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AssigneeSpringer Carrier Ltda
InventorsToshio Murakami, Carlos A. Tesche, Roberto G. Fernandez
Estimating the term…
A heat pump system includes a compressor, a reversing valve, an outdoor heat exchanger and an indoor heat exchanger in a circuit, and a refrigerant-to-water heat exchanger. In the air cooling with water heating mode, the air heating with water heating mode and the water heating only mode, water from a water reservoir is passed through refrigerant-to-water heat exchanger. A refrigerant reservoir may be provided for use in refrigerant charge control. A refrigerant line (71) couples reservoir to the refrigerant circuit intermediate the outdoor and indoor heat exchangers for directing liquid refrigerant into the reservoir and a refrigerant line (73) couples the refrigerant circuit upstream of the suction inlet to the compressor for returning refrigerant to the refrigerant circuit. A controller controls flow into and from the refrigerant reservoir through selective opening and closing of control valve (72) in line (71) and control valve (74) in line (73).
A method for controlling refrigerant charge in a reversible heat pump having a closed loop refrigerant circulation circuit and a refrigerant reservoir in operative association with said refrigerant circulation circuit for storing a volume of refrigerant, the heat pump operable in an air cooling only mode, an air heating only mode, an auxiliary water heating only mode, a combined air cooling and auxiliary water heating mode, and a combined air heating and auxiliary water heating mode;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.