Portable cooling and heating unit using reversible refrigerant circuit
Contents
1. US 6 167 714 B1 1 PORTABLE COOLING AND HEATING UNIT USING REVERSIBLE REFRIGERANT CIRCUIT This is a continuation application of U S patent appli cation Ser No 09 190 508 filed Nov 12 1998 entitled PORTABLE COOLING AND HEATING UNIT USING REVERSIBLE REFRIGERANT CIRCUIT TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a portable heating and cooling unit for use in localized and temporary cooling and heating requirements in buildings warehouses computer rooms and the like Particularly the present invention relates to a portable heating and cooling unit using a refrigerant circuit and which is mounted in a cabinet sup ported on wheels BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Portable cooling units are known which are used in localized cooling and heating applications in office buildings warehouses computer rooms and the like The portable cooling units are held within a cabinet which in turn is mounted on caster wheels for mobility The cooling unit can be placed in near proximity to a particular location which is otherwise not adequately served by the central cooling system of the building or other enclosure The portable cooling unit can be used to economize on cooling supply in a large structure if only small areas need precise cooling control or extra cooling capacity Portable cooling units are useful in localized cooling within a room The cooling units include a refrigeration circuit which typically incl2. claim 10 further comprising a first condensate collection pan arranged beneath said first coil and a second condensate collection pan arranged beneath said second coil 15 The portable heating and cooling unit according to claim 14 further comprising a condensate collection tank and also further comprising a condensate pump having an inlet in flow communication with one of said first and second condensate collection pans and an outlet in flow communi cation with said condensate collection tank 16 The portable heating and cooling unit according to claim 15 wherein said condensate collection tank includes an automatic refrigeration circuit shutoff which activates on high condensate level within said condensate collection tank to stop operation of said compressor 17 The portable heating and cooling unit according to claim 10 wherein said cabinet includes a front side delivery air inlet and an upwardly angled air delivery outlet above said air inlet and said first coil is arranged behind said air inlet said first fan drawing air through said air inlet through said first coil and out of said angled air delivery outlet and into the room being heated or cooled 18 The heating unit according to claim 10 wherein said refrigeration circuit comprises a hot gas bypass regulator value in flow communication with an outlet of said com pressor and with an inlet of said evaporator coil said regulator valve allowing a controlled amount of refr
3. and discharging the air cooled by said evaporator coil from said cabinet 23 The heating unit according to claim 22 wherein said support members of said cabinet include a plurality of wheels in rolling contact with the floor beneath said cabinet 24 The heating unit according to claim 22 wherein said refrigeration circuit comprises a hot gas bypass regulator valve in flow communication with an outlet of said com pressor and with an inlet of said evaporator coil said regulator valve allowing a controlled amount of refrigerant gas from said compressor to enter said evaporator coil
4. The open end 42 of the duct would be in registry with the air outlet 38 Plenums ducts nozzles and other air handling convenience items can also be added 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 FIG 3 illustrates in schematic fashion the components of the heating and cooling unit 20 of the invention FIG 3 illustrates the unit 20 in a cooling mode of operation A refrigerant circuit includes a first coil 44 a compressor 46 a second coil 48 a bidirectional fixed orifice refrigerant flow control 50 and a refrigerant flow reversing valve 52 A compressor accumulator 54 a bidirectional refrigerant dryer 56 and a hot gas bypass regulator 58 are also included in the refrigerant circuit The refrigerant circuit is charged with a refrigerant such as R22 refrigerant Air handling equipment includes a room air delivery fan 60 and a heat exchange air fan 62 The room air delivery fan 60 draws air Al through the air delivery inlet grille 27 across the first coil 44 and through the air delivery outlet grille 26 and into the room The exhaust fan 62 draws air A2 through the heat exchange air inlet grille 36 across the second coil 48 and through the heat exchange outlet 38 through the duct 40 and to a position outside of the room or at least away from the air stream Al In the cooling mode of operation the refrigerant flow circulates in the tubing as per the arrows shown in FIG 3 The first coil 44 serves as
5. a United States Patent Baffes US006167714B1 US 6 167 714 B1 Jan 2 2001 10 Patent No 45 Date of Patent 54 PORTABLE COOLING AND HEATING UNIT USING REVERSIBLE REFRIGERANT CIRCUIT 75 Inventor Peter Baffes Skokie IL US 73 Assignee DO Enterprises LLC Chicago IL US Notice Under 35 U S C 154 b the term of this patent shall be extended for 0 days 21 Appl No 09 497 956 22 Filed Feb 4 2000 Related U S Application Data 63 Continuation of application No 09 190 508 filed on Nov 12 1998 GI Int Gl tect ae F25D 17 02 52 0 8 62 188 62 324 1 62 324 5 62 448 58 Field of Search 62 288 188 448 62 196 4 324 1 324 5 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 3 777 506 12 1973 Hergatt et al 4 441 335 4 1984 62 324 6 4 450 900 5 1984 Nathan 4 888 958 12 1989 Ella 4 901 538 2 1990 Anthony 5 031 690 7 1991 Anderson et al 5 729 985 3 1998 Yoshihara et al 62 81 5 762 129 6 1998 Elliott 5 794 452 8 1998 Black et al OTHER PUBLICATIONS OceanAire Inc Engineering Installation and Service Manual Aug 1 1998 OceanAire AirBoss advertising sheet undated admitted prior art Heat Exchangers Inc Koldwave Engineering Installation amp Service Manual undated admitted prior art Air Rover downlo
6. aded pages from Internet website undated admitted prior art The Applied Companies downloaded pages from Internet website Sep 2 1998 The Avenger Series downloaded pages from Internet web site Sep 2 1998 Jainsons Aircon downloaded pages from Internet website Sep 2 1998 List continued on next page Primary Examiner William Doerrler Assistant Examiner Marc Norman 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Rockey Milnamow amp Katz Ltd 57 ABSTRACT A portable heating and cooling unit intended to be used within a room or area of a building includes a cabinet supported on a plurality of wheels and a refrigeration circuit at least partially carried within said cabinet The refrigera tion circuit includes a first coil a compressor a second coil and a refrigerant reversing valve In a cooling mode of operation the first coil acts as an evaporator coil and room air is circulated by a first fan across the evaporator coil and delivered into the room A second fan circulates room air through the second coil acting as a condenser coil and discharges the thus warmed air away from the room area to be cooled In a heating mode of operation the refrigerant reversing valve is activated to change the flow direction of the refrigerant through the circuit such that the first coil now acts as a condenser and the second coil now acts as the evaporator Room air is drawn by the first fan across the first coil to heat the room air a
7. an evaporator coil evaporating the refrigerant by removing heat from the room air A1 passing across the coil 44 and thus cooling the room air which passes through the inlet grille 27 and out of the delivery outlet grille 26 and into the room The second coil 48 serves as a condenser coil and air A2 drawn through the second coil by the exhaust fan 62 is heated as a refrigerant is condensed within the coil 48 During this cooling operation condensate may form on the evaporator coil 44 and within a chamber 68 which is in contact with the air A1 from moisture contained in the room air This condensate is collected in a first condensate drip pan 70 A chamber drip deflector 69 directs condensate to the first drip pan 70 Condensate from the coil 44 falls by gravity into the pan 70 The drip pan 70 includes a gravity drain 72 and a drain line 74 which feeds into a condensate collection tank 76 The condensate collection tank 76 can be designed for hand removal through the access door 33 shown in FIG 2 for periodic draining or can have a drainage hose connected thereto for continuous draining The collection tank 76 includes an automatic switch 77 which deactivates the unit 20 when condensate level in the tank 76 is at a preselected maximum condensate level As an alternative a condensate pump can replace the tank 76 the condensate pump receiv ing condensate from the drip pan 70 and pumping the condensate to a discharge location at a distanc
8. coil and a heat exchange air outlet in flow communication with the second fan for delivering heat exchange air out of the cabinet 20 A portable heating and cooling unit according to claim 19 further comprising a condensate drip pan arranged beneath said second coil 21 Aportable heating and cooling unit according to claim 20 further comprising a condensate tank mounted within said cabinet and a condensate pump having an inlet in flow communication with said drip pan and an outlet in flow communication with said condensate tank 22 A portable heating unit for operation inside a building and movable within a room comprising a cabinet sized to be portable within a room of a building and having support members on a bottom side thereof for supporting said cabinet on a floor of the room and a refrigeration circuit carried at least partially within said cabinet said refrigeration circuit including a condenser coil a compressor and an evaporator coil and a first fan for passing room air across said condenser coil and a second fan for passing room air across said evapo rator coil said first fan passing air warmed by said condenser coil into said room and said second fan passing air cooled by said evaporator coil to an outlet of said cabinet said first fan drawing air through a front side of said cabinet and discharging air substantially out of the front side of said cabinet said second fan drawing air from a rear side of said cabinet
9. e from the unit 20 The compressor 46 is then shut off shutting down the refrigerant circuit The fans 60 62 can be shut down also During a heating operation as shown in FIG 4 the first coil 44 serves as a condenser and the second coil 48 serves as the evaporator The flow of refrigerant is reversed by operation of the refrigerant flow reversing valve 52 Air A1 passing through the first coil 44 is heated and thus warm air is delivered to the room from the delivery outlet grille 26 Air A2 passing through the second coil 48 is cooled delivering cool air out of the heat exchange air outlet 38 and through the duct 40 away from the air stream The reversal of the refrigerant reversing valve 52 is actuated by the control 30 either manually or automatically based on room temperature The reversing valve itself can be for example a RANCO reversing valve 3 way or 4 way pilot design with a Ranco L 27 or L 30 solenoid coil It is possible that during heating mode of operation especially when the unit is operated in a cold environment US 6 167 714 B1 5 that the temperature of the air A2 passing across the evapo rator coil 48 is lowered to such an extent that condensed water vapor on the evaporator coil 48 is frozen on the coil This reduces the overall efficiency of the unit by decreasing the heat transfer coefficient of the coil To alleviate this problem a controlled amount of hot gas can be bypassed by the hot gas bypass regu
10. ed to be movable within a room a refrigeration circuit carried within said cabinet said circuit including a first coil a refrigerant compressor a second coil and a refrigerant reversing valve said refrigerant reversing valve selectively actuatable to reverse the flow of refrigerant within the circuit to switch the service of said first coil from being an evaporator coil to being a condenser coil and to switch 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 the service of said second coil from being a condenser coil to being an evaporator coil 2 The portable heating and cooling unit according to claim 1 wherein said cabinet is supported on a plurality of caster wheels for rolling transport of said portable heating and cooling unit 3 The portable heating and cooling unit according to claim 1 further comprising a condensate collection pan arranged beneath at least one of said first and second coils 4 The portable heating and cooling unit according to claim 1 further comprising a first condensate collection pan arranged beneath said first coil and a second condensate collection pan arranged beneath said second coil 5 The portable heating and cooling unit according to claim 4 further comprising a condensate collection tank and also further comprising a condensate pump having an inlet in flow communication with one of said first and second condensate collection pans and an outlet in flow communi cat
11. efrigerant compressor a second coil and a refrigerant reversing valve said refrigerant reversing valve selectively actuatable to reverse the flow of refrigerant within the circuit to switch the service of said first coil from being an evaporator coil to being a condenser coil and to switch the service of said second coil from being a condenser coil to being an evaporator coil and a first fan and a second fan said fans carried within said cabinet said first fan for passing a first room air stream across said first coil and returning the first room air stream to the room and said second fan for passing a second room air stream across that second coil and delivering the second room air stream away from the room being cooled or heated 11 The portable heating and cooling unit according to claim 10 wherein said second fan is flow connected to an air outlet and further comprising a duct connected to said air outlet at one end and connected to a space outside of the room at an opposite end thereof 12 The portable heating and cooling unit according to claim 10 wherein said cabinet is supported on a plurality of US 6 167 714 B1 7 caster wheels for rolling transport of said portable heating and cooling unit 13 The portable heating and cooling unit according to claim 10 further comprising a condensate collection pan arranged beneath at least one of said first and second coils 14 The portable heating and cooling unit according to
12. er or vice versa By reversing the services of the first and second coils during a switch from cooling to heating service or vice versa the first coil can always serve as the room air treating coil while the second coil can always serve as the heat exchange air coil In this regard the discharged heat exchange air from the second coil can be ducted away from the area served by a single duct for both alternate heating and cooling periods Neither the cabinet or the duct need be reversed or reducted for alternate heating or cooling periods One or more condensate drip pans are arranged below both the first and second coils Although a single drip pan can be located below both coils preferably one drip pan is located below each coil In accordance with the preferred embodiment cabinet arrangement the first coil which serves for alternately heating or cooling room air to be delivered into the room has a first drip pan which is elevated from a condensate collection tank and any condensate collected in the first drip pan drains by gravity into the condensate collection tank A second drip pan for the second coil is arranged at a position lower than the condensate collection tank A condensate pump is provided in the second drip pan located below the second coil to pump condensate into the condensate collection tank from the second drip pan The condensate collection tank can include an automatic shut off system wherein when the condensate leve
13. ich houses a refrigerant circuit including a first coil and a second coil a compressor and valving and accessories to complete the refrigerant circuit The first coil and the second coil can each alternately serve as evaporator or condenser depending on whether the unit is being used 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 for heating or cooling The cabinet also houses fans for drawing room air into the cabinet to be heated or cooled by the first coil and returned to the room and for drawing room air heat exchange air into the cabinet for causing either evaporation or condensing of the refrigerant in the second coil wherein the thus cooled or warm room air is ducted away or directed away from the area being cooled or heated The cabinet is mounted on caster wheels to be portable within a building or other structure The discharged heat exchange air either warm air or cool air can be ducted by a flexible duct to outside of the room being heated or cooled In contrast to prior known portable cooling units the present invention includes a reversible refrigerant circuit for alternately cooling or heating room air The refrigerant circuit has a refrigerant flow reversing valve that can be selectively switched to change the unit service from cooling to heating and the reverse By reversing the refrigerant s flow the first coil and the second coil effectively switch services from evaporator to condens
14. igerant gas from said compressor to enter said evaporator coil 19 A portable heating and cooling unit for positioning inside a room of a building comprising a cabinet mounted on a plurality of wheels a refrigeration circuit carried at least partially within said cabinet and said refrigeration circuit including a first coil a compressor a second coil and a refrigerant reversing valve and a selectable control said refriger ant reversing valve activatable by said control to a first position to switch the service of said first coil from an evaporator coil to a condenser coil and to switch the service of said second coil from a condenser coil to an evaporator coil and said refrigerant reversing valve activatable by said control to a second position to switch the service of said first coil from a condenser coil to an evaporator coil and to switch the service of said second coil from an evaporator coil to a condenser coil for alternately cooling and heating service of said 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 8 unit respectively and a first fan for passing room air across said first coil and a second fan for passing room air across said second coil said cabinet including an air delivery inlet in registry with said first coil and an air delivery outlet receiving air from said first fan and communicating the air into the room and having a heat exchange air inlet on a backside of the cabinet in registry with the second
15. ion with said condensate collection tank 6 The portable heating and cooling unit according to claim 5 wherein said condensate collection tank includes an automatic refrigeration circuit shutoff which activates on high condensate level within said condensate collection tank to stop operation of said compressor 7 The portable heating and cooling unit according to claim 1 wherein said cabinet includes a front side delivery air inlet and an upwardly angled air delivery outlet above said air inlet and said first coil is arranged behind said air inlet said first fan drawing air through said air inlet through said first coil and out of said angled air delivery outlet and into the room being heated or cooled 8 The heating unit according to claim 1 wherein said refrigeration circuit comprises a hot gas bypass regulator valve in flow communication with an outlet of said com pressor and with an inlet of said evaporator coil said regulator valve allowing a controlled amount of refrigerant gas from said compressor to enter said evaporator coil 9 The portable heating and cooling unit according to claim 1 further comprising a single duct for discharging heat exchange air from the refrigeration circuit for both heating and cooling 10 A portable heating and cooling unit movable within a room comprising a cabinet sized to be movable within a room a refrigeration circuit carried within said cabinet said circuit including a first coil a r
16. l reaches a maximum in the collection tank the refrigeration circuit is shut down The condensate collection tank can be drained continuously by a hose connection to a room drain or can be drained intermittently by manual drain for example by removal of the condensate collection tank and draining of the condensate collected therein The first coil will typically generate condensate during a cooling operation of the unit while the second coil will generate condensate during a heating operation of the unit According to the invention an electrical resistance heater is no longer required for the alternate heating mode of the portable heating and cooling unit The portable heating and cooling unit can thus be efficiently operated as a cooler or a heater by manually reversing the refrigerant circuit The portable heating and cooling unit is a compact and portable apparatus which effectively heats and cools localized areas within a building warehouse computer room and the like It can be quickly changed in operation from cooling to heating by controls applied onto a front surface of the cabinet Condensate produced during either a heating or cooling operation is effectively contained within one or US 6 167 714 B1 3 more drip pans and stored in a condensate collection tank for continuous or intermittent disposal Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed desc
17. lator 58 from the compressor 46 into an inlet of the evaporator coil 48 to prevent frosting by excessively low evaporator temperatures The hot gas bypass regulator can be a refrigerant pressure controlled valve such as a PARKER Model A constant pressure expansion valve supplied by Parker Hannifin Corporation of Longwood Fla This valve is normally spring loaded closed However the spring is so arranged that if the outlet pressure of the valve drops below a preset pressure the valve will open The regulator will for example maintain the R22 refrigerant pressure at 60 psig downstream of the regulator entering the second coil 48 This will maintain the evapo rator at a sufficiently high temperature to avoid frosting on an outside of the second coil 48 An alternate hot gas bypass system for defrosting which can be incorporated into the present refrigerant circuit is that disclosed in U S Pat No 5 794 452 herein incorporated by reference In this patent hot gas from the compressor is periodically bypassed through a hot gas valve 16 to the system evaporators to remove ice the harvest cycle for an ice maker A harvest bypass valve 14 can be used to introduce an additional quantity of refrigerant into the compressor to insure sufficient refrigerant to carry out the harvest cycle within a predetermined time period A periodic defrosting such as disclosed in U S Pat No 5 794 452 can also be incorporated in the present invention a
18. nd delivery the room air into the area of the room to be heated The second fan draws room air through the evaporator coil and discharges the thus cooled air away from the area of the room being cooled The refrigerant reversing valve is activated by a control which is selectable to choose heating or cooling for the portable unit 24 Claims 3 Drawing Sheets US 6 167 714 Page 2 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Komfort Industries Inc downloaded pages from Internet website Sep 2 1998 Koldwave downloaded pages from Internet website Sep 2 1998 Pinguino downloaded pages from Internet website Sep 2 1998 Movincool Products downloaded pages from Internet web site Sep 2 1998 Ranco pp 28 through 35 from technical manual undated admitted prior art Parker Installation Instructions for Model A Constant Pres sure Expansion Valve undated admitted prior art Micro Air Corporagtion Operations Manual Jan 2 1998 cited by examiner US 6 167 714 Sheet 1 of 3 Jan 2 2001 U S Patent 1 FIG a un Va un wa wa va UR R US 6 167 714 Sheet 2 of 3 Jan 2 2001 U S Patent FIG 3 39 4 0 46 54 97 US 6 167 714 Sheet 3 of 3 Jan 2 2001 U S Patent FIG 4
19. ription of the invention and the embodiments thereof from the claims and from the accompanying draw ings BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a front perspective view of a portable heating and cooling unit of the present invention FIG 2 is a rear perspective view of the portable heating and cooling unit of FIG 1 FIG 3 is a schematic layout of the portable heating and cooling unit of the present invention in a cooling mode of operation and FIG 4 is a schematic layout of the portable heating and cooling unit of the present invention in a heating mode of operation DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms there are shown in the drawings and will be described herein in detail specific embodiments thereof with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated FIGS 1 and 2 illustrate a portable heating and cooling unit 20 of the present invention The unit includes a cabinet 22 mounted on four caster wheels 24 The cabinet 22 includes a front panel 23 a rear panel 25 and two side panels 35 37 Either or both of the side panels 35 37 are removable to perform maintenance or service on the unit 20 The cabinet includes a room delivery air outlet grille 26 angled upwardly on a fron
20. s well During the heating mode with the second coil 48 serving as the evaporator condensate can form on the second coil 48 and drip into a second drip pan 90 In the preferred compact arrangement of the cabinet 22 the second coil 48 is at a lower elevation than the condensate collection tank Thus a small pump 94 is provided in the condensate drip pan 90 to deliver the collected condensate via a tube 97 to the collec tion tank The condensate pump 94 can be controlled for on and off operation depending on the condensate level col lected within the second drip pan 90 by a float switch 98 Although separate first and second drip pans 70 90 are shown a single drip pan could be arranged below both coils 44 48 Also the coil 48 could also be elevated above the condensate tank such that the second drip pan 90 could includes a gravity drain to the condensate collection tank thus eliminating the condensate pump 94 From the foregoing it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without depart ing from the spirit and scope of the invention It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific apparatus illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred It is of course intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims The invention claimed is 1 A portable heating and cooling unit movable within a room comprising a cabinet siz
21. t side of the cabinet The unit also includes a delivery air inlet grille 27 on a front side of the cabinet A power cord 28 is provided for connecting the unit to a source of electrical power A condensate tank access door 33 is provided on the side panel 35 of the cabinet The unit includes a control 30 which incorporates an electronic thermostat 34 and associated displays and select able controls The control 30 can be for example a MICRO AIR Model FX Maxx controller supplied by Micro Air Corporation of Allentown N J This control allows for both automatic and manual operation of both refrigeration cir cuits and fan equipment The control can provide for auto matic switching between cooling and heating modes Room temperature and moisture can be monitored and the unit operated accordingly On a back side of the cabinet 22 is a heat exchange air inlet grille 36 for drawing heat exchange air into the cabinet 22 A heat exchange air outlet 38 is located on a top side of the cabinet and can be connected to a flexible duct 40 for exhausting heat exchange air to a position outside of the room being heated or cooled The duct 40 can be connected to an air to outside vent through a wall or window or connected to a return air duct 39 of the building central heating and cooling system typically an overhead duct as shown in FIG 3 A plate or plenum 41 restraining an open end 42 of the duct 40 can be fastened to a top panel 43 of the cabinet 22
22. udes an evaporator coil a compressor a condenser coil and a pressure reducing or expansion valve in a closed circuit containing Freon or other suitable refrigerant During cooling operation such a cool ing unit draws a first stream of room air past the evaporator coil to cool the air and passes the thus cooled air back into the room The cooling unit also draws in a second stream of room air across the condenser coil to condense the refrig erant therein During condensing of the refrigerant the second stream of room air is heated and the thus warmed air is directed away from the room area being cooled such as via an exhaust duct In some cases the warmed air can be discharged simply in a direction away from the cabinet away from the area to be cooled or can be ducted to the central cooling system return air supply or to outside of the building In some portable cooling units an electric heating circuit is provided for those occasions when extra heating capacity rather than cooling capacity is needed The heating circuit typically consists of an electric resistance coil wherein a fan circulates room air across the coil to heat the air and pass the air back into the room SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention contemplates a portable cooling and heating unit which includes a reversible refrigerant circuit to alternately provide either cool air or warm air to a room or area of a building The portable unit includes a cabinet wh
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