FURNACE ASSEMBLY
A furnace includes a cabinet having a top plate and a blower located in the cabinet. A blower shelf is located in the cabinet and has a first side supportive of the blower and a second side including one or more canted slide rails. A heat exchanger is located in the cabinet between the blower and the top plate and is securable to the one or more canted slide rails. The one or more canted slide rails are configured to allow removal of the heat exchanger from the cabinet along the canted slide rails without removal of the top plate from the cabinet.
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This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application, 61/390,913, filed Oct. 7, 2010, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe subject matter disclosed herein relates to furnaces. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a heat exchanger assembly of a furnace.
In a typical furnace, a fuel, for example, natural gas, is combusted in a burner. The combustion gas, flue gas, is routed through one or more heat exchangers which extract the heat therefrom. The flue gas heats the surface of the heat exchanger and air is blown across the exterior of the heat exchanger from a blower thus removing heat from the heat exchanger. The blower, burner and heat exchanger are all enclosed in a furnace cabinet. In a typical furnace cabinet, the heat exchanger is located between the blower and a top plate of the cabinet with ductwork and other components located at the top plate. To remove a heat exchanger bundle from the typical cabinet for service, the top plate must be removed, also requiring removal of the top plate and disconnection of the ductwork and other components. This procedure is time consuming and inefficient.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONAccording to one aspect of the invention, a furnace includes a cabinet having a top plate and a blower located in the cabinet. A blower shelf is located in the cabinet and has a first side supportive of the blower and a second side including one or more canted slide rails. A heat exchanger is located in the cabinet between the blower and the top plate and is securable to the one or more canted slide rails. The one or more canted slide rails are configured to allow removal of the heat exchanger from the cabinet along the canted slide rails without removal of the top plate from the cabinet.
According to another aspect of the invention, a blower shelf assembly for a furnace includes a blower shelf having a first side supportive of a blower of the furnace and one or more canted slide rails located at a second side of the blower shelf and supportive of a heat exchanger. The one or more canted slide rails are configured to allow removal of the heat exchanger from the cabinet along the canted slide rails without removal of a top plate from a furnace cabinet.
These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.
The subject matter, which is regarded as the invention, is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The detailed description explains embodiments of the invention, together with advantages and features, by way of example with reference to the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONShown in
The blower 18 is secured to a first side 26 of a blower shelf 28. The heat exchanger 16 is located at a second side 30 of the blower shelf 28. The blower shelf 28 includes at least one blower opening 32 to allow a flow of air from the blower 18 to flow through the blower opening 32 and across the heat exchanger 16 toward the one or more ducts 20.
Referring now to
Referring now to
In some embodiments, as shown in
The furnace 10 described herein, including the blower shelf 28, slide rails 34, front filler plate 46 and top front flange 52 provide easier serviceability of the heat exchanger 16 by making the heat exchanger 16 more easily installed to and removed from the cabinet 12, while also better sealing between the blower 18 and the heat exchanger 16 to make operation of the furnace 10 more efficient. Further, utilizing the engagement surface 36 and raised tabs 38 to locate and secure the heat exchanger 16 to the blower shelf 28 provides positive location for the heat exchanger 16 regardless of the orientation of the cabinet 12.
While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A furnace comprising:
- a cabinet having a top plate;
- a blower disposed in the cabinet;
- a blower shelf having a first side supportive of the blower and a second side including one or more canted slide rails; and
- a heat exchanger disposed in the cabinet between the blower and the top plate and securable to the one or more canted slide rails, the one or more canted slide rails configured to allow removal of the heat exchanger from the cabinet along the canted slide rails without removal of the top plate from the cabinet.
2. The furnace of claim 1, wherein the one or more slide rails include one or more engagement features interactive with one or more complimentary engagement flanges of the heat exchanger to secure the heat exchanger in the cabinet.
3. The furnace of claim 1, wherein the slide rails are canted toward a cabinet opening.
4. The furnace of claim 1, wherein the slide rails, a front filler plate located at the blower shelf and a rear plate secured to the blower shelf define a sealed enclosure for a flow of air from the blower toward the heat exchanger.
5. The furnace of claim 4, wherein the front filler plate is removable to allow for removal of the heat exchanger from the cabinet.
6. The furnace of claim 1, wherein the blower shelf includes an open-ended slot for routing of a furnace wiring harness.
7. The furnace of claim 6, including a door-switch bracket installed at least partially in or across the open-ended slot.
8. The furnace of claim 7, wherein the door switch bracket includes an embossment such that the door switch bracket is substantially flush with the blower shelf.
9. The furnace of claim 1, including a top front flange secured to the blower shelf providing a sealing surface for one or more cabinet doors.
10. The furnace of claim 1 wherein the blower shelf includes a bottom front flange providing a sealing surface for one or more cabinet doors.
11. A blower shelf assembly for a furnace comprising:
- a blower shelf having a first side supportive of a blower of the furnace; and
- one or more canted slide rails located at a second side of the blower shelf and supportive of a heat exchanger;
- wherein the one or more canted slide rails are configured to allow removal of the heat exchanger from the cabinet along the canted slide rails without removal of a top plate from a furnace cabinet.
12. The blower shelf assembly of claim 11, wherein the one or more slide rails include one or more engagement features interactive with one or more complimentary engagement flanges of the heat exchanger to secure the heat exchanger in the cabinet.
13. The blower shelf assembly of claim 11, wherein the slide rails are canted toward a cabinet opening.
14. The blower shelf assembly of claim 11, wherein the slide rails, a front filler plate located at the blower shelf and a rear plate secured to the blower shelf define a sealed enclosure for a flow of air from the blower toward the heat exchanger.
15. The blower shelf assembly of claim 14, wherein the front filler plate is removable to allow for removal of the heat exchanger from the cabinet.
16. The blower shelf assembly of claim 11, wherein the blower shelf includes an open-ended slot for routing of a furnace wiring harness.
17. The blower shelf assembly of claim 16, including a door-switch bracket installed at least partially in or across the open-ended slot.
18. The blower shelf assembly of claim 17, wherein the door switch bracket includes an embossment such that the door switch bracket is substantially flush with the blower shelf.
19. The blower shelf assembly of claim 11, including a top front flange secured to the blower shelf providing a sealing surface for one or more cabinet doors.
20. The blower shelf assembly of claim 11 wherein the blower shelf includes a bottom front flange providing a sealing surface for one or more cabinet doors.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 28, 2011
Publication Date: Apr 12, 2012
Applicant: CARRIER CORPORATION (Farmington, CT)
Inventors: Scott A. Beck (Indianapolis, IN), Larry D. Rieke (Zionsville, IN), Nitu Gupta (Westfield, IN), John N. Abel (Avon, IN)
Application Number: 13/247,440
International Classification: F24H 9/18 (20060101); F24H 9/02 (20060101); F24H 3/06 (20060101);