Patent ID: 6223556
Filing Date: 2001-05-01
Classification: F25B,F28D

Abstract:
A condenser for a refrigerant comprising:two spaced, nonhorizontal elongated headers;tube slots in the facing sides of said headers with the tube slots in one header generally being aligned with the tube slots in the other header;a plurality of tubes extending between the headers with their ends in corresponding ones of the slots to establish a plurality of hydraulically parallel flow paths between the headers;at least one partition in each of said headers for causing refrigerant to make at least two passes, including an upstream pass and a downstream pass, through said condenser;a refrigerant inlet in one of said headers;a refrigerant outlet in one of said headers;an elongated receiver mounted on one of said headers and having an interior chamber, an upper inlet connected to a downstream side of said upstream pass for the flow of refrigerant from the upstream pass to the interior chamber, a lower liquid outlet connected to an upstream side of said downstream pass for the flow of liquid refrigerant from the interior chamber to the downstream pass, and a port to allow access to the interior chamber for servicing the receiver, said port including a first nominally cylindrical interior surface, a second nominally cylindrical interior surface spaced axially and radially outward from the first cylindrical interior surface, and a radially inwardly facing annular groove in the second cylindrical interior surface, the second cylindrical interior surface and the annular groove being nominally coaxial with the first cylindrical interior surface;at least one annular seal;a plug having first and second ends spaced by a nominally cylindrical exterior surface, and at least one radially outwardly facing annular groove in the exterior surface mounting said at least one annular seal, said plug removably received in said port with said at least one annular seal mating with said first cylindrical interior surface of said port; anda retaining ring removably received in said radially inwardly facing annular groove of said port to releaseably retain said plug in said port.