USOO.

5937665A
United States Patent (19) 11 Patent Number: 5,937,665
Kiessel et al. (45) Date of Patent: Aug. 17, 1999

54). GEOTHERMAL SUBCIRCUIT FOR AIR 4,671,351 6/1987 Rappe ..................................... 165/133
CONDITIONING UNIT 4,714,108 12/1987 Barry ...... ... 165/45
5,025,634 6/1991 Dressler ...................................... 62/79
75 Inventors: Thomas G. Kiessel; Rex --K.. Ambs, 5.
2- - -2
E. Eller ---
8ye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.
W.A.R. S. Mih. Dennis L. 5.388,419 2/1995 Kaye ......................................... 62/160
s p s 5,461,876. 10/1995 Dressler .................................... 62/160
73 Assignee: Geofurnace Systems, Inc., Grawn, FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
Mich.
2911425 9/1980 Germany.
3015149 10/1981 Germany.
21 Appl. No.: 09/007,858 3022588 12/1981 Germany.
22 Filed: Jan. 15, 1998 3142347 5/1983 Germany.
3203526 8/1983 Germany.
(51) Int. Cl." ...................................................... F25D 23/12 57-187557 11/1982 Japan.
52 U.S. Cl. .............................................. 62/260; 62/324.6 196933 10/1924 United Kingdom.
58 Field of Search .......................... 6. Primary Examiner William Doerrler
• /s Attorney, Agent, or Firm Warner Norcross & Judd LLP
56) References Cited 57 ABSTRACT
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS A geothermal Subcircuit for use with a conventional air
1,554,654 9/1925 Prisner. conditioning unit. The subcircuit includes a geothermal heat
1,597,618 8/1926 Prisner. eXchanger that is buried in the ground or Submerged in a
2,726,067 12/1955 Wetherbee ................................ 62/260 lake, river, well or geothermal heat Sink. The geothermal
3,882,937 5/1975 Robinson ..... ... 166/267 Subcircuit is connected with the geothermal heat eXchanger
4,171,721 10/1979 Movick ..................................... 165/45 in parallel with the outdoor air coil. The control mechanism
4,255,936 3/1981 Cochran .................................... 62/260 operates to Selectively move refrigerant through the Outdoor
4,286,651 9/1981 Steiger et al. ............................ 165/45 air coil during the cooling mode or through the geothermal
4.325,228 4/1982 Wolf .......................................... 62/260
4,493,193 1/1985 Fisher ........................................ E. heat exchanger during the heating mode.
4,512,156 4/1985 Nagase ..... ... 60/641.2
4,528,822 7/1985 Glamm ................................... 62/238.7 14 Claims, 3 Drawing Sheets
U.S. Patent Aug. 17, 1999 Sheet 1 of 3 5,937,665
U.S. Patent Aug. 17, 1999 Sheet 2 of 3 5,937,665

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U.S. Patent Aug. 17, 1999 Sheet 3 of 3 5,937,665
 5,937,665
1 2
GEOTHERMAL SUBCIRCUIT FOR AIR from a geothermal heat Source and released into the indoor
CONDITIONING UNIT air through the existing indoor coil. The geothermal Subcir
cuit is connected to the air conditioning circuit in parallel
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION with the outdoor air coil, and includes components which
The present invention relates to heating and cooling 5 permit refrigerant to be Selectively directed through either
apparatus, and more particularly to a geothermal heat the outdoor air coil or the geothermal heat eXchanger.
eXchanger Subcircuit for use with a conventional air condi In the preferred embodiment, the Subcircuit includes a
tioning unit. reversing valve connected in Series between the compressor
Geothermal heating and cooling Systems continue to grow and the air coil of the air conditioning unit. The reversing
in popularity. Geothermal Systems are generally more effi Valve operates to Selectively interconnect the compressor
cient than conventional heating and cooling Systems because with the geothermal heat eXchanger for heating mode or
they abstract from or release heat into a geothermal heat with the outdoor air coil for cooling mode. The Subcircuit
Sink, Such as the ground, a lake, a river, or a water well. also includes an accumulator to account for the refrigerant
Geothermal Systems can typically be operated in either a imbalance between heating and cooling modes.
15
heating mode or a cooling mode. In the heating mode, the The present invention provides a simple and efficient
geothermal heat eXchanger draws heat from a geothermal geothermal Subcircuit that permits a conventional air con
heat Sink and releases it into the indoor air. In the cooling ditioning unit to operate in both heating and cooling modes.
mode, the geothermal heat eXchanger draws heat from the The Subcircuit is easily installed to a conventional air
indoor air and releases it into the geothermal heat Sink. The conditioning unit and utilizes the refrigerant and refrigerant
efficiency of the geothermal System will depend in large part circulation components of the air conditioning unit. This
on the design of the heat eXchanger and the temperature allows the Subcircuit to be retrofit to millions of conven
difference between the indoor air and the geothermal heat tional air conditioning units already in use acroSS the United
Sink. States.
Air conditioning units are widely used throughout the 25 These and other objects, advantages, and features of the
United States to provide cooling of indoor air. A conven invention will be readily understood and appreciated by
tional air conditioning system 110 is shown in FIG. 3, and reference to the detailed description of the preferred embodi
includes an outdoor unit 112 having an outdoor housing 140 ment and the drawings.
that contains a compressor 118 for circulating refrigerant
through the System, an accumulator 122 for handling certain BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
refrigerant imbalances within the System, an outdoor coil FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of
132 for exchanging heat with the outdoor air, and a fan 128 refrigerant through the present invention in the cooling
for moving air across the coil 132. A conventional system mode,
110 also includes an indoor unit 114 having an indoor FIG. 2 is a Schematic diagram showing the flow of
housing 138 that contains an indoor coil 132 for exchanging 35 refrigerant through the present invention in the heating
heat from the indoor air and a fan 136 for moving air across mode; and
the indoor coil 132. The indoor and outdoor units, 114 and
112 respectively, are interconnected by refrigerant lines 148 FIG. 3 is a Schematic diagram showing a conventional air
and 146. Air conditioning units operate only to cool indoor conditioning System.
air, and are typically shut-off when cooling is not desired. In 40 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
operation, the air conditioning unit circulates refrigerant PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
through the indoor coil 132 and the outdoor coil 120. The
refrigerant draws heat from the indoor air as it evaporates in A heating and cooling System according to a preferred
the indoor coil 132 and release the heat it into the outdoor embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1
air as it condenses in the outdoor coil 120. 45 and 2, and generally designated 10. The System 10 generally
A number of attempts have been made to combine the includes a conventional air conditioning unit (“AC unit”) 12,
components of a geothermal System with the components of a conventional indoor unit 14, and a geothermal Subcircuit
an air conditioning unit. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,461, 16. The system 10 operates to either cool the indoor air by
876 issued Oct. 31, 1995 to Dressier discloses a system abstracting heat through the indoor unit 14 and releasing it
having a ground loop with a direct earth heat eXchanger and 50 through the AC unit 12, or to heat the indoor air by
an air loop with an outdoor air coil. The Dressler System is abstracting heat through the geothermal Subcircuit 16 and
designed to permit the air loop and ground loop to operate releasing it through the indoor unit 14. Except as described
individually, Serially or in parallel to provide either heating below, the operation and interrelationship of the components
or cooling as desired. The Dressler System is Specially of the system 10 are well known to those skilled in the art.
designed from the ground up to replace existing air condi 55 Accordingly, the individual components will not be
tioning units and geothermal Systems. As a result, the described in detail. However, a general Summary of the
Dressler System requires significant custom assembly. In function of each component is provided. The particular AC
addition, the Dressler System requires a large Supply of unit 12 and indoor unit 14 described herein are merely
refrigerant to fill both the outdoor air coil and the direct earth exemplary. Those of ordinary skill in the field will readily
heat eXchanger when the two components operate in Series. 60 appreciate and understand that the geothermal Subcircuit 16
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
of the present invention is well Suited for use with a wide
variety of other AC units and indoor units.
The aforementioned problems are overcome by the AS noted above, the AC unit 12 is generally conventional.
present invention which provides a geothermal Subcircuit Typically, the AC unit 10 will be purchased as a complete,
that is easily installed to a conventional air conditioning unit. 65 assembled unit, Such as Model No. 38CKB 036-3 available
The geothermal Subcircuit permits the air conditioning unit from Carrier Corporation of Indianapolis, Ind. However, the
to operate in a heating mode during which heat is drawn AC unit 10 could be custom manufactured if desired. The
 5,937,665
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AC unit 12 includes a compressor 18, an air coil 20, an line 66, and one-way check valve 60 is installed in refrig
optional accumulator 22, an optional low pressure Switch 24, erant line 68. If the accumulator 52 is an active charge
an optional high pressure Switch 26, and a network of control unit, the expansion device 58 can be a conventional
refrigerant lines. These components are typically contained liquid flow control device, such as Model No. LFC-36
within a single housing 40 that is adapted for outdoor use. available from ECR Technologies, Inc. of Lakeland, Fla.
The compressor 18 is generally conventional and operates to Also, one-way check valve 62 is installed in liquid refrig
pump refrigerant through the system 10. The air coil 20 is erant line 48 between the outdoor coil 20 and refrigerant line
also generally conventional and operates as a condenser 66. The reversing valve 54 is installed in gas refrigerant line
where gas refrigerant is cooled and changed into a liquid. 46. The primary of the reversing valve is connected to the
During the phase change, the refrigerant releases a signifi compressor 18 by refrigerant line 70 and while its three
cant amount of heat into outdoor air. A conventional fan or
blower 28 is provided to move air over the air coil 20, Secondaries are connected to the outdoor coil 20 by refrig
thereby increasing its efficiency. erant line 72, the accumulator 52 by refrigerant line 74, and
the indoor coil 32 by gas refrigerant line 46.
The accumulator 22 is optional and, if included, operates The present invention is well Suited for use with a wide
to maintain the appropriate amount of refrigerant in circu 15 Variety of conventional geothermal heat eXchangers.
lation during both the heating and cooling modes. In certain However, in the preferred embodiment, the heat eXchanger
applications, it may be necessary to include a conventional 50 is designed for use with the AC unit 12 and the indoor
receiver (not shown) or other similar device for storing unit 14 combination described above, which is a three ton
exceSS refrigerant. unit providing approximately 36,000 BTUs. The heat
The low pressure Switch 24 and the high pressure Switch exchanger 50 includes a plurality of loops 80a-i intercon
26 are also optional. These Switches 24 and 26 are generally nected with a pair of conventional manifolds 82a–b. Each
conventional and are Safety devices that Signal the control loop 80a-i includes a generally U-shaped Section of con
mechanism 30 to shut-off the system 10 if the pressure ventional copper tubing having a diameter of three-eighths
within the System 10 falls outside of an acceptable range. of an inch and a length of approximately 120 feet. The
Many conventional AC units include low pressure and high 25 number of loops and the diameter and length of each loop
pressure Switches. If not included with the AC unit, these will vary from application to application depending on a
Safety Switches can be incorporated into the geothermal variety of factors, including without limitation the Volume of
Subcircuit 16.
heat eXchange desired, the type of refrigerant used in the
The indoor unit 14 is conventional and may be purchased circuit, the capacity of the System, the preSSure differential
as an assembled unit, Such as Model No. FA4A N FO36 in the circuit, the climate in which the System is installed,
available from Carrier Corporation of Indianapolis, Ind. The and the makeup of the geothermal heat Source. The distribu
indoor unit 14 includes an indoor air coil 32 for exchanging tor manifold 82a interconnects the input end of each loop
heat with the indoor air, an expansion device 34 for creating 80a–c with the refrigerant line 66. The output manifold 82b
a pressure differential in the circuit during the cooling mode, interconnects the output end of each loop 80a-i with the
and a fan or blower 36 for moving air across the coil 32. 35 refrigerant line 68. This permits refrigerant to flow through
These components are typically contained within a Single the loop 80a-i in parallel. The loops 80a-i are preferably
housing 38 that is integrated with or connected to the buried in the ground in Separate holes, and are preferably
buildings duct work in a conventional manner. The indoor encased in a conventional grout. Alternatively, the loops
unit 14 is interconnected with the AC unit 12 by a gas 80a-i can be submerged in a lake, river, stream, well or other
refrigerant line 46 extending between the indoor air coil 32 40 body of water.
and the compressor 18, and a liquid refrigerant line 48 The system 10 also includes a control mechanism 30 for
extending between the indoor air coil 32 and the outdoor air controlling operation of the System 10 as described in more
coil 20. The refrigerant lines 46 and 48 are generally detail below. The control mechanism 30 is preferably a
conventional and are preferably conventional copper tubing. conventional electromechanical control System that receives
The diameter of the refrigerant line will vary from applica 45
input from a conventional control panel (not shown), the low
tion to application depending on the capacity and design of preSSure Switch 24, and the high pressure Switch 26.
the heat pump circuit and the type of refrigerant used in the
circuit. However, in this embodiment, the liquid refrigerant Installation and Operation
line 48 is preferably three-eighths of an inch in diameter and
the gas refrigerant line 46 is preferably three-fourths of an 50 The AC unit 12 and indoor unit 14 are installed in a
inch in diameter. conventional manner using conventional techniques and
The geothermal Subcircuit 16 generally includes a heat apparatus. The AC and indoor units are preferably purchased
eXchanger 50, an optional accumulator 52, a reversing valve as pre-assembled units from any of a variety of well known
54, a solenoid valve 56, an expansion device 58, and a pair Suppliers. Alternatively, the units can be assembled from the
of one-way check valves 60 and 62. Preferably, the accu 55 components described above. In either event, prior to instal
mulator 52 is a conventional active charge control unit, Such lation of the geothermal Subcircuit, the indoor and outdoor
as Model No. ACC-6-3663 available from ECR units are interconnected by liquid refrigerant line 48 and gas
Technologies, Inc. of Lakeland, Fla. With the exception of refrigerant line 46 as described above.
the heat exchanger 50, the various components of the The geothermal subcircuit 16 can be installed during
geothermal Subcircuit 16 are contained within a Single 60 initial installation of the system 10 or it can be retrofit to an
housing 64. The geothermal subcircuit 16 is installed with existing air conditioning System. If the air conditioning
the geothermal heat eXchanger 50 arranged in parallel with System is already in place, it will be necessary to cut the
the outdoor coil 20 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The heat refrigerant lines extending between the AC unit 12 and the
exchanger 50 is connected to the liquid refrigerant line 48 by indoor unit 14 to install the geothermal Subcircuit 16.
refrigerant line 66 and to the gas refrigerant line 46 by 65 Regardless of whether the system 10 is already in place, the
refrigerant line 68. The Solenoid valve 56 and expansion AC housing 40 is opened and the refrigerant line extending
device 58, Such as a fixed orifice, are installed in refrigerant between the compressor 18 and air coil 20 is cut to install the
 5,937,665
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geothermal Subcircuit 16. The line extending from the air coil 32 into the liquid refrigerant line 48. The liquid
compressor 18 is connected to the primary of the reversing refrigerant bypasses the expansion device 34 and, because
valve 54 by refrigerant line 70, and the line extending to the Solenoid valve 56 is open, flows into refrigerant line 66. The
air coil 20 is connected to a Secondary of the reversing valve check valve 62 prevents gas refrigerant from flowing back to
54. Refrigerant line 66 is preferably connected at one end to the outdoor coil 20 through refrigerant line 48. The liquid
the manifold 82 and at the other end to the liquid refrigerant refrigerant then flows through the expansion device 58,
line 48 by a conventional “T” joint 90. Similarly, refrigerant which meters the refrigerant to Separate the high preSSure
line 60 is preferably connected at one end to the manifold 82 side of the circuit from the low pressure side of the circuit.
and at the other end to the refrigerant line 74 by a conven The liquid refrigerant flows through the expansion device 58
tional “T” joint 92. The Solenoid valve 56 and the expansion into the low pressure side of the circuit and the distributor
device 58 are installed in refrigerant line 66, one-way check manifold 82a of the heat exchanger 50. From the distributor
valve 60 is installed in refrigerant line 68, and one-way manifold 82a, the refrigerant flows in parallel through the
check valve 62 is installed in liquid refrigerant line 48 various loop 80a-i. In the loops 80a-i, the refrigerant
between the outdoor coil 20 and the “T” joint 90. The evaporates into a gas, thereby abstracting heat from the
reversing valve 54 and the Solenoid valves 56 are opera 15 geothermal heat Source. The vaporized refrigerant flows
tively connected to the control mechanism 30 using con from the loops 80a-i into the output manifold 82b and then
ventional techniques and apparatus. into refrigerant line 68. From refrigerant line 68, the refrig
The system 10 is capable of operation in both cooling and erant flows into refrigerant line 74 and then through the
heating modes. The cooling mode will be described in accumulator 52 and the accumulator 22. The gas refrigerant
connection with FIG. 1. In the cooling mode, the control then returns to the compressor 18 to repeat the cycle.
mechanism 30 places the reversing valve 32 in the cooling The above description is that of a preferred embodiment
position so that refrigerant flows from the compressor 18 to of the invention. Various alterations and changes can be
the outdoor coil 20 and from the indoor coil 32 back to the made without departing from the Spirit and broader aspects
compressor 18 through the accumulator 52 and the accu of the invention as defined in the appended claims, which are
mulator 22 (both optional). In other words, the reversing 25 to be interpreted in accordance with the principles of patent
valve 54 interconnects refrigerant line 70 with refrigerant law including the doctrine of equivalents.
line 72 and refrigerant line 46 with refrigerant line 74. The The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive
control mechanism 30 also closes Solenoid valve 56 so that property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
refrigerant is not drawn through the geothermal heat 1. A heating and cooling circuit comprising:
exchanger 50. In the outdoor coil 20, the vaporized refrig an air conditioning unit having a compressor for circu
erant condenses into a high pressure liquid thereby releasing lating a refrigerant through the circuit and an outdoor
heat energy into the outdoor air. The transfer of heat is coil for condensing gas refrigerant into a liquid, Said
expedited by the outdoor fan 28 which moves air over the compressor and said outdoor coil contained within an
outdoor coil 20. The liquid refrigerant flows from the Outdoor housing;
outdoor air coil 28 into the liquid refrigerant line 48. The 35
liquid refrigerant flows through the check valve 62. Because an indoor unit having an indoor coil for condensing gas
Solenoid valve 56 is closed, refrigerant does not flow to the refrigerant into a liquid and evaporating liquid refrig
heat eXchanger. Instead, the refrigerant flows through the erant into a gas, Said indoor coil interconnected with
expansion device 34. The expansion device 34 meters the Said compressor and Said outdoor coil by a liquid
refrigerant to Separate the high pressure Side of the circuit 40
refrigerant line and a gas refrigerant line;
from the low pressure side of the circuit. The liquid refrig a geothermal Subcircuit including a geothermal heat
erant flows through the expansion device 34 into low eXchanger for evaporating liquid refrigerant into a gas,
pressure side of the circuit and the indoor coil 32. In the Said heat eXchanger connected to the circuit in parallel
indoor coil 32, the liquid refrigerant evaporates into a gas, with Said outdoor coil, Said geothermal Subcircuit fur
thereby abstracting heat from the indoor air. From the indoor 45 ther including a reversing valve operable between a
coil 32, the low pressure gas refrigerant flows through the cooling position in which Said refrigerant is circulated
gas refrigerant line 46 to the reversing valve 54. The through Said outdoor coil and Said indoor coil and a
reversing valve 54 directs the gas refrigerant into refrigerant heating position in which Said refrigerant is circulated
line 74. From refrigerant line 74, the gas refrigerant flows through Said geothermal heat eXchanger and Said
through the accumulator 52 and the accumulator 22, and 50 indoor coil, Said geothermal Subcircuit including an
eventually returns to the compressor 18 to repeat the cycle. accumulator for regulating a Volume of Said refrigerant
The check valve 60 prevents gas refrigerant from flowing within the circuit, Said accumulator positioned along
into the heat exchanger 50 through refrigerant line 68. Said gas refrigerant line between Said heat eXchanger
In the heating mode, the cycle is essentially reversed. The and Said compressor, Said reversing valve positioned
heating mode is shown in FIG. 2. The control mechanism 30 55 along Said gas refrigerant line, Said reversing valve
places the reversing valve 54 in the heating position So that having a primary interconnected with Said compressor,
refrigerant line 70 is interconnected with refrigerant line 46 a first Secondary interconnected with Said outdoor coil
and refrigerant line 74 is effectively closed. The control via a first Section of Said gas refrigerant line, a Second
mechanism 30 also opens Solenoid valve 56 to open a flow Secondary interconnected with Said accumulator via a
path from the indoor coil 32 to the geothermal heat 60 Second Section of Said gas refrigerant line, and a third
exchanger 50. The vaporized refrigerant flows from the Secondary interconnected with Said indoor coil, and
reversing valve 54 through the gas refrigerant line 46 to the a control means for Selectively moving Said reversing
indoor coil 32. In the indoor coil 32, the vaporized refrig Valve between Said cooling position and Said heating
erant condenses into a high preSSure liquid, thereby releas position.
ing heat energy into the indoor air. The transfer of heat is 65 2. A heating and cooling circuit comprising:
expedited by the indoor blower 36 which moves air over the an air conditioning unit having a compressor for circu
indoor coil 32. The liquid refrigerant flows from the indoor lating a refrigerant through the circuit and an outdoor
 5,937,665
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coil for condensing gas refrigerant into a liquid, Said an accumulator for regulating a volume of Said refrigerant
compressor and Said outdoor coil contained within an within the System, Said accumulator adapted to be
outdoor housing, positioned along the gas refrigerant line between Said
an indoor unit having an indoor coil for condensing gas heat eXchanger and the compressor
refrigerant into a liquid and evaporating liquid refrig a reversing valve operable between a cooling position
erant into a gas, Said indoor coil interconnected with adapted to circulate a refrigerant through the outdoor
Said compressor and Said outdoor coil by a liquid coil and the indoor coil and a heating position adapted
refrigerant line and a gas refrigerant line; to circulate Said refrigerant through Said geothermal
a geothermal Subcircuit including a geothermal heat heat eXchanger and the indoor coil, Said reversing valve
eXchanger for evaporating liquid refrigerant into a gas, 1O adapted to be positioned along the gas refrigerant line,
Said heat eXchanger connected to the circuit in parallel Said reversing valve having a primary adapted to be
with Said outdoor coil, Said geothermal Subcircuit fur interconnected with the compressor, a first Secondary
ther including a reversing valve operable between a adapted to be interconnected with the outdoor coil via
cooling position in which Said refrigerant is circulated a first Section of the gas refrigerant line, a Second
through Said outdoor coil and Said indoor coil and a 15 Secondary adapted to be interconnected with Said accu
heating position in which Said refrigerant is circulated mulator via a Second Section of the gas refrigerant line,
through Said geothermal heat eXchanger and Said and a third Secondary adapted to be interconnected with
indoor coil, Said geothermal Subcircuit including an the indoor coil; and
accumulator for regulating a volume of Said refrigerant a control means for Selectively moving Said reversing
within the circuit, Said accumulator positioned along Valve between Said cooling position and Said heating
Said gas refrigerant line between Said heat eXchanger position.
and Said compressor, Said geothermal Subcircuit includ 8. The Subcircuit of claim 7 wherein said second refrig
ing a first refrigerant line interconnecting Said heat erant line is adapted to interconnect Said heat eXchanger with
eXchanger with Said liquid refrigerant line and a Second 25
the gas refrigerant line between Said reversing valve and Said
refrigerant line interconnecting Said heat eXchanger accumulator.
with Said gas refrigerant line between Said reversing 9. The subcircuit of claim 8 further comprising a first
Valve and Said accumulator; and one-way check valve adapted to be positioned in the liquid
a control means for Selectively moving Said reversing refrigerant line between the Outdoor coil and Said first
Valve between Said cooling position and Said heating refrigerant line, Said first check valve adapted to prohibit
position. Said refrigerant from flowing from Said indoor coil to Said
3. The circuit of claim 2 further comprising a first outdoor coil through the liquid refrigerant line.
one-way check valve positioned in Said liquid refrigerant 10. The Subcircuit of claim 9 further comprising a valve
line between Said outdoor coil and Said first refrigerant line, adapted to be positioned within said first refrigerant line,
Said first check Valve prohibiting Said refrigerant from Said valve Selectively operable between an open position
35 adapted to permit refrigerant to flow through Said first
flowing from Said indoor coil to Said outdoor coil through
Said liquid refrigerant line. refrigerant line and a closed position adapted to prohibit
4. The circuit of claim 3 further comprising a valve refrigerant from flowing through said first refrigerant line.
positioned within Said first refrigerant line, Said valve Selec 11. The Subcircuit of claim 10 further comprising a second
tively operable between an open position in which said 40
one-way check valve adapted to be positioned in Said Second
refrigerant is free to flow through Said first refrigerant line refrigerant line between Said heat eXchanger and the gas
and a closed position in which said refrigerant if prohibited refrigerant line, Said Second check valve adapted to prohibit
from flowing through Said first refrigerant line. Said refrigerant from flowing from the gas refrigerant line to
5. The circuit of claim 4 further comprising a second Said heat eXchanger through Said Second refrigerant line.
one-way check valve positioned in Said Second refrigerant 45
12. The subcircuit of claim 11 further comprising an
line between Said heat eXchanger and Said gas refrigerant expansion device adapted to be positioned in Said first
line, Said Second check valve prohibiting Said refrigerant refrigerant line to divide the circuit into a high preSSure
from flowing from Said gas refrigerant line to Said heat portion and a low pressure portion when Said reversing valve
eXchanger through said Second refrigerant line. is in Said heating position.
6. The circuit of claim 5 further comprising an expansion 13. An apparatus comprising:
50
device positioned in Said first refrigerant line to divide the an air conditioning unit including a compressor and an
circuit into a high pressure portion and a low preSSure Outdoor coil contained within an outdoor housing,
portion when Said reversing Valve is in Said heating position. an indoor unit including an indoor coil contained within
7. A geothermal Subcircuit adapted to install to an air an indoor housing,
conditioning System having an air conditioning unit with a 55 a gas refrigerant line interconnecting Said air conditioning
compressor and an outdoor coil and an indoor unit having an unit and Said indoor unit, Said gas refrigerant line
indoor air coil wherein the air conditioning unit is intercon including a portion extending between Said outdoor
nected with the indoor unit by a liquid refrigerant line and housing and Said indoor housing,
a gas refrigerant line, comprising: a liquid refrigerant line interconnecting Said air condi
a geothermal heat eXchanger for evaporating liquid refrig 60 tioning unit and Said indoor unit, Said liquid refrigerant
erant into a gas, line including a portion extending between Said out
a first refrigerant line adapted to interconnect Said heat door housing and Said indoor housing,
eXchanger with the liquid refrigerant line; a geothermal Subcircuit including a geothermal heat
a Second refrigerant line adapted to interconnect Said heat eXchanger and an accumulator, Said heat eXchanger
eXchanger with the gas refrigerant line, Said first and 65 connected to Said compressor in parallel with Said
Second refrigerant lines adapted to interconnect Said Outdoor coil, Said accumulator connected to Said com
heat eXchanger in parallel with the outdoor coil; preSSor in Series with Said heat eXchanger, Said geo
 5,937,665
10
thermal Subcircuit further including a reversing valve first refrigerant line, Said first check valve prohibit
operable between a cooling position in which Said ing Said refrigerant from flowing from Said indoor
refrigerant is circulated through Said outdoor coil and coil to Said outdoor coil through Said liquid refrig
Said indoor coil and a heating position in which Said erant line;
refrigerant is circulated through Said geothermal heat 5
eXchanger and Said- indoor
0 coil, Said reversing valve a Second one-way check valve positioned in Said Sec
positioned along Said gas refrigerant line, Said revers- ond refrigerant line between said heat eXchanger and
ing valve having a primary interconnected with Said Said gas refrigerant line, Said second check valve
compressor, a first Secondary interconnected with Said prohibiting Said refrigerant from flowing from Said
outdoor coil via a first Section of Said gas refrigerant 10 gas refrigerant line to Said heat eXchanger through
line, a Second Secondary interconnected with Said accu- Said Second refrigerant line;
mulator via a second section of said gas refrigerant line, a valve positioned within Said first refrigerant line, Said
and a third Secondary interconnected with Said indoor Valve Selectively operable between an open position
coil; and 15 in which said refrigerant is free to flow through Said
a control means for Selectively moving Said reversing first refrigerant line and a closed position in which
Valve between Said cooling position and Said heating Said refrigerant if prohibited from flowing through
position.
14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said heat Said first refrigerant line; and
eXchanger is connected to Said liquid refrigerant line by a an expansion device positioned in Said first refrigerant
first refrigerant line and to Said gas refrigerant line by a 20 line to divide the circuit into a high pressure portion
Second refrigerant line; and and a low pressure portion when Said reversing Valve
further comprising: is in Said heating position.
a first one-way check valve positioned in Said liquid
refrigerant line between Said outdoor coil and Said k . . . .