Evaporator unit for air conditioning systems

Abstract

The evaporator unit for the air conditioning system 1 comprises an evaporator coil 7, a sensor 12 for detecting the liquid level in the reservoir, and a pump for pumping condensate from the housing. At least one UV LED 6, 8 is configured to emit light towards the evaporator coil 7 and / or the sensor 12. An LED driver 13 provides power to the LEDs. A single power connection 14 is connectable to the mains power supply and provides mains power to the pump. The LED driver 13 is connected to the power connection that provides power to the pump.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an evaporator unit for an air conditioning system.

Background Art

[0002] An air conditioning system in which an evaporator unit inside a building is connected to a compressor unit mounted outside the building is well-known in the art.

[0003] The evaporator unit may be mounted on a wall or ceiling, fixed to the floor, or be self-standing. Such an air conditioning unit system is efficient and effective in cooling a single space (i.e., within a non-centralized air conditioning system).

[0004] The evaporator unit has a wall-mounted housing that houses an evaporator coil through which refrigerant is pumped. A fan moves an air flow across the evaporator coil and out of the housing's outlet to provide a flow of cold air into the room to be cooled.

[0005] Dangerous pathogens can grow on the evaporator coil and be carried along with the air flow through the evaporator unit. One known way to address this is to use ultraviolet light. The use of UV lamps in this method is known in other applications such as described in Chinese Patent Document No. 209763350, Chinese Patent Document No. 109654627, US Patent Application Publication No. 2005 / 284167, Chinese Patent Document No. 201334687, Chinese Patent Document No. 101463616, and International Publication No. 2012 / 009024.

[0006] In the evaporator unit, UV-C light is used. This is effective in killing 99% of viruses, bacteria, and molds. To do this, it is known to attach a UV-C light emitting diode (LED) array directed towards the evaporator coil and towards the air flow path through the evaporator unit. These are provided as a retrofit to existing evaporator units.

[0007] However, this presents a practical problem: air conditioning units are installed by HVAC technicians. LED systems, on the other hand, require installation by electrical technicians. To install the LEDs, the evaporator unit needs a second main power supply. After the HVAC technicians install the evaporator, the electrical technicians connect the LEDs and their associated power supplies. This is time-consuming and presents a problem in project implementation planning, especially when ensuring that the right personnel can be secured at the right time. As a result, these systems are not currently widely used.

[0008] In the evaporator unit, a sensor is installed in the reservoir to measure the condensate level and activate the pump to empty the reservoir. However, impurities in the water can accumulate around the sensor, eventually clogging it and causing it to malfunction. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0009] The present invention aims to simplify this problematic process and / or address the problem of clogged sensors. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] According to the present invention, a wall-mounted evaporator unit for an air conditioning system is provided as described in claim 1.

[0011] The above configuration requires only a single electrical connection to the main power supply. This allows the air conditioning units, LEDs, and their power supplies to be installed solely by air conditioning technicians, thereby significantly streamlining the installation process.

[0012] The ease with which the present invention enables the integration of UV LEDs into the evaporator unit means that UV LEDs can be more easily placed in areas that were not previously used, such as near the reservoir sensor.

[0013] At least one LED and LED driver may be permanently installed within the unit. However, preferably, at least one LED and LED driver are removablely mounted within the housing, and the electrical connection from the LED driver to the power connection that supplies power to the pump is in the form of a removable plug that plugs into a socket associated with the power connection that supplies power to the pump. This allows the LED and LED driver to be removed from the unit and replaced for maintenance reasons, while retaining the advantages of the present invention regarding the ease of installation of the initial unit.

[0014] The ease with which the present invention enables the integration of UV LEDs into the evaporator unit means that UV LEDs can be more easily positioned in areas where they have not been previously used.

[0015] This forms a second aspect of the present invention, which is an evaporator unit for an air conditioning system as described in claim 6.

[0016] To the best of the inventors' knowledge, the use of non-chemical means to maintain liquid residue in a reservoir of an evaporator unit of an air conditioning system without the growth of organic matter and free from other contaminants is not known in the art.

[0017] Such contaminant problems can be mitigated to some extent by using a self-priming pump, such as a rotary diaphragm pump capable of dry operation, to reduce the amount of liquid in the reservoir as much as possible. However, the reservoir will contain water during pump operation, and even when the pump is running, this does not remove all traces of water from the reservoir. Therefore, the best protection against contaminants is to combine this evaporator unit with a self-priming pump, as the UV LED will handle any small amount of contaminants that may accumulate on the sensor; otherwise, contaminants will accumulate on the sensor.

[0018] However, there is always a significant amount of residual water in the reservoir, and the amount of contaminants is a more serious problem, so the need for the evaporator unit of the present invention on a non-self-priming pump is great.

[0019] Hereinafter, an example of an evaporator unit according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] [Figure 1] It is a schematic front view of a known unit with an LED attached. [Figure 2] It is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the evaporator unit according to the present invention. [Figure 3] It is a schematic diagram of a conventional power supply. [Figure 4] It is a view similar to FIG. 3 of the power supply according to the present invention. [Figure 5] It is a perspective view of a reservoir for use in an evaporator unit. [Figure 6] It is a plan view of the reservoir. [Figure 6A] It is a cross-sectional view along line A-A of FIG. 6. [Figure 7] It is a side view of a sensor module used in the reservoir. [Figure 8] It is a top view of the sensor module.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0021] The evaporator unit shown in FIG. 1 is well-known in the art and is designed to be mounted on the inner wall of a room. This is connected to a compressor unit outside the building to form a refrigeration circuit well-known in the art. The present invention can be similarly applied to a unit mounted on a ceiling or floor or a self-standing unit.

[0022] The unit comprises a wall-mountable housing 1, which includes a duct 2 providing an external connection for an air intake, a pipe (not shown) for discharging condensate, and a 230-volt mains power supply connected to a pump 3. The pump is configured to pump condensate from a reservoir 4 when its level exceeds a predetermined amount.

[0023] Conventional units are equipped with a first array 6 consisting of multiple UV-C LEDs positioned above the evaporator coil 7, and a second array 8 positioned below the evaporator coil 7. These are supplied onto adhesive strips that are bonded to predetermined positions within the housing.

[0024] Preferably, the UV LED emits light having wavelengths of 100–280 nm, which is the germicidal portion of the spectrum. More preferably, the LED emits light having wavelengths of 200–280 nm, which is the more effective portion of the germicidal spectrum. This is the UV-C portion of the spectrum (although some of the emitted light may have wavelengths outside this range).

[0025] The wiring of this conventional unit is shown in Figure 3. As shown, the pump 3 and the LED driver 5 have their own separate and independent 230-volt power supplies. The first power supply 10 supplies power to the pump through live wire 10A, ground wire 10B, and neutral wire 10C. The second power supply 11 supplies power to the LED driver 5 through live wire 11A, ground wire 11B, and neutral wire 11C. This second power supply needs to be installed later by an electrician.

[0026] The LED driver 5 supplies power to the LED strips 6 and 8, and the pump receives signals from the sensor 12 and controls the flow of condensate from the reservoir.

[0027] As shown in Figure 2, the present invention uses the same basic configuration as the unit. One of the advantages of the present invention is that it can be easily incorporated into an existing unit. Rather than requiring the installation of a second 230-volt power supply, the unit uses the existing power supply because the LED driver is coupled to the same unit 13 as the pump. As shown in Figure 4, the two power supplies 10, 11 are replaced by a single power supply 14 having a live wire 14A, a ground wire 14B, and a neutral wire 14C. In practice, the power supply for the LED driver is provided with a plug, which can be plugged into a corresponding socket in the pump housing or somewhere else to supply power to the LEDs 6, 8.

[0028] This unit can be sold without the LED strips 6 and 8 in their designated positions. These may be installed by the HVAC technician during installation or installed later. This only requires that the LED strips be secured in place using, for example, adhesive mounting, and that the LED drivers be plugged into their sockets. Alternatively, the LED strips and drivers may be pre-installed in the unit before installation.

[0029] In any case, the unit can be installed by an HVAC technician without the involvement of an electrical engineer.

[0030] The reservoir 4 and sensor 12 are shown in more detail in Figures 5 to 8.

[0031] The reservoir comprises a tank 20 closed by a lid 21. Numerous components are attached to the lid 21.

[0032] This includes a sensor module 23 comprising a capacitive sensor 24, as disclosed in International Publication No. 2020 / 120971, and a UV LED 25 mounted within the module adjacent to the capacitive sensor. The sensor may alternatively be a thermistor or a float switch. Synchrotron radiation 26 is schematically shown in Figures 6A and 7. In practice, this would be emitted at a beam angle of 120° and therefore would hit most of the sensor and the bottom of the tank 20.

[0033] This serves two purposes. Firstly, it keeps the sensor 24 clean. Secondly, it reduces or avoids the accumulation of sludge and bacteria in the tank 20. The bottom of the tank can be damp and cold, which can lead to slime buildup at low temperatures and potentially shut down the pump. Also, the slime can dry out and become "flaky" particles floating in the condensate, which can again potentially shut down the pump.

[0034] A cord 27 extends from the sensor module, transmitting power at a low voltage to the sensor 24 and UV LED 26. The cord 27 terminates with a plug 28, which is plugged into a socket in the pump housing as described above. The pump housing may have two sockets if separate, independent UV LEDs are provided for the coil as described above.

[0035] Therefore, the sensor module 24 is very easy to install, economically introducing UV LEDs to areas where they were not previously installed, thereby providing the aforementioned advantages.

[0036] Tank 20 has a pair of inlets 29 through which the condensate enters the tank 20, with only one inlet being used for any given purpose and the other being closed. Similarly, there is a pair of alternative outlets 30 through which the condensate is pumped by pump 3 to the drainage section when the sensor 12 detects that the level has reached the upper limit. The presence of the two inlets 29 and outlets 30 allows the reservoir to be adapted to various different housing configurations. The lid is provided with vents 31. This specification discloses the following embodiments. (Embodiment 1) Housing and Evaporator coil and An air passage defined from the air inlet to the air outlet through the housing and crossing the evaporator coil, A reservoir for collecting condensate from the air passing across the evaporator coil, A sensor in the reservoir for detecting the liquid level in the reservoir, A pump for pumping the condensate from the housing, At least one UV light-emitting diode (LED) is mounted within the housing and arranged to emit light onto the evaporator coil and / or the sensor, An LED driver that supplies power to the aforementioned LED, A single power connection unit that can be connected to the main power supply in order to supply main power to the pump, An evaporator unit for an air conditioning system, comprising: An evaporator unit for an air conditioning system, wherein the LED driver is connected to the power connection section that supplies power to the pump. (Embodiment 2) The evaporator unit for an air conditioning system according to Embodiment 1, wherein the at least one LED and the LED driver are removably mounted within the housing, and the electrical connection from the LED driver to the power connection that supplies power to the pump is in the form of a removable plug that is inserted into a socket associated with the power connection that supplies power to the pump. (Embodiment 3) The evaporator unit for an air conditioning system according to Embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the LED emits light having a wavelength of 100 to 280 nm. (Embodiment 4) An evaporator unit for an air conditioning system according to any one of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the LED emits light having a wavelength of 200 to 280 nm. (Embodiment 5) An evaporator unit for an air conditioning system according to any one of embodiments 1 to 4, wherein the LED is arranged to emit light onto the evaporator coil and is provided on an adhesive strip. (Embodiment 6) An evaporator unit for an air conditioning system, Housing and Evaporator coil and An air passage defined from the air inlet to the air outlet through the housing and crossing the evaporator coil, A reservoir for collecting condensate from the air passing across the evaporator coil, A sensor in the reservoir for detecting the liquid level in the reservoir, A pump for pumping the condensate from the housing, At least one UV LED arranged to emit light onto the sensor and An evaporator unit equipped with the following features. (Embodiment 7) The evaporator unit according to Embodiment 6, further comprising a sensor module to which the sensor and the UV LED are attached such that light from the UV LED is incident on the sensor when in use. (Embodiment 8) The evaporator unit according to embodiment 7, wherein the sensor module is attached to the lid of the reservoir. (Embodiment 9) The evaporator unit according to embodiment 7 or 8, wherein the sensor module has power lead wires with plugs at the ends furthest from the sensor module. (Embodiment 10) An air conditioning system comprising an evaporator unit as described in any of Embodiments 1 to 9.

Claims

1. An evaporator unit for an air conditioning system, Housing and Evaporator coil and An air passage defined from the air inlet to the air outlet through the housing and crossing the evaporator coil, A reservoir for collecting condensate from the air passing across the evaporator coil, A sensor in the reservoir for detecting the liquid level in the reservoir, A pump for pumping the condensate from the housing, At least one UV LED arranged to emit light onto the sensor and An evaporator unit equipped with the following features.

2. The evaporator unit according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor module on which the sensor and the UV LED are mounted such that light from the UV LED is incident on the sensor when in use.

3. The evaporator unit according to claim 2, wherein the sensor module is attached to the lid of the reservoir.

4. The evaporator unit according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the sensor module has a power lead wire with a plug at the end furthest from the sensor module.

5. An air conditioning system comprising an evaporator unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

Images