US3045449A

US3045449A - Air conditioner condensate disposal system

Info

Publication number: US3045449A
Application number: US98079A
Authority: US
Inventors: Durdle Harold
Original assignee: Hupp Corp
Current assignee: Hupp Corp
Priority date: 1961-03-24
Filing date: 1961-03-24
Publication date: 1962-07-24
Anticipated expiration: 1979-07-24

Description

H. DURDLE July 24, 1962 AIR CONDITIONER CONDENSATE DISPOSAL SYSTEM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 24, 1961 INVENTOR Horold Durdle wwfw ATTORNEYS July 24, 1962 H. DURDLE AIR CONDITIONER CONDENSATE DISPOSAL SYSTEM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 24, 1961 ATTORNEYS a condenser.

United States Patent 3,045,449 AIR CONDITIONER CONDENSATE DISPOSAL SYSTEM Harold Durdle, Greenville, Mich., assignor to Hupp ;Cor- Poration, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Virginia Filed Mar. 24, 1961, Ser. No. 98,079 i 4 Claims. (Cl. 62279) This invention relates to air conditioner apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for disposing of the condensate water accumulated in the operation of air conditioners. I

As used herein, the term air conditioners refers to devices which are effective to cool the space served by the unit-or to selectively cool or heat such space. In general such units include a pair of series connected coils, one in heat exchange relation with the indoor air and the other in heat exchange relation with the outdoor air. When the device is used for cooling, the indoor coil functions as an evaporator and the outdoor coil functions as In certain cases, the refrigerant circuit is provided with gas reversal valves to reverse the functions of the coils when indoor heating is required.

When units of this type are' operated, substantial amounts of water condense on the evaporator coil and must be removed. In air conditioners operating on the cooling cycle, the water which condenses on the indoor evaporator is conducted to a pan positioned adjacent the fan associated with the outdoor condenser coil. The water is picked up by a slinger ring carried by the fan and is entrained in the air stream passing over the condenser coil where it is evaporated. This system has proved quite effective in practice since it not only produces rapid removal of the water but also increases the efiiciency and capacity of the condenser.

However the utilization of the slinger ring has several disadvantages. For example, it increases the cost of the fan, it increases the power required to drive the fan and since the slinger ring must enter the liquid, it produces a source of additional annoying noise. Further, it is not suit able for use when the unit is operated at sub-freezing temperatures. Under these conditions, freezing of the condensate water may either stall or damage the fan.

Also the slinger ring construction is limited in application to the propeller type fan which, in many cases, cannot move a suflicient volumeof air to assure operation of the unit at rated capacity. For example, in the so-called through-the-wall units, it is often necessary to move the air through relatively restricted passages. In these cases, it is necessary to employ a centrifugal blower to obtain the necessary air movement.

In recognition of the fact that conventional slinger ring constructions cannot be used with such blowers, alternate condensate disposal systems have been proposed for such blowers, .an example of such a construction being shown in United States Patent 2,776,554. This and similar proposals are subject to the same limitations as conventional slinger rings, since the water disposal apparatus is carried by the rotating blower member and must physically enter the condensate water thus producing the same problems of cost, balance, noise and freezing as are encountered in the operation of conventional propeller fan slinger rings.

With these considerations in mind, it is the principal purpose and object of the present invention to provide,

novel apparatus for disposing of condensate water in an air conditioner unit equipped with a centrifugal blower which is substantially noiseless in operation and which is not adversely aifected by the freezing of the condensate Water. a

It is a further object of the present invention to provide, a

3,045,449 Patented July 24, 1962 It is also an object of the present invention to provide novel systems including a centrifugal blower for removing condensate water, the apparatus being so constructed that the rotating blower wheel does not enter the body of 'the water thus permitting normal operation of the blower in sub-freezing temperatures.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide improved condensate disposal systems which eliminate the need for modification of the blower wheel and the need for installation of water pick-up apparatus on the wheel itself, thus reducing the cost of the unit and the problems of balancing and noise associated with prior units.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide improved condensate removal apparatus in which all of the water pick-up apparatus is stationary and which thus need not be made to the close tolerances required in prior units to assure the balance of blower wheels or fan members rotating at a relatively high speed.

In attaining these and other objects, the present invention provides, in association with a centrifugal blower, a water delivery system which operates automatically upon the establishment of a moving air current produced by the blower to cause the condensate water to move from a drip pan position at the bottom of the blower housing upwardly into a region directly in the path of the moving air current where it is entrained by the air current for delivery to a condenser or other point of disposal as required. The movement of the water is produced solely by the pressure dilferentials produced by operation of the blower and the blower wheel is at all times completely out of contact with the condensate water.

Additional objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of an air conditioning apparatus embodying the present invention with the top cover removed to show interior details;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section taken along lines 22 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal section taken along line 33 of FIGURE 2.

The condensate removal system of the present invention will .be disclosed as applied to a self-contained unitary air conditoning unit of the so-called through-thewall type adapted to be mounted in a wall opening of a building. Except for the condensate removal system, the unit is of essentially conventional construction.

The air conditioning assembly is of generally rectangular configuration and is adapted to be positioned in the wall 20 of the building in a manner to dispose its front surface 22 projecting slightly into the building and to dispose its rearward surface 24 projecting a slight distance outwardly of the building. The principal components of the assembly are the evaporator 26which extends -of the air conditioner unit. The pan 36 has an annular lip 37 to form a water receptacleof substantial depth, ie one inch.

In accordance with conventional practice, the output side of the compressor is connected by a conduit 38 to the inlet side of the condenser, the outlet side of the condenser is connected by a capillary tube 40 to the inlet side of the evaporator and the outlet end of the evaporator is connected by a suction line 42 to the inlet side of the compressor to form a closed refrigerant circuit. The blower 34 is of the centrifugal type and comprises a housing having a convolute wall 44, a side wall 45 having a single side air inlet opening 46 and an imperforate side wall 47, and an air outlet throat formed between the

terminal portions

48 and 50 of the convolute housing wall 44.

A centrifugal blower wheel 52 is mounted within the housing on a drive shaft 54 driven by a fractional horsepower motor 56 carried by an annular strap 58 supported from the side wall 45 of the housing by three

mounting tabs

60, 61 and 62. The motor shaft 54 extends through the adjacent imper-forate side walls of the

blower assemblies

34 and 32 into the latter where it supports a second blower wheel 64 which rotates within the blower assembly 32 which is of essentially the same construction as the blower unit 34.

A side air inlet opening 66 of the blower assembly 32 is positioned behind the evaporator and its outlet throat 68 is positioned to direct the air issuing therefrom between

partitions

70 and 72 to an air outlet grill assembly indicated generally at 74 at the front of the air conditioner between the end of the evaporator and the end of the air conditioner unit.

The blower wheel 52 draws air inwardly over a portion of the condenser through the single side air inlet opening 46 and delivers it to the region of the compressor at the rear of the partition 70, the air finally exiting from the apparatus through the adjacent portion of the condenser as shown by the arrows 76.

The apparatus thus far described is provided with controls for energizing and de-energizing the compressor 30 and the blower motor 56 automatically in response to temperatures or manually to provide ventilation. Since these controls are in all respects conventional, they have been omitted for clarity and will not be described further here.

In the operation of the unit, the relatively warm humid air passing over the chilled evaporator coils 26 causes a substantial amount of moisture to condense on the evaporator coils which, after a short period of operation, drips into the base pan 36. As best shown in FIGURE 2, the lowermost portion of the condenser blower housing 44 extends into the bottom of the base pan 36. The side wall 45 is provided with an opening 78 to permit water to enter the lowermost portion of the casing. To

facilitate the flow of water into the blower housing and to establish a pumping action, a transverse baffle 80 extends inwardly a short distance from the side wall 45 of the blower housing just upstream of the opening 78. This bafiie establishes a low pressure region in this area which effectively draws the water into the blower housing. It is characteristic of this type of blower that the air issuing through the throat is delivered in a relatively thin stream closely adjacent the inner surface of the volute housing portion, the velocity of the air being greatest in the region immediately adjacent the inner surface of the housing. The high velocity air movement in this region is effective to sweep the water in the bottom of the blower housing upwardly over the inclined blower section 82 into a trough 84 which, as shown in FIG- URES 2 and 3, extends horizontally across the outlet of the blower just below the lower lip 50.

As shown in FIGURE 3, one end of the trough projects beyond the side wall 45 of the blower housing and is provided with a rearwardly extending fitting 86 connected to a tube 88 which extends along the side wall 45 of the blower housing 44. The rearward end of the tube 88 is bent to extend inwardly through the side wall 45 preferably directly below the axis of the blower and above the water inlet opening 78. The end of the tube 88 is cut away as at 90 to provide an outlet opening of substantial area facing away from the air stream. The flow of air around the imperforate portion of the end of the tube creates a low pressure region at the outlet opening thus causing water to flow through the tube -where it is entrained in the air stream and is carried in the form of small droplets over the relatively hot condenser where it is evaporated.

Actual experience has shown that the rate at which the water is removed by the novel structure just described exceeds the rate at which it is deposited in the drip pan by the evaporator. The accumulation of water in the base pan 36 is held to a minimum thus substantially eliminating the possibility that condensed moisture will be picked up and re-circulated into the room. Thus the efficiency of the unit in de-humidifying the interior air is substantially increased. A correlated advantage is derived from the delivery of the moisture in fine droplets to the condenser thus assuring that the evaporation of the water at the condenser will be substantially complete. Evaporation of this water exerts a substantial cooling effect on the condenser thus increasing its effective capacity.

As stated above, it is desirable under certain conditions to operate the blower when the ambient outdoor temperature is below 32 F. For example, an air conditioner unit may be operated under these conditions to provide ventilation. Also, the blower is operated at sub-freezing temperatures when indoor heating is required. In this case it is necessary to modify the unit by the addition of since the periphery of the blower is always a substantial distance above the level of water or ice in the base pan 36.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A condensate disposal apparatus for air conditioners comprising; a water collector pan, a centrifugal blower I having a blower wheel and a housing, said housing having a side air inlet opening and a curved peripheral wall having its lowermost portion essentially tangential to the bottom of said pan, said wall having an unobstructed portion curving smoothly upwardly from said floor and terminating not substantially above the level of said pan to form with the opposite end of said peripheral housing wall an essentially horizontal air outlet, means defining an opening in said housing to permit water in said pan to flow into said lowermost portion of said housing, an upwardly open collector trough positioned adjacent the lower edge of said outlet opening and extending entirely across said outlet opening whereby when said blower is in operation water is moved by the flow of air toward and through said outlet opening, a portion of said water being delivered to said trough, conduit means connecting the interior of said trough to the interior of said blower housing, the terminal portion of said conduit means being positioned substantially below said blower wheel and directly in the air stream flowing toward said outlet whereby water issuing from said terminal portion is entrained in said air stream.

2. The combination according to claim 1 together with a transverse bafiie in said housing immediately upstream of said opening, said baflie being effective to create a low pressure region adjacent said opening to promote the flow of water therethirough.

3. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said terminal portion of said conduit means extends substantially parallel with the axis of said blower and is provided with an elongated opening facing toward said outlet.

4. An air conditioner assembly comprising a rectangular base pan, an evaporator extending along one edge of said base pan, a condenser extending along the opposite edge of said pan, first and second blowers having convolute housings-mounted in side-by-side relation between said evaporator and said condenser, a blower motor mounted on one of said housings, blower wheels positioned in the respective blower housings, means drivingly connecting said motor with each of said blower wheels, said first blower being arranged to draw air over said evaporator and said second blower housing having a side air inlet opening positioned opposite a portion of said condenser whereby said second blower is arranged to draw air inwardly over said portion of said condenser and having an essentially horizontal air outlet opening, means for directing the air delivered by said second blower in an essentially horizontal path over another portion of said condenser, means defining an opening in the housing of said second blower to permit condensate accumulated in said base pan to flow into said housing, an upwardly open trough extending across the outlet of said second blower housing into which said condensate is moved by the air passing through said second blower housing, and conduit means conducting said condensate from said trough into the air stream issuing from said second blower housing in a region below the blower wheel therein for entrainment in said air stream.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,134,349 Weiland Oct. 25, 1938 2,417,743 Eberha-rt Mar. 18, 1947 2,710,510 Roseman June 14, 1955 2,941,381 Eberhart June 21, 1960