is increased and a cooling device wherein the said accumulator is used.

An accumulator and a cooling device, wherein the accumulator is used, realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the first claim and the respective claims thereof, are explained in the attached claims.

The accumulator, which is used in the separation of the refrigerant, that is in liquid and gas phases, into the liquid and gas phases, comprises a body, at least an inlet and at least an outlet through which the refrigerant exits the body.

The accumulator of the present invention comprises a tube having at least one opening which extends from the inlet towards the inside of the body, faces the side walls of the body and provides the refrigerant to enter the body and at least one protrusion disposed on the side wall of the body in the vicinity of the opening level or at the same level with the opening in the vertical axis so as to face the opening extending towards the inside of the body.

The opening and the protrusion are very closely positioned almost oppositely without contacting each other such that a space is left therebetween, and they are situated almost at the same level with respect to each other or the opening is situated in the vicinity of the protrusion level. By restricting the flow of the refrigerant by means of this position, the refrigerant exiting the opening is provided to impact the protrusion faster.

The tube, which delivers refrigerant from the inlet on the base of the body towards the inside of the body, is bent in the portion wherein the opening is disposed so as to extend towards the side wall of the body or is disposed in the body with a certain inclination with respect to the vertical axis. While the refrigerant exiting the opening impacts the protrusion and the refrigerant in the liquid phase proceeds to the base of the body with the effect of gravity, the refrigerant in the gas phase proceeds to the opening disposed on the ceiling of the body. The protrusion provides a surface area to which the liquid droplets on the body side wall cling. Thus, a greater amount of refrigerant is separated into the liquid and gas phases.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, the protrusion is positioned in the vertical axis so as to face the opening from just above the level of the opening. The refrigerant exiting the opening impacts the protrusion when it is directed to the base of the body. Thus, the refrigerant, which is separated into phases by impacting the body side wall, accumulates in the base of the body by draining from the surface of the protrusion located at the bottom with respect to the opening.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, the protrusion is positioned in the vertical axis so as to face the opening from just below the level of the opening. One part of the refrigerant is directed to the base of the body and the surface of the protrusion facing the base of the body prevents the refrigerant in the liquid phase from being directed to the ceiling of the body by serving as a barrier. Since the refrigerant rising towards the outlet impacts the protrusion, the refrigerant in the liquid phase and the refrigerant in the gas phase are separated from each other. Thus, the effectiveness of phase separation is increased.

In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, two protrusions, which are disposed one over the other almost around the same level in the vertical axis following each other, are disposed on the side wall of the body. The opening is located in the vertical axis, almost aligned with the middle point of the two protrusions disposed one over the other. By means of the two protrusions, the surface area to which the droplets of the refrigerant in the liquid phase cling is increased more and a two stage phase separation operation is realized. Thus, the protrusions and the openings positioned at different heights create a step each for phase separation.

In the fifth embodiment of the present invention, the opening is positioned so as to face and be almost aligned with the protrusion, which is one of the two protrusions disposed at different heights from each other in the vertical axis and which is positioned above, close to the ceiling of the body, so as to spray the refrigerant to the protrusion. Thus, the refrigerant does not disperse to between the two protrusions and the phase separation is effectively realized.

In the sixth embodiment of the present invention, the almost Y-shaped tube is divided into more than one arm bent in opposite directions at different heights from each other and each of which has an opening provided on its end. The protrusions are located in the vicinity of the level of the openings and just below the level of the openings. Due to the height difference between the openings, the pressure value that triggers the flow decreases in the flow of the refrigerant flowing in the tube. Thus, phase separation is performed easily.

In the seventh embodiment of the present invention, the almost T-shaped tube is divided into two arms at the same level and such that the arms are in opposite directions, and two protrusions are disposed in the vicinity of the openings at the end of the arms, just below the level of the openings. By means of the two openings and two protrusions, the phase separation is performed twice. Thus, the amount of separation of the refrigerant in the liquid phase and the refrigerant in the gas phase from each other in unit time is increased.

In the eighth embodiment of the present invention, the tube extending to the outlet is divided into two arms in the opposite direction at each step so as to create a step for phase separation. In the vertical axis, protrusions, which are oppositely positioned with respect to each other, one over the other and following each other, are disposed just above the point almost aligned with the openings. The number of the openings is equal to the number of the protrusions. Thus, the effectiveness of phase separation is increased by restricting the flow of the refrigerant. Each of the levels, at which the tube is divided into arms in opposite directions, serves as a step for phase separation. Since the number of the steps increases, the effectiveness of phase separation increases.

In the ninth embodiment of the present invention, the cross section of the protrusion, the base of which is located on the side wall of the body, is in triangular form.

By means of the present invention, an accumulator, which is used in the cooling devices with refrigeration cycles having liquid and gas phases and which comprises structures that increase the effectiveness of the separation of these two phases, is obtained. Moreover, by means of the said accumulator which increases the effectiveness of phase separation, the risk of entering of the refrigerant in the liquid phase to the compressor is reduced.

The accumulator and the cooling device wherein the said accumulator is used realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention are illustrated in the attached figures, where:

is the schematic view of the refrigeration cycle.
is the schematic view of the accumulator in the first embodiment of the present invention.
is the schematic view of the accumulator in the second embodiment of the present invention.
is the schematic view of the accumulator in the third embodiment of the present invention.
is the schematic view of the accumulator in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
is the schematic view of the accumulator in the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
is the schematic view of the accumulator in the sixth embodiment of the present invention.
is the schematic view of the accumulator in the seventh embodiment of the present invention.
is the schematic view of the accumulator in the eighth embodiment of the present invention.

The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

Accumulator
Cooling device
Body
Inlet
Outlet
Tube
107. Opening
108. Protrusion
Evaporator
Compressor
Expansion Member
Condenser

By means of the accumulator (1) of the present invention, which is suitable for using in cooling devices (2) wherein the refrigeration process is performed by the circulation of a refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle, the refrigerant in the liquid phase and the refrigerant in the gas phase are provided to be separated from each other.

The accumulator (1) of the present invention comprises

a body (3),
at least one inlet (4),
at least one outlet (5) through which the refrigerant exists the body (3),
at least one tube (6) comprising at least one opening (7) extending from the inlet (4) to the inside of the body (3), facing the side walls of the body (3) and which provides the refrigerant to enter the body (3),

and

at least one protrusion (8) which extends to the inside of the body (3) and which is located on the side wall of the body (3) at the same level of the opening (7) or in the vicinity of the level of the opening (7) in the vertical axis so as to face the opening (7).The protrusion (8) and the opening (7) are positioned almost oppositely without contacting each other. By means of the protrusion (8) and the openings (7) which are positioned such that a space is left therebetween and they are very close to each other as described above, the effectiveness of phase separation is increased.

The protrusion (8) extends towards the opening (7) inside the body (3). The movement of the refrigerant, which impacts the side wall of the body (3) upon exiting the opening (7), is directed and/or restricted by means of at least one protrusion (8). By means of the opening (7) and the protrusion (8) disposed at or around the level of each other (7, 8) in the vertical axis, the movement of the refrigerant, which exits the opening (7) and impacts the side wall of the body (3), inside the body (3) is restricted (Figure 2). The refrigerant is not allowed to disperse inside the body (3) and the refrigerant is provided to flow through a restricted area. Therefore, the flow rate and momentum of the refrigerant increase. Thus, the refrigerant that exits the opening (7) impacts the protrusion (8) faster and the refrigerant in the liquid phase and the refrigerant in the gas phase are separated from each other. The gas particles having unstable structure shift to the liquid phase due to the effect of impacting and thus the effectiveness of separation is increased.

Moreover, the inlet (4) is provided on the base of the body (3) and the outlet (5) is disposed on the ceiling of the body (3). While the refrigerant in the liquid phase is directed to the base of the body (3) with the effect of gravity, the refrigerant in the gas phase is directed to the outlet (5). The protrusion (8) increases the area of the surface to which the liquid droplets on the side wall of the body (3) cling. Therefore, in the refrigerant flow, the amount of the refrigerant in the liquid phase that is separated from the refrigerant is increased. In this embodiment, the tube (6) extends towards the side wall of the body (3), by the end portion of thereof, whereon the opening (7) is located, bending.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, the protrusion (8) is disposed just above the level of the opening (7) in the vertical axis so as to face the opening (7) (Figure 3). Thus, the refrigerant, which is separated into phases by impacting the body (3) side wall, accumulates in the base of the body (3) by draining from the surface of the protrusion (8) located at the bottom with respect to the opening (7).

In the third embodiment of the present invention, the protrusion (8) is disposed just below the level of the opening (7) in the vertical axis (Figure 4). Thus, the surface of the protrusion (8) that faces the base of the body (3) serves a barrier, which prevents the refrigerant in the liquid phase from being directed to the ceiling of the body (3), and provides the refrigerant in the liquid phase to be directed to the base of the body (3) by draining from the side walls of the body (3). Thus, the flow of the refrigerant towards the base of the body (3) by exiting the opening (7) and impacting the side wall of the body (3) is facilitated. On the other hand, the refrigerant that rises to the ceiling of the body (3) impacts the protrusion (8) and due to the effect of impacting, the refrigerant in the liquid phase is separated from the refrigerant in the gas phase. Thus, the effectiveness of phase separation is increased.

In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the body (3) comprises two protrusions (8, 108) disposed one over the other on the side walls thereof. The opening (7) is disposed at the level corresponding to between the two protrusions (8, 108) in the vertical axis and extends towards almost the middle point of the said protrusions (8, 108) (Figure 5). The two protrusions (8.108) further increase the area of the surface to which the liquid droplets on the side wall of the body (3) cling. By the area of the surface to which the liquid droplets cling being increased, the amount of the refrigerant in the liquid phase separated from the refrigerant in the gas phase is increased. Thus, the effectiveness of phase separation is increased. By means of the two protrusions (8, 108), the two stage phase separation operation is realized. The refrigerant, which is directed to the ceiling of the body (3) by exiting the opening (7), is separated to phases by impacting the first protrusion (8) located above, which is one of the protrusions (8, 108) positioned one over the other. The surface of the first protrusion (8) that faces the base of the body (3) serves as a barrier and provides the liquid refrigerant droplets that impact the said surface to be directed to the base of the body (3) from the surface of the side wall of the body (3). The protrusions (8, 108) positioned so as to follow each other serve as a step each for phase separation. Thus, a more effective phase separation is realized.

In the fifth embodiment of the present invention, the opening (7) is positioned so as to face the protrusion (8) located above, which is one of the protrusions (8, 108) positioned one over the other (Figure 6). Thus, the refrigerant is provided to be directed firstly to the protrusion (8) located above and to be separated into phases there without dispersing between the two protrusions (8, 108).

In the sixth embodiment of the present invention, the tube (6) is divided into more than one arm, each of which has an opening (7) disposed on its end (Figure 7). The tube (6) is almost Y-shaped. The arms of the tube (6) are not at the same level and the tube (6) is divided into two arms which are one over the other and opposite to each other. Since the openings (7, 107) are located at different heights, the pressure that triggers the flow of the refrigerant in the tube (6) decreases. The protrusion (8) is located in the vertical axis in the vicinity of the level of each opening (7, 107) and just below the level of the opening (7, 107). By means of the said positioning, the liquid refrigerant is provided to be drained to the base of the body (3) by impacting the side wall of the body (3) and the protrusion (8). Due to the protrusions (8, 108) disposed at different heights, the pressure difference that triggers the flow decreases and thus the flow rate of the refrigerant decreases. Thus, the refrigerant in the liquid phase is separated from the refrigerant in the gas phase more easily.

In the seventh embodiment of the present invention, the tube (6) is divided into two arms from the same level such that the arms are in opposite directions (Figure 8). The tube (6) is almost T-shaped. In the vicinity of the openings (7, 107) which are disposed oppositely at the same level, two protrusions (8, 108) are provided just below the level of the openings (7, 107). By means of the arms divided into two and the two protrusions (8, 108), the phase separation is performed twice. Thus, the amount of separation of the refrigerant in the liquid phase and the refrigerant in the gas phase in unit time is increased.

In the eighth embodiment of the present invention, the openings (7, 107) are disposed one over the other and at more than one level so as to perform phase separation in more than one step. From the inlet (4) to the outlet (5) in the accumulator (1), the protrusions (8, 108) are disposed oppositely so as to be at the same level and in opposite directions. The tube (6) extending from the inlet (4) to the inside of the accumulator (1) is divided into two arms at each step towards the protrusions (8, 108) (Figure 9). The arms and the openings (7, 107) located at the end of the arms, which extend towards the protrusions (8, 108) disposed one over the other and following each other such that the protrusion (8)-opening (7) alignment is maintained, are disposed just above the point which is almost at the same level with the protrusions (8, 108) in the vertical axis. The tube (6) disposed in the body (3) extends by being divided into arms to the outlet (5) until a point very close to the outlet (5) and such that the tube (6) does not cover the outlet (5). Thus, the path on which the refrigerant flows is significantly restricted. Thus, the effectiveness of phase separation is increased.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the cross section of the protrusion (8), the base of which is located on the side wall of the body (3), is in triangular form. Thus, the said protrusion (8) is in almost conical form (Figure 2 and Figure 3).

The cooling device (2) wherein the accumulator (1) of the present invention is used comprises a compressor (10) which provides the refrigerant to be compressed by raising the pressure of the refrigerant to higher levels, a condenser (12) which provides the refrigerant, which exits the compressor (10) in high temperature and pressure as superheated vapor, to be changed to the liquid-gas phase by condensing, an expansion member (11) disposed after the condenser (12) and which provides the refrigerant to be expanded and changed to the liquid phase, an evaporator (9) into which the condensed refrigerant is delivered and which realizes refrigeration by absorbing the interior heat in order to change the condensed refrigerant to the gas phase, and the accumulator (1) of the present invention is disposed between the evaporator (9) and the compressor (10).

By means of the accumulator (1) of the present invention, the refrigerant with the liquid and gas phases is provided to be delivered from the evaporator (9) to the compressor (10) with minimum amount of the refrigerant in the liquid phase. The opening (7) and the protrusion (8) are positioned closely, at almost the same level and without contacting each other. The cross section area to which the refrigerant delivered into the body (3) flows is restricted by means of the shape of the tube (6) and the protrusion (8). Thus, the effectiveness of phase separation is increased by increasing the flow momentum of the refrigerant. The protrusion (8) serves as a barrier in the phase separation and also increases the surface to which the droplets in the liquid phase cling.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited by the embodiments disclosed above and a person skilled in the art can easily introduce different embodiments. These should be considered within the scope of the protection postulated by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

An accumulator (1) suitable for using in the refrigeration systems of the cooling devices (2) and used for separating the refrigerant in the refrigeration system into the liquid and gas phases, comprising

- a body (3),

- at least one inlet (4),

- at least one outlet (5) through which the refrigerant exits the body (3),

- one tube (6) comprising at least one opening (7) extending from the inlet (4) to the inside of the body (3), facing the side walls of the body (3) and which provides the refrigerant to enter the body (3),

characterized by at least one protrusion (8) which extends to the inside of the body (3) and which is located on the side wall of the body (3) at the same level of the opening (7) or in the vicinity of the level of the opening (7) in the vertical axis so as to face the opening (7).
An accumulator (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by the opening (7) and the protrusion (8) positioned so as to be almost opposite to each other (7, 8) and not contact each other (7, 8).
An accumulator (1) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized by at least one inlet (4) disposed on the base of the body (3) and at least one outlet (5) provided on the ceiling of the body (3).
An accumulator (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by a tube (6) at the end portion of which the opening (7) is disposed and which extends towards the side wall of the body (3) by bending and/or forming an inclination with respect to the vertical axis.
An accumulator (1) as in Claims 1 to 4, characterized by the protrusion (8) disposed just above the level of the opening (7) in the vertical axis.
An accumulator (1) as in Claims 1 to 4, characterized by the protrusion (8) disposed just below the level of the opening (7) in the vertical axis.
An accumulator (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by the two protrusions (8, 108) disposed one over the other.
An accumulator (1) as in Claim 7, characterized by the opening (7) located in the vertical axis at almost the middle point level of the two protrusions (8, 108) disposed one over the other.
An accumulator (1) as in Claim 7, characterized by the opening (7) disposed at the same level with the first protrusion (8) located above, which is one of the protrusions (8, 108) positioned one over the other.
An accumulator (1) as in any one of the Claims 1 to 4, characterized by the tube (6) which is divided into more than one arm, each of which has an opening (7, 107) disposed at its end and the protrusions (8, 108) disposed almost below the level of each opening (7) in the vertical axis.
An accumulator (1) as in any one of the Claims 1 to 4, characterized by the tube (6) which is divided into two arms at the same level such that the arms are in opposite directions, the openings (7, 107) disposed on the end of each arm in directions opposite to each other (7, 107) and at the same level and the two protrusions (8, 108) located almost below the level of the openings (7, 107).
An accumulator (1) as in any one of the Claims 1 to 4, characterized by the tube (6) which is divided into two arms in the opposite directions at each step so as to create a step for phase separation and the protrusions (8, 108) disposed almost at the same level with the openings (7) on the end of each arm.
An accumulator (1) as in any one of the Claims 1 to 4, characterized by a tube (6) which extends by being divided into arms to the outlet (5) until a point very close to the outlet (5) and so as not to cover the outlet (5) and which narrows the cross section on which the refrigerant flows.
A cooling device (2) comprising an accumulator (1) as in any one of the above claims, disposed between the compressor (10) and the evaporator (9).