Heat pump system
AssigneeCarrier Corporation
InventorsJames J. del Toro, Rudy C. Bussjager
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A reversible vapor compression system having control means associated therewith for automatically routing refrigerant through the heat exchangers in response to a system mode of operation to produce optimum system performance when the system is called upon to produce either heating or cooling.
Claims6
In a heat pump system having a compressor, a pair of heat exchangers and means for selectively reversing the flow of refrigerant through the system so that the function of the exchangers is also reversed, the improvement comprising
- means for separating each exchanger into a plurality of heat transfer zones, each zone containing a number of flow circuits,
- flow control means for routing refrigerant discharged from the compressor through each of the zones of one exchanger in a series flow progression and routing the refrigerant discharged from said one exchanger into the other exchanger simultaneously through each of the zones of said other exchanger whereby flow is parallel through the zones, and
- switching means operatively associated with said flow control means for automatically reversing the flow geometry through the exchangers in response to reversing the flow of refrigerant through the system whereby refrigerant flow is parallel through said one exchanger and in series through said other exchanger.
A heat pump system having a compressor, an indoor coil, an outdoor coil, a reversing valve for delivering refrigerant discharged from the compressor to the indoor coil during heating operations and to the outdoor coil during cooling operations, the method of processing refrigerant through the system including the steps
- separating the indoor and outdoor coils into a plurality of heat transfer zones, each zone having a number of flow circuits passing through the coil associated therewith,
- routing the refrigerant delivered from the compressor to the outdoor coil during the cooling operation so that refrigerant flows through each of the heat transfer zones in a series progression,
- delivering the refrigerant discharged from the outdoor coil to each of the heat transfer zones of the indoor coil simultaneously so that the refrigerant flows through the zones in a parallel flow,
- returning the refrigerant from the indoor coil to the compressor to complete the cycle, and
- reversing the flow geometry through the indoor and outdoor coils in response to a change in the systems operation whereby refrigerant flow in series through the zones of the indoor coil and in parallel through the zones of the outdoor coil.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.