1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a cabinet for an outdoor section of an air conditioner, and more specifically to a cabinet with features that facilitate its manufacturing and assembly.
2. Description of Related Art
Air conditioners, including heat pumps, often include an indoor section with an indoor heat exchanger for cooling or heating the interior of a building and an outdoor section with an outdoor heat exchanger for exchanging heat with the outside air. The two heat exchangers are part of closed loop refrigerant circuit that also includes a compressor and an expansion device, which compress and expand the refrigerant respectively. As the refrigerant moves through the circuit, its direction of flow determines whether the indoor heat exchanger cools or heats the air inside the building.
A typical outdoor section of an air conditioner includes a cabinet that supports and shelters numerous components, such as the compressor, various electrical components, the outdoor heat exchanger, and a fan for drawing outside air through the heat exchanger. The compressor relies on the base of the cabinet for structural support; the electrical components need to be sheltered from rain and snow; and the fan and heat exchanger need structural support, exposure to outside air, and protection from the weather and physical impact. Moreover, the cabinet should be readily manufacturable and provide convenient access to any components requiring service or repair. Providing a cabinet that effectively serves all these needs without compromise can be challenging. Nonetheless, many efforts to provide such a cabinet have been made with some success.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,195 discloses an outdoor cabinet that houses electrical components at the top of the cabinet. A small cover can be opened or removed for providing ready access to the electrical components underneath. However, the edges of the cover, being exposed along the top of the cabinet, create a generally unsheltered seam that may leak or may be difficult to seal against rain and snow.
Another cabinet for an outdoor section of an air conditioner places its electrical components in a compartment underneath the cabinet's top cover, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,310. To accommodate various models of air conditioners, the compartment has numerous fastener and passage openings for installing various combinations of components. However, having some openings left open for some models may allow moisture to leak into the compartment from other areas of the cabinet that may be more exposed to outside air.
Some cabinets include features that enhance various functions of the cabinet's base. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,633 discloses a non-corrosive plastic base with integrally formed mounting pads that can support various size compressors and other components. It also includes means for handling condensate. Other cabinet bases that include special features for draining condensate are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,748,827 and 4,748,828. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,121, a cabinet base is shown having a novel means for mounting the compressor. An intermediate plate between the compressor and the base includes elastic isolators both above and below the plate to avoid transmitting compressor vibration to the base.
Another outdoor cabinet, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,168,248, discloses a plastic base with positioning cleats that help align the side panels, or sheet metal wrapper, to the base. Once in position, a series of screws fasten the side panels to the side of the base. Each of the outer side panels has an L-shape to extend the length of two sides of the base. L-shape panels may simplify assembly; however, later servicing may be more difficult, as technicians may have to fully uncover two sides of the outdoor cabinet even in situations where access to only side is needed. Moreover, many of screws for fastening the wrapper to the base are along the lower edge of the cabinet. Such a location may be awkward to reach once the cabinet is installed outside at generally ground level.
To facilitate the assembly and later servicing of an air conditioner's outdoor section, it is an object of the invention to provide a cabinet that can be assembled with a minimal number of fasteners.
Another object is to provide a cabinet whose base includes snap-in elements that help hold the cabinet's wrapper to the base.
Another object is to provide a base with a raised peripheral rim that helps hold the cabinet's wrapper in position.
Yet, another object is to provide the base with wrapper lead-ins that help properly position the wrapper against the raised peripheral rim.
A further object is to provide a cabinet's base with upwardly protruding lead-ins that help guide a heat exchanger coil into position as the coil is being lowered onto the base.
A still further object is to provide a cabinet wrapper with side panels that interlock by way of a sliding connection between adjacent panel members.
A still further object is to provide side or corner panels with a series of dimples that enhance the holding power of the sliding connection between adjoining panel members.
Another object is to provide an assembly sequence for the cabinet such that each panel member helps hold its adjacent panel members in place, yet the panel members can be installed and removed individually.
Another object is to provide certain panel members of a cabinet with screw-receiving dimples at various locations. Each dimple can serve as a pilot hole for inserting a screw for mounting various electrical components. The dimples are watertight, so if any are left unused, they can inhibit water from entering the area where the electrical components are installed.
Another object of the invention is to provide an air conditioner cabinet with a spacer that helps hold the cabinet's wrapper spaced apart from a heat exchanger coil contained inside the cabinet.
Yet another object is to provide such a spacer with an anchor that allows the spacer to hold itself to the coil of a heat exchanger. The anchor may allow infinite repositioning of the spacer.
Another object is to provide an air conditioning cabinet with a fan frame that not only supports the frame, but also helps support the cabinet's top cover.
Another object is to provide the base of an air conditioner cabinet with breakaway shipping tabs. When shipping the unit, the tabs help hold the cabinet to a shipping pallet. Later, the tabs can be severed to readily remove the cabinet from the pallet.
These and other objects of the invention are provided by an outdoor section of an air conditioner that includes a wrapper mounted to a plastic base. To facilitate the assembly or servicing of the air conditioner, the base may include one or more features such as wrapper or coil lead-ins, a raised peripheral rim to hold the wrapper, snaps rather than screws to anchor the wrapper to the base, and breakaway shipping tabs. The wrapper may also include one or more features such as interconnecting sliding seams; watertight dimples for receiving screws; or a sequence of assembly that allows the wrapper's panels to support each other, yet allows the panels to be installed and removed individually.
The primary focus of the invention pertains to cabinet 12 of outdoor section 10. Referring to
For example, referring to
Referring further to
Base 24 also includes several wrapper lead-ins 50 that each has an curved surface 52 for guiding a lower edge 54 of wrapper 26 into its proper position on base 24 and up against or at least adjacent to a raised peripheral rim 56. Wrapper lead-ins 50 are also integrally formed with base 24 to comprise a unitary piece.
Several alignment tabs 58 provide further alignment of wrapper 26 to base 24, as shown in
To reduce the use of conventional threaded fasteners, a number of catches 62 integrally extending from peripheral rim 56 of base 24 help secure wrapper 26 in place, as shown in
This snap-in feature is further illustrated in the embodiment of
To hold corner panels 36, 38 and 40 in place, another catch 78 extending from rim 24 protrudes through a hole 80 in those corner panels, as shown in
In a currently preferred embodiment, catch 78 protrudes much farther from rim 24 than does catch 62 and includes an upper surface that has a vertically extending lip 83. At assembly, the hole 80 of each of these corner panels is engaged over a corresponding catch 78 and is rotated to the vertical position illustrated in
To hold the sides of wrapper 26 together with a minimal number of screws (if any), the wrapper's various side and corner panels are interconnected by vertically sliding fits between mating edges of adjacent panels. Referring to
To inhibit side panel 30 from horizontally separating from corner panel 36, edge 88 is formed to wrap at least partially around and capture the L-shaped edge 86 of side panel 30, as is the case with side panels 32 and 34 and their interaction with the corner panels between which they reside. More specifically, edge 88 includes a first segment 94 and a second segment 96 that restrains and limits the movement of edge 86 of side panel 30 in a first horizontal direction. Further, edge 88 includes a third segment 98 and a fourth segment 100 that restrains and limits the movement of edge 86 of side panel 30 in a second horizontal direction generally perpendicular to the first direction.
Referring to
In assembling outdoor section 10, compressor 14 and coil 16 are generally the first main components to be installed on base 24. In some cases, one or more plastic spacers 106, such as the one shown in
In a currently preferred embodiment, spacer 106 comprises a unitary plastic injection molded piece having a head 110 and an anchor 112 at opposite ends. Head 110 is adapted to abut an inner face of a side panel, and anchor 112 engages coil 16. In some embodiments, spacer 106 attaches to coil 16 by forcing anchor 112 between the spine fins 108 of two adjacent coil wraps or tube sections 114 and 116 of coil 16. Anchor 112 firmly engages the spine fins 108 of tube sections 114 and 116 and thereby holds spacer 106 in place. Head 110 preferably includes a tapered surface 118 that can help redirect a lower edge of a side panel away from coil 16 as the panel is being lowered into position during assembly.
Assembling the side and corner panels to base 24 preferably follows the suggested steps illustrated sequentially in
Assembly may continue by installing corner panel 40, as shown in
Next, side panel 34 is slid into position between corner panels 40 and 42, as illustrated in
Once base 24 and wrapper 26 are assembled to the extent shown in
Fan 18 is driven by a motor 126 that is supported by a frame 128 attached to orifice member 120. Frame 128 comprises two substantially identical sheet metal frame members 130 that can be attached to each other in a conventional manner, such as by way of screws, welding, etc. Together, frame members 130 provide four tabs 132 that are screwed or otherwise attached to motor 126 to support and position motor 126 within orifice member 120 and four other tabs 134 that attach to orifice member 120 so as to secure frame 128 thereto. Each frame member 130 includes two flange surfaces 134 and 136 for stiffness and for providing a surface area upon which a top cover 138 rests and finds support.
Top cover 138 rests atop frame 128 and provides a protective shield over fan 18. As fan 18 draws outside air into cabinet 12 and across coil 16, openings 140 around the perimeter of cover 138 allow fan 18 to discharge the air back to the ambient, generally in a direction which is upward and away from the cabinet sides. A lower rim 142 of cover 138 attaches to wrapper 26 by way of screws or some other appropriate means for attachment. In some cases, an outer rim 144 of orifice member 120 lies between cover rim 142 and the upper edge of wrapper 26, so top cover 138 engages orifice member 120.
Since outside air is drawn into cabinet 12, moisture can be drawn in as well. To prevent that moisture from contaminating electrical components 146 associated with air conditioner 10, components 146 are housed inside a compartment 148 adjacent corner panel 42 and underneath top cover 138, as shown in
Referring to
Dimples 154 are created by a conventional forming tool 158, as shown in
Still referring to
Referring primarily now to
Referring primarily now to
Referring now to
Also to be noted with respect to
Because device 166 will have been molded into/embedded in base pan 24 prior to the assembly of outdoor section 10 in the factory and because outdoor sections 10 are, generally speaking, built from the base pan up, device 166 can contain additional information that is likewise readable by receiving devices positioned on the assembly line within the factory. As such, device 168 in
Information used in the manufacturing process within a factory might include model number-related information that would be read as the base pan moves down the assembly line. Such model-related information can be used to trigger the display of information or instruction to assemblers with regard to the model being configured and the particular components/pieces that are to be used in assembling that particular model. As will be appreciated, such information might also be of value and be used in the context of warehousing, shipping and distribution of outdoor units. Overall, by the use of a relatively inexpensive and long-lived radio frequency transmitting device embedded in base pan 24, which may be self-powered and triggered in response to a query from device 168, a wealth of information is made available from the start of assembly of individual outdoor section 10 to the service of that outdoor section years later in the location in which it is installed.
Referring now to
In that regard, in order to latch panel 42 to base pan 24, panel 42 is aligned with the base pan such that surface 202 of panel 42 is adjacent recessed surface 204 of cleat 206 on base pan 24. In that position, notch 208 of surface 202 rests over horizontal surface 210 of cleat 206. At the time such alignment is made, post 212 of base pan 24 is generally in alignment with but does not protrude through slot 214, which is defined in surface 202 of corner panel 42, at end 216 thereof.
With corner panel 42 so aligned, panel 42 is moved horizontally away from surface 204 of cleat 206 in the direction indicated by arrow 218. As corner panel 42 is so moved, notch 208 moves off of cleat 206 and post 212 penetrates slot 214 and protrudes therethrough at end 216 thereof. This position is generally illustrated by the phantom lines in
Panel 42 is then moved horizontally in the direction indicated by arrow 220, such direction being at a 90° angle to the direction indicated by arrow 218. In the process of moving panel 42 in the second horizontal direction, indicated by arrow 220, post 212 slides within slot 214 and comes into abutment with end 222 of slot 214. End 222 of the slot therefore limits the horizontal movement of corner panel 42 in the direction indicated by arrow 220.
At the same time and because the lower edge of surface 224 of corner panel 42 will have originally been positioned over surface 226 of resilient tab 228 on base pan 24, surface 224 will have depressed resilient tab 228 in the process of moving in the direction of arrow 220 and will have moved just past the end 230 of tab 228 when post 212 comes into abutment with end 222 of slot 214. Once the lower edge of surface 224 moves past end 230 of resilient tab 228, tab 228 springs upwardly to effectively and securely latch corner panel 42 in position on the base pan.
It is to be noted that one or more others of cleats 206, notches 208, slots 214 and posts 212 may exist on or in base pan 24 and corner panel 42 and be similarly arranged with respect to surface 202 of the corner panel. It is further to be noted that base pan 24 may include other cleats, posts and alignment tabs. These include post 232 which comes to protrude through slot 34 of surface 224 of corner panel 42 as the corner panel moves in the direction of arrow 220. Cleat 236 similarly positions, abuts and secures surface 238 control panel 42 into position on base pan 24 both in the initial assembly process and once corner panel 42 is latched into place.
Although the invention is described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other variations are well within the scope of the invention. For example, vertically sliding fits, such as fit 92, can be applied to any number of adjoining wrapper panels. In some embodiments of the invention, all the wrapper panels are joined in this manner, as shown in
This is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/156,560, filed May 24, 2002, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,105, and a first divisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/719,437, filed Nov. 21, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,912,766.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20050204767 A1 | Sep 2005 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10156560 | May 2002 | US |
Child | 11133422 | US | |
Parent | 10719437 | Nov 2003 | US |
Child | 10156560 | US |