US3416329A - Air conditioning unit - Google Patents

Description

1968 5. M. THOMAS AIR CONDITIONING UNIT Filed Dec. 8, 1966 II 1111 III/ III Ill/III] INVENTOR FIG .3 6:006: #405 441 7 /0/1449 ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,416,329 AIR CONDITIONING UNIT George Marshall Thomas, 4282 Roswell Road NE, Apt. 33, Atlanta, Ga. 30305 Filed Dec. 8, 1966, Ser. No. 600,229 4 Claims. (Cl. 62262) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a window air conditioning unit to be supported from a window opening. The housing containing the compressor, evaporator, expansion valve, and condenser, together with the fan and electrical wiring necessary for these elements is suspended outside the window, and substantially 'below the window opening. The air circulating through the housing to cool the condenser enters the sides of the housing disposed normal to the wall of the building and exits through the bottom wall of the housing, thereby leaving the top, outside, and inside walls imperforate.

SPECIFICATION Air conditioning units of the type normally positioned in an open window have met with great success because of their portability, ease of installation and inexpensive manufacturing cost. While these features make window air conditioning units desirable, the units presently manufactured have certain disadvantages in that they usually occupy substantially all of the window opening, the noise and vibration of the unit is disturbing, and the unit is unsightly from both outside and inside the building.

Accordingly, this invention relates to a window air conditioning unit to be supported from and positioned outside a window opening so that the noise and vibration of the unit will be localized outside the building. Also, the front or outside wall of the unit is imperforate so that no louvres, grills or other unsightly structure will be exposed.

Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a window air conditioning unit which is adapted to localized noise and vibration outside the building to which it is attached.

Another object of this invention is to provide a window air conidtioning unit which is eye appealing from both outside and inside the building to which it is attached.

Another object of this invention is to provide a window air conditioning unit which is adapted to be mounted in a window opening without occupying a major portion of the window opening.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, taken in cross section, of the window air conditioning unit.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view, taken in cross section along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1, of thewindow air conditioning unit.

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the window air conditioning unit, showing the manner in which the unit occupies and is supported from a window opening.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 shows a wall of a dwelling which defines a window opening. The window opening is bound by conventional sill structure 11 and a lower sash 12 normally occupies the opening 13. Air conditioning unit 14 comprises an outside housing 15 and duct means 16. Housing 15 is generally rectangular in configuration and includes a front or outside wall 18, a back or inside wall 19, side walls 20 and 21 (FIG. 2), bottom wall 22, and top wall 24. Top wall 24 and back wall 19 and side walls 20 and 21 form an extension 25 which is constructed to extend toward the opening 13 in the building. Duct means 16 and extension 25 are telescopically fitted together and define series of apertures through which screws 26 or other fastening means may be inserted.

A motor 28 is mounted in the housing 15 by means of a partition 29. The motor 28 drives a pair of propeller blades 30 and 31; propeller blade 30 moving air in an upward direction and propeller blade 31 moving air in a downward direction. Evaporator coils 32 are positioned in the upper portion 34 of housing 15 and propeller blade 30 is arranged to move air over coils 32. Condenser coils 35 are positioned in the lower portion 36 of housing 15, and propeller blade 31 is arranged to move air over condenser coils 35.

As is best shown in FIG. 2, evaporator and condenser coils 32 and 35 communicate with each other in the conventional manner through a compresor 38 and expansion valve 39.

Partition 29 includes an opening 40 which, when opened, allows the upper portion 34 and the lower por tion 36 of the housing 15 to communicate With each other. Opening 40 is selectively closable by door 41. The upper portion 34 of the housing includes a return air duct 42, and duct means 16 also includes a return air duct 44. The return air ducts 42 and 44 communicate with each other so that air present inside the building can be recirculated. Door 41 is positionable to close opening 40, or positioned (as shown in FIG. 1) to close the return air duct 42. Thus, fan 30 circulates air moving through opening 40 or return air duct 42, or a combination thereof, as determined by the position of door 41.

Side walls 20 and 21 define openings 48 and 49, respectively, and bottom wall 22 defines an opening Openings 48-50 are louvred so as to obscure the internal working elements of the air conditioning unit. Also, the louvres of openings 48 and 49 are angled so as to prevent rain from entering the housing under normal circumstances. Openings 48 and 49 allow air to enter the lower portion 36 of housing 15, behind fan 31, so that fan 31 can blow air over condenser coils 35. Opening 50 is po'sitioned on the side of condenser coils 35 remote from fan 31 so as to provide an exit opening for the air moving through the lower portion of the housing. As is best shown in FIG. 3, the flow of air through the housing is illustrated by arrows 51, 52 and 53. The air enters through the side walls 20 and 21 and exits through the bottom wall 22.

Return air duct 44 of the duct means 16 includes an L- shaped, downwardly directed bend 55 adapted to rest on the inside surface of sill 11. Return air duct 44 also includes a front panel 56 which is exposed inside the building and adapted to carry the control switches, levers, etc., necessary to the function of the air conditioning unit. Return air duct 44 defines a downwardly directed opening 58 through which air is recirculated from inside the building, as indicated by arrows 59. A filter 60 is positioned in the return air duct 44, just inside opening 58.

Duct means 16 includes an inlet duct 61 extending from the upper portion 34 of the housing 15. An adjustable louvred vent 62 is pivotally inserted in the opening of duct 61 and adapted to direct the air flowing through duct 61 upwardly, outwardly, or downwardly of its position. Guide vane 64 is positioned adjacent evaporator tubes 32, at the intersection of the front wall 18 and the top wall 24 of the housing 15, to guide the air flowing from fan 30, across condenser tubes 32, toward the duct means 16.

Outside housing 15 is supported from the wall 10 of the building by the duct means 16 resting on sill 11 and by a pair of base supports 65 extending through extension 66 of inside wall 19. Base supports 65 merely maintain the housing displaced from wall 10, and in a substantially vertical disposition. Of course, base supports 65 are adjustable.

' OPERATION Air conditioning unit 14 is inserted in a window opening by measuring the distance between the inside surface of sill 11 to the outermost projection of wall of the building. Duct means 16 is then telescopically received in the extension of housing 15, said screws 26 are inserted through the telescoped portions of these elements to firmly attach them to each other. The unit is then positioned, as shown in FIG. 1, with downwardly projecting bend 55 being hooked over the inside surface of sill 11 and with base supports 65 resting against the outside surface of the wall 10 of the building. At this point, the unit is merely plugged in and operated.

When the unit is energized, motor 28 will drive fans 30 and 31 to circulate air through the upper and lower portions 34 and 36 of the housing 15. Fan 31 causes air to flow in through openings 48 and 49 of the lower portion 36 of the housing, fiow over condenser coils 35, and out of opening 50 in the bottom wall 22. Fan 30 causes air to move through opening in the partition 29, over evaporator coils 32, and through duct 61 of duct means 16. Guide plate 64 guides the air toward duct 61, and adjustable vane 62 directs the air upwardly, outwardly, or downwardly of that portion of the unit extending through the opening 13 of the window. If it is desired to recirculate air from the building through the condenser coils, door 41 is pivoted to close opening 40 and open return air duct 42. Air will then flow, as indicated by arrows 59, through return air duct 44 of the duct means 16, through return air duct 42 of the housing 15, to a position below fan 30. Of course, if it is desired to have both fresh and recirculated air, door 41 may be positioned halfway between its two closed positions.

At this point, it should be obvious that the window air conditioning unit disclosed herein isolates the noise and vibration and the other generally undesirable characteristics of a window air conditioner outside the building, and the duct means utilized to communicate the air from the evaporator coils of the unit with the area inside the building occupies only a minimum amount of space of the window opening 13. This, of course, allows the sash 12 to be utilized in substantially a normal manner; that is the sash 12 may be opened and closed, and the light normally shining through a transparent window will not be blocked by a large unit occupying substantially all of the open space of the window.

The front or outside wall 18 is imperforate so that no unsightly coils, louvres or other internal elements are exposed. Furthermore, the lack of openings in the front or outside wall 18 tends to prevent the noise of the unit from being transmitted directly away from the wall 10 of the building. Since the front or outside wall 18 is imperforate, fanciful designs may camouflage its surface so that the unit is not conspicuous. The manner in which the outside housing 15 is mounted and supported from the window opening 13 is such that the unit is located primarily below the opening of the window. Thus, when the unit is positioned in a downstairs window its major portion may be hidden by shrubbery, etc.

The telescoping feature of the duct means 16 and extension 25 of the housing 15 renders the unit adaptable to various thickness walls. It should be understood, however, that the adjustability of base support 65 is such that duct means 16 may be permanently attached to housing 15, and the variants in the thickness of wall 10 can be accommodated by adjusting the base support 65. Of course, this construction would reduce the cost of manufacturing and assembling the unit.

The manner in which the air flows through the lower portion 36 of the housing 15 is such that the flow of air is disposed at a point remote from the window opening 13 and its sash 12, thus reducing the turbulent air flow in the vicinity of the window. This feature is desirable since the dust and other elements carried by the flowing air will not come into contact with the glass of the sash, thereby dirtying the sash.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations may be made in the embodiments here chosen for the purpose of illustrating the present invention, without departing from the scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A window air conditioning unit comprising a housing, including side walls, a front wall, a back wall, a bottom wall and a top wall, support means for mounting the housing with the upper portion of its back wall outside and adjacent the lower portion of a window opening of a supporting wall, a partition in said housing, a refrigerant condenser mounted in the lower portion of the housing on one side of the partition, a refrigerant evaporator mounted in the upper portion of the housing on the other side of the partition, air moving means arranged to move air in a downward direction over the condenser and in an upward direction over the evaporator, air ducting means in the lower portion of the housing for ducting air in through the side walls of the housing. toward the air moving means and away from the condenser and out through the bottom wall of the housing, air ducting means in the upper portion of the housing for ducting air from inside the window opening in a downward direction to the air moving means, and from the evaporator in a lateral direction back through the window opening, and bypass means for adjustably blocking the flow of air through the upper portion of the housing and flowing air from the lower portion of the housing to the air moving means, through the evaporator, and through the window.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said bypass means comprises an opening in said partition and valve means having a first position blocking the opening and a second position blocking the passage of air from the window toward the air moving means.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said support means and said housing are constructed and arranged to sup port said air moving means at a level below the window opening.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein said bottom wall is constructed and arranged to exhaust air from said condenser at an angle directed away from the supporting wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,660,866 12/1953 Tipton et al. 62-262 2,667,765 2/1954 Harris et a1. 62262 2,737,788 3/ 1956 Buttner 62-279 2,789,494 4/1957 Goettl et al. 9894 WILLIAM J. WYE, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

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