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US 8,899,057 B2Granted
Control systems and methods for modular heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems
AssigneeHobart Brothers Company
InventorsVarun Prem Sagar Rajasekaran, Jeffrey E. Montminy, Steven Eugene Bivens
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments of a modular air conditioning (AC) unit include a base unit, a blower mounted to the base unit, and at least one heat exchanger module assembled to the base unit and communicatively coupled to the blower to form a modular AC circuit. The modular AC unit also includes a controller communicatively coupled to at least one component of the modular AC circuit and adapted to independently control operation of each of the components of the modular AC circuit.
Claims18
A modular air conditioning (AC) unit, comprising:
- a base unit;
- a blower module mounted to the base unit and configured to provide air to a grounded aircraft;
- at least one heat exchanger module that is separate from the blower module, assembled to the base unit, and communicatively coupled to the blower module to form a modular AC circuit, wherein the at least one heat exchanger module comprises at least one stage of compressors;
- and
- a controller communicatively coupled to the at least one heat exchanger module of the modular AC circuit and configured to selectively control operation of the modular AC circuit in at least one of a heat mode, a cool mode, and a vent mode, wherein the controller is configured to control operation of the modular AC unit in the cool mode by calculating the number of stages of compressors needed for cooling, and activating the calculated number of stages of compressors, wherein the controller is configured to calculate the number of stages of compressors by determining a mass airflow rate associated with a selected aircraft type, determining an inlet air enthalpy based on a sensed ambient air temperature level and a sensed humidity level, determining an outlet air enthalpy, and determining the number of stages of compressors based on the mass airflow rate, the inlet air enthalpy, and the outlet air enthalpy.
2 more elements
A modular air conditioning (AC) unit, comprising:
- a base unit;
- a blower module mounted to the base unit;
- a plurality of self-similar modular heating, cooling, or ventilating circuits that are each disposed in individual modules separate from the blower module, assembled to the base unit, and communicatively coupled to the blower module, wherein the plurality of modular heating, cooling, or ventilating circuits comprise at least one stage of compressors;
- and
- a common controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of modular heating, cooling, or ventilating circuits and configured to independently control operation of each of the heating, cooling, or ventilating circuits, wherein the controller is configured to control operation of the modular AC unit by calculating the number of stages of compressors needed for cooling, and activating the calculated number of stages of compressors, wherein the controller is configured to calculate the number of stages of compressors by determining a mass airflow rate associated with a selected aircraft type, determining an inlet air enthalpy based on a sensed ambient air temperature level and a sensed humidity level, determining an outlet air enthalpy, and determining the number of stages of compressors based on the mass airflow rate, the inlet air enthalpy, and the outlet air enthalpy.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.