Abstract:
A device for facilitating the servicing of A.C. units which are mounted underneath the floor of manufactured homes, recreational vehicles or the like near an access location such as the rear of the vehicle which device is provided with a movable carriage for supporting substantially the entire A.C. unit and which is constructed to be easily slid out from underneath the vehicle at the access location whereby the unit is in an exposed position for easy servicing.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field 
     This invention concerns a unique support device for air conditioning units including heat pumps which are normally positioned underneath building structure, whereby, by means of the present invention the entire unit or the major components thereof are easily movable by means of the device between a relatively inaccessible installed position and a readily accessible servicing position. The present device is particularly useful for mounting air conditionding units on the underside of mobile or manufactured homes, recreational vehicles or the like to the support beams or other support means thereof. 
     2. Prior Art 
     Heretofore, with reference to U.S. Pat. 3,962,885, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, structure has been proposed for simplifying the installation of an A.C. unit underneath a side of a trailered home, however, no such device as herein presented has been suggested to easily and quickly move the unit substantially completely outside of the home for servicing and then to move it back easily and quickly underneath the home to its installed position. 
     Objects therefore, of the present invention are: to provide an easily serviceable air conditioning system for stationary buildings or homes such as mobile homes, recreational vehicles or the like, all hereinafter referred to as vehicles; to provide the system whereby the major components such as compressor, condenser, evaporator, blowers and the like can be brought clear of the vehicle easily and quickly for full exposure to the serviceman; to provide the system with unobtrusive structure and design which does not disturb the esthetic appearance of the vehicle; and to provide the system with safety and ease of handling structure whereby one serviceman can easily move the system from underneath the vehicle and then back underneath after servicing. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The above and other objects hereinafter appearing have been attained in accordance with the present invention which may be summarized as comprising a device for supporting an A.C. (air conditioning) unit underneath the floor and at least partially up of a vehicle such as mobile or manufactured home or recreational vehicle, wherein the device and A.C. unit can be pivoted down to clear the unit from any obstructing beams or the like and then to allow the device and unit to be easily and quickly moved out from underneath the vehicle to a generally horizontal posture above the roadway for repair, replacement, or other servicing. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be further understood from the following drawings and description, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a view looking down thru a rear portion of a chassis of a recreational vehicle floor removed and showing the present device in one of its embodiments in its installed position with components of an air conditioning unit shown in typical location thereon in dotted outline; 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  2 — 2  of FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrows; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  3 — 3  of FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrows with rollers shown by dotted line in the installed and servicing positions of the device; 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  4 — 4  of FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrows and showing a latching mechanism for the device; 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  5 — 5  of FIG. 4 in the direction of the arrows and showing a finger pull latch release; 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  6 — 6  of FIG. 4 in the direction of the arrows and showing a torsion spring mechanism for automatically engaging the latching mechanism; 
     FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing a variation in the relative dimensions and placements of the rail means with the rail means and rollers shown in dotted outline; 
     FIG. 8 is a top down view of the device and portions of the rail means broken away for clarity, taken along line  8 — 8  of FIG. 7 in the direction of the arrows; 
     FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a supporting frame portion, a guide or forward roller, and a rail means; 
     FIG. 10 is a side view of the carriage and a preferred embodiment of the supporting frame therefor, utilizing a substantially straight and horizontally postured rail means with the carriage pivoted down; 
     FIG. 11 is a view of the structure of FIG. 10 with the carriage withdrawn from under the vehicle to its servicing position; 
     FIG. 12 is an isometric view of a typical arrangement of an A.C. unit mounted on the carriage of FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 13 is an isometric view of the carriage and supporting frame of FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 13A is a cross-sectional view of rail  112  of FIG. 13 taken along line  13 A— 13 A; 
     FIG. 14 is a partially cross-sectional view of a pivot means for the carriage of FIG. 10 taken of the dotted area designated  14 — 14  in FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  15 — 15  of FIG. 10 in the direction of the arrows; and 
     FIG. 16 is a top plan view of the device and A.C. unit of FIG. 10 in its installed position with portions of the mating air ductwork of the vehicle and unit broken away for clarity of description. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The invention will be further understood from the following description with reference to FIGS. 1-9, particularly with reference to claims hereof, wherein one preferred embodiment of the present device comprises carriage means  10  for supporting an air conditioning unit  12  shown in dotted outline with items labeled, the carriage means having a generally rectangular peripheral outline defined by front and rear portions,  14  and  16  respectively lying forward and aft of center line  17  of said carriage means, as shown in FIG. 13, and opposing side portions  18  and  20  affixed to and encompassing platform means  22  for supporting said unit, rail means  24  and  26  adapted to mount on said vehicle, cooperating elements of pivot means  28  and  30  on said front portion of said device adjacent said and on said rail means for providing a pivotal mounting of said carriage means on said vehicle whereby substantial portions of said carriage means and unit can be pivoted downwardly from a plane  32  of the vehicle floor to clear said rear portion and unit from a rear cross support beam or blocking structure  34  of the vehicle, each said rail means having a segment  36  which is substantially parallel to said floor plane, or which slants downwardly from said floor plane toward a rear access section  38  of the vehicle, i.e., the open bottom between the support beams, and the cooperating elements, i.e., guide roller  40  and axle  42  of each said pivot means being movable along said segment whereby substantial portions of said carriage means and unit can be easily pulled out from underneath said access section for convenient servicing at position  11  as shown in FIG. 2 above a roadway  13  or the like, e.g., about 10 inches. 
     The carriage means  10  is preferably a fabricated structure such as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 wherein the horizontal pieces  44  and vertical pieces  46  are of angle iron or square tubular steel welded into a rigid framework. Platform  22  such as plywood or metal sheet may be provided as necessary over selected portions of the lower framework pieces to support components of the unit and to allow desired air flow to and around the various components of the unit. 
     The A.C unit which may include a heat pump can be of any shape, size and configuration as long as it can fit underneath the vehicle floor with sufficient vertical clearance from the roadway to allow the carriage and unit to be dropped down to clear the rear support beam or the like  34 . 
     The A.C. ductwork of the unit and vehicle generally designated  50  are provided with mating seal flange means generally designated  52  (FIG. 16) which become disengaged when the carriage and unit are pivoted downwardly and moved rearwardly, and which becomes reengaged when the carriage and unit are moved forwardly to their installed position to thereby complete the required air flow conduits for providing conditioned air to the vehicle interior. Likewise, the necessary electrical connections for powering the compressor, fans and other components of the unit are preferably provided by a single plug and socket which can be readily disconnected if necessary to allow withdrawal of the carriage and unit to a servicing position. 
     In one preferred embodiment of FIGS. 8 and 9, each rail means generally designated  24  and  26  preferably comprises a first section of a pull-up type garage door roller guide of a slotted tubular construction  54  and a second substantially flat section  56 . The guide or forward roller  40  in its forward installed position rides on the bottom surface  58  of the rail tube, and in its rearward servicing position rides on the upper surface or upward motion first stop structure  60  of the rail tube. This occurs since in the installed position a preferred fulcrum roller  62  structurally and functionally equivalent to roller  40  is lifted off of section  56  of the rail means, whereas in the intermediate dropped carriage position and the final servicing position, roller  62  bears heavily on the second stop structure  55  of section  56  and causes guide roller  40  to pivot upwardly with considerable force and generates moment arm means  63  which supports the overbalanced weight of the carriage means and A.C. unit. 
     It is noted that the required position, posture, configuration and dimensions of the rail means are readily determined by one skilled in the art as dictated by the dimensions, particularly vertical, of the components of the A.C. unit, the length of the carriage, the vertical dimension of blocking beams  34  of the like, and the clearance or the bottom surface of the carriage from the roadway. In this regard, as seen from FIG. 7, the rail means shown in dotted outline, if necessary, can be constructed to extend below the bottom edges of the support beams of the vehicle. 
     The rails  24 ,  26  which can be used in any of the embodiments shown herein and of straight or slanted configuration, are preferably shaped, in this embodiment, at their forward ends to provide a substantially horizontal portion  64  which takes some of the effort pressure off of both the initial downward pivoting of the carriage as well as the final reinsertion of the carriage to its installed position. The rails can be of any construction which allows the proper pivoting of the carriage to clear any obstruction and then to allow the carriage to assume an approximate horizontal posture both in its installed and servicing positions. For example, the first  54  and second  56  sections of the rails can be separately mounted on the vehicle frame or chassis, and the guide and fulcrum rollers do not have to be in the same plane of the carriage as is shown in the drawings. 
     It is preferred to provide an automatic up-position locking means generally designated  66  for the rear of the carriage as shown in FIGS. 4-6 such that an individual operator can grip handles  68 ,  70  and simply lift the rear end of the carriage until the locking means snaps into a locking position whereby the carriage is automatically retained in its installed position. 
     The locking means  66  can be any type but in one preferred embodiment of FIGS. 4-6 comprises a latch arm  72  pivotally mounted on a piece  74  of the carriage frame by shaft  76  which is affixed to piece  74  and to a head segment  78 . Arm  72  is pivotal on  76  to a locking position shown in FIG. 4 wherein shoulder  80  on the bottom of a top segment  81  of the arm rides over the top of a ledge  82  provided by the top of a vertical cam wedge  84  having cam surface  86 . The action occurs as the rear frame member of the carriage is lifted to engage  81  with cam surface  86  until the carriage rear is in its up position at which point a coiled torque spring  88  loosely mounted on shaft  76  and affixed at opposite ends to stationary head segment  78  and to the pivotal latch arm  72  in known manner, forcibly pivots arm  72  clockwise to its shown locking position. A stop  90  on piece  74  prevents overpivoting of arm  72  when the carriage is in its dropped down position. The latch arm  72  is unlatched by means of a finger pull  92  pivotally connected to arm  72  by pin  94  and made easily accessible to the servicemans finger for pivoting arm  72  counter clockwise as he simultaneously grips the handles and moves the carriage rear upwardly a small fraction of an inch to release the frictional engagement of the shoulder  80  and ledge  82 . 
     Referring to the most preferred embodiment of the invention as shown in FIGS. 10-16, the device is comprised of two manufactured sections, i.e., a carriage supporting frame  96  and the carriage  98 . Frame  96  is adapted for attachment to the underside of the building by any suitable means such as strategically located brackets  100  bolted to the floor joists  102  and to portions  104  of the frame  96  by bolts  106  or equivalent fastening means. The joists are supported on and affixed to longitudinally extending building support beams  108  adjacent each side of the building floor  110 . The number, dimensions, orientations and strengths of the various pieces of frame  96  and carriage  98  are selected to accommodate the particular vehicle and A.C. unit involved. 
     In FIGS. 12 and 18 the various components are shown schematically and comprises a wall support wing  97  and a longitudinal building support I beam  99  on each side of the floor construction, evaporator coil  101 , dual evaporator fans  103  and drive motor  105 , sheet metal floor means  107 , condenser coil  109 , dual condenser fans  111  having cool air inlets  133  and exhaust air outlets  137 , and drive motor  113 , open floor area  115  for condenser air flow, auxiliary electric heating unit  117 , compressor  119 , and accumulator  121 , reversing valve  123 , return air duct  127  from the building, and conditioned air supply duct  131  to the building. Other structures and air conditioner components may, of course, also be present. 
     Referring to FIGS. 13 and 15, each rail means  112  of this embodiment comprises a substantially horizontally running member with an upper face  114  and lower face  116  upon which the ball bearing fulcrum roller  118  and the ball bearing guide roller  120  respectively run. In FIG. 15, the rollers are shown in the positions they occupy when the carriage is in its down pivoted position. 
     Referring to FIG. 114, in order to provide a pivot means for the carriage which is the equivalent of the pivot means for the device of FIG. 1, a ledge means such as angle iron  122  is welded or otherwise affixed to member  124  of the carriage frame. A cooperating angle iron or the like shoulder member  126  is welded or otherwise affixed to an adjacent floor joist or member  128  of the supporting frame or any equivalent member on the vehicle chassis. In operation, with the carriage moved to its installed position wherein ledge means  122  has ridden up over the top of shoulder member  126 , the rear  16  of the carnage is ready to be pivoted upwardly about the pivot provided by  126  and  122 . To allow this pivoting to proceed, a sufficient gap  125  should be provided between  122  and  126  to prevent binding of roller  40  against face  116  of rail means  112  as the carriage is pivoted upwardly and thus allow  122  and  126  to make carnage supporting contact. 
     Referring to FIG. 16, the general positioning layout for the A.C. unit components on the carriage is shown along with a useful type of connecting structure for removably joining the air ductwork of the vehicle with the ductwork of the A.C. unit. This connecting structure which is exemplarly only, comprises feed-in sheet metal conduits  129 ,  130  affixed on the A.C. unit and/or carriage and receiving sheet metal conduits  132 ,  134  affixed on the vehicle. The openings  135  of the conduits are defined by inside flanges such as  136  to which elastomeric sealing rings surrounding the openings are affixed. Flared, funnel shaped flanges  138  surrounding the openings  135  assist in achieving an easy mating and sealing of the vehicle and A.C. unit conduits as the carriage is rolled inwardly to its installed position. 
     This invention have been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications will be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.