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US 8,756,943 B2Granted
Refrigerant charge management in a heat pump water heater
AssigneeNordyne, Inc.
InventorsJie Chen, Justin W. Hampton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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AssigneeNordyne, Inc.
InventorsJie Chen, Justin W. Hampton
Estimating the term…
Heat pumps that heat or cool a space and that also heat water, refrigerant management systems for such heat pumps, methods of managing refrigerant charge, and methods for heating and cooling a space and heating water. Various embodiments deliver refrigerant gas to a heat exchanger that is not needed for transferring heat, drive liquid refrigerant out of that heat exchanger, isolate that heat exchanger against additional refrigerant flowing into it, and operate the heat pump while the heat exchanger is isolated. The heat exchanger can be isolated by closing an electronic expansion valve, actuating a refrigerant management valve, or both. Refrigerant charge can be controlled or adjusted by controlling how much liquid refrigerant is driven from the heat exchanger, by letting refrigerant back into the heat exchanger, or both. Heat pumps can be operated in different modes of operation, and segments of refrigerant conduit can be interconnected with various components.
A method of managing refrigerant charge in a heat pump that heats or cools a space and that also heats water, the heat pump comprising an outdoor heat exchanger that transfers heat between refrigerant and outdoor air or a heat source/sink, an indoor heat exchanger that transfers heat between the refrigerant and indoor air, a water heat exchanger that transfers heat from the refrigerant to water, a compressor, and at least one expansion device, the method comprising, in any order except where a particular order is explicitly indicated, at least the acts of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.