US2290973A

US2290973A - Air conditioning unit

Info

Publication number: US2290973A
Application number: US303968A
Authority: US
Inventors: Bernard W Jewell
Original assignee: Chrysler Corp
Current assignee: Old Carco LLC
Priority date: 1939-11-13
Filing date: 1939-11-13
Publication date: 1942-07-28
Anticipated expiration: 1959-07-28

Description

July 28,1942. B. w. JEWELL 2,290,973

- AIR CONDITIONINGUNIT I Filed Nov. 13, 1939 I I 3 Sheets-Sheetl I f BY Y I E55". flwM' z km A TTORNE Y5.

July 28, 1942. 5. w. JEWELL AIR CONDITIONING-UNIT ,Filed No v. 13,- 1939 :5 Sheets-Sheet 2' I I I I I I I I I I .I I I I I I llll .l Tll llll II 4 1:01am? Ks.

July 28, 1942. B. 'w. JEWELL 2,290,973

AIR CONDITIONING UNIT Filed Nov. 13, 1939 s Sheets-Sheet 3 a a 0 Q and! Im -r] 11v VENTOR fer/74rd J4. Jwe/Z. 31 mm, at

A TTORNEY ferred to as the front thereof, with Patented July 28, 19 42 T OFFICE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT Bernard W. Jewell, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to Chrysler Corporation,

ration of Delaware Detroit, Mich., a corpo- Appllcation November 13, 1939 Serial No. 303,968 I 4 Claims.

My present invention relates to air conditioning units, particularly units of the type adapted to be mounted upon a window ledge or in an open-, ing in a wall of the room to be conditioned, the unit accordingly being provided with; an air. cooled condenser traversed by a stream of outside air for the purpose of cooling and condensing the refrigerant. x 4 The principal object of the present invention is to provide means in an air cooled unit whereby fresh air may be supplied at will or room air exhausted at will. A second object of the present invention is to provide means whereby the volume I of air traversing the cooling' and dehumidifying surfaces during operationthereof'remains substantially constant regardless of the amount of fresh air admitted to the unit, in order to prevent the accumulation of ice and frost upon the cooling and dehumidifying surfaces as would be the case if the supply of fresh air to the unit lessened the amount of air traversing such surfaces. I is to provide means whereby the ventilation of a room may be accomplished by exhausing there from vitiated room air, and means whereby such ventilation may be accomplished without the continued expense of operating the compressor and compressor motor and without possibility .of

A further object of the present invention some of the foregoing objects are accomplished.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, and Figs. 7,

the preferred form of unit is disclosed as comprising acasing of which the major portion is mounted inside of the plane of the window l and which is supported upon the window ledge ii the unit being retained thereon by bracket I2 abutting the outeredge of the window ledge and window sash retaining means l3 mounted upon the top of the unit. The unit comprises an evaporating compartment and a condensing compartment i6 separated by a vertical, insulated partition l7. Positioned 'within the evaporating compartment i5 is an evaporator coil 38, the coil l8 being in refrigerant flow relationship with a condenser coil is and a compressor 2@ in condensing compartment I 6, many details of the refrigerating system, including liquid line, suction line, expansion valve, etc., being omitted as unnecessary to a proper understanding of the present invention. The evaporator coil I8 comprises cooling and dehumidifying surfaces including freezing moisture on the cooling and dehumidifying surfaces.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention should be more readily apparent from a study of the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals refer to'like parts throughout.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a preferred form of the present invention, with parts broken away to show details thereof; Y

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the unit shown in Fig. 1, with parts broken away to show details thereof; I

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the unit, the evaporator or interior section of the unit being reparts broken away to' show details;

' Fig. 4 is a partial, vertical section taken substantially along line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a front view with parts broken away of a modified form of the invention; 1

Fig. 6 is a side elevation with partsbroken away of the modified form shown in Fig. 5; and, Fig. '7 is a wiring diagram adaptable to both forms horizontal tubes 2| and vertical fins 22. and preferably extends across the upper front portion of the unit, and the condenser coil preferably comprises horizontal tubes 23 and vertical fins 26 and extends across the entire outer face of the unit.

The condensing compartment i6 houses not only the compressor 20, but also houses a compressor driving motor 25, the armature shaft of whichis connected to the crankshaft of thecompressor. The compressor is mounted uponone side of a blower housing 26', and the motor 25 is mounted uponthe other side thereof, the blower housing being preferably formed of cast iron or cast aluminum of suflicient strength and rigidity to maintain the motor and compressor in alignment. The blower housing 26 comprises an involute central portion 21 and a motormounting flange 28 supported thereon at one side by integral connecting portions 29 and 30 between which are openings for the flow of air thereof the invention showing means whereby through into the involute portion 21; a compressor mounting flange 3| supported by integral connecting portions 32, 33', and 34 between which are openings for the flow ofv air therethrough into the involute portion 21; and an outlet portion 35 having itsmouth abutting or substantially abutting the vertical fins 24 of the condenser coil l9so that air forced from the involute portion 21 by a blower wheel (not shown) therein,

connected to the driving shaft of' motor 25, will be forced outwardly through a limited=central portion of the condenser coil I 9 and airwill'be other end supporting appropriate feet 42 cast integrally with the blower housing '25, so that most of the vibrations from the compressor and the blower and the noises of operation thereof will .not-be transmitted to the casing of the unit.

The evaporator compartment 15 houses .not only the evaporator coil it, but also houses an evaporator blower motor 45 having a doubleexhaust damper ill is open. Some of the air.

may pass through the coil It, thus causing greater circulationwithin the room and assisting the unit in removing stale air which might otherwise be trapped in dead air portions of the room. The exhaust damper 80 may be operated by rotating a shaft 62 to which is'fixed an exhaust damper control knob 63 so that the proportion -of the output of blowers and 4-1 to be exhausted may be controlled at'will.

Fig. 7 shows a control circuit whereby the-partial opening of exhaust damper 60 results in ended shaft drivingly connected to the blower wheels of blowers 45 and.4'l, which discharge upwardly into the upper half of the evaporator compartment containing the coil l8. The motor 45 and its blowers and blower housings are mounted in the lower half of the evaporator compartment [5, and theevaporator coil is separated therefrom by a horizontal partition 48 providing a' plenum chamber atlthe rear of. the evaporator coil so that air will be induced to flow uniformly throughout the entire length of coil l8 and through-an outlet grill 49 into the room to be conditioned.

The air which is conditioned by the evaporator coil l8 would ordinarily comprise room air admitted to the unit through an inlet, opening 50 of substantial size, provided in the bottom pan 4| across the bottom of the evaporating com-- partment l5, inside of which is preferably mounted a filter 5| for the purpose of removing dust and foreign objects from the air. Some fresh air may be provided, however, through afresh air duct 52 which extends beneath the blower housing 26, the duct being provided by forcing a portion of the pan 4| upward into the condensing compartment IS. A portion of the inverted trough so formed in the bottom of the unit may be closed by welding or otherwise afflxing a plate 53 (Figs. 2 and 4) extending from adjacent the bracket I2 to the lower edge of the partition H, but the outer end of the trough remains open to provide an inlet for the flow of fresh air into the evaporator compartment through an opening in partition H which may or may not be closed by a ventilator door 55.

stopping the compressor motor and the connected condenser blower and compressor, since continued operation of the compressor and its connected refrigerating system without a substantial flow of air traversing the cooling. and dehumidifying surfaces of the evaporator coil l 8.

might result in the freezing of moisture on the fins 22 and tubes 2| withpossible damage therto and with the certain result that subsequent airflow therethrough would be prevented until the ice melted. Accordinglythe unit is controlled by a circuit including power line I0 and ground line H, the power line I0 being connected to a main wire 12 in which is mounted the switch element I3 of an evaporator blower motor control switch, operated by a control button 14. The evaporator blower motor 45 is connected to the main wire 12 through a branch 15, and to the ground line .H through a wire 16. Main wire 12 The position of door 55 may be regulated by turning ashaft 58 by means of the ventilator door control knob 51. Partial or-complete opening of the ventilator door 55 controls the amount of fresh air admitted to the unit but does not substantially alter the total amount of air which may be forced through the evaporator coil l8 since opening of door 55 decreases the flow of air through filter 5| and vice versa.

The portion of the evaporator compartment 15 above the partition 48 and into which the blowers- 46 and 41 discharge comprises a plenum chamber as previously described, from which air may be exhausted by opening the exhaust damper 60 pivotally mounted adjacent an opening 6| in the partition IT. The resistance to airflow is connected to the compressor motor through an exhaust damper switch 11 and a compressor motor switch operatedby a control button 19,

the. compressor motor. 25 being connected to ground line H through a wire 80. It is to be noted that the evaporator blower motor switch 13, exhaust damper switch II, and compressor motor switch II are in series so that the compressor motor cannot be operated unless the evaporator blower motor is operating and the exhaust damper 50 is closed. This insures a full' supply of air through the evaporator coil before refrigerant is expanded therein, so that the formation of ice on the evaporator coil isprevented. In the 'event that it is desired that the room air be cleared by exhausting room air through the exhaust damper Blythe exhaust damper control knob 63 may be rotated, thereby opening the exhaust damper 60 and simultaneously opening switch 11 mounted upon the shaft 62, which causes the compressor motor to cease operating even though the compressor motor switch 18 may be closed. If it is' desired that the ev aporator blower motor operate to recirculate room air without cooling thereof, this may be accomplished by opening compressor motor switch II through the condenser coil I9 is preferably substantially less than the resistance to airflow through the evaporator coil l8, principally due to the relative thickness of the two coils and also because of the resistance of the outlet grill 49 in front of the evaporator coil, so that most of the air from the blowers 46 and 41 is ejected through the condensing compartment when the and closing exhaust damper 50, the switch 18 preventing operation of the compressor even though switch 11 is now closed. Since the evaporator motor is in parallel with the compressor motor 25 and switches 11 and 18,-the switch 13 will operate the evaporator blower motor alone when one or the other of'switches I1 and I8 is open. The evaporator blower motor 45 may also operate to provide fresh air along with a certain proportion of recirculated air without cooling and dehumidifying thereof whenever it is desired, since the operation of ventilating door 55 has no effect upon the control circuit.

When the evaporator coil I8 is in operation the moisture which is condensed from th air passing thereover collects in a drain pan from which it may be drained through a moisture disand into one of the inlet openings of the involute 'in several respects, foremost of which is that the evaporator compartment l comprises an upper inlet chamber and a lower outlet chamber for the conditioned or recirculated air. In this form the partition is bent outwardly along its upper edge-so as to provide a passage 90 for the admission of air from the-room being conditioned, through a grill 9| provided in the top of the be conditioned so that outside air may be sup-' plied to and rejected from the unit for the purpose of dissipating heat therefrom comprising a casing, a partition dividing said casing into a condensing compartment and an evaporating compartment, a condensing assembly comprising a compressor motor; a condenser blower and a compressor, each operatively connected to said compressor motor, and a condenser arranged in' refrigerant-flowrelationship with said c'ompressor, the condenser blower being so arranged with respect to said condenser'as to cause a stream of outside 'air to. flow thereover and cool the compressed refrigerant passed therethrough, an evaporating assembly comprising an evaporator connected in refrigerant-flow relationship with unit. The inlet 99 admits air to a vertical filter 92 positioned adjacent the evaporator coil l8, and air which is drawn from the room through the filter 92 and the coil I 8 is drawn downward through openings 93 in the partition 48 which divides the evaporator section into two parts. The blowers 46 and 41 have their outlets directed toward the front of the unit and discharge directly into the room through outlet grills- 94! so that the conditioned air is discharged with greater velocity than in the previous modifica tion. Another difference is that fresh air'may be admitted through the fresh air inlet duct- 52 provided by cutting an opening 91in the outer por,-' tion of the lower surface of the unit and welding or otherwise aflixing an inverted trough-shaped member 98 beneath the "casting. 26, with the inner end thereof adjacent'an opening 99 in the lower part of partition 11. The ventilating door 55 prevents the admission of fresh air when in. vertical position and admits a corresponding amount of recirculated room air through an opening I90 in the front'portion of the bottom pan 4| of the unit, or when inJ-a central position admits a certain proportion of fresh air and recirculated air directly to the blowers. 'In this form of the inventionit is seen that the intensely conditioned air from the evaporator coil I8 is tempered by air admitted through openings 99 or I00, or both, and intimately associated therewith by the blower wheels before being elected into the room.

Another differenc is that the exhaust damper said compressor and said condenser, an evaporator blower motor,'and an evaporator blower operatively connected to said evaporator blower motor, said evaporator blower and said evaporator being so arranged that the evaporator blower normally causes a flow of room air through said evaporator and into the room, an

exhaust damper forming a. portion of said partition and being so arranged with' respect to said evaporator blower and evaporator that, when opened,- som of the room air circulated by said evaporator blower is exhausted into the condensing compartment and'thence into the outside atmosphere, and a circuit for controlling said motors comprising a first branch for supplying power to said evaporator blower motor and a is so positioned as substantially to exclude air.

from passing through the evaporator coil 3 when opened by operation of the control knob 63, which results in stopping the compressor, and the evaporator blowers cause air to be exhausted from the room by flowing through the grill 9!; through the exhaust opening 6| and outward through the coil l9 by the pressure built up within the room upon continued operation of the blowers 46 and 41. The control circuit .of Fig. 7 and its functions apply in the same man ner as previously described with respect to the first modification.

Having described preferred embodiments of my invention it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the same permits of modifications in arrangement and detail, which modifications when covered by the following claims are considered to be a part of my invention.

I claim:

. 1. An air cooled air conditioning unit adapted to be associated with an opening in the room to second branch in parallel with said first branch for supplying power to said compressor motor, a control switch in series with both branches which when opened suspends operation of both said' compressor motor and said evaporator blower motor, a second switch in said second branch which, when opened whilesaid control switch is closed, suspends, operation of said compressor motor and thus permits said evaporator blower sor motor, and an exhaust damper switch in said second-branch and in series with said second switch, said exhaust damper switch being operatively connected to said exhaust damper to be opened thereby when said exhaust 'damper is opened whereb opening of said exhaust damper suspends operation of said compressor motor even though said secondlswitch may be closed.

2. An air cooled air conditioning unit comprising a condensing compartment, an evapo-, rating compartment, a condenser blower motor, a condenser blower driven by said condenser blower motor and located in said condensing compartment, an evaporator blower motor, an evaporator blowerdriven by said evaporator blower motor andlocated' in said evaporatingcompartment, an air cooling coil in said evaporating compartment, a partition between saidcompartments, an exhaust damper associated withsaid partition which when closed causes air movement induced by said evaporator blower motor to traverse said coil and when open permits air movement induced by said evaporator blower motor to flow through said condensing compartment, and a circuit for controlling said motors comprising a first branch for supplying power to said evaporator blower motor and a second branch in parallel with said first branch for supplying power to said compressor motor, a control switch in series with both branches which when opened suspends operation -of both said compressor motor and said evaporator blower motor, a second switch in said second branch which, when opened while said control switch is closed, suspends operation of said compressor motor and thus permits said evaporator blower motor to operate independently of said com-- 4. An air cooled air conditioning unit adapted to be mounted on a window ledge or other opening in a wallof a room to be conditioned with a part thereof extending outside of the room, comprising a casing, a partition dividing said easing 'into an outer condensing compartment and an inner evaporating compartment, means for exhausting vitiated air from the room being conditioned comprising an opening in the upper portion of said partition through which room air a may be exhausted and an exhaust damper adjacent said opening for regulating the flow oi air condenser blower and compressor of said assemblower motor in said condensing compartment,

an evaporator blower and evaporator blower motorin said evaporating compartment, an air cooling coilin said evaporating compartment, a

partition between said compartments, an exhaust damper associated with said partition which when closed causes air movement induced by said evaporator blower motor to traverse said coil and when open permits air movement induced by said evaporator blower motor to flow through said condensing compartment, and a circuit for controlling said motors comprising a first branch -for supplying power to said evaporatorblower motor and a second branch in parallel with said first branch for supplying .power to said compressor motor, a control switch in series with both branches which when opened suspends operation of both said compressor motor and said evaporator blower motor, a second switch in said second branch which, when opened while said control switch is closed,' .suspends operation of said compressor motor and thus permits said evaporator blower motor to operate independentlyof said compressor motor, and. an exhaust damper switchin said secondbranch and in series with said second switch, said exhaust damper switch being operatively connected to said exhaust damper to be opened thereby when said exhaust damper is opened whereby opening of said exhaust damper suspends operation oi said compressor motor even though said second switch may be closed. I

blower and compressor assembly mounted in said condensing compartment, the compressor motor,

bly being operatively connected to each other whereby operation of said compressor motor vcauses said'condenser blower to create a flow of air through said condensing compartment and said compressor to operate, an evaporator blower and a connected evaporator blower motor mounted in said evaporating compartment for causing a flow of air through said evaporating compartment, and a circuit for controlling said motors comprising a first branch for supplying power to said evaporator blower motor and a second branch in parallel with said first branch for supplying power to said compressor motor, a control switch in series with both branches which when opened suspends operation of both said compressor motor and said evaporator blower motor, a second switch in said second branch which, when opened while said control switch is closed, suspends operation of said compressor motor and thus permits said evaporator blower motor to operate independently of said compressor motor, and an exhaust damper switch in said second branch and'in series with said second switch, said exhaust damper switch being operatively connected to said exhaust damper to be opened thereby when said exhaust damper is opened whereby opening of said exhaust damper suspends operation of said compressor motor even though said second switch may be closed.

BERNARD W. J EWELL.