Patent ID: 6430955
Filing Date: 2002-08-13
Classification: F24F,F25B

Abstract:
In an air conditioning unit having an outdoor section separated from an indoor section by a divider and each section containing a heat exchanger and a fan for moving air over the heat exchanger, apparatus for distributing condensate produced by the indoor heat exchanger over the outdoor heat exchanger surfaces that includes:a housing for enclosing the outdoor fan and outdoor heat exchanger; said housing having a front wall that is adjacent to the outdoor fan and an opening through which air is drawn into the housing by said fan and distributed over the outdoor heat exchanger wherein a pressure differential is produced over the fan; an orifice located in the bottom of said front wall wherein the orifice is in the pressure differential zone of the outdoor fan; means for bringing condensate to the entrance of the orifice; said orifice having a shape and an area that is matched to the pressure produced by the outdoor fan on said orifice so that condensate at the entrance to said orifice is drawn into the housing and distributed by the fan over the outdoor heat exchanger surfaces and said orifice includes a rectangular lower section and an arcuate upper section, said sections being symmetrically aligned on either side of a vertical centerline.