Patents Examined by Larry L Furdge
  • Patent number: 11466872
    Abstract: An HVAC system utilizes one or more modular heat pump units installed within an outer wall or corner of a building, and one or more active registers. A central hub, which can be integrated into a modular HVAC unit, receives input from thermostats and sensors in the building and adjusts operation of the modular HVAC units and active registers to distribute conditioned air throughout the building. The system provides convenience and comfort of a traditional split HVAC system with significantly reduced installation and maintenance costs. The modular HVAC unit includes an interchangeable cartridge that contains the active components of a heat pump. Cartridges of different capacities can be installed as required, and are easily swapped out for maintenance, servicing, and replacement. A user can control the system using traditional-style thermostats and with a smart phone, tablet or computer. A cloud server provides backup services and remote access to the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: Trane International Inc.
    Inventors: Mark S. Clark, Franklin K. Rolles, Qiao Tian, Jeffrey L. Stewart, Jin Min Sun
  • Patent number: 11460366
    Abstract: A refrigeration servicing system includes an apparatus and user equipment in electronic communication with the apparatus. The apparatus includes a body having a first end and a second end, wherein a passage extends within the body from the first end to the second end. A recess is formed within the body at the second end. The body comprises an inlet at the first end configured to directly engage with a portion of the refrigeration system, a conduit in fluid communication with the inlet, and a plunger. The conduit and plunger are each positioned in the passage. The apparatus also includes a housing at least partially positioned in the recess and in fluid communication with the conduit. The housing includes a sensor configured to directly contact the fluid and measure a parameter of the fluid. A method of servicing a refrigeration system is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: Energizer Auto, Inc.
    Inventors: Kenneth Alan Pistone, Vincent Carrbba
  • Patent number: 11454428
    Abstract: An air conditioner including an outdoor unit, an air conditioning indoor unit, a showcase indoor unit, and a combination unit. The combination unit includes a first gas control unit connected to the air conditioning indoor unit gas pipe, a second gas control unit connected to the showcase indoor unit gas pipe, a first pipe which connects the outdoor unit liquid pipe and the indoor unit liquid pipe, and a second pipe which connects the first pipe and the second gas control unit. The first gas control unit and the second gas control unit are converged to be connected to the outdoor unit gas pipe, so that the air conditioning indoor unit and the showcase indoor unit can use a single outdoor unit, and heat emitted from the air conditioning indoor unit to a room during a heating operation is used as condensation heat of the showcase indoor unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2022
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Byoungjin Ryu, Sangil Park, Yoonho Yoo
  • Patent number: 11441822
    Abstract: An air conditioner is provided with a refrigerant circuit that has a first refrigerant path to which a compressor, a first utilization-side heat exchanger, a first expansion valve, and a heat source-side heat exchanger are connected in order. A control unit controls the compressor and the first expansion valve. When the control unit receives a request for high-temperature air that temporarily increases the temperature of the hot air blown out through the first utilization-side heat exchanger, the control unit changes the control of the first expansion valve so that the temperature of a refrigerant that flows through the first utilization-side heat exchanger increases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Motoki Takagi
  • Patent number: 11435125
    Abstract: A refrigerant system includes a compressor configured to pressurize a refrigerant fluid. The compressor includes a sump portion. A heater is situated to heat at least the sump portion. A controller is configured to selectively operate the heater to apply heat to at least the sump portion while the compressor is off and continue operating the heater when the compressor turns on until a temperature of the compressor or a temperature of fluid discharged from the compressor satisfies at least one criterion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: CARRIER CORPORATION
    Inventor: Charles A. Cluff
  • Patent number: 11433349
    Abstract: A novel self-cooling food and beverage container and a process for manufacturing the same is disclosed. A self-cooling beverage and food container using a substantive humidification cooling process within said food and beverage container for cooling food and beverage products is disclosed. Methods of assembling and operating the apparatus are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: InCan USA LLC
    Inventor: Michael Mark Anthony
  • Patent number: 11435766
    Abstract: A cooling system includes a controller, a plurality of sensor sub-units, a plurality of solid-state cooling sub-units and a heat exchanger. The sensor sub-units are configured to be thermally connected to a heat source. The heat source has a plurality of sub-regions that correspond with each of the sensor sub-units. Each solid-state cooling sub-unit corresponds with and thermally connects to one of the sensor sub-units and is configured to dissipate heat from the sub-regions of the heat source. The heat exchanger is configured to dissipate heat from the sub-regions of the heat source and waste heat. The controller, based on temperatures sampled from the plurality of sensor sub-units and predictions made by an optimizer, is configured to determine the one or more sub-regions of the heat source to cool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: Maxwell Labs Inc
    Inventor: Jacob A. Balma
  • Patent number: 11429122
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a climate management system having a control system configured to control climate characteristics of a building. The control system further includes a memory device and a processor. The memory device includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to receive, via a sensor, data indicative of an evaporator coil temperature of the climate management system, and operate an air mover of the climate management system to control supply of conditioned air to the building based on the evaporator coil temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings LLP
    Inventor: Jay C. Walser
  • Patent number: 11421921
    Abstract: An system and method for cooling of electronic equipment, for example a computer system, in a subsurface environment including a containment vessel in at least partial contact with subsurface liquid or solid material. The containment vessel may be disposed in a variety of subsurface environments, including boreholes, man-made excavations, subterranean caves, as well as ponds, lakes, reservoirs, oceans, or other bodies of water. The containment vessel may be installed with a subsurface configuration allowing for human access for maintenance and modification. Cooling is achieved by one or more fluids circulating inside and/or outside the containment vessel, with a variety of configurations of electronic devices disposed within the containment vessel. The circulating fluid(s) may be cooled in place by thermal conduction or by active transfer of the fluid(s) out of the containment vessel to an external heat exchange mechanism, then back into the containment vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2022
    Inventor: David Lane Smith
  • Patent number: 11415329
    Abstract: A window air conditioner includes a casing and a positioning device. The casing includes a cabinet including an outdoor part and an indoor part spaced apart from each other to form a receiving groove. The positioning device has a locked state and an unlocked state, and is configured to extend further into the receiving groove in the locked state than in the unlocked state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignees: GD MIDEA AIR-CONDITIONING EQUIPMENT CO., LTD., MIDEA GROUP CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yu Liu, Kangwen Zhang, Hui Yu
  • Patent number: 11415333
    Abstract: A fresh air cooling and ventilating system can include a whole house fan for introducing fresh air into a building structure. The fresh air cooling and ventilating system can include a whole house fan and/or a controller. The controller can be operably in communication with an air conditioning system and coordinate the usage of the fresh air cooling and ventilating system and the air conditioning system to reduce overall energy consumption. The system can be automated to run with no or minimal user input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: QC MANUFACTURING, INC.
    Inventors: Dana Charles Stevenson, Dane Stevenson, Dustin Martin Stevenson
  • Patent number: 11402134
    Abstract: An outdoor unit is connected to a refrigerator and has two compressors that are connected in series, and a control method thereof. The outdoor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a low pressure side compressor for compressing a refrigerant; a high pressure side compressor for compressing the refrigerant compressed by the low pressure side compressor; an outdoor heat exchanger for condensing the refrigerant compressed by the high pressure side compressor; a heat recovery unit for cooling the refrigerant condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger by exchanging heat with the refrigerant evaporated in the air conditioner; and a supercooler for expanding a part of the refrigerant cooled in the heat recovery unit to cool another part of the refrigerant cooled in the heat recovery unit, so that the discharge temperature of the low pressure side compressor and/or the high pressure side compressor can be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Jaeheuk Choi, Byoungjin Ryu, Yoonho Yoo
  • Patent number: 11391497
    Abstract: A refrigeration apparatus includes first and second refrigeration circuits, and a supercooling circuit. The supercooling circuit includes a supercooling bypass flow path which communicates a part of the first refrigeration circuit positioned on the downstream side of the condenser and on the upstream side of the first expansion valve, to a compressor on the first refrigeration circuit; a supercooling control valve; and a supercooling heat exchanger disposed on the downstream side of the supercooling control valve in the supercooling bypass flow path. The supercooling heat exchanger is configured to cool the refrigerant flowing through a part of the first refrigeration circuit, on the downstream side of a connection position to the supercooling bypass flow path. The second refrigeration circuit includes: a branch flow path which branches from a part of the first refrigeration circuit, on the upstream side of the connection position to the supercooling bypass flow path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: Shinwa Controls Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Takuya Saho, Satoru Kuwahata, Hitoya Mitsuduka
  • Patent number: 11384946
    Abstract: An air-conditioning device that allows sufficient power to be reliably supplied to an imaging device is provided. The air-conditioning device includes a control unit that makes an imaging device capture an image while at least one predetermined component of the air-conditioning device is at rest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takanori Suzuki, Youichi Handa, Keita Kitagawa
  • Patent number: 11384610
    Abstract: A method for cooling drilling mud includes controlling operation of a first closed-loop cooling system to cool a flow of drilling mud when a first temperature of the flow of drilling mud exceeds a first predetermined mud set point temperature, and controlling operation of a second closed-loop cooling system to further cool the flow of drilling mud when a second temperature of the flow of drilling mud that has been cooled by the first closed-loop cooling system exceeds a second predetermined mud set point temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: NATIONAL OILWELL VARCO, L.P.
    Inventor: Garry McCraw
  • Patent number: 11384961
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a flash tank, a first low side heat exchanger, a second low side heat exchanger, a first compressor, a second compressor, an expansion valve, a desuperheater, a sensor, and a controller. The first compressor compresses a refrigerant from the second low side heat exchanger. The desuperheater removes heat from the refrigerant from the first compressor. The second compressor compresses a mixture of the refrigerant from the first low side heat exchanger and the refrigerant from the first compressor. The expansion valve, actionable by the sensor and the controller, controls a flow of the refrigerant to the first low side heat exchanger such that the flow of refrigerant to the first low side heat exchanger is increased when a temperature of the mixture exceeds a threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Heatcraft Refrigeration Products LLC
    Inventor: Shitong Zha
  • Patent number: 11378312
    Abstract: An automatic and dynamic filter window for the air inlet to a chiller or cooler is disclosed, including a controller and a scrolling filter for replacing filters prior to clogging or contamination that may compromise the operation of the chiller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: Preston Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Philip Preston, Thomas P. Wallbaum
  • Patent number: 11371755
    Abstract: An air-conditioning apparatus that includes a compressor, a flow switching device, an outdoor heat exchange unit, an expansion section and an indoor heat exchanger, which are connected by pipes, in which the outdoor heat exchange unit includes a first outdoor heat exchanger, a first flow rate control device, a second outdoor heat exchanger, a second flow rate control device, a bypass pipe, the second outdoor heat exchanger, the second flow rate control device, a third flow rate control device, and a flow control device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroki Maruyama, Osamu Morimoto, Hiroyuki Okano, Naofumi Takenaka
  • Patent number: 11369119
    Abstract: A system to control the conditions of an aging room, also known as a conditioned space, for products in which independent feedback loops control the dry bulb temperature and the dew point while controlling the difference between the vapor pressure in the room and the vapor pressure of the products being dried, thereby controlling the amount of and rate of water or water vapor loss of the products and, therefore controlling its quality, the system also including target controls, a thermoelectric cooler and lighting controls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Inventor: David Sandelman
  • Patent number: 11364769
    Abstract: A thermal management system for a passenger cabin of a hybrid vehicle includes a refrigerant loop in fluid communication with a compressor, a condenser, and a chiller. A main cabin evaporator is in fluid communication with the refrigerant loop. A first valve is configured to regulate refrigerant flow through the main cabin evaporator. A temperature sensor disposed at the main cabin evaporator is configured to output a signal indicative of a main cabin evaporator temperature. An auxiliary evaporator is in fluid communication with the refrigerant loop. A second valve is configured to regulate refrigerant flow through the auxiliary evaporator. A controller is programmed to, in response to the main cabin evaporator temperature being less than a threshold while the main cabin evaporator is operated with the second valve closed, open the second valve to cycle refrigerant through the auxiliary evaporator to increase the main cabin evaporator temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Mary Bellino, Nicholas David Moore, Joseph George, Rohan Shrivastava