MXPA99007971A - Air directing assembly for a room air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, an air directing housing is provided for an air conditioning unit (10) of the type having a basepan which supports indoor and outdoor sections (4, 6). The basepan includes a vertical wall (26) extending upwardly for a part of the height of the unit to define a lower portion of a partition which separates the unit into the indoor and outdoor sections. The indoor section includes an evaporator (32) disposed in the basepan generally forwardly of the partition. A centrifugal fan (34) is mounted between the evaporator coil (32) and the vertical wall (26) for rotation about an axis extending from front to back of the air conditioning unit. The fan is a centrifugal flow fan which has a circular inlet at the front thereof. The air directing housing (38) is adapted to be mounted in the basepan rearwardly of the evaporator coil (32) and surrounding the fan. The housing includes a lower section (52) having a front wall which has a circular opening formed therein which is substantially coextensive with the circular inlet of the fan. The lower section (52) also includes an interior scroll section for receiving the fan, and an open back. The air directing housing further includes an upper section (54) defining an enclosed top structure for cooperation with the upper discharge structure of the lower section to define the air discharge opening of the air conditioner. The upper section (54) further includes a rear wall having a lower edge adapted to engage the vertically extending wall of the basepan to define the upper portion of the partition. As a result, when the lower and upper air directing housing sections are installed in the housing, they cooperate with one another, the basepan, and the vertically extending wall to define the fan housing, the air intake and air discharge of the air conditioner.

Description

ASSEMBLY TO DIRECT AIR FOR UM CONDITIONER D? BRIEF AIR DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to an air conditioner and, more particularly, to an air conditioner having foam insulation walls forming the air flow path of the evaporator within the air conditioner. Air conditioners generally have an air inlet and an air outlet, on the front side of the air conditioner which is facing the inside of the room when the air conditioner is placed in a window opening or in an air conditioner. manga through the wall. Usually, hot air is sucked in through a portion of the front grille passing through a filter and through the evaporator coil to be cooled and then directed by a blower or fan to an outlet also in the front grille . Air conditioners of the prior art have included a variety of plastic wall and sheet metal sections to define the path of said air conditioner. Also, it is known to use foamed insulation material to define a portion of the air passing inside the air conditioner. U.S. Patent 5,085,057 represents said prior arrangements.

Due to the complexity and number of parts associated with an air conditioner, the assembly of the device very often involves complicated and time-consuming assembly steps and requires complicated handling of parts and tools. Such a process results in an increase in the cost of air conditioner due to the increase in manufacturing costs. Accordingly, it is desirable to design and manufacture components for a window air conditioner which are as simple as possible and which perform as many functions as possible within the air conditioner while a minimum labor cost is required for its installation. According to the present invention, an air-guiding housing is provided for an air conditioning unit of the type having a base tray which supports the inner and outer section. The base tray includes a vertical wall that extends up a portion of the height of the unit to define an interior portion of a partition which separates the unit into the interior and exterior sections. The inner section includes an evaporator provided in the base tray generally forward of the partition, a spinning fan is mounted between the evaporator coil and the vertical wall so that it rotates about an axis extending from the front to the top. back of the air conditioning unit. The fan is a centrifugal flow fan which has a circular inlet in front of it. The air-guiding housing is adapted to be mounted on the base tray to the rear of the evaporator coil and surrounding the fan. The housing includes a lower section having a front wall which has a circular opening formed therein, which is substantially coextensive with the circular inlet of the fan. The lower section also includes an inner spiral section to receive the fan, an open back. The air directing housing further includes an upper section defining a covered upper structure cooperating with the upper discharge structure of the lower section to define the air discharge opening of the air conditioner. The upper section further includes a rear wall having a lower edge adapted to couple the vertically extended wall of the base tray to define the upper portion of the partition. As a result, when the lower and upper air guiding housing sections are installed in the housing, cooperate with each other, with the base tray, and with the wall vertically extended to define the fan housing, the air intake and the air discharge of the air conditioner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be better understood and its objectives and advantages will be obvious to those skilled in the art with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of an air conditioner which illustrates the characteristics of this invention; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the air conditioner of Figure 1 with the upper housing removed therefrom; Figure 3 is a view taken along lines 3-3 of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a partially schematic perspective view of the air conditioner of Figure 1 with a number of components removed therefrom; Figure 5 is a top plan view of the air conditioner of Figure 1 with most of the components removed therefrom; Figure 6 is a perspective view of the housing directing the air of the present invention removed from the air conditioning unit; Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 showing the two sections of the housing directing air separated from one another; Figure 8 is a rear perspective view similar to that of Figure 7; Figure 9 is a front view of the lower section of the housing directing the air; Figure 10 is a view taken along line 10-10 of Figure 9; Figure 11 is a top view of the lower section illustrated in Figure 9; Figure 12 is a rear view of the lower section of the housing directing the air; Figure 13 is a front view of the upper section of the housing directing the air; Figure 14 is a view taken along line 14-14 of Figure 13; Figure 15 is a top view of the upper section of the housing directing the air; Figure 16 is a left end view of the upper section of the air-guiding housing as illustrated in Figure 15. Referring initially to Figure 1, an air conditioner 10 includes a substantially rectangular housing 12 which includes a lower housing section 14, an upper housing section 16, and an interior grating section 18. The lower housing section 14 is mounted on a metal tray 20 and the entire air conditioner is adapted to be placed in a rectangular opening in an exterior wall or in the frame of a window in a room to be conditioned with the lower grating section 18 facing the interior part of the room, as is conventional. The housing sections 12 and 14 in the grid 18 are preferably made of a molded plastic material. As best seen in Figures 2 to 5, the entire air conditioning unit 10 is supported on a plastic base tray 21 integrally molded with and forming the bottom of the lower housing 14. Extending upwardly from the base tray, and integrally formed with the left and right side walls 22 and 24, respectively, is a vertically extended partition 26 which separates the lower housing 14 to form an inner section 28 and an outer section 30. As best seen in the Figure 3, the air conditioning unit includes a lower air refrigerant heat exchanger 32 (hereinafter "evaporator coil") and an indoor or evaporative fan 34. Briefly, air from the space that will be conditioned by the system is sucked by the action of the evaporator fan 34 through air inlet ventilation grids 36 formed in the inner grate section 18 and is d Irritated through the evaporator coil 32 where the air is cooled. The cooled air is then directed back into the space to be cooled by a housing directing the air 38, which, in turn directs the air through a discharge opening of the interior air conditioner 40 which forms part of the grid 18. As best seen in Figure 3, both the evaporator fan 34 and the condenser or external fan 42 are activated from the opposite ends of a single driving shaft of a common driver motor 44 mounted in the upper section 30. Other Air conditioner components are formed in the outer section 30 of the air conditioning unit, not necessarily being understood in the present invention and therefore will not be described here. Still referring to Figure 3, the indoor fan 34 is a centrifugal fan mounted to rotate about an axis extending from the front to the rear of the air conditioner unit 10. The fan has a closed back wall 46 and a plurality of longitudinally extending propellers 48 defining the outer periphery thereof, and a circular inlet in the front 50 thereof. The fan is configured in such a way that when turning in the clockwise direction, as seen from the front of the unit, the air will be sucked into the opening in the front of the unit and will be directed radially outwards from it. The air directing housing 38 includes a lower section 52 and an upper section 5. As will be seen, the upper section 54 and the lower section 52 cooperate to define the structure which in turn cooperates with the partition 26 to house the evaporator fan 34, to define the spiral directing the air associated with the fan 34, and to define the air passage which directs the air discharge to the air discharge assembly 40 of the grid 18. The lower section 52 of the air directing housing comprises a lower base section 56 which is adapted to be received in a space 58 defined in part by the bottom wall of the base tray 21 and a pair of spaced-apart partition walls 60 integrally formed with the base and adapted to engage the end 62 of the lower base section 56. The space 58 it is further defined at the front by a wall 61 which is understood between the separated walls 60 and at the rear part with the dividing wall 26. The lower section 52 comprises a front wall substantially flat 64 which has a circular opening 66 formed therein, which is adapted to be in a coextensive fluid flow relationship with the inlet towards the fan 34 when the attached is assembled. The dimension of the circular opening is preferably a little smaller than the inlet opening towards the fan to minimize the leakage of air from the external discharge side of the fan therethrough. The substantially flat left and right side walls 68 and 70, respectively, are integrally formed with the base 56 of the front wall 64 of the lower section 72. Likewise the intersection of the right side wall 70 with the front wall 64 defines the right front corner 74. The rear part of the lower section 52 is substantially open and defines an outer perimeter wall 76. The support and positioning of the lower housing section 52 are provided by the engagement of the base section 56 with the front and side wall sections previously described 60 and by the coupling of the left and right front corners 72 and 74, respectively, with a vertically extended angular support and guide channels 78 and 80 which can best be seen in Figures 4 and 5. The support channels 78 and 80 each are integrally formed with the lower housing section 14 and extend vertically. at an elevation just below a pair of evaporator support channels 82 formed in the front wall 64 in the lower section 52. The rear wall 76 of the lower section 52 engages the division 26 as best seen in Figure 4 in the lower part of the front wall 64 the wall 61 is coupled. In order to ensure airtight contact between the rear wall 66 and the partition, the front wall 64 is provided with vertically extended raised sections 84 and opposite sides thereof. , adjacent to the left 72 and right 4 corners which ensures an interference fit between the front wall 64 which acts through the raised sections 84 and the rear wall with the partition 26. The inner part of the lower section 52 comprises a substantially circular chamber defined by a circular wall 86. The circular wall 86 is eccentrically located with respect to the circular opening 66 of the front wall, in such a way That when the fan 34 is coaxially mounted with the opening 66, the fan coil is defined from a region extending from a sharp wall 88, close to the fan, in a direction opposite to the clock hand (as seen in FIG. Figure 12), to an increasingly larger cross section as the air flows upward as represented by the arrow "90". As you can see, the part of the lower section 52 which extends above the upper wall 92 cooperates with the upper section 54 to complete the passage of air through the air conditioning unit. Now looking to the upper section 54 of the air directing housing 38. The upper section 54 comprises a rear wall 94 which has the same shape as the dividing wall 26 between the inner section 28 _ and the outer section 30. It will be noted with reference to Figure 5 that the division 26 is defined by a pair of separate wall sections defining an interior space 96 therebetween. The lower end 98 of the rear wall 94 defines a section of reduced thickness, which is adapted to be received within the space 96 in the partition wall 26 to thereby define an air tight seal therebetween. The upper section 54 further comprises a substantially flat surface 100 and a wall section extending downwards from the left 102. With reference to Figures 7 and 8, a surface facing downwards 104 in the left wall section 102 and a forwardly facing portion 106 of the rear wall 94 are adapted to couple the coupling wall sections 108 and 110, respectively, in the lower housing section 52. These surfaces are preferably provided with a gasket-like material 112 for ensure an airtight fit between the air. As best seen from Figures 6, 7 and 14, the right end of the upper section 54 is provided with a downward facing surface 114 and a downwardly extending positioning tab 116. extends downwardly adapted to engage a coupling surface 118 provided at the upper right end of the lower section 54. Likewise, the downwardly extending positioning tab 116 is adapted to be received in a defined engagement slot 120 at the upper right end of the lower section 52. The alignment between the upper and lower sections is achieved by the engagement of a vertical extension 122 on the right side of the lower housing section 52 with a coupling notch 124 formed at the end right of the upper housing section 54. One of the surfaces 114 and 118 is provided with a metal in the form of suitable gasket to 119 to ensure airtight contact between them. Now looking at Figures 6 and 7, the upper end of the housing section 52 is provided with an elongated open front defined by a perimeter wall in the form of a "L side" 125. Likewise, the front of the section of upper housing 54 is provided with an elongated opening defined by a perimeter wall in the form of a "L side" 127. As best seen in Figure 6, with the upper and lower housing sections 54 and 52 assembled one to the other , the perimeter walls 125 and 127 cooperate to define an air discharge opening 126 from the air guiding housing 38. It will be appreciated that the right portion of the rear wall 94 of the upper section 52 is provided with a curved section 128 which is adapted to cooperate with the upper wall 92 of the lower section 52 and a side wall portion 130 of the lower housing section 52 which extends the end of the wall "L-shaped". "125. The cooperation of these walls defines an interior plenum 132 which directs the air to the air discharge opening 126. With particular reference to Figure 3, and other illustrated figures, it will be noted that the interior section of the spiral 52 further it is provided with an elongated outwardly extending wall section 134 which is adapted to be subjacent to the upper part of the evaporator coil 32 when the upper coil is installed in the air conditioning unit. Once again, as best seen in Figure 3, when the inner grille 18 is installed in the air conditioning unit, a lower wall 135 forming part of the air discharge opening 40 couples the upper part of the wall 134. In addition , the additional wall sections of the air discharge opening 40 define a peripherally extended rear wall 138 which is adapted to couple a peripheral engagement surface 140 defined by the air discharge opening 126 formed by the upper and lower section 54 and 52 of the housing directing the air 38. It will be noted that the portions of the air discharge opening 126 are configured to extend in an overlapping relationship with the wall 138 so as to be able to define a substantially air tight seal therebetween. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the air-guiding housing 38 formed by the lower section 52 and the upper section 54 cooperate with each other and with the dividing wall to define the fan housing, the air intake and the air discharge. of the air conditioner.

Claims (3)

1. CLAIMS 1. An air conditioning unit characterized because it has a base tray which supports the inner and outer sections, such a base tray including a vertical wall that extends upwards by a part of the height of the unit to define a portion From a division dividing the unit into such inner and outer section, the inner section comprises: an evaporator coil provided in the base patent generally forward of such division; a centrifugal fan mounted between the evaporator coil and the vertical wall so that it rotates around an axis extending from the front to the rear part of such an air conditioning unit, the ventilated comprises a closed rear part, a plurality of longitudinal propellers that define the periphery thereof and a circular entry in the front thereof; a housing directing air adapted to be mounted on the base tray rearwardly of such a serpentine evaporator and surrounding such a fan, the housing comprises: an interior section having a front wall l which has an opening formed therein substantially extensively with the circular fan inlet, an upper air discharge structure, an inner spiral section for receiving such a fan, and an open rear part; and a top section comprising a top cover structure cooperating with such top discharge structure of the bottom section to define an air discharge opening of the air directing housing, and a rear wall having a bottom edge adapted to engage such vertically extended wall of the base tray to define the upper portion of such division; whereby such housing sections directing the upper and lower air are installed in the housing, cooperate with each other, and with the wall vertically extended to define the air intake and discharge of the air conditioner
2. 2. The apparatus in accordance with the reinvidication 1, characterized in that the housing directing the air is made of a foamed plastic material. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the air conditioning unit further includes an inner grid, such an inner grid has an air discharge opening therein, the air discharge opening defines a peripheral wall that it extends backwards, such peripheral wall is adapted to couple the air discharge opening of the housing which directs the air in an air-tight relationship. SUMMARY In accordance with the present invention, a housing is provided that directs the air to an air conditioning unit (10) of the type having a base tray which supports the inner and outer sections (4,6). The base tray includes a vertical wall (26) that extends upwards on a part of the height of the unit to define a lower portion of a division which separates the unit into an inner and an outer section. The interior section includes an evaporator (32) provided in the base tray generally forward of the partition. A centrifugal fan (34) is mounted between the evaporator coil (32) and the vertical wall (26) to rotate about an axis extending from the front to the rear of the air conditioning unit. The fan is a centrifugal flow fan which has a circular inlet on the front of the fan. The air-guiding housing (38) is mounted to be mounted on a base tray rearward of the evaporator (32) and surrounding the fan. The housing includes an inner section (52) having a front wall which has a circular opening formed therein, which is substantially coextensive with the circular inlet of the fan. The lower section (52) also includes an inner spiral section to receive the fan, and an open back. The air directing housing further includes an upper section (54) defining a covered upper structure that cooperates with the upper discharge structure of the lower section to define the air discharge opening of the air conditioner. The upper section (54) further includes a rear wall having a lower edge adapted to engage the vertically extended wall of the base tray to define the upper portion of the partition. As a result, when the housing sections directing the upper and lower air are installed in a housing, they cooperate with each other, with the base tray, and with the wall vertically extended to define the fan housing, the air inlet and the air discharge of the air conditioner.