U.S. patent application number 15/051987 was filed with the patent office on 2016-06-16 for device with granular material filling.
This patent application is currently assigned to MAHLE International GmbH. The applicant listed for this patent is MAHLE International GmbH. Invention is credited to Sabine BITZER, Uwe FOERSTER, Roger GORGES, Martin KASPAR.
Application Number | 20160169567 15/051987 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51300771 |
Filed Date | 2016-06-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160169567 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
FOERSTER; Uwe ; et
al. |
June 16, 2016 |
DEVICE WITH GRANULAR MATERIAL FILLING
Abstract
A device is provided that includes a fluid inlet and a fluid
outlet, wherein the device is in fluid communication with the
refrigerant circuit via the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet,
wherein the device contains a granular material which can absorb an
amount of fluid from the refrigerant, wherein the amount of
granular material contained in the device is calculated according
to the formula MG=W/WA, where MG is the mass in [g] of the granular
material contained in the device, W is the total amount of fluid in
[g] that can be absorbed by the granular material, and WA is the
amount of fluid that can be absorbed per gram of granular
material.
Inventors: |
FOERSTER; Uwe;
(Erdmannhausen, DE) ; KASPAR; Martin; (Fellbach,
DE) ; BITZER; Sabine; (Stuttgart, DE) ;
GORGES; Roger; (Harborne Birmingham, GB) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
MAHLE International GmbH |
Stuttgart |
|
DE |
|
|
Assignee: |
MAHLE International GmbH
Stuttgart
DE
|
Family ID: |
51300771 |
Appl. No.: |
15/051987 |
Filed: |
February 24, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
PCT/EP2014/067182 |
Aug 11, 2014 |
|
|
|
15051987 |
|
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
62/474 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F28D 2021/0063 20130101;
F25B 2339/0441 20130101; F28D 1/05375 20130101; F25B 39/04
20130101; F25B 43/006 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F25B 43/00 20060101
F25B043/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 27, 2013 |
DE |
10 2013 217 072.6 |
Claims
1. A device comprising: a fluid inlet; a fluid outlet, the device
being in fluid communication with a refrigerant circuit via the
fluid inlet and the fluid outlet; and a granulate that absorbs an
amount of fluid from the refrigerant, the amount of granulate
contained in the device being calculated according to the formula:
MG=W/WA, wherein MG is the mass in [g] of the granulate contained
in the device, W is the total amount of fluid in [g] that is
absorbable by the granulate, and WA is the amount of fluid that is
absorbable per gram of granulate.
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the amount of fluid per
gram of granulate WA that is absorbable lies within a range of 0.1
to 0.4, within a range of 0.2 to 0.3, or within a range of 0.23 to
0.25.
3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the volume of the
granulate contained in the device in proportion to the amount of
fluid that is absorbable by the granulate is calculated according
to the formula: VG/W=1/(WA/SG), wherein VG is the volume of the
granulate in [cm.sup.3], W is the overall amount of fluid in [g]
that is absorbable by the granulate, WA is the amount of fluid that
is absorbable per gram of granulate, and SG is the bulk density in
[g/cm.sup.3].
4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the volume of the
granulate contained in the device in proportion to the amount of
fluid that is absorbable by the granulate lies within a range of
4.4 cm.sup.3/g to 7 cm.sup.3/g or within a range of 4.7 cm.sup.3/g
to 6.2 cm.sup.3/g or at approximately 6 cm.sup.3/g.
5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the fluid absorbed by
the granulate is water.
6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device further
comprises a collector, wherein the collector is arranged in an area
of the device in which a majority of fluid refrigerant transfers to
a majority of fluid sub-cooled refrigerant, and wherein the
collector holds the granulate.
7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the granulate is
contained in the device and/or a collector by a receiving
structure, and wherein the receiving structure prevents the
granulate from inadvertently flushing out.
8. The device according to claim 1, wherein the granulate comprises
a binder-free structure.
9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device and/or a
collector comprises a filter for filtering the refrigerant.
10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the granulate
contained in the device and/or in a collector is a binder-free
zeolite granulate with a faujasite structure.
11. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is a
condenser for condensing a refrigerant in a refrigerant circuit of
a motor vehicle.
12. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is an
accumulator for storing a refrigerant in a refrigerant circuit of a
motor vehicle.
13. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is a
combination unit comprising a plurality of aggregates or condensers
having an accumulator.
Description
[0001] This nonprovisional application is a continuation of
International Application No. PCT/EP2014/067182, which was filed on
Aug. 11, 2014, and which claims priority to German Patent
Application No. 10 2013 217 072.6, which was filed in Germany on
Aug. 27, 2013, and which are both herein incorporated by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to a device comprising a fluid inlet
and a fluid outlet, wherein the device is in fluid communication
with the refrigerant circuit via the fluid inlet and fluid outlet
and the device has a granular material which can absorb an amount
of fluid from the refrigerant.
[0004] 2. Description of the Background Art
[0005] In refrigerant circuits of air conditioners for motor
vehicles, condensers are used to cool the refrigerant down to the
condensation temperature and to condense the refrigerant.
Condensers regularly have a collector in which a refrigerant volume
is made available to equalize fluctuations in volume in the
refrigerant circuit and to achieve stable sub-cooling of the
refrigerant.
[0006] Often additional components for drying and/or filtering the
refrigerant are provided in the collector. The components for
drying is thereby regularly provided by a granular material. The
granular material takes up a fraction of the collector or condenser
volume, whereby the fill volume is reduced for the refrigerant.
[0007] The space available for the condenser or the collector
within the motor vehicle continues to decrease, so that the overall
interior volume of the condenser or the collector to be implemented
must also steadily be reduced.
[0008] A disadvantage of the solutions according to the prior art
is in particular that the receiving volume of the condenser, or the
collector for the refrigerant, continuously decrease due to the
arrangement of the granulate for drying the refrigerant and due to
the increasingly smaller dimensions of the condenser or the
collector. This leads to reduced temperature stability in the
condenser and thus to a negative impact on the refrigerant circuit.
Moreover, it is disadvantageous that due to customer demands, an
ever greater fluid receiving capacity of the granulate contained in
the condenser or the collector is required.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Therefore, it is the object of the invention to provide a
device that contains a granulate for drying the refrigerant, which
provides the largest possible fluid absorbing capacity and at the
same time, takes up the smallest possible volume.
[0010] An embodiment of the invention relates to a device having a
fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, wherein the device is in fluid
communication with the refrigerant circuit via the fluid inlet and
the fluid outlet, the device having a granulate which can absorb an
amount of fluid from the refrigerant, wherein the amount of
granulate contained in the device is calculated according to the
formula
MG=W/WA,
[0011] wherein MG denotes the mass in [g] of the granulate
contained in the device, W denotes the total amount of fluid that
can be absorbed by the granulate, and WA denotes the amount of
fluid that can be absorbed per gram of granulate.
[0012] A calculation of the granulate contained in the device
according to the formula specified above is particularly
advantageous, as in this way, the configuration of the amount of
granulate occurs in the refrigerant circuit or in the condenser,
based on the amount of fluid to be absorbed.
[0013] It is particularly advantageous when the amount of fluid to
be absorbed per gram of granulate WA lies within a range of 0.1 to
0.4, preferably within a range of 0.2 to 0.3, preferably within a
range of 0.23 to 0.25.
[0014] An amount of fluid per gram of granulate that can be
absorbed in the range specified above is particularly advantageous
since at a lowest possible overall volume of granulate, a largest
possible amount of fluid can be absorbed. This results in
advantages with respect to the required installation space of the
device or a collector attached to the device that holds the
granulate.
[0015] It is also preferable when the volume of the granulate
contained in the device is calculated in proportion to the amount
of fluid that can generally be absorbed by the granulate, according
to the formula:
VG/W=1/(WA/SG),
[0016] wherein VG denotes the volume of the granulate in
[cm.sup.3], W denotes the overall amount of fluid in [g] that can
be absorbed by the granulate, WA denotes the amount of fluid that
can be absorbed per gram of granulate, and SG denotes the bulk
density in [g/cm.sup.3].
[0017] On the basis of such a formula, the volume of the granulate
contained in the device can easily be calculated. The volume
contained is thereby directly dependent on the amount of fluid that
can be absorbed within the device.
[0018] The volume of the granulate contained in the device can lie
within a range of 4.4 cm.sup.3/g to 7 cm.sup.3/g and preferably
within a range of 4.7 cm.sup.3/g to 6.2 cm.sup.3/g, preferably at
approximately 6 cm.sup.3/g.
[0019] Such a proportion of the granulate volume contained in the
device to the overall amount of fluid that the granulate can absorb
is particularly advantageous, as the volume required can be kept
relatively low in contrast to a conventional granulate, which
regularly requires a greater volume per amount of fluid that is to
be absorbed.
[0020] The fluid absorbed by the granulate can be water.
[0021] Advantageously, water contained or entrained in the
refrigerant is absorbed by the granulate. In this way, water is
removed from the refrigerant and the refrigerant is dried.
[0022] It is also expedient when the device has a collector,
wherein the collector is disposed in an area of the device, which
forms the transition point from the majority of fluid refrigerant
to the majority of fluid sub-cooled refrigerant, wherein the
collector contains the granulate.
[0023] A collector is particularly advantageous for cleansing the
refrigerant in order to provide a storage volume via which
fluctuations in the refrigerant volume within the refrigerant
circuit can be equalized, and in order to dry the refrigerant.
Drying is thereby based in particular on the removal of water from
the refrigerant, for example, via granulate.
[0024] A collector thereby preferably represents a unit attached to
the device, which is in fluid communication with the refrigerant
circuit in the interior of the condenser. The transfer of fluid
from the device to the collector is thereby preferably arranged in
an area, which is positioned downstream of the condensation section
of the condenser and upstream of the sub-cooling section. The
transfer of fluid from the collector to the device preferably also
takes place downstream of the condensation section and upstream of
the sub-cooling section of the condenser, but downstream of the
fluid transfer into the collector.
[0025] In addition, the granulate can be contained by a receiving
structure in the device and/or in the collector, wherein the
receiving structure prevents the granulate from being flushed
out.
[0026] The granulate can be held together, for example, via a
net-like material such that a flow of the refrigerant is possible
through the net-like material and past the granulate.
[0027] The net-like material thereby primarily serves to secure the
granulate in the device or in the collector in order to prevent the
granulate from flushing out. For example, the granulate can also be
arranged in a flow-through dryer cartridge, which can be easily
maintained and replaced.
[0028] The granulate can have a binder-free structure. A
binder-free structure is particularly advantageous, as binders
generally also have no or only a very limited ability to receive
and absorb a fluid, such as for example water.
[0029] The binder-free structure allows the volume portion that is
usually occupied by the binder to be filled with the granulate. In
this way, the capacity of the granulate to absorb fluid is overall
increased, whereby at an unchanging volume, a greater amount of
fluid can be absorbed as compared to with a granulate having a
binder.
[0030] The device and/or the collector can have a filter for
filtering refrigerant, the filter can be formed of, for example, a
latticework, webbing, non-woven fabric, etc. This is particularly
advantageous for freeing the refrigerant from dirt particles. This
way, a high quality of the refrigerant can be guaranteed as long as
possible.
[0031] It is also advantageous, if the granulate contained in the
device and/or in the collector is a binder-free zeolite granulate
with a faujasite structure.
[0032] A binder-free zeolite granulate is particularly advantageous
for absorbing a largest possible amount of fluid at the smallest
possible granulate volume.
[0033] Zeolites generally are classified as crystalline
aluminosilicates. In particular, synthetic zeolites are of economic
importance. Zeolites having a faujasite structure are divided into
two groups. Zeolites with a molar SiO.sub.2/Al.sub.2O.sub.3 ratio
greater than 3.0 are referred to as Y-zeolites; zeolites with a
molar SiO.sub.2/Al.sub.2O.sub.3 ratio lesser than 3.0 are known as
X-zeolites.
[0034] Particularly advantageous is a zeolite having a molar
SiO.sub.2/Al.sub.2O.sub.3 proportion greater than 3.0 and an
average diameter of the granulate molding of greater than 400
.mu.m. The average transport pore diameter is advantageously
greater than 150 nm, wherein the portion of mesopores of the
zeolite lies below 15%, preferably below 10%.
[0035] Other types of binder-free granulates having comparable
structures and features may also be used in the device, in the
collector or in the condenser.
[0036] According to an embodiment, the device can be a condenser,
in particular for the condensation of a refrigerant in a
refrigerant circuit of a motor vehicle.
[0037] The device can be an accumulator, in particular for storing
a refrigerant in a refrigerant circuit of a motor vehicle.
[0038] Also, the device can be a combination unit comprised of a
plurality of aggregates, such as in particular a condenser having
an accumulator.
[0039] Further scope of applicability of the present invention will
become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter.
However, it should be understood that the detailed description and
specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the
invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various
changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the
invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from
this detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0040] The present invention will become more fully understood from
the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying
drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are
not limitive of the present invention, and wherein the sole FIGURE
illustrates a schematic view of a condenser with a tube-rib design,
wherein a collector is arranged at one of the collection tubes of
the condenser, which has a filter for filtering, drying and storing
the refrigerant.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0041] The inventive device is described below as a condenser on
the basis of an exemplary embodiment. This however is not limiting,
wherein the inventive device may also consist of an accumulator or
a combination unit, for example of a condenser and an accumulator
or a different type of device.
[0042] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a condenser 1 in a
tube-rib design. The condenser 1 is comprised of a plurality of
tubes 5 extending parallel to one another, which in each case are
inserted at the end in a first collection tube 2 and a second
collection tube 3. The tubes 5 are connected to the collection
tubes 2, 3 in a fluid-tight manner. A fluid inlet 6 is disposed at
the left collection tube 2 in the upper region, and a fluid outlet
7 is disposed in the lower region of the collection tube 2. The
condenser 1 is in fluid communication with a refrigerant circuit
of, for example, a motor vehicle, via the fluid inlet 6 and the
fluid outlet 7.
[0043] Numerous partitions are arranged in the interior of the
collection tubes 2 or 3, which divide the interior of the
respective collection tube 2, 3 into several sections separated
from one another. This forms a condensation section and a
sub-cooling section within the condenser 1. The refrigerant thereby
flows along the fluid inlet 6 into the upper region of the
collection tube 2, which is separated by a partition, and from
there, through a section of the tubes 5 into the upper region of
the collection tube 3. There, a deflection takes place with the
refrigerant flowing through a further section of the tubes 5, back
into a central area within the collection tube 2. There, the
refrigerant is again deflected and flows along a further section of
the tubes 5 into a central area within collection tube 3.
[0044] A collector 4 is disposed at the outer periphery of the
collection tube 3. This collector 4 is substantially formed by a
cylindrical tube, which is closed at its upper and lower ends. In
this collector 4, a filter for filtering and drying as well as
storing the refrigerant that flows through the condenser 1 are
provided. The collector 4 is attached to the collection tube 3 in
the region denoted by the reference numeral 8. Also in this region
8, the transfer of the refrigerant from the collection tube 3 into
the collector 4 and from the collector 4 back into the collection
tube 3 takes place. The transfer of fluid into the collector 4 is
thereby separated by a partition in the collection tube 3 from the
area of the fluid flowing out of the collector 4.
[0045] The refrigerant fed into the central area of the collection
tube 3 passes through into the collector 4. In the collector 4, the
refrigerant is dried by a granulate disposed in the collector 4,
wherein substantially, water is removed from it. Furthermore, the
filter for filtering a refrigerant can be provided in the collector
4, which removes dirt particles from the refrigerant that have been
entrained.
[0046] In addition, the interior volume of the collector 4 forms a
storage space, which is designed to store a defined amount of
refrigerant. In the collector 4, the fluid phase of the refrigerant
continues to be separated from the gaseous phase. The gaseous phase
of the refrigerant preferably collects in the upper region of the
collector 4. From the collector 4, the refrigerant finally flows to
a lower region of the collection tube 3 and from there, via tubes 5
positioned below, to a lower region of the collection tube 2. From
there, the refrigerant exits the condenser through the fluid outlet
7.
[0047] The condenser shown in FIG. 1 represents an exemplary
embodiment of a condenser having a laterally arranged collector 4
in a tube-rib design. In alternative embodiments, for example, the
number of partitions provided in the collection tubes 2, 3 can
vary, as well as the arrangement and the position of the collector
4 on the condenser 1.
[0048] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the granulate,
which serves for drying the refrigerant, is disposed within the
collector 4. In alternative embodiments, embodiments can be
provided in which the granulate is arranged in one of the
collection tubes or in another section of the condenser or the
refrigerant circuit.
[0049] The granulate may be absorbed in the interior of the
collector 4, for example by a web material, which can prevent the
granulate from being inadvertently flushed out of the collector 4.
Alternatively, the granulate can, for example, be absorbed in a
tube-shaped solid body, which enables fluid communication via
perforations between the interior and exterior of the solid
body.
[0050] In advantageous embodiments, in particular the portion of
the collector 4 which contains the granulate or the filter for
filtering can be easily replaced. To this end, for example, a
threaded connection between a so-called dryer cartridge and a
receptacle can be provided, or a bayonet closure.
[0051] As an alternative to the condenser shown in FIG. 1 in the
tube-rib design, a condenser may also be provided with a stacking
disc design. A condenser with a stacking disc design in particular
is characterized in that the individual flow channels and
collection areas in the interior of the condenser are formed by
stacking numerous disc elements. The disc stack thereby defines the
condenser. A clever design of the individual disc elements can
deliver advantageous fluid guidance within the condenser. Various
examples of condensers with a stacking disc design structure are
known from the prior art.
[0052] The condenser embodiment shown in FIG. 1 generally has no
restrictive effect on the condenser or collector design. It is
solely an exemplary representation in order to clarify the
inventive idea.
* * * * *