U.S. patent number 3,908,750 [Application Number 05/447,784] was granted by the patent office on 1975-09-30 for heating and cooling apparatus.
Invention is credited to Sidney Siegel.
United States Patent |
3,908,750 |
Siegel |
September 30, 1975 |
Heating and cooling apparatus
Abstract
An apparatus for heating and/or cooling air has an upright
housing through which at least two feed riser pipes and one
condensate riser pipe pass. This housing has an outlet opening at
its top and an inlet opening adjacent its base, this latter being
provided with a hinged access door. A drip pan sealing the base of
the housing drains into the condensate riser. A heat-exchanger
assembly comprising a heat-exchanger coil, a trough below the coil
which catches condensate and empties into the drip pan, valve for
controlling liquid flow through the coil, a blower for forcing air
through the coil, and thermostatic controls for operating the
valves is hung in the housing between the openings. Releasable
couplings connect the coil through shutoff valves to the riser
pipes, and releasable electrical connectors interconnect these
valves to the thermostat switch. The blower hangs on the coil
assembly on a shelf and this coil assembly is hung on a support
rail on the back of the housing, so that the entire device can be
quickly and easily disassembled for servicing.
Inventors: |
Siegel; Sidney (Brooklyn,
NY) |
Family
ID: |
23777735 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/447,784 |
Filed: |
March 4, 1974 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/265; 165/221;
165/50; 62/302; 165/78 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25B
29/00 (20130101); F24F 13/22 (20130101); F24F
1/0007 (20130101); F24F 1/0057 (20190201); F24F
1/0063 (20190201); F24F 1/0073 (20190201); F24F
2221/54 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F24F
13/00 (20060101); F24F 1/00 (20060101); F24F
13/22 (20060101); F25B 29/00 (20060101); F25B
029/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;165/26,76,48,78,50,80
;55/139 ;62/302,448,288 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Antonakas; Manuel A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Ross; Karl F. Dubno; Herbert
Claims
I claim:
1. An apparatus for heating and/or cooling air comprising:
at least two feed riser pipes; p1 an upright vertically elongated
housing formed with upper and lower openings;
a drip pan in the bottom of said housing connected to a drain;
a heat-exchanger assembly in said housing between said openings and
including
a heat-exchanger coil,
a pair of conduits between said coil and said feed pipes and
adapted to conduct liquid from said pipes through said coil,
means releasably connecting said conduits to said pipes,
thermostatic control means for regulating liquid flow through said
coil according to ambient temperature,
an electric blower below said coil for drawing air in through said
lower opening and passing said air through said coil and out said
upper opening,
means releasably securing said blower to said coil,
means for conducting condensate from said coil to said drip pan,
and
means for releasably connecting said blower to a source of electric
power;
hanger means for removably suspending said assembly in its entirety
in said housing between said openings, said hanger means including
an upwardly directed lip provided on said housing between said
opening and a downwardly directed lip provided on said assembly,
said lip on said assembly engaging over said lip on said housing,
said coil being arranged at an angle to the vertical and having a
pair of sheet-metal sides, said blower being suspended from said
sides and said downwardly directed lip extending between said
sides, said blower being a radial-input axial-output blower having
its axial output directed upwardly through said coil; and
motor control means on said blower and removable therewith said
motor control means being aligned with an opening in said housing
for manipulation therethrough when said blower is suspended from
said coil.
2. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein said feed riser pipes
pass through said housing.
3. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein said drip pan closes
the lower end of said housing.
4. The apparatus defined in claim 1 further comprising a trough
below said coil and a conduit extending between said trough and
said pan.
5. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein said means releasably
securing said blower to said coil includes a shelf formed on said
coil and a pair of outwardly extending lips on said blower
engageable on said shelf.
6. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein said thermostatic
control means includes a thermostatic switch which closes when
ambient temperature passes a predetermined level.
7. The apparatus defined in claim 6 wherein said switch and all of
the electrical conductors connected thereto are mounted on and
removable with said assembly, said switch being arranged at said
lower opening, whereby air drawn in by said blower passes over said
switch.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an air-conditioner. More
specifically this invention concerns an apparatus for heating
and/or cooling which is connected to hot and/or chilled-water
pipes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Air-conditioning units are known which are connected between sets
of riser pipes and which allow the temperature adjacent each unit
to be controlled individually without affecting the operation of
the other units connected to the same riser pipes. Such units
include a heat-exchanger coil connectable to the riser pipes
through thermostatically controlled motorized or solenoid valves,
and a blower for forcing air through this coil at a steady rate. As
a general rule the fan runs continuously to circulate the air, and
even filter it, while the temperature of the coil is varied, It is
possible to use a so-called two-pipe system for both heating and
cooling by providing a closed-cycle refrigerator unit in the device
which has a condenser coil cooled by the water which is
simultaneously hot enough to be used for heating in an adjacent
unit. Otherwise in a two-pipe system the standard procedure is
simply to run chilled water through the pipes in the summer and hot
water in the winter, with suitable controls on the thermostat for
the seasonal switchover. In four-pipe systems use is made of
motorized zone valves which allow one unit to be used for heating
while another is used for cooling.
Such devices present considerable advantages, especially in rental
buildings. Each tenant has control of his own heating and/or
cooling which is very desireable especially in commercial
structures where, for example, machine-filled rooms might need air
conditioning practically year-round while store-rooms might be left
totally unheated and uncooled for economy reasons, at the option of
the tenant.
A considerable disadvantage, however, of such a system is that when
a unit fails it often requires considerable technical skill to
repair it. The entire system must be shut down to allow the unit to
be serviced, and even then the person in control of the unit is
frequently left without heating or cooling for a protracted period
until the repair person can do the job.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an
improved apparatus of the general type described for heating and/or
cooling.
Another object is the provision of such an apparatus which is easy
to service and which at the same time is simple and inexpensive to
manufacture and install.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These objects are attained according to the present invention in an
apparatus for heating and/or cooling air which has a vertically
elongated housing through which at least two vertical riser pipes
pass. This housing is formed adjacent one end with an inlet opening
and adjacent its other end with an outlet opening. A heat-exchanger
is hung in the housing between the two openings and is connected to
the risers by means of releasable fittings. A separate blower unit
is releasably mounted on the heat-exchanger and is electrically
connected to the control valves and to the source of power through
releasable electrical connectors. The control unit basically
comprising the thermostat and the mode-high medium or low blower
speed-switches can be mounted either on the heat-exchanger or on
the blower. The heat-exchanger, blowing and control unit form a
heat-exchanger assembly which is hung in the housing.
According to another feature of this invention the heat-exchanger
is hung on the unit between the two openings, and the blower is
hung on the heat-exchanger substantially at the level of the lower
openings, which is provided with a door. The controls are mounted
on the blower and are accessible through the lower input
openings.
In accordance with further features of this invention the control
valves are provided on the heat-exchanger and are connected through
conduits capable of flexing sufficiently to take up the
longitudinal creep resulting from the heating and cooling of the
riser pipes. These conduits can be flexible hydraulic tubing, or
tromboned copper tubing.
According to yet another feature of this invention the
heat-exchanger comprises a coil arranged at an angle to the
vertical so that the blower can force air up through it. A drip
trough is arranged under the lower end of this coil. The housing is
provided at its base with drip pan and an outlet nipple on the
upper drip trough is fitted with a piece of flexible tubing that
hangs down and drains into the lower drip pan. This lower drip pan
is connected to a condensate riser which runs up through the unit
along with the feed risers. The pan fits completely across the
bottom of the housing so that any dripping or leaking is caught by
it, thereby eliminating the possibility of water damage near the
unit.
The riser pipes according to another feature of the present
invention are secured together as a unit adapted to extend
vertically up through one floor, being connected above and below to
similar units on the neighboring floors. This riser-pipe assembly
comprises a sheet-metal jacket in which the pipes are secured by
means of clamps which hold them in place during shipping,
installation, and erection but which permit longitudinal
displacement of these pipes caused by thermal expansion and
contraction of the finished installation. The unit that is
connected to this riser-pipe assembly is attached thereto
preferably before shipment to the site but possibly after the
greater part of the building construction is completed so that it
is not damaged. Such hookup is an extremely rapid procedure for the
steamfitters.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The above and other objects, features, and advantages will become
more apparent from the following with reference to the accompanying
drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is a vertical section through an apparatus according to the
present invention;
FIGS. 2 and 3 are sections taken along lines II -- II and III --
III of FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the blower-control unit;
FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the apparatus;
FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are front, side, and back views, respectively, of
a removable control unit according to this invention;
FIG. 9 is an elevational view partly broken away of an independent
riser-pipe assembly according to this invention;
Fig. 10 is a section taken along line X -- X of FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is a side view of the upper part of the assembly of FIG. 9,
illustrating a pipe gauge and shield; and
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a clamp element used in the
assembly of FIG. 9.
SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION
The heating-cooling unit according to this invention has an upright
hollow housing 10 formed of sheet metal and positioned above the
floor 11 and to a height 13 below the ceiling. Four riser pipes
12a-d pass vertically through this housing adjacent one of the side
walls thereof, along with a PVC condensate riser pipe 14. Within
the housing 10 the blower unit 16 is provided with a control box 18
to force air up through a heat exchanger 20 attached to both the
cold-water pipes 12a, 12b and the hot-water pipes 12c, 12d.
The housing 10 is rectangular in cross section and has a relatively
small upper outlet opening 22 over which a louver 24 is hinged.
This same front side of the housing 10 is formed near its base with
a much larger inlet and access opening 28 which is normally covered
by a hinged door 30 provided with louvers 32 over most of its
height and having a control-access panel 34 at its top. The very
base of the housing 10 is provided with a drip pan 36 connected via
a short length of pipe 38 to the drain riser 14. Thus any
condensation or the like in the housing is automatically led
away.
The riser pipes 12a -d and 14 are contained at one side of the
housing behind a wall 40 in a mass 42 of polyurethane foam formed
in place. These pipes are supplied with the unit, projecting
sufficiently so that they may be sweated together between the
floors.
One wall also carries an outlet box 44 which is wired into the
wiring of the building, and a courtesy outlet 46 may be provided on
the front wall of the housing 10. Each of the riser pipes is
provided with a respective laterally projecting nipple 12a'- d'
which passes through a respective vertical slot 39 in the wall 40.
The pipes 12b and 12d are under greater pressure than the pipes 12a
and 12c, so that the flow will be from the former to the latter. A
boiler is connected between pipes 12c and 12d and a chiller between
pipes 12a and 12b. The heat-exchanger 20 comprises a conventional
coil unit with two sets of separate coils 48' and 48", the former
being only a single upper layer for heating and the latter being a
double lower layer for cooling. This assembly is arranged at an
angle to the vertical and is carried between two side walls 50
between which a rail 52 is provided which engages under downwardly
extending lip or rail 54 attached to the back wall of the housing
10. Hooks and eyes can be used in place of the lips 52 and 54. Thus
the entire heat-exchanger 20 is simply hung in the housing 10 with
the straight back edges of its sides 50 lying against the back wall
of this housing 10. The exchanger 20 is further formed at the base
of the coils 48' and 48" with a trough 56 that catches condensate
running down the coil 48". The bottom of this trough is formed with
a nipple over which is secured a short length 58 of flexible tubing
whose lower end lies in the drain pan 36 so that any condensate
running off the coils 48' and 48" is first caught in the trough 56
and thence drains out into the pan 36.
One side of the coil 48" is connectable through a valve 60 and a
hose 66a with the cold-water supply line 12b and the other side is
connected through a Y-connector 60a and a hose 66b to the cold
return line 12a. This valve 60 has a lateral bypass 60b connected
to the Y 60a so that it can either divert the cold water through
the coil 48" or through this bypass 60b. Similarly the one side of
the coil 48' is connectable through a line 62, a valve 64 and a
hose 68a with the hot-water supply line 12d and the other side
through a line 59, a Y 64a and a hose 68b to the hot-water return
12c. The valve 64 also has a bypass connection 64b connected to the
Y 64a so that it can pass hot water either through the coil 48' or
past it. The valves 60 and 64 are of the motor-operated type which
when energized connect up their respective coils 48' and 48" but
otherwise bypass these coils.
These hoses 68a, 68b, 66a and 66b are connected at their ends
opposite valves 64 and 60 with releasable hose couplings 70a -d to
the risers 12a - d so that the heat exchanger 20 may be readily
disconnected. Between couplings 70a - 70d and respective runouts
12a' - 12d' there are provided respective manual shutoff valves 72a
- 72d. The electrical connections for the solenoids of valves 60
and 64 are made with a cable 74 having a male connector 76a adapted
to mate with a female connector 76b carried on the end of a cable
78 extending from the control unit 18.
The blower 16 is of the axial-input radial-output or so-called
squirrel-cage type and has a housing 80 formed with an outlet
opening 82 and a pair of oppositely directed flanges 84. The side
walls 50 of the heat-exchanger are bent over at their lower edges
to have short inwardly directed lips 86 forming a sort of shelf.
The edges 84 of the blower housing 80 overlie these lips 86 so that
this blower unit 16 may be hung on the heat-exchanger 20. The two
are mounted together after the heat-exchanger is hung on the cleat
54 by simply sliding the lips 84 horizontally into place over the
edges 86. A vertical flange or lip 88 is provided on the housing 80
which lies against the front of the heat exchanger 20 and prevents
air from being blown over the control unit 18. Air drawn into the
sides of the blower 16 is blown out the mouth 82 of this blower and
through the heat-exchanger 20, whence it passes out of the housing
10 through the outlet 22. This air is drawn in through the louvered
door 30 through a filter 90 which rests on a switch 92 connected
via a two-conductor wire 94 to a male connector 96a plugged into a
female connector 96b connected via a wire 98 to the control box 18.
This switch 92 is closed only when a filter is in place.
The control unit 18 comprises basically a thermostatic switch 99
which is of the SPDT type that closes one circuit below a preset
temperature and another circuit above a preset temperature, the
former circuit operating the zone valve 64 that effects a flow of
hot water through the heat-exchanger coil 48' and the latter
circuit effecting a flow of cold water through the double
heat-exchanger coil 48" by activating zone valve 60. In between
these two positions, neither valve 60 or 64 is activated and
neither hot nor cold water can flow through the coil 48" or 48".
Since the amount of water flowing through the unit at all times is
the same, there is no pressure fluctuation when a unit cuts in.
The motor 100 of the blower can be operated in three modes -- high,
medium, or low -- by switches 102 below the thermostat 94. An
ON-OFF switch 104 has two poles, one connected in series with the
filter switch and lockout 92 and the other in series with the
cooling valve 60 so that when switch 104 is opened the blower motor
100 cannot be operated and cold water cannot flow through the coil
48". Hot water is, however, always passed through the coil 48'
whenever the ambient temperature is less than that in the
thermostat, so that the water in the unit cannot freeze. Obviously,
so long as the blower is not operating the amount of heat
dissipated by the unit is minimal. The control box 18 has a line
cord 106 which terminates in a conventional three-prong plus 108
which is plugged into the outlet box 44 in the base of the
unit.
FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 show another type of control unit 110 having a
front panel 112 on which are mounted the thermostat 99, the blower
speed control switch 102, and a winter-summer switch 114 which is
only effective in two-pipe systems and serves to connect the sole
zone valve up to the thermostat in a manner for controlled heating
or cooling. A thermostat element 116 is secured to the bottom edge
of the panel 112 so that when this panel is secured in the upper
region of the lower access opening 28 in the housing 10 by means of
screws the returning air passes over the element 116. On the back
of the panel 112 is mounted the control box 118 housing the various
circuit elements except for the large condenser 120 of motor 100.
The box 118 is provided with three female connectors 112, 124 and
126 into which plug the male connectors 96a from lockout switch 92,
male plug 76a from the valves 60 and 64 and a male plug 128 from
the blower motor 100. This unit is separate from the blower unit 16
so that it can be replaced independently therefrom. The thermostat
99 and/or its element 116 can be mounted on the outside of the
housing 10, or can be mounted completely away from this housing
10.
The apparatus described above is manufactured and delivered to the
building site complete, with only some blocking in the unit to
protect it during transit. It is set in place and the units are
mounted one atop the other on succeeding floors of the structure.
The electrical box 44 is connected with the building is wired.
FIGS. 9 - 12 show how the insulated riser pipes 12a-d as well as
the condensate riser 14 are received in a sheet-metal channel 130
having a length L corresponding to a distance of about 80 inches
above the floor 11 and toward ceiling 13 in the finished building.
The pipes extend above this channel or jacket 130 by a distance l
and below it by a distance l'which are together equal to slightly
less than the distance from one ceiling level 13 to the immediately
adjacent overhead floor level 11. In this manner the assembly 129
shown in FIG. 9 can be placed in an unfinished building and the
tubing ends can be connected together by sweating in the case of
pipes 12a-d and by gluing for the pipe 14.
The channel is provided at its top and bottom with transverse
support plates 132 each formed with four slots 133 corresponding to
the pipes 12a-d. Clamp elements 136 each have a semicylindrical
central portion 136a on one side of which is a bent-over foot 136b
and on the other side of which is a straight slotted extension
136c. The feet 136b of two such elements 136 are fitted
side-by-side into one of the slots 133 and the elements 136 are
spread to allow one of the pipes 12a-d to be fit between them.
Thereafter another guide plate 134 formed with slots 135 is fit
over the front of the arrangement, with the extensions 136c
projecting through the slots 135. The corners 136d of the
extensions 136c are then bent over to hold the elements 136 and
pipes in place. The radius of curvature of the sections 136a is
slightly less than that of the pipes 12a-d so that these pipes will
be snugly held. At the same time the elements 136 have a height h
which is less than the height H of the slots 133 and 135 so that
limited longitudinal displacement of the pipes 12a-d is possible.
The riser 14 is simply held in place by a conventional pipe clamp
or strap 140 since this pipe does not undergo sufficient thermal
expansion or contraction. A large cover plate 138 is thereafter
fastened over the front of the channel 130 to completely surround
the pipes 12a-d and 14. All of the parts 130, 132, 134, 136, 138
and 140 are made of sheet metal and are secured together where
necessary by rivets or spot-welds. In this manner the riser-pipe
assembly 129 for one floor forms a neat unit which is easily
installed and which permits an easy hookup of the various elements
at a later time. The housing 10 of the unit used with such an
assembly 129 is correspondingly reduced in depth, so that the plate
138 lies against its wall 40 with the valves 72a-d passing through
corresponding holes 142 in the channel 130, with the pipe 38
passing through a hole 144. With this arrangement there is the
possibility of limited displacement of the pipes 12a-d both
longitudinally relative to the jacket 130 and transversely relative
thereto. This allows for thermal expansion and contraction of these
pipes while making it possible to shift them limitedly when
securing them together.
The clips 136 serve to center the riser pipes regardless of their
diameter. Thus a riser-pipe assembly used in the upper stories of a
building, which is therefore of lesser diameter than the risers in
the lower stories, is centered in line with the overhead and
underneath risers. The flexibility of these clips facilitates this
centering.
FIG. 11 shows a throwaway pipe protector and gauge 146 which is
decured to the top wall of the housing 10 and is removed when the
unit is ready to be installed in place. This shield element 146 is
generally L-shaped and is releasably secured to the unit 129. Such
a gauge 146 is also provided at the bottom of the assembly 129.
In operation each unit can be individually controlled to heat or
cool the room. In the four-pipe system described above one part of
a building can be cooled while another is heated. In a more
economical system there are only two riser pipes, plus the
condensate drain, and either chilled water or heated water,
depending on the season, is passed through them. In this case
two-port rather than three-port control valves could be used with
appropriate switching to establish whether the back or front
contacts of the thermostat would operate them. The air that is
drawn into the unit passes over the thermostat 99 so that this
element operates the device to maintain the temperature without it
within a narrow range. Since the blower speed, which determines the
heating or cooling level, remains constant once set, even when the
thermostat is not functioning to close either of the heating or
cooling circuits, the unit filters the air.
It is also possible in a two-pipe system to provide the unit with a
heat-pump arrangement as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,472,313
granted on Oct. 14, 1969 to Arthur Milgram and Sidney Siegel. In
this arrangement water at 120.degree.F is pumped through the unit
and is either run through a heating coil or through a condenser
coil, depending on whether the unit is being employed as a heater
or cooler.
Should the unit break down in some manner, it is possible to remove
any of the functioning parts except the riser pipes 12a -d and 14.
Of course the change of failure of these nonremovable parts is very
small. The blower unit 16 and the thereto attached or independent
control unit 18 or 110 can be removed for servicing or replacement
by opening the access door 30 and removing the filter 90. Then the
plug 108 is pulled out and the various connectors are pulled apart.
The motor unit 16 is then slid out horizontally. Should the
malfunction be in this unit it can be replaced quickly and
easily.
If the heat exchanger springs a leak or the valves 60 or 64 fail in
some manner, the service person need merely close the valves 72a-d,
then uncouple the hoses 70a-d after removing the blower as
described above. The exchanger 20 is then lifted so that the
elements 52 and 54 clear each other, its upper end is then tipped
forward, and then it is dropped down and removed through the front
access hole 28. This operation, which removes all of the working
parts of the device, can be carried out in no more than several
minutes. Since it has been found most easy in a large installation
for the maintenance department to have several heat exchangers and
blower-control units, it only takes a few more minutes to put
completely new works in the apparatus. Thereafter the defective
parts of the subassemblies can be repaired in the shop at the
convenience of the repair person. No costly and irritating layup
time need be experienced, so that the users of a system employing
units according to the present invention will not only have
individually controllable heating and cooling the year round, but
will not be left for long periods of time without either heating or
cooling in case of the inevitable equipment failure.
* * * * *