The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 05, 1987
Filed:
Jan. 06, 1986
Walter J Pohl, Louisville, KY (US);
William J McCarty, Louisville, KY (US);
Frederick E Hicks, Portsmouth, VA (US);
General Electric Company, Louisville, KY (US);
Abstract
Disclosed are apparatus and methods for controlling the defrosting of the outdoor heat exchange coil of a heat pump. In general, the disclosed apparatus and methods use the differencee between the outdoor heat exchanger and the outdoor ambient temperature to determine when to initiate a defrosting operation. Only a single sensor is employed, this single sensor being positioned at least proximate the outdoor heat exchanger such that the sensor responds to ambient temperature when the heat pump is first started and the heat exchanger is free of frost, and such that the sensnor becomes surrounded with frost as frost builds up on the heat exchanger during operation. At the beginning of a run the sensor is employed to read the ambient temperature, which is memorized. As frost builds, the sensor begins to reflect the temperature of the heat exchanger as the sensor becomes increasingly insulated by the frost from the surrounding air. During operation thereafter, the sensor is periodically read, the difference between the prevailing sensor temperature and the stored reference is determined and compared to an established difference reference, and a defrosting operation is initiated if the comparison difference exceeds the difference reference. The single sensor is also employed to determine when to terminate a defrosting operation, and also to determine whether to operate the outdoor fan as an aid to a defrosting operation.