US2987984A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

June 1961 J. MILLER 2,987,984

AIR CONDITIONER Filed Oct. 30, 195"! 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 F f0 72 Q I' w" g 55 155 9s I i w n a Q fl! 50 INVENTOR- z/zzszzzs 7771'Z/er HIS ATTORNEY June 13, 1961 J. MILLER AIR CONDITIONER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 30, 1957 v! .r N 6 R m. m E T gm w w v i U M Y B June 13, 1961 J. MILLER 2,987,984

AIR CONDITIONER Filed Oct. 50, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet :5

5? INVENTOR.

Jasz'as iii/1%) W1. BY 56 W9. 5

H l S ATTORNEY June 13, 1961 J. MILLER AIR CONDITIONER 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 50, 1957 n v N mp m N T E.) T WW A 1 m 5 H a J June 13, 1961 J. MILLER 2,987,984

AIR CONDITIONER Filed Oct. 30, 195'? 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 HIS ATTORNEY 2,987,984 AIR CONDITIONER Justus Miller, Xenia, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 30, 1957, Ser. No. 693,302 Claims. (CI. 98-94) with a heating arrangement.

It is another object of this invention to provide an air conditioning unit which is easily manufactured and serviced in which the blowers and the refrigerating system can be manufactured as separate assemblies and are easily removed as a unit and separated for servicing.

It is still another object of the invention to provide an air conditioning unit with an easily manufactured, inexpensive, dual cam arrangement by which the fresh air and exhaust air doors may be selectively controlled by a single knob.

These and other objects are attained in the form shown .in the drawings in which a horizontalrectangular sup port is slid-ably mounted within channels within an outer shell serving as the casing or enclosure. The refrigerating system is mounted above the support while separate blowers are mounted below the support and connected as a unit to be removable as a unit from the support and the refrigerating system. A rotary member with two cam slots has a filler in each slot connected to one of the doors controlling the freshand exhaust air. The cabinet has removable grilles extending substantially across the entire front of the cabinet providing a pleasing appearance and also providing access to the refrigerating unit for servicing and removal. The unit is provided with substantially identical forward and upward discharge openings. A grille and a plate are provided with substantially identical external dimensions so that one of the openings canbe closed and the discharge made through the grille in the other opening. A heating accessory may be placed over one of the openings and the grille is then placed in the outlet of the heating accessory.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a. vertical sectional viewthrough the unit taken along the line 11 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional unit taken along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal sectional unit taken along the line 33 of FIGURES 1 and 2;

FIGURE 4 is a front view;

FIGURE 5 is a view in elevation of the anism for the fresh and exhaust air doors;

FIGURE 6 is a front view of the mechanism shown in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a top view of a modified control mechanism for the fresh and exhaust air doors;

control mechv trol mechanism for the fresh and exhaust air doors; and

FIGURE 10 is a side view of the simpler control mechanism shown in FIGURE 9.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 4, there is shown an air conditioning unit provided with a cabinet 20 containing a control panel 22 provided with knobs 24, 26 and 28 for controlling the temperature, the fresh and exhaust air doors and the operation of the unit, respectively. The knob 24 adjusts the operating temperature of the switch controlling the operation of the unit as measured by the thermostat bulb 181 in the room air inlet. A removable grille 30 covers the lower portion of the front while a removable upper grille 32 covers the upper portion of the front, with the exception of the control panel 22. The sides of the cabinet are provided with channels 34 within which slides the horizontal rectangular support 36. This support 36 has turned-up flanges so that it can collect and hold condensate moisture. Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 1-3, there is mounted on top of the support 36 a sealed motorcompressor unit 38 in one corner, as shown in FIG. 3, which delivers compressed refrigerant to the condenser 40 located in another corner where the refrigerant is condensed and from its lower portion is discharged through a capillary tube 42 to the bottom of the evaporator 44 mounted at an angle of about 65 or 70 alongside the motor-compressor unit 38 in the adjacent corner. The evaporated refrigerant is returned from the top of the evaporator through the suction conduit 48 to the motoricompressor unit 38. A box-shaped partition 50 separates the evaporator 48 and its chamber from the sealed unit '38 and the condenser 40.

Located beneath the support 36 are the condenser blower 52 and the evaporator blower 54 which have the discharge portions 56 and 58 of their housings extending upwardly through the openings 60 and 62 in the support 36. The blowers 52 and 54 may be conveniently driven by a single motor 53 located between them. The condenser blower 52 is enclosed in a box-shaped housing 62 having its top side open. The evaporator blower 54 is also enclosed in the box-shaped housing 64 having a large front opening 66. The blowers 52 and 54 and the housings 62 and 64 as well as the motor 53 are connected together by bracing 63 to form a structural unit or sub-assembly. The discharge portion 58 of the evaporator blower casing 54 extends through a tightly fitting opening within and substantially sealed to the top wall oliilthe enclosure 64. This sealed fit is readily remova e.

The condenser blower 52 has the bottom of its casing extending substantially to the bottom of the water pan 63. An opening (not shown) is provided in the lower part of the casing of the blower 52 to admit water there in so that the moisture may be carried up by the air to .the condenser 40 where it will assist in the cooling of the condenser. The condenser blower 52 draws air through the portion of the outdoor air grille 70 nearest the sealed unit 38 into the cabinet and down through the large open-- ing 60 in the support 36 into the compartment 62 where it is drawn into side inlets of the casing of the blower 52 and discharged through the discharge portion 56 into the shroud 72 connecting with the inner face of the condenser 40. The casing of the blower 52 is provided with a gasketted flange 74 making an airtight removable fit with the adjacent end portion of the shroud 72.

The evaporator blower enclosure 64 is provided with a diagonally located filter 76 in front of the opening 66 so that the air drawn through the grille 30 and the opening 66 passessthrough the filter before entering the housing of the blower 54. The air is discharged through the discharge portion 58 of the blower 54 beneath the evaporator 44 from which the air may continue through the upper openings 80 and 82, or the plate 84 may be removed for forward discharge through the grille 32. The evaporator 44 is provided with a water collecting pan 86 beneath it having an outlet 88 connected by a hose 90 to discharge into the interior of the condenser blower 52 so that it may be carried onto the surfaces of the condenser 40 by the circulating onto the surfaces of the condenser grooved surface of the support 36 and discharge so as to be caught by the pan 68.

Extending up to the evaporator 44 in one corner of the partition 50 is an enclosure 92 (FIGURE 3) closed at the top and having a bottom opening 96 disharging into the compartment 64. The partition 50 is provided with a fresh air door 94 providing for flow of air from the outside through the grille 70 and the compartment containing the compressor 38 into the compartment 92 and through the opening 96 into the blower enclosure 64 for adding fresh air to the room. This door 94 is operably connected to a Bowden wire 98 extending through a casing 121 to a lever 123 (FIGURES and 6). The lever 123 is pivoted at its lower end and carries a cam follower pin 125 riding in the spiral shaft cam slot 127 in the pressed metal square-toothed gear 129.

The partition 50 is also provided with an exhaust air door 131 at the rear of the evaporator 44 for discharging indoor and fresh air coming out of the blower 54 under suflicient pressure that some will escape through the door opening when the door 131 is open. This door 131 is operatively connected to a Bowden wire 133 extending through a casing 135 to a lever 137 pivotally mounted at its lower end to the bracket 139. The lever 137 is'provided with a cam follower pin 141 operating in the cam slot 143 in the pressed metal gear 129. The pressed metal .gear 129 is rotatably mounted on the bolt 144 and is turned by the pinion 145 mounted upon the'rotatable knob shaft 147 connected to the knob 26.

The bracket 139 rotatably supporting the shaft 147 serves as a support for the bolt 144 and the pivots 149 of the levers 123 and 127 as well as providing the anchorages 151 for the casings 121 and 135. The cam slots 143 and .127 are vso arranged that in one extreme position the wire 98 is pulled to open the fresh air door 94. As the knob 26 is turned, the lever 123 and the wire 98 move toward the bolt 144 to close the door 94. As the knob 26 is turned further in the same direction the lever 137 and the Bowden wire 133 are moved to gradually open the exhaust-air door 131.

In FIGS. 7 and 8 another form of operator for the fresh air and exhaust doors 94 and 131 is shown. In this form there is a supporting bracket 220 having pins or rivets 222 extending through the slots 224 in the racks 226 and 228. The ends of the racks 226 and 228 are.

each connected, respectively, by a screw 230 to an eyelet upon each of the ends of the Bowden wires 98 and 133. The enclosing conduits 121 and 135 for these wires 98 and 133 are clamped by the clamp 232 and the screw 234 to the'supporting bracket 220. The bracket 220 is provided with clearance slots 236 for the screws 230. The bracket 220 is provided with a second pair of'pins or rivets 238 extending through the slots 240 in the racks" .226 and 228. These slots 240 differ from the'slots 224 in'that they are provided with an offset enlargement 242 appearing in FIG. 7 beneath the heads of the pins or rivets 238.

The racks 226 and 228 are limited in their. movement away from each other by a yoke 244 extending transversely across and slidably enveloping the reduced portion of the racks adjacent the rack teeth 246. The rack teeth 246'mesh with opposite sides of the pinion 248. Approximately one-half of the pinion 248 has an enlarged to receive the knob 26. The halls 252 are preferably held in six circumferentially spaced holes in the bracket 220 surrounding the shaft 254. The lower end of the shaft 254 is provided with a spring washer 258 which presses the balls 252 into a series of six circumferentially spaced notches in the lower'face "of'the pinion 248. This provides a resilient holding arrangement for holding the shaft 254 in any one-of six positions so that the doors 94 and 131 may be held in at least three ascertainable positions.

In operation, the turning of the shaft 254 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 7 will cause the interrupted portion of the pinion 248 to push the left end of the rack 228 outwardly against the adjacent end of the yoke 244, which will pull the yoke 244 against the opposite edge of the rack 226 to move its rack teeth 246 into positive engagement with the teeth of the pinion 248. Continued rotation of the shaft 254 and the pinion 248 will cause the pinion to move the rack 226 to the right, as shown in FIG. 7. This will move the Bowden wire 98 in such a direction as to close the door 94. The operating mechanism for the door 94 is reversed from that shown in FIG. 3 to accomplish this movement. The rotation of the pinion 248 continues until the door 94 is opened to the extent desired.

Operation of the shaft 254 and the pinion 248 in the opposite direction'will pull the wire 98 so as to move the door 94 to the closed position. Further rotation will cause the interrupted portion 250 of the pinion 248 to push the rack 226 outwardly to disengage the pinion 248 from the teeth of the rack 226 when it is in its left position. Further rotation willmove rack 226 outwardly into engagement with the yoke 244, which will also move the rack 226 with its rack teeth 246 into engagement with the teeth of the pinion 248. Further rotation of the pinion will move the rack 228 and the Bowden wire 133 to the right'to open the exhaust air door 131. The enlarged end portions 242 of the slots 240 permit the lateral movement of the racks 226 and 228 alternately into and out of engagement with the teeth of the pinion 248 and also serve 'as notches to firmly hold the doors 94 and 131 in closed position.

Another arrangement for operating the doors 94 and 131 is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 in which the irregular frame 321 is provided with a rotatable shaft 323 rotatably mounted in the irregular frame or bracket 321.

Fastened to the rear end of the shaft 323 is a disc 325.

containing four holes 327. It also has an arm 329 extending radially. This arm 329 is provided with a connecting pin 331 on a radius following the center-line of the arm'329. The Bowden wire 98 is pivotally connected by a loop to the pin 331 and the casing 121 is so located that when the arm 329 is in the both doors closed position shown in FIG. 9 at an angle of about 45 to the left, it makes an obtuse angle of about with the wire 98. The Bowden wire 133'is also preferably connected by a loop to the pin 331. This wire 1'33.and its casing are so located that they make an obtuse angle of 120 with the radius passing through the pin 331 in the op posite direction'from the Bowden wire 98. Also, when the arm 329 is in this position, the wire -133 is located at an obtuse angle of 120 from the wire 98.

Atension coil spring'333 extends from the pin 331 to ananchorage 335 provided on the frame 321 exactly in alignment with the radius passing through the pin 3'31 but in the opposite direction "from the shaft 323. The

frame 321 has four apertures receiving four balls 337.

interruption 250 of the teeth. The supporting bracket 220 is provided with balls 252 located in apertures beneath the pinion 248 surrounding the pinionshaft 254;

The pinion 248 is held in place by a cage 256 fastenedin placeby the screw 258. The pinion shaft 254 is adapted circumferentially arranged which partially receive the balls 337. A spring washer 339 is located between the 'frame 321an'd a disc 341 fixed to the. shaft 323 so as to pull the ar'mf325 with its apertures resilientlyinto contact with the balls 337 so that the balls and the apertures .will servea'sra resilient detent to hold the arm 329 in four positions, l I

' By virtue of the angular arrangement between the wires 98 and 133 and the arm 329, the turning of the shaft 323 in a clockwise direction will pull the wire 98 to the right until the arm 329 engages the stop 343 when the fresh air door 94 will be fully open. The wire 133 will not move materially since it is substantially perpendicular to the are described by the pin 331. The counter-lockwise rotation of the shaft 323 will push the wire 98 back to its original position when the arm 329 reaches the 45 position shown in FIG. 9. Further counter-clockwise rotation of the shaft 323 and the arm 329 will pull the wire 133 downwardly to open the exhaust air door 131 while the wire 98 will not be moved a great deal within the conduit 121 since it will be substantially perpendicular to the arc traversed by the pin 331 until the arm 329 reaches the stop 345. In this position, the fresh air door 94 will be fully opened. The doors 94 and 131 may be provided with spring hinges biasing the doors to closed position. The over center tension coil spring 333 tends to balance the bias of the spring hinges of the doors 94 and 131.

On top of the cabinet there is provided an optional heating arrangement including a flat box-shaped enclosure 161 containing a cross-finned heater 163 located directly over the opening '82. The casting 161 has bottom and top openings 165 and 167 aligned with the opening 82. The opening 167 is provided with a grille 169 which also fits the opening 167 as well as the openings 82 and the opening in which the plate 84 is located providing these alternate locations for discharging air. The supply and return conduits 171 and 173 for the heater 163 extend downwardly through a vertical enclosure 175 alongside the cabinet. Heating can be obtained when the refrigerating system is removed by installing a duct from the discharge portion 58 of the blower 54 to opening 165.

If the heating arrangement is not desired, the enclosures 161 and 175 together with their contents may be removed and the grille 169 either placed in the opening 82 or in the front opening where the removable plate 84 is located. The plate 84 will fit in either the opening 82 or the opening 167 providing alternate locations for closing these openings whenever the grille 169 is moved to the front position. By this arrangement, either a front or top discharge can be obtained. The heating arrangement is readily applied. The refrigerating system above the support can be manufactured separately from the blower unit beneath the support 36. The unit may be serviced by removing the grilles 30 and 32 and then pulling out the entire inner unit. Servicing is made easier since the dual blower unit is readily separable from the refrigerating system since the blower housings readily disconnect from the condenser shroud 72 and the partition 50 enclosing the evaporator 44.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In an air conditioning unit including doors and door openings, a rotatable arm, a rotatable shaft carrying said arm, means for rotatably supporting said shaft, means for limiting the rotation of said arm about the axis of said shaft to provide two extreme positions and an intennedi ate position; said arm having an anchorage eccentrically located to said shaft, a first wire connecting said anchorage and a first door, a second wire connecting said anchorage and a second door, first conduit means enclosing said first wire haivng an end portion located adjacent said anchorage at an angle obtuse to a line extending between the center of said shaft and said anchorage when said arm is in an intermediate position, second conduit means enclosing said second wire having an end portion located adjacent said anchorage at an angle obtuse to said first conduit means adjacent said anchorage and obtuse to a line extending between the center of said shaft and said anchorage when said arm is in said intermediate position,

an over center spring having one end connected to and extending from said anchorage parallel to saidline between said anchorage and the center of the shaft when said arm is in 'said intermediate position, and a second anchorage for said spring mounted on the shaft supporting means and located on the extension of said line beyond the center of the shaft, said spring having its other end connected to said second anchorage.

2. In an air conditioning unit including a room air inlet and outlet and an outdoor air inlet and outlet, a fresh air opening and a fresh air door and an exhaust air opening and an exhaust air door, parallel longitudinally movable racks having oppositely facing rack teeth operatively connected individually to said fresh air door and said exhaust air door, a knob on said cabinet, a pinion connected to said knob located between said racks and having teeth engaging the oppositely facing rack teeth, the teeth of said pinion being continuously interrupted throughout substantially half of its periphery to prevent simultaneous move ment of said racks, said teeth being only suflicient in number to open and close said doors.

3. In an air conditioning unit including a room air inlet and outlet and an outdoor air inlet and outlet, a fresh air opening and a fresh air door and an exhaust air open ing and an exhaust air door, parallel longitudinally movable racks having oppositely facing rack teeth operatively connected individually to said fresh air door and said exhaust air door, a knob on said cabinet, a pinion connected to said knob located between said racks and having teeth engaging the oppositely facing rack teeth, the teeth of said pinion being continuously interrupted throughout substantially half of its periphery to prevent simultaneous movement of said racks, said teeth being only suflicient in number to open and close said doors, said racks each having a detent arrangement at one end of their movement for holding each of said doors tightly closed.

4. In an air conditioning unit including a room air inlet and outlet and an outdoor air inlet and outlet, a fresh air opening and a fresh air door and an exhaust air opening and an exhaust air door, parallel longitudinally movable racks having oppositely facing rack teeth operatively connected individually to said fresh air door and said exhaust air door, means for slidably mounting said racks for longitudinal movement, a knob on said cabinet, a pinion connected to said knob located between said racks and having teeth engaging the oppositely facing rack teeth, the teeth of said pinion being continuously interrupted throughout substantially half of its periphery to prevent simultaneous movement of said racks, said teeth being only suficient in number to open and close said doors, and means associated with said interrupted teeth for moving the opposite rack into engagement with the teeth of the pinion when the interrupted portion of said pinion engages the other rack.

5. In an air conditioning unit including a room air inlet and outlet and an outdoor air inlet and outlet, a fresh air opening and a fresh air door and an exhaust air opening and an exhaust air door, parallel longitudinally movable racks having oppositely facing rack teeth operatively connected individually to said fresh air door and said exhaust air door, means for slidably mounting said racks for longitudinal movement, a knob on said cabinet, a pinion connected to said knob located between said racks and having teeth engaging the oppositely facing rack teeth, the teeth of said pinion being continuously interrupted throughout substantially half of its periphery to prevent simultaneous movement of said racks, said teeth being only sufiicient in number to open and close said doors, said continuously interrupted section of said teeth having a radius substantially equal to the radius of the tips of said teeth for acting as a cam when contacting the rack teeth, and a yoke extending transversely across said racks and slidably receiving said racks for laterally moving one of the racks into engagement of the teeth of the pinion othemmk.

References Cited 'in ;the file of Ibis patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS Hedges Mar. 26, 1918 Stowell May 13, 1919 Neesonqm July 7, 1942 Eberhart.......Q. ----..-TJu1y 20, 19,43

Eberhart Feb. 29,1944 Moore; "June 10, 1952. Wilfert 'J-an. 3, 1 956 Little July 31, 1956 Roseman Feb. '12, 1957 Arnold July 23, 1957 'Kuhlensohmidt Aug. 6, 1957

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