Refrigerant drier

Claim 2

A refrigerant drier, comprising, a fluid-impervious, pressure-resistant cartridge having means for ingress of refrigerant thereto and egress of refrigerant therefrom, and a desiccant-containing bag disposed within said cartridge and made of a material through which refrigerant fluid will not flow, said bag being provided with a plurality of apertures small enough to retain the desiccant and large enough to permit free flow of refrigerant into the bag for access to the desiccant contained therein, that portion of said bag which normally defines the lowermost part thereof when said dryer is in use, being free of apertures and defining a sump which receives and traps desiccant fines which gravitate to the bottom of the bag, whereby to prevent circulation of said fines within an associated refrigerating system.

Claim 3

A drier in accordance with claim 1, and further characterized in that said bag comprises an extruded tube of plastic material, the ends of which are heat sealed to retain the desiccant.

Claim 4

A drier in accordance with claim 2, and in which said plastic material comprises polyethylene.

Claim 5

A drier in accordance with claim 2, and in which said plastic material comprises polypropylene.

Claim 6

A drier in accordance with claim 1, and in which: the desiccant comprises beads of a material comprising an active crystalline zeolitic molecular sieve; and said apertures are between about one thirty-second and one sixty-fourth inch in diameter.

Claim 7

In an air conditioning system of the kind including a receiver-drier assembly disposed, in the fluid flow circuit, between the heat exchangers of such a system, and normally maintained in an upright position in which one portion of said receiver-drier occupies a lower position than other portions thereof, a desiccant-containing bag disposed and supported within said receiver-drier, said bag comprising a sleeve-like member having sealed ends onE of which occupies an upper part of said receiver-drier and the other of which is disposed toward the lower portion of the latter, said bag being fabricated of material substantially impervious to flow of refrigerant fluid therethrough and being provided with a plurality of apertures to accommodate such flow, in order that the refrigerant fluid may come in contact with the desiccant within the bag, at least said lower end of said bag being free of apertures and constituting a sump to receive desiccant fines which form during normal use of the refrigerant dryer and gravitate toward said lower end to be trapped therein.

Claim 8

In an air conditioning system of the kind including a receiver-drier assembly disposed, in the fluid flow circuit, between the heat exchangers of such a system, and normally maintained in an upright position in which one portion of said receiver-drier occupies a lower position than other portions thereof, a desiccant-containing bag disposed and supported within said receiver-drier, said bag comprising a sleeve-like member having sealed ends onE of which occupies an upper part of said receiver-drier and the other of which is disposed toward the lower portion of the latter, said bag being fabricated of material substantially impervious to flow of refrigerant fluid therethrough and being provided with a plurality of apertures to accommodate such flow, in order that the refrigerant fluid may come in contact with the desiccant within the bag, at least said lower end of said bag being free of apertures and constituting a sump to receive desiccant fines which form during normal use of the refrigerant dryer and gravitate toward said lower end to be trapped therein.

Claim 9

A system in accordance with claim 6, in which said assembly comprises a cylindrical container enclosing said bag and having refrigerant ingress and egress conduits one of which is configured and disposed to support said bag within said container.