Patents Examined by Chen Wen Jiang
  • Patent number: 8353174
    Abstract: A chiller system is provided with a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator connected in a closed refrigerant loop. A motor is connected to the compressor to power the compressor. A variable speed drive is connected to the motor. The variable speed drive is arranged to receive an input AC power at a fixed input AC voltage and a fixed input frequency and provide an output power at a variable voltage and variable frequency to the motor. The variable voltage has a maximum voltage greater in magnitude than the fixed input AC voltage and the variable frequency has a maximum frequency greater than the fixed input frequency. The variable speed drive includes a converter connected to an AC power source providing the input AC voltage, the converter is arranged to convert the input AC voltage to a DC voltage. A DC link is connected to the converter. The DC link is arranged to filter and store the DC voltage from the converter. An inverter is connected to the DC link.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2013
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Ivan Jadric, Zhiqiao Wu, Michael S. Todd, Justin Drew Warner, Shreesha Adiga Manoor, Konstantin Borisov, Scott Victor Slothower, Kanishk Dubey, John C. Hansen
  • Patent number: 8353173
    Abstract: In a refrigerating cycle apparatus and control method thereof, a controller sets a high-pressure pressure target value from thermal load and temperature conditions based on refrigerant information that has been obtained from detectors, and controls at least one of a rotational frequency of a compressor, a degree of opening of an electronic expansion valve, a rotational frequency of an outdoor fan, or a rotational frequency of an indoor fan to match a high-pressure pressure to the high-pressure pressure target value that has been set. Here, a threshold value is set when the high-pressure pressure target value is set, and a method for setting the high-pressure pressure target value is modified depending on whether the high-pressure pressure is greater than or equal to the threshold value or less than the threshold value when the high-pressure pressure target value is decided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Naofumi Takenaka, Shinichi Wakamoto, Fumitake Unezaki
  • Patent number: 8341973
    Abstract: An optimizer for a single staged refrigeration system comprising a speed modulation device, controller, and supply air temperature sensor. The optimizer is intended for modulating the speed of the indoor fan and compressor in existing or new refrigeration systems in settings including but not limited to residential houses/buildings, residential heat pump systems, commercial heat pumps systems, water source heat pumps, and roof top units. The optimizer solves humidity and noise problems in existing systems, reduces peak demand, increases energy efficiency, reduces energy consumption rates, and minimizes compressor failure rates and O&M costs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Inventor: Mingsheng Liu
  • Patent number: 8341974
    Abstract: A refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator may include a cold air generation chamber provided in a body of the refrigerator, the cold air generation chamber having an evaporator installed therein. A cold air duct may form a path through which cold air generated in the cold air generation chamber is circulated to a freezer compartment, and a quick freezer compartment. The quick freezer compartment may be connected with the cold air duct, and may be positioned substantially nearer to the evaporator than the freezer compartment. A damper may be installed in the cold air duct to selectively shut off the flow of cold air to the freezer compartment. The quick freezer compartment may be quickly cooled using cold air directly supplied from the cold air generation chamber. Furthermore, cold air may be directed into the quick freezer compartment by selectively shutting off the supply of cold air into the freezer or refrigerator compartment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Min Kyu Oh, Kyeong Yun Kim, Jang Seok Lee, Youn Seok Lee, Su Nam Chae
  • Patent number: 8342418
    Abstract: The present invention is to provide a thermo-valve which can be operated with no unnecessary work to fill fluid easily and without fail into a circuit having the fluid flow therethrough at the time of a high temperature range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Nippon Thermostat Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ryuji Kanzaka, Tadasu Tomohiro, Yoshinori Sato
  • Patent number: 8336324
    Abstract: A turbo chiller equipped with a high-efficiency two-stage turbo compressor is provided. In a turbo chiller including a control unit for controlling the degrees of opening of first inlet guide vanes of a first impeller and second inlet guide vanes of a second impeller, the control unit has a slave mode in which the second inlet guide vanes are operated so as to be dependent on the first inlet guide vanes in a slave-mode priority region, and an independent mode in which the degree of opening of the second inlet guide vanes is increased independently of the first inlet guide vanes in an independent-mode priority region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenji Ueda, Yoshinori Shirakata
  • Patent number: 8333083
    Abstract: A system to support the testing of electronic devices and a temperature control unit for the system are disclosed. A temperature controlling method for a chamber of the system is also disclosed. Low or high temperature air is supplied to the inside of the chamber when the electronic devices are tested at low or high temperature. External air is supplied to the inside of the chamber when the electronic devices are tested at room temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2012
    Assignee: TechWing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yun-Sung Na, Tae-Hung Ku, Cheul-Gyu Boo
  • Patent number: 8333081
    Abstract: An ice-making device includes a duct through which ice is dispensed and a duct-covering part opening and closing the duct. A sensor part senses whether the duct-covering part closes the duct and a control part controls the duct-covering part to open the duct when the sensor part senses that the duct-covering part fails to close the duct and the duct-covering part has been attempting to close the duct for at least a preset period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2012
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Seung Do Han, Ho Youn Lee, Young Jin Kim, Tae Hee Lee, Sung Yong Shin
  • Patent number: 8333079
    Abstract: An adsorption heat pump is provided in which water vapor can be efficiently adsorbed and desorbed using a heat source having a lower temperature than ones heretofore in use because the pump employs an adsorbent which has a large difference in water adsorption amount in adsorption/desorption and can be regenerated (release the adsorbate) at a low temperature. The invention provides an adsorption heat pump which comprises an adsorbate, an adsorption/desorption part having an adsorbent for adsorbate adsorption/desorption, a vaporization part for adsorbate vaporization which has been connected to the adsorption/desorption part, and a condensation part for adsorbate condensation which has been connected to the adsorption/desorption part, wherein the adsorbent, when examined at 25° C., gives a water vapor adsorption isotherm which, in the relative vapor pressure range of from 0.05 to 0.30, has a relative vapor pressure region in which a change in relative vapor pressure of 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2012
    Assignees: Mitsubishi Plastics, Inc., Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Kakiuchi, Takahiko Takewaki, Masaru Fujii, Masanori Yamazaki, Hideaki Takumi, Hiromu Watanabe, Kouji Inagaki, Atsushi Kosaka, Seiji Inoue, Satoshi Inoue
  • Patent number: 8333329
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to a desuperheater spraying valve assembly. More particularly, the invention provides a new and improved valve assembly, whereby cooling liquid may be controllably injected into a gas or a liquid stream, typically steam, to selectively maintain the gas or liquid at a predetermined temperature level. In a possible embodiment of the present invention, a class V valve assembly is disclosed. It comprises an actuator coupled to a plug with a valve seat in the proximity of said plug. The plug is affixed to an actuator rod which transverses the body of the valve assembly. A spray tube may be affixed to said valve seat and at least one spray nozzle is affixed to a to the spray tube. The plug and said valve seat are conical in shape as to when said plug is inserted into said valve, they form a seal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2012
    Assignee: SPX Corporation
    Inventors: Veaceslav Ignatan, Robert L. Fetterman
  • Patent number: 8328110
    Abstract: Electrical load spreading arrangements reduce peak power demand. An enclosure houses an electronic circuit board, which receives at a first input terminal a first thermostat control signal from a thermostat intended to control a first air conditioning unit and at a second input terminal a second thermostat control signal from a thermostat intended to control a second AC unit. A controller on the circuit board is programmed with instructions stored in a memory coupled to the controller causing the controller to monitor the first and second input terminals to determine the timing and duration of the thermostat control signals passed to the output terminals for activating or deactivating the AC units such that overlapping operation of the AC units is reduced particularly during peak demand periods. A similar arrangement may be applied to a broader class of HVAC equipment, including water heaters, for example.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: Schneider Electric USA, Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey O. Sharp
  • Patent number: 8327658
    Abstract: A system and a method are provided for returning oil in a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system by determining when an ambient zone temperature is equal to or less than a temperature limit and reversing a direction of refrigerant flow of the HVAC system based on the length of time. Also, a system and a method are provided for monitoring the length of operation in a first and a second heating mode and for reversing a direction of refrigerant flow based on the length of time operation occurs in the first and second heating modes. A system and a method having a first compressor, a first heating mode, a second heating mode, a defrost mode, and a controller is disclosed. The controller selectively controls initiation of the defrost mode in response to an HVAC system operating in a heating mode of operation for a predetermined amount of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: Trane International, Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan D. Douglas, John R. Edens, Alan D. Marble, Kevin B. Mercer, Gary L. Sapp, James T. Schaefer, Jr., Kristen L. Schaefer, Steven A. Tice
  • Patent number: 8322151
    Abstract: Systems and methods for gathering data from and diagnosing the status of an air conditioner comprising three wireless transmitters, two pressure sensors, five temperature sensors, a humidity sensor, a wireless receiver, and a computing device, the sensors operable to sense parameters of the air conditioning system, the wireless transmitters operable to transmit data representing the sensed parameters of the air conditioning system to the receiver, the receiver operable to receive the data and send the data to the computing device, the computing device operable to analyze the data to determine a status of the air conditioning system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Demand Side Environmental, LLC
    Inventor: Alejandro E. Garofalo
  • Patent number: 8322157
    Abstract: A liquid coolant flow straightener is provided for use with a cooling system to at least partially straighten flow of liquid coolant, promoting de-aeration of the liquid coolant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Cody L. Petersen, Richard C. Broessel
  • Patent number: 8317110
    Abstract: A water-and-hot-water mixing device includes a mixing valve unit which mixes hot water and water and discharges mixed water therefrom, an operation part which sets a predetermined temperature, a mixed water thermistor which detects a temperature of mixed water, a hot-water thermistor which detects a temperature of hot water supplied to the mixing valve unit, and a controller which performs a feedback control of a discharge water temperature by controlling the mixing valve unit. The controller starts the feedback control when the controller determines that a change amount of the temperature of the hot water per unit time detected by the hot-water thermistor is not more than a fixed value and the temperature of the hot water detected by the hot-water thermistor is not lower than the predetermined temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2012
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenichi Aoyagi, Hiroshi Kanemaru, Tsuyoshi Miura, Masayuki Oba
  • Patent number: 8313039
    Abstract: A remote climate control system for a vehicle includes a remote climate controller to be positioned at a vehicle for starting an electrically powered climate control system based upon a remote climate control handheld unit and causing the electrically powered climate control system to run for a run time period before shutting it off. The remote climate controller is resettable based upon the remote climate control handheld unit to cause the electrically powered climate control system to run for an additional run time period before shutting it off. The remote climate control handheld unit has an indicator for providing an indication to a user prior to expiration of the run time period to permit a user to reset the run time period while the electrically powered climate control system is still running and before shutting off the electrically powered climate control system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2012
    Assignee: Omega Patents, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Kenneth E. Flick, Michael Stephen Thompson
  • Patent number: 8313038
    Abstract: A system configured to provide cooling of electronic equipment in a shelter in combination with an air conditioning (A/C) system. The system includes one or more blowers for drawing air into the shelter, a damper arrangement for controlling air exhaust. The system further includes a DC powered controller coupled to the one or more blowers, the damper arrangement, and the A/C system. The controller is configured to receive at least a first analog input signal associated with a shelter-interior temperature, a second analog input signal associated with a shelter-exterior temperature, and a plurality of alarm input signals and to generate the one or more first control signals to control blower rotational speed, the second control signal to open/close the damper arrangement, and a third control signal to inhibit/activate the A/C system based on at least the first analog input signal, or the second analog input signal, or a plurality of alarm input signals, or a combination of these.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2012
    Assignee: Minebea Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: David Therrien, Henry Riddoch
  • Patent number: 8297525
    Abstract: A digital control system for a tankless water heater assembly designed to heat water on a continuous basis as it passes from a conventional water source and through a heating system. The digital control system comprises a display capable of displaying at least three display modes. The first display mode displays a power setting in the form of a bar graph, and real-time voltage used and efficiency in percentage form. The second display mode displays kilowatt usage and percentage draw. The second display mode is defined as a “generator mode” because a generator unit displays actual kilowatts the tankless water heater assembly is using. While in the second display mode, a user can manually adjust the kilowatts to be used. The third display mode displays amperage draw and actual power usage in percentage form.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2012
    Assignee: Niagara Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Luis Bolivar
  • Patent number: 8297066
    Abstract: A refrigeration unit and a respective control and management assembly, comprising a refrigeration assembly and at least one power input for its electrical power supply. The refrigeration unit comprising at least one signal input and at least one control switch, which is arranged along a power line which corresponds to the power input. The control switch controlling the power line and the data that arrive from the respective signal input being suitable for driving the control switch for consequently determining the presence/absence of electrical power supply for said refrigeration assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2012
    Assignee: Indel B S.p.A.
    Inventor: Luca Bora
  • Patent number: 8292192
    Abstract: The automated humidity control system controls the humidity within a setter hall. The system continuously monitors the existing setter hall thermal conditions and electronically compares the existing conditions to computerized data describing the targeted conditions. The system then takes action to conform the existing condition to the targeted condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
    Inventors: Joseph L. Purswell, Berry D. Lott, Matthew Darr