Claims
- 1. A system for refrigeration of objects, comprising:
a container defining a space adapted to receive the objects; a first heat exchanger associated with the container for cooling a fluid communicating with the space to cool the objects; and a second heat exchanger adapted to receive a heat supply from an air source for warming the fluid.
- 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the air source is an ambient air source.
- 3. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one cooling element associated with the space and adapted to receive the fluid.
- 4. The system of claim 3 wherein the fluid cools the cooling element in a first state and warms the cooling element in a second state.
- 5. The system of claim 3 wherein the cooling element comprises a plurality of elongated rectangular channels.
- 6. The system of claim 3 wherein the cooling element comprises a panel integrally formed with the container.
- 7. The system of claim 4 wherein the first state is a refrigeration state and the second state is a defrost state.
- 8. The system of claim 7 wherein the warmed fluid is adapted to remove a frost layer from the cooling element in the defrost state.
- 9. The system of claim 4 further comprising a control system operable to cool the fluid in the first state and to warm the fluid in the second state.
- 10. The system of claim 9 wherein the control system is configured to alternate operation of the system between the first state and the second state in response to a signal from a sensor.
- 11. The system of claim 10 wherein the sensor is a temperature sensor.
- 12. The system of claim 10 wherein the signal is a signal representative of time.
- 13. The system of claim 12 wherein the signal representative of time is empirically based to minimize variation in a temperature of the objects.
- 14. The system of claim 1 wherein the first heat exchanger is adapted to communicate with a refrigerant.
- 15. The system of claim 1 wherein the second heat exchanger includes a fan.
- 16. The system of claim 1 wherein the container is a plurality of containers and the second heat exchanger communicates with the plurality of containers.
- 17. The system of claim 1 wherein the container is a plurality of containers and the second heat exchanger is a plurality of heat exchangers.
- 18. The system of claim 1 wherein the air source is a supermarket air source.
- 19. The system of claim 18 wherein the supermarket air source is at an elevated temperature.
- 20. A refrigeration device having a primary cooling system with a primary fluid in thermal communication with a first heat exchanger and a secondary cooling system with a secondary fluid in thermal communication with the first heat exchanger to cool the secondary fluid and in thermal communication with at least one cooling device adapted to provide cooling to a space to be cooled in a first mode of operation, the refrigeration device comprising:
a second heat exchanger in communication with the secondary cooling system and in communication with a heat source to warm the secondary fluid in a second mode of operation.
- 21. The refrigeration device of claim 20 further comprising a control system operable to direct the warmed secondary fluid to the cooling device during the second mode of operation.
- 22. The refrigeration device of claim 20 wherein the refrigeration device is a temperature controlled display case.
- 23. The refrigeration device of claim 20 wherein the first mode of operation is a cooling mode of operation and the second mode of operation is a defrost mode of operation.
- 24. The refrigeration device of claim 21 wherein the cooling device comprises a cooling coil.
- 25. The refrigeration device of claim 20 wherein the heat source is an ambient air source.
- 26. The refrigeration device of claim 25 wherein the ambient air source is an air space in a supermarket.
- 27. The refrigeration device of claim 20 further comprising a louver device positioned adjacent to the cooling coil, where the louver device is configured to collect moisture from the cooling coil and to induce a circulation of air in the space to be cooled.
- 28. The refrigeration system of claim 20 wherein the cooling device comprises a panel having at least one passage for the flow of secondary coolant therethrough.
- 29. The refrigeration system of claim 28 wherein the panel is integrally formed with refrigeration device.
- 30. A defrost system for a refrigeration device having a first cooling system having a first loop in thermal communication with a second cooling system configured for flow of a coolant therethrough, the defrost system comprising:
a heat exchanger in thermal communication with the coolant and adapted to transfer a quantity of heat from an air source to the coolant; and a control system operable to warm the coolant in the heat exchange device during a defrost mode and operable to cool the coolant during a cooling mode.
- 31. The defrost system of claim 30 further comprising at least one cooling element within the refrigeration device, the cooling element adapted to receive a flow of the coolant therethrough.
- 32. The defrost system of claim 30 wherein the cooling element receives the coolant in a relatively cold state in the cooling mode and receives the coolant in a relatively warm state in the defrost mode.
- 33. The defrost system of claim 30 wherein the heat exchanger includes a fan device.
- 34. The defrost system of claim 30 wherein the air source is an ambient air source from a facility.
- 35. The defrost system of claim 30 wherein the coolant is a glycol solution.
- 36. The defrost system of claim 30 wherein the control system is operable to circulate the warmed coolant through the cooling element based on at least one control signal.
- 37. The defrost system of claim 30 wherein one or more parameters of the control system are determined empirically.
- 38. The defrost system of claim 36 wherein the control signal is a signal representative of temperature.
- 39. The defrost system of claim 36 wherein the control signal is a signal representative of time.
- 40. The defrost system of claim 39 wherein the signal representative of time is a signal from a timer having a duty cycle.
- 41. The defrost system of claim 40, wherein the duty cycle is determined empirically.
- 42. The defrost system of claim 30 wherein the control system is further configured to interrupt the defrost mode and initiate the cooling mode when the control signal is a signal representative of a predetermined temperature.
- 43. The defrost mode of claim 30 wherein the control system is configured for monitoring from a remote location.
- 44. The defrost system of claim 30 wherein the control system is configured for adjustment from a remote location.
- 45. A method of defrosting a refrigeration device having a first loop with a refrigerant configured to remove a first quantity of heat from a coolant in a second loop, the method comprising:
providing at least one cooling element in the refrigeration device adapted to cool a space, the cooling element communicating with the second loop; providing a heat exchanger communicating with the second loop and adapted to transfer a second quantity of heat from an air source to the coolant in a first mode; and providing a control system operable to route the coolant in a first flow path when the cooling element is in the first mode and operable to route the coolant in a second flow path when the cooling element is in a second mode.
- 46. The method of claim 45 wherein the first mode is a defrost mode and the second mode is a cooling mode.
- 47. The method of claim 45 wherein the first flow path includes the heat exchanger.
- 48. The method of claim 45 wherein the control system is responsive to at least one control signal to alternate operation of the cooling element between the first mode and the second mode.
- 49. The method of claim 45 wherein the cooling element further comprises a plurality of microchannels.
- 50. The method of claim 45 wherein the air source is an ambient air source in a facility.
- 51. The method of claim 50 wherein the facility is a supermarket.
- 52. The method of claim 45 wherein the heat exchanger includes a fan.
- 53. The method of claim 45 wherein the refrigeration device is a temperature controlled display case.
- 54. An ambient air defrost system for a temperature controlled display device having a first loop adapted to circulate a refrigerant therein, a second loop adapted to circulate a coolant therein and communicating with at least one cooling element for cooling a space and a first heat exchanger communicating between the first loop and the second loop, the first heat exchanger adapted to transfer a first quantity of heat between the second loop and the first loop, the ambient air defrost system comprising:
a control system operable to control operation of the temperature controlled display device in an operating mode and a defrost mode; and a second heat exchanger communicating with the second loop, the second heat exchanger adapted to transfer a second quantity of heat between an ambient air source and the coolant during the defrost mode.
- 55. The ambient air defrost system of claim 54 wherein the ambient air source is a supermarket.
- 56. The ambient air defrost system of claim 54 wherein the second heat exchanger includes a fan device.
- 57. The ambient air defrost system of claim 54 wherein the second heat exchanger further comprises a plurality of channels.
- 58. The ambient air defrost system of claim 54 wherein the cooling element includes a plurality of microchannels having passages for circulating the fluid.
- 59. The ambient air defrost system of claim 54 wherein the control system is configured to alternate operation of the temperature controlled display case from the cooling mode to the defrost mode based on at least one predetermined control signal.
- 60. A system for cooling articles, comprising:
a space configured to contain the articles; a first element adapted to provide cooling of the articles within the space; a first source of fluid adapted to refrigerate the space by cooling the first element in a first state; and a second source of fluid adapted to elevate a temperature of the first element in a second state.
- 61. The system of claim 60 wherein the space is provided within a refrigerated case.
- 62. The system of claim 60 wherein the first element comprises a first heat exchanger.
- 63. The system of claim 62 wherein the first heat exchanger is a first cooling element.
- 64. The system of claim 63 wherein the first cooling element has a first cooling surface.
- 65. The system of claim 64 wherein the first cooling surface comprises microchannels.
- 66. The system of claim 60 further comprising a second element adapted to provide cooling to the articles in the space.
- 67. The system of claim 66 wherein the second element comprises a second heat exchanger.
- 68. The system of claim 67 wherein the second heat exchanger is a second cooling element.
- 69. The system of claim 68 wherein the second cooling element has a second cooling surface.
- 70. The system of claim 69 wherein the second cooling surface comprises a pan.
- 71. The system of claim 60 wherein the second source comprises a heat transfer device.
- 72. The system of claim 71 wherein the heat transfer device is a third heat exchanger.
- 73. The system of claim 72 wherein the third heat exchanger comprises a fan.
- 74. The system of claim 73 wherein the third heat exchanger receives a heat source from the fan.
- 75. The system of claim 74, wherein the heat source is an ambient air heat source.
- 76. The system of claim 60 wherein the first source is coupled to the second source.
- 77. The system of claim 60 further comprising a control system operable to direct the first source of coolant to the first element in the first state and operable to direct the second source of coolant to the first element in the second state.
- 78. The system of claim 77 wherein the control system is configured to receive at least one signal representative of temperature of the first element.
- 79. The system of claim 77 wherein the control system is configured to alternate operation of the system between the first state and the second state based on a signal representative of time.
- 80. The system of claim 79 wherein the signal representative of time is provided by a timing device on a frequency.
- 81. The system of claim 80 wherein the frequency is determined empirically.
- 82. A method of operating a refrigeration device adapted to operate in a defrost mode and with a coolant flowing through a cooling element of a type that may tend to accumulate frost comprising:
routing the coolant to a heat exchanger; routing the coolant to a cooling element at a flow rate; wherein the heat exchanger elevates a temperature of the coolant using ambient air so that any frost on the cooling element can be at least partially removed when the coolant is routed to the cooling element.
- 83. The method of claim 82 wherein the temperature has a range of approximately 35 deg F. to 70 deg F.
- 84. The method of claim 82 wherein the temperature has a range greater than 32 deg F.
- 85. The method of claim 82 wherein the flow rate has a range of approximately 1.5 GPM to 6.0 GPM.
- 86. The method of claim 82 further comprising monitoring at least one sensor for initiating the defrost mode.
- 87. The method of claim 86 wherein the sensor is configured to provide a signal representative of time.
- 88. The method of claim 82 further comprising monitoring at least one sensor for terminating the defrost mode.
- 89. The method of claim 88 wherein the sensor is configured to provide a signal representative of a coolant temperature.
- 90. The method of claim 82 wherein the defrost mode has a duration in a range of approximately three minutes to five minutes.
- 91. The method of claim 82 wherein the defrost mode has a duration in a range of approximately one minute to ten minutes.
- 92. The method of claim 82 wherein the defrost mode has a duration in a range of approximately one minute to 30 minutes.
- 93. The method of claim 82 further comprising providing a drip period following termination of the defrost mode.
- 94. The method of claim 93 wherein the flow rate is substantially reduced in the drip period.
- 95. The method of claim 94 wherein the flow rate is substantially zero.
- 96. The method of claim 93 wherein the drip period has a duration of approximately one minute to three minutes.
- 97. The method of claim 93 wherein the drip period has a duration of approximately less than one minute.
- 98. The method of claim 93 wherein the drip period has a duration of approximately greater than three minutes.
- 99. The method of claim 82 further comprising routing the coolant in a cooled state to the cooling element.
- 100. The method of claim 82, wherein the coolant is a secondary coolant.
- 101. A method of installing a refrigeration system having a coolant adapted to circulate in a piping network with a flow rate to a cooling element, comprising:
coupling the piping network to a coolant source; configuring a control system to transmit the coolant to a heat exchanger for warming the coolant with an ambient air source; and balancing the flow rate of the coolant to the cooling element.
- 102. The method of claim 101 wherein the step of configuring a control system further comprises interfacing with a control device.
- 103. The method of claim 102 further comprising inputting data representative of a set point.
- 104. The method of claim 103 wherein the set point is a temperature set point.
- 105. The method of claim 104 wherein the temperature set point is associated with a coolant temperature.
- 106. The method of claim 102 further comprising entering a value representative of a time period.
- 107. The method of claim 101 wherein the step of balancing further comprises adjusting at least one valve.
- 108. The method of claim 101 wherein the flow rate is in a range of approximately 1.5 GPM to 6 GPM.
- 109. The method of claim 101 wherein the ambient air source is a high temperature area of a facility.
- 110. The method of claim 101 wherein the refrigeration system comprises a plurality of circuits.
- 111. The method of claim 110 wherein the plurality of circuits are associated with at least one refrigeration device.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application incorporates by reference and claims priority to the following patent applications: (a) U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/351,265 titled “Refrigeration System” filed Jan. 23, 2002; and (b) U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/314,196 titled “Service Case” filed on Aug. 22, 2001.
Provisional Applications (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60351265 |
Jan 2002 |
US |
|
60314196 |
Aug 2001 |
US |