Heat exchange – With timer – programmer – time delay – or condition responsive... – Having heating and cooling capability
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-05
2004-09-14
Ford, John K. (Department: 3753)
Heat exchange
With timer, programmer, time delay, or condition responsive...
Having heating and cooling capability
C165S215000, C165S217000, C165S054000, C165S104140, C165S103000, C236S049300, C236S00100H
Reexamination Certificate
active
06789618
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the use of passive thermal energy recovery means to recycle thermal energy in air handling systems and more particularly to systems including a heat pipe or fixed plate heat recovery system in which the heat recovery means is selectively employed when heat is transferred, to or from return/exhaust air and/or inlet air, as desired to meet constant or variable volume requirements coincident with constant temperature requirements.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Heat pipes and fixed plate heat exchanges for transferring thermal energy are old and well known as independent or secondary thermal energy transfer systems. For instance, an example of a typical heat pipe augmentation of an air-conditioning system is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,139 for “Heat Tube Device” wherein heat pipes are used to couple a cooling coil to the air flow in a typical single volume single temperature central air-conditioning system.
Such systems are not practical in hospitals where the problem is more complex because individual rooms have individual air handling requirements specifying constant or variable volume and constant temperature. Historically this individual room requirement problem has been solved by combining hot water, steam or electrical reheaters and controllable vents to modify conditioned air provided by a central system. Constant-volume reheat units have been in use to modify conditioned air for selected rooms for approximately 40 years and variable-volume reheat units have been known for 25 years. The systems have met the needs of industry but at a prohibitive cost in wasted energy. Such systems expend large amounts of energy to cool the air and then spend additional energy to heat the conditioned air for selected rooms.
One solution is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,469 for “Energy Recycling Air Handling System” issued to the inventor of the improvements described and claimed herein. That system uses an energy wheel to reclaim thermal energy but its total energy efficiency is degraded because of the electrical energy required to drive the wheel. In addition, the system has not gained wide spread acceptance because the cost of producing efficient thermal energy wheels is prohibitive.
OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a thermal energy transfer means to replace or reduce the use of reheaters in constant-volume and variable-volume terminal units of an air handling system.
Another primary objective of the present invention is to provide a thermal energy transfer means which requires little or no energy expenditure to replace energy wheels in constant-volume and variable-volume terminal units of an air handling system.
Another objective is to provide a heat pipe heat recovery system which remains in the flow stream of the inlet and exhaust air and the heat recovery system is selectively operated by varying the amount of air flowing across the coil by modulating face and bypass dampers.
Another objective is to provide a heat pipe heat recovery system which remains in the flow stream of the inlet and exhaust air and the heat recovery system is selectively operated by varying the amount of tilt of the heat pipe assembly in the constant-volume and variable-volume terminal units of an air handling system.
Another objective is to provide a fixed plate heat exchanger heat recovery system which remains in the flow stream of the inlet and exhaust air and the heat recovery system is slectively operated by varying the amount of air flowing across the coil by modulating face and bypass dampers.
Another object is to provide a heat recovery system employing a heat pipe refrigerant section in which the amount of air flowing across the section is varied through the modulation of face and bypass dampers as dictated by the thermal requirements of a room serviced by a terminal unit of an air handling system.
Another object is to provide a heat recovery system employing a heat pipe refrigerant section in which the heat pipe assembly is tilted as dictated by the thermal requirements of a room serviced by a terminal unit of an air handling system.
Another object is to provide a heat recovery system employing a fixed plate heat exchanger in which the amount of air flowing across the plate is varied through the modulation of face and bypass dampers as dictated by the thermal requirements of a room serviced by a terminal unit of an air handling system.
Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the drawings, specification and claims which follow.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To overcome the energy extravagance of energy wheels or reheaters commonly employed in air handling systems serving a plurality of individual rooms having different temperature requirements with constant or variable volume specifications, the present invention provides a heat pipe refrigerant section or fixed plate heat exchanger arranged as a cross-flow heat exchanger with face and bypass dampers to transfer thermal energy between the inlet and outlet air flows of a terminal unit and thereby control the temperature while maintaining constant or variable volume protocols. In an alternate embodiment, the tilt of the heat pipe assembly is controllable to further enhance the adaptability of the system.
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Ford John K.
Harold Gell, P.C.
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