Patents Examined by Jonathan Bradford
  • Patent number: 11614241
    Abstract: Disclosed is a dehumidifier capable of dehumidifying an indoor space more efficiently. The present dehumidifier comprises: a body having an intake opening and a discharge opening; a blowing fan arranged inside the body so as to draw air into the body through the intake opening and to discharge the same to the outside through the discharge opening; a fan case having a duct arranged inside the body so as to provide a channel through which the air drawn by the blowing fan flows to the discharge opening; a heat exchanger arranged inside the body so as to remove moisture from the air that has flown into the body; and fixed blades that are fixedly installed inside the duct so as to split the air, which has flowed through the channel, to a plurality of discharge paths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Dong-yoon Lee, Yong-hun Kang, Keun-jeong Jang, Kyoung-jong Yun, Ha-young Yoon
  • Patent number: 11613419
    Abstract: A secure delivery container can have a body with a chamber that can receive one or more items for delivery to an end recipient and a door actuatable to close the chamber in a locked position and open to allow access to the items. The container can have a heat transfer system with one or more heat transfer elements in thermal communication with one or more surfaces of the body that define the chamber and configured to heat or cool the one or more surfaces to heat or cool the delivery items in the chamber. The container can wirelessly communicate with a remote electronic device to receive information from the remote electronic device and to communicate operational information from the one or more heat transfer elements to the remote electronic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: Ember Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Clayton Alexander, Christopher Thomas Wakeham, Daren John Leith, Mikko Juhani Timperi
  • Patent number: 11609027
    Abstract: A method for operating and controlling a vapor-compression cycle includes providing a system comprising an evaporator with a fan, a compressor, a condenser with a fan, an integrated expander, and a flash tank device with a vapor/liquid two-phase inlet and two outlets wherein a first outlet is a vapor outlet and a second outlet is a liquid outlet, and a metering valve; bringing a vapor-compression cycle up to steady-state at a fixed operating condition; opening the metering valve until the desired compressor suction superheat is achieved; and maintaining the desired degree of superheat by selectively increasing and decreasing superheat by reducing and increasing metering valve flow rate respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Purdue Research Foundation
    Inventors: Riley B Barta, Eckhard Achim Groll, Davide Ziviani, Florian Simon
  • Patent number: 11609032
    Abstract: A refrigerant measurement adjustment system includes: a refrigerant sensor for a building and configured to measure an amount of refrigerant present in air outside of a refrigeration system of the building; and an adjustment module configured to: adjust the amount of refrigerant measured based on an adjustment to produce an adjusted amount; and determine the adjustment based on at least one of: an air temperature; an air pressure; a relative humidity of air; a mode of operation of the refrigeration system; a change in the measurements of the refrigerant sensor over time; and whether a blower that blows air across a heat exchanger of the refrigeration system located within the building is on.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Emerson Climate Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian R. Butler, David Alfano
  • Patent number: 11609046
    Abstract: An HVAC system includes an evaporator, a first sensor coupled to the evaporator at a first position, and a second sensor operably coupled to the evaporator at a second position. The first sensor monitors a first temperature of the refrigerant flowing in the evaporator at the first position, which is adjacent to the evaporator inlet. The second sensor monitors a second temperature of the refrigerant flowing in the evaporator at the second position, which is downstream from the first position. The system includes a controller, which receives a first signal corresponding to the first temperature and a second signal corresponding to the second temperature. The controller determines, based on the received signals, a temperature difference between the second temperature and the first temperature. In response to determining that the temperature difference is greater than a predefined threshold value, the controller determines that a loss of charge has occurred.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Lennox Industries Inc.
    Inventors: Patric Ananda Balan Thobias, Siddarth Rajan, Rakesh Goel
  • Patent number: 11604022
    Abstract: A cooling system is designed to generally allow for one or more compressors to be bypassed when ambient temperatures are low. The system includes a bypass line and valve that opens when ambient temperatures are low and/or when the pressure of the refrigerant in the system is low. In this manner, the refrigerant can flow through the bypass line instead of through one or more compressors. These compressors may then be shut off. To supply any needed pressure to cycle the refrigerant, the system may include a pump that turns on when the bypass line is open. When ambient temperatures are extremely low, thermosiphon may be used to cycle the refrigerant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignee: Heatcraft Refrigeration Products LLC
    Inventor: Shitong Zha
  • Patent number: 11604021
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for controlling compressor systems to ensure sufficient pressure differentials to provide cooling. A compressor system includes a compressor, a suction pressure sensor at a suction of the compressor, a discharge pressure sensor, a condenser, an expansion device, a liquid line, a liquid line pressure sensor, an evaporator, a condenser blower and a controller. The method includes determining a pressure target based on an intermediate pressure within the compressor and a threshold cooling differential pressure value, determining a pressure ratio setpoint based on the pressure target and a liquid line pressure measured by the liquid line pressure sensor, controlling the condenser blower to operate based on the determined pressure ratio setpoint, determining a subcooling setpoint based on the pressure target and the liquid line pressure in the compressor system, and controlling the expansion device to operate based on the subcooling setpoint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignee: TRANE INTERNATIONAL INC.
    Inventors: Philippe Del Marcel Tisserand, Yves Jacques Raimbault, Stephane Koenigsecker
  • Patent number: 11592212
    Abstract: A vapor compression system includes a first conduit fluidly coupling a liquid collection portion of a condenser and an evaporator, where the first conduit is configured to direct a first flow of refrigerant from the condenser to a first inlet of the evaporator and a second conduit fluidly coupling the liquid collection portion of the condenser and the evaporator, where the second conduit is configured to direct a second flow of refrigerant from the condenser to a second inlet of the evaporator via gravitational force, and where the first inlet is disposed above the second inlet relative to a vertical dimension of the evaporator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: Johnson Controls TYCO IP Holdings LLP
    Inventors: Jeb William Schreiber, Seth Kevin Gladfelter, Kevin Donald Krebs
  • Patent number: 11578910
    Abstract: A refrigerator can include a storage compartment having a storage space and an opening; at least one door coupled to the storage compartment to open and close a part of the storage compartment; a compressor configured to provide the storage compartment with freezing capacity or cooling capacity; a processor configured to control driving of the compressor; and a memory operably connected to the processor and configured to store code to cause the processor to in response to recognizing placement of an item in the storage space, determine whether the item is an overload item to generate a determination result; and control the driving of the compressor to adjust a temperature of the storage space based on the determination result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventor: Yun Sik Park
  • Patent number: 11573035
    Abstract: An air conditioning device includes a plurality of ejectors which have a refrigerant circuit including a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator, are connected in parallel to the refrigerant circuit, and are formed so as to each have a different maximum refrigerant flow, and a control unit which, according to a driving condition of the air conditioning device, controls so that the refrigerant flows to one ejector among the plurality of ejectors, and the refrigerant does not flow to the rest of the ejectors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: You-seop Lee, Hee-moon Jeong, Seong-ho Kil, Bo-heum Kim, Seok-uk Kim, Sun-soo Kim, Yong-taek Hong
  • Patent number: 11566828
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are air conditioning systems including a refrigerant line configured to transport a refrigerant; a compressor in fluid communication with the suction line; and a controller in communication with a sensor configured to measure a characteristic of the refrigerant line. The compressor can be configured to move the refrigerant through the refrigerant line, and the refrigerant can have a first temperature at the outlet of the compressor. The controller can be configured to receive sensor data from the sensor indicating a current value associated with the characteristic of the refrigerant line; determine, based at least partially on the sensor data, that the characteristic of the refrigerant line is above a predetermined threshold; and output instructions for the compressor to perform one or more corrective actions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: Rheem Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Derek Brasuell, Mark Creason, Robert Neihouse
  • Patent number: 11555650
    Abstract: A household refrigeration appliance includes a body having a storage compartment disposed therein which is closeable by a terminating element. A display and/or control unit has a cover formed by a plate. A carrier frame is fastened to the rear of the plate and an electronic display and/or control is disposed on the carrier frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Florian Gerstmayr, Simon Kraemer, Oliver Elser
  • Patent number: 11549736
    Abstract: A control method for a refrigerator includes sensing a temperature of a storage room; operating a cool air supply at a cooling power when the sensed temperature of the storage room is equal to or above a first reference temperature; operating the cool air supply at a delay power, which is less than the cooling power, when the sensed temperature of the storage room is equal to or below a second reference temperature, which is less than the first reference temperature while the cool air supply is operating at the cooling power; and adjusting the cooling power or the delay power of the cool air supply according to the temperature of the storage room while the cool air supply is operating at the delay power, and operating the cool air supply at the determined adjusted cooling power or delay power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Myungjin Chung, Kyeongyun Kim, Kyungseok Kim, Soyoon Kim, Seunguk Ahn, Kyunghun Cha
  • Patent number: 11543165
    Abstract: A refrigeration appliance has at least a first and a second temperature zone and a refrigerant circuit that includes a compressor, a first evaporator for cooling the first temperature zone and a second evaporator for cooling the second temperature zone. The first evaporator is serially connected downstream of the second evaporator in the refrigerant circuit, and a controllable throttle point is arranged upstream of the first evaporator and downstream of the second evaporator in the refrigerant circuit. A compressor controller is configured to control the rotational speed of the compressor on the basis of the temperature in the first temperature zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Matthias Mrzyglod, Vitali Ulrich, Niels Liengaard
  • Patent number: 11543143
    Abstract: An HVAC controller controlled in response to a natural language audio message that is not recognizable by the HVAC controller as a command, where the natural language audio message is translated into a command recognizable by the HVAC controller. The HVAC controller may be a thermostat and may include a housing that at least partially houses a control module, a microphone, a speaker, a display, and a voice recognition module. The voice recognition module recognizes a predetermined audible trigger from a recorded voice message or streamed voice message, and in response, provide one or more audio clips via the speaker and/or video clips via the display to assist users in operating the thermostat. A user may communicate with the thermostat via the thermostat and/or a remote device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: Ademco Inc.
    Inventors: Jay Nelson, Hari Thiruvengada, Preston Gilmer, Thomas Gessner, Martin Adamek, Martin Skala, Juraj Buno, Soumitri Kolavennu, Max Peterschmidt, Libor Horky, Cary Leen, Heidi Finch
  • Patent number: 11543163
    Abstract: An HVAC system includes an evaporator coil and a compressor fluidly coupled to the evaporator coil. A condenser coil is fluidly coupled to the compressor. The condenser coil includes at least one condenser circuit fluidly coupled between a discharge line and an exit manifold. A sub-cool circuit is fluidly coupled between the exit manifold and a liquid line. A first temperature sensor is disposed at an entrance to the sub-cool circuit. A second temperature sensor is disposed at an exit to the sub-cool circuit. An HVAC controller is operatively coupled to the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor. The HVAC controller is configured to determine a temperature difference across the sub-cool circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: Lennox Industries Inc.
    Inventors: Rakesh Goel, Siddarth Rajan, Patric Ananda Balan
  • Patent number: 11536498
    Abstract: A refrigeration system includes an evaporator configured to receive a flow of refrigerant and transfer heat into the refrigerant within the evaporator to provide cooling for a temperature-controlled space, an expansion valve operable to modulate the flow of refrigerant into the evaporator, a liquid level sensor configured to measure a level of liquid accumulated within a component of the refrigeration system, and a controller configured to operate the expansion valve to increase the flow of refrigerant into the evaporator or decrease the flow of refrigerant into the evaporator based on the level of liquid measured by the liquid level sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Hill Phoenix, Inc.
    Inventors: Senthilkumar Kandappa Goundar Shanmugam, Manu Mital
  • Patent number: 11539547
    Abstract: A network system includes a refrigerator, a terminal, and a server that is capable of communicating with the refrigerator and the terminal and that provides, to the terminal, at least information based on an opening/closing operation of a door of the refrigerator. When the refrigerator starts an eco-mode, the server restricts an operation related to the watching service.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Takashi Nakashima
  • Patent number: 11525592
    Abstract: A thermostat includes: a controller adapted to control the function of an associated HVAC system; and user controls adapted to provide instructions to the controller including selecting between heating functions and cooling functions, wherein the controller is limited by a maximum temperature when heating functions are selected and limited by a minimum temperature when the cooling functions are selected, wherein the maximum temperature is a lower temperature than the minimum temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: Chicago Controls Thermostats, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael Lyle
  • Patent number: 11512890
    Abstract: A sensor device can be mounted on a pivotable door of a domestic refrigeration appliance. The sensor device includes an inertial sensor for supplying a motion signal as well as a processing device configured to determine a pivoting angle of the pivotable door on the basis of the motion signal and to output a signal when the pivoting angle has reached a predetermined threshold value. A household refrigeration appliance having a sensor device is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Teresa Bechtle, Nick Flohrer, Daniel Johannisborg, Tobias Kuhn, Klaus Schmuecker, Michael Strosche, Wilhelmus J. F. Van Geffen