Abstract:
A cabinet for air handling equipment includes two similarly sized covers that are each nonsymmetrical about their vertical centerline. Each cover has an original supply or return air duct opening plus space for an alternate opening. The original and alternate openings are of different shapes to accommodate round or rectangular ducts. The two covers can be interchanged with each other and inverted to provide various supply and return air duct configurations.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a cabinet for heating, ventilating, and air conditioning equipment and more specifically relates to a cover panel with configurable duct connections.  
         [0003]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0004]     An air handler is any apparatus comprising an enclosure that contains at least one piece of air handling equipment, such as a blower, heat exchanger, compressor, filter, etc. Air handlers typically provide conditioned air to a comfort zone, such as a room or other designated area within a building. The conditioning of the air may include, but is not limited to, heating, cooling, humidifying, dehumidifying, filtering, ventilating, and various combinations thereof.  
         [0005]     Air handlers can assume a wide variety of configurations with one example being a direct expansion refrigerant system. A direct expansion refrigerant system typically comprises a refrigerant circuit that includes a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device and an evaporator. The equipment plus a blower is normally housed within an outdoor cabinet that is installed atop or adjacent to a building served by the air handler.  
         [0006]     To heat or cool the building, the blower forces air across the condenser or evaporator, and supply and return air ducts convey the air between the building and the air handler. The supply air duct conveys the conditioned air to the building, while the return air duct conveys used air from the building to the air handler.  
         [0007]     The cross-sectional shape of the ducts (e.g., round or rectangular) and the layout of the ductwork are usually dictated by the design of each particular air handler and various features of the building. Problems can occur when after years of use the originally installed air handler needs to be replaced. The replacement system may require ductwork of a different shape and layout. Thus, various duct adaptors and convoluted transitional ductwork may be needed to connect a replacement air handler to a building&#39;s existing ductwork. This may reduce airflow through the ducts and create an unsightly installation.  
         [0008]     Problems may also occur with new installations where ductwork must connect a certain air handler to a particular building. In some cases, “spec homes” may be built complete with ductwork but without the air handler. This allows the new homeowner to specify their preferred air handler. The chosen air handler, however, may not necessarily match the home&#39;s pre-installed ductwork. In other cases, the home or building may have immovable structural members that inhibit certain duct configurations.  
         [0009]     Consequently, a need exists for a system or method of connecting an air handler (e.g., a replacement unit or an original installation) to a building&#39;s existing ductwork.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     To overcome the problems of connecting an air handler to a building&#39;s ductwork, it is an object of some embodiments of the invention to provide a cabinet for air handling equipment, wherein a supply air opening and a return air opening are in separate cover panels that can be inverted and interchanged to vary the relative location of the two openings.  
         [0011]     Another object of some embodiments is to provide an air handler whose air duct openings can be placed closer to each other or spaced farther apart. Being closer together may allow the supply and return air ducts to fit through the same narrow opening in the wall or foundation of a building, and being farther apart may allow the ducts to straddle a generally immovable structural member of the building.  
         [0012]     Another object of some embodiments is to provide an air handler whose supply and return air duct openings can be placed vertically offset to each other with either opening being selectively placed higher than the other. This may simplify the transitional ductwork needed to connect to a building with vertically offset ducts (i.e., over/under configurations), regardless of whether the building&#39;s supply air duct is above the return air duct or vice versa.  
         [0013]     Another object of some embodiments is to provide an air handler whose supply and return air duct openings can be positioned both vertically and horizontally offset to each other. This may simplify crossover ductwork that may be needed to connect the air handler to a building whose supply and return air ducts are horizontally displaced in a direction opposite that of the air handler&#39;s air duct openings. In other words, it is an object of some embodiments to simplify the installation when the supply air and return air ducts in the building are opposite from the supply and return air duct connections in the unit.  
         [0014]     Another object of some embodiments is to provide a cover panel for a cabinet, wherein the cover includes a rectangular opening and a round opening (or an area therefore), so that the cabinet can be connected to either round or rectangular ductwork.  
         [0015]     Another object of some embodiments is to provide a cabinet cover with a rectangular opening and an optional round opening, wherein the two openings are located one above the other.  
         [0016]     Another object of some embodiments is to provide a cabinet cover with a rectangular opening and an optional round opening, wherein the two openings are horizontally displaced relative to a vertical centerline of the cover, whereby inverting the panel shifts the location of the openings to either side of the centerline.  
         [0017]     Another object of some embodiments is enable a cabinet panel to be reconfigured even though the interior side of the panel is thermally insulated.  
         [0018]     One or more of these and/or other objects of the invention are provided by a cabinet for air handling equipment, wherein the cabinet includes two similarly sized covers that are each nonsymmetrical about their vertical centerline. The two covers can be interchanged and inverted to provide various supply and return air duct configurations. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]      FIG. 1  is a front view of an air handler with two covers shown installed in one of many configurations.  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is a front view of a cabinet cover.  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 .  
         [0022]      FIG. 4  is similar to  FIG. 1 .  
         [0023]      FIG. 5  is a side view of the air handler of  FIG. 4  showing rectangular ducts connected to the air handler.  
         [0024]      FIG. 6  is similar to  FIG. 5  but showing round ducts connected to the air handler.  
         [0025]      FIG. 7  is similar to  FIG. 4  but with the right-hand cover inverted.  
         [0026]      FIG. 8  is a side view of  FIG. 7 .  
         [0027]      FIG. 9  is similar to  FIG. 4  but with the left-hand cover inverted.  
         [0028]      FIG. 10  is similar to  FIG. 4  but with both covers inverted.  
         [0029]      FIG. 11  is similar to  FIG. 4  but with the two cover interchanged with each other.  
         [0030]      FIG. 12  is similar to  FIG. 11  but with the right-hand cover inverted.  
         [0031]      FIG. 13  is similar to  FIG. 11  but with the left-hand cover inverted.  
         [0032]      FIG. 14  is similar to  FIG. 11 , but with both covers inverted. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0033]     Referring to  FIGS. 1-5 , an air handler  10  comprises various air handling equipment contained within an enclosure. The enclosure itself comprises a cabinet  12  with a first cover  14  (cover-A) and a second cover  16  (cover-B). Covers  14  and  16  have one or more air duct openings that enable ductwork  18  to connect cabinet  12  to an adjacent building  20 . The two covers  14  and  16  are invertible and interchangeable to accommodate various ductwork configurations.  
         [0034]     The air handling equipment housed within cabinet  12  can vary greatly, so the air handler illustrated in  FIG. 1  simply serves as one example. In this particular example, the equipment in cabinet  12  includes a blower  22 , a compressor  24 , a first heat exchanger  26 , a second heat exchanger  28 , a two-position, four-way valve  30 , and an expansion device  32  (e.g., expansion valve, orifice, capillary, etc.).  
         [0035]     With valve  32  in the cooling mode position shown in  FIG. 1 , compressor  24  forces refrigerant sequentially through valve  30 , heat exchanger  26  (functioning as a condenser: air or water cooled), expansion device  32 , heat exchanger  28  (functioning as an evaporator), and back through valve  30  to return to a suction inlet of compressor  24 . Within cabinet  12 , blower  22  moves air  34  from a suction chamber  36  to a discharge chamber  38  by forcing the air through heat exchanger  28 , which operates as an evaporator to cool air  34 .  
         [0036]     Blower  22  forces the cooled air  34  out through an opening  40  (opening-A) in cover  14 , and a supply air duct  42  conveys the air to building  20 . After cooling building  20 , the air returns to cabinet  12  via a return air duct  44 . Return duct  44  returns the air back to suction chamber  36  by directing air  34  through an opening  46  (opening-B) in cover  16 .  
         [0037]     Air handler  10  can be a cooling-only system, or in some cases valve  30  or other means can be used to selectively place air handler  10  in a heating mode. For example, valve  30  can reverse the flow of refrigerant so that heat exchanger  28  functions as a condenser for providing building  20  with heated air, whereby heat exchanger  26  would then function as an evaporator.  
         [0038]     The actual construction of covers  14  and  16  may vary. In  FIGS. 2 and 3 , for example, cover  14  is a generally rectangular sheet metal panel  48  having a peripheral flange  50  with screw holes  52  for attaching cover  14  to cabinet  12 . The actual design of flange  50  may vary. Flange  50  may extend outward and parallel to panel  48  as shown, extend inward and parallel to panel  48 , extend along a plane that is perpendicular to panel  48 , or extend in a combination of directions. An interior side of cover  14  may include a sheet of thermal insulation  54 . Cover  14  includes opening  40  and an alternate area  56  (alternate area-A) that are set one above the other and are offset to a vertical centerline  58  of cover  14 .  
         [0039]     Cover  16  is a mirror image of cover  14  with cover  16  having opening  46  and an alternate area  60  (alternate area-B) that are set one above the other and are offset to a vertical centerline  62  of cover  16 . Openings  40  and  46  are rectangular openings surrounded by a flange  62  for connection to rectangular ducts.  
         [0040]     Alternate areas  56  and  60  provide space for connecting round ductwork in case the existing ductwork of building  20  happens to be round. A round flange  64  can be used to connect a round duct to cover  14 . If round ductwork is used, the portion of cover  14  or  16  that is within flange  64  would need to be cut out or otherwise removed, and opening  40  or  46  would need to be blocked off.  
         [0041]     Covers  14  and  16  can be attached to cabinet  12  in various arrangements to accommodate various ductwork configurations. In  FIGS. 4 and 5 , for example, rectangular ducts  42  and  44  are low and relatively close to each other. Arrows  66 ,  68  and  70  represent one or more steps in the process of reconfiguring the covers. These steps may include removing a cover, inverting a cover, inverting a cover, reattaching a cover, interchanging the covers, etc.  
         [0042]     In  FIG. 6 , covers  14  and  16  are in the same positions as shown in  FIG. 4 ; however, round ducts  72  and  74  connect to flanges  64 , and openings  40  and  46  are blocked off. In this configuration, round ducts  72  and  74  replace rectangular ducts  42  and  44  respectively.  
         [0043]     The configuration shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8  is similar to that of  FIGS. 4 and 5 ; however, cover  16  is inverted to raise the elevation of duct  44  and provide greater horizontal spacing between ducts  42  and  44 .  
         [0044]     The configuration shown in  FIG. 9  is similar to that of  FIG. 4 ; however, cover  14  is inverted to raise the elevation of opening  40  (or lower alternate area  56 ) and provide greater horizontal spacing between openings  40  and  46  (or increase the spacing between alternate areas  56  and  60 ).  
         [0045]     The configuration shown in  FIG. 10  is similar to that of  FIG. 4 ; however, both covers  14  and  16  are inverted to raise the elevation of both openings  40  and  46  (or lower areas  56  and  60 ) and provide greater horizontal spacing between them.  
         [0046]     The configuration shown in  FIG. 11  is similar to that of  FIG. 4 ; however, the two covers  14  and  16  are interchanged to increase the spacing not only between openings  40  and  46  but also between alternate areas  56  and  60 .  
         [0047]     The configuration shown in  FIG. 12  is similar to that of  FIG. 11 ; however, cover  14  is inverted to raise the elevation of opening  40  (or lower area  56 ) and to decrease the horizontal spacing between openings  40  and  46 .  
         [0048]     The configuration shown in  FIG. 13  is similar to that of  FIG. 11 ; however, cover  16  is inverted to raise the elevation of opening  46  (or lower area  60 ) and to decrease the horizontal spacing between openings  40  and  46 .  
         [0049]     The configuration shown in  FIG. 14  is similar to that of  FIG. 11 ; however, both covers  14  and  16  are inverted to raise the elevation of both openings  40  and  46  (or lower areas  56  and  60 ) and provide less horizontal spacing between them.  
         [0050]     Although the invention is described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other variations are well within the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be determined by reference to the claims, which follow.