Compressor protection against liquid slug
AssigneeRheem Manufacturing Company
InventorSwapnil Khaire
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A liquid slug reduction and charge compensator device for use in air conditioning and heat pump systems includes a housing having a cavity. The housing includes an inlet port providing an entry path into the cavity and an outlet port providing an exit path from the cavity. The housing further includes a liquid line port providing a refrigerant pathway into and out of the cavity. The liquid slug reduction and charge compensator device further includes a flash tube extending through the cavity and providing a passageway through the cavity such that a hot gas refrigerant that enters the cavity through the inlet port causes a liquid refrigerant that enters the flash tube to evaporate.
Claims13
A slug reduction system for use in heat pump systems, the slug reduction system comprising:
- a slug reduction and charge compensator device, comprising:
- a housing having a cavity and a liquid line port providing a refrigerant pathway into and out of the cavity;
- and
- a flash tube extending through the cavity and providing a passageway through the cavity for a suction line refrigerant to flow through the flash tube;
- a sensor configured to detect one or more parameters of the suction line refrigerant indicative of the suction line refrigerant being at least partially in a liquid form;
- and
- a valve assembly in electrical communication with the sensor, wherein in response to the sensor detecting the one or more parameters of the suction line refrigerant indicative of the suction line refrigerant being at least partially in the liquid form, the valve assembly is configured to fluidly couple the cavity and a hot gas refrigerant pipe via an inlet port of the housing, the hot gas refrigerant pipe directing a hot gas refrigerant from a compressor to the cavity.
A heat pump system, comprising:
- a compressor;
- a slug reduction and charge compensator device comprising:
- a housing having a cavity and a liquid line port providing a refrigerant pathway into and out of the cavity;
- and
- a flash tube extending through the cavity, wherein the flash tube provides a passageway through the cavity for a suction line refrigerant to flow through the flash tube;
- a sensor configured to detect one or more parameters of the suction line refrigerant indicative of the suction line refrigerant being at least partially in a liquid form;
- and
- a valve assembly in electrical communication with the sensor, wherein in response to the sensor detecting the one or more parameters of the suction line refrigerant indicative of the suction line refrigerant being at least partially in the liquid form, the valve assembly is configured to fluidly couple the cavity and a discharge line outlet of a compressor via an inlet port of the housing to receive a hot gas refrigerant from the compressor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.