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US 11,697,093 B2Granted
Multi-mode air drying system
AssigneeIngersoll-Rand Industrial U.S., Inc.
InventorsStefano Vezil, Paolo Depiero, Giovanni Battista Capellari
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A compressed air drying system is provided for removing moisture from compressed air. The dryer operates in two modes in response to the demand for compressed air. In a first mode of operation, a refrigeration compressor runs continuously and the speed of a condenser fan is varied to maintain a constant cooling temperature. In a second mode of operation, the refrigeration compressor runs intermittently between on and off periods. As result, the cooling temperature fluctuates during the second mode of operation.
Claims20
A compressed air drying system comprising:
- a first heat exchanger having a compressed air side and a refrigerant side, the first heat exchanger receiving compressed air from an air inlet on the compressed air side;
- and
- a refrigerant cooling system configured to supply a refrigerant to the refrigerant side of the first heat exchanger, the refrigerant cooling system including:
- a refrigerant compressor configured to compress the refrigerant after passing through the first heat exchanger,
- a refrigerant condenser having a condenser fan configured to blow air across the refrigerant condenser, the refrigerant condenser configured to condense the refrigerant delivered by the refrigerant compressor,
- wherein the refrigerant cooling system operates in a first mode when a demand for the compressed air is above a threshold and a second mode when a demand for the compressed air is below the threshold, where:
- in the first mode, the compressor runs continuously and a speed of the condenser fan is varied in response to the demand for the compressed air, and
- in the second mode, the refrigerant compressor runs intermittently between on periods and off periods, the compressed air passing through the compressed air side of the first heat exchanger while the refrigerant passes through the refrigerant side of the first heat exchanger during the on periods, and the compressed air passing through the compressed air side of the first heat exchanger without the refrigerant passing through refrigerant side of the first heat exchanger during the off periods, and
- where, in the second mode, the speed of the condenser fan is set to a constant higher speed than the speed of the condenser fan prior to a shift from the first mode to the second mode.
6 more elements
A compressed air drying system comprising:
- a first heat exchanger having a compressed air side and a refrigerant side, the first heat exchanger receiving a compressed air from an air inlet on the compressed air side;
- and
- a refrigerant cooling system configured to supply a refrigerant to the refrigerant side of the first heat exchanger, the refrigerant cooling system including:
- a refrigerant compressor configured to compress the refrigerant after passing through the first heat exchanger,
- a refrigerant condenser having a condenser fan configured to blow air across the refrigerant condenser, the refrigerant condenser configured to condense the refrigerant delivered by the refrigerant compressor,
- wherein the refrigerant cooling system operates in a first mode when a demand for the compressed air is above a threshold and a second mode when a demand for the compressed air is below the threshold, where:
- in the first mode, the compressor runs continuously and a speed of the condenser fan is varied in response to the demand for the compressed air, and
- in the second mode, the refrigerant compressor runs intermittently between on periods and off periods,
- where the speed of the condenser fan is set to a constant higher speed than the speed of the condenser fan prior to a shift from the first mode to the second mode to maintain a threshold temperature on the one side of the first heat exchanger during the off periods.
6 more elements
A refrigerant cooling system for a compressed air drying system comprising:
- a first heat exchanger having a compressed air side and a refrigerant side, the first heat exchanger receiving a compressed air from an air inlet on the compressed air side and a refrigerant circulating through the refrigerant cooling system on the refrigerant side;
- a refrigerant compressor configured to compress the refrigerant after passing through the first heat exchanger,
- a refrigerant condenser having a condenser fan configured to blow air across the refrigerant condenser, the refrigerant condenser configured to condense the refrigerant delivered by the refrigerant compressor,
- wherein the refrigerant cooling system operates in a first mode when a demand for the compressed air is above a threshold and a second mode when a demand for the compressed air is below the threshold, where:
- in the first mode, the compressor runs continuously and a speed of the condenser fan is varied in response to the demand for the compressed air, and
- in the second mode, the refrigerant compressor runs intermittently between on periods and off periods, the compressed air passing through the compressed air side of the first heat exchanger while the refrigerant passes through the refrigerant side of the first heat exchanger during the on periods, and the compressed air passing through the compressed air side of the first heat exchanger without the refrigerant passing through refrigerant side of the first heat exchanger during the off periods
- wherein in the second mode, the speed of the condenser fan is set to a constant higher speed than the speed of the condenser fan prior to a shift from the first mode to the second mode to maintain a threshold temperature on the one side of the first heat exchanger during the off periods.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.