Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Yasuki Takahashi

Takashi Sunaga

Takeo Komatsubara

Masato Watanabe

Masazo Okajima

Yoshinobu Obokata

Miyuki Kawamura

Yutaka Hirano

Kiyoshi Tanaka

Kazuhisa Ishikawa

Kenji Ando

Seiki Jikuhara

Kiyoshi Akazawa

Takayuki Saitou

Takeo Komatubara

Kenzo Matsumoto

Toshiyuki Ebara

Dai Matsuura

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerant in which an odorant is added, the odorant being compatible with refrigerants and refrigerating device oils, and having no reactivity with refrigerating device oils and materials forming refrigerating circuits, and to provide a refrigerating device in which the refrigerant is circulated in the refrigerating circuit. A refrigerant whose main component is a hydrocarbon having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or a flammable hydrocarbon fluoride obtained when one or more hydrogen atoms of the hydrocarbon is substituted by fluorine atoms, the refrigerant containing a tetrahydrothiophene as an odorant, and a refrigerating device in which the refrigerant is circulated are provided.

Refrigerant and refrigerating device

Rotary compressor

Refrigerant

A refrigerating device is provided whose burden on the environment is small, and in which a high amount of heat can be removed, and in which return of refrigerating device oil to a compressor is good. In the refrigerating device, carbon dioxide is circulated as a refrigerant through a refrigerating circuit in which at least a refrigerant compressor, a heat releasing device, an expansion mechanism and an evaporator are connected in an annular arrangement by refrigerant pipes. The refrigerating device oil used in the compressor has a viscosity at 40&deg; C. of 5 to 300 cSt, a volume specific resistivity of at least 10 &OHgr;&middot;cm, and a pour point of no higher than &minus;30&deg; C. when the carbon dioxide is dissolved to saturation. Organic materials which do not physically and/or chemically change due to high-temperature, high-pressure carbon dioxide are used in the refrigerating circuit. The refrigerating circuit is provided with a device for trapping moisture within the refrigerating circuit.

Refrigerating device utilizing carbon dioxide as a refrigerant

A refrigerant compressor is configured such that a compressor unit is installed in a hermetically sealed container, an HFC type refrigerant or a mixture thereof and a refrigerator oil having compatibility with the refrigerant are charged into the hermetically sealed container, and the refrigerator oil essentially comprises a polyvinyl ether type compound having structural units represented by the following general formula (1): ##STR1## wherein n is an integral number in the range of 1 or more, R1 to R3 are each a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 8 carbon atoms and may be the same or different, R4 is an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and units in which R4 is an alkyl group having 1 to 2 carbon atoms are 40 to 100% and units in which R4 is an alkyl group having 3 to 4 carbon atoms are 0 to 60%. As a result, the generation of a carboxylic acid caused by thermal cracking or hydrolysis due to frictional heat generated by sliding members is prevented and the generation of sludge is thereby suppressed.

Refrigerant compressor and cooling apparatus comprising the same

There are provided a highly durable and efficient refrigerating apparatus and a lubricating oil composition that uses an HFC type refrigerant and is still free from the problem of thermal hydrolysis of polyol-ester type oil and resulting generation of carboxylic acid and sludge so that the refrigerating apparatus and the lubricating oil composition may be used stably for a prolonged period of time. A lubricating oil composition according to the invention comprises as base oil components a polyol-ester type oil formed by reacting specific polyhydric alcohol with a fatty acid, to which tricresylphosphate and epoxy compound comprising glycidyl ether or carbodiimide are added at respective specific rates. A refrigerating apparatus according to the invention uses such a lubricating oil composition as refrigerator oil and comprises a sealed electric driving compressor whose sliding members are made of a material selected from iron type materials, composite materials of aluminum and carbon, iron type materials surface-treated with chromium nitride and ceramic materials.

Refrigeration apparatus and lubricating oil composition

A refrigerating unit having at least one refrigerating machine oil using polyol ester system oil as its base oil in at least one refrigeration cycle using at least one hydrofluorocarbon system refrigerant as a refrigerant, the present invention sets the purity of hydrofluorocarbon system refrigerant to the level higher than 99.95 wt % and the mixing of chlorine system refrigerant to the level lower than 80 ppm. In addition, the performance and reliability of refrigerating unit using the hydrofluorocarbon system refrigerant such as R134a can be enhanced by making the said polyol ester system oil to be the chemical compound of particular physical properties, by suppressing the equilibrium water content of refrigeration cycle and by limiting the residual chlorine volume.

Refrigerating unit

A lubricant for a refrigerating unit uses a hydrofluorocarbon system refrigerant with a polyol ester system oil as its base oil. The purity of hydrofluorocarbon system refrigerant is set to a level higher than 99.95 wt % and the mixing of chlorine impurity in the system refrigerant is set at a level lower than 80 ppm. The performance and reliability of a refrigerating unit using the hydrofluorocarbon system refrigerant, such as R134a, can be enhanced by making the polyol ester system oil of a chemical compound having particular physical properties, by suppressing the equilibrium water content of refrigeration cycle and by limiting the residual volume.

Growing community of inventors

Gunma-ken, Japan

Yasuki Takahashi