Vacuum pump for use during maintenance or commissioning of an hvac-r system, adapter for a vacuum pump, and a method of performing a vacuum test on an hvac-r system

Abstract

The present application provides a vacuum pump (15) for use during maintenance or commissioning of an HVAC-R system (1). The vacuum pump (15) has a pump (17) having a pump intake (22) for connection to the HVAC-R system (1), in particular one or more of a high pressure service port (14) and a low pressure service port (13) of the HVAC-R system (1). The vacuum pump (15) also includes a communications unit (19) that is configured to connect to a mobile communications network. The vacuum pump (15) also includes a pressure sensor arranged to detect a pressure in the HVAC-R system (1). The vacuum pump (15) also includes a control unit (18) configured to receive pressure data from the pressure sensor (21), control operation of the pump (17), and communicate with a remote device via the communication unit (19) and the mobile communications network. In examples, the remote device (20) may be a mobile phone or a tablet computer, or any device that can connect to a mobile communications network. Therefore, the vacuum pump (15) can remotely communicate updates to the remote device (20) over a mobile communications network, and can optionally also receive instructions or requests from the remote device (20) over a mobile communications network.

1 . A vacuum pump for use during maintenance or commissioning of an HVAC-R system, the vacuum pump comprising:
 a pump having a pump intake for connection to the HVAC-R system,   a pressure sensor arranged to detect a pressure in the HVAC-R system,   a communications unit configured to connect to a mobile communications network, and   a control unit configured to:
 receive pressure data from the pressure sensor; 
 control operation of the pump, and 
 communicate with a remote device via the communications unit and the mobile communications network. 
   
     
     
         2 . The vacuum pump of  claim 1 , wherein the pressure sensor is arranged to detect a vacuum pressure at the pump intake. 
     
     
         3 . The vacuum pump of  claim 1 , wherein the pressure sensor is configured for connection to the HVAC-R system at a different location to the connection between the pump and the HVAC-R system. 
     
     
         4 . The vacuum pump of  claim 1 , further comprising an electrically actuatable valve arranged to control connection of the pressure sensor to one or more of the pump intake and the HVAC-R system at a different location to the connection between the pump and the HVAC-R system, and wherein the control unit is configured to control operation of the electrically actuatable valve. 
     
     
         5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . The vacuum pump of  claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to control operation of the pump to perform a vacuum test. 
     
     
         7 . The vacuum pump of  claim 6 , wherein the control unit comprises a memory for storing vacuum test instructions, and wherein the control unit is configured to retrieve the vacuum test instructions from the memory to perform the vacuum test. 
     
     
         8 . The vacuum pump of  claim 6 , wherein the communications unit is configured to receive the vacuum test instructions from the remote device, and wherein the control unit is configured to control operation of the pump in accordance with the vacuum test instructions received by the communications unit. 
     
     
         9 . The vacuum pump of  claim 1 , further comprising an electric motor arranged to drive the pump, and a power sensor arranged to detect a power usage of the electric motor, wherein the control unit is arranged to receive power data from the power sensor, and wherein the control unit is configured to monitor power usage of the electric motor. 
     
     
         10 . The vacuum pump of  claim 1 , further comprising an electrically actuatable valve arranged to control a connection between the pump and the HVAC-R system, and wherein the control unit is configured to control operation of the electrically actuatable valve. 
     
     
         11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . The vacuum pump of  claim 1 , wherein the pump intake is configured for connection to a service port of the HVAC-R system, for example a high pressure service port or a low pressure service port. 
     
     
         13 . An adapter for a vacuum pump for use during maintenance or commissioning of an HVAC-R system, the adapter comprising:
 a connector for connecting to the HVAC-R system;   a pressure sensor arranged to detect a pressure in the HVAC-R system during use;   a communications unit configured to connect to a mobile communications network; and   a control unit configured to:
 receive pressure data from the pressure sensor; and 
 communicate with a remote device via the communications unit and the mobile communications network. 
   
     
     
         14 . The adapter of  claim 13 , further comprising an electrically actuatable valve disposed to control the connection between the adapter and the HVAC-R system, the control unit being configured to operate the electrically actuatable valve. 
     
     
         15 . The vacuum pump of  claim 1  or the adapter of  claim 13 , wherein the communications unit is configured to connect to the mobile communications network using one or more of GSM, LTE, UMTS, WiMax, LTE-A, 5G mobile communications network, and/or a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) radio technology, for example a Narrowband IoT network. 
     
     
         16 . A method of performing a vacuum test on an HVAC-R system, the method comprising:
 connecting a pump intake of a vacuum pump to the HVAC-R system,   operating the vacuum pump to evacuate fluid from the HVAC-R system,   detecting a pressure in the HVAC-R system by a pressure sensor, and   communicating with a remote device via a mobile communications network.   
     
     
         17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising detecting a power usage of an electric motor of the vacuum pump. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising controlling the vacuum pump to perform a vacuum test on the HVAC-R system. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein performing a vacuum test comprises:
 operating the vacuum pump to draw a vacuum on the HVAC-R system,   monitoring the detected pressure in the HVAC-R system, and   stopping operation of the vacuum pump once the detected vacuum pressure reaches a threshold.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising isolating the vacuum pump from the HVAC-R system once the detected vacuum pressure reaches a threshold. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising monitoring the detected fluid pressure after stopping operation of the vacuum pump. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising communicating data of the vacuum test with the remote device via the mobile communications network, for example a status of the vacuum test or a result of the vacuum test.