CA1311134C - High efficiency heat exchanger - Google Patents
High efficiency heat exchangerInfo
- Publication number
- CA1311134C CA1311134C CA000593829A CA593829A CA1311134C CA 1311134 C CA1311134 C CA 1311134C CA 000593829 A CA000593829 A CA 000593829A CA 593829 A CA593829 A CA 593829A CA 1311134 C CA1311134 C CA 1311134C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- coil
- heat
- outdoor
- reversing valve
- exchange medium
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
Classifications
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B39/00—Evaporators; Condensers
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B13/00—Compression machines, plants or systems, with reversible cycle
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B2313/00—Compression machines, plants or systems with reversible cycle not otherwise provided for
- F25B2313/025—Compression machines, plants or systems with reversible cycle not otherwise provided for using multiple outdoor units
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A heat exchanger which includes an outdoor coil, inlets and outlets for delivering and discharging refrigerant relative to the outdoor coil, the inlet being located above the outlet, main and auxiliary reversing/expansion valves, a compressor, an outdoor coil, associated lines and conduits between the latter components, and the main and auxiliary reversing valves being selectively operative to deliver the liquid and the vapor to the inlets in the respective heating and air conditioning modes.
A heat exchanger which includes an outdoor coil, inlets and outlets for delivering and discharging refrigerant relative to the outdoor coil, the inlet being located above the outlet, main and auxiliary reversing/expansion valves, a compressor, an outdoor coil, associated lines and conduits between the latter components, and the main and auxiliary reversing valves being selectively operative to deliver the liquid and the vapor to the inlets in the respective heating and air conditioning modes.
Description
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~-ilGH EFFICIENCY HEAT EXCIIANGER
BACK RO:INO Ot_1~ E INvrll IIrll ~ r~le present invention i5 related to an improved hlgh efficiency heat exchanger of the type disclosed in Patent Nos. 4,311,191 and 4,311,192, ea~h issued on January l9, 1982 in the name of Gerry Vandervaart and Patent No.
4,46].,345 issued on July 24, 1984, also in the name of Gerry Vandervaark. '~he contents of these three pate.nts are incorporated hereln by reference, partlcularly with respect to presently conventlonal s-tructural and ~unctlonal characteristics of such prior art heat exchangers.
Patent Nos. 4,311,191 and 4,311,192 each disclose a heat exchanger which lncludes conventlonal components such as a compressor, i.ndoor and outdoor colls, blowers associated with the coils, a reversin(~/expansion valve, and appropriate tubing or ~onduits such thak the heat-exchange medlum/refrigerant ~Freon)*can flow in opposite directions through assoclated conduits during air conditlonlng/cooli.ng mode on the one hand and heating/ heat-augmen-ting modes on the other. Trad-itionally, heat exchangers of the type disclosed in these patents only included reversible operation for cooling and heating modes, but in these patents in a heat-auyrnenti.ng mode a gas burner clirects flames again.st the outdoor A-coil as liquid refrigerant is inkroduced into the bokkom thereof. l'he liquid refri.gerant (Freon) absorbs the heat/Bku's whi.ch i.ncreases i.ts tempera-ture resulting in a vapor phase exi tiny the outdoor A-coi.l at its top which i.s subsequently transferred to the indoor * A trade-rnark of E. I. Du Pont de Nemours for fluorocarbons used ln refrlgeratlon.
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coil and utilized with its associated blower to heat the interior of the building.
These conventional heat exchangers are extremely efficient up to approximately 5 tons, and thi.s efficiency is attributed primarily to the fact that the outdoor A-coil is relatively short in height (20 inches high), the heat of the flame is generally intense and is "trapped" within the confines of the A-coil, and because the li.quid refrigerant is introduced i.nto the bottom of the A-coil which immediate-ly absorbs a rela-tively great propor-tion of -the B'rU's at the lower end of the A-coil than at the upper end thereof which creates equalization of coil pressure/ tempera-ture and a-ttendant liquid refrigerant to boiled-off vapor transfer.
Obviously, if one were to desire a higher capacity heat exchanger, one would expect that all need be done would be to increase the capacity of the outdoor A-coil by, for example, merely increasi.ng its hei.ght (or its length) with other components being proportionately sized. However, there was no proportionate increase in efficiency found in actual practice when the conventional 20 i.nch high outdoor A-coil was replaced by a 36 lnch hi.gh coi.l. Instead the effi.ciency of -the heat purnp in all modes of operation, but par-ticularly the heat and heat-augmented modes of operati.on, was reduced. So long as the outdoor A-coil was relatively small and the flame was intense and general:l.y trapped within the A-coil, except for its free flow through the coils of the legs thereof, the liqui.d refrigerant boiled-off general-ly uniformly, but as -the temperature drops the refrigerant does not boil-off at the same rate of speed as the flow of the refrigerant -through the tubi.ng. Consequently, in the ~ 3 ~ .3~;
smaller si.zed outdoor A-coll of -the paten-ted sys-tem, -the refrigerant at the bottom of the outdoor A-coil boils off from its li.quid to its vapor state as i.t moves upwardly wi.th relative uniformity and ease. However, in the larger outdoor ~-coil there is insuffi.cient ll.qui.d refrigerant to maximize boi.l-off. While an appropriate expansion device could be used to fi.ll the tubi.ng to such a poi.nt where it flows out the back into the compressor i.n a conventional manner, this failed to maintain necessary generally cons-tan-t pressure/
temperature -throughout the outdoor A-coil, and particularly the two "legs" or sides -thereof. The ability to maintain such pressure/temperature balance substantially decreased in the large (36 inch high) ou-tdoor A-coil. The liquid refrigerant in the larger outdoor A-coil tended more so to fill the colder side or leg of -the outdoor A-coil (because of a lesser amoun-t of air flow therethrough during the heat pump cycle), and as the burner flame came on, the easier pa-th of travel for -the heat is -the side of the outdoor A-coil wi.th -the least amount of refrigerant therein. Thus, this automati.cally crea-ted an imbalance which li.kewise destroyed the heat transfer effi.ciency between the re]ati.ve-ly intense gas flame and the :Li.quld refri.gerant. Qui.te simply, while in the smaller outdoor A-coi]'s heating and heat-augmented modes, the temperature and, therefore, the pressure of the refri.gerant could be balanced throughout the outdoor A-coil it was relatively impossible to boi.l-off the liquid or refrigerant into i.ts low pressure vapor sta-te in both legs of the larger /higher outdoor A-coll.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A heat exchanger in accordance with the present invention comprises an outdoor coil for circulating there-through a heat-exchange medium, an inlet for delivering a heat-exchange medium into said outdoor coil, an outlet for discharging the heat-exchange medium from the outdoor coil, the inlet ~eing located above the outlet; main reversing valve means, auxiliary reversing valve ~leans, a compressor, and an indoor coil; conduit means for placing the indoor coil, 10 outdoor coil, compressor, auxiliary reversin~ valve means and main reversing valve means in fluid communication with each other in heating and air conditioning modes of operation of the heat exchangeri and the main and auxiliary reversing valve means being selectively operative in the heating mode to deliver the heat-exchange medium in a liquid state to the inlet and in the air conditioning mode to deliver the heat-exchange medium in vapor state to the inlet.
Furthermore, the present invention solves the problem of maintaining high efficiency in a relatively large ~0 capacity heat exchanger and particularly one having a rela-tively large/high outcloor coil by maintaining uniform pressure and temperature -throughout the coils of the outdoor coil, whether it is an A-coil or otherwise by (a) introducing liquid refrigerant into the top of the outdoor coil during the heat pump and heat-augmented modes of operation while still following conventional practice of introducing refrigerant vapor into the top of the outdoor coil in the air conditioning mode, (b) separating the outdoor coil in-to several stages, each having a separate refrigerant/vapor inlet and outlet, yet being connected to common inlet and outlet headers or manifolds, (c) providing cxoss-over tubing between the legs of selected sections or stages of the outdoor coil, (d) utili2ing gentle flames (relatively low Brruls output) a-t opposite legs of the outdoor A-coil and restricting the heat flow path by appropriate baffles, and (e) in addition to a main reversing/expansion valve which is conventional in heat exchangers of this type, providing an auxiliary reversing valve which effects appropriate refrigerant (liquid and/or vapor) flow in all three modes of opera-tion of -the heat exchanger.
With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
- 4a -'~3 BRIEF DESCRIPTION O~ THE DRAWINGS
FlGURE 1 is a schemati.c view of an overall heat exchanger of this inventi.on, and illustrates an outdoor A-coi.l divided into four stages and including cross-over tubing be~ween associ.ated legs, auxiliary and main reversing va].ves, and an associa-ted flow path of refriyerant/vapor in the heat pump and heat augmented modes of operation.
FIGURE 2 is a schemati.c view similar to Figure 1 of the heat exchanger of thi.s invention, and illustrates the posi-tions of the auxiliary and main reversing valves in the air conditioning mode of operation of the hea-t exchanger.
ESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A novel hea-t exchanger or heat-exchange system constructed in accordance with this invention is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings and is generally desi.g-nated by the reference numeral 10.
The heat exchanger lo includes an outdoor coil 11 which is an A-coil of the -type di.sclosed in the latter-identified patents and includes a pair of sides or legs 12, 13 having respective upper and lower ends or end portions 1~, 15 and 16, 17, respectj.vely. Though the ends 14l 16 o-f the respec-t:ive legs 12, 13 are shown quite c].ose to each other, i.n actual practice these ends are spaced Erom each o-ther and are not c].osed by, for examp].e, a plate or the l:ike corres-ponding to the plate 37 of Patent Nos. 4,311,191 and 4,311,192. Thus, heat which rises as a result of f].ames F1, F2 (Figure 1) i.ssui.ng from gas burners 21, 22, respectively, in the heat-augmented mode of operation of the heat exchanger 1~., whi.ch will be described more fully herein-after, rises upwardly under the conventional chi.mney effect an~ the BTU's are absorbed by liquid heat-exchange mediurn or refrigerant (Freon) flowing through conventional coil -tubing 23 of the legs 12, 13.
The outdoor A--coil 1l. includes four heat-exchange medium outlet headers 31 through 34 and four heat-exchange medium inlet headers 35 through 38. The inle-t and outlet headers are arranged in header pairs 31, 35; 32, 36; 33, 37;
and 34, 38. Each of the headers 31 through 38 are in fluid communication with the coi.l tubing 23 of both legs 12, 13 through appropriate pi.eces of short tubing, each identified by reference numeral 40. As is readily apparent from Figures l and 2, whether liquid refrigerant (Figure l) or vapor (Figure 2) enters the inlet headers 35 through 38, it flows into -the coil tubing 23, downwardly -therethrough, and exits -the respective outlet headers 31 through 34. In -this manner, the A-coil 1]. is effectively divided into -four sections 51 through 54, each having i.ts respective inlet and outlet header, namely, -the section 51 being defined by and between the headers 3]., 35; the section 52 being set-off and defined by and between -the headers 32 and 36 and the coil tubing 23 therebetween, etc. ~y vi.rtue of the dif-Eerent sections 51 through 54, i.t i.s readily apparent that though -the total hei.ght of the A-coi.l 1l. mi.ght be 36 i.nches, each section is ef~ectively an i.ndependent coil of a height approxirnating 9 inches (36" height . 4 sections = 9").
Selective ones of the sections 51 through 54 are also provided with cross-over tubing 41, 42, for example, placing the coil tubing 23 of the legs 12, 13 in fluid comrmlnication wi-th each other across the sections 52, 53. The cross-over tubing 41, 42 also augments pressure/temperature balanci.ng ~ G.~ !7 wi.thi.n the coi.l tubing 23 of both legs 12, 13, bu-t also ~unctions otherwise i.n the operati.on of the hea-t exchanger ].o, as will also be described more fully herei.nafter.
It is to be noted -that the number of coils of the coil tubing 23 per leg 12, 13 or per secti.on 5l.-through 54 has merely been illustrated schemati.cally in Figure 1 and is, obviously, not representative of an actual working embodiment of the outdoor A-coi.l 1l.. For example, in a worki.ng embodiment of the outdoor A-coil 11, each side or leg 12, 13 is, as heretofore noted, approxima-tely 36 inches high and approxi.ma-tely 24 i.nches long having a thickness of approximately l-l/2 inches. There are also two crossed rows (or four rows) o-f 36 tubes i.n each leg 12, 13 which amounts to approximately 144 tubes per leg or 36 tubes per section 51 through 54.
In-ternally of the outdoor A-coil 11 adjacent -the lower ends 15, 17 is a respecti.ve baffle or plate 61, 62. The baffles 6l., 62 and the burners 21, 22 extend the length of the A-coil and tend to confine the flames Fl, F2, respectively, toward the coi]. tubing 23 of the lowermost secti.on 54 before exi.ti.ng beyond the upper ends (unnumbered) of the baffles 6:L, 62.
A fan or blower 63 i.s operative during the heat pump mode and the air condi.ti.oning rnode of operation at which time the burners 21, 22 are inoperative, as i.s more fully described in the latter--noted patents.
The heat exchanger 1o also includes a conventional cornpressor 64, an i.ndoor co:i.l 65 and a main reversi.ng/expan-sion valve 66. However, the main reversing valve 66 is opera-tive in conjunction wi.-th an auxlliary reversi.ng/
expansion valve 67 to assure that during the heat pump and heat-augmented modes of operati.on (Figure 1) heat-exchange medi.um/refri.gerant :in li.quid sta-te will be i.ntroduced into the inlet headers 35 through 3~ and in the air conditioning mode (Figure 2) refrigerant i.n its vapor state wi]l be introduced into the same i.nlet headers 35 through 38. In all three modes of operati.on the fl,ow of the heat exchange medium, whether in liqui.d or vapor form, wi.ll be downwardly exiti.ng the sections 5I through 54 through -the outlet headers 31 through 34, respectively. In order to further assure a balance of pressure and temperature in all three modes, the inlet headers 35 through 38 are connected to a common inlet manifold 68 while the outlet headers 31 -through 34 are connected -to a common outlet manifold 69 over lines, conduits or tubing, all collectively identified by the reference numeral 100, but individual lines, pipes or tubing thereof will be individually numbered immediately herein-after in describing the various modes of operation of the heat exchanger 11.
OPERATION
Reference is made first to Figure 2 wh:i.ch i.llustrates the positions of the auxi.liary reversing valve 67 and the mai.n reversi.ng valve 66 :i.n the air condi.-tioning mode of operation of the heat exchanger 10. This mode of operation is selected first for descri.ption because i.t corresponds generally to the conventional flow of ],iquid refrigerant and vapor during the air conditioning mode of operation of conventional heat pumps, includi.ng those of the patents noted herein i.n which the high pressure vapor discharged from the compressor is introduced into the A-coils at the top thereof. In the ai.r conditioni.ng mode of the heat exchanger 10, the fan or blower 63 i.s, of course, opera-tive and rotating, as indi.cated by the unnumbered headed arrow associated therewith i.n Fi.gure 2 to drive ambien-t air through the outdoor coil l.1 and specifically -through the coi.l tubing 23 thereof. Furthermore, as noted earlier, the burners 21, 22 are not energized, a blower (not shown) associated with the indoor coil 65 is operative and the compressor 64 i.s energized.
As is customary i.n the air conditioning/cooling mode of operation o-f the heat exchanger 10, the compressor 64 delivers high pressure hot vapor refrigerant to the outdoor A-coil 10 through a conduit or line 101, -the "1" inlet port of the main reversing valve 66, the "2" outlet port of -the main reversing valve 66, a li.ne 102 into the "3" inlet port of the auxili.ary reversing valve 67, ou-t through the "2"
outlet port of the auxi.liary reversing valve 67, a line 103 into the common inlet manifold 68 and -through li.nes 104 -through 107 into the respective inlet headers 35 through 38.
The high pressure discharge refrigerant in its vapor state travels downwardly through the coil tubing 23 of each of the sections 51 through 54 and exits therefrom through the ou-tlet headers 31 through 34, and as the hi.gh pressure hot vapor refrigerant i.s pumped downwardly through the coil tubing 23, i.t gives off its heat to the air flowing there-through under the influence of the fan or blower 63 and i.s transformed into its cooler liquid phase discharging from the ou-tlet headers 31 through 34 over respective lines 111 through 114 i.nto the common outlet manifold 69. Since the inlet manifold 68 is common to each of the li.nes ].04 through ~ 3 ~ 6 107, pressure~temperature of the vapor entering the coil tubing 23 in each o-f the inlet headers 35 -through 38 is essentially identical and remains so un-til. discharged wi-th any tendency i.n variation being o-Efset by -the c:ross-over lines or tubing ~ 2, of the sections 52, 53, or as might otherwise be provided or needed relati.ve -to the sections 51, 54. The cool ].i.quid refrigerant exits the common outlet manifold 69 over a ]ine 115, enters the "4" inlet port of the auxiliary reversing valve 67, exits the "1" outle-t port of the auxiliary reversing valve 67 and en-ters the indoor coil over a line 116. The fan or blower (no-t shown) associated with the indoor coil 65 blows air through the coil 65 which picks-up or absorbs the heat blown -there--through cooling thi.s air which in turn cools the room or building and transforms the liquid phase in-to low pressure boiled-off vapor with exits the indoor coil 65 over a line 117, enters -the "4" inlet port of -the main reversing valve 66, exi-ts the "3" outlet port of -the main reversi.ng valve 66 and is direc-ted by a line 118 back -to the compressor 64, -thus comple-ti.ng its ci.rcuit.
It is to be parti.cularly noted that in the operation of the air conditi.oning mode of -the heat exchanger 10 the hlgh pressure vapor enters each o-f the inlet headers 35 through 38 at the top of each of the sections 51 through 54 and exits the same sections at the bottom thereof through the respective headers 31 through 34. This is particularly important because it permits total uti].i.zation of the entire area of the coil tubi.ng 23 to cool the vapor as i.t flows downwardly and thereby efficiently -transforms the same to the exi.ting liquid state. This is traditional common 6~ ~
practice in conventional heat pumps, including those of the patents noted therei.n, and in such systems when the mode of operation i.s reversed to the heat pump mode, the li.quid enters the outdoor coi.l through the bo-ttom and flows upwardlly, but such i.s not the case ln the present inven-tion, as wi.ll be no-ted immediate]y hereinafter.
Reference is now made to Figure 1 of the drawings which ~ strates the circulation of the liqui.d and vapor phases of the refrigerant when the heat exchanger lO is operating in both the heat pump and the heat-augmented rnodes of opera-tion. In -the heat pump mode of opera-tion the burners 21, 22 are not ignited and the fan 63 is energized, whereas in the heat augmented mode the burners 21, 22 are igni-ted resulting in the flames _1, F2 and the fan or blower 63 is not energized. Accordingly, in recognizing these differences only the heat-augmented mode of operation will be described immediately hereinafter.
In -the heat augmented mode of operation o-f the heat exchanger 10, as depicted in Figure 1, the fan or blower 63 is inopera-tive and the flame F1, F2 rise upwardly from the respective burners 21., 22 immedi.ately adjacent the lower ends 15, 17, respective].y, of the legs 12, 13, respecti.vely, of -the outdoor A-coil 11. In the outdoor coil of the noted patents, a sing:Le centrally located burner having a relati.vely intense/high temperature flame was utilized, but the problem discovered was that -the flame tended to "float~
upwardly through the m:i~dle of -the A-coi.l and resisted passing into and through the coil tubing. Moreover, in -the outdoor A-coil of the pa-tents, the flame was still very hot at -the top of the outdoor A-coil, vaporized liquid thereat ~ JI
i.ncreasing l.ts pressure, and the pressure at the top oE the coil resisted the upward movement of the liquid refrigerant with the result that hea-t simply escaped the outdoor coil through the top without being efficiently absorbed.
In the present invention these di.sadvantages have been overcome by utili.zi.ng two burners 21, 22 extending generally the entire length (24") of the A-coil legs 12, 13 and utilizing the ba-f-fles 61, 62 to direc-t the correspondingly gentler flames Fl, F2 and lower BTU's -thereo-f in a direction o-f confinement relative to -the coil tubing 23 of the lower section 54. The baffles 61, 62 are spaced approximately 2 inch away from the coil tubing 23 and the coil section 54 and, thus, the flames Fl, F2 cannot go toward the middle of the coil but are reflected or directed against the coil tubing 23 of both legs 12, 13. As will be described here-inafter relative to the refrigerant/vapor flow, the liquid refrigerant in the bottom section 5~ begins to pick-up or absorb heat from the flames F1, F2, but all of the hea-t is no-t picked-up and some will, obviously, escape into the next section 53 bUt with less intensity (BTU's). Since the intensity has increased, the tendency of the heat to flow toward the middle of the coi.]. i.n a chi.mney effect i.s lessened and the heat from bo-th flames Fl, F2 tends to reflect or bounce ~long the coi.l tubing 23 upwardly through the remai.ni.ng success:i.ve sections 53 through 51 exiting in essentially a depleted sta-te -through the space be-tween the upper ends 1~, ].6 of the coi.]. legs lZ, 13. At the very top of -the A-coil 11 there is lnsuffi.cient heat to blow back the liquid refri.gerant thereby main-taining generally equal pressure and temperature throughout the enti.rety of -the A-~3~
coil ll and each of the four sections 51 -through 54 thereof.
It should be part-icularly noted that the liquid refrigerant travels downwardly only approxima-tely 9 inches through each section 51 through 54 and, therefore, though the overall coil height is 36", the disadvantages here-tofore noted in a coil of this height haviny but a si.ng]e upper liquid refrigerant inlet header and a single pressuri~ed vapor outlet header are entirely avoided.
It is also pointed out that prior to the opera-tion of the hea-t-augmented mode at a temperature range o-f approxi-mately 32 F - 45 F, -the heat exchanger lO operates only in the heat pump mode since at temperatures above 45 F, ambient air has suffici.en-t Btu's for heating, Assuming, -therefore, that the heat exchanger lO was operating in its heat pump mode, ambient temperature fell below 45 F, -the fan 63 would cu-t-off, and the burners 21, 22 would ignite.
However, if during a pause between -these modes ambient temperature outdoors causes -the refrigerant in one leg or the other to become warmer, when the burners 21, 22 igni-te, -the tendency is for the heat -to migrate toward the warmer side of the coil tubi.ng 23 and escape. However, this is prevented by the cross-over tubing 41, 42 which balances the temperature/pressure across the secti.ons 52, 53 and, of course, wherever else deemed necessary :i.n -the remaining secti.ons 51., 54 by provid-Lng like cross-over tubing therein (not shown). (In the air conditioning mode this problem is no-t severe because of the higher pressures involved and -the higher velocity of -the refrigeran-t moving through the circuit 100, but a-t the lower velocities in the heat pump 3 '~
mode the problem could occur when the refrigerant is boiling-o~f.) It is also to be noted that -the vapor exiting each of the outlet headers 31. through 34 is essentially of the same pressure/temperature, but any rernainin~ minor variati.ons are ful].y equa]ized i.n the common outlet manifold 69.
Another important aspect of the lntroducti.on of the liquid refrigerant i.nto -the top of each coil section 51 through 54 i.s the abili.ty of the hea-t exchanger 10 to main-tain a defrost capability in the absence of a defrost (reversing) cycle, as is conven-tionally practiced, -though not in the prior structures noted in the patents herein.
Assuming, for example, tha-t the A-coil 11 is frosted at the top because of the colder liquid refrigerant introduced thereat (or at each stage 51 -through 54). There is, obviously, a need to defrost the A-coil 11, yet, as noted earlier, there is lit-tle, if any, heat or Btu's remaining as the heated air from -the flames Fl, F2 exits -the opening between -the open top ends 1.4, 16 of the A-coil 11. However, by increasing the pressure of the refri.gerant, i-ts tempera-ture wi].l increase and the A-coi]. 1l. wi.ll defrcst. Assuming that the pressure of the re:Eri.gerant i.s 60 pounds, -this is generally the equivalent of a ternperature of 30 F. Thers-fore, if the pressure in any secti.on 51 through 54 ls reaised to 62 pounds, the coi.l temperature increases to 32O
F, etc. Thereore, by allowing the re:fri.gerant at the bottom sec-tion 5~ to increase in pressure because of the hlgher -temperature from the flames Fl, F2, the pressure at -the top section 51 of the coil 11 will be the same pressure as a-t the bottom section 54 because of the common manifold 1~
~ 3 ~
connectlons at 68, 69 therebetween. Consequen-tly, the top of the A-coi.l ll. wi.ll essentially defrost under pressure even though -there are essent.ially little BTU's exiti.ng the top of the A-coil 1l..
With the foregoi.ng i.n mind the porting of the main reversing/expansi.on valve 66 and the auxiliary reversing/
expansion valve 67 is changed from -the air conditioning mode (Fi.gure 2) to the hea-t-augmented mode or heat pump mode i.n the manner illustrated in Figure 1 to effectively deliver the refrigerant in its liquid phase -to the tops of the outdoor A-coil sections 51 -through 54 through the associated respec-tive i.nlet headers 35 through 38 along the flow path defined by the various lines of -the refri.gerant circui-t 100 in the following manner recognizing, once again, tha-t in this mode the fan 63 is inoperative and the heat of the flames Fl, F2 rising in -the manner described in the manner described earlier boils-of-f the liquid refrigerant as it descends downwardly through the coil tubing 23 of each sec-tion 51 through 54 and thereby transforms the same into its boile~-off low pressure vapor state which exits the respectively outlet headers 31 through 34 which in turn are connected to the common outlet manifold 69 by the respective lines ll.l through l1.G~. The essenti.ally equal pressure/
temperature o the vapor phase of the refri.gerant delivered by the indi.vi.dual li.nes l.ll through ].1~ i.nto the common outlet mani.fold 69 i.s virtually assured to be maintained equa]. simply by the commonality o.f -the mani.fold 69 to these lines. Thereafter, the vapor follows a :Elow path defined by -the line 115, the ~ inlet port of the auxiliary reversing valve 67, the "3" outlet port of the auxi.liary reversi.ng L~A
valve 67, the li.ne 102, the "2" inlet port o the main reversing valve 66, the "3" outlet port of the main reversing valve 66 and the li.ne 118 to the compressor 64.
High pressure vapor leaves the compressor 64 over -the line 101 and travels to the "]." inlet port of the main reversi.ng valve 66, exits the main reversing valve 66 through the "~"
outlet port, and is introduced into the indoor coil 65 over the line 117. The blower or fan (no-t shown) o-f the indoor coil 65 is, of course, operative and as the hot vapor phase of the refrigerant flows through the indoor coil 65, the air blown through the indoor coil 65 absorbs the heat of the vapor phase refrigerant and heats the interior of the associated room, building, dwelling, etc. As the refrige-rant progressively cools -to its liqui.d phase, it is returned by the line 116 thrGugh the auxiliary reversing/expansion valve 67 through the "1" inlet port thereof, exits -the auxi-liary reversing valve 67 through the "2" outle-t port and is deli.vered by the line 103 to the common inlet manifold 68.
The cool refrigerant in its liquid state is then delivered by the lines 10~ through 107 from the manifold 68 i.nto the respective inlet headers 35 through 38 thereby completiny the re-frigerant ci.rcuit.
Thus, by the addition of the auxiliary reversi.ng/expan-si.on valve 67, the li.qui.d refrigeran-t is in-troduced into the top of the A-coil 11 and the secti.ons 51 through 5G~ thereof thereby efficiently picki.ng-up the heat/BT~'s from the flames F1, F2 as the liqui.d flows downwardly, becomes warm, and as the coil tubi.ng 23 warms progressively, it draws more heat/BTU's which flows to lhe warmer sections of the coil tubi.ng 23 AND in turn prevents -the liquid refr:igerant from ~.6 3'~
boiling-off. Thus, there is obtained maximum saturation, maximum flow and maxi.mum efficiency with equalization of temperature and pressure throug~out all of the coi.l sections 51 through 54.
The heat exchanger 10 of Fi.gures 1 and 2 is sized for houses of average si.ze, but for commercial appli.cations the heat exchanger lo can be modified wi.th ease to increase its output capacity as follows. A second outdoor A-coi.]. identi.-cal to the A-coil 1l. and including a fan 63, burners 22, 23 and baffles 61, 52 is mounted adjacent and in side-by-side relationship to the ou-tdoor A-coil ].1. This can be readily visualized by placing Figure 1 to the left of and in generally side-by-side relationship to Figure 2. The i.nle-t headers 3S through 38 of bo-th A-coils are connected -to each other as are the ou-tlet headers 31 through 34. Next, ins-tead of the cross-over tubing ~1, 42 being connectecl between the legs 12, 13 of each outdoor A-coil 11., the cross-overs are connected between the adjacen-t A-coils and there is no-t one but ins-tead -two cross-over tubes in what-ever sections such cross-over tubing is requi.red. For example, assuming that :i.n the commercial double A-coi.l arrangemen-t the cross-over tubing will also be between the sections 52, 52 and 53, 53 of adjacent A-coils, one pair of cross-over tubi.ng wi.ll be connected between the most remote (outermost) legs of the A-coils and the other cross-over tubing in the same section wil]. be connected to the nearest most adjacent legs of the associated secti.on. For example, visualizing the A-coi~Ls l.l of Figures 1. and 2 in side-by-side relati.onship wi.th Fi.gure 2 to the right, as earlier noted, one set of cross-over tubing would connec-t the coil ~ 3 ~ :~ 3~
tubi.ng 23 of the coil secti.on 52 of the leg 12 of Figure wi.th the coil tubi.ng 23 of the leg 13 of the section 52 of Figure 2 (corresponding -to cross-overs between the furthest legs of the two adjacent A-coi.ls). The o-ther cross-over tubing of the sections 52 would connect the coil -tubi.ng 23 of the leg 13 of the secti.on 52 of the A-coil of Figure 1 to the coi.l tubi.ng 23 of the leg 12 of the section 52 of Figure 2 (correspondi.ng to cross-overs between the nearest legs of the two adjacent A-coils).
In -the ex~ample just given, and assuming that Fi.gure 2 is again -to the right of Figure 1, the liquid refrigerant entering the lines ].04 through 107 i.n the heat-augmented mode (or heat pump mode) would enter the inlet headers 35 through 38 and not only flow downwardly in Figure 2 (which in this assumed condition is not, of course, in the air conditioning mode), and would flow downwardly and also continue to -the inlet headers 35 through 38 of Figure 1 to flow downwardly therein. Obvious]y, the same discharge of vapor would occur, namely, out of the outlet headers 31 through 34 of Figure 2 -through the same headers of Figure 1.
and the lines 111 to l.1~-~-to the common outlet manifold 69.
Obviously, the ~odified cross--over tubing between the i.nner-most and outermost leys of the two adjacent outdoor A-coils would function as descri.bed ear].ier w-.i.th respect to Figures 1 and 2. Accordingly, by this si.mple modification of essen--tially tying together two A-coils in a paral].el refrigerant circuit, the output capaci-ty is increased without any decrease in overal]. defi.ciency. Obviously, changes in indoor coil sizes, blower speeds, and/or compressor sizes may be necessi-tated for relatively larger commerci.al units when, for exarnple, i.nstead of two A-outdoor coils being connected together three, four or more may be so connec-ted and utili~ed.
Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been speci.ficaLly i.llustrated and describe~ herein, it is to be understood tha-t mi.nor vari.ations may be made i.n the apparatus wi.thout departing from the spi.rit and scope of the inventlon, as defined in the appended claims.
1.9
~ 3 ~
~-ilGH EFFICIENCY HEAT EXCIIANGER
BACK RO:INO Ot_1~ E INvrll IIrll ~ r~le present invention i5 related to an improved hlgh efficiency heat exchanger of the type disclosed in Patent Nos. 4,311,191 and 4,311,192, ea~h issued on January l9, 1982 in the name of Gerry Vandervaart and Patent No.
4,46].,345 issued on July 24, 1984, also in the name of Gerry Vandervaark. '~he contents of these three pate.nts are incorporated hereln by reference, partlcularly with respect to presently conventlonal s-tructural and ~unctlonal characteristics of such prior art heat exchangers.
Patent Nos. 4,311,191 and 4,311,192 each disclose a heat exchanger which lncludes conventlonal components such as a compressor, i.ndoor and outdoor colls, blowers associated with the coils, a reversin(~/expansion valve, and appropriate tubing or ~onduits such thak the heat-exchange medlum/refrigerant ~Freon)*can flow in opposite directions through assoclated conduits during air conditlonlng/cooli.ng mode on the one hand and heating/ heat-augmen-ting modes on the other. Trad-itionally, heat exchangers of the type disclosed in these patents only included reversible operation for cooling and heating modes, but in these patents in a heat-auyrnenti.ng mode a gas burner clirects flames again.st the outdoor A-coil as liquid refrigerant is inkroduced into the bokkom thereof. l'he liquid refri.gerant (Freon) absorbs the heat/Bku's whi.ch i.ncreases i.ts tempera-ture resulting in a vapor phase exi tiny the outdoor A-coi.l at its top which i.s subsequently transferred to the indoor * A trade-rnark of E. I. Du Pont de Nemours for fluorocarbons used ln refrlgeratlon.
" ~
c . ~ ~
~ 3 ~
coil and utilized with its associated blower to heat the interior of the building.
These conventional heat exchangers are extremely efficient up to approximately 5 tons, and thi.s efficiency is attributed primarily to the fact that the outdoor A-coil is relatively short in height (20 inches high), the heat of the flame is generally intense and is "trapped" within the confines of the A-coil, and because the li.quid refrigerant is introduced i.nto the bottom of the A-coil which immediate-ly absorbs a rela-tively great propor-tion of -the B'rU's at the lower end of the A-coil than at the upper end thereof which creates equalization of coil pressure/ tempera-ture and a-ttendant liquid refrigerant to boiled-off vapor transfer.
Obviously, if one were to desire a higher capacity heat exchanger, one would expect that all need be done would be to increase the capacity of the outdoor A-coil by, for example, merely increasi.ng its hei.ght (or its length) with other components being proportionately sized. However, there was no proportionate increase in efficiency found in actual practice when the conventional 20 i.nch high outdoor A-coil was replaced by a 36 lnch hi.gh coi.l. Instead the effi.ciency of -the heat purnp in all modes of operation, but par-ticularly the heat and heat-augmented modes of operati.on, was reduced. So long as the outdoor A-coil was relatively small and the flame was intense and general:l.y trapped within the A-coil, except for its free flow through the coils of the legs thereof, the liqui.d refrigerant boiled-off general-ly uniformly, but as -the temperature drops the refrigerant does not boil-off at the same rate of speed as the flow of the refrigerant -through the tubi.ng. Consequently, in the ~ 3 ~ .3~;
smaller si.zed outdoor A-coll of -the paten-ted sys-tem, -the refrigerant at the bottom of the outdoor A-coil boils off from its li.quid to its vapor state as i.t moves upwardly wi.th relative uniformity and ease. However, in the larger outdoor ~-coil there is insuffi.cient ll.qui.d refrigerant to maximize boi.l-off. While an appropriate expansion device could be used to fi.ll the tubi.ng to such a poi.nt where it flows out the back into the compressor i.n a conventional manner, this failed to maintain necessary generally cons-tan-t pressure/
temperature -throughout the outdoor A-coil, and particularly the two "legs" or sides -thereof. The ability to maintain such pressure/temperature balance substantially decreased in the large (36 inch high) ou-tdoor A-coil. The liquid refrigerant in the larger outdoor A-coil tended more so to fill the colder side or leg of -the outdoor A-coil (because of a lesser amoun-t of air flow therethrough during the heat pump cycle), and as the burner flame came on, the easier pa-th of travel for -the heat is -the side of the outdoor A-coil wi.th -the least amount of refrigerant therein. Thus, this automati.cally crea-ted an imbalance which li.kewise destroyed the heat transfer effi.ciency between the re]ati.ve-ly intense gas flame and the :Li.quld refri.gerant. Qui.te simply, while in the smaller outdoor A-coi]'s heating and heat-augmented modes, the temperature and, therefore, the pressure of the refri.gerant could be balanced throughout the outdoor A-coil it was relatively impossible to boi.l-off the liquid or refrigerant into i.ts low pressure vapor sta-te in both legs of the larger /higher outdoor A-coll.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A heat exchanger in accordance with the present invention comprises an outdoor coil for circulating there-through a heat-exchange medium, an inlet for delivering a heat-exchange medium into said outdoor coil, an outlet for discharging the heat-exchange medium from the outdoor coil, the inlet ~eing located above the outlet; main reversing valve means, auxiliary reversing valve ~leans, a compressor, and an indoor coil; conduit means for placing the indoor coil, 10 outdoor coil, compressor, auxiliary reversin~ valve means and main reversing valve means in fluid communication with each other in heating and air conditioning modes of operation of the heat exchangeri and the main and auxiliary reversing valve means being selectively operative in the heating mode to deliver the heat-exchange medium in a liquid state to the inlet and in the air conditioning mode to deliver the heat-exchange medium in vapor state to the inlet.
Furthermore, the present invention solves the problem of maintaining high efficiency in a relatively large ~0 capacity heat exchanger and particularly one having a rela-tively large/high outcloor coil by maintaining uniform pressure and temperature -throughout the coils of the outdoor coil, whether it is an A-coil or otherwise by (a) introducing liquid refrigerant into the top of the outdoor coil during the heat pump and heat-augmented modes of operation while still following conventional practice of introducing refrigerant vapor into the top of the outdoor coil in the air conditioning mode, (b) separating the outdoor coil in-to several stages, each having a separate refrigerant/vapor inlet and outlet, yet being connected to common inlet and outlet headers or manifolds, (c) providing cxoss-over tubing between the legs of selected sections or stages of the outdoor coil, (d) utili2ing gentle flames (relatively low Brruls output) a-t opposite legs of the outdoor A-coil and restricting the heat flow path by appropriate baffles, and (e) in addition to a main reversing/expansion valve which is conventional in heat exchangers of this type, providing an auxiliary reversing valve which effects appropriate refrigerant (liquid and/or vapor) flow in all three modes of opera-tion of -the heat exchanger.
With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
- 4a -'~3 BRIEF DESCRIPTION O~ THE DRAWINGS
FlGURE 1 is a schemati.c view of an overall heat exchanger of this inventi.on, and illustrates an outdoor A-coi.l divided into four stages and including cross-over tubing be~ween associ.ated legs, auxiliary and main reversing va].ves, and an associa-ted flow path of refriyerant/vapor in the heat pump and heat augmented modes of operation.
FIGURE 2 is a schemati.c view similar to Figure 1 of the heat exchanger of thi.s invention, and illustrates the posi-tions of the auxiliary and main reversing valves in the air conditioning mode of operation of the hea-t exchanger.
ESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A novel hea-t exchanger or heat-exchange system constructed in accordance with this invention is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings and is generally desi.g-nated by the reference numeral 10.
The heat exchanger lo includes an outdoor coil 11 which is an A-coil of the -type di.sclosed in the latter-identified patents and includes a pair of sides or legs 12, 13 having respective upper and lower ends or end portions 1~, 15 and 16, 17, respectj.vely. Though the ends 14l 16 o-f the respec-t:ive legs 12, 13 are shown quite c].ose to each other, i.n actual practice these ends are spaced Erom each o-ther and are not c].osed by, for examp].e, a plate or the l:ike corres-ponding to the plate 37 of Patent Nos. 4,311,191 and 4,311,192. Thus, heat which rises as a result of f].ames F1, F2 (Figure 1) i.ssui.ng from gas burners 21, 22, respectively, in the heat-augmented mode of operation of the heat exchanger 1~., whi.ch will be described more fully herein-after, rises upwardly under the conventional chi.mney effect an~ the BTU's are absorbed by liquid heat-exchange mediurn or refrigerant (Freon) flowing through conventional coil -tubing 23 of the legs 12, 13.
The outdoor A--coil 1l. includes four heat-exchange medium outlet headers 31 through 34 and four heat-exchange medium inlet headers 35 through 38. The inle-t and outlet headers are arranged in header pairs 31, 35; 32, 36; 33, 37;
and 34, 38. Each of the headers 31 through 38 are in fluid communication with the coi.l tubing 23 of both legs 12, 13 through appropriate pi.eces of short tubing, each identified by reference numeral 40. As is readily apparent from Figures l and 2, whether liquid refrigerant (Figure l) or vapor (Figure 2) enters the inlet headers 35 through 38, it flows into -the coil tubing 23, downwardly -therethrough, and exits -the respective outlet headers 31 through 34. In -this manner, the A-coil 1]. is effectively divided into -four sections 51 through 54, each having i.ts respective inlet and outlet header, namely, -the section 51 being defined by and between the headers 3]., 35; the section 52 being set-off and defined by and between -the headers 32 and 36 and the coil tubing 23 therebetween, etc. ~y vi.rtue of the dif-Eerent sections 51 through 54, i.t i.s readily apparent that though -the total hei.ght of the A-coi.l 1l. mi.ght be 36 i.nches, each section is ef~ectively an i.ndependent coil of a height approxirnating 9 inches (36" height . 4 sections = 9").
Selective ones of the sections 51 through 54 are also provided with cross-over tubing 41, 42, for example, placing the coil tubing 23 of the legs 12, 13 in fluid comrmlnication wi-th each other across the sections 52, 53. The cross-over tubing 41, 42 also augments pressure/temperature balanci.ng ~ G.~ !7 wi.thi.n the coi.l tubing 23 of both legs 12, 13, bu-t also ~unctions otherwise i.n the operati.on of the hea-t exchanger ].o, as will also be described more fully herei.nafter.
It is to be noted -that the number of coils of the coil tubing 23 per leg 12, 13 or per secti.on 5l.-through 54 has merely been illustrated schemati.cally in Figure 1 and is, obviously, not representative of an actual working embodiment of the outdoor A-coi.l 1l.. For example, in a worki.ng embodiment of the outdoor A-coil 11, each side or leg 12, 13 is, as heretofore noted, approxima-tely 36 inches high and approxi.ma-tely 24 i.nches long having a thickness of approximately l-l/2 inches. There are also two crossed rows (or four rows) o-f 36 tubes i.n each leg 12, 13 which amounts to approximately 144 tubes per leg or 36 tubes per section 51 through 54.
In-ternally of the outdoor A-coil 11 adjacent -the lower ends 15, 17 is a respecti.ve baffle or plate 61, 62. The baffles 6l., 62 and the burners 21, 22 extend the length of the A-coil and tend to confine the flames Fl, F2, respectively, toward the coi]. tubing 23 of the lowermost secti.on 54 before exi.ti.ng beyond the upper ends (unnumbered) of the baffles 6:L, 62.
A fan or blower 63 i.s operative during the heat pump mode and the air condi.ti.oning rnode of operation at which time the burners 21, 22 are inoperative, as i.s more fully described in the latter--noted patents.
The heat exchanger 1o also includes a conventional cornpressor 64, an i.ndoor co:i.l 65 and a main reversi.ng/expan-sion valve 66. However, the main reversing valve 66 is opera-tive in conjunction wi.-th an auxlliary reversi.ng/
expansion valve 67 to assure that during the heat pump and heat-augmented modes of operati.on (Figure 1) heat-exchange medi.um/refri.gerant :in li.quid sta-te will be i.ntroduced into the inlet headers 35 through 3~ and in the air conditioning mode (Figure 2) refrigerant i.n its vapor state wi]l be introduced into the same i.nlet headers 35 through 38. In all three modes of operati.on the fl,ow of the heat exchange medium, whether in liqui.d or vapor form, wi.ll be downwardly exiti.ng the sections 5I through 54 through -the outlet headers 31 through 34, respectively. In order to further assure a balance of pressure and temperature in all three modes, the inlet headers 35 through 38 are connected to a common inlet manifold 68 while the outlet headers 31 -through 34 are connected -to a common outlet manifold 69 over lines, conduits or tubing, all collectively identified by the reference numeral 100, but individual lines, pipes or tubing thereof will be individually numbered immediately herein-after in describing the various modes of operation of the heat exchanger 11.
OPERATION
Reference is made first to Figure 2 wh:i.ch i.llustrates the positions of the auxi.liary reversing valve 67 and the mai.n reversi.ng valve 66 :i.n the air condi.-tioning mode of operation of the heat exchanger 10. This mode of operation is selected first for descri.ption because i.t corresponds generally to the conventional flow of ],iquid refrigerant and vapor during the air conditioning mode of operation of conventional heat pumps, includi.ng those of the patents noted herein i.n which the high pressure vapor discharged from the compressor is introduced into the A-coils at the top thereof. In the ai.r conditioni.ng mode of the heat exchanger 10, the fan or blower 63 i.s, of course, opera-tive and rotating, as indi.cated by the unnumbered headed arrow associated therewith i.n Fi.gure 2 to drive ambien-t air through the outdoor coil l.1 and specifically -through the coi.l tubing 23 thereof. Furthermore, as noted earlier, the burners 21, 22 are not energized, a blower (not shown) associated with the indoor coil 65 is operative and the compressor 64 i.s energized.
As is customary i.n the air conditioning/cooling mode of operation o-f the heat exchanger 10, the compressor 64 delivers high pressure hot vapor refrigerant to the outdoor A-coil 10 through a conduit or line 101, -the "1" inlet port of the main reversing valve 66, the "2" outlet port of -the main reversing valve 66, a li.ne 102 into the "3" inlet port of the auxili.ary reversing valve 67, ou-t through the "2"
outlet port of the auxi.liary reversing valve 67, a line 103 into the common inlet manifold 68 and -through li.nes 104 -through 107 into the respective inlet headers 35 through 38.
The high pressure discharge refrigerant in its vapor state travels downwardly through the coil tubing 23 of each of the sections 51 through 54 and exits therefrom through the ou-tlet headers 31 through 34, and as the hi.gh pressure hot vapor refrigerant i.s pumped downwardly through the coil tubing 23, i.t gives off its heat to the air flowing there-through under the influence of the fan or blower 63 and i.s transformed into its cooler liquid phase discharging from the ou-tlet headers 31 through 34 over respective lines 111 through 114 i.nto the common outlet manifold 69. Since the inlet manifold 68 is common to each of the li.nes ].04 through ~ 3 ~ 6 107, pressure~temperature of the vapor entering the coil tubing 23 in each o-f the inlet headers 35 -through 38 is essentially identical and remains so un-til. discharged wi-th any tendency i.n variation being o-Efset by -the c:ross-over lines or tubing ~ 2, of the sections 52, 53, or as might otherwise be provided or needed relati.ve -to the sections 51, 54. The cool ].i.quid refrigerant exits the common outlet manifold 69 over a ]ine 115, enters the "4" inlet port of the auxiliary reversing valve 67, exits the "1" outle-t port of the auxiliary reversing valve 67 and en-ters the indoor coil over a line 116. The fan or blower (no-t shown) associated with the indoor coil 65 blows air through the coil 65 which picks-up or absorbs the heat blown -there--through cooling thi.s air which in turn cools the room or building and transforms the liquid phase in-to low pressure boiled-off vapor with exits the indoor coil 65 over a line 117, enters -the "4" inlet port of -the main reversing valve 66, exi-ts the "3" outlet port of -the main reversi.ng valve 66 and is direc-ted by a line 118 back -to the compressor 64, -thus comple-ti.ng its ci.rcuit.
It is to be parti.cularly noted that in the operation of the air conditi.oning mode of -the heat exchanger 10 the hlgh pressure vapor enters each o-f the inlet headers 35 through 38 at the top of each of the sections 51 through 54 and exits the same sections at the bottom thereof through the respective headers 31 through 34. This is particularly important because it permits total uti].i.zation of the entire area of the coil tubi.ng 23 to cool the vapor as i.t flows downwardly and thereby efficiently -transforms the same to the exi.ting liquid state. This is traditional common 6~ ~
practice in conventional heat pumps, including those of the patents noted therei.n, and in such systems when the mode of operation i.s reversed to the heat pump mode, the li.quid enters the outdoor coi.l through the bo-ttom and flows upwardlly, but such i.s not the case ln the present inven-tion, as wi.ll be no-ted immediate]y hereinafter.
Reference is now made to Figure 1 of the drawings which ~ strates the circulation of the liqui.d and vapor phases of the refrigerant when the heat exchanger lO is operating in both the heat pump and the heat-augmented rnodes of opera-tion. In -the heat pump mode of opera-tion the burners 21, 22 are not ignited and the fan 63 is energized, whereas in the heat augmented mode the burners 21, 22 are igni-ted resulting in the flames _1, F2 and the fan or blower 63 is not energized. Accordingly, in recognizing these differences only the heat-augmented mode of operation will be described immediately hereinafter.
In -the heat augmented mode of operation o-f the heat exchanger 10, as depicted in Figure 1, the fan or blower 63 is inopera-tive and the flame F1, F2 rise upwardly from the respective burners 21., 22 immedi.ately adjacent the lower ends 15, 17, respective].y, of the legs 12, 13, respecti.vely, of -the outdoor A-coil 11. In the outdoor coil of the noted patents, a sing:Le centrally located burner having a relati.vely intense/high temperature flame was utilized, but the problem discovered was that -the flame tended to "float~
upwardly through the m:i~dle of -the A-coi.l and resisted passing into and through the coil tubing. Moreover, in -the outdoor A-coil of the pa-tents, the flame was still very hot at -the top of the outdoor A-coil, vaporized liquid thereat ~ JI
i.ncreasing l.ts pressure, and the pressure at the top oE the coil resisted the upward movement of the liquid refrigerant with the result that hea-t simply escaped the outdoor coil through the top without being efficiently absorbed.
In the present invention these di.sadvantages have been overcome by utili.zi.ng two burners 21, 22 extending generally the entire length (24") of the A-coil legs 12, 13 and utilizing the ba-f-fles 61, 62 to direc-t the correspondingly gentler flames Fl, F2 and lower BTU's -thereo-f in a direction o-f confinement relative to -the coil tubing 23 of the lower section 54. The baffles 61, 62 are spaced approximately 2 inch away from the coil tubing 23 and the coil section 54 and, thus, the flames Fl, F2 cannot go toward the middle of the coil but are reflected or directed against the coil tubing 23 of both legs 12, 13. As will be described here-inafter relative to the refrigerant/vapor flow, the liquid refrigerant in the bottom section 5~ begins to pick-up or absorb heat from the flames F1, F2, but all of the hea-t is no-t picked-up and some will, obviously, escape into the next section 53 bUt with less intensity (BTU's). Since the intensity has increased, the tendency of the heat to flow toward the middle of the coi.]. i.n a chi.mney effect i.s lessened and the heat from bo-th flames Fl, F2 tends to reflect or bounce ~long the coi.l tubing 23 upwardly through the remai.ni.ng success:i.ve sections 53 through 51 exiting in essentially a depleted sta-te -through the space be-tween the upper ends 1~, ].6 of the coi.]. legs lZ, 13. At the very top of -the A-coil 11 there is lnsuffi.cient heat to blow back the liquid refri.gerant thereby main-taining generally equal pressure and temperature throughout the enti.rety of -the A-~3~
coil ll and each of the four sections 51 -through 54 thereof.
It should be part-icularly noted that the liquid refrigerant travels downwardly only approxima-tely 9 inches through each section 51 through 54 and, therefore, though the overall coil height is 36", the disadvantages here-tofore noted in a coil of this height haviny but a si.ng]e upper liquid refrigerant inlet header and a single pressuri~ed vapor outlet header are entirely avoided.
It is also pointed out that prior to the opera-tion of the hea-t-augmented mode at a temperature range o-f approxi-mately 32 F - 45 F, -the heat exchanger lO operates only in the heat pump mode since at temperatures above 45 F, ambient air has suffici.en-t Btu's for heating, Assuming, -therefore, that the heat exchanger lO was operating in its heat pump mode, ambient temperature fell below 45 F, -the fan 63 would cu-t-off, and the burners 21, 22 would ignite.
However, if during a pause between -these modes ambient temperature outdoors causes -the refrigerant in one leg or the other to become warmer, when the burners 21, 22 igni-te, -the tendency is for the heat -to migrate toward the warmer side of the coil tubi.ng 23 and escape. However, this is prevented by the cross-over tubing 41, 42 which balances the temperature/pressure across the secti.ons 52, 53 and, of course, wherever else deemed necessary :i.n -the remaining secti.ons 51., 54 by provid-Lng like cross-over tubing therein (not shown). (In the air conditioning mode this problem is no-t severe because of the higher pressures involved and -the higher velocity of -the refrigeran-t moving through the circuit 100, but a-t the lower velocities in the heat pump 3 '~
mode the problem could occur when the refrigerant is boiling-o~f.) It is also to be noted that -the vapor exiting each of the outlet headers 31. through 34 is essentially of the same pressure/temperature, but any rernainin~ minor variati.ons are ful].y equa]ized i.n the common outlet manifold 69.
Another important aspect of the lntroducti.on of the liquid refrigerant i.nto -the top of each coil section 51 through 54 i.s the abili.ty of the hea-t exchanger 10 to main-tain a defrost capability in the absence of a defrost (reversing) cycle, as is conven-tionally practiced, -though not in the prior structures noted in the patents herein.
Assuming, for example, tha-t the A-coil 11 is frosted at the top because of the colder liquid refrigerant introduced thereat (or at each stage 51 -through 54). There is, obviously, a need to defrost the A-coil 11, yet, as noted earlier, there is lit-tle, if any, heat or Btu's remaining as the heated air from -the flames Fl, F2 exits -the opening between -the open top ends 1.4, 16 of the A-coil 11. However, by increasing the pressure of the refri.gerant, i-ts tempera-ture wi].l increase and the A-coi]. 1l. wi.ll defrcst. Assuming that the pressure of the re:Eri.gerant i.s 60 pounds, -this is generally the equivalent of a ternperature of 30 F. Thers-fore, if the pressure in any secti.on 51 through 54 ls reaised to 62 pounds, the coi.l temperature increases to 32O
F, etc. Thereore, by allowing the re:fri.gerant at the bottom sec-tion 5~ to increase in pressure because of the hlgher -temperature from the flames Fl, F2, the pressure at -the top section 51 of the coil 11 will be the same pressure as a-t the bottom section 54 because of the common manifold 1~
~ 3 ~
connectlons at 68, 69 therebetween. Consequen-tly, the top of the A-coi.l ll. wi.ll essentially defrost under pressure even though -there are essent.ially little BTU's exiti.ng the top of the A-coil 1l..
With the foregoi.ng i.n mind the porting of the main reversing/expansi.on valve 66 and the auxiliary reversing/
expansion valve 67 is changed from -the air conditioning mode (Fi.gure 2) to the hea-t-augmented mode or heat pump mode i.n the manner illustrated in Figure 1 to effectively deliver the refrigerant in its liquid phase -to the tops of the outdoor A-coil sections 51 -through 54 through the associated respec-tive i.nlet headers 35 through 38 along the flow path defined by the various lines of -the refri.gerant circui-t 100 in the following manner recognizing, once again, tha-t in this mode the fan 63 is inoperative and the heat of the flames Fl, F2 rising in -the manner described in the manner described earlier boils-of-f the liquid refrigerant as it descends downwardly through the coil tubing 23 of each sec-tion 51 through 54 and thereby transforms the same into its boile~-off low pressure vapor state which exits the respectively outlet headers 31 through 34 which in turn are connected to the common outlet manifold 69 by the respective lines ll.l through l1.G~. The essenti.ally equal pressure/
temperature o the vapor phase of the refri.gerant delivered by the indi.vi.dual li.nes l.ll through ].1~ i.nto the common outlet mani.fold 69 i.s virtually assured to be maintained equa]. simply by the commonality o.f -the mani.fold 69 to these lines. Thereafter, the vapor follows a :Elow path defined by -the line 115, the ~ inlet port of the auxiliary reversing valve 67, the "3" outlet port of the auxi.liary reversi.ng L~A
valve 67, the li.ne 102, the "2" inlet port o the main reversing valve 66, the "3" outlet port of the main reversing valve 66 and the li.ne 118 to the compressor 64.
High pressure vapor leaves the compressor 64 over -the line 101 and travels to the "]." inlet port of the main reversi.ng valve 66, exits the main reversing valve 66 through the "~"
outlet port, and is introduced into the indoor coil 65 over the line 117. The blower or fan (no-t shown) o-f the indoor coil 65 is, of course, operative and as the hot vapor phase of the refrigerant flows through the indoor coil 65, the air blown through the indoor coil 65 absorbs the heat of the vapor phase refrigerant and heats the interior of the associated room, building, dwelling, etc. As the refrige-rant progressively cools -to its liqui.d phase, it is returned by the line 116 thrGugh the auxiliary reversing/expansion valve 67 through the "1" inlet port thereof, exits -the auxi-liary reversing valve 67 through the "2" outle-t port and is deli.vered by the line 103 to the common inlet manifold 68.
The cool refrigerant in its liquid state is then delivered by the lines 10~ through 107 from the manifold 68 i.nto the respective inlet headers 35 through 38 thereby completiny the re-frigerant ci.rcuit.
Thus, by the addition of the auxiliary reversi.ng/expan-si.on valve 67, the li.qui.d refrigeran-t is in-troduced into the top of the A-coil 11 and the secti.ons 51 through 5G~ thereof thereby efficiently picki.ng-up the heat/BT~'s from the flames F1, F2 as the liqui.d flows downwardly, becomes warm, and as the coil tubi.ng 23 warms progressively, it draws more heat/BTU's which flows to lhe warmer sections of the coil tubi.ng 23 AND in turn prevents -the liquid refr:igerant from ~.6 3'~
boiling-off. Thus, there is obtained maximum saturation, maximum flow and maxi.mum efficiency with equalization of temperature and pressure throug~out all of the coi.l sections 51 through 54.
The heat exchanger 10 of Fi.gures 1 and 2 is sized for houses of average si.ze, but for commercial appli.cations the heat exchanger lo can be modified wi.th ease to increase its output capacity as follows. A second outdoor A-coi.]. identi.-cal to the A-coil 1l. and including a fan 63, burners 22, 23 and baffles 61, 52 is mounted adjacent and in side-by-side relationship to the ou-tdoor A-coil ].1. This can be readily visualized by placing Figure 1 to the left of and in generally side-by-side relationship to Figure 2. The i.nle-t headers 3S through 38 of bo-th A-coils are connected -to each other as are the ou-tlet headers 31 through 34. Next, ins-tead of the cross-over tubing ~1, 42 being connectecl between the legs 12, 13 of each outdoor A-coil 11., the cross-overs are connected between the adjacen-t A-coils and there is no-t one but ins-tead -two cross-over tubes in what-ever sections such cross-over tubing is requi.red. For example, assuming that :i.n the commercial double A-coi.l arrangemen-t the cross-over tubing will also be between the sections 52, 52 and 53, 53 of adjacent A-coils, one pair of cross-over tubi.ng wi.ll be connected between the most remote (outermost) legs of the A-coils and the other cross-over tubing in the same section wil]. be connected to the nearest most adjacent legs of the associated secti.on. For example, visualizing the A-coi~Ls l.l of Figures 1. and 2 in side-by-side relati.onship wi.th Fi.gure 2 to the right, as earlier noted, one set of cross-over tubing would connec-t the coil ~ 3 ~ :~ 3~
tubi.ng 23 of the coil secti.on 52 of the leg 12 of Figure wi.th the coil tubi.ng 23 of the leg 13 of the section 52 of Figure 2 (corresponding -to cross-overs between the furthest legs of the two adjacent A-coi.ls). The o-ther cross-over tubing of the sections 52 would connect the coil -tubi.ng 23 of the leg 13 of the secti.on 52 of the A-coil of Figure 1 to the coi.l tubi.ng 23 of the leg 12 of the section 52 of Figure 2 (correspondi.ng to cross-overs between the nearest legs of the two adjacent A-coils).
In -the ex~ample just given, and assuming that Fi.gure 2 is again -to the right of Figure 1, the liquid refrigerant entering the lines ].04 through 107 i.n the heat-augmented mode (or heat pump mode) would enter the inlet headers 35 through 38 and not only flow downwardly in Figure 2 (which in this assumed condition is not, of course, in the air conditioning mode), and would flow downwardly and also continue to -the inlet headers 35 through 38 of Figure 1 to flow downwardly therein. Obvious]y, the same discharge of vapor would occur, namely, out of the outlet headers 31 through 34 of Figure 2 -through the same headers of Figure 1.
and the lines 111 to l.1~-~-to the common outlet manifold 69.
Obviously, the ~odified cross--over tubing between the i.nner-most and outermost leys of the two adjacent outdoor A-coils would function as descri.bed ear].ier w-.i.th respect to Figures 1 and 2. Accordingly, by this si.mple modification of essen--tially tying together two A-coils in a paral].el refrigerant circuit, the output capaci-ty is increased without any decrease in overal]. defi.ciency. Obviously, changes in indoor coil sizes, blower speeds, and/or compressor sizes may be necessi-tated for relatively larger commerci.al units when, for exarnple, i.nstead of two A-outdoor coils being connected together three, four or more may be so connec-ted and utili~ed.
Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been speci.ficaLly i.llustrated and describe~ herein, it is to be understood tha-t mi.nor vari.ations may be made i.n the apparatus wi.thout departing from the spi.rit and scope of the inventlon, as defined in the appended claims.
1.9
Claims (36)
1. A heat exchanger comprising an outdoor coil for circulating therethrough a heat-exchange medium, an inlet for delivering a heat-exchange medium into said outdoor coil, an outlet for discharging the heat-exchange medium from said outdoor coil, said inlet being located above said outlet; main reversing valve means, auxiliary reversing valve means, a compressor, and an indoor coil; conduit means for placing said indoor coil, outdoor coil, compressor, auxiliary reversing valve means and main reversing valve means in fluid communication with each other in heating and air conditioning modes of operation of said heat exchanger;
and said main and auxiliary reversing valve means being selectively operative in the heating mode to deliver the heat-exchange medium in a liquid state to said inlet and in the air conditioning mode to deliver the heat-exchange medium in vapor state to said inlet.
and said main and auxiliary reversing valve means being selectively operative in the heating mode to deliver the heat-exchange medium in a liquid state to said inlet and in the air conditioning mode to deliver the heat-exchange medium in vapor state to said inlet.
2. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 1 wherein a high pressure outlet of said compressor is placed in fluid communication with said outdoor coil inlet in said air conditioning mode whereby the vapor state of the heat-exchange medium is pressurized.
3. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 1 wherein a liquid outlet of said indoor coil is placed in fluid commu-nication with said outdoor coil inlet in said heating mode whereby the liquid state of the heat-exchange medium is delivered to said outdoor coil inlet in the heating mode.
4. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 1 including means for heating the heat-exchange medium as its passes through said outdoor coil.
5. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 1 wherein said outdoor coil is of a generally inverted V-shaped configuration.
6. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 1 wherein said outdoor coil is of a generally inverted V-shaped configuration defined by two upwardly converging coils having upper and lower coil portions, and means at each lower coil portion for heating the heat-exchange medium as it passes through each lower coil portion.
7. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 1 wherein said outdoor coil is of a generally inverted V-shaped configuration defined by two upwardly converging coils having upper and lower coil portions, means at each lower coil portion for heating the heat-exchange medium as it passes through each lower coil portion, and means at each lower coil portion for generally confining the heat generated by said heating means at said lower coil portions and generally blocking inward migration of the generated heat.
8. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 1 wherein said outdoor coil is of a generally inverted V-shaped configuration defined by two upwardly converging coils having upper and lower coil portions, means at each lower coil portion for heating the heat-exchange medium as it passes through each lower coil portion, means at each lower coil portion for generally confining the heat generated by said heating means at said lower coil portions and generally blocking inward migration of the generated heat, said confining means includes a baffle adjacent each lower coil portion, and said heating means are positioned to direct the generated heat between each baffle and an adjacent lower coil portion.
9. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 1 wherein said outdoor coil includes at least two coil portions in spaced relationship to each other, said two coil portions include upper and lower ends, said inlet and said outlet being connected to said respective upper and lower ends, and cross-over tubes between and in fluid communication with said two coil portions between said inlet and outlet.
10. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 1. wherein the heating mode said main and auxiliary reversing valves are positioned to define a heat-exchange medium flow path which successively includes from said outdoor coil outlet said auxiliary reversing valve means, said main reversing valve means, said compressor, said main reversing valve means, said indoor coil, said auxiliary reversing valve means and said outdoor coil inlet.
11. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 1 wherein in the air conditioning mode said main and auxiliary reversing valves are positioned to define a heat-exchange medium flow path which successively includes from said outdoor coil outlet said auxiliary reversing valve means, said indoor coil, said main reversing valve means, said compressor, said main reversing valve means, said auxiliary reversing valve means and said outdoor coil inlet.
12. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 1 wherein in the heating mode said main and auxiliary reversing valves are positioned to define a heat-exchange medium flow path which successively includes from said outdoor coil outlet said auxiliary reversing valve means, said main reversing valve means, said compressor, said main reversing valve means, said indoor coil, said auxiliary reversing valve means and said outdoor coil inlet, and in the air condition-ing mode said main and auxiliary reversing valves are positioned to define a heat-exchange medium flow path which successively includes from said outdoor coil outlet said auxiliary reversing valve means, said indoor coil, said main reversing valve means, said compressor, said main reversing valve means, said auxiliary reversing valve means, said auxiliary reversing valve means and said outdoor coil inlet.
13. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 2 wherein a liquid outlet of said indoor coil is placed in fluid communication with said outdoor coil inlet in said heating mode whereby the liquid state of the heat-exchange medium is delivered to said outdoor coil inlet in the heating mode.
14. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 13 including means for heating the heat-exchange medium as its passes through said outdoor coil.
15. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 13 wherein said outdoor coil is of a generally inverted V-shaped configuration.
16. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 13 wherein said outdoor coil is of a generally inverted V-shaped configuration defined by two upwardly converging coils having upper and lower coil portions, and means at each lower coil portion for heating the heat-exchange medium as it passes through each lower coil portion.
17. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 13 wherein the heating mode said main and auxiliary reversing valves are positioned to define a heat-exchange medium flow path which successively includes from said outdoor coil outlet said auxiliary reversing valve means, said main reversing valve means, said compressor, said main reversing valve means, said indoor coil, said auxiliary reversing valve means and said outdoor coil inlet.
18. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 13 wherein in the air conditioning mode said main and auxiliary reversing valves are positioned to define a heat-exchange medium flow path which successively includes from said outdoor coil outlet said auxiliary reversing valve means, said indoor coil, said main reversing valve means, said compressor, said main reversing valve means, said auxiliary reversing valve means and said outdoor coil inlet.
19. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 12 wherein in the heating mode said main and auxiliary reversing valves are positioned to define a heat-exchange medium flow path which successively includes from said outdoor coil outlet said auxiliary reversing valve means, said main reversing valve means, said compressor, said main reversing valve means, said indoor coil, said auxiliary reversing valve means and said outdoor coil inlet, and in the air condition-ing mode said main and auxiliary reversing valves are positioned to define a heat-exchange medium flow path which successively includes from said outdoor coil outlet said auxiliary reversing valve means, said indoor coil, said main reversing valve means, said compressor, said main reversing valve means, said auxiliary reversing valve means, said auxiliary reversing valve means and said outdoor coil inlet.
20. A heat exchanger comprising an outdoor coil for circulating therethrough a heat-exchange medium, said outdoor coil having upper and lower ends, a pluraltiy of pairs of heat-exchange medium inlets and outlets in fluid communication with said outdoor coil for respectively delivering the heat-exchange medium into and discharging the heat-exchange medium from said outdoor coil, each inlet being located above the outlet of each pair of inlets and outlets and defining with coil portions of the outdoor coil therebetween individual coil sections of said outdoor coil, a common inlet line and a common outlet line in fluid commu-nication with said respective inlets and outlets; main reversing valve means, auxiliary reversing valve means, a compressor and an indoor coil; conduit means for placing said common inlet and outlet lines, indoor coil, compressor, auxiliary reversing valve means and main reversing valve means in fluid communication with each other in heating and air conditioning modes of operation of said heat exchanger;
and said main and auxiliary reversing valve means being selectively operative in the heating mode to deliver the heat-exchange medium in liquid state to said common inlet line and in the air conditioning mode to deliver the heat-exchange medium in the vapor state to said common outlet line.
and said main and auxiliary reversing valve means being selectively operative in the heating mode to deliver the heat-exchange medium in liquid state to said common inlet line and in the air conditioning mode to deliver the heat-exchange medium in the vapor state to said common outlet line.
21. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 20 wherein a high pressure outlet of said compressor is placed in fluid communication which said common inlet line in said air conditioning mode whereby the vapor state of the heat-exchange medium is pressurized.
22. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 20 wherein a liquid outlet of said indoor coil is placed in fluid communication with said common inlet line in said heating mode whereby the liquid state of the heat-exchange medium is delivered to said outdoor coil inlet in the heating mode.
23. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 20 including means for heating the heat-exchange medium as its passes through said outdoor coil.
24. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 20 wherein said outdoor coil is of a generally inverted V-shaped configuration.
25. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 20 wherein said outdoor coil is of a generally inverted V-shaped configuration defined by two upwardly converging coils having upper and lower coil portions, and means at each lower coil portion for heating the heat-exchange medium as it passes through each lower coil portion.
26. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 20 wherein said outdoor coil is of a generally inverted V-shaped configuration defined by two upwardly converging coils having upper and lower coil portions, means at each lower coil portion for heating the heat-exchange medium as it passes through each lower coil portion, and means at each lower coil portion for generally confining the heat generated by said heating means at said lower coil portions and generally blocking inward migration of the generated heat.
27 27. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 20 wherein said outdoor coil is of a generally inverted V-shaped configuration defined by two upwardly converging coils having upper and lower coil portions, means at each lower coil portion for heating the heat-exchange medium as it passes through each lower coil portion, means at each lower coil portion for generally confining the heat generated by said heating means at said lower coil portions and generally blocking inward migration of the generated heat, said confining means includes a baffle adjacent each lower coil portion, and said heating means are positioned to direct the generated heat between each baffle and an adjacent lower coil portion.
28 28. A heat exchanger comprising first and second outdoor coils for circulating therethrough a heat-exchange medium, said first and second outdoor coils each having upper and lower ends, a plurality of pairs of heat-exchange medium inlets and outlets in fluid communication with said first and second outdoor coils for respectively delivering the heat-exchange medium into and discharging the heat-exchange medium from said first and second outdoor coils, each inlet being located above the outlet of each pair of inlets and outlets and defining with coil portions of the first and second outdoor coils therebetween individual coil sections of said first and second outdoor coils, crossover conduit means in fluid communication between common coil sections of said first and second outdoor coils, a common inlet line and a common outlet line in fluid communication with said respective inlets and outlets; main reversing valve means, auxiliary reversing valve means, a compressor and an indoor coil; conduit means for placing said common inlet and outlet lines, indoor coil, compressor, auxiliary reversing valve means and main reversing valve means in fluid communication with each other in heating and air conditioning modes of operation of said heat exchanger; and said main and auxiliary reversing valve means being selec-tively operative in the heating mode to deliver the heat-exchange medium in liquid state to said common inlet line and in the air conditioning mode to deliver the heat-exchange medium in the vapor state to said common outlet line.
29 29. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 28 wherein a high pressure outlet of said compressor is placed in fluid communication which said common inlet line in said air conditioning mode whereby the vapor state of the heat-exchange medium is pressurized.
30. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 28 wherein a liquid outlet of said indoor coil is placed in fluid communication with said common inlet line in said heating mode whereby the liquid state of the heat-exchange medium is delivered to said outdoor coil inlet in the heating mode.
31. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 28 including means for heating the heat-exchange medium as it passes through said first and second outdoor coils.
32. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 28 wherein said first and second outdoor coils define a generally inverted V-shaped configuration.
33. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 28 wherein said first and second outdoor coils define a generally inverted V-shaped configuration, and means at said outdoor coils lower ends for heating the heat-exchange medium as it passes through said first and second coils.
34. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 28 wherein said first and second outdoor coils define a generally inverted V-shaped configuration, means at said outdoor coils lower ends for heating the heat-exchange medium as it passes through said first and second coils, and means at each coil lower end for generally confining the heat generated by said heating means at said coil lower ends and generally blocking inward migration of the generated heat.
35. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 28 wherein said first and second outdoor coils define a generally inverted V-shaped configuration, means at said outdoor coils lower ends for heating the heat-exchange medium as it passes through said first and second coils, means at each coil lower end for generally confining the heat generated by said heating means at said coil lower ends and generally blocking inward migration of the generated heat, said confining means includes a baffle adjacent each coil lower end, and said heating means are positioned to direct the generated heat between each baffle and an adjacent coil lower end.
36. The heat exchanger as defined in claim 28 wherein said crossover conduit means are a pair of crossed tubes connected at opposite ends to a respective one of said first and second outdoor coils coil sections.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US07/171,082 US4825664A (en) | 1988-03-21 | 1988-03-21 | High efficiency heat exchanger |
| US07/171,082 | 1988-03-21 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1311134C true CA1311134C (en) | 1992-12-08 |
Family
ID=22622449
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000593829A Expired - Lifetime CA1311134C (en) | 1988-03-21 | 1989-03-15 | High efficiency heat exchanger |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US4825664A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1311134C (en) |
Families Citing this family (10)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5263892A (en) * | 1991-07-03 | 1993-11-23 | Kool-Fire Research & Development | High efficiency heat exchanger system with glycol and refrigerant loops |
| KR100225636B1 (en) * | 1997-05-20 | 1999-10-15 | 윤종용 | Airconditioner for both cooling and warming |
| US6286322B1 (en) * | 1998-07-31 | 2001-09-11 | Ardco, Inc. | Hot gas defrost refrigeration system |
| KR20060087173A (en) * | 2005-01-28 | 2006-08-02 | 엘지전자 주식회사 | Heat exchanger for use in air conditioner |
| JP2010513830A (en) * | 2006-12-16 | 2010-04-30 | スター レフリジレーション リミテッド | Air source heat pump |
| US9134043B2 (en) * | 2009-02-12 | 2015-09-15 | Babcock Power Services Inc. | Heat transfer passes for solar boilers |
| US9163857B2 (en) * | 2009-02-12 | 2015-10-20 | Babcock Power Services, Inc. | Spray stations for temperature control in solar boilers |
| FI20096291A0 (en) * | 2009-12-04 | 2009-12-04 | Mateve Oy | Earth circuit in a low energy system |
| AU2011258052B2 (en) * | 2010-05-27 | 2016-06-16 | XDX Global, LLC | Surged heat pump systems |
| US20150153111A1 (en) * | 2013-12-02 | 2015-06-04 | Carrier Corporation | Indoor coil |
Family Cites Families (8)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4240269A (en) * | 1979-05-29 | 1980-12-23 | Carrier Corporation | Heat pump system |
| US4311191A (en) * | 1979-07-03 | 1982-01-19 | Kool-Fire Ltd. | Heat-augmented heat exchanger |
| US4311192A (en) * | 1979-07-03 | 1982-01-19 | Kool-Fire Limited | Heat-augmented heat exchanger |
| US4461345A (en) * | 1979-10-22 | 1984-07-24 | Kool-Fire Limited | Heat-augmented heat exchanger system |
| US4407137A (en) * | 1981-03-16 | 1983-10-04 | Carrier Corporation | Fast defrost heat exchanger |
| US4399664A (en) * | 1981-12-07 | 1983-08-23 | The Trane Company | Heat pump water heater circuit |
| US4430864A (en) * | 1981-12-31 | 1984-02-14 | Midwest Research Institute | Hybrid vapor compression and desiccant air conditioning system |
| JPH0686969B2 (en) * | 1984-12-07 | 1994-11-02 | 株式会社日立製作所 | Air-cooled heat pump type refrigeration cycle |
-
1988
- 1988-03-21 US US07/171,082 patent/US4825664A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
1989
- 1989-03-15 CA CA000593829A patent/CA1311134C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| US4825664A (en) | 1989-05-02 |
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