USRE22303E - Air conditioning unit - Google Patents

Description

E. w. JEWELL Re. 22,303

AIR CONDITIONING H1511" 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Originai Filed Nov 15, 1939 April 20, 1943.

79 fierzzdrzi/i J -weil.

April 20, 1943. a E E L Re. 22,303

AIR CONDITIONING UNIT Original Filed Nov. 13, 1959 3Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNE 1'5.

April 20, 1943. I I 5, w JWELL Re. 22,303

- 7 AIR CONDITIONING UNIT Original Filed Nov. 15, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 5K Swl A TTORNE Y5. J

' the present invention, show details thereof;

Reiasued Apr. 20, 1943 AIR CONDITIONING UNIT Bernard W. Jewell, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to Chrysler; Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Original No. 2,290,913, dated July 28, 1942. Serial No. 303,968, November 13, 1939. Application for reissue January 4 Claims.

My present invention relates to air conditioning units, particularly units of the type adapted 22, 1943, Serial No. 473,431

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

the preferred formof imit is disclosed as comto be mounted upon a window ledge or in an opening 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. i

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 of air traversing the cooling and dehumidifying surfaces during operation thereof 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 0601- ing 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. A further object of the present invention is to provide means whereby the ventilation of a room may be accomplished by exhausting therefrom 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 freezing moisture on the cooling and dehumidifying surfaces.

These and other objects and advantages of the present lnventionshould be more readily apparent from a study of the following specificatiomtaken 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 with parts broken away to Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the'unit shown in Fig. l, with parts broken away to show details thereof;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the unit, the evaporator or interior section of the unit being referred to as the front thereof, with parts broken away to show details;

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

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

Fig. 6 is a side elevation with parts broken away of the modified form shown in Fig. 5; and, Fig. '7 is a wiring diagram adaptable to both prising a casing of which the major portion is mounted inside of the plane of the window l0 and which is supportedupon the window ledge u, the unit being retained thereon by bracket I2 abutting the outer edge of the window ledge and window sash retaining means l3 mounted upon the top of the unit. The unit comprises an evaporating compartment l5 and a condensing compartment I5 separated by a vertical, insulated partition l'l. Positioned within the evaporating compartment i5 is an evaporator coil Hi, the coil It being in refrigerant flow relationship with a condenser coil l9 and a compressor 20 in condensing compartment l6, 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 horizontal tubes II 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 verticalfins 24 and extends across the entire outer face of the unit. s

The condensing compartment [6 houses not only the compressor 20, but also houses a compressor driving motor 25, the armature shaft of which is connected to the crankshaft of the compresson. The compressor is mounted upon one side of a blower housing 25, and the motor 25 is mounted upon the 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 motor mounting flange 28 supported thereon at one side by integral connecting portions 29 and 39 between which are openings for-the flow of air therethrough into the involute portion 21; a compressor mounting tions 32, 33, and 34 between which are openings for the flow of air therethrough into the involute forms of the invention showing means whereby some of the foregoing objects areaccomplished.

portion 21; and an outlet portion 35 having its mouth abutting or substantially abutting the vertical fins 24 of the condenser coil I! so that air forced from the involute portion 2-1 by a blower wheel (not shown) therein, connectedto the driving shaft of motor25, will be forced outwardly through a limited central portion of the condenser coil is and air will be drawn into the condensing compartment across one end of the condenser coil and the motor and into the condensing compartment across the other end of the condensing coil and the compressor. The weight of the motor blower-compressor assembly is preferably supported on coil springs ll; each of which have one end bearing upon the bottom pan ll of the unit and the other end supporting appropriate feet 42 cast integrally with the blower housing 26,

so that most of the vibrations from the compressor and the blower and the noises of operation thereof -ended shaft drivingly connected to the blower wheels of blowers l6 and 41, which dischargeu'pwardly into the upper half of the evaporator compartment containing the coil IS. The motor 45 1 stopping the compressor motor and the connected and its blowers and blower housings are mounted 1' in the lower half of the evaporator compartment i5, and the evaporator coil is separated therefrom by a horizontal partition 48 providing a plenum chamber at the rear of the evaporator coil so that air will be induced to flow uniformly throughout the entire length of coil 18 and through an outlet grill 4! into the room to be conditioned.

The air which is conditioned by the evaporator coil I! would ordinarily comprise room air admitted to the unit through an inlet opening II of substantial size provided in the bottom pan 4| across the bottomof the evaporating compartment [5, inside of which is preferably mounted a .iilter ii for the purpose of removing dust and foreign objects from the air. Some fresh air may be provided, however, through a fresh 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 It. A portion of the inverted trough so formed in the bottom of the unit may be closed by welding or otherwise afllxing a, plate 53' (Figs.

2 and 4) extending from adjacent the bracket II to the lower edge of the partition 11, 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 I! which may or may not be closed by a ventilator door 55. The position of door 55 may V be regulated by turning a shaft 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 7 but does not substantially alterthe total amount flow of air through filter 5! and vice versa.

The portion of the evaporator compartment Ii above the partition 48 and into which the blowers l6 and I1 discharge comprises a plenum chamber as previously described, from which air may be exhausted by opening the exhaust damper Bil pivotaily mounted adjacent an opening II in the partition IT. The resistance to through the condenser coil I! is preferably substantially less than the resistance to airflow through the evaporator coil 18, principally due to the relative thickness of the two coils and also because of the resistance of the outlet grill 4! in front of the evaporator coil. so that most of the air from theblowers l8 and 41 is elected through the condensingoompartment when the exhaust damper ill is open. Some of the air may pass through the coil ll, thus causing great- 7 er circulation within the room and assisting the becontrolled at will.

be trapped in dead air portions of the room. The exhaust damper It may be operated by rotating a shaft 62 to which is fixed an exhaust damper control knob 83 so that the proportion of the output of blowers I and if to be exhausted may Fig. 7 shows a control circuit whereby the partial opening of exhaust damper 80 results in condenser blower and compressor, since con-' tinued operation of the compressor and its con nected refrigerating system without a substantial flow of air traversing the cooling and dehumidifying surfaces of the evaporator coil ll might result in the freezing of moisture on the fins 22 and tubes 2! with possible damage thereto and with the certain result that subsequentairflow therethrough would be prevented until the ice melted. Accordingly the unit is controlled by a circuit including power line Hi and ground line H, the power line III being connected to a main wire 12 in which is mounted the switch element ll of an evaporator blower motor control switch, operated by a control button II. The evaporator blower motor 45 is connected to the main wire 12 through a branch 15, and to the ground line ll through a wire 1.5. Main wire I2 is connected to the compressor motor through an exhaust damper switch 11 and a compressor motor switch 18 operated by a control button 19. the compressor motor 25 being. connected to ground line ll through a wire 80. It is to be noted that the evaporator blower motor switch is, exhaust damper switch 17, and compressor motor switch that it isdesired that the room air be cleared by exhaustingroom air through the exhaust damper liil. the exhaust damper control knob ll unit in removing stale air which might otherwise is may be rotated, thereby opening the exhaust damper ill 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 evaporator blower motor operate to recirculate room air without cooling blower motor 45 may also operate to provide fresh 7 air along with a certain proportion of recirculated air without cooling and dehumidifylng thereof whenever it is desired, since the operation of ventilating door I! has 'no efl'ect upon the control circuit.

When the evaporator coil ll is in operation the moisture which is condensed from the air passing thereover collects in a drain pan II from which it may be drained through a moisture disposal tube '6 extending through the partition I! and into one of the inletopenings of the involute 21 of the condenser blower housing, from which the condensed moisture may drip into direct contact with therapidly rotating blades of the blower to be beaten thereby into a fine spray and ejected through the condenser coil [9, the heated air and the hot condenser coll l9 evaporating most, if not all, of the spray and some of the spray being carried directly away from the building in the stream of outgoing air.

The modification disclosed in Figs. and 6 differs from the previous form of the invention in several respects, foremost of which is that the evaporator compartment i5 comprises an upper inlet chamber and a lower outlet chamber for the conditioned or recirculated air. In this form the partition I1 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 BI provided in the top of the' unit. The inlet 90 admits air to a vertical filter 82 positioned adjacent the evaporator coil l8, and air which is drawn from the room through the filter '92 and the coil I8 is drawn downward through openings 93 in the partition 48 which divides the evaporator section into two parts. The blowers 4B 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 modification. Another difference is that fresh air may be admitted through the fresh air-inlet duct 52 provided by cutting an opening 91 in the outer portion of the lower surface of the unit and welding or otherwise affixing an inverted trough-shaped member 98 beneath the casting 2-6, with the inner end thereof adjacent an opening 99 in the lower part of partition H. 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 100 in the front portion of the bottom pan ll of the unit, or when in a central position admits a certain proportion of fresh air and recirculated air directly to the blowers. In this form of the invention it is seen that the intensely conditioned air from the evaporator coil I8 is tempered by air admitted through openings 89 or I00, or both, and intimately associated therewith by the blower wheels before being ejected into the room.

Another difference is that the exhaust damper 60 is so positioned as substantially to exclude air from passing through the evaporator coil I8 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 i through the exhaust opening (ii and outward through-the coil [9 by the pressure built up within the room upon continued operation of the blowers 4B and 41. The control circuit of Fig. '7 and its functions apply in the same manner 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 air 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 be conditioned so that outside air may be supplied to and rejected from the unit for the pur-' pose 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-flow relationship with said compressor, 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 evapcrating assembly comprising an evaporator connected in refrigerant flow relationship with 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, some 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 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 com pressor motor even though said second switch.

may be closed.

2. An air cooled air conditioning unit comprising a condensing compartment, an evaporating compartment, a condenser blower motor, a condenser blower driven by said condenserblower motor and located in said condensing compartment, an evaporator blower motor, an evaporator blower driven by said evaporator blower motor and located in said evaporating compartment, an air cooling coil in 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 evaporator blower motor and a second branch in parallel with said firstbranoh for, supplying power to said condenser blower motor, a control switch in series with both branches which when opened suspends operation of both said condenser blower motor and said evaporator blower motor, a second switch insaid second'branch which, when opened while said control switch is closed, suspends operation of said condenser blower motor and thus permits said evaporator blower motor to operate independently of said condenser blower motor, and an exhaust damper switch in said second branch and in series with said second swltch, 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 condenser blower motor even though said, second switch may be closed.

3. An air cooled air conditioning unit comprising a condensing compartment, an evaporating compartment, a condenser blower and condenser V supplying power to said evaporator blower motor and a second branch in parallel with said first branch for supplying power to said condenser blower motor, a control switch in series with both branches which when opened suspends operation of both said condenser blower 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 condenser blower motor and thus permits said evaporator blower motor to operate independently of said condenser blower 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 part thereof extending outside of the room, comprising a casing, a-partition dividing said casing into an outer condensing compartment and an inner evaporating compartment, means for exhausting vitiated air i'rom the room being conditioned comprising an opening in the upper portion of said partition through which room air may be exhausted and an exhaust damper adiacent said opening for regulating the fiow oi air therethrough, av compressor motor, condenser blower and compressor assembly mounted in said condensing compartment, the compressor motor, condenser blower and compressor of said assembly being operatively connected to each other whereby operation oi said compressor motor causes said condenser blower to create a flow of air throughsaid 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 anda 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 opopening 01 said exhaust damper suspends operation of said condenser blower motor even though said second switch may be closed.

4. An air cooled air conditioning unit adapted to be mounted on awindow ledge or other opening in a wall of a room to be conditioned with a erate 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 eventhough said second switch may be closed.

BERNARD w. JEWEI

Images