Temperature and relative humidity controller
AssigneeNelumbo Inc.
InventorsLance R. Brockway, David C. Walther, James Ma
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Abstract
Control systems are provided that provide thermodynamically decoupled control of temperature and relative humidity and/or reduce or prevent frost formation or remove previously-formed frost. The control systems herein may be included as a component of a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration system that includes a heat exchanger.
Claims13
A refrigeration system comprising a cooling operating mode, wherein said system comprises a droplet ejection coating applied to external surfaces of evaporating coils, wherein the droplet ejection coating comprises a nanostructured composition or layer that consists essentially of a metal, a ceramic, or a glass and a hydrophobic functional layer deposited onto the nanostructured composition or layer, wherein in said cooling operating mode, a temperature on the external surfaces of the evaporating coils is maintained below the freezing point of water with an air velocity that is greater than a critical air velocity that prevents formation of frost,
- wherein the system further comprises a freezing operating mode that operates in alternation with the cooling operation mode,
- wherein a system controller operates for a portion of time at an air velocity that is below the critical air velocity, and
- wherein the system controller increases the air velocity to above the critical air velocity for the removal of frost.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.