Patent Application
20070000564
Modern ships and other waterborne vessels typically employ sensitive electronic equipment to facilitate navigational, propulsive and other functions. Ideally, this equipment is disposed in a watertight enclosure, such as a cabinet or other container, to protect the equipment from being damaged by water.
Often, however, moisture nonetheless accumulates in the watertight enclosure. For example, the electronic equipment within the enclosure may require cooling. Consequently, pipes that deliver water or other liquid to cool the equipment may leak such liquid inside the enclosure. Additionally, because a watertight enclosure may not be airtight, humidity may enter the enclosure, and may condense into standing water within the enclosure.
In order to solve this moisture-accumulation problem, several methods of allowing or forcing the accumulated moisture to exit the enclosure have been attempted. One such method involves drilling or otherwise forming weep holes in the enclosure bottom to allow accumulated moisture to drain therefrom. But, an enclosure employing weep holes may no longer be sufficiently watertight for many applications.
Additionally, if the portion of the enclosure in which the weep holes are disposed becomes submerged or abuts the floor, gravity-based drainage of accumulated moisture may not be an option.
Moreover, although weep holes allow drainage, they typically cannot generate a signal that indicates a moisture accumulation problem within the enclosure.
In an embodiment of the invention, an assembly includes a sensor element operable to generate a signal in response to moisture being present at a predetermined level within a sealed housing, and a valve element coupled to the housing and, in response to the signal, operable to enable at least a portion of the moisture to exit the housing.
As discussed above, water or other liquid, such as coolant, may undesirably accumulate within the housing 20. For example, the pipes 50 or housing 20 may develop a leak, or water may result from condensation of humidity within the housing 20. To allow the removal of such liquid, a floor portion 60 of the housing 20 is sloped in a manner that causes liquid in the chamber 30 to accumulate in a pooling recess 70 of the floor portion. An aperture 80, such as a weep hole, is formed in the pooling recess 70 and allows liquid to drain out of the chamber 30.
The system 10 further includes a valve element 90, such as a conventional poppet valve. Under ordinary operating conditions, the valve element 90, as indicated by the dashed lines in
A sensor element 100, such as a liquid sensor known in the art, is disposed in the pooling recess 70. The sensor element 100 may be calibrated to generate a signal when the liquid in the pooling recess 70 has accumulated to a first predetermined level. The signal generated by the sensor element 100 is received by a controller 110 that, in response to the signal, activates the valve element 90. Although shown disposed within the housing 20, the controller 110 may be disposed outside of the housing.
Upon activation by the controller 110, the valve element 90 retracts from its seating in the aperture 80, thereby allowing the liquid accumulated in the pooling recess 70 to drain from the chamber 30. The controller 110 reseats the valve in the aperture 80 once the sensor indicates to the controller that no more than a predetermined low level of liquid remains in the pooling recess 70. Alternatively, the controller 110 may reseat the valve after a predetermined period of time following retraction of the valve element 90, or in response to an external reset signal.
Additionally, and in a case in which, for example, the housing 20 is at least substantially airtight, the controller 110 may be equipped to determine the pressure within the chamber 30 as well as the pressure on the exterior of the housing 20 at the aperture 80. As such, if the exterior pressure exceeds the pressure inside the chamber 30, such as may be the case when the housing 20 is at least partially submerged in liquid, the controller 110 may determine that drainage via the aperture 80 is not possible. Consequently, upon receiving the signal from the sensor, the controller 110 may activate a pump 120 operable to actively expel the liquid accumulated in the pooling recess 70 from the chamber 30 via one or more pipes (not shown).
In addition, and in a case in which, for example, the housing 20 is at least substantially airtight, the controller 110 may include a humidity sensor element 130. Accordingly, if the humidity within the chamber 30 exceeds a first predetermined humidity level, the controller 110 may activate a ventilation system 140, such as a fan, that allows the expulsion of liquid vapor out of the chamber 30. The ventilation system 140 is watertight when not expelling vapor from the chamber 30.
Referring now to
As discussed above with reference to
Once the signal is received at the control center 160, a variety of responses may be executed by the control center to resolve problems associated with moisture or liquid accumulating inside the chamber 30. For example, the control center 160 may respond by discontinuing power supplied to the device 40. Because the functions performed by the device 40 may be critical to operation of the vessel 150, the control center 160 may further respond by transferring responsibility for the functions of the device 40 to the subsystem 170. Additionally, the control center 160 may respond by checking the flow/pressure parameters of, and/or reducing or discontinuing the flow of cooling fluid entering the housing 20 via the pipes 50. In addition, if the control center 160 reduces or halts the flow of coolant into and/or out of the housing 20, then the control center may modify operation of the device 40 to reduce heat generated by the device such that the device can continue operation with the reduced or nonexistent coolant flow. Thus, the control center 160 may prevent a catastrophic failure of the device 40, and may allow the vessel 150 to remain fully functional (by transferring the functions of the device 40 to the device 170) while the housing 20 is repaired or replaced.
The preceding discussion is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.
