Service station for refrigeration equipment

• US 4,688,388 A
• Filed: 04/29/1985
• Issued: 08/25/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/1985
• Status: Expired

• Current Assignee: GSLE Subco, LLC (SPX Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kent-Moore Corp. (SPX Corporation)
• Inventors: Murray, Gary P., Manz, Kenneth W., Lower, Ralph C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tapolcai, William E.
• Application Number:
  US06/728,589
• Time in Patent Office: 848 Days
• Field of Search: 62/149, 62/77, 62/292, 62/127, 62/126
• US Class Current: 62/126
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00585 Means for monitoring, testing or servicing the air-conditioning
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2345/001 Charging refrigerant to a cycle
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2345/003 Control issues for charging or collecting refrigerant to or from a cycle
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2345/0052 having wheels
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 45/00 Arrangements for charging or discharging refrigerant

Abstract

Apparatus for service and recharge of refrigeration equipment, with particular application to automotive air conditioning equipment. A vacuum pump, and oil and refrigerant charge containers are housed within a portable enclosure and configured for selective connection by electrically operated solenoid valves to refrigeration equipment under service. The refrigerant and oil containers are carried by a scale which provides electrical outputs signals as a function of weight of refrigerant and oil remaining in the containers. A microprocessor-based controller receives the scale signals and control signals from an operator panel for automatically cycling through vacuum, oil charge and refrigerant charge stages in a programmed mode of operation. The microprocessor-based controller includes facility for operator programming of the vacuum time and oil and refrigerant charge quantities, and for self- or operator-implemented diagnostics. Operating conditions and stages are displayed at all times to the operator.

Claims

1. Apparatus for charging refrigeration equipment comprising

vacuum and charging means including a vacuum pump, a pressurized source of refrigerant and means for selectively connecting said vacuum pump and said pressurized refrigerant source to refrigeration equipment to be charged,

control means including means in an automatic mode of operation for connecting said vacuum pump to the refrigeration equipment in a first stage of said automatic mode for a preselected time duration, and for connecting said pressurized refrigerant source to the refrigeration equipment in a second stage of said automatic mode to transfer a preselected quantity of refrigerant to the refrigeration equipment,

data entry and sequence control means responsive to an operator, coupled to said control means and comprising an alphanumeric keypad having first keys associated with numeric data and second keys associated with sequence commands, said control means further including means in a programming mode of operation for receiving and storing data from said data entry and sequence control means indicative of said preselected time and said preselected quantity,

means coupled to said control means and to said data entry and sequence control means for selectively initiating said automatic and programming mode of operation,

sequence display means for indicating mode of operation of said control means to an operator and including means coordinated with said sequence command second keys for indicating to an operator ones of said sequence command second keys to be activated for transfer between said modes of operation, and

alphanumeric display means coupled to said control means, said control means including means for displaying said preselected time and quantity at said alphanumeric display means in said programming mode of operation, and means in said automatic mode of operation for initially displaying in each of said first and second stages a corresponding said preselected time and quantity at said alphanumeric display means and for thereafter decrementing said display as a function of operation to indicate progress of the corresponding said stage.

2. Apparatus for charging refrigeration equipment comprising

vacuum and charging means including a vacuum pump, a pressurized source of refrigerant and means for selectively connecting said vacuum pump and said pressurized refrigerant source to refrigeration equipment to be charged,

control means including means in an automatic mode of operation for connecting said vacuum pump to the refrigeration equipment in a first stage of said automatic mode for a preselected time duration, and for connecting said pressurized refrigerant source to the refrigeration equipment in a second stage of said automatic mode to transfer a preselected quantity of refrigerant to the refrigeration equipment,

data entry and sequence control means responsive to an operator and coupled to said control means, said control means further including means in a programming mode of operation for receiving and storing data from said data entry and sequence control means indicative of said preselected time and said preselected quantity,

means coupled to said control means and to said data entry and sequence control means for selectively initiating said automatic and programming modes of operation, and

alphanumeric display means coupled to said control means, said control means including means for displaying said preselected time and quantity at said alphanumeric display means in said programming mode of operation, and means for initially displaying in each of said first and second stages a corresponding said preselected time and quantity, and for thereafter decrementing said display as a function of operation to indicate progress of the corresponding said stage.

3. Apparatus for charging refrigeration equipment comprising

vacuum and charging means including a vacuum pump, a pressurized source of refrigerant and means for selectively connecting said vacuum pump and said pressurized refrigerant source to refrigeration equipment to be charged,

control means including means in an automatic mode of operation for connecting said vacuum pump to the refrigeration equipment in a first stage of said automatic mode for a preselected time duration, and for connecting said pressurized refrigerant source to the refrigeration equipment in a second stage of said automatic mode to transfer a preselected quantity of refrigerant to the refrigeration equipment,

data entry and sequence control means responsive to an operator, coupled to said control means and comprising an alphanumeric keypad having first keys associated with numeric data and second keys associated with sequence commands, said control means further including means in a programming mode of operation for receiving and storing data from said data entry and sequence control means indicative of said preselected time and said preselected quantity,

means coupled to said control means and to said data entry and sequence control means for selectively initiating said automatic and programming modes of operation,

sequence display means for indicating mode of operation of said control means to an operator and including means coordinated with said sequence command second keys for indicating to an operator ones of said sequence command second keys to be activated for transfer between said modes of operation, and

alphanumeric display means coupled to said control means, said control means including means for displaying said preselected time and quantity at said alphanumeric display means in both said automatic and said programming modes of operation, means for detecting malfunction of said apparatus, and means for displaying an error message at said alphanumeric display means corresponding to the detected malfunction.

4. The apparatus set forth in claim 3 wherein said control means further comprises means responsive to said malfunction detecting means in said automatic mode of operation and coupled to said keypad for reinitiating said automatic mode of operation at the stage at which the malfunction occurred.

5. Apparatus for charging refrigeration equipment comprising

vacuum and charging means including a vacuum pump, a pressurized source of refrigerant and means for selectively connecting said vacuum pump and said pressurized refrigerant source to refrigeration equipment to be charged,

control means including means in an automatic mode of operation for connecting said vacuum pump to the refrigeration equipment in a first stage of said automatic mode for a preselected time duration, and for connecting said pressurized refrigerant source to the refrigeration equipment in a second stage of said automatic mode to transfer a preselected quantity of refrigerant to the refrigeration equipment,

data entry and sequence control means responsive to an operator and coupled to said control means, said control means further including means in a programming mode of operation for receiving and storing data from said data entry and sequence control means indicative of said preselected time and said preselected quantity,

means coupled to said control means and to said data entry and sequence control means for selectively initiating said automatic and programming modes of operation, and

alphanumeric display means coupled to said control means, said control means including means for displaying said preselected time and quantity at said alphanumeric display means in both said automatic and said programming modes of operation, means for detecting malfunction of said apparatus, and means for displaying an error message at said alphanumeric display means corresponding to the detected malfunction.

6. The apparatus set forth in claim 5 wherein said control means further comprises means responsive to said malfunction-detecting means in said automatic mode of operation and coupled to said keypad for reinitiating said automatic mode of operation at the stage at which the malfunction occurred.

7. Apparatus for charging refrigeration equipment comprising

vacuum and charging means including a vacuum pump, a pressurized source of refrigerant and means for selectively connecting said vacuum pump and said pressurized refrigerant source to refrigeration equipment to be charged,

control means including means in an automatic mode of operation for connecting said vacuum pump to the refrigeration equipment in a first stage of said automatic mode for a preselected time duration, and for connecting said pressurized refrigerant source to the refrigeration equipment in a second stage of said automatic mode to transfer a preselected quantity of refrigerant to the refrigeration equipment,

data entry and sequence control means responsive to an operator, coupled to said control means and comprising an alphanumeric keypad having first keys associated with numeric data and second keys associated with sequence commands, said control means further including means in a programming mode of operation for receiving and storing data from said data entry and sequence control means indicative of said preselected time and said preselected quantity,

means coupled to said control means and to said data entry and sequence control means for selectively initiating said automatic and programming modes of operation,

sequence display means for indicating mode of operation of said control means to an operator and including means coordinated with said sequence command keys for indicating to an operator ones of said sequence command second keys to be activated for transfer between said modes of operation, and

alphanumeric display means coupled to said control means, said control means including means for displaying said preselected time and quantity at said alphanumeric display means in both said automatic and said programming modes of operation, and means for indicating at said alphanumeric display means completion of said automatic mode of operation.

8. Apparatus for charging refrigeration equipment comprising

vacuum and charging means including a vacuum pump, a pressurized source of refrigerant and means for selectively connecting said vacuum pump and said pressurized refrigerant source to refrigeration equipment to be charged,

9. control means including means in an automatic mode of operation for connecting said vacuum pump to the refrigeration equipment in a first stage of said automatic mode for a preselected time duration, and for connecting said pressurized refrigerant source to the refrigerator equipment in a second stage of said automatic mode to transfer a preselected quantity of refrigerant to the refrigeration equipment,

data entry and sequence control means responsive to an operator and coupled to said control means, said control means further including means in a programming mode of operation for receiving and storing data from said data entry and sequence control means indicative of said preselected time and said preselected quantity,

means coupled to said control means and to said data entry and sequence control means for selectively initiating said automatic and programming modes of operation, and

alphanumeric display means coupled to said control means, said control means including means for displaying said preselected time and quantity at said alphanumeric display means in both said automatic and said programming modes of operation, and means for indicating at said alphanumeric display means completion of said automatic control mode of operation.

10. Apparatus for charging refrigeration equipment comprising

vacuum and charging means including a vacuum pump, a pressurized source of refrigerant and means for selectively connecting said vacuum pump and said pressurized refrigerant source to refrigeration equipment to be charged,

control means including means in an automatic mode of operation for connecting said vacuum pump to the refrigeration equipment in a first stage of said automatic mode for a preselected time duration, and for connecting said pressurized refrigerant source to the refrigeration equipment in a second stage of said automatic mode to transfer a preselected quantity of refrigerant to the refrigeration equipment,

data entry and sequence control means responsive to an operator, coupled to said control means and comprising an alphanumeric keypad having first keys associated with numeric data and second keys associated with sequence commands, said control means further including means in a programming mode of operation for receiving and storing data from said data entry and sequence control means indicative of said preselected time and said preselected quantity,

means coupled to said control means and to said data entry and sequence control means for selectively initiating said automatic and programming modes of operation,

sequence display means for indicating mode of operation of said control means to an operator and including means coordinated with said sequence command second keys for indicating to an operator ones of said sequence command second keys to be activated for transfer between said modes of operation, and

alphanumeric display means coupled to said control means, said control means including means for displaying said preselected time and quantity at said alphanumeric display means in both said automatic and said programming modes of operation, and means distinct from said means operable in said automatic mode and responsive to said second keys for coupling said refrigerant source to the refrigeration equipment to transfer a predetermined quantity of refrigerant to the equipment independently of said automatic mode.

11. Apparatus for charging refrigeration equipment comprising

vacuum and charging means including a vacuum pump, a pressurized source of refrigerant and means for selectively connecting said vacuum pump and said pressurized refrigerant source to refrigeration equipment to be charged,

control means including means in an automatic mode of operation for connecting said vacuum pump to the refrigeration equipment in a first stage of said automatic mode for a preselected time duration, and for connecting said pressurized refrigerant source to the refrigeration equipment in a second stage of said automatic mode to transfer a preselected quantity of refrigerant to the refrigeration equipment,

data entry and sequence control means responsive to an operator, coupled to said control means and comprising an alphanumeric keypad having first keys associated with numeric data and second keys associated with sequence commands, said control means further including means in a programming mode of operation for receiving and storing data from said data entry and sequence control means indicative of said preselected time and said preselected quantity, and

means coupled to said control means and to said data entry and sequence control means for selectively initiating said automatic and programming modes of operation,

said control means further comprising means distinct from said means operable in said automatic mode and responsive to said second keys for coupling said refrigerant source to the refrigeration equipment to transfer a predetermined quantity of refrigerant to the equipment independently of said automatic mode.

13. The apparatus set forth in claim 11 wherein said control means further comprises means responsive to said malfunction detecting means in said automatic mode of operation and coupled to said keypad for reinitiating said automatic mode of operation at the stage at which the malfunction occurred.

12. Apparatus for charging refrigeration equipment comprising

vacuum and charging means including a vacuum pump, a pressurized source of oil, a pressurized source of refrigerant and means for selectively connecting said vacuum pump and said pressurized oil and refrigerant sources to refrigeration equipment to be charged;

an alphanumeric keypad mounted on an operator panel, said keypad containing a plurality of numeric data and sequence control keys;

an alphanumeric display mounted on said panel; and

control means including means in an automatic mode of operation for connecting said vacuum pump to the refrigeration equipment in a first stage of said automatic mode for a preselected time duration, for connecting said pressurized oil source to the refrigerator equipment in a second stage of said automatic mode to transfer a preselected quantity of oil under pressure to the refrigeration equipment, and for connecting said pressurized refrigerant source to the refrigeration equipment in a third stage of said automatic mode to transfer a preselected quantity of refrigerant to the refrigeration equipment,

means coupled to said keypad in a programming mode of operation for receiving and storing data indicative of said preselected time and said preselected quantities,

means coupled to said alphanumeric display means for displaying said preselected time and said preselected quantities at said display means in both said automatic and said programming modes of operation, said sequence control keys including means coupled to said control means for selectively initiating said automatic and programming modes of operation,

means for detecting malfunction of said apparatus, and

means for displaying an error message at said alphanumeric display means corresponding to the detected malfunction.

14. Apparatus for charging refrigeration equipment comprising

vacuum and charging means including a vacuum pump, a pressurized source of oil, a pressurized source of refrigerant and means for selectively connecting said vacuum pump and said pressurized oil and refrigerant sources to refrigeration equipment to be charged;

an alphanumeric keypad mounted on an operator panel, said keypad containing a plurality of numeric data and sequence control keys;

an alphanumeric display mounted on said panel; and

control means including means in an automatic mode of operation for connecting said vacuum pump to the refrigeration equipment in a first stage of said automatic mode for a preselected time duration, for connecting said pressurized oil source to the refrigeration equipment in a second stage of said automatic mode to transfer a preselected quantity of oil under pressure to the refrigeration equipment, and for connecting said pressurized refrigerant source to the refrigeration equipment in a third stage of said automatic mode to transfer a preselected quantity of refrigerant to the refrigeration equipment,

means coupled to said keypad in a programming mode of operation for receiving and storing data indicative of said preselected time and said preselected quantities,

means coupled to said alphanumeric display means for displaying said preselected time and said preselected quantities at said display means in both said automatic and said programming modes of operation, and

means for indicating at said alphanumeric display means completion of said automatic control mode of operation, said sequence control keys including means coupled to said control means for selectively initiating said automatic and programming modes of operation.

15. Apparatus for charging refrigeration equipment comprising

vacuum and charging means including a vacuum pump, a pressurized source of oil, a pressurized source of refrigerant and means for selectively connecting said vacuum pump and said pressurized oil and refrigerant sources to refrigeration equipment to be charged;

an alphanumeric keypad mounted on an operator panel, said keypad containing a plurality of numeric data and sequence control keys;

an alphanumeric display mounted on said panel; and

control means including means in an automatic mode of operation for connecting said vacuum pump to the refrigeration equipment in a first stage of said automatic mode for a preselected time duration, for connecting said pressurized oil source to the refrigeration equipment in a second stage of said automatic mode to transfer a preselected quantity of oil under pressure to the refrigeration equipment, and for connecting said pressurized refrigerant source to the refrigeration equipment in a third stage of said automatic mode to transfer a preselected quantity of refrigerant to the refrigeration equipment,

means coupled to said keypad in a programming mode of operation for receiving and storing data indicative of said preselected time and said preselected quantities,

means coupled to said alphanumeric display means for displaying said preselected time and said preselected quantities at said display means in both said automatic and said programming modes of operation, said sequence control keys including means coupled to said control means for selectively initiating said automatic and programming modes of operation, and

means distinct from said means operable in said automatic mode and responsive to said sequence control keys for coupling said refrigerant source to the refrigeration equipment to transfer a predetermined quantity of refrigerant to the equipment independently of said automatic mode.

17. The apparatus set forth in claim 15 further comprising alphanumeric display means coupled to said control means, said control means including means for displaying said preselected time and quantity at said alphanumeric display means in both said automatic and said programming modes of operation.

24. The apparatus set forth in claim 15 wherein said control means further comprises

means responsive to said data entry and sequence control means for initiating a manual mode of operation, and

means operable in said manual mode of operation for selectively initiating any of said first, second and third stages of operation.

16. Apparatus for charging refrigeration equipment comprising

vacuum and charging means including a vacuum pump, a pressurized source of refrigerant and means for selectively connecting said vacuum pump and said pressurized refrigerant source to refrigeration equipment to be charged,

control means including means in an automatic mode of operation for connecting said vacuum pump to the refrigeration equipment in a first stage of said automatic mode for a preselected time duration, and for connecting said pressurized refrigerant source to the refrigeration equipment in a second stage of said automatic mode to transfer a preselected quantity of refrigerant to the refrigeration equipment,

data entry and sequence control means responsive to an operator, coupled to said control means and comprising an alphanumeric keypad having first keys associated with numeric data and second keys associated with sequence commands, said control means further including means in a programming mode of operation for receiving and storing data from said data entry and sequence control means indicative of said preselected time and said preselected quantity,

means coupled to said control means and to said data entry and sequence control means for selectively initiating said automatic and programming modes of operation, and

sequence display means for indicating mode of operation of said control means to an operator, said sequence display means including means coordinated with said sequence command second keys for indicating to an operator ones of said sequence command second keys to be activated for transfer between said modes of operation.

18. The apparatus set forth in claim 16 wherein said control means further comprises means operable in said automatic mode of operation for initially displaying in each of said first, second and third stages a corresponding said preselected time and quantity, and for thereafter decrementing said display as a function of operation to indicate progress of the corresponding said stage.

19. The apparatus set forth in claim 16 wherein said control means further comprises means for detecting malfunction of said system, and means for displaying an error message at said alphanumeric display means corresponding to the detected malfunction.

20. The apparatus set forth in claim 16 wherein said control means further comprises means for indicating at said alphanumeric display means completion of said automatic control mode of operation.

21. The apparatus set forth in claim 16 wherein said control means further comprises means distinct from said means operable in said automatic mode and responsive to said second keys for coupling said refrigerant source to the refrigeration equipment to transfer a predetermined quantity of refrigerant to the equipment independently of said automatic mode.

22. The appartus set forth in claim 16 further comprising scale means for providing to said control means signals indicative of weight on said scale means, said oil and refrigerant sources being mounted on said scale means, and means responsive to operator activation for initiating a scale test mode of operation,

said control means including means operable in said scale test mode of operation and responsive to said signals for indicating weight on said scale means at said alphanumeric display means.

23. The apparatus set forth in claim 16 wherein said means in said programming mode of operation includes means for receiving and storing said data in successive stages of said programming mode corresponding to said successive stages in said automatic mode, and

wherein said apparatus further comprises second display means for indicating to an operator each of said stages of operation in both said automatic mode and said programming mode.

25. Apparatus for charging refrigeration equipment comprising

vacuum and charging means including a vacuum pump, a pressurized source of refrigerant and means for selectively connecting said vacuum pump and said pressurized refrigerant source to refrigeration equipment to be charged,

control means including means in an automatic mode of operation for connecting said vacuum pump to the refrigeration equipment in a first stage of said automatic mode for a preselected time duration, and for connecting said pressurized refrigerant source to the refrigeration equipment in a second stage of said automatic mode to transfer a preselected quantity of refrigerant to the refrigeration equipment,

28. The apparatus set forth in claim 25 further comprising means for monitoring quantity of refrigerant in said refrigerant source as a function of said weight-indicative signal, and means for indicating low refrigerant quantity to an operator when said weight-indicative signal is below a preselected threshold.

26. data entry and sequence control means responsive to an operator and coupled to said control means, said control means further including means in a programming mode of operation for receiving and storing data from said data entry and sequence control means indicative of said preselected time and said preselected quantity, and

means coupled to said control means and to said data entry and sequence control means for selectively initiating said automatic and programming modes of operation,

said control means including means for displaying said preselected time and quantity in both said automatic and said programming modes of operation, means for receiving and storing said data in successive stages of said programming mode corresponding to said successive stages in said automatic mode, and means in said programming mode for selectively reviewing said data in a sequence corresponding to said successive stages and for selectively reprogramming said data.

27. Apparatus for charging refrigeration equipment comprising

vacuum and charging means including a vacuum pump, a pressurized source of refrigerant and means for selectively connecting said vacuum pump and said pressurized refrigerant source to refrigeration equipment to be charged,

control means including means in an automatic mode of operation for connecting said vacuum pump to the refrigeration equipment in a first stage of said automatic mode for a preselected time duration, and for connecting said pressurized refrigerant source to the refrigeration equipment in a second stage of said automatic mode to transfer a preselected quantity of refrigerant to the refrigeration equipment,

data entry and sequence control means responsive to an operator and coupled to said control means, said control means further including means in a programming mode of operation for receiving and storing data from said data entry and sequence control means indicative of said preselected time and said preselected quantity,

means coupled to said control means and to said data entry and sequence control means for selectively initiating said automatic and programming modes of operation,

alphanumeric display means coupled to said control means, said control means including means for displaying said preselected time and quantity at said alphanumeric display means in both said automatic and said programming modes of operation, and

scale means for providing to said control means signals indicative of weight on said scale means, said refrigerant source being mounted on said scale means, and means responsive to operator activation for initiating a scale test mode of operation,

said control means including means operable in said scale test mode of operation and responsive to said weight-indicative signals for indicating weight on said scale means at said alphanumeric display means.