NORDYNE Inc. Patent applications |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20130160985 | REFRIGERANT CHARGE MANAGEMENT IN A HEAT PUMP WATER HEATER - Heat pumps that heat or cool a space and that also heat water, refrigerant management systems for such heat pumps, methods of managing refrigerant charge, and methods for heating and cooling a space and for heating water. Various embodiments deliver refrigerant gas to a heat exchanger that is not needed for transferring heat, drive liquid refrigerant out of that heat exchanger, isolate that heat exchanger against additional refrigerant flowing into it, and operate the heat pump while the heat exchanger is isolated. The heat exchanger can be isolated by closing an electronic expansion valve, actuating a refrigerant management valve, or both. Refrigerant charge can be controlled or adjusted by controlling how much liquid refrigerant is driven from the heat exchanger, by letting refrigerant back into the heat exchanger, or both. Heat pumps can be operated in different modes of operation, and segments of refrigerant conduit can be interconnected with various components. | 06-27-2013 |
20120090337 | Heat Pumps With Unequal Cooling and Heating Capacities for Climates Where Demand for Cooling and Heating are Unequal, and Method of Adapting and Distributing Such Heat Pumps - Heat pumps for climates where demand for cooling and heating are unequal and methods of adapting and distributing heat pumps for such climates. Heat pumps include a compressor, compressor motor, variable-speed drive, and controller. In a number of embodiments, non-volatile memory stores sets of constant speeds for cooling and heating, and a person can select, via an input device, different sets of speeds for cooling and heating to provide the different cooling and heating capacities. The controller then operates the unit at the selected speeds, selecting from within the set based on demand for cooling or heating. In some embodiments, different sets of speeds may have the same minimum speed but different maximum speeds. Identical heat pumps can be configured to have different capacity ratings and different advertized efficiencies for different climates. | 04-19-2012 |
20100310998 | PREMIX FURNACE AND METHODS OF MIXING AIR AND FUEL AND IMPROVING COMBUSTION STABILITY - Premix furnace for heating an occupied space while producing lower NOx emissions and methods of mixing air and fuel delivered to a premix burner and of improving combustion stability. A mixing device may be located within an inlet tube, may have a flat surface that is perpendicular to the direction of fuel flow, or may have two surfaces held at substantially opposite angles to induce swirl. A mixing device may be attached to the fuel injector, may be made from a piece of sheet metal, and may have bends and a hole for attachment to the fuel injector. A fluidic diode in the inlet tube may improve combustion stability and may include a hollow frustum or a frustoconical portion, a cylinder concentric with the inlet tube, or a combination thereof. Some embodiments include refractory insulation lining the combustion chamber or may adjust for elevation or fuel characteristics. | 12-09-2010 |
20100173255 | NOx-REDUCTION APPARATUS, METHOD OF MAKING, FURNACE, HVAC UNIT, AND BUILDING - NOx reduction apparatuses for use in heat exchangers or furnaces, HVAC units and buildings having such devices, and methods of making such devices. Wire embodiments may have a body, helix, or modified helix, and support members that extend outside the body to hold the body away from the heat exchanger or tube. The support members may be made of the wire, and may include bights, twisted bights, or larger (e.g., helical) turns, for instance, between groups of smaller helical turns. In some embodiments, a modified helix is formed by alternating bends and straight sections of wire. Some embodiments include an attachment mechanism that may be made from the wire and may include a hook. Wire may be Nichrome. Particular embodiments may allow burning of natural gas or LP without changing or removing the wire. | 07-08-2010 |
20100122806 | Compact and Efficient Heat Exchanger, Furnace, HVAC Unit, Building, and Method of Making - Compact and efficient apparatuses for transferring heat, heat exchangers, and furnaces, as well as HVAC units, HVAC systems, and buildings therewith, plus methods of making such devices. Furnace heat exchangers, for example, have an added stage, added in an unconventional way, that improves efficiency without unduly increasing size, while maintaining required radiuses of bends in tubing. Various embodiments orient bends at particular angles to allow stages to fit together more closely, provide improved structure for connecting stages using two collectors that seal against a common junction plate, provide for indoor air passing through the heat exchanger to pass through different passes of the heat exchanger in an unconventional order in order to provide greater compactness, or a combination thereof, as examples. | 05-20-2010 |
20100071868 | HVAC UNITS, HEAT EXCHANGERS, BUILDINGS, AND METHODS HAVING SLANTED FINS TO SHED CONDENSATION OR FOR IMPROVED AIR FLOW - HVAC units and systems, air conditioning units, and heat pumps that have micro-channel heat exchangers wherein fins are slanted, multi-tubes are oriented non-horizontally (e.g., vertically), or both, for example. Fins may be slanted downward in the direction of air flow to facilitate drainage of condensation, or may be slanted either downward or upward as appropriate to reduce air-flow restriction. Other embodiments include the heat exchangers themselves and buildings having such heat exchangers, units, or systems, as well as methods concerning such devices, such as methods of manufacture. In some embodiments, heat exchangers are used as evaporators in air conditioning units, as condensers in heat pumps, or both, as examples. | 03-25-2010 |
20090294112 | INTERNALLY FINNED TUBE HAVING ENHANCED NUCLEATION CENTERS, HEAT EXCHANGERS, AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURE - Tubing having internal fins projecting inward from the tube wall, each fin having an external surface that includes multiple acute interior angles or crevices that may form nucleation boiling sites, heat exchangers comprising such tubing, and methods of making same. Acute angles, crevices, or elongated slits may be formed in the sides, center, or both, of the fins or between the fins and the tube wall, and convex rounded surfaces may be provided therebetween. Fins may be parallel to the tube centerline or helically wound. Tubing may be expanded with a bullet which may form an interference fit with external fins, may modify the fins to create more effective nucleate boiling cavities, or both. | 12-03-2009 |
20090084131 | Air Conditioning Units with Modular Heat Exchangers, Inventories, Buildings, and Methods - Air conditioning units, methods of manufacturing, inventories, and buildings wherein certain heat exchanger modules are combined to make air conditioning units. In some embodiments, different combinations of different size modules are used to produce air conditioning units having different capacities wherein some identical modules are used in different size units. Various heat exchanger assemblies include spacers between modules, bends formed after modules are assembled into heat exchanger assemblies, attachment rails at the ends of the modules, inactive multi-tubes at the top and bottom of the modules, copper tubing between aluminum modules to facilitate field replacement of individual modules, name plates that attach between modules, attachment clips or spacers that snap attach to the modules, or a combination thereof, as examples. | 04-02-2009 |
20080216500 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING AN AIR CONDITIONER OR HEAT PUMP - A control procedure operates an expansion valve of an air conditioning system. The control procedure utilizes a first control procedure to bring a calculated superheat value within a range of a target superheat value, and a second control procedure to cause the calculated superheat value to match the target superheat value. Both the first and second control procedures preferably use Proportional, Integral, Derivative control algorithms. | 09-11-2008 |