Patent ID: 8021127

Claim:
A gas compression system comprising: a compressor having a compressing mechanism, an inlet and an outlet; a motor connected to the compressor to drive the compressing mechanism; a housing enclosing the compressor and the motor, the housing having a gas inlet and a gas outlet; and a suction assembly for receiving uncompressed gas from a gas source and conveying the uncompressed gas to the compressor, the suction assembly comprising: a suction pipe in fluid communication with the gas source; a nozzle having a nozzle inlet to receive the uncompressed gas from the suction pipe and a nozzle outlet to provide the uncompressed gas to the compressor inlet, the nozzle having a converging portion adjacent to the nozzle outlet, the nozzle converging portion further configured to receive uncompressed gas from the nozzle inlet and to accelerate flow of uncompressed gas from the nozzle inlet to the nozzle outlet, at least one annular gap disposed between the nozzle outlet and the compressor inlet, the at least one annular gap being in fluid communication with the housing gas outlet, and an annular wall adjacent to the annular gap, the annular wall impeding gas return from the motor housing through the annular gap; the compressor inlet configured to receive uncompressed gas from the nozzle outlet and to provide the uncompressed gas to the compressor; wherein a pressure side of the gas compression system includes an evaporator and extends to the suction assembly; and wherein the housing gas inlet is in fluid communication with the gas source on the low pressure side of the gas compression system and the housing gas outlet is in fluid communication with the nozzle through apertures in the converging portion of the nozzle, wherein the nozzle draws uncompressed gas from the gas source through the housing gas inlet into the housing to cool the motor, through the housing gas outlet and through said apertures in the converging portion of the nozzle to the compressor inlet.