Patents Examined by Ljiljana V. Ciric
  • Method for controlling vehicle air-conditioning system, and vehicle air-conditioning system
    Patent number: 10486499
    Abstract: A method for controlling a vehicle air-conditioning system and a vehicle air-conditioning system, the method includes acquiring an actual degree of superheat, a preset degree of superheat and a degree of opening of an electronic expansion valve; determining, according to the actual degree of superheat, the preset degree of superheat and the degree of opening of the electronic expansion valve and whether the electronic expansion valve is in a fault state; and outputting a control signal to an executive control mechanism to adjust a parameter of a device in a vehicle air-conditioning system, which influences the variation of the actual degree of superheat, so as to adjust the degree of superheat of the vehicle air-conditioning system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: Hangzhou Sanhua Research Institute Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Edwin J. Stanke, Rongrong Zhang, Li Tang, Jun Zhang
  • Compressor with flooded start control
    Patent number: 10480495
    Abstract: A refrigeration system includes compressor and a duct assembly that includes a duct frame and a sensor unit. The duct frame provides a path for evaporating refrigerant from a lubricant sump of the compressor. The sensor unit obtains temperature measurements of the refrigerant and a lubricant within the lubricant sump and heats and evaporates the refrigerant located within the duct frame of the duct assembly. A control module receives temperature measurements from the sensor unit, determines a presence of liquid refrigerant within the lubricant sump of the compressor in response to a determination that an actual temperature change does not correspond with an expected temperature change for the lubricant, and in response to a determination that the actual temperature change corresponds with the expected temperature change for the lubricant, operates the compressor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: Emerson Climate Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael R. Munroe
  • Draining the sump of an ice maker to prevent growth of harmful biological material
    Patent number: 10480844
    Abstract: An ice maker having a refrigeration system, a water system and a control system. The refrigeration system includes an ice formation device. The water system supplies water to the ice formation device, and includes a water reservoir (e.g., a sump or float chamber) for holding water to be formed into ice and a discharge valve in fluid communication with the water reservoir. The control system includes an ice level sensor adapted to sense the ice level in an ice storage bin, and a controller adapted to cause water to drain from the water reservoir when the ice storage bin is full. Substantially or all of the water remaining in the water reservoir is drained such that while the ice maker is not making ice the water reservoir is empty of water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: True Manufacturing Co., Inc.
    Inventor: John Allen Broadbent
  • Refrigerant cooling and lubrication system
    Patent number: 10480834
    Abstract: Apparatuses, systems, and methods are disclosed to prime a refrigerant pump by decoupling the condenser from the refrigerant pump and the refrigerant pump line or shielding from a condenser operation prior to startup of the system, so that liquid refrigerant can be appropriately sourced from the condenser and/or the evaporator using flow control device(s) such as a source valve on a source line of the condenser and/or on a source line of the evaporator and the control of such valve(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: TRANE INTERNATIONAL INC.
    Inventors: Daoud A. Jandal, Brian Thomas Sullivan, Reginald Loyd Berry, Dennis Lee Justin, Matthew Aron Witt, Damion Scott Plymesser
  • HVAC systems and methods with refrigerant leak detection
    Patent number: 10480807
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed that involve detecting a flammable refrigerant associated with a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. In one instance a damper covers an access port allowing a single sensor to monitor at least two separate spaces. In another instance, a multi-probe sensor allows a single sensor to monitor at least two separate spaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: Lennox Industries Inc.
    Inventors: Rakesh Goel, Mark Olsen, Hermon Alan Boyd
  • Heat exchange device
    Patent number: 10473209
    Abstract: A heat exchange device includes a heat exchanger, a mounting plate, and a connecting block. The heat exchanger includes several first plates, several second plates, and an end plate and a bottom plate located at two sides of the heat exchanger. Each of the first plates and an adjacent second plate form a first flow passage and a second flow passage, the mounting plate and the end plate are fixedly mounted, and the connecting block is fixedly mounted to the bottom plate. A passage running through the heat exchanger and not in communication with the first flow passage and the second flow passage is formed in the heat exchanger, the passage has one end in communication with a communicating hole of the mounting plate, and another end in communication with a connecting channel of the connecting block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: Zhejiang Sanhua Automotive Components Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jiang Zou, Weixin Jiang, Haoming Qiu, Zhiyong Liao
  • Cooler divider
    Patent number: 10473384
    Abstract: A divider device for dividing an interior chamber of a cooler into a plurality of separate chambers and preventing fluid flow between the plurality of chambers. The divider device has a dividing wall that is insertable into the interior chamber of the cooler. A waterproof seal is positioned around the outer surfaces of the dividing wall. The seal is inflatable by a pump that is part of the divider device such that the seal is urged into contact with walls of the interior chamber to form a fluid-tight seal that prevents fluid flow from a first side of the dividing wall to a second side of the dividing wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Inventor: Logan H. Stollenwerck, III
  • High-frequency self-defrosting evaporator coil
    Patent number: 10473381
    Abstract: A method and system for defrosting a refrigerant coil using at least one of resistive and electromagnetic heating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: BETTERFROST TECHNOLOGIES INC.
    Inventors: Victor F. Petrenko, Sameh M. I. Saad, Kazi Kased L. Ahmed
  • Air conditioner
    Patent number: 10465948
    Abstract: An air conditioner that includes a compressor that compresses a refrigerant, a main outdoor heat exchanger that condenses the refrigerant in a cooling mode and that evaporates the refrigerant in a heating mode, an indoor heat exchanger that evaporates the refrigerant in the cooling mode while condensing the refrigerant in the heating mode, a switch that guides the refrigerant discharged from the compressor to the main outdoor heat exchanger in the cooling mode and that guides the refrigerant discharged from the compressor to the indoor heat exchanger in the heating mode, and a sub outdoor heat exchanger that evaporates a portion of the refrigerant condensed in the main outdoor heat exchanger in a low-load cooling mode and that condenses a portion of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor in a low-load heating mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Heewoong Park, Jeongseob Shin, Noma Park, Seungtaek Oh
  • Air conditioner and method of controlling the same
    Patent number: 10465936
    Abstract: A method of controlling an air conditioner, including inputting, by an operation command input part, an operation command for the air conditioner through which a refrigerating cycle circulates; sensing, by an outside temperature sensor, an outside temperature; sensing, by an outside humidity recognition part, an outside humidity; sensing, by a low pressure sensor, a low pressure of the refrigerating cycle; recognizing, by a controller, information about the outside temperature, the outside humidity, and the low pressure; entering, by the controller, a changing mode in which a first target high pressure of the refrigerating cycle is changed when the low pressure is less than a first reference low pressure; and changing, by the controller, an operation frequency of a compressor of the air conditioner in response to a range of the low pressure when the changing mode is performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Pilhyun Yoon, Yongcheol Sa, Chiwoo Song
  • Air conditioning device for vehicle
    Patent number: 10464390
    Abstract: An air conditioning device for a vehicle has an air-conditioning case, a heater core, a first air mix door, a second air mix door, and an actuator. The air-conditioning case therein has a first air passage and a second air passage. The first air mix door and the second air mix door are arranged in the first air passage and the second air passage respectively, and adjust a ratio between a flow rate of air passing through the heater core and a flow rate of air bypassing the heater core by an opening/closing operation. The actuator interlocks the opening/closing operations of the first air mix door and the second air mix door such that opening degrees of the first air mix door and the second air mix door are different from each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Sekito, Shinya Kato
  • Systems and methods for fault detection using smart valves
    Patent number: 10465925
    Abstract: An air handler unit (AHU) in communication with a building automation system (BAS) or through direct programming of one or more smart valves within the AHU operates to meter an amount of water that flows through a coil in the AHU. In one embodiment, the BAS transmits a temperature setpoint signal to the smart valve and allows the smart valve to control its valve position without additional input from the BAS. In another embodiment, the AHU includes a master smart valve and a second valve. The BAS provides the temperature setpoint signal to the master smart valve, which in turn provides another temperature setpoint signal to the second valve. The second valve may take the form of a slave smart valve or a slave non-smart valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: BELIMO HOLDING AG
    Inventors: Ian Robert Dempster, Benjamin Paul Erpelding, Thomas Bennett Hartman, Chelsey Ann MacNeill
  • HVAC systems and methods with multiple-path expansion device subsystems
    Patent number: 10465949
    Abstract: A heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) system includes a multi-path expansion device subsystem positioned between a condenser and an evaporator. The multi-path expansion device subsystem includes a flow selector operative to receive a refrigerant from the condenser and selectively deliver the same to a full-load pathway or to a partial-load pathway. The full-load pathway has a modulating valve and a fixed orifice sized for a full-load situation, and the partial-load pathway has a thermal expansion valve (TXV) sized for partial load operation. A controller uses an actuator of the flow selector to choose which pathway is authorized according to certain process logic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: Lennox Industries Inc.
    Inventor: Wenqian Liu
  • Water supply system and a method for operating the same
    Patent number: 10466727
    Abstract: A system and method of operating a water supply system with one or more water consuming appliances includes a water heater fluidly coupled to a water consuming appliance through a supply conduit. The water consuming appliance includes an appliance communication module for communicating a target temperature. A mixing valve is positioned on the supply conduit, is in operative communication with the appliance communication module, and heats water from the water heater and cold water from the water supply to provide a flow of supply water to the water consuming appliance at the target temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solution, Inc.
    Inventors: Ryan Joseph Shaffer, Adam Christopher Hofmann, Matthew David Mersch
  • Heat exchanger coating
    Patent number: 10465998
    Abstract: A heat exchanger for an air-conditioning circuit of a vehicle. The heat exchanger enables heat exchange between fluids and has a surface in contact with one of the fluids. The surface is formed from aluminum and/or from aluminum alloy. The surface is coated with an alumina layer and a reinforcing layer. The reinforcing layer includes an organic substance and a mineral substance. The organic substance includes at least one polymer and the mineral substance is capable of reacting with the aluminum in order to form an anticorrosion material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: Valeo Systemes Thermiques
    Inventors: Christian Casenave, François Busson, Maryse Philippe, Jean-Christophe Prevost
  • Metamaterial systems and methods for their use
    Patent number: 10468326
    Abstract: Metamaterial systems capable of exhibiting changes in thermal conductivities in response to an external control or input, as well as methods relating thereto. The metamaterial systems include first and second plates, and a metamaterial core between and thermally coupled to the first and second plates. The metamaterial core comprises a plurality of elements coupled to and contacting each other, with each of the elements being a pseudo-tetrahedron having surfaces that define surface-to-surface contacts with at least one other of the elements. A force is applied to the metamaterial core that increases contact pressures between the elements at the surface-to-surface contacts thereof and thereby increases thermal contact conductivities at the surface-to-surface contacts and increases a thermal conductivity of the metamaterial core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: Purdue Research Foundation
    Inventors: Thomas Siegmund, Yuezhong Feng, Somesh Khandelwal
  • Vehicle extreme temperature safety systems and methods
    Patent number: 10457113
    Abstract: Safety systems and methods to prevent or mitigate thermal stress conditions in a vehicle. The systems include sensors to detect conditions in and around a vehicle, particularly the temperature inside the vehicle and the condition of occupants. System controllers receive the sensor information, determine the thermal stress status of occupants, and activate appropriate actuators configured to reduce thermal stress in the vehicle. The methods include providing the system, detecting a vehicle occupant surface temperature, using the detected temperature to determine a body core temperature, and activating an actuator if the occupant body core temperature is determined to be out of a preset range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Inventors: Gihan Jayasundera, Nayana Jayasundera
  • Device for cooling substances
    Patent number: 10443904
    Abstract: A device for cooling a substance stored within the device has a body with an internal compartment for holding the substance to be cooled. The compartment can be sealed closed and can be accessed for adding substance to the compartment for cooling or for removing substance from the compartment after cooling the substance. The body of the device has an internal cavity that surrounds the exterior of the compartment holding the substance to be cooled. Fluidized coolant is injected into the cavity through an injection port to cool the substance contained within the compartment before removing the substance from the compartment for use. The device may include exterior buttons that compress the internal compartment when the buttons are pressed toward each other, which in turn compresses and breaks up the substance contained within the compartment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Inventor: Patrick Alan Tatom
  • Air conditioner and method of controlling the same
    Patent number: 10443872
    Abstract: An air conditioner including an outside unit, which includes a compressor and an evaporator, an outside temperature sensor attached to the outside unit to sense outside temperature, an outside humidity recognition part attached to the outside unit to recognize information about outside humidity, a low pressure sensor that senses an evaporation pressure of the evaporator, and a control part that controls an operation of the compressor, based on both information about dew-point temperature sensed from the outside temperature sensor and the outside humidity recognition part and information about the evaporation pressure sensed from the low pressure sensor. The control part changes an operation frequency of the compressor according to whether the evaporation pressure is not lower than a preset reference low pressure, to prevent frosting of the evaporator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Pilhyun Yoon, Yongcheol Sa, Chiwoo Song
  • Control method for refrigerator
    Patent number: 10429112
    Abstract: A control method for a refrigerator includes driving a refrigerator compartment compressor that is configured to cool a refrigerator compartment; determining whether a temperature in the refrigerator compartment satisfies a first temperature; driving, based on the determination that a temperature in the refrigerator compartment satisfies the first temperature, a freezer compartment compressor that is configured to cool a freezer compartment; stopping the refrigerator compartment compressor; maintaining, after stopping the refrigerator compartment compressor, operation of the freezer compartment compressor; restarting the refrigerator compartment compressor; and varying a driving frequency of the refrigerator compartment compressor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2019
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Namhun Kim, Buhwan Ahn