Patent Application
20200088419
The present subject matter relates generally to air conditioner units, and more particularly to thermostat assemblies for a heating system of an air conditioner unit.
Air conditioner units are typically utilized to adjust the temperature within structures, such as dwellings or office buildings. In particular, one-unit type room air conditioner units are often utilized to adjust the temperature in, for example, a single room or group of rooms of a structure. Such an air conditioner unit typically includes an indoor portion and an outdoor portion. The indoor portion is generally located indoors, and the outdoor portion is generally located outdoors. Accordingly, the air conditioner typically extends through a wall, window, etc. of the structure.
The outdoor portion of a conventional air conditioner unit typically includes a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger connected to the compressor and an outdoor fan for cooling the outdoor heat exchanger. Similarly, the indoor portion of a conventional air conditioner unit typically includes an air inlet and an air outlet positioned along the front portion of the unit facing the interior of the room. In addition, the indoor portion typically includes a blower fan, a heating system and an indoor heat exchanger connected to the compressor.
During cooling operation, the compressor is driven to implement a refrigeration cycle, with the indoor heat exchanger serving as a cold-side evaporator of the refrigeration cycle and the outdoor heat exchanger serving as a hot-side condenser. The outdoor heat exchanger is cooled by the outdoor fan to dissipate heat. As the blower fan is driven, the air inside the room flows through the air inlet, has its temperature lowered via heat transfer with the indoor heat exchanger and is then blown into the room through the air outlet in order to cool the room.
During heating operation, the heating system is operated to raise the temperature of air flowing through the unit. For example, the heating system typically includes a plurality of heating coils configured to heat the air passing through the unit. Thus, air directed through the unit is heated by the heating coils and is subsequently discharged therefrom via the air outlet in order to heat the room.
To prevent an air conditioner unit from overheating during its heating operation, a thermostat is typically provided in operative association with the heating system that is configured to regulate the internal temperature of the unit by cutting the power to the heating coils off when the internal temperature exceeds a predetermined cut-off temperature. Unfortunately, due to their configuration or arrangement within air conditioner units, conventional thermostats are often slow to detect temperature increases within the unit that may lead to overheating. This is particularly true when all or a portion of the airflow through the unit is blocked or restricted. Even if multiple thermostats are utilized, conventional thermostat configurations may become damaged or require tedious repairs (e.g., from a service provider) if higher temperatures are reached at one thermostat (e.g., a one-shot thermostat) than another (e.g., a resettable thermostat).
Accordingly, an air conditioner unit or improved thermostat assembly within an air conditioner unit would be useful.
Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
In one exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, a heating system for an air conditioner unit is provided. The heating system may include, a heating coil, a first resettable thermostat, a second resettable thermostat, and a one-shot thermostat. The first resettable thermostat may be positioned above the heating coil. The first resettable thermostat may be configured to regulate a temperature within the air conditioner unit. The second resettable thermostat positioned above the heating coil. The second resettable thermostat may be spaced apart from the first resettable thermostat along a lateral direction. The one-shot thermostat may be positioned between the first resettable thermostat and the second resettable thermostat along the lateral direction.
In another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner unit is provided. The air conditioner unit may include an outdoor heat exchanger assembly, an indoor heat exchanger assembly, a compressor, a bulkhead, a first resettable thermostat, a second resettable thermostat, and a one-shot thermostat. The outdoor heat exchanger assembly may be disposed in an outdoor portion and include an outdoor heat exchanger and an outdoor fan. The indoor heat exchanger assembly may be disposed in an indoor portion and include an indoor heat exchanger and an indoor fan. The compressor may be in fluid communication with the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger to circulate a refrigerant between the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger. The bulkhead may be disposed between the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger along a transverse direction. The bulkhead may define the indoor portion and the outdoor portion. The first resettable thermostat may be positioned within the indoor portion. The first resettable thermostat may be configured to regulate a temperature within the air conditioner unit. The second resettable thermostat may be positioned within the indoor portion. The second resettable thermostat may be spaced apart from the first resettable thermostat along a lateral direction. The one-shot thermostat may be positioned within the indoor portion between the first resettable thermostat and the second resettable thermostat along the lateral direction.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures.
Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
It is noted that, for the purposes of the present disclosure, the terms “includes” and “including” are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.” Similarly, the term “or” is generally intended to be inclusive (i.e., “A or B” is intended to mean “A or B or both”). The terms “first,” “second,” and “third” may be used interchangeably to distinguish one component from another and are not intended to signify location or importance of the individual components.
Referring now to
In exemplary embodiment, the air conditioner unit 10 is provided as a one-unit type air conditioner, which is also often referred to as a room air conditioner. Thus, the unit 10 may generally include an indoor portion 12 and an outdoor portion 14. Additionally, as shown in
As illustrated, a housing 16 of the air conditioner unit 10 may be configured to contain or house various components of the unit 10. For example, the housing 10 may include a rear grill 18 and a room front 20 configured to be spaced apart from one another along (e.g., relative to) the transverse direction T by a wall sleeve 22. As is generally understood, the rear grill 18 may form part of the outdoor portion 14 of the unit 10, with the room front 20 forming part of the indoor portion 12 of the unit 10. In general, various components of the outdoor portion 14, such as an outdoor heat exchanger 24, outdoor fan (not shown), and compressor (not shown) may be housed within the housing 16. Additionally, a casing 26 may enclose the outdoor fan, as shown in
In some embodiments, the indoor portion 12 of the air conditioner unit 10 includes an indoor heat exchanger 28, a blower fan 30, and a heating system 100. In several embodiments, these components may be housed behind the room front 20 within a heater housing 32 configured to extend in the traverse direction T from the room front 20. As particularly shown in
It should be appreciated that the housing 32 may be formed from one or more components. For example, in several embodiments, the housing 32 may be formed from a bulkhead 46 and a shroud 48. In such embodiments, the shroud 48 may be coupled to the bulkhead 46 such that the bulkhead 46 and the shroud 48 collectively include or define the peripheral surfaces 34. For example, the base pan 42 and the outlet air diverter 44 may correspond to components of the bulkhead 46, whereas all or a portion of the sidewalls 38, 40 may correspond to components of the shroud 48. Additionally or alternatively, the shroud 48 may include an interior shroud base 64, which may, for example, be disposed within the housing interior 36 generally adjacent to the base pan 42.
In certain embodiments, the blower fan 30 may correspond to a tangential fan. However, in other embodiments, the blower fan 30 may correspond to any other suitable type of fan. As shown in
In some embodiments, the heating system 100 includes one or more heater banks 60. Each heater bank 60 may be individually powered from a current source, separately from other heater banks 60, so as to provide heat. As shown in the illustrated embodiment, the heating system 100 includes three heater banks 60. However, in other embodiments, the heating system 100 may include any other suitable number of heater banks 60. Additionally, in several embodiments, each heater bank 60 may have a different rated power level. For example, in one embodiment, the heating system 100 may include a low power heater bank, a medium power heater bank, and a high power heater bank; such as by including a 1000 Watt heater bank, a 1400 Watt heater bank, and a 2400 Watt heater bank.
Moreover, each heater bank 60 may include at least one coil pass or heating coil 62 (e.g., resistive heating element). For example, as shown in
In certain embodiments, operation of the various components of the air conditioner unit 10 is controlled via a controller 70. In general, the controller 70 may correspond to any suitable computer or processor unit. As such, the controller 70 may include one or more processors and associated memory. The memory may be configured to stored computer-readable instructions that, when implemented by the processor(s), configure the controller 70 to perform one or more computer-implemented functions, such as controlling the operation of one or more components (e.g., heating system 100) of the air conditioner unit 10.
In certain embodiments, the air conditioner unit 10 includes a control panel 72 containing one or more user input devices 74 (e.g., buttons) communicatively coupled to the controller 70. As such, a user of the unit 10 may interact with the user input devices 74 in order control the operation of the unit 10, with user command signals being transmitted from the user input devices 74 to the controller 70 to facilitate operational control of the unit 10 based on the user commands. Moreover, a display 76 may also be provided on the control panel 72. The display 76 may, for example, be a touchscreen or other text-readable display screen or, alternatively, may simply be a light that can be activated/deactivated as required to provide an indication of, for example, an event or setting for the unit 10.
Referring now to
As shown, in some embodiments, the heating system 100 includes a thermostat assembly 110 having multiple discrete thermostats. For example, the thermostat assembly 110 may include a plurality of resettable thermostats (e.g., a first resettable thermostat 112 and a second resettable thermostat 114) and at least one one-shot thermostat 116. In some embodiments, the thermostat assembly 110 is positioned above the heater banks 60 or heating coils 62 (e.g., above the top row of heating coils 62). In some such embodiments, the heating system 100 includes the thermostat assembly 110 coupled to a support plate 106 extending outwardly from the sidewall 38 of the heater housing 32 such that the thermostats are positioned above the heating coils 62 along the vertical direction V. In other words, the first resettable thermostat 112, second resettable thermostat 114, and the one-shot thermostat 116 may be mounted on support plate 106 above the heater banks 60 or heating coils 62. The thermostat assembly 110 may be aligned with the heater banks 60 or heating coils 62 (e.g., such that thermostat assembly 110 shares a common location with the heater banks 60 or heating coils 62 along the transverse direction T) or, alternatively, offset from the heating coils 62 (e.g., such that the thermostat assembly 110 is rearward from the heater banks 60 or heating coils 62 along the transverse direction T).
In general, the thermostat assembly 110 may be configured to regulate the internal temperature within the air conditioner unit 10 (e.g., as directed by the heating system 100). Specifically, in certain embodiments, when the air temperature directly above the heater banks 60 or heating coils 62 exceeds a given threshold temperature (hereinafter referred to as the cut-off temperature), one or all of the thermostats 112, 114, 116 may be configured to cut the supply of power to the heating coils 62. For example, as will be described below, each thermostat 112, 114, 116 may include a temperature sensitive element (e.g., 120 or 122), such as bimetallic spring element or a thermal fuse, that is configured to adjust its position (e.g., by springing or bowing inwardly or outwardly or by snapping) when the air temperature around the thermostat 112, 114, 116 reaches the associated cut-off temperature. In such an embodiment, the temperature sensitive element (e.g., 120 or 122) may trip the system 100 when the temperature reaches the cut-off temperature, thereby cutting off the power supply or current source to the heating coils 62 and allowing the internal temperature within the air conditioner unit 10 to be reduced. As should be understood, that the cutoff temperature at each thermostat (e.g., the first resettable thermostat 112, the second resettable thermostat 114, and the one-shot thermostat 116) may be identical or, alternatively, unique from the cutoff temperature at the other thermostats.
As is understood, each resettable thermostat 112, 114 generally corresponds to a thermostat that is capable of continuously cutting off and reconnecting the power to the heating coils 62 as the temperature fluctuates above and below the predetermined cut-off temperature for the thermostat. For example, resettable thermostats 112, 114 often include a temperature sensitive element 120, such as a bimetallic element, that switches from a first position to a second position as the temperature increases above the cut-off temperature and then switches back to the original, first position when the temperature subsequently drops below the cut-off temperature. In some such embodiments, the temperature sensitive element 120 forms part of or may be coupled to a switching element that controls the supply of power to the heating coils 62 based on the position of the temperature sensitive element 120. By contrast, the one-shot thermostat 116 generally corresponds to a thermostat that is not configured to reconnect the power to the heating coils 62 once the temperature has increased above the predetermined cut-off temperature for the thermostat. For example, unlike resettable thermostats 112, 114, one-shot thermostat 116 may include a temperature sensitive element 122, such as a one-shot thermal fuse, that is configured to switch (or snap) from a first position to a second position when the temperature increases above its cut-off temperature and then remains in the second position even when the temperature subsequently drops below the cut-off temperature.
In certain embodiments, one or more portions of heating system 100 or thermostat assembly 110 are connected in electrical series. As an example, first resettable thermostat 112 may be connected electrical series with the one-shot thermostat 116. As an additional or alternative example, the second resettable thermostat 114 may be connected in electrical series with the one-shot thermostat 116. Reaching the cutoff temperature may thus cause the electrical series connection between thermostats 112, 114, 116 to break, thereby halting flow of electrical current through thermostat assembly 110. As illustrated, one or more of the heating coils 62 may be in electrical series connection with thermostat assembly 110 (e.g., with each of the first resettable thermostat 112, second resettable thermostat 114, and the one-shot thermostat 116). In such embodiments, flow of electrical current to the heating coils 62 may be halted in response to the cutoff temperature being reached at any of the provided thermostats.
As shown, the one-shot thermostat 116 may be positioned between the first resettable thermostat 112 and the second resettable thermostat 114 (e.g., along the lateral direction L). A lateral width (e.g., 132 or 134) may be defined between the one-shot thermostat 116 and each of the resettable thermostats 112, 114. A first lateral width 132 is defined between the first resettable thermostat 112 and the one-shot thermostat 116. A second lateral width 134 is defined between the second resettable thermostat 114 and the one-shot thermostat 116. Optionally, the lateral spacing or width (e.g., 132 or 134) between the one-shot thermostat 116 and each resettable thermostat 112, 114 is identical. In other words, the first lateral width 132 may be equal to the second lateral width 134.
During use, such as when one or more of the heater banks 60 or heating coils 62 are actively generating heat within the indoor portion 12, the heated air may be drawn primarily across the first resettable thermostat 112 and the second resettable thermostat 114. As such, the resettable thermostats 112, 114 may be advantageously heated more quickly than the one-shot thermostat 116, thereby allowing the resettable thermostats 112, 114 to serve as the primary means for regulating the internal temperature within the air conditioner unit 10. Specifically, given the direct flow of hot air across the resettable thermostats 112, 114, either resettable thermostat 112, 114 may reach its predetermined cut-off temperature prior to the one-shot thermostat 116. In such instances, the one-shot thermostat 116 would only reach its predetermined cut-off temperature in the event of malfunction or failure of one of the resettable thermostats 112, 114. Advantageously, this relationship may remain even if airflow became blocked on either lateral side of the one-shot thermostat 116.
When assembled, one resettable thermostat (e.g., first resettable thermostat 112) may be positioned proximal to the first sidewall 38 while the other resettable thermostat (e.g., second resettable thermostat 114) is positioned proximal to the second sidewall 40. In other words, each resettable thermostat 112, 114 may be positioned closer to one lateral end of the indoor portion 12 or heating coils 62 than it is to the opposite lateral end of the indoor portion 12 or heating coils 62. In some such embodiments, the first resettable thermostat 112 is positioned proximal to the first end, and thereby distal to the second end; the second resettable thermostat 114 is positioned proximal to the second end, and thereby distal to the first end. In additional or alternative embodiments, the one-shot thermostat 116 is positioned at a midpoint 136 between the first end and the second end. Thus, the one-shot thermostat 116 may be provided at a location that is neither proximal to the first sidewall 38 nor the second sidewall 40.
In certain embodiments, one or more of the thermostats 112, 114, 116 of the thermostat assembly 110 may be aligned along one of the mutually-perpendicular directions defined by conditioner unit. As an example, each thermostat 112, 114, 116 may be aligned along the lateral direction L. In other words, the first resettable thermostat 112, the second resettable thermostat 114, and the one-shot thermostat 116 may be positioned at a common location along the transverse direction T. As another example, each thermostat 112, 114, 116 may be aligned along the transverse direction T. In other words, the first resettable thermostat 112, the second resettable thermostat 114, and the one-shot thermostat 116 may be positioned at a common location along the lateral direction L.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
