Condensed liquid pump for compressor body cooling

A method of cooling a compressor body for a refrigeration system comprising the steps of:

• compressing a low pressure refrigerant to a high pressure refrigerant in the compressor body;
• discharging the high pressure refrigerant to an exhaust manifold within a compressor head;
• injecting a liquid refrigerant coolant into a cooling passage surrounding the compressor body;
• discharging the liquid refrigerant coolant from the cooling passage into the exhaust manifold within the compressor head;
• mixing the high pressure refrigerant with the liquid refrigerant coolant within the exhaust manifold.

A compressor body cooling system comprising:

• a compressor for compressing a relatively low pressure gaseous refrigerant to a relatively high pressure gaseous refrigerant;
• a condenser in closed loop connection with the compressor for condensing the high pressure gaseous refrigerant to a liquid refrigerant;
• a compressor body cooling jacket disposed in thermal contact with a compressor cylinder wall and having an inlet and an outlet, said compressor cylinder wall disposed within the compressor body;
• a conduit member disposed between the condenser and the cooling jacket inlet;
• and
• a condensed liquid pump disposed in the conduit member for pumping liquid refrigerant coolant from the condenser to the cooling jacket inlet.

A refrigeration compressor for compressing a gaseous refrigerant, comprising:

• a compressor body comprising a cylinder, a crankcase, and a piston, said piston reciprocatingly disposed within the cylinder;
• an exhaust manifold for receiving a compressed gaseous refrigerant;
• a cooling jacket disposed in thermal contact with the cylinder, for receiving heat from the cylinder, said cooling jacket comprising:
• a cooling jacket inlet coupled to the cooling jacket for receiving a coolant;
• a cooling jacket outlet coupled to the cooling jacket and coupled directly to the exhaust manifold.

A method of monitoring the discharge of coolant to a refrigeration compressor and determining compressor operating condition comprising the steps of:

• measuring a first flow rate of coolant to a compressor body cooling jacket at a first time;
• measuring a second flow rate of coolant to a compressor body cooling jacket at a second time;
• comparing the first and second flow rates of coolant and calculating a flow rate difference;
• comparing the flow rate difference to a predetermined value;
• triggering an alarm if the flow rate difference exceeds the predetermined value.

A refrigeration system, comprising:

• a compressor for compressing a gaseous refrigerant, said compressor having a body with a cooling passage for receiving a liquid refrigerant for cooling the body, an exhaust manifold for receiving the compressed gaseous refrigerant after the gaseous refrigerant is compressed, said cooling passage having an outlet coupled to the exhaust manifold for transporting the liquid refrigerant from the cooling passage to the exhaust manifold;
• a condenser for receiving and condensing the compressed gaseous refrigerant into a liquid refrigerant;
• a conduit member for transporting the liquid refrigerant from said condenser to said cooling passage;
• and
• a condensed liquid pump disposed in the conduit member for pumping the liquid refrigerant from the condenser to the cooling passage.

A refrigeration compressor for compressing a gaseous refrigerant, comprising:

• a compressor body comprising a cylinder, a crankcase, and a piston, said piston reciprocatingly disposed within the cylinder;
• an exhaust manifold for receiving a compressed gaseous refrigerant disposed within a cylinder head of the compressor;
• a cooling jacket disposed in thermal contact with the cylinder, for receiving heat from the cylinder, said cooling jacket comprising:
• a cooling jacket inlet coupled to the cooling jacket for receiving a coolant;
• a cooling jacket outlet coupled to the cooling jacket and coupled to the exhaust manifold;
• a coolant supply for continuously supplying coolant to the cooling jacket inlet, through the cooling jacket, and discharging the coolant into the exhaust manifold;
• and
• a temperature sensor for providing a signal representative of the temperature of the coolant within the cooling jacket.

A refrigeration system, comprising:

• an expansion device for expanding a liquid refrigerant to a gaseous refrigerant;
• a compressor for compressing the gaseous refrigerant;
• a condenser for receiving and condensing the compressed gaseous refrigerant into the liquid refrigerant;
• and
• a conduit member transporting the liquid refrigerant from the condenser to the expansion device;
• a condensed liquid pump for increasing the pressure of the liquid refrigerant in the conduit member;
• and
• a lubrication system for lubricating the compressor, said lubrication system comprising a lubricating oil pump for circulating a lubricating oil through the compressor, wherein the conduit member is disposed in thermal contact with the lubrication system for cooling the lubricating oil.