Patent Application
20170227252
Field of Invention
The present invention is a tubing support device used to assist in geothermal HVAC installation.
Description of Related Art
A geothermal HVAC system is a common HVAC system that provides a means to supply heating and cooling to a building typically a residence. The geothermal HVAC system transfers heat to and from the ground in order to supply cooling or heat to a building. This type of system is also referred to as a heat pump or a ground source heat pump system. This system uses a ground heat exchange that exchanges heat from the ground during winter to provide heating for the building and alternatively transfers heat from the building to keep the space cool. This heat exchange system involves the use of tubing in the form of geothermal lines that are installed to accomplish the transfer of heat. Tubing is typically referred to as geothermal lines and can be difficult to install due to the weight associated with the tubing. Further individuals typically have to manually hold the tubing to position it at various angles during installation. As a result, it would be advantageous to have a device that could be used to support the tubing and provide rollers to freely transfer the piping and tubing during installation.
The present invention relates to a thermal tubing support device that includes: a horizontal bar, where the horizontal bar includes a first end and second end; side support frame, extending from each end of the horizontal bar; and a base, where the base is attached to the distal end each side support frame. Each side support frame preferably includes two rollers, where the two rollers of each side support removably attaches to each end of the horizontal bar. Further, preferably, the two rollers of each side support attach to the base at opposing corners. The base preferably includes four sides, where two sides of the base include rollers. The thermal tubing support device may further include a support loop attached to the horizontal bar, where the support loop provides a means to support the support device in an elevated position.
The present invention relates to a tubing support device in the form of a frame that includes rollers at particular portions to effectively allow the support and the transfer of thermal tubing through the frame while installing a geothermal HVAC system. The present invention includes a frame configuration attached to a top horizontal bar with two supporting sides extending to a four-sided base. The side supports include two rollers that meet at the top horizontal bar and then extend downwardly to two opposing corners of the base. Rollers are also provided along the two sides of the base to allow free movement of thermal tubing through the support device according to the present invention.
In reference to
Using the thermal tubing support device 100 enables the ability to extend a tubing over Rollers 32a, 32b and through the triangular configuration associated with the side Supports 22, 24. The positioning on the rollers allow the thermal tubing to easily transfer through the supporting device and provides construction workers with a means to support the thermal tubing as opposed to manually manipulating and supporting it during installation. The instant invention has been shown and described in what it considers to be the most practical and preferred embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made there from within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.
