Liquid cooling system for outdoor surfaces
AssigneeDreamsbig, LLC
InventorGary Jacobson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A liquid cooling system for an outdoor ice forming surface provides a geothermal heat pump that has a refrigeration circuit with a compressor that is disposed between a cold tube section and a hot tube section. An outdoor structure has an upward facing ice forming surface that is configured to retain a body of ice, where a coolant line is provided at or near the ice forming surface. A fluid pump is coupled with the coolant line and is configured to circulate liquid through the coolant line and over the cold tube section of the geothermal heat pump to dispense heat before being recirculated to the ice forming surface of the outdoor structure.
Claims20
A liquid cooling system for an ice forming surface, said liquid cooling system comprising:
- a geothermal heat pump having a refrigeration circuit with a compressor that is disposed between a cold tube section and a hot tube section;
- an outdoor structure having an insulation panel that includes an upward facing ice forming surface that is configured to retain a body of ice and/or snow;
- a coolant line having a heat absorption section that is disposed at or near the ice forming surface of the insulation panel;
- a fluid pump coupled with the coolant line and configured to pump a liquid through the coolant line;
- and
- wherein a heat dispersion section of the coolant line is coupled with the cold tube section of the geothermal heat pump for the liquid being pumped through the coolant line to dispense its heat to the cold tube section before being recirculated to the heat absorption section that is arranged to form ice at the ice forming surface of the outdoor structure.
A liquid cooling system for an ice forming surface, said liquid cooling system comprising:
- a geothermal heat pump having a refrigeration circuit with a compressor that is disposed between a cold tube section and a hot tube section;
- a structure having an upward facing surface configured to retain ice and/or snow;
- a coolant line having a heat dispersion section and a heat absorption section, wherein the heat dispersion section is disposed at the cold tube section of the geothermal heat pump, and wherein the heat absorption section is disposed at the upward facing surface of the structure;
- and
- a fluid pump configured to pump a liquid through the coolant line to circulatory transfer heat from the heat absorption section to the cold tube section to form or maintain ice at the upward facing surface.
A method of forming a cooled outdoor surface, said method comprising:
- providing an insulation substrate at an outdoor structure to form an upward facing surface that is configured to retain ice, snow, or a combination thereof;
- arranging a heat absorption section of a coolant line at the upward facing surface;
- arranging a heat dispersion section of the coolant line at a cold tube section of a geothermal heat pump;
- and
- pumping liquid through the coolant line to transfer heat from the heat absorption section to the cold tube section and then recirculating to the heat absorption section to cool the upward facing surface of the outdoor structure to a desired temperature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.