Patent Application
20200271334
The present invention relates to cooling air conditioning units and, in particular, to increasing the efficiency of traditional air conditioning units.
Air conditioning units utilize a combination of basic elements such as a compressor, condenser, evaporator and blowers to facilitate the transfer of energy. These components are arranged as a circuit via tubing, with a refrigerant flowing within the tubes to each component in a cycle. The unit cools an interior environment by alternating the physical properties of the refrigerant. The compressor increases the pressure within the section of tubing containing cooler vaporized refrigerant, causing the vapor temperature to increase.
The warmed vapor then passes to the condenser, returning the refrigerant to the liquid phase and discharging heat to the external environment as it cools. In the final step of the cycle, the liquid refrigerant passes to the evaporator which reforms the vaporized refrigerant, thereby pulling energy from the surrounding air and allowing the interior environment to be cooled.
In applying these principles of thermodynamics, the efficiency of the air conditioning unit may be bolstered in terms of both costs and performance by improving the functionality of the unit's basic elements. For example, the efficiency of the unit may be enhanced by broadening the temperature differential of the refrigerant as it enters and leaves the condenser. As found in the prior art, such a result may be achieved by periodically spraying the evaporative condenser with a mist.
However, excess exposure to water can cause problems for the unit, such as freezing the condenser or corrosion of the exterior unit; additionally, unnecessary use of water is both costly and wasteful. Moreover, previous attempts to regulate the amount and frequency of dispersed water have failed to provide a cost-effective means of improving the air conditioning unit's operability. Prior attempts to solve the problem have either been exceedingly expensive to implement and maintain in most A/C units, or over simplified and likely to cause significant damage to the unit.
What is needed, therefor, is a cost-efficient apparatus that improves the performance of the A/C unit y applying mist to the condenser coils in a proper amount and frequency.
Further features, aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, appended claims and accompanying figures, wherein elements are not to scale so as to more clearly show the details, wherein like figures. Wherein, like reference numbers indicate like elements through-out the several views, and wherein:
[12] The phrases “in one embodiment,” “in various embodiments,” “in some embodiments,” and the like are used repeatedly. Such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. The terms “comprising,” “having,” and “including” are synonymous, unless the context dictates otherwise. Such terms do not generally signify a closed list.
“Above,” “adhesive,” “affixing,” “any,” “around,” “both,” “bottom,” “by,” “comprising,” “consistent,” “customized,” “enclosing,” “friction,” “in,” “labeled,” “lower,” “magnetic,” “marked,” “new,” “nominal,” “not,” “of,” “other,” “outside,” “outwardly,” “particular,” “permanently,” “preventing,” “raised,” “respectively,” “reversibly,” “round,” “square,” “substantial,” “supporting,” “surrounded,” “surrounding,” “threaded,” “to,” “top,” “using,” “wherein,” “with,” or other such descriptors herein are used in their normal yes-or-no sense, not as terms of degree, unless context dictates otherwise.
Reference is now made in detail to the description of the embodiments as illustrated in the drawings. While embodiments are described in connection with the drawings and related descriptions, there is no intent to limit the scope to the embodiments disclosed herein. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents. In alternate embodiments, additional devices, or combinations of illustrated devices, may be added to, or combined, without limiting the scope to the embodiments disclosed herein.
Referring to
The mist distribution system 20 is communicatively coupled to the water storage unit 30. The mist distribution system 20 periodically sprays the air conditioning unit 16 with mist 12, thereby increasing the efficiency of the air conditioning unit 16. The water storage unit 30 houses a submersible pump 32, which is powered by a neighboring solar panel 40.
As shown in
In a preferred embodiment, the submersible pump 32 utilizes a float 38 and a switch 46 to turn the submersible pump 32 to an idle condition when the liquid reservoir 14 is reduced to a level at or below a predefined level. Moreover, the water that replenishes the liquid reservoir 14 originates from an air handler component 52 of the air conditioning unit 16. A condensation drain 50 collects the water from the air conditioner component 52 and distributes the water to the water storage unit 30.
The outlet hose 24 is coupled to an opposite end of the mist distribution system 20. In a preferred embodiment, the mist distribution system 20 is made of water-resistant tubing such as PVC piping.
As further seen in
Moving now to
The mist distribution system 20 has a first arm 51, a second arm 53, a third arm 55, a fourth arm 57, a plurality of legs 58, the at least one distribution point 22 and a plurality of footings 59.
The first arm 51 is coupled to the second arm 53 and the fourth arm 57 at opposition ends of the first arm 51. The third arm 55 is coupled on either end of to the opposite end of the second arm 53 from the first arm 51 and to the opposite end of the third arm 55 from the first arm 51. Each of the plurality of legs 58 are coupled on a same side of each of the connections of the arms 51, 53, 55, 57.
Each of the plurality of legs 58 further have one of the plurality of footings 59, such that the mist distribution system 20 can be stable while in use. The fourth arm 57 of the mist distribution system 20 has a center portion 52. The center portion 52 is useful for a coupling of the mist distribution system 20 to the outlet hose 24 coupled to the submersible pump 32 of the water storage unit 30 to receive liquid from the liquid reservoir 14 of the water storage unit 30.
Thus, when in operation, the solar panel 40 collects the energy from the sun and converts the sun's energy collected to electrical energy. The water storage unit 30 has a overflow switch 31. The overflow switch 31 is used to actuate or de-actuate the submersible pump 32 such that the liquid reservoir 14 does not over flow into a house or run dry and burn out the submersible pump 32.
The solar panel 40 supplies the electrical energy to the submersible pump 32 of the water storage unit 30. The submersible pump 32 is actuated by the electrical energy and determines, by the float 38 if the liquid reservoir 14 of the water storage unit 30 has sufficient quantity of liquid to pump to the outlet hose 24.
When the liquid reservoir 14 of the water storage unit 30 has been determined to be above a predetermined threshold, the submersible pump 32 receives the liquid into the intake ports 34. The submersible pump 32 redirects the liquid received into the intake ports 34 to the outlet hose 24.
The outlet hose 24 is coupled to the fourth arm 57 of the mist distribution system 20 at the center portion 52. The liquid pumped into the outlet hose 24 is emitted out of the water storage unit 30 through the outlet hose 24 to the center portion 52 of the fourth arm 57 of the water distribution system 20.
The liquid received at the center portion 52 of the fourth arm 57 of the mist distribution system 20 is distributed to the other arms 51, 53, 55. The arms 51, 53, 55, 57 each have at least one distribution point 22. The liquid is emitted in a streaming pattern 12 from the at least one distribution point 22 to the air conditioning unit 16.
When the submersible pump 32 determines that a predetermined low point has been reached in the liquid reservoir 14, the submersible pump 32 shut off, thus stopping the flowing of water to the outlet hose 24.
In the numbered clauses below, specific combinations of aspects and embodiments are articulated in a shorthand form such that (1) according to respective embodiments, for each instance in which a “component” or other such identifiers appear to be introduced (with “a” or “an,” e.g.) more than once in a given chain of clauses, such designations may either identify the same entity or distinct entities; and (2) what might be called “dependent” clauses below may or may not incorporate, in respective embodiments, the features of “independent” clauses to which they refer or other features described above.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing specific exemplary processes and/or devices and/or technologies are representative of more general processes and/or devices and/or technologies taught elsewhere herein, such as in the claims filed herewith and/or elsewhere in the present application.
The features described with respect to one embodiment may be applied to other embodiments or combined with or interchanged with the features of other embodiments, as appropriate, without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.
This utility application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/641,456, filed on Mar. 12, 2018, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
