Refrigeration – Refrigeration producer – With refrigerant treater
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-30
2001-06-19
Buiz, Michael (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Refrigeration producer
With refrigerant treater
C062S195000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06247330
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an absorption type refrigerator and particularly, to an absorption type refrigerator having a removing apparatus for removing uncondensed hydrogen gas generated in the refrigerator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Absorption type refrigerators operated in absorption refrigeration cycles are known for use as cooling systems. Also, since its advantageous features including a higher energy efficiency during the operation have been focused, a specific class of the absorption type refrigerator in which heat pumped up from the outside air by an evaporator is also utilized to carry out a heat-pump (thermodynamic) heating operation is now anticipated to meet the market demand. For example, such a type of absorption type cool/hot water supply system is proposed in Japanese Patent Publication Hei 6-97127 which can run in three different modes: a cooling mode, a heating mode by heat-pump (thermodynamic cycle) operation, and a direct flame heating mode by direct burner (boiler) operation.
The absorption type refrigerator performs an absorption refrigerating cycle operation under a highly vacuum condition, hence causing direct contact reaction to be initiated between some components of a refrigerant and the metallic materials of a refrigerant conduit and between said components and the corrosion inhibitor thus to generate a small amount of uncondensed gas such as hydrogen gas. The presence of such an uncondensed gas declines the vacuum level in the absorber or the evaporator which must be maintained in a high level of vacuum, thus lowering the efficiency of the cooling and heating operation. It is hence necessary to carry out, at predetermined intervals, a series of maintenance jobs for exhausting the uncondensed gas using an extracting means such as a vacuum pump.
Such apparatuses for exhausting the uncondensed gas generated in absorption type refrigerators are disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication Hei 8-121911 and 5-9001. Those apparatuses are designed to transfer the uncondensed gas separated from a refrigerant to a hydrogen exhausting conduit made of a palladium pipe heated for exhausting the gas to the atmosphere using the selective permeability of palladium.
However, the absorption type refrigerators equipped with an uncondensed gas exhausting apparatus have the following disadvantages. In the absorption type refrigerator using an alcohol refrigerant such as alcohol fluoride for absorption refrigerating cycles, it is known to mix some water and the refrigerant together for minimizing corrosion to metallic materials of the refrigerant piping. In that case, water added to the refrigerant may react on aluminum of the refrigerant piping thus to generate a small amount of hydrogen gas which has to be removed. The generation of hydrogen gas is caused by both anode reaction and cathode reaction: the anode reaction is expressed as Al→Al
3+
+3e
−
and Al
3
+3OH→AlOOH.H
2
O (hydration of aluminum ion (deposition of boehmite layer)), the cathode reaction as 3H+3e→3/2H
2
(generation of hydrogen).
The conventional uncondensed gas exhausting apparatuses disclosed in the Publications are adapted for exhausting the hydrogen gas to outside of the apparatus and thus its construction to be maintained at a higher air-tightness becomes complex. Also, the water in the refrigerant is gradually decreased and its substantial amount needed for minimizing (suppressing) the corrosion will hardly be reserved. Moreover, they allow their hydrogen exhausting piping and/or a means (e.g. a sleeve member) for housing the hydrogen exhausting piping to extend out from the gas extracting body and may hence be complicated in the outer configuration or may interfere with adjacent apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an absorption type refrigerator capable of removing undesired uncondensed gas while the content of water in the refrigerant is maintained at an appropriate level.
According to the present invention, an absorption type refrigerator having an evaporator in which a refrigerant is stored, an absorber for absorbing a refrigerant vapor generated in the evaporator with the use of an absorbent solution, a regenerator for heating the absorbent solution to extract the refrigerant vapor, and a condenser for condensing the refrigerant vapor extracted in the regenerator and returning it to the evaporator is characterized in that the refrigerant is an alcohol refrigerant and a reduction body is provided which comprises a hydrogen removing agent and a heating means for heating the agent to carry out the reduction with hydrogen gas generated during the absorption refrigerating cycles.
As characterized, the hydrogen gas generated through the reaction between the alcohol refrigerant and an aluminum structure of the refrigerant passage reacts on the hydrogen removing agent and is thus eliminated. As the hydrogen gas is eliminated, declination of the efficiency of operation due to decrease of the vacuum level in each of the condenser, the evaporator, the absorber, and the refrigerant passages will be avoided. Also, the water thus generated is returned back to the refrigerant passage which is directly communicated with the reduction body, the content of water in the refrigerant can be maintained to a desired level. Moreover, the heating means is securely held by the holding means equipped with the hydrogen removing agent and when heated, can cause the hydrogen removing agent to accelerate the elimination of hydrogen gas.
Also, according to the present invention, an absorption type refrigerator wherein the heating means is of a bar-like shape and a holding means for holding the heating means is provided in the reduction body, which is of a cylindrical shape having one end thereof opened to accept the heating means and an outer side thereof provided with a holding surface for the hydrogen removing agent, and is arranged to expose the hydrogen removing agent to the space directly communicated with the level surface of the refrigerant.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4007606 (1977-02-01), Yoshio
patent: 4487036 (1984-12-01), Itoh et al.
patent: 5065594 (1991-11-01), Yo
patent: 5111670 (1992-05-01), Furukawa et al.
patent: 5636526 (1997-06-01), Plzak et al.
patent: 6055821 (2000-05-01), Song et al.
patent: 401167560 (1989-07-01), None
Ishikawa Mitsuru
Kayanuma Hidetaka
Miyashita Kohichi
Yuri Nobuyuki
Armstrong Westerman Hattori McLeland & Naughton LLP
Buiz Michael
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Jiang Chen-Wen
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