Performance and position monitoring of a mobile hvac&r unit

Abstract

A system for monitoring a mobile refrigerant system including one or more system components is provided. The system includes a global positioning system, a performance monitor, and a processor. The global positioning system includes a receiver that provides a locator signal. The performance monitor provides a monitor signal indicative of operational performance of at least one of the system components of the refrigerant system. The processor is adapted to receive and combine the locator signal and the monitor signal, and produce a combined locator and monitor signal output.

1 . A system for monitoring a mobile refrigerant system including one or more system components, comprising:
 a global positioning system receiver that provides a locator signal;   a performance monitor that provides a monitor signal indicative of operational performance of at least one of the system components of the refrigerant system, wherein the monitor signal includes data indicative of at least one of refrigerant pressure, refrigerant temperature, airflow humidity, vibration, sound, operational speed, electrical voltage and electrical frequency in at least one of the system components; and   a processor adapted to receive and combine the locator signal and the monitor signal, and produce a combined locator and monitor signal output.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a transmitter that receives and transmits the combined locator and monitor signal. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a memory that receives and stores the combined locator and monitor signal. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one system component is one of a refrigerant compressor, a fan, a heat exchanger, and an expansion device. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the combined locator and monitor signal includes positional data associated with a point in time, and operational performance data associated with substantially the same point in time. 
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the monitor signal further includes data indicative airflow temperature. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the monitor signal further includes data indicative of at least one of temperature, electrical current and operational state in at least one of the system components. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the mobile refrigerant system is configured to control an environment within a container. 
     
     
         10 . A method of monitoring a mobile refrigerant system, comprising:
 providing a mobile heat exchange system having one or more system components and a processor having an output;   receiving a locator signal indicative of a position of the refrigerant system;   receiving a monitor signal indicative of operational performance of at least one of the system components;   combining the locator signal and the monitor signal using the processor into a combined signal representative of location and performance at a point in time; and   analyzing performance of the mobile refrigerant system using the combined locator and monitor signal to at least one of
 assign responsibility where a component or system malfunction has occurred; and 
 predict whether the mobile refrigerant system is going to malfunction. 
   
     
     
         11 - 13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising the step of scheduling maintenance based on the predicted malfunction. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising the step of providing a warning based on the predicted malfunction. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising the step of transmitting the combined locator and monitor signal over a wireless network. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein a global positioning system receiver provides the locator signal to the processor. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising switching the mobile heat exchange system to a reduced operational regime when a malfunction is predicted.