US 12,055,327 B2Granted

Refrigeration system with combined superheat and subcooling control

AssigneeHill Phoenix, Inc.

InventorsNassim Khaled, Michael Hill

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A controller for a refrigeration system includes a processing circuit having one or more processors and memory. The processing circuit is configured to calculate a superheat of a gas refrigerant exiting a first side of a subcooler based on a measured temperature and a measured pressure of the gas refrigerant and compare the calculated superheat to a superheat threshold. In response to a determination that the calculated superheat is less than the superheat threshold, the processing circuit closes an expansion valve to restrict a flow of the gas refrigerant through a second side of the subcooler. In response to a determination that the calculated superheat is equal to or greater than the superheat threshold, the processing circuit operates the expansion valve to drive a temperature of a subcooled liquid refrigerant exiting the second side of the subcooler to a subcooled liquid temperature setpoint.

Claims23

Dependent claims

A method comprising:

subcooling a liquid refrigerant flowing through a first side of a subcooler by transferring heat from the liquid refrigerant to a gas refrigerant flowing through a second side of the subcooler;
calculating a superheat of the gas refrigerant that exits the second side of the subcooler based on a measured temperature and a measured pressure of the gas refrigerant;
comparing the calculated superheat to a superheat threshold;
in response to a determination that the calculated superheat is less than the superheat threshold, closing an expansion valve located at an inlet of the second side of the subcooler to increase the superheat of the gas refrigerant to at or above the superheat threshold;
and
in response to a determination that the calculated superheat is equal to or greater than the superheat threshold, operating the expansion valve to regulate a temperature of a subcooled liquid refrigerant that exits the first side of the subcooler to a subcooled liquid temperature setpoint while maintaining the superheat of the gas refrigerant at or above the superheat threshold.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 18/351,319Filed 12 Jul 2023 · division
Priority: 12 Sep 2017
Published: US 2023/0358449 A19 Nov 2023
Granted: 6 Aug 2024
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification31 codes

F25B 41/34
Expansion valves: with the valve member being actuated by electric means, e.g. by piezoelectric actuators
F25B 40/02
Subcoolers, desuperheaters or superheaters: subcoolers
F25B 41/20
Fluid-circulation arrangements: disposition of valves, e.g. of on-off valves or flow control valves
F25B 41/31
Expansion means; Dispositions thereof: expansion valves

Family

Application62/557,478Us provisional application · filed 12 Sep 2017
Application16/126,275Parent of this division · filed 10 Sep 2018
Application17/552,180Parent of this division · filed 15 Dec 2021
US 11,243,016 B2Parent of this division · filed 8 Feb 2022
US 2023/0358449 A1Pre-grant publication · published 9 Nov 2023
US 11,732,938 B2Parent of this division
US 2019/0078818 A1Published application
US 2022/0107121 A1Published application
US 12,055,327 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.