US3182717A - Duct-installable heat exchanger - Google Patents

Description

May 11, 1965 R. E. PIERCE 3,182,717

DUCT-INSTALLABLE HEAT EXCHANGER Filed Oct. 25. 1961 RCTUIN AIR l2 comma/ 2 SPRAY L IN V EN TOR. Aaamr P/ew:

BY M /(Q'% United States Patent 3,182,717 DUCT-INSTALLABLE HEAT EXCHANGER Robert E. Pierce, Farmington, Mich., assignor to American Radiator & Standard Sanitary Corporation, New

York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed on. 25, 1961, Ser. No. 147,584 1 Claim. (Cl. 165-47) This invention relates to heat exchangers and particularly to improved mechanisms and arrangements for installing heat exchangers in sheet metal duct work, as for example in air conditioning systems. In certain air conditioning systems, particularly large commercial systems, there are provided in the air ducts certain auxiliary heat exchangers for tempering the air prior to its introduction into the rooms being serviced by the conditioning system. In the past these auxiliary heat exchangers have been installed by providing each end face of the exchanger with outwardly projecting flanges having punched holes therein. Installation was accomplished by building special duct sections with special out wardly projecting flanges, drilling holes in the flanges to mate with the aforementioned heat exchanger flange holes, and extending bolts through the mating holes. Such installation procedures required considerable on-the-job labor which unduly added to the total cost of the installation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a duct-installable heat exchanger having flanges formed thereon similar to the flanges utilized in conventional sheet metal duct work so that the heat exchanger may be mounted in an air conditioner duct system without resort to special installation methods such a on-the-job duct fabrication, and/ or special flange formation, and/or the drilling of multiple bolt holes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a heat exchanger of relatively rigid but lightweight construction to thus adapt the exchanger for installation in conventional sheet metal duct work without placing an excessive mechanical load on the duct walls.

Other objects of this invention will appear from the following description and appended claim, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic view illustrating a conventional air conditioning system in which the present invention may be utilized;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating one embodiment of the invention and taken along broken line 2-2 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along broken line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

. FIG. 4 is a right end elevational view of the FIG. 2 embodiment with a part thereof broken away on line 4-4 in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a fragmentary portion of the construction shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

In FIG. 1 of the drawings there is shown an air condi-tioning system having aseries of air-treating devices located in the area designated generally bynumeral 12 and having a vertically extendingriser duct 14 for sup- 3,182,717 Patented May 11, 1965 plying conditioned air to various lateral duct sections designated bynumerals 16, 18, 20 and 22. In the illustratedarrangement duct sections 16 and 18 are intended to supply conditioned air to interior rooms of the building, whileduct sections 20 and 22 are intended to supply conditioned air to perimeter rooms of the building.Sections 16 and 18 are equipped with conventionalceilingtype air diffusers 24, whilesections 20 and 22 are connected with under-the-windowroom conditioner units 26. To provide satisfactory control of the temperature Within the interior rooms each of theduct sections 16 and 18 is preferably equipped with anauxiliary heat exchanger 28 constructed as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4,heat exchanger 28 includes atop panel 30, abottom panel 32, aright side panel 34, and aleft side panel 36. Each of the side panels is provided with an inwardly turnedflange 38 which is rigidly affixed to a face portion of one of the top and bottom panels, as by screws or rivets (no-t shown). The various panels are formed of relatively light material such as sheet metal but are rigidified by means of the serpentine coil defined by the various horizontal heat exchange tubes andreturn bends 42. The drawings show heat exchange fins only on the end portions of tubes40, but it will be understood that in the actual structure the entire length of each tube is equipped with heat exchange fins. Preferably the top andbottom panel 30 and 32 are equipped withintegral ribs 44 which serve both as reinforcement devices and as bafiies to prevent the flowing air from by-passing the heat exchange fin surfaces.

As shown best in FIGS. 2 and 5, the vertical edges ofpanels 34 and 36 are directed outwardly at 46 and then at 48 toward the plane defined by the heat exchange tubes 40. In the installed position ofheat exchanger 28flange portions 46 abut againstflange portions 46a which are formed integrally with the duct sections 16a and 161), the arrangement permitting the heat exchanger to be locked in position by sliding the C-shapedmembers 50 downwardly over the abutting flange areas.

The duct sections 16a and 15b are each provided with atop wall 52,bottom wall 54 and twoside Walls 56 and 58, the arrangement being such that side walls and 58 align withside panels 34 and 36 of the heat exchanger, whiletop walls 52 andbottom walls 54overlap edge areas 60 of the corresponding heat exchanger panels. This edge overlapment allows the S-shape-d sealing elements 62 to be interposed between the respective walls and panels for insuring a substantially air-tight joint therebetween.

Heat exchanger 28 is installed as the air duct is being fabricated on the job site. Thus, assuming that duct section 16a is already in place and that section 16b is not yet installed, the installation ofheat exchanger 28 involves initially installing the'twosealing elements 62 on the edges of the top andbottom walls 52 and 54 of duct section 16a. The heat exchanger is then manipulated untiledge portions 60 thereof are disposed in the S-shaped sealing elements, after which the C-shaped clamps 50 are manually telescoped downwardly over the oppositely facingflanges 48 and 48a of the heat exchanger and duct section; this procedure locks the heat exchanger onto section 16a. The next duct section 16b may then be installed by positioning theappropriate sealing elements 62 andclamp elements 50 in the manner previously described.

It will be noted that installation of the heat exchanger is accomplished without special on-the-job fabricating operations such as the drilling of holes, cutting of special sheet metal sections, or the like. In this regard,sealing element 62 andclamping element 50 are conventional structures commonly utilized in the installation of sheet metal air conditioning ducts so that the invention may be utilizedwith existing duct work designs.

It is contemplated that the heat exchanger of this invention can be constructed of various sizes and with various numbers of heat exchange tubes 40. Thus for example, the horizontal distance betweenpanels 34 and 36 can in some practical forms vary from about twelve inche to about forty-two inches, and the vertical distance betweenpanels 30 and 32 can vary from about six inches to fifteen inches. The gauge of the material forpanels 30, 32, 34 and 36 can be varied to suit conditions.

The drawings illustrate one practical form of the invention, but it will be appreciated that variations therefrom can be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claim.

I claim:

An air conditioning system comprising two horizontally aligned spaced rectangular ducts, each having a top wall, two side walls, a bottom wall and vertical flanges formed on duct side walls extending outwardly from the edges of said side walls and then parallel therewith in opposite directions; a rectangular heat exchanger interposed between the two ducts and including a sheet metal top panel, a sheet metal bottom panel, and two sheet metal side panels having their upper and lower edge portions aflixed to respective ones of the top and bottom panels; said side panels being of lesser horizontal dimension than the top andbottom panels 30 that the free edge portions of the top and bottom panels extend horizontally beyond the limits of the side panels into overlapping relation with edge portions of the duct top and bottom walls; each of said side panels lying in the same vertical planes as the corresponding side walls of the duct sections; each of said side panels having vertical flanges extending outwardly from their free edges and then parallel to the panel surfaces so that the outwardly extending portions of the panel flanges abut against the outwardly extending portions of the duct flanges; four elongated S-shaped seal'members fitted on the over-lapped edge portions of the heat exchanger top and bottom panels and the duct top and bottom walls; four C-shaped clamps slidably telescopically engaging the aforementioned abutting flanges to lock the heat exchanger to the ducts; a series of horizontal finned heat exchange tubes extending between and through the two side panels; fluid conduit means located outside said side panels and operatively connecting the heat exchange tubes together for conduction of heat exchange fluid therethrough; said top panel having a generally V-shaped rib formed integrally therewith and extending into close adjacency with the edges of the fins on the uppermost heat exchange tube to constitute an air bafiie and a reinforcement for the top panel; and said bottom panel having a generally V-shaped rib formed integrally therewith and extending into close adjacency with the edges of the fins on the lowermost heat exchange tube to constitute a baffle and reinforcement for the bottom panel.

References fitted by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 641,580 1/00 Cummins 285-406 760,216 5/04 Laws 285-407 1,040,442 10/ 12 Shannon 285-405 1,817,948 8/31 Smith 165-159 X 2,025,802 12/35 Child -269 2,110,024 3/38 Miller 55-267 X 2,153,267 4/39 Morse 55-267 2,319,062 5/43 Holmes -65 X 2,354,131 7/44 Larkin 165-144 X 2,475,604 7/49 FriSch 165-159 X 2,491,700 12/49 Zwerling 285-406 2,568,278 9/51 Favot 219-213 2,752,950 7/56 Coulters 285-406 2,956,587 '10/60 Fisher 285-407 3,012,762 12/61 Norris 257-295 3,097,507 7/63 Makuh 165-144 X CHARLES SUKALO, Primary Examiner.

HARRY B. THORNTON, Examiner.

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