Enclosure Forming Patents (Class 62/516)
  • Patent number: 11072442
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices are disclosed for implementing habitation support appliances. Devices may include a housing defining an internal volume, the housing having an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface including a helical groove. Devices may also include a front plate coupled to a first end of the housing, an end plate coupled to a second end of the housing, the front plate and the end plate being configured to seal the internal volume, a thermal loop coupled to the outer surface of the housing, the thermal loop configured to transfer thermal energy with the housing and the internal volume, and a mixing device configured to be positioned within the internal volume, and configured to be moved along the helical groove of the inner surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2021
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventor: George Wilson Freas, II
  • Patent number: 10004250
    Abstract: A machine for the production and dispensing of chilled food products comprises a tank containing an evaporator which forms part of a refrigerating circuit of the machine and a motorized mixer which rotates coaxially with the evaporator, with evaporator and mixer which project inside the tank through a rear sealed opening thereof, the tank being moreover provided at the front with a tap for dispensing the product through a dispensing outlet arranged above a dispensing zone intended to house a container for receiving the product. A shell of the opening type is arranged so as to enclose at least partially the tank and form a covering for at least partial thermal insulation of the tank from the external environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: UGOLINI SPA
    Inventor: Marco Corrado Ugolini
  • Patent number: 9791221
    Abstract: An appliance includes a compact condenser assembly formed with at least two separately and independently produced wire on tube condensers. Each of the at least two wire on tube condensers has a condenser inlet and a condenser outlet. The at least two wire on tube condensers are at least substantially locked and positioned in a matingly engaged configuration forming a compact condenser assembly. The at least two wire on tube condensers are configured to be operationally connected in at least one of a parallel configuration, a series configuration, a selectable configuration, and a bypass configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION
    Inventor: Andrew David Litch
  • Patent number: 9021828
    Abstract: A refrigeration appliance includes a refrigerated cabinet with a cooled storage compartment, a door movable between a closed position closing the cooled storage compartment and an opened position allowing access to an interior of the cooled storage compartment, the door having an outer panel and a thermoformed liner attached to an inside of the outer panel, and an ice box frame attached to the thermoformed liner, the ice box frame being formed of injection molded plastic more rigid than the thermoformed liner and defining an ice compartment therein. At least one of an ice maker, an ice storage bin, and a motor for driving an ice storage bin auger is located in the ice compartment and attached to the door via the ice box frame. A related refrigeration appliance is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Craig Robert Vitan, Umakant Suresh Katu, Steven D. Paul, Eric Lloyd Scalf, Andrew Reinhard Krause, Edward Philip Strauss, Danister Abeygunawardana
  • Publication number: 20140360225
    Abstract: A cooling head for a temperature-controlled phase change cooler has a main body, an evaporating chamber within the main body, at least two cap tubes and at least a heat source mounted onto the periphery of the evaporating chamber. With one of the cap tubes, the coolant is guided into the evaporating chamber, then the cooling head of the phase change cooler could be quickly cooled clown due to rapid heat absorption characteristic of the evaporated coolant. In such a case, a heat source is used for heating by a control mechanism, and the temperature could be adjusted to a desired temperature point within the limited range of low temperature according to the user demands. When the preset temperature point is higher than normal temperature, the control mechanism could change properly the flux via one of two cap tubes, and provide proper amount of coolant for evaporative cooling.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2013
    Publication date: December 11, 2014
    Inventors: De-Yin HSIEH, De-Fong Hsieh
  • Publication number: 20140208796
    Abstract: An evaporative chiller utilizes an evaporative-cooled gypsum-ceramic casting to chill air passing through a passageway formed within the casting. Placed within an outer housing, the gypsum-ceramic casting has an outer wicking layer that maintains water saturation of the casting. Nano-evaporation from the casting surface into the air passageway cools the casting. Water is provided to the wicking layer from a supply connected to the outer housing. The chiller may be placed in-line within air ductwork, and blowers may be used to enhance the flow of air to be chilled through the evaporative chiller passageway.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 7, 2013
    Publication date: July 31, 2014
    Inventor: Jonathan S. Harms
  • Patent number: 8549874
    Abstract: A refrigeration system (10) includes: a refrigerant circuit (11) performing a vapor compression refrigeration cycle by including a compressor (30), a utilization side heat exchanger (24) configured to allow refrigerant to perform heat exchange with air, and a heat-source side heat exchanger (25) configured to allow refrigerant to perform heat exchange with water; and a casing (14) housing the utilization side heat exchanger (24). The casing (14) contains a power supply (31) including a power semiconductor device and configured to supply electric power to the compressor (30), and also contains a cooler (19) configured to cool the power supply (31) by supplying air to the power supply (31).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2013
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takanori Suzuki, Masatoshi Tomita
  • Publication number: 20120137724
    Abstract: A dual evaporator refrigerator appliance is disclosed. The appliance includes a first evaporator, a second evaporator, and at least one refrigerant stream combining device. Refrigerant flow control techniques are provided whereby a compressor in the refrigerator appliance that receives a resulting refrigerant stream is required to do less work to raise the pressure of the stream, and thus the refrigerator appliance is more energy efficient.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 7, 2010
    Publication date: June 7, 2012
    Inventors: Brent Alden Junge, Michael Kempiak, Martin Christopher Severance
  • Publication number: 20100242534
    Abstract: An exemplary system includes a first heat exchanger immediately after the compressor that provides direct, conduction-based cooling with condensate recovered from the evaporator. A second heat exchanger cools the forced air that passes over the condenser by evaporating recovered condensate, rainwater, and/or city water into the air as it passes through a breathable water-retaining medium. Finally, a third heat exchanger is described that utilizes recovered condensate, rainwater, and/or city water within an insulated enclosure to obtain additional cooling before the condensed refrigerant enters the expansion valve. Various alternative embodiments are described that include variations of each of these heat exchangers. Additionally, several alternative placements of the heat exchangers are disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2009
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Inventor: Harold E. Stockton, JR.
  • Publication number: 20090211543
    Abstract: An air cooling system includes an intake line, a heat exchanger, an exhaust line, and an amount of frozen carbon dioxide. The intake line connects the heat exchanger to an air source, and the exhaust line connects the heat exchanger to an air destination. The frozen carbon dioxide is disposed against at least a portion of the heat exchanger to draw heat away from the air. Optionally, a system can include dual heat exchangers connected via a bridge line, with the frozen carbon dioxide being disposed there between.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 25, 2009
    Publication date: August 27, 2009
    Inventor: Stephen Gardner Rasmussen
  • Publication number: 20090133436
    Abstract: Aspects of the invention are found in a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger includes a fluid inlet manifold, a fluid outlet manifold, a plurality of heat transfer channels configured to communicate with the fluid inlet manifold and the fluid outlet manifold, and packing located within the fluid inlet manifold. Further aspects of the invention are found in a refrigeration system. The refrigeration system includes a compressor and at least one heat exchanger coupled to the compressor. The at least one heat exchanger includes a header, packing located in the header, and a heat transfer channel. The heat transfer channel is configured to receive fluid passing through the header and the packing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 23, 2009
    Publication date: May 28, 2009
    Applicant: Brooks Automation, Inc.
    Inventors: Mikhail Boiarski, Oleg Podtcherniaev, Kevin P. Flynn
  • Publication number: 20090120125
    Abstract: A refrigerating device comprising a tubular evaporator which is connected to a compressor by means of a suction line. A coolant pipe of the tubular evaporator forms a plurality of serially connected tubular loops and one ascending outlet tube connecting the tubular loop that lies the furthest downstream to the suction pipe. The tubular loops have a course that ascends in the direction of the flow of the coolant for a distance that corresponds at least to the length of the outlet tube.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2007
    Publication date: May 14, 2009
    Applicant: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH.
    Inventor: Wolfgang Nuiding
  • Publication number: 20090100848
    Abstract: An electronic cooling apparatus has a cabinet which is open at the front and rear sides thereof and accommodates plural electronic devices each having a fan, and a rear door which is provided with an evaporator. Air blown by the fan is cooled by the evaporator and then returned to a room. An expansion valve and control. A drain pan with an extension portion having hole portions through which refrigerant pipes extend is provided. A drain hose discharges drain water from the drain pan. An exhaust heat temperature detecting unit and a control for controlling the refrigerant supply to the evaporator are provided. When the exhaust heat temperature is equal to or less than a set exhaust temperature, the controller stops the refrigerant supply to the evaporator. When the exhaust heat temperature exceeds the set temperature, the controller starts the refrigerant supply.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2008
    Publication date: April 23, 2009
    Applicant: SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Kuriyama, Kazuo Nomura, Kazutoyo Kagami, Junichi Saito, Takashi Sekine, Koji Nagae, Shigetaka Nishino
  • Patent number: 7472563
    Abstract: The invention provides a submerged evaporator (14) with integrated plate heat ex-changer (4) that may operate with markedly increased capacity, where the evaporator (14) does not require more space than other known types and have a smaller filling volume of refrigerant (10) than prior art units. The integrated plate heat exchanger (4) is built up with an outer contour that substantially follow the lower contour of the casing (6) and the liquid level, where the integrated heat exchanger (4) has at least one inlet connection (24.1) and at least one outlet connection (24.2) for secondary refrigerant (26), and where the upper volume of the casing acts as a liquid separator. With such design, much less space is occupied than with prior art types of submerged evaporators. The reason is that the internal volume is better utilised.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2009
    Assignee: Alfa Laval Corporate AB
    Inventors: Istvan Knoll, Claes Stenhede
  • Publication number: 20080134506
    Abstract: A heat exchanging coil that has at least one straight length of tube and at least one bend in the tube where fins are attached to the tube with unequal fin densities based upon tube orientation, and the fin density is different for straight lengths of tube than at bends in the tube.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2007
    Publication date: June 12, 2008
    Inventor: Stan W. Cushen
  • Patent number: 6997011
    Abstract: A sliding rail for a wire-tube evaporator has an elongated rail body to be mounted on the evaporator and to protect the latter against abrasion caused by a frozen product container that slides above or on the evaporator. The sliding rail includes at least a tubular clamp for fixing the rail body on a refrigerating pipe of the evaporator. The tubular clamp is mounted on an arm projecting laterally relative to the rail body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2006
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgaraete GmbH
    Inventors: Silvia Gerstner, Siegfried Grasy
  • Patent number: 6715539
    Abstract: A heat exchanger defining a path of multi-directional airflow therethrough. A coil assembly within a housing of the heat exchanger divides the interior of the housing into first and second airflow plenums. The path of airflow includes a first portion in a first direction defining a cross flow distributed over a portion of the coil assembly in the first airflow plenum. A second portion defines a flow extending from the first airflow plenum in a second direction through the coil assembly. A third portion in the first direction defines a second cross flow distributed over a portion of the coil assembly in the second airflow plenum. In one embodiment, the coil assembly is oriented in an angular manner within the housing of the heat exchanger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2004
    Inventor: Michael Bianco
  • Patent number: 6672099
    Abstract: In a refrigeration system (10), an evaporator (11) and a condenser (15) are each formed of a container-like member (55). The inside of the container-like member (55) is divided into a liquid side space (12, 16) and a gas side space (13, 17) by a moisture permeable membrane (14, 18). Both the gas side spaces (13, 17) are held in a predetermined reduced-pressure condition. Both the liquid side spaces (12, 16) are placed in an atmospheric pressure condition. Water vapor provided by evaporation of water in the liquid side space (12) of the evaporator (11) passes through the moisture permeable membrane (14) and moves to the gas side space (13). The water vapor in the gas side space (13) is sucked by a compressor (21) so as to be pumped to the gas side space (17) of the condenser (15). In the condenser (15), the water vapor in the gas side space (17) moves to the liquid side space (16) and then condensates therein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Manabu Yoshimi, Chun-cheng Piao, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yuji Watanabe, Kazuo Yonemoto
  • Patent number: 6536227
    Abstract: A direct cooling type refrigerator includes an outer case, an inner case, a metal plate, an evaporator, an insulator, a first bonding means, and a second bonding means. The inner case is positioned inside the outer case, and the metal plate is positioned on the inner case. The first bonding means is used to attach the metal plate on the inner case. The second bonding means is used to join the evaporator with the metal plate. The insulator is interposed between the cabinet and the inner liner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2003
    Assignee: Daewoo Electronics Corporation
    Inventor: Jung Owan Lee
  • Patent number: 6029471
    Abstract: In refrigeration; in order to transfer heat from the heat supplier, or to the heat absorber, it is necessary that temperature gradients be maintained between said heat exchangers and the interacting medium. These temperature gradients increase the difference between the temperature of the heat supplier and that of the heat absorber. The efficiency of refrigeration systems decrease as said temperature differences increase. Said mediums, if gaseous, as they frequently are, offer great resistance to heat transfer. This results in large temperature gradients and substantially reduces refrigeration efficiency. The present invention involves enveloping the enclosed space with the enclosure heat exchanger so that less heat has to be transferred through the gaseous contents, and additional, inexpensive, heat transfer surface becomes available. The reduction in temperature gradients result in increased efficiency.Recovery of reject heat for residential type water heating is also included as a natural extension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 1993
    Date of Patent: February 29, 2000
    Inventor: Christopher Taylor
  • Patent number: 6006541
    Abstract: The surroundings heat exchanger envelops an enclosure's insulation so that it exchanges part of its heat load directly through the enclosure, instead of indirectly with the surroundings which would then exchange an equal amount of heat with the enclosure. This reduces the temperature differentials required to drive heat a transfer because little heat remains to be transferred by the indirect path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 28, 1999
    Inventor: Christopher Taylor
  • Patent number: 5538075
    Abstract: An indoor heat exchange unit and method of making same characterized by an arcuate coil shape heat exchange unit made by bending a single tubing row, planar heat exchange unit to fit within a limited space with an open inlet at one end and blocked at the other end so as to force air to flow past the coil and transfer heat through the fins and tubes of the coil in the process. Also disclosed are preferred embodiments in which an air circulation fan circulates air and where a thermostat controls the flow of heat exchange fluid through the coil as the air is passed through the arcuate coil to obtain a predetermined temperature, or the like, in the air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 23, 1996
    Assignee: Eubank Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark A. Eubank, Michael P. Eubank
  • Patent number: 5363672
    Abstract: A refrigerated compartment is disclosed for food preparation tables. The compartment is generally rectangular and extends laterally across the table and has an access opening at the top allowing exposure to ambient room air. A lower section of the compartment comprises a cold wall pan with air circulation and defines a lower cooling zone. An upper section of the compartment comprises a pair of oppositely disposed heat sink walls defining an upper cooling zone open to the room air. Plural open-top food pans are removably supported side-by-side in the compartment with the pans extending into the lower cooling zone and tops of the pans being disposed adjacent the bottom of the upper cooling zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1994
    Assignee: The Delfield Company
    Inventors: Earl Moore, Thomas Frick, Wayne Smith, James Lyon
  • Patent number: 4967830
    Abstract: An indoor heat exchange unit and method of making same characterized by an arcuate coil shape heat exchange unit made by bending a planar heat exchange unit to fit within a limited space with an open inlet at one end and blocked at the other end so as to force air to flow past the coil and transfer heat through the fins and tubes of the coil in the process. Also disclosed are preferred embodiments in which an air circulation fan circulates air and where a thermostat controls the flow of heat exchange fluid through the coil as the air is passed through the arcuate coil to obtain a predetermined temperature, or the like, in the air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 1990
    Date of Patent: November 6, 1990
    Assignee: Eubank Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael P. Eubank, Mark A. Eubank
  • Patent number: 4459821
    Abstract: A bulkhead for a cargo carrying vehicle and method of constructing same is the subject of the present invention. First and second uniform extruded sections are provided, each of which presents alternating web portions and open areas sandwiched between generally planar surfaces. Plate connecting means is interposed between the two extruded sections and presents first and second connecting surfaces which are aligned with the first and second planar surfaces. First and second channel means disposed across the ends of the extruded sections place each of the open areas in closed communication with an adjacent area. The open areas may be utilized to house a refrigerant conduit and a freezable media so as to convert the bulkhead into a self-contained cold plate. Alternatively, a heating element may be placed in the open areas so as to convert the bulkhead to a hot plate. The aforedescribed assembly is disposed on one side of an A-frame which divides the cargo area into left and right sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 1982
    Date of Patent: July 17, 1984
    Assignee: The Hesse Corporation
    Inventors: Paul C. Cabell, Robert L. Kimmich
  • Patent number: 4114397
    Abstract: An evaporator comprising a tube plate having a number of through holes to which the upper ends of a plurality of U-tubes are fixed, a first cover plate secured to the tube plate and having a plurality of through holes aligned to some through holes of the tube plate, a second cover plate secured to the first cover plate and defining in cooperation therewith passages for introducing and distributing refrigerant, and an expansion valve assembly installed through the first and second cover plates and having a constriction formed therein. The first cover plate defines connecting passages and a collecting passage for the refrigerant in cooperation with the tube plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1976
    Date of Patent: September 19, 1978
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Reijiro Takahashi, Masanori Musoh, Tosikazu Ito
  • Patent number: D284694
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 1984
    Date of Patent: July 15, 1986
    Inventor: Shelton E. Taylor
  • Patent number: D284789
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 1983
    Date of Patent: July 22, 1986
    Inventor: Shelton E. Taylor