Single sensor three-step refrigerant charge indicator
First Claim
1. A method of determining the sufficiency of refrigerant charge in an air conditioning system device having a single temperature sensor, comprising the steps of:
- providing an absorbent pad in combination with said temperature sensor such that said sensor is capable of sensing both wet bulb and dry bulb temperatures;
wetting said pad and sensing an indoor wet bulb temperature of the system;
removing or allowing said pad to dry and then using said sensor to sense the outdoor dry bulb temperature;
placing said sensor in direct engagement with the liquid refrigerant line from the condenser coil and sensing the temperature thereof; and
on the basis of those three sensed temperatures, determining whether the refrigerant charge in the system is adequate.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for determining the sufficiency of refrigerant charge in an air conditioning system using a single temperature sensor for sensing three different temperatures within the system to compute a condenser approach temperature difference, which in then compared with a predetermined optimal condenser approach temperature difference to indicate the charge condition of the system. The device includes an absorbent pad for sensing wet bulb temperatures, and is formed as a clamshell that can be clamped onto the condenser liquid line. A microprocessor is included to make the comparison and to appropriately display the result as a visual indication of charge adequacy.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A method of determining the sufficiency of refrigerant charge in an air conditioning system device having a single temperature sensor, comprising the steps of:
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providing an absorbent pad in combination with said temperature sensor such that said sensor is capable of sensing both wet bulb and dry bulb temperatures;
wetting said pad and sensing an indoor wet bulb temperature of the system;
removing or allowing said pad to dry and then using said sensor to sense the outdoor dry bulb temperature;
placing said sensor in direct engagement with the liquid refrigerant line from the condenser coil and sensing the temperature thereof; and
on the basis of those three sensed temperatures, determining whether the refrigerant charge in the system is adequate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus for determining the sufficiency of refrigerant charge in an air conditioning system having a compressor, a condenser coil, an expansion device and an evaporator coil fluidly connected in serial refrigerant flow relationship, comprising:
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a single temperature sensor for sequentially sensing the indoor wet bulb temperature of the system, the outdoor dry bulb temperature, and the condenser liquid line temperature of the system;
an absorbent pad associated with said temperature sensor for facilitating the sensing of the indoor wet bulb temperature;
means within said device for storing said sensed temperatures for computing a condenser approach temperature difference as a function thereof;
a second storage means in said device for storing an optimal condenser approach temperature difference for said system; and
comparison means within said device for comparing said computed condenser approach temperature difference with said optimal condenser approach temperature difference. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification