Patent ID: 6370893
Filing Date: 2002-04-16
Classification: F25B,Y02A,Y02B

Abstract:
In an absorption cooling machine of the type which uses a refrigerant and an absorbent and which includes a generator, a condenser, an evaporator including an evaporator sump and a refrigerant pump for pumping refrigerant from said evaporator sump, an absorber including an absorber sump and a solution pump for pumping a refrigerant-absorbent solution from said absorber sump, said evaporator sump and said absorber sump being separated by a partition, and means for interconnecting said generator, condenser, evaporator and absorber to form a closed of absorption cooling system, said cooling system further being of the type which operates at full or part load conditions and which is designed to shut down in accordance with a dilution cycle during which the quantity of refrigerant within the evaporator sump becomes large enough to overflow said partition and thereby reduce the concentration of the solution in said absorber sump to a value below that which crystallization occurs, an improved refrigerant management apparatus comprising:a refrigerant storage tank located in a portion of said evaporator for receiving and storing liquid refrigerant; means for causing the flow of refrigerant into said tank during operation of said absorption system; and tank drainage means with said tank fluidly communicating with said evaporator sump along a first flow path by way of an opening in a side of said tank and along a second flow path by way of overflowing said tank; wherein the size of said opening and the relative volumes of said tank and said evaporator sump are such that at full load operations, the tank overflows to the evaporator sump but the evaporator sump does not overflow to the absorber, and at shutdown of the system, there is sufficient drainage of refrigerant from said opening to said evaporator sump, such that said evaporator sump overflows to said absorber with sufficient refrigerant as to lower the concentration of solution to prevent crystallization from occurring therein.