LOW PROFILE MARINE AIR CONDITIONER
A low profile, self-contained air conditioning unit for a nautical vehicle comprises a base pan, an air handler, a substantially horizontal compressor and a second heat exchanger. The air handler comprises a first heat exchanger with a medium conduit for channeling a refrigerating medium, an air moving apparatus within a shroud. The shroud includes a front wall having an air outlet and a rear wall having an air inlet and the first heat exchanger is located adjacent to the air inlet of the first wall. The second heat exchanger has an inner tube and an outer tube. The inner tube circulates water and the outer tube is in fluid communication with the medium conduit, coaxially encloses a substantial portion of the inner tube, and has an inlet and an outlet. The compressor and the second heat exchanger are adjacent to the air handler and the second heat exchanger is above the compressor.
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The present invention relates to air conditioning systems and, more particularly, air conditioning systems on nautical vehicles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONProviding air conditioning in vehicles of marine transportation is well known in the art. The installation of air conditioning systems on nautical vehicles must take into consideration the spatial limitations on board the ship. Generally, the dimensions of the components—a compressor, an evaporator, a condenser, an air handler, etc.—restrict the areas where air conditioning can be provided and certain areas of the ship will, as a result, benefit less from or have no benefit of air conditioning.
The size of a ship and space available on board generally will determine the type of air conditioning system used in a nautical vehicle. The larger chilled-water systems pump water around the boat from a central compressor through plumbing and air handlers installed in different areas of the boat blow air through water-channeling coils to provide heating or cooling. Direct-expansion systems differ in that they channel a refrigerant such as Freon instead of water. Self-contained units enable air conditioning in smaller-sized boats and do not require the remote transportation of the cooling medium because they package all the main components of the refrigeration cycle in one unit. Even for chilled-water or direct expansion air conditioning systems, in which air handlers are installed separately and at a distance from other larger components, the size of such air handlers will restrict their installation and the reach of the air conditioning will be limited. On-deck locations of a ship, such as a cockpit or a flybridge, are typical of areas where air conditioning is desired but difficult to provide due to spatial restrictions, for example, in terms of height, regardless of the type of air conditioning system used. Thus, there is a need to provide air conditioning in the limited on-deck space of a nautical vehicle without hampering its ordinary operations.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn accordance with one aspect of the invention, a low profile, self-contained air conditioning unit for a nautical vehicle comprises a base pan, an air handler, a substantially horizontal compressor and a second heat exchanger. The air handler comprises a first heat exchanger with a medium conduit for channeling a refrigerating medium, an air moving apparatus, and a shroud housing the first heat exchanger and the air moving apparatus. The shroud includes a front wall having an air outlet and a rear wall having an air inlet and the first heat exchanger is located adjacent to the air inlet of the first wall. The second heat exchanger has an inner tube and an outer tube. The inner tube circulates water. The outer tube is in fluid communication with the medium conduit for channeling the refrigerating medium and coaxially encloses a substantial portion of the inner tube, and has an inlet and an outlet. The air handler and the compressor are mounted on the base pan. The compressor and the second heat exchanger are adjacent to the air handler and the second heat exchanger is above the compressor.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, mounting of the air conditioning unit does not substantially decrease occupant space in the nautical vehicle.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the air conditioning unit does not exceed a height of 8 inches (203 mm).
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, the air moving apparatus is a centrifugal fan and the rear wall of the shroud is parallel to the rotational axis of the air moving apparatus.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, a plurality of centrifugal fans is placed side-by-side in a coaxial manner.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, the plurality of fans is operated by a single motor.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, the self-contained air conditioning unit is connected via a duct to a supply air grill.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, the air inlet extends over substantially all of the rear wall.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, orientation of air from the air outlet is controlled by a plenum attachment.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, the first heat exchanger comprises the medium conduit passing through a set of parallel fins repeatedly thereby forming a bank of medium conduits.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, the self-contained air conditioning unit further includes a reversing valve and provides heating and cooling.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, an inlet of the inner tube is connected to a pump for circulating water.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, the inner tube circulates water from a body of water neighboring the nautical vehicle.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, the air conditioning unit can be installed at various height-critical locations of the nautical vehicle.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, an air handler for a nautical vehicle comprises a first heat exchanger, an air moving apparatus, and a shroud housing the first heat exchanger and the air moving apparatus. The first heat exchanger includes a medium conduit channeling a refrigerating medium and the medium conduit has a medium inlet and a medium outlet. The shroud includes a front wall containing an air outlet and a rear wall containing an air inlet. The first heat exchanger is located adjacent to the air inlet of the rear wall. The mounting of the air handler does not substantially decrease occupant space in the nautical vehicle.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, the air handler further comprises a base pan with a condensate drain.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, the air first heat exchanger is in fluid communication with a compressor and a second heat exchanger that are not adjacent to the air handler and the air handler is part of a centralized air conditioning system.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, the refrigerating medium is water and the air handler is part of a chilled-water air conditioning system.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, the refrigerating medium is a refrigerant and the air handler is part of a direct expansion air conditioning system.
Air conditioning is defined as the treatment of air for the purpose of heating, cooling or ventilating air and an air conditioning system or unit is any application which is used for such a purpose. HVAC which stands for heating, ventilating and air conditioning is an industry term that is synonymous with air conditioning. The terms “air conditioner” or “air conditioning” will be used to encompass any treatment of air including heating and cooling and may include heat pump but also other HVAC devices. Air conditioning is also meant to encompass both indoor air conditioning, which is limited to the air conditioning of an enclosed area and outdoor air conditioning, which occurs in the open air.
Depending on the type of air conditioning system, the refrigerating medium can be a fluorinated hydrocarbon such as Freon in case of a direct expansion air conditioning system or water in case of a chilled water air conditioning system.
The compressor 11 is a rotary compressor that is mounted on a pedestal 21 built on the floor of the base pan 18 and is in a substantially horizontal position contributing to the low profile of the air conditioning system. A substantially horizontal position refers to the position of a longitudinal axis of the compressor. The compressor 11 can be of any commercially available type that is suitable for the dimensions intended by a manufacturer. A basal portion of the compressor 11 may be secured onto the base pan 18 using, for example, a mounting bolt, a grommet and a fastening means such as a nut or a cotter pin. A medium conduit 30 channels the refrigerating medium from the compressor 11 to a reversing valve 19 which routes the refrigerating medium to one of the two heat exchangers 12, 17 depending on the air conditioning mode. In a heating mode, the reversing valve 19 will channel the refrigerating medium to the first heat exchanger 12, while in a cooling mode, the reversing valve 19 will channel the refrigerating medium to the second heat exchanger 17.
In this embodiment of a self-contained unit 40, the second heat exchanger 17 is located above the compressor 11 and is held in place by a number of vertical beams 23 that are fastened to the base pan 18 through securing means such as screws and provide a support in the form of a stairway step on which the second heat exchanger 17 can rest. The second heat exchanger 17 has a tube-in-tube structure in which the medium conduit 30 is in fluid communication with the outer tube 46 and in which a water conduit 44 is the inner tube 45 as shown in
While one end of the medium conduit 30 is routed to enter the water conduit 44 from the reversing valve 19, the other end of the medium conduit 30 that exits the water conduit 44 is routed through an expansion valve/capillary tube 19 and then to the first heat exchanger 12 located inside the air handler 10.
For embodiments of the self-contained unit 40, it is to be appreciated that different arrangement of the compressor 11 and the second heat exchanger 17 is possible while maintaining a similar height for the combined structure. For example, the compressor 11 could be stacked above the second heat exchanger 17 or the water conduit 44 of the second heat exchanger 17 could surround the compressor 11 to achieve an even lower profile.
Referring to
Because the medium conduit 30 of the first heat exchanger 12 must be routed to be in communication with the other components of the refrigerating cycle, the installation of the motor, the first heat exchanger 12 and the fans 14a, 14b and the routing of the medium conduit 30 are likely to precede the mounting of the shroud 20. The shroud may consist of a number of substantially planar surfaces that can be assembled and fastened onto one another and the base pan 18 via brackets with holes for accepting screws. Moreover, the planar surfaces can be made of metal or other rigid material resistant to heat, cold and moisture. A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the shroud 20 can take on shapes other than a box, that the assembly of the shroud can be simplified through means that allow for assembly of the planar surfaces prior to mounting onto the base pan 18 and that the shroud 20 need not consist of planar surfaces only.
As shown in
As explained above, when the self-contained unit 40 is put to operation, the first heat exchanger 12 and the second heat exchanger 17 can interchangeably perform the dual role of an evaporator and a condenser depending on the air conditioning mode. The term ‘heat exchanger’ is used instead of ‘condenser’ and ‘evaporator’ to indicate these dual functions. A medium conduit 30 channels the refrigerating medium through the major components of the air conditioning system starting from the compressor 11 then through the reversing valve 19, one of the two heat exchangers, an expansion valve/capillary tube 25, the other heat exchanger and back to the compressor 11.
The main advantage of this invention is that the compactness of the components enables the installation of air conditioning equipments in areas of a nautical vehicle where space for mounting air conditioning equipments is limited and where conventional equipments would take up more than the available space. Mounting space can be seen as limited where a confined area does not provide much room or where an area, although not confined, does not offer much foundation on which to install air conditioning components. More specifically, the present invention may be installed adjacent to spaces provided for an operator or passenger on the vehicle in a way that the body of the air conditioning unit or the air handler does not result in a substantial decrease in the room provided for the operator or passenger. For example, the present invention may simply take up some room behind a wall adjacent to the space provided for the operator because primarily the installation simply requires inserting the body of the air conditioning system behind the wall. The space may be a cockpit, an outdoor guest area, or an indoor room.
In this regard, the self-contained air conditioning unit 40 that has a height of less than 8 inches (or 203 mm) and length of less than 31 inches (or 789 mm) can be mounted despite the lack of mounting space. The invention thus enables air conditioning at on-deck locations such as a flybridge or cockpit in addition to enclosed areas such as a cabin where air conditioning is generally contemplated. The present invention enables installation of air conditioning equipments at a cockpit dashboard so that the pilot of the nautical vehicle can experience heating or cooling more effectively even in the open air.
Moreover, the availability of embodiments that can adapt with different types of air conditioning systems offers broad compatibility with pre-installed air conditioners in nautical vehicles. Embodiments of the self-contained air conditioning unit 40 form an air conditioning system that can function independently of a remote and centralized system. Therefore, self-contained air conditioning unit 40 can provide air conditioning in areas where conventional units could not be installed without any rewiring of medium conduit 30 of an existing air conditioning system. The air handlers 60 and 70 enable the blowing of heated or cooled air in a similar fashion whether the nautical vehicle 1 uses a chilled water or direct expansion air conditioning system.
Although the invention has been described in terms of a few example embodiments, the invention is not limited to the details of the discussed embodiments and a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications can be made to the embodiments while staying within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A low profile, self-contained air conditioning unit for a nautical vehicle, comprising:
- a base pan;
- an air handler comprising: a first heat exchanger with a medium conduit for channeling a refrigerating medium, an air moving apparatus, and a shroud housing the first heat exchanger and the air moving apparatus, the shroud including a front wall having an air outlet and a rear wall having an air inlet, the first heat exchanger located adjacent to the air inlet of the first wall;
- a substantially horizontal compressor, the air handler and the compressor mounted on the base pan; and
- a second heat exchanger having an inner tube and an outer tube, the inner tube circulating water, the outer tube being in fluid communication with the medium conduit for channeling the refrigerating medium, the outer tube coaxially enclosing a substantial portion of the inner tube, the outer tube having an inlet and an outlet,
- wherein the compressor and the second heat exchanger are adjacent to the air handler and the second heat exchanger is above the compressor.
2. The self-contained air conditioning unit of claim 1, wherein mounting of the air conditioning unit does not substantially decrease occupant space in the nautical vehicle.
3. The self-contained air conditioning unit of claim 1, wherein the air conditioning unit does not exceed a height of 8 inches (203 mm).
4. The self-contained air conditioning unit of claim 1, wherein the air moving apparatus is a centrifugal fan and the rear wall of the shroud is parallel to the rotational axis of the air moving apparatus.
5. The self-contained air conditioning unit of claim 4, wherein a plurality of centrifugal fans is placed side-by-side in a coaxial manner.
6. The self-contained air conditioning unit of claim 5, wherein the plurality of fans is operated by a single motor.
7. The self-contained air conditioning unit of claim 5, wherein the self-contained air conditioning unit is connected via a duct to a supply air grill.
8. The self-contained air conditioning unit of claim 1, wherein the air inlet extends over substantially all of the rear wall.
9. The self-contained air conditioning unit of claim 1, wherein orientation of air from the air outlet is controlled by a plenum attachment.
10. The self-contained air conditioning unit of claim 1, wherein the first heat exchanger comprises the medium conduit passing through a set of parallel fins repeatedly thereby forming a bank of medium conduits.
11. The self-contained air conditioning unit of claim 1, wherein the self-contained air conditioning unit further includes a reversing valve and provides heating and cooling.
12. The self-contained air conditioning unit of claim 1, wherein an inlet of the inner tube is connected to a pump for circulating water.
13. The self-contained air conditioning unit of claim 1, wherein the inner tube circulates water from a body of water neighboring the nautical vehicle.
14. The self-contained air conditioning unit of claim 1, wherein the air conditioning unit can be installed at various height-critical locations of the nautical vehicle.
15. An air handler for a nautical vehicle, comprising:
- a first heat exchanger including a medium conduit channeling a refrigerating medium, the medium conduit having a medium inlet and a medium outlet;
- an air moving apparatus; and
- a shroud housing the first heat exchanger and the air moving apparatus, the shroud including a front wall containing an air outlet and a rear wall containing an air inlet, the first heat exchanger located adjacent to the air inlet of the rear wall,
- wherein mounting of the air handler does not substantially decrease occupant space in the nautical vehicle.
16. The air handler of claim 15, wherein the air handler further comprises a base pan with a condensate drain.
17. The air handler of claim 15, wherein the air first heat exchanger is in fluid communication with a compressor and a second heat exchanger that are not adjacent to the air handler and wherein the air handler is part of a centralized air conditioning system.
18. The air handler of claim 17, wherein the refrigerating medium is water and the air handler is part of a chilled-water air conditioning system.
19. The air handler of claim 17, wherein the refrigerating medium is a refrigerant and the air handler is part of a direct expansion air conditioning system.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 27, 2007
Publication Date: Aug 28, 2008
Applicant: DOMETIC ENVIRONMENTAL CORPORATION (Richmond, VA)
Inventors: Ronald Pabisz (Boynton Beach, FL), Charlie Barefoot (Dinwiddie, VA), Ted Wisman (Hollywood, FL)
Application Number: 11/679,385