Hot-water supply for submarines and the like
AssigneeBruker-Physik AG
InventorJorg Haas
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hot-water heating system for use by submarines, divers and the like in an underwater environment includes a heating-medium circuit and a hot-water circuit. The heating-medium circuit includes an electric-motor-driven compressor in a water-tight submersible housing for compressing a heating-medium fluid. The heating-medium circuit also includes a condenser heat exchanger, a throttle valve, and an evaporator heat exchanger connected in series between a discharge outlet and a suction inlet of the compressor. The evaporator heat exchanger can make thermal contact with water surrounding the water-tight housing to absorb heat from the water and the condenser heat exchanger make thermal contact with the water in the hot water circuit to transfer heat to the water.
Claims12
A heating system supplying heated water in an underwater environment, the heating system comprising:
- (a) a water-tight submersible housing;
- (b) an electric motor located within the submersible housing;
- (c) conductive means for connecting the motor to electric storage batteries to transmit electric power to the motor;
- (d) a compressor located within the submersible housing, the compressor having a low-pressure suction inlet and a high-pressure discharge outlet, the compressor being adapted to compress a heating-medium fluid;
- (e) drive coupling means connected between the motor and the compressor for transmitting motive power from the motor to the compressor;
- (f) an evaporator heat exchanger having a heating-medium inlet and a heating-medium outlet, the heating-medium outlet being connected to the suction inlet of the compressor, the submersible housing having at least one sealed port opening permitting the evaporator heat exchanger to communicate with surrounding water outside of the housing so that the heat exchanger makes thermal contact with the surrounding water to absorb heat from the water when the submersible housing is submerged;
- (g) a throttle valve having a high-pressure inlet and a low-pressure outlet, the low pressure outlet being connected to the heating-medium inlet of the evaporator heat exchanger;
- and
- (h) a condenser heat exchanger, the condenser heat exchanger having a heating-medium inlet and a heating-medium outlet, the heating-medium inlet being connected to the discharge outlet of the compressor and the heating-medium outlet being connected to the high-pressure inlet of the throttle valve, the condenser heat exchanger further having a cooled-water return inlet and a heated-water discharge outlet so that water can be caused to flow through the heat exchanger to absorb heat from a heating-medium fluid passing through the heat exchanger.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.