Accumulator

An accumulator adapted to be arranged at a suction side of a compressor in a refrigerant circuit, separates a refrigerant into a gas and liquid, and stores the liquid refrigerant, the accumulator comprising:

• a pressure vessel which forms an inside space;
• an inflow port of the refrigerant and an outflow port of the refrigerant which are provided at the pressure vessel;
• a conduit which guides the refrigerant in the pressure vessel to the outflow port, and
• a gas-liquid separating means comprising a separating plate which is arranged in the pressure vessel facing the inflow port and spreads out substantially perpendicular to a flow line at the inflow port;
• wherein the gas-liquid separating means has a peak shaped protrusion which is comprised of a single crest projecting out in the direction of the inflow port and a single continuous slanted surface on the separating plate at a region facing the inflow port,
• wherein an inside surface of the pressure vessel which faces the separating plate extends in parallel to the separating plate, and a gap between the separating plate and the inside surface of the pressure vessel is ¼ to 1 times the inside diameter of the inflow port,
• wherein the gas-liquid separating means has a circumferential wall part running around the separating plate so as to define a space which opens at the opposite side to the inflow port and the circumferential wall part extending downward from an outer circumferential part of the separating plate, and wherein an inlet of the conduit is arranged in the space defined by the gas-liquid separating means, and
• wherein a gaseous refrigerant passes through a gap defined between the circumferential wall part of the gas-liquid separating means and an inner circumferential surface of the pressure vessel.