| CPC F25B 13/00 (2013.01) [F25B 41/26 (2021.01); F25B 41/40 (2021.01); F25B 2400/24 (2013.01); F25B 2500/09 (2013.01)] | 3 Claims |
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1. A heating and cooling system, comprising:
a compressor;
a first heat exchanger;
a second heat exchanger;
a first expansion valve positioned between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger;
a second expansion valve positioned between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger;
a first valve and a second valve positioned on opposing sides of the first expansion valve that cooperate to permit flow through the first expansion valve or direct flow to bypass the first expansion valve;
a third valve and a fourth valve positioned on opposing sides of the second expansion valve that cooperate to permit flow through the second expansion valve or direct flow to bypass the second expansion valve;
a first reversing valve that permits the system to operate in a first mode and a second mode; and
a thermal battery including a phase change material therein that is configured to selectively store and release thermal energy received from a working fluid,
wherein the thermal battery includes a pair of end plates, each of the pair of end plates including a first major surface and an opposite second major surface, the first major surfaces each including fluid inlet and a fluid outlet and the opposite second major surfaces each including a flow trough, the fluid inlet of each of the pair of end plates being in communication with the flow trough formed on the opposite second major surface of the respective end plate of the pair of end plates;
a plurality of flow plates sandwiched between the pair of end plates, each of the plurality of flow plates having a first side and an opposite second side, and each of the first side and the opposite second side including a flow surface, the flow surfaces of each of the plurality of flow plates being configured to communicate with either the flow trough of an adjacent end plate of the pair of end plates or one of the flow surfaces of an adjacent flow plate of the plurality of flow plates;
a plurality of thermal energy transfer films that are respectively positioned between adjacent flow plates of the plurality of flow plates, and between each of the end plates and an immediately adjacent flow plate of the plurality of flow plates, such that a first flow path exists on one side of a respective thermal energy transfer film for the working fluid and a second flow path exists on an opposite side of the respective thermal energy transfer film for the phase change material; and
the flow troughs and flow surfaces communicate with each other such that the working fluid that flows through the first flow path enters the fluid inlet of one of the end plates of the pair of end plates and exits the fluid outlet of the other end plate while exchanging thermal energy with the phase change material that is provided in the second flow path that extends between the fluid inlet of the other end plate and the fluid outlet of the one of the end plates of the pair of end plates,
wherein the compressor, the first heat exchanger, the first reversing valve, and the first expansion valve are located in a primary circuit and the thermal battery is located in a secondary circuit that includes a third heat exchanger and a pump,
wherein the second heat exchanger is shared by each of the primary circuit and the secondary circuit,
wherein in the first mode a refrigerant compressed by the compressor is directed by the first reversing valve to the first exchanger, after passing through the first heat exchanger the first valve and the second valve cooperate to direct the refrigerant to bypass the first expansion valve and the third valve and the fourth valve cooperate to direct the refrigerant through the second expansion valve and on to the second heat exchanger;
wherein in the second mode the refrigerant compressed by the compressor is directed by the first reversing valve to the second heat exchanger, after passing through the second heat exchanger the third valve and the fourth valve cooperate to direct the refrigerant to bypass the second expansion valve and the first valve and the second valve cooperate to direct the refrigerant through the first expansion valve and on to the first heat exchanger; and
wherein the secondary circuit further includes a second thermal battery, and a pair of three-way valves that are configured to either direct the working fluid to the thermal battery or the second thermal battery or prevent the working fluid from reaching the thermal battery and the second thermal battery.
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