METHOD FOR DETERMINING REFRIGERANT CHARGE
First Claim
1. A method for indicating the level of refrigerant charge in a refrigerant vapor compression system having a compressor, a condenser coil, an expansion device and an evaporator coil connected in serial relationship in refrigerant flow circuit, comprising the steps of:
- sensing the pressure of the refrigerant at a location in the refrigerant flow circuit whereat the refrigerant is near or above normally full charge in a liquid state only and generating a first signal indicative of the sensed refrigerant pressure;
sensing the temperature of the refrigerant at the same location in the refrigerant flow circuit and generating a second signal indicative of the sensed refrigerant temperature;
calculating in real-time an instantaneous value for the degrees of subcooling present based upon the sensed refrigerant pressure and the sensed refrigerant temperature;
storing the calculated instantaneous value for the degrees of subcooling in a dedicated data location associated with the sensed refrigerant temperature;
accumulating the calculated instantaneous value for the degrees of subcooling associated with each respective sensed refrigerant temperature within the respective data location associated with the respective sensed refrigerant temperature;
calculating an average value for the degrees of subcooling present based upon the accumulated instantaneous values for the degrees of subcooling;
determining a system refrigerant charge status based upon a consideration of both the instantaneous value for the degree of subcooling and the average value for the degree of subcooling;
outputting an indication of the system refrigerant charge status.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for determining the adequacy of the refrigerant charge in an air conditioning system based upon both the instantaneous degree of subcooling present in the liquid refrigerant in the refrigerant line at a location whereat only liquid refrigerant is present and a calculated average subcooling value based upon accumulated instantaneous subcooling values. The adequacy of the refrigerant charge in the system may be indicated by an alert indicating “check charge” or by a series of lights including a first indicator light indicating that the refrigerant charge is low, a second indicator light indicating that the refrigerant charge is high, and a third indicator light indicating that the refrigerant charge is correct.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A method for indicating the level of refrigerant charge in a refrigerant vapor compression system having a compressor, a condenser coil, an expansion device and an evaporator coil connected in serial relationship in refrigerant flow circuit, comprising the steps of:
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sensing the pressure of the refrigerant at a location in the refrigerant flow circuit whereat the refrigerant is near or above normally full charge in a liquid state only and generating a first signal indicative of the sensed refrigerant pressure; sensing the temperature of the refrigerant at the same location in the refrigerant flow circuit and generating a second signal indicative of the sensed refrigerant temperature; calculating in real-time an instantaneous value for the degrees of subcooling present based upon the sensed refrigerant pressure and the sensed refrigerant temperature; storing the calculated instantaneous value for the degrees of subcooling in a dedicated data location associated with the sensed refrigerant temperature; accumulating the calculated instantaneous value for the degrees of subcooling associated with each respective sensed refrigerant temperature within the respective data location associated with the respective sensed refrigerant temperature; calculating an average value for the degrees of subcooling present based upon the accumulated instantaneous values for the degrees of subcooling; determining a system refrigerant charge status based upon a consideration of both the instantaneous value for the degree of subcooling and the average value for the degree of subcooling; outputting an indication of the system refrigerant charge status. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification