Abstract:
An air conditioning system condensing unit has a specially designed chassis providing enhanced serviceability access to various air conditioning components operatively disposed therein. A removable vertical peripheral outer side wall section of the chassis underlies a removable peripheral top side wall section thereof. Removal of these two side wall sections creates in the chassis an opening conveniently providing both horizontal and vertical service access to the air conditioning components within the interior of the chassis.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The present application claims the benefit of the filing date of provisional U.S. patent application no. 61/602,334 filed Feb. 23, 2012. The entire disclosure of such provisional application is hereby incorporated herein by this reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention generally relates to air conditioner or heat pump condensing units and, in a representatively illustrated embodiment thereof, more particularly relates to a specially designed air conditioner or heat pump condensing unit having a chassis with enhanced serviceability access to its internal equipment such as a compressor, condenser coil, expansion vale and reversing valve. 
         [0003]    Typical air conditioner or heat pump outdoor units (usually referred to as “condensers” or “condensing units”) are normally designed with a configuration resembling a “cube” shape. These outdoor units, although usually cost effective, typically do not offer particularly easy access to air conditioning system components within their outer chassis such as compressor, condenser coil, expansion valve and reversing valve components within the condensing unit chassis. Quite often the only access path to the interior of the condensing unit, to repair and/or remove mechanical components within the condensing unit chassis, is from the top side of the unit through a central fan discharge opening from which a wire fan guard has been removed. This is often quite difficult, and is especially so if the condensing unit is very tall. 
         [0004]    Because of this, contractors who install and service condensing units often complain about the difficulty of performing service or replacement of some component parts within a condensing unit. It can easily be imagined how difficult it can be to, for example, use a high temperature torch to unbraze and re-braze the component parts within the condensing unit when access is only provided through the top grill of the unit, or to lift a heavy compressor (that can weigh 50-96 pounds) up and out of the top of the condensing unit through the fan guard opening. 
         [0005]    In view of these well known problems, limitations and disadvantages often associated with conventional condensing unit chassis configurations, it would be desirable to provide a condensing unit chassis construction that provides enhanced serviceability access to its interior components. It is to this goal that the present invention is primarily directed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the fully assembled condensing unit; 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a reduced scale, partially exploded perspective view of the condensing unit; and 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the condensing unit similar to that in  FIG. 1 , but with corner sections of the condensing unit chassis removed to provide enhanced serviceability access to the interior of the chassis for servicing and/or removal of components therein. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0009]    Perspectively illustrated in  FIGS. 1-3  is an air conditioning system outdoor condensing unit  10  which is representatively a heat pump condensing unit but could alternatively be a dedicated air conditioning-only unit. Condensing unit  10  illustratively has a rectangular shape defined by a generally cubic outer shell of chassis  12  having a rectangular horizontal base  14 , a rectangular top side wall  16  with a central circular air discharge opening  18  formed therein, and four louvered vertical side walls  20 ,  22 ,  24 , and  26  extending between the base  14  and the top side wall  16 . While a rectangular shape is preferred for the condensing unit chassis, other chassis shapes could be alternatively employed without departing from principles of the present invention. 
         [0010]    During operation of the condensing unit  10 , a motor-driven fan  28  (see  FIG. 2 ) rotatably disposed within the top side air discharge opening  18  draws outside air inwardly through the louvered vertical side walls  22 , 24 , 26  and  28 , across a condenser coil  30  (see  FIGS. 2 and 3 ) disposed within the interior chamber of the chassis  12  and extending around the inner side periphery of the chassis  12 , and then discharges the air upwardly through a circular wire fan guard  32  supported within the air discharge opening  18 . In addition to the condenser coil  30 , various other air conditioning system components are housed within the interior chamber of the chassis  12  and include a compressor  34 , an expansion valve  36 , and a reversing valve  38  see  FIG. 3 ). 
         [0011]    According to a key aspect of the present invention, an opening  40  uniquely providing a combination of both horizontal and vertical access to the interior of the chassis  12  and the components therein is formed through a side wall portion of the chassis  12 . Preferably, the access opening  40  is disposed in a vertical corner portion of the chassis  12  between adjacent vertical edges  20   a , 22   a  of the chassis side walls  20 , 22  which are horizontally foreshortened relative to the other two side walls  24  and  26 . Access opening  40 , in addition to its vertically extending side portion, has an open top end  40   a  (see  FIG. 3 ) which is normally covered by a removable corner portion  16   a  of the top side wall  16  (see  FIGS. 1 and 2 ). Condenser coil  30  has a horizontal peripheral gap  41  which is aligned with and defines an inward extension of the vertical side portion of the chassis access opening  41 . 
         [0012]    With the condensing unit  10  in its  FIG. 1  fully assembled state, the open top end  40   a  of the access opening or passage  40  is covered by the installed top side wall corner portion  16   a  of the top side wall  16 , and the outer side of the opening  40  is covered by a control box bracket structure  42  which is suitably and removably secured to the opposite side wall edges  20  and  22   a  and is positioned horizontally inwardly of liquid and suction valve portions  44 , 46  of the overall refrigerant circuit. As may be best seen in  FIG. 2 , the control box bracket structure  42  has a vertical panel portion  48  with a horizontal shelf projecting horizontally outwardly therefrom. Mounted on the outer side of the panel  48 , above the shelf  50 , are a control box  54  and various electromechanical components collectively designated by the reference numeral  54 . A generally L-shaped control box cover  56  is removably secured to the panel  48  over the control box  52  and the electromechanical components  54 . 
         [0013]    When it is desired to gain service access to the various components within the interior of the chassis  12 , such as the compressor  34 , expansion valve  36  and reversing valve  38 , all that is necessary is to remove the control box cover  56 , and then remove the top corner portion  16   a  of the top chassis side wall  16 . Once those structures are removed from the condensing unit  10 , the control box bracket structure  42 , with the control box  52  still attached thereto, can be removed to fully expose the access opening  40  to thereby provide a technician both horizontal access to the components within the chassis  12 , through the horizontally facing portion of the opening  40  and the gap  41  in the condenser coil  30 , and vertical access to the components within the chassis  12  through the open top end of the opening  40 . 
         [0014]    The unique provision of the open-topped horizontal access opening  40  formed in the condensing unit chassis  12  provides a variety of advantages over the conventional internal component access path extending only vertically through the chassis via the air discharge opening  18  with the fan guard  32  removed. For example, repair and service of the condensing unit  10  becomes considerably easier without altering the basic “cube” shape of the condensing unit  10 . Additionally, the difficulty of replacing the components within the chassis is considerably reduced, and diagnosing the internal component parts of the condensing unit is made significantly easier. Further, because of the presence of the access opening  40 , it becomes easier and quicker to clean the condenser coil  30 . 
         [0015]    It should be noted that the removable structure  42  illustratively positioned on a corner portion of the condensing unit chassis  12  uniquely provides two functions—(1) it houses some of the control components such as the illustrated electromechanical components  54 , and (2) it defines a removable cover structure for the opening  40  to block it when it is not needed. 
         [0016]    The open-topped horizontal component access opening  40  formed in the condensing unit chassis  12  is preferably formed, as illustrated, on a corner portion of the chassis  12  and extends upwardly from the base  14  to the chassis top side wall  16 . As can be seen, the positioning of the access opening  40  in such corner portion maximizes the area of the open top end of the opening  40  compared to forming the opening  40  between opposing corner portions of the chassis  12 . However, it will be readily appreciated by those of skill in this particular art that, if desired, the side access opening  40  could alternatively be formed between such corner portions without departing from principles of the present invention—particularly in instances wherein the side walls of the chassis  12  were horizontally outwardly spaced further apart from the air discharge opening  16 . 
         [0017]    The foregoing detailed description is to be clearly understood as being given by way of illustration and example only, the spirit and scope of the present invention being limited solely by the appended claims.