U.S. patent number 3,678,993 [Application Number 05/083,495] was granted by the patent office on 1972-07-25 for heat exchange coil and housing therefor.
This patent grant is currently assigned to The Trane Company. Invention is credited to Larry J. Pierce.
United States Patent |
3,678,993 |
Pierce |
July 25, 1972 |
HEAT EXCHANGE COIL AND HOUSING THEREFOR
Abstract
A heat exchange coil housing structure providing interchangeable
side, top and bottom panels whereby the shifting of panels allows
for airflow in a plurality of different directions without
repositioning the heat exchange coil.
Inventors: |
Pierce; Larry J. (Clarksville,
TN) |
Assignee: |
The Trane Company (La Crosse,
WI)
|
Family
ID: |
22178714 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/083,495 |
Filed: |
October 23, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/76; 165/137;
62/326; 62/285 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F
13/20 (20130101); F24F 13/22 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F24F
13/00 (20060101); F24F 13/20 (20060101); F24F
13/22 (20060101); F24f 013/02 (); F25b
039/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;165/137,76 ;62/326,285
;98/33 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Davis, Jr.; Albert W.
Claims
I claim:
1. In combination, a heat exchange coil and a housing therefor,
said housing comprising end walls and side, top and bottom wall
frames having panel receiving portions therein; said heat exchange
coil being disposed diagonally of said end walls; means for
removably securing panel members to said wall frame panel receiving
portions; a first panel member attached to one of said panel
receiving portions on a first side of said coil, a second panel
member attached to another of said panel receiving portions on the
opposite side of said coil, whereby air flows across said coil in
either direction through the two panel receiving portions remaining
uncovered; condensate receiving means subjacent said coil, said
coil and said condensate receiving means remaining in fixed
position without regard to the direction of air flow across said
coil; whereby said panel members may be repositioned to provide
alternate air flow paths through said housing.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said panel members
communicate with said top and bottom wall frames.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said panel members
communicate with said sidewall frames.
4. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein one of said panel
members communicates with said top wall frame and one of said panel
members communicates with one of said side wall frames.
5. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein one of said panel
members communicates with said bottom wall frame and one of said
panel members communicates with one of said side wall frames.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In many heat exchange systems, heating or cooling is accomplished
by the circulation of a gas across a coil carrying a heated or
cooled fluid, the resulting heat transfer heating or cooling the
gas. Frequently, the gas carries an entrained vapor which may
condense out upon cooling of the gas. Such a situation exists, for
example, when humid air is cooled. When the air is cooled to or
below the dew point, the entrained water vapor condenses out of the
air.
When such condensation takes place, the liquid condensate generally
collects on the surface of the coil, first as a light mist, and
eventually attaining droplet size if sufficient cooling of enough
air is continued. The accumulation of these condensate droplets may
present serious problems in the operation of the unit, and
provisions must normally be made for the collection and removal of
the condensate. Frequently a drain pan is provided subjacent the
coil to collect the the condensate so that it may be evaporated off
or otherwise removed from the system.
To be effective, the drain pan must generally be positioned at
least partly below the coil so that the condensate may drip or run
into the pan by the action of gravity. The precise location and
size of the drain pan will be dictated, in large measure, by the
position and orientation of the coil itself. As a result, once the
coil is installed into its associated housing, and the drain pan
fixed relative thereto, the direction in which gas may be directed
through the coil is limited to one or perhaps two directions.
Unfortunately, the construction of heating and cooling systems
often require coils capable of receiving and discharging air in a
variety of directions. For example, in residential heating and
cooling systems, air may flow from the heating or cooling source
vertically upwardly or downwardly, horizontally in either
direction, or may be introduced horizontally and discharged
vertically, and vice versa. Obviously a heat exchange coil capable
of accepting and delivering air in only one or two directions is of
limited usefulness.
In prior practice, it has been customary to provide a differently
constructed unit for each direction of airflow encountered. For
example, an evaporator coil may be installed in the plenum or
ductwork of a furnace in order to use the delivery system of the
furnace for delivery of cooled air during the summer months. Such
furnaces may direct air upwardly, as from a basement location;
downwardly, as from an attic location; or horizontally.
Occasionally, air may enter the furnace plenum in a vertical
direction and exit in a horizontal direction, or vice versa. In
order to accommodate these various configurations, different
evaporator coil units have been provided for each specific type of
airflow, the various units not being interchangeable or
convertible. This of course requires manufactures to build a number
of different units, and requires dealers to stock a variety of
units in order to be prepared to meet each possible
installation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention therefore to provide a
heat exchange coil and housing therefor which can be adapted to
accept airflow in a number of different directions.
A further object is to provide a heat exchange coil with associated
housing wherein air can be directed across the coil from different
directions without reorienting the coil.
A still further object is to provide an improved eavporator coil
unit for residential split-type air conditioning systems.
A still further object is to provide an evaporator coil unit which
can be readily adapted in the field to accommodate whatever
direction of airflow might be required for a given
installation.
In the present invention, a heat exchange coil is mounted in a
housing having end walls and side, top and bottom wall frames. The
side, top and bottom wall frames have a panel receiving portion
adapted to receive a panel which, when in place, substantially
closes the particular side, top or bottom wall. The panel members
are preferably interchangeable. Through rotation of the panel
members around the coil, airflow may be directed across the coil in
a variety of directions without reorienting the coil. If desired,
an auxillary drain pan may be used with certain configurations
.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention will be explained in greater detail with
reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a partial end view in section depicting one embodiment of
the invention,
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a heat exchange coil and housing
illustrating another embodiment of the invention,
FIG. 3 is a partial end view in section of the embodiment shown in
FIG. 2 configured for vertical airflow,
FIG. 4 is a partial end view in section of the embodiment in FIG. 2
with the panel members configured for vertically upward to
horizontal airflow,
FIGS. FIG. 5 is a partial end view in section of the embodiment in
FIG. 2 with the panel members configured for vertically downward to
horizontal airflow,
FIGS. 6 and 7 are partial end views in section of the embodiment in
FIG. 2 with the panel members configured for horizontal flow,
and
FIG. 8 is a partial end view in section of the embodiment of FIG. 2
with the panel members configured for horizontal to vertical
airflow.
Referring to the drawings, a heat exchange coil 10 is mounted in a
housing indicated generally at 30. The coil may be of any
conventional type including the type comprising serpentine tubing
11 passing repeatedly through a series of fins 12. The coil 10 may
be held in place by suitable brackets 13 secured to the coil,
brackets 13 in turn being fastened to end walls 31 by means of bolt
fasteners 14. Although coil 10 may be oriented within housing 30 in
various ways, it is preferred to mount the coil diagonally of the
end walls 31 as shown. This orientation gives the maximum
flexibility as to airflow direction across the coil faces 15 and
16, as will be explained in greater detail hereinafter. It will be
understood that coil 10 is connected by suitable piping and
fittings (not shown) to a source of cooled or heated fluid as
desired.
Positioned subjacent coil 10 is drain pan 20 which may be generally
trough-shaped and may be provided with an aperture 21 for removing
condensate liquid which may accumulate in the drain pan 20. It has
been discovered that condensate forming on coil 10 will tend to run
downwardly along the fin and tube structure and finally drip from
the coil at its lowermost corner. Accordingly, it is generally not
necessary to provide a drain pan beneath the entire coil, but
rather only beneath the lowermost portion as illustrated in the
drawings.
Housing 30 is generally comprised of end walls 31, side wall frames
32 and 33, top wall frame 34 and bottom wall frame 35. Side wall
frames 32 and 33, top wall frame 34 and bottom wall frame 35 have
panel receiving portions 36, 37, 38 and 39 respectively. The
periphery of panel receiving portions 36, 37, 38 and 39 form
apertured portions of the side, top and bottom wall frames
respectively.
In accordance with the present invention, panel members 40 and 41
are mounted in place at two of the panel receiving portions 36, 37,
38 or 39. In FIG. 1, the panel members 40 and 41 are shown mounted
in panel receiving portions 38 and 39 respectively, but it will be
understood that either one of panel members 40 and 41 may also be
mounted in panel receiving portions 36 or 37, depending upon the
desired direction of input and output airflow.
The placement of the panel members may be varied to meet particular
requirements, however, each of the panel members must be located
opposite a different face of the coil, that is, one panel member
opposite face 15 and one panel member opposite face 16. Stated
differently, the panel members should not both be placed opposite
the same face of the coil. For example, panel members 40 and 41
should not be mounted to panel receiving portions 37 and 38 at the
same time as in such a configuration air would not flow across the
coil but instead would bypass the coil and exit without the desired
heat exchange having taken place.
FIGS. 2-8 illustrate a modified version of the housing shown in
FIG. 1. In this particular embodiment, panel receiving portions 37
and 38 are flanged outwardly as at 37a and 38a, and panel member
40a is correspondingly flanged inwardly to fit snugly over panel
receiving portion 37a or 38a. Panel receiving portions 36 and 39
remain unflanged, as does panel member 41.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2-8, all of the panel
members are not interchangeable. In that embodiment, the top panel
member is interchangeable with one side member, while the bottom
panel member is interchangeable with the other side member. These
features may allow for easier installation and provide the same
number of variations of airflow as in the embodiment illustrated in
FIG. 1.
FIGS. 3-8 illustrate the variety of airflow directions which may be
selected using the heat exchange coil and housing of the present
invention. It can be seen that the unit of the present invention
can be adapted to the various airflow patterns by proper placement
of panel members 40a and 41 without reorienting the coil 10 or the
drain pan 20.
It has been observed that when the incoming air impinges upon the
upper most face 15 of coil 10, as in FIGS. 5 and 6, there is a
tendency for the airflow to blow the condensate off the coil 10
without allowing the condensate to flow completely along the fins
to the drain pan. In that case, it may be desirable to provide
auxiliary drain pan 22 shown in FIG. 5, or auxiliary drain pan 22a
shown in FIG. 6. The auxiliary drain pan is generally sloped
downwardly toward drain pan 20 so that any condensate blown into
auxiliary drain pan 22 or 22a will run into drain pan 20 for
eventual disposal. The auxiliary drain pan 22 or 22a may be
packaged and shipped with each unit and installed if necessary at
the job site, or discarded.
It should be apparent from the foregoing description that the
present invention provides many advantages heretofore not readily
available. Since the heat exchange coil housing can be adapted to
almost any airflow pattern in the field, most of the assembly of
the unit can be done at the factory with only a minimum of
alteration necessary in the field. Since the heat exchange coil
remains in a single disposition, the drain pan can be relatively
small and compact, and installed in a single position. There is no
requirement for unnecessary extensions of the drain pan as is
sometimes required in units designed to be turned over to
accommodate different airflow patterns. Manufacturers and dealers
stock requirements are reduced because a single unit can satisfy a
variety of installation requirements.
While in the foregoing description and drawings the present
invention has been set forth with considerable detail, it will be
understood that such detail is for the purpose of illustration and
is in no way intended to limit the scope of the invention. Many
modifications and substitutions can be made by those skilled in the
art without departing from the scope of the invention which is
defined in the appended claims.
* * * * *