U.S. patent number 3,874,191 [Application Number 05/478,635] was granted by the patent office on 1975-04-01 for blower housing.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Molded Products Company. Invention is credited to James N. Hudson.
United States Patent |
3,874,191 |
Hudson |
April 1, 1975 |
Blower housing
Abstract
The specification discloses a blower housing for dual squirrel
cage blowers driven by an intermediately disposed motor for
achieving even air distribution for the evaporator coil of an air
conditioner. The housing has a front wall with an air egress region
for each blower with a curved baffle located in the housing above
and between the blowers for directing air toward the central region
of the evaporator coil. In addition, there are provided curved
deflectors located in the housing above each blower for deflecting
air toward the central region of the evaporator coil. A horizontal
slat also is provided in the front wall dividing each air egress
region into upper and lower air openings for providing a back
pressure to enhance flow of air toward the central region of the
evaporator coil.
Inventors: |
Hudson; James N. (Fort Worth,
TX) |
Assignee: |
Molded Products Company (Fort
Worth, TX)
|
Family
ID: |
23900745 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/478,635 |
Filed: |
June 12, 1974 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/426; 165/121;
415/198.1; 415/208.1; 417/423.14; 62/419; 165/122; 415/206;
415/213.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F04D
17/04 (20130101); F24F 13/20 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F24F
13/00 (20060101); F24F 13/20 (20060101); F04D
17/04 (20060101); F04D 17/00 (20060101); F25d
017/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;62/426 ;165/121,122
;415/219 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Wye; William J.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Wofford; Wm. T.
Claims
I claim:
1. A housing for spaced apart cylindrical blowers located in axial
alignment and driven by a motor located between the blowers for
blowing air on the evaporator coil of an air conditioner, said
blowers being coupled to shaft means of the motor on opposite sides
thereof and having outer edges facing in opposite directions and
inner edges facing each other, said outer and inner edges being
located in planes transverse to the axes of said cylindrical
blowers, said housing comprising:
a front wall, having top and bottom portions, extending across said
housing to positions beyond the outer edges of said blowers,
top wall means extending rearward from the top portion of said
front wall and which joins surrounding wall means extending around
said cylindrical blowers from the lower portion of said front
wall,
said front wall having an air egress region for each blower through
which air may be blown,
each air egress region comprising an opening located at a level
generally above its cylindrical blower,
curved baffle means located in said housing above and between said
cylindrical blowers for directing air through said openings toward
the central region of the evaporator coil,
said curved baffle means comprising curved walls located inward of
said cylindrical blowers on each side of a plane extending midway
between said blowers and which curved walls extend forward toward
said front wall and curve toward each other, and
curved deflector means located in said housing above each
cylindrical blower for deflecting air through said openings toward
the central region of the evaporator coil,
said deflector means located above said blowers extending forward
and curving toward said plane which extends midway between said
blowers.
2. The housing of claim 1 comprising:
a slat extending across each air egress region separating each air
egress region into two openings, one of which includes said opening
located at a level generally above its blower and a lower opening
located generally in front of its blower.
3. A housing for spaced apart cylindrical blowers located in axial
alignment and driven by a motor located between the blowers for
blowing air on the evaporator coil of an air conditioner, said
blowers being coupled to shaft means of the motor on opposite sides
thereof and having outer edges facing in opposite directions and
inner edges facing each other, said outer and inner edges being
located in planes transverse to the axes of said cylindrical
blowers, said housing comprising:
separate chambers for each blower,
a front wall, having top and bottom portions extending across said
chambers to positions beyond the outer edges of said blowers,
each chamber including top wall structure extending rearward from
the top portion of said front wall and which joins surrounding wall
structure extending around its cylindrical blower from the lower
portion of said front wall,
said chambers having outer side wall portions spaced outward from
the outer edges of said blowers and inner side wall portions spaced
from each other and inward from the inner edges of said
blowers,
said front wall having air egress region for each blower through
which air may be blown,
each egress region including an opening near the top portion of
said front wall and located at a level generally above the
cylindrical blower of each chamber,
said openings being defined by top and bottom edges, outer side
edges corresponding generally with the positions of said outer side
wall portions of said chambers, and curved inner walls,
said curved inner walls being coupled to said inner side wall
portions of said chambers at positions spaced rearward from said
front wall and which extend forward, curve toward each other, and
meet at or near said front wall in a plane extending midway between
said blowers for directing air toward the central region of the
evaporator coil,
at least one curved air deflector for each chamber located above
its cylindrical blower and connected to and extending downward from
said top wall structure in line with said opening of said
chamber,
said air deflector of each chamber being located between said
curved inner wall and said outer side wall of its chamber and
extends forward from a rear position toward said front wall,
curving toward the plane which extends midway between said
blowers,
said curved inner walls and curved air deflectors being curved
sufficient to direct and deflect air with a minimum of turbulence
through said openings toward the central region of the evaporator
coil.
4. The housing of claim 3 comprising:
a slat extending across each air egress region separating each air
egress region into two openings, one of which includes said opening
located at a level generally above its blower and a lower opening
located generally in front of its blower.
5. The housing of claim 3 wherein:
said front wall has a generally flat forward face,
said top wall structure of each chamber comprises a generally flat
top portion which extends rearward and joins surrounding wall
structure extending around its blower from the lower portion of
said front wall,
each chamber including two curved air deflectors located above its
cylindrical blower and connected to and extending downward from its
flat top portion in line with said opening of each chamber,
said air deflectors of each chamber being spaced from each other
between said curved inner wall and said outer side wall of their
chamber and extend forward from a rear position toward said front
wall, curving toward the plane which extends midway between said
blowers,
said curved inner walls and curved air deflectors being curved
sufficient to direct and deflect air with a minimum of turbulence
through said openings toward the central region of the evaporator
coil.
6. The housing of claim 5 comprising:
a slat extending across each air egress region separating each air
egress region into two openings, one of which includes said opening
located at a level generally above its blower and a lower opening
located generally in front of its blower.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a blower housing for dual squirrel cage
blowers driven by an intermediately disposed motor for achieving
even air distribution on the evaporator coil of an air
conditioner.
In blowers which utilize dual squirrel cage blowers driven by an
intermediately disposed motor for blowing air on the evaporator
coil of an air conditioner, there has been a problem in achieving
even air distribution on the evaporator coil. This has been due to
the fact that the blower housing air outlets conventionally are
disposed only in the areas adjacent to the squirrel cage blowers.
Thus, air egresses from the blower housing in two distinct paths
with little or no air flow from the housing in the region between
the blowers. This results in the central region of the evaporator
coil, which is between the dual squirrel cage blowers and opposite
the motor, getting little or no air distribution.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a housing for
dual squirrel cage blowers for achieving an even air distribution
on the evaporator coil of an air conditioner particularly at the
central region of the coil.
The housing has a front wall with an air egress region for each
blower through which air may be blown and which comprises an
opening located at a level generally above each blower. A curved
baffle is located in the housing above and between the blowers for
directing air through the openings toward the central region of the
evaporator coil. The curved baffle comprises curved walls located
inwardly of the blowers on each side of a plane extending midway
between the blowers and which extend forward toward the front wall
and curve toward each other. Also provided are curved deflectors
located in the housing above each cylindrical blower for deflecting
air toward the central region of the evaporator coil. The
deflectors extend forward toward the front wall and curve toward
the plane which extends midway between the blowers.
In a further aspect, a horizontal slat is provided which separates
each air egress region into two openings and enhances the flow of
air toward the central region of the evaporator coil.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the front of the blower housing of
the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the rear of the blower housing of
FIG. 1 illustrating the manner in which its front face will be
located adjacent the evaporator coil of an air conditioner;
FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the housing of FIG. 1 illustrating
top and bottom portions which are attached together to form the
housing for supporting a motor and dual squirrel cage blowers;
FIG. 4 is a view of the top portion of the housing of FIG. 3 as
seen from the rear when looking up into the top portion;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 taken through the lines
5--5 thereof;
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 taken through the lines
6--6 thereof;
FIG. 7 is another view of the top portion of the housing as seen
when looking up into the top portion generally along the lines 7-7
of FIG. 5;
FIG. 8 is a front view of one side of the housing of the present
invention; and
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the front wall of the housing
taken through the lines 9-9 of FIG. 8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings, the housing is
identified at 11 and comprises two spaced apart chambers 13 and 15
for housing dual squirrel cage cylindrical blowers 17 and 19 driven
by a motor 21, for blowing air on the evaporator coil of an air
conditioner. In FIG. 2, the coil of an air conditioner is
illustrated at 23, supported in a housing 25. A front wall 27,
having air egress regions, extends across the chambers 13 and 15.
In use, the housing 11 will be positioned to locate the front wall
11 and its air egress regions next to the coil 23 of the air
conditioner as illustrated in FIG. 2. The cylinders 17 and 19 are
connected to shafts 29 and 31 extending from opposite sides of the
motor 21 and are driven in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGS.
1 and 3, for blowing air through the air egress regions formed
through the front wall and hence onto the coil 23 of the air
conditioner.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the front wall 27 extends across
the chambers 13 and 15 to positions beyond the outer edges 17A and
19A of the blowers. The top portions of the front wall 27 is
identified at 27A while its bottom portion is identified at 27B.
Each chamber 13 and 15 includes a flat, top wall portion 13A and
15A which extends rearward from the top portion of the front wall
27 and which merges with and joins curved portions 13B and 15B
which extend around the blowers 17 and 19 from 27B lower portion
27b of the front wall 27. Curved portions 13B and 15B are spirals
in cross section which expand at a rate of 5.degree. relative to
the outside diameters of the blowers beginning at tangent lines to
the blowers at the top, front portion of the housing. The chambers
13 and 15 have outer side wall portions 33 and 35 spaced outward
from the outer edges 17A and 19A of the blowers and inner side wall
portions 37 and 39 spaced from each other and inward from the inner
edges 17B and 19B of the blowers 17 and 19.
The egress regions of the front wall 27 comprise upper openings 41
and 43 and lower openings 45 and 47. The upper openings 41 and 43
are located near the tops of the chambers and at levels above the
cylindrical blowers of each chamber while the lower openings 45 and
47 are located in front of the blowers 17 and 19. A curved baffle
51 is located in the housing above and between the cylindrical
blowers for directing air from the openings 41 and 43, towards the
central region of the evaporator coil. The baffle 51 is formed by
curved wall portions 53 and 55 coupled to the inner side wall
portions 37 and 39 respectively at positions spaced rearward from
the front wall 27 and extend forward, curving toward each other,
and meet at or near the front wall in the plane extending midway
between the inner side wall portions 37 and 39 and hence midway
between the blowers 17 and 19. The midplane is identified by lines
6-6 in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 1, lower plate portions 57 and 59
are connected to the bottoms of the curved wall portions 53 and 57;
to the inner side wall portions 37 and 39; and extend to the front
wall 27 to prevent the air, following the curved wall portions 53
and 55 of the baffle 51, from flowing downward and out of the
housing behind the baffle. Plate portions 57 and 59 slant downward
at an angle of about 10.degree..
Also provided in the chambers 31 and 15 are curved deflectors 61,
63 and 65, 67 which are located immediately above the cylindrical
blowers in line with the upper openings 41 and 43 and are curved to
deflect and direct air toward the central region of the evaporator
coil. As illustrated, the deflectors 61 and 63 are connected to the
top wall portion 13A of chamber 13 and extend downward to positions
just above the top of blower 17. Similarly, deflectors 65 and 67
are connected to the top wall portion 15A of the chamber 15 and
extend downward to positions just above the top of blower 19. The
deflectors 61 and 63 are spaced from each other between the curved
wall 53 of baffle 51 and side wall 33 and divide the distance
between the curved wall 53 and side wall 33 above blower 17 into
approximately three equal parts. Similarly, the deflectors 65 and
67 are spaced from each other between the curved wall 55 of baffle
51 and side wall 35 and divide the distance between the curved wall
55 and side wall 35 above blower 19 approximately into three equal
parts. Moreover, as illustrated, the deflectors 61, 63 and 65, 67
extend forward from a rear position toward the front wall
terminating short of the front edges of top wall portions 13A and
15A and curve toward the midplane identified by lines 6--6 in FIG.
4. The walls 53 and 55 of the baffle 51 and the deflectors 61, 63,
65, and 67 are curved sufficient to direct and deflect air with a
minimum of turbulence through the openings 41 and 43 toward the
central region of the evaporator coil and hence provide a better
distribution of air on the evaporator coil particularly at its
central region thereby increasing the BTU output of the air
conditioner.
In addition, there is provided a slat 69 which forms a part of the
front wall 27 and separates the air egress regions in front of each
blower into the upper and lower openings 41, 45 and 43, 47. The
purpose of the slat 69 is to restrict the flow of air out of the
air egress regions formed through the front wall to provide a back
pressure on the blowers which enhances the function of the
deflectors in deflecting air toward the central region of the
evaporator coil. In this respect, the back pressure prevents air
from flowing down and around the lower edges of the deflectors and
hence forces more air to follow the curvature of the deflectors
toward the central region of the evaporator coil. Although the slat
69 reduces the cubic feet per minute flowing out of the housing, it
enhances the distribution of air at the central region of the
evaporator coil and hence results in an increase in BTU or cooling
power of the air conditioner. By employing the slat 69, there also
is eliminated the problem of water being blown out through the
front of the air conditioner. In this respect, in the heretofore
conventional housing, high velocity air is blown out of the blower
housing and through the evaporator coil in two distinct paths on
each side of the center of the coil. This results in a low pressure
on each side of the evaporator coil and a higher pressure at the
center thereof which in turn results in a circulation pattern of
air through the evaporator coil. This air circulation picks up
condensed water at the center of the coil which is blown out
through the front of the air conditioner. By the use of the curved
baffle and the deflectors, a more even distribution of air flow
from the housing to the evaporator coil is obtained as described
above, however, it has been found that without the slat 69, some
water still is blown out from the front of the air conditioner.
This problem has been completely eliminated, however, by use of the
slat 69. As seen in FIG. 9, the slat 69 also is inclined downward
and acts also to direct air downward, particularly, at higher
speeds to provide a better overall air distribution on the
evaporator coil portions opposite the blowers.
As seen in FIG. 3, the housing 11 is formed in two parts 11A and
11B with the bottom of the front wall 27 attached to the top of the
housing portion 11B. The housing part 11A has tabs 71 formed on its
top edge and tabs 73 formed on its bottom edge and which are
adapted to fit into matching slots 75 formed in the top of the wall
27 and matching slots 77 (see FIG. 2) formed in edge 78 at the
other end of the housing part 11B whereby the two parts 11A and 11B
may be held together by the tabs and slots. Connected between the
chamber portions of housing parts 11A and 11B are curved sections
which are adapted to fit around the motor 21 when the housing parts
11A and 11B are secured together. The curved section connected
between the chamber portions of housing part 11A is not
illustrated, however, it is connected between the chamber portions
of housing part 11A by tab members 79 (see FIG. 2). The curved
section connected between the chamber portions of housing part 11B
is illustrated at 81 in FIGS. 1 and 3. Also provided is a separate
half cylindrical member 87 which is adapted to fit over the curved
section connection between the chamber portions of housing part
11A. Member 87 has a front tab (not shown) adapted to hook under
member 89 of housing part 15A and two apertures at its back end for
receiving bolts 83 and 85. These bolts are adapted to extend
through these two apertures and through aligned apertures formed in
the edge 78 of housing part 11B whereby two nuts may be threaded to
the bolts on the underside of edge 78 for securely attaching the
housing to the motor 21. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the front wall
27 has a single opening 43 extending along its length which forms
the two openings 41 and 43 when the housing parts 11A and 11B are
attached together and the slat 69 is located against the front
portion of the baffle 51.
In one embodiment, the housing sections 11A and 11B, the front wall
27 and member 87 are formed of plastic. The housing has a length
between outer side edges 33 and 35 of about 121/2 inches. It is
constructed to support blowers 17 and 19 having a length of about
33/4 inches and a maximum outside diameter of about 3 inches. The
distance between side walls 33 and 37 and between side walls 35 and
39 is about 41/8 inches. The opening 42 formed through the front
wall 27 has dimensions of about 121/2 inches .times. 3/4 of an inch
while each of the openings 45 and 47 have dimensions of about 4
inches .times. 1/2 of an inch. The slat 69 has a width in its flat
plane of about one-half of an inch. Deflectors 61 and 65 follow
circular curves each having a radius of 5.93 inches while
deflectors 63 and 67 follow circular curves each having a radius of
4.10 inches. The curved walls 53 and 55 of the baffle 51 follow
circular curves each having a radius equal to 2.64 inches. The
curves of deflectors 61 and 63 and curved wall 53 have different
center points on one side of plane 6--6 of FIG. 4 while the curves
of deflectors 65 and 67 and curved wall 55 have different center
points on the other side of plane 6--6.
Although the slat 69 has advantages as mentioned above, it may be
eliminated between openings 41, 45 and 43, 47 in order to obtain a
greater cubic feet per minute output air flow, if desired, although
resulting in a lower BTU output. If the slat 69 is eliminated,
openings 41 and 45 will merge into a single large opening as will
openings 43 and 47. In this embodiment, the baffle 51 and
deflectors 61, 63, 65, and 67 will be employed to direct and
deflect the air towards the central region of the air conditioner
coil as described previously.
* * * * *