Roof curb assembly with integral dehumidifier heat pipe controlled by a bypass system
US5749415A · kind A · utility
Assignees
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 19, 1997 |
| Grant date | May 12, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 19, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF24F3/044
- WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A bypass system is incorporated into a roof curb to permit selective partial or complete deactivation of at least one section of a heat pipe of an air conditioning system thereby 1) to permit optimization of the sensible heat ratio of the air conditioning system for prevailing environmental conditions and, 2) to prevent moisture from condensing onto the evaporator or cooling section of the heat pipe and subsequently dripping into the return ducts of the air conditioning system. The bypass system is characterized by a bypass duct located adjacent one of the sections of the heat pipe and a bypass device which selectively channels at least some of the air which would otherwise flow through the controlled section of the heat pipe through the bypass duct instead. In its simplest form, the bypass device may comprise a single damper or the like positioned within the bypass duct. In more sophisticated systems, the bypass device may be located at least in part within the bypass duct and in part within the controlled section of the heat pipe and may comprise, for example, a pair of interconnected dampers or a sliding plate.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.