Toshiba Carrier wins innovation award for heat pump compressor technology

Toshiba Carrier has been recognized at the 2023 National Invention Awards of Japan for its innovative discharge port structure in multi-cylinder rotary piston compressors for heat pumps. The technology tackles the problem of overheating, resulting in improved heating capacity and efficiency.

Image: Toshiba Carrier, screenshot

Japan-based Toshiba Carrier Corp., owned by US-based heating specialist Carrier, has won the 2023 National Invention Awards of Japan for its heat pump compressor design.

The technology is used in multi-cylinder rotary piston compressors in heat pumps. By optimizing the structure of the “exhaust port” that discharges the compressed refrigerant to the outside of the cylinders, it addresses the issue of overheating, thereby allowing for increased heating capacity, Toshiba-Carrier explained in a statement.

The design minimizes issues commonly seen in high-capacity equipment, including discharge volume loss, pulsed discharge, and distorted rotating axis. The compressor also purportedly shows lower-level noises and higher efficiency.

“The invention is instrumental in high energy efficiency and low-sound level while saving materials used with a smaller number of compressors and simplified piping design,” said Tsutomu Masamoto, chief technology executive at Toshiba Carrier.

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The National Invention Awards of Japan was established in 1919 for driving innovations in science and technologies in Japan. It recognizes exceptionable inventions, devices, and designs that have generated or are expected to generate significant achievements.

More information on the technology is available here, in Japanese.

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