Mechanical refrigeration system

Abstract

The invention relates to a particular configuration of a compression device of a refrigeration system and a method for actuating the same. The device comprises a pair of double-acting cylinders (8, 9) connected together by a movable rod (11), such that the first cylinder (8) acts as an element for compressing the refrigerant fluid, for which purpose the rod is moved through the second cylinder (9), which is supplied with the pressurized fluid, through a series of branches and valves controlled using limit switches of the rod (11), the pressurized fluid allows the refrigerant liquid flow in the first cylinder and the pressurized fluid flow of the second cylinder to be constant at the outlets of both devices. Thus, a fully autonomous device that does not require electricity or any type of fuel is obtained.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of a patent application with an application date of March 8, 2019, application number 201980048872.6 (international application number PCT / ES2019 / 070154), and invention name “Mechanical Refrigeration System”. Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to a mechanical refrigeration system, ie one that does not require electrical energy nor any type of fuel to operate, which makes it particularly suitable for use in places where there is no electricity or where it is simply desired to have a completely autonomous refrigeration system that requires only a pressurized water flow to operate. Background Art

[0003] Numerous refrigeration systems based on a closed circuit are known, through which a fluid circulates, which is compressed, thereby raising its temperature. The fluid is then passed through a condenser, through which a portion of the heat generated during the compression process is extracted, so that, at the outlet of the condenser, there is an expansion valve, through which the fluid loses pressure, causing it to evaporate. In the process, the gas is cooled, and the process is carried out in a coil used as an evaporator, after which it is possible to refrigerate cold rooms, cool the air of air conditioning equipment, etc.

[0004] This type of equipment / system has defects, regarding which the following aspects should be mentioned:

[0005] They use electric compressors, which involve a clearly undesirable reliance on electricity.

[0006] The type of compressor used includes a motor that is subject to heat, which can negatively impact system performance.

[0007] In order to improve the performance of these systems, some refrigeration systems are known that are based on absorption cycles, that is, on the ability of certain substances to absorb the vapor of other substances in the liquid phase. They are therefore two-component systems in which one substance is dissolved in the other and cooling occurs by extracting one of the two substances from the solution by applying heat and then reabsorbing it into the solution.

[0008] An advantage of absorption refrigeration systems is that they have lower electricity requirements compared to conventional compression systems, but the electricity requirement is replaced by heat demand.

[0009] In any case, systems of this type have extremely high manufacturing costs and they are also very limited in the lowest temperatures they can reach.

[0010] Another way of obtaining a refrigeration system is described in document WO 2004 / 11155, in which a reciprocating compressor is used, formed by a cylinder with a piston associated with the refrigeration circuit, the cylinder in turn being actuated by another power cylinder so that the two cylinders are connected to each other by a common rod.

[0011] Although it is possible to obtain a mechanical compressor in this way, the reality is that the device described in this document envisages an extremely complex actuation system for the power cylinder, which includes a boiler, electronic components and a large number of pipes and impact pumps, which have a very negative impact on the device from the point of view of structural complexity, dependence on fuel and dependence on electricity, which means that the refrigeration system can never be considered autonomous. Summary of the invention

[0012] The proposed refrigeration system constitutes a structurally very simple mechanical actuation system that requires no electricity or fossil fuels, is very cost-effective, is fully autonomous, and has better performance than conventional systems.

[0013] To this end, and based on the conventional structure of a basic refrigeration system, a closed flow circuit for a coolant fluid is defined, which closed flow circuit includes a compression device that compresses the fluid and causes its temperature to rise, wherein the fluid is passed through a condenser, through which a portion of the heat generated during the compression process is extracted, whereby an expansion valve is provided at the outlet of the condenser, after the fluid passes through the expansion valve, it loses pressure and causes it to evaporate, in which process the gas is cooled and the cold gas is used for corresponding applications, while the fluid is recirculated back to the compression device; the characteristics of the invention relate to the special construction of the compression device, and more specifically to its actuating device.

[0014] Based on this, more specifically, the compression device is formed as a pair of double-acting cylinders which are connected together via their movable rods.

[0015] Thus, one of the double-acting cylinders is always used as a compression system for the refrigerant fluid, and a pair of branches are provided at each of its two air inlets, which serve as both inlet and outlet, respectively, and these branches are connected in series to the conventional refrigeration flow path through non-return valves, so that the fluid leaves the compression flow path through one or the other branch, while the opposite branch serves as a suction element for the incoming fluid.

[0016] For the second double-acting cylinder, according to the essence of the invention, in order to make the cylinder work in a reciprocating and constant manner, that is, in order to make it work when moving in one direction and when moving in the opposite direction, it can be imagined that the two air inlets connected to the two chambers of the cylinder are connected to two branches, each branch has its own on / off valve, and there is a relative connection between the opposite branches, at which connection points there are respectively provided with a pressurized water inlet and a water outlet.

[0017] In this way, by controlling the valves of each branch, pressurized water can be transferred to one or the other chamber in the double-acting cylinder, which means that when one chamber is filled with pressurized water, the other chamber is emptied and the water recirculates towards the outlet of the system, and the process is reversed as soon as the piston reaches the limit of its travel in the cylinder.

[0018] In order for this process to be carried out completely mechanically and automatically, the outer rod connecting the two double-acting cylinders will incorporate in its middle region an actuator having a limit switch synchronized with the means for opening and closing the valve in the branch associated with the pressurized water supply flow path of the second double-acting cylinder.

[0019] Thus, a constant flow of pressurized water from its inlet to its outlet is achieved by automatically acting on the opening and closing of the valves in the different branches, which always causes the rod connecting the two cylinders to reciprocate in one direction or the other, thus causing a reciprocating compression process in the chamber of the first double-acting cylinder or compression cylinder, which serves to carry out the compression of the refrigerant fluid.

[0020] Regarding the supply of pressurized water for the system, it does not cause any loss or any type of contamination of the water passing through it, so it can be installed in series in any water supply pipe in which water is always moving, and is about 2Kg / cm 2 The pressure is sufficient to move the mechanism.

[0021] According to a variant embodiment of the invention, and for the greatest possible autonomy of the system, it has been envisaged that the pressurized water supply system is formed as a closed flow circuit, which is connected to the inlet and outlet of the above-mentioned supply branch and to the outlet of the system, so that in said closed flow circuit there are arranged in series: a heat exchanger intended to cool the water leaving the system; a non-return valve which ensures the circulation and unidirectional flow of water due to the pressure difference caused by the temperature difference; and an evacuated tube solar collector, through which a significant increase in the water pressure at its outlet can be achieved, thereby supplying the system in a closed flow circuit, as previously described.

[0022] Since the means in the refrigeration circuit that cause the compression of the gas are themselves independent, they do not have a negative impact on the temperature of said gas, since it is not heated by friction, and the performance of this type of installation will be much better than conventional installations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] As a supplement to the description to be made herein and in order to help better understand the features of the invention, according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the description is accompanied by a set of drawings as its integral part, in which, by way of illustration and not limitation, the following are embodied:

[0024] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a mechanical refrigeration system implemented according to the purpose of the invention is shown, corresponding to the moment when the rod common to the two double-acting cylinders moves to the left.

[0025] Figure 2 Shows something like Figure 1 , but corresponds to a movement of the common rod to the right.

[0026] Figure 3 and 4 They show similar Figure 1 and 2 , but corresponds to a fully autonomous variant embodiment in which no external pressurized water input is required, since said pressurized water is provided in a closed flow circuit by a system based on evacuated tube solar collectors. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] With reference to the figures mentioned, it can be seen how the system of the invention starts from a conventional structure for a refrigeration system, wherein a closed flow circuit (1) for a refrigerant fluid is defined, the closed flow circuit compression device (2), the compression device is connected to a condenser (3), through which a part of the heat (4) generated during the compression process is extracted, and an expansion valve (5) is provided at the outlet of the condenser (3), after which the fluid loses pressure, causing the fluid to evaporate in the evaporator (6), wherein cold air (7) is generated, which is used for the application considered suitable, the evaporator is connected to the compression device (2) in a closed flow circuit, wherein the flow circuit may include usual accessories, such as a discharge valve (10), a safety valve, etc.

[0028] Furthermore, the compression device (2) is formed as a pair of double-acting cylinders (8-9), which are connected together by a movable rod (11) shared by both.

[0029] Therefore, the first double-acting cylinder (8) is used as a compression system for the refrigerant fluid, and has corresponding paired branches (14-15), (16-17) at its two air inlets (12-13) serving as both inlet and outlet, and these branches are connected in series with the main refrigeration flow path (1) through a check valve (18).

[0030] Furthermore, the second double-acting cylinder (9) is a cylinder that performs all the compression work performed in the first cylinder (8).

[0031] More specifically and in accordance with the essence of the invention, it has been envisaged that its two air inlets (19-20) are connected to two branches (21-22) and (23-24), each branch having its own on / off valve (A, B, C and D), with a two-to-two connection existing between the opposite branches, at which connection point a pressurized water inlet (25) and a water outlet (26) are provided.

[0032] Based on this, the opening and closing of valves (A) and (C) are mechanically synchronized, and so are valves (B) and (D), so that, according to Figure 1 When valves (A) and (C) are open and therefore valves (B) and (D) are closed, the pressurized water causes the plunger (27) to move to the left, which in turn causes compression of the coolant gas in the sub-chamber (28) of the first double-acting cylinder (8), and a suction action in the sub-chamber (29) of the cylinder (8).

[0033] Conversely, when the plunger (27) reaches the limit of its travel, it mechanically reverses the position of the valves (A, B, C and D) via the actuator (30), wherein valves (A) and (C) are closed and valves (B) and (D) are opened, respectively, as shown in FIG. Figure 2 As shown in , this will cause the pressurized water to cause the plunger (27) to move to the right, which in turn causes the compression of the coolant gas in the sub-chamber (29) of the first double-acting cylinder (8), and the suction action in the sub-chamber (28) of the cylinder (8), so that in both cases the compressed gas will always be directed to the condenser (3).

[0034] By automatically acting on the opening and closing of the valves of the different branches, a constant flow of pressurized water from its inlet to its outlet is achieved, which always causes the rod connecting the two cylinders to reciprocate in one direction or the other, thus causing a reciprocating compression process in any chamber (28-29) of the first double-acting cylinder (8), which is used to compress the coolant fluid.

[0035] As mentioned above, the system of the present invention can be connected in series through its inlet (25) and its outlet (26) to any pipeline through which water circulates at a sufficient pressure, wherein about 2Kg / cm 2 The pressure is enough.

[0036] according to Figure 3 and 4 In a variant embodiment, in order to obtain a completely autonomous system not dependent on any external source of pressurized water, it has been envisaged that the outlet (26) and the inlet (25) are connected in a closed circuit (30) so that the outlet (26) is connected to a heat exchanger (31) intended to cool the water leaving the system and to an evacuated tube solar collector (33) through a non-return valve (32) intended to ensure circulation and unidirectional flow of the water, through which a significant increase in water pressure is achieved at its outlet, thus providing the system with complete autonomy.

[0037] As mentioned above, it has been found through experiments that the system of the present invention can 2 Considering that most vacuum tube solar collectors can provide about 16Kg / cm 2 The system can multiply the water pressure many times as needed to take advantage of this excess pressure.

Claims

1. A mechanical refrigeration system of the type comprising a closed flow circuit (1) for a refrigerant fluid, the mechanical refrigeration system comprising a compression device (2), the compression device being connected to a condenser (3), through which a portion of the heat (4) generated during the compression process is extracted, an expansion valve (5) being provided at the outlet of the condenser (3), the fluid losing pressure after passing through the expansion valve, causing the fluid to evaporate in an evaporator (6), wherein cold air (7) is generated, the cold air being used for a corresponding application, the evaporator being connected to the compression device (2) in a closed flow circuit, and wherein, The compression device (2) is formed as a pair of double-acting cylinders (8, 9), which are connected together by their common movable rod (11), so that the first double-acting cylinder (8) of the pair of double-acting cylinders (8, 9) is used as a compression system for a refrigerant fluid, and the first double-acting cylinder has corresponding first paired branches (14, 15) and second paired branches (16-17) at its two air inlets (12, 13) which serve as both an inlet and an outlet, i.e., the first branch (14), the second branch (15), the first branch (16-17) and the second branch (16-17). The invention relates to a third branch (16) and a fourth branch (17), wherein the first paired branch and the second paired branch are connected in series with the main refrigeration flow path (1) through a check valve (18), wherein the second double-acting cylinder (9) of the paired double-acting cylinders (8, 9) has two openings (19, 20), the two openings corresponding to the two working chambers of the second double-acting cylinder, and each of the two openings is respectively connected to the corresponding third paired branch (21, 22) and fourth paired branch (23, 24), i.e., the fifth branch (21). , a sixth branch (22), a seventh branch (23) and an eighth branch (24), wherein each branch (21, 22, 23, 24) of the fifth branch (21), the sixth branch (22), the seventh branch (23) and the eighth branch (24) is respectively provided with an on / off valve (A, B, C, D), namely a first valve (A), a second valve (B), a third valve (C) and a fourth valve (D), and there is communication between the sixth branch (22) and the seventh branch (23), and a pressurized water inlet (25) is provided at the communication point. ), there is communication between the fifth branch (21) and the eighth branch (24), at which point the water outlet (26) is provided, wherein the opening and closing of the first valve (A) and the third valve (C) are mechanically synchronized and opposite to the second valve (B) and the fourth valve (D), and it is arranged that an actuator (30) is provided corresponding to the movable rod (11) shared by the paired double-acting cylinders (8, 9), and the actuator is associated with a device for reversing the position of the on / off valves (A, B, C, D) by means of its limit switch, Wherein, each of the two openings (19, 20) of the second double-acting cylinder (9) in the pair of double-acting cylinders (8, 9) serves as both an inlet for pressurized water from the third pair of branches (21, 22) and the fourth pair of branches (23, 24) and an outlet for pressurized water leaving the third pair of branches (21, 22) and the fourth pair of branches (23, 24), respectively.

2. The mechanical refrigeration system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The two openings (19, 20) of the second double-acting cylinder (9) of the pair of double-acting cylinders (8, 9) are the only openings (19, 20) of the second double-acting cylinder (9) of the pair of double-acting cylinders (8, 9).

3. The mechanical refrigeration system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outlet (26) and the inlet (25) are connected in a closed loop (30), which are connected only through the first valve (A) and the second valve (B) on one side of the closed loop (30), and are connected only through the third valve (C) and the fourth valve (D) on the other side of the closed loop (30).

4. The mechanical refrigeration system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The actuator is directly connected to the limit switch for reversing the position of the on / off valve (A, B, C, D).

5. The mechanical refrigeration system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first opening (19) of the two openings (19, 20) is disposed between the first valve (A) and the second valve (B), and the second opening (20) of the two openings (19, 20) is disposed between the third valve (C) and the fourth valve (D).

6. The mechanical refrigeration system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flow from the pressurized water inlet (25) is a constant pressurized water flow.

7. The mechanical refrigeration system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The constant flow of pressurized water from the pressurized water inlet (25) comprises the same flow rate at which the water exits through the outlet (26).

8. The mechanical refrigeration system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first valve (A), the second valve (B), the third valve (C) and the fourth valve (D) are arranged on the same side of the second double-acting cylinder (9) of the pair of double-acting cylinders (8, 9).

9. The mechanical refrigeration system according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a heat exchanger (31) arranged in series after the outlet (26), and the heat exchanger is connected to the vacuum tube solar collector (33) supplying the inlet (25) through a check valve (32).

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