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US 4,793,153 AGranted
Energy recovery apparatus
AssigneeRecovery Engineering, Inc.
InventorsRichard D. Hembree, David E. E. Carmein
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An energy recovery pump-motor including an energy recovery pump and a mixed-phase motor for replacing conventional valves in fluid circuits such as an absorption refrigeration system. The energy recovery pump pressurizes a first liquid by recovering flow work energy from a second liquid. The mixed-phase motor recovers flow work energy and expansion energy from a high pressure, saturated third liquid and transfers the energy along a shaft to the pump to aid in pressurizing the first liquid. The energy recovery pump is shown in a single effect absorption refrigeration system, while the pump-motor is shown in both single effect and double effect systems.
Claims7
An absorption refrigeration and/or heating system, comprising:
- a desorber which absorbs heat and at a high relative pressure vaporizes a first volume of refrigerant from a second volume of strong solution leaving a third volume of weak solution;
- a condenser which releases heat and condenses the vapor refrigerant to liquid refrigerant at said high pressure;
- an evaporator which absorbs heat and evaporates said liquid refrigerant at a low relative pressure;
- an absorber which releases heat and absorbs said evaporated refrigerant into said weak solution at said low pressure to form said strong solution;
- means for fluidly communicating said strong solution from said absorber to said desorber, said weak solution from said desorber to said absorber, said high pressure vapor refrigerant from said desorber to said condenser, said liquid refrigerant from said condenser to said evaporator, and said low pressure evaporated refrigerant from said evaporator to said absorber, said communicating means including first means for recovering hydraulic and expansion energy from said high pressure, liquid refrigerant, said communicating means also including means for recovering energy from said high pressure weak solution to pump said low pressure, strong solution thereby reducing pressure in said weak solution and increasing pressure in said strong solution, said energy recovering means including first and second aligned cylinders with first and second pistons therein, respectively, said pistons being connected together with a rod, said cylinders having a first diameter and said rod having a second diameter, said cylinder first diameter squared to the specific volume of strong solution forming a first ratio, said cylinder first diameter squared to the specific volume of weak solution forming a second ratio, said rod second diameter squared to the specific volume of refrigerant forming a third ratio, said first ratio being equal to the sum of said second and third ratios.
2 more elements
An absorption refrigeration and/or heating system, comprising:
- a desorber which absorbs heat and at a high relative pressure vaporizes a first volume of refrigerant from a second volume of strong solution leaving a third volume of weak solution;
- a condenser which releases heat and condenses the vapor refrigerant to liquid refrigerant at said high pressure;
- an evaporator which absorbs heat and evaporates said liquid refrigerant at a low relative pressure;
- an absorber which releases heat and absorbs said evaporated refrigerant into said weak solution at said low pressure to form said strong solution;
- means for fluidly communicating said strong solution from said absorber to said desorber, said weak solution from said desorber to said absorber, said high pressure vapor refrigerant from said desorber to said condenser, said liquid refrigerant from said condenser to said evaporator, and said low pressure evaporated refrigerant from said evaporator to said absorber, said communicating means including means for recovering energy from said high pressure liquid refrigerant thereby reducing its pressure and for recovering energy from said high pressure weak solution thereby reducing its pressure so as to pump said strong solution and increase its pressure, said energy recovering means including:
- a pump with a driving chamber and a pumping chamber and first means for reciprocating to simultaneously increase the size of one of said driving and pumping chambers and decrease the size of the other, said pump having means for filling said pumping chamber with strong solution at a lower pressure, said pump further having means for driving said first reciprocating means in a pumping stroke with weak solution at a higher pressure in said driving chamber, said pump including means for releasing said strong solution from said pumping chamber during said pumping stroke, said pump also including first means for returning said first reciprocating means in a filling stroke, said pump further including first means for exhausting said weak solution from said driving chamber during said filling stroke;
- a motor with a charging chamber and an exhausting chamber and second means for reciprocating to simultaneously increase the size of one of said charging and exhausting chambers and decrease the other, said motor having means for charging said charging chamber with a liquid refrigerant at a higher pressure, said motor further having means for allowing expansion of said liquid refrigerant into said exhausting chamber to change phase and form a vapor and liquid mixture to drive said second reciprocating means in a power stroke, said motor including second means for exhausting spent liquid and vapor refrigerant at a lower pressure from said exhausting chamber during a charging stroke, said motor further including second means for returning said second reciprocating means in said charging stroke;
- means for connecting said first and second reciprocating means for simultaneous movements;
- and
- means for switching from one pump stroke to another and from one motor stroke to another at the same time.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.