Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Yuichi Yakumaru

Yoshinori Kobayashi

Akira Fujitaka

Yukio Watanabe

Hironao Numoto

Kanji Haneda

Shigehiro Sato

Shinji Watanabe

Narito Yamaguchi

Hisao Wakabayashi

In an apparatus having a refrigeration cycle, the refrigeration cycle is formed by annularly connecting a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device and an evaporator with one another, the apparatus uses propane, isobutane or ethane as a refrigerant, and uses refrigerating machine oil having less mutual solubility with the refrigerant, and a dryer is provided in the refrigeration cycle for absorbing water. In stead of the dryer, an additive which reacts with water may be included in said refrigerating machine oil. With this arrangement, the amount of the refrigerant can be reduced, and the long term reliability of the apparatus can be obtained.

Apparatus having refrigeration cycle

A method for taking custody of, transporting and installing an air conditioner having an outdoor unit which uses a flammable refrigerant and includes a refrigeration cycle comprising a compressor, an expansion device and an outdoor heat exchanger which are connected to one another through pipes, wherein the outdoor unit is shipped from a factory while the refrigeration cycle is evacuated to produce a vacuum, the outdoor unit is kept in custody and transported in a state in which the vacuum in the refrigeration cycle is maintained, and when the outdoor unit is installed, the flammable refrigerant is charged into the refrigeration cycle. With this structure, it is possible to provide a method for taking custody of, transporting and installing an apparatus having a refrigeration cycle in which safety is assured when the apparatus having the refrigeration cycle is being transported or kept in custody, the efficiency of the disposing operation is enhanced, and a problem such as deterioration of performance is not generated.

Method for taking custody of, transporting and installing air conditioner

In a compressor of a refrigeration cycle using an HC-based refrigerant and a lubricant having specific gravity greater than that of the HC-based refrigerant and having no or no or less mutual solubility with the HC-based refrigerant, an oil reservoir is formed on a bottom of the compressor, the oil reservoir is provided at its portion with a recess, a suction port of a lubricant suction pipe for supplying the lubricant to a compressor mechanism is provided in the recess. With this feature, it is possible to sufficiently supply the lubricant to the compressor even when the lubricant has no or less mutual solubility, so that even if the amount of the lubricant is reduced, the lubricant can be sufficiently sucked from an inlet port of a lubricant pumping pipe and supplied to the compressor mechanism.

Compressor for refrigeration cycle

A refrigeration cycle that controls the deposit of foreign matter at inlet or outlet of a capillary tube, which forms an expansion device in the refrigeration, regardless of changeover from a cooling operation to a heating operation. In particular, in a refrigeration cycle using an alternative refrigerant, a junction is provided for joining an end of a capillary tube forming an expansion device to the piping through which the refrigerant flows. The junction has a slope defined by the inside diameter thereof, which gradually decreases from the side of the junction that joins the piping to the side of the junction that joined the capillary tube. An end portion of the capillary tube projects into the junction at the piping side. The projecting end of the capillary tube is opened obliquely to the axial line of the capillary tube. A hole is formed in the peripheral wall of the projecting end of the capillary tube. According to such an arrangement, foreign matter in the refrigerant is forced to be deposited in portions of the refrigerant cycle other than the capillary tube and prevented from clogging the capillary tube.

Refrigeration cycle

A refrigerator controller employs a non-azeotropic mixture refrigerant and a compressor, a four-way valve, an outdoor hear exchanger, a fractionator, an overhead condenser provided on the top of the fractionator, a first flow control valve, a throttle, and an indoor heat exchanger which are connected in the form of a ring. The controller further employs a circuit at a lower part of the fractionator returning to the bottom of the fractionator through a second flow control valve and a reheater, and a circuit returning from the overhead condenser to the top of the fractionator, thereby controlling the openings of the first and second flow control valves by the output signal of indoor and outdoor heat exchanger temperature detectors, an indoor temperature detector, and an indoor temperature setting device through a flow controller. In this manner, a wider control range of refrigerating capability can be realized. Thus a high separation effect for mixed refrigerant components is obtained while controlling a safe and optimum refrigerant cycle.

Growing community of inventors

Shiga, Japan

Yuichi Yakumaru