Air Conditioner Housing Layout to Isolate Refrigerant Leaks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air conditioning devices for small spaces, such as caravans and boats, face the risk of refrigerant leaks due to soldered connections, which can be problematic as refrigerants may be flammable or toxic, posing a danger to occupants and the environment.
Innovation Solution
The air conditioning device is designed with a housing that separates the refrigerant circuit into an inner area for room air and an outer area for ambient air, with all joints and connections located in the outer area to prevent refrigerant escape into the living space, using a sealing device and non-return valve to ensure refrigerant leaks into the environment rather than the interior.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If soldered connections are used in the refrigerant circuit, then good heat transfer and corrosion resistance are achieved, but refrigerant leaks may occur at the joints
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the potentially harmful joints from the inner area where they could contaminate room air with refrigerant leaks. By relocating all joints to the outer area, the design isolates the leak risk away from the occupied space while preserving the soldered connection advantages for heat transfer and corrosion resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a sealed intermediate space (outer area) as a mediator between the refrigerant circuit and the room air environment. This intermediate zone contains any potential refrigerant leaks, preventing them from reaching the inner area where occupants are present, thus resolving the contradiction between using soldered joints and preventing harmful leaks.
2Ease of manufacture
If joints are located in the inner area, then easier assembly and maintenance are achieved, but refrigerant can escape into the room air
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts all joints from the inner area and relocates them to the outer area, eliminating the risk of refrigerant contamination while maintaining manufacturing feasibility. The outer area provides adequate space for joint assembly and access, resolving the contradiction between joint accessibility and safety.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the housing is divided into inner and outer areas with sealing, then refrigerant leak safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the housing into two distinct functional areas: an inner area for room air handling and an outer area for ambient air and refrigerant circuit components. This segmentation physically separates potential leak sources from the occupied space, improving safety while the segmentation itself provides a clear structural framework that manages complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealed outer area serves as an intermediary zone that contains the refrigerant circuit and any potential leaks. This intermediate space acts as a safety buffer, allowing the refrigerant circuit to operate with necessary joints and connections while preventing refrigerant escape into the inner area, thus resolving the contradiction between safety and structural complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design effectively prevents the contamination of room air with escaping refrigerant, ensuring safety for occupants and the environment by directing any leaks to the outer area where they can evaporate or be released harmlessly, regardless of the refrigerant's properties.
Implementation Method 1
a condenser with an associated condenser fan for supplying and discharging ambient air
Implementation Method 2
The condenser serving as a heat exchanger is cooled by ambient air
Implementation Method 3
an evaporator with an associated evaporator fan for supplying fresh air and/or room air to the room to be air-conditioned
Implementation Method 4
The phase change from vapor to gas then takes place in the evaporator due to the heat absorption of the refrigerant from the room air
Implementation Method 5
a compressor for compressing a gaseous refrigerant
Implementation Method 6
an expansion device for expanding the refrigerant
Implementation Method 7
the initially gaseous refrigerant, which is under high pressure, liquefies
Implementation Method 8
The phase change from vapor to gas then takes place in the evaporator due to the heat absorption of the refrigerant from the room air
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
The refrigerant circuit of an air conditioner has, among other things, a compressor (2) for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser (3) with a condenser fan (4) for supplying and removing ambient air, an evaporator (5) with an evaporator fan (6 ) for supplying and discharging room air and line elements (13, 14, 16) for guiding the refrigerant. The housing (1) of the air conditioner is divided into an inner area (21) in which the room air is routed and an outer area (22) in which the ambient air is routed. The inner area (21) and the outer area (22) are sealed off from one another by a sealing device (12). The components (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) of the refrigerant circuit are arranged in such a way that none of the joints present between the line elements (13, 14, 16) or between the line elements and the other components of the refrigerant circuit are in the interior (21) , but only in the outer area (22) are arranged. Refrigerant escaping at a leak point can thus be released into the environment without polluting the room air to be cooled.