Patent Application
20230258374
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present disclosure relates generally to a component for an air conditioner, and more specifically to a solar powered refrigerant control device for imparting a desired increase in temperature and pressure on the refrigerant used in the air conditioner.
Conventional air conditioning systems utilize a thermodynamic principle that gas releases heat, and thus cools, when the gas expands. Therefore, to achieve cooling in a conventional air conditioning system, an electric motor may be used to pressurize refrigerant, in some cases to approximately 300 psi, in a compressor-condenser portion of the air conditioner. The pressurized refrigerant may be pushed or urged through a small expansion valve located in a coil portion of the air conditioner. As the refrigerant expands from the valve into a much larger pipe, the refrigerant may release large amounts of heat causing the refrigerant to become very cold. The cold refrigerant may pass through a heat exchanger configured to allow air to flow therethrough and become cooled by the cold refrigerant in the heat exchanger. The cold air exiting the heat exchanger may be directed through ductwork in a building to lower the temperature within the building to provide comfort to the building's occupants.
Conventional air conditioners may pressurize refrigerant through the use of an electric motor (e.g., a compressor). The electricity used to operate the electric motor constitutes a significant share of the operational cost associated with running a conventional air conditioner.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a device that can provide pressurization of refrigerant for use in an air conditioner through more efficient means (e.g., reduced use of electricity) when compared to conventional compressors. Various aspects of the present disclosure address this particular need, as will be discussed in more detail below.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a solar power refrigerant heating device for use in an air conditioning system. The heating device includes an intake passageway adapted to receive refrigerant from a refrigerant source. A plurality of intake valves are in fluid communication with the intake passageway at respective positions along the intake passageway. A plurality of heating chambers are in fluid communication with respective ones of the plurality of intake valves. A plurality of discharge valves are in communication with respective ones of the plurality of heating chambers. A solar powered temperature control device is in thermal communication with the plurality of heating chambers and is configured to convert solar energy into heat and selectively apply the heat to each of the plurality of heating chambers. The plurality of intake valves, the plurality of the discharge valves, and the solar powered temperature control device are operatively connected to facilitate sequential receipt of refrigerant from the intake passageway into the plurality of heating chambers, heating of the received refrigerant within the plurality of heating chambers, and discharge of the refrigerant from the plurality of heating chambers according to a prescribed operational sequence.
Each of the plurality of intake valves may be one-way valves configured to allow fluid flow from the intake passageway to a respective one of the plurality of heating chambers.
Each of the plurality of discharge valves may be one-way valves configured to allow fluid flow out of a respective one of the plurality of heating chambers.
The solar powered temperature control device may include a solar panel and an electric heating element, with the solar panel being configured to generate electricity used to power the electric heating element.
The solar powered temperature control device may include a solar thermal heat collector.
The heating device may include a discharge passageway in fluid communication with the plurality of discharge valves.
The solar powered temperature control device may be configured to provide selective cooling to each of the plurality of heating chambers.
According to another embodiment, there is provided an air conditioning system comprising a heating device comprising an intake passageway adapted to receive refrigerant from a refrigerant source. The heating device additionally includes a plurality of intake valves in fluid communication with the intake passageway at respective positions along the intake passageway. A plurality of heating chambers are in fluid communication with respective ones of the plurality of intake valves. A plurality of discharge valves are in communication with respective ones of the plurality of heating chambers. A solar powered temperature control device is in thermal communication with the plurality of heating chambers and is configured to convert solar energy into heat and selectively apply the heat to each of the plurality of heating chambers. The plurality of intake valves, the plurality of the discharge valves, and the solar powered temperature control device are operatively connected to facilitate sequential receipt of refrigerant from the intake passageway into the plurality of heating chambers, heating of the received refrigerant within the plurality of heating chambers, and discharge of the refrigerant from the plurality of heating chambers according to a prescribed operational sequence. The air conditioning system additionally includes a condenser unit in communication with the heating unit to receive refrigerant from the heating unit, with the condenser being configured to cool refrigerant to facilitate transition of the refrigerant from a gas phase to a liquid phase. An expansion valve is in communication with the condenser, with the expansion valve being configured to facilitate reduction of pressure of the refrigerant as the refrigerant passes through the expansion valve.
According yet a further embodiment, there is provided a method of using solar power in an air conditioning system. The method includes the steps of receiving solar energy at a solar powered temperature control device configured to convert solar energy into thermal energy. The method further includes receiving refrigerant from a refrigerant source at an intake passageway. The method additionally comprises facilitating sequential receipt of refrigerant from the intake passageway into a plurality of heating chambers, heating of the received refrigerant within the plurality of heating chambers by the solar powered temperature control, and discharge of the refrigerant from the plurality of heating chambers according to a prescribed operational sequence.
The step of facilitating sequential receipt of refrigerant from the intake passageway into the plurality of heating chambers may include sequential opening and closing of a plurality of one-way valves positioned along the intake passageway in communication with respective ones of the plurality of heating chambers.
The step of discharging the refrigerant from the plurality of heating chambers may include discharging of the refrigerant into a single discharge passageway in communication with each of the plurality of heating chambers.
The method may additionally include the step of generating electricity from the received solar energy to power an electric heating element.
The method may further comprise the step of cooling the plurality of heating chambers in accordance with the prescribed operational sequence.
The heating of the received refrigerant within the plurality of heating chambers may result in a prescribed increase in fluid pressure of the refrigerant.
The present disclosure will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which:
Common reference numerals are used throughout the drawings and the detailed description to indicate the same elements.
The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of certain embodiments of a solar powered temperature and pressure control device for an air conditioner, and is not intended to represent the only forms that may be developed or utilized. The description sets forth the various structure and/or functions in connection with the illustrated embodiments, but it is to be understood, however, that the same or equivalent structure and/or functions may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present disclosure. It is further understood that the use of relational terms such as first and second, and the like are used solely to distinguish one entity from another without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities.
Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to a solar powered, refrigerant heating device configured to utilize solar energy to heat refrigerant within one or more chambers. As the temperature of the refrigerant increases, the pressure of the refrigerant also increases. Once the temperature and pressure of the refrigerant have been increased to desired levels, the refrigerant may have sufficient thermodynamic characteristics for use downstream in an air conditioning unit. In one particular embodiment, the refrigerant heating device includes a series of tubes that form the chambers within which the refrigerant may be heated and pressurized. Heat, derived from solar energy, may be applied to the chambers to achieve the desired temperature and pressure increase of the refrigerant. The flow of refrigerant through the chambers may be sequenced to achieve a desired fluid flow and supply of pressurized refrigerant within the air conditioner.
Many air conditioning systems are configured to use refrigerant that is supplied to certain portions of a flow circuit at a substantially constant pressure. Therefore, to achieve a substantially constant pressure, the refrigerant heating device described herein may be able to control the flow of refrigerant therethrough in a sequential manner to achieve a substantially constant supply of pressure at a substantially constant pressure. The sequencing of the refrigerant flow may entail sequential intake into various heating chambers, sequential heating of the heating chambers, and sequential discharge from the heating chambers. The discharged refrigerant may be a high temperature, high pressure gas, with the pressure urging the refrigerant through the flow circuit of the air conditioner. After refrigerant is discharged from the various heating chambers, the chambers may be cooled so that a new amount of liquid refrigerant may be introduced into the chamber in a low pressure, low temperature state, to allow the cycle to repeat.
Referring now to
A plurality of heating chambers 28 are in fluid communication with respective ones of the plurality of intake valves 26. Each of the plurality of intake valves 26 may be one-way valves configured to allow fluid to flow in a direction that is from the intake passageway 20 to a respective one of the plurality of heating chambers 28. The heating chambers 28 may be formed of plastic, metal or other materials known in the art. Furthermore, the size and shape of the heating chambers 28 may vary.
A plurality of discharge valves 30 are in communication with respective ones of the plurality of heating chambers 28. Each of the plurality of discharge valves 30 may be one-way valves configured to allow fluid to flow in a direction that is out of a respective one of the plurality of heating chambers 28 and into a discharge passageway 32 in fluid communication with the plurality of discharge valves 30. The discharge valves 30 may be disposed along the discharge passageway 32, and thus, may be in fluid communication with the discharge passageway 32 at respective positions along the discharge passageway 32.
A solar powered temperature control device 34 is in thermal communication with the plurality of heating chambers 28 and is configured to convert solar energy into heat and selectively apply the heat to each of the plurality of heating chambers 28. In one embodiment, the solar powered temperature control device 34 may include one or more solar panels 36 (e.g., photovoltaic solar panels) and an electric heating element 38, with the solar panels 36 being configured to generate electricity used to power the electric heating element 38. The electric heating element 38 may a plurality of heating coils that extend over and around respective heating chambers 28. The heating coils may generate heat in response to electricity being applied thereto, with the electricity being generated by the solar panels 26. The solar panels 36 may be mounted on a roof, or on a structure or independent support adjacent the remainder of the air conditioning unit 10. The solar panels 36 may be configured to convert solar energy into electricity, which is then used to power the heating element 38 used to heat the heating chambers 28.
In another embodiment, the solar powered temperature control device 34 may be configured to operate independent of an electrical component. In this regard, the solar powered temperature control device 34 may include a solar thermal heat collector configured to capture solar energy and transfer the solar energy to the refrigerant. Such a solar powered temperature control device 34 may include black or dark tubing that may be positioned so as to receive optimal amounts of direct sunlight. Water or other fluid having desired thermodynamic characteristics may flow within the dark tubing to be heated by the solar energy. The dark tubing may extend over a length that is from an area that receives optimal amounts of sunlight (e.g., the side of a building or a roof) and then extends over the heat chambers 28. In particular, each heat chamber 28 may be wound with tubing including heated thermal fluid to transfer the heat from the water, etc., to the heat chambers 28.
The plurality of intake valves 26, the plurality of the discharge valves 30, and the solar powered temperature control device 34 may be operatively connected to facilitate sequential receipt of refrigerant from the intake passageway 20 into the plurality of heating chambers 28, heating of the received refrigerant within the plurality of heating chambers 28, and discharge of the refrigerant from the plurality of heating chambers 28 according to a prescribed operational sequence. In one embodiment, a control unit 40 may be connected to each of the intake valves 26, each of the discharge valves 30, and the solar powered temperature control device 34 to implement such functionality. The control unit 40 may include computer executable instructions stored thereon, such as in a memory circuit, with the computer executable instructions relating to the desired sequence of refrigerant flow through the heating chambers 28. The control unit 40 may include one or more processors or other hardware needed to implement the functionalities described herein.
It is contemplated that the operational sequence of intaking and discharging refrigerant relative to the heating chambers 28 may be dependent on one or more monitored operational conditions, such as temperature or pressure, within the system 10. In this regard, the device 12 may include one or more pressure sensors 42, temperature sensors 44, flow meters 46, or other instrumentation known in the art that may be useful to facilitate the functionalities of the device 12. In one embodiment, the device 12 may include a pressure sensor 42, a temperature sensor 44 and a flow meter 46 for each heating chamber 28. The pressure sensors 42, temperature sensors 44, and flow meters 46 may provide operational data to the control unit 40 to allow the control unit 40 to operate the intake valves 26 and discharge valves 30 in accordance with the prescribed sequencing program. It is contemplated that the operational data may also be used to operate the solar powered temperature control device 34. For instance, if the temperature sensors 44 indicate that the temperature of the refrigerant within the heating chambers 28 is below a prescribed threshold or is taking too long to achieve a prescribed temperature, the control unit 34 may send a signal to the temperature control device 34 to apply more heat to the heating chambers 28.
The device 12 may additionally include a communication circuit 48 in communication with the control unit 40 to facilitate communication between the device 12 and a remote component, such as a remote controller, an operator's smartphone/tablet, or the like. The communication circuit 48 may be capable of transmitting and receiving data, instructions, or the like via wired or wireless communication (e.g., WiFi, cellular network, Bluetooth, etc.).
In addition to being able to provide heat to the refrigerant, the solar powered temperature control device 34 may additionally be configured to provide selective cooling to each of the plurality of heating chambers 28. In this regard, when refrigerant exits the heating chamber 28, the heating chamber 28 may be at a high temperature. In order to achieve more controlled heating of the refrigerant from the time it enters the chamber 28 until the time it exits the chamber 28, it may be desirable to cool the heating chamber 28 to a prescribed temperature prior to receiving a new influx of refrigerant. The temperature control device 34 may utilize the electricity derived from the solar energy to power a cooling unit to cool the heating chamber 28.
The air conditioning system additionally includes a condenser unit 14 in communication with the heating unit 12 to receive refrigerant from the heating unit 12. The condenser unit 14 may be configured to cool the hot pressurized gas discharged from the heating device 12. In particular, the condenser unit 14 may to cool refrigerant from a gas phase to a liquid phase. A water-based cooling tower may be used in the condenser unit 14 to remove heat from the refrigerant to transition the high temperature, high pressure gas into a warm pressurized liquid.
In one embodiment, a single common copper discharge line may transition into a double coaxial copper line as it enters the cooling tower. The refrigerant may remain in the discharge line, and the other copper coaxial line may contain cold water to chill or condense the refrigerant from a gas to a liquid. Heat may be transferred from the hot refrigerant copper discharge line into the attached copper cold water line. The refrigerant may be cooled to a warm liquid and then leave the condenser unit 14 as it flows downstream. The water in the coaxial copper line may be recirculated through the cooling tower where it may be re-chilled and then recirculated back through the coaxial copper line to condense the refrigerant again.
An expansion valve 16 is in communication with the condenser unit 14, with the expansion valve 16 being configured to facilitate reduction of pressure of the refrigerant as the refrigerant passes through the expansion valve. As the refrigerant expands, the refrigerant may release large amounts of heat, causing the refrigerant to become very cold. The very cold refrigerant may flow through the heat exchanger and cool the air flowing through the heat exchanger.
During operation of the air conditioning system 10, solar energy is received at a solar powered temperature control device 34, which converts the solar energy into thermal energy. As noted above, the receipt of solar energy may be by photovoltaic solar panels which convert the received solar energy into electricity, which is then used to generate thermal energy, or the solar energy may more directly be converted to thermal energy independent of electricity.
Refrigerant is received from a refrigerant source at an intake passageway and is sequentially passed from the intake passageway into a plurality of heating chambers. At initial startup, a small recirculating pump may draw down a small amount of refrigerant from the low pressure refrigerant return line, or from a separate refrigerant reservoir.
A computer controller (e.g., the control unit 40), operates the intake valves 26 and discharge valves 30 to open and close the valves 26, 30 in sequence with each other to allow the recirculating pump to introduce a small charge of liquid refrigerant into one of the many heating chambers 28. Once a measured amount of refrigerant is in the heating chamber 28, the heating chamber 28 is closed (e.g., the associated intake valve 26 and discharge valve 30 are closed) to allow the received refrigerant to be heated.
As the refrigerant is heated within the heating chambers 28, the liquid refrigerant may begin to boil, thereby causing the liquid refrigerant to transition to a high pressure gas. Once the refrigerant has been sufficiently heated the refrigerant may be discharged into the common discharged passageway 32. The pressure of the discharged gaseous refrigerant creates a force that urges the refrigerant along the discharge passageway 32 and into the condenser unit 14.
As noted above, the flow of refrigerant through the heating chambers 28 may be according to a preprogrammed sequence. In this regard, the intake valves 26 may not all open simultaneously, and likewise, the discharge valves 30 may not all open simultaneously. If all of the heating chambers 28 were discharged simultaneously, several issues may arise. Firstly, the discharge passageway 32 may not have the capacity or the ability to handle the volume of discharged refrigerant if all of the heating chambers 28 were simultaneously discharged. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, if the heating chambers 28 were simultaneously discharged, there would be huge fluctuations in pressure, with the pressure reaching a maximum when the heating chambers are discharged, and then the pressure dropping significantly until right before the following discharge. Such drastic pressure fluctuations are undesirable in an air conditioning system. Thus, to reduce such large swings in pressure, the flow of refrigerant through the heating chambers 28 is sequenced, so that smaller volumes of heated refrigerant are supplied (e.g., discharged) over shorter periods of time. For instance, as a first chamber discharges high temperature, high pressure gas to pressurize the air conditioning system 12, a second chamber may be in the process of being cooled in preparation to accept refrigerant. A third chamber may have completed the cooling process and may receive a fresh amount of low temperature, low pressure refrigerant. A fourth chamber may have received a new amount of refrigerant and is being heated by thermal energy to cause the liquid refrigerant to transition into a high temperature high pressure gas ready for discharge into the common discharge passageway 32.
The refrigeration heating device 12 may function similar to a conventional compressor because each heating chamber 28 may be heated, cooled and re-heated in a sequence or cycle that allows a continuous sequential discharge of high pressure gas into the common discharge passageway 32. The continuous and sequential discharge of high temperature, high pressure gas keeps the discharge passageway 32 fully and continuously pressurized.
The sequencing described herein may be similar to the sequencing used in an automobile engine, where several cylinders perform different functions at any moment in time to achieve a collective operational purpose. For instance, a first cylinder may ignite gasoline to create pressure from the explosion to force a piston into motion. A second cylinder may intake gasoline, while a third cylinder compresses a gas-air mixture, while a fourth cylinder pushes out burned gas. With regard to the solar powered refrigerant heating device 12 described herein, the plurality of heating chambers 28 may operate in concert with each other to create a compressor-substitute that pressurizes refrigerant for use in the air conditioning system 10.
The particulars shown herein are by way of example only for purposes of illustrative discussion, and are not presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, no attempt is made to show any more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the different features of the various embodiments, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how these may be implemented in practice.
