Flooded cooler with liquid level sensor
US5782131A · kind A · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 28, 1996 |
| Grant date | Jul 21, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 28, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF25B2700/04
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An improved cooler with level sensor for measuring variation in the liquid refrigerant level of a refrigerant within the cooler, comprises a cooler shell for holding the refrigerant, heat exchanger tubes for carrying the liquid to be cooled, and a liquid refrigerant level sensor comprising a probe extending to a point above the heat exchanger tubes, one or more thermistors; and a heating element. When the probe is totally within the vapor refrigerant above the heat exchanger tubes, the heater raises the temperature of the thermistors above the saturation temperature of the refrigerant. As the liquid refrigerant level begins to rise, the liquid refrigerant comes in contact with the outside of the probe. Since the heat transfer coefficient of the liquid refrigerant is significantly higher than that of the vapor refrigerant, the probe in that area is quickly cooled to the saturation temperature. This, in turn, increases the resistance of the nearby thermistor, causing the overall resistance of the thermistor circuit to increase. By measuring the resistance of the thermistor circuit, a porporant indication of the liquid refrigerant level can be obtained, and used to control an electron…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.