MXPA00002501A - Air conditioner unit for mounting within or on the roof of a vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides for an air conditioning unit for mounting within or on the roof of a vehicle which has a passenger compartment and air delivery ducts, the unit being adapted for conditioning of air with the passenger compartment of the bus. The unit comprises a casing having a longitudinal axis extending between ends and adapted to be attached to the roof of the vehicle with the longitudinal axis oriented front to back of the vehicle. A condenser section (24) is located centrally of the casing and adjacent the top thereof, the condenser section (24) including air delivery means (48) and at least one condenser coil (40) located adjacent the air delivery means (48). At least one evaporator section (22) is located between the condenser section (24) and a side of the casing and adjacent the bottom of the casing, the evaporator section (22) including an evaporator section air delivery means (30) and an evaporator coil (26), the air delivery means (30) having an air inlet for drawing in air from the passenger compartment and an outlet for discharging the air through the evaporator coil and then returning the conditioned air to the passenger compartment.

Description

AIR CONDITIONING UNIT FOR MOUNTING INSIDE OR ON THE CEILING OF A VEHICLE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to air conditioner units, and more particularly to an air conditioner unit suitable for mounting within or on the roof of a vehicle, such as a truck.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Vehicles such as trucks are typically provided with air conditioning units to condition the air inside the truck. These air conditioning units can include both heating and cooling functions and are generally mounted on the roof of the truck with inputs and outputs provided in communication with the interior of the truck to condition the air inside the truck. A number of roof mounted air conditioner units have been developed, which incorporate the functions of both evaporator and condenser in a single package and include evaporator coils on the suction side of the air flow passage. For example, the US patent. A. No. 5,605,055, Ceiling Mounted Air Conditioner, describes units that incorporate both evaporator and condenser functions in a single package, where pairs of condenser and evaporator coils are located off the longitudinal axis. Other examples of such units are shown in the US patents. A. 4,926,655 and 5,005,372, among others. These units have some disadvantages, in particular, water that can condense on the surface of the coils under negative static pressure. This condensation of the liquid must be evacuated from the air conditioner or anything else that may escape into the interior of the truck.

COMPENDIUM OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an air conditioner, which includes both evaporator and condenser functions in a single package, where evaporator coils are mounted against the evaporator air flow on a discharge side of the media of evaporator section supply. The present invention provides an air conditioner unit for mounting within the roof of a vehicle, which has a passenger compartment and air supply ducts, the unit being adapted to condition air with the passenger compartment of the truck. The unit comprises a cover having a longitudinal axis extending between the ends and adapted to be attached to the vehicle roof with the longitudinal axis oriented from front to rear of the vehicle. A condenser section is located centrally of the cover and adjacent to the upper part thereof, the condenser section including air supply means and at least one condenser coil adjacent to the air supply means. At least one evaporator section is located between the condenser section and one side of the cover and adjacent to the bottom of the cover, the evaporator section including air supply means is evaporator section and an evaporator coil, the means of air supply having an air inlet to extract air from the passenger compartment and an outlet to discharge air through the evaporator coil and then return the air conditioner to the passenger compartment. In one aspect of the invention, a suitable air conditioner unit is provided for mounting within the roof of a vehicle, which has a passenger compartment and air supply ducts and is adapted to supply the air conditioner of the air conditioning unit. air conditioner to the passenger compartment of the truck. The air conditioner unit includes a cover having a longitudinal axis extending between the ends and adapted to be attached to the roof structure of the vehicle with the longitudinal axis of the cover oriented from front to rear on the vehicle. The air conditioner unit has a condenser section that has centrally located longitudinal openings for condenser air flow, air flow supply means attached to the elongated condenser openings and coils are horizontally located outwardly from the longitudinal opening and are attached to the condenser openings. The longitudinal openings are provided at the bottom of the cover extending parallel to the longitudinal axis, which are located outwardly of the condenser section. The openings are equally spaced from the first and second sides of the cover. The first and second elongate evaporator coils are oriented vertically, but at a slight angle, outwardly from the longitudinal opening. Between the openings and between the evaporator coils are the air flow supply means. The airflow passages for both evaporator coils are located between each of the pairs of the condenser coils and the evaporator air supply means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a cross-sectional side elevation view of a first embodiment of an air conditioner of the truck of the present invention for mounted inside the roof of a truck; and Figure 2 is a top plan view of the air conditioner unit of a truck of Figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES The present invention is directed to an air conditioner unit of a truck to be mounted either on the roof of a truck, or inside the roof of a truck. A first embodiment of the air conditioner unit of a truck of the present invention is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. This air conditioner unit is designed to be mounted within the roof structure of a truck. A roof structure generally includes a plurality of curved or bent posts or beams, 12 and 18, which traverse the truck. Poles 12 and 18 are generally about 127 centimeters apart from the front to the rear of the truck. These beams are supported through a number of horizontal structural members 16 extending between the curved beams 12. The air conditioning unit of the truck illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 has an open structure with a cover 10 sized to be fixed within and having a lip edge 14 supported through adjacent posts or beams 12 or 18 of the roof of the truck. The structure of the truck roof comprises support members 12, which cross the width of the truck. The support members 12 are joined together through posts 14 in the shape of scissors and horizontally extended members 16. The roof structure is also provided with bottom members 12 through transverse members 18, separator of the bottom members 12 through the posts 20.

The cooling components of the air conditioner include evaporator sections 22 and condenser sections 24 mounted on the frame. Each of the evaporator sections 22 are provided with evaporator coils 26 oriented vertically but at a slight angle and an air supply assembly 28 for extracting air from the passenger compartment, or interior, of the truck and passing it through the coil of evaporator and then returning it to the interior of the truck. The air supply assembly includes suitable blower means such as a centrifugal blower 30, the inlet of which is in communication with the interior of the truck to extract air from the interior of the truck to allow it to pass through the evaporator coils. 26. The outlet of the centrifugal blower 30 is directed towards an air plenum 32, inside which the evaporator coils 26 are contained. As the air passes through the evaporator coils 26, it is conditioned and then leaves the full of air 32 through appropriate vents 34 and returns to the inside of the truck. The evaporator section 22 is closed on its upper surface through a hinged access door 36, which facilitates access to the evaporator section for maintenance and repair. For use in colder climates, the evaporator section 22 can be provided with heating coils 38 to heat the air for the passenger compartment of the truck. The condenser section 24 has condenser coils 40 and is provided with a plurality of air supply assemblies 42 in communication with the condenser coils 40 through an air plenum 44. The condenser air supply assemblies 42 preferably they are axial flow fans that have fan blades 46 and are driven by suitable electric motors 48. Axial flow fans 42 they push the air out of the air plenum 44 and thus extract the air to the plenum through the condenser coils 40. The embodiment of the invention illustrated in the Figures is to be mounted within the roof structure of a truck. The present invention is also suitable for units that are mounted on the roof surface. Said units will generally have a suitable frame to be supported by the roof structure of the truck and is enclosed by an aesthetically pleasing structure., adequate. Said air conditioner unit will be provided with an evaporator section and a condenser section similar to that described above. By providing the evaporator section of the air conditioner unit of the present invention in the configuration described above, wherein the air supply means pushes the air through the evaporator coils instead of extracting it through the coils as in the prior art, increased efficiency and additional benefits are achieved. These benefits include easier removal of condensate from the evaporator coils and increased efficiencies of the unit's air conditioning capabilities. By placing the evaporator coils under a higher pressure than the discharge of the evaporator air supply assembly, moisture condensation in the evaporator coils is easier to remove and does not require the special structures needed to remove the liquid condensed as in the prior art. Although several preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described herein in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, that variations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (3)

1. - An air conditioning unit for mounting inside or on the roof of a vehicle, which has a passenger compartment and air supply ducts, the unit being adapted for air conditioning with the passenger compartment of the truck, the unit comprises: a cover having a longitudinal axis extending between the ends and adapted to be attached to the roof of the vehicle with the longitudinal axis oriented from front to rear of the vehicle, a section of condenser located centrally of the cover and adjacent to its part upper, the condenser section including air supply means and at least one condenser coil located adjacent to the air supply means, at least one evaporator section located within the condenser section and one side of the cover and adjacent to the bottom of the cover, the evaporator section including air supply means of the evaporator and an evaporator coil, the air supply means having an air inlet to extract the air from the passenger compartment and an outlet to discharge the air, through the evaporator coil and then return the air conditioner to the compartment of passenger.

2. An air conditioning unit according to claim 1, wherein the evaporator coils are oriented generally vertically at a slight angle from the vertical.

3. An air conditioning unit suitable for mounting inside the roof of a vehicle, which has a passenger compartment and air supply ducts, is adapted for the air conditioning supply of the air conditioner unit to the air conditioning unit. passenger compartment of the truck, the air conditioner unit comprising a cover having a longitudinal axis extending between the ends and adapted to be attached to the roof structure of the vehicle with the longitudinal axis of the cover oriented from front to rear on the vehicle, a condenser section having centrally located and longitudinal openings for the air flow of the condenser, the air flow supply means attached to the horizontally elongated condenser openings and coils located outside the longitudinal opening and attached to the openings of the condenser. condenser, the longitudinal openings provided in the bottom of the former cover running parallel to the longitudinal axis, which are located outside the condenser section, the openings being equally spaced from the first and second sides of the cover, first and second elongated evaporator coils, vertically oriented, but at a slight angle, towards out from the longitudinal opening, evaporator air flow supply means located between the openings and the evaporator coils, the air flow passages for both evaporator coils are located between each of the pairs of condenser coils and media of evaporator air supply. fc -.- j.j-i.