Patent ID: 11879673
Assignee: UNITED ELECTRIC COMPANY. L.P.
Field: Thermal processes and apparatus (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F | IPC F

Claim 12:
13. A heat pump unit that distributes its total charge of refrigerant between a main refrigerant system and a refrigerant charge control system conductively engaged to the main refrigerant system, wherein the total charge of refrigerant in the heat pump unit is constant; and the refrigerant charge control system comprises at least the following conductively engaged components: at least one flow control valve, at least one refrigerant reservoir downstream of the flow control valve, at least one check valve downstream of the reservoir, at least one inlet conduit with a tip that extends into the reservoir, and at least one outlet conduit with a tip such that the tip of the inlet pipe is located at a higher location relative to the tip of the outlet pipe; wherein said main refrigerant system is a variable-refrigerant-charge main refrigerant system comprising at least one indoor heat exchanger, at least one outdoor heat exchanger, at least one compressor, at least one expansion valve, and at least one reversing valve; the heat pump unit operates with a first amount of refrigerant in the main refrigerant system during a cooling or heating cycle and a smaller second amount of refrigerant in the main refrigerant system during a heating or cooling cycle, respectively; and wherein the reservoir is located at a height that is at or near the lowest point of the heat pump unit; and
wherein the unit is an air sourced heat pump unit that during a heating cycle operation of the heat pump unit no more than about 50% of the refrigerant charge is in the main refrigerant system and at least about 50% of the refrigerant charge is in the refrigerant charge control system, and during a cooling cycle operation of the heat pump unit at least about 50% of the refrigerant charge is in the main refrigerant system and no more than about 50% of the refrigerant charge is in the refrigerant charge control system; or
wherein the unit is a water sourced heat pump unit that during a cooling cycle operation of the heat pump unit no more than about 50% of the refrigerant charge is in the main refrigerant system and at least about 50% of the refrigerant charge is in the refrigerant charge control system, and during the heating cycle operation of the heat pump unit at least about 50% of the refrigerant charge is in the main refrigerant system and no more than about 50% of the refrigerant charge is in the refrigerant charge control system.