CA1105702A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
An air conditioner for being mounted to the wall of an enclosure box is disclosed; the air conditioner has a cabinet, a refrigeration chassis mounted in the cabinet with an L-shaped frame attached to and dividing the cabinet into first and second chambers with a compressor and condenser in the first chamber and an evaporator in the second chamber, the cabinet has a condenser fan ducted into a screen covered exhaust air plenum at the top of the cabinet and the second chamber has a fan for blowing cold air from the evaporator coil into the enclosure, an inlet plenum in the back of the cabinet is provided for drawing hot air from the enclosure and there is a filter holder on the cabinet for holding a filter of twice the area of a condenser air inlet with a filter being turnable end for end in the holder for being used twice, the exhaust plenum has a baffle separating an inside of the plenum from an inside of the cabinet, the condenser fan has an exhaust duct routed through the baffle, and a perforated screen is mounted outside of the baffle, the screen forms an outwardly divided outlet from the plenum and an exterior cabinet panel.

Description

7;~2 B~CKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

FIELD OF T~E INVl~NTION
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This invention pertains to an enclosure box air conditioner hnving a cablllet nnd refrigeration chassls, and an evaporator inlct plcnulll, a S condensor alr exhaust plenllm, and a filter holdor.

PRIOR ~RT
Industrial usage air conditioners specifically intendod for cn-closure boxes are typically of an integral cabinet and chassis construc-tion and the operable refrigeration system cannot be installed or re-moved without breaking the refrigerant circuitry. The prior art en- -closure air conditioner also require precisely located inlet and outlet apertures in an enclosure wall. Because oE this requirement, the air conditioners are not interchangeable between manufacturers nor are di~ferent sized conditioner cabinets interchangeable with each other.
Further the requirement for precise location o~ inlet and outlet does not allow alternate positioning of inlet and outlet apertures for custom development o2 an air flow pattern optimally suited for a- -particular heat load and consequently a larger conditioner than needed may have to be installed in order to cool a critical heat load. The ~o prior industrial air conditioners usually blow hot condenser air out a side outlet in order to preclude the condenser outlet being covered ~-~
with workman's tools and materials, and the side exbaust of hot air ~ -increases the temperature of a workmao's~environment as~well as blowing dust and foreign materials about. Typical usage for an enclosure air ~
conditioner is on the electronlc control boxes of automated process ~ -lines or large complicated machine~tools and in these environments the air conditioner needs an air filter covering the air inlet to the con-denser coil and in many instances the air filter must have a special duty -~- -filtering element for things such as carbon dust, paint particlas, foundry dirt, textile particles~ abrasives, sawdust or any other unusual

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dust. The prior air conditioners use a special and costly proprietary sized filter or else they use a relatively small siz.e standard filter that is only usable one time, OBJECTS OF Til~ INVENTION
S Accordillely, it is an object of the present invention to providc ~n air conditioner for atLachlllent to and use on an enclosurc box.
It is an important object of the present invention to l)rovidc such an air conditioner having a complete and improved refrigerntion chnssis inside of a relatively easily removable exterior cabinet structuro and providing an improved level of reliability in the refrigeration system as well as providing improved accessibility to the components of the refrigeration system for service of the system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner for cooling the interior of a control enclosure box in an industrial environment.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an air con-ditioner having a plenum or drawing hot air through a variety of out-lets from an enclosure box.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner having a non-obstructable outlet from the top of the air conditioner cabinet, for cooling an enclosure box.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an enclo-sure box air conditioner having a filter holder and condenser i~let enabling double usage of a single air filter.

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In accordance with th1s invention, an air conditioner is provided having & cabinet wrap attachable to the wall of the enclosure box, and an operable refr~geration eystem within the cabinet wrap, distinct features of the present invention including a complete refrigeration chassis on a L-shaped firame mounted in the cabinet, an inlet plenum on

-3- i the back side of the air conditioner, a screen covered exhaust plenum on the top oE the air conditioner and a condenser air filter holder which will Eunctionally hold an air filter in either first or second posi-tions enabling do~ble usage of a sin~le Eil~er.

ON T~IE DR ~INGS;
FIG. 1 ls an elevational cross sectional view of thc preferrod embodiment of an air conditioner provided in accord~nce with tho present invention showing the air conditioner mounted on the wall of an en-closure box;
FIG. 2 is a top view of the structure of FIG. l;
FIG. 3 is an elevational ront view of the structure of FIG. l;
FIG. 4 is an elevational sectional view taken along section lines IV-IV of FIG. l; and FIG. 5 is an exploded elevational cross sectional view of the components of the structure of FIG. 1.

S SHOl~N ON THE DRAWINGS: . :
The principles of the present invention are particularly useful when embodied in an air conditioner of the type shown in FIG. 1 and generally indicated by the numeral 10. The air conditioner 10 has a refrigeration chassis generally indicated by the numeral 11 which is mounted inside of a cabinet generally indicated by the numeral 12 which is mounted to a wall 13 of an enclosure box 14 having an internal heat load 15 which must either be cooled or maintained at a relatively reduced temperature.
The first important feature of the:present invention is the :
refrigeration chassi~s 11 hauing a frame 16 in the shape of an "L~' with a first leg 17 and a second leg 18. The frame 16 serves to support an operative refrigeration system generally indicated by the numeral 19 ~which has a compressor 20, an eVapOrAtor coil 21S A condenser coil 22 :

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and interconnecting refrigerant lines 23, all of which are mounted on the frame 16. The frame 16 divides the interior of the cabinet 12 into a first chamber 24 and a separate second chamber 25. '~le irst chamber 24 has an air inlet 26 for ambient air and an exh~ust fQn 27 for draw-lng ambient air over the compressor 20 and through thc condonser coil 22 and exhaustill~ the air out the top end 28 of cabinet 12. 'rhe socond challlber 25 has the evaporator coil 21 and an exhaust Pan 29 mountod to blow cold air into the enclosure box 14.
The first chamber 2~ has the part of the refrigeration systen 19 for transferring oE heat removed from the enclosure box 14 to ambient air. The air inlet 26 opens to the compressor 20, an electrical service bo~ 30 and a pair of refrigeration charging connectors 31, all of which are accessible from and through the air inlet 26 when the air filter 32 is removed. The compressor 20 is shown mounted to the horiæontal lower leg 18, but it must be explained that the air con-ditioner 10 can be alter~atively modified to be mounted on the top wall of the enclosure box 14 and the compressor could be mounted on the vertical leg 17; in either application the compressor is mounted on one of the legs 17 or 18. The condenser coil 22 has a combination support and air baf1e bracket 33 attached to the vertical leg 17, sup-porting the condenser coil 22 and spacine the condenser coil 22 forward of the leg 17 providing an air passageway 34 into and up along the back-side of the condenser coil 22. On the bottom of the condenser coil 22 there is a bracket 35 which secures the bottom of the condenser coil 22 and also is positioned to direct incoming ambient air over and across the compressor 20 to the passageway 34 and then into the backside of the condenser coil 22. Ambient air is drawn through the condenser coil 22 by an exhaust fan 27 which pu115 through the condenser coil 22 into an air passageway 36 in front of the condenser coil 22 and then into a fan inlet 37; the fan then blows the hot condenser e~haust air out an exhaust duct 38 which is ducted into an exhaust plenum chamber 39 through a J

baffle 40 separatin~ the inside oE the plenum chamber 39 from the in-side of the first cllamber 24. The exhaust plen~un chamber 39 hflS a perforated top screen 41 through which the exhflust duct 38 is arr~nged to blow tllDlOSt Sl:r~ 1L ~IP~
~n :lmpor~.allt i:eatuLc of the present inventlon is thc s~ructure of the conclenser air e~haust plenum 39 and in FIG. 2 the plen-lm 39 iA seen :Erom the top, The screen 41 can clearly be seen covering tllc plcnum baffle 40 and an outlet 42 from each of the exhaust fan ducts 38. 'l`he screen 41 is shown as being a flat sheet of expanded metal. Re~crring to FIG. 3? the exhaust plenum chamber 39 is shown in section from the front side of the air conditioner 10. The plenum baffle 40 has a pair of upturned flanges 43 and the screen 41 has a pair of downturned flanges 44, the sheared ends of which face in towards the first chamber 24 and are therafor hidden for precluding personnel injury from the sharp edges. The exhaust plenum ba:Efle 40 forms a top end structural panel o cabinet 12 and is held in place by sheet metal screws 45 driven through opposite side panels 46, 47 and through the screen flangés 44. The screws 45 pass through apertures in the screen flanges 44 and the points of the screws 45 are inside of the exhaust plenum chamber 39. The screen flanges 44 are also compressively held between the baffle flanges 43 and the side panels 46, 47. Referring back to FIG. 1, the exhaust plenum baffle 40 ha.s a C-shaped flange 48 on the :. -back edge with the closed side of the flange 48 sealing against the enclosure box wall 13 and with the open side facing into the plenum 39. :~
The back edge of the screen 41 i.s under and is covered by the top of C-flange 48 so ~hat the sharp edges of the screen 41 are concealed.
There is an end front cover 49 closing the first chamber 24 and this cover 49 has a top flange 50 extending over and concealing the front edge of the screen 41. '.Fhe cover 49 is fastened to plenum bafle 40 by sheet metal screws Sl which have their points inside of the plenum chamber 39. The condenser exhaust fan 27 is mounted to the exhaust t plenum baffle 40 and when the screws 51 and cover 49 are removed from the air conditioner 10, the screws 45 may be removed from side panels 46, 47; and the baffle 40~ attached fan 27 and screen 41 are thcn re-movable as a unit from the air conditioner 10 for service, cleaning or S replacemellt oE the fall 27.
Atlother important feature oE this invention is an inlet plenum 52 in the back of cabinet 12. The frame 16 serves as a divider pallel in the cabinet 12 and the vertical leg 17 forms a plenum panel spuced inwardly from and parallel to the back of cabinet 12. The leg 17 extends across the width of the cabinet 12 and from the top end to adjacent to the evaporator fan 29 and divides off within the cabinot 12 an inlet plenum 52 extending the width and most of the length of the cabinet 12 for registering with a hot air outlet 53 in the en-closure box wall 13 as long as the outlet 53 is within the area of the wall 13 which is covered by the inlet plenum 52. Each leg or panel 17, 18 of the frame 16 has side flanges 54 and the side flanges 54 of the plenum panel 17 are turned toward the backside of the cabinet 12 and are removably fastened to the side panels 46, 47 by sheet metal screws 55 which all have their points extending into the plenum chamber 52.
The evaporator coil 21 is spaced forward on the leg 1~ from the plenum panel or leg 17 and has an evaporator coil baffle 56 mounted on the bottom which also serves as a condensate tray. The evaporator baLfle 56 extends from the evaporator coil 21 to the backside of cabinet 12 thus providing a path for air flow from the inlet plenum 52, through the evaporator coil 21 and into the exhaust fan 29. ~he evaporator baffle 56 also, together with the leg 18~ defines an evaporator intake plenum 57 between the evaporator coil 21 and the inlet plenum 52. With the inlet plenum 52 in and open to the back-side of the cabinet 12, the enclosure box outlet 53 can be alterna-tively located for a different heat load, such as the alternative heat load 15a and the corresponding aiternative outlet 53a. Xhe exhaust .

plenum baffle 40 has the rear flange ~18 forming the top end of the in-let plenum 52 and also provides a surface for sealing to the enclosure box wall 13.
The ronL s:ide of tho cabinet 12 is covered and closed ofE by S front cover forllled by a separate and individual first cover 49 cov-ering the f:Lrst challlber 24 and a second cover 62 covering and closing ofE the second chamber 25. Each o the covers 49, 62 is relnoval)ly fastened to a cabinet wrap Eormed of the side panels 46, 47 and tlle exhaust plenum baffle 40 and the bottom or second end panel 58; and each cover 49, 62 is removable from the cabinet wrap while the other remains fastened. The bottom end panel 58 has an upright l~g 59 to which the exhaust fan 29 is mounted, the exhaust fan 29 being ducted through the leg 59 for registering with a cold air inlet 60 in the enclosure box wall 13. The bottom end panel 58 and its leg 59 are removably fastened to side panels 46, 47 by screws 61 and when the second chamber front cover 62 is removed and screws 61 are removed, the bottom end panel 58 and attached fan 29 are removable as a unit from the air conditioner 10 while the conditioner 10 is installed on the wall 13.
The second end front cover 62 is supported by the bottom end panel 58 and is also :Eastened to the frame leg 18 for partially sup-porting the compressor 20. The cover 62 is also fastened to the side panels 46, 47 as shown in FIG. 3. Each side panel 46, 47 is re movably fastened to the baffles 40, 35, to the frame flanges 5~ and to the bottom end panel 58. On the backside of each side panel 46, 47 there is a flange 63 through which fasteners 64 enter for attaching the air conditioner 10 to the enclosure wall 13. While the ends and fans are removable as units as previously described, each side panel 46, 47 is also removable frorn the air conditioner 10, while the air conditioner 10 is mounted on the enclosure wall 13, for access to the refrigeration system 19. Removal of either side panel 46, 47 is 8- :

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accomplished by removal of fasteners from baffles 40, 35, flanges 54, panel 58 and the enclosure wall 13 Eor a respective side panel.
A further important feature o this invention is the provislon of a Elrst Eilter retaiIler 65 and a secoIld filter retainer 66 which to-5 gcthcr form ~ holder for filter 32 and together with l;he opening 26enable the filter 32 to be turned end for and in the holder anà uscd twice. Tlle inlet 26 is formed between a top edge 67 of thc lowor front cover 62 and a bottom edge 63 of the top front cover 49. llle first retainer 65 is a Z-shaped bracket mounted adjacent to the ed~ 67 and 10 form;ng on the lower front cover 62 a pocket having a depth about equal to the usual frame section around the periphery of an air filter 32. The second retainer 66 is mounted to the upper Eront cover 49 and is spaced from the upper cover bottom edge 68 a distance of twice the size of the air inlet 26 as measured between the retainers fi5 and 66.
15 As an example, a common and standard size of air filter is 16 ~ 25 inches. The air inlet 26 would be about twelve inches high and the retainers 65, 66 would be about twenty-five inches apart. When the - filter 32 is in the retainers 65 and 66, only one half o the filter 32 will cover the air inlet 26. The second retainer 66 has a pocket 20 about twice the depth of the pocket in the first retainer 65 and to install the filter 32, one end of the filter 32 is pushed into the second retainer 66 and the Eilter 32 is then pushed backwardly in over the top of the lower or first retainer 65 and allowed to drop into the lower or first retainer 65. For removal, the filter 32 is pushed up 25 into upper retainer 66 and pulled out over the lower retainer 65 and then out from the upper retainer 66. Either end of the filter 32 will fit in either of the retainers 65 or 66 and the filter 32 can be turned end for end and used twice beore replacement. As previously explained, the compressor 20, electrical service 30 and reErigerant 30 charging connertors 31 are serviceably accessible when the filter 32 is removed. Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown an end 1ange 69 on _g , ~
, each end of retainers 65 and 66 for centering the covering end of air filter 32 over the air inlet 26. It should be appreciated that the filter retainers 65 and 66 are sized to hold a standard sized easily available nir ~ilter and provide ease in chnnging readily procurable replacement filter elellletlts.
The basic componc~ s of the aiL' conclitioner 10 are shown in FIG. S
as being the comple.te reErigeration chassis 11, the cabinot 12, nnd the covers 49 and 62. The refrigeration chassis 11 is built up and COIll-pleted to the configuration shown in FIG. S with the L-shaped framc having the compressor 20, evaporator 21, condenser 22, electrical service box 30 and baffles 33, 35 and 56 all assembled and ready for use. All refriger~tion àssembly, charging, leak testing and repair is completed on the chassis 11 and when done, the chassis 11 is install-.
able and mountable in the cabinet 12 as an intesral unit.
The cabinet 12 has the side panels (46 being shown) removably fastened to the plenum baffle 40 and to the lower end panel 58 with the exhaust fans 27 and 29 installed on their respective panels. The refrigeration chassis 11 will go right in the backside of the assem-bled cabinet 12 as shown in the configuration of FIG. 5. At assembly, the refrigeration chassis 11 may be either suspended upright or layed down and the cabinet ].2 may merely be pushed upon the chassis 11 and the respective fasteners driven through the side panels and into the flanges o the frame 16 and baffles 33, 35 and 58. The electrical leads from fans 27 and 29 are then hooked up to the electrical service box 30 and the L-shaped retainer straps 70 and 71 are mounted on the baffle 35 and the ~rame leg 18 to retain the refrigeration lines 23 and the fan wires. The upper and lower covers 4g, 62 are then mounted and fastened and the air condltioner 10 is complete.
The air conditioner 10 of the present invention is an extremely highly efficient device and also extremely economical and serviceable.
The cabinet design is simple and employs ef~icient use of sheet metal.

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The machinery required to make the sheet metal of air conditioner 10 is simple and ensy to obtain. The reliability of the unit is high because of the excellent access to the refrigeration system 19 ~uring ~abrication. A servico man cnn obtain complete access to the refrig-S erntion system 19 or ans 27, 29 without removing the air conditioner10 rom an enclosure box 14. The cabinet 12 does not present nny sharp or jagged edges which could produce personal injurics and the condenser exhaust is virtually jam proof even iE wrenches or gloves were placed on the screen 41.
The air conditioner 10 is suitable to replace almost all other types of units because the evaporator fan 29 need only be registered with an inlet 60 to an enclosure box 14 and the outlet 53 from the enclosure box 14 can be anywhere within the area oE the wall 13 covered by the inlet plenum chamber 52 and the evaporator intake plenum 57.
Although various minor modifications may be suggested by those versed in the art, it should be understood that I wish to embody within the scope of the patent warranted hereon, all such embodiments as reasonably and properly come withln the scope o my contribution to the art.

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Claims (6)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. An air conditioner for attachment to an exterior wall of an enclosure box for controlling the temperature within the enclosure box, comprising:
a) a cabinet having panels forming a box shape having a back side, and means for mounting of the air conditioner to the wall of an enclosure box;
b) an operative refrigeration system within the cabinet;
c) air ducting in the back side of the cabinet for drawing hot air from the enclosure to an evaporator coil and for blowing cooled air from the coil into the enclosure;
d) an air inlet in and through one of the cabinet panels for intake of ambient air to a refrigeration condenser coil;
e) a fan having an intake for drawing air from the condenser coil and an exhaust duct for directing exhaust air from the condenser coil out of the cabinet; and f) an exhaust air plenum in an end of the cabinet, the plenum having:
(1) a baffle separating the inside of the exhaust plenum from an inside of the cabinet, the fan exhaust duct being routed through the baffle for exhausting air from the condenser coil into the exhaust plenum; and (2) a perforated screen mounted on the outside of the plenum and forming an outwardly directed outlet from the plenum and at least part of an exterior cabinet panel.

2. An air conditioner according to claim 1, in which the baffle is a structural top end panel of the cabinet.

3. An air conditioner according to either of claims 1 or 2, in which the screen is a flat sheet having an inwardly bent flange on each edge and the baffle has a pair of outwardly turned flanges, the baffle and screen being mounted between side panels of the cabinet with each screen flange being between a respective side panel and a baffle flange, the baffle flange being fastened to the side panels and with the screen flanges held therebetween.

4. An air conditioner according to claim 1, in which the baffle has a C-shaped flange on a back edge thereof, with an open side of the C-shaped flange facing into the exhaust plenum and the screen being within the C-shaped flange.

5. An air conditioner according to either of claims 1, 2 or 4, in which the cabinet has a front panel having a top flange extending over a front edge of the screen.

6. An air conditioner according to either of claims 1, 2 or 4, in which the fan is mounted to the exhaust plenum baffle with the baffle being removably mounted to the cabinet panels, the baffle and fan being removable as a unit from the air conditioner.