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:
Oct. 18, 1994
Filed:
Sep. 01, 1993
Jerry A Brownfield, Minneapolis, MN (US);
Thermo King Corporation, Minneapolis, MN (US);
Abstract
A refrigeration system, and method of operating same, with the refrigeration system having a refrigerant flow path which includes a heat exchanger having an inlet, an outlet, and a refrigerant flow path between the inlet and outlet. The refrigerant enters the inlet in a first predetermined phase and exits the outlet in a second predetermined phase. A first resistance device is disposed in heat exchange relation with the refrigerant in the flow path of the heat exchanger, adjacent to the inlet. A second resistance device is disposed in heat exchange relation with the refrigerant in the flow path of the heat exchanger, at a location between the inlet and outlet where the change in phase from the first phase to the second phase is desired. The first and second resistance devices are connected in a bridge circuit having bridge arms connected between input and output terminals, with a source of potential being connected to the input terminals. The output terminals of the bridge circuit are connected to a controller, with the output terminals providing a first signal when the first and second resistance devices detect the same refrigerant phase, and a second signal when the first and second resistance devices detect different refrigerant phases. The controller controls a predetermined parameter of the refrigeration system in response to the first and second signals, to cause the change from the first refrigerant phase to the second refrigerant phase to occur substantially at the location of the second resistance device.