Patent · US Expired

Method for refrigerant and oil collecting operation and refrigerant and oil collection controller

US7178347B2 · kind B2 · utility

1Cited by
9References
11Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 25, 2001
Grant dateFeb 20, 2007
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 20, 2022

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
  • CPC primaryF25B2400/19
  • WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
  • WIPO sectorMechanical engineering

Abstract

A method for refrigerant and oil collecting operation capable of assuring the cleanliness of the inside of an existing communication pipe at a low cost and installing, at a low cost, a new air conditioner, comprising a compressor (1), a heat source side heat exchanger (3), a decompressing mechanism (4), and a user side heat exchanger (5), comprising the steps of performing a pipe heating operation in a heating operation mode and performing a refrigerant and oil collecting operation to collect refrigerant to a heat source side heat exchanger (3), namely, with the refrigerant heated to a temperature higher than that where contaminants such as refrigerator oil inside a refrigerant circuit is dissolved into the refrigerant, performing the refrigerant and oil collecting operation so as to assure the cleanliness of the inside of the existing communication pipes (7, 8).

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.