Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Field of the invention:
The present invention relates to air conditioners, and more specifically to a
system and method for improving the efficiency of air conditioners and
solving the water drainage problem.
Back r~ ound
One of the most bothering problems with air conditioners is the water
drainage problem. V~hen the air conditioner is used for cooling the room,
considerable amounts of water can condense on the room unit and are
typically moved out through a small tube out of a hole in the wall and dropped
there near the external wall. Sometimes this can be used for example for
watering plants, but many times this can be a serious problem that can result
in ugly solutions or fights with neighbors. Typically such tubes are also
limited in the ability to move them araund since all their parts need to be at
least slightly tilted downwards all along the way, due to the sporadic nature
of
the drops.
Another typical problem with ordinary single-room split air conditioners is
that there is no arrangement for entering fresh air into the room other than
keeping the window open or partly open, which can result in considerable Loss
of efficiency of the air conditioner. Although a wide fresh air tunnel is
sometimes used in central air conditioners that are spread over a number of
rooms, such a solution does nat exist far a single-raom split air conditioner,
so
after using them for example for an hour or more the user can get an
unpleasant feeling of lack of fresh air in the room. The present invention
tries
to solve the above prablerns.
Summary of the inyention
The present invention solves the drainage problem by adding preferably at
least one more pipe to the group of preferably thin pipes that go to the
external
condenser unit (which is typically either on an outside wall or on the roof),
preferably with a pump, so that the water can go also in horizontal or upward
directions. This pipe preferably reaches the external condenser, where it is
preferably poured on the radiator there, thus cooling it down and increasing
the efficiency of the air conditioner. Since when the air conditioner is used
for
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cooling, the external radiator becomes quite hot, the water cools it as it
evaporates, and thus preferably no water drops down anymore. The pump can
be for example running all the time during operations of the air conditioner
that need it (for example when used for cooling the room), or for example
operated intermittently after a sufficient amount of water has accumulated in
the pipe and/or in some temporary container. This pump is preferably
activated only when the air conditioner is used for cooling, since when used
for heating the problem of water condensation in the room unit does not exist,
and also it would reduce the efficiency if the external unit were cooled by
water in this mode of operation. Although US patent 6,0 j0,423 issued on June
6, 2000 to Herbert, describes a system for using the condensed water to cool
by evaporation a small section in the incoming gas. pipe and/or in the
outgoing
gas pipe near the room unit, that is much less efficient since the incoming
pipe
is usually typically already close to the room temperature and the outgoing
gas
pipe is typically cooler than the room temperature, so the heat gradient is
much smaller than when pouring the condensed water on the radiator of the
external condenser unit, as described in the present invention. Also, since
the
incoming gas pipe and outgoing gas pipe are insulted with a heat insulator,
exposing a part of them for the evaporation would reduce the insulation.
Although US patent 6,289,688, issued on Sep. 18, 2001 to Carrier Corp.
Mentions directing the condensed water over the radiator of the condenser in a
window air conditioner (a single air-conditioner in which the room unit and
the condenser are at the two ends of the same box), to the best of my
knowledge there is no such solution :for split air-conditioners (in which, as
explained above, there is a separate room unit and a separate condenser unit,
typically outside on an external wall or on the roof), which are the most
common type of air conditioners. The solution in this case is more
complicated since it requires adding the additional pipe to the group of pipes
that go between the two units and adding a pump which preferably takes into
account the sporadic nature of the condensed 'eater drops for transferring
them efficiently to the external unit, as explained below. Also, the carrier
patent indicates that drainage of excess water is still needed anyway. The
present invention tries to solve the problem so that preferably no drainage
problem remains.
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There are a number of possible solutions for the fresh air problema
1. One possible variation is using one or more pipes, preferably with a
pump, for transferring for example cold air from the room out to the
external condenser unit, thus compensating for the need to cool more air
in the room by making the external condenser cooler. This can be
combined for example with any opening that allows fresh air into the
room, so that new air from outside comes in instead of the cold air that
has been taken out through said pipe.
2. Another possible variation is using one or more preferably small pipes,
preferably with a pump, for entering new air from outside preferably
straight into the radiator of the room unit, which is much more efficient
than just inserting new air into the room, since this works more
efficiently with a higher heat difference. The pipe can be for example
either wider with a preferably weaker pump (or for example no pump at
all, so that for example the air is sucked in due to the movement of the
air in the room unit), or smaller with a preferably stronger pump.
3. Another possible variation is to use a heat-exchange so that some of the
cold air from the room is used for cooing an area where new air comes
in. However, in all of the above variations, preferably the outgoing air
pipe preferably collects air from the room at a point that is preferably as
far as possible form the point where the fresh air enters, for example at
the furthest edge of the room unit or for example a~t a more distant place
away from the room unit.
Of course, various combinations of the above and other variations are also
possible, such as for example combining any of these features or elements in
them or for example using the same pipe for transferring both cold air from
the room and the condensed water to the external condenser unit.
Another possible variation for increasing the efficiency of the air
conditioner in general a to use a radiator battery with a m~re efficient 3-I7
spreading and/or more efficient surface interaction with the air. For example
there exist G batteries, in which the radiator units are U-shaped so that they
cover a larger area than normal radiators, however this is still not optimal.
Higher efficiency can be created by preferably filling the room unit and/or
the
external condenser unit with multiple layers of radiators so that the radiator
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becomes much more 3-Dimensional. A few possible configurations for this
are shown in Figs. 3a-f.
Brief description of the drawings
Fig. 1 is an illustration of a preferable example of solving the drainage
problem by adding preferably at least one more pipe to the group of pipes that
go to the external condenser, preferably with a pump, so that the water can go
also in horizontal or upward directions.
Figs. 2a-c are illustrations of a few preferable variations of solving the
fresh
air problem for single-room split air-conditioners.
Figs. 3a-f are illustrations of a few preferable examples of improving the
efficiency of room-unit radiators and/or external condenser units radiators by
increasing the surface area of the radiators and/or increasing the length of
the
air path near them.
Important Clarification and Glossary-:
All these drawings are just exemplary drawings. 'They should not be
interpreted as literal positioning, shapes, angles, or sizes of the various
elements. Throughout the patent whenever variations or various solutions
are mentioned, it is also possible to use various combinations of these
variations or of elements in them, and when combinations are used, it is
also possible to use at least some elements in them separately or in other
combinations. These variations are preferably in different embodiments.
In other words: certain features of the invention, which are described in
the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in
combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the
invention, which are described in the context of a single embodiment,
may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub-combination.
Detailed description of the ypreferred embodiments
All of the descriptions in this and other sections are intended to be
illustrative
examples and not limiting.
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Referring to Fig. 1, I show a preferable example of solving the drainage
problem by adding preferably one more pipe {3) to the group of pipes (4,5)
that go between the room unit (1) to the external condenser (2) for carrying
the condensed water from the room unit (1), preferably with one or more
pumps (7), so that the water can go also in horizontal or upward directions.
This pipe (3) preferably reaches the external condenser (2), where the
condensed water is preferably poured on the radiator there, thus cooling it
down and increasing the efficiency of the air conditioner. Since when the air
conditioner is used for cooling the external radiator can become quite hot,
the
water evaporates as it cools it and thus preferably no water drops down
anymore, thus preferably achieving better efficiency both in evaporation and
in cooling the condenser unit. The pump (7) can be for example running all
the time during operation of the air conditioner that need it (for example
when
cooling the room), or for example operated intermittently after a sufficient
amount of water has accumulated in the pipe and/or for example in some
temporary container. This can be done for example by using a container with a
floater unit, so that the pump is preferably activated after the condensed
water
in the container has reached a certain level. This is more preferable since
transferring each time irregular droplets would be problematic due to the mix
of air and water in the pipe. The pipe that conducts the ccmdensed water to
the
radiator of the external condenser is preferably thin (for example made of
preferably cheap rubber or plastic or nylon, etc.) and the water is preferably
moved at a low speed so that the drops reach the external radiator at a rate
sufficiently slow to preferably evaporate completely while cooling it. This
preferably slow rate means also that the pipe does not need much energy.
Another possible variation is that for example at tlxe external condenser unit
if
the condensed water still does not evaporate completely or sufficiently after
flowing over the condenser's radiator, preferably the water is collected again
for example in a local bottom collector and preferably poured again one or
more times (preferably with a local pump) over the radiator, preferably until
it
has completely evaporated (or for example until a sufficient percent of it has
evaporated or until the water level is the local bottom container is low
enough). Another possible variation is to add at the condenser unit also for
example a preferably top container (especially for example if the water is
transferred there in batches each time after sufficient condensed water has
accumulated in the room unit), which receives the condensed water from the
room unit pump and preferably acts as a buffer, so that regardless of the
sporadic nature of the arrival of the water there, it preferably releases
small
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drops over the external. unit's radiator, preferably slowly, for example by
using one or more small holes, and/or for example sprays intermittently
preferably by pressure minute drops from above and/or from below and/or
from the sides of the radiator. Another possible variation is for example to
use
the bottom collector of the external unit also for this, so that for example
the
pump there sprays droplets slowly again from above over the radiator or for
example sprays intermittently preferably by pressure minute drops from above
and/or from below andlor from the sides of the radiator (for example in a way
similar to a plant watering device in the mode that sprays a cloud of minute
water droplets). This pump is preferably activated only when the air
conditioner is used for cooling, since when used for heating the problem of
water condensation in the room unit does not exist, and also it would reduce
the efficiency if the external unit were cooled by water in this mode of
operation. This solution is important also for example for portable air
conditioners, which are similar to a non-mobile air conditioner, except~that
the
room unit and the external unit can be moved freely and the gas pipes are
typically flexible, and the external condenser unit is typically put for
example
in the balcony. In these air conditioners the water drainage problem is
typically even more disturbing since in the prior art there is no drainage
arrangement, except for example pouring the water through the balcony's
drainage. Another possible variation is to spread the condensed water for
example over a capillary sleeve that surrounds the group of pipes that go
between the room unit and the external condenser unit, for example to a length
of 1 or more meters. 'This can increase the efficiency of the evaporation of
the
water and save the need for a pump, although it has negligible effect on
cooling the gas pipes since it is on top of the heat insulator that surrounds
the
group of pipes. Another possible variation is to use for example some
preferably decorative capillary cloth (or other capillary material) that
covers
for example 1 or more square meters on the external side of the building
and/or for example on an inner side of a wall within the cooled room, so that
the condensed water can evaporate eff ciently and also help cool the wall at
the same time. If at least part of it is evaporated again within the room, it
has
the further advantage of preventing the air in the room from becoming too dry.
Another possible variation is to add for example capillary connections in
addition or instead to the above described bottom water collector at the
external condenser unit, so that for example if the condensed water has not
evaporated sufficiently after being poured on the radiator of the external
condenser, then it preferable spreads by capillary connections for example to
a
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capillary sleeve that covers the group of pipes that go between the external
unit and the room unit and/or for example reaches a capillary cloth that is
spread for example near the external unit. Another possible variation is to
collect the condensed water in a container inside the room, so that it can be
used for example as drinking water or adding i.t for example to a nearby
drinking bar. Another possible variation is for example to install an
infrastructure in the building that collects condensed water from air
conditioners for various purposes, such as for example watering the garden,
etc. Of course, various combinations of the above and other variations are
also
possible.
Deferring to Figs. 2a-c, I show illustrations of a few preferable examples of
solving the fresh air problem for single-room split air-conditioners. Fig. 2a
shows a variation of using one or more pipes (13), preferably with a pump
(17), for transferring for example cold air from the room out to the external
condenser unit (2), where preferably the cold air is released after blowing
preferably directly it at the hot radiator of the condenser, thus compensating
for the need to cool more air in the room by making the external condenser
cooler. This can be combined for example with any opening (I4) that allows
fresh air into the room, so that new air from outside comes in instead of the
cold air that has been taken out through said pipe (13). Another possible
variation, shown in Fig. 2b, is using one or more preferably small pipes (14)
with a pump (18) for entering new air from outside preferably straight into
the
radiator of the room unit (1), which is much more efficient than just
inserting
new air into the room, since this works more eff ciently with a higher heat
difference (gradient). The pipe (14) can be for example either wider with a
weaker pump, or smaller with a preferably stronger pump. Another possible
variation, shown in Fig. 2c, is to use also a heat-exchange (15), so that some
of the cold air coming out of the room through pipe 16, preferably with the
aid
of a pump ( 19), is used for cooing the area where new air comes in through
pipe 14, preferably with the aid of a pump ( 1 ~). Of course, various
combinations of the above and other variations are also possible, such as for
example combining the features of Fig. 2b or 2c or parts of them with the
features of Fig. 1 and/or 2a or parts of them. For example, the same pipe of
outgoing cold air { 16), that preferably uses also a heat exchange with the
incoming air of pipe 14, can continue to the external condenser and fnally
release the cold air there. Either way, whether the cold air is brought to the
radiator of the external condenser unit in the same pipe with the condensed
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water on in a separate pipe, this can also help the water further evaporate
from
the radiator. (Anyway, the configuration of Figs. 2b & 2c of course contains
also at least the normal connection with the condenser unit (not shown the
drawing). The heat exchange can be done for example by having pipes 14 and
19 coupled to each other at least part of the way (but preferably over the
entire
length where they are near each other), so that preferably both pipes are made
from a good heat conductor such as for example metal, or for example the two
pipes are actually two conduits within a larger pipe, preferably with some zig-
zaggy border between them (In this case if the outgoing cold air pipe 16
continues to the condenser, then preferably at the end of the combined part
pipe 16 continues alone to the condenser. Preferably these two pipes or the
single divided pipe are flat and wide, so that the surface area of the heat
exchange is bigger and the air flows near it. However, due to the relatively
small heat difference (gradient) between the incoming air' and the outgoing
air,
the efficiency of this heat exchange is limited anyway. In all of the above
variations, preferably the outgoing air pipe preferably collects air from the
room at a point that is preferably as far as possible form the point where the
fresh air enters, for example at the furthest edge of the room unit or for
example at a more distant place away from the room unit. Another possible
variation is that there are for example at least two separate entry points for
fresh air, for example one at a low point (for example near the floor) and one
at a high point (for example near the ceiling), so that preferably in the
winter
cold fresh air is allowed to come in from the high inlet and thus sinks down,
and in the summer preferably hot fresh air is allowed to come in from the low
inlet and thus goes up, thus improving the mixing in the room. Another
possible variation is for example the opposite of this, so that cold fresh air
(for
example in the winter) is allowed in from the bottom and hot fresh air (for
example in the summer) is allowed in from the top, which can have the effect
that the user does not feel the fresh air with the different temperature until
it
mixes with the other air in the room, so that by the time the fresh air
reaches
the user it is already closer to the temperature within the room. In al/ of
the
above variations preferably the incoming air pipe or inlet and/or the outgoing
air pipe are preferably wide enough so that a sufficient volume of air can be
moved in or out quickly enough without the use of too much pressure, since
having to use a too strong pump could cause noise problems and increase the
energy consumption, as well as for example heating the air because of the
pressure.
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Referring to Figs. 3a-f, I show illustrations of a few preferable examples of
improving the efficiency of room-unit radiators or external condenser unit
radiators by increasing the surface area of the radiators and/or increasing
the
length of the air path near them. For example there exist G batteries, in
which
the radiator units are IJ-shaped so that they cover a larger area than normal
radiators. Higher efficiency can be created by filling the room unit and/or
the
external condenser unit with multiple layers of radiators so that the radiator
becomes more 3-Dimensionally spread. Fig. 3a shows a variation wherein the
radiator (31 ) is shaped like a rolled Rollada, so that more layers exist than
in
the G battery. Fig. 3b shows a variation where .radiators (for example in a
vertical orientation} are stacked next to each other so that they fill more
efficiently the 3-dimensional space. Preferably each of the planes (31-35) is
itself shaped like a typical air-conditioner radiator. Another possible
variation
is that one or more radiators are spread in a 3 dimensional direction instead
of
two-dimensional, so that the curvature itself is 3d-imensional, for example
like saddle-shaped hyperspace or like fractals. Another possible variation is
that the radiator itself is rotating - for example in the shape of a round
rotating
turbine, so that preferably no separate ventilator is needed and greater
efficiency of spreading the cold (or hot) air is achieved and/or the rotating
radiator itself also pu;>hes the air. 13y rotating the radiator fast enough,
preferably the air that moves near it reaches optimum exposure to its surface
area. On the other hand, unlike old air conditioners in which the air
typically
went through the thickness of the radiator (for example if the radiator was
for
example SOcm x SOcm and with a thiclcness of for example 4 cm, the air went
through the 4 cm thickness from one side to the other like through a sieve, as
shown in fig. 3c, where pipes 37a-c represent the pipes of condensed gas and
fins 36a-c are the heat transfer elements), in modern air conditioners the air
typically moves between two such radiators, as shown in Fig. 3d, so that part
of the air moves through the gap between the two radiator parts and part
moves through each of the two radiator parts, thus moving also between the
fins. Although the fins are drawn fox clarity with large distances between
them, typically there are many more fins and with smaller distances between
them and also there are typically more gas pipes between them. This has the
advantage that the air spends more time near the radiator elements due to the
longer path, and also the fact that part of the air moves through the gap
between the two radiators allows more flexibility in the speed of pushing the
air. Therefore, one possible improvement on this is that preferably the gap
between the two radiators can be varied for example automatically and/or by
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user control, by a mechanism in the air conditioner, so that according to the
desired temperature and/or air speed the gap can be adjusted dynamically in
order to further optimize it. Preferably this is done by moving one or both of
the radiators in relation to the other while sliding it within side walls
which
preferably touch closely the sides of the radiators and cover the maximum
gap, so that the side walls always surround the gap from the sides (Another
possible variation is to use for example a flexible material for the side
walls,
such as for example a 'thin flexible copper foil, but that is less
preferable).
Also, If the Rollada solution described in Fig. 3a is used, then preferably
the
air is moved through it spirally preferably by adding for example a thin metal
plate on one side of the radiator before folding it into the Rollada shape,
thus
keeping the plate between each two layers of the Rollada., but in order to let
the air out eventually preferably the air is finally moved out for example
sideways so that for example the most inner layer of the Rollada finally
releases the air like a pipe to one of the sides. (Another possible variation
is
for example to let the air path straight across the layers of the Rollada, but
that
is less efficient since this means that the air spends less time at the
Rollada).
Another possible variation is to fold the radiator for example in some S shape
instead of a >'T, thus increasing the path of the air without the complexity
of the
Rollada. The S shape can be made for example from a single radiator,
preferably with plates on both sides, so that the air preferably flows just
along
the lengths of the S-shaped fins (36a-d) between the fins, as shown in fig.
3f,
or far example made from two such radiators bent together like an S, so that
the air can also move in the gap between them. In order to create this
structure
preferably each fins is designed in advance in the S shape instead of a
straight
line (for example by cutting a plate into multiple S shapes neighboring each
other), and then the S shaped fins are for example put side by side with the
desired gaps between them and then the gas pipes are preferably moved
through holes in the fins and connect between the them like in a normal
radiator, and then preferably the S is covered by preferably two metal plates
that are bent in the S shape, thus creating the bottom and the top of the S
shaped path. Another possible variation is for example to repeat the bent S
shape more than once, :for example like an accordion o:r wavy shape, so that
the air path near the radiator fins becomes even longer. Preferably the
external
contours of the wavy shape are covered by an acoustically isolating material
in order to reduce the noise to minimum. Another possible variation is to
make the fins for example much thinner and v~ith even smaller distances
between them (However, preferably the fms remain with a sufficiently large
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ratio between the thickness of each fin and the gall between each two ins, so
that for example if the gap is lmm, preferably each fin is for example with a
thickness of O.lmm or less). Another possible variation is to use more than 2
radiator plates, bent or otherwise, (for example like in Fig. 3b). In this
case the
air can for example move through each layer like the air direction in fig. 3c
or
move along the layers and between them, like the air direction in Fig. 3d. (Of
course both in this case and in the case of for example wavy shapes other
directions or combinations of directions of the air flow can also be used,
preferably in different embodiments, such as for example up-to-down instead
of down-to-up or for example some diagonal direction or for example some
combination of longitudinal movement together with side-crossing movement,
etc.) As explained above, the above configurations can be used for example
with the room unit radiator and/or with the radiator of the external
condenser.
If dynamically variable gap is used between two (or more) S shaped radiators
(or radiators with more curves) then preferably the curved radiators fit for
example one on top of the other, so that simply rnovinl; for example one of
them to the top and sideways at the same time achieves the desired effect of
increasing the gap and Tvice versa. Another possible variation is for example
changing the angles or direction of the air :dow though the radiators
dynamically, preferably automatically, for example according to the desired
temperature and/or air speed, and/or rotating for example the fns of the
radiator or some of them or parts of them accordingly. Of course, various
combinations of the above and other variations are also possible.
V6~hile the invention has been described with respect to a limited number
of embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations,
modifications, expansions and other applications of the invention may be
made which are included within the scope of the present invention, as
would be obvious to those skilled in the art.
