Environmental Control Unit including Maintenance Prediction

• Main Authors: Costa, Goncalo, Huson, Jerry, Herz, Klaus
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 23.09.2021
• Subjects: AIR-CONDITIONING, AIR-HUMIDIFICATION, VENTILATION, USE OF AIRCURRENTS FOR SCREENING; BLASTING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; CONTROLLING; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; HEATING; LIGHTING; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS ORELEMENTS; PHYSICS; RANGES; REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; REGULATING; VENTILATING; WEAPONS

A monitoring and/or control device for an environmental control unit such as a heat pump determines the performance status and whether maintenance is required of a component of the unit for example a compressor during operation of the component. The device includes sensors configured to be situated relative to the compressor so as to receive and signal data from the compressor during operation of the component. In some embodiments, the device includes a vibration detector and a controller coupled to the vibration detector. The controller is configured to (i) receive electrical signals from the vibration detector, (ii) compare the electrical signals to a reference signal, (iii) determine the performance characteristic of the component based on the results of the comparison, and (iv) output a signal corresponding to the performance characteristic of the component to a user display. The controller may also request maintenance and/or order parts automatically.