KR20080017480A - Condensate drain pan for an evaporator unit - Google Patents

Abstract

An evaporator unit which is adaptable to be installed in either a horizontal or a vertical orientation is provided with a single drain pan which will accommodates either installation. The drain pan is a composite of an inner and outer shell and includes a pair of troughs with one trough being adapted to collect the condensate in a vertical orientation and the other trough being adapted to collect the condensate in a horizontal orientation. A drainage fixture is disposed at one end of the drain pan for receiving condensate flow from the drain pan and draining the condensate therefrom. The drainage fixture includes a water exit conduit associated with each trough and a baffle for preventing the condensate from blowing past the drainage fixture.

Description

Condensate drain pan for evaporator unit {CONDENSATE DRAIN PAN FOR AN EVAPORATOR UNIT}

The present invention relates generally to evaporator units for air conditioning systems, and more particularly to condensate drain pan construction and construction.

In many commercially known conditioning, heating and ventilation systems, the conditioned air is discharged into the interior space through an air distribution or conditioning unit. For example, one general type of air conditioning system, often referred to as a split system, includes separate indoor and outdoor units. The outdoor unit includes a compressor, a heat exchanger and a fan. The indoor unit includes a heat exchanger and a fan and is referred to as an evaporator unit. In operation, the indoor fan draws air through its inlet into the evaporator unit and forces the air out of the evaporator unit through the internal outlet opening via the heat exchanger.

The outdoor fan draws outdoor air into the outdoor unit, circulates it throughout the outdoor heat exchanger and returns it to the atmosphere. At the same time, the compressor allows the refrigeration fluid to circulate through and between the indoor and outdoor heat exchangers. In an indoor heat exchanger, the refrigerant absorbs heat from the air passing through the heat exchanger to cool the air. At the same time, in an outdoor heat exchanger, the air passing through the heat exchanger absorbs heat from the refrigerant passing through it.

This split type air conditioner unit is usually manufactured to have a wide range of cooling capacity. In manufacturing such units, the larger the unit, the more cumbersome and cumbersome the manufacture and assembly of the various components. Typically, the larger the unit, the more components are needed and the more fasteners are needed to assemble all the components. It is considered very desirable to minimize the number of components and fasteners needed in the manufacturing and assembly process.

Another advantage to the conditioning of indoor air produced by such an air conditioning unit is to remove undesirable moisture in the air as it is advanced by the indoor heat exchanger. This dehumidification is the result of the accumulation of waste when the moisture condenses on the cold indoor heat exchanger coil. Therefore, it is necessary to collect the removed water and convert it to the appropriate disposal point.

Typically, the indoor unit of the split system is mounted on the floor of the room with respect to its wall. However, in some situations it is desirable to place the indoor unit in another location, such as the ceiling of the room. It will be appreciated that it is highly desirable that the indoor unit can be mounted on one of the above-mentioned floors or ceilings mounted in locations while still providing the ability to collect condensate from the unit.

Indoor units for air conditioning systems that can be mounted for floor, ceiling or wall mounting are shown and described in US Pat. No. 6,321,556. However, the unit as shown in this patent includes two different condensate collections to accommodate various installation possibilities.

An evaporator unit for an air conditioning system includes a housing having a rear panel and a front section in which an air inlet and an air outlet are formed. The housing is formed with an air passage through the evaporator unit extending from the inlet to the outlet. The evaporator coil is supported in the housing and in the air passage. The evaporator unit includes an evaporator fan that allows air to flow along the air passage and through the evaporator coil where the air is cooled and water generated as a result of condensation is removed therefrom.

The single drain pan is configured so that the condensate is collected therein according to whether the evaporator unit is in a vertical orientation or a horizontal orientation, and an oriented drain pan is provided for collecting the condensate. The drain pan consists of a combination of a core made of polyurethane material and an ABS material and a shell fixed inside the core such that the condensate is formed on a portion of the drain pan to which it is exposed. The core and the shell can be fixed together by an adhesive, but preferably the two elements are integrally formed during the molding process. The shell has a pair of grooves near its one edge which serve to collect condensate from the pan and direct the flow of condensate from the pan. One of the grooves is configured and arranged to be activated when the evaporator unit is in a vertical orientation and the other groove is configured and arranged to be activated when the evaporator unit is in a horizontal orientation. The drainage fixture is attached to the drain pan in fluid communication with the groove in a manner that is always at a lower height than the groove when the evaporator unit is in a horizontal or vertical orientation. The drainage fixture includes an inlet channel for each of the two grooves and the baffles to limit the flow of condensate passing into the drainage fixture.

The evaporator unit housing has a bottom wall and a rear wall, each having an opening therein. Tubing is attached to the drainage fixture and is selectively penetrated through one of the openings to provide fluid communication from the drain pan to a location outside of the housing. For installations where gravity alone does not allow drainage from the piping, a condensate pump is provided. Collection sumps and sensors are also provided to operate the pump reactively.

1 is a perspective view of an evaporator unit installed in a vertical orientation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an exploded view of FIG.

3 is a front view of FIG. 1.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG.

6 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 5 as specified.

7 is a front view of the evaporator unit installed in a horizontal arrangement.

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of FIG.

9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 9 as shown in FIG.

11 is a perspective view of the drain pan.

12 is an enlarged view of the drainage fixing part of FIG.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged view of the drain pan and the drain fixing part thereof.

14 to 17 are various views of the drainage fixture.

The present invention provides the evaporator unit 11 shown in FIG. 1 as installed in a substantially vertical orientation, with the rear side 12 installed against the wall 13 and the bottom side 14 installed adjacent to the floor 16. Applies to Alternatively, the unit is also designed to be installed in a substantially horizontal position, with the rear side 12 positioned relative to the ceiling and the bottom side 14 positioned relative to the sidewall 13 as described below, but as shown It will be described soon in the content of the vertical orientation. Thus, in addition to the rear side 12 and the bottom side 14, the evaporator unit 11 has a front side 17, an upper side 18, a left side 19 and a right side 20.

The front panel 36 is provided on the front side 17 of the evaporator unit 11 behind the evaporator chamber containing the evaporator coil. Below the front panel 36 is a grill structure 39 having an air intake opening in fluid communication with a blower that draws air inwardly through the grill structure 39 and above the evaporator coil to be cooled. The cooled air is then discharged from the discharge opening 25 on the upper side 18.

2, the evaporator unit is shown in an exploded view to include all the various components prior to assembly. The assembly sequence and method are now described.

The rear panel 21 forms part of the basic structural components and the housing of the evaporator unit. The upper closure assembly 22 is secured to the rear panel 21 by first engaging its upper edge over the upper edge of the rear panel 21, and then fastening the two components to each other with fasteners 23. The left and right inner side assemblies 24, 26 are attached to the rear panel 21 by fasteners. The fan assembly 27 is then secured to the lower portion of the rear panel 21 by fasteners 28.

The next step in the assembly process is to install the evaporator coil 29 into the housing by positioning the ends of each of the left and right inner side assemblies 24, 26. The evaporator coil 29 is then fixed in its installation position by a single screw at each of its ends passing through the inner side assembly and at the end of the evaporator coil 29 into the tube sheet. The evaporator coil 29 is disposed in the evaporator chamber which is formed in part by the rear panel 21 and the left and right inner side assemblies 24, 26. However, it still needs to be close to the ends of the evaporator chamber to prevent penetration of the air flow. This is realized by the left and right closing elements 31, 32 which are held in place simply by being located in place without fasteners and also in combination with a drain pan 33 which forms an evaporator chamber. The drain pan 33 is fixed in place by fasteners at each end to secure each left and right inner side assembly 24, 26 to the drain pan 33. The drain hose 34 is attached to the drain fixing part of the drain pan 33. The front panel 36 is then positioned above the drain pan 33. The drain hose 34 is attached to the drain fixing part of the drain pan 33. The front panel 36 is then positioned by means of a fastener located above the drain pan 33 and attached to both the left and right inner side assemblies 24 and 26 and also to the fan deck portion of the rear panel 21. Is fixed in position.

Returning to the side of the unit, the control box 37 is installed by snapping into the left inner side assembly 24, and the stepping motor 38 is also fixed to the side assembly 24.

The blower chamber partially formed by the lower portion of the rear panel 21 and by the fan assembly 27 has an air intake opening therein. This suction opening is partially closed by the grille 39 in which the plurality of filter elements 41 are located.

The next step is to connect the stepping motor 38 to the horizontal louver mechanism on the top closure assembly 22, the horizontal louvers 42 at the ends to the left and right inner side assemblies 24, 26 and in the middle part thereof. Secured to the top closure assembly 22. The left and right end caps 43 and 44 are then secured to each of the left and right inner side assemblies 24 and 26 to complete the assembly process.

The front view of the evaporator unit is shown in a vertically oriented installation in FIG. Details of the internal components are shown in the sectional views of FIGS. 4 to 6.

By means of the unit disposed in this vertically oriented position, the fan assembly 27 sucks air to be cooled into the evaporator chamber 46 upwards through the evaporator coil 29 to be cooled and horizontally inwards through the grill 39. do. Thereafter, it is discharged upward and outward through the discharge opening 25. With cooling of the air passing through the evaporator coil 29, the air can also be dehumidified by removing some of the moisture from the air and causing the moisture to condense on the surface of the evaporator coil 29.

As shown in FIGS. 4-6, the lower end of the evaporator coil 29 allows condensate formed on the evaporator coil 29 to collect in the groove or groove 47 at the lower end of the drain pan 33. Captured at the lower end of the drain pan 33. Thereafter, the condensate is drained to one end of the groove 47 in which the drainage fixing portion 48 is installed as described below. The condensate is drained from the drainage fixture 48 through the drain tube 49, the drain hose 34, and eventually to a location outside the building.

As mentioned above, the drain pan 33 and the condensate drain system have been described as functioning when the unit is installed in a vertical orientation with respect to the wall. As shown in Figures 7-10, the same unit is shown installed in a horizontal position on the ceiling of the room. In this arrangement, the rear side 12 is arranged against the ceiling and the conditioned air is discharged substantially horizontally from the discharge opening 25. As shown, the drain pan 33 now has its second groove at a lower height such that condensate from the evaporator coil 29 collects in the second groove 51 and passes through the drain fixture 48. 51) and are arranged substantially horizontally. The condensate then flows out of the drain hose 34 through the drain tube 49 from the drain fixture 48. Rather than exiting from the rear side 12 of the unit in a vertically oriented installation, the drain tube 34 passes through the bottom side 14 of the unit as shown. From there, it is usually passed downwards through the wall and eventually discharged to the outside.

Considering now the details of the drain pan 33 and its structure, the drain pan 33 and its associated drainage fixtures are shown in FIGS. 11 and 13. The drain pan has a bottom 52, front and rear upstanding walls 53, 54, and upstanding side walls 56 that collectively form a vessel for condensate collected from condensate formation on the evaporator coil 29. , 57). As described above, in the case of a horizontal arrangement that is slightly inclined downward toward the groove 51 as shown in FIGS. 7 to 11, the first and second grooves 47, 51 are defined by the rear wall 54. ) And the bottom portion 52. This inclined position is better shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

As shown in FIG. 13, the drain pan 33 is formed of two elements, an outer shell 58 and an inner liner 59. The outer shell 58 is made of a lightweight polyurethane material and the inner liner 59 is made of a water resistant ABS material. The shell 59 is relatively thin in thickness and conforms to the shape of the top surface of the outer liner 58. The outer shell 58 and the inner liner 59 are formed separately in two, and then fixed to each other by an adhesive or the like. Alternatively they may be formed as a unitary unit by a process such as molding.

As shown in Figs. 11 and 13, the cavity 61 is in the vicinity of the side wall 57 and the first and second to accommodate the drainage fixing portion 48 that can be fixed in the cavity 61 by adhesive or the like. It is provided in line with the grooves 47 and 51. The drainage fixture 48 is shown in the installed position in FIG. 12 and in the uninstalled position in FIGS. 14-17.

Preferably, the drainage fixture 48 is made of a lightweight plastic material and includes a back wall 63, side walls 60, 64, a front wall 65, and a bottom 66, all of which are The storage part 67 is formed. An opening 68 is formed in the rear wall 63 and the discharge tube 49 is fluidly connected to the opening 68 to drain the condensate as described above.

A pair of bridged structures 71, 72, which respectively form inflow channels 73, 74 at different levels, lead into the reservoir 67 (see in particular FIGS. 14 and 15). The channel 73 is aligned with the first groove 47, and the channel 74 is aligned with the second groove 51. The flow of condensate flows from the first groove 47 through the inlet channel 73 into the reservoir 67 when the unit is oriented in a vertical arrangement. When the unit is placed horizontally, the condensate will flow from the second groove 51 through the inlet channel 74 into the reservoir 67.

It will be appreciated that the flow along the grooves can sometimes be significant, and there are provisions for preventing the flow of air from flowing past the sidewall 64 of the reservoir 67. Thus, the baffle 76 is aligned with the inlet channel 73 for the purpose of breaking up the flow pattern and causing the condensate to flow around the baffle and through the opening 68, and the baffle 77 is aligned with the inlet channel ( 74).

Claims (17)

It can be installed in a substantially vertical orientation with respect to the wall or in a substantially horizontal orientation under the ceiling, having a housing having an air inlet opening and an air outlet opening, a blower chamber, a heat exchanger coil therein, and an upper portion when the evaporator unit is operated. An air conditioner evaporator unit of the type having a heat exchanger chamber that can have condensate formed in the A condensate pan disposed in the heat exchanger chamber and positioned relative to the heat exchanger when the evaporator unit is installed in either a vertical or horizontal orientation; A drainage fixture in the condensate pan for draining condensate collected in the condensate pan, The condensate fan has an air conditioner evaporator unit having a portion located directly below a portion of the heat exchanger coil such that condensate moves by gravity from the heat exchanger coil to the condensate pan. The condensate pan of claim 1, wherein the condensate pan comprises two grooves, one groove configured and arranged to be positioned below the heat exchanger coil when the evaporator unit is in a vertical orientation, and the other groove is An air conditioner evaporator unit constructed and arranged to be positioned below the heat exchanger coil when in a horizontal orientation. 3. An air conditioner evaporator unit as set forth in claim 2 wherein said grooves are disposed parallel to each other. An air conditioner evaporator unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein said condensate pan consists of a composite structure, one element of the composite structure of polyurethane material, and the other element of ABS material. 5. An air conditioner evaporator unit as set forth in claim 4 wherein said polyurethane element and said ABS element are integrally formed. The air conditioner evaporator unit of claim 1 wherein said drainage fixture comprises at least one inlet channel for directing the flow of condensate from the condensate pan to the drainage fixture. 3. An air conditioner evaporator unit as set forth in claim 2 wherein said drainage fixture comprises an inlet channel for guiding the flow of condensate from each of the grooves. The air conditioner evaporator of claim 1, wherein the drain fixture comprises at least one baffle disposed and sized in a flow stream of condensate flowing from the condensate pan to prevent condensate from flowing past the drain fixture. unit. 3. An air conditioner evaporator unit as set forth in claim 2 wherein said drainage fixture has a baffle associated with each of said grooves to prevent flow of condensate from flowing past said drainage fixture. The air conditioner evaporator unit of claim 1 wherein said drainage fixture comprises a drainage tube for drainage of condensate from the drainage fixture. A heat exchanger having a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet opening, and a coil for circulation of relatively cold through refrigerant and a relatively warm top of the air to cool the air and causing condensation to form on the coil during processing; An evaporator for air conditioning in the space comprising a fan causing air to flow through the heat exchanger from the space and out of the air outlet opening, and a condensate drain pan disposed below the coil to collect the condensate formed on the coil. Unit, The condensate drain pan is made of ABS material with an outer element made of polyurethane material having a bottom wall, an upright rear wall, a front wall and two sidewalls, and having a bottom wall, an upright rear wall, a front wall and an end wall. An evaporator unit for air conditioning comprising an inner element that conforms to the shape of the outer element but is slightly smaller in size to fit closely within the outer element. An evaporator unit as set forth in claim 11 wherein said outer and inner elements are integrally formed. 12. The evaporator unit of claim 11, wherein the evaporator unit can be configured to be installed in either a horizontal or vertical orientation, wherein the condensate drain pan comprises a pair of grooves, wherein one of the grooves is a vertical orientation of the evaporator unit. And an other groove is configured and arranged to be below the heat exchanger when the evaporator unit is in a horizontal orientation. The evaporator unit of claim 13, wherein the condensate drain pan comprises a drainage fixture in fluid communication with each of the grooves. 15. The evaporator unit of claim 14 wherein the drainage fixture comprises at least one inlet channel in fluid communication between one of the grooves and the drainage fixture. 15. The air conditioner of claim 14 wherein the drainage fixture comprises a baffle, the baffle being positioned and sized in a flow stream of condensate flowing into the drainage fixture that prevents condensate from flowing past the drainage fixture. Evaporator unit. 15. The evaporator unit of claim 14 wherein the drainage fixture comprises a drainage tube for draining condensate from the drainage fixture.

Images