CONDENSER ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A condenser assembly including a housing, one or more condenser coils located within the housing and a two-dimensional array of powered fans located within the housing, wherein the array includes at least three fans.

Description

The present invention relates to a condenser assembly for a cooling system, a cooling system including such a condenser assembly, and to a building including such a cooling system.

Conventional air conditioning systems are often referred to as “split systems”, as the evaporator part of the system is located within a building to be cooled and the compressor and condenser parts of the system are located externally of the building within a single housing. Thus, the system is split between the interior of the building and the exterior of the building.

However, in many areas, externally located compressor/condenser units are not desired. This may be because the area is a conservation area or because of local policies regarding items being externally mounted on buildings. Conventional housings which contain both the compressor and condenser tend to be bulky and unsightly. However, smaller, more discrete housings may be more desirable or allowable

In cases in which it is not desired to mount a bulky and unsightly housing on the outside of a building, it is not possible to install a conventional split air conditioning system in the building.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a condenser assembly including a housing, one or more condenser coils located within the housing and a two-dimensional array of powered fans located within the housing, wherein the array includes at least three fans.

In the context of the present invention, the two-dimensional array requires two or more fans arranged in a first direction and two or more fans arranged in a second direction, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction. Such an arrangement excludes a linear arrangement of two or more powered fans.

It will be appreciated that most condenser assemblies include either one large powered fan or a linear array of two or more powered fans. However, such an arrangement of fans tends to require a relatively bulky housing. By providing the condenser assembly with a two-dimensional array of powered fans, it is possible to provide a housing which has a relatively small depth dimension, but which is still able to provide the desired cooling of the compressed coolant flowing within the or each condenser coil. The relatively small depth dimension minimises the visual impact of the condenser housing.

For example, a ratio of a width dimension of the housing to the depth dimension of the housing may be greater than 5:1, for example, greater than 10:1. Similarly, a ratio of a length/height dimension of the housing to the depth dimension of the housing may also be greater than 5:1, for example, greater than 10:1. For example, the ratio of the depth dimension of the condenser housing to both the width dimension and the length/height dimension may be less than 1:5.

This can be achieved by providing a two-dimensional array of powered fans, as each of the fans is relatively small compared to conventional fans (e.g., scroll-type fans) and has a relatively small depth dimension. The two-dimensional array of such fans permits a relatively small depth dimension of the cooling fans and consequently, a relatively small depth dimension for the condenser housing.

In an embodiment of the invention, the two-dimensional array includes at least two fans arranged in a first direction (e.g., in a width direction) and at least two fans arranged in a second, perpendicular direction (e.g., a height direction). It will be appreciated that the fans arranged in the first and/or second directions do not need to be arranged linearly. For example, there may be three fans arranged in a triangular configuration.

Suitably, the fans are arranged in a rectangular configuration, for example an X×Y configuration with X number of fans arranged in a first direction and Y number of fans arranged in a second, perpendicular direction. Such arrangements include a 2×2 arrangement, a 2×3 arrangement, a 2×4 arrangement, a 2×5 arrangement, a 2×6 arrangement, a 3×2 arrangement, a 3×3 arrangement, a 3×4 arrangement, a 3×5 arrangement, a 3×6 arrangement, a 4×2 arrangement, a 4×3 arrangement, a 4×4 arrangement, a 4×5 arrangement, a 4×6 arrangement, a 5×2 arrangement, a 5×3 arrangement, a 5×4 arrangement, a 5×5 arrangement, a 5×6 arrangement, a 6×2 arrangement, a 6×3 arrangement, a 6×4 arrangement, a 6×5 arrangement or a 6×6 arrangement.

Thus, the fans may be arranged in a “row and column” configuration. As noted above, the fans of each row and/or each column need not be linearly aligned with the fans of the adjacent row and/or column. For example, the fans of each row may be offset vertically from the fans of the adjacent row, or the fans of each column may be offset horizontally from the fans of the adjacent column.

Optionally, the condenser assembly includes a perforated cover plate. The perforated cover plate may define an air inlet or an air outlet.

The condenser housing suitably includes an air inlet and an air outlet and defines between the air inlet and the air outlet an airflow path. The or each condenser coil of the condenser assembly is suitably disposed within the airflow path. As the air passes over the or each condenser coil, it cools the compressed coolant within condenser coil and at the same time, the air within the flow path becomes heated. The heated air is then carried away from the condenser coil via the air outlet. The condenser suitably includes one or more condenser coils.

It will be appreciated that the condenser assembly may include more than one condenser coil. In such embodiments, the air inlet is suitably located upstream of the condenser coils and the air outlet is suitably located downstream of the condenser coils.

In an embodiment of the invention, the condenser assembly includes a controller which controls the operation of the powered fans.

In order to minimise the depth dimension of the condenser housing, a compressor which forms part of the cooling system is suitably located in a compressor housing which is separate from the condenser housing.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a cooling system comprising a condenser assembly as defined anywhere herein in connection with the first aspect of the invention; a compressor assembly comprising a compressor located within a compressor housing, wherein the compressor housing is separate from the condenser housing; and one or more evaporator assemblies, wherein the or each evaporator assembly includes an evaporator located within a respective evaporator housing and wherein the or each evaporator housing is separate from the condenser housing and the compressor housing.

The cooling system of the second aspect of the invention may include conduits which fluidly connect the compressor to the or each condenser coil, the or each condenser coil to the or each evaporator, and the or each evaporator to the compressor. Suitably, the system further includes a coolant fluid which circulates around a circuit defined by the cooling system.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a building including one or more rooms, wherein the building includes a cooling system as defined in connection with the second aspect of the invention, wherein at least one room of the building has disposed therein the or one of the evaporator assemblies; the compressor assembly is located exterior to the building; and the condenser assembly is located exterior the building; wherein the condenser housing and the compressor housing are spaced apart from each other (i.e. are separate from each other); and wherein the or each evaporator, the compressor and the condenser are in fluid communication with each other via conduits to form a cooling circuit.

The or each evaporator of the air conditioning system is intended for location within a building, suitably a domestic building, such as a house, flat or apartment. Furthermore, the compressor and condenser are each disposed with separate respective housings, which are located exterior to the building. For example, the compressor housing and/or the condenser housing may be secured to an exterior wall of the building.

It will be appreciated that the term “exterior to the building” means outside of the building, for example located adjacent to an exterior wall of the building or secured to an exterior wall of the building.

The skilled person will appreciate that the air conditioning system typically further includes a coolant within the cooling circuit, wherein the coolant changes phases between a liquid phase and a gas phase as it moves around the system.

According to the invention, the condenser and compressor housings are significantly smaller than conventional housings that typically house both the compressor and the condenser of a split air conditioning system.

As noted above, the condenser housing suitably includes a body portion and a cover plate. The cover plate suitably provides a more aesthetically pleasing appearance for the condenser housing. In addition, the cover plate may further include or define a plurality of apertures which may aid with cooling the condenser coil(s) located within the condenser housing. The apertures may be arranged in a pre-determined pattern or arrangement. For example, the cover plate may define one or more arrays of apertures, wherein the array, each of the arrays, or some of the arrays of apertures is/are aligned with one or more of the electric fans carried by the body portion of the condenser housing. The fans are suitably arranged to provide a flow of air through the condenser housing via the cover plate.

By locating the compressor in the compressor housing and the condenser in the condenser housing, and separating the compressor and condenser housings, the condenser and compressor housings may be smaller than conventional external housings of known air conditioning systems. Such smaller housings are easier to locate outside of the building.

The compressor housing may include a condenser outlet port and a condenser inlet port. These two ports permit a flow of coolant from the compressor to the condenser (via the condenser outlet port) and from the condenser back to the compressor housing (via the condenser inlet port). As will be appreciated, heated compressed coolant flows from the compressor to the condenser outlet port, to the condenser via one or more conduits, through the or each condenser where it is cooled and back to the compressor housing via the condenser inlet port. In such arrangements, the compressor housing may further include one or more evaporator outlet ports. The evaporator outlet ports permit the compressed, cooled coolant to flow from the compressor housing to the or each evaporator. In order to complete the circuit, the compressor housing may further include one or more evaporator inlet ports which receive the expanded coolant from the or each evaporator and return the coolant to the compressor located within the compressor housing.

It will be appreciated that the compressor is typically smaller than the condenser. Accordingly, the compressor housing may be smaller than the condenser housing. In order to minimise the size of the condenser housing, the cooled, compressed cooling fluid is suitably distributed to the or each evaporator via the compressor housing.

In an embodiment of the invention, the compressor housing includes a manifold which includes a compressed coolant inlet port and two or more evaporator outlet ports. In this way, compressed, cooled coolant fluid received from the condenser may be distributed to the evaporators via the manifold. The compressor housing may further include a second manifold which includes an expanded coolant outlet port and two or more evaporator inlet ports. In this way, expanded coolant fluid from the evaporators may be received by the second manifold and directed to the compressor. Thus, the expanded coolant outlet port may be fluidly coupled to an inlet of the compressor. The first and second manifolds may be defined by a single manifold component or they may be separate components.

As noted above, the or each evaporator housing is located within the building and the compressor and condenser housings are located outside of the building. Accordingly, the cooling system may further include two or more conduits which fluidly connect the compressor housing to the or each evaporator housing, wherein the conduits pass through an exterior wall of the building.

The skilled person will appreciate that the features described and defined in connection with the aspects of the invention and the embodiments thereof may be combined in any combination, regardless of whether the specific combination is expressly mentioned herein. Thus, all such combinations are considered to be made available to the skilled person.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a single storey building according to the third aspect of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of a second embodiment of the condenser, compressor and evaporator housings without the building;

FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of a condenser housing which forms part of the first aspect of the invention;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view from the front of the condenser housing shown in FIG. 3 showing the arrangement of fans;

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view from the rear of the condenser housing shown in FIGS. 3 and 4; and

FIGS. 6a, 6b, 6c and 6d show front elevational views of cover panels that can be coupled to the front of the condenser housing shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

For the avoidance of doubt, the skilled person will appreciate that in this specification, the terms “up”, “down”, “front”, “rear”, “upper”, “lower”, “width”, etc. refer to the orientation of the components as found in the example when installed for normal use as shown in the Figures.

The present invention provides an air conditioning system that operates along the same principles as most conventional air conditioning systems: a coolant fluid is first compressed by a compressor. This causes the compressed fluid to be heated. The compressed fluid is then cooled by a condenser to provide a compressed, cooled coolant fluid. This compressed, cooled coolant fluid is then directed via conduits to one or more evaporators, where the coolant fluid is allowed to expand. The expansion of the coolant fluid is endothermic, with the result that heat is taken from the environment around the evaporator, thereby cooling the environment around the evaporator. The expanded coolant fluid is then returned to the compressor to re-start the coolant cycle.

The present invention differs from conventional air conditioning systems in that the compressor and condenser are located in separate housings and the separate, spaced apart housings are located outside of the building.

A representation of an air conditioning system 2 within a building 1 is shown in FIG. 1. The air conditioning system 2 includes a condenser located within a condenser housing 4. The condenser housing includes a coolant inlet conduit 6, which provides hot compressed coolant fluid to a condenser coil (not shown) located within the condenser housing 4, and a coolant outlet conduit 8, which removes cooled compressed coolant fluid from the condenser coil. The housing 4 defines an air flow path through the housing, which is described in more detail below. A condenser coil (not shown) is located within the air flow path defined by the condenser housing 4. The condenser coil is suitably an aluminium micro-channel condenser coil for maximum efficiency. However, any conventional condenser coil may be used.

The condenser housing 4 is secured to an exterior wall 1a of the building. It includes a cover plate 4a, 4b, 4c or 4d (shown in FIGS. 6a, 6b, 6c and 6d), which obscures the condenser coil and provides an aesthetically pleasing outwardly facing surface.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system further includes a compressor housing 10 within which is housed a compressor (not shown). Again, the compressor may be any conventional compressor and will not be described in detail herein.

In addition to the conduits 4, 6 which couple the compressor located within the compressor housing 10 to the condenser located within the condenser housing 4, the compressor housing includes conduits which fluidly connect the compressor housing 10 to a first evaporator 12, a second evaporator 14 and a third evaporator 16. Each of the first, second and third evaporators 12, 14, 16 are located within respective evaporator housings and are located in different parts of the building 1.

A second embodiment of the split air conditioning system 2 is shown in more detail in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the system 2 includes a compressor housing 10a which differs from the compressor housing 10 shown in FIG. 1 in that the compressor housing 10a is configured for use with just two evaporators 12, 14. The compressor housing 10a includes a compressor (not shown) which may be any known compressor for use with split air conditioning systems. A coolant outlet from the compressor is fluidly coupled to a condenser outlet port 20a, which in turn is fluidly coupled via the conduit 6 to the condenser coil located within the condenser housing 4. In this arrangement, the heated compressed coolant from the compressor is transported from the compressor housing 10a to the condenser coil located within the condenser housing 4 via the port 20a and the conduit 6. The cooled compressed coolant fluid exits the condenser coil located within the condenser housing 4 via the coolant outlet conduit 8 and is returned to the compressor housing 10a via a condenser inlet port 20b.

The returned cooled compressed coolant fluid is then distributed from the compressor housing 10a to the two evaporators 12, 14. In more detail, the compressor housing 10a includes a first evaporator flow port 18b which is coupled to an inlet of the evaporator 12 via a flow conduit 22, and a first evaporator return port 18a which is coupled to an outlet of the evaporator 12 via a return conduit 24. The compressor housing 10a further includes a second evaporator flow port 18d which is coupled to an inlet of the evaporator 14 via a flow conduit 26, and a second evaporator return port 18c which is coupled to an outlet of the evaporator 14 via a return conduit 28. It will be appreciated that the evaporator flow ports 18b, 18d are fluidly coupled to a flow manifold within the compressor housing 10a, which in turn is coupled to the condenser inlet port 20b. Similarly, the evaporator return ports 18a, 18c are fluidly coupled to a return manifold within the compressor housing 10a, which in turn is fluidly coupled to a compressor inlet, where the coolant cycle re-starts.

It will be appreciated that the compressed coolant fluid expands within the evaporators 12, 14, whereupon is cools the environment around the evaporators 12, 14. Thus, the coolant returning from the evaporators 12, 14 to the return ports 18a, 18c is at a lower pressure than the coolant flowing to the evaporators 12, 14 from the flow ports 18b, 18d.

The evaporators 12, 14, 16 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are conventional evaporators and need not be described in detail herein.

The condenser housing 4 is shown in more detail in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.

As shown in FIG. 3, the condenser housing 4 includes a housing body 40, a fan mounting plate 42, a top cover 44 and a bottom cover 46.

The housing body 40 includes a pair of side walls 40a which are joined by a rear wall 40c. Each of the side walls 40a includes a front wall portion 40b.

The fan mounting plate 42 includes a substantially planar body portion 42a and a pair of opposed side wall portions 42b.

The side wall portions 42b of the fan mounting plate 42 are fixed via suitable fixings (not shown) to the side walls 40a of the housing body 40.

Three condenser coil components (not shown) are fixed to the front wall portions 40b. The condenser coil components may be any conventional condenser coils which have the appropriate width dimensions to permit them to be fixed to the front wall portions 40b of the housing body 40.

The top cover 44 and the bottom cover 46 close the top and bottom portions of the housing body 40.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the rear wall 40c has a width dimension of 650 mm and a height dimension of 1500 mm. In addition, the side walls 40a have a depth dimension of 110 mm. Accordingly, the ratio of the width dimension to the depth dimension is 5.9:1 and the ratio of the height dimension to the depth dimension is 13.6:1.

As shown in FIG. 4, 10 electric fans 50 are coupled to the fan mounting plate 42. The fans 50 are arranged in a 2×5 rectangular arrangement (i.e., an arrangement having 2 columns and 5 rows).

As shown in FIG. 5, the condenser housing 4 is secured to a wall or other vertical substrate via 4 cylindrical spacers 48. These provide sufficient clearance between the rear wall 40c of the housing and the vertical substrate to allow for the fan motors 52 and for air flow.

Coupled to the front wall portions 40b is a front cover plate 4a, 4b, 4c or 4d. The front cover plates protect the fans and condenser coils of the condenser 4 and provide an aesthetically pleasing outward appearance of the condenser housing 4. Examples of the front cover plates are shown in FIGS. 6a to 6d.

Claims

1.-16. (canceled)

17. A condenser assembly including a one or more condenser coils located within the housing and a two-dimensional array of powered fans located within the housing, wherein the array includes at least three fans arranged in a non-linear configuration, and wherein the condenser assembly includes a separate compressor housing, the compressor housing being fluidly connected to the condenser housing via conduits.

18. The condenser assembly of claim 17, wherein the compressor housing is located externally to the condenser housing.

19. The condenser assembly of claim 17, wherein the conduits are insulated.

20. A condenser assembly according to claim 17, wherein the condenser assembly further includes a controller which controls the operation of the fans, and wherein the condenser assembly includes a separate compressor housing, the compressor housing being fluidly connected to the condenser housing via conduits.

21. A condenser assembly according to claim 17, wherein a ratio of a width dimension of the condenser housing or a length dimension of the condenser housing to a depth dimension of the condenser housing is greater than 5:1, and wherein the condenser assembly includes a separate compressor housing, the compressor housing being fluidly connected to the condenser housing via conduits.

22. A condenser assembly according to claim 21, wherein the ratio of the width dimension of the condenser housing and the length dimension of the condenser housing to the depth dimension of the separate compressor housing is greater than 5:1.

23. A cooling system comprising a condenser assembly according to claim 17; a compressor assembly comprising a compressor located within a compressor housing, wherein the compressor housing is separate from the condenser housing and fluidly connected to the condenser housing via conduits; and one or more evaporator assemblies, wherein the or each evaporator assembly includes an evaporator located within a respective evaporator housing and wherein the or each evaporator housing is separate from the condenser housing and the compressor housing.

24. A cooling system according to claim 22, wherein the system includes conduits which fluidly connect the separate compressor housing to the or each condenser coil, the or each condenser coil to the or each evaporator, and the or each evaporator to the separate compressor housing to define a cooling circuit.

25. A cooling system according to claim 23, wherein the separate compressor housing includes a condenser outlet port and a condenser inlet port.

26. A cooling system according to claim 23, wherein the separate compressor housing includes one or more evaporator outlet ports.

27. A cooling system according to claim 26, wherein the compressor housing includes an outlet manifold which includes a compressed coolant inlet port and two or more evaporator outlet ports.

28. A cooling system according to claim 23, wherein the separate compressor housing includes one or more evaporator inlet ports.

29. A cooling system according to claim 28, wherein the separate compressor housing includes an inlet manifold which includes an expanded coolant outlet port and two or more evaporator inlet ports.

30. A building including one or more rooms, wherein the building includes a cooling system according to claim 23, wherein at least one room of the building has disposed therein the or one of the evaporator assemblies; the separate compressor housing is located exterior to the building; and the condenser assembly is located exterior to the building; wherein the condenser housing and the separate compressor are spaced apart from each other; and wherein the or each evaporator, the compressor and the condenser are in fluid communication with each other via conduits to form a cooling circuit.

31. A building air conditioning system comprising a condenser housing having a coolant inlet conduit and a coolant outlet conduit, the condenser housing further comprising a cover plate and a compressor housing, a first evaporator, a second evaporator, and a third evaporator, the condenser housing having a condenser outlet port and a condenser inlet port, a flow conduit and a return conduit, the condenser housing further comprising a housing body having side walls, a rear wall, and a front wall portion, a fan mounting plate having a body portion and side wall portions, a top cover and a bottom cover, and electric fans mounted on cylindrical spacers and driven by fan motors.