Refrigerant management in HVAC systems

Number of patents in Portfolio can not be more than 2000

United States of America Patent

PATENT NO 12092378
APP PUB NO 20210088262A1
SERIAL NO

17114013

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ATTORNEY / AGENT: (SPONSORED)

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Abstract

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Generally, management of refrigerant in an evaporator of an HVAC chiller is described. Methods, systems, and apparatuses to manage refrigerant in an evaporator can include one or combination of the following approaches: (1) by use of a refrigerant displacement array to physically prevent refrigerant from residing where the array is positioned (2) by control of the interstitial velocity of refrigerant flow within the volume of the shell of an evaporator; (3) by a phase biased distribution of the refrigerant mixture, so that a gaseous portion is uniformly distributed into the evaporator shell, while liquid refrigerant and oil is distributed into the evaporator shell at a designated area; and (4) by preventing or reducing the occurrence of foaming inside the evaporator through anti-foaming surfaces, such as by the use of refrigerant phobic and lubricant phobic material(s). Refrigerant management can in turn improve the thermal performance and overall efficiency of the evaporator.

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Patent Owner(s)

Patent OwnerAddress
TRANE INTERNATIONAL INCDAVIDSON NC 28036

International Classification(s)

Inventor(s)

Inventor Name Address # of filed Patents Total Citations
Cosby,, II Ronald Maurice La Crosse, US 18 71
Groen, Michael William La Crosse, US 7 14
Hartfield, Jon Phillip La Crosse, US 7 5
Kujak, Stephen Anthony Onalaska, US 19 91
Ring, Harry Kenneth Houston, US 13 36

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