Refrigeration system with dual cylinder compressor

Abstract

An energy-efficient refrigeration system includes a dual cylinder compressor and a compressor controller coupled to the compressor to control compressor capacity by selection of a predetermined refrigerant flow path through the compressor. The dual cylinder compressor includes first and second cylinders with respective first and second pistons that are horizontally opposed and coupled together by a fixed and non-pivoting connecting rod. The void volume of one cylinder is typically greater than the void volume of the other cylinder, and the compressor typically is a scotch-yoke drive apparatus or, alternatively, a linear voice coil drive apparatus. Respective refrigerant flow paths are established by means of a plurality of control valves disposed in a compressor plumbing manifold, to provide a first-cylinder only flow path, a second-cylinder only flow path, a combined first and second cylinder series flow path and a combined first and second cylinder parallel flow path, thereby providing different compressor capacities for meeting different cooling demands in the refrigerator.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.