Refrigeration – Reversible – i.e. – heat pump – With flow control or compressor details
Patent
1997-12-18
1999-05-11
Bennett, Henry
Refrigeration
Reversible, i.e., heat pump
With flow control or compressor details
62499, 62504, 62513, 165 86, F25B13/00
Patent
active
059015683
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention concerns a heat pump with a closed cooling medium circuit for transport of heat from one air flow to another, comprising an evaporator provided in one air flow for evaporation of a cooling medium, a compressor for compression of the vaporiform cooling medium, a condenser provided in the second air flow for condensation of the cooling medium, and a return system for condensed cooling medium from the condenser to the evaporator.
Heat pumps for transfer of heat from one air flow to another are used, amongst other places, in houses, where heat can be transferred from air which is extracted via a ventilation system to air which is drawn in from outside to be discharged inside the house. By means of heat pumps it is also possible to transfer heat from the outdoor air to the indoor air.
Heat pumps work with a liquid cooling medium which is passed between the vapour and the liquid phase, thus permitting heat to be transferred from a colder air flow to a warmer air flow. Current heat pumps work well as long as the air from which the heat is taken is relatively warm, usually over 5-6.degree. C., but the efficiency is reduced as soon as the temperature drops.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,871,645 describes a rotating heat pump comprising a condenser, a liquid ring compressor and an evaporator arranged in a housing. Refrigerant flows to a cooler, in which it is cooled by an air flow. The air is introduced axially, passes the cooler and leaves the heat pump radially.
WO 86/06156 describes a rotating heat pump comprising a condenser, a liquid ring compressor and an evaporator arranged in a housing. An annular chamber constitutes the return passage for the refrigereant from the condenser to the evaporator. Ribs on the external surface of the housing produce an axial airflow past the condenser and/or the evaporator. The axial airflow is transformed into a radial airflow before the air leaves the heat pump.
The object of the invention is to develop completely new heat pump solutions which work efficiently at low outdoor temperatures which, e.g., occur during winter in Scandinavia, and which have a simple design which provides low manufacturing costs, a high degree of reliability and a long working life.
This object is achieved with a heat pump of the type mentioned in the introduction, characterized by the features which are indicated in the claims.
The heat pumps according to the present invention consist in principle of a rotating part, a fan casing which encloses the rotating part, insulation which is placed on the outside of the fan casing in order to insulate against heat loss, the formation of condensation and noise from the rotating part, and an outer casing.
The heat pumps according to the present invention work according to an approximate Carnot process. This is achieved by passing the cooling medium from the condensation stage to the evaporation stage through a return system which comprises one or more tubes or bores which contain separated restrictions, with the result that when the condensed medium flows through it undergoes an expansion and total or partial evaporation after it has passed the restrictions, with subsequent condensation between the restrictions. The restrictions are preferably in the form of plugs with grooves or holes, separated by spacers. During this multi-stage expansion with subsequent condensation the cooling medium gives up enthalpy, and this enthalpy is taken up by an ambient air flow as useful heat.
The compressor works according to the liquid ring principle, but differs from standard liquid ring compressors in that the compressor housing also rotates, preferably with the same number of revolutions as the compressor's impeller, since in the present invention it is the liquid ring which transfers the motive power from the compressor housing to the compressor's impeller. This leads to a high degree of compressor efficiency since no liquid friction is created between liquid ring and compressor housing, as opposed to standard liquid ring compressors with stationary compressor housings where
REFERENCES:
patent: 1871645 (1932-08-01), Abbott, Jr.
patent: 3397739 (1968-08-01), Miller
patent: 3797270 (1974-03-01), Laing et al.
patent: 3863454 (1975-02-01), Doerner
patent: 3911694 (1975-10-01), Doerner
patent: 4512394 (1985-04-01), Kauffman
patent: 4611472 (1986-09-01), Lum
patent: 5303565 (1994-04-01), Pravda
patent: 5315844 (1994-05-01), Hansen
Bennett Henry
Haga Engineering AS
Tinker Susanne C.
LandOfFree
Rotating heat pump does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Rotating heat pump, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Rotating heat pump will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-239265