Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6389834
-
Patent Number
6,389,834
-
Date Filed
Monday, February 19, 200123 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, May 21, 200222 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Doerrler; William
- Shulman; Mark
Agents
- Rice; Robert O.
- Van Winkle; Joel M.
- Krefman; Stephen
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 062 280
- 062 262
- 062 298
- 062 263
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
The invention includes a liquid pumping system. The liquid is preferably condensate and the condensate pumping system may include a tank having an upper reservoir and a sump disposed below the upper reservoir. The upper reservoir may include an orifice and may be positioned to receive condensate from an evaporator. The condensate pumping system may also include a device to seal the orifice, a condensate tube connected to the sump, and an air pump attached to the sump through an air tube.
Description
The invention includes a system to push collected liquid from below a heat exchanger to a remote location.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A heat exchanger may be a device used to transfer heat from a fluid on one side of a barrier to a fluid on the other side without bringing the fluids into direct contact. A heat exchanger system may include a coiled set of heat exchanging pipes and chilled coolant. Air conditioners, refrigerators, and freezers and dehumidifiers conventionally employ a heat exchanger system to remove heat from air that is local to the system. This heat eventually is transported to a remote location for disposal.
In operation, the chilled coolant of the heat exchanger system is circulated within the interior of the pipes to cool the exterior surface of the pipes. While the chilled coolant is circulated within the pipes, air from the local atmosphere is drawn over the exterior surface of the pipes. The cooled pipe exterior surfaces draw heat from the air so as to cool the air and heat the circulating coolant. As the heat exchanging process continues, the temperature of the local air decreases.
Atmospheric air includes nitrogen and oxygen as well as varying amounts of moisture. Thus, a side effect of drawing heat from the air at the surface of the pipes is that atmospheric moisture condenses on the heat exchanger pipes as condensate. This condensate builds on the pipes over time and eventually drips as water into a pan located below the heat exchanger pipes. The water collects as a pool in the pan.
The collected water is not supposed to evaporate back into the air. In some applications, the heat exchanging process results in more collected water than the pan can hold. For example, air conditioning systems condense much more water than can be stored. Here, it is desirable that this water be mechanically removed from the pan before the water fills the pan.
In a window based, saddle air conditioning system, the saddle air conditioner is hung over the bottom rail of a window sill so that the air cooling unit is located within a room and the heat discharging unit is located outside. Removing water from the pan of the air cooling unit may involve raising the pooled water up from the pan and over the bottom rail of a window sill. Conventionally, a water pump is used to remove the water from the pan and pass the water over the window sill. However, a water pump is noisy, bulky, and requires a relatively large amount of power to operate. When operating, the water pump causes vibrations throughout the air conditioner that, in turn, cause noise to emanate from the air cooling unit into the room. It is desirable to minimize these problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention includes a liquid pump system, and in the preferred embodiment, a condensate pumping system. The condensate pumping system may include a tank having an upper reservoir and a sump disposed below the upper reservoir. The upper reservoir may include an orifice and may be positioned to receive condensate from a set of evaporator coils. The condensate pumping system may also include a device to seal the orifice, a condensate tube connected to the sump, and an air pump attached to the sump through an air tube.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
illustrates a split air conditioner incorporating principles of the invention;
FIG. 2
illustrates a saddle air conditioner disposed within a window;
FIG. 3
is a detailed view of the saddle air conditioner of
FIG. 2
;
FIG. 4
is a front isometric view of a local unit with parts removed to reveal the collecting part of the condensate pumping system;
FIG. 5
is a rear isometric view of the local unit with parts removed to reveal the collecting part of the condensate pumping system;
FIG. 6
is a schematic view of the condensate pumping system of
FIG. 5
;
FIG. 7
illustrates an expanded diaphragm;
FIG. 8
illustrates an alternate technique to seal an orifice; and
FIG. 9
illustrates a method incorporating principles of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1
illustrates a split air conditioner incorporating principles of the invention. Included with the air conditioner may be a local unit
12
and a remote unit
14
. The local unit
12
may include an evaporation system that both absorbs heat from the surrounding environment into a working fluid and passes that heated fluid to the remote unit
14
. The remote unit
14
may include a condensing system that may expel heat from the fluid to cool the fluid, where upon the fluid may be recirculated to the local unit
12
.
Coupled between the local unit
12
and the remote unit
14
may be a supply system
16
. The supply system
16
may include an adjustable structure that aids in routing condensate water from the local unit
12
to the remote unit
14
. Under this arrangement, the air conditioner
10
may be viewed as a split air conditioner in that the adjustibility of the supply system
16
may permit a user to position the local unit
12
in any one of a number of orientations with respect to the remote unit
14
. As graphically illustrated in
FIG. 1
, the air conditioner
10
may include a mini-split air conditioner, a portable air conditioner, and a saddle air conditioner.
FIG. 2
illustrates a saddle air conditioner
20
disposed within a window
22
. A wall
24
may contain the window
22
and create a division identified as indoor
26
and outdoor
28
.
FIG. 3
is a detailed view of the saddle air conditioner
20
of FIG.
2
. The saddle air conditioner
20
may include Bridge
29
. Bridge
29
may be disposed between the local unit
12
and the remote unit
14
to provide structural support and to permit tubing for air, condensate water, coolant, and electricity to pass between each unit.
Referring to
FIG. 3
, the local unit
12
may include a grill
31
, a louver
33
, evaporator coils
35
, a pan
30
, and a bracket
32
. The evaporator coils
35
may be disposed behind the grill
31
to receive warm air
34
through the grill
31
and to aid in passing the warm air
34
to the louver
33
as cooled air
36
. As the warm air
34
passes through the evaporator coils
35
, atmospheric moisture may condense onto the evaporator coils
35
and drip downward. The pan
30
may be fixed to the bracket
32
below the evaporator coils
35
to collect these drops as condensate
38
. A condensate pumping system
40
of
FIG. 4
may be used to remove the condensate
38
from the pan
30
.
FIG. 4
is a front isometric view of the local unit
12
with parts removed to reveal the condensate pumping system
40
. The pan
30
may communicate the condensate
38
to the condensate pumping system
40
through a bung
42
.
FIG. 5
is a rear isometric view of the local unit
12
with parts removed to reveal the condensate pumping system
40
.
As seen in
FIG. 5
, included with the condensate pumping system
40
may be a tank
44
, an air pump
46
which can be located in the outdoor section for quieter operation, an air tube
48
, and a condensate tube
50
. The tank
44
may be any container adapted to hold water. An interior of the tank
44
may define a sump
51
. In one embodiment, a perimeter of the tank
44
defines one of a square and a circle. The tank
44
may be secured to a base
52
of the local unit
12
by a lip
54
.
The air pump
46
may be any equipment designed to force a flow of a gas, preferably air, from a first location to a second location. The air pump
46
may include an inlet
45
and an outlet
47
. The air tube
48
may provide a pathway for air to travel from the outlet
47
of the air pump
46
and the tank
44
. The condensate tube
50
may provide a pathway for the condensate
38
to travel from the tank
44
.
FIG. 6
is a schematic view of the condensate pumping system
40
of FIG.
5
. The condensate pumping system
40
may further include a restrictor
56
. The restrictor
56
may include upper walls
58
, an upper plate
60
, lower walls
62
, and a lower plate
64
. The upper walls
58
may extend from the upper plate
60
to define an upper reservoir
66
. The bung
42
may be arranged to deposit the condensate
38
into the upper reservoir
66
. In one embodiment, the bung
42
is disposed through the upper walls
58
.
The upper plate
60
may include an orifice
68
and a bar
70
. The bar
70
may extend across a center of the orifice
68
to divide the orifice
68
into at least two holes. Alternatively, a mesh screen may divide the orifice
68
. The lower walls
62
may extend from the upper plate
60
to the lower plate
64
to define a lower reservoir
72
. To provide a path for the condensate
38
to travel from the orifice
68
to the sump
51
, the lower walls
62
may include an orifice
74
.
The condensate pumping system
40
further may include a diaphragm
76
. The diaphragm
76
may be a flexible disk made from an expandable material, such as rubber. The diaphragm
76
may be secured in the lower reservoir
72
by the lower plate
64
at a position that is below the orifice
68
. Alternatively, the diaphragm
76
may be disposed within or above the orifice
68
.
The lower plate
64
further may couple the air tube
48
to an interior of the diaphragm
76
. The air tube
48
may pass at a low point within the sump
51
. At this point, the air tube
48
may include a one way valve
78
. The one way valve
78
may permit pressurized air to pass from the air tube
48
to the sump
51
while preventing the condensate
38
from passing from the sump
51
into the air tube
48
. For example, the one way valve
78
may be a check valve or a small diameter pin hole.
The condensate pumping system
40
may also include a probe
80
, an electronic control
82
, and a switch
84
. The probe
80
may be disposed within the sump
51
at a first end and coupled to the computer
82
at a second end. The probe
80
may be any device that is adapted to sense the depth level of the condensate
38
within the sump
51
.
The electronic control
82
may be any machine that can be programmed to manipulate symbols. The electronic control
82
may receive a signal from the probe
80
or from some other source such as a timer and, in response, transmit its own signal to the switch
84
. The switch
84
may be coupled between the electronic control
82
and the air pump
46
to activate or deactivate the air pump
46
based on a signal from the computer
82
.
FIG. 7
illustrates an expanded diaphragm
76
. In operation, the diaphragm
76
receives air
86
as pressurized from the air pump
46
and expands to seal the orifice
68
. This, in turn, may cause the pressure of the air
86
within the air tube
48
to increase and force the air
86
into the sump
51
through the one way valve
78
. The air
86
may then act on the surface of the condensate
38
within the sump
51
to force the condensate
38
up the condensate tube
50
.
FIG. 8
illustrates an alternate technique to seal the orifice
68
. Rather than including the diaphragm
76
, the condensate pumping system
40
may include a ball
88
residing within the lower reservoir
72
. The ball
88
may be a float having a density that is less than a density of water so as to be adapted to float on a surface of the condensate
38
.
As the level of the condensate
38
within the sump
51
rises, the ball
88
may float to meet the orifice
68
, form a meniscus seal between the ball
88
and the orifice
68
to adhere these two elements together through surface tension. The sump
51
may then receive the air
86
as pressurized from the air pump
46
. The pressure of the air
86
within the sump
51
may act on the surface of the condensate
38
within the sump
51
to force the condensate
38
up the condensate tube
50
.
The pressure of the air
86
within the sump
51
also may act on the surface of the ball
88
. Since the pressure of the air
86
within the sump
51
plus the adhesive force of the meniscus seal between the ball
88
and the orifice
68
may be greater than the force of gravity plus atmospheric air pressure acting down on the ball
88
, the ball
88
may continue to seal the orifice
68
even when the upper surface of the condensate
38
within the sump
51
drops below the bottom of the ball
88
. This difference in force may be increased where the surface area of the ball
88
disposed within the lower reservoir
72
is greater than the surface area of the ball
88
disposed within the upper reservoir
66
through the orifice
68
. In one embodiment, a diameter of the ball
88
is greater than a diameter of the orifice
68
. The ball
88
may drop from the orifice
68
through the weight of additional condensate
38
within the upper reservoir
66
acting on the ball
88
, by lowering the pressure of the air
38
within the lower reservoir
72
, or a combination thereof.
As seen in
FIG. 8
, the condensate tube
50
may be arranged in a twenty-four inches high, inverted U shape over the wall
24
and filled with the condensate
38
by the air pump
46
until atmospheric pressure is sufficient to aid in drawing the condensate
38
from the tank
44
over the wall
24
and out a remote end
90
. To aid in this siphoning action, the remote end
90
may be located at an elevation that is lower than the elevation of the condensate tube
50
end local to the tank
44
. Here, the air pump
46
may be shut off prior to removal of all of the condensate
38
from the tank
44
so as to permit the siphoning action of atmospheric pressure to draw the remaining condensate
38
from the tank
44
.
FIG. 9
illustrates a method
100
incorporating the principles of the invention. At Step
102
, the condensate
38
may enter the upper reservoir
66
. This may be either directly from the evaporator coils
35
or indirectly from the pan
30
through the bung
42
. At Step
104
, the condensate
38
may pass through the orifice
68
and into the sump
51
. At Step
106
, the level of the condensate
38
within the sump
51
rises.
At Step
108
, the orifice
68
may seal from the lower reservoir
72
side. This may be by the ball
88
floating to meet the orifice
68
as discussed in connection with FIG.
9
. Alternatively, the orifice
68
may sealed from the lower reservoir
72
side by the air pump
46
inflating the diaphragm
76
to engage the orifice
68
. At Step
110
, an indication may come into existence that asserts it is time to remove the condensate
38
from the sump
51
.
At Step
112
, the electronic control
82
may receive a signal indicating that it is time to remove the condensate
38
from the sump
51
. The signal received by the computer
82
may be based on the depth level of the condensate
38
within the sump
51
as indicated by the probe
80
. Moreover, the signal received by the electronic control
82
may be based on the length of time the split air conditioner
10
has been in operation. Further, the signal received by the electronic control
82
may be based on the weight of the condensate
38
within the sump
51
. For example, the tank
44
may be located on a pivot point where the weight of the condensate
38
within the sump
51
tilts, the tank
44
into contact with a switch that generates the signal to the computer
82
. The Ball
88
may complete a circuit on engaging the orifice
68
to generate the signal to the electronic control
82
.
At Step
114
, the electronic control
82
may deliver a signal to the switch
84
to activate the air pump
46
. At Step
116
, the air pump
46
may place pressure on the surface of the condensate
38
within the sump
51
. At Step
118
, the pressure on the surface of the condensate
38
within the sump
51
may push the condensate
38
from the sump
51
into the condensate tube
50
and over the wall
24
. At Step
120
, the orifice
68
may be unsealed. Turning off the air pump
46
may unseal the orifice
68
. The air pump
46
may be turned off after a fixed amount of time or based on the depth or weight level of the condensate
38
within the sump
51
. At Step
122
, siphoning action of atmospheric pressure may aid in drawing the condensate
38
from the tank
44
over the wall
24
and out the remote end
90
. At Step
124
, the method
100
may return to Step
104
.
The exemplary embodiments described herein are provided merely to illustrate the principles of the invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the subject matter of the terms of the claimed invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. Moreover, the principles of the invention may be applied to achieve the advantages described herein and to achieve other advantages or to satisfy other objectives, as well.
Claims
- 1. A liquid pumping system, comprisinga tank having an upper reservoir and a sump disposed below the upper reservoir, wherein the upper reservoir includes an orifice and is adapted to receive liquid condensate; a seal mechanism arranged at the orifice; a liquid tube coupled to the sump; and an air pump coupled to the sump through an air tube.
- 2. The liquid pumping system of claim 1, wherein the liquid is condensate and the seal mechanism includes a diaphragm coupled to the air tube.
- 3. The condensate pumping system of claim 2, the tank further having a lower reservoir disposed between the upper reservoir and the sump, wherein the diaphragm is coupled to the air tube at a position below the orifice within the lower reservoir and wherein the air pump is coupled to the sump through a one way valve in the air tube.
- 4. The condensate pumping system of claim 3, wherein the one way valve is a check valve.
- 5. The condensate pumping system of claim 2, wherein the orifice includes at least one bar that divides the orifice into at least two portions.
- 6. The condensate pumping system of claim 2 further comprising:an electronic control; a probe having a first end disposed within the sump and a second end coupled to the electronic control; and a switch having a first end coupled to the electronic control and a second end coupled to the air pump.
- 7. The liquid pumping system of claim 1, the tank further having a lower reservoir disposed between the upper reservoir and the sump, wherein the seal mechanism includes a float disposed within the lower reservoir.
- 8. The liquid pumping system of claim 7, wherein the liquid is condensate and the float is a ball having a density that is less than a density of water.
- 9. The condensate pumping system of claim 8, wherein a diameter of the ball is greater than a diameter of the orifice.
- 10. The liquid pumping system of claim 7 further comprising:an electronic control; a probe having a first end disposed within the sump and a second end coupled to the electronic control; and a switch having a first end coupled to the computer and a second end coupled to the air pump.
- 11. The liquid pumping system of claim 1 wherein the liquid tube includes a local end and a remote end, wherein the local end is coupled to the sump at a first elevation and the remote end is located at a second elevation that is lower than the first elevation.
- 12. A split air conditioner, comprising:a remote unit having a heat removal system; a supply system coupled to the remote unit; and a local unit coupled to the supply system and having a condensate pumping system, wherein the condensate pumping system includes a tank having an upper reservoir and a sump disposed below the upper reservoir, wherein the upper reservoir includes an orifice and is adapted to receive condensate from the local unit, means for sealing the orifice, a condensate tube coupled to the sump, and an air pump coupled to the sump through an air tube.
- 13. The split air conditioner system of claim 12, wherein the means for sealing the orifice includes a diaphragm coupled to the air tube.
- 14. The condensate pumping system of claim 13, the tank further having a lower reservoir disposed between the upper reservoir and the sump, wherein the diaphragm is coupled to the air tube at a position below the orifice within the lower reservoir and wherein the air pump is coupled to the sump through a one way valve in the air tube.
- 15. The condensate pumping system of claim 13 wherein the orifice includes at least one bar that divides the orifice into at least two portions.
- 16. The condensate pumping system of claim 12, the tank further having a lower reservoir disposed between the upper reservoir and the sump, wherein the means for sealing the orifice includes a float disposed within the lower reservoir.
- 17. The condensate pumping system of claim 16, wherein the float is a ball having a density that is less than a density of water.
- 18. A method to push collected condensate from below an evaporator to a remote location, the method comprising the steps of:providing a tank having an upper reservoir and a sump disposed below the upper reservoir, wherein the upper reservoir includes an orifice, a condensate tube coupled to the sump, and an air pump coupled to the sump through an air tube; receiving condensate from the evaporator in the upper reservoir; receiving the condensate in the sump; sealing the orifice; and pushing the condensate into the condensate tube by pressurizing the sump with air from the air pump.
- 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of sealing the orifice includes moving a diaphragm with air from the air tube until the diaphragm engages the orifice.
- 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of sealing the orifice includes floating a ball on a surface of the condensate until the ball engages the orifice.
US Referenced Citations (10)