Refrigeration system

Abstract

A refrigerant system (1) is described including a refrigerant circuit having a first heat exchanger (2), a compressor (3), a second heat exchanger (4) and a gas/fluid separator (5) including an inlet (12) connected to a refrigerant outlet of the first heat exchanger and an outlet (13) connected to the compressor (3). It should be possible to remove liquid from a refrigerant flow even with a limited size of the separator. To this end, the separator (5) comprises at least two flow paths arranged in parallel between the inlet (12) and the outlet (13) of the separator (5).

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A refrigeration system comprising a refrigerant circuit having a first heat exchanger, a compressor, a second heat exchanger, and a gas/fluid separator comprising an inlet connected to a refrigerant outlet of the first heat exchanger and an outlet connected to the compressor, wherein the separator comprises at least two flow paths arranged in parallel between the inlet and the outlet of the separator. 
     
     
         2 . The refrigeration system according to  claim 1 , wherein the flow paths are inclined in the same direction from the inlet to the outlet. 
     
     
         3 . The refrigeration system according to  claim 2 , wherein the flow paths have the same angle of inclination. 
     
     
         4 . The refrigeration system according to  claim 1 , wherein the flow paths have the same length. 
     
     
         5 . The refrigeration system according to  claim 1 , wherein the separator is symmetrical with respect to a line connecting the inlet and the outlet. 
     
     
         6 . The refrigeration system according to  claim 1 , wherein each flow path comprises at least one curvature. 
     
     
         7 . The refrigeration system according to  claim 1 , wherein the number of flow paths is two. 
     
     
         8 . The refrigeration system according to  claim 7 , wherein the flow paths are arranged in tubes, wherein the tubes surround a tube free space. 
     
     
         9 . The refrigeration system according to  claim 8 , wherein the tubes are arranged in form of a rectangle, wherein the inlet and the outlet are arranged at opposite sides of the rectangle. 
     
     
         10 . The refrigeration system according to  claim 1 , wherein the first heat exchanger comprises a refrigerant inlet connected to a connecting pipe and the refrigerant outlet is connected to the connecting pipe, wherein the inlet of the separator is connected to the connecting pipe. 
     
     
         11 . The refrigeration system according to  claim 10 , wherein the connecting pipe is arranged in parallel to the direction of gravity. 
     
     
         12 . The refrigeration system according to  claim 1 , wherein coalescing means are arranged in a region at the inlet. 
     
     
         13 . The refrigeration system according to  claim 12 , wherein the coalescing means comprise a mesh made of metal. 
     
     
         14 . The refrigeration system according to  claim 1 , wherein impingement means are arranged in a region at the inlet.