Evaporator coil with multiple orifices

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6389825
  • Patent Number
    6,389,825
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, September 14, 2000
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 21, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Original Assignees
  • Examiners
    • Wayner; William
    Agents
    • Brinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lione
Abstract
A vapor compression system including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and an evaporator. The evaporator includes a main distributor having an inlet, a first outlet, and a second outlet, a coil, the coil having an inlet connected with the first outlet of the main distributor, an outlet, and at least one opening, wherein the opening is located on a surface of the coil between the inlet and the outlet, and a feed line connecting the second outlet of the main distributor to the coil opening. The vapor compression system includes a discharge line connecting the compressor to the condenser, a liquid line connecting the condenser to the inlet of the expansion device, a saturated vapor line connecting the outlet of the expansion device to the inlet of the main distributor, and a suction line connecting the outlet of the coil to the compressor.
Description




BACKGROUND




This invention relates, in general, to vapor compression systems, and more particularly, to a vapor compression system having an evaporator with at least one feed line for flowing heat transfer fluid into a coil having multiple orifices.




In a closed-loop vapor Compression cycle, heat transfer fluid changes state from a vapor to a liquid in the condenser, giving off heat to ambient surroundings, and changes state from a liquid to a vapor in the evaporator, absorbing heat from the ambient surroundings during vaporization. A typical vapor compression system includes a compressor for pumping heat transfer fluid, such as a freon, to a condenser, where heat is given off as the heat transfer fluid condenses into a liquid. The heat transfer fluid then flows through a liquid line to an expansion device, where the heat transfer fluid undergoes a volumetric expansion. The expanded heat transfer fluid then flows into an evaporator. The evaporator includes a coil having an inlet and an outlet, wherein the heat transfer fluid is vaporized at a low pressure absorbing heat while it undergoes a change of state from a liquid to a vapor. The heat transfer fluid, now in the vapor state, flows through the coil outlet and exits the evaporator. Upon exiting the evaporator, the heat transfer fluid then flows through a suction line and back to the compressor.




In one aspect, the efficiency of the vapor compression cycle depends upon the time required to charge the evaporator, that is the time required to fill the coil within the evaporator with the heat transfer fluid. In general, vapor compression systems charge the evaporator by flowing heat transfer fluid through the coil inlet, through the length of the coil and out through the coil outlet. The heat transfer fluid fills the length of the coil all by entering through only one orifice, that is, the coil inlet. Charging the evaporator by forcing heat transfer fluid through only one orifice, the coil inlet, takes a substantial amount of time. Additionally, by locating that orifice at the entrance of the coil, the heat transfer fluid is forced to fill the coil in a direction from the coil inlet to the coil outlet. This causes the temperature of the coil surface surrounding coil inlet to become much cooler than the temperature of the coil surface surrounding the coil outlet, while the evaporator is charging. Since the temperature of the coil surface is not constant throughout the length of the coil, the evaporator may not absorb heat as efficiently from the ambient surroundings.




Accordingly, further development of vapor compression systems, and more specifically, vapor compression systems which charging an evaporator by forcing heat transfer fluid through only one orifice, is necessary in order to decrease the amount of time required to charge an evaporator and increase the efficiency of the evaporator.




SUMMARY




According to one aspect of the present invention, a vapor compression system is provided. The vapor compression system includes a compressor for increasing the pressure and temperature of a heat transfer fluid, a condenser for liquefying the heat transfer fluid, and an expansion device having an inlet and an outlet. The vapor compression system also includes an evaporator for transferring heat from ambient surroundings to the heat transfer fluid. The evaporator includes a main distributor having an inlet, a first outlet, and a second outlet, a coil, the coil having an inlet connected with the first outlet of the main distributor, an outlet, and at least one opening, wherein the opening is located on a surface of the coil between the inlet and the outlet, and a feed line connecting the second outlet of the main distributor to the coil opening. The vapor compression system includes a discharge line connecting the compressor to the condenser, a liquid line connecting the condenser to the inlet of the expansion device, a saturated vapor line connecting the outlet of the expansion device to the inlet of the main distributor, and a suction line connecting the outlet of the coil to the compressor.




According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for operating a vapor compression system is provided. The method includes, providing an evaporator for transferring heat from ambient surroundings to a heat transfer fluid, the evaporator comprising at least one coil, the coil having an inlet, an outlet, and at least one opening, wherein the opening is located on a surface of the coil between the inlet and the outlet, and flowing the heat transfer fluid through both the coil inlet and the coil opening.




According to yet another aspect of the present invention an evaporator for transferring heat from ambient surroundings to a heat transfer fluid is provided. The evaporator includes a main distributor for receiving heat transfer fluid, at least one coil, the coil having an inlet connected with a first outlet of the main distributor, an outlet, and at least one opening, wherein the opening is located on a surface of the coil between the inlet and the outlet of the coil, and a feed line connected with a second outlet of the main distributor and the coil opening.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a schematic drawing of a vapor compression system arranged in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;





FIG. 2

is a schematic view of an evaporator, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; and





FIG. 3

is a cross-sectional schematic view of an evaporator, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.











For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the Figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, dimensions of some elements are exaggerated relative to each other. Further, when considered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the Figures to indicate corresponding elements.




DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




One embodiment of a vapor compression system


10


is illustrated in FIG.


1


. Vapor compression system


10


includes a compressor


12


, a condenser


14


, an evaporator


16


, and an expansion device


18


. Compressor


12


is coupled to condenser


14


by a discharge line


20


. Expansion device


18


is coupled to condenser


14


by a liquid line coupled to an inlet


24


of expansion device


18


. In one embodiment, expansion device


18


is coupled to discharge line


20


at a second inlet (not shown). A saturated vapor line


28


couples outlet


26


of expansion device


18


to evaporator


16


, and a suction line


30


couples the outlet of evaporator


16


to the inlet of compressor


12


. Preferably, a sensor


32


is mounted to suction line


30


and is operably connected to expansion device


18


. Sensor


32


can be any type of sensor known by those skilled in the art designed to detect conditions of heat transfer fluid


34


such as temperature, pressure, enthalpy, moisture or any other type of conditions that may be monitored. For example, sensor


32


may be a pressure sensor that detect the pressure of heat transfer fluid


34


at a certain point within vapor compression system


10


, or a temperature sensor which detect the temperature of heat transfer fluid


34


at a certain point within vapor compression system


10


. Preferably, sensor


32


relays information about the conditions of heat transfer fluid


34


at a certain point along vapor compression system


10


, such a pressure and temperature, through control line


33


to expansion device


18


. Sensor


32


may relay information about the conditions of heat transfer fluid


34


using other devices, such as wireless transmitters and receivers.




Vapor compression system


10


can utilize essentially any commercially available heat transfer fluid


34


including refrigerants such as, for example, chlorofluorocarbons such as R-12 which is a dicholordifluoromethane, R-22 which is a monochlorodifluoromethane, R-500 which is an azeotropic refrigerant consisting of R-12 and R-152a, R-503 which is an azeotropic refrigerant consisting of R-23 and R-13, and R-502 which is an azeotropic refrigerant consisting of R-22 and R-115. Vapor compression system


10


can also utilize heat transfer fluids


34


including, but not limited to, refrigerants R-13, R-113, 141b, 123a, 123, R-114, and R-11. Additionally, vapor compression system


10


can utilize heat transfer fluids


34


including hydrochlorofluorocarbons such as 141b, 123a, 123, and 124; hydrofluorocarbons such as R-134a, 134, 152, 143a, 125, 32, 23; azeotropic HFCs such as AZ-20 and AZ-50 (which is commonly known as R-507); and blended refrigerants such as MP-39, HP-80, FC-14, R-717, and HP-62 (commonly known as R-404a). Accordingly, it should be appreciated that the particular heat transfer fluid


34


or combination of heat transfer fluid


34


utilized in the present invention is not deemed to be critical to the operation of the present invention since this invention is expected to operate with a greater system efficiency with virtually all heat transfer fluids


34


than is achievable by any previously known vapor compression system utilizing the same heat transfer fluid


34


.




In operation, compressor


12


compresses heat transfer fluid


34


, to a relatively high pressure and temperature. The temperature and pressure to which heat transfer fluid


34


is compressed by compressor


12


will depend upon the particular size of vapor compression system


10


and the cooling load requirements of vapor compression system


10


. Compressor


12


pumps heat transfer fluid


34


into discharge line


20


and into condenser


14


.




In condenser


14


, a medium such as air, water, or a secondary refrigerant is blown past coils within condenser


14


causing the pressurized heat transfer fluid


34


to change to a liquid state. The temperature of the heat transfer fluid


34


drops as the latent heat within the heat transfer fluids


34


is expelled during the condensation process. Condenser


14


discharges the liquefied heat transfer fluid


34


to liquid line


22


.




As shown in

FIG. 1

, liquid line


22


discharges into expansion device


18


. Expansion device


18


may be any device, know known or later developed, that can be used to meter the flow of heat transfer fluid


34


. Expansion device


18


includes, but is not limited to, a thermostatic expansion valve, a capillary tube, and a pressure control. The heat transfer fluid


34


discharged by condenser


14


enters expansion device


18


at inlet


24


and undergoes a volumetric expansion. In one embodiment, heat transfer fluid


34


discharged by condenser


14


enters expansion device


18


at inlet


24


and undergoes a volumetric expansion at a rate determined by the conditions of suction line


30


, such as the temperature and pressure at sensor


32


. Sensor


32


relays information about the conditions of suction line, such a pressure and temperature, through control line


33


to expansion device


18


. Upon undergoing a volumetric expansion, expansion device


18


discharges the heat transfer fluid


34


as a saturated vapor into saturated vapor line


28


. Saturated vapor line


28


connects the outlet


26


of expansion device


18


with the inlet of the evaporator


16


, and more particularly, with an inlet


63


of a main distributor


62


within evaporator


16


.




Shown in

FIG. 2

is a schematic view of evaporator


16


for transferring heat from the ambient surroundings


11


to heat transfer fluid


34


, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Ambient surroundings


11


is the atmosphere surrounding evaporator


16


and coils


44


, as illustrated in

FIGS. 1-3

. Evaporator


16


includes a main distributor


62


, a coil


44


, and a feed line


58


. Main distributor


62


includes an inlet


63


connected with the outlet


26


of expansion device


18


through saturated vapor line


28


, and at least two outlets


64


,


65


, as illustrated in FIG.


2


. Coil


44


includes an inlet


45


, an outlet


47


, an opening


46


, and a surface


48


. Inlet


45


of coil


44


is connected with the first outlet


64


of main distributor


62


and the outlet of coil


44


is connected with outlet


83


of evaporator


16


, as illustrated in FIG.


2


. Coil


44


is generally tubular in shape and has a surface


48


surrounding coil


44


, as illustrated in FIG.


2


. Opening


46


of coil


44


is located on the surface


48


of coil


44


between the inlet


45


and the outlet


47


of coil


44


. Coil


44


is surrounded by evaporator housing


38


. The developed length of coil


44


from the inlet


45


to the outlet


47


of coil


44


is herein referred to as the length L of coil


44


. Feed line


58


connects the second outlet


65


of main distributor


62


with opening


46


of coil


44


.




In operation, heat transfer fluid


34


enters inlet


63


of main distributor


62


and traverses through main distributor


62


to the first outlet


64


and second outlet


65


of main distributor


62


. Heat transfer fluid


34


exits main distributor


62


through first outlet


64


to inlet


45


of coil


44


, and traverses through the length L of coil


44


to outlet


47


of coil


44


. When charging coil


44


of evaporator


16


, heat transfer fluid


34


also exits main distributor


62


through second outlet


65


, through feed line


58


, and into opening


46


of coil


44


. Preferably, a gating valve


42


is positioned in feed line


58


near second inlet


65


to control the flow of heat transfer fluid through opening


46


. Gating valve


42


is capable of terminating the flow of the heat transfer fluid through feed line


58


. Preferably, gating valve


42


is a solenoid valve capable of terminating the flow of heat transfer fluid through a passageway, such as feed line


58


, in response to an electrical signal. However, gating valve


42


may be any valve capable of terminating the flow of heat transfer fluid through a passageway known to one of ordinary skill, such as a valve that is mechanically activated. When charging coil


44


of evaporator


16


, gating valve


42


is opened to allow heat transfer fluid


34


to flow through feed line


58


, through opening


46


, and into coil


44


. Preferably, opening


46


is located on the surface


48


of the coil


44


between one-third and two-thirds of the way down the length L of the coil


44


, wherein the length L of the coil


44


begins at inlet


45


and ends at outlet


47


. By placing opening


46


between one-third and two-thirds of the way down the length L of the coil


44


, heat transfer fluid


34


is able to enter and fill different areas of the coil


44


simultaneously, thus allowing for a more rapid charging of evaporator


16


. Additionally, by filling different areas of coil


44


simultaneously, the temperature of coil


44


throughout the length of coil


44


is more constant than in a conventional vapor compression system.




In one embodiment, coil


44


in evaporator


16


includes multiple circuits


50


,


54


through evaporator


16


, as illustrated in FIG.


3


. As used herein, circuits are portions of the coil


44


used to flow the heat transfer fluid


34


multiple times through evaporator


16


. Preferably, evaporator


16


includes a circuit distributor


68


to divides the flow of heat transfer fluid


34


into at least a first circuit


50


and second circuit


54


, wherein the inlet


69


of circuit distributor


68


is connected with If the first outlet


64


of main distributor, and the outlets


70


,


71


of circuit distributor


68


are connected with the inlets


51


,


55


of circuits


50


,


54


, respectively. However, evaporator


16


may use main distributor


62


, or any other type of distributor, to divide the flow of heat transfer fluid


34


into multiple circuits of coil


44


. Preferably, evaporator


16


includes a collector manifold


88


to combine the flow of heat transfer fluid


34


exiting from multiple circuits, such as first circuit


50


and second circuit


54


, as illustrated in FIG.


3


.




If evaporator


16


includes multiple circuits, such as circuits


50


,


54


, opening


46


is located on a surface of at least one of circuits


50


,


54


between the inlets


51


,


55


and the outlets


52


,


56


of circuits


50


,


54


. Preferably, at least one opening


46


is located on a surface of each circuit


50


,


54


between the inlet and the outlet of each circuit


50


,


54


. For example, if evaporator


16


includes first circuit


50


and second circuit


54


, evaporator


16


preferably includes at least one opening


46


located an a surface of first circuit


50


between inlet


51


and outlet


52


of first circuit


50


and at least one opening


46


is located on a surface of second circuit


54


between inlet


55


and outlet


56


of second circuit


54


.




In one embodiment, coil


44


of evaporator


16


includes multiple openings


46


on the surface


48


of coil


44


between inlet


45


and outlet


46


of coil


44


, as illustrated in

FIGS. 2-3

. Coil


44


may contain any number of openings


46


on the surface


48


of coil


44


between inlet


45


and outlet


46


of coil


44


so as to allow heat transfer fluid to enter and fill coil


44


at number of locations along the length L of coil


44


. The more openings


46


that are placed one the surface


48


of the coil


44


, the more rapidly the evaporator


16


may be charged. Additionally, the more areas of the coil


44


that are filled, simultaneously, the more constant the temperature of the surface


48


of coil


44


throughout the length of coil


44


can remain.




Each opening


46


is connected with at least one outlet of the main distributor


62


through a feed line


58


, as illustrated in FIG.


3


. In one embodiment, evaporator


16


includes a main feed line


57


connected with the second outlet


65


of main distributor


62


, as illustrated in

FIGS. 2-3

. Main feed line


57


connects the second outlet


65


of main distributor


62


with an inlet


75


of a feed line distributor


74


. Feed line distributor


74


includes multiple outlets


76


,


77


connected with all feed lines


58


and all openings


46


. Preferably, evaporator


16


has at least one gating valve


42


positioned in feed line


58


and/or main feed line


57


in order to control the flow of heat transfer fluid


34


through openings


46


. Gating valve


42


is capable of terminating the flow of the heat transfer fluid through any feed line


57


,


58


in which gating valves


42


is positioned in. In one embodiment, a single gating valve


42


is positioned in main feed line


57


and is capable of terminating the flow of heat transfer fluid


34


through all feed lines


57


,


58


. In one embodiment, multiple gating valves


42


are positioned in multiple feed lines


57


,


58


and are capable of selectively terminating the flow of heat transfer fluid


34


in any one opening


46


.




In one embodiment, a control line


41


is connected with a sensor


43


to at least one gating valve


42


for controlling the flow of heat transfer fluid


34


through opening


46


in response to a condition. Sensor


43


may be mounted to coil


44


or within ambient surroundings


11


. Sensor


43


can be any type of sensor known by those skilled in the art designed to detect conditions such as temperature, pressure, enthalpy, moisture or any other type of conditions that may be monitored. For example, sensor


43


may be a pressure sensor that detects the pressure of heat transfer fluid


34


, coil


44


, or ambient surroundings


11


at a certain point in or around vapor compression system


10


. Sensor


43


may also be a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of heat transfer fluid


34


, coil


44


, or ambient surroundings


11


at a certain point in or around vapor compression system


10


. Sensor


43


relays information about the conditions of heat transfer fluid


34


, coil


44


, or ambient surroundings


11


through control line


41


to gating valve


42


. Sensor


43


may relay information about the conditions of heat transfer fluid


34


, coil


44


, or ambient surroundings


11


using other devices, such as wireless transmitters and receivers. Multiple sensors


43


may be mounted to coil


44


or within ambient surroundings


11


in order to detect multiple conditions and relay such information to multiple gating valves


42


. While the above use of sensor


43


to control the flow of heat transfer fluid


34


through opening


46


has been described as being in response to conditions such as temperature, pressure, enthalpy, and moisture, sensor


43


may control the flow of heat transfer fluid


34


through opening


46


in response to any variable or condition.




In one embodiment, evaporator


16


includes a nozzle


86


for expanding heat transfer fluid before entering main distributor


62


. Nozzle


86


can be any type of nozzle, orifice, or device known by those skilled in the art designed to expand fluid, such as heat transfer fluid


34


. Nozzle


86


includes an inlet


85


connected with saturated vapor line


28


and an outlet


87


connected with the inlet


63


of the main distributor


62


.




While the above embodiments have been described with respect to evaporator


16


, the idea of using a feed line to simultaneously feed fluid into multiple portions of a coil may be applied to other coils, such as coil


90


within condenser


14


. In one embodiment, condenser


14


includes a coil


90


having an inlet and an outlet. Coil


90


may include an opening, such as opening


46


, wherein the opening is located on a surface of coil


90


between the inlet and the outlet of coil


90


. Condenser


14


may also include a distributor, such as main distributor


62


, and a feed line, such as feed line


58


, wherein the distributor of the condenser


14


is connected with the inlet of the condenser


14


, the feed line of the condenser


14


, and coil


90


, and wherein the feed line of the condenser


14


is connected with the opening of the condenser


14


.




Moreover, while in the above described embodiments main distributor


62


includes a first outlet


52


and a second outlet


56


, main distributor


62


may have multiple outlets connected to multiple feed lines


57


,


58


and multiple circuits


50


,


54


of coil


44


. Moreover, while in the above described embodiments, evaporator


16


includes circuit distributor


68


for dividing the flow of heat transfer fluid


34


into first circuit


50


and second circuit


54


, and a feed line distributor


74


for dividing the flow of heat transfer fluid


34


from main feed line


57


amongst multiple feed lines


58


, evaporator


16


may include any number of distributors, or combination of distributors, to divide the flow of heat transfer fluid


34


into multiple circuits


50


,


54


and multiple feed lines


58


. Additionally, vapor compression system


10


may include a single distributor, such as main distributor


62


, with multiple outlets for dividing the flow of heat transfer fluid


34


into a coil


44


having at least one circuit


50


,


54


and into at least one feed line


57


,


58


.




While in the above embodiments, evaporator


16


includes only two circuits


50


,


54


, evaporator


16


may have more than two circuits


50


,


54


. Additionally, while in the above embodiments, coil


44


and/or circuits


50


,


54


have been described as having only one opening


46


, coil


44


and/or circuits


50


,


54


may have more than one opening


46


.




Those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous modifications can be made to enable vapor compression system


10


to address a variety of applications. For example, vapor compression system


10


operating in a retail food outlet may include a number of evaporators


16


that can be serviced by a common compressor


12


. Also, in applications requiring refrigeration operations with high thermal loads, multiple compressors


12


can be used to increase the cooling capacity of the vapor compression system


10


.




Those skilled in the art will recognize that vapor compression system


10


can be implemented in a variety of configurations. For example, the compressor


12


, condenser


14


, expansion device


18


, and the evaporator


16


can all be housed in a single housing and placed in a walk-in cooler. In this application, the condenser


14


protrudes through the wall of the walk-in cooler and ambient air outside the cooler is used to condense the heat transfer fluid


34


. In another application, vapor compression system


10


can be configured for air-conditioning a home or business. In yet another application, vapor compression system


10


can be used to chill water. In this application, the evaporator


16


is immersed in water to be chilled. Alternatively, water can be pumped through tubes that are meshed with the evaporator coil


44


. In a further application, vapor compression system


10


can be cascaded together with another system for achieving extremely low refrigeration temperatures. For example, two vapor compression systems using different heat transfer fluids


34


can be coupled together such that the evaporator of a first system provides a low temperature ambient. A condenser of the second system is placed in the low temperature ambient and is used to condense the heat transfer fluid in the second system.




As known by one of ordinary skill in the art, every element of vapor compression system


10


described above, such as evaporator


16


, liquid line


22


, and suction line


30


, can be scaled and sized to meet a variety of load requirements. In addition, the refrigerant charge of the heat transfer fluid in vapor compression system


10


, may be equal to or greater than the refrigerant charge of a conventional system.




Thus, it is apparent that there has been provided, in accordance with the invention, a vapor compression system that fully provides the advantages set forth above. Although the invention has been described and illustrated with reference to specific illustrative embodiments thereof, it is not intended that the invention be limited to those illustrative embodiments. Those skilled in the art will recognize that variations and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, non-halogenated refrigerants can be used, such as ammonia, and the like can also be used. It is therefore intended to include within the invention all such variations and modifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof.



Claims
  • 1. A vapor compression system comprising:a compressor; a condenser; an expansion device; an evaporator comprising: a coil having an inlet connected with the first outlet of the main distributor, an outlet, a circuit distributor for dividing the flow of heat transfer fluid into a first circuit and a second circuit, the circuit distributor having an inlet connected with the first outlet of the main distributor, and at least one opening, wherein the opening is located on a surface of the coil between the inlet and the outlet; and a feed line connecting the second outlet of the main distributor to the coil opening; a discharge line connecting the compressor to the condenser; a liquid line connecting the condenser to the expansion device; a saturated vapor line connecting the expansion device to the inlet of the main distributor; and a suction line connecting the outlet of the coil to the compressor.
  • 2. The vapor compression system of claim 1, further comprising a sensor mounted to the suction line and operatively connected to the expansion device.
  • 3. The vapor compression system of claim 1, wherein the coil opening is located on the surface of the coil between one-third and two-thirds of the way down the length of the coil.
  • 4. The vapor compression system of claim 1, further comprising a gating valve connected with the second outlet of the main distributor for controlling the flow of heat transfer fluid through the opening of the coil.
  • 5. The vapor compression system of claim 1 further comprising a sensor for monitoring the conditions of the ambient surroundings.
  • 6. The vapor compression system of claim 5 further comprising a gating valve connected with the second outlet of the main distributor for controlling the flow of heat transfer fluid to the coil opening, wherein the sensor is operatively connected to the gating valve.
  • 7. The vapor compression system of claim 6, wherein the first gating valve controls the flow of heat transfer fluid through the coil opening upon receiving a signal from the sensor.
  • 8. The vapor compression system of claim 1 further comprising:a plurality of evaporators; a plurality of expansion devices; a plurality of saturated vapor lines, wherein each saturated vapor line connects one of the plurality of expansion devices to one of the plurality of evaporators; a plurality of suction lines, wherein each suction line connects one of the plurality of evaporators to the compressor, wherein each of the plurality of suction lines has a sensor mounted thereto for relaying a signal to a selected one of the plurality of expansion devices.
  • 9. A vapor compression system comprising:a compressor; a condenser; an expansion device; an evaporator comprising: a main distributor having an inlet, a first outlet, and a second outlet; a coil having an inlet connected with the first outlet of the main distributor, an outlet, and at least one opening, wherein the opening is located on a surface of the coil between the inlet and the outlet; and a feed line connecting the second outlet of the main distributor to the coil opening; a discharge line connecting the compressor to the condenser; a liquid line connecting the condenser to the expansion device; a saturated vapor line connecting the expansion device to the inlet of the main distributor; a suction line connecting the outlet of the coil to the compressor; and a nozzle for expanding heat transfer fluid, the nozzle having an inlet connected with the saturated vapor line and an outlet connected with the inlet of the main distributor.
  • 10. A method for operating a vapor compression system comprising:providing an evaporator for transferring heat from ambient surroundings to a heat transfer fluid, the evaporator comprising at least one coil, the coil having an inlet, an outlet, multiple circuits, and at least one opening, wherein the opening is located on a surface of the coil between the inlet and the outlet; and flowing the heat transfer fluid through both the coil inlet and the coil opening.
  • 11. The method of claim 10 wherein the evaporator further comprises a gating valve for controlling the flow of heat transfer fluid through the coil opening.
  • 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the heat transfer fluid flows simultaneously through both the coil inlet and the coil opening.
  • 13. An evaporator for transferring heat from ambient surroundings to a heat transfer fluid, the evaporator comprising:a main distributor for receiving heat transfer fluid; at least one coil, the coil having an inlet connected with a first outlet of the main distributor, an outlet, multiple circuits and at least one opening, wherein the opening is located on a surface of the coil between the inlet and the outlet of the coil; and a feed line connected with a second outlet of the main distributor and the coil opening.
  • 14. The evaporator of claim 13 further comprising a gating valve positioned adjacent to the coil opening for controlling the flow of heat transfer fluid through the coil opening.
  • 15. The evaporator of claim 14 further comprising a sensor for controlling the flow of heat transfer fluid through the coil opening in response to a condition.
  • 16. The evaporator of claim 13, wherein the coil opening is located on the surface of the coil between one-third and two-thirds of the way down the length of the coil.
  • 17. The evaporator of claim 13, wherein the coil opening is located on the surface of the coil between one-tenth and nine-tenths of the way down the length of the coil.
  • 18. The evaporator of claim 13, further comprising multiple feed lines, wherein the coil has multiple openings located on the surface of the coil between the inlet and the outlet of the coil, and wherein the multiple feed lines are connected with the second outlet of the main distributor and the multiple coil openings.
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Entry
Pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/228,696 entitled Vapor Compression System and Method filed Jan. 12, 1999 (our docket: 9713/3).
Pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/431,830 entitled Vapor Compression System and Method filed Nov. 2, 1999 (our docket: 9713/4).
Pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/443,071 entitled Vapor Compression System and Method filed Nov. 18, 1999 (our docket: 9713/5).
Pending International Application No. PCT/US00/00622 entitled Vapor Compression System and Method International Filing Date: Jan. 10, 2000 (our docket: 9713/7).
Pending International Application No. PCT/US00/00663 entitled Vapor Compression System and Method International Filing Date: Jan. 11, 2000 (our docket: 9713/8).
Pending International Application No. PCT/US00/14648 entitled Vapor Compression System and Method International Filing Date: May 26, 200 (our docket: 9713/14).
Pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/661,477 entitled Expansion Device for Vapor Compression System filed Sep. 14, 2000 (our docket: 9713/16).
Pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/661,543 entitled Vapor Compression System filed Sep. 14, 2000 (our docket: 9713/17).