Control means for accumulator throttling device

Claim 2

An evaporator temperature controller for an air conditioning system including a refrigerant compressor and an evaporator in flow relationship with one another comprising: means including a housing defining an interior space and having an inlet connected to the outlet of the evaporator to receive refrigerant therefrom and an outlet connected to the inlet of the compressor for discharging refrigerant thereto from said interior space; wall means having a passage therethrough and a valve seat within said interior space and separating said housing into an outlet portion and an inlet portion; flow control means including a throttling valve movable with respect to said wall means and said passage therein for regulating the flow of refrigerant through said passage from the evaporator to the compressor; a thermally responsive valve actuator operably connected to said throttling valve for positioning it between an open operative position and a closed operative position with respect to said passage in response to changes in the temperature of refrigerant surrounding said actuator; said valve actuator including a rigid walled, tubular portion extending through said inlet housing portion upstream from said throttling valve; the hollow interior of said tubular portion being filled with a material having predetermined thermal expansion properties; an extendable portion of said valve actuator connected to said tubular portion and operably connected to said throttling valve for positioning said valve with respect to said valve seat when said thermally expansive material expands and contracts due to temperature changes; an elongated oil pickup mounted alongside said tubular portion and having an inlet end located near the bottom of said housing to introduce a mixture of oil and refrigerant therein; said oil pick-up having an outlet end downstream from said throttling valve to discharge oil and refrigerant from the pick-up for passage to the compressor; the inlet of said oil pick-up being restricted by an orifice to produce a lower pressure and temperature of oil and refrigerant within the oil pick-up than that of refrigerant surrounding said tubular portion; whereby the relatively large pressure gradient between upstream and downstream portions of said housing caused by the positioning of said throttling valve near its closed operative position draws a substantial quantity of relatively cold refrigerant and oil through said oil pick-up; said oil pickup being attached along a portion of its length to said tubular portion of said valve actuator to establish a good heat transfer relation therebetween which provides absorption of heat from said actuator by the oil and refrigerant in said oil pick-up whereby this heat absorption is supplemental to the continuous absorption of heat by refrigerant in said housing and surrounding said tubular portion which resultantly permits the temperature of refrigerant in said housing and said evaporator to increase during periods of operation when the throttling valve is located near its closed operative position to prevent any frost build-up on the evaporator.

Claim 3

An evaporator tempErature controller for an air conditioning system including a refrigerant compressor and an evaporator in flow relationship with one another comprising: means including a housing defining an interior space and having an inlet connected to the outlet of the evaporator to receive refrigerant therefrom and an outlet connected to the inlet of the compressor for discharging refrigerant thereto from said interior space; wall means having a passage therethrough and a valve seat within said interior space and separating said housing into an outlet portion and an inlet portion; flow control means including a throttling valve movable with respect to said wall means and said passage therein for regulating the flow of refrigerant through said passage from the evaporator to the compressor; a thermally responsive valve actuator operably connected to said throttling valve for positioning it between an open operative position and a closed operative position with respect to said passage in response to changes in the temperature of refrigerant surrounding said actuator; said valve actuator including a rigid walled, tubular portion extending through said inlet housing portion upstream from said throttling valve; the hollow interior of said tubular portion being filled with an aqueous solution having a freezing temperature of about 32* F; an extendable portion of said valve actuator fluidly connected to said tubular portion and operably connected to said throttling valve for positioning said valve with respect to said valve seat when said aqueous solution expands and contracts due to temperature changes; an elongated oil pick-up mounted alongside said tubular portion and having an inlet end located near the bottom of said housing to introduce a mixture of oil and refrigerant therein; said oil pick-up having an outlet end downstream from said throttling valve to discharge oil and refrigerant from the oil pick-up for passage to the compressor; the inlet of said oil pick-up being restricted by an orifice to produce a lower pressure and temperature of oil and refrigerant within the oil pick-up than that of refrigerant surrounding said tubular portion; whereby the relatively large pressure gradient between upstream and downstream portions of said housing caused by the positioning of said throttling valve near its closed operative position draws a substantial quantity of relatively cold refrigerant and oil through said oil pick-up; said oil pick-up being attached along a portion of its length to said tubular portion of said valve actuator to establish a good heat transfer relation therebetween which provides absorption of heat from said actuator by the oil and refrigerant in said oil pick-up whereby this heat absorption is supplemental to the continuous absorption of heat by refrigerant in said housing and surrounding said tubular portion which resultantly permits the temperature of refrigerant in said housing and said evaporator to increase during periods of operation when the throttling valve is located near its closed operative position to prevent any frost build-up on the evaporator.

Claim 4

An evaporator tempErature controller for an air conditioning system including a refrigerant compressor and an evaporator in flow relationship with one another comprising: means including a housing defining an interior space and having an inlet connected to the outlet of the evaporator to receive refrigerant therefrom and an outlet connected to the inlet of the compressor for discharging refrigerant thereto from said interior space; wall means having a passage therethrough and a valve seat within said interior space and separating said housing into an outlet portion and an inlet portion; flow control means including a throttling valve movable with respect to said wall means and said passage therein for regulating the flow of refrigerant through said passage from the evaporator to the compressor; a thermally responsive valve actuator operably connected to said throttling valve for positioning it between an open operative position and a closed operative position with respect to said passage in response to changes in the temperature of refrigerant surrounding said actuator; said valve actuator including a rigid walled, tubular portion extending through said inlet housing portion upstream from said throttling valve; the hollow interior of said tubular portion being filled with an aqueous solution having a freezing temperature of about 32* F; an extendable portion of said valve actuator fluidly connected to said tubular portion and operably connected to said throttling valve for positioning said valve with respect to said valve seat when said aqueous solution expands and contracts due to temperature changes; an elongated oil pick-up mounted alongside said tubular portion and having an inlet end located near the bottom of said housing to introduce a mixture of oil and refrigerant therein; said oil pick-up having an outlet end downstream from said throttling valve to discharge oil and refrigerant from the oil pick-up for passage to the compressor; the inlet of said oil pick-up being restricted by an orifice to produce a lower pressure and temperature of oil and refrigerant within the oil pick-up than that of refrigerant surrounding said tubular portion; whereby the relatively large pressure gradient between upstream and downstream portions of said housing caused by the positioning of said throttling valve near its closed operative position draws a substantial quantity of relatively cold refrigerant and oil through said oil pick-up; said oil pick-up being attached along a portion of its length to said tubular portion of said valve actuator to establish a good heat transfer relation therebetween which provides absorption of heat from said actuator by the oil and refrigerant in said oil pick-up whereby this heat absorption is supplemental to the continuous absorption of heat by refrigerant in said housing and surrounding said tubular portion which resultantly permits the temperature of refrigerant in said housing and said evaporator to increase during periods of operation when the throttling valve is located near its closed operative position to prevent any frost build-up on the evaporator.

Claim 5

An evaporator temperature control for an air conditioning system including a refrigerant compressor and an evaporator in flow relationship with one another comprising: a liquid accumulator including a housing which defines an interior space which has an inlet connected to the evaporator to receive refrigerant therefrom and an outlet connected to the compressor for discharging refrigerant thereto from said interior space; means including a valve seat member with a valve passage therethrough separating said interior space into an outlet portion and an inlet portion; flow control means including a throttling valve movable with respect to said valve seat member and said passage therein for regulating the flow of refrigerant through said passage from the evaporator to the compressor; a thermally responsive valve actuator operably connected to said throttling valve for positioning it between an open operative pOsition and a closed operative position with respect to said passage in response to changes in the temperature of refrigerant surrounding said actuator; said valve actuator including a rigid walled, tubular portion extending through said inlet housing portion upstream from said throttling valve; the hollow interior of said tubular portion being filled with an aqueous solution having a freezing temperature of about 32* F; an axially extendable portion of said valve actuator fluidly connected to said tubular portion to form an interconnected interior space filled with an immiscible liquid with respect to the aqueous solution; said valve actuator being operably connected to said throttling valve for positioning said valve with respect to said valve seat when said aqueous solution expands and contracts due to temperature changes; an elongated oil pick-up tube mounted alongside said tubular portion and having an inlet end located near the bottom of said inlet portion of said housing to introduce a mixture of oil and refrigerant therein; said oil pick-up tube having an outlet end downstream from said throttling valve to discharge oil and refrigerant from the oil pick-up tube for passage to said compressor; the inlet end of said oil pick-up tube being restricted by an orifice to produce a lower pressure and temperature of oil and refrigerant within the oil pick-up tube than that of refrigerant surrounding said tubular portion; whereby the relatively large pressure gradient between upstream and downstream portions of said housing caused by the positioning of said throttling valve near its closed operative position draws a substantial quantity of relatively cold refrigerant and oil through said oil pick-up tube; said oil pick-up tube being attached along a portion of its length to said tubular portion of said valve actuator to establish a good heat transfer relation therebetween which provides absorption of heat from said actuator by the oil and refrigerant in said oil pick-up tube whereby this heat absorption is supplemental to the continuous absorption of heat by the refrigerant in said housing and surrounding said tubular portion which resultantly permits the temperature of refrigerant in said housing and evaporator to increase during periods of operation when the throttling valve is located near its closed operative position to prevent frost build-up on the evaporator.

Claim 6

An evaporator temperature control for an air conditioning system including a refrigerant compressor and an evaporator in flow relationship with one another comprising: a liquid accumulator including a housing which defines an interior space which has an inlet connected to the evaporator to receive refrigerant therefrom and an outlet connected to the compressor for discharging refrigerant thereto from said interior space; means including a valve seat member with a valve passage therethrough separating said interior space into an outlet portion and an inlet portion; flow control means including a throttling valve movable with respect to said valve seat member and said passage therein for regulating the flow of refrigerant through said passage from the evaporator to the compressor; a thermally responsive valve actuator operably connected to said throttling valve for positioning it between an open operative pOsition and a closed operative position with respect to said passage in response to changes in the temperature of refrigerant surrounding said actuator; said valve actuator including a rigid walled, tubular portion extending through said inlet housing portion upstream from said throttling valve; the hollow interior of said tubular portion being filled with an aqueous solution having a freezing temperature of about 32* F; an axially extendable portion of said valve actuator fluidly connected to said tubular portion to form an interconnected interior space filled with an immiscible liquid with respect to the aqueous solution; said valve actuator being operably connected to said throttling valve for positioning said valve with respect to said valve seat when said aqueous solution expands and contracts due to temperature changes; an elongated oil pick-up tube mounted alongside said tubular portion and having an inlet end located near the bottom of said inlet portion of said housing to introduce a mixture of oil and refrigerant therein; said oil pick-up tube having an outlet end downstream from said throttling valve to discharge oil and refrigerant from the oil pick-up tube for passage to said compressor; the inlet end of said oil pick-up tube being restricted by an orifice to produce a lower pressure and temperature of oil and refrigerant within the oil pick-up tube than that of refrigerant surrounding said tubular portion; whereby the relatively large pressure gradient between upstream and downstream portions of said housing caused by the positioning of said throttling valve near its closed operative position draws a substantial quantity of relatively cold refrigerant and oil through said oil pick-up tube; said oil pick-up tube being attached along a portion of its length to said tubular portion of said valve actuator to establish a good heat transfer relation therebetween which provides absorption of heat from said actuator by the oil and refrigerant in said oil pick-up tube whereby this heat absorption is supplemental to the continuous absorption of heat by the refrigerant in said housing and surrounding said tubular portion which resultantly permits the temperature of refrigerant in said housing and evaporator to increase during periods of operation when the throttling valve is located near its closed operative position to prevent frost build-up on the evaporator.

Claim 7

An evaporator temperature control for an air conditioning system including a refrigerant compressor and an evaporator in flow relationship with one another comprising: a liquid accumulator including a housing which defines an interior space which has an inlet connected to the evaporator to receive refrigerant therefrom and an outlet connected to the compressor for discharging refrigerant thereto from said interior space; means including a valve seat member with a valve passage therethrough separating said interior space into an outlet portion and an inlet portion; flow control means including a throttling valve movable with respect to said valve seat member and said passage therein for regulating the flow of refrigerant through said passage from the evaporator to the compressor; a thermally responsive valve actuator operably connected to said throttling valve for positioning it between an open operative position and a closed operative position with respect to said passage in response to changes in the temperature of refrigerant surrounding said actuator; said valve actuator including a rigid walled, tubular portion extending through said inlet housing portion upstream from said throttling valve; the hollow interior of said tubular portion being filled with an aqueous solution having a freezing temperature of about 32* F; an axially extendable portion of said valve actuator fluidly connected to said tubular portion to form an interconnected interior space filled with an immiscible liquid with respect to the aqueous solution; said valve actuator being operably connected to said throttling valVe for positioning said valve with respect to said valve seat when said aqueous solution expands and contracts due to temperature changes; an elongated oil pick-up tube mounted alongside said tubular portion and having an inlet end located near the bottom of said inlet portion of said housing to introduce a mixture of oil and refrigerant therein; said oil pick-up tube having an outlet end downstream from said throttling valve to discharge oil and refrigerant from the oil pick-up tube for passage to said compressor; the inlet end of said oil pick-up tube being restricted by an orifice to produce a lower pressure and temperature of oil and refrigerant within the oil pick-up tube than that of refrigerant surrounding said tubular portion; whereby the relatively large pressure gradient between upstream and downstream portions of said housing caused by the positioning of said throttling valve near its closed operative position draws a substantial quantity of relatively cold refrigerant and oil through said oil pick-up tube; said oil pick-up tube being attached along a portion of its length to said tubular portion of said valve actuator to establish a good heat transfer relation therebetween which provides absorption of heat from said actuator by the oil and refrigerant in said oil pick-up tube whereby this heat absorption is supplemental to the continuous absorption of heat by the refrigerant in said housing and surrounding said tubular portion which resultantly permits the temperature of refrigerant in said housing and evaporator to increase during periods of operation when the throttling valve is located near its closed operative position to prevent frost build-up on the evaporator; said throttling valve being in the form of an annular member attached around said tubular actuator and extending radially outwardly therefrom; said oil pick-up tube extending through and secured in a bore in said throttling valve and opening downstream from said valve adjacent the outlet of said accumulator.

Claim 8

An evaporator temperature control for an air conditioning system including a refrigerant compressor and an evaporator in flow relationship with one another comprising: a liquid accumulator including a housing which defines an interior space which has an inlet connected to the evaporator to receive refrigerant therefrom and an outlet connected to the compressor for discharging refrigerant thereto from said interior space; means including a valve seat member with a valve passage therethrough separating said interior space into an outlet portion and an inlet portion; flow control means including a throttling valve movable with respect to said valve seat member and said passage therein for regulating the flow of refrigerant through said passage from the evaporator to the compressor; a thermally responsive valve actuator operably connected to said throttling valve for positioning it between an open operative position and a closed operative position with respect to said passage in response to changes in the temperature of refrigerant surrounding said actuator; said valve actuator including a rigid walled, tubular portion extending through said inlet housing portion upstream from said throttling valve; the hollow interior of said tubular portion being filled with an aqueous solution having a freezing temperature of about 32* F; an axially extendable portion of said valve actuator fluidly connected to said tubular portion to form an interconnected interior space filled with an immiscible liquid with respect to the aqueous solution; said valve actuator being operably connected to said throttling valVe for positioning said valve with respect to said valve seat when said aqueous solution expands and contracts due to temperature changes; an elongated oil pick-up tube mounted alongside said tubular portion and having an inlet end located near the bottom of said inlet portion of said housing to introduce a mixture of oil and refrigerant therein; said oil pick-up tube having an outlet end downstream from said throttling valve to discharge oil and refrigerant from the oil pick-up tube for passage to said compressor; the inlet end of said oil pick-up tube being restricted by an orifice to produce a lower pressure and temperature of oil and refrigerant within the oil pick-up tube than that of refrigerant surrounding said tubular portion; whereby the relatively large pressure gradient between upstream and downstream portions of said housing caused by the positioning of said throttling valve near its closed operative position draws a substantial quantity of relatively cold refrigerant and oil through said oil pick-up tube; said oil pick-up tube being attached along a portion of its length to said tubular portion of said valve actuator to establish a good heat transfer relation therebetween which provides absorption of heat from said actuator by the oil and refrigerant in said oil pick-up tube whereby this heat absorption is supplemental to the continuous absorption of heat by the refrigerant in said housing and surrounding said tubular portion which resultantly permits the temperature of refrigerant in said housing and evaporator to increase during periods of operation when the throttling valve is located near its closed operative position to prevent frost build-up on the evaporator; said throttling valve being in the form of an annular member attached around said tubular actuator and extending radially outwardly therefrom; said oil pick-up tube extending through and secured in a bore in said throttling valve and opening downstream from said valve adjacent the outlet of said accumulator.