Receiver drier and economizer integration for vapor injection system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12253287-B2
Application number	US-202318165689-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 7, 2023
Priority date	Mar 31, 2022
Publication date	Mar 18, 2025
Grant date	Mar 18, 2025

Abstract

An integrated receiver drier and economizer (RDE) includes a tank having a hollow interior receiving a first flow of a refrigerant therein, the first flow of the refrigerant including a liquid phase of the refrigerant accumulating within a liquid containing portion of the hollow interior of the tank. An economizer receiving a second flow of the refrigerant through an interior thereof is at least partially submerged in the liquid containing portion of the tank. The economizer forms a heat exchanging structure configured to exchange heat between the first flow of the refrigerant passing over an exterior of the economizer and the second flow of the refrigerant passing through the interior of the economizer. A desiccant is disposed in the liquid containing portion of the tank downstream of the economizer with respect to the first flow of the refrigerant through the hollow interior of the tank.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An integrated receiver drier and economizer comprising:
a tank having a hollow interior receiving a first flow of a refrigerant therein, the first flow of the refrigerant including a liquid phase of the refrigerant accumulating within a liquid containing portion of the hollow interior of the tank; and
an economizer receiving a second flow of the refrigerant through an interior thereof, the economizer at least partially submerged in the liquid containing portion of the tank, the economizer forming a heat exchanging structure configured to exchange heat between the first flow of the refrigerant passing over an exterior of the economizer and the second flow of the refrigerant passing through the interior of the economizer.

2. The integrated receiver drier and economizer of claim 1 , wherein the tank includes a desiccant disposed within the liquid containing portion thereof.

3. The integrated receiver drier and economizer of claim 2 , wherein the desiccant is disposed within a desiccant chamber formed within the tank adjacent an axial end of the economizer, wherein at least a portion of the first flow of the refrigerant passes through the desiccant chamber.

4. The integrated receiver drier and economizer of claim 1 , wherein the second flow of the refrigerant enters the interior of the economizer as a two-phase refrigerant having a liquid phase and a gaseous phase and exits the interior of economizer as a gaseous refrigerant.

5. The integrated receiver drier and economizer of claim 1 , wherein heat is transferred from the first flow of the refrigerant to the second flow of the refrigerant through the economizer to subcool the first flow of the refrigerant below a saturation temperature of the refrigerant.

6. The integrated receiver drier and economizer of claim 1 , wherein the economizer includes a plurality of external flow passages receiving the first flow of the refrigerant therein and a plurality of internal flow passages receiving the second flow of the refrigerant therein.

7. The integrated receiver drier and economizer of claim 6 , wherein each of the internal flow passages is in fluid communication with each of an inlet manifold chamber and an outlet manifold chamber formed within the interior of the economizer.

8. The integrated receiver drier and economizer of claim 7 , wherein the tank includes a cap covering an axial end thereof, wherein an inlet pipe extends in an axial direction of the tank between the cap and the inlet manifold chamber of the economizer, and wherein an outlet pipe extends in an axial direction of the tank between the cap and outlet manifold chamber.

9. The integrated receiver drier and economizer of claim 8 , wherein the first flow of the refrigerant further includes a gaseous phase of the refrigerant occupying a gas containing portion of the hollow interior of the tank, wherein each of the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe extends at least partially through the liquid containing portion of the tank and the gas containing portion of the tank.

10. The integrated receiver drier and economizer of claim 6 , wherein the internal flow passages and the external flow passages alternate with respect to an axial direction of the tank.

11. The integrated receiver drier and economizer of claim 6 , wherein each of the external flow passages is in fluid communication with each of a first manifold space and a second manifold space, wherein the first manifold space is disposed between the economizer and an inner circumferential surface of the tank at a first side of the tank and wherein the second manifold space is disposed between the economizer and the inner circumferential surface of the tank at a second side of the tank disposed diametrically opposite the first side of the tank.

12. The integrated receiver drier and economizer of claim 6 , wherein the economizer includes a plurality of corrugated fin elements disposed within one of the internal flow passages or within one of the external flow passages.

13. The integrated receiver drier and economizer of claim 12 , wherein each of the corrugated fin elements is offset laterally from an adjacent one of the plurality of the corrugated fin elements.

14. The integrated receiver drier and economizer of claim 1 , further comprising an internal heat exchanger at least partially submerged within the liquid containing portion of the tank, the internal heat exchanger receiving a third flow of the refrigerant through an interior thereof, wherein the third flow of the refrigerant is gaseous in phase, and wherein the internal heat exchanger is configured to exchange heat between the first flow of the refrigerant and the third flow of the refrigerant.

15. A refrigerant circuit comprising:
a primary circuit including, in an order of a first flow of a refrigerant therethrough, a vapor injection compressor, a condenser, a tank, a primary expansion element, and an evaporator, wherein the tank has a hollow interior including a liquid containing portion occupied by a liquid phase of the first flow of the refrigerant; and
a vapor injection branch pathway extending from a branch point disposed between the condenser and the tank along the primary circuit to a vapor injection port of the vapor injection compressor, the vapor injection branch pathway including, in an order of a second flow of the refrigerant therethrough, a branch expansion element and an economizer, wherein the economizer is at least partially submerged within the liquid containing portion of the tank, wherein the economizer is a heat exchanging structure configured to exchange heat between the first flow of the refrigerant passing over an exterior of the economizer and the second flow of the refrigerant passing through an interior of the economizer.

16. The refrigerant circuit of claim 15 , wherein the tank includes a desiccant disposed within the liquid containing portion thereof, wherein the desiccant is disposed within a desiccant chamber formed within the tank adjacent an axial end of the economizer, wherein at least a portion of the first flow of the refrigerant flows through the desiccant chamber.

17. The refrigerant circuit of claim 15 , wherein the branch expansion element is one of an electronic expansion valve or a thermal expansion valve.

18. The refrigerant circuit of claim 15 , wherein heat is transferred from the first flow of the refrigerant to the second flow of the refrigerant through the economizer to subcool the first flow of the refrigerant below a saturation temperature of the refrigerant.

19. The refrigerant circuit of claim 15 , wherein the second flow of the refrigerant enters the interior of the economizer as a two-phase refrigerant having a liquid phase and a gaseous phase and exits the interior of economizer as a gaseous refrigerant for entry into the vapor injection compressor via the vapor injection port.

20. The refrigerant circuit of claim 15 , further comprising an internal heat exchanger disposed along the primary circuit and configured to exchange heat between a low pressure portion of the first flow of the refrigerant and a high pressure portion of the first flow of the refrigerant, wherein the internal heat exchanger is disposed within the liquid containing portion of the tank.

Assignees

• Hanon Systems

Inventors

• Papoulis Evangelos
• Komora Gary
• Agathocleous Nicos
• Rajenderan Arulkumar
• Ryu Jason

Classifications

• F25B2400/16

  Receivers · CPC title

• F25B2400/13

  Economisers · CPC title

• F25B2339/0441

  containing a drier or a filter · CPC title

• F25B39/04

  Condensers · CPC title

• F25B41/42

  Arrangements for diverging or converging flows, e.g. branch lines or junctions · CPC title