US2813406A - Combination heater and air-conditioner - Google Patents

Description

NMA my E97 s. H. SMITH COMBINATION HEATER AND AIR-CONDITIONER lFu- 51 Jan. 19, 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet I.

Plv/.6057737 A 'Troma/E v5 mf., 199 1957 s. H. SMITH 313,406

COMBINATION HEATER AND AIR-CONDITION@ f Filed Jan. 19, 1954 6 sheets-sheet 2 A INVENTOR. SAMl/E H- SN/ TH .BY 1P/6 Ht'y, WATTS, EFRONJI SNE/VN Y 'A T TGR/VE V5 Ill IIIII Filed Jan. 19, 1954 Nov. W, 1957 s. H. sMm-a 3 JOMBINATION HEATER AND AIR-CONDITIONER Filed Jan. 19. 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 fl k l HW MIQIIW I INVENTOR. 5A Ml/El H- SMITH Nov. 19, 1957 s. H. SMITH 2,813,406

COMBINATION HEATER AND AIR-CONDITIONER Filed Jan. 19, 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. SANUEZ H- SIW/77%'l 'A T TOE/VEYS Nov. 19, 1957 s. H. SMITH COMBINATION HEATER AND AIR-CONDITIONER 6 Sheets-Sheet 6` Filed Jan. 19, 1954 IN VEN TOR. SAMUEL H- sM/ TH .BY 1er/015x WA rrs,

Unite v 2,813,406 coMsINrroN HEATER AND A1ncor-1nIrroNER Samuel H. Smith, Rocky River, Ohio, assigner to Borg- Wamer Corporation, Chicago,.lll.,j a corporation of Illinois i l. g

'The` present invention relates generally to the heat exchange art and,` is more particularly concerned with a novel housing or shell for a heat exchanger unit and with a unique combination heating and air-conditioning apparatus.

vIn response to an insistent popular demand for airconditioning of buildings of all types, a number and variety of methods, devices and systems have been developed and many of them have gone into general commercial use. However, in every instance the cost of making, installing and operating these devices and systems has been excessive and in most cases there have been other serious drawbacks. Thus, whether the air-conditioner'is to serve a large building or only a single room, it is regarded as large and cumbersome and the noise attending its operation is sufficient to be objectionable a large part of the time. Still another shortcoming of many of these devicesis their limited utility, being useful only for cooling air.

As a result of a recenteffort to meet and overcome at least theuse limitation, there has appeared on the market a combination heating and air-conditioning device. While this device has sufficient heat exchange capacity to take care of an average room in a house or an apartment house and isdesignedto tit into the wall, it is still objectionably large and noisy. `But the most serious shortcoming of this device is the condensation occurring on its outer surfaces.` This condensation cannot be prevented or controlled and the llowor absorption of condensate onto and into the surrounding building wall portions damages or destroys the plaster and paint or paper covering and eventually corrodes the metal or rots the wood supporting structure. A I

In `accordance with my present invention, lthese various shortcomings and derelictionsof the prior art are eliminated without creating any offsetting disadvantage. In addition, this invention affords some new advantages which are of major importance. In particular, the novel housing of this invention is not subject to condensation effects while the .heatexchanger therein is being used to cool air.. In addition, this invention apparatus is usable` both as a heater and as an air-conditioner, is relatively` small and light and is inexpensive to manufacture,`

install and operate. Also, this apparatus functions practically noiselessly and yet has a capacity for heating and for cooling which is greater than the substantially larger combination devices of the prior art. Still further, the present invention `apparatus not only effectively cools large volumes of air per unit ti'me, but also removes from. the air substantial quantities of contaminants such as dust and pollen. g

Those skilled inthe art will gain a further under.; standing of this invention from the detailed description herebelow, reference being had to `the drawings accompanying and forming a part of the specification, in which;

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Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a heat exchanger housing embodying the present invention in a preferred form;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the housing of Fig. 1 with the grill removed to reveal in part the apparatus of this invention;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and showing the said apparatus more completely;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 4--4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 2;

` Fig. 6 is a front view of the housing of Fig. 1 with the front grill portion and operating and control. mechanisms of the invention apparatus removed;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the housing of this invention taken on line 7-7`of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is `a wiring 1diagram of the illustrated apparatus including a rheostat unit;

Fig. 9 is a wiring diagram of thesaid apparatus including a zone thermostat; g

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the heat exchanger of Fig. 1 equipped `with a stack of this invention and with the grill removed;

Fig. 11 is a view taken on line 11-11 of Fig. l0;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary rear elevational View of the Fig. 10 assembly, showing the grill of the stack;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the assembly of Fig. 10;

Fig. 14 is a front elevational view of the stack of this invention with the grill removed; g

Fig. l5 is a View taken on line 15-15 of Fig. 14; and,`

Fig. 16 is a schematic view of an air-conditioning system including a plurality of air-conditioning assemblies of this invention.

As illustrated in the foregoing drawings, a. heating and air-conditioning apparatus housing of this invention is so constructed that substantially all `the exterior surface portions thereof are maintained above the dew point temperature during apparatus operation and are consequently always free from condensate formation. Thus, in general, the said housing comprises a box-like metal shell having an open side, a first partition dividing the `shell into an inner chamber and an outer chamber and having an inlet opening for delivering room temperature air into the inner chamber and an outlet opening for discharging room temperature air from the inner chamber,-and a second partition disposed at an angle to the iirst partition. This second partition separates the inlet opening from the outlet opening and divides the outer chamber into an inlet chamber totreceive `room temperature air for delivery into the inner `chamber and an outlet chamber to receive air discharge from the inner chamber through the outlet opening.

Also in accordance with this invention as illustrated in the aforesaid drawings, a combination heating and airconditioning apparatus of this invention comprises the housing generally described above and blower `means inthe housing for drawing air into the inner chamber through the inlet chamber and the inlet opening and forcing this air out `of` the housing` through the outlet opening and the outlet chamber. In addition, this ap-` paratus also includes a heat exchanger disposed in the housing to intercept substantially. all the air iiowing from the blower means through said outlet opening and outlet chamber. i

More in detail as shown in the foregoing drawings in a preferred embodiment of this invention the housing H is of light sheet metal construction and generally rectangular box-shape, the front portion being closed by a hinged grill G removably secured in place by means of screws 10 for access to the apparatus inside. Back` panel 11, bottom and top` panels'lZ and 13 and` `sidepanels 14 are secured together by welds in the illustrated form of the invention although it will be understood that such connections may be made by any equivalent means without loss of the foregoing advantages of the invention. Top panel 12 is formed in two parts with the larger one having an opening 16 provided as seen -to best advantage in Figs. and 7 and the second part comprising a plate 17 to close that opening when it is not required in the use of the apparatus in the shell. These two parts are secured together by means of screws 18 which permit removal of the closure piece in the event that the opening is to be used as an auxiliary discharge opening.

Housing H is compartmented by a plurality of sheet metal walls or partitions disposed therein and secured in place to the several panels of the housing. Partition 20 divides the shell generally into an outer chamber 21 and an inner chamber 22 of reduced volume and comprises a lower portion 24 secured to side walls 14 and disposed in the middle of the housing with its upper end just above the housing mid-section and an upper portion 25 extending toward back wall 11 and secured thereto near the junction of walls 11 and 13 and is similarly attached to the side walls as by spot welds. Lower portion 24 is provided with an enlarged circular inlet opening 27 and a smaller opening 28 near a lower corner through which a tube 30 for draining off condensate as hereafter described may be disposed. Upper portion 25 similarly is provided with an enlarged rectangular outlet opening 29 and a substantially smaller opening 31 disposed directly above opening 28 and adjacent to portion 24.

A second partition 32 extends the full width of the shell and is welded to walls 14 at its ends and is similarly secured to partition 2t) along the junction of lower and upper portions 24 and 25, as illustrated in Figs. 3, 5 and 7. Partition 32 projects forwardly and upwardly at an angle of about 21 from the said junction to divide outer chamber 21 into a lower inlet chamber 34 and an upper outlet chamber 35. Partition 32 also has a portion 36 disposed substantially in the plane of the leading edge portions of walls 12, 13 and 14 and directed outwardly to a point below the aforesaid junction and then turned inwardly of the housing to provide a flange which is situated just below the top of opening 27. Adjacent to the said junction of portions 24 and 25 and below opening 22 a drain hole 38 (Fig. 6) is provided in partition 32 for drawing oi by means of tube 30 condensate collecting at that point in the shell during the operation of the apparatus of this invention.

A third partition 40 comprising a relatively small, generally rectangular, sheet metal body is provided in the upper part of the housing, being secured to portion 25 of partition 20, to the upper side of partition 32 and to walls 11 and 13 near their junction. Partition 40, being situated along one side of outlet opening 22, serves to divide in part outlet chamber 35 into two parts, the smaller one (41) of which is provided for the purpose of maintaining a wiring panel 43 in a location protected from rapid or violent air circulation and condensation during operation of the apparatus in the shell. A lid 45 its over the opening ydefined by partition 40 and other ports der'ining the wiring panel recess and is secured removably in place by means of screws 46. Openings accordingly are provided in portion 25 of partition 20, wall 13 and partition 32 so that Wires 47 may be brought into the housing and electrically connected by panel 43 and other wires to the apparatus and control means therefor.

A sheet metal `scroll bale 48 is located within chamber 22 and secured firmly by suitable means to panels 11, 12 and 14 and to lower portion 24 of partition 20. Batlle 48 extends between partition 20 and panel 11 so as to provide an effective channel or path for air tlow from opening 27 through chamber 22 and out through opening 29.

A centrifugal fan 50 is secured to the partition 20 4 and disposed within scroll baffle 4S being provided with drive means comprising an electric motor 52 connected to a source of power by means of lead wires 47 and 53 and control panel 43.

A filter panel comprising a cardboard frame 54, a ber glass lilter 55 and a perforated light metal filter retention sheet carried in frame 54, is disposed in inlet chamber 34 to clean the air as it is drawn into the housing by fan 50. The edge portions of frame 54 are engaged by the iianges formed on the sill of wall 12, partition 32 and walls 14 as shown to best advantage in Figs. 3 and 5, whereby the panel is held in position.

In the upper part of the housing, a heat exchanger unit 56 of the type disclosed and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 74,572, filed February 4, 1949, now Patent No. 2,673,542, is mounted on elastomeric sponge material, suitably natural rubber sponge, disposed as strips or pads 57 on the outer side of partition 20 and on the upper side of partition 32 around outlet opening 29. Heat exchanger 56 is connected by means of a pipe or hose 58 to a hot water or cold water source depending upon the use to which the apparatus is to be put, and by means of a hose 59 to a reservoir. A high temperature aquastat 60 and a low temperature aquastat 61 for controlling apparatus operation and particularly fan 50 are provided, being mounted on core 56 and suitable electrical connections being made by means of lead wires 63 to control panel 43.

Unit 56 is fitted over its front with a screen 65 having sixteen meshes per lineal inch and with baffle 66 extending across the upper and lower portions. Screen 64 serves to catch and collect any droplets of water which may be blown from the unit, thus preventing undesirable moisture accumulations on grill G. Depending upon grill design and the size and shape of heat exchanger unit, baffle 66 may or may not be necessary for best results, but in virtually every case screen 64 or its equivalent will be required if the principal advantages of this invention of moisture control are to be obtained. The tendency for spitting to occur during operation of units like unit 56 will vary according to the rate of air ow through the passages of the unit and the cross-sectional dimensions of those passages. Thus, where a unit of good heat exchange eiect and eiciency is used, spitting is inevitable during an air cooling operation which is sustained for a normal period.

Control means are provided for the motor in the form of a rheostat 65 and operating arm 66 and indicator handle 67, suitable electrical connections being made by means of lead wires 69 to panel 43. Rheostat 65 is disposed within scroll bale 48 while the indicator element is located outside portion 36 of partition 32 upon which a dial 70 is mounted, as indicated in Fig. 2.

Grill G is so designed and constructed as to permit ready access to the control means Without removal of the grill from housing H, lower portion 72 of the grill being hinged to stationary upper portion 73 for swinging motion upwardly to open the lower half of the housing. Dowels 75 secured to the lower part of portion 72 are received in rubber sheaths 76 carried by and extending through the upwardly projecting portion of fwall 12 to assure iirm engagement of the housing and grill and retention of portion 72 in position when the housing is intended to be closed.

In conformity with a primary object of this invention, grill G is substantially freefrom the detrimental condensation tendencies of prior devices of this type, even under the most adverse conditions. In addition, the objectionable effect of strong drafts incident to the use of prior art devices are avoided by this grill without loss of heat exchange eiciency. Only the louvered parts of portion 73 are subject to direct contact with cold air leaving the housing when the apparatus is being operated to cool and dehumidify room air, as under summer conditions. By providing two side louvered openings 78 and a central louvered opening 79, the cold air stream is divided into three parts with the major tlow being directed sharply upwardly and the remainder traveling generally upwardly at a substantially smaller angle to the horizontal in two diverging streams. Vanes 82 of openings 78 and 79 are integrally formed with the metal sheet constituting upper portion 73 of the grill and are thus in heat-conducting relation to the adjacent massive parts of the` sheet. These vanes drawn suliicient heat from these adjacent parts during air cooling operations to maintain their temperature above the dew point temperature of the air contacting them and by virtue of the arrangement and relationship of openings 78 and 79 'and the vanes and surrounding supporting structure, heat tiow into that structure to replace that lost therefrom to vanes 82 is rapid enough that condensation does not tend to occur on this critical part of the grill under normal operating conditions.

Referring to Fig. 16, in using the elements and apparatus of this invention, a plurality of units U are suitably recessed in a convenient part of the walls of several rooms, preferably adjacent to the floor, and connections are made to a source of power as indicated in the diagrams of Figs. 8 and 9 and to a boiler B and a chiller C for separate use as sources of supply of heat exchange liquids to cores 56 of units U, according to the position of three-way valve V. With water circulating through the system, including cores 56 and tubes 5S and 59, by operation of pump P the blowers will automatically start to operate only when the water temperature in cores S6 is in the range of either aquastat 60 or 61. Thus, assuming that it is desired to cool the air in a room and valve V is properly set so that water is circulating through cores 56 at a predetermined temperature substantially below that of the room air, fans Si) will automatically start to operate and will continue to run until the thermostat requirements are met at which time they and pump P will be automatically stopped. The rate at which each fan 50 delivers air to its core 56 will depend upon the setting of its rheostat 65 and this applies whether the intention is to cool or to heat air in room served by the present apparatus. Similarly, if it is desired to heat the air in the room and boiler B is connected with cores 56, the fans will start to operate only when the temperature of the water in the core substantially exceeds the temperature of the air in their respective rooms. As a result of this arrangement, no undesirable cold or hot drafts of air issue from housings H and the fans are not used needlessly, but only when their effect is at a maximum.

Pump P for causing cold or warm water to run through the circuit including tubes 58 and 59, cores 56 and Chiller C or boiler B is energized automatically or manually and operated and stopped in the same way in accordance with standard practice in automatic heating systems of other types as those skilled in the art will understand.

In accordance with the alternative embodiment of this invention illustrated in Figs. 11 to 15, inclusive, a stack S8 is secured to wall 13 in place of cover plate 16 and communicates with chamber 35 so that the apparatus can be used to serve an adjoining room. Stack 88 comprises a sheet metal shell having a bottom wall 89, a top wall 90, end walls 91 and a back wall 92 which is integrally formed with the top wall and provided with a rearwardly extending liange 93 to rest on wall 13. Walls 89 and 92 are spaced apart to define an elongated opening 94 to admit air from housing H into the stack and these walls have apertures for registry with apertures in wall 13 to receive screws 18 whereby the stack is secured in place on top of the housing. A baille plate or scoop 96 is adjustably secured to the inside of wall 92 and has a portion extending into chamber 35 adjacent to the upper portion of core 56 to divert air flow from the core into and through the stack during apparatus operation.

6 The front of the stack is itted with a grill and closure assembly 97 whereby the stack may be closed at will. Assembly 97 includes a sheet metal grill 98 with two small openings provided in its sides to receive screws 99 t0 v hold the assembly in place against the stack. The grill openings are closed by means of a closure panel 100 which is hinged to the inside upper portion of grill 98 and which has `an operating lever 102 projecting through a slot 103 in the grill plate.

Condensation diliiculties are avoided even under the most diiiicult circumstances in accordance with this invention in this grill and closure assembly. By virtue of the fact that bottom wall 89 is comparatively deep there is a strong eddying effect produced behind the lower portion of the grill and this results in substantial flow of room temperature air into the `stack through the lower grill openings of the stack.` The air discharged through the stack grill thus is tempered in respect to the air in the room in contact with the grill plate so that this element is maintained at a temperature above the dew point tern perature of the room air. The end walls, back wall and top wall are similarly protected against condensation tendencies during operation of this machine as an air cooler.

In some installations it may be preferable to eliminate the aquastats and dispense with their functions. In such event it would be satisfactory, as those skilled in the art will understand, to connect the fan motor directly into the circulating pump control circuit so that when the pump is energized manually o-r by zone thermostat or equivalent automatic means, motor SZ will be simultaneously connected to the power source. The principal benefits of this invention will not thus be lost and accordingly this kind of departure from the foregoing preferred embodiment of said invention is contemplated by and included within the appended claims.

By virtue of the fact that wiring panel chamber 41 is maintained under pressure of room temperature air during operation of fan 50, no special high temperature wire is required to meet Underwriters Laboratories specifications and ordinary wire is therefore preferably employed for line connections. This pressure effect is obtained as a result of the communication of chamber 41 with the scroll baffle chamber through opening 31. Actually there is a significant amount of air circulation in chamber 41 during operation of fan 50 because air lilowing into chamber 41 through opening 31 and a grummeted wire opening can escape from said chamber around lid 45 and other grummeted openings and this serves to assure maintenance in chamber 41 of a temperature permitting use of ordinary insulated wire.

Having thus described the present invention so that those skilled in the art may be able to gain a better understanding and practice the same, I state that what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is delined in what is claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. An air conditioning apparatus lcomprising a housing including side panels and a back panel, a first partition intermediate said side panels and extending therebetween for dividing the housing into an inner fan chamber and an outer chamber, said rst partition comprising a vertically extending portion having an air inlet opening and a portion inclined toward and abutting said back panel and having an air outlet opening, a second partition extending between said side panels separating the air inlet and outlet openings and dividing the outer chamber into an air inlet chamber and a heat-exchanger chamber, said second partition abutting the inclined portion of said irst partition and disposed substantially normal thereto, said second partition cooperating with the inclined portion of said first partition and said side panels to form a condensate receiving trough, said condensate receiving trough having a condensate drain opening, means comprising a drainage tube in fluid communication with said.

drain opening for discharging condensate from said trough, a heat-exchanger in said heat-exchanger chamber mounted on the inclined portion of said first partition and overlying said air outlet opening, said heat-exchanger bearing on said second partition, a fan disposed in said fan chamber for drawing room air into said air inlet chamber and through said air inlet opening into said fan chamber and for discharging said air from said fan chamber through said air outlet opening and thence through said heat-exchanger for conditioning purposes, and a front cover removably secured to said housing and including a rst opening for admitting room air into said air inlet chamber and a second opening for discharging conditioned air from said heat-exchanger chamber, said second partition terminating in sealing relation to said front cover.

2, The apparatus of claim 1, and a non-metallic material juxtaposed between said heat-exchanger and said partitions for providing a seal therebetween and for thermally insulating said heat-exchanger from said partitions for preventing heat transfer therebetween.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 19,260 Shurtlei July 31, 1934 685,149 Keith Oct. 22, 1901 1,425,674 Monaghan Aug. 15, 1922 1,608,435 Scott Nov. 23, 1926 1,768,941 Sweatt July 1, 1930 2,025,802 Child Dec. 31, 1935 2,042,420 Askin May 26, 1936 2,068,080 Schuyle1 Jan. 19, 1937 Corhanides Nov. 22, 1949

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