KR20080027393A - Horizontal louver support bracket for an evaporator unit - Google Patents

Abstract

An evaporator unit (11) with an elongate discharge opening (25) includes a closure assembly (22, 24, 26) for defining the boundaries of the discharge opening and providing vanes (47) and a louver structure (51) for selectively varying the direction of the air discharge flow. An elongate body (46) is secured to a back plate (21) of the unit by way of a hook (61) on the back of the body interfacing with a lip (59) on an upper edge of the back plate. A plurality of vanes are secured to the body by way of a snap fit, and groups of vanes are selectively set at variable angles by use of a gang bar (57). A plurality of brackets (63) are secured to the body and have a pair of arms (68, 69) extending therefrom. One arm (67) has a snap-fit slot into which a post of a horizontal louver may be installed and the other arm (68) has a surface against which one end of the drain pan is made to rest in an assembled position. The horizontal louver is connected to a drive motor (38) for continuous oscillation of the discharged air in a vertical direction. ® KIPO & WIPO 2008

Description

Horizontal louver support bracket for evaporator unit {HORIZONTAL LOUVER SUPPORT BRACKET FOR AN EVAPORATOR UNIT}

The present invention relates generally to an evaporator unit for an air conditioning system, and more particularly to a bracket for supporting a horizontal louver.

In many commercial air conditioning, heating and ventilation systems, the conditioned air is discharged into the interior space through an air distribution or conditioning unit. For example, one common type of air conditioning system, often referred to as a split system, includes separate indoor units 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 called an evaporator unit. In operation, the indoor fan draws air through its inlet into the evaporator unit and allows air to exit through the heat exchanger and out of the evaporator unit through the outlet.

The outdoor fan draws outdoor air into the outdoor unit, circulates it over the outdoor heat exchanger and returns it to the atmosphere. At the same time, the compressor allows the cooling 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 the heat exchanger.

Such split type air conditioner units are typically manufactured to have a wide range of cooling capacity. In manufacturing such an air conditioner unit, in particular, the larger the air conditioner unit, the more cumbersome and cumbersome the manufacture and assembly of the various components. Typically, the larger the air conditioner unit, the more components are needed and the more fasteners are needed to assemble all the components. It is highly desirable to minimize the number of components and fasteners required during the manufacturing and assembly process.

The housing for the evaporator unit generally comprises a front cover with a harmonized air outlet and a plurality of louvers arranged in the outlet for controlling the flow of air to be discharged. The louver is optionally adjustable and may be connected to a drive mechanism, which cleans the airflow through the outlet by automatically moving the louver continuously in a reciprocating manner.

An evaporator unit for an air conditioning system includes a housing having a rear panel and a front section having an air inlet and an air opening. The housing includes an evaporator fan and an evaporator coil, which draw air through the inlet, mix through the evaporator coil, and discharge it out of the outlet. The closing assembly is provided to connect the upper edge of the back plate and the upper edge of the evaporator drain pan to each other. The closure assembly is connected to the back plate by mating the lip and hook structures of each of the back plate and the closure member. Furthermore, a plurality of vertical louvers are provided by snap-fitting each shaft of the plurality of vertical louvers to the corresponding opening of the closing member. The vertical louver groups can be grouped and optionally adjusted to one another to regulate the flow of harmonized air leaving the outlet as needed. The plurality of support brackets each have two arms and are attached to the closure member, one arm mating to the surface of the condensate drain pan and the other arm snap-fit to rotatably receive the mounting shaft of the horizontal louver. It has a slot. This louver is connected to the stepper motor to make vertical turns in a reciprocating manner while the system is operating.

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

2 is an exploded view of FIG.

3 is an exploded view of the closing member of the evaporator unit according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a perspective view of the assembled form of the closure member.

5 is a side view of the rear panel and the closure member.

Figure 6 is a side view of the closure member after assembly with the rear panel.

7 is a partial perspective view of a horizontal louver member according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a partial cross-sectional view of the evaporator unit showing the position where the horizontal louver member is installed.

9 is a front perspective view of the evaporator unit shown with the horizontal louver member removed.

The present invention is applied to the evaporator unit 11 and collectively shown by reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1, the evaporator unit 11 abuts the bottom portion 14 and the wall 13 installed adjacent to the bottom 16. It is provided with the rear side 12 provided, and is installed in a substantially vertical direction. The evaporator unit 11 may alternatively be designed to be installed in a generally horizontal arrangement with the bottom side 14 placed on the wall 13 and the rear side 12 placed on the ceiling, but in the vertical orientation as shown below. Will be described in connection with. 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 21.

The front side part 17 of the evaporator unit 11 is provided with a front panel 36 and has an evaporator chamber for storing the evaporator coil 29 behind the front panel 36. Below the front panel 36 is a grill structure 39, behind the grill structure 39 is an air inlet in fluid communication with the blower of the fan assembly 27, which draws air through the grill structure 39. It is sucked inside and cooled via the evaporator coil (29). The cooled air is then discharged from the outlet 25 of the upper portion 18.

Referring to FIG. 2, the evaporator unit is shown in an exploded view including all of the various components before assembly. The order and manner of assembly will be described below.

The rear panel 21 forms part of the housing of the first structural component and the evaporator unit. The upper closure assembly 22 first joins the upper edge of the upper closure assembly 22 to the upper edge of the rear panel 21 and then secures these two parts together by a fastener 23 to the rear panel 21. It is fixed to). 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.

In the assembly process, the next step is to install the evaporator coil 29 into the housing by placing the ends of the evaporator coil 29 in the respective left and right inner assembly 24, 26. The evaporator coil 29 is then fixed in the installation position by a single screw at each end of the evaporator coil 29 passing through the inner assembly 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 is still necessary to close the end of the evaporator chamber to prevent the flow of air through. This is realized by the left and right closing members 31, 32 which are held in place by simply engaging it with the drain pan 33 after it is simply positioned in place without fasteners, which also drain the evaporator chamber. Form. Drain pan 33 is fixed in place by fasteners at each of the ends to secure left and right inner assembly 24, 26 to drain pan 33. The drain hose panel 34 is attached to the drain element of the drain pan 33. The front panel 36 is then positioned above the drain pan 33 and fixed in place by fasteners to attach to both the left and right inner assembly 24, 26 and to the fan deck portion of the rear panel 21. do.

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

The blower chamber, which is formed in part by the lower part of the rear panel 21 and by the fan assembly 27, has an air intake opening therein. The 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 upper closure assembly 22, the horizontal louvers 42 being end fixed to the left and right inner side assemblies 24, 26 and the upper closure assembly 22 ), The middle part is fixed. The left and right end caps 43, 44 are then secured to the left and right inner side assemblies 24, 26, respectively, to complete the assembly process.

Referring to Figures 3 and 4, the top closure assembly 22 is shown in an exploded view and a view assembled and installed on the rear panel 21, respectively. The upper closure assembly 22 has a body 46 extending laterally across the upper length of the rear panel 21 and a transverse direction of the cooled air attached to the body 46 and discharged from the outlet 25. It includes a plurality of vanes 47 that can be adjustablely positioned to selectively change.

The body 46 includes a rear member 48, a front member 49 and a plurality of gang bars 51. The interlocking bar 51 is aligned and attached to the inner side of the rear member 48, and the opening of the interlocking bar 51 when the front member 49 is fixed to the rear member 48 to form the body 46. The front member 49 has a plurality of slots 52 that mate with 53. The main body rear member 48 is formed of a plastic material having a rigid and relatively high strength, and the front member 49 is formed of a relatively light material such as polystyrene. The rear member 48 and the front member 49 are fixed to each other by suitable fasteners.

Each vane 47 includes a blade portion 54 and a shaft portion 56. The main body front member 49 and the rear member 48 are fixed together with a plurality of interlocking bars 51 surrounded therein. A plurality of vanes is inserted into the opening 53 of the interlocking bar 51 through each slot 52. The shaft portion 56 of the vanes 47 is designed to be able to snap into the opening 53 in a manner held by each interlocking bar 51. Moreover, each individual linkage bar 51 may be selectively positioned in a reciprocating manner to change the angle of the vanes 47 within a particular linkage bar. That is, in each interlocking bar, the vanes 47 provided in the interlocking bar are collectively changed so that they are positioned at the same angle. In this way, three groups of vanes 47 may be selectively positioned at three different angles to divert the cooled airflow in the desired directions in the transverse direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, the rear panel 21 includes a vertical wall 57 and a horizontal shelf 58. The vertical wall 57 forms a rear portion of each blower chamber and a heat exchanger chamber thereon. The horizontal shelf 58 forms the lower boundary of the blower chamber. As shown in FIG. 4, the top closure assembly 22 is secured to the top edge of the vertical wall 57. This is realized by a two step process as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

As shown in FIG. 5, the vertical wall 57 of the rear panel 21 includes a lip 59 extending rearward from the top end. In a slightly mating manner, the closure assembly body 36 may include a hook 61 at the upper edge to engage the lip 59 as shown, as shown by the rear side of the hook 61. In the first step of the assembly process, the closing assembly 22 is inclined upwards as shown in FIG. 5 and the hook 61 is coupled to the lip 59 as shown. The upper closure assembly 22 is then rotated downward to the position shown in FIG. 6 and held in place while the hook 61 remains engaged with the lip 59.

Referring back to FIG. 3, the front member 49 of the upper closure assembly includes a pair of rectangular openings 62, and behind each rectangular opening 62, bearings formed as part of the rear member 48. There is 65. In addition, a pair of brackets 63 are provided as part of the upper closure assembly 22, each bracket 63 having a base 64, a curved body 66 and a pair of arms 67, 68. Include. Base 64 is configured to pass through rectangular opening 62 and secure to bearing 65 so that curved body 66 extends outwardly as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The arm 67 has a pair of fingers 69 and 71 which form a slot 72, which slot is configured to receive in a snap-fit relationship the mounting member of the horizontal louver as described below. . Arm 68 has a slightly pointed end 73 that engages a portion of the condensate drain pan as described below.

The vanes that are adjustable to selectively adjust the flow of air cooled in the transverse direction have been described above, and the following describes a horizontal louver member for selectively adjusting the flow of air in the vertical direction. The horizontal louver member 74 shown in FIG. 7 extends transversely across the outlet 25 as shown in FIG. 9 and has an elongated body having a slightly curved cross section as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. It includes.

In the intermediate position corresponding to the position of the bracket 63 there is a pair of bosses 77 and 78 and a strut 79 extending between the bosses. The strut 79 is sized and positioned to snap into each slot 72 of the bracket 63 as shown in FIG.

An outwardly extending drive collar 83 is provided at one end 82 of the horizontal louver member 74 and is engageable with the drive shaft of the stepping motor 38, which is adapted to continuously change the vertical direction of the airflow. To move the horizontal louver member.

During the assembly process as described above, the upper closure assembly 22 is installed before the drain pan 33 and the front panel 36 are installed. As shown in Fig. 8, when the drain pan 33 is disposed in the installation position, one end 84 of the drain pan 33 rests on the pointed end 73 of the arm 68 as shown. do. The front panel 36 may then be installed with an exterior profile that is generally the same as the exterior profile of the elongated body 76 of the horizontal louver member 74.

Claims (8)

Evaporator unit for type air conditioner with heat exchanger chamber and blower chamber with heat exchanger and air outlet, The blower chamber is provided with an inlet and a blower for introducing air into the inlet to circulate the heat exchanger chamber, the air in the heat exchanger chamber is discharged to the outside of the outlet in harmony with the heat exchanger, The evaporator unit, A housing having a back plate which partially forms each of the blower chamber and the heat exchanger chamber; An upper closure assembly for distributing the conditioned air and partially forming a heat exchanger chamber when the conditioned air leaves the outlet; Contains a horizontal louver element, The closure assembly, A main body extending generally in the longitudinal direction over the width of the rear plate, A plurality of vanes fixed to the main body and selectively adjustable to change the transverse direction of the airflow when the airflow passes through the outlet; At least one support bracket each having a first arm and attached to said body in a spaced apart relationship, The first arm has at its end a pair of finger portions extending from the support bracket and spaced apart to form a retaining slot, The horizontal louver member, A louver body configured to be selectively positioned in the air outlet to change air discharged from the outlet in a vertical plane direction; At least one boss structure extending from one side of the louver body, And a connecting post coupled to the boss structure and configured to snap into the retaining slot to rotatably secure the horizontal louver member to the at least one support bracket. The evaporator unit of claim 1 wherein said at least one support bracket includes a second arm engageable with a surface of a condensate drain pan and extending from said support bracket. An evaporator unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein said horizontal louver members comprise shafts at both ends, each of which shaft fits into an opening in the housing and is rotatable within the opening. The evaporator unit of claim 1 wherein the horizontal louver member is operably connected to a stepper motor operative to automatically rotate the horizontal louver member to continuously change the vertical direction. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising a plurality of support brackets attached to the closure member, each bracket having a slotted arm, Wherein said horizontal louver member comprises a plurality of struts, each of said struts being snapped into one of said bracket arm slots so as to be selectively rotatable within the slot to change the position and angle of the horizontal louver. An evaporator unit of the type having a evaporator coil, a housing surrounding the blower that introduces air into the air inlet and circulates outside the air outlet through the evaporator coil, and a closure assembly defining a boundary of the air outlet, A body extending over the lateral length of the housing and attached to the housing at one edge; A plurality of vanes fixed to the main body and selectively adjustable to change the transverse direction of the airflow as the airflow passes through the outlet; A plurality of support brackets each having a first arm and attached to the main body in a spaced apart relationship; Contains a horizontal louver element, The first arm has a pair of fingers extending from the support bracket and spaced apart to form a retaining slot, The horizontal louver element, A louver body configured to be selectively positioned in the air outlet to change a direction of air discharged from the outlet in a vertical plane; At least one boss structure extending from one side of the louver body, And a connecting strut coupled to the at least one boss structure and configured to snap into each retaining slot to rotatably secure the horizontal louver element to at least one of the support brackets. 7. An evaporator unit as set forth in claim 6 comprising a stepper motor connected to said horizontal louver to continuously change the angular position. 7. The evaporator unit of claim 6 wherein each bracket includes a second arm that engages a surface of the condensate drain pan of the evaporator unit.

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